Man, I really haven’t been covering that many beat-’em-ups recently, haven’t I? Those games used to be one of my go-to genres when it came to whatever game I wanted to try out and potentially review on this website, and while I have checked out one or two recently, it has been nothing like what I had checked out further back then. It makes sense, seeing as I have already covered some of the most note-worthy titles from that era, and I have been focusing on clearing out a lot of other shit, but I think it is about time I go back to talking about more of these games, including some of the more obscure ones that I have been wanting to try out. So, let’s start this train off with one that has been on my radar for a long time, Night Slashers.

Whenever I would scroll through the NS eShop, I would always see this game available on discount, and while I would never purchase it for myself, I had always been curious about it, wondering if it was any good, or if it was better then some of Data East’s previous outings in the beat-’em-up genre, like Bad Dudes or Gates of Doom. I mean, it’s clear it has some nostalgic value to people, seeing as there was a remake announced for the game not too long ago, so I figured I should probably give it a shot to see what it was all about… only to find that it had been removed from the eShop with no word as to why (thanks for that, Johnny Turbo). Therefore, I booted up the ol’ emulator, blazed through it all in one go, and ended up having a good time with it all around. It isn’t too different from other beat-’em-ups of the era, not even having too many unique ideas, but it still manages to be gratifying and fun, both in terms of the visuals and its gameplay, to where I can say it holds up.

The story is your generic beat-’em-up story with a hint of spookiness added in, where the world is suddenly overrun by monsters, mutants, and freaks alike, killing millions of people and taking down all government forces, with the carnage lasting for over three months, so it is up to the Night Slashers, a gang of vigilante warriors, to step up to the plate and stop these creatures once and for all, which is a slightly darker twist on your typical storyline for one of these games, and I like it well enough, even if we don’t get much else out of that. The graphics look pretty great, looking as overexaggerated and detailed as an arcade game like this should be, but it doesn’t look too different from other similar games at the time, the music is alright, having plenty of tracks that I did enjoy while playing through the game, but not many of them stuck with me after I stopped playing, and the gameplay/control is par for the course, featuring most of what you would come to expect from one of these games, but it still manages to be fun and engaging enough to where that doesn’t matter.

The game is your average side-scrolling beat-’em-up, where you take control of one of the three Night Slashers known as Jake, Chris and Hong-Hua, go through a set of seven different levels each taking place in a different environment, beat up every single ghost and goblin that stands in your way using plenty of regular attacks, or even some super attacks when things get too dicey, gather plenty of different weapons, gold, and food items to help you out along your way, and fight plenty of well-known monsters as bosses, each one testing you out not only on how skilled and fast you are, but also how many credits you can put into the machine before you throw up your hands and say “Fuck it!”. Any arcade veteran knows this song and dance all too well, and for what we got here, it works pretty well, and can be a great time with a friend, not just because of the standard gameplay, but the flavor it has compared to other games at the time.

One of the things that sets it apart from many other games at the time is its emphasis on horror. It isn’t necessarily a scary game, and it doesn’t try to be, but many of the enemies you will face will include zombies, werewolves, vampires, Frankenstein, and even Death himself. In addition, the game is also extremely violent, having lots of blood and gruesome death animations, not just for all the enemies, but also for the bosses, as they melt away upon defeat, or they crumble down, only to never be able to fight again… for the most part. It all feels like a cross between the gothic nature of Castlevania and the brutality of Splatterhouse, and for the most part, it works out wonderfully. It can get kinda stale after a certain amount of time, especially with the lack of variety that can be seen in the late game, but for the most part, the style and blood really does carry this game in plenty of places.

