Category Archives: 7 Star Games

Battletoads in Battlemaniacs Review

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It’s time to look at the Battletoads, one of the big SNES titles of legend! This game is known for being super tough and after playing through I can definitely confirm this. The levels absolutely go hard and in particular the second last level is insane. That one took me tons of tries and you gotta appreciate how anyone was able to do it back in the day. You do get a good amount of continues but it’s not unlimited or it didn’t seem that way. Imagine getting a full game over and going to the start? Would be brutal unless I’m mistaken there.

The basic plot involves a girl getting kidnapped and even one of the toads ends up going down for the count. The rest of them quickly get ready to save the day but they will have to take out powerful opponents and get past a lot of dangerous obstacles. It won’t be easy but hey they are ready for this. They’re no strangers to danger after all.

So the basic gameplay here is that of a 2D platformer/beat ’em up. You punch away at opponents and move forward to the goal. Some levels are standard beat em ups while others shake up the gameplay style a bit. For example one of them has you in a ship blasting away at enemies. It’s the easiest one for sure though. The beat em ups are also pretty easy for the most part at least relatively speaking. Nothing about the game is downright easy but it’s not nearly as bad as the others. Let’s talk about that toughest level.

You’re on a scooter and you have this guy on a motorcycle after you. He is trying to slice you in two and you have to stay ahead of him. It’s easily the most violent level because when you lose it really gets intense. Now the reason the level is tough is because you have to hold the control stick in the direction of the road at all times and there are a ton of twists and turns. If you are late to switch by half a second then it’s all over. The screen also doesn’t show you a full view for most of it so you have to just react very quickly. The level itself is only around 2 minutes but let me tell you that trying to not make any mistakes for 2 minutes with so many twists and turns is incredibly difficult.

It’s all about the timing and the interesting thing is that the way the momentum works, you actually get penalized for using the rewind feature because it completely stops your momentum. So you have to even time your access points just right like during a jump where you can recover really quickly. It took me so many tries but when I finally beat the level it felt really satisfying.

Then while not quite as tough, this next one was also a real doozy. This time it’s a vertical race as you are starting at the top of a tower and heading all the way down. You are chasing the villain as he runs down and you have to really move perfectly because he is faster than you. You can hit him to slow the guy down for a moment but if you miss the hit then you will have just dug an even deeper hole for yourself. So that definitely makes things tricky as well. Stay strong and just keep on going but good luck on memorizing the spots. This one didn’t take me nearly as long but was also a really crazy level.

I’ve already said this several times but the game is definitely insanely difficult and lives up to the reputation. The fact that it could be difficult with different gameplay styles like this is definitely impressive. It may make for a high barrier of entry but at least it isn’t artificial difficulty. They’re just making a fun game that is really hard but you always have a chance to win. You could argue that the two chases are the only ones that break this mold as there are obstacles you could never possibly anticipate on your first run.

The graphics look pretty good and the artstyle in general has aged pretty well. It’s definitely the kind of game that really leaps off the screen. The levels also have a whole lot of variety throughout with different backgrounds in addition to the gameplay styles. They put in a good amount of effort here without a doubt. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also good. Battletoads definitely delivers on these fronts without any real issues. Mix that in with the fun gameplay and it’s easy to see why this is a solid title.

Overall, Battletoads is a pretty fun game. I’m not sure if I would have had as much fun without the switch online enhancements but it’s definitely a game that had a good amount of effort and creativity behind it. You can see why the series definitely got so well known over the years. If you have the switch online then I would definitely recommend checking it out. It’s one of the better ones on the console.

Overall 7/10

Castlevania Advance Collection Review

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Time for the next Castlevania collection! This time we’re entering a more modern era with a bunch of GBA titles and I gotta say this works out pretty well. You can feel the quality of life updates oozing out of each title and all in all they do feel a lot more fun. I would also say generally speaking they do improve as they go on. Sometimes not unanimously in every regard but generally speaking they feel stronger. The games also increasingly have more story which always works out well.

So we kick things off with Circle of the Moon. Dracula is returning once again and he must be stopped but how do you beat a foe so powerful that he has the whole world on its knees? Well, Nathan will have to figure that out. This game has the classic Metroidvania type style here as you wander around a labyrinth gaining new powers and abilities in the rooms. With each new ability comes new opportunities and so you work to find out which areas have opened up for you to crack. It makes for some good fun in exploring but this is the critical make or break point for any game in the genre.

Here’s the balancing act. Naturally you want a lot of dead ends and such to encourage players to return later once they are stronger. However, the rooms can be quite large so what you don’t want to do is make the journey feel like a chore. The way to prevent this is by having fast travel in a lot of different areas so you can hop on that right away. It removes all of the excess running. Now, there is a level up system so beating the enemies gets easier with time. That is a good idea since proper progression is always a plus. It means that if you’re stuck at any point, you are given clear direction on how to get past that point which is really cool. Not just any game will do that.

