To commemorate, the culmination of their long-running and successful X-Men movies, 20th Century Fox declared May 13th as “X-Men Day”, a day to celebrate all things Mutant and X-Men and celebrate Marvel’s iconic collection of superpowered beings who fight to protect a world that hates and fears them.
Released: 14 December 2010 Originally Released: 31 January 1992 Developer: Backbone Entertainment Original Developer: Konami Also Available For: Arcade, Mobile, and Xbox 360
A Brief Background: After Stan Lee and long-time collaborator Jack Kirby introduced the X-Men in 1963, Mutants have featured prominently not only in Marvel Comics but also in videogames. The first X-Men videogame was essentially a vertical shooter on the Nintendo Entertainment System, but the characters saw their greatest early success in arcade ventures and team-based brawlers. Indeed, in 1992, the arcade scene was still a popular staple of the industry and beat-‘em-ups were at the forefront of that; the biggest names in this genre were Capcom and Konami, who pumped out licensed and first-party titles and defined a generation. X-Men was one of Konami’s most celebrated efforts; based on the vastly different pilot episode of the incredibly popularX-Men animated series (1992 to 1997), X-Men’s widespreadacclaim was matched only by its scarcity. The title never made it to home consoles and it would take about twenty years for it to finally be ported from the arcades. This digital-only version was praised for its nostalgia, though criticised for being far too easy, and was sadly delisted from digital store fronts in 2013 due to licensing issues and hasn’t been seen since.
The Plot: Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto leads an all-out war against humanity with an army of Sentinels and his human-hating loyalists, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, even kidnapping his old friend and rival, Professor Charles Xavier/Professor X, and the X-Man Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat. It’s up to the X-Men to use their unique Mutant powers to topple Magneto’s forces, rescue their allies, and put an end to his mad schemes!
The Review: X-Men is one of the quintessential arcade beat-‘em-ups from the heyday of the era, allowing up to six players to battle it out across eight stages beating the crap out of an unending series of robotic or animalistic enemies and vying to be top of the leaderboards. The controls are as simple as you could want from a game like this: you use Circle or Square to attack, landing a series of combos with each button press and attacks that are unique to each character, jump with X, and perform a jumping attack by pressing Circle or Square in mid-air. When enemies are on the ground, you can press Circle or Square to pound on them or press Square when close to most enemies to throw them across the screen or into other enemies for good crowd control. Unfortunately, there’s no dash attack here and few other attack options available beyond pressing Triangle to unleash your character’s Mutant power, which will drain a bit of your health or cost you a “Mutant Orb”. These attacks are unique to each character and will wipe out all enemies on screen, but have some limitations; James “Logan” Howlett/Wolverine and Scott Summers/Cyclops’s Mutant powers are great for clearing what’s right in front of you but you’ll want to pick Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler of Piotr “Peter” Rasputin/Colossus if you want to target enemies all around you. Unlike other beat-‘em-ups, there are no weapons to get, no crates or barrels to smash, and no interactive objects to aid you (there are no explosive barrels here, for example); hell, there aren’t even any health pickups to find. Supposedly, the Japanese version of the game does have them, and other pick-ups that are dropped by defeated enemies, and I didn’t see one when I did a quick check after my first playthrough.
Plough through endless robotic enemies using the X-Men’s uncanny Mutant powers!
Indeed, despite its much-deserved reputation as one of the greatest arcade games of all time, there’s not much that makes X-Men particularly innovative. Its appeal comes down to the enjoyable mindlessness of its action, the colourful visuals, and the atrociously entertaining voice acting. The goal here is little more than to travel from the left side of the screen to the right, ploughing through disposable enemies until you reach the boss of each level. You’ll need to watch out for hidden turrets, cliff drops and lava pits, and a bunch of palette-swapped Sentinels who throw rocks, detach their hands, or fire projectiles. They’re joined by bulkier robots armed with cannons who fire missiles, low fireballs, or high laser shots, lizard men who attack with their tails or breathe fire, and even anthropomorphic mud and plant monsters and robotic arms, though these enemies are constantly recycled and become quite samey quite quickly, even when they’re riding in on trucks or these weird gun-toting cyborgs on treadmills. The environments are a bit hit and miss, too; the opening city is suitably wrecked, there’s a thunderstorm raging in the background of the cave stage, you’ll see the Giant Sentinel, X-Jet, and the captured Professor X and Kitty in other stages, but few levels were as visually interesting as the wild jungles of Island M and lava-filled dangers found in “The Trap”. You’ll be transported up and down lifts, as is expected in a beat-‘em-up, but won’t really be battling a host of enemies in these sections; there is one part where you’re confronted by a missile-spewing wall, but you don’t actually have to destroy it, and the only character with anything close to an idle animation is Wolverine, who sheathes and unsheathes his claws when left standing (but don’t linger too long or the game will punish you with an explosive death!)
Magneto’s monstrous Mutant minions are itching to welcome you to die!
Yet, the character and enemy sprites are big, colourful, and evoke both the comic books and the pilot of the animated series. The story, paper-thin as it is, is related through large, partially animated cartoon-esque sprite art and in-game graphics, with Raven Darkhölme/Mystique’s deceptive tricks and the Brotherhood’s explosive, boastful entrances being as notable a highlight as Professor X’s many words of wisdom. Of course, one reason X-Men is so fondly remembered is the awful dialogue, lovingly recreated here so as not to rob us of such meme-worthy statement as “X-Men! Welcome to die!”, “Magneto is in another place”, and “You’re dead, X-Chicken!” In terms of bosses, X-Men doesn’t offer much in the way of challenge or strategy and you can generally get by with a simple technique of jumping in for an attack, landing a quick combo, and jumping out of harm’s way, maybe landing a special attack if you have a spare orb or enough health. This is established from the first encounter with St. John Allerdyce/Pyro and is largely true of all bosses: they’ll burst into the scene, taunt you (leaving themselves vulnerable to an early attack), and use their various powers to whittle down your health. While Pyro is quite nimble and spams screeching flame projectiles and roasts you with a flame burst, Fred Dukes/The Blob is much slower, plodding about and landing big punches or swings with his spiked mace, causing the screen to shake when you knock him down for a few seconds, and tanking your hits. A version of the Wendigo is also fought, with it pouncing at you and performing a head grab/throw combo shared by subsequent bosses, such as Nimrod, another large, clunky, slow boss who’d rather waste time taunting you than attacking in an interesting way. Cain Marko/The Juggernaut is similarly large and cumbersome but makes up for it with a screen-crossing charge and a huge cannon that fires a large blast across the screen. There are also a couple of mini bosses to contend with, such as the mental bolt-throwing Emma Frost/White Queen, a battle against three Egyptian statues, several Pyro clones, and additional encounters with all previous bosses when battling through Asteroid M. You’ll fight Magneto twice; the first time, it’s Mystique in disguise and he/she’s limited to punches and kicks but defeating her sees you battle the true Magneto. This is the toughest fight yet thanks to his impenetrable shield, but his attacks are still limited to slightly faster and very powerful punches and kicks. He also likes to mock you, though, so you can get in a good combo in those moments, and you’ll be immediately trust into another playthrough after the ending and credits roll when playing the American version of the game.
Colourful visuals and fun bosses were offset by some repetitive backgrounds and enemies.
Yes, this version of X-Men allowed you to pick between the American and Japanese versions; the main difference between the two was that you get a free, non-health-sapping Mutant Orb after every boss in the American version, but you start each new life with one in the Japanese version, and there’s apparently more to pick up from defeated enemies in that version, too. X-Men also allowed for local and, at one time, online multiplayer, allowing up to six players to fight together like in the arcade days of old. You can head into the “Options” menu and turn smoothing on or off, set whether you want a wallpaper to fill in the gaps around the action, show or hide the in-game timer used for speed runs and such, change the screen size, and change where the player’s health and lives and score are displayed. Every time you clear a stage, it’s unlocked to select for next time, allowing you to pick up where you left off or freely jump to any level. While you strangely can’t change characters when you die (or, at least, I wasn’t able to; there was no way when the continue countdown appeared and the option was greyed out on the pause menu), you do get unlimited credits and you can test your skills on three difficulty stings: Normal, Hard, and Hardcore, with even more enemies swarming the screen on the harder settings. X-Men had twelve Trophies for players to earn, with Trophies popping when you used a Mutant power five times, earned at last 250 points in one game, completed it on Expert difficulty, and defeated Pyro without using your Mutant powers. Tougher challenges included beating Magneto with every playable character, finishing the game in 25 minutes or less, and being fooled by Mystique in a six-player game (which I achieved by mapping all six characters to one controller). Otherwise, that’s it; there are no skins, no new characters to unlock, and no additional game modes here; just the classic arcade machine in all its punchy, ridiculous, and colourful glory.
The Summary: It’s such a shame that X-Men got delisted and hasn’t been made widely available for download since 2013; almost as much of a shame that it never came to home consoles back in the day and we were stuck with all those mediocre X-Men platformers. It’s a really fun game that ends just as things are about to become too repetitive and mindless, with a surprising amount of variety to each character despite the lack of pickups and power-ups. Each character plays a little differently (Nightcrawler is fast and has lots of elaborate attack animations while Colossus is much slower and bulkier, for example) and has some fairly good special attacks, though the lack of team-based moves and temporary power-ups is a bit of a shame. Similarly, the environments are quite bland and uninspired, especially compared to other beat-‘em-ups and even the colourful sprites on offer here. Considering the vast library of X-Men characters and enemies, there’s very little enemy variety (potentially because it’s more appropriate to have players smash up robots than people) and, while the bosses make up for this, there’s not much strategy to defeating them. I liked that there was a lot of voice samples used here, and in the engaging tunes, and the quality of the cutscenes was very much like a cartoon, which was very fitting considering the source material. Although X-Men doesn’t offer anything new to the genre and is, in many ways, inferior to other titles that don’t have the luxury of such a big licensing name being attached to them, it’s a short burst of entertaining fun that’s best enjoyed with a couple of friends. I’m really hoping Konami work out some kind of deal to make this accessible to new players sometime soon so I can revisit it again, maybe as a collection of titles or something, and add in some additional materials like concept art, the option for HD graphics, and maybe a couple of extra characters and game modes. If you missed out on playing this version of the game, which is nevertheless the definitive version, there’s always the Arcade1Up cabinet or…you know…emulation, the latter of which I’d highly recommend as this is a great game that should be more easily available to play despite its lack of core features.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Were you lucky enough to play X-Men when it came to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360? Have you ever played it out in the wild? Which character was your favourite and were you surprised by Magneto’s polite welcome to die? Do you agree that the levels and features were a bit sparse, or do you think there was just enough here to compensate? Would you like to see X-Men more widely accessible for modern gamers? What’s the worst (or best) videogame tie-in you’ve ever played? Which X-Men videogame is your favourite and how are you celebrating X-Men Day today? Whatever you think about X-Men, and arcade games in general, feel free to share your thoughts below or leave a comment on my social media.
When the Great Demon King Piccolo was released upon the world, he broadcasted a message on television declaring May 9th as “Piccolo Day”…and promptly celebrated by announcing his ownership over the planet. Since then, May 9th has been officially recognised as “Goku Day” but, to make things simpler, I’m using this as a good excuse to celebrate all things Dragon Ball,
Released: 26 January 2018 Developer: Arc System Works Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S
The Background: Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise, particularly Dragonball Z, is no stranger to videogame adaptations. In 1990, the first Dragonball Z videogame released for the Family Computer (Famicom) and, since then, various titles based on the long-running manga and its popularanime counterpart have been released, generally as shameless rip-offs of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior(Capcom, 1991), tournament fighters or one-on-one beat-‘em-ups that retell the events of the anime over and over again. After Bandai Namco acquired the rights to the franchise in 2009, they routinely released new Dragon Ball titles on an annual basis, with the games now incorporating elements from the long-awaited Dragon Ball Super (2015 to 2018). Following the critical and commercial success of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (Dimps, 2016), the publishers turned to Arc System Works, known for their Guilty Gearfighting games (ibid, 1998 to present), to develop a three-on-three fighter to address issues with power balances. Akira Toriyama designed a brand-new character to act as the game’s antagonist and the game was initially met with a great deal of enthusiasm. This was reflected in the sales, with Dragonball FighterZ becoming the fastest-sellingDragon Ball game at the time, and the reviews, which praised the anime-style visuals and explosive combat, with the game seen as one of the best in the franchise. While some criticised aspects of the gameplay, the game performed well enough to not only be bolstered be additional downloadable content (DLC) but also to receive an updated PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X port.
The Plot: The Red Ribbon Army continues to plague Son Goku and his allies when the hitherto-unknown Android #21 uses the Dragonballs to resurrect their fiercest foes. Their powers dampened by Android #21’s energy waves and faced with an army of puppet-like clones, the Z Warriors join forces with their worst enemies and a mysterious possessing soul to combat Android #21’s threat.
Gameplay: Dragonball FighterZ is a 2.5D fighting game in which players initially pick from a roster of twenty-one characters from across the Dragonball Z and Dragonball: Super series’ to take part in fast-paced, cinematic bouts. From the moment you start the game, you’re bombarded with pop-ups, messages, and notifications and that’s before you even start to work out how to navigate the main hub, which is a chibi-fied recreation of famous locations from the franchise, such as the World Tournament arena and Master Roshi’s island. Thankfully, you can either guide your chubby little avatar to various gameplay options, warp there with the Left Trigger, or bring up the options menu to take a look at the game’s controls. As you might expect, a practice and tutorial mode are included and tutorials are commonplace throughout the “Super Warrior Arc” of the game’s story mode so you can quickly get to grips with the fighting mechanics. Although you’re initially taught the basics in a one-on-one scenario and you have the option of fighting one-on-one (as well as customising the difficulty level of the computer-controlled opponents, setting the rounds and timer limits, and other options before fights outside of the story and Arcade modes), Dragonball FighterZ is primarily a team-based fighter. You pick three characters to form a team and can tag in and out in, which continues to be an aggravation for me as I’ve never really clicked with team-based fighters and find it to be an even more overplayed cliché than a Street Fighter II clone.
Rush in to pummel your foes with attacks or finish them in explosive fashion with your ultimate attack!
Thankfully, Dragonball FighterZ only takes inspiration from Street Fighter II; the fighting mechanics, while obviously similar given the presentation, are noticeably different and perfectly suited to reacting the anime’s explosive, high-intensity battles. X sees you throwing a light attack, Y a medium, and B a heavy (which can send you opponent flying away or through the environment for a “Destructive Finish” if timed correctly). Successive presses of each button pulls off different combo moves; you can mix and match, but the focus is more on mashing, say, Y as your character will automatically pull off a Super Move at the end of that simple combo string, negating the need to perform quarter-turns on the left stick or directional pad. A tosses out a ki blast; you can hold or rapidly tap it and press A after pushing towards your opponent to swat away their projectiles, just like in the anime. Although you can jump, dash, and sidestep towards and away from your opponent, the Right Trigger and Right Bumper allow you to dart at them with a “Dragon Dash” and “Dragon Rush”, respectively, allowing you to close gaps quickly, land a hit, and pull off a quick combo in mid-air or on the ground. These will also break your opponent’s guard, sadly executed by holding away from your foe just as they land an attack. I would much prefer a dedicated block and counter button as pushing back isn’t very reliable, though you can always press Y and B together to instantly teleport behind the opponent for an attack as long as you have at least one bar on your ki gauge.
You’ll need to call upon your allies to help withstand the barrage of attacks from your foes!
The ki gauge builds up as you dish out and take damage, but you can also manually power up by holding X and A together. The more bars you have, the stronger and more elaborate special moves you can pull off and, when you’re at maximum power, you can pull off your character’s ultimate attack using a simple input of a quarter-turn back or towards your opponent and pressing RT or RB afterwards. These ultimate moves certainly are visually impressive and are a great way to end a match, and they’ll also partially destroy the stage for maximum impact. As it’s a team-based fighter, you can call in an assist from one of your teammates at any time with the Left Trigger and Bumper; this allows you to string together massive two- or three-way energy attacks or dish out an even bigger combo, though be warned as you can easily get inescapably caught in your opponent’s team attacks as well. Holding either trigger allows you to switch to one of your team mates; this is essential as switching allows those not in play to regain a bit of health and some characters are better suited for different situations, such as larger characters like Nappa being slow and powerful and smaller characters like Teen Gohan being more agile and nimble. When playing the game’s story mode, the damage you take carries over between fights; you’ll regain some health (and downed characters will be revived) after a victory, but it’s best to switch often during the more intense battles to keep your health up. However, while you can set the difficulty of the computer in local play, arcade bouts become progressively difficult depending on which route you take. The easiest sees you fighting past three teams and the hardest has you battling seven and defeating each route unlocks a harder version for a greater challenge, and you can also play online or take part in a tournament.
As annoying as it is to have to navigate a map screen, the repetitious clone fighting is just as bad.
At first, Dragonball FighterZ seems intimidating but the story mode and practice options help guide you through the basics and the game initially plays very simply. Combos are easy to pull off with just a few mashes of the same button and it’s pretty easy to get into a rhythm of dashing at your opponent, pummelling them with a light combo, then focusing on medium combos with a super finish and calling in a team assist to speed things up. When playing the story mode, you’re actively encouraged to battle as many opponents as possible to grow stronger as, narratively, this unlocks your character’s full power. Each chapter presents a map and a set number of turns; your goal is to move around the map, taking out opponents and earning rewards, on your way to the boss fight. You cannot simply skip to a space and must actively move step by step around the map, which is either painfully linear or slightly more complicated, but always very restrictive and annoying. I never ran out of turns so I’m not sure what happens if you use them all up but I do know that you need to manually save on this screen as a game over mean replaying the entire map from the start, which can be very annoying in the later, more difficult arcs. Generally, fights aren’t very difficult and you’ll breeze through them; even higher-level bouts against Kid Buu or boss battles against the likes of Perfect Cell and Frieza can be painfully easy, but don’t let yourself become complacent. I fought every single opponent across the three arcs, finishing the story at around level forty, and eventually did have to take the battles more seriously as the computer upped its game. You’ll see this difficulty spike more prominently in the arcade mode where, after the first fight or two, you’ll get absolutely decimated if you don’t keep your wits about you. The “Super Warrior Arc” likes to pepper the map with tutorial fights; completing these will earn you extra rewards, and you’ll earn similar additional rewards if you fight Kid Buu when he appears, but otherwise it’s just a series of fights over and over with little variety apart from recuing a new character or the amount of opponents you face or characters you control, meaning it gets very repetitive very quickly.
