Arcade Vertically Scrolling Shoot 'Em Up Review: Meta Fox

Meta Fox is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Seta and distributed by International Video Consumer Systems and Romstar.

This was the first fully working arcade cabinet I ever owned, way back in 2000 when I was 20. It is the reason that I used the name MetaFox on the internet for years. I still use that name, as a matter of fact, on projects for which I volunteer, such as in my work on the ScummVM wiki. That's why it took me a while to even consider to review this one. I've decided to do so now, as I'm fully confident that I can separate the game itself from my intimate history with the name in order to do as close to an unbiased review as possible.

Meta Fox is one of several vertically scrolling shooters in the vein of Capcom's 19XX series. Up to to players simultaneously take control of a plane flying over terrain or water. Planes will attack and ground weapons will also fire up at the red and blue player planes.

The controls are simple. Each player has an eight-way joystick to control the vertical and horizontal movement of their respective airplane. There are just two buttons. One fires bullets, which are unlimited. The other button fires a limited number of bombs. The bombs are especially useful as they will clear all enemies from the entire current screen.

There are upgrades that can be grabbed from some defeated enemies. P powerups will upgrade the primary weapon by increasing its power, the rate of fire, and the spread of the bullets fired in order to hit multiple enemies at once. There are also upgrades which allow players to carry and release more screen clearing bombs.

The graphics are what you'd expect from a game of its genre. They cover desert terrain, large swaths of water, aircraft carriers, and enemy targets like bases, tanks, and trucks. The bullet animations get bigger and brighter as the upgrades are gained, which really help to sell the bombastic presentation when paired with the sound.

Speaking of sound, this is the part that really elevates the game over many of its competitors. Everything is big and loud by design. The firing and explosion sounds are intense. The collect sound has a unique quality that keeps it noticeable while the soundtrack is playing. The soundtrack is where the game shines. The main song loop has a nice 1980s punk rock vibe that is just a blast to listen to. It gives a dash of adrenaline when it starts at the beginning of each stage. The really unique part is the song that plays during the final boss fight and the ending credits. It's a punk rock song complete with vocals from a female singer that has a voice reminiscent of Joan Jett or Nancy Wilson from Heart. 

Meta Fox is a fun vertically scrolling shooter. It isn't a classic of the genre as it is derivative of games such as Capcom's much more well known 19XX series with its graphics, gameplay, and powerups. The thing that takes it beyond mere clone territory, however, is its sound design. The sound effects are big and bombastic, especially paired with the fantastic punk rock soundtrack. It's that aspect alone that might entice you to give this one a try if you ever manage to come across it.

Final Verdict:

3½ out of 5

Action Game Review: Spider-Man

Spider-Man was an action game by Parker Brothers that was developed by one of the earliest female video game designers, Laura Nikolich. It was the first video game based on a Marvel Comics character and it was the first Spider-Man video game.

  
Spider-Man scales a building while defusing bombs set by his iconic enemy, the Green Goblin. The limitations of the Atari 2600 actually worked in favor for the game, as he doesn't climb up the wall but uses his webs to swing vertically and diagonally. This gives it an authentic Spider-Man feel and differentiates it from Nichibutsu's Crazy Climber, which was still fresh in the mind of gamers as it had only been released two years earlier.

However, its age and console limitations also limit the amount of sound produced. There is the whoosh of the web, clacking of the Green Goblin's glider, and explosion from the bombs. Beyond that, there is a neat chiptune track that plays at the start of the game. The limited sound doesn't really hinder the game that much, all things considered, as it's a classic arcade formula that works for the time period of the game's release.

Spidey has to avoid criminals that move randomly through the building, can be seen in windows, and can be captured. He can also capture them upon contact. There's an additional challenge due to the fact that the criminals in the window will cut Spider-Man's web if they come into contact with it. However, the web slinger can prevent himself from losing a life by slinging a web before he falls too far down the screen.

As Spider-Man gets higher up the building, he can defuse bombs set by the Green Goblin. The bombs are black until they change to red when they are about to explode. If Spidey defuses a red bomb in time to prevent its explosion, he will gain more points than the bombs that remain black. 

Just as he doesn't have to capture the criminals in the windows, he also can just avoid the exploding bombs. However, capturing criminals and defusing bombs will refill Spider-Man's web fluid. If this fluid runs out, Spidey will fall off the building and lose a life. The amount of web fluid left in his web shooters can be seen via a red indicator bar at the lower right of the screen.

At the top of the building, Spider-Man has to stop Green Goblin's plan. He has set several small bombs as well as a large super bomb. Spider-Man has to stop a set number of enemies and bombs until the super bomb has its fuse lit. Once Spider-Man successfully avoids the Green Goblin and defuses his super bomb, the level ends. 

Because it is a game from the early 1980s, the point of the game is to earn as many points as possible, as it is designed like an arcade game. Once the Green Goblin is defeated, Spider-Man will have to climb a building with faster enemies and bombs. The levels continue until Spider-Man loses all his life.

