3P Start

Cross-Promotion Fun Time!

2011-12-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

I decided that I would try something fun today while I had some free time.

I Googled myself.

((insert off color jokes here))

When I didn't find anything interesting about me through Google, I decided to Google this blog, just for fun. When I found out that the G4 Feed was subscribed to me randomly, I decided to see what other crazy happenstances were going on out there involving 3PStart, and it was kind of surprising. Most surprising (well, kind of) was that my good friend, Dave Lucier, took the time to mention my blog on a podcast called "Good to Be a Gamer" that he does with his friend, Jessa. They speak pretty nicely about the blog, and Dave does call me out on my lack of updates, so you can probably thank him for my rampant attention to this site as of late, but all in all, they had pretty fun stuff to say.

Well, now, it's their turn.

First off, there was a slew of stuff to listen to before my blog was mentioned, and I really enjoyed doing so. While I was not incredibly interested in some of the games they talked about in the cast I had the time to check out, I enjoyed listening to their banter and opinions. I'll definitely be going back to listen to more, and I highly recommend that my readers still out there do so, too. Not only are they interesting to listen to, but both of them are super nice and cool to talk to. I've known Dave for years now, so that kind of goes without saying, but I got to meet Jessa recently, and she was super sweet to chat with, too. They've both got their differing opinions, which is kind of cool to listen to, and I definitely think anyone who is a current gamer or has opinions regarding game related topics will enjoy listening.

While I'll place a link in the sidebar once I finish typing this, here's the link to check out the page:

Good to Be a Gamer

While I'm still sort of devising my next post or two, go check them out! They're a few episodes in, but it'll be fun catching up!

Oh, and if anyone ends up here from their wonderful recommendation, welcome to the blog!

Terror in Your Hands - Playstation Portable - Corpse Party

2011-12-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

Usually, I don't do reviews on current games, but every so often, something comes up that makes me want to spread the good cheer. This is doubly true when I feel that a game has fallen under the radar for one reason or another. The topic of this 'out of the ordinary' post is Corpse Party, a quirky and fairly terrifying game that recently came out for the PSP. Anyone who has played 'Sweet Home' or '999: 9 Persons, 9 Hours, 9 Doors' will find themselves almost instantly head over heels with this game.

The story behind Corpse Party, since I'm such a sucker for video game history lessons, is that it was originally released a few years ago when it was made in an RPG Maker. Since then, it has spawned numerous manga books and other works. Becoming a bit of a cult classic, fans started clamoring for a translation. Once word got out that it would be arriving on the Playstation Network, horror fans were elated.

The story starts off as innocently as any horror movie: a group of kids and their teacher are after school, cleaning up from a culture festival, and one of them will be leaving the next day, adding a melancholy sentiment to the whole ordeal. One of the students suggests that the group performs a charm to ensure that they will all be friends forever. Once the charm is performed, however, an earthquake rocks the school, and the floor falls out from under them. From there, the horror begins.

The game itself is split into five chapters, each centering on a certain character or characters who are stuck in the mysterious halls of Heavenly Host Elementary School. The story behind the school is explored throughout the game in great detail, as well as the story's of the students and others who have been trapped in the same situation. There are certainly central characters, but every one of the nine characters involved in the story have some kind of exposition and time in the spotlight. You can't help but feel for most of these characters, even when they are saying or doing deplorable things (and it happens somewhat frequently).

As you progress through the chapters, you will find that there is only one true way to finish the chapter and move onto the next, but there are various 'Wrong End' scenarios where your characters will meet gruesome and viscerally jarring conclusions. This is almost as much of the games charm as it is unnerving, as by the time this is happening, you really care for these characters and what they're going through. It heart wrenching when it happens, and it really makes you proceed more carefully through the chapter the next time you work getting through the chapter.

The catch of this game is that while it is set up much like an RPG- the characters even have HP- there are no battles or fighting. The game focuses on exploration and the occasional dodging of malicious spirits. If you touch these dangerous things too often, your HP runs out and your character dies, forcing you to start over. This makes for some very tense gaming, even toward the beginning of the game. It's reminiscent of Clock Tower or other games of that ilk.

There are some downsides to the game, though they're more personal issues than gameplay issues for the most part. The game being very anime based means that you'll see your share of panty shots and other things that kind of remove you from the terror of the game. It's pretty rare, but it was something that I noticed and was kind of put off by. Also, there is the occasional puzzle that you might be doing directly by the guidelines that have been set up by the game, but it winds up not being the logical answer. I only ran into this once or twice, so it wasn't a terrible flaw, but it was still kind of a head slapping moment once things were figured out.

The incredibly charming part about this game is really the presentation. The game is concocted from 16 bit graphics that make you feel like you're playing an SNES game. The music is also an incredibly effective collection of midi-esque tunes which makes the player feel the fright and exhilaration surrounding the action in the game. Really, the game's front end was probably my favorite part of the whole thing.

I finished the game in a couple of days time, as I could not put the game down once I got it, and I still want to go back and check out the extra endings so that I can look at the Extra Chapters (which detail some of the character relationships as well as some of the stories surrounding the other students that are referenced throughout the game). The game retails at about twenty bucks right now, and I felt that was pretty apt for what you get. If you're a horror fan or a fan of any of the games that were mentioned earlier, I would highly recommend this game.

As an added bonus/incentive, here's the opening video (though the warning is now in place that the trailer is a little gory, though that's to be expected, and there are very minimal spoilers):

Enjoy, and here's to not meeting too many wrong ends!

Empties Out Quick, But Packs a Punch - Super Nintendo - Wild Guns

2011-12-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

WILD GUNS

Natsume

Genre: Action Shooter

Natsume is a company that doesn’t get a ton of press outside of the occasional wonder game and Harvest Moon. When I found ‘Wild Guns’, a rare shooter type of game from the company, I was intrigued. I decided to pop it in and give it a shot, and even now, I keep going back to the game. I suppose I’m getting to the end of my review before I get started though, huh?

This game is interesting in various ways. The exact idea of the story is a little muddled to me, but it appears that robots and various alien beings have overtaken the west. Not only that, but they are responsible for the death of many people, including a relative of Annie. She hires a gunfighter named Clint, and the two of them head into various locales to stop them from doing more damage and take revenge. Western references aside, the game takes you through six levels to reclaim the frontier.

The first thing people will notice is that the game is pretty much a first person shooter, in the vein of ‘Lethal Enforcers’ or ‘Area 51’, but with an onscreen avatar to move around. The player chooses to be either the rugged and handsome Clint or the sassy and sexy Annie as they trek to various locales. Some of the maneuvers end up as integral things to learn, such as double jumping or diving rolls across the screen. The entire idea is that if you survive long enough, you’ll advance to the next level.

To get to the next level, though, you can blast- well, pretty much everything. The amount of destruction you can wreak in each locale is astounding, especially for a game of the time. Everything from barrels to neon signs to cacti; practically anything you see on screen can be blasted, broken, or riddled with holes. Through doing this, you can find ore, which will give you points for extra lives, or weapon upgrades. Machine guns, grenade launchers, shotguns, and others are all available throughout the game. In an interesting turn of events, you can also end up with the misfortune of a Pop Gun, which will render you ineffective until the ammo has run out. Oh, and if an enemy should get too close to our hero, they’re armed with the butt of their rifle or a baseball bat to knock them away. Seriously, the game is just wacky enough to work and just serious enough to be a contender for a great game.

The actual shooting mechanic is a little harder to explain than to actually get down through practice. You move a target around the landscape, shooting at bandits, robots, and other baddies as they try to do the same to you. With most of the attacks, you’ll see a ‘Look Out!’ bubble shoot up from your character, giving you some kind of warning that you’re about to lose a life if you don’t vamoose. When moving the target in conjunction with other buttons, you will run back and forth, making a basic escape possible. By holding your shooting button, you’ll fire a fairly steady stream of bullets, and if you tap it rapidly, you can aim a lasso to throw and paralyze an enemy for a short amount of time. That’s especially useful since most of the bosses are susceptible to said attack. Your arsenal is not limited, and while you might lost a life or ten as you try to get the finer points of the game down, the levels are so short and fun that you probably won’t get too frustrated.

The short duration of the game, however, can also be considered one of its drawbacks. While it admittedly stops before the mechanics would get too repetitive, the whole game, for someone who has gotten the hang of things, can be finished in just under an hour. Thankfully, as I insinuated before, the replay value is through the roof on this game, but had I spent fifty dollars on this game when it came out, I probably would have felt pretty cheated.

The other downside to the game is the strange mechanics. Your shots always hit where you want them to all the time, and for what it’s worth, the collision detection in the game is spot on. There were just times, though, where I knew where to jump, but the game, for whatever reason, decided that would be the one time that a bullet would not have a reticle, which is the prime way of telling where a bullet is about to strike. It’s a small gripe, and honestly, pretty inconsequential. Still, grasping for complaints has to have its merit for the game itself.

All around, the game is surprisingly fun, even in a short stint, and it follows the old adage of ‘easy to play, hard to master’. The game could stand up to the test of time, considering that if this game were to come out on a Virtual Console or other means for five to ten bucks, I might be inclined to get it. There’s also a two player feature, though I’m not entirely sure that it would be as fun, depending on how that is handled. I may not be a devout fan of shooters, but this game feels much more like a hidden gem than a stowed away embarrassment.

Something Old, Something New - Nintendo Entertainment System - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

2011-06-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

CASTLEVANIA III: DRACULA’S CURSE

Nintendo Entertainment System

Konami

Genre: Horror Platformer

Trilogies are not unheard of in the video game world nowadays. Good things come in threes, so it’s said, and the Castlevania series did their best to prove that adage right back when they were hot and heavy in the Nintendo days. ‘Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse’ came along after the original creeped audiences out, and the second one probably confused the fans just as much so. Figuring out how the third one would fare was probably an adventure when it came out, but how does it stand up to the rest of the series? Even more important here, how does it stand up as a game in general with over twenty years under its belt?

This installment of the Gothic terror ride takes place as a prequel to the first two. The Belmonts, a family exiled from Wallachia for being considered ‘super-human monsters’ are asked back to take care of Dracula, who has been ravaging the countryside. Enter Trevor Belmont, ancestor of Simon (from the originals, for those keeping track), who makes his trek through various locales to put an end to the destruction that is being wrought. Along the way, though, some of those that he saves will join him. Along for the ride are Grant Danasty, a pirate who was turned into a specter, Sypha (Syfa, as this game spells it) Belnades, a mysterious figure who- SPOILER- turns out to be a woman and a hunted witch who is captured in stone by a Cyclops, and Alucard Tepes, the half-blood son of Dracula who hides away when his mother is killed by townspeople but comes out to defeat his father who he blames. Yes, this is the first of many appearances for Alucard, a historical member of Castlevania history. These four stand as the force against the evil of Dracula and his famed castle.

The first thing to bear in mind is that these characters are not just shells to make the player feel as though they are playing as different characters. They all play differently. Grant, for instance, can climb walls and ceilings, making inaccessible places in levels that much less so. Sypha is weak and has limited jumping ability, but her subweapons are magic rather than actual weapons, and they can serve as some of the most powerful attacks in the game. Alucard can shoot fireballs and turn into a bat for a limited amount of time. Trevor plays just as you would expect- like Simon. For the rest of the mechanics, they tend to play the same way. Upgrade your whip, use abilities to get through a level, fight a boss, and repeat until you reach Dracula. The ability to bring a partner with you, as you can only have one of the three partners with Trevor at any given time, really ups the replay value on this one. It saves the game from being a clone of the past two in the series.

Traveling from level to level is a combination of the first two games. Once you beat a boss, you are brought to a map screen where you can choose your path. I think that there’s some kind of difficulty difference, and there’s the possibility that you’ll miss a partner or two if you don’t go down the right paths (I missed Alucard in my first playthrough, for instance), but it does feel like the player gets a bit of a choice in their torture. It defeats the linear feel of the first game and rectifies the confusing set-up of the second.

The game itself is a fun time. I’ll say it right now: it’s probably my favorite in the Nintendo entries. The game itself feels like a fleshing out of the Castlevania universe, showing more characters and offering a bit more immersion for the player. Also, there was a near guarantee that you did not play through the same way that your friend did, and if you did, one of you probably chose a different partner. I guess all of this is leading up to the fact that Dracula’s Curse acts as the main course of a nice dinner out, and it leaves a satisfying taste in a gamer’s mouth.

My main complaint, as it often tends to be, is the uneven difficulty. I appreciate a hard game. I’m not against a challenge, but found myself having trouble with random levels throughout the game. One level would kick me around for a bit, but the next would be a breeze. It was almost anticlimactic at points, feeling awesome about beating up some awful monster and finding a new travel buddy, then I could just stroll through a nice little stretch before getting abruptly slammed by another level. By now, I guess I could expect it, but it adds a metaphysical frustration to the mix that only Nintendo seemed to produce.

Musically, the game is just as sound as the last two entries and even as I played through now, it entertained me. I could not pick out just one track, as usually happens, but it was all an aural blessing to the game. Sound effects, for the most part, sound like recycles from past games. This seems to come down to an ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it’ type of deal, though, and in the end, tends to be inconsequential, though it adds to the atmosphere.

Graphically, the game finds itself on the fence. When the game has its presentation on, it’s fantastic. Levels like the ghost ship and, of course, Dracula’s castle find themselves being great odes to what made the 8-bit era great. Some areas, though, found themselves almost trying to force variety, bringing clashing and offensive colors together. It’s more rare here than, say, the original entry, but it still exists, which is kind of upsetting since the second game was actually graphically nice throughout most of it. The characters are where the game seems to shine, though. Sypha and Grant are great representations of 8-bit characters, and Trevor feels like an advanced Simon. Alucard is a little weaker, but he’s also impressive compared to various other games of the time. In the end, the game has its head on straight with its visuals, but it takes a few missteps along the way.

Of all of the original games in the series, this one stands up to the test of time the best. The platforming elements feel polished, the gameplay is interesting and immersive, and it makes for a great end (beginning?) to the trilogy. As a platform game in general, it stands up on its own well, also. Anyone who is looking into the roots of the series, I would recommend this entry above all others. It’s nearly flawless, so far as the standard for the time is concerned, and it’s an awesome foray into retro gaming so far as the current time is concerned. While I think the entire trilogy is great and classic, I can’t promote enough that people should try this one out.

Matt’s Note: I managed my way through with Sypha (I love magic users in games), as a part of a challenge/expression from a friend, so I’m interested in finding out who other players end up buddying up with. Feel free to let me know!

The Base Gets Awfully Lonely

2011-05-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

In the interest of writing at least one thing- let's say 'a week'- I've decided to write some editorial stuff that I notice or think about while playing some games. This might not be as interesting as retro reviews, but hopefully, some people will see it and think 'oh, me too!' or various other fleeting ideas.

In any case, hopefully it's interesting enough to warrant a read, eh?

Recently, I've been playing through Suikoden IV for the Playstation 2. Now, Suikoden holds a special place in my heart, as it's one of the longest running games with an actual coherent storyline that plays out throughout one world with various characters and locales coming up in more than one entry. Not only that, but it plays into my love of collecting things in games. In this case, there are 108 Stars of Destiny that will come together when the world is in danger and save it with their strength. There is nothing lost in translation here. You collect 108 characters throughout almost every game in the series. Some of them are non-combatants. They run shops, tell fortunes, and do generally neat things. Some just sit around, muttering the same crap over and over again (I'm looking at you, Esmeralda). Many of them, though, join you in fight as the game progresses, and you can form your parties based on these scores of characters that you get. They have their strengths and weaknesses, but in the end, you get to ultimately decide who goes into the fray and who sits at the base and offers to cook the meals. This has led into my conundrum.

I can't stand letting people sit at the base and rot away at low levels.

Some games have fixed this issue for me. In fact, one game I'm currently enamored with, Radiant Historia, actually levels up everyone that is involved in your game as you go. Of course, that roster stands at about six or seven strong. What do you do when there are tens of others waiting in the wings to get their chance to shine? Most normal games pick out the characters that they like, fit them to the nines, and shove them into battle.

Well, not this guy. Even when the sky is grey with the looming evil that will destroy it, I still want to see the Edwards, the Yuffies, and the Hopes of the world get their chance to show that they can actually fight, too, if given the same care as other characters. I find myself switching parties more often than most people would think to, but there's something of a completionist inside of me that wants to see what 'Sally No-Defense' can do when she's leveled up properly. Why shouldn't that be the way? It's pretty rare that a character is placed into a game simply for fun or a place holder. For that, simply look up 'Jogurt' from Shining Force, and you'll see exactly how a joke character should be played.

Why write this? Maybe it's sort of a challenge. Next time you're playing a game with a group of characters, don't be afraid to put that under-leveled character in with the big boys to raise them up a couple of notches. Not just in RPGs, but in other games, too. Fighting games have tons of differently balanced characters. Next time that you play Super Mario Bros. 2, play someone who isn't the Princess. I know, I know. It may be difficult to part with your favorites, but you may find something interesting in a character you didn't know you could utilize. You may also find a character that crumples like a tin foil dress, no matter how you reinforce them.

Isn't that part of the fun?

Another Hiatus- But Soon to be Fixed

2011-04-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

On a fun note, my computer fried about a week ago. While I've been toiling away on more reviews- including finishing up the last of the Castlevania trilogy for NES, I have no access to any of it until I get a new computer.

Awesome, right?

Well, that should have shipped out today, so it won't be much longer now. Still, someone posted this interesting little article on Facebook today about one of my already proclaimed favorite NES games, Super Mario Bros. 2. Now, if you're a huge retro fan like I am, you already know that Super Mario Bros. 2 was technically a re-skin of a game called Doki Doki Panic in Japan. It was still made by the same team, but-

I guess I'll just let the article explain itself.

Super Mario Bros. 2 = Doki Doki Panic

In any case, I figured that could be an interesting little tidbit for those of you who knew about it, but still were interested in some of the background details. I'll be getting back to this soon, but for now, I'm working on just playing other games and getting a feel for what to write once I come back.

Something Just Prosessed Me - Nintendo Entertainment System - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

2011-03-05T22:07:00.001-08:00

CASTLEVANIA II: SIMON'S QUEST

Nintendo Entertainment System
Konami
(c) 1987
Genre: Horror Role-Playing Platformer

Sometimes, too much of a good thing can be bad. It's not always the case, but nowadays, when a sequel arrives on the scene merely a year after the original, people complain, arguing that not enough work had gone into it or that the company was just trying to cash in while they could. Heck, look at Left 4 Dead 2, and listen to some of the fanboys go off. However, this was par for the course in the days of the good ol' NES. Such was the case with Simon's Quest, the second in the Castlevania series for Nintendo. No one can deny, though, that good or bad, a lot of effort was shoved into this little game over the course of one year.

The second Castlevania game picks up bout seven years after the first. While visiting the family plot, Simon is approached by a strange woman, who tells our hero that a curse was placed upon him by Dracula during their last battle. The only way to fix the curse, of course, is to resurrect Dracula once again and kill him. Still suffering from injuries from the original battle, Simon goes on an adventure to retrieve Dracula's scattered body parts and bring back the Lord of Darkness. Y'know, in order to kill him again.
While the plot leaves a little to be desired, it was certainly creative and made for an interesting story. The mystery of the woman still has yet to be explained, though for the Castlevania savvy, my money says it's Carmilla. It also isn't necessarily explained how these parts were scattered, and why they are in five old abandoned mansions. So long as you don't dig too far, you can enjoy the plot for what it is.

On the surface, this is essentially the same game, except that Simon seems to have gotten paler. When you get into it, though, it sets up the blueprint for pretty much every Castlevania game that we've come to know in the past ten or so years. Rather than traveling left to right to fight a boss, you travel around, finding towns and speaking with townsfolk to figure out what you're doing. You can buy items using hearts, you gain 'levels', which make you stronger and raise your life bar, and you can even upgrade your whip at times.
Each of Dracula's body parts can be found in a mansion throughout the landscape. They act like mini-dungeons that you traverse to find the body parts within and 'liberate' them using an Oak Stake. Oh yeah, as a pro tip, always make sure you have an Oak Stake on hand. There are some cheap tricks in these babies, too, including trick floors, the occasional sub-boss... well, that's actually about it, really. The dungeons are pretty much secondary to the exploration involved with this game.
The sub-weapons are around, too, but instead of switching out every time you collect one, they become a part of your inventory, for use at various points throughout your adventure. Some even have different abilities, like the Holy Water's ability to disintegrate false bricks in houses to open up pathways to some of the best equipment in the game. It's worth seeking out some of the harder ones to find so that you can use them as your adventure unfolds.

One might wonder how Simon's second outing compares to his first. Well, in the same way The Adventure of Link appealed to those that loved the original Legend of Zelda. While it garnered great reviews when it came out, it's a different flavor and adds a different level to the series. If you like the current Castlevania games, you'll love the exploration and the open-ended feeling of this entry. It doesn't feel like a huge world, but it certainly feels like a countryside instead of being cooped up in a castle. Being able to upgrade your whip, some of your sub-weapons (the Golden Dagger is ridiculously game breaking) and your character is a really nice addition to what was a fairly typical platformer on a gameplay level in the original.
There's also a really neat mechanic involved that, on an internal timer, makes the game progress from day to night. During the day, you can travel with fairly easy combat and little trouble. At night, though, you find out just what a terrible night it is to have a curse. The enemies get harder, and the townsfolk are replaced by awful ghouls that traverse the streets. It's a cool mechanic, and the amount of days that goes by does have an actual effect at the endgame. This does end up with a player having to choose if they want to go traveling during the night and risking life and limb or waiting in one spot until daylight comes around.

While the gameplay is altered dramatically and to an interesting effect, the game falters in a very important way. The translation is pretty awful. There are spelling errors everywhere, and the 'clues' that the townsfolk give are so badly translated that you may as well not even have clues most of the time. As a bit of background, apparently, the townsfolk were blatant liars in the original version, but when it was translated, they ended up being barely coherent, save for aiming Simon in the right direction. Even then, some of the puzzles aren't even explained. While I try to lean people away from walkthroughs, completing this game almost requires it. Feel free to try, though, if you're looking for a challenge. While this is the only glaring flaw that this game has, it is nearly crippling at times, and I feel it outweighs a lot of the good in the long run.

The presentation of this game, though, is something I can throw back onto the positive side. The music, like just about every Castlevania game, is ridiculous. As in 'ridiculously awesome'. 'Bloody Tears', one of my favorite tracks of any game ever, is featured in this entry, and the rest of the music is fantastic, as well, especially considering the time. Castlevania might have a few faults, but I can't think of one entry that has the sound and music fall under that category. Of course, that's if you like the rock synth that the games are so well known for in that time.
The graphics are somewhat of a different story than the sound, though. The enemies and townsfolk look excellent, and the backgrounds are satisfactory. Even the change from day into night is portrayed with nightmarish palette changes and designs. The one thing that never seems to improve, however, is the hero and the actual graphics for level tiles. This might be a conscious effort on the part of the designers, but it's a poor one, at least to this reviewer. Whatever the case, that small point is not enough to sour any part of the experience of the game, and it is still very pleasant to look at.

This game, unlike its older brother, doesn't seem to stand up to the tests of time so well. While it has a great amount of interesting points, the one major flaw that it has really does almost incapacitate it. Is it fun? If you have something to aid you through it or a friend willing to sit with you who already knows the ins and outs of the game. Running in circles is only fun for so long, though, and plenty of people would probably throw this game back into the pile without a re-translation. I certainly recommend this game for the hardcore fans, though, and while the game doesn't have the brightest of endings- no matter which one you get- it's still a decent journey.

Just bring a walkthrough and make it a day trip.

A Hard Edged Veteran - Nintendo Entertainment System - Mega Man 3

2011-02-16T19:48:00.000-08:00

MEGA MAN 3

Nintendo Entertainment System
(c) 1990
Capcom
Genre: Action Platformer

I have, yet again, taken a new approach to the idea of reviewing retro games. I have now placed myself in the hands of those I confer with on Facebook. No matter your opinion on said site, it does make it easy for those who would be interested to throw together their opinions into one pot. So I had to ask:

"What retro game should I play through next?"

Bearing in mind, I got some answers that I'm not sure I'll ever get good enough to go through (the original 'Doom' on Nightmare? We'll see.), but I got some good ones, too. One came from a good friend of mine, and since it's one of my favorite games on the NES for a while, I decided to take him up on it. So here it is: Mega Man 3.

Now, as this is the first Mega Man game I have ever reviewed here (and believe me, there are plenty of them), I'll tell you a little bit about the series. Essentially, there are two scientists, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily, who make robots in the future. Dr. Light, as his name would imply, makes them for the good of mankind. Dr. Wily- well, his name also implies his intentions. As Mega Man, the title character and prize project of Dr. Light, you have to stop Dr. Wily's robots from wreaking havoc all over the world. Each entry tends to revolve around this basic premise, and the third installment is no exception. In this entry, Dr. Wily, supposedly reformed from his evil ways, joins Dr. Light to bring a peace bringing robot called 'Gamma' to the world. As no surprise to anyone, another group of robots has gone rogue, and it's up to Mega Man to solve the mystery behind it.

Now, it's going to be kind of strange to not review this series in order, so bear with me. Also, bear in mind that there were two entries before this so I might mention so improvements that simply haven't been gone over here. I definitely suggest playing through the first two before this one to fully appreciate the improvements that have transpired. As far as the basic mechanics go that make the game so great, they have transpired over the past three entries. When you go through a robot master's level, themed to fit their particular flavor, you face off against them. When you defeat them, you get their power for use in later levels. Even better, there's a certain weakness that each robot master has, so if you use that against them, it makes the bosses much easier. In fact, in this iteration, it's almost a requirement. There's very little in the way of mechanics here aside from jumping, shooting, and dodging.
In this entry, there's another move added to Mega Man's ensemble. By holding down and jumping, he can now power slide. This is not just and interesting addition because of gameplay additions, but it also serves as the only way that our hero can duck under obstacles. Also, as you travel through levels, you can find what are now famous items called 'E' tanks. These tanks act as the robot powers do. When you're running low on energy, you can use them to fill your life. If you take your time, you can find a plethora of these incredibly helpful objects, and they do become integral in the later levels. Let's be honest. Mega Man pretty much coined the phrase 'Nintendo Hard'.
The game is a lot of fun. It's the typical formula of learning the patterns of the enemy, learn the patterns of the boss, and feel completely satisfied when you finally beat the level after your fifth try. The difficulty in this game, however, is described by almost every Nintendo fan as 'steep'. The first two games in the series were not picnics. This game, though, sets the bar on a whole new rung. There are a lot of instant deaths. There are a lot of deaths from getting knocked into pits. If you're someone who isn't up for a challenge, this is definitely not the game for you. The catharsis of getting through the needles, the pits, and the cheap shots is like the nectar that gamers live off of.

