Simpler than its successor, but much more effective (and fun) as a game about predicting and countering blows. Nice branching paths, and incredible atmosphere: proper dark-fantasy dread. Too long and kind of cheap, but I really love it when it works.
breezy, hour long arcade game that can be best described as a sort of over the shoulder parry and riposte simulator. can feel a bit quartermunchy, but the game is legitimately 1ccable - just requires a bit of memorization. tip for anyone considering playing this - the a+b combination move is a lot more useful than the in-game messaging lets on, and you can interupt the enemies that do extremely fast combos by doing the thrust move.
also, I AM SATAN GOAT
also, I AM SATAN GOAT
An arcade game I had some interested in, cause it looked like fantasy Punch-Out. It kinda is, but it’s also a bit samey and a little cheap, which I guess you should expect out of an arcade game. Not too worth going back to.
An obscure arcade game with Punch-Out mechanics that adds RPG elements, special abilities, and weapon variety into the mix. You can block and parry enemy attacks. Using the fast repeating slashing move drains your health, so there is an interesting risk and reward factor when facing a boss or multiple enemies. Sometimes the only way to dodge attacks is by moving horizontally, but since your movement speed is slow, it's hard to time it. Alternate routes and choices that pop up throughout the campaign makes it fun to replay. The archaic coin-eating system is here, and it's as dumb as ever. I appreciate that you can input 99 coins automatically whether your playing on an emulator or on consoles.
I have plenty of memories playing this as a kid... but most of them are of me raging AVGN style. Frustrating and cheap, but nice visual style and some cool set pieces.
Sprite games with third person perspective are always interesting. Crossed Swords plays something like Punch Out with swords. You have to block enemy attacks while finding openings to strike back. It's short and repetitive but expected since it's an arcade game. If you ever tried it don't swap the sword you get from the npc with an axe. Trust me.
*PC
Interesting idea. Would have been terrible for my wallet, but it was quite fun. Innovative if nothing else.
Eighth GOTW finished for 2022. Oooh, this game is so cheap at times. Definitely meant to be a quarter guzzler back in the day. Often felt borderline cruel, but honestly treated it like I would've in the arcade and just kept pumping credits in. The art style and visual direction was really cool, and the change of techniques and magic with the different weapons was neat as well. Probably never play this one again, but enjoyed myself for the most part.