RinoDino
720 Reviews liked by RinoDino
Seeing as the 15th anniversary of the title is coming up this month, I figured it was about time I finally sat down and pushed through it. Not to shit on the early celebration, but I have to be honest here and say that 358/2 Days is one of the most tedious experiences I have had with a JRPG to date. It's definitely not for a lack of trying on the developers' side. Quite frankly, 358/2's story is one of the most interesting in the series, and certainly the most emotionally despondent, but the game suffers from so many problems, some of which even detract heavily from the story itself, that I can't help but be left with a sour taste in my mouth after completing it.
First things first, forget the fact that I have not been going through this series in a consistent manner, but I did go through Days' story some years ago through the remaster's VN format, so I already understood the gist of what was to come before actually playing the game myself. And yet, despite not enjoying the game very much at all, I would still say that actually playing Days is essential. Roxas' near-year long residency with the Organization is one that easier to empathize when going through the mundane day-to-day life in his shoes. While this works wonders from a storytelling perspective, it's a double-edged sword that may also cause disengagement from the player, which was partially true for me.
To better explain what I mean, I'd like to draw comparisons to Pathologic, a game that many who hold in high esteem would still call extremely boring; I mean, it's meant to be. It's very much a case of "games as art" that I don't blame anyone for hating. As of the time of typing up this review, I have not finished Pathologic myself, but I have found some great sense of roundabout enjoyment in its deeper themes and worldbuilding, despite its gameplay being the equivalent of nails on chalkboard. In the same way that Pathologic sacrifices "good" gameplay to make the player feel part of its world, one could argue that Days takes a similar approach in order for the player to connect with Roxas. The main problem, however, is that Mickey Mouse is in this game, among other things.
Kingdom Hearts is a series that tends to not take itself too seriously; a fact that attracts many to the series in the first place. As a result, though, I'm someone who has not come to expect too much from the story in these games, but rather a fun and goofy time for a majority of it, and unfortunately, Days is just not fun. Between the boring mission-based structure, the incredibly tanky bosses, and the simplistic/janky combat, there was rarely a moment of genuine enjoyment on my part. Despite this, I'm still glad I finally got to experience it to the end. Roxas, Xion, and Axel are probably my favorite trio in the series, and despite not being as enthralled with the series' overarching narrative as some others, I still think Days was a story worth telling.
First things first, forget the fact that I have not been going through this series in a consistent manner, but I did go through Days' story some years ago through the remaster's VN format, so I already understood the gist of what was to come before actually playing the game myself. And yet, despite not enjoying the game very much at all, I would still say that actually playing Days is essential. Roxas' near-year long residency with the Organization is one that easier to empathize when going through the mundane day-to-day life in his shoes. While this works wonders from a storytelling perspective, it's a double-edged sword that may also cause disengagement from the player, which was partially true for me.
To better explain what I mean, I'd like to draw comparisons to Pathologic, a game that many who hold in high esteem would still call extremely boring; I mean, it's meant to be. It's very much a case of "games as art" that I don't blame anyone for hating. As of the time of typing up this review, I have not finished Pathologic myself, but I have found some great sense of roundabout enjoyment in its deeper themes and worldbuilding, despite its gameplay being the equivalent of nails on chalkboard. In the same way that Pathologic sacrifices "good" gameplay to make the player feel part of its world, one could argue that Days takes a similar approach in order for the player to connect with Roxas. The main problem, however, is that Mickey Mouse is in this game, among other things.
Kingdom Hearts is a series that tends to not take itself too seriously; a fact that attracts many to the series in the first place. As a result, though, I'm someone who has not come to expect too much from the story in these games, but rather a fun and goofy time for a majority of it, and unfortunately, Days is just not fun. Between the boring mission-based structure, the incredibly tanky bosses, and the simplistic/janky combat, there was rarely a moment of genuine enjoyment on my part. Despite this, I'm still glad I finally got to experience it to the end. Roxas, Xion, and Axel are probably my favorite trio in the series, and despite not being as enthralled with the series' overarching narrative as some others, I still think Days was a story worth telling.
Video Olympics
1977
(Part 8 of the Half Century Challenge, created by C_F. You can read their eighth review here)
We may know them now as the old, fragile corpse of a company that just refuses to die out while clinging to the past rigorously with all their might, but back in the earliest days of gaming, Atari was THE video game company that beat all the rest. They were the ones responsible for some of the most influential and classic video games ever released, such as Pong, Breakout, and so on, and with their lineup of console from the fondly remembered Atari 2600 to even the laughing stock known as the Atari Jaguar, they have had quite the history with all of the games that they try to put out on the market. Sure, they may have made some pretty big mistakes in the past, such as inadvertently helping cause the Video Game Crash of 1983, as well as the aforementioned Atari Jaguar, but without them and their influence on the industry, I can’t even imagine where video games would be nowadays. So, I figured it was about time that we PROPERLY reviewed an Atari game on here, rather than just give one a couple of sentences and a joke thrown in, and the game we are gonna do that with is Video Olympics.
Much like with most Atari 2600 games in general, or any other game for Atari consoles, I had never really heard anything about this game prior to this review. When it comes to my general knowledge of video games and video game history, it goes all the way back to the NES era, and SOME points in the arcade era before that, but aside from that, that’s it. Don’t really know too much about any of the games from Atari systems, or whatever other systems were released back then, so I am curious to see what kind of “hidden gems” I have been missing out on for so long from these systems. However, when I went to research for this game, I then quickly discovered that…….. It… it’s just Pong… it’s just Po- IT’S JUST PONG! Goddammit, we already did an entire review on Pong rip-offs, we can’t do another one on it! But I couldn’t find anything else worth reviewing in the selection from 1977 though! loud groan........... you know what, fuck it. I love running gags, and Pong is one of the best gags that I have ever seen, so we’re doing it again! HERE WE GO!
So, one neat thing that I actually really like about old Atari games about this is that, when it comes to a good selection of the games you could get for the 2600, you weren’t limited to just one game. A lot of the games for these systems actually contained multiple games on them that you could select from, with them either being variations on previous games, or new games entirely, which does provide a good amount of variety and replayability for games that look like… well, that. Video Olympics is no different when it comes to this, as we have a total of 50 games on here, each one mimicking a real life sport while being a variation of Pong itself, which is pretty neat, so, as you probably expected, we are going to go through all 50 of these games and see just what is so special about each and every one of them. And I’m doing it just for you.
To start things off, of course we have the classic game of Pong to work with, where you compete against another person, you bounce a ball back and forth between each other, you score a point on the other person, and you laugh in their face as they are now a disgrace to their family name. We all know how it works, and it still works just as well here, and there are even some new variations introduced here to change up the gameplay slightly. You can now set your paddles to several different settings to change up the game, such as the Speed option, which will make it so that the ball flies towards the other side faster whenever you hit it with your paddle, or the Whammy option, which will launch the ball from your paddles at sharper angles, making so that you can score against your opponent easier. While these don’t change too much about the game, they do add an extra layer of precision and quick thinking for the experience, which I am a fan of, and Games #1 and 2 consist of Pong with these different settings, so that way you can find out which variation works best for you.
If you just so happen to be a friendless loser though who can’t get anyone to play Pong with you, then fear not, for Games #3 and 4 of this pack consist of Robot Pong, a version of Pong that is pretty much the exact same as the original version, once again with the different Speed and Whammy settings, except now instead of facing another real-life opponent, you will face a computer opponent instead. Kinda seems like a waste to separate the single-player and multiplayer options into four separate games, but it is Atari, so it makes perfect sense as to why they did that, and it does at least give more options for those who, again, don’t have anyone to play the game with, so that is cool.
