I recently found a Viewtiful Joe crossover called Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble under our old sofa, and it was manufactured in the USA. Throwing out our old couch meant putting the PSP game in the bin, which is tragic, as Red Hot Rumble features Dante from Devil May Cry, and it’s a Smash clone.
Some of you express surprise that Dante was in Red Hot Rumble, as you recall playing the GameCube version and not being able to unlock him. Others note that he was an exclusive character for the PSP version of the game.
I’m not surprised that some of you missed Red Hot Rumble, as the era of triple-A gaming is often overshadowed by money-making open-world epics, with unique concepts and creative adventures that aren’t seen anymore. I’m also not surprised that some of you reminisce about the UMD format, as it’s the coolest physical media.
I’m not saying that Red Hot Rumble is the best game of all time, but it’s a solid beat ‘em up with a bizarre crossover, and it’s remarkable that someone actually manufactured it.
“It was a UMD,” one user says, with another adding, “Red Hot Rumble was a real game, unlike most of the things you put in the [UMD] disc drive.” I’ll give them that, but I also put Viewtiful Joe in the disc drive and got nothing, so it’s a double-edged sword.
“I remember my friend who owned the UMD player saying it broke as soon as he got it,” one user says, with another adding, “UMDs were fragile and prone to breaking, especially if you didn’t use cases. I had quite a few that slipped out of my pocket and cracked the disc.”
I’m not surprised that UMDs are prone to breaking, but I am surprised that people still have them to throw out, because I thought the secondhand market would be flooded with PSP games.
“I got a PSP just to play Crush,” one user says, with another sharing, “I had a lot of PSP games, but I couldn’t sell them because they were badly damaged.” I can imagine that user’s frustration, as I was once given copies of The Getaway and inFamous that had broken cases and cracked discs.
“Sony really knows how to make questionable decisions,” one user says, sharing, “They lost the VHS/BETA war and rootkitted discs for years but somehow managed to still make money.” Another user adds, “I loved MiniDiscs,” as I remember them being used for professional music recording.
I’ll give Sony a pass on the rootkits, as they were used to prevent piracy and protect the games that you paid for. Even so, I’m surprised that Sony didn’t win the format war, as I remember everyone talking about how the porn industry preferred VHS over Beta Max.
“I loved Kirby’s Avalanche,” one user says, as another replies, “Same, it was like Puyo Puyo.” I’ve never played that, but Puyo Puyo Tetris is a modern alternative, and it’s on the Nintendo Switch, so I’ll give that a go.
“I used to put games on my PSP’s memory stick,” one user says, “no need for UMDs.” Another replies, “I’d just download ROMs for the broken UMDs I already owned.” I don’t think that’s legal, but it’s an interesting way to play games that you already own.
“I loved Laserdiscs,” one user recalls, with another adding, “I remember the Beta Max ads on TV, showing how it was used on ships.” Another user replies, “I always thought it was the porn industry that made VHS win, not because they were used on ships.”
“I remember hearing that the internet’s claims about the Beta Max and VHS format war change over time,” another user reflects, “I heard it lost due to the porn industry preferring VHS, then I heard it lost because it was used on ships, then I heard it lost because it was expensive to produce, then I heard it lost because it was more prone to piracy.”
I don’t know the answer to the format war, but I do know that UMDs are some of the worst video game formats of all time.