Spider-Man is a solid first outing for Marvel's resident web head. The arcade-style gameplay is fun and challenging, and the use of his webs and web fluid is well thought out and works perfectly in sync with the source material. There are limited sound effects and music, as the latter is restricted to the beginning of each level. It's not a classic, but it's not a dud. You can still a fun time playing it for a quick game fix today. That's the real test of time, and Spidey definitely passes the bar. 'Nuff said!

Final Verdict:

3½ out of 5

Arcade Platform Game Review: Popeye

Valentine's Day is here, so what better arcade game to celebrate the day than Popeye? It is the arcade game that Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto was finally able to create after the plans to make a game based on the Popeye series earlier fell apart and was reworked into Donkey Kong. The Popeye we did receive doesn't quite reach the heights of Mario's premiere, but does have its own charm.

The graphics capture the look of the characters quite well. The sprites are large and expressive, and the animation is well done. This is especially true of the animation of Bluto reaching under a platform to try to knock Popeye into the water. That's still the image that immediately pops into my head decades after the game was released. It's just that well animated.

Like the Popeye comics and shorts that inspired it, Popeye tries to earn the love of Olive Oyl while avoiding the aggression of the competitor for Olive's heart, Bluto. Olive Oyl throws out hearts, and Popeye catches them. When the hearts completely fill up the Popeye-tagged house at the top of the playing field, the game will go to the next level. Other levels swap out the hearts for other items such as musical notes, and letters spelling out the word help.

There are three unique levels that repeat at higher difficulties as the game goes on. These include the docks, a village, and a pirate ship. These three levels will include some of the secondary characters from Popeye media including Swee-Pea, Wimpy, and the Sea Hag. It really is a visual treat for fans of the Popeye franchise.

Popeye has several ways to fight back against Bluto. He can punch an object that will drop on top of his nemesis. The most fitting way to fight back is using the spinach cans that appear on the side of the platform, much like the hammers in Donkey Kong. When Popeye punches a spinach can, the famous Popeye the Sailor Man music will play in chiptune format, Popeye will turn red, and Bluto will run away. When Popeye connects his fist with Bluto, the latter will bounce around the screen and fall into the water.

Other than the theme song, there is a song that plays over each level. It is a simple, innocuous tune that doesn't become annoying when it plays on repeat. There is also a small four or five note tune that plays when Popeye collects an item that Olive is dropping. Beyond the music, there are also sound effects including a deep sound when Bluto jumps, a popping sound that plays when Popeye hits objects with his usual non-Bluto obliterating punch, a sweeping sound when Bluto is trying to knock Popeye in the water, and a clip clop sound for Popeye's steps.

Popeye is a cute little arcade game that didn't reach the classic status of those starring Mario and Donkey Kong. Even though it isn't as well known as its arcade brethren, Popeye is still a fun little game with its own charms. The large detailed sprite work matches the look of the characters well, famous characters from the Popeye series make cameo appearances, the classic theme song is translated to chiptune format well, and the new music and sound effects work well alongside the other elements of the game presentation. If you get a chance to play it, chances are you will find the game fun for a play or two.

Final Verdict:
4 out of 5

Action Platform Game Review: Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti

It's Friday the 13th, so what better video game to review than one that is part of a series inspired by the film named today's date. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti is a parody of Namco's 1988 beat 'em up inspired by American slasher horror films, Splatterhouse. It took the bloody concept to an overly cute level and somehow, against all odds, made it work.

Wanpaku Graffiti was developed for the Family Computer as a spoof of the original Splatterhouse. It was developed by Now Production, who would go on to work on the series proper for the remaining two games of the classic trilogy. The game has an anime style vibe to it, with crazy situations and characters that are presented in a cute chibi, or super deformed, style.

The plot is kept simple, as it should be for a game inspired by 1980s slasher films. The game's hero is Rick, an axe-wielding man wearing a hockey mask in the same vein as Jason Voorhies from the Friday the 13th film series. A giant living jack-o-lantern known as the Pumpkin King picks up Rick's girlfriend Jennifer off the ground and floats away with her, which sets the game in motion as Rick follows after her.

While Splatterhouse was a beat 'em up game, Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti is an action platform game. Rick jumps across the terrain and slashes at cute enemies like tiny zombies or vampires with his giant axe. He can also pick up shotguns with limited ammunition at various parts of the game. After Rick defeats more enemies, his maximum health will increase, giving him a better chance of getting Jen back. There is a counter at the top of the screen which lets Rick know how many enemies he has to eliminate in order to improve his health.

As a game for the Family Computer, there is quite a bit of chiptune music available. The sound hardware has a timeless sound to it, and some great music has come out of Nintendo's venerable 8-bit machine when given to talented composers. That is certainly the case here, as Anna Puruna and Masakatsu Maekawa have created some fun music that fits the silly vibe of the game very well. The usual hit, slash, and lighting effects produced by Famicom games of that era are also present, and go a long way to make the game an entertaining experience.

Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti is an example of a game that sounded like a weird idea on paper, but actually turned out to be fantastic in practice. Cute graphics and a slasher horror-inspired game should not mix, but I'm happy to say that they do work extremely well. The music and sound effects also add to the experience, as does the fun level design. As a Famicom game from the 1980s, there is a password system in place rather than a proper save system that would have required battery-backed RAM back in the day. Luckily, the game has been re-released through emulation on the first Namco Museum Archives compilation, so save states are now available. Even better, now is the best time to play the game as the re-release gave the game its first English localization, which let this game make its way out of Japan officially for the first time.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 4

Arcade Maze Game Review: Pac-Mania

Pac-Mania was the tenth video game in the Pac-Man series. It had a combination of factors that made it unique as it never was directly replicated following its release, so it this is a game retains its own place in the Pac-Man pantheon.

It was developed by Namco and distributed to arcades by Namco in Japan and Atari Games in North America in 1987. It followed the General Computer Corporation-developed maze arcade game Jr. Pac-Man from 1984 and the Namco-developed platform arcade game Pac-Land from 1984 that was based on the 1982-1983 Hanna Barbara animated television series

As the game that directly followed both of the aforementioned games, Pac-Mania included aspects from both of them. It included the scrolling mazes that were introduced in Jr. Pac-Man, but this time they scroll both horizontally and vertically. The larger mazes also allow the addition of more ghosts to the mix. The usual four colors return, with three more colors joining them. The traditional ghosts include the red ghost Blinky, the pink ghost Pinky, the cyan ghost Inky, and the orange ghost Clyde. Sue, the ghost introduced in Ms. Pac-Man as the orange ghost, is presented as purple.

As a platform game, Pac-Land was the first game in the series that allowed Pac-Man to jump. Even though Pac-Mania is a return to the maze genre, he has the ability to jump here as well. His jump is difficult to master as it is delayed and floaty by design, since it doesn't need the precision of platform game jumping. Once you get used to jumping, however, it becomes quite convenient to jump over ghosts that aren't activated as the standard edible blue after eating a larger power pellet. To counter Pac-Man's new jump ability, there are now two new ghosts. They are a green ghost named Punky and a grey ghost named Spunky. They are bigger than the regular ghosts, but it is still possible to jump over Punky if Pac-Man times his jump correctly. However, it is impossible to jump over Spunky.

The bonus items once again sit below the ghost gate as in the original Pac-Man. Most of these award the usual bonus points from fruits, but there are two special colored power pellets that give additional affects. If Pac-Man eats a red pellet, the point total for eating the ghosts will be doubled. If Pac-Man eats the green pellet, Pac-Man will temporarily receive a boost in speed.

Beyond the gameplay changes, the presentation also saw a stark change from previous games. The mazes are now laid out isometrically with a 2.5 dimensional presentation. Because the edges of the mazes can now be seen, the graphics make good use of this additional half a dimension. Mazes take on various shapes such as interconnecting Lego-like bricks, mazes that look like neon tubes, pyramid blocks, and cubes. The cutscene breaks also make a return, in a fittingly comical manner.

The sound also matches the upgraded visuals. The eating and dying sound effects are joined by jumping effects, but the standout is the music. Pac-Land had a pleasing loop of the Hanna-Barbara Pac-Man theme song, but this game gives some variety to match each of the levels. It's the pinnacle of sound design for the maze side of the Pac-Man sequels.  

Pac-Mania is a game that takes everything about previous Pac-Man titles and builds upon them. The 2.5D isometric graphics, fun sound effects, and pleasing music really make this game a joy to play. The jumping aspect leaves a bit to be desired, however, as it is not as responsive as those in the Pac-Man platform games. That's the only aspect that brings the score down a bit, but it's not enough to keep it from being one of the best Pac-Man maze games ever produced. 

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Arcade Motorcycle Racing Game: VS. Excitebike

VS. Excitebike was the second game in Nintendo's Excite series, releasing to arcades on the VS. System on December 5, 1984, one day short of a week after the release of the original Excitebike on the Family Computer, the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System.

The game is graphically identical to Excitebike, taking place on a two-dimensional plane with obstacles such as jumps, hills, and mud. It contained the two-button control set up with a regular accelerator button and a turbo button. The turbo button causes the bike to overheat, but switching to regular acceleration or running over an arrow on the track will cause the bike to cool down.

It contains the same motor running sound effects, jumping sounds, and overheating sounds as the original, as well as the catchy music played at the beginning of the tracks and when a race is won, as well as the downbeat music played when a race is lost.

As it was released for the VS. System, the biggest addition this game added was the ability to play a game for two players, connected through the arcade hardware on two separate screens. Because it is an arcade game, the design function of the original game has been removed. To make up for the lack of the ability to create custom tracks, the total amount of tracks has been increased from five to seven. The game also alternates between playing on tracks with one player or many opponents, playing trough all seven tracks twice rather than having a selection between modes at the beginning of the game.

