Just a light knuckle-dusting

Awhile back in my last post, I mentioned that I was heading off on a trip to Minneapolis. I did not, in fact, get arrested and shipped out to El Salvador or something–in fact, the trip went better than I would’ve ever expected. I saw one protest, and no actual ICE presence; it actually ended up being a pretty nice trip. No, the reason I haven’t posted in so long is because it’s winter in upper Michigan, and I have become a machine that moves snow and produces back aches.

I think we’re up to Snowmageddon Part VII for the year, which in most franchises means we’re long past going to space, and we might be Back to Da Hood, or possibly ready to Take Manhattan by my calculations. While it’s true the last couple years have spoiled us, this is still the worst winter I’ve seen in a very long time. The snow banks by my house are taller than I am. Side streets are frequently mired in enough snow that it’s like driving through the world’s worst milkshake, and sidewalks are largely non-existent. And in a roundabout way, this brings us to today’s word.

flurry, noun – a sudden burst of activity

Learned from: Streets of Rage 2 (Sega Genesis, arcade, Game Gear, Nintendo 3DS, Sega Master System)

Developed by Sega

Published by Sega (1992)

Up until playing this game, I’d only known a flurry as a light snowfall. You know, something gentle, peaceful, and almost calming to look at through the window when you’re nice and warm inside. I’d never known it could apply to a rapid succession of punches, kicks, and headbutts, until I read through the manual for Streets of Rage 2.

The series as a whole is a fantastic example of what the beat ’em up genre should be, but the second installment is largely regarded as the best in the franchise. More levels, more enemies, more characters, and a much, much larger move set that actually had differences between each protagonist. They all had similar inputs, but whereas one character’s flurry of blows might be a series of kicks, another might focus more on punches, or incorporate elbow strikes. And these different executions really did make the characters feel more distinct than the first game’s simple “speed, strength, jumping ability” distinctions. It’s still a fantastic game to this day, and well worth breaking out on an evening when a different kind of flurry has long since given way to blizzard conditions.

Jinkies

The 1990s were an interesting time in the United States. The “Satanic Panic” of the ’80s was dying down, but panic over AIDS and street crime was kicking into high gear. Sleeping with an intern was somehow enough to trigger impeachment hearings for a sitting president. The “war on drugs” was unironically going full-steam ahead, and even before the “war on terror” kicked off, the military was beginning to dabble in wars–excuse me, “military operations”–for oil. And despite all the chaos and absurdity of that decade, looking back at it, those were simpler times. Which brings us to today’s word.

jink, verb – to abruptly change direction

Learned from: Desert Strike (Genesis, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Atari Lynx, Mac, PC, Super Nintendo, PSP)

Developed by Electronic Arts, Foresight New Media (PC version), Ocean Software (Game Boy version)

Published by Electronic Arts (1992)

Operation Desert Storm, the quick assault on Iraq after they invaded Kuwait, was the first thing approaching a war that kids in the ’90s were really exposed to, and to say that it captured the public consciousness is an understatement. I mean, just look at how many platforms this hastily-coded game released on. Still, despite capitalizing on a contemporary, real-world conflict, Desert Strike created a splash (and several sequels) for good reason.

First, it was different from pretty much everything else on the console market at the time, with impressively large maps and complete freedom of movement. Desert Strike wasn’t really a shmup; it was slower-paced, the levels didn’t auto-scroll, and you could move your helicopter forward, back, left and right, and even jink on a dime to try and dodge projectiles. Add in a decent array of weapons and enemy vehicles, and the experience was really quite memorable.

I couldn’t really see something like this getting released today, for a variety of reasons: the problematic game-ification of a questionable military assault; giving the leader of a fictitious Middle Eastern country the name “Kilbaba”; etc. But like I said, simpler times.

Also, back then we used to at least *pretend* we were fighting against tyranny…

Something’s fishy

With the announcement of the first paid DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons the other day, which takes place on an archipelago, I found myself reminded of the first time I learned that word, decades ago from a game that…probably wasn’t as good.

archipelago, noun – a chain of islands

Learned from: James Pond 3: Operation Starfish (Genesis, Amiga, Super Nintendo, Game Gear)

Developed by Vectordean, Millenium Interactive

Published by Electronic Arts (1993)

As you probably guessed from the name, the James Pond series was a spoof of spy films, except starring a fish. I don’t remember a whole lot about the character aside from that (and the fact that he seemed to do a lot less spying and a lot more jumping), except that James also had the ability to…er…get really long.

The idea was that he could stretch really far to grab high platforms, and then lift the rest of his body up. I’m not sure if he still had this power in the third game or not. I do seem to remember that the series, while always silly, went from fighting against pollution, to…running around on stages made of food. One of those stages in James Pond 3 was the Arran Archipelago, and as the name suggests, I think it was a series of food-inspired islands that you had to jump across. I…don’t really remember much else about this game; the video store was my friend, growing up, exposing me to a wealth of games I never would’ve even looked at, otherwise.

I mean seriously. Would *you* have played this if it cost you more than $3 for five nights?

Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!!

So, as you may know, today was Independence Day for those of us here in the United States. As you may also know, we…haven’t been doing the greatest at following simple instructions designed to keep ourselves alive. This combination brings us directly to today’s word.

lemming, noun – a small, Arctic rodent falsely made famous for the belief that they willingly run off of cliffs

Learned from: Lemmings (Genesis, Amiga, NES, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Gear, Atari Lynx, Sega Master System)

Developed by DMA Design

Published by Psygnosis (1991)

Video game developers seem to have a fondness for unusual animals, from echidnas, to bandicoots, to lemmings. I probably wasn’t the only kid whose first exposure to some of these critters was through games featuring them.

Lemmings is a puzzle game. You’re tasked with safely guiding a bunch of the titular creatures (depicted as green-haired humanoids in blue robes for some reason), across a series of hazards, by assigning them different tasks. The lemmings, themselves, have no sense of self-preservation, and will walk blindly into lava pits, spikes, acid pools, and many, many other deadly fates. It isn’t an easy task, and the fact that I was playing the Genesis version (with very sluggish controls in a real-time game) only made it harder. Still, it’s considered a classic for good reason, because it is a lot of fun. Certainly more fun than…

lemmings

This is an image taken today from a local beach. Half of these people are probably tourists, which means it’s anyone’s guess how many people they came into contact with, across how many states, before they got here. The faces of anyone close enough to be identified have been replaced with something more fitting.