The incredibly simplistic, yet colourful and unforgettably unique blocky presentation of Pitfall. The modest-but-addictive gameplay of Robotron 2084. The delightfully straightforward premise of Centipede and Space Invaders. It’s clear to see the 8-bit gaming influences in the WiiWare BIT.TRIP series, and understandable why developer Gaijin Games is re-introducing the minimalist retro style to a new generation of gamers.
Playing the
BIT.TRIP Collection (a compilation of all six digitally-distributed titles on disc) for the first time initially baffled and bemused, but after a few retries it all seemed to click. It’s a warming reminder of just how compulsive these games are to play. The package consists of
BIT.TRIP Beat,
Core,
Void,
Runner,
Fate and
Flux, along with a selection of unlockable treasures.
Just like fellow indie title
Super Meat Boy, the
BIT.TRIP series has been able to capture the instant-gratification gameplay of yesteryear, with a nostalgia-sparking presentation to each game and with a flow that easily sucks players in for that ‘one last go.’ The heart of
BIT.TRIP is in rhythm action. Each game is a different beat-based activity, covering genres from shooters to platformers and…
Pong.
The Atari classic is the foundation for the first
BIT.TRIP game,
Beat. You control a bat on the left side of the screen by tilting the Wii Remote (held horizontally) backwards and forwards. Instead of a CPU opponent however, your goal is simply to hit back as many pixel-sized ‘balls’ as possible. It starts off slow enough, but multiple balls come shooting from the right side of the screen to the rhythm of the tinny backbeat.
Knock back balls to not only survive, but fill up a ‘Mega’ bar at the top of the screen. If you miss any, though, you fill up the ‘Nether’ bar at the bottom. Both ‘Mega’ and ‘Nether’ concepts are carried throughout the
BIT.TRIP series, with slightly different consequences and definitions for each. For the most part, the ‘Mega’ bar will give players a score multiplier bonus along with some psychedelic scenery. Reach ‘Nether’ on the other hand, and the screen goes monochrome and you enter a ‘last chance’ scenario to survive a section of the stage before reaching Game Over.
About the only game in the series where this does not apply is in
BIT.TRIP Runner, which also stands out from the others as the most visually creative. As a forever-running character by the name of Commander Video, your job is to jump, kick and slide in time to avoid obstacles in a platforming world that seems more inspired by 16-bit graphics and N64 platformers. Look, there are actual backgrounds and shit, and a proper level structure too.
There’s no ‘Nether’ mode in
Runner, with failure simply resulting in you restarting the entire level from scratch. But you can collect items and get yourself to ‘Mega’ status in your journey to the end of the stage. Doing so also makes the world more colourful and creates a rainbow trail behind Commander Video.
The rest of the games follow a similar philosophy to Beat, but with different premises. Core sees you control a stationary cross-shaped gunner, tasked with zapping pixels that fly past you by moving a laser sight up, down, left or right and pressing a button at the right time to fire. In
Void, you use a Nunchuk and Wii Remote to control a circular black hole and gather up black pixels as they fly across the screen - avoiding white pixels along the way. Gobbling up black pixels makes your void larger, but gives you a bigger score multiplier.
Fate assumes the form of an on-rails 2D side-scrolling shooter, with Commander Video moving along a wavelength to avoid enemy fire. Gunning baddies down and grabbing bonus items increases your score.
Flux allows the series to come back to its original
Pong-inspired roots - a remixed version of
Beat where you control a paddle on the right side of the screen, dodging even crazier pixelised shapes. Unlike
Beat where you felt in control for most of the time, this game feels more like a fight for survival.
Each of these
BIT.TRIP games provide their own addictive style of retro-inspired gameplay, and as a budget title this re-release has arrived just in time to remind gamers disillusioned with the Wii that there were a number of ideal ‘core’ games that they might have missed.
