cheeriersandals
1983
Mappy is an excellent 80’s arcade title, sure it’s no PAC-Man but it’s as close as you could possibly get!
I just had a kick around with the NES port and half an hour flew by, I got through one or two loops (16 stages, repeated). There seems to be a major potential for point scoring on strategic door openings, grabbing the artefacts in the right order and so forth.
But just being the mouse on the run is fun enough for me, addictive in an evasive side-scroller sense - I get a real Hanna Barbara feeling from it… no less because it sorta is like Tom and Jerry (but not at all).
Recommended to pal around with, I’m again impressed with Namco’s output and are sorta upset that most forget there’s more to them than PAC-Man
I just had a kick around with the NES port and half an hour flew by, I got through one or two loops (16 stages, repeated). There seems to be a major potential for point scoring on strategic door openings, grabbing the artefacts in the right order and so forth.
But just being the mouse on the run is fun enough for me, addictive in an evasive side-scroller sense - I get a real Hanna Barbara feeling from it… no less because it sorta is like Tom and Jerry (but not at all).
Recommended to pal around with, I’m again impressed with Namco’s output and are sorta upset that most forget there’s more to them than PAC-Man
1994
Dynamite Headdy is much better than any character action game has any right to be. Once again Treasure had created a visually stunning and vibrant side scroller for Mega Drive, almost like a proto Rayman meets Mischief Makers but much better. There’s a tonne of extras, special awards, bonus games that spell out a word for post-game goodies and difficulty settings. Unfortunately I stuck with standard difficulty and still needed to cheese some sections (rewinds), I don’t have as much time and patience that I used to. Basically a must play for Mega Drive.
1982
Dig Dug is unreal and underrated (as much as a Namco Arcade classic can be). Dig Dug does take a lot from PAC-Man, it’s a maze chaser with a twist… Instead of having one maze, you build the mazes through digging through stages destroying foes through inflation or strategically placing them under a soon to falling rock.
Dig Dug is intensely addictive, a lot is strategy of taking down individual foes where possible and trapping larger numbers chasing you on foot under a rock for huge combos. Foes can sort of phase through the dirt yet to be shovelled so there is some complication present, it’s not all by the grid lines like PAC-Man. I tried the Arcade and NES conversions and found them both enjoyable!
Dig Dug is intensely addictive, a lot is strategy of taking down individual foes where possible and trapping larger numbers chasing you on foot under a rock for huge combos. Foes can sort of phase through the dirt yet to be shovelled so there is some complication present, it’s not all by the grid lines like PAC-Man. I tried the Arcade and NES conversions and found them both enjoyable!
1979
Namco's answer to Space Invaders, Galaxian is pretty great. I love playing old shooters because the premise is so simple and there's a wide variety of methods that developers used to riff on the same ideas. Galaxian relies on different AI of enemy troops (Galaxians) that do the usual steps to the left and back to the right, but never down.
The reason they don't gradually move down is that Galaxians will suddenly dive bomb at you, take a few shots and then rejoin the formation. Meaning you're simultaneously gunning down Galaxians, evading dive bombers taking fire and shooting in response and taking stock of other aliens that could dive bomb at you at any second. Bonus points are accrued based on colour, whether the Galaxian is in formation or diving, with the flagship being worth most dependant on whether it is dive bombing with or without escorts.
I sort of love it, much more unpredictable than Space Invaders.
The reason they don't gradually move down is that Galaxians will suddenly dive bomb at you, take a few shots and then rejoin the formation. Meaning you're simultaneously gunning down Galaxians, evading dive bombers taking fire and shooting in response and taking stock of other aliens that could dive bomb at you at any second. Bonus points are accrued based on colour, whether the Galaxian is in formation or diving, with the flagship being worth most dependant on whether it is dive bombing with or without escorts.
I sort of love it, much more unpredictable than Space Invaders.
1990
Bonanza Bros. is a solid 4, a real fun co-op stealth side-scroller with some shooting elements. Steal the treasure in a variety of settings - like a casino, mansion and bank avoiding foes or shooting them when pulling out of nooks.
The Mega Drive home conversion has a very flexible continue system, basically pulls out all of the teeth from the game. Might suck up some serious coin in an arcade. But yeah, with unlimited lives and continues it’s a cakewalk.
I found later levels would need to be restarted when the timer ran out. But overall this was pretty easy to complete and a fun time waster. Can imagine kids in the 90’s playing this non stop.
The Mega Drive home conversion has a very flexible continue system, basically pulls out all of the teeth from the game. Might suck up some serious coin in an arcade. But yeah, with unlimited lives and continues it’s a cakewalk.
I found later levels would need to be restarted when the timer ran out. But overall this was pretty easy to complete and a fun time waster. Can imagine kids in the 90’s playing this non stop.
