rhdndescriptions
1993
Game Review - originally written by ???
I’ve never played the series, but Musashi describes the Metal Max games as futuristic RPGs that involve this guy in the desert, as he attempts to amass a fleet of trucks and vehicles or something. Also, he says that Metal Max 2’s graphics aren’t much better than the NES original. Which is pretty fair.
(editor's note: DS version basically supercedes the original afaik especially if you're an English speaker)
I’ve never played the series, but Musashi describes the Metal Max games as futuristic RPGs that involve this guy in the desert, as he attempts to amass a fleet of trucks and vehicles or something. Also, he says that Metal Max 2’s graphics aren’t much better than the NES original. Which is pretty fair.
(editor's note: DS version basically supercedes the original afaik especially if you're an English speaker)
1999
Game Review - originally written by ???
Remember when Namco ported Mr. Driller to every single videogame system in existence? The Wonderswan was no exception, friends. And, exactly, how many of those ten thousand ports were released in North America? One, I think? Yeah, thanks a fucking ton Namco.
So you’re a driller. You drill through these colored blobs and go further down, and downward is the goal, see. Leave a blob hanging, and it will eventually fall, only to be caught by a blob of the same color. Does that make sense? No? Sorry.
Remember when Namco ported Mr. Driller to every single videogame system in existence? The Wonderswan was no exception, friends. And, exactly, how many of those ten thousand ports were released in North America? One, I think? Yeah, thanks a fucking ton Namco.
So you’re a driller. You drill through these colored blobs and go further down, and downward is the goal, see. Leave a blob hanging, and it will eventually fall, only to be caught by a blob of the same color. Does that make sense? No? Sorry.
1995
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
This is an RPG. I tried looking up some info on GameFAQs, but all I got was a review from a self-important asshole who gave Dragon Quest VI a 3/10, and can obviously not read Japanese. So, it's an RPG, set in some kind of feudal Japan kind of setting, and it utilizes a real-time clock to some extent.
(editor's note: the first Tengai Makyou game fan translated, presaging last month's translation of Tengai Makyou II Ziria, Hudson's big answer to FF/DQ/SMT and considered to be their big entry in the JRPG canon, but the one I actually want to play is Tengai Makyou IV Apocalypse for its unique satire of America as opposed to Japan like the rest of the series, idk if it'll ever get translated though)
This is an RPG. I tried looking up some info on GameFAQs, but all I got was a review from a self-important asshole who gave Dragon Quest VI a 3/10, and can obviously not read Japanese. So, it's an RPG, set in some kind of feudal Japan kind of setting, and it utilizes a real-time clock to some extent.
(editor's note: the first Tengai Makyou game fan translated, presaging last month's translation of Tengai Makyou II Ziria, Hudson's big answer to FF/DQ/SMT and considered to be their big entry in the JRPG canon, but the one I actually want to play is Tengai Makyou IV Apocalypse for its unique satire of America as opposed to Japan like the rest of the series, idk if it'll ever get translated though)
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
Yup. Farland Story. This was the second of three in the series to be released in the year 1995. There are a God damned ton of these things. Anyways you're a thief with a heart of gold, and you're helping out a couple of hottie priestess sisters with averting disaster at the hands of a power-hungry madman, and such. Honestly, none of these are bad games by any stretch, but it's just so hard to think of interesting things to say about each one.
Yup. Farland Story. This was the second of three in the series to be released in the year 1995. There are a God damned ton of these things. Anyways you're a thief with a heart of gold, and you're helping out a couple of hottie priestess sisters with averting disaster at the hands of a power-hungry madman, and such. Honestly, none of these are bad games by any stretch, but it's just so hard to think of interesting things to say about each one.
1988
Game Review - by Spinner 8
This is the sequel to 3-D Worldrunner. Don't break out those glasses just yet, kids: this game requires special glasses in order to see the rad 3D effect.
