We have one more game from April's Switch Online updates, and it's a quirky one. BACKGROUND:
I have no clue what this is, and I certainly didn't know that Hebereke was a whole series by Sunsoft. Guess I have more homework to do. SUMMARY: Sugoi Hebereke is a brawler-style fighting game where you face off against up to three other players in square arenas. The fights take place from a top-down perspective, and the idea is to beat the shit out of your opponents until they run out of health and transform into cute little slime blobs. I played the equivalent of arcade mode, where you have to win three rounds to proceed, though I'm not sure this rule can be changed in versus mode (sorry, I can't read Japanese, so I don't know what the menus say). There are eight playable characters at the start, and they each have their basic combos and two special moves accessible through specific inputs. You're not going to get insane Tekken-level combos or anything like that, but their moveset is more than enough for the chaotic action and for delivering an ass-whooping to opponents. The special moves (all of which are unique) can be devastating if used correctly, like the freeze breath or the bomb. There's also a stun mechanic that I'm not sure how is triggered, but anyone that gets stunned is in for a world of hurt. All you really have in terms of mobility other than walking around is jumping, which is handy for avoiding attacks. You can also get jump attacks to knock other people out of the air, which is fun. There isn't much of a universal way to close gaps between you and foes, so it's possible that a campy play style can succeed (especially considering every match has a time limit). In terms of stages, you have a decent variety, and they don't just differ in terms of visuals. Many of them have unique hazards like fans that push you down and bumpers that knock you around. You can even jump onto some of these stage fixtures in order to keep yourself safe, which is neat. On occasion, flying creatures drop power-ups onto the stage. These range from the straightforward (like restoring your health), dangerous in the right hands (an instant death countdown that you can pass onto opponents by hitting them), or downright bizarre (a pickup that transforms unsuspecting victims into vegetables). Playing against CPUs, these didn't really feel too important in the grand scheme (I can win just fine by straight fisticuffs), but they do come in handy when you happen to get them. The art style really shines between all the colors, the adorable character designs, and the goofy animations (from the characters executing their moves to the ridiculous hit animations when certain moves hit characters). The stages are all pretty varied themselves, covering a range of locales, boasting a lot of background detail, and even having the occasional weather effects in the foreground like thunderstorms and fog. VERDICT: Sugoi Hebereke is a pretty straightforward fighting experience with the most basic of mechanics, but I thought it was fun for what it was. Outside of the novelty of cute animal characters beating the living shit out of each other, the potential of chaos was pretty high between wild special moves, wacky power-ups, and the variety of stage hazards. I'm probably good in terms of single-player playthroughs, but I imagine this will be way more fun against actual people. I think this would make for a solid party game for four friends between how easy it is to pick up and how it lends itself well to frenetic chaos, so if you're looking for something akin to Smash Bros. but substantially different, you may find this interesting. Of course, its variety pales in comparison since there aren't as many characters, stages, or mechanics to mess around with, but if you just want to have some fun for a brief time, I don't think you can go wrong with this one. - end -
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I continue with April's Switch Online emulator additions with this title. BACKGROUND:
I don't think I've heard of this series prior to this being added to the emulator service. I did a bit of homework on R-Type and learned that it's actually a long-running series with quite the legacy (apparently, the original one was an arcade hit). It's always fun to find that, despite all I've learned at this point, there's still plenty of room to learn more. SUMMARY: Super R-Type is a horizontal shmup where you control a spaceship and blast through enemies and weave through obstacles. There are a ton of games that fit this general description (like the iconic Gradius, for example), so it's likely that you'll get the gist of this game within seconds. I'll focus on the elements that I think are unique or notable that set this game apart from similar games I've played before. Your ship is pretty well-equipped even without the power-ups, as you have access to two shot types. You have your regular rapid-fire shot which will serve you well to mow down the onslaught of basic enemies coming your way, but you also have a charge shot that can be charged to two levels. While both levels of charge serve the same general function (large shot that covers a wide area and pierces through enemies), the second charge consists of multiple projectiles spread over a decently sized cone. It's really cool to have options from the get-go in terms of offense, as most shmups give you the bare minimum at the start (leaving the fun stuff behind power-up pickups). Of course, that doesn't mean you don't get power-ups. Some of these include a speed boost (which can be a blessing or a curse depending on the situation), orbiting spheres that deal contact damage to enemies (basically acting as a sort of shield from anything approaching you), and bombs that drop below (allowing you to take out enemies under you). In the case of the bombs, these can be upgraded with the same pickup to turn them to homing missiles, which are as helpful as they sound. The most interesting power-up involves an attachment to the ship that you can have fly freely to fire its own set of projectiles. That's plenty useful, but the fun begins when you actually connect with this attachment. When you connect this device to the front of your ship, you can gain access to a variety of powerful shot types, like lasers that ricochet, a trail of fire that travels across terrain, a spread shot, explosive missiles, and a wide wave-like beam. You can change which one you get by picking up the corresponding pickup (which are color-coded), though that's of course a bit dependent on RNG. I thought this attachment mechanic was such a neat idea. You can switch between having it fly freely or connecting to it to use a powerful shot depending on the situation, and I appreciated the versatility that provided. The shot types themselves are highly effective for their respective niches, and I was amazed that you can even attach the device to the back of your ship, allowing you to fire from behind and cover yourself. The enemies you'll run into are pretty standard fare for this type of game (be it their general design or their behaviors), but they do their job and fill the screen in ways that force you to be cautious in how you move around. Some levels even add to the challenge with shifting terrain and some tight spaces, and those are equally threatening since mere contact kills you. Speaking of death, it is quite punishing not just because anything kills you in one hit (and there's nothing in the game that gives you an extra hit), but also due to the fact that there are no checkpoints in this game. If you die, you are sent back to the beginning of the level; it doesn't matter where in the level you died. You don't really have to worry about that now since the emulator has rewinds and save states, but if you want to play this through without assistance, you have your work cut out for you. Each of the seven levels offers quite the gauntlet of obstacles and enemies to navigate through, and should you manage to survive, every single one features a tough boss for you to shoot down. What makes these bosses challenging is the mix of their ability to control most of the space onscreen with their attacks and the fact that many of them have a specific weak spot that you have to actively aim at. These two elements are not uncommon for shmup bosses in general, but this game excels in providing variety in these regards (whether with unique attacks, fun set pieces, or variety in the weak points). You can select the difficulty in the main menu, though I'm not sure what the differences are since I only played all the way through on Normal. Once you beat the game, you loop back to the beginning, except you're now playing on the next hardest difficulty. The game is a visual delight, with super detailed sprites and backgrounds as well as intricate designs for both the machines and the alien enemies. There's certainly an H.R. Giger element to these designs, which was not uncommon at the time for many sci-fi video games. While graphically impressive, the game does push the system to its limits, and having many objects onscreen will slow things down considerably. VERDICT: I've played my fair share of space shmups (I've talked about a bunch on here, too), but Super R-Type stands out to me for the unique arsenal it gives you access to. I liked being able to use different shot types as is, and I thought the ship attachment thing (sorry, I don't know what it's called) was such a cool idea. I had a lot of fun with this, and I'm interested in checking out the rest of the series now. Given what I learned about this series, I would argue the original R-Type (which I need to play for myself) is the one that gets the "essential" distinction since it was an acclaimed title in its heyday. I don't know how this game stacks up to the rest of the series, but as far as I understand, a lot of the series staple mechanics are present here, making it a solid entry point into experiencing this shmup franchise. If you're in the mood for a challenging shmup, this is a title to consider playing. - end - The month of April brings yet another batch of games for the Switch Online emulators. You know the drill. BACKGROUND:
