mini game corner

Mini Game Corner [Mario Day]: Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo Wii)

Dr. K17 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. To commemorate Mario Day this year, I’ve made March “Mario Month” and am spending each Wednesday talking about everyone’s favourite Koopa-flattening plumber.

Released: 21 October 2010
Originally Released: 14 July 1993
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo EAD
Also Available For: Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console), Nintendo Wii (Virtual Console), Nintendo Switch (Online), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)

A Brief Background:
After debuting in Donkey Kong (Nintendo R&D2/Ikegami Tsushinki, 1983) and receiving his own arcade title (alongside his brother, Luigi), Shigeru Miyamoto’s overalls-clad plumber Mario was all set to star in a new game exclusively for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) that would be everything Mario Bros. (Nintendo R&D1, 1983) was not: where Mario Bros. was limited and sparse and lacking in colour and variety, Super Mario Bros. would be colourful, with bigger characters and more dynamic gameplay mechanics. Perhaps the most famous platformer in videogame history, Super Mario Bros. taught players everything they needed to know in its first iconic World, allowed for two players to play together (in turns, of course, given the nature of the title), and introduced pretty much every single popular mechanic and feature that the series is still known for today and set the standard for 2D platformers for an entire generation. Having sold over 40 million copies worldwide, the game was later given a 16-bit makeover for the SNES compilation title Super Mario All-Stars (Nintendo EAD, 1993) that brought the graphics, sound, and gameplay up to the standards set by Super Mario World (ibid, 1990). To commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario All-Stars was re-released on the Nintendo Wii on 21 October 2010. Although a bare-bones release that didn’t even include Super Mario World, the special anniversary edition of this game sold out extremely quickly and, even now, the base version of the game can set you back a high price on eBay and Amazon (though it is, thankfully, available through Nintendo Switch Online if you pay their surprisingly reasonable subscription fees).

First Impressions:
I’ve played Super Mario Bros. before, both the NES original and the 16-bit remake for the SNES. However, since I grew up with the Mega Drive and ploughing through robot-infested landscapes with their supersonic mascot, I am by no means a competent Mario player. I played a lot of the Game Boy titles and a couple for the Nintendo DS but I didn’t really sit down and play a Mario game from start to finish until a bought a Nintendo 64. As a result, my opinion on Super Mario Bros. is one that is likely to cause some amount of controversy because…I hate this game. The music is great, don’t get me wrong; it’s peppy and full of life and the Worlds are bright and colourful and full of unique enemies and iconic characters and items but Goddamn is this a bitch to play! Seriously, Mario slips and slides all over the place and controls like he’s constantly running on ice; it’s ironic to me that Yuji Naka was inspired to make Sonic move so fast due to him constantly trying to beat World 1-1 faster and faster as Super Mario Bros. feels far more faster and out of control than Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Team, 1991) thanks to its slippery and awkward controls.

There’s certainly a fair amount of World variety on offer…if you can get that far…

Mario (or Luigi, if you prefer) will jog along at a snail’s pace until you hold down the B button, which breaks him out into a run. Running builds momentum which, in combination with holding down the jump button, allows you to jump higher and faster but while Mario’s jumping abilities have been vastly improved over those in Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. (there’s no fall damage/death and it’s much easier to jump to where you intend without gravity weighing you down), it’s stupidly easy to run face-first into enemies (and no, not the first Goomba you encounter) or fall head-first down one of the game’s many (many) bottomless pits (seriously, this game alone has more bottomless pits than Sonic has ever seen!). The good news is, though, that you no longer die in one hit…as long as you grab a Super Mushroom or a Fire Flower. Either one will allow you to take one hit but the Fire Flower is recommended as it allows you to be a little more proactive at dispatching enemies other than just jumping on their heads. Sadly, though, Super Mushrooms and 1-Up Mushrooms often appear out of nowhere and you may find yourself careening down one of those pits trying to grab it, killing yourself in a desperate attempt to stave off death. The game’s World’s are divided up nicely, though, and have a lot of variety to them; one minute you’ll be hopping through the Mushroom Kingdom, the next descending through a pipe to the underground or desperately trying to navigate Blooper-infested waters, before you finally make it to one of Bowser’s castles and are faced with a gruelling test of your skills as you dodge fireballs, jump over pits of lava, and finally send the King of the Koopas to a fiery end…only to be told that the Princess is in another castle!

My Progression:
Okay, this is going to sound really bad but just remember that I flat-out admitted up top that I am not a consummate Mario player…

I couldn’t even beat World 1-1.

I know.

I know!

But, in my defence, I was rushing quite a bit as I bought the game as a gift and was just trying it out for size. Still, imagine my shame when I couldn’t even get through the first World when I know that I have beaten it at least once before and I’ve beaten far harder games (some of them even Mario titles) in the past. Still, I did discover the secret Warp Zone, which allowed me to skip ahead to World 4 and…I couldn’t beat that World, either. I then found another Warp Zone that took me to World 8 and I promptly exhausted my remaining lives before I even got within sniffing distance of Bowser’s Castle. It’s at that point that I shut the game off, wrapped it up for my friend, and promptly decided to wallow in indescribable self-pity and shame.

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I don’t even want to beat Super Mario Bros. anyway. I don’t have to. Why should I? I don’t have to prove anything…Oh God, I suck so hard! I am so ashamed that I couldn’t do better; I wanted to and was glad to make up for this later but I was too ashamed and too unimpressed with the game’s slippery, alien controls and physics to want to continue. It’s a classic, addictive, and entertaining title that is well deserving of its reputation but I just struggle to get to grips with Mario’s 2D offerings even after all these years. Have you ever beaten Super Mario Bros.? How highly do you rate it in the pantheon of all-time greatest videogames? Do you, perhaps, agree with my thoughts and experiences and find it to be a difficult game to get the hang of or do you think I just suck at Mario, Nintendo, and life in general? Perhaps you’d like to insult my inability to clear even the first damn World, let alone the entire game! If so, no matter what you think or have to say, do please leave a comment and check out my other Mario content.

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

Dr. K6 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. To commemorate Mario Day this year, I’m making March “Mario Month” and celebrating everyone’s favourite Koopa-flattening plumber every Wednesday from today.

Released: September 2018
Originally Released: 9 September 1983
Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Also Available For: Amstrad CPC, Apple II FM-7, Arcade, Atari, Commodore 64, Game & Watch, Game Boy Advance, ZX Spectrum, Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console), Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Wii (Virtual Console), PC-88

A Brief Background:
Mario made his inauspicious debut in Donkey Kong (Nintendo R&D2/Ikegami Tsushinki, 1983); in that game, the avatar formally known as “Jumpman” would die from the briefest of falls and was originally a carpenter. However, after playing with the concept and exploring other gameplay mechanics, creator Shigeru Miyamoto redesigned Mario into a format where he would be capable of carrying his own arcade title (fitting, considering Miyamoto originally intended for Mario to be Nintendo’s go-to, catch-all character to feature in numerous titles and roles). Released in Japan on 14 July 1983 and in North America on the 20th, Mario Bros. featured Mario (and introduced his palette-swapped brother, Luigi) knocking over baddies in the sewers of New York. Though the arcade cabinet was only modestly successful in Japan, the NES port sold over 1.60 million copies and, despite the title being massively overshadowed by its NES follow-up, the title has been ported to numerous systems, the most recent of which being the Nintendo Switch, which is the version I’ll be talking about today.

The Review:
Mario Bros. is a wraparound platformer in which players take control of either Mario or Luigi and venture through thirty-five largely-similar stages (called “Phases”); the stages are set within the sewers of New York City and, as was popular in arcade games, players and enemies can exit on the left side of the screen and emerge on the other (or vice versa) to endlessly loop around the one-screen stages. In Donkey Kong, Mario’s only defence was to jump over hazards or grab a hammer and smash them to pieces; in Mario Bros., the hammer is gone and titular brothers still can’t dispatch enemies by jumping on them. The only way to take out the game’s handful of enemies is to attack them from below; as they pass overhead, jump at the platform above you and you’ll either topple the enemy over or deal some damage to get them prepped to be knocked over, and then you can run into them to kill them off and earn some points. Dispatch all onscreen enemies and you’ll have cleared that Phase and can move on to the next; wash, rinse, and repeat. This is easier said than done, however; one of the biggest complaints I have with playing Mario videogames (especially the 2D titles) is how slippery and unwieldy Mario can be and Mario Bros. is no different. The characters slip and slide all over the place, meaning it’s pretty easy to run head-first into an enemy or miss-time a jump as you fly right past the platform edge.

Bop enemies from underneath to tip them over and dispatch them all to clear the Phase.

At the same time, Mario’s jump is nerfed; it’s literally like trying to run on ice and jump underwater as the moment you press the jump button, gravity does everything it can to make vertical movement difficult for you. You simply lose all momentum and easily miss a jump even when you’re standing right next to it, which can be frustrating when you’re just trying to make a simple jump upwards or across. Luckily, Mario and Luigi don’t take fall damage but, like a lot of titles at the time, it’s one-hit kills and there is no health bar or health power-ups. As you might expect, then, the objective is to defeat enemies and collect Coins in order to earn the highest score possible, earning more points for taking out enemies simultaneously. There’s not a lot to the game; Phases remain largely the same but enemies and hazards increase in speed and difficulty as you progress and you are invited to collect as many Coins as possible in the game’s timed Bonus Stages every now and then in order to increase your score. It’s hard to get a more classic, pure-blood 8-bit title than Mario Bros.; it belongs in the same conversation as titles like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man (Namco, 1980), and Space Invaders (Taito, 1978) for traditional, 2D arcade action. By utilising a far more stripped back aesthetic and stage layout compared to Donkey Kong, the developers seem to have freed up some space for slightly more detailed sprites and enemy variety but it can’t be denied that it lacks the big, bold sprites of Donkey Kong.

The graphics are simple but there is a lot happening onscreen as things speed up.

While the Phases don’t change very much as you play, there are far more sprites onscreen at any one time (including two simultaneously playable characters if you have a friend to play with) and much more enemy variety compared to Donkey Kong. Luigi might be a simple recolour but it’s better than nothing and indicative of the hardware limitations of the time. What probably lets the game down the most beyond the lack of stage variety has to be the music as there’s no really memorable tunes here and it’s easy to see why this game would be forgotten compared to its big brother. Mario and Luigi will primarily be faced with little turtles known as Koopas Shellcreepers; though relatively harmless and predictable compared to the game’s other enemies, they’ll still kill you if they touch you so bump them from underneath to turn them on their shells and kick them out of there! You’ll also encounter Sidesteppers (which are basically just crabs and require two hits before they’ll tip over), and Fighter Flies (which hop around the stages) as you progress through later Phases. As if that wasn’t bad enough, red and green fireballs emerge from the pipes and sides of the screen, as does Slipice (which slides around and will transform platforms into literal ice unless you shatter them from beneath). Mario Bros. contains no boss battles or primary antagonist to test your skills against; instead, you’ll encounter more and more and increasingly-faster versions of these enemies. Each enemy will react to others or to Coins and change their direction, as well, meaning it can require a bit of strategy and forethought to topple them all when the Phases hit their highest difficulty.

Enemies increase in their frequency and difficulty but there are no bosses to fight here.

