****************************************************************************
** Duo, PC-Engine and TurboGrafx-16 Reviews **
****************************************************************************
Edition: 990601-am/CD
This list contains ratings for CD/SCD games only please check the
corresponding file "reviews.hu" from the turbo-list server for a
the HuCard review list.
The Rating System:
--------------------------
The rating system is based upon "grades" (and I know that scares
most of you, however. ..). An A receives 4 points, a B gets 3, a C gets
2, a D gets 1 and anything less (F) gets a 0. You can also append a
plus ("+") to a score and add 0.3, and likewise a minus ("-") which
will deduct 0.3. One exception is the A which can have up to two
pluses ("++") following it, resulting in a score of 4.6. The five
catagories are then summed up (with longevity counted twice) and then
the result is divided by 6 to get the "Overall" score.
If you would like to add to a review or possibly change a rating, please send
me mail (bt@cpac.washington.edu) and your comments will be taken into account!
Thanks!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# The Addams' Family (CD-ROM) Review by Bryan Duvan and TurboKid.
------------------
Wander around the Addams' family house searching for the Addams' money
vault all the while battling the Addams' family members.
GRAPHICS : A- (Game is cartoon-like. Characters are a little too blocky and
two-dimensional)
SOUND : A (Excellent... this game uses the CD technology wisely)
MUSIC : A (Addams' theme at the start of the game... nice!)
GAMEPLAY : B (Even with a joystick, you'll need to get the hang of
jumping over obstacles)
LONGEVITY: B- (Frustrating... no save feature!)
OVERALL : 3.34
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: This game needs some serious fixes in gameplay mechanics.
COMMENTS : This game really needs a save feature because you die too
easily. "Am I the only one who thinks this game is a
waste?" - Ed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Aim For The Top! GunBuster, Volume 1 (JSCD) review by Sergey Shimkevich.
------------------------------------
Top o Nerae! GunBuster is a game that is very similar in concept to Sherlock
Holmes and Murder Club - it is basically a board game where you are presented
with a situation and have to pick out a correct action to progress further.
It is based on a very popular 6-part OVA (Original Video Animation) of the
same title (recently released in the US with subtitles). The game is based on
the first two parts of the series.
The storyline in the game is the same as in the video. Noriko Takaya is a
student at Okinawa Space High School for girls where combat pilots are being
trained. Rather unsure of herself, she also has to carry on the legacy of her
late father, Admiral Takaya who was killed in a space battle with the aliens.
In the first part of the game, the goal is to survive the tribulations of high
school (self-doubt, sibling rivalry) and to get assigned to the new
battleship, Exelion. In the second part there are more obstacles to overcome,
including a terrifying ghost from the past.
The gameplay is very simple. After the opening intro (accompanied by a short
version of "Fly High"), you see the options screen (looks exactly like the
screen in Science Lessons) where the super-deformed Noriko and Kazumi tell you
about the options. You can then start a new game, continue a saved one, go to
a sound test mode or hear the background info on the three main characters.
If you choose to do so, a super-deformed Coach Ohta will tell you about this
option and then proceed to introduce the character that you've selected. After
that, the character will introduce herself. You'll also see such vital
statistics as birthdate, height and blood type displayed (turns out that
Noriko is 0, Jung-Freud is AB and I forgot about Kazumi).
When you select a new game or continue, you then get to a main screen where
all action takes place. There is a display, about 1/4 of the screen where the
action takes place, two windows where the commands are displaced and a Stress
Meter. When you make the wrong decision, the Stress Meter goes up. When it is
full, the game is OVER!!!
You see a short animated sequence (the closest to full-motion animation that
I've seen on the Turbo/PC Engine) and then you have to make a choice. If you
make the wrong choice, you see the often hilarious results (for example when
Jung-Freud is introduced to Noriko and Kazumi, one of the wrong responses is
to "take a look at Jung's, er, bosom", also some wrong responses can get you
slapped by Kazumi - OUCH!), your Stress Meter goes up and you have to make
another choice. When you make the right choice, the story continues.
At some point you'll be allowed to save your game and continue. You can also
save the game at the end to have access to endgame options that include a
command that replays the game automatically from the beginning to the end and
a short comedy routine by Noriko, Kazumi and Jung-Freud.
Also, when you put a regular system card instead of a Super System card, the
results are absolutely hilarious. You see a parody of a Science Lesson where
Kazumi asks Noriko questions about the PC Engine (no, the Coach doesn't show
up at the end, too bad).
GRAPHICS : A- (Unfortunately PC Engine/Turbo shows its limitations)
SOUND : A+ (It's all speech)
MUSIC : A+ (Two songs from the OVA!!!)
GAMEPLAY : A+ (Lots of fun - if you like the show)
LONGEVITY: A+ (You'll want to play it again, just to see the often hilarious
results of incorrect responses)
OVERALL : 4.20
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : If you liked GunBuster and have a Turbo/PC Engine, you'll most
probably love this game. On the other hand, if you do not know the story
beforehand and/or do not speak/read Japanese, this game will not be much fun.
Even though it is fairly easy to get through by the trial and error method,
the story wouldn't make much sense.
A bit on the negative side: unfortunately the PC Engine/Turbo hardware shows
its limitations. The animation is still jerky and it is only in 1/4 of the
screen (just like in Sherlock Holmes). Still, it is a very nice game and I
enjoyed it a lot.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Algunos (JSCD) [IGCD-3007] INTEC, 1993 - review by R Kemmetmueller
-------
One-on-one fighting game. No clue what the storyline is, I don't read
Japanese. The opening sequence is a series of 6 (mostly-)still shots of
heatwavy dunes, each one getting closer to a nomad standing alone in the
desert.
There are 10 characters to choose from, a few have swords. The obvious
2-player "Battle Mode" and 1-player "Story Mode" are available. "Story
Mode" consists of fighting all the other characters, with an
"intermission" after each fight, which consists of text-only (Japanese)
dialog between the combatants. The final boss is a goofy floating
glowing 10' diameter sphere with some barely-humanoid thing
distinguishable inside it. Very easy to beat on "normal" level.
A two-button pad works fine, since "short attack", "long attack", and
"throw" (both buttons) are the only functions. If you have a 6-button
controller, each of the 4 extra buttons can be assigned to any of those
three functions.
GRAPHICS : A (no parallax scrolling here, just colorful well-drawn sprites)
SOUND : B (scratchy like Fighting Street, but better than nothing)
MUSIC : D (the song is very good... I said, _THE_ song is very good)
GAMEPLAY : B (nice responsive controls, most special moves easy to execute)
LONGEVITY: C (only average-- relative to other fighting games, that is)
OVERALL : 2.5
PLAYERS : 1 or 2
IMPROVEMENTS: Someone at Intec should be shot for not taking the time to put
a different audio track on each background scene. It's a CD,
for heaven's sake, and it's only about 1/3 full!
COMMENTS : Better than Fighting Street in every way (except # songs); the
only other complaint is that attacks can connect even when it
looks like they wouldn't (can be gotten used to) and the "referee
voice" is straight out of Fighting Street. Load times are
negligible, even on an old TG-CD with 3.0 card. The price is
lower than most other new CD titles, so it's not too bad a deal.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Alzadick - Summer Carnival '92 (JCD) [NXCD2012] - review by Bt Garner
------------------------------
A vertical shooter from the same folks who brought you the Spriggan series.
There are lots of similarities between this, Spriggan (the frist), and even
Blazing Lazers. You control a ship over various objects (in space) and
shoot *everything*. Both enemy ships, and the "ground" (ie, space stations?)
when available. 4 different powerups are available (labeled as A, B, C and
D). Get several of the same kind for stronger weapons.
The graphics are great, the sounds and soundtrack are equally as impressive.
However, there is a problem. A game can only last 5 minutes. See, like
Spriggan, the included a "beat the clock/score" option on this game, and
then left out the story mode. Well, there is a story mode (2 of them
actually), but they too are very short (under 5 minutes, sigh).
GRAPHICS : A (Beautiful - no flickering, well detailed)
SOUND : A- (Appropriate -- what more can one say?)
MUSIC : A- (Good musical selection)
GAMEPLAY : A (no problems here - everything works as indicated)
LONGEVITY: C (Problems here - way too short)
OVERALL : 3.23
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Give me a "good" story mode to play, one a little longer
than the 5 minute ones, please?
COMMENTS : This is the Summer Carnival Selection from '92 - perhaps
when looking for a winner, the judges only had 5 minutes to look at each
title .. .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Art of Fighting (JACCD) - review by Kenneth C.Y. Hui
---------------
Art of Fighting is the first game in the Neo Geo 100 Mega Shock game
series. Now, it is ported to the PCE as the second game utilizing the
Arcade Card upgrade (Fatal Fury II is the first one).
If you try to run the game without an arcade card, then you will see a
little television on which a super defromed (SD) Yuri will appear, asking
for help. Then a SD Ryo holding a fan will come out and say something like
Yuri you can count on me. SD Robert will appear after Ryo, saying Yuri.
Then, Yuri will appear again, this time with a flower on her head, her eyes
well with tears, saying, sorry, you cannot save me because you need the
Arcade Card.
Okay, when you start the game using the Arcade Card, you will see the intro
to Art of Fighting, same as the Neo Geo one. The dragon and tiger will
zooms out to you, which is absent in the US Geo version of AoF. You can
choose vs mode or story mode to play. In option manual, you can choose
between four difficulty levels: easy, normal, hard and arcade. There is a
langauge selection in which you can choose between Japanese, English and
Spanish. If you choose Japanese, all the dialogue between stages will be
in Japanese, John Cra(o)wly will speak in Japanese when taunting or after
defeating the player. If you choose English or Spanish, John will speak in
English.
When you start the game, you will have to wait for 10 to 20 seconds to load
the data into the ram. During loading time, you will either see the dark
shadow of the next opponent (in the story mode) or a SD Ryo/Robert walking
around (vs mode). There is a bar showing how much is left to load.
The characters are drawn with detail and many colors. When zoomed in, the
characters are almost as big as the Neo Geo version. The contrast in
zooming is very big. Even at the zoomed out state, the characters are
still very detail.
Some of the backgrounds are very close to the Neo Geo version. For
example, the background of Mr Karate have the big knife in the center and
dragons drawn on the columns which are absent in the SFC version. The
fire in the four fireplaces are fluidly animated animated. However, some
of the background looks a little bit cheesy. For example, Lee's background
looks pretty bad.
The zooming in the background is achieved by having a letter box on top of
the screen. The size of the letter box is as big as the SFC version of
AoF. The play area will shrinks a little bit when zoom out (two little
black lines on both side approximately 1 cm wide on my 14 inch monitor).
This is due to the fact that they are using the high resolution mode in the
zoom out state. When zoomed in, the play area is as big as the SFC
version.
The ending of the game is the same as the Neo Geo version. On the other
hand, the SFC version have a much longer ending. The voice sampling for
Ryo and Robert in between stages and at the ending are good. However, the
sampling for Yuri is horrible. Don't ask me why. The sound effect in the
game is okay. They are very clear but the first will be cancelled by the
second sound effect.
Since it is a CD, the background music is good (but I like the music on
Fatal Fury II better).
GRAPHICS: B+ (A for character B for background)
SOUND: B
MUSIC: B+
GAMEPLAY: B+
LONGEVITY: B
OVERALL: 3.15
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Avenger (JCD) [TJCD0011] LaserSoft, 1990 - review by Robert Kemmetmueller
-------
An overhead vertical-scrolling helicopter shooter. The sprites are all
realistic military-style; metallic or camo painted planes, tanks,
choppers, boats, etc. The intro cinema depicts some kind of global
conflict involving SDI satellites, and somehow a high-tech helicopter
piloted by you has to win the war.
The difficulty level is high, and not adjustable. You get one
helicopter, which can take (initially) three bullet hits. Crashing into
a canyon wall (on the canyon level) is instant destruction (pretty much
like a real helicopter :-). Dying puts you back to the beginning of the
level, and you have unlimited continues.
What keeps it from becoming boring or frustrating is the novel control
scheme. As you move left or right, your 'copter rotates that direction
(so you can fire at diagonal angles). While firing, holding down button
1 will "hold" you at that angle so you can strafe targets in the
opposite corner. Pressing button 1 when not firing activates your
special weapon.
At the beginning of each level, you choose a primary gun, secondary
weapon, and special weapon from a set of three each (not all choices
become available until later levels). These can be powered up by
capturing icons.
GRAPHICS : A-
SOUND : C- (think "cats" and "hairballs")
MUSIC : C (relative to other CDs. often-cheesy violin-type music)
GAMEPLAY : A (good controls, difficult but not overly frustrating)
LONGEVITY: B+ (see "GAMEPLAY")
OVERALL : 3.00
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Selectable difficulty levels, and music worthy of being put
on a shooter CD game.
COMMENTS : Having only one 'copter seems evil at first, but the levels are
just the right length so that you probably won't make it on your
first try, but you know you CAN make it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Beyond Shadowgate (SCD) [TGXCD1048] - Review by Greg Nelson
-----------------
Beyond Shadowgate is a fun adventure/RPG game by ICOM Simulations, makers
of Deja Vu I & II, Uninvited, and Shadowgate in the computer gaming world.
It has the typical prince-trying-to-regain-his-rightful-throne storyline, but
the excellent graphics and the game's sense of humor make it quite refreshing.
This game is one of the very few games for the Duo that were produced in
the U.S., and it shows. The game does not suffer from the vague "Japanese"
feel that many of the Duo RPGs have. Especially nice is the fact that the
player does not "earn levels" like in most games. Also, monsters
do not appear randomly, but only as part of the adventure.
One facet that people might not like is that most of the game consists of
getting killed, then picking up your game where you left off and trying
to avoid that particular pitfall next time. If you don't save often, this
game will become annoying.
To succeed in this game, one has to both use items and do some hitting.
Figuring out what to do where is part of the fun. The interface for using
items is quite simmple and works well.
This game has a lot of areas and quite a bit to accomplish before the final
showdown. An entire section of the game is irrelevant to the final quest, which
I think is a nice touch.
GRAPHICS: A++ (Fantastic backgrounds and player animations!)
SOUND: A+ (A large variety of sound effects and digitized speech,
very nicely done.)
MUSIC: A (A wide selection of background music, with the option
to turn off the music.)
GAMEPLAY: B+ (I found some of the game a little too difficult, but
with the help of the Turbo Tips hotline, I was
able to finish it.)
LONGEVITY: A (Once you're done, you're done, but it will keep you
occupied for several evenings at a minumum.)
OVERALL: 4.03
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: For an extra challenge, set aside the instruction booklet
and complete the quest without referring to the list of
items inside. Unfortunately, they are listed in
chronological order, so the list tells you if you're
missing anything, which is too much help, IMHO.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Bomberman (HuCard) or (SCD) [TGXCD1027]
---------
Move around in a maze setting up bombs and praying that the enemy will
get close enough to them when they eventually set off.
GRAPHICS : A- (Nice cartoon-like graphics)
SOUND : B (Nothing more than nice explosions and bleep sounds)
MUSIC : B+ (Catchy tune, but annoying after extended play)
GAMEPLAY : B- (Controls are a little too sensitive and the character has a
tendency to move more than expected)
LONGEVITY: A (This game is Fun with a capital "F"... a winner!)
OVERALL : 3.50
PLAYERS : up to 5
IMPROVEMENTS: Better sound effects.
COMMENTS : This surprise game comes on the 3-in-1 SCD disc that comes
with the Duo. At the title screen, press up, right, down, left,
and II to get a chime. Press RUN for the game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Bonk's Adventure (HuCard) [TGX030028] or (SCD) [TGXCD1027]
----------------
You are Bonk and you're off on an adventure to save Princess Za. Like
Sonic and Mario, Bonk is TG-16's color mascot (I say "color" because
HudsonSoft released Bonk for the Gameboy)!
GRAPHICS : B+ (The cartoon-like graphics could be improved)
SOUND : B+ (Lots of bleeps and bloops in the right places)
MUSIC : A- (Catchy tune which is sparse and unannoying)
GAMEPLAY : A- (The Turbopad is adequate here, but a joystick would be better)
LONGEVITY: A (You will want to play again and again)
OVERALL : 3.67
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: The graphics have been improved in Bonk's Revenge.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Bonk's Revenge (HuCard) [TGX040058] or (SCD) [TGXCD1027] -
-------------- Review by Bryan Duvan.
Sequel to Bonk's Adventure. You're Bonk trying to save Princess Za's
planet once again.
GRAPHICS : A (Much better and faster than its predecessor... Bonk's Adventure
was basically a linear game... Bonk's Revenge has you climbing
vertically as well as horizontally... check out how Bonk climbs
vines!)
SOUNDS : A (A bit more complex than the simplistic sounds of Bonk's
Adventure)
MUSIC : A (Very nice music)
GAMEPLAY : B (I like the multiple spins in Bonk's Adventure than the single
spin here)
LONGEVITY: A (Extremely long game to master... lots of tricks you need to
learn... two practice modes get you in gear for the challenge!)
OVERALL : 3.83
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : Very nice game... Hopefully, Bonk 3 will be better than the first
two.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Browning (JSCD) [TJCD1020, Telenet] Review by Sergey Shimkevich.
--------
Best described by the text on the box...
>"SEA SQUARE", a gigantic man-made island on the Atlantic Ocean, an
>armed fortress controlled by a mysterious army. It is evident that
>they are developing the most evil weapon for slaughter to maintain
>and grasp its superiority of military power in the world.
>Joint forces have taken the motion for a special action (irregular
>combat) and have prepared a mobile weapon "BROWNING" to destroy
>the ultimate weapon.
In short, a very disappointing side-scroller. The game graphics are
very impressive with several layers of parallax scrolling. Your
mecha (robotic weapon) is large and very well animated (when you
turn it actually turns, also its left and right sides are
different). The music is good, the intro is impressive (in English,
too, in fact, the whole game plays in English), too bad there
aren't any real intermissions, just shorts between the rounds. The
sound effects are one of the best I've heard on any system - the
booming steps of your robot are especially impressive...All of this
is laid to waste by the very bad gameplay.
For starters, the game is too short - only five levels, the last
two being simply fights with one boss after another. To compensate
for that, it is made to be difficult and it is, to the point of
being frustrating. The gameplay is extremely linear - just walk,
run or hover (interesting but practically wasted options) to the
right until you meet the boss which you have to take out with your
pea-shooter before the timer runs out. Continues are unlimited and
you'll most definitely need them.
GRAPHICS : A
SOUND : A
MUSIC : A
GAMEPLAY : C
LONGEVITY: C
OVERALL : 3.00
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Let's hope that they do a sequel and do it right.
COMMENTS : If you are a mecha fanatic and can get it cheap, go for it.
Otherwise, save your money and get something else.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Buster Brothers (CD) [TGXCD1031]
---------------
See "Pomping World"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Cardangels [FCCD4002] (JSCD) - review by bt garner
----------
Cardangels is a 1 or 2 player card playing game with 4 different "games,"
Poker, Black Jack, Speed and Babanuki (Old Maid). However, there is a
small twist, the games are of the "strip" variety (but only down to underware,
there is no nudity in the game). Unlike the "regular" card games, here
the goal is to win enough money (althoguh the game does not have any monetary
units it in, it's kind of assumed that it's money), or have more money than
your opponent after the specified number of rounds (both the number of
rounds and the amount needed to win are user adjustable).
The game consists of 15 "Volumes," and each volume has 3 dealers (most of
the stages have a certain theme, one has a "hospital" theme, one has a
"police" theme to it, one is even a "leather" theme, but I digress). At the
start of each round, you move to a "slot machine" type of screen where
you play the odds to figure out which games you will need to play in order
to advance to the next stage.
During game play, you are presented with the fully clothed (although in some
cases, saying "fully clothed," isn't much different than the "mostly naked,"
version) competator. Once you have an adequate amount of money (generally
1000 to 1500 more than you opponent), her clothes start to flash. By the
end of the round, if her clothes are not totally flashing, they will briefly
before she is nudified (so long as you've won, of course). You are then
presented with a full screen picture of the "dealer" whom you have just beat.
