Open World Action RPG Review: Yakuza Kiwami

Before the release of Yakuza 0, Yakuza was the beginning of Kazuma Kiryu's story. Yakuza 0 proved to be one of the best games in the whole series. With the release of Yakuza Kiwami, which brought the game up to modern standards yet kept the core story intact, the original Yakuza actually holds up quite well.

The game begins in 1995, seven years after the events in Yakuza 0. Kazuma Kiryu, a twenty-seven-year-old member of the Dojima family within the Tojo Clan, has climbed the ranks within the clan. He is just about to become the patriarch of his own family when he takes the blame for the murder of Patriarch Shimano, although he was not the one that killed him.

Ten years later, Kiryu is paroled and he is released from prison. He now has to deal with members of the Tojo clan that want him dead, as well as the usual violent thugs that wander around Tokyo's Kamurocho district. A decade in prison has made his skills rusty, so he has to gain experience so that he can regain his former strength.

In the Kiwami remake of the game, Goro Majima, the Mad Dog of Shimano, vows to help him restore his strength so that he can battle him properly. This is called "Majima Everywhere", and the name is apt since the battles take place all around the city. This is simultaneously both the funniest and the most frustrating part of the remake since Majima will pop up from just about anywhere at any time. The best way to handle this is to keep leveling up, especially health and beast style moves. Defeating Majima will add moves to Kiryu's dragon style. and other than learning moves from Master Komaki, is the only way to do so. Like Yakuza 0, Kiryu can use the aforementioned beast and dragon style move set. Kiryu can also use moves in his brawler and rush styles. Each of these styles can be accessed by pressing a direction on the directional pad.

Kiryu's story picks up steam when he comes across a young girl, Haruka, that is somehow tied to the one billion yen that has been stolen from the Tojo clan. The Kiryu saga of the Yakuza franchise has always been about family, and that is true here as well. Yakuza 0 had Kiryu protecting his adopted father, Shintaro Kazama, and his sworn brother, Akira Nishiyama. Yakuza picks up that trend, as Kiryu does everything he can to protect Haruka, the little girl that ended up in his custody.

In Yakuza Kiwami, the Japanese voices are left in the western versions, but in the original western release of Yakuza for PlayStation 2, the English voices were dubbed by famous voice actors. It pains me to recommend the Japanese voices, as the English cast was amazing. Among others, it included Mark Hamill giving Joker vibes as Majima and Bill Farmer doing his best Sam the Canine Shamus as Detective Date. The English voices are actually really good. It's just the janky script that let them down. Not only is the dialog in the original English PlayStation 2 version clunky. but names of places and people have been shortened or even changed for little reason. To this day, no one but the translator knows why the Florist of Sai was given the name of Kage in English. He certainly never received a given name in the original Japanese version. Thankfully, Yakuza Kiwami has a much less awkward translation with the original names intact.

In the original Yakuza, the minigames were regulated to the UFO catcher, visiting with cabaret club hostesses, hitting baseballs at the batting center, blackjack, pachinko slot, and roulette. Yakuza Kiwami keeps the UFO catcher, batting center, blackjack, and roulette and removes the pachinko slots as well as four of the six hostesses. However, it adds minigames from Yakuza 0, including billiards, bowling. cee-lo, cho-han, darts, a karaoke button-based rhythm game, koi-koi, mahjong, oicho-kabu, Pocket Circuit slot car racing, poker, roulette, and shogi. The Sega game centers in Yakuza Kiwami also contain Battle Bug Beauties: MesuKing,  based on the Catfight Arena from Yakuza 0.

All of the minigames are fun diversions, but the best part of any Yakuza game outside of the main story is the side missions. There are many sidequests, and Yakuza Kiwami thankfully doesn't remove any sidequests from the original. Kiwami also adds a few new ones to tie the game back to Yakuza 0. Like any Yakuza game, some of them can be quite off-the-wall hilarious. There's nothing like the adult baby gangsters seen in later games, but the wackiness the series is known for definitely started here. As with any Yakuza game, the last side mission is an extremely hard fight with a member of the Amon family.

Yakuza is a great game regardless of which game you are playing, even if it is the PlayStation 2 version or the Japan-only Wii U and PlayStation 3 high-definition versions. However, the best way to play is definitely the Kiwami remake. It does remove 2 out of 6 hostesses and the pachislot games, however, it adds 12 minigames, adds three fighting styles, and brings the presentation up to modern standards. In doing so, it restored the original game's status as one of the best games in the series.

Final verdict:

4 out of 5

Yakuza Review

Streets of Kamurocho Review

Open World Action RPG Review: Like a Dragon - Ishin!

Like a Dragon: Ishin! was originally released only in Japan for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in 2014. The original release was never released outside of Japan, however fans with the usernames MajDima, toyotasupra2, and jurxd created an English translation patch for the PlayStation 3 version on February 2, 2025.

The story takes place right before the Restoration period of Japan, hence the Ishin in the title, as Ishin means Restoration in Japanese. The story follows a samurai named Ryōma Sakamoto who takes on the identity of Hajime Saitō and infiltrates the special army for the Shogunate, the Shinsengumi, to discover who murdered his foster father, Tōyō Yoshida.

Ryōma Sakamoto, Hajime Saitō, and Tōyō Yoshida are all historical samurai who had an influence on Japan, but in real life, Ryōma Sakamoto and Hajime Saitō were separate people. The story mixes the lives of both men, as it begins with the life of Ryōma Sakamoto, with his friend Takechi Hanpeita, the head of the Tosa Loyalist Party. It twists things a bit, with Tōyō Yoshida being Ryōma Sakamoto's foster father in the game. This is where it diverges with the life of Hajime Saitō as it details his joining of the Shinsengumi, although in the game it is to find the person who killed Tōyō.

It's a very dramatic story filled with betrayals and bittersweet triumphs mixed in with craziness, especially in the side stories. In other words, it is very much a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio game.

The characters are portrayed by Like a Dragon series staples, as well as those characters who are lesser known. The likeness of Kazuma Kiryu, complete with the marvelous deep voice of Takaya Kuroda, plays Hajime Saitō, aka Ryōma Sakamoto. The likeness of the wonderfully crazy Goro Majima portrays Soji Okita. You'll be glad to know Hidenari Ugaki plays Okita with all of the passion of Majima, complete with taunts of Hajime-chan! Many of the likenesses and voice actors of other characters that were playable in previous games also appear here as historical and fictional characters including Haruka Sawamura, Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, and Ryuji Goda. Other series characters are also represented in supporting roles.

In the original version, there are several characters that were replaced in the Kiwami remake from games released after the original release of Ishin!, such as Koichi Adachi from Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Keiji Shibusawa from Yakuza 0. They replaced characters that had no counterparts as they were originally characters exclusive to Ishin!

Other characters that were in the original Ishin! but not included in the remake include Hiroshi Hayashi from Yakuza and Yakuza 2, Goh Hamazaki from Yakuza 3 and Yakuza 4, and Minoru Aoyama, Kan Ogita Yahata, Hiroshi Kugihara, and Shigeki Baba from Yakuza 5.