If the catharsis is the nectar, though, then the music is the candy that sates you until then. The Mega Man series, at least in the 8-bit days, was known for its electric deep beats and fun tinny melodies, and this game is no different. Every theme brings a different feel to each of the levels, and the fact that they're catchy doesn't hurt. Personal favorites include Gemini Man's level and Top Man's level. Finding an all around favorite, though, is like picking a favorite Ninja Turtle: no two people tend to agree. Honestly, though, I think that's what makes the soundtrack so great. The fact that there are so many good tracks that it's difficult for two people to lean toward the same one. The sound effects are what they are. They're electronic representations of electronic things, so they're spot on.
The front end is almost identical to the other games in the series. It's clean, crisp, and somewhat colorful. For its time, it was definitely a forerunner in the graphical department. As a standalone, the backgrounds, the enemies, the creative characters- they all look great. Compared to the rest of the series, it's even a step up.
You know, I went into this set on normalizing the graphics of this game. Instead, I'm just sitting here and praising them. I guess that speaks something of them on its own, eh?

The main downside to this game is that the difficulty that makes it so interesting is also its biggest flaw. The checkpoints are pretty few and far between, especially in the final stretches. When you make it through the whole level, hit a mid-boss, and get sent back to the beginning of the entire level, it takes a lot of wind out of your sails. I'm sure that there were probably a lot of broken systems and cartridges in 1990. To get through this game, you really need to either be sincerely gamer savvy or a sadist. Having a niche because of topic is one thing. Carving a niche because you're difficult? It's not unheard of, but you alienate and frustrate a lot of people.

Truly, the Mega Man series has earned its place in the annals of video game history. Through both fame and infamy, the popularity of the game and series as a whole are still alive today. This entry, for the Mega Man fans, marks the entry of the popular 'might be bad, might be good' Proto Man (known as Break Man in this entry and 'Blues' in Japan), as well as Rush, Mega Man's faithful canine robot/vehicular companion, a new designer (there is a whole story about it on Wikipedia, if you're interested), and the notorious difficulty jump. It's a great game, and it certainly stand up to the test of time much better than its predecessors. They're still using the formula, so whatever my opinion is, the general public says it does. This may be the first time that I actually don't promote a game to everyone in some way. If you haven't played the first two, I would highly advise against this one. The improvements make up for the slight obstacles that one might face, and by the time you get to this entry of the series, you'll be used to the formula. You'll barely notice the spike in difficulty at all. If you decide to just jump to this game...

Well, don't say I didn't warn you...

Backlog Blues

2011-01-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I have an excuse as to why I haven't posted in a while. No, it's not a lack of subject matter to write about. In fact, I have at least four or five games I need to finish reviews for. It's also not that I've lost interest in video games.

Really? Not even a possibility.

No, I've been absent from the blog because I've been trying to chip away at the wall of games in my backlog. Literally, I have a wall with all of my games, stacked and laughing at me that I've never beaten them. Of course, it's all games that I can't necessarily call 'retro', so I haven't really written about them. To resolve this, I may end up writing a bit about the progress through these games. Not so much out of desperation to write in this blog. More to continue promoting the good word of games that people may not have otherwise seen or read about.

I mean, seriously. There are a lot of great games to play through the past twenty plus years. What's a fan to do?

Trials of an Impulse Collector - A Hidden Gem- Depending on How You Look At It

2010-11-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

This is the first personal story I've written in this blog- and it may not be the last. Sometimes, though, these stories are fun, a little weird, and just interesting enough to be scrawled onto the Internet.

Downtown Salem, Massachusetts is home to plenty of little privately owned businesses and one of them happens to be one of the better retro game stores I've seen in the area. Thinking that I had a little extra money in my bank account and a birthday coming up, I ventured down there on my lunch break to see what hidden gems they might have.
Now, I have my problems with this place. The employees are definitely knowledgeable- some of them to the point of ridiculing those who are not- and they are collectors. As a fellow collector, I appreciate this, but that means that their games sell at collectors' prices. As a point of reference, Valkyrie Profile for the original Playstation rings in at about $110. An apt price, but an unfortunate one for anyone who happens to be looking to buy it. The location is convenient, though, and to those of us who actually owned an original Sega Genesis or Nintendo, it's a welcome place to check out games new and used alike.

I walked in, promptly went to the wall with the NES games and Sega games and Game Boy games- you get the idea- and started immediately drooling over the rarities that I knew they would hold. Gameboy Advance games in their original boxes, Playstation games in the big hard plastic rectangles (if you've played them, you know), and Sega games from the era of black and white checkered boxes all greeted me and my leering glares at them. The employee asked if I needed any help and I managed to stutter that I didn't through glimpses at all of the relics around me. Mind you, I make this place sound like a wonderland, but it really is just a hole in the wall that looks like a game store straight out of the 1990's. I convinced myself that I was going to grab a couple of Nintendo games, just to bolster my collection, and be done with it.

Then I saw the system case.

We're talking about Colecovision, Game Gear, Nomad, and 3DO Real Players here, kids. I perused that baby until I saw a few little gems marked at a reasonable price. Those gems would be the ancient technology known as the Sega Saturn.

As it was priced lower than most of the others and the same as its handheld counterpart- the aforementioned Game Gear- I promptly decided to purchase it. The guy behind the counter was extremely informative. It has some internal memory that runs off of what appears to be a watch battery, but you can purchase a backup memory that pops into the cartridge slot at the top. That is definitely NOT for Sega Genesis games. We both agreed that would be pretty sweet, though. Upon inspection, we also agreed that the system was in almost new condition. Either someone had fixed it up really nicely before they put it out or, like most of the people who bought it at the time, they hadn't played it much. Either way, point in my favor. I looked through what little games they had for the system and decided I was just happy having the system itself for now.

Now, looking through the game list, there are a small amount of games that came out in America that I'm interested in getting. Nights Into Dreams is a big one, as well as Resident Evil, as the version that came out on the Saturn had a few extras on it that the Playstation version didn't. Shining Wisdom and Shining the Holy Ark, two entries into the Shining series that Sega produces, would be welcome entries as well. Not only those, but Shining Force III: Scenario One would be awesome. The library that came out in Japan has a lot of games that, frankly, I would kill to have for American release. Lunar: Silver Star Story, Feda: The Emblem of Justice, and Atelier Marie, for instance. I've heard great things, though, about games like Dragon Force, Burning Rangers, and Panzer Dragoon. Mind you, I'm not delusional. I know these will take some time to be able to track down and then purchase. Everyone has wish lists, though, right?

Maybe this story wasn't that interesting, but I wanted to share my retro find with those who check out the blog, as hopefully, I'll have some games soon that I can play around with and experience that I didn't get a chance to when the Saturn was in its hey- it's heyda-

All right, I guess it didn't really have a heyday. Still, it's an interesting little machine, and definitely sleek to look at. Now, my question for you, my adoring public: any of you have any interesting stories or experience with this little system? Maybe some game recommendations?

For more information on this system (and its eventual demise), check it out at 'Console Database': http://www.consoledatabase.com/consoleinfo/segasaturn/

A Stray Note Here And There- But a Nice Melody - Sony Playstation - Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

2010-11-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

RHAPSODY: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE

Sony Playstation
(c) 2000
Atlus
Genre: Strategy RPG

Musicals are everywhere now. If you're not watching 'Glee', there's a musical episode of practically every show out there, and every movie ever made is somehow being fashioned into a musical. Hell, I'm still waiting to see 'Evil Dead: The Musical'. Video games, however, don't tend to descend into the musical genre very often. The occasional dance number (Final Fantasy VIII's 'Waltz for the Moon' comes to mind) springs up every once in a great while, and some games revolve around the power of music, but having a full on musical format? That's not something I can remember.
Leave it to a conglomeration of Atlus and Nippon Ichi to bring us 'Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure', the first RPG to not only feature kingdoms in distress, rivalries and alliances- but also a catchy number every now and then. Now, I've already descended into the madness that is my Atlus fandom, but Nippon Ichi Software, or 'NIS' as it's more commonly referred, has brought another batch of great niche games to the surface. Ever heard of Disgaea, Atelier Iris, or Phantom Brave? Yeah, those guys. While they weren't both necessarily known for their 'not-so-mainstream' efforts at this time, what results from the combined forces of these two compaines?

In Rhapsody, you take the role of Cornet Espoir, a rambunctious girl who dreams of being swept off her feet by a prince someday. Namely, Prince Ferdinand, a handsome ruler in a nearby kingdom. Not only a hopeless romantic, Cornet can also talk to dolls and puppets. To make things weirder, she can use the power of her trumpet to bring them to life. This proves useful, as once the prince is accidentally turned to stone by Marjoly, a lascivious witch clad in what might be classified as colored dental floss, Cornet must use her power to try to save Ferdinand from Marjoly and her cronies. With the help of her faithful puppet, Kururu, and various other strange inhabitants of the lands, Cornet makes her way to save her prince and win his heart.
The game plays out like a lot of other role-playing games. You travel place to place by choosing the location on a map, then travel more in depth once you choose that place. Once you enter a random encounter, however, you're treated to a small grid on which Cornet and up to three of her puppet pals can move about and attack the enemy. Rather than the turn-based battles you would expect, the game's battles play out strategically, like Final Fantasy Tactics or Advance Wars. This is an interesting touch that, like most elements in the game, sets Rhapsody apart from many other RPG's.
The allies are also interesting. Well, as interesting as you can get when you're talking to puppets, I suppose. First, you have to find the puppets, and sometimes they have tasks for you. Once they join, certain puppets will work a bit more effectively if they're in a party with certain other puppets (The Egg Brothers and the Angel Sisters come to mind). On top of that, if you play with those certain puppets in your party up to a certain level, you'll free their souls, which gives you a bit more insight to the 'characters' and, if I remember correctly, makes them a little stronger. Some puppets are tough to find in long interweaving dungeons, and some just arrive in your mailbox. It's up to you to find them. Oh, and you can recruit monsters every so often after battles. Your party options end up pretty large by the end of the game.
So what's Cornet's role in combat? Well, she can attack, which is fine and good, but she can also use her horn to power up her puppets- not the monsters- to make them stronger. As she powers them up, she can perform super attacks. Almost all of them are desert related (Pancake was a particular favorite), but they all provide some very helpful assistance in battle, either creaming the enemy with pastries (get the pun there?) or healing everyone on the board. Cornet's definitely not a wilting flower in terms of combat assistance.

So far as the game goes in terms of 'pros', it's a solid game. The music is fun, the characters are interesting enough for what little development most of them get, and the interface is relatively easy to get through. Personally, I didn't find myself riveted by the plot or the depth of play, but by the sheer fun I had playing the game. The collector in me harkened back to Suikoden and Pokemon where I felt like I needed to recruit every puppet and enemy I could get my greasy little hands on, and there's not one particular character that didn't meet the standards of the rest of the party once they reached the same level, making it easy to interchange characters. This is something I find as an issue more often than not, leaving certain characters by the wayside while others are constants in the party.
The idea of mixing the typical exploration maps of others RPG's of the time with strategy and grid-based combat occurring during fights caught me off guard, at first. It became very interesting very quickly, though, and I liked the touch. It just managed to make the game feel less like a clone of other games being put out at the time. While, from what I know, this was erased from the DS version of the game, I feel like this is another bit of charm that the game puts forth. Definitely a noteworthy effort.

Apparently, however, that wasn't the only thing that was erased from the DS remake. As a brief disclaimer, in case anyone decides that they like this game's idea and they want to experience it, I've heard that the DS version lacks quite a bit of the charm from the original. A lot of promised 'extra' content was left off, and the songs are also absent- which defeats the purpose of it being a musical. This is a brief blurb, as I haven't played that version, but I've heard that if you're a purist, the original is the only way to go.
As for downsides to the original Playstation game, they are all basic and preferential. You can breeze through the game pretty quickly- I think I racked in at about twenty to twenty-five hours- and there really isn't much challenge to speak of. I don't remember seeing the 'Game Over' screen once throughout the game. Much like 'Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest', this almost feels like an introduction to RPG's. I'm not likening the game wholly to FF:MQ, as this doesn't feel dumber down so much as simple. Instead of a slap in the face, it feels like a pat on the bottom through the gate of role-playing.

As would be expected from any musical production, the game's strength lies in its front end. The music is fun and well executed. The musical numbers are a little forced, but that's the theatre in my talking. People in the room were definitely shushed when I was playing this game and a musical number came up, though I think my favorite was the song that the Frogs sing when you reach their village. This sounds a little strange, but you'll get it once you play. You also have to appreciate that everyone- good and bad- gets their chance to shine in a musical number.
The backgrounds and other scenery pieces are very nice with lush green forests, deep russet dungeons, and shimmering blue oceans through each locale. The one thing I disliked, and again, this is personal preference and I can't stress that enough, was that the character portraits weren't just anime. They were incredibly warped anime. The character sprites are amazing, and being able to see a bunch of the production art throughout the game shows just how good the artist was, but the faces that appear with all of the text almost seemed to be squashed into the space of the text box rather than resized. This wouldn't be a con usually, but whenever someone talks, the faces appear and it is something you're constantly reminded of. It's a nitpick. I openly admit it.

While the game is brimming with charm and entertainment, the game itself does not hold up to the test of time very well. What it does do is serve as a happy reminder of RPG's back in their heyday, when no every main character had to be an anti-hero and not every plot had to end with the party fighting thirteen incarnations of the main boss followed by the actual 'main boss'. It's a diversion and a jovial one at that, never taking itself too seriously and showing that you don't have to be the deepest or most advanced game to show a player a good time. You won't walk away from this game with your life changed, but you'll sit back with a smile on your face and a good mood while the credits roll- if you're into that sort of thing.

Certainly No Slouch!

2010-09-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

All righty, pardners.

...yeah, I won't do that again.

In any case, I've been playing a whole bunch of games, per usual, though I've strayed a bit from my 8 and 16 bit retro games that I so love to dote on. Lately, it's been about the PSX and PS2. Specifically, I'm finding my RPG roots again. With what, you might ask?

I've found myself obsessed with the Wild Arms series over time. Definitely not my favorite (that title goes to Atlus' Persona series, I might have mentioned before), but it has a lot of charm, a lot of heart, and a lot of fun. I remember beating the original Wild Arms a long time ago and loving it, so I started playing 'Wild Arms: Alter Code F'. For those of you unaware, that's a remake of the original that burst onto the PS2 scene a while back. By burst, I mean kind of snuck on and happened, but for the fans, it was a burst. In any case, I just couldn't finish it. For some reason, I felt like the charm and heart of the original had been sucked out, despite having the same characters, situations, and everything else. Something was missing. You won't be reading a review of that one anytime soon.

That's when I decided to pick up the rest of the series and play through. As of right today, I finished up the first disc of Wild Arms 2 (Wild Arms 2nd Ignition, I think you can find it as, too), and I have to say that no game in my recollection has had a more interesting End of Disc dungeon than 'Heimdal Gazzo'. While the game itself is interesting, the final dungeon had me glued to my seat the entire time. Not to mention that that cast is awesome, the game itself has epic moment after epic moment- I mean, this game really has snagged my attention.

Well, I suppose I should head off to finish playing Dokapon Kingdom with the gang- which if we ever beat that, I'll have to have a whole post for it, since no one I know has ever beaten this game- but expect some good stuff soon.

Oh yeah, and a remake of Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals is coming out next month. Guess what I'm going to have to finish beforehand?

Life Is Like a Well-Formed Hurricane I- In Duckburg - Nintendo Entertainment System - Ducktales

2010-07-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

DUCKTALES

(c) 1990
Nintendo Entertainment System
Capcom
Genre: Action Platformer

Licensed game.

Did that send shivers down your spine? Usually, it should. We've seen the old formula. A popular TV show or movie gets enough exposure to warrant a video game adaptation. In these adaptations, most companies rely on familiarity and customer loyalty (for proof of this, go back and read my review on Friday the 13th for the NES). This usually ends up in a hackneyed game pieced together from pieces of the source material and completely out of place situations for the sake of game play. Would it thrill you, then, if I told you that not every game taken from some other form of media was absolutely terrible?

Okay, okay. I see the doubt in your eyes. Well, for your approval, I submit 'Ducktales' for the NES. If you've ever seen the show (or grew up in the early 90's), you know 'Ducktales' follows Scrooge McDuck, a millionaire mallard who finds himself in various positions of attaining money, losing and re-finding his money, or just general misadventures. In the game, however, Scrooge is working his way through six locales to find their treasures and become the world's richest duck. While I was sure there was no competition, the old man finds himself facing various villains from the show and otherwise who want to keep their treasures. Apparently, some other duck named Flintheart Glomgold is challenging your title. He manages to show up in the final stretch- and nowhere else- but he's quite the- formidable...

Anyway, the mechanics are simple. You run and jump, like any other platformer, but you can also use Scrooge's cane in two incredibly vital functions: when met with certain obstacles, you can lean against them and swing your club to destroy them or send them at enemies or you can jump into the air and, with by holding down and a button press, it becomes a pogo stick which lets you bounce off of enemies, over spikes, and higher than you jump normally. Both of these will need to be mastered if you're going to make it through Transylvania, the Himalayas, and even the Moon. Numerous jumping puzzles, illusion walls, and branching paths to reach the boss of each level make for a very satisfying and interesting game to play through.
As you go through the game, you'll also run into familiar characters from the show, of course, like Scrooge's nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Those three don't particularly help aside from hints at shortcuts, but other characters like Mrs. Beasley, the maid, and Launchpad, the pilot, offer food to recover your health and a way out of the level if you're in too far over your head, respectively. If you can help to find Bubba, the not-so-bright caveman that tags along with the crew occasionally, he'll give you an extra energy slot. Don't say I never helped you out, eh? Nah, I'm kidding, but it does prove useful, as one would think.

Where does this game lie exactly, then? Well, while there are absolutely no glaring issues, the game does have a few minor problems. For one, the collision detection is a bit broad, forcing you to get hit by things that a bit off from where they feel they should be hitting. There are also a couple of jumping puzzles, mostly including mine carts, where the timing is terribly off and ends with Mr. McDuck taking a long plunge and losing unnecessary lives.

Keeping that blurb short is easy. The game shines with interesting locales, great mechanics that are easy to get and tough to master, and a gradual difficulty slope, which already puts it three rungs above most games I've rated in this thing. Add in the fact that this was actually an enjoyable source that the game was drawn from, and the impression is pretty vivid. Each level has it's own enemies that take different tactics to defeat, and some of the stages have their own properties: the Amazon has a lot of vines to traverse in climbing puzzles while the Himalayas can end with Scrooge up to his waist in snow with the wrong jump. Starting from the top of the list of locales- as you can choose whichever level you want to play in whatever order- the levels do seem to get harder and harder. Even if you disagree, you can't say that The Moon is not the hardest level of the six, and it is the last of them. It may have been personal observation. Regardless, while most games have sudden spikes in difficulty, this game actually adheres to some kind of linear progression- as long as you stay linear with it.

As a side note, if both of these blurbs seem shorter than usual, there's a reason. The game comes and goes pretty quickly, clocking in at about half an hour to forty-five minutes. There's no save or password function, so if you die, that's it. You start over. On the plus side, with a game that short, it's not like you'd be wasting too much time by dying and starting again.

The front end of the game is surprisingly well-done. The graphics are colorful, with characters looking as they should, well-animated enemies, and neatly designed levels, the palette is rarely boring. Even in certain levels where the screen is really made up of two to three colors and nothing more, it's still a treat to travel through. I can't really pick out anything I disliked as far as the graphics go, as everything really was done well, though still on par with the Nintendo graphics of the time.
The music is, pardon my language here, catchy as hell. For a few days after I played the game, I had various themes stuck in my head, and I can still hear the music from the Himalayas level while I'm writing this review. Upon further exploration, I found that the theme from The Moon level is apparently regarded as one of the best themes from a Nintendo game. In short, the game's soundtrack is delightful and well-done. If there was one gripe I have about the sound effects, though, it would be that some of them seem loud just to justify being more prominent than the background music. Particularly, when some enemies die, they emit a harsh sound that can be almost disturbing to the ears. Thankfully, it doesn't put a damper on the rest of the game's aural boons.

This game is a testament to how a platformer can make it through a large chunk of time and still be charming, challenging, and fun. If you're a fan of platform games at all, I highly recommend picking up a copy of 'Ducktales' and trying to cruise through it. It's taken me, grand total, about a year to beat it since my best friend's wife challenged me to (and whupped the game in about twenty minutes- or so it felt- with both hidden treasures and the best ending you can get). I'm glad I took the time to try it a few times in the interim and play through it. A little of my faith in licensed games has returned.

Just a little.

Dropped the Ball... Again

2010-07-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

So as many of you may have noticed, this blog isn't being updated nearly as much as I have meant for it. For anyone who checks it out when it does update, I apologize! I know at least a couple of people who have fun reading through the reviews, and I've got a few waiting in the wings or in progress, but real life keeps getting the better of me- as well as the slew of new games coming out that I've been slowly getting sucked into.

In the meantime, I posted a review of 'Summon Night: Swordcraft Story' for the GameBoy Advance- and I also lost most of the screenshots I saved that weren't of the end sequence/plot spoilers, so I'm sorry that it isn't as pretty as the others- and I've been checking out some of the older Dragon Warrior games thanks to having been addicted to Dragon Quest IX since it hit my DS.

This post is more of a reminder that I'm alive, still playing games, and still hoping to post some reviews up here as I get through games!

A Short Trip Into Steampunk Fun - GameBoy Advance - Summon Night: Swordcraft Story

2010-07-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

SUMMON NIGHT: SWORDCRAFT STORY

(c) 2006
Game Boy Advance
Atlus
Genre: Action RPG

This is a step forward somewhat from where this blog has been recently- and I don't just mean adding a post finally. This is the first GBA game to be entered into the blog, which I feel is retro enough at this point to be considered eligible. As a huge RPG fan, I was thrilled to see that my husband was interested in picking up an RPG series called 'Summon Night: Swordcraft Story'. Not only was it another Atlus game, but it was also an RPG I had heard of and heard praise toward. As soon as it reached the house, it went right into the system.

Apparently, 'Summon Night' is a series with numerous entries, all revolving around the same world and types of mythology, but not having much correlation between the entries. The 'Swordcraft Story' entries take a form similar to the 'Tales' series, if you've ever played those. In the first one, you play as a male of female (your choice) who decides to follow in their father's footsteps to become a great Craftlord, someone who makes incredible and legendary weapons. To do this, the player ends up with a Summon Creature whom is necessary to help with the crafting of said weapons, and takes part in a tournament which is meant to designate the next Craftlord. Throughout the adventure, you take part in side adventures, tournament battles, and make friends along the way. All the while, you're also finding out about your father, a great man who sacrificed himself for the sake of your family, friends, and even world.
The game doesn't exactly break ground in the plot department, nor in the combat department. It's all been done before on those ends. The steampunk atmosphere is very neat, though, and the game flourishes in its weapon creation process. Throughout the game, you venture into a training labyrinth beneath the castle where the tournament takes place, training yourself against monsters and gathering supplies. With these supplies, you can make stronger and more efficient weapons, which will help in your battles in the tournament. The game, taking place over ten days, gives you ample opportunity to do these things, and some quests even let you receive enchanted blueprints, which you can use to make better weapons.
Another neat concept is that your Summon Creature- in my case, a temperamental floppy eared thing named 'Kutty', which could only say its own name- joins you in battle to cast spells which can attack your enemy or buff you or your weapon. While it learns multiple spells, it can only equip a certain amount, as well as equipping items to help in battle, so it adds a level of strategy to the battles. Considering that the battles are not always terribly easy, this is a great boon when used correctly.
Along the lines of companionship, at the end of each day, your character, restless as he/she is, wants to go for a walk, which means you pick a character they have met and they have a little story cutscene in which they bond. These scenes provide the depth to the story that can compare to the depth of the crafting. Without them, the game would be quite shallow. In my game, I chose to bond with Sanary, a spitfire of a warrior, who has more girl power than the Spice Girls could ever hope for, but there's also Varil, the snotty heir to the opposing guild, Razzy, an eager and naive relative to your master, Sakuro, a Craftlord and dear friend of your family, or you can just hang out with your Summon Creature. Either way, it very mildly affects part of your ending, but it's neat to see some of the backstory of other people, as they don't just come across as stereotypes once you do that.

The game evades some easy pitfalls to land in throughout the story, which is a major plus, though the game isn't terribly long- my save file rings it at just over fifteen hours. For one thing, you run through the labyrinth beneath the Craftlord castle numerous times as the game goes on, but whether it's through plot events, scenery changes, or simply running through dungeons in other locales, the game manages to avoid the common issue with dungeons that you constantly return to. Whereas in some other games of the sort, it feels like the game is just extending its shelf life by having you go through the same thing over and over again, it feels fresh each time you head into the labyrinth, which could have been a killer to the game's fun factor.
The game's crafting system is what the entire game is built around, and it's the strongest part of the game by far. Each type of weapon (there are six of them, if memory serves) has it's strengths and weaknesses- gloves focus on speed and attacking numerous times while spears focus on one good hit at a time, for instance- and as you continue making them, you can make stronger versions with certain materials you find, including weapons with elemental traits. The amount of weapons you can make is staggering, and though they are only released to you gradually, finding rare blueprints for weapons through people in town and general trial and error makes the process even more fun.

The downside of the game lies more in style than in execution. While the main story is cliché, the side stories are fairly interesting. Players may find themselves more drawn to the side characters than the main character and her ordeal as the game goes on, and that can be deterring for someone since you're playing as the main character, after all. Also, for the first half of the game, you may find it hard to navigate through the city the game takes place in. This grinds the action to a halt on occasion, and that may stop some people from continuing past the halfway point in the game. Combined with the basic JRPG feel of the game's art and dialogue may make some hardcore RPG fans turn off the game and throw it back into the pile of 'I'll finish that later' titles.

The game is a great distraction, and if you're looking for a good RPG on the GBA, you would do well to grab this game, if you can find it. Just like any other Atlus game, finding this one is not easy and while it doesn't quite hit the ranks of other RPG's on the system, it does crave a niche for itself. If you like the 'Tales of...' games or collection/crafting games, you'll love this game. Otherwise, I would say give it a whirl. You don't see games like this as often as you used to, which may mean it doesn't stand up to the test of time. If you enjoyed playing RPG's on Playstation 2 and earlier systems, though, give this one a whirl. It's got a nostalgic feel and it's not so long that you'll lose your life over it.

Happy crafting!

Speaking of 'Overkill'... - Movie Review #2 - The House of the Dead

2010-05-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

HOUSE OF THE DEAD
2003

Based on: The House of the Dead series (various consoles, most notably Arcade)
Directed by: Uwe Boll
Starring: Jonathan Cherry, Ona Grauer, Tyron Leitso, and Ellie Cornell

Here we are. Another video game movie awaiting judgment, and while Super Mario Bros. may not have fared well, 'House of the Dead', a film adaptation of the classic light gun series, find itself casting a long dark shadow over not just Mario but all others from the game world who have dared to grace the silver screen. Anyone who has heard of Uwe Boll or is familiar with his work knows that just about everything he touches has an opposite Midas effect. How bad could a game, already skimping on plot, really be when it's translated to the big screen?

