Falksi
Arcane
So we all obviously like the era of incline, but I thought I'd start a thread to keep track of our journey through revisting the "classics" of old.
It's been a while since I've played a lot of them now. I've purposely indulged in more modern games for a year or two so I can return to these fresh & give an honest opinion.
Some I've played before, others I haven't, so we'll see how we go.
Feel free to chuck in your revistits and any bitching to go with it etc.
First up ACTRAISER 2 - SNES
As a big fan of Actraiser I was looking forward to this. I've played it the odd time on emulator here & there over the years, but never really sat down to give it a proper full playthrough. 30 min later, I can see why.
It's shit. It's not unplayable shit by any means, but it's a real fucking slog. The main dude moves like he's wearing iron boots, you get a shield but it's often as useful as a chocolate fireguard, and your multi-directional attacks feel limp. It has some great ideas that occasionally work, but overall it moves at this ponderously awkward pace which really drags it down.
The level design really doesn't help either, and often add to that sluggishness, as you literally fight uphill against waves of water pushing you back in Stage 2. Just one example of the chokingly inhibited style of experience which this indulges. Some of the platform sections are very tricky, and don't marry up well at all with the awkward flying mechanics too.
The enemy patterns are fairly random & carry that old-era trait of coming at you from nowhere without warning and being unavoidable. Constant re-spawns don't help that cause either, a the bosses are often a case of sacrificing health at the right time. Overall it's just a tough game to love.
On the plus side it looks fairly decent, the multi-directional attacks do at least add some variety, and it retains the old sound FX used in the original Actraiser, which were awesome.
Nice ideas & vibe are mired heavily by horrid movement mechanics, arduous game design, and a laborious feel to everything. A bit gutted tbh, was hoping for a lot more. No surprise that the UBIsoft logo appears on loading. A sign of things to come.
Here's where I am with the overall list so far (will evolve as time progresses obviously)........
X-COM: UFO Defence (1994) - PC
The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past - SNES
Shining Force 2 - Megadrive
Actraiser - SNES
Golden Axe - Megadrive
The Revenge of Shinobi - Megadrive
X-Com Apocalypse - PC
Thunderforce 3 - Megadrive
Batman - Megadrive
Streets Of Rage - Megadrive
Sunset Riders - SNES/ARCADE
Hexen 2 - PC
F-Zero - SNES
The Combat Tribes - SNES
Dr Robotniks Mean Bean Machine/Puyo Puyo - Megadrive/SNES
Star Control - PC/Megadrive
Wonderboy 3:The Dragon's Trap - Master System
Aliens Vs Predetor - Arcade
The Secret Of Monkey Island - PC
Street Fighter 2 Turbo - SNES
Smash TV - SNES
Golden Axe - Arcade
Road Rash 3 - Megadrive
Road Rash 2 - Megadrive
Castlevania 4 - SNES
Contra 3 - SNES
UN Squadron/Area 88 - SNES
Biometal - SNES
Devil Crash - Megadrive
Final Fantasy 5 - SNES
John Madden's 92 - Megadrive
Final Fight - SNES
Speedball 2 - PC/Megadrive
Final Fantasy 4 (2) - SNES
Decapattack/Magical Hat no Buttobi Turbo! Daibouken - Megadrive
Hellfire - Megadrive
Space Harrier - SEGA 32X
Final Fight 3 - SNES
Desert Strike - PC/Amiga/Megadrive/SNES
Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel - Megadrive
Double Dragon - Master System
Cybernator/ASV - SNES
Ghostbusters - Master System
The Chaos Engine - PC/Amiga/SNES
Altered Beast - Megadrive
Golden Axe 3 - Megadrive
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinstrels - SNES
Barts Nightmare - SNES
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Arcade
Turtles in Time - SNES
Metal Slug X - Arcade
Castlevania: The New Generation/Bloodlines - Megadrive
King of The Dragons - Arcade/SNES
Buck Rogers Countdown to Doomsday - Megadrive
Chrono Trigger - SNES
Shining Force - Megadrive
Hellfire - Arcade
Blackthorne - PC/Megadrive/SNES
Elemental Master - Megadrive
Sensible Soccer - Everything
Dungeons & Dragons : Tower of Doom - Arcade
