Category Archives: 7 Star Games

Dragon Ball Z: Sagas Review

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All right, buckle up folks because we’re diving into the really nostalgic days of DBZ. We’re talking classic dub with the famous narrator and it’s just got that retro vibe to it. The game certainly doesn’t compete with the average DBZ game in really any way but the series has set an extremely high bar for video games. As a title in its own right I would still say Sagas is pretty good. It takes you through the first two main arcs of DBZ (If you’re a super big DBZ fan you’d probably argue it’s more like 4-5 sagas but in general I consider the series to be Frieza, Cell, and Buu. Those are the 3 arcs) and it’s fun to beat everyone up.

The game introduces each level by playing scenes from the anime with the narrator talking over it and stills being thrown in as well. It’s like a compressed clipshow version of the episode which is pretty interesting. You’re then thrust into the level and after beating it you get a second set of clips. There are a decent amount of levels, around 25 or so. Some of the levels can be a bit on the longer side while others are really short. So it varies but the total game length would be around 5 hours or less I’d say.

So it is a short game and there is really no replay value to be found here. I suppose you can go through the levels again as different characters like Broly but there is surprisingly no multiplayer option here. Now that would have helped boost things up further. There is co-op mode for the story apparently which would be pretty interesting with these gameplay mechanics. Still this is mainly a single player experience through and through and so you really have to jump in and prepare yourself to be taking down scores of enemies. Can you succeed?

The 3D gameplay is a little hard to pick up at first but once you get the controls down you will be completely steamrolling through the rest of the game. Seriously, the first few levels really got me nervous but by the end I was winning with almost full health. You have your punches, kicks, ki blasts, and you can block. You can hover around but it’s rather useless in the game so don’t worry about that. The idea in the beat em up levels is to destroy all opponents in your way while the boss levels just have you beating someone. Occasionally there is a special condition like use a Kamehameha to clash beams in order to win but I was able to beat the final level without that. Not sure if it’s a glitch or something but that was neat.

All right so at first where you might get overwhelmed is with the minions. When you punch one, you’ll get hit by another and take a lot of damage. Part of what confused me at first was I kept trying to lock onto them before attacking. Don’t bother with lock on at all. Just rush in and land a bunch of blows. Move onto the next one. If you try to block and dash towards them, this will trigger the enemy to attack so it’s not worth it. If you just run up to them without lock on or anything like that then they typically won’t attack until you attack first. This is exactly what you want to happen. It puts you in the driver’s seat here because once you land an attack you can keep on chaining it.

Normal game logic would tell you to finish a combo right? The trick is to stop your combo midway and then start it up again. You can do this endlessly until your opponent’s health goes to 0. By the very end of the game they will start blocking and using combo breakers to try and stop this combo but it only delays the inevitable. It never actually stops the attacks which is the key part here. You absolutely will claim victory in the end by doing that and this is the key.

Sure you can finish a combo once in a while if you really want to, but the lost time often isn’t worth it. The only reason to end a combo is when you need a second to power up into Super Saiyan mode. You get that later on in the game and it is very useful. All of your attacks deal massively more amounts of damage with each hit to the point where you may not even believe your eyes. It’s super impressive. So definitely use Super Saiyan whenever you can. Beyond that, you should never use your super attacks. They take too long to load and every boss will block the hit 100% of the time without exception. It makes the attacks super pointless, same for ki blasts to be honest.

I’d say that’s where you could tell that the gameplay was not super refined. It definitely had its share of issues and limitations there. So you gotta exploit the gameplay with the infinite combos that I talked about. In terms of extra content you are able to collect coins in order to buy new moves and combo attacks. They’re decently helpful so buy whatever you need but for the most part you won’t be using them anyway. The game also gives you senzu beans in the levels and you can hold up to 3 of them. Think of them like extra lives so when you die, you automatically consume a senzu bean. I ended the game with all 3 of them in my storage so again I do emphasize that the game is fairly easy. You likely won’t need to eat them but it’s still nice to have them around.

Meanwhile the graphics aren’t the best. I would say it still looks pretty good but it’s clear that for a Gamecube game it could have looked way better. The soundtrack is also not super memorable. There are some good tracks but the main theme is way too somber for this title. This is a beat em up, why is the music so sad? It would have worked perfectly for an emotional scene but there aren’t really any scenes like that in this game anyway. This one is definitely way more focused on adapting the best fights and action moments of the series.

