WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the episode 22 Short Films About Springfield
Chalmers: Well, Seymour, I made it, despite your directions.
Skinner: Ah, Superintendent Chalmers, welcome. I hope you're prepared for an unforgettable luncheon!
Chalmers: Yeah.
[Skinner runs to the kitchen, only to find his roast is burnt and gasps in horror]
Skinner: Oh, egads! My roast is ruined! But what if I were to purchase fast food and disguise it as my own cooking? [chuckles] Delightfully devilish, Seymour.
[He begins to climb through the window, but Chalmers enters the kitchen. The theme song to an imaginary show called "Skinner and the Superintendent" then plays]
Chalmers: SEEEEEYMOOUUURRR!!!
Skinner: Superintendent! I was just...uh---just stretching my calves on the windowsill. Isometric exercise! Care to join me?
Chalmers: Why is there smoke coming out of your oven, Seymour?
Skinner: Uh... ooh! That isn't smoke, it's steam! Steam from the steamed clams we're having. Mmmm, steamed clams!
[Once Chalmers leaves the kitchen, Skinner breathes a sigh of relief, climbs out the window, and runs across the street to Krusty Burger, where buys hamburgers and french fries to replace his burnt roast. He enters the dining room with the fast food on a silver tray.]
Skinner: Superintendent, I hope you're ready for some mouthwatering hamburgers.
Chalmers: I thought we were having steamed clams.
Skinner: Oh no, I said 'steamed hams'. That's what I call hamburgers.
Chalmers: You call hamburgers 'steamed hams'?
Skinner: Yes! It's a regional dialect.
Chalmers: Uh-huh. Eh, what region?
Skinner: Uh...upstate New York.
Chalmers: Really? Well I'm from Utica and I've never heard anyone use the phrase 'steamed hams'.
Skinner: Oh, not in Utica, no. It's an Albany expression.
Chalmers: I see.
[Chalmers takes a bite out of a burger and chews it a little, while Skinner sips his drink.]
Chalmers: You know, these hamburgers are quite similar to the ones they have at Krusty Burger.
Skinner: Hohoho, no! Patented Skinner Burgers. Old family recipe!
Chalmers: For steamed hams?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: Yes, and you call them steamed hams, despite the fact they are obviously grilled.
Skinner: Y- Uh.. you know, the... One thing I should... excuse me for one second.
Chalmers: Of course.
[Skinner enters and leaves the kitchen swiftly upon seeing it is now on fire]
Skinner: [yawns] Well, that was wonderful. A good time was had by all. I'm pooped.
Chalmers: Yes, I should be--good lord, what is happening in there?!
Skinner: Aurora Borealis?
Chalmers: Ah- Aurora Borealis!? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within your kitchen!?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: ...May I see it?
Skinner: ...No.
[They exit the house as the kitchen fire grows larger.]
Agnes: Seymour! The house is on fire!
Skinner: No, mother, it's just the Northern Lights.
Chalmers: Well, Seymour, you are an odd fellow, but I must say... you steam a good ham.
[As Chalmers begins heading home, Agnes screams for help, causing Chalmers to look back towards the house. Skinner gives him a thumbs up and a fake smile, causing him to keep walking away. Once Chalmers is out of sight, Skinner rushes back into the house to deal with the fire.]
Agnes: Help! HELP!!!
Chalmers: Well, Seymour, I made it, despite your directions.
Skinner: Ah, Superintendent Chalmers, welcome. I hope you're prepared for an unforgettable luncheon!
Chalmers: Yeah.
[Skinner runs to the kitchen, only to find his roast is burnt and gasps in horror]
Skinner: Oh, egads! My roast is ruined! But what if I were to purchase fast food and disguise it as my own cooking? [chuckles] Delightfully devilish, Seymour.
[He begins to climb through the window, but Chalmers enters the kitchen. The theme song to an imaginary show called "Skinner and the Superintendent" then plays]
Chalmers: SEEEEEYMOOUUURRR!!!
Skinner: Superintendent! I was just...uh---just stretching my calves on the windowsill. Isometric exercise! Care to join me?
Chalmers: Why is there smoke coming out of your oven, Seymour?
Skinner: Uh... ooh! That isn't smoke, it's steam! Steam from the steamed clams we're having. Mmmm, steamed clams!
[Once Chalmers leaves the kitchen, Skinner breathes a sigh of relief, climbs out the window, and runs across the street to Krusty Burger, where buys hamburgers and french fries to replace his burnt roast. He enters the dining room with the fast food on a silver tray.]
Skinner: Superintendent, I hope you're ready for some mouthwatering hamburgers.
Chalmers: I thought we were having steamed clams.
Skinner: Oh no, I said 'steamed hams'. That's what I call hamburgers.
Chalmers: You call hamburgers 'steamed hams'?
Skinner: Yes! It's a regional dialect.
Chalmers: Uh-huh. Eh, what region?