So this one did it better than some of the other titles. Not perfectly mind you, but it’s a fairly good showing of the genre. I never quite understood the card gimmick though. You could use cards in different combinations to unleash powerful elemental attacks and such but I could never get any of them to work. You can still win without this but I imagine that the game might have been a whole lot easier otherwise. So I definitely did not make things easy on myself here. The graphics are solid and I liked all of the boss battles. There are quite a lot of them here so you really get to go all out.

Then in the second game Juste shows up to put an end to Dracula’s reign of terror. Defeating the king of the vampires won’t be easy but this guy is ready. It picks up a lot of the gameplay details and abilities from the previous game while also throwing in some new wrinkles. Gone are the cards (Which I’m 100% down with) and replacing them are magical super attacks. You are invincible while using these abilities which is extremely handy and the techniques themselves vary based on what sub weapon you have equipped. I chose one that let me shoot energy waves and I made sure to never pick any other sub weapons after that. This one was just way too useful but I can’t remember which one it was. I think the sub weapon looked like a book of sorts but I’m not sure of the name.

Either way there are a ton of sub weapons everywhere so it should not be hard to find these. Just keep searching and you will get them fairly quick. Meanwhile you still have the level up system so make sure you get those right away. If you beat all of the enemies you will get the level ups normally but especially securing some of them early on is an incredible help for you later on. You want to be able to easily dispatch all of the zombies and creatures that head your way to save health for the bosses. The bosses definitely do not hold back and really dish a whole lot of damage out.

The game loses some steam near the very end though as it does fall into the trap of the journey being a little too monotonous. As you approach the end game, there will only be a few passages left to check but they are in completely different sides of the map. So even though you have quick travel, it takes forever to get anywhere which is really the issue. This only really applies to the end game as it’s possible to miss power ups and then this cascades quite a bit as they are all linked. So just watch out here because missing things is really high stakes.

Then we have the third game, Aria of Sorrow. This one felt like it had a pretty good technological jump right off the bat. The graphics are extra clear, we have a whole new setting, and all of the gameplay mechanics are very sharp. You still have the level ups but now you have a soul system. Instead of finding the power ups for the most part, you gain the abilities through souls. It’s a fun way to go although there is a mild issue of having to pause and cycle through your abilities to keep on switching powers. That part’s a little dicey you know. Still, it’s a mild annoyance at worst, not something that will really be giving you a hard time here.

I liked the plot of several people being suspicious and you have to try and figure out who will be Dracula’s new vessel. It’s almost like a mystery game of sorts there so that was a fun angle. I think another way to put it is that the game had a whole lot of personality. It felt like the devs could have fun taking things in a new direction and it worked really well. It even felt like there was some true replay value here as you could clear the game while still leaving a lot left to be done. It’s the right balance of being a completionist vs just wanting to finish the game. Additionally, you gain powers like flight that make each room a breeze so that addresses my issue of moving through the map too slowly from the last game. This was definitely super solid.

Finally we have Dracula X. Well, Dracula is back and we have to take him down. Lesss goooooooo. The plot is super basic/nonexistent and the game feels like a super simplified version of the old ones. The fact that you can no longer jiggle your whip around or use magic attacks feels like a massive step back. It just went too far into being super retro. It’s not bad, the whole game is super short but very linear. It just doesn’t hold up compared to the big full fledged game titles. It was kind of funny to go back to this one.

The graphics for all of the games are pretty solid. Dracula X looks rather dated but all of the GBA ones hold their own. The soundtracks definitely vary from game to game but as a whole there are a ton of good tunes to listen to so you definitely won’t be getting bored at all. The variety is definitely here to stay and you might even recognize one or two from Super Smash Bros. There is a good amount of replay in trying to get all trophies and really ace each of the games as well. You will definitely need to tap into your inner Castlevania fan to pull that off but it will add some extra hours without a doubt.

Overall, Castlevania Advance Collection is definitely pretty fun. All 3 of the game boy advance titles are pretty solid and generally speaking are a step up from the retro styled ones. They all feel like complete games and I do think adding a full fledged level up system to the vania games is a real good way of keeping things from being too repetitive. Even if you get lost, at least you know you are making progress. I may still not be a huge fan of the sub genre but I can say this is on the higher levels in terms of quality. It’s certainly miles away from certain other titles that just feel like a grind. The final game may not hold up as much but I consider that to be more of a bonus title so either way there was no real pressure there.

Overall 7/10

Castlevania Anniversary Collection Review

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Castlevania is one of those franchises where I actually hadn’t gotten too involved with yet. There are tons and tons of games but I’ve only played a handful up to now. Well, with this collection I get to jump into 8 games right off the bat which is a huge increase. They’re definitely fun titles and only one of them actually deals with a lot of puzzles and mysteries so I appreciate that. The rest are all direct platformers which is of course the best way to go about things. The games are rather difficult so the access points really come in clutch.

First we have the original Castlevania which is of course very dated in terms of graphics. This is how the saga all started of course so it definitely did well for itself. It’s a very direct game about having to stop Dracula so you fight bosses on each level and then make it to the end. You really have to be perfect in your jumps and attacks in order to really stand a chance though. A single slip up and you are really going to be absolutely doomed here. It’s one of the harder games in the collection to be sure but I had a good time with it. Sometimes you don’t need all the extra frills and such. Just give me some good core gameplay and I am set!

