Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1305
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by isthatallyougot »

Phaseknox wrote: Thu Dec 30, 2021 3:34 pm I never implied that you were crazy for not liking it, we all like and dislike things for our own personal reasons. It appealed to me immediately and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey, but I also realize that it’s not for everyone. It’s especially not something that I expected cane to like, so it doesn’t surprise me that he didn’t like it. But I thought that you (izzy) might like it, at least more than you did anyway. I think that Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West are better, but I like it more than DmC: Devil May Cry.
No, I know you didn't suggest I was crazy. I was just glad to see another opinion similar to mine about the game. Everything resonates the way it does for everyone.

27) Ballsy! World Cup 2020 (PC)

ImageImage

I love good arcade sports titles, and I'm especially fond of soccer - both in gaming and in real life, so finding a melding of those two flavors is always enticing for me. I picked up a game called Ballsy! World Cup 2020 on Steam a while back and figured I'd give it a try. It differs from soccer in that there is no out of bounds - the ball just "pinballs" off the edges - and the team sizes are smaller. And at its core it's really simplistic. However, it has the fundamentals of a good game. The movement it tight and intuitive, with momentum factoring into things. The artificial intelligence is challenging and makes games tense and interesting. The basics are nice. Everything feels really good. But there isn't much in the way of legs (no pun intended) with Ballsy! There's a World Cup mode where you pick one of a limited number of included flags. (I don't understand why they didn't just include every nation since they're essentially palate swaps.) But there's no group stage. It's just an immediate knockout competition. And there are no career/franchise modes, no stats and very little depth to anything. And, to be fair, I get it. It's a cheap game made by a single person, I believe. I just ended up feeling a little frustrated and disappointed at what could have been. I wanted a reason to spend more time with this one, and I could see it being fun in couch multiplayer, but playing solo is just lacking any reason to spend a significant amount of your time. If the developer just built upon the solid foundation they had, it could have been something quite compelling for the arcade sports lover. As it is, I'll give it an average 3/5, maybe worth bumping half a point or more if you've got a regular human opponent who enjoys the same sort of gaming.

26) Vampire Hunter D (PS1)

ImageImageImage

I was looking for some obscure PS1 games to see if anything really interesting slipped through the cracks for me, and I noticed Vampire Hunter D which piqued my curiosity. You take on the role of a half-human/half-vampire who is hired to rescue a human girl from the grips of another vampire. The back-story for this is that humans have faded from prominence for many, many years, having been replace by a thriving vampire population. However that dynamic is shifting back in the other direction. There is apparently a pretty involved narrative to this whole universe - a work of fiction which I knew nothing about prior to playing this game. But it does seem to be fairly interesting. Perhaps I'll check out some of the other media at some point.

The basic structure of the game is in the vein of early Resident Evil. There are fixed camera angles and pre-rendered environments. There are keys, items and puzzles. Overall, it feels very much like a clone of the same basic template that became popular in the early PS1 days. The atmosphere was pretty well-done with some nice music in spots and the voice work was better than those early Capcom titles, although that's not necessarily high praise, lol. The whole vibe was more than I expected from Jaleco, although to be fair, they were pulling from external source material. In contrast to Resident Evil, the main character wields a sword rather than guns. The combat itself was functional, if not engaging, but the real annoyance was with the controls for movement. The movement felt slippery and awkward while using similar tank controls. It was easy to overshoot your intended stopping point of just struggle to align yourself with an intended point/object properly. They were functional, and I believe work as intended, but they were not well designed in my experience. Things were pretty nonintuitive and never really became comfortable or enjoyable. When you couple the awkward movement with fixed camera angles that shifted too often, it was very easy to get disoriented and turned around. There were certainly things to like about Vampire Hunter D, but they were often undermined by poor execution. I won't say it's a bad game, and if you really love the universe and/or simply must play everything in the style of classic Resident Evil, it may be worth your time. But for most, including myself, I'd say it's middling at best. 3/5.

25) Dragon Valor (PS1)

ImageImageImageImage

I don't think there are too many PS1 titles that register as unfamiliar to me when I come across them, but I was looking around for something to play on the PS1 since I seemed to be enjoying some of that classic early 3D goodness this year, and I stumbled across a game called Dragon Valor by Namco. Now maybe it crossed my path at one time or another, but if so, I had certainly forgotten about it. It seemed like it might be interesting, so I picked it up.