For a bit of a background, the original game takes place when two agents, G and Rogan, find themselves investigating a large mansion to find out the cause for many disappearances and strange goings on. They become wrapped up in a house littered with zombies and other creatures, hence the title. With five entries under the game's belt, all of them just as ludicrous as their counterparts, one would guess that there is ample plot to work with in some way. Sometimes, a movie wins points for originality, though.
That would not be the case here. While the concept is intriguing, it takes an awful lot to believe this would actually happen- or even happen in a video game. See, the biggest rave of the century is going on at a small isolated island and everyone wants to be there, including our hapless 'heroes'. After chartering a fishing boat for $1000, Simon (Leitso), Alicia (Grauer), and a bunch of other fodder find themselves en route. Not only that, but to add unnecessary tension, Rudy (Cherry) is there, and as Alicia's ex-love interest, he's none to pleased to see her there, let alone with Simon. He'd be happier, one would bet, if the crew didn't show up to a wrecked rave site when only a handful of people have survived a zombie massacre (which our group was warned of before even boarding their boat, as a reminder). That's where the fun begins.
Everything plays out as one would expect, though in horrifying sequences of intense rock music and seizure inducing editing. The actual 'house' spoken of in the title is barely used, and the 'heroes' of the story are mostly unlikable brats, save for one character, Karma (played by Enuka Okuma), who is still not terribly likeable but at least fun to watch. The only real saving grace to this movie, in my opinion, was seeing Ellie Cornell (of Halloween 4 and 5 fame) appear as Jordan Casper, a National Guard type officer who tries her hardest to stop the kids from getting to the island and tries even harder to protect them once they're there. While not exactly Meryl Streep, you can see that, just like the rest of the cast, Cornell is just phoning it in. Half of the lines in the movie are disjointed, and the other half of them are so dumb, they should have been cut. This is, by the way, no fault of the actors, who certainly have shown their acting chops in other ways throughout film and television. Perhaps it was the stilted dialogue, or the half-hearted (if even existent) direction. Your cast is only as good as their source material, though.

The one thing the movie could have done right was the violence. Not only is this a zombie movie, but this is a zombie movie based on people shooting zombies. Nothing more, nothing less. The problem here is that they overdo it. 'How?', you might ask. Picture it. Our group (or what's left of them), find themselves at the edge of a forest, faced with the task of reaching the house. What lies between them? About thirty feet of graveyard. Nothing more, nothing less. With the appearance of zombies, one would assume this might take five or ten minutes tops for all of these able bodied people to reach the house. Not so. If I remember my timing correctly, it may have been somewhere around seventeen to twenty minutes of rehashed shots looping and weird video game-esque cutaways before even one of them finds their way to the door. Not only is this incredibly dull, but it begins to mess with your senses and you zone out due to all of the flashing and cutting and loud music. Now, take that and stretch if throughout 85 percent of the movie.

Yeah.

Certainly, I can say that Uwe Boll hsa a gamer's mind. You may hate him- as do most video game and cinema buffs- but there are interesting ideas strewn throughout. At one point, a character dies and it shows one of the classic cutaways as the screen bleeds to red. It's reminiscent of a 'game over' screen, and while it could have been handled better, it is only used once and comes off as incredibly stupid as a result. He also places actual scenes from the game throughout. This, though, is not really up there on the interesting ideas. While trying to stick with the idea that the movie is essentially a video game, the viewer rarely wants to see images from said game in the movie. Either Boll is a hardcore game fan or he used a lot of gimmicks to cover up the fact that this movie is about as fun as pushing a steak into your eyes and locking yourself into a room with hungry wolves.

As a huge fan of the game series, it disappoints me to see this happen. While I know it's not particularly based on one game or another (Spoiler Alert: The movie ends by surprising the audience that it's a prequel to the game series), other movies of this ilk have some kind of redeeming quality. This one, though, cops out on just about every angle, replacing anything even halfway fun with over the top dialogue, video effects, and anything else it can find to appeal to twelve year old boys who've been hit one too many times with the medicine ball.

Well, maybe it could be good for one thing. I'm sure a drinking game set to this would be fantastic.

Not Much In the Upstairs, At Least You're Pretty - Sega Genesis - Greendog - The Beached Surfer Dude!

2010-05-24T00:50:00.000-07:00

GREENDOG - THE BEACHED SURFER DUDE!

Sega Genesis
Sega of America
(c) 1992
Genre: Action Platformer

It's been a while since the Sega Genesis got a bit of the spotlight here at 3PStart, so I'm pleased to say that I went diving to find an interesting game with an interesting story and fun trivia. The journey was successful to an extent, and 'Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude' was unveiled. Who is this Greendog and why is he beached? We can find out together.

Greendog is a surfer dude, and not just any surfer dude. He's one of the best. He's hit all of the best waves, but one day, a gnarly monster of a curl knocks him off of his board and he wakes up in another world- though not that far from ours. Not only that, but he has a golden chain on that he can't remove. Along comes Bambi, the obligatory blonde babe in a bikini, who lets our mop headed hero know that not only does this chain provoke creatures, animal and human, to cause him harm, but also it prevents him from surfing. Being accosted by all those you run into, that's something our hero can deal with, but no surfing?! Uncool. There's a solution, though, and so Greendog heads off to a bunch of different islands to find the six pieces of the lost Surfboard of the Ancients, which will lift the curse.
Maybe it's not the stuff that dreams are made of, but for the time, it was an interesting premise. Greendog was brought out around the time of Alex Kidd to try and find a good mascot for the Genesis. Incidentally, Sonic the Hedgehog won out, and with good reason. It's hard to imagine 'Mario and Greendog at the Olympics' or 'Greendog Adventure DX' while playing this, but it is also hard to fathom why there wasn't at least a sequel. The premise was just as interesting as 'plumber goes to save a princess' or 'hedgehog saves a bunch of animals from technology'. Too niche, perhaps, or maybe upon finding Sonic, Sega gave up on the would-be franchise? In any case, the game does promise a sequel at the end, and Sega fails to deliver. Greendog was ported to the Game Gear a year later, though, so that's something.

The game plays like any other platformer. You run, you jump, you avoid obstacles and dispatch enemies. In this game, you hurl a Frisbee at your enemies to get rid of them, along with utilizing power ups like a sentient Frisbee, a time stopping watch, and a parasol that slows your descent during jumps. Some deviations do occur from level to level, though, as using Greendog's skateboard, inline skates, or 'gyrocycle'- which is just a unicycle that flies- brings about other types of level traveling. In fact, you may find yourself groaning in frustration at seeing any skateboards again after playing this game. The game doesn't really have a set structure. Some levels are longer, some are shorter, but they always end in a temple, and that's where you face one of two bosses. Some temples include a boss Tiki tower at the end that must be defeated while each had performs a special attack against you and some temples are an intense skateboard/inline skate course that you must navigate from one end to another. Suprisingly, the final 'boss' is a skateboard level rather than an actual boss, which is a blessing and a curse. In fact, speaking of blessings and curses-

This game has plenty of flaws. For instance, there is no way to tell how much being hit by something is going to add to your damage bar. Sometimes, hitting a spike will take of a sliver of life while other times, it will halve your life bar. Also, one of my platformer pet peeves: auto-kill zones. These wouldn't bother me as much if they weren't only featured in the skateboard and inline skate levels. These are really the only 'way too hard' parts of the game, though the rest of the game offers enough of a challenge already. Sadly, the game also just kind of comes to an end. It's not satisfying, and it feels like there should be more when suddenly, you're at the end. All in all, the game does kind of fall flat, as it is an anticlimax by nature. The other issue is that the controls don't feel nearly as responsive as other games of the system and time. Greendog tends to find himself slipping off of ledges and into spikes and controls a little like a car on a wet road.

It's obvious that Greendog is not a shining example of platform gaming, but it gives a good go at it. The first few levels are fun, and there are plenty of secrets to be found. The game is fun, but it's hard to tell why. The level designs are interesting, the game itself is unique, but to what end is it a game of any merit?

I think I might know.

The sound is the best part of the game. Even more so when you consider the time, as the soundtrack is all surf and Calypso themed. While this can be irritating once you've heard the Temple theme over and over again, the individual levels have awesome music. That goes especially for Mustique, the second level. The theme of the game is pretty neat, too. The only sound that felt out of place was good old Greendog's yelp of pain, which sounds more like an eight year old than a surfer dude. The sound of a perfectly sane creature nearby being set off by your pendant, though, is both jarring and hilarious.
Rounding out the presentation, the graphics are also pretty stellar, especially standing up to Sonic and Alex Kidd. The backgrounds and scenery are detailed and vivid, enemies are well rendered in their pixelated glory, and everything graphically is as tight as could be expected and then some. My favorite thing is the comical little guy that stars in the game. Greendog himself, despite just being a mop of blonde hair and a pair of swim trunks, is a blast to watch and play as, which is just as important as anything else in the game.

This may be the first time this has been the case, but the graphics and presentation really are what hold this game together. The game itself has pretty little substance, despite some fun gimmicks, but the game itself is very pretty and put together. While this game doesn't hold up as well with passed time, it does implement a tactic that many games do nowadays: if you make the game pretty, it doesn't matter how the game plays. Ahead of it's time? Certainly not. This game was ranked around a 'B-' on most review scores I read, and I have to say that this particular student is a 'C', dead in the middle. Check it out at your own discretion and you may enjoy it, but there are better platformers to enjoy on this system.

We're Gonna Rock this Town... Just- Quietly... - Nintendo Entertainment System - Rockin' Kats

2010-05-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

ROCKIN' KATS

Nintendo Entertainment System
(c) 1991
Atlus
Genre: Action Platformer

Every incredible developer has their humble beginnings. Nintendo had Mario Bros. and the Legend of Zelda. Sega had Sonic the Hedgehog and Alex Kidd. Even lesser known companies than those like Konami and Capcom have their beginnings. Then, there are niche developers that have interesting beginnings that one wouldn't expect. Take Atlus, for example, who is well-known by many gamers as the purveyors of games like Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and various other interesting titles. One of their four games for the NES, Rockin' Kats, is much more mainstream than their position now would have one assume. No demons or crucifixions here. Just good clean fun.

All right, so we have this little title here 'Rockin Kats', where New York City has been taken over by, as you may have guessed already, dogs. One dog in particular, Mugsy, has been a thorn in the side of Willy, an upcoming and coming jazz performer who goes by the name of 'The Rockin Kat'. When Mugsy kidnaps his girlfriend, a hot little number named Jill, Willy decides to take matters into his own hands and save her. Through five different channels- what the game uses for levels- Willy will punch, jump, and swing his way through hordes of enemies to save his girlfriend and his city.

The game's idea is simple: make your way through each level, go through the final level, and defeat Mugsy. It's the intricacies of the game that score it points. As you go through the levels, you collect money to spend on the Shopping Channel, on of the two optional channels that lets you buy power-ups and extra lives, or the Bonus Channel, where you can play mini-games to earn more money. Y'know, to spend on the Shopping Channel. Honestly, if you get good enough at the pipe toss, you can spend fifteen minutes there and be set for the rest of the game with power ups and lives. Each level has a few zones, a mid-boss, and a final boss, all of which can prove to be more challenging than the game's exterior would imply.
Mastering Willy's punch gun is not just important- it's essential. Not only can you punch out enemies, but you can use the gun to grab onto overhanging pipes or ledges to swing from, hold the punch button down to create an open hand to grab items with which to throw at enemies, or punch the ground in mid-air to launch yourself into a sort of extended double jump. Add in the power ups that let you hit harder, throw bombs, or shoot twin balls from your glove (not to mention the 'Jet Sneakers', which let you hover for a short time during your jump and I found incredibly useful), and you've got a whole slew of things to customize your playthrough.

What makes this game stand out amongst its platformer brethren? Well, for the most part, it's the challenge that it offers. The game really is one of those 'only on the NES' difficult games. Maneuvering in mid-air, changing weapons three or four times throughout the level, as you can only use one at a time, and stronger than average bosses are par for the course here. Factor in the fact that once you actually complete the game and save Jill, a total number of five times, Mugsy invites you to battle him on a more difficult stretch of terrain without any money or power-ups. Mario was tough, but Rockin' Kats brings a new meaning to the word 'challenge' so far as platform games are concerned. Thankfully, the game has a password function, and the continue process only brings you back to the beginning of the level when you lose all of your lives.
In fact, for such a challenging game, Rockin' Kats is also very forgiving. There are plenty of extra lives strewn about, for those willing to take the extra leap to get to them, as well as health refreshers, and dying doesn't take you too far back into the level as each zone is relatively short. Whereas some games of this time became tedious or so aggravating that you didn't want to pick them up again, Rockin' Kats finds a way to continue being fun, even when you're dying over and over again.

That's all well and good, but now for the bad parts of the game. It's hard to screw up a platform game, and Atlus did a fine job with constructing this one. The worst complaint is the wonky physics in the game. In certain situations, the punch gun doesn't react as quickly as one would like or expects, resulting in missed grabs and lost lives sometimes. Not to mention that some of the enemies simply disappear when they go slightly off screen, while some reappear if you back track a step too far, again resulting in unexpected hits and lost lives. Long and short, the game suffers from weird technical difficulties, though once you get the hang of those, it's easy enough to continue on without much hassle.

In a technical aspect, though, the front end is well off enough. The game's music doesn't stand out as great or terrible. The ending music is the only music that comes off as 'memorable' at all, though, the theme from 'Downtown' will be stuck in your head for a while. A lot of the music is used over again in different parts of the game, most noticeable being the graveyard and the cavern areas use similar, if not the exact same, music. It is jaunty, though, and a lot of the music the player experiences has a nice jazzy feel to it. The sound effects lend a cartoon feel to the game that is strengthened by its visuals and comic book tones in its 'cut scenes'.
The graphics are decent. 'Perfectly average' may be the correct term to use here. While not astounding, the graphics are pleasant and crisp. No deformed characters (well, y'know...) and nothing that can be remembered as being terribly portrayed. The one complaint my be that, for the most part, boss battles play out in front of a blank black screen, with few exceptions. While it helps to concentrate on just the boss, it does feel a little lazy. The backgrounds tend to veer toward really interesting and colorful or really plain and boring.

While the game is tough, it's easy to see why it fell into mediocrity. If it weren't for the tough nature of the game, it would be completely cookie cutter. On the outside, it is, which is probably why few people know the game exists. If you get the chance to pick it up, though, do it. Check it out, as this reviewer has fond memories of hunkering down on a couch with a couple of friends when he was younger and battling their way through it to save New York City. If you like Mario, Sonic, or any of the rest of those, you'll surely enjoy traveling along with Willy on his adventure. You just probably won't remember much more than the title and this review when a month or so passes.

So What About Those Other Coins We've Been Collecting...? - Game Boy - Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins

2010-04-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

SUPER MARIO LAND 2 : THE SIX GOLDEN COINS

Game Boy
Nintendo
(c) 1992
Genre: Action Platformer

If I admit something here, I hope no one holds it against me: I reviewed Super Mario Land mostly so I could get to its sequel and review it. That might be harsh, but my memories of 'Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins' is much more pleasant and vivid than that of the original. Sometimes, though, heroes don't always stand up to the test of time, as we've seen with a few other games of old in posts past. What does that say for this little gem?

This game picks up right where the last one left off. After defeating Tatanga and rescuing Princess Daisy, Mario finds out that Tatanga was hired by a nefarious 'man-child' named Wario who hired Tatanga to kidnap Daisy and distract the plumber while he overtook Mario Land and turned it into 'Wario Land'. Hypnotizing the denizens of the lands, he reigns supreme over what once was yours. Traveling through six different zones, Mario must find the golden coins that will let him back into his castle so he can defeat Wario and take back his claim. Weird canon, but somehow for Mario, this is kind of tame. Oh yeah, and as a side fact, this is the second Mario game to have a 'save' feature, the first being Super Mario World. We aim to educate and entertain here.
This game does mark the first appearance of everyone's red nosed rival, Wario, as well as more of a non-linear gameplay option. There are six zones that you need to conquer, but you can conquer them in any order you want to. For example, there's a Space Zone, Turtle Zone, and Pumpkin Zone (my personal favorite) among the list, and should you decide that you don't want to do swimming levels, you can skip the Turtle Zone to head off to the Space Zone, or if you don't want to float about carelessly, you can head off to the Pumpkin Zone. It gives a level of freedom that is almost reminiscent of Super Mario World.
Just like the original Super Mario Land, though, this one takes a few conventions and flips them onto their head. For one, you still collect coins, but rather than receiving an extra life for 100 of them, you collect up to 999 and then use them in games of chance to try and get special items or lives- dependant on how much you spend, of course. When you kill 100 enemies, which is tallied on the bottom of the screen along with coins and whatnot, you get a star which makes you invincible. If you grew up expecting the same thing from the original games in this one, you'd probably be really confused. At this juncture in time, though, it's nice to see a little bit of a change, even if it's only for the portable Mario fans.
One last thing to add, but there is a power up that joins the fray, and it's probably my favorite one in memory, to be honest: the carrot. The carrot allows you to turn into 'Bunny Mario', which allows you to float by flapping your ears. While this is fairly similar to the cape in Super Mario World, I find the bunny suit to be much more fun, if not more for novelty's sake that anything else. Another side note: the fire flower you had come to know and love that was kind of tweaked for the original Super Mario Land is now back to it's flame-y goodness.

All right. The lowdown on this game is that it's ultimately better than Super Mario Land. Let me clarify that this is only in certain areas. For instance, it's a much longer game. In fact, compared to the size of the original, this one is supposedly double the size. It shows in everything from the graphics to the music and even to the length of the game itself. For the most part, it's a great game on the front end. Not only that, but the game is so different from the rest of the games in the series, you can't help but want to check it out. Not to mention that the game does bring to life one of the most prolific side characters in Mario history, Mister Wario himself. All in all, a lot of ideas came out of this game, and many are used today still.

So where does the game falter?

Sadly, this is where we get into the front end of things. Gameplay is great, but the game itself is just- well, you'll see. Remember how I said that Super Mario Land was kind of ugly? Well, at least it was trying. Think of this entry as the pretty and lazy sister of the original. Yeah, it looks nice, but when I pick up a shell, I expect to be holding it over my head in triumph, not balancing it on my head while I run as I always have. Also, Wario is super malformed, and I'm not sure if it's the artist's fault or the capacity of the game. They are little things compared to the awesome background details in some levels and the fact that things look bright and vivid again, as compared to the original. It's the little details that make this game feel a bit like it was a cash cow more than a work of art.
The sound is nice. Your basic sound effects are familiar and make as much sense as in any Mario game. The music falters and flourishes on the same note, however. I mean that literally. The same theme plays throughout most of the game, but in different variations. While it's neat to hear it all spaced out or kind of spooked up, it's another piece that kind of comes off as lazy, and certainly not as memorable as the original's score. One bit of interest that I found while I was looking this up was that a song called 'Totaka's Song' is placed somewhere in the game, which is a big game conspiracy that I looked into. I suggest that any other hardcore game fans also look it up, as it's super interesting.

Now, the moment of truth is before us. This game certainly does not falter in the face of time's test. It's crisp, clean, and fun, even by today's standards. Does that make it a great game? Certainly. Does this reviewer prefer it over the original? That's something even I'm trying to suss out. On the one hand, it's prettier and much more drawn out, leaving me feeling more like I've actually played through a game. On the other hand, I feel like hard work actually went into the first one and produced a more overall enjoyable experience. Maybe it was space limitations, maybe it was just a hangover day at the Nintendo offices, but something about Super Mario Land 2: The Golden Coins was incredible fun but made me feel like something was missing. Whatever the case, I strongly recommend that if you are a Mario fan and have not played this game yet, you should turn in your Nintendo Club card until you actually do. This one, whatever my personal feelings may be, is a classic.

What Once Was Heralded... - Game Boy - Penguin Wars

2010-04-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

PENGUIN WARS

Game Boy
Ascii Entertainment
(c) 1990
Genre: Action

Well, now that I've officially decided that April is 'Game Boy Month', I figure why not continue the ball rolling with more black and white goodness? In the spotlight this time is a lesser known piece called 'Penguin Wars'. Some of you may have played the game in 1985 on the Nintendo Entertainment System, as it apparently graced a few platforms in its day. Honestly, I remember playing this when I was younger with some of the kids I lived near and, while I'm not one hundred percent sure, I think I remember playing it with a link cable between us. After this article, I'll certainly be looking up information on the Gameboy and all of its features, for two reasons:

1. This is supposed to be a retro video game blog, and as such, consoles should probably be listed, too. It would be fun to delve a little more into the actual systems in retrospect, as well.
2. The Action 52 Challenge (feel free to read back if you're just joining our program) is something that I have failed. While I'll finish the games and their mini reviews at some point, to be honest, I understand the awful that is the game and I wanted to move onto other things. Just think of it as the tiger under the bed. At some point, it will leap our and tear out your eyes.

With that said, onto Penguin Wars. The game's premise is really simple. A bunch of animals at a zoo get together and play a game where you roll balls across a table onto your opponents side. Let's use our 8-bit sense of disbelief here, kids. Playing as one of five animals, you are placed in the task of defeating your fellow combatants and becoming the king of the zoo. Of course, it gets harder as you go, but there's really no other premise here. You can also hit your opponent to stun them for a short time while you throw balls onto their side, so there's another factor involved. Each animal- rat, penguin, rabbit, cow, and bat- has a different walking speed, throwing speed, and stun recovery, but other than that, the game really is incredibly simple.

Personally, I chose the rabbit as my combatant of choice. After choosing him, I was placed on one end of a table while my first opponent, Senorita Cow, stood at the other end, waiting for the first round to begin. For your information, yes, I made up that name. It was more interesting than just 'Cow' and slightly less offensive, I feel. Anyway, the tone chimed and suddenly, the court was littered with balls, bouncing off of each other, hitting each of us; essentially, this is high school dodgeball. I easily felled my opponent and moved onto the next. To be honest, the first round of animals was easy, as many Game Boy games tended to be, but after becoming king of the zoo, I was tasked with defeating my opponents again, and they had a second wind like Jackie Chan. This was also when I learned that you can charge a shot to throw it super fast, and if it connects with your opponent, it stuns them for longer.
It was at this point that I went from 'Rabbit' to 'Tortoise', as once I was on my back, I just couldn't get back on my feet fast enough. With the sudden difficulty spike, I went from king of the forest to just another faceless bunny and the game over screen flashed in my face. I had my share of bonus levels, in you have thirty seconds to throw as many ball as you can across the table for points, but other than that, the experience made me wish I was young again. Consider me disenchanted, I guess.

The game is not only basic on premise, but it is also basic in presentation. The music is cute, but certainly not memorable. Nothing stands out as particularly good or bad, though I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed the sound that happened every time I slammed my opponent in the face. It may sound sadistic, but it made me smile.
The 3D-esque graphics were handled pretty well for a system that didn't really do well with graphics, too, so a slight nod is deserved to that. The animals look like animals, and the balls looked like the dodgeballs from gym class, which might send shivers down some peoples' spines in memory of catching those in the jaw. I suppose 'average' is the best word for the entire presentation, really.

Now, we know this is the part where we get to explain if the game stands up to the test of time, and I'll get back to that in a moment, but the game does exemplify one big reason that this blog exists. Not only is it to root out some gems lost to the wayside of the electronic highway, but it is also to remind people that while retro gaming is fun, some games just aren't as great as they were twenty years ago. I used to be psyched to run to my friend's house to play this game, and if I have a few minutes to spare and just feel like toying around, I may open this again. There is a distinct lack of content, though, and honestly, I couldn't imagine paying whatever this game cost when it originally appeared on store shelves for such a short experience. Having people to play this game is what made it such a great game, but as a single player now (and only child growing up), my tastes have changed and my memory of this game is a bittersweet one. Certainly check it out, as mechanics from this game have found their way into some other obscure handheld games, but don't expect to be running to your friends and telling them how they just have to play this game.

Ah well. At least I have my memories of being the Bunny King.

Small Game, Small Step Back - Game Boy - Super Mario Land

2010-04-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

SUPER MARIO LAND

Game Boy
Nintendo
(c) 1989
Genre: Action Platformer

When you were younger and video games had just found their way into the mainstream, there were a few problems. Now, we're not talking prices. We're not talking about trying to find the entrance to the dungeon under the lake or other nonsense. We're talking about the upset when you had to go to school or church or wherever your parents/significant other wanted you to go and you had to leave your game system behind. Then, the Game Boy came into our lives and added a whole new level of geekdom to our lives. A mobile and portable geekdom. Of the launch titles for this little piece of heaven, Super Mario Land is the first that many remember, despite its slight deviations from the classic Mario conventions. Where does this fall on the scale of Mario games, let along in the line of general retrospect? Let's discuss, shall we?

In this entry, our heroic plumber finds himself in Sarasaland, another 'once peaceful' kingdom which is being terrorized by baddies. One particular baddie, Tatanga, is at the head of them, and this particular alien has abducted Princess Daisy, the ruler of the land. Once again, Mario has taken the challenge of rescuing a princess in trouble in a strange land. Fighting the hypnotized inhabitants of the four worlds in Sarasaland, Mario continues his adventures in monochrome beauty.

As you might imagine, this is not the same Mario you've been accustomed to on the NES. There are four worlds instead of the classic eight, each split into three zones. At the end of each, you fight a boss, and after that, you find Daisy. Well, in an interesting twist on the 'princess in another castle' bit, you find a monster disguised as Daisy. Some interesting changes include levels taking place in submarines and airplanes- called 'Marine Pops' and 'Sky Pops' respectively- as well as a new power-up. Mushrooms and stars act the same, but flowers give you a strange 'superball' that collects coins for you when you throw it, as well as harms enemies. On top of that, while you still hop on enemies to kill them, some don't die when this happens, and the Koopa Troopa type enemies actually explode a second or two after you jump on them. Also, if your expecting Luigi, Princess Peach, or Bowser here, your sorrowfully mistaken. All new locale means all new character roster. There are some other small and somewhat noticeable changes, but the mechanics remain the same. Run, jump, and make it to the end of the levels.
Another fun bit is that at the end of each level, there are two exits. Go through the bottom one, you go to the next level. Reach the harder to get to upper one and you go through a short bonus game to win more lives or a Flower power-up. It's a neat little deviation, despite the fact that the game's not that hard or long. Also, much like the first game, this game offers a second mode which is much harder than the original playthrough. While I didn't play through it, it does become available when you beat the original game, which again is not terribly hard. The time to clear it was probably about an hour, which is perfect for a portable game. All in all, while the changes are not as drastic as Super Mario Bros. 2, it is a bit of a difference from your original Mario games.

In terms of front end- well, this is a mixed bag. Understandably, this and Tetris are the two earliest games for the system, but the main graphics are relatively ugly. The backgrounds are well done, and some of the newer enemy models are nice, but Mario's never looked worse, and even the Goombas and Koopas have declined in quality. Good enough for the time, but nostalgia only holds up so well. Due to the lack of levels, though, the backgrounds vary quite a bit through the game, which is a great thing in the graphics department.
The music, on the other hand, is spectacular. Specifically, the theme in the second area. Sound effects have a certain futuristic feel to them, which fits the 'alien' feel that Tatanga brings to the rival counter. Of course, the system only offers so much in the way of sound, and the fact that the traditional Can-Can is used for invincibility doesn't help anything. The original Mario theme only briefly appears in the mix of the Marine Pop level, and even then, it's a passing resemblance. The soundtrack on the whole, however, is one of my favorites so far as Mario is concerned.