The second game is the worst one so at least we get it over with quickly. This one decides to go the full Metroidvania experience as you have to find items scattered throughout the world. Different items will unlock new pathways so you will continue to travel across each level multiple times. It’s definitely not easy to put it mildly and the game doesn’t do a great job of directing you. The NPCs are definitely not helpful and some of the objectives are so vague that I can’t imagine how you would have ever figured the hint out on your own. Seems to be like it would have been an absolutely futile effort. Mix in the day and night system where you just have to wait the nights out in order to proceed and that’s a mechanic that didn’t work so well. Why should I have to wait? I want to just get in there and progress. I’ve yet to see a game where a day/night system really enhanced it.

The third game goes back to its roots. We have a clean platformer here where you have to destroy all of the monsters. It’s very similar to the first game but you do notice the improvements. They have improved the graphics and the gameplay. You have a bit more freedom here and the game isn’t quite as punishing as the last one where you were absolutely doomed the whole time. So I can definitely appreciate that and of course it’s always fun to take on Dracula again. He really never stands a chance against the power of the Belmonts!

Continuing on, we have the 4th game which has really gotten the style down to an art by this point. You have to go through all of the levels and beat every boss until you get over to Dracula. It may be a story that you’ve seen before but the games all have their little changes. I really like how you get to read the long plot synopsis before entering the game. That way even if you don’t see much of a plot within the story itself, you still know it’s there. That’s a really good design decision if you ask me.

After that we do have one of the weaker ones though. It’s not the game’s fault by any means but we go to the Game Boy so the graphics take a rather large dip. The gameplay speed is also exceptionally slow so you really have a hard time landing hits on the enemies. It just doesn’t feel as lively or energetic and of course it makes the levels feel longer than they actually are. Even with that it ends up being the shortest game though as there are only 4 real levels here. Certainly not enough to keep you here for the long haul or anything like that.

Then we actually have the second game boy game. I’ll give the title credit for fixing some of my biggest issues like the slow speed. In the sequel you can actually move at a reasonable speed which is really good. You also regain some of the more standard abilities from the mainline games like sub weapons. So it’s definitely improving but doesn’t really get up to the level of the main core games.

After that is easily the most impressive game in the collection, Bloodlines. This one looks really modern and has a dramatic improvement in graphics and gameplay. It’s clearly on a completely different level. You have two different characters to choose from so I went with the guy who has a lance to try out this new gameplay style. It’s definitely a lot of fun. His weapon has such a good reach too so you really have the advantage here. I’m not sure what, if any downsides this weapon has vs the whip but the fact that it’s a different/unique option makes the whole thing worth it. I like to shake things up and this character gave me a way to do it. This is definitely going to be the turning point for the series.

The final game shakes things up a bit by bringing in Kid Dracula. You get the feeling that they wanted to end off on a fun note. It’s a chibi style game that plays more like Mega Man as you blast away at every enemy in your way. It’s actually rather fun and the game is not afraid to get really crazy as you go through it. You fight enemies like the Statue of Liberty before you’re all done. That was a pretty fun boss battle. If I had a complaint it’s that you don’t see the boss health meters anymore and there isn’t always a visual indicator to show that they’re taking damage. So for the final boss for example, you’re just not sure if you’re playing the fight in the right way for a while there.

The games all generally have pretty solid soundtracks to go along with the gameplay. The older ones are a bit more limited but the tune that they choose isn’t bad. The gameplay is generally smooth and of course the graphics get better as you go through the title. In general you could tell that they put a good amount of budget behind these games and were really trying for them to be successful. Clearly it worked out since the franchise is a household name right now.

Overall, It was fun to really start getting used to the Castlevania titles. For now I would even say it is better than I expected since I was dreading the more labyrinth style games where you have to run around and find things. This one managed to avoid all of that for the most part. Perhaps that’s just something the latter games have or maybe it’s actually not that frequent and the series just became known for it somehow. I can’t say I really know how this is going to play out but regardless I can definitely recommend this collection. In general collections always give you such great bang for your buck.

Overall 7/10

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Review

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It’s time to look at one of the oldest DBZ titles out there. Budokai is a true classic title that doesn’t even have the Buu saga contained within it. So the game goes by very quickly. It’s fun to play through the first two sagas again and the game gives a decent amount of context for the levels. That said, there’s just not a whole lot of battles here. How could there be when most of the characters aren’t even playable? You’ll be done with this in around 2 hours or so.

The gameplay is your classic 2D fighter. You use your close combat moves and energy moves to try and take down all of the health your opponent has. If you play better than your opponent, you will have won the round. There’s nothing complicated or tricky about the gameplay so it’s all about execution. If you lose then you know that you were outplayed. It’s really as simple as that and I can appreciate this. You have to lock in and mix up your combos if you really want to win. You learn more and more combos/attacks as you play through the game.

