Another Life Is Just A Credit Away
Developers Hi-Bit Studios called it a coming-of-age story with 198X, told through multiple games and genres. What that means is five loosely connected arcade games channelling the likes Outrun, Gradius, R-Type, Final Fight and Ninja Spirit, plus a dungeon-crawling RPG, all in the service of a larger story. There is a higher fidelity to the art and animation then actual ‘80s arcade games, though it isn’t jarringly obvious.
198X just drips with style, a style that's carried through from the cutscenes that tell the story of 'The Kid' through to the five pitch-perfect pastiches of arcade classics that play like perfectly well-synced tribute art; never out doing the original but runs that fine line of paying homagé to arcade games it is channelling. The developers' have done amazing work here (with the help of some key collaborators, including none other than Yuzo Koshiro).
The music in 198X is just phenomenal and brings you into the world of "The Kid" perfectly. The voice acting and writing both perfectly walk the line of a disaffected philosophical teen without it becoming too annoying or preachy or whiny. It both has that electronic 80's feel to it while at the same time feels fresh on your ears.
198X finds a way to add interactivity to a linear narrative, that not only helps the audience better understand the story and characters but also creates a meaningful difference in the experience between someone playing it versus watching it. 198X can be completed in about two hours, this is only Part One of a series, but is a perfect game for anyone who wants to crash on the couch and chill for a little bit.
As much as I do appreciate that this is available on the Nintendo Switch, I would have loved to have seen this on the PS Vita as well.