cheeriersandals
I don’t know what more there is to say about Pirate Warriors 3 other than, it’s a Musou ass Musou game. Playing some of the later titles briefly like Zelda and Persona I can see where this slots in.
Been playing this alongside reading the manga, I needed a well deserved break after Skypeia Arc.
Been playing this alongside reading the manga, I needed a well deserved break after Skypeia Arc.
2004
I actually bought a Japanese copy recently from a used game store rebranding to a card shop. It seems like a novel and fun game played in bite-sized chunks. It's a simple plat-former with the goal of collecting all the apples in each level while moving your Game Boy Advance or DS around to shift the terrain, balls on the level, walk Yoshi up walls, or moving platforms.
The challenge exists in the medal system, collecting all Apples in a stage rewards you with a gold medal. I guess it unlocks a mode? I'll find out.
I'd like to play it through, the Yoshi franchise of games peaked at Island and slowly declined to exploration of niche peripherals or platformers aimed towards children, but they seem in high quantities in the wild.
The challenge exists in the medal system, collecting all Apples in a stage rewards you with a gold medal. I guess it unlocks a mode? I'll find out.
I'd like to play it through, the Yoshi franchise of games peaked at Island and slowly declined to exploration of niche peripherals or platformers aimed towards children, but they seem in high quantities in the wild.
1989
This is one of my first games, basically a bite-sized Mario with a few extra tricks and variations thrown in. I think this is the only Mario where there are multiple side-scrolling shooter segments in a Submarine and in an Airplane. I love it nonetheless, for a launch Game Boy game this rocks.
1997
I actually found a cabinet in the wild, Events Cinema Liverpool for anyone in Sydney.
I played through each race once just for a muck around and again on beginner just to see if I had improved at all.
On surface it controls like Daytona USA with auto and manual modes, with the latter having 4 gear stick shift.
What surprised me was the nuanced drift necessary for taking corners and maintaining speed, tricky to manuever but very satisfying to pull off.
Also graphically I think it holds up, I love the Sonic/Saturn iconography on the first stage.
It is AM2 at its 90’s peak, not surprising we haven’t seen a port given the licenses for a since dissolved racing series.
I played through each race once just for a muck around and again on beginner just to see if I had improved at all.
On surface it controls like Daytona USA with auto and manual modes, with the latter having 4 gear stick shift.
What surprised me was the nuanced drift necessary for taking corners and maintaining speed, tricky to manuever but very satisfying to pull off.
Also graphically I think it holds up, I love the Sonic/Saturn iconography on the first stage.
It is AM2 at its 90’s peak, not surprising we haven’t seen a port given the licenses for a since dissolved racing series.
2007
I’m definitely partial because this is one of my absolute favourites. There’s something about the style of character action game with simple button mashing, dodging and motion controls that I genuinely love and can get behind. The story is bizarre and constantly throwing out curveballs, the boss fights interesting and memorable. There’s some lulls inbetween fights and playing this on a blank file was a little monotonous, getting Gold for every mission seemed like a decent idea when grinding was on the table. I still can’t get my head around the challenge missions where 1 hit means death.
1996
Very fun run and gun, the key is using your arsenal and jumping to avoid obstacles. Some objectives to progress weren’t immediately obvious to me but hey it’s one of the first for me. Stunning pixel art and animations which slows down at times but is suitable for avoiding projectiles or taking in the screen. Beaten on coop with infinite credits on Switch Arcade Archives. Will come back to try and better my score.
Hard to really pin down what makes this game so important. I think it’s the ultimate expression of what Super Mario Bros. 3 set out to do, which is creating a world of consistently snappy and witty levels that differ from stage to stage. There’s a little more focus with collectables and free flowing stage design with less linear progression and never is there a stage reusing ideas. It’s a pity no follow up lived up to this.