Ishin! is an action RPG, as were most games in the series before it switched to turn-based RPG style combat beginning in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. However, it does represent a change from the usual fare as swords and guns are available to use in addition to the usual fists and kicks.

As usual, side stories are plentiful, and many are just as crazy as you'd expect. The creators also had fun with the time period with some side stories, as there are some here that just wouldn't work in modern Japan. 

Happily, minigames made it into the game despite the pre-Restoration era setting of Japan. The usual Japanese gambling games are present, as is the Western gambling game of Texas hold 'em poker. The latter does make sense within the context of the game, as the era is set when the "black ships" from Britain came to Japan. As expected from a Like a Dragon series game, there are also odd yet fun minigames included such as chicken racing. You can also fish, farm, cook, and then sell the results of your hard work with help from Haruka. 

Interestingly, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise resembles Like a Dragon: Ishin! As the former was released before the latter, it is obvious where Ryu Ga Gotaku Studio got the inspiration to delve into the post-apocalyptic world of Fist of the North Star. As I was playing Ishin!, I noticed the similarity right away due to the rustic feel of the in-game villages between the two games. However, once Haruka's villa was available, it became more apparent. Lin's expressions, comments, and movements are identical to Haruka's here. It works in both games, though, as it gives off a cute vibe that suits both characters.

Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a fantastic game, with all of the series staples that you would expect from the developers of the Like a Dragon series. The voice actors, as usual, have brought their A-game, delivering fantastic voice performances. The plot is interesting as well, weaving together the stories of two famous historical samurai in a story with both historical and fictional elements. If you are a fan of the Like a Dragon series, or just interested in historical Japan, this game is one that is well worth playing.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Like a Dragon: Ishin Kiwami review

Open World Action RPG Review: Yakuza Kiwami 2

The second Yakuza game was bigger than the first, with the addition of a new district, Shinseicho, based on the real-life Shinsekai, as well as including the usual Yakuza series hangout spot, Kamurocho, based on the real-life Kabukicho. In the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake, the second district was replaced by Sotenbori from Yakuza 0, which is based on the real-life Dotenbori. In the case of both Yakuza 2 and the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake, in many ways, bigger does indeed mean better.

In this game, Kiryu Kazuma is approached by the fifth chairman of the Tojo Clan, Yukio Terada, who wishes to broker an alliance between the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance. After Terada is murdered, Kiryu decides to take on this goal himself, as he was the one who appointed Terada as the fifth chairman. Thus, he places his adopted daughter, Haruka, in the care of the orphanage where they both grew up, and sets out on the dangerous task to broker peace between the two biggest yakuza organizations in Japan.

The story of Yakuza 2, which takes place a year after the events of Yakuza, is often praised as being among the best in the series and within the top two with Yakuza 0. That praise is well deserved, as it is an exciting murder mystery with a lot of twists and turns thrown in. On top of that, the female detective, Kaoru Sayama, whom Kiryu first meets in this game is written superbly. The writers are good at writing for interesting female characters, but they usually are relegated to the women at the cabaret clubs. It is fun to interact with these women, who range from ultra-feminine to tomboyish. However, they rarely have a tough, yet feminine woman who can hold their own in a fight. That's a shame because Yakuza 2 showed that they could do it well. It took over a half a decade, with the release of Yakuza 5, for another tough, feminine woman to appear in a Yakuza game, and over another half a decade for a playable strong, feminine female character to become playable with the release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Another awesome character is the Kansai dragon, Ryuji Goda, who is one of the main villains of the game, as he wants to defeat Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, to stake the claim as the only dragon in the yakuza. He is written and performed so well that he became popular with the fans enough to become a playable character in Yakuza: Dead Souls.

As for gameplay, this game is the one that shows its Shenmue lineage the most. Yakuza showed it with quick-time events, fetch quests, and a puzzle near the beginning of the game where Kiryu had to infiltrate the funeral of the third chairman of the Tojo clan. Yakuza 2 has these as well, but it has an actual adventure puzzle near the middle of the game where Kiryu has to interpret clues to open a safe. The puzzle is done very well, and, as a fan of adventure games, I'm happy that it was kept intact in the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake.

Speaking of the remake, compared to Yakuza Kiwami, the controls are still a bit stiff and there is only one fighting style for Kiryu. In addition, some locations with mini-games are no longer accessible in Yakuza Kiwami 2, such as bowling, pool, and the Club Adam host organization. In addition, with the replacement of Shinseicho for Sotenbori, the Shinseicho minigames have been moved to Kamurocho and Sotenbori or removed entirely. Making up for it, however, some mini-games have been added to the Kiwami remake, including the Majima Construction clan creator and cabaret club management. 

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an excellent game with multiple locations to visit, well-written and excellently voiced new and returning characters, and a superb plot. Any version is worth playing, from the PlayStation 2 original, the Japanese-only high-definition versions on PlayStation 3 and Wii U, or the Kiwami remake, although I wholeheartedly recommend playing the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake. Yakuza 2, and by extension, Yakuza Kiwami 2, absolutely deserves its praise as one of the best games in the series, and the remake cements it there, even when compared to later games in the series.

Final verdict:

5 out of 5

Yakuza 2 (HD) Review

Yakuza Kiwami 2: Majima Saga review

Choices-and-Consequences Management Simulator Review: Dispatch - Episode 1: Pivot

Dispatch, the episodic superhero adventure game by AdHoc Studio premiered with two episodes. AdHoc was founded by Telltale Games alumni, so there was a lot riding on the studio's choices-and-consequences superhero management game. The big question for fans of Telltale and fans of the aforementioned genres in general is whether the premiere episode was worth the wait.

Dispatch follows Robert Robertson, a non-powered human who inherited a fortune which he used to maintain a giant robot and fight crime as Mecha Man. After a mission doesn't go as planned, Robert becomes a middle manager as he dispatches superheroes to fight crime and do mundane tasks around the Dispatch universe's version of Los Angeles.

The wording in the previous paragraph was not a coincidence, as the dispatch system is highly reminiscent of the auto-play mode of Double Fine's Middle Manager of Justice. An event is reported and Robertson has to choose the superheroes on his team to respond. These heroes all take the form of archetypes from comic book superheroes, including super strong men and women, heroes who can control elements like fire, heroes who are super smart, and those who aren't human such as reptiles and robots. Dispatching requires some strategy as each hero has a unique level of combat, intellect, vigor, charisma, and mobility. Completing a mission successfully will raise the stat level, allowing the improvement of one trait for a hero.

As this is a choices-and-consequences game akin to the Dispatch team's past titles at Telltale, such as Tales from the Borderlands, the game consists of dialog options which will affect further dialog. They can sometimes also affect characters physically as well. As with most games of this type, there are also quick time events which affect physical motions performed by Robert. This game is a lot more flexible than some earlier titles, as the game begins with a pop-up with an option to have QTEs or to play the game cinematically without the requirement of any button inputs. When the latter is chosen, it is still obvious where the QTEs were located, as the action pauses for a moment before kicking back in. This is a development choice that is awkward at first but should stop taking the player out of the story as the story progresses.