You then proceed to the next game.
Although most of the games are straight forward, there are a few differences.
In poker, you are given an amount of money of winning with a certain hand
(One Pair == 200; Two Pair == 500; Full House == 5000, etc), the game is not
one where you place bets. The same is true of Black Jack (win a hand, get
500, get a Black Jack, you win 2500, get a "Stright Flush" and win 20000 [I'd
never heard of it either until I cleared a stage real quick with that]).
Babanuki is similar to old maid (this is the same card game that is in
Ranm 1/2 - Part 3, where you play against the King). You take turns choosing
a card from the other person's hand, hoping to not get the Joker. Whoever
is left with the Joker at the end of the hand looses. The money for this
game starts of at 100, and everytime the Joker changes hands, that value
doubles. Also, be sure to watch your opponent's eyes for some hints. They
are not very good bluffers.
Speed is about the only game where luck doesn't play the major role, here
both you and your opponent have 3 cards visible, and then 2 are displayed.
Your goal is to play your cards (all 26 of them) before she plays hers. For
instance, if an 8 is shoing, you can play either a 7 or a 9, this goes on
until no more plays can be made, then 2 new cards are laid down. You win
100 times the face value of each card that your opponent has left at the
end of the hand.
GRAPHICS: B (Some of the cards are very hard to read, and some of the girls
are strangely disproportionate [very small feet, very large..])
SOUNDS: A- (nice digitized voices, etc).
MUSIC: A- (well programmed background music)
GAMEPLAY: A- (Speed is a little hard to play, since you have to use the
Run button along with I and II)
LONGEVITY: B- (once you've beatne the story mode, there's not much else, you
can always play "FREEPLAY" mode, and there is a 2P mode, which
is no different from 1P mode, except someone else controls your
opponent).
OVERALL: 3.25
PLAYERS: 1 or 2 (although 2P mode looks like more of an afterthought).
COMMENTS: Why is the savefile called "HARDANGELS"?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Conan the Future Boy (JSCD) [TJCD2022] Review by Majors
--------------------
Based on the anime by Hayao Miyazaki(Kiki's, Totoro) with the similar
name, you control Conan as he runs, kicks, and sometimes spears (yes, a
platformer). The game consistes of 6 levels, each of which are saved after
completion so you can replay them.
GRAPHICS : B (Very Miyazaki-istic
SOUND : C
MUSIC : B (Has opening and closing from anime)
GAMEPLAY : C- (Run and jump, jump and run)
LONGEVITY: D (Buy-beat-sell)
OVERALL : 2.2
PLAYERS : 1
Comments: No replay value kills it. If you a fan of Conan or Miyazaki,
it's a collectable.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Cosmic Fantasy 2 (CD) Reviewed by Pete Ikusz
----------------
If you are a Ys 1&2 fan (or addict), CF2 is a must for your TG CD library.
After a small introduction screen, you begin your adventure in the Ys 1&2
style. (3-d type of movement rather than side scrolling.) Fighting scenes are
quite different from Ys though, you are able to select from a variety of
options ranging from using weapons or magic to fleeing the encounter. When
an encounter occurs the monsters are displayed on the screen, and the
players in your group are listed. You are given the option of which player
to control, and/or which monster to attack.
I will not bother going over the story line. It is very well done, the actors
voices are done superbly, and there are some excellent graphic intermissions.
GRAPHICS : A+ (Wow!)
SOUND : A (A few more weapons sounds would have been neat, but not important.)
MUSIC : A+ (Great musical scores.)
GAMEPLAY : A+ (Easy to understand and get used to.)
LONGEVITY: A+ (It makes you want to play more and more.)
OVERALL : 4.25
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: You are only allowed 2 saved games. A few more would have been
nice. There is a slight load/track switch delay when going
into combat. This is quite often, and becomes a slight pain.
COMMENTS : It really doesn't get any better than this.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Cotton (SCD) [TGXCD1038] - Review by Bt Garner
------
A cute shooter - you control Willow, a young witch who has volunteered (ahem)
to help the fairies (no, I'm not making this up!) return order to their
world. Of course, that's not the real reason that she's helping, she
just want's to get her hands on Willows (a candy). Seven interesting stages.
GRAPHICS : A (Top Notch)
SOUND : A (Very good)
MUSIC : A (Fantastic music, puts you in the mood)
GAMEPLAY : A- (using the magic can, at tiems be difficult - for instance
to use the shield, you need to press both I and II at the
same time)
LONGEVITY: A- (Not an easy game, and can be frustrating, but a game that
definitely makes you want to see the next level)
OVERALL : 3.87
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Fix the "continue scheme." I don't want to have to start at
the beginning of the level for the second continue.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Crest Of Wolf (JSCD)
-------------
see "Riot Zone"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Double Dragon 2: The Revenge (JSCD) [NXCD2010] NaxatSoft, 1993 - review
---------------------------- by Robert Kemmetmueller
The mediocre sequel to the classic arcade game actually makes a darn
fine PCEngine game. The two-button controls of the arcade (which I
detested, compared to those of the first game), are well-suited to home
play.
Cinematic intermissions are good, although very... Japanese (two
brothers crash through brick walls(!) and disarm a half-dozen punks
harassing a couple).
GRAPHICS : A (scenery isn't spectacular but characters look very nice)
SOUND : C (your basic slaps and groans)
MUSIC : A+ (this is the "Gate of Thunder" of beat'em'up games!)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (it has enough techniques for fans of this genre)
LONGEVITY: B
OVERALL : 3.27
PLAYERS : 1 or 2 (damage-each-other is optional)
IMPROVEMENTS: The desired 3-D effect of the scenery is marred by plainish,
flattish graphics.
COMMENTS : Fans of the arcade should be quite pleased. Anyone who enjoys
"Final Fight"-style (wait, that was a Double Dragon ripoff! :-)
games should get this.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Download 2 (JCD) [NAPR-1018] - Review by Jeffrey Naiman
---------- (comments by Bt Garner).
A side-scrolling shooter with lots of variation.
GRAPHICS : A-
SOUND : A
MUSIC : A
GAMEPLAY : B+
LONGEVITY: A-
OVERALL : 3.56
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS: This is one of the best Japanese shooters. Period. You control
a ship with four different weapons (and yes, you'll need them all). One
of the appealing things for me, is that the game is heavily influenced
by ancient mythology, including (but not limited to), the stage bosses,
the backgrounds, and even the music reflects this. This is a wonderful
game, and very tough. Beg. steal or borrow this one!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dracula X (Castelvania) (JSCD) [KMCD3005] - review by Bt Garner
-----------------------
All the rage for 1993/94 - the ultimate in Run, Jump and Slash 'em up
games. A must have for thse SCD lover in you. No fewer than 8 stages
(not including a prologue, Stage 0), and many of the paths cross (for
instance you can go to "2" through 1 or 1', 1 will take you to 2 and
1' will take you to 2'. And not all of the paths are outlined in the
manual.
GRAPHICS: A (beautiful graphics, rich detail, and very fluent motion)
SOUNDS: A (chop, chop.. the windows breaking noise is very well done too)
MUSIC: A (some is annoying, but for the most part the tunes reeled off of
the CD compliment the gameplay very well. Roland Surround
Sound is used, to further enhance the BGM)
GAMEPLAY: B+ (some moves are hard to make, but other than that, the controls
are very good.)
LONGEVITY: A- (There are several "paths" that you can take to get to the final
destination [note that 1' is MUCH harder than 1, that is, if
you can find 1'], and you'll of course want time to explore
every nook and cranny, looking for hidden passage ways)
OVERALL: 3.78
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: This game is not easy, you have been warned. Also, people with
a system 2.0 card, should load the SCD to get the humorous "game/warning
message" that loads instead.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes (SCD) [TGXCD1029]
-----------------------------------
Review by Tin Yau Fung. Additional notes by TurboKid.
A young prince by the name of Serios, age 16, was to inherit the throne in
two months. When he was 6, his father and his kingdom were invaded by
monsters. For 10 yrs, Serios was in the custody of one of the King's
courtmen. One night, herds of monsters attack and destroy Serios' castle.
Later, Serios finds out that his guardian, who is taking the power until
his inheritance, is rebelling. Thus, left alone, Serios sets on a new
adventure to reclaim the throne and defeat Akubamu.
GRAPHICS : B (Although the graphics are much better than the PC version,
the graphics still look very fuzzy. It was especially
annoying that the screen was very small and difficult to
look at)
SOUND : A- (The game gives the option of choosing between PGM and CD.
While the CD sound is apparently more pleasing, PGM is not
really bad and it lessens the tremendous reading the CD
has to do. "This is a NEAT concept and should be
incorporated into all future CD games!" - Ed.)
MUSIC : A-
GAMEPLAY : B (Actually, it is okay. There is even an option in which the
computer do the fighting for you. All I have to do is
walk around and bump into enemies. But, even so, the
gameplay is somewhat boring)
LONGEVITY: C (I don't think I will want to play it again)
OVERALL : 2.90
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : This game is made by the same company (Falcom) that created the
Ys series. This is one reason I choose to play it. However, I find the
game does not live up to my expectations. I would not recommend this game.
Too much is lost when they ported this to the CD. This game is just as
bad as Ys III on the CD. But I would definitely would wait for Ys IV.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dungeon Explorer II (SCD) [TGXCD1034] - review by Bt Garner
-------------------
50 years have passed since the ORA stone was taken from Natas and prosperity
returned to the land of Oddesia. Now the minions of Natas have again over
run Oddesia and recaptured the ORA stone, as well as Miriam, the King's
daughter. You and up to 4 of your friends must wade your way through the
many levels and recapture the ORA stone. ..
GRAPHICS : A- (about the same as it's precursor, little improvement for
backgrounds, characters seem more detailed)
SOUND : B+ (Appropriate sound effects)
MUSIC : A- (most of the songs will be strangely familiar, only
spruced up a bit and read off of the CD ... )
GAMEPLAY : B+ (character handling seems to have been improved)
LONGEVITY: A- (ditto here, as above, the improvements shine through)
OVERALL : 3.57
PLAYERS : 1 to 5
COMMENTS : The quest is too short (although better than a game such as
Exile), and the final bosses are easily defeated. Upping the
difficulty at the end could help.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dungeon Master: Theron's Quest (SCD) [TGXCD1041] - review by Bt Garner
------------------------------
The Harvest Festival in Bibogu Village is a time when young men get their
chance to enter adulthood - however, the sheppard Theron has missed the
celebration to drag a lamb out of the swamp into which it had fallen. Thus
missing, perhaps his only opportunity to be admitted into the viaage as a
man (sorry ladies). However, that night the Grey Lord descended into the
village seeking one would could return the Seven Symbols of the Brave.
In order to prove his worthyness, Theron has voluneteered himself (I mean,
it wouldn't be much of a game had he not) for the chore.
This game places you in the role of Theron, and along with up to 3 other
fighters musty manage your way through 7 different dungeons and return the
Seven Symbols in order to become a man. The dungeon is always viewed in a
first person perspective. And you can control which of the members in
your party will attack at which times. Rather than just a simple kill
everything fest, there are also several puzzles which must be solved in
each labernyth.
GRAPHICS : B+ (Okay, the scenery is pretty boring, but the monsters and
other items make up for it).
SOUND : B+ (Ok, but nothing great).
MUSIC : B (even though it's CD, I think that some better tunes would
help, although since this isn't a run and slash type of
game, it may not add that much)
GAMEPLAY : A- (at first it is very cumbersome, but in time, it gets better).
LONGEVITY: A (I'm looking forward to moving on to the later quests)
OVERALL: 3.55
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: This is a much better title then the other first person
perspective games (Double Dungeons, Silent Debuggers), but if you're looking
for a hack everything in sight game, you'd do best to avoid this title.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# The Dynastic Hero (SCD) [TGXCD1053] - review by Bt Garner
-----------------
This is the Duo/PCE version of the Genesis game, "Wonderboy V." Here's
the stoery line; you play the role of Dyna, the only person (*) in the
land of the Insektors who can save the land of Tarron from the (evil)
supreme warlord of the Reptile Realm -- Mandra. First, you must rescue
Brenna the Fairy Maiden (worry not, after saving her the first time, she'll
again be kidnapped toward the end of the game so that you have to rescue
her again).
If all of that sounds complex (and it is), then maybe this will help. This
game is your basic run/jump/slash type of game. However, it is much more
complex than that, there are puzzles to solve, key items to find, and hidden
doors (rooms) peppered throughout the landscape. Speaking of the landscape,
it is HUGE -- I think that (short of some more recent RPGs) this is the
largest world yet in an action game for the Duo.
Along the way, your journey will permit you to befriend several other
people (**) who will help you, as the story unfolds and you rescue Brenna
(twice) and save Tarron from those evil reptiles.
(*) term used loosely.
(**) term used *very* loosely.
GRAPHICS: A (Very good, virtually no flicker or slowdown, lots of detail)
SOUND: A- (pretty good. ..)
MUSIC: A+ (top notch, excellent background music that is both
appropriate and inspiring
GAMEPLAY: A+ (again, well very done - no joystick needed)
LONGEVITY: B+ (parts are tough, but with persistance, you will get through,
although not in one night.. . should last you a while)
OVERALL: 3.82
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: Although billed as an "action" game, there are certain parts that
have more of an RPG feel to them (you must complete this task, before you
get an item that will enable to you to this task. ..etc). This is definitly
a *must* have for any Duo owner who enjoys Action/RPG games. Highly
recommended.
IMPROVEMENTS: The tiniest bit of flickering that occurs in the outer space
level should be fixed (or something). Also, the end bosses are way too easy.
Of course, you can artificially make them more challenging by using weaker
swords.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Efera and Jiliora - The Emblem From Darkness (JCD)
--------------------------------------------
Review by Sergey Shimkevich.
Efera and Jiliora is a role-playing fantasy game based on a Japanese animated
movie "Gu-De-Crest: Women Warriors Efera and Jiliora".
This game is very similar to Y's Book 1&2. The only differences are better
graphics and that your character can move diagonally, plus a slightly
different method of attack.
When you start the game, you can pick either Efera or Jiliora. There is a
two-player mode which allows two people to play at the same time, something
that is unusual in RPG's. Jiliora is a strong fighter, but she cannot use
magic. She obtains magic rings as her level goes up which enable her to
power-up her sword for a short time, recover lost HP and to become invincible
for a short time. Efera is a weaker fighter, but she can use magic spells
which are very effective against boss enemies. She does not possess a healing
ring and depends on medicine and healing magic which uses a lot of MP. MP can
be restored only by magic herbs that she has to carry with her and there is a
limit to how many items your character can carry. Thus, it is easier to
explore with Jiliora since she can restore her HP anywhere, but fighting the
bosses is much easier with Efera. For example, it takes a lot of time and
effort to kill the final enemy with Jiliora, but it is extremely easy with
Efera, granted that you use the right spell. (Also, Efera is cuter, IMHO).
An interesting detail is that, unlike other RPG's, you can swing your sword
in the towns as well. However, if you kill one of the townspeople by
accident, the others will come and strike you down in a moment - game over.
Since you use the same button for closing the conversation window and for
striking with your sword, make sure your turbo-fire switches are off when
you enter the towns, or else you might kill the person you've been talking
to with dire consequences.
GRAPHICS : A (Even though this is an RPG, some of the levels are very
graphically impressive)
SOUND : B (What sound?)
MUSIC : A+ (Exceptional high-quality soundtrack)
GAMEPLAY : A (Better than Y's!)
LONGEVITY: A- (This is an RPG, so once you finish it, it is over. The quest
is fairly long, though)
OVERALL : 3.78
PLAYERS : 1 or 2
COMMENTS: If you liked Y's I&II, you'll enjoy this game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Exile (CD) [WTG990101] - Review by Brad Hamlett, Comments by TurboKid.
-----
Exile is an action/RPG very similiar in gameplay to Ys III. While in a town,
the perspective is from a 3/4ths top-down view. Playing the alter ego of
Sadler, you walk around gathering clues and buying weapons/armor/etc. In the
'wilderness' perspective shifts to a multi-scrolling side view. All combat
takes place on the side view screens. Like in most RPGs, in Exile, you gain
experience which nets you more hit points/magic points and combat power. The
magic system in Exile is very limited. There are only three types of magic --
a fire-slash, ice-bomb, and restoration. The first two are simply a way to
fire ranged attacks at oppenents instead of hitting them with your weapon.
Both fire-slash and ice-bomb have three power levels. Restoration simply
drains your magic points to restore your hit points.
You will gather NPCs along the way. They simply offer advice or important
items, but do not participate in fights. The storyline seems to be based on
the Crusades of Medieval Europe...in fact, most of the story is based in the
Middle East.
The intermissions are interesting and the voice acting is decent, about as
good as that in Cosmic Fantasy 2. The music is excellent and sets the mood
perfectly. The biggest flaw with the game is that it is far too easy. It
took me all of two nights to complete. There are no really difficult puzzles
and only the last fight is truly challenging. Besides being easy, the game
is just way too short, shorter than Ys III by half.
One last side note. You may have seen the ads for Exile advertising the
'uncut' version. This probably amounts to the pool of blood seen when you
die and the Festival of Bakus (their spelling, not mine) in one of the
cities. Save your money, rent this one over a weekend.
GRAPHICS : A-
SOUND : A+
MUSIC : A+
GAMEPLAY : B+
LONGEVITY: D (it's too easy)
OVERALL : 2.93
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : This game lost lots of points in the longevity section.
I, myself, had the Genesis version of Exile for 2 days, got bored
with it, and traded it for Alisia Dragoon! - Ed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Exile: Wicked Phenomenon (SCD) [WTG990102] - Review by Bt Garner
------------------------
What do you get if you crossed the RPG of Ys and the Action of Valis? Well,
it certainly wouldn't be "Exile: Wicked Phenomenon" (hereforth known as E2),
the lastest in the "Exile" series from Wrecking Designs (oops, I meant
*Working* Designs, of course).
After you (as Sadler) defeated Jimboffa [?] in the first Exile, and placed
the Holimax in its eternal resting spot, peace came to the land. But had
peace remained. E2 would be the most boring game around, so it didn't.
You assume the role of Sadler -- again fighting your way through cities of
the middle east (Bahgdad, Dehli), with each town played in Ys fashion (top
down 3/4 perspective), and the paths between the towns being of the side
scrolling run and slash variety. Oh yeah -- and there's a plot too! Unlike
its predecessor, after people join your party, you can use them in the
"action" scenes (for instance "Rumi" [and you thought she had died in the
first one -- ha!] has better jumping ability, throws swords [so that you
can attack from a distance], but has lousy defense).
GRAPHICS: B (about the same as the first fare, unimpressive)
SOUND: B (unimpressive as well, why so few "voices?")
MUSIC: B (boring. unimaginitive. mundane.)
GAMEPLAY: B- (enemy can hit you when you've ducked beneath their fire,
even when you deliver the finishing blow, some may still
do damage to you -- gets frustrating)
LONGEVITY: B- (see comments)
OVERALL: 2.85
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: WD obviously took our advice from the first Exile, and did in fact
make this one *much* tougher. So tough, in fact that you may not be able to
get past the second level (God Crully). In order for me to defeat him, I had
to work Sadler up -- up so high that he was only 2 levels away from being
maxed out. Even then, it took about 8 tries. I can't wait to see what
insurmountable foes await me next (Lawrence, oh Lawrence!)
One thing I do like (although it *can* be annoying) is the results when you
mix the tonics -- random things can happen (for instance, if you mix a tonic
to increase your Offense, and then another one to increase your Defense, you
may be surprised to find that the second one actually decreases both your
offense and defense -- unfortunately, experimentation with this doesn't always
work, since there seems to be a randomness to it).
IMPROVEMENTS: The exact opposite of the previous, make it a little easier.
Also, it seems that ED didn't take advantage of the CD technology, when you
meet main characters, they don't speak (it's just text that you read), the
only time that speech is used, is during the intermissions -- and Ys 3 taught
us that that wasn't necessary. Particularly for a SuperCD.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Far East of Eden II, Manji Maru (JSCD) Review by Tin Yau Fung.
