PocketEleri
50 reviews liked by PocketEleri
Still a great entry, but I think the stronger story of the 1st game pushes my preference more towards that one, but still a really solid time.
I really liked the story aspect from Black 1 where for the first and last time in a Pokémon game you were made to think about whether your conception of the world was really moral and just. Although you get to see all of the post-effects of the in-universe musing, the plot becomes a bit less impactful when everyone out and out just goes "we're bad!" rather than "what if you are?"
It's nice to see all sorts of Pokémon reintroduced into the wild during the main campaign, but although it's a selling point for the box, feels like a little bit of a concession when they went all out on making a brand new roster of 'mons for the OG, like a direct pander to the people complaining that the ice cream cone ruined their childhood or whatever.
All of that aside (which despite having a bit to say on it, I'd say are minor complaints) I think everything else about the game is an upgrade over the OG so it's a net win, but I think the first game packs a bigger punch and left a better lasting impression on me.
I really liked the story aspect from Black 1 where for the first and last time in a Pokémon game you were made to think about whether your conception of the world was really moral and just. Although you get to see all of the post-effects of the in-universe musing, the plot becomes a bit less impactful when everyone out and out just goes "we're bad!" rather than "what if you are?"
It's nice to see all sorts of Pokémon reintroduced into the wild during the main campaign, but although it's a selling point for the box, feels like a little bit of a concession when they went all out on making a brand new roster of 'mons for the OG, like a direct pander to the people complaining that the ice cream cone ruined their childhood or whatever.
All of that aside (which despite having a bit to say on it, I'd say are minor complaints) I think everything else about the game is an upgrade over the OG so it's a net win, but I think the first game packs a bigger punch and left a better lasting impression on me.
Armored Warriors
1994
Playing the Capcom Beat 'em up bundle I was really starting to think that only Capcom's licensed games like Aliens vs. Predator, The Punisher etc. were truly worth playing. With my friend and I generally being pretty uninspired by Knights of Round, Warriors of Fate and Final Fight we weren't expecting much with Armored Warriors next in our playlist but it came out and kicked us in the teeth out of nowhere.
Simply put it plays superbly well. It's incredibly fluid with smooth animations, frame rate and unique attacks. The mechs you pilot all have melee attacks as well as ranged weapons with limited ammo. As you destroy enemies they will drop more guns, missile launchers, claws, drill arms among other weapons which have completely different animations and attacks. This all gives the game a lot of variety but that doesn't even include replaceable legs like tank tracks that allow you to jump like a spiked ball, spider legs that allow you to spin jump and launch an orbital bombardment or a flying rocket pack. The attack options are pretty exceptional for a beat 'em up that only mech customization of swapping parts would really allow. Other interesting things we noticed for the genre was a difference between solo and co-op play that some sections will drop a huge tank like unit exclusive to multiplayer both your mechs will attach too as weapons. One character controls it moving and attacks while the others only attack. It's only for a limited time but it's a pretty cool feature allowing you to have dealt some boss damage additionally.
Visually I think the game is stunning. It's sprite work is Capcom at it's peak and everything is colourful yet designed in a way to be as clear to the player as possible from each other, enemies and backgrounds. The mech designs are excellent, my favorite being the super fast yellow one allowing me to dash and jump around the screen like a lunatic. There are four to choose from and similar to any beat 'em up they have their pros and cons for speed to power ratios depending on which character you choose.
The story isn't much to write home about and there is some small niggles around picking up weapons by accident I often have due to button limitations on arcade machines. They are tiny issues, inconsequential at worst to an otherwise fantastic looking and playing arcade beat 'em up. I had an absolute blast playing this and will easily come back to this time and time again. Who doesn't love a chunky mech firing a volley of rockets off before power drilling through several enemies while their friend shouts "use the vulcan!" as they fire their gun quoting a line from 90's anime New Dominion Tank Police they know off by heart? I mean who?
Recommended.
+ Gorgeous Visuals.
+ Swapping parts is a great mechanic adding variety.
+ Smooth playing with excellent visual and mechanical design.