Skinner: Uh...upstate New York.
Chalmers: Really? Well I'm from Utica and I've never heard anyone use the phrase 'steamed hams'.
Skinner: Oh, not in Utica, no. It's an Albany expression.
Chalmers: I see.
[Chalmers takes a bite out of a burger and chews it a little, while Skinner sips his drink.]
Chalmers: You know, these hamburgers are quite similar to the ones they have at Krusty Burger.
Skinner: Hohoho, no! Patented Skinner Burgers. Old family recipe!
Chalmers: For steamed hams?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: Yes, and you call them steamed hams, despite the fact they are obviously grilled.
Skinner: Y- Uh.. you know, the... One thing I should... excuse me for one second.
Chalmers: Of course.
[Skinner enters and leaves the kitchen swiftly upon seeing it is now on fire]
Skinner: [yawns] Well, that was wonderful. A good time was had by all. I'm pooped.
Chalmers: Yes, I should be--good lord, what is happening in there?!
Skinner: Aurora Borealis?
Chalmers: Ah- Aurora Borealis!? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within your kitchen!?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: ...May I see it?
Skinner: ...No.
[They exit the house as the kitchen fire grows larger.]
Agnes: Seymour! The house is on fire!
Skinner: No, mother, it's just the Northern Lights.
Chalmers: Well, Seymour, you are an odd fellow, but I must say... you steam a good ham.
[As Chalmers begins heading home, Agnes screams for help, causing Chalmers to look back towards the house. Skinner gives him a thumbs up and a fake smile, causing him to keep walking away. Once Chalmers is out of sight, Skinner rushes back into the house to deal with the fire.]
Agnes: Help! HELP!!!
1989
Innovative, challenging, varied, ahead of its time. Strider is one of the unsung heroes of gaming for many reasons. It was one of most influential arcade games of all time, if not one of the most influential video games period. The atmospheric level design, cinematic nature, surprising home port quality, extremely fast-paced action, variety of setpieces, and competent adaptation from its native medium all helped in forming one of the most unique games of the 1980s, one which would receive a fair share of imitators in the decade to come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b-0XeU-6-A
Our journey begins with a screen of Hiryu slashing Grandmaster Mayo in half, foreshadowing events to follow. After pressing start, the player is greeted to a symbolic opening of Mayo holding the world in the palm of his hand, giving the player an immediate idea of how much is at stake even without reading the manual. As soon as the player leaves their glider, they are subject to a dozen enemies coming from all sides, and these villains are willing to sacrifice their lives for Mayo by suicide bombing the legendary super ninja in their desperate attempt to stop the last obstacle in Mayo's path to global domination.
Indeed, it takes only a minute to understand the sheer state of the world Hiryu inhabits. Major cities are overrun by terrorists and nigh-indestructible robots ranging from Ivan Drago lookalikes to giant mecha-monkeys. Even the demo screen makes it clear the player is the last ray of light in the world, through their control of Hiryu.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/790816265148694579/1014128664885080194/unknown.png
The player will need to harness every tool at their disposal to save the world as well as come to grips with Hiryu's physics. The Cypher swinging, sliding, wall climbing, and jumping are all very deliberate and flashy. Every animation from the player has vastly more frames than its home console platforming contemporaries of the NES and Master System. The spinning jump in particular is very reminiscent of ninja theatrics seen in martial arts cinema, to say nothing of Hiryu's recovery roll; even when the player is damaged, they take damage in style. When enemies are sliced, they go down in a fiery hot explosion of their own blood and a mini tokusatsuesque boom. It truly gets across the feeling of slicing everything in Hiryu's path with an unstable 1000 degree knife.
In a way, realism is what Strider is all about. Hiryu will slant across surfaces in a way few action-platformers would bother with, allowing for the player to build momentum and make last second jumps across minefields in the vein of an action movie star. Guards will patrol platforms by walking left and right periodically, which allows some to be stealth killed in true shinobi fashion. Voice clips weren't invented by Strider, but it had much more of a cinematic element than contemporaries by featuring fully voice acted cutscenes spoken in several languages depending on the character's nationality, with Mayo's iconic "STRIDER HIRYU WILL NEVER LEAVE EURASIA ALIVE" being the highlight for certain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3y0aFDkGUs
One interesting detail I was always iffy of was Solo. I found it rather peculiar Solo was built up as Hiryu's rival figure only to be mercilessly shredded in half by the player with no fanfare, but in hindsight it makes sense. The player recognizes Solo as the grandmaster's Strongest Soldier, but to Hiryu's knowledge he's just another obstacle in the way for your friendly neighbourhood super ninja.
The music can and will change at the drop of a hat within the same screen, something that was also rather unheard of at the time as platformers such as Mario would reserve this for occasions like going down warp pipes. The Genesis version of Strider in particular had brilliant music cues, such as the first stage playing a triumphant melody after notivandrago's death only for it to be shockingly cutoff by an ambush the instant the player could realize they were surrounded by enemy turrets and guards. Without a single word, Strider could express that the player wasn't safe no matter where they went.
