Two coins in a bucket

Sometimes life can be very cruel. For example, I have only been able to pick up two games in the last few weeks. I don't know how I've made it through these trying times, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. There are two culprits to this game drought: getting married and Xenoblade Chronicles. Now, as for the two games that I did pickup....

Astyanax. Don't know much about this one. It is a Jaleco game, so that automatically makes me interested. From what I know, it's an adventure game and the descriptions I read online make me think it will play somewhat like the sidescrolling areas in Zelda II. I've also heard this is a pretty fun game, so at $4 it was an easy and affordable decision.






And then...

Shadowrun for the Genesis. Cult classic and all that jazz. It seems to be a really interesting game, and besides, you can't really go wrong with a cyberpunk theme from a game in this era. I had been kind of holding out for the SNES version, but did not know until recently that the SNES and Genesis versions are completely different games. Fantastic, now I have to get the SNES and the Genesis one.The word on the streets is that the Genesis Shadowrun is the more highly regarded of the two, but that the SNES Shadowrun is a must-play as well. Who knows when I will get around the trying this one out, but it's nice knowing that it's there waiting whenever the day does come.






So that about wraps things up. I'll be getting married in a few days and then off on the honeymoon for a week. I was hoping to finish up Xenoblade Chronicles before the big day, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. Truthfully, I could have finished Xeno already, but I've been sucked into the game and have really been enjoying it. I've probably spent more time in the last week doing sidequests in the game than actually moving the story forward. It really is an amazing game and has me pumped up for the "sequel" that is coming to WiiU.

Anyways, it's time for me to fly. Sleep beckons. See you on the flipside.

Castlevania Legends (GB) text review: Timeless and Timeline-less

Time for another of my reviews, as game hunting has necessarily been slow going as of late. This is my review of...

...a  fun and somewhat overlooked game for the GameBoy. This game had the misfortune of being "officially" omitted from the canon of Castlevania by Koji Igarashi...apparently fancying himself as a bit of a Martin Luther and omitting what made him uncomfortable. Nonetheless, Igarashi has made some fine Castlevania games, so I try not to hold a grudge. Now let's get to the review. Ladies and germs, I present to you Castlevania Legends....

I really dig the boxart

Castlevania Legends is the third and final Castlevania game released for Nintendo's GameBoy. Hitting North American shelves in 1998, Legends, like many games released at the end of a system's life span, was not as widely played as the previous two GameBoy entries. Though it may have gone largely unnoticed(for a Castlevania game) and has a bit of a negative reputation, that doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't plenty of fun to be had in this short, sweet game. It should also be mentioned that, at the time of this review in 2012, Legends has been removed from the official timeline of the series. Bummer. Now, lets talk more about the game itself.

The storyline is simple, as is to be expected of a Castlevania game. The heroine, a first for the series, is Sonia Belmont. Sonia is a teenage girl who has shown uncommon powers since birth and has been trained by her grandfather in the use of his powerful whip. As you might expect, the creatures of the night attack Sonia's home and she sets out to stop Dracula and his minions.

Making your way through the adventure, things unfold in the traditional Castlevania manner. There are six sidescrolling stages Sonia must make her way through. You will mostly find yourself moving left-to-right/right-to-left, though quite often you must move up and down via ropes, rather than stairs as in many of the Castlevania games. The stages themselves are not exactly short, at least not as short as I was expecting. However, thanks to unlimited continues and the fact that you are not sent back to the beginning of a level when you die, it shouldn't take you too long to plow your way through to the end.

As far as controls go, Legends is simple and precise. Every strike of the whip and every jump feels quick and responsive. At first I had some issues hopping onto the ropes, as I thought you had to press up on the D-pad once you were aligned with the rope. Legends makes it easy for us: simply keep holding the direction you are jumping on the pad and Sonia automatically latches onto the rope. Thankfully, in Legends you don't have to worry about control limitations or imprecision masquerading as game difficulty.

Sprinkled throughout each of the stages are the usual assortment of creepy crawlies, such as bats, spiders, armored knights, zombies, and mermen. Most enemies can be defeated with one or two strikes from Sonia's trusty whip. However, some enemies, such as the knights, are tougher and require a bit of strategy to defeat.

Each level has a main boss character, and sometimes a sub-boss as well. These characters are some of the better looking points of the game, as they are well drawn and have nice detail for a GameBoy game. The boss characters have a menacing look and can be very large, though they may not be quite as fearsome as they may appear.

