Grazza

Had a really exciting session on KoF '94 last night. The action is so frenetic, my thumb darted over the d-pad and accidentally took several screenshots. I genuinely had no idea I had taken these, for example: It's a hard game - I'm currently stuck on the Chinese team, after which I assume there is a final boss (three fighters against the same person?) But it's very exciting and the sprites are beautiful. I'm not kidding - after I'd been playing it, I could smell the extra testosterone emitting from my armpits!

Good review, @S\.C\.G - I've been waiting for this one. I own the game, but have yet to get to grips with it.

I remember reading all the hype about the 3DO at the time. They made it sound so much better than the existing consoles, I genuinely believed it was the future.

Don't be disheartened. I did wonder if it was spam until I read inside and saw how much thought you'd put into it. Your threads were a good attempt at getting some discussion going. : peace:

I completed it again last night too. Admittedly, it's quite an easy game for the most part - it really struck me that the new hard mode might make it more exciting for skilled gamers. However, I do genuinely believe the last part of the game is a medium-level challenge.

Good review, Glen-i. This point in particular is something I should have pointed out. Not from a critical point of view, just in a descriptive way. Wonder Boy has always been very momentum-based, with the need to plan a certain distance ahead of any action. It's one of the things I love about it, actually, as it distinguishes the series from others. Like how trajectory adjustment is integral to Mario, and completely absent from Ghouls 'n Ghosts. But yes, good point.

Shock Troopers, because the weapons don't break.

Easy one for me - Dragon's Trap.

Switch's first year is good. You don't have to like all the games, but what they've got, combined with eShop, is providing plenty to play. It's partly hoovering up those who didn't buy the Wii U, but that's no bad thing. E3 does have to be good though, as in "their very best output". Let's assume Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2 and Mario Odyssey are going to be the main games from those franchises (perhaps combined with DLC). I'd say E3 2017 actually needs Metroid in order to not be disappointing... a similar story for Animal Crossing. I'm also hoping to see some sort of Kid Icarus game. Basically, they need to sell Switch to people ASAP, even if that means front loading everything.

It actually looked remarkably like they've managed to transfer the Azure Striker Gunvolt gameplay into this game, which surprised me.

So one character is free from 4 - 17 May and the other is free from 1 - 14 June? Not bad!

Nice to hear they're selling well. The Neo Geo titles are some of the best-value and most replayable games on the eShop. They actually get better the more you play them. Metal Slug and Shock Troopers are very good. I wasn't keen on Metal Slug 3 at first, but it improves when you get used to it. The only ones I can't play are the fighters, but that's an issue with the Joy-con designs. The other day I bought Alpha Mission II. At first I thought it was terrible, but the more I got used to the power-up system, the more I liked it. I'm still not good at it, and I still think there are huge issues with the power-ups, but I can't stop playing it now. ... Well, that's a turn up for the books. Blazing Star is out!

Getting very tempted by this one as the graphics are so gorgeous. I thought I liked the original pixel art, but the hand-drawn is something else. Only trouble is, in King of Fighters '94, I just can't roll the Joy-con's d-pad enough to do special moves. It's not the fault of that game (or this one), but it's making me think twice. Nonetheless, it looks brilliant.

Yeah, it's somewhat confusing. You basically get given the best weapon from the beginning, and don't even need to consider what the lesser versions are until you take a few hits. Although the Wave Beam is best, the others aren't quite as bad as they seem. Flame is very useful in specific situations later on, for instance, and though weak, Penetrator is good for going through walls.

I've reworked my thoughts on this game into a slightly more formal review, and S.C.G has very kindly made me a banner that links to it: n-europe Review Blaster Master Zero

Nice one, Hero-of-Time! Welcome to the club. I knew you'd buy Zelda too - bet you go through it in preparation for the DLC as well! : peace:

This does actually make a lot of sense - the final and best form of the 3DS. Clamshell, XL and without stereoscopic 3D (ie. keep the costs down). Not sure I can really justify one, but I'm somewhat tempted for SNES VC and the two huge games down the line (Etrian Odyssey V and Dragon Quest XI, even though it'll probably only be the latter that uses dual analogue). Just goes to show, it's even more proof that Switch - though a hybrid - is absolutely to replace the Wii U, and we can look forward to another dedicated handheld down the line.

I forgot to say, this reminds me of a game I played called Legend of Dark Witch (by CIRCLE Entertainment). Not in terms of genre, just in terms of value. There wasn't a great deal to the gameplay, but it was so playable and very cheap. I didn't buy the sequel because I didn't feel the need for more, but it was a nice little platformer.

Absolutely. Based on the article you linked (which was very enlightening), it seems the concept of a game gets judged early on, rather than how good the finished product is.

