Category Archives: Game Reviews

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

Soul Calibur VI Review

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It’s time to look at the latest installment in the Soul Calibur series. It’s definitely been a long while since I played the last one. The good news is that the actual gameplay is as great as ever. I definitely enjoyed it a great deal and so that alone already makes this a great game. On the more underwhelming side, I have to admit that the story is a real step down even though it tried to do some rather ambitious things.

The game has a main story and then a bunch of individual stories for each character. There is also an alternate story type mode where you can make an original character and run through a bunch of levels. First, the impressive part about this is how many story options you have. There is a big map that shows you where across time each character story takes place so in theory you can keep switching in between characters if you want. I didn’t do any of those yet but it’s nice that everyone gets one.

Here’s the problem though, the story is rather low effort. I played through the main story mode which is 20 chapters long and good portions of the story are told through a single illustration. Yes there is voice acting but no animation. Out of those 20 chapters, at least 5-7 didn’t even have any fights so you would just watch a long text cutscene. In a PS4 game and especially for a huge franchise like this, there should be constant cutscenes. At no point should you just be reading through the game like this.

It can be done I suppose if the illustrations are really excellent and constantly changing or if the soundtrack is just that dynamite but for the most part it’s a non starter. We only get 2-3 actual cutscenes here and they actually look good so you wonder why they didn’t do that for the whole game. I have to assume that it’s a budget thing but that’s a bad look for a huge title like Soul Calibur. So I was definitely not a fan of that, I expected much better here. The story itself also wasn’t the most interesting. The goal of finding the Soul Edge is always a classic but there’s just not much chance for things to happen before the game ends.

This is mitigated a bit by the fact that there are tons of individual stories to play through but more effort should have gone into the main story considering that it’s their main item you know? Ah well, maybe I should be happy that there is a story mode since not all fighting games have that. I’ve heard disturbing rumors that Street Fighter VI doesn’t even have one but I hope that’s not the case.

Of course there are tons of other modes to play through as well and you have the classic vs mode. You can fight offline or online and there are plenty of characters to choose from. There are also a lot of trophies to try and unlock, those are sure to take you a long while. So there’s no shortage of content to find here and the game is relatively cheap so you don’t have to break the bank trying to get it. I’d definitely say to purchase it.

While Story Mode wasn’t the ideal, the gameplay is fantastic and like I said earlier, that’s important. I like the long reach of the weapons which helps make it feel different from other fighting games. You don’t have to get as up close and personal as in other titles. Each character has many different moves to play around with and I like the attack sound effects. It still can’t beat Tekken in that arena but this may be in second place for that. The soundtrack as a whole is okay but nothing too special. The graphics are really solid though, the art style works well and this definitely looks and feels like a PS4 game which is important.

Going back to the gameplay, I like how simple the final smashes are to use. The game isn’t going out of its way to make it really convoluted or anything like that. It’s just a quick button press like the old days and then you’re off to the races. To compensate for this, the attacks don’t deal a ton of damage but they are still really handy to have. I did have to get used to pressing a button to block though as I’m really used to just holding back on the control stick. I’ll likely eat a lot of attacks while I get used to that, but eventually I’ll get the hang of it.

Overall, Soul Calibur VI is definitely a great game. I wish they would have tried a little harder on the story but if the reason is that they really had to prioritize the gameplay then I technically can’t really fault them for that. If the vs mode had ended up being no good then that would have been a massive problem right out of the gate. Feels like it’s been a minute since this one came out so they should start looking into making a seventh Soul Calibur. Hopefully they can grab more guest star characters around and try to make it the ultimate title in the series or something like that. I think that would be pretty cool.

Overall 8/10

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

Injustice 2 Review

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As with My Hero, I had to buy the sequel to this one right away after completing the first. Injustice was a great title with a really interesting plot and the same is true of the sequel here. It really picks up right where the first one left off but with extra content and a really big character roster. I definitely blasted through this one because you will not want to put the game down.

It starts off after the first game with Superman behind bars and most of his allies running off to bide their time. Batman has the tough mission of protecting the planet while also preventing Superman from being broken out. Meanwhile Wonder Woman and Black Adam are raising Supergirl so that she can help them rescue Superman and bring the world to its knees. A third party is around though in the form of Brainiac. He doesn’t care about the sides that the heroes have split into, he just wants to destroy the world. Will the superheroes be able to stop him or is it all over?

Yeah there’s a lot going on here the whole time and I like the fact that Brainiac was thrown in because it does make sense that villains aren’t going to wait until this civil war is over. They’re just going to jump in and take names. If anything it’s the perfect time to be a villain with how divided the heroes are. It means that there is less opposition to stop them…much less!

It’s fun to be jumping between the two teams in the chapters. Batman’s team is still the heroic one of course but at least most of the folks on Superman’s team have started to be less crazy. The big exceptions to this are Black Adam and Wonder Woman. Adam’s usually evil anyway so that fits but yeah Wonder Woman really went off the deep end in this universe. She is really a far cry from her usual self. Superman is also permanently traumatized at this point. Even when he is playing ball for a little while, he feels a lot edgier than he usually is. Definitely not someone I’d want to trust.

The gameplay is top notch. The 2D movement is very quick so something is constantly happening. At times it feels like watching a fight scene in a movie with how many attacks are being thrown out. It helps that I don’t block much and the same goes for the computer so we’re really trading blows. For the most part the game’s not too hard but I would lose a life on occasion. Sometimes they would just have me beat with the attacks. It happens from time to time. Just keep calm and you’ll take them out. They usually can’t block the final smash so keep that in the back pocket. Also if you absolutely have to, just block a bit. It really throws them off and then you can counter.

I found the easiest thing to do is hit them with a jumping attack and then a 3 hit combo. Almost every character has the ability to do this so just learn what the easy link combos are and get to work. Once you learn those it makes the whole game a lot easier. The story mode’s length is reasonable with around 13-14 chapters and each one has around 3 fights. There are a ton of cutscenes also so it’s not like you’re just fighting and then leaving the game. It goes without saying that there is really unlimited replay value here with the trophies that you can obtain as well as the high quality multiplayer mode that you can play.

This is a fighting game that really plays to its strengths. A ton of time was clearly put into the combat itself and it paid off. This is definitely one of the stronger fighting games that I’ve played in terms of gameplay. In a way it reminds me a lot of Tekken in that it has great gameplay while also keeping up a very compelling story. Definitely impressive all the way around.

The graphics are really solid here of course. As with the last game, I will say that the art style does make all of the characters look a bit on the ugly side. Like they’re all brutes and I suppose that’s just unavoidable with this look. The game could easily look way better with a more vibrant approach but it definitely would clash with the tone of the game a bit. The soundtrack is solid enough although I can’t really think of any stand out tunes here. It was all a bit more on the forgettable side.

I got the Legendary edition so a bunch of bonus characters are playable here. It’s cool to have Hellboy and one of the Ninja Turtles at the ready. Definitely pretty cool I have to say. My mains will tend to be the DC characters but I do like experimenting. In terms of pure gameplay I found Batman and Harley Quinn to be two of the best characters. Their combos are very fast which makes it easy to land a ton of hits. I tend to prefer characters like that than the slow ones. Sure the damage is intense but it can be hard to land hits.

Overall, Injustice 2 is definitely a great game. The gameplay is top notch as always and of course they did not hold anything back on the story either. The whole game is very smooth to play with all of the menus being straight forward and there are no long loading times. I’d definitely be hyped to see them make an Injustice 3 at some point. There’s definitely a whole lot more you can really do with this verse before calling it a day.

Overall 8/10

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

Streets of Rage 2 Review

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Classic beat em up titles can feel like a dime a dozen from the old days so it’s really important to have something that helps you stand out. In this game’s case I thought it would be the extra continues that come as part of the game but unfortunately they are finite which hurts the second half a bit. It’s a fun game but yeah without much of a story or anything like that, I don’t see it doing much that other games haven’t already done.

There’s barely even a story here. You have the opening cutscene and then nothing until the very end. I would have liked a little more than that. Ah well, the controls are of course fairly basic. You have your normal hits and then your power moves. The power moves deal a lot of damage but the price for using them is very high. See, every time you use a power move, it drains part of your health bar. So that’s extremely risky and I would only recommend using it if you are fully surrounded. In this game the minions actually use a lot of teamwork so being in the middle is a bad idea.

For example, there’s one enemy who will restrict your arms while the others start punching you. Others will rush in with a quick sneak attack so while you’re punching one minion, he breaks your combo and then the original one hits you. It’s actually impressive of the A.I. I’d say. So the game gets progressively harder and harder as you go through it. There are a few cheesy enemies here though. Whenever I am in the middle of a combo and the enemy activates super armor and hits me anyway…I’m a little skeptical. There’s no way to block or dodge mid combo so that means you have to eat the hit. It doesn’t really seem fair. Then your only option is to go for single aerial hits that can’t be stopped midway but it means beating the level will take forever.

So that shouldn’t be happening. The flying enemies on the jetpack are also a bit much. Your normal attacks can’t reach them so you’re always having to jump up to try and land a blow but it’s just not easy. These enemies are a bit annoying so I’d rather we stay to ground based opponents. You could also just say that the execution was a bit off since otherwise I really wouldn’t have much of a problem with these guys.

The graphics are okay. I wouldn’t say they are anything special but the game was at least trying something as opposed to phoning it in. Then the soundtrack is more on the generic side. So nothing bad but nothing to really write home about either. The game’s length is fairly short. There are 8 levels although each level is longer than the average beat em up title. You’ll have it beat in maybe 80-90 minutes or so. Add or remove time based on how good you are at the game. The initial lives lasted me all the way to level 6 but after that I had to start busting out the rewinds and everything.

There are just so many enemies and they get so good by the end. It’s hard to see how you can get past them on your own. The final boss as well since he is so fast and is always shooting bullets everywhere. He was fairly unique as you would have to get behind him but your character can’t run and is very slow. So you have to try to get to the corner early but that’s how villains end up taking you out. There’s definitely a lot of strategy here.

Overall, Streets of Rage 2 is a decent game but one that still has a big pet peeve of mine. The fact that when you lose you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the game. That’s something that I can never condone. I feel like you should be able to play through the whole title and if you get a game over, you restart from where you left off. Maybe it means that your score resets or something but give me the option to continue. There’s no way I would let myself go back to level 1 and just try to restart again without some kind of progression. So if you have the Nintendo Switch Online, give this one a quick view. It may not change your life but it’s still a fun playthrough.

Overall 6/10

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

Earthworm Jim Review

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It’s time to delve into the world of Earthworm Jim. Unfortunately I would not say that this one holds up very well. It plays around with too many different gimmicks and control schemes which unfortunately means that there is less time to make the platforming as good as it can be. It can be a little rough when you’re running around and constantly bumping into all kinds of traps.

The concept is still interesting as you play as a worm type of creature. It’s definitely not exactly what you would be expecting in a platformer like this although a while back I did get to play the sequel so I was more ready than I usually would be. I don’t think this one is quite as good though and you can feel the growing pains here. For starters, the level designs are rather convoluted. You sometimes have to spend more time wondering where you are going which is definitely not intended. Or if it is then I would argue that it wasn’t a good design choice. You get punished for moving too quickly.

The platforming is also really tricky with the jumps because if you get the angle even slightly wrong then you will fall to your doom and lose a ton of progress. When you factor in the enemies that you will encounter as well, it’s very likely that you will lose a life there. I died so many times here because the enemies are numerous and they move so fast. You really need to have lightning fast reflexes to even stand a chance. It’s definitely not easy by any means.

There are some creative things here though like some levels where you get separated from your body and have to keep up while jumping away from obstacles. It’s a pretty good challenge without feeling unfair. Then you have the high speed chase levels between the platforming ones. Those are definitely rather tricky as it’s hard not to bump into a boulder at some point but these levels are at least fairly fun. They help give you a change of pace from the platforming.

The game’s not even that long, it’s a little over an hour I’d say so it really should not drag at all. The fact that it does by any metric is the real problem here. A game should always be really enjoyable while you’re playing it and it should never drag unless the game is over 10 hours in which case it’s reasonable to have a slow chapter or two. Again it goes back to being stopped constantly when you’re trying to run through the levels which is a real problem. It’s something that happens in 2D Sonic games as well but they have more positives to offset that.

I will say that the graphics are good though. The game is really creative with the enemies and the level visuals so I do give it full credit there. The soundtrack is also reasonably good. On a technical level it’s good, but the gameplay is what holds it back and that’s easily the most important factor in a game so you can’t really survive with that part lacking. It’s just not going to work.

Overall, Earthworm Jim is a decent game but not one that I had a great time with. I think you could do a lot better in just about every genre. There are many platformers that would be ahead of this one as well. It’s worth checking out if you have the Switch Online but it is nowhere near the top of my list. I don’t think it really has much to offer here and while a modern remake could be a lot of fun, I do think that it needs to do something to really differentiate itself from the older title. Just give me some fun run and gun levels and we should be good.

Overall 5/10

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