UN Squadron/Area 88 - Arcade
Phantasy Star 4 - Megadrive
Another World - PC
Golden Axe 2 - Megadrive
Aero Fighters 2/Sonic Wings 2 - Arcade/NEO GEO
Batman Returns - SNES
Moonwalker - Megadrive
Ecco The Dolphin - Megadrive
Space Harrier - Arcade
Alien Storm - Megadrive
Monkey Island 2: LeCuck's Revenge- PC
Alien 3 - Megadrive
California Games - Master System
Thunderforce 4 - Megadrive
Alex Kidd in Miracle World - Master System
Sorcer Striker - Arcade
Secret of Mana - SNES
Super Return of The Jedi - SNES
Super Star Wars - SNES
Aliens - Arcade
Dahna: megami tanjou - Megadrive
Knights of the Round - Arcade/SNES
Front Mission - SNES
Metal Slug - Arcade
Cadash - Megadrive
Captain Blood - Amiga/PC/ST
Seige - PC
E-Swat - Megadrive
Earthbound - SNES
Scooby Doo - Megadrive
Crusader of Centy (a.k.a. Soleil)
Kenseiden - Master System
Brain Lord - SNES
Chase HQ 2 - SNES
Megaman X2 - SNES
Super Baseball 2020 - Arcade/NEO GEO/SNES
Coach K Basketball - SNES
Toe Jam and Earl - Megadrive
Axelay - SNES
Contra Hard Corps - Megadrive
Alisa Dragoon - Megadrive
Final Fight 2 - SNES
Alien 3 - SNES
Crackdown - Megadrive
Eternal Filena (Eien no Firēna) - SNES
Donkey Kong Country - SNES
Wonderboy in Monster Land - Megadrive
Thunderforce 2 - Megadrive
Street Fighter - Arcade
Psycho's Dream - SNES
Double Dragon - Megadrive
Actraiser 2 - SNES
Blades of Vengence - Megadrive
Choplifter 3 - SNES
Breath of Fire - SNES
Burning Force - Megadrive
Alchest - SNES
Golden Sun - GBA
Final Fantasy 6 - SNES
7th Saga - SNES
Aero The Acrobat 2 - SNES/Megadrive
Captain Commando - SNES
Brawl Brother (Rival Turf 2) - SNES
Full Throttle - PC
Knights of Valour 2 - Arcade
Alien Soldier - Megadrive
Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle - Megadrive
John Madden '98 - Megadrive
Lagoon - SNES
Megaman X - SNES
Mortal Kombat - Various
Sword of Sodan - Amiga/Megadrive
Super Empire Strikes Back - SNES
Battletoads Vs Double Dragon - Megadrive/SNES
Sonic The Hedgehog - Megadrive
It's been a while since I've played a lot of them now. I've purposely indulged in more modern games for a year or two so I can return to these fresh & give an honest opinion.
Some I've played before, others I haven't, so we'll see how we go.
Feel free to chuck in your revistits and any bitching to go with it etc.
First up ACTRAISER 2 - SNES
As a big fan of Actraiser I was looking forward to this. I've played it the odd time on emulator here & there over the years, but never really sat down to give it a proper full playthrough. 30 min later, I can see why.
It's shit. It's not unplayable shit by any means, but it's a real fucking slog. The main dude moves like he's wearing iron boots, you get a shield but it's often as useful as a chocolate fireguard, and your multi-directional attacks feel limp. It has some great ideas that occasionally work, but overall it moves at this ponderously awkward pace which really drags it down.
The level design really doesn't help either, and often add to that sluggishness, as you literally fight uphill against waves of water pushing you back in Stage 2. Just one example of the chokingly inhibited style of experience which this indulges. Some of the platform sections are very tricky, and don't marry up well at all with the awkward flying mechanics too.
The enemy patterns are fairly random & carry that old-era trait of coming at you from nowhere without warning and being unavoidable. Constant re-spawns don't help that cause either, a the bosses are often a case of sacrificing health at the right time. Overall it's just a tough game to love.
On the plus side it looks fairly decent, the multi-directional attacks do at least add some variety, and it retains the old sound FX used in the original Actraiser, which were awesome.
Nice ideas & vibe are mired heavily by horrid movement mechanics, arduous game design, and a laborious feel to everything. A bit gutted tbh, was hoping for a lot more. No surprise that the UBIsoft logo appears on loading. A sign of things to come.
Here's where I am with the overall list so far (will evolve as time progresses obviously)........
