Today's HMs are two games that remind us just how wacky and wonderful games of this era could get:
No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!: 18 Points, 1 Vote
It's a puzzler where you play an anthropomorphic domino, but it's also more than that. I really wish I could find an image of the ad that ran in EGM at the time where it's just a guy on a street corner with a sandwich board that read "Nobody Can Stop Mr. Domino!". Alas it is probably lost to time. Here is pudik:
Incredible Crisis: 62 Points, 3 Votes
This one I have played a bit. It's a wonderful series of minigames that ostensibly chronicle a day in the life of a middle class Japanese family. Let's hear it from Kirin, Daikaiju, and Tomm:
No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!: 18 Points, 1 Vote
It's a puzzler where you play an anthropomorphic domino, but it's also more than that. I really wish I could find an image of the ad that ran in EGM at the time where it's just a guy on a street corner with a sandwich board that read "Nobody Can Stop Mr. Domino!". Alas it is probably lost to time. Here is pudik:
pudik said: Like every other bit of Artdink's legendary PS1 output, No One Can Stop Mr. Domino is a simple concept, with a simple interaction, underpinned by fine detail and unassailable personality. The fun is in navigating levels and fixing your way around minor, gamified obstacles, but the joy is watching the kitschy Rube Goldberg contraptions that work the domino track you set.
Incredible Crisis: 62 Points, 3 Votes
This one I have played a bit. It's a wonderful series of minigames that ostensibly chronicle a day in the life of a middle class Japanese family. Let's hear it from Kirin, Daikaiju, and Tomm:
Kirin said: The PSX marked a confluence of market penetration and cheap physical media not previously seen in the home console scene that led to the US finally getting a bunch of "weird" niche releases from Japan. Few things are more weird and niche than Incredible Crisis. Mechanically it's really just a collection of mini-games, but the presentation involves an ordinary Japanese family getting sucked into every possible genre of shenanigans over the course of a day - it's the kind of thing that nobody would've attempted to localize in previous generations and it was super exciting to finally get a shot at without resorting to imports.
Daikaiju said:
Whenever a real sea change occurs in gaming, things get weird.
Developers are torn between playing it safe or tinkering with every tool and trick in the new box. The PS1 era was one such shift. IC tells the kind of story you'd see in a TV network ensemble cast movie (i.e. If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium). The Tanamatsuri family needs to get home early to celebrate Grandma's birthday. Each faces their own trials and tribulations, intersecting here and there. Several chapters and their minigames test your ability to dance, dodge, balance, do math, buy bargins and *ahem* "massage" It was crazy, nuts, and frankly, unique. We were lucky to get a US release. Barring another paradigm shift, I'm not sure we'll see it's like again.
Tomm Guycot said: An office calisthenics rhythm game. Japanese quiz show in an ambulance. Medical stretcher street luge. Bank robbery stealth sequence. Top Gun battle against a plushie kaiju. Theme song by the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. Back in November of 2000, any one of those things would designate a game as "the CRAZIEST thing you've ever played!" but Incredible Crisis had all of them - and more! It certainly did nothing to disprove the "wacky Japan" stereotype, but it did allow players to engage in extramarital activities on a ferris wheel. Sometimes that's enough.