Overall, Dragon Ball Z Sagas is a game that would likely be many times better if it came out nowadays. With a good amount of extra polish and more context it really could have been an early version of Kakarot. In a way that game is like the spiritual successor to this title. Still, I had a good time with Sagas. It’s a pretty fun game. It may not be a great title but once you start the game you will be sucked in until the end. You just can’t help but really get engaged with the content. Especially seeing the anime scenes really brings on the nostalgia. So if you can get this for a good price then I would recommend it.

Overall 7/10

Killer Instinct Review

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All right it’s time for a fighting game! Those are always fun to look at. This one is definitely really old of course so it’s certainly not going to compete with some of the newer titles but it’s still pretty solid. It definitely feels like an old Mortal Kombat even though I haven’t played through that series. It just has the vibe you would expect from it. The edge is almost a bit funny with how old the graphics are.

So there’s no story mode or anything like that here. This is all about the fighting gameplay and in a way that’s really what you’re hoping for here. That’s why you are playing after all. The core gameplay is good and at the end of the day that’s why this game is pretty good. It’s got infinite replay value and the character roster may not be very large but all of the characters are quite distinct. My favorite character to play as was easily the guy made out of fire. He reminded me of the Human Torch and was really solid.

The gameplay does take a lot of getting used to in terms of using the combos though. For example, the quarter circle moves I mastered for Street Fighter don’t work here at all. I was able to button mash myself to a few reliable combos that would work but that was really it. Otherwise I just had to hope for the best. It reminds me of Tekken a little bit as well with how one hit can lead to an absolutely devastating combo. I make one mistake and the opponent would immediately counter by taking out half of my health bar. It’s definitely impressive but also rather scary. I imagine that tournament battles for this game would really end very quickly.

After all, a pro player could probably get even more leverage out of that initial hit than a computer would. I could be overestimating the depth of the game and maybe that wouldn’t happen but for now I would bet on losing 70-80% of my health after the hit. So make sure you guard and approach really carefully! That said, it’s a game that I know I would never be an expert at since it’s not like I would have played it much so I would just hold the L there. I didn’t really experiment with the other characters but I’m sure all of the movesets are fairly good.

While there is no story, I should say that the characters do get a quick ending writeup which was nice to see. It reminds me of the classic arcade endings from games like this. The graphics are fairly good. They may be a bit blocky but the designs are all distinct so I do think that the game did a good job in the end. The soundtrack is also decent. Not amazing or anything but I thought the variety was good considering that this kind of game could have easily just had like 4-5 tracks or something like that.

Naturally the replay value really depends on how much you like the gameplay. It’s pretty much infinite as I always say for fighting games since the experience will always be different but by the same token, that means it has to completely compete with other fighting games. A story based game has its own unique scenarios so it doesn’t run into that problem. I suppose you could say it’s one of those things where there are pros and cons to each genre. In the end though the common element is that each game must succeed on its own merits. In the end I would say this one does a good job so it gets the passing grade.

Overall, Killer Instinct is a pretty good game. The combat is really on point and while there is not a lot of different modes for combat, it is fine. The game is 100% focused on being a solid brawler and succeeds in that respect. There’s no story, nothing like that but you know that you can boot this up at any time and really enjoy a solid amount of martial arts. I would definitely recommend checking this one out. It’s a pretty fun blast through history, particularly since I was never really familiar with the Killer Instinct series all that well.

Overall 7/10

Godzilla Unleashed Review

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Godzilla is one of those franchises that has a big revival every few years and reminds the world why it is on top. This game is one of the only missing pieces of the franchise that I hadn’t gotten to experience yet. Well, I finally got to play it and it’s pretty fun. Personally I would say that it loses to the previous two big console Godzilla games but there’s a lot to enjoy here even with the Wii controls. Now those were an…interesting blast from the past.

The game actually has a story with full voice acting which I thought was really impressive. Seriously, it’s not like that’s a given or anything even in the Wii’s era. Basically crystals are appearing all across the planet and the Kaiju are being drawn towards them. These crystals are powering up the Kaiju and making them way more powerful. Who could be behind this crystal catastrophe? One thing’s for sure, the humans might need the help of the King of the Monsters for this one. They might need the help of….Godzilla!!!

The classic gameplay is mainly unchanged from the previous titles although it does have the downgrade of removing the Rage feature. Seriously, why would you remove that? It was pretty cool to be honest. The energy blasts in this game are motion controlled which means that they are virtually useless in the game so you should never bother firing off anything. Fighting in close quarters combat is also extremely not recommended. The enemy Kaiju will always break out mid combo and just knock the life out of you.