-------------------------------
This is a sequel to Far East of Eden, Ziria. The player assumes the role
of Manji Maru. The game stands apart from other ordinary RPGs in that it
has the most animation and voice-acting among all RG games. Playing the
game is like watching a drama.
GRAPHICS : A (The overworld map and the dungeon parts were superb.
However, when characters enter places like villages, they
suddenly look very blocky)
SOUND : A++ (Excellent! There is a section in the instruction manul
which explains how tough it is to make good traditional
Japanese music.)
MUSIC : A++
GAMEPLAY : B (The game is not action-oriented. Characters fight by
choosing commands from a list of options)
LONGEVITY: A (Just the animation will blow you away. You definitely want
to see it again)
OVERALL : 4.03
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: The game is far too easy. I think it would be great if they
could do a decent translation in the US version.
COMMENTS : This is *THE* RPG game to play if you just got a Super System
Card 3.0 upgrade. Actually, this game is what NEC Japan
uses in their ads for their promotions of the new PC Engine Duo.
Let me quote the ad info here...
Total Characters : 3000
Enemy Characters : 400
Map : approx 20000 screens
Villages/Dungeons : about 250
Magic : about 100 different types
Items : approx 500
Narration : about 3 hours, 10000 messages
Animation : about 30 minutes
BGM : 80 entries
Expected time to finish the game : 70 to 80 hours
Staff : 150 people
(A working knowledge of Japanese is needed for this title)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Fighting Street (CD) [TGXCD1001] - Review by Laly Thao.
--------------- Additional notes by TurboKid.
Someone should have reviewed this a while ago, but since no one has, here
is my opinion/observation. This is Street Fighter I for those who haven't
already realized it. You are Ken (Ken and Ryu in two player) and you go
to five countries to test your skills. You can choose to start in Japan,
England, USA, or China. After selecting a starting country, the remaining
countries are randomly selected. After defeating the two fighters from
each country, you head to Thailand to fight two Thai kickboxers.
If you don't have a joystick, you will develop a cyst-infested thumb trying
to do the special moves (fireball, thunder (?) kick, and dragon punch). After
a couple of minutes, you won't even notice your thumb.
The intensity of the moves (kick/punch) are controlled by how long you hold
the kick/punch buttons.
GRAPHICS : B (Not too great but you get used to it after a while.)
SOUND : C+ (The voices associated with the fireball, thunder kick and
dragon punch are all there. The groans when getting hit are
also present. Biggest gripe here are the voices of the
opponents. The voices were written into the program rather
than recorded on the CD. The dialog spoken by the opponents
is unintelligible. Good thing they printed the dialog, too.)
MUSIC : A (The only thing making this a CD game is the CD quality music.)
GAMEPLAY : B (Better played with a joystick. The only move I did consis-
tently was the thunder kick (and that was with the kick button
set to mid-turbo). I was successful 80% of the time I tried
it. I accidentally did a dragon punch but that never happened
again. I threw a couple of fireballs in the midst of getting
clobbered. Without the special moves mastered, once I got to
Thailand, the kickboxer promptly splattered me over the ruins.
Response to moves was also very slow. It is supposed to be a
fast paced game but it leaves a lot to be desired.)
LONGEVITY: B (Good for times when you want to beat up people :-) Also good
for two player action to find out who's going to pay for the
pizza.)
OVERALL : 3.05
PLAYERS : 1 or 2
IMPROVEMENTS: A very poorly designed game. The voices should have been
digitized onto the CD, rather than stuffed in the program
itself. Very poor voice quality. Additionally, the CD was
accessed every time a match was to be fought. It would have
been better if the CD were accessed only if something
different were needed, so if you died in that level, you don't
need to access anything new, hence the CD would not be accessed
except for music.
Especially frustrating if you were beaten up by a character
and wanted immediate revenge. You'd have to wait for the
program to load again... *SIGH*.
COMMENTS : This game could've been placed on a HuCard!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Final Zone II (CD) [TGXCD1008] - Review by Pete Ikusz.
-------------
The look and feel of this game is quite similar to that of the arcade
game, Commando. It is a vertical scroller where you play one of 5
characters, each different at different levels, each having different
weapons. In levels 4-7 you are allowed to choose which you would like
to play. There are only 4 different power ups, one to restore partial
strength, one to increase ammo, one to increase strength meter, and one
to restore all of your strength. This game is very straightforward, but
definitely not easy.
The introductory story line was okay at best, along with the graphics.
Nothing special. There are a few intermediate screenplays, but they are
of the intro quality.
GRAPHICS : B+ (A little better than Bloody Wolf, but not as good as Last
Alert)
SOUND : B+ (Your standard sound effects for a game of this type... voice
makes it a bit better than Bloody Wolf)
MUSIC : A- (Decent CD music)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (You need a joystick for this game)
LONGEVITY: A- (It gets you aggravated enough to MAKE you play again!)
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: When your character is killed (if you continue), you begin
at the beginning of that level. (Arghh!!! to say the least)
OVERALL : 3.50
COMMENTS : There is no save game feature. "Very disappointing to say the
least. What the hell did I buy my CD unit with !@&$% memory
backup for?" - Ed. Now this would be a great 2 player game...
EDITOR'S COMMENTS [cd]: I found this game to be very similar to Last Alert,
except for small play mechanics and graphics. I found the
graphics to be only a little better than Bloody Wolf's. Also,
Last Alert has your character confined to a smaller moveable
area, whereas the other two games allow you to move around the
immediate vicinity better. I prefer the maneuverability (or
lack of maneuverability?) of Last Alert over this game, though,
and your tastes may be very different from mine when comparing
games of this sort. The lower price tag of Last Alert definitely
helps sway my decision to go with Last Alert over Final Zone II.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Flash Hiders (JSCD) [RSCD 3004] - review by Noah Mittman Zis
------------
This is a one-on-one fighting game not unlike SF2. There is a greater
amount of depth to the fighting, however. The setting is a fantasy/sci-fi
cross, and you have 9 characters to choose from, averaging four special
moves each, with our hero Bang having 5 and Seena with 3. Before fighting,
you will come across the tune-up screen, where you can adjust points to
offense, defense, and speed. Offense gives you stronger attacks, and is
worn down by taking hits; Defense lets you take less damage, and gets
worn down by taking hits, both blocked and unblocked (and falls faster than
offense). Speed follows the same idea, but won't regenerate like the others
unless you stop moving.
The other interesting point is that there is no point system. Instead, when
you win a fight, you are awarded with experience points in the form of time
bonuses, skill bonuses, and health bonuses. Enough XP and you move up a
level along with your O,D,and S ratings and the number of points you can add
to them.
There are three modes of play. Scenario mode gives you the full-screen art
and a plot only someone who knows japanese could follow. You can only play
Bang, and you'll fight 8 characters, including the bosses Graneel and
Moonrize. (Tiria, Seena, and Bang you will not fight). Advance mode lets you
choose from any of the standard 9 and fight for money, which lets you buy
O,D, and S strengtheners, plus an item that will boost one of your special
moves. You can save your character to back-up ram or to password. The harder
the difficulty, the more XP and money each round will give you. By the 25th
round, you will again fight Graneel and then Moonrize. Finally, the normal
Versus mode lets you pit a 2p battle, a 1p battle, or a comp-on-comp. You,
as elsewhere in the game, have 6 levels of difficulty ranging from Easy to
Death. You can ALSO load in characters built up from the Advance mode, for
the occasional "my-character's-better-than-yours" 2p fight.
Uses the 6-button pad with 2 strengths of kicks and punches. Otherwise works
like World Heroes/Fighting Street where tap and hold differenciates on the
2 button pad.
GRAPHICS : A++ (battles are GREAT, animation is top-notch with some moving
backgrounds, but some of the scenario graphics are weak)
SOUND : A+ (samples are clear and well recorded. even the compressed
audio is great. not too limited although some may grow tired)
MUSIC : A+ (some of the fight music is simply wonderful, and fit this
genre of games - of course, it IS a CD)
GAMEPLAY : A+ (three modes, adjustable skills, auto/manual control - this
puppy's got the options that it needs for a good fighter
and ALMOST a good simulator! [auto control's purpose])
LONGEVITY: A (My personal view on fighting games, plus the Advance mode.
I've now used all 9 set at Metal, can I do the same at
Truth?)
OVERALL: 4.25
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
COMMENTS: Nothing bad here! In fact, only the credits, item names, and
story/endings are in japanese! What luck for a gaijin like me! >:)
Data loads in very quickly! A must for any fighting game fan!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Forgotten Worlds (SCD) [TGXCD1030] - review by Bt Garner
----------------
The two-person shooter, direct from the arcades. Well, almost direct .. .
GRAPHICS : B (Not bad, although there is an occasional flicker)
SOUND : C+ (Boring, but just barely covers all the bases, and the
voices sound like they were recorded in an NYC sewer pipe)
MUSIC : B (adequate, but not great)
GAMEPLAY : B (OK, a Stick would probably make life real easy. ..easier. ..)
LONGEVITY: B- (doesn't overly hold your attention)
OVERALL : 2.78
PLAYERS : 1 (2, see Improvements).
IMPROVEMENTS: Bring back the two player option (like the arcade). There is a
2-player version (through a debug code), but in that case, 1
player controls the "man" and the other controls the "satelite"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Gain Ground (JSCD) - Review by William Zandrew
-----------
This is meant as a preliminary review since I have never played the
Genesis version and can't read Japanese. Some things are my observations
and may be wrong.
You start with 3 charaters. One dude is a spear chucker, and two with
guns. There appears to be two objectives, one to get your people across
to the spot marked EXIT in a certain amount of time and the other to
kill all the bad guys. This second objective seems impossible on some
levels since the game appears to regenerate them.
There is an interesting subplot. Occasionally you will find a
"scratchy blob" laying around. If you run over it, you will end up with
this blob following you. At first I thought you were supposed to be
saving kidnapped kids, but from what I can gather, they appear to be bodies.
If you get killed going across, you turn into one of these blobs. If you
get your band of warriors across sometimes the bodies will regenerate them
selves into another warrior you can use on the next level.
From what I have seen, if you kill all the bad guys you immediately go to
the next level. If you have a body attached to you, it will not regenerate
on the next level. You are better off leaving one bad guy alive and
carrying the body to the exit and let someone else kill off all the villians.
Some of the warriors you pick up along the way have some great firepower.
A signifigant one has a bazooka and another a flame thrower. (I
wish I could figure out what he has before I start, because the bazooka
is more lethal than the flame thrower)
GRAPHICS: B In general, the graphics are pretty good. There are a few
times where there is some annoying flicker.
SOUND: B Nothing seemed inadequate or great. Usual sounds for hits
and weapons being thrown, etc
MUSIC: B Basically nice music, but it seems inappropriate for the game.
Instead of high charged music, it seems like I'm listening to
a classical track of some kind.
GAMEPLAY: C+ Besides the music, the game play seems unbearably slow. I
keep hoping I will find a power up that will make my dudes
move faster. One of my female warriors is painfully slow.
Every time I have to move her across it is like coaxing a
snail.
LONGEVITY:A I like this game! It takes a couple of times to get an idea
of what is going on, but after you get it, you want to see
what kind of new "body" you just recruited and what kind of
fire power he has. There also is a bit of strategy to it as
the players have different strengths and weaknesses. The gun
dudes can clear out the ground people well, but can't touch
the archers on top of the walls. Some are faster than others,
etc.
OVERALL: 3.1 DO NOT GO BY THIS RATING! If you can get by the slowness
of the game in general, it is a very enjoyable game.
Comments: This game has virtually no opening animation and a 20 second
demo mode. I don't recall any other game starting out
immediately at the "press run" screen. Also from what I can
see, there are almost no options on it. All I could find
was a EASY, NORMAL, HARD screen
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Gate of Thunder (SCD) [TGXCD1027]
---------------
You control an awesome spacejet flying over beautiful terrain and meticulously
detailed enemy strongholds. Three shooting weapons and homing missiles add to
the fun. Better than Gradius, Darius, R-Type, and all shooters before it!
GRAPHICS : A++ (some of the fastest, flicker-free images on ANY game
system... animation sequences and parallax will thrill you...
check out levels 4 and 5... damn good graphics!)
SOUND : A+ (killer explosions and shooting sounds)
MUSIC : A++ (in a word, pulse-pounding... the music fits perfectly in with
the graphics)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (one of those games which would benefit greatly with a joystick)
LONGEVITY: A++ (for shooters, there is no substitute! Packaged with every
TurboDuo. Will definitely win a place in the Turbo Hall of
Fame)
OVERALL : 4.33
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : This game comes on a 4-game CD including Bonk's Adventure and
Bonk's Revenge. Before the title screen, Bonk does a little
narration. The viewer is thrilled with a 3D rotation and
scaling demo (and Sega people said it *couldn't* be done!).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Genocide (JSCD) [BRCD2003] - review by Bt Garner
--------
You're a Mech - and you have to, well, kill things (as if that's a foreign
concept to most video games). You have a sword; you can run (left or
right); you can jump. That's about it. Every level has a boss, that you
must destroy before you can open the gate to get to the next level.
GRAPHICS : B (nice, but nothing fantastic)
SOUND : B (uninspired, at best)
MUSIC : C (there's a problem here - the soundtrack itself is wonderful,
but it sounds like it was recorded outside in the midst of
an electrical storm [the term "telephone quality" comes to
mind])
GAMEPLAY : B+ (easy enough to figure out)
LONGEVITY: C+ (very difficult, perhaps too difficult).
OVERALL : 2.65
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS: Fix the soundtrack, please. Some power-ups for your weapon
would be nice (there are none!)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Godzilla - Legendary Master (SCD) - Review by: Lowell Wheeler
---------------------------
The game adds several new twists to the standard fighting game. In one
player mode you can choose from 3 difficulty levels (easy,normal,hard). You
must fight your way through 5 stages collecting points along the way to face
your choice of oppenents on stage 6. In each of the first 5 stages you are
able to chose between one of two opponents to fight. When you reach stage six
the number of points you have determines the number of choises you have for
the final stage (ie 0-449,999 1 choice; 450,000-549,999 choices ...) To
fight the more difficult bosses you must do very well in the first 5 stages.
You have unlimited continues, but each time you lose 50,000 points. In this
mode you are only able to play as Godzilla, although there is a cheat for the
Japenese version to be able to play as any character.
In two player mode, you enter a best of three falls contest. You are only
able to chose characters that you have defeated in one player mode, however.
This means
Gameplay IMHO is very good. The programmers got the most out of the two
button controller, so you are able to do a variety of moves with each
character. The characters are well animated but could have used some more
frames of animation. The backgrounds are varied, some are very colorful with
paralax scrolling and backgroung animations, while others are bland without
paralax. The sounds are well done, Godzilla's roar in the intro will give any
fan of the movies a big smile =). The music sounds like a movie score,(it
reminds me a little of the Batman score, moody with lots of strings) very good.
Each character has the special moves you'll recognize from the movies.
Godzilla's radiation breath (his scales even glow just like the movies =))
and his spinning tail whip; Mothras shockwave wings, Ghidrah's lightning...
The characters you can fight are: Godzilla, Anguirus, Rodan, Megalon,
Ghidrah, Gigan, Hedorah(Smog Monster), Mecha-Godzilla, Biolante(can't use in
two player mode), King Ghidrah, Battra(Mothra) larvae, Super XII, Mecha-
Godzilla II, Mecha-King Ghidrah, Battra(Mothra) adult, Super-Mecha-Godzilla.
One more note the manual is one of the best I've seen for an American game.
It has b/w pictures from the movies of each character (except Biolante which
I don't remeber from the movies anyway, anyone?).
GRAPHICS : B+ (Good but could use more frames in some of the special moves)
SOUND : A- (The sound of a 60000 ton Godzilla landing after a jump is
great =), but the could be more sounds for the other chars)
MUSIC : A+ (Simply great, doesn't get in the way and sets mood well)
GAMEPLAY : A (You will be able to pull off all the moves in short order)
LONGEVITY : A+ (You will play again and again until you beat Super Mecha
Godzilla, so you can crush your friends with him)
OVERALL : 3.92
PLAYERS : 1 or 2
IMPROVEMENTS : More frames of animation in moves, and allow any character in
one player mode.
COMMENTS : If you are a fan of the movies, you MUST have this game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Golden Axe (CD) Review by Jeffrey Naiman.
----------
GRAPHICS : B-
SOUND : B+
MUSIC : B+
GAMEPLAY : C
LONGEVITY: B-
PLAYERS : 1
OVERALL : 2.78
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# GotzenDiener [HECD4014] (JSCD) Review by bt garner.
------------
GotzenDiener is a unique title in the ever growing field of fighters and
Tetris spin-off games. Calling it an RPG isn't quite correct, nor would
calling it a "puzzle" game do it justice (ala Beyond Shadowgate). Instead
you have a hybrid game, so we'll call it RPG/Puzzle and leave it at that.
Story premise is this, you have been taken captive and held hostage at
GotzenDiener, a huge castle which sits atop a mountain. As your rescuer
deals the fatal blow to your captor, he too dies (what he dies from is not
important, just think how boring of a game this would be if he didn't perish).
At your captor's death, your chains are broken, and now you must find your
way out of the castle. To start, you can take the sword which you rescuer
was using .. .
Gameplay is rather simple, you move your character via the control pad (the
game works on diagonals only, so there is not up or down, instead it is
Up-Left and Down-Right). Button I picks up an item (or draws your sword
if there is not item nearby), button II drops the item (or places your sword
back in its sheath). The Select button is used for several different
things, if you are holding (or pushing) and object, Select will "throw"
the object. If you are not holding an object, and there is a "Spell Item"
available, the screen will darken, and you then face your character in
the direction that you want the spell cast, pressing I "casts" the spell.
If more than one "Spell Item" is on the screen, repeatedly pressing
select will cycle through them.
There are 6 "phases" of this game. The first 3 take place in the castle,
the 4th takes place in the caverns below the castle, the 5th takes place
on the outside of the castle (converyer belts), and the final phase in
back in the castle again. The game is "saved" anytime that you enter a new
part of the phase (for instance, if you just climbed a ladder, the game
will be saved at that point), you can also resume the game from the beginning
of any of the 6 phases, in case you fear that you have screwed something up
which will prevent you from getting past that part of the scene (although
I cannot think of any situation that this would occur, although you could
do a few things that would take you a long time to get through if you
screwed them up, then figured out the secret of getting through the level
in question).
That's the basics, now what do we have. .well, for one, the game is one of
the most visually pleasing games that I have seen in a long time, most
of the graphics are beautiful, and some of the stages are challenging (I
spend hours on the 4th phase before I figured out the key), however, overall
the game is very short. My total playing time was well under 10 hours,
and after beating it, a replay was done in about 30 minutes. Secondly, the
controls really stink. It is very hard to control your character only
on the diagonals, I frequently found myself heading 90 degrees of where
I had intented her to go. Finally, the game is very buggy -- I don't mean
the occasional flicker, or even the occasionaly wall/object flickering that
can occur (and does) when you move an object along side a wall that hides
it -- this game crashed my system so many times that I almost gave up
playing it (because it was so frustrating). In fact, I could often replicate
the lockup, but about half the time, it would just freeze for no
apparent reason. There are also a few problems with some of the spell items,
in one case, I had cast the spell on an enemy corpse, and when it awoken, it
was supposed to be under my control (I move UR, it moves UR; I attack, it
attacks), but I attacked and the thing just stayed there in perma-attack mode.
This error was also repeatable.
GRAPHICS : B+ (Nice, with the exception of the occasional wall-object flicker)
SOUND : B- (What's there is nice, but there's not much there)
MUSIC : C+ (for a CD games, why are all the songs program generated?)
GAMEPLAY : C (once you get used to it, it's ok, but precision moves are
still out of the question)
LONGEVITY: C- (once you know the solutions.. .and with all the bugs.. .)