In this game you take part in a multi-generational war of humans against dragons. You play a chapter as one protagonist, fighting bosses, finding keys, loot and exploring and then finally upon defeating the section's main boss/dragon, you are introduced to the offspring of that character and learn a bit about them before continuing on the journey in this long-standing conflict. There is no voice acting, but there is a fair amount of narrative it all landed quite flat and dull, if I'm honest. There just wasn't anything gripping about it, intriguing central premise aside. The concept was fine, however the execution just had no juice. So in the absence of narrative pop, things fell upon the gameplay and presentation to pick up the slack.

Some might be tempted to call this an action RPG, but for me, that's stretching the definition of the category. You do learn some spells and upgrade things, but it's very narrow in scope. As an example, you can only visit shops at certain designated points between chapters, and even then you can only buy or sell according to that particular shop-keeper's whims. And usually there's only 3 items you can buy or sell before you're ushered out. The game had lots of little odd quirks like this. Another example is that there were numerous times where there would be an unlimited magic potion there to pick up, but it would be situated in an area with no enemies. There were just some strange choices that showed a lack of polish and refinement. The combat was fairly enjoyable with a variety of sword moves as well as the aforementioned magic. Everything controlled well enough, and I didn't have any major complaints, but despite the serviceable controls it just didn't have much in the way of excitement most of the time. There were a few boss battles that were an exception and offered more engaging encounters, but most of the time I just repeated jumping up and slashing downwards on what seemed to be a near endless supply of enemies. Overall it was a bit repetitive and lengthier than warranted. The general atmosphere was decent and the graphics were not off-putting, but despite feeling pretty unique and somewhat strange, things just never rose above the average for me.

In the long list of PS1 titles, this action, hack and slash/light RPG had its moments, but just wasn't polished or engaging enough to strongly recommend. Despite the roughly 8 hour play time, I still felt like it dragged by the end. It's a middling 3/5.

24) Shadowgate (PC)

ImageImageImageImage

Old school adventure (Point and click) games can be really hit or miss for me. Oftentimes the intentionally impenetrable (and often illogical) puzzles along with that feeling of being "stuck" just drain the fun. Having said that, there are some great games in the genre, and sometimes they're really worth playing, and I find myself absorbed in their worlds. I was always curious about the Shadowgate remake that had been sitting in my backlog for a while, and I decided to check it out.

The presentation was really nice. The medieval setting with magic and mystery was portrayed wonderfully with the mostly static, but beautiful, backdrops. (There were some nice animations that sometimes played over the backdrops for added flavor.) You had the sense of being in this strange world of witches, dragons, castles and the like, and the soundtrack also added to that magical, fantasy flavor. In typical point and click style, there were plenty of puzzles requiring you to explore, find and utilize items in various ways to unlock progress. There were also magic spells that you picked up on your trek that could be tried out in different situations, and it wasn't always obvious if a particular spell would have the desired - or any - effect. Items could also be combined to make new items, another staple of the genre. As is the case with this style of game, figuring out what to do and executing is satisfying (or just imparting a sense of relief at times). You also have a talking skull as a side-kick that can offer hints if you wish, and there are multiple difficulty levels that change puzzles and items - very much in the vein of the Silent Hill series and I thought that was a nice touch, giving added longevity.

But, for some reason, I just didn't find myself really engaged - despite the positives. I'm not sure what it was. I was stuck for a while, and I realized at one point that I was struggling to find sufficient interest to even bother figuring out or looking up what was needed. It's not that the game was bad or poorly made - not at all. It's just one of those cases where this genre has to really suck me in in order for me to stay engaged. For the right player, I can see it being fantastic. I'm not a hardcore genre-fanatic and this one wasn't enough to rise above for me. 3/5.

23) Silhouette Mirage (PS1)

ImageImageImageImage

Confessions of a gamer who's been around since the beginning of the medium : I don't think I've ever played a Treasure-developed game. (Check's wikipedia - well actually I did play part of Stretch Panic on the PS2, but never really got into it. And I do have several other of their titles in my backlog for various systems.) Regardless, I know they have a reputation for being a very good developer, particularly in regards to gameplay, which is something I can really appreciate, and also makes it all the more surprising that I have such limited experience with their work. I've been on a bit of retro kick in 2021, particularly the PS1, and I had always wanted to play Silhouette Mirage, and...so I did.

