My Heart of China playthrough

[notbobsmith]

I've been busy of late, so I haven't played much. So far it's... fine. I haven't gotten stuck anywhere. The interface is still annoying, but I think I've gotten used to it now. Other than that nothing really stands out.

Aren't ninja Japanese? So how is Zhao Chi a ninja? Or did the developers feel like throwing a ninja in there because they're cool?

[Collector]

Aren't ninja Japanese? So how is Zhao Chi a ninja? Or did the developers feel like throwing a ninja in there because they're cool?

Wasn't this about the time of the Teenage Mutant Ninjas craze?

[Rath Darkblade]

It was made in 1991, so that sounds about right.

Having a ninja in this game is extremely anachronistic, given that the game is set in the 1930s; the entire samurai culture was abolished in Japan in the early 1870s. I'm not sure what happened to ninjas, though it seems unlikely that this skill would have remained practicable in the 20th century.

[Tawmis]

It was made in 1991, so that sounds about right.

Having a ninja in this game is extremely anachronistic, given that the game is set in the 1930s; the entire samurai culture was abolished in Japan in the early 1870s. I'm not sure what happened to ninjas, though it seems unlikely that this skill would have remained practicable in the 20th century.

So Tales of the Gold Monkey takes place in the 1930s (made in 1982, I believe)... And here's one of the reasons Heart of China reminds me of it.
Heart of China takes place in the 1930s.

So this is Jake, the main character from Tales of the Gold Monkey (with his dog, Jack).
http://i4.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article ... ollins.jpg

The main character name in Heart of China? Also Jake.

Jake, in Tales of the Gold Monkey is a pilot: http://grummangoosecentral.homestead.co ... TvShot.gif
Jake in Heart of China is a pilot.

Tales of the Gold Monkey has a Samurai - http://previously.tv/wp-content/uploads ... key-19.jpg and http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/r ... 7166_1.jpg
Heart of China has a Ninja.

[notbobsmith]

Just finished. It was okay. Pretty easy. It seems like most of my time was spent navigating dialog trees to get a better outcome. What puzzles there were were not very challenging. The only thing that I was stuck on was trying to figure out how to use my gun... which brings me to the interface. Again, I really prefer the Sierra point-and-click interface over this one. I've played Willy Beamish and Rise of the Dragon as well and each time it's a lesson in frustration. The plot of the game was fine, albeit not terribly original. Save the damsel and get home. "Lucky" is basically a scoundrel that we've seen in a million other things. The dialog choices often range from "not a nice thing to say" to "horrible thing to say". It would have been nice to see him with a little more charm. The arcade sequences could be frustrating, particularly the tank one. It goes on for several minutes without any opportunity to save. So I died several times trying to figure out what I am supposed to do next while under time pressure, then start over. It's not a bad game, but it is kind of dull.

It was made in 1991, so that sounds about right.

Having a ninja in this game is extremely anachronistic, given that the game is set in the 1930s; the entire samurai culture was abolished in Japan in the early 1870s. I'm not sure what happened to ninjas, though it seems unlikely that this skill would have remained practicable in the 20th century.

I did read the manuals which does explain Zhao Chi's backstory. I don't think ninja survived to the 20th century, but that certainly hasn't stopped popular culture. But then popular culture has also greatly exaggerated who they were. Originally they were just spies with some martial arts skills. There are people today who do much the same thing and could call themselves "ninja" if they wanted.

So that's pretty much it. I'll give it another playthrough. I think I was supposed to end up with Kate, but I guess I didn't make the correct dialog choices.

[notbobsmith]

It was made in 1991, so that sounds about right.

Having a ninja in this game is extremely anachronistic, given that the game is set in the 1930s; the entire samurai culture was abolished in Japan in the early 1870s. I'm not sure what happened to ninjas, though it seems unlikely that this skill would have remained practicable in the 20th century.

So Tales of the Gold Monkey takes place in the 1930s (made in 1982, I believe)... And here's one of the reasons Heart of China reminds me of it.
Heart of China takes place in the 1930s.

So this is Jake, the main character from Tales of the Gold Monkey (with his dog, Jack).
http://i4.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article ... ollins.jpg

The main character name in Heart of China? Also Jake.

