This topic is now closed
Gamefaqs Link
Last Topic's Ratings:
Diver's Dream - BAG - 50% {3}
Goofy's Fun House - AA - 50% (2)
Monster Rancher - GGGGGG - 100% (6)
Ochan no Oekaki Logic - GA - 75% (2)
Ridge Racer Revolution - GBGGBABAB - 44% {9}
Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol - BBBB - 0% (4)
This was a pretty divisive topic, with two squiggle bracket games in one batch (I've also finally updated the FAQ to explain what the squiggle bracket means). The thing that surprised me the most though was the perfect score for Monster Rancher, which I was sure would pull in at least a few A votes. Maybe Tecmo is right to re-release it after all.
Games for this topic:
Bases Loaded 96
Card Games
Epidemic
Ganbare Goemon: Kurunara Koi!
Road Rash
Xevious 3D / G+
Nice try, Xevious, but you're not going to cheat the system with that title. For starters, the rules specifically state that there's no G+ grade, and secondly, you're supposed to put a hyphen before the score, not a slash. In other news, we have one of the Goemon games here, there's no translation for it that I'm aware of but there are some pretty good guides here on this site.
Bases Loaded 96 - B
ReplyDeleteCard Games - A
Epidemic - G
Ganbare Goemon: Kurunara Koi! - A
Road Rash - A
Xevious 3D / G+ - G
Bases Loaded 96 is a pretty primitive game by the standards of the era. For starters, it isn't 3D, it just uses 2D graphics with prerendered 3D players that honestly don't look particularly good or animate well. There's also no commentary and only the most basic sound effects and music. On the plus side, at least the gameplay is intact, but it's nothing you haven't played a dozen times before and the pitching control seems a little stiff. Not really a whole lot of reason to seek out this one if you wanted a baseball game for your new console, there's still a fair number on SNES and Genesis that are more impressive.
In case the highly creative title didn't tip you off, card games is yet another title in the Simple 1500 series. I suppose as a package it's not too bad, you get 6 different games which are fairly varied, and there's also a very minor reward system where you can use the money you earn to buy decorations for your room, though it's not a terribly impressive feature by any means. The main thing that it has going for it is that it's cheap, which is maybe not a bad thing considering it does about the same thing as most similar games but at a lower price point.
I actually think Epidemic is a pretty cool game. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Space Griffon VF9, except without the annoying issue of the exposition stopping gameplay. I guess maybe the gameplay isn't quite as complex as Space Griffon (there's no mode changing here or anything), but the different selection of missile types and such still gets the job done, and I really like how there's a persistent map that updates to show you where you've been, it makes navigating the environments a breeze. The cutscenes are a little on the lame side, but other than that I like this one quite a bit.
Ganbare Goemon: Kurunara Koi isn't quite as terrible as I had been led to believe, but it definitely has its fare share of problems. For starters, while it is a 3D game, it's all shown from an overhead perspective and the stages are all very linear, so it doesn't play at all like Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. The game is generally divided into fairly short levels, often ending with an Impact battle, after which you then have to backtrack all the way back through the level to exit (obviously, this is very lame and is clearly there for padding). The platforming is tolerable, but the combat in the game is a mess, with enemies having far too much health to be worth fighing (a standard enemy will take 15-20 hits to defeat), luckily you can simply avoid most enemies but this doesn't feel very engaging. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon definitely had the right idea by making all enemies take 1-2 hits. About the only main upsides to the game are the voiced cutscenes and the Impact Battles, though even these aren't as good as the ones in the N64 games, running around the 3D arenas and charging up your punch attack or shooting nasal bullets is still tolerable. The music in the game is a huge step down from the N64 game too. If judged in comparison to the N64 titles, this would be a clear B, but I feel on a system with relatively few 3D platformers it's maybe good enough for the lowest of As, but it's certainly not something I'd really recommend even to fans of the series.
DeleteI had the PC version of Road Rash 32-bit back when it was new and I recall liking it a fair bit, but I never got around to finishing it, and that's still pretty much my opinion of the game today. This version of Road Rash sticks fairly close to the Genesis originals, though the 3D is definitely better now and the tracks are more varied, the basic gameplay remains almost totally intact. You'll do races across various surroundings, punch people who get too close, and earn money to buy better bikes. It's a solid formula for sure, the only thing that I feel eventually starts to drag the game down is a problem that the old games also had, which is that as you get farther the races start to go on pretty long and the tracks don't actually feel that varied. One thing I do appreciate though is the game's sense of style, the artwork is all done in this kooky exaggerated style and the music is also pretty good, and the little video clips that occur at various points are also a nice touch. I could see this as being either a high A or a low G, probably depending on how much credit you give it for being one of the earlier PS1 games, personally I think I skew more towards A because of the abundance of strong racers on PS1 and the fact that the Genesis games kind of did this already. In any case, Road Rash 64 is way better, but that's a story for another time.
I wasn't initially aware that Xevious 3D / G+ was actually a compilation of all the Xevious titles as well as the new one, which is a nice surprise, though the other 3 titles are fairly similar and there's little doubt that Xevious 3D / G is the one you're here for. Thankfully, it's actually a pretty cool game, with not only much better graphics but also a ton more variety, varying weapons to use, some interesting perspective flips (I don't know why more games don't do this), and cool boss fights. This is how you update a classic, it still feels true to the original but it's very substantially improved. Hilariously enough, this is actually a pretty safe pick for G. Not false advertising! Still no plus though.