Unfortunately though, it can’t carry it for too long, because if you take the style and blood out of the equation, then it just becomes your standard beat-’em-up from the arcades and nothing more. Nothing really new or exciting is added to the gameplay to make it stand out from others, so if you aren’t one that is interested in a horror setting like this, or the amount of blood that is present, then you won’t really be a fan of this. Not to mention, it also houses some quirks that I am not a fan of when it comes to this genre, such as repeating boss fights, and having sluggish combat. It isn’t exactly as sluggish as something like Golden Axe, and it works fine enough for the most part, but it just doesn’t feel as fluid or fast as it should be, and thus, it kinda makes the combat feel like a drag in some places. Not enough to where I would stop playing mid-way through, but enough to linger in the back of my mind while playing.

Overall, despite the repeating bosses, sluggish-ish combat, and a lack of change from other games in the genre, Night Slashers is still a perfectly competent and enjoyable romp, one that provides plenty of gothic elements and bloody brawls for those who are fans of both of those things, and the same gameplay that you can enjoy with a friend for a good half hour or so before moving onto something else. I would recommend it for those who are big fans of beat-’em-ups, especially ones from this era of the arcades, because while it isn’t anything to write home about, it still does its job, and does it well enough to where you won’t regret your time with it. And hey, maybe at some point later down the road, I’ll check out the remake as well whenever it comes out………. you know, if it doesn’t suck.

Game #541

The first Gameboy game I ever bought for myself was this. My dad had passed down his OG gameboy along with Tetris and Kwirk, but Kirby's Dreamland was special in it was the first one I got of my own volition. I still remember buying it for $5 at the flea market back in the day. I still remember first discovering I could play original Gameboy games on my GBA because of this game. In fact, this might've been my first ever Kirby game period (it was either this or Return to Dreamland). I've played this game several times prior to this, and even now, it was still fun.

The game is quite short, only taking around an hour or less to beat, but I think that's actually really nice with a game like this. It does not overstay its welcome and if it was way longer, idk if I'd like it much. This is the first Kirby game and so it's super simple. There's only 5 stages in the game, with a boss at the end of them. It's really not that hard of a game at all, that's what Kirby is known for and it applies to his first game as well. Copy abilities weren't a thing at all until Adventure, so the gameplay in this is super simplistic. But like I said, it's short so I don't really have much of an issue with it.

For a Gameboy game, this has a super nice soundtrack. Every single song is memorable, though maybe that's also because I've played this several times, but I think a big reason for that besides them being good is the fact they get reused a lot in later games. I think the only song I haven't heard in later games is the spicy curry theme, all the rest are iconic whether it's Green Greens or the invincibility lollipop theme or Dedede's theme. Kirby has been known to never have a bad soundtrack and yeah it applies here too.

Something I'm not really much of a fan of is extra mode. I tried it out a bit again here but I still can never get far. I've never beaten it before but it's because instead of being a bit harder, it goes full into bullshit mode and not only do I not find that fun, it doesn't feel fitting for Kirby. Kirby's known for easy main playthroughs but hard side content but it's too much in this game I feel.

I never found this game amazing at all but I have fond memories with this one. It's one of the better Gameboy games I've played for sure. I plan on going through every Kirby game eventually now so consider this the start of my Kirby reviews cuz yeah I'm gonna review most of them. Don't expect it to be like my Mario Kart marathon tho since there's way more Kirby games and I don't wanna get burnt out lol.

Edit: Bumped up to a 7

(Part 3 of 4)

It’s no secret to anyone at this point that, in terms of Mega Man games, not only was Mega Man 2 a massive improvement over the original game in just about every way, but it also managed to do gangbusters for the series, which definitely caught Capcom’s attention after the original game didn’t sell well at all. Since this game managed to become such a massive success, they decided that they needed to go all in on this franchise now, not only creating many more games for the future to be released every year, but also to make Mega Man Capcom’s own primary mascot for the foreseeable future. This was great news and all, but this eventually lead to a pretty stressful development cycle when it came to the next game in the series, apparently due to not only having a director that “didn’t understand Mega Man” quite like the last one, but also due to deadlines not being met often, essentially making the final product an incomplete game. Nevertheless, the show had to go on, and thus, one year after the previous game, the world was then given Mega Man 3.

