Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Game Reviews Volume 38 From 2025 Part I

The nexrt batch of games I beat. Many arcade games brought to home console.

Just beat Gradius for NES on my 2DS. Its a Konami Shmup where A is fire and B is use Power Up while Start pauses. The Konami Code I think wen paused gives full weapons and 2 Options but hear if you do it again it kills you. As you blow out enemies, some drop power ups that when collected, move the highlighted thing on the lower Bar to the next one, You have Speed, Missile that goes diagonally down and slides on the floor, 2 Shot(that aims diagonally up and straight) Laser, Option and Shield. It loops around when you get enough and using B makes it give you that Power Up but makes the bar start over. There's also Blue Power Ups that pop the enemy's on screen. Its scrolling left to Right and sometimes stops for fighting a boss but some you can avid long enough and you move on. I used Save States as I'm not big on Shmups bit there's a bit of slowdown with too much on screen. It helps give you more time to react but an speed up when the enemy leaves the screen. The graphics are good and the music is nice and it plays well but can be pretty hard. If you touch anything, you blow and go back to a checkpoint. I think it has Continues but I didn't use em as I did Save States. The last level is tough and you need to use the Double to get enemies on the ceiling as the Laser cant touch em and you cant get in position to bust em. Its a good game and Options can help by being like the Shadow Clones in Ninja Gaiden that follow you and attack. It can be beat in under half an hour on a good run. The Moai are tough and there was 1 level with neon white Moai Heads that spun going from Right to left and I had to evade but didn't see it on a longplay I watched before to see what I had coming. Glad I did this one. Its pretty cool.

Just beat Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter on my Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for PS4. Its another Tag Team thing of 2 fighters in a 2D battle with Strong, Mid and Fast moves and spazzing the D Pad does moves. On here you get unlimited continues and can play til you get good or lucky. Once both players life bars and beat out the match ends and you can switch characters to have the non fighting one heal slowly. There's a bar that builds with damage you give and take and goes up to 3 levels, but using a Super Mode uses 1 Bar. Did it get this from DBZ with Vegeta Vs Goku in the Buu Arc? So the guys you fight change each time and if you lose to 1 match, retrying can give you different guys to beat. It plays well and has good graphics and music with voices. Its a lot like X Men Vs Street Fighter but with different characters. You still fight Apocalypse the same way as that one, but after that is Cyber Akuma who is a Mazinger Z'd up Akuma who's faster and stronger but I beat him my 1st try. I used Spider-Man and Chun Li and you still choose another color with different buttons. The L buttons somehow do the Super Move but I'm not sure quite how. I hear there's secret characters but I don't know how to get em. It can be beat in under an hour as its an Arcade Game and you wanna beat the game in 1 go. I enjoyed it and its a good Fighter that's more of what we like. Glad I played this one. Capcom does well with these crossovers and Marvel or Disney.

Just beat X-Men: Children of the Atom on my Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for PS4. Its a 1 on 1 2D fighter w/X Men guys from 94 where you win a best of 3 fight vs a buncha guys, then Juggernaut. Then Magneto. You got the usual Light/Medium/Strong Punch/Kick w/a bar that rises w/damage given/taken that fills to 3 levels. You can do a super move at the cost of a bar and some need all 3 full. Good graphics and holding back blocks even in air and its got good music/cartoony voices. It plays well but a few guys are hard like Colossus and this game's Goro: Juggernaut hits like a truck but can be Thrown w/Punch and Left or Right for high damage. I spent 6 hours on it and most was struggling vs the game boss Magneto who's overpowered. He blocks all attacks/is only open to hit when attacking/flying/a brief laugh. He throws/seals you in metal you gotta struggle out of but can hit you when you can't move. His full power move is a Power Wave like Terry Bogard you can only block or get lucky and jump over him as he fires.  You can hit him as he's about to fire but usually he nails you and it does like 40% of your life bar. He flies/fires attacks that charge his Power Bar but you can jump kick him and try to get him in a corner/uppercut him in a loop til he gets out. He puts up a barrier you gotta hit or wait to wear off. I could beat him 1 of 3 but he usually cheaped out and creamed me with spam. So I fought Smarter not harder and after getting him on the ground, timed my sweep the leg kicks/got him in a loop Kicking him down as he's getting up and won. Its a good game but the final boss was kind of an ordeal. You can play as a Sentinel and he's slow but hits hard. I used Psylocke who's a Thicc Tough Warrior Psychic Chick, so like a Go Nagai Girl. Glad I did this but I doubt I'll play it again. Oh and you get hints on the Continue Screen and there's Automatic Blocking but I didn't use it as I wanted to win on my own skill.

