Hoshi Wo Miru Hito

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hoshi Wo Miru Hito
Developer(s)Another
Publisher(s)HOT B
Platform(s)NES
Release
  • JP: October 27, 1987
Genre(s)Role-playing game
Mode(s)

Hoshi wo Miru Hito (星をみるひと?, "People who watch stars") is a 1987 Japanese video game for the Famicom home console. Developed by Another and published by HOT B, it is based on the 1984 video game Psychic City. The game is a science fiction role playing video game where players use psychic powers to defeat enemies.

Reviewers noted the often confusing and highly difficult gameplay. It is often referred to as a "kusoge" game.

Development[]

The game is developed by game developer Another, and is based on the earlier 1984 cyberpunk-themed computer role-playing game Psychic City.[1] Psychic City was a 1984 PC-8801 role playing game set in New York where everyone had psychic powers.[2]

The game's copyright is owned by City Connection Co., Ltd. as of 2016.[3]

Story[]

The game is set in a cyberpunk-style future world in which everyone has extrasensory perception. These powers can also be used by the player characters when they confront the various monsters in the game through combat. In order to accomplish this, the player's characters must go to the Ark City and eventually to outer space.[1]

Gameplay[]

Hoshi wo Miru Hito is a science fiction role playing game.[4] It is known for its very difficult gameplay, and elements that make the game confusing and cryptic. For example, at the beginning of the game, the player is put into the field map without any explanation on any goals, and the entrance to the first town the player needs to visit is not displayed on the field map at all.[4] At the beginning of the game, there is no ability to escape from battle. However, later in the game the player will level up and learn an extrasensory perception skill that allows to escape battles.[5][4]

In the early part of the game, there is only a single way to restore health, which is a single spot within the first town.[5]

Game over occurs when all the players characters reaches zero hit points. Early in the game, it's very easy to die due to highly powerful enemies, but later in the game the player's characters become strong enough that it's very difficult to kill the entire party.[6]

Release[]

The game was published on October 27, 1987 for the Famicom home console, and published by HOT B.[7][8] The game was only released in Japan.[1] In 2004, a free fan game remake was created, titled STARGAZER.[9]

On February 27, 2013, the soundtrack was released on the compact disc Rom Cassette Disc In HOT-B. The four disc album is a compilation of music from Hot B's games. The soundtrack was released by City Connection through the "Claris Disk" label.[10] On October 19, 2015, the album was made available for download.[11]

In 2020, it was announced that City Connection would give the game a worldwide release for the Nintendo Switch. It was released in Japan on July 30, 2020 but was never released elsewhere.[12][13]

Reception[]

Reviewers complained about the balance of the game's systems, but praised the science fiction scenario.[14] Due to these issues, the game has been listed as a Kusoge game.[6][15]

Upon release, in the "Cross Review" section of Weekly Famitsu, four reviewers gave it a scores of 4, 5, 6, 4 for a total of 19 out of 40.[16][17] Readers of Family Computer Magazine voted to score the game 16.08 out of 30 points.[14]

The 2016 mook Nostalgic Famicom Perfect Guide ranked the game as #5 for in its "Impossible Game Ranking" of Famicom games. It suggested the game was impossible without a strategy guide, and when facing the strongest enemies in the game will lead to complete destruction of the player and there's little the player can do to prevent this.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Hoshi wo Miru Hito – Hardcore Gaming 101". Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  2. ^ "4Gamer.net". www.4gamer.net. Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  3. ^ 電撃オンライン. "ジャレコの版権を持つシティコネクションに訊く、これまでとこれから。次に狙うのはIPを使ったゲーム開発". 電撃オンライン (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  4. ^ a b c d Nostalgic Famicom Perfect Guide (in Japanese). M.B.MOOK. 2016. p. 28. ISBN 9784906735891. OCLC 961800615.
  5. ^ a b 死ぬ前にクリアしたい200の無理ゲー ファミコン&スーファミ (in Japanese). Tokyo: My Way Publishing. October 10, 2018. p. 38. ISBN 9784865119855. OCLC 1051229562.
  6. ^ a b ファミコンクソゲー番付 (in Japanese). Tōkyō: My Way Publishing. January 25, 2017. p. 73. ISBN 9784865116373. OCLC 968201147.
  7. ^ "星をみるひと [ファミコン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  8. ^ "Gaming Life in Japan". IGN. 2007-11-05. Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  9. ^ "Stargazer". www5b.biglobe.ne.jp. Archived from the original on 2018-11-21. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  10. ^ "ゲームメーカー"ホット・ビィ"のサウンドトラックCDが発売決定". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  11. ^ Inc, Aetas. "「星をみるひと」のサントラがクラリスディスクのDL販売第7弾として登場". www.4gamer.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  12. ^ Inc, Aetas. "1987年に登場したファミコンソフト「星をみるひと」のSwitch版制作が決定。ゲームに実装されるイラストの募集もスタート". www.4gamer.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  13. ^ "33 Years Later, Japanese Famicom RPG Hoshi wo Miru Hito Is Being Rereleased On Switch". Nintendo Life. 2020-05-01. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  14. ^ a b "May 10th Special Appendix Famicom ROM Cassette All Catalog". Family Computer Magazine. Vol. 7 no. 9. Tokuma Shoten. May 10, 1991. p. 174.
  15. ^ "「Oh, What a Kusoge!!」日本の名だたるクソゲーを紹介する企画にアメリカのハードコアゲーマーたちが熱狂した夜【PAX EAST 2017】". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  16. ^ "New Game Cross Reviews". Weekly Famitsu. No. 22. ASCII. October 30, 1987.
  17. ^ "星をみるひと [ファミコン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
Retrieved from ""