In between the choices, quick time events, and dispatch strategies, a minigame will pop up to act as a tool to hack into various computer systems in the game. This takes place on a board that requires a bit of maneuvering to connect bridges over gaps to get the needed information from various points on the grid. Once everything is collected, the player exits the grid before time runs out and the story moves on. This computer hacking mechanism is quite like the LINC terminals that allow Robert Foster to traverse computer systems in Revolution Software's Beneath a Steel Sky. The difference here is that some points in the grid will have button prompts which need to be completed in the correct order.

The presentation is top-notch, with top-tier character modeling and animation combined with music and sound effects that sync up perfectly with the events unfolding in the story. The actors are all fantastic, with voices that fit the characters so well you end up focusing on the characters even when you recognize the voices of prolific actors such as Laura Bailey and Jeffrey Wright. It really does feel like watching an animated superhero series. One such animated series in particular immediately comes to mind, as Dispatch gives off real Invincible vibes.

To answer the question that began this review, the first episode of Dispatch really was worth the wait. It has fantastic characters performed by equally fantastic voice actors. The art and animation is truly amazing and the music just makes the art that much better. The storyline is also really intriguing. The management simulation mechanics also fits in surprising well with the choices-and-consequences gameplay and button-pressing prompts. For fans of either of these genres, or just those who enjoy animated superhero dramedies such as Invincible, this game is well worth playing.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Turn-Based Role-Playing Video Game Review: South Park - The Fractured But Whole

South Park - The Fractured But Whole is the direct sequel to The Stick of Truth. This game was developed by Ubisoft San Francisco rather than Obsidian Entertainment. As a studio known for the Rocksmith rhythm games, role-playing games were out of their repertoire prior to the release of this game. This, combined with the popularity of Stick of Truth, meant that The Fractured But Whole had a lot riding on it upon its release.

The story once again stars the New Kid, the player's avatar. This game gives not only a lot more customization options than its predecessor, but more customization options than most games available at the time of its release. The Stick of Truth only allowed customization of the look of the character but the story referred to the character as a male. This time, there is an option for gender, but there's a lot more available than merely male and female. There are also multiple options available to choose for your sexual orientation. The characters will then refer to the New Kid in the manner appropriate to gender and sexual orientation. There is also some clever social commentary in the character configuration as well as in the game proper.

In this game, the New Kid gains powers to reverse time. This can be used both in puzzles when traversing the map as well as in the turn-based fights. The battle system has also been changed from the previous game with grid-based movement that adds strategy to brawls. There are many different enemies from South Park's history to battle, including the crab people who were cut from the previous game.

There is a larger variety of South Park kids that can be included as a playable character in your party, including a girl in the form of Call Girl, also known as Wendy Testaburger. The characters go by code names as this time they are playing as superheroes. The first game had up to six characters which could serve as the three characters in your party, this time there are thirteen. The other twelve characters include Stan as Toolshed, Kyle as the Human Kite, Cartman as The Coon, Kenny as Mysterion, Butters as Professor Chaos, Jimmy as Fastpass  Clyde as Mosquito, Craig as Super Craig, Tweek as Wonder Tweek, Token as Tupperware, Scott Malkinson as Captain Diabetes, and Timmy as Dr. Timothy.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole improves upon its predecessor with more characters, a more robust battle system, and fun time manipulation puzzles. However, the storyline is divisive this time around, as the whole premise is of the New Kid using flatulence to manipulate time. This, obviously, sets up a lot of toilet humor. The other part that divides fans is that the game contains characters and situation mostly from the newer episodes of South Park, whereas the original had characters and references that spanned the entire show up to that point. If you can look past the childish exterior, the storyline actually is quite fun with conspiracies, time travel, and the expected South Park satire.

Final Verdict:
4½ out of 5

Turn-Based Role-Playing Video Game Review: South Park - The Stick of Truth

South Park: The Stick of Truth is a role-playing video game based on the famous foul-mouthed children from the long running Comedy Central satire comedy animated series South Park. Early South Park games were created without direct input from the creators of the animated series, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. This game was created early in the era where this was corrected, in an attempt to create games that were more than a simple cash grab.

The Stick of Truth was created by Obsidian Entertainment, the studio known for the Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. This game is the first to feature the New Kid, which serves as the silent protagonist. The game has a fairly robust character creation system, or at least as robust as possible for a character design that was originally created through construction paper cut-outs. In this game gender can not be chosen, so the character is always referred to in the masculine. However, many costume pieces can be collected that let you wear female clothing. 

The female roleplay actually also extends to Kenny, who plays a princess. This aspect of the game is one of the best parts. Many of my favorite South Park episodes are those where the kids of South Park Elementary actually act like children. It always provides a humorous juxtaposition where the kids use their imagination to roleplay fantasy characters in situations that are very real. That is the case here, as the town is eventually taken over by zombies, but the kids take this in stride as they fight them off in their cosplay outfits.

The children of South Park play as fantasy characters in a feud between humans, led by the wizard king Cartman, and the elves, who are led by the high elf Kyle. Cartman's faction includes the thief Craig, the cleric Token, the shopkeep Clyde, Princess Kenny, the paladin Butters, and the barbarian warrior Tweek. Kyle's faction includes the ranger Stan and Jimmy the bard. The New Kid helps both factions, eventually gaining the six playable allies Butters, Cartman, Jimmy, Kenny, Kyle, and Stan.

Unlike the early Acclaim titles, Stick of Truth stays close to the look of the show, with cutscenes that are indistinguishable from the show. The voice actors from the show are also used here, including Matt and Trey themselves. This further helps to make it feel like South Park. One cutscene created for this game actually made it into the show proper in the season seventeen episode "A Song of Ass and Fire". The playable part of the game also retains the look of the series, as the New Kid walks through familiar locations which closely match those from the show.

Like the show itself, there are some controversial moments. One in particular was censored in Germany, which led to a fun joke in itself where the moment is written out in text while a statue of David facepalms in the background. Those who do live in Germany don't have to worry much at this point, as there are fan-made mods that can be used to restore the cut content.

The game serves as a celebration of all of South Park, as characters from the madcap early days show up in the game or as friends that can be collected as friends on Facebook alongside characters from the later satire era of the show. There are a lot of fun moments with these characters that are a real treat for those who are long time fans of the show, however the comedy writing is so good in this game that fans who are only aware of the later part, or those who are only aware of its early years should still get some laughs from the game.

South Park: The Stick of Truth is a fun roleplaying game that is a fun role-playing game created by developers from a company that knows how to create fun RPGs. It is also a game that successfully recreates the look and feel of South Park, complete with the voice actors from the show. Its writing is wonderful, with great jokes that draw from the early era. This is one licensed game that fires on all cylinders, and should entertain fans of any era of the show.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Fighting Game Review: Darkstalkers - The Night Warriors

The Halloween season is upon us again, and with it comes my infrequent tradition of reviewing monster-themed games. The game to begin the festivities is Capcom's classic arcade monster fighter, Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, also known as Vampire: The Night Warriors in Japan.

Darkstalkers has ten playable characters, all of whom make up an eclectic cast of monsters. The series mascot is Morrigan, a succubus who has since become a fan favorite. Joining her as the only other female in the game, is Felicia the cat girl. The first of the male characters is the vampire Demitri Maximoff, the intended protagonist of the series. Other male monsters include the British werewolf karate master Jon Talbain aka Gallon, the German creature Victor von Gerdenheim who is made up of reanimated body parts in the vein of Frankenstein's monster, the zombie rock-and-roller Lord Rapper aka Zabel Zarock, the mummified pharoah Anakaris aka Anakarisu, the samurai ghost Bishamon, the merman Rikuo aka Aulbath, and the Canadian yeti Sasquatch.

The graphics are right up there with the seminal Capcom fighter, Street Fighter II. That's not a surprise, as the art was created by the man who created the art from that game, Akira "Akiman" Yasuda. The monster theme allowed for some fun character designs. The female characters are sexy, as is usual from fighting games, especially those in the early 1990s. While they are sadly not as popular as the likes of Chun-Li, Sonya Blade, or Sarah Bryant, their skimpy costumes have become iconic. This is especially true of Morrigan, who has become the face of Darkstalkers over the years. The male characters allowed Akiman to stretch out his imagination, as they all have the monster flare of Street Fighter II's resident green-skinned feral wildman, Blanka.

The monster archetypes also allow for some fun stages. They include a classic London nighttime cityscape, a vampire throne room draped in blood red, a mad scientist's lab, a medieval castle above a creepy cave, a sasquatch village, a green-tinted graveyard, a Brazilian jungle, a town draped in winter accoutrements, a Japanese cyberpunk city, a mummy's tomb, a robot factory, and an alien planet. 

The music also takes advantage of the iconic QSound available found in games that run on the Capcom Play System 2 boardset. They are all fun tracks, which play around with the varied characters and landscapes. The sound is the standard found in Capcom's 1990s fighters, with various grunts and occasional voice clips.

Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors remains a B-tier Capcom fighter, as it never reached the heights of its sister series, Street Fighter. This reputation is underserved however, as Darkstalkers is made up of fantastic monster characters in a fun art style playing on the weirdness of the premise, fantastic music and sound that is right up there with the best of Capcom's well-regarded 1990s output.

Final Verdict:
5 out of 5

Action Animated Television Short Review: Batman the Animated Series Pilot

Batman: The Animated Series was a big part of the formative years for many millennial and Generation X people. In addition to that, it is a show that was popular with many demographics. As a women who grew up with this series and its follow-ups, and who knows many women who grew up with it, it's safe to say it was one of those shows that was just so well done that it transcended gender as well. Along with the great action sequences, it had the depth, humor, and heart to reach so many for so many different reasons. It drew me in by the great writing and voice acting, and this show as well as its predecessors kept me invested well into my twenties. It's pretty amazing to think that it all started with a two-minute pilot animation that served as the team's pitch to the high-ups at Warner Bros.

While watching the pilot, you are likely to notice that the animation looks very familiar. The pilot animation was so well done, that much of it was used as the introduction to the series proper. It detailed something with which Batman fans are very familiar. He interrupts a jewel heist, knocks out the robbers, and leaves before the police can arrest him. That's all there was to it, but it works so well since it very well could be a typical night in the life of Batman. The only weird thing here was his ability to swiftly dodge bullets, which was thankfully left out of the series. Batman did pull off more superhuman feats as the show turned into a shared universe, but the original series was very much grounded in reality. Well, at least in as much reality as is possible when dealing with a man jumping off a skyscraper dressed as a bat.

The voice of Kevin Conroy isn't there yet, so Batman stays silent throughout. In fact, the only real voice to be heard is when a police officer yells a warning to Batman. Other than that, it is a silent short apart from the grunts from the robbers as Batman fights them. This works well for a character that is as dark and brooding as Batman had become since the success of Frank Miller's seminal story, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

In behind the scenes material, it was revealed that the studio requested that the show adhere to the characters most recent film, which was also the most successful Batman live action adaptation up to that point, Tim Burton's Batman. The pilot was completed in 1991, so Burton's 1989 hit was still on the minds of both the studio heads and the public. The music for the short was lost, so the version that was distributed on DVD incorporated the fantastic main theme from the film, which was composed by the talented Danny Elfman. This score fit in so well, as could be seen when it was used when the short was retooled into the intro animation.

The Batman: The Animated Series pilot is more than a simple curio or a piece of animation history. Its use in the into animation means that it is well ingrained in the minds of anyone who watched the series. Its use of the iconic Batman score by Danny Elfman gave it the gravitas that was needed for a series created so close to the classic 1989 film. Other than the superhuman feats shown at one point in the animation, it is darn near perfect.

Final Score:

4½ out of 5

Batman: The Animated Series - View Master Experience Pack Review

Rhythm Game Review: Space Channel 5: Part 2

Space Channel 5: Part 2 was the sequel to the Seminal musical rhythm game starring Ulala, a reporter of the titular Space Channel 5. It had a lot live up to, as the original game served up a near-perfect blend of button-timing, pop rock dancing, alien shooting, psychedelic 1960's fun.

In the second part, the wonderful wackiness is kicked up a notch. A group of pirate broadcasters known as the Rhythm Rogues are led by a pirate news anchor named Purge. They kidnapped the Space President and inflicted innocent people with dancing madness. Ulala once again has to match the up, down, right, and left motions as well as the chu and hey motions that once again are performed by pressing the A and B buttons.

This time around, however, portions of the broadcast don't just have those dance moves, adding in instrument riffs into the mix. These are still performed with the same buttons, but it becomes a play-off alongside the usual rival station dance-offs.

The package is enhanced beyond the usual game this time around with the addition of the Ulala's Dance mode. This is a difficult one-hundred stage dance battle that becomes progressively harder as it goes on. It is made even more difficult by the fact that Ulala only has a single heart on her life meter. So, one mistake wrecks the whole run. If you do win progressive stages, you will be rewarded with unlocked costumes and accessories for Ulala. Some of the unlocks can also be found by finding hidden moves in the story stages.

As this is a Space Channel 5 game, the swinging sixties is in full force, with Ulala's signature miniskirt and high-heeled thigh-high boot outfit, psychedelic backdrops, and fun 60's pop-flavored music. The signature song, Ken Woodman's 1966 song Mexican Flyer returns. So too, thankfully do Naofumi Hataya and Kenichi Tokoi return, joined by erstwhile composers Tomoya Ohtani and Mariko Nanba. The music is just as groovy as the original, and make you want to get up and dance with Ulala in full Austin Powers mode, saying "Yeah, Baby!" as you chu and hey your way through enemy hordes.

The game presentation is made even more joyful by the return of Ulala actresses Mineko Okamura in the Japanese version and the effervescent Apollo Smile in English. Plus, the game is made even more pop-tastic by the reappearance of Michael Jackson as Space Michael.

