Incline Revisiting Old Games (Again)

[Falksi]

Agreed, but tbh I though that was what they were going for.

Capcom has always had top graphic artists, so it must be purposeful. I just don't see to what good end. Painting a bright, optimistic future?

Sunset Riders is even more garish...but so much more satisfying as a shooter. I didn't play it until near 20 years after it came out, and it was instantly gratifying. Has to be one of the greatest arcade games ever made, probably one of the most underrated for as little as I hear about it compared to what I consider lesser arcade titles.

Front Mission is cool as hell. I started the game last month. Surprised by the level of complexity. But the short combat ranges, which I've noticed in the majority of Japanese tactical games I've played, is disappointing. I'm finding it not as satisfying as, say, Battletech, where you can fire from halfway across the map, even though FM is overall the better made game. That and combat taking place in a separate battle screen* are Japanese design constants that still put me off a bit.

*I'm aware you can turn this off in some games and fight on the field screen.

See the Sunset Riders garishness I totally get and I'm on-board with. A definite nod to the classic TV Westerns with the likes of John Wayne in, sporting his "fabulous" pink shirt.......

Totally guessing here too, but it wouldn't surprise me if part of the decision making behind it to make it so loud, was because it was originally a coin-op and would be competing, and having to stand out against, other coin-ops too.

And yes indeedy, it's a fucking corker. Grabs you by the balls from the off, and runs as far & as fast as it can with you. A proper classic, all out, thriving shooter. Yeeeeehaaaaaa!!! (excuse me)

Glad you're enjoying Front Mission, I think the complexity was just to saturating for my tastes. I love games with depth, but I also can't be arsed to micro-manage either. I got so sick of upgrading every damn thing for every damn robot. Would be interested to hear your final verdict on it when you've finished it.

 

[Machocruz]

The menus for shopping, comparing, and equipping gear are a bear to deal with. As such, I'm ok with making sub-optimal choices rather than spend a lot of time there.

 

[Falksi]

MEGAMAN X2 - SNES

^Even from the off, it's way more exciting than the original


Fuck it then, let's plough through this bag of shite whilst we've started. All I ever here about these games is praise, but after playing Megaman X I've no idea what the fuck it wrong with people. You have to be an absolute bellend to like these games. So on to X2.

I like it. Well I like it way more than the original. The big difference between this & it's predecessor is it has decent, sometimes even good, level & enemy design. No longer is it a dull, monotonous, methodical slog, but instead it's a bit more frantic, challenging & exciting. The attack patterns aren't quite as digital, and everything moves a bit faster too.

But it still has all those annoying fucking bullshit elements in Megaman X, no duck, no 8-way etc. It's less noticeable now because the faster paced game keeps you more distracted with better things, but the flaws are still there.

I'd say that anyone looking at this series for the first time should start here at the very earliest. I actually had some fun with it, but not enough to play through to the finish.

OK, but glad it's out the way.

 

[Falksi]

Aero Fighters 2/Sonic Wings 2 - Arcade/NEO GEO

So here's the first of hopefully many arcade games. I've a fair few to get started, but the emulation stick I ordered is missing some key games on there, so it might be a while until I get around to some classics.

This one was a decent way to start off though. A typical vertical scrolling shooting affair, it plays well and has enough to warrant playing with a typically bizarre collection of characters to choose from, including a baby donned in a Sherlock Holmes outfit & a dolphin. It makes for a nice visual change, but there's not really enough difference between each to warrent multiple playthroughs. You're as well selecting whichever one you think looks coolest or most fun.

The game is balanced fairly well, with the first 5 or so levels providing a nicely incremented increase in challenge between each stage. The bullshit factor gets ramped up significantly towards the last few levels, but only really is the finaly level OTT.

Bosses are pretty cool & meaty, but you've seen better, and overall they top off what has to be one of the most none-offensive, OK but not spectacular games going.

It's OK.

 

[Falksi]

Lufia 2 - Rise of the Sinstrels

^He saved everyone of us!

By far & away the biggest kicker going back to these oldies is playing the fondly remembered RPGs, only to find out they actually suck a bit now. Phantasy Star 4 & Chrono Trigger really guttered me, as I remember thriving on both, yet upon return they were both average at best. This one however has an even bigger task, as I've only ever played it once on emulation before, and my memories of it are pretty sparse, so no nostalgia to help it either. Modron recommended it, so here we go.