While there's not much to talk about so far as this game goes, one thing is for sure: those who enjoy the Mario Bros. games will enjoy this game. It's not as involved as Mario 3, it's not as innovative as Mario 2, and it's not as classic as the original Mario. Super Mario Land is it's own game, and for better or for worse, it is the first outing on the portable systems. It's fallen to the wayside as time has passed, but fond memories are easily found by anyone who owned the game. If you get the chance, check it out for yourself, but if not, you're missing out on a good game. Not a great game, but certainly on par with at least the original.

Casting Call - How Important is a Well Drawn Ensemble?

2010-03-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

An editorial may not have been the next thing that anyone wanted to see here, but it's kind of tough writing about classic games, playing classic games, and only classic games, so I'll 'fess up- I've been playing a lot of current games lately. It's not that I've been shirking my duties, per se. I've got a Chrono Trigger review coming up, as I'm one of three people in the world who hasn't finished the game, as well as other games like Summon Night for the GBA and a few others. As I've been having a huge mix of old and new game coming into my spectrum, I started thinking about a few things. Namely, characters and their role in their respective games.

For this blogger, a game can only be as good as the cast it carries. Sure, sometimes a game is so great that you don't dwell on the fact that the characters are all self-centered or lifeless, but more often than not, that is not the case. As a precursor to this story, this realization appeared while I was playing through the latest golden cow to hit systems: Final Fantasy XIII. You may be wondering why Mr. Snow Villiers, the newest Square Enix heartthrob, is the header for this post. While he's not directly the focus of this rant, he is my newest object of dejection so far as characters go. Perhaps I'll go into a bit later, but if not, feel free to ask about my feelings on the boy. The point of this editorial is to point out that the Final Fantasy experience this time was tarnished by the lack of a cohesive cast. Many of the characters are entertaining and enjoyable- on their own. Once put into a group, though (mind you, I haven't finished the game yet, though I have reached the last disk), their personalities clash, and not in an 'interesting conflict' sort of way. Even with doom right below them, Sazh always has something hilarious to say and Vanille (bless her heart, she tries) is always perky and almost vacant. The only character that really seem to gel are Lightning, Hope, and Fang. I guess you can count Snow, though I think he has the bravado of Locke Cole without the charisma. This may sound elitist, but this game feels more fit for the days of Squaresoft's earlier RPG's. On a Final Fantasy standpoint, nearly every FF since the original Playstation days has hit the mark as far as cast and interactions go. Yes, this includes the oddity that is Quina.

Again with the elitism, RPG gamers tend to be of a different ilk. A role-playing game is meant to immerse you in the lives of a group of characters involved in a situation by whatever reason they choose or don't choose as they try to rectify said situation. These games can last for up to sixty or seventy hours, depending on how thorough the player is. A bad cast, though, can ruin a game and leave a sour taste in a players mouth. Infinite Undiscovery, an action RPG for the XBox 360, fell into a couple of traps: the characters were fairly stereotypical, many seemingly interesting characters join too late to actually learn anything about them, and everyone seems to love or lust after the main character, Capell. With these mistakes, however, one thing that the game did, like it or not, was bring back the charm of the old RPG's by not letting things get too light or too heavy. Pan the game all you want, but the game had enough charm and appeal to entice me back into playing again in the near future.

This doesn't just apply to RPG's, though. Take a well known adventure game group: Sonic the Hedgehog and friends. Some characters are well accepted as characters in the Sonic universe. Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles the Echidna are probably the only two that aren't complained about on a regular basis. Characters like Amy Rose, Rouge, and Cream the Rabbit have been poked at but don't seem to have huge fanbases against them. Of all of the character in the Sonic verse, however, none have been slammed harder than Big the Cat. Well, Shadow had that abysmal game on the PS2, and Team Chaotix has brushed off as soon as they hit the limelight, but the point still stands. Now, one might ask why, when he could so easily have fit into the story and feel of Sonic, is Big the odd man out? Simply put, it may have been his delivery into the series: Sonic Adventure. An honestly decent game in its own right, Sonic Adventure became disjointed when both Omega and Big the Cat were introduced. Omega, introducing shooting elements into the game, was much less of a burden than Big, being that it was still adventure and still exciting. Big the Cat, however, went fishing. He searched high and low for his dear companion, Froggy, and while a charming allegory, it made Big the Cat feel like he was completely separate from the game itself, which deterred from the game for many players and fans. In this case, the game was brought down because the cast, as a whole, was not as strong as it could have been.
Staying in the same universe, though, let's switch to Cream the Rabbit. Admittedly, she's adorable and there are plenty of people who think she is excess, but she does not spark the same hatred in a gamer's eyes as Big does. Her introduction, one of the games in the Sonic Advance series, was a return to the roots of the blue blur's heyday, and kept up with the big boys in said game. Her handling was familiar, she ran the same tracks and had the same goal as the other characters. In the end, the cast was much more cohesive, thus the game itself is still held in fairly high regard by many of the series' longtime fans.

She also doesn't go fishing. Freakin' fishing in a game about speed. Sigh.

While this has become a lengthy article as it is, there is one thing to say- the 16-bit era did casts right. More along the lines of RPG's than anything, casts may have been stereotypical and plots may have been somewhat hackneyed by today's standards. No matter who the joker was or the anti-hero or the tragic character, they held onto their personalities. Even the joker knew when it was too dangerous to be cracking a joke, though, and even the anti-hero knew they had to just buck up and do the right thing. Maybe it's a sign of the times, but casts have been becoming more and more disjointed. To put it another way, just because a cast has a similar goal does not make them a 'cohesive' cast. While this article may not be rife with examples, hopefully many people know the same thing.

So what do you think? Is cast cohesion an easily overlooked bit in a game, or is it every bit as important as gameplay and plot? I find myself in the second school of thought, as you may have guessed, but I'd be interested to see what others have to say on the matter.

Some Secrets Just Need to Be Shared - Super Nintendo - Secret of Mana

2010-02-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

SECRET OF MANA

Super Nintendo
Sqauresoft
(c) 1993
Genre: Action Role-Playing

If you ask anyone about their retro role-playing opinion, nine times out of ten, you will hear them rave and rant about some RPG published on the Super Nintendo. The sheer volume of iconic role-playing games that appeared on the Super Nintendo is heralded by plenty of gamers. One of the most incredible of those games is Secret of Mana, a game by a little company called Squaresoft (ever heard of them?) in their immense heyday. It certainly was not lost in the hustle and bustle of Final Fantasy III and other such games of the time, as it has still carved out a place in RPG history. Recently, it was even re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console. How's that for longevity?

Secret of Mana starts off as many RPG's do. A young boy- Randi, though you never actually learn any main character's name unless you look into the fact- is living a quiet life in a quiet village with his friends. Peer pressured into venturing through dangerous terrain in the nearby forest, he finds himself at the bottom of a waterfall and face to face with a sword. It's not just any sword, though. This is the legendary Sword of Mana and, lo and behold, he pulls it from its earthen sheath, finding that he is the one fated to save the world. Throughout his adventure to restore the Mana Sword to its former glory by visiting each of the elemental temples in the world, he runs into two others who join his adventure: a wise-cracking sprite named Popoie and a strong-willed girl name Purim. As the three travel from shrine to shrine, they realize that the Empire (the evil force is always called 'The Empire', right?) is trying to unseal the seeds at the shrines to reactivate the Mana Fortress, an ancient legend that they plan to use to bring 'peace' to the world. Of course, there are layer upon layers to the story as you go on, but why ruin all of that here for you? Needless to say, there are a lot of twists, even by today's standards.
The story itself is cliche by now, but at the time, these conventions were not so overused. Each of the characters has their own story that progresses as the main story does, and none of them truly end until the last minutes of the game. As you journey with these characters and their friends that they meet through their adventure, you find yourself relating to them on some level or another. As far as RPG's go, most games strive for this kind of connection. It is dulled a little by some of the trite dialogue and situations, but that is to be expected. The game itself was butchered on the way through the translation machine from Japan to here, as there were limits on speech in the translation and the game was shortened among other things. The game does not suffer if one does not know this, however. Maybe by saying that, I'm indicating myself, but it is still enjoyable. While it is still a lengthy game- I may have logged about forty hours or so in my playthrough- the pacing never lags, and you're always finding something new to do or someplace new to venture to.
The most unique feature of this game is that it can support three players. Each player can control one of the three heroes and can drop out or join in at any time. This makes for a very unique gaming experience when you get the chance to play that way. With my play through, I only got to play with two of us, but it was still that much more enjoyable. While the multi-tap type games never caught on for the Super Nintendo, this game is famous for its ability to support three people at a time.

Speaking about RPG's on the whole during the Super Nintendo era, they have a great blend of humor and sincerity that is missing from a lot of RPG's of today. There is something endearing about the characters and the situations that, while someone may be in danger, once they're out of danger and you have breathing room, your characters may crack wise or be affected, depending on what the story calls for. Secret of Mana is a great example of this charm, and it's a great advantage that it has over other games of it's ilk. Rarely does the emotion of the moment miss the mark, and even when certain characters would say or do things that would make me shake my head, there was still something charismatic about them. Popoie is probably the best example of this, considering his greedy and somewhat selfish temperament through much of the game, he is still a character that you care about as the game progresses. Thanks to the fact that the story centers on the entire cast rather than just Randi, you feel even more of a connection with the characters.
The game's story is probably the biggest draw, to be honest. It has a lot of depth, especially for a game of its time, and it ties up loose ends beautifully as it goes. In fact, if I wanted to, I could probably write an entire review on how amazing the story is. Containing it into a short paragraph, however, the game does handle its conflicts and situations, even with minor characters, pretty gracefully. People who play through this game very rarely tend to forget characters like Krissie and Mara, even after they've fulfilled their roles. While this may come up again with other games of the same kind from the time, you become terribly invested in the characters and their plights, regardless of whether they're fleshed out or merely mentioned.
The game has an interesting way of keeping characters constantly upgrading, as well, as not only do your characters level up throughout, but so do their spells and weapons. The more you use a given Elemental's spells, the higher their level gets and the stronger they are (and as a fun tidbit, maxing out an Elemental gives you new animations for many spells, as well). The weapon system is probably the most interesting of the leveling factors, however. As you progress through the game, you'll find 'orbs' which you can use at a blacksmith to upgrade one of eight weapons, depending on what the orb is designated for. As you upgrade them and use them, your proficiency with the weapon grows, giving you better and stronger 'charge' attacks. As you continue, these attacks become integral to keeping your characters standing. Interestingly enough, the weapons are also used to help solve puzzles, such as using the whip to cross certain obstacles by launching your characters over them. There's a lot of innovation in this little cartridge.

If I had to choose one glaring flaw, it would be the already mentioned 'editing' of the text and story. While the story is already amazing, some of the dialogue can come off as rushed or disjointed- a chronic flaw in many SNES RPG's- but it still works. I did find myself scratching my head a bit over some of the things people said or reactions that were presented for the situation at hand, but overall, the game's presentation and content do make up for it.
Also, while not a flaw, the game is very linear. You're not going to find many side quests or reasons to go out of your way unless you are leveling up or just feel like backtracking for treasure or the like. This doesn't hamper the game play at all, but many people who play RPG's today might find this to be a deterrent to some of the other games of the time that did offer those kinds of quests. Again, this isn't a flaw, but more of a footnote.

Now, onto the part that Squaresoft shines the most at: the front end. This game is beautiful, and I may go so far as to say that it's probably the best looking RPG on the system to hit this side of the ocean. Characters are well constructed, the terrain and textures never get old, and many of the boss enemies are absolutely incredible. The only- and I mean only- complaint I have about the visual aspect of the game is during one particular battle, the boss, beautiful through most of the fight, rushes toward the screen and becomes a bit of a pixilated mess. Those who have played know exactly what I'm talking about. That aside, though, the game is incredible to look at.
The sound is also amazing and eclipsed by very few games of the time. The sound effects are all there and, for the most part, clean and fitting (the magic level up sound may surprise at first, as it does seem to come from out of nowhere). The music is great though and, not to get too corny, but conveys a journey in and of itself. The track 'The Oracle' is this writer's personal favorite, as it's disjointed and ethereal sound sets the scene more than perfectly for the battle it takes place during, and many others bring together either lighthearted feelings ('The Little Sprite' comes to mind) or of hope or melancholy (again of note, 'Fear of the Heavens' and 'Fond Memory'). Hiroki concocts an amazing score to set the game to, and every track is unique and incredible in it's own fashion.

Okay, so after a lot of gushing and praising, you probably get that this is a great game. Not only is it great, but it's unique and certainly worth a play through for anyone who's ever enjoyed an action RPG. This game certainly holds up to the test of time, even outshining some games of the same genre that have come out in the past year. Luckily, as with many of the games that have been posted here or will be posted, the game was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console (I know I already said it, but I feel it bears repeating), so now, everyone can step into the past for a few bucks and see what all the fuss is about. The game is not without its frustrations, certainly, but they are worth overcoming to see just what Secret of Mana has to offer.

Action 52 Challenge - Part 2 of 4 - 14 - 26

2010-01-28T08:28:00.000-08:00

Well, it's about that time! I was going to try and spread out the A52 Challenge with a couple of other reviews, but- times have been going slow lately, and while the challenge was met with a bit of resistance at first, I've been having people ask about the second installment of this little experiment.

You guys like train wrecks, don't you?

Well, grab your pads and helmets and let's see what the next thirteen games have to offer!

...oh, and as a quick note: the games in the collection are split up into three colors. The first set is 'blue' and considered the 'easy' games. The second section, the 'yellow' games, puts us into the 'intermediate' category. The 'green' ones are in the last section and make up the 'hard' games. Given the technical issues in this collection, most people can just ignore these, and I haven't seen any real difference in the games between sections.

With that bit of editorial input, it's time to head into the next section!

--Chill Out
Okay, this game is more than just inspired by Ice Climbers. First of all, the music's terrible, but the game itself looks fun. The main character looks a bit like a hunchbacked Popo, though, and the game, again, suffers from terrible collision detection. The controls are above par for this collection, though. You move around the screen, climbing about and throwing snowballs at your opponents until you get sent to the next stage. After level 5, you get sent back to level 1. Since I did that, I consider this game the first one I beat. Listen, if this game can pass off for entertainment, I can certainly pass that off as a victory. Favorite Part: When you fall off of a platform, you turn into a snowball. Kind of amusing.
Sharks
Almost having some sort of promise, Sharks puts you in the flippers of a SCUBA diver fighting off sharks underwater. You blast them with lasers. Now, everyone knows that sharks and lasers are a combination for a good time, but the sharks come out so infrequently sometimes, you find yourself waiting longer to attack them than you do actually dodging away. The graphics kind of reminded me of Jaws on the NES- go figure- and the music, while not especially annoying- is boring as hell. Also, let's just place this warning on all games until further notice: Collision Detection is Near to Zero. This is especially true when the jellyfish appear in level 3, which is where I got up to. Favorite Part: I waited for near to a minute and a half fighting only two sharks, which was followed by a frenzy of about six coming on and annihilating me. Comedy magic!

Megalonia
Another side scrolling space shooter, this one is a little graphically better than the other ones I've run into. The top and bottom of the screen are offensively bright colors of green and purple respectively through the first level, but the gameplay isn't that bad. Some of the background even looks a little like ancient ruins, and in a space shooter, that's kind of cool. The music is the same four bars over and over, so that's about par for the course. As I was starting to enjoy myself, I reached the end of level 2, the screen slowed down so I knew it was boss time- and he stood me up! The boss of level 2 never showed up, and I was left to be stuck there, listening to the same four measures over and over and over... Favorite Part: Realizing that Action 52 really should have just focused on about ten games rather than not finishing the decent ones.

French Baker
After resetting to make up for Megalonia's disappointment, I had to gather my strength to return, since this was my first reset. Onward to French Baker, which I hoped was going to give me a croissant or something for my troubles. Alas, I was in the same type of game as Ice Cli- I mean, Chill Out- and Illuminator. You run around as a baker who I have been led to assume is French. You walk around your bakery, throwing what I could only assume were pies or knives to stop your wayward pastries from destroying the place. You battle cabinets, doughnuts, cakes- this game looked interesting enough, and I even welcomed the bright colors of the poorly drawn background considering most of the other games have been in either super dark or super obnoxious palettes. This game is okay, though, and the music was kind of fun, but tinny even for an NES game. At least I made it to level 2. Favorite Part: The spawn points of the enemies almost always coincided with where I was standing.

Atmos Quake
Now, this is the last one of this screen, and it has almost the coolest name. What does it end up being? A top down space shooter. Back to the awful and basic dark palettes, back to the obnoxious wannabe flute tones of the synthesized melody, and back to getting caught up on stupid obstacles. This one, however, only gives you two lives, and I lasted maybe thirty seconds with this game before dying. Favorite Part: Finishing the blue section of the game selection despite possibly losing my will to live.

---

Meong Okay, it's official. The game's barely trying anymore. Meong looks like a Minesweeper board, made up of gray tiles that you travel through with your blue arrow. There are blocks that will stand in your way, and holes that you can fall into. As you progress, certain blocks with open up as holes, so you have to avoid those, as well. The graphics are obviously nothing to write home about- though still not the worst in the series- and there is no music. At least the sound effects are good. Y'know, all two of them. Made it partway through level 1, but somehow keep exploding on nothing. Favorite Part: I had no idea what I was doing, so I played it again. Yes, I broke my own rule and played the game twice so I could figure out what was going on.
Space Dreams
Before I start this, ten bucks says this game is a space shooter. Most likely side-scrolling.
...
I stand corrected. Your ten bucks is in the mail. This has the same format as a top down space shooter, but it's actually kind of interesting. You play as a pacifier-ship hybrid traveling through stars and planets. As you go, you have to shoot objects like safety pins, mobiles, and teddy bears as they come at you. It's almost like you're in the dreams of a baby, which is a little more depth than any of the other games. The graphics are childish, but that works. Two major problems, though: the music in the background was used in one of the games from the blue section (I remember because it was one of the songs I actually didn't mind), and upon reaching the end of Level 1, my 'ship' exploded for no reason.
Favorite Part: Finding a genuinely interesting and fun game, despite Action 52 finding a way to, yet again, sabotage the hell out of it.

Streemerz
This game surprised me a little. Just a little. In this one, you play as some kind of strange rat with a turban- if anyone can confirm this for me, I would be grateful- and you move up the levels by shooting a grappling streamer to get from platform to platform. Along the way, there are enemies like lawyers, children, and bags of money. Well, that's at least what they look like, though I'm a little depressed that running into an inanimate bag of money caused my death once. The game's pretty well designed, and it has an interesting concept for gameplay. There were a few glitched out spots that I ran into while trying to progress, but nothing that stood in my way. Upon completing level 4, I was sent back to level one, so I consider this my second victory (though being stood up for the boss fight in Megalonia is a spiritual victory, it's hard for me to judge it as an actual one). The graphics weren't that bad, either, but the beginning of the second level was possibly the most offensive color and design for a level I've ever seen. Favorite Part: Trying to figure out the exact story of the game. Am I in a magician hat? Am I at a party? Who knows.

Spread Fire
Spead Fire ended up coming off very much akin to Space Invaders, but with its own sort of mechanics. You control a ship sliding across the bottom of the screen and shooting up at incoming ships. They move in a pretty random pattern, and slowly get more difficult to hit due to moving faster as levels go or design flaws, but more often than not, it's due to rising difficulty. There's no music to be heard of, and the sound effects are all right. The graphics are the same static black background with white and gray dots for stars as we've seen time and time again. Overall, not bad, considering I made it to level 7. Favorite Part: Regaining the will to live thanks to decent games coming about.
Bubblegum Rosie
First of all, this poor girl's name is spelled differently in each screen (Rosy and Rossie), so I decided to spell it 'Rosie' for the sake of compromise. This game puts you in the shoes of Rosie as she travels through some strange land with spring-like creatures and dangerous sitting birds. Your primary weapon is bubbles, which I can only guess are made from your bubblegum. The controls are kind of sticky as far as jumping goes, BUT everything else works in this little platformer. I'm seriously hating that practically all of these games have black backgrounds at this point, but I'm a little diappointed that Rosie's adventure wasn't a little better. Even the music was fun and interesting. Upon further notice, though, there is a platform in level 1 that you cannot jump high enough to reach that is integral to continuing, thus, the second reset has come into play. Favorite Part: Finally finding an enemy that I could hit with my bubbles. Those springs were kind of irritatingly invincible.

Micro-Mike
Ah, there's the no holds barred terror that I've come to know and love from A52. Micro-Mike places you as said character on some kind of airborne scooter vehicle traveling through a treacherous maze. First of all, the game moves way too fast, and you have no way to defend yourself from the ships that come at you, save for running into them with your face and dying. The background is a terrifying shade of green, and the walls are terrible to look at, too. The same sound effect kept playing over and over, and with no music to support it. This game just reminded me why I called this the Action 52 Challenge. Favorite Part: Trying to count how many ships I could run into with my little buddy before dying.

Underground
Oddly enough, the theme to this game is that you're- wait for it- underground. In fact, you fall into a cavern and you must shoot the creatures inside, as they are trying to destroy you by walking back and forth. Another mediocre game, as the graphics are the most simple and glitched I've seen yet and the music is interesting, but it falls to the same 'three note pattern' that many of the other games do. I don't even remember if there are levels, but I spent a good thirty seconds losing my three lives to the first one. Favorite part: Finding mushrooms in a Nintendo game that don't help you.

Rocket Jockey
Another space shooter, but with a little bit of a twist. In this one, you're a cowboy riding a rocket. You fly about shooting space cows and space bandits against a back drop of the moon's surface. The vantage point this game takes on is kind of interesting, as it's almost a hybrid of top-down and side-scroller (you'd have to play this one to understand what I mean). However, that's about where the interest ends. The controls are competent, and the graphics aren't horrible, but the music is terribly ill fitting. Sometimes, I can see where the people who put this clump together were coming from, but the music isn't remotely space-y or Western. Again, lost it all on level one, though had I tried harder, I may have progressed a bit more. Favorite Part: Not having to stretch to try and find something interesting in one of the recent games.

Non Human
The name of this one, first of all, bothers me. 'Non Human'? How about 'Inhuman' or 'Not Human'? They're not masterpiece titles, but they're better than that. Anyway, this game is a platformer where you play as something out of a Picasso painting. In fact, the entire game feels like abstract art. The colors are finally somewhat interesting, even if they are dark and muted shades, and the game plays like any of the other platformers. The interesting thing here is the design, which brings enemies like eyeballs with arms and dangerous chattering teeth to life. The music even tied this one together, despite being pretty monotonous. This one joins the others that defeated me in level 1. Favorite Part: Being on an acid trip without all of those nasty side effects.

Cry Baby
Okay, so I'm a little scared. First of all, this game isn't bad. In fact, it's almost- and don't you ever quote me on this without my permission- good. Maybe the challenge is getting to me. In this game, you play as a baby running around a multi-platform house. On these floors, men and other kids appear and you must squirt them with your bottle, using furniture to crawl from floor to floor. You might think this makes you a brat, but fires break out every so often, too. At least I think they're fires. In any case, you put those out as well. Get rid of all of the obstacles and you move onto the next level. The music is a jazzy little riff on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and while the graphics are basic, it works for the game, using enough colors- both light and dark- to make it look interesting. There were also no collision detection problems, but there was one little glitch when I tried to crawl down a TV in level 5 that kept killing me. Oh yeah, and don't fall off of any furniture. Much like in real life, this baby doesn't handle falls of any sort terribly well. Favorite Part: Aside from finding a game that made me use the 'G' word, wondering where the mommy is in all of this.

--

Well, I don't know about you, but I thought that was going to end a lot worse than it did. There were a few bumps in the road, and I have to say that this thirteen was a bit less horrifying than the first part indicated it would be. Of course, it was also a roller coaster ride, considering not many of these fell between horrendous and really decent. What can we garner from this?

Well, there's still twenty-six games left in our challenge, so the halfway point is cleared. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this wasn't just a clear patch in a dense and glitchy forest.

Action 52 Chellenge - Part 1 of 4 - 1 - 13

2010-01-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the gates of hell! Okay, well- I can't really say that, as I'm just starting out with this little compilation, but I am nervous. What if I don't make it back? Should I have named a successor? Will I make it to Level 5 in Ooze?

I don't think I have much to worry about considering, but I do want to spread out the adventure for my readers, while I will be playing all of the games one after another. Without much ado, here are the first thirteen games of 'Action 52'.

Fire Breathers
Two dragons duke it out through eight rounds. Whoever gets the most points wins- not that the game announces it or anything. There's no music and the sound effects are pretty offensive. You can't play this one with one player, since the second dragon doesn't move unless controlled by a second player.
Favorite Part: I love winning.

Star Evil
You play as a ship traveling through space. Judging by the title, it's to destroy something evil. The music's 'enh', the graphics are pretty flat and boring, and I made it to the 'boss' of Level 1 before tanking it.
Favorite Part: The game starts you in front of an obstacle, so if you don't know it's there (a.k.a. you're playing for the first time), you get an instant death. Yay!

Illuminator
Well, this game wins the first 'interesting concept that could have been expanded upon' award. In this one, you play as some guy with a flashlight who is stuck in a room with what might be zombies. You travel through the room and shoot them with the flashlight, but if you wait too long, the lights go out and you have to maneuver in the dark. Hit a creature with a burst of light and the room is lit for a few seconds again. Mildly fun, despite abysmal graphics and music that started off kind of okay, but drained into mind burning. I got up to level 3 before I died off in this one.
Favorite Part: Watching zombies light up like matchsticks

G-Force
Another space shooter (I have the feeling I'll be seeing a lot of those), but this one is a side scroller instead of a top-down like Star Evil. The music is almost tolerable, but the graphics are sparse, but there's one interesting twist to this one: enemies fly past and shoot backwards. Of course, they fly faster than you can shoot, so it doesn't so much matter. I met my maker on level 2 this time.
Favorite Part: Getting killed realizing that the ships shot backwards.

Ooze
First of all, this one actually has a title screen. That's one step above the others already. In this one, you play as a green guy (he's obviously cool, as he dons a mohawk) who runs about a slime filled cave shooting bouncing ooze. Get hit, you die. This is a pretty neat little platformer, even if the controls are awful and the game is made up of about four colors. The music appears to be a bit less abrasive than in the last games, too. However, I lost all eight lives in level 1. Sadly, I will not be getting any cash prize...
Favorite Part: When you die, you melt like ooze! Could this be a part of the story? You're a defector to the Ooze Empire? I doubt it, but it's still kinda neat.

Silver Sword
Right back to awfulness we go. In this game, you play as some guy trying to cross a field in a top-down view. You can shoot swords at the frightfully fast enemies that pop up and after a certain amount of hits, you die. How many? No idea. There's no gauge. What progress did I make? I don't know. There's nothing telling me. Thanks, Silver Sword. The graphics were semi-decent compared to the rest of the drivel, but the music went down a step from Ooze.
Favorite Part: It at least looked interesting when I started.

