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Game Corner [Mario Month]: Paper Mario (Nintendo Switch)

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So, for no better reason than “Mar.10” resembling Mario’s name, March 10th is widely regarded as being “Mario Day”, a day to celebrate Nintendo’s portly plumber, an overalls-wearing mascot who literally changed the videogame industry forever and shaped the home console market of the nineties.

Released: 10 December 2021
Originally Released: 11 August 2000
Developer: Intelligent Systems

Also Available For: Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, iQue Player
Metacritic Scores: 93 / 8.8

Quick Facts:
Though Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Square, 1996) enjoyed rave reviews, it took nearly five years to get this spiritual successor. When Square bowed out due to other commitments, Nintendo turned to HAL Laboratory and Intelligent Systems, with art director Naohiko Aoyama crafting Paper Mario’s distinctive mixture of 2D and 3D graphics. Originally conceived as Super Mario RPG 2 and produced for the ill-fated Nintendo 64DD add-on, the game aimed to be a cute, kid-friendly adventure. Paper Mario has been met with critical acclaim and is widely considered one of the role-playing games (RPG) of its era.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Paper Mario is a 2D/3D hybrid RPG in which players guide a craft paper version of Mario (and his new allies) through a diorama-like version of the Mushroom Kingdom across nine chapters (including the prologue), assisting non-playable characters (NPCs), becoming stronger through battling, and liberating the captive Star Spirits from Bowser’s minions. Players are given four save files and no difficulty options or settings before venturing into this quasi-cel-shaded adventure. Helpful signposts and some NPCs provide gameplay hints (sometimes for a small fee), and the game’s menus do a decent job of telling you what does what and when. Like in Super Mario RPG and most RPGs from this era, the controls are pretty simple, with players using A to jump, interact with the environment, confirm selections, and talk to other characters, B to speed up onscreen text and exit menus, and performing a spin with ZL to cover more ground. Outside of battles, the right stick toggles the heads-up display, opens the partner and item menus, and allows some partners to perform actions, like Kooper flying at enemies in his shell to initiate battles or Mario holding Watt to light up dark areas. As you progress and locate treasure chests, you acquire battle items for Mario that can be used on the overworld, allowing you to strike enemies or hit switches with Mario’s hammer with B or perform a ground pound or spin jump by pressing A in mid-air. These either initiate battles, activate switches, or uncover hidden Star Pieces, which you trade for Badges. In battle, you select attacks with A and switch characters with ZL, tapping A as enemies attack to reduce damage or ward of status effects like poisoning or dizzying.

Mario has a few fun attacks and special abilities up his sleeve.

Unlike other RPGs, Mario’s stats don’t increase from levelling-up and he doesn’t earn experience points. Instead, most battles award “Star Points”, with players earning more depending on how long the fight goes and how many enemies are defeated. Once you earn 100 Star Points, Mario levels up and you can increase either his maximum Health Points (HP), Flower Points (FP), or Badge Points (BP). As you explore, you’ll find or purchase Badges to equip; each one costs BP to equip, so you may need to shuffle them about or upgrade your BP to hold more. These add additional attacks and buffs to Mario, such as allowing him to strike multiple enemies, shrink them, or knock them into each other. Performing these actions costs FP, with both HP and FP being restored at Toad houses, by hitting Heart Blocks, or by collecting or using items. Your partner’s special attacks also cost FP, so you must be mindful of your attacks or risk running out. When performing special attacks, you must complete various actions, such as holding or tapping A at the right time, moving the left stick, or matching button presses. Success increases the power and effectiveness of your attack, though you must be aware of what Badges you have equipped and which enemies you’re facing as some attacks won’t harm armoured foes or you take damage if your enemy has a spiked head. Badges also increase your maximum HP and FP, trade attack power for defence (and vice versa), and allow you to use more items in battle. Defeating enemies and smashing blocks also awards Coins, which you can spend on items and Badges. Mario’s inventory is painfully limited but you can store items at various shops and use them to restore HP and/or FP, heal status effects, attack all enemies, knock them over, and increase your attack or defence. Upon rescuing each Star Spirit, Mario also gains a Spirit Power, which drains his Star Energy (though this refills automatically, and manually, over time). This allows him to restore some HP and/or MP, put enemies to sleep, temporarily immobilise enemies, attack them all at once, or potentially instantly defeat any non-boss enemy. Unfortunately, only Mario can use Star Spirits and items, which can make battles needlessly tedious when you’re low on HP, FP, or Star Energy.

Mario’s new partners offer some fun abilities and even Peach gets a chance to be useful.

Mario is joined by friendly versions of his most recognisable foes, with each offering different special abilities in and out of battle. Mario superfan Goombario offers hints about each location and attacks with a headbutt, Kooper (my go-to partner) attacks multiple enemies and hits switches from afar with his shell, Bombette destroys cracked walls, Parakarry carries you across small gaps and is great for targeting flying enemies, Lady Bow turns you invisible and intangible (as long as you stay still) to sneak past enemies or pass through objects and attacks, Watt lights up dark areas and boosts Mario’s attacks or paralyses enemies, Sushie can be ridden across water, and Lakilester floats you over spike pits and lava while tossing multiple spike balls at enemies. You can only have one partner at a time and it’ll cost you a turn to switch to them in battle, and you share your HP and FP with them (though enemies rarely attack them), though you can freely switch on the overworld. Each can be upgraded using hidden Super Blocks, adding additional attacks to their repertoire, though I rarely used Goombario or Parakarry in battle. As you clear chapters, you’re treated to an interlude where you control Princess “Peach” Toadstool as she sneaks about and spies upon Bowser and his minions, learning key information to relate to Mario using her tiny star companion, Twink. These are essentially stealth missions, with players avoiding detection and later utilising a magical parasol to transform into one of Bowser’s guards. Peach must also whip up a cake using specific instructions to woo Gourmet Guy and even participates in the game’s final battle by powering Twink up with her enthusiasm. Mario’s also aided (though mostly forced to rescue) Kolorado, a Koopa archaeologist, is carried to the Yoshi-filled Lavalava Island by a friendly whale, and sporadically aided by the wizard Merlee, who buffs your attack, defence, or rewards at random depending on how much you pay. Chet Rippo also doubles your HP, FP, or BP at the cost of decreasing one of the other stats, though I saw little overall benefit to wasting money on this.

Puzzles, platforming, fetch quests, and tasks are abundant in this colourful adventure.

Things start off pretty simple in Paper Mario, with it being obvious where you need to go and the limited map being quite useful. As the game progresses, the map becomes less useful, and you must chat with more NPCs and use your partners to visit new areas. Warp pipes take you to the sewers for additional goodies or fast travel you to previous areas, there’s a train you must get moving to progress, and a haunted forest to traverse by paying attention to the background. While Toad Town acts as your central hub, each location includes an item shop and Toad house and other NPCs who aid you if you speak to them or help them out. At Dry Dry Outpost, you must go back and forth chatting with NPCs to track down head thief Moustafa and acquire a key item to get through the looping desert. When in Lavalava Island, you must search all around, crossing water on Sushie, to find the mischievous Yoshi kids, you’ll gather various items to use in Boo’s Mansion to access the throne room and recruit Lady Bow, and you’ll be hopping in and out of the Shy Guy’s Toy Box to retrieve the items the Shy Guys stole from Toad Town and get the model train within moving to new platforms. Like Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario marries some traditional platforming and puzzle solving with RPG gameplay, with you jumping to platforms, finding keys to open doors and free Toads, and using blocks or stairs to explore. You must hit various switches to uncover hidden paths or activate bridges, plug up magma to avoid being roasted, dive under bridges, smash through wooden panels, and even shift the environment to take alternative paths. Even dead ends can lead to goodies or hidden areas if you send Bombette out or light them up with Watt. When you reach the Shiver Region, Mario’s comically accused of killing the mayor and players must prove his innocence, only for the mayor to simply have been in shock! Players must sneak past (then frantically run from) Tubba Glubba, venture down the different paths of Flower Fields doing glorified fetch quests to plant a beanstalk up to the clouds, smash giant blocks, and raise or lower staircases to progress.

Presentation:
Paper Mario takes a page out of Yoshi’s solo ventures to present a colourful mishmash of traditional 2D sprites and 3D graphics, with the game’s locations all being rendered with a 3D pop-up book aesthetic. This certainly adds some fun character and depth to each location as the camera pans and moves in interesting ways, with buildings often collapsing like cardboard as you enter and exit and Mario flattening down to take a nap. When in battle, the backgrounds maintain the pop-up book aesthetic but with a 2.5D bent, making them (and the entire game) appear to be an elaborate stage play. Despite being a flat, 2D sprite, Mario and his companions showcase a great deal of charm and character in their victory poses and their fun, whimsical dialogue (although Mario never speaks). I especially liked the outrage Mario’s partners voice when he’s amusingly accused of murder and the sass Peach shows when constantly discovered by Bowser, who’s as childish as ever despite having unlimited power. Ironically, however, Mario’s animations are surprisingly limited, which speaks to the simplistic gameplay of the game’s battles. This is true of his partners and enemies, though Koopas will topple over, enemies spin around in a daze before poofing out of existence, and some mini and main bosses even taunt you or transform mid-battle. Although it took me some time to adjust to the visual presentation of Paper Mario, I enjoyed how colourful and daft everything was; the game leans into humour in a big way and is consistently presented as a casual RPG throughout. I was a bit disappointed to see Luigi and other Mario characters sidelined, but it was fun seeing all the enemies you usually bop without a second’s thought are actually thriving races. It was amusing seeing Goombas and Koopas be so enamoured by Mario, to have him partner up with friendly versions of a Bob-omb and Lakitu, and to explore the environment using their unique abilities. The game’s storybook aesthetic is carried through to its cutscenes and interludes, and the cheerful soundtrack, though I must admit that no tunes stuck in my head after my playthrough.

A colourful, engaging adventure with some fun humour and beautiful visuals.

While Paper Mario isn’t exactly taxing the Nintendo 64 and plays things way too safe in a lot of ways, it performs really well and there’s a lot of visual variety in keeping with the Mario franchise. You start at Mario’s house where he and Luigi venture to Toad Town, only for Bowser to abscond with Peach’s entire castle and Mario forced to venture into deserts, haunted forests, and perilous mountains to liberate the Star Spirits. Toad Town alone has loads to see, from the post office to Club 64 at the docks and the dojo, but then you have places like Koopa Village (which you must save from a Fuzzy attack) and Lavalava Island’s Jade Jungle (which is full of hidden paths and little islands and leads to the hazardous Mt. Lavalava). Every location is full of NPCs and some change according to the story as Mario settles unrest, solves problems, or completes often tedious tasks. Flower Fields is perhaps the most engrossing area, sporting a hedge and pipe maze, thorny pits you must float over, and berries to collect and deliver, though I strangely enjoyed the confusing, twisted Forever Forest and even Dry Dry Desert. Each area sees you performing some convoluted tasks to reach a fortress or structure, in which you must get keys, hit switches, and progress towards the boss. Once you save all the Star Spirits, you ascend to Bowser’s Castle, taking a back entrance, rescuing captive Toads, avoiding lava and fire hazards, before reaching Peach’s all-too-quiet castle. Anyone who’s played Super Mario 64 will recognise the layout, though it’s been expanded to include a kitchen and other rooms and given a dark, ominous atmosphere thanks to being corrupted by Bowser’s evil. Other, more surreal areas also exist, such as Star Haven (a cosmic town populated by sentient stars and reached by traversing a mystical bridge formed by the Star Spirts) and Shooting Star Summit, where shooting stars fall harmless and the Star Spirits beg for your help. Additionally, the battle backgrounds change depending on where you are, adding a bit of variety to them even if the battle gameplay can get a bit tiresome at times.

Enemies and Bosses:
Many recognisable Mario enemies pop up in Paper Mario, respawning when you leave areas, though oddly failing to drop SP if you return at higher levels or battle undead enemies like Dry Bones or Gloombas. None of the regular enemies are especially difficult, sporting one or two attacks, but they do become more durable as you progress and appear alongside others who can make even simple enemies more troublesome. Goombas attack with a headbutt, sporting spiked hats to fend off Mario’s jumps or taking to the skies to avoid his hammer. Koopas are similar, though attack from a distance with their shells, while Fuzzies bite you to steal your HP and restore theirs and Bob-ombs explode in a kamikaze attack after being hit. Bullet Bills are endlessly fired by blasters, Monty Moles toss dirt, Boney Beetles, Clefts, and Koopatrols must be knocked over to make them vulnerable, and Bandits temporarily keep you from using items or certain attacks. Pokeys must be cut down to size, Bzzap!s defeated before they can poison you, and Duplighosts transform into your partner and gain their attacks! Colourful Magikoopas hover on broomsticks, fire magical blasts, and heal or buff their allies, some enemies (like the Groove Guy) call in backup or are engulfed in flames to deal fire damage, the various Clubbas hit hard with spiked maces, and Hammer Bros toss a bunch of hammers (or a single, powerful hammer). Some enemies are vulnerable to elemental attacks, such as the Bubbles and Embers and Frost Piranhas, while bigger, slightly more formidable enemy variants act as mini bosses, such as the Blue and Red Goomba Bros who hound Goombario, the giant Gloopers who lurk in the sewers, spitting ink and bopping your head, and the vulture-like Buzzar who attacks on Mt. Rugged, flinging his feathers and proving a formidable (if optional) challenge in the early game.

Despite Jr. Troopa’s persistence, the early game bosses aren’t too challenging.

Similarly, Mario may encounter Stone Chomps in Dry Dry Ruins and must battle the Big Lantern Ghost to recruit Watt, which can be annoying as you must attack his lantern to light up the arena but not so often that he extinguishes the flame, and his attacks often incapacitate your partner. Players can also choose to pay off or fight Kent C. Koopa, a large, short-sighted Koopa who squashes Mario with a ground pound and needs two hits to topple over. When on the outskirts of Starborn Valley, players can either flee from or fight the ghost-like Monstar, though this is merely for show, and must answer questions about the game and its characters when confronted by the Guard Door. The half-hatched Jr. Koopa constantly hounds you between chapters, adding new attacks and becoming tougher as the game progresses. At first, he’s quite weak but then he gains wings to limit your attack options, wields a magical rod, protects himself and attacks with a spiked attachment, unleashes a lightning blast, and even heals himself. While it takes some time for bosses to become more problematic, you do face a lot of them, and they can be difficult if you have the wrong partner or waste turns so be sure to use the Heart and Save Blocks often helpfully placed right before them. Your first challenge is the enchanted Goomba King, who fights alongside the Blue and Red Goomba Bros, though you can easily defeat all three by attacking the Goomut Tree. Next, you track down the elusive and strangely familiar Koopa Bros, who attack in a makeshift Bowser mech and then in a totem formation, with you needing to topple them over and using Kooper to hit all four at once. Tutankoopa guards Dry Dry Ruins, summons a Chain Chomp to attack and distract you, and you must find and battle Tubba Blubba’s disembodied heart to save the Boos of Gusty Gulch. You’ll need Watt to tackle the Shy Squad, who rob Toad Town and attack as a swarm, on stilts, and in a totem like the Koopa Bros, before General Guy steps in with his toy tank…thing. General Guy tosses bombs and fires lightning bolts from the tank’s lightbulb, so I’d suggest targeting that first.

Managing your partner and FP is crucial to succeed against the tougher late-game bosses.

Things ramp up when you face the Lava Piranha, which is accompanied by two Lava Buds that join it in spitting projectiles. After you damage it enough, the spiked plant catches fire, necessitating the use of elemental attacks, and it adds a more powerful fire breath attack to its arsenal. I particularly struggled against Huff N. Puff, who spawns Tuff Puffs every time he’s hit which not only attack you but are consumed by him to restore his HP! You must tap A to reduce the damage of his wind breath, and to mitigate his lightning attack, and pop his Tuff Puffs (while still damaging him) so they don’t bolster his attacks or HP. The Crystal King wasn’t a pushover either as he summons Crystal Bits, freezes you, duplicates himself (with two of the three being intangible), and heals himself to undo all your hard work. While Bowser is unbeatable at the start of the game, he’s more vulnerable in the endgame, though he can make himself invincible with the Star Rod so you must cast Star Beam (which doesn’t cost FP but wastes a turn) to remove the spell. Bowser attacks with claw swipes (which can poison you so be sure to equip a nullifying Badge), fire breath, and a shockwave that incapacitates your partner. He also heals, grows, and becomes immune to the Star Beam thanks to Kammy Koopa. After knocking the old witch off with Peach and Twink, you gain the Peach Beam to dispel Bowser’s magic and continue the fight (with full HP and FP). Though Bowser’s lightning bolt, ground pound, and healing are aggravating, using Watt to power up Mario’s Mega Jump saw me to a hard-fought victory.

Additional Features:
There are 160 Star Pieces in Paper Mario, with many found by whacking or ground pounding certain tiles while others are out in the open or inside chests. If you take these to Shooting Star Summit, you can trade them for Badges, of which there are sixty-nine (nice!) varieties. These can either be found or bought, but you’ll need to upgrade Mario’s BP stat to equip the most Badges as some cost more BP than others. You can also acquire duplicates, allowing you to further boost Mario’s HP or FP, which are capped at fifty apiece (while the BP cap is thirty and Mario’s maximum level is twenty-seven). Although there’s no post-game content, there’s plenty to do, such as finding all the Special Blocks to upgrade your partners, finding all twenty-five of Parakarry’s lost letters, having Tayce T. cook up unique items, and taking on Chuck Quizmo’s quizzes. Your rewards are pretty much always Star Pieces or Badges, however, and there are no additional characters, worlds, or bosses to unlock. However, if you challenge the Toad Town dojo, you’ll face five additional battles against some tough opponents, culminating in a superboss showdown with the dojo’s Master, earning a diploma for each victory and changing some NPC dialogue to reflect your achievement. You can also purchase up to ten Li’l Oinks to populate a small farm in Toad Town, gaining rare items every time a Li’ Oink leaves the pen, and unlock Rip Cheato’s shop for some rare (and expensive) items. Otherwise, you can abuse the Nintendo Switch’s save state feature to help with some of the game’s trickier battles, though it’s still worth fighting every enemy and thinking strategically about which stat up level-up.

Final Thoughts:
I was hesitant about playing Paper Mario, despite how much I enjoyed Super Mario RPG. I assumed it would be a fun, colourful, whimsical little adventure with simple RPG mechanics and puzzles. And, mostly, I was right: Paper Mario isn’t going to be taxing most hardened RPG players, but there’s nothing wrong with a casual gaming experience. However, I was surprised by the difficulty spike near the end game, mainly because it feels forced due to the strange way levelling-up works and how limited your partners and their abilities are. So many battles would’ve been much easier if your partner could use items or Star Spirits and, while some Badges mitigate this, it can get annoying. While the visual presentation can be a little jarring (and disappointing given it’s not a true 3D RPG), the pop-up-book aesthetic works really well and made everything very charming and humorous. Similarly, while I was disappointed to see Luigi get the shaft again, I quite enjoyed Mario’s new partners and seeing a different side to his enemies, who have their own societies and towns and such. While I felt the game dragged in the middle, padding out the runtime with fetch quests and tedious puzzle solving, it usually led to a fun boss battle and some new abilities to make things easier. I enjoyed the variety in each area, who there was a lot to see and do and discover, and the little interactions between Mario and the NPCs. I was also a fan of the Peach-centric interludes, which were a nice break from the main gameplay loop, and how each partner’s abilities encouraged backtracking and exploration. While I don’t believe Paper Mario is better than Super Mario RPG, it was definitely a fun experience in short bursts. It lacked a lot of deeper RPG mechanics and features I expect from the genre, outstayed its welcome at times, and the BP gimmick needlessly handicapped the player’s abilities, but it was very bright and carefree and is probably worth your time if you need a break between more challenging RPGs.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Did you enjoy Paper Mario? How do you think it compares to Super Mario RPG and later games in the series? Which of Mario’s partners was your favourite and did you like seeing his enemies expanded upon? Do you agree that the combat and gameplay got repetitive after a while? Which Badges did you equip for your playthrough? Did you ever find all the letters and defeat all the dojo’s combatants? Which Super Mario spin-off is your favourite and how are you celebrating Nintendo’s mascot this month? Feel free to share your memories and opinions of Paper Mario in the comments and subscribe to my Ko-Fi for more Mario content.

