Friday, July 15, 2022

Game Reviews Volume 22 From 2022 Part III

This batch of games I did from the 2nd quarter of 2022, Most were beat but some I didf the best I could with what I had

Just beat Nightmare Circus on Sega Genesis. Its a sorta Beat Em Up Maze game where you play as this guy going to a haunted Circus to free Enslaved Souls from Eternal Torment. Good dark but colorful Graphics and the music is honestly great. The thing is: Its kinda unfinished and they just fixed the worst bugs and released it in Brazil. You NEED a 6 button pad With Mode to properly play this. A B X ands Y are attacks, tapping down makes you crouch, up is Jump, C is Guard, and Z is the Action button that lets you exorcise soul groups after beating as boss or grabbing things to hang from. Diagonally up/back plus A/X or I think A/B is a backhand, Mode and Up lets you heal by using Psi/Ki/Chi/Qi w/e. Ip with A/B (or AS/X I think) lets you climb ladders. Some parts are puzzles like riding a Roller Coaster and hitting switches to get through this cage, or going through a Funhouse where you turn by pressing Down in the middle of the room. Or pressing Up in the right Mirror in this Mirror Hall, Or backhanding the boards at the top of the Circus Tent to free the bosses., or using Mode and B(or Y?) to go into spirit mode and fight the gun zombies until the boss in the bumper cars level shows up. You get 1 life and no Continues but the game can be beat in under an hour if you know what to do. The game has potential and good style but as is, is kinda bad, but if you press Z A Down Down A Mods Z B A Z A A Right (zaddamzbazaar) on the Title Screen, you get a password thing that lets you scroll through letters to spell things. Put in TOTALCONTROL and you get an option in the menu for Tweaker you can turn on and use Mode and Start to access a Debug Mode that was hinted at on a promo for the Cancelled American Release. You can turn off enemy materialization but it might prevent guys you need from coming,  The Code INFINITEIPSI gives unlimited Ki and THELASTLAUGH lets you level select. With codes its decent and its got some worth. If finished it could've been great. Glad I did this.

Just played Spellcaster For Master System on my 200 Genesis and Master System Games Genesis Multicart. Its based on the Manga/Anime Kujaku-Oh/Peacock King/Spirit Warrior. You got a few Gameplay modes in here, A side scrolling Mega Man like thing where 1 button is jump and 1 is fire a Ki blast that you can charge by holding the button. You can't move while charging but can jump. Its said you can use spells by pressing Start but I couldn't get it to work. You have a Live meter that goes up as the game goes on and you get Energy to use spells that you collect from beating every 10 enemies. You get infinite tries that puts you back in the start of the area you were just in, or right on the boss if you bit it there. Theres also a password but its with capital and lower case as well as numbers and symbols, and is pretty long. There's also kind of a quest thing where you go to different indoor areas and use a Text Menu for things like Talking, Looking at things, Taking, Using Items and Magics, and going places. At times you gonna do things in the right order like look at a certain thing 2x then take it or go to a room, look around, go to another place, talk to a guy, then go back to the 1st place and look. Its best to do with a guide, but if you go in the wrong place, and bite it, you are revived there and if you can't get out of it except by choosing "Break" on the revival screen and it don't even save your password. The jumps take some getting used to as the way the platforms are drawn, its hard to tell where the edge is. The graphics are pretty good, almost late 80s Genesis level, and the music is pretty nice. If you get hit on the ground you fall back but if hit in the air you stay in place. Also you can't attack when ducking, crouch walk, or jump on stairs, but CAN jump off em. Its a pretty good game but if not for my controllers Start Buttons not working, I might have beat it. Oh and after you bite it, you return with full life and the same Energy so you can grind.