OVERALL : 2.28
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Fix the bugs, get soem decent BGM, and make the game longer
COMMENTS: Overall, the game had some great potential, and an element of it
still exists, but the game is not worth the $60 that you'll need to pay to
get it new. Instead, I would highly recommend that you borrow/rent a copy,
or if you can find it used, go for it. Throughout the entire game, there
isn't a word of Japanese (only in the cinemas, and that's easy enough to
figure out what is going on). One other question: As the game progresses
Why do her clothes start disappearing (dress to pants to gymnastics type of
an outfit), and hair get shorter (long flowing to pont tail to bobbed)?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Gradius II (JSCD) [KMCD2003] - review by Bt Garner
----------
A side scrolling shooter from Konami. You control a ship, and can collect
power ups of 2 different kinds, blue (which destroy all minor enemies on
screen) and red, which can be used to enhance the capabilities of your ship
(for instance after one red power up you can select to "speed up" your ship,
or after collecting 2, you can add "missiles," etc.
GRAPHICS: B+ (well detailed, but there is an occasional slowdown)
SOUNDS: B+ (adequate - the voices are very well done, however)
MUSIC: A (good tunes to kill by ..)
GAMEPLAY: B (it works, some areas are real tight, and there's nothing
worse than experiencing a slowdown)
LONGEVITY: B+ (has that "I know I can do it this time" feel to it)
OVERALL: 3.37
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: Will Konami ever release any of their games in the US? Well, I
cam dream, can't I?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Hellfire (JCD)
--------
Side-scrolling shooter with plenty of power-ups, big bosses, and enemies to
fight! Anime sequences are a feast to watch.
GRAPHICS : A++ (Large animated enemies and bosses. Excellent detail in
anime sequences)
SOUND : A+ (Lots of voice-acting and sound effects)
MUSIC : A+
GAMEPLAY : B+ (You'll need a joystick to get in between tight places, like
the moving walls in level 2)
LONGEVITY: A- (Fun to play again and again)
OVERALL : 3.98
PLAYERS : 1 or 2 (simu)
IMPROVEMENTS: Some parallax scrolling would have been nice.
COMMENTS : If you like shooters and anime, I would recommend this title,
especially since this is an old game and you can probably get
it cheap.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Hot Blood High School Soccer (JSCD) [NXCD1005] - review by Bt Garner
--------------
You and up to 3 of you closest friends (or worst enemies), can battle it
out on the soccer field. You are offered a variety of play options, 1P,
1,2P, 1P vs 2P, 1,2P vs 3P and 1,2P vs 3,4P. All of the menus (well, *most*
of the menus) are in Japanese, but don't let that detour you. The game
can be easily played without any Japanese knowledge. When you play in
1P (and presumably 1,2P) mode, you go through a circuit, battling tougher
and tougher soccer teams. After every match, you can get a password to
continue later on.
GRAPHICS: B+ (Good background, but not too varying. Animation is well done)
SOUND: A- (Soccer sounds, complete with grunts!)
MUSIC: A (different bgm depending on what team you're playing)
GAMEPLAY: B (a little difficult to figure out, and your thumb will hate
hate you when you've played 5+ matches non-stop)
LONGEVITY: B (The 1P and 1,2P modes won't last long once you go through
the entire circuit of teams, but that's what the Vs modes
are for, aren't they?)
OVERALL: 3.33
PLAYERS: 1 through 4
COMMENTS: a good soccer game, complete with intermissions, however, do not
buy this game if you're looking for a *true* soccer simulation.
(* this may also be known as "Kunio's Soccer" - unsure of title *)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Image Fight 2 (JSCD)
-------------
Image Fight was a best-selling PC Engine Hu-card. Unfortunately,
this Super CD sequel does not break any new ground as far as
shooters are concerned. The graphics look uninspired and the music
is unremarkable. Also, this is one of the few cases where
intermissions do not add anything to the game - they are small,
saw-edged and use about five colors max. The only thing that sets
this game apart from the similar titles is its very high level of
difficulty, even in the "easy" mode.
GRAPHICS : B
SOUND : B
MUSIC : B- (gets annoying after a while)
GAMEPLAY : B
LONGEVITY: A (hard as hell)
OVERALL : 3.28
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: some parallax would have been nice...
COMMENTS : This one you definitely won't finish overnight. If you are a
fan of very hard shooters, get it. Otherwise, go for Spriggan,
it is a much better game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# It Came From the Desert (CD) [TGXCD1010]
-----------------------
Weird story background with a '50's B-movie feel to it.
GRAPHICS : A (digitized moving actors move in perfect sync with their
voices... while many of the scenes are more or less full-
screen, the actors only move in a small area of the screen)
SOUND : A
MUSIC : A
GAMEPLAY : A (good use of the TurboPad)
LONGEVITY: B (while there is enough stuff on this CD to keep you occupied,
I'm not sure it will hold your attention after you solve the
game)
OVERALL : 3.67
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Maybe a few more colors in the digitized images? Ack! The
CD load times are S-L-O-W even on my Duo!
COMMENTS : The high score that this game gets is a little misleading.
While the game exhibits excellence in each individual category,
the overall game is not excellent. Don't get me wrong. It's
very good for an interactive video. The story is good and the
acting is very good. I'm just not the type to sit and watch a
lot of video without participating in it. However, I feel it
is an excellent way to show off the capabilities of your CD-ROM
drive or Duo.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# The Kick Boxing (JSCD) [MWCD2001] MicroWorld, 19?? - review by Robert
--------------- Kemmetmueller
"Hey you.. c'mon, ret's fight!" So says the intro cinema for "The
Kick Boxing". It's Andre Panza Kickboxing, only it's on a CD. There's
no music during the actual fight, and less than 1/4 of the CD's capacity
is even used. So basically what we're talking about here is a big waste
of plastic.
See "Andre Panza Kickboxing" review for grades, although they're overly
generous when you compare it to the newer titles available today (just
got my copy of SF2CE... whoah!)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Lady Phantom (JSCD) Review by Brad Hamlett.
------------
Lady Phantom is a strategy game whose theme is borrowed heavily from Japanese
animation (such as GunBuster or Bubble Gum Crisis). You control a team of 5
women in battlesuits. Each battlesuit is unique in its own set of weapons
and armor characteristcs. There are 25-30 different weapons in the game,
each rated for range, damage, rate of fire, and hit probability. Your team
of five will fight other enemy battlesuits, gun emplacements, and various
spacecraft. As your team completes a mission, they will recieve experience
based on how many kills were scored and on how well the mission was completed.
Gain enough experience and team members will improve piloting and gunnery
skills and gain rank.
Gameplay is a turn-based strategy type game... no reflexes needed here. Every
unit (friend and foe) executes their action before the next unit. (i.e. one of
your team will get to move and fire and then another unit... not necessarily
one of your own... will move). The 'board' is hex-based and the facing of
your people matter, as the game takes into account front/side/rear armor and
evasion. If one of your battlesuits is destroyed in the battle, the pilot
will not receive any experience for the mission, but will be available for the
next one. There are 10 missions, ranging from straight-out fights to escort
missions to sabotage. A number of options allow you turn animations on/off,
set movement options, turn the hex-grid on/off, etc.
Lady Phantom has to be one of my favorite PCE games because of the complexity
of the units involved. Each of the women in your team has a speciality.
Jennifer likes up-close combat, whereas Cindy prefers long range missle fire.
The animation and sound effects for battles are top-notch and simply add to
the effect. In between missions, animated intermissions tell the story.
The only downside to the game is that it is one player. Once you have played
through the 10 missions, the game is done. The missions kept me busy for
awhile, though, and the various objectives are fun to achieve. A top-notch
game.
GRAPHICS : B+
SOUND : A
MUSIC : A
GAMEPLAY : A
LONGEVITY: B-
OVERALL : 3.45
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Decrease CD lag time when loading scenes.
COMMENTS : A very good game overall. The amount of Japanese text in the game
could be a stumbling block... it took me awhile to figure out what
everything was, but it's definitely worthwhile if you like strategy
games.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Last Alert (CD) [TGXCD1007]
----------
This is how Bloody Wolf was supposed to look, sound, and play. You assume
the role of Guy Kazama (no, I am not making that name up) and you must fight
your way through various "enemy" strongholds in order to accomplish a
variety of tasks. As your points increase, you get stronger weaponry,
so that you can kill even more enemies.
GRAPHICS : A (Fast, flicker-free animation... nice, full screen "still"
screens)
SOUND : A (Voices and cinematic effects are crisp)
MUSIC : A (Very, very good soundtrack)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (This one definitely requires a joystick)
LONGEVITY: A- (Frustrating, but fun... easy when you know what weapon to
use against which bosses)
OVERALL : 3.78
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Decrease CD lag time when loading scenes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# L-Dis (JCD) [NSCD 0005] - review by Bt Garner
-----
A cute side scrolling shooter, along the same lines as Air Zonk and
Parodius. Oh yeah - and there is also a plot, somewhere. ..
You begin each game by selecting what "set" of arms theat you want (A, B
or C), each set has different weapons for the various satellites that
you can (and will) collect along the way (there are four different
satellites, Red, Blue, Green and Black - the black ones act as a bomb,
and are dropped by hitting the I button). After that it's on to the first
stage. Every stage (that I've made it to so far) has two bosses, and
are relatively easy to defeat once you figure out their pattern.
GRAPHICS: A- (very cute "cartoon" type graphics, and very little flickering)
SOUND: A (the Japanese voice that says "Continue!" and "Game Over" is
hilarious, though I somehow doubt that it was supposed to be)
MUSIC: B+ (Ok, but for a CD shooter we expect more)
GAMEPLAY: B- (Game looses points for 2 reasons, even on easy mode, this game
gets tough, very quickly; and also there is a fair amount of
slowdown when too many things are on the screen at one time,
although this doesn't happen too much)
LONGEVITY: B+ (fun to play, but not a serious shooter like Gate of Thunder)
OVERALL: 3.38
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: Higly recommended if you can get it for a good price.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Legend of Dekoboko (JCD) [TJCD0013] Renovation, 1990 - review by Robert
------------------ Kemmetmueller
A kooky goofball 3/4 perspective driving game for up to 5 players. You
can jump over things, damage other cars by ramming them, and use your
winnings to repair damage and buy weapons like spikes, oil, missiles,
and boxing-glove launchers(!).
This is one you either love or hate. Seems as though when a group of
people get together, whoever was doing poorly at the other 5p games,
kicks everyone else's butt playing this one. Scrolling is always
top-to-bottom, with 45-degree diagonals through some parts of the
course.
The race leaders always work their way to the top of the screen where
they get about 1/2" warning of where obstacles are (ouch!), and inept
drivers get bounced forward by the bottom of the screen, and randomly
spun around to reduce their odds of ever recovering (double ouch!). Car
speed exceeds scrolling speed, so you can easily catch up once you get
your bearings.
Kooky enemies impede your progress, everything from cows and sharks
(yes, you must drive through water in some places) to arrow-shooting
samurai... it's like "MotoRoader meets Toobin'".
GRAPHICS : B+ (dinky little cars, but highly varied scenery and obstacles)
SOUND : B
MUSIC : A (a different goofy tune to match every goofy level)
GAMEPLAY : C- (the place to be is the middle of the screen, but you can't
WIN from there!)
LONGEVITY: B (if you don't throw it away after one try, there's plenty of
game here; it's fun to see each new level, if nothing else)
OVERALL : 3.00
PLAYERS : 1 to 5
IMPROVEMENTS: Increase the margin at the top of the screen to a full inch, or
increase scrolling speed to accomodate leaders, or _something_.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Legion (JCD) [TJCD0010] - review by Bt Garner
------
A strange Japanese shooter with only two redeeming features: 1) it allows
2 people to play simutaneously, and 2) there is a goofy English narration
(so absolutely no knowledge of Japanese is needed, unless you feel that
you must read the instruction booklet) that is hilarious (to listen to,
not in content).
GRAPHICS : B (adequate, nothing spectacular, though)
SOUND : B- (the narration is humorous the first time, subsequently
annoying)
MUSIC : B (nothing to get your heart pounding. Shooters should
have a minimum BPM of 150. . .)
GAMEPLAY : C (very difficult, the enemy moves and shoots quicker than
you move, often giving you no time for avoiding fire)
LONGEVITY: C+ (only high, due to the 2-player mode)
OVERALL: 2.55
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
COMMENTS: This is one tough game. As indicated in the Gameplay
section, perhaps it is too tough. Although, I guess that makes it
more realistic [sic] than some other shooters where the enemy beckons you
to kill them. ..
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Loom (SCD) [TGXCD1017] - additional comments by Bt Garner
----
As one of the magical "weavers" (akin to a musical magician), you embark
on a quest to rescue the other weavers. There are no hack and slash
elements in this game. Most of it is explore and cast magic. It's a
complete story on a disc and very close to the 256-color CD version of
the IBM game of the same name.
GRAPHICS : A (everything is very cinematic in nature and you get to skip
some of the more annoying animations if you wish)
SOUND : A (many of the sounds are played off the CD)
MUSIC : A+ (top notch)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (moving the cursor takes a little getting used to... you
must aim the cursor at a location and press a button to
allow your weaver to move toward it)
LONGEVITY: A (guaranteed to last a long time... it's a long adventure
and you could play it again and again to learn different
spells)
OVERALL : 3.93
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : I felt some of the scenes were too limited in color. I counted
no more than 8 colors in those scenes and felt the technology
could handle much more. (bt: despite the high score that this
game has, I found it to be way too short. Yes, there are a few
thigns to experiment with, but overall, once you figure out a
few basics, the games loses any appeal for repeat playing - also
the way they do the sounds is irritating - all the spell casting
noises are CD tracks, rather than sound effects, thus when you
cast a spell, rather than silening the music and playing a few
short notes, the CD has to change tracks [SLOW!], and once you are
done the music may or may not resume!)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Lords of the Rising Sun (CD) [TGXCD1014] - Review by Brad Hamlett.
-----------------------
Lords of the Rising Sun is the long awaited strategy game based in feudal
Japan. This title appeared on both the Amiga and the IBM. Little has
changed. You assume the role of one of three Japanese warlords. Your
objective is to secure and consolidate your power as a Samurai. The game
difficulty and objectives vary depending on which of the warlords you choose
to play.
You and each warlord you command is rated on archery, siege, and swordsmanship.
Archery determines how well you can protect a fortification. Siege is how
well you can attack a fortification. Swordsmanship is how well you command an
army in the field.
Each warlord commands a number of troops from 0-100. The longer a warlord
remains in a city, the more troops will join. In cities, warlords replenish
men and rest. In villages, warlords can only rest. Marching drains stamina
from your troops and affects their combat abilities.
Each type of combat is represented by a action or strategy sequence. When
defending a fort, you must shoot enemy soldiers that are scaling the walls.
In a siege, you must kill enemy soldiers standing in your way while navigating
a maze of buildings trying to find the main temple. Only the field battles
require no arcade skills. You set troop orders and then watch them fight it
out. You can sound retreat or change orders during the fight. If you are
victorious, the scene changes and you try to chase down the enemy warlord on
horseback. If you fail, the leader gets away. Succeed and there's one less
enemy commander to deal with.
Other options include sending ninja assassins to kill enemy warlords and
bribing other leaders to join your cause. The game ends when you meet your
victory conditions.
I'm not going to lie to you... this game sucks. The action sequences are out
of place and the "chase down the enemy warlord on horseback" sequence is just
too damn hard. The actions sequences are fun a time or two, but the 100th
time you siege a city, you don't want to have to run around finding the main
temple again. The voice actors make me cringe... no emotion and some
blatantly fake Japanese accents (makes me cringe about as much as when
Hollywood portrays Southerners).
The music and background effects are nicely done, but don't make up for a truly
bad game. Avoid this one... MAYBE rent it.
GRAPHICS : C+
SOUND : A-
MUSIC : A-
GAMEPLAY : F
LONGEVITY: C+
OVERALL : 2.38
PLAYERS : 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Lords of Thunder (SCD) [TGXCD1033] - review by Bt Garner
----------------
Sequel to the ever-popular Gate Of Thunder, although the two aren't
really related ('cept in title). .. You have 8 levels to shoot your way
throu. Before every level you choose an appropriate armor (earth, air,
water or fire), and then proceed to the store to purchase power ups
(money is collected when you destroy enemies in previous rounds).
GRAPHICS : A (very nicely done!)
SOUND : A (almost as good as Gate. ..)
MUSIC : A++ (fantastic - this will become an Audio CD for you after you've
beaten the game enough times!)
GAMEPLAY : B (a little too difficult for my tastes)
LONGEVITY: A (you'll want to play it again, trust me .. )
OVERALL: 3.93
PLAYERS: 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Macross 2036 (JCD or JSCD)
------------
High-speed, side-scrolling shooter based on the popular Japanese Macross
(Robotech) series. Unique method of fighting against bosses. Lots of hidden
surprises. When playing on a standard CD, CD access time is more frequent.
GRAPHICS : A+ (You won't believe your eyes! The animation is so smooth and
fast and some enemies and bosses are HUGE. The opening anime
scenes are INCREDIBLE. When fighting bosses, you aim your
robot by ROTATING it! WOW!!!)
SOUND : A++ (Even though the speech is in Japanese, I still got into
it. Superb voice-acting)
MUSIC : A+ (These designers did an excellent job on music. I'm sure
if I were a fan of the TV series, I would probably give
the music more praise. It's very catchy)
GAMEPLAY : A (This is one of those games where the actual side-scrolling
sequences would fair better with a joystick, but the
Turbopad would be better during the boss-fight)
LONGEVITY: B (There are a large number of power-up items to use. I
finished the game the night I got it, but I'm still very
curious to discover the effectiveness of other power-up
items. You would probably want to play it again just for
that. The continue feature really helped me get through
all the levels. Otherwise, it's just too easy!)
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: More power-up items? There's already about 16 of them in
the power-up items shop and many hidden power-ups during
the game. Add more levels!!!
OVERALL : 3.87
COMMENTS : My only gripe is that it was too easy. I'm not THAT good at
videogames and I beat it in one night!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Macross 2 Love Song (JSCD) [NXCD2014] - review by Jeff Hildebrand
------------------------------
Macross 2 Love Song (hereafter M2LS) is a military/strategy simulation,
much like Military Madness or Vasteel. M2LS is based on (unsurprisingly)
the very popular anime "Superdimensional Fortress Macross" and fans will
immediately recognize many of the units, but none of the characters, who
seem to have been created expressly for the game. There are extensive
animations throughout this game (ie. before every map) detailing some
"behind the scenes" action and developing a story. Since my understanding of
Japanese is poor in the extreme, this review will only cover the "game"
aspect at this time.
M2LS follows a couple of characters as they fight battles and rise through
the ranks. As the game progresses, more and more characters (and hence,
units) come under your command. On most maps there are other units which
you can not control - these are controlled by the computer. Your enemies, the
Zentradi and Meltrandi are also run by the computer. Alas, there is no two-
player option in this game. As the pilots under your control make more kills
they will gain experience and "levels" (like in D&D). At certain levels your
characters will be allowed to pilot more powerful fighters, like the Armoured
Valkyrie and the VT4.
The screen is divided into two main areas: the top half shows an overhead
view of the map, and the bottom half gives detailed information on terrain
and any unit you place the cursor on. Some of this information is in kanji
(eg. terrain type) and katakana (eg. unit name).
About the units: the main offensive unit used in this game is the Valkyrie
fighter. This unit has three configurations:
Fighter (standard jet fighter): good range of movement, poor defense
and poor firepower
Guardian: slightly less range, better defense and attack power.
Battloid: poor range (about 1/2 the fighter's), but excellent defense
and firepower.
The Valkyrie is the only highly maneuverable offensive unit. Your battle-
carrier has truly awesome attack power, but its movement is generally
limited. There are several different defensive units which have poor move-
ment but good defense and attack power.
About attacking: all units have at least one weapon which is powered by
EP (energy points). The basic gun can only fire at adjacent units and
consumes little energy. Later, as you acquire Armoured Valkyries and the
defensive units, you will be able to attack from a distance with missiles
(0 EP) and beam/laser weapons (more EP, but they have better range too).