1993
An excellent Run n’ Gun from Treasure - a group of ex-Konami devs and the pedigree definitely shows, it’s high octane Contra gameplay but with a Mega Man styled stage select, an innovative weapon system (with merging powers like in Kirby 64), excellent bosses and a super surprising shooter section at the end. An absolute joy to play, I cheesed some bits but finished just over 2 hours, I’ll definitely play it again with a different order and maybe on hard. Coming off Mischief Makers as my sole Treasure experience, the ideas definitely show but this is just so much better. This is a must play for gaming enthusiasts.
1997
Yoshi’s Story has an intriguing enough game progression. Levels are unlocked through Story Mode - quite literally a story book retelling of events.
Gone are the start to finish level progression, Yoshi is free to roam around through branching paths with levels reaching finality when 30 pieces of fruit are collected.
Additional levels become available when Hearts are collected in each stage - so while you can finish the game once without exploration you’d only be playing through a quarter of the game. Explore levels and collect hearts to unlock the whole game. Levels are numbered 1 to 4, this is dependent on how many hearts you find, find 2 and you will have access to Level 3 of the next Stage.
Once you’ve unlocked all levels the game is reliant on pulling you back for completing high scores for individual level in Trials or Story Mode for a combined score across the 6 Stages.
It’s an interesting approach to accessibility, beginners may do the bare essentials to finish the game whereas more advanced gamers may take the time to collect all Hearts and 30 Melons to attain a high score.
I actually really enjoy Yoshi’s Story and think it gets unfairly compared to Yoshi’s Island, it probably ranks just below Mischief Makers in terms of 2-2.5D platformers on N64
Gone are the start to finish level progression, Yoshi is free to roam around through branching paths with levels reaching finality when 30 pieces of fruit are collected.
Additional levels become available when Hearts are collected in each stage - so while you can finish the game once without exploration you’d only be playing through a quarter of the game. Explore levels and collect hearts to unlock the whole game. Levels are numbered 1 to 4, this is dependent on how many hearts you find, find 2 and you will have access to Level 3 of the next Stage.
Once you’ve unlocked all levels the game is reliant on pulling you back for completing high scores for individual level in Trials or Story Mode for a combined score across the 6 Stages.
It’s an interesting approach to accessibility, beginners may do the bare essentials to finish the game whereas more advanced gamers may take the time to collect all Hearts and 30 Melons to attain a high score.
I actually really enjoy Yoshi’s Story and think it gets unfairly compared to Yoshi’s Island, it probably ranks just below Mischief Makers in terms of 2-2.5D platformers on N64
1990
Really enjoyed this seemingly random title for the Switch’s Mega Drive service. My understanding is M2 has acquired the rights to the Aleste series and MUSHA is a spin-off of sorts. It’s a really smart vertical shooter that yes, at times can seem monotonous as you blast down wave after wave of enemies.
But the nuance exists in the two shooting buddies by your sides, commanding them to shoot forward, at a 45 degree angle front or back, rotating, in reverse to your movements or free form. As well as upgradable specials and main shot. These are all managed dependant on the needs of each stage.
The game looks vivid on Mega Drive and runs smooth as butter. There is some slowdown time but it occurs maybe once or twice a play and is entirely necessary. The soundtrack is also strong as.
I felt it was especially smart that at the end even with the basic shooter you can take down the final bosses - which is a very likely result on I found even on Normal this is a struggle. A classic, loved it.
But the nuance exists in the two shooting buddies by your sides, commanding them to shoot forward, at a 45 degree angle front or back, rotating, in reverse to your movements or free form. As well as upgradable specials and main shot. These are all managed dependant on the needs of each stage.
The game looks vivid on Mega Drive and runs smooth as butter. There is some slowdown time but it occurs maybe once or twice a play and is entirely necessary. The soundtrack is also strong as.
I felt it was especially smart that at the end even with the basic shooter you can take down the final bosses - which is a very likely result on I found even on Normal this is a struggle. A classic, loved it.
1989
Strider on Mega Drive is a faithful adaptation of the Capcom arcade hit, down to the level of difficulty and short duration.
It’s a side scroller with futuristic Russian stylings, Strider himself is very aerobatic, climbs on walls, ceilings and even has a laser sword!