Just beat Guilty Gear Dust Strikers on DS. Its a 1-4 player 2D Fighting Game where you choose a guy and fight in story or Arcade mode, or there's Mini Games and a Multiplayer Mode. You can choose what buttons do what in the Options and change difficulty or how long the matches are or other things. I went through Story Mode and used Millia Rage and it was pretty good. Sometimes getting the right move to work took some trying but I found in most fights I could just Hold Up to Jump and hammer A to do a diving attack that creamed through the foes. If time goes up then whoever has the most Life is the winner and whoever has the most life during Gameplay has a Gold Crown, while anyone about to bite it has a Skull over them. You get unlimited Continues  and the only time I really had difficulty was the final boss. For that I had to fight this big abomination and dodge his attacks. I found getting behind him and using B while jumping up and down to dodge his hits. Enemies have life bars under em but its hard to see and at times I find I'm facing the wrong way. But its got pretty impressive Graphics and good rock like music. Its not long and can be beat in under half an hour and has some cool things to it. I'm glad I did this one. It holds up and isn't too much of an investment in time.

Just Beat Mega Man ZX on DS. Its sorta Metroid style where you can jump, dash, switch formes, go overdrive (Which I never really used) and have 2 attacks that you can choose what does what. Its a sequel to Mega Man Zero and shows how far Mega Man has come from 200X with a Blue Kid stopping Dr. Wily. Kinda like how Friday The 13th Devolved. Here you unlock more places to go as you get more abilities from beating bosses. You can play as a guy or girl and each has their own text that tells different sides of the story. You go around the areas in a weird map with different Areas names after Letters so its like Violence Jack. You gotta choose missions to do and some get you money to upgrade your weapons or items or beating a boss. I only got 2 Sub Tanks which hold extra health you collect when full and can use for a refill, but it only uses up the life you need, not the whole thing like in Mega Man X. There's also food to get that heals you an an E Tank to foully heal you, or a W Tank for Weapon Energy. You NEED Sub Tanks and the Life Bar Extenders as this game is tough, but it can be beat if you keep trying. The toughest part besides the final round is the Lava Level with 1 hit kill lava that geysers up and a wave chasing you. As you beat bosses, you get their powers and can get new abilities like free movement underwater or firing up. Each new forme you get also has touch screen powers like a map. It controls pretty well and has good music and animated cut scenes. You can change formes in the Pause Menu but not when attacking or being hit, so it might not save you. Same with Sub Tanks or E Tanks. Overall its a well made game with a lot of good things, but its pretty tough. You git lives and running out means you gotta do the Mission again from the last save, or Retry the Mission in the continue screen. Oh and turning on the game has 15 seconds of logos you can't skip, EVERY time you turn it on. I don't CARE who made it! I only wanna PLAY the Game! But this ones good.

Just beat Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 on DS using Piccolo. Well, kinda. Its a Fighting game where you move in the air and battle like its DBZ/GT/AF. You have a Tutorial Mode that is pretty helpful where you do missions like Block with Ki or Attack 3x with heavy or Light. Also is a Story Mode where you go through a modified tale of DBZ for each character. There's Branching Paths that can be unlocked by doing certain Conditions like running outta time with more life or switching to the right character to win. R is charge Ki, L is Transform or Heal or w/e, B is Block, X is Heavy Attack and Y is Light, A is Ki blasts and the D Pad moves. You can use Stronger moves with X+A or Throw with X+Y. You get unlimited tries and only gotta beat each guy in 1 round, but if there's another path, you gotta do it different to get there. Its got the Surviving voices from the show in the mid 00s, but its in Japanese. You use Ki to do attacks and can charge to 200% while some moves use 50. The Branching Paths can be an alternate story like Cooler and Cell teaming up on New Namek or Broly being Hercule's friend. No Garlic Jr or GT but its got some good ideas in it. You can view the Credits in the menu and playing Story Mode unlocks more abilities for the characters but as I cleared all Piccolo's levels, got a Congrats screen, and returned to the title, I'd say that counts as beaten. Otherwise there's no real end to the game and you'd be playing until everything's unlocked or you get tired of it. Its pretty good and has nice music and graphics and plays pretty well. Oh and you can use the Touch Screen to swap characters or use ultimate attacks.