There is very little to aid Mario and Luigi in their quest to clear up the sewers; there are no power-ups to pick up or weapons to obtain, meaning you’re forced to rely on your skills and ability to work with the game’s dodgy physics and controls. You can, however, attack a “POW” block to flip every onscreen enemy in one screen-shaking hit. The “POW” block can only be hit three times, however, and once it’s gone you’ll have to wait until the next one spawns in after a Bonus Stage so it’s best to save it for the game’s harder Phases. As a conversion of an 8-bit arcade title, the primary objective of the game is to achieve, or beat, a high score. You can pick from four different modes: two are for a single player and two are for two players but, since I don’t have anyone to play with, I could only play the standard ‘Game A’ game. If you do have a friend, though, you have the option of playing as Mario and Luigi in two player co-op, which I’m sure increases the replay value to the game exponentially. Even better, the Nintendo Switch provides a few extra options to make things easier for you; using the Switch’s ‘suspend menu’ mode, you can create a save point at any time and rewind the game so you can correct any mistakes you might have made.

The Summary:
Mario Bros. is a decent enough port of the original arcade game. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really a lot to the game to begin with and the NES version doesn’t really add or improve upon the format very much. However, as fun a distraction as Mario Bros. is and as attractive as the old school 8-bit sprites look, it definitely wears out its welcome a lot faster than Donkey Kong or its follow-up title. Within the first three or five stages, you’ve basically seen everything there is that the game has to offer and, though the game increases in speed and difficulty, there’s just less to it compared to other arcade titles or even Donkey Kong, which requires far more skill to get through. As a videogame, Mario Bros. is much better as a mini game to be included in other Mario titles (as it was on the Game Boy Advance) rather than a full game in and of itself and it’s not surprising that Nintendo was able to improve upon this formula when the bar was set so low.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Did you ever play Mario Bros. back in the day, on NES or out in the arcade? What did you think to it compared to other Mario titles and arcade games of the time? Which of the two brothers did you always play as and what was your best score in the game? How are you celebrating Mario Day this year? No matter what you think about Mario Bros. or Mario games in general, leave a comment below and pop back next week for another review as part of Mario Month.

Mini Game Corner: Grim Fandango Remastered (Xbox One)

Dr. K2 Comments

Released: 29 October 2020
Originally Released: 30 October 1998
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Original Developer: LucasArts
Also Available For: Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita

A Brief Background:
Grim Fandango was the brainchild of noted creator Tim Schafer, whose success with Full Throttle (LucasArts, 1995) allowed him to pitch a surreal, Day of the Dead-inspired concept that LucasArts hoped would revitalise the declining graphic adventure game genre. Despite initially being a PC-excusive title, Grim Fandango received widespread critical acclaim. For my part, I had been aware of the game thanks to gaming magazines and its enduring reputation as a much-loved title but it wasn’t until the Remastered version of the game became available on Xbox One that I actually got the chance to play, and finish, it for myself.

First Impressions:
Grim Fandango Remastered is a truly unique videogame with an equally unique concept; taking place in the Land of the Dead, players control a Grim Reaper, Manuel “Manny” Calavera, who is actually more like a corporate travel agent who inhabits a very film noir­-style version of the afterlife. The game takes a very bare-bones approach to its mechanics and interface; with no heads-up display (HUD) clogging up the screen, the game’s unique graphical style gets a chance to shine front and centre. Like the early Resident Evil titles (Capcom, 1996 to 2000), Grim Fandango utilises 3D models over static, pre-rendered backgrounds that must be interacted with to find objects, acquire clues, or advance the story. Unlike in those games, though, there’s very little in the way of onscreen prompts to point you in the direction you need to go, meaning that you have to interact with non-playable characters (NPCs) to figure out what’s going on.

Dialogue and character interactions are an important part of the game.

The world of Grim Fandango is populated by a wide variety of 1940/1950-inspired clichés, such as molls, femme fatales, gangsters, and the like, all of whom are skeletons within the Land of the Dead. When you talk to them, you are given a wide variety of dialogue options and conversations can drag on (…and on) for some time, fleshing out the world and the characters and delivering important exposition that you need to pay attention to or else you’ll end up wandering in circles. Helpfully, you can skip these dialogue sequences with the push of a button to speed things up, which is very useful on replays or if you make a mistake but can easily mean you miss out on vital information (as I did).

Manny’s scythe is easily his most versatile, if sparingly-used, item.

Perhaps fittingly, there’s no danger of losing, dying, or getting a game over here; there’s only a handful of moments where Manny takes any kind of damage or gets into a fight so you don’t need to worry about searching for health, power-ups, or extra lives. Unfortunately, a great deal of the game’s focus is on obtuse puzzles, which are solved either by acquiring and using certain items and bringing them to NPCs, performing frustrating time-sensitive tasks, and a lot of experimentation and trial-and-error puzzle. Manny can hold a wide variety of objects in his suit or cloak but the most useful and versatile of these is his scythe, which can be used to hook out of reach objects and interact with the environment. However, I found that, a lot of the time, I was holding objects with no idea of how to use them and questioning whether I would actually have been able to figure out how to progress without a guide.

My Progression:
To be fair, I did complete the game but, to be brutally honest, I didn’t enjoy it all that much and I was forced to turn to a guide soon into my play time. I managed to recruit the demon Glottis as my driver, visit the living world (which was a surrealist nightmare), and get into the office of Manny’s boss using the window but then found myself running around in the lobby and the few rooms available to me trying to figure out what to do with the assortment of balloon animals I had on me. As a result, I turned to a guide and, following it, proceeded to skip and rush though all of the game’s dialogue, story, and sequences in order to earn all of its Achievements. When I first started the game and saw that it was much different to what I expected (I thought it was a noir-style murder mystery but it turned out to be much more about Manny’s existential crisis and misadventures), I wasn’t expecting to actually enjoy or finish the game but, thanks to this approach, was able to blast through it in a day or so.