After that though is when things get real spicy, as for Games #5 and 6, we have the Pong 4-player game, where you will be taking on a Doubles game of Pong, with two players on a team, and each player controlling a single paddle each. This doesn’t change too much about the game, but it is at least cool to have the option to play with multiple people, and they change up the position of the paddles themselves for Games #7 and 8, so that is pretty cool if you don’t want your paddles to be constantly overlapping each other. Not only that, but it does also add another layer of strategy that can change up a match pretty quickly…… or at least, as quickly as a Pong match can be changed up anyway.
If controlling just one paddle isn’t enough for you though, then not to worry, because for Games #9 and 10, we have Super Pong, where you can control two different paddles at once! I know, I know, your heart is just beating out of your chest thinking about that, and just how CHAOTIC matches can get because of it, cause I’m thinking that myself as well. If you thought that sounded scary though, then just wait until you get to Games #11 and 12, where it is Super Pong again, but now it’s back in 4-player mode, which means there are a total of 16 PADDLES on screen at once…….. SIXTEEN! Whatever madman at Atari thought of putting this many paddles into a game at once must be some kind of lunatic, but I appreciate them for going the extra mile regardless.
But anyway, we should now go ahead and get away from the BORING, regular versions of Pong here, and get into the more exciting stuff now! Games #13 and 14 brings us into the wild and wonderful world of Soccer, which in this game is almost just like Pong, except now the field you play in is green, because how can it not be, and you control two different paddles, one in front of your goal, and the other one further out to combat the other player. If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea though, then there is a way around that set-up, because with Games #15 and 16, we get back the 4-player options from before, with one player controlling each paddle, and there being two different players on each team. This one feels a lot more natural to mess around with, rather then trying to figure out what you are doing with two different paddles at once, but for those of you who are wanting that extra bit of chaos for 4-player mode, then Atari has got you covered with Games #17 and 18, where they put the extra paddles back in, to the fear of Pong players everywhere.
But that’s not all that the Soccer variants offer, oh no sir, because these are also the first games in this set-up that introduce the Catch variant into the mix. This makes it so that you are able to catch the ball with one of your paddles, allowing you to aim it and shoot it wherever you would like to change the game up, allowing you to strategize even more with how you shoot the ball around and what kind of plays you could throw out towards your opponent. Not gonna lie, I think this may just be my favorite variation on the game that we have here, because it feels a lot less uncontrollable compared to every other mode, and again, it allows you to be a lot more precise with your shots and plays, which I heavily prefer over just blindly hitting the ball with my paddle wherever it goes, just to see what plays out in the future.
Now that we got Soccer out of the way though, I think it’s about time that we move from a sport that I barely know how to play to a sport that I have NO CLUE how to play at all, as with Games #19 and 20, we now have Foozpong!........... you know, Foozpong? It’s like Foozball, except with Pong paddles………. no? Well, anyways, this one makes it so that you will be controlling two separate rows of Pong paddles, seemingly never ending, being able to hit the ball back to your opponent at many given opportunities with how many different paddles will be on all ends of the screen. “But wait, Mega”, I hear you cry, “I want my Pong game to be a cluttered, incomprehensible mess that anyone can barely play!” Well, little Jimmy, do I have the surprise for you, because Games #21 and 22 give you just that by bringing back the 4-player mode, so that everyone can be overstimulated and confused at the same time.
Now let’s move onto the games that take a much more simple approach to the Pong formula, as for all of my peeps up in the Maple Leaf country, Games #23 and 24 give us Hockey, which is pretty similar to that of regular Pong, except rather than trying to get the ball to reach the other side of the screen where your opponent is, we now actually have goals that you have to hit the ball into instead. That is pretty neat, adding yet another thin line of strategy to the ever-evolving game that is Pong, and with Games #25, 26, 27 and 28, you can upgrade it to not only give yourself 2 paddles to work with, but THREE paddles as well!.......... not exactly sure why you would need those, considering how small the goals are this time around, but hey, it’s still there anyway. And before you ask, no, they didn’t forget about any of the friend groups that go beyond two people, because Games #29 and 30 give you the 4-player option that crave with every fiber of your being, and they even manage to give you the Foozpong set-up with Games #31 and 32 as well, just in case you really didn’t want to play the game today.
All of that stuff we just talked about though, including all of the other games included beforehand….. BABY SHIT. That’s what they all are, as we haven’t gotten to the KING of kings, the master of all Pong games yet, as with Games #33 and 34, we get the man, the myth, the LEGEND, Quadrapong! If you somehow don’t know the majesty that is Quadrapong, then let me tell you all about it: it is actual, no strings attached, 4-player Pong, where each of you takes one side of the screen, and you have to hit the ball into your opponent’s goal. It isn’t too much more complex than any of the other games of Pong that we have covered so far, but I’m just happy to get a proper free-for-all Pong mode here, rather than whatever co-operative bullshit they pull with all of the other games.
But, if you want any something more inventive then that, then we got you covered, as with Games #35 and 36, we get our next game, Handball, where instead of trying to score goals against your opponent, you are now trying to get more points then them by hitting the ball yourself, with both of you on one side of the screen. I like this approach as well, changing up the objective of the game rather than how the player reaches the objective of each game, which is pretty cool……. but then they ruin it with Games #37 and 38, where they place two other players slightly in front of you, so thanks for that, guys. You all were doing so great too, I had so much faith in you, and you threw it all away…
Not to worry though, because they can help gain back their good faith with the introduction of Games #39 and 40, Volleyball! This one works pretty differently from all of the other games, where the ball will actually bounce around vertically, and you have to bounce it over to the other opponent’s side, which is a nice change of pace rather than sticking to the traditional Pong formula for every single game, but just changed up very slightly. And of course, they give you the 4-player variant with Games #41 and 42, with those other two players getting smaller paddles that are slightly over the two main paddles, which is a nice little addition, even if they can’t help a ton when compared to the main paddles.
If you have been getting tired of all this Ponging, then you will be happy to know that we are on the home stretch, where we now have the last Pong game here, with Games #43, 44, 45, and 46 giving us Basketball! Much like with Volleyball, you have to bounce the ball around rather then hitting it towards an opponent, but naturally, you have to get the ball into the hoops this time around….. and by hoops, I mean the rectangles that they pretend are hoops in this game. And to end things off, Games #47, 48, 49 and 50 give us the 4-player variants, where you get two more smaller paddles above the main ones, which can also help out in scoring all of the baskets, so that everybody in the family of all ages can come together and have a blast with the ONLY proper way to ever play basketball ever.
And with that, we are DONE! We have gone through every single game variation that can be found in Video Olympics, and I am NEVER doing this again! Seriously, there is only so much that one man can say about Pong before he ends up wanting to pong himself to death, and I think I am just right about there. But what I will say is, out of all of the Pong variations that I have played and researched to talk about on this website, this might just be the best one of the bunch. Yeah, it doesn’t have too many differences compared to all of those other versions of the game that exist out there, but the fact that this single package offers so many different versions of the game to play, coupled with the fact that it introduces more variations on the game, is quite admirable, and it makes it really fun to go through. Obviously, you probably won’t get much out of it, considering that it is just more Pong, but for a brief amount of time, you could definitely have some fun with it with friends, before you all inevitably move on to playing actual video games after this. But with all that out of the way, we are done here. I don’t even have an ending joke, I am going to go fly onto my bed now. Happy Ponging Season to you all, and I will see you all in 3,000 years.
