Blue's Journey

Blue's Journey
Developer(s)Alpha Denshi
Publisher(s)
Alpha Denshi
  • Neo Geo CD
Designer(s)Takashi Hatono
Yohko Igarashi
Programmer(s)Osamu Iijima
Yuji Noguchi
Artist(s)Hideyuki Yamada
Kazushige Hakamata
Composer(s)Yuka Watanabe
Platform(s)
Release
1990
  • Arcade
    • WW: 31 December 1990
    Neo Geo AES
    • JP: 1 July 1991
    • NA: 1 July 1991
    • EU: 1 July 1991
    Neo Geo CD
    • JP: 31 October 1994
    • NA: October 1996
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, co-op
Arcade systemNeo Geo MVS

Blue's Journey[a] is a side-scrolling platform game released by Alpha Denshi in 1990 on SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade system and their AES home system. It was ported to the Neo Geo CD in 1994.[1][2] It was rereleased on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on November 9, 2007, followed by North America on November 12, 2007.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

Blue has the ability to stun enemies, pick them up and throw them as projectiles. He can also shrink himself down in order to access hidden areas. A second player can take control of an unnamed green palette swap of Blue.[3][4][5]

Plot

In the game the player controls a heroic young man named Blue who was sent by Princess Fa to save the peaceful planet of Raguy. The planet is inhabited by insect people (Insectarians) and Blue is in love with the Princess Fa. It has been invaded by the evil Daruma Empire, who plans on consuming the planet's resources and polluting it.

There are several endings in the game depending on certain events such as whether or not the player defeated their rival.[6]

Development and release

Reception

RePlay reported Blue's Journey to be the sixth most-popular arcade game at the time.[20] The game received generally positive reception from critics since its release in arcades and other platforms,[21][22][23] most of which unanimously praised the colorful graphics.[24][25][26] Both the Neo Geo and Nintendo Switch versions hold a 48.75% and 50% respectively on the review aggregator GameRankings.[7][8] AllGame's Kyle Knight praised the "cutesy" and colorful graphics when compared to other systems released at the time such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis, as well as the multiple pathways but ultimately regarded its gameplay as average, noting that it lacked difficulty.[9] Consoles Plus' Pingos and Badin highly commended the presentation for being varied, simple controls and multiple paths but noted that the music was repetitive.[27] GameFan and GamePro gave high remarks the colorful visuals, music, characters, gameplay and controls but Andrew Cockburn of the former publication noted its short length.[11][12]

Hobby Consolas' Marcos García highly praised the technical presentation, colorful graphics, samba-style soundtrack, numerous secrets, bosses, gameplay and two-player co-op feature.[14] Joypad's Alain Huyghues-Lacour and Seb, as well as Joystick Jean-Marc Demoly, noted its low difficulty level but commended the animated graphics, controls and audio.[16][28] Player One's Cyril Drevet gave positive remarks to the colorful graphics, sprite animations, sound, difficulty and longevity.[29] Tilt's Laurent Defrance and Jean-Michel Maman regarded it as a cross between Marvel Land and Sonic the Hedgehog, while Génération 4's Frank Ladoire also drew comparison with Super Mario Bros.. Both publications praised the colorful graphics, fluid animations, responsive controls and soundtrack, with both Defrance and Maman stating that Blue's Journey was an original and varied adventure-platform game.[19][30] Consolemania's Marco Auletta criticized the graphics and sound for being simplistic and bland respectively, as well as its gameplay for being frustrating.[31]

In recent years, Blue's Journey has been met with a more mixed reception from critics.[17][18] Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead criticized the visuals for being "crude and blotchy", recommending Super Mario Bros. 3 on the Wii's Virtual Console instead.[10] GameSpot's Frank Provo praised the sound design and soundtrack but criticized the graphics and gameplay.[13] IGN's Lucas M. Thomas regarded the title as a passable platform game.[15] In 2014, HobbyConsolas identified it as one of the twenty best games for the Neo Geo AES.[32]

Notes

  1. ^ Also known as Raguy (Japanese: ラギ, Hepburn: Ragi) in Japan.