Crytical Bypass
In another top down shooter, you play as a- nucleus- maybe? You move around, dodging brightly colored bricks and shooting globs of orange and blue that come at you. This game is really awful. I mean, I'm glad the graphics are terrible- the white background just ruins the entire possibility of this game being played, and I accidentally had my game muted while I played this one, but like hell I'm turning back to find out how it was.
Favorite Part: Finally, my ship's too fast and everything else is too slow.

Jupiter Scope
Quite possibly my favorite game so far in this mess, Jupiter Scope almost plays like Space Invaders. You play a spaceship over a city blasting meteors that are speeding down to Earth- or whatever planet you're on. The controls are smooth, the graphics are kind of fun to look at, and even after my longest run with any of these games so far, I wasn't sick of the music! I even made it to level 4 before I died- of my own faults, not the game's design.
Favorite Part: Actually enjoying one of the games on this so far barren piece of video entertainment.

Alfredo and the Fettuccini
Sigh. Well, this is a platformer, and a pretty bad one at that. You play as a chef (I assume he's Alfredo?) who is going through his kitchen, whacking his wayward fettuccini with a pot or pan of some sort. If this sounds like a euphemism, I almost wish it was. The graphic are blandly colored, but interesting to look at design-wise, and the music, for the two seconds I got to hear it, was pleasant enough. The game only gives you two lives, though, and it's not remotely easy to control. Fun fact: you can only attack to the right. I barely made it into the first level.
Favorite Part: I'm still not sure what the name of this stupid game is called. The list names it as 'Alfredo' while the title reads 'Alfred N The Fettuc'. I did my best.

Operation Full Moon
A top down army type game. You drive a tank around and shoot things. It's unassuming at first, but the first of the glitches that I've heard so much about has finally kicked in. The game's kind of average, but graphically worse than audibly. I couldn't see my bullets when I shot them, and the collision detection was horrid. I died with no enemies or walls around right when I began my last life. Huzzah to you, Operation Full Moon.
Favorite Part: I'm one game closer to finishing. This is also known as a cop-out answer when you don't really have a favorite part. I reserve the right to use this a few more times.

Dam Busters
It's sad to see a game that had actual potential come to this, but Dam Busters was fun. Again, glitched out, but fun. You play as a beaver making its way through roads and river ways. Along the way, you battle other animals by throwing what may or may not be balls of dung at them. I'm sure there's a clever explanation, but I'm resorting to potty humor thanks to this game. The game was going swimmingly, probably the best music so far and decent graphics, too. Then, at the end of level 2, it sent me back to level one. Thusly, my beaver killed himself.
Favorite Part: Actually playing the game until that giant issue.

Thrusters
Oh, what fun! Another top down space shooter! This time, the colors are boring, the graphics are awful, the music- okay, the music's okay. The collision detection on this one, however, is terrible, as most of my bullets passed right through my opponent's ships. I at least got into the game. Not much further than that.
Favorite Part: Watching five bullets pass through the same ship.

Haunted Halls
Finally, a horror themed game. Not only that, but a platformer. In Haunted Halls, you play as a chesty young lady who throws what may be daggers (even if they look like crosses) as you head through the dungeon landscape. You battle ghosts, glowing skulls, and other anomalies as you try to find the end of the level. My big problem with this game is that it feels like it moves at a snail's pace. Other than that, the music was passable, the graphics were decent, and I enjoyed the game. If only I could have reached the end of level 1- and I made it a decent way in, too.
Favorite Part: Finally having a game with a theme I could get into.

Phew. Well, I made it out and I'm still in one piece. Kind of. I can feel my sanity slipping a little, but- I think I can make it. Thanks to Haunted Halls, Jupiter Scope, and Illuminator, this thirteen wasn't too bad, but- we'll have to see what lurks around the corner.

Stay tuned for part 2!

Aiming For the Big Times - The Action 52 Experience

2010-01-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

ACTION 52
Active Entertainment
(c) 1991
Genre: Various

Well, to those of you still watching, welcome to the program! Today, we'll be embarking on a journey through a nefarious NES game called 'Action 52'. "Why does this game get a special blog post before its review?" you might be asking. There are two answers to that question:

Answer #1: This is the 25th review for 3PStart! It's not a huge milestone, but while nearing 1,000 hits and hitting the quarter mark to the big 100, I figured it could be a fun multi-post extravaganza!

Answer #2: This game has so much notoriety behind it that I had to do somethign extra special to fully explore this game's breadth.

To put it in a short and sweet manner, Action 52 was touted as having 52 incredible games to be able to play. Every type of game could be played here, and with 52 games available, who could ask for more? Well, first of all, the game itself is supposed to be hideously plagued with technical issues including impassable or never-ending levels, terrible collision detection, and poor controls. Not only that, but the game was apparently around $200 when it came out. Suffice to say, no one bought it. Another fun fact is that apparently, a lot of the music for the games was taken directly from numerous other places, including that old dance club classic 'It Takes Two' showing up in the title sequence.

There was a lot of hype for this game when it was originally released, including a contest for people who got past a certain point in one of the games called 'The Ooze' and merchandising around the now notorious Cheetahman that appears in the title screen, as well as one of the games. Of course, 'The Ooze' is said to be impassible, making the contest null and void from the start, and due to the game not getting much support, The Cheetahmen never saw the light of day outside of the cartridge. Well, that and the Action 52 game for the Genesis, but- we'll take it one bullet at a time.

I have now enacted the 'Action 52 Challenge' for myself. Yes, I, your fearless blogger, will be taking on a great journey to review this game. I'd encourage my readers to join me on this journey, but for the sake of sanity, I think you would be safer just reading the blog entries on it. I've set up a few rules for myself beforehand.

Rule #1: Only play each game once. When you die, you move onto the next game. Period.
Rule #2: Be as brutally honest and try to get through as much as you can of the game. Even if the controls are terrible or the graphics suck, work as hard as you can to make it as far as you can.
Rule #3: The challenge only ends after you've played all 52 games. If you don't play all 52 games, the challenge is null and void.

With these rules in effect, I'll be playing each game and giving a sort of mini-review on each of them. Mainly, I play awful games so you don't have to.

Enjoy the ride, guys! I'll be posting the first bunch shortly!

Getting Up to Date - Playing 2009 in 2010

2010-01-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I actually posted to this 'feature', but I figured it was about time. It's a new year- and hopefully you're all having a happy one so far!

You may have noticed that I've been posting more frequently. Despite my comments, I now have someone who follows the blog! We'll get to that in a minute or so, but first- what's a retro gamer to do when so many great games are coming out for new systems?

Well, working at a game store, I can borrow games for a few days and play them. That's how I've forged ahead in games like Left 4 Dead 2 and Cursed Mountain- an interesting little survival horror game for the Wii- but buying new games is tough nowadays. They average out at around $60 when they arrive, and even with my discount, it's not much less. While I love my 8 and 16-bit games, I need a break from them every so often, so I've discovered some loopholes. I don't buy new games unless they're for my Nintendo DS, which tend to veer much lower than the games for non-handheld consoles. I've also decided to catch up on my 'not-so-retro retro games'.

Have I mentioned I love my PS2? I've bought some obscure games for a few bucks, and I've found a lot of game series that I wanted to play before that are now affordable. Just recently, I bought both Dark Cloud games and they're pretty cool. I have yet to finish the first one, but the whole game is a dungeon crawler meshed with a city-building theme. The more you explore, the more you complete in the village the dungeon is located in. I've heard the second one is much better, though, so I'm looking forward to it. Also on the slate are the Wild Arms series, a steampunk/cowboy themed RPG series, and the Atelier Iris series, which my partner has been introducing to me slowly but surely.

Some other cheap games on the PS2 block- and we're talking $5 and under- are some semi-obscure titles. Crimson Tears, what looks to be an android dungeon crawler type game, Tsugunai:Atonement, which has an interesting premise, but it's made by Atlus, which means I have to play it or a part of me will die, and Cold Fear, which I'm taking a leap of faith on since it sounds kind of horror like, are all sitting and waiting for me to get to them.

Of course, right now, they're battling with my DS. My DS, however, is winning. I just finished Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, and while I still stand by my 'I Love Atlus' statement, it's actually a really solid strategy RPG. There are also multiple paths and endings, so it's reply value is through the roof. Also, Suikoden Tierkreis, the latest of the series, has been hooking my attention for sometime, and while it deviates a bit from the original formula, I'm really enjoying some of the changes. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Scribblenauts, and Phoenix Wright: Justice For All are all cycling through my DS, too, keeping the variety in my modern game playing pretty high.

Now, you might be asking what all of this means? To be honest, I really just wanted to put two things out there. The first is that I'm not just sitting and playing these retro games, I do still play games that came out after 1996. In fact, I think I officially have a problem with gaming. Okay, that might be taking it too far, but it is my main form of relaxing. My second point is that while there's plenty of games coming out- many of which I'm looking forward to- I still want to point out some interesting titles that are a bit more modern, but not fresh on the shelves. You've got to know the present well to understand how the past affected it.

I know. Pretty deep. Well, now I'm going to play some Sonic 3. Happy new year!

Oh yeah, and a quick addendum. I added two links to the sidebar, one being that of my good pal and new follower, Skeet, who runs Hammerbros.com. I know I don't give much in the way of new games and gaming, but if you get a craving for some of that, head on over to his site. I've checked out a few articles, and while he's got some more professional sounding work up there than you might find here, he's still got some candid editorial type work there, as well. I also added Hardcore Gaming 101. It's not just a cool site that gives a good look into games both old and new, but it's a site that I find a lot of these games to track down, including Growl, the latest review. Both of those sites are pretty killer, so if you want to check them out, slide on down the left sidebar and head over!

OMGTHATSALEG!!!!!1 - Sega Genesis - Growl

2010-01-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

GROWL
Sega Genesis
Taito
(c) 1991
Genre: Adventure Beat Em' Up

It's somewhat rare nowadays to find a game that tackles tough issues. Every so often, we see Mario fighting pollution or a stray Scribblenaut picking up trash, but back in the day, there were so many games that fought against drugs, littering, robots- you get the idea. Even fewer, however, dealt with the rampant issue of 'poaching'. Okay, so it's not exactly 'rampant', and Sonic the Hedgehog loved to saved animals from dire fates, right? Well, had he done it with an array of weapons and explosions complete with bloodless limb-flying, I think it may have been a bit more poignant. With that descriptor, I present to you 'Growl' for the Sega Genesis.

If the premise sounds a little over the top, it really only goes downhill from the beginning scenes. At the beginning of the game, you can choose from four different characters- Gen, Jack, Khan, and Burn- each with their own attributes, though I assume it's not much different playing as any of the four. While sitting in your favorite bar, a group of 'poachers'- and I use that term loosely, for reasons we'll discuss soon- comes by and blows it up. Thus, your adventure begins as you free all kinds of animals from their evil clutches. It's sounds like a simple premise, right out of an action movie. It becomes, though, something out of a kid's creative writing project. I don't want to ruin the ending for you, but it has to do with a 'creature', and we'll leave it at that for now.
The main draw to this game- which, from what I've read, was called 'Runark' in Japan- was that it had a bevy of weapons, and I can't fault them on that point. It's got everything from whips and batons to machine guns and rocket launchers. Most of the weapons even function a bit differently than one another. My favorite weapon, the whip, let you hit enemies in front of you and, when you pulled it back, hit the enemies behind you, as well. In most video games, the weapons can prove to be a hindrance, but in this one, it's quite the opposite.
Another big draw of the game is that it places the player in the path of nearly a dozen enemies sometimes. Thankfully, these 'poachers' don't have nearly the longevity of enemies in other games, so defeating them isn't much of a task until they converge on you. Even better, when it comes to defeating them with, say, a rocket launcher or a pipe bomb, you can destroy a score of them in a flurry of explosions and body parts. This game was definitely made for the 'OMGWOW' factor that was so hip at the time. Exploding people? Who didn't want that in the 90's? In fact, with a game this awesome, what could go wrong?

Well, I'll tell you.

First of all, the game is super short. To be fair, it's a beat 'em up, so that may not be a valid concern. I felt like I had just started by the time I found the last boss. Even the last boss wasn't terribly difficult. Mind you, this is coming from someone who, while loving beat 'em up games, is not all that great at them. You do get three continues, two of which I used, but my life bar didn't decrease much. Maybe playing as Burn did that for me, since he had the most life. That's the only conclusion I can come to.
Another issue I had with this game was that the unarmed combat was pretty useless. In a fighting game, that's kind of an imperative to work on, even if your main draw is the sheer amount of weapons at the player's disposal. Throughout most of the game, this wasn't a problem. There were a couple of sections, though, that forced the player to play without weapons (and ruined quite possibly the coolest and most inventive level in the game), and it was definitely a weakened experience because of it. My whole hearted opinion is that a fighting game shouldn't be weaker because your are unarmed.
My other problems with the game are mostly what I've read in other places. The game itself is fine. It was ported over from an arcade version and holds most of the same elements. However, the Sega version of the game does not have voice acting like the arcade machine apparently did, has dumbed down graphics (which I suppose I can understand), and is only one player whereas the cabinet let you play with four. Now, this game could have at least been two player, but even that got copped out on! I remember the main reason I used to play beat 'em ups and it definitely wasn't to play alone. You got a friend and you kicked some ass!

...I'm sorry. I got carried away. This game can do that to you.

In any case, it's popular opinion that the game was massacred on its way to Sega, so there are plenty of drawbacks. Now, are there any highlights? Kind of. The game itself certainly is not boring. It's got enough explosions and action to fill an entire Michael Bay movie and then some. The fighting is also pretty gruesome sometimes. I'm not necessarily saying it's a 'plus', but you have to admire the balls on a game that will let you grab a woman by the hair and knee her in the face, especially for the time. Again, to avoid any controversy, I'm not saying that I liked the action, but the fact that they did it at all in a time of heavy scrutiny on video games.
My favorite part of the game was that when you would rescue animals, they would come to your aid in another part of the level. For example, you save a deer from being beaten and, a few screens later, a group of deer stampede across the level, crushing your enemies. Not to be outdone, however, when you save an elephant from the poachers, not only does he follow you around the next screen or two, obliterating your enemies, but he brings about quite possibly the best scene in the game- okay, second best. My favorite is still when the first boss says 'Get out of here, you wisp'. I'm a sucker for typos in video games.

Sad but true, that covers about all of the good stuff in Growl. Even the front is is pretty unimpressive. The music that plays throughout the game is boring, even when it's trying to be the driving soundtrack that most BEM's have. It also only changes for a boss battle, and even then, it's not great music. I can't even think of a part where I said 'hey, this music isn't bad'. The sound effects were nothing to write home about, either. In effect, I probably could have played this game on mute and still had the same experience.
The graphics on the other hand- no, we're still on the same hand here. They're not great. They certainly aren't below par, but there is absolutely nothing special here. The enemies are- varied, to say the least. You've got your newsies, your stereotypical Indian men, and your women in tight clothes. Why, oh, why are these stereotypical fighting pieces- well, first of all, why are they considered 'poachers'? They're abusive, for sure, but none of them fit any sort of 'hunter' or 'poacher' bill, and the worst thing they destroy is your favorite watering hole. If anything, they're arsonists. Secondly, why does everything explode? I chalk this up again to the 'OMGWOW' factor, but the graphic is so overused and the screen flashes so often, it just comes off as annoying by the end of the game. I was most impressed when people started exploding, though I couldn't understand why poachers would attach bombs to themselves.

Overall, this game gets a shrug and a pat on the shoulder as it slips into the 3PStart archives. It definitely doesn't stand up to the test of time, as I can tell you right off this game would have been ten times as cool fifteen years ago. The appeal now, though, is over-the-top and kitschy, which at least makes it interesting, if nothing else. Do I recommend it? If you're bored, why not? It's not going to revolutionize anything for you, at least in its Genesis format, and it will only take up a couple of hours of your time. I'll warn you, though- you won't find anything better than the 'elephant rampage' level.

A Mighty Quest, However Aimless - Nintendo - Whomp 'Em

2009-12-26T21:01:00.001-08:00

WHOMP 'EM

Nintendo Entertainment System
Jaleco
(c) 1991
Adventure Platformer

Being completely honest, the next game I'm going over, I had never even heard of until my partner mentioned it. Not just once, but over and over. Part of me was interested because he said I would really like it, and part of me was interested because it brought up exactly the reason I started this blog in the first place. It's allowing me to share my gaming experiences with old consoles and games people may not see otherwise. Anyone here heard of a game called 'Whomp 'Em'? Well, now you will.

Whomp 'Em (a charming play on the term wampum, a form of currency for Native Americans) begins with the player taking control of young Soaring Eagle, a Native American himself who is on a quest to collect the totems of his people for his magic pouch. He travels through various lands including forests, volcanoes, and oceans in six 'rituals' to gather these totems, each of which gives him a new power. As the game progresses, the player can receive power-ups which will give Soaring Eagle more protection, refill any lost life, or even extend his life meter. Fighting creatures along the way, Soaring Eagle does not know what lies in wait for him at the end of his journey.

If the game's plot sounds sparse, it kind of is. The manual doesn't go into nearly as much detail as the above paragraph does, but there isn't much to go into. It's almost a coming of age story without all of the corny one-liners and 'very special episodes'. The gathering of powers may also sound like a rip off of a certain popular Nintendo game, but this game is actually a Westernization of a Japanese game and not of said game. I guess what I'm trying to say is that while the game isn't making any strides for gaming mechanics, it does have one thing going for it. It has notoriety for being the first game to feature a Native American in a starring role, a feature that has not been replicated terribly often, even today.
The mechanics of the game are also simple. Run, jump, and attack are your main methods of getting through. Most of the powers seem neat when you get them, but against enemies and in actual progress through the game, I didn't notice much of an effect. In fact, most of the powers, I didn't even use until the final stage- which I do have to add is one of the best final stages in an early-era game I've played in my memory. What surprised me was that the game does have some kinds of role-playing elements. As you travel and defeat creatures, they drop gourds. The gourds are akin to experience points, as when you earn enough, your health meter grows a heart longer. It was the one thing that really differentiated Whomp 'Em from other platformers of the era.
Another thing to mention is that Whomp 'Em has some scattershot difficulty in areas. I'll admit that I may have been playing it wrong, but those powers that should have worked on certain bosses were about as effective as the swearing that resulted when poor Soaring Eagle died because of my misguided attempts. I know I've harped on the powers being ineffective already, but I found myself sticking to the default spear in almost all cases, which might have resulted in a harder game. Even being guided by my partner on exactly what to use where, there were bosses that were incredibly difficult because of this problem, and there were areas that were incredible easy in any case. There were miniature frustrations throughout the game from this, but nothing that would result in my tearing it down too much. Thankfully, the game is relatively short, as well, considering there is no way to continue from the spot that you died at once you lose your lives. That's another small point against the game, as usually, I don't have the time to sit and play through an entire game in one sitting- unless it's The Little Mermaid.

As much as I want to say I loved the entire game's front end, I did have my issues. The music ranged from incredible- especially for the time- to downright grating. The Magic Forest's theme comes to mind, as I remember enjoying it for the first few minutes, and then realized it was pretty much the same three notes over and over again. The sound effects were above par, as they sounded like they should and sounded good. What's more to say about them, really?
The graphics, though, I really enjoyed. You're not going to find the next Mona Lisa here, but a lot of the bosses and level designs are visually interesting and detailed. Animations are smooth and the monsters all have interesting designs, too. Again, the entire last level (and boss) are a lot of fun to look at, and the palette runs the gamut of colors, bright and dark. The visuals come only second to the role-playing elements as far as the boons to this game are concerned.

Usually, I end these reviews with the question 'does this game stand the test of time', but this time, there are two questions to answer. First of all, this game does stand the test of time. In fact, the game was better than I thought it was going to be when I turned it on. The other question, though, is does the idea of 'retro recommendations' really work? For my first real experience being on the other side of it, I'd have to say yes. Not to sound corny, but I'm glad that my partner recommended this game. Otherwise, I'd have no idea it existed.

Who knew being on the other end of a recommendation could be so productive?

(Seraph's Note: So... I lost most of my screenshots for this game due to technical difficulties, so I only have screenshots from the earlier parts of the game. My apologies!)

A Logo!!

2009-12-26T20:57:00.000-08:00

So I had some free time... and I put together a little logo for 3PStart!

It's small, but you can check it out toward the bottom of the sidebar on the left. It's basic, too, but I think it fits the bill.

Also, I'm posting immediately after this one of the reviews I promised!

Just played around with a little game called 'Rock 'n' Ball' for the NES, too, so I'll start writing about that soon.

Pretty much, keep an eye out. Another burst of activity is coming your way faithful reader... s?

'Trust the Fungus!' - Super Mario Bros.: The Movie

2009-12-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

SUPER MARIO BROS.: THE MOVIE

1993
Based on: Super Mario Bros. series
Directed by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton
Starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, and Samantha Mathis

All right, so I want to try something new. Just because this is a retro gaming blog doesn't mean it only has to be about games, right? Not to mention that I just came across a pretty good deal at my local Newbury Comics and picked up a couple of good old video game movies. What better way to start off this concept, then, but with the first ever video game movie? Thus, I present to you 'Super Mario Bros.: The Movie'.

Anyone who has played a video game in the last few years has at least heard of Mario, Luigi, and their exploits through the Mushroom Kingdom. For this movie, should you find a copy and want to watch it, you should throw most of what you know out the window. The movie keeps a lot of the key elements of the game and mashes it into an interesting, if not misguided, story. Mario (Hoskins) and Luigi (Leguizamo) are plumbers in Brooklyn, and not terribly successful ones at that. Not only are they constantly being shown up by the Scapelli Plumbing Co., but local girls are being kidnapped for some strange reason. Enter Daisy (Mathis), an archaeologist (I think?) who is helping dig up the meteor that crashed right in Brooklyn about 65 million years ago and killed off the dinosaurs. Now, according to the opening of the film, that's only partially true. A meteorite did land, but it did not kill the dinosaurs. Rather, it created an parallel universe in which the dinosaurs evolved in the same way that primates did in our world, becoming humans much like we are, but a much different civilization. Back in our world, Luigi falls for Daisy and begins to court her, but she is promptly kidnapped along with Mario's girlfriend, Daniella (played by Dana Kiminski in decidedly the most unimportant 'important' role of the movie) and whisked away to the other world.
See, King Koopa (rather, President Koopa, as played by Hopper) is looking for a piece of meteorite that the lost princess of the alternate world is holding, and this meteorite piece, when placed into the meteorite that fell, will merge the two worlds and Koopa can take over. To save Daisy, Mario and Luigi travel to the other world, an intensely cyberpunk/post-apocalyptic world where while Koopa is king, anarchy ultimately rules. The quest begins and the brothers pursue Daisy to rescue her since, as you may have guessed, she's the missing princess. Will they save the day? Will Mario realize Daniella's even missing? Will there be a sequel?

I can safely answer two of those questions with a 'yes'.

Whatever the directors and writers were doing, it was certainly unfocused. If my plot review didn't make that clear, that is just the tip of the movie's iceburg so far as plot and what they were going for. The movie is certainly too 'adult' for the fanbase it must have been aiming for, and it's too 'kiddie' for adults to really enjoy. The tone is much darker than one would expect from a movie based on the series, but there are some interesting things to be said about it. The parallels between the two worlds are drawn in a neat fashion, and they certainly do stick to their guns that this world is a terrible place to be, explaining why Koopa wants the worlds to merge. Does that make the convoluted plot any less so? Not one bit.

The real entertainment of this movie comes from the actors and the nostalgia factor. All of the leads seem to have their footing so far as their performances go. Hoskins, whether he liked it or not, made a great Mario, and Leguizamo plays the aloof Luigi with what seems like excitement. Despite stories that most of the actors on this film were unhappy throughout the filming process, it's good to see that they still forged on with some kind of energy. Hopper plays an awesome villain, even in this chopped up tribute, and Mathis brings a nice tone to the hapless all-of-a-sudden princess. In a twist of 'I need a paycheck' fate, Lance Henriksen makes an appearance as the king in the final frames of the movie, too. In fact, the whole cast is pretty impressive, name and talent-wise, and many of them have gone on to continue having great careers even today. My favorite character in this whole bit, though, was Francesca P. Roberts a.k.a. Bertha. Now, her character is based off of the large fish in SMB 3 who tries to eat the player as he swims through worlds. In the movie, however, she is a powerhouse and a bouncer at a club in Koopa City, and from the moment she shows up on screen, probably the most interesting part of each scene she appears in. Also of note are Richard Edson and Fisher Stevens, who despite having some of the stupid dialogue for half of the movie as Spike and Iggy, two of Koopa's idiot minions, still keep a great presence and chemistry as a comic duo. Oh yeah, and let's not forget Fiona Shaw of Harry Potter fame as Lena, Koopa's devious right-hand woman.

See, what did I tell you? A lot of names for this little clunker.

So you might be asking how this relates to the actual games? Well, aside from the names and concepts, it pretty much doesn't. The makers took elements from every game- save for number 2, my personal favorite- and threw them into this universe they tossed together. Some series regulars like Toad and Yoshi appear, but in a bit of a different spectrum, and there are still Goombas and the like. One of the best scenes in the film actually stars a Bob-Omb in his trek across the city. A whole bunch of names pop up, too, including in club and bar titles (Thwomp and Hammer Bros. are two I can remember) and other places (the name 'Wiggler' appears on a taxi that Daisy is dragged into). References are plentiful in this film, showing that the makers at least knew the series. You'll definitely smirk as you watch the film, but you'll wonder a few things. First of all, why focus on the whole series? Had they stuck with, say, Super Mario Land, they could have just had Tatanga be the bad guy and it might explain a bit more and make some leeway for the filmmakers to toy with. They could have stuck Princess Toadstool in instead and had other impetus for the brothers to end up in, oh I don't know... the Mushroom Kingdom? It's just another example of how unfocused the whole project was. Also, where did the filmmakers and/or writers go wrong? How did such a fun idea end up feeling so laborious by the end of the film?

Well, that could have to do with the 40 million dollar budget, for starters. Yes, you read right. $40 million dollars. The set, costumes, and effects are absolutely stunning, but $40 million dollars for any venture is a steep price to pay. Also, anyone who reads anything about what was going on during filming would probably have a hint as to what went wrong. Stories of terrible director behavior, constant rewrites, and just general disdain for the project all attribute to the fact that this film is a cult classic and nothing more. I just dug up a few online copies of original scripts, and I have to say, I'm really interested to see what other ideas were on the table, because I can't imagine this was the best they could have come up with. The dialogue is, for the most part, pretty awful, and it couldn't even be saved by the great performances of the cast. Some scenes fit the Mario series perfectly, and some scenes leave you scratching your head. When a movie is wrapping up, though, the last thing you should be thinking is 'man, that was a long movie', but that was exactly what happened during this one.

Honestly, I think people who enjoy video games and movies will enjoy this movie. It's not because it's a great movie, but because it's a fun ride, and 20-somethings who have played the original games will get what the filmmakers were going for and still appreciate it for the B-movie that it turned out to be. As the first video game movie, it made it possible for fun movies like Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider to be made. It also made it possible for awful movies to be made, but I can save those for another time. I've got a whole shelf of them to delve through, after all.

Expanding? Now?

2009-12-23T13:52:00.000-08:00

So it may sound silly, but I've decided that, aside from retro gaming, there's another avenue I could also take this blog down, and that's video game movies.

