Bombombomb
1986
A pretty solid standard shmup starring a vaguely egg-shaped little man who buys things with money retrieved from other, equally odd little men.
I like how dying isn't as much of a setback as it is in other early shmups; once you come back, a shop balloon usually shows up to let you power yourself back up as needed, provided if you have enough funds. The Laser and 7-Way shots absolutely tear through things, but make bigger dents in your gold; the Wide shot is sort of just there but is the least costly, so I only get it if I really have to.
Said funds you will need for the second half of the game which picks up the pace by a surprising amount, throwing more dense amounts of enemies at you to keep you on your toes. Since lots of these guys like to give chase or close in on you, it's also around this point where you're expected to take advantage of the wrap-around as much as possible, something I like a lot.
I think the one thing that's stopping me from wanting to go through multiple loops are the weird extending tubes which serve as the final boss. It's sort of a puzzle; you're pretty much guaranteed to die against the last one unless you brought a Heavy Bomb or two with you. The problem is, since your special bombs replace regular ones in this game, it's not likely you'll make it there with one before dying anyway given all the bosses you have to go through first.
That being said! I think Fantasy Zone is really nice. Most of this series is nice, really. It might be a Scrimblo Bimblo series to you, but I have no regrets trying it.
I like how dying isn't as much of a setback as it is in other early shmups; once you come back, a shop balloon usually shows up to let you power yourself back up as needed, provided if you have enough funds. The Laser and 7-Way shots absolutely tear through things, but make bigger dents in your gold; the Wide shot is sort of just there but is the least costly, so I only get it if I really have to.
Said funds you will need for the second half of the game which picks up the pace by a surprising amount, throwing more dense amounts of enemies at you to keep you on your toes. Since lots of these guys like to give chase or close in on you, it's also around this point where you're expected to take advantage of the wrap-around as much as possible, something I like a lot.
I think the one thing that's stopping me from wanting to go through multiple loops are the weird extending tubes which serve as the final boss. It's sort of a puzzle; you're pretty much guaranteed to die against the last one unless you brought a Heavy Bomb or two with you. The problem is, since your special bombs replace regular ones in this game, it's not likely you'll make it there with one before dying anyway given all the bosses you have to go through first.
That being said! I think Fantasy Zone is really nice. Most of this series is nice, really. It might be a Scrimblo Bimblo series to you, but I have no regrets trying it.
It sure is a blob game. The game's music and single background is slightly more repetitive than Puyo's but the badniks are funny and make some Good Faces, so it all balances out, I guess.
VS. mode still goes hard.
VS. mode still goes hard.
2007
The Mother Brain fight does a number on my fingers.
Other than that? Wonderful artifact of back when hobbyist game devs made shit just because they could. The remaster is even better.
Other than that? Wonderful artifact of back when hobbyist game devs made shit just because they could. The remaster is even better.
2019
Super Mario Maker More
1987
Another nice Egg Boy Shmup. DX might blow the Master System one out of the water but it's still very enjoyable, on par with the first arcade game.
Levels are a bit slower paced and more segmented than they were before; now you have to go through warpgates to be able to get rid of all the bases. Shops are also at fixed points rather than just coming in when the game feels like it. If you die, it's a bit tougher getting to where you were beforehand, so naturally it's way easier once you remember which gates lead to where. Also important are the Red and Blue bottles which are costly, but let you take more than one hit if you can find them.
The game gets really crowded from round 5 onwards like the first Fantasy Zone did, though even before you get to that point, you'll likely find yourself getting walled by bullets once or twice. It's kind of intense, but I eventually figured out how to put up with it! Also like the first game, you'll want to actually rely on special weapons more; it's really satisfying to get rid of half the bases in Chaprun with two or three Fire Ball shots, for instance.
Most of the bosses are easier than the stages for some reason, but they're still nice. Once you've made it to Wolfin, you could tear through like half of them with the aformentioned Fire Balls if you wanted to. You can actually beat the final boss without needing a special bomb this time, which is a plus.
Fantasy Zone II. Good game. Not much else to say.
Levels are a bit slower paced and more segmented than they were before; now you have to go through warpgates to be able to get rid of all the bases. Shops are also at fixed points rather than just coming in when the game feels like it. If you die, it's a bit tougher getting to where you were beforehand, so naturally it's way easier once you remember which gates lead to where. Also important are the Red and Blue bottles which are costly, but let you take more than one hit if you can find them.