Simply put it plays superbly well. It's incredibly fluid with smooth animations, frame rate and unique attacks. The mechs you pilot all have melee attacks as well as ranged weapons with limited ammo. As you destroy enemies they will drop more guns, missile launchers, claws, drill arms among other weapons which have completely different animations and attacks. This all gives the game a lot of variety but that doesn't even include replaceable legs like tank tracks that allow you to jump like a spiked ball, spider legs that allow you to spin jump and launch an orbital bombardment or a flying rocket pack. The attack options are pretty exceptional for a beat 'em up that only mech customization of swapping parts would really allow. Other interesting things we noticed for the genre was a difference between solo and co-op play that some sections will drop a huge tank like unit exclusive to multiplayer both your mechs will attach too as weapons. One character controls it moving and attacks while the others only attack. It's only for a limited time but it's a pretty cool feature allowing you to have dealt some boss damage additionally.
Visually I think the game is stunning. It's sprite work is Capcom at it's peak and everything is colourful yet designed in a way to be as clear to the player as possible from each other, enemies and backgrounds. The mech designs are excellent, my favorite being the super fast yellow one allowing me to dash and jump around the screen like a lunatic. There are four to choose from and similar to any beat 'em up they have their pros and cons for speed to power ratios depending on which character you choose.
The story isn't much to write home about and there is some small niggles around picking up weapons by accident I often have due to button limitations on arcade machines. They are tiny issues, inconsequential at worst to an otherwise fantastic looking and playing arcade beat 'em up. I had an absolute blast playing this and will easily come back to this time and time again. Who doesn't love a chunky mech firing a volley of rockets off before power drilling through several enemies while their friend shouts "use the vulcan!" as they fire their gun quoting a line from 90's anime New Dominion Tank Police they know off by heart? I mean who?
Recommended.
+ Gorgeous Visuals.
+ Swapping parts is a great mechanic adding variety.
+ Smooth playing with excellent visual and mechanical design.
Bulk Slash
1997
A hidden gem.
Did you know the Sega Saturn had over 1000 games released on it? You wouldn't think so as they were primarily Japanese only releases with the western markets only received a quarter of that number. Fortunately in something I have spoken about before, fan communities are doing the work a lot of the companies either won't or can't, in bringing these games English patches so players years later, (25 in Bulk slash's case) can still enjoy them or experience them for the first time. Now I'm really highlighting this for the review because of the effort the fan base went to here is a step beyond what is normally done and the reason why. You see not only did the group translate the English text, create an English manual for it but they actually hired/found actors for an English dub of it. Aside from being genuinely impressed with the work and dedication on display. It's actually kind of needed due to the fast paced action and gameplay design along with your chosen navigator.
The premise of the game is very much like a Gundam storyline. An, intergalactic war, a military coup with you at the centre. You play the role of Chris Dooley a pilot for the S.D.F fighting to stop the coup but you aren't alone with your Manageable Intelligent Support System (M.I.S.S.), aka your navigator. There is one on each level that are hidden in most cases and will give different endings depending on your bond with them in how long you use them for etc. . It's a very arcady feeling shoot 'em up set in 7 Stages with a little flexibility in which order you play them in. Each level has different objectives, a couple are just to destroy targets, an escort mission, a bomb delivery level, infiltrating bases etc. and as part of that the navigator is pretty much necessary. The tagline in the translated manual is:
"Her voice is your only hope"
Now while an exaggeration, she will talk to you at a press of a button with an icon directing you to your target. The patch makers felt doing this with subtitles and playing at the same time wouldn't have been as useful and I agree. A quick "behind you!" to direct you the way you need to go or where a threat is while wrestling with the controls goes a long way, and wrestle I did initially. This is coming from someone who grew up with the system but I'm simply used to more precise control systems now and it really took a while to get back into the groove. Once I did though I was flying, firing landing and attacking to my hearts content.
The visual aesthetic is great, like just check out the opening cinematic and music. If that doesn't appeal to you walk away now. It's got this 80's / 90's vibe running through it's core and the English fandub voices match it extremely well. Not every voice is quite a winner for me but when I showed the patch trailer to a friend they said the voices matched 90's dubbed gaming perfectly like it could have launched like that and been believable and compared with titles like Burning Rangers at the time? I see his point.
He also said the game looked awesome. You know what? Having played it, he was right. It is awesome.
+ English fan work is kinda bonkers.
+ Game is legitimately a fantastic time.
+ Music, art and action are a delight.