VS. Excitebike is an interesting follow-up to the original Excitebike that adds two tracks not seen before. The Family Computer Disk System port of VS. Excitebike, which is substantially different enough to the arcade game to deserve its own review, is the best way to play the original 8-bit trilogy of sorts. However, now that VS. Excitebike is available to officially purchase for home use, it might be worth checking out if you enjoyed the original game.

Final Verdict:

3 out of 5

Arcade Fixed-Screen Shoot 'em up Review: Space Invaders (Color Version)

The color version of Space Invaders was released in 1979, the year after the release of the game. In the early days of the video game industry, sequels weren't well defined. That's how you ended up with tons of variations of Pong, or games that had the hook of added color. You also sometimes received updates like the color version of Space Invaders, where the game was different under the hood but the cabinet artwork was unchanged.

The original Space Invaders was a completely black and white affair, although some arcades would add a filter over the monitor that would add green and red sections to simulate color. The color version, on the other hand, added a near rainbow of colors. There are now five colors, alongside white. The colors are the green and red of the filter, plus yellow, cyan, and magenta.

It matches the colors of the marquee, as a matter of fact, giving the game a unified feel that upped the whole presentation. In an era where black and white graphics were the norm, a monitor full of color would definitely be a big draw. Since the gameplay remained as addicting as always, it was a good way to get people to the cabinet in an era where keeping up player interest was key.

The primary addition to the game code outside of the addition of color was another that would bring people to the cabinet. Arcade games were all about playing to get the high score, and this update allowed for even higher scores than before. Whereas the original had a limit of four digits, the color update raised the maximum amounts of digits in the score to five.

People who are familiar with the original Space Invaders will also notice that the bases now have numbers on them. This has no real meaning to the game outside of cosmetics, but it will provide the base of the true sequel to Space Invaders, Space Invaders Part II aka Deluxe Space Invaders or Space Invaders Deluxe, which was also released in 1979.

The color version of Space Invaders was a mere stop gap between the first game and its sequel, but it is an interesting footnote in the history of the video game industry. It retains all of the same addicting gameplay of the original and makes it a bit more pleasing with a splash of color. In that sense, it is really just as worthy of a game as its two or four-toned predecessor.

Final verdict:

4 out of 5

Arcade Brick-Breaking Game Review: Arkanoid

Arkanoid was an arcade game by Taito that took the Breakout concept and brought it to new heights. This game was so influential to the block breaking genre that games of this type will often be called Breakout/Arkanoid clones. Not many genres get two progenitors, outside of Metroidvania games.

The game has the usual paddle at the bottom of the screen that bounces a ball toward the blocks above. However, while earlier games of the block breaking genre merely switched things up by having blocks arranged in different shapes or by having blocks that needed to be hit more than once, Taito went further. Arkanoid still had everything in the preceding sentence. However, they added in powerups that could be released by breaking certain blocks, setting the standard for ball breaking games going forward.

The powerups include increasing the size of the paddle that represents a spaceship, giving your ship the ability to fire lasers to break bricks easier, and even one that opens up a warp to the next level. There are power-downs too, so it's necessary to pay attention to the color and markings when they drop down. In some levels, there are also enemies which bounce on top of the uppermost level of blocks. If you break the block underneath, they will drop down toward your ship if you had not already destroyed them with the ball bouncing you bounced off your ship. You can kill them by catching the ball at the right angle. The laser powerup really helps in these situations. There is also a sticky powerup that will cause the ball to stick, allowing you time to release it, which also helps get rid of baddies.

The sound effects and opening theme are actually really well done. The jingle that starts at the beginning of each stage attempt is just a few notes, but they are catchy enough that they stick in your head long after the game is over. The sound design that is amazing is the ball sound effects. A lot of times in games like these, the beep that comes every time the ball bounces from your paddle or on a block begins to get grating because you hear it constantly. Taito has given this sound a gentle little sound that is more of a chime than a beep, which makes it actually pleasant to hear over and over. There are also unique sounds for when the ship changes after a powerup is caught, when the lasers are shot after that particular powerup is gained, and when an enemy is eliminated. Because none of the notes in the music or sound effects are sharp or grating, this is arcade sound design at its finest.

The powerups in Arkanoid really transformed the genre into one that no longer felt like it was stuck in the past. The powerups and power-downs were genius. It makes the game so much more welcoming. The gentle music snippets and sound effects also help to keep it from grating on the ears after a while playing. Arkanoid is not just a true arcade classic, it is also an example of a game that transformed its genre so much that it is now considered the template rather than the game that begot the genre in the first place. Breakout style-games had not had the gameplay additions of Arkanoid before it came out, but they all have them following its release.

Final Verdict:
5 out of 5

Platform Game Compilation Review: Disney Classic Games - Aladdin and the Lion King

Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King is a compilation of two of the most well remembered platform game adaptation of Disney films. It brings the Virgin Games version of Aladdin and The Lion King by Westwood Studios to consoles and Windows through emulation by Digital Eclipse.