As great as the game looks, its puzzles can be needlessly frustratingly and vague.

Of course, the downside was that I largely missed out on the story and the more immersive aspects of the game but I found that it wasn’t really gripping me from the start, to be honest. As impressive as the game looks and as unique as its aesthetic style and concept is, I found the story a bit more convoluted than I expected and I was incredibly put off by some of the more frustrating puzzles. As I mentioned, there are times when it seems impossible to figure out what to do, like when you’re running around in a desolate forest trying to place a road sign in a pixel-perfect spot, or the puzzles were just needlessly annoying, such as lugging a giant axe around in a bathroom or desperately trying to move locks on a safe door or sing along with some literal worker bees.

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I went into Grim Fandango Remastered excited to experience this cult classic of a game, was impressed by is visuals and unique concept, but quickly became overwhelmed by the lack of direction and confusing elements. I’m all for being given a lot of leeway with exploration and experimentation but Grim Fandango was a little outside of my comfort zone. I can definitely see what people liked about it and I’m sure that fans of this genre of game were probably well in their element but, for all its impressive voice acting, innovation, and imagination, I can’t say that I was inspired to come back to the game after earning all of the Achievements. Are you a fan of Grim Fandango? How do you feel the Remastered version holds up to the original? What did you think to the game’s unique visual style and concept? Did you also struggle with the puzzles and figuring out what to do or were you fully immersed in the experience? Would you recommend that I revisit the game someday and play it properly to actually get a better idea of the story and characters or did you, too, simply blast through it to grab some easy Achievements? Whatever your thoughts on Grim Fandango, feel free to leave a comment down below.  

Mini Game Corner: Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360)

Dr. K1 Comment
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Released: January 2008
Developer: Capcom
Also Available For: Mobile, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 (Remaster), Xbox One (Remaster)

A Brief Background:
Long before the God of War franchise (Various, 2005 to present) cornered the market when it came to hack and slash videogames, Capcom released a trilogy of titles that saw you cutting demons and angels alike into pieces with a giant sword and blasting them apart with pistols. After the success of Resident Evil 2 (Capcom, 1998), famed Resident Evil (ibid, 1996) director Hideki Kamiya began development on a new Resident Evil title for the PlayStation 2. However, when the game’s development began to veer further and further away from Resident Evil’s survival-horror aesthetics, Kamiya embraced this new direction and created an entirely new franchise with Devil May Cry (Capcom Production Studio 4, 2001). I’d been aware of the series for some time and, being a fan of hack and slash videogames, was eager to experience the games once I bought a PlayStation 3. I remember enjoying the title but ultimately being turned off by the repetitive nature of the game’s missions and boss battles, which are basically identically for both of the game’s playable characters. When I bought my Xbox 360 earlier this year, it coincidentally came with a copy of Devil May Cry 4 so, eager to snag a few additional Achievements, I attempted to rush through it again and see if it was still as enjoyable as before.

First Impressions:
Unlike previous games in the Devil May Cry series, Devil May Cry 4 begins with you not assuming the role of iconic series protagonist Dante but that of newcomer Nero. Functionally, Nero looks, acts, and even controls very similar to Dante (kind of making you question why Capcom bothered to make a new character in the first place…); Nero can attack enemies with his impossibly-large sword, the Red Queen, or stun them with his revolver, the Blue Rose. The more you mash the attack buttons, the higher a combo you’ll begin to build up; the better your combo, the better your grade. Additionally, if you successfully manage to complete missions and puzzles without using healing or recovery items, in a decent time, and with a consistently high style grade, you’ll receive better mission grades and therefore better rewards.

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Nero’s demonic arm separates him from Dante.

What separates Nero from Dante is his Devil Bringer; a demonic arm that stretches out and allows him to cover large distances and grab, grapple, slam, and throw enemies and objects at his enemies. Eventually, he also gains access to the Devil Trigger, a state that allows him to charge his sword to unleash more powerful, flaming attacks, or explode into a demonic state for a short time to unleash stronger attacks. As you destroy enemies and certain parts of your environment, you’ll collect a bevy of Red Orbs; destroying enemies, bosses, and clearing missions also earns you Proud Souls, both of which can be used in the game’s Power Up menu. Here, you can trade Red Orbs for healing and recovery items to help you in the game’s more difficult missions or spend Proud Souls upgrading Nero’s abilities, unlocking new combos, faster moving speeds (a definite must), more powerful charged shots, and other similar power-ups. Unfortunately, every time you buy a recovery item, that item’s price shoots up, meaning you can’t just stockpile healing items as you’ll run out of Red Orbs pretty fast; occasionally, though, you can find these items hidden in the game’s missions. Devil May Cry 4’s story is told through in-game and pre-rendered cutscenes; these are pretty decent and full of frenetic, over-the-top action and dialogue and the story is pretty out there, with both Nero and Dante appearing to be infallible and superhuman in cutscenes which, unfortunately, doesn’t translate to their gameplay.

DMC4Bosses
Bosses are big and impressive but often more frustrating than fun..

The in-game action is fast and frantic but if you don’t properly lock-on and focus on your enemies, or dodge and switch up your attack style accordingly, you can be pummelled into oblivion pretty easily, which can be frustrating. Fortunately, the game’s bosses are large and complex; they’re actually quite fun, despite some of them being frustrating and cumbersome. Bael and Dagon stand out as one of the game’s tougher bosses, for me; this horrific cross between a toad and an anglerfish hides in the snowy shadows, bursting out and swallowing you up to deal massive damage, and its tendency to enter an aggressive final stage is a theme you’ll find from all of the game’s bosses. You’ll hack away, draining their stupidly long health bar and desperately trying to avoid damage, and then they just freak out and throw everything they have at you, making already annoying and difficult battles like the one against Angelo Credo extremely aggravating.