1988
Played through the NES version with the Konami Code, it’s fun to just run and gun through levels in a very much Rambo 3 setting morphing to a full on Aliens set-pieces by the end. Better with a friend.
Weapons are great when you can hold onto them, I think with an good level of practice Contra can be beaten organically with continues. 1CC seems inhumane or built for specialty runners.
Weapons are great when you can hold onto them, I think with an good level of practice Contra can be beaten organically with continues. 1CC seems inhumane or built for specialty runners.
1993
Star Fox is awesome, it takes clear influence from Space Harrier and After Burner as well as being a sorta sequel to Argonaut’s X on Game Boy.
It’s a 3D on-rails shooter on SNES, with seperate paths to choose at the beginning based on difficulty with some secret stages along the way. You pilot the Arwing as Fox McLoud a member of the Star Fox group fighting against an evil threat called Andross.
Many undersell the title based on the compromised polygonal graphics that the SNES was never intended to produce, a brand new FX chip had to be put into the cartridge. I found the frame rate manageable, while no it’s not going to be 60fps fluid but for what it is creating the title is an immense success and deserves more praise.
It’s a 3D on-rails shooter on SNES, with seperate paths to choose at the beginning based on difficulty with some secret stages along the way. You pilot the Arwing as Fox McLoud a member of the Star Fox group fighting against an evil threat called Andross.
Many undersell the title based on the compromised polygonal graphics that the SNES was never intended to produce, a brand new FX chip had to be put into the cartridge. I found the frame rate manageable, while no it’s not going to be 60fps fluid but for what it is creating the title is an immense success and deserves more praise.
1994
Stunt Race FX is another polygonal 3D game on SNES - this time it’s a racer, seriously seems like the next natural progression from earlier SNES efforts such as F-Zero and Mario Kart merged with Star Fox.
I’m stunned by how legitimate this is, I adore Virtua Racer and while Stunt Race FX runs a little slower on the FPS and is less graphically impressive. Stunt Race still manages to squeeze in 3 cups with 4 courses each (against 3 foe racers), 3 bonus stages in the Speed Trax and 4 additional Stunt Trax which is a typical “collect all 40 stars” affair but on new courses.
Rounds it out to about 19 distinct and different courses, there are some that appear underwater and have visual flair such as a dolphin jumping the course or later the Star Fox fleet zooming around the course, the frames take a huge hit with so much activity on the screen but it’s very cool and nifty.
There is Battle Trax for 2 player multiplayer and Free Trax which is a time trials mode.
Mucking around with (eventually) every title on the Nintendo Switch Online service I can honestly say the 1 or 2 hours I spent mucking around was worthwhile. I feel this could have been referred back to, like a random stage being pulled into Mario Kart or a kart having a basis on the Coupé for instance.
I’m stunned by how legitimate this is, I adore Virtua Racer and while Stunt Race FX runs a little slower on the FPS and is less graphically impressive. Stunt Race still manages to squeeze in 3 cups with 4 courses each (against 3 foe racers), 3 bonus stages in the Speed Trax and 4 additional Stunt Trax which is a typical “collect all 40 stars” affair but on new courses.
Rounds it out to about 19 distinct and different courses, there are some that appear underwater and have visual flair such as a dolphin jumping the course or later the Star Fox fleet zooming around the course, the frames take a huge hit with so much activity on the screen but it’s very cool and nifty.
There is Battle Trax for 2 player multiplayer and Free Trax which is a time trials mode.
Mucking around with (eventually) every title on the Nintendo Switch Online service I can honestly say the 1 or 2 hours I spent mucking around was worthwhile. I feel this could have been referred back to, like a random stage being pulled into Mario Kart or a kart having a basis on the Coupé for instance.
1990
burned through two play throughs. I ran out of continues even after using the 30 lives code so had to go again with some knowledge of enemy spawn locations and stage gimmicks. Majority of the game is played with the side scroller perspective with some using the overhead “Ikari Warriors” style. Gone are the third person perspective levels entirely!
I found some levels repetitive when comparing it to the original, it’s almost more of the same just much more difficult and unpredictable - sudden drops, and infinitely respawning enemies. However the controls are super smooth and with two players I didn’t notice any slowdown at all. It’s a compelling and fun NES game at the end of the day drawing from action movies such as Rambo, Alien and Predator.
I found some levels repetitive when comparing it to the original, it’s almost more of the same just much more difficult and unpredictable - sudden drops, and infinitely respawning enemies. However the controls are super smooth and with two players I didn’t notice any slowdown at all. It’s a compelling and fun NES game at the end of the day drawing from action movies such as Rambo, Alien and Predator.