As far as how it plays compared to the original, it's… well, it's pretty much the same game. Your speed is fixed (meaning, constant) here, so your only choices are basically to move left and right. And jump, goddammit, jump. You won't be able to avoid those damned spinning orbs of death on the ground by just running past them. Maybe at first, sure. But not forever!
(editor's note: the last game Square released before Final Fantasy)
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
Yeah, another one of these. As far as gameplay improvements there ain't many, you've got some weapons that affect an entire area, and the experience system was re-tweaked, again. You take the role of a totally hot girl named Kushna, who is of course a princess, and your family's murdered by the scheming count who wants the kingdom for himself, and you have to go visit a bunch of temples to unseal this thing with your ragtag army of various colorful characters and such. Yep.
Yeah, another one of these. As far as gameplay improvements there ain't many, you've got some weapons that affect an entire area, and the experience system was re-tweaked, again. You take the role of a totally hot girl named Kushna, who is of course a princess, and your family's murdered by the scheming count who wants the kingdom for himself, and you have to go visit a bunch of temples to unseal this thing with your ragtag army of various colorful characters and such. Yep.
Game Review - originally written by Sliver X
First, The Evil Jark Empire attacked from the Fifth Dimension, then their huge secret weapon “Arkdarma” began to attack humans… The world is in a sad state of affairs indeed. Lucky Reijin-Oh is here to save the day!
This game is a one on one mecha fighter, much like Ultraman, etc. You control a giant robot straight out of a japanese B movie and engage 8 equally giant creatures of darkness in mortal combat. You have an attack and jump button, but if you only rely on the standard punch you start with you’re asking to be mauled. You can punch your opponent all day and you’ll never get it below 3 or 4 life bars. The secret lies with the Select button, which will bring you to a menu with three options: Weapon, Body, and Combine.
Weapon, obviously, lets you select your item of death dealing justice. Ken-Oh, the default mecha, has his damn useless punch and the K Blade, a sword that is much more effective in combat. Body allows you to switch to the other two mecha, Hou-Oh, a lion, and Juu-Oh, a bird. Both of these mecha also have equally useless physical attacks, but come equipped with a couple of missiles, which usually take one whole block of life from your enemy.
Even with these weapons, you’ll never get your enemy’s life bar to zero.. For that, you must pull a Voltron-esque mecha-merge and bring out the mighty powers of Reijin-Oh! This, surprise, is accomplished with the Combine option. Even with this knowledge, though, the game is damn hard.
See, the title Absolute Invincible Raijin-Oh is deceptive to say the least. Raijin-Oh and crew are about as vunerable as you can get. It’ll take 3 or 4 hits just to take one bar from your enemy’s life bar, but if you get hit, your life starts dropping like flies. I made a deal with the God of Save States to make it through this one myself, though feel more than free to avoid cheating if you’re a particularly masochistic person.
First, The Evil Jark Empire attacked from the Fifth Dimension, then their huge secret weapon “Arkdarma” began to attack humans… The world is in a sad state of affairs indeed. Lucky Reijin-Oh is here to save the day!
This game is a one on one mecha fighter, much like Ultraman, etc. You control a giant robot straight out of a japanese B movie and engage 8 equally giant creatures of darkness in mortal combat. You have an attack and jump button, but if you only rely on the standard punch you start with you’re asking to be mauled. You can punch your opponent all day and you’ll never get it below 3 or 4 life bars. The secret lies with the Select button, which will bring you to a menu with three options: Weapon, Body, and Combine.
Weapon, obviously, lets you select your item of death dealing justice. Ken-Oh, the default mecha, has his damn useless punch and the K Blade, a sword that is much more effective in combat. Body allows you to switch to the other two mecha, Hou-Oh, a lion, and Juu-Oh, a bird. Both of these mecha also have equally useless physical attacks, but come equipped with a couple of missiles, which usually take one whole block of life from your enemy.
Even with these weapons, you’ll never get your enemy’s life bar to zero.. For that, you must pull a Voltron-esque mecha-merge and bring out the mighty powers of Reijin-Oh! This, surprise, is accomplished with the Combine option. Even with this knowledge, though, the game is damn hard.