So….how do you fight? Well the best thing to do is pick up buildings and chuck them at the monsters. Each building takes out half of a health bar so just throw like 4 of those and you win. If there are no buildings to throw then you should throw the Kaiju which deals about the same amount of damage. Problem solved right? Trust me, follow these two easy steps and you will really be off to the races. I admit that it may feel like an odd way to fight but in the story mode campaign at least it is really the best way to do it.

So I think the multiplayer will end up being more fun from a pure gameplay standpoint but it’s definitely interesting. I’ve never really played a fighting game before that actively encourages you not to start fighting. Then a lot of the levels involve destroying crystals to end the level so you can go and shatter those instead of fighting the other Kaiju. Destroy the crystals and the level ends. Now this part does seem optional though. I didn’t totally get how this works but it seems like there are 3-4 factions in the game.

What you do in the levels increases or decreases your points in each area. There’s some kind of secret ending if you max them all out but I’m not sure exactly how this works. I even beat a few levels where I’m not even sure how I beat them. The complete message would just appear after a bit so it might have been time based. Hey, I’ll take it of course but I was a bit surprised. So the moral here is to really just jump in and things will work out. I flat out lost one level and I still moved on just fine so maybe winning is optional? Maybe that was just the first level though.

The character roster is pretty solid though and you see most of the classic Kaiju running around. The game was smart to save Orga for the final 2 levels since that guy is a beast and still the most underrated Kaiju of all time. Seriously, I’d argue that it’s not even close. I always get really impressed to see him running around. The graphics are also good. Perhaps not amazing but I’d say they get the job done. I also liked the soundtrack, quite a lot in fact. There’s a really solid rock theme for all of the menu screens that plays a lot.

In terms of replay value there is naturally a whole lot of it. You have Vs Mode for endless fun and you earn currency in the levels so I assume you can buy cool things in the shop. I didn’t really check it out yet but yeah there’s a good amount of content here. The game also goes for a fairly reasonable price on the Wii. If you want the PS2 version then that’s another story but that version is strictly a downgrade anyway with no story mode and less monsters so you would want to pass on it.

Back to the gameplay for a minute, I do like the extra detail of everything breaking when the Kaiju are running around. You see a big bridge? It gets crushed when you walk past, same with buildings, monuments, etc. Almost everything is destructible which really makes you feel like a Kaiju. You also have the government blasting you in the background with everything they’ve got and you don’t take much damage. The only weapon they have which gets tricky is the ice ray which completely immobilizes you. It’s a little RNG I’ll admit but one that I didn’t find annoying here since it wasn’t overplayed. You just feel like giving humanity some props for coming up with such a good weapon.

Overall, Godzilla Unleashed is a pretty good game. I had some issues with it and the direction the game went compared to something like Save The Earth but ultimately it is fun. At the end of the day, it does hold its own and it was pretty nostalgic to play this game. Controlling Kaiju and running around is surprisingly rare after all. There aren’t a whole lot of games like this. It is truly a fighting game that is meant for the multiplayer experience and that’s where you will end up having a ton of fun. I’d recommend checking it out, particularly since it feels like we won’t be getting another Godzilla game for a while at this point although they could surprise us.

Overall 7/10

Kid Chameleon Review

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The Genesis run is almost over but it’s time for another platformer real quick. This one does have me impressed with how long it is. There are over 50 levels which is almost completely unheard of for this console. Usually we’re looking at 10 levels, maybe 12, etc. 50+ though?? Yeah that’s really impressive. I don’t think the gameplay is the smoothest that I’ve seen on the console but the length really helps to make up for it.

So the levels are your classic platformer type levels which can be long or short depending on what the game feels like. You use different power modes in order to get past the obstacles. For example one of them allows you to break walls by running really fast, another one lets you fly, etc. The power system is really the critical part of the gameplay that makes this different from other platformers.

I would also say there are some puzzle type fundamentals to the gameplay as well. Finding the goal isn’t always as simple as just running to the right. Additionally the timer will actually become a big obstacle as the game goes on. You end up cutting it really close with the levels at times which isn’t easy. You have to have some kind of strategy in mind in addition to pressing on.

So what is the game’s weakness for me? Well, some of the costumes just aren’t that fun. For example there is a bee mode that lets you wall jump. The jumps can be rather tricky which isn’t bad on its own but mix in the game’s odd sense of momentum and you end up going too far or too short at times. It was hard to really wrap my head around it. Some of the puzzles that the level designs were wrapped in were also just a bit too much if you ask me. Removing that element and focusing completely on the levels would have been a good idea if you ask me.