Graphics and Sound: In terms of presentation, Dragonball FighterZ is on a whole new level! Of all the Dragon Ball videogames I’ve played, this is the one that most closely emulates the kinetic action of the anime. Everything from the character designs to the stages, cutscenes, music, and voice acting is all ripped straight from the anime and the attention to detail is really impressive. Unlike some cel-shaded Dragon Ball videogames, Dragonball FighterZ sticks to a 2.5D aesthetic so characters never appear award or blocky and the illusion of playing as hand-animated sprites is very convincing. You can pick to have Japanese or English voices, which I know is a big deal for some “purists”, and the English voice cast all return to tell the game’s interesting (if somewhat derivative) story. The story is basically just a mish-mash of familiar arcs from Dragonball Z but I appreciated that it was an original story for a change and not just retelling the same story over and over, though the game does pepper in some classic story moments if you meet the right criteria for a “Dramatic Finish”. Indeed, it’s the fights where the presentation really shines; sticking to the 2.5D plane is admittedly a little more restrictive than more 3D-orientated Dragon Ball videogames but it makes the action so much easier to follow and all the attacks, special moves, and ultimate attacks are beautifully animated, with the game employing cinematic perspectives and drawing from the anime for the more destructive energy attacks.
The game does a fantastic job of recreating the look and energy of the anime.
Sadly, the game’s stages don’t fare quite as well. There are numerous stages to pick from, all of them very familiar, such as the Supreme Kai’s world, Planet Namek, a futuristic city, the rocky wastelands, and even the depths of space. Some stages will react to your attacks, breaking and crumbling apart around you, and you can even transition to other stages by finishing your opponent with a heavy attack in some locations. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot happening in them; you can’t directly interact with anything, there are no stage hazards to worry about, and they’re simply just there for the characters to have somewhere to fight, which is fine but I like it when there’s a little extra to do. The hub world takes on a completely different visual style; you pick a chibi-style character to wander about with and access different modes, which is cute and a little different but initially a bit puzzling. The story mode’s cutscenes can all be advanced with the press of a button, or skipped entirely, but they’re enjoyable enough. It’s fun seeing Goku interact with Perfect Cell and Frieza and you’ll trigger unique dialogue and interactions the more characters you rescue and recruit, though some characters are reduced to simply being silent clones for you to fight. Outside of the story mode, you can select different colour schemes for your characters but this is disappointingly limited; rather than selecting different skins for characters, they just take on a different hue, with the only bit of creativity I found being that you can apply Vegeta’s original colour scheme. It would’ve been nice to see different gi for certain characters, maybe Yamcha’s bandit look or Adult Gohan’s “Great Saiyaman” persona or Vegeta’s “Majin” form, but sadly we just have to make do with them sporting ill-fitting alternate colours.
Enemies and Bosses: There are twenty-one playable characters in Dragonball FighterZ; three more are unlockable and a further twenty can be purchased as downloadable content, meaning you’ll face forty-four different fighters from across the franchise between the different game modes. In the story mode, the vast majority of enemies you’ll face are cloned versions of the main roster; these guys sport a black colour scheme with red eyes (a look that is also missing from the colour options, I might add) but are otherwise indistinguishable in their fighting style. The game seems to categorise fighters in three ways: small and fast, balanced, and big, slow, and powerful. Thus, playing as Krillian is not exactly the same experience as playing as Tien Shinhan, which is also different from playing as Majin Buu, even though the button inputs remain largely the same for all characters. Sometime you’ll have to press down, down, A for a move; some characters have you pressing X more than A, and very rarely you’ll find they have unique aspects to their characters. Future Trunks, for example, uses his Z Sword and Frieza can temporarily transform into “Golden Frieza”.
While fighters can feel samey, there’s enough to distinguish them through their feel and specials.
This extends to even more unique traits at times. While both Kid Buu and Piccolo can extend their limbs, Majin Buu, Kid Buu, and Android #21 can turn their enemies into chocolates and sweet treats to deal massive damage and power themselves up. Some characters will even call on other recognisable faces to aid them in battle: Captain Ginyu, for example, sends the Ginyu Force to attack you in place of more traditional projectiles, Nappa spawns in Saibamen, and many of Android #18’s attacks see her working in tandem with her brother, Android #17, who appears only here and in cutscenes unless you shell out for the DLC. Consequently, while it’s useful to have an understanding of how the different fighters play and what they’re capable of, it’s rare that you have to alter your strategy too much, but it does factor into how you play. Android #16, for example, is slow and bulky but makes use of rocket-powered punches and grapples, piledriving you into the ground if you get too close; his ultimate move also sees him left with the tiniest slither of health, so that’s something to consider when fighting. Kid Buu can rain destruction across the arena with his “Human Extinction Attack”, Adult Gohan can power up to his “full potential”, and many characters, like Goku and Vegeta and their variants, make use of screen-filling energy attacks, sometimes even warping about for increased damage.
Alongside repetitive fights, you’ll face Kid Buu and Android #21 in more challenging encounters.
You’ll only encounter actual boss battles in the game’s story modes; here, you’ll battle some recognisable Dragonball Z villains and heroes in each arc, often recruiting them after victory. Generally, you’ll fight the same clones over and over and they don’t pose much challenge until later in the story, and the same is true of guys like Captain Ginyu, Perfect Cell, and Frieza. While they’re sold as formidable opponents, you often fight them with a three-on-one advantage so they can be complete pushovers, especially compared to other teams made up of ki-spamming assholes like Vegeta and Yamacha. As ever in Dragon Ball videogames, I found that the weak human characters were more of a problem than God-tier enemies like Majin Buu; Yamcha, Tien, and Krillan always seem to cause me issues in these games, though I’m not sure if that’s an actual gameplay feature so they can go toe-to-toe with Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku or if it’s just a mental block on my part. As you explore the various maps, additional battles will spawn in and Kid Buu will sometimes take over a spot. These battles are touted as being tougher since Kid Buu is a few levels higher than you, but don’t actually become more challenging until the last story arc and, by then, you’ve pretty much mastered the fighting mechanics and team-based combos. Thus, the only real “boss” of the story mode is Android #21, a hybrid of android and majin who acts as the final boss for each of the three story chapters. Although she’s capable of consuming foes for massive damage, slicing an explosive energy blade across the arena, and attacking in a flurry of super speed, her most dangerous trait is that she can absorb abilities from her foes using her “Connoisseur Cut” technique. Each time this lands, a bar fills up above her health meter and, when it’s full, she’ll pull off a new attack, one dependant on the type of character she’s facing. Still, while she’s always at a higher level and far more aggressive than other enemies, she only poses a real threat at the end of the “Android 21 Arc”, where you first have to battle her with your team and then alone as you control her “good” half in a battle to the finish.
Power-Ups and Bonuses: In addition to building your ki gauge in battle, which allows you to pull off more elaborate special attacks, you can also power up your fighter and restore a little health by pressing RB and RT together once per match to enter a “Sparkling” state. By battling with specific fighters on specific stages and performing a specific attack, you can also recreate moments from the anime such as Goku obliterating Frieza on Planet Namek. Every battle earns you various rewards; primarily, you’ll earn Zeni, the currency of the Dragon Ball franchise, to spend in the shop, though there’s really not much worth buying in there. In the story mode, you’ll earn different Player Skills; up to three can be equipped at any one time and these will buff your attack, defence, regenerate health, or fill your ki gauge faster, amongst other perks. You’ll earn higher levels of Player Skills as you progress, but there’s no crafting, combination, or discard system here so it’s pretty basic. You’ll also earn experience points (EXP) in the story mode; earn enough and you’ll level-up, though I can only assume this raises your fighter’s stats as I never actually looked too deeply into it. Unfortunately, only fighters you play as earn EXP so you either need to mix up your team or stick with the same fighters to have the best chance as higher-level opponents definitely present more of a challenge; they’re faster, more aggressive, and string together greater combos and can easily down your lower-level fighters if you’re not careful. Each team member can be further customised to perform one of three assist actions when called into the fight and you will recruit more characters, though not every character will be playable and there are some restrictions based on the narrative. This isn’t the case in local or arcade fights, though you don’t need to worry about EXP or Player Skills or anything here, though you can acquire the seven Dragon Balls by pulling off combos outside of the story mode. Once you have all seven, another combo string will summon Shenron and allow you to pick from four wishes, including reviving an ally or regenerating your health, which is a fun bonus.
Additional Features: Dragonball Fighter Z offers thirty-five Achievements for you to earn, three of which you’ll automatically earn just by completing the story mode, though you’ll inevitably snag a few more just by playing through it. Defeat Kid Buu, for example, and you’ll snag some G; another will pop for triggering a “special conversation sequence”, and a couple more once you level-up high enough. You’ll also earn Achievements for clearing each of the different arcade mode paths, completing combo challenges and tutorials, and for playing online, but there aren’t many fun ones to get here. There are no Achievements to earn from Destructive Finishes, for example, or recreating the Father/Son Kamehameha against Perfect Cell for a Dramatic Finish or for summoning Shenron, which is a shame. You can purchase items from the shop, but they’re pretty pointless; you mainly buy new chibi avatars, colours, and stickers for use online. You can unlock Android #21 by beating story mode and there are a couple of ways to unlock Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku and Vegeta, from clearing harder arcade paths or the story mode or buying them, but note that you cannot have two of the same character in your team at once (so, you can’t have Vegeta > Future Trunks > and Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Vegeta in the same team). You can also play online or against a friend in a local battle, saving replays and such, and there are twenty DLC characters to add to the roster, though no additional story modes or Achievements tied to them so it’s probably better to wait for a sale as the packs are quite expensive and I’m not sure I’m that desperate to play as Bardock!
The Summary: I’d been waiting to play through Dragonball FighterZ for some time. I put it off not because I wasn’t interested in it, but because I wanted to wait to see if the game would be re-released with all the DLC included. Sadly, it wasn’t, so I bit the bullet and went for it, with only my lack of skill at Street Fighter II-style fighting games being a concern. Then it turned out to be a team-based fighter and my concerns grew; then the difficulty curve went all wonky, being ridiculously easy for most of the playthrough and then steeply rising as the story mode progressed or I tackled one of the arcade modes. As someone who is rubbish at “frame cancels” and all that nonsense, I really enjoyed how simple the game’s combat was; with just a few button presses, you can easily recreate the fast-paced, high-impact fighting style of the anime and I loved the big, explosive special moves and the voice acting on offer here. The game looks absolutely gorgeous, too; it’s easily the closest I’ve ever seen to playing the slick, action-packed anime. I also liked that it wasn’t just a retread of the same stories; while the original story might be a bit derivative, it’s still refreshing not to have to play the damn “Cell Games Saga” again! However, there’s a disappointing lack of content here; once you’ve beaten the story and arcade modes, there’s not much to come back to as the roster is pretty thin outside of the three unlockables and DLC characters, with no skins or variants to purchase or unlock. There’s also not much to the combat and gameplay beyond mashing buttons faster and making better use of your teammates; you can plough through most fights without issue and simply tank your way through others, but a little variety would’ve been nice, like maybe take a cue from the variables seen in Mortal Kombat X’s (NetherRealm Studios, 2015) Towers rather than just asking players to complete the same basic tutorials over and over. In the end, while it’s definitely the best looking Dragon Ball game I’ve ever played and I did really enjoy it, Dragonball FighterZ quickly outstayed its welcome with repetitive and mind-numbing fights akin to grinding and a lack of tangible rewards.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Did you enjoy Dragonball Z FighterZ? What did you think to the team-based mechanics and action-orientated gameplay? Who was your go-to team? What did you think to the original story and Android #21 as a villain? Were you also disappointed by the lack of skins and playable characters? Did you ever clear all of the arcade pathways? What is your favourite Dragon Ball videogame and how are you celebrating Dragon Ball day today? Whatever your thoughts on Dragonball Z FighterZ, or Dragon Ball in general, leave a comment below or on my social media and check out my other Dragon Ball content!
The first issue of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) was published in May of 1984. Since then, the TMNT have gone on to achieve worldwide mainstream success thanks not only to their original comics run but also a number of influential cartoons, videogames, and wave-upon-wave of action figures. Even now, the TMNT continue to be an influential and popular commodity, proving that some fads don’t die out…they just get stronger!
Released: 9 November 2009 Developer: Ubisoft Nagoya
The Background: Like so many kids back in the day, I was super into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (known as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles here in the United Kingdom). The “Heroes in a Half-Shell” dominated playgrounds in the years prior to the rise of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers(1993 to 1996) and Pokémon(1997 to present) thanks to a slew of toys, merchandise, videogames. Konami’s original arcade title largely set the standard for subsequent TMNT videogames, with many of the franchise’s most revered titles being arcade-style beat-‘em-ups. By 2009, almost forty TMNT videogames had been released in arcades and home consoles, with most of them either being sidescrolling beat-‘em-ups or brawlers. It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that developers Ubisoft Nagoya turned to this tried-and-true gameplay style for this Nintendo DS-exclusive title. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of information out there about the development and thinking behind this game, but I can say that it doesn’t seem to be one of the franchise’s more successful or revered games. While the presentation, references, and concept of the game drew some praise, the gameplay, button configuration, and graphics were criticised and the game was seen as a shallow effort to lure in fans with the promise of a throwback to the celebrated arcade games of old.
The Plot: After returning from an adventure in the far future, the TMNT are faced with the threat of a cybernetic version of their greatest enemy, Oroku Saki/The Shredder, who sends his futuristic Foot Ninjas back through time in a bid for world domination!
Gameplay: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade Attack is a 2.5D sidescrolling beat-‘em-up in which the bulk to the game’s action takes place on the bottom screen, while the top screen displays your current score, rank, and plays the story cutscenes. Players can pick between the four Ninja Turtles, with each one having different strengths and weaknesses in addition to their trademark weapons: Leonardo is an all-rounder, Donatello has the best reach but is the slowest, Raphael has the worst reach but is the most powerful, and Michelangelo is the fastest and most agile of the four. Each of the TMNT has their own combos that are performed with successive presses of B or A, with the former attacking with their weapon and the latter seeing them kick. You can jump with X and perform jumping attacks by pressing B or A in mid-air, or hold down or tap the Y button to block or counterattack enemy attacks. A also allows you to revive your partner when they’re knocked down and to pick up weapons and health restoring food, while Y and B lets you grab and toss or launch enemies and pick up or push objects like barrels and traffic cones. Although there’s no dash function here, you can press the directional pad and Y to back flip out of harm’s way (even launching into a flying kick with A or B) or to sidestep, though I found both of these actions to be finnicky and unreliable. As you wade through enemies, you’ll build up a Co-Op Gauge; when it’s full, and flashing, you can press Y and B together to perform one of three powerful co-op moves, such as a giant swing, a diving shell smash, or the classic tossing of enemies towards the screen. However, I was only ever able to pull off the swing so it’s probably better to try to others with a human partner using the DS’s wireless feature.
Battle through eight boring stages with repetitive and dull gameplay and combat.
Even when you’re playing alone, you’ll be accompanied by a computer-controlled partner who you can select before a stage; the CPU does a decent job of fending off enemies but, while you can revive them, there’s no option for them to return the favour. If you’re defeated, you can spend some Shells to continue on from that point; otherwise, it’s back to the beginning of the stage for you. Shells are earned by performing well in stages; as you pummel enemies, you’ll build up a combo meter that increases your grade. At the end of a stage, this is factored into your overall score (alongside other data, such as how many hits you landed, how much damage you took, whether you used a Shell to continue, and such) and translates into more Shells for you to use to either continue or unlock extra game modes from the main menu. These modes are also made available by playing through the game’s story mode, which is comprised of eight stages, each of which is surprisingly long and light on interactive elements. You’re asked simply to run at an awkward right angle towards the edge of the screen, fighting between one and four enemies at once, with no bonus stages or much in the way of gameplay variety beyond the odd instance where you have to jump up to a higher level, mash B in a quasi-quick-time event when your clash weapons with an enemy, or the obligatory rising/descending elevator stage near the end of the game. There are four difficulty modes to choose from, with enemies being faster, smarter, and tougher on the higher settings in return for higher scores being on offer. The easiest setting, “Normal”, isn’t especially difficult to play through as you rarely face more than four enemies at once, but the enemies can be quite cheap and the gameplay isn’t really rewarding enough to make bashing them up all that enjoyable.
Graphics and Sound: TMNT: Arcade Attack seems to be a little confused about its identity; the story is told using animated comic book panels that are modelled after the original Mirage Comics, which is amazing, but the plot seems to be rooted in the continuity of the 2003 to 2009 cartoon series despite the logo being closer to the original 1987 series. The game doesn’t include the classic TMNT theme song, or any notable music or voice acting, which really doesn’t help improve the experience or shake off the sense that this was a slapped together budget title to cash in on the franchise. While the black and white cutscenes are really good and perfectly capture the spirit of the original comics (and even include some funny running gags such as Mikey struggling with his nunchakus), the in-game graphics opt for a bright, colourful cel-shaded style that is similar to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled (Ubisoft Singapore, 2009) but far less appealing; character models are distinctly low resolution, blocky, and lack idle animations. Their attacks are nice and fluid, however, and they have entrance and stage victory animations, and it is fun seeing them pull off more elaborate attacks when you punch in button combos, but the models are a far cry from the appealing sprite work of its predecessors.
While the cutscenes are great, the in-game presentation is generally clunky and lifeless.
Environments equally as disappointing; the game does its best to recreate the locations of previous TMNT brawlers, placing you on the city streets, in a construction site, having you battle trough dark alleyways, the surprisingly clean sewers, across rooftops, and through an office building but there’s no real personality or excitement in these environments. Even when you get transported to the far future, you’re restricted to a traditional Japanese temple and a futuristic lab, with only cyberspace really having much to offer in terms of visuals. None of the stages have any hazards or obstacles to avoid; there’s not much really happening in the background, enemies simply drop in from the top of the screen or dramatically appear on screen rather than bursting from behind signs and such, and the stages go on for far too long, which really makes the game a drag. You’re also restricted in your movements; you can’t always move beyond the awkward angle of the game’s linear path, or backtrack too far, and you’re never asked to climb ladders or to transition to other screens as the game does all of this automatically. Stages do try to be a little distinct from each other by featuring different breakable objects, from tyre stacks to discarded televisions and pixelated cubes, but it’s not enough to make the environments any more interesting and, again, they pale in comparison to the 2D arcade games of yesteryear.