The game gets really crowded from round 5 onwards like the first Fantasy Zone did, though even before you get to that point, you'll likely find yourself getting walled by bullets once or twice. It's kind of intense, but I eventually figured out how to put up with it! Also like the first game, you'll want to actually rely on special weapons more; it's really satisfying to get rid of half the bases in Chaprun with two or three Fire Ball shots, for instance.
Most of the bosses are easier than the stages for some reason, but they're still nice. Once you've made it to Wolfin, you could tear through like half of them with the aformentioned Fire Balls if you wanted to. You can actually beat the final boss without needing a special bomb this time, which is a plus.
Fantasy Zone II. Good game. Not much else to say.
This game is the reason I have friends
It's Rockman. But with a shrine maiden. Probably worth a try if you like both of those things.
Everyone from Touhou 6 is here + Alice and Clownpiece for some reason??
Music sounds more like it'd fit in with the Battle Network games than anything on the NES.
Marisa's stage has the dumb Quick Man lasers but I forgot about the rest.
Everyone from Touhou 6 is here + Alice and Clownpiece for some reason??
Music sounds more like it'd fit in with the Battle Network games than anything on the NES.
Marisa's stage has the dumb Quick Man lasers but I forgot about the rest.
1990
It's Rockman again. You don't get to play as the shrine maiden this time.
Somehow I didn't feel like I had much incentive to use the weapons as often, and I went through the fortress stage quickly enough that I can't remember how many there actually were.
It also felt like the game was more generous with its 1up pickups than most, but I guess that means more room to make dumb mistakes?
Most other things this game does, the first one already did, so there's not a whole lot to bring up.
Somehow I didn't feel like I had much incentive to use the weapons as often, and I went through the fortress stage quickly enough that I can't remember how many there actually were.
It also felt like the game was more generous with its 1up pickups than most, but I guess that means more room to make dumb mistakes?
Most other things this game does, the first one already did, so there's not a whole lot to bring up.
1991
Time Zone is a game where you venture through different time periods and solve your problems by throwing your hat at things, including unassuming walls, cacti wearing sombreros and ninja. I like how it bounces and boomerangs back to you, and how you can jump to keep it spinning. I also like how the cave and old west-style levels wouldn't look that out of place in Super Mario World.
I was half expecting the last world to be the one set in the future until I found out some weird dimension filled with cake, weird bumper things and freaky mask men was my final destination instead.
Time Zone is also a game where you die in one hit, no matter what. You'd think this means you'd be given snappy physics like those of a Belmont's or something, but you actually have momentum and somewhat floaty jumps. Takes some time getting used to it, and making sure you don't run into things before you realize they're there.
Bosses take some effort, too, less because they're hard per se and more because if you screw up, you'll have to go through the level they're fought in again, no checkpoints or anything. It's weird. I lost a lot more lives than I'm willing to admit to that green ninja because of that.
Also? Prof. Time, who I'm convinced is Dr. Wily's seperated-at-birth brother, is an asshole. He really didn't have to throw stuff like boulders or the aformentioned ninja at you when he's already made off with your girl to time periods nobody would want to go through nowadays, but he did anyway!
I dunno. When it comes to NES, there's other games that more immediately get my attention. But I find myself thinking about Time Zone more than most people do. It's inoffensive, really.
I was half expecting the last world to be the one set in the future until I found out some weird dimension filled with cake, weird bumper things and freaky mask men was my final destination instead.
Time Zone is also a game where you die in one hit, no matter what. You'd think this means you'd be given snappy physics like those of a Belmont's or something, but you actually have momentum and somewhat floaty jumps. Takes some time getting used to it, and making sure you don't run into things before you realize they're there.
Bosses take some effort, too, less because they're hard per se and more because if you screw up, you'll have to go through the level they're fought in again, no checkpoints or anything. It's weird. I lost a lot more lives than I'm willing to admit to that green ninja because of that.
Also? Prof. Time, who I'm convinced is Dr. Wily's seperated-at-birth brother, is an asshole. He really didn't have to throw stuff like boulders or the aformentioned ninja at you when he's already made off with your girl to time periods nobody would want to go through nowadays, but he did anyway!