When you get the flying power there are always a ton of obstacles to prevent you from running for long. When you get the power to run through walls, there will be something that makes you switch powers again later on, etc. There are always tons of power blocks to replenish your abilities and give you new powers but that also means you don’t always have a lot of time to enjoy them. There aren’t a lot of bosses here but they can be fun. They are the most difficult part of the game by far though. You have to blast away at these floating heads that are constantly moving and they deal you damage if you bump into them. It’s hard not to with how much they move so that’s where things get tricky. You’ll probably be rewinding a lot there and this is also where the timer becomes a real problem with how large their health bar is.

The graphics for the game are pretty good. They may not be top tier or anything like that but they work well. The soundtrack also isn’t bad. It’s way less memorable than some of the other titles but it works well enough. So the technicals are okay. Nothing to write home about but they also won’t hold the game back. You get a lot of value for your dollar with how many levels are in the game as well. It should take you around 3 hours or so which may not seem like a ton but it beats the average for this era.

Of course you don’t have to spend any money if you have the Nintendo Switch Online but if you did have to buy a Genesis game this would be a better value than most. There isn’t much of a story which is too bad but it’s not something you would expect a whole lot here. I do think the main character is very distinct though. He definitely has a cool air about him and it’s one that has aged well. It never gets cringe or anything like that. This guy knows he has what it takes to save the day.

Overall, Kid Chameleon is a pretty good game. I give it a little more credit due to the overall length than the gameplay. Naturally the gameplay still has to be good in order to reach this high of a level but if the game was short then it probably would not have been quite as high. So I recommend checking this game out if you have the Switch Online and see how far you are able to get in the campaign. If you make it all the way then you actually do feel a good sense of pride and accomplishment. The game’s difficulty level may not be as high as some other titles but it should give you some troubles.

Overall 7/10

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (Gamecube) Review

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I remember playing Marvel Nemesis on the DS so many times back in the day. I was hooked on that game! The controls worked really well on the DS and it kept track of play time well so I would just have a blast beating the game over and over again. Well, after all of these years it is pretty cool to finally be checking the Gamecube version out and actually witnessing the story first hand. It’s definitely a very unique Marvel game, one that you don’t really see nowadays with the general roster.

The story begins with an invasion. The Imperfects and their leagues of monsters have attacked the planet. Heroes like Captain America and the Hulk go down quickly. The story parts that we don’t actually see are just as interesting as the ones that we get to witness. Like we hear about Avengers Mansion being attacked, the FF being in trouble, etc. There’s no time to see these guys but we do see the aftermath. For example Wolverine is told to go to Avengers mansion and see what’s happening. Everyone is gone by that point except for the Imperfect assassin. We see the story through very narrow instances like this which is part of what makes the story so intriguing.

It’s going for a sort of spooky approach for the most part. Also, you choose what paths to follow. For example, you have 3 different heroes you can play as at first. Each one has 3 missions, the first 2 typically don’t have any real cutscenes and then the third is the big boss fight with an Imperfect. After that you get an origin cutscene for one of the Imperfects. Then you have the tough call of deciding which Marvel hero to kill off. Whoever you choose will no longer appear in the game and the rest of his levels are lost to you.

You keep up this format and eventually there are 5 heroes at a time and you have to keep bumping one off. By the end of the game almost every hero is dead which shows just how powerful the Imperfects are. It’s a little hard to believe that they would do this well in a fight though. A lot of them seem like street level fighters so how did they beat someone like the Hulk? Well, regardless it makes for a very interesting story. Elektra and Daredevil even show up and while that may not seem like a huge deal, it’s rare to see them show up in one of these big Marvel titles like this.

There is full voice acting and everything. So yeah the story is the highlight of the game to be sure and I think if we ever got a remake, they could go even further with it. Unfortunately one thing that hasn’t aged well is the animation. The graphics are well below average for Gamecube and the issue is that it’s all so dark. The whole game has this green tint that makes everything hard to see and it also makes it so that none of the characters really stand out. I’m not really sure on what the point of this artstyle was.

Maybe it’s just to make the whole thing look scarier? Well, either way that part could have been a lot better. Screenshots of the game don’t tend to turn out well and even while playing it, you feel like the game should be way more vibrant than what it is. It’s a real problem and one that the game really created onto itself. The soundtrack is really good though. The themes there definitely stand out a whole lot. I also like the various stages. They all look really good and there is a lot of variety. You have Avengers mansion and a lot of other really iconic locations. That was definitely a really good idea.

As for the gameplay, it’s very unique. I would say it’s good but some parts of it haven’t aged well. For example, each character has a ton of regeneration going for them. So you can land a ton of hits but if you don’t follow up fast, most of the damage will be restored. The game also heavily favors characters with long range throws like Spiderman and Venom. They are simply better than short range throws and it’s not even close. There’s not much incentive to using your hand to hand moves because a lot of them can be interrupted mid combo.