I played the original Wrecking Crew for NES via Switch Online, and I thought it was a lot of fun. I didn't know they made a sequel for it until a little after that (probably because it never came out overseas). Now, it's finally been made accessible for people outside of Japan, so I'm excited to check it out. SUMMARY: Wrecking Crew '98 doesn't just feature a new game for me to play; it also lets you play the original from the main menu. Since that's the case, I replayed that for a little bit before getting to the actual Wrecking Crew '98, and I'm going to take this opportunity to highlight it in its own section here. Wrecking Crew (NES) In the original, you play as Mario and use his trusty hammer to break all the lockers, ladders, and walls (which take multiple hits) in the level in order to move onto the next. All you have to do is walk up to the object and whack it, but the catch is that there are many enemies chasing you, and you can't jump to avoid them. In order to avoid danger, you'll have to take advantage of ladders, falling, and the tunnels on the sides of the screen to switch sides. It won't take long for the level layouts to become more complex, as you can run into challenges like objects that can only be reached one way (e.g. dropping from a platform, using the side tunnels, etc.), breakable pillars you can use to drop whatever objects are on the connected platform, breakable ladders that lead to other objects (which means you have to break them last, otherwise you softlock yourself), or more enemy types with different behaviors (like ones that try to catch you from another side as opposed to just chasing you). The game's challenge quickly becomes trying to figure out the optimal path in order to survive and clear everything out, and it is that challenge that led me to sink a lot of time into it the first time around. It was super satisfying to survive several minutes of being pursued by enemies and eventually break the last object needed to progress, and there were a ton of levels to play that kept ramping up the difficulty. Other objects you can take advantage of are bombs (which will break objects that are connected to it), barrels (which you can cause to drop on enemies to trap them), and doors (which can be opened to let enemies pass). Be careful with barrels, though; if they happen to fall on you, you can't escape, and you have to reset. It's definitely one of the funnier, more embarrassing ways you can softlock yourself in a game. Every so often, you can play a bonus minigame where you compete against Spike (Mario's construction rival; you may recognize him from the recent animated movie); if you win, you get bonus points (which I think only serves a purpose if you need extra lives). Spike also appears in later levels to mess with you, and while he can't cause you to lose a life, he is quite annoying. I never messed around with it myself, but this game also has a level editor where you can make your own levels. At the time of the original release, a peripheral was needed to save and share custom levels, though I don't know if the emulated versions have a workaround that lets players save and load levels through different means. Wrecking Crew '98 Now, let's talk about the actual game. Instead of being a series of challenging levels where you figure out an optimal route to clear out objects, Wrecking Crew '98 instead blends the basic mechanics of the original (walk around and break stuff with your hammer) and falling-block match puzzles like Puyo Puyo. The point isn't to smash the board of all the colored blocks that spawn (though you can do that if you really wanted to), but rather to use the switches on the side of your board to shift each row by one block such that three blocks of the same color line up. The game is primarily competitive in nature, as you have to compete against an opponent and hope their board fills up with blocks before yours does. As with games like this, there are ways to disrupt your opponent, and those are tied directly to the blocks you clear on your board. You'll have to clear four or more blocks of the same color/symbol in order to activate various powers that can screw up your opponent, and you can use the combination of the switches and gravity to set yourself up for success. Each color corresponds to a different way you wreak havoc on your opponent's side, like spawning enemies they have to avoid (otherwise they get stunned), spawning garbage metal blocks that are unbreakable, covering all existing blocks in a layer of stone (which must be broken before you can match them), or spawning several blocks from a single column. Of course, the opponent can do the same to you, so it's a race to inflict pain on your opponent while mitigating any damage they cause. While you can play this game casually against the CPU or another human player, there is a short story mode you can check out. The story here (based on what I can glean from the cutscenes; the dialogue is in Japanese since this wasn't localized) is that Mario discovers that Bowser is building high-rise skyscrapers in the Mushroom Kingdom, blocking out the sun. Mario's like "aw hell no" and digs up his trusty hammer, then he journeys to each building where he fights one of Bowser's crew (many of which are from the original Wrecking Crew) and demolishes the building. Out of the many schemes Bowser's concocted over the decades, this is definitely up there as the most hilarious. VERDICT: Replaying the original Wrecking Crew was a ton of fun, and after doing so, I'm still confident that it's up there as one of my favorite NES games ever. I love how the game's main focus is cooking up a strategy on the fly, and like I said, it feels good to piece together an optimal path to breaking everything. For a game as simple as Mario breaking stuff to give me all of that is pretty impressive. As for Wrecking Crew '98, I found it a challenging spin on the typical block puzzler, as you had to basically play a platformer while juggling having to shift the blocks around to match similar colors. It took me a little bit to figure it out, but once I got into the groove, it was a mix of the typical satisfaction that comes from falling-block puzzles and the fun of planning your platforming route ahead. It wasn't at all what I expected, but I was pleased, nonetheless. The Wrecking Crew series is part of Mario's storied legacy, so I would argue it is essential playing for any Nintendo fan or anybody who likes looking through the back catalogs of iconic studios. Outside of that, the original Wrecking Crew may appeal to players who are looking for something easy to pick up but deceptively deep with its layer of strategy lying beneath the straightforward platformer experience. Wrecking Crew '98 might be more for those who like competitive puzzle games like Puyo Puyo, or those who want a little twist to that genre. - end - Rare brought one more Super Nintendo game to the table with their Switch Online emulator rollout, and I'm talking about it today. BACKGROUND:
I have spoken about my background with the Battletoads series when I discussed the 2020 reboot (more on that here), so the only thing I'll add here is that I didn't know that there was a Super Nintendo entry in the series. SUMMARY: Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is split into six main levels, each with different gameplay. You play as either Pimple or Rash, and for many of the levels, you control them as you would in any other classic 2D beat-'em-up game. I'll discuss each of these levels in order. Before I get to the meat of the game, I ought to talk about the story. The gist is that the bad guys (Silas Volkmire and the Dark Queen) are up to no good and plan to use the power of another dimension to take over the world. In the process, the villains kidnap people, including Zitz (one of the Battletoads), and the remaining Battletoads jump into the other dimension to mount a rescue. It's nothing revolutionary, but I appreciate the silliness of this Saturday morning cartoon adventure (expressed mostly through the brief cutscenes between levels). The first level is the one that is the actual beat-'em-up. If you've played a game of this genre before, this will play quite familiar: move to the right, beat up a wave of enemies, then proceed ad infinitum. You don't really have that many moves (running, jumping, various strikes based on your state or the enemy's state, and a throw), and the variety of enemies is quite shallow, but it's still pretty fun to stunlock enemies and hit your finishers. The game messes with you in various ways outside of spawning enemies, like the ground falling apart (creating pits you can fall into) or fire raining down on you (dealing damage). Most of this level was manageable to me, including the end, which features a very simple boss fight. For the second level, you get a vertical auto-scroller where your character is on a floating platform. All you really have to do here is move around to avoid obstacles, though you do have to defeat the occasional enemy in order to proceed. The most dangerous hazards here are the spiked walls, and there are many gauntlets where you have to weave between whole sections of these (with a few forcing you to wrestle with increased speed or wind that pushes you towards the spikes). I found this mostly manageable until the insanely fast ending. The third level is a take on the infamous Turbo Tunnel stage from the original game (a level so infamous, even someone like me who has yet to play the NES game knows about it). This is an intense obstacle course where you pilot a speeder bike and try to dodge obstacles at high speed by swerving and jumping. I don't know how hard the original Turbo Tunnel was, but this level was no joke. You really have to have a lightning-quick reaction time, and the latter sections take things over the edge by not telegraphing the obstacles at all. It's definitely satisfying to beat, but I totally understand any controllers that have been spiked on the ground because of this level. Level 4 is a platforming challenge where you have to rely on moving snakes to get to the exit. There is very little margin for error here as well, as the snakes disappear once they've gotten to their point B, and many sections are riddled with instant-death spikes. I'd argue this is less forgiving than the speeder bike section since you have to figure out the layout as you go along, and each section takes longer to get through. Outside of the unforgiving aspect, it's a serviceable platforming level. We get a rather radical change for the fifth level, as it's sort of a race on rails. The idea is to stay ahead of the lunatic chasing you down with a buzzsaw-equipped vehicle by holding the correct direction such that you maintain as much of your top speed as possible. This is another one that requires you to know the layout in order to succeed, and as far as I can tell, you have to do this all in one shot, which is pretty challenging because your enemy here is always on your ass regardless of how well you're doing. It's probably the level I like the least because of this. For the final stage, you go back to 2D platformer gameplay, but the goal now is to beat the bad guy (who is a rat) to the three checkpoints with TNT by falling down the level and going through the gaps in the platforms. You can whack