I was lucky enough to bump into Mike Roush and Alex Neuse of Gaijin Games at E3 while shopping for bananas. I was even luckier to find that they had a work-in-progress build ofBit.Trip SAGA(the 3DS collection of all six critically acclaimedBit.Triptitles) in their pocket.
“F*ck bananas,” I told them. “I need to play this thing, like, yesterday.”
So I played it, and here’s what I thought.
Bit.Trip SAGAis a relatively straight port of the sixBit.Tripgames as they previously appeared on WiiWare. That said, there were a few changes. For one, the twoPong-influenced games in the series (Bit.Trip BEATandBit.Trip FLUX) that utilized motion-based “paddle” controls on the Wii, now use the touch-screen controls.
It’s similar to howBit.Trip BEATcontrols on the iPad and iPhone, but without the risk of your own fingers obscuring the action on screen. The game is displayed on the 3D top screen, while you gently glide your finger or stylus around on the bottom screen. It feels a bit like the rolling ball bits ofElite Beat Agents/Ouendan, but even more fast paced and insane.
You can also use the 3DS’ circle pad controls if you want, but as anyone who has playedBit.Trip BEATorBit.Trip FLUXknows, you’re not going to want to be limited by a conventional control scheme when the action gets really crazy.
The other game to get major changes in its control scheme isBit.Trip FATE. Instead of using the Wii pointer to aim, you now guide the aiming reticule on the touch screen. Again, you won’t have to risk obscuring your view of the game, as all the action takes place on the top screen in 3D. Speaking of 3D, every game in this collection look great.
The relatively flatBit.Trip VOIDnow has a subtle pop, like you’re peering down at the bizarre dietary habits of some pixel based amoeba. The deep, complex backgrounds inBit.Trip COREare even more eye catching (and potentially visually distracting). As forBit.Trip RUNNER, that game always looks amazing, but with the 3D on, the game’s world looks even more alive.
The improved visuals aren’t just related to the new 3D display. I noticed right away that some ofBit.Trip FATE‘s character models look more striking. Specifically, they look a lot shinier, like they had some sort of reflective texture applied to them (though it’s not certain that these new textures will be in the final build of the game).
It sounds like the guys at Gaijin intend to add little fixes and visual flourishes whenever possible, but seeing as they’re also working on aBit.Trip Completefor the Wii, and some unannounced secret projects, they’re going to have to keep their priorities straight.
For me, gettingBit.Tripon the go will be enough. Every game in the series makes for perfect pick-up and go play (particularlyRUNNERandFLUX), and having the option to play the games whenever I want, wherever I want, is a luxury I think I can afford. The 3DS is also the perfect vessel for me to show these games off to the world.
It still pains me that so few people have given theBit.Tripseries a try, but with theSAGAin the palm of my hands, it will be easy to hit the streets and spread theBit.Tripgospel wherever I go.