In general I wouldn’t say that I ever really got too good at learning all of the attacks. I would try to find one or two that would work really well and then I kept on using them. This seemed to be the perfect balance for me. Just spam the Kamehameha and the normal attacks and you would do pretty good. In general the Super Saiyan fighters really had crazy fast moves too. When I was using them I didn’t have to worry quite as much about strategy or anything like that. I do like how you would go back to base mode if you took too much damage though. The enemies would have the same thing happen to them too. I liked that the game was fair about it as others would just stack the deck in favor of the villains which is always a bit iffy.

The hits are satisfying and so I have no problems with the gameplay. Maybe it wasn’t the fanciest out there but this is an older game. Every character does have a combo move that triggers a whole animation with a lot of blows and good background damage. That was definitely a lot of fun. I didn’t get to land a whole lot of them to be honest but each one that I did get was very satisfying. You really have to time the attacks just right in order to land these special moves. Trust me when I say that it’s not easy.

The graphics have that retro feel which works really well here. Everyone is super blocky like an N64 title but the character designs are really handled well and you still recognize them from the show the whole time. Everything is fully voice acted which is always really nice as well. The soundtrack is fun enough, I enjoyed seeing the English theme song even if it’s not one of the all time greats. Everything about this feels like they put a lot of effort into the game back in a time when things weren’t as advanced as they were back then.

You also don’t have to worry about replay value. The campaign may have been very short but there is still the vs mode which is the main reason people would stay playing the game anyway. You can keep having fresh games with your buddies forever since the core gameplay is so solid. It’s why that part of the game is so absolutely critical. If it had not been up to snuff then the whole experience would have been hurt big time. Fortunately that was not the case so that’s why I can recommend this one.

Now the final question is, can you dive into this one without any prior knowledge of the DBZ universe? I would say yes. While the game has to skip a whole lot due to the limited amount of characters, they give you just enough story before and after each fight to know what is happening. I actually think it would be a very interesting way to get into the franchise that’s for sure. Still, this game is so old that by this point I doubt it will be the intro point for anyone.

Overall, Budokai is definitely a really nostalgic game to dive into. It’s pretty nice seeing the retro animation and having the theme song before every story saga really makes it feel like watching the show. It does a good job of tackling the story but is a really short game without a ton of characters to play through. Ultimately there aren’t too many reasons to play this over any of the newer ones. They will all have more things going for them but now I feel like I have really gotten to have more of the full Budokai experience so that alone was worth the trip. I eagerly await seeing what comes next with Sparking Zero although I will have another DBZ review up before then as my gaming marathon continues!

Overall 7/10

X-Men Legends Review

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I remember playing X-Men Legends 2 a long time ago. It was a really fun game and definitely one of the titles that I spent a lot of time on with the PSP. I never got around to getting the first game though so it’s nice to finally get to experience it. For sure you can tell that it is a bit dated in some ways compared to the second but the gameplay holds up well. It’s a really solid all around title with a good amount of content.

The game starts with a girl being attacked by the Brotherhood of evil mutants. We put a stop to that real quick and try to get to the bottom of this. It turn out that she is a mutant with top tier potential. We convince her to join our group and now she is in for a real exciting time as we deal with threats like Magneto, the Juggernaut, and even the government itself. If we don’t watch out, it will be game over for everyone involved. Does she have what it takes to really assist us against these fighters?

It does seem a bit iffy to have her on the missions so quickly but there is some down time between missions so maybe we can say the game takes place over a year or so. In that case at least she would have had more training. We do get to play a few missions in the danger room to be sure so it’s not like she’s going in completely fresh. It’s just a big difference between fighting out there and in the real world. I’d also note that as always the Danger Room seems incredibly impractical. The X-Men lose control of it as always and she almost dies. I’m shocked that more people haven’t died in there but Prof X. doesn’t seem to care as he just tells her to get back in there and try again later. Not the most sympathetic character around that’s for sure.

The gameplay is an overhead style similar to Ultimate Alliance or Warcraft. You control teams of 4 characters as you go through a level and defeat all enemies/activate consoles. The objectives a level will differ so you won’t always have to do a whole lot of fighting. Keep a close eye on the objectives so you don’t just waste time. You can access them from the start menu at any point in case you forget what’s going on. Each character has 4 special moves and then of course you have the standard and power blows. There is almost never any reason to use power blows though so that part of the moveset ends up becoming unnecessary.

Your characters level up as you go through the game so it’s important to keep in mind their stats and abilities. I tended to focus on a glass cannon build so I put all of the stats into pure attack power. This makes all of my fighters hit like a truck and I found it to be useful with the sheer amount of enemies that the game throws at you. You’ll be there for a long time even with heavy attack power but I felt like a battle of attrition would be more in their favor. You also get points that you can use for your abilities.

What I would do is max out the main power X3 for all characters and with any extra points I would put that into more health and energy. It’s fun just how many options there are in the game and it’s something that Legends does very well. It’s a super customizable experience. When playing through the game, I could have a completely different experience than someone else playing at least from a gameplay perspective. Whether the game is more of a hit and run or full aggressive style will depend on your earlier choices.