Just beat Marvel Super Heroes on my Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for PS4. Its a 1 on 1 2D fighter w/ Marvel good and bad guys with Light, Medium and Hard Punch and Kick. You can get the Infinity Stones to have a temporary power up like more Attack or Defense or Speed or healing or adding energy blasts to attacks but the Stones can be beat outta you and gotten by the opponent or you from the ground. As you attack/get attacked, you build a power bar that ges to to 3 levels and can be used for a super move lie Iron Mam's Proton Cannon. You get more Stones as you beat certain guys and there's 8 rounds of guys who don't change when you lose and try again. There's Infinite Continues and 8 fights with the last guy being Thanos who gets all the Infinity Stones, but you can beat em outta him. He hits hard but can be overcome with getting in close and throws or heavy blows. I didn't have a hard time on him and won on like my 3rd or 4th try. Magneto and Dr Doom were tougher but Magneto wasn't as overpowered as in X Men Children Of The Atom. I played this in the 90s in an arcade and like this time, used Spider-Man. In the 90s I looped Juggernaut with Throws and lost to Iron Man but this time eventually beat Iron Man and didn't fight Juggernaut. BlackHeart is cool and many characters and sprites were used in other games. It plays well and the Graphics and Music are good as are the Voices. I wanted to play this on my Genesis in the 90s but didn't know about 16 and 32 Bit limits nor of it being on Sega Saturn. Some guys are kinda Cheap but I can wiggle my way around em. Glad I did this one. Its still good after all these years. Oh and even if a foe gets a Stone from you, you get it back in the next match.

Just beat Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes on my Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for PS4. Its a 1 on 1 2D Tag Team fighter w/ Marvel and Capcom guys and an Assist you have a few of with Medium Punch/Kick. There's Lite, Medium and Hard Punch and Kick and spazzing the D Pad lets you do stronger moves. When both members of a team are out the other wins and you fight like 8 rounds that the enemies don't change between using Continues. As damages is given/took a bar grows up to 3 levels and you can do Super Moves at the cost of 1 level. There's a lot of characters from both sides and many are only assists like Rogue or the guy from Forbidden Worlds. Its really well animated and has nice music and voices, including some of the Sailor Moon 90s cast like Tony Daniels. The final boss is Onslaught who I never heard of but if you Duck and kick while blocking when he attacks, his 1st forme isn't too bad. His 2nd forme is tough with overpowered attacks that hit hard. I blocked and used super moves and Assists to get through him. He's powerful, but not unfair, and I had a much easier time than Magneto in X-Men: Children of the Atom. He beats you around, but in a way that encouraged you to try harder. This Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection has easy access moves with L1 and L2 and you can do Supers and other things easier with it. Kinda like Capcom Vs SNK 2 on GameCube. Also is a moves list with the big black center button. I saw this game in arcades as a 90s kid but don't recall playing it. It a great game with a lot packed into it. I used Spider-Man and Chun Li as I'm used to em and they fight like they do in other games. A lot is reused from other games and the Assists usually come in for a few seconds to attack a bit and leave. It holds up well and has an easy or Medium and Turbo or normal options but I went for Normal. Glad I did this one.

