Retro Game Friday: Klanoa

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with a classic game that is often not remembered. It’s Klanoa: Door to Phantomile!

Plot Synopsis:

The story begins with the legend of the land of Phantomile, a mysterious place that is fueled by the very dreams people have at night. As a result, no one can clearly remember the dreams they have had, even if they occurred recently. However, a young cat-like boy named Klonoa who lives in the town of Breezegale with his grandfather has been having dreams about a mysterious dark airship crashing into a nearby mountain, and can recall every detail of it. One day, a mysterious ship does indeed crash into the mountain, and Klonoa and his friend, a “ring spirit” named Huepow, decide to investigate. After fighting several small, round creatures called Moos, they reach the top of the mountain, only to find two mysterious creatures…

Plot: This doesn’t have a gripping plot, full of intrigue and action. Nope it’s more of a game for younger kids. I won’t say it’s got a terrible story, but it’s definitely not the strongest plot ever.

Gameplay: The gameplay is mostly 2D Platforming. I say mostly because you could interact with your environment which was in 3D. They termed it 2.5D at the time, and I suppose that term works now. Klanoa’s main form of attack is his Wind Bullet ability which lets him toss enemies around or use them to toss himself around. It’s all based off concepts tied to the wind, which was to me at the time pretty interesting. Frankly I’m kind of itching to see if I can find a ROM of it, but I doubt I have the time to indulge in that wish.

Characters: The characters are okay, and while not very deep they aren’t super flat like any character from a Twilight novel.

Art: The art has aged poorly due to the use of 3D. If they had kept it purely 2D it probably would’ve aged much better.

Music: I don’t remember any of it, sorry.

Overall: Give this a spin if you get the chance, it’s pretty good.

For those who like: Platformers, Interesting Gameplay Mechanics, A Main Character That isn’t a Plumber.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

 

Retro Game Friday: Minish Cap

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with another game in the Zelda series! It’s The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap!

Plot Synopsis: The quest begins when Link is chosen by the king of Hyrule to seek the help of the Picori after Vaati had destroyed the Picori Blade and petrified Princess Zelda. With the blade shattered, evil monsters were released into Hyrule and Vaati was able to create chaos in his search for the Light Force. Link was chosen because only children can see the Picori.

Plot: The plot was pretty decent for a Zelda game, and since this was another entry in the Four Swords series it was incredibly fun. It wasn’t as serious as games like Final Fantasy or Tales of, but it was still a fun story.

Gameplay: This played like any of the 2D Zelda games, which is to say it was an excellent game.

Art: Thankfully for this game it used 2D graphics only and thus has stood the test of time much better than 3D counterparts.

Music: Pure Zelda, that’s all that need be said.

Overall: If you’ve never played Minish Cap you ought to, it’s a fun adventure that can last you a good 30 hours if you take your time.

For those who like: Zelda Games, Action, Adventure, Excellent Gameplay, Awesome Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Killer Instinct

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a real classic! It’s Killer Instinct, the 1994 version!

Plot Synopsis: Ultratech is a very powerful megacorporation which organises a tournament called Killer Instinct. Along with regular participants, experimental creatures created by Ultratech also fight in the tournament so their strength can be tested.

Plot: The plot is pretty sparse, but given that this is a fighting game I wasn’t expecting one.

Gameplay: The gameplay was quite fun and was like a mix of both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct also had it’s own unique features like an automatic combo that occurred after a series of inputs. That being said it’s not the most amazing fighter I’ve ever played and lacked Smash Brother’s simplicity and mayhem.

Art: Decent, this was made during the beginnings of the 3D era of gaming, so it definitely has aged, but it also has some of the timeless qualities of 2D.

Music: Don’t remember a whit of it, sorry.

Overall: They made a reboot of the game, so it might be worth trying out the original if you get the opportunity of doing so.

For those who like: Fighting Games, Fun Gameplay, Decent Graphics.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: ClayFighter 63⅓

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a game that almost no one remembers anymore! It’s ClayFighter 63⅓!

Plot Synopsis: The Isle of Klaymodo is the resting place of “Bessie”, the purple meteor that came crashing out of the sky onto Klaymodo Island. Bessie has the essential ingredient, Bawk Choy, necessary for Dr. Kiln’s world dominating Mutagen. Klaymodo’s chief baddies are the devious Dr. Kiln and local voodist Happy Harry Houngan. With a combination of laboratory experiments and voodoo spells, they’ve created an “interesting” assortment of hooligans to help them take over the world. These hideous henchmen include Bonker, a clown gone bad, and Ickybod Clay, the wonder from down under. Dr. Kiln is putting on the finishing touches on his top secret mutagen code named “Clayotic Claymorphisis” as Houngan walks through the lab door. When Houngan finds out about Dr. Kiln’s secret formula the clay hits the fan.

Plot: The plot is pretty nonsensical, but hey at least it includes Earthworm Jim! I’ll probably be doing a column on one of his games soon!

Gameplay: This is one of only two 2D Fighting games developed solely for the Nintendo 64 console and it takes full advantage of that, including poking fun at pretty much every N64 game title. It was a lot of fun to play and I actually want to go out and find a copy of the game, but the real prize would be to find a Sculptors Cut edition, which is one of the rarest Nintendo 64 games ever. The reason why was because it was a rental only exclusive to Blockbuster, when Video Rental stores were still a thing. Shocking I know right?

Art: The 2D aspect of the game was pretty good, but the backgrounds used 3D artwork which has aged poorly, like most of it’s peers from that generation.

Music: Don’t remember a thing, sorry.

Overall: If you can find a copy give it a shot, it was a lot of fun.

For those who like: Comedy, Fighting, Awesome Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Castlevania Aria of Sorrow

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering one of my favorite Metroidvania games. It’s Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow!

Plot Synopsis: Aria of Sorrow takes place in the fictional universe of the Castlevania series. The series’ premise is the conflict between the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan and the immortal vampire Dracula. Thirty-six years before the start ofAria of Sorrow, Dracula was defeated once and for all by the Belmont clan, and his powers sealed into a solar eclipse. Shortly after Dracula’s death, a prophecy was made that Dracula’s reincarnation would come to his castle in 2035 and inherit all of Dracula’s powers.

Plot: The plot is pretty great, and it features one of my favorite protagonist’s of the entire series, Soma Cruz. It also takes place in the near future, which is very nice after the medieval style of previous games. That isn’t to say that some of them were bad, but I’m a believer in the saying that “Variety is the spice of Life”. I won’t go into the specifics of the plot very much, but needless to say it’s one of the better entries in the series. Especially compared to the crap that is the Lord of Shadows reboot.

Gameplay: It played quite a bit like Symphony of the Night, although the game-breaking sword Crissaegrim didn’t return in it’s full glory.

Characters: Soma is a wonderful lead character, and the rest of the cast is amazing as well. Mina is probably my favorite of the supporting cast after Arikado, who takes the cake for being a great mysterious government figure.

Art: This was the last entry in the series to feature the art style of Symphony of the Night which was great, although AoS’s sequel wasn’t bad either.

Music: The music is classic Castlevania and is wonderful.

Overall: This was an excellent entry in the series and well worth playing even now.

For those who like: Castlevania, Metroidvania Games, Action, Adventure, Stupendous Gameplay, Excellent Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters, Great Art, Amazing Music.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but how can you hate all of that?