Space Channel 5: Part Two outdoes the original in every way possible. Plus, the fact that it was released as a high-definition remaster fourteen years ago means it's available on more than just the original Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 releases. The story is funkier this time, in a good way, the music is just as 60's-flavored as the original with musical instrument sections that give it a new flavor, the voices are once again fantastic and the return of Michael Jackson is goofy fun. The original game was already a treat, but the additions this game provides makes this one a must play for rhythm game fans.

Final Verdict:

5 out of 5

Space Channel 5 Review

Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash Review coming soon

Rhythm Game Review: Space Channel 5

Space Channel 5 is a unique rhythm game that came out in 1999, during the period where Sega was arguably the most experimental. The game was created by Sega Software R&D 9, the team which would become United Game Artists. The same team brought the world the wonderfully psychedelic musical rail shooter Rez, so the team definitely knew what it was doing when it came to music-based gameplay.

Space Channel 5 follows a space reporter for the titular Space Channel 5 news station. The reporter in question is Ulala, pronounced Ooh-La-La or You-La-La if you are Michael Jackson. The latter is actually part of the game, as the King of Pop was a fan of Sega and voiced himself in this game. Ulala's aesthetic is very 1960s, as she dons miniskirts and high heeled thigh-high platform boots in a sheen akin to rubber and latex. 

The music is also decidedly psychedelic 60's, with songs that sound like they came straight out of Mike Myer's then-recently released spy spoof film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. This is especially true of Ken Woodman's 1966 song Mexican Flyer, which serves as the game's theme tune. The other songs in the game, composed by Naofumi Hataya and Kenichi Tokoi, fit right in with the 60s theme the game is espousing.

The plot is suitably silly for such an outlandish presentation. Ulala reports all across space fighting aliens known as Morolians, which attack her and kidnap humans should she fail to stop them. Fittingly for a game such as this, she fights by dancing. She has to match the movements of the aliens and other enemies which shout commands such as "up, down, left, right", which have to be pressed accordingly with the corresponding controller buttons. Occasionally, Ulala has to match the "chu" or "hey" shouted by the enemies, which correspond to the A and B buttons on the controller.

The characters are in the early 3D of the era, but with the plastic aesthetic of the clothing, the limitations actually worked in their favor, much like the plastic 3D of the time worked well for Pixar's Toy Story a mere four years earlier. Most of the game uses the same polygonal look for the backgrounds, which worked well with retro TV-inspired backdrops. However, when the backgrounds moved, they used pre-rendered 3D in compressed videos. This looked nice on the CRT TVs of the Dreamcast era, but has unfortunately kept the game from being remade in high definition like its sequel.

The game can be upscaled on emulators of course, and the game looks fantastic when done so, but the pre-rendered videos still look a bit muddled as there isn't much to be done with those, at least until AI video upscaling improves to a point where the videos can be converted convincingly. This obviously wasn't even an option when Space Channel 5: Part 2 was released as part of the Dreamcast Collection for consoles fourteen years ago.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Space Channel 5: Part 2 Review

Racing Game Review: Excitebike

Excitebike was an influential early motocross racing game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. There have been many more realistic games released after this, including Nintendo's own Excitebike 64, but the original game still has retro charm.

The game takes place on a two-dimensional stage with various obstacles in the way such as jumps and hills. If there is a small obstacle on the ground, pressing up at the right time lets the motorbike go over it without crashing, and pressing up at the right level to the ground on a jump will prevent a crash as well. 

Pressing the B button will activate a turbo boost, but if it is held for too long, the bike will overheat. A loud warning sound will play when the overheat meter gets too high. There are arrows on the ground that will immediately reset the turbo meter when you hit it. 

This was an early NES game, predating the NES itself when it was released on the Japanese version of the NES, the Family Computer, in 1984. As such, it is very arcade-like with a simple selection of two modes when the game starts. Game A is the time trial or practice mode and Game B lets you play against the patterns that make up the enemy movements in versus CPU mode.  There are ten stages, which increase in difficulty as they go on. The racers become faster and the obstacles become tougher. If you fail to qualify by finishing in third place or better, you will be returned back to the select stage screen.

As it is such an early game, there wasn't much in the way of music here. For most of the game, you will just here the engine running sound or the engine overheat warning sound. There are musical jingles at the start of the game and between stages. The title screen and winning screen have a happy tune, the start of each race is also pleasant, leading into three beeps signaling the start of a race. Failing to qualify will lead to a fail screen with suitably melancholy music.

The thing that really elevates this game past average status and into the hearts of people who played it in the 1980s or 1990s is the track creation system. This is actually surprisingly quite robust, allowing you to choose from any of the obstacles from any of the stages to be used in your creations. The biggest drawback of this was that early carts didn't come with battery saving so the tracks could only be played on the console where they were created, which at release led to hoping that the game didn't become corrupt while waiting for your friends to come to your house to show off your creations.

The expanded version on the Famicom Disk System fixed this issue when it was released in Japan. International players got the ability to save with the emulation-based services like Virtual Console on Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and New Nintendo 3DS as well as Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Classics for Nintendo Switch.

Excitebike is an interesting little game. It isn't much by today's standards, but there's no doubting its impact on the video game industry. It comes from the age when video games were brutally hard, so there's a lot of challenge in there for people who want to complete all ten courses. Today's emulation-based re-releases of the game definitely help with that. Emulation also helps with those who want to play around with the track maker, but it's a shame that the modern re-releases never came with the option to share your creations with friends over the internet.

Addendum October 8, 2025: There is also an arcade version for the PlayChoice-10. This version is identical to the NES version, except there is a time limit in place where the game will quit when time runs out.

Final Verdict:

3 out of 5

Action-Adventure Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

The Guardians of the Galaxy, long a niche comic team, gained a large following after being adapted into films. Because of this, it is only fitting that it would get video game adaptations. The Eidos-Montréal version of Guardians of the Galaxy was a high-budget game that is based on the same crew made famous by the James Gunn Marvel Cinematic Universe trilogy. 

It was released after Guardians of the Galaxy: A Telltale Series. The Telltale game also followed the characters from the films, with elements mixed in from the surprisingly even weirder Marvel Comics version of the characters. That meant that the game had a tough act to follow, especially following the promotional material that made this take on the Guardians highly anticipated.

This action-adventure adaptation has a lot going for it. Unsurprisingly, it features the characters from the film trilogy, which have become the most loved version of this group of anti-heroes. However, it also pulls from the comics, giving the team's leader, Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, his half-Spartax background and featuring the genetically-engineered Adam Warlock two years before he was featured in the third Guardians of the Galaxy film.

The characters all have abilities that are gained and expanded upon as the game progresses. Star-Lord uses a laser gun and jet boots, Gamora, a stoic green female uses her skills of fighting with a knife and scaling rocky surfaces, Rocket, a sarcastic genetically-engineered racoon, uses his expertise in explosives and demolitions, Groot, a living tree who can only talk using his name with various inflections, uses his roots to lift the team upwards and make wooden bridges for the team to cross, and Drax the Destroyer uses his vast strength to fight and to pick up and throw objects.

The characters are all well portrayed, and it is a treat to watch them go from misfits thrown together to a fully-developed team that truly care for each other. It also features a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy that has yet to appear in the films, Nikki Gold. She has been reimagined as the daughter of Peter's former love interest, a Kree Nova Corps member named Ko-Rel.

