Sega Genesis Game Opinion Summaries - Work In Progress

First, I just reorganized and partially rewrote the last paragraph of the Viewpoint summary. It wasn't well organized before, and reads much better now.


Of the Strike series, I have Desert Strike for the Genesis and GG, Urban Strike for the GG, Soviet Strike for Saturn, and Nuclear Strike for the N64. I cover Soviet and Nuclear Strikes in my Game Opinion Summary lists for those two platforms, but in general I have never liked the series. Of the three summaries the most positive is probably Soviet Strike's (it surprised me compared to my memories of disliking Desert Strike; yes, I've never liked that game regardless of how popular it was), but I've never finished the first mission of any Strike game; they just don't interest me enough to stick with. It's not about me "trying to plow through" it, it's about not liking the gameplay much.

There is one was-to-be-Strike game I like a lot and got farther in to, though -- Future Cop LAPD (I have it for the PC; also on PS1). I got that game back a year or two after it came out and liked it a lot. It's very different from the Strike series proper, though, so I see why the "Strike" name was removed from the final product. But yeah, I like that game a lot. It's super-hard and I didn't finish it, but I did at least get midway. The multiplayer in that game is also great, both the co-op campaign and the versus mode with that interesting strategy element. Great game; I only wish you could save during missions, as the levels are very long (as per Strike standard...) and you can't save in the middle.

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Originally Posted by Thief

It was basically most folks' first sandbox gaming experience.

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I have never much liked sandbox games...

^ Well it's a sandbox without all the negatives of a typical sandbox game (only typical sandbox type game I like these days are from Bethesda).

I never heard of Future Cop LAPD. Checked a video of it, and you're right. Of course it's different. It's an overhead run n gun. The Strike series are not run n guns.


And again, don't dismiss a series so easily just because you can't beat the first stage. If I had a dollar for each time I said a game wasn't interesting enough at the very beginning, lol. Why I'm telling you to scratch deeper then the surface. This is really a gem of a series if given a chance. Especially for Sega Genesis fans (the SNES ports are pretty weak. And SNES Urban Strike port totally sucks, as I rented that back in the day to see how it compared, and right back to the rental store I went to return it for something that was playable). Nuclear for N64 I thought I read was pretty stripped down from the PS1 or something? So yeah, only Genesis, Saturn and PS1 version of the Strike series are a viable option for the true experience. And this is a one kind of a unique experience too, as in, I haven't seen anything like this series since. Why you owe it to yourself to give it a big chance.

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Originally Posted by Thief

^ Well it's a sandbox without all the negatives of a typical sandbox game (only typical sandbox type game I like these days are from Bethesda).

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But I'd rather have an at least somewhat more directed experience, or at least I want the game to not punish me for exploration. I mean, a game like Universal Soldier/Turrican 2 has exploration, but you are rewarded for it. But Strike games? You'll run out of fuel or get shot down and crash, go learn the correct path. What's fun about limited fuel? Nothing! The basic shooting gameolay isn't great either, with how many hits you inevitably take...

As for Bethesda, I have never liked any of their games. At least, not any of their open-world games, certainly.

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I never heard of Future Cop LAPD. Checked a video of it, and you're right. Of course it's different. It's an overhead run n gun. The Strike series are not run n guns.

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It's not really a run & gun, it's an overhead action game with huge, somewhat open levels, a high difficulty level (as per Strike usual), lots of different weapons, and more. It was originally going to be called "Future Strike", I believe. It's quite good, or at least I liked it a lot back then; haven't played it in years now.

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And again, don't dismiss a series so easily just because you can't beat the first stage.

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I haven't beaten the first missions of any of them because 1) Strike series missions are VERY long 2) They are also very difficult and 3) I don't have enough fun to stick with it anywhere remotely near long enough to finish a mission. It's not "can't", it's "don't care to put in that kind of time".

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If I had a dollar for each time I said a game wasn't interesting enough at the very beginning, lol. Why I'm telling you to scratch deeper then the surface. This is really a gem of a series if given a chance. Especially for Sega Genesis fans (the SNES ports are pretty weak. And SNES Urban Strike port totally sucks, as I rented that back in the day to see how it compared, and right back to the rental store I went to return it for something that was playable). Nuclear for N64 I thought I read was pretty stripped down from the PS1 or something? So yeah, only Genesis, Saturn and PS1 version of the Strike series are a viable option for the true experience. And this is a one kind of a unique experience too, as in, I haven't seen anything like this series since. Why you owe it to yourself to give it a big chance.

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Nuclear Strike for the N64 is a fine port. The FMV cutscenes are gone, so if you like that cheesy FMV then yeah it's worse, but the gameplay is just as good.

^ Thought I read about more cuts to the N64 port? Like levels having cut content, smaller or re-arranged, and stuff. I know I fired the N64 once briefly and I couldn't recognize the first map as a map I've played on the PS1. I recognized the textures, but that was about it. Thought it totally rearranged at first glance.

As for the Strike series being hard & long missions, well, yeah. That's why I said start with the first one, as it's the easiest. And of course the Strike series reward exploration, since you uncover more fuel, ammo and armour crate locations (so basically RPG rewards. The more hidden item location you know off, the more you can explore/play it safe because of more fuel, tank by being able to take more hits since you know of more repair location, and use more OP weapons like rockets and hydra missiles to much better handle harder situations). And yes, it's a trial and error game. But the best kind of trial and error game. As it rewards more smarts then skill + is never a dull day flying in your helicopter getting more and more clever. You just need to give it some more time to see the beauty of it. Until you get more addicted to the game, just take long enough breaks between mission failures, like playing once a day.

However, Urban Strike had my most favourite level map settings that also seemed way more packed with unique & interesting stuff in them (the shark trying to eat civilians stranded in water, rescuing civilians from the Twin Towers in New York. Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, etc). It felt like one giant Where's Waldo videogame worlds, lol. Only Waldo is Elvis in Urban Strike. ;)


The 32-Bit sequels I only ever had the chance to play via rentals. In Soviet I made it as far as that desert map. That's where it felt like I've hit massive brick wall. Forget how far I made it in Nuclear Strike, but I think further then Soviet? Because I don't remember any serious brick walls that had me stumped in that one? I recall liking Nuclear more and I fondly remember that Jet on the second map.


But yeah, I'm just saying you might be big time missing out on an awesome series by giving up on the Strike series so soon without even beating one mission. That's all. It'll be your loss, not mine. Kind of thing. Why I'm trying to save you. :p

So, uh, I just read you like Choplifter from the "What do you think of Sega's arcade remake of Choplifter from '85?" Thread;

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

Yeah, Sega's Choplifter is a great game, arcades or SMS. Very impressive enhancement of the original title. I like Choplifter III too; the GB/GG game's okay, but I do think the SNES one (note: the GB/GG and SNES Choplifter III titles are entirely different) is definitely better. It is a tough game, but it's fun and fairly well designed... though some of the bosses are really hard.

I do have Choplifter HD for the PC, but haven't played it yet...

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http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...-from-85/page2

So if that's the case, you should then easily fall in love with the Strike series since it basically seems like Choplifter in isometric view to me. (I've never played the choplifter series, so just a guess on my end. As it seems more about tactics, strategy & rescuing civilians/POW then shooting. And both seem like just the right kind of hard difficulty)

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Originally Posted by OverDrone

I don't mind the Viewpoint port, glad you enjoyed it too. The slowdown is ridiculous though, sections where there are next to no bullets but big environmental sprites make the game slow to an unbearable crawl. A bit longer in the oven optimising the code might have sorted that out.

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The slowdown in Viewpoint is a bit like the slowdown in SNES Gradius III, once you get used to how the game speeds up and slows down depending on how much is going on on screen it's quite helpful in getting you through the bullet patterns without taking a hit, or enough hits to die if you have the shield.

I do wonder though, is the game just pushing the system that hard, or is it not well optimized? There are no other isometric shmups on the Genesis, so it's hard to compare. The only other one I can think of on consoles in the whole 4th generation is Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000 for the 32X.

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The music is quite an OK rendition of the original as well, which is more than can be said for the PS1 version. Nice FM bass, and it keeps some of the quirky samples from the Neo game too.

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What's so wrong with the PS1 version? You'd think it'd be good...

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I think Viewpoint might have been the last shmup made for the MD.

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Well, it was only released in the US, so it's not available on the MD. :p

But anyway, the game released in '94 sometime. Aren't there also other shmups that year? And was there really nothing after '94, in the genre? The addons have some after that -- Lords of Thunder (SCD) is from '95, and of course Motherbase and Kolibri on the 32X are both also from '95 -- but I'm not sure about the Genesis, offhand. V V / Grind Stormer is also from '94, March in Japan. Looking it up, Mega SWIV (Europe only) is also from '94, and so is Sub-Terrania, though it isn't autoscrolling of course so it doesn't really count. But more importantly, the unlicensed games Earth Defense and Thunderbolt both are dated to 1995. So if those count then no.

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Originally Posted by Thief

I recall a person on the shmups forums loving Viewpoint more then any other shooter and considers it perfection. This game seems really good on first impression, and kinda savouring the moment I give it a more serious playthrough attempt.

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Viewpoint is definitely a really good game, yeah. Graphics, gameplay, music, design, it's got it all.

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About Vectorman. I rented the first one maybe two times back in the day. I wanted to buy it back then too. But it never happened due to us kid gamers being so broke during those no cash flow turbulent times. :p I really wanted this game in my collection. During the rentals, I made it as far as the last Boss. Who totally owned me and scared me from renting it again, lol. I'm sure there's an easy tactic I missed out on. I kind of replay this game every now and then, but never make it to the end boss. Should give this game a more serious go one of these days to finally beat it and avenge my childhood. :p PS - one mistake you made. Some level themes in Vectorman 1 repeat too just like in V2 and DKC. ie. stage 1 cloud stage returns two more times, if I recall correctly? (Once with orange clouds. And another at night with thunder striking and lighting up the place - looks very cool. I don't mind this theme returning two more times, as it's one of my fave looking themes. Though my most fave which I wish did repeat is the bright white snow stage with lens flare and dripping water. One of the best looking 16-Bit stages ever)

I don't remember if I rented V2 or not? But played it once recently and made it pretty far, only to find out that game was much better then I expected. Got in a really nice mood playing it. One stage music really impressed the heck out of me too + greatly enhanced playing V2 that one time.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the two Vectorman reviews the most. Thinking of returning to these games much sooner.

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On the subject of returning level themes, I forgot about that because I don't think I've ever gotten far enough into the game to see that... I usually run out of lives maybe halfway through the game, and those levels are later on. But they aren't the exact same as the first stage (the lightning, etc.) and aren't right after it, so it's definitely a very different situation from Vectorman 2...

But yeah, Vectorman 2 is good, but playing it for this I definitely noticed how much easier it is than the first one. Sure, I haven't beaten it either, but I've gotten farther and piled up a lot more lives than I ever would in Vectorman 1. I can see myself beating the second one for sure, with a few more tries, unless there's a really hard boss later on or something. The first game... that'd be hard. Love the game, but no continues is tough.

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But also have Jungle Strike on my mind to play next after my current beat 'em up phase... Hmm, guess you'll be reviewing Urban Strike next. Interesting... Hey, you go easy on my baby Urban Strike! That's part of my childhood right there. :p

Going to see what you said about the other two Strike games...