See, the title Absolute Invincible Raijin-Oh is deceptive to say the least. Raijin-Oh and crew are about as vunerable as you can get. It’ll take 3 or 4 hits just to take one bar from your enemy’s life bar, but if you get hit, your life starts dropping like flies. I made a deal with the God of Save States to make it through this one myself, though feel more than free to avoid cheating if you’re a particularly masochistic person.
1988
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
Please, for the love of God, don't confuse this game with the American release of Airwolf, the horrible Acclaim “game” that involves you spinning your first-person-view cockpit around in circles and being attacked by spheres of varying color. Totally different game here.
This one is, pretty much, a sidescrolling shooter. Whee. Airwolf is different from other shooters in that, uhh… well, your weapons really suck. And at your basic power level, you can only have one on-screen at a time! Too much crazy NES fun! Then at the end of a level you fight some kind of first-person boss fight, or something.
Please, for the love of God, don't confuse this game with the American release of Airwolf, the horrible Acclaim “game” that involves you spinning your first-person-view cockpit around in circles and being attacked by spheres of varying color. Totally different game here.
This one is, pretty much, a sidescrolling shooter. Whee. Airwolf is different from other shooters in that, uhh… well, your weapons really suck. And at your basic power level, you can only have one on-screen at a time! Too much crazy NES fun! Then at the end of a level you fight some kind of first-person boss fight, or something.
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
Apparently this is the best out of all the multitude of Digimon games for Wonderswan. So that’s kewl.
Apparently this is the best out of all the multitude of Digimon games for Wonderswan. So that’s kewl.
1991
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
WRC is a series of worldwide rally races, not unlike various other auto races! These involve the drivers driving along roads and highways and such, and the one with the fastest time is the victor. You won’t see any other cars in this game here, since all the cars start at one- or two-minute intervals. Just watch out for the stupid cars that are crashed on the roads.
You can pick your setup before each race in this game, selecting your transmission and tires and stuff. You’ve got the A button for your low gear, and B for your high. B should be used sparingly, since it doesn’t work as well as A at a full stop, and you can get seriously out of control when you’re using it, especially if you’re using slick tires in snow like an idiot. Use left and right to steer. Oh, and if you hit stuff too much, your car explodes! Too awesome!
WRC is a series of worldwide rally races, not unlike various other auto races! These involve the drivers driving along roads and highways and such, and the one with the fastest time is the victor. You won’t see any other cars in this game here, since all the cars start at one- or two-minute intervals. Just watch out for the stupid cars that are crashed on the roads.
You can pick your setup before each race in this game, selecting your transmission and tires and stuff. You’ve got the A button for your low gear, and B for your high. B should be used sparingly, since it doesn’t work as well as A at a full stop, and you can get seriously out of control when you’re using it, especially if you’re using slick tires in snow like an idiot. Use left and right to steer. Oh, and if you hit stuff too much, your car explodes! Too awesome!
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
DiGi Charat is some kind of anime. This game, I dunno how to play, but there's a whole hell of a lot of text. Like, these guys walk into this room, and then they walk out, and then it ends. And the next day, these guys walk in, and then they walk out again. And you're like, wha? And that's all.
DiGi Charat is some kind of anime. This game, I dunno how to play, but there's a whole hell of a lot of text. Like, these guys walk into this room, and then they walk out, and then it ends. And the next day, these guys walk in, and then they walk out again. And you're like, wha? And that's all.
2002
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
This is a remake of Square's first game in the long-spanning SaGa series. The three that were released in Japan were released in the States under the name Final Fantasy Legend. So, this is a remake of Final Fantasy Legend.
I was never a big fan of the SaGa games, and it seems like I'm not alone. Honestly, though, I haven't given them much of a chance. I mean, I played FFLIII, which was great, but it wasn't a very SaGa-y game. I played the first for a few hours though, and I wasn't completely turned off by it.