Enemies and Bosses: Since this game is all over the place with its visual identity, I’m not really sure what you’re fighting here half the time. You start off beating up nameless, disposable street punks; the bigger variants attack with a hockey stick and can tank through your attacks, and you’ll learn that most of the enemies can block your attacks and grab and hurl you just like you can to them. Other punks will toss grenades, which can be hard to see and avoid as they seem to drop them right as you’re jumping in for an attack, but once you reach Stage 3 you’ll find some cybernetically enhanced members of the Foot Clan. As ever, these come in different colours and with different weapons; the basic ninjas can slide tackle you, others toss concussive grenades or shuriken, others wield laser pistols or will rush at you with katana swipes, and others shoot arrows or rockets. You’ll also battle hoards of Mousers, who swarm the screen and jump and bite at you or blast you with laser projectiles from their mouths, but at least you don’t have to worry about them clamping down on your hands and you can toss enemies into each other for extra damage and even send them flying with breakdance-style wake-up attacks.
Only four of the five bosses are worth talking about, and they’re all sadly disappointing experiences.
Eight stages means five bosses (strangely, the first, third, and sixth stages don’t have boss battle…), each sporting a life bar but lacking disposable minions to distract and frustrate you. Your first test is against a golden Foot Ninja variant who wields two katana swords, back flips about the place, slides at you, and sports a jump attack. He’s not too difficult to take out as he’s basically just a tougher version of the regular Foot Ninjas, but Hun represents the game’s first real challenge. This hulking bruiser carries a bazooka that allows him to not only fire missiles from a distance but also doubles as a devastating melee weapon; he can absolutely tank your hits and smash you in the middle of a combo, too, so it’s best to wait for him to taunt you or become momentarily stunned from his attacks. Karai attacks at the end of the sewer stage; easily the fastest boss, she attacks with katana blades, tosses shuriken from mid-air, flies at you with a kick, and loves to endlessly block your attacks to make the battle needlessly long and aggravating. A cybernetically enhanced version of Doctor Baxter Stockman awaits in the far-flung future, proving the most versatile boss so far. His enhancements let him hover about with a burst of flaming jet, he knocks you flying with an electrical burst if you get too close, has a sliding uppercut and an electrically-charged fist, and blasts a Kamehameha-like laser across the screen that leaves him momentarily vulnerable to a good combo. Finally, you’ll battle the Cyber Shredder in cyberspace; this fearsome foe sweeps the arena with a wide red laser, flies at you with a spinning attack, emits a concussive blast after being knocked down, causes the ground to burst into flames, whips at you with a tentacle-like appendage, and dashes with a claw swipe or knee strike. The trick here is to hit and run, really; just leap in, hit a combo, and side step away until he’s open for another flurry and he’ll eventually go down.
Power-Ups and Bonuses: As is to be expected from a TMNT game, you can restore your health by eating pizza found by smashing various objects around each stage; additionally, if you find some chop suey, you’ll restore a portion of your health. This is the first TMNT videogame I’ve ever played where you can actually pick up and use additional weapons; wooden boards, steel pipes, and stop signs can be tossed at enemies or used as temporary melee weapons and you can even toss shuriken, grenades, and destructible objects (though the latter will greatly reduce your walking speed).
Additional Features: Perform well in each stage and you’ll earn yourself Shells that can be used as a continue if you’re defeated or to unlock additional gameplay modes. You can take on a Stage Attack to compete for the highest score and rank, a Survival mode against an endless wave of enemies, and a boss rush, all of which must be purchased with your Shells. Completing the story unlocks every stage in the game for you to replay at your leisure, though there’s no way to rewatch the game’s cutscenes outside of playing the story. While there aren’t any skins or unlockable characters, the TMNT do receive a futuristic glow up from Stage 6, though you can’t apply these at will, and of course TMNT: Arcade Attack can be played on higher difficulties or alongside a friend if they also have a copy of the game.
The Summary: I’ve played a lot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles videogames and, while many of them are basically mindless beat-‘em-ups with little on offer than the simple thrill of beating the piss out of countless colourful enemies, they still had more on offer than this misfire of a title. I get the idea behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade Attack: a quick, cheap, arcade-style brawler to appeal to fans of the TMNT’s old beat-‘em-ups, but the execution falls flat in almost every department except for the motion comic-like cutscenes and the shallow diversity of the combos. There’s a lot about the game that’s modelled after these arcade titles, particularly in the environments and the simple, pick-up-and-play format, but it just can’t live up to those titles because of the way it presents itself. Not only is it all over the place in terms of its identity, the presentation of the gameplay has this weird isometric angle, there are hardly ever any enemies onscreen, and the lack of environmental hazards or visual interest really hurts the title. It’s a shame as this would’ve been so easy to get right if the game had simply been a 2D brawler with 3D style backgrounds, or even more akin to Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, which was a far better 2.5D conversion of the classic arcade visuals. A disappointing lack of bosses and recognisable TMNT characters and enemies also keeps the game from being as good as it could be, as does the monotony of the strangely long stages, and I wasn’t impressed by the revive function not really working in single player. There are some decent unlockables, at least, but it’s undeniable that there are better TMNT games to play, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare (Konami Computer Entertainment Studios, 2005) looking like a far better option for DS players.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
Have you ever played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade Attack? How do you think it holds up against previous TMNT beat-‘em-ups? Which of the TMNT was your favourite to play as and why? Did you enjoy the Mirage Comics-style cutscenes and do you agree that the game’s identity is a bit muddled? Were you disappointed by the graphics, environments, and bosses? Did you ever unlock and clear every mode in the game? Which TMNT videogame is your favourite? How are you celebrating the TMNT’s debut this month? Whatever your thoughts on the TMNT, leave a comment down below or on my social media and pop back for more TMNT action!
While May 4th is known the world over as Star Wars Day, many also choose to extend the celebrations of the course of three days, with one of them being the “Evil Star Wars Day” of May 6th (as in “Sith”).
Released: 28 February 1995 Developer: LucasArts Also Available For: Macintosh and MS-DOS
The Review: I’m giving Star Wars: Dark Forces a shorter review not necessarily because there isn’t much to say about the game, or because of its length, but primarily because my playthrough ran into a few roadblocks that even the super useful cheat menu couldn’t help me with. Even if this wasn’t the case, I would’ve still blasted through it with a series of cheats enabled (including invincibility and all weapons), so I feel it’s better to just give an overview of this Doom clone, a game I’ve long coveted due to its obscurity in the vast tapestry of Star Wars videogames. Anyone who’s played Doom will find the control scheme very familiar, but there are a few differences here: by default, you can swim and Triangle lets you jump, for example, and you can run by holding R1, two elements you’ll need to incorporate in later levels (referred to as “Missions”) to clear gaps. Square fires your primary shot, Circle cycles through your available weapons, and X allows you to activate switches and open doors and such. The PlayStation’s analogue sticks are useless here; it’s all about the directional pad and tank-like controls. Still, while there’s no aiming reticule, there’s a mild auto aim system and you can look up or down by holding L1 and strafe by holding R2, allowing a slightly greater range of movement when in a firefight. L2 acts as a toggle; if you hold this down and press Triangle, you’ll crouch to pass through smaller gaps, pressing Square fires your weapon’s secondary shot (usually a cluster shot or proximity function or emptying an entire clip), and pressing Circle cycle backwards through your inventory.
Kyle has an impressive array of weapons and options to help him achieve his objectives.
You play as mercenary and Han Solo proxy Kyle Katarn and are tasked with completing fourteen Missions, each with certain objectives that need to be accomplished (with many of these being repeated across the game, such as finding something or placing explosive charges) before you’re generally forced to backtrack to the start to exit on your ship (or, more accurately manually from the pause menu when prompted). Kyle has a decent array of weaponry available to him throughout the game, including a slow-firing pistol, an inaccurate Stormtrooper blaster, thermal detonators and a grenade launcher, and an assault cannon. If you run out of ammo, you can always default to your fists, but ammo seems pretty plentiful, though some weapons are quite large and obscure your vision and also have less ammo than others due to their power. You can occasionally blow open walls, crates, and explosive barrels to take out enemies and access secret areas, either to find shortcuts or caches of useful items, such as ammo, pick-ups to replenish your health and/or shield, or extra lives, brief invincibility, and temporary power-ups to your weapons. By pressing ‘Select’, you can activate a number of useful items, such as a small wireframe map that’s placed right in your field of vision, or activate a gas mask, night vision, or a headlight if you have enough battery power. You can also access Kyle’s PDA from here, which provides a larger map (when you find the appropriate item to enable this, though, it’s very confusing to look at), an overview of your inventory and objectives, and options to abort or restart the mission. Before you start the game, you can pick from three difficulty settings (“Easy”, “Medium”, or “Hard”) and you’ll need to find coloured keys to open certain doors and complete objectives such as locating clues or certain items (like the Death Star plans), placing explosive charges, and escaping your current location.
While the visuals can be repetitive, some locations and cutscenes do stand out.
One reason I struggled with Star Wars: Dark Forces, even with the cheats enabled, was that it sadly borrows the worst aspect of Doom: large, nearly identical, labyrinthine environments. While some locations faithfully recreate the aesthetic of locations like the Tantive IV or feature little details like those chirping Death Star droids, Imperial symbols, wireframe holograms, and the visuals of the Original Trilogy are recreated as faithfully as this generation of gaming allows, this is quite possibly the greyest game I’ve ever played! Almost every Mission takes place in an Imperial facility or on an Imperial starship, meaning everything is a dull military grey or a stone-grey shading, so it’s really easy to get lost and run into dead ends as you try to figure out where to go next. You’ll be activating a lot of switches to open doors but, like in Doom, it’s sometimes hard to tell what these switches activate. Locations also include stairwells and lifts, which can turn you about quite easily, and you unfortunately can’t destroy many of the monitors you see lining the walls (though the bodies of your victims do stay strewn on the ground, helping to show where you’ve been). Even when there is some visual variety, like the dark, towering skyscrapers of Coruscant or the disgusting sewage system of Anoat City, or the muddy hue of Jabba’s Kell Dragon-infested ship, things aren’t especially attractive. You’ll occasionally take a break from the endless grey to see purple or red-hued skies, dodge flaming pipes and crushing hazards, navigate industrial-esque mines and avoid giant fans. You can find and equip the ice cleats so as not to plummet to your death on frigid, narrow platforms and blast your way through a Star Destroyer to put an end to the Dark Trooper program, but it’s incredibly difficult to navigate each area and it’s disappointing how repetitive the visuals become. Each Mission is proceeded by a veritable wall of text to read but there are some amusing cutscenes on offer. Of course, the game begins with the classic Star Wars story scroll and distorted versions of the iconic music (including an “Imperial March” remix) feature during the game, but you’ll see decent CGI scenes whenever the story’s focusing on ships or planets and partially animated pixel art whenever characters are talking, which really evokes the DOS games of the era.
With only two bosses to contend with, you’ll have to settle for some tougher enemy variants.
Because I quickly became hopelessly lost and confused, I was only able to clear one Mission in Star Wars: Dark Forces and that was more by accident. Instead, I was forced to manually skip to the next Mission on every other level of the game, meaning I never found Crix Madine or Moff Rebus and Boba Fett only appeared in a cutscene in my playthrough. As you explore the repetitive environments, you’ll gun down incalculable Stormtroopers and Imperial officers, all of whom cry out when they see you and when they’re killed, which is fun. Imperial probe droids and other robotic enemies are also present, including (oddly) the Jedi training sphere and that spherical torture device, and these wicked sword-wielding robots that take ages to put down. Pig-like Gamorreans also show up, carrying large axes for a long reach, as do grenade-tossing, three-eyed Grans, disgusting squid-like monsters in the sewers, the gigantic and voracious aforementioned Kell Dragons, and even Trandoshans (who are all just copy/pastes of Bossk. Your most formidable recurring enemies are the Dark Troopers, large, dark-garbed Stormtroopers who can hover overhead and fire missiles and devastating plasma blasts at you. You’ll have to destroy ceiling-mounted turrets, avoid damaging liquid, and even see TIE Fighters flying out into the abyss (though they’re no threat) but I wasn’t able to complete Mission 11 enough to trigger the battle with Boba Fett. However, from what I can see, he’s very much the same as a Death Trooper as he flies about shooting missiles and blasting at you, meaning the Death Troopers and those droids are the closest the game has to boss battles. I did go head-to-head with General Rom Mohc, the man behind the Dark Trooper initiative, who’s also garbed in Death Trooper armour. His strategy is mostly to spam assault cannon shots and defeating him sees Kyle’s potential catch the eye of Darth Vader and the man himself be awarded for his services to the Rebellion. Unfortunately, there’s not much else to Star Wars: Dark Forces; there’s no multiplayer or deathmatch mode, so you’re left with challenging the game’s harder difficulties or messing about with the passwords and cheats, which also allow you to skip to different Missions, change your size, “pogo” up to higher platforms, and seemingly reflect enemy shots.
The Summary: I’ve had vague memories of playing Star Wars: Dark Forces as a kid; I’m sure I played it on DOS way back in my youth and, as a fan of Star Wars, Doom, and Doom clones, I’d longed to get my hands on it and blast my way through countless Stormtroopers with reckless abandon. Unfortunately, Star Wars: Dark Forces quickly threw up some annoying roadblocks that meant I was far more reliant on the cheats than I initially planned to be. The game focuses way too much on its maze-like aspects, forcing you to backtrack to the start of most locations to be picked up by Kyle’s ship rather than having a traditional end goal like other FPS games from the time. This is bad enough but just trying to find your way around is even more frustrating thanks to the terrible map system, repetitive environments, and confusing level layout; everywhere looks the same and it’s easy to get lost, confused, or just aimlessly run around in circles searching for where you’re supposed to go next. The game also has a disappointing lack of boss battles; those droids and the Dark Troopers are formidable enemies, but I would’ve liked to see more battles against bounty hunters, or maybe a showdown with an AT-ST walker, or just something to break up the journey back to the level start. Although the game is slow, clunky, and runs very poorly, the sound effects and voice samples were fun; the cutscenes, while often terribly drawn, had a certain visual appeal and I quite liked the array of weaponry on offer. Unfortunately, the game is too dark, too confusing, and lacks any visual variety for me to really recommend it all that much. It’s a decent Doom clone but it could’ve been a lot better and you’re much better off just playing one of the other, more notable Doom knock-offs that came out around this time.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
Have you ever played Star Wars: Dark Forces? Were you a fan of Kyle Katarn and his adventures? What did you think to the level layout and game environments? Did you also get lost and confused or were you able to easily best this title? What did you think to the Dark Trooper plot and lack of proper boss battles? Which Doom knock-off is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts on Star Wars: Dark Forces, or FPS games in general, drop a comment below or let me know on my social media.
Although May 4th is known the world over as Star Wars Day, many also choose to celebrate the popular, generation-spanning science-fiction saga on May 5th as a play on the word “Sith”, thereby extending Star Wars Day into three day celebration of the influential science-fiction franchise.
Air Date: 17 November 1978 Director: Steve Binder Original Network: CBS Stars: Mark Hamill, Don Francks (allegedly), Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford
The Background: Inspired by the Flash Gordon serials that captivated him as a youth, George Lucas sought to create his own “space opera”, a timeless futuristic fantasy that was infused with multipleinfluences across reality and media. Star Wars(later retitled to Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope) wowed audiences and critics upon release in 1977, becoming one of the most successful films ever made. Although it was followed by a polarisingsequel in 1980 that is now regarded as one of the best in the franchise, Star Wars actually received a little known made-for-television special just one year later. Reportedly, it was CBS who pushed for the development of the Star Wars Holiday Special, a variety show that featured the main cast but very little input from Lucas beyond wanting it to heavily feature the Wookiee race. Unlike its feature-film predecessor, the Star Wars Holiday Special was universally panned at the time, with both Lucas and thecast dismissing the oddball production. Since its broadcast, the Star Wars Holiday Special has become something of a “white whale” for the franchise; it was never broadcast again and never released on home media, and is notable only for its obscurity and for introducingfan favourite bounty hunter Boba Fett in this animated segment. With animation inspired by the surreal artwork of Jean Henri Gaston Giraud/Mœbius,, The Story of the Faithful Wookiee is the only part of the Star Wars Holiday Special to receive a wide release as of this writing, being included in the Complete Saga Blu-ray set and even releasing on Disney+ in 2021.
The Plot: While attempting to recover a mystical talisman, Luke Skywalker (Hamill), Han Solo (Ford), Princess Leia Organa (Fisher) and the droids C-3PO (Daniels) and R2-D2 crash-land on Panna, a hostile alien world where they are aided by mysterious bounty hunter Boba Fett (Francks).
The Review: Being a big Star Wars fan, I was aware of the Star Wars Holiday Special, though I couldn’t tell you exactly when, where, or how it came to my attention. I’ve seen a lot of talk about how awful it is and, from what I’ve seen, it really does seem to be one of the cheesiest, most unfitting misfires to befall the entire franchise (and that’s saying something). The bulk of the special revolves around Han Solo bringing his Wookiee friend and co-pilot, Chewbacca/Chewie (Peter Mayhew), back to his home planet of Kashyyyk for “Life Day”, a traditional Wookiee celebration somewhat akin to Thanksgiving. With the two delayed by Imperial Star Destroyers, Chewbacca’s family – wife Mallatobuck/Malla (Mickey Morton), father Attichitcuk/Itchy (Paul Gale), and son Lumpawaroo/Lumpy (Patty Maloney) – and other characters distract themselves with various television programs, broadcasts, and song numbers providing a variety of “entertainment” that we, the viewers, watch alongside them. The Story of the Faithful Wookiee is one of these segments, an animated feature that Malla has Lumpy watch to keep him from worrying about his father’s troubles to get home for Life Day, immediately making one ask just why there is a cartoon detailing the adventures of the upstart Rebellion being so freely broadcast in the galaxy. In the cartoon, Han and Chewie have gone off looking for a sacred talisman that would be of great use to the Rebellion since it’s believed to make things invisible. Right away, this is an interesting departure from the usual Star Wars fare, where mystical artifacts tend to be associated with the Jedi or Sith, and it’s interesting that the mission wasn’t to recover a piece of invisibility technology rather than a magical ruin. Luke and Leia get a bit antsy when the duo take longer than expected to return with the artifact, and even more so when the Rebellion receives a transmission from the Millennium Falcon that depicts the two in trouble. Concerned, Luke hops into a Y-Wing with Threepio and Artoo to go after his friends, navigating an asteroid field and being startled when the Falcon fires warning shots at him before ditching onto one of the Panna system’s gloopy water planets.