My Progression:
I was quite enjoying Devil May Cry 4 for the most part; I chose to play on “Devil Hunter” mode (which is basically the game’s Hard mode) and the game’s difficulty increases steadily as you play. Initially, enemies aren’t much of an issue; there can be a lot of them and they take quite a beating before actually going down but, generally, they weren’t much of an issue. Then I noticed that they were respawning and that I was encountering far tougher enemies, such as the cloaked Mephisto, the ice-plated Frosts, and the always infuriating Angelos. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the game’s map leaves a lot to be desired; it’s functional and shows you where areas of interest, doors, and your last exit are and can be expanded similar to the maps in Resident Evil but, quite often, I would clear a room, solve a puzzle, or defeat a boss and then be left clueless as to where I was supposed to be going and what I was supposed to be doing. Just having an area light up on the map and a directional arrow appear would have been super helpful, or even a brief objective in the pause screen.

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Mission 10 culminates in a battle against Dante but I’m not sure I’ll reach this fight.

Anyway, I was fully expecting to clear the game with only a few annoying roadblocks; however, once I limped through a particularly trying boss battle against Angelo Agnus (a hovering, insect like monstrosity that spawns fireballs, flies into a razor-sharp whirlwind, and drains your health to replenish its own), I found myself faced with an exasperating trek back through the suitably gothic and nightmarish environment. Here I was faced with Faust, a more powerful form of the Mephisto enemies, and way too many armoured Angelo enemies; considering I was trying to be mindful of saving my recovery items for the game’s increasingly challenging boss battles and the game’s restrictive checkpoint and save system, I found myself basically rage quitting (though it was more like annoyed quitting) after a few failed attempts. I am so very close to the end of Nero’s story, though, and I know I have done it before so I am tempted to try and push through but, the moment the game becomes more annoying than fun, I know it’s time to take a bit of a break.

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Mission 10. Mission 10 out of 11 missions. Once I clear the eleventh mission, the game begins over from Dante’s perspective but getting there is proving more frustrating than enjoyable; plus, I still remember enough of the game’s massive, Lovecraftian final boss to know that things don’t get any easier. I haven’t checked if it’s possible but it might be better to notch the game’s difficulty down, or simply use a recovery item and hope that I earn enough Red Orbs to buy new ones for later use.

What did you think about Devil May Cry 4? Where do you rate it in the hierarchy of the Devil May Cry series? What do you think of newcomer Nero and the direction the game took? Whatever you think about Devil May Cry 4, or Devil May Cry in general, feel free to leave a comment.

Mini Game Corner: SEGASonic the Hedgehog (Arcade)

Dr. K3 Comments
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Released: 1993
Developer: SEGA AM3

A Brief Background:
I may have mentioned this before but, back in the early-nineties, SEGA’s super-speedy blue hedgehog of a mascot was on something of a roll; Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Team, 1991) had finally swayed videogame fans away from the Nintendo Entertainment System then, after the unforgettable and highly marketed release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1992), Sonic’s status as a cultural icon was cemented. It was amidst the wave of Sonic’s incredible popularity that SEGA decided to develop a Sonic title for the arcades, most likely as the arcade scene was still a popular way of enjoying videogames even with the Console War right on the horizon. Although it wasn’t the first time SEGA tried to get a Sonic arcade game off the ground, SEGASonic the Hedgehog is, perhaps, the most infamous. Featuring the debut of Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel (two characters that were long-forgotten by SEGA until very recently) and forgoing Sonic’s trademark speed, SEGASonic used a trackball to control its three playable characters and was pretty much exclusively released in Japan. I actually got to play the game at SEGA World in London years and years ago, back when that was a thing, but the game has never been officially released or ported to other consoles since quietly disappearing from the arcade scene.

First Impressions:
SEGASonic makes an immediate impression simply through its bright, colourful graphics; the game features a charming cartoon-like aesthetic, featuring some extremely expressive and amusing animations and facial expressions from Sonic and his two friends. Captured by Doctor Eggman and forced to escape from his hazardous island, players are tasked with battling the game’s awkward trackball controls and navigating seven isometric levels.

Sonic, Mighty, and Ray must escape Eggman’s island.

Generally, players are chased by some kind of hazard (a wall of fire or a drilling machine, for example), must dodge past some kind of blockage (a cage, crumbling paths, or spiked walls and the like), and clamber across monkey bars to escape danger. Sonic, Mighty, and Ray all pretty much control exactly the same; no one character is faster than the other, they all have a Spin Attack, and the only real difference between them is the way they animate when performing certain actions (Ray uses his prehensile tail to climb, for example). Each character has a health bar, in a change for the series, which can be refilled by collecting the familiar Golden Rings generously scattered across the game’s maps, all while being chased by Doctor Eggman.

My Progression:
Unfortunately, as SEGASonic hasn’t been re-released or ported to home consoles, the only way to play the game now is using a ROM and an emulator. Equally unfortunate is the fact that the ROM I have for this game is very finicky and prone to crashing; as a result, I didn’t manage to get too far in the game before the emulator crashed and kicked me out of the game. I’m pretty certain that I managed to clear at least one level when I played the game at SEGA World but, on this playthrough, my ROM conked out on me shortly after clearing Trap Tower. I probably will reload my save state and go back to the game at some point to try and get a bit more playtime out of it but, as much as I love the obscurity and visual presentation of the game, the controls make it quite difficult to play (or, at least, play well).

