Darrell Albert

Games: Shatterhand

By Darrell Albert | September 6, 2012 - 11:30 am | Games

Alas, another Jaleco action game showed the NES that 8 bit games weren’t going down without a fight. Shatterhand brought a new gameplay experience, shocking graphics, and a cool story to boot….(or shall i say fist?). And like other Jaleco games (like Operation Logic Bomb or Totally Rad), the game has that “it’s so ridiculous it’s good” quality when it comes to the storyline and cover-art.

story: According to the box, the main character packs a punch with the power of 100 missiles. You can’t get much more super-powered than that! It interesting to compare the box art between the Japanese and U.S. versions. Just go here.

The manual describes the story. It involves cybernetic technology (in the year 2030) to replace missing limbs lost in war (somehow I have my doubts we will have these by that year). There is a group of rebels (called Metal Command) who use this technology for their nefarious goals. A group of heroes (called LORD) induct Steve Hermann to go up against Metal Command after he was given a pair of cybernetic hands.

Gameplay: For most of the game, you rely on your fists to get through the stages. But don’t fret, these are super-powered cyborg fists. You can collect powerups along the way to create a little droid that helps take care of distant enemies. Collecting three squares on the top screen gets a new robot sidekick to appear. Some robots specialize in flame throwing, tossing giant bouncing discs, long lasers, and swinging a short range sword. These droids can assist that specialize in different forms of combat. It takes some real strategy figuring out the best ways to take advantage of their powers. Sometimes it helps to think outside the box. And it helps to not simply collect every new power-up you run across. Be selective! You can also latch onto fences to gain upward mobility.

The game consists of five opening stages tha you can select like Mega Man. There are horizontal and vertical stages to fight through. While there are too many of the stereotypical “factory” graphic sets, the environments are still highly detailed. There are some much-needed outdoor scenes (and an underwater one). There is also a zero gravity stage similar to Metal Storm, Mega Man 5, or Wendy’s Which Way on Gameboy Color.

Graphics: Again, some of these late era games look fantastic. This one is no different. The game is loaded with detail and features rare NES parallax scrolling. The game also has some decent animation (such as with the main character). We all remember the bad animation of Bayou Billy where you hit a button and his fists/kicks transcend the space/time continuum and appear automatically outstretched (like a Tiger LCD game). There are lots of various baddies as well including robotic soldiers, mech swordsmen, or human adversaries. There are (of course) bosses also. While they tend to be small, they do have creative attack patterns. They mostly include larger mechs with guns or swords. One stage has a ghost-type enemy that floats around. The final boss is neat, but much smaller than many last-stage bosses (like Castlevania 3 or Totally Rad). However, it can be argued that sometimes small bosses are actually tougher due to their increased mobility.

Music and sound: The music is upbeat and memorable (after repeated plays). It may not be Mega Man 2, Castlevania 3, or Skyshark, but it gets the job done.

At the end, you have to fight all the bosses a second time on a long final stage (like Mega Man X).

Jaleco didn’t only hit grand slams with their Bases Loaded series and other sports games. They made quite memorable action games that didn’t get the attention they deserved. Part of this reason might be the somewhat “silly” presentation that graced many of their games. Personally, I think that just adds to the charm.

Games: Totally Rad

By Darrell Albert | August 17, 2012 - 11:30 am | Games

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Greetings! It’s time for another action packed review of Super Powered vintage games! Today I will take a look at an overlooked and oft-misunderstood game. It is entitled Totally Rad! This was during the later period Jaleco games that were not sports based like their Bases Loaded series, such as Shatterhand or Operation Logic Bomb (I have nothing against sports per se, but I would prefer playing asBabe Ruth as a vice cop taking care of zombie drug cartels in a game called Zombie-ville Slugger). I realize that idea is a little “left-field.” But hey, I am just “spitballing” here!

Back to Totally Rad: In the modern times, the game is often considered a joke mostly due to it’s incredibly over the top 80′s atmosphere, outdated surf dude talk, and hairstyles. In fact, the cover reminds me of a very-80′s line of “Rad Dog” Trapper Keeper knock-offs I had. But have no fear, the game is considered by many to not be a relic of the past, but rather a parody that was actually ahead of its time as one of the very first games to spoof the 80′s. In other words, the 80′s inspired motif seems to be intentional! Of course, this retro makeover was part of Jaleco’s localization process. The original Japanese version of the game was a standard platformer entitled Magic John. It was a generic game with a basic storyline about a boy with magic powers that has to save the day. For a humorous comparison of the Japanese vs. U.S. version go here. The game is also known for having a very creative and humorous instruction manual. To see that, go here.

