Ghouls ‘n Ghosts – Genesis – 3 out of 5
Naked bearded dude faces his imminent death, scratches ass.
This is one of those games that is loved by many and reviled by the rest. I want to like Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (in it’s various incarnations), but even by arcade standards they are stupid hard. If I wanted to watch little dudes in their underwear get killed every 30 seconds, I’d rent a Taiwanese snuff film.
Compounding the reasons why this game is unnecessary, it comes out after the very similar but wholly superior SNES version, Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, has already been out for weeks. If you are a gaming masochist, at least get that version, which has superior graphics and sound, and controls slightly better.
If you have a bad temper, take my advice and stay the hell away from this game. Nobody wants to hear F-bombs raining like a hailstorm from your living room window.
Super C – NES – 4 out of 5
Shirtless muscle man Vs. the Vagina Dentata = Bitchen' to the maxxx!
Here’s an example of a great game that looks less so by comparison. We’ve already got Contra 3, Gunstar Heroes and Bloody Wolf. How many games about macho shirtless dudes blowing up robots and commies like bullets are going out of style do we really need? The answer is: As many as it goddamn takes, so shut up.
I’m sure many of us have fond memories of (2-D era) Contra, and this is due in large to the influence of this game. Super C pushed the limits of what was possible on the NES, improving on the original in almost every way, and I’d be hard pressed to name many shooters in it’s peer group that even come close to being as good.
This is not to say that Super C is without flaw or even that it fully withstands the test of time. The controls are not perfect, the challenge is a bit extreme at times (though nowhere near as difficult as the aforementioned Ghouls ‘n Ghosts) and of course the graphics and sounds are a bit dated. But fans of Contra that haven’t played this game in ten years will be delighted to discover that the magic is still there.
Breath of Fire 2 – SNES – 4 out of 5
Someone must have let Iron Maiden design these monsters....
Amongst the many B-list RPG franchises, I’ve always had a soft spot for Breath of Fire. It’s one of those series that has little in the way of major innovation, but manages to get the minor details right. Random battles are not too frequent, localization is serviceable, and the narrative is at times surprisingly original.
Despite being fairly standard fare, which is more of a hindrance to the RPG genre than it is in others due to the time investment required, Breath of Fire manages to come at you with characters and situations unlike anything else that you’ve experienced. Your party is made up of cat people, monkey people, armadillo people, frog people… it’s basically a furry’s dream.
Gameplay is the usual turn based combat, overhead map dungeon exploring treasure hunt, but side quests, shape shifting dragon battles as well as a fairly decent story break up the monotony. If you haven’t already got the GBA port of this game, and have the time to devote to a dated RPG, you should definitely try Breath of Fire 2.