And that's just what made Strider so special, the style and subtlety. The player could strike a fair amount of poses for an end level screen, sometimes to hilarious result. Airships could be pushed up and down depending on where or how the player landed on them. Capcom even included a special game over screen for the final boss fight to put into perspective how badly the player failed the earth, something unheard of for its time. There would be no game over jingle, as if the world was uninterrupted by the death of one more insignificant individual who dared oppose the grandmaster.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/790816265148694579/1014131649895735366/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/790816265148694579/1014131861313830922/unknown.png
All of this combines to make Strider a very memorable game for me and many other fans of 1980s arcade games. However, it is also a flawed game in several aspects. The powerups are rather weak compared to say, Ninja Gaiden's as they do not really give the player a new skill so much as simply add more objects on the screen to interact with enemies. Compare Strider's ninjutsu simply making him intangible or having a longer sword to the sort of ninjutsu Ninja Gaiden or Shinobi would provide the player to increase combat options. There are also a couple attacks in the game which are nigh-impossible to dodge, most notably the quadruple laser and the gravity core's thrusts; it is quite telling even with a turbo button I was never able to defeat a single gravity core without taking damage. However, these encounters can still ultimately be damage sponged so I do not believe they ruin the overall experience.
Strider's influence can be seen in many of my favourite games. The Mega Man games would borrow multiple gimmicks, including Gravity Man's stage in 5 having similarities to the Battleship Balrog or the wall crushers in Mega Man X2 borrowing from a certain segment in Strider's 3rd stage. The Ninja Gaiden series would go on to give Hayabusa a proper wall climb in 2 and even copy Hiryu's Cypher in NG3. Flatout imitators such as Run Saber, Osman (by the same director no less) and Hagane would come out in the years to follow, and while they would expand the combat options of Strider, they never became as iconic nor had the amount of sequels. Strider has even been cited as an influence in the hack n slash genre.
https://www.eurogamer.net/strider-1-2-review
Furthermore, Strider demonstrated what a licensed game could be, adapting only a few elements from its source manga to create a digestible experience for those who were unfamiliar with the original story. This was in stark contrast to the NES game which had a condensed version of the manga's story which did not click with the North American market it was aimed for. In an era where licensed games were generally seen as low quality, Capcom did a great job pumping out games such as this and Disney's titles which could stand on their own merits.
If I had to choose one version of the game as my favourite, I would say the Genesis port. In the early years of the Genesis' lifespan, Strider was a system seller due to breaking new ground in the public eye as to what an arcade port could be. The first stage was reworked to make the turret ambush more surprising, enemies were altered to render machine gunners or spiked wall enemies less annoying, stages became more approachable as there were now more ways to clear obstacles such as the first vine in stage 4, the ceiling being removed from the laser boss resulted in an actually dodgeable attack which no longer obscured the player's view, the doomsday weapon was given a darker atmosphere with muted colours replacing the bright pallet of the arcade, and even the music was slightly reworked to make the fall of Balrog more intense. Some sound effects were compromised (mainly during the cutscenes) but I simply can't pass over a version that gave the game an actual ending sequence with a whole ass cast roll to boot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7iWY3quVLM
In the end, I don't believe Strider is the greatest ninja action platformer of all time. I would argue it was far surpassed by the original Ninja Gaiden, as well as Shinobi 3 and Hagane. However, it still has its place at the table as it brought one of Capcom's most iconic characters into the public eye worldwide. Marvel VS Capcom 2 just wouldn't be the same without the blessed Hiryu/Doom power couple, now would it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cREri3qeKc8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b-0XeU-6-A
Our journey begins with a screen of Hiryu slashing Grandmaster Mayo in half, foreshadowing events to follow. After pressing start, the player is greeted to a symbolic opening of Mayo holding the world in the palm of his hand, giving the player an immediate idea of how much is at stake even without reading the manual. As soon as the player leaves their glider, they are subject to a dozen enemies coming from all sides, and these villains are willing to sacrifice their lives for Mayo by suicide bombing the legendary super ninja in their desperate attempt to stop the last obstacle in Mayo's path to global domination.
Indeed, it takes only a minute to understand the sheer state of the world Hiryu inhabits. Major cities are overrun by terrorists and nigh-indestructible robots ranging from Ivan Drago lookalikes to giant mecha-monkeys. Even the demo screen makes it clear the player is the last ray of light in the world, through their control of Hiryu.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/790816265148694579/1014128664885080194/unknown.png
The player will need to harness every tool at their disposal to save the world as well as come to grips with Hiryu's physics. The Cypher swinging, sliding, wall climbing, and jumping are all very deliberate and flashy. Every animation from the player has vastly more frames than its home console platforming contemporaries of the NES and Master System. The spinning jump in particular is very reminiscent of ninja theatrics seen in martial arts cinema, to say nothing of Hiryu's recovery roll; even when the player is damaged, they take damage in style. When enemies are sliced, they go down in a fiery hot explosion of their own blood and a mini tokusatsuesque boom. It truly gets across the feeling of slicing everything in Hiryu's path with an unstable 1000 degree knife.
