Category Archives: Classic
Battletoads and Battletoads & Double Dragon Review
In light of my recent completions of Battletoads and Battletoads & Double Dragon on my Twitch account, I have decided to give all who didn’t see a nice review, because no one saw. Battletoads, you know this game with a legacy for being child’s play, as it could be one of the easiest games of all time. If you couldn’t tell I was joking or if that was sarcasm you obviously don’t know Battletoads.
Platform: NES, SNES, SEGA GENESIS /Genre: Beat’em Up
Developer: Rare / Publisher: Nintendo, SEGA
Mother 3 Review
Mother 3, the last of the fabled and cult-classic Mother series created by Shigesato Itoi, was released for the Gameboy Advance in 2006. This game has a long development history behind, originally being developed during the Super Nintendo days, as it was planned, but delays caused the game to change for the N64 and/or the N64 DD. Unfortunately, after even more delays to the game it pushed back, once again, and finally released for the GBA. Mother 3 brings us the character we all know from Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros Brawl, Lucas, as well as a very powerful and dark story, compared to that of the earlier games. If you have played any of the former games in the series, the core gameplay stays the same, but few changes were added to enhance the experience.
Platform: GBA/Genre: Japanese Role Playing Game
Developer: Nintendo, HAL Laboratory / Publisher: Nintendo
Final Fantasy IX review
Final Fantasy IX, the ninth installment to the main series spanning 4 discs. The game was originally planned to be for the Playstation 2, but was released at the end of the PSX/1′s life span and because of this is generally overlooked by the mass.
The game introduced new features to the series like the ‘Active Time Event’, ‘Mognet’ and a unique equipment and skill system.
Final Fantasy IX‘s plot centers on a war between many nations. Players follow a young thief named Zidane Tribal, who joins with others to defeat Queen Brahne of Alexandria, the one responsible for beginning the war. The plot shifts, however, when the characters realize that Brahne is working with an even more threatening person called Kuja.
Final Fantasy IX was developed alongside Final Fantasy VIII, but took a different approach by returning to the more traditional style of the early Final Fantasy games. Consequently, Final Fantasy IX was influenced significantly by the original Final Fantasy game, and features many allusions to other titles in the series. The game has been subject to extremely positive reviews, receiving 94% on Metacritic, making it the most critically acclaimed Final Fantasy game on the website
Leading up to its release, Sakaguchi called Final Fantasy IX his favorite Final Fantasy game as “it’s closest to [his] ideal view of what Final Fantasy should be” (and the one he believes should have a direct sequel, unfortunately it was X who received a sequel.
A fun fact before I start is, FFIX release was delayed due to RIVAL ENIX’s Dragon Quest VIII coming out. [Don't forget Squaresoft developed this]
On to the review:
Gameplay- FFIX uses mainly traditional RPG elements with each character having specific jobs and learning of more advances skills as the player progresses to a higher level. Let’s break this down into the two types of gameplay FFIX has to offer: hubworld/main world adventuring and battling.
Main World Adventure- IN FFIX you control the main protagonist Zidane at most times during the game and are able to interact with NPC’s, travel around to different towns, play mini-games, and go to various shops or inn’s. In addition, sometimes you can interact with your teammates (be on a ship or before a big battle), you can watch ATE’s (*Active Time Events-where you can see what is happening with other characters while you complete certain missions or on the other side of the planet [thus giving life to you and all your characters]). The mini-games are found in different towns and offer rare prizes, my personal favorite mini-game is the Jump Rope Game for Vivi. Card battling is done by pressing select and you face anyone at anytime.
FFIX uses a random encounter system, so while you are in the hubworld you may cross a random monster at anytime. Later in the game you receive airships and/or chocobos so fighting in the hubworld doesn’t become a problem; but still in area’s that aren’t towns (say Forests, Caves, etc.) random encounters still exist. The hubworld does have sidequests for Chocobo’s as you can collect treasures and even upgrade your chocobo to a Golden Chocobo to fight the game’s secret boss. All in all the hubworld is separated into various islands, which you gain access to over time and you an added bonus is you have the ability to save at anytime; if you are in towns you must find a Moogle.
Battle Gameplay- In this area I will not only cover the battle section, but the ability and menu selection. Battling is the same as all previous Final Fantasy’s as you have a party of four (unless circumstances cause you to have less). You have basic weaknesses (fire to water, holy to undead, etc). Each character has a specific job such as Zidane being a Theif, Garnet being a summoner & white mage, Vivi being a Black Mage. Each character has special attacks in which they can in Trance (an ultimate form that builds up per battles you fight, increasing all your stats and giving you a new ability). Vivi gets Double Black Magic, giving him the ability to cast two spells per turn, Zidane gets a whole new skill called Dyne replacing the Skill area in your in-game-battle menu.