Just beat Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa for Sega Master System on my 100 Master System and Game Gear Games GBA Multicart on my GameCube Game Boy Player. What an ordeal. Its a Shmup with cute graphics and happy colors where you gotta take out all the enemy bases and warp between areas until all are gone. Then go to the Red warp and fight a boss. 1 button is the peashooter and the other is a secondary weapon that fires in a diagonal down. I used a turbo Option so I'm not burning out my thumbs or pad. As you bust enemies they drop money, but some only if all the guys in a group are iced. The money can buy weapon upgrades or speed boosts or life ups in secret shop found by blasting the air where they are hidden. You have a life bar but its dinky and you gotta find these Red Potions to extend em, but it don't fill it up. Blue Potions Heal you are some potions are hidden in areas by the floor. Some weapons have limited time but if you find a Clock hidden in some levels, it gives you longer. This game is hard. You die in 1 hit until getting a Red Potion and don't get Blue Potion til like level 3. If you die you heal but lives can only be bought in some shops. There's 1 Continue you gotta buy but don't waste your money as it resets all life ups, money and upgrades. So its like going back to level  Charmander on the Elite 4 in Pokemon Blue. And Continues don't work on the last level Boss Rush. The Fire Shot kills anything in 1 hit even bosses except the last guy which his a mirror match against Evil Opa Opa. If you die, you gotta slog to a shop to get a better engine as Opa Opa's wings kinda s=ck. Go for Normal Engine, the others are too slow or fast. It has nice colorful graphics and the music is good, but its pretty angering. I doubt I'll play it again and it can be beat in under half an hour on a good run but all the game overs will extend it. I'm kinda spazzed after playing it. I was gonna use Save States on my 2DS to do it but did it legit. glad I beat it.

Just beat Grimace's Birthday for Game Boy Color. Its kind of a Platform Game made for promoting the Grimace Shake. You play as Grimace and gotta go around a few levels to get The Hamburgler and Birdie and collect Grimace Shakes while bouncing on squirrels or springs. A is Jump and Down lets you drop to a lower level. There's no lives but there i a timer but I never had it run out. You don't gotta get all the Shakes and don't even have to play the game, but Start pauses and you can Skip or Retry Level or Quit. There's no penalty and you don't take damage from hitting an enemy or garbage can, only getting tunnel for a bit. Even falling in a pit only restarts the zone. Its got 2 acts per level and there's like 3 levels but it says 2. The controls are good and there's a hard mode for not having grinding on rails be automatic. There's a Free Mode to go around levels for fun and a Score Attack mode and even a Watch Credits Option. Its got nice graphics and there's even a Birthday Cake Minigame where you move the crosshairs on the screen and blow out candles for points. You can choose which cake you get at the end. Its a cool game that can be beat in like under 20 mins and is great to see the McDonalds characters back I always liked McDonalds and there's even Graffiti that references Mac And Me. For Some reason there's 4 for a game where Grimace collects Shakes. I paid like 40$ for this and I'm glad I did. Its pretty nice. And at the start is a thing to choose between fullscreen or widescreen as this was on phones or something. Glad I did this one. Its a quick fun time that's pretty 90s. Oh and Ronald McDonald only shows up on a cake and not in person. Is this McDonalds Gaiden: Grimace No Daiboken?