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Never played those two beyond a few minutes with that GG game, but the series in general is one I have always regarded as boring, uninteresting, and maybe bad (just for me, not objectively; I'm sure on an objective level Desert Strike is fine), the 16-bit ones particularly. I see you like them a lot, but how would playing a game I've never liked much more make me like it? That's not how things usually work.

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Originally Posted by Thief

So, uh, I just read you like Choplifter from the "What do you think of Sega's arcade remake of Choplifter from '85?" Thread;


http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...-from-85/page2

So if that's the case, you should then easily fall in love with the Strike series since it basically seems like Choplifter in isometric view to me. (I've never played the choplifter series, so just a guess on my end. As it seems more about tactics, strategy & rescuing civilians/POW then shooting. And both seem like just the right kind of hard difficulty)

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How is Choplifter anything at all like Desert Strike? That doesn't make much sense, one is a side-scroller and the other isometric. You can actually avoid things in Choplifter. And the Choplifter games are simpler than Desert Strike too, and aren't trying to be vaguely realistic so you don't have stupid things like fuel. Beyond that both have you flying a helicopter they seem quite different to me...

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

The slowdown in Viewpoint is a bit like the slowdown in SNES Gradius III, once you get used to how the game speeds up and slows down depending on how much is going on on screen it's quite helpful in getting you through the bullet patterns without taking a hit, or enough hits to die if you have the shield.

I do wonder though, is the game just pushing the system that hard, or is it not well optimized? There are no other isometric shmups on the Genesis, so it's hard to compare. The only other one I can think of on consoles in the whole 4th generation is Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000 for the 32X.

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Skeleton Krew, while obviously not a shmup, has a ton of shots/objects on screen, multi-directional scrolling and two-player simultaneous action going on. I don't have this one, but looking at videos it seems to run a whole lot better than Viewpoint.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

What's so wrong with the PS1 version? You'd think it'd be good...

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The compositions are different, and in my opinion, nowhere near as good.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

Well, it was only released in the US, so it's not available on the MD. :p

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True that. (I've got a repro made out to look like it's the official JP release, cover is vastly superior to the Genesis version) :)

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

But anyway, the game released in '94 sometime. Aren't there also other shmups that year? And was there really nothing after '94, in the genre? The addons have some after that -- Lords of Thunder (SCD) is from '95, and of course Motherbase and Kolibri on the 32X are both also from '95 -- but I'm not sure about the Genesis, offhand. V V / Grind Stormer is also from '94, March in Japan. Looking it up, Mega SWIV (Europe only) is also from '94, and so is Sub-Terrania, though it isn't autoscrolling of course so it doesn't really count. But more importantly, the unlicensed games Earth Defense and Thunderbolt both are dated to 1995. So if those count then no.

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I forgot about VV and Mega SWIV. But shooters from '95? can't think of any off hand, no.

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Originally Posted by OverDrone

Skeleton Krew, while obviously not a shmup, has a ton of shots/objects on screen, multi-directional scrolling and two-player simultaneous action going on. I don't have this one, but looking at videos it seems to run a whole lot better than Viewpoint.

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Probably has a LOT less animation though, yes? Viewpoint is crazy with the spinning, rotating sprites... all done with lots of sprites of course and not actual rotation, but that's still got to be using more resources than a game that's just displaying sprites to the screen and moving them around?

Still, though, that things like those fire jets in lv. 5 slow the system down to the extreme they do does make me wonder if it could be optimized more. So yeah, you might well be right about this, it's just hard to say either way...

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The compositions are different, and in my opinion, nowhere near as good.

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Huh. Surprising... but I was also referring to how the PS1 version is widely regarded as poor gameplay-wise, and not only the music. But I'd need to play it to see why, I imagine... but with the responses it gets, it doesn't make me want to do that...

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True that. (I've got a repro made out to look like it's the official JP release, cover is vastly superior to the Genesis version) :)

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Yeah, that cover of the Genesis version is so, so weird! It doesn't say "shooter" at all, it's this weird eye and stuff.

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I forgot about VV and Mega SWIV. But shooters from '95? can't think of any off hand, no.

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Other than the two unlicensed games I listed and the Sega CD and 32X games I don't think it had any, but I'd count those all...

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

Probably has a LOT less animation though, yes? Viewpoint is crazy with the spinning, rotating sprites... all done with lots of sprites of course and not actual rotation, but that's still got to be using more resources than a game that's just displaying sprites to the screen and moving them around?

Still, though, that things like those fire jets in lv. 5 slow the system down to the extreme they do does make me wonder if it could be optimized more. So yeah, you might well be right about this, it's just hard to say either way...

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I'd agree regarding the ton of spinning animation frames being the chief culprit, but there are instances where there are environmental hazards with no frames at all (like the walls with the spikes on the end that open and close in stage 3) that seem to make it really crawl anyway. So make of that what you will.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

Huh. Surprising... but I was also referring to how the PS1 version is widely regarded as poor gameplay-wise, and not only the music. But I'd need to play it to see why, I imagine... but with the responses it gets, it doesn't make me want to do that...

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I actually grabbed the PS1 version on release, but having never had access to the Neo game at the time I couldn't compare them. I do remember something felt a bit off, and I seem to recall mags of the time suggesting likewise, but this was a long time ago. I'll have to check out a few reviews.

I'd suggest picking up the AES version if you have the console (something I considered a few years ago myself), but I'm pretty sure these days you'd have to take out a second mortgage to afford the thing, unfortunately.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

Yeah, that cover of the Genesis version is so, so weird! It doesn't say "shooter" at all, it's this weird eye and stuff.

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I'd imagine the logic behind that was that shmups were an ailing genre by '94, so a trojan horse method of selling them was probably a sensible thing marketing wise. It's something that continues to this day - most of my 360 shooters have anime characters on the cover, not space craft like the good 'ole days.

Look at the cover art of the Neo Geo Viewpoint (which is what is used on my repro). There's no mistaking that as anything but a traditional STG.

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Originally Posted by OverDrone

I'd agree regarding the ton of spinning animation frames being the chief culprit, but there are instances where there are environmental hazards with no frames at all (like the walls with the spikes on the end that open and close in stage 3) that seem to make it really crawl anyway. So make of that what you will.

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You're right, that part does slow down a lot... I don't know why. But for the times with the huge rotating objects, screens full of multiple good-sized animating objects, and such, it's understandable that there is slowdown.

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I actually grabbed the PS1 version on release, but having never had access to the Neo game at the time I couldn't compare them. I do remember something felt a bit off, and I seem to recall mags of the time suggesting likewise, but this was a long time ago. I'll have to check out a few reviews.

I'd suggest picking up the AES version if you have the console (something I considered a few years ago myself), but I'm pretty sure these days you'd have to take out a second mortgage to afford the thing, unfortunately.

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I've badly wanted an AES (or consolized MVS) for a long time, but have never been able to justify the cost, sadly... :( It was actually Neo-Geo roms, more than anything, that got me interested in fighting games, back in the early '00s. I mean, I had played SFII and such sometimes in arcades in the '90s, but I didn't own even one fighting game until the '00s, and it was Neo-Geo emulation that really got me into the genre. Not counting Smash Bros. and SSB Melee, which I got both of in '01, my first couple of fighting game purchases were CvS2 for Gamecube and KOFEX2 for GBA, both great games.

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I'd imagine the logic behind that was that shmups were an ailing genre by '94, so a trojan horse method of selling them was probably a sensible thing marketing wise. It's something that continues to this day - most of my 360 shooters have anime characters on the cover, not space craft like the good 'ole days.

Look at the cover art of the Neo Geo Viewpoint (which is what is used on my repro). There's no mistaking that as anything but a traditional STG.

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Yeah, that thought did cross my mind as well, when you mentioned the cover, of the shmup crash that started in '93. I wouldn't be surprised if you're right and they were trying to hide the games' genre, it would kind of make sense given that shmups were not doing well at that poing. In '92 the genre peaked in terms of releases, but there were like half as many in '93, and few in '94. Then after that the genre began to recover, but only slowly and as a minor genre, not one of the major ones... and of course bullet-hell games eventually took over, but anyway. I've looked at the number of shmup releases on the TG16/PC Engine + CD, that platforms' best genre, and the systems got half as many shmups in '93 than '92, then absolutely NONE in '94. There were a few in '95, but just a few, and only one more after that. The SNES and Genesis/SCD did have shmups in '94, but still the genre as a whole was clearly steeply in decline. That may be why Viewpoint didn't release in Japan, but it's unfortunate considering how great the port is! Actually, PS1 Viewpoint seems to be US/EU only as well. Japan did get X68000 and FM Towns versions, though, and of course the Neo-Geo and Neo-Geo CD were much more successful there than here and both got the game.

I actually sold my second AES after a couple of years, I had no interest in the fighters since I have most of the Neo Geo Online releases for PS2 (most of which are good enough accuracy wise) but anything else is just stupid expensive. I was real close to picking up a complete Viewpoint since it was something I've wanted since '92, but you've gotta draw the line somewhere. It's a pity the PS2 Neo Geo Arcade Classics emulation was so poor, as that would have been a nice way to have a bunch of the non-fighting stuff on a console but ah well.

JP Mega Drive is expensive enough CIB. I've got most of the (desirable, in a gameplay sense) heavy hitters on that console now, so I'm basically through with spending big money on games from here on in. It's been refreshing to get back into PS1/2, that stuff is cheap as chips.

I Forgot about the other Viewpoint versions - actually the NGCD would be a nice affordable way to play it. I've got a CD system somewhere, I think it's broken though.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

How is Choplifter anything at all like Desert Strike? That doesn't make much sense, one is a side-scroller and the other isometric. You can actually avoid things in Choplifter. And the Choplifter games are simpler than Desert Strike too, and aren't trying to be vaguely realistic so you don't have stupid things like fuel. Beyond that both have you flying a helicopter they seem quite different to me...

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Um, you can actually avoid things in the Strike series too. It's called a strafe button (hold A button). And the idea of fuel adds a nice element of strategy and pacing/routing (if they game gave you unlimited fuel, it wouldn't be the same at all. And I mean for the worse). But yeah, wish someone who played both these two type of game would comment on their thoughts on these two series...

Also, wasn't it assumed (or is it true?), that the Strike series was inspired partly by Choplifter?

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Originally Posted by Thief

Um, you can actually avoid things in the Strike series too. It's called a strafe button (hold A button).

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I guess, but the bullets are so tiny and numerous, dodging is harder than it could/should be.

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And the idea of fuel adds a nice element of strategy and pacing/routing (if they game gave you unlimited fuel, it wouldn't be the same at all. And I mean for the worse).

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Just removing fuel would not suddenly make the Genesis strike games fun to play, I'm sure, but it would make them a little bit less frustrating...

On that note, I do kind of enjoy the Army Men Air Combat / Air Attack games. I have the first one for N64 and the second for Gamecube. They're very Strike-like in concept, except aimed at a younger audience, with more linear stages, and with no fuel system. They're fun little games, entertaining stuff. I don't love them, but would rather play those than any Strike game... even if I do like Soviet Strike better than the Genesis games. (Oh, and on that note, the Saturn version is the better version of Soviet Strike. It has some added content and analog support, plays great with the Mission Stick!)

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But yeah, wish someone who played both these two type of game would comment on their thoughts on these two series...

Also, wasn't it assumed (or is it true?), that the Strike series was inspired partly by Choplifter?

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Maybe a bit, but the actual gameplay ends up being quite different. Choplifter is a faster-action game with not-too-large levels, very different feel. Of course, there's also that focus on rescuing prisoners and bringing them back to base without getting blown up; it's a good mechanic which adds a lot of tension at times. Some later games in the series add things like bosses, underground areas, more settings and enemy types, and more to the original games' very basic setup.