- Controls are clunky to get used to initially due to Saturn limitations.
Did you know the Sega Saturn had over 1000 games released on it? You wouldn't think so as they were primarily Japanese only releases with the western markets only received a quarter of that number. Fortunately in something I have spoken about before, fan communities are doing the work a lot of the companies either won't or can't, in bringing these games English patches so players years later, (25 in Bulk slash's case) can still enjoy them or experience them for the first time. Now I'm really highlighting this for the review because of the effort the fan base went to here is a step beyond what is normally done and the reason why. You see not only did the group translate the English text, create an English manual for it but they actually hired/found actors for an English dub of it. Aside from being genuinely impressed with the work and dedication on display. It's actually kind of needed due to the fast paced action and gameplay design along with your chosen navigator.
The premise of the game is very much like a Gundam storyline. An, intergalactic war, a military coup with you at the centre. You play the role of Chris Dooley a pilot for the S.D.F fighting to stop the coup but you aren't alone with your Manageable Intelligent Support System (M.I.S.S.), aka your navigator. There is one on each level that are hidden in most cases and will give different endings depending on your bond with them in how long you use them for etc. . It's a very arcady feeling shoot 'em up set in 7 Stages with a little flexibility in which order you play them in. Each level has different objectives, a couple are just to destroy targets, an escort mission, a bomb delivery level, infiltrating bases etc. and as part of that the navigator is pretty much necessary. The tagline in the translated manual is:
"Her voice is your only hope"
Now while an exaggeration, she will talk to you at a press of a button with an icon directing you to your target. The patch makers felt doing this with subtitles and playing at the same time wouldn't have been as useful and I agree. A quick "behind you!" to direct you the way you need to go or where a threat is while wrestling with the controls goes a long way, and wrestle I did initially. This is coming from someone who grew up with the system but I'm simply used to more precise control systems now and it really took a while to get back into the groove. Once I did though I was flying, firing landing and attacking to my hearts content.
The visual aesthetic is great, like just check out the opening cinematic and music. If that doesn't appeal to you walk away now. It's got this 80's / 90's vibe running through it's core and the English fandub voices match it extremely well. Not every voice is quite a winner for me but when I showed the patch trailer to a friend they said the voices matched 90's dubbed gaming perfectly like it could have launched like that and been believable and compared with titles like Burning Rangers at the time? I see his point.
He also said the game looked awesome. You know what? Having played it, he was right. It is awesome.
+ English fan work is kinda bonkers.
+ Game is legitimately a fantastic time.
+ Music, art and action are a delight.
- Controls are clunky to get used to initially due to Saturn limitations.
Ape Escape
1999
After getting over the unique control scheme, there's a lot of fun to be had here. Wacky, silly antics at the core of a frantic but grounded platformer. Add in the colourful visuals and fantastic soundtrack and this is one of the PlayStation's greatest games. Slightly let down by some unfair design later on, but nowhere near in the same league of frustrating as most games of the era.
Another window into an era of the PlayStation that's long gone. Sad to look back at in that regard, but that's not the fault of Ape Escape and other incredible titles that really define the early years of the brand for me. A standout hit from the library that any PlayStation fan owes it to themselves to play.
Another window into an era of the PlayStation that's long gone. Sad to look back at in that regard, but that's not the fault of Ape Escape and other incredible titles that really define the early years of the brand for me. A standout hit from the library that any PlayStation fan owes it to themselves to play.
With the upcoming new series of Netflix's Castlevania: Nocturne coming next month I figured now was a good time to finally play Rondo of Blood as it's based around it and it's one of the few games in the series I have yet to get to. Considering the first game I played was Symphony of the Night which is linked to Rondo so strongly this has been long in line for a correction.
The first thing that really hit me playing through this is the soundtrack. Being originally released on the TurboGrafix-CD really allowed for higher quality sound over previous games in the series and it really shows. There are classic versions of Vampire Killer and Bloody Tears in an almost rock funk version mixed with a load of unique tracks and almost all of them are fantastic. In addition to it's great audio I think this is one of the best looking Classicvania games to boot. The opening scene of Richter Belmont riding a cart through the rain after a sequence with a man speaking German for the opening set up is so amazingly atmospheric still considering the game is 30 years old at this point. The game makes use of a lot of in game almost anime cinematics for certain story scenes or when hidden characters are rescued. It's a shame the English voice acting is so painful to listen to but that almost gives it it's own retro charm.