Well it grabbed me from the off. Nothing outstanding or mind-blowing, but everything about it is crafted SO well, that's it's just a joy to slip into. The town, the dungeon maps, the battles etc. It really is one of the easiest RPGs to get into which I've played in a long time, but it also gives you enough to get your teeth into too. The first dungeon alone displays a lovely balance between puzzles, simplicity, depth, combat & secrets - it's a perfect portion size. A few hours in and I was really enjoying myself.

And the combat is balanced absolutely superbly too, real masterclass here. You can enter a Dungeon under equipped and vulnerable, but because of the fact that battles aren't random & you can stun enemies with your arrows, you can still progress. On the flipside, there's plenty of in-dungeon secrets, and a big variety of spells & weapons, armour & items to buy from towns, so you've also the option of grinding a bit and entering the dungeons far more badass than before. Yet again, the balance with both is superb, vulnerable doesn't feel impossible and powerful doesn't feel OP. Great stuff.

Monsters are visible, but only move when you do. This leads to some really interesting scenarios, and is a great little system. Really surprising that this hasn't been copied much since. The puzzles are plentiful, and flit between having to make you think to trickily-clever, but rarely are they either pointless or frustrating. They mostly have a touch of uniqueness to them too, which again adds to the quality. In fact, I'm not one for puzzley dungeons, but this game does them & the dungeons SO well that I really enjoyed both. Top marks. But, as well done as they are, you also really need to be prepared to spend a lot of time dungeon crawling in general. It isn't for everyone, got a bit monotonous for me, and it really could have done with a few more roleplaying/exploration aspects to break it up.

Unfortunately there are other significant bugbears too. Firstly there's little to no secrets in the roleplaying areas, a particular bane of mine. Also, the main dungeon theme tune gets real old real fast, in fact I think the same track plays in every dungeon. Then you've got the game's structure. It really is town-dungeon-town-dungeon for a large portion of it, which soon becomes very repetitive. And finally you've got the story which, whilst not awful at all, isn't particularly exciting either and tends to feel like one random event after another, each of which has little or nothing to do with anything that happens before it or after it. It really did leave me disinterested at times, as the main story hook kept disappearing (similarly to how Witcher 3 has you hunt the Wild Hunt.......then have nothing to do with them for ages). And it is a 16-bit JRPG too, so be prepared for slightly obscure objectives.

I enjoyed this a lot, and think it's definitely worth playing, but be mindful that it's way more for gameplayfags than storyfags, and has enough bugbears to prevent it from being a classic.

 

[Reality]

Oh man my on and off favorite JRPG after Grandia.. I love this thing - it is easy, and it hasn't got too many frills beyond the puzzles - and in some ways it's the most a 16 bit RPG tried to STAY an 8 bit RPG. but for all that it's a good dose of fun.

I like it because it's a game where you never need to stop, and despite the low difficulty it could make you vulnerable without really making you weak like when it forced you to travel without your healers when you fight the first sinistral.

I also love the optional Rogue Dungeon because of how the visible (At once move monsters) on the map screen makes it fair to pick and choose what you can handle in there, and that it packs the difficulty that the rest of the game lacks. It's also refreshing to play a Rogue-lite that switches to conventional turn based battles when you run into things and thus frees itself of rogue tropes of luring guys to single tile hallways and defensive BS -

Also it is fair enough that most of the dungeon and town theme's are unmemorable, but the battle and boss music makes up for it big time.

 

[CryptRat]

I only recently discovered that Energy Breaker was actually made by the same team as Lufia 2, which explains how half of the appeal of the game is to search every spot for hidden items, and I guess it also explains why the game is fun.

 

[Falksi]

Oh man my on and off favorite JRPG after Grandia.. I love this thing - it is easy, and it hasn't got too many frills beyond the puzzles - and in some ways it's the most a 16 bit RPG tried to STAY an 8 bit RPG. but for all that it's a good dose of fun.

I like it because it's a game where you never need to stop, and despite the low difficulty it could make you vulnerable without really making you weak like when it forced you to travel without your healers when you fight the first sinistral.

I also love the optional Rogue Dungeon because of how the visible (At once move monsters) on the map screen makes it fair to pick and choose what you can handle in there, and that it packs the difficulty that the rest of the game lacks. It's also refreshing to play a Rogue-lite that switches to conventional turn based battles when you run into things and thus frees itself of rogue tropes of luring guys to single tile hallways and defensive BS -

Also it is fair enough that most of the dungeon and town theme's are unmemorable, but the battle and boss music makes up for it big time.