Mini Game Corner [Mario Month]: Mario Party (Nintendo Switch)

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So, for no better reason than “Mar.10” resembling Mario’s name, March 10th is widely regarded as being “Mario Day”, a day to celebrate Nintendo’s portly plumber, an overalls-wearing mascot who literally changed the videogame industry forever and shaped the home console market of the nineties.

Released: 2 November 2022
Originally Released: 18 December 1998
Developer: Nintendo

Original Developer: Hudson Soft
Also Available For: Nintendo 64
Metacritic Scores: 79 / 7.8

Quick Facts
After Super Mario 64’s (Nintendo EAD, 1996) critical and financial success. Nintendo followed up with a series of spin-off titles, with Mario Party being one of the most lauded. Mario Party was geared towards multiplayer gameplay and set the blueprint for a sub-series of Mario videogames (and numerous copycats). Widely praised, especially when played with friends, Mario Party’s mini games were celebrated for their variety and challenge, though some complained of hand injuries. Nintendo long avoided re-releasing the first title in favour of its sequels or new games, though some of its mini games were revamped in the Mario Party: The Top 100 (NDcube, 2017).

The Review:
As you might’ve guessed, Mario Party is a party game where players compete against their friends or computer-controlled opponents, rolling dice and making moves and playing various Mini-Games, across six initial board-like stages and two unlockable areas, to become the “Super Star”. Players pick from six recognisable characters, though they all play the same, which is a shame considering Wario (my go-to) and Donkey Kong are known for their strength and Luigi is known for his low traction and high jumping, characteristics that sadly don’t factor into the Mini-Games. Players are guided by Toad and a friendly Koopa Troopa, who teach the rules, award Coins and Stars, and detail the controls and objectives. When starting a game, you can set the number of human and computer players, set the difficulty level, and establish how many “turns” it takes to finish. You then select a board, with each sporting different gimmicks and difficulty ratings, and finally hit a rolling dice to decide the order of play. Unfortunately, there’s no way to speed up the games and you must sit and watch as each player takes their turn, navigates the board and its hazards and gimmicks, and competes in single-player Mini-Games, which gets very tedious. Mario Party’s controls are super simple: you press A to hit dice and confirm selections or to jump or swim in some Mini-Games, press B to exit menu screens, view the entire map from the main board, or attack or speed up in some Mini-Games, use A and ZL to perform a butt stomp, and press the Right trigger for an alternative view of the main board map. Your goal is to do circuits of the board, collecting Coins from Blue Spaces and Mini-Games and reaching Toad to buy a Star, avoiding Red Spaces (which sap your Coins) and Bowser spaces, where possible. The player with the most Stars (or Coins, in the event of a tie), wins, and players are awarded additional Stars for having the most Coins, winning the most Mini-Games, or landing on the most “Happening Spaces”.

Navigate colourful boards, dealing with hazards and earning Coins and Stars to claim victory.

Happening Spaces do different things depending on the board but generally swap Toad’s position with Bowser’s, which can be good or bad depending on where you are on the board. If you land on a “Chance Time Space”, you play a roulette-style game where you hit spinning dice to swap Coins or Stars between players, which can again aid or hinder you. Bowser Spaces see the Koopa King challenging you to tougher Mini-Games where you lose more Coins if you fail, or initiate a faster Chance Time game where he steals your Coins, or he forces you to buy a useless item. You’ll also encounter ghostly Boos who steal Coins from any player for free or grab a Star from them for a small fee, Bob-Ombs blast you across Wario’s Battle Canyon, and Koopa Troopa awards 10 Coins each time you pass him. When you’re close to the end, this is upped to 20 and each Blue and Red Space gifts or removes additional Coins. Players can take alternate paths in most boards, either by selecting an arrow, paying to pass a Thwomp or a Whomp, activating a trap, or depositing Coins  to open or shut doors. When playing Princess “Peach” Toadstool’s Birthday Cake board, you can plant one of four seeds to be shunted towards Bowser or Toad or plant Strawberry Seeds to spawn Piranha Plants that steal Stars from passing players. Upon completion, your Coins and Stars are deposited in the Mushroom Bank to spend them at the Mushroom Shop to purchase helpful items. These earn you additional interest on your Coins, double or half your current Coin stock, unlock the credits and sound test, and can remove Boos or Koopa Troopas from some boards. Other items randomly award or take away Coins, randomly switch player positions, and randomly spawn a Boo, Bowser, or Koopa Troopa, none of which I found particularly useful. While some boards are quite simple to navigate, others force you to take different paths to avoid Bowser or reach Toad, while others have you hopping around seemingly at random to reach Toad. Wario’s Battle Canyon was the worst for this as the Bob-Omb cannons keep switching targets and some areas are filled with Mini-Game Spaces or Red Spaces, which drags the tedious game out even more.

Though often frustrating, the Mini-Games are the best part of this tedious party game.

The main draw of Mario Party are the Mini-Games, which are played either solo, in a free-for-all, in teams, or pit one character against the other three. It seems to be random which player is fought against in these latter Mini-Games unless you land on a Bowser Space, where you’re usually on the defensive. Each Mini-Game has a time limit and has you capturing the most Coins. You’ll dig through dirt to locate treasure chests, dive to the ocean floor (with or without a partner) to grab treasure while avoiding Bloopers and sharks, toss a Bob-omb between players to avoid being blown up, and play a Mario-themed version of musical chairs where you must race to the big red mushroom and its treasure when the music stops. You’ll be desperately cutting out shapes as accurately as possible, warping Bowser’s face like the face manipulation minigame in Super Mario 64, alternating button presses to inflate a Bowser balloon, and smashing Coin Blocks. In Skateboard Scamper, you must frantically tap B to skateboard along a crumbling path, jumping over Thwomps and snagging floating Coins, while Box Mountain has you smash boxes for Coins, Grab Bag has you playing “capture the flag” with loot, and Platform Peril has you awkwardly hopping between falling platforms not unlike Rainbow Ride. Some Mini-Games have you frantically wrestling the game’s odd momentum and physics to avoid falling in water, such as Mushroom Mix-Up, Bumper Balls, Hammer Drop, and Bombs Away. Tipsy Tourney sees you completing a picture puzzle by running over squares, Mario bandstand has you tapping A at the right time to play a song, Shy Guy Says has to tapping either A or B to avoid being set adrift, and Cast Aways sees you clumsily flicking the left stick to try and snag floating loot. You’ll be running from Boos as you carry a lightbulb through a haunted corridor, playing jump rope with flames, spinning about like crazy in Slot Car Derby, and trying to (or hoping that) drop a treasure chest through a pipe maze.

Greater challenges await if you can stand to put in the time to grind for Coins and Stars.

In one-on-three Mini-Games, you must all attack a player dressed as Bowser (or avoid those attacks), play bowling, smash Coin Blocks with a massive hammer, gingerly cross a tightrope (or blast the player with your cannon), try not to snap your console futility wriggling free in the Crane Game, butt stomp a raincloud to have a Piranha Plant eat a player (or desperately outrun it), play tug o’ war, and splash about in a paddle boat. Two-on-two games see you randomly paired with another player for some bobsled racing, wiggling the left stick to hobble across a desert, stealing and dunking a bombsketball, and pumping a handcar and steering into tight corners to avoid falling in lava. I rarely got to play a single-player Mini-Game but these see you matching picture squares, playing a slot machine, smacking the right Boo out of a gaggle of ghosts, playing whack-a-mole with Piranha Plants, and pounding tree stumps. Mini-Games are purchased from the Mini-Game House to be freely played but, while they’re the best part of the game, it does get tedious when you play the same ones over and over or must watch players tackle them alone. Mario Party is also quite challenging even on the easiest difficulties as it’s very easy to do laps of a board and not buy any Stars or for players to steal all your Coins and Stars. While the Nintendo Switch’s save state feature helps with this, it won’t help with the game’s janky-ass mechanics that see what should be random actions be pre-determined, ensuring you land on the wrong spaces or are robbed. The computer generally always targets you, which doesn’t help, and it gets very annoying being denied a Star thanks to the board shifting. If you collect 100 Stars, you unlock the Eternal Star board and you can buy Bowser’s Magma Mountain for a mere 980 Coins, finishing each board sees the Power Stars change the map and title screen, and there’s even a special Mini-Game Island that challenges you to play and win all fifty Mini-Games. This mode utilises a life system, with players earning extra lives for every 100 Coins and losing lives when they fail a Mini-Game, and also includes some helpful shortcuts. Clearing every Mini-Game and setting records and beating Toad to the goal unlocks the Bumper Ball Maze Mini-Games, though I’d say this mode is only for die-hard Mario Party players.

Final Thoughts:  
I was hesitant to play Mario Party as I didn’t like the idea of being screwed over by chance or landing on bogus spaces, but I figured I could manipulate the save state system to counteract this. Unfortunately, the game isn’t designed that way; if Mario rolls a six, he rolls a six each time you reload and if Yoshi chooses to swap your Stars with Peach then you’re losing those Stars. Things started out decent enough; the game’s very colourful and whimsical, even with the low-poly models, and I liked how each board had different gimmicks. Unfortunately, things become very tedious very quickly as there’s no way to fast forward or skip computer-controlled player turns, dragging each game out even with the least amount of turns selected. It’s also frustratingly easy to lose Coins and Stars thanks to spiteful players, some games see you earn less Stars because Toad keeps fucking moving (!), and I got annoyed at being forced to watch or play a Mini-Game every thirty seconds. Luckily, the Mini-Games are fun and, in many ways, the campaign is just window dressing for these games, which I’m sure led to many fallouts between friends back in the day. While some or more aggravating than others, they’re bite-sized challenges that can (mostly) be easily mastered, meaning it’s probably better to stick with Mini-Game Island than tackle the main boards. My opinion may be skewed because I played alone against three computer-controlled opponents, but I quickly lost patience with Mario Party. It annoyed me that the characters didn’t have different stats or abilities to make them unique and I wasn’t enthusiastic about grinding for all the Coins and Stars to unlock the bonus boards. I’m also even less enthusiastic about the series as a whole and have no plans to play other Mario Party games, though maybe that Top 100 game would be more my speed.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Do you think I was too harsh on the original Mario Party? Which of the playable characters was your go-to and were you also disappointed they didn’t have unique attributes? Did you also find the main game tedious or do you have fond memories of playing with your friends? Which of the boards, Mini-Games, and gimmicks was your favourite? Did you ever unlock the bonus boards and best Mini-Game Island? Which Mario Party game is your favourite and how are you celebrating Mario’s birthday this year? Whatever your thoughts on Mario Party, share them below and, if you want to see me tackle other Mario Party titles, drop a donation on Ko-Fi!

Game Corner [Mario Month]: Wario Land 4 (Nintendo Switch)

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So, for no better reason than “Mar.10” resembling Mario’s name, March 10th is widely regarded as being “Mario Day”, a day to celebrate Nintendo’s portly plumber, an overalls-wearing mascot who literally changed the videogame industry forever and shaped the home console market of the nineties.

Released: 14 February 2025
Originally Released: 21 August 2001
Developer: Nintendo R&D1

Also Available For: Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Wii U (Japan Only)
Metacritic Scores: 88 / 8.8

Quick Facts:
Designed by Hiroji Kiyotake to symbolise Nintendo R&D1’s displeasure at being denied the chance to create original videogames, Mario’s dastardly doppelgänger first appeared in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (ibid, 1992). Wario then usurped Nintendo’s portly plumber as the face of Mario’s handheld sub-series, leading to three highly regarded portable adventures. Wario Land 4 restricted Wario to an ancient pyramid and incorporated “Metroidvania”-like exploration alongside more traditional platforming mechanics compared to its previous two games. A strong seller, Wario Land 4 was met with widespread acclaim as reviews praised the replay value, colourful and lively graphics, and balanced challenge, though the lack of true innovation was noted.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Like its predecessors, Wario Land 4 is a 2D, action-orientated platformer in which players take Mario’s despicable lookalike through an ancient pyramid, navigating a simplistic hub world to take one of four passages and explore four worlds in each, tackling a boss at the end to obtain treasure from the pyramid. Players get two save files and, for the first time in the Land series, a health bar, represented by hearts. Wario can partially or completely refill his health by defeating enemies and collecting Little Hearts to fill a meter, Hearts for a full heart, or smashing special treasure chests for a Full Health Item. Wario’s abilities are largely retained from the previous titles, with him jumping with A (jumping higher the longer you hold the button) and charging at enemies, destructible objects, and treasures chests with B or X. You can hold down the Left or Right trigger to charge ahead, ploughing through most enemies and blocks, perform a leaping charge, butt stomp by pressing down in mid-air, swim by tapping A, and roll into a ball to crash through small tunnels by holding down on slopes. Enemies can be stunned by bumping them, allowing Wario to automatically pick them up. If you hold down B, you can charge a throw, with Wario tossing whatever he’s holding higher and further the longer you hold it down, which is great for smashing blocks, hitting ! switches, or opening certain doors by tossing shapes. Players climb ladders, use warp pipes, and jump to small or moving platforms to progress, earning points for every enemy defeated and the gems they collect. Blue and Red Crystals are plentiful but you’ll want to explore and experiment to collect the Diamonds hidden in each world. Some blocks can only be destroyed with a fully charged dash or by performing a ground pound from way up high. Wario must frantically return to the entrance warp upon activating a Frog Switch, giving him up to ten minutes to do so before the bomb explodes, robs him of some treasure, and returns him to the hub world.

Blast and transform your way through worlds to find the Jewel Pieces needed to progress.

Although Wario can now take damage and fail his quest if he runs out of hearts, he can still be transformed by certain enemy attacks and environmental factors. When consuming food, Wario becomes fat and heavy, easily crashing through blocks and shrugging off attacks. When pricked by a Beezley, Wario inflates like a balloon and floats until he hits a ceiling, floating higher by tapping B, while bubbles force him through water and rapids if you’re not careful. Flames set Wario on fire, causing him to run around in a panic and eventually become consumed, destroying Bonfire Blocks in the process. Similarly, he becomes a snowball when hit with falling snow, rolling down hills and crashing through Snowman Blocks as he goes. When crushed, Wario flattens and awkwardly floats down shafts and through tiny gaps and, when hit by a Yeti’s sneeze, he freezes and flies back. If hit by a Menhanmā’s hammer, Wario becomes a spring, leaping high into the sky and through any blocks by pressing A, becomes a shambling, gloopy zombie when hit by a Skeleton Bird, falling through any platforms as he goes, and transforms into a bat upon touching a Minicula, allowing him to fly by tapping A. While some of these are temporary, others are cancelled out upon touching water or light sources, and they seem far more situational compared to the last two games. I was disappointed that no new transformations appeared and that the transformations aren’t as interesting as it’s usually pretty simple to figure out how to use them. Similarly, while players can uncover hidden doors by exploring and smashing blocks, most worlds are quite linear, with alternate paths generally being quite obvious and leading to the same collectibles. Wario must find four coloured Jewel Pieces in every world and escape with the ghost-like Keyzer to open doors in the hub world’s passages, meaning you either need to explore thoroughly the first time through or return the world to find what you missed. This can be a bit annoying and basically forces you to 100% every world, which can be a chore, especially when Jewel Pieces are only accessible after hitting the Frog Switch and opening new paths.

Despite the mini games and variety, the gameplay loop is tedious and simplistic.

As you explore, you come across mini challenge rooms where you must toss archaeologist Arewo Shitain-hakase past obstacles or at switches to earn additional Diamonds, and you can play three mini games to earn Coins. These see you timing swings of a baseball bat, playing an endless runner, and matching Wario’s face. The Coins earned are used in the Item Shop prior to each boss fight, gifting you powerful, automatically triggered items that reduce or decimate the boss’s health. Otherwise, worlds offer some surprising variety as they’re themed around jungles, temples, factories, and deserts rather than sticking to the Egyptian pyramid aesthetic. Some worlds are notably maze-like, like the looping 40 Below Fridge, which has you rolling about as a snowball to access new passages, and Hotel Horror, which is a haunted hotel maze of doors and ladders. Wildflower Fields has you scaling giant beanstalks, Pinball Zone forces you to throw multiple Chomp Balls into Pinball Tulips to unlock doors, and Doodle Woods sees a floating Hoggus spawn enemies with its drawings. A pirate ghost kidnaps Keyzer in Crescent Moon Village, pistons and conveyor belts litter the steampunk-esque Curious Factory, and you’ll be swimming through underwater passages in Mystic Lake. Flying carpets carry you through the sky in Arabian Night, you must stop the chance wheels at the correct places in The Big Board to gain transformations and open paths, and you hop to swinging, vine-like platforms in the rainswept Monsoon Jungle. The challenge is relatively fair, with most enemies and hazards being more of an annoyance, but the difficulty comes in searching for the Jewel Pieces and Keyzer and racing back to the entrance warp before the timer runs out. Temporary platforms, tricky jumps, and alternate paths both help and hinder this task, but the gameplay loop gets a bit tedious very quickly since you must find all the Jewel Pieces and Keyzer to progress. This means there’s less emphasis on collecting loot and exploring for hidden treasure than in previous games, less focus on the transformations, and more focus on replaying worlds until you’ve found what you need to progress.

Presentation:
Without a doubt, Wario Land 4 is the best-looking game in the series so far. Wario is more animated and expressive than ever, spouting phrases as he succeeds or takes damage and performing various idle poses, such as pumping iron or skipping rope. He even flails about in water and has never looked better when transformed into a zombie or set on fire, which makes it all the more bizarre, disappointing, and frustrating that the game’s story is practically non-existent. Even the Game Boy Color games featured cutscenes and some dialogue, but all we get here is some shots of Wario blasting about in his muscle car, finding the pyramid, and opening its doors. The ending tries to compensate for this by offering large sprite art renditions of Wario’s victories over the bosses, but it’s too little too late and I was very disappointed to see that the story didn’t get more emphasis. Similarly, it’s quite unfortunate that Wario’s stuck inside a pyramid for the entire game, visiting worlds by leaping into warp portals rather than exploring an ever expanding and changing island or larger hub world, things that even the first game did much better. The music was equally forgettable, with none of the tunes really sticking in my head, an annoying jingle playing every time you transform, and the environment and soundtrack warping and distorting when you’re ordered to “Hurry up!” after activating the Frog Switch. It’s a shame as there are some fun, comical moments, like a cameo from Mr. Game & Watch and the various items being wheeled out to attack the bosses, who are all large and disturbing. It might’ve been nice to include some sections where you barrel along in Wario’s muscle car, or to bring back the hats from the first game, or to see Wario properly exploring the pyramid rather than just hobbling to each passage and walking through samey-looking hallways each time.

Despite Wario Land 4 being a visual treat, the lack of focus on story hurts it.

And yet, there’s a fair amount of variety in Wario Land 4, with each passage sporting various environments to explore, each one somewhat related to a specific theme. The Emerald Passage is themed around nature, for example, meaning you explore a palm tree seaside, a flower field, a sprawling lake, and a stormswept jungle. The Ruby Passage is themed around industry, placing you in an industrial factory, a toxic landfill akin to a sewer or junkyard, a freezing fridge with lots of slippery platforms and snow, and a pinball-themed maze. The Topaz Passage is themed around toys, with the first world literally being a toy chest, the second being a toy village, the third being a stationary-themed woods that would fit right in with a Yoshi title, and the final world seeing you knock over and outrace dominos before they block off paths and doors. The Sapphire Passage is themed around horror and ghosts, with you exploring a haunted village, a night-time Indian city, a fiery cavern full of lava and flaming geyser, and a labyrinthine hotel that’s so full of spookies and mysteries that Wario should’ve called Luigi for help! The final area, the Golden Passage, lands you right on the Frog Switch and gives you 9:30 to reach the ending, running a gauntlet of all the enemies, obstacles, and gimmicks you’ve encountered before and utilising each of Wario’s transformations to progress. This world is a golden-bricked environment with falling chandeliers that transitions to a stone temple and features drops to rushing water that loop you around if you’re not careful. None of Wario Land 4’s worlds are particularly innovative or original and they feature less alternative paths and rewards compared to the last three games, making them far more linear save for a few instances where you must search a little harder for missing Jewel Pieces. I liked that they remained visually distinct from other Super Mario games, featuring few gimmicks and aspects from those games, but it would’ve been nice to see them play more into Wario’s strengths and transformations, and maybe feature more collectibles to unearth by exploring.