Equipment plays a major role in FFIX in not only stats, but abilities as well. Abilities are additional stats, for each character that most character can learn together. Say you gained a rare item like Feather Boots (not the real item) and the ability it has is Auto-Haste. So to equip Auto-Haste it takes 15 AP (listed right under your characters HP) and you have that ability to start each battle, the problem is you only have it while you have said item. So as you fight more, the item ability eventually becomes learned and you can unequip it, give it to another character and still have the ability.
Music- Music once again, and like all Final Fantasy’s is a series strong point. Some themes just go flawlessly with either the character or the level, while some are great scores, but easily forgettable compared to some of the more memorable ones like Beatrix’s Theme.
Story- The game is 4 discs long and the story only gets better as the game progresses. You think one thing and bam another thing happens and you’re just playing wanting to know what will happen. And to make matters worse (or better in this situation) the sidequests and ATE makes you love not only major character but minor character as well, like Zidane’s family of Tantaulus. Also on the plus side, you are usually rewarded after watching the ATE’s. (the game is quite funny in some aspects but mostly serious)
- Did I mention how funny FFIX also is
Replayability- It’s great, even for a Final Fantasy. You can run through the first time and realize how much you actually missed. The game is at least 50 hours (unless you speed run to get Excalibur 2, the best weapon in the game but you have to defeat Hades at/by 20 hours). Playing 50 hours makes you realize how little you missed too! You can get lost in playing card games, replaying the I want to be Your Canary, talking to townsfolks, or even just finding FF1 through 8 memorabilia.
Overall- 10/10.
[Available on PSN]
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Michael Troina writes features and reviews Nintendo games for Analog Addiciton. When he’s not writing or playing games or sports, he’s out at his job at the Daily Bugle taking pictures as the web-slinger we all have come to love…either that or he’s getting sandwich saving one world at a time. Find him anywhere with this flavors.me/michaeltroina
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Review
Well, when I first got Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, it was back in 2006 when I didn’t have a blog so after a nice replay for about two weeks, I finally can write a review. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess “continues” off in the path of the Adult Link from Ocarina of Time; you know when you have to return the Master Sword after defeating him? Well you don’t do that for this timeline. Twilight Princess was originally created for the Gamecube, but was ported over for the launching of the Wii, which proved to be a fantastic move by Nintendo. [my review is that of the Gamecube version, which is a mirror to the Wii version]
Story: Since the mentioning of the Adult Hero of Time timeline, centuries have passed and the sages had tried to execute Ganondorf, but only failed and had him banned in the land of Twilight. From here, Link is a simple village boy from Ordon, working with others being known as a jack-of-all-trades. In this game, you already have Epona from the get-go (so no hassles there for newbies) and you are supposed to drop off a new sword to Hyrule castle, per request for Russel. Before your journey, your childhood friend Illa captures Epona to give him a bath, in which you go to her to only find her being kidnapped and you unconscious. Now your journey begins, as you are set to rescue her (and your horse may I mention) only to be confronted from some strange wall of light. Being thrusted into the land of Twilight, you transform into a wolf, and are soon approached by an imp named Midna, who claims she will help you for something in exchange. From there, you meet Zelda, collect pieces of a mask called a “Fused Shadow”, venture Hyrule, and meet the person who is causing the lands to be covered in Twilight, Usurper King Zant.
Gameplay: Twilight Princess continues to use the formula built down from Ocarina of Time, which includes auto-jump, Z-targeting (L for the gamecube), and many other old features revamped. Many advancements have taken place though in Twilight Princess, starting first with sword-and-shield battle gameplay. Firstly, now you can direct your sword attacks from a thrust, to a vertical or horizontal swing (by moving the stick in said per motion). Next, you can learn new Sword Art Techniques, be it one of the ‘Helm Splitter’ to that of the back-roll and slice. This idea, was first put the Minish Cap handheld game, and was implemented for the first time in a home console.
