We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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Sumez
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Sumez »

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Son Son II - ソンソンII [hucard] [jp]

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Review by: Sumez

Supposedly Capcom were working on a sequel to Black Tiger, but ended up rebranding it as a sequel to Son Son instead. Let's be clear, though, this has nothing to do with the original Son Son, and is a classic action platformer that feels very much at home on the PC Engine, despite relaxing the "arcade" aspects.

Fun, colorful, and well crafted, there's not much to complain about here aside from maybe the game being slightly on the easy side. Stages are open for free exploration, with a few secrets to find, and occasionally requiring you to backtrack or find specific paths to make any progress at all. One stage in particular will loop endlessly in both directions until you figure out how to make your way out.


[RATING 3/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Ninja Ryukenden - 忍者龍剣伝 (aka: Ninja Gaiden) [hucard] [jp]

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Review by: Sumez

If you like Ninja Gaiden, but wish it had shittier controls, worse graphics, and seizure inducing attempts at doing parallax scrolling, then this game is for you.
At its heart, Ninja Gaiden is still a good game, and if the original Famicom game didn't exist, this might even possibly be perceived as a good? Comparing it to the original, however, there is no shortage of offenses offered by this port.

Generally much more expensive than any known version of the NES or Famicom cart, I see no reason to subject yourself to this unless you're really, really curious and don't like yourself much.

[RATING 2/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Sumez »

kitten wrote:sumez - bit too far over the 100 word soft limit, there.

i've said a few times in the thread so far that discussion and longer reviews (even humongous ones) are fine for the thread, but i want the indexed reviews on the front page to stay around 100 words.
I thought I kept it short. Not sure what could safely be cut.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by BIL »

Oh yeah, I just remembered I'm familiar with PCE Ryukenden, too. :o I'll whip up a few more reviews today.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Sumez »

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Bomberman - ボンバーマン [HUCARD] [JP/US]

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Review by: Sumez

Everyone knows Bomberman, so you immediately know what this game is about. Probably the most basic game of the series, and although it's kind of a remake of the older NES game, it really feels like the first "true" Bomberman game, with its incredible polished controls and overall fantastic presentation, as well as the first multiplayer mode of the series.

Without too many gimmicks, emphasis is on tactically outsmarting your enemies. However, the two things that hold it back is the incredibly repetitive nature of the game, and the fact that getting soft block pass and remote trigger basically makes you invincible, rendering the game boring and pointless as long as you hold those.

[RATING 2/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Bomberman '93 - ボンバーマン'93 [HUCARD] [JP/US]

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Review by: Sumez

The last of the series before switching from the more "basic" approach to a heavily gimmick-based one. Although a few minor stage gimmicks are introduced, the game remains simple, and the AI of the enemies is incredibly good at creating situations where your attempt to conquer them will no doubt cause you to blow yourself up instead - something that IMO should be a staple of this entire series, and none of the sequels do it better than this.

Sporting also what I'd consider the best boss fights of the series, I'd say Bomberman 93 is a must-have, but like its predecessor it also struggles a bit with fatigue from running too long.

[RATING 3/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Bomberman '94 - ボンバーマン'94 [HUCARD] [JP]

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Review by: Sumez

A major change in the approach of the Bomberman games, that would direct the next few games in the series.
Instead of killing every enemy, you now have to bomb specific targets on a stage, and fighting enemies now deals more with a traditional approach of knowing their patterns and dealing with their attacks, rather than outsmarting them.

The game is fun, colorful, and much more varied than earlier games in the series, which all helps it stand as one of the strongest Bomberman titles.

[RATING 3/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Last edited by Sumez on Fri Nov 01, 2019 10:05 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by kitten »

Sumez wrote:I thought I kept it short. Not sure what could safely be cut.
i generally add links to any longform thoughts i've written on these games at the bottom of each reviews - almost every youtube video i make has a way more substantial review than any individual post. the idea is that if you want to make a long review, you can still post it in the thread (frankly, i really encourage it!), and then you can write the 100 word (it's fine if it pushes a little above, but 150 has got to be a hard limit) summary for the index and i'll add a link for anyone reading to get directed to the longer post.

also, to be clear - i'm fine with updating index reviews with re-writes or re-scores, and to add other posts if anyone wants me to cross reference them. e.g. if you've got substantial posts anywhere else in the entire forum, i'd be happy to add them as links from an index-sized review. ideally, i'd love for the index to grow enough that the substantial majority of the library has links to replays, strategy posts, longer reviews, etc.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Sumez »

Redacted version of my Parasol Stars review:

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Parasol Stars - パラソルスタ - The Story of Bubble Bobble III [hucard] [jp/us]

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Review by: Sumez

Taito's second attempt at reinventing the Bubble Bobble formula is no less interesting than the three earlier games in the series, introducing the parasol as both a weapon and a defensive measure.

Feels like it could and should have been a genuine arcade game, but a few twists makes it clearly suited as a console title. The first four or five stars are very easy, and the scoring system is kind of broken. It is really too bad that a real arcade version never came out, but that doesn't keep this one from still being super fun to play, and the happy music and huge and colorful sprites really showcases Taito at their strongest in terms of production value.

[RATING 4/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Sumez »

kitten wrote: i generally add links to any longform thoughts i've written on these games at the bottom of each reviews - almost every youtube video i make has a way more substantial review than any individual post. the idea is that if you want to make a long review, you can still post it in the thread (frankly, i really encourage it!), and then you can write the 100 word (it's fine if it pushes a little above, but 150 has got to be a hard limit) summary for the index and i'll add a link for anyone reading to get directed to the longer post.
I get it, I get it. My point was that the review you thought was too long was, to me, a heavily shortened version that already left out most of the major important thoughts I have about the game. ;)
I've posted an even shorter version.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Sumez »

Accidentally destroyed my Bomberman reviews when trying to post these next two. Will try to restore. EDIT: Done.

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Kaze Kiri - 風霧 (aka: Kaze Kiri Ninja Action) [CD] [JP]

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Review by: Sumez

Atmospheric platformer based on one-on-one combat, and structured kind of similar to the original Spartan X.
Combat is based entirely on using the unique movement tricks at your disposal, and figuring out what works on the different enemy types and bosses.

The issue here is that there is only a very tiny handful of different enemies, that repeat throughout until the end of the game which never does anything to shake things up, or even create much of a change of scenery. Additionally, the game's health bar will recharge as long as you haven't taken damage for a while, which means it actually rewards just sitting around waiting.
Essentially broken, but unique enough to remain interesting for a couple of playthroughs.

[RATING 2/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Ai Cho Aniki - 愛・超兄貴 (aka: Love Super Big Brother) [CD] [JP]

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Review by: Sumez

Should be a 3 or 4 when judged entirely on its hilarious presentation, and the only reason I stick to a 2/4 is that as a shooter, it's pretty much a terrible game, with a life bar that empties over time and a move that makes you invulnerable to any attack.

However, is it possible to not love the zany setpieces, blatant homoeroticism, and wild imagination at play here, paired with a kick ass soundtrack. I don't think putting this game on at a party and entertaining your company with its craziness will ever grow old.

[RATING 2/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by kitten »

sumez, you bastard :shock:

now rondo isn't the first game, alphabetically. the reviews begin with a cho aniki game! what have you done!?

you know, i actually own that one and haven't really put any time into it after being kind of underwhelmed by the first game. have you played that one? feels like if you want to play a Real Shooter with this kind of sprite art, the choice is gynoug/wings of wor.

also, re: kaze kiri - what's up with this game being talked up like one of the supreme hidden gems of the console in a lot of places? i remember when i first played on a real duo, a friend brought a burnt copy of this and both of us were like "uh....??" regarding its quality despite having had some expectations from word of mouth. just doesn't seem like anything special, but i swear i remember this being really highly considered one of the console's holy grails. probably one of the things that led to my residual idea that the console didn't have all that much to offer that was finally dispelled a couple years ago.

speaking of holy grails, i still really want to nab a copy of sylphia. played that a few times on a burned copy and adored it. bit on the easy side, but fits into that slot of super high quality presentation with tons of shit going on that spriggan and soldier blade do. hard to find anything but repros even on yahoo, these days, though.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Sumez »

Yeah, I grabbed Kaze Kiri myself years ago (edit: 15 years ago!) while it was definitely being hyped the way you describe. At the point it was one of the most expensive games for the console, and I wanted something really unique for my collection.
I was pretty disappointed when I got the game, and understandably the price has not gone up at all since then - unlike nearly every other game on the platform. Just like me to make all the worst investments.

Ai Cho Aniki is a big change from the first game I think. It's much less like an actual shooter and more.... its own weird thing, and the things you'll face are generally bigger, crazier and more varied. All of the boss fights are highlights of their own, culminating in the crazy final boss illuminated only by the strobe lights of the disco as she's dancing to a 2 Unlimited-style stadium techno track. Pretty unique way to create a full-background boss fight.

I'm not sure I'd compare Gynoug at all. I don't really like that game - it's very slow with a ton of dead air, but at least it's a real shooter :)
It does have some highlights in terms of art direction, which obviously feels taken right out of Cho Aniki with a more horror oriented theme. But those highlights are really extremely few and far between - you're probably better off just looking at screenshots and chuckling at the giant penis.

Meanwhile, Ai Cho Aniki will constantly throw stuff like this at you:
Image

(I wish I could find a picture of the demon face which is actually comprised of multiple naked bodies huddled together)
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by BIL »

I like Kaze Kiri as a "movekit game" but it's only that, it seems. Played several stages in, liked it but wondered where the design was at. Neither Spartan X focus nor Rastan adventuring was apparent. I wish more games went with the "diagonal up = dash," that's quite neat. I like ninja bodyslam attacks too... and on that segue, had it been a TNWA singleplane brawler affair, I think it'd have excelled. Won't say any more as, although I own it, I've not played it as much as I'd like. One of those oddities (for better or worse) I like having around.

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Akumajo Dracula X: Chi no Rondo - 悪魔城ドラキュラX血の輪廻 [CD] [JP ONLY]

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Review by: BIL

Justly acclaimed. While renowned for expanding the series' traditional linearity, threading hidden exits and treasures through its parallel routes, it did not abandon its hardcore audience. Keeps faith with the one-lifers via its harsh damage scale and sparing health restores, while taking the refinement of combat just as seriously as that of stage design. Finely-tempered controls are matched to clever footsie AI and series-highlight boss duels, with Treachery Platforming as ruthless as ever.

Even ostensible EZMODE character Maria contributes, her superhuman mobility and firepower joyfully shredding Richter's grimly perilous ordeal. A crossover gem that'll delight the hardcore and moderates alike.

[RATING 4/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Ninja Ryukenden - 忍者龍剣伝 (aka: Ninja Gaiden) [HUCARD] [JP ONLY]

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Review by: BIL

Hardcore fans of Tecmo's cult Famicom classic will be turned off in a long, death-by-a-thousand-cuts procession of small flaws. Newcomers will wonder why the game has hardcore fans to begin with. Both will endure astonishingly choppy parallax, a tunelessly skittering soundtrack, and charmless clipart-esques of the FC's tightly-detailed sprites.

In isolation, it is merely middling. Curious PCE fans wanting more should forget this pale imitation, and play instead not only the original, but also its sequels, and the bevy of similarly rugged action/platformers that remains the Famicom's world-beating speciality to this day.

[RATING 2/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Last edited by BIL on Sun Nov 03, 2019 1:58 pm, edited 9 times in total.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by kitten »

the curse is broken, we've finally got two reviews on a couple of games! Image
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by BIL »

Just checked and the other three I'm writing are (or probably will be) first entries, so that worked out well. :mrgreen:
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

This reminded me I really need to get Parasol Stars at some point...
kitten wrote: speaking of holy grails, i still really want to nab a copy of sylphia. played that a few times on a burned copy and adored it. bit on the easy side, but fits into that slot of super high quality presentation with tons of shit going on that spriggan and soldier blade do. hard to find anything but repros even on yahoo, these days, though.
Honestly it's better than Sapphire. And yeah I wouldn't want to try to buy anything rubber dildos has bootlegged now. It can be hard to verify if it's original or not.

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Kaze Kiri風霧 [CD] [JP]

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Review by: Steamflogger Boss

A game that was initially hyped but by the time I got into PCE people warned me not to buy it. Just doesn't do enough to remain interesting and fails to offer a good challenge. The game gets extremely repetitive but worth a go once if you really like ninja games.

[RATING 2/4] [NO REPLAY]

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FAUSSETÉ AMOURフォーセットアムール
[CD] [JP]

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Review by: Steamflogger Boss

A game of failed potential. Has some interesting ideas with gameplay mechanics but they just don't coalesce into an enjoyable experience. The cutscenes are solid and one thing worth mentioning is that the character sheds clothes upon being hit.