Enemies and Bosses:
As far as I can remember (it has been a while and I don’t care to dig too deep into it), Wario Land 4 features an all-new line-up of baddies, though some fulfil similar functions, like Menhanmās squashing you with their hammers and Kaentsubos and Pig Head Statues setting you on fire. The most common enemies are the Goomba-like Marumen, who simply wander back and forth, while the Shy Guy-like Spear-Mask prod you with spears and the masked Totsumen charge you. Spikys need flipping over with a ground pound to attack their underbellies, Shieragutchi spring from the seabed, and Goggley-Blades cut through the water to try and skewer you. Bow Balloons and Beezley’s turn you into Puffy Wario, Ringosukī apes toss apples to help or hinder you as Fat Wario, and Skeelton Birds can send you plummeting through platforms if their spit turns you into a zombie. Men’onos and their mummified variants charge with axes, harmless caterpillars slither around the Wildflower Fields, mole-like creatures ram into you, and large sea monsters pop from holes in the background of Mystic Lake. Various robots patrol the Ruby Passage worlds, such as an armoured mech that tosses its head and a robotic bird that flies at you, while miniature toy Wario’s litter the Topaz Passage worlds. They’re joined by spear-wielding Dice, a strange hybrid of a pig and a snail, and ballerina pigs spawned by Hoggus. Bowlers toss boulders in the Fiery Cavern before being turned into Yetis when the world freezes, bats flitter about in Arabian Night, and a large pirate ghost lingers in the background of Crescent Moon Village, being harmless until they spot Keyzer, whom they abduct on sight. There are six bosses to contend with in Wario Land 4, with four being fought in whatever order you tackle the Passages in and the first fought to clear the Entry Passage, each being significantly damaged by the item your purchase, and each fought against a timer.

Six surreal, monstrous bosses offer a decent challenge beyond just ramming into them.

The first is a monstrous eggplant that wanders back and forth in an enclosed arena, assisted by smaller minions and eventually turning feral after enough hits. At first, you must ram its face but, when it goes mad, you must hop over it to finish it off from behind. After waking Cractus, you must climb the nearby ladders to avoid its chomping mouth and spiked leaves, butt stomp its head as it passes under you. After a few hits, it spews bile that transforms you into a zombie, adds homing jabs to its arsenal, and floats around more erratically. I fought Aerodent next, a giant inflatable bear controlled by a mouse ghost. You must avoid the pin enemies it drops and hit its glowing feet to expose the mouse, ramming it to deal damage, dodging the flames it drops and desperately trying to land multiple hits in a small window. Catbat was somewhat similar in that you must ram the cat on its head, avoiding its spiked furballs and using the waves it spews to get closer, eventually butt stomping its head to finish it. Finally, I fought Cuckoo Condor, potentially the toughest of the regular bosses. This giant cuckoo clock bird-thing grabs you in its talons and drives you into the spiked wheels on either side of the arena and tosses buzzsaws, which can also be electrified. You must quickly ram its claw to hit the boss, then frantically grab the eggs it drops before they spawn explosive chicks, and toss them at just the right angle to deal damage. The final boss is a multi-phase battle with the Golden Diva, which tosses you about with is Kabuki-like masks, shields itself with a fan, drops green enemies, spawns a rubber ball, conjures black eggs and explosive chicks, and drops a spiked hammer. You must ram, grab, or use each of these to deal damage, either by tossing them or springing into her face, eventually stunning her when she destroys the ground to reveal spikes and butt stomping her head.

Additional Features:
There are four Jewel Pieces in each world and each must be collected to unlock the boss doors. You must also find Keyzer or else you can’t access each subsequent world in the Passage. Every world also hides a CD, unlocking a music track for the Sound Room, and hides hidden challenge rooms where you toss about Arewo Shitain-hakase to snag extra loot. The game can be played on “Normal” or “Hard” from the start, which affects how much health you start with and even the placement of Jewel Pieces and treasure. Beating the game on “Hard” unlocks the extra challenging “S-Hard” mode, and all bosses are revived once you finish the game, allowing you to battle them again and best your time and replay previous worlds to find those missing CDs. You can waste a few hours grinding the mini games to earn extra Coins and try out the different items against the bosses, and you’ll get different endings depending on the difficulty you play and how fast you defeat the bosses, depicting Wario with more or less loot and driving different vehicles. This version of the game also allows you to rewind the action and create save states, significantly reducing the challenge and making it a bit easier to hunt for Jewel Pieces and Keyzer or undo any mistakes.

Final Thoughts:
I was really excited to get into Wario Land 4 since I’ve been a huge fan of the series since Wario’s debut. I was expecting it to be like the last two and feature multiple paths, lots of treasure, and tricky puzzles focusing on Wario’s bizarre transformations. Instead, I got a relatively simple platformer that significantly reduced the focus on these transformations, making Wario more vulnerable and not even offering any new power-ups for him. Sure, you still have to explore the worlds but nowhere near to the extent as before, with most alternative paths being fairly obvious and offering little reward since your treasure barely matters this time around. All that matters are those damn Jewel Pieces and Keyzer, crutches that force you to linger in worlds or replay them just to progress to the boss, which really soured the experience for me. I think it should’ve been mandatory to have one or the other, then have the other gimmick used to unlock bonus areas or challenges. Instead, you can just ignore everything and focus only on collecting those, eliminating much of the appeal in exploring and figuring out the game’s far simpler puzzles. While Wario Land 4 looks fantastic and is a visual treat, this gameplay loops really stifled my enjoyment. The race back to the beginning and to defeat bosses added some tension but also seemed like a forced gimmick to artificially up the challenge, and the minigames were uninspired and boring, which is a shame as the items you buy are quite fun. I was really disappointed by the lack of focus on the story, the linear nature of the narrative, and that Wario was stuck inside a pyramid, even if the worlds have some decent variety. Ultimately, as gorgeous as Wario Land 4 is, I feel it doesn’t live up to its deeper and more complex predecessors, offering far less replay value and being a disappointingly lacklustre title instead of the definitive Wario Land experience.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Ae you a fan of Wario Land 4? How did you think it compared to the other Wario Land videogames? Were you disappointed by the smaller scale of the game and the forced collection of Jewel Pieces? What did you think to the graphics and bizarre bosses? Were you also surprised to see there were no new transformations and less focus on treasure hunting? Did you ever beat the game on S-Hard mode? Would you like to see more of Wario or do you think he’s better suited as a side character? How are you celebrating the Super Mario franchise this month? Whatever your thoughts on Wario, feel free to drop a comment below, support me on Ko-Fi, and check out my other Wario reviews.

Game Corner [Mario Month]: Yoshi’s Story (Nintendo 64)

Dr. K2 Comments

So, for no better reason than “Mar.10” resembling Mario’s name, March 10th is widely regarded as being “Mario Day”, a day to celebrate Nintendo’s portly plumber, an overalls-wearing mascot who literally changed the videogame industry forever and shaped the home console market of the nineties.

Released: 21 December 1997
Developer: Nintendo EAD

Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo Wii U (Virtual Console)

Metacritic Scores: 65 / 7.2

Quick Facts:
Super Mario World (Nintendo EAD, 1990) showcased the processing power of the Super Nintendo and introduced one of Mario’s most popular supporting characters, Yoshi. Originally designed to be included in the 8-bit games, Yoshi took the spotlight in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (Nintendo EAD, 1995), a colourful and innovative platformer that was also a critical and commercial success. This kick-started a slew of Yoshi-centric spin-off titles, including this lush 2.5D adventure originally developed for the ill-fated 64DD peripheral and designed to appeal to gamers of all ages. While criticised for its clunky controls and short length, Yoshi’s Story is almost universally loved for its whimsical music, colourful graphics, and charming gameplay.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Yoshi’s Story is a colourful 2.5D platforming adventure that sees players pick from one of six different coloured Yoshis and travel through six worlds (or “Pages”), each with four levels apiece, gobbling fruit and avoiding hazards. The game plays almost identically to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, though the much-maligned Baby Mario character has been removed, and your Yoshi now has a traditional health system, one represented by a smiling flower that wilts as you take damage. The game offers a “Practice” mode so players can test the game’s controls, which again mirror Super Mario World 2, with all of Yoshi’s previous abilities returning. Yoshi jumps if you press A, jumping higher if you hold the button and frantically kicking his legs in a “flutter” for additional airtime to cross longer gaps or compensate for poorly timed leaps. If you hold down on the control stick while in mid-jump, Yoshi performs a ground pound to crush enemies and break boxes. B sees Yoshi fling out his long, sticky tongue to gobble up fruits or enemies, the latter are swallowed and turned into a line of eggs that trail behind you. To fire eggs, players hold the Z trigger and use the handy reticle to aim, with eggs used to defeat enemies, pop balloons to release more fruit, smash blocks, and even collect Coins or Special Hearts from afar. Eggs also ricochet off walls and can be acquired by hitting Egg Blocks, though you cannot throw them underwater. If you hold the Right trigger, the camera zooms in and Yoshi sniffs around to detect hidden fruit, and you can tap the Left trigger to toggle the heads-up display (HUD) to see how much fruit you’ve collected. Similarly, pressing “Start” pauses the game, allows you to return to the main map, and displays your current score (referred to as Yoshi’s “Mood”) and totals for each stage.

Explore, platform, and toss eggs across colourful stages to gobble up fruit and make the Yoshis happy.

Like pretty much every Super Mario-adjacent title, players collect Coins in Yoshi’s Story; though they’re primarily for your score, collecting some in quick succession may spawn extra fruit. There’s no timer and players are limited to six lives, with their Yoshi being spirited away to Baby Bowser’s keep if they’re defeated and players only able to retrieve them by finding a White Shy Guy and finishing a stage with them trailing behind him. Your goal is to eat thirty fruits per stage; once you do, the stage ends and you’re taken to the next Page, encouraging multiple playthroughs as you won’t play every stage for each Page. If you reach the end of the stage without eating thirty fruits, the stage loops around until you’ve found them all, so it helps to explore and complete the various mini challenges hidden in some stages. While peppers and Black Shy Guys damage Yoshi, eating fruit, Power Bees, and Power Flowers recovers Yoshi’s health, with different Yoshi’s recovering different amounts depending on their tastes. You can also ground pound to change the colours of Shy Guys and restore more health or get a full health refill by collecting Special Hearts or a randomly selected “Lucky Fruit”, and even gobble Bob-ombs to toss them, though they’ll explode and hurt you if you take too long. Occasionally, the enthusiastic pup Poochy aids you by indicating hidden fruit for you to ground pound, or five hopping Coins will spawn that you must devour to spawn a melon. Yoshi can grab and throw Huffin Puffin chicks as a substitute for eggs, utilises Bumber ’Chute umbrellas to avoid hazards and enemies, and occasionally transforms into an egg after eating a tulip to launch to otherwise inaccessible areas. Yoshi can also swim (though can’t toss eggs underwater), temporarily becomes invincible after eating a small, heart-shaped “Super Happy” fruit, and can warp around the stages by finding four Miss Warps or utilising doors and vases. Giant snakes and serpentine dragons carry Yoshi across or up vast chasms and change direction when you jump, though I found Yoshi quite slippery and that it was tricky making precision jumps at times, leaping to some annoying drops or unnecessary deaths.

A bunch of vivid hazards and platforming challenges await in this whimiscal adventure.

You must be wary of spike beds, bottomless pits, lava, falling spikes, and rotating platforms on your adventure. While Yoshi’s Story is pretty easy, some stages offer a greater challenge with troublesome gimmicks, like forcing you to find a key to unlock a door or swinging off wooden weights to briefly open doors. You’ll be surfing on leaves and ghosts (a clunky task), blasted along by gusts of wind, latching onto Surprise Balls, and bouncing on springs to traverse higher. Message Blocks provide hints and ? Switches temporarily create additional platforms, often to Special Hearts. Hitting ? Blocks initiates a mini game to earn additional melons: you must either quickly devour five Coins, race against an unseen Chomp to eat as many melons as possible before you reach a goal flag, and jump past seven melons. If you spot a melon flowerpot, ground pounding it initiates another mini game where you must frantically try to balance a stack of boxes and bring them to the finish line. These mini games can greatly speed up your progress so they’re worth seeking out, and it’s also advised you ground pound often or burst ? Bubbles for additional rewards. Players must deal with a lot of moving and temporary platforms, see-saws, rails (with players hitting levers to alter their direction), propellers, and swinging vines. Occasionally, large, sword-like spikes travel across or stab from the floors and ceilings, players must traverse cogs without being chewed up between them, Shy Guy’s fire cannons from the background, pistons threaten to crush you, torrents of water push you back, and bumper balls bash you about. There are buzzsaws to avoid, rolling balls to awkwardly run on across gaps, beehives that send a swarm of bees your way, little elephants that obnoxiously block your path with stop signs, thorned piranha plants and living globs of lava that must be subdued with an egg to the face, and jelly that slows your movement and keeps you grounded. Naturally, you also traverse caves, maze-like areas, and being carried across pits or lava, with it being recommended that you always have a full stock of eggs to snag any fruit or dispose of any enemies to make your life easier.

Presentation:
Super Mario World 2 was super cartoony and colourful and Yoshi’s Story takes this aesthetic and really runs with it, presenting every stage with a child-like whimsy that gives it a visual identity unlike most Nintendo 64 games. The Yoshis and their enemies are all lively, plasticine 3D models, with the Yoshis happily dancing when left idle, muttering and yelping, and even panting when low on health and dramatically keeling over when defeated. Poochy excitedly yips and bounds around to get your attention, the game’s sparse cutscenes are related through charming rhyming, and the soundtrack is suitably fanciful, resembling a nursery rhyme. While the Yoshis don’t sound or play any differently, which is a shame, the pop-up book aesthetic of the cutscenes is very charming (though it gets a bit laborious seeing the game recap your entire adventure once you beat it). The score board is rendered as a chalk board and Pages are presented with a unique hand-crafted aesthetic, with some appearing to be made from cardboard and construction paper while others are plastic, wool, or other crafting materials. It certainly gives Yoshi’s Story a unique (if somewhat blurry) appearance, one that’s far more detailed and colourful than Super Mario World 2’s picture-book aesthetic (which is still evoked at times), but it can make things a bit cluttered. If you enable the HUD, this is exacerbated to an almost painful degree so I’d recommend disabling it, but some environments are so dense and their colours clash and blend so much that it can be difficult to determine what’s a platform or where enemies are. A great example is Piranha Grove, where thorned piranha plants slink around in the dense, thorny jungle in the background while twists of thorny vines and winding piranha plants pop up from the foreground. Some stages attempt to provide branching paths, others have you loop and warp around to reach fruit; others have you crouch-walking past hazards or exploring dark, dingy caves. A lot of it stays very close to the usual Super Mario formula, for sure, but the game’s visual identity and unique completion mechanic allow it to stand out as you may want tow ait to eat that last fruit so you can find any missing Special Hearts.

The game’s picture book, crafted, plasticine aesthetic bolsters its unique visual identity.

You start in a vaguely field-like area, which contains rail lifts and a tower, before descending into a cavern filled with bones, fire-breathing skeletal dragons, and jelly-filled pipes. When you reach the “Summit”, you’re up in the clouds or atop snowy mountains, before tackling the dense jungle with its thorns, waters, hollowed out trees, and gigantic Blurps. The “Ocean” Page has you swimming around a coral reef, stealing fruit from the many flailing tentacles of Sea Anemones or racing past a beach front as Shy Guy’s shoot cannons from their pirate ship. The game culminates in Baby Bowser’s tough, hazard-filled castle that’s full of Boos, magma, buzzsaws, and mechanical obstacles, to say nothing of the pits and insta-kill lava. Progression is, however, a bit odd in Yoshi’s Story. While you’re often given the chance to pick which stage you want to play on each Page, you won’t visit every stage in succession like in other Super Mario games and platformers. This means that no two playthroughs are the same, with the game limiting which stages you can pick depending on how many Special Hearts you collect. I played through the first stage of every Page in my first playthrough, for example, then the second, but the game wouldn’t let me play every stage three unless I’d previously collected enough Special Hearts, which encourages replayability and exploration, but is surprisingly obtuse for such a simplistic title. Still, I enjoyed how each stage offered different gimmicks and aesthetics: you’re not just exploring the skies in “Summit”, for example. P.3-1 has you hopping to clouds and riding snakes up in the sky, P.3-2 sees the night sky brought to life by cardboard cutouts, while P.3-3 and P.3-4 take place on a snow-filled mountaintop. Similarly, I liked how Baby Bowser’s castle changed depending on which stage you picked, favouring either a medieval aesthetic, a haunted mansion, or a lava-filled cavern. Since I found the “Jungle” Page a bit headache inducing, my favourite Page was the “Cavern”, with its dark and gloomy dinosaur graveyard, Blaarg’s lava-filled boiler with its dipping bones and skeletal bridges, and the jelly-encrusted drainage pipes. I wasn’t a big fan of the underwater stages in “Ocean” and much preferred the beach setting since Yoshi’s abilities are limited underwater and he controls a bit too loosely for my liking when swimming.

Enemies and Bosses:
While Yoshi’s Story features a bunch of new, bizarre enemies, there are some familiar faces. The most obvious and recurring are the Shy Guys, who wander about, drop bombs or spiked fruit or carry fruit on propellers, stomp around on stilts, hide in trees, captain pirate ships, hop about on pogo springs, toss snowballs from the background, and even pilot missile-firing submarines! Lakitu also appears, awarding melons when you complete mini games, tossing spiked balls, and even blasting you with water jets. Boos haunt the “Ghost Castle”, going shy when you face them, masquerading as blocks, and even mimicking your movements in a line, Bob-ombs parachute from the sky, Bullet Bills fly at you, Chomps try to take a bite out of you, and gigantic Blurps try to swallow you whole. You’ll be taking out spiders, knocking slug-like slimes from vines, avoiding spiked and puffer fish and eels when underwater, clambering to Raven’s to gain extra height off jumps, and keeping an eye out for mischievous ghosts who hide in sticky jelly. A moss-encrusted Wiggler makes an appearance, frogs hop in your face, bat-like ComBats swoop when you get close, spiked centipedes slither around, and bumblebees buzz around trees and nests. A rainbow-coloured smiley face of death bounces about and tries to ram you, Blaarg, Bone Dragons, and Piranha Plants pop up to give you a scare and spew fireballs, and the floating Piranha Pests will temporarily shrink you to near-microscopic size, rendering you defenceless for a time, if they eat you. When exploring the “Bone Dragon Pit”, you’ll probably come across a three-headed Bone Dragon, whose Hydra-like heads must each be taken out with eggs to earn three melons. A giant, pinkish slug lurks in “Jelly Pipe”, with its only weak spot being its large, expressive eyes, while the strange, worm-like Snorkel Snake loops around the waters of “Lots O’Jelly Fish”. Its long length, circular motion, and spiked body make the Snorkel Snake a constant headache, one you’re denied the catharsis of defeating since Yoshis can’t throw eggs when underwater!

Even the more challenging bosses are ridiculously easy if you’re fast with your egg throwing.

There are five bosses to contend with in Yoshi’s Story, with all but one fought when clearing a stage in the third world, “Summit”. Each introduces themselves via a fun little cutscene and is fought in an enclosed arena, taking three hits to defeat, with the exception of the final boss. I fought the Cloudjin on my first playthrough, which takes place above a bottomless pit and sees you hopping to see-saw platforms, grabbing eggs as the gigantic cloud-like genie floats about and drops spiked balls that roll into you. He’s a big target and there are a lot of hazards to worry about, but you can simply spam your eggs and have a good chance of beating him fairly quickly. Inviso was a lot tougher since he turns invisible, barely peeking out from the background, and flooding the arena with chicks. Luckily, like all other boss battles, you can gobble Power Bees and other items to replenish health. Next, I fought Cloud N. Candy, who’s an absolutely joke. He’s big and hops about, but you can literally just spam your egg throw and beat him in, like, five seconds. Don Bongo’s fight can be tricky, though, since you’re in an enclosed space and his tantrum rains debris from above. You must target his lips, which become enlarged with each hit to make them an easier target. Naturally, Baby Bowser is the game’s toughest boss, with the fight being a two-phase affair. You can eat from the constantly replenishing Super Lucky Tree to replenish your health, though, and toss Bob-omb’s at the ceiling spikes to hit Baby Bowser as he flies around on ghosts. After three hits, he takes a more grounded approach, spitting fireballs and trying to crush you with his butt, but you can easily toss or ricochet Bob-ombs to do him in.

