wafflesforleah
This wasn't for me; it wasn't to my taste, unfortunately. I got out of the tutorial to the mode select and put it down.
I liked a lot about it: controlling a person made the visual novel stuff "feel" better for me than a visual novel ever had before, like i had a bit more control and agency and such.
The combat was pretty neato but probably for my taste it would've gripped me more if it was less abstracted or if i could zoom in and see the mecha punching the dudes--I did like that missile spam though that looked great!
I'm not the world's biggest fan of the big boobs and the naked girls in the mecha and whatnot; it's hard for me to get past stuff like that.
I liked a lot about it: controlling a person made the visual novel stuff "feel" better for me than a visual novel ever had before, like i had a bit more control and agency and such.
The combat was pretty neato but probably for my taste it would've gripped me more if it was less abstracted or if i could zoom in and see the mecha punching the dudes--I did like that missile spam though that looked great!
I'm not the world's biggest fan of the big boobs and the naked girls in the mecha and whatnot; it's hard for me to get past stuff like that.
Now
We're
Talkin
As I write this, I'm in the midst of writing an article about the history of SD Gundam tactical games, and this right here is the origin. This one!
I'd never played anything on the Famicom Disk System, and I found it fascinating. It was like a suped-up NES, and it was really rad.
This game is, well, it's what it says on the tin: it's the progenitor of what was to come, and it shows in every single way. The core DNA of the series is here right from the start: moving icons around on a grid, engaging in real-time battles, unit production and seizing cities to make more money.
What I find fascinating is the grid here isn't hexes; it's squares. You get all of the downsides that come with squares instead of hexes for movement on a grid, which I find really interesting--what it means is you can easily minimize the angles opponents can take to get to you because moving diagonally "costs" extra, whereas with hexes, it's all the same.
The art is adorable as usual, and the sprites are wonderful.
This is a little treasure of a game, and I would absolutely adore playing against a real human.
We're
Talkin
As I write this, I'm in the midst of writing an article about the history of SD Gundam tactical games, and this right here is the origin. This one!
I'd never played anything on the Famicom Disk System, and I found it fascinating. It was like a suped-up NES, and it was really rad.
This game is, well, it's what it says on the tin: it's the progenitor of what was to come, and it shows in every single way. The core DNA of the series is here right from the start: moving icons around on a grid, engaging in real-time battles, unit production and seizing cities to make more money.
What I find fascinating is the grid here isn't hexes; it's squares. You get all of the downsides that come with squares instead of hexes for movement on a grid, which I find really interesting--what it means is you can easily minimize the angles opponents can take to get to you because moving diagonally "costs" extra, whereas with hexes, it's all the same.
The art is adorable as usual, and the sprites are wonderful.
This is a little treasure of a game, and I would absolutely adore playing against a real human.
1991
Gosh hahahah this game was....something. It's hard for me to sort of unilaterally say things like, "this game is bad", but taken all together in the aggregate, I don't think this game amounts to much apart from "bad".
It's charming to look at, that's for sure! And also the golf mechanics are fun--there's techniques you learn that influence the ball (all you ever really need is the one that lets you bounce over water) which is kinda neato, but otherwise it's straightforward power-meter golf.
The rest of the gameplay is conversation encounters that are more like "which one of these do I need to press in order to advance" puzzles, which end up being more obnoxious than anything else.
I suppose the listicle this game would end up on would be, "10 games with HILARIOUS endings!!!!!" or something, because yeah, the end is very weird and abrupt, but not in a funny way?
If you told me this game was entirely just a longform joke, I would believe you.
It's charming to look at, that's for sure! And also the golf mechanics are fun--there's techniques you learn that influence the ball (all you ever really need is the one that lets you bounce over water) which is kinda neato, but otherwise it's straightforward power-meter golf.
The rest of the gameplay is conversation encounters that are more like "which one of these do I need to press in order to advance" puzzles, which end up being more obnoxious than anything else.
I suppose the listicle this game would end up on would be, "10 games with HILARIOUS endings!!!!!" or something, because yeah, the end is very weird and abrupt, but not in a funny way?
If you told me this game was entirely just a longform joke, I would believe you.
1998
WELL, another sacred cow down. I never had a Playstation so I never experienced games like this, but Metal Gear Solid is inescapable if you spend even a second in any nerd space. A friend of mine said I should finally buckle down and play it and so I did!
I absolutely gosh dang LOVE the way this game looks. It just feels like home in that way. I love it to death--and all the little details. It's adorable. It's cute. It's incredibly charming. It's funny and it's at times genuinely emotionally affecting. On all of those fronts it's a home run for me.
On the gameplay front though, I could not be more nonplussed. I more or less detest stealth mechanics, so I was never going to enjoy that aspect of it. I hated the backtracking (thank god I had a fast forward option in Retroarch) and I was annoyed at the bosses. From a mechanical perspective this game was just one billion percent Not For Me.
But all that said, I had a lovely time. I absolutely understand how this was so influential.
