Missland

Missland / Missland 2 (ミスランド)
Developer: Altron
Release Date: 1995
Platforms: PlayStation

If you’ve ever played one of those “Spot the Difference” games, you’ll be right at home with Missland. In order to clear each level, you’ll have to spot every difference between two objects or environments in the allotted time. To do this, you have to rotate the screen until your cursor in the center lines up with something to select. Once you’ve completed every level, you’re ranked on your performance, which can be improved by not missing and earning bonuses for quick identifications. By default, you have to clear six levels to finish the game, but that can be increased in the options to a significant degree. It’s also possible to play with another person or use the tournament mode to pass controllers around with an entire group.

Since it’s an early PlayStation title, developer Altron focused on the system’s 3D capabilities by creating all sorts of weird objects for you to look at. One level may have you looking around a room with a robot on an operating table, whereas another will have you staring down meals on a dinner table or looking at various youkai. The space level has you looking around for planets and constellations, serving as a pleasant change of pace to everything else. You can finish the game very quickly, but there are enough stages hidden within that you’ll encounter new things by playing multiple times.

Missland 2 came out three years after the original and it’s quite different in several ways. The visuals have seen a noticeable upgrade in detail and the game likes to emphasize this by using environments where a variety of things can jump out and surprise the player. Rather than staying in one place, levels in Missland 2 automatically scroll through a sequence of events not unlike a light gun game. Your objective is the same and you’re still timed, but you now have the ability to fast forward and rewind to grab things you missed. Missland 2 is more difficult than the original since you have limited health to clear the entire game. You earn more health by scoring enough points, which are randomly determined through a slot machine spin every time you spot a difference. This system is a novel idea, but it takes control away every time the slots come up, which leads to missing things you would have otherwise gotten. The Missland games are extremely simple experiences, but their early 3D visuals are fun to look back on and their brevity and pleasant soundtracks make them well-suited to relaxing sessions.