Trapped on a hostile world, Luke has no choice but to trust the mysterious Boba Fett.
With his communications systems damaged in his own less than graceful landing, Luke ventures out of his ship to search for Han and Chewie, much to Threepio’s chagrin, and is attacked by one of the dinosaur-like inhabitants of the world. Though resistant to Luke’s blaster, the Nessie-like creature is content to feast upon one of the Y-Wing’s thrusters while Luke and the others flee to safety in the cockpit section, though it is soon chased away by a blast from a helmeted stranger’s two-pronged lance. Sitting astride another gargantuan beast, the armoured saviour greets Luke and offers him assistance, identifying himself as Boba Fett and appearing to be warm and helpful, even if he takes a dim view towards showing kindness to “lower lifeforms” such as the planet’s voracious inhabitants. Although Threepio questions the soft-spoken Boba Fett’s kindness, Luke readily accepts his help in locating the crashed Falcon not just because of their shared dislike of the Empire but also because they don’t have any other choice if they want to rescue their friends. Luke’s faith seems to be rewarded as Boba Fett leads them to the Falcon, but he’s stunned when he boards the ship and finds Chewie, seemingly possessed, in the process of destroying the talisman. Luke collapses before he can stop the Wookiee, and it’s only through Threepio’s plea that Boba Fett doesn’t use deadly force on Chewie, believing that he caused Luke’s abrupt blackout.
After his true nature is revealed, Boba Fett leaves without a fuss, making for an abrupt finale.
However, Artoo reveals that the talisman was emitting “contamination”, a sleeping virus that only affects humans, which is what caused Luke to drop unconscious and Han to fall asleep. Boba Fett reveals he is always aware of this weird virus, which can only be cured by hanging its victims upside down so the blood rushes to their heads, or with a remedy the Empire possesses in their nearby city. Boba Fett begrudgingly allows the insistent Chewie to accompany him to the city, a sprawling mechanical metropolis protected by bulbous domes, and the two sneak in through waste ducts. Boba Fett demands that Chewie hang back to avoid drawing undue attention, though this is a ruse to give the bounty hunter the chance to contact his employer, Darth Vader (James Earl Jones). When Threepio, anxious about the mission, asks Artoo to locate Chewie using the Falcon’s video system, they intercept this transmission and learn that Vader has tasked Boba Fett with earning the group’s trust so he can locate the new Rebel base. After retrieving the serum, Boba Fett and Chewie flee the city, easily taking out the single Stormtrooper unit sent to intercept them, and Luke and Han make a full recovery. Although Luke is incredibly grateful to this newfound friend, Threepio reveals Boba Fett’s true intentions, and a climactic showdown ensues. Wait…no, it doesn’t. Boba simply bids them farewell and jetpacks away without a fight! Far from feeling any shame or anger at this betrayal, Luke simply joins his friends in laughing the whole thing off and they simply leave Panna without any opposition, bringing the short to an abrupt end.
The Summary: Well, this was…certainly something. The first thing I want to note is how cool it is that all the film’s cast returned to voice their characters, even James Earl Jones and a very bored-sounding Harrison Ford. The cartoon also includes some musical cues and sound effects from the movie, giving it an air of legitimacy, but all of this is contrasted with its truly bizarre animation style. Walking a weird line between surreal, anime, and realistic, the cartoon is disturbing in its renditions of these characters, with Han looking particularly ugly. How the animators looked at prime Harrison Ford, one of the most ruggedly handsome men of this era, and turned him into this horse-faced abomination is beyond me. Luckily, Han’s barely in this so we don’t have to look at it for long, but Luke doesn’t fare much better, with some angles and movements being beyond surreal and venturing into fever dream territory. Similarly, the droids are much too fluid, losing their rigid, robotic nature, looking as cartoonish and out of place as the planet’s dinosaur wildlife. On the plus side, ships and environments fare much better; the Imperial city, though only briefly seen, is like an amalgamation of Mos Eisley and Neo Tokyo and reminds me of the rundown, futuristic cities we’d see in later Star Wars films. Frankly, I could’ve done with more time being spent in the city, or traversing the bizarre alien world, which barely factors into the plot. I feel this was a wasted opportunity and it would’ve made more sense for the Empire’s presence to merely be a small garrison digging for the mystical talisman on a backwater world, with Boba Fett being there as a neutral third party looking to steal and sell the artifact for this own end and the Falcon being downed by a surprise attack.
Bizarre visuals, a weird plot, and Boba Fett’s strange depiction make this truly forgettable.
Of course, the main reason people know or talk about this cartoon is for the introduction of Boba Fett, who looks and acts completely differently here than in any other media. Presented as a stoic, faceless bounty hunter with an obsession with profiting from Han Solo’s capture in his brief live-action appearances, here he’s a loquacious and deceitful enigma who easily gains Luke’s trust and is said to be Darth Vader’s “right-hand man”. I did enjoy Boba’s depiction, though; he’s affable but also quite vicious, mistreating his monstrous steed and thinking little of other lifeforms, and he’s packing an array of gadgets and weapons, from his aforementioned lance to binding whips, a never-used pistol, and a jetpack. His mission was simply to befriend the Rebels to find their base, though he only partly succeeds in this venture. There’s no battle against him, Han and Chewie have no idea who he is, and he simply leaves without a fuss, making for an anti-climactic finale that does little to flesh out the bounty hunter’s character. In the end, it’s an interesting oddity but one that’s hardly going to shed new light on Star Wars lore. If the animation and poor voice acting doesn’t turn you off, the strange and nonsensical nature of the cartoon will and there’s little reason to go out of your way to watch this one, especially with all the other, far superior Star Wars content that’s now available.
My Rating:
⭐
Rating: 1 out of 5.
Terrible
Have you ever watched The Story of the Faithful Wookiee? What did you think to the animation style? Were you surprised that the Rebels were looking for a mystical talisman? What did you think to Boba Fett’s characterisation? Were you surprised when he turned out to be a bad guy, and that there was no physical showdown with him? Would you like to see the Star Wars Holiday Special more widely available, or do you think it’s better off dead? How are you celebrating Star Wars this May? Whatever your thoughts on Boba Fett, and Star Wars in general, leave a comment below and check out my other Star Wars content across the site!
May 4th is known the world over as Star Wars Day thanks to being one of the most fitting and amusing puns ever devised (“May the Fourth be with you” in place of the traditional “May the Force be with you”). The first and most popular of what can easily become a three day celebration of the influential science-fiction series, the day stands as the perfect excuse for Star Wars fans to celebrate the beloved franchise in various ways.
Released: 4 April 2000 Developer: LucasArts Also Available For: Dreamcast and Game Boy Advance
A Brief Background: Almost immediately following its 1977 debut, George Lucas’ science-fiction “space opera” became a massive multimedia juggernaut that expanded to include sequels, prequels, spin-offs, novels, videogames, comic books, and more. After wrapping up his Original Trilogy, Lucas was hesitant to return to the franchise, but the success of the “Expanded Universe” books led to a revived interest in Star Wars and Lucas not only produced “Special Edition” versions of the Original Trilogy in 1997 but also the divisivefirstchapter in his Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace(Lucas, 1999). Despite manylacklustre to average reviews, the film made over $1 billion at the box office and was accompanied by a huge marketing campaign. All these new toys, books, and comics were joined by ten different videogame adaptations released across numerous platforms, though this is the one I most remember playing as my friends and I used to muck about with it back in the day. The developers of Jedi Power Battles used paper cut outs to design the layout and features of the game’s environments and strived to give each character their own unique appearance, abilities, and lightsaber colours. Although numerous fixes and improvements were made to the subsequent Dreamcast version, this version of the game was received rather poorly; reviews criticised the game’s high level of difficulty and awful controls, though the co-op mechanics and arcade-style gameplay was highlighted as a positive.
First Impressions: Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is a 2.5D, arcade-style hack-and-slash adventure game that includes a little light puzzle solving, some aggravating platforming sections, and a touch of role-playing functionality. Up to two players can play at any one time, which can be useful for taking on the droid army of the Trade Federation but can cause some serious gameplay issues; for one thing, players share the Credit pool, so your game can end pretty quickly if you get defeated too many times. You also have to be mindful not to stray too far behind; if you linger or get left behind when your friend gets too far ahead, you’ll lose a life, and the game will end that much faster. Players can pick from five Jedi characters – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia and Plo Koon – who all share the same basic control scheme. There are five control schemes to pick from, but the default sees you using Square, Triangle, and X to swing your lightsaber horizontally, heavily, or vertically, respectively, and Circle being used to jump and double jump. There aren’t any jumping attacks here, but you can string together combos using Triangle, X, and Circle and you can also run by holding R2. If you hold L1, you’ll block incoming attacks; tapping it will deflect laser bolts, which is a great way to defeat faraway enemies but keep an eye on your block meter as this depletes (and automatically fills) over time. You can lock on to the nearest enemy with R1, which also sees you circle that enemy and perform a dodge roll but be sure to disengage the lock on if you’re near an edge or hazard as you’re likely to get hurt or lose a life.
Team up with a friend to double the frustration and difficulty of this clunky hack-and-slash game.
Holding L2 allows you to use each character’s four unique Force powers; this also depletes a meter, and you’ll need to grab power-ups to replenish it, and these powers allow you to perform short, defensive, long-range, and special attacks by holding L2 and pressing Triangle, Circle, X, or Square. To start with, Obi-Wan has a saber dash and tosses a thermal detonator, Qui-Gon unleashes a shockwave to send enemies flying and tosses a pulse grenade, Mace Windu protects himself with a saber shield and also tosses a thermal detonator, Adi Gallia can mesmerise foes and protect herself with an energy shield, and Plo Koon has a saber cyclone attack and stim pack. As you defeat enemies, you’ll gain “Jedi Points”; defeating enemies with style, different combos, or with a variety of attacks rewards more Jedi Points while attacking protocol droids or local Naboo wildlife costs you points. These points are tallied up at the end of each level and can be traded in to extend your health or Force meter and also award new combo attacks and Force abilities, though the game doesn’t list these anywhere, so you’ll just have to remember or make a note of them. Finally, you can also find some helpful power-ups dotted around; beyond the usual health and Force-restoring items, you can grab an extra Credit, hit checkpoints for when you inevitably die, add a special item (like the thermal detonator) to your inventory, extend or power-up your lightsaber, and either refill all your meters or halve them for an added challenge. There are two difficulty modes to pick from, “Easy” and “Jedi” mode; I tried “Easy” and the game still presents quite a challenge. While regular battle droids go down pretty easily, their coloured variants are surprisingly tough and they can send you flying with melee attacks up close or absolutely wreck you with laser bolts from afar if you’re not careful!
Hazards, tough enemies, and annoying platforming sections drag down this ugly-looking title.
The presentation on offer here is pretty good by 2000 PlayStation standards; we get the traditional Star Wars opening and story scroll, pixelated screenshots from the movie, and a full score that is ripped right from John Williams’ orchestral suite. After being treated to a CG opening sequence that strangely places the five main characters in a black void, you’ll behold some of the ugliest polygonal representations of these characters ever created; I don’t begrudge Jedi Power Battles too much for this as this is genuinely what a lot of games looked like back then and, to be fair, the character models don’t look too bad once you’re playing the game and the camera isn’t zoomed in on their blocky faces. They don’t have any idle animations, but their combat moves are pretty swift and satisfying; it’s a shame, then, that the controls are so awkward. Despite allowing analogue control, the game feels very clunky; if you’re not locked on to a target, you’ll swing wildly (and slowly) at thin air and, when you are locked on, you’re trapped in one-on-one combat with the target and vulnerable to other enemies. Where the game really falls apart, though, is in the platforming; in the first stage (a pretty decent recreation of the Trade Federation’s battleship), you’ll need to jump across gaps in bridges, avoid electrified floors and hazards, and hop across pistons. In the second stage, the jungles of Naboo, you need to jump up giant mushroom-like platforms and across large branches and treetops, which is especially difficult to do because of the immovable camera. It can be very difficult to judge where you are and how far away things are from you; while characters do grab ledges to give you some leeway, it’s all too easy to just slip off to your death, be shot out of the air, or miss-time a jump and have to start all over. Gameplay is mixed up a little in the second stage, where you must run away from the Trade Federation’s droid carriers amidst a stampede of dinosaur-like creatures towards the camera in a shameless rip-off of Crash Bandicoot (Naughty Dog, 1996). The game’s environments, while detailed and very true to the movie, are very ugly at times; again, this is just how games were back then but it’s a bit of sensory overload at times as textures warp around you and the game world struggles to stay in one piece.
My Progression: As I mentioned, I’ve played Jedi Power Battles before in my youth; it was a long time ago but I knew I wanted the game in my PlayStation library once I started seriously collecting for the console, so I was excited to get into it and sure that I’d be able to finish the game one way or another. I picked Qui-Gon Jinn on “Easy” mode and got to work and, to start with, things weren’t too bad; when you’re running through corridors slicing up droids, the game is quite fun. But then you see the gaps, experience the awful jumping mechanics, and see how the game’s graphics are used against you; there’s one point where it looks like you need to jump between these electrical currents, but you actually need to jump along the side of the screen and will die if you drop down, which isn’t clear at all. Later, your path is blocked by some Droidekas, but they’re actually not that difficult to defeat, and you need to battle through some control rooms full of destructible elements to get to the hanger. After avoiding dropping to my death, I battled two bosses; the first was a large droid with two long, spiked arms and a platform for a head and the second was a droid ship that flew around firing lasers at me on a small gantry as droids distracted me. The first was definitely a challenge; the droid is quite large, and it can be hard to outrun or jump over its charge and spindly arms, but the hardest part of the second boss was dispatching the battle droids before they could ruin my chance to parry the bolts back at the ship.
Sadly, the game proved too frustrating for me to experience its later levels and battles.
Things fell apart in the second level, though; after being trampled to death in the opening stampede, I managed to get to safety and was charged with “protecting” Jar Jar Binks, who you’ll spot flailing about in the backgrounds. Before you can do that, though, you have to wade through a small army of battle droids (or, as I did later, simply race past them as it’s faster!) and take to higher ground. This was extremely frustrating as it was really hard to jump to the mushroom platforms; if you fall from too high up even in this section, you’ll die, to say nothing of being pummelled, blasted, or falling as you traverse the higher path. This sets you back quite a bit but there is an extra life you can snag before the mushroom tree, effectively giving you infinite continues; once you pass it, you enter a cave and must battle a giant worm creature. This thing appears to only be vulnerable on its underside, but it spits out these homing projectiles that can stun lock you, slams into the ground, and spins around with a tail attack. Deal enough damage and it retreats to the side and spits out small termite-like creatures, but this was where I had to call it a day as the worm just decimated my health bar in seconds and I didn’t want to have to play through the frustrating jungle section to try it again. It’s a bit of a shame as well because I know that later levels of the game represent other aspects of the movie, such as infiltrating the Naboo capital, utilising vehicles, and battling Darth Maul. There are also additional characters you can unlock after completing the game, such as the aforementioned Darth Maul and even Queen Padmé Amidala (who plays differently since she doesn’t have any Jedi abilities). Unfortunately, there are no passwords or cheat codes to help with progression in this game, doubling frustration and disappointment; once all your Credits are exhausted, you have to replay the last stage from the beginning, which is very tedious with the stunted camera and janky controls, all of which meant that I was barely able to limp through the first mission let alone even consider trying to conquer the Naboo jungles again!
I waited for years to play Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles again; I had fond memories of it from my youth and was really excited to get into it, but it seems that my memories were tainted by time. Although the game has a bombastic score and aspects of the lightsaber combat are exciting, it looks atrocious, even by PlayStation’s standards, and the controls are sluggish and awkward. This probably wouldn’t have been so bad if it had been a mindless hack-and-slash with simple push/pull puzzles and a bit of jumping, but placing such a great emphasis on platforming when your depth perception and game engine are already frustrating is just asking for trouble. The game offers quite the challenge, even on “Easy” mode and even more so in two-player; just targeting and attacking an enemy without being blasted by another or slipping to your death is hard enough, to say nothing of the needless limitation on continues and messed up controls. It’s a shame as I was really looking forward to slicing my way through a fun melee title, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back to Jedi Power Battles any time soon. But perhaps you’ve beaten it without any issues. Perhaps I’m missing something, like playing as a different character or not sucking so hard? Maybe you know of a better Episode I-branded videogame? Whatever the case, there’s a comments section below and my social media is always open to hear your thoughts, good or bad, so feel free to share them and go check out my other Star Wars content!
In 1995, Marvel Comics created “National Superhero Day” and, in the process, provided comics and superhero fans the world over with a great excuse to celebrate their favourite characters and publications.
Released: 15 September 2009 Developer: Vicarious Visions Also Available For: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable (PSP), Xbox One
The Background: Few videogame publishers are as closely associated with Marvel Comics than Activision, who have been spearheading adaptations of some of Marvel’s most popular characters since 2000. Of course, these weren’t all smash hits but some of their titles are counted as being among the best outings for the likes of Peter Parker/Spider-Man and the X-Men. In 2004, Activision teamed with Raven Software and achieved big success with X-Men Legends, a team-based brawler that mixed role-playing elements and co-op gameplay, and its sequel, so the two expanded to incorporate the larger Marvel universe with Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Raven Software, 2006), a sadly delisted title that was met with generally favourable reviews. For the sequel, Activision turned to Vicarious Visions, who developed the game engine for the first game, and tweaked the gameplay to focus on team-based “Fusion” attacks to encourage players to experiment with different character combinations. Rather than tell an original story like the first game, or deliver on the many optional endings for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the sequel drew inspiration from the controversial “Civil War” story arc (Millar, et al, 2006 to 2007) that saw Marvel’s heroes divided over a governmental registration act, though the game was met with positive reviews. The action-packed gameplay and branching storyline were particularly praised, though some decried the stripped down roleplaying mechanics; the game was also delisted in 2020 and it would take just under ten years for another developer to produce a third entry.