I absolutely gosh dang LOVE the way this game looks. It just feels like home in that way. I love it to death--and all the little details. It's adorable. It's cute. It's incredibly charming. It's funny and it's at times genuinely emotionally affecting. On all of those fronts it's a home run for me.
On the gameplay front though, I could not be more nonplussed. I more or less detest stealth mechanics, so I was never going to enjoy that aspect of it. I hated the backtracking (thank god I had a fast forward option in Retroarch) and I was annoyed at the bosses. From a mechanical perspective this game was just one billion percent Not For Me.
But all that said, I had a lovely time. I absolutely understand how this was so influential.
So...I like this game. I have to start with that. It's adorable, and gonzo in a weird way (the mission interstitial "story" is utterly bonkers) and I love Gundam a lot so seeing the little guys is really great. There's also some totally weirdo deep-cup Gundam jokes in here too.
Which is kinda the whole thing is like, this is a game for mega-fans. It feels like it would be best with a couple buddies just running missions and shooting the breeze. It's SO GRINDY THOUGH.
I'll be back when someone updates the cheats.
Which is kinda the whole thing is like, this is a game for mega-fans. It feels like it would be best with a couple buddies just running missions and shooting the breeze. It's SO GRINDY THOUGH.
I'll be back when someone updates the cheats.
2022
I'm 35 at time of writing this which means one can make some fairly reasonable assumptions about my video game history. Chief amongst them that I was the exact perfect age to become deeply obsessed with Pokemon when it was brand new.
And I absolutely did. This series had me hooked from the very, very beginning. Over the years I've assembled a living dex and I've bought both version of every single release and I've loved them all very, very much (I love Black/White and Black 2/White 2 the most very much though).
Anywho, this one was no different. I love the new formula, I love the world, I love them cute new friends, and I loved the story.
No notes, all vibes and love.
And I absolutely did. This series had me hooked from the very, very beginning. Over the years I've assembled a living dex and I've bought both version of every single release and I've loved them all very, very much (I love Black/White and Black 2/White 2 the most very much though).
Anywho, this one was no different. I love the new formula, I love the world, I love them cute new friends, and I loved the story.
No notes, all vibes and love.
2024
Even though I tend not to like super like, action-y, twitch-y games like this, I have a huuuuge soft spot for the game Oni from back in the day, and this seemed kinda up that alley, so I gave it a shot!
Super duper against type for me to really be able to hang with this, but I had a decent time! I like the way the main character looks and the movement is fun--plus I love that PS2 Shinobi game so I felt pretty at home with this.
Overall I dug it! Pretty fun way to spend a little time
Super duper against type for me to really be able to hang with this, but I had a decent time! I like the way the main character looks and the movement is fun--plus I love that PS2 Shinobi game so I felt pretty at home with this.
Overall I dug it! Pretty fun way to spend a little time
This was pretty fun and stylish! The art design was neat and it’s pretty rad how quickly things moved on the NES!
The last third felt like a long boss rush, it was kinda sloggy but still pretty fun
The last third felt like a long boss rush, it was kinda sloggy but still pretty fun
1991
I tend to play any Sega thing with cute box art, and I get burned a lot…including with this one.
This is a puzzle game of the fussiest tier. The controls are awful, the sound is grating and the game just seems to actively hate you. It’s genuinely not worth a play I don’t think!
There’s a cute screen in between levels though!
This is a puzzle game of the fussiest tier. The controls are awful, the sound is grating and the game just seems to actively hate you. It’s genuinely not worth a play I don’t think!
There’s a cute screen in between levels though!
I absolutely freaking LOVED this shooter. Wow wow wow!
Firstly, I love anything with a great cutscene opening, and this one has wonderful cutscenes (including “in engine” ones) in spades
Secondly, the art is wonderful. It’s all readable and crisp and gorgeous. THE BACKGROUNDS!! Gosh.
The music and sounds are lovely too.
This is a pitch perfect Mega Drive shooter
Firstly, I love anything with a great cutscene opening, and this one has wonderful cutscenes (including “in engine” ones) in spades
Secondly, the art is wonderful. It’s all readable and crisp and gorgeous. THE BACKGROUNDS!! Gosh.
The music and sounds are lovely too.
This is a pitch perfect Mega Drive shooter
This game was super cute! I think it’s a liiiiiittle underbaked for some of its MegaCD peers, but it’s rad and really stylish!
You’ve got your basic “baddies have invaded and you need to kick their butts” plot, and a ship that can power up into a mech! The levels are really varied, and the difficulty was pretty even, and pretty easy (which for me is saying something!!)
I really liked the weapons; there’s a mechanic where if you don’t shoot, a meter powers up and you can do a super shot. You’ve got your basic bullets, seeking missiles, lasers and a sort of like, rocket kinda thing. They all look neat, but I stuck with those rockets because they leave a damaging like, ball of energy stuff!
Anywho, this game was stylish as heck and really neat—I dug it!
