Secret of Evermore Review

This game resembles Secret of Mana in so many ways . . . but this isn't a bad thing.That game had one enjoyable battle system; Evermore's is that with the twists of alchemy and currency.Alchemy was a unique system that required one to gather ingredients for the casting of a certain spell--the more powerful requiring much rarer items in higher quantities.This intrigued me to no end in SOE's heyday, and still conjures faint chills of nostalgia upon reflection.I mention currency because the fact that money types changed was, for some indescribable reason, very cool.It didn't mean much to the overall game experience, but its very existence was so unique that I very much enjoyed it.Finally, there is a shop relying almost solely upon barter in the game--you have to trade numerous items to acquire special relics that enhance you power or skill.This is a, though not required, helpful diversion and serves to add a little more innovative flair to an already shining game.This isn't the only source of these relics, but many can be obtained there.If an action RPG sporting a solid battle system, unique humor reliant on made up movies, and a diverse twist on magic are your thing, then this game delivers a 5 star experience.

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Demon's Crest Review

Of all the SNES games I enjoyed when I was younger, this is one of the few I can still enjoy as an adult. As usual, Capcom presented some excellent sprites and rich backgrounds. The music in this game, however, is a cut above the typical sound track of the time. The game play is similar to the MegaMan series, with bosses providing new powers that can then be used to great effect against other bosses. Several of these powers are also accompanied by control and gameplay changes - i.e. the ability to dash, improved flight, or swimming. It was a refreshing twist on what had, at the time, become a tired formula.

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Strike Gunner S.T.G. Review

The best way to describe Strike Gunner STG is "Contra in the Air" or "Contra with a Fighter Jet". Strike Gunner is one of the most underrated games on the Super Nintendo, which is a shame because it is an excellent game.

The story is your typical "bad guys with tons of enemies doing bad things" and naturally, they must obliterated. Enter two fighter jets to take out the trash. That's about it for the story. The object is to just shoot anything that comes onscreen and don't stop until there's nothing left. The game is pretty challenging for a single player, but with two people it's more fun. I highly recommend inviting a friend over to play this one; either way, it is a satisfying experience.

The controls are responsive, the graphics are good, and the music is rockin'.The game takes place over many levels, each featuring a different type of terrain such as snow, jungle, desert, and outer space. You have standard jet blasters that can be upgraded and you also have the choice of 15 different special weapons. The special weapons are chosen before each new level and can only be used once. This provides an interesting strategy element to the game because certain special weapons are more effective on certain levels and enemies. My personal favorite has always been the MegaBeam Cannon.

There's not much else to say other than if you haven't heard of or played this game, you should definitely check it out. You won't be disappointed.

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Tecmo Super NBA Basketball Review

Jordan and Pippen all day long!Yes, this game rules.I've read some really bad reviews of this game but I totally disagree.It is a lot of fun, it's old school, simple, and addictive.9/10 for me.It's the glory years of the NBA (Magic, Bird, Jordan, Hakeem, The Bad Boys, etc...If you have an old school NBA bone in your body - GET IT.

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Out of This World Review

If you didn't play this game then you are missing a lot.Beautifull action blended with adventure,puzzle and strategy all in one.The graphics art and ambient atmosphere of the game is masterpiece of its own.It's like a movie.Games like these are not made anymore,made from personal urge and not for maxing the profits. 2-D games rocks!!! This game was created by Eric Chahi (Delphine software-France).You should also check these similar titles: FLASHBACK ; FADE TO BLACK ; HEART OF ALIEN ; HEART OF DARKNESS.(Check gamefaqs.com for detailed games infos and walktroughs).

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Gradius III Review

I was no fan at all of space side view shooter games, but this one caught my interest. You start the game by selecting all of your weapons, then you are sent out on your mission to fly through scores of enemy space fleets, destroying them to collect powerups and at the end of each level destroy bad bosses. The bad part about the game is that when you die you lose all of your powerups, and start from scratch making it very difficult to get more powerups later in the game because of the difficulty. Another huge downfall is that the sixth level is virtually impossible without having super sharp reflexes. Its a classic that might not be for everyone.

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Soul Blazer Review

Since I had enjoyed Actraiser so much (Soul Blazer is loosely based in the same world as Actraiser and made by the same company), I rushed out to buy Soul Blazer when it came out in the early 90's.I hadn't played Final Fantasy yet so this game with 8 swords, 8 armors, 8 magics, and up to 40 items seemed huge to me.I look back on it now and it seems simplistic compared to todays RPG's.This doesn't change the fact that this is one of my all time favorite RPG's.The music, story and to some extent the game play (not the boss battles) put this game ahead of all the rest.I remember crying at the ending when I first saw it.Not because it was sad, but because it was very moving for me at the time.
This is the first game in a series by the way: the 2nd is Illusion of Gaia, and the third is Terranigma (which was released in English for the PAL version of the Super NES).It is a much better game than Illusion of Gaia IMHO.
Overall a very highly recommended game.

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Breath of Fire Review

I had to speak up after seeing so many 5-star reviews.If epics like FFIV can be given 5 stars, then semi-epics like Breath of Fire have to be categorized differently.

This game has a lot of great features--a good battle system (with the exception of GUTS mode, which irritated me--just give enemies higher HP if it's gonna take so long to kill them); nice graphics, a pretty good story, and--the best part--VERY original characters.The problem is, the dialogue is so drastically abbreviated that I couldn't feel very much about anything that was going on!I can understand that there are capacity limits in making games, and that the makers can only do so much, but the dialog scenes?All they have to do is insert a bunch of text, maybe a few flashbacks here and there--it's not like it would have been difficult to have the characters interact with each other more or explain their feelings better, or sometimes just explain what the heck was going on (example: every time you approach a human villain to fight them, when you go into the battle screen they're suddenly a monster!I guess you're supposed to just assume that they've turned themselves into monsters by some magical power, but maybe that could've been explained a little better?).I don't know--I'm sure a lot of people have had this problem while playing the game, and maybe it was really one of the best when it came out, but I recently replayed FFIV and even though the graphics and gameplay were on a similar level, there was a HUGE difference in the dramatic presentation of the story.(Part of this may also have been that the music was better in FFIV.)
In short, if you are okay with an RPG feeling like the Legend of Zelda games--where you only have one character in your party and the game is all about performing quests that don't involve emotional scenes pertaining to your character, then you'll like Breath of Fire.If you need more from an RPG, however--emotional cutscenes, drama between characters WITHIN your party and not just NPCs, etc.--then you probably wouldn't like this game.My overall impression of it was just, "Important NPC says one line telling you what to do.Travel to next place, battle battle battle, go through five dungeons, battling all the way, retrieve artifact, battle your way back to town, get one or two lines of appreciation from the NPC who gave you the quest, and SOMETIMES (not always) a vague hint about what to do next.Thing to do next: same as above, rinse and repeat."

Oh, and the music changing when you go from outside a house to the inside of a house annoyed the crap out of me. :)


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