Did you know Yuzo Koshiro worked on a Batman game? Did you also know that Batman game was for MS/GG?

You probably didn't because it's totally unnoteworthy - both in gameplay and soundtrack. Not that it sounds bad, but you wouldn't know it was a Yuzo soundtrack unless you looked it up.

Would be a generally fine MS recommendation if it didn't play so slow and have such finicky controls for the grappling hook.

Arcade: 6/10
Genesis: 4/10

Idk, it's a classic, it's Toaplan's signature staples in a game that's much more visually rich than their stretch of military-oriented outings. But this Genesis port is kinda rancid: The difficulty is all over the place, mostly due to the crunched viewport. Even though this is considered the studiously easier version of the game, I felt mauled in comparison to my time with the arcade & mobile versions. Either nothing was happening on-screen, or some asshole with a sniper was shooting a 4-pixel carrot nib up my bum. Just a sucky contrast where you have to be constantly on your toes even during stretches of slow, droning gameplay filler, and then have to fit an enormous hitbox between spread waves the size of a [Funny Thing That Is Narrow].

Will play the better PCE port soon.

Kudos to Toaplan for trying to do something different when stepping into the new Hori territory - there weren't a lot of shmups doing the multi-angle weapon system while incorporating such strict and methodical levels around it. But even with that hook, I found this mostly monotonous. If I have to wrangle around multiple weapons like this, I'd rather have a suite of super-dramatic ballistics like Thunder Force instead of a straight line laser.

That said, I like how stinky the game feels. This game is ugly but in like, a very campy and endearing way. Especially the music, and even moreso in the Genesis port. What compels a man to make sounds like this.

It's ironic this is considered the de-facto Master System game - and it is! It's an iconic and unique classic, and for some, the pinnacle of the Wonder Boy series.

The problem is it's best played elsewhere. The Charisma system makes this Master System original a drag. It's removed from both the later Game Gear port and the DotEmu remake. Play either of those instead. (no idea how the PC-Engine version handles this)

I would've finished a full run of this but I kept re-doing the same Dragon Mail subquest over and over - first cause I locked my charisma out of purchasing it, and then again because the password I generated to get enough charisma to buy it locked me out of my mouse transformation. I don't have the motivation to give it another go rn, so I think I'm gonna focus on other RPG's for the meantime.

It's just worse Battletoads, and I find that really embarrassing. Only half as many levels with a very poor selection that eliminates the rhythmic pacing of beatemup/platforming/gimmick sections the original game had. And most returning levels are worse and harder than they originally were. This game's equivalent of Clinger Winger is probably the worst level in a videogame I've ever played.

Just bad, totally awful, I know Rare isn't a developer to be trusted, but c'mon, what kind of sequel is this?

No irony, I love Battletoads. A wild juxtaposition between obscene difficulty and the derpiest animation alive. The kind of game that takes itself seriously through its situations and soundtrack, but then throws you a rubber duck with giant teeth or a boss with 1 frame of animation. It just wears its structural DNA on its sleeve, warts and all. Iconic.

Play this Genesis version if you can. It's kind of a rush job port (no ending or credits???!?), but the difficulty is so much more digestible. If it weren't for that last stretch of Rat Race/Clinger Winger/Revolution, I could see myself doing this on real hardware.

R-Type isn't my cup of tea but I always got huge respect for the first one, most shmups wouldn't be here today without it. It's the intricacy of the levels that really brings it all together, you weren't playing shmups before this where the areas feel sequentially connected and have unique biome-driven mechanics. Every level sticks out here - The cinematic intro where you raid the enemy ship from the outside, the slimy biodens in level 2 and 5 with insect-like creatures flying about, the awesome giant battleship of level 3, and the machine pass with the seemingly-indestructible cargo devices in level 6.

The Master System version is super impressive with how faithfully it recreates every element of the original - no cuts, and just as much firepower. The only hit is in performance and visibility - the high spritecounts with all the multi-jointed enemies and bullets bring a bunch of flicker, and the bullets have some Phalanx energy going on. I can't see these dark red shots. Difficulty felt a lot more approachable than the other versions too. It's not more recommendable than the others, but it's the most fun I've had with the game yet.