Arctic (MSX2)
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Arctic is a puzzle game originally developed by Artdink, the same company behind the A-Train games. It was ported to the MSX2 by Crosstalk. The game plays in a similar fashion to A-Train, but is unique in its own ways. There are blue and yellow balls that move around the track when you press the Return button, and your goal is to guide the balls back to their respective-colored stations. You can move all the blue tracks at once with the Left button and all the yellow tracks with the Right button. You must also watch out for the silver balls on the track, which will send your balls back in the opposite direction. However, this is sometimes necessary to send balls in the proper direction. There are also red balls on some stages, which if any blue or yellow balls come into contact with the red balls, the game is over.
The game also has a level select screen, so you don't have to start the whole game over whenever you turn off the game.
Though the game is completely in English, it was never released outside of Japan, possibly because Pony Canyon or FCI didn't believe the game would sell well.
The game was also released for other home computers such as the PC-9801 and Famicom.
Contents
Screenshots
Music
Arctic has a nice variety of music. There are eight songs that play before a round starts. Unfortunately, the player only gets to hear a few seconds before the songs fade out. Fortunately, there is a music test, which can be accessed by pressing Left at the title screen. On top of that, the music test contains song titles. These song titles would be carried over to the Famicom version's music test. However, the song City Route 201 was retitled to City Route XYZ for the Famicom version.
There is an in-game tune as well, which, while fast-paced to match the action of the game, can get annoying because of how quickly it loops, as well as the fact that it's the only in-game song.
The MSX2 version, like the Famicom, had its music arranged by Yoshio Kobayashi. According to Kobayashi, he isn't sure who did the new music, but said it was possible a part-time employee who worked at Crosstalk composed them. It is most like the main theme, stage clear, and game over themes were composed by an employee at Artdink. To arrange the music, Yoshio sequenced his music on a piece of software for the PC-8001 mkII, and gave the sequenced data to Kazuhisa Mitani to implement into the game.
Recording
| # | Title | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Arctic Main BGM | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 1:54 | Download | |
| 02 | Arctic Game BGM | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 1:33 | Download | |
| 03 | Ran Ran Ran | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:36 | Download | |
| 04 | One Night King | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:45 | Download | |
| 05 | Fighting Ball! | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 06 | Nori! Nori! | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 07 | City Route 201 | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 08 | Final Touch Down | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 09 | Children Plaza | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 10 | Pri Pri Hips! | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 11 | Game Over BGM | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:07 | Download | |
| 12 | Winner BGM | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:08 | Download |
(Source)
Credits
- Ripper: MusicFox
- Recorder: Doommaster1994
- Game Credits:
- Unknown Composer: Unknown
- Uncredited Arranger: Yoshio Kobayashi
- Uncredited Programmer: Kazuhisa Mitani
(Source: Verification from Yoshio Kobayashi; game lacks credits.)
There are no credits in the game, but the manual should be checked for credits. Yoshio Kobayashi confirmed his and Mitani's role in the MSX2 version of the game.
Game Rip
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Audio Devices
Releases
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Links
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/msx/927009-arctic - GameFAQs.
- mobygames.com/game/msx/arctic - MobyGames.
| Arctic | |
| Arctic |  •  •  •  •  • 
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| Notable Songs | Arctic Main BGM |
| Notable Personnel | Unknown • Yoshio Kobayashi |
| Notable Companies | Artdink • Crosstalk • Pony Canyon |