References

  1. ^ "Oh! Neo Geo Vol. 11 - ラギ". Beep! Mega Drive (in Japanese). No. 46. July 1993. p. 142.
  2. ^ "Neo•Geo CD: The Arcade In A Box - Blue´s Journey". GamePro. No. Premiere Supplement. Spring 1996. p. 104.
  3. ^ "VG: Raguy". Beep! Mega Drive (in Japanese). No. 18. March 1991. pp. 132–133.
  4. ^ Blue's Journey user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US)
  5. ^ "Blue's Journey Review". IGN. 2007-11-21. Archived from the original on 2021-05-18.
  6. ^ "ラギ". SNK OFFICIAL WEBSITE JP. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Blue's Journey for NeoGeo". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  8. ^ a b "ACA NeoGeo: Blue's Journey for Nintendo Switch". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  9. ^ a b Knight, Kyle (1998). "Blue's Journey (Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  10. ^ a b Whitehead, Dan (November 19, 2007). "Virtual Console Roundup - Super Mario Bros. 3, Blue's Journey, Power Golf and Alien Soldier". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  11. ^ a b Halverson, Dave; Brody; Stratton, Tom; Cockburn, Andrew (January 1993). "Viewpoint - Neo Geo - Blues Journey". GameFan. Vol. 1, no. 3. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 13.
  12. ^ a b "Neo Geo For Real! - Previously Played... - Blue's Journey". GamePro. No. 30. January 1992. p. 103.
  13. ^ a b Provo, Frank (December 13, 2007). "Blue's Journey Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  14. ^ a b García, Marcos (August 1992). "Neo Geo - Blue's Journey - El País De Las Maravillas". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). No. 11. Hobby Press. pp. 56–59. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  15. ^ a b M. Thomas, Lucas (November 21, 2007). "Blue's Journey Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  16. ^ a b Demoly, Jean-Marc (November 1991). "Tests - Neo Geo - Blue's Journey". Joystick (in French). No. 21. Sipress. p. 134.
  17. ^ a b McFerran, Damien (November 10, 2007). "Blue's Journey Review (Neo Geo)". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  18. ^ a b Frear, Dave (September 11, 2017). "Blue's Journey Review (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  19. ^ a b Defrance, Laurent; Maman, Jean-Michel (November 1991). "Hits - Raguy -- NEO GEO". Tilt (in French). No. 95. Editions Mondiales S.A. pp. 63–64.
  20. ^ "The Player's Choice - Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Software". RePlay. Vol. 16, no. 10. RePlay Publishing, Inc. July 1991. p. 4.
  21. ^ "VG: ラギ". Beep! Mega Drive (in Japanese). No. 15. December 1990. p. 141. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  22. ^ Knauf, Andreas (January 1992). "News - Neo Geo - Blue's Journey". Video Games (in German). No. 5. Future-Verlag. pp. 10–12. Archived from the original on 2021-01-06. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  23. ^ Yanma; Itabashi (July 1992). "Super Soft 大特集 - 今、「NEO・GEO」がおもしろい!: ラギ". Micom BASIC Magazine (in Japanese). No. 121. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation. p. 208.
  24. ^ Noak, Philipp; Hellert, Stefan (August 1993). "Special - Neo Geo - Blues Journey". Mega Fun (in German). No. 11. Computec. pp. 28–30. Archived from the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  25. ^ "NEO GEO GAMES CROSS REVIEW: ラギ". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 332. ASCII. 28 April 1995. p. 22.
  26. ^ "NF編集部にまる - ネオジオゲームㇱインレビュー: ラギ". Neo Geo Freak (in Japanese). No. 25. Geibunsha. June 1997. pp. 124–128.
  27. ^ Pingos; Badin (October 1991). "Neo Geo Review - Raguy". Consoles + (in French). No. 2. M.E.R.7. pp. 66–67.
  28. ^ Huyghues-Lacour, Alain; Seb (November 1991). "Test - Neo Geo - Blue's Journey". Joypad (in French). No. 2. Yellow Media. pp. 128–129. Archived from the original on 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  29. ^ Drevet, Cyril (November 1991). "Dossier: La NÉO GÉO brille de tous ses feux - Blue's Journey". Player One (in French). No. 14. Média Système Édition. p. 95.
  30. ^ Ladoire, Frank (November 1991). "Console Test – Blue's Journey – Neo-Geo". Génération 4 (in French). No. 38. Computec Media France. pp. 216–217. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  31. ^ Auletta, Marco (October 1992). "Blue's Journey (Neo Geo)". Consolemania (in Italian). No. 12. Xenia Edizioni. pp. 92–93.
  32. ^ Alonso, Álvaro (February 12, 2014). "Reportaje: Los 20 mejores juegos de Neo Geo (AES)". HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2023-02-06.