X-COM: UFO Defence (1994) - PC
The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past - SNES
Shining Force 2 - Megadrive
Actraiser - SNES
Golden Axe - Megadrive
The Revenge of Shinobi - Megadrive
X-Com Apocalypse - PC
Thunderforce 3 - Megadrive
Batman - Megadrive
Streets Of Rage - Megadrive
Sunset Riders - SNES/ARCADE
Hexen 2 - PC
F-Zero - SNES
The Combat Tribes - SNES
Dr Robotniks Mean Bean Machine/Puyo Puyo - Megadrive/SNES
Star Control - PC/Megadrive
Wonderboy 3:The Dragon's Trap - Master System
Aliens Vs Predetor - Arcade
The Secret Of Monkey Island - PC
Street Fighter 2 Turbo - SNES
Smash TV - SNES
Golden Axe - Arcade
Road Rash 3 - Megadrive
Road Rash 2 - Megadrive
Castlevania 4 - SNES
Contra 3 - SNES
UN Squadron/Area 88 - SNES
Biometal - SNES
Devil Crash - Megadrive
Final Fantasy 5 - SNES
John Madden's 92 - Megadrive
Final Fight - SNES
Speedball 2 - PC/Megadrive
Final Fantasy 4 (2) - SNES
Decapattack/Magical Hat no Buttobi Turbo! Daibouken - Megadrive
Hellfire - Megadrive
Space Harrier - SEGA 32X
Final Fight 3 - SNES
Desert Strike - PC/Amiga/Megadrive/SNES
Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel - Megadrive
Double Dragon - Master System
Cybernator/ASV - SNES
Ghostbusters - Master System
The Chaos Engine - PC/Amiga/SNES
Altered Beast - Megadrive
Golden Axe 3 - Megadrive
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinstrels - SNES
Barts Nightmare - SNES
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Arcade
Turtles in Time - SNES
Metal Slug X - Arcade
Castlevania: The New Generation/Bloodlines - Megadrive
King of The Dragons - Arcade/SNES
Buck Rogers Countdown to Doomsday - Megadrive
Chrono Trigger - SNES
Shining Force - Megadrive
Hellfire - Arcade
Blackthorne - PC/Megadrive/SNES
Elemental Master - Megadrive
Sensible Soccer - Everything
Dungeons & Dragons : Tower of Doom - Arcade
UN Squadron/Area 88 - Arcade
Phantasy Star 4 - Megadrive
Another World - PC
Golden Axe 2 - Megadrive
Aero Fighters 2/Sonic Wings 2 - Arcade/NEO GEO
Batman Returns - SNES
Moonwalker - Megadrive
Ecco The Dolphin - Megadrive
Space Harrier - Arcade
Alien Storm - Megadrive
Monkey Island 2: LeCuck's Revenge- PC
Alien 3 - Megadrive
California Games - Master System
Thunderforce 4 - Megadrive
Alex Kidd in Miracle World - Master System
Sorcer Striker - Arcade
Secret of Mana - SNES
Super Return of The Jedi - SNES
Super Star Wars - SNES
Aliens - Arcade
Dahna: megami tanjou - Megadrive
Knights of the Round - Arcade/SNES
Front Mission - SNES
Metal Slug - Arcade
Cadash - Megadrive
Captain Blood - Amiga/PC/ST
Seige - PC
E-Swat - Megadrive
Earthbound - SNES
Scooby Doo - Megadrive
Crusader of Centy (a.k.a. Soleil)
Kenseiden - Master System
Brain Lord - SNES
Chase HQ 2 - SNES
Megaman X2 - SNES
Super Baseball 2020 - Arcade/NEO GEO/SNES
Coach K Basketball - SNES
Toe Jam and Earl - Megadrive
Axelay - SNES
Contra Hard Corps - Megadrive
Alisa Dragoon - Megadrive
Final Fight 2 - SNES
Alien 3 - SNES
Crackdown - Megadrive
Eternal Filena (Eien no Firēna) - SNES
Donkey Kong Country - SNES
Wonderboy in Monster Land - Megadrive
Thunderforce 2 - Megadrive
Street Fighter - Arcade
Psycho's Dream - SNES
Double Dragon - Megadrive
Actraiser 2 - SNES
Blades of Vengence - Megadrive
Choplifter 3 - SNES
Breath of Fire - SNES
Burning Force - Megadrive
Alchest - SNES
Golden Sun - GBA
Final Fantasy 6 - SNES
7th Saga - SNES
Aero The Acrobat 2 - SNES/Megadrive
Captain Commando - SNES
Brawl Brother (Rival Turf 2) - SNES
Full Throttle - PC
Knights of Valour 2 - Arcade
Alien Soldier - Megadrive
Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle - Megadrive
John Madden '98 - Megadrive
Lagoon - SNES
Megaman X - SNES
Mortal Kombat - Various
Sword of Sodan - Amiga/Megadrive
Super Empire Strikes Back - SNES
Battletoads Vs Double Dragon - Megadrive/SNES
Sonic The Hedgehog - Megadrive
Last edited: