Hockey Stars 0 [Zero episode. Very similar to NHLPA'93]

[von Ozbourne]

Alright, time for a return to an old series, but this time with a little bit of a twist.

The "retro review" is going to be about a "re-release turned prequel" of a "fan favourite" series.
It all started with a game originally released in Japan, where the sequel saw a North American localization and new title, but dropped the "2" in order to not confuse the silly English speakers. [Think the Mother/Earthbound or New Hot-Blooded Tough Guy/River City Ransom/Girls series] This game, with it's original Japanese title of BIGGUSHOTTO NO PURO AISUHOKKĒ  has the literal translation of: Big Shot's Pro Ice Hockey. Apparently being a pun of a "Big Shot" being both a "Star Player" and "Booming Slapshot". But when SNK decided to release the sequel two years later, it was localized to English as Hockey Stars. Now, with remastering and releasing older games being in vogue, it became necessary to fix the numbering to show that this was an earlier game. So with that, we subtract 1 from the original Japanese Mega Drive release and localize it to a North American SEGA Genesis release as:

 
SNK kept the original low resolution opening screen, but spruced up the title screen in this translation.

The main menu shows the design similarity to its baseball counterpart, while highlighting that this is a much more exciting and fast moving sport. The player [or two] can select from 16 teams with names you will recognize from the NES Baseball Stars or the NEO*GEO Baseball Stars Professional. Game options include a single game, a 16 team, single elimination tournament or a best-of-7 playoff to win the golden goblet.

 
This nonchalant fellow is showing off how many goals he scored.

The games are preceded by a cameo of Athena [another SNK character] introducing the match, the two competitors and their starting lines. For context, Eikichi Arena is named for SNK founder Kawasaki Eikichi. and "Shin Nihon" is literally "New Japan" and is also what the "SN" in "SNK" stands for. This will become relevant later.

 
The team introductions are a bit on the nose, we'll blame that on the localization team.

Once you're in the game, you are looking at an in-game menu/jumbotron, similar to the later games. In addition to the basic stats and summaries, you can view and edit the lines, where you can note that the players all still have their single name identities, accompanied by their uniform number and playing position.

 
Oh look, its the logo of the Eikichi Arena in Shin Nihon on that Zamboni. I wonder if the sprites were compressed and they had to keep the original Japanese initialization.

The AI simulates a full night of games. Each of the 16 teams seems to have an "A" and a "B" squad. Wonder if that is like a minor league affiliation thing. You don't seem to be able to play as the "B" teams though... No trademark player photos in this one, or building your team up with trades and training upgrades, which is a bit of a drag, but I guess that is why it's a prequel and not a sequel.

 
What about the asterisk? [61*]

Finally on to game play, we see SNK slyly gets their branding in there.

 
We also see blood. Something that was removed for the North American "1" version. Probably at the behest of parents' groups rather than the kids that would have played this one. Don't know if that low wall between the benches would be much help if the teams were inclined to be a little more "supportive" of their probably concussed team mate. But it's fine, the trainer will stitch him up and he'll be back on the ice after the intermission.

Happened to catch this replay. Nice shot of a nice shot on net. With the old school square crease, even though that was being phased out with a semi circle being added around the square three seasons earlier.

 
And with the final whistle in the final game of the Finals, the golden cup is awarded. With three Canadian All-Stars getting the accolades.

As for game play, the first noticeable thing is that the players have the same sort of specific attributes that they had in the later games, so some players are wildly min/maxed for specific roles. Some practice and adaptability will likely be needed to get the most out of your team, but if you enjoy a challenge, this is the game for you.

Rating: Two and a half thumbs up.
...wait, what does that even mean.

[what my mom always said would happen if I play too much NHL'94]

Hockey Stars 0.bin

Edited March 21 by von Ozbourne

[von Ozbourne]

Eh, what the heck, I'll link these two here just to complete the "Trilogy" in one place.

 

 

[Sean]

I don’t play a lot any more, but I  still admire the art side of what you do with the game so much. 
 

If we ever make a Hall of Fame for ROM hacking, you are an inaugural class inductee. 

[Jkline3]

The mad genius strikes again! Love how you are able to visually make these look like entirely different games.

[von Ozbourne]

8 hours ago, Sean said:

I don’t play a lot any more, but I  still admire the art side of what you do with the game so much. 
 

If we ever make a Hall of Fame for ROM hacking, you are an inaugural class inductee. 

Thanks eh.

Funny enough, I don't play all that much anymore either. I think it's been a few months where literally the only reason I've fired up the emulator is to play test the current project or to check out the hacks that others have posted recently.

[Sean]

On 3/22/2024 at 11:18 PM, von Ozbourne said:

I think it's been a few months where literally the only reason I've fired up the emulator is to play test the current project 

Yeah, I get that feeling. I was pretty deep in my NCAA mod for NHL Legacy a few weeks ago and had to take a break to remind myself “you’re allowed to play the game!”