[RATING 2/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Seirei Senshi Spriggan精霊戦士SPRIGGAN [CD] [JP]

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Review by: Steamflogger Boss

A top tier shooter by compile. Looks and sounds great. Has a clever weapon combination system with color based orbs. Having different orbs sets changes your fire and you can eject them to use as a bomb. The difficulty is in just the right spot to where it isn't way too easy like a Star Parodier or PC Denjin but also isn't one of those games that checkpoints you at a spot nearly impossible to clear without power ups either.

[RATING 4/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by drauch »

Steamflogger Boss wrote: And yeah I wouldn't want to try to buy anything rubber dildos has bootlegged now. It can be hard to verify if it's original or not.
What is rubber dildos referencing?! Or are you saying bootleg dildos? I unknowingly bought some bootleg tenga eggs years ago and didn't open them past the refund time. God, those sucked.

Regarding Sylphia, though! I love it. Been too long since I've played it so I'll hold off reviewing for now. Some kind gent from here years ago printed me off a poster of the stellar cover art. If you're still out there, I haven't forgotten your deeds. :D
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

drauch wrote:
Steamflogger Boss wrote: And yeah I wouldn't want to try to buy anything rubber dildos has bootlegged now. It can be hard to verify if it's original or not.
What is rubber dildos referencing?! Or are you saying bootleg dildos? I unknowingly bought some bootleg tenga eggs years ago and didn't open them past the refund time. God, those sucked.

Regarding Sylphia, though! I love it. Been too long since I've played it so I'll hold off reviewing for now. Some kind gent from here years ago printed me off a poster of the stellar cover art. If you're still out there, I haven't forgotten your deeds. :D
Sometimes I forget what forum I'm on. :wink: Fudoh included a stake with Dracula X which could be construed as a dildo.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by kitten »

ah, heck, faussete amour is another pick-up i've been wanting for ages. i played through that one a couple of times on a burned copy and really enjoyed it. it sadly is almost inarguably pretty weak and i'd also be giving it a 2/4 - but with a heavy heart! it's one of those games i just have a lot of affection for because of the offbeat movement mechanics rare girl protagonist. same team did armadillo on the famicom and ultraman ball for the game boy.

the game's depiction of baphomet also totally fucking owns and lightly offsets how eyerollingly shameless the cheesecake bullshit in the game otherwise is. not to proclaim that slapping tits on a huge goat monster as some sort of really brave move, especially in a game that wears its objectification well on its sleeve, but it is a little bold to go with a deity who is considered beyond either sex instead of just having yet another pin-up girl as a topper.
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there's some other cool horror and monstrous forms in the game, too - it kind of baffles me that it felt like it needed the borderline hentai character undressing as they're damaged and things like the nude gameover screen. there's a few goofy things, too! this bitch turns into a fucking BARON OF HELL :shock:
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the de-transformation looks a hell of a lot better lol -
Spoiler
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tfw ur nee-san comes back to life after u defeat baphomet to give u hugy ; u ;

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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by BIL »

God damn, no wonder BAFFY-KUN is pissed, gynecomastia is no joke kids! Sort that shit out ASAP! :shock:
kitten wrote:the de-transformation looks a hell of a lot better lol -
Ah, BLANKET no JUTSU! They'll never find me under here! Image
Spoiler
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y halo thar BAFFY-CHAN ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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Override - オーバーライド [HUCARD] [JP ONLY]

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Review by: BIL

Solid Compile-esque STG for the style's premiere console. Lacking Soldier Blade or Super Star Soldier's fiery expert modes, it's nevertheless brisker than average with short, busy stages. Tricky weapons and rugged ground targets well-poached from Image Fight and Tatsujin. Ground-based, terrain-heavy endgame distinguishes it further.

Sadly misses its true potential. Life stock is indulgent, though veterans will quickly self-regulate; worse is the lack of compelling upper difficulties, leaving its almighty charge-shot bereft of targets. Nevertheless, genre enthusiasts with affection for the Compile school will enjoy this minor highlight. Though untested by this reviewer, X68000 remake Last Battalion bears mentioning here.