Game #619
We may know them now as the old, fragile corpse of a company that just refuses to die out while clinging to the past rigorously with all their might, but back in the earliest days of gaming, Atari was THE video game company that beat all the rest. They were the ones responsible for some of the most influential and classic video games ever released, such as Pong, Breakout, and so on, and with their lineup of console from the fondly remembered Atari 2600 to even the laughing stock known as the Atari Jaguar, they have had quite the history with all of the games that they try to put out on the market. Sure, they may have made some pretty big mistakes in the past, such as inadvertently helping cause the Video Game Crash of 1983, as well as the aforementioned Atari Jaguar, but without them and their influence on the industry, I can’t even imagine where video games would be nowadays. So, I figured it was about time that we PROPERLY reviewed an Atari game on here, rather than just give one a couple of sentences and a joke thrown in, and the game we are gonna do that with is Video Olympics.
Much like with most Atari 2600 games in general, or any other game for Atari consoles, I had never really heard anything about this game prior to this review. When it comes to my general knowledge of video games and video game history, it goes all the way back to the NES era, and SOME points in the arcade era before that, but aside from that, that’s it. Don’t really know too much about any of the games from Atari systems, or whatever other systems were released back then, so I am curious to see what kind of “hidden gems” I have been missing out on for so long from these systems. However, when I went to research for this game, I then quickly discovered that…….. It… it’s just Pong… it’s just Po- IT’S JUST PONG! Goddammit, we already did an entire review on Pong rip-offs, we can’t do another one on it! But I couldn’t find anything else worth reviewing in the selection from 1977 though! loud groan........... you know what, fuck it. I love running gags, and Pong is one of the best gags that I have ever seen, so we’re doing it again! HERE WE GO!
So, one neat thing that I actually really like about old Atari games about this is that, when it comes to a good selection of the games you could get for the 2600, you weren’t limited to just one game. A lot of the games for these systems actually contained multiple games on them that you could select from, with them either being variations on previous games, or new games entirely, which does provide a good amount of variety and replayability for games that look like… well, that. Video Olympics is no different when it comes to this, as we have a total of 50 games on here, each one mimicking a real life sport while being a variation of Pong itself, which is pretty neat, so, as you probably expected, we are going to go through all 50 of these games and see just what is so special about each and every one of them. And I’m doing it just for you.
To start things off, of course we have the classic game of Pong to work with, where you compete against another person, you bounce a ball back and forth between each other, you score a point on the other person, and you laugh in their face as they are now a disgrace to their family name. We all know how it works, and it still works just as well here, and there are even some new variations introduced here to change up the gameplay slightly. You can now set your paddles to several different settings to change up the game, such as the Speed option, which will make it so that the ball flies towards the other side faster whenever you hit it with your paddle, or the Whammy option, which will launch the ball from your paddles at sharper angles, making so that you can score against your opponent easier. While these don’t change too much about the game, they do add an extra layer of precision and quick thinking for the experience, which I am a fan of, and Games #1 and 2 consist of Pong with these different settings, so that way you can find out which variation works best for you.
If you just so happen to be a friendless loser though who can’t get anyone to play Pong with you, then fear not, for Games #3 and 4 of this pack consist of Robot Pong, a version of Pong that is pretty much the exact same as the original version, once again with the different Speed and Whammy settings, except now instead of facing another real-life opponent, you will face a computer opponent instead. Kinda seems like a waste to separate the single-player and multiplayer options into four separate games, but it is Atari, so it makes perfect sense as to why they did that, and it does at least give more options for those who, again, don’t have anyone to play the game with, so that is cool.
After that though is when things get real spicy, as for Games #5 and 6, we have the Pong 4-player game, where you will be taking on a Doubles game of Pong, with two players on a team, and each player controlling a single paddle each. This doesn’t change too much about the game, but it is at least cool to have the option to play with multiple people, and they change up the position of the paddles themselves for Games #7 and 8, so that is pretty cool if you don’t want your paddles to be constantly overlapping each other. Not only that, but it does also add another layer of strategy that can change up a match pretty quickly…… or at least, as quickly as a Pong match can be changed up anyway.
If controlling just one paddle isn’t enough for you though, then not to worry, because for Games #9 and 10, we have Super Pong, where you can control two different paddles at once! I know, I know, your heart is just beating out of your chest thinking about that, and just how CHAOTIC matches can get because of it, cause I’m thinking that myself as well. If you thought that sounded scary though, then just wait until you get to Games #11 and 12, where it is Super Pong again, but now it’s back in 4-player mode, which means there are a total of 16 PADDLES on screen at once…….. SIXTEEN! Whatever madman at Atari thought of putting this many paddles into a game at once must be some kind of lunatic, but I appreciate them for going the extra mile regardless.
But anyway, we should now go ahead and get away from the BORING, regular versions of Pong here, and get into the more exciting stuff now! Games #13 and 14 brings us into the wild and wonderful world of Soccer, which in this game is almost just like Pong, except now the field you play in is green, because how can it not be, and you control two different paddles, one in front of your goal, and the other one further out to combat the other player. If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea though, then there is a way around that set-up, because with Games #15 and 16, we get back the 4-player options from before, with one player controlling each paddle, and there being two different players on each team. This one feels a lot more natural to mess around with, rather then trying to figure out what you are doing with two different paddles at once, but for those of you who are wanting that extra bit of chaos for 4-player mode, then Atari has got you covered with Games #17 and 18, where they put the extra paddles back in, to the fear of Pong players everywhere.
But that’s not all that the Soccer variants offer, oh no sir, because these are also the first games in this set-up that introduce the Catch variant into the mix. This makes it so that you are able to catch the ball with one of your paddles, allowing you to aim it and shoot it wherever you would like to change the game up, allowing you to strategize even more with how you shoot the ball around and what kind of plays you could throw out towards your opponent. Not gonna lie, I think this may just be my favorite variation on the game that we have here, because it feels a lot less uncontrollable compared to every other mode, and again, it allows you to be a lot more precise with your shots and plays, which I heavily prefer over just blindly hitting the ball with my paddle wherever it goes, just to see what plays out in the future.
Now that we got Soccer out of the way though, I think it’s about time that we move from a sport that I barely know how to play to a sport that I have NO CLUE how to play at all, as with Games #19 and 20, we now have Foozpong!........... you know, Foozpong? It’s like Foozball, except with Pong paddles………. no? Well, anyways, this one makes it so that you will be controlling two separate rows of Pong paddles, seemingly never ending, being able to hit the ball back to your opponent at many given opportunities with how many different paddles will be on all ends of the screen. “But wait, Mega”, I hear you cry, “I want my Pong game to be a cluttered, incomprehensible mess that anyone can barely play!” Well, little Jimmy, do I have the surprise for you, because Games #21 and 22 give you just that by bringing back the 4-player mode, so that everyone can be overstimulated and confused at the same time.
Now let’s move onto the games that take a much more simple approach to the Pong formula, as for all of my peeps up in the Maple Leaf country, Games #23 and 24 give us Hockey, which is pretty similar to that of regular Pong, except rather than trying to get the ball to reach the other side of the screen where your opponent is, we now actually have goals that you have to hit the ball into instead. That is pretty neat, adding yet another thin line of strategy to the ever-evolving game that is Pong, and with Games #25, 26, 27 and 28, you can upgrade it to not only give yourself 2 paddles to work with, but THREE paddles as well!.......... not exactly sure why you would need those, considering how small the goals are this time around, but hey, it’s still there anyway. And before you ask, no, they didn’t forget about any of the friend groups that go beyond two people, because Games #29 and 30 give you the 4-player option that crave with every fiber of your being, and they even manage to give you the Foozpong set-up with Games #31 and 32 as well, just in case you really didn’t want to play the game today.
All of that stuff we just talked about though, including all of the other games included beforehand….. BABY SHIT. That’s what they all are, as we haven’t gotten to the KING of kings, the master of all Pong games yet, as with Games #33 and 34, we get the man, the myth, the LEGEND, Quadrapong! If you somehow don’t know the majesty that is Quadrapong, then let me tell you all about it: it is actual, no strings attached, 4-player Pong, where each of you takes one side of the screen, and you have to hit the ball into your opponent’s goal. It isn’t too much more complex than any of the other games of Pong that we have covered so far, but I’m just happy to get a proper free-for-all Pong mode here, rather than whatever co-operative bullshit they pull with all of the other games.