The thing that people really seem to dislike about the game is the fact that all of your weapons have a limited number of uses. So, if your sword runs out, you have to go and buy a new sword. Your martial arts expert ran out of Punches? Go back and buy some more. Stupid as hell, right? I can't remember anything else of interest, though. Sorry.
This is a remake of Square's first game in the long-spanning SaGa series. The three that were released in Japan were released in the States under the name Final Fantasy Legend. So, this is a remake of Final Fantasy Legend.
I was never a big fan of the SaGa games, and it seems like I'm not alone. Honestly, though, I haven't given them much of a chance. I mean, I played FFLIII, which was great, but it wasn't a very SaGa-y game. I played the first for a few hours though, and I wasn't completely turned off by it.
The thing that people really seem to dislike about the game is the fact that all of your weapons have a limited number of uses. So, if your sword runs out, you have to go and buy a new sword. Your martial arts expert ran out of Punches? Go back and buy some more. Stupid as hell, right? I can't remember anything else of interest, though. Sorry.
2001
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
This is a pretty nice handheld port of Guilty Gear, with all the combatants all cutesy and SD-looking. I can never pull off combos in handheld fighting games for some stupid reason. Thus, I suck at them. Even more than I would in the first place. Anyways, Guilty Gear is cool.
This is a pretty nice handheld port of Guilty Gear, with all the combatants all cutesy and SD-looking. I can never pull off combos in handheld fighting games for some stupid reason. Thus, I suck at them. Even more than I would in the first place. Anyways, Guilty Gear is cool.
2001
Game Review - originally written by ???
Nothing really new here in this remake of the old NES classic, aside from the usual graphical and aural upgrade. If you’re thinking that maybe Square was smart and did away with that stupid experience system, well you’re wrong, it’s here, and you’d better get used to the idea. Still, it does look pretty.
Nothing really new here in this remake of the old NES classic, aside from the usual graphical and aural upgrade. If you’re thinking that maybe Square was smart and did away with that stupid experience system, well you’re wrong, it’s here, and you’d better get used to the idea. Still, it does look pretty.
1987
Game Review - originally written by Nightcrawler
This is the legendary Final Fantasy. Who living in the modern gaming world hasn't heard of it already? While it is a classic, and was a superb game for it's time, this game seems less than stellar in modern times.
Graphics are pretty good for NES standards and the music is catchy in several places. However, plot and character development are lacking. You are the chosen 4 warriors that must save the world. While you may think this is cliché, this was one of the first games to have any RPG type plot period!
Characters are not developed, however this is because you can choose any selection of 4 party members you want. This gives you some more flexible game play to do infamous challenges such as beat the game with four White Mages etc.
This game is a bit difficult compared to modern RPGs and the strictly turn based limited game play can get repetitive, however you owe it to yourself to play through this game and live the original Fantasy that started it all. All in all, the game is worth playing, although you may want to check out FF Origins on PSX which is an upgrade of both FF1 and FF2 NES versions. (editor's note: probably not the version you want to play nowadays, loading times would be a pain in the ass, but when this was written it was cutting-edge)
This is the legendary Final Fantasy. Who living in the modern gaming world hasn't heard of it already? While it is a classic, and was a superb game for it's time, this game seems less than stellar in modern times.
Graphics are pretty good for NES standards and the music is catchy in several places. However, plot and character development are lacking. You are the chosen 4 warriors that must save the world. While you may think this is cliché, this was one of the first games to have any RPG type plot period!
Characters are not developed, however this is because you can choose any selection of 4 party members you want. This gives you some more flexible game play to do infamous challenges such as beat the game with four White Mages etc.
This game is a bit difficult compared to modern RPGs and the strictly turn based limited game play can get repetitive, however you owe it to yourself to play through this game and live the original Fantasy that started it all. All in all, the game is worth playing, although you may want to check out FF Origins on PSX which is an upgrade of both FF1 and FF2 NES versions. (editor's note: probably not the version you want to play nowadays, loading times would be a pain in the ass, but when this was written it was cutting-edge)