Much like the second game, this game also managed to be a pretty big hit, selling over a million copies, and it has garnered a pretty positive reception over time, but for me, from what I have seen, there have been plenty of people who have the exact opposite opinion. I have heard plenty people sing this game’s praises right alongside Mega Man 2 as being one of the best games in the entire series, and on the completely opposite side of the coin, I’ve heard people say it is a complete misfire, being one of the worst games in the series, and just not that fun to play at all. I can definitely see why some people would have that opinion about this game, but for me, while I don’t think it is as good as Mega Man 2, I would say it is still a wonderful entry in the series, bringing plenty of new elements that would become a staple for the series, and still providing plenty of fun challenges to take on and conquer at the same time.

The story is a bit different from the previous game while remaining mostly the same, where one day, Dr. Wily appears to Dr. Light to say that he is now reformed, wanting to now help make the world a more peaceful place rather than trying to take it over, and as if the last two games never happened, Dr. Light accepts his request, and thus, the two of them start working on a new peacekeeping robot known as Gamma. During the development of this new robot, eight new Robot Masters were developed to help mine the materials needed to create this robot, but all of a sudden, they start to go haywire and start to spread chaos wherever they go, so once again, Mega Man needs to set out to take them down and see who is behind all of this (as if it isn’t obvious enough). It is definitely a step-up from the last game’s story, even if it isn’t anything much more complex then “hey, go kill these robot assholes” again, which I am fine with, but it is just worth pointing out.

The graphics, once again, aren’t too different from the previous game, but they still manage to hold up extremely well after over 30 years, and all of the sprites for the enemies, characters, and bosses still look wonderful, the music is fantastic once again, having plenty of rocking tunes for you to bob your head to as you are going through plenty of these stages, with this being just one of the many great songs that you will hear throughout this game, and the control/gameplay is also very similar to the previous two games, but not only does it manage to still feel pretty great to play and conquer, but there are several new additions that do expand Mega Man’s capabilities, and they are pretty fun to use.

The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of Mega Man yet again, go through plenty of different levels that all culminate with one final trek through Dr. Wily’s fortress, run, jump, and shoot your way through many different enemies, obstacles, and platforming challenges that will test you in plenty of ways, gather plenty of health items, weapon ammunition, E-Tanks (which I totally didn’t forget to mention in the last review), and additional upgrades to help you out along your journey, and take on plenty of fun and somewhat challenging bosses, including the eight Robot Masters who, upon defeat, each give you a brand new weapon to use against many other foes you will encounter later down the road. It is your standard Mega Man experience through and through, but thankfully, there are some new changes to see this time around, both in terms of new upgrades for Mega Man, and new characters that would become regulars in the series, which does make the game as a whole very fun to go through when paired with everything else.

As if he was a real big fan of Strider, Mega Man now has the ability to slide in this game, not only being able to not get through narrow gaps to reach hidden goodies and other parts of a stage, but it can also be used a way to dodge attacks from certain foes, making some enemy encounters and boss fights a hell of a lot easier. I’m sure anyone who has ever played the classic Mega Man games to the point of becoming an expert at them pretty much uses this move non-stop whenever playing these games, because it real is a wonderful new technique, as it not only is extremely helpful in all of those circumstances I just mentioned earlier, but you can also use it to get through stages a hell of a lot faster, as it is quicker then just simply walking to the right.

In addition to this, you also have a new pal that joins you throughout this whole game, Rush the dog, who is the best good boy in the history of good boys, and I will fight you on the streets if you say otherwise. Not only is he adorable, but he can also assist you through many parts of the stages, whether it be by helping you reach higher places, flying across bottomless pits to reach your destination, or even by turning into a fucking submarine and traverse you through water easier. While some of these tools aren’t as useful as others, as a whole, Rush is a wonderful addition to not just this game, but the series as a whole, and he is always fun to use whenever he shows up in one of these games… despite how they nerf some of his moves in later games (why did they have to ruin the Rush Jet like that).