The Plot: After a series of devastating attacks on the United States, the American government passes the Superhero Registration Act (SRA), forcing all super-powered individuals to act under official regulation, to reduce the chaos that results from their battles. The superhero community is left divided; Tony Stark/Iron Man and his followers champion the Act while Steve Rogers/Captain America and his oppose it, but the two warring factions soon find themselves battling a new enemy that threatens global peace.
Gameplay: Like its predecessor, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is a team-based brawler with limited roleplaying mechanics, exploration options, and puzzle elements. Players can (eventually) assemble a team of four from a roster of around twenty-five characters, many of which return from the last game alongside some newcomers, though your options are limited by story-mandated restrictions and the decision you make partway through to side with the Pro-Registration side or the Anti-Registration side. Regardless of which character you pick, your basic combat and control mechanics remain the same: tapping A executes a light attack while B throws a heavy attack; you can hold B to charge up a stronger strike and mix these together to form basic combos, such as a pop-up attack to break an opponent’s guard. X lets you activate doors and consoles, grab anything from crates to cars to toss at enemies, pull shields off foes and even grab enemies to pummel or throw them to their doom. Y lets you jump; press an attack button in mid-air and you’ll crash to the ground with a slam and press Y again for a double jump or to web-sling, fly, or dart along on a glider or ice bridge depending on who you’re playing as. The Left Bumper allows you to block incoming attacks or dodge out of the way by wiggling the left stick at the same time; there are also times when you’ll need to hit LB to deflect incoming projectiles. The Right Bumper allows you to heal yourself or your allies or revive a fallen comrade as long as you have a Heal Token in stock; these are found scattered across each location, usually spawning in during boss encounters or after defeating enemies, and you can hold up to two at a time.
Characters boast new superpowers and can combine abilities in devastating Fusion attacks.
Although up to four players can play Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 simultaneously; you can also play alone with some competent A.I. companions and freely switch to another character using the directional pad when playing solo. You can press in the right stick for a handy arrow to point you to your next objective or bring up the game map from the pause menu. Each character as a life and stamina bar; the former is filled when you collect red Health Orbs or level-up and the latter fills automatically, and each character also comes equipped with their own Super Powers, which you activate by holding the Right Trigger and pressing A, B, X, or Y. Many of these are shared across characters, but with a unique flare to each; Spider-Man can web enemies towards him, for example, while Matt Murdock/Daredevil homes in with his grapple cane, but both can lash at foes with their whip-like weapons. Most characters tend to have a ranged attack (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch’s flaming projectiles, Iron Man’s Repulsor blasts, Ororo Munroe/Storm’s lightning strikes, etc) and a clearing attack (Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk’s ground pound, Doctor Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic’s tornado spin, and Remy LeBeau/Gambit’s kinetically-charged card barrage, etc), but some also have abilities that buff either their attacks or their team (Doctor Jean Grey/Phoenix can automatically revive characters or add fire damage to her attacks, Danny Rand/Iron Fist’s “Healing Hand” technique heals him, and Captain America can temporarily reduce the damage he takes, for example). Not only can these be improved by earning experience points (XP) and levelling-up and spending “Ability Points” (AP) in the character menu, but you can now combine powers for powerful “Fusion” abilities. As you dish out damage, you’ll build up the Fusion Meter and you can store up to two Fusion Stars at once and combine powers by holding the Left Trigger and pressing either A, B, X, or Y to team up with one of your allies. This produces various effects depending on the combination but, again, many of them are very similar and only made unique by the way the characters team up. For example, you can perform the iconic “Fastball Special” by combining James “Logan” Howlett/Wolverine, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Mr. Fantastic with bruisers like the Hulk, Ben Grimm/The Thing, or Mac Gargan/Venom. Venom, Hulk, and the Thing can also do a dual stomping attack and you’ll be able to suck enemies in with tornados from the likes of Storm and Thor Odinson while adding elemental attacks to these twisters with the Human Torch and Phoenix.
Puzzles and objectives are simpler than ever and dialogue trees give the illusion of dramatic discord.
No matter the combination of characters, you’ll be prompted to tap A to increase the radius, target specific enemies, or hit successive foes to score extra points and unlock additional abilities and buffs for your characters. Tapping or holding X is also the most common way you’ll be solving the game’s puzzles; generally, you’re tasked with clearing out all nearby enemies and then activating a console or door with X, but sometimes you’ll need to push or pull amplifiers and giant batteries to power up (or down) generators or pass through barriers, rip off control panels, or destroy projectors. Other objectives include destroying anti-aircraft guns, defeating certain enemies, activating consoles in the correct order, and moving stone columns around to unlock doorways and paths, and some missions also contain optional objectives (such as destroying weapon stockpiles or teleporter pads) that net you additional rewards. Additionally, while you’re often told over your comms that you need to act quickly, only certain objectives actually carry a time limit (you’re given less than six minutes to defeat certain bosses, dispose of bombs, or escape collapsing facilities, for example) and you’re often given options to pick from in dialogue trees that will earn you buffs for being “aggressive”, “diplomatic”, or “defensive”. However, as near as I can tell, this doesn’t really alter the story or your character relationships like picking between Pro- and Anti-Reg, which will restrict the characters available to you and alter both the bosses and mission objectives you’re given (protecting or destroying a Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate (S.H.I.E.L.D.) convoy, for example, or raiding or defending a S.H.I.E.L.D. base). Other missions will see you joined by an additional fifth character (technically not a non-playable character as many, like Captain America and Nick Fury, are playable) who will provide support; however, you can’t select them during gameplay, and you’ll still be met with failure if all four of your team are knocked out.
Graphics and Sound: There’s been a decent graphical upgrade between Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and its sequel, namely in the sense that the game is far less dark than before and environments are a little more varied, though the same issues with things becoming repetitive and visually dull persist despite how many additional destructible elements have been added. The game starts in Latveria and sees you infiltrating both the castle town, with its many statues of dictator Doctor Victor Von Doom, and Dr. Doom’s main castle, a location that featured in the last game and is now far more linear and less confusing. This is true of all of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2’s locations; it’s very rare that’ll you’ll need to explore off the beaten track, mazes and repeating areas are pretty much non-existent, and everything is much more straightforward this time around, which is great in the sense that levels tended to drag on a bit and be frustrating in the first game but disappointing as you don’t have much to do in, say, Wakanda, except follow a straight path taking out enemies and gun placements and simply walking past the waterfalls, jungles, and tribal trappings in the background. Additionally, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is way less fantastical; there are no trips to Atlantis, Asgard, or Hell here and, instead, you have to make do with such inspiring locations as…downtown, the rooftops of Hell’s Kitchen, train tracks, and high-tech facilities. Some, like Phineas Mason/The Tinkerer’s lab, T’Challa/The Black Panther’s throne room, and the Negative Zone prison are actually visually very interesting but, for the most part, this is a far more grounded affair, and the game loses a lot of its madcap appeal as a result since the focus is on the more grounded struggles of the Civil War.
While the characters and cutscenes look good, the game is noticeably less visually interesting than its predecessor.
This disappointment is also felt in the game’s soundtrack, which once again opts for very generic, military-esque tunes and rock-inspired beats that serve only to make the mindless gameplay all the more tedious. The voice acting and cutscenes are a lot better this time around; there’s still an obvious graphical difference between pre-rendered cutscenes and in-game graphics, but there’s more focus on character interactions and debating the merits of the SRA. Characters will continue to offer commentary during gameplay, with Wade W. Wilson/Deadpool regularly breaking the fourth wall and characters alerting you when they’re on low health, plus you sometimes get bonuses and additional dialogue if you have certain characters speak to each other. Character models seem better this time around, though; the animations used to bring their powers to life feel more unique and tailored to each hero, though it is disappointing (though, at the same time, understandable) that the same Fusion animations are recycled for certain team-ups. Once again, you’ll be operating out of various hub worlds, like Stark Tower and the White Star base, where you can chat to other characters and find collectibles, and performing certain deeds during gameplay will net you extra costumes (though, sadly, each character only has one this time around). Unfortunately, though, you won’t be treated to as many bizarre and wacky Easter Eggs or endings as before; you only really get one game-changing choice to make here, meaning there are only two endings to see, which is a shame as I really enjoyed all the different consequences of your actions in the first game and how it led to more replay value, whereas here you’re limited to picking Pro- or Anti-Reg.
Enemies and Bosses: A slew of disposable goons will be set against you throughout Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, from Dr. Doom’s soldiers and robots to S.H.I.E.L.D. forces and the nanite-controlled minions of “The Fold”, a rogue A.I. that springs up in the game’s final act to reunite the warring superheroes. Regardless of who you’re fighting, you’ll come across the same recycled enemy tropes again and again: gun-toting soldiers, grunts with shields, ones who block your attack or inflict elemental statuses on you (such as burning, electrocution, and poisoning), and larger mechs. Helicopters will need to be taken out by tossing their grenades back at them, enemies will fire missiles and rockets at you; some have swords, some need to be stunned with your charged attack, some are shielded, and some toss explosive barrels your way. You’ll also have to watch for flame-spitting turrets, laser guns imbedded in walls, loose wires, and flaming hazards that’ll need a dose of coolant (or Bobby Drake/Iceman’s ice powers) to get past. It all gets very repetitive very quickly; the basic enemies aren’t much of a threat to you with your various powers and abilities but can quickly whittle your health down as they start mixing and matched and increasing in number, with more enemies onscreen than the last game and many of them being called in to boost or interrupt the many mini and main boss battles that you’ll have to contend with throughout the story. Like the last game, a who’s-who of Marvel’s most obscure and memorable villains are encountered throughout the game’s three acts, many of which crop up again, often in tandem with other villains.
The Tinkerer, Lucia von Bardas, and the damn Titanium Man represent a dramatic difficulty spike.
The first supervillain you’ll face is Max Dillon/Electro, who teleports around a church in a burst of electricity, performs an electrical blast attack, and can recharge his powers at the capacitors dotted throughout the area. After that, you’ll come up against Bentley Wittman/The Wizard and Steven Hudak/The Scorcher, with the former capable of erecting a shield and the latter roasting you with flame blasts, but your first real boss battle is against the Tinkerer. The Tinkerer stomps about in a large, spider-like tank mech that fires homing missiles, stamps the ground and sets it aflame, and sweeps that area with a laser blast. He’s also supported by an endless swarm of robotic minions, but you can use these to build up your Fusion Meter to target the Tinkerer’s legs and turn his mech into scrap metal. The Shocker/Herman Schultz’s stunning pulses must then be endured to rescue Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel, then you’ll have your first of many encounters with the scythe-handed Eric Williams/Grim Reaper, one of the most recurring mini bosses who’s actually pretty tough thanks to his fast speed and quick, targeted slashes. Electro, the Scorcher, the Shocker, and the Wizard all reappear during the chaotic battle against cyborg Lucia von Bardas, which takes place on the deck of a ship. You’ll need to avoid her blasts and destroy the four cannons in each corner of the deck, which is easier said than done as Lucia defends three of them with flaming jets and you’ll have to contend with her supervillain bodyguards. Lucia also rains bombs from the sky, protects herself (and her minions) with energy shields, regularly hovers out of reach, and compounds the entire fight with a time limit. In the last part of the game’s first act, which takes part in Washington, D.C., you’ll have to do battle with Deadpool (who teleports about and riddles you with uzi bullets) and hit a bit of a brick wall when you go up against the mysterious Titanium Man. At first this isn’t so hard (he sends you flying, slows you with a pulse, and showers you with a laser spread) but things get much tougher in the second phase, where he turns invisible, is bolstered by minions and floating cannons, sends out loads of annoying vortexes, and there are no checkpoints during this battle, making it all the more frustrating.
While Bishop and Deathstrike can be aggravating, the Yellowjacket boss fight was actually pretty fun.
After this, you’ll be forced to pick a side and this alters the characters you pick and fight against; I went with Anti-Registration (because, frankly, the was the right choice all along) so I’ll primarily talk about those bosses. First up is a scuffle with Natalia Romanova/The Black Widow, who keeps you at bay with her pistols, cartwheel kicks, and grenades, and your first battle with Colonel James Rhodes/War Machine, who’s basically a mirror of Iron Man and attacks with a rocket-powered punch and missiles, though both are pretty easy fights here, especially compared to the one against Lucas Bishop. Your energy attacks will actually heal the grenade-toting Bishop, so try to focus on physical attacks, but you’ll deal the greatest damage against him if you attack and destroy the terminals he plugs himself into. This actually gets pretty tricky as you have to hit three power terminals to cause feedback, then hit four nodes on other terminals to stop him regaining health, and finally hit all six nodes when he draws energy from the middle of the terminals, all while avoiding his rushes and shockwave attacks. In comparison, Melissa Gold/Songbird is a bit of a joke since all you have to worry about are her pink sonic waves, but the difficulty ramps up again when you butt heads with Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike, who attacks with her Adamantium claws like a whirling dervish. Though the Thing saves your ass, you’ll have to contend with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s soldiers and robots in the second phase; Deathstrike will repair these mechs, so it pays to quickly take them out, but that’s not easy thanks to her speed and aggression. Thankfully, this is followed by a fun and visually interesting fight against Doctor Henry “Hank” Pym/Yellowjacket, who pounds and slaps at you in his gigantic form; you need to attack his massive fists to build up your Fusion Meter and stun him, only then can you unleash a Fusion attack to deal big damage to him, though you’ll have to watch for his double-fist slam and the minions who swarm the rooftops. When in the unstable chemical plant, you’ll have a quick run-ins with Bullseye (who I had no issues with despite his triple-shot projectile), Simon Williams/Wonder Man (who’s also not too hard despite teleporting about the place and sporting powerful melee attacks), and even an unexpected alliance between Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk and Mark Raxton/Molten Man that sees you avoiding the former’s jumping slams and the latter’s flame bursts.
You’ll face different bosses depending on which side you choose, which also impacts the game’s difficulty.
You’ll also contend with a more formidable version of War Machine and have a brief fight with Iron Man (who’s basically the same as War Machine but with fancier laser attacks) before he tags in Mr. Fantastic (who’s actually a bit of a pain thanks to his stretchy limbs bursting up from the floor and his tornado spin). Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic prove quite the double team when you battle them together; even with Captain America on hand to help and with victory coming by defeating Iron Man alone, this can be a tough fight as Mr. Fantastic sometimes glitches and perpetually spins in place and Iron Man flies around the arena sending energy projectiles your way. Finally, you’ll need to help Nick Fury dispose of some bombs while fending off a joint attack from Doctor Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin and Venom; the former flies around dropping grenades or tosses pumpkin bombs in your face while the latter attacks with their tendrils and even webs up the bomb disposal vent and commandeers the Goblin’s glider! On the Pro-Reg side, you’ll have to quell Eli Bradley/Patriot after your betrayal, fend off Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman rather than Black Widow and Hercules instead of Wonder Man, as well as tangle with Nathanial Summers/Cable, who proves highly resistant to damage, constantly teleports about the place, and forces you to rely on your standard attacks and super powers since there are no minions to help build up your Fusion Meter. Ritchie Gilmore/Prodigy, Angelica Jones/Firestar, Tandy Bowen/Dagger, Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, and Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man also crop up, with the latter being quite the obstacle if you don’t have the right teammates, while Tom Foster/Goliath takes Yellowjacket’s place. Instead of fighting War Machine, Mr. Fantastic, and Iron Man, you’ll take on Iron Fist, Luke Cage/Power Man, and Captain America, with this latter fight complicated by plumes of fire and the Cage and Cap being able to pull off Fusion attacks!
After battling numerous foes, you’ll need all your powers to defeat the nanite-infused Nick Fury.
Before you enter the Negative Zone prison, Commander Maria Hill hands over a key card without issue and Robbie Baldwin/Penance is subdued and recruited after a brief fight. Terrance Sorenson/Equinox proved much tougher thanks to the nearby turrets and his health-draining elemental attacks, and you’ll battle the nanite-infected Grim Reaper, Bullseye, and Molten Man to rescue Luke Cage and Firestar. To escape the prison with the nanite samples, you’ll take on the combined might of David Cannon/Whirlwind, Karla Sofen/Moonstone, and Rachel Leighton/Diamondback; though Captain America and Iron Man help out, this can be a frustrating fight as Whirlwind is constantly spinning about and minions are always spawning in but focusing on one mini boss can help mitigate the danger. While in Wakanda, you’ll fight off Alexander Summers/Havok (whose concussive powers are bolstered by nearby vibrational pillars), the combined threat of Hulk-clone Rick Jones/A-Bomb and Vance Astrovik/Justice (who shields his nanite ally), and once again deal with the duo of Green Goblin and Venom, this time in the Black Panther’s throne room and with a wider, more versatile space for them to avoid your attacks (though having a flame-orientated character or buffs will help against Venom). Wonder Man and Spider-Woman guard the entrance to the Fold’s Iceland base, with both proving tougher than before, while She-Hulk, Firestar, Colossus, and Whirlwind await inside guarding amplifiers. You’ll also battle the Tinkerer again here; this time, he’s almost constantly shielded by the Fold’s enhanced elites, who you’ll need to destroy in order to deal damage to the mad inventor, though the sheer influx of enemies can make this a gruelling prospect. Finally, after battling on a rising elevator and reaching the top of the Fold’s amplifier tower, you’ll fight the nanite-infected Nick Fury. Using a coloured holographic projection, Fury emulates the powers of other characters and bosses to constantly keep you on your toes; he strikes with lightning, sends out energy pulses, rapidly moves and teleports all over the place, creates duplicates, absorbs and projects energy, blasts out a stream of light, and causes the ground to erupt in flames. Although a frustrating and long-winded bout, this was actually easier than some other bosses; switch characters to whoever’s closest, unleash your rapidly-filling Fusion Meter, and remember to deflect his projectiles when prompted and you should emerge victorious without having to expend a single revive, which is more than I can say for the damn Titanium Man!