The hook with SM is that there is a polarity mechanic (which eventually made its way into Ikaruga - also by Treasure) where you can be invulnerable to damage if you switch to the right polarity. In SM, the main character has a red side and a blue side that is displayed depending on which direction you are facing in the 2D plane. Certain enemies will be a threat to - and vulnerable against - one polarity or another. So you find yourself not only dodging attacks in the traditional way, but also simply switching directions in order to avoid damage. The mechanic worked as intended and required a bit of adapting from the typical mindset of having to avoid all attacks via movement. There were also a pretty large array of moves that allowed for various tactics. I was pleased with the amount of depth, at least theoretically, available. The game played well and was responsive. All in all, everything was really polished.

But despite the polish and the unique mechanic, I just didn't find myself loving SM. It had a very quirky anime presentation, and while I enjoy anime oftentimes, this particular style wasn't something that really clicked with me. The characters were in a style that was a combination of cute and ridiculous, and it just wasn't really my jam. To be fair though, I did find that the style grew on me throughout the game, in part because it was infused with a decent amount of humor in the (text only) dialogue. And as well as the game played, as well as things worked, it just didn't engage me deeply enough on that level either. Just because something is well-made and functions properly doesn't necessarily mean it's going to click. So while I appreciate the game and can see it being enjoyed more by some players, it just wasn't a can't-miss game for me, in the end. I had some fun with it, but I could have missed out and not felt too bad in retrospect, curiosity notwithstanding. I do have, as a result of playing SM, an appreciation for Treasure's abilities though, and I'm curious to try some of their other work at some point. In this case though, their reputation felt like just a bit of a mirage. 3/5 for me.
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1305
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by isthatallyougot »

22) Intelligent Qube (PS1)

ImageImageImage

I enjoy puzzles, both real life and within video games. I am generally not a huge fan of strict puzzle games, however. I enjoy puzzles within my games, but an entire game dedicated to puzzles has to be really special in order for me to lose myself within. But, always being open to new experience, I picked up Intelligent Qube for the PS1. I have an interesting story regarding this game in particular. I got it as a gift from my ex-wife many years ago. She picked it up for me and I played a fair amount over a weekend, but didn't feel like it had the legs to warrant a full purchase price. She had bought it at Gamestop, and back then they had a return policy that allowed for full credit of opened games within a certain window - a week I think. So, I thought those dollars would be better spent elsewhere in the PS1 gaming world, and so I returned it. Fast forward many years, and I had the hankering to give it another spin. I didn't find it a bad game initially, it just seemed a little light on content.

The basic premise is that you control a little man running around on a field of blocks. This man can highlight blocks beneath him and then activate those highlighted squares to make the blocks on those tiles vanish. Ultimately, it is your goal to clear off all of the blocks on each of the games 8 stages without falling off. In regards to falling off there are some dark colored blocks that are off-limits in terms of making them disappear. You can do so, but each time you do, it removes a layer of blocks from the overall play-field, reducing the space you have before falling off the edge. Additionally, you are penalized for letting blocks go over the edge that ought to have been removed. There are also special green blocks that once highlighted and activated can clear off all the surrounding blocks. So you can clear large chunks quickly, but you have to watch out for the forbidden black blocks in your chains. It's, at its essence, a race to clear all the right blocks before they push their way - and your character - over the edge.

For what it is, it's fun enough, and the challenge ramps up quite nicely as you progress into the later levels. You are also graded with an "I.Q." score based on overall points on a run. (You can start from the beginning or from the furthest level you have cleared in the single player.) It has a clean look that holds up well on the aging PS1, and the idea of a man being your "cursor" was novel and added a bit of flavor. Despite the clean appearance there was no real color or "pop" to make things visually engaging. There wasn't too much to complain about here, yet there also wasn't too much to really get excited about. It's a good puzzle game that failed to significantly energize me. 3/5.