But, if you want any something more inventive then that, then we got you covered, as with Games #35 and 36, we get our next game, Handball, where instead of trying to score goals against your opponent, you are now trying to get more points then them by hitting the ball yourself, with both of you on one side of the screen. I like this approach as well, changing up the objective of the game rather than how the player reaches the objective of each game, which is pretty cool……. but then they ruin it with Games #37 and 38, where they place two other players slightly in front of you, so thanks for that, guys. You all were doing so great too, I had so much faith in you, and you threw it all away…
Not to worry though, because they can help gain back their good faith with the introduction of Games #39 and 40, Volleyball! This one works pretty differently from all of the other games, where the ball will actually bounce around vertically, and you have to bounce it over to the other opponent’s side, which is a nice change of pace rather than sticking to the traditional Pong formula for every single game, but just changed up very slightly. And of course, they give you the 4-player variant with Games #41 and 42, with those other two players getting smaller paddles that are slightly over the two main paddles, which is a nice little addition, even if they can’t help a ton when compared to the main paddles.
If you have been getting tired of all this Ponging, then you will be happy to know that we are on the home stretch, where we now have the last Pong game here, with Games #43, 44, 45, and 46 giving us Basketball! Much like with Volleyball, you have to bounce the ball around rather then hitting it towards an opponent, but naturally, you have to get the ball into the hoops this time around….. and by hoops, I mean the rectangles that they pretend are hoops in this game. And to end things off, Games #47, 48, 49 and 50 give us the 4-player variants, where you get two more smaller paddles above the main ones, which can also help out in scoring all of the baskets, so that everybody in the family of all ages can come together and have a blast with the ONLY proper way to ever play basketball ever.
And with that, we are DONE! We have gone through every single game variation that can be found in Video Olympics, and I am NEVER doing this again! Seriously, there is only so much that one man can say about Pong before he ends up wanting to pong himself to death, and I think I am just right about there. But what I will say is, out of all of the Pong variations that I have played and researched to talk about on this website, this might just be the best one of the bunch. Yeah, it doesn’t have too many differences compared to all of those other versions of the game that exist out there, but the fact that this single package offers so many different versions of the game to play, coupled with the fact that it introduces more variations on the game, is quite admirable, and it makes it really fun to go through. Obviously, you probably won’t get much out of it, considering that it is just more Pong, but for a brief amount of time, you could definitely have some fun with it with friends, before you all inevitably move on to playing actual video games after this. But with all that out of the way, we are done here. I don’t even have an ending joke, I am going to go fly onto my bed now. Happy Ponging Season to you all, and I will see you all in 3,000 years.
Game #619
Kid Dracula
1990
The 8th game on the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, and also one which had its debut in the West via that collection, Kid Dracula is a bit of an odd title. Very much in the vein of games like Famicom Splatterhouse game or Konami's Parodius titles (in which Kid Dracula himself would later appear), Kid Dracula is a silly take on an existing property in a familiar but different genre. Getting away from the melee-action platforming the series is so familiar with and going for a Mega Man-style shooting platformer, Kid Dracula is a very oddball but still fun entry in the wider Castlevania series.
Kid Dracula is chilling in his castle one day when it's suddenly attacked by monsters under the control of the galactic conqueror Galamoth. Not one to take such things lying down, Dracula sets off to kick some invader butt. The only catch is that Dracula isn't the big, adult Dracula we're familiar with. He's just a little kid! Obviously a non-canon game in the series, the game nonetheless has an epilogue that says that Dracula's defeat of Galamoth gained him such popularity that more and more monsters flocked to his banner until he was the new lord of darkness, which makes this something of a parody origin story for Dracula XD. The presentation all around is very colorful and silly like this, having bright, pastel color and a super deformed style for the monsters present, it is a very cute game (particularly for the Castlevania series). The only really exceptional thing is that the music is really nothing to write home about. It isn't bad, just not what you'd hope for with a Castlevania game.
The mechanics are very much like Mega Man more than they are Castlevania. Kid Dracula has a series of blaster-type powers he can use to fight enemies, and can even charge them for special effects (I think in-game they're spells he's casting). Upon beating a boss of a stage, you unlock a new power you can use, very much like Mega Man, however those powers very rarely (if ever) have any relation to the stage you just went through or the boss you just fought. You only get the special power of that weapon if you do a charge attack, so most of your time is spent with your weapon charged. The weapons also aren't dished out terribly balanced, with the homing shot you get for beating level 1 being one of the best weapons in the game. Several weapons aren't even weapons but platforming aids, letting you transform into a bat to fly or sticking to the ceiling. These are neat, but the execution isn't terribly inspired.
The level design is fine, but the later levels get pretty brutal with checkpoints, as the final stage doesn't have them at all. The bosses range from a little frustrating to super easy, and the final boss is a good challenge too. The only real dangers in the last few levels of the game is the aforementioned lack of checkpoints and a particularly nasty vertical climbing section, but even then the levels aren't that long. I didn't even end up using save states for this one. It's not a terribly long game, only coming in at around 2 to 3 hours over eight stages, but it's a fine time and a fine challenge for what it is, even if it isn't terribly Castlevania-y.
Verdict: Recommended. Kid Dracula isn't particularly amazing, but it's a very competent game and it's worth playing on the collection. The difficulty and overall design remind me a lot of Taito's Panic Restaurant or Konami's Biomiracle Bokutte Upa, where it's a silly, pastel-colored platformer, and the theme of this particular game just happens to be Castlevania's Dracula as a kid. It may not be the superior GameBoy sequel (whose absence on the Collection is quite odd, really), but it's still a fine game that will deliver a burst of retro platforming goodness, even if it's not ultimately that memorable.
Kid Dracula is chilling in his castle one day when it's suddenly attacked by monsters under the control of the galactic conqueror Galamoth. Not one to take such things lying down, Dracula sets off to kick some invader butt. The only catch is that Dracula isn't the big, adult Dracula we're familiar with. He's just a little kid! Obviously a non-canon game in the series, the game nonetheless has an epilogue that says that Dracula's defeat of Galamoth gained him such popularity that more and more monsters flocked to his banner until he was the new lord of darkness, which makes this something of a parody origin story for Dracula XD. The presentation all around is very colorful and silly like this, having bright, pastel color and a super deformed style for the monsters present, it is a very cute game (particularly for the Castlevania series). The only really exceptional thing is that the music is really nothing to write home about. It isn't bad, just not what you'd hope for with a Castlevania game.
The mechanics are very much like Mega Man more than they are Castlevania. Kid Dracula has a series of blaster-type powers he can use to fight enemies, and can even charge them for special effects (I think in-game they're spells he's casting). Upon beating a boss of a stage, you unlock a new power you can use, very much like Mega Man, however those powers very rarely (if ever) have any relation to the stage you just went through or the boss you just fought. You only get the special power of that weapon if you do a charge attack, so most of your time is spent with your weapon charged. The weapons also aren't dished out terribly balanced, with the homing shot you get for beating level 1 being one of the best weapons in the game. Several weapons aren't even weapons but platforming aids, letting you transform into a bat to fly or sticking to the ceiling. These are neat, but the execution isn't terribly inspired.