the rat to knock them back a little and give yourself space, and apart from a few sections with hazards, this part is straightforward. Once you get to the end, you fight the final boss, who is incredibly easy, and you get a little minigame that determines the ending of the story. At two points during the campaign, you will be taken to bonus stages where you try to earn as many points as you can by collecting bowling pins or dominoes while avoiding hazards (which not only hurts you, but also decreases your point total). This is the place to earn extra lives (as that's what your points will be converted to), but getting through the gauntlet unscathed is easier said than done. There is no penalty for dying here, though, so don't worry about any serious penalty. While I thought the graphics were pretty solid (especially the wacky animations of the Battletoads when performing attacks), what truly stood out to me was the awesome music. Many of the tracks are absolute jams with a mostly rock and techno vibe, and they really fit the high-octane action of many of the levels. They also made failing more palatable, since that just means I could listen to the music some more. VERDICT: Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is pretty short, but it manages to keep things interesting all throughout with distinct experiences per level. How fun each level is varies quite a bit (I definitely enjoy some more than others), and the overall difficulty led to a few moments of frustration, but I would say my experience here is a net positive. I think I would have enjoyed if there were more beat-'em-up levels, as I feel like this game barely scratches the surface with what it could do for those sections. Apart from that, I liked what I played here, and it reaffirms that I have to get around to playing the original Battletoads. As far as I can tell, many of the levels in this game aren't exactly new, as they're iterations of what I've seen on the NES game. If you just want a vertical slice of what Battletoads is all about, I suppose this is a fine enough place to start, though I think many would say that the original should be the first stop for anyone interested in the series (it is a bona fide classic that I'd say more than deserves the "essential" distinction). Regardless, I recommend not being shy with save states or rewinds when playing through this, because it's a good example of old-school hard. - end - February's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase revealed that a bunch of classic Rare games were being added to the emulators, and you best believe that I'm going to play the shit out of those. Let's start with the one I was most excited about. BACKGROUND:
Though Killer Instinct is a classic fighting game series in its own right, it being restricted to Nintendo consoles from before my time (plus the fact that I never saw arcade machines for it when I was a kid) meant that I didn't learn about it until I was older. I have had intentions to play the 2013 version when it was made free-to-play a few months ago, but I've yet to get around to it as of this writing. I just about lost my mind when I saw that this was coming to Switch Online, because it meant that I get to check out where it all began (or, at least, the home console port of where it all began). SUMMARY: There were plenty of fighting games during the early to mid-'90s (this one included), and while Killer Instinct takes cues from stuff that came before (and we will get to that), it has its fair share of unique elements that I don't think were a thing in any other game during that time. In terms of controls, Killer Instinct follows the six-button scheme of Street Fighter, which means light, medium, and heavy inputs for both punches and kicks. As far as normals go, there aren't that many (only certain directional inputs lead to something different for each button), but they all have their niches (like sweeps, anti-airs, spammable moves you can chain into, etc.). Command inputs will also feel familiar, as quarter-circles, half-circles, the Shoryuken input, and charge moves are used to access special moves. Some of those special moves may also have light, medium, and heavy variants based on what button you press after the command input. There are a few odd motions for some of the character moves, but you won't find anything particularly complex like pretzel motions. The way combos work in this game is very interesting (at least for the time). While you can kind of chain certain normals together to deal some damage, I found that a lot of the "real" combos in this game are auto-combos; that is, the game will execute the whole thing for you after pressing a specific sequence of buttons. It took quite a bit of experimenting for me to find those inputs, but once I did, I could cobble together high-damage combos by cancelling those auto-combos into special moves. Getting hit by such combos by the CPU (who already has a habit of reading inputs) feels demoralizing, but managing to pull them off yourself feels satisfying as hell. Also unique to this game at the time (and more or less a huge part of this game's identity) is the concept of the Combo Breaker, which is an input you can perform to get yourself out of those long combos you're on the receiving end of. Unlike modern games where there's a standard input for it, the input is different for every character (almost like a special move), and you can only break combos during certain parts of them. You also get a bonus buff after successfully performing a breaker that allows you to perform otherwise inaccessible specials, which I thought was interesting. Killer Instinct also stands out with how rounds work, as this game doesn't really have those. Instead, you have two life bars, and the match stops briefly when a player's first life bar is depleted. The match will resume right after, but the opponent will retain their HP from before, and that may mean that they still have most of their first health bar intact while the other player has to fight from underneath with essentially half HP. It's a rather unique approach that makes underdog situations particularly intense, though I found it tricky to adjust to it since most other fighting games go by rounds. The only other game I played that uses this approach was Injustice. KI also borrows from Mortal Kombat (which was also taking the world by storm at this time) with finishing moves. Once you deplete your opponent's second life bar, they go into this dizzy state that is very much like the "Finish Him/Her" thing that MK is known for. And like in MK, you can input a sequence at a set distance to perform finishing moves, but none of them ever reach the gruesome heights of MK's Fatalities. You can also perform a Humiliation if you beat an opponent while still having a lot of health, which kind of feels like the equivalent of Babalities in MK where the opponent is subject to some form of, well, humiliation. If there's one thing that rivals the iconic status of the Combo Breaker in this game, it's definitely the Ultra Combo. This is also a kind of finisher, except it must be performed by canceling into its character-specific input during a combo, and it must be done when the opponent is at very low health. If done correctly, your character will perform an absurdly long combo that easily goes beyond 20 hits, and goddamn is it satisfying. This game's roster rivals that of Mortal Kombat in terms of truly unique fighters (all with distinct designs). Sure, you have some stuff that feels familiar (like Jago the ninja or TJ Combo the boxer), but mixed in there are truly inspired picks like Riptor (a straight up raptor), Sabrewulf (a werewolf), two elementals in Glacius and Cinder, Fulgore (a killer robot), Spinal (a skeleton warrior), and Eyedol (a two-headed monster). Their special moves can vary when it comes to being derivative or unique (with the finishers being a notable exception), but for the most part, you have quite the collection of characters here. In terms of modes, you have your standard single-player arcade ladder (which, as is tradition, gives you your character's ending if you run through every opponent), a two-player versus mode, a tournament mode where you can set rules, and a practice mode that lets you mess around (a rarity for fighting games during this time). If you're wondering about the plot, the most I can glean from the few endings I got is that there's this big bad corporation called Ultratech, and they set up a fighting tournament (because every fighting game has to have this plot at some point) for some reason. I think it's to test the weird shit they've been doing by subjecting regular fighters with their experiments. For an SNES game, I thought this game looks incredible. Both the models and backgrounds look impressively high-res considering the circumstances, and while I haven't seen the arcade version's graphics, I could easily be convinced that this rivals what was possible for arcades at the time. I also liked the moody music, but in terms of audio, the most iconic part of the entire Killer Instinct series is the announcer who chimes in whenever someone hits a combo or inputs a combo breaker. If you're wondering where lines like "C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER" and "ULTRA COMBOOOOOOOOO" were from, it's from this series. VERDICT: I had a blast playing through Killer Instinct and messing around with its mechanics. Its combo system is a lot of fun (at least when the CPU isn't demonstrating it on you), all the characters felt unique, and the presentation outdoes itself given the system it's on. It's kind of wild to me that this wasn't as much of a hit series given how much it has going for it, though I suppose it simply had such stiff competition during that fighting game boom. I am exponentially more interested in playing the 2013 reboot after starting here, that's for sure. I would argue that this is an "essential" title when it comes to fighting games, and as usual, that means I encourage all to give it even a brief try regardless of what you're into. Outside of that, I think fighting game enthusiasts will get a kick out of this one if they haven't tried it already, as out of its contemporaries when it was initially released, it's probably the most combo-centric game I've seen. - end - The month of September brought a few additional retro games to the Switch Online emulators, and for the first time in a while, there are some really interesting additions. BACKGROUND:
This was a Japan-only release back in the day, and I literally only knew of its existence when it was announced for Switch Online. I underestimated just how many spinoffs the Kirby franchise has. SUMMARY: Kirby Star Stacker is one of those block puzzle games where you match icons (in this case, sprites of Kirby's animal buddies from the Dream Land series) to clear the board. Mechanically, it feels similar to Puyo Puyo, but what separates it from that are the star blocks that can only be cleared if you place two identical icons between them. That makes it tricky to perform the usual chain combos you often see in Puyo Puyo. Other than special bomb blocks and pink blocks that need to be cleared twice, the game is straightforward. Getting chain combos causes star blocks to drop into your board, which can keep the combo going if they happen to land in a way that leads to icons matching. In practice, I found it tricky to capitalize on this, but it's super satisfying when it works to your advantage. The game has a number of modes: your usual endless mode, a mode that's split into rounds (and progression is determined by the number of star blocks you clear), a time attack where you try to clear as many star blocks as possible before the timer expires, and a two-player versus mode where you try to get combos to fill up the opponent's board. In addition, there's actually a story mode where King Dedede causes trouble by shooting a sentient star out of the sky and Kirby must once again fix things. As the game is in Japanese, I couldn't glean much more than that, but the flow of this mode has Kirby beat the shit out of classic Kirby enemies on his way to King Dedede. This mode is the only way you can play the versus mode in a single player setting, and the latter stages are actually pretty tough. I was quite impressed by the visuals of the game. The sprites are pretty detailed (especially the character art and the stills for the story mode), and I liked the coloring book vibe of the art style. VERDICT: Kirby Star Stacker isn't that groundbreaking in terms of block puzzlers I've played, but the simple addition of the star blocks adds a layer of trickiness to the game that I enjoyed playing around. It has pretty much all the modes I generally want in games like this, so I'm satisfied. It's certainly more unique than Kirby's Avalanche, so I gotta give it points for that. Give this game a try if you're in the mood for a simple puzzle game that can either be chill or challenging depending on the difficulty you choose for any of the modes. - end - Out of everything added in June's Switch Online emulator updates, this is the one I was most excited to jump into. BACKGROUND:
I already talked about my history with the Harvest Moon series (and a little bit about its own history) when I talked about Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (you can find that here). The main thing I want to add here is how I know very little of the titles in the franchise, and that I was very excited to hear that the very first entry in the renowned series is now available for me to play via a convenient platform. SUMMARY: As established, Harvest Moon is a farming sim where you play as a young man who inherits a farm from his grandfather (that sounds familiar...). Events are governed by a day-and-night cycle across a four-month calendar year (with each month representing a season), and the gameplay loop is centered around earning money to build up your farm. It's likely that you've seen a modern iteration of a game like this (and thus would know the broad strokes of how it works), so I'll focus on the nitty-gritty. The money-making activities you can do are pretty limited. Your main source of income will be from planting crops and raising livestock, but you can also forage and fish. The latter two activities are extremely limited, as the few forage points are fixed, and there's literally only one spot you can fish (where there is exactly one type of fish). Foraging outside and fishing are also unavailable during winter, but they're a solid supplement to your income during idle moments. Your choice of crops is sadly limited, as you only have two per season. In spring, you can plant either turnips or potatoes, and in summer, you can choose between tomatoes and corn. You can't do any sort of agricultural activity beyond those seasons (which makes fall and winter significantly less engaging in terms of how much you can do in a day), and beyond differences in how long they take to grow fully, each crop can be taken care of in the exact same way (just plant the seeds in tilled soil and water everyday). In terms of animal husbandry, you can raise chickens in the coop (and sell their eggs) or cows in the barn (and sell their milk). You'll need to feed them everyday with fodder, which you can acquire by harvesting fully grown grass (which you can also plant). Provided you don't forget to feed them everyday, the animals are a guaranteed source of income regardless of season. Of the two animals, chickens are low maintenance, as the only penalty for missing a feeding is that they won't lay eggs (you'll have to feed them for three days straight to have them lay eggs again). Cows take a lot more effort, as you have to maintain an affection score so they produce higher quality milk. They can also get sick and cranky, and unlike the apparently immortal chickens of this universe, they can straight up die. The investment is worth it, though. Money has plenty of uses early on, from buying more seeds and animals, helpful tools like cow milkers and sprinklers, and supplies like animal feed or cow medicine. Outside of those, you can upgrade your house twice and buy special goods (like the Blue Feather or the Snow Berry). Once you've built up your farm enough and purchased most of the essentials, it will become immediately apparent that there's not much else to spend money on. The game's world is quite small, with only three areas: your farm, the mountain (where you can forage and fish), and the town (where all the shops are). The only other thing you can do in town apart from shopping is romancing one of the five single girls who live there, which is a whole thing. Your relationship with each girl deepens every time you give them certain gifts or trigger specific conversations with them, and you can track each relationship level by reading a specific girl's diary (totally not a breach of privacy). At a certain point, you'll encounter a special event focused on them, and helping them during this will deepen your relationship further. Once all the conditions are met, you can propose to one of the girls, and once they accept, they'll move in with you. The NPCs of this game don't have a lot of dialogue, but there's just enough that you can get a bit of a personality and some backstory. I can't really say it's enough for me to really get into their characters, though. For what it's worth, the five girls you can romance have enough going on for them that I'm not just arbitrarily favoring one for their hair color, but whatever personality they have is almost completely stripped away when they become your wife, as they get even little to do. On certain days of the season, there are festivals you can participate in by visiting town. Some of these have a neat prize or exclusive items you can buy, like the Egg Festival (where you go on an egg scavenger hunt) or the Harvest Festival (where you can add food to the stew), while others are less involved (like Thanksgiving or New Year's Day). This is also a good time to deepen your relationship with the girls, as you can ask them to dance in some of the festivals. What takes me aback about this game is how blisteringly fast the day-night cycle is. It's actually a bad idea to do anything that doesn't involve selling your goods during the day, as anything you place in the shipping bin past a specific time of day will not count as sold. If it's any consolation, night is endless (making it the perfect time to do chores), but I found the need to make the most out of such a limited time span to be mildly stressful. What makes it extra nerve-wracking is how the in-game clock is an unlockable item (so you don't even know what time it is until the color of the sky changes). Performing most tool-based actions will consume stamina, and while there's no in-game tracker for this either, your character's animations will communicate how much stamina you have left just fine. There's also no penalty for running out (save for not being able to use your tools), and you can easily refresh yourself at a hot spring on the mountain. Speaking of tools, you can only carry two at a time, and you have to swap out between tools at the shed. While this makes perfect sense in real life, it does make going between chores take longer since you have to go out of your way to the shed to grab what you need. Despite its smaller scale, this game still has its fair share of bonus stuff, like acquiring a horse who helps you move around faster, upgrading your stamina with collectible Power Berries (some of which are tricky to find), upgrading your tools to more powerful golden versions, and having children with your wife. It's not much, though, as it's possible to get most of these done in Year 1. Although the game's day-night cycle is certainly odd to me, another element that stood out to me as strange is how this game actually ends. Modern farming sims are typically the kind of game you can play for as long as you wish, but the original Harvest Moon defies those expectations. Once you get to Year 3, the game ends, and you're shown an ending for your character that differs depending on what you've accomplished (were you married or not, the kinds of crops you sold, the livestock you raised). While this definitely felt weird to me, I kind of like the idea of unique endings based on how you played the game, and for how limited the game itself is, I don't mind that you have to stop eventually. VERDICT: Having played more robust farming sim games, the original Harvest Moon feels more restrictive to me between its quick day-night cycle and the activities being as limited as they are. With that said, I still felt the satisfaction of the time-tested gameplay loop this genre is known for, and there's something novel about experiencing the gameplay of one of the pioneers of the genre. Overall, I'm content with my one playthrough where I did as much as I can, but I really appreciate how far the series (and farming sims in general) has come. If you simply want to play a farming sim and have a chill time, modern entries like the later installments of Story of Seasons or Stardew Valley (which was heavily inspired by this game) are your best bet given how much you can do in them and how improved the experience is overall. However, if you find those overwhelming, this game is the perfect place to start since there's less to think about (though the caveat is the day-and-night cycle). Additionally, the original installment of a legendary series with a storied legacy on a whole genre of games definitely falls into my definition of "essential" must-play games, so there's that. - end - We only get one SNES game for March's Switch Online emulator additions. BACKGROUND:
I've actually played a bit of pool (or billiards, if that's what you want to call it) before. My parents used to take me to a nearby place when they'd hang out with their friends, and I learned how to play 8-ball just by watching them play. Good times. I haven't played much at all since those days, and no, I'm not any good. As far as billiards video games go, the only one I remember playing is the one on Wii Play. That was pretty fun. While I had little doubt that somebody made a pool game for the Super Nintendo back in the day, I can't say I've heard of any of them. SUMMARY: Side Pocket is a sports game where the main game mode is a variation of straight pool, a simple game where all you have to do is pocket as many billiard balls as you can without committing a foul. In single player, all you have to do is reach a certain score threshold to keep playing, and you earn points by pocketing balls (and get bonuses for consecutive pots and pocketing balls in numeric order). Each level has a different number of balls, which keeps things somewhat fresh. Controls are straightforward, with your traditional power meter to determine the strength of your shot, as well as the helpful ability to adjust your shot angle infinitesimally (allowing for a decent level of precision). Most notable is the ability to change which part of the ball you hit with your cue, allowing you to make impressive, curved shots and even perform cool tricks like jump shots. This game adds a few gimmicks, like the occasional highlighted pocket that gives you bonus points if you sink a ball into it on that turn, and a superpowered ball that turns the cue ball into a missile if you make contact. I was pleasantly surprised by these mechanics since pretty much everything else about this game leans towards realism. You only have a set number of lives in single player, and you lose a life every time you scratch or make a shot that doesn't result in a ball going into a pocket. Run out, and it's game over. There are opportunities to get extra lives in between levels, though I can't say that they're easy. Often, you're put into challenge levels between games, where the objective is to make seemingly impossible trick shots in one move. These include potting a ball into a specific pocket, weaving past wine glasses to make a shot, or managing to pocket multiple balls in one go. These are quite challenging to clear, but it's satisfying as hell if you manage to pull it off. What's cool is that you can play any of these individual challenges at your leisure via a separate game mode. There are a couple of two-player modes that I didn't get to try out. The first is simply a two-player variation of the main mode, while the other is two-player 9-ball (a pool game where you have to pocket the balls in numeric order). I wish 9-ball had a single player mode, and I also wish 8-ball were present in any capacity. I was startled by how great the graphics were. While the main gameplay looks fine, the other visuals like the people and backgrounds were impressively detailed. It was like I was looking at an arcade instead of a Super Nintendo game. VERDICT: While it doesn't have single player 8-ball or 9-ball, Side Pocket was still a solid pool experience for me. It plays quite well overall, and I really enjoyed the trick shot levels (even though I suck at them). I still prefer playing the real thing, but this isn't a terrible substitute. There are probably better pool game offerings out there on modern hardware, so it might be best to look those up if you want 8-ball action like I do. If you want to try straight pool (or a version of it, anyway) in video game form, or are interested in the trick shot mode, I'd give this game a go. - end - There's one more Super Nintendo game in July's Switch Online update. Let's skip the preamble. BACKGROUND:
Haven't heard of this one. To be fair, a lot of these Street Fighter II clones came out in the '90s. I did some reading out of curiosity after I played, and I learned that this game was the subject of a lawsuit by Capcom. It... kind of makes sense that that happened. SUMMARY: Fighter's History is a fighting game that works pretty closely to Street Fighter II. You have a more or less international cast of fighters each with their unique stage, a six-button control scheme (light, medium, & heavy punches/kicks), command inputs for special moves (quarter/half-circles, charge moves, Shoryuken inputs), and even a stun mechanic (which is based on hitting a character's unique weak point, which I thought was interesting and different). The roster is dangerously close to being a carbon copy of Street Fighter II's, as the game has the likes of Feilin (who looks pretty fucking close to Chun-Li), Ryoko (who has the same look as Ryu, but is a young woman and a judoka instead of a shoto), Marstorius (totally not Zangief), and Samchay (totally not Sagat). To the game's credit, it has a couple of more unique characters, like Matlok (a punk rock-looking dude) and Clown (a clown, believe it or not). In terms of specials, there's nothing that really stands out to me (it's mostly fireballs with the occasional Shoryuken, throw, or slide), but I can at least appreciate that each character and their corresponding stage is distinct from one another. You're not going to get Marvel vs. Capcom-levels of insane combos, but you can string a few moves together and land a half-decent combo (I can do basic high-low mixups and jump-in combos, for instance, but nothing too wacky). Most characters don't have too many normals to think about, though I did like how a number of them have dedicated anti-air moves and such. It's also possible to special cancel certain moves, which I was pleasantly surprised about. In terms of modes, you have your usual arcade mode (fight every character on the roster, plus two boss characters), a unique survival mode where you can go on a 5v5 against either a CPU or a second player (cool idea), and a standard versus mode. VERDICT: I can't really say Fighter's History stands out from other similar games during its time in most of its aspects (gameplay and designs feel taken from Street Fighter II almost verbatim in some places, presentation isn't distinct, and there's not really a story), but I will say that for what it is, it does play quite smoothly. I had fun with my brief time landing freeform combos and figuring out specials, but after trying most of the characters and beating the arcade mode, I think I'm content. I might revisit it if I find a friend who wants to try it out. I've likely said this before, but there are definitely more notable options to start out with if you wish to explore the wonderful world of fighting games in the '90s. That said, I don't think there's anything really wrong with this one, because apart from not being too unique and not having much of a story, it plays pretty well. - end - The month of July had a couple new additions to the Switch Online emulators. You know how this goes. BACKGROUND:
Just when I thought I knew every Kirby game on the Super Nintendo, they hit me with this one. I had no idea they made this spinoff. I was weirded out that this game (which straight up just looked like Kirby Puyo Puyo) existed considering Super Puyo Puyo 2 already exists on SNES, but then I recalled that that game never released outside Japan. A bit of reading confirmed my suspicions, and I learned that this is indeed an exclusively Western release, and that the fact it's got Kirby on it is likely an attempt to appeal to Western audiences. SUMMARY: This game is literally just Puyo Puyo with a Kirby coat of paint. It plays exactly like classic Puyo Puyo. Match the colors, take advantage of the gravity mechanic to create clear chains, send as much garbage to the opponent board and fill their matrix before they do the same to you. No unique gimmick related to Kirby or anything like that. The game has a single player campaign of sorts where you take on AI opponents (represented by a variety of classic Kirby characters), as well as your standard 2P versus mode. I found the campaign amusing since characters have dialogue (that doesn't happen often in mainline Kirby games), and some of the dialogue is jarring in an amusing way. Kirby, for instance, talks some mad shit in some scenes, and it's hilariously out of character. If you're wondering about the story, it's pretty much just Kirby looking to become the champion of Puyo Puyo (called Avalanche in this game). The final boss is King Dedede, who issued the challenge to everybody in Dream Land. In terms of visuals, actual gameplay elements look almost one-to-one with SNES Puyo Puyo 2, which already looked nice. The Kirby elements (like the character portraits, and the backgrounds) do a lot to give this take on Puyo Puyo a bit more personality, and interestingly, the style looks distinct enough from the other SNES Kirby games I've played. The music is pretty limited, but it does remix tracks from older Kirby games. Interesting thing to note: Lolo and Lala (from the NES game Adventures of Lolo, also made by HAL Laboratory) appear in this game. I thought that was neat. VERDICT: Evaluating it on its own, Kirby's Avalanche doesn't bring anything unique to the table in terms of gameplay. While I'd have loved a gimmick of some kind, I'm pretty content with classic Puyo Puyo, which is a tried-and-true addictive puzzle experience already. Apart from that, the game using lots of Kirby elements like visuals and music was nice, and I found the short campaign amusing for its uncharacteristic dialogue. You honestly can't go wrong with this version if you want to experience some classic Puyo Puyo. Super Puyo Puyo 2 (which I played and talked about here) was never localized, so if you can't read Japanese, this is a much easier version to get into. - end - And that's Switch Online's May updates sorted. I really need to get the Expansion Pack so I have more stuff to play... BACKGROUND:
Look, I don't know what this game is, either. What do you want from me? SUMMARY: Congo's Caper is a platformer where you play a half-caveman, half-monkey dude named Congo who must rescue who I assume is his girlfriend from this demon villain and his themed caveman minions. Standard stuff, but I definitely wasn't expecting the main characters to be more or less Saiyans, and the villains to be outlandish in terms of their gimmicks (there's a pirate caveman, an engineer caveman, and even a vampire caveman). That does a lot to make this game stand out from the three other caveman games I've played on Super Nintendo (still can't believe there are that many; were they really popular in the early '90s?). In terms of controls, the game's mostly standard fare. Congo can jump, dash, crouch, and swing his club, and it all controls perfectly fine. Perhaps the most notable thing here is that he also has access to a high jump (done by pressing up + jump), which does exactly as advertised. There are around six worlds (each with four or so individual levels), each being slight variations of classic stage tropes (e.g. water level, jungle level, fire level, etc.) and having mechanics that are nothing out of the ordinary (spikes, moving platforms, breakable barriers). Most of the levels are short and linear, but there's a surprising amount of secret corners where you can find extra items, paths to bonus stages, and even alternate exits. Apart from the first and last worlds, you can tackle four of the worlds in any order you like, which is neat. The main collectibles are yellow jewels, which just function like Mario coins (get 100 for an extra life). These come in either the regular size, or you can find giant ones that are worth a full hundred, and can be found all throughout levels or as enemy drops. If you happen to find a pink pterodactyl, you'll be taken to one of an assortment of bonus stages that are filled to the brim with these gems. You can also acquire what appear to be clear jewels (or they're ice cubes; who can say?) that roll a slot machine on the top portion of your HUD. It's complete RNG, but if they happen to line up three in a row, you get two extra lives. Neat, I guess, but largely inconsequential. The most important collectibles are the red jewels. In your base form, you can only take two hits (the first hit turns you back into a monkey; get hit as a monkey and you're dead). Collecting a red jewel gives you an extra hit. If you manage to grab three without getting hit, you transform into a super version of Congo whose high jump goes significantly farther, and has the additional ability to hover in midair to slow his descent. It's well worth getting, as the hover makes platforming significantly easier, and the higher jump gets you into otherwise inaccessible secret areas. The level designs don't really come off as difficult when it comes to platforming, with only a few sections where I took some hits. Enemies (of which there's only a small variety) are mostly easy to dispatch, so they're placed more like obstacles in the way of fairly tricky platforming sections (and they do their job here decently well). Interestingly, you can roll knocked-out caveman enemies and turn them into wrecking balls, clearing out enemies in your path. I thought that was amusing. The bosses are straightforward, with only a number of patterns to watch out for. Some of them are trickier than others, but overall, they were no trouble once I figured out the openings. That said, most of them were pretty memorable thanks to their over-the-top gimmicks, and the final boss gets extra props from me for having a couple of surprises. I quite like the art style of this game; the sprites have a distinct look to them that I found pleasing to the eye. VERDICT: It doesn't really reinvent the wheel in terms of mechanics and isn't all that difficult, but I still had a fun, if brief time with Congo's Caper. Despite being yet another caveman platformer, the game manages to stand out thanks to its presentation and quirky characters, though the game itself is pretty basic overall. It didn't blow my mind, but I got some enjoyment out of it, which is more than enough. This is another one of those games that are worth playing if you just want a chill platformer and don't want to stress yourself with a lengthy or overly difficult game. On the flip side, this is one of those games that likely won't do anything for you if you're looking for a challenge, unique mechanics, or a fresh new setting. - end - The May update for Switch Online brings with it a pair of new SNES games for the emulator. Here's the first one. BACKGROUND:
Yeah, I don't know what this is. I don't think I've known what any of these new games have been for like a year and a half. SUMMARY: Rival Turf is yet another side-scrolling beat-'em-up, so you kind of know what to expect here. Walk to the right, beat the shit out of enemies, rinse, repeat. Combat is not at all complex, with only a basic attack (which can auto-combo), a dash (which can lead to a dash attack), a jump (that can be followed up with one of two jump attacks), and the ability to grab enemies by walking up to them (and then following up with either a forward or back throw that hurts surrounding enemies). That's it. Most enemies (the variety of which is quite shallow) are mostly no problem to fight and can be dispatched quickly with throws, so combat to me overall was pretty one-note. It didn't help that strikes had weird hitboxes that don't connect with the enemy, and that discouraged me from going for anything other than throws or the occasional jump attack. Bosses are slightly less of a pushover, but only because they have annoyingly fast attacks and are quite the damage sponges (they only take significant damage with throws). There are only two playable characters, which is a step down from the other Jaleco beat-'em-ups I've played. The only differences they have on top of that are movesets, which is already pretty shallow, and apart from the one dude's powerbomb and the other dude's flying kick, I found their moves mostly uninteresting. As for why they're fighting, they seem to be out to stop a gang... or something. I don't know. These plots are starting to bleed together for me. There are six short stages, with most of them taking place in typical locales for this game genre (the streets, in a building, some more streets... you get the idea). Don't expect any exciting when it comes to environmental destruction or fun pickups, because the appearance rate of destructible objects is exactly one per three or four screens, and the pickups (which are equally infrequent) only fall into one of four categories: healing item, throwing item, mid-range melee weapon, and explosive. VERDICT: Out of the beat-'em-ups I've played, Rival Turf is unfortunately among the least memorable. Pretty much every aspect of it, I've seen before and have seen it executed better, and it seems to make no effort to distinguish itself from other similar games from its time. The most it is for me is a time-killer, but as harsh as it is to say, I can think of many games that are more engaging ways to pass a free hour. There are other beat-'em-ups out there with more personality and more engaging combat, and if you're looking to get into the genre, you're better served searching for those more well-known titles. I would not recommend this as an entry point to newcomers, and I doubt people who are even a little familiar with beat-'em-ups would find this interesting. But hey, if you're willing to spend an hour playing through the game, I think it's playable enough that you won't have a miserable time. - end - Looks like SNES Online hasn't hit the bottom of the barrel quite yet. BACKGROUND:
Despite not having played it, I know of the first Earthworm Jim, as it's one of the more popular games of the Sega Genesis. What I did not know was that they made a sequel. SUMMARY: Earthworm Jim 2 is primarily a run-and-gun platformer where you shoot enemies and run to the end of the level, but as I'll elaborate, there's a bit more variety to it than that. Your abilities in the main platforming levels are pretty straightforward. You can jump and shoot your gun, but you can also whip Jim's earthworm head/body as an attack, as well as use something called a Snot Swing in midair to stick to and swing across gooey green ceilings. There's also the ability to slow your descent by opening what appears to be a snot parachute, but I found this disorienting since I keep expecting Jim to shoot when I press the button for it (yes, you cannot shoot in midair here, which is bizarre to me). While your regular blaster shot is handy, it doesn't have infinite ammo, and you'll want to be mindful about picking up ammo as you go about your way in levels. You can also acquire different weapons that you can switch between, from a three-way spread shot, homing missiles, and a straight up useless bubble gun. I found that there was rarely any need to shoot since you aren't really swarmed by enemies at any point, which meant that I couldn't really enjoy the variety of weapons. Perhaps the most mileage you could get out of the weapons would be during boss fights, but those are straightforward to the point that the default gun is more than enough to get you through. Though the basic idea of getting to the end of the level holds true for pretty much every platforming section, a lot of them have fun with it by giving you unique objectives. Some levels have you carry animals across the way to open specific barriers, one level is all about using a special gun to dig through the dirt, and the final level is actually just a race to the finish instead of a boss fight. The variety is certainly impressive, which I think makes up for the otherwise straightforward platforming of most levels. Speaking of variety, platforming is not the only thing you'll be doing in this game. Two of the levels are akin to something like Balloon Fight where you have to float around to avoid obstacles to get to the end, one is more or less a shmup, and there are multiple levels called "Puppy Love" where you try to safely bounce puppies across the screen. There's even one level that ends in a nonsensical game show. Again, I really like how the game mixes things up, though I must admit that some of these alternative levels don't control quite as well at times, and that their difficulty can much steeper than that of the regular platforming levels (which is mostly just jarring). The game is pretty impressive visually, with the sprites and backgrounds looking highly detailed despite the 16-bit limitations, almost rivaling something like Donkey Kong Country in that sense. Some visuals (like the victory screen with the cows) look almost photorealistic (well, as photorealistic something on the Super Nintendo can be). As a bonus, a lot of the levels are visually distinct and memorable in terms of aesthetic. There's one set in an office and the background is just piles of paperwork, and another set in a kitchen where the platforms are food items like bacon and eggs. Although the main story itself is as basic as it gets (Jim has to rescue Princess What's-Her-Name — great name — from the evil Psy-Crow), the game more than makes up for it with all the zany shenanigans that occur. Examples include: Jim sometimes calls a cab to move onto the next level, there's that weird-ass game show I mentioned, the aforementioned victory screen with the cows, and even little things like the over-the-top sound effects (like Jim's Tom and Jerry-ass screams when he takes damage). Between all this, the wildly varied settings the levels take place in, and the graphics, this game has oodles of personality. VERDICT: Although I found it to be dreadfully short and straightforward in terms of its difficulty, I had plenty of fun playing through Earthworm Jim 2. I enjoyed the variety of its gameplay and multiple aspects of it (from visuals, level aesthetics, over-the-top nonsense, and even little things like sound effects) were highly memorable to me. I beat it so quickly, I was left wanting more, so I should probably find a way to play the first one to satiate my appetite. It makes more sense to me to recommend the first game over this one since that's the one that's more renowned as a title (at least as far as I know). However, I haven't played that yet, so that's mostly a recommendation on the notion that it's an "essential" title with some historical significance or is otherwise beloved by many. That said, I think this game plays largely the same as its predecessor based on what I've seen, and there's no real story you need to catch up on, so one could probably get away with starting here. - end - I had to set some time aside for this one, but I'm really glad I did, because it's one off the bucket list. BACKGROUND:
Like a significant number of people, all my knowledge of the Earthbound series (or Mother, as it is known in Japan) was all derived from Smash Bros. Ness, along with the likes of Captain Falcon or Marth, was one of those "who the fuck is this" characters on the roster, but despite this, Earthbound amassed quite the cult following, to the point that it became one major inspiration for a good number of modern RPG titles today (the most notable of which is Undertale, one of the biggest indie games of the last decade). I've surely told the story of how Smash Bros. being the crossover it is ignited my passion for video games (especially its more historical aspects) already, so I won't repeat myself there too much. The point is, I've been making the effort to play all the unfamiliar (to me) game franchises represented in Smash, but one of the few titles left on the list is Earthbound. I suppose I never got curious enough back in my emulation days, and I never got around to buying the Virtual Console releases back in the 3DS/Wii U era. Well, that changes today, because this bad boy is finally in the Switch Online emulator service, and it only took Nintendo close to three years. Goddamn it. SUMMARY: Earthbound is a 2D turn-based RPG where you play as Ness (the default name; you can name the protagonist), a young boy who lives near Onett, a small town in the country of Eagleland (a great name for a parody of the United States, I should say). One fateful night, a meteorite crashes near Ness's house, and upon investigation, Ness learns that an alien invader named Giygas has come to Earth and is attempting to conquer the planet by consuming the inhabitants with evil thoughts and hate. Ness also learns that he and three other kids are destined to defeat Giygas, and thus he must journey across the world to find a way to stop Giygas. It's got the recipe for a standard RPG plot: unwitting protagonist turns out to be chosen one, a journey across the world to collect magic bullshit, a powerful, world-destroying evil who must be destroyed, a party of friends... you get the idea. Where the story becomes memorable for me is its willingness to be bizarre or even unnerving (like when you meet the Mr. Saturns with zero context), its cast of quirky characters (my personal favorite is this group of five moles who talk mad shit about being the third strongest in their group), and its off-the-wall humor (which sometimes gets meta). Hell, the fact that such an RPG with a bunch of classic tropes is set in what's just a variant of the real world set in the late 20th century (but with aliens) is novel in itself. I must admit that the plot's themes of friendship and human connection didn't really land for me until close to the end, as the game doesn't really establish the bond between the four friends in dialogue too much. That said, it's the smaller moments like in the side stories (e.g. helping the Runaway Five band with their contractual troubles) or even in throwaway NPC dialogue or interactions that made the ending more poignant to me. Even the completely bizarre moments when some random dude flies in to take photos has an effective payoff by the end. The gameplay has a lot of traditional RPG mechanics, too. You've got a party of four each with different unique abilities, stats, and spells (called PSI in the game) that range from offense, buffs, and debuffs. You can also acquire various equippables to raise your stats, and consumables from healing items to single-use items that can deal damage or inflict status ailments. There's a fair bit of exploration, you got a few fetch quests (they don't feel too bad, though), and dungeons filled with enemies and bosses. Basically, a lot of stuff should feel familiar to seasoned RPG players. It takes a little bit for your full party to assemble, but once you do, you've got a solid team that covers all the roles you'll need to succeed. Ness is the all-rounder with good physical damage and a diverse set of PSI powers, Paula is the full-on "mage" with all the offensive and support spells you can want, Jeff is interesting since a lot of his utility comes from the inventions in his inventory, and Poo is a decent spellcaster who can be just as flexible as Ness in terms of usage. The other party members also have unique actions and passives; Paula can spend a turn to Pray (which has a chance to provide helpful support to the entire party), Jeff can Spy on enemies (revealing their stats and possible weaknesses), and Poo can Mirror enemies (become a copy of them with their abilities). The most interesting trait to me is Jeff's innate ability to repair broken items; if you sleep with Jeff holding such items in his inventory, there's a chance he can repair them to create gadgets that he can use or beneficial consumables. I thought this was a novel mechanic, and I don't think I've seen it anywhere else. Every party member has an individual inventory, allowing you to hold several items across all four kids. That said, the limited inventory is probably one of my biggest gripes in the game, as all your equippable items take up a slot (meaning if you're fully decked out, that's four slots taken), and there are a lot of stray items lying about that you can pick up, meaning inventories fill up quickly without you realizing. I ended up not buying too many consumables not just because I didn't really rely on them, but because it was a pain in the ass to manage inventories by moving stuff between each party member. The only character I really buy stuff for is Jeff, and even that is a pain because all his special gadgets take up space in his inventory. The game's solution for inventory woes is Escargo Express, a pickup/delivery service you can call on the phone to pick up items to be stored. It would work just fine if you could call it wherever, but you can't (phones can only be found in specific facilities), so forget about managing your inventory in the middle of a dungeon. Also, there's a maximum number of items you can store, so that might be annoying. I mostly used the service to offload key items that were no longer needed, which was another reason why managing items was a pain in the ass to me. I didn't know if key items had served their purpose until it was too far into the game, so I let such items take a slot and saved the extra space for other key items. Lastly, some items are straight up useless or serve a very niche purpose, which can be frustrating for some players. This, I didn't much as much, as I could at least appreciate the humor in it. For example, using the Picture Postcard just gives you hilariously sad dialogue, and Fresh Eggs hatch into Chicks if you don't use them to heal. Instead of the usual random encounters (which was typical of the time for most RPGs), enemies actually have sprites that move around as you navigate the overworld. Running into them initiates a battle, but often, it is they who bumrush you to start shit. Interestingly, the angle you approach from can give you an advantage, as jumping an enemy from behind gives you a free turn. On the flip side, enemies can do the same to you; if they manage to run into you while your back is turned, they're the ones who get a free turn. There are a good variety of enemies in this game, and they all ooze personality with their memorable designs (you can fight living taxis and the melting Salvador Dali clocks in this), weird names (with such great hits like Stinky Ghost and Overzealous Cop), charming battle dialogue (e.g. the Annoying Reveler complains about "today's youth", which lowers your Guts stat), or are just straight up gimmicks (like the Clumsy Robot, which rarely ever attacks, and you just get many hilarious dialogue lines that mean the same thing: it has wasted its turn). I actually found it worthwhile to fight as many unique enemies as I could, since I got to see all sorts of neat sprites and got a laugh out the dialogue. Battles can be tough in this game, as not only are there instances where you take on multiple enemies at a time, some of them can do a variety of things that can kick your ass. From attacks that target multiple party members, annoying status ailments like paralysis or uncontrollable crying (yes, this is a thing, and it affects attack accuracy), and even shit like summoning extra enemies or a self-destruct that damages you on the enemy's death, there's a lot of things that can potentially piss you off. It takes a while before you have access to PSI spells that let you not worry about most of these things, so it might be a challenge to reserve inventory slots for specific healing items or to backtrack to a town's hospital just to heal up. As you may expect, bosses take a considerable amount of effort to defeat, with their large HP pools, immunities to certain spells or items, and scary attacks. I wasn't really severely underleveled, so I can't say for certain, but I didn't feel like any of them were real damage sponges that took an eternity to beat. Also, I found various ways to wreck a lot of these bosses (whether by exploiting weaknesses or using stuff like Bottle Rockets), and it was often satisfying to rinse them in only a few turns. Some of the bosses required a gimmick to beat, and while the most notable instance of this in the game isn't quite intuitive, I was amused by the creativity of said gimmicks. Though