21) Knightmare Tower (PC)

ImageImageImageImage

Pulling from the dank, dusty corners of my backlog, I reached in and pulled Knightmare Tower from last year's ridiculous $5 itch.io bundle. I was just looking for something to run on Linux since my Windows gaming PC was in storage, and this was one of the first that appeared in my search from that bundle. The premise is that you are a knight riding a rocket from the base of a tower, hopping upon monsters as you rise. As you ascend, you must bop the heads of the baddies to maintain elevation over the rising lava beneath. If you make a succession of kills, you get a combo which raises your speed, shooting you up the shaft with the swiftness. The monsters that appear within the shaft have different qualities. Some have no defenses, while others display spikes that can hurt you or shoot projectiles if not dispatched quickly enough. Lose enough hearts and it's game over, lose enough elevation, and the same fate awaits as into the lava you go. You can miss monsters, jumping into the void below, and your rocket will come to your rescue, lifting you back up. But it comes at the cost of speed, making the encroaching magma beneath a closer threat. You are tasked with rising high enough to rescue 10 princesses that reside at various levels of the tower, and ultimately facing off against the final boss at the top. You earn money and power-ups through drops as you ascend, and that money can be used to upgrade states like sword power, reduction in air friction, speed boosts and a plethora of other variables that makes your ascent smoother and more powerful. The graphics were colorful and everything moved nicely. It did have a simplistic "flash game" feel and didn't really pop with the personality you'd expect from a title that was really given some loving creative care, but it was fine for what it was. The progression via purchasing of upgrades kept me engaged in the pursuit of the finish line, and the final boss was decent. All in all, it was more of a time waster than anything of real substance or merit for a seasoned gamer looking for great experiences, but it was a fun time-waster, nonetheless. 3/5.

20) Silent Bomber (PS1)

ImageImageImageImage

In Silent Bomber you play a one-man killing machine in some sort of conflict I couldn't be bothered to get invested in. The voice acting was often absolutely wretched, which certainly didn't help my investment from a narrative perspective. But thankfully there was a solid game underneath. The essence of the game is about targeting enemies and placing bombs and other armaments on or near them and then detonating them when you are out of harms way. Everything worked very well mechanically and was quite fun. Aside from the basic bombs, which you could upgrade in number available, there were some powerful fire and electrical vortex weapons. Utilizing the variety of your arsenal in conjunction with the threats you faced was engaging and fairly intense. In fact, I found the game quite difficult. I scored "D" rank on everything I think, lol. But the game did suffer in terms of repetition during its brief run. It never felt as if you were doing anything very differently later in the game than you were in the beginning, for all practical purposes. The core was surely solid, and if I were younger, playing this at its release, I'd likely score it a 4/5. But with the lens of time and the added burden of so many other games for comparison and potential interest, it's more of a 3/5 for me in the time-frame of today. There a really solid foundation, but I would have liked to see some more variety along with better narrative execution.

19) The Whisperer in Darkness (PC)

ImageImageImageImage

Most of us go through life with fundamental assumptions about the nature of reality, with an idea that there exists a certain clarity/reliability/solidity to the nature of existence. We make assumptions and take things for granted, finding ourselves comforted by our own ideas, living in a bubble of our own making as shaped by the safety-loving, survival-driven mind. But we can have experiences that erode those foundations causing us to question everything. (Fungi anyone? :P) In the vein of considering the vast scope of potential realities and explanations for things, we find the cosmic horror of Lovecraft whose writings unnerve on an existential level, leaving the reader on shaky ground - great for the adventurous, curious or bored individual looking for mind expanding journeys and entertainment. I came across a game in this realm called The Whisperer in the Darkness, a minimally interactive visual novel made by one person. Being primarily a narrative experience, the full weight of judgment falls upon the story and atmosphere, and I am pleased to say that this game delivered nicely in that regard. There was a spooky soundtrack and the writing was very well done. We follow an investigator into the hills of Vermont who discovered some potential alien beings from the planet Yuggoth who may or may not have a sinister agenda. There was plenty of tension and I was very interested to see it all unfold. It wasn't a lengthy experience and had no high production values or real gameplay to bite into, but I certainly enjoyed it. Not a bad way to spend a little of your time if you find potential existential crises stimulating. 3/5.
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
crimson_tide
Posts: 461
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2019 5:07 pm

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by crimson_tide »

SILHOUETTE MIRAGE!?!? :shock:

Whoa. Now that is a deep cut! Alright, izzy. Fam. Bruh. Listen to me, What happened to Silhouette Mirage is a travesty. Treasure is one of the reasons I love games like I do. Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes and Dynamite Heady were simply...I played so, so many hours of those games. Then came Silhouette Mirage. SM was gutted. The one we got was not the original, which was a Saturn exclusive in Japan. Treasure joined a...I guess a collective called ESP which included Game Arts and Working Designs. By the time it made it over to our side of the pond, there were a bunch of changes that changed what the core of the game was. The difficulty was increased, the economy was broken by overpricing the items while making money harder to come by and most egregiously, the polarity switching mechanic was tuned to make it so when you took the same color attacks, your weapon was weakened making them useless. The game is not what it should have been. As much as I love Treasure, I think your 3/5 is really generous. It is really a far cry from what Treasure excelled at which was insanely tight, mechanically interesting gameplay mixed with mind blowing spectacle set pieces especially the bosses. Because they changed so much you could see the pieces but the whole was muddled. I could go on and on about SM and how sad I was about it but I'll stop now :P .

Silent Bomber was a college classic, the roommates LOVED that thing. I always wanted to try Dragon Valor but never could find it. Seems like I wasn't missing too much at least :) .
User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1305
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by isthatallyougot »

crimson_tide wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 8:23 pm SILHOUETTE MIRAGE!?!? :shock:

Whoa. Now that is a deep cut! Alright, izzy. Fam. Bruh. Listen to me, What happened to Silhouette Mirage is a travesty...
Thanks for the history lesson teacher. :) I didn't know anything about the background of SM. I'm glad to know that it's not a representation of their best work - gives me hope to try some more of their stuff. To be fair, it wasn't bad by any stretch, just didn't live up to what I was expecting of the reputation of the "Treasure" name. (Neither did Stretch Panic, but I dropped that one quickly - probably didn't give it a fair shake. But I don't think it's a beloved entry from them either.)
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1305
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by isthatallyougot »

18) Shipwreck (PC)

ImageImageImageImage

Having played Link's Awakening earlier this year, I was interested in trying another spin on the formula, and I found a small indie developer's take on the archetype in the form of a game called Shipwreck. You begin, having crashed on a beach in your ship and find that you must defeat a ghost terrorizing the land before you can depart. Ultimately you are tasked with obtaining four seals from four Zelda-like dungeons before you can fight the final boss in the form of the ghost in the fifth and last dungeon.

Graphically, things were decent enough, reminiscent of SNES offerings. Everything looked clean enough, but there wasn't a great deal of charm or personality to things. Having been developed by a two-man team, that's forgivable though. The music on offer featured a nice selection of tracks, albeit rather short-looping pieces. There was very little story or character interaction - only the most basic of back and forth in order to push you forward on your adventure. Overall the presentation was adequate, but not captivating. The controls were responsive as you used your sword, shield, a bow and arrow and lantern to navigate the various locales. In terms of puzzles, there were some basic ones, although the last two dungeons (including the final) offered some decent navigational complexity in a few spots.

Overall, I had a pretty good time with this Zelda-inspired work. It was obviously lower budget and didn't offer anywhere near the complexity or refinement of Zelda-proper, but it had a character of its own in its relative simplicity. If you like 2D Zelda and find yourself in the mood for an indie interpretation, it's worth a look. I'm pretty ambivalent on Zelda overall - loving a few and merely tolerating others without having even experienced all the series entries. And in terms of 2D Zelda I've only played the original (which I don't remember if I even finished as a kid), Link's Awakening and The Minish Cap. So, I'm certainly no series expert or fanatic - like some, but this seemed a worthy Zelda-lite effort from a smaller team. It has the basics without any of the passion or nuance, and to be fair, less of the tedium sometimes found in the inspiration. 3/5.

And speaking of...


17) The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening DX (Gameboy)


ImageImageImageImage

The Legend of Zelda is an odd franchise for me. There are entries I adore (Majora's Mask and Breath of the Wild), and there are also entries that just don't quite click for me. I'll start off by acknowledging that every Zelda I have played is obviously very well crafted with plenty of love and attention to detail, both in presentation and structure. These games are just well made, and it's obvious why they have such a rabid following. I'm far from a Zelda connoisseur though. I'm not the type of fan that has played everything, that knows all the lore and the time-line(s). But I have enjoyed the series enough that I always desire to go back and experience the games that I've skipped. So I decided to go back and play Link's Awakening DX for the Gameboy Color.