The headlining game is a bit controversial. There were three versions of Aladdin, one by Virgin Games, one by Capcom, and one by Sega. Since the 16-bit days, there has been a lot of debate over whether the Virgin Games or the Capcom version of Aladdin was the best. In most debates, the Virgin one, primarily released on the Sega Genesis, just barely comes out on top, over the Capcom version, which was primarily released on Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The Virgin game is the version included in this compilation. Digital Eclipse included both the Sega Genesis and Game Boy versions of Aladdin. The Genesis version is, without a doubt, the better version, but it's interesting to get to play the Game Boy port in the compilation as a curio.

The other game is not controversial at all, bar it's difficulty. The Westwood Studios game adaptation of The Lion King was released for both Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. Both of those versions are included in the compilation, and this one really comes down to audio preference due to the difference in the sound hardware between the two systems. Digital Eclipse also included the Game Boy version of this game as well, although, like with Aladdin, it's merely a curio since it's not a great port.

A neat inclusion is a prototype version of Aladdin that was compiled the same month as the version that was demonstrated at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in 1993. It's a really cool inclusion, and it's really neat to see what changed from the prototype stage to the final release. The level inside the lamp, in particular, is quite different. Since this is an unfinished build, I recommend you play through the full Sega Genesis version of the game first before trying the CES version.

Disney Classic Games - Aladdin and the Lion King is a nice compilation of two of the most popular Disney video game adaptations of the early 1990s. It was created by Digital Eclipse, the studio that has been releasing emulation-based re-releases since its release of Williams arcade games in 1994, so the emulation is quite good. The regular emulation features like rewind and save anywhere really help for these games, since the 16-bit era was one where difficult platformers were still the norm. This version of the compilation doesn't have Capcom's Aladdin included, which is a bit of a bummer, but what is there is done really well, especially the inclusions of the original artwork and the CES prototype of Aladdin.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

Platform Game Review: South Park: Tenorman's Revenge

South Park: Tenorman's Revenge was a platform game that was the second game that was directly overseen by South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, following Let's Go Tower Defense Play! This had the benefit of making the game the first truly good video game in the series.

The game is a direct sequel to one of the most controversial episodes ever, Scott Tenorman Must Die, where Eric Cartman manipulated events to get rid of Scott's parents. To get his revenge, Scott built up an army of ginger robots throughout time, stole Cartman's Xbox 360 hard drive, and lured them through a portal to the year 2546.

The four main boys, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick, each have unique abilities that they have to use to destroy Scott's robots and to traverse the landscape in the future, past, and present. Then they have to finally confront and defeat Scott himself.

The episode not only calls back to the infamous episode mentioned above, but also to the various superhero-themed episodes of the show, such as Coon vs. Coon and Friends. The boys have their regular abilities and can use their superhero alter egos to access more.

Stan has the ability to throw a football to hit distant targets and can drill in certain areas to reach hidden locations as his superhero alter ego Toolshed. Kyle can take off his hat to distract robots and gain access to certain areas. He can also glide through the air to reach hidden areas as his superhero alter ego  the Human Kite. Cartman can use his weight to crash through weak walls to open new paths and can scale walls as his superhero alter ego The Coon. Kenny can jump further than the other characters and can make himself invisible and intangible as his superhero alter ego Mysterion.

The sound effects are a perfect fit to what you'd expect from South Park and the music fits the game well. The soundtrack is a fast-paced electronic soundtrack that is themed perfectly for the prehistoric, futuristic, and modern versions of South Park

South Park: Tenorman's Revenge is a puzzle platform game can be a bit tedious, especially in the future, as each area tends to blend in with the others. The weird storyline and fantastic voice work performed by Matt and Trey themselves helps to keep you invested though. It's not a perfect game by any means, but it was a harbinger of the good things that were to come.

Final Verdict:

3½ out of 5

Arcade Fighting Game Review: Virtua Fighter 2

Virtua Fighter 2 was the sequel to the influential 3D one-on-one fighting game Virtua Fighter. Like the original, it was developed by the famed internal division within Sega known as Sega AM2. It managed to take everything good about the original and expand upon it in many ways.

The character movement was vastly improved from the original, due to motion capture technology that was advanced for its time. It is still stunted compared to Virtua Fighter 3, due to the fact that the full range of movement would not be introduced in fighting games until the release of SoulCalibur four years later.

Like the original, there was no story, just a batch of fighters competing in a tournament. The improvement upon the original tournament is that the game's cast was expanded. The original cast returns, including a man skilled in the Chinese martial art of Bajiquan named Akira Yuki, a jujitsu fighter named Kage-Maru, the American siblings Sarah Bryant and Jacky Bryant from the United States, Pai Chan and her father Lau Chan from Hong Kong, a First Nations fighter from Canada named Wolf Hawkfield, and an Aboriginal Australian named Jeffry McWild. They are joined by an elderly Chinese man who practices drunken fist kung fu named Shun Di and a wealthy French man who has a kung fu style evocative of a prying mantis named Lion Rafale. 