It’s part of what I love about RPGs. Being able to make your own choices in terms of how you want to proceed is just great. That’s not even getting into the equipment. Then you also have danger room missions back at base to increase your exp further and you can find collectibles which boost your base stats permanently. So the more you explore the game, the more you are rewarded here. There are even a few bonus missions outside of the main events you could tackle. I accidentally knocked one of those out and it was cool seeing the original costumes since in the present they’re based more on the Ultimate X-Men looks. Still good, but not nearly as solid as classic.

The graphics are definitely really good. I would say the faces may not have aged super well but in gameplay the character designs and everything look really good. I like the special effects used for the super powers as well. So definitely no complaints from me here. The soundtrack is forgettable though which is unfortunate. I think you really could have come up with some great tunes for a game like this right? Comic book games can be a little hit or miss in this department though so it really does depend.

There isn’t really a post game here so make sure you have all of your fun while you are playing through the campaign. Like I said it’s fairly long and there are some stuff you can do on the side so I would say you are really getting a lot of bang for your buck. I’d like to see something like this for each of the comic book teams. In general Marvel has had quite a few of these so I need DC to step it up and get us a Justice League title or something like that. Now that would be awesome!

Overall, X-Men Legends is a pretty fun game. It has a well rounded cast and switching between all of the characters is fun. The game’s actual length is rather solid and there is a good amount of replay value to be had here. There’s really everything to like about this title so you definitely want to pick it up. If you haven’t played the sequel yet then I would definitely advise playing that one afterwards so you continue on with the adventures.

Overall 7/10

Mega Man V Review

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It’s time to end my Mega Man game marathon. This one definitely ends things on a real high note. For starters, it is the most plot based Mega Man game that I’ve played in the classic series. You actually have a sense of danger here and it’s not the usual story of Wily trying to cause some trouble. I appreciated the difference here and then the game actually gets rather long for a classic title. You definitely won’t be running out of content here, I can tell you that much.

The game starts off with a mysterious robot appearing and defeating Mega Man effortlessly. After that, other robots from space show up and conquer the planet with ease. Mega Man must now gain some upgrades and find a way to take these guys down. If he doesn’t, then the world itself will be doomed to destruction. It will be his hardest fight yet but Mega Man is ready for this. He’s never fallen short when it counted before after all.

There are actual cutscenes and automated fights here which really feels ahead of its time. In a lot of ways you could say this game is light years ahead of the first 4. It’s just in a completely different league and this goes back to the length as well. In addition to the usual 8 robot masters, you fight a bunch of bosses from previous games. There are so many bosses in the climax that I wonder how people did it back in the day without the rewind feature. Particularly for the older game bosses since it always takes time to get used to a moveset and I doubt you would have had the previous games memorized. The difficulty climb is really crazy by the end.

Still, it is ambitious and I like that. One of the main critiques for the Mega Man games is generally that they are a little too short. You blast through them and then that’s it. So at least with this one you do have all of this extra content which does make the actual campaign longer. It’s also worth noting that while the collectibles have been removed, you still do have the Dr. Light shop where you can buy items and collectibles as needed. It’s definitely a big help since you can actually work on grinding out E tanks if you need them for the climax. They are super handy so of course you will need them.

The graphics still have that sad green tint that makes everything a bit hard to look at. You eventually get a little used to it but yeah that part’s a bit rough so you will definitely want to avert your gaze. The soundtrack isn’t bad although I wouldn’t say that any of the tunes were super memorable. The game stands strong mainly on the story and gameplay in this case. The rest of the title isn’t quite able to keep up.

The gameplay is what you’re used to with the series so I don’t need to go into it very much. I still mainly stuck with the mega buster for all bosses except when they force you to change. The Mega Buster is just such a great all around weapon that they almost went too far and ended up making it the best weapon. Why use anything else right? The firing speed and amount of damage per shot is just handled exceptionally well. It may not be broken but it’s extremely steady and will take out any opponent before long. It also works seamlessly with your movement since there is no delay so you can really do your best on dodging enemies and this won’t slow you down one bit. This is exactly the right way to handle things but if you want a challenge you can try to figure out which weapon is good against each boss and win that way. It’s technically how the developers likely envisioned you beating the game at least.

Overall, The story is really good here. I appreciated that the game took itself rather seriously the whole time. The final boss is also a very interesting figure. Certainly not someone that Wily could ever hope to control. There was definitely a lot of potential here if the game had decided to continue down this path for future installments. Of course the color situation would be fixed for the next console. If you have the Switch Online then you should definitely check this one out. It may even change how you look at classic Mega Man in general.

Overall 7/10

The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga Review

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It’s time for my last King of Fighters review for a bit and it’s going to end with the game that started it all. The fact that this collection brings 5 whole games is really impressive. Collections like this are a really handy way to really play through each of the games especially the ones that are really old. Since the games are older the casts tended to be a bit smaller so the arcade modes go by pretty fast.

