Much like every other sport I have either criticized or disregarded on this website so far, I’m not really all that big into wrestling. Sure, I can definitely see the appeal of it, and the whole culture around it is… interesting to say the least, it is just yet another sport I just don’t see the appeal of, especially when the fans of said sport won’t shut the fuck up about it whenever you get them started. But either way, much like any other sport, there have been many different wrestling video games that have been made over the years, but unlike other sports like baseball and soccer, there actually has been a little bit of variety that can be seen with the many different wrestling video games over the years. Unfortunately though, it is also yet another one of those sports that does suffer from getting pumped out every single year with little to no changes, and yet somehow ends up being successful to get another entry (looking at you, WWE 2K), so it is hard to find that many good ones out of the bunch. Thankfully though, there definitely are good ones out there, such as the case with today’s game, Saturday Night Slam Masters.

Just from looking at this game, it looks like something that would be right up my alley in terms of what I can expect from a Capcom arcade game, but for the longest time, I haven’t really had any desire to check this game out. It is solely because of the fact that it was a wrestling game, since I didn’t want to have anything to do with wrestling video games, but then again, having that sense of judgment for any wrestling game at all seems pretty unfair, so I decided to finally give it a shot to see if it could change my mind. Thankfully, it managed to do so, as this is a pretty great wrestling title, and while I haven’t played too many others, it may just be my favorite wrestling game I have ever played. Of course, it isn’t perfect, and not everybody could be able to get into it, but for what we got here, it managed to win me over in just the right ways.

The graphics are very similar to what you would typically expect from Capcom’s fighting/wrestling games of that time, but they still manage to be colorful, detailed, and lively through all the different designs of the characters and the animations, and it is great to look at, the music gets you right in the mood to slam down some poor sucker in the ring, and they are pretty great to listen to as you are kicking ass, the controls do feel about right for the type of game this is, but it can be pretty stiff at points, especially when trying to perform grabs or pins, and the gameplay is what you would expect from an arcade wrestling game, but with that Capcom flair that I can’t help but love so much.

The game is a professional wrestling game, where you take control of one of ten different wrestlers, or if you are like me, you pick Mike Haggar and nobody else (what can I say, he’s the best in any game he is in), take on many different opponents in rings all across the world, throw out many different punches, kicks, grabs, throws, and wrestling techniques to wear out your opponent, get the chance to grab whatever item you can find outside or in the ring to use against your opponents, and pin them down just long enough to reach that sweet victory that you so desperately crave. Most of it is what you would expect from a wrestling title, and not only is it all pretty enjoyable for what it offers you, but it is also pretty approachable for someone like me who doesn’t play wrestling games at all.

While it is a wrestling game at its core, it feels a lot like a typical Capcom fighter, where you and your opponent each have separate health bars, which you need to drain fully in order to properly be able to pin your opponent, so there is a clear goal in mind right off the bat. Not to mention, a lot of the moves that you can pull off in the ring does feel like it would also work in a fighter, so I was able to pick this up and ease right into the combat pretty quickly. What also helps is that, even though it has a lot of elements of being a fighter, it also has plenty of elements that support its wrestling core. Each fight starts out with an intro where the fighters walk out and get ready to throw down, you are surrounded by a cheering crowd for every single match, and you are able to climb out of the ring to no only kick ass on the ground, but also grab chairs and other items that could be laying around to slam into your opponent's face. It is typical of a wrestling setting, but it feels just right here, and it is exciting to jump into a match as a result.

In addition to this, the game also does offer several features that do make it more replayable. Of course, you have your standard one-on-one mode, which is where most of the wrestling matches will take place, as well as where the story mode is located as well, and it works well enough for what it is. Aside from that though, there is also the Team Battle Royale, where you and another player can team up to take on two other opponents in the ring, which leads to a four-player all-out brawl, complete with all the wrestling moves you could hope for, plenty of items to use to your advantage, and with no slowdown or limitations to be seen. Needless to say, this is where the game truly shines, and I bet this is where you will get the most enjoyment out of this game, but even then, the one-on-one matches are still fun enough to where you won’t be dissatisfied by what you get.

With all that being said, the game isn’t perfect by any means. For one thing, when it comes to the story mode, there are some things that do hold it back from being perfect, such as the fact that you have to beat all of the opponents twice to reach the ending, and when it comes to the endings for each of the characters, none of them are different from each other apart from the dialogue. I get the whole 2nd round of opponents thing, because you do gotta defend your title and all, but I am usually a one-and-done kinda guy with games like these, so if it tells me I gotta do it all over again, that’s where my enjoyment turns to annoyance. In addition, despite having a good, colorful cast of characters to work with here, none of them really stand out from each other from what I can tell, and they all do the same basic moves that you would expect, with the exception of The Scorpion, but even then, he is just the non-playable final boss, so that doesn’t count. That kinda blows, considering where this game came from, but at the same time, I get it… it doesn’t mean I have to like it though.

