Friday, October 28, 2011

Ashley Davis x Umihara Kawase

I've been meaning to publish a post about the following illustration for ages, but all of you fellow bloggers know how it is: Other things have popped up since it first caught my attention and served to push it down my longer-than-I'd-like-to-admit "to publish" list.

Anyway, enough about that. The point of this post is to shed some light on an awesome, game-inspired illustration, so let's get to it.

The awesome illustration in question (below and here) was produced by the similarly awesome Ashley Davis, by the way.



So, why am I all hot and bothered by Davis' drawing? Because it focuses on a couple of characters from one of my favorite games from the 16-bit and 32-bit eras, TNN's Umihara Kawase.

For those of you who've never heard of this gem of a game (which has been released for the DS, PlayStation, PSP and Super Famicom), here's Davis' short-but-sweet description of it: "Umihara Kawase is Bionic Commando if Rad had a bouncy fishing line instead of a robotic arm. It’s super hard, but incredibly fun!"

Not enough info for you? Check out this article at Hardcore Gaming 101.

I'd also suggest you check out Davis' tumblog, No Marios Allowed!, if you haven't done so in a while--especially if you're a fan of Bubble Bobble, Flicky, Mappy, Mischief Makers and No More Heroes.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

6 comments:

Retr0gamer said...

Been meaning to play more than 10 minutes of this. I see the Game Centre CX episode with this game has been translated so I might watch Arino struggle with it in the mean time :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, I understand, Retr0gamer. That's typically been my experience with the game, too, although I have put in a good amount of time with it here and there. I actually just finished playing through the first seven stages, interestingly enough!

Anyway, it's definitely tough, but not impossible. Really, it's all about getting used to the protagonist's fish line and also getting to know all the things you can do with it.

famicomfreak said...

Incredible the things that I learn from your blog sir. Keep up the good work and will definitely give these a chance! Also, nice to see Kid Dracula on that No Marios Allowed post ^_^

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, you'd never heard of this game before now, Famicom Freak? If so, check it out sometime soon! It's tough, but fun -- and very unique.

Also, thanks for the kind words :)

Finally, yes, Kid Dracula on the No Marios Allowed! tumblog was great, as were a number of other recent additions. People really should bookmark and check in on it often.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I think I have a new tumblr love.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Great! That was the main point of this post, Justin -- to get Ashley's tumblog onto more folks' radars. Well, that and get Umihara Kawase on more folks' radars, too. Anyway, mission accomplished ... sort of :P