Sadly, this idea came from a sale I went to where I picked up not one, but two horrible video game movies. Wanna know what they are?

Then keep your eyes peeled, kids and kittens, because this blog will be showcasing a bit about the many video game movies I own alongside the other reviews I've been trying to write and get on here.

For those who even remotely read this, again I have some reviews I've been working on, but sometimes, it's tough. Especially now that I've gotten my hands on so many new games. What's a boy to do?

Well- here's a bit of teasing, I guess, to help get you along. The games I've played through and been writing on lately:

- 'Secret of Mana' - one of the proud RPG's for SNES
- 'Whomp 'Em' - an adventure game along the lines of Mega Man for the NES
- 'Monster Party' - a horror-type platformer for the NES

I'm still working through, and far from done with games to play, but life does get in the way sometimes, so keep an eye out. If anyone's reading this, suggest any other games to play, and then I'll know to get back to this more and more often, right?

Until then, keep on gaming!

One Awfully Fluffy Fish - Nintendo - The Little Mermaid

2009-11-20T21:58:00.000-08:00

THE LITTLE MERMAID

Nintendo Entertainment System
Capcom
(c) 1991
Genre: Action Adventure

Disney has had its hand in numerous video game ventures in the past and in more recent days. The 'Kingdom Hearts' series, the 'Ducktales' games, and plenty of other titles throughout the years. There are very few Disney movies that have not had some kind of video game treatment, and 'The Little Mermaid' is no different. Plenty of these ventures have been successful and some of them, not so much. Where does Ariel's adventure fall, and how does it stack up today?

'The Little Mermaid' picks up with Ariel, a mermaid, falling in love and wishing for legs so she can spend her life with Eric, a prince on the land. Once Ursula, the sea witch who granted her wish, casts a spell to control all of the fish in the ocean, she forsakes her legs and man and goes back to the ocean to help free her former brethren. This is where the game begins. Pretty much, if you've seen the movie, this is it minus the morals and fun songs (though 'Under the Sea' does play at the beginning and end of the game).
The games mechanics are pretty simple. As it's most likely geared toward children- and heaven help me, I tried to bear that in mind- the controls involve moving Ariel around the ocean and swiping your tail at the berserker sea creatures to capture them in bubbles and dispatch them. Continuing through five levels, you can find pearls in treasure chests to help improve your bubbles' range and power, as well as doodads and knick knacks to give you more points and therefore more lives. Simple? Simple.

Again, bearing in mind that this game is meant for children, its difficulty varies. In all honesty, I got bored and played through this game in about twenty or so minutes. I skipped over plenty of power-ups and other things that I knew would get me points. Some of the techniques needed for a few of the treasure chests were a bit beyond skills I would believe a child of this game's targeting would have. Pretty much, this game ranges between way too easy and a bit too tough without much goings on in between. With the easy difficulty through most of it, though, I didn't find it necessary to go through the tough puzzles. I think I'm more frustrated by that in retrospect than I was while I was playing the game.
One of my favorite complaints about a game is 'collision detection' and while it doesn't happen often, when it does, I love to harp on it. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not as it only seemed to happen with certain creatures, but I found it frustrating when I could bubble something once and not seem to seal the deal with a second bubble because my bubbles would pass through. It may have been the creatures. I prefer to blame it on a poor design choice. It resulted in a couple of hits I didn't earn, and especially in a children's game, that's kind of crummy.

On the plus side, the game was relaxing. I don't consider myself a 'casual' gamer by any means, but sometimes you just want to chill out and play through a game, and I did just that. The game was neat and compact and didn't exactly tax my brain. I suppose my end to this paragraph is that this is a good kids' game. I can't imagine playing through it at an age in the double digits with any serious investment. People I know who played it when they were younger have fond memories of it, but that's not really the point of this whole affair, is it?

The game was graphically kind of 'meh'. As a Nintendo game, it was kind of neat, but this game was around the time that Sega was start to push the limits of graphics, and this game was nothing groundbreaking. Okay. It's a kids' game. It's not especially colorful or exciting to look at, either. Almost everything is in some shade of blue, purple, or green. Even if Ariel's hair had been the brilliant red it was in the movie, that would have been welcome, but the scenery kind of blended into itself with very few pops and even fewer memorable ones. The only bits of color I can really pick out are the ones from the 'cutscenes'. That's the best thing I can call them, honestly.
The sound was saccharine. Upbeat and fun is fine, and most of the levels had such a tone. The music was enjoyable, and the boss music had the right tempo and feel for a Disney boss. At no point, even during the end fight, did I feel any sense of dread. Considering that I remember some amazing and frightening scenes from the movie, the game could have used some track that made you feel like maybe you were facing more of a challenge. The sounds were cutesy, as expected, but considering how infrequently I heard them, I have to give them a par for the course, so to speak.

If this review seems short, that's because I went into this review with two guidelines: remember this game is meant for children and don't spend more time writing this review than I did playing the game. It was a cute little game that I think is too dumb and too smart for its target audience. While it has it's fun nature, I definitely think Disney (and Capcom, obviously) put out much better and much more apt games than this one. I still can't deny that I had a decent time playing it. I just didn't realize how short that good time was going to be.

It's a Classic to Everyone - Nintendo - The Legend of Zelda

2009-11-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo
(c) 1986
Genre: Adventure Role-Playing

Plenty of classics appeared in the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System. 'Super Mario Bros.' was the smash hit title and the other game produced by the same team was no slouch in the popularity department. That game was 'The Legend of Zelda'. now, if you're reading this blog, and you haven't heard of that title, it would be wise for your next action to be to find this game and play through it. It is a staple in almost every gamer's vocabulary, whether they've played it or not. It has had dozens of incarnations and sequels from its first appearance up to now with still more coming. As with all games of that era, though, it is a question of whether this game lives up to the same hype today.

The story of The Legend of Zelda, for those who may have been living under a rock electronically speaking, is the story of the kingdom of Hyrule. A once peaceful land, it has been overrun by Ganon, an evil sorcerer who has acquired the Triforce of Power, one of the land's two Triforce artifacts that grant immense power to the bearer. Princess Zelda, the ruler of Hyrule, splits the remaining Triforce, the Triforce of Wisdom, into eight parts and scatters them into trap-laden dungeons, hoping that it will stop Ganon from acquiring both and the ultimate power that comes with it. Shortly after, she is kidnapped by Ganon, and that's where Link comes in. Link, the hero of our story, starts out as a young boy with just a shield. Soon, he is taking up a sword and heading into the dungeons to retrieve the Triforce pieces and save Princess Zelda and the Triforce of Power from Ganon.
Sound like a mouthful? To be fair, most of this is discussed in the prologue during the title sequence of the game and in the booklet that was included. What you need to know is that Link travels through the land of Hyrule, exploring dungeons, fighting enemies, and becoming stronger along the way. The formula of this game is incredible as it is very exploration based. In fact, Nintendo placed a whole bunch of hints in the original manual to help players be less confused. While you're exploring, you find a plethora of items to help you survive and progress including heart containers which add to your life bar and upgardes to your weapons, items, and tunic. All in all, while made at the same time as Super Mario Bros., this game has a great deal more depth even with its lack of narrative in-game. For those of you who count 'It's a secret to everybody' as narrative, I am not among your numbers.
Each of the dungeons is a labyrinth of puzzles, locked doors, and hidden passages. thankfully, each of them have special items in them (the aforementioned 'plethora' is built from these, for the most part) as well as a map and compass to show you where the secret rooms might be and how close you're getting to the boss and Triforce piece. There are even helpful people in those dungeons sometimes, though I can't imagine why Princess Zelda put them down there with all of the traps and enemies. That aside, the game feels incredibly rewarding, even now, when you get through one of these dungeons and ejected to the overworld to forge ahead to the next.

The whole game is very rewarding, actually. Finding a spot that you can't get to is frustrating, but when you finally find the item that will help you get to that once inaccessible place, you feel like you really did something. Watching the little by little progress of your life meter growing or the Triforce slowly filling in is equal to leveling up in modern day RPG's or finally reaching the next section of an FPS nowadays. You always feel like you're achieving something, and that's a good feeling to get from a video game.
This game is also very accessible- in most ways. With the exception of crazy pros who can beat the game in twenty minutes or without getting the sword or other junk, this game can last a few hours for those who grew up with it and played it to death or a few days for the novice player. It's a game with great reply value that, so far as I've felt, hasn't diluted over time. It's a genuinely fun game that has that feel that you can master it with time and patience or just give it a good playthrough and remember the good old days of playing it back in the 80's. There are also quite a few hints throughout the game that point you in the general direction that you should be going in to reach your next destination.

Herein lies the problem. The reason- and the only reason really- that this game does not stand the test of time is that a lot of the hints that help guide you through the game were in the paperwork that came with the game in its original state. This might seem like a lame reason to say such a thing, but hear me out. I love this game. I've played it through multiple times in multiple fashions. I know plenty of other people who have played this game and still absolutely love it. They remember all of the bushes you burn, the stones you push, and the statues you move. All of this, however, is the product of playing the game for years. People who are just getting to play it for the first time will find themselves lost and confused in some spots without someone there to help guide them or an FAQ from the internet. Some puzzles are only hinted at and while trial and error might help you solve them, I could almost guarantee that a new player with no previous knowledge of the game would be able to finish it. Then again, Miyamoto was quoted as saying it was supposed to be a game where you ask your friends how to progress and communicate with them, so maybe it's just living up to its original mission statement.

Now, another problem might result in the music of the game. To rephrase before a rabid fan tears me apart- the repetitive music in the game. The overworld theme is one that nearly every gamer knows by heart, and it's honestly great. I enjoy listening to it, and it's the basis for the theme for every Zelda that has come out since. All of the tracks are good- as long as you don't mind listening to them for the duration of your Zelda experience. I welcomed the music in the final dungeon- the only one of the three in game tracks that is unique during the experience- but I still love the music in this game. It's a strange thing that after listening to it for hours on end, I still enjoyed myself and didn't even notice that I had been listening to it for that long. If repetitive music gets to you, I would say that you should play this game in short spurts. The sound effects are pretty awesome including the now iconic 'I found something!' noise and the sound of Link's sword shooting across the screen, both of which I find myself emulating sometimes. One neat sound effect I enjoyed was when you get within a certain range of the boss room in a dungeon, you can actually hear a kind of roaring as a low din. It's a really neat effect that I think many people who play this game a lot overlook.
The graphics are standard for the time. They're fairly colorful, though I admit my favorite part is walking through the graveyard which is almost devoid of color. Everything looks how it should, and the final battle of the game is the 'graphical powerhouse' of the game, as it should be. Even Princess Zelda is kind of a looker for an 8-bit lady. As you progress, Link starts to look cooler with his ring upgrade, the sword and shield start to look cooler, and the dungeons- well, the dungeons are the set chipset used over and over so it can get a little monotonous until the last couple of levels where they start to vary the terrain a little more.

I do highly recommend this game to anyone interested in retro gaming. It's been #1 on plenty of lists that I've seen in gaming mags and websites and with a good reason. It's a game you can take at your own pace and explore. You can try to beat it numerous different ways once you know the ins and outs of it. It set a precedent for the games of its time and our time. I just have to recommend that if you're new to the game and you haven't played it yet, keep a friend or an FAQ near you at all times. Just don't burst into too many secrets or you may find yourself paying for door repair.

Personal Notes? Who Does That?

2009-11-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

I know. It's shocking, right? I'm putting something up that's not a review. In fact, these days, it's getting rare that I can even post a review. That doesn't mean, however, that I'm not still promoting the retro gaming love!

Anyone who happens onto this blog and finds it fun, interesting, quirky, or just generally wants to talk retro gaming, 3PStart now has a Facebook group devoted to it! The 3PStart Retro Gaming Group (I know, the name is super long) is just a place to talk about retro games. If you're playing them, want a 'new' older game to play, or just want to start some general discussion on older games, feel free to drop on by and join. It's still on a pretty personal level- we're about ten members strong right now- but I'm starting up a discussion of the week, as well as posting screenshots of older games for those who want to wax nostalgic and see what games I'm working on getting through next. It's a fun group of people and once there are enough members, maybe- just maybe- I have a few contest ideas or fun things to try and integrate into the group/blog. So what are you waiting for? Come hang out with us!

P.S. You have a couple of reviews coming up. Hint: one was just named the #1 game ever by Game Informer and the other was actually the second in its series, despite seeming like an incredible stand-alone RPG.

As usual, keep gaming and keep checking back for more fun stuff!

Taste the Rainbow... Then Spit It Back Out - Nintendo Entertainment System - Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2

2009-11-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

RAINBOW ISLANDS: THE STORY OF BUBBLE BOBBLE 2

Nintendo Entertainment System
Taito
(c) 1991
Genre: Action Platformer

It's common knowledge in the video game world that if a game does well- let's face it, well enough- it will warrant a sequel of some kind. Sometimes, the second game in a series will keep the exact formula of the originator. This can result in a boring romp through the 'same crap, different color' motif (unless you're Mega Man). Sometimes, the game will stray so far from it's source that the double take will snap necks. On occasion, though, some games will find their sequel to be a good mix of both. While it may be a good mix, does that make a good game, though? That's what 'Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2' will show us.

In true Nintendo fashion, the story of Rainbow Islands takes place directly after the events of Bubble Bobble and the 'true' ending. Now, if you read my review on Bubble Bobble, you know that I did not get the true ending, but I can infer that Bub and Bob, our unfortunate heroes, were returned to a human form and escaped the cave of monsters. Now, Bubby and Bobby, as they are now referred to, find themselves on the Rainbow Islands, a chain of land masses that is slowly sinking into the ocean. The two boys can traverse to the top of each island with the help of rainbows that they produce. Yes, I said rainbows. These rainbows are not just for fun decoration, though. They serve as attacks, platforms, and even bring death from above for unfortunate monsters you can drop them on. Along the way, there are many secrets and power ups to help the boys out, but only by collecting the seven rainbow diamonds can they truly unlock the secret of the Rainbow Islands and save them once and for all.

There are a lot of things you'll recognize as you travel through the levels of Rainbow Islands. First of all, it's a nice touch that you don't have to kill every enemy to proceed to the next level. Just reach the top of each world and continue on. The game definitely has the same feel as the original, even with all of the cosmetic changes, and even watching the enemies 'die' brings up a familiar sprite sequence. For some reason, the enemies turn into enemies you faced in the original game. I'm not sure if this was a design choice or a lack of creativity on the part of those who made the game, but it did bring a smirk to my face every so often.
The power ups were probably the most nostalgic thing I encountered in the game. While there are some new and really awesome power ups, plenty of old ones appear. This includes the lightning storm, the quick sneakers, and a special item toward the end of world 5 that I may or may not have missed in the original game. Not that I'm bitter. In any case, some of the new ones are just as intriguing, including an invincibility cloak, a ring that lets you take one hit instead of dying, and a leaf the brings a fairy helper to circle around you and take out enemies as you travel. Players won't be disappointed by how many ways they can protect themselves.
One factor I did miss, however, and I can't believe I'm saying this, was the Baron. Anyone who spent too long in a level in Bubble Bobble understands exactly what I mean: the pale white ghost that you couldn't kill and would attack mercilessly until it had the blood of a dinosaur in its horrifying maw. Replacing him is the rising water that is overtaking the islands. Now, this would be fine, but it rises really fast, and when you enter a new screen, it starts at the same level as you. Not to mention that sometimes, the game doesn't give you enough time to get through the level before the familiar 'hurry up!' message flashes across the screen. Another bit of nostalgia, but this one could have used some fine tuning. Some people call it a strategic choice. I call it a cheap death mechanism. While this is countered by the fact that you don't have to start at the beginning of the game when you lose all of your lives, you do start at the beginning of the world you were in, and that can be infuriating in just the same way.

Before I jump into the praise, I will preface that I started out loving this game. In fact, when I read about it, almost every magazine at the time was holding it up to the sun like the second coming of Pong. By the time I put this game down, I was a raging mess. I found myself asking why I was bothering playing this game anymore when, by the end, I clearly wasn't having much fun with it. It became more about who could break first rather than having a good time.
First of all, take this into account: if you consider the levels like one big boss and the bosses like little breaks in between 'bosses', you'll be much better off. The bosses of each level are almost laughably easy. They follow really simple patterns, and I only found myself losing a life or two to these terrors. While they help bring the level together, they are big old creatures, half of which are based on other games. Note: while I hated the Arkanoid level, I loved the nostalgic trip I had playing through it.
The levels are the real problem. The first couple, you won't really notice. They're fun and simple enough to soar through. The difficulty spikes pretty steeply as you go, though, and by level five or six, you'll be swearing at your screen. Keep in mind that you must also collect colored diamonds to spell out 'RAINBOW' in a level so that you can get the large diamond at the end, because with out those seven diamonds, you can't get the extra stuff. I've read about it, but I'll be honest again. I only got one of the diamonds, and it was far enough into the game where my already diminished hope flickered to black. Again from my reading, plenty of people heralded this game for the fact that if you're determined enough to get all of the secrets, you get rewarded at the end.
I'll be honest. I'll maybe pick this game up and play the first couple of levels again. Other than that, you can keep your secret levels or true ending or whatever other crap you're trying to give me.

That's not to say that the game isn't addictive. Even when I was frustrated, I was still trying like mad to get Bubby through each level in one piece. It's a cute game, and it's definitely one of those games that falls under 'easy to learn, difficult to master'. It has the same charm as the original, and after taking a short break in between angry moments, I would find myself drawn back to the same level that made that moment a reality. There's certainly something to be said for that.
Admittedly, I should write something about the reviews that this game got when it first came out. It held a few #1 spots on a few top 100 lists in it's time, and generally speaking, everyone who played it really loved it. I didn't know this chapter of the series existed until I stumbled on it in my reading, and I felt like I had found some lost treasure. I even played through the first couple of worlds and said that I really wanted to play through and review this game for 3P Start in case anyone hadn't heard of it. Y'know, spread the gospel. Well, while I take it back, I seem to be in the minority. The accessibility of this game is deceiving to those who fell in love with the original, however, and I simply serve as a small warning label on the back of that package.

Retaining the feel of the original, the graphics are bright and cheery, for the most part. While I preferred seeing the Bub and Bob of yesteryear, the enemies are crisp and fun to look at. The backdrops are nicely made, as well, if not a little simplistic. Coming from an original that had mostly black backgrounds, though, it was a step up. There are a few sections were the colors or pieces the designer used are confusing or meld into the enemies a bit too much. The moments are sporadic, but there were a few times that I was pegged by a near camouflaged opponent or falling down a floor because of some strange layout choices. The 'Japanese' themed level was probably the most fun to look at, though. Yes, that's the best description I have for it.
The music, on the other hand. Oh man. I liked the title music. It was a nice build up for the game. The music when you die is nice, too. All of that stuff in the middle, I could do without. It was nice for the first fifteen minutes or so, but as the game went on, I couldn't help but notice that I kept lowering the volume. It's cheery, but it doesn't change until level five or six, and even then, it was a welcome change. The background music for the original was nowhere near a masterpiece, but it was fun to listen to. This just got grating, and especially with the sound effects. No sounds particularly stand out as 'good' in this game, but plenty stood out as 'glaring'. The sound for shooting your rainbow, for instance- and if that doesn't sound like a euphemism, I don't know what is- got to me with a quickness. The library of sounds isn't exactly vast, either, which makes them stale within a few levels.

I want to say I hate this game. Again, I would not pick it up anytime soon, but maybe once the wounds heal, I'll try again, just to attempt getting the secret held therein. I know plenty of people who would pick this game up just for the challenge. Be warned, though, that while I played solo, I have read that you can only play two player 'alternating', which means you'll play a level until you die, then your friend will play until they die. This takes away some of the fun that the original had, but if you're up for a challenge and you're very patient, I can recommend this game. In fact, I would recommend everyone play it and make your own decision since mine varies so much from the popular vote. I, however, will be going back to Cave of Monsters long before I go back to the Rainbow Islands.

Tick... Tock... - Super Nintendo - Clock Tower: The First Fear

2009-10-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

CLOCK TOWER: THE FIRST FEAR

Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Human Entertainment
(c) 1995
Genre: Point-and-Click Survival Horror

In honor of the Halloween season, I've been trying to prepare some creepy game reviews to put up here to bring up the mood of the time. Sadly, as it is Halloween today, that doesn't seem like it's going to be much help to the cause. That doesn't change, however, that there are a few terrifying games I've played through, and maybe this can be used a checklist for next year, right? The first of the series that I've played through is Clock Tower: The First Fear, the translation origin of the American series of the same name. Stacking up for the season, how does this game rate? Well, you'll have to read more to find out...

Suspenseful, right?

Ahem. Set in Norway, Clock Tower begins with four girls being adopted by Mr. Barrows, a rich man who promises to give them the lives that they've so longed for. Escorted by his maid, Mary, the girls arrive at the mansion and while some have mixed feelings on the current goings-on, all seems peaceful and like things are going to go sweel for these little ladies. That is until Mary disappears for a little too long. Taking control of Jennifer Simpson, one of the four ill-fated girls, you follow behind Mary, only to quickly be routed by a shriek from the main hall. When you return, all of your friends are gone and the lights have been extinguished. Where are your friends? Who is the enigmatic Mr. Barrows? Is this really a point-and-click game on the Super Nintendo?

Truly enough, the game is point-and-click. While the pacing is somewhat slow, this does work in the game's favor. Exploring objects and rooms hearkens back to old PC games and the like. Straight away, I will say that this platform is not for everyone. This series also does not break this until Clock Tower 3 on the Playstation 2- but we'll get there. I do feel the game would be a completely different experience if it were a simple platformer, but the point-and-click does feel antiquated, no matter how much it lends to the atmosphere. You use the interface to pick up items for your inventory, move about the mansion, and generally everything you do. You'll get used to it.
This game also has some cool mechanics. Not only are there seven different endings dependant on what items you pick up and what characters are still alive at the end of the game, but there is an escape mechanic. Since Jennifer does not use weapons, the best thing she can do while running away from Scissorman- oh, I haven't mentioned him yet? Just you wait. In any case, she can struggle when he gets too close by tapping the 'B' button, thus saving her life. She only has a certain amount of life, though, indicated by a small portrait of her in the corner of the screen. While the background of the picture shifts through colors- blue to yellow to red- it indicates just how much strength she has left. If the meter hits red, she's too weak to fight back no matter what. Kind of like a 'three strikes, you're dead' type of deal. There are plenty of things in the environments to help defend yourself, though, including hiding spots and makeshift weapons. It's truly 'survival' horror, and it adds a sense of empowerment while retaining a sense of mortality.

Well, the plot is as contrived as an horror movie, but that doesn't mean that you don't sympathize with the characters. Of course, you relate with Jennifer most, and she's a great protagonist for the story. As she comes across Scissorman, a nefarious being with scissors as large as his body and a desire to kill her and her friends, you really do feel like you're watching a horror movie at times. The twists come at a decent pace, and every time you think you have something figured out, it changes on you or someone else comes into play (or goes out of play, depending on the character). It's a well orchestrated game for its time and the genre. All of the pieces are there for an engrossing video game horror experience.
The game is not without its flaws, but they're forgivable. On occasion, the camera and movement are somewhat unwieldy, making certain tense moments tough to navigate. Running away from something or figuring out how to conquer some of the obstacles that arise can be tough to get just the right element in the room to help out or trying to enter a door when the camera moves on you at the most inopportune time. Also, Jennifer doesn't always like to communicate when there isn't something useful someplace. On the opposite end of that, some important things to pick up take one or two clicks to get the girl to realize it. In short click on everything a few times. Oh, and if you can help it, try to make a map or look one up. Traveling around the mansion can get confusing, which both helps and hurts the atmosphere and the game.

Where this game shines most is its exterior. The music, while sparsely used, is incredibly effective. Right from the clock tick in the title sequence to the pins and needles of the tense music and the bass synthesized chase music, the game really is great. Even effects like Jennifer's shoes on the hardwood floor and the parrot screaming 'I'll get you!' are downright piercing in the right place and time. The game is definitely best played in a dark room with the sound turned up.
The graphics are nothing to scoff at either. Highly detailed and, for the most part, fluid and natural looking, the graphics enhance the game as much as the music if not moreso. The game keeps a dark atmosphere with its gothic and frightening backgrounds, but the colors never get dull. Burgundy walls, deep blue and eerily lit rooms, moss green grass; the game uses color and tone the way all games of the genre and time should. The game really is great to look at and listen to.

The long and short story on this game is that not only is it possibly one of the better games I've played on Super Nintendo, it's probably the best in the Clock Tower series, if I must give my opinion. While the point and click feel may not be for everyone, the game itself is a must for anyone who prides themselves a survival horror fan. The story and packaging definitely overshadow what technical issues there may be, and if you want a good video game experience to try to scare the pants off of you, this one may be the one for you.

Just don't try to drive away. No one ever makes it far when they try to escape... heh heh...

Now, I'm Praying for Narcolepsy - NES - A Nightmare on Elm Street

2009-09-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Nintendo Entertainment System
LJN
(c) 1989
Genre: Horror Platformer

Apparently, in my attempt to get into the Halloween spirit early, I made a vow to play at least one game that makes me want to bang my head against the wall until death and then come back as an angry ghost. My first order of business when I come back will be to haunt anyone who owns 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and warn them of the evils therein. Once again, LJN has taken what could have been a promising idea and butchered it. Strangely enough, this time it was with help by Rare. Good to know that didn't end poorly for them.

If you don't know the plot of Nightmare on Elm Street, it's essentially this. Freddy Krueger is a claw handed and severely burned being who stalks the children of Elm Street. You see, he was a child molester and, as such, the parents of Springwood decided to burn him alive. Now, he comes back to kill their children through their dreams. The game is based mostly on the third installment of the series, 'The Dream Warriors'. In this game, you must go through numerous locales in Springwood to find the bones of Freddy Krueger. Each time you find all of the bones in a section, you move on to the next one until you face a boss. The bosses bear some resemblance to forms Freddy takes in the movies. Making your way through Elm Street High, the Thompson house, and the junkyard among other places, you'll fight a variety of baddies including bats, zombies, and other creatures.
As you venture, a small gauge diminishes slowly. You can refill this with coffee found in the levels. If it runs out, though, you fall into the dream world. Everything changes appearance and things become a little tougher. Luckily, you can find pick-ups that will allow you to become either a spear tossing acrobat, a fireball hurling necromancer, or a shuriken chucking ninja. Each of these have their strengths and weaknesses you can use as you travel further. Wait too long, though, and you'll hear that familiar tune signaling Mr. Krueger's attack. If you find a radio, though, you'll wake up and find yourself back in the real world. Sounds a lot like the movie, right?
If only it were so entertaining.