The first game is KOF 94 which has the toughest final boss to date. I could not find any way to actually take Rugal down. That guy is absolutely crazy. When you get close to him you get absolutely demolished. If you stay far away then you get blasted to smithereens. I read online that you gotta try and cheese him but that doesn’t work either with how much he’s always moving. I’m convinced you need exceptional video game reflexes to really keep up here. Without that then it is the end of the road for you. Still, it’s a fun way to kick things off and Rugal is still my favorite King of Fighters villain. The guy just has a whole lot of style. I ended up playing as Terry for quite a few of these games and he always made for a solid MC.

Then the next game was KOF 95. I wouldn’t say you can tell very many differences here compared to the first game. The final boss is also super OP but slightly more manageable than the first one. You just have to move fast because it’s another boss that can basically take out your whole health bar if you get too close. So you want to try and keep some distance at all times. Getting close to the enemy is something to only be done at your own risk and personally I would not recommend it. Again, you can throw this advice out if you have super good reflexes though.

After that was KOF 96. You start to feel the series getting ever so slightly more modern with this one. The sprites look sharp and in general the game looks very solid. You’ll be going back to Arcade Mode here and rolling with Terry’s crew again. The final boss is still super difficult but now the games allow you some help once you have lost and gotten a game over. You can revive and make your boss’ health go down to 1/3. You’d be surprised at how difficult the fight is even at this point. I can’t imagine pulling this off if I had to go up against the full deal. At 1/3 health the boss gains extra durability though to make up for it.

KOF 97 is pretty climactic and keeps up all of the momentum from the previous game. The gameplay is on point, there is a good cast running around here and there’s a lot to do. The story is mainly told through the cutscenes at the end so you can really feel free to pick just about any team and you’ll get the bulk of the story there. The final boss is another really tough one so definitely bring your A game. You may be here a while even with the bonus. So expect to lose a lot but you should pend that time trying to learn as many of his tricks and attacks as you can.

KOF 98 is interesting because it was there at the end but it actually feels a bit older than some of the previous ones. I think perhaps that was done on purpose to further support the whole nostalgia angle that the game was going for. I don’t think that’s a stretch, I think it even makes a lot of sense. Still, I can’t be sure, maybe it’s just a slight art tyle that didn’t age well. Part of what makes it look older to me is the font. It’s very zoomed in and so it gets a lot blurrier than the other games. Maybe they just wanted the game to stick out though.

The games are very old so naturally the graphics aren’t exactly top tier. Still, they work pretty well I would say. Sprites never truly go out of fashion. The combo attacks look really good and all of the backgrounds have good detail to them. I don’t feel like they phoned in any part of the game. Lots of effort and dedication went into the title. The various soundtracks aren’t bad either. I would like some more hard rock type themes to be included into the actual stages but at least the openings tend to go rather hard in that direction.

When it comes to replay value, there is naturally a whole lot here. You can keep on playing through all of the games to look at the changes between each one. It’s nice to play them all back to back to really see how things have updated and evolved over the years. Realistically there’s probably not much reason to keep playing vs mode for a super long time when the sequels are around but you can’t count out the nostalgia effect. To an extent you may just want to have fun seeing how retro the whole thing is and you can’t do that with a newer game.

Combat gameplay is also something that’s fairly timeless. Yes, there may be less special effects but the actual fighting itself will be relatively unchanged even as many years go by. So that part won’t feel dated at all and you can just have a fun time trying to land your favorite combos. Like Terry seems to be mainly unchanged across all of the games but granted, It’s not like I know any of the advanced ones so just going by the bread and butter combos isn’t the most accurate way to go about things.

Overall, You can’t really go wrong with a collection that brings 5 games. You’re getting a ton of bang for your buck here. I got the Wii version since it uses the Gamecube controller but note that you have to play it on the Wii in order to use this function. The Wii U adaptor doesn’t support the Gamecube controller although that’s to be expected as it doesn’t for most titles. The game’s controls don’t bother with motion though so it’s really not that bad though. When used traditionally, the Wii remote tends to be downright decent. Either way, no matter what console you get the game for, you should pick it up at some point. The games do have actual stories with cutscenes explored during the fights so you don’t want to miss out on the first arc.

Overall 7/10

The King of Fighters XII Review

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It’s time for another big King of Fighters game! This time around there’s not really much of a story but to try and make up for that we do have a pretty big cast of characters. The visuals have noticeably improved and so the whole thing works out pretty well. It’s definitely a game that you can’t afford to miss out on if you want to own the whole collection. If you don’t care about owning everything….well then I guess you’ll be okay but it’s still a quality game either way.

With no story you’ll probably want to start off by clearing an arcade mode. The arcade mode is a lot shorter than usual as it’s only 5 levels long and there are no bonus levels or bosses this time. It’s really just you seeing how fast you can beat all of the opponents. In fact they call it a time trial arcade mode so that really was the intent right from the jump. It definitely does work to make the game stand out there but it’s still no substitute for a full on story. I was really surprised that there wasn’t at least a secret boss at the end. Something to really test your might you know?