Power-Ups and Bonuses: As mentioned, combat yields XP that levels you and your team up; all characters level-up regardless of whether you use them or not, but levelling-up alone isn’t enough to power-up your team. You need to spend AP boosting their four superpowers and all four will only be unlocked by levelling-up; thankfully, AP is easily earned by beating enemies, rapidly tapping A during Fusion attacks, and smashing crates and other onscreen destructibles. Each character also has “Passive” abilities that can be upgraded in the character menu; many of these are locked to a specific side, so you’ll never have full access to all abilities in a single playthrough, and they provide buffs such as raising your chances of landing a critical hit, allowing more frequent use of your powers, regenerating health, reducing damage, and increasing the stamina you gain. Defeating mini bosses and bosses also rewards you with medals that provide additional “Boosts”; you can manually or automatically equip up to three of these at a time to increase your health, teamwork, resistance to or ability to inflict elemental attacks, and other similar bonuses. It also pays to utilise your comic book knowledge; if you make a team comprised entirely of X-Men or the Fantastic Four, for example, you’ll get an additional boost to aid you. Finally, extra rewards are on offer for performing three “Heroic Deeds” per character; these range from defeating fifty enemies, performing specific Fusion attacks, or using certain superpowers and will unlock a new costume or ability for each character, as well as being a fun aside.
Additional Features: There are fifty Achievements to snag in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, with sixteen being tied to the story mode alone, though you’ll need to do two playthroughs and experience both the Pro- and Anti-Reg missions to earn them all. You’ll also earn Achievements for completing missions in co-op mode, clearing the game on “Legendary” difficulty, performing ten Fusions with a friend, earning high scores from Fusions, unlocking costumes, collecting boosts, and finding the various dossiers and audio logs scattered throughout the game. You’ll unlock additional characters not just through the story mode, but also by collecting Asgardian Ruins, pieces of the M’kraan Crystal, and Gamma Regulators; some characters’ alternate costumes also act as skins, such as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross/Red Hulk and Eddie Brock/Venom. You’ll also find simulator discs scattered about that once again let you take on special simulator missions from the game’s hub worlds, can put your Marvel knowledge to the test in various trivia games for more XP, and will be given the option of starting a new game, with all your unlocks and stats, but at the cost of your existing save file. There is no option to replay previous missions as far as I can tell so you’ll need to start over if you missed anything. I’d also advise making use of the manual save function as often as possible, especially before you pick a side so you don’t have to start right from the beginning to see the other side of the story. If you were lucky enough to own this game before it got delisted, you can also expand the roster with some downloadable characters, like Cletus Kasady/Carnage and Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, though this feature is obviously unavailable these days; additionally, other versions of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 include console-specific characters, like Eric Brooks/Blade.
The Summary: I was always hesitant about getting into Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, simply because of my hatred for the diabolical Civil War storyline. Even with that bias to one side, I wasn’t impressed that the sequel stripped back the story and scope of the franchise so much; the first game arguably tried to do a bit too much and touch base with a bunch of different locations and characters in the Marvel universe, but at least it embraced the bonkers spirit of the source material and wasn’t as blinkered as the sequel. I really missed the unpredictability at the first game; here, the only replay value is in picking a different side, especially as all characters are available to you in the finale, so all you’re really left with is the new-fangled Fusion mechanic. Sadly, this isn’t as good as the game makes it out to be; once you’ve seen a handful of them, you’ve basically seen them all and they weren’t as impressive as I had hoped. I also wasn’t a big fan of some of the character choices and the lack of extra skins, though overall I think I preferred the gameplay and combat; it’s still mindless and tedious and gets old really quickly, but at least the different superpowers felt a little more dynamic this time. While I have no complaints about the game’s linearity since it made it faster to play, it is a shame that exploration has been cut way back this time around and that many of the level-up and customisation mechanics have been stripped down. Once again, the game’s biggest issue is cramming so much into it; it’s great for a Marvel fan but it does impact the enjoyment and memorability of the mini bosses since a lot of them are just the same thing over and over with the same tactics used to overcome them. Overall, I feel Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is no better or worse than the first game: I miss the different gameplay mechanics and visual variety of the first game, but the sequel feels a bit more refined and focused; I don’t like how grounded and restricted it is, but the graphics and ability options are a step up. I think the best thing to do (if you can afford it) is have both and play them back to back for a complete experience but if I honestly had to pick which one was better, I’d go with the first one since I’m much more inclined to play it and see what wacky endings I can earn rather than seeing the SRA repealed or lessened by the end of this game.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Have you ever played Marvel: Ultimate Alliance2? If so, how do you think it compares to the first game? Which side did you pick and who made it into your team? What did you think to the new Fusion mechanic and the changes to the roster? Were you disappointed that the boss battles were still mostly tedious exercises and that the scope was scaled so far back? Did you ever complete all the Heroic Deeds and simulator missions? How are you celebrating National Superhero Day today? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other superhero and comic book content across the site!
Audiences were first introduced to the horrific, biomechanical Xenomorphs in the classic science-fiction horror film Alien (Scott, 1979), in which an unsuspecting cargo crew investigates a beacon on the barren world of LV-426. Thus, the 26th of April is widely celebrated as “Alien Day”, a day to celebrate one of the greatest sci-fi/horror franchises ever created.
The Assembly Cut
Released: 2 December 2003 Originally Released: 22 May 1992 Director: David Fincher Distributor: 20th Century Fox Budget: $50 to 60 million Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Woodruff Jr., Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Ralph Brown, Danny Webb, and Lance Henriksen
The Plot: After facing her fears and escaping a planet full of hostile aliens, Lieutenant Ellen Ripley (Weaver) finds herself marooned on Fiorina “Fury” 161, a prison colony inhabited solely by violent male inmates who have found God. Ripley’s heartbreak at the loss of her adopted family soon turns to a desperate battle of survival when a bipedal Xenomorph (Woodruff Jr.) forces Ripley into a final confrontation.
The Background: In 1979, Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett’s “Jaws (Spielberg, 1975) in space” concept was given life by director Ridley Scott as Alien, an unexpected commercial success that is now widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time. Although the film was a financial success, it took seven years for a sequel to emerge; helmed by James Cameron, Aliens (ibid, 1986) weathered a troubledshoot to become an even greater critical and commercial success and perhaps the most influential entry in the franchise. Naturally, the studio was eager to capitalise with a third film but the franchise producers were so eager to avoid being repetitive that Alien³ became one of the most troubled productions in cinema history. They were so eager that the studio released a misleading teaser that implied Alien³ would be set on Earth, despite being unable to settle on a script. Ideas involved another action-orientated adventure and a planet made entirely of wood and home to a group of monks. Star Sigourney Weaver also had her own ideas about the direction and execution of the film, which was eventually helmed by up-and-coming director David Fincher, who came onboard without a script and had his vision continuously undermined by the studio. Since Stan Winston wasn’t available, the film’s visual effects were handled by Tom Woodruff Jr.’s Amalgamated Dynamics; per Fincher’s instructions, the Xenomorph was redesigned into a bipedal creature brought to life using a traditional suit and a rod puppet that was optically composited into the film. Considering how chaotic production was, it’s amazing that Alien³ performed as well as it did; it made just shy of $170 million at the box office but was met with mixedreviews. Many franchise names, and even the director, disowned the film, though this Assembly Cut has been regarded more favourably and it has since gained a cult following. Despite her best attempts, Alien³ wouldn’t be the end for Weaver or the franchise as sequels and spin-offs inevitably followed and Alien³ was also accompanied by a fewvideogame tie-ins and later dramatically re-envisioned in a comic book series that explored the unproduced screenplay ideas.
The Review: It was certainly a tough task to follow-up the claustrophobic, atmospheric horror of Alien; switching things up into an action-oriented approach was a fantastic idea, and Aliens was still able to retain the same gritty, gory horror while delivering a surprisingly cathartic experience for the unlucky Ripley. As if waking up to find that she’s missed out on fifty-seven years of her life wasn’t bad enough, Ripley also awoke to find that her daughter had died in the interim and the desolate planet LV-426 had been terraformed into the perfect breeding ground for the nightmarish Xenomorphs. It’s often difficult for me to pick a favourite between Alien and Aliens, though I tend to favour the latter as I find I can just put Aliens on anytime and be easily satisfied whereas I think Alien demands a little more of your attention. I can certainly understand the divisive nature of Alien³; in many ways, the franchise could’ve comfortably ended at Aliens for some time, or spun off to include a different set of characters, and I remember not really being the biggest fan of the third entry when I was a kid. It was slow, dull, a bit boring, and difficult to look at and lacked the punch of the second film, but I’ll admit that my opinion of Alien³ has changed as I’ve gotten older, to the point where I now consider it to be an under-rated entry in the franchise.
Having lost everything, Ripley faces a prison full of violent men and another Alien menace!
Alien³ opens shortly after the end of Aliens, with Ripley and her adopted family safe and sound in cryosleep. Well…not quite “safe” as it turns out that, somehow, a Facehugger or two slipped aboard the Sulaco (presumably the Xenomorph Queen found the time to lay a couple of eggs before being blown out of that airlock…) and…also somehow…their acidic blood caused an electrical fire. To safeguard the sleeping crew, the ship’s computer ejected them, but the escape pod doesn’t exactly have the smoothest ride and crash lands so badly that all but Ripley are killed on impact. In keeping with her never-ending nightmare, Ripley thus awakens to find herself alone once again; her substitute daughter, Rebecca “Newt” Jorden (Danielle Edmond) drowns in her cryotube, Corporal Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn) is torn apart on impact, and the already heavily damaged android Bishop (Henriksen) is left little more than scrap metal. Shaken, injured, and sick from the sudden awakening, Ripley is absolutely devastated by these losses, but also deeply concerned when she spots an unmistakable acid burn in the escape pod. To the annoyance of the prison warden, Superintendent Harold Andrews (Brian Glover), and the curiosity of resident disgraced former surgeon Jonathan Clemens (Dance), Ripley insists on performing an autopsy to determine the cause of Newt’s death and tossing the bodies into the furnace to ensure her fears of Xenomorph infection are allayed. From there, Ripley’s left to pick up the pieces of her fractured life; she shaves her head to avoid lice and finds herself as the only woman in a facility inhabited entirely by unstable, God-fearing inmates. Thankfully, her battles against the Xenomorph have hardened Ripley to the point where she wanders the prison without fear and is more than capable of holding her own; having lost everything she loves, there’s also a sense that Ripley has all-but given up on caring for her own safety, but when her fears are realised and a new Xenomorph stalks the dark, dank corridors, she immediately reassumes her role as the driving force behind ending its threat.
The prison staff are next to useless, meaning Ripley must rely on volatile inmates for aid.
Once she learns of the Xenomorph’s presence, Ripley is frustrated to find little to no help from the facility’s staff; Andrews, already aggravated by her presence, angrily dismisses her claims of an alien’s existence and his right-hand man, the intellectually stunted Francis Aaron (Brown), lacks the authority, confidence, and intelligence to properly handle the threat once Andrews is killed in spectacular fashion. As the inmates are far outside normal jurisdiction and left to their own devices, without the distractions and temptation of a woman, Ripley naturally turns a few heads; Leonard Dillon (Dutton), the deeply religious figurehead of the inmates, is offended by the upset Ripley threatens within their carefully-maintained ecosystem, and yet doesn’t hesitate to defend her when some of his “brothers” attempt to attack and rape her despite him openly admitting to be a “murderer and rapist of women”. Left there to rot, the inmates turned to religion and have been anxiously awaiting salvation and judgement from their God; they take their religion very seriously, though Andrews maintains that they are still dangerous despite the fragile peace that exists there. Clemens is an exception among the inmates; formally a surgeon, he was incarcerated after becoming addicted to morphine and causing the deaths of several patients. When the others decided to stay, he also remained, believing he still had a penance to pay and having grown attached to the facility and its reprobates. He’s ordered by Andrews to keep an eye on Ripley and is constantly frustrated at her stubborn refusal to divulge the truth about the Xenomorph; while she may not trust him with her history, Ripley trusts his medical expertise and grows close enough to him to forego any messing about and share a bed with him, though he unfortunately falls victim to the Xenomorph the next morning and before he can learn the truth about her.
With her surrogate family dead, Ripley’s new allies are interchangeable, dangerous inmates.
Although we never learn the exact nature of many of their crimes, Fury 161 is said to be home to some truly reprehensible inmates. Unfortunately, due to poor lighting and them all having shaved heads and wearing similar attire, it can be difficult to tell the characters apart, especially once they start frantically blundering around in the prison’s dark corridors to lure the Xenomorph into a series of traps. One inmate who stands out, particularly in this version of the film, is Walter Golic (Paul McGann), a half-crazed mass-murderer who becomes obsessed with the Alien after encountering it in the tunnels. Believing it to be a divine dragon that speaks God’s will to him, Golic is driven to murder his fellow inmates in order to release the Xenomorph after they risk their lives to trap it, only to be unsurprisingly killed by the creature for his efforts. Another prominent inmate is Robert Morse (Webb), a selfish and cynical individual best known for his explosive reaction to Andrews’ death and for suddenly becoming a main character right at the end of the film when, with Dillon having become dinner for the Alien, he’s the only one left to help Ripley dispatch of the Xenomorph. While the inmates may be largely interchangeable and forgettable, their greasy, oily, disgusting appearances, leering glances, and volatile nature create a foreboding atmosphere, especially for Ripley, who can barely trust the few tentative allies she has let alone a bunch of desperate, unpredictable criminals. Thankfully, the remains of a friendly face are about to offer Ripley some answers and solace; she manages to get Bishop back online long enough to learn of the Alien’s presence on the Sulaco and that Weyland-Yutani are well aware of the creature, though this reunion is bittersweet as she forced to literally pull the plug to put her friend out of his misery.
It’s a shame the rod puppet looks so terrible as the Alien actually holds up quite well otherwise.
As Fury 161 is so rundown and the planet’s surface is so dangerous, there’s no hope of escape and little chance of survival since the facility is full of dark, maze-like corridors, rusted ventilation systems, and lacks any weaponry for the inmates to use, meaning Ripley has to fight just to mount any kind of offense against the Alien. Unlike its predecessors, this Xenomorph is smaller and more bipedal since it’s born from a dog (or ox, in this version of the film). It scuttles across walls and ceilings, spits acid, and attacks from the shadows like a wraith, lending credibility to it as a divine beast there to judge the convicts. Since the computer and surveillance systems are shot, Ripley has no way to track the creature; her experience with the species means she can take a wild guess at where it can be found and allows her to direct the terrified and ill-equipped inmates in luring the creature into a trap using torches, but their efforts to permanently entrap or dispose of it are constantly thwarted by either their fundamental lack of resources or the foolishness of inmates like Golic. This time around, however, Ripley is functionally immune to the Xenomorph threat since it turns out she was the one who was impregnated with a Chestburster while in cryosleep; and not just any Chestburster, but a Queen Chestburster, meaning the Alien refuses to attack her and largely ignores her. Unfortunately, this is nothing less than a living nightmare for Ripley; having fought the Xenomorphs for as long as she can remember, she’s now doomed to give birth to their next matriarch and is so rocked by this revelation that she practically begs Dillon to kill her to spare her the agony of the Alien’s birth. Despite the atrocities he’s no doubt perpetrated in the past, Dillion is a survivalist by nature and spares Ripley to utilise her expertise and immunity to increase their chances against the Xenomorph, though he promises to grant her a quick painless death once the “dragon” has been destroyed.
The Nitty-Gritty: If there’s a word to describe Alien³ it’s definitely “bleak”. Three of the four characters we became invested with throughout Aliens are unceremoniously killed off right at the start, Ripley’s left bald and in constant danger, and the environment is so depressing and visually ugly that it’s easy to be put off by Alien³. It’s certainly a severe right-turn after the bombastic action/horror of the last film and the lived-in claustrophobia of the first, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I actually like that every time Ripley wakes up, she’s lost a little bit more and gotten further from home and is forced to adapt to a new situation to combat the never-ending nightmare of the Xenomorphs. This time, she’s clearly exhausted from the entire ordeal; she’s numb to conventional threats like tumultuous weather and dangerous inmates and seemingly ready to lay down and die even before she learns of the parasite she’s carrying. Although she only just adopted the role of a bad-ass warrior and mastered the art of handling the standard-issue Pulse Rifle, Ripley is frustrated by the lack of resources on Fury 161, which are barely capable of producing fire let alone offering them any kind of hope against the ravenous creature. Even worse, Ripley’s attempts to keep Weyland-Yutani from coming to the facility and finally getting their hands on a live Xenomorph are met with failure when Aaron refuses to warn them off in hopes of finally escaping the drudgery of his duties.
The Assembly Cut places added emphasis on the film’s bleak, dreary, claustrophobic atmosphere.
Fury 161’s desolate and worn-down appearance really lends a sense of desperation to the film; it’s technically not that different from the enclosed corridors and oppressive locations in the last two films, but I can understand how it might lack the same visual variety since so much of it has this rusty, industrial look that makes trying to tell one corridor from the other as difficult as figuring out the differences between the inmates. This version of Alien³ differs in a few ways from the theatrical version, mainly in the depiction of the Xenomorph’s birth, an extended sequences where the inmates manage to briefly capture it before Golic goes nuts, and a slightly revised ending, but the bulk of the content remains the same as what was shown in the cinema. For me, this is the superior version of the film as it feels meatier and hits a bit harder thanks to the extra scenes. Unfortunately, neither version of Alien³ can make up for the God-awful special effects used to bring the Alien to life; a lot of the time, it’s the traditional man in a suit but, more often than not, it’s an awful digital composite of a rod puppet shot against a blue screen. As a result, the Alien often seems to be poorly-dated CGI and sticks out like a sore thumb; its lighting is all wrong and it just looks far too cartoony to be scary and these effects really downgrade the film’s overall appeal. Thankfully, the filmmakers utilised a fisheye lens for many shots seen from the Xenomorph’s perspective so we’re spared this effect, but I find a first-person shot to be a pretty cheap compromise. It’s a shame, as there are some impressive effects on offer here; Bishop is brought to life using a highly detailed animatronic, there’s a particularly devastating explosion effect that thins out many of the inmates, and the Alien suit looks great, especially when it comes face-to-face with Sigourney Weaver, it’s just a shame that all these positives are undermined by some awful optical effects.
After killing the Alien, Ripley sacrifices herself to keep the creature out of the Company’s hands...