The conversion was handled by Sega and Strider definitely feels like an early showcase title for the Mega Drive - like Altered Beast and Golden Axe. The sprites are big and expressive and some bosses easily take up major sections of the screen.
Expect hardship, I used save states and some rewind on Switch since a single hit from projectiles is enough to take down Strider and with finite continues it’s even more difficult to complete legitimately. Controls can be wonky and titles with tighter controls are still a little ways off, there’s slowdown and the last stage is a brutal boss gauntlet. For a 1990 Mega Drive game, it’s accurate to the experience.
It’s a side scroller with futuristic Russian stylings, Strider himself is very aerobatic, climbs on walls, ceilings and even has a laser sword!
The conversion was handled by Sega and Strider definitely feels like an early showcase title for the Mega Drive - like Altered Beast and Golden Axe. The sprites are big and expressive and some bosses easily take up major sections of the screen.
Expect hardship, I used save states and some rewind on Switch since a single hit from projectiles is enough to take down Strider and with finite continues it’s even more difficult to complete legitimately. Controls can be wonky and titles with tighter controls are still a little ways off, there’s slowdown and the last stage is a brutal boss gauntlet. For a 1990 Mega Drive game, it’s accurate to the experience.
1994
Kirby’s Dream Course is like a mini-golf or putt-putt sim from an isometric viewpoint. Kirby is the ball and the goal is to knock out the enemies bowling style, the last enemy becomes the hole.
There’s some abilities to play around with and obstacles to keep it fresh, the later courses are real puzzling - finding the right shot to make a hole in one is liberating and genuinely feels great.
My general tips are using the right and left buttons to align Kirby’s shooting angle, pressing down opens up a stronger shot as an option. Curve shots are your friend. Like any golf game it’s a matter of practice and intuition to tackle the game.
I played just the base game, maybe I’ll talk my partner into the multiplayer courses and I can try for Silver… I’m very doubtful that I can get Gold and play through the expert courses but I’m sure I’ll come back to Kirby’s Dream Course for a muck around every now and then.
There’s some abilities to play around with and obstacles to keep it fresh, the later courses are real puzzling - finding the right shot to make a hole in one is liberating and genuinely feels great.
My general tips are using the right and left buttons to align Kirby’s shooting angle, pressing down opens up a stronger shot as an option. Curve shots are your friend. Like any golf game it’s a matter of practice and intuition to tackle the game.
I played just the base game, maybe I’ll talk my partner into the multiplayer courses and I can try for Silver… I’m very doubtful that I can get Gold and play through the expert courses but I’m sure I’ll come back to Kirby’s Dream Course for a muck around every now and then.
1991
Earth Defense Force on SNES is a port of a horizontal arcade shooter. Before each stage you choose one of 8 weapons to use and there is a levelling system dependant on how many enemies you take down.
A key feature is changing the use of your small companion ships with the later levels gained give the addition of shadowing your ship and a broken homing option. Once you max your levels you can get more shields above the highest default option of 3.
With only 3 continues you’ll need to prioritise your strategy so you can gun down as many enemies as possible. Some weapons are great for early game without many good upgrade options and some weapons without much use at all until upgrades come available.
The game looks pretty good for an early release SNES title, it uses some minor Mode 7 effects in the background to convey movement between levels. I love the little mobile suit enemies but they joined far too late into the game. The story is near invisible apart from the opening sequence, again this is where reading instruction manual scans can be of great benefit. I thought for the inclusion of the SNES online package you really can’t complain. I’m curious to check out more of Jaleco’s offerings.
A key feature is changing the use of your small companion ships with the later levels gained give the addition of shadowing your ship and a broken homing option. Once you max your levels you can get more shields above the highest default option of 3.
With only 3 continues you’ll need to prioritise your strategy so you can gun down as many enemies as possible. Some weapons are great for early game without many good upgrade options and some weapons without much use at all until upgrades come available.