Just beat ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron. Its knd of a Platform game where you play as 1 or both of these Homeboys From Outer Space and catch all the Humans invading Funkotron. 1 button uses Funk to warp, 1 throws Jars and 1 jumps, but you can choose which does which in the options. You can pause with Start to have access to use Funkscan to see hidden things, A Panic Button to be invincible and move fast spraying Jars, and a Funk Vac to catch all Humans on the screen. You also have coins to spend on Parking Meters to activate things, and there's Super Jars that catch anything in 1 hit. You got an Arrow that says where to go and there's homies to talk to who give hints on where to get the 10 hidden items of LaMont The Funkopotamus and get the good ending. It controls well but could be a bit tighter in jumps. There's underwater levels that have you swim with the D Pad and Jump and you get more air by sucking it out of Round Purple Fish. You get an extra guy up to 6 every 10 000 Points and its pretty frequent. There's the HyperFunk Zone which is fun where you go through a dimension and get bonus's while pressing a button to shrink to avoid doors and barriers and collect clocks for extra time, lightning bolts for speed and presents. Its got nice color and music and I think I like it more than the 1st. Here you can stop the enemies instead of just running from em and it looks nicer. Good voices for a Genesis game too. Nothing against the 1st game, its great, but this feels and plays more familiar, like a Sonic game or something. Its even got a Password System that doesn't use I or B or O or have Upper and Lower case versions of the same letter. Plus it scrolls fast so you don't gotta slog  through it like Road Rash. It even saves your score and items. This is a pretty solid game, and yeah, its different from the 1st, but its pretty enjoyable. Glad I finally did this one. Its pretty mondo cool homie, wiggle wiggle barf a licious.

Just beat The Berenstain Bears Camping Adventure on Genesis. Its a Platformer based on the books where you play as Brother or Sister or both and  have 3 difficulties that have more or less levels and they change based on if its 1 or 2 players. 1 button jumps, 1 grabs  an item like a rock or butterfly net, and 1 uses it and you can shuffle em around in options. You get a few lives and no continues but there is a Level Select Code by putting the music or sound or w/e to 13, then doing A/B/C/Up/Start on the other. It controls well  but in the air if you tap left or right, you jutt in that direction . Its not too hard and there's 5 worlds you go into on the hub by pressing Start on it. The ONLY weapon is a rock that's thrown in an Arc so its not always useful, but its as bad as it sounds. The AVGN said its good and he's right. Falling in puts isn't a life. Also you get pretty good height from jumping on enemies and some levels have you going through a maze of tree holes to get to the Exit. Plus some enemies are kinda weird as you appear to fight a fungus that turns into a rolling sphere, and a monkey, even though I Thought This Was America! Over all it looks good, plays well and has nice music. Its a decent game worth a try and can be beat in under an hour and there's bonus levels where you can get more points and points items and sometimes extra guys. You also get a pretty big life bare and continue right where you bite it, even on bosses. Oh and on the easiest difficulty you don't fight bosses.

Just beat Phantasy Star Gaiden for Game Gear on my 100 Master System and Game Gear Games GBA Multicart. Its a pretty good 8 Bit Rpg which is a Side Story to Phantasy Star 1 taking place between 1 and 2. 1 button is Yes and the other is No and you have menus in and out of battle. You save in the Church and can buy Spells  from a shop with a Hexagram on it. You gotta grind quite a bit in here and should be around level 7 before really going out of the area around the 1st Town. There's also a forest maze that is better to use a guide to get through. You can also sell Spells if you don't need em and armor and weapons have a Min Level to use. It took me 8 and a half hours to get through, with a guide, as my Multicart don't save anymore. I played from 8 Am to 5 30 and had my DS plugged in. Its a pretty good game and isn't too hard unless you go in under leveled or equipped. You can run and I skipped a bunch of random battles, which happen quite a lot and can happen almost every step at times. Its got nice Graphics with good colors and art and has a good music and sound system. I'm glad I did this and its a pretty solid lite JRPG. Also If a character bites it, just go to a Church and that gets him to 1 HP for free, then go home and talk to mom, or pay money for a Motel to do it. I never had the whole Party get it as if my guys were doing bad, I used an Item or ran.