The level design is fine, but the later levels get pretty brutal with checkpoints, as the final stage doesn't have them at all. The bosses range from a little frustrating to super easy, and the final boss is a good challenge too. The only real dangers in the last few levels of the game is the aforementioned lack of checkpoints and a particularly nasty vertical climbing section, but even then the levels aren't that long. I didn't even end up using save states for this one. It's not a terribly long game, only coming in at around 2 to 3 hours over eight stages, but it's a fine time and a fine challenge for what it is, even if it isn't terribly Castlevania-y.
Verdict: Recommended. Kid Dracula isn't particularly amazing, but it's a very competent game and it's worth playing on the collection. The difficulty and overall design remind me a lot of Taito's Panic Restaurant or Konami's Biomiracle Bokutte Upa, where it's a silly, pastel-colored platformer, and the theme of this particular game just happens to be Castlevania's Dracula as a kid. It may not be the superior GameBoy sequel (whose absence on the Collection is quite odd, really), but it's still a fine game that will deliver a burst of retro platforming goodness, even if it's not ultimately that memorable.
Kid Dracula
1990
As a Mega Man fan who is playing through the Castlevania franchise, this was a nice little surprise. A parody spinoff of Castlevania puts you in the shoes of the long time antagonist, Dracula, when he was a child has you jumpn' and shootn' Mega Man style through levels with a boss usually waiting at the end.
Other comparisons to Mega Man is the fact when you defeat a boss at the end of a level you get a new weapon in the form of a charge blast, that you are able to switch. Some of these charge blasts are homing attacks, explosions or even the ability to turn you into a bat for a short period. The only other thing the gameplay does to really differentiate itself from Mega Man is the ability to shoot up (which if Mega Man could do, he would be so OP).
I do wish this game had the structure of a Mega Man game where you could choose your level order, considering bosses do give you weapons this time around, it would have been cool to find an order that gives you your favorite weapons first.
Level wise, the design is more focused on shooting enemies then platforming. There are a handful platforming sections but nothing too hard or stressful. You won't get the disappearing blocks over a bottomless pit type of challenge. Some of the level themes are cool as they take some of the designs from Castlevania and "kidify" them in artsyle. The first level itself is a straight up recreation of Dracula's castle from the original title and it was so cool reliving it. Other levels are more typical levels you'd see in a platformer like the Ice stage or Desert stage - not bad but nothing too great and original either.
The game difficulty is very fair for a NES game and Castlevania game nonetheless. Someone with decent experience with NES platformers should be able to beat this in one sitting with a good level of challenge.
I liked this little fun break from the rage inducing early Castlevania titles, especially as a fan of Mega Man this is a solid MM clone and treat.
Other comparisons to Mega Man is the fact when you defeat a boss at the end of a level you get a new weapon in the form of a charge blast, that you are able to switch. Some of these charge blasts are homing attacks, explosions or even the ability to turn you into a bat for a short period. The only other thing the gameplay does to really differentiate itself from Mega Man is the ability to shoot up (which if Mega Man could do, he would be so OP).
I do wish this game had the structure of a Mega Man game where you could choose your level order, considering bosses do give you weapons this time around, it would have been cool to find an order that gives you your favorite weapons first.
Level wise, the design is more focused on shooting enemies then platforming. There are a handful platforming sections but nothing too hard or stressful. You won't get the disappearing blocks over a bottomless pit type of challenge. Some of the level themes are cool as they take some of the designs from Castlevania and "kidify" them in artsyle. The first level itself is a straight up recreation of Dracula's castle from the original title and it was so cool reliving it. Other levels are more typical levels you'd see in a platformer like the Ice stage or Desert stage - not bad but nothing too great and original either.
The game difficulty is very fair for a NES game and Castlevania game nonetheless. Someone with decent experience with NES platformers should be able to beat this in one sitting with a good level of challenge.
I liked this little fun break from the rage inducing early Castlevania titles, especially as a fan of Mega Man this is a solid MM clone and treat.
Wish it could include a rewind and a cheat disabling (includind save states/rewinds etc. to properly experience the games as intended) options. Beside that: yep, it surely is a decent collection alright. Could have improved the bonuses and the presentation a little, but beside that it's pretty good.
First and foremost, the gameplay is pretty much identical to the first game so everything in my review of that game is valid for this one too.
But what sets this game apart from its predecessor is the fact that how it's incredibly creative with its stages; one where you can't stop, where you can't go into the water, where you don't know your size, etc. While it hurts the sense of progression, I don't think that's a bad thing it's just a different design philosophy. I also loved the fact that parameters for character controls vary from stage to stage and make the game feel fair in limitations. Also, the game gives you some of the craziest stages in gaming while keeping its weird but also beautiful aesthetic.
I think fulfilling fan requests is an amazing concept for a sequel. It also makes the story much more interesting, that being said, don't think that I'm saying the story isn't very good, quite the opposite story is amazing. Especially seeing some backstory, The dialogue is also so much fun to read and quirky as ever (I love the King.).
My only complaint is the difficulty I think, there aren't many roadblocks for you to move and that's a good thing to some extent but it also takes the challenge out of it, unlike Damacy this game is so easy and to be honest it would be nice if it had some challenging levels.
But what sets this game apart from its predecessor is the fact that how it's incredibly creative with its stages; one where you can't stop, where you can't go into the water, where you don't know your size, etc. While it hurts the sense of progression, I don't think that's a bad thing it's just a different design philosophy. I also loved the fact that parameters for character controls vary from stage to stage and make the game feel fair in limitations. Also, the game gives you some of the craziest stages in gaming while keeping its weird but also beautiful aesthetic.
I think fulfilling fan requests is an amazing concept for a sequel. It also makes the story much more interesting, that being said, don't think that I'm saying the story isn't very good, quite the opposite story is amazing. Especially seeing some backstory, The dialogue is also so much fun to read and quirky as ever (I love the King.).
My only complaint is the difficulty I think, there aren't many roadblocks for you to move and that's a good thing to some extent but it also takes the challenge out of it, unlike Damacy this game is so easy and to be honest it would be nice if it had some challenging levels.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is the Classicvania formula at its peak.
Whereas Super Castlevania IV focused on creating a dark, dingy atmosphere by playing into the classic horror and pulp stories the series was inspired by, Rondo of Blood goes in the exact opposite direction. Everything about this game is stylish, in-your-face, and downright excessive. The colors are brighter, the music is louder, the violence is gorier, and a new anime-like art style has been applied to the characters. I love it. I love all of it. This game absolutely relishes in how cheesy the Castlevania franchise is at its core, creating a somewhat goofy and action-packed tone that fits the platforming-focused gameplay like a glove.
Speaking of the gameplay, the Belmonts have never felt better. While he lacks Simon’s multidirectional whip, Richter Belmont more than makes up for it by just how buttery smooth his controls are. It’s hard to explain, but jumping and whipping just feels so perfect in this game, and the amount of control you have over Richter’s movement is astounding.
The level design has never been better. I can’t even pick a favorite, because they’re all absolute bangers… but fuck it, Stage 5 is my favorite. It’s a haunted ship, sorta like the one from Dracula’s Curse, but there’s so many cool enemies to fight and challenges to overcome. It’s awesome.
The story isn’t anything special, but it’s noteworthy for being the first Castlevania game to have one that fully takes place in-game instead of the manual. You have these goofy ahh cutscenes that are as ridiculous as they are charming, thanks in no small part to the fantastic character design and shōnen-style presentation. Also, this is our first peek into Dracula’s true motives, which Symphony of the Night would base its entire plot off of (it is a direct sequel, after all).
The visuals? Gorgeous. Best of the Classicvanias by a wide margin. Ditto for the music, which takes full advantage of the PC Engine’s CD capabilities to create an appropriately badass and exciting soundtrack. Go and take a listen. You won’t regret it.
So yeah, Rondo of Blood is absolutely fantastic, and it’s one of the best 2D platformers I’ve ever played. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t played it yet.