The game starts off pleasantly enough. Roaming down Elm Street is fun, and your character's abilities are not terribly stunted- they jump high enough and their punch is useable enough. The enemies here make about as much sense as they did in Friday the 13th, though I understand the idea of changing from 'real world' to 'dream world', so I can let it slide. My largest problem with the game is that it ranges from downright fun to 'pass the Drain-O please' in rapid fluctuation. Playing in the 'real world' felt excruciating once you actually knew what you could do in the 'dream world', but you have to play in that world for most of the adventure, should you not want to get slaughtered by Freddy. I suppose fans of the series could see this as an up side considering how alike the movies it is in tone. The game was also based on one of the best entries in the entire series, which is also a bonus. I know. Mixed messages here, right? I honestly think had I enjoyed the movies more, I would have liked the games. This game doesn't have the privilege, though, that Friday the 13th had when I reviewed it. I'm trying to be as kind as I can, that given.
My main problems come with the overall packaging. The levels seem pretty slapped together as the game goes on, leaving some near to impossible jumps to overtake. I think we know how I feel about cheapness induced deaths by now. Not only that, but there is no health meter, which I'm assuming the sleep meter takes the place of. That's all well and good, but I like to know when I'm going to die. According to sources I looked at, it's four hits, but I highly doubt that, as I feel like I had more or less depending on the enemy that was bludgeoning me. Speaking of the enemies, that was another problem I had. Plenty of games ramp up difficulty, especially in that age, by placing harder enemies in later levels. This game, however, intersperses them by making the same enemies take more or less hits. The fun part is you can rarely tell which ones take more or less. I found this especially true in the blue 'Shamblers' who would take one hit sometimes or three hits. This also results in a lot of frustration as you never know if you're going to actually defeat the creature your fighting and be able to move on. This also ends up giving you some extra hits you didn't quite earn. It's kind of a mess.
My biggest problem with the game, hands down, was the collision detection. I understand that LJN was the chief proprietor of TMA's (remember that acronym, kids?), but that does not make up for making a game more difficult by misleading your players. I noticed this most when the character changes to the 'Necromancer' form. The fireballs he throws connect about 60 to 70 percent of the time. I could try to lend this to me not being great at the game, but this time, that is not the case. I didn't notice the same problem with the Acrobat or Ninja. Also, some of the obstacles take up a little more space than their sprites might suggest. This was especially noticeable in the claw hands that bounce over a lot of the pits in the later levels. Being careful does nothing when closing in as, in plenty of cases, you'll find yourself being knocked back while inching toward the ledge.

Now that I've finished rambling about the awful parts of the game, I'll drag the good out of the closet. First of all, and I'll repeat this from before to highlight it here, this game is complete fan service. Everything from collecting Freddy's bones to the different Dream Warriors and the locales will jump out and scream to fans 'This is for you!'. Plenty of the references in the boss battles were also interesting anf fun to battle against. While LJN doesn't seem to know exactly what they're doing with movie adaptations, they do tend to know how to make a game interesting to the fans.
While I mentioned that the 'real world' play was excruciating, the 'dream world' is a lot of fun. The Dream Warriors have different general abilities- the 'Necromancer' can jump higher and longer, the Ninja kicks in mid-jump and can hit enemies with no effort- so it was fun to toy around with that, at least. In some cases, it even makes the impossible parts more fathomable. Just a little. The fact that staying in the 'dream world' for too long summons Freddy was also a neat little touch, and probably one of my favorite sequences of the whole game.
Speaking of Freddy, his advantage over Jason and his NES debut is that the end battle is actually epic rather than repetitious. While if you see him through the game, it's not much different, it's not required that you see him three or four times through the game. The sense of anxiety and excitement did wash over me a little while I was in the final boss, something that wasn't completely true in Friday the 13th.

All right. Let's talk graphics. This game has some okay graphics. While the color palette is all over the place in some levels, especially the junkyard, it maintains a dark theme. There are also some weird perspective things going on with some of the houses on Elm Street. Namely, the Thompson house. Again, if you're a fan, you'll know what I'm talking about, but that boarded up old house that you go in towards the end for those of you not in the know. I know it's supposed to make it look imposing, but it just looks kind of strange. The 'Shamblers', again, look like kind of a mess, but the other enemies are clean enough. I especially loved traveling through the boiler room of the high school. It was nothing special, but that wave of nostalgia hit again and I got excited knowing that the game would be ending soon. These graphics, however, glitch like crazy sometimes. They never incapacitate the game or the gameplay, but I noticed it in a few boss battles that the game would glitch when certain things or movements would happen. It's not terrible, but it's still annoying. Oh yeah, and Freddy looks way better than Jason did in his game. Just a fun note.
The music is another mixed bag. I like the theme and a couple of the tracks. My consensus, though, is that I really enjoyed the music. If it had fit the game throughout, I would have enjoyed it that much more. While there is a variety of music involved, there are few tracks that retain the feel of the game. It almost tries to be more funky than dark. It's like the game doesn't know what it wants its tone to be. The sound effects are all right. I found myself rocking out a little to the radio whenever I had to get it, but other than that, they're kind of lackluster. The Necromancer's fireballs makes this strange noise that I can't decide if I'm enthralled by or annoyed by. Maybe it's both.

Much like Friday the 13th, I have to close with this statement: This game is for hardcore fans of the movie. As a platformer, you'll find it infuriating, and as a horror game, it falls flat. If you've always wanted to hunt down Freddy Krueger and kill him, though, now's your chance. Just like the movies, if you go into the game without much thought, you'll have a blast. Now that I've played through it, I kind of want to take some sleeping pills and find out what happens, and that's not a good thing. This game doesn't particularly stand up to the test of time, presentation or gameplay-wise, but it is an endless font of potential.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find a dark house with little girls jumproping out front...

Slick, Shiny, and Speedy - Sega - Sonic the Hedgehog 2

2009-09-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2

Sega Genesis
Sega
(c) 1992
Genre: Adventure Platformer

In most cases, sequels are no contest for the original source. Plenty of game series can attest to this, and I'm sure plenty of you are thinking of a million examples as you read this. In rare cases, though, a sequel outshines its source, bringing new life to an already promising title. While this is an obvious boon to any game publisher, it doesn't happen often enough. On that, I have to give kudos to Sega for making Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with this thought in mind.

The plot of the story revolves around our spiky blue hero taking a break after defeating Dr. Robotnik. He lands his plane on a small island and, while resting there, finds himself followed by a young fox, Miles Prower (Get it?), who is nicknamed "Tails" due to a mutation resulting in his having two tails. Sonic decides to let him follow along and while they're having their happy woodland adventures, an explosion and the appearance of familiar looking robots signals Sonic to action. He must stop Dr. Robotnik from stealing the seven Chaos Emeralds sealed away on the island, which were once used to help the society of the island flourish.
Impressively enough, there actually seems to be a bit of a mythology to this story, which is rare enough in games of the time, but with a few additions, including my personal favorite character's first appearance, this game really spotlights what a team can do when they put their minds to it. Say what you want about him, but "Tails" can be pretty useful- when he's not being a total klutz. As usual, we'll get to that.

The game retains most of the charm of the original. New baddies, new friends, and new levels to peruse are some of the things you can look forward to. Thankfully, the folks at Sonic Team put a new spin on the old mechanics. No, seriously. There's a new ability called a 'spin dash' which lets you rev up your character by holding in a 'duck' position and pushing the jump button. This alleviates the issue of the original where you had to get a running start, run, duck, and hope you had enough momentum to get through whatever obstacle was in your way. Streamlining, I believe they call it. Also, by default, you play as Sonic with Tails in tow. You can change it to play as either of our heroes solo, which will remove a lot of headaches. I kept having the issue where if I was jumping onto a moving platform, Mr. Prower would find a way to duck in front of me, activate the platform while I was in mid-air and send me to ultimate death. Thanks for all of that, by the way, Tails.
'Streamline' seems to be the word of the day with this game, though. At first, it seems cheap that the three act levels have been pared down to two acts. When you begin to play through, though, you realize that the sheer size of each act more than makes up for this change, making levels much easier to digest. Also, rather than your only chance at bonus levels being at the act's end, if you approach any checkpoint post with 50 or more rings, you get a chance to tackle the Chaos Emeralds. While these posts aren't always right in your path at all times, you'll find yourself seeking them out for this benefit.
There is also a two player mode, another new feature where you can race against or work with a friend to defeat Robotnik in a variety of locales. While I've never absolutely loved the two-player mode, it was nice to be able to play with a friend. A friend can control Tails in the one played mode, if it's desired, but for the most part, they can just hurt bad guys and help collect rings.
One last bit is that this is the first appearance of a lot of series mainstays including Metal Sonic, Super Sonic, and of course, Tails. While the series hasn't been known for throwing away any characters, the first appearance of those first two is pretty epic considering.

As far as this game goes, I love that they improved on the original formula while keeping the game light and colorful. The game promotes the idea of 'speed' this time without necessarily punishing you for it. At the end of every straightaway, there is not a set of spikes or a pit. Rather, there's a loop or a curve or some other fun thing to watch yourself soar through. There are a couple of exceptions, but it certainly isn't as glaring as in the original. The game's layouts are also much more fun with a few puzzles to solve intertwined.
The one big improvement as far as minor parts of the game are the bonus levels. No longer do the kaleidoscopic irritations of the original exist, but they are replaced with a much more strategic 'running race' format where you collect a certain amount of rings as you go. Again, this is much easier and more fun without a 'friend' tagging along, as he tends to find himself being struck repeatedly and losing your well earned rings. I enjoyed these bonus levels so much more than in the last game.
There were so many other incredible things going on with this game, but most of it would just be a rehash of the original's pros. Just take all of the good things I said about the original and tack them right here. Right in this space.

My qualms with this game are few and minor, save for one. While the game is not the most difficult game I've ever played, the difficulty ramps up hard for the 'Final Egg Zone'. I understand that a final boss should be difficult, but the final battle teeters on unfair. Considering the lack of said difficulty in the rest of the game, it's hard for me to just chalk this up to 'tough luck'. Don't get me wrong. It's epic. It certainly turned me off from wanting to play through again anytime soon, though. I can't help but wonder how I beat this game as a kid.
My only other issue does come down to Tails. While I think he's a fun and interesting new character to add to the Sonic-verse, he led to my death a few times, and I couldn't help but feel cheated. Isn't this supposed to be a helper? Who wants a helper who gets you killed all the time? He can help every so often, adding an extra hit to a boss battle or taking out an enemy you missed, but his simple AI catches up to you all too often.

Still, he's one of the most colorful and interesting looking characters created for the time. The entire game, in fact, keeps its bright and sharp looks, even improving on Sonic himself. While the zones weren't terribly far off from the original ones, take a look at backgrounds like in 'Oil Ocean Zone' and tell me that the scenery isn't some of the coolest you've seen in a Sega game.
The music, while maybe not as memorable as the original, is still fun and peppy, showing that Sonic, while changing his game, still has the same attitude. While no particular tracks come to mind, I can't think of one track I didn't like listening to while I was playing through. The sound effects are basically the same to the untrained ear. I didn't notice much difference from the SFX of the original myself, and I can't imagine many other will.

All in all, Sonic 2 takes the original game, spruces it up, tightens its belt, and sends it back out into the world. For a second entry, this well received title works itself hard and stands up to today's standards much better than the original does. Truth be told, I enjoy this game much more now than I did the original, despite the road block that is 'Final Egg Zone'. The Sonic franchise is still pumping out sequels. For better or worse, it has games like this one to attribute it to.

Too Fast for the Semi-Closed Eye - Sega - Sonic the Hedgehog

2009-09-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

Sega Genesis
Sega
(c) 1991
Genre: Adventure Platformer

When the Sega Genesis arrived on the video game scene, competition wasn't exactly booming. The Nintendo Entertainment System had its feet on the ground and Sega Genesis, while having great graphics and potential, needed something to trump Nintendo's loveable kingdom-saving plumber, Mario. Enter Sonic, a cool blue hedgehog with an attitude to match his super-fast feet. When Sonic the Hedgehog appeared, an epic battle that lasted for years began, pitting the plumber and the hedgehog against each other. How does Sonic fare all of these years later, though?

Sonic has a long road ahead of him. Not only has an evil scientist, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (yes, before he was 'Eggman', kids), captured his woodland friends in mean-spirited robots, but he is seeking out the seven Chaos Emeralds to take over the world. Of course, our hero being the cool protector of the forest that he is, has taken it upon himself to save his friends and stop Dr. Robotnik from taking over the world. Not as twisted as the original Mario Bros. plot, but just as imaginative.
Through the levels of the game, you'll find yourself jumping through various locales. In fact, all you do is run and jump through the game, just like a certain plumber. Sonic has some power-ups of his own, though, including shields and star-surrounding invincibility. Collecting golden rings, Sonic can gain a life with 100 or access a bonus stage with 50 at the end of the level, which will let him attempt to get a Chaos Emerald. I say 'attempt' because, truthfully, I only ended the game with four of them. By holding onto rings, though, you allow yourself to be hit without dying, which can prove to be very useful considering the many dangers of the six zones you'll travel through.

Now, Sonic left a better imprint on my childhood playing memories than it did after playing through it again. The game is a solid platformer. The controls are pretty tight, the game is genuinely fun, but I ran into a few problems. While there's not much going on plotwise in the game, Sonic is a fun guy. He's got some loop-de-loops and fun twists and turns throughout his levels, and there's always something new coming at you. The difficulty also tends to keep pretty steady. It's never so hard that you get daunted, but it's not too easy to be proud of beating either.
The game adds some fun tricks to the normal platform repertoire, too. If you run and duck in the middle of it, you can spin through certain walls and enemies. Mind you, if you have played the other games in the series, you know how irritating this is. If you're new to it, though, it's a fun little trick. Also, by pressing up or ducking, you can get a view of things above or below you respectively. This comes in handy sometimes when you need to see what you're zooming toward. Of course, by the time you figure it out, you're probably getting squashed or burnt.

Thus, we enter my issue with the game. 'Sonic' would have you believe that you'll be zooming around, faster than lightning, and the game delivers that at moments. This game showed to be more of a test of patience than any other game I can remember. For all of the moments I got to fly through a twisted tunnel or crash through a wall with my balled up self, I spent twice as long standing and waiting for something to happen. Be it waiting for a platform, the right time to jump, or slowly dragging through water, I didn't feel terribly speedy. Even in the bonus stages, it took a lot of patience to trek toward the Chaos Emeralds within. As a regular platformer, I expect that, but for 'the fastest thing alive', I was sorely disappointed.
That, my friends, is really my only complaint about the game. There are no real cheap parts, nor are there glitches to throw you off. It's as straightforward as you can get and well pieced together. It's really strong as far as a pilot game for the Sega. I don't count Altered Beast, which we'll get to someday. It's also a short game, ringing in at about two to three hours, if even that. I wasn't very good at the game, and I'll admit that freely. My main issue in these terms is that once you get game over with no continues, you have to start from the beginning again. That's a personal pet peeve, but if you have this issue, you've been warned.

Usually, I'll start the front end review with the graphics, but I have to say that I have always and will always love the music in Sonic games. It's always fun, well composed, and fitting from zone to zone. The theme song is pretty recognizable to just about anyone whose had any experience with Genesis, and I highly recommend the theme to 'Star Light Zone' as a personal favorite. The sound effects are tight, too, and thoroughly add to the feel of the game and the 'speed' aspect of it.
The creators said that they were trying to be crisp and colorful with the graphics, and it shows. The scenery is fun and light-hearted, even in darker stages, and the characters and enemies are interesting to look at and artistically just neat to look at. I was actually surprised by some of the graphics and how good they were. My memory must have diluted them over the years. Again I'll say, this game is a really tightly packaged game.

Despite all of the praise I have for the game, this game does not stand up to the test of time. It's a lot of fun, but the sequels really improve on a few of the minor flaws of the original, and I found myself trying to do things that I couldn't do because of the other entries into the series. If you haven't played the other games, you'll enjoy this game, but if you have, going back is kind of a tough trip. Just remember either way, you don't have to rush into everything. In fact, you may find yourself frustrated by doing so. Such is life, and such is Sonic.

Not As Exciting as the Original- It's... - Super Nintendo - Ghoul Patrol

2009-09-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

GHOUL PATROL

Super Nintendo
LucasArts
(c) 1994
Genre: Horror Run-and-Gun

I'll admit it. I've been on a kick with the horror games now. Playing through Zombies Ate My Neighbors revitalized my interest in another game, but one that most people haven't heard of, let alone played or owned. Yes, I actually purchased, after much searching, a little game called 'Ghoul Patrol'. Not only did this 'Zombies' sequel fall completely off of the radar before it even landed on it, but even diehard 'Zombies' fans have never heard of it for the most part. "What's the deal?" you might ask, "How could such an awesome game have such an invisible sequel?" Well, the answer is simple.
First of all, 'Zombies' was a cult classic in and of itself. That game wasn't on many peoples' shelves in its heyday. Second: Ghoul Patrol was not originally meant to be the 'Zombies' sequel. Apparently, according to inside sources, the original game was flopping so poorly in development that the team decided to make it a 'Zombies' game so it would sell (Thanks, wikipedia!). Before I reach into this review, I'm going to coin another term: SMB2S, pronounced in real voice as 'Simbs2S' Put bluntly, this is a term referring to 'Super Mario Brothers 2 Syndrome' where a game is re-skinned to bring it to mass appeal rather than a stand-alone game. That being said, let's move on.

Poor Zeke and Julie. After their last adventure against the evil Dr. Tongue and his horrible minions, everything seems peaceful. Just for fun, they decide to check out an exhibit on the ghosts and demons of the dark ages. Before you can say 'Emit snomed dna stsohg s'ti', a terrible demon appears from the exhibit and vows to use our heroes as a way to take over not only their world, but the worlds of other times as well. Once again, our plucky young monster hunters are thrown into battle with legions of the undead. This time, however, they must travel through time to stop the demon from taking over the world.

Now, as far as comparison to the original game, I have to admit that this game has a couple of advantages that the other game didn't. First of all, flimsy as it may be, there's a plot. It's not a great one, but it's prevalent in the game. Secondly, the game is broken up a bit more than the original. You travel through five time periods including the Ming Dynasty, modern times, and the Middle Ages. You spend a couple of levels in each era before facing a boss demon, which on average is about ten times the size of your character and really gives a sense of an epic battle. After that, you move onto the next world. The downside to that is that the levels are much larger than 'Zombies', and sometimes it feels like you're spending a bit too long in one locale. In all fairness, though, the game runs about two hours or so, depending on your experiences with it. That figure is paltry compared to the original game.
The game also has its share of flaws in design. While the victims are much easier to save (most are sanctioned off in their own rooms behind locked doors), the ways to die a cheap death are glaring. The last few levels in particular, there are jumping puzzles which challenge your depth perception of the screen as well as your ability. Most jumps in these levels can't be done without running, and even then, it's an annoying chore. Losing a life to the fiery blade of a ghostly samurai? That's fine. Losing three lives to pit no bigger than my thumb? No way.
My only other issue with the game is that it seems to have lost the quirkiness of the original. Gone are the tongue-in-cheek references. The plot of the game may be kind of satirical, but you can't help but get the feeling that the designers were a bit more serious this time around or trying to get a buck off of the 'Zombies' crowd and rushed the end job. It's still fun and somewhat light-hearted, but the game itself falls short so far as humor and tone.

Have no fear, though. There are some really good points to the game. I mentioned jumping before. Yes, our kids have learned a few new moves since their last adventure. Not only can they jump over obstacles to reach victims and other areas, but they can slide, hastening their retreat or advance with just a push of the button. These mechanics add a level of gameplay that the original didn't necessarily have. Zeke and Julie can also run faster by holding down the attack button, which helps speed along the process or make longer jumps possible. Pretty impressive.
While running and jumping around, one might also notice that the array of weapons has gotten smaller. If memory serves, you find five or six weapons total and about as many power ups. While this may lose a bit of variety from the original weapons and they may not be as quirky, it doesn't take you five minutes to find the right weapon for the job. I found it to be a nice improvement, as it felt like having a special weapon for every enemy was a bit cluttered and masochistic at times. The only power up that seemed to changed was the monster potion. Rather than a hulking monster with fists of rage, you transform into a rotting Grim Reaper, scythe in hand. With the change in tone, the Grim Reaper was a nice touch considering.

While the tone of the game is somewhat different than the original, the score feels about the same. It's well done and, even a year later, sounds like it's higher quality than the score in 'Zombies'. It still follows the same feel of the original with creepy calypso music in the Carribean stages and intense music for the last stage. The sound effects are- all right. Nothing special, and there are a lot of effects reused throughout the game. They did something smart, though, and kept the screams from the original. My favorite noise to come out of a game in some time.
Brighter and sharper would describe the graphics best here, but that's not a great thing. While the color palette tends to stick to the darker and more somber colors, it's an unwelcome change from the style of 'Zombies'. Where 'Zombies' was pushing the line between cartoon and macabre, Ghoul Patrol dives into the cartoon setting with dark colors. As a stand alone game, however, it's graphically neat to watch.

Now, I know I've been comparing Ghoul Patrol to Zombies Ate My Neighbors from the start of this review, and I certainly don't apologize for that. When you make a sequel to a game, you have to try and meet certain standards. LucasArts, from what I've seen, has yet to give us a terrible game. This game is not as good as Zombies Ate My Neighbors. It's too short and it's much more serious (while being cartoony, I know, I know), but if you enjoyed Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Ghoul Patrol will be fun for an afternoon. You can play through the game with a friend and enjoy it, but try not to think of it as a 'Zombies' sequel and you might get more enjoyment out of it that way. While there are much worse sequels out there, Ghoul Patrol sits in the shadow of its predecessor, but it's still a good game despite it's flaws.

Better Than a Triple Matinee, It's... - Sega / Super Nintendo - Zombies Ate My Neighbors

2009-09-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

ZOMBIES ATE MY NEIGHBORS

Sega Genesis/Super Nintendo
Konami
(c) 1993
Genre: Horror 'Run and Gun'

Great games come along every so often. Games that may not stand out in the mainstream or change the face of video games forever, but certainly achieve a standard of excellence that most other games could only hope to. When the stars align and shadow of Mars lands on the face of-
Okay, maybe that's a bit too much fanfare. However, when introducing a game like 'Zombies Ate My Neighbors', you have to give credit where credit is due. This tongue-in-cheek satire of all things horror movies is and incredibly made piece of work from Konami and LucasArts really is my fondest memory of 16 bit gaming. Some may not agree with the tone or subject as it is kind of a niche game, but if you're looking at this title asking 'What the hell is Zombies Ate My Neighbors', then I have to preach that you are missing an incredible retro gaming experience.

'Zombies' has a very straight-forward premise. You play as Zeke or Julie- who you choose really is just a matter of preference. As either teenager (or both, if you have a friend to help), you travel through towns, shopping malls, deserts, and more saving your neighbors. Cheerleaders, babies, and soldiers alike are in danger from the zombies of the title, as well as numerous other creatures that go bump in the night. Chainsaw wielding maniacs, giant ants, and Martians are just some of the creatures you'll encounter as you travel the games 50+ levels to stop the evil Dr. Tongue, the mastermind behind the hordes of monsters invading. Utilizing a variety of weapons, you must rescue your ten neighbors before they become victims of the monsters. If you lose your ten neighbors or all of your lives, it's game over. Easy enough, right?
While the game has a decent learning curve involved, the game slowly becomes a war of attrition. Throughout the levels, you will collect items, weapons, and victims, doing your best to keep stocked and make sure that you don't lose those precious neighbors. Some of these items are straightforward- keys will help open doors while first aid kits heal your life bar- but some are a bit more nefarious. One potion in particular places a random effect on your character. It can heal you, hurt you, or even turn you into a zombie for some time. The variety of power-ups (and downs) is matched if not exceeded by the variety of weapons. You begin with a squirt gun, but throughout the levels, you'll unearth everything from crucifixes and bazookas to weed-whackers and fire extinguishers. Some of these weapons can prove a bit unwieldy, though. The soda cans are hard to judge and the plates feel like they're just a bit slower than the rest of the weaponry. There is a weapon for all occasions, however, and switching between them is a breeze. Admittedly, it's a bit easier with the SNES version than the Sega. Did I mention I'd be making small comparisons between the versions? Well, since I've had the pleasure of playing both, it's pertinent that I make comments on differences between them.

Okay, well, as a short blurb, there really isn't much to say about differences since there's really only one from what I've read. Apparently, there is a flamethrower in the Super Nintendo version. I have yet to find this, but since I've primarily played the Sega version, I probably wouldn't find it anytime soon. There. That's been said.

Unwieldy weapons and an abnormal length aside, Zombies is just about perfect. The campy tone of the game has cemented it as a cult classic and the music and graphics lend the entire piece that exact feeling. The music is incredibly fitting for the gameplay. My personal favorites are the title and the background music that pops up in 'Mars Needs Cheerleaders' (yes, that's one of the actual levels in the game). Hearing a zombie explode from your squirt gun or the howl of a werewolf at the mercy of your silverware is exhilarating. Hearing the loss of a victim, though, is possibly one of the more unnerving sounds I've heard from that generation of games. The scream can really catch you and give you a bit of a jump scare. It just adds to the atmosphere as much as any of the other sound effects.
If you're looking for cartoons and still having them be terrifying, the graphics on this game are for you. Some games pull comical graphics into the unbelievable, but there's just enough realism to show that while the game is a satire, it's still a bit creepy. Even with the largest sprites (re: 'Titanic Toddler'), the same feel is recognized. The settings are awesome, especially when you get to the beach/water levels like 'Boardwalk of Horrors' - that one I may have gotten wrong- or dungeon levels like 'Seven Meals for Seven Zombies'. It's incredibly atmospheric, whatever the atmosphere it is that's trying to be achieved.

My favorite minor part of the game, now that I've rattled off a few, is the titles of the levels. Almost every level is some nod to a pop culture reference, making this game even more relevant to those who played it at the time. Even now, the references are very easy to get so long as you were born before 1995. The game never results in laugh out loud moments, but you'll find yourself smirking at some of the poking and prodding it does to other works, in and out of the horror genre.
If I had to choose a part that I didn't like, it would have to be the length. Now, I'm going to recount that with plenty of pros, but this game is really long. Like, 'I've only finished it once or twice in my ten years of playing it' long. Of course, this does mean that you get plenty of content from your hard earned dollars, and the game does find ways to break up the monotony, but by the end, you'll be asking yourself how much time you've spent blasting the creatures of the night. Thankfully, there is a password function every eight levels (if I'm remembering correctly), so if you need to sit away from the game for a bit, you can.

Honestly, though, if the game's tone and length don't steer you away from it off of what you've read so far, you'll find it hard to peel yourself away from Zeke and Julie's ordeals. This game more than makes its stand against games of today, even spawning games such as 'Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia' from the X-Box 360. MM is not a sequel, mind you, but you tell me it doesn't take its cue from 'Zombies'. I highly endorse this game to anyone with a quirky sense of humor, a love for horror or comedy, or just someone looking to pass some time with a fun little piece of video game history.

P.S. The game has one of the most original credits/ending sequences I've witnessed in a game. See if you don't agree.

Explaining the Surge and Other Matters

2009-09-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

So I know, I know, I know. Two games in two days? Considering the lack of updates as of late, it's total blasphemy, right?

Well, have no fear. While I am trying to bolster content on this blog, once I've hit a suitable number, expect a scheduled entry- probably on Wednesdays or it might have to be a weekend blog, depending on the situation at the time. Either way, feel free to check out the two new reviews of Abadox: The Deadly Inner War and The Goonies II, both for the Nintendo Entertainment System. While I know the updates for Sega and SNES games are lacking, let's face it. Those things are way longer and more involved on most accounts than NES games. In any case...