It's a shame then that Rondo of Blood comes with the same weaknesses as all the games before it feeling stiff to control, with cheap enemy placements. Take the last section of Stage 5 on the alternate route for example. You have to jump or kill medusa heads while getting past spears being thrust from above on platforms that if you jump onto will spin to throw you into the water for an instant death. Now not every level is like this but it almost has a punishing design like it's an arcade game trying to take your money which just seems needlessly difficult for no reason. You can unlock a secondary character Maria Renard who controls in a much smoother manner and is generally seen as easier to use with a double jump, slide and ranged attacks making her have better utility than Richter which for my old man reactions I appreciated. Even using Maria however this game is no cake walk without practice. Having said all that though by the time I was on my second playthrough I could no damage a lot of the bosses as I'd learned learned their attack patterns on my first load of attempts.
That aside though I can't really fault the game much. There are two routes to take with new areas and bosses, tons of secret locations and hidden goodies to find and the game looks and sounds fantastic. It's not quite my favorite Classicvania game but it's pretty high up there as an overall package.
+ Great visual and art design.
+ Kick ass soundtrack.
+ Some decent replay value with different routes, two playable characters and secrets.
- Some of the level and enemy placement are cheap and needlessly frustrating.
The first thing that really hit me playing through this is the soundtrack. Being originally released on the TurboGrafix-CD really allowed for higher quality sound over previous games in the series and it really shows. There are classic versions of Vampire Killer and Bloody Tears in an almost rock funk version mixed with a load of unique tracks and almost all of them are fantastic. In addition to it's great audio I think this is one of the best looking Classicvania games to boot. The opening scene of Richter Belmont riding a cart through the rain after a sequence with a man speaking German for the opening set up is so amazingly atmospheric still considering the game is 30 years old at this point. The game makes use of a lot of in game almost anime cinematics for certain story scenes or when hidden characters are rescued. It's a shame the English voice acting is so painful to listen to but that almost gives it it's own retro charm.
It's a shame then that Rondo of Blood comes with the same weaknesses as all the games before it feeling stiff to control, with cheap enemy placements. Take the last section of Stage 5 on the alternate route for example. You have to jump or kill medusa heads while getting past spears being thrust from above on platforms that if you jump onto will spin to throw you into the water for an instant death. Now not every level is like this but it almost has a punishing design like it's an arcade game trying to take your money which just seems needlessly difficult for no reason. You can unlock a secondary character Maria Renard who controls in a much smoother manner and is generally seen as easier to use with a double jump, slide and ranged attacks making her have better utility than Richter which for my old man reactions I appreciated. Even using Maria however this game is no cake walk without practice. Having said all that though by the time I was on my second playthrough I could no damage a lot of the bosses as I'd learned learned their attack patterns on my first load of attempts.
That aside though I can't really fault the game much. There are two routes to take with new areas and bosses, tons of secret locations and hidden goodies to find and the game looks and sounds fantastic. It's not quite my favorite Classicvania game but it's pretty high up there as an overall package.
+ Great visual and art design.
+ Kick ass soundtrack.
+ Some decent replay value with different routes, two playable characters and secrets.
- Some of the level and enemy placement are cheap and needlessly frustrating.
Hellfire Saga
2023
Programmed physics for segmented defeat animation, and software scaling and rotation on the final boss? No wonder this hack took five years to make. Yes, it's very edgy (the Mickey Mouse attack in one of the bosses is so narmy) but it's so extremely metal otherwise and the boss fights feel creative despite taking stuff from other games that it's true to its name and becomes fire as fuck.
All in all,
This game goes hard, feel free to play it.
All in all,
This game goes hard, feel free to play it.
I was originally going to review a different game this weekend, but after randomly stumbling across the existence of this last night I knew I had to play it instead. Because seriously, WTF(ladoodle) lol? Look at that name! It sounds like it would be some fan meme crap, but it’s actually officially licensed by Sega! I was honestly so baffled until I remembered what day it was and realized this had to be some sort of early April Fools’ Day joke. To my surprise though, that only turned out to be half-true.
