StarTropics

StarTropics is played from a 2D, top-down perspective, similar to role-playing games of the time. The game is divided into several chapters; in each chapter, players take control of the protagonist, Mike Jones, exploring various settlements and other areas of interest and interacting with non-player characters to obtain more information. The player is then usually tasked with locating the source of a local calamity or disturbance. In dungeons, the game switches to a closer view and introduces various obstacles and enemies, which the player must either navigate or destroy to progress. As the player progresses, they unlock more weapons and tools, including several items influenced by American baseball. The original NES release of the game was packaged with a physical letter, which set up the story and was used in its plot. During gameplay, the player is prompted to dip the letter in water to reveal a hidden code (747), which is required to progress in the game. In response to questions from fans, the code was also published in Nintendo Power. In the Wii Virtual Console release, the letter was added to the electronic manual, which plays an animation of the letter being dipped in water before revealing the code. For the Nintendo Switch release, Nintendo provided the code on their official customer support website. ==Plot==

Mike Jones, a 15-year-old boy from Seattle and the captain of his high school's baseball team, travels to visit his uncle, archaeologist Dr. Steven Jones, at his laboratory on C-Island in the South Seas. When Mike arrives at Jones's home in the tropical village of Coralcola, he finds that he has disappeared. The chief of Coralcola gives Mike a yo-yo to defend himself, and Jones's robot Nav-Com permits Mike to use his submarine to search for him. On a nearby island, Mike finds a bottle with a message from Jones, stating that aliens have abducted him. While fighting monsters and traveling across the isles of the South Seas in search of Jones, Mike encounters various characters, including a parrot and a mother dolphin looking for her son. Eventually, a whale swallows Mike and the submarine; in its belly, Mike encounters Jones's assistant, who confirms that aliens abducted him and that out of fear, he did not give Mike all possible help when they met earlier. After escaping the whale, the assistant gives Mike a special code, enabling Nav-Com to track Jones's location. Mike follows the signal to ruins which contain the wreckage of an alien escape pod. Shortly after, Mike finds Jones, who explains that he discovered the escape pod some time ago, which came from the faraway planet of Argonia. The pod contained three magic cubes, which are now in the possession of the aliens' leader, Zoda. After infiltrating their spaceship, Mike recovers the three cubes and confronts and defeats Zoda, then escapes as the spaceship self-destructs. After Mike returns to C-Island, the cubes are placed together and a group of children appear. Their leader, Mica, explains that they are the last of the Argonians, as Argonia was destroyed, and that her father, King Hirocon, sent them to Earth to live in peace. The village chief invites the children to live with them in Coralcola, which they accept. == Reception ==

In a 1991 review, the Green Bay Press-Gazette praised the game's graphics and sound, but considered it too similar to The Legend of Zelda and deemed the gameplay "dreadful." AllGames Christopher Michael Baker also found the game to be derivative of The Legend of Zelda, but still "very much an excellent game". == References ==