However, this game falls into the same traps that befell countless Marvel Comics video game adaptations in the past. The gameplay is decent enough, featuring the shooting mechanics expected by a character such as Star-Lord mixed with a time-limited command system to allow the powers of the rest of the team a chance to shine as artificial intelligence-controlled backup characters. However, the stage layouts aren't varied enough to mitigate the simplistic gameplay, making going through the game feel like a chore after a while.

The story was interesting enough to get me to continue the game, however, and the fact that the voice acting was fantastic helped as well. There are a lot of 20th century hit songs in the game as well, which can be played on the Guardians ship, the Milano, or as a boost to morale while in battle. I enjoyed the use of pop hits in the first two films, so it was a lot of fun to see that atmosphere continue here.

Guardians of the Galaxy isn't a perfect game. It has gameplay that can get repetitive after a while, but the story, voice acting, and music makes up for it. It isn't a must play by any means, but if you are willing to go through stages, especially in the middle of the game, that can feel a bit generic, it could be worth playing through once just to experience the story.

Final Verdict:
3 out of 5

Stealth Action Game Review: Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid was not only the first Metal Gear game after an eight year hiatus, it was also the first fully three-dimensional game in the series. Released for the PlayStation in 1998, it propelled the series and its creator into worldwide fame.

Hideo Kojima was always a fan of Western action media, as evidenced by the use of stars from American action movies as the basis of the character portraits in the original Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake on the MSX2. Heck, even the name Snake comes from the main protagonist in Escape from New York.  

Thus, it made sense that once gaming moved into the true third dimension with the release of the 32-bit and 64-bit consoles, Kojima would attempt to emulate his favorite films cinematically as well. Kojima has become infamous for the use of long cutscenes in his games, but in the original Metal Gear Solid, they are undoubtedly a benefit to the game, making the game feel more engrossing while not feeling like a slog. Heck, even the remade cinematics in Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for GameCube, goofy as they are, still manage to come in at a runtime that doesn't infringe upon the enjoyment of the gameplay.

Solid Snake is sent to Alaska, where he needs to do what he does best. He must infiltrate an enemy base and stop a Metal Gear, this time the model known as REX. He is first sent to rescue the DARPA chief and discovers a conspiracy to which he was clearly not previously privy. At this point, he also meets a fan-favorite character known as Meryl Silverburgh, the biological daughter of Snake's mission leader Colonel Campbell.

Snake also has help from people on his codec, as usual for this series. Snake simply has to communicate because the codec is implanted in him. Along with Campbell, Snake communicates with Mei Long who saves his mission data and offers philosophical quotes, Master Miller who offers non-sequiturs and occasional advice, and eventually series regular Dr. Emmerich aka Otacon who offers information about the base and Metal Gear REX itself.

The story is one of the best, if not the best, of the Hideo Kojima stories. There are so many twists and turns in the story, and the characters are really interesting. It leaves a lasting impression. The voice work of the actors is fantastic, both in the English and Japanese language. If you have played through Metal Gear Solid in English, you could find it fun to play it again with the Japanese voice actors in the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection, assuming you don't mind reading the English subtitles if you don't mind Japanese.

The music is fantastic too. Unless you play at the easiest level, or are fantastic at playing action stealth games, you'll likely see the game over screen at least once. This has become iconic for a reason. The voice over that accompanies it is fantastic and the game over music is extremely memorable. Of course, the rest of the music is fantastic as well, but that was epic enough it deserved a write-up on its own. The sound effects are also great, giving the game its polished feel.

The stealth gameplay was influential on the genre, and even though a lot has changed in the nearly twenty years since its 1998 release, it is still great to play today. The Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes remake adds some then-modern touches. It does make the game feel different because the first person mode makes some parts easier than the original. If the PlayStation version of Metal Gear Solid feels stiff to you, and you don't mind some goofy cutscene changes, that might be an option. The earlier Metal Gear Solid: Integral also includes first person mode, which might be a better option since its gaming and presentation comes from the North American release of the original Metal Gear Solid PlayStation release.

For those really willing to dig deep into the history of video gaming and emulation, there is bleemcast! for Metal Gear Solid for the Dreamcast. Playing the game using this will make the game smoother. It's true that most PlayStation emulators will have an option for smoothing, but the bleemcast! experience is surprisingly smooth, and it's amazing to experience considering the PlayStation and Dreamcast were direct competitors that were only one console generation apart.

Metal Gear Solid is well worth playing, in any form, from the original PlayStation version on the PlayStation console or on emulators to the GameCube Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes remake. I recommend the PlayStation version on console or emulator, since the cutscenes are 2000s action film level goofy in the remake. Some of the original cutscenes can be goofy too, but it is worth it to play it in its original form. If you have played the original, and especially if you have played it many times, it could be worth it to play the PlayStation version with Japanese voice actors and English subtitles to experience the Japanese voice actors. The actors in the Japanese version are just as high-quality as those in the English version. It could also be worth it to play Metal Gear Solid: Integral, if you want to experience the game with first person mode. If you don't mind cutscene changes that make the game feel like a goofy late 1990s to early 2000s American action film, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes might also be worth experiencing. No matter which version you play, the stealth gameplay, excellent voice acting, plus fantastic music and sound effects make this one a classic that every video gamer should experience at least once.

Final Verdict:
5 out of 5

Metal Gear (Ultra Games) Mega Review

Metal Gear Solid 2 Review coming soon

Animation Software Review: Disney Presents The Animation Studio

In the 1980s and 1990s, the animation department of The Walt Disney Company worked with video game developers to bring its animated films to the interactive industry. This led to video games with sprites, backgrounds, and cutscenes that impressively mimicked the art style of the big screen versions. When combined with satisfying game play, this brought about well-regarded video games such as the classic Virgin Games platformer, Aladdin, and the woefully forgotten Blue Sky Software puzzle game, Hare Raisin' Havoc.

In 1990, Disney partnered with Silent Software to bring things one step further with the release of The Animation Studio for Amiga and DOS.

This art and animation tool brought the techniques of hand-drawn animation that were employed by The Disney Animation Studio into the hands of consumers on standard home computer systems.

Disney animators worked hand-in-hand with the developers at Silent Software, even going as far as converting animations of classic Disney productions into TAS format, displaying pencil-style outlines of cartoons utilizing such techniques as squash-and-stretch with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum from Alice in Wonderland, a fluid walking animation of Mickey Mouse's faithful pup Pluto, and even an animation of Mickey himself walking towards the camera.

My favorite of the bunch is a super-short cartoon that demonstrates a finished, fully colored animation of Donald Duck. The famous duck looks at a CRT screen of a computer displaying the face of Mickey Mouse, which leads Donald into one of his common temper tantrums.

As for the tools themselves, there is still a lot to like, even thirty-five years later. A black-and-white pencil test is created using frames, with a digital version of semi-transparent "onion paper" providing the means to see the difference between the current frame and the last. After the frames of the pencil test are adequately cleaned up, the frames are colorized using a 1990s art Interface that should be familiar to anyone who has ever used Microsoft Paint.