As sick as she was after recovering from the crash, Ripley’s condition only worsens as she pushes herself harder throughout the film; while the Xenomorph refuses to harm her, the Chestburster causes her constant pain and fatigue, and even her tentative immunity puts her at risk when the Alien is backed into a corner. With Weyland-Yutani breaching the prison with a containment team to take ownership of Ripley, the embryo inside her, and the ravenous Xenomorph, Ripley, Dillon, and Morse frantically lure the creature into the moulding facility so they can drown it in molten hot lead. Thanks to Dillon’s sacrifice, this plan actually works; the creature is drenched in lead and, after being exposed to water from the overhead sprinklers, explodes from thermal shock, finally ending its threat. Unfortunately, there’s no time for celebration as an exhausted Ripley is suddenly confronted by “Bishop II” (also Henriksen), who claims to be the designer of the Bishop android and attempts to talk Ripley into willingly surrendering to Weyland-Yutani in the hopes of safely extracting the Chestburster from her and the promise of a normal life. However, Ripley isn’t so easily swayed; convinced that the new Bishop is also an android and that the Company doesn’t have her best interests at heart, she rejects his offer and has Morse position her over the prison furnace. Although Bishop II appears to be human, Ripley isn’t convinced, even when Aaron is gunned down after finally finding his backbone, and willing submits herself to the fire. Unfortunately, this version of the film omits the Chestburster’s appearance and Ripley embracing it as she’s consumed by the flames but the emotional impact of the moment remains as poignant as ever. In her last moments Ripley chooses defiance and to meet her end on her own terms, denying the Company their goal and taking her hated enemy to the grave with her…for about two-hundred years, at least.
The Summary: I completely understand the hate and vitriol aimed at Alien³; those who were hoping to see Ripley, Newt, Hicks, and Bishop working as a surrogate family against a new Alien threat, or being left alone to live a relatively happy life offscreen, would be understandably disappointed with this bleak, depressing tale of grief, loss, and desperation. As a kid, I also struggled with Alien³; it lacked the action-packed machismo and bombastic punch of the second film and the nerve-wracking horror of the first and was an ugly, desolate, mean-spirited piece of cinema that seemed to be going out of its way to twist the knife into long-time franchise fans. However, my opinion has changed over the years, especially after learning about how much trouble went on behind the scenes, and now I rate Alien³ quite highly. It’s still beneath the first two, and probably at the bottom end of the original four films, but I’ve come to really appreciate the grim tone and sense of despair that permeates this moody little slice of sci-fi horror. There are few characters to root for, some terrible special effects, and there’s a definite sense of confusion regarding the tone and direction of the piece, but it’s surprising how well Alien³ holds up despite all of this. This may very well by Sigourney Weaver’s best, most emotional performance as the tormented Ripley and served as an unexpected, definitive end for (this version of) the character. I really enjoy the new dynamic between her and the Alien, and seeing her being completely unfazed by other more mundane threats, as well as some of the more colourful, if reprehensible, supporting characters. I definitely think Alien³ is with re-evaluating, especially this far superior Assembly Cut of the movie; it might not be on par with its predecessors, but there’s definitely a lot to like here if you take it for what it is and consider it the final, dark chapter in Ripley’s long nightmare.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Are you a fan of Alien³? Which version of the film do you think is better and how do you think it holds up against the other entries in the franchise? Were you annoyed that Newt and Hicks were unceremoniously killed off? What did you think to the vile all-male population of Fury 161; were you able to tell the inmates apart? Did you enjoy the bleak tone and Ripley’s final battle against the Xenomorph? What did you think to the effects and the tone of the movie? Were you a fan of Ripley’s final sacrifice? Which of the Alien movies is your favourite and why, and how are you celebrating Alien Day this year? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave them below or drop a comment on my social media.
In April 1985, the first issue of the ground-breaking Crisis on Infinite Earths(Wolfman, et al, 1986) released and saw the temporary destruction of the “Multiverse”. To celebrate this momentous event, I’m discussing multiversal crossovers in an event I dubbed “Crossover Crisis”.
Published: August 2009 to December 2009 Writers: Jeff Katz and James Kuhoric Artist: Jason Craig
The Background: Although it is regarded as one of the best slasher properties around, Paramount Pictures became embarrassed with their Friday the 13th franchise (1980 to present) and sold (some of) the rights to rival studio New Line Cinema back in the early-2000s. This led to the long-awaited clash between Friday’s iconic killer, Jason Voorhees (Various) and New Line’s Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) after yearsinDevelopment Hell. Despite mixed reviews, Freddy vs. Jason’s (Yu, 2003) box office gross of nearly $117 million made it he most profitable entry in eitherfranchise and naturally led to talks of a sequel. Unfortunately, these fell apart due to rights issues surrounding fellow horror icon Ashley “Ash” Williams (Bruce Campbell), but the three horror heavyweights did meet up in Freddy vs. Jason vs Ash(Kuhoric, et al, 2007 to 2008) courtesy of WildStorm and Dynamite Entertainment. Based on Jeff Katz’s film treatment, Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash proved successful enough to warrant a follow-up the following year that was originally envisioned as a twelve-issue story before being scaled back. Katz returned to co-write the story, which he envisioned as a massive conclusion to the Freddy vs. Jason trilogy and a love letter to all three franchises. Fellow writer James Kuhoric was adamant about ensuring all the returning characters felt familiar to series fans, with special emphasis put on the clash of personalities between Ash and Tommy Jarvis. The two also sought to redesign Jason, giving him a Grim Reaper-like visage, and make the most of the unrestricted nature of the new format to show more over-the-top kills on a much larger scale. Although some saw The Nightmare Warriors as an improvement on the first crossover due to its larger scale, it was also criticised for being somewhat mindless and predictable and for struggling to juggle not just the titular horror icons but its extended cast of characters.
The Review: The Nightmare Warriors opens twenty-four hours after the end of Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, with undead killer Jason Voorhees still trapped under the bumper of Ash Williams’ beloved Oldsmobile, still with a machete blade where his left hand once was, and still missing his trademark hockey mask, beneath the frigid depths of Crystal Lake. Cursed with eternal unlife by the Necronomicon Ex Mortis, Jason is compelled to return to the world of the living at the urging of his mother, Pamela, though it’s once again dream demon Freddy Kruger assuming Pamela’s form to reactivate Jason and set him against Ash for besting them in the previous crossover. At that same moment, a group of government agents, led by Director Gordon Russell, arrive to secure the area, intent on securing the Necronomicon for themselves, deeming its power to open rifts and raise demons more enticing than the unkillable Jason. Within mere panels, his team find and thaw out the book and spirit it back to base, while a separate team dives into the lake to retrieve Jason and nullify him. Unfortunately for the frogmen, Jason bursts to life and slaughters them all, shrugging off their bullets and high-powered shock lancers and dicing them to bloody pieces, then retrieves the remains of his mask and heads out to find Ash at this “mother’s” bidding. Spreading of Ash, the story jumps over the Franklin, Michigan and ahead six months; Ash’s narration once again brings us up to speed on his life: after defeating Freddy and Jason, he and surviving girl Caroline (or “Carrie”) settled down into suburbia, despite the dramatic age gap between them. Their domestic bliss is interrupted by the first of many returning faces when Doctor Maggie Burroughs (also known as Katherine Kruger, Freddy’s daughter and noted child counsellor) drops by. Since the events of Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (Talalay, 1991), Maggie has been working with another prominent Elm Street character, child psychiatrist Doctor Neil Gordon, to identify special “focal magnets” for the supernatural who can combat dark forces.
Ash initially refuses Maggie’s offer to join the other survivors, as the Pentagon resurrects Freddy.
Although she’s come to the right place, given Ash is the “Chosen One”, Ash has given up his Deadite-slaying ways and has no interest in joining their crusade to preemptively target the dark evils of the world and Maggie leaves empty handed. Ash heads out on a beer run, blissfully ignorant to the fact that Jason is tearing into his house and attacking Carrie. Although she desperately fights back, she’s no match for Jason and her head ends up cooking on the barbecue. On the drive back, Ash catches wind of this when he gets a vision of Freddy – not unlike the visions suddenly striking Stephanie Kimble, “Dream Master” Alice Johnson, and her teenage son, Jacob – between the panels, but he arrives too late to help and is pegged as a murderer by Carrie’s family. As a mysterious individual watches on, Ash fights off Carrie’s dad and makes a run for it as the cops arrive, hopping on the first train out of there to go find Maggie. Although Maggie seems to sense her father’s return, she allays the fears of her lover, Neil, since they’re protected by the dream-blocking powers of Hypnocil. She also assures their two psychic recruits, Rennie Wickham and Tina Shepherd, that they have nothing to fear and excites them with the prospect of new recruits joining their cause. Neil, however, isn’t completely sold on Maggie’s plan, especially after seeing a similar group of survivors butchered by Freddy in the past, but Maggie convinces him with her words (and her allure) that the survivors of Freddy and Jason’s rampages are special, crucial, to stopping such monsters. Their new recruits turn out to be Alice, Jacob, Stephanie and her father, Steven Freeman (referred to as “Stephen”). Just as they arrive, Stephanie suffers a massive seizure, bombarded by visions of Jason, who adds a bunch more bodies to his kill list when he follows Ash. Meanwhile, at the Pentagon, Director Russell and his team’s hard work translating the Necronomicon with some pretty futuristic technology sees them return Freddy to the real world, now fully mortal and free of his burns. Although Freddy gives Director Russell the run-around and plays coy, he gives them enough to confirm the book’s power and Russell orders a strike team to intercept Jason, who’ve they’ve tracked to Maggie’s house.
As the group struggles to co-exist, Freddy is joined by a revitalised Jason and a sadistic Maggie!
Jason makes a dramatic entrance shortly after Ash arrives looking to avenge Carrie’s death; Stephen’s incredulity about the entire thing turns to abject terror at the sight of Jason, who unceremoniously caves his head in, but the others are saved when the mysterious onlooker, Tommy Jarvis, bursts in to spirit them away in his jeep. The strike team arrives soon after and subdues Jason with sleeping gas, bringing him into custody at last. Chastising their efforts and clashing egos with Ash, Tommy warns about Jason’s brutality and power and begs them to leave it to him given his past experience, but Maggie won’t hear of it. She touts Rennie’s empathic power and each of the group reveals some of their past experiences with both killers and their special abilities, such as Alice sporting dream-based powers and Tina being somewhat telekinetic, and Ash naturally boasting off his Deadite-slaying past. Maggie desperately calls for he and Tommy to set aside their egos and focus on using the Necronomicon to put both monsters down for good, stating that her father oversees the project to research it, but the group remains divided. At the Pentagon, Jason is wheeled into a Deadite holding cell and once again falls prey to Freddy’s influence. Somehow possessing the Necronomicon’s power along with his dream powers, Freddy brags of his plot to use Russell to finish what he started in Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. Although Jason still wants to kill Freddy, he’s convinced to join forces with Freddy mentions Tommy’s name and Freddy uses the magic words – “Klattu! Verata! Nikto!” – to restore, repair, and upgrade Jason’s body and mind, turning him into Freddy’s long-haired, dual-machete-wielding General. Later that evening, Ash and the others (sans Tommy, Stephanie, and Jacob) enter the Pentagon using Maggie’s credentials and are immediately locked up on Director Russell’s orders despite their warnings about Freddy. As Ash questions Maggie’s relationship with Russell, she’s brought to Freddy, who can freely shift between a normal human and his burned form and has physically merged with the Necronomicon, effectively making him a God. In a dramatic moment, Maggie murders Russell with Freddy’s glove and reveals that she’s been working with Freddy the whole time, the two apparently in a very sexual incestuous relationship.
As Jason leads the Deadite army, Freddy kidnaps Jacob and spreads fear and death through the nation!
Although Neil believes it to be some kind of brainwashing, Maggie goes the whole hog and kills him and Rennie, rechristening herself Kathryn Kruger and being transformed by Freddy into a claw-handed murderess. Thanks to Tina’s psychic powers, Ash and the others are alerted to the betrayal just as the Pentagon goes on high alert after Jason leads the Deadite army in a jail break. Although desperate for some payback, Ash is convinced to flee by Tina and Alice; when he tries to retrieve the Necronomicon, he’s attacked by a claw-wielding machine controlled by Freddy but a combination of Tina’s psychic powers and Ash’s bravado brings it down. Tommy is aghast to see Jason leading the medieval dead on a killing spree throughout the nation’s capital, though his attempts to stop the masked killer are for naught as he’s quickly captured by a couple of bat-like Deadites and brought to Freddy, leaving Jason and the Deadites free to carve up congress. Back at the Stabe Hotel, Jacob is seduced by Stephanie in a nightmarish ruse by Freddy, who binds and tortures him until he cries for his mother. Sensing his plight, Alice uses her powers to transport herself, Ash, and Tina into Jacob’s nightmare, but they’re unable to keep Freddy from kidnapping Jacob and challenging them to confront him at the White House. Thankfully, they’re able to put Stephanie back together in the dreamworld and save her life, though the experience of being skinned alive in the nightmare leaves her traumatised. At the White House, the Deadites hold off the military and the cops and allow Freddy to address the nation, first using the guise of President George W. Bush and then reverting to a less despicable visage, his own burnt form, to dictate his “No Kid Left Alive” policy and declare war on the children of America.
When Freddy sets Stephanie and Kathryn against his enemies, Alice passes her powers to Jacob.
Ash galvanises Alice, Tina, and Stephanie and they gear up to go rescue Jacob; they find Washington swarming with Deadites and blood raining from the skies and their resolve falters when Alice chastises Ash’s plan of simply fighting their way to victory. Luckily, the military arrive and cause a big enough distraction; their wholesale attack upon the Deadites and Freddy’s focus on repelling their forces allows Ash and the others to slip past the undead defences, but the distressed Stephanie is lost when she wanders off and has her untapped Voorhees blood awakened by Freddy’s influence, turning her into a mindless killer like her…I wanna say uncle?…that sees her don her own hockey mask and set out to fulfil her birthright and kill Jason. In the Oval Office, Freddy brags of his superiority to the captive Tommy but, annoyed by the kid’s defiance, prepares to kill him when Jason intervenes, wanting the kill for himself. This is again enough to turn the two against each other; Freddy orders Kathryn to kill Jason and the two get into it, with Kathryn cutting chunks out of Jason and even impaling him on a flagpole, but the fight is interrupted when Ash comes crashing in in a tank, crushing Kathryn and blowing Freddy clear out of the Oval Office with a cannon shot. As Ash and the others rescue Tommy and Jacob, Freddy literally pulls himself together out on the lawn where he’s confronted by Alice; when Freddy mocks her chances and boasts of his immortality, she allows herself to be killed since she has a terminal disease, but her death passes her Dream Master powers to Jacob and releases the spirits of the original Dream Warriors and Freddy’s mother, Amanda. Suitably empowered, Jacob and the Dream Warriors dispatch of Freddy’s Deadite forces, bringing Freddy to his knees in defeat once more.
Tommy and Ash set aside their differences to defeat Freddy and Jason once more.
However, as Amanda prepares to bring Freddy’s soul to be judged by the Almighty, Freddy drops the ruse and guts Jacob; Ash and Tommy clash one last time as they try to get their priorities straight and ultimately agree to let Tommy have his wish to be the one to finish Jason off. Tommy attacks Jason with all his anger and strength but is, of course, physically outmatched by the revitalised killer; drawing strength from all the pain and death Jason has caused, Tommy pummels him with a rock but falters when he sees Jason’s unblemished face. The normally silent monster utters the words “Yew… daie!” and leaves Tommy with a shoulder injury and facing certain death. Luckily, Stephanie impales Jason with two machetes to the back, distracting him long enough for Tommy to behead him with a massive shard of glass and triumphantly hold up his severed head. As Tina desperately tries to stop Jacob from bleeding out, Freddy feasts upon both the souls of the Dream Warriors and of Jason himself; Ash thrusts the Necronomicon into Neil’s hands and demands he find a passage to end the nightmare and buys him time by battling Freddy once more but all hope seems lost as Neil can’t read the book’s language. However, the spirit of his former lover, Nancy Thompson, arrives to help and, together, they speak the cursed words, opening another vortex. Although Freddy’s power is such that he can resist the portal’s pull, the Dream Demons (revealed to be dwelling within the Necronomicon) express outrage at his failures and remove his powers, leaving him vulnerable to one last quip from Ash and a shotgun to the chest, which sends him flying into the vortex. Nancy and Neil share a tearful farewell and, as the nation recovers, a victorious Ash and Tina share a completely random kiss and he parts ways with Tommy with a mutual respect. However, Jason’s body disappears from the battlefield and the story ends in Springwood, 1964, where a random cop caught in the Necronomicon’s vortex blindly signs Freddy’s arrest warrant, apparently changing Freddy’s past despite him laughing from the clouds? It’s a bit confusing, if I’m honest.
The Summary: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors suffers from a lot of the issues that plagued the last crossover; the story is a bit of a mess, with twists and turns that pop up seemingly at random just to drag the story out to six issues, and with some underdeveloped themes and conflicts. Like, I must have missed when the Pentagon conjured enough Deadites to need a prison for them, and I’m not sure why Director Russell thought he could manipulate Freddy so easily, plus it’s really out of character for Maggie to suddenly be so on her father’s side that she not only kills in his name but is turned on by his affections. The art is also quite inconsistent again; it picks up from issue four but there are a lot of instances where the artist is again simply copying shots from Freddy vs. Jason and I had a hard time recognising a lot of the returning characters. Stephen looks more like a scowling Marshall Mathers III/Eminem than his film counterpart, I kept mixing Stephanie, Rennie, and Alice up and I just don’t think enough was done to visually make them stand out from each other. Alice, for example, should be far older than she’s portrayed here, which would’ve helped. I genuinely forgot Jacob was even in this until he was kidnapped, and I can’t say I cared much for Tommy’s characterisation; get him being gung-ho about wanting to end Jason, but I like to think he would see the benefits of joining forces with the so-called “Nightmare Warriors”. I did enjoy seeing him clash with Ash; I genuinely think the story might’ve been stronger with more focus on those two being an odd couple pairing and placing more emphasis on the Ash/Tina relationship since she randomly kisses him at the end despite there being no chemistry between them prior to that.
The interactions between Ash and the returning characters is the best part of this bloated crossover.