Just beat Phantasy Star Adventure for Game Gear on my 100 Game Gear and Master System Games GBA Multicart. Its a Text Adventure with still images and menu options, kinda like Shadowgate on NES but simpler and you seem to get infinite tries and a Password System. It can be beat in like an hour if you know what to do and it has some good twists and story. Yeah its not as deep or meaningful as the 16 bit versions, but its a Game Gear Game and that sucked 6 AA Batteries in like an hour. For battles you choose what item, to use and then roll dice for damage with no attacks missing. Some items end battles in 1 hit. Its got good graphics and colors and the music is nice. Sometimes you gotta look for stuff to take or talk to get stuff and you can use items on things. There seems to always be a way to get outta things if you screw up and its pretty forgiving. I liked this one and its a nice Side Story in the Phantasy Star Story, Sorta like the Robotech Cyber Pirates or Mech Angel Comics. Its a nice use of an hour if you wanna beat a game quick. Glad I did this one.

Just beat Time Soldiers for Master System on my 200 Sega Genesis and Master System Games Genesis Multicart. Its a top down Run and Gun game with up to 2 players. In the arcades it had a rotating Joystick like Midnight Resistance but here you just walk in the direction you wanna fire and fire. 1 button fires the peashooter and the other uses special weapons that you find after busting certain guys. The Big Cannon is the best as it fires a big red shot, the smaller cannon is a spread shot that fires 3 regular blasts, and the missile is the worst as it can be cancelled out by enemy fire. They all have limited ammo  but carry over between levels. You get 3 guys and 1 Continue but somehow can get another, I think by going further into the game. In each level you are told what era to find the boss and time warp to an area. After beating a mini boss, that can't see you if you are at the very top of the screen, a Time Machine comes in and you can take it to try another era, Ort go past it to continue on the time zine to go further. There are 5 bosses you gotta get through to get to the game boss and in these fights you usually gotta get it in the face. But if you go to the top Corner you can't be touched and can take cover until you get a good shot at him. There's also a Speed Up Power you can get that can let you run faster than the screen scrolls and a Power thing that does something I couldn't figure out, but replaced the Energy Bar of your special weapon and runs out on its own. Pretty good graphics and nice colors and the bosses are pretty huge taking up much of the screen. The music isn't bad and it controls well, but it helps to spazz out a little on the D pad to spray your fire as you run. I thought about quitting this game, but My Gf got me to stick it through and I won. You bite it in 1 hit and get extra guys by beating main bosses. It can be beat in like half an hour if you know what to do and the Super Shots can take out bosses in a few hits. Glad I did this. Its pretty good and it by ADF who did World Heroes and was released by SNK. Oh and sometimes there's a Green Square you find by busting the right guy  that takes you right to the boos you look for, but its rare.

Just beat Hook on my 218 Sega Genesis Games in 1 Multicart. Its a side scrolling game based on Peter Pan GT from the 90s where you play as Peter and go through like 11 levels. B is jump and A is attack, but holding A lets you move faster and using B in air lets you turn on and off flight. You gotta collect fairy dust to fly and it burns off so you gotta get more. Also you can swim by holding B and there's no air meter, but there is a timer that never ran out for me. You get extra lives pretty often in here with 3UPs in many of them if you look around and they return if you bite it so you could farm them til you have enough. But you don't really need to as by the end of the game, I had like 10 extra guys. The levels ain't long and some even have checkpoints and the bosses usually bite it in 3 hits. Pan moves kinda slow but has pretty good airtime in jumps and can run and jump for more length. Also you can fly on a fairy and get full fairy dust. Holding A lets you fly faster too. I find at times I jump and it doesn't register my turn so I face the wrong way. You get 2 hits and 1 more and you bite it, but you can collect leaves to get up to 4 hits before the next one ends you. I never ran outta guys so I'm not sure if there's continues, but I don't think most need em. Its got nice graphics and looks how you'd think the 16 bit Hook characters would look, but the music is really good! Its like the movie music but 16 bit and holds up quite well. I liked this one and it can be beat in like an hour and its pretty well made. Sony did this and they did stuff like Shadow of the Beast and Bram Stokers Dracula, but this is better. Glad I did this one. Its pretty good and has nice 16 bit cutscenes.