Additional Features:
There are three Special Hearts in each stage of Yoshi’s Island. Collecting them not only fully replenishes your health and adds to your final score but also unlocks stages in subsequent Pages, allowing you to experience every stage and boss in Yoshi’s Story (though always on separate playthroughs). Collecting Coins, eating enemies, and eating fruit also adds to your score, with players entering their names on the game’s high score table after finishing the game. However, while Yoshi’s Story doesn’t allow you to review this high score table until you finish the game, you can replay any stage you’ve beaten (as long as you collect all the Special Hearts) using the “Trial Mode” option. If you explore the “Caverns” and “Summit” pages, you may find a black- or white-spotted Giant Egg. Complete the stage with this in your inventory and you’ll unlock the Black or White Yoshi, who again only differ in their colouration rather than having additional abilities like unlimited health or eggs, though every fruit is their favourite, so they do enjoy the benefits of greater health replenishment. There’s also an invincibility code you can input if things are getting too difficult, and you can utilise a save state feature if playing through the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

Final Thoughts:
This was my first time playing Yoshi’s Story, a game I’d never had all that much interest in as a kid but which I decided to pick up for my modest Nintendo 64 library since it’s a reasonable price. It’s interesting that the developers chose to make a more traditional, 2.5D platformer rather than translate Yoshi’s gameplay into 3D like with Mario, especially as 3D gaming was all the rage back then and games like this were often seen as outdated as a consequence. Nevertheless, Yoshi’s Story certainly impresses with its whimsical, colourful crafted worlds that showcase the Nintendo 64’s ability to surpass its 16-bit predecessors with detailed, if familiar, locations. I really enjoyed the personality of the plasticine models, though I would’ve liked to see the Yoshis play a little differently (perhaps being faster, slower, having more or less eggs, or being better at swimming) to add some variety. A two-player co-op mode would’ve been nice as well, as well as the ability to free play any stage without entering the “Trial Mode”. The Special Heart progression system threw me, confusing me for a bit, and potentially handicaps players who simply eat every fruit without exploring. It’s weird that all the bosses are fought in “Summit” and, while I enjoyed their appearances, they’re all far too easy. It is fun that the finale offers different challenges depending on which stage you pick, and that each playthrough is different depending on which stage you select, but it does become a touch tedious when you just want to play through each stage successively. Still, Yoshi’s Story is a lot of fun, despite how slippery Yoshi can be and some of the more awkward mechanics. It’s hardly the most impressive Nintendo 64 title and doesn’t really showcase what the console was truly capable of, but it’s a fun, colourful little adventure that harkens back to the glory days of 16-bit platformers and it gives Yoshi a chance to shine as a fully capable solo star rather than a glorified babysitter.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Was Yoshi’s Story in your Nintendo 64 library back in the day? What did you think to the crafted aesthetic and bizarre stages? Were you disappointed that the Yoshis didn’t have different attributes? Did you ever collect all the Special Hearts and beat every stage? Are you a fan of Yoshi and, if so, which of his games is your favourite? How are you celebrating Mario’s birthday this year? Whatever your thoughts on Yoshi’s Story, feel free to share them below, support me on Ko-Fi, and be sure to check out my other Mario content!

Game Corner [Zelda Day]: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch)

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On this day in 1986, legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka launched the Legend of Zelda series, now one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises.

Released: 13 September 2024
Developer: Nintendo EPD and Grezzo

Also Available For: Nintendo Switch 2
Metacritic Scores: 85 / 8.4

Quick Facts:
After the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Zelda sold over 6.5 million copies, the franchise spawned a handful of generally questionable spin-offs, though the titular princess only took the spotlight in a much-maligned and poorly conceived release for the ill-fated Phillips CD-i. Following the critical and commercial success of their 2019 diorama-inspired remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (ibid, 1993), Nintendo and developers Grezzo originally conceived the follow-up as an expansion of Link’s Awakening’s dungeon editor. The project changed to put the princess at the forefront and the dungeon editor mechanics became the “Echoes” system (purposely included over series protagonist Link), and the game was specifically designed to appeal to all gamers. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom released to largely positive reviews that praised the innovative changes to the franchise formula and adorable visuals while criticising the restrictive combat options and clunky user interface.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Much like the adorable and fun-packed diorama-like remake of Link’s Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a 2.5D, quasi-top down adventure in which players explore a version of the fantasy land Hyrule that closely mirrors The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo EAD, 1991) and its sequel. Of course, the most obvious thing that separates Echoes of Wisdom from other Zelda titles is that players now play as the titular princess for the first time in a mainline game…after clearing a quick pre-game sequence where you control a fully powered-up Link and battle the Demon King, Ganon. Once Link is sucked into a rift and lost in the “Still World”, however, you exclusively guide Zelda across Hyrule, sealing rifts and collecting “Sanctions” of the legendary Goddesses to confront the being responsible for the rifts, Null. If you’ve played the Link’s Awakening remake or the classic Zelda titles, Echoes of Wisdom will be immediately familiar, though it does include elements from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD, 2017) and Tears of the Kingdom (ibid, 2023). Players talk to non-playable characters (NPCs), open chests and doors, or pick up various items with A, jump with B, and perform a spin attack with the Right trigger to cut through grass and move a bit faster (though it doesn’t damage enemies). Unlike Link, Zelda doesn’t carry a sword and shield, but she can still target enemies with ZL to send her “Echoes” in to attack. Zelda wields the Tri Rod, gifted to her by the pixie-like companion, Tri. By defeating enemies or encountering shimmering objects, Zelda can add Echoes to her repertoire with ZR and spawn them with Y. Each has a different cost, as indicated by Tri’s current level, and you must seal rifts and rescue Tri’s friends to level him up, which reduces the cost of using Echoes so you can spawn more to solve puzzles and attack enemies.

Echoes and Automatons do Zelda’s fighting for her and and are essential for puzzle solving.

There are loads of Echoes to learn; they’re mapped to the right directional pad (D-pad), and you can set favourites and sort them by type and order obtained. They remind me of the classic Sonic the Hedgehog (Various, 1991 to 1994) debug modes as you spawn regular props (chairs, creates, etc) or enemies who attack on your behalf. Sadly, this means Zelda mostly takes a backseat in combat as you use Moblins, Wizzrobes, Chompfins, and the like to fight for you. There are different levels, too, with the stronger Echoes taking more hits and dealing additional damage but costing more to spawn. Echoes are also essential for solving the game’s various puzzles. You’ll need flaming Echoes to light torches, keep you warm on Holy Mount Lanayru and melt ice, meat to distract enemies, hopping Armos statues to press pressure pads, ranged Echoes to activate switches, and Wind Cannons to extinguish flames or push you across gaps. Echoes create stationary, moving, and temporary platforms, spawn Strandtulas to create webs to climb between, Bombfish to blow up weak walls and blocks, and Mothulas you can grab to float across gaps. You can spawn beds to sleep in and refill Zelda’s health (though enemies still drop hearts and you can still extend her health by finding Heart Pieces), burrow through soft dirt with Holmills, and light up dark underwater caverns with Tanglers. It can be fun experimenting with Echoes to find hidden areas and solve puzzles, though I stuck to a handful of specific Echoes to get past most areas. There are times when you need specific Echoes like the animal statues specifically created for the Gerudo Dungeon and the Ancient Orb used to access the Great Deku Tree. Other times, you spawn boulders to weigh down platforms, summon specific enemies to appease NPCs, use lava rocks to safely bypass lava, or spawn Water Blocks to swim between bodies of water in the bizarre Still World. Similarly, Zelda can eventually unleash six of Dampé’s “Automatons”, mechanical duplicates of various enemies that deal greater damage and take more hits, but cost Rupees and “Monster Stones” to repair. Considering how many Echoes there are, I found little use for these and honestly got annoyed with the Echo system as it wasn’t as much fun as fighting directly.

The limited Swordfighter form, versatile Tri, and various accessories add to the gameplay.

The Still World is Echoes of Wisdom’s take on the “Dark World” concept from previous Zelda games. Areas of Hyrule are blemished and impassable thanks to rifts that spawn shadowy monsters who cannot be learned and don’t drop hearts or Rupees and can only be dispelled by venturing into the surreal, twisted Still World. In here, elements of the regular world are slanted, fragmented, and turned upside down, forcing you to use Echoes in new ways to traverse the endless void and locate Tri’s friends. This opens new areas on the map and levels-up Tri, who also latches onto objects and enemies with X, allowing you to move blocks from afar or carry objects to NPCs to complete side quests. You can also latch onto moving platforms to be carried across pits and solve puzzles from a distance. Soon into the game, Zelda acquires Link’s “Sword of Might” and assumes his form by pressing up on the D-pad. This allows you to swing and charge the sword and, eventually, fire arrows and toss bombs, but only for as long as the Energy Gauge lasts. You refill this by collecting energy (generally by defeating enemies in the Still World) and the gauge can be increased and her weapons upgraded by saving Tri’s friends and finding “Might Crystals” around Hyrule. I found it best to save the Swordfighter for bosses as even a fully upgraded Energy Guage won’t keep sustain the form for long. Zelda can extend her time in this form, locate Might Crystals, improve her swimming, and gain additional benefits from various accessories. While you can only equip a couple at a time (unless you pay a Great Fairy to make you more “stylish”), these are super useful for negating quicksand, preventing slipping on ice, and spawning more hearts or energy. Similarly, Zelda can wear different clothing for additional benefits, such as recovering more hearts when sleeping in her pyjamas, talking to cats to solve side quests, and increasing her spin radius.

Echoes help you navigate Hyrule, the dungeons, and seal the rifts spilling into the Still World.

You’ll be collecting Rupees to buy items from shops, helping NPCs to earn Might Crystals, Heart Pieces, and empty bottles to store restorative fairies, and collecting keys and maps to progress in dungeons. Like in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, enemies and chests often yield monster parts or various fruits. These can be brought to Deku Scrub vendors to mix smoothies to recover health or energy, stave off frigid cold and resist fire damage for a set time, reduce damage for a set time, and speed up your wall climbing, among other benefits. Every NPC provides hints about where you should go next, though you’re free to explore and tackle each area, rift, and dungeon in any order. Zelda doesn’t acquire new items from dungeons, just additional parts for her Swordfighter form that aren’t necessary to solve puzzles, so you’re free to tackle the main and side quests however you like. These are tracked on the map, and you can set stamps and waypoints to guide you, though some areas are more challenging. Holy Mount Lanayru features freezing water and areas that sap your hearts, the Gerudo Desert is full of quicksand, lava is rife on (and in) Eldin Volcano, and you must grab air bubbles to properly navigate the Jabul Waters and its ruins. As ever, dungeons get larger and more complex as you progress. These include a mixture of top-down and 2.5D sidescrolling sections and have you spawning Echoes to activate switches, open gates, and acquire keys to progress. You move giant boulders, ride elevators, defeat all enemies, climb walls, pull levers, and step on pressure pads as standard. Often, you must use Tri to latch onto objects beyond gates to progress; other times, you must place statues in specific spots or destroy blocks to find keys. Faron Temple has you going in and out, weighing down platforms and lighting up dark areas, while Lanayru Temple sees you heating up (or cooling down) special orbs to thaw or freeze up different areas. Gerudo Sanctum has you pulling out giant plugs to fill areas with or drain them of sand, you must spawn lava rock Echoes to cross and ride flava plumes in Eldin Temple, and you must strategically place (or destroy) Armos statues in Faron Temple.

Presentation:
As it’s based on the Link’s Awakening remake, Echoes of Wisdom looks, (mostly) plays, sounds, and feels exactly the same. This is great, for me, as I’m a big fan of the diorama-like, plasticine art style used to bring this epic fantasy world to life. It’s exactly in keeping with the aesthetic of the classic Zelda games and I much prefer the traditional, top-down approach to Zelda. Like Link, Zelda is mute here, talking only through pantomime or Tri, but she gets a chance to show more personality than ever as she’s framed for the rifts and initially goes incognito, meets Hyrule’s various races and helps with their rifts, issues, and worries, and tirelessly traverses both worlds to save her people and rescue Link. Zelda assumes a few different forms with her Swordfighter ability and clothing, though this latter mechanic doesn’t get much attention, unfortunately. This may be the biggest and most diverse 2.5D rendition of Hyrule yet, but it’s easy to explore (even with the rifts) and the fast travel system makes getting around a doddle. All the classic Zelda locations return, with the mischievous, all-female Gerudo waiting in the desert, two warring factions of Zora out by the swamp, and Gorons residing in the mountains. They’re joined by Tri’s people and the yeti-like Condé on Hebra Mountain, yet locations like Kakariko Village, Lake Hylia, and Hyrule Castle all make welcome returns alongside a typical mist-shrouded forest, spooky graveyard, and dingy swamp. As colourful and varied as Hyrule is, the game really impresses and ups its challenge in the ominous Still World, where a desolate void lurks in the background, NPCs are frozen in time, and parts of the environment are scattered about as bizarre makeshift platforms.

The unique story and reimagined locations are married with some all-too-familiar dungeons.

These are areas where Echoes of Wisdom shines best as it mirrors Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom by offering largely visually uninspiring dungeons. They’re not as confusing or layered as other 2 and 2.5D Zelda dungeons and are surprisingly easy to figure out considering the additional mechanics offering by Tri and the Echoes. It’s not too difficult to work out when you have to latch onto something and move it to higher ground, for example, or hit a faraway switch with something like a Boomerang Boarblin. Suthorn Ruins eases you into things nicely, appearing as an ancient, cave-like temple of cracked walkways and broken paths. Jabul Ruins emphasises swimming, with you avoiding whirlpools and grabbing air bubbles alongside stepping on coloured switches to raise a waterspout in the main chamber. Gerudo Sanctum features a wind gimmick and is structured like a boobytrapped training ground, forcing you to clear away and drain sand to progress, while Eldin Temple is housed within an active volcano. You must ride steam bursts, cross lava, and carefully climb rocky walls to progress. Faron Temple steps up the visuals as it’s housed within the Still World, so it’s got a surreal air to it, dark chambers, and crystals to charge with electrical attacks. Lanayru Temple and the surrounding mountains was probably my favourite area as you must fight against the slippery ice, stave off the frigid cold, and power up machinery to freeze or thaw different rooms. Things go full bonkers when you confront Null, however, as you battle through his insides alongside Link like the Kafai side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (Nintendo EAD, 2000) and traverse a fractured, bastardised version of Hyrule to reach the end. The game’s story is primarily told through speech bubbles, though some higher quality cutscenes crop up now and then. Musically, Echoes of Wisdom does well, emphasising more relaxed tunes than usual and peppering remixes of “Zelda’s Lullaby” and the main overture into the mix, though nothing really jumped out at me as very memorable.

Enemies and Bosses:
All the usual suspects return in Echoes of Wisdom, with every enemy (save for their rift-spawned shadows) capable of being spawned as Echoes. You’ll be swatting crow-like Guays and bat-like Keese from the air (with these latter also boasting fire, ice, and lightning variants), slaughtering spear- and sword-wielding Moblins (the tougher variants also boasting shields), and struggling to reflect Octorock’s projectiles without a shield. Lizalfos thrust and leap with tridents, Peahats pop from the ground and fly at you with their bladed underbellies, Mini-Moldorms snake around, Torch and Freeze Slugs crawl along leaving damaging trails, and elemental Wizzrobes teleport about small areas firing magical energy waves. Tektites pounce from the water, Beamos fire lasers from their eyes, snake-like Ropes lurk in grass, and you’ll even track down a super-strong Lynel that’s worth adding to your Echo line-up. ReDeads and Gibdos freeze you with a horrifying scream, Poes become intangible and toss flames from their lanterns, Darknuts wield giant axes, and ravenous Chompfin wait in the sea. There are also some new enemies to contend with, like the rain-spawning Drippitune and distracting Ribbitune (though they pose little threat), the Tweelus rock monsters who fly into a rage when attacked, swooping Albatrawl, and armadillo-like Caromadillo who roll into a ball to attack you. Many enemies receive shadowy variants in and around rifts and some (like the Ball-and-Chain Trooper and White Wolfos) act as mini bosses. Other optional mini bosses appear in side quests: the centipede-like Lanmola lurks in the Gerudo Desert, the Barinade-like Bori is fought in the wrecked ship, the red-hot Volcanic Talus is battled in Summit Cave, and the sentient gas ball Smog is encountered in the Eastern Temple. Naturally, these tend to be tougher battles, with Volcanic Talus being a flaming variant on the Seismic Talus boss battle and Bori emitting a powerful electrical field that’s difficult to avoid as you frantically destroy its mini jellyfish.

Amidst the fun mini bosses, you’ll find dark copies of Zelda and multiple iterations of series hero Link.

There are six mini bosses to contend with across Echoes of Wisdom, with your first being a battle against Ganon himself! This is essentially a stripped down version of A Link to the Past’s final battle as sees you (as Link) swatting Ganon with your sword as he teleports about, tosses his trident, and lunges from across the screen. You must defeat an Echo of Lord Jabu-Jabu to access the Jabul Ruins, and this fight sees you tossing Bombfish when he breaths in deeply and frantically swimming or hopping to wooden planks as he chomps around in the water. In Faron Temple, you encounter the multi-headed plant monster Manhandla twice, with you again stunning it by tricking it into eating Bombfishes so you can sever each head. In the second fight, it sprouts more heads, with two spitting projectiles. Lanayru Temple’s Slime Eye was a bit of a pain as you must avoid being squashed when it drops from above and spawn ice Echoes to freeze it. Each time you shatter it, it splits into smaller forms, which can quickly clog up the screen and make it difficult to avoid taking damage. When in the Stilled Ancient Ruins, Zelda battles her rift-spawned doppelgänger, who floats about and spawns shadow monsters of her own. You must lock onto her and fire your arrows to knock her down, preferably spawning a Lynel to handle her minions and deal big damage to her as she has a lot of help. Additionally, your most persistent enemy in Echoes of Wisdom is a shadowy double of Link who’s fought three times. Each time, he adds a new weapon to his arsenal which you receive upon victory, meaning you must battle against his sword swings, bomb tosses, and arrows. Link fires up to three arrows, charges a Spin Attack, jumps about, and powers up to be faster or spawn duplicates. Still, it’s generally easy enough to distract him with one Echo and spawn another to hit him from behind even with pits or multiple attacks to worry about.

Some large and complex, unique, familiar, and challenging bosses stand in Zelda’s path.

There are also eight regular bosses, with some being returning faces from the franchise. I fought the Seismic Talus first, which circles the arena and rapidly spins its long, rocky arms or slams them to the ground. You must target the exposed core on its back when it’s stunned or distracted, but the weak spot moves as the fight progresses. Next, I battled the fish-like Vocavor underwater in a 2.5D setting. You must grab air bubbles and dodge the whirlpools it spawns and its tail attack, dropping Bombfish to target the growths on its skin and leave it vulnerable for your sword. The giant mole Mogryph burrows under the sand, sending sand plumes at you, and diving across the sand to skewer you. You must trick it into colliding with the statues to stun it, then spawn your own when it takes to the air, watching for quicksand and sand twisters. I was super happy to see Volvagia return in Eldin Temple for a pretty challenging battle. Volvagia’s largely invulnerable when circling and you must avoid falling into the lava or stepping on red-hot tiles. When it pops from a lava pool, fire your arrows or use Tri to tug at its necklace to stun it, but watch for the energy balls and fireballs it spits and its wide-arching head swipe. Another familiar face, Gohma, guards Faron Temple. This time, you must use electrical Echoes to quickly attack the green crystals on her body to stun her, avoiding or burning the webs she spits out and taking out her babies as they appear. As you deal damage, Gohma stomps about and tries to trap you in her pincers and fires a sweeping laser. Skorchill awaits in Lanayru Temple and spins around on the ice, stomping to drop icicles, or switching to its fire helmet to spit fireballs and performing a flaming spin. You must alternate between ice- and fire-based Echoes depending on which helmet Skorchill’s wearing, with it eventually rapidly switching between both forms by the finale.

