Year: 1991 |Publisher: Sega|Developer: Nihon Falcom |Original format: PC-88 | Version played: Mega CD
If the Mega CD port of Popful Mail is well known for anything in the west, it’s the localisation and voice acting provided by infamous publisher Working Designs. Victor’s Ireland’s penchant for tongue-in-cheek scripts places the US version of Popful Mail in a very specific context when the mere inclusion of voices was a sheer novelty. As nostalgic recollections centre on the fun of the story and characters, they threaten to overshadow the game itself. So how exactly does Popful Mail hold up when you take away its voice? That’s the question I ask myself now having played through the Japanese release of the Mega CD game. Not out of some grand experiment but simply because the US version was a little too expensive for my taste!
The original Japanese edition can be picked up for less than the price of a modern game and is simple enough to play that it can be thoroughly enjoyed despite the language barrier. It’s a simple platform-adventure game at its heart, and most reminds me of Westone’s Wonder Boy/Monster World games as well as another Falcom side-scroller, Ys III: Wanderers From Ys. Like those games it presents a basic videogame pleasure that’s as satisfying as it is familiar… Explore a series of dungeon-like levels, collect loot, useful trinkets and weapons as you beat the baddies and work your way to a boss before doing it all over again.
It’s far from a revolutionary formula but it’s one that Falcom are particularly adept at. Turn the perspective from the side to a top-down view and you have the basic gameplay structure of practically every other Ys game, the template for which they have polished to perfection over the years.
I can’t call out any one part of Popful Mail that makes it exceptional because, quite frankly, it isn’t exceptional. It’s just a well made 8/10 game. A polished pleasure whose charms are hard to pin down because the elements that make a game like this work can often be imperceptible, or defined as much by what isn’t there than is…
The game is seemingly bug free.
The controls are smooth and responsive.
The performance holds up throughout.
The difficulty is balanced so it never gets stressful.
If these were bullet points on the back of the box you’d naturally assume there was nothing worth celebrating, but yet it’s undeniable that Popuful Mail just feels great to play. Mail herself moves around with the grace and responsiveness that can only come from developers who know how to finely tune a console game to feel good in the player’s hands. The dungeon layouts are open enough to encourage a sense of exploration but not so complicated that you feel like you might need a map. Again, they feel really nice to just roam around in, and the side-on perspective and platform gameplay only improve that feeling. Platforms are expertly placed. There are no leaps of faith here. No pixel perfect precision needed. Instead the emphasis is on the fun of hopping about in relative safety. There’s even a little float to Mail’s jump. Hold the button down and her ponytail will wave through the breeze as she flutters in the air; a kindness afforded to the player all in the name of that good feel. Likewise, why simply climb a ladder when you can run and jump onto it half way up? The latter feels great to do, every single time.
I’m of the strong opinion that if you were to strip away the enemies and objectives in any platform game, if it still feels fun just to move around an empty level then what you have, right there, is a great platformer. But Popful Mail doesn’t just have the platforming. It has exploration, it has Wonderboy-style shops where you can buy new weapons and equipment, it has memorable boss battle, and alternative characters to play as. And, most importantly, it has… Falcom music!
Now I’m an average human with ordinary ears, so of course I love Falcom music and happen to think their soundtracks are among the finest videogames have to offer. Popful Mail is no exception. It sounds every bit as good as the best Ys soundtracks and has, at least to my ears, a little dash of Sonic The Hedgehog in there to keep the pace nice and brisk. Ironic, given that at one point the Mega CD port was intended to be re-worked as the spin-off “Sister Sonic.”
The music isn’t just a collection of catchy tunes, amped up by the CD quality; it feels deliberately paced and pitched for this specific game. It keeps you moving but also has a certain sense of relaxation that is absolutely vital. Whether lost in a cave, or trying to beat a boss for the third time, I really didn’t mind with Falcom’s music carrying me through. It suits the rest of the game’s feel so well, clicking into place with the movement, the platforming and the exploration so that all ingredients form a whole that goes down so smoothly.
I’ve read today that when Working Designs released Popful Mail in the US they also tinkered with the difficulty and made the whole thing harder. Enemies and hazards did more damage than in the Japanese version, and the cost of items and weapons was massively inflated to force the player to grind more. This, in my opinion, was a big mistake and makes the Japanese version the superior release. When Falcom first created Ys, they famously wanted to create an action RPG that any player could finish, and I think that same philosophy flows through the Japanese version of Popful Mail. This isn’t a difficult platform game that requires fast reactions, and although it has RPG elements, there’s no need to grind and the enemies aren’t too tough. Every element of it feels purposefully constructed not to push the player to their limit but to provide a gentle challenge that you can play to relax. It’s a Sunday afternoon game. One to kick back with, take your time and just enjoy being there. So if I ask myself again, how does Popful Mail hold up when you take away what it’s most known for? I’ve answered it many times already. It feels good!
EIGHT LITTLE THINGS ABOUT POPFUL MAIL THAT I RATHER LIKED
1. It doesn’t read very well in this off-screen recording, unfortunately, but the heatwaves in the background of this stage are an amazing sight on a 16-bit console. Lovely stuff.
2. If you make a 2D platform game and you don’t add an animation for balancing on the edge of platform then what are you doing with your life?
3. This is a really weird part of the game. The dark area to the right of Tatto has such straight edges that I thought it was a door at first. It’s not at all, but I wonder if there was once a door there that led to an area that was unfinished or cut from the game at the eleventh hour.
4. I love the big Game Over images in Popful Mail and how you get one for each character. The attention to detail in this game is superb.
5. This stage has an invisible staircase, for some reason.
6. The big bold character illustrations for the shopkeepers, really remind me of the equivalent in Wonderboy III: The Dragon’s Trap, released two years before the PC-88 version of Popful Mail. It’s hard to imagine Westone’s game wasn’t a big inspiration on Falcom.
7. Every good platform game also needs a great idle animation. I love the one for Gaw. He starts off by just sitting down but if you leave him alone long enough he’ll eventually lie back and go to sleep!
8. Is that a wooden version of Tetsujin 28?
Finally, how about some music from Popful Mail…
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