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I love SEGASonic the Hedgehog; I would be so happy is SEGA got off their asses and made a real effort to put together a real, HD-quality port of the title that integrates modern analogue controls in place of the trackball. It, like Knuckles’ Chaotix (SEGA, 1995), is criminally under-rated, under-looked, and under-valued for its appeal and, considering SEGA loves to port and re-release their classic titles, it literally boggles my mind that we haven’t seen anything from this game in decades. The only thing holding it back from a full-blown replay is the dodgy controls (well, that and that unreliability of the ROM I have…); even when using a trackball, the game is difficult to control but, with analogue controls better and more sensitive than ever, I could see this game being a nice distracting for an hour or so if SEGA were to spruce it up and re-release it.

What do you think of SEGASonic the Hedgehog? What was your favourite of Sonic’s short-lived arcade games? Did you ever go to SEGA World in London? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Mini Game Corner: Mortal Kombat (Master System)

Dr. K16 Comments
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Click here to watch me play the arcade version of this game as Scorpion.

Released: 1994
Originally Released: 1992
Developer: Arena Entertainment / Probe Development / Midway
Original Developer: Midway
Also Available For: Arcade, Mega Drive, Mega-CD, Game Gear, Game Boy, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), PC, Amiga, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360

A Brief Background:
You’ve all heard of Mortal Kombat, right? The violent fighting game series that revolutionarily used digitised sprites instead of traditional 2D sprite art and was filled with all kinds of controversial violence and blood? These days, the blood and brutal Fatalities the series is known for don’t cause nearly as much outrage as they did back in the day but, in the early-nineties, parents and organisations alike were fuming at the levels of violence Mortal Kombat depicted. As you might expect, this meant that Mortal Kombat was massively successful; kids finally turned away from Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Capcom, 1991) and wasted their hard-earned pocket money trying to tear their opponent’s spines from their bloodied bodies. Given its level of popularity, Mortal Kombat received numerous ports to home consoles; the Mega Drive version reigned supreme thanks to SEGA including the game’s trademark blood and Fatalities (albeit after a code was entered), while Nintendo lagged behind with heavily edited “Finishing Moves” and substituting blood for “sweat”. While the Mega Drive version is sluggish and hasn’t really aged very well, it’s got nothing on this Master System port!

First Impressions:
After slotting Mortal Kombat into the Master System, you’re treated with a long diatribe about “codes”, which was the developer’s sneaky way of telling you that you need to enter a code to enable blood in the game. I skipped this, however, and, as always, selected Sub-Zero to take on the game’s arcade ladder. The first thing you’ll notice is that Kano is missing from the game’s roster; the second thing you’ll notice is how absolutely God-awful the game’s graphics are! I grew up playing the Amiga version of Mortal Kombat but, mostly, was playing either Mortal Kombat 3 (Midway, 1995) on PC or Mega Drive (except for that odd period were I happened to have a copy of Mortal Kombat II (Acclaim Entertainment/Probe Development, 1994) for the Master System) so maybe I was a little spoiled but…my God, the graphics here are terrible! The downgrade to 8-bit has left the already-questionable digitised sprites looking blocky and blurry. Sprites seem to float or merge with the foreground and background, and so many frames of animation have been lost that there seems to be a delay in every button press!

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Backgrounds are okay and everyone has their special moves…but still…

It’s not all bad, though; the backgrounds are okay, for the most part, those there’s a noticeable lack of stages here. Each character also has their signature moves but, thanks to the Master System’s two button setup, I couldn’t throw even one Ice Ball for the life of me. None of this changes the fact that the game plays like absolute garbage, though. One of the things I love about Mortal Kombat (especially the early titles) is how the game is easy to pick up and play and gets deeper the more you master its controls; unlike Street Fighter II and its sequels and spin-offs, you don’t have to stress yourself with worrying about “frame cancels” or whatever. Every Mortal Kombat character basically plays the same, with only their special abilities separating them, meaning it comes down to how good you are at getting through the opponent’s offense and landing your own.

My Progression:
In this version of Mortal Kombat, you can technically wipe the floor with the computer without any real problem; if you select the “Easy” difficulty, you can pretty much trounce every opponent with just flying kicks, rapid punches, and leg sweeps no matter how much better they are at throwing their projectiles at you. The issue is, though, that you have to battle against some really dodgy hit detection and slow-down; it’s like the game is taxing the Master System to its very limit, as you’ll slowly stutter through the air and punch through the opponent more often than not.

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At first, it’s not too difficult to get the win, especially on “Easy”.

When I fired the game up to have a quick playthrough, I selected the “Easy” difficulty, picked Sub-Zero (because…obviously…!), and played through the arcade ladder. I managed to get all the way to the Mirror Match without losing more than one round (Rayden turned out to be a cheap spam-artist) and was promptly, soundly defeated by my doppelgänger. Truthfully, I’m not too bothered about this as the one thing I always hated about Mortal Kombat was those damn annoying Endurance Matches, where you have to take on two opponents with two health bars while you only get one. That probably wouldn’t be so bad but you need to fight your way through three of these bloody things before you can take on Goro and, eventually, the game’s final boss, Shang Tsung.

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Honestly, the original Mortal Kombat has not aged well at all. The only version worth anyone’s time is the arcade version, and even that is slow and graphically sub-par to its later sequels. This 8-bit port of the game is a joke from top to bottom; it’s literally the poor man’s version of Mortal Kombat, made for those kids unfortunate enough to not be able to upgrade to the Mega Drive, and should be avoided at all costs. Am I being too harsh on the Master System port of Mortal Kombat? Which was your favourite version or sequel to Mortal Kombat? Do you have any fond memories of wasting your childhood away in arcades trying to set your opponent on fire? Write a comment below and let me know.

