Hudson Soft Appreciation Thread

[electricmastro]

An appreciation thread for games developed and/or published by Hudson Soft, of which include:

 

Ys Book I & II (TurboGrafx-CD)

 

Buster Bros. (TurboGrafx-CD)

 

Dragon's Curse (TurboGrafx-16)

 

Mega Bomberman (Genesis)

 

Mario Party (Nintendo 64)

 

Military Madness (TurboGrafx-16)

 

Bonk's Revenge (Game Boy)

 

Felix the Cat (NES)

 

Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES)

 

Xexyz (NES)

 

Super Adventure Island II (SNES)

 

Cratermaze (TurboGrafx-16)

 

Mendel Palace (NES)

 

Neutopia (TurboGrafx-16)

 

Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes (TurboGrafx-CD)

[Steven Pendleton]

Hudson developed 4 of the 5 games that were released on the SuperGrafx. Daimakaimura was the only game on the system that was developed by someone else (NEC Avenue), as Hudson did the other 4 games themselves. Then the SuperGrafx died and people stopped caring, so...

 

Hudson also developed the awesome 10-player Saturn Bomberman, which I have not played yet. Bomberman with 10 people is probably a lot of fun, but you need 10 people (obviously), 10 controllers, and 2 multitaps to do it, so it's quite a bit of work to set up.

[electricmastro]

14 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Hudson developed 4 of the 5 games that were released on the SuperGrafx. Daimakaimura was the only game on the system that was developed by someone else (NEC Avenue), as Hudson did the other 4 games themselves. Then the SuperGrafx died and people stopped caring, so...

 

Hudson also developed the awesome 10-player Saturn Bomberman, which I have not played yet. Bomberman with 10 people is probably a lot of fun, but you need 10 people (obviously), 10 controllers, and 2 multitaps to do it, so it's quite a bit of work to set up.

Bomberman was definitely one of Hudson's biggest successes, seeing as how Bonk and Master Higgins effectively got abandoned in favor of focusing more on him.

Edited October 6, 2021 by electricmastro

[roots.genoa]

49 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Daimakaimura was the only game on the system that was developed by someone else (NEC Avenue), as Hudson did the other 4 games themselves.

I'm pretty sure the guy who ported Daimakaimura explained in an interview he did it as a subcontractor at Hudson HQ. I heard that games published by NEC Avenue were often developed by Hudson or subcontractors, and NEC Avenue was just a way to have one more publisher working (exclusively!) on PC Engine systems. ?

Maybe there's a specific reason for that though (for instance NEC Avenue published games are developed by a second party, either at Hudson or at their own HQ).

 

Also Saturn Bomberman is almost always playable at my association's exhibitions so I'm starting to get a little tired of it. ?

Edited October 6, 2021 by roots.genoa

[Mikebloke]

I've done a 7 player bomberman at home before, getting usable controllers was actually my biggest problem, I've got two multitaps.  Saturn bomberman is a proper gem, really enjoy it. I don't have the turbografx ones yet, but do have a romcart so have played them. Played dragons curse as well, need to check their other stuff on the system.

 

I have to admit I am a huge fan of taito too I just haven't posted in it yet. 

[+GoldenWheels]

I'm not even good at them but I'll play the Adventure Island series anywhere, any time. NES, TG, SNES, whatever.

[youxia]

My favourite are early Hudson games from the microcomputer era, starting with Eric & The Floaters. Always super cute, clever, and inventive.

[electricmastro]

9 hours ago, GoldenWheels said:

I'm not even good at them but I'll play the Adventure Island series anywhere, any time. NES, TG, SNES, whatever.

And it especially stuck out to me for how Island II on SNES took an action-adventure route. Wonder what could have been if more games had come out like that.

 

 

[roots.genoa]

I realized the Soldier series had not been mentioned yet...

[electricmastro]

3 minutes ago, roots.genoa said:

I realized the Soldier series had not been mentioned yet...

Oh right, Vanishing Earth on the Nintendo 64:

 

 

[Steven Pendleton]

On 10/6/2021 at 7:30 PM, electricmastro said:

Bomberman was definitely one of Hudson's biggest successes, seeing as how Bonk and Master Higgins effectively got abandoned in favor of focusing more on him.