The graphics were no barrier to entry for me. They were full of charm and personality despite their age. Despite the limited tech, the visuals did a nice job presenting a varied and interesting world that made me want to explore it. The world felt very large despite the technical limitations and there were plenty of secrets like always. The music was enjoyable and familiar as well. There were some fun bosses to tackle at the end of dungeons. As always in Zelda, it was satisfying to overcome a puzzle, being lost or some other challenge. There's always a very nice sense of accomplishment in this series in my opinion. You truly feel like you are on a grand adventure, and that's probably the most consistent flavor for me across all the entries in the franchise. There's just a sense of wonder and it brings out that spirit inherent to youth, that spirit when you are a believer and expect magical things to happen in the world on your personal adventures. I really love that about Zelda.

But despite the hallmarks of the franchise, there are some big issues to contend with, both within the franchise in general and in regards to Link's awakening in particular. One of the biggest annoyances in general for The Legend of Zelda as a whole is the sense of frustration that can arise from being stuck or from navigational awkwardness. The essence of adventure and puzzles/challenges is that there are going to be things to overcome - problems to solve. And in some games, I'm drawn in and really want to work things out because I'm having so much fun. In Link's Awakening, however, I found the navigation tedious and cumbersome, and it was often difficult to remember the proper path to take from one locale to another. And the puzzles and general way forward in terms of progress was often too obtuse (maybe I'm just getting dumb...er), resulting in a feeling of being lost with no clear idea of how to proceed. In some games I'm up for the task, but there were other issues that just halted any momentum or drive I had to press on here. The most glaring problem is the necessity of constant item switching. You only carry two items and navigation often require a changing of active equipment. Unfortunately the way the game was laid out required exchanging one item for another so frequently that I always felt like I was in and out of the inventory to the point that it became frustrating. Another example of a significant problem is that whenever you encountered an object that required an item that allowed you to lift heavy objects, you are reminded via a multi-page text box. And it is so easy to accidentally bump up against a rock or some other object of this kind, forcing you to be reminded slowly that you need to be carrying this other piece of equipment...again and again. It just interrupted the sense of flow and made things feel very tedious. Switch items constantly, back track, get stuck, repeated awkward text box prompts. It just drained much of the potential joy. I still found the game to be well made and worthy in many ways of the Zelda name, and I know many love this entry, but for me, the fun to frustration ratio just wasn't tilted far enough towards the fun side of the equation to warrant high praise. Clearly lots to love here, but it's too frequently just not worth the hassle in this instance, in my view. Zelda has been much better. 3/5.
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
argyle
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:28 pm

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by argyle »

Add me to the "Hellblade didn't do it for me" club - I played through the first "path" in one sitting (I remember you're given the choice of two), shut it off & never really thought much about it again. It wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't grab me either. The only one of their games I didn't finish I believe.

Fun fact, I sold Dragon Valor for $100 on eBay just last week. :P Never played it.

I played the remake of Link's Awakening when it came out on the Switch a couple years ago or so but never played the original so I can't say how they are different. I didn't run into the issues you described, so I can only assume the game's rough edges were polished when it was remade.

Great list so far, as always. :)
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

Image
User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1305
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by isthatallyougot »

argyle wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:30 pm Add me to the "Hellblade didn't do it for me" club - I played through the first "path" in one sitting (I remember you're given the choice of two), shut it off & never really thought much about it again. It wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't grab me either. The only one of their games I didn't finish I believe.

Fun fact, I sold Dragon Valor for $100 on eBay just last week. :P Never played it.

I played the remake of Link's Awakening when it came out on the Switch a couple years ago or so but never played the original so I can't say how they are different. I didn't run into the issues you described, so I can only assume the game's rough edges were polished when it was remade.

Great list so far, as always. :)
I'm surprised that Hellblade is mostly viewed fairly negatively amongst us here, all due respect to you phase. I know it's a well-loved game in general. Kind of surprising.

I think I do remember reading that LA did have some quality of life improvements in the remake. Maybe I'll give that a go one day.