In a way, realism is what Strider is all about. Hiryu will slant across surfaces in a way few action-platformers would bother with, allowing for the player to build momentum and make last second jumps across minefields in the vein of an action movie star. Guards will patrol platforms by walking left and right periodically, which allows some to be stealth killed in true shinobi fashion. Voice clips weren't invented by Strider, but it had much more of a cinematic element than contemporaries by featuring fully voice acted cutscenes spoken in several languages depending on the character's nationality, with Mayo's iconic "STRIDER HIRYU WILL NEVER LEAVE EURASIA ALIVE" being the highlight for certain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3y0aFDkGUs
One interesting detail I was always iffy of was Solo. I found it rather peculiar Solo was built up as Hiryu's rival figure only to be mercilessly shredded in half by the player with no fanfare, but in hindsight it makes sense. The player recognizes Solo as the grandmaster's Strongest Soldier, but to Hiryu's knowledge he's just another obstacle in the way for your friendly neighbourhood super ninja.
The music can and will change at the drop of a hat within the same screen, something that was also rather unheard of at the time as platformers such as Mario would reserve this for occasions like going down warp pipes. The Genesis version of Strider in particular had brilliant music cues, such as the first stage playing a triumphant melody after notivandrago's death only for it to be shockingly cutoff by an ambush the instant the player could realize they were surrounded by enemy turrets and guards. Without a single word, Strider could express that the player wasn't safe no matter where they went.
And that's just what made Strider so special, the style and subtlety. The player could strike a fair amount of poses for an end level screen, sometimes to hilarious result. Airships could be pushed up and down depending on where or how the player landed on them. Capcom even included a special game over screen for the final boss fight to put into perspective how badly the player failed the earth, something unheard of for its time. There would be no game over jingle, as if the world was uninterrupted by the death of one more insignificant individual who dared oppose the grandmaster.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/790816265148694579/1014131649895735366/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/790816265148694579/1014131861313830922/unknown.png
All of this combines to make Strider a very memorable game for me and many other fans of 1980s arcade games. However, it is also a flawed game in several aspects. The powerups are rather weak compared to say, Ninja Gaiden's as they do not really give the player a new skill so much as simply add more objects on the screen to interact with enemies. Compare Strider's ninjutsu simply making him intangible or having a longer sword to the sort of ninjutsu Ninja Gaiden or Shinobi would provide the player to increase combat options. There are also a couple attacks in the game which are nigh-impossible to dodge, most notably the quadruple laser and the gravity core's thrusts; it is quite telling even with a turbo button I was never able to defeat a single gravity core without taking damage. However, these encounters can still ultimately be damage sponged so I do not believe they ruin the overall experience.
Strider's influence can be seen in many of my favourite games. The Mega Man games would borrow multiple gimmicks, including Gravity Man's stage in 5 having similarities to the Battleship Balrog or the wall crushers in Mega Man X2 borrowing from a certain segment in Strider's 3rd stage. The Ninja Gaiden series would go on to give Hayabusa a proper wall climb in 2 and even copy Hiryu's Cypher in NG3. Flatout imitators such as Run Saber, Osman (by the same director no less) and Hagane would come out in the years to follow, and while they would expand the combat options of Strider, they never became as iconic nor had the amount of sequels. Strider has even been cited as an influence in the hack n slash genre.
https://www.eurogamer.net/strider-1-2-review
Furthermore, Strider demonstrated what a licensed game could be, adapting only a few elements from its source manga to create a digestible experience for those who were unfamiliar with the original story. This was in stark contrast to the NES game which had a condensed version of the manga's story which did not click with the North American market it was aimed for. In an era where licensed games were generally seen as low quality, Capcom did a great job pumping out games such as this and Disney's titles which could stand on their own merits.
If I had to choose one version of the game as my favourite, I would say the Genesis port. In the early years of the Genesis' lifespan, Strider was a system seller due to breaking new ground in the public eye as to what an arcade port could be. The first stage was reworked to make the turret ambush more surprising, enemies were altered to render machine gunners or spiked wall enemies less annoying, stages became more approachable as there were now more ways to clear obstacles such as the first vine in stage 4, the ceiling being removed from the laser boss resulted in an actually dodgeable attack which no longer obscured the player's view, the doomsday weapon was given a darker atmosphere with muted colours replacing the bright pallet of the arcade, and even the music was slightly reworked to make the fall of Balrog more intense. Some sound effects were compromised (mainly during the cutscenes) but I simply can't pass over a version that gave the game an actual ending sequence with a whole ass cast roll to boot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7iWY3quVLM
In the end, I don't believe Strider is the greatest ninja action platformer of all time. I would argue it was far surpassed by the original Ninja Gaiden, as well as Shinobi 3 and Hagane. However, it still has its place at the table as it brought one of Capcom's most iconic characters into the public eye worldwide. Marvel VS Capcom 2 just wouldn't be the same without the blessed Hiryu/Doom power couple, now would it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cREri3qeKc8
2021
Venom looks so fucking cool in this game
The sign is a subtle joke. The shop is called "Sneed's Feed & Seed", where feed and seed both end in the sound "-eed", thus rhyming with the name of the owner, Sneed. The sign says that the shop was "Formerly Chuck's", implying that the two words beginning with "F" and "S" would have ended with "-uck", rhyming with "Chuck". So, when Chuck owned the shop, it would have been called "Chuck's Feeduck and Seeduck".
