lostleader
513 reviews liked by lostleader
Songs are great but that's it. It's basic DDR but without the peripheral that makes it famous. Has two mini-games, one of which serves no purpose and another that you have to play upwards of 100 total levels to unlock the hidden songs and difficulty. It's subpar DDR hidden behind the simplest version of Lunar Lander ever released. Damn shame, because the visual presentation is ADORABLE.
Klaymen Gun-Hockey
1999
Slam the X button to shoot the puck back, slam the square button to turn on power-ups that turn the game entirely in your favor in all but the final round. It's plenty stylish, but it has zero substance to make it last. Further evidence that TenNapel has zero juice and that no amount of quirky PSX design can salvage colorful garbage.
Ane-san
1995
Biker girl gang pummels their way to dominance, recruiting defeated bosses, buying decorations for their room, and making scary faces at one another in intimidation mini-games. It's heaven on paper, but is marred by a simple one-button control scheme that makes combat either boring or intensely punishing depending on what items you purchase to bolster your stats. But hey, one of the boss fights takes place to a cover of "Holding Out for a Hero" so...
It's also got some incredibly damaging fatphobia in there which has aged like rotten milk, so be aware of that before starting.
It's also got some incredibly damaging fatphobia in there which has aged like rotten milk, so be aware of that before starting.
Dead of the Brain
1992
Incredibly strong vibes bogged down by obtuse command expectations. You wanna go into the bloody hallway? Better have clicked on every single item in the precinct five times from ashtray to piece of paper. Like a lot of PC-98 adventure games, it gives you control but forces you through these interaction funnels, meaning you'll spend more time fumbling through clicking anything and everything than playing.
The lightning fast gun and escape sequences are an amazing touch, and graphically the game is DISGUSTING to the perfect degree. I still recommend it, but do so with a warning: Click on EVERYTHING even if you don't think it's important, because if you don't you'll HAVE to later.
The lightning fast gun and escape sequences are an amazing touch, and graphically the game is DISGUSTING to the perfect degree. I still recommend it, but do so with a warning: Click on EVERYTHING even if you don't think it's important, because if you don't you'll HAVE to later.
Puppet Zoo Pilomy
1996
An eight year old and the weird creature that may or may not be threatening him commit crimes against existence by building abominations of modern science. You can try to build normal animals, but eventually you WILL either slip, become curious, or reach a point in progression, and you will make a beast that cries for you to kill it.
It's coated with an extremely cute and strange veneer, the music is charming, the map makes sense, and the built in dual-language text is a huge blessing. It's more a toy than a game, with the gameplay becoming incredibly repetitive well before the credits roll. But it is INTERESTING. Which is always the bigger sell to me.
"Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he's created?"
It's coated with an extremely cute and strange veneer, the music is charming, the map makes sense, and the built in dual-language text is a huge blessing. It's more a toy than a game, with the gameplay becoming incredibly repetitive well before the credits roll. But it is INTERESTING. Which is always the bigger sell to me.
"Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he's created?"
Dragon Warrior I
1999
I understand why it's beloved, having finally played it. There's surprising depth, a lot of hidden paths and puzzles, and you just can't beat Toriyama's monster designs for the series. But otherwise it's aged as expected and that much can't be helped. The RPG genre was flooded between the NES and the PC-Engine eras, and both ends of that spectrum offer amazing titles and so almost anything can get lost in the flood.
Dragon Quest, thankfully, falls an inch or so closer to marvel than mediocrity by modern standards, ensuring that it will rightfully endure the test of time to some degree for as long as the medium exists.
Dragon Quest, thankfully, falls an inch or so closer to marvel than mediocrity by modern standards, ensuring that it will rightfully endure the test of time to some degree for as long as the medium exists.
Not bad so much as deeply boring. Little to no challenge, stiff platforming, a power-up that in many ways reduces your performance. I finished it for a challenge, and I don't regret it, but with titles like these populating the industry's early Holiday titles, I can see why we moved away from games focused on the season.
If you're insistent to play it, play the Mega Drive version, as the SNES version has some inescapable locations you can end up in on accident.
If you're insistent to play it, play the Mega Drive version, as the SNES version has some inescapable locations you can end up in on accident.
Play pachinko to spend your earnings on weapons. Use those weapons to destroy tanks and complete three missions. It's still standard pachinko, but the presentation is the star here. The player character is injured when he loses, as the machines detonate right in front of him. Tables have cute little gimmicks like a motorbike with shifting gears or a shifting face made of number slots. It's the best pachinko I've played...but that bar was on the ground tbh.
Kirikou
2001
One of the few 2.5D platformers I've played that felt like it was taking advantage of the perspective well. It's a really balanced difficulty, using your attack damage and health as the same resource to encourage strategy and back-attacks over brute force.
And like, Kirikou is a badass. This kid is less than a year old and he looks at his village, sees an evil witch causing problems, and picks up a dagger. Kid was born to get things done. I hadn't seen the film and a big joy of the game was seeing the lengths this kid would go to. He was an A-grade protagonist I'm not even joking!!!
And like, Kirikou is a badass. This kid is less than a year old and he looks at his village, sees an evil witch causing problems, and picks up a dagger. Kid was born to get things done. I hadn't seen the film and a big joy of the game was seeing the lengths this kid would go to. He was an A-grade protagonist I'm not even joking!!!
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