Just beat Demon Child Zenki/Kishin Doji Zenki for Game Gear on my 2DS. Its a platformer based on an anime based on a manga about some demon who adventures wit a chick with powers, but not InuYasha. You go around a map and unlock areas like Mario World but this time its good cuz its fun. 1 button is attack and 1 is jump but for the girl, up and attack is a super move you can collect and for Zenki in boss time you hold attack to charge up and release to fire. Zenki hits enemies with rolling jumps like Sonic and roll with Down and Attack like a Spin Dash. Zenki breaks rocks when he jumps and the chick breaks em with fire attacks sideways and can break small rocks Zenki can't with fire and the Up and attack breaks things other things can't. For boss fights you play as Zenki with his power unsealed and its like SpellCaster/Kujaku-Oh and you have a life bar that grows with Seeds you get from beating bosses. Some bosses you gotta use special attacks or hit in the weapon or something, You have a bit of a life bar in the regular levels but its hard to understand, a symbol that changes. After you go through a few levels you fight a guy you can't beat and after he beats you, you go over limit in a cutscene and use up all your power. So you go to get Goki like Go Nagai's ShutenDoji and gotta get the 5 element orbs. You can get em b4 reaching this and it restores Zenki and he has an Axe Attack. After beating the 4 kings based on the 4 beasts from BeyBlade, you fight the boss and there's no level, you go there and face him and he has 3 life bars but after that you win. Its easy to get extra guys by finds em in a rock or collecting all glowing things in a level. You get unlimited Continues I think  and its got bright colorful Graphics and good music. It plays pretty well but takes some getting used to. Game Gear had good Anime Games and this was one of em. Glad I did this one.

Just beat The Lost World Jurassic Park for Game Gear on my 2DS. Its based on the movie based on the book that's a sequel to another movie book. It came out in 97 so right before the Dreamcast but looks pretty good. You play as a dude with a gun that stuns dinos and gotta get through the island. 1 level has you as a banana yellow Raptor and 1 button is jump, 1 is jump attack and you can climb walls somehow like Spider Man, but die in 1 hit. The gun guy fights various dinosaurs and some are more obscure like Mamenchisaurus or Baryonyx that if I played this as a 90s kid into dinosaurs, I'd love. Its got impressive Graphics and even a 3D kinda Driving level like a reverse Road Rash where you drive toward the screen and avoid a T Rex and road hazards. You can shoot standing, diagonally up and crouching and you get unlimited tries as if you die you Continue. Some parts are tough to see like the rope you grab in the jungle or trying to land on I think a Baryonyx head in a water pit, but it plays mostly well . The enemies don't flash when hit but there's a hint on the boss preview screen title card that's pretty well done, but its vague. The Pachycephalosaurus you gotta stand on the Tree branch and as he's gonna hit, you jump and shoot him when stunned. The gun has a lot fire rate but its usually not an issue. The dude can take a few hits but spikes are 1 hit kills. You choose which level of the 1st 3 you play but the rest are in order.  Overall its pretty good and can be beat in under an hour, which fits for a Game Gear Game. Glad I did this one. And its graphics are some of the best I've seen on Game Gear.

Just beat Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes on my Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for PS4. Its a 2D fighting game where you choose 3 guys and use em to fight 3 guys for 6 rounds then a final boss with 3 formes. You got lite to heavy punches/kicks and spazzing on the D Pad does moves. You can jump and air dash and double jump and block with the D Pad. As the battle goes on, you beat down the foe and as 1 falls, the next comes in. You can call your back up guys in for an attack but if hit, they take damage. You can switch between fighters and the offscreen ones heal gradually. Each time you lose the opponents change randomly but you can rechoose your fighters and what order they go in as well as what kind of Assist they do. Its not too hard and on here you get unlimited Continues. It took me over 2 hours to beat as a few guys were tough like Colossus and Omega Red. I didn't know a number of the Capcom guys as I never did their games. The Graphics and music are great and many are reused from past games, like Morrigan in 32 bit. The last guy is Abyss who 1st is in armor and you gotta block and counter. Then he's slime and uses ranged attacks. Then he's a black sphere that summons a blood dog demon. I wound up beating him in Time by lasting 99 seconds with more total Life. Its a pretty good game and it pushes you to keep trying without making you mad. Its a good challenge without being cheap and if you keep trying, you'll eventually get good or lucky. I used Spider Man, Rogue and Chun Li and some controls seemed different than the past games, but others were the same. Glad I did this one. Oh and there's a bar that builds up for super moves as you take and give damage or w/e.

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