They still make them, though not nearly as much as they used to. They made at least like 1 a year for like 20 years or something like that. Then that 360 Bomberman showed up. Yay, edgy Bomberman, just what I always wanted...

On 10/6/2021 at 8:08 PM, roots.genoa said:

I'm pretty sure the guy who ported Daimakaimura explained in an interview he did it as a subcontractor at Hudson HQ. I heard that games published by NEC Avenue were often developed by Hudson or subcontractors, and NEC Avenue was just a way to have one more publisher working (exclusively!) on PC Engine systems. ?

Maybe there's a specific reason for that though (for instance NEC Avenue published games are developed by a second party, either at Hudson or at their own HQ).

 

Also Saturn Bomberman is almost always playable at my association's exhibitions so I'm starting to get a little tired of it. ?

lol why does this not surprise me? At least the port is really nice. I haven't played it for more than about 40 seconds, but those first 40 seconds are nice. I wish I could play 10-player Saturn Bomberman, though. I found like 6 copies of the game in just one store yesterday when I was looking around in Akiba. I though about buying one, but I didn't. Maybe I'll get a copy next time if I don't forget about it and the dozen other games that I always forget to buy (this is maybe a reminder to myself in the future to not forget Soukyuugurentai for the 12th time in Akiba in a row although I will forget this reminder).

[+jgkspsx]

Here is a somewhat janky Policenauts clone from their waning days. It’s pretty fun.

 

Here is a Monkey Ball clone that even supports the Wii Balance Board:

 

Hudson were forever looking for an angle and often coming up with some weird and fun ideas in that pursuit. For me, their puzzle games will always be as critical a part of how I think of them as Bomberman, Bonk, Star Soldier, or Adventure Island:

 

 

 

 

 

I really regret not getting a physical copy of one of my favorite NES games before the price went stupid:

 

 

[DragonGrafx-16]

 

Now this is my thread!!!!

[DragonGrafx-16]

18 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

I realized the Soldier series had not been mentioned yet...

I did not see the thread until now. lol

Edited October 8, 2021 by DragonGrafx-16

[Tanooki]

Been a fan for as long as I can remember for some point in I guess the later half of the 80s.  Bomberman was (first) never all that fun to me, but they did other stuff I did like I got access to somewhere like the old Star Soldier (which I didn't own until the 90s.)  When I finally went multi-console when I was turned also to a handheld gamer more with the GB/GBC era I having a lack of game time between some releases on N64 got a Duo, that's NEC/Hudson.  It came with a nice disc that had Gate of Thunder 2 Bonks and a hidden Bomberman on it I couldn't put down.  Gameboy had mostly in the US Bomberman games and a couple ofrom Adventure Island.  SNES I had the two Super Bomberman games too come to think of it.

 

In that same era was also when I started to claw into multi-console/handheld old game buys because most everything was like $5 at retail or trade two for one stuff too as a choice.  In that period I got more goodies, Star Solder was gotten then, Bomberman II, NES Bonk, and then there was the N64 game which I still have from the series that's magnificent.  Largely I wasn't into what they pushed on Nintendo, star soldier and bomberman aside.  Bomberman 64, 2nd attack, especially Hero on 64 were awesome.  Adventure Island I never got into but I did have the 3 on used pick ups, same with the GB games, then on TG HuCard too.  HuCards, I can't remember the lot of them, but there was another Star Soldier, Bomberman 93 and 94, and so on.  It's making me remember also largely what came out on the TG in the US on cards, even if they didn't make them, they published them so I had a wealth of titles there, and the Duo could do import CDs so I had like Panic Bomber (also was on my Virtual Boy as was Vertical Force a spinoff of star soldier), either way I could just say go to the wikipedia, hudson soft games, sort by TG16 and CD too, I had quite a few of those of the known franchise titles mind you, not the random weird stuff.  Post n64 I lost interest in them, stateside, I have 3/4 of the Hudson Select games from Japan though (Star Soldier, Bonk and Adventure Island) I imported for gamecube but that's it.  Handheld side they got boring too, and then they kind of faded away then wrecked by Konami sadly.

 

I am happy that I did get a PCE for awhile, that was a good few year ride to have access again but this time only owning Japanese stuff and an everdrive so I had lots of Hudson backlog, but that's gone and I have their PCE Mini now which is a blast, so it lives on, in that form at least.