This game is pretty damn amazing if you're willing to overlook the fact it sucks a big fat fucking gorilla cock
First game I played in 2022. Great romhack. It really doesn't fundamentally change X3 much but it does make the early game significantly more manageable (which is great since after the rough start, X3 can be pretty fun) and has a fully integrated Zero so it's worth playing for that alone. Even the Z-saber's OP "2-shot every boss in the game" property is fixed.
I also love how X gets the Dr Cain lab theme as a counterpart to Zero.
I also love how X gets the Dr Cain lab theme as a counterpart to Zero.
Compared to MMPR the Movie for SNES this has no Johnny Yong Bosch, no multiplayer, one of the easiest games on the system, lack of lane system, etc but you can play as the Megazord and the finishers look sicc as fuck so I liked it better anyways.
Also a fully vocal track on the SNES before even Tales of Phantasia had one? Badass
Also a fully vocal track on the SNES before even Tales of Phantasia had one? Badass
I don't usually like JRPGs but this game is so sofa king tight!!!!!! Alucard is hot!
1992
Game #7 of my "seasonal game binge"
One of the most unique shmups I ever played. Mechanically, it really stands out despite the huge crowd. The player can spam bullets, pick up just about any item in the game from wrecking balls to fucking giraffes to swing or throw around as weapons, shoot lightning, and even run along the ground after losing their ship. That's right, the hit points are surprisingly lenient for a shmup. The vehicles can last multiple hits before exploding and then the player has a chance to go on top of another vehicle or even an animal such as an elephant. It's doubly epic in 2 player mode where players can actually swing each other around. The sheer genius programming I'm sure it took to implement all of this must be insane.
Boogie Wings uses a level select in the style of Mega Man. There is not really any point to this since there is not an RPS system or anything, but it's ultimately harmless so this isn't a knock against the game. The levels have a surprising amount of variety. Some levels will have no boss fights, some will have extremely elaborate boss fights, some will take place in a dinosaur museum while others will take place in a Christmas town, and so forth. My favourite is the final level because it feels like a "build your own level" built by a child. All sense of coherent level design is thrown out the window to squeeze in every single item in the game within a span of two minutes. It's exhilarating and I rarely ever see games show this sheer lack of restraint.
Perhaps my favourite part of the game overall, however, is the credits sequence. It's fully playable; the player can shoot things during the credits sequence as beautiful hand-drawn art is displayed while funny nicknames of the staff members fly by. It even ends with the classic jolly line: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/925725540932010015/unknown.png
Graphically, I would not say Boogie Wings is an ultra detailed game or anything but it has some elaborate objects with numerous parts and with so many things flying around on screen it's understandable; the pixel art still more than gets the job done. I especially enjoy the Christmas stage due to the sheer amount of shit going on ranging from unique billboards in different areas, easter eggs like the actual Santa Claus in the background of the evil Santa fight, and MERRY XMAS advertisements the players can squash evil soldiers with.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/924018500685664256/Fightcade_FBNeo_v0.2.97.44-44_Boogie_Wings_Euro_v1.5_92.12.07_2021-12-24_12-58-05.mp4
A big shoutout must be made to the music as well. It mostly just uses famous classical music for the foundation, but there is something oddly charming about hearing a hyper remix of Jingle Bells and other Christmas songs form into a medley for the Christmas town. Also a Castlevaniaesque remix of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for the haunted house boss? Pure Chef's kiss
https://youtu.be/HeF5c-OBZ8o
https://youtu.be/4NTrZav1GHc
Oh yeah the story. There is a dialogue branch at the end where the villain asks you to join his side. I just ignored it lol.
One of the most unique shmups I ever played. Mechanically, it really stands out despite the huge crowd. The player can spam bullets, pick up just about any item in the game from wrecking balls to fucking giraffes to swing or throw around as weapons, shoot lightning, and even run along the ground after losing their ship. That's right, the hit points are surprisingly lenient for a shmup. The vehicles can last multiple hits before exploding and then the player has a chance to go on top of another vehicle or even an animal such as an elephant. It's doubly epic in 2 player mode where players can actually swing each other around. The sheer genius programming I'm sure it took to implement all of this must be insane.