Basic home-world traveling is the same, though days and nights last a little longer than they did in Ocarina of Time. Once you acquire Epona, you can see the real major change they placed in the game, because you can do so much more with Epona now. Not only can you use your bow-and-arrows but you can use all your items while on Epona, and even sword fight! (which plays a major role in your quest). This game also introduced the first time bombs and arrows can be combined in a home-console version, the idea of dashing while swimming, and the double hookshot (named Clawshots). One, last thing about Link gameplay is that of your character’s speed. You travel much faster than previous games, including your roll, and once you get later in the game you can warp to checkpoints, like the Bird did in Link to the Past.
Now, for wolf-gameplay. Wolf Link is generally simple, you don’t learn new skills, you are a wolf who can dash, dig, and sense. Although it sounds simple, Wolf Link plays a vital role in the beginning of your journey and is a key to many puzzles. Sensing is that of seeing areas where you can dig, checking for Poe’s, and lastly seeing what was there in the past. As weak as Wolf Link’s gameplay is, you need him on your adventure, especially his technique to attack all enemies in his ranged circle, it kinda helps against those Twili Beasts.
Music: The music is fantastic in Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, although I feel most of the songs were rehashed and redone from Ocarina of Time. My favorites in the game include the Hidden Village, Hyrule Field, and Midna’s Lament.
Replayability: Well, while this was my second replay of it I am probably done with this Zelda game, but it does have a pretty good replay value considering all the mini-games that are available in the game, from snowboarding, to the clawshot game, to the collecting all 60 poe souls, or getting all the golden bugs. So the value is pretty high moderate or low-high.
Overall: 9.5/10
Twilight Princess does everything you wanted to Ocarina of Time and more! From the addition of many new items, even the ball in chain(!), to just the masterful gameplay of you on Epona fighting hoards of enemies on Hyrule field, the additions are something to appreciate. Not only that, but the main world is much larger and there are many secrets to be found so this 25-35 hour game can keep you going for a long time!
Not only that if you remember this is my replay and the reason why I love this game a lot more was because I played after playing the trash that is named Skyward sword. My appreciation for this game, which I already enjoyed, had gone up further (as did most of the other Zelda’s…even Majora’s). While this game didn’t have the greatest bosses, it still far outclasses Skyward Sword in every way from gameplay to it’s dark story, to it’s great dungeons.
read full skyward sword hate here <3
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Michael Troina writes features and reviews Nintendo games for Analog Addiciton. When he’s not writing or playing games or sports, he’s out at his job at the Daily Bugle taking pictures as the web-slinger we all have come to love…either that or he’s getting sandwich saving one world at a time. Find him anywhere with this flavors.me/michaeltroina
Mega Man X4, X5, and X6 reviews
It’s been two weeks hasn’t it? So that means I’ve at least beaten a game or two….or maybe three. And the lucky game is: the Mega Man X series (again!?) but this time for the Playstation 1 our very own Mega Man X4, X5, and X6. Mega Man X4, X5, and X6 play similar to its predecessors on the SNES except for the fact you can now choose to play as Zero (in X4 the whole game but in X5 and X6, you can select per mission). Another fact is this is Mega Man X5 is the first game to allow you to unlock multiple armors, in addition, to that of not allowing single armor equips and giving Zero an armor. This series still sticks its root with the action-platform genre with 3D character models and shades, with 2D adventure.
Story: In Mega Man X4, the story revolves around the Maverick Hunters (Mega Man or Zero) and an army called the Repliforce. The Repliforce are Maverick Hunters such as yourself, but when the incident of “Sky Lagoon” happens and rumors of the General of the Repliforce meeting with a mysterious cloaked figure, the Maverick Hunters declare the Repliforce and are forced to fight them. The story alters a bit choosing between the two characters (as you fight a different sub-boss before Sigma), but all in the all it’s the same ending.
In Mega Man X5, Sigma is revived again (spoiler or shocker….but not really) but this time, he changes his plan. Instead of going after the hunters and trying to eradicate mankind, he creates a virus dubbed the ‘Sigma Virus’ and uses it to try and unlock Zero’s true potential. Mega Man X5, utlizies alternate scenes and endings to the max. Beginning with Enigma, a large laser to stop a colony from falling on Earth, (it either fails or succeeds, you can’t determine that), then depending on who you play as you fight either X or Zero, but there are 3 forms of Zero. Maverick Zero, regular Zero, and truly awakened Zero; which in turn leads to many different scenes. In addition, there is a good and bad ending.
In Mega Man X6 (fun fact Keiji Inafune wanted the series to end at X5 but Capcom decided to make an X6 anyway), Zero is proclaimed dead since he has been missing ever since the end of Mega Man X5. In addition, something new called the “Zero Nightmare” is spreading chaos around the world and X goes to research this Maverick and restore his former comrades name. Once it is found out that researcher named Gate was the one using this title and X and (a recovered) Zero go to stop him.