The $100 in your pocket is worth more than Dragon Valor in your PS1 imho - although it wasn't awful, certainly. So a win for you. :)
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
Phaseknox
Posts: 1762
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:20 pm

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by Phaseknox »

isthatallyougot wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:55 pmI'm surprised that Hellblade is mostly viewed fairly negatively amongst us here, all due respect to you phase. I know it's a well-loved game in general. Kind of surprising.
I’m not too surprised myself as it’s not for everyone, you either dig what it is or you don’t.
User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1305
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by isthatallyougot »

16) Resident Evil Survivor (PS1)

ImageImageImageImage

I've always enjoyed the Resident Evil franchise. From the very first entry on PS1 that I bought in the old cardboard long box, the series has always been fun for me. Sure the voice acting is often bad - to be kind, but it's part of the B-movie charm. But there's plenty of fun action, atmosphere and exploration of a universe that has become more and more fleshed out over time - a campy universe most of the time sure, but fun camp nonetheless. And I'm also a bit behind on the overall franchise. I've played 1, REmake, 2, 3, Code Veronica X, 4, 5 and Revelations 1 and I've loved them all, but I've still got plenty of good games to explore. (I even think I'll really enjoy the much-maligned 6, whenever I pull that out of my backlog, and I just bought VII in the most recent Steam sale.) But big entries aside, there are some curiosities off the beaten path in this series, and I decided to wander on the back roads of Raccoon City when I picked up Resident Evil Survivor for the PS1.

Survivor is RE re-imagined as a first person shooter. It's got the familiar trappings of the dastardly Umbrella looming over a menacing sort of genetic research, notes and files written by people who have witnessed many horrors arising from said research, green/red & blue herbs, and some familiar enemies in the form of zombies, lickers, zombie dogs, giant spiders, hunters, etc. It's very much Resident Evil, albeit from a first person perspective...and of a lesser quality overall.

I'm not sure what team at Capcom created this entry, but it clearly wasn't as inspired or polished as the rest of the PS1 numbered entries. The voice acting was beyond the so-bad-it's-good category in many instances - just oof. And the environments were less detailed and less interesting than its pre-rendered siblings. The gun-play was serviceable, but certainly not engaging or really exciting - just point and shoot. Although there were several weapons common to the series to play with, yet there were no puzzles to break up the pacing in this rather brief experience in the zombie-infested universe. And in typical Resident Evil fashion, you had better save your ammo via bypassing or efficiently dealing with enemies leading up to the final boss, or you'll be in trouble.

Survivor certainly isn't a bad game to me, but I'm very forgiving with this long-lived franchise. I did have some mindless fun here, and I've finished far worse games. It's just not worthy of acknowledgment in comparison with the best the series has to offer - not even close. But it was good simple, popcorn-munching fun that didn't annoy (or really impress). A decent gaming distraction and a forgiving 3/5.


15) Akuji The Heartless (PS1)


ImageImageImageImage

The PS1 had a big library and there are many games that caught my eye that I always wanted to get around to, but seemed to never find the right moment. Akuji The Heartless was one such title. I suppose it caught my eye because of its grittier, edgier appeal that probably appealed even more to the younger version of me than it necessarily does today. (Not that I have anything against more "adult" oriented expression.) And it always seemed to be one of those earlier 3D titles that acknowledged the "maturing" of this art form. It was also published by Eidos, which gave it a certain weight with me, having really enjoyed the Tomb Raider franchise, despite Akuji being developed by Crystal Dynamics while Lara's then-adventures were made by CORE. My younger self didn't pay as much attention to potentially significant details within this medium, lol.

Akuji deals with a man who has his bride-to-be stolen by his very brother while also being killed - heart ripped out, giving us the title - by the very same betrayer. Long story short, Akuji finds himself tossed into the underworld absent his heart, having to navigate this voodoo drenched hell in an effort to restore justice and exact revenge. The game plays out as an action/adventure platformer. Akuji runs, jumps and navigates while fighting baddies with both melee and magic combat. The cut-scenes to flesh out the story are pretty sparse and not that engaging, but the environments are suitably dark, atmospheric and pretty interesting in many cases. The music was a highlight, with plenty of tribal rhythms and jungle sounds coming from native-sounding drums and musical pieces. I enjoyed the setting and it remained engaging throughout most of the adventure. The platforming could feel a bit awkward at times, but it was never too troublesome to explore the various worlds. The camera was pretty awkward in a few places, but it's nothing particularly bad for any who are familiar with this generation of gaming. The combat wasn't necessarily a highlight in Akuji. Things never felt "weighty" and there were issues at time with hit detection, but it worked well enough and wasn't a negative.

