Vay
It was the Summer of 1995 and I was one of over 150 1st Party QA testers at Sega of America in Redwood City working around the clock to help get games out just in time for Christmas on quite a few pieces of proprietary commercial hardware: Sega 32X, Sega Mega Drive (aka Genesis), Sega Mega CD (aka Sega CD), Sega Saturn, Sega Pico, and the Sega Game Gear. While the majority were recent high school and college grads, some QA testers were pretty much lifers, who finally landed a perm job after years of temping with various companies throughout the Bay Area, including EA, Konami, and Crystal Dynamics. Many of them had stories, the majority of which were horrific in nature, about the pitfalls of being a core tester on a crappy game. Yet, the one story which gave me hope is the one about Vay, a solid J-RPG originally created by former Sega studio, SIMS, and released here in the U.S. by the now defunct, Working Designs. While the story may be a typical one of a hero trying to stop doomsday, the game was charming nevertheless in both its graphic style and familiar gameplay. While some may complain that the game balance could have been better tweaked, it was worthwhile playing then as it is now on the iPhone. Even though it boasts over 100 enemies, 12 bosses, and 90 expansive areas to explore, the one thing that I can appreciate is the auto-save feature, which should be standard for most iPhone games, especially ones with potentially long play times. Relive the past or experience it for the first time. Either way, you’re getting a good deal for a game that’s hard to find, even for an emulator. Price: $4.99.
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