As tough as Ganon is, newcomer Null pushes your Echo-casting and Tri-throwing to their limit.

Ganon returns in Hyrule Castle, now noticeably more formidable since Zelda lacks Link’s usual attacks. In addition to his massive trident and teleporting antics, Ganon tosses fireballs and goads you into playing dead man’s volley, so be sure to have your Energy Gauge topped up. This was easily the toughest fight of the early game for me since Ganon is very aggressive. However, Ganon’s not the big bad here. Instead, it’s Null, a shadowy being once imprisoned by the Goddesses that somewhat reminds me of Nightmare from Link’s Awakening. The final battle with Null has three distinct phases, with Link joining you for two of them. In the first, you must latch onto Null’s arms and stretch them out so Link and your (Lynel) Echoes can attack. When it hides in the walls, you must avoid the draining goop it spawns and yank on its arms, again relying on Link and your Echoes since Zelda loses her Swordfighter form in the endgame. In the second phase, Zelda battles alone in Null’s bloodstream, like the Vocavor fight, swimming past giant whirlpools and spawning Chompfins to attack Null’s tentacles. The final phase is basically the same as the first, but much tougher. Null has more hands that are harder to snag (seriously, I kept grabbing Link or my Lynel, which was super frustrating!) and transforms into each of the previous bosses and uses their signature attacks, sometimes becoming multiple at once, or mixing and matching them, meaning you could be faced with as many as four Ganons alongside two flying Mogryphs! This was easily the most troublesome phase as the arena is filled with giant enemies and attacks that are difficult to avoid, so it’s best to sneak in a nap when you can or drink some special smoothies to even the odds. After enough hits, you must snag the “Prime Energy” from its body, rapidly tapping A to dispel the creature and restore the land.

Additional Features:
As in every Legend of Zelda videogame, there are numerous Heart Pieces to be found here. You get full ones for defeating each boss, and another heart for every four pieces you find, with forty of them spread across the map. There are also 150 Might Crystals to find which, when taken to Lueberry, will upgrade your Energy Gauge and Swordfighter form. You only need 125 to upgrade everything but, with all 150, Lueberry builds a machine to fill the Energy Gauge at will (not that you’ll need it by then). There are also sixty-nine (…nice) smoothie recipes to make, with you earning new accessories for crafting set amounts, and twenty-eight accessories to find, buy, or earn. There are eleven outfits to wear, though three are unlocked using Amiibos and one is only awarded after finding all twenty-five stamp locations. Each time you fill a stamp card, the Stamp Guy gives you a reward, such as a bottle or golden egg, and finding all twenty-five lets you dress as him. After finishing the game, you get a stamp on your save file and are free to finish up any side quests or tasks, with the map expanded to show any Echoes or collectibles you’ve missed. There are fifty-one side quests, from showing monsters to NPCs, finding a stray horse, talking to local cats while wearing cat clothes, tackling options side dungeons and mini bosses, ferrying items back and forth, locating a possible spy in the Hyrule guard’s ranks, and playing hide and seek. You can also collect acorns for rewards, play the game in the more challenging “Hero” mode, or head to the Slumber Dojo to tackle timed challenges. These see you battling enemies with various restrictions (such as having no Echoes or items at the start, playing in darkness or against elemental forces, or having healing drinks banned) and endure boss rushes, with various awards gifted depending on how fast you complete each challenge (with the final reward being Link’s iconic green tunic).

Final Thoughts:
I was super excited for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom because I was such a fan of the Link’s Awakening remake and this visual style for the franchise. This is the Zelda I enjoy: colourful, oddball, top-down adventuring with a clear progression system, a bunch of collectibles, and fun enemies and bosses to face.  In that regard, Echoes of Wisdom more than delivers with its clear allusions to A Link to the Past, incorporating the side quest tracking and certain mechanics from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, and giving long-time fans something new to experience through Zelda. While the dungeons were somewhat basic, I really enjoyed all the mini bosses peppered throughout the game, especially the fights against Dark Link, and the bosses were surprisingly challenging. Ganon and newcomer Null were especially taxing at times, though I suspect players who take advantage of the smoothie, accessory, and Echo system may fare better. Unfortunately, as fun as the Echo system can be, I wasn’t a fan of how it replaced real-time combat with almost a real-time strategy flavour. Zelda cannot attack unless she transforms into what’s basically Link, robbing her of a lot of agency (especially as she’s known to be a keen archer) and making battles needlessly tedious. The Echoes were good for puzzle solving but even this aspect was downplayed, with many of the puzzles being far too familiar and not as innovative as the system promises. It’s a shame as there’s a lot to like here but it mostly felt like I was playing with a janky debug mode, spawning random crap into each area to see what would happen, which wasn’t that fun as many Echoes are pretty useless. I wonder if a back-and-forth system might’ve been better, where players control Link and Zelda, switching between them depending on the situation. Echoes of Wisdom is still a gorgeous and enjoyable title, however, and well worth your time, I just think it fails to live up to its full potential at times.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom? Were you happy to see Zelda take the spotlight for a change? What did you think to the Echo system and how it took control away from the player? Did you enjoy the surreal appearance of the Still World? What did you think to Null and did you also struggle against his final form? Did you ever complete all the side quests and conquer the Slumber Dojo? Which Zelda game is your favourite and how did you celebrate the franchise today? Whatever your thoughts on Echoes of Wisdom, drop a comment down below, go check out my other Zelda reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi to see more Zelda content.

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Mega Man 10 (Xbox Series X)

Dr. K1 Comment

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 8 August 2017
Originally Released: 1 March 2010
Developer: Inti Creates / Capcom
Metacritic Scores: 81 / 8.3

Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series S

Quick Facts:
In 2008, Mega Man godfather Keiji Inafune and Inti Creates returned the series to its 8-bit roots with a throwback title lauded for its old-school aesthetics and notorious for its abhorrent difficulty. Sales impressed enough for a sequel, which continued the 8-bit aesthetic but included an “Easy Mode” to make it more accessible. Alongside the returning Proto Man, Mega Man 10 added rival robot Bass in additional updates alongside new stages based on the Game Boy titles, and this downloadable content (DLC) was included in the second Legacy Collection. Mega Man 10 was well received and praised for its gameplay and accessibility, stage design and music, and how it improved on the previous game, though it was criticised for being too familiar and too short by some.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Like its predecessor, Mega Man 10 is a throwback to the 8-bit glory days of the Blue Bomber, though without all the distracting sprite flickering and slowdown. You battle eight initial stages and their “Robot Masters”, acquiring their “Special Weapons” before tackling Doctor Albert Wily’s latest death trap lair. Mega Man still sports a very stripped back arsenal, unable to slide, charge his shot, or gain additional armour as these abilities are divided between the other playable characters. All three have the same basic controls which, by default, see you firing your currently equipped weapon with X, unleashing a rapid-fire attack with B, and jumping with X or Y. Jumps are noticeably floaty when underwater or in space and players still replenish health and Special Weapon ammo by collecting capsules. While you can switch between Mega Man’s Special Weapons from the “View” menu, the Left and Right Bumpers allow for quick switching again and you can now save and visit the shop at Doctor Thomas Light’s lab from the stage select screen and after clearing every level (even Dr. Wily’s stages). You spend the screws you’ve collected on special items, such as restorative Tanks, 1-ups (both also found in stages) and helpers like Beat and Eddie (who save you from bottomless pits or dish out goodies, respectively). You also grab single-use items that protect you from spikes or double the damage you take, and an item that automatically refills whichever Special Weapon has the least ammo. The shop is much cheaper than in Mega Man 9 (though I was playing on “Easy Mode”) but also somewhat redundant as Mega Man 10 is noticeably easier. When in the “View” menu, you can activate your Tanks to refill your health and/or ammo and call upon Mega Man’s robotic canine companion Rush to spring you to higher ground or carry you across pits (until you hit a wall or the meter runs dry).

Each character sports unique abilities to alter the game’s thankfully less taxing challenge.

You can pick between Mega Man, Proto Man, and Bass from the start. Proto Man reflects projectiles with his shield, has a charged shot, and slides to avoid damage while Bass fires in all directions (when standing still), dashes, and combines with his robot dog, Treble, to don powerful armour. Bass is the weakest, however, and only Mega Man uses the returning Special Weapons from the Game Boy-inspired games. Special Weapons have little functionality outside of boss battles (I mainly used the Commando Bomb to destroy certain walls) but they make fighting Robot Masters a joke if you attack with the right ones. As ever, their abilities will be familiar to long-time players: the Chill Spike fires a freezing shot that leaves icicles on the ground for a short time, the Wheel Cutter sends buzzsaws travelling across every surface, and the Commando Bomb explodes and sends shockwaves on impact. The Triple Blade is a useful three-way shot, the Rebound Striker bounces about hitting anything in its path, and the Water Shield protects you and fires in a spiral spread. The Thunder Wool was probably the most troublesome Special Weapon as the thundercloud can be easily dissipated by enemies before it fires its lightning bolt. Some Special Weapons drain faster than others, though “Easy Mode” features a handy additional power-ups that fully restores your health and ammo. “Easy Mode” also reduces the damage you take and adds floating platforms over pits and some spike beds, greatly reducing the difficulty. Blade Man’s stage features see-saw-like platforms that carry you over spikes and pits, the time bomb platforms from Mega Man 6 (Capcom, 1993) return to help (and hinder if you linger too long), and you’ll run on treadmills in Sheep Man’s stage to temporarily activate platforms.

Alongside returning hazards and mechanics, some fun new gimmicks keep things fresh.

All the usual hazards return, including insta-death spikes, pits, flames, and slippery surfaces. Conveyor belts push you towards spiked walls in Solar Man’s stage, giant bubbles carry you to the same hazard in Pump Man’s stage, and shifting sand threatens to consume you in Commando Man’s stage. You must dodge or hop to speeding, kamikaze trucks in Nitro Man’s stage, drop down a few spike-lined shafts, and be sure not to linger when on Chill Man’s destructible ice cubes. Disappearing and reappearing blocks also show up (though you can usually use Rush Jet to bypass them), as do ladders and moving platforms. Sheep Man’s cyberspace-like stage features tetrominoes that disappear when you touch them (often dropping you to spikes or pits), Commando Man’s stage also features a unique sandstorm that pushes you along (and to your death if you’re not careful), and Pump Man’s stage sees you traversing pipes, having your jumps screwed up by falling water, and struggling against the flow of the murky underwater sections. Solar Man’s garish stage is more vertical, introducing fireball hazards from the walls and ceilings, and Dr. Wily’s fortress recycles most gimmicks to test everything you’ve learned. Dr. Wily’s tetrominoes and destructible blocks often lead to goodies, if you dare take the risk, and his third stage features a unique rising platform section where you must hop to pressure pads on either side to navigate insta-death spike fields. The see-saw platforms are underwater, where your jumps are floatier and you’re at greater risk of hitting insta-death spikes. When you climb ladders in his lair, enemies and hazards are placed to knock you off, though there are no horizontal autoscrollers or anxiety-inducing chase sequences to worry about here. Even the Legacy Collection 2’s janky-ass “save state” feature (which simply saves everything you’ve collected and returns you to your last checkpoint) is tolerable as Mega Man 10 is so much easier than the last game, meaning things are challenging but not frustrating and I enjoyed the chance to “get good” at the trickier sections. Die-hards can make things harder for themselves with “Normal Mode” or using Bass or Proto Man, but I’ll take a more relaxed “Easy Mode” any day over being needlessly stressed.

Presentation:
Like Mega Man 9, Mega Man 10 continues to ape the old-school 8-bit aesthetic of the NES games, though it seems the developers took more inspiration from the lauded Mega Man 2 (Capcom, 1988) this time. The sprites, especially in cutscenes, seem more basic than Mega Man 9’s and far closer to Mega Man 2’s. This doesn’t stop Mega Man 10 including nice, chunky, partially animated sprite art alongside its sprite-based cutscenes, though, with the story depicting Mega Man’s “sister”, Roll, getting sick and Dr. Wily first helping, then betraying, the heroes (only to be in their debt when he also gets sick). Mega Man’s sprite is otherwise unchanged from before, only blinking when idle and changing colour with Special Weapons, and still dramatically exploding upon death. He demonstrates each Special Weapon more thoroughly, however, the stage intros are a bit more detailed than before, and Proto Man even appears on the title screen. Mega Man 10 continues to showcase some super catchy chip tunes, nicely translates Bass from a 16-bit character to a chibi 8-bit anti-hero, and recreates the limitations of the NES even when it doesn’t have to (like placing larger bosses against a plain background, for example). Mega Man 10 is one of the rare Mega Man games to include five stages to Dr. Wily’s fortress rather than the usual four, thankfully separating the final battle against him to a unique area, one set about his ominous space station. Dr. Wily’s fortress is also bigger and more impressive than ever, the weapon select screen has been overhauled from the last game, and stages seem to be more detailed and varied compared to Mega Man 8, while still very much staying true to the simplicity of the NES titles.

The throwback graphics and quirky new stages shine all the brighter this time around.

Chill Man’s stage is full of gleaming, slippery surfaces and features looming, frozen pyramids in the background, which turns to night and is beset by a thick snowstorm. Nitro Man’s stage boasts the twinkling night sky and a futuristic city background and is apparently set on a bustling highway as aggressive trucks speed from both sides. Commando Man’s stage initially echoes Pharaoh Man’s stage from Mega Man 4 (Capcom, 1991), starting as a scorching desert, though it quickly becomes clear the sand is littered with mines and plagued by sandstorms. Blade Man’s stage is a medieval castle, with cannons visible on the outer walls and banners, columns, and gaping windows set into the brickwork. Strike Man’s stage was the most impressive and unique as it’s set in a football stadium. You start on the pitch, with empty seats in the background, and battle past the surprisingly aggressive lockers, hop to basketball hoop platforms, and blast rocket-powered footballs to reach higher ground (or pass under them when they sport spikes). Sheep Man’s stage was a bit of a mess with its constantly shifting, cyberspace-like foreground, but I enjoyed the PC desktop theme seen throughout, especially in the Pointan enemies. Pump Man’s stage seems to be a cistern or dank sewer, featuring murky water and lots of pipes to jump to. Haiker N’s clog some of these and the underwater current can mess with your movements. Solar Man’s stage was by far the most garish, featuring a vivid and ugly red backdrop to a mechanical foreground beset by spinning gears, glowing pipes, and lava. The exterior to Dr. Wily’s fortress is drenched by an all-too-brief downpour and the inside is a mechanical hellhole that features previous gimmicks. As ever, these are the last visually interesting stages as it’s all just a mess of mechanical bits and bobs and unnecessarily loud colours, but stage five does feature a unique layout where the entire background is upside down due to the gravity. Oddly, there’s no gravity based gimmick here, though your jumps are floaty and the final battle does see the Earth hanging upside down for a fun visual.

Enemies and Bosses:
The hard-hat-wearing Metalls return with three variants: the regular spread shot Metall, ones that fly using propeller hats, and Numetall variants that spit sticky goo. The machine gun-wielding Sniper Joe from Mega Man 9 returns, still hiding behind his shield and jumping to fake you out, as do the jet-powered Shield Attackers. The floating Suzys are also back, as are Mega Man 2’s Molmoles (both are great for “farming” resources), Shrimparages, and annoying Sprinklans (which reflect your regular shot). New enemies include a fireball spitting robotic antlion hidden in Commando Man’s desert, a sound wave-firing totem pole found in Sheep Man’s stages and baseball throwing Mecha Pitchans in Strike Man’s stake. Sentient axes try to hack you in Blade Man’s stage, snowman-like Kaoa Geenos toss their heads in Chill Man’s stage, and heavily armoured Oshitsu Osarettsus await in Nitro Man’s stage. We’ve got weird robotic brains that link to turrets or little tanks, searchlight robots that screw with the direction of conveyor belts, floating and stationary cannons, mechanical flowers than unleash a charged laser blast, and relatively harmless cubes that multiply when hit. There are four mini bosses to encounter here, with two being recycled in Dr. Wily’s fortress. You battle a mechanical goalpost twice in Strike Man’s stage, riding its heavy fists to blast its head while avoiding being electrocuted, and hop to Tricastle’s spiked platforms to blast its eyes in Blade Man’s stage. Fenix and Suzak appear twice and are fought in tandem, with the robo-birds taking turns spitting flames and darting from side to side, as does the Octobulb. This is a pretty unique fight as you must run on a treadmill to power-up blocks to hop to so you can blast its lightbulb-like head, though you must be wary of its minions and the sparks it sends around the arena when the power runs out.

Though uninspired, the new Special Weapons make mincemeat out of the Robot Masters.

As always, Mega Man 10 can be made more challenging depending on the order you fight the Robot Masters, though many are so ridiculously easy that you can decimate them in a few hits with the right Special Weapon (on “Easy Mode”, anyway). I fought Chill Man first, who is weak to Solar Blaze, but your regular Mega Buster will do just fine. He leaps about firing his Chill Spike, which either freezes you or forms spikes if it misses. While this Special Weapons doesn’t travel too far, it’s more than enough to cool down Nitro Man, who races back and forth on his motorcycle and tosses his gear-like Wheel Cutter, which travels across the floor and up walls. This makes short work of Commando Man, a bulky sprite who stomps around firing his Commando Bomb at the walls or floor to cause a shockwave. While Blade Man impresses by clinging to surfaces, flinging his Triple Blade and darting at you like a missile, the Commando Bomb is all-but-guaranteed to hit him no matter how nimble he is. The Triple Shot is so overpowered against Strike Man that he barely got a chance to move, let along toss his ricocheting Rebound Striker shot! And good thing, too, as these balls can be troublesome to avoid as they careen off every surface, a mechanic that’s perfect for the bizarre Sheep Man. Sheep Man transforms into four storm clouds to fire lightning bolts and bursts with electricity when on the ground, but you won’t have to worry about picking which cloud hides the real Sheep Man if you toss a few Rebound Strikers. Although Pump Man is weak to the Thunder Wool, his Water Sheild and large hit box mean the attack can be dispelled before it can properly fire. Luckily, Pump Man simply hops about and fires an easily avoided spiral in mid-air, meaning you can just unload with the Mega Buster’s autofire mode. Like Strike Man, Solar Man was a joke with the Water Shield, which shreds him before he can even think about unleashing Solar Blaze. As always, each Robot Master is fought again in Dr. Wily’s castle.

Despite one tedious boss fight, even the endgame is far more forgiving compared to the previous game.

Dr. Wily’s stage also features three simulators that unleash drone mimics of nine former Robot Masters to try your new Special Weapons on, alongside a new version of the Yellow Devil. The “Block Devil” slowly assembles from the blocks surrounding you, which can be tricky to dodge and are immune to all damage. Once formed, it floats up and down and fires a big plasma shot from its central core, which must be hit with either Rebound Striker or Thunder Wool. This battle is more tedious than challenging since it involves a lot of waiting around for the Block Devil to assemble and disassemble. The Crab Puncher prior to it is much more interesting, being a big, cartoonish robot crab that shields its vulnerable eyestalks with its pincers (which can also be destroyed) and spits froth-like projectiles. The Commando Bomb and Thunder Wool work well here but you can also use the floating, spiked platforms to blast its weak spots. When you reach Dr. Wily’s fourth stage, you face a two-phase battle against his large, intimidating, skull-faced pirate ship-like craft. Though it sports a large hit box and fires homing missiles from its back, you can hop to the gigantic missiles that fire from its mouth to unload on the skull-like face with Solar Blaze. After enough hits, Dr. Wily’s cockpit is exposed and the ship regenerates its health, now flying overhead and firing spiral projectiles and devastating lightning bolts. These are easily avoided, however, and the Water Shield deals big damage to the cockpit (though Triple Blade also works). After beating it, you stock up on resources and head to Dr. Wily’s space station for the final showdown, thankfully one of the easiest of any Mega Man game I’ve played! The feverish Dr. Wily attacks in his UFO-like capsule alongside an obvious decoy, both firing plasma orbs, sending shockwaves across the ground, or firing a larger projectile between them. Though they teleport away pretty quickly, the lower gravity gives you the edge you need to get high enough to attack with the Chill Spike.