Gameplay: The easiest part of the review, the gameplay! In Mega Man X4, X5, and X6 the gameplay is similar to the SNES predecessor. You can still dash, wall jump, charge shot, gain special abilties etc. The difference in these games besides receiving various armors, is Zero can also learn moves as well. While, most of his abilities do revolve around sword movements, he can sometimes use his seldom used Z-buster. The ultimate armors, are only a cheat code able to used in the beginning of the game (except for X5 you can actually unlock it). Both in X5 and X6, you can find two set of armors besides original X and whatever Armor you start from the previous game (so in X5 its Fourth Armor and in X6 it’s falcon). Also, in X5 and X6, you can equip ability parts, to allow your character to move faster, shoot faster (i.e. Speed Shot), have more life, and much more.
Graphics: Graphics and animation are very smooth in this game. From its nice 3D landscapes or platelets (X and Zero) to its 2D backgrounds. There are no glitchy areas, no over-vibrancy of color and best off, blowing up bad guys is just as fun to look at.
Music: As usual, the music for Mega Man games are great. The themes go with most of the levels and bosses, they are catchy, and really never annoying. While in X4, they use the hilarious FMV and english dub and Mega Man sounds like a 10-year-old girl, you learn to live the AHH and more AHH’s to love the game.
Replayability: I’d say all these games have very good replayability. In Mega Man X4, you definitely will want to play both ways (obviously to see the other cutscreens). In X5, you will love seeing all the alternating endings and scenes, because at first the story is pretty confusing. Lastly, X6 may be the least likely to replay, but the game has so much to offer and the usual two endings (Zero and X) you may just give it another go.
Overall:
Mega Man X4: 8/10
Mega Man X5: 9/10
Mega Man X6: 8.5/10
Mega Man X4 receives the lowest score, because I felt it was the weakest of the three (in addition to being the funniest for the wrong reason). The game X4 didn’t change that much from X-X3 and actually felt dumbed down from X3. Mega Man X5 is the best in the series, smooth gameplay, alternating Zero-X option, a lot of secrets, and heck the multiple scenes was actually addicting in this game, Mega Man X6 I really enjoyed because it is one of the tougher Mega Man X’s. Levels were a bit longer, there were a lot more spikes (to my streaming watchers Gate’s Lab Level 1 when i was blade armor Mega Man) and not to mention tougher bosses. Seriously, Nightmare Mother was hard as crap but Gate’s no pushover either.
I thought Mega Man X’s for the PSX/PS1 was a great game and if you’re bored and looking for a new game to play, this game may fill that need.
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Michael Troina writes features and reviews Nintendo games for Analog Addiciton. When he’s not writing or playing games or sports, he’s out at his job at the Daily Bugle taking pictures as the web-slinger we all have come to love…either that or he’s getting sandwich saving one world at a time. Find him anywhere with this flavors.me/michaeltroina
Earthbound/Mother 2 Review
Mother 2, Earthbound, a cult classic, a game I had only heard of but never gave it a chance. Earthbound is a 2D roleplaying game for the Super Nintendo and the only game of the series (there are three) to make it to the States. Released in the mid 1990′s, Earthbound was a type of parody on fellow RPG games such as Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, because its theme set was in the 80′s-90′s. Instead of swords, distant lands and kingdoms, you had bats, yo-yo’s, frying bans, hotdogs, hamburgers etc. Other basic RPG elements though were involved such as leveling up, “magic” called PSI, and many more. Let’s break this down RPG style with Story, Over-wold gameplay, Battle Gameplay, Music, and Replayability.
Story: Earthbound tells the story of a young boy named Ness, who is one of the chosen four destined to stop an evil alien named Giygas. The game starts off with a meteorite crashing near Ness’ house who in turns investigates the scene. Upon meeting Buzz Buzz, who tells him the future and Earth is dominated by an evil force called Giygas, Ness runs into his neighbor and “friend” Porky who tells him his brother has gone missing. After learning he must visit eight sanctuaries and record their songs with a Sound Stone, Porky’s mom kills Buzz Buzz, mistaking him for a dung beetle. Now Ness is ready to begin his journey; along the way Ness travels to Onett, Twoson, Threed, and many other locations around the world, meeting various characters such as the Runaway Five, his three destined partner’s Paula, Jeff, and Poo, Apple Kid and the sanctuaries. Ness must fight hoards of zombies, Giygas’ army of Starmen, meet unique character’s called Mr. Saturn, and save the Earth from its predicted demise.