For computers with sound cards, or for versions of the game bundled with the Disney Sound Source branded version of the Covox Speech Thing, there is a library containing dozens of sound effects straight from the Disney sound archive.

There are many more sophisticated programs available today to create animations, and each one is capable of creating animations well above the 640x480 maximum resolution available in The Animation Studio. There is something to be said about using tools modeled after Disney's own process to create animations that use sound effects from Disney's own sound library. Like watching Disney's hand animated films today, it is like stepping back to a simpler time before three-dimensional presentations using millions of polygons in ultra high definition resolutions. Sometimes, simple can be satisfying.

Final Verdict:

3½ out of 5

Platform Game Review: Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Sonic CD was the Sonic the Hedgehog game that was released for the Sega CD and Mega CD. It was a very different game from any of the others, making it a bit of the black sheep in the 16-bit Sonic canon. It doesn’t deserve that reputation as it is one of the best, if not the best, games for Sega’s ill-fated CD attachment for the Genesis and Mega Drive. Even outside of the Sega CD and Mega CD ecosystem, it is a very enjoyable game. 

In Sonic CD, Sonic needs to save the past to save the future. This is what gives the game its uniqueness. Sonic still has his speed and quills when he rolls in a ball to take out enemies and break open item boxes. However, this game also has past and future signs which change the setting of the game when Sonic gains enough speed. This is shown with sparkles emanating from Sonic when he runs followed by a sequence showing the passage of time. 

Once Sonic has changed years, the scenery reflects the change. In the past, the game is like a regular Sonic the Hedgehog game, with levels ranging from lush green to metallic. However, in the future things have become more dystopian as the scenery shows the destruction of the game world with ruined structures. This change also applies to the game world, as passages that are not available in the past become available in the future, and vice-versa. 

The game was in development between Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, so the spin dash works differently than other games. Sonic can be hit while spinning before he blasts off. The jump button also must be held down for a good amount of time or Sonic will just stand up. This is rectified in the mobile remake by Christian Whitehead. The remake also includes Tails as a playable character, which changes things up a bit with his hovering ability. The remake also is included in the Sonic Origins compilation. Sonic Origins Plus goes further, completing the trio of Sonic’s 16-bit friends by adding Knuckles and Amy Rose as playable characters as well. Speaking of Amy Rose, she makes her first appearance in this game along with the villain metal doppelganger Metal Sonic.

The presentation is where Sonic CD shines, as it uses the increased storage capacity of the Sega CD and Mega CD by including incredibly well animated story sequences at the beginning and ending of the game. Sonic doesn’t talk, but his expressions do the work of conveying the danger and surprise of the situations into which Sonic finds himself. The soundtrack behind this is excellent in all regions, but I’m partial to the North American version. The Japanese version and most of the international versions include an instrumental to the action in the videos, but a new song was composed for the North American release. This is Sonic Boom, a catchy pop song with lyrics that are precisely Sonic in a nutshell. The Sonic CD remakes by Christian Whitehead include the video with much less compression than the original release. They also have the option to play either the Japanese or North American soundtrack over the videos regardless of the region in which the game is being played. 

Sonic CD is an underappreciated gem that made the Sega CD and Mega CD a worthwhile purchase and continues to be a worthwhile experience to this day. It changes up the formula by adding in time travel, which makes it remain a unique entry in the Sonic series. It has the fantastic score and sound design of the other Sonic games, but the addition of animation to the beginning and ending of the game make it an extremely memorable experience. The weirdness of the spin dash brings it down a little compared to Sonic 2 and the later games in the series, but this is negated in recent releases as it is optionally rectified in Christian Whitehead’s remakes. 

Final Verdict: 

4½ out of 5

Platform Game Compilation Review: Sonic Origins

Sonic Origins is a compilation of enhanced remakes of four Sonic the Hedgehog games from the 16-bit era, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog CD, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The latter is Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles combined as one game, as would have been done with the Sonic & Knuckles lock-on cartridge on the Sega Genesis or Mega Drive. It also includes the Blue Spheres game that was playable by locking in any game onto Sonic & Knuckles other than Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or 3. In addition, it includes a sequel with modes from Sonic Mania titled New Blue Spheres.

Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD are enhanced ports of the Android and iOS remakes by Christian Whitehead. These remakes are completely faithful, with the same music, sound effects, level layouts, background art, character design, animations, bonus stages, and boss battles as the original 16-bit games. These remakes also contain everything from the mobile versions including a playable Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic 2, but not Sonic CD. The latter does include a playable Tails, however. The best remake, in my opinion, is Sonic 2, as it contains a hidden secret passage which leads to a realized version of a partly-completed level from the beta versions of the game. 

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a new remake using the same engine as the others. Like the other remakes faithfully recreates the 16-bit game, including the level layouts, graphics, and boss battles. However, while it has the same sound effects as the original game, the music is taken from the beta version of the game due to rights issues with the music from the final versions. This change has had mixed reception. Intellectually, it is understandable due to forces outside of Sega's hands. However, it may be a deal breaker for some people. especially those who played the original game so much that they know the original music inside and out. That said, the original music can be restored with fan patches which are easy to install, especially on Windows. There is also a fan patch available that separates Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles into two games, bringing these games as close to the 16-bit originals as possible.

The neat part about the compilation is that it adds animations with silent characters ala the Sonic CD intro. These were created in the style of the Sonic Mania shorts, and serve to connect all four games together into a continuous storyline. These work really well, and are just as well animated and lively as the introduction of Sonic CD, if not quite as memorable. In fact, the animations are used together with those from the aforementioned game in its storytelling and actually work well in concert with each other.

One of the main draws of Sonic Origins, other than its games of course, is the museum content. There are two modes. One lets you play the games as they were on their respective consoles. The other version allows you to play through the story of all four games. Through play, you will collect tokens, which can then be used to purchase art, music, and background content on the games from their origins up to their release. It's actually quite well done, making it worthwhile to play through the games multiple times in order to unlock all the content.

Sonic Origins is not a perfect remake collection. All of the games are painstakingly accurate to the originals, however the replacement of the Sonic 3 songs for its beta versions is a let down. Whether this makes or breaks the compilation is up to you, but I personally think it is the best way to play these games, especially in light of the various fan patches that are available.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

Third-Person Shooter Review: Red Dead Revolver

Red Dead Revolver is a game that has an interesting pedigree and was the fore-bearer of the influential Red Dead Redemption series. It started at Angel Studios in the early 2000s as a Capcom-funded spaghetti-western arcade-style third-person shooter that was a spiritual successor to the 1985 arcade game Gun.Smoke. When Take-Two Interactive purchased Angel Studios in November 2002 and placed it under its Rockstar Games subsidiary as Rockstar San Diego, the Red Dead Revolver beta was expanded into a full game which was ultimately released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004.

In the final game, both the Capcom and Rockstar Games fingerprints are quite obvious upon even a cursory inspection. It is still the arcade-style slapstick Western that began at Capcom. Alongside the damage indicators, there are score tallies. Each scene takes place in a round, where accuracy and damaged is assessed and duel opponents and stages for duel challenges are rewarded based on the total. Most enemies have to be shot several times to be defeated, even with precise targeting, although the smaller, weaker enemies can be defeated in one hit with a headshot.