Projectiles are super handy because they strike so fast that you have no time to put up your barrier. You can replenish your super meter rather quickly as well so you won’t be running out of the projectiles very often. The best method of attack is definitely to throw something. Yes, the opponent can catch the object but that’s when you hit them with an energy attack. Throwing things is easily the most effective way to deal damage and during the story I was spamming that the whole time. If there was something that could be thrown, you better believe that I was picking it up immediately!

The game could definitely have benefited from making the hand to hand attacks more useful though. This is probably the only 3D fighting game I’ve ever played where you’re encouraged not to fight like that. Of course, that is why I say that the game is unique. It’s different enough where you should have a lot of fun playing with others. It’s more fun to fight a real person than a computer by far since they react perfectly to the projectiles which seems to be a bit iffy.

Overall, Marvel Nemesis is definitely a nostalgic game. The story is really interesting the whole way through so I had a blast there. Hopefully some day we can get a sequel or a remake. If you can find this one I would definitely recommend getting it. The game’s not that expensive nowadays and it’s worth the play through. Then you can keep on playing vs mode for a while which really has unlimited replay value. That’s definitely the way to go and remember…make sure you play as Spiderman or Venom and you will be dominating!

Overall 7/10

My Hero: One’s Justice 2 Review

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After the first My Hero game, I knew it was time to quickly buy the sequel and round out the story. This one really takes a lot of cues from the first game so you’re able to jump right in. Personally I dare say that it might have taken a few too many cues from it. The loading screens are the same and much of the UI is unchanged as well. There is a new story of course but for the most part it feels like they copy and pasted the last game with a new title. I can only imagine that buying it day 1 would have probably been pretty interesting.

But hey, the first game was pretty fun so if this is the same thing but with more characters and story then that just means that I’m guaranteed to have fun right? At least that’s the way that I figured it. The story is reasonably long with close to 50 chapters and then you can play through the story again from the villain’s point of view which will basically double the size of the story. The game may not have much in the way of cinematics or anything like that but it does have full voice acting with the English Dub which I definitely appreciate.

Outside of the story mode you do have a bunch of other options like Vs Mode and Mission Mode. You can have some good fun in there and of course as a fighting game this is really where the bulk of your time will be going anyway. The story won’t really last you more than a few hours but you can keep fighting against other players and the computer for a super long time. That part really doesn’t have to end any time soon. The replay value here will be unlimited as a result, particularly since there has not been a Justice 3 yet.

There are also quite a lot of trophies to obtain as well. I imagine it’ll be a long while before you have the Platinum and that will buy you more time. The going price for the game is also super cheap at the moment so that’s another thing to keep in mind. It’s not like you’re dropping $60 on this title. You can probably get it for around 10-15 if you’re looking in the right place.

The graphics look good here. I wouldn’t say that this is a top tier title by any means but it works well enough. Likewise the soundtrack is good. It has a lot of the classic tunes that you will recognize from the show. This also helps the story since there aren’t many big cutscenes, you at least want to hear the passion and the energy in the songs. I would say the game definitely succeeds there. It can even be funny how random some of the story battles are, so that will keep you chuckling when the serious music is playing.

The 3D gameplay may not be the most popular in a competitive sense, but I still enjoy it. I can see how there’s probably a little less depth to it and it’s certainly not as fast paced but it’s fun seeing the attacks fly in a 3D environment like this. The energy effects are good and every character has a good amount of techniques at their disposal. I particularly enjoyed playing characters like Deku who could chain really long combos together. I get the feeling that the game isn’t super well balanced as there are some characters who can land a 12 hit combo off of one jab while others only get a few hits. Ironically Bakugo is an example of a character who didn’t seem to be very good there.

I know every character will have their own strategies and playing styles so I wouldn’t assume to know the optimal way to play them all but all I can say is that the characters just feel like they’re on different tiers at times. That’s just my two cents though. At the end of the day you just need to try them out and in story mode at least you do get the chance to try a bunch of the characters.

Also I liked the way that the final boss goes because there was some good effort there to make it unique. You are forced to lose the first two times due to an unblockable final attack there but the villain doesn’t use it until the end so each time you think you have a shot. Then after that an option shows up to beat him once and for all. In the final round you get unlimited energy so you are encouraged to spam final smashes the way Deku kept using his abilities in the manga since Eri kept healing him. So that was an example of the game going the extra mile there since I was just expecting another normal boss fight. They even made a huge character model for the final boss so it felt more spectacular than usual. I think it shows a glimpse of what the game could be like if it treated everything with this same energy.