leveling up to get stronger is important, and you can certainly grind to get there, I personally got through most of the game simply killing whatever got in my way as I tried to progress the story. If you feel the need to go that route, the game makes things easier for you when you reach a certain point. For one, vanquishing the boss of the dungeon makes it so the regular enemies actually flee from you instead of running toward you, making it easy to jump them from behind and get a free turn. Additionally, if you're at a high enough level, low-level enemies just die instantly on contact, and you get XP without having to do anything. Granted, you do have to make the effort to get to this point, but it's a cool way to mitigate the tedium of grinding. Just as much stuff is unique to this game (or, at least, different from what was around in RPGs at the time of its release). For example, there are weird status conditions outside of the typical ones you may have encountered, and the most notable one of these to me was homesickness. Yes, Ness can get homesick, and it basically means he can't do anything. In order to cure it, you have to call your mom on the phone. It's such a weird thing to put into the game, but I was charmed by its inclusion. Another memorable one was getting mushroomized; if you let it go untreated, your controls are eventually jumbled, which made navigating in the overworld hilariously infuriating. Another oddity was the game's HP counter, which counts up or down slowly as opposed to displaying any damage or healing instantaneously. This leads to some interesting moments when you take damage that would kill you, but since the counter hasn't hit zero yet, you have a chance to heal or finish the battle before it does provided you act quickly. I thought this was an interesting way to handle health since it sort of gives you a chance against powerful enemies. Though you earn money in this game the same way you would in most RPGs (win battles), the game actually has you go through the rigamarole of withdrawing the money from the ATM. That's because all the money you'd earn has to be deposited into the bank first by your dad, which only occurs when you call him (which you'll do a lot since calling him is how you save the game). You'd think it'd be a hassle, but you actually only really need money when you're in a place with a shop, and shops always have both a phone to call your dad from and an ATM. I'm also just amused that your dad, despite never appearing onscreen at any point in the game, actually helps you on your journey, which is more than most dads in Pokemon could ever say for themselves. Despite being a Super Nintendo game, Earthbound's visuals are closer to that of an 8-bit style, with relatively simpler sprites and colors. However, the game still looks significantly more impressive than almost everything that ever came out on the NES, as it has a noticeably more vibrant palette, striking designs (especially for the enemies), and highly varied environments to walk around in (from the quaint town of Onett, the bustling city of Fourside, and the complete hallucination that is Moonside). This game is not afraid to get trippy, as there are many instances where the game has psychedelic visuals, from when you encounter otherworldly areas throughout the story, or even in the background of the battle screen. The effects are just as wild for the PSI attacks, as they're often highly colorful and abstract animations of random geometry. This is also probably a good time to mention that the game can sometimes overdo it with the flashing lights, so if you have photosensitivity issues, take great care when playing this. The music isn't afraid to be experimental, either, as the soundtrack takes inspiration from a wide variety of genres (jazz being the one I noticed the most) and overall complements the peculiar nature of the game and its visuals. One of the most notable aspects to me is how nearly all the battle themes sound absolutely chill and upbeat (as opposed to the convention of a track that gets your blood pumping). VERDICT: I'm so glad to have finally played Earthbound, because I had a ton of fun playing through it and exploring the world. Though plenty of aspects of its RPG gameplay aren't all that unique, and I have a few grievances (mostly with the inventory management), the game does more than enough to establish its own unique, if bizarre identity among the sea of RPGs that exist. I loved the overall weird vibe (accomplished with the unorthodox presentation and strange humor) mixed in with the close-to-realistic American setting, and as straightforward as the main gameplay and story can be, I liked the bits of personality sprinkled into everything (from enemy actions, silly NPC dialogue, peculiar status ailments, and more). This is up there as one of the most memorable RPG experiences I've ever had, and while it took me longer than I should have to play this game, I'd say it was worth the wait. It's also great to have played this game and appreciate how many of its elements ended up inspiring modern games. Looking back, I can now clearly see how much of this game's DNA is present in something like Undertale. Better yet, I can now fully appreciate the Earthbound representation in Smash, as I now understand where most of Ness's moves come from (fun fact: he doesn't actually learn most of his special moves in his actual game), and I get every reference in the Earthbound stages now. I'm willing to argue that this is one of those "essential" games that must be played by video game enthusiasts at least once. I think the combination of its status as a cult classic, its enduring presence in a massive crossover like Smash, and how its quirky aspects served as inspiration for many modern titles all provide ample merit to its significance in video game history. One could certainly argue that there are more classic RPGs out there, but I'd assert that Earthbound stands out from the crowd with its many unique twists. - end - Here's the last of July's Switch Online updates. Three games is pretty bare, and the only update for the NES side is an SP version of Mario 3 (it's just a save state). BACKGROUND:
Nope. Still not a game I've heard of before. For the record, I am not complaining every time I say this. As much as I'd love to explore some heavy hitters through the emulator service, these obscure, off-the-wall picks are just as interesting to me (and I'm aware that I'm the minority when it comes to this). SUMMARY: Claymates is a side-scrolling 2D platformer where you play as Clayton, a boy who was transformed into a ball of clay by an evil witch doctor, who also kidnapped his scientist father and stole a serum that can transform people into animals. It is as bizarre as it sounds. Pretty much all the levels just require you to get to the end, but they're all large enough to allow for exploration. However, there isn't a lot to find in terms of secrets; apart from three special tokens that unlock purple boxes in the levels (which themselves don't have any unique rewards), it's mostly bonus gems (which are like Mario coins), extra lives, the occasional power-up, or bonus rooms (which, again, just have more of the same). That said, I did enjoy simply exploring, though the ten-minute time limit kind of took away from the fun of it. As a clay ball, you don't have a lot you can do both platforming and combat wise. In order to stand a chance, you'll have to pick up one of five colored balls to transform into one of five animals. There's the mouse that runs extremely fast, the cat that can walk vertically up walls (an ability that I'll note is somewhat hard to use), a squirrel with a projectile attack, a bird that can fly short distances, and a fish suited for underwater movement. Many of the levels are built around a couple of these transformations, but only a few really have you switching between all of them in relatively quick succession. As far as attacks go, the squirrel is by far the most effective for obvious reasons, but everyone else can get a ranged attack by picking up an extra transformation ball, which becomes a projectile that follows you and whips forward when you press attack. This attack makes most enemies trivial, since it has great range and goes through terrain. Enemies themselves have interesting designs, but they're mostly obstacles, so don't worry about intense combat. Even the bosses aren't too tricky, especially when you have that ranged attack that lets you wail on them from a safe distance. Depending on certain conditions (like collecting all the CLAY letters at the end or obtaining a specific number of gems), you can end up in special bonus levels. Accomplishing the former puts you as your ball form in a pinball area, where there isn't much to do other than bounce to the end (which is much harder than it sounds) and rack up points (which don't seem to mean anything in the grand scheme). The other bonus level is a neat bouncing game where you try to hit the glowing tiles without missing. Getting them all awards an extra life. Interestingly, the overworld you traverse between levels is a game in itself, as each section is a puzzle where you have to guide two robots (walking on their own) to tools like axes or bombs to clear out the exit (blocked by trees or rocks). This is accomplished by pushing things like rocks or minecarts to block or open up paths for the robots to walk through, and it's a surprisingly engaging mini-puzzle each time. The only gripe I have is the collision of your character and certain elements in this section can be inconsistent, but other than that, this segment could easily be its own game. With the whole clay theme going on, the art style has this claymation look to it, and surprisingly, it translates rather well to the Super Nintendo's 16-bit capabilities. It still very much looks like a video game, but the clay texture to a lot of elements does come across clearly. I can't recall off the top of my head any modern games with a similar aesthetic, but it'd be neat to see this game's look fully realized with today's graphics. VERDICT: Though I'd say the main platforming bits of Claymates are standard fare, the transformation gimmick is still pretty fun in conjunction with the big levels, and strangely enough, I found the interstitial moments in the overworld to be engaging puzzles. I thought this was a neat game, and I quite enjoy the claymation vibe of it. As far as SNES-era platformers go, this may not be iconic, but I think it still offers a decently fun time if you just want to chill out and not really stress about tough platforming. Just don't expect any particular challenge if you're familiar with platformers. - end - |
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