Nice graphical detail compared to Adventure

 

At various points in each level, you may be faced with a choice of which direction to go. Some paths lead to special items like a 1-up or a healing item, some take you to the end of the stage, while some will lead you to a special item, such as the axe or cross. Unlike many Castlevania games, these items cannot be used as sub-weapons to attack enemies. Instead, they are simply collected in your inventory and reward you with a special ending should you collect all of them and finish the game. Though these traditional sub-weapons do not serve their usual purpose, Legends does have a secondary feature that fills their void.

After beating each boss at the end of the level, you collect an orb as you might expect. Each orb grants you the ability to use it's inherent magic. The "ammo" for these abilities, as you might have guessed, are the hearts you collect from candles along the way. Most of these magical abilities can be used to attack, though one freezes time much like the stopwatch in older games, while the other will completely refill your health bar for a mere 20 hearts! All of these abilities are useful, though I found it best to save and spend my hearts on the time-stopping and healing abilities. Stopping time is especially useful as it can freeze those pesky bats as you are trying to move through precarious platforming sections or climbing the ropes. Interestingly enough, these magical abilities are not the only change to the classic Castlevania formula.

"Burning Mode" is a useful feature that can really help you out of a tight situation. Once per section(and life), you may press both the A and B buttons to activate this fearsome change. Sonia will be surround by flames and is invincible for a short time. Not only that, but she moves much faster and her attack power increases dramatically. This is especially useful against boss characters when you are running low on health. This feature makes many of the bosses a cakewalk, which ties into something about Legends that you may not care for.

Unlike many of the older Castlevania games, Legends is pretty light on difficulty. If you are looking for a challenge, Legends is not the place to find it. Not only are many of the bosses a breeze, but "Burning Mode" will make them laughably easy. The platforming and combat is normally very straightforward and only mildly challenging, so the magical abilities and "Burning Mode" features can often be used to plow through the trickier sections with relative ease. All of this, combined with the unlimited continues and not being sent to the beginning of a level when you die, makes Legends the least challenging Castlevania game I have ever played.

Graphically, Legends represents itself fairly well on the GameBoy. Sonia and the enemy characters are well displayed and distinct. I never had an issue with enemies being lost against the platforms or background due to the limited color palette. However, I did play the game on a GameBoy Advance which gives the game a nice, colorful boost in the graphics department. The boss characters are the true highpoint of the visuals. Each boss is detailed and has a fierce look about them, as opposed to some other enemies, such as the ghosts, which have a slight comical look to them. The background imagery in the game is sparse, but nice and well done where present. Being a GameBoy game, Legends won't have any of the grand, detailed levels you are used to from other Castlevania games. Despite these limitations, the game still manages to retain that distinct look and feel that is so important for Castlevania fans.

The music is not especially memorable, but that is not to say it is bad in any way. Being a GameBoy game, there are certain limitations that can be expected from just about any game on the system, and music is one of them. However, you might find yourself humming along to a familiar theme or two along the way. I found the music pleasant and enjoyable, with just the right amount of melancholy to set the mood.

The game is still fun...deal with it

All things considered, Legends is a fun and enjoyable experience. The graphics and music are clean and a bit simple, which is a good thing for a GameBoy game. Thankfully, Konami did not try to do too much with the game and designed a fun and solid journey within the constraints of the GameBoy. The controls are surprisingly precise and on point, which I think has a little bit to do with how easy the game is. A game doesn't need to be challenging to be fun for me, so I had a good time hopping platforms and whipping away at the enemies and really enjoyed the experience. If you are a classic Castlevania fan, or a fan of old school hack-n-slash platformers, Legends will be right up your alley.

Back from the dead

It's been a while, as life has been a little bit busy with the arrival of the little lady and getting ready for the wedding. Also, I've actually been getting some gametime in between all of that and work. Here are some of the pickups from the last week!

Picked up about 18 games on craigslist. 3 of the games I already had, and 2 of the games were duplicates(Mortal Kombat 3). So here are the new editions to the collection. Two of the better ones in the lot are TMNT Tournament Fighters and Paperboy 2. Paperboy 2 has one of those cursed rental stickers right on the frakkin label! I'll have to perform a Goo Gone operation on it and a few others some time down the road. Now, here are two other notable games that were in the lot...