Additional Features:
In the original release of Mega Man 10, there were twelve Achievements up for grabs, but Legacy Collection 2 features only three (with you earning one for beating the game with each character). You get additional Achievements by taking on Legacy Collection 2’s “Challenges”, however, which remix stages and hazards from the four games and present time trials and boss rushes that I had no interest in trying to beat. Legacy Collection 2 also includes borders, filters, a music player, sound test, and extra armour to reduce the damage you take. There are additional challenges in Mega Man 10 as well, from simple stuff like running ahead, climbing ladders, and defeating bosses to trickier objectives like avoiding damage, dying, or playing without your helmet. You can make the game harder with “Normal Mode”, tackle it as either Bass or Proto Man, and play three “Special Stages” based on three of the Game Boy games. These act as a coda to the main game, charting Mega Man’s escape from Dr. Wily’s exploding space station, and see you acquiring Special Weapons from those games (the explosive Ballade Cracker, the Mirror Buster energy shield, and the arcing Screw Crusher) and using them against the so-called “Mega Man Killers”, Enker, Punk, and Ballade.

Final Thoughts:
Given how much I struggled with Mega Man 9, I wasn’t optimistic about Mega Man 10. Even when I saw the “Easy Mode”, I had my doubts as Capcom’s definition of “easy” differs greatly from mine. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mega Man 10 is challenging, but not impossible, and vastly more enjoyable as a result. Every complaint I had about Mega Man 9 has been addressed, with the game offering more chances to save, use the shop (which is much cheaper), and being much fairer with its obstacles. Things can get rough, of course, thanks to the knock back and many bottomless pits and insta-death spikes, but it never had me tearing my hair out even if there weren’t any “Easy Mode” safety nets nearby. Although the Special Weapons continue to find their most use against Robot Masters and once again fail to be very imaginative, I liked that Mega Man, Proto Man, and Bass all played differently (though it might’ve been nice to swap between them at will). Mega Man 10 looked, played, and “felt” far more akin to Mega Man 2, rivalling that game with its soundtrack and level variety at times. While Solar Man’s stage is an eyesore, I liked Strike Man’s stadium-themed stage and Blade Man’s medieval castle. I was happy to see Rush Jet once again be a viable way to bypass obstacles, and that some stages featured alternative paths, and that the final boss was split into separate sections to make it less aggravating. The Robot Masters were as colourful and lively as ever, if far weaker than usual, though Dr. Wily’s defenders left a lost to be desired. Still, I had a lot more fun with Mega Man 10 than I was expecting as the difficulty curve is far more manageable this time around, making it a worthy successor to the NES classics.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Do you agree that Mega Man 10 is superior to its predecessor, or did you find it too easy? Which character was your favourite to play as and what did you think of Mega Man’s new Special Weapons? Were you also glad to see the save function and shop be more accessible? Did you ever beat the game on “Normal Mode” and best the returning Game Boy bosses? Which sci-fi videogames are you playing this month? Use the comments section below to talk to me about Mega Man 10 and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest more Mega Man content for the site.

Mini Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Strider (Mega Drive)

Dr. K1 Comment

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 29 September 1990
Developer: Capcom
MobyGames Score: 7.6

Also Available For: Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Master System, MS-DOS, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii (Virtual Console), PC, PC Engine.TurboGrafx-16, PlayStation, SEGA Mega Drive Mini, ZX Spectrum

Quick Facts:
Back when arcade machines were at their peak, Capcom were one of the premier names thanks, in no small part, to Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991). With Capcom’s popular and varied efforts cementing their legacy, they teamed with manga studio Moto Kikaku on the arcade Strider, its solid (if forgotten) NES port, and a manga adaptation. Director Kouichi “Isuke” Yotsui capitalised on the ninja fad of the era with Strider Hiryu, best known for his acrobatics and climbing abilities. This Mega Drive port was praised for sticking closely to its arcade roots, though Strider was largely relegated to cameo appearances even after a warmly received 2014 reboot.

The Review:
Essentially a remake and reimagining of the original arcade game, its ports, and its sequels, Strider is a 2D arcade-style hack-and-slash title. Players guide top assassin Strider Hiryu through five stages (set in the far-flung future of 2048) to assassinate Grandmaster Meio, who has established a dictatorial rule with his robots and cyborgs. Though he lacks any idle poses or victory animations, Strider is a visually impressive character, sporting a purple/blue/silver attire, a shock of red hair, and somersaulting about with his floaty jumps. Gameplay options are a simple as you could want, with Strider performing his aforementioned jump with either A or C and slashing enemies with his sword with B. You can crouch and attack, attack in mid-air, and press A and C or C and B together to performing a leaping attack. Strider clings to walls and ceilings with a pair of hooks to clamber up surfaces and shimmy over enemies. Pressing down and either A or C sees Strider slide under hazards, projectiles, and some enemies (though I always took damage if I hit an enemy) and you can extend the reach and power of your sword attacks with certain pick-ups. Others grant you an extra life or make you temporarily invincible (both of which you’ll desperately need!), restore some or all of your health or extend your health bar, or award points. You earn extra lives with a high score and you’ll get some temporary help from robot allies if you’re lucky. The Dipodal Saucer may weaken your energy bar, but it attacks with electrical blasts when you slash your sword to attack other enemies, the Terapodal Robo-panther fights alongside you on the ground, and the Hawk Robot circles above striking nearby enemies. You often grab these items by destroying robot drones and they nearly always land in precarious positions, meaning you’re likely to injure yourself grabbing them!

Run, jump, slash, and climb through and past enemies and obstacles alike.

Strider offers three difficulty settings and allows players to set the number of lives they start with. Each stage contains a few different areas to battle through, with the game being surprisingly generous with its checkpoints, and betrays its arcade roots by pitting you against a timer. This refills when you defeat mini bosses, but it can be quite tight to reach each checkpoint with the many hazards and projectiles in each screen. Strider may be nimble but he’s a very big, often slow target and it’s extremely easy to be hit in mid-jump or when sliding under projectiles. It doesn’t help that the enemies flood the screen, constantly respawning and swarming you, or that this slows the action with sprite flickering, screen tearing, and stuttering as the game loads each area. While fun to control on the ground and often tasked with outrunning explosions and other hazards, leaping across chasms or hopping to moving platforms, Strider is very finnicky when affixed to walls and ceilings. His controls go a bit wonky, he hangs there as an obvious target, and it’s very easy to simply slip or be knocked down one of the game’s many bottomless pits. Some stages feature a gravity gimmick, forcing you to battle on the ceiling and turning the sky into a hazard. Others have you hopping to flying platforms and hanging beneath them to avoid bombs dropped by the Ballrog battleship. Drill-like spikes, piranha-infested waters, unreliable springy platforms, explosive munitions, spiked walls, and hidden boosters that send you flying into the abyss are commonplace, so you must constantly be vigilant. While each stage is quite large and varied, they’re also paradoxically short and there are no bonus games to mix up the action, such as a sidescrolling shooter where you get to control Strider’s awesome, high-tech glider. Instead, you must settle for some bonus points at the end of the stage.

If there’s one thing Strider has going for it, it’s some bizarre and challenging bosses.

Although Strider often struggles with all the action and many enemies sport basic attack animations, the game throws loads of enemies in your path and they’re all annoying! From swarms of seemingly never-ending drones to cybernetic soldiers carrying pulse rifles, to spider-like robots and chicken-like mech walkers, the game’s enemies are relentless, constantly respawning and filling the screen with projectiles. You’ll also encounter many mini bosses and peculiar large mechanical guardians, with many littering the screen with flames or projectiles upon defeat. Stage 1 pits you against a theatrical wrestler who blocks your sword and judo tosses you overhead, a security robot traps you in an enclosed space and fires lasers that ricochet off every surface. A gaggle of onlookers turns out to be a large, sickle-wielding robot centipede whose back you must jump and cling to to pummel its head! Stage 2 has you battle a giant (but limited) mechanical ape (who bursts into hazardous flames upon defeat), desperately landing hits as he fires homing missiles, darts offscreen, and take out three kung-fu ladies to gain control of the Ballrog. While on the battleship, you’re sent flying around an antigravity chamber attacking the floating central control sphere, which is protected by smaller spheres and often sees you take damage without even realising it. A titanic mechanical dinosaur awaits in the jungle, which taxes the Mega Drive hardware and sees you using the high ground to attack its head and avoid its spiral flame shot and extendable claws. Most bosses return for a gauntlet in the final stage, with you battle the floating sphere, security robot, the mechanical ape (alongside constantly respawning but largely harmless Tyrannosaurs rexes), and the robot dinosaur (this time forced to time your jumps since there’s no platform). After besting the flying gunner again and being carried across a void by the robot centipede (and then destroying it again), you finally confront the grandmaster. This cloaked nuisance floats around an antenna, with a bottomless pit below and various projectiles to dodge. Luckily, you can grab some health here and there’s a chance you can stun-lock the grandmaster to make short work of him, but it’s pretty challenging since Strider’s such a huge target.

While visually impressive, Strider is handicapped by staying too close to its arcade origins.

While Strider initially impresses, with Strider slicing apart the title screen background, there is no pre-game story cutscene or context to be found. Interludes pop up between stages, featuring the bad guys mocking you and praising Grandmaster Meio, but the game’s surprisingly light on story considering how rich its visuals are. Indeed, while the music didn’t exactly wow me and many backgrounds were disappointingly sparse, resembling the plain voids often seen in Master System titles, there’s a fair bit happening in every stage. You start off in the vaguely-Russian city of Kazufa, battling past the twinkling city lights, searchlights, and towering, Byzantine-esque buildings which hide futuristic weapons factories. There are always platforms to hop to, cling to, or pull yourself up m, with many being slanted and sporting hordes of mechanical enemies. Turrets line the walls and ceilings, drones hover from above, and giant gears turn platforms as you progress. Stage 2 places you in the frigid Siberian mountains, where wolves and an avalanche force you into a robot factory, where large dynamos flash intermittently to turn everything black and fill the screen with lightning bolts. Upon scaling the mountain, Strider finds himself on the heavily armed, steampunk-esque Ballrog battleship, whose outer hull is defending but turrets and a massive, tank-like cannon that sends you flying it you don’t quickly destroy it. Strider must smash his way inside, running and then frantically wall jumping to avoid being crushed, before making his way to the control cockpit. Stage 4 takes a bizarre detour into the Amazon jungle, where Tarzan-like natives toss boomerang-like projectiles, swarm from bendy branches, and friggin’ dinosaurs stomp past! You can hop on the backs of Brachiosaurus to fend off flocks of Pterodactyls and avoid being torn apart in the dangerous waters below. As if that fever dream wasn’t surreal enough, the game ends with you storming the grandmaster’s main base on “The Third Moon”, a space station teeming with deadly hazards, defences, and sending you reeling with its gravity gimmick. You’ll hop to giant satellite dishes, desperately cling to slanted platforms, be jostled about in another antigravity chamber, and end up clambering up an antenna to face the big bad himself. The game’s ending is barely worth it, with Strider looking upon the destruction he’s caused and flying off victorious past an enemy roll call as the credits play, with the game offering no high score table for your efforts.

Final Thoughts:
I was really excited to get my hands on Strider, a very affordable and often visually impressive early title for the Mega Drive, primarily because of how cool the title character looks somersaulting about and slashing foes with his giant sword. Unfortunately, the game sticks a little too close to its arcade roots, throwing a timer, hordes of nigh-endless enemies, and a slew of unfair pitfalls and hazards at you. With limited lives and no continues, you’re probably better off taking advantage of some of the push button codes or even modern ports of the game, which include rewinds and save states. Still, I was impressed by Strider in a lot of ways. Strider looks great, the foregrounds, especially, are incredibly detailed and varied, and I enjoyed the cyberpunk aesthetic that permeates every area (except for that random jaunt into a prehistoric jungle…I don’t know what that was about!) Unfortunately, the game might be a little too ambitious as the Mega Drive struggles to render everything at an acceptable speed and consistency, slowing the action and assaulting you with flickering and stuttering. I loved the giant and creative mini bosses, but they were painfully limited and artificially made more challenging by restricting you to tight corridors where Strider’s hit box works against him. power-ups were few and far between and it’s way too easy to take damage when slicing through enemies, severely limiting the action. This means you can neither blast through the game at high speed or afford to take your time, as the clock and the enemies are always against you. I enjoyed the stage variety, though, and gimmicks like the exploding floors and walls, but many of the backgrounds were far too basic for a 16-bit behemoth like the Mega Drive. Honestly, you’re probably better off emulating the arcade version as at least then I assume you can keep pumping in coins to push through tougher sections, but this home console port is a little too unforgiving to be as enjoyable as it could be.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Did you ever play the Mega Drive version of Strider? Were you impressed by how close it was to the arcade version? What did you think to Strider’s appearance and sword attack? Which of the game’s bosses did you find the most ludicrous? Did you manage to clear the game legitimately? What are some of your favourite sci-fi-orientated videogames? Whatever your experiences with Strider, feel free to share them below, check out my other sci-fi and retrogaming content, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other games for me to review.

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Perfect Dark (Xbox Series X)

Dr. K4 Comments

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 4 August 2015
Originally Released: 22 May 2000
Developer: Rare
Metacritic Scores: 97 / 8.3

Also Available For: Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series S

Quick Facts:
One of the biggest UK-based videogame developers, Rare cemented their legacy with the classic first-person shooter (FPS) GoldenEye 007 (1997) but lost the James Bond license to Electronic Arts (EA). Taking inspiration from science-fiction movies and television shows, Rare crafted an original sci-fi shooter that vastly improved upon GoldenEye 007’s game engine and mechanics. Perfect Dark’s development was tumultuous and taxed the Nintendo 64 hardware, resulting in plans to incorporate the Game Boy Camera and Transfer Pak being scrapped. Perfect Dark was met with critical acclaim, though a spin-off was cancelled and the game’s prequel was universally derided.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
As the spiritual successor to one of the greatest first-person shooters ever made, it should be no surprise that Perfect Dark focuses on gun combat, stealth, and accomplishing various objectives across its nine missions. While the game allows two players to play solo simultaneously with one of its controller settings, allowing one to move and interact and the other to aim and shoot, Perfect Dark also offers co-operative play and “counter-operative” play, in which players actively try to interfere with each other in a single playthrough. “Perfect” Agent Joanna Dark is a spy working for the Carrington Institute, allowing GoldenEye 007’s mechanics to be expanded upon and refined. Though you can change the controller setup, I always found the “classic” controls to be the best so I was interacting with the environment (opening doors, activating consoles, and such) with A, cycling through weapons with B and Y, manually reloading with X, and using the Right Bumper to switch to my weapon’s secondary function. The Left Trigger aims, the Right Trigger fires, and I crouched behind cover (crates, desks, and such) by pressing in the left stick. You can also toggle a few options from the menu (such as the crosshair, auto aim, and the blood), create and name multiple save files, and pick from three difficulty settings. As in GoldenEye 007, these not only increase the intelligence and durability of enemies but also add additional objectives to each mission to provide a greater challenge. Upon clearing a mission, you’re presented with your performance, which tracks how long you took, your accuracy, your kills, and other stats and also displays any cheats you unlocked. As Perfect Dark is a more futuristic setting than GoldenEye 007, Joanna utilises shields to extend her health, slows time with the “Combat Boost” item, and utilises gadgets like infrared goggles and various scanners to detect objectives. However, like Bond, Joanna fails missions if she destroys key equipment or kills too many innocents, so you can’t be too trigger happy.

Joanna utilises some familiar, and alien, weapons to complete objectives and clear missions.

Anyone who’s played GoldeneEye 007 may be familiar with some of Joanna’s weapons. The standard issue Falcon 2 isn’t a million miles away from the Walther PP7 or the DD44 Dostovei, the DY357 Magnum is functionally identical to Bond’s Cougar Magnum, the super powerful RC-P120 is essentially an upgraded RC-P90, and Joanna also utilises grenades and various mines. Joanna also gains a wrist laser, a hunting knife, and utilises a sniper rifle in the second mission, alongside blasting enemies with a high-powered shotgun and blowing attack choppers out of the sky with a rocket launcher. There are plenty of new toys to play with as well, such as a wrist-mounted crossbow, a gun that masquerades as a laptop, the super fun Cyclone machine gun, and high-powered assault rifles that seem ripped right out of Aliens (Cameron, 1986). Thanks to its sci-fi narrative, players also wield various alien weaponry, such as the super slick Maian firearms and the more destructive weapons used by the vicious Skedar. These include the sniper-like FarSight XR-20 with its infrared mode and wall piercing rounds, the rapid-fire Callisto NTG, and the grinder-like Mauler. Every weapon has two functions, with the primary fire being a standard shot and the secondary varying between weapons. While most pistols have a melee function, Joanna can punch out or disarm targets, kill or subdue, or switch to a weapon’s explosive shot. This makes your Dragon a grenade launcher or allows you to toss it as an explosive, lets you deploy the Laptop Gun as a sentry or expel an entire Cyclone clip, has the MagSec 4 fire a three-burst round, and sees some weapons to lock-on to targets. The RC-P120 comes with a limited cloak, the shotgun can be switched to a double shot, and the K7 Avenger can highlight nearby threats. It’s fun discovering each weapon’s secondary mode and you can hold multiple weapons at once, and even bring up a weapon wheel, though your arsenal switches out between missions and some unlockable weapons don’t have secondary modes. Joanna can also utilise explosive crates and barrels, hoverbikes, and even turrets to help take out or bypass enemies, though sometimes you’ll need a stealthier approach. At least two missions (on “Agent” difficulty) require you to change into an outfit and hold off from killing to infiltrate areas, which is fun even with the time limit, and you must sometimes bring explosive crates to cracked walls to progress.

Even simple missions have multiple objectives and some obtuse puzzles to solve.

Some missions see you escorting a non-playable character (NPC), like the sentient laptop Doctor Caroll, or pushing the unconscious Maian “Elvis” to safety in Area 51. Elvis fights alongside you numerous times, gleefully taking out enemies from afar and up close and activating alien technology to open new paths for you. Joanna also works alongside Jonathan Steinberg of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at one point and has to get the United States President to safety more than once. Thankfully, these NPC allies are more capable and durable than Natalya Simonova and are often protected by shields. Your objectives change depending on the difficulty you’re playing, but generally you must reach certain areas (lifts, rooms, etc), disable security systems (either manually, with a device or by decoding a password, or by coercing nearby NPCs), obtain items (key cards, evidence, disguises, prototype weapons, etc), and reach the exit. Sometimes, you’re given or must obtain a weapon that must be saved to complete your objectives, such as tossing a timed mine to detach a spacecraft from Air Force One or affixing target amplifiers to the correct Skedar ruins. Other times, you must reprogram service robots, capture (non-lethally subdue) or eliminate specific targets, such as the President’s clone or malicious dataDyne Corporation executive Cassandra De Vries. You must go to infrared to cover Elvis as he activates teleportals on an alien ship, switch to the CamSpy to photograph targets or listen in on meetings, rescue hostages when the Skedar infiltrate the Carrington Institute, and eliminate the monstrous aliens to gain control of their attack ship. By far the worst mission, for me, has always been “Chicago – Stealth”, which sees you recover your equipment, create a division by setting a taxi to explode, avoiding an indestructible drone, and sneaking into the G5 building before the guards lock the doors. You must also prepare your escape route, place a tracking device, and avoid killing the undercover CIA agents. “Crash Site – Confrontation” is also tricky as it’s a very wide, open area full of enemies, turrets, and cliffs you can fall down. While the radar helps, it’s easy to get lost or accidentally kill the wrong President, and tricky to find your way at times. “Skedar Ruins – Battle Shrine” can also be needlessly obtuse at times with its narrow passages, dark, maze-like interiors, and randomly generating which ruins must be targeted each playthrough.