As mentioned, the game stars a boy named Jake who has magic powers. His girlfriend Allison and your magic trainer Zebadia are kidnapped and it is up to you to use your limilted powers to save them. The cinemas, albeit a bit silly, still manage to maintain a modicum of suspense allowing that “what happens next?” feeling.

Again, this game was released late in the NES’s lifespan (around 1991). As such, it has some of the best eye candy the system has ever seen (especially notable with the parallax scrolling and the massive and mobile boss encounters). Some of the graphic sets are plain, as are some of the enemies you face (such as generic robots or floor-lids that open and shoot). The levels conist of circus motifs, caves, underwater areas, and facilities. I tend to like snow stages, and sadly there are none here. The mini bosses are cool, and include mermen, cyclops robots, and agile goblins. The end-stage bosses are the game’s strongest feature. Not only are they huge and detailed, but mobile. Unlike the 3rd form of Dracula in Castlevania 3, for example, these guys are not posing for a school photo. They include a mohawked monster, hopping eye being, large fish, huge robot, and a very cool final boss with two forms.

The gameplay consists of walking, jumping, and shooting short range fireballs that you can charge to go further (like Mega Man 4-6). There are also tons of elemental magic spells (where each one contains an assortment of different graphic effects). And while you are spoiled for choice, the magic system isn’t perfect. Many of the elements seem to have the same effect on enemies. Also, despite being a student in training, you have all the magic you can get in the game all at once. It would have been cool to “learn” these as you go. But I guess that is kind of hard when your teacher is kidnapped. But the way it stands, it feels a bit random, excessive, and haphazard (perhaps kinda like the magic system in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon).

The music is quite good as well. The beats are catchy and mostly melodic. The sound effects are basically average, however, and don’t seem to stand out (there are no digitized voices to speak of).

In the end, I was very impressed with the title and had lots of fun. Feel free to give it a chance. Although the game is all-too-often ridiculed in hindsight, the game received pretty good reviews by the popular game magazines of the early 90′s.

The game poses a moderate challenge but can be beat. The game offers three continues and a free life after dispatching so many enemies. It pays off to be patient and move slowly. It also pays off to become familiar with the spells (both defensive and offensive). The game has no password feature, but is fairly long with 5 worlds each consisting of multiple mini-stages.

“All’s excellent that ends Exclent.” Jake

Games – Vice: Project Doom

By Darrell Albert | July 26, 2012 - 7:30 am | Games

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One of the saddest parts about the arrival of new game systems is that when people upgrade they often miss some of the most advanced games for the old system. For example, the Atari 2600 saw some of the best and most advanced games towards it’s end. It is a shame that so many missed games like Pengo, Stargate (Defender II), Pac Man Jr, Solaris, Secret Quest, Fatal Run, and Pitfall II (just to name a few). The NES had it’s fair share as well. These included games like Ninja Gaiden III and Megaman 4, 5, and 6. Even lesser known were games like Shatterhand, Totally Rad, and Vice: Project Doom (the latter which is the focus of today’s review). While Vice: Project Doom came out late in ’91, the NES was making games all the way up into 1994 and beyond.

Vice: Project Doom has a decent story to it and employed cinematic graphic novel style cutscenes similar to the Ninja Gaiden series. It has elements of both pulp and noir. It stars a private detective that starts his journey in Chinatown attempting to track down the origins of a strange and dangerous drug of alien origin. The game also involves a corrupt company called “BEDA” and nefarious cloning of aliens. The game manual says the following about the main character you control:

“Vice officer Quinn Hart has been on the force for several years. He has an uncanny knack for getting out of tight spots; some of the other officers joke about him being ‘super human.’”

Strangely, the game has a slight anime feel throughout as you fight self propelled mechs, creative characters, and people in body armor. Enemies include men on pogo sticks, guys in pumpkin suits, and the odd sniper. The bosses, while not gigantic, include a cool assortment of monsters or monstrous machines. Their patterns are creative and fun to figure out.

Vice actually made the cover of Nintendo Power way back in '91. (Click to enlarge.)

