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Game of the Month is a programme where Evercade VS/VS-R and Evercade EXP/EXP-R owners (and Alpha owners once those systems launch!) can download a new, independently developed game for free every month between April and December. You can enjoy the full version of the game without limits right up until the next update, at which point it will be replaced with something completely new to try. Next year, all of the Game of the Month titles for this year, plus a few exclusive extras, will be collected together on the Indie Heroes Collection 4 cartridge, likely to drop in February.
Game of the Month for September 2024 is Soko Banana, an 8-bit puzzler designed in the style of, but not aping (no pun intended) exactly, the classic Sokoban block-pushing formula.
In Soko Banana, the Great Banana Festival is in danger! You take control of the young monkey, Skid, and must save the day. Your goal is simple: in each banana warehouse are a number of crates. You must push the crates so they end up on the special “exit” spaces, and must do so without trapping yourself or the other crates. Ideally, you should also collect all three bananas in each stage; doing so unlocks an extra level in which you can earn a hidden bonus star.
Soko Banana differs a little from the classic Sokoban formula in the way you push the crates around. Rather than being able to nudge them a tile at a time, in Soko Banana you give each crate a hefty shove with the A or B button, and it will continue sliding until it hits something solid — be that a wall or an obstacle. In some stages there are breakable objects; slam a crate into them to destroy or open them, as this can sometimes reveal bonus bananas.
Think before you move! If a crate ends up against a wall, remember you can’t pull it back out to reposition it. And if one gets stuck in a corner, you won’t be able to move it at all! If this happens, just hit the Select button to quit the level and try again.
Soko Banana unfolds over the course of several different islands. Each island introduces a new mechanic to the mix, such as pits, breakable blocks and teleporters, to keep you on your toes. The core challenge remains the same, though: push those crates so they end up safely on the exit spaces, collecting the bananas along the way!
Soko Banana was developed by a Swedish duo known as Flip for Fate. The pair both grew up with gaming in the ’80s and ’90s, and creating their own game was a longstanding dream for both of them. Soko Banana draws inspiration not only from the classic Sokoban formula — which dates back to 1981 and has had official adaptations and follow-ups as recently as 2021 — but also to HAL Laboratory’s 1989 8-bit title The Adventures of Lolo and Capcom’s 16-bit video game adaptation of the Disney animated series Goof Troop. We’d also maybe throw in a touch of Pengo to the mix, too; the way you fling blocks around is quite similar to that arcade classic.
Like many other modern retro indie titles, Soko Banana was initially funded through popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter. In 2019, the project raised SEK 100,831 (about £7,500/$9,720) out of its SEK 50,000 (£3,700/$4,800 approx). Development then proceeded to take a little longer than originally anticipated due to the creative scope of the project expanding somewhat, and those who originally backed the project finally started receiving physical copies of the game in April of this year. You can read some interesting insights about development of the game on the duo’s Kickstarter updates blog; this post on the tools used to create the game may be of particular interest to those who hope to one day become Indie Heroes themselves!
Soko Banana is one of those games that is easy to learn but tricky to master. Think carefully before you make a move and soon you’ll have more bananas than you know what to do with! Best of luck!
To get started with Soko Banana and the Game of the Month programme for 2024, connect your Evercade VS/VS-R or EXP to the Internet via the Network option in Settings, then perform a system update to the latest available firmware version.
When you’re all updated, you’re ready to go — start the game through the VS or EXP logo on the left of the main Evercade menu and get set for some banana-hunting!
Note that we always recommend Evercade users keep their consoles up to date as a matter of course to ensure maximum compatibility with new cartridge releases and implement fixes to known issues. Please see the Evercade support pages for full patch notes; all new firmware updates are cumulative, so update once and you’ll see all the benefits. This update also includes some additional features which we’ll outline in a separate blog post.
Please note that saves from the Game of the Month edition of Soko Banana will not carry across to the Indie Heroes Collection 4 cartridge when that releases in February of 2025 (TBC).
Quelle: Blaze Entertainment / Pete Davison
Game of the Month for September 2024 is Soko Banana, an 8-bit puzzler designed in the style of, but not aping (no pun intended) exactly, the classic Sokoban block-pushing formula.
In Soko Banana, the Great Banana Festival is in danger! You take control of the young monkey, Skid, and must save the day. Your goal is simple: in each banana warehouse are a number of crates. You must push the crates so they end up on the special “exit” spaces, and must do so without trapping yourself or the other crates. Ideally, you should also collect all three bananas in each stage; doing so unlocks an extra level in which you can earn a hidden bonus star.
Soko Banana differs a little from the classic Sokoban formula in the way you push the crates around. Rather than being able to nudge them a tile at a time, in Soko Banana you give each crate a hefty shove with the A or B button, and it will continue sliding until it hits something solid — be that a wall or an obstacle. In some stages there are breakable objects; slam a crate into them to destroy or open them, as this can sometimes reveal bonus bananas.
Think before you move! If a crate ends up against a wall, remember you can’t pull it back out to reposition it. And if one gets stuck in a corner, you won’t be able to move it at all! If this happens, just hit the Select button to quit the level and try again.
Soko Banana unfolds over the course of several different islands. Each island introduces a new mechanic to the mix, such as pits, breakable blocks and teleporters, to keep you on your toes. The core challenge remains the same, though: push those crates so they end up safely on the exit spaces, collecting the bananas along the way!
Soko Banana was developed by a Swedish duo known as Flip for Fate. The pair both grew up with gaming in the ’80s and ’90s, and creating their own game was a longstanding dream for both of them. Soko Banana draws inspiration not only from the classic Sokoban formula — which dates back to 1981 and has had official adaptations and follow-ups as recently as 2021 — but also to HAL Laboratory’s 1989 8-bit title The Adventures of Lolo and Capcom’s 16-bit video game adaptation of the Disney animated series Goof Troop. We’d also maybe throw in a touch of Pengo to the mix, too; the way you fling blocks around is quite similar to that arcade classic.
Like many other modern retro indie titles, Soko Banana was initially funded through popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter. In 2019, the project raised SEK 100,831 (about £7,500/$9,720) out of its SEK 50,000 (£3,700/$4,800 approx). Development then proceeded to take a little longer than originally anticipated due to the creative scope of the project expanding somewhat, and those who originally backed the project finally started receiving physical copies of the game in April of this year. You can read some interesting insights about development of the game on the duo’s Kickstarter updates blog; this post on the tools used to create the game may be of particular interest to those who hope to one day become Indie Heroes themselves!
Soko Banana is one of those games that is easy to learn but tricky to master. Think carefully before you make a move and soon you’ll have more bananas than you know what to do with! Best of luck!
To get started with Soko Banana and the Game of the Month programme for 2024, connect your Evercade VS/VS-R or EXP to the Internet via the Network option in Settings, then perform a system update to the latest available firmware version.
When you’re all updated, you’re ready to go — start the game through the VS or EXP logo on the left of the main Evercade menu and get set for some banana-hunting!
Note that we always recommend Evercade users keep their consoles up to date as a matter of course to ensure maximum compatibility with new cartridge releases and implement fixes to known issues. Please see the Evercade support pages for full patch notes; all new firmware updates are cumulative, so update once and you’ll see all the benefits. This update also includes some additional features which we’ll outline in a separate blog post.
Please note that saves from the Game of the Month edition of Soko Banana will not carry across to the Indie Heroes Collection 4 cartridge when that releases in February of 2025 (TBC).
Quelle: Blaze Entertainment / Pete Davison