The ten fighters battle each other to rise up the ranks. As before, the final boss of the tournament is a female cyborg with a body made up of reflective chrome. Dural does not need to be defeated, as if she is not downed by the time the timer runs out, the game continues to the credits regardless. Virtua Fighter 2 was one of my favorite arcade games to play with friends when I was young. I played through the story mode several times but I don't believe I ever managed to defeat Dural. It never bothered me, as the game was still enjoyable regardless. Like the original Virtua Fighter, Dural can also be playable in the home ports of the game via cheat code.

The music and sound effects were created by the Sega sound team. The sound effects added to the whole experience with the slams and throws sounding authentic. There is also a voice cast that supplies the voices of the characters in their intro and winning scenes, which was the standard in fighting games around the time of the games release to the arcades.

Virtua Fighter 2 is an excellent fighting game that was highly influential to the genre. It doesn't have the full range of movement of fighting games from the late 1990s onward, but it is much smoother than the original Virtua Fighter. That is one of the primary reasons the game has received ports through emulation to later consoles and in games in the Like a Dragon series up to this day. It's music, voice acting, and sound effects make it a classic that is worth experiencing if only for historical value to see how far 3D fighting games have come.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

Arcade Action Game Review: Adventure Canoe

Adventure Canoe is a game included in Taito's recent EGRET II Mini tiny arcade console that was a big surprise when the game list was announced. It's such an unknown game that Taito only lists it as having been released "overseas". The only mention of it on the internet was a post asking if anyone else had seen the game and mentioning that the game was available in New Zealand. Because of this, few, if any, people could be expected to have thought this game would be included in Taito's mini console. Yet, here we are.

The game, as the title suggests, has you control a canoe with the joystick. You have a speed up button, and one for shooting a gun from the front. It's actually quite fun, but there's a ton of obstacles, so it can get difficult. Maneuvering around the little islands, incoming logs, and moving river locks is difficult as it is. However, you'll have to be careful of the enemies throwing arrows from the river banks. It's really easy to get stuck in the path of the arrow if you're not careful. 

On the sound side, there's a simple looping background song, and bloops for sound effects such as hitting an obstacle, rowing, shooting, and for logs coming toward you, among other things. It's simple, but for a game released in 1982, they do their job well enough.

As far as shooting goes, you can shoot the logs to get them out of the way, and you can also shoot the animals. The latter is hard for me to do, personally. The graphics are bright and colorful. The animals that appear sometimes on the riverbanks are the most detailed part of the art. They look so cute, I just can't bring myself to shoot at them. There's a lion or a fox just chilling in the grass by the river. The little fox is bopping to the sound of her own rhythm and the lion may roar at you. But, they can't reach you, so I can't bring myself to do it, even if it is just a game. I'm crazy like that sometimes. If you can do it, which I'm sure you can, you'll get bonus points for doing so.

Adventure Canoe is a game that has an easy to understand premise. It's not one of the games from the era that aged particularly well, but it is a fun little bop in small doses. The real draw of this is that it is one of the lesser known game in Taito's arcade library. Before the release of the Egret II Mini, the only mention of the game is from a classic gaming forum where a user from New Zealand asked if anyone else has ever heard of the game. For preservation sake, it is always great to see relatively unknown games get a re-release. It's especially great in this case, as arcade developers don't have a good track record of keeping ROM files of their own games, usually falling to archivists like the contributors to the multiple game emulator MAME to extract them from physical boards found out in the wild. It's great to see this game finally get an official home release for Taito enthusiasts.

Final Verdict:

3 out of 5

Arcade Shoot 'Em Up Video Game Review: Pooyan

 

Pooyan was a unique fixed-screen shoot 'em game by Konami where the player's shots were fired by arrows at the side of the screen compared to the usual games in the genre where the player shots come from the bottom to the top.

The main character is a mama pig who has to protect her piglets from hungry red wolves. She rides an elevator controlled by some of her piglets on a cliff on the right side of the screen. Wolves drop off of the cliff on the left holding balloons. Mama fires arrows at the balloons, causing the wolves to crash down to the bottom. The wolves throw rocks, which cause the mama pig to lose a life if hit directly. If they hit the top of the elevator instead, the rock will drop down.

At certain points, the mama pig can also throw meat to the wolves, which will cause them to get distracted, drop the balloon, and fall down to the ground. The latter will earn the mama pig bonus points. If the wolves reach the bottom in tact, they will run over to the ladder to kill mama pig.

In the next level, it will have a ladder that does not reach the bottom. In this case, the wolves will inflate balloons and rise up toward the cliffside instead. Among the regular wolves, there are also boss wolves that ride up in balloons that have to be hit more than once to pop. There is a rock at the top of the left cliffside, and the wolves will push it down to kill mama pig if they reach the grass on the top.

After the end of every two rounds, mama pig will reach a bonus round. There are two types of bonus rounds. In one, the wolves need to be defeated by only throwing meat. In the other, wolves throw fruits and mama pig will earn points by shooting them.

The game has beeps and boops that act as sound effects for arrows being shot and wolves falling to the bottom. The sound of the popping of the balloon is especially effective, as it sounds just like it does in real life. The music played is a traditional American camp song titled "The Other Day I Met a Bear". While that song sounds similar to the theme song in its contemporary Konami arcade game, Frogger, it doesn't have the wide range of music of that game. What is there does work well for the game, though.