Whereas Super Castlevania IV focused on creating a dark, dingy atmosphere by playing into the classic horror and pulp stories the series was inspired by, Rondo of Blood goes in the exact opposite direction. Everything about this game is stylish, in-your-face, and downright excessive. The colors are brighter, the music is louder, the violence is gorier, and a new anime-like art style has been applied to the characters. I love it. I love all of it. This game absolutely relishes in how cheesy the Castlevania franchise is at its core, creating a somewhat goofy and action-packed tone that fits the platforming-focused gameplay like a glove.
Speaking of the gameplay, the Belmonts have never felt better. While he lacks Simon’s multidirectional whip, Richter Belmont more than makes up for it by just how buttery smooth his controls are. It’s hard to explain, but jumping and whipping just feels so perfect in this game, and the amount of control you have over Richter’s movement is astounding.
The level design has never been better. I can’t even pick a favorite, because they’re all absolute bangers… but fuck it, Stage 5 is my favorite. It’s a haunted ship, sorta like the one from Dracula’s Curse, but there’s so many cool enemies to fight and challenges to overcome. It’s awesome.
The story isn’t anything special, but it’s noteworthy for being the first Castlevania game to have one that fully takes place in-game instead of the manual. You have these goofy ahh cutscenes that are as ridiculous as they are charming, thanks in no small part to the fantastic character design and shōnen-style presentation. Also, this is our first peek into Dracula’s true motives, which Symphony of the Night would base its entire plot off of (it is a direct sequel, after all).
The visuals? Gorgeous. Best of the Classicvanias by a wide margin. Ditto for the music, which takes full advantage of the PC Engine’s CD capabilities to create an appropriately badass and exciting soundtrack. Go and take a listen. You won’t regret it.
So yeah, Rondo of Blood is absolutely fantastic, and it’s one of the best 2D platformers I’ve ever played. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t played it yet.
Sonic Unleashed
2008
Definition of a cult classic. Even with all its flaws this is an incredibly fun time made with genuine passion and ambition and talent that Sonic Team no longer has. The Pixar-esque graphical style and renditions of real world countries are stunning for 2008 and the sheer sense of speed as you're blasting through tearing up everything in your path is still insane. The day levels are the most well designed in the series in my opinion - they've never grown old for me after hundreds of runs with their crazy setpieces, high difficulty and perfect length. And after levelling up skills the Werehog has surprising depth to his moveset which I think people didn't give a fair shake. It goes without saying that the OST is god tier. This is my 11th time completing the story, I love just sitting down and running the whole thing in one afternoon. On Xbox Series in its full 60fps glory it's an immensely different more responsive experience and I truly believe it's one of the best 3D platformers of all time. Makes me happy that it's had a bit of a critical re-evaulation in recent years
Nightmare Kart
2024
This was a really ambitious game to make, one filled with love, passion, creativity and a distinct vision and I liked it a lot for that! I might not have played Bloodborne so I couldn't tell you how similar/different everything is, but I love how it was an April Fools joke turned into a full fledged and enjoyable game, and its such a visually distinct game from anything from the kart racer genre (even if the music is still cartoonish, but its still amazing regardless) and unapologetically retro, with some really useful options for customising your experience.
All items are pretty derivative of Mario Kart's items (blood droplets = coins, guns = green shells, etc) but they have a grittier spin on them, like blood increasing max speed, insentivising hunting other players and enemies on the course, as well as being able to collect aether vials while drifting for a little speed boost to your kart.
The diversity of missions in the campaign also made it fresh and like I wasn't just playing Grand Prix again, having some cool boss fights and making battle more than just a side mode, which is great because the weapons are really fun to use. Multiplayer is also really fun, having everything in the campaign (except for bosses) with a lot of customisation options for battle and races. Its a shame that after every round you get kicked out, so you can't select how many you want to do before getting booted to the menu, but its not a major annoyance.
I do have to admit that this game isn't perfect however, and my time on it was filled with a little more frustration than enjoyment since the controls didn't feel as responsive or nice to use as most kart racers; the lack of a more in-depth tutorial meant I was running off previous knowledge and muscle memory, which didn't help the feeling of the controls. The UI isn't the most intuitive it could be, there aren't any way markers for dark/foggy maps, sounds, especially voices, were so extremely quiet when compared to the rest of the SFX (I turned it up to max and I still could barely hear it over the music) and I hated the Nicholas boss for being unintuitive to fight and for being able to double tap with his body and his weapon.
Overall its a fun and promicing game but I probably overhyped myself before launch and subsequently got a little disappointed by it, but its getting updated pretty frequently so I can't complain, especially if my gripes get fixed. Trans rights!!
All items are pretty derivative of Mario Kart's items (blood droplets = coins, guns = green shells, etc) but they have a grittier spin on them, like blood increasing max speed, insentivising hunting other players and enemies on the course, as well as being able to collect aether vials while drifting for a little speed boost to your kart.
The diversity of missions in the campaign also made it fresh and like I wasn't just playing Grand Prix again, having some cool boss fights and making battle more than just a side mode, which is great because the weapons are really fun to use. Multiplayer is also really fun, having everything in the campaign (except for bosses) with a lot of customisation options for battle and races. Its a shame that after every round you get kicked out, so you can't select how many you want to do before getting booted to the menu, but its not a major annoyance.
I do have to admit that this game isn't perfect however, and my time on it was filled with a little more frustration than enjoyment since the controls didn't feel as responsive or nice to use as most kart racers; the lack of a more in-depth tutorial meant I was running off previous knowledge and muscle memory, which didn't help the feeling of the controls. The UI isn't the most intuitive it could be, there aren't any way markers for dark/foggy maps, sounds, especially voices, were so extremely quiet when compared to the rest of the SFX (I turned it up to max and I still could barely hear it over the music) and I hated the Nicholas boss for being unintuitive to fight and for being able to double tap with his body and his weapon.
Overall its a fun and promicing game but I probably overhyped myself before launch and subsequently got a little disappointed by it, but its getting updated pretty frequently so I can't complain, especially if my gripes get fixed. Trans rights!!
Mario Hoops 3-on-3
2006
This game nearly gave me carpal tunnel. A childhood game I suddenly remembered playing that I loved playing that was weirdly my first square enix game way before I even knew what final fantasy was at all. It's a fun sports game better than some of the modern Mario sport games since it has more personality with the gameplay and court design. It uses the 2nd touch screen very well as you dribble with the stylus. That being said the cpus have the classic Mario party game that you will have any bs come at you in the form of items and doing perfect shots from the other side of the court(I swear the cpus have invisibility frames) but the game is still a fun time for short bursts of time (carpal tunnel rip) It also brought one of the best designs of white mage ever (which definitely didn't turn out to be a beta Rosalina)
BioShock
2007
Bioshock is a game about free will. It's about choices. You are told what to do in each chapter/level. You are expected to kill whoever get in your way in an once glorious city for everyone who wanted to leave the postwar power relations of the world and strike out on their own which called Rapture. Rapture is a city built by people who don’t want to follow God and consider God as something that stops them from being great. So they live their own way, doing their own thing. There are no rules except for the ones they want to follow. And it doesn’t matter who gets hurt along the way. Bioshock shows that this is a very dangerous philosophy by spending most of its time with characters conversations that developed through extensive audio logs and villains monologues throughout the story. It is both visually and aurally beautiful but also haunting at the same time that hooked me from the start. And that's why it still holds up pretty well after 17 years.
Fanmade project or not, Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit is hands down one of the greatest 2D Sonic games that I have played in a long time. It completely took me by surprise, especially considering it's a reimagining of a decent Game Gear game. But let me tell you, it goes way beyond that and delivers new 2D Sonic goodness.