And finally, we have yet another new character that plays a big role in this game, Break Man, AKA Blues, AKA Proto Man, Mega Man’s brother who you will often encounter in this game while going through several of the stages, often accompanied by his classic whistle tune. Whenever you hear this, you will then be subjected to facing off against him in what should be a fearsome battle… if it wasn’t piss easy. Seriously, all he does for every single fight is walk from left to right, jump up slightly and shoot at you, which not only makes him pathetic, but it also makes these encounters boring. That’s really the only purpose he serves in this game, other than helping you out at the end of the game, but much like with Rush, Proto Man is a great addition to not just this game, but this series as a whole, and while he doesn’t do much in several titles later down the road, I wouldn’t be able to imagine the series without him.

Now, despite all of the good changes that were brought into this game, there are also several problems that this game has that does drag it down, and that can all be seen in the second half of the game. After defeating the eight Robot Masters for the first time, you are then forced to go through four of the stages you just completed again, only this time they are now harder than before, and in these stages, you will encounter Doc Robot, a recurring boss that will fight you using all of the weapons from the Robot Masters in Mega Man 2. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the first of plenty of instances where these games will pad themselves out, trying to extend game time when they really don’t need to, and I have never been a fan of these segments whatsoever. Yeah, they are still fun and challenging enough to go through, but you can’t help but feel like it is all a waste of time, and I never look forward to these stages whenever I do go back to play this game.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t get much better from there, as the Wily Fortress that follows up these stages is, without a doubt, the easiest final set of levels that I have ever seen in any Mega Man game. Sure, they do have their fair share of challenges that newcomers would probably struggle with, but not only do they give you plenty of health items and E-Tanks like they are candy, but the bosses that you encounter, for the most part, are piss easy, requiring the most basic of strategies to beat, and this even applies to the final boss of the game as well. The only real challenging part of this part of the game would be the fight against the Yellow Devil, returning from the original game, but even then, he is nowhere near as hard as he was in the original game, and since you now have plenty of ways to avoid his attacks and to take him down, he shouldn’t be that much of a problem whatsoever.

Overall, despite how the game pads itself out for the sake of it and the ridiculously easy final set of levels, Mega Man 3 still manages to be a pretty solid game all around, giving plenty of more options for you to traverse through levels that are fun to experiment with, while also continuing to expand the universe and gameplay to where it is still fun to blast through and learn about, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I would definitely recommend it for those who are fans of the previous two games, or for those who are just fans of Mega Man in general, because while it does certainly have its problems, this is still one of the best games in the series that you can get from the 8-bit era. Also, I got some good news: they fixed the cover art!...... sort of. Most of it is good, but then we have Mega Man's face, which looks like he is thinking about doing some of the most devious shit. Not to mention, he's shooting Spark Man right in his Spark Balls, so now he will never be able to have kids.

Remake #10

(Part 2 of 4)

It may be pretty outdated compared to future titles in the series, and it does have a lot of problems weighing down, but for how fun it was and from my own personal experiences with it, I still consider the original Mega Man to be a really fun game that I can return to at any time, and I would still have a pretty good time with it. And hey, I’m not alone in thinking that, as many critics at the time the game was released agreed with that sentiment, but despite how critically successful the game was, it didn’t help out in its sales, to where after not making the numbers that they had wanted, Capcom was ready to move on from Mega Man and focus on other titles instead(sounds familiar, doesn’t it?). However, Akira Kitamura, the original director and creator of the series, had wanted to make a sequel either way, and after requesting permission to create a sequel several times, Capcom would finally allow him and his team to do so, on one condition: they had to develop it simultaneously with all of the other titles they wanted them to work on, meaning that the game essentially needed to be made on their free time. They accepted these terms, and thus, just one and a half years later, we would then get this sequel in the form of Mega Man 2.

