This Forgotten Genesis Game Inspired Japan’s Weirdest Shooter
Gynoug is an underrated shoot ‘em up for the Sega Megadrive that was ported to the U.S. as Wings of Wor, and to the European Megadrive as.. well, Gynoug. It is a lesser-known classic SHUMP that includes an eclectic collection of environments, and a rogue’s gallery of enormous, screen-filling bosses with a biomechanical flair inspired by the likes of David Lynch's Dune, H.R. Geiger, and American horror films in general.
Beyond its unique gameplay and dark, gothic aesthetic, the game has also left its fingerprints on NCS’s next shooter, Cho Aniki, a game that also features oiled up musclemen flying through the air and fighting biomechanical baddies, though in a far more tongue in cheek fashion.
Retro Nick Relics dives into the interesting genealogy of these two games, presenting info from graphic artist Satoshi Nakai, from an interview he gave to Gamedeveloper.com. (https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/...)
Beyond it's aesthetics-that remind me of the 1999 film, “Virus,” crossed with that Excalibur movie from the 70s, Gynoug also boasts some unique gameplay mechanics that help it stand out from other shmups of the time.
But don't take my word for it! Watch and see what I think about Gynoug!
This video is part of a series of video game video essays about obscure retro games. If you like what you've seen, please tune in again to see what video game relics I dig up next! Also feel free to follow me on X, at https://www.x.com/retron8, where I spew more opinions, share memes, and interact with other Retronauts out there.
#VideoGames #Gaming #RetroGames #GameReviews #gynoug #retrogaming #retro #masaya #NCS Crop. #wingsofwor #segagenesis #megadrive #choaniki
You can watch every episode of Retro Nick Relics right here: • Retro Nick Relics
Thanks to the Retro Game Squad podcast, who are also big fans of radical shooters, and who have had me on to talk about more obscure Japanese video games! Listen at http://www.retrogamesquad.com, and you'll hear me wax nostalgic about the Turbografx-16, Sega Saturn and other awesome stuff.
And thanks to Vito Gesualdi who took the time to offer some helpful critique with my background graphics. Listen to his podcast "The Biggest Problem in the Universe," and vote on all the problems at http://wwww.biggestproblem.show
Thank you so much for watching! I'm Retro Nick, and you'd be too if you were me!
*Timestamps:*
0:00 - Flying Musclemen and Biomechanics
0:10 - Show Intro
0:38 - Gynoug &Wings of Wor
1:09 - Gynoug’s story
1:47 - Presentation
2:05 - The connection to Cho Aniki
2:27 - Satoshi Nakai
2:55 -Presentation continues
3:13 - Drawing comparisons
3:28 - Special effects
4:16 - Gameplay & Weaponry
5:53 - Bombs (magical Scrolls)
7:07 - Boss Fights
7:42 - That’s a p3nis!
8:19 - Music
9:01 - The verdict
9:51 - RNR Mailbag
11:21 - Plugs & Ending
Sources.
Gynoug gameplay captured from a backed-up ROM of the game and recorded using OBS Studio at 60 frames per second. Gynoug is owned by NCS Corp./Masaya, and all footage is presented here under fair use.
RNR Theme:
Powerup!
Jeremy Blake
Red Means Recording - YouTube
RNR Interlude:
Itty Bitty 8 Bit by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Sexy time music:
Fonkee Ryde:
Noir Et Blanc Vie - Youtube: / @noiretblancvie
Gameplay segments from other games and media included in the video are listed with their respective owners below.
Splatterhouse: Wanaku Graffiti: Bandai/Namco
“I see What you did there,” Paic Citron
Air Zonk: Red
Valkyrie no Densetsu, Namco
Dark Seed: Cyberdreams
Family Guy: 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company
Flash Gordon: Universal Pictures
Spider-Man: Columbia Pictures
Cho Aniki: Masaya
Alien: 20th Century Fox
HR Geiger Artwork: HR Geiger
Furry Force: College Humor
Satoshi Nakai portrait and quotes pulled from his interview with GameDeveloper.com, that you can read here: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/...
Dune, Universal Pictures
Commando, 20th Century Fox
Seirei Senshi Spriggan: Naxat Soft
Impractical Jokers: TruTV
Tim & Eric: Cartoon Network
Gunhed, Super Star Soldier & Soldier Blade: Hudson Soft
Batman Returns: Warner Bros. Pictures
Britain’s Got Talent: Syco Entertainment & Talkback Thames
Avatar: The Last Air Bender: Nickelodeon Television
How I met your Mother: CBS Television
R-Type: Irem
Under a Killing Moon: Big Finish Games
Honeymoon in Vegas: Columbia Pictures
Sally Field Footage: The Oscars
The Simpsons: 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company
Lance Boyle Footage from the game “MegaRace” by Cryo.
#retrogaming #genesis #sega #gynoug #choaniki #shmups #shooters #gaming