Recca

Summer Carnival '92: Recca (Japanese: サマーカーニバル'92 烈火), commonly referred to as Recca (meaning "raging fire"), is a 1992 scrolling shooter video game developed by KID and published by Naxat Soft for the Family Computer.

Summer Carnival '92: Recca
Japanese Family Computer box art
Developer(s)KID
Publisher(s)Naxat Soft
Programmer(s)Shinobu Yagawa
Composer(s)Nobuyuki Shioda
Platform(s)Family Computer,
3DS Virtual Console
ReleaseFamily Computer
  • JP: July 17, 1992
3DS Virtual Console
  • JP: December 12, 2012
  • EU: August 15, 2013
  • AU: August 15, 2013
  • NA: September 5, 2013
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player
This article is about the video game. For the lead character of the Flame of Recca anime/manga series, see Recca Hanabishi.

Gameplay
The title screen of Summer Carnival '92: Recca.

The game was known for having high sprite counts while maintaining fast speeds.[1][2][3]

Recca is described by shoot 'em up fans and reviewers as one of the toughest games in history.

By using a rom hack or cheat code, the Sega logo appears and explodes, then the Nintendo logo appears. ("Sega" and "Nintendo" are spelled with "?"s instead of "e"s.)[4]

Development

The game was developed by programmer Shinobu Yagawa, who would later work on games like Battle Garegga, Pink Sweets, and Ibara.[1] The music for the game was composed by Nobuyuki Shioda.[5]

As its name indicates, Recca was created for a shooting game competition called the "Summer Carnival" by Naxat Soft, which took place on July 17, 1992.[6][7]

Although it is a little-known game, Recca is one of the few games that pushes the hardware of the Famicom console to its limits. For example, the game shows sprites for effects (like explosions) at 30fps instead of 60fps to work around the sprite limitations of the system.[8] Another game to use this technique is Contra.[8]

Release

The game was released on July 17, 1992 in Japan.[9] As only a few copies were sold, the game is now quite rare, with cartridges selling for around ¥50,000.[10] One reason for its general obscurity is due to the fact that upon its release in 1992, focus was already on the Famicom's successor, the Super Famicom console. In 2014, the Famicom cartridge was listed as costing £350—£400 in the United Kingdom.[1] It was released for the Nintendo eShop on December 12, 2012, costing only ¥500.[11] It also was released for the first time in North America and Europe on the Nintendo eShop on September 5, 2013 and August 15, 2013 respectively.

The soundtrack was released by Scitron on September 21, 2005 as Legend Consumer Series - Summer Carnival '92 Recca Original Soundtrack.[5]

Reception

On release, Weekly Famitsu gave the game a score of 19 out of 40.[9] Famitsu writers commented that it is unsuitable for beginners, and that there too many enemies on screen to keep track.[9]

In 1994, Polish magazine Top Secret gave the game a score of 5/5.[13]

Nintendo Life rated the 3DS Virtual Console release an 8/10 and commented that "it's hard to recommend Recca to anybody but the most die-hard fans of the genre. Despite this, however, it is easily one of best and most impressive shoot 'em up games made for the system, and anybody who isn't afraid of a challenge (or using save states a lot) will find this a more than worthy pickup."[14]

References
  1. "A guide to gaming's most valuable treasures". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 2017-11-12. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  2. "Japon: Histoire du Shooting Game" (in French). Game One. 2006. Archived from the original on 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  3. Velez, Jason (2010-07-07). "365//365: Day 188 – Summer Carnival '92 – Recca (FC) [PP]". Chocolate Lemon. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  4. Xkeeper (2010-01-21). [TCRF] Recca - Nintendoes what Sega don't (unused intro). YouTube. Archived from the original on 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  5. "LEGEND CONSUMER SERIES サマーカーニバル'92 烈火 ファミコンサウンドトラック". ニコニコ市場 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  6. Milecki, Adam (2008-09-02). "Retrospective: Recca for the Famicom (NES)". RetroThing. Archived from the original on 2013-01-13. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  7. "Summer Carnival '92 RECCA". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Archived from the original on 2014-07-31. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  8. "Breaking the NES | Yacht Club Games". yachtclubgames.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-30. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  9. "サマーカーニバル'92 烈火 [ファミコン]". Famitsu. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  10. Nostalgic Guide of Family Computer. Japan: M.B.MOOK. 2016. p. 106. ISBN 9784906735891. OCLC 961800615.
  11. "Ultra Rare NES Shooter Coming To 3DS Virtual Console". Siliconera. 2012-12-04. Archived from the original on 2013-03-12. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  12. 超絶 大技林 '98年春版: ファミコン - サマーカーニバル'92 烈火. PlayStation Magazine (Special) (in Japanese). 42. Tokuma Shoten Intermedia. 15 April 1998. p. 54. ASIN B00J16900U.
  13. "Nintendo: Recca - Summary Carnival '92". Top Secret (in Polish). No. 25. Poland. April 1994. p. 32.
  14. "Summer Carnival '92 RECCA (3DS eShop / NES) Review". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
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