Boogie Wings uses a level select in the style of Mega Man. There is not really any point to this since there is not an RPS system or anything, but it's ultimately harmless so this isn't a knock against the game. The levels have a surprising amount of variety. Some levels will have no boss fights, some will have extremely elaborate boss fights, some will take place in a dinosaur museum while others will take place in a Christmas town, and so forth. My favourite is the final level because it feels like a "build your own level" built by a child. All sense of coherent level design is thrown out the window to squeeze in every single item in the game within a span of two minutes. It's exhilarating and I rarely ever see games show this sheer lack of restraint.
Perhaps my favourite part of the game overall, however, is the credits sequence. It's fully playable; the player can shoot things during the credits sequence as beautiful hand-drawn art is displayed while funny nicknames of the staff members fly by. It even ends with the classic jolly line: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/925725540932010015/unknown.png
Graphically, I would not say Boogie Wings is an ultra detailed game or anything but it has some elaborate objects with numerous parts and with so many things flying around on screen it's understandable; the pixel art still more than gets the job done. I especially enjoy the Christmas stage due to the sheer amount of shit going on ranging from unique billboards in different areas, easter eggs like the actual Santa Claus in the background of the evil Santa fight, and MERRY XMAS advertisements the players can squash evil soldiers with.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/924018500685664256/Fightcade_FBNeo_v0.2.97.44-44_Boogie_Wings_Euro_v1.5_92.12.07_2021-12-24_12-58-05.mp4
A big shoutout must be made to the music as well. It mostly just uses famous classical music for the foundation, but there is something oddly charming about hearing a hyper remix of Jingle Bells and other Christmas songs form into a medley for the Christmas town. Also a Castlevaniaesque remix of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for the haunted house boss? Pure Chef's kiss
https://youtu.be/HeF5c-OBZ8o
https://youtu.be/4NTrZav1GHc
Oh yeah the story. There is a dialogue branch at the end where the villain asks you to join his side. I just ignored it lol.
1996
Game #6 of my "seasonal game binge"
I don't know what I can even say about this game. It speaks for itself. Anybody remember the scenes in the Die Hard movies where John McClane Tatsumaki kicks 5 thugs at once, Shoryukens their asses off a building, fights giant robots with anime as fuck laser beams, and kicks a woman in the face as the camera pans over it from half a dozen different angles? So do I.
When somebody says QTEs are inherently bad, I'm using this and Dynamite Cop as my counterargument.
https://i.makeagif.com/media/5-17-2015/8mHTf4.gif
https://64.media.tumblr.com/dcf328f42ca839eb71ae4c842872df32/a770b59910cb73e0-a2/s400x600/a314a4c256b68355beb549e7266a4d8c1a20a7c1.gif
I don't know what I can even say about this game. It speaks for itself. Anybody remember the scenes in the Die Hard movies where John McClane Tatsumaki kicks 5 thugs at once, Shoryukens their asses off a building, fights giant robots with anime as fuck laser beams, and kicks a woman in the face as the camera pans over it from half a dozen different angles? So do I.
When somebody says QTEs are inherently bad, I'm using this and Dynamite Cop as my counterargument.
https://i.makeagif.com/media/5-17-2015/8mHTf4.gif
https://64.media.tumblr.com/dcf328f42ca839eb71ae4c842872df32/a770b59910cb73e0-a2/s400x600/a314a4c256b68355beb549e7266a4d8c1a20a7c1.gif
Game #5 of my "seasonal game binge"
Charming lil platformer, reminded me of early 2000s flash games. I admire the balls in just making Santa's superpowered evil form be Satan lol. Story is just there, but the Engrish was so bad I swore it had to be a poorly translated Japanese game only to discover it was western made
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/826960021274492948/923452266315407380/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/894620627099615262/923435130880655370/unknown.png
One of the cooler aspects is definitely the presentation. The level screen is done through an advent calendar, and the stage CGs are admittedly damn cool, not to mention songs like Jingle Bells have rather pleasant renditions on the SNES soundchip.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/894620627099615262/923435376289415268/unknown.png
There's not much to say about the gameplay. Levels can be either super short if the player rushes to the end, or decently long if they look for everything, but there's not really any point to the latter. It's an easy and relaxing game for the most part which can be beaten in like 2 hours tops, albeit sometimes the leaps of faith are kinda bullshit. I do wish it had more difficulty, length, polish, and depth but for a kids game it gets the job done.
Also it has a shmup minigame so it's automatically a good game!