The first thing you notice when turning on the game, is the lack of a real title screen. That is actually a cool thing. Well, just like in the movies, you start with a nifty car chase before seeing the name of the game appear. After thinking, “well this sure seems like Spy Hunter,” you see some cinematics that are all too reminiscent of the Ninja Gaiden games. When the next level starts, you may even be wondering if it IS Ninja Gaiden. Not only is the gameplay very similar, but the baddies you will encounter include squatting soldiers with bazookas on their shoulders, obnoxious leaping pumas that bounce you around like a ping pong ball, and of course, birds that attack in an all too familiar (and tramatic) boomerang pattern. There is even a train stage where the lights go on and off which reminded me of Ninja Gaiden II.The game also includes some stages that play very similar to Operation Wolf. Vice: Project Doom is almost like a better version of Bayou Billy as it employs 3 different kinds of stages (driving, shooting, and side-scrolling). Okay, so the game is not extremely original. But that appears to be one of its only flaws. And hey, for those of you who thought Ninja Gaiden III was too hard, you can pretend this is the true sequel to Ninja Gaiden II! The game is almost as good.

But some notable differances do exist. The weapon system is more remeniscent of Contra Hard Corps for Genesis or Gunstar Super Heroes for the Gameboy Advance as you start with three different weapons and must choose the right weapon for the right moment. The katana is neat as it slices up and behind you at the same time it slices forward. It has you “covered” so to speak. The second is a short range gun that shoots very quick. The third is a powerful hand grenade that can reach quite far. What makes the game so fun is that it is not a brainless “walk and wield.” There is memorization and strategy. You must think of each part as a separe entity with all three weapons in mind. There is no “candles” to break to obtain powerups. Coins and ammo simply fall out of enemies as they are dispatched.

Graphics: Simply put, they are some of the very best I have ever seen on the system. The first stage has such a high level of detail that it seems to outdo some of the early generation games on the Genesis, NEC TurboGrafx-16, and even SNES. The animation is nifty, but the detail in every stage is staggering with little slowdown or flicker. The second stage wowed me the most, with giant statues and detailed brick walls. The environments are mostly typical stuff including trees/foliage, caverns, and the odd factory or facility. The driving and shooting stages look pretty good too with their top-view and front-view change in perspectives. The cut scene portraits are detailed and seem to have a professional polish and style remeniscent of modern games on the DS.

Sound: It doesn’t have the awesome music that is in the Ninja Gaiden games. The tunes aren’t too bad though. I liked them more with repeated play-throughs. The sound effects are nothing too special, and I don’t recall any digitized voices of any kind.

Obsessive Compulsive Completionist notes: It is not too difficult to get through the stages. You do get infinite continues making it fairly stress-free to complete. There are also coins that fall out of enemies that you can use to get 1-ups.

Games: Switchblade II

By Darrell Albert | July 10, 2012 - 7:30 am | Games

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Dubbed as the “game without music,” Switchblade II for Lynx confused many Lynx owners in the U.S. for several reasons. To start with, what was this game even a sequel of? There was no Switchblade I for Lynx, or any other system for that matter (at least in the states).

It didn’t take until many years later that I did my homework and discovered that this game, as well as the prequel, first appeared on the Amiga computer in England. It was made by Gremlin Software. While the original game took on a more 80′s-esque horror-comedy tone (like Ghosts and Goblins, Karnov, or Toki), the sequel had a more serious tone, perhaps on par with Ninja Gaiden or Bionic Commando.

Switchblade II for the Amiga was considered one of the first “console” style video games on the computer (i.e. action run n gun). It was akin to other games like Turrican. It set the stage for other action games on the PC like Mega Man X (some of us might remember the special controller the latter game came with).

It is no secret that many years ago, many computer games simply lacked music. Switchblade II was no exception. Since the Lynx version was based on the PC version, it too lacked music. So while it is a shame that there isn’t much music in the game, at least it wasn’t solely laziness that led to its absence. In all fairness, however, there are actually 3 pretty good music tunes in the game (which puts it ahead of classic-status Lynx titles like Blue Lightning and Turbo Sub). As such, the reputation of being the “game without music” is a bit of a misnomer. At least we are not left with a “Footloose” situation where music is considered a disgrace!