I did appreciate the jump in graphics though. Like I mentioned before, the graphics look really sharp this time around. The controls feel a bit different and you really feel like this is the next generation of KOF. There are a whole lot of details thrown in here and so you you can really appreciate all of the super attacks. I also think they did make the special techniques easier to use this time around. I was cranking them out like nobody’s business for a while there while in the old games it was really hard. There was a simple vs technical mode option so I did go with simple which may help with that.

The soundtrack isn’t super noticeable this time around. King of Fighters seems to be on/off in that regard. You’re here for the gameplay first and foremost though and that is solid as always. It’s pretty fast paced and you can really use a whole lot of combos. It’s a game that really pays off your hard work and dedication by letting you deal out more damage. The better your combo skills, the more you are going to absolutely dominate the competition when the going gets tough. It’s a very satisfying circle in that regard.

There is unlimited replay in the vs modes of course and this time you even have trophies that you can earn by playing the game. So if you aim for the Platinum trophy that will add a lot of time into the mix as well since fighting game platinums are always extremely intense. Hopefully none of them are online based though or you could be in a lot of trouble there. I still think they need some kind of fix for games where there are online trophies but you want to get the Platinum. It’ll likely never happen but it’s nice to think about.

I ran with Terry’s crew for the arcade mode but feel free to switch up your teams and try as many characters as you can. They all have very distinct movesets and nobody feels too similar to anyone else. The developers did a good job with all of the characters there. The fact that we have several different fire users at this point and none of them feel like clones of each other is definitely impressive. This game knows how to really craft a moveset that fits every character’s playstyle.

Since there’s no story mode here there’s a little less to talk about compared to the other titles. You sort of get the drift after all since a fighting game is very direct. You either enjoy the combat style or you don’t and whether you like the game or not really comes down to that one trait. Gameplay is mega important for any game obviously but if you’re a fighting game then that rises up even further. If you don’t have fun with the combat then that automatically means the game is no fun either. There’s just no way to get around that after all.

Overall, King of Fighters continues to be a really solid fighting game series. While I miss the story, the gameplay is solid enough to hold its own here. Fans of the franchise will have a good time as always and I can definitely recommend this to any fighting game fan. Sometimes you just want to sit down and have a few matches and in that case this game has you covered. You can explore all of the characters and see which fighting style works the best for you. As always I like playing as Terry Bogard quite a bit and he has the old design back which is great.

Overall 7/10

King of Fighters 2002/2003 Review

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King of Fighters has had many games over the years. There are very few who can say that they have played all of them. Even for me thanks to the elusive 99 I won’t be able to say that but I will have basically played through the whole series so that feels like a rather massive W if you ask me. These two games are pretty fun and continue the game on a rather high note.

First up the 2002 game doesn’t really have a story. So for that game you’re really playing through the arcade mode to have a general sense of the controls and you get to beat up a revived Rugal again which is always intense. Definitely not a boss that you want to mess with. In 2003 you’re mainly playing with Ash as you try to get more power and then get wrapped up into another big villain conspiracy. Looks like the Orochi factions aren’t quite done yet but Ash can hold his own.

At this point King of Fighters has so many different factions and it’s always fun to see all of them being active a the same time. That’s not something that you usually see so that’s pretty different compared to other fighting game titles. You have the Orochi revivers, the NEST remnants, Ash basically counts since he’s trying to absorb more power, Rugal’s kids, etc. The game would really be able to do a whole lot as an RPG with this many characters to play around with.

The gameplay is pretty classic as you would expect. There are different mechanics that get added and removed as the games go on but the classic core of the gameplay is still the same. Use your attacks and special moves to take your opponents down. The arcade mode will take you down the path to taking down the main villains. After playing so many of them in a row, I do think it’s impressive how consistent the games are. They all tend to generally follow the same patterns and schedules.

It’s mainly the story that changes and of course some specifics in the actual gameplay like I mentioned. I wonder if the hardcore fans could immediately tell you which game it is based on the win screens after a match. That would be a fun test for some of the more intense fans. I naturally wouldn’t be able to clear that quite yet but I do think I would be able to put up a decent fight since they’re all really fresh in my mind.

The graphics are good as always. I definitely have no problem with them. I do miss Terry’s old design with the cap but since he gave it to a girl at the end of one of the games, it makes sense that he no longer has it. It was so iconic though. I forget if he ever gets it back in the newer games but hopefully he does. He still has it in all of the spinoffs after all. The soundtrack is also good. I felt like we got some more memorable tracks this time around although it might be difficult to find them. I suppose I’d just have to listen to the full soundtrack to pick it out.

As always there is no limit to the replay value here. Just keep on playing with a friend and you could do that all day. If you’re only playing by yourself then that might not be quite as fun but that’s always been the case historically. So it’s not unique to King of Fighters or anything like that. These games were made to be enjoyed by everyone and that way you can also learn how to fight the right way. In a lot of ways fighting the computer teaches you the wrong things since you are focused on exploiting the AI and your moves may not be optimal. Like overusing the jump kick to sweep kick combo may work on the computers but if you keep on doing that against a real opponent then you’re going to be countered real hard.

