Retro Game Friday: Killer7

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with a rather oddball game. It’s Killer7!

Plot: The plot is pretty complex and not at all kid friendly. That said this is a Suda51 game, so that is to be expected.

Gameplay: The gameplay is pretty poor, with it being an On The Rails shooter for the most part. Honestly I enjoyed the story more than the gameplay by a very large margin.

Art: Killer7 used Cel Shading extensively and while it’s aged pretty well since then, it still has aged.

Music: The music is pretty good, and fits the game well.

Overall: An okay game, but much better story. Honestly you might just want to watch a Let’s Play instead of actually playing this.

For those who like: Action, Drama, The Noir Genre.

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

Retro Game Friday: Shantae

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a really obscure classic. It’s Shantae!

Plot Synopsis: A gang of pirates, the Tinkerbats, led by Risky Boots, attacks Scuttle Town and steals a prototype steam engine from Mimic, the town’s resident treasure hunter. Mimic tells Shantae, the guardian of Scuttle Town, that if Risky retrieves four magical “elemental stones”, she could power up the steam engine and create an unstoppable weapon out of it. Shantae travels across Sequin Land, determined to retrieve the steam engine and the elemental stones and stop Risky.

Plot: Look this isn’t a game that has an amazing plot, but it was fun to play.

Gameplay: Shantae was reminiscent of Banjo-Kazooie for me. Though not quite as good as Banjo-Kazooie, it allowed Shantae to transform into various forms like an Elephant or Monkey. This was a platformer through and through and while it wasn’t especially amazing, it was enough to gain a following, albeit a bit of a cult following. The game was obscured by the launch of the GameBoy Advance and since this was on the GameBoy Color it didn’t receive quite enough attention.

Art: The art is fully 2D, which is good because it’s aged pretty well since 2002.

Music: Don’t remember a whit, if I ever even listened to it. Remember that I played my portable games while traveled when I was younger so having the music on wasn’t really looked on kindly.

Overall: This was a fun game, if somewhat lacking in plot.

For those who like: Platformers, Transformations, Middle Eastern Mythologies, Great Gameplay, Good Artwork.

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

Retro Game Friday: Mega Man Battle Network 2

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering the sequel to a favorite game of mine. It’s Mega Man Battle Network 2!

Plot Synopsis: Three months following the events of Mega Man Battle Network the story opens with the world in a time of peace following the defeat of the organization known as the WWW. However, NetCrime, as perpetrated by a NetMafia organization known as Gospel, is on the rise.

Plot: The plot isn’t super amazing, but that was never the draw of the games.

Gameplay: This game took what was great about the first game and improved it with the Style system, a system that allowed Mega Man to take on different forms in combat based on your actions in game. Otherwise this was a lot like the first game, which was excellent.

Art: Thankfully this is a 2D game so the art is pretty awesome, even now.

Music: A lot like the first game’s music.

Overall: If you’ve never played it, you really ought to if you get the chance.

For those who like: Mega Man, Battle Network, Action, Adventure, Strategy, Excellent Gameplay, Fun Cast of Characters, Great Artwork.

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

Video Game Tuesday: An Open Letter to Capcom

This week for Video Game Tuesday I’ve got an few things to say to the people behind an abomination. It’s An Open Letter to Capcom!

To those involved in the latest Mega Man cartoon,

Please cease desecrating an IP that is already dead, this latest attempt to bring it back is only a slap in the face of those fans who still enjoy the series. Seriously, I don’t want to see this happen to another series I loved back when I was a kid. Sonic’s latest redesign was a horrific mistake, and despite the flack Sega got, they still decided to do it and wasted potential money that would be better used on a game using the older design instead of their supposedly newer and better design. Mega Man has always had a special place in my heart, and some of my favorite handheld games were Mega Man games. Despite the fact that you sacked Keiji Inafune, buried the series and let other people do better than you with your own IP, I still hope that someday I’ll finally get to see another proper Mega Man game instead of rehashes of past glories that don’t work in today’s market. So cease working on this latest abomination of a cartoon series and focus your money on a game that actually does the IP justice.

Sincerely,

Michael Blaker

P.S. I’m still waiting for a continuation of the ZX series.

Retro Game Friday: Mega Man Legends

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a game I loved as a kid. It’s Mega Man Legends!

Plot Synopsis: The Legends series takes place on a flooded Earth. Because of the flooding, only a few sparse islands exist and energy sources are rare. In order to satisfy this increasing demand for energy to power up machinery, quantum refractors found in ancient ruins are used. These refractors are valuable; they serve as an energy source, and their shards are used as currency. However, the main goal of every person is to find the Mother Lode, an item of supposed infinite power that can fill the need for the energy in one swoop. Those who try to excavate these ruins are called “Diggers” (“Digouters” in the Japanese version). The protagonist of the game is Mega Man Volnutt, a Digger living in a ship called Flutter. He lives there alongside Roll Caskett, his Spotter who is searching for her missing father; Roll’s grandfather, and Data, a mysterious monkey that talks in gibberish only Mega Man himself can understand.

Plot: The plot isn’t super serious, but it’s not bad either. I enjoyed it immensely as a kid. The gameplay though was what made the game.

Gameplay: This was the series first venture in 3D and it did an amazing job, and played a lot like a Zelda game. The game was fun, and even let you do random things like kicking cans into trash cans.

Art: The art hasn’t aged well, but it doesn’t really matter as the gameplay is still incredibly solid!

Music: The music was fun, but I don’t remember anything more than that.

Overall: This is a great game and since it’s being released in four days for the PS Vita and PS3 for only $10 you should go buy it if you are interested.

For those who like: Mega Man, Action, Adventure, Solid Gameplay, Decent Art, Good Music, Great Plot.

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