Missiles can only be used a finite number of times (often only once). Some
units can attack multiple targets with missiles. For every attack, there
is a short battle scene showing the units (beautifully detailed) attacking
each other. The map window is replaced with a scrolling side-view of the
"battle sequence." The units involved are large - about 1/2 screen high,
and the weapons are well detailed (guns or lasers firing, missiles
launching). As the target is hit, the damage is shown in the status window
so you know how much you have hurt your enemy and how badly he has hurt you.
Each unit will flash white when hit, and flash rapidly when destroyed
(HP:00). Upon returning to the map screen, a destroyed unit will blow up.
Enemy commanders will shout something before giving up the ghost.
Finally, playing the game: M2LS is turn-based, ie. you get to move your
units (and maybe attack), then the computer gets to move his. When you
select a unit you are presented with a menu (in kanji). If you select
movement or attack, the parts of the map within range remain in colour
while the rest of the map turns black & white. Here is a really nice touch
that has endeared this game to me: if you move a unit, then select attack,
and you are out of range, pressing button II a couple of times will allow
you to "undo" your move and move the unit to a different location. Since
some weapons have very narrow ranges, this is invaluable when a unit must
be placed precisely. Moving units is a little unusual - the map is divided
into squares rather than hexes, and only the four cardinal directions are
considered adjacent.
At the start of each map, a block of kanji and katakana text scrolls
by explaining (presumably) the situation and your objectives for winning.
If you don't know Japanese you'll have to use trial and error, or recall
your objectives during the game and translate them. The conditions for
winning a map are not that complex however, and generally you can win by
destroying an attacking battleship, but occasionally it is something else,
like the Meltrandi ace, or fleeing ships. You lose if your ship is
destroyed or, say, the fleeing ships all get away.
You can reconfigure your Valkyries at any time and as often as your like
*before* firing. However, if you move and then try to reconfigure, your
choices are limited by the distance you have moved. For example, if you move
a fighter as far as possible, you can not reconfigure it at all. If you had
moved a little less you could still change to a guardian, and if you had only
moved a little you would be able to switch to battloid mode as well.
Basically, if you move and then change modes, you can only switch to a unit
that could have moved to that location if you had changed modes and then
moved.
When one of your units is destroyed, it is out of the game for that map
only. You will get the character back for the next map, with a new ship.
However, if the character is not fighting he/she is not gaining experience
(which, in turn, leads to better units). If a unit becomes damaged, you can
return it to your battleship where it will be repaired and you can pull it
back out on the next turn. During protracted battles some of your units may
run out of energy, or at least too low to use their more powerful weapons.
A unit's EP can be restored by returning to the battleship. Missiles are
*not* reloaded when you return to the battleship. Occasionally you will also
find bases on the map (labelled "BASE") where you can return units for repair.
When I say repair here, I mean "restore their HP." When you pull a Valkyrie
out of your ship or a base after repairs, it is always in plane mode.
Now for the bad stuff (I'm sorry to say it, but there are a couple of
things). I really only have two problems with this game. The first is
that the computer does not make the best use of its units. It never trans-
forms its Valkyries, which means that when they start out as planes they get
blown away in about two turns. Also, the computer will not fire the beam
weapon in its ship every turn, even though there are targets in range. My
second complaint is that all computer-controlled units start out on the map
but your own units are *all* loaded up into your carrier. The computer gets
to move and attack with its units, but you can only unload and place yours.
When you unload a Valkyrie, it is always in the plane configuration, so you
have to place it well back from the action or it will get blown away before
you even get a chance to use it. Computer controlled units often start out
in battloid or guardian configuration. I like being able to place my units
myself, but they are out for that turn, and probably the next as well (to
transform them and move them closer to the front line).
GRAPHICS : A+ (Lots of detail, objects are small, but still easily
identified, even Valkyrie configuration)
SOUND : B (Not a lot of sound effects, mostly shooting and explosions)
MUSIC : A+ (Lots of tunes, perhaps from the anime (which I have not seen),
but perhaps just image music, very appropriate though)
GAMEPLAY : A (Pretty easy to figure out, and the game is very forgiving
of mistakes)
LONGEVITY: B (See comments below)
OVERALL : 3.6
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: The number of units per side is usually fairly balanced, so
why isn't there a two-player mode? Fix my two gripes - the computer plays
quickly and well, but doesn't take advantage of the real power of the
Valkyries.
COMMENTS : Chances are that if you like simulation games, you will like this
one as well. It is a solid sim. I especially like the power and flexibility
of the Valkyrie fighters.
I have been told that this game has in excess of 27 levels, so it should
take a while to complete. Like any other game, once you've won, you've won.
*But* with M2LS the game can get much harder, or easier, depending on how
quickly your characters gain levels. Just how badly *can* you kick the
Zentradi and Meltrandi? Can you get an Armoured Valkyrie before map 9?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# John Madden DUO CD Football (SCD) - review by Mike & Joshua Ostrouch
--------------------------- additional comments by Bt Garner
What do you expect, It's Madden football, it doesnt' have passing windows like
SNES, & Sega, but it doesn't seem to affect the gamplay.
GRAPHICS : A (The pop up full motion video scenes add an extra affect.
Making it more realistic for a sports fan.)
SOUND : A (Gameplay noises sound realistic. Good use of CD capabilities.)
MUSIC : A (No Music during game play, but some music is played at various
points [menus] in the game. During the game, the background
music is a track off of the CD containing, crowd noises. It's
a sports game, though. .. ).
GAMEPLAY : A (Excellent gameplay, moving the players around the field is easy
although they could speed up the player movements.)
LONGEVITY: A (You can select your opponents, so picking a team with a poor
record makes it easy. Also using backup ram you can have a
playoff series, just like the real thing. 5,10,15, or 20 min
quarters are avail. So it's your choice.)
OVERALL: 4.00
PLAYERS: 1 or 2 (or 0 - demo mode)
IMPROVEMENTS: Speed up player movements, in both offence & defence. And stop
showing the dancing Madden so much! I almost passed out when I
saw him dancing. It scared the bageeber's out of me,
to quote a pal. (bt: Also, an option to choose between the
live action video and computer generated "referees" would have
been nice since the load time is slow, and the cinemas are
unvarying.)
COMMENTS: Why such a high rating? - well because sports fans will love it.
It keeps you coming back for more, Especially the 2 player mode
against your buddies. After seeing That the Duo can produce a
good CD sports game like this we need some more sports games!!!!
There aren't many for the Duo/TG16.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Martial Champions (JSCD) by Konami - review by Noah Mittman Zis
-----------------
First off, fans of the arcade machine with like this, while others will
probably not think much of it at all. The first thing you'll notice is the
small characters and the slow loading time. (Of course, one of the great
things about MC was the huge characters) The game includes 5 levels of
difficulty - where 3 is rather easy and 4 is a little too hard and 5 is damn
near impossible... the tournament mode, where like the arcade you fight an
elimination style game leading to Salamander, the boss... the championship
mode, which only appears after you win tournament mode and makes you fight
all the characters (some would get eliminated in tourny mode)... a usual
vs. mode with choice of background and handicaps... and a group battle mode,
where you select five characters vs five and dish it out. Battles are won
after one round, and life levels carry on into the next battle. First to
beat all five of the opponent's characters wins (either player or computer).
The only other note is the addition (it seems) of low energy comeback moves.
When the health meter flashes (a la Fatal Fury 2), you can pull one off.
These are undocumented.
The game uses the 6 or 3 button pad for the best control (the game works
on the idea of high attack/middle attack/low attack), and makes you use the
run button on the 2 button pad otherwise. Subsequently, I haven't found a
way to pause the game with a 2 button pad.
GRAPHICS : B (characters are really small and lost a lot of detail. while
the backgrounds are nice, they have no interaction. the line
scrolls are nice on the floor and the bouncing will still make
you nauseous. also the alternative colors are hideous)
SOUND : D (sound effects whether set to stereo or monaural still will
make you grit your teeth in annoyance)
MUSIC : B (strictly BG music, nothing special. the "win" music gets
old quickly)
GAMEPLAY : A (It's all there from the arcade, and the best thing about this
translation.)
LONGEVITY: B- (needing to win tourny to get championship mode was a bad
idea. plus turning up difficuly often leads to more
frustration than challenge. finding the low energy moves
makes you wanna try one more time)
OVERALL: 2.73
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
COMMENTS: All options and controls on screen in english, minus the endings
and the "win" quotes. Sometimes it seems like it takes ages to load the
fighting scenes up. Does have different endings depending on what level you
set it at (a la home SF2). I did like the addition of the comeback moves.
Watching Jin grab someone, pound them in the dragon punch style, and then,
on the way down, pound them again on the head is a blast.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Monster Maker (JSCD) - review by Kenneth C.Y. Hui
-------------
Here is a brief review of the game. Since I don't understand Japanese, I can
only guess the storyline. In the begining, your village was attacked by some
thugs. The villagers kicked you out of your village because you are the same
race as the thugs. Now, you started to search for your real parents. In your
journey, you met many new friends who will help you in your quest.
This game gives a new twist to RPGs, by allowing you to charm monsters to
help you and you can combine two different monsters to a bigger, meaner
monster with the help of a magician. Usually, I need the help of some
powerful monsters to kill the boss. The fighting scene in this game is
superb. All monsters are fluidly animated. There are different
backgrounds. All magics are animated. All the attacks by monsters are
animated. In short, every thing except the background is animated.
The background music is top notch. Different villages have different BGM.
Many of them are worth listening on their own. There are a number of
vehicles that you can use to travel around. For instance, a ship, a
balloon, a flying dragon, a kite and a runing lizard. When you stay in a
same inn for a number of times, the inn keeper will give you some goodies
such as money, weapons or even magic!
The ending animation is very good, makes me think of a scene in Laputa. A
lot of flying fortress is approaching the final tower. You and your
friends are on top of the tower. Then, they point the cannons towards
you.... By the way, this animation is full screen.
After saying all the good things about MM, now it's time for some
complains. When you successfully charm the monsters, the BGM will stop and
you are forced to finish the remainin battle without BGM. Occasionally,
the sound effects in the battle scene will be gone. All your items and
weapons of different players are listed in one table (similar to Final
Fantasy series) which make it hard to read. There are too little
intermissions.
GRAPHICS: B+ (A for battle scene, B+ for animation, B for Map scene)
MUSIC: A (I love the music played by piano in the magician's palace)
SOUND: B (average sound effects. Voice sampling is good, but may hang the
duo occasionally for no reason)
GAMEPLAY: B+
LONGEVITY: B+ (Some of the maze are so big and the monsters are so hard that
you don't feel like going in again. Also, you may have to find
hidden staircases to reach the boss. Some of the traps in the
maze make you crazy, cos they will either literally expel you
out of the maze or drop you to a lower level)
OVERALL: 3.37
PLAYERS: 1
There is a sequel coming out this summer for MM. You can transfer your
characters from this game to the second game. When you compile your backup
memory, make sure you don't erase the MMEND.END file. :)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Monster Lair (CD) [TGXCD1003] - review by Bt Garner
------------
A side scrolling shooter where you also have to watch your life meter. There
are 14 (?) different stages, each stage has 3 sections, a regular platform
area where you run, jump and shoot everything. The next area is inside of
a monster lair - here you ride a small dinosaur (wipe that smirk off of
your face, of course I'm being serious!) and shoot more things until you
get to the boss (the last part). Several different power ups along the way
(though they are all temporary). To replenish your life meter, you eat fruit
(and other things, cake, veggies) that are scattered along the way. If you
have time, you may want to repeatedly shoot them in order to increase the
effect that they have.
GRAPHICS : A (beautiful - very detailed)
SOUND : A- (could use a little improvement, but still very good)
MUSIC : B+ (CD music, but some of it does get old after a while)
GAMEPLAY : A- (good control with or without a joystick)
LONGEVITY: A (there are plenty of levels, and each one requires a different
strategy.)
OVERALL : 3.78
PLAYERS : 1 or 2
COMMENTS : Despite the fact that this game seems to incorporate all the
aspects of a shooter (you shoot), a platform game (you run and
pick paths) and RPG (what that life meter), it is a wonderful
title. Some parts are very difficult, but why would you want
to finish it in one night?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Neo Nectaris (JSCD) Hudson Soft, 1994 Review by Rich Harper
------------
This is the sequel to one of my favorite games on the Turbo, Military
Madness (known as Nectaris in Japan). If you didn't know, it's a turn based
military strategy game. What I like about this game is the fact that you
don't get into a bunch of micromanagement like in some games while you also
have time to think about your next move unlike some real time strategy
games. If you like Military Madness, I say definitely be on the lookout for
this game. I was originally discouraged by the Japanese in this but it
really doesn't have that much especially if you've played Military Madness.
Graphics: B (not bad for its day but looking a bit dated now)
Sound: B
Music: B
Gameplay: A
Longevity: A- (has 48 stages plus the 32 from the original Nectaris but once
you've beaten them you probably won't want to play it again)
Overall: 3.34
Players: 1 or 2
Improvements: More units, more terrains, and more levels.
Comments: This is actually a better game than the PSX Nectaris due to its
variety. If you're a fan of the series, you may want to track down the DOS
version of this as it has even more variety but it is insanely hard on some
levels.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Pomping World (JCD)
-------------
Pomping World is Buster Bros for the TG-16!!! The background graphics and
music are sensational. The programmers did one excellent job in the
translation process. But enough of the superlatives, the game's about this
little guy on a mission to pop these large alien bubbles which bounce
all over the place. His main weapon is a gun which shoots out a strange
sort of ray which splits the bubbles into halves. The larger bubbles must
be split a few times to get smaller bubbles. Only the smallest bubbles
can actually be destroyed. If it sounds like a stupid concept, it is, but
wait until you play it. You'll be hooked!!! Other useful weapons are a
rapid-fire gun (you gotta love Turbofire), a gun which leaves a solid thin
"wall," a time stop, and an invincibility shield. There are also birds
and other nasties to do you in. On higher levels, you get to climb
ladders and use the terrain (solid and vaporizable blocks) to your
advantage (or disadvantage). With two players, the fun is doubled!!!
GRAPHICS : A+ (Cute and very much like the arcade game... you will not
believe the detail here... Genesis owners won't believe
the detail here!)
SOUND : A (Same here)
MUSIC : A+ (This CD technology is great!)
GAMEPLAY : A- (Turbostick helpful but not necessary)
LONGEVITY: A (You will be hooked... believe me!)
OVERALL : 4.05
PLAYERS : 1 or 2 (Yes, folks... TWO people can play at once!!!)
IMPROVEMENTS: The shooting sound your initial weapon makes sounds a
little different from the arcade, but I'm being VERY
nitpicky here.
COMMENTS : Definitely a must-have. This, my friends, is a much better
translation of Buster Bros than Super Buster Bros on the
SNES (which is only a one-player game!).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Prince of Persia (SCD) - review by Underware Man
----------------
From the diary of a hero: I have laided in this dungeon for
2 days now and i have finnaly found a way out! i am writing this
manuscript so that it may be known that the evil of the sultan of persia
will not go unpunshied.
I am no one, a warnder who happened to enter persia and happened
to fall in love with the daughter of this land. But 2 days ago i was
taken from her by the palace gaurds and locked in this wreched dungeon.
I have learned that the sultan in his maddness will steal the
land of persia from the king by forcing the princess to marry her! NO! I
say.... and so will she. The sultan is aware of this and will kill her if
i do not reach them within the next hour.
the gaurds have told me that the place is riddled with traps and
evil magic. None shall stop me! ....... The gaurd change is starting now
is my chance! Reader if you be friend and if i fail, avenge my death and
the death of my princess.
singed The Prince of persia
Graphics: B- : (the animation is smooth but the graphics are well 'fuzzy')
Sound: B : (good but limted you hear footsteps, doors opening glass
breaking, and swords clashing. But that's it! not even a groan
from a enimy as you carve him a new liver)
Music: A : (maybe not the hard rock we all love in the thunder series.
but there was a difference and it did make the game exciting
in some places)
Gameplay: A :(Prince of persia has always been known for it's control the
excitment of hurling of a platform, and the relife as you just
grab a ledge that hurles by you. Also a feature is added
that allows a user to slow or speed up the movements of a
character. The controls do take some time to get used to
though)
Longetivity: B (the sword fights have some replay value and with a time
factor 'best time' is a good compition maker)
Overall: (can't remember the score system sorry.)
Comments: I love this game! i enjoyed it on my uncle's PC and when it
came out on the NES it was a favorite of mine. But this cd version is
light years away from what i played. Seroulsy try it. you'll like it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Puyo Puyo CD (JSCD) [NAPR1028] - Review by William Zandrew
------------
This is a clone or predessor of the Genesis game Dr. Robotnick's Mean
Bean Machine. Instead of having Mario bad guys, they have an assortment
of other dudes to taunt you.
You have what appears to be two attached jelly beans falling. Each one
of the beans can have a different color and the pair can be rotated.
The object is to get 4 of the same colored ones together. If this happens
the four beans will explode and all non colored beans that are touching
them will explode also. When the beans explode, the beans that are left
will fall and if they explode it will cause non colored beans to fall on
your oppenents side. If you can get this to happen two or three times,
your opponents side will fill up. The person whose side fills up first loses.
GRAPHICS: B The only real negative on this game and the only reason I'm
complaining is because I've played the Genesis version.
The colors seem sharper and clearer on the Genny. Also, when
your beans go over the halfway mark in your area, they don't
seem to fall correctly. It is as if they fall at a faster
rate or something. (in the two player mode, the colors are
brighter and there is more detail. Strange!)
SOUND: B Usual binks and bonks! One cool thing is that it sounds
like two people yelling at each other in Japanese while
playing. At the end of each level someone yells at the other
person and it reminds me of someone yelling f___ you! One
reason I like this babbling is because this is typically what
is happening at my house when I can get my daughter to play.
We crab and yell and say things like "take that", etc.
MUSIC: A+ (Addictive catchy tunes during the gameplay. When your
oppenent has you on the ropes, the beat of the music gets
faster and higher and higher pitched till you think it can't
go faster and higher..... but it does. Sometimes it makes
you want to smash your monitor! GREAT!
GAMEPLAY: A Easy enough game to learn. EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE! DON'T load
this if you only have a few minutes to play or before doing
your taxes or studying for finals.
LONGEVITY:A+ This game can be played over and over again and not lose
anything.
OVERALL: 3.2 DO NOT GO BY THIS RATING! If you like this type of game,
this game is a keeper. It is fun in the 1 player mode and
incredibly good in the 2 player mode.
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
COMMENTS: I hope someone that knows Japanese can add the story line here.
There are animations and what looks like confrontations between the
characters before starting each round. The voicing and animation is good,
I have no idea what they are talking about.
What I have discovered there is a Scenerio mode where you play against
a bunch of different dudes and dudettes (or creatures). There also is a
two player mode and a choice for changing the control on your pad/stick.
There is another option I don't remember. It may be the "early" levels or
an animation. (When I go into the second option some cartoon comes on the
screen and says a bunch of Japanese to me. Could this be one of the
infamous "your memory is shot" screens?
There are also three levels of easy modes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Ranma 1/2 - (part 1) (JCD) [NCSD 0004] - review by Bt Garner
--------------------
You are Ranma on a run and jump and attack type quest, going through
8 very different levels.
GRAPHICS : B+ (pretty good, although we have seen better)
SOUND : A (very good, very realistic, uh yeah ..)
MUSIC : A (CD, what do you expect?)
GAMEPLAY : B- (many of the moves require "patterns" [ie, II, II+down] and
that makes things difficult, of course the other option is
that 6-button joystick thing ...)
LONGEVITY: A- (not easy).
OVERALL : 3.56
PLAYERS : 1 or 2
COMMENTS: The cinemas are wonderful - some are taken directly from the
series. If you're at all familiar with the series, then
you'll also notice some strangely familiar music. Yappappa,
y'all.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Ranma 1/2: Part 3 (JSCD) [NCSD 2009] - Review by Sergey Shimkevich.
-----------------
One-on-one fighting game based on the popular manga/anime title. You are cast
in the role of Ranma, a boy who is cursed and, as a result, changes into a
girl when splashed with cold water. All of the major characters appear in the
game, either in the fighting mode or during the intermissions.