What shocked me the most while playing this game is that, despite perfectly capturing the essence of the classic Sonic games, it still reevaluates the old formula to make it feel less stuck in the past. For instance, it offers the option to disable lives, the invisibility now displays an on-screen meter when activating it, and there are consistent mid-checkpoints when a boss fight has a good chunk of phases, except for the final boss. This isn't even mentioning the addition of the partner mechanic between Sonic and Tails that enhances the core gameplay, allowing for seamless character switching during moment-to-moment gameplay that feels more impactful than the drop-dash, and that's all while still maintaining balance except for boss fights.
To put it simply, I never anticipated that a fanmade project of a reimagined Game Gear game would push the classic Sonic formula further than the recent official 2D Sonic games. While I find those games enjoyable, they didn't really assess the formula to see what room there is left to improve, and that includes Sonic Mania. Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit pulls it off while still capturing the core of what makes 2D Sonic unique: solid pinball mechanics that require skill in order to gain momentum and learn about the level design to maintain a satisfying flow, all while pumping me up with a good soundtrack.
Overall, whether you are a Sonic fan or a platformer fan in general, you owe it to yourself to play this amazing fanmade project. This, alongside Rayman Redemption & AM2R, are some of the best fangames that I have experienced.
What shocked me the most while playing this game is that, despite perfectly capturing the essence of the classic Sonic games, it still reevaluates the old formula to make it feel less stuck in the past. For instance, it offers the option to disable lives, the invisibility now displays an on-screen meter when activating it, and there are consistent mid-checkpoints when a boss fight has a good chunk of phases, except for the final boss. This isn't even mentioning the addition of the partner mechanic between Sonic and Tails that enhances the core gameplay, allowing for seamless character switching during moment-to-moment gameplay that feels more impactful than the drop-dash, and that's all while still maintaining balance except for boss fights.
To put it simply, I never anticipated that a fanmade project of a reimagined Game Gear game would push the classic Sonic formula further than the recent official 2D Sonic games. While I find those games enjoyable, they didn't really assess the formula to see what room there is left to improve, and that includes Sonic Mania. Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit pulls it off while still capturing the core of what makes 2D Sonic unique: solid pinball mechanics that require skill in order to gain momentum and learn about the level design to maintain a satisfying flow, all while pumping me up with a good soundtrack.
Overall, whether you are a Sonic fan or a platformer fan in general, you owe it to yourself to play this amazing fanmade project. This, alongside Rayman Redemption & AM2R, are some of the best fangames that I have experienced.
Shinobi Legions
1995
I think it’s about time that, after having been severely blue-balled by the lack of ninjas in Ninja Clowns, we get some more proper ninja action back in here, and what better way is there to do that by going back to the Shinobi series once again! We have covered quite a lot of Shinobi games on this website so far, from the best of them like Shinobi III, the whatever ones like the Game Gear games, and even the ones that make me wanna kill myself like The Cyber Shinobi. It has been one big ol’ roller coaster in terms of quality, but all in all, I’d say that I have had a great time exploring this series and all of the obscure titles within it. However, once again, it is about time that we get back to this series, and we are going to do so by taking a look it's not-so-monumental jump onto the Sega Saturn with Shinobi Legions.
I didn’t know much about this entry when going into it, but I did know that the game was sticking close to its typical 2D platformer roots, rather then trying anything new for the sake of this jump to a much more powerful console. That kinda sucks, but at the very least, I was hopeful that this game was gonna try to expand upon the typical Shinobi formula in some way, so that they could top themselves with what they did in Shinobi III, and make what would become a hidden gem for this system. So, did they manage to do that?................ no. What we get instead is yet another typical Shinobi game, one with everything you have seen before and loved/hated about it, with there being a little more added in there to make the game somewhat more memorable, but not enough to where I can say it is anything more than just good.
The story is typical for that of a Shinobi game, where in an age where ninjas and their warrior code are starting to die out, only three remain, those being Sho, Kazuma, and Aya, who are each training in order to master their ninjutsu training and to hopefully one day learn the ultimate technique. However, Kazuma, who is obsessed with nothing more than the prospect of ultimate power, demands that his master teaches him the ultimate technique, which he refuses, which leads to him building up a ninja army and a fortress, which he uses to take Aya hostage so that he could get the ultimate technique for himself, so it is up to Sho to step up to the plate and stop Kazuma from reaching his ultimate goal. It is a decent enough story, one that is even given live-action cutscenes in-game that play in-between each level, and these cutscenes are….. about as good as you would think they are, but they are at least not as laughably bad as the cutscenes from something like Mortal Kombat Mythologies.
The graphics are pretty good, having some very nice environments to travel through in the stages, even though they aren’t that different from previous games, and the animations on the characters themselves are also pretty great, with it taking a Mortal Kombat style on how the characters are presented, and it works out quite nicely, the music is good, having plenty of mystical and energetic tracks to accompany you throughout all of the stages, but it is indistinguishable from any other games similar to this, so it isn’t that much to write home about, and the gameplay/control is exactly what you would expect from a Shinobi title, with it all working well enough for fans and newcomers to have a good time with, even if it can be a pain in several areas.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of Sho, go through a set of 9 different stages, each one taking you to one of many different generic locations that you will find in a Shinobi game, slash your way through many different enemies using your trusty katana,many different shurikens to get the upper hand from a distance, or one-use special attacks that will annihilate your foes, gather plenty of different items that will help you out through the journey by either healing you, giving you extra lives, or even temporarily power you up to give you an easier time against the threats ahead, and take on plenty of bosses, most of which are pretty manageable to take on, but of course, there are one or two that will definitely give you trouble as you take them down, and not in a good way. It’s an all-new Shinobi for an all-new generation of systems, but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, as it relies heavily on the same tricks to get by, and it does work for the most part, but if you are coming into this hoping it will be as game-changing and incredible as Shinobi III, you may wanna reconsider what franchise we are talking about here.
Many of the trademark elements of the Shinobi series are found here, with its quick-reaction and high speeds platforming and combat, plenty of different tricks and traps that can easily cause your death if you aren’t careful, and level design that will test your might and patience to see if you are the proper ninja master that the plot is setting you up to be. Any veteran to the series knows this setup all too well, and they will be able to jump in and have fun with it right away, giving them what they have come to love and expect, and thankfully, for newcomers, it does offer a bit of leniency, as there are difficulty options that you can adjust, as well as an option to carry more shurikens with you from the start, so anyone could jump into this at whatever level of difficulty suits them best. Right alongside this are the benefits that come with being on the Sega Saturn, having plenty of improved animations and models for many different things you can see throughout the game, making this feel like a new and improved Shinobi that will definitely please long-time fans of the franchise.
However, if none of that makes you excited to slash dudes in the face with any sort of blade, then what you have here is just another typical Shinobi game, and that’s it. It doesn’t really do anything to further enhance or improve the gameplay found in previous titles, sticking too closely to what Shinobi III did to try to make itself seem more appealing and fun in nature, which is understandable, but it doesn’t make the game anymore appealing or fun to play over that previous game. Not to mention, it does have its share of annoyances, such as the case with the level design really kicking you in the ass, which can definitely be seen with the last couple of levels. Stage 7 in particular has these boats that you have to jump across and defeat enemies on, and while this is manageable for the most part, there are some jumps that are REALLY damn precise that you have to make, and if you don’t manage to do this, you are down one life, which happened to me PLENTY of times in that section.
That doesn’t even compare to the worst instance of level design bullshit in this game though, with that award going to Stage 9, which is without a doubt the worst stage in the game. A lot of it is fine enough, with it featuring plenty of power ups to get, enemies to take down, and secrets to find, but the main problem is that you will be constantly running down a corridor that just so happens to have giant bombs that will be sent towards you plenty of different times. You are meant to jump out of the way of these or get into small spaces underneath them to avoid them, but the problem is that the window of time you are given to do this in is MINISCULE, with there being many different times where I would try to jump over a bomb to get into the crawl space up above it, but I didn’t press the double jump at the precise millisecond that the game wanted me to, and I end up dying as a result. Yeah, fuck you too, Shinobi Legions….. you don’t even have any legions in your game!