Overworld Gameplay: In Earthbound you control the main character Ness for about 90% (the other 10% is varied between Jeff and Poo). During most of the open-world you can either walk or bike ride, and later on you learn how to teleport from town to town. In each town there is a hospital, a hotel, a store, a hint-store, and random NPC’s that either give you hints or are just useless. Earthbound plays like the RPG of Chrono Trigger in its open-world; there are no random encounters. as you see the monsters at all times in the worlds. To get a preemptive strike you must approach the enemy from behind and the same goes for the enemy approaching yourself. Besides the open-world adventure, there are many unique towns within Earthbound, from cities to villages, to swamps and the desert. One additional fact has to be you are not safe from enemies anywhere, as bad guys lurk the towns as well, so always be on guard!
Battle Gameplay: Earthbound plays like many RPGs, but I feel it closely related to Pokemon. Each of the four characters you control (Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo) all have different charactersistics. Ness is the most balanced and powerful of the four, having the ability to do high damage, and PSI ranging from offensive, defensive, and support. Paula, is a PSI heavy character with the abilities of Fire, Ice, Thunder, like a Black Mage. Jeff is the character who specializes on item attacks and has no PSI powers at all. Poo, is similar to Ness’ character but is able to learn one different move than Ness. While battles are normal RPG command (per turn basis), during battle you may also become poisoned, crystallized, blind (crying), or possessed. Possibly my favorite thing about Earthbound is the AI encounters. If crystallized you are technically “dead” until you are un-crystallized, which you can’t self heal until way later in the game. As I told you before, monsters are in an open-world in this game, but more advanced than Chrono Trigger where it still has some random encounters. Earthbound’s “enemies” only rush you if you A) are weaker than them or B) haven’t cleared the “level” (aka collect the soundstone). Otherwise outside enemies actually run away from you because they know they will lose. In fact, if you are stronger than them by many, they automatically die when you touch them and you gain the experience and a possible random item. The only game I can think of comparsion to that is Xenoblade Chronicles, in which the enemies only ignore you, no automatic deaths; so Earthbound is very advanced in its open-battle world. The reason I compare this RPG to Pokemon is for a couple of reasons. First off, while battles may be turned basis, the main process goes by speed so your character’s attack in almost an unprecedented order, similar to that of Pokemon. another comparison is that when you are poisoned, if you do not heal it, you lose damage per step and when you are at the end of your health you are warned, like Pokemon that you are about to die and need medical attention. The last aspect has to be during battles, enemies sometimes do nothing, or more precisely do some type of useless action, like laughing, sneezing, etc. In Pokemon, some enemies you face may constantly do just a Tail Whip or Growl and that same AI repetitiveness is found in this game.
Music: Earthbound has a pretty good soundtrack, fitting its fun undertone. When the game gets dark or serious, the music is more of a type of “lack” of music, with a somewhat scary motif. Music is somewhat of a big aspect towards the game, because you must collect the song of the sanctuaries to move on with your Soundstone, but hey I think it’s just good not great.
Replayability: Earthbound has around an intermediate replayability level. Many people may be inclined to replay the game, to re-experience the story, or to get items they missed before (like all of Poo’s rare equipment). While there aren’t that many sidequests, compared to most RPG’s, there are still plenty of ways to prolong the experience that is Earthbound.
Overall: 9.4/10 Earthbound is a fantastic game and I am so glad I finally got a chance to play it. The last “RPG” I played was Pokemon White and I needed a refresher with something good and this fit bill. The game with its great battle system, good amount of difficulty (not really the hardest but a real pain, like a more difficult Pokemon), funny one-liners in the script, and of course epic boss battles will make anyone enjoy this game. Also shout out to TardisofHyrule and Mrteagle for watching every stream and helping me out in some parts!
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Michael Troina writes features and reviews Nintendo games for Analog Addiciton. When he’s not writing or playing games or sports, he’s out at his job at the Daily Bugle taking pictures as the web-slinger we all have come to love…either that or he’s getting sandwich saving one world at a time. Find him anywhere with this flavors.me/michaeltroina
Ghost Trick Review DS
You put in your new game, hearing Ghost Trick is a puzzle-adventure game, you get excited to play only to find out you, aka the main protagonist, is dead. What a way to start a game…dead already. Fortunately, that is the premise of this game as you control “Sissel”, who is one of the few special people who have powers called “Ghost Tricks” to solve your murder. Along the way of helping yourself, you meet other characters who unfortunately die (but like the good ghost you are you revive them) and their stories have an odd connection to your story.