The game starts with Ranma and Happosai in a public bath. Happosai hears the
girls' voices and starts climbing the wall. Enraged Ranma throws a barrel at
Happosai and knocks him down. Happosai splashes Ranma with cold water and the
first round begins!
You can play in the story or the nettoh mode. In the second mode, two players
can fight it out, Street Fighter-style. There are eight characters to choose
from - two Ranmas, Ukyou, Moose, Konchoh, Kunou, Ryouga and Kodachi. There
also is a special game where you play a game of cards with the Gambling King.
The actual game graphics are unremarkable at best - some of the characters
look bad and animate choppily and there is a lot of flicker. The
intermissions, especially the "eyecatch" segments, sounds, and music are great.
The gameplay is quite good, even with the average-looking graphics. Overall,
the game is a lot of fun and offers many surprises. Recommended.
GRAPHICS : B
SOUND : A
MUSIC : A
GAMEPLAY : B+
LONGEVITY: B
OVERALL : 3.38
PLAYERS : 1 or 2
COMMENTS : If you are a fan of the series, you'll enjoy this game. If,
however, you are looking for something with Street Fighter 2 playability
and graphics, I suggest that you proceed with caution.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# RayXanber II (JCD) Review by Brad Hamlett.
------------
RayXanber II is another side-scrolling shooter. I haven't played this one
much yet, so I haven't gotten very far. This is one tough mother of a
game... you thought AeroBlasters was hard!
RayXanber lacks all of the fancy voices and intermissions of Spriggan, but
it's still a good shooter. Weapon choices are fewer, but "customizable."
When you pick up a weapon, you can choose whether it shoots to the front,
rear, top, or bottom. In addition to your regular firepower, you can hold
the fire button down (ala R-Type) to power up your weapon type. If you
release the fire button, a burst-effect like weapon is released. If you
press the other button, however, your ship gains a significant burst of
speed (useful in getting out of situations that you can't fight your way
out of).
The graphics and music are nice. The weapons don't really offer too much
firepower, so you are forced to rely on a little strategy (not necessarily
a bad thing). A good shooter, but not great. Six-stages long, but hard.
GRAPHICS : B+
SOUND : B
MUSIC : B
GAMEPLAY : C
LONGEVITY: A++
OVERALL : 3.42
PLAYERS : 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# RayXanber III (JSCD) [DWCD 2002] - review by Bt Garner
-------------
Very similar to it's predecessor, and every bit as difficult, too. Another
hellacious 6 levels await you (other than that, see the above review on
RayXanber II).
GRAPHICS : A- (Very nice looking, almost in line with Gate of Thunder)
SOUND : B- (the shots from your ship are so high-pitched, my do they get
annoying after a while)
MUSIC : B+ (not great, but more than adequate)
GAMEPLAY : B (the turbopad works just fine)
LONGEVITY: A+ (leaves you with that "I know I can do it *this* time" feeling)
OVERALL : 3.55
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS : Oh, that high pitched noise. ..make it more "shot" like,
rather than the current sound which could wake the neighbor's dead dog.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Record Of Lodoss War (PC-Engine CD) [HCD2029] - review by Kyuuketsuki Miyu
--------------------
[NOTE - the following review is in non-standard format, any additions, clean
ups, etc are more than welcome. . .]
It was bound to happen to a poor Animaniac like me... After buying all the
Laserdisks (LDs) that pertains to this OVA, and the CD soundtracks, I knew
I would end up buying this game after seeing it advertised many years ago
in a Japanese magazine (Newtype). I am glad that I have not gotten the novels
yet to RoLW. If they get SILENT MOBIUS out for the PC-Engine, I know I would
be sunk for sure. *sigh* <Hrmph... Figures... I get the Newtype that
has SILENT MOBIUS in it, and RoLW is in it too... *grin*>
First off, I might as well say it now, to save you the troubles later on,
if you have not figured it out yet. You must know the Japanese written
language, in order to play effectively. Sorry to say this, but the text in
this RPG is not all in Hiragana or Katakana -- there is a lot of Kanji <boy!>
in this game. The only furinga readings you will see will be in the
manual. Other than that, it is time to guess. (^_^;) There is vocal dialog
too <Seiyuu's mainly>, but it is easy enough to understand, at least to
me it is. The NPC's dialog are written out.
You know what, I do not think I will do a very good review. Why? I do
not have a really good guideline on what to grade on. Anyway, I am rambling
too much. Here is what I will tell of RECORD OF LODOSS WAR; however, if
you want me to give more background of RoLW, please let me know.
Much against the warning Parn gave, I still put the PC-Engine CD-ROM into
my CD deck; although my Pioneer receiver did not mind, the sanity of my Sony
speakers is a different matter entirely. Here is what I found out:
1. Warning by Parn
2. Data
3. Adesso e Fortuna ~Honoo to Eien~ [OP]
4. Kaze no Fantasia [ED]
5. Lodoss Background <narrated by Wort's Seiyuu I think?>
6. Data
The Graphics of the game is quite good. Especially the stills, for some
of them look so good, you have to wonder if some of the shots were taken from
the stills of the OVA, and rendered into the game. The opening screen looks
almost like the opening from the OVA; however, if you have both the OVA and
the game, you can see the differences right off hand <I could probably show
you by recording the Opening of the LD and the game on my Stereo VCR and you
can see for yourself>. The `Continue' screen, showing a picture of the
lovely Deedlit is very good -- of course. (^_^;) <Hey, where's Pirotessa!?>
The rendering of the various `stopping spots' looks quite good also. You
can see Parn's house, the Temple of Marfa <and see Nice, the High
Priestess>, and probably a few other spots from the OVA that made its way
into the game. The other stopping spots <market, temple, bar, square, etc>
are done quite well also.
If do you nothing at the `Start/Continue' prompt <pictured with Karla who
took possession of the body of a very lovely looking lady named Leilia, the
daughter of Nice>, you will get some of the background information about
the realm of Lodoss and the wars. The background information is good, but
the graphics, even though good on some parts, is okay on others, at least
in terms of colour; bad flashbacks to some scenes in the RoLW OVA.
The rendering of your characters and the enemy is quite good, except for
the tiny little guys. I cannot tell if they are dogs or rats or some
obscure little varmit that makes themselves pests <and I thought 20"
screens would make it easier to tell... Maybe I should use my computer
monitor instead of the TV>. When traveling, the first player in your
lineup will be pictured. Want to guess who I like the most? (^_^;)
Not sure what else to say at present about the graphics. If the PC-Engine
was capable of doing Full-Motion Video, I would find myself very happy in
having this game if it had actual footage from the OVA. Nevertheless, even
though I dislike giving grades... I give this a B+. Just improve a bit on
the colours and it would be just fine.
The sound. Welllll... For the most part, all the Seiyuu's voices are
digitized into data, thus you will not find their dialog in the CD
tracks... Unfortunately. <Hey, I wanna get my Pirotessa/Deedlit voices!>
The only dialog you will find in the tracks will be the narrator, and that
is only one track -- the background information. *sigh* Bummer.
Combat sound, is a bit silly. No really good sounds of a sword being
slashed into the flesh of the enemy goblins, or the sound of the mace
breaking apart the skull of the kobold. Not even the eerie screams of the
victims as they die. Oookay, so we do not want to hear our Hereos dying if
it comes to that. (^_^;)
I have not heard much of the magic sound in combat, then again, I rarely
used Magic; although both Deedlit, Eto, Slayn are capable of magic, I am
still figuring it out.
For the Seiyuu's dialog, I give it an A. Why? Because I am familiar with
the Seiyuu's voices from the OVA, and they did a great job. Another
reason, is that the graphics sync with the voices. Something I have not
seen LoTR/CF2/Vasteel do. With Ys, I think they did well -- for English
and Nihongo.
For the Combat sounds, I would give it a C-. Gomen nasai!
Ahhhh, music! As I have said before, the intro of the game almost looks
like the intro from the OVA. And guess what got ported over? Hai! The
Opening music from the OVA! Exact same length on both ways too! And,
believe
it or not, they included the Ending music as well. Although I have not
finished the game to hear the Ending music, it is in there. And the best
part is -- it is the full-length Ending Music. *happy sigh* Oooooh, the
joy of hearing Sherry <singer of the OP/ED songs from the OVA> singing
those hauntingly beautiful lyrics.
On the other hand, the music they give you for the combat, etc, could be
done much better. Why could they not have just imported the BGM into this
game as well!? <Oookay, lame answer in having a RoLW soundtrack, hehehe>
The music is not that bad. Just could be better.
Overall, even though the bad music has to be counted as well, I would give
this a B-. If you are going to have the Op/Ed songs, include the actual
BGM as well. It would make for a much more enjoyable game.
Gameplay, with the pad, is quite good. No need for a joystick. This is
not a shooter. Just "point" and click. Nothing more. Give it an A.
This RPG can last quite a long time if you want, especially if your
Japanese is not good at all; if you do not know Japanese at all, it will
seem like an eternity. (^_^;) So, if you want to live long, and play
well, you had better study some. Very good game. You can save your game
in progress, but I would suggest that you have enough room. Else, Deedlit
will not be happy. I have not seen a cheat for RoLW -- yet. If you find
some, and want me to test them, let me know. Hrmm... Slap it an A.
Naturally, this is a One-Player game. No chance for footsies with this.
The only extra they put with the game, other than the warranty card <for
the Japanese ADR, in Japanese, of course, hehehe> is a small poster of
Deedlit. The back of the poster has more on Lodoss Magic. Hrmm...
In terms of improvements, put the Seiyuu's dialog onto a separate track by
themselves. You can put the NPC's into a digitized spam, but let the
Seiyuu's voices come out nice and shiny -- so that we can listen to them on
our CD players. (^_^;) Give more `realistic' combat sounds, like what they
use in the OVA <"Boy, was that the sound they used when the goblin chucked
his spear through that guy's face?">. For the incidental/background music,
use the real BGM instead of the digitized ones. I mean, if you are going to
include the Op/Ed songs, might as well stick a few BGM in. Oh, yeah. Put
more pictures of Deedlit and Pirotessa in it! One last thing: Do not let
anyone do a Macektomy on this game!
Now, time to see if I need to learn some more Kanji or not. And, to
(im)patiently wait for SILENT MOBIUS to come out. Any SAILOR MOON for the
PC-Engine? Hrmmm...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Red Alert (JCD)
---------
see "Last Alert"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Renny Blaster (JSCD) [NAPR-1044] - review by bt garner
-------------
Renny Blaster is NEC Avenue's answer to "Dracula X," unfortunately, it
is too little, too late. You control one of two characters in a fairly
standard run, jump, attack genre of game. Each of your characters has
a variety of attacks, and the long you hold down the attack button,
the more firce type of attack will be performed (also, the powered up
attacks can be used in conjunction with other (for instance, one of
the characters does a roll on the ground and attacks with his foot
when a powered up attack is used in conjunction with the jump (?)
button).
The graphic backgrounds for RB are gorgeous (they're not as "cartoony"
as say DracX, but there's not much else here. The game is also quite short.
The second time that I played it, I beat it in about an hour.
GRAPHICS: A- (nice, but we've seen slightly better)
SOUND: C (only average, nothing special, lots of dialogue)
MUSIC: C (unremarkable, none of it stands out in my mind)
GAMEPLAY: B- (your chars don't move that fluently, but your
attacks are fairly responsive)
LONGEVITY: B- (I might play again to see if I can find other areas).
OVERALL: 2.63
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: I want to like this game, but there's just too much against it.
Too short, you character can get stuck (and attacked), it just tries
to be DracX, it really does. And since it falls short, it pays a heavy
price in the comparison department.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Riot Zone (SCD) [TGXCD1035] - review by Bt Garner
---------
From the second screen of the opening ("Whear's that. ..") you just *know*
you're in for one heck of a treat.
In this side scrolling kick, jump and punch (can you say P-L-A-T-F-O-R-M?)
game you play either Hawk or Tony (yo dude! Nice mohawk!) on a mission to
penetrate (now cut that out!) the mysterious Dragon Zone in an attempt to
free Hawk's girlfriend (does this qualify her as another one of those dumb
princesses?), Candy Caesar (who, oddly enough happens to be the daughter of
a member of the Dragon Zone Resistance - oh will the coincidences ever end?).
NOTE: This story is ficticious and it bears no relation to actual people
or actual groups (hey, that's what the manual says!)
GRAPHICS: B (nice, but we've seen better)
SOUND: B (decent, I guess - for street fightin' sounds)
MUSIC: A- (fits the game well)
GAMEPLAY: B- (with relative ease, all of the moves can be done - no,
you don't need a 6-button stick. . .but your thumb will know
the meaning of "PAIN" after you beat "Tora")
LONGEVITY: C+ (not much to do once you've beaten the game using both
of the characters)
OVERALL: 2.83
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: Contrary to the literature, there are only 5 stages (not 7),
there are, however 7 bosses (stage 1 and 5 both have 2)
IMPROVEMENTS: A little more variety in enemies. A Versus mode. A little
more control. (this game was called "Crest of Wolf" in Japan, once you reach
the later levels, you'll see why).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Rising Sun (JCD)
----------
see "Lords Of The Rising Sun"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Road Spirits (JCD) - review by Clarence Din and Steve Marsh
------------
TG-16 gamers, this is NOT Outrun!!! I don't know why some past reviewers
thought so, but this game is actually based on an arcade game made by the
same company that brought you Chase HQ; I don't quite remember the name,
but I do remember the steering wheel being of the "looser" variety.
Anyone recognizing the speedometer graph in the upper right-hand corner of
the screen will understand what I'm blabbing about. The graphics are not
great and I wasn't even sure it was worth my $40 used price (it's an
import game), but playing it more and more and getting into it, I found
it was quite entertaining (and relatively easy, which I like). The roads
don't quite turn in a hairpin manner as in most racing games, so there is
no absolute need to use a Turbostick for quick moves. Anyway, the
instructions were in Japanese, so, naturally, I said "Huh?" when I tried
reading them. It was all pretty easy to figure out, though. When I got
bored after the fifth or sixth race, I reset the game and started over
with "Continue." I was then allowed to change cars and steering. Instead
of driving a Ferrari as I did in the initial games, I was allowed to drive
an automatic-transmission Lamborghini (I think that's what it was). I'm
still looking forward to driving the Porsche, though. Anyway again,
there's lots of skidding in the game, maybe too much for it to be realistic.
GRAPHICS : B- (Repetitive levels, road graphics are constant throughout the
20 or so levels. Only the color schemes, distant background
picture, and roadside sprites vary.)
SOUND : B- (Pretty average, simple engine and skid noises)
MUSIC : A+ (Lots of variety here... you can choose one of ten songs from a
"car radio" at the options screen. Some tunes are really good!)
GAMEPLAY : B (Too easy- I carried on thoughtful conversations while playing
and was not distracted by the game!)
LONGEVITY: D (It's *extremely* monotonous... one of those games you'll play
through in one sitting, and then use the CD for the music!)
OVERALL: 2.45
PLAYERS: 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Add some variety to road conditions- bumps, oil patches, anything!
Add some variety to enemy cars- behavior, size, frequency, anything! Add some
variety to the levels- anything besides simply changing the decorative sprites
and colors! Enemy car graphics are not as good as they could be. If the
movements of these cars can be improved, the game would look great!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Rom Rom Stadium (JCD) Review by Jeffrey Naiman.
---------------
Some sort of Japanese Baseball game (?)
GRAPHICS : B-
SOUND : B-
MUSIC : B-
GAMEPLAY : B-
LONGEVITY: B-
OVERALL : 2.70
PLAYERS : 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# R-Type Complete CD (JSCD) [ICCD 1001] - review by Bt Garner
------------------
yet more of the classic side-scrolling shooter. This CD contains both
R-type and R-type 2, with spiffy new sound effects, graphics (in the form
of intermissions) and of course, background music,
GRAPHICS : B+ (about the same as the HuCard version, still too much flicker)
SOUND : A (Some of the best sound effects on the TG-16... the sound
effects were duplicated EXACTLY)
MUSIC : A+ (fantastic techno type stuff, wonderful for killing ...)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (a joystick would help . ..)
LONGEVITY: A (see review above)
OVERALL : 3.83
PLAYERS : 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Shadow of the Beast (SCD) [TGXCD1018] - additional comments by Bt Garner
-------------------
You are one of the Devil's minions and your goal is to restore yourself
to human form again. This is the SCD version of the Amiga and Genesis
hit! You need to run, jump and shoot your way through a relatively large
world - although there is only one level, there are several parts to that
level, and each one must be done in a particular sequence.
GRAPHICS : A++ (Very, very nice parallax scrolling... tons of colors...
the animation sequences have a digitized feel to them)
SOUND : A++ (most pulled off of the CD... breathing sounds are incredible)
MUSIC : A++ (excellent background music)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (a game which would play better with a joystick)
LONGEVITY: B+ (it's a tough quest and VERY frustrating at times... you'll
have fun, I promise!)
OVERALL : 3.95
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : Many Amiga and Genesis gamers dislike this game because it's
too difficult! I think they toned down the game a bit for
the SCD, so it's now a bit more playable. Also, the intermission
animation sequences are expertly done! (bt: I didn't find the
game that difficult, as a matter of fact, I was able to finish
it the third time that I played it, in under an hour, at that.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Shape Shifter (SCD) [TGXCD1021]
-------------
You are a barbarian-like figure who has the ability to metamorph into a
variety of creatures with different abilities.
GRAPHICS : A++ (some of the pictures have a pastel-like quality about them...
the bosses are huge... and the animation is fast and
flicker-free)
SOUND : C (although character dialogs are loaded off the CD and very
well-done!, there is no way to bypass them, and after you've
heard 'em once, they're booooooring)
MUSIC : A (cool background music)
GAMEPLAY : D (very difficult, too much RPG gameplay for an Action game)
LONGEVITY: B (you will hack and slash, talk to people, and just be simply
amazed by what can be done with CD technology... then you'll
get bored because you cannot get past a certain level.)
OVERALL : 2.93
PLAYERS : 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Sherlock Holmes (CD) [TGXCD1011] - Review by Bryan Duvan.
---------------
You're Sherlock Holmes with your trusted pal Watson trying to solve
three separate cases.
GRAPHICS : A+ (Excellent... great digitized pics)
SOUND : A (All the sounds are here)
MUSIC : A+ (Nicely composed...)
GAMEPLAY : A (Very simple to use... Turbopad is sufficient)
LONGEVITY: A (It will take you a while to solve all three cases, but once
they are solved, you're done with the game)
OVERALL : 4.10
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Too much lag time due to CD access.
COMMENTS : I truly like this game and highly recommend it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Shubibinman 3 (JCD) - review by atam@mailbox.syr.edu <940118>
-------------
Platform Game
GRAPHICS : A+ (Absolutely superb, great ANIMATED cinemas)
SOUND : A (Great CD quality sound effects)
MUSIC : A (A wide variety of CD quality music)
GAMEPLAY : A+ (Refined from the second)
LONGEVITY : A+ (Fun and original, even better with 2 players)
OVERALL: 4.20
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
COMMENTS: Not a very difficult game but a lot of fun to play. The graphics are
some of the best I've seen on the PCE/CD. There isn't much in terms
of power-ups but you can steal an armor and hitch a ride on the back
of a bug. The only problem with playing similtanious is that the
two players share the health meter. The cinemas are a reason to
play the game again, they look as if they've been taken from some
anime. Highly recommended, very humorous.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Sidearms Special (JCD) [HACD9002] Review by Jeffrey Naiman.
----------------
GRAPHICS : A
SOUND : A++
MUSIC : A++
GAMEPLAY : B-
LONGEVITY: B+
OVERALL : 3.58
PLAYERS : 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Space Cruiser Yamato (JSCD) [HMCD2004] - review by Jeff Hildebrand
--------------------
Yamato is "sort of" a military simulation. Firstly, the game is
nothing like Military Madness - it feels like real time combat. The game
imposes its own timing on events; for example, once fighters are launched
they will attack periodically - at times determined by the game - until
they are destroyed, recalled, or retargeted. Firing guns and repairing
the Yamato are handled in the same way, sometimes you have to just sit and
wait until a gun becomes available again.