Overall, despite some faults with the story mode and a lack of techniques with the individual wrestlers, for being my first experience with a true wrestling game, I had a great time with it overall, and while I haven’t really played any others of the genre, I would go out on a limb and say that this could possibly be one of the best wrestling games out there that you can find… or at least, one of the best old-school wrestling games. I would recommend it for those who are fans of wrestling games, as well as those who love these types of Capcom games in general, because it will give you all that you are hoping for, and everything that you could ever want from this type of game. Now that that’s out of the way though, I can’t wait to get to the sequel at some point. I wonder what that one is li- AND it’s just a fighting game, goddammit…

Game #484

All in all a great experience. I really enjoyed the story, there was a lot of charm to the writing, and even though I knew the combat wouldn't be my favorite the variety of weapons and perks more than makes up for it. My one complaint - the quest log and quest markers would drive me nuts at time. Not every quest goes into your quest log. I walked around for an ungodly amount of time with a suitcase of drugs because I couldn't remember where the NPC said to take it and there was no quest for it. So I guess they are mine now. Other times there are multiple quest markers but no indication about which objective each one is pointing to. This got frustrating in places that felt too maze like on a first play through (The Gomorrah casino for example). I can see why so many people love this game and I definitely think it has been my favorite fallout experience so far.

The first 18-ish hours of this game are very interesting if still flawed, the usual good old escape room gameplay mixed with a life or death game that forces people to make decisions... that's still good, a hint more contrived than 999 but that was inevitably going to happen unless they were going to do the exact same formula again, and the greater focus on the time-hopping was very enjoyable... It really did give a feeling of desperately scrambling around timelines to get out of this situation, while also building up to greater reveals, and that was the intention so good job!

Good job, but also that doesn't really matter, because after you do get out of those 18-ish hours, the game just stops being about that at all and instead turns into some wanky-ass bullshit about time travel- don't get me wrong it still makes sense (even though it bends over backwards to seem like it's not contrived as hell and ends up feeling all the more contrived for it), my issue is that it's just not what the story was about up until now- as long as there's some threat of death you could replace the AB Nonary Games with literally anything else and they'd still work. 999 had some contrivance but it actually had a successful emotional payoff to the story (not to mention its nonary game systems were core to the plot's workings), so I didn't mind, meanwhile this game has no payoff at all! I guess they ran out of budget but the last 3-ish hours of the game are all building up to the great conclusion that the game's been foreshadowing all along... and then it ends on a cliffhanger??? Apparently the conclusion's in the sequel but I just don't care, this sucks. VLR is a more than long enough game, there's no excuse for not at least making the cliffhanger satisfying in itself. Frankly there's no excuse for a cliffhanger at all but you take what you can get.

There's some big flaws to the game even disregarding the baffling final act: biggest one of them is the... "humor", if one is to be charitable enough to call it that. To put it bluntly, about half the time a female character is on screen, either Sigma will act perverted towards them, sometimes to the level of near sexual harassment, and even more bafflingly sometimes the female characters will just spontaneously act in weirdly provocative ways to try to manipulate the MC- we're in a death game, lady, I don't care about seeing you in a swimsuit! You could see this as an attempt at flirting from them but spoilers, it ain't. It's a shame cause I think the cast is pretty good otherwise, maybe on the level of 999's, but every time one of those """""jokes""""" came up on screen I wanted to bash my head against a wall. 999 had some too but there was usually a punchline to them beyond "hehe, tiddy", and they weren't so prominent. I genuinely cannot fathom a grown man writing this shit, it feels like the sort of jokes you make when you're 14 and just learned what sex is. No- actually, it feels like the writer think this is genuinely not just funny, but also kind of hot. You can tell some of this shit was written one-handed and it's so, so cringe. Otherwise, the game is very intriguing, though there's still some stuff that feels put there for the sake of a twist, and Dio's character is really dumb. Also I'm not sure Uchikoshi actually knows how quantum physics work, just sayin'. Again I like this game's writing most of the time, it's just that it usually hovers at a nice 6.5-7 with occasional 8s, and sometimes dips into a raw 2/10; obviously the latter is going to be more memorable.

Anyways, the escape rooms are noticeably worse- I wasn't really sure if it was just me being bad (I am very much not puzzle-minded at all) but it seems to be an issue others share so... yeah, I guess. They're alright still. Also this is more funny than anything but almost every time the characters move around the screen cuts to a dot on a map showing their movement, and that cuts out to a door opening animation every time they run into one, so there's just entire minutes of walking around inserted pretty often in the game- it's not really a problem, but it is kind of baffling that they didn't think to make it faster. It isn't ever relevant it's just... why.