1992
Cool little side scroller title from Data East, it fits into the Joe and Mac series of games. I thought it was pretty good!
There’s an introduction level, followed by a level select option just like Mega Man with cute themes like Ninjas and a Haunted Mansion.
For a quick and easy time waster on the Nintendo Switch Online platform it’s a fun little diversion. I’ll have to give Joe & Mac 2 a go now just to say I’ve beaten the three… maybe they’ll eventually get to Chelnov on the Mega Drive service…
There’s an introduction level, followed by a level select option just like Mega Man with cute themes like Ninjas and a Haunted Mansion.
For a quick and easy time waster on the Nintendo Switch Online platform it’s a fun little diversion. I’ll have to give Joe & Mac 2 a go now just to say I’ve beaten the three… maybe they’ll eventually get to Chelnov on the Mega Drive service…
2021
Add me: 8558 1220 9491
I enjoy Pikmin Bloom more than I should.
I initially enjoyed Pokemon Go but after a while I found the game too overwhelming - namely catching Pokemon, variants of, engaging in gym battles, online battles and more.
I enjoy Pikmin Bloom because it has a basic gameplay loop. By walking you can collect more nectar to give to your Pikmin, your Pikmin bloom flowers and you can harvest these, go for a walk and plant flowers which also increases your step counter to pick more Pikmin. The raids are simple to understand, and I love comparing my decor Pikmin and where I've or we have been with my partner.
I hope they further improve the mission structure beyond walking tasks.
For what it is, I like it. If you want more systems Pokemon Go is your buddy.
I enjoy Pikmin Bloom more than I should.
I initially enjoyed Pokemon Go but after a while I found the game too overwhelming - namely catching Pokemon, variants of, engaging in gym battles, online battles and more.
I enjoy Pikmin Bloom because it has a basic gameplay loop. By walking you can collect more nectar to give to your Pikmin, your Pikmin bloom flowers and you can harvest these, go for a walk and plant flowers which also increases your step counter to pick more Pikmin. The raids are simple to understand, and I love comparing my decor Pikmin and where I've or we have been with my partner.
I hope they further improve the mission structure beyond walking tasks.
For what it is, I like it. If you want more systems Pokemon Go is your buddy.
1993
Tidy overhead shooter that reminded me of the overhead sections of Blaster Master - I’ve heard people say it’s like Smash TV, Contra or Ikari Warriors.
Has a decent enough cyberpunk meets 80’s action movie aesthetic, real short and quite lacking of variety in level designs - I didn’t even need to use rewind to beat it!
My hot tip is the L & R trigger buttons maintain where you face, strafe while shooting enemies.
You eventually get to go outside just to pull into another industrial factory of sorts - story made no sense. I often play these with a “rental” mentality of yeah sure you’d go fine with this as a rental but there’s better available.
Has a decent enough cyberpunk meets 80’s action movie aesthetic, real short and quite lacking of variety in level designs - I didn’t even need to use rewind to beat it!
My hot tip is the L & R trigger buttons maintain where you face, strafe while shooting enemies.
You eventually get to go outside just to pull into another industrial factory of sorts - story made no sense. I often play these with a “rental” mentality of yeah sure you’d go fine with this as a rental but there’s better available.
1992
Rival Turf! the first game of the Rushing Beat trilogy is a hastily put together beat ‘em up capitalising on Final Fight being an arcade sensation, but with it being unavailable on SNES at the time Rival Turf is sort of a stop gate release from Jaleco and it’s a fairly lame one. Lacks a lot of variety in enemy foes, whilst locations look cool in the background the music and action is incredible rote. Walk from left to right while attacking foes.
My general tips for anyone playing is the L/R triggers are for running and necessary to avoid blows before learning enemy patterns. I’ll give Brawl Brothers and Peace Keepers a go still.
Streets of Rage 2, Final Fight and even Double Dragon are preferred classic Beat ‘Em Ups
My general tips for anyone playing is the L/R triggers are for running and necessary to avoid blows before learning enemy patterns. I’ll give Brawl Brothers and Peace Keepers a go still.
Streets of Rage 2, Final Fight and even Double Dragon are preferred classic Beat ‘Em Ups
2000
Absolutely unreal, I thought this game was incredible. It controls like nothing else on N64, it’s intended purpose is using the left D-Pad and centre joystick, I found the game controlled most comfortably using the Switch Pro Controller.
The story makes no sense, it’s almost like Evangelion in its coherence at times. Aesthetically it was a clear match as well.
For an arcade shooter from an behind third person perspective, the game does go that step further with a classic Treasure 2D side scroller perspective and a boss battle following a Street Fighter style combat. My favourite level has crazy winding on a floating platform that zooms across several naval carriers in a fleet. It’s basically the F-Zero stage from Brawl but on N64 hardware.