(The best Choplifter game might be the Master System game. It's really good. Choplifter III for SNES is good as well. The original Choplifter for Apple II had one level then it ended, that's it. The early ports copy that design, but Sega's game and beyond add to it.)

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

I guess, but the bullets are so tiny and numerous, dodging is harder than it could/should be.

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It's not that hard to dodge stuff, especially in earlier levels. You just have to adjust (as well as learning how not take more then one enemy at a time) and that takes some getting used too. So don't give up. Once you get more into it, you'll finally discover why these games are so awesome & popular.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

Just removing fuel would not suddenly make the Genesis strike games fun to play, I'm sure, but it would make them a little bit less frustrating...

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The point is that fuel makes the Strike games more fun. Makes it more like a strategy game, where you have to maintain and manage your inventory/assets. ie. just like how classic Resident Evil games are made much more fun & scary by having to manage limited inventory. Though I got so good at this, that by the end of the RE games I have only the top of the line weapons, and just plow though the end game like a boss. But yeah, RE games are made as easy as how well you manage you limited resources. And that's were a lot of the fun lies in the RE games for me

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

On that note, I do kind of enjoy the Army Men Air Combat / Air Attack games. I have the first one for N64 and the second for Gamecube. They're very Strike-like in concept, except aimed at a younger audience, with more linear stages, and with no fuel system. They're fun little games, entertaining stuff. I don't love them, but would rather play those than any Strike game... even if I do like Soviet Strike better than the Genesis games. (Oh, and on that note, the Saturn version is the better version of Soviet Strike. It has some added content and analog support, plays great with the Mission Stick!)

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I never played those Army games. Only recall reading about then in the gaming mags like EGM & GameFan I collected back in the day.

As for Saturn Strike version. Yes I recall reading about it in gaming mags coming out later and with a few enhancements. Forgot what they were, but totally forgot or it wasn't mentioned about analog support? Though I'm not even sure how this game would work with analog controls? Something to keep in mind to try out when I reach those games again. Thanks for the heads up on this.

ESWAT: top 10 dead or alive *drops mic*

Jungle strike was my thing BITD. I never felt the fuel was an issue, quite the contrary since it's a nice risk/reward system that would render the game pretty one-dimensional without it. It's been a long time since I've played anything from the strike series, but as far as enemies and flak avoidance goes, the game has multi direction scrolling so there's an optimum approach vector for every cluster of enemy units.

You can't just barrel into a firefight all guns blazing and expect to not take damage. Sitting on the periphery of a danger zone, keeping as many units off-screen as possible and picking off targets sequentially seemed to be the way to do it IIRC. And the fuel consumption played into how much loiter time you had to think about such tactics.

Great games, although Urban Strike killed my interest with it's poor on-foot sections. It was unnecessary and not well executed IMO.

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Originally Posted by OverDrone

Jungle strike was my thing BITD. I never felt the fuel was an issue, quite the contrary since it's a nice risk/reward system that would render the game pretty one-dimensional without it. It's been a long time since I've played anything from the strike series, but as far as enemies and flak avoidance goes, the game has multi direction scrolling so there's an optimum approach vector for every cluster of enemy units.

You can't just barrel into a firefight all guns blazing and expect to not take damage. Sitting on the periphery of a danger zone, keeping as many units off-screen as possible and picking off targets sequentially seemed to be the way to do it IIRC. And the fuel consumption played into how much loiter time you had to think about such tactics.

Great games, although Urban Strike killed my interest with it's poor on-foot sections. It was unnecessary and not well executed IMO.

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Very well said!


... Well except the part of Urban Strike. :p

But yeah, the very first on foot part of Urban Strike I think might be the number 1 reason many give up and dismiss Urban Strike. Which really sucks. I too enjoyed the game very much until I hit that massive on foot brick wall. Lucky the first the two flying missions were so addicting and that it was my first and only Strike game I owned back in the day when it was new. That it kept me playing until I eventually figured out those on foot as no problemo. It eventually gets revealed that these bonus on foot missions are not as hard as main missions because they are much shorter and pretty straightforward. And if you really have no patience for them, then use the magic of the internet to password yourself past them and enjoy the rest of the main meat of the game; the awesome helicopter missions.

So I really wish everyone would just judge this series based on the awesome flying missions alone, as this is where it seems like Urban is the best in the series with main mission helicopter maps and gameplay. Just need to give Jungle another attempt to see how right or wrong I am? Last attempt I only played as far as that night mission in Jungle Strike. But up to that point I was pretty let down by the mission maps in comparison to Urban, as they looked more empty and meh by comparison to Urban & it's diversity. And because I always read that most praise Jungle as the best on Genesis, my hopes were pretty high to finally play the so called best in the series. I mean, I really want it to be the best in the series because it removes the on foot missions in favour of the more awesome helicopter missions.



Looking at GameFAQs, it seems Jungle has 9 mission maps, but the 9th one is a repeat of an earlier map theme. Urban has 7 main maps, and 3 on foot maps. And lol, the guy behind Urban guide played the whole game without knowing Urban also has strafe? And on the crappy SNES version too to boot? Madness. (Or maybe the crappy SNES version forgot to add strafe? The game is one heck of a messy port, after all)

In Future Cop LAPD strafing is also essential, so it brings that back for sure...

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Originally Posted by IrishNinja

ESWAT: top 10 dead or alive *drops mic*

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More like ESWAT, C to C- grade game that is more frustrating than fun.

ESWAT is crazy fun, and not even really hard if you learn when to use one of the 5 weapons at the right time! charge shot took out most common stuff, but hovering + missiles was perfect for many bosses.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

In Future Cop LAPD strafing is also essential, so it brings that back for sure...

More like ESWAT, C to C- grade game that is more frustrating than fun.

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A Black Falcon, from your previous posts I suspect that you do not enjoy challenging games. Half the fun of ESWAT is figuring out what works and what doesn`t. I`m currently having a bit of fun trying to get past the 3rd mission. Sure I could watch a "let`s play" but IMHO that would ruin the experience. From what other`s have said, it`s a relatively short game and therefore I would rather savour the experience and figure out things for myself. Maybe it comes down to one`s mindset?

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Originally Posted by SEGA.GENESIS1989

A Black Falcon, from your previous posts I suspect that you do not enjoy challenging games. Half the fun of ESWAT is figuring out what works and what doesn`t. I`m currently having a bit of fun trying to get past the 3rd mission. Sure I could watch a "let`s play" but IMHO that would ruin the experience. From what other`s have said, it`s a relatively short game and therefore I would rather savour the experience and figure out things for myself. Maybe it comes down to one`s mindset?

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Yes. My best game experiences are what you described here.

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Originally Posted by SEGA.GENESIS1989

A Black Falcon, from your previous posts I suspect that you do not enjoy challenging games.

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I like hard games plenty, if they're fun. For maybe the most recent example, did you not read the thread and notice that I beat Viewpoint for the Genesis last week? Fantastic game, and quite hard! I really love the Rolling Thunder games too, of course, and have beaten all three of them. Etc. There are also plenty of hard games I love even though I'm bad at them and can't get anywhere near the end -- see Contra Hard Corps or The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Genesis or SCD versions), etc.

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Half the fun of ESWAT is figuring out what works and what doesn`t. I`m currently having a bit of fun trying to get past the 3rd mission. Sure I could watch a "let`s play" but IMHO that would ruin the experience. From what other`s have said, it`s a relatively short game and therefore I would rather savour the experience and figure out things for myself. Maybe it comes down to one`s mindset?

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Since some of you didn't seem to read my summary of ESWAT, go read it before continuing; I wrote that just after playing some of the game.

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...l=1#post732724

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ESWAT: City Under Siege - 1 player. ESWAT is a side-scrolling platform-action game by Sega. This is an earlier release for the Genesis, and definitely looks it; the graphics here are not great. Gameplay is a little better than the visuals, but the game has some issues there as well. ESWAT for the Genesis was clearly inspired by the original Shinobi, except with a character with a jetpack and a variety of weapons. I love jetpacks in games and like Shinobi, so the core design here is good. You play as a police officer. For the first two levels you're just a normal guy, but after level two you get a power-armor suit, complete with jetpack. The game gets even harder at this point. Throughout, you move very slowly, and turn around slowly as well. You can shoot left, right, or straight up, but not at diagonals. Because of your slow, frustrating controls, hitting an enemy straight above you can be hard; you'll need to fire up, miss slightly, turn around, edge back a bit, try to aim up again, fire up... it's not great. The game should have had diagonal attacks and better movement control. Visually, each of the eight levels has a new setting, but there are only so many enemies, and the graphics are pretty mediocre compared to a lot of other first-party Sega titles on the system. The music isn't too great either. Playing this game again now for this summary I liked it more than my mostly negative memories of what I thought of the game from when I got this game in the late '00s, but it's still a flawed game. Still, I like Shinobi and Rolling Thunder enough to want to play this game even though ESWAT isn't as good as any classic Shinobi or Rolling Thunder game.

This is a hard game for quite a few reasons. ESWAT has some difficulty and lives-per-continue options, but it's hard on any of them. You do have three continues, but only in the Western version; the Japanese version has no continues at all. Beyond that the controls are, as described above, slow and not great, so avoiding enemy fire can be hard. And worse, you have absolutely no invincibility after being hit, so if an enemy gets on top of your sprite, or if you are hit by a wave of fire, you'll lose hit points FAST, and you do not have many of them to lose. It's very easy to go from full health to almost dead in a second, and health refills are few and far between. Memorizing enemy locations is absolutely critical if you want any kind of chance in this game, and it gets frustrating starting from level two. Bosses also are difficult and require a lot of memorization to get past, if you don't just give up or go look up what to do online. That's not all, though; ESWAT punishes you further for dying, as if you have a weapon other than the default one equipped when you die, you lose it. And since there are not weapons in boss rooms, if you die at a boss, that weapon is gone until your next continue, if you have any left. It's really frustrating stuff; I understand punishing players for losing, but making boss fights essentially impossible just because you died once is not fair, and yet that's exactly how this game works! Without the charge-shot attack many bosses will be ridiculously hard, but one death with it and it's gone. It's really frustrating stuff. After dying on a boss once it's basically over, just give up and try again next continue or game. Playing the game for this summary I got to the end of level three, which is as far as I've ever gotten into the game I believe, but all the problems I just described made me not really want to keep trying, after getting stuck there. ESWAT is an okay game and there are some good things about it, but with mediocre visuals, bad controls, no invincibility on hit, and more, overall ESWAT is a disappointment. Sega could make great platform-action games, but though I like some things about it ESWAT isn't one of their better ones. This game is available in collections and digital re-releases of Sega’s Genesis games.

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Apparently there is a place you can stand where that third boss can't hurt you at all, but still, the punishment for death is very poorly thought through. Platformers should not have Gradius-levels of punishment for dying once... Basically the game is okay, but it has a lot of problems and I don't have much fun playing it. The more I think about ESWAT, the less I like it.

^ Yeah, I thought Gradius and Gradius syndrome were crap too. Was ready to blast that series to kingdom come (I kid not, it was the Sega Saturn forum). Then realized it wouldn't be fair to criticize a game I barely played. Then decided to give it more of a chance. Then ate my words and never dared start such a bogus thread. I now roam forums praising Gradius wherever I go.