Ash is a little different here than in Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, at least initially. He’s settled down with Carrie and is happy to leave his past behind, but he’s brought back into the fight when she’s killed by Jason. Unlike the opening of the last crossover, I enjoyed this death since Carrie lasted a little longer and her death pushed Ash into joining up with Maggie and gave him a greater personal stake in the battle against Freddy and Jason. It’s not one that’s fully realised since Ash tangles more with Freddy, which I get as it’s fun seeing them trade insults as well as blows, but he doesn’t really fight with Jason all that much and, unlike the last crossover, there’s no three-way dance between them this time. Ash is also a little more contentious this time around; he clashes with Tommy, of course, but also aggravates Alice with his misogynistic attitude and inability to think of a plan beyond just ploughing through what’s in front of him. The Deadites get a little more play this time around, with Jason leading the medieval dead and them chattering away as they’re killing and being killed, but they primarily exist to be cannon fodder for the military, Ash, and the Nightmare Warriors. Speaking of whom, I did enjoy seeing these surviving characters return, even if they’re not as strong or visually interesting as the Dram Warriors. The only really useful one was Tina, and even she just blasted doors open and levitated stuff; Alice only became useful by dying and even then Jacob was attacked before he could finish offing the Deadites, meaning the returning characters were more like fan service than anything else.
More gore, more fan service, and more action doesn’t necessarily amount to a better story.
I don’t mind this; a story titled Freddy vs Jason vs. Ash should be heavy on the fan service, after all, but it does mean this story is even more bogged down with exposition than the last one as we need a recap on what everyone’s been up to since their last appearances. As before, Jason trumps Freddy in terms of kills; he hacks, bludgeons, and slaughters too many people to count here and it’s just as gruesome and glorious as you could ask for, but he is also once again relegated to being Freddy’s minion. At least this time he gets a visual upgrade and even speaks, but he doesn’t seem any more intelligent and the plot point of Stephanie “becoming a Voorhees” amounts to a mere distraction. Although the story makes a dramatic show of Jason’s beheading, we know he isn’t really dead as “only a Voorhees” can truly kill him and, as Pamela states, he can “never die”. Freddy is basically the same as in the last story, being a master manipulator but sporting incredible (and ill-defied) dark powers thanks to the Necronomicon. Having absorbed the book into himself, he can freely manipulate the waking world as he does the dream world but does little with this except send Jason and the Deadites on a killing spree, bring his enemies to him to absorb their souls and power, and mock his foes rather than just kill them. Seeing him take on Bush’s guise and revel in his Godhood was fun, and the story is far more creative with his powers and his dialogue, and I really liked seeing him reduced to a snivelling wretch after being stripped of his power. However, I still don’t really get the ending and I think The Nightmare Warriors confused itself by trying to be bigger and more grandiose than any other film in the franchises. Ultimately, it’s more enjoyable than the last crossover due to the fan service, cameos, and increased gore and action, but still falls short of being anything other than a novelty read for fans of these three horror staples.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Did you enjoy Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors? How do you think it compares to the last crossover between these three? What did you think to the returning characters and the fates that befell them? Did you like seeing Jason get an upgrade and Freddy become all-powerful? What was your interpretation of the ending? Which film in the three franchises is your favourite? What other horror crossovers would you like to see? Drop a comment below or on my social media to share your thoughts and feel free to check out my other reviews of both franchises, and the rest of my Crossover Crisis content!
Blind lawyer Matt Murdock first made his debut in Daredevil #1 in April of 1964 and was co-created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with input from the legendary Jack Kirby. While perhaps not as mainstream as characters like Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Daredevil has become one of Marvel Comics’ greatest creations and has featured in a number of ancillary media and merchandise, included a questionably-received big-screen adaptation in 2003 and a critically-successful Netflix series. Still, he’s one of my favourite Marvel characters so today is a great excuse to pay homage to the “Devil of Hell’s Kitchen”.
Writer: Frank Miller – Artists: Frank Miller and Klaus Janson
Story Title: “The Kingpin Must Die!” Published: 3 February 1981 (cover-dated May 1981)
Story Title: “In the Kingpin’s Clutches” Published: 3 March 1981 (cover-dated June 1981)
Story Title: “Gangwar!” Published: 24 March 1981 (cover-dated July 1981)
The Background: In the 1960s golden age for Marvel Comics, Stan Lee teamed with legendary names like Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby to create some of their most iconic superheroes. On 1 April 1964, Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett presented their most challenging hero yet in Matt Murdock/Daredevil, who would go on to become one of Marvel’s most popular and enduring characters thanks, in a big way, to the efforts of writer/artist Frank Miller. In 1970, the then up-and-coming Miller joined the book with issue 159 and soon took over writing and illustrating, spearheading some of Daredevil’s most influential stories. It was under Miller’s watch that Wilson Fisk, the mammoth Kingpin of Crime, became one of Daredevil’s most hated enemies; created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita Sr. and first debuting in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man, the Kingpin was patterned after actor Robert Middleton and known as much for his conniving ways as his intimidating bulk. A complex character whose ruthlessness was matched only by his love for his wife, the Kingpin has become one of Marvel’s most iconic villains but is especially noted for his intense rivalry with street-level vigilantes like Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Frank Castle/The Punisher. The Kingpin has appeared prominently outside the comics, too, generally as a boss in various Marvel videogames, a notable antagonist in various animated ventures, and in live-action, delivered with charm, menace, and significant screen presence by the likes of the late Michael Clarke Duncan and Vincent D’Onofrio.
The Review: This three-issue arc begins with Daredevil sprinting through New York City, attracting the awe of the locals, to question noted streetwise bum Turk Barrett at Josie’s seedy bar. Although Turk makes a desperate escape attempt, Daredevil brings his getaway to a violent end and learns from him that the city’s top crime bosses have put out a hefty $5 million contract on the Kingpin, the mysterious and powerful mogul who once ran the underworld like a business but has since retired to Japan. There, Fisk is sequestered in a huge mansion with his own private guard and regularly showcases his physical abilities by besting the finest martial arts experts with precision and power, explodes with rage whenever anyone mentions his former life, and desperately keeps his questionable past and tendencies from his beloved wife, Vanessa. Since Fisk is due to sell out his former colleagues in return for clearing his name and $7 million, Vanessa heads to New York to enlist the legal aid of Matt Murdock and his partner and best friend, Franklin “Foggy” Nelson, offering them $200,000 to represent Fisk in court. Before Matt can agree, their office is attacked; in the confusion, Matt investigates as Daredevil and confronts the man responsible, Bruno, a seemingly semi-cybernetic former hitman with a firearm in place of his left hand. Daredevil easily bests Bruno but is stunned when his accidentally severs Daredevil’s grapple line and fatally plummets to the street below. Realising that mob are hiring any assassin they can to do their dirty work, Daredevil prepares to intercept his old foe, Lester/Bullseye, before he can be recruited but is delayed by cantankerous police lieutenant Nick Manolis, who reveals that Vanessa was kidnapped during the action. Released on a technicality (a brain tumour created just enough reasonable doubt about his previous murderous actions), Bullseye is furnished with a swanky new costume and demands $10 million to kill the Kingpin, but gleefully jumps at the chance to battle his hornheaded rival when Daredevil shows up to confront him.
As if Bullseye wasn’t bad enough, Daredevil must deal with the Kingpin’s return to town.
Having previously saved Bullseye’s life, Daredevil feels a responsibility to keep him from wasting it with his violent ways, but Bullseye simply attacks with throwing stars, his confidence and aim better than ever now he’s no longer sick. Despite landing a glancing blow with a pistol, Bullseye’s unable to land a kill shot thanks to Daredevil’s superhuman reflexes; however, Bullseye is so embittered towards his foe and so determined to best and kill him that he sends ol’ hornhead flying out of a window! Although Daredevil saves himself with his grapple hook, Bullseye severs the line, sending Daredevil plummeting to the ground; thankfully, he uses a passing flagpole and crumbling gargoyle to slow his descent just enough to land safely (if painfully) into a passing garbage truck. Rumours of the Kingpin’s return spread through the criminal underworld, leading the mob to kidnap and torture Louie the String for information. Before he succumbs to his injuries, Louie leads them to an explosive trap on Staten Island, where the Kingpin laments returning to his former violent ways but vows to turn New York City into an all-out warzone if it means seeing his enemies suffer and die and return his love to him. To that end, the Kingpin and his underling, Lynch, systematically target the mob’s goons and demand Vanessa’s safe return, with Fisk even stating he’s willing to negotiate to end further bloodshed. Although Bullseye is secretly unimpressed by the bickering mobsters, the city’s crime lords believe they have the upper hand as long as they have Vanessa and order Bullseye to send word that they’ll trade her for all the dirt Fisk has on them, further raising his ire at being reduced to a mere errand boy. Recovering from his fall and unable to find any leads, Daredevil assumes the guise of “Shades” and starts asking questions about Vanessa at Josie’s bar, causing him to get jumped by the local goons. However, after easily fending them all off, he impresses Turk and block-headed grunt Grotto enough to earn an audience with the big man himself and is led into a dingy sewer.
While the Kingpin proves a formidable threat in combat, he’s devastated by his wife’s death.
Matt is silently in awe of the Kingpin’s aura, finding that he more than lives up to his reputation as an intimidating presence; gathering himself, Matt claims to be a hitman from Ohio and offers his services, further impressing by jamming a goon’s gun with a pen without looking. Immediately afterwards, another of the Kingpin’s underlings arrives and, before dying from poisoning, delivers the mob’s demands for the exchange. Although Lynch is excited to see Fisk return to power and straighten out the disorganised underworld, Fisk has no interest in returning to his former life; he simply wants Vanessa back, leading Lynch to question if he’s lost his edge. However, Fisk demonstrates his vindictive cruelty when he finds “Shades” has broken into his vault; ready to kill him, the Kingpin is stunned when Daredevil attacks from the darkness. Although Daredevil makes jokes about Fisk’s weight, his swagger is shaken when he realises that the Kingpin is solid muscle; Daredevil’s speed and agility give him the edge in the fight, but every blow to the Kingpin’s rock-hard body wracks ol’ hornhead with agony and he soon tires himself out trying to damage the mammoth mogul. Thus, the Kingpin knocks Daredevil unconscious with a single blow and orders Turk and Grotto to tie him up and drop him into the city’s drainage system. Fisk then heads out to make the exchange, fully aware that the mob have set up a trap and turning the tables on them by incapacitating everyone in the vicinity – including Bullseye – with a high frequency sonic burst. However, as Fisk rushes to rescue his beloved wife, he’s stunned when someone triggers a mortar, causing the construction site to collapse. Though he survives being buried under all the girders and debris, Fisk is heartbroken when he can’t find Vanessa’s body and is suitably motivated to avenge her death by reassuming his former position and targeting his opposition without mercy. Thanks to his radar sense and sheer force of will, Daredevil avoids drowning and heads back to Josie’s bar to interrogate Turk again to catch up with the plot. Meanwhile, Fisk sets himself up in a subterranean stronghold and sends his few men out to disrupt the mob’s deliveries, turning the disparate crime lords against each other through a series of calculated attacks and stealing their cash and armaments. When Turk informs him of Daredevil’s survival, Fisk orders Lynch to move the files and set up an ambush, only for the goons to be attacked by Daredevil and lose the files; however, he’s humiliated to find he was duped by a briefcase full of newspapers!
Bullseye and Daredevil’s violent fight ends with the Kingpin manipulating himself back into power.
Bullseye takes advantage of the mob’s panic to demand a further $5 million to help them out, then hits up a bunch of small-time scumbags to learn the Kingpin’s location only to fall for another of the Kingpin’s traps. The Kingpin then confronts Bullseye and his mob employers, swaying Bullseye to his side and intimidating the mobsters into outing themselves to the cops. Afterwards, Fisk turns the full brunt of his rage on Lynch since it was he that set off the mortar and killed Vanessa to push him into returning as the Kingpin, so Fisk mercilessly breaks Lynch’s limbs and beats him to death as recompense. Fisk then gathers the city’s crime bosses to announce his takeover, only for them to be spooked when the skyscraper’s lights suddenly go out. Realising Daredevil is to blame, Fisk sends Bullseye to deal with him and the two fight once more, with Daredevil driven to make the assassin pay for all the lives he’s taken after Daredevil fought the urge to leave him to die before an incoming train. Relieving Bullseye of his weapons and discarding his billy club, Daredevil lunges for his foe, intent on making him feel the full force of his guilt and anger, but Bullseye fends off his furious assault by making use of his own weapon and smashing the vigilante in the face with a brick. Their brutal melee sees them land blow after blow, crash through a brick wall, and ends with them both choking the life out of each other, Bullseye determined to prove he’s better than his enemy and Daredevil seemingly willing to die alongside his foe. In the end, Bullseye passes out from the pressure, but Daredevil’s victory is short lived as the Kingpin and his goons arrive, armed and surrounding him. However, rather than gunning him down, Fisk gives Daredevil the files he has on the city’s crime lords and requests that he deliver them to the district attorney to have them arrested and allow Fisk to solidify his stranglehold over the criminal underworld once more. Although Daredevil considers making a desperate escape, the Kingpin advises against it; he even allows the Man Without Fear to take Bullseye as “a courtesy” and gives Daredevil no choice but to accept the offer as it will buy the city a brief period of peace while Kingpin works to reorganise and strengthen the fractured mob. Thus, Daredevil is forced to accept the offer and leaves, taking little solace in having brought Bullseye down and the story ends with a return to the city’s dank sewers, where a dishevelled and seemingly amnesiac Vanessa waders in search of money and food.
The Summary: Daredevil’s first encounter with the Kingpin is quite the thrilling and intricate tale; while it starts off innocently enough, with Daredevil trying to get to the bottom of a disturbing anxiety in the criminal underworld, it quickly escalates as the Kingpin is forced to resume his violent former ways. While I’m not a big fan of Frank Miller’s sketchy artwork, he did some great work when working on Daredevil; most panels and characters are seeped in an inky darkness, giving a dark, moody edge to the story that contrasts with both Daredevil’s bright outfit and generally flippant demeanour and with his other, more colourful peers. The story focuses on a grittier, more violent subsection of the Marvel universe, one where mobsters are gunned down, blown up, and poisoned on the regular and gang warfare is constantly at risk of breaking out due to the fractured state of the criminal underworld. I enjoyed seeing the crime bosses struggle to keep their shit together; it took seemingly everything they had just to be in one room long enough to hire their assassins and I liked how they squabbled like children and were depicted with an arrogant sense of entitlement that slowly deteriorated into abject denial as the Kingpin’s power grew. It was fun seeing Bullseye grow disgusted by their bickering and disorganised ways and watching them crack as they lost their money, power, and men to the Kingpin. While it didn’t lead to all-out gang war, there were some striking instances of violence on the streets and around the city that showed not just how sadistic Bullseye is but how ruthless the Kingpin can be when he’s out for blood.
Evenly matched and equally hatful of each other, Bullseye and Daredevil have an intense rivalry.
Daredevil is caught right in the middle of this; there’s little time for Matt Murdock or his private life here, with just a few panels hinting that Foggy is going through some personal troubles and showcasing Matt’s latest relationship. His focus is solely on confronting and stopping the Kingpin, and on settling the score with Bullseye. I liked the sense of guilt Daredevil carries here; previously, he had the opportunity to leave Bullseye to die but chose to save him, a decision he openly regrets since Bullseye refused to change his ways and just kept on killing, meaning Daredevil feels directly responsible for those deaths. His confrontations with Bullseye start with him trying to reason with the assassin and turn to a murderous rage as Bullseye kills and tortures his way throughout the arc, switching his allegiances to whoever has the most money and power and desiring only to prove himself superior to his hornheaded foe. Bullseye’s abilities are showcased greatly here; he never misses except when fighting Daredevil, fuelling his pride and anger, and he’s highly adaptable, able to make use of throwing stars, knives, guns, and even Daredevil’s billy club with an almost superhuman deftness. Though a sadist, Bullseye is highly intelligent; he knows when to shut up and listen, when to switch sides, and is very aware of Daredevil’s tricks and abilities, meaning he does a great job of holding his own against his hated enemy. Daredevil’s abilities are constantly demonstrated both in visual form and through the narration boxes; he swings, moves, and fights with a superhuman swiftness, appearing as a constantly-moving blur at times, and has a force of will beyond most normal men as he pushes himself to escape from drowning, easily fights off numerous larger and armed foes without breaking a sweat, and makes good use of his billy club and enhanced senses to save himself and track down his prey. At the same time, he’s not depicted as infallible; he runs into a few dead ends, forcing him to assume a new disguise, interrogate Turk, and even talk to hookers for leads, and he takes his fair share of punishment not just when fighting Bullseye but also when battling the Kingpin.
The Kingpin is a callous, passionate, and highly intelligent antagonist whose wrath knows no limits.
This is a great arc for introducing readers to the threat that the Kingpin poses. A calculating, vindictive, and extremely savvy businessman, Wilson Fisk is as devious as they come, regularly setting up traps and always thinking one step ahead of his enemies. Yet, despite his reputation as the Kingpin of Crime, Fisk is absolutely besotted by Vanessa, to the point where he swears off crime, moves across the globe, and forsakes his former life, even being willing to name and shame his former associates to clear his name and start a new life as a loving husband. He’s drawn back into the fray entirely against his will thanks to the machinations of his aid, Lynch, and, though he regularly laments having to welch on his promise to Vanessa, Fisk returns to his former ways with a looming menace and cold-hearted cruelty that’s matched only by his ferocious power and quick temper. Having only heard of the Kingpin as an urban legend, Daredevil is completely caught off-guard when he finds the Fisk’s bulbous form is pure, rock-hard muscle; the Kingpin is practically impervious to pain and injury, easily shrugging off bullet wounds and Daredevil’s best shots and breaking limbs and pummelling his enemies to death with ease. This arc does a masterful job of stablishing how intelligent and intimidating the Kingpin can be, forcing Daredevil to assist his eventual return to power to end with a tainted and grey-hued victory for the Man Without Fear, and I’d say these are essential issues to read for anyone who’s a fan of Daredevil, the Kingpin, and their complex and violent relationship.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Have you ever read this three-issue arc? If so, did you like the way it depicted Daredevil’s first encounter with the Kingpin? What did you think to the Kingpin, his begrudging return to power, and the way his motivations were showcased? Did you enjoy the brutal fights between Daredevil and Bullseye? What did you think to the depiction of the mob and Daredevil’s helplessness against the Kingpin? What are some of your favourite Kingpin stories and how are you celebrating the Man Without Fear this month? I’d love to know your thoughts so feel free to share them in the comments below or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Daredevil content.
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