Gameplay: For those who have played Phoenix Wright, also developed by Capcom, then some familiarization will be in this game. From basic speech that has context clues, to the idea of “thinking aloud” to help the players, Ghost Trick is not only player-friendly but a mind challenge as well. Each chapter has one or two puzzles to them: Get to a new area or Go back in time (4 minutes to be exact) and change someone’s fate/prevent death. Ok, both play out generally the same except fate changes have more difficulty than real-time missions. Your ghost powers are your gameplay so to move across a area, you go into ghost mode and you find items that have cores (you can’t possess real people only objects) and you travel through each core. You have a limited reach so you must figure out your way to get to areas, and this includes using your powers “Ghost tricks” Ghost Tricks vary in every time; be it you possess a ball that rolls, a ladder that extends, or a lamp so you can swivel to the otherside. The difference between real-time puzzles and 4 minute deaths, is the 4 minute deaths you are timed and some puzzles require you to use Ghost Tricks at times the character is moving. The main aspect of traveling from place to place is done by “memorizing” phone-lines (think like Phoenix Wright just leaving areas to go to new ones, but only unlocked once somebody gave you directions or told you).
Story: The story is the main aspect of the game. After every chapter more questions arise the more you answer. Each character has a story and like all good stories they meet at one point in time, which caused the chain of events you are in now, that you forgot and wish to uncover.
Music: The music is mediocre at best, with the same track constantly playing…it’s a game you can skip hearing bland music and random noise-bits.
Graphics: Pretty smooth animation for a DS game (Inspector Canabela and his Michael Jackson tribute moves) and the art work is nice. You’ve seen better though.
[not my gif this time]
Replayability: Not very high because I assume you would recognize most of the puzzles after replaying them. If you want to go for another round go ahead.
Overall: 8.5/10
This is a game everyone can enjoy be it from its puzzles or amazing story. The only problem is the game is a little short but maybe that’s because you get so entranced by the story.
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Michael Troina writes features and reviews Nintendo games for Analog Addiciton. When he’s not writing or playing games or sports, he’s out at his job at the Daily Bugle taking pictures as the web-slinger we all have come to love…either that or he’s getting sandwich saving one world at a time. Find him anywhere with this flavors.me/michaeltroina
Shonen Jump All-Stars or Jump Ultimate Stars For DS Review
(sorry the gifs are so small that was the size of it when I downloaded the video from youtube)
Ever wonder how it would be to see your favorite manga/anime characters clash in a battle royale? Who’s stronger Goku, Luffy, Naruto? Well, look no further because this 6 year old game in Japan would answer all your questions! Jump All-stars is a fighting game for your Nintendo DS, which pits your favorite characters against each other in mission battles, where you fight to earn more “Koma” (or panels) and unlock more characters and decks, exploring each character’s universe. Onto the review!
Gameplay: Like I said before, this a fighting-genre game so it features your basic combos, with attacks ranging from Basic/Light, Hard and Special (think of Super Smash Bros it’s one button but direction controlled). We also got your double jumps and some characters have wall-jumps due to their ability (think Marvel vs Capcom 2 where Strider and Spiderman can wall jump compared to Magneto, etc.). Now, what makes this game different is your Koma Deck. Each Deck you build (or unlock) is a 4 by 5 panel where you add your two characters (usually 4-5 panels wide/long) and you add Help and Support Panels. Support Panels are basically assists; meaning you call them out during your fight and they do one attack and disappear (they have to regenerate after use). The Help Panels are things to enhance your character. For example, right now my character Luffy (One Piece) has a Piccolo and SSJ Gohan Help Panel attached to him; which allows him to regenerate Health and do more damage on physical attacks. Help Panels range from boosting attacks, to immunity to poison, to item-enhancement.