The story makes no sense, it’s almost like Evangelion in its coherence at times. Aesthetically it was a clear match as well.
For an arcade shooter from an behind third person perspective, the game does go that step further with a classic Treasure 2D side scroller perspective and a boss battle following a Street Fighter style combat. My favourite level has crazy winding on a floating platform that zooms across several naval carriers in a fleet. It’s basically the F-Zero stage from Brawl but on N64 hardware.
It’s difficult to review a collection of 3 stellar NES games in a modern context where all three are readily available on every platform and hold up immensely in modern day context.
Most of the reviews I have read about this is how The Wily Wars fails to capture the original Mega Man trilogy faithfully, noting the lack of snappy tight controls and some compromises in the soundtrack. It’s a different system, so I would only expect discrepancies. In addition to being developed by Minakuchi Engineering who are responsible for the Mega Man games on Game Boy and X3 - they’re great IMO but aren’t the core Mega Man devs.
Visually the games have been updated with vibrant colours, a new sprite sheet and new backdrops. For some reason Dr Light and Protoman still have NES proportions, everything else has been resized to be bigger.
I found the game controlled fine, but I’m playing the game on an old HD tv that probably has lag I’m compensating for. I had a rare no-continues run of 1 and 3. Unfortunately I can’t beat the Wily stages in 2 without restarts. I felt the game was a little more lenient with the instant-kill spikes
The soundtrack is faithful to the original, but yes it is using the FM synthesis of the Mega Drive and not the typical 8-bit wavelengths of the NES.
What I did not know is The Wily Wars has a set of new stages, Wily Tower has 3 Boss stages followed by 3 Wily Stages which was a welcome surprise. The Bosses follow a mythical theme, there’s a Kappa, a mystical monkey and a giant pig guy.
These are fairly fun and they test your know how of the three games by giving you the choice of selecting your load out with a combination weapons from each Mega Man game. My only tip is to forget about Guts Man weapon like the devs did when making this game, Crash Man’s and Hard Knuckle are recommended to get into hidden areas with E-Tanks and Lives.
Unfortunately I found the Wily stages sorta easy and the Wily fight easiest of the three games. An element comes down to weapon selection, which I felt I got very very lucky with - or I got by with popular choices.
My recommendation is to play the originals available in the Mega Man Legacy Collection. Unless you’re some sort of completionist die-hard who needs to experience Wily Tower on the Mega Drive - I hear there is a rom hack that compiles these into one NES game.
I’m giving a 4/5 because I feel people bash this unreasonably, it’s a Super Mario All Stars but on Mega Drive and deserves to be acknowledged as such.
Most of the reviews I have read about this is how The Wily Wars fails to capture the original Mega Man trilogy faithfully, noting the lack of snappy tight controls and some compromises in the soundtrack. It’s a different system, so I would only expect discrepancies. In addition to being developed by Minakuchi Engineering who are responsible for the Mega Man games on Game Boy and X3 - they’re great IMO but aren’t the core Mega Man devs.
Visually the games have been updated with vibrant colours, a new sprite sheet and new backdrops. For some reason Dr Light and Protoman still have NES proportions, everything else has been resized to be bigger.
I found the game controlled fine, but I’m playing the game on an old HD tv that probably has lag I’m compensating for. I had a rare no-continues run of 1 and 3. Unfortunately I can’t beat the Wily stages in 2 without restarts. I felt the game was a little more lenient with the instant-kill spikes
The soundtrack is faithful to the original, but yes it is using the FM synthesis of the Mega Drive and not the typical 8-bit wavelengths of the NES.
What I did not know is The Wily Wars has a set of new stages, Wily Tower has 3 Boss stages followed by 3 Wily Stages which was a welcome surprise. The Bosses follow a mythical theme, there’s a Kappa, a mystical monkey and a giant pig guy.
These are fairly fun and they test your know how of the three games by giving you the choice of selecting your load out with a combination weapons from each Mega Man game. My only tip is to forget about Guts Man weapon like the devs did when making this game, Crash Man’s and Hard Knuckle are recommended to get into hidden areas with E-Tanks and Lives.
Unfortunately I found the Wily stages sorta easy and the Wily fight easiest of the three games. An element comes down to weapon selection, which I felt I got very very lucky with - or I got by with popular choices.
My recommendation is to play the originals available in the Mega Man Legacy Collection. Unless you’re some sort of completionist die-hard who needs to experience Wily Tower on the Mega Drive - I hear there is a rom hack that compiles these into one NES game.
I’m giving a 4/5 because I feel people bash this unreasonably, it’s a Super Mario All Stars but on Mega Drive and deserves to be acknowledged as such.