Every level is preceded by a (usually) long animated sequence. A lot
of work was put into these, and it shows - some of the characters are
unusually active. Alas, there is not much detail (but I think this is in
keeping with the anime). These animations move the plot forward and also
outline the objectives of the upcoming scenario. Before each mission
starts your crew will also brief you. Unfortunately, *all* of this is in
Japanese (spoken and written) so some mission objectives are a little
tough to figure out.
The sound during the animations is top-notch (none of that Vasteel-like
undersampled whining in the background), and I wish I could say the same
for the sounds during the game. Unfortunately the only sounds you hear
while playing are weapons firing and things exploding. The BGM is of
good quality, but dammit, I'd like more variety. The volume is low on the
BGM though, so it takes a lot of play time before it gets annoying.
You control the Yamato from its bridge - there are nine crewpersons you
can select, each of whom perform a specific function (repair, fighter
control, gunner, etc). One crewman even controls the options of the game
(a nice touch, I thought). Not all of these functions are available on
each level. The Yamato has 13 guns it can fire, but each one had a
particular range and arc of movement. Some guns cover the aft, some the
fore, some port, and some starboard. You can only fire the main gun under
special conditions. Some guns are energy weapons, and some fire
projectiles.
There are three squadrons of fighters that you may launch. They will
attack any target you specify until they or their target are destroyed.
If they destroy their target they will return to the Yamato unless you
give them another target to attack. Every scenario restores your
squadrons to a full complement of 10 units.
Besides the extensive animations between each scenario, various events
cause short animations to run on the Yamato's scenario screen : fighter
launch, attack, or return, attacks by or on the Yamato. A lot of effort
was put into these animations: during a fighter attacks, for example, you
will usually see a couple of your fighters shot down. The number shot
down during the animation accurately reflects your losses, and the amount
of time the animation runs for depends on how many fighters will be
attacking. Similarly, the bridge of the Yamato has a "window" that lets
you look out into space. You will often see enemy units, your fighters
or celestial objects moving across this window as they pass in front of
the Yamato.
One mildly annoying thing about Yamato is that while these small
animations are running you can not move the cursor from person to person
on the bridge of the Yamato. Sometimes, while trying to move, a couple of
fighters squadrons will attack and you will have to wait until the
animations finish before you can perform the function you wish. However,
time does not really pass during these delays, so you don't lose anything.
I am also pretty sure you can turn these animations off, but I haven't
played with the bridge guy that controls options too much.
Yamato automatically saves your game after you finish each scenario, but
some scenarios are divided into two parts, and if you fail to complete the
second half you will have to replay the first half. This is frustrating
when you are trying to beat part 2 but have to keep playing part 1 over and
over to get back to where you died.
GRAPHICS : A+ (very detailed, some very nice touches)
SOUND : B (beeps, booms, roars)
MUSIC : B (there seems to be only two or three BGMs)
GAMEPLAY : A- (see improvements)
LONGEVITY: C (only six scenarios? nine levels?)
OVERALL : 3.23
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Please let me move the crew-selection cursor around while
the animations are going on! Save the game after every level.
This is about the closest I have seen a game come to being like
playing an anime, but it is just too short. I find it hard to
believe that they could not fit more scenarios on this SCD, even
with the long animations. Personally, I would gladly had more
levels in exchange for shorter animations.
COMMENTS : If you are looking for another sim like Military Madess or
Macross 2 Love Song, this game is not for you. This game is a
lot more like playing the anime.
It really bothers me to see a great game like this one come
away with a score like 3.23, but the shortness of the game
really hurts it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Splash Lake (CD) [TGXCD1025] - review by Bt Garner
-----------
How do I even try to explain this? You assume the role of Ozzie Ostrich
(in 2 player mode is the other one called Harriot?) and you need to sink
the enemy by destroying block that make up bridges. Destroy two blocks
of a connecting span, and the bridge goes in the drink, taking any enemies
with it.
Odd as it sounds, this is actually a pretty fun game - it's not your basic
shooter, so don't get that idea. It's more like a bird-brained Bomberman.
OK, I should not have said that.
GRAPHICS: B (plain)
SOUND: C+ (what sound? What's there is good, but there's so little of it)
MUSIC: C (annoying) (really annoying, at times)
GAMEPLAY: A (challenging)
LONGEVITY: A (there's 60 levels to try and tackle, and some are very tough,
although the game seems to be geared toward a younger set)
OVERALL: 3.22
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
COMMENTS: If you can find it cheaply, go for it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Spriggan (JCD) [NXCD 1004] - Review by Brad Hamlett.
--------
Spriggan (aka Magic Soldier) is a shooter, much like Super Star Soldier or
MUSHA. In fact, I think it's a sequel to MUSHA. There are plenty of
different weapon types in Spriggan. As you destroy certain objects,
various colored capsules are released. You may carry up to three of these
capsules. Your weapon type depends on the number and color combination of
the capsules. There are four different colors yielding 13 different weapons.
In addition to you main guns, you may also drop bombs that will clear the
screen of lesser enemies and do significant damage to larger ones. The only
drawback to the bombs is that each time you drop a bomb, the leftmost capsule
is removed from your supply, effectively reducing your weapon strength.
The sound effects are some of the best I've ever heard coming from a shooter
and the background music is stuff you can wake the neighbors with :).
Definitely CD quality. The game has long intermissions with plenty of nice
pictures. The voices are in Japanese of course. If you let the game sit
in "Demo mode" long enough, the game will demo itself, run through the
storyline and then display each of the weapon combination.
The only drawback to the game was that I found it to be too short (only 6-1/2
stages). The game is moderately difficult on "normal," but the options
screen lets you set the difficulty level higher.
Spriggan also has the same features of Super Star Soldier... it allows you
to play "beat the clock" and "beat the score" versions of the game which are
very fun (especially after you've won the regular game). A very fun game
overall.
GRAPHICS : A+
SOUND : A++
MUSIC : A++
GAMEPLAY : A
LONGEVITY: B
PLAYERS : 1
OVERALL : 3.91
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Spriggan Mark 2: Re-Terraform Project (JSCD) Review by Sergey Shimkevich.
-------------------------------------
Side-scrolling shooter, somewhat similar to the Genesis title, Target Earth,
but much better. The storyline is straight out of the Gundam series. After
establishing colonies in outer space and on the Moon, mankind has turned to
its preferred pasttime (war, that is). You are Greg, a young "Mobile Suit"
pilot. On your first sortie, three of your teammates defect to the enemy,
nearly bumping you off in the process! Very long and well-drawn
intermissions, lots of voice/dialogue during the action scenes. There is
an option that allows you to set the dialogue during the action scenes to
voice and text, text only, or nothing (this last option turns off the
intermissions as well).
GRAPHICS : A++ (many, many layers of parrallax scrolling)
SOUND : A- (nothing too exceptional here)
MUSIC : A+ (nice names for themes played throughout the game, like
"Battleholic")
GAMEPLAY : A- (quite a large number of weapons to choose from)
LONGEVITY: A (well, it's not that hard on "normal," but there are always
"hard" and "super hard" settings)
OVERALL : 4.05
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : One of the best shooters to come around in a long time. In
addition to exceptional graphics, music and gameplay, it also has a
storyline of epic proportions (although defininely influenced by the Mobile
Suit Gundam series). Some parts of the game are truly incredible, both
story and graphics-wise. For example, in Level 3, Greg's mobile suit gets
hit and he has to change suits in flight. In Level 5, the battle is in the
skies above a city on Earth which is being hit by immense laser blasts from
space that are eliminating your allies and enemies alike. In other levels,
there are giant rocket engines installed in the Moon by the bad guys (can
you say Char's Counterattack?). If you have a Super System Card, this is a
definite must-have. Much better than Macross 2036, IMHO.
To set one thing straight: this is NOT a sequel to Spirit Fighter Spriggan.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Startling Odyssey [RFCD3001] (JSCD) - Review by jon lane
-----------------
This is an RPG that really reminds me of the Dragon Quest series for (s)nes.
Some of the background graphics are actually quite stunning, while some are
simply adequate. It's extremely linnear, but still is very fun. You travel
by foot, camel (yes, camel), snow-mobile, boat, submarine -- which is
very cool, because when you submerge it actually brings you below the water's
surface to roam around the ocean floor -- and maybe more (I have yet to
complete the game).
In the beginning there are very few cinemas, but after a while you will see
cinemas quite often -- some are *great*, while some are merely two frames
of animation while you watch ppl talk back and forth.
This game is really good, but IMHO you get fought *way* too much. In some
areas, like certain parts of the ocean, you're encountered every two steps
or so (not exaggerating!).
GRAPHICS : B+ (A for some backgrounds, B for enemies, and B+ for cinemas)
SOUND : A (the speech is, obviously, good, and even the battle sounds
are okay)
MUSIC : B+ (there is a lot of CD music here, but most of it sounds
like something from speedracer..okay if you like that sort)
GAMEPLAY : B- (decrease frequency of attacks..)
LONGEVITY: B- (it's extremely fun, but you wouldn't want to play it again
immediately after completing it. It'd be nice to play again
a few months from now, tho..)
OVERALL : 3.2
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : Even though it's in Japanese, it was really easy to understand
the plot (which is very linnear); so even if you don't know
Japanese, I would definately recommend this title.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Startling Odyssey II [RFCD4003] (JSCD) Review by bt garner.
--------------------
SO2 is your basic Menu based RPG (similar in gameplay to CF2, Dragon Slayer,
etc). However, this is one HUGE quest.. you will cover 12 different lands
(continets), travel not only by foot, but also by car, boat, submarine,
air-craft and even space ship [well, you don't actually have control of the
space ship like you do the other vehicles], you'll meet scads of people along
the way (and even a porcubunny!).
You play the role of Robin, who along with his party (Jullia, Vivian and
Galious) is set on ridding the land of Babylon, the worst of the worst
(well, insofar as dragons are concerned). Gameplay is the fairly
standard RPG sort, you roam around the countryside, occasionally stopping
at an Inn for rest (and an occasional nudey cinema!), then it's back off
to the countryside to find the next cave, tower, mountain, what not to
destroy more beasts.
This is not a short quest! The land is Huge, there are many areas, and you
will often find yourself backtracking so that you can continue. Total playing
time for myself was just shy of 52 hours. But it is worth it. The
intermissions are beautiful, and plentiful. Gameplay can get a tad
boring (since it does take so long), but there is always some sort of
surprise not too far away.
GRAPHICS : A (the game is adequate, but the cinemas are gorgeous!)
SOUND : A (good sounds for the magic spells, voice samples. ..etc)
MUSIC : B- (mostly PGM, and some BGM, it's not bad, but a little
more variety would be nice).
GAMEPLAY : A+ (great)
LONGEVITY: A (like most RPGs, the replay value is a little low, but I
know that there are some areas that I have yet to explore,
even though I've finished the game. ..)
OVERALL : 3.83
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: A little more variety in the music, please.
COMMENTS: There is a lot of Japanese in this game (obviously), I was able
to make it through the game with only a few "pieces" of advice, so don't
let the fact that there is no English here detour you. This is a great
game, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is RPG-starved.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Super Big Brother (JSCD) [NSCD 2013] - review by Bt Garner
-----------------
Bizarre shooter from the land of the rising sun. .. The game play starts with
you selecting either the male or female warrior to play. Then you enter a
level, each level has (about) 4 stages, with (surprise, surprise) a boss at
the end of each level. Along the way, you may pick up mostly naked
rotating men (that fire) or churubs (that drop bombs) - these act as
satellites for you, protecting you from certain things. When you shoot
"large" items, they will generally either release a power up or an extra
bomb (Button I). If you turn the turbo off for Button II, and hold it
down, when you release the button you'll get a big beam burst from your
satellites (and yourself, if you're playing the male character).
GRAPHICS : A (Huge characters, beautiful backgrounds, this has it all ...)
SOUND : A (Good blasts and explosion sound effects)
MUSIC : A- (the tunes are strange, but fit the game well)
GAMEPLAY : A (the turbopad works well ...)
LONGEVITY: B+ (one of those games that is fun to play, not easy to beat,
but once you beat it, you'll probably not play it again)
OVERALL : 3.85
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS: I have no idea why this game is so compelling - it's from the
same folks who brought us the Ranma series, so that explains the high quality
of the game itself. But it is *weird*.. . you have been warned. .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Super Darius (JCD) Review by Brad Hamlett and TurboKid.
------------
Super Darius is based on (and is almost an exact copy of) the arcade game,
Darius, by Taito. In fact, the only difference in the PC-Engine version is
the different end bosses for each zone.
For those who've never seen the arcade game, Super Darius is a side-scrolling
shooter in the same vein as R-type. The Silver Hawk fighter is armed with
a forward-firing weapon, bombs, and shields. There are six colored gels
that power up the ship. Red = guns, Green = bombs, blue = shields, grey =
points, yellow = destroys all enemies on screen, and clear = extra ship. As
you gather weapon and shield gels, the strength of the weapon or shield
increases slightly. When you gather the 8th gel of a particular color, the
weapon or shield-type changes... bullets become lasers, bombs drop up as well
as down, etc. When you grab the 16th gel of a particular color, the weapon
changes again... lasers become waves, etc.
At the end of each stage, you have the option of choosing one of two paths.
There are 28 different stages or zones to the game, but you will only fly
through 7 in any given game. Each zone has different enemies and a different
number of each power gels. This gives the game a high replayability factor.
Also, there are five different ending sequences.
The graphics in this game are impressive. The programmers did a wonderful
job of porting this game from the arcade version (and considering the
original game was a three-monitor game, this is all the more impressive).
Also, the sound is top-notch. The BGM for the game is some of the best that
I've ever heard and it's even encoded in Dolby Surround Sound. In short,
this is my favorite PC Engine game to date. No Japanese is required to play
the game, unless you HAVE to read the manual. If anyone from Turbo
Technologies is listening, take heed... bring this game out in the US! The
only downside to the game is that there is no two player version. I can
only wait to get my hands on the SCD version Super Darius 2!
GRAPHICS : A+ (This is an example of a coin-op conversion done right...
the bosses are SO HUGE and the animation is SO SMOOTH, you'll
be wondering if you're playing the original arcade coin-op)
SOUND : A++ (Sound is phenomenal! The sound cracks a bit after destroying
a boss, but that's forgivable)
MUSIC : A++ (Ditto to the music)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (You definitely need a joystick to get out of tight areas)
LONGEVITY: A+ (Fun! Fun!! Fun!!! Don't leave home without it. After
playing this a few times, you won't want to leave home!)
OVERALL : 4.23
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Make it a two-player game. Add a continue feature.
COMMENTS : "The Surround Sound is a very welcome touch to gaming. This game
is a winner in every respect. End bosses are MUCH larger than
Genesis Sagaia. The music is quite close to the arcade. The
sound effects are a little spotty, but I'm getting picky again.
Nice job!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Super Darius II (JSCD) [NAPR-1031] - review by Bt Garner
---------------
NEC Avenue does the original one better, this is the sequel that truly
outshines its predecessor. Once again, you control a fighter with
awesome firepower; blasters, bombs and buffer (shields, but I didn't
want to ruin the alliteration, ok?) - and all are powered up by capturing
"icons" that appear when the last of a group on enemies are destoryed.
Unlike the previous outing, you do not need to collect 8 gels to "upgrade"
your ship, every icon upgrades it, and even after you are destoyed, you
retain your current level (thank you NEC avenue!). I have yet to see
any flickering (like there always was at the end of level in SD1).
Once again, at the end of each level you are presented with 2 possible paths
which to take (although this is done more in a menu type of mode rather
than going up or down in SD1). Also, the configuration menu is wonderful,
whereas SD1 was too tough, this game on "normal" mode seems just about
right.
GRAPHICS: A+ (Fantasic - on par with Gate of Thunder)
SOUND: A (again, a wonderful job)
MUSIC: A+ (The music off of the CD is perfect for the stages)
GAMPLAY: A- (see improvements)
LONGEVITY: A (Since there are countless different paths to take
[26 levels], it'll take a while to go through and
master all of them)
OVERALL: 4.05
PLAYERS: 1
IMPROVEMENTS: hook the bombs and blasters up to the same button (or
add that as an option in the configuration menu).
COMMENTS: The addition of a Continue feature is also a welcome addition!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Sylphia (JSCD) [THCD3001] - review by Bt Garner
-------
Cute shooter, with lots of anime-esque cinemas to boot. You control
Sylphia, a fairy like creature, in this over head shooter (similar to
Spriggan). You collect power ups to change or enhance your weaponry
as you make your way through 8 (I think) levels.
GRAPHICS: A (very nice, wide variety, little flickering)
SOUND: A+ (basic shooter noises, with some sampled voices that
sound really neat)
MUSIC: A- (mostly "techno" type tunes, although things do tend to
get a little repedative throughout the game).
GAMEPLAY: A (no complaints)
LONGEVITY: B (parts of the game are hard, while overall it's pretty
easy, I guess that's what the "Difficulty" select is for)
PLAYERS: 1
OVERALL: 3.67
COMMENTS: Since Spriggan is so difficult to track down, this may well
serve as an adequate substitute.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Tenchi O Kurau (JSCD) [NAPR-1030] - review by Bt Garner
--------------
NEC Avenue strikes again. This time it's the PCE version of the Capcom
arcade game. Basic premise is this, you are one of 4 warriers, and riding
horseback must make your way through 8 levels (and at least twice as many
bosses), in order to accompish some goal. I have no idea what that goal
is, although I'm pretty certain that it does not involve rescuing some
helpless princess. Each of the warriors that you can choose has a different
health and attack (for instance one warrior has a strong attack, but can
only take a limited number of hits, while on the other end of the spectrum
is a warrior who is relatively weak, but can endure a lot of hits).
To save the countryside (well, what else could your goal be?), you get to
ride your favorite horse (ahem!). Your I button is used to attack to the
right of you, and the left button is sued to attack to the left (the screen
scrolls in a left to right fashion). Holding down the attack button (turbo
off) produces a super attack (ala R-Type, et al). The levels are quite
varied, ranging from castles to bridges to snow covered mountains and a few
other unidentifiable backgrounds.
GRAPHICS: B (Too much flickering to get an "A")
SOUND: A- (good use of sampled voices throughout the game)
MUSIC: B- (uninspiring, though it could have been worse [Zamfir?])
GAMEPLAY: B+ (Ok - a joystick would probably help, and the powerup
attack isn't worth it)
LONGEVITY: C (just not an overly fun game)
OVERALL: 2.78
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: For some reason this game just doesn't seem to hold my attention.
The graphics are nice (when they aren't flickering, sigh), but the music is
boring. There doesn't seem to be much strategy, just one of those "Kill
everything (whether it moves or not)" type of games.
IMPROVEMENTS: Why is it the NEC Avenue is the *only* company which hasn't
figure out how to handle (and minimize) flickering? This game gets pretty
bad at places (especially in the boss screens).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Terraforming (SCD) [J: RSCD-2001] - review by Bt Garner
------------
A rather geriatric shooter (1991 - Japan, 1994 - US). You control a
fighter in this side-scrolling shooter, your power ups (anyone remember the
days when games didn't have power ups?) are limited to three different
types, that can be powered up a total of four (?) times. Changing the type
of power up resets it back down to the base level.
GRAPHICS: B+ (what's there is nice, but there is too much flicker/slowdown)
SOUND: A- (nothing spectacular)
MUSIC: B (average, well, maybe a little above)
GAMEPLAY: B (not easy, but not too bad).
LONGEVITY: B- (gets very frustrating)
OVERALL: 2.90
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: Why, on earth did TTI bring this game over? There as so many
better Japanese games, and it seems that by translating this one, they have
really wasted their efforts. Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful game,
but that's about where the praises end - there are points in the game (stage
2 comes to mind) where the flickering / slowdown really interfere with the
game play. If you're into shooters, and have all the others, then go for
it, else, you'd probably be better of with something like Gradius II.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Tornado Custom (JCD) [NAPR-1019] - review by Bt Garner
--------------
You control a WWII bi-plane and must shoot enemies both on the ground
and off the ground. You can also call in 6 Kamikazee "friend" planes
to help you (Button I), press it again, and they will crash themselves
into whatever target(s) you are battling on the ground.