Mini Game Corner: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (Xbox One)

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Witcher3Logo

Released: May 2015
Developer: CD Projekt Red
Also Available For: PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch

A Brief Background:
So, I’d heard of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt for a while now; my Twitter feed was full of praise for the game for some time and, even now, it crops up as being a really good, immersive combat/role-playing experience. Similarly, I’ve heard nothing but praise for the Netflix series, The Witcher (2019 to present), particularly for its portrayal of main character Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), its violence, and its sex scenes. Given that I’m currently in lockdown due to the fact that the world has gone mad, I’ve started watching The Witcher and, while I’m only about six episodes in, I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far. With all that in mind, and at the urging of many of my peers, I decided to download The Witcher III: Wild Hunt as it’s currently on Xbox Game Pass. However, because I have a massive backlog at the moment and still have work to do at home, I can’t devote my entire focus to the game so I’m just going to briefly talk though my initial impressions of the game and leave it up to you guys to decide if I should make the time to continue playing.

First Impressions:
One of the reasons I hesitated to play The Witcher III: Wild Hunt sooner was simply that fact that I hadn’t played the previous games, am not familiar with The Witcher (Sapkowski, 1993 to 2013) series of fantasy novels, and I don’t really have the time to immerse myself fully into a layered role-playing experience. I should stress that I have only played about an hour or so of the game, and was skipping through the impressively-realised cutscenes in order to get straight to the gameplay but, from what I pieced together Geralt is a mutated monster-hunter, a Witcher, who is on a quest to located his adopted daughter, Ciri. From what I experienced, it seems the narrative jumps from a time in Geralt’s past (which acts as a convenient tutorial for the game’s mechanics) and a more tumultuous time in the present, where Geralt is far more cold and stoic.

The Witcher III has some impressive aesthetics, and Geralt certainly has a lot of options in combat.

Geralt can use his enhanced senses to scan his environment and interact with other characters and objects, this is necessary to find loot and other useful items that can be used to heal Geralt or crafted in what I am assuming is quite a layered crafting system. Combat is a simple, yet surprisingly complex affair; Geralt can target an enemy and attack with his sword using light and strong swipes. He can block and, with successful timing, parry incoming attacks and also use both throwing weapons (like bombs) and a range of magic (known as Signs) to protect himself or attack his enemies. Soon after completing the tutorial (which involved a bit of free-running around a town, where I accidentally leapt off too high a ledge and died…), you skip ahead in time and take control of a more seasoned Geralt, who is accompanied by his fellow Witcher, Vesemir. This is where you learn how to control Geralt’s horse, Roach, which looks to be your primary mode of transport, and battle monsters that roam the world map on your way to the first town, White Orchard, where you can visit a shop to sell and purchase items, take on various side quests, and interact with other characters using the game’s intricate dialogue wheel.

My Progression:
As I said, I only played for about an hour and, even then, I was rushing a bit as I was pushed for time. I literally made it to White Orchard, popped into a tavern, saved my game, and had to stop playing. However, even in that brief bit of time, it is clear how large and sprawling the scope of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is; not only do you have multiple options to pick from when talking to other characters, but there are many side quests and additional concerns that crop up as you pursue the main story mode and also a lot to occupy yourself with in terms of crafting and item management. One thing I did like was the non-playable characters will react differently to you whether your sword is sheathed or not; during the tutorial, it was a sign that I wanted to spar and, in White Orchard, townsfolk would flee as I slaughtered their chickens and cows. Clearly, there’s a lot to get to grips with in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt and it’s not really a videogame geared towards a casual player or a quick run-through, as I did here. I’ve hardly scratched the surface of what the game has to offer and I’m already intimidated and, considering I have quite a backlog to work through, I’m not sure that I’ll be returning to Geralt’s adventures any time soon.

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What do you think of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, and The Witcher series? Would you recommend putting the hours into mastering everything this game has to offer or do you feel that it was a bit over-rated? Whatever you think let me know in the comments.

Mini Game Corner: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Mega Drive)

Dr. K3 Comments
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Released: 1994
Developer: Banpresto/Nova
Also Available For: Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Gear, and Mega CD

The Background:
If you were a kid back in the early nineties, right after you finished up being obsessed with what we in the UK know as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (1987 to 1996), and before Pokémon (1997 to present) took my generation by storm, you were all about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993 to 1996). Cobbled together from stock footage from the Japanese tokusatsu series Gosei Sentai Dairanger (1993 to 1994) and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger (1994 to 1995), Power Rangers focused on five teens “with attitude” (despite the fact they were a bunch of geeky do-gooders who couldn’t break a rule if they were held at gunpoint) imbued with superhuman powers and abilities. Harnessing the power of the dinosaurs, they could transform into martial arts superheroes and conjure giant mechs to battle against the forces of evil. To say Power Rangers was a cultural phenomenon would be an understatement; parents were outraged at the glorification of violence but we headed out in our droves to buy every bit of Power Rangers merchandise we could, from t-shirts to action figures. Given its dominion over the playground and the airwaves, you know that this also meant the franchise received its own multi-platform videogame that I’m sure hapless kids everywhere begged their parents to buy for them.

The Review:
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a simple 2D fighting game; you can choose to battle head-to-head with a friend or take on the game’s Scenario Mode, where you’ll battle one of Rita’s minions in a format that will be more than familiar to anyone who has played a Street Fighter (Capcom, 1987 to present) videogame. However, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (ibid, 1991) this is not; first of all, you’re (unsurprisingly) limited to only six playable characters (the titular Power Rangers). Each plays largely the same and the variations come only in their special attacks and weapons; the Red Ranger wields a sword but the Black Ranger has an axe, for example. After you face, and defeat, the evil Green Ranger (in my opinion, the greatest Power Ranger of all time), he becomes a playable character as well. There’s one main difference between playing as the Green Ranger compared to the other Rangers, though, and that’s in the game’s other battle mode. Once you defeat Rita’s monster, she’ll make it grow (as she is wont to do…) and the Rangers summon the Megazord to battle it. The Green Ranger, however, summons the Dragonzord but it basically amounts to the same thing: smash the buttons until you whittle away the enemy’s health bar and win.