The game is mostly faithful to the Amiga version, but it isn’t a perfect rendition. The original had a few more different enemies and the level designs are different. The Amiga version was also somewhat more non-linear. It would have been cool if instead of opting for a “faithful translation,” Atari could have instead went “above and beyond” the call of duty by adding music, extras, and 4-megs. What we are left with is a slightly above average run and gun romp.

All things considered, this game is a winner on the Lynx. While many games focused on showcasing the Lynx’s super advanced capabilities such as scaling and rotation, this game remains one of the few sidescrolling action/platformers (along with Rygar, Toki, Ninja Gaiden, Gordo 106, etc). Like Toki, it moves at a slower pace than its Contra or Mega Man brethren. The game is fairly lengthy with about 25 stages and 7 different graphic sets including but not limited to a facility, cavern, waterfall, volcano, and a harbor. You start out with just a switchblade (which is short range but very powerful). There are many unique powerups that you can buy with coins that the enemies drop upon defeat. The weapons vary from laser shots, shurikens, heat seekers, and a large dragon that hovers in the air. You can also get half/full health, hints, limited invincibility and ammo. It is a fairly complex little game when compared to what was on the Gameboy at the time. There is always a neat boss to fight at the end of each stage as well (such as Metal Slug style mechanized tanks and flying machines). The game poses a medium challenge, and beginners may be well-advised to save money for free lives rather than weapons (since you lose weapons upon death). There are no continues, but again, free lives can be purchased as well as found in secret walls.

Storyline: The game has a neat anime feel and stars a super-powered hero named Hiro with a cybernetic arm (like Mega Man). He defeated an arch-nemesis named Havok 200 years ago and was awarded immortality so he could await the arch villain Havok’s next return. It’s basic storyline stuff, but that is usually preferred in action games since dialogue boxes tend to slow things down (remember Contra Hard Corps on Genesis or Mega Man X on SNES?).

Box art: I rather enjoy the anime-esque art, although the colors are somewhat pale. It is a front-view “strike a pose” portrait shot, which I generally do not prefer to perspective or candid shots. The odd-looking buildings are interesting, and remind me of the moon-city background in the Atari 5200 version of Moon Patrol.

Music: What music?

Games: Operation Logic Bomb

By Darrell Albert | June 13, 2012 - 3:30 pm | Games

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It’s always a joy to discover a game that is not only wonderful, but manages to stay under the radar as if the game was just made for you. One such game is the title above. It is a top down shooter in the style of the top down stages in Super C and Contra 3. What set this game apart though, is the strafing feature they added to the gameplay. Holding down the R button will lock your weapon and create extremely fluid and addicting action. It is perhaps more similar to games like Robotron 2084 and Smash TV. (Also take note of True Lies, a blood soaked game in the same vain).

Starring a bionic super soldier, you are sent into a lab to investigate a power outage. Believe me, it isn’t a simple blown fuse. A dimension shift is far more likely. Rather than bore the player with tons of text to scroll through in regard to story, the cinematics uses silent movie like cut scenes that take on a more “show don’t tell” style.

Graphics: For a 1993 game, they look fantastic. Mode 7 effects shine with the bosses. There is much detail on the games varied enemies too. Unfortunately, there are not very many varied backgrounds. Much of the game takes place in the lab, with industrial style walls and corridors. Level two is a breath of fresh air though, as it takes place on a mountain top with pretty paralax scrolling underneath the mountain top.

Music: The tunes are actually not bad. The first level rocks, while the others don’t quite reach the same level. They fit the game nonetheless. Good basic techno tunes.

Gameplay: This is the best part. The game plays fast and tight. You can pick up a variety of powerups that will help out along the way. But it isn’t as simple as all that. Many times you have to choose a weapon that is essential to progress further by solving various puzzles. Flame throwers, heat seekers, spread guns and richocheting lazers are a few of what bionic soldiers are equipped with these days. The various puzzles will make you scratch your head in places, but they aren’t overly difficult, focusing mainly on action. The game isn’t short for an arcade style game, but it only has three bosses, a repeated mini boss and lots of recycled enemies. The game could have used some more enemies really, and arguably more levels. The problem with adding more levels though is that perhaps the game would lose something if it was longer and hurt the great replay value. The use of passwords or a battery backup would change the arcade feel of the game.

Cover art: I always liked the graphic novel look on many video games. This one is no different. Does it fit the dark and serious look of the game? Not really. But it does stand out, and hopefully it helped to push a few more copies of the game off the shelf back in the day. It deserves it.