Overall, despite a lack of change and some bullshit levels that you have to go through, Shinobi Legions is still a decent entry in the series as a whole, and a good jump from the Sega Genesis to the Sega Saturn for the series, providing the same fast-paced gameplay you know and love, plenty of challenges to overcome that can be balanced out in your favor, and plenty of cheap live-action cutscenes that you can watch and laugh at to make yourself feel better. I would recommend it for those who were big fans of the previous games, as well as those who are just wanting something new to play from the Saturn, because while it isn’t gonna blow your mind with anything original, it will still be a decent way to kill an hour or two, and that’s all one can really ask for from any game on this system. It’s too bad though that after this, the Shinobi series would be put on hiatus for a bit, never to be seen again until the distant future of 2002, but that was probably for the best, seeing how Sega was probably just gonna keep pumping out these things relentlessly otherwise. We don’t want another Sonic the Hedgehog on our hands, where the games just keep getting worse and worse with each entry…… nobody would like that.
Game #618
I didn’t know much about this entry when going into it, but I did know that the game was sticking close to its typical 2D platformer roots, rather then trying anything new for the sake of this jump to a much more powerful console. That kinda sucks, but at the very least, I was hopeful that this game was gonna try to expand upon the typical Shinobi formula in some way, so that they could top themselves with what they did in Shinobi III, and make what would become a hidden gem for this system. So, did they manage to do that?................ no. What we get instead is yet another typical Shinobi game, one with everything you have seen before and loved/hated about it, with there being a little more added in there to make the game somewhat more memorable, but not enough to where I can say it is anything more than just good.
The story is typical for that of a Shinobi game, where in an age where ninjas and their warrior code are starting to die out, only three remain, those being Sho, Kazuma, and Aya, who are each training in order to master their ninjutsu training and to hopefully one day learn the ultimate technique. However, Kazuma, who is obsessed with nothing more than the prospect of ultimate power, demands that his master teaches him the ultimate technique, which he refuses, which leads to him building up a ninja army and a fortress, which he uses to take Aya hostage so that he could get the ultimate technique for himself, so it is up to Sho to step up to the plate and stop Kazuma from reaching his ultimate goal. It is a decent enough story, one that is even given live-action cutscenes in-game that play in-between each level, and these cutscenes are….. about as good as you would think they are, but they are at least not as laughably bad as the cutscenes from something like Mortal Kombat Mythologies.
The graphics are pretty good, having some very nice environments to travel through in the stages, even though they aren’t that different from previous games, and the animations on the characters themselves are also pretty great, with it taking a Mortal Kombat style on how the characters are presented, and it works out quite nicely, the music is good, having plenty of mystical and energetic tracks to accompany you throughout all of the stages, but it is indistinguishable from any other games similar to this, so it isn’t that much to write home about, and the gameplay/control is exactly what you would expect from a Shinobi title, with it all working well enough for fans and newcomers to have a good time with, even if it can be a pain in several areas.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of Sho, go through a set of 9 different stages, each one taking you to one of many different generic locations that you will find in a Shinobi game, slash your way through many different enemies using your trusty katana,many different shurikens to get the upper hand from a distance, or one-use special attacks that will annihilate your foes, gather plenty of different items that will help you out through the journey by either healing you, giving you extra lives, or even temporarily power you up to give you an easier time against the threats ahead, and take on plenty of bosses, most of which are pretty manageable to take on, but of course, there are one or two that will definitely give you trouble as you take them down, and not in a good way. It’s an all-new Shinobi for an all-new generation of systems, but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, as it relies heavily on the same tricks to get by, and it does work for the most part, but if you are coming into this hoping it will be as game-changing and incredible as Shinobi III, you may wanna reconsider what franchise we are talking about here.
Many of the trademark elements of the Shinobi series are found here, with its quick-reaction and high speeds platforming and combat, plenty of different tricks and traps that can easily cause your death if you aren’t careful, and level design that will test your might and patience to see if you are the proper ninja master that the plot is setting you up to be. Any veteran to the series knows this setup all too well, and they will be able to jump in and have fun with it right away, giving them what they have come to love and expect, and thankfully, for newcomers, it does offer a bit of leniency, as there are difficulty options that you can adjust, as well as an option to carry more shurikens with you from the start, so anyone could jump into this at whatever level of difficulty suits them best. Right alongside this are the benefits that come with being on the Sega Saturn, having plenty of improved animations and models for many different things you can see throughout the game, making this feel like a new and improved Shinobi that will definitely please long-time fans of the franchise.
However, if none of that makes you excited to slash dudes in the face with any sort of blade, then what you have here is just another typical Shinobi game, and that’s it. It doesn’t really do anything to further enhance or improve the gameplay found in previous titles, sticking too closely to what Shinobi III did to try to make itself seem more appealing and fun in nature, which is understandable, but it doesn’t make the game anymore appealing or fun to play over that previous game. Not to mention, it does have its share of annoyances, such as the case with the level design really kicking you in the ass, which can definitely be seen with the last couple of levels. Stage 7 in particular has these boats that you have to jump across and defeat enemies on, and while this is manageable for the most part, there are some jumps that are REALLY damn precise that you have to make, and if you don’t manage to do this, you are down one life, which happened to me PLENTY of times in that section.
That doesn’t even compare to the worst instance of level design bullshit in this game though, with that award going to Stage 9, which is without a doubt the worst stage in the game. A lot of it is fine enough, with it featuring plenty of power ups to get, enemies to take down, and secrets to find, but the main problem is that you will be constantly running down a corridor that just so happens to have giant bombs that will be sent towards you plenty of different times. You are meant to jump out of the way of these or get into small spaces underneath them to avoid them, but the problem is that the window of time you are given to do this in is MINISCULE, with there being many different times where I would try to jump over a bomb to get into the crawl space up above it, but I didn’t press the double jump at the precise millisecond that the game wanted me to, and I end up dying as a result. Yeah, fuck you too, Shinobi Legions….. you don’t even have any legions in your game!
Overall, despite a lack of change and some bullshit levels that you have to go through, Shinobi Legions is still a decent entry in the series as a whole, and a good jump from the Sega Genesis to the Sega Saturn for the series, providing the same fast-paced gameplay you know and love, plenty of challenges to overcome that can be balanced out in your favor, and plenty of cheap live-action cutscenes that you can watch and laugh at to make yourself feel better. I would recommend it for those who were big fans of the previous games, as well as those who are just wanting something new to play from the Saturn, because while it isn’t gonna blow your mind with anything original, it will still be a decent way to kill an hour or two, and that’s all one can really ask for from any game on this system. It’s too bad though that after this, the Shinobi series would be put on hiatus for a bit, never to be seen again until the distant future of 2002, but that was probably for the best, seeing how Sega was probably just gonna keep pumping out these things relentlessly otherwise. We don’t want another Sonic the Hedgehog on our hands, where the games just keep getting worse and worse with each entry…… nobody would like that.
Game #618
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge is honestly pretty good! I was happily surprised since the prior game boy game, Castlevania: The Adventure, didn’t leave me confidence in this game. The level design really improved and it didn’t feel like the game hated me personally like in previous castlevanias (until the last two bosses but whatever).
I played Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge. It’s pretty good. A very faithful adaptation of the Classicvania formula with some good visuals and a banger OST. The bosses are pretty weak and it’s a little too short, though. Not much else to say; it’s fun.