El Viento is a platform game developed and published by Wolf Team for the Sega Genesis game console in 1991. It is the first in a trilogy of games, which includes El Viento, Earnest Evans and Anett Futatabi
Reviews View More
Ugly and Proud.
I'm totally down for a remaster of this game...
El Viento is a game that had always seemed kinda interesting to me, but heard mixed impressions of overall, which scared me off from trying it for the longest time. Recently, I decided I should at last give it a shot, just to see for myself how it is... and wow, I really adore this game.
A lot of Wolf Team's games are kinda rough in terms of game design, but I genuinely think El Viento rules. It's legit a great action-platformer, that I had a ton of fun with. Over-the-top action, nice balance between a regular ranged attack and an auto-recharging magic spell attack (which lets you select different spells, depending on how long you charge the button for), sometimes quite quirky level/enemy designs, an excellent soundtrack, and a really neat protagonist in Annet, make for a solid action-platformer. Easily one of my favorite Genesis games yet.
A lot of Wolf Team's games are kinda rough in terms of game design, but I genuinely think El Viento rules. It's legit a great action-platformer, that I had a ton of fun with. Over-the-top action, nice balance between a regular ranged attack and an auto-recharging magic spell attack (which lets you select different spells, depending on how long you charge the button for), sometimes quite quirky level/enemy designs, an excellent soundtrack, and a really neat protagonist in Annet, make for a solid action-platformer. Easily one of my favorite Genesis games yet.
While Ecco The Dolphin is probably my favorite below-average at best Genesis game, El Viento is probably my favorite above-average at best Genesis game.
El Viento's most striking quality for many in the retro community is it's anime aesthetic cutscenes and the female protagonist Annet, which is possibly why it's a tad overhyped by certain circles of the internet with an older populace, namely GameFAQs. What do I see over there? Why, four perfect 10 reviews! It's a shame that I must admit that it was the reason I also tried the game out, I like Annet's Jojo Part 2 headband and the fact she's a descendant of Hastur is pretty fucking sick, not gonna lie. Would totally hang out with her. It's also worth note that Al Capone is in this game, the localization changes him to "Vincente DeMarco" so no one on Renovation's publishing team ended up getting whacked I guess. They really had their priorities straight with this one, who cares about "even a bovice like you can handle thisbeast!"? /beast wrestler reference
This is a side-scrolling action game that feels like there's a ton of heart here, but with a lot of amatuer-ish execution that requires the big health bar you gain across the game to tank the inevitable hits you'll end up taking. Annet at the start can only throw boomerangs and hurl fireballs, but over the course of the game she gains access to new spells which she can use via charging with the C button. The longer you hold it, the bigger the spell is. The first spell you get is actually pretty well incorporated into the game, because you get it after killing some water dragon mini-bosses. However, later Anett just randomly runs into them in stages. What's a wind spell doing inside a ship guarded by horrifically pixelated giant squids/octopi? This kinda gives credence to the thought that the game was rushed, along with the fact that later stages are just really really short compared to the beginning ones. It's unfortunate that Wolf Team's answer to the easy later stages was to make the final one nothing but a constant bombardment of bats locked onto your sprite.
Regardless, El Viento manages to be a fairly fun game with snappy control, some satisfying colossal pixel explosions, a very very good soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba and a sick intro. Another game on the Genesis that I adore presentation-wise with some less-than-stellar gameplay, although this one isn't exactly a mean-spirited mess designed to brutalize the player like Shadow of the Beast is. I'll take the bats from El Viento's final stage over the absolutely abominable shmup stage from Shadow of the Beast or Welcome To The Machine from Ecco.
El Viento's worst problem I feel is it's bittersweet ending as well as the series' own future that would follow. Most games in a series tend to start pretty shakey or okay-ish, but pick themselves up and get better like Sonic the Hedgehog or Streets of Rage, but the El Viento trilogy unfortunately only gets progressively worse from here on out. Earnest Evans is a comedic kusoge with a funny marionette-esque protagonist who is anime Indiana Jones to the point even Renovation was calling them out for it via the western cover art, and while Anett Futatabi on Mega-CD brings back the superior protagonist it's possibly one of the worst beat'em ups I've ever played.
A sad end for something that could've been good. If anyone on IGDB fucks with this game's cover art and puts in the shitty westernized Renovation one I'll track them down and stab them in the face with a soldering iron.