Jake, in Tales of the Gold Monkey is a pilot: http://grummangoosecentral.homestead.co ... TvShot.gif
Jake in Heart of China is a pilot.

Tales of the Gold Monkey has a Samurai - http://previously.tv/wp-content/uploads ... key-19.jpg and http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/r ... 7166_1.jpg
Heart of China has a Ninja.

I do remember reading that Disney's TaleSpin was inspired by Tales of the Gold Monkey. Minus the samurai, though.

[Tawmis]

It was made in 1991, so that sounds about right.
Having a ninja in this game is extremely anachronistic, given that the game is set in the 1930s; the entire samurai culture was abolished in Japan in the early 1870s. I'm not sure what happened to ninjas, though it seems unlikely that this skill would have remained practicable in the 20th century.

So Tales of the Gold Monkey takes place in the 1930s (made in 1982, I believe)... And here's one of the reasons Heart of China reminds me of it.
Heart of China takes place in the 1930s.
So this is Jake, the main character from Tales of the Gold Monkey (with his dog, Jack).
http://i4.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article ... ollins.jpg
The main character name in Heart of China? Also Jake.
Jake, in Tales of the Gold Monkey is a pilot: http://grummangoosecentral.homestead.co ... TvShot.gif
Jake in Heart of China is a pilot.
Tales of the Gold Monkey has a Samurai - http://previously.tv/wp-content/uploads ... key-19.jpg and http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/r ... 7166_1.jpg
Heart of China has a Ninja.

I do remember reading that Disney's TaleSpin was inspired by Tales of the Gold Monkey. Minus the samurai, though.

That's kind of funny - now - because I feel like Tales of the Gold Monkey was inspired by Indiana Jones.

[notbobsmith]

It was made in 1991, so that sounds about right.
Having a ninja in this game is extremely anachronistic, given that the game is set in the 1930s; the entire samurai culture was abolished in Japan in the early 1870s. I'm not sure what happened to ninjas, though it seems unlikely that this skill would have remained practicable in the 20th century.

So Tales of the Gold Monkey takes place in the 1930s (made in 1982, I believe)... And here's one of the reasons Heart of China reminds me of it.
Heart of China takes place in the 1930s.
So this is Jake, the main character from Tales of the Gold Monkey (with his dog, Jack).
http://i4.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article ... ollins.jpg
The main character name in Heart of China? Also Jake.
Jake, in Tales of the Gold Monkey is a pilot: http://grummangoosecentral.homestead.co ... TvShot.gif
Jake in Heart of China is a pilot.
Tales of the Gold Monkey has a Samurai - http://previously.tv/wp-content/uploads ... key-19.jpg and http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/r ... 7166_1.jpg
Heart of China has a Ninja.

I do remember reading that Disney's TaleSpin was inspired by Tales of the Gold Monkey. Minus the samurai, though.

That's kind of funny - now - because I feel like Tales of the Gold Monkey was inspired by Indiana Jones.

Come to think of it, Indiana Jones was inspired by film serials of the '30s, much like Star Wars being inspired by Flash Gordon and the like.

[Rath Darkblade]

Come to think of it, Indiana Jones was inspired by film serials of the '30s, much like Star Wars being inspired by Flash Gordon and the like.

Gordon's Alive?

[Datadog]

Watching a little of "Gold Monkey" on Youtube, I think it looks different enough from "Indiana Jones" that both shows might have been inspired from the same source, but developed individually. Each generation tends to get nostalgic for the same things after all, and we always have similar kinds of nostalgic media coming out at the same time (ex: movies are now going through an 80's nostalgia phase.) I definitely like the show's style, though - I can see where "Tale Spin" and "Archer" got their ideas.

[notbobsmith]

Finished my second playthrough. Not too much to add. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. Another observation: how did the caboose blow up in the end? It just was separated from the train and then... boom.

So I am off to finish my library of unfinished Sierra games with Gold Rush. I probably won't start until after the holidays.

[Tawmis]

Finished my second playthrough. Not too much to add. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. Another observation: how did the caboose blow up in the end? It just was separated from the train and then... boom.

I've had my caboose explode unexpectedly.....

So I am off to finish my library of unfinished Sierra games with Gold Rush. I probably won't start until after the holidays.

This is the one I am looking forward to hearing about.