[RATING 3/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Last edited by BIL on Sun Nov 03, 2019 12:11 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Xyga »

@kitten; btw dunno if you ever heard about the 'pcengine bible' 2vol book released only in french.
http://homerced.over-blog.com/article-a ... 68383.html
400 pages, very comprehensive. Expensive collector good now. I have the less impressive standalone volume editions w/ different covers.
Too bad it never saw an english release, guess Pix'nLove editions didn't have the cash for it.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Strider77 »

Strider77 is a troll, better to just ignore him.
No more than anyone else here. Alot would assume you calling the Castlevania 4 OST as one of the worst examples of SNES audio pretty troll like. Granted I just disagreed versus using the cliche "troll" label because I disagreed.

Ys 4 fits along my shelf with Y1/2 with no shame. Sometimes I go into page long defense mode, sometimes I don't. Chances are if you're a 2018 of 2019'er you won't score a page out of me... Skykid I disagreed often with page long affairs. But those rumbles were built on a decade or more of rumbling. Just like you've managed half a page here.

Speaking of Skykid is he still around? Thinking about it I haven't seen him around in awhile. Then again I haven't poked my nose in the movie thread in a bit.

PS:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=54615&hilit=Search+for+greatness

Didn't we already have this thread elsewhere? Why break it into two? I'm pretty easy going on this (multiple/similar threads) but the crowd here is usually pretty slam hammer on that.
Last edited by Strider77 on Sun Nov 03, 2019 9:09 am, edited 5 times in total.
Damn Tim, you know there are quite a few Americans out there who still lives in tents due to this shitty economy, and you're dropping loads on a single game which only last 20 min. Do you think it's fair? How much did you spend this time?
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by BIL »

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Aldynes - オルディネス [SUPERGRAFX] [JP ONLY]

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Review by: BIL

Strong attempt at IREMesque hardcore tactical shooting. Already tougher than console norms, its difficulty and stage complexity gain steeply in its latter half, with a second loop after as per IREM tradition. Weapon mechanics are satisfyingly involved, with a visceral "charge bayonet" rewarding nose-to-nose aggression, and multi-faceted Options that can hunt enemies, trail you Gradius-style, or counter-offensively orbit.

Control layout feels slightly sub-optimal; its reliance on holding buttons might've been sidestepped with a passive charge-shot, and a formation switch on [Select]. Aesthetically razor-sharp, save st4's inexplicable, nigh-unreadable art deco pratfall. A solid recommendation for lovers of R-Type/Image Fight-styled rigour.

[RATING 3/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Veigues Tactical Gladiator - ヴェイグス TACTICAL GLADIATOR [HUCARD] [US OR JP]

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Review by: BIL

Autoscrolling mecha shootdown gallery, a potent Wolf Fang x Panzer Dragoon. Evasion is superbly-judged: [down] pivots your chunky mech in an invincible burnout, with dashes directly chainable for intuitive juking/jockeying. Preemptive positioning preferable to twitch, the onscreen radar aiding tremendously.

Though sound overall, its endgame stage design is slightly overloaded, and may demand rehearsal as chokepoints arise. Continue feature [down/left+Select @ bootup] recommended to smooth out the curve. Could've used more weapons in its upgrade tree, and it lacks the aesthetic chops of a Valken, but its rampant pace and authentic handling make it keenly recommendable to subgenre aficionados.

[RATING 3/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Last edited by BIL on Mon Nov 04, 2019 6:09 am, edited 4 times in total.
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__SKYe
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by __SKYe »

Good thread, I've meant to post before but keep forgetting.

I'll write proper reviews at a later time, but I'll give a score to, and list the few games I've played enough (very surprised that Gradius isn't on the list already!).