Just beat Turbo Outrun on my 218 Sega Genesis Games in 1 Multicart. Its a 3rd person racing game where you go through 4 rounds of going from point A to point B. A is Brake, B is Gas, C is Turbo and Down on the D Pad changes gears, but you can change it in the options. But you can have gears on Auto. You gotta get to the checkpoint b4 time is up and there's signs that warn of tight curves. There's also weather like rain that covers the view and if you bump other cars or signs it can make you spin out and stop, then gotta build up speed again. You can use the Turbo to do a Batmobile boost but it can overheat and you gotta wait to cool off to use it again. I used a code to have infinite time by putting in on controller 2 on the title screen: A C B A B C B C B A C A, Or Anderson Cooper, Babs, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Baka, and it makes the game unloseable, but more relaxing. Its got decent music and graphics and controls pretty well, but often I often used the boost and ran into the side of the road and slammed out. It can be beat in like 15 mins and you get upgrades every 4 levels but can't choose the same 2x. I'm not big on driving games but this isn't too bad if you use the Immortality code. Glad I did this one, Its more outrun and works decent.

Just beat Tiny Toon Adventures: ACME All-Stars on my 218 Sega Genesis Games In 1 Multicart. Its by Konami and is based on Looney Tunes GX from the 90s and is by Konami when they were worth playing. It has you play a variety of games: Soccer, Basketball, Wack A Mole, Obstacle Course Race, and Bowling. A is kick in soccer and action in basketball and B lets you change your controlled player, C lets you use your Super Power that's different for each character like a speed boost or dropping anvils on foes. The Super Power has a Meter that recharges. In the Obstacle Course I think uses B rapidly to run and for Bowling you use left/right to choose Power level and up/down to position yourself, then you have a moving live that shows where the ball goes. You can move it around with the D Pad though. Its got nice graphics and music and controls pretty well but often the character I wanted to switch to wasn't done. Also the AI was kinda low at times. There's a 4 character password where you use Character pictures of the Tiny Toons guys and in options you can change the controls, the time of each game and difficulty and I hear this game can be up to 4 players. The credits are done like the cartoon and the music is good, with 1 track sounding like the Ninja Turtles Theme. I don't usually do Sports games, but this one was pretty good. Its got nice colors and animation and looks as well as feels like the cartoon. Glad I did this one. Oh and you can play any of the games as their own thing or have a Story Mode.

Just beat Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six on Gameboy Color, its not great, You have infinite Continues to slog through 6 levels with like 2 acts and a boss, You have an Easy Normal and Hard move and I went on Easy and its still pretty off, A is jump and  Ain air is web swing, B is punch and Select shows the password that's like 6 characters, and Start pauses but lets you control music or w/e. You can fire web shots but I never figured out how to do it. If you get close to a wall, you cling to it and can't get off unless you press jump when holding the D Pad right. also if you press left or right to move around, you often zig zag back and forth without going anywhere. There's things on the walls that damage you and you can't stop and often enemies hit you before you can get em. If you crawl on the ground and kick, then it takes care of most guys, but the ponytail man bun gun guards(cuz its New York) often duck and dodge your shots and nail you before you do anything. Also you can't simply duck by holding down after getting off the ceiling and going into a crouch like a REAL game, but instead you gotta jump down, land, then press down again when standing, then you can duck, and even then its now always good. Its got nice music and good Colors and graphics, but the control is pretty bad! At times Spider Man just stood there spazzing out and the control didn't respond. I don't know if its his Spider Sense or my GameCube Pad or the Game Boy Player or the game being bad. Its got really good 8 bit art but sometimes the colored text on the black background was hard to read. Glad I played this but I never wanna play it again. Oh and if you bite it on a boss or level, you restart but things done in it, like unlocking doors, stay done, enemies and items return, but not unless you bite it, and biting it on a boss, even using a Continue, lets you return where you were with both you and the boss being at full life.

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