I was surprised when they first unveiled their list of partners and WayForward wasn't on it. What a great studio not to have on your system. Personally, I do think it's good to limit true shovelware (not counting high-quality ports), as you can really feel you've wasted your money, but this seems the other extreme. I once had some spare points on DSi - bought something that controlled terribly and was clearly designed for mobile phones. We're better off without that sort of stuff, but not yet allowing acclaimed titles like Axiom Verge? I find that very hard to understand.

Thanks for the review, H-o-T. You've put Kamiko and the Fairune games on my radar. If I recall correctly, that's quite a bit more challenging than the 3D Classics version of the original. It doesn't have the same inverted difficulty curve, but gets difficult later on.

As Glen-I says, anything Hearty is good. I'd also add defence- or attack-boosting recipes. If you're wearing very defensive armour (eg. Soldier's), collect five attack-boosting items (ie. "Mighty") and cook them all together. It will give you the 3-star attack boost. If you're wearing the Barbarian Armour (recommended), that has an in-built attack boost anyway, so concentrate on defence. I like to get five Ironshrooms and cook them.

To be honest, no. It's a game that needs every square inch to be examined (if you want to find all the secrets), so initially getting somewhere faster on horseback would just make me feel I'd missed something. After that, as you say, you can use the shrines.

Review - Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap Wonder Boy has a rather complicated history. It began in parallel with Nintendo's Zelda series - both had their original games in 1986, with a second entry each in 1987. Whereas the first Wonder Boy had been a simple platformer, the second introduced light RPG elements and thus it was the first in the "Monster World" series. The second Monster World game (and confusingly the fourth Wonder Boy) was released to a certain amount of acclaim in 1989. Sega hedged their bets and just called it Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. Whilst I never owned a Master System, my friend did. I used to go round his house and try to assist him with this charming and mysterious game, full of strange environments and secret doors. We never beat it. Fast-forward 28 years later, and developer Lizardcube has given this 8-bit classic the remaster it deserved. First, let's address the elephant in the room - £17.99 is a lot of money for something you're not sure about. I was in two minds myself. So I thought I'd set out to describe the game as best I can, and explain why I personally think it is worth buying. The Dragon's Trap starts with an evil dragon placing a curse on Wonder Boy. He must then traverse the overworld, accessing more and more transformations until he can (hopefully) return to human form. It's a mixture of combat, platforming and exploration - none of which are emphasised too heavily, and all requiring a reasonable amount of skill. There are three difficulty levels - Easy, Normal and Hard. I only tried Normal, but found it extremely well judged. The graphics in this game are gorgeous. Line thickness, colours and character proportions are all expertly managed. There have been many beautiful hand-drawn 2D games over the years, but this is the first that has truly resonated with me. The Music is catchy, and superbly orchestrated. One thing I particularly loved was the feel of collecting a bag of money. The sound effect, combined with rumble, is pitch perfect. There's never been a more satisfying collectible in a game! Combat is just right. This is a game where shields are genuinely useful for blocking projectiles, and whilst the bosses all have to be struck the same way, there is much variety in avoiding their attacks. The platforming requires some skill, but is not going to frustrate too much. Incidentally, there are six secret areas called "The Unknown", which provide a bit more optional challenge. They're not over-the-top, and have a stiff-but-fair learning curve. As for the exploration, it's not a massive overworld, and the first half of the game flows very smoothly. Speaking of smooth, it's possible to switch between the modern graphics and the 8-bit visuals. Whilst these look basic, the gameplay in this mode runs much more smoothly than the original cartridge. My only complaint is that the game can, at times, be too obscure. It's a short game, designed at a time when a Master System cartridge had to last a fair while. As such, there were moments when I didn't have a clue I had to use new abilities, even though I did actually have them. I would also say a couple of "The Unknown" entry points are overly difficult. Lion Man's, for instance, is hidden by a foreground object in the modern graphics, but visible in 8-bit. And as much as I like the charm of the secret doors, I really feel there could have been some subtle visual clues to highlight their presence. I wouldn't be surprised if Lizardcube had debated how closely to stay accurate to the original game in this case. The Dragon's Trap is extremely faithful to the original, so much so that it is the one game I've played that actually could do with a "Zero Mission" style extra level (ie. return to human form and re-fight the enemy who placed the curse). I was fighting a rather difficult boss last night. Once I'd defeated it, it genuinely took me about 10 seconds to realise I'd completed the game! Nonetheless, the Dragon's Trap is very replayable, just for the sheer enjoyment of it. I've already spent 14 hours playing - 7 hours with the male protagonist; 7 for the female. It serves as a perfect example of how many 8-bit (and 16-bit) games have inherently good designs; they just need a lick of paint and smoothening up. I'm hoping that Lizardcube extends the same treatment to my favourite game in the series, the Mega Drive entry, Wonder Boy in Monster World. Score: 9/10 Pros + Gorgeous graphics + Smooth gameplay and controls + Good balance between platforming, combat and exploration Cons - Obscure at times

Caught this beauty the other day. 5, 3, 5!