GRAPHICS : A- (Nice job on graphics)
SOUND : B (A little on the weak side)
MUSIC : A- (it's no "Gate of Thunder," but does the job)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (tough, very tough. ..)
LONGEVITY: B (might be a little too hard for it's own good. ..)
OVERALL : 3.33
PLAYERS : 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Urusei Yatsura * Stay With You * (JCD) [HCD0012] - review by Bt Garner
--------------------------------
An early venture into the anime/digital comic world. This interactive
comic features every boy's favorite wacky alien, Lum. There's no way
to lose, since it is a "digital comic." All you do is guide the actors
around. Those who do not understand Japanese (written and spoken) will
have a tough go understanding the plotline, although the on screen action
can be "entertaining" regardless of your language affiliations.
GRAPHICS: B (a little on the grainy side)
SOUND: A (scads of digitized speech, not much else)
MUSIC: B (for a CD game, why are most of the songs [all but 2] computer
generated)
GAMEPLAY: A (easy - not much to do, arcade reflexes not needed)
LONGEVITY: C (once, maybe twice to see everything)
OVERALL: 3.00
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: Primarily for fans of the Anime. Others will look at it and
ask "why?" (or more appropriately, "what?")
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Valis: The Legend of a Fantasm Soldier (JSCD) Review by Brad Hamlett.
--------------------------------------
I assume most people know the story behind the Valis series, but, just in
case, I'll go over it once again, since this particular Valis game is
worthless without the accompanying storyline. Yuko Ahso is a Japanese high
school student who also happens to be the owner of a legendary sword called
Valis (Varis). As such, she often has to battle evil forces in alternate
dimensions. This game is the story of her first adventure. Basically, one
of her classmates, Reiko, gets bored with the everyday high school life and
runs away to the alternate dimension. After she disappears, the high school
and the immediate neighborhood are invaded by monsters. Just as Yuko is
about to be eaten, a voice calls her name and a shining sword appears in her
hand.
The game itself is of a standard side-scrolling run, jump, slash, and shoot
type with animated intermissions (the only nice part about this particular
game, BTW). Unfortunately, this is definitely not one of the better ones.
For one thing, the game is too short. There are only seven levels and they
are really short (even shorter than in the Genesis version!). No save
feature as well, which is surprising in a CD game, but since this is a very
short game, it is not much of a problem.
The graphics are colorful, but there is no parallax scrolling whatsoever.
We've seen multi-layered backgrounds in Valis 4, and that was a regular CD
game. What did they waste the 2 megabits of the Super System card on? The
background graphics aren't any better than the ones in Valis 3 (a 1990 game),
in fact some of the backgrounds are even worse. True, there are some
nice-looking backgrounds; one segment in level 6 looks EXACTLY like the
background in the Shadow of the Beast, but they don't break any new ground
for the TG-16. The only indication that this game is a Super CD is the
absence of interruptions during the intermissions. That's nice, but how
about improving the gameplay? The main character is sluggish and takes
quite some time to get used to. It takes about two seconds to recover from
a jump or a slide. It is especially hard to turn around after landing or
when crouching. On top of that, Yuko looks like a severe case of anorexia
(peer pressure in high school?). The music is nice, but nothing special.
I liked the voice actors, though.
The game is somewhat harder than the Genesis version, but gets very easy
after you learn the patterns. The last boss (Rogles/Rogres) is very hard,
though. To defeat him, your timing has to be perfect (somewhat difficult
with the sloppy controls), plus you have to pound him for a very long time.
The lifebar is much shorter than in the Genesis version, plus the hearts that
partially restore your strength are few and far between. The same can be
said about the stars that replenish your MP - you cannot afford to miss a
single one. The whole business of trying to get enough MP and HP for the
battle with the boss makes the gameplay extremely rigid.
Character moves:
Attack: Button 2
Jump : Button 1
Magic : Up + 2
Slide : Down + 1
The sliding is somewhat tricky. You can destroy some enemies while sliding
into them, but you'll get hit when trying to slide into others. Also, you
are still vulnerable to enemy attacks when beginning the slide.
There are different kinds of magic (you get a new magic after defeating a
boss character); you can choose the type of magic you want to use with the
Select button. So far the only magic that I found useful is a force field,
which protects you against several enemy hits (no time limit, though).
Your basic attack is a sword slash (like Strider). You can pick up different
weapons along the way - the usual assortment with an energy wave, homing
fireballs, etc.
There are several nice things about this game. The magic spells and weapons
look good, the enemy characters are large and well-animated, especially the
boss enemies (the two-headed dragon in level 5 looks great). The
intermissions are well-drawn and there are plenty of them (I loved the intro
with Yuko rushing off to school. I was also surprised as to how graphic the
death of Izar was, with blood gushing out of his mouth). But no matter how
I like anime intermissions, they do not make the game. If I wanted to watch
anime, I would have called AnimEigo and ordered a tape of BubbleGum Crisis
or Vampire Princess Miyi (would have been cheaper, too). As it stands now,
Valis is a very average game which does not even compare to the previous
entry in the Valis series (Valis 4).
Now my theory. I might be wrong, but I got the distinct impression that this
game was programmed by different people, since the the first screen to come
up says "Riot" instead of the usual "CD Laser Soft." That would explain the
differences in control and character appearance. Also, this game is very
different from the Genesis version ("nothing in common" would be a better
description). My guess is that the Genesis version was programmed by Telenet
and the PC Engine version by somebody else.
P.S. A nice touch: if you try playing the game with a standard system card,
you get a picture of Yuko holding a Super System Card saying something like:
"You need 2 megs of RAM to play this game!". Kind of cute.
GRAPHICS : B
SOUND : A
MUSIC : A
GAMEPLAY : C
LONGEVITY: B
PLAYERS : 1
OVERALL : 3.17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Valis II (CD)
--------
You are Yuko and you must fight your way through many levels to defend
your honor.
GRAPHICS : A- (On upper levels, some of the backgrounds look a little
cheesy... the sunset in Act 4, for example)
SOUND : A (Nice sound effects)
MUSIC : A (Nice soundtrack)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (Yuko just doesn't have as much mobility as in Valis III)
LONGEVITY: A (A fun game! A little frustrating on the torchmen and
green jelly stage (Act 4), though)
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: What can I say. I'm a fan of the slide technique in Valis
III. If it were included here, it would make the game a
bit better.
OVERALL : 3.83
COMMENTS : A great game, but not as great as Valis III. The voice actress
for Yuko happens to be Shimazu Saeko (Yuri from Dirty Pair anime). This
tidbit was brought to you from Sergey Shimkevich!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Valis III (CD) [TGXCD1024] [J: TJCD0009]
---------
You are Yuko again and you are on another quest.
GRAPHICS : A (This is top-notch stuff, flicker-free, and detailed...
I hate color interleaving and they've pretty much
avoided it here)
SOUND : A+ (This is CD audio and, as is expected, first-rate)
MUSIC : A (Theme song is cool... slightly annoying after awhile)
GAMEPLAY : A- (Normally, I'd recommend a joystick for action games,
but this game plays almost as well without one)
LONGEVITY: A (This game will make you want to play it again and again...
if you have a CD ROM, you OWE it to yourself to get this
game)
OVERALL : 4.00
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: The CD-ROM is slow in loading scenes. Maybe the new
Super System Card 3.0 will improve the performance, but I
doubt it.
COMMENTS : A solid top-grade for a top-notch game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Valis IV (JCD) [TJCD1017] - Review by Sergey Shimkevich.
--------
The last time we've left the Valis series, Ramses (or Glames) has been
defeated and Yuko was carried to Heaven with a mysterious tractor beam
together with the Valis sword. Those whose "great" idea it was clearly
exhibited the failure to plain ahead, since villains abound in the videogame
dimension.
It turns out that a long time ago a king named Asfal gave his son, Garugia,
a "beast ring" which gave the wearer extraordinary powers. Garigua, being an
irresponsible kind of person was quickly corrupted by the ring and set out to
achieve absolute power. The gods decided that it would be best to lock
Garugia and his followers in a crystal and place the crystal on the bottom of
the ocean. So far, so good.
Ten or fifteen years after the events of Valis 3 (and several thousand years
from the day Garugia was overpowered by the gods), the crystal rises from the
bottom of the ocean, swallowing a ship in the process (nice intro!). Garugia
and his followers escape and proceed to conquer the Human World and the Dream
World. Queen Valna is captured.
A small band of warriors led by Cham escape from the Magenshu (Garugia's
troops) and take shelter in an abandoned house for the night. One of the
members of the group, a young girl named Rena (Lena) decides to go back and
rescue Valna on her own, but Cham notices her and is about to deliver a stern
lecture when a strangely familliar voice calls on Cham to let Rena follow her
destiny. Rena and her twin sister Amu set out on their long quest.
After completing the first level, they arrive at the palace where Garugia has
tied Valna to a cross and is about to kill her. Rena and Amu attack Garugia,
but he easily overpowers them. Just as he is raising his axe to deliver a
killing blow to both Rena and Amu, a strange light envelops their bodies and
they disappear before Garugia's eyes.
Rena and Amu find themselves in an unfamiliar place and facing a strange
person not unlike Garugia in appearance. He introduces himself as Asfal,
Garugua's father. It was he, who has teleported them away. He says that
only the sword of Valis can overcome the power of Garugia's "beast ring".
The three start their journey to Heaven to get the sword of Valis.
Like the other Valis games, part four is a side-scrolling action title with
animated intermissions. There are nine levels in the game with a boss
character at the end of each level.
You get three characters to use in this game (Rena, Amu and Asfal), although
in some places you will only be able to use one or two characters. Each has
its own strengths and weaknesses.
Rena is equipped with a sword that shoots out a power wave. She can fire it
rapidly, but it has a limited range. When powered up, the range and width of
the wave increases. She is also able to slide past obstacles
(like all characters in Valis 3). She is invincible when sliding, but,
unlike Valis 3, she cannot attack enemies by sliding.
Amu's weapon is a boomerang (of a kind). It has good range, but you cannot
fire it rapidly. When powered up, the range of the weapon increases. Her
special ablility is a double flip jump (as in Revenge of Shinobi or Super
Ghouls and Ghosts). Thus, her jumps are longer and higher than Rena's or
Asfal's.
Asfal's weapon is a staff that shoots out energy balls (in the form of wolf
heads) that skim the ground. When powered up, the range increases. His
armor allows him to walk on spikes and through energy barriers. He also does
not slide on slippery surfaces. His large size, however, makes it difficult
to duck under the enemy shots.
Each character possesses her/his own magic. You start with level 1 magic and
increase the magic gauge by picking up blue spheres on the way. After you
use the magic, the gauge will slowly recharge by itself, although when you
use a level 3 magic, the gauge will go down to level 2 and will be recharged
only back to level 2, thus you'll have to pick up another blue sphere to
bring it back to level 3. Also, if you are hit by an enemy or change your
character, the MP gauge will also go back to zero and you'll have to recharge
it all over again.
Characters' magic:
Rena:
Level 1 - A ball of lightning flies in a stright line
Level 2 - A ball of lightning circles overhead. Very useful for defending
from attacks from above
Level 3 - Lightning rains from the sky and destroys all enemies on the screen
Amu:
Level 1 - Two fireballs fly across the screen
Level 2 - Three fireballs bounce across the screen for some time, damaging
the enemy
Level 3 - Four fireballs circle the screen, destroying all enemies
Asfal:
Level 1 - Fires a spread of three "wolf heads" forward
Level 2 - Fires a spinning "wolf head" forward
Level 3 - Two flame walls go across the screen, destroying all enemies
The life bar is much shorter than in the previous Valis games. You start
with meager six HP (believe me, it is so easy to use them all up in no time).
When you pick up brown spheres, your weapon powers up and your life bar
increases. You can fill it in by picking up small and large herbs. The life
and magic bars are the same for all three characters. If you die, the life
bar goes back to level 1 (the magic bar stays the same).
GRAPHICS : A (Parallax scrolling in the first 4 levels)
Rena in the cinema displays looks hot)
SOUND : A
MUSIC : A- (No Grammys, but some tunes are really nice)
GAMEPLAY : A (One of the best run/jump/slash games I've played)
LONGEVITY: A- (Nine very long levels)
OVERALL : 3.85
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Definitely the best Valis game there is. More well-rounded
than part 3 and much better than parts 2 and 1.
COMMENTS : All in all, if you have a TG-16 CD-ROM and haven't got this game
yet, I strongly recommend it. One of the few games that I haven't regretted
spending my money on and one of the even fewer that I actully kept.
Personally, I would rate the Valis games in the following order:
4 -> 3 -> 1 -> 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Vasteel (CD) [WTG990801] - Review by Bt Garner (additional stuff from
------- Jeff Hildebrand)
Vasteel is an arcade action/strategy game that is unlike any other. The
Emporer has died and left his older son, Falial in command. His younger
son, Stefan, has started a revolt. You assume the role of either brother
(or you can even let the computer slug it out) to fight fo control of the
system. You control armies (similar to Millitary Madness) accross a
board of hexes, and when a confrontation occurs, you enter an action-packed
battle to the death.
GRAPHICS : A (Beautiful.)
SOUND : B (ok, but not uplifting)
MUSIC : B+ (for a CD game, I don't know - warring to light jazz just
doesn't do anything for me. ..)
GAMEPLAY : A- (the TurboPad is adequate)
LONGEVITY: A- (if you like this sort of game, then this is for you, the
game can literally take days to finish)
OVERALL : 3.68
PLAYERS : 1 or 2 (or 0)
COMMENTS: This is an excellent game especially if you have never
played a wargame simulation before. The manual is huge compared
to what you see with most Turbo games and contains a lot of useful
and detailed information. Also, if your reflexes are good, you
can overcome strategical mistakes by kicking butt in the
battles. A lot of the graphics are great, but what is with these
psychedelic backgrounds when characters are talking? Also, like
Dragon Slayer, the CD accessed BGM can be turned off.
IMPROVEMENTS: Working Designs used a lot of digitized speech in this
game, and I think it adds a lot to the "scenario" (story) mode.
However, it sounds like WD digitized their voice actors and are
playing it back via the program rather than straight off the CD.
I don't care for this because the voices have an annoying whine
in the background. Also, the voice that gives you info on your
ATACs (fighting units) is too quiet. And when you turn up the
volume, there's that annoying whine again. The whine almost
obliterates what the guy is saying. This stuff should have been
played straight off the CD.
Also, the INFO on your ATACs is almost useless. I would rather
have seen the data that is in the manual presented on a full
screen.
The computer player is really bad in the action sequences. If
your reflexes are good you can easily defeat ATACs much superior
to your own.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Yamato (JSCD)
------
See "Space Cruiser Yamato"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Y's Book I & II (CD) [TGXCD1002] - Review by Bryan Duvan and TurboKid.
---------------
You are Adol going on a dangerous quest. This is a serious RPG game!
GRAPHICS : A+ (Love the beginning sequence)
SOUND : A+ (Great thunder and lightning sounds... eerie)
MUSIC : A+ (AWESOME!!! "Many !'s had to be deleted for reasons of
space" - your friendly-neighborhood editor)
GAMEPLAY : A (A little difficult when fighting bosses)
LONGEVITY: A+ (This is not one game, but two games on one disk... WOW!!!
The save feature really helps in this game)
OVERALL : 4.25
PLAYERS : 1
COMMENTS : This is one intense game and the reason why I bought the CD-ROM
player. Get this game if you can! "Definitely better than its
successor, Y's III, and one of the best games for the TG-16" - Ed.
Be sure to check out the ending game screens when you win. They
are extremely well done!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Y's III: Wanderers From Y's (CD) [TGXCD1015]
---------------------------
You are Adol on a quest to fight and kill the evil Demanicus. Much more
arcade-like than its predecessor, which suits my tastes better.
GRAPHICS : A (Wow Wow Wow!!! This RPG's got it all... multiplane
scrolling, detailed characters and monsters, complexity,
etc. Fans of anime should check out the scenes upon
beating the game. Wow Wow Wow!!!)
SOUND : A+ (Excellent sound effects and cute story)
MUSIC : A+ (This is another top-notch effort in videogame music)
GAMEPLAY : A- (You could boost your score significantly with a joystick,
but the Turbopad is adequate)
LONGEVITY: A (This one grew on me after awhile... I'm usually not into
RPG's, but there are many, many action elements in this
game... there are ways to cheat and build up your
character as well... I'm all for that! The save feature
is an excellent idea!)
OVERALL : 4.05
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: My only gripe is how jerky the scrolling is... sometimes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (JSCD) [HCD3051] - review by Bt Garner
--------------------- & Jeff Hildebrand
Everyone's favorite adventurer is back in the long awaited (and never to
be released domestically) sequel to Ys 1 and 2 (chronologically, Ys4 takes
place after Ys 2, but before Ys 3). And, unlike Ys 3, Ys 4 is *not* a
side scrolling hack 'em up game with added RPG elements, it's back to the
3/4 perspective RPG. Fabulous!
If you liked Ys 1 & 2 (and who didn't?), Ys IV has everything it had and
more. *Lots* more. More monsters, more bosses, more items, more people
(to talk to), more animations, more lands to explore - and that's just
expanding on what the original Ys was. Ys IV adds magic potions (that
you have to collect the ingredients for) and "help" in the form of a
messenger pigeon which will sometimes appear with a message when you call
it. The message is in Japanese (of course) so most of the time they are
not much help for us English-speaking types, but even the occasional
green word can help you out of a jam.
The lands are incredibly detailed and varied, as are the creatures that
inhabit them and the bosses that rule over them. Even better, the bosses
are extensively animated. The Spider boss, which is the first boss
moster you will meet, is better animated than just about any monster in
Ys 1 & 2.
GRAPHICS: A+ (some parts are familiar, others aren't, but all are beautifully
done [and there is a bit of flickering]).
SOUND: A+ (lots of digitize speech, great sound effects)
MUSIC: A (almost as good as 1 & 2, but tends to be a little repetative)
GAMEPLAY: A (no problems, except battling the last boss can be a thumb
wrecker)
LONGEVITY: A+ (there is scads of stuff yet to be examined, having gone
through the game twice, I still know that there is plenty
that I have missed).
OVERALL: 4.20
PLAYERS: 1
COMMENTS: Not a lot of Japanese is required for this game (and with the
various files from the turbo-list server, probably none at all). This
title is well worth getting if you like the first (and second).
IMPROVEMENTS: In Ys 1 & 2, you could hit the "Select" button while in the
"Status Screen," and this would serve as a toggle to let you see what area
you were entering before you actually entered it. I miss this feature
(even though most of the Kanji would not have made any sense what so ever
to me). Also, can I beg you for a feature to pause the game whiel battling
a boss? I'm not asking to be able to change your armament or anything,
just a way so that you can answer the phone/door, etc while playing. ..
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Do You Have Reviews?
--------------------
Certainly, one man's opinion is not enough to base your decision to rent or
purchase a game. If you have had any experience with a certain game and
would like to share your experiences with other fellow Turbografx-16 owners,
please send your reviews my way. I will take all of your comments into
account and adjust my grades accordingly based on their soundness and wisdom.
Credit will be given to the original reviewer. Please use the review format
presented below and send them to bt@cpac.washington.edu. Thanks!
Please, please, PLEASE follow the format of the reviews for everyone's sake!
The idea is to give other gamers the most clear and concise information
possible!
Special thanks to:
-----------------
The following people were integral or most helpful in my assembling these
reviews for all you TurboDuo, Turbografx-16, and PC-Engine gamers.
Thank you all!
Bryan Duvan, Chris Fleming, Tin Yau Fung, Jeff Graham, Brad Hamlett,
Pete Ikusz, Kevin Kramer, Jeffrey Naiman, Paul Norkus, Sergey Shimkevich,
James Stepanek, Laly Thao, David London and of course a special word of
thanks to Clarence Din [cd] who started this project.