Overall, One’s Justice 2 is a pretty good game. It really is just a glorified port of the first title in a lot of ways as the company clearly took the easy way out of just reusing all of the assets instead of leveling up. It’s certainly a cost effective way of doing things and I can’t really fault them for it. At the end of the day the big thing is still if the game is fun and it is. It’s like Madden, I can keep playing the same game over and over as it hasn’t felt played out yet. With just two games for now, I would definitely say that this game is not played out. It may not compete with the bigger fighting games out there but every series had to start somewhere. This one will likely get better with every installment.

Overall 7/10

Pulseman Review

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All right it’s time for one of the stronger Genesis titles. Pulseman has aged really well as a quality platformer with a lot of life to it. The levels feel a lot like a Mega Man title but then you have the fun Pokemon soundtrack going along with it. It’s a fun title that feels like a hybrid of 2 of the most popular video game series of all time. You’re definitely going to be satisfied with your playthrough here.

Similar to the Mega Man titles you are given the option of choosing which stage you want to start with. You have 3 options in this one and when you clear them, another 3 stages appear. Once you beat them all then you end up fighting the big boss and the true conspirator behind all of this. Each level is unique and they fit the theme of the villain that you’re fighting. Some levels involve a lot of running, others a lot of fighting, etc. It definitely keeps you on your toes at all times.

So what makes this game so solid? Well, in the first place the fast paced nature of the gameplay is a very good thing. You’re always on the go here as you run around trying to charge your energy. Your main weapon is your energy punch but when you run for a while you build up energy. This allows you to fire off your energy blast or turn into a thunder ball and zoom around the area. The latter is what you will be using most of the time to solve puzzles and get to the end. Some bosses can only be damaged by the thunder ball form as well so you want to keep that in mind.

The thunder ball can’t be controlled but it always moves in the same angles so you can definitely use that to time it. It moves in a diaganal direction and upwards. You can cancel it at any time so that’s something to keep in mind. Usually you want to reach a place that’s very high up so you want to cancel this as soon as you are above the platform. If the object is too high, intentionally bouncing against a wall will increase your height and let you get up there. It’s simpler than it sounds.

Against enemies, well it’s really the same principle. At most it can just be tricky to build up enough running room with enemies around you. The punch will work well against most bosses anyway though. One of them I’m pretty sure I did not beat the way that the devs intended though. I just walked up to the boss and started punching. Somehow all of his hits would go over my head so I didn’t have to move at all. No way that’s intentional but hey…we take those.

The game is definitely difficult though. It’s not one of the toughest that I’ve played on the console because some of these have been super insane but it’s definitely still really intense. There’s one level that’s even a full blown maze so you can easily die many times by falling back o to the same enemies over and over again. Additionally it just takes time since you are given many options and basically have to find the right exit through trial and error. Expect to be here a while and then things will go a lot smoother.

As I mentioned before, the soundtrack is excellent. It’s really got a lot of those classic Pokemon vibes to it while still keeping the Megaman techno vibe. It’s really great and gives the game a very unique identity. The graphics are also very colorful and detailed. The artstyle is really what helps to keep this high up because it is timeless. So even 50 years from now it will still look good.

Overall, Pulseman is a very good game and I definitely recommend playing it. I would say that the game even feels ahead of its time in some ways as it plays like a very modern platformer. Everything about this game was well executed and the developers really did not hold back here. Hopefully it can make a comeback at some point. Yes, it will have to endure being called a Mega Man ripoff for a while but that’s not a big deal since Capcom refuses to do anything with that franchise anyway. In fact, maybe this can get them to finally make more games!

Overall 7/10

Castlevania: Bloodlines Review

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Time for a stroll back into the world of Castlevania! I played the mobile game not too long ago which was pretty fun. It did have some of the usual Gatcha type issues though. In terms of pure gameplay I would say this one definitely wins although of course the story isn’t quite as involved this time around. It’s aged very well with how smooth everything is though so I would definitely say that this is on the higher end for Genesis titles.

The basic plot starts with Dracula rising again and the heroes have to stop him. For some reason Dracula keeps on resurrecting but the Belmont clan is always ready. You have a choice between two characters to fight him with. One has the traditional whip and the other one has a lance type weapon. I went with the latter because I like using long range weapons. Gives you more options in combat after all. You can pick up sub weapons as you go through the levels including axes, holy water, and a cool energy bomb attack. The latter is the bet one by far so it is the rarest but they’re all actually helpful.