I dunno. When it comes to NES, there's other games that more immediately get my attention. But I find myself thinking about Time Zone more than most people do. It's inoffensive, really.
1993
I wish to stress that even though this game allows you to color a dinosaur, technological advancements such as MS Paint have provided much more time efficient means to color dinosaurs (and various other animals).
At least some of the colors flash so you can pretend to have a dinosaur rave party
At least some of the colors flash so you can pretend to have a dinosaur rave party
1991
This review contains spoilers
Spud's Adventure is a game I only know about the existence of through a creepypasta. It's a game about food people. It's a pretty okay one.
The entire game is set in either maze-like rooms or, less often, block-pushing puzzles. Over time, you get more food people with their own weapons you can use in the mazes, including boomerangs, bombs (that make a powerful sound), and shots that freeze the enemy.
The game makes a good effort to throw in gimmicks every now and then, like rooms that go dark or rooms filled with warp pads you have to take the right paths through. That doesn't really stop it from feeling kind of repetitive, though.
I think the main reason I want to bring this game up is the fact that despite it being about food people, it doesn't really acknowledge that beyond an offhanded mention of ketchup and in fact takes its story completely seriously, including character death. Namely, Arnie Eggplant getting crushed by a single rock and Devi getting arrow'd after kind of just deciding to betray Dodorian, the thing he was serving that wasn't brought up at all up until that point.
It's funny. Potato Game is funny.
The entire game is set in either maze-like rooms or, less often, block-pushing puzzles. Over time, you get more food people with their own weapons you can use in the mazes, including boomerangs, bombs (that make a powerful sound), and shots that freeze the enemy.
The game makes a good effort to throw in gimmicks every now and then, like rooms that go dark or rooms filled with warp pads you have to take the right paths through. That doesn't really stop it from feeling kind of repetitive, though.
I think the main reason I want to bring this game up is the fact that despite it being about food people, it doesn't really acknowledge that beyond an offhanded mention of ketchup and in fact takes its story completely seriously, including character death. Namely, Arnie Eggplant getting crushed by a single rock and Devi getting arrow'd after kind of just deciding to betray Dodorian, the thing he was serving that wasn't brought up at all up until that point.
It's funny. Potato Game is funny.
I got 99.22% and I'm counting that as completion because I have absolutely no idea as to what I could've missed
2007
Don't forget to shoot at the bosses' corpses for shield items and you'll make it out okay.
Also has a replay function which is nice
Also has a replay function which is nice
1992
It's Fantasy Zone on the Mega Drive! Maybe "Mega Fantasy Zone" would've been a better title.
Anyway, this game does everything the arcade game did and a little more on top of that.
Cool things added include the Super Lights and Rubber Boots, the former of which improving your field of vision in the dark Risscave and the latter protecting you from the electric force field covering Le-Picker. You technically don't have to buy these, but if you doubt your chances of survival as often as I do then they're a must!
This is also the first Fantasy Zone where your special bombs have their own input, using the A button. Now there's more of a reason to actually want to use them, since you don't risk accidentally wasting them nearly as often.
The only really lame thing here I have to address is, again, the final bosses. It's not hard, but if you die against them you won't be able to go to the shop again or anything. They had a shop menu when starting Menone, so I'm not sure why they didn't have one here besides maybe wanting to mess with you.
So, yeah. Super Fantasy Zone. It's pretty super, alright.
Anyway, this game does everything the arcade game did and a little more on top of that.
Cool things added include the Super Lights and Rubber Boots, the former of which improving your field of vision in the dark Risscave and the latter protecting you from the electric force field covering Le-Picker. You technically don't have to buy these, but if you doubt your chances of survival as often as I do then they're a must!
This is also the first Fantasy Zone where your special bombs have their own input, using the A button. Now there's more of a reason to actually want to use them, since you don't risk accidentally wasting them nearly as often.
The only really lame thing here I have to address is, again, the final bosses. It's not hard, but if you die against them you won't be able to go to the shop again or anything. They had a shop menu when starting Menone, so I'm not sure why they didn't have one here besides maybe wanting to mess with you.
So, yeah. Super Fantasy Zone. It's pretty super, alright.