Besides fighting you obviously have to guard/block, but their is more to guarding in this game than meets the eye. Guarding prevents you from getting hurt….much. So, in order to save yourself from an onslaught their is a knockback technique, all characters have, so you guard and press Light attack to push your opponent back. Remember, how I mentioned their are teams of two? Well, switching can be done automatically and at anytime, so if you’re whooping a character and he switches out you know what you do…you use guard plus Hard and you automatically snap-back or switch their opponent out.Each stage is built like a manga panel from a characters world, so for example the DragonBall Z level is that of Planet Namek. Since each level is in a manga panel that means the walls are made of paper…you catch my drift? So, if your are beating an opponent up against the wall, the panel will rip and the opposing may fall off for a ringout/K.O. an effective strategy for rushers. Every level also contains items, ranging from in barrels, to boxes, to chests, where the items may be health, increase strength, poison, or coins; they don’t play a major role in fights, in my personal opinion.
The single player adventure mode has to do with you saving the Jump Shonen Universe. The Universe in under-attack and it is up to you to gather your friends and save your worlds. You start off with Luffy and Naruto and you work your way into different series, unlocking new things. Now, the fighting is not just a K.O. match they are mission battles, which I stated in the beginning. To clarify what a ‘mission’ battle is, it is you fight with a specific rule set. So, common missions range from defeat all enemies K.O.’s are definite (most battles you have infinite lives), collect all items, destroy all wall-panels, etc. Each mission, has rules to unlock more Koma’s like, get 5 K.O.’s or don’t get hurt!
Music: Music doesn’t play a key aspect in the game as you barely hear it with all your fighting, but it fits the sceneary.
Graphics: For a Nintendo DS game, especially for one that came out in 2006, everything is clear and well animated. From Goku launching either a Spirit Bomb or a Kamehameha, the animation is flawless. There are no framerate problems and no camera problems.
Replayability: This game has a high replay value because of its large index of characters and many combinations of decks you can create. You can team up Ichigo Kurosaki and Goku and create an ultimate deck or if you want to learn about new characters and their moves, then go for it! The only problem though may be the missions do get repetitive.
All in all I wish Jump Ultimate Stars would have made it outside of Japan, because the game is fantastic and a fun, addictive play. To see characters from Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, DBZ, One Piece, Naruto, D. Grayman, and so many others come together and fight in this fun game is something a lot of people will be upset they missed out.
Overall 8.8/10
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Michael Troina writes features and reviews Nintendo games for Analog Addiciton. When he’s not writing or playing games or sports, he’s out at his job at the Daily Bugle taking pictures as the web-slinger we all have come to love…either that or he’s getting sandwich saving one world at a time. Find him anywhere with this flavors.me/michaeltroina
Mega Man X, X2 and X3 review (SNES)
So…these past two weeks I decided to stream [on twitchTV @troyfullbuster] Megaman X2 then X3 and then Megaman X for the heck of it (and in that order). So, as per custom I guess I should right a review on a game nearly 20 years old. Megaman X is series based off the original Megaman series for the NES and SNES, in which it is a distant future (where Dr. Light is dead) and the world is seperated with not only humans but androids known as Reploids. Megaman X works with his partner Zero (not Protoman but created by the same scientist) as a “Maverick Hunter” and must thwart the evil plans of the Mavericks leader, Sigma.
Since I will be reviewing three games in one the differences will be relayed in the story and gameplay factors, not the replayability and music.*
Story: In Megaman X, in the years of 21XX (100 years after the Megaman series), Dr. Cain discovers Dr. Light’s greatest creation, Megaman X, who is a synthetic android that has a free-will. By copying this design and creating a world full of replicas, known as Reploids, free-will android’s are born. Unfortunately, free-will means crime and so Dr. Cain creates an ultimate reploid to fend off these crimes and with “anti-Maverick” data; this robot’s name is Sigma. Sigma, eventually becomes a Maverick and Megaman X feeling responsible teams up with Zero, the only other Maverick Hunter, to save the world.
In Megaman X2, after Zero’s sacrifice (he blew himself up to stop Vile from killing you) Megaman is hunting remaining Sigma forces only to find three enemies, Serges, Agile, and Violen, attempting to resurrect Zero and Sigma. While fighting your way through the game, you are given the choice to get Zero’s parts back or let the enemy resurrect Zero, which brings an optional fight to fight Zero before Sigma or not. After chasing through Sigma and once again defeating him and destroying his “Maverick Factory”, you meet up with Zero outside the factory and the game ends from there.
Megaman X3 goes back to an actual story as the story now revolves around Megaman X, Zero, and a new character Dr. Doppler. While Sigma has been defeated twice, Maverick outbreaks continue to increase, that is until Dr. Doppler finds a “neutralizer” to prevent these outbreaks. Soon after all the Mavericks live near Dr. Doppler in a “utopia” known as Doppler Town and everything seems peaceful until the Hunter base is attacked and Doppler is held responsible. Upon fighting your way through the game, you find out that Sigma is alive as a virus and infected Dr. Doppler and had made him create a new body for himself. After defeating Sigma with his new body again, Sigma attempts to possess X’s body, but is destroyed as Zero uploaded an anti-virus program into his sword and seemingly destroys him.