If you have heard anything about Mega Man at any point in your life, chances are it has something to do with this game, as out of all of the titles in the entire series, this is one many hold in the highest regards. It is considered to be one of, if not THE best game in the entire series, not only because it perfected the original formula to become much more fun, addicting, and approachable than before, but also, until Mega Man 11 came out, it was the best selling game in the entire series, selling over 1.5 million copies, which, for an NES game, is pretty damn impressive. While I wouldn’t consider it to be the best game of the classic series, and while I think the hype it gets maybe a liiiiiiiiiiitle too overblown, I can safely say that the game definitely deserves the reputation it got, as it is absolutely fantastic. It may not have some of the additions that later games would bring to the series, and it may not change much from the original, but it still manages to be incredibly fun all the same, and it stands as the best entry the series has ever had on the NES.

The story is fairly basic compared to what the original game had set up, where Dr. Wily is back at it yet again, this time with his own set of eight Robot Masters specifically programmed to cause chaos and destruction across the world, so it is up to Mega Man to set out once again to take him down, which is a pretty basic plot for a sequel, but hey, it’s a good enough story that you can easily get behind, and that’s all you really need. The graphics are almost identical to that of the original game, except it is not a lot more colorful, varied, and visually pleasing with the designs of the characters, enemies, and bosses, so that’s good, the music is incredible, having some of the best music that any NES game has to offer, and I only need to show you one song in particular to prove my point (even if it is an obvious choice), and the control/gameplay is almost identical to that or the original game as well, except not only is that traction situation from the original taken care of here, but the gameplay is also much more fun as well, even if not much has changed.

The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of Mega Man once again, go through a set of eight main levels before taking on a final Dr. Wily castle full of its own set of levels, run, jump, and shoot your way through many more obstacles, enemies, and platforming challenges using whatever best applies to the situation, get plenty of health items, weapon ammunition, and special upgrades to your aresenal to help you out along the way, and take on plenty of skillful opponents, including the eight Robot Masters, so that you can gain their weapons and use them for your own use for whatever may lie ahead. Most of what you get here is pretty much exactly the same as the original game, so for those of you who liked the original game, you will be able to jump right into this one and love it, because not only is it much better designed and more fun than the original, but the small changes that were made do add a lot to the overall experience.

Like I mentioned before, the game feel a lot better to control, with your movement, jumping, and shooting feeling just right as you go through all of these levels, and many of the challenges that you will face are simple enough to approach, while not feeling like a pain in the ass to get through (with one or two exceptions here or there). In addition to this, the game manages to be more approachable as well, not only with the inclusion of a brand new password system, but also with the option to choose your own difficulty for the game… at least, in the western version of the game, that is. For Japan, they only got one standard difficulty, but for us over here, the normal difficulty was marked as Difficult Mode, and right alongside that is an easy mode that is labeled as Normal Mode. Personally, I don’t think the Difficult Mode is that much harder than the Normal Mode, but I do like the fact that the option is there at all, making this one of the best games to start with in the franchise, as well as one that is great for replayability. There’s not really much more I can say that has changed from the original, but despite the lack of major change, the game still has plenty of fun challenges, exciting boss fights, and plenty of challenges to get through that feel satisfying to conquer.

Despite how heavily praised this game is as a whole, I wouldn’t say it is perfect by any means. First of all, like the original game, the special weapons, for me anyway, aren’t too useful outside of boss fights, with the only real exception being the Metal Blade, a weapon that is extremely overpowered and can easily be used to take care of practically any situation. As for all of the other weapons though, they are either completely situational, or just not that handy to use. Aside from that though, there is one other part of the game that I have never liked that much, and that would be Wily Stage 3. The stage itself isn’t too bad, but it does feature some annoying elements, such as these invisible gaps in the floor in the beginning of the stage, these long conveyor belts that you have to ride on in order to make it down to the end, and to top it all off, it also has the worst boss in the entire game, the Boobeam Trap. The boss itself isn’t too deadly, with it just being a bunch of orbs on the walls that sometimes shoot at you, but the problem is that in order to defeat it, you need to use the Crash Bomber, a weapon with very little ammunition, meaning you have to navigate around this room and use it only when absolutely necessary, which means that if you end up using it too many times, you are FUCKED, and you have to get a game over just so that you can get your ammo back. Yeah, the rest of the game is aces, but I don’t see how anyone can defend a boss like that.