However, it also has hallmarks of Rockstar Games in its DNA. A town can be visited between rounds, and Red can explore the shops located within, although in a much more limited way than Rockstar's usual output. Alongside the gun shops where Red can purchase and upgrade his equipment, there are also other businesses to be visited such as the saloon, tailor shop, and the bank. The purchases within have less to do with what they advertise than act as a place where Red can unlock background information on the lore of the game through journal pages and purchase duel stages and characters that weren't unlocked when the stage scores were tallied

It's by no means a masterpiece of game design, but it is really a miracle these two different styles of game development actually manage to work together at all. Going in after playing either of the Red Dead Redemption games is really odd, such it is such a different style of game. However, once you reconfigure your brain to treat it like an arcade-style third-person shooter, it actually becomes enjoyable.

The main enjoyment to be had in the game is in the story. As a spaghetti-western, it is enjoyably over-the-top in its presentation and story-telling. The game follows Red Harlow, a gunman who had witnessed the death of his father Nate Harlow and his Native American mother Falling Star. They were killef by a gang of outlaws lef by Mexican General Javier Diego and the American mercenary who called himself Colonel Daren. Red's dad found gold in Bear Mountain with a man named Griff and forged two revolvers to celebrate. The Mexican Army took Griff prisoner and Javier learned about the gold. All three Harlows were meant to die to conceal the existance of the gold, but Red got away by shooting Javier's arm off with his father's revolver.

Red intends to avenge his father's death, teaming up with the English trick-shooter extraordinaire Jack Swift, a rancher named Annie Stoakes, Red's cousin Shadow Wolf, and an African American soldier called the "Buffalo Soldier". Each of these characters, along with Red are playable in specific points in the story, alongside the villain Javier who is also playable for a short time.

Many of these characters served as templates for characters who appeared later on in the series. Annie Stoakes was a brave, headstrong woman who bucked the social norms of the time, much as Bonnie MacFarlane would years later in Red Dead Redemption. She also was a pro with a gun, much as Sadie Adler in Red Dead Redemption II. Jack Swift bears more than a passing resemblance to the second Red Dead Redemption game's Josiah Trelawny in both appearance and the fact that both characters tend to their own business while occasionally teaming up with their game's protagonists. Shadow Wolf's headstrong personality and willingness to put himself in danger for his family and his tribe was akin to Eagle Flies in Red Dead Redemption II. Charles Smith from Redemption II bears a similarity to both Buffalo Soldier and Red Harlow himself. All three characters are stoic, selfless, and unambiguously the most morally good among their peers.

Javier Diego shares both a name and a background with Javier Escuella. Both were part of the Mexican Army before the start of their respective games and both, unfortunately were let down by borderline offensive Mexican stereotypes. For Escuella, at least, he received some much needed character development in the jump from Red Dead Redemption to Red Dead Redemption II. It's a shame we won't see more character development from Diego, since it is pretty much a sure thing that Rockstar Games won't feature the Revolver characters in the future outside of campfire folk tales.

Red Dead Revolver is more of a curio to see from where the Red Dead Redemption series started than anything else. It's not as easily accessible as the Redemption games, however it could be worth a play to people who aren't averse to playing arcade-style third-person shooters. The spaghetti-western atmosphere alongside the over-the-top portrayal of the characters and the story manage to elevate this game from what would otherwise be a purely mediocre experience. It's not up to Red Dead Redemption standards, but it is certainly not a bad game.

Final Verdict:
3½ out of 5

Platform Game Review: Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine is the most divisive Nintendo-produced Super Mario game. Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto has even gone so far as to publicly regret that he and his team created it. With the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Classics GameCube emulator for Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers incoming, it is the perfect time to look back and see if the title deserves the hate it gets.

When the Nintendo 64 was released in 1996, Super Mario 64 was one of its launch titles. It proved to be a game changer, as it popularized the 3D platformer genre and was instrumental in the change from pixel-based two-dimensional development to polygonal-based three-dimensional development in the video game industry. When the GameCube came around, fans were looking forward to the next installment. The Super Mario 128 tech demo at the 2000 Nintendo Space World trade show had 128 Marios running around the screen, leaving many people hoping that the next Mario game would move the platformer genre forward as much as the previous game. Instead, Super Mario Sunshine was released in 2002 and the next truly inventive 3D Mario game would come five years later on the Wii in the form of Super Mario Galaxy.

Super Mario Sunshine played mostly like its predecessor, except this time Mario is forced to be a janitor of sorts. Mario, Peach, and her Toad entourage take a trip to a tropical island. When they arrive, they learn of a shadowy figure shaped like Mario. This doppelganger is going around the island painting everything and ruining Mario's reputation. As punishment, Mario is given a device named the FLUDD, or Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device. This allows him to shoot out water forward as well as to shoot it underneath him to propel himself upward.

The FLUDD mechanics bring a completely new feel to the game. Bosses are now fought with water rather than jumps and the propelling mechanics allow Mario to hover for a bit. The drawback is that Mario needs to be in water in order to fill the FLUDD and once it is depleted, he has to head back for a refill. This doesn't take long, as Mario is on a tropical island with water all around it.

Alongside the frustration of FLUDD refilling, the setting of the game is among its drawbacks. While Super Mario 64 was filled with level variety, including sunny fields, platforms high in the sky, snowy mountain tops, and undersea exploring, Super Mario Sunshine is a completely tropical experience. The only breakup in the pattern is the challenge stages that take away the FLUDD and make Mario jump across spinning blocks with only his Super Mario 64 moveset. These levels are well made and feel like a true continuation from Super Mario 64, making it weird that there weren't more levels that used this style of gameplay. They were a welcome breakup of the overly familiar setting of every other level in the game.

The other welcome addition to the game is the return of Yoshi as a rideable companion. He does everything he did in Super Mario World, running, jumping, and eating anything he can get his tongue on, provided the would-be food is not covered in spikes or spines. The Sunshine team even brought one of the fun aural pleasantries that came with riding Yoshi on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Whenever Mario rides his dinosaur steed, bongos are be added to the current music track, and once you are no longer atop Yoshi the bongos stop.

Speaking of music, as with all Super Mario games, Super Mario Sunshine is full of wonderful compositions. With each change of audio hardware, Koji Kondo and the music team had more freedom as to what music they could produce. With Super Mario Sunshine, they went all in on the tropical setting and made some island music that lifts the game and gives it a charm that it would likely be lacking otherwise. I sometimes pop in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars compilation on my Switch and play some Super Mario Sunshine just to hear the amazing soundtrack.

The game ultimately does not deserve all of the hate it gets. It's an inventive, enjoyable 3D platform game. The FLUDD does slow down the gameplay, making it feel like something other than a Super Mario game, but judged on its own, it is a fantastic platformer. It didn't light a fire in the industry like its predecessors, so companies did not use the Sunshine formula in its own games. That works out in its favor, however, since its unique gameplay makes it different than almost every other game out there.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

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