Capcom Classics Collection Revisits #10

Despite the super generic name, Magic Sword is a pretty cool sidescrolling hack n' slasher and has a system where you rescue fellow heroes from jail cells who then proceed to fight by your side. It sucks you can only have one at a time, I guess it wouldn't have been fair if you could just slowly amass an army of warriors and curbstomp the final boss with 75 people. Also, Moai alert. 🗿

I think my favorite special interaction is that you can bribe the lizardman warriors into becoming your ally with the diamond ring, just a pretty cool little thing. The bosses though I think are pretty weak, they get reused quickly and they edit the dragon boss to make the "hydra" one. Notably the game also has a bit of a Streets of Rage-esque pick your ending type deal after beating the last boss, I like that the bad ending implies that the game's story is constantly looping with each "Lord Drokmar" just being the player character from the last completed game. That's probably not what actually happens, but that's my headcanon anyway.

Overall a bit quarter munchy in the second half, but hey what am I playing here? It was fun. They apparently named the Ninja ally "Gai", so here's Ninja Guy.

The PC Engine had many schmups in it's life and there are some that have fascinated me throughout the years. One of those was this game. Though this game is quite infamous for not it being good but for how overpriced it's gotten. Even back then it was pretty bad. From what I read this seems to have been a mail order only release here? Despite the price, if you can play this emulated it's a good time.

This is one of those cute schmups like Cotton or Twinbee. One thing that's interesting is like Pop'n Twinbee, you have health instead of lives. You actually have a lot of health here and can even buy items to help with your health. Meaning this is one of the easier games in the genre. Though I do feel like sometimes the game has some annoying boss fights and don't feel well designed to me and I almost wanna blame the health system as you can afford errors here and having health means they wouldn't have to worry about it being perfect. But honestly it's probably more my lack of skill...

I like some of the stages though I don't really like Stage 3, it just feels so claustrophobic to me. I also wasn't too big on Stage 6 being mostly just bosses especially when it has one of the worst ones in the game for me. Though when it is good, it can be really fun. In fact hot take incoming folks, I like this more then the first Cotton game. IDK I just felt like this one was more fun to me with it's level design.

I'm not sure if I would fully recommend it if you are super into the genre as it might not be as interesting to some but it's probably just a preference so give it a try if you can. Also whatever you do, don't play on Breeze difficulty, you won't be able to do stages 4-6! I can't stand when a game does that.

The game's got a nice presentation and the music is quite nice as well. I really love the ending shot this game has after the credits. I also love the detail of Ripple sleeping when paused but will be in a panic if you pause while you're in hit i-frames. It's all just got a nice vibe to it and it's got some fun wacky enemies for each stage.

If you ever just want to play PC Engine games in your life, try this one. Just please don't buy it, those people don't deserve your money. Unless you're also an awful person then maybe they do deserve your money. You better not be one of those people reading this! But yeah it's fun and I enjoyed it.

I've written some pretty negative and frustrated reviews for a lot of Pokemon spinoff games this year, so I decided to go back to a tried and true childhood classic as a palette cleanser... and it still holds up! Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire is exactly as the title states: classic pinball with your favorite Hoenn mons across two different boards. The colors are vibrant, all the elements are well animated, the tunes are simple but relaxing, and it's a ton of fun launching the Pokeball at various Pokemon to catch em all; the Pokemon are all stratified with various environments (traversed with the "travel" mechanic) and various catching strategies (either via Catch em' mode, Egg Hatch mode, or Evolution mode) across the two boards so you'll have an easier time pinning down what you need to fill out your Pokedex.

Breaking this down further though, there is one notable con with the game: the Ruby board feels way, way easier to get longer and high score runs than the Sapphire board. There are a few reasons why; firstly, the Ruby board gives you access to Makuhita (punches things) which will allow you to launch the ball either onto a separate track that will get you Pokeball upgrades (and eventually an extra life) or if you slightly delay the punch, a loop for racking up coins. Makuhita also makes it easier to obtain the collectibles necessary to clear Evolution mode if they're on the coin loop path or the upgrade path with Nuzleaf/the Pokemon Center. The only real boon you get with the Sapphire board is Zigzagoon's ability to more quickly stop the slots, which can definitely be helpful for getting powerups like the Pika Saver (unlimited electricity with no charge and Pichu joins in to cover both sides) and early bonus events, but in general isn't quite as useful as Makuhita's ability to farm you coins to buy powerups/an extra life and have easier access to Pokeball score upgrades & Evolution collectibles. Additionally, it's slightly more difficult to catch hatched Pokemon because the center of the Sapphire board is slightly larger and less condensed than the Ruby board, and the main board specific bonus boss (Kyogre) is a lot more annoying because of its ability to stall you by diving off screen and trapping you in inescapable whirlpools for 8 seconds at a time. You do have to play both boards regardless though, if you want to catch them all, so it's a bit of a shame that one board feels less consistent and exploitable than the other.

Also before I forget, it wouldn't be Pokemon without some element of RNG and grinding; most of the Pokemon can be caught consistently enough with the right strategies, board, and environment, but there's definitely an element of luck involved in catching certain species like Chikorita, Aerodactyl, Totodile, Cyndaquil, and Latias/Latios, which have a chance to randomly show up less than 1% of the time. It's not a big deal if you're not a completionist, but it is a bit of a shame that you will most likely need to grind if you want to finish the Dex. And there will be times where your ball sort of flies through the cracks or keeps falling to the sides when you don't have electricity for your Pikachu, but hey, that's just Pinball and at least you can alleviate this with the right powerup. At the end of the day, I wouldn't say that this is the best Pokemon spinoff or a game worth 100% completion, because extended play sessions can definitely wear you down (you may have to end up catching up to 32 Pokemon to get a chance to catch Rayquaza, including successfully catching Groudon/Kyogre twice without quitting or a game over), but it'll definitely give you a solid few hours of chill playtime and is one of the better video pinball games I've played.