It's called some games require more effort to see if you really enjoy them or not. And not passing the first mission in any Strike game is basically zero effort and very poor excuse to write off an entire series.

haha! oh man, SEGA.GENESIS1989 really has your number...that's one of the most ABF-esque reviews i've yet read.

for one: the game gets decisively easier once you get the suit - more health, an array of weapons, and the ability to fly about for a bit, or hover almost indefinitely - often out of the way of predictable enemy patterns. you sound like you're overly relying on the charge shot, but not using it in level 3 where the enemies above you can clearly be taken out of the sky with 1 very imprecise shot from it...that's the weapon's strength. it's not the hardest hitting, it's the most forgiving. try using missiles in that stage and watch them float over obstacles & decimate enemies you can't reach! this is literally the point of you having an arsenal, trying different things out.

yes, you're slow & lumbering, because you're in a prototype robocop suit that's a fucking tank - and because of this, again, most enemies are also slow & lumbering, firing indefinitely in one specific direction. there's not a lot of health about, because there doesn't need to be - later stages (the flying one, the sewers etc) have more because those stages are more demanding. again, it's all about your poor perspective here: there's multiple ways to beat each boss, the notion that dying once is like R-Type or something is absurd..especially when you've still got more powerful guns like the machine one, those missiles, hell even a 1-shot that the enemy can't block, at the temporary cost of your fuel. the game is literally taking away the weapon you're relying too heavily on to get you to use other ones, because you're supposed to be learning which enemies/bosses are weak to them - when you do, you can actually beat the game pretty comfortably in one continue. given its release, it's not one of the more difficult titles.

as for music, the ending theme is a favorite of mine - again, top 10 for the system. stop conflating your poor interest in playing a game proper & learning (as even you said) the few enemies & stages there are with poor design.

^ I'm reading the review now. And so tempted to stop at the not being able to shoot diagonal part. Because, facepalm.

Final update! This includes summaries for the last ten games, plus one for a game I just got last week, making for eleven total. It's nice to get this done, though playing all these Genesis games again has been great fun. I'm not sure what I'll do next, but I'm leaning towards something about PC platformers...

Games covered in this update
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Space Invaders '91
Winter Challenge
Wiz 'n' Liz
Wolfchild
Wonder Boy in Monster World
[Monster World IV]
World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck
X-Men
Zero Tolerance
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Zoom!


Space Invaders '91 - 1 player. This good but simple shooter and early-ish Genesis release is one of Taito's many follow-ups to the original Space Invaders. It may say "'91" in the title, but the original Japanese version released in 1990. Oddly, unlike most other classic franchises which keep coming back, Taito has decided to make pretty much all Space Invaders games static-screen shooters. Why not even one scrolling one? That does make this game stand out a bit from most Genesis shmups, though, so that's okay; it's just a bit odd. It has little depth or variety, but this is a fun little game. This game has basic graphics, simple gameplay, and absolutely no options of any kind, but it is plenty of fun. You just move left and right, and shoot up while dodging enemy fire. The enemies can move a bit more to the left and right than you can, frustratingly, so dodging can be difficult sometimes; this is my only issue with the games' design. The controls are very responsive, though, thankfully. There are a full 18 stages, each made up of two waves, so you've got to get through 36 waves of enemies to win, which is a good number. Most stages have a flat plane you move left and right on, but a few have angled pits and such. I wish there were more of those, as your fire shoots diagonally when you're on a slope; nice touch. Each enemy type shoots a different kind of shot at you, and they slowly move downwards. If one reaches the bottom you lose, time to use a continue, if you have any left -- you only get 5 hits per continue and 3 continues. If you hit the faster enemies which move by at the top of the screen a powerup may drop. You'll want these, as they will give you powers such as a shield, homing missiles, a shot which clears an entire row, and more. Very useful stuff. The game has graphics as basic as its gameplay. This game looks dated visually and doesn't get much out of the hardware. You've just got sprites moving over a backdrop, that's about it. The sprite work is okay, though, and I like the music. It's good and fits the game well, even if music tracks repeat often and technically are as underwhelming as the visuals. Better presentation would have helped this game, but the simple fun gameplay shines through regardless, and I do like the variety of backdrops and enemy types.

This game is actually Taito's second Taito's second 4th-gen home console Space Invaders game. The first one is Space Invaders Plus for the PC Engine (TurboGrafx). That game released only in Japan, but I do have it. It's simple, but fun, and has an interesting branching mission structure on top of the traditional shooting gameplay. It also has power-ups. This game is somewhat similar to that game, but they are different. First, this time the game is linear; no branching paths. So, each game of this is longer, but they may have similar amounts of content. This game gives you more hits per game but fewer continues, and given the longer length is probably a bit harder. Gameplay in both is very similar, though. You also still have powerups, though the specific types are different. Both games do have an ending, but this game is a few minutes longer on average; not a huge difference there, but it's something. However, the PCE game also includes a full version of the original Space Invaders arcade game, while this does not, unfortunately. I wish it had been included here too, because it's a great classic. Ah well. As it is, Space Invaders '91 is a good game, and I'm glad I got it. Moving left and right, avoiding enemy fire, and wiping out all the attacking aliens is fun. However, the graphics and sound are very bland, the game has absolutely no options or alternate modes, and everything is the same every time you play. It's a good game, but with better graphics and more content it could have been better. Genre fans should pick this up; for anyone else, maybe get it if you find it cheap. Pick it up if you like shooters and see it for a reasonable price.


Winter Challenge - 1-10 player alternating, on-cart saving (battery). Winter Challenge is Accolade's winter equivalent to Summer Challenge, which I covered above. This game released after that one, and has very similar presentation, but with winter olympics sports instead of summer, of course. Again there are eight events here, and the game has polygonal 3d environments in many events, mixed with sprite characters and some 2d events. The interface looks pretty much the same as Hardball III or Summer Challenge, but with some new graphics in the Summer Challenge opening ceremony, to fit the winter theme. The graphics are good as before, but the framerate is still atrocous. The featureset is the same as before, with 10 player alternating multiplayer and battery save which saves quite a few player names, and your best times for each event. Good stuff. The controls are also similar to before, in that it uses one main button plus the d-pad for all commands. Sure, there's nothing new here in presentation, graphical quality, sound, or features, but the game is built on a good base, so that's fine. Summer Challenge is a very good game for its time, framerate aside, and this is close to as good. That game may be a little better, as this game has less variety and I don't have the nostalgia for this game that I do that one as I did not own this game in the '90s, but still, it is also a good game.

The most important thing here, though, are the events, which are all new. You've got downhill skiing, giant slalom, cross country skiing, biathalon, ski jumping, speed skating (long track only, as short track did not exist yet), bobsled, and luge. Versus Summer Challenge, this game has less event variety; two events have downhill skiing, two are on the sled course, two have cross-country skiing, and two others are stand-alone events. All eight events are good, though. Again, the game uses 3d graphics. The biathalon target-shooting component is 2d, but the rest of this game is 3d. This makes it very different from most other winter sports games of the generation; on 4th-gen consoles, only the Europe-only Winter Gold for the SNES is also polygonal. That game does use a Super FX 2 chip for a better framerate than you'll see in this game, but don't discount Winter Challenge just because it runs slowly, it does play well. The different groups of events each are quite different. The cross-country events are the longest and slowest-paced. You ski along by mashing the button hard but not too hard, as you have a stamina meter and if it goes too low you will slow down. So, moderate your button-tapping sometimes. The course is fully 3d, which is pretty cool for the time, and you will have to actually turn, you aren't on a rail. That's great, it really adds something to this game versus others... just make sure to make those turns; the single-digit framerates occasionally make that tricky. Yes, it's a slow and "boring" event made slower by the very low framerate, and there is almost no audio during races, but I love loves cross-country skiing in real life, so I, at least, find it fun in this game. The other events are faster-paced. The two downhill events are similar to the cross-country ones, except you go in only one direction and need to go through the gates while you go down the hill. That's easy enough in Downhill, but the Giant Slalom is quite difficult; it might be the hardest event here. Learning the course can be fun, though, and it looks nice for the time as usual. This game is probably the first ever home-console polygonal skiing game, and it's a decent first step, though titles on more powerful consoles are of course faster and not as hard. The sledding events are probably the simplest ones here; just turn in the right direction at each turn, and make it down as fast as you can. Unlike the other similar events these two are on the exact same course, so practice for one will help with the other. Speed skating is also simple, just button-mash the whole time and turn at the corners. Ski jumping is trickier, though; look up the commands for that one, it takes practice to not do badly at! Once learned it's not too hard, but figuring out how to land can be tough.

In conclusion, Winter Challenge is a good game. The game has good graphics which really push the limits of non-enhanced 4th-generation hardware, eight events, can be fun to play, and will save your best times, championship in progress, and player names, too. However, while the music is decent, there is no music at all during events, which can get dull. Also, some events can get boring, and the events are much more similar than those in Summer Challenge. I can easily see why most people would dismiss this game as a dated, boring relic, but I would say that it's a decent, above-average game despite its definite issues. Maybe give Summer and/or Winter Challenge a try, they're interesting. Winter Challenge is also available on PC. The PC version has better graphics and framerates, but this is playable.


Wiz 'n' Liz - 1-2 player simultaneous, password save. Wiz 'n' Liz is a somewhat odd collectathon platformer from Psygnosis. It's got a very 'Psygnosis' feel to the menus and style, but the gameplay is original. This game is mostly non-violent, as the only combat in the game is the boss fights; normal stages are exclusively about running around trying to collect all the rabbits, or wabbits as the game calls them, and the powerups that they drop, before time runs out, not about fighting anything. You can play the stages in each game in any order, but it does get harder as you go. In between stages, you go to your house, and can combine pairs of items from the stages you just played in an early crafting system, for various bonuses. You play as Wiz and Liz, two old wizards. You've got mountains of wabbits to collect, but fortunately, despite their age they sure can move! You zip around at a very fast pace in this game, and jump just as quickly. The game has small sprites and only decent graphics. The game has cartoony graphics with a very early '90s European style and some okay music. The game looks okay, but not great. The fast-paced gameplay and constant movement keep things fun, though. This game has three difficulty levels and three sets of stages to play, named similarly to those from Lemmings. The game defaults to the highest difficulty, so I guess that is the expected one, and the others are easy modes. Unlike Lemmings, though, each game of Wiz n Liz is fairly short. It does have some replay value in that you can play the other two sets of stages, but each of the three feel VERY similar, with the same gameplay, the same backrounds, and the same boss at the end. I think the stage layouts change, but the stages in this game are all very similar anyway, so variety is seriously lacking, though the game is fun enough that it's fun to replay regardless.

The core gameplay of Wiz n Liz is of you running left or right in each stage. Each stage is a couple of screens tall and a couple of screens long, so they are small. Wabbits will spawn regularly throughout the stage, and you've got to collect them all as fast as possible. Making things tougher, though, each time you touch one it spawns a powerup which then floats upwards from the wabbit. You'll have to jump to get the powerup, but collecting all of them will take a lot of time, which will definitely be a problem if you're playing on the default (top) difficulty setting! You need to get the first powerups in each stage to spell that stages' magic word, but after that powerups are theoretically optional, though you'll want things such as timer increases for sure, and bonus stars are nice too. The timer isn't just for the current stage, you see; instead it's for the whole game. If you used a lot of time getting every powerup in the early stages, you'll run out of time later on for sure. It's a good system which balances challenge and fun in a quite well-designed way. This game may seem conceptually simplistic, but there's a satisfying amount of challenge here once you get into it. You only have three lives until it's Game Over, but there is a password displayed on the screen after every stage, so you can use those to continue if you wish. It's odd that there are passwords but no way to continue without entering the last password, but that's better than the alternative! For negatives, the main one is that the crafting system is annoying. I almost always dislike crafting in games, and this one is no exception. Each combination of two fruits results in a different thing happening. Some give you nothing, some give you bonus time, some open bonus rooms around the house area you can go in, and more. Things like the bonus and hint rooms are very useful to have, so looking up a list of combinations online, or making one yourself, is advised. And as for that boss, they are not too exciting. Do know that you need to hold down a button to hit them with a magic beam, so something beyond run-and-jump is needed, but not much more. The core gameplay is the best thing here, but the bosses and crafting are mediocre. The visuals are also average. However, Wiz 'n' Liz is a fun, fast-paced game well worth playing. It has one or two player cooperative play support, fast-paced gameplay, and nice, unique design as you decide how many of the items you can afford to jump for and frantically run around looking for wabbits. This is a good game, and I really like that Psygnosis figured out how to make a mostly nonviolent platformer good. Pick up Wiz 'n' Liz if you see it affordably. Also available on the Amiga.


Wolfchild - 1 player. Wolfchild is a solid sidescrolling action-platformer from Core Design. This game looks very much like an Amiga port and has decent but average Euro-platformer graphics and not-great music, but it plays fairly well. You are a man who is a werewolf, and in the game can transform back and forth between human and wolf forms. There is no story in this version of the game; play the Sega CD version if you want an intro. The CD version also added two new levels and makes some other improvements. What's here can be fun, but I do wish I had the disc release. This is a conventional game in that you walk, run, jump, and slash stuff and explore levels as you make your way through to the end. There are bosses after every couple of levels, and most stages have unique settings. I like some of the settings and art, though it is mostly formulaic -- the forest, the airship, the Alien stage, and such. The game is a bit like a Turrican game, but nowhere near Turrican 2/Universal Soldier's level. Maybe my biggest issue is that only one of your forms, wolf form, is fun to play as. Wolf form has a ranged shot, but human does not, and if you get hit a few times you'll drop back to human form... ugh. While you can take a fair amount of hits per life, in human form you can only attack at melee range, which is frustrating and leads to taking many hits unless you are VERY careful. And apparently the Sega CD version lets you fire two shots at once in wolf form, while on the Genesis you can only shoot one while enemies take just as many hits to kill. That would be nice here, though the weak human form is the biggest issue. Sure, the game controls well, but you get knocked back a bit when you take a hit, and facing numerous enemies shooting at you with a guy who can't hit them a lot of the time due to the very short range of your human forms' attacks gets annoying.

Versus the Turrican games, Wolfchild's levels are not as large or open, and there is usually only one main linear path instead of multiple routes through the stage. I'm fine with that, and the stage layouts here are at least average and can be fun to explore. You just need to figure out what the route to the end is; sometimes it is obvious, other times a bit less so. The level designs here can be interesting, and figuring out how to get through the stages is fun. There also aren't any instant-death pits, which is great, but the many enemies and traps will drain health steadily, and health powerups are somewhat infrequent. You have only three continues as well, and there is no saving, but you can choose how many lives you get per continue, up to six, and increase the difficulty if you want, but not decrease it as Easy is default. Overall, Wolfchild is a decent platformer. The game has some interesting stage layouts and challenges, but the average graphics, maybe below-average music, and frustrating human form hold the game back. If you could stay in wolf form the whole time this game would be easier but more fun, but you can't. Ah well. It is an average game, at least, and I can see how some may like it more than that. Get the Sega CD version if you can, though, it's better. Also available on the Sega CD, SNES, Amiga, and Atari ST. There is also a European-exclusive Game Gear and Master System version, but I imagine it's different.


Wonder Boy in Monster World - 1 player, on-cart save (eeprom). Wonder Boy in Monster World is the third game in Westone's Monster Land/World series of side-scrolling action-RPGs. This version was published by Sega. The series started as a spinoff of the basic side-scroller Wonder Boy, aka Adventure Island on the NES, but quickly superseded its originator, as Westone would not make any more games like the first Wonder Boy; instead they moved on to games like these, and the one-off autoscrolling platform/shooter Monster Lair. I love the Monster World and Lair games, but don't like the original Wonder Boy much at all; it's just too simplistic in ways that games like this vastly add to. Monster World is a great series, and this is one of the best of the four Monster World games, too! Wonder Boy in Monster World has good graphics, great art cartoony design, fun action, good music, plenty of challenge, and a good-sized world to explore. You are Wonder Boy, a hero, and need to save the land from evil in this fantasy side-scrolling action-adventure game. Your main weapon is a sword, but you also have limited-use magic and a shield for protection against ranged attacks only, as in some Zelda games. You can get helpers who will follow you around as well, but all they'll do is reveal extra money and such. There are several, each with a different function. None are really important, but I guess they're occasionally helpful. The game does not have experience or levels, but you will find or buy new weapons and armor as you progress, and find heart containers to add to your health bar as well. The game takes place in a large semi-open world, and you travel from area to area killing monsters and helping people out. Monsters all respawn quickly, which can be annoying but is also useful, as you will need the money they drop to buy things. Grinding money from monsters is necessary here at many points, unfortunately, but the combat is fun so it's not too bad. You can only save at inns in towns; though there are special items which will refill your health when it runs out, try to save those for the bosses, you'll need the help! Remember to save when you can, for if you die you're sent back to the games' title screen and go back to your last save. Harsh death penalty there. There is also only one save slot, so don't start a new game if you're playing a current one!

This game is made up of an overworld with towns and dungeons scattered around. Overworld areas mostly scroll only left and right, though some areas, mostly in towns, also have a height element. Different sections of the world each have unique features and enemies, so there is more variety than in some past games in the series. The series came a long way between the constant extreme repetition of the original Wonder Boy and this! The game does reuse area concepts a bit too often in some areas and you can at times feel like you've been on slight variations of the same screen for the past three areas. This is worse in the overworld than in dungeons, though, and most dungeon areas feel unique and interesting, which is great. So dungeons are are interesting, but they are also tougher than the overworld. Bosses in particular are quite hard in the US release; some bosses were made much harder than they are in the original Japanese version in order to make the game harder to finish, to foil renters I presume. That's a bit annoying at times, but this is a great game despite how much harder the boss fights are than the dungeons they are in. Still, everything in this game is fun, even if I wish Sega hadn't made the game harder. Still, the dungeons can be really good. Dungeons are not just complex, bland mazes, but instead have arranged traps, waves of enemies, and occasional branching paths to explore. I like the variety of obstacles, puzzles, and enemies you face in this game, it really keeps things interesting even if the basic mechanics do not change beyond getting a new spell every once in a while. Towns are small but important, since inns and stores are only found there. Each town also has a handful of people to talk to, though not as many as in a full JRPG. Similarly, the story is simple, but there is just enough of it to keep the game going.

The game looks good, too. Wonder Boy in Monster World has a cute, cartoony fantasy-anime theme, though the cuteness of the world hides the high challenge within. I like variety of settings, enemies, and bosses; each area has its own character and enemy types, and they all look good to great. As in all of the Wonder Boy games the art design here is good, and it looks better than ever here probably thanks to this being the first Monster World game designed first for a 4th-gen console, instead of the other way around as with the TurboGrafx versions of the first two games. The game does use parallax scrolling, but more of it would have been nice; there is none in most dungeons, for example. Still, the game looks good to great. Overall, Wonder Boy in Monster World is a great game. This US release is much harder than the Japanese version, or the easier TurboGrafx CD version (where it is titled "The Dynastic Hero"), but it's still great fun. This game looks beautiful with its very well drawn, varied sprites, has a nice world to explore with plenty of hidden secrets and platforming and combat challenges to face, and a good-length quest to challenge. This game might be the most popular Monster World game, and while all four games are great, I can see why this one did so well -- it's outstanding. Definitely pick this game up if you like the genre at all. Look into the other Monster World games too though, for various platforms; they're all very good! This game is available in collections and digital re-releases of Sega’s Genesis games. The game is also available on TurboGrafx CD as The Dynastic Hero. The game is the same (lower difficulty aside), but the sprites have been altered, as usual for the Hudson versions of the first three Monster World games.


[Monster World IV] - 1 player, on-cart save (battery). Monster World IV is a great sidescrolling action-RPG form Westone, and the final game in the Wonder Boy / Monster World series. The game has great graphics, music, controls, dungeons, puzzles, action, and gameplay; it really is very good in all categories. Sadly, however, someone at Sega made an incredibly bad decision back in 1994 and decided not to localize this game, so on the actual Genesis, Monster World IV is Japan-exclusive. And while I would like to get it, I don't have that version. However, while I probably will someday import the real cart, there is something better; an English-language version, released digitally on WiiWare, PS3 PSN, and X360 Xbox Live Arcade! This is one of the only previously Japan-exclusive classic games to get translated for an official release, and it was quite exciting when it was announced. I got the game for WiiWare shortly afterwards. I'm not going to cover every game I have in the X360 Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection but not on a Genesis cartridge, but this game I have to mention, both because I got it as a stand-alone release, because of the translation, and because it is part of a series covered in this list.

Anyway, Monster World IV is fantastic, similar to the previous Monster World games but probably better overall. This time you play as a female character, so the "Wonder Boy" name is absent. I like that they tried something different this time. This isn't the only Wonder Boy game where you can play as a female, as Monster Lair lets you play as one character of either gender, but it is the only one of the six with only a female character. The game has an anime-fantasy-Arabian theme, so the game takes place in a desert kingdom and everyone wears middle eastern-ish dress. The change of setting from the usual anime-medieval fantasy themes of previous games is nice, if probably inspired by Aladdin. The game this time is much more linear than the previous ones. You can still wander around, but the game has a clear structure: there is a main town, and you venture from there to a linear series of areas. Each area is large, though, and the dungeons within those areas can be large and tricky. Fortunately you will get maps for dungeons, which is a huge help. The gameplay is similar to before, but you have a better shield now, as holding down will bring up a shield that blocks enemies as well as arrows. This allows for more strategic combat, which is great. Enemies can have shields too, so you'll need to think about how to approach foes. The other addition is your helper-creature Pelepegoo, who you can grab on to. When you grab it (him?) you can't walk, but can jump and will float while jumping. Hitting that button again will double-jump, very useful. You can also throw Pelepegoo, and this can reveal secrets and more. The previous game had helpers ,but this game expands on the concept in nice ways. Combat is fun, and so is exploring the levels and dungeons. I like the level-based approach, it means I'm never wandering around an overworld unsure about what to do but instead can focus on the next challenge. And yes, those challenges can be plenty tough. This game is not as hard as the US version of Wonder Boy in Monster World, but it wasn't made harder unlike that game, so it's more like the challenge these games should be. The dungeons have more puzzles than before too, including things such as statues you have to put into order based on verbal clues. It's great fun stuff.

Visually, Monster World IV looks fantastic. The last game looked great too, but this one has even better visuals with lots of nice graphical effects including parallax, clouds, and more. The art design is great and the sprites are large and detailed, and while the whole game has an Arabian theme, each area has a different setting, including a fire level, an ice pyramid, and more. So yeah, the settings aren't the most original, but it mixes things up a bit -- a pyramid, for the ice level? Haven't seen that before. The music is also really good, this game sounds almost as great as it looks. Overal, Monster World IV is a great game with no major flaws. Sure, the aprt where you have to throw Pelepegoo around to find hidden doors may be tedious, but it's also clever and the level design has just the right amount of complexity. This really is a great game, among the best in its genre for sure. Definitely pick up Monster World IV, it's fantastic! This game is available in collections and digital re-releases of Sega’s Genesis games. The best way to play this game legally is via the Wii WiiWare, PS3 PSN, or X360 XBLA re-releases, which are translated into English.


World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck - 1-2 player simultaneous, password save. World of Illusion, from Sega, is the sequel to Castle of Illusion, the classic early Genesis platformer starring Mickey Mouse. This game builds on that title with a second playable character, two player co-op, passwords, and much better graphics. The game may be a bit easier this time than before, but as much of that is because of the more forgiving setup, I think; the first game has limited continues and no saving, remember. This is a pretty good game with very nice graphics and sound, great controls, lots of variety, and good stage designs. World of Illusion is a very good game with a lot going for it, and you see that right from the start. You can play as Mickey, Donald, or both of them in two player mode. They use magical capes to attack, but you can only attack on the ground, and not while jumping. The cape has a nice animation, though. The two are mostly similar, but have some differences that mean that each one will be able to go in some areas the other can't, which is nice and adds replay value, which is good in a game with only five levels and not too long a run time. The game starts out in a fantasy forest level. You bounce on things, magic away baddies with the cape, and such. Every stage has multiple parts each with different settings, and the variety is great. You'll cross spider webs, balance on a trail a spider emits as it moves, swim under the sea in a bubble, and of course do your usual platform-jumping in forests and the like. Again each character will see some different areas, and there are even some exclusive to the two player co-op mode.

I do have a few issues with the game, though. The gameplay is good, but mostly straightforward. There are some minor puzzle elements, but they are, as usual in the series, quite basic. They do add something to the game, but not much. Just make sure you know your characters' moves, such as MIckey's crouch (C plus down), you'll need them. Bosses are also a bit disappointing. The multiple route elements are also mostly minor, though it's great there is something to encourage you to come back to this game. And beyond that, as good as this game, somehow it never grabbed me enough to make me want to write down the passwords and finish the game, despite its moderate length and not-too-hard difficulty. The game is fun, but I haven't been drawn in quite enough to stick with it; not sure why. But still, I do like this game despite that, and I'll play through the rest of it hopefully soon. Despite it issues though, World of Illusion is a good sequel to Castle of Illusion. It is improved over the original in a lot of ways, and I like the better graphics, co-op support, and password save, but despite that I'm not sure which of the two games I like more. I've played more of Castle, but World is great too. Both are better than any of Capcom's three SNES Mickey games, or the Genesis version of the second one, The Great Circus Mystery. Pick World of Illusion up, it's a very good platformer that plays as well as it looks, and it looks very good. There is a Japan-only Saturn port of this game.


X-Men - 1-2 player simultaneous. X-Men is a fun but challenging platformer with beat 'em up elements from Sega. I've never been a big superhero fan, but got this game last year because it's fairly well-known and I wanted to finally give it a try. You can play as four X-Men in this game, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, and Gambit. Unfortunately no female characters are playable in this game; there are some, but only in support roles. The game is mostly good, though. You choose your starting character first, then set off. You mostly run, jump, and punch or jump-kick enemies. And there are a lot of enemies to fight, giving the game a somewhat beat 'em up-esque feel at times, though the levels are complex platformer stages. The four characters are similar, but each has some unique properties, including some exclusive attacks and a character-specific special ability: Wolverine can bring out his claws for a stronger attack, Nightcrawler can warp around the screen and go through some walls, Cyclops can shoot eyebeams, and Gambit can throw stuff. You can switch between characters during play, but can only do so a limited number of times per level, so watch out. Each character has a separate health bar, but these do not recover between stages, unfortunately; instead you'll have to find the somewhat uncommon health powerups to heal. There is also some health in the Danger Room area you are in between levels, but this won't be enough to heal even one character up to full, much less several if you took a lot of damage, and the game has no continues at all, so a lot of memorization will be required to make progress here. The four support characters can be called out as well a limited number of times, though powerups will replenish them. The most useful is the one who pulls you up out of pits, so falling in one is not instant death; it just takes off a bit of health, instead. It's a solid system, just a bit overly unforgiving for me; I, of course, dislike that so much memorization is required in a game with such a harsh penalty for dying.

The level designs in this game are decent, though not fantastic. Levels are good-sized and exploration is required. I'm fine with wandering around some, but occasionally I didn't know what to do and it did get frustrating. Still, levels are mostly linear, you just need to figure out what to do to proceed. There are switches you will need to hit, platforms to jump between, and numerous enemies to beat up along the way. I like the stage variety here, as many stages have different environments and obstacles. There are also bosses, which can be tricky. While stages are occasionally confusing, thankfully this game is not nearly as mazelike or frustrating as the Game Gear X-Men game is; I was afraid this game would be like that not very good game, but it isn't, it's much better. In terms of presentation this game is on the good side of average. X-Men has nice graphics with some fine, though not amazing, art design and good variety in stage settings and enemies. The music is good as well, if you like that classic very chunky Genesis sound. Overall X-Men is a good but difficult platformer with sidescrolling beat 'em up-style action and large levels to find your way through. You will walk around, punch things, find the switches and doors, and make your way through the stages. The challenge is to do that while taking the least amount of damage possible, because damage is not easy to refill once lost. I like how you can switch between characters during missions, but more health-ups would be great, and no restrictions on how often you can swap. The level designs are occasionally confusing as well, though it's mostly okay. The action feels good, though; this is a quality game on the whole. The controls are responsive, action fun, levels interesting to explore, and graphics and sound decent if not the best. I am not a superhero fan, but X-Men is a good game worth a look regardless of what you think of the license. There is also a sequel which looks similar but maybe a bit better, but I don't have that one.


Zero Tolerance - 1 player, 2 player system link supported. Zero Tolerance is a first-person shooter on the Genesis from Accolade and developed by Technopop. Yes, a FPS, on this system, without any addon chips. As you might expect, this means that this game has a very low framerate. While something like Summer or Winter Challenge is simple enough to be playable despite a very low framerate, this game is much more complex than that, and the very slow gameplay is hard to get over. There are more issues than that with this game, though it has some good points as well. The game is an admirable attempt at a Wolfenstein 3D-inspired FPS, and it's one of a very few on the Genesis. While the game made a bad first impression with its terrible framerate, small play window, slow controls with a VERY slow turn speed that makes turning around to hit an enemy behind you an agonizingly slow process, and boring, too-open level designs, after playing it again for this summary I liked it more than before. Once you get used to it Zero Tolerance can be fun, at least some of the time. In the game you play as a team of five special operatives trying to save the world. They play more like lives than anything, though, as you can't switch between them as you play, only when one gets killed. Note that dead characters are gone and can't be resurrected, but you are given a password each time you clear a floor, thankfully. That's good, but the game has only a couple of environments, so expect a huge amount of visual repetition. There's the space station, a skyscraper, and that might be about it. On screen you have an area map with radar, the viewscreen, info about your characters' stats, your health, your weapons, and the number of enemies remaining on the current floor. A plus a direction jumps, ducks, or strafes, but none of these are often important in this game; you want enemies dead long before you need to strafe, and the strafing is, like turning, slow anyway. B fires, and C switches weapons. The controls work, apart from that terribly slow turn speed. Visually, the game looks pretty nice for a 4th-gen FPS that doesn't use any kind of enhancement chip, but the game doesn't have forgiving aim assist like SNES Doom does, so hitting enemies can be frustrating as they move around quickly while you slowly try to keep up. The key is to kill enemies before they get close to you; look at that radar closely if you want to live, close enemies are hard to kill! Don't just rely on the game screen, that radar map is crucial. Many enemies only spawn when you get close enough to them, though, so watch out both ahead and behind. After a few levels I did start enjoying this game some despite its issues.

The level designs themselves are another problem with this game, though. Levels in this game are large, flat, and blandly laid out. The level designs in this game are just so unintresting, and the game makes it worse by requiring that you kill all enemies in a level in order to get a password. Maps are just made up of walls, doors, and enemies, and are very large and open. There are no keycards, no locked doors, and no secrets, all of which would have been very welcome. There are angle walls, so it has that over Wolfenstein, though. I also really like that there is a radar onscreen showing your surroundings and enemies near you. There is also a full-screen map showing a full map of the current stage; this screen also shows your passwords for completed floors. Even so, though, the simplistic, lacking level designs manage to make Wolf 3D look good, despite that games' own extreme level-design repetition in a game full of identical bland corridors. Versus Wolf 3D, only the map saves this game; without it I'd have stopped long before I did. But worse, this game released after not only Wolf 3D, but also Doom! The Genesis could never pull off Doom, but I'm sure it can do better than this. The developers tried, but their inexperience shows. Requiring you to kill all enemies to proceed in a game where many enemies only appear if you get close to their spawn point is also a pain; have fun re-walking around the whole level looking for those last two guys so you can get the next password! Oh, and while you could just run through a floor (stage) and try the next one as there is no gate on the elevators between them just like there isn't on any doors, you can only get the password for the uncleared floor directly after the last cleared floor, so if you skip to two levels down and clear that floor you won't know it or get a password until you clear the floor above. There must have been a much better way of gating progress than something as frustrating as that can be. Overall, though, Zero Tolerance is okay. This game is clearly the team's first attempt at a FPS, and it's amateurish in some frustrating ways including the controls and level designs, and the slow speed is hard to get used to, but still, there is a decently fun core shooter here. Zero Tolerance is an average game overall. Maybe try it if you like the genre and know what you're getting into. Oh, there is also a 2-player versus mode, but it requires a link cable, two systems, and two copies of the game. Needless to say I have not tried it, but it is cool that the game has such a feature. There was also supposed to be a sequel, Beyond Zero Tolerance, but it was cancelled.


Zombies Ate My Neighbors - 1-2 player simultaneous, password save, 6 button controller supported. Zombies Ate my Neighbors is a fairly well-known top-down comic-horror action-adventure game from Lucasarts. In this challenging game, two very '90s-'tude protagonists, one a guy and one a girl, are tasked with trying to keep your ten neighbors alive against an onslaught of zombies across dozens of stages. In each stage, you explore around looking for enemies to fight and weapons to collect to fight them with. You can use a variety of amusing weapons such as the iconic acid-shooting Super Soaker-knockoff water gun, once you collect them, but they all have limited ammo so looking for stuff is important. You have a health bar on screen and can move, shoot and switch weapons, use and switch items, and bring the radar up on screen, but there is no strafing or shooting in a direction other than the one you are moving in, unfortunately. The controls are fine with a 6-button controller, but the game uses more than three button as it was first made for the SNES, so a 6-button controller is highly recommended. Those would have been nice to have. There are different kinds of zombies, and you'll need different strategies for each. Saving key weapons for certain baddies can be useful. You'll also collect items such as traps, keys, crucial health-refill items, and more.