Let’s get this out of the way, the title is total clickbait. Nothing crazy, ridiculous, or lore breaking happens. It all plays very safely to be as canon-friendly as possible. While it’s a little disappointing that they didn’t just go full nonsense with this like I, probably foolishly, hoped they would, I still ended up having a good time with it. It’s a cute, charming, and legitimately funny visual novel that somehow manages to unironically be one of the better Sonic games I’ve played. The people behind it seriously tried to make a worthwhile addition to the franchise and they totally succeeded!
Overall, it’s pretty short clocking in at a couple of hours at most and the lack of any alternate endings means there’s no real reason to ever replay it once you’re finished outside of a quick refresher in a few years down the line. There are also some gameplay segments that consist of more than merely clicking through text scattered throughout. These are honestly pretty terrible. You’re basically just guiding Sonic down short tracks infinite runner style, dodging obstacles and trying to collect a set amount of rings before reaching the end. They suck because the keyboard controls leave a little to be desired in terms of precision and I resorted to using one of the assist features to lower the ring requirements around the midpoint of the adventure simply to hurry up and get past these parts as quickly as possible.
Ultimately however, these problems are largely offset by the fact that this was released completely for free. It’s a generous holiday gift that’s far better than it has any right to be. You can feel the care, effort, and quality that was put into it by the development team, who were clearly genuinely excited for the project (they thank Sega in the credits for letting them make it). I would truly love it if they would do more of these small, experimental surprise treats every once in a while, even if I have to pay for them here and there. There’s no reason for Sonic fans or the simply curious in general to not check this out.
GOTY 2023
8/10
Let’s get this out of the way, the title is total clickbait. Nothing crazy, ridiculous, or lore breaking happens. It all plays very safely to be as canon-friendly as possible. While it’s a little disappointing that they didn’t just go full nonsense with this like I, probably foolishly, hoped they would, I still ended up having a good time with it. It’s a cute, charming, and legitimately funny visual novel that somehow manages to unironically be one of the better Sonic games I’ve played. The people behind it seriously tried to make a worthwhile addition to the franchise and they totally succeeded!
Overall, it’s pretty short clocking in at a couple of hours at most and the lack of any alternate endings means there’s no real reason to ever replay it once you’re finished outside of a quick refresher in a few years down the line. There are also some gameplay segments that consist of more than merely clicking through text scattered throughout. These are honestly pretty terrible. You’re basically just guiding Sonic down short tracks infinite runner style, dodging obstacles and trying to collect a set amount of rings before reaching the end. They suck because the keyboard controls leave a little to be desired in terms of precision and I resorted to using one of the assist features to lower the ring requirements around the midpoint of the adventure simply to hurry up and get past these parts as quickly as possible.
Ultimately however, these problems are largely offset by the fact that this was released completely for free. It’s a generous holiday gift that’s far better than it has any right to be. You can feel the care, effort, and quality that was put into it by the development team, who were clearly genuinely excited for the project (they thank Sega in the credits for letting them make it). I would truly love it if they would do more of these small, experimental surprise treats every once in a while, even if I have to pay for them here and there. There’s no reason for Sonic fans or the simply curious in general to not check this out.
8/10
Yeah I rated this higher than Sonic Frontiers and Unleashed what of it
Anyway, while not the best Visual Novel experience out there for it essentially being free 2-3 Hour experience, this game is a charming little romp, I was surprised how well written the characters and murder mystery actually, and the dialogue was genuinely witty and fun. I really also like the graphics and music, while not the best 2D Artwork or soundtrack in the series, fit’s this game well.
Anyway, overall a fun time! Now leave me alone for 2 Weeks, I have a Racoon to attend to
Anyway, while not the best Visual Novel experience out there for it essentially being free 2-3 Hour experience, this game is a charming little romp, I was surprised how well written the characters and murder mystery actually, and the dialogue was genuinely witty and fun. I really also like the graphics and music, while not the best 2D Artwork or soundtrack in the series, fit’s this game well.
Anyway, overall a fun time! Now leave me alone for 2 Weeks, I have a Racoon to attend to
One of the most fun gaming experiences I've ever had. Genuinely. Heartwarming and intriguing, and the exact type of wacky passion project that I love to see from the teams involved in this franchise. For what it is and what it aims to be, it really is perfect.
Super Mario Galaxy
2020
😩