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/923466860576505896/unknown.png
Charming lil platformer, reminded me of early 2000s flash games. I admire the balls in just making Santa's superpowered evil form be Satan lol. Story is just there, but the Engrish was so bad I swore it had to be a poorly translated Japanese game only to discover it was western made
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/826960021274492948/923452266315407380/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/894620627099615262/923435130880655370/unknown.png
One of the cooler aspects is definitely the presentation. The level screen is done through an advent calendar, and the stage CGs are admittedly damn cool, not to mention songs like Jingle Bells have rather pleasant renditions on the SNES soundchip.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/894620627099615262/923435376289415268/unknown.png
There's not much to say about the gameplay. Levels can be either super short if the player rushes to the end, or decently long if they look for everything, but there's not really any point to the latter. It's an easy and relaxing game for the most part which can be beaten in like 2 hours tops, albeit sometimes the leaps of faith are kinda bullshit. I do wish it had more difficulty, length, polish, and depth but for a kids game it gets the job done.
Also it has a shmup minigame so it's automatically a good game!
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/923466860576505896/unknown.png
2003
I have just replayed the game itself and I give it a 3/10
1990
1992
Game #4 of my "seasonal game binge"
Beaten in one sitting to celebrate the Sega CD's anniversary. Best game on the system ez and dare I say a contender for Kojima's magnum opus which is saying a lot.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/920211203924570142/unknown.png
Having just played 3 "Christmas games" in a row where the seasonal setting was a tiny footnote, I appreciated how Snatcher truly felt like a Christmas game. Shopping families are consistently brought up, Santa outfits appear, and somehow Konami got me to rock out to a remix of fucking Jingle Bells, the music was just that well done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qQ7V-RjpwY
Indeed, setting the game in the season to be jolly really helped emphasize how there was warmth to humanity worth protecting. This helped separate the humans from the SNATCHERs thematically while also helping the player feel bad for the loss of innocent life in the prologue.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/920212552112275476/Santa.mp4
I don't even know where to start with how impressed I was with this masterpiece. I guess a good place would be audio. The sound design is very top notch. Different characters have their own footsteps such as Metal Gear, a large variety of catchy music comes on for just about any situation even including a groovy remix for Theme of Tara when Metal Gear appears, and the voice acting fits all too well. Even though only 7 voice actors recorded for dozens of characters, they all had enough range to help each character sound unique; it's truly a miracle work of dubbing in this era, especially since they also had convincing lip flaps.
https://youtu.be/2swZCYSRFt8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeUbRd3eIeY (I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be Pressure of Tension rather than Pleasure of Tension, but great track lol)
The sheer amount of facial expressions for each character resulted in each cutscene feeling surprisingly lively. I'm genuinely impressed what could be fit in only 400 MB of data. The CGs are chock full of smooth animations and the Sega CD port makes great use of the colours available on the system to enhance the portraits and backgrounds over the more limited pallet of the MSX2 version while still keeping the soul alive.
Gameplay wise, it's pretty typical adventure game/visual novel fare. Endless reading and constantly checking the same options until new ones appear. A big shoutout to the hidden Neo Kobe Pizza and flirting scenes. I cannot say much about the gunplay except it was too far on the easy side of things. Perhaps it would be more fun if I had a lightgun to use, but it's only a few minutes of a 7-10 hour game so I will not comment much on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCxiP4blwmo
Regarding the puzzles, they're all pretty logical. I had plenty of fun solving pic related.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920170309938716712/unknown.png
Overall the main reason to play Snatcher is for the story, most notably the little tender moments (try calling the freeman's son) and balance of humour with dark themes. While the story can seem silly at times, it's not afraid to pull its punches in regards to how awful nuclear weapons are, a trend for Kojima stories. Yet all the humourous moments show there is more to life than conflict and bloodshed. It even contains Kojima's signature 4th wall breaking jokes.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920107712916906024/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920134537793634434/unknown.png
I will say act 1-2 are so strong (Random really steals the show <3) act 3 kinda feels like it had trouble following a tough act (a certain revelation is so stupidly handled, you know the one if you played it) but the final cutscene is still strong enough I didn't feel it dragged the game down. After all, act 3 wasn't even in the original version.
One final point of interest is the censorship. People overblow the hell out of it. I dare say some of the gore is even more disturbing and graphic in the English version. I also think the Outer Heaven cameos being changed from Kamen Riders and Xenmorphs to Konami characters is much cooler, sue me.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920133791601803264/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920133262532296804/unknown.png
Beaten in one sitting to celebrate the Sega CD's anniversary. Best game on the system ez and dare I say a contender for Kojima's magnum opus which is saying a lot.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/920211203924570142/unknown.png
Having just played 3 "Christmas games" in a row where the seasonal setting was a tiny footnote, I appreciated how Snatcher truly felt like a Christmas game. Shopping families are consistently brought up, Santa outfits appear, and somehow Konami got me to rock out to a remix of fucking Jingle Bells, the music was just that well done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qQ7V-RjpwY
Indeed, setting the game in the season to be jolly really helped emphasize how there was warmth to humanity worth protecting. This helped separate the humans from the SNATCHERs thematically while also helping the player feel bad for the loss of innocent life in the prologue.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/920212552112275476/Santa.mp4
I don't even know where to start with how impressed I was with this masterpiece. I guess a good place would be audio. The sound design is very top notch. Different characters have their own footsteps such as Metal Gear, a large variety of catchy music comes on for just about any situation even including a groovy remix for Theme of Tara when Metal Gear appears, and the voice acting fits all too well. Even though only 7 voice actors recorded for dozens of characters, they all had enough range to help each character sound unique; it's truly a miracle work of dubbing in this era, especially since they also had convincing lip flaps.