Your main goal in each stage is to rescue all of the neighbors. This is also crucial, for you'll only have the same number of people to rescue in the next stage that you saved in the last one, and when all die it's game over. Oh, and while the game has password save, you only get a password every four levels, and worse, passwords do not save your inventory, they only let you start from that stage, so if you want to do well at this game the best way is to play it in one sitting and don't mess up at all... tough! While it is possible to get neighbors back occasionally, this is a slow process. And of course, keeping them alive won't be easy, as they are scattered all over the map, and levels are complex and full of obstacles, including water pools, walls, and locked doors. Zombies will keep spawning in, so you need to use effective strategy on each stage to keep yourselves, and the neighbors, alive. The clever and unique stages are the main highlight of this game, and they, above anything else, are what makes this game so interesting and worth seeing. Still, it is memorization-heavy. That radar is very helpful, but still, you will need to learn exactly what to do in each stage and then execute well in at least each set of four levels and maybe the whole game in order to succeed. It's a punishing game and I haven't stuck with it enough to get anywhere near the end; the game gets hard after a while. The design is good, though. It's tough, but good.

Visually, Zombies Ate My Neighbors looks pretty good. The cartoony art design looks great, with amusing characters and neighbors and cartoon-scary zombies and other foes. The color depth is reduced versus the SNES, but still, this version looks good too. The main issues with this game are the difficulty and degree of memorization required, downgraded graphics from the SNES, you really need a 6-button controller, and as good as it is it's no match for Lucasarts' PC classics of the early '90s, but the strengths are much more significant. The game has good art design and music, but it's the gameplay that is best. Exploring each level, finding the neighbors and figuring out how to get to them, and collecting the many great weapons and items is great fun. This game is particularly good with two players, for sure. Both do need to stay on the same screen so you need to work together, but good cooperation makes the game easier and more fun. In the end this is a good to great game that I would highly recommend if it wasn't so expensive now. If you can afford it definitely pick the game up for either the SNES or Genesis, but otherwise, get the SNES version for Wii Virtual Console. Lucasarts' best games of the '90s are all PC games and there they made some of the best games ever made. This game is not that, but it is a very good game, deservedly one of Lucararts' most prominent console efforts of the decade. I certainly recommend it. Also available on SNES. The SNES version is also available on Wii Virtual Console, but this version is Genesis-only.


Zoom! - 1-2 player alternating or simultaneous (simultaneous in Competition mode only). Zoom! is a classic arcade-style action game inspired by the early '80s title Amidar. Just like that game, and sort of like another classic arcade game, Crush Roller, you go around a single-screen maze and need to walk along every path, like Pac-Man but with filling in lines instead of collecting stuff. Also, in these games you do need to go over EVERY line in order to win, instead of just collecting specific dots like in a Pac-Man game. As in Amidar but not Crush Roller, each time you surround a box on the screen it colors it in differently, by making it flash in this case. Once all boxes on the screen are flashing, you move on to the next stage. So, even though sometimes certain enemies can erase your lines, if you already surrounded that box that doesn't matter; they can't take away filled boxes. This game differs from its predecessors in its additional movement options, lower difficulty, and isometric perspective. Zoom! is a fun little game and eventually gets tough, but it the difficulty scales up slowly, and the game isn't as punishing as Amidar. The game is a LOT faster than that sluggish classic, though, which is nice. The title is accurate, you really zoom around the screen quickly. I like the fast movement, but sometimes it will kill you as you zip past the point you meant to turn before you can hit the button. You also can shoot backwards with a button, but your shots only knock enemies backwards, not kill them. This makes things tricky when the screen gets crowded with enemies in the later stages. The angled perspective also can make it hard to see exactly where you are sometimes, though usually it's not an issue. And yes, you can only shoot back, not forwards. Still, it's a useful function sometimes, particularly when an unmoving enemy is in a key point you still need to go over. On the good side though, there are also powerups to collect which give you points, invincibility, and more. The game is much more good than bad.

In the game you play as a cute cartoon creature, perhaps a bit Pac-Man inspired but animal-like. The game is comprised of six levels, each broken up into six single-screen stages. You have infinite continues from the beginning of the current level, but not from the current stage so there is some challenge here, as you do die in one hit. Level maps do eventually repeat but with more enemies so there are not new layouts for every stage, and I wish that the game had saving as infinite continues but no saving is one of the most annoying kinds of continue systems, and the graphics and sound are not great, but still, Zoom is a fun little classic arcade game and I like it. The visuals and music are good enough to do, and the basic mechanics are solid. The isometric grid looks nice enough in that classic sense, the sprites are decently well drawn, and the music is alright. The game also has two multiplayer modes, either alternating in the main game, or competing against another player in a special mode. You can choose between either two controllers or switching back and forth on one controller for the alternating mode, which is nice. In summary Zoom is a fun classic-style arcade game, and I like it. Sure, this game has a few issues, but it's a fun little game well worth picking up for cheap.

I was really hoping you'd pick up X-Perts before you were done with this. That is a must-play game and deserves a spot in everyone's collection.

Now that you're done with this, do you look at any games differently than you had before?

Thanks for the latest write up. Why don't you just keep adding to it as you get more Genesis games? Aside from that, I'd like to see you tackle some arcade games personally.

Regarding Monster World IV, I've beaten it about four times now, starting with the MW Complete Collection in Japanese and finally with a translated cart. The change to a female Wonder Boy didn't have me concerned when it was first shown in mags of the time, and I still think it's a cute idea for the final game in the series. And I can be pretty sensitive to changes like that :)

I'm a Monster Land fan from the time the arcade hit, and my thoughts are that it's a great game and about as close as having a SOTN-a-like on MD as you're ever going to get - however old school platforming skills are very much at the forefront of the experience.

The music, while technically very good, did grate for me a bit since a lot of it is a remix of the title track, I would have preferred more variation on this front for sure. Since you inevitably spend a fair amount of time in some sections that idea was bound to be a issue.

It's also one of those games that feels like it was made for component/RGB, the graphics just pop really nicely, not much graininess to be seen here. Hard to believe it's using the low-res mode!

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Originally Posted by BubsyFan1

I was really hoping you'd pick up X-Perts before you were done with this. That is a must-play game and deserves a spot in everyone's collection.

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So are you joking here, or are you the one person who likes that game? I haven't played it much, but I know its reputation...

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Now that you're done with this, do you look at any games differently than you had before?

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That's a good question. Of course, once I form a definite opinion on a game it rarely changes much; I can't think of any game I once loved but now can't stand, for example, for any system. My opinions on thing mostly stick. Like anyone though, sure, there are times where I initially think a game will be good but it turns out to be boring past the first few hours (Dungeon Siege for PC being a great example of this!), and there's probably something I initially didn't like but liked later in, but I do think that once I've played enough of a game to make up my mind about it, that stays as my opinion in almost all cases.

However, despite this, yes, there are some games I liked a bit more now than I was expecting to going in based on previous experience. I can't think of any offhand on this list that went the other way, that I liked less than expected, but there was probably something. (But first, remember that I got a Genesis in summer 2006, so all of these are games I got within the past decade, though if it was longer I don't know if things would change much, but it is worth mentioning.)

But anyway, some games where my opinion on the game changed a bit after going back to play it:

-Zero Tolerance - I've been somewhat critical of this game in the past, and as my summary shows I still do not exactly love it, but after playing the game I did have to edit the summary to be more positive than it otherwise would have been (yes, I often start writing them before going back to play the game again). The game has issues, but I can see some good in it too.

-Shining Force I and II - Based on the little I had played them I thought that these were good B-grade games, but after spending more time with them for the summary I adjusted that up for sure; both are A-grade titles no question.

-Global Gladiators - I remembered this being not that great and with lots of bottomless pits, but going back to it it was better than I remembered, and is at least average. Also I had fewer bottomless-pits-you-couldn't-see problems than I expected.

And others.

On the other hand, I would like to mention Battlemaster, Tyrants: Fight Through Time, and Faery Tale Adventure are games where I did try harder than before to figure those games out, but while I did get farther into Tyrants and Battlemaster than before, I just didn't have the patience to deal with how badly dated those games are in various ways, so those are not going to be as good as the summaries for other titles, probably... as far as actually getting into the game goes, anyway.

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Originally Posted by OverDrone

Thanks for the latest write up. Why don't you just keep adding to it as you get more Genesis games? Aside from that, I'd like to see you tackle some arcade games personally.

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I've done this before of course, so yeah, I'm sure I will in the future as well. I've done updates to the PS1 and N64 lists, most notably. That PS1 list update last year covered over 100 games, but got like zero replies anywhere... too bad. Right now of course I don't have anything more for the Genesis that isn't covered, but I do have games not in the game opinion summary lists for all of the old lists. The Turbo CD and Saturn probably are the systems I have the most games for not covered in their lists that I did do a list for before.

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Regarding Monster World IV, I've beaten it about four times now, starting with the MW Complete Collection in Japanese and finally with a translated cart. The change to a female Wonder Boy didn't have me concerned when it was first shown in mags of the time, and I still think it's a cute idea for the final game in the series. And I can be pretty sensitive to changes like that :)

I'm a Monster Land fan from the time the arcade hit, and my thoughts are that it's a great game and about as close as having a SOTN-a-like on MD as you're ever going to get - however old school platforming skills are very much at the forefront of the experience.

The music, while technically very good, did grate for me a bit since a lot of it is a remix of the title track, I would have preferred more variation on this front for sure. Since you inevitably spend a fair amount of time in some sections that idea was bound to be a issue.

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I like the Monster World series quite a bit, which I think says something about how different it is from its progenitor... I mean, I've moderately disliked the Adventure Island series, originally Wonder Boy of course, ever since I first played them back in the late '80s or early '90s. But even though the Monster World series and Monster Lair are the sequels to that game, all five of the other games are really good...

But yeah, both of the Genesis Monster World games are great, great games. I would be interested in seeing how much harder exactly they made the bosses in the US version of Monster World 3, though.

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It's also one of those games that feels like it was made for component/RGB, the graphics just pop really nicely, not much graininess to be seen here. Hard to believe it's using the low-res mode!

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I guess that's mostly true, but some things look like they would look better with dithering than they do through component on my Wii -- most notably, those clouds... those would surely look better dithered, as they would be on a CRT on original hardware.

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Originally Posted by Thief

^ I'm reading the review now. And so tempted to stop at the not being able to shoot diagonal part. Because, facepalm.

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That was certainly true in your human form, which is probably where I was in the game when I wrote that. Does that change in the robot suit? I forget.

^Did you have the manual for Faery Tale Adventure? I'm bewildered that you found combat so hard -- it only takes a modest amount of grinding at the start, and you're practically invincible for the rest of the game. And there's a complete walkthrough in the manual, as well as an overworld map that's crucial for finding your way around.

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Originally Posted by goldenband

^Did you have the manual for Faery Tale Adventure? I'm bewildered that you found combat so hard -- it only takes a modest amount of grinding at the start, and you're practically invincible for the rest of the game. And there's a complete walkthrough in the manual, as well as an overworld map that's crucial for finding your way around.

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I just checked and my game collection spreadsheet claims that I have a complete copy of the game, but I haven't looked at that manual in a long time... but yeah, I just looked and found it in my manuals drawer. Those things sound helpful, if I try it again I will use the manual.

Would it help, though, if I pointed out that I did not play RPGs in the '90s other than Quest for Glory I (which I love and is an RPG, but it is an adventure game first), Baldur's Gate, and the demos of a handful of other games, and while BG1 did get me interested in them to a degree that mostly applied to newer stuff and not old games like this one, so I don't have any appreciation for this kind of isometric RPG. I love strategy games much more so than I ever have RPGs. As I say in the summary Faery Tale Adventure's look reminds me a bit of those isometric Ultima games, but I've never played those; I presume this game is far simpler than Ultima. But I don't know, the game seemed only average-looking, a bit open-ended (which made me want to stop playing, of course, sort of like Shadowrun for Genesis; I have never much liked open-world games...) and the passwords are unacceptably long, so yes, I probably never have given Faery Tale Adventure much of a chance. Is it actually good, for those who have played more of it? "It just takes a modest amount of grinding..." is a very bad sign, considering how much I dislike grinding. And seriously, ingame maps are needed in this kind of game... a paper one in the manual helps, but still. Maps matter a lot to me in games, of course.