It is a really good game, and when someone such as yourself states it as a fave I can totally see why.

For me unfortunately it just hit those few key bugbears, which stopped it from getting a 5/5. Lack of in-town secrets & dungeon music the two in particular that, over the course of the entire game, ground me down.

 

[Falksi]

2020 Baseball - Arcade/NEO GEO/SNES

^Probably the best tit shot in the game

So 2020. The future! Robots! Robots playing sports! No Covid 19, no world focused on SJW bollocks, just the glory days of everyone watching baseball & having futuristic fun. If only eh? I'm a Brit, so don't have any connection with the the game, but it seems simple enough to grasp, so I gave this a blast.

And it's not bad. Nothing stunning, but is nice, straightforward, arcade fun that's easy to pick up and play, and challenging enough too. The presentation is it's real strength. Everything moves at that cartoon-panel pace, where you have a snapshot of one style to play for a minute or two, then a few seconds of another, then it switches round to yet another etc. It's quick and keeps it fresh & lively.

Batting I enjoyed the most but also found the hardest. Connecting with the ball is an achievement in itself, but actually hitting it so you can make a decent run or, miracle of miracles a home run, is a tough ask. I've still no idea how to really guide the ball, but in the context of a cheap 10 min arcade blast it doesn't really matter.

Fielding is still fun though, pitching n particular. There's a lot you can do with the ball, and that's pretty nifty. That said, it does something feel as if the CPU will hit it, no matter what you attempt. The general controls overall are sharp & intuitive, and before long you're flowing with the game no probs.

There is actually a fairly decent layer of depth to the game, added by the ability to upgrade players, and various obstacles & boons spread around the fielding pitch. It's nothing to write home about, but it does at least prompt you to think a bit.

But there really isn't much more to it either. After 10-15 min you've seen done it all, and then it just becomes a case of how much you enjoy repeating it. In fact making it through a full game is a bit of a slog. I'd be very interested to learn if anyone has got really good at this game, because the offensive aspects of it really seem down to relying on a lot of luck.

Trash, fast food, quick-blast fun that is ok to snack on, but nowhere substantial enough to fully satisfy either. As disposable as it is playable. Probably like Baseball itself.

 

[Falksi]

Golden Axe - Arcade

^Megadrive Vs Arcade. The backdrops on the console version seem far deeper & better to me.

So my arcade stick has finally arrived, and I'm well chuffed I ordered it. It's got pretty much all the key arcade games which I was after, and the stick & soundboard gives it a real authentic feel. After reviewing the Megadrive version this was one of the first games which I went for, and I was surprised how much different it was compared to the MD game. So I'd thought I'd review it, just to compare.

The thing which hit me first was just how much beefier & chunkier the whole thing is. The MD version is great, but this had a real "Pow!" quality to it, with additional extras such as enemy screams & extra frames of animation proper revving the whole thing up. That said, I personally prefer the MD's spites & graphics, they're darker & more defined, giving them a lot of weight. The backdrops for the arcade in particular look too light for my tastes.

It plays pretty similar, but the collision detection does feel slightly looser, in fact the whole thing doesn't feel anywhere near as polished or smooth overall. You can really tell that the MD version has been refined gameplay wise to hold your interest for more than just a few coins in the arcade. I even prefer how the tunes sound on the console as well.

Throw in the extra levels at the end, and overall I think the arcade version of Golden Axe, whilst still great, comes a definite second place to the Megadrive's by some way.

Still a great blast, but if you want the definitive version go for the Megadrive one.

 

[Tehdagah]

MEGAMAN X2 - SNES

^Even from the off, it's way more exciting than the original


Fuck it then, let's plough through this bag of shite whilst we've started. All I ever here about these games is praise, but after playing Megaman X I've no idea what the fuck it wrong with people. You have to be an absolute bellend to like these games. So on to X2.

I like it. Well I like it way more than the original. The big difference between this & it's predecessor is it has decent, sometimes even good, level & enemy design. No longer is it a dull, monotonous, methodical slog, but instead it's a bit more frantic, challenging & exciting. The attack patterns aren't quite as digital, and everything moves a bit faster too.

