Taking another dive into the Arcade Stadium, we have Trojan, a game which is a spiritual successor to both Kung-Fu Master and Ghosts ‘n Goblins, one of which I have never played before, and one that has left scars that will never heal, so that can only spell out a good quality product, right? Well… somewhat. Fundamentally, it can be a fun time, and it does have some tiny elements that make it somewhat unique compared to other titles at the time, but not only does it suffer from what you would expect an arcade game to have, but what little it does have can’t save it from being overshadowed by the inevitable curse of mediocrity.
The story is detailed enough, which I can appreciate, but it all just boils down to “Go stop evil” at it’s core essentials, the graphics are good, but they do look like every other Capcom arcade game from that era, so nothing really special, all the music sounds like the exact same twangy garbage, the controls are pretty good overall, and the gameplay is about what you would expect if you took a look at a screenshot, but I will admit, it can be fun and satisfying at points.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you run through various stages, defeating plenty of enemies along the way, getting power ups to help you out, and fighting both mini bosses and regular bo- yeah, you all have heard all of this before MANY times, especially from me. And of course, as usual, there are one or two aspects that make the game stand out somewhat from other games at the time. Throughout the game, you are equipped with a sword and shield, which allows for both attacking AND blocking, something that most platformers around the time almost never had. I have to admit, I really like this gameplay addition, as it allows for more quick thinking and strategy that does help out a lot, while also not making things too easy on the player (which we will get to soon enough).
Aside from that though, there isn’t really that much else unique with the original game, and it just comes off as (say it with me now) incredibly generic amongst many of the other titles out at the time. However, this is only for the arcade version, which is the version that I played, but for the NES version, there was apparently plenty of other additions made to the game. These additions include more powerups, hidden rooms for more goodies, more bosses, and even a Versus mode where two players can battle it out in a three round match. I’m not sure how all of that stuff works out in terms of quality, but if you are ever considering playing this game (which you probably won’t), then play the NES version, as you will definitely be getting more bang for your buck.
On the whole, I did enjoy the game to a degree, but of course, since it is an arcade game, it can’t let us go without giving us a good ol’ dose of that arcade syndrome. There will be plenty of enemies coming at your from all directions, and while I wouldn’t say it is THAT hard in the regular side-scrolling levels, it does get pretty harrowing in the gauntlet levels, where you have to traverse down various rooms while facing off against enemies in VERY TIGHT corridors. As you can imagine, getting out of these rooms without taking any damage is really fucking hard, as they attack fast and rapidly, and what doesn’t help is that your health can be depleted in seconds if you aren’t careful. But like I mentioned, you do at least have a shield to help you get past the enemies, which did make the experience less stressful.
Also, remember how I said this game was inspired by Ghosts ‘n Goblins? Well, you can certainly tell that’s the case, because this game makes you beat it twice in order to see the true ending, and no, that is still never going to not be a bad aspect of these older games. Sure, the game isn’t really that long (at least it won’t be if you are good at it), but still, making the player go through the same game twice just to beat it has always been an incredibly lazy way of stretching out game length. I have yet to find a game that does this and actually managed to make it work, and I don’t think I ever will.
Overall, while it does have a unique approach to taking on enemies in this era (at least, you know, in this genre), it doesn’t help the game feel less like yet another generic Capcom arcade title, with the usual issues that comes with these games not really helping things out whatsoever. That being said, I still had a good amount of fun, and I wouldn’t consider the game to be bad, just sort of… there. Hey, at least it doesn’t actively make me suffer while playing it, so it gets props just for that alone.
Game #240
The story is detailed enough, which I can appreciate, but it all just boils down to “Go stop evil” at it’s core essentials, the graphics are good, but they do look like every other Capcom arcade game from that era, so nothing really special, all the music sounds like the exact same twangy garbage, the controls are pretty good overall, and the gameplay is about what you would expect if you took a look at a screenshot, but I will admit, it can be fun and satisfying at points.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you run through various stages, defeating plenty of enemies along the way, getting power ups to help you out, and fighting both mini bosses and regular bo- yeah, you all have heard all of this before MANY times, especially from me. And of course, as usual, there are one or two aspects that make the game stand out somewhat from other games at the time. Throughout the game, you are equipped with a sword and shield, which allows for both attacking AND blocking, something that most platformers around the time almost never had. I have to admit, I really like this gameplay addition, as it allows for more quick thinking and strategy that does help out a lot, while also not making things too easy on the player (which we will get to soon enough).
Aside from that though, there isn’t really that much else unique with the original game, and it just comes off as (say it with me now) incredibly generic amongst many of the other titles out at the time. However, this is only for the arcade version, which is the version that I played, but for the NES version, there was apparently plenty of other additions made to the game. These additions include more powerups, hidden rooms for more goodies, more bosses, and even a Versus mode where two players can battle it out in a three round match. I’m not sure how all of that stuff works out in terms of quality, but if you are ever considering playing this game (which you probably won’t), then play the NES version, as you will definitely be getting more bang for your buck.
On the whole, I did enjoy the game to a degree, but of course, since it is an arcade game, it can’t let us go without giving us a good ol’ dose of that arcade syndrome. There will be plenty of enemies coming at your from all directions, and while I wouldn’t say it is THAT hard in the regular side-scrolling levels, it does get pretty harrowing in the gauntlet levels, where you have to traverse down various rooms while facing off against enemies in VERY TIGHT corridors. As you can imagine, getting out of these rooms without taking any damage is really fucking hard, as they attack fast and rapidly, and what doesn’t help is that your health can be depleted in seconds if you aren’t careful. But like I mentioned, you do at least have a shield to help you get past the enemies, which did make the experience less stressful.
Also, remember how I said this game was inspired by Ghosts ‘n Goblins? Well, you can certainly tell that’s the case, because this game makes you beat it twice in order to see the true ending, and no, that is still never going to not be a bad aspect of these older games. Sure, the game isn’t really that long (at least it won’t be if you are good at it), but still, making the player go through the same game twice just to beat it has always been an incredibly lazy way of stretching out game length. I have yet to find a game that does this and actually managed to make it work, and I don’t think I ever will.
Overall, while it does have a unique approach to taking on enemies in this era (at least, you know, in this genre), it doesn’t help the game feel less like yet another generic Capcom arcade title, with the usual issues that comes with these games not really helping things out whatsoever. That being said, I still had a good amount of fun, and I wouldn’t consider the game to be bad, just sort of… there. Hey, at least it doesn’t actively make me suffer while playing it, so it gets props just for that alone.
Game #240