On the note of Shadowrun, I lost interest and gave up very early in that one too. I tried for longer than I have before, before writing the summary, but still I didn't get out of that first area, and died constantly in combat without making much progress. (That one I don't have a manual for, just a loose cart.) At least the game gives you more direction than Faery Tale Adventure, though, so that's a positive for it.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

That was certainly true in your human form, which is probably where I was in the game when I wrote that. Does that change in the robot suit? I forget.

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No, it reminds me of the Castlevania can't whip in all directions internet debate. Or the Castlevania/Ghouls N Ghosts having crappy or stiff outdated gameplay because you have no control over your jumps in the air. Or the "Why can't I shoot in every direction like in Contra? Therefore game sucks and/or controls terribly." Debate (that's also now an AVGN thing too).

Meaning just because a game doesn't make the main character super over powered and with a ton of control freedom, doesn't mean the game is flawed or has poor controls. In fact the opposite. As less powerful characters make for tighter and more balanced gameplay. Why most overpowered character games end up quite broken & flawed as a result. ie. Alucard in SotN, not to mention you can also level him up too to break the game even more on top of it. Yet everyone praises this sort of garbage anyway because "Controls like a wet dream. And oooh, pretty, pretty graphics and music to cream myself too. Give this game best game of all time medal right now." Then goes plays or replays something better. :p


So yeah, just pointing out this is flawed thinking. Don't fall for it.

But Super Castlevania IV's multidirectional whip is fantastic and the best thing that ever happened to Castlevania game controls. That is one of the reasons why SCIV is my favorite Castlevania game ever.

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Originally Posted by Thief

^ Yeah, I thought Gradius and Gradius syndrome were crap too. Was ready to blast that series to kingdom come (I kid not, it was the Sega Saturn forum). Then realized it wouldn't be fair to criticize a game I barely played. Then decided to give it more of a chance. Then ate my words and never dared start such a bogus thread. I now roam forums praising Gradius wherever I go.

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I don't believe I have ever had such a complete reversal in my opinion on a game. "At first I hated it but then I loved it"? That's an extreme switch and I don't think I have ever had that happen to me. Maybe I could somewhat dislike a game but come to somewhat like it or find it average or something, or vice versa, but you're talking a huge switch, and it doesn't make much sense to me. (Oh, and the Gradius series is of course really fantastic and my favorite series in that genre. Incredible games! That kind of punishment just doesn't work in ESWAT.)

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It's called some games require more effort to see if you really enjoy them or not. And not passing the first mission in any Strike game is basically zero effort and very poor excuse to write off an entire series.

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Nah, it just shows that I don't like the games very much and they are too difficult to be worth the hassle of playing a significant amount of a game I have never found interesting.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

But Super Castlevania IV's multidirectional whip is fantastic and the best thing that ever happened to Castlevania game controls. That is one of the reasons why SCIV is my favorite Castlevania game ever.

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There's no way I'm talking about this again.

Controls alone don't matter if it doesn't fit well to the level/enemies design. Castlevania 4 is a game where they "updated" the controls but not the enemies and levels, making it kinda dull at times.

Ghouls & Ghosts... that you can attack upwards is one of several things that helps make that game easier and more fun than the other games in its series. I know we've discussed this in the past, but of that series I got G&G for the Genesis well after SG&G for the SNES, and I find SG&G nearly impossibly difficult; either on SNES or GBA, I've never beaten the second level of the game, despite trying. It's absurdly difficult and not much fun. But Ghouls & Ghosts? I beat the game in a couple of days after buying it for the Genesis, and had quite a bit of fun doing so. I'd call it significantly easier than the NES or SNES G&G games, and more fun as well (though the NES game is also good, and I have gotten farther into that one than the SNES game though I have not finished it). The infinite continues help, though they aren't everything; GB/C Ghosts n Goblins and GBA SG&G both have saving added, but are still really hard. Attacking upwards and general level design styles are probably more important.

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Originally Posted by IrishNinja

for one: the game gets decisively easier once you get the suit

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No, I most certainly found level 3 to be harder than either previous level. I can't say about anything past that, couldn't get past the boss of level 3.

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the notion that dying once is like R-Type or something is absurd..especially when you've still got more powerful guns like the machine one, those missiles, hell even a 1-shot that the enemy can't block, at the temporary cost of your fuel.

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And if those are the other weapons, then you lose each of those as well as you use them. Cruel stuff.

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because you're supposed to be learning which enemies/bosses are weak to them - when you do, you can actually beat the game pretty comfortably in one continue. given its release, it's not one of the more difficult titles.

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This is a really weak excuse for some bad game design. "This boss pretty much requires weapon X, but if you use it and die we're taking it away and there's no way to get it again without starting the game over from scratch" is very obnoxious design in this kind of game! Sure, R-Type and Gradius both work that way and I love them despite that, but ESWAT isn't a shmup, it's less predictable and far, far less fun. And while Gradius is well-balanced, I do find how few of the side-bits (the ones that go above and below you) there are in R-Type, if you die at all you'll probably never have two and that's kind of cruel in a game that hard...

But seriously, even if it didn't take weapons away, the game would still be below average, mediocre, and not all that great. It's not a bad game, but it isn't average either, much less good.


But in general here, not everybody is going to like every game, you know. Stop blaming it on "well it's because you are bad at the game!". If I liked the game, I'd play it more and get better at it. That's how I beat games like Rolling Thunder 2 or the first loop of Truxton for the Genesis. Different people just have different tastes in games. Why focus so much on a few games I dislike, such as Desert Strike and EWSAT, instead of the many games I do like a lot? I'm sure that if it was one of you making a list like this there would be other games you'd criticize that I or others think is pretty good. Universal Soldier, for instance, certainly has seen more than its fair share of criticism over the years, despite being a good version of a classic... and then there are games like Technoclash which don't get mentioned often, but are pretty good. Not to mention how much I love Hardball III... etc.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

So are you joking here, or are you the one person who likes that game? I haven't played it much, but I know its reputation...

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Yeah, I'm joking. I mean, just take a look at my user name. :P However, I am proud to say that I do own a complete copy of X-Perts.

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That's a good question. Of course, once I form a definite opinion on a game it rarely changes much; I can't think of any game I once loved but now can't stand, for example, for any system. My opinions on thing mostly stick. Like anyone though, sure, there are times where I initially think a game will be good but it turns out to be boring past the first few hours (Dungeon Siege for PC being a great example of this!), and there's probably something I initially didn't like but liked later in, but I do think that once I've played enough of a game to make up my mind about it, that stays as my opinion in almost all cases.

However, despite this, yes, there are some games I liked a bit more now than I was expecting to going in based on previous experience. I can't think of any offhand on this list that went the other way, that I liked less than expected, but there was probably something. (But first, remember that I got a Genesis in summer 2006, so all of these are games I got within the past decade, though if it was longer I don't know if things would change much, but it is worth mentioning.)

But anyway, some games where my opinion on the game changed a bit after going back to play it:

-Zero Tolerance - I've been somewhat critical of this game in the past, and as my summary shows I still do not exactly love it, but after playing the game I did have to edit the summary to be more positive than it otherwise would have been (yes, I often start writing them before going back to play the game again). The game has issues, but I can see some good in it too.

-Shining Force I and II - Based on the little I had played them I thought that these were good B-grade games, but after spending more time with them for the summary I adjusted that up for sure; both are A-grade titles no question.

-Global Gladiators - I remembered this being not that great and with lots of bottomless pits, but going back to it it was better than I remembered, and is at least average. Also I had fewer bottomless-pits-you-couldn't-see problems than I expected.

And others.

On the other hand, I would like to mention Battlemaster, Tyrants: Fight Through Time, and Faery Tale Adventure are games where I did try harder than before to figure those games out, but while I did get farther into Tyrants and Battlemaster than before, I just didn't have the patience to deal with how badly dated those games are in various ways, so those are not going to be as good as the summaries for other titles, probably... as far as actually getting into the game goes, anyway.

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So your opinions changed mostly based on the additional time you spent with the games? Was it mostly based on giving the game more of a chance or were there times something, such as a mechanic, just clicked with you and became more enjoyable? Or maybe something with the lore and/or story? I was kind of hoping for a re-vamped top 10 or something, but it makes sense that didn't happen considering how long you've had these games.

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I've done this before of course, so yeah, I'm sure I will in the future as well. I've done updates to the PS1 and N64 lists, most notably. That PS1 list update last year covered over 100 games, but got like zero replies anywhere... too bad.

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Did you post that PS1 list on this forum?

Beyond the writing, one of my favorite things about working on this list is that in the process I beat several games I'd always wanted to but hadn't before, including Sonic the Hedgehog 1, Viewpoint, Streets of Rage 2, and Truxton...

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Originally Posted by BubsyFan1

Yeah, I'm joking. I mean, just take a look at my user name. :P However, I am proud to say that I do own a complete copy of X-Perts.

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Ah. But is 'proud' the right word? :p (Don't worry, I buy bad games on purpose sometimes too. Just not that one, so far at least.)

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So your opinions changed mostly based on the additional time you spent with the games? Was it mostly based on giving the game more of a chance or were there times something, such as a mechanic, just clicked with you and became more enjoyable?

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Sure, playing a game more and figuring out how to play it better certainly gives a better appreciation for game, yes. That was probably the main factor in most games I liked more than expected. Sometimes I left still having major issues with the game, as with Warrior of Rome II, but at least I understand that game better now, even if I'll probably never have the patience for it considering how much better newer games in that genre (that I love) are. Other times I liked the game more than I thought I would, such as Shining Force 1 or 2. Those games are no match for Fire Emblem games, but they are pretty good stuff.

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Or maybe something with the lore and/or story?

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Story? Story barely matters in most genesis games, so no, that didn't have much of an impact here. And the few which do try to tell a story are as much games I don't particularly care for (eg Phantasy Star or Pier Solar) as ones I do (Shining Force)... there are gamers with stories I like, and sometimes a good story can make a game better (Zelda: Link's Awakening...) or a bad story can make a game worse (Zelda: Phantom Hourglass...), but gameplay matters a lot more than story to me; this is one reason I've always liked Nintendo, they've always put gameplay first.

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I was kind of hoping for a re-vamped top 10 or something, but it makes sense that didn't happen considering how long you've had these games.

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My PC top 10 hasn't changed in a decade now in large part because it hit 10 games, and once added I can't bear to remove anything. So yeah, while it certainly is possible for a top 10 to change if I play something really good (more so on consoles than PC; I really like that PC top 10, but on consoles it's a bit fuzzier), I definitely stick with things once I decide on them. But yes, change is possible even for me. I did change my opinions on some Genesis games after playing them again for this, and some games have moved up or down my list versus where they were entering November. However, none changed enough to add something new to the top 10. Some things below that would be in a different order though, such as the Shining Force games being much higher up of course.

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Did you post that PS1 list on this forum?

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Yes. Not everything I write gets posted here of course, but the Game Opinion Summary lists are. The PS1 update is here: http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...l=1#post707334 (and the old part is at the beginning of the thread, of course).

You can also find all my stuff on my site (linked in my sig), of course.