Presentation:
Everything that made GoldenEye 007 an instant classic returns in Perfect Dark, but amplified and refined thanks to the game utilising the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak. While characters’ mouths don’t move in cutscenes, all cutscenes are fully voiced and there’s a greater emphasis on narrative here, with some missions being interrupted by cutscenes to change the environment and objectives. While Joanna isn’t nearly as iconic as Bond, she’s a decent character, with some wit and snark about her, though she’s outshined by the smart-mouthed Elvis whenever they’re paired together. While it might not seem like a big deal now, Perfect Dark has so many fun little touches that make it and impressive game, such as Joanna visibly (and uniquely) reloading each weapon, her vision going blurry when hit by melee attacks, and her talking and reacting to events and NPCs as you play. Enemies are more expressive than ever, shouting when they spot you, jumping for cover, limping and screaming and running when shot at, and not only even surrendering but also double crossing you at times! You can disable the blood but you really shouldn’t as blood now splatters on the environment and enemy bodies even stay on the ground, allowing you to easily see where you’ve been. Enemies also punch and kick up close, rush to alarms, sometimes utilise a cloak or shield, and non-lethal NPCs sometimes betray you when you coerce them. Glass shatters when you shoot it, areas are sometimes plunged into darkness, and environments are littered with little touches, from wine cellars, pictures, desks, and consoles to bizarre alien architecture and sprawling, futuristic laboratories. Unlike GoldeneEye 007, which sometimes struggled when too much was happening, Perfect Dark is slick and stable no matter how many enemies are coming for you and the textures (while retaining that signature blocky aesthetic) are more detailed and varied than ever, with Joanna and her enemies switching up their outfits and weapons each mission.

The game improves everything over its predecessor to be, perhaps, the greatest FPS on the N64.

Perfect Dark also boasts a hub world, the Carrington Institute, where you can freely explore the controls, chat with NPCs, and even test your shooting skills at the range. This area is repurposed for one of the game’s final missions, which is a great touch as it’s quite harrowing seeing the normally serene hallways crawling with Skedar. Joanna’s assignment starts simple enough with her infiltrating the towering dataDyne skyscraper, an area you must first descend into and then escort Dr. Carrol through after liberating him from the shiny, high-tech (if repetitive) labs beneath the structure. After that, Joanna takes out snipers and eliminates dataDyne soldiers who’ve captured Daniel Carrington at his villa, exploring his luxurious abode and reactivating the wind generator. While Perfect Dark owes a lot of its visual identity to Blade Runner (Scott, 1982), this is most keenly felt in “Chicago – Stealth” where you’re on the rainswept streets of a cyberpunk city filled with skyscrapers and dingy alleyways. The interior of the G5 building isn’t much to shout about but things pick up when you infiltrate Area 51, with you bypassing the outer defences and taking a freight elevator down to the futuristic lab where scientists are preparing to eviscerate Elvis. Joanna also explores a couple of snowy environments that put GoldeneEye 007’s “Surface” missions to shame, with “Crash Site – Confrontation” being an intimidatingly large map filled with smouldering debris from the crashed Air Force One and alien ships. Air Force One recalls GoldenEye 007’s claustrophobic “Train” mission but hides some fun nooks and crannies to explore, alongside a tense escort mission as you get the President to his escape pod. Once the alien plot really kicks in, you’ll be exploring the sprawling ocean vessel Pelagic II before forming a brief and ill-fated partnership with Cassandra aboard the Skedar attack ship. This sees you running around the ominous, threatening alien craft with few resources but soon backed up by Maian reinforcements. Finally, you explore some ruins on the Skedar home world, a surprisingly restricted, arid landscape full of ancient structures and canyons, where cloaked Skedar roam and their hidden army awaits in an alien lab.  

Enemies and Bosses:
Joanna’s primary opposition throughout the game, even when the Skedar come to the forefront, are the various soldiers of the malicious dataDyna Corporation. These come in a few different forms and wield various weapons, such as regular infantryman carrying CMP-150s, masked shock troopers using Dragons, and green-clad troopers. Cassandra is protected by female, shotgun-wielding bodyguards and snipers patrol the rooftops of Carrington’s villa. G5’s various guards are functionally similar, though many give you the run around with their cloaking devices or are quick to sound alarms when they spot you. DY357 Magnum-carrying Federal agents appear in “Chicago – Stealth” alongside a high-powered, shielded drone that’ll gun you down on sight, while Area 51 is protected by various troopers carrying MagSecs, grenades, and SuperDragons. You must also contend with technicians who try to drug you, corrupted Secret Servicemen who riddle you with Cyclone bullets on Air Force One, and towering, blonde-haired brutes who are actually Skedar in disguise! The Skedar come two forms: a smaller, less threatening minion and the larger, much more vicious warriors. While the smaller Skedar appear in packs, the larger ones can be cloaked and carry the devastating Reaper and Slayer, as well as biting and slashing up close. Still, most enemies can be put down with a few good shots, or immediately with a bullet to the head, but you must always be wary of enemies appearing from previously locked doors, taking cover behind barricades, tossing grenades, or swarming from thin air when alarms are raised.

Just about the only area the game doesn’t shine is the lack of bosses, where the Skedar king stands alone.

Like GoldenEye 007, there aren’t really any traditional bosses in Perfect Dark, with some exceptions. When playing “dataDyne Central – Extraction” on “Special” or “Perfect” Agent, you must grab a rocket launcher to blow an attack chopper out of the skies before it cuts you (and/or Dr. Carrol) to shreds. G5’s robot drones can also cause a headache as, while the drones in “Crash Site – Confrontation” can be destroyed (unlike the one in “Chicago – Stealth”), their laser cannons are tough to avoid and you must be quick (or discover the higher path) lest the President is executed. Turrets also appear (though less frequently than in GoldenEye 007) and you’ll run into the corrupt Trent Easton a couple of times (though he ultimately dies in a cutscene). The Skedar that patrol “Attack Ship – Covert Assault” are particularly difficult to deal with as you don’t have a gun or much ammo, forcing you to rely on your knife or fists. Cassandra’s bodyguards must all be eliminated to clear the final part of the first mission, and the towering blonde men could be said to be mini bosses despite how easily they go down. Indeed, the only true boss is the Skedar king fought at the end of the game. After escaping the labyrinthine caves and eliminating his secret army, you battle the king in a throne room of sorts, dodging his rockets and projectiles and taking out any minions he spawns. You’ll quickly see that the king is protected by an impenetrable shield; however, you can significantly weaken this with a charged shot from the Mauler. This sees the king take a few seconds to regenerate, in which you must fire another charged shot at the spiked obelisk behind him. Repeat this enough times, chipping away at the ruin, and a cutscene eventually plays in which the Skedar king is crushed and the day is saved. Three more Skedar kings appear in a bonus mission where you play as a Maian soldier; though these can be fought more traditionally, they’re by no means less lethal.

Additional Features:
There is loads to unlock in Perfect Dark and loads of replay value packed into the game. Every mission hides a mysterious piece of cheese that, while useless, is fun to spot. You can tackle every mission on different difficulties to challenge yourself, visit different areas, and accomplish different, more difficult objectives. You can play the main campaign alongside (or against) a friend and explore the Carrington Institute hub world and take on a series of tutorial training scenarios that not only teach you the basics and complexities of the controls but also unlocks a virtual reality duelling simulator where you engage in firefights with various characters. There’s also a shooting range where you’ll unlock classic GoldenEye 007 weapons if you achieve a “gold” rating and, like in that game, clearing missions with fast times on various difficulties unlocks some fun cheats. These grant you invincibility, extra shields, unlimited ammo, and all guns but also enlarge characters’ heads, speed up your punches, shrink characters, and allow you to play as Elvis! Clearing the game on each difficulty unlocks bonus missions, such as another visit to the dataDyne tower, this time as Mr. Blonde (in possession of a limited cloak) to apprehend Cassandra, a return to the Skedar home world (as and alongside Maians) to defeat three more Skedar kings, and another mission where Elvis battles through the G5 building. This version of the game also comes with twenty Achievements, with three earned by beating all three difficulty settings, one for clearing the first mission, one for completing one mission in co-op and another for clearing a mission in counter-operative mode, and another for killing enemies in various ways. You’ll also get Achievements for destroying Carrington’s wine collection, destroying five security cameras, and earning all the leaderboard crowns. Additionally, Rare Replay (Rare, 2015) features bonus materials related to the game and you can create save states when playing on the Nintendo Switch.

Unlock extra modes, classic guns and cheats, or tackle the addictive deathmatch simulator!

Like GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark also boasts a multiplayer deathmatch mode, the “Combat Simulator”, though again this is vastly improved! Now, you can not only select a character to play as but can also customise them to your liking, setting up weapon load outs (or choosing from a preset list) and setting kill, time, or score limits, handicaps, and even the music. There are loads of game options to pick from, such as a standard free-for-all and team-based deathmatches, one-hit kills, slow or fast movement, disabling the radar and/or auto aim, and highlighting players or items. You can play a couple of “capture the flag” variants where you either claim a briefcase or capture an enemy base, score points by hacking terminals, or pursue a randomly selected target. There are sixteen maps to play on once you’ve unlocked them all, with all but three reusing and recycling assets from the main game. Honestly, you won’t be playing on any of these maps as the classic GoldenEye 007 “Facility” map has been recreated as “Felicity” and is the only map you’ll ever need (though two other classic arenas are also available). At the end of each round, all players receive some stats showing how well they played and are given a ranking that either commends them or chastises them for “camping” or playing dishonourably. Perhaps the best aspect of the Combat Simulator is that you don’t need friends to play as you can customise “Simulants” of various difficulties to play alongside or against you, changing their behaviour and weapons to suit your gameplay. There are also thirty challenges to complete in this mode, with you awarded up to three stars for completing them, which task you with playing each loadout against different Simulants with different weapon sets and rules. This sees you playing king of the hill with only pistols, using cloaking devices and N-Grenades, fighting in slow motion, or desperately trying to keep hold of the briefcase while one-hit kills are enabled. I wasted so much time on this mode back on the Nintendo 64 and it’s honestly such a blast to play that it baffles me more online only, asymmetrical games didn’t include this for offline single player.

Final Thoughts:
As a massive fan of GoldenEye 007 as a kid (and to this day), I naturally snapped up Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64 and played it to death. I marvelled at how visually superior it was to is predecessor, how the controls and gunplay were refined and enhanced, and at how much more lively and interesting enemies and environments were. I loved how packed full of little details and content the game was, from the co-op and counter-operative modes, to the unlockable cheats and weapons, to the incredibly addictive Combat Simulator and it’s other challenges. Decades later, I jumped at the chance to experience the game in high definition as part of Rare Replay and I wasn’t disappointed. The graphics and gameplay had only been enhanced further, resulting in a slick, smooth game that makes shooting baddies and saving aliens a blast. However, Perfect Dark has some flaws. The improved graphics highlight the odd textures, some areas are either too dark or you’re blinded by lights, and some missions can be needlessly challenging since the objectives are so obtuse. I’ve never been a big fan of Joanna either and find her a bit obnoxious and annoying, but the main reason Perfect Dark loses out on a perfect score is simply that it isn’t GoldenEye 007 and I always found myself choosing that game over this one because of how powerful nostalgia is. That’s definitely unfair as Perfect Dark is a five-star game, but I’ve always felt a touch of sadness that it wasn’t a true GoldenEye 007 sequel. Still, this is a fantastic FPS game and perhaps the best FPS on the Nintendo 64. The sheer amount of unlockables and options make it well worth the money and it’s one of the few games that really got the most out of the console. While it’s a shame it released too late in the day to make as big an impression as GoldenEye 007, I always enjoy revisiting it and have a greater appreciation for it now than I did as a teenager.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Were you a fan of Perfect Dark? Do you agree that it’s better than GoldenEye 007 in every way except for nostalgia? What did you think to Joanna’s character and the improved graphics? Were you a fan of the bonkers sci-fi plot or did you find it a bit out of left field? Which mission and/or weapon was your most or least favourite? ere you a fan of the Combat Simulator? Would you like to see more of Perfect Dark and what are some of your favourite sci-fi-orientated videogames? Tell me what you think about Perfect Dark in the comments, then check out my other sci-fi content, and support me on Ko-Fi if you want me to play more Perfect Dark videogames.

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind (Xbox Series X)

Dr. K2 Comments

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 10 December 2024
Developer: Digital Eclipse
Metacritic Scores: 70/ 6.3

Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S

Quick Facts:
Cobbled together from the Japanese tokusatsu series Gosei Sentai Dairanger (1993 to 1994) and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger (1994 to 1995), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993 to 1996) was a cultural phenomenon back in the day whose violence outraged parents. After years of Power Rangers videogames of varying quality, Digital Eclipse produced this throwback title that was inspired by classic arcade titles and stood as another effort to honour the legacy of the franchise.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a 2D, arcade-style beat-‘em-up that takes more than a few inspirations, graphically and mechanically, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games, 2022), to the point where I thought they were developed by the same people, and a similar 2D throwback brawler, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle (Bamtang Games, 2017). Inspired by Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always (Haskell, 2023), the game sees a robotic version of Rita Repulsa travel to the past to team up with her younger self and use her future knowledge to destroy the Power Rangers. Initially, players pick from one of the five brightly coloured Power Rangers and battle across multiple stages split into “Episodes”, encountering many recognisable enemies from the show. While all the Power Rangers control the same, some start with higher attack power and lower defence, some charge their special meter faster, and others deal less damage but are more durable. Defeating enemies and smashing stuff earns you points and Power Coins, which are tallied up at the end of each stage and used to upgrade stats, meaning the only thing that separates the Power Rangers by the end are their Dinozords and the weapons they bust out during combos (Zack Taylor/The Black Ranger, for example, briefly freezes enemies with his Power Axe). Gameplay couldn’t be simpler, with players attacking with X, jumping (and double jumping) with A, and dashing by double tapping the directional pad or control stick. Pressing X in mid-air executes either a flying kick or downward attack, pressing it while dashing unleashes a dash attack, and you throw enemies if you attack up close. Pressing up and X does a rising attack and pressing X and Y executes a power attack that drains your health if it lands. You can also press B to dodge attacks, which helpfully renders you invulnerable.

Team up with friends to wade through hoards of enemies as the colourful Power Rangers.

Attacking enemies builds your super meter, allowing you to perform a screen clearing attack with Y once it’s full that sess your Power Ranger call upon an airstrike from their Dinozord. You replenish health by collecting junk food found in crates and such and can temporarily boost your attack power and speed by collecting lightning power-ups. You can also use environmental hazards to damage or defeat enemies, smashing explosive barrels, hitting girders, tossing them into pits and graves and such (though these hurt you, too). While most of the gameplay is classic, mindless beat-‘em-up action, with you going from left to right or riding an elevator filled with waves of enemies, the loop is broken up in some stages. You’ll ride a rollercoaster in both 2D and from a third-person perspective, blasting Putties from the sky and destroying their projectiles, and race down highways on their Battle Cycles. These sections see you holding X to blast vehicles, jumping with A, dodging with B, and unleashing a super attack with Y. You can ride up ramps for additional power-ups, such as health, a shield, and limited, more powerful shots. These mechanics are mirrored in the Dinozard sections, which see you bounding through canyons (or flying over them with Kimberly Hart/The Pink Ranger) blasting enemies, projectiles, and structures. You can grab a faster double shot and some homing missiles to help you out, but these auto-running sections can be somewhat clunky, especially when you must hop over water or gaps or to platforms. While most enemies are optional in these sections, it’s recommended you clear out rocks and mechs to make life easier. You’re also forced to tackle Rita’s giant, arachnid diggers and destroy the generators powering her dig sites. You must also chase Rita’s enlarged minions and tackle them in awkward first-person battles that took me a while to get the hang of. These see you dodging projectiles and thundering towards your target, only for them to leap out of the way or dash in for a strike that can be difficult to avoid if you’re not paying attention.

Though the action is satisfying and varied, the Megazord sections can be clunky.

Initially, there are three difficulty levels in Rita’s Rewind, with harder difficulties limiting your continues. I played on “Easy”, which gives you three lives and unlimited continues, though you must replay the entire stage from the start if you exhaust all your lives (however, any collectibles are saved). As if Rita’s nigh-inexhaustible Putty Patrol isn’t bad enough, you must dodge boulders, pits, falls off rooftops, and bombs tossed by Putties. Putties also toss “Time Disruptors” that rewind time if not destroyed, respawning enemies, and Rita and her minions also deploy similar devices to screw up level layouts for the Dinozords and Battle Cycles. At one point in the carnival, bombs drop before the Ferris wheel, invincible Putties charge across the football field in the “Park” stage, and brainwashed Tommy Oliver/The Green Ranger’s Dragonzord rains missiles and fires a massive laser from the background as you traverse the Angel Grove rooftops. Between stages (or by pressing Y from the map screen), you can visit the juice bar at the Angel Grove Youth Centre to chat with non-playable characters (NPCs), switch characters, and check out the mementoes you’ve found or play some arcade games (once you find their parts). These are simple distractions that mirror the likes of Mortal Kombat’s (Midway, 1992) “Test Your Might” sections and Spy Hunter (Bally Midway, 1983). Each stage has secrets and challenges you to finish it without dying and to achieve an S-rank for extra points and occasionally hides a “guest star” to rescue. Generally, Rita’s Rewind isn’t very challenging (on “Easy” mode, at least), though I did find the Dinozard sections and boss battles aggravating. They’re a strange mishmash of autorunners and rail shooters, meaning I often took damage or fell into water trying to blast stuff that was just out of reach. It also took me a while to figure out the Megazord fights, eventually having better luck by mashing A and X to pound the giant bosses and dodging when their eyes glow. Luckily, there’s no way to fail these battles as you have infinite health, but your Power Sword charge meter will deplete as you take damage, meaning the fight continues until you master the dodging and attacking.

Presentation:
Rita’s Rewind is absolutely top-notch in its visuals, which have the same chunky, well animated and colourful sprite work as Shredder’s Revenge. Each stage begins with the Power Rangers in their civilian forms and transforming before the action starts, each Power Ranger has an idle taunt (and a manual one, activated by pressing Y when your super meter isn’t full), and voice clips pepper the action. Cutscenes are brought to life using the in-game sprites, larger portraits, and dialogue boxes, with Zordon and Alpha 5 often alerting you of incoming threats and the story largely retells a condensed version of the first twenty-one episodes of the original series. The game starts with the five Power Rangers receiving their powers and defending Angel Grove from Rita’s forces and retells their first encounters with Goldar and their battles against the Green Ranger, before they head to the Moon to confront Robo Rita and safeguard the timeline. The game is filled with rocking tunes to punctuate the non-stop action, including an awesome rendition of the iconic Power Rangers theme for the Megazord battles and a remix of Farkas “Bulk” Bulkmeier and Eugene “Skull” Skullovitch’s slapstick theme. There are some fun little Easter Eggs peppered throughout each level, such as graffiti, Putties sitting in the bleachers or messing about at the carnival, four turtles wandering in toxic waste, and laundry being aired on the rooftops. The juice bar changes as you progress and rescue NPCs and even gets attacked during Episode 4, Punk Putties headbang to blaring boomboxes, and long-time fans should get a kick out of seeing the original series’ locations brought to life in colourful 16-bit. While the game performs incredibly well, offering non-stop beat-‘em-up action from start to finish, I was forced to do a soft reset when I got stuck on the environment during a transition on the subway train.

A visually impressive and action-packed arcade throwback that does the franchise proud.

The game opens with an animated sequence and an unwinnable battle against Robo Rita’s forces in her grandiose citadel in a retelling of Once & Always that shows what might’ve happened if Robo Rita had succeeded in her plot. You then fight through the desert-like canyons outside of Zordon’s headquarters, passing cactus plants, tumbleweeds, train tracks, and falling boulders before reaching downtown Angel Grove. Putties emerge from garages, spray paint walls and storage containers, and hop from trucks. While fighting across the rooftops, you’ll pass by air conditioning units, billboards, and birds, cross gaps with wooden planks and smashing apart rooftop dining areas. This section is made more dangerous on your second visit thanks to the Dragonzord lurking in the background, while your second visit to downtown Angel Grove sees you head to the subway to battle through a speeding train, which makes regular stops to pick up new enemies and forces you to hop to each carriage to progress. You visit an industrial waste site where the sky is clogged with pollution, toxic waste is strewn all over, and enemies hop from overhead pipes and gantries. The carnival stage was probably the most visually impressive, featuring various attractions and rides in the background, such as shooting ranges and such, before featuring a high-octane autoshooter on a speeding roller coaster and transitioning to a foggy graveyard to battle Bones. Sadly, the Battle Cycle and Dinozord sections are very visually repetitive, taking place on speeding highways and in the same canyons, with Rita’s facilities being identical in each Dinozard section. Things are made a little more interesting when you’re chasing down the Dragonzord as you must blast past the drones blocking the blast doors and confront the Green Ranger and his mech on the beach (and partially in the sea). Rita’s palace may be somewhat simplistic in its gothic atmosphere, but the Earth (and space) looms in the background and the final boss arena gradually explodes and changes as you fight.