Games I've cleared
  • Gradius 4/4 - Great conversion; one exclusive level
  • Coryoon 3/4 - Fun, very colorful (maybe too much so; too many fruits) and quite easy
  • Gekisha Boy 3/4 - Good presentation and unique gameplay (mix between platformer and Cabal-style gameplay)
  • Gomola Speed 3/4 - You've said it all
  • Sylphia 4/4 - Great presentation and gameplay, quite easy as well
  • Ys III 3/4 - An odd entry in the series, though still quite fun
Games I've played a fair amount but not yet cleared
  • Ane-san 3/4 - Not as good as it could have been. but pretty good still. Great/unique presentation
  • Alien Crush 4/4 - Top notch pinball game both in gameplay and presentation
  • Devil Crash 4/4 - Same as above
  • Dungeon Explorer 3/4 - Decent Zelda-style game; seems more geared toward multiplayer than it should
  • Dragon Slayer: Legend Of Heroes 3/4 - Pretty nice game, if you like the classic FF/DQ-style of RPGs
  • Gunhead 4/4 - Classic Compile quality STG
  • Neutopia 3/4 - Not as nice as the Zelda games, but competent nonetheless.
  • Red Alert 4/4 - Great Commando-style game and great voice acting
  • Sokoban World 3/4 - Good game if you like Sokoban games
  • Xevious: Fardraut Sage 4/4 - Great port/sequel of the arcade classic
  • Ys IV 4/4 - Possibly the finest entry of the classic games
I was pretty disappointed with Kaze Kiri when I tried it, expecting a considerably better game. There may be some games I forgot; in any case I'll post them when I expand the reviews later on.
Posting this list just made me realize how little I've been paying attention to the PC Engine. It has a pretty great selection of titles.

Have you thought of making a similar thread for the Sega CD? :)
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drauch
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by drauch »

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FAUSSETÉ AMOUR - フォーセットアムール [CD] [JP]

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Review by: drauch

Excellent anime cut scenes, but where most of the praise ends. Some good tunes, and then some tracks that also feel oddly out of place. Grappling mechanic is neat, but hardly a consistent component in the gameplay, which is largely mediocre. Starts solid, then quickly becomes highly frustrating with spongey enemies and bosses that are either too easy or too annoying. Worth a playthrough if you appreciate the system, although I doubt I'll revisit.


[RATING 2/4] [NO REPLAY]

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Herr Schatten
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Herr Schatten »

Any thoughts on Valkyrie no Densetsu or Fray CD: Xak Gaiden? I'm in the mood for some non-military-themed overhead run'n'gun action, and I could get both of them at a decent price, but I'm not sure if I should.
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BIL
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by BIL »

Never played it myself, but CIT posted about Fray: Xak Gaiden here.
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kitten
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by kitten »

bil - you made me do a double take at my own image i posted lol

xyga - i'm totally illiterate in french but that does sound pretty rad. i remember some people doing books a while back that felt like awfully skewed toward popular american releases and written by idiots for other consoles, but a pc engine book done by true enthusiasts would be great

herr schatten - valkyrie no densetsu has some bits that have quiz questions you'll need to answer correctly for upgrades, CIT mentions more over here. i wasn't really feeling it, and it's developed by TOSE, so... probably not so hot, tbh!

i've played through all of fray cd and didn't enjoy it a goddamn bit. game has you take damage to bullshit constantly and then band-aids it really heavily with a humongous barrage of healing items and health increases. it feels like a game you buy exclusively for its presentation, and you've got to -really- love below-par slayers-esque humor (there's a lot of pantomime/expressions to the point you'll get the gist of the appeal with zero jp reading comprehension) to get the full mileage out of that. it feels super clumsy and i think the awkwardness of how it actually controls and how strange the hitboxing feels fail to come across on a video. some of the overhead platforming is outright infuriating.
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by it290 »

Getting into homebrew territory here but how do you folks feel about FX Unit Yuki? I've had it for a while, played through a fair bit of the game and while I wasn't overly impressed I like the stages that are nods to various PC Engine classics and the Wonder Boy slash Valis style gameplay. Need to give it another shot one of these days...
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Herr Schatten »

Thanks, BIL and kitten. I think I'll pass on those two games, then.
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Perikles
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Perikles »

__SKYe wrote:I'll write proper reviews at a later time, but I'll give a score to [...]
Was in the salutary mood to do just that - albeit with the concession that the 1-4 scale is somewhat indigent for my taste, I'd much rather work with numbers from 1 to 10 for a more granular approach. Some games could have a point more or less depending on my current mood, the tendencies should be fairly entrenched, though. Outside of Dracula X, I've only played through shmups on the PCE, so that's what I'm going to grade. :mrgreen:

HuCard
1943 Kai (7/10)
Aero Blasters (6/10)
Atomic Robo-Kid Special (6/10)
Barunba (1/10)
Bouken Danshaku Don: The Lost Sun-Heart (6/10)
Burning Angels (7/10)
Coryoon (6/10)
Cyber Core (7/10)
Daisenpuu (5/10)
Darius Alpha (5/10)
Darius Plus (6/10)
Dead Moon (5/10)
Deep Blue (2/10)
Detana!! TwinBee (10/10)
Download (7/10)
Dragon Saber (8/10)
Dragon Spirit (7/10)
Fantasy Zone (7/10)
Final Blaster (9/10)
Final Soldier (6/10)
Formation Armed F (4/10)
Galaga '88 (10/10)
Gokuraku Chuka Taisen (4/10)
Gradius (9/10)
Gunhed (7/10)
Hana Tahka Daka!? (9/10)
Hani in the Sky (3/10)
Heavy Unit (7/10)
Hyper Dyne Side Arms (9/10)
Image Fight (4/10)
Kiki Kaikai (7/10)
Kyuukyoku Tiger (9/10)
Magical Chase (8/10)
Metal Stoker (7/10)
Mr. Heli no Daibouken (10/10)
Ordyne (6/10)
Override (8/10)
P-47: The Freedom Fighter (6/10)
Paranoia (7/10)
Parodius Da! (7/10)
PC Denjin - Punkic Cyborgs (8/10)
Power Gate (3/10)
Psycho Chaser (9/10)
Rabio Lepus Special (7/10)
Raiden (7/10)
Rock-On (1/10)
R-Type (8/10)
Saint Dragon (2/10)
Salamander (10/10)
Soldier Blade (10/10)
Super Star Soldier (7/10)
Tatsujin (8/10)
Terra Cresta II (3/10)
Toilet Kids (1/10)
Toy Shop Boys (4/10)
Violent Soldier (9/10)
W-Ring - The Double Rings (7/10)
Xevious (5/10)

CD
Ai Cho Aniki (3/10)
Avenger (6/10)
CD Denjin - Rockabilly Tengoku (6/10)
Cho Aniki (6/10)
Choujikuu Yousai Macross 2036 (7/10)
Cotton - Fantastic Night Dreams (8/10)
Daisenpuu Custom (5/10)
Download 2 (6/10)
Forgotten Worlds (9/10)
Gate of Thunder (7/10)
Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire (10/10)
God Panic (3/10)
Gradius II (10/10)
Hawk F-123 (3/10)
Hellfire S (7/10)
Hyper Dyne Side Arms Special (7/10)
Image Fight II (9/10)
Kiaidan 00 (8/10)
L-Dis (8/10)
Legion (1/10)
Metamor Jupiter (6/10)
Nexzr (10/10)
Psychic Storm (4/10)
Rayxanber II (9/10)
Rayxanber III (7/10)
R-Type Complete CD (7/10)
Seirei Senshi Spriggan (7/10)
Spriggan Mark 2 - Re-Terraform Project (4/10)
Star Parodier (8/10)
Steam-Heart's (5/10)
Super Darius (7/10)
Super Darius II (7/10)
Super Raiden (9/10)
Sylphia (8/10)
Terra Forming (4/10)
Winds of Thunder (8/10)
Zero Wing (6/10)

No rating for Summer Carnival '92 - Alzadick on account of not caring for Caravan games whatsoever.

I will immediately say that numbers and/or attempts at comparing & contrasting games on the console are perforce destined to fail. Every 16-bit enthusiast should check out wonderfully strange games such as Bouken Danshaku Don: The Lost Sun-Heart and Metamor Jupiter despite their irrefragable issues. Outside of a small handful of examples (Legion instantly comes to mind), the PCE is fortunate enough that substandard games aren't inordinately difficult, and excepting Aero Blasters, all of the quality titles have a reasonable (i.e. well-crafted) challenge curve, although Rayxanber II always requires some acclimatization.
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Sumez
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Re: We Love the PC Engine - A User-Made Review Compendium

Post by Sumez »

I specifically avoided doing any (real) shooters knowing that Perikles would be on point with these :P Especially the ones that are ports, and clash with the existing thread dedicated to those.
As a general rule, though, any Konami STG port on PC Engine is worth picking up, even when compared to the original arcade versions.

Galaga '88 is also a favourite of mine, and I appreciate seeing it get one of your 10/10s, and your comment from said thread resonates with me - it's very good at appealing to people who aren't necessarily fans of this subgenre. I'd love to see how an avid Galaga player sees it, however. One issue with the PCE version is that it takes a few stages for it to wind up and get actually challenging.

Out of your list, Violent Soldier (9/10) was probably my biggest surprise. I never see anyone talk about that game! Gotta put that on my list.
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