♦ Livestream of 3 ZZT worlds. ♦
You either die a Yoshi or live long enough to become the Barney.
Realizing that ZZTers have very strong opinions associated with two dinosaurs. Yoshi is beloved, while Barney is loathed. So it felt like a good theme for some unpreserved worlds to see the difference in how these two dinos are represented.
Elvis stars in the first Barney game, escaping from a mental institution (ah.) and heading to PBS studios to finding and killing the purple dinosaur. It might sound like an action game, but there's no real shooting. Players just have to walk around a bit through a Wal Mart in order to get something strong enough to get through Barney's nigh-indestructible foamy exterior.
The ones that involve killing Barney and acknowledge that he's just a man in a costume in there are always the most unsettling IMO.
Anyway, Barney dies and players are invited to join the author's Barney hate group on AOL.
Then we check out Spam Man. This one takes a different approach by having Barney outright be evil. Barney busts his brother Harvey out of prison, then begins a crime spree all across town with the help of his brother, the Barney warriors, and the Barney kids. They've even taken "The Spam", your sidekick!
This time you do get the basic action formula, walk up and shoot your way through Barney's army (tigers and ruffians), do a little shopping downtown for supplies, and then face the ultimate gauntlet at Barney studios. At the end of it all, the author tries to make it very clear that these characters have nothing to do with The Tick, a connection I would not have made whatsoever if it wasn't pointed out.
Lastly, the good dinosaur. The special dinosaur. Yoshi.
A Yoshi ZZT game in which Yoshi's wife Soshi, along with several other girls has mysteriously vanished. (She was going to the mall to shop and everything no less!) This one has what the people crave: Toilets.
Yoshi also gets to embarrass his son Yoshi Jr. Yoshi as a father figure is a new one to me.
Exploring the town and meeting various Yoshi and Nintendo characters is fun enough, but eventually Yoshi has to set off on his adventure. A lot of ZZT Yoshi games borrow the world layout from Super Mario World, while this one goes for more original locations. The "stages" are pretty simple single board affairs with some creatures that lack the Mario branding that usually give them some flavor.
Luckily there's another town. Then the author really gets to have fun as Kirby and Star Wolf (and squad) make appearances. Things end with a fight against a giant Bowser and Soshi is returned home safely. The unexpected cameos are easily the highlight of the game. Once again, the green dinosaur receives better treatment.
♦ Stream Contents ♦
• (1:41) "Barney" by Cooshman [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/barneyco/]
• (14:52) "Spam Man vs. The Dino Bros" by GrandSpam (1997) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/spamdino/]
• (35:45) "Yoshi Adventure 1: The Search for Soshi" by Unknown (1997) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/yoshadve/]
♦ Play these worlds directly in your browser ♦
• https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/barneyco/
• https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/spamdino/
• https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/yoshadve/
♦ Originally streamed on March 24th, 2024 ♦