But it still has all those annoying fucking bullshit elements in Megaman X, no duck, no 8-way etc. It's less noticeable now because the faster paced game keeps you more distracted with better things, but the flaws are still there.

I'd say that anyone looking at this series for the first time should start here at the very earliest. I actually had some fun with it, but not enough to play through to the finish.

OK, but glad it's out the way.

You need to dash+jump more. The X series is way more fair and well designated than NES Megaman.

 

[AdolfSatan]

This thread got me wanting to meet with my mates to play MAME again, great stuff. Some recs for solo play:

Great Swordsman is about fencing; you're an englishman so you probably like that kinda stuff. Gotta be smart and wait for the right moment to strike, lots of adrenaline.
Chiller for the sodomite in you. A game about torturing people and shooting shit in a haunted mansion. Get a nice glass of bourbon, sit back and give the ol pecker a tug or two while satiating your worst instincts.
Also PSX Tomb Raider (I and II) if you never played those and feel like something more plataform-y without giving up your wank.

Played that future baseball game with a friend before the lockdown. It was fun but 50% of the time we didn't understand what the hell was going on.

 

[Chk991]

This thread got me wanting to meet with my mates to play MAME again, great stuff. Some recs for solo play:

Great Swordsman is about fencing; you're an englishman so you probably like that kinda stuff. Gotta be smart and wait for the right moment to strike, lots of adrenaline.
Chiller for the sodomite in you. A game about torturing people and shooting shit in a haunted mansion. Get a nice glass of bourbon, sit back and give the ol pecker a tug or two while satiating your worst instincts.
Also PSX Tomb Raider (I and II) if you never played those and feel like something more plataform-y without giving up your wank.

Played that future baseball game with a friend before the lockdown. It was fun but 50% of the time we didn't understand what the hell was going on.

Should be the obvious, but play the Alien Predator, and DnD games ( Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara) if you haven't. For me this trio of games is the epitome of Mame. Well, Metal Slug aside.

 

[Falksi]

This thread got me wanting to meet with my mates to play MAME again, great stuff. Some recs for solo play:

Great Swordsman is about fencing; you're an englishman so you probably like that kinda stuff. Gotta be smart and wait for the right moment to strike, lots of adrenaline.
Chiller for the sodomite in you. A game about torturing people and shooting shit in a haunted mansion. Get a nice glass of bourbon, sit back and give the ol pecker a tug or two while satiating your worst instincts.
Also PSX Tomb Raider (I and II) if you never played those and feel like something more plataform-y without giving up your wank.

Played that future baseball game with a friend before the lockdown. It was fun but 50% of the time we didn't understand what the hell was going on.

Fuckinghell, English sodomizing torture gaming wanking. Perfect

Hope that they are on the Arcade stick, really want to play these games as authentically as possible.

Thanks for those, top lad.

 

[AdolfSatan]

Takes a degenerate to know another, hope you enjoy them

Should be the obvious, but play the Alien Predator, and DnD games ( Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara) if you haven't. For me this trio of games is the epitome of Mame. Well, Metal Slug aside.

I never managed to finish any of the D&D games, even with friends. They begin fun but get too repetitive and the pacing isn't fast enough to keep me entertained throughout. AvP on the other hand is super fun, but I wouldn't play beatemups solo either way.

 

[Falksi]

Metal Slug - Arcade

One of my best mates had a real hard on for this game. Every time we'd go to the arcade he'd rave about it and be on it none-stop. I didn't get it. Yeah it was OK, but something about it didn't really grab me.

And what an odd game it is. On one hand you can see they've really spent some time and effort crafting various aspects of it. The presentation, and artwork, is nothing short of spectacular. Everything looks fucking amazing. The game constantly makes love to your eyes with colourful, vibrant sprites & animations humping your pupils like a horny rabbit. It hits such a sweet spot between classic & modern, that most will probably love it. It also contains a nice bit of humour tied in with said presentation, and there's constantly something going off to stimulate you on some level. Top stuff.

But underneath all that is pretty "meh" gameplay. Firstly you can't shoot diagonally unless you are in a vehicle. That just feels wrong for a game of this era, and it's even more bizarre that you can actually do this when in said vehicles. Weird. Secondly, it just gets too chaotic at times, and many a death is to be had with no or little way out of a situation. Typical coin guzzler. And finally, the enemies & power-ups are repetitive as hell. There's not much difference between what you do on the first level, to what you do on the last level. The only major break is a gun turret section towards the end, but by then I'd grown well tired of it all.