https://youtu.be/2swZCYSRFt8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeUbRd3eIeY (I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be Pressure of Tension rather than Pleasure of Tension, but great track lol)
The sheer amount of facial expressions for each character resulted in each cutscene feeling surprisingly lively. I'm genuinely impressed what could be fit in only 400 MB of data. The CGs are chock full of smooth animations and the Sega CD port makes great use of the colours available on the system to enhance the portraits and backgrounds over the more limited pallet of the MSX2 version while still keeping the soul alive.
Gameplay wise, it's pretty typical adventure game/visual novel fare. Endless reading and constantly checking the same options until new ones appear. A big shoutout to the hidden Neo Kobe Pizza and flirting scenes. I cannot say much about the gunplay except it was too far on the easy side of things. Perhaps it would be more fun if I had a lightgun to use, but it's only a few minutes of a 7-10 hour game so I will not comment much on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCxiP4blwmo
Regarding the puzzles, they're all pretty logical. I had plenty of fun solving pic related.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920170309938716712/unknown.png
Overall the main reason to play Snatcher is for the story, most notably the little tender moments (try calling the freeman's son) and balance of humour with dark themes. While the story can seem silly at times, it's not afraid to pull its punches in regards to how awful nuclear weapons are, a trend for Kojima stories. Yet all the humourous moments show there is more to life than conflict and bloodshed. It even contains Kojima's signature 4th wall breaking jokes.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920107712916906024/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920134537793634434/unknown.png
I will say act 1-2 are so strong (Random really steals the show <3) act 3 kinda feels like it had trouble following a tough act (a certain revelation is so stupidly handled, you know the one if you played it) but the final cutscene is still strong enough I didn't feel it dragged the game down. After all, act 3 wasn't even in the original version.
One final point of interest is the censorship. People overblow the hell out of it. I dare say some of the gore is even more disturbing and graphic in the English version. I also think the Outer Heaven cameos being changed from Kamen Riders and Xenmorphs to Konami characters is much cooler, sue me.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920133791601803264/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920133262532296804/unknown.png
1998
Game #3 of my "seasonal game binge"
Very fun with a friend, kinda felt like the easiest Cave shmup I played yet since I had under 10 deaths? Yet it was still damn tough.
Mechanically it felt pretty similar to Castle Shikigami 2 to me since the health bar, shield aura, "flying person" graphic/hitbox, bombs recharging when hit, bosses with multi-phase health bars, two shot types which can't be used at the same time, and speed dependent on whether the player is shooting are all there.
That said it has some interesting mechanics to set it apart from other shmups. My favourite is the bomb charge. Holding the charge longer for extra damage and shield duration is extremely valuable for boss fights in particular.
Gameplay aside, the aesthetic is pretty nice. The pixel art animations are all quite fluid; even random enemies in the background can explode into bloody bits quite graphically and the bosses all have multiple phases with cool unique animations. The music was mostly alright but that boss theme alone ranks it above average overall due to how intense it was.
Loses half a star due to the screeching enemies in the last level alone good god. I also wish each character was more dramatically different like in Castle Shikigami personally, and the Christmas theming doesn't really pop up until the very end.
Anyhow, saving Christmas felt pretty nice. Would rec a playthrough to all shmup fans, especially via co-op.
Very fun with a friend, kinda felt like the easiest Cave shmup I played yet since I had under 10 deaths? Yet it was still damn tough.
Mechanically it felt pretty similar to Castle Shikigami 2 to me since the health bar, shield aura, "flying person" graphic/hitbox, bombs recharging when hit, bosses with multi-phase health bars, two shot types which can't be used at the same time, and speed dependent on whether the player is shooting are all there.
That said it has some interesting mechanics to set it apart from other shmups. My favourite is the bomb charge. Holding the charge longer for extra damage and shield duration is extremely valuable for boss fights in particular.
Gameplay aside, the aesthetic is pretty nice. The pixel art animations are all quite fluid; even random enemies in the background can explode into bloody bits quite graphically and the bosses all have multiple phases with cool unique animations. The music was mostly alright but that boss theme alone ranks it above average overall due to how intense it was.
Loses half a star due to the screeching enemies in the last level alone good god. I also wish each character was more dramatically different like in Castle Shikigami personally, and the Christmas theming doesn't really pop up until the very end.
Anyhow, saving Christmas felt pretty nice. Would rec a playthrough to all shmup fans, especially via co-op.