Pooyan is an arcade game with an unusual name and one that is not well known today. It is unique compared to other shoot 'em ups of the time because the player shots come from the side rather than the bottom of the screen. The graphics are cute and colorful, which work well for this type of game. The camp song played in the game also fits the animal hijinks and family-friendly gaming that the game represents. It isn't a classic game, but Pooyan is one that is fun to play if you ever get the chance to do so.

Final Verdict:

3½ out of 5

Arcade Action Game Review: Frogger

 

Frogger is a successful and influential arcade game that was developed by Konami and distributed by Sega/Gremlin in the United States of America.

Like the best games of the 1980s, it is easy to pick up but difficult to master. The goal is to take frogs across a street, across a river, and then onto a lily pad. There are several obstacles in the way, including automobiles, tractor trailers, snakes, and alligators. The latter can also be used as objects to hop onto in the river, much like the logs. However, the gators open their mouths and become a danger to the frog if it comes into contact with the gaping maw. Once all of the lily pads are filled with frogs, the game jumps to the next level.

As the game goes on, the highways become more packed, the river becomes more populated with alligators, and the logs become more filled with snakes. The vehicles also become faster and the river gets quicker. The latter makes it more difficult to jump into lily pads without becoming gator food. The logs also are less able to be stood upon, as when the river takes them beyond the game playfield, the frog loses its life.

The game is packed full of sound. Beyond the bloop sound that is meant to represent the frog's jumps, there are 26 different song fragments played throughout five stages. After that, the stages loop back to the first, albeit much harder than before. The game has an opening jingle, as was common in arcade games of the early 1980s. But, from there, each stage contains music loops. There is also music for restarting a level after dying, completing a level, and getting a game over. Beyond that, there are a ton of songs that play when a frog has arrived home on a lily pad, with a total of 20 different song fragments used. This was definitely a very lively arcade game, and the variety of songs kept it from feeling too repetitive.

Frogger is a great arcade game that inspired many clones and competitors. It's also one of those games that stood the test of time. There are a ton of frogger clones on various app stores, showing the longevity of the concept. It's very easy to pick up, and super addictive. There's tons of music too, which helps the game remain fun way into the era of constant music in most video game soundtracks. It's likely you've at least come across a clone, but if you haven't played the original, you owe it to yourself to give Frogger a try.

Final Verdict:

5 out of 5

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Boycott

Rock Paper Shotgun has a story about the contents of Yakuza Kiwami 3: Dark Ties that is frankly disgusting.

"Kanda, upon discovering he doesn’t have enough cash to buy time with a sex worker, grabs an unsuspecting woman in the street and drags her off to an alley. Mine finds him gripping the terrified woman by the wrists. As part of Kanda and Mine’s arrangement, the former tasks you with leading a PR campaign to boost his reputation in the community, via a minigame dubbed "Kanda Damage Control"."

I was going to delay buying Yakuza 3 Kiwami and play it ten years down the road for Dark Ties. But, I can't even stomach this. Not just as a woman who experienced sexual assault herself, but as a decent human being. 

This is more than tone deaf considering the controversy surrounding Teruyuki Kagawa. He sexually assaulted at least two hostesses. He admitted to the first and was caught on camera for the second. There has been a boycott for this game since Kagawa was announced to be playing Goh Hamazaki in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Dies and Ryu Ga Gotoku and Sega have not handled it well. They have been limiting, filtering, and removing posts protesting the recasting, supporting the hostesses, and carrying the #REMOVEKAGAWA hashtag on social media.

There is a petition on change.org to replace Kagawa, but in light of the blood-curdling sick minigame it is just not enough.

I don't know why anyone would think this is OK. If this game goes out without any real backlash, I'm going to quit playing Ryu Ga Gotoku games altogether. I'm sure everyone here knows how big a fan of the series I am, but this is just beyond creepy and misogynistic - it makes me sick, metaphorically and literally. I'm sitting here with a pit in my stomach just typing this.

Arcade Maze Game Shoot 'Em Up Compilation Review: Namco 20 Year Reunion: Ms. Pac-Man / Galaga - Class of 1981

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of two of their most popular games, Namco released a cabinet that combined both of them on one printed circuit board. However, like automobiles, it was released in the year before the date listed. It's the release from September 2000, Namco 20 Year Reunion: Ms. Pac-Man / Galaga: Class of 1981.

Both of the games are sequels to popular games that improved upon their predecessors and became classics in their own right. Galaga is the sequel to Galaxian. It featured colorful bug-shaped enemies which had multiple forms of formations as well as attacks. The most unique part of this game was the enemy type which would beam the player ship up and away from the game area. If the player successfully destroyed the enemy, the captured ship would join the current ship to become a double fighter or triple fighter, depending on the amount of ships combined.