Overall, despite a lack of major changes and Wily Stage 3 being a giant stain on this otherwise perfect game, Mega Man 2 is still a fantastic sequel to the original game, and a wonderful game all on its own, bringing plenty of much needed fixes and touches to what the original game had introduced, while also still being very fun and satisfying to blast through. I would absolutely recommend it for those who are fans of the Mega Man series, as well as those who are looking for a place to start, because aside from other entries like Mega Man 11, this is one of the best places that you could start and get accustomed to what this series has to offer. Although, before we end this off, I have to bring up the cover art that the game originally had, which isn’t as bad as the original, but… jesus christ, why did it take so long for these to get good? My man looks like he is a cosplayer rather than a super fighting robot, and Dr. Light is fondling Crash Man’s ass, which nobody needs to see!

Remake #9

For being the game that would start off the entire franchise, the original Bomberman, when compared to other entries in the series, was a basic, yet still enjoyable title. It introduced the staple gameplay that many would come to know and love, and there were plenty of stages to bomb through and mess around in, but with the lack of variety seen throughout these stages, along with the lack of any multiplayer mode to be seen, it is definitely one of the more middling entries in the series, and one that has no reason for anyone to return to with all of the other installments this series has. But anyways, after that game, there would be more Bomberman titles released, such as with Bomber King, or RoboWarrior as we would know it, and Bomber Boy, or Atomic Punk as we would know it, which both contained the same gameplay mechanics and gimmicks, but I figured, for the next game in the series that I tackle, I figure we may as well check out the proper sequel to the original first. RoboWarrior kinda scared me when I tried it out, and Atomic Punk seems… stupid, so instead, I settled with the official follow-up to the original game, Bomberman II.

So, the reason why I took so long to get to this game is for a similar reason that I brought up back in my review of the original Bomberman game. When it comes to Bomberman games, from what I know, most of them don’t really change all too much in terms of gameplay or features, so I don’t wanna sound like even more of a broken record then I already am, so I figured I should stretch these games out, not reviewing them too frequently unless they actually implement some new, interesting features. With all that being said, in terms of Bomberman II, it is an average Bomberman sequel, but for what we got here, I would say it is a good time. It may not change things up that much, but it does introduce new features in the series seen before to a much wider audience, and as a whole, it is still a fun, explosive romp.

The story is pretty simple, where one day, while White Bomber is just walking down the street, Black Bomber goes and robs a bank, framing White Bomber for the crime and getting him thrown in jail, so it is up to White Bomber to break out of jail and give Black Bomber some proper payback, which is a simple premise, but it is an entertaining one, and it does get you going straight away into the game. The graphics are an improvement from the previous game, with sprites of characters, environments, and items looking much better now, and it helps that the entire game isn’t coated in green all the time, the music is pretty enjoyable, with there not being too many tracks, but the ones that are there are catchy and energetic enough to where you won’t mind listening to them for a bit, and the control/gameplay is about the same as the previous game, but it does feel much better to play, and it is more enjoyable compared to the original.

The game is an isometric maze game, where you take control of the White Bomberman, go through six different areas featuring their own set of 8 levels, blow up any blocks around you, as well as the enemies you will find, while also making sure to not blow yourself up in the process (which will still probably happen), gather plenty of powerups to not only increase the power of your bombs, but also increasing your own strengths to give you an advantage over the enemies you will face, and spend way too long locating the door in each level to move further on while defeating all of the enemies. It is practically identical to the original game in almost every way, not introducing any new kinds of power ups, gameplay mechanics, or other common features like bosses whatsoever, but all in all, it still manages to not only be fun, but also an improvement over its predecessor through several small, yet meaningful means.