Sunset Riders and Ghostbusters! I've never played either of these before, so the back catalogue of games to play continues to grow. Both are a bit valuable and combined are worth about what I payed for the whole lot. Sunset Riders for the Genesis is worth about half the price of the SNES versions, but it will be nice to be able to experience the game regardless.  However, if I'm not mistaken, the SNES and Genesis versions do differ from one another. Roo from Clanof thgraywolf.com did a nice video on Sunset Riders on his 16 bit Gems show, but it's been a while since I've watched it. Check it out if you're so inclined, it's a great show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUkiWZDoWHY

Also, the Craigslist lot included a Genesis and a 3 or 4 controllers. I guess it never hurts to have a third Genesis around the house. Better yet is having extra controllers. The controllers for the SNES and Genesis were pretty sturdy, but most of them that you find are 20 years or more older and have withstood there fair share of (ab)use.

And to wrap things up, another Craigslist find. Not exactly old school stuff, but for 5 bucks I think it's worth mentioning. Wii Sports(appears to be unopened), 007 Quantum of Solace(couldn't care less), and Link's Crossbow Training. Link's Crossbow Training I never bought for some reason through the years even though I really wanted to play it. Unfortunately the zapper attachment thingy didn't come with the lot. It also looks like Link's Crossbow Training isn't opened, though that seems unlikely. Maybe the owners were experts at peeling those stickers back and replacing them perfectly?






I do have a few games that should be arriving in the mail soon that I'm pretty happy about, but those aren't old school either. If I don't get any oldies sometime soon I may do a little ditty about them here once they arrive and I have some time. So until next time, keep it real folks.

Streets of Rage 2 (GameGear) text review: Takin It To The Streets

Streets of Rage 2, for the Sega Game Gear, hit store shelves in 1993. Many console franchises were making their way to portable systems back in this era, often with poor results. The trip to portables often resulted in slow, water-down games that were a shadow of their console counterparts. However, Streets of Rage 2 makes a fairly successful jump to Sega's hulking little handheld. Now let's talk about the particulars.

As you would expect in a Streets of Rage game, you start out by selecting your character. There are three playable characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. First up is Axel, a rather well balanced character who excels in "technique" and does his best work putting his fists in enemies faces. Then there is Blaze, the tough, yet sexy gal, who is the most balanced of the bunch. Last, but certainly not least, we have Skate, who excels in "speed" and "jump" categories, and can't seem to resist the rhythm of the memorable Streets of Rage music. There is enough variety with each character, and their corresponding special moves, to make it worth your while to try each out. Also of note, there is a 2-player option for the game, which I am unfortunately unable to test out.

As far as the storyline goes, the evil Syndicate, headed by Mr. X, is up to no good again. In order to lure our heroes out, Mr. X's goons have kidnapped Adam, friend of Axel and Blaze, and brother of Skate. That's your plot and that's all that's needed. Now you can justify beating countless thugs to a pulp. Which leads us to how the game plays.

Streets of Rage 2 does an excellent job of bringing the thrills of the classic Genesis franchise onto the Game Gear. As you would expect, the controls are simple and take no time to get accustomed to. Move your character with the D-pad, attack with the 1 button, and jump with the 2 button. The developers did a great job of packing a good variety of attacks into the game. Even more impressive, they did so with only two buttons to work with. You have your standard jump attacks, grappling attacks, as well as specials performed by directional and face button combinations and button "charge" attacks. The controls work wonderfully and feel very intuitive. The actions seems to have been slowed down some compared to the Genesis games, but this works out pretty well to accommodate the Streets of Rage action nicely onto the small screen.

There is a decent enough variety of enemies to lay bare knuckle to throughout the game's six levels. Most are simple unarmed hooligans, though some carry knives and pipes. These weapons can be picked up from the ground and used to smack, stab, or throw at the enemies. For the most part these enemies are rather simple to do away with. You will find a little more challenge when coming across some of the more advanced enemies like the charging, fire-breathing "Big Ben" type enemies, and the sexy, whip-cracking dominatrix "Electra" badgirls. Things can get a little frustrating when the enemies start to "juggle" you, as in knocking you down, then knocking you down again the moment you stand up. This happens occasionally and it can be frustrating to see your entire health meter drained by such a cheap tactic. But then again, this is pretty much the tactic you will use against your enemies throughout the entire game. So turnabout is fair play? The only real challenging enemies are the boss characters who, after defeating them the first time, will reappear in later stages as mid-level bosses. Still, after a little practice, the bosses attacks and patterns are not to hard to master. You also have a few continues to work with. Thankfully, you will continue right where you left off and do not have to restart the entire level.