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The game’s literally over in less than an hour. It’s sad.

If you’re looking for depth…well, there isn’t any. Power Rangers the game has about as much depth and variety as Power Rangers the television show. I literally sat there, mashing buttons and hardly even trying, and never lost a single round. When I fought the Green Ranger as the Black Ranger, I did one whirlwind attack with Zack’s blade and won without Tommy landing a single hit! The game is also pathetically short; you always battle the monster on the same stage for the first fight but, once you’ve battled all five of Rita’s minions, the game is over and you’ve pretty much done everything Power Rangers has to offer in less than an hour. Unless you suck at videogames, but I’d wager even if that is the case you could beat Power Rangers without a great deal of difficulty.

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Once you go Green you never go back…


Graphically, there’s not much to write home about; the sprites themselves are colourful and large and surprisingly detailed but not very animated. The backgrounds are even worse, being largely barren and devoid of life or character, and severely lacking in variety. It’s pretty much the same story for the game’s sound, too; there’s a noticeably bad rendition of the iconic Power Rangers theme and some shitty voice samples but the in-game sounds are muted and dull. Characters grunt and yelp a bit and Zords thud about but it all sounds so half-assed and a far cry from the loud, impactful sounds the Mega Drive is capable of producing. There are some nice cutscenes between battles that tell the story and evoke the same spirit as the television show but they don’t really contain much in the way of animation, meaning the game is outclassed by even some Master System titles in that regard.

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Get used to seeing this same stage over and over…

As I mentioned above, the game has only five enemies to battle against. Sure, you face each one in two different types of battle but, if you’ve ever seen Power Rangers, you’ll know that doesn’t really mean much as the monster’s second form is literally just a bigger version of its first form. Goldar makes an appearance (he was the only monster I actually recognised…) but there’s no Putty Patrol to wade through and no Lord Zedd as the game is only pulling its inspiration from the first series of the show. Similarly, there aren’t any beyond the different weapons and abilities of the Power Rangers. The only thing to unlock here is the Green Ranger, which is the second battle and, once you have him, you’ll never pick another character because Tommy is the best character. Finally, you can battle against a friend but, honestly, I can’t see why you’d even bother.

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The Summary:
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers may have been a cultural phenomenon but this videogame outing is a dreadful experience; the controls are sluggish, the battles are ridiculously easy, and the game is just boring from start to finish. I wouldn’t even recommend this to die-hard Power Rangers fans as there are far better Power Rangers videogames available; the game’s counterpart on the SNES, for example, or the one based on the movie. Either way, just don’t even give this the light of day and stick to playing Street Fighter II because the only thing “mighty” about this game is how bad it is.

My Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Terrible

Did you watch Power Rangers when it first aired? Who was your favourite Ranger and why was it the Green/White Ranger? Do you think I was too harsh on the Mega Drive videogame, or have a favourite Power Rangers videogame? Let me know in the comments.

Mini Game Corner: Shenmue (Xbox One)

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So, thanks to Xbox Game Pass, I finally got the chance to play the cult favourite role-playing videogame Shenmue (SEGA AM2/Ys Net, 1999/2019), which has been lauded as one of the Dreamcast’s most prolific titles and has a dedicated fanbase who have been called for HD remakes and a third entry for years. Once I saw that the game was available, I figured I’d give it a download and see if it was worth all the hype and fuss I’d heard about it. The closest I’d come to playing the game was playing as the series protagonist, Ryo Hazuki, in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Sumo Digital, 2010) so I was pretty interested to see if the title was worthy of its reputation.

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The game looks lovely but the characters sound dreadful…

Now, I’m massively swamped with videogames and movies to work through at the moment, so I glossed over the introduction and opening cutscenes but I gather (from what I’ve heard and the game itself that Ryo’s none-too-happy because some mysterious guys killed his father right in front of him so he sets out to bring them to justice. Probably as a result of the Xbox One version being more of a HD port than a straight-up remake, the game has a few issues with the quality of its voice acting; I normally don’t really moan about this as I enjoy stilted, daft voice acting but everyone in Shenmue sounds muffled and distorted, as though the voices didn’t get a nice HD filter like the charming blocky graphics.

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Ryo controls like a robot, for the most part.

That’s not a knock on the aesthetics; I love how polished it looks even though the engine has just been given a fresh coat of paint and I have no issues with the look of the game but the controls…that’s a different story. It took me a while to figure out how to get Ryo to do anything other than a stiff, robotic walk but finding the run button didn’t really help much as Ryo suddenly flew about like he was ice skating! Seriously, I don’t normally like to rag on a game’s controls of camera but Shenmue has really stiff, awkward controls that make controlling Ryo and navigating the fairly bustling townscape a hell of a chore. The camera is also a headache, wildly swooping all over the place and making it difficult to point Ryo in the right direction.

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It’s not a big town but I still got a bit lost because everything looks the same!

Ryo has a little notebook, which is respect and admire, which tells him what he has to do and where he needs to go and keeps track of his progress and missions but it’s not actually that helpful at telling you where you need to go. I was tasked with going to someone’s house to find clues but literally every single house I went to was empty and I had no idea where to go or what to do.

I did meet a little girl and pet her kitten, though.

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Unfortunately, the cute kitty didn’t convince me to play much further.

Honestly, it was a very quick play but I can’t say I was massively impressed or encouraged to play on. I could use a guide to get further into the game but, judging by how bad the controls and camera are, I dread engaging in combat or trying to tackle more complicated tasks. In the end, I don’t see myself coming back to Shenmue any time soon unless I manage to clear my backlog but what do you think? Did I give up too early? Are you a big Shenmue fan? Sound off below and try and convince me to push on.