Reader Reviews
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Bishi Bashi Special (PSone)
by squaylor
It seems like the majority of games released today have multiplayer modes, some well thought out, others apparently tacked on at the last minute. Games designed specifically for the multiplayer market are being released on a steady basis, with the new-fangled addition of Live play making developer's mouse-palms sweaty with effort at 'enabling' new releases for this burgeoning but hypercritical market.
Think back, if you will, to the halcyon days when no one was weighed down with broadband connection problems, having to think of an Xbox Live tag, or being openly abused by teenagers. Multiplayer console gaming was simpler, more innocent. At least it was until a certain game (or games) appeared from - where else - Japan.
Released in 1998 by coin-op masters Konami, Bishi Bashi Special consists of two separate Japanese releases (Super Bishi Bashi and Hyper Bishi Bashi) bundled together. Comprising dozens of astonishingly frantic and colourful mini-games, BB is the epitome of playability and value for money, core ideals behind any games release.
It's wonderfully accessible - simply picking a cartoon character is all that has to be done before the mayhem begins. And what mayhem. Every mini-game is explained beforehand, but quite often the sheer strangeness of the situation you are thrust into results in several seconds of "What the...?" incomprehension before you realise what has to be done. Often that is too late - 'Wonder Oven' could win you the roast chicken prize by stopping the food-related slot machine within 5 seconds, for example. It really is a case of fastest finger first.
But Bishi Bashi is the perfect game for having 'another go' with button-bashing fun such as 'Jump for the Meat' (cavemen pogo for joints of ham), 'Shark Jumper' (hopping from one coloured shark to the next), 'Mechanical Pencil Basher' (how much lead can you propel out in 60 seconds?) and 'Perm Mania' (keep in time to the beat to inflate your fluorescent afro).
Other games ape classics such as Frogger, Arkanoid or Pac man - except with horses, cars and sushi respectively. Some are straightforward, in others you actually have to think - 'Punch in those numbers' is about mental arithmetic. Thankfully these are a minority compared to gems such as 'Uncle Launcher', 'Mouse Eatfest' or 'Hyper pie throw'.
My personal favourite is 'Uncle Bean', and it sums up the game well. It's a simple but compelling task of moving the D-pad left and right to catch a series of falling, multicoloured beans. But being Bishi Bashi you have to catch them in your mouth... whilst playing as a Jeremy Beadle look-a-like... dressed as a caveman.
Multiplayer games come and go, and although Bishi Bashi is hard to find these days, it's still playable and still one of the best of its kind. It even has monkeys, but sadly no motorbikes.