As always get ready for some real crazy final bosses. These aren’t the craziest to be sure but you’ll likely still die a few times an need the bonus. It’s still very impressive that the bosses are always this tough though. It’s like a point of pride for the series and it is definitely well earned. That kind of difficulty doesn’t just appear on its own. The developers had to work really hard on that one.

Overall, These two games were fun as expected. They had some fun tunes and the gameplay was good as always. You really get to test your limits in these games as well as your reaction times. You’re not going to go down very easily that’s for sure. I’ll be having more King of Fighters reviews up pretty soon so get ready for that. It is definitely a really fun franchise and if the developers were willing to go just a bit harder with it on the next big title, it could really start to make waves on the fighting game scene. Give us a story like Street Fighter V or what Tekken always has. The characters in KoF and their backstories are definitely detailed and expansive enough to support this.

Overall 7/10

King of Fighters 2000 & 2001 Review

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It’s time for some King of Fighters hype! It’s pretty fun to be playing through all of the games in the series. These two start to feel a bit more modern on the PS2 but you’ve still got enough retro elements in the game to make it feel nostalgic. You’ve also got some real stories going on here which is always fun. It would be nice if there was a longer story for everybody but I’m still satisfied. There is basically always a cliffhanger here as well to keep things moving.

In 2000, we get to play as K who is fighting for his memories and to take down the villains like NEST. He enters the King of Fighters tournament to deal some serious damage and along the way the villains make their move as well. Kula also gets involved which is fun because for me she’s one of the more nostalgic characters. I played as her a lot in one of the spinoff games. So to see her with more of a starring role was definitely a lot of fun, her ice abilities also work pretty well in the gameplay.

The game has the striker system active so you can summon assists like in Marvel vs Capcom. It’s pretty fun although it never really works on the bosses all that much. This is the only game where the final boss isn’t too crazy though. You can actually fight him like a normal boss and eventually win as opposed to just being cheesy the whole time and staying in the corner. Hey, you have to win whatever it takes right? So no shame there, you just look forward to actually rushing in and fighting so this was a fun change of pace. Part of King of Fighters’ whole appeal is the insane difficulty though. These final bosses are really made to make you work to find whatever exploit you can in order to win.

2001 adds another extra mechanic to the striker system. This time you can have up to 3 strikers. So you can use all 4 fighters to attack the enemy or only have one. The balance is up to you but one thing to keep in mind is that the final boss will have more health if you opt to go with 4 fighters. I didn’t even realize that so for a while there he was dominating me and had tons of health. Fortunately every time you die you can readjust your team so after a bunch of losses I put everyone into being a striker except my main guy and then I used him to win the day. It was still extremely difficult to be sure and I just barely pulled it off but that does seem like the play. You are basically banking on RNG here to be able to beat the final boss.

You need him to make the wrong choices just a few times on 2001 and then you will be able to finish him off with minimal difficulty. I suppose the one drawback is you will be getting sent to the game over screen a lot quicker this way as your one fighter will keep on going down quickly but at the end of the day it’s still worth it. I still advise going through this way. Also, make sure you do not use your summons. They will never land a hit anyway and only exist to get in your way. Activating them is basically ensuring your own defeat. So definitely make sure that you don’t do that. In the split second it takes to call them out the boss will inevitably use a wide energy wave to take down both of you.

The final boss is also able to use super attacks without using up any magical energy. This means that blocking forever is only worth it if you are aiming for a timeout but otherwise it’s not like you’re going to tire this guy out. So definitely just keep an eye out on that. For most battles you still want to go with the tried and true tactic of an aerial kick into a sweeping kick but you never want to approach these final bosses. Let them come to you and you just stick to punishing their mistakes. Each small hit will eventually add up and then you’re good.

As you would expect the graphics for both games are pretty good. In general you can see the graphics improving s the games go on but it still will take some time before they’re completely up to PS5 level or anything like that. The sprites are very colorful though and that’s why I recommend them as an artstyle. They will never get out of date and will always look very pleasant no matter how many years go by. The soundtrack is another okay one as well. The themes match the stages but aren’t something you would necessarily be looking up on Youtube.

That’s good enough though, at the end of the day this is a fighting game and one that is a lot of fun. I enjoy all of the combos and the big character roster. It’s a game that really never has to stop giving you entertainment since you can have endless vs battles. The replay value is there and since the gameplay itself is really solid, that’s all you need. It’s certainly possible that you won’t need to play this one if you have the sequels but at least this will still work out. Terry is still my favorite character even if I’ve had to play as the other characters lately for the story.

Overall, King of Fighters is a solid series that has certainly had a lot of games. This collection does a good job of bringing two of the games in and they work really well together. I’ve certainly improved my King of Fighter fundamentals even if I would not exactly be tournament ready just yet. I would really need to stud the games for that and get used to the combos. In the meantime, going through story mode is definitely the right amount of investment for me. I don’t really need anything more. Of course if we ever do get a massive cinematic story mode then I would have to really learn the controls because I would not want to miss that!

Overall 7/10