It's not a bad game, in fact it's fun. But I just don't like it because it stimulation comes from the spectacle more than it does an experience. It's only 6 levels long, and by the 3rd I' was already starting to tire of it.

Polished, entertaining fun but with a shallow average core underneath it.

 

[Reality]

I like the OG metal slug because of it's short length, relative lack of point inflation, and good artwork - MS 2 and 3 might have more going on, but they also have levels full of slowdown, and I can't just say 1 million at the end of the game is enough for a good playthrough.

I've played it so many time I'd have to give it a 4 off the cuff, but I can sort of see lowering it if I'm making a BIG list and am forced to put a score to my other run'N'guns at the same time.

 

[Eisen]

Play Eastern Mind

 

[Falksi]

Metal Slug X - Arcade

Whilst I wasn't a big fan of Metal Slug, it did enough to prompt me to give one of the other, later games in the series a go to see how it had evolved.

And I'm glad I did. X is very similar to the original Metal Slug - eye poppingly great graphics, great humour, nice presentation etc. but it also significantly improves various other aspects of the game too. The gameplay is now far tighter and the level design far better too. The devs seem to have been more aware of how the gameplay is best supported by the level around it, and you feel far more engaged overall.

Tuning the chaos down a notch to make everything more considered definitely works a treat. Things feel more deliberate, and way less random. Both enemy & weapon variety are greater too, and it adds a lot to the game. Mummy's zombies, aliens......no longer just the same green army men over & over.

The lack of a diagonal attack still grates, and one of the later stages is very repetitive and annoying in particular. But it's got the fun & frolics of the original backed with better design, so I'd definitely recommend giving a go.

Still doesn't reach that classic level for me, but overall pretty good.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Don't complain that arcade games are "too short" until you can beat them on one credit.

 

[Falksi]

Street Fighter - Arcade

We all know of SF2 & it's world changing legacy, but this is where it all began. Not only was this first recognised fighting game to use the concept of "special moves", but the delux version of the game also featured pressure-sensitive rubber pads, which determine the strength and speed of the player's attacks based on how hard they were pressed. I never got chance to play it in the arcade so, after years of playing other games in the series in various guises, this was a game I was very intrigued to play.

Well I was surprised just how much of the foundation for the later entries could be found there already. Pretty much all the basics of Ryu's movement, attacks and special moves are included, as is the general overall combat setup - weak punch, strong puch, dragon punch, hadoken, jump kicks, blocks etc. 80-90% of what SF2 was built on. And that also extends to the presentation & fluff which surround the game, such as bonus games, flying around the world, and pre-match Vs screens etc.

But boy is it shit. I mean, there is a bit of fun to be had, but it's a far, far cry from it's sequel, and it is just a bad game.

See it totally lacks any of the tightness or precision which the series is known for, and combat is a real mess. Button bashing and spamming special moves are the only real way to progress, and the only way to play the game. Trying to play strategically & in a more considered fashion goes straight out the window because so many aspects of the combat are so poorly executed. You can have a bit of fun with said bashing and spamming, but this highlights what a really, really fucking archaic game it is.

And everything's also so out of balance too. Weak attacks barely touch the enemy, but special moves absolutely decimate an opponent. Movement, and jumping in particular, is horrid, and the whole package end up being pretty rank. On a final note, Sagat is one of the hardest, most skanky bosses I've played against in a long time too.

Playing this is like waking up after shagging a fat bird with a big tash. An inevitable battle between your senses, where the majority of them are saying "spew up, scrub & clean up", but a handful of the most base ones are saying "meh, had a bit if fun with that!"

 

[Falksi]

Final Fantasy 3/6 - SNES

^Let me be your fantasy

Years ago I played through the FF series from FF4 to FF12 back to back, and said series definitely remains a favourite of mine. Most of the games I found enjoyable to some degree, but there were also those which either bored me somewhat, or I had a love/hate relationship with. This game was the latter. After reading all the hype about it, and fresh off the heels of a thoroughly enjoyable time with FF5, I just came away from this not really enjoying it at all. I can't really recall why, but I always had it down as mediocre. So will the bug bite me this time?

No. Why? coz it's a mess. A sometimes brilliant & unique mess, but fuckinghell I spent a good portion of this playthrough absolutely fucking hating the experience. Where to start?

