My favorite description of these games is "Zelda 1 but the NPCs are actually helpful"

I loved these games as a kid. I played them with my parents. RIP Dad.

I swear, SNES drunk must be one of the most "feel good" channels of the platform. Each time I see a new vid coming up, I'm like awesome, 6-8 minutes of pure and effortless trip back to "those" days. Grab that cup of coffee, and chill. Even the way he covers and talks about all games, SNES-related or not, is just so "zen" and easy to understand/ listen to. Keep up the good work man, those compilations going, and thank you for all of your content up until now.

"Dude, how drunk are you? TURBO DRUNK?!"

I've always loved Neutopia. Yeah, in a 2024 world with an endless choice of action/adventure Zelda-likes, the places it could use improvement are worth pointing out. But as a product of its time - November 1989 in Japan, before we even had Super Mario Bros 3 here, never mind the Super Nintendo and Link to the Past - it was really a quality stand-out product with incredible atmosphere. Its music has been burned into my brain for decades. It came out in Japan around the same time Sword of Vermillion did and uh, I own it, finished it, and would take either Neutopia over its basic combat and grindfest gameplay any day. _That_ game is the poster child for poorly thought out sword combat.

I really loved the funny pop culture references in this one. Beavis, Rob Reiner, etc. Great writing this time and a fun video as always. Thanks!

I'm playing through the first game right now and actually enjoy the linearity. I'm always strapped for time to play so I'm fine not getting list. These games have also been on my backlog for a long time so I knew exactly what I was getting into. It simply matched my expections perfectly I suppose.

In Zelda 1 you don't bomb cracks in the wall, there is no indication which walls need to be bombed. So bomb spots being marked is an improvement.

Neutopia 2 coming out before Link to the Past is really interesting, since there seems to be an unusual amount of overlap. I'm sure it's pure coincidence, but it does show that some people were working hard to make the game, even if it is flawed.

Calling the old man Rob Reiner got a chuckle out of me, great vid as always

Neptunia might have a "weak story" but the original Legend of Zelda had no in-game story. A lot of your criticisms could be said about the original LoZ.

Just a heads-up: The base console can be upgraded with save functionality through an expansion card called the TurboBooster Plus in America. It goes into a dedicated expansion slot located in the rear end of the console which is also where you insert the Super System Card which on top of increasing RAM for the CD system gave the same save functionality. You might be wondering why this extra save memory didn't come built-in but remember that NEC and Hudson were greedy enough to sell the console with only one controller port and made you buy multiplayer functionality for a lot extra. Now that I think about it, that extends to how expansion-heavy the console is in general...

The other big, first-party, blatant Zelda clone that comes to mind is Sega's Golden Axe Warrior for the Master System. It would be great to get a Sega Drunk entry covering it as well.

Wait. WAIT. HOLY SHEET. I played this like 30 ish years ago only one time at a friends house and was looking for this game ever since but could never find it. Thanks Mr. Drunk. You've unironically solved a very old mystery that I'd completely given up on.

I remember playing both of these. I actually got a lot of enjoyment out of them. Certainly, A Link to the Past is a far superior title, but I felt Neutopia was a competent series. It made me think of the NES Willow game in a number of ways, which I also enjoyed.

I initially misread this as, "Are the Neptunia games worth playing today?" and that made me go, "Oh my!"

Blazing Lazers, Super Star Soldier, and especially Soldier Blade!! Play em!!

Don't buy the TG16 mini. They were made during the pandemic, VERY few were shipped and the prices for them online are absurd (cheapest I could find was almost $400). Instead, buy the PC Engine Mini which isn't region locked, has more games and only costs around $150. Also do yourself a favor and pick up a bluetooth controller for it unless you really want to play with a wired controller in TYOL 2024 (the 8bitDO model is sturdy, feels just like the original and runs about $25.00). As someone who had a TG16 and the CD add-on back in the day, I really love these games. They all have a very distinct "mood" that really wasn't replicated on any other console out there.

And Jackie Chans Kung Fu, play that, I think you'll really like the TG16 version.

Using Amazon Basics and Signature Select to distinguish between good and bad generic brands was spot on.

My memories of these games always boil down to the mirror match fight in 2 teaching me that I had missed multiple elements of wands in the game, and the fact that the series seriously offers a non-magical boomerang. Throw the boomerang and it will only bounce back to where you are standing right now. If you don't catch it, that one's gone forever. You can always go back and buy another from the shop. You can only carry one at a time.

I love how you dont have to commit to these videos. Just quick jaunts of 5 mins or so and you get your dose and good content in it. Not like 30-45 minute videos

Something about the turbo drunk intros just hits different

Looking at Neutopia 2 I get some real Bomberman Tournament vibes. Especially in that shot with the shop keeper near the end of th video.

To be fair, if Nintendo couldn't bother to make a proper sequel to the original Zelda for that long, there's no reason another company shouldn't have stepped in and done a spiritual successor.

I enjoyed Neutopia's take on the Zelda formula, and remember it fondly. Better graphics and music than the NES, obviously. I liked exploring the four distinct Spheres instead of one sprawling wilderness. Is it better than Zelda? No; just an alternative. Neutopia knows what it is, and cruises along comfortably in its lane.

Air zonk Is gonna be reviewed?👀

Haa! Hearing the word shrubbery for the first time in a couple years just made me want to watch Montey Python and The Holy Grail. 😅👍

So glad to see your channel is still active and pumping the same style of content since I watched you I think in 2018 Congrats!

🎶 "Woke up in Neutopia, where I fell down a flight of stairs" I mean, I know its totally unrelated, but the absolutely Whelming vibes totally fit it perfectly. I think I would've enjoyed the sequel in the past though, legit. The slightly improved movement seems like it would have been my jam if I didn't know any better

Love these games. Glad a new video is up. Always look forward to a new SNES Drunk.

This and its sequel have been on my backlog for quite a long time.

seems like Neutopia 1/2 followed the same path as Star Tropics...even in movement improvements, haha.

Based on the intro, I assume your guy in Neutopia is actually retrieving the princess's corpse and returning her to the royal tomb.

The TB16 had some gorgeous graphics and great sound, it's incredible that it's not an actual 16 bit machine. these neutopia games look like SNES games.

Hudson's own take of Zelda. They're not even hiding it, and the graphics reminds me a lot like Zelda A Link To The Past here.

3:32 these really look like the Geldmen in A Link To The Past! Same concept with sand monsters appearing and disappearing.

Have fond memories of this series - esp cause at the time I was hungry for anything first party! esp an RPG (lite). I think i'll bring up the series on the next ep of our pod. Thanks for reminding me of this game!

I'm always surprised how many Zelda clones stuck to the Zelda 1 format for much of the 90s. Even Blood Omen 1 feels more like LoZ than ALttP or LA.

Ooooh! Love the very harmonious intro!

I enjoyed Neutopia I, but it was a bit of a grind in the beginning. You really hit the nail on the head that they took the mystery and adventure out of these games. Have Neutopia II and might try it one day. Was only $8 on Wii U eshop if I remember right. Great video. Have a great day!

Loved the writing in this one!!

As a big fan of FF mystic quest, not gonna lie, the first game looks kinda fun 😅

I love these games so much it's unreal. The first one has an especially solid OST. Wish the tracks were a little longer though; they loop too quickly. Both these games are WAY better than Golden Axe Warrior.

the commentary is always godlike and hilarious 🖤

I love and cherish both of these games. Haven't beaten them yet..

The Neutopia games were available on the Wii VC. And imo are bittersweet. It felt like glimpsing into some alternate reality where Nintendo made a game in-between Zelda 1 and 3 that wasn't a 2D sidescroller. Better in some ways but overall just lacking. My biggest complaint is with the second game. Instead of making dungeons more creative, they made them larger and more tedious. Constantly having to find which block is pushable in a room full of them, having to bomb every unmarked wall in the dungeon to find the secret room. It was exhausting. The second game actually hints at a Neutopia 3 - which was never made but honestly I would have liked to see. Just in case the devs on that one would have done better.

When you grew up in the NES era, this was the next best Zelda that the adventures of link didn't deliver on. It filled the void waiting for the SNES to release.

"Take a drink every time you hear me say that" wait now I'm also turbo drunk

I’ll bet this was a decent enough holdover for Zelda enthusiasts sitting in the ALttP waiting room

“Every time you hear Zelda, drink.” (Looking at my cognac) “Gladly.”

eh, might be interested, a zelda clone where you don't get yourself lost, with easy going dungeon and stuff ? feels like a good game to play when you just want to chill a little.

2:54 - "... because again, just like Zelda - take a drink every time you hear me say that in this video..." And then you never say it again for the rest of the video. I opened my beer for NOTHING!

Damn the music is great, especially the track at the end of your video

You should do a store brand tier list. 😹 I always figured that except maybe WalMart/Sam's, everyone used the same couple generic brand manufacturers.

Good reviews! I've never played these games, but may check them out. Even if generic, they don't look bad at all. The TurboGrafx-16 got so few games of this type, so they at least seem like a novelty. Though, yeah, especially now with so many solid indie games that have mirrored the Zelda games, these games just haven't held up so well in the modern gaming landscape.

I really liked the first and its expansive fire mechanic. It’s been decades though. Have yet to play the second. Own it on Wii/U.

Great review 😊

It's crazy how much better A Link to the Past looks. The details of the map tiles look GBC-tier.

This is one of the Turbografx games I have CIB and I mean I've got the cardboard box and everything. I find this game fascinating. It's one of the early Zelda type games before Link To The Past really perfected the formula. You had Zelda 1, these, and Golden Axe Warrior on Master System. Then the Zeldaish type games like Golvellius on Master System & YS either the Master System original or the TG16 remake. I can't speak to Golden Axe Warrior as that's the one I haven't played, but Zelda 1 people did complain it was too cryptic and brutally hard in the back half. So this is like Hudson saw those complaints and thought what if they did the opposite? No one had tried it before. Link To The Past is the Goldilocks Zone in between where it's just right and people stuck to that in the middle zone. But my point being I admire Hudson for trying to do it differently just to see how it would be received. They could have just totally copied Zelda 1 but resisted the temptation. While it probably would have been better I respect them for it.

I have a soft spot for the early Zelda-likes. It's like each console from the late 80s and early 90s felt they needed to have at least one, if not multiple interpretations of the formula. NES had Crystalis, Master System had Golden Axe Warrior and Golvelius, Turbo had the Neutopia games, Ys (Kind of of), and Dungeon Explorer games, Genesis had Beyond Oasis and Landstalker, and SNES had the Terranigma games and probably a bunch more.

I got fond memories of these games. I remember when I played the first one when it came out that it was a decent game to play for Zelda fans (still got two more years before Link to the Past). It was also these two games (and a couple others) that made me get the turbo 16 mini.

3:20 - "heh heh, FIRE FIRE! heh heh..."

Bomberman Tournament "AKA Neutopia III" is the best of the trilogy, and you should definitely play it. It even has a few enemies and NPCs from Neutopia.

You leave Signature Select out of this!

I played Netopia back in the 80s. I finally played part 2 on the Turbograpguc mini! I love them both!

Dear Mr. SNES Drunk. Have you ever reviewed the game Milandra? I don't recall it from that "Superfamicon RPGs that never left Japan" series. I saw the cover from Milandra other day and found it very cool.

I remember downloading it on the Wii virtual console. Had a lot of the same issues. It was perfectly okay video game junk food

I actually just bought Neutopia on my PS3 off the PSN store the other day. Sadly they don't have the second one for sale on there anymore.

So it's the Kirk cousins of zelda clones?

I notice those lobster designs look very similar to the scorpions from Battle of Olympus.

2:45 - Barely an inconvenience?

They even got the "Koala" Knights as Statues!

Sounds like a perfect, rent-a-zelda to me. Its done in a weekend and not much replay value but that was exactly what you wanted from a rental.

Wait but this was created and released before SNES Zelda? So it emulated NES Zelda?

Sweet. I'm always asleep when these pop up. Pretty cool seeing it so early. 😄👍

You don’t need the CD add on to save. You can take the cheaper route and get the turbo booster plus to savr

Jazeta, what does the scouter say about his power level!

Took a drink every time you said Zelda as you instructed, now I need a liver transplant. Thanks a lot.

And all I could keep thinking about was Todd's Rock Opera: "Newtopia Rising, Book I: The Search for a New Utopia"

Guess who’s back! Nice

I’m out here trying to figure out which of Amazon basics vs signature select is the good one

1:19. Holy Crap! It's Mr. Gus from Uncle Grandpa. How did he get in there?

Love the 1st game. Never really cared for the 2nd. Last boss of Neutopia 1 has a sick music track 😎👍

Would love to see a turbodrunk episode about good turbografx music.

"Take a drink every time I say this." But I'm at work! 😢

Alright, TurboDrunk time!

Made sure to download these before the close of the WiiU eshop.

This is basically modern day Skyrim if Skyrim wasn't open world

Excellent 😊

Do you have a spreadsheet of games that are good and games that are not great? I'd like to arrange collections based on review

Love the Brain Lord shout out

Aldi's Zelda is perfect

Hearing that music, all I can think of is Soldier Blade. Soldier Blade when?!?!?

Intro sounds like a legit barbershop quartet today

Hahaha: "like rob reiner here". Amazingly random. Also crazy that they used the borderlands "new you" revive system AND the paladins quest "no mp, just 2 things using hp" approach. (Unless I'm just misunderstanding how the magic worked)

3:05 Inconceivable!

This was one of those games in my emulation backlog, and the linear nature was a good selling point, ha ha. Love the older Zelda's and BOTW as well, but sometimes I like just going down a narrow corridor and killin shit.

Come for the gaming info; stay for the detailed ranking of generic store brands.

Legitimately taking a drink everytime you say Zelda in this video is a death sentence 😂