Retro Game Friday: Front Mission

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with a game that was hugely popular back in it’s day. It’s Front Mission!

Plot: I forgot how sad this story is, honestly after looking up the story for a refresher I was tempted to not bother covering this game due to how freaking depressing the story is. The story is good, but damn is it dark and depressing.

Gameplay: This was a pure tactical RPG and boy did it do it well for it’s time and helped paved the way for games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Advance Wars in the future. You could customize the Wanzers to a pretty deep degree given the tech limitations and the standard of quality at the time. That being said it’s a nearly a pure single player game and while you could play with another it’s hard to do that when you shared a screen.

Art: The art was pretty great for it’s time, and it’s aged fairly well. It’s not the best of it’s era, but it holds up pretty well.

Music: I don’t remember it much at all, sorry.

Overall: A great game, but if you don’t like bawling your eyes out you might want to skip it due to the dark nature of the story.

For those who like: Mechas, Tactical RPGs, Drama, Good Story, Great Gameplay.

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

Retro Game Friday: Worms

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a real classic. It’s Worms!

Plot Synopsis: There is no plot.

Gameplay: There was really no plot for the game, it was all about the gameplay. It was turn based and allowed each player to direct their worms to fire in a certain direction. The goal was to be the one with the last worms alive. The multiplayer was quite fun, I remember playing the game with my cousin and having a blast.

Art: The art has aged, and while it’s 2D it doesn’t quite look as amazing as other 2D games of the time. However given how much effort was spent on the gameplay rather than art it’s not too surprising.

Music: I don’t remember the music, sorry.

Overall: If you get the chance to give it a whirl for a few minutes it’s worth it just to enjoy the classic gameplay. Of course you could probably play later games in the series and enjoy it more.

For those who like: Tactical Games, Turn Based, Oddball Games, Multiplayer.

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

Retro Game Friday: NBA Jam 1993

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering another Sports game. It’s NBA Jam 1993!

Plot Synopsis: It’s a sports game, what are you expecting?

Gameplay: This is basketball without any fouls or freethrows with the exception of goaltending. It also had some ridiculous jump mechanics with players able to jump many times their own height and defy the laws of physics. It was 2 on 2 and quite fun. This inspired later games like NFL Blitz and other Midway games. It’s a pity these games are made anymore, as they are much more fun than games like Madden.

Characters: This featured real players, and even included people like than US President Bill Clinton and various mascots. Some notable exceptions were Michael Jordan and Shaq though.

Art: It’s definitely aged, but it’s aged well due to it being made with 2D graphics.

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

Overall: If you’ve never played NBA Jam or it’s sequels or counterparts in other sports you really ought to.

For those who like: Sports, Basketball, Ridiculous Game Mechanics, Fun Secret Characters, Well Aged Art.

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

Retro Game Friday: Earthworm Jim

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a real classic game! It’s Earthworm Jim!

Plot Synopsis: Jim is a normal earthworm, until a special “super suit” falls from the sky and allows him to operate much like a human, with his “worm-part” acting as a head and the suit acting as arms, body, and legs. Jim’s task is two-fold, he must evade the game’s many antagonists, who are after him because they want the suit back, and also rescue and protect Princess What’s-Her-Name from them.

Plot: The plot of this game is very ridiculous and was quite awesome. If you like to laugh it was definitely a great game.

Gameplay: A 2D Run and Gun Platformer game like Contra, Earthworm Jim took all the fun from those games and made fun of them at the same time. It was quite a lot of fun. Pity that the series is now pretty much all but forgotten.

Characters: The cast of characters is hilariously diverse, but Jim takes the cake. I mean he’s a worm, and yet he’s the hero of the game.

Art: Great, it represents some of the best 2D art of the time and is definitely quite good looking even by today’s standards.

Overall: If you’ve never played Earthworm Jim, you really owe it to yourself to try it out once.

For those who like: Run and Gun, Platformers, Comedy, Action, Great Artwork, Hilarious Plot, Awesome Cast of Characters, Fantastic Gameplay.

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

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.