Overall, I did enjoy myself with this heartless man's quest. I was torn on how to score it. A little part of me wants to give it a 4, but I reserve that for games that I feel really generate consistent and strong enthusiasm throughout. And Akuji is more of a solid 3/5 for me. Worth playing, but not can't-miss.


14) The Legend of Zelda : The Minish Cap (GBA)


ImageImageImageImageImage

After playing the Game Boy's Link's Awakening earlier this year, I thought I'd give another 2D entry in this beloved franchise a chance since I was left without the appreciation that many have for this series from that particular example. So I fired up The Minish Cap to see what's what. The presentation was immediately great - although I really enjoyed that aspect of Link's Awakening as well. The graphics were charming, the 2D artwork had plenty of color and personality in the environments, animations and characters. The Zelda theme imparted that great feeling of adventure so iconic to this series. There was just plenty of polish and attention to detail, as I expected. Again I found myself quickly drawn in and really wanting to love The Minish Cap.

And as I progressed I encountered plenty more to like. The idea that there is a hidden world/reality all around us which is generally inaccessible is most assuredly true (believe me, I know. ;)), and this also makes for a setting that is fascinating and rife for exploration. Shrinking Link down to encounter the "Minish" to see things from their diminutive perspective was interesting in concept and practice. The transition from one size to the next offered up opportunity for some interesting ways to both look at and explore the world from different vantage points. And many of the puzzles relied upon these shifts as you tackled things at one size that you couldn't deal with at the other as a sort of dual Link, one assisting the other on their branching, but connected quest. It was all, as is par for the course with Zelda, clever stuff. There were many places and secrets to discover and explore from both viewpoints, and it gave the whole proceedings a feeling of a vast adventure, which is a great feeling and very endemic to this franchise. There was also less in the way of annoying elements that I found in Link's Awakening with the constant item switching and intrusive text box prompts being a non-issue here.

However...as much as I wish I could say I truly loved The Minish Cap, I just didn't, in spite of the qualities I really enjoyed. There is something about Zelda that often puts me off. There is this navigational tediousness where you're blocked off at what feels like every turn sometimes, and you find yourself searching for that one single element - item/location/character interaction/hoop-to-jump-through - in order to progress. And this needle in a haystack could be anywhere in this large world, and so you find yourself wandering aimlessly at times. Let me make it clear that I'm no proponent of hand-holding. I like it when games get out of the way and leave you to your own devices. In Souls, for example, I'll wander endlessly until I figure something out. But something about Zelda - at least for some entries - doesn't grab me in the right way, and I end up frustrated and missing the fun I want to feel. Granted, it's always satisfying to discover what blocked your way or solve that puzzle that leads you forward. But in the 2D Zeldas I've played, the reward for progress doesn't outweigh the frustration or tedium at points, and I find myself not wanting the hassle. It's, "Yay, I've unlocked this mystery. What's my great reward? Oh, a quarter of a heart container." or "Oh, some rupees." (sound of air exiting a balloon)There's often a sense of deflation attached to your progression, and that leaves me a bit hollow in its anti-climax. I know there are benefits to these little things in the bigger picture, but I just struggle to get jazzed up about them, as they are so pervasive throughout the adventure(s). Let me also make it clear that I think all the Zelda games I've played are very well made, generally speaking, and I can see the draw, but unfortunately, at least in this case, it doesn't hit enough of the right notes or at a frequent enough tempo. I've come to realize that Zelda is very hit or miss for me. The entries I've loved, I really love. (Majora's Mask, Breath of the Wild) But there are many entries, including The Minish Cap that just don't strike enough of the right cords with me. Again, it's well-made, and much to like. I'm just not in love with this one. I certainly appreciate it for its merits, but I care most about my own fun and engagement, quality/craftsmanship be damned. 3/5.
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
Phaseknox
Posts: 1762
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:20 pm

Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P

Post by Phaseknox »

I really liked Akuji the Heartless back in the day. We’re getting close to your top 10, keep ‘em coming.
Post Reply