Keep on reading and keep on gaming! Look for a few more sporadic updates in the next couple of days and, once there's a scheduled update time, I'll let y'all know!

And just to test and see who may or may not be reading, if you are reading this, I'd love for you to comment and either request a game to review or just say hi! Who knows? Maybe you'll get a feature in this little up and coming blog!

What DO You Do? - NES - Goonies II

2009-09-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

GOONIES II

Nintendo Entertainment System
Konami
(c) 1987
Genre: Platformer

Video games and film tend to go hand in hand often enough. Almost every movie made in the 80's has some kind of video game tie-in. All right, I'm stretching things a bit, but you can find plenty of games based on movies. How many games can you find based on hypothetical movies, though? The answer? Not many. The sequel to The Goonies, the absolutely awesome kids' adventure movie from the 80's, is exclusive to the Nintendo Entertainment System. The world may never know why there was no sequel to the actual film or why the United States never saw the original Goonies game, but what they did get is a great, if not somewhat confusing, title to stock their pile with.

Much like the original Goonies, the game takes place with Mikey Walsh, your asthmatic young adventurer, but this time, it is under different pretenses. All of your friends have been captured by the Fratellis and they aren't the only ones. A beautiful mermaid named Annie has been captured, too. As Mikey, it's your job to forge your way from the Fratelli's broken down old restaurant through volcanoes, snowy caverns, and all sorts of other terrain to save the day. Of course, along the way you find enough power-ups and items to help you through Armageddon and ultimately, a great platforming experience is to be had.
This game has just as many pros as it does cons. On the positive side of things, it's a great platformer. Not only that, but it has an interesting POV change whenever Mikey enters one of the many doors in the game, shifting to a first person view kind of like Deja Vu or Shadowgate (if you've played those, of course). You get a variety of tools, some of which you must get- a hammer to find hidden doors or a diving suit to access underwater levels- and some of which are just benefits- a football helmet will help you deflect falling objects while a candle lights up dark rooms. Finding these items is difficult, but it always feels rewarding. Movement feels smooth, and while the cast of characters doesn't really have much personality, hitting them results in fun Engrish responses.
On the downside, even with a map, the game can get super confusing. You'll probably double your play time just by trying to figure out where you are and how you got there. There are a lot of warp zones and shortcuts that bounce you to different ends of the map. Also, while finding things is rewarding, the journey to find them can, to put it bluntly, frustrate the hell out of you. Many hints are strewn throughout the game, but in the end, you tend to be on your own. The fluctuation between fun and irritating can be somewhat off-putting, but it's the same with most NES games.

It's been a while since I've seen a game with such a difference in music and graphics. As far as the graphics go, they're kind of terrible. The backgrounds are all right, but the sprites are really rudimentary. The first person view tends to be really plain and simple and part of the problem with finding things in rooms is finding the right spot to hit. The only benefit to the graphics is that they're colorful enough to be attractive to a player. As far as game art, though, this is pretty low end.
The music in the game, though, is what I had the most fun with. It's not a big step above games of the time quality wise, but hearing Cyndi Lauper's 'Goonies 'r' Good Enough' in full 8-bit glory is more than enough. It was hard to get bored with the music since you were changing areas and viewpoints so often. The sound effects aren't great, but some of them warrant a couple of chuckles. It may sound terrible, but hitting one of the many characters you find in the rooms always makes me smirk. Not Konami Man, though. Never hit Konami Man.

As an overall package, if you have the patience, this game is great. The ending is kind of rushed, the maneuvering is kind of convoluted, but so far as NES games go, it's more enjoyable than a lot of them. Some of the enemies could get a little tougher than I would have liked, but by the time Mikey was suited up in every accessory I could find, it became a fair fight. Thankfully, the game lets you continue as much as you want, and if you want to put it down, there's a password feature. Not fun passwords, though. Those terrible long ones that you need to write on a full page in a notebook. You also tend to come back in at a place close to where you died, making restarting a pleasure rather than a task.

This game has some of the same flaws that games of this time have. In that, I have to say that it does stand up to the test of time, but only so much as the mediocre games of our time. While plenty of people will be put off by the game's difficulty and base graphics, the same amount of people will enjoy it's variety and surface level accessibility. It's far from perfect, but plenty of NES purists will enjoy this little game and its quirks. After all, 'It's fun to play Goonies 2!'.

If Only It Stood on Its OWN Legs - NES - Abadox

2009-09-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

ABADOX

Nintendo Entertainment System
Natsume
(c) 1990
Genre: Shoot 'Em Up

Shoot 'Em Up games have a long history: Life Force, Gradius, 1942, and the list goes on. Among the flurry of Shoot 'Em Ups produced for the NES, Abadox reared its head and joined the barrage. When I noticed that both Milton Bradley and Disney had a hand in this game, however, my head took a sharp tilt. This game is definitely a great shooter, but there's a question that I have to ask before I continue on in this review: is a game only as good as the sum of its parts? I'll answer that question further in, I guess.

Abadox: The Deadly Inner War (which is the full name of the game, for the record) places you in the spacesuit of Nazal, a soldier in the army of a planet that has been swallowed by a creature called Parasitis. That planet is Abadox. Not only is Abadox inside of this alien, but so is Princess Maria of said planet. What happened to the rest of the royal family? Who cares? A princess needs saving! Traversing six levels, Nazal fights various creepy crawlies and far too organic feeling creatures to rescue the princess from the belly of Parasitis. Using power-ups and swift maneuvering, you must guide him toward his goal.
The game is really nothing different than any other game that preceded it. Coming out five years after Gradius (which I know, I haven't reviewed yet, but I digress) and where that game revolutionized the genre, Abadox proudly rides its coattails into video game history. While the game is thoroughly enjoyable, the switching from side scrolling to overhead shooting was done when this game came out, the power ups, even the setting seems ripped straight out of those games. The only thing it has going for it is that some of the power-ups are far more enjoyable than those of more 'straight' shooters. My personal favorite was the 'ring' shot that you can get. Other than that, this really is a greatest hits of other games that came out in the five years before.
This game, however, is short and has unlimited continues, which makes it somewhat perfect compared to other more difficult and longer games. With six levels and a moderate difficulty level, this is almost a starter kit to work up to other games of the time. I'll admit, while I enjoy shooters, I'm not terribly good at them, but I didn't find so much of a problem with this one. While I've read about the difficulty of this one, I really didn't see it stacking up against the others in its class.

On the technical side, the game has its ducks in a row, so to speak. Graphically, it's just slightly more cartoon like than it's predecessors, lending to the idea that the game is a 'starter shooter'. Some of the sprites, as I've said, look like they were ripped directly from Life Force and Gradius. It's almost like Parasitis itself, swallowing other shooters and bring the best parts into itself. While the similarities are staggering, it's still a clean game on the front end. I really enjoyed looking at the overhead shooting sequences more than the side-scrolling, though, for what it's worth.
The music was really the high point of the game to me. I really enjoyed it, even though it's nothing earth shattering for the time it was released. It made the game that much more enjoyable through all of those lives I managed to lose whereas other games may have made it a difficult task to trudge on. While no one track particularly stands out, the overall soundtrack is really good and suits the gameplay. A major plus in the Nintendo world.

Okay, okay. I've already harped on the near plagiarism of this game from other games, but the real question is 'does it make a splash in the pool?' and the answer is 'yes'. I enjoyed Abadox in it's whole, despite picking out pieces and mechanics from other games at an alarming rate. The game is a lot of fun, the plot is really interesting (though like most shooters, doesn't really matter in the game) and just as zany as any other plot from a Nintendo game. I only found a few spots that I was specifically frustrated in and with practice, I managed my way through them with no issue. A major downfall, however, would be to read the instruction manual. It pretty much ruins the entire game. I know it's probably not a concern to anyone who has found the game recently, but if you happen to find a transcript, try not to read it until you finish the game. Other than that, this game does stand up to the test of time. It's fun, manageable, and while I can't grant it any originality points, I do recommend it for those who enjoy the typical arcade shooters or even the more modern ones.

So... it's been over a month...

2009-08-27T15:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay... again, while I know no one particularly follows this as of, I really wanted to make sure I issue the apology for the lack of updates here. The past month has been an incredibly busy and frantic time, and not only am I in a new home- now with internet, might I add- but in a new place in life. What that entails, well, it's not so much pertinent here. Now that I have officially relocated, however, I wanted to assure anyone who may stumble upon this blog that it is still active. Rather, it has been reactivated. Don't think for a second I haven't been playing through games this whole time, though. In the next couple of days, there will be some new reviews up- maybe even going so far as to hit some Playstation or PS2 games.

I know, I know. Some people don't consider those retro. Remember, though, fellow gamers of old, there are plenty of people running around whose first system was indeed a PSX or even a Playstation 2. While they're still making PS2 games, though, the early years of the system are shrouded a bit to many, so- I have no problem shedding light where I can.

Long story short, I'm back and working toward the original mission of this blog: giving you a friendly look into the world of video games of the past- and semi-present.

Come to the Darkness - NES - Castlevania

2009-07-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

CASTLEVANIA

Nintendo Entertainment System
Konami
(c) 1986
Genre: Horror Platformer

Every so often, a game spawns an entire legacy of games, ranging over various systems and revamps to cement their role in video game history. Plenty of those games started on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, Final Fantasy- the list goes on. Among those titles, though, is a little horror game called 'Castlevania'. If you haven't at least heard of this game, you may want to re-evaluate your gaming status. If you have, you're probably taking a big nostalgia trip with me for a few minutes.

Now, I know I already reviewed 'Castlevania: Legends' but for a second, let's do as the canon does and forget about that. Castlevania, at it's root, is about Simon Belmont, one in the line of the famed Belmont clan of vampire hunters. His family has been fighting off Dracula (yes, that Dracula) for a generation or two, and when he reappears in Transylvania, it is time for Simon to set out and stop him from taking away the peace of the land. Through six levels of ghouls and monsters, Simon makes his way to the demon himself to settle the score, once and for all.
Well, take the series twenty years later (whoa, how's that for feeling old?) and Dracula still keeps coming back. Even with the current incarnations, though, the game's roots do show through, even if just a little bit. Throughout the game, Simon can upgrade his weapon of choice, a simple whip, to a stronger version, as well as acquire sub-weapons like holy water (my personal favorite), crosses, and throwing daggers to aid him in fending off the monsters of the castle. Classic characters like Frankenstein's monster, Medusa, and the Grim Reaper make appearances to try and stop you from reaching their master: Count Dracula.

There isn't much more to the gameplay than that, so- onto the technical stuff. The graphics, while occasionally on the glitch-y side- I had a couple of times where enemies ran through attacks or me in an invincible streak- are dark and perfect for the tone of the game. Even at the time, they were a nice contrast to the bright colors and sprites of many games at the time. Most of the monsters are grotesque incarnations of monsters we've all seen or heard of, and bringing them into the 8-bit almost gives some of them a gritty creepiness that would be difficult to depict. Konami does it well, though.
The music was also quite good, fitting the tone with synthesized organ music and adventuring tunes to accommodate your vampire hunting needs. Every noise, from splashing to shattering glass, tries to stay as realistic as possible, and it all sounds good. You truly get the feeling and atmosphere of a darker and more serious game than many of the NES library.

Now, while I love the game, I have one issue with it, and it's easily overcome. The difficulty spikes, and it spikes hard. I had very few problems up until the fourth of fifth stage, and then, out of nowhere, I'm getting slapped around the castle. It doesn't spike up to impossibility, but it does kind of blindside you. On the opposite side of that, though, I never felt like I was just getting hit with cheap shots. It's a matter of memorization and patience more than anything, which is a welcome pace from some of the games of today.
This game also suffers, to an extent, from what I've grown to call 'Mega Man Physics'. Sometimes, when you jump or fall, you don't just drop. Gravity rips you down by your legs into a straight plummet, as if you're made of lead. Anyone who has played Mega Man, not to cross reference here, will attest to this little annoyance. This ended with a couple of frustrating mistakes and deaths, but it could be easily avoided, save for in a few choice areas.

Even though it gets difficult, it rarely feels like a burden to get back to your current point when you die at the hands of these dangers. A definite plus in the time of long games with few ways to continue. You also get as many continues as you can handle, which is another positive. Admittedly, I used a lot of them. While a six level game probably doesn't need it, a password function could have been somewhat useful. The game's so short, though, I can't imagine too many people using it. Also, while the game isn't too customizable, the sub-weapons give you just enough room to play the game how you want. They all are utilized in different ways, and they are all useful in different areas to gain an advantage in the game, but if you really enjoy one of these weapons, it is easy enough to hold onto. At least until you die.

Castlevania is a classic, and it is still fun to play to this day. Though the formula has changed, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse, the game is a good solid game, even now. There isn't much in the way of narrative, but the story is one that has held up and the game itself stood out in a time of fairly lighthearted games. Anyone interested in a good throwback to the good old days of platforming and the challenges of said games, pick this up and go to.

For the Record, I Said 'No' - Sega Genesis - Streets of Rage

2009-07-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

STREETS OF RAGE

Sega Genesis
Sega
(c) 1991
Genre: Beat-Em Up

I'll admit that I've been on a BEU kick lately. When I played 'The Peace Keepers', it reminded me of the good times I had with the genre. Of course, while Super Nintendo had plenty of BEU's to choose from, there was one original series for me. That series was 'Streets of Rage'.

Known as the 'Bare Knuckle' series in Japan, Streets of Rage follows the story of a city being taken over by an evil crime syndicate. Led by Mr. X, the group takes over the city and brings it into a constant state of turmoil. Enter three ex-police officers: Adam Hunter, a boxer and the strongest of the three characters, Axel Stone, a general martial arts character with well-rounded strength, and Blaze Fielding, the only female, a judo master, and the quickest of the three. Battling through the streets of their once peaceful city, these three characters make their way to Mr. X to confront him and put and end to his syndicate. The plot's been used throughout film and video games liberally through the entirety of their existence.
Throughout the game, you travel through streets (obviously), beaches, parks, and all kinds of other terrain to reach the final boss, Mr. X himself. You can use your fists and moves, which vary depending on the character and their style, you can pick up weapons (everything from bottles to swords) to fight with, or you can use a special move to clear out the screen with a little help from a few other rogue police officers and a bazooka. Yes, a bazooka. I know it's kind of juvenile, but this has to be one of the best screen attacks I can think of off the top of my head. However you do it, though, you have three continues to get through the game- if I'm remembering correctly- and while it's kind of tough, it's difficulty really spikes on the last level or so.
Now, something really cool about this game is when you reach Mr. X, he presents you with a choice: you can either fight him or become his right-hand man (or woman, I suppose). Depending on your answer, any number of things can happen, but I advise doing this with two players. It gets even more interesting. Cue my maniacal laugh. Seriously, though, Streets was a pretty early BEU, and while it didn't have branching paths or anything super crazy, it was a pretty awesome twist for the time. It's still kind of cool to actually have the choice. I guess you have to be there to realize what I mean.

Technically, the game isn't much. As far as the art goes, it's not bad. It serves it's purpose, but it's pretty basic. I feel bad saying it looks unpolished, but so far as I can say, it seems kind of minimal. It was early Sega, so I can't be too harsh. I really loved the background art for Mr. X's lair, though, so they definitely pulled out the best for when it should have been played. Punches and kicks look like punches and kicks and everything is represented as it should be. Having played the sequel directly after, though, I have to say that these graphics didn't stick around long without a bit of a face lift.
I really enjoyed the music, but that's because I've got a little bit of a weakness for techno music. All of the music is driving, like any good fighting game, and it's a synthesized concert from start to finish. The sound effects are also a little sub-par, as I didn't notice much variety. Sign of the times, I suppose, but there didn't seem to be much reaching. A scream here, a 'crack' there, and you've got yourself the same basic barrage of noises that come out of any fighting game. This is a little shorter than my usual talk about the technical side, but honestly, it was pretty average. Everything worked, but it didn't go above or beyond anything of the time to me.

There are really no complaints to be made here- or high praise. BEU's follow a pretty simple pattern, and so long as it's interesting when they stray from that pattern, there tends to be no issue. In it's time, Streets of Rage didn't really have much in the way of competition or peers. Maybe the only thing I really can say about the game is that, aside from the twist in the end, it's easily overshadowed by the next round of BEU's, and that includes the next installment of the series. It's a classic because it's a foundation. Foundations are boring, simple, and essential. When you first see a finished foundation, you think of all of the great things that can come from it which is pretty exciting. Traveling up and down the screen, for example, as well as left and right was kind of a big deal at the time. It's easy to see how enticing the game was when it came out.

Does it stand up to the test of time? Eh. It's a time killer. I found myself nodding out mentally as soon as the challenge amped up, but I can look back on playing the game as a fun experience. I wish I had another person to play alongside, and maybe that would have changed my mind. The more I play these types of games, the more I feel like they need to be played with two players to get the full experience. Long and short, I came, I saw, and I laid the smack down. What more can you ask for from a game called Streets of Rage?

Just Keep Looking Up - NES - Bubble Bobble

2009-06-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

BUBBLE BOBBLE

Nintendo Entertainment System
Taito
(c) 1988
Genre: Adventure Platformer

Sometimes, a great game comes along that generations to come will plant themselves in front of and play for hours, despite inane length, recycled ideas, and the occasional cheap moments the game can give. Do those elements make a bad game? Usually. In the case of Bubble Bobble, though, it was the right formula for success.

This classic game places you in the shoes of Bub (or Bob, if you're the second player), a strange dinosaur creature attempting to stop the reign of monsters attacking his once peaceful forest. Traveling through (up?) the cavern, you will blow bubbles to capture enemies and burst them. When all of the baddies are gone, you move on to the next level. Within the levels, though, you can find items to help you on your quest to annihilate the baddies, either directly affecting you or wreaking havoc on the battlefield. As with every platformer, the further you go, the harder the levels get- until Level 100. Yes. One hundred levels.

The game really is the same thing over and over for 100 levels. It's genius in its simplicity, but after playing through so many levels, you might get tired of the formula. I definitely did. The only real variations are when items come into play or when you try to find new ways to attack groups of enemies, since chaining bubble bursts increases the amount of points you receive in the long run. The enemies don't really do much, either. They walk in your direction some times, but for the most part, you just have to catch up to them and kill them before the invincible ghost whale... thing appears and kills your character.
The game isn't that difficult, either, so long as you take your time. I know that completely goes against what I said before, but there are plenty of tricks to avoid enemies and take them out if you take a second to survey the scene. I lost so many lives because of carelessness, but I will make note that the last boss was really tough. I'm still not completely sure how I got past him without memorization and good timing. That actually made me pretty happy. It reminded me how bosses used to operate.

Now, usually, I'd start with the graphics end of things, but let's get the music out of the way. You can't call yourself an 8-Bit gamer without knowing the music to Bubble Bobble. That tinny melody plays through 99 of the 100 levels, and it's infectious as hell. I finished this game weeks ago, and I've just now been getting the song out of my head. The sound effects even seem to compliment the song. If I didn't know any better, I would say someone composed the theme and the game was built around that. It's a fun song, but again, after 99 levels, you could be left begging for something else.
The graphics are kind of blocky, but not horrendous. The enemy designs are interesting, as are some of the level designs. Some of the tile patterns, though, can be mildly offensive to the eyes. Like most Nintendo games of the time, though, they are colorful, and though every background is black and one screen wide/tall, the graphics certainly are exactly as one would remember them, for better or for worse.

The game itself: I suppose I could give or take it. I have to say that the challenge is certainly there. Even as I was wishing to die just to stop going up the tower, I kept thinking 'just one more level' and, before I knew it, I was at the last level. One thing that bothers me in a supreme way was that if you don't get a certain item (according to the manual in level 99), you get the 'bad ending'. While the 'bad ending' probably isn't too much different from the good ending in any way I couldn't predict, I couldn't possibly bring myself to go through all of the levels again to try it. To be fair, I was the idiot who didn't record the passwords to the levels as I went, so I guess it's as much the game's fault as it is my own. The only thing that bothered me was the repetition. Ironically, I've mentioned that numerous times throughout this review, so I think I've made my point.
On the other side of things, though, the game can be easily played in bite-sized chunks thanks to the short nature of the levels and the password function, something that was not a staple in every NES game. You could choose to play through the whole thing in a matter of two to three hours or play through the first ten levels, set it down for a bit, and come back later. A very nice little detail to know if you're looking for a game you don't have to commit a large block of time to. It's also just a fun game in general. It's easy to pick up and the controls are marvelously easy to perfect- all except one. At least one level requires that you bounce up the entire screen off of bubbles you have produced. This is the toughest mechanic in the game to wrangle, and once you do, the game becomes a cinch. It was a lot tougher when I was eight as opposed to now, though, so ir shouldn't pose much of a problem.

This review is insanely short compared to the others, but there really isn't much to tell. Aside from the (sometimes draining) length, the game is a great platformer and a fun way to spend a few video game hours. Once you get in, though, you know what you're in for, and I hope you enjoy it. You're going to be doing it a lot.

Your Idol is in Another Castle - NES - Super Mario Bros.

2009-06-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

SUPER MARIO BROS.

Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo
(c) 1985
Genre: Platformer

Honestly, I was trying pretty hard not to review this so soon into the life of 3PS, and you may wonder why. Super Mario Bros. is a classic. It brought the fundamentals of gaming to a new level and cemented its role in video game history. I still remember playing the arcade machine at the laundromat near my house when I was a kid. My first memories of video game playing are with this game- but the real question I pose is, as usual, does it stand the test of time?

Brace yourselves. I'll do the same.

The story of the original game is that the Mushroom Kingdom has been taken over by the Koopa, a group of turtles well known for their black magic. After they turn all of the citizens of the kingdom into bricks, stones, and whatever else they think of, they kidnap Princess Toadstool and take over. That is where Mario, a plumber, takes over as the hero of the kingdom and goes on a journey to rescue the princess, saving the kingdom. Now, I love Nintendo, but good lord. This story sounds like a good trip turned sour. Still, it's definitely interesting to know the roots of the series, as I don't think the black magic angle has really been explored so far as Koopa is concerned. I still have to wonder why you break bricks for points, though. Aren't those...?

It's best not to think too in depth about the story, I guess. You really don't do much in the way of abilities. Run, jump high, and stomp on enemies. You start small and weak, but by way of Magic Mushrooms, you get bigger and stronger. From there, you can find Fire Flowers to throw flames and knock out enemies, or Starmen, which grant you the invincibility to plow through anything in your path. Pretty cool, right? With those abilities, you travel through eight worlds- warp pipes not included- to save the princess... or seven of her retainers/Toads and then the princess.
Of course, there are enemies. Some of the fluffiest enemies ever, but certainly dangerous. Slow crawling Goombas, Koopa Troopas winged and grounded, and (somewhat) speedy Bullet Bills are just a few of the enemies that will get in Mario's way. Nearly all of them take a fireball or stomp to get out of the way, so the real enemy comes in the way of King Koopa himself, or as you know him today, Bowser. He gets a little trickier and tougher each time you find him, though, so it helps keep the game on a steady difficulty curve.
There are also four types of level you'll come across, though in various palettes. Overworld levels are the most common and underworld (or dungeon levels, some might call them) are also fairly common. They run on the same mechanic of run and jump as explained above. At the end of each world, there is also a castle, which consists of lots of fire (sometimes from a certain king turtle), and some clever jumps and timing needed to proceed to the end of. There, you'll 'fight' King Koopa, which really just consists of getting past him to the bridge switch to drop him (or if you're lucky, having a Fire Flower in hand to serve him head-to-head) and move onto the next world. Then, there are the underwater worlds. Now, it would be a bit too much to say that these are the bane of my Mario playing existence, but I'm certainly not fond of them. The swimming mechanic is not bad but a little slippery. I had a few times where I tried to turn back to avoid an enemy and found I was still moving toward them for that split second I needed, resulting in loss of one of my lives. I would have to chalk that up to the challenge of the game, though, whether I like it or not. They are few and far between in any case, so it's hard to complain about them too much.

The graphics of the game are iconic, but really nothing special. After eight worlds, to be honest, they get boring and kind of grating to the eye. Again, I take into account that these were graphics from over twenty years ago, but playing with them now is nice only for nostalgia's sake. The levels are colorful and certainly make you feel like you're moving from place to place through the worlds- except the black and white one, but you get the idea.
As far as the music goes, it must be great. I find myself humming the main theme all the time, and the rest of it is just as memorable. While I may hate the underwater levels, I love the music, and it took my mind off of so many accidental deaths. There are only four or so tracks throughout the game, and the sound effects definitely help define. Everything from the tone of coin collecting to the famous jumping 'sproing' lend to the game and help shape it into an enjoyable playing experience.

Now, I hope I haven't slaughtered anyone's golden calf, but I have to be honest about the game right here and now: it doesn't stand up to the test of time. Do I believe that every gamer should play through it? Most definitely. It's super important to the world of video games, and, as I stated before, it lays a great groundwork for the rest of the series- even the rest of gaming. That's exactly what it is, though. It's a foundation. You don't build a house without one, but you certainly don't want to spend your life living on just a foundation. If this opinion turns people off- well, that's why it's an opinion. It's not fact, and I've had plenty of people ask (or shout) "What?! You think WHAT about Mario Brothers?!" In it's time, Mario Bros. was the king, and with good reason, but twenty years later, it's kind of repetitive and in some places needlessly difficult. I used to be able to play it for hours on end, but now, I get bored around World 5 or so and start thinking about what game to play next.

To drag myself out of the firestorm I might receive after that opinion, I'll ask another question: Is it the worst game ever?

Hell no.

Miyamoto made a great game, expertly crafted and technically well planned (even if I hate the swimming). The story is interesting, the idea is really original for its time, and it spawned more games than I'll ever hope to conceive. I'm glad I played through it again, but only for nostalgia's sake. I've had no draw to go back to it since, but I know plenty of people who still sit down and exercise their jumping finger to the game. That takes a lot for a game, and I have to give the credit where it's due.

I barreled through my thesis already of the test of time, and hopefully, you can understand why I was so nervous about writing about the 'game to end all games'. Maybe I'm jaded or spoiled- or maybe I'm willing to speak my mind truthfully about a game that is constantly lauded with only praise. Either way you feel about it, I appreciate the game despite its shortcomings in the now, and I accept any repercussions that may result. I suppose it's best I reviewed this now rather than later after all.

May in Review

2009-06-08T23:04:00.000-07:00

I know that, at least right now, no one really reads this, and that's totally cool. For posterity's sake, though, and a little bit for mine, I'm going to review the month prior and the games that I went over each month. Once people actually check this blog out, maybe it'll help just to keep track of what's been looked over. So here is the month of May in review:

Game Boy

Castlevania: Legends

NES

Friday the 13th
Maniac Mansion
Super Mario Bros. 2
Sweet Home

I know. Five games. Not that many, right? Well, until I've really got people checking this out, I'm updating whenever I get the chance to write out a little analysis, but I'm not really making the time to do that in my schedule. Check out the new review on 'The Peace Keepers', though, and see that I'm still working on writing these things out.

That, my friends, is the month of May in review!