I do think the game while always rough is overall enjoyable enough for the first 3/4, and then you hit the conclusion and it falls apart completely, which is pretty disappointing. I have an overall positive opinion of it because most of it is strong but it doesn't stick the landing at all which sabotages it pretty hard.

First of all, I did not like how the characters controlled compared to the earlier X games.
The stages are either meh or complete ass. Dynasty, Inferno and Primrose especially stood out as very bad stages.
One stage that I did find cool however, was the elevator level.
Because of these stages I really appreciated the Retry chips.
I liked the many upgrades that were available with chips. However, it also meant that in order to be effective you would have to focus on one character because you get nowhere close enough chips to upgrade all three characters a reasonable amount.
The beginning is a little rough but as soon as you get armor the game becomes extremely easy. The Icarus body armor especially trivializes the game.
As for the bosses, they were alright. I found most of them somewhat interesting and unique.
Although, the final boss did kill me twice with some bullshit. First time he pushed me off the platform which was an instant kill and then in his last phase he just has an instant kill attack? Fucking stupid.

It's been about two years now since I last played a Layton game. A friend of mine has been asking me to play the prequel trilogy for quite some time now and eventually I just felt like playing it. I'll start by saying that it was a good idea to have let some time pass between playing Unwound Future and this entry.

Last Specter is chronologically the first adventure of Hershel Layton and takes him to the foggy hometown of an old friend, where he's supposed to investigate the rampage of a supernatural being. Together with his new assistant and the mayor's son, the team encounters eccentric figures like the mysterious hooded Black Raven and a girl who's suspected to be a witch, dooming everyone who comes close to her.

As in the other Layton games, the gameplay consists of point-and-click investigations and puzzle-solving. The puzzle quality in this entry is solid and the difficulty is fine. In case you can't find a solution, Last Specter practically showers you with hint coins. I had about 130 left at the end of the game, so don't feel bad about using them! I'm pretty sure the original trilogy didn't hand out such an abundance, but I might be misremembering here. Either way, why is everyone so obsessed with puzzles in this town in the first place?

The narrative itself is intriguing, although rather compact. Game has a lot of "this is a prequel" moments, where you can find a reference to some characters from the original trilogy and even some direct cameos. However, Last Specter doesn't really go much in depth with those and shifts the focus to new characters instead - like Emmy, the professor's assistant. In my opinion she's a welcome addition to the main cast and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her in the next games. Now, the twists are usually a big part of what I'm looking forward to in Layton games. They're usually a big shocker that's near unpredictable and totally alters your way of perceiving those games, but I can't say I had a moment like this in Last Specter. Without giving anything away, after a certain point in the story it's really easy to find out the twist by yourself, so at the part where the game explicitly tells you, it's not much of a surprise anymore. The reveal itself was alright, I just expected more out of a Layton game, especially after seeing what Level-5 did with Unwound Future.

Despite this, Last Specter is another well-rounded entry in the Layton series and now I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the prequel trilogy.

No solo un concepto interesante, también una ejecución a la altura. Un juego con la arquitectura, el espacio y la navegación que funcionaría por sí solo, pero es que encima el marco narrativo suma a la experiencia y convierte la escapada del naufragio en toda una aventura de supervivencia, fluida y sujeta a nuestras acciones. Un buque en constante cabeceo, alterando cómo percibes y navegas sus cubiertas con cada rotación. Y un reparto de personajes variado, humano, reservando dignidad hasta para el último pasajero. Donde cada vida que salvas importa. Una pena que a veces se rompa esa ilusión por el funcionamiento errático de la IA, el mayor punto débil del juego. Sin una mano invisible que te guíe por el barco, estás solo en medio del naufragio. Orientarte entre bodegas y camarotes, intentar salvar supervivientes por el camino y encontrar la salida en el límite de tiempo depende de ti. Tus decisiones son solo tuyas. Tus errores y la gente dejas atrás también.

I hate when games give you the illusion of choice. Gameplay wise, this is one of the best games of its kind. But story wise, it falls flat. Its kind of a generic plot and then there's my personal biggest issue. The game constantly hands you some of the coolest and creative ways to kill people, to absolutely massacre the world you're in. And then the story actively punishes you for being lethal. I'm not a fan of that at all. A game that touts multiple ways to handle situations, when really there's only one option if you don't want a shitty ending. Be quiet, don't kill, do the "hidden" dispatch.

this is a layton game first, its own game second, ace attorney game third. phoenix and maya are downgraded to comic relief and layton is given all the power of a lawyer (he is an ARCHAEOLOGIST!!!!). the trials are super underwhelming, the layton sections are about the same as normal layton, and the puzzles are... fine. nothing spectacular.

i will not talk about the story. i refuse. it is that bad. espella cantabella is one of the worst characters i've ever seen.

a massive mess of a game that feels less like a crossover and more like sprinkles of AA into a bad Layton game