The game looks pretty good for an early release SNES title, it uses some minor Mode 7 effects in the background to convey movement between levels. I love the little mobile suit enemies but they joined far too late into the game. The story is near invisible apart from the opening sequence, again this is where reading instruction manual scans can be of great benefit. I thought for the inclusion of the SNES online package you really can’t complain. I’m curious to check out more of Jaleco’s offerings.
1992
Psycho Dream is an absurd addition to Switch Online, my rough guess is as a Telenet Japan property somehow a deal was made for this and Super Valis IV to join the platform.
The story follows a fairly cool sci-fi premise where a girl has fallen into a coma whilst using VR technology. This has then embedded itself into her dream world. The two characters you can choose from Ryo and Maria are both technology debuggers of sorts who set out to save her.
Ryo using a sword and Maria using a whip, there are gems that upgrade each character to a good fighting standard. Yellow is more melee driven while Blue are ranged. Red is health and purple… I’m not too sure.
Each character has a final form - Personally I preferred Maria, her final fairy demon-style form is excellent. Whereas Ryo is like a cyborg using cyclonic blades.
The gameplay is probably most similar to a side-scroller action platformer like Castlevania but much more repetitive. Even those the visuals are really cool, varying from cityscapes to bodily pulsations with many effects at play, such as smog and a Sakura tree in bloom as foreground elements, it’s realism meets psychedelia.
The bosses are excellent, taking up full screens with bold designs. It’s a pity that it is only 6 levels long and overall really repetitive slog - it’s hard to recommend beyond admiring the aesthetic choices when it comes to visual design.
The story follows a fairly cool sci-fi premise where a girl has fallen into a coma whilst using VR technology. This has then embedded itself into her dream world. The two characters you can choose from Ryo and Maria are both technology debuggers of sorts who set out to save her.
Ryo using a sword and Maria using a whip, there are gems that upgrade each character to a good fighting standard. Yellow is more melee driven while Blue are ranged. Red is health and purple… I’m not too sure.
Each character has a final form - Personally I preferred Maria, her final fairy demon-style form is excellent. Whereas Ryo is like a cyborg using cyclonic blades.
The gameplay is probably most similar to a side-scroller action platformer like Castlevania but much more repetitive. Even those the visuals are really cool, varying from cityscapes to bodily pulsations with many effects at play, such as smog and a Sakura tree in bloom as foreground elements, it’s realism meets psychedelia.
The bosses are excellent, taking up full screens with bold designs. It’s a pity that it is only 6 levels long and overall really repetitive slog - it’s hard to recommend beyond admiring the aesthetic choices when it comes to visual design.
1990
Pilotwings usually falls into the demo category of Nintendo titles. This showcases Mode 7 scaler technology that gives the impression of 3D gameplay with technical wizardry.
Broken into missions using the jet pack, glider, parachuting and piloting both an airplane. Missions are marked on accuracy when running through rings, landing and speed.
You’re given a mark out of 100 with a score to aim for to progress through piloting ranks. On original hardware I’m sure it’s a massive pain, score poorly in a mission means failure of a rank and will require repeated tries to pass. I tended to cheese it by playing individual missions and replaying if I screwed up, instead of restarting the ranks clean.
I’m sitting at a 3 or 3.5 on this. I thought for a early SNES title it’s a great showcase of Mode 7 technology with a charming mission mode it does well - I think the Helicopter missions could be its own game or elements of this could have been made into a full game with more cohesion. Repetitive missions hinder the capacity of the game.
Broken into missions using the jet pack, glider, parachuting and piloting both an airplane. Missions are marked on accuracy when running through rings, landing and speed.
You’re given a mark out of 100 with a score to aim for to progress through piloting ranks. On original hardware I’m sure it’s a massive pain, score poorly in a mission means failure of a rank and will require repeated tries to pass. I tended to cheese it by playing individual missions and replaying if I screwed up, instead of restarting the ranks clean.
I’m sitting at a 3 or 3.5 on this. I thought for a early SNES title it’s a great showcase of Mode 7 technology with a charming mission mode it does well - I think the Helicopter missions could be its own game or elements of this could have been made into a full game with more cohesion. Repetitive missions hinder the capacity of the game.