Enemies and Bosses:
Naturally, Rita’s army is mostly the Putty Patrol, bizarre, clay-like humanoids who come in various colours. The regular grey Putties are little threat, throwing punches and grabbing you if you get too close, but they can toss boulders, tyres, crates, and Time Disrupters. Their ochre-toned variants whip out time bombs, the cyan ones charge across the screen with blade arms, and the black Putties are much tougher, busting out combos and air attacks not unlike your own. Putties also race along the highways trying to ram you in cars, Punk Putties dance near boomboxes, and Clown Putties ride giant, inflatable balls. There’s also a bigger, tankier Putty who takes a lot of hits and performs a dashing grab, shaking and slamming you if they grab you, and a wrestling variant that looks strangely familiar. The Putties are often joined by Tengu Warriors, bird men who flutter above and try to slam onto you or fire their razor-sharp feathers in a spread. I had trouble hitting them in mid-air so found it easier to dodge their downward attack and fly in with a dash attack. A whole bunch of drones and aircraft appear in the Dinozord sections, with larger craft scooping up crystals and large, spider-like diggers tearing up the landscape. These cause earthquakes and fire a green laser from their central core, which you must destroy to progress. Similarly, you must avoid the indestructible laser drones guarding the generators powering Rita’s mines and awkwardly strafe left or right to target power nodes on the generators. Crabby Cabbie also appears in one of the Battle Cycle sections, requiring you to use the boost pads to chase him down and destroy him while dodging the landmines he litters across the road.

Classic series antagonists show up as surprisingly formidable boss battles.

Long-time Power Rangers fans will surely recognise many of the bosses, three of which are fought in enlarged forms. Naturally, Goldar is first, attacking on the streets with sword swipes, fireballs, and a flaming ground attack later echoed by Chunky Chicken. Goldar’s enlarged form sets the standard for these encounters, with you first chasing after him in your Dinozord, blasting him and hopping over shockwaves or dodging projectiles before battling him in the Megazord. No matter which enlarged enemy you fight, these battles are always the same: you must dodge left or right to avoid their projectiles and dash attack (sometimes dodging to the opposite side when their eyes glow), landing blows when up close, charging in with your rocket punch, and finishing them off with the Power Sword by mashing buttons. The Dragonzord fight mixes things up by forcing you to blast the Green Ranger as he teleports about rocks in the water, which eventually lowers the Dragonzord’s shield so you can attack. Chunky Chicken first attacks on the ground, using portals to attack with his giant scissors, before teaming up with Turkey Jerk, who tosses bombs. They also perform team attacks where Chunky Chicken restricts your controls by flapping his wings and Turkey Jerk either rapidly dashes between portals or spins around firing his laser. Big Eye first appears during the rollercoaster section, spitting smaller eyes that you must blast from the sky, before racing away through the canyons, spewing eyes across the ground, raining them from above, and firing lasers. The skeletal warrior Bones is a surprisingly formidable opponent fought three times in the cemetery and losing more of his body as you progress. At first, he echoes Goldar with an energy wave attack from his sword, then he spews flames, produces duplicates to confuse you, and finally flies across the screen as a line of skulls, flittering about as a disembodied skull that can be difficult to hit.

The Green Ranger and Robo Rita represent some of the tougher, more interesting battles.

Madame Woe was also a bit of a challenge as she freezes you with her icy breath to leave you vulnerable, ensnare you with her hair to electrocute you, and retreats to the background to fill the arena with rushing water. After avoiding the Dragonzord’s attacks, you battle the Green Ranger on the rooftops of Angel Grove, with him mirroring your attacks, throwing up a green shield to become immune to damage, and using his Dragon Dagger to call in support from his mech lurking in the background. Rita’s citadel is a gauntlet on its own as it’s full of every regular enemy you’ve fought so far and few restorative items, meaning you can be in a bad spot when you confront Robo Rita in a repeat of the opening battle. This sees her spawning a slew of Putties using the two generators on either side of the arena. These must be destroyed to bring Robo Rita into the fray, though she poses a significant threat as she blasts you away with red lightning from her sceptre if you get close and protects herself with a shield. You must reflect the flaming projectiles she fires back at her, which I found extremely finicky as the timing has to be just right. It doesn’t help that she sometimes fakes you out, or that she unleashes an energy burst before retreating. Her fireballs increase in speed as you deal damage and are thrown in an arc once her machine is destroyed, though this makes them easier to hit. She sporadically raises and lowers her shield, floats about, and spawns chunky Putties in this final phase, though I found she was easier here than in the first two phases.

Additional Features:
There are thirty-one Achievements up for grabs in Rita’s Rewind, with Achievements being awarded every time you defeat a boss and/or clear an Episode. You’ll get another Achievement for playing as every Power Ranger at least once, juggling an enemy ten times, and landing a 25, 50, and 75 hits combo. Tossing an enemy into an open grave or into a falling boulder nets you two more, earning a high score on each of the arcade games grants you another, and you’ll also get Achievements for beating “Hard” and the unlockable “Headache” mode. Each stage has secrets to find, usually by smashing parts of the environment, represented by mementoes and special guest stars. Finding them earns you additional Achievements and adds new NPCs to the juice bar, as does completing every goal for every stage (meaning you must finish every level without dying once to get all the Achievements). You’ll unlock the Green Ranger after clearing the game but, sadly, there’s no White Ranger or other skins available here. You can enable various filters and play online, though there are no Achievements tied to co-op play, and can freely replay any stage after clearing the game (though you’ll need to start a new save file to change the game’s difficulty) and tackle a time trial-esque mode.

Final Thoughts:
I was a pretty big Power Rangers fan back in the day, so I’m always interested when new videogames come out based on the franchise, especially when they’re arcade-style beat-‘em-ups like this. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a great companion to Shredder’s Revenge, echoing the art style and combat mechanics of that game and being as fitting a tribute to the franchise. While much of it is derivative of Shredder’s Revenge and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle, Rita’s Rewind is still a great brawler for fans of the genre and the franchise, offering fast-paced, action-packed levels that lovingly recreate the look, feel, and cheesy spirit of the original series. While it’s a shame there’s not much to differentiate the Power Rangers beyond their different looks, voices, weapons, and Dinozords, the basic gameplay is very satisfying and it’s extremely fun to tear through Rita’s minions. I appreciated the effort made to mix things up with the Battle Cycle and Dinozord sections, though these were a bit clunky and not as enjoyable as I’d hoped. This is doubly true of the Megazord sections, which were frustrating and tiresome to get through and sadly lacked variety, with every embiggened foe being fought in essentially the same way. I liked the implementation of the Green Ranger, though I felt the game had an anti-climactic ending, despite how difficult I found Robo Rita to be, largely because you never fight regular Rita. It would’ve been nice to see the optional goals have some variety, and to include some unlockable skins and for the story to do a little more with its time travel plot, but Rita’s Rewind is a very enjoyable throwback brawler. The game’s fairly long, with a decent level of challenge and a nice sense of progression, nicely reflecting and paying homage to the original series while giving fans of arcade brawlers a decent amount to sink their teeth into.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind? Are you a fan of arcade-style throwbacks such as this? Which of the Power Rangers was your favourite to play as and did you enjoy the Dinozord sections? Were you happy with the bosses utilised here and did you also find the Megazord fights tedious? Did you ever beat “Headache” difficulty? Which incarnation of the Power Rangers is your favourite and how are you celebrated sci-fi this month? Tell me all about your experiences with the Power Rangers in the comments and donate to my Ko-Fi if you want to see more Power Rangers content on the site.

Mini Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Mega Man 9 (Xbox Series X)

Dr. K2 Comments

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 8 August 2017
Originally Released: 22 September 2008
Developer: Inti Creates / Capcom
Metacritic Scores: 82 / 7.4

Also Available For: Mobile, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series S

Quick Facts:
Mega Man struggled to make a mark in the 32-bit era, with the likes of Mega Man 8 (Capcom, 1996) and Mega Man 64 (Capcom Production Studio 2, 2001) proving frustrating and disappointing releases. After almost ten years without a mainline entry, Mega Man returned to his celebrated 8-bit roots for this throwback title. Keiji Inafune closely mimicked the graphics and mechanics of yesteryear, including options to emulate the poor performance of 8-bit hardware, and designed the first female Robot Master, Splash Woman. Mega Man 9 was widely praised for its old-school aesthetics and challenge, though its difficulty curve and poor stage design was questioned. Bolstered by additional downloadable content (DLC), Mega Man 9 was followed by a similar, equally praised sequel two years later and eventually made widely available as part of the Blue Bomber’s second Legacy Collection.

The Review:
Mega Man 9 is a throwback to the Blue Bomber’s glory days on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), perfectly mirroring the controls, abilities, and presentation from that era. Accordingly, the plot is as basic as you could ask for (Doctor Thomas Light has been set up by the devious Doctor Albert Wily, whose new Robot Masters are causing chaos) and everything is exactly like the NES days. This means you can freely choose from eight initial stages, blast enemies with Mega Man’s “Mega Buster”, and defeat Robot Masters to gain new “Special Weapons”. These occasionally aid you in traversing stages and will make battling Robot Masters easier, since each is weak to a special weapon. As with every game in Mega Man: Legacy Collection 2, players can enable an armour mode to reduce the damage they take, apply borders and filters, listen to the game’s soundtrack, and check out some concept art. Inputting a code or beating the game unlocks three extra modes: two harder difficulties and one where you play as Mega Man’s “brother”, Proto Man, which snags you another Achievement. While you can save your game after clearing each stage and the game features checkpoints, this version doesn’t include rewind functionality. The “save state” feature is a joke, too, simply saving any collectibles you’ve found but returning you to the last checkpoint, making Mega Man 9 an extremely challenging experience without the convenience of being able to undo stupid mistakes. Players can enable a rapid-fire mode but must equip Special Weapons or summon Mega Man’s robotic canine, Rush, from the in-game menu. This is also where you use helpful items like Energy-Tanks, Beat (who saves you from pits), and Eddie (who drops items). These are purchased from Mega Man’s “sister”, Roll, by spending bolts at Dr. Light’s lab, though some are single-use items.

New and returning abilities only somewhat mitigate the pain of this throwback’s old-school challenge.

By default, Mega Man fires his currently equipped weapon with X and jumps with A or Y, but his armour upgrades are missing. Proto Man has the slide and weapon charge, and enemies respawn the moment you edge offscreen. As ever, Mega Man’s new Special Weapons are a mixed bag, with their functionality mirroring previous Special Weapons. The Jewel Satellite is a reskinned Leaf Shield, for example, and the Plug Ball is just a more versatile Search Snake since it travels across surfaces. While the Concrete Shot creates temporary blocks, I found them pretty unreliable (especially if you buy the Shock Guard to resist insta-death spikes). The Laser Trident destroys special blocks to access shortcuts, goodies, and navigate Dr. Wily’s hazardous fortress, and the Hornet Chaser snags faraway items. The Tornado Blow whisks away all onscreen enemies and activates special propeller platforms, but its energy drains very quickly so you’ll want to use it sparingly to have ammo for the Magma Dragons and Magma Man. Magma Bazooka fires a three-way spread and the Black Hole Bomb creates a vortex that pulls in enemies and projectiles, but it’s best to save Special Weapons for the bosses as there’s rarely a need to expend them in stages. You whip out Rush Coil and Rush Jet a fair bit, especially to bypass tricky platforming with the latter and reach goodies like 1-ups and extra health with the former. Rush has no special underwater form this time, unfortunately, or any autoscrolling sections. In fact, I didn’t encounter any autoscrolling sections in my playthrough, just the usual hazards like insta-death pits and various spikes, a floaty jump when underwater, and having to quickly (and I mean quickly) bypass molten metal hazards. You can further increase Mega Man’s defences with the Guard Power Up item (or dramatically decrease it for an additional challenge with the Book of Hairstyles) and ensure that whichever Special Weapon is at its lowest ammo gets replenished with the Energy Balancer. You don’t need to worry about collecting letters or other items here, just snagging screws to buy stuff if you need them.

Mega Man 9 lovingly recreates the look, sound, feel, and difficulty curve of the 8-bit classics.

Visually, Mega Man 9 really scratches that itch if you’ve been missing the 8-bit aesthetic of the classic games. The story is told using large, partially animated, anime-like sprite art, text, and in-game sprites, with Mega Man again changing colour with each Special Weapon and simply blinking when idle. The presentation mirrors an NES title, though sprite flickering and slowdown have been eliminated (unless you activate them), and the music is perhaps the best since Mega Man 2 (Capcom, 1988). Mirroring the NES visuals means mirroring the gameplay style, meaning Mega Man is as clunky and limited as he was back in the day, which makes platforming difficult as it’s easy to slip off platforms (even when they’re not frozen) or drop down pits because you fell just short on your jump. Rush Jet helps and is usually a better option as those damn disappearing/reappearing platforms are back and Tornado Man’s stage tosses in moving platforms that spin you around, screwing up your jumps if you’re timing’s off. This stage also features ice, a rainstorm (complete with a minor wind effect), and storm clouds as additional platforms. Dr. Wily’s second stage sees Illusians creating fake blocks to trick you, Splash Woman’s stage has you hopping to fast-moving platforms that fly out of the walls, Magma Man’s stage is full of insta-kill lava, Galaxy Man’s stage debuts teleports that fling you about. Jewel Man’s stage was probably the most visually impressive as it’s set in a sparkling diamond mine, but I liked Galaxy Man’s space station setting and that Plug Man’s stage is a power plant with dials in the background and electrical hazards on platforms. This stage also plunges into darkness near the end and sees fake doubles of Mega Man spawn from television screens, Hornet Man’s stage is largely set in a lush rose garden full of unique flower-based enemies, and Splash Woman’s stage recycles the bubble gimmick from Mega Man 5 (Capcom, 1992).

The Robot Masters are visually very fun and just the right level of challenge with the right weapons.

Similarly, many of Mega Man’s usual enemies also return, including Metall, a new Sniper Joe variant with a machine gun, and that Shield Attacker. The Green and Yellow Devil live on in eye-like globs that split when shot, little propeller robots fly around roasting you with their flames, robotic octopi stain you with ink projectiles, sentient coal rolls around in minecarts, and pincer-like robots fly you into spikes if you’re not careful. Four stages include large mini bosses, such as the aforementioned Fire Dragon and a robotic elephant. Three of these are fought in quick succession, with each tossing a giant ball in different ways and suck it (and you) in to repeat their attack. The Hanabiran can be tricky as the robotic flower sprouts from different platforms to fire its petals at you while a rotating flower bar keeps you on the move and a spike pit spells certain doom if you slip. The Stone Head caught me off-guard in Jewel Man’s stage, but you can predict where it will drop if you watch the boulders overhead, so you just need to avoid them when they fall and not get stunned when it crashes down. Mega Man 9 will be harder if you tackle the stages in the wrong order so it’s best to start with Splash Woman. While the trident projectiles she fires can be as tricky to dodge as her downward thrust, she’s easy to beat with the Mega Buster and her Laser Trident is very effective against Concrete Man, whose biggest danger is stunning you with his big ground pound. His otherwise useless Concrete Shot crushes Galaxy Man, whose Black Hole Bomb is enough to stay away from and easily makes short work of Jewel Man, who simply flings his gems while hopping about. The Jewel Satellite makes mincemeat of Tornado Man, whose Tornado Blow is easy enough to either avoid or tank (especially as the overheard spikes are no threat) and will cut through Magma Man in no time (he was probably the easiest of the Robot Masters!) The Magma Bazooka can then take care of Hornet Man, who just fires swarms of hornets and is barely a threat.

I’m fairly confident the later bosses and additional modes would’ve kicked my ass just as hard!

Once all eight Robot Masters are defeated, Mega Man proves that Dr. Wily is behind everything (…shocker…) and four new stages become available. As ever, Dr. Wily’s mechanical obstacle courses remix enemies, gimmicks, and even mini bosses from previous stages alongside new ones, like those propeller platforms. Each is also guarded by a unique boss, with these four Spike Pushers waiting in the first stage. You must quickly blast their spiked balls back at them, avoiding their projectiles, before they can instantly kill you, which is more aggravating than challenging. Sadly, my run ended at the second Dr. Wily stage. While it was taxing enough to quickly spawn Rush Coil and get past the insta-kill molten metal hazards in the first stage, the tight hallways, floaty underwater mechanics, and tricky jumps ended me in a very specific, spike-filled room. It would probably be much easier if I had the Shock Guard, but you must buy this before entering the stage as exiting it means replaying the first Dr. Wily stage, which is just despicable. Looking ahead, there’s a giant mechanical, shark-like submarine, two “Devil” like globs, and the standard gauntlet against the previous Robot Masters. Dr. Wily also pilots a pretty awesome-looking dinosaur mech in the endgame before again resorting to his capsule, teleporting around, and firing electrical projectiles. Had the developers allowed players to create real save states, at least, or respawn in the same area after being killed, this difficulty curve would be much more tolerable. Instead, you’re sent back to or must reload your last checkpoint, getting more frustrated each time (or potentially getting better, that happened to me in a couple of sections) and slowly realising that you entered the stage underequipped since you had no idea that you’d need E-Tanks or special items. The “Hero” and “Superhero” modes only increase the challenge and, while Proto Man boasts a shield and unique abilities, he also receives double damage and greater knockback. Legacy Collection 2 also offers a handful of extra challenges, both based on your gameplay and from the main menu, where you can tackle remixed gimmicks and stages, time trials, and boss rushes for additional Achievements.

Final Thoughts:
I have to admit, a big ol’ goofy smile came to my face when I booted up Mega Man 9. I had no idea how much I missed the classic 8-bit art style and NES chip tunes until I started this game, which brilliantly recreates the visuals, gameplay, and challenge of the Blue Bomber’s glory days on the NES. Each level is beautifully basic, featuring simplistic backgrounds that nonetheless pop with colour and have a lot of variety while also being very familiar for long-time franchise fans. While it’s a shame that Mega Man is missing some of his later abilities, such as the charge shot and slide, it’s fun returning to that limited, somewhat awkward gameplay style. Mega Man’s new Special Weapons may lack originality or be somewhat forgettable, but I found myself using them a bit more than in the previous games and it remained as satisfying as ever to whittle down a Robot Master. I really liked seeing new enemies mixed in with some familiar faces, alongside new mini bosses and unique Robot Masters. The siren-like Splash Woman and bizarre UFO-like Galaxy Man were two standouts, as was the Fire Dragon (whose skeleton is revealed as you deal damage!) Sadly, as great as the game looks and sounds, Mega Man 9 is handicapped by the same issues that dogged the NES games. Namely, tricky platforming, unforgiving level design, annoying enemy placement, and insta-death traps galore. Unlike in the remasters of the NES games, there’s no rewind function to save you here and the “save state” system is a cruel joke working in conjunction with a fastidiously old-school difficulty that was sadly too much for me to overcome. It feels unfair to knock the game’s rating down for this, but it did impact my enjoyment of Mega Man 9, which strips back your options and abilities to artificially augment the already steep difficulty curve. Had the game been a little more lenient with its lives and checkpoints (especially considering the two even harder DLC modes!), this would be a solid recommendation. However, as it is, you’re better off picking up the remastered versions of the original games and playing those. They give you everything this game has, and more, and are much more satisfying as a result.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to this throwback to Mega Man’s glory days? Did you find it jarring to go back to this visual style and challenge or did you welcome it? Which of the new Special Weapons and Robot Masters was your favourite? Were you shocked to learn Dr. Wily was behind everything? Did you ever beat the game (and, if so…how?!)? How are you celebrating sci-fi genre this month? Let me know what you think about Mega Man 9 in the comment, check out my other Mega Man reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest more Mega Man content.