Ms. Pac-Man is the first sequel of Namco's popular Pac-Man. It expanded upon the original by having different maze shapes rather than just different colors and bonus fruit that would bounce along the maze rather than just sit in the middle. It was designed by General Computer Corporation as a Pac-Man conversion kit named Crazy Otto. The designers pitched the game to the company that held the American distribution rights to Pac-Man, Midway Manufacturing. Midway liked the game, purchased the rights, and worked with Namco to rework the game into a proper Pac-Man sequel.

This arcade compilation has the dubious reputation of setting off a series of lawsuits relating to the rights of Ms. Pac-Man. GCC claimed they were not paid the residuals that they were stipulated to earn in their agreement with Midway Manufacturing back in the 1980s. This led to a complicated rights battle that would become even more complicated after GCC was disestablished in 2015 and AtGames bought its rights to residuals for the games the former designed for Midway.

Ms. Pac-Man is now no longer included in Namco Museum and Pac-Man compilations, and the character of Ms. Pac-Man is now portrayed by other Pac women, the latest of which is known as Pac Mom. Because GCC also created Jr. Pac-Man, that character has also been replaced by Pac Boy. Midway developed Baby Pac-Man, so that character is now replaced by Pac Sis. It's a really odd situation that has resulted in retro games being edited in re-releases and remakes.

Class of 1981 also includes an awesome easter egg. It's one that I always use when I find the cabinet out in the wild, as even though I prefer Ms. Pac-Man, its fun to play a game not noted on the marquee. If you use a specific combination of joystick moves. If you turn the joystick up, up, up, down, down, down, left, right, left, right, left at the game selection screen, the red ghost Blinky will change into the pink ghost Pinky. Selecting Ms. Pac-Man will now play the original Pac-Man instead.

Namco 20 Year Reunion: Ms. Pac-Man / Galaga: Class of 1981 is a fun compilation of Namco maze games and shoot 'em ups, including Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, and the hidden game Pac-Man. Arcade1Up also has a stand up machine and a countercade that has the name of this compilation, but it includes a different third game, or more in the case of the stand up cabinet because it does not include the Class of 1981 PCB. The games are classics that are still fun to play, and this is a great way to experience them if you ever come across the 20 Year Reunion arcade cabinet.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Choices-and-Consequences Management Simulator: Dispatch - Episode 2: Onboard Review

Dispatch: Episode 2 - Onboard was released with the first episode when Dispatch premiered. Whereas Pivot, the first episode, set up Robert's new position as a superhero dispatcher, Onboard is the episode where his job really starts going.

As a new dispatcher, Robert is given the Z-Team. It consists of the most volatile superpowered people, who are former criminals turned superheroes. The team consists of a literal bat man known as Sonar, a fire starter named Flambae who was one of the villains Robert took down as Mecha Man, a cynical woman with the power of invisibilty known as Invisigal, a strongman known as Punch Up, a female demon named Melevola, a monster made of clay named Golem, a woman who can control light waves named Prism, and a winged woman named Coupé.

As before, Robert sends these heroes out to stop crimes and help various people throughout the city, which advances their experience based on how well they handled the situation. The choices and consequences part of the game has to do with Robert's interactions with his team as well as the staff at the Superhero Dispatch Network.

The team members are an eclectic bunch that are voiced well by their respective voice actors. The team member that really get to shine this episode is Invisigal. Laura Bailey really nails her sardonic attitude. The returning characters also continue to be voiced excellently by their voice actors. Blonde Blazer and her boyfriend Phenomaman get their characters fleshed out more here, especially with the tension between the pair and Robert. There are two of my favorite new characters revealed in this episode. The first is Chase, a quickster prematurely aged by his powers who worked with Robert's dad and a young man applying to be a janitor named Waterboy. The former is a hilarious man whose personality is packed with snark and the latter is a nervous but eager young man who is always wet. It really brings sweating over an interview to a new level.

The other end of the aural experience is sound effects, which are once again fitting for each situation, and music. The latter continues to shine, with a soundtrack that really fits the superhero genre as well as the office comedy genre, in equal measures.

Onboard takes everything that the premiere episode did right and expands upon it. The management simulation aspect works well, but the choices and consequences part of the episode really shine. The characters have some great quirks and their voice actors all do a great job bringing out their personalities. The music also fits both the superhero and mundane parts of the episodes, but the story is where it really shines. The characters, as an eclectic batch of battle tested heroes and villains trying to reform lead to some interesting interactions. With this episode really turning up the heat, both metaphorically and literally, it will be great to see where future episodes take the game.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Happy February!

I can't believe it is already the 1st of February. But, even more than that, I can't believe that I actually managed to create a review for every day of January. Well, I made 32 reviews actually, since I when I reviewed Neuro-sama's Life music video, I felt that I should make a video game review that day as well.

I'm going to keep trying to make reviews for every day, at least until I burn out. Hopefully I don't, but we'll see.

On a better note, I started adding screenshots to my previous reviews. I can't say I'll update all of them, as I checked the reviews and surprised myself with how much I've made over the past 30 years. I still can't believe it's been that long. That's positively ancient in internet time.