Gameplay: The Megaman X gameplay is very similar to the regular Megaman gameplay, almost that of an expansion. While in the regular Megaman series you can only jump and shoot (and then get upgrades due to defeating bosses); in Megaman X you not only have those abilities but the ability to dash and wall jump. The style of gameplay had changed from the traditional “run-and-gun” to “action-platform”. Each Megaman X game has a “different ending” (they are minor changes to the same subsequent ending) and each game involves eight bosses, who are weak to one certain weapon, until you get to the final 3-4 part finale; where you must re-fight each boss and a few new bosses, along with Sigma multiple times. The special thing about Megaman X is the ability to upgrade your armor, find sub-tanks, find heart tanks, and use vehicles.
In Megaman X, you are able to find the X armor which gives you certain abilities to enhance your Megaman. The body armor decreases damage by 50%, the head-armor allows you to “head-butt” objects and enemies, the feet armor give you the ability to dash (which becomes a normal thing for Megaman X in all came later), and the X-buster upgrade allows you to fire off a super charged Buster Shot in the form of a wave. Megaman X has a special, secret move, if you get all items I mentioned; the move is the Hadoken, which can kill any enemy, any boss with one hit.
In Megaman X2, everything is similar to what was said in Megaman X, with the exception of the dash ability being something you start off with. everything is similar. There are eight bosses, each weak to one special attack, and there are four different X armor’s , along with one hidden move. Only three of the four armors in this game change their distinct abilities, with the X-buster having the ability to fire two full blasts instead of one, the leg upgrade giving you a midair dash, and the helmet displaying “secret locations”. I mentioned before about the optional “Zero boss” in this game, which requires you to fight the three bosses, before the final levels, and collect Zero’s parts. The secret move in the game is the other famed Street Fighter moved, Ken’s version of the Shoryuken (which has flames); the requirements are the same as in the previous Megaman X.
- SOMEBODY MAKE 500 WIDTH VIDEOS OTHERWISE I CANT MAKE GIFS CAUSE I REFUSE TO!
In Megaman X3, this when things started to change in the X series. Besides the usual eight bosses and hidden armors (which all once again changed their abilities), you now have the option of collecting ride machines (Hawk, Kangaroo, etc.) and the option of collecting “chips” to further upgrade your upgraded X armor. This was also the first game where no Street Fighter move was the hidden move, but this was the first game that allowed you to play as Zero (only for a brief spell though). The playing as Zero was a foreshadowing for the secret move, which was his sword (used as a full-charged X-buster attack). The abilities and chip abilities of each part where: the X-buster charged shot spread (2-shot combination) and a special fire only charged shots (chip upgrade), legs, dash in mid-air, including up, and the abilities to dash twice (chip), helmet displaying of map and locations of items in level and on main screen, and armor decrease damage and added protective shield when hit.
Music: The Megaman series, in general, has one of the best and catchiest soundtracks, that gaming has to offer. From its main theme song, to the regular levels, to each boss theme (like Spark Mandrill, or getting an X-part/Dr. Light theme) the music just fits.
Replayability: Low. While I may have mentioned the idea of “different” endings, it is not in the way you think (like 999 or even Megaman X) because these endings are only minor changes and still lead to the same ending of the game. It’s almost like you walked in the left door instead of the right door, but both lead outside. Megaman X replayability is low because once you beat all the bosses and the game, whether you got the secret move or not, you feel there is nothing else to accomplish. You know the secrets of the stage and there is no more discovery, just repetitiveness/
Overall:
Megaman X: 8.2/10
Megaman X2: 8.5/10
Megaman X3: 8.6/10
The entire Megaman X series, is not only fun, but a classic. While not as advanced or fun as the PSX/PS1 series (X4-X6), it still was entertaining and like true Megaman games, had some of those moments when dying 50 times meant you were playing it right.
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Michael Troina writes features and reviews Nintendo games for Analog Addiciton. When he’s not writing or playing games or sports, he’s out at his job at the Daily Bugle taking pictures as the web-slinger we all have come to love…either that or he’s getting sandwich saving one world at a time. Find him anywhere with this flavors.me/michaeltroina
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