Graphically, the game is one of the better looking handheld action games of the era that I have played. It has that classic, Streets of Fire-inspired art design and the character models are drawn well. And is a review of a Streets of Rage game complete without at least commenting on the music? Sure enough, the music is excellent and as we would expect from Yuzo Koshiro. Even as I write this review I can't keep the main theme of the song out of my head. Naturally, the music here does not sound as nice as on the Genesis, but it certainly is a highlight of the game and successfully gets the vibe across.

There are a few drawbacks to the game, but nothing that really gets in the way of having a good time, which is what playing games is all about. There are only six stages in the game, none of which are very long, and the pace of the game is a tad slow. The enemies don't pose too much of a challenge, though you could crank the difficulty up to the highest level and set your lives down to the minimum level if that's your bag. These few quibbles, along with the instances of being "juggled" to death by the enemy as mentioned earlier, are fairly minor complaints when you consider all that the game does right.

In closing, if you have never played Streets of Rage 2 for Game Gear, it's definitely worth a look. You would be hard pressed to find a classic portable game that gets the beat-em-up formula so right. If you have played the game and it's been a while, it's a quality title that deserves a revisiting. From the graphics, to the music, to the near spot-on controls, Streets of Rage 2 is a classic beat-em-up that should never be forgotten. Enough talk, get out there and bust some skulls...in the finest of traditions. Long live the Streets of Rage!

Here are two pickups from this week. I've really been going on the cheap lately, and I found these two at a good price at Top Games.

Two games that I've never played before, so wonder and the splendor of discovery surely await! Caveman Games, I heard a few good things about it in some youtube videos. It looks to be a pretty fun game, and right up my alley. For some reason(maybe the caveman thing ya think?) this game brings to mind those Inventhelp commercials that show the little caveman chiseling a wheel out of stone.

Ultimate Muscle for GBA is a game that I have little knowledge about. I remember when it was released, along with the GameCube Ultimate Muscle game. As I recall, the GC game was supposed to be pretty fun(and retailed for $39.99 I believe), but I don't know about the GBA game. All I know is that I really enjoyed my Ultimate Muscle figures as a kid and I bought this game complete and mint for just 5 clams.

Life will be getting busy here in the coming week. My humble abode is 99% finished with all of the repairs, so I will be moving furniture back in and I will have access to my NES, Master System, and will finally have the chance to hook up the Turbografx 16 and Colecovision that I got a while back. Also, the little lady will be here this week and a lot of my focus will be with her. The cool thing is that she totally digs my game collecting sickness and wants to join me in my game hunting!

Pancakes.

Pennies From Heaven

What I assumed would be a light drizzle quickly became a monsoon for the collection this week. First let's start with the only game I actually bought this week.

 Yes, the one, the only, BurgerTime. When I think of classic, straightforward arcade goodness, this is one of those games that immediately comes to mind. It's the classic tale of chef Peter Pepper raining down divine retribution, consisting of buns, lettuce, and burger patties, on fearsome minions of evil such as pickles. You can play this game for 30 seconds and know all there is to know about the controls and what you're supposed to do. Simple. Fun. Ridiculous. I love it.

Now comes the monsoon. As I said before, I only bought one game this week, but there were 19 other games that came my way...for free.

19 Sega Master System games! A friend of mine had found these in his father's garage. He knows I collect and just gave them to me. I even offered twice to give him something, but he refused. How cool is that? The two games I am most excited about are Phantasy Star and Ys(which I forgot to include in the photo). Those two are worth a pretty little penny too. What's even better is that I only had two of these already, Black Belt and Thunder Blade. When I get my room finished up from all of the construction, I'm going to have a ton of games to play through. So a big "thank you" to my friend Shane for the massive hookup here. Wow, you just never know when something like this will fall into your lap. To borrow a line "That's the way game chasin go".

Last pickup for July

So things have been slowing down for me as of late. Money is getting tight and I will be getting hitched soon, but that doesn't mean I can't keep looking and spending wisely. Truth be told, I actually knowingly overpaid bit for the only item that I picked up.

Ok, so if you're going to overpay, make it a good one, right? Gargoyle's Quest is yet another classic that I never got to play back in the day. I was never big on the GameBoy in it's prime, mostly because it hurt my eyes. But now we can play all of those classic oldies on a GBA/GBA Player. I really look forward to playing this one, hopefully soon at that. Maybe life will slow down soon and I can waste time the right way, retro-gaming to my heart's content. Until next time....