One thing I like about the game is that it’s difficult, but it’s not crazy. The enemies don’t have much durability, the danger is that there are just so many of them. No matter where you go, there is an enemy ready to take you down. Some of the zombies will keep on respawning endlessly so you want to knock them out and just start running. The toughest enemies to deal with are easily the flying ones. If you mistime your attack then you will take serious damage. The damage thing is tricky because as far as I could see there are absolutely no health items in the game. Additionally, each level is broken up into 11 areas which typically has around 2-3 bosses in them. That means you have to play it carefully and try to stay with a lot of health because otherwise you are going to be in some real trouble.

There are 6 levels but with the areas that comes out to almost 70 total which isn’t bad. The actual game is still fairly short at a little over an hour, but that’s not bad for the Genesis. There may not be much in the way of replay value but you will have had a fun time which is the important part. The gameplay is smooth like I said and I definitely liked the graphics quite a lot. It’s very colorful and expressive which is something you don’t always see here. I can tell that a lot of budget went into this one. Additionally the soundtrack is pretty solid as well. There are a good variety of themes in here and they sound good.

The game also goes all out with the final bosses. It feels more like an RPG with how many different forms and phases they have. You basically go through a boss rush of all the old bosses in the game and then have to fight a lady with super speed. That boss is tricky because you don’t do any damage unless you land a lot of hits within a certain amount of time. Miss one hit and your entire combo is nullified so she keeps her full health. That was definitely interesting.

Also one thing to note is that your sub weapon actually runs out of ammo after a while. So even though it’s an axe that you are throwing, you just can’t throw them after a while. It’s hard to tell when it runs out because I couldn’t see any ammo meter so just keep that in mind. It can be really tempting to spam the sub weapon but you want to make sure you still have it for the boss fights. They tend to appear throughout the stage though so still have fun using it, just don’t waste it when you don’t need to.

Overall, Castlevania: Bloodlines is a very balanced game. There’s a lot to enjoy in every aspect of it. I can see why the series ended up getting so big with titles like this one. As long as you have the Nintendo Switch Online you should definitely check it out. This is a game that you just don’t want to miss out on. I’m slowly starting to get to the end of the Genesis games so they will be missed but no worries there are definitely still more on the way!

Overall 7/10

My Hero: One’s Justice Review

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My Hero Academia is a pretty huge franchise so it was only a matter of time before it got a big fighting game like this one. I was glad to finally get it, but it is safe to say that the game isn’t super high budget. So it delivers on getting you a fun fighting experience but you aren’t likely to be picking this one up over its rivals anytime soon.

The game starts off with Deku being trained by Gran Torino. He has to use his One for All abilities more efficiently and this is the way to do it. He will have to move very quickly though because the villains are on the move. They aim to kidnap one of the students and then destroy All Might. If the Symbol of Peace goes down then we could be entering a new era of darkness. Can Deku really stop the madness??

So the gameplay is your classic 3D fighter type. You have your standard attacks, power moves, unblockable moves, super attacks, and your assist moves. There are a decent amount of moves but most tend to just be worse than the basic combo. There’s not much need to ever touch some of those attacks but granted I’m not sure how things look at the highest levels of competition. It could be very different there. The balancing just seems a bit off. Like Deku’s standard combo is close to 10 hits long and does a ton of damage while Bakugo’s just lands like 5 hits without nearly as much damage. It’s an odd combination to be sure.

As far as the graphics go, this is one where I think the game did pretty good. I like how bright the colors are and in particular All Might really stands out. They aced his costume here and the guy feels powerful to play as. He’s basically a stronger version of Deku here. There are a lot of fun special effects to the environment and buildings as you fight and there are even some fighting cutscenes where we see the fighters go at it. Again it’s not what I’d call a very high budget title but it looks good enough.

The soundtrack may be limited but the tunes are really good. I definitely liked the main danger theme quite a lot and fortunately it plays a ton of times. In terms of replay value, there is a good amount here. The actual story mode is only about 2 hours long, but there are a ton of side stories. Over double that of the main campaign in terms of levels since you have the villain story on top of that. So all together you’re probably looking at 5-6 hours for completing all of the story mode missions and then after that you still have mission mode and the classic vs mode. Certainly a good amount of stuff considering that the game is super cheap.

I think the game should have been dubbed since that would have made things more exciting but I was glad that the story mode was fully voice acted at least. That was a pretty nice decision. Instead of the comic panel format though, I would have preferred full cutscenes all the way, even if it meant just showing scenes from the anime or something. I’ll be curious just how similar the second game looks. If it’s almost identical to this one or if it goes for something a lot different.

Either way though, finally getting a big video game is an important step. Of course it has quite a few mobile titles and the free to play online one but a console fighter is always a good idea. A lot of titles don’t necessarily start out with the best one out of the gate and things should only get better from here. 3D fighters may not always be the most popular form of gameplay but I’ve played a ton of really great ones so I can definitely tell you that it’s possible.

In a way this game will take you back to a more nostalgic time of the Gamecube/PS2 fighters. A fairly simple fighting game with a limited roster but one you can have a good time with. At the end of the day you want a game that is entertaining and this one definitely does achieve its goal there. You’ll get an extra bump of excitement if you’re a huge MHA fan but as long as you like a good fighting game then you’re set either way.

Overall, One’s Justice is a pretty good game. It’s definitely not great though. The combat itself is a bit sluggish and more limited than the average 3D fighter. You wind up spamming the same moves over and over again. After all, why bother risking your chance at an ultimate move when your standard hit combo does around the same damage with far less risk? Still, I always enjoy a good fighter and there is a decent amount of side content here. That’s definitely something to keep in mind. I look forward to seeing how the sequel goes.

Overall 7/10

Gunstar Heroes Review

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It’s time for another Genesis title. This one is definitely a lot of fun and one of the stronger games on the console. In a lot of ways it’s like classic Mega Man. You have to blast your way through a bunch of enemies and you can even pick which stage to tackle next like one of those classic titles. It’s a hard game but not quite as unreasonable as most of the others on the console. I actually didn’t even have to rewind much until the final boss which is part of why I finished this game rather quickly.

The basic story involves taking down these evil fighters who are trying to dominate the planet. There’s an old guy back at base who supports you kind of like Dr. Light. I think this really could have been a solid Mega Man homage and it’s old enough where they could have made it a real franchise. Sure there would have been comparisons but it could have held its own. Instead this is a title that most people haven’t heard of, I sure haven’t heard of it and that’s even with the game getting good reviews and generally being high quality. Not saying it’s unknown or anything but it definitely didn’t reach my circles.

The gameplay is nice and fast paced. You dash through waves of enemies as you try to reach the goal. The enemies are near unlimited so you want to make enough of a hole to go through before more respawn. That means you can never stay in one place. Sometimes it actually makes sense to go backwards for a bit and then forward based on the timing and the angle. Just don’t rush and you’ll be fine. Enemies also drop little hearts that replenish your health which is very handy.

You also get to choose which gun you want at the start of the match. There’s the close range fire blast, mid range machine gun, and long range homing attack. You know which one I went for right? Long range homing is always the best option! Yes it does deal the least amount of damage but that is a very fair tradeoff all things considered. You can still hit the enemy even while retreating and some of these bosses would have been absolutely crazy without it. In any 2D shooter, I always go for the homing attack. You may be thinking that this can’t be a very frequent event but you’d be surprised. I’ve played quite a few retro titles like this with a homing option and it has never let me down yet. It’s just too good.

You can also pick up a second weapon but I didn’t realize that until the last levels. I had just been ignoring them so they wouldn’t overwrite my main weapon but I happened to see a homing attack on the ground and figured I might as well pick it up. Well, that turned into double homing which does a lot of damage and makes it super difficult for any enemy to approach you. It’s an absolute must have to be sure. So make sure you grab the extra weapon because it probably would have made the game even easier. Not sure if it’s best to mix the weapons or double down on one, but either way you’re in a good spot.

The graphics are really good like I mentioned. This is on the higher side for Genesis to be sure. The backgrounds are very colorful and the sprites have a lot of detail. Out of all of the Genesis games it may be the best in that regard. The artstyle has aged incredibly well. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also rather good. There’s a lot of variety here and fun tunes to enjoy all the while. They really help support the gameplay which is already fun.

It’s a very well rounded experience and the game deserves all of the praise that it gets. It took a rather simple concept of a 2D shooter of which there are ton on the Genesis and made it stand out with the fun gameplay and good visuals. At the end of the day that’s how a game breaks out after all. You don’t necessarily need a crazy hook or gimmick, but whatever you do, you just have to make sure that you execute the concept well and this game did just that.

Overall, Gunstar Heroes is definitely a game that I would recommend. It’s a lot of fun and while it may be short, at least it’s not trying to drag things out for no reason. better to end quickly than to get boring or repetitive after all. The difficulty is very reasonable and while you may have to retry a few times, it’s never annoying. The game is very fair all the way through and I would have loved to have seen this become a franchise. Maybe some day I suppose.

Overall 7/10