In terms of the single player mode, again, not much has changed, but it does fix some of the issues that the original game had. For one thing, there is actual variety to the levels, with them not only still introducing more enemies as you keep going, but there are also plenty of different environments you can play through as well, such as with a prison, a forest, a mountain, and several others. These environments don’t really add anything at all, not affecting the gameplay whatsoever, but again, I would gladly take that over staring at GREEN. Outside of that though, there is one major change that this game makes when compared to the original: the multiplayer modes. Yeah, this technically wasn’t the first Bomberman game to introduce it (that would be Atomic Punk), but this was the game that solidified it as a key essential element of the entire series. You can play against another person, blast away at whatever debris is on the map, and try to bomb the fuck out of each other until there is one man standing. Not to mention, you can also play with up to three people if you have an NES Four Score, so that is pretty sweet in case someone else wants to join in.

With all that being said though, at its core, it is still your typical Bomberman game through and through. It can still be fun enough, but not only does the single player portion drag out for a little longer than it needs to, but it doesn’t introduce enough elements to where I would say it is a massive leap in quality from the original. Also, just like with the original game, it is also severely outdated, with the different modes that are featured in this game being vastly improved and expanded upon in later games. That’s not to say that this game is completely unplayable by today’s standards, cause if you and two other friends are looking for some good ol’ explosive action, then this game is for you, but really, you would be better off with just sticking to any of the newer entries in the series.

Overall, despite its lack of major changes gameplay wise, as well as it being outdated when compared to what would come later, Bomberman II does manage to be quite an improvement over the original game, making the single player mode much more appealing and enjoyable to blast through, while also expanding the series multiplayer mode to a much wider audience, allowing for it to be cemented as a core feature in any game to come afterwards. I would recommend it for those who were fans of the original game, as well as those who are fans of the series in general, but for anyone else, again, you are better off just sticking to one of the later games in the series. And since I can’t think of any other way to end this review off, I guess I will show you all the ending of the game, where the Black Bomber does his best Dr. Wily impression. He nailed it right on the head, if you are asking me.

Game #517

(Part 5 of 5)

For every other Sega Genesis game though, there are no other special kinds of bonuses that you can get from placing them on top of S&K, but that doesn’t mean you get nothing at all. When you place any other Genesis game on there, you can get access to more levels of the special stages from Sonic 3, which is pretty cool if you are a big fan of these levels. Of course though, they don’t give you anything other than just the satisfaction of doing them, and there are a gargantuan amount of these that you can access, so unless you have absolutely nothing better to do, then there is no reason to check them all out.

“Game” #508

Better in many ways over its predecessor, and yet it's just a little bit less magical. It's no longer as refreshing to swing around the same old locations again, and most of the collectables and photo spots fail at being interesting since the good ideas were all used in the first game. Also the new gadgets aren't anywhere near as fun and intuitive as the old ones used to be and I'm pretty disappointed by that... the fights are slightly less fun now.

Bad things having been said, this is one compelling sequel! The villains are conveniently some of my favorite Spider-Man villains, and their boss fights were fun as hell! I'm a Spider-Fan in general, so all of the references to other Spider-Media are Spider-Welcome in my book. The side missions are REALLY good too, just as interesting as the main game, which is a massive improvement over some of the tedious and outright stupid assignments that the first game had you do (I'm looking at you, Screwball). The MJ sections are surprisingly fun, who knew a gun is all you needed to give her! The story is exciting and gets better as it goes along, although I'll admit that Miles' stake in the plot is questionable outside of the fact that he's forced to be there. The dual-sense controller effects gave my hands many orgasms - like seriously the effects add more interactivity than anything I've ever played, and I'm a sucker for interactivity.

Anyway, I've dragged this out enough. Spider-Man 2 is fun as hell, and that's all that really matters. I'm excited to play the next game in five years, and hopefully it'll be the last one, tying up a perfect video game trilogy.