You’ve got your basic “baddies have invaded and you need to kick their butts” plot, and a ship that can power up into a mech! The levels are really varied, and the difficulty was pretty even, and pretty easy (which for me is saying something!!)
I really liked the weapons; there’s a mechanic where if you don’t shoot, a meter powers up and you can do a super shot. You’ve got your basic bullets, seeking missiles, lasers and a sort of like, rocket kinda thing. They all look neat, but I stuck with those rockets because they leave a damaging like, ball of energy stuff!
Anywho, this game was stylish as heck and really neat—I dug it!
1985
Hahahaha Time Gal is barely a game! Goodness gracious. It's not just real-time reactions but I genuinely have no idea how someone would play this without save states and/or losing their sanity. The actions are genuinely impossible to predict. It's full of really charming and wonderful animations and such (even for failed reactions hahah) but if I'm honest you should just watch a Youtube video of it or something XD
1991
There is some charm to this game for sure. With each level victory you get a little image of the gal from the box art which is...fine...? I guess?
But that's more or less the whole game. It handles better than you might think, and has a kind of surprising amount of depth with weapons and sub weapons and such, but in the end it's a kinda junky Game Gear shooter with cute interstitials and a really nauseating scrolling level.
But that's more or less the whole game. It handles better than you might think, and has a kind of surprising amount of depth with weapons and sub weapons and such, but in the end it's a kinda junky Game Gear shooter with cute interstitials and a really nauseating scrolling level.
Hah! The database won't let me select anything for the platform, but I imagine y'all can guess this is a Game Gear game!
And it's a really really good one!
Soccer games prior to full 3d can be rough. There's something about other sports that allowed for really playable 16-bit and earlier versions to still be fun and dynamic:
- Basketball games tended to reduce the number of players to 2x2 or 3x3 and even do half-court
- Hockey is a relatively small playing area with very direct passing and not a lot of start/stop
- Gridiron football is set-plays and formation driven
- Baseball tends to be very static with not a lot of moving parts at any given time (and a base arrangement that conveniently matches a d-pad!)
But soccer? Gosh, that's a horse of a different color. Soccer is one of my favorite things in the entire world right underneath like, my wife and cats, coffee, the Mega CD, clothes, UC Gundam and baseball, but goodness gracious does it often make for dire video games.
FIFA has gotten it more or less right with the help of modern analog controls and motion capture graphics and all of that, but back in the old days? Forget about it.
And I'd be lying to you if I said that J. League GG Pro-Striker '94 solves any of the problems old soccer games had. Passing to the right guy is frustrating, locating a shot is impossible, defense is difficult, etc etc. It's the same issues they all had, but what makes this game so good is that it does what it can to reduce those frustrations and it's on the gosh danged Game Gear!!
Plus when you score there's slow motion replay!!!!
I haven't played every pre-modern portable soccer game, but I've played a good amount, and you can do way way way worse than this one. If I wanted portable soccer in 1994 I would have killed for this.
And it's a really really good one!
Soccer games prior to full 3d can be rough. There's something about other sports that allowed for really playable 16-bit and earlier versions to still be fun and dynamic:
- Basketball games tended to reduce the number of players to 2x2 or 3x3 and even do half-court
- Hockey is a relatively small playing area with very direct passing and not a lot of start/stop
- Gridiron football is set-plays and formation driven
- Baseball tends to be very static with not a lot of moving parts at any given time (and a base arrangement that conveniently matches a d-pad!)
But soccer? Gosh, that's a horse of a different color. Soccer is one of my favorite things in the entire world right underneath like, my wife and cats, coffee, the Mega CD, clothes, UC Gundam and baseball, but goodness gracious does it often make for dire video games.
FIFA has gotten it more or less right with the help of modern analog controls and motion capture graphics and all of that, but back in the old days? Forget about it.
And I'd be lying to you if I said that J. League GG Pro-Striker '94 solves any of the problems old soccer games had. Passing to the right guy is frustrating, locating a shot is impossible, defense is difficult, etc etc. It's the same issues they all had, but what makes this game so good is that it does what it can to reduce those frustrations and it's on the gosh danged Game Gear!!
Plus when you score there's slow motion replay!!!!
I haven't played every pre-modern portable soccer game, but I've played a good amount, and you can do way way way worse than this one. If I wanted portable soccer in 1994 I would have killed for this.
1994
I liked this....fine...hahah
I'll be honest; I sort of expected to like it more, and I actually don't have a ton to say about it. As usual, I used invincibility and without it I wouldn't even have been able to get close to any sort of end. The second run-through after you get a wish from the Cat Boss would have been absolutely impossible for me without cheats.
I um, liked the part where you shoot down a mech Rouge is in and she waves a little white flag.
I'll be honest; I sort of expected to like it more, and I actually don't have a ton to say about it. As usual, I used invincibility and without it I wouldn't even have been able to get close to any sort of end. The second run-through after you get a wish from the Cat Boss would have been absolutely impossible for me without cheats.
I um, liked the part where you shoot down a mech Rouge is in and she waves a little white flag.