El Viento's most striking quality for many in the retro community is it's anime aesthetic cutscenes and the female protagonist Annet, which is possibly why it's a tad overhyped by certain circles of the internet with an older populace, namely GameFAQs. What do I see over there? Why, four perfect 10 reviews! It's a shame that I must admit that it was the reason I also tried the game out, I like Annet's Jojo Part 2 headband and the fact she's a descendant of Hastur is pretty fucking sick, not gonna lie. Would totally hang out with her. It's also worth note that Al Capone is in this game, the localization changes him to "Vincente DeMarco" so no one on Renovation's publishing team ended up getting whacked I guess. They really had their priorities straight with this one, who cares about "even a bovice like you can handle thisbeast!"? /beast wrestler reference
This is a side-scrolling action game that feels like there's a ton of heart here, but with a lot of amatuer-ish execution that requires the big health bar you gain across the game to tank the inevitable hits you'll end up taking. Annet at the start can only throw boomerangs and hurl fireballs, but over the course of the game she gains access to new spells which she can use via charging with the C button. The longer you hold it, the bigger the spell is. The first spell you get is actually pretty well incorporated into the game, because you get it after killing some water dragon mini-bosses. However, later Anett just randomly runs into them in stages. What's a wind spell doing inside a ship guarded by horrifically pixelated giant squids/octopi? This kinda gives credence to the thought that the game was rushed, along with the fact that later stages are just really really short compared to the beginning ones. It's unfortunate that Wolf Team's answer to the easy later stages was to make the final one nothing but a constant bombardment of bats locked onto your sprite.
Regardless, El Viento manages to be a fairly fun game with snappy control, some satisfying colossal pixel explosions, a very very good soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba and a sick intro. Another game on the Genesis that I adore presentation-wise with some less-than-stellar gameplay, although this one isn't exactly a mean-spirited mess designed to brutalize the player like Shadow of the Beast is. I'll take the bats from El Viento's final stage over the absolutely abominable shmup stage from Shadow of the Beast or Welcome To The Machine from Ecco.
El Viento's worst problem I feel is it's bittersweet ending as well as the series' own future that would follow. Most games in a series tend to start pretty shakey or okay-ish, but pick themselves up and get better like Sonic the Hedgehog or Streets of Rage, but the El Viento trilogy unfortunately only gets progressively worse from here on out. Earnest Evans is a comedic kusoge with a funny marionette-esque protagonist who is anime Indiana Jones to the point even Renovation was calling them out for it via the western cover art, and while Anett Futatabi on Mega-CD brings back the superior protagonist it's possibly one of the worst beat'em ups I've ever played.
A sad end for something that could've been good. If anyone on IGDB fucks with this game's cover art and puts in the shitty westernized Renovation one I'll track them down and stab them in the face with a soldering iron.
You know before playing this I always wonder why the GameFAQs reviews for this game were super positive. Some even gave it a 10/10. Like sure it is GameFAQs but still I had to wonder about this game. I did really like it's Japanese artwork so I had to try it.
The game itself is good if feeling a little rushed. By the last couple of levels before the final, they're just very short and easy and it's kind of odd to see. The final level is also not good, easily the worst part of the game for me, stupid bats...
Really these kind of games just have a charm to me, it reminds me of Valis in a way. While I wouldn't consider them great games at all, I can't help but enjoy them. There are two other games in this series but I don't know if I'll ever play them. If I don't then I'm very sorry.
The game itself is good if feeling a little rushed. By the last couple of levels before the final, they're just very short and easy and it's kind of odd to see. The final level is also not good, easily the worst part of the game for me, stupid bats...
Really these kind of games just have a charm to me, it reminds me of Valis in a way. While I wouldn't consider them great games at all, I can't help but enjoy them. There are two other games in this series but I don't know if I'll ever play them. If I don't then I'm very sorry.
Feels like playing through an OVA, much like Battle Mania Daiginjou except nowhere near as good lmao. Seems to share a universe and timeline with Earnest Evans, as he's a character here in some cutscenes and this game supposedly follows that one. It takes place in 1928 and the Empire State Building is not only existing but complete, although it wasn't even started until two years later, which I found kind of amusing. I did not find the ending amusing. Decently more grim than I was expecting, although I guess it could be worse.
Gameplay is a lot better than Earnest Evans, although this game seems to be a couple months older. Anett is thankfully made of just one sprite unlike Earnest, and controls just fine. Bosses are weirdly mixed once again, early ones are pretty rough but all the later ones are easy. Qualms here mainly come from enemies and such instead, especially the bats. Fuck those bats, dude. That entire last level can go to hell.
There's a bit of a cliffhanger in the credits, leading me to believe these games are two parts of a trilogy. Might seek that last one out and see how it goes, although I don't think it's in the Genesis library.
Gameplay is a lot better than Earnest Evans, although this game seems to be a couple months older. Anett is thankfully made of just one sprite unlike Earnest, and controls just fine. Bosses are weirdly mixed once again, early ones are pretty rough but all the later ones are easy. Qualms here mainly come from enemies and such instead, especially the bats. Fuck those bats, dude. That entire last level can go to hell.
There's a bit of a cliffhanger in the credits, leading me to believe these games are two parts of a trilogy. Might seek that last one out and see how it goes, although I don't think it's in the Genesis library.