Firstly, it's FAR too railroaded at times. For the first 4 hours, almost every battle feels tightly scripted, and with little room for manoeuvre. Especially boss battles. Backtracking is plentiful, and whereas most JRPGS follow a pattern of "town-dungeon-explore", this spends a big chunk of the game chopping between "script-battle-script-battle". It gets overwhelming, and I was like "No, don't set me a task, or a puzzle, or an event, just fucking let me wander around the village for a bit & get a feel for things first". Claustrophobic & frustrating. The random battles are also WAY too plentiful at times. When you do get chance to explore it hinders said exploration significantly, and it gets really fucking annoying all round.

It also sends you dizzy at times with the character swapping, and it became really hard to give a fuck about any one character because of the constant chop-change. At some points it's ridiculous beyond belief.

Combat's a real mess throughout too. Because everything's so gimmicky & chop-change for the first half of the game, things never really settle down enough for you to get a proper grasp on what's happening. Everything seems to work, it's pretty easy, but a lot of time you're not aware of the reasoning behind it all, so it's unsatisfying. There's also times when the balance is well off. At one point in the game 2 of your 3 characters special abilities target the enemy randomly, and it just highlights how cheap and "auto-piloty" combat is in general, as your input seems something of an afterthought.

The game is also constantly throwing new things at you, and providing diversionary spins on the standard gameplay. This can be either refreshing as you're constantly having to pay attention, or annoying as you can't seem to settle into any real rhythm. It really just depends how you're wired, but I found it more annoying than refreshing.

But.....It contains some real stand out moments, and some real nice ideas which make it feel very unique too. Proper top draw shit that will stick with you long after you've witnessed or partaken in them. This is why so many love it. This is why it is often hailed as a "classic". There's a decent amount of hidden stuff to find, it has a really unique flavour even for a Final Fantasy game, and they what little they do get right they absolutely nail to a tee.

But it's not enough for me sadly, too much effort for too little pay off, and I fucking hated the game & playthrough big time. I can see there's something decent in there, but it's just executed so messily & restrictively the entire journey felt laborious and frustrating.

 

[eXalted]

Although I don't agree with some reviews here (I dig FF VI), this thread is so gud.

Subscribed.

 

[Falksi]

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Arcade

Did anyone actually ever manage to find an arcade which stocked this? Because as kids we read & heard all the hype, but could we fuck as like actually find one to play. Feels very satisfying to tick this one off the list and finally walk the dinosaur.

Based on the comic of the same name (originaly "Xenozoic Tales"), the game is pure bubblegum-popcorn brain-off fun. To say it was released a year after Streets of Rage 2, it feels lacking in the move department, and harkens back to the earlier titles which relied on a more limited moveset such as Final Fight. The reason why that doesn't hold this game back though, is that it has an absolutely mega blend of hand to hand combat & weapon based combat. One minute you're punching away, the next you've an uzi, the next a grenade etc. This not only keeps things continuously varied, but it allows you to setup some sweet tactical moves (e.g. lobbing some dynamite, to then punch enemies onto it). Nothing feels overpowered, but everything feels like it gives you an edge.

The characters themselves all feel quite unique too, even though they have a pretty identical moveset. Over several playthroughs I kept cycling between the 3 of the available characters, and still can't make my mind up which I prefer. That again is some good balancing. There's also the option to have 3 players, which makes for some really chaotic fun.

There's a few good tunes in there, but the overall soundtrack isn't anywhere near as memorable as many other beat 'em ups of that era, and whilst there are some gimmicks that give you a bit of stage variety, it's mostly level after level of the same shizzle.

It's fun & I enjoyed it, but for all the good elements, it just lacks that certain something to make it a classic. The enemies, whilst fine, do lack a bit of character, and the stages & scenery ain't particularly memorable either.

A well rounded, well balanced good game which just doesn't have that X factor to take it to the next level.

 

[Machocruz]

Metal Slug X and 2 are my favorite in the series and two of my favorite games in general. They struck the right balance in enemy variety. Many think 3 is the best, but you're fighting too many non human enemies.

FF6 is all presentation. It's a big anime adventure with far too much combat, most of it extremely simplistic. I like the characters and lively mood, and the art and music are grand, but it id just as soon skim through a playthrough on Yubtub if I wanted to experience it.