I haven't played Eternal yet but even if the combat in that game is better and anywhere near as good as anyone says, I don't think Eternal can live up to the perfect balance of grit and exaggeration. 2016 has so many things that should be goofy in theory, like the Cacodemons just floating around like little meatballs, watching a Mancubus explode from shoving a part of itself down its throat or watching as this regular sized man rips the limbs off of enemies 3x his size.

But it all just... works. Everything down to the visual design, the music, the general audio design and even the more subtler movements of the Doomguy all work towards making this admittedly dumb setting and story work extremely well. It's more than just a heavy metal album come to life, it's an entire discography.

Doom 2016 holds a special place in my heart. I may prefer Doom 64 for its level design and Plutonia for its challenge and visual variety but 2016 was so influential to my taste in media that I don't know where to begin. It got me into retro shooters, it reminded me of my love for Metroid-like progression and level design, its OST got me into metal, its world led me to finding series I love such as Chainsaw Man and Berserk, its main character got me into series with cool protagonists who don't quip every single second, like John Wick and Samurai Jack.

This one is a bit odd for me since I'm very much a gameplay-first kind of guy but Doom 2016 is so irrationally important to me and my tastes that I have to give it special treatment.

Fragile Dreams tends to get mislabelled as a survival horror game, which is one of the many reasons detractors tend to score it so low. Yet, while it does have elements of the genre, it was clearly designed to be a lot more than that. At first glance, it has awkward controls and clunky combat, but part of me feels this was done intentionally to drive the player to focus more on exploration and engagement with the environment. It's a visually gorgeous game, set in a hauntingly beautiful post-apocalyptic Japan akin to Nier: Automata, where nature has overgrown throughout most urban environments. You navigate this world, filled with terrifying spirits pulled straight out of Japanese mythology, though those encounters are few and far between.

Throughout your journey, you are accompanied by a variety of companions along the way, and the handful of NPCs you interact with all bring something interesting to the table. But the game's real heart shines through the memory items you find, narrating the tales of various survivors and their experiences throughout the cataclysm that wiped out most of the human race. Some tell individual stories, while others are spread across several items. These, along with the game's main plot and character interactions, are what makes Fragile Dreams such a fantastic title; it's not just an interactive experience, but a very emotional one as well.

I always have trouble trying to sell this title to people because it's very hard to put into words how deeply it touched me. I really wish we had more games like this out there, and I'm very thankful I got to experience it.

An ambitious game that straddles genres, it's quite impressive for the Saturn. Charming sprites, voice acting, and even small 3D sections and CGs, the game has a lot going for it. It incorporates minigames well, not forcing you to participate in them but rewarding you for doing so; in fact, it's part of the interplay between the VN and SRPG segments. Treating the characters well and keeping them in a good mood improves their abilities in combat, incentivizing you to be kind and caring, and making it believable that they all end up liking you. The music is also really good, so overall there's a lot to like!

However, the game has some significant flaws. The VN sections can sometimes be too short, not allowing enough time to interact with the characters; the final boss is awful and requires multiple restarts and I had to RNG scum for crits in the emulator; and the combat overall is weak and unchallenging for the rest of the game. Still, a good experience overall and definitely worth playing.




Kohran Li my beloved

If you combine a how to draw manga magazine, mid 2000's creepypasta.ppt and killer7's spirit for experimentation you get this game, and I really dig it.
Once you get the gist of its main mechanics, it's a fun game that only gets better as you advance, each stage more interesting and entertaining than the previous one.
Unfortunately, this game became somewhat obscure, which is something that saddens me, because I believe Climax Entertainment (Crazy Games) would've had a bright future on the current times, where studios like White Owls or Grasshopper are appreciated more. This game, its studio and ultimately one of the main names behind it (Shinya Nishigaki) were stopped on their tracks when fate went against them several times.
Give it a try, if you manage to finish stage one, you're in.

A pretty absurd but entertaining story combined with solid RPG/combat mechanics (dodging attacks on the field + recharge meter attacks), and an amazing soundtrack. It's a somewhat overlooked game that deserves a lot more attention, and it's not too long so it doesn't overstay its welcome at all. Boss fights at the end can get a bit challenging, but the game is for the most part quite fair and remains engaging all the way through. One of my favorite oldie games.

Also, the mitochrondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

I cant say much because i am wiping my tears right now.

This game is absolutely underrated and i think more people should play this underrated gem. The topics this game touches is really risky but it can be a lesson to a lot of people and motivation to much more people. Gameplay is uniquıe and good but the story and the artstyle is much more strong. Atmosphere at every chapter is really diffrent from each other and manages to captivate me until the end of game. If anyone is seeing this comment before playing i strongly recommend because i was hesitating before playing but once i first booted up the game i couldn't quit, just the prologue is enough to keep the player engaged in the story.

Don't forget to bring the tissues :)

so many reviews of this game have people saying "oh it sucks but i love it" or "it's obviously not GOOD but it's good" which is The Coward's Copout. I have no respect for this line of hedging your bets for fans and people who hate it, especially since Sonic Adventure is good.

I am bold enough to say that Sonic Adventure IS a good game. It's creative, made with love and passion, and actually makes good on the no doubt stressful task of translating Sonic into 3D. Of course not everything is going to work, Sonic Team were just fucking nuts, and I have way more respect for a game that shoots for the sun than something that is just another product.

So enough with this "The game is bad but I like it" bullshit. I think for having no other template to work off of, the amount Sonic Team gets right here for technology of the 90s, is genuinely impressive and shouldn't be given backhanded compliments. Sonic Adventure deserves either your love or hate, not some shit in-between.