Hey guys, this is CD AGES' first RDC review. I know it says comradesnarky as the author, but it's not mine. We just haven't gotten him set up with a blogger account yet.
Original release:
Japan: March 30, 2000
North America: June 29, 2000
Europe: July 16, 2000
Game Details:
1-2 Players
VMU enabled
Standard Controller
Arcade Stick
Jump Pak enabled
VGA Box
Gameplay
"Select Your Heores...!"
Select a team of 3 from a massive roster of 56 total characters representing both Marvel and Capcom favorites like Strider, Ryu, Thanos, Sabertooth, with premiere appearances from Cable, SonSon, and Jill Valentine to name a few.
"Select Your Assist Type...!"
Select from 3 unique assist types for each character, affecting how your team members will aid and support each other in battle (This is a MAJOR aspect in high level gameplay so experiment and choose wisely).
"Cool Decision...!"
Fight through 7 AI controlled teams to finally face the Boss (Arcade Mode). Other modes include Versus, Training, Score Attack and Secret Factor (a shop where you can exchange your currency earned through playtime in return for unlocking half of the roster as well as additional colors for all characters and addition stages). Controls take a major departure from the Street Fighter's traditional 3 Strength system in favour of a 2 strength system with an assist button taliored to each member of a team. This new button scheme not only makes the game comforatble to play on a standard DC controller, it also makes the game more accessible for newcomers. Capcom expands on the formula of the renowned VS. series with 3 man tag battles (as oppose to 2), and make great strides in expanding the assist mechanic first introduced in MSHvsSF. New features added include a fitting cancel system (cancel specials into hypers on the fly), a delayed hyper combo system that allows you link all 3 characters Hyper combo into one another for serious damage, and last but not least, the dreaded Snapback feature that allows the user to force tag an opponents support member onscreen.Additional mechanics that have been a staple to the series like push blocking, hyper hops, dashes and magic series combos are all accounted for in this installment.
Storyline
"The Chronicles of Battle Will Now Unfold, This is...!"
When doomful shadow covers hope, warriors join. In search of the Abyss, which is suppose to bring BLAH BLAH! The real story, Capcom still has the rights from Marvel Comics to milk the VS. series one more time. At their disposal is the best arcade hardware in the form of Sega's marvelous NAOMI hardware, and with that the once in a lifetime opportunity to recycle just about every sprite ever designed, over a decade of Capcom fighting titles milked for all its glory, all bundled with some of the most ridiculous fighting mechanics ever conceived. Unethical and immoral...perhaps. A recipe for success...Absolutely!!!
Graphics
"Get Ready to Kick butt, Engage...!"
The games visuals and presentation are a result of the games arcade roots. As mentioned, the game was originally developed for the NAOMI hardware (an equivalent to a more powerful Dreamcast) so the conversion process to the DC is nothing short of perfection. While the character sprites don't benefit from the powerful hardware, everything surrounding these pixelated pugilists Do! The HUD is crystal clear, the hit sparks as well as special effects are
overhauled. More obvious though, every background stage is in 3D, displaying in beautiful 640x480 resolution. Playing in VGA mode may make the character sprites looks more terrible, but the overall picture onscreen looks ultra sharp and vividly colorful (Worth it for the latter if you ask me).
Sound
"Oh Man, I Almost Had Heart Attack There...!"
Here's where the game throws you a massive curve ball! While the sound effects are adequate and typical fighting game fare, they are drowned by the games soundtrack which is composed of purely jazzy inspired tunes coupled with likewise harmonious vocals that in no way compliment the games blistering pace and visuals. It's almost as if Capcom consciously chose the most unfitting music genre for this game! What other reason can there be!
Conclusion
"Don't give Up, Challenge Again...!"
It's been 12 years since it's release to the gaming world but MVC2 has obtained not only a cult status among fighting game enthusiasts, but also a longevity that I personally feel has yet to be toppled (due to its long overdue sequel lacking those arcade roots that served its younger sibling so well). After countless ports on other consoles, the Dreamcast version of MVC2 remains unanimously at the top without question. While it may lack the style and finesse of Soul Calibur, or the deep technical values of 3rd Strike, it's sheer replay value is unrivaled when mixed with the proper community.
8.5/10
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
ADK World (NEO4ALL) Review
Original release:
The following game was not officially released for Sega Dreamcast. It is emulated using NEO4ALL RC-4 developed by chui. This is an evaluation of the emulation of the game as well as the game itself.
Using Team RDC's release you can play this game as though it is a commercial game with only a brief loading screen.
November 10th, 1995
Game details:
1-2 players
Standard controller
VGA box
The following game was not officially released for Sega Dreamcast. It is emulated using NEO4ALL RC-4 developed by chui. This is an evaluation of the emulation of the game as well as the game itself.
Using Team RDC's release you can play this game as though it is a commercial game with only a brief loading screen.
Emulation
It's all good here since there's not much going on in the game. There's some graphical issues in the background of one of the stages in the 19YY minigame though.
Review
I'm just going to lump everything together here, because there's not much to say about this disc. It's an ADK fan disc which has some mini games and a whole lot of Japanese text. There's two mini games that you can play. One is called 19YY which takes the form of a side scrolling shmup. It's not very fun. There's also ADK Dome which is a card battle fighting game. It's basically rock, paper, scissors as far as I could tell. This isn't terribly fun either.
The main draw of this disc seems to be an abundance of information on ADK games as well as what appears to be some fan art. If you don't have any Japanese in your language arsenal, I'd pass on this. I don't feel comfortable giving this a review score since I can't understand 99% of it. The mini games don't make it worth a play though. I suppose the best recommendation is to proceed if you're curious.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Last Blade (NEO4ALL) Review
Original release:
The following game was not officially released for Sega Dreamcast. It is emulated using NEO4ALL RC-4 developed by chui. This is an evaluation of the emulation of the game as well as the game itself.
Using Team RDC's release you can play this game as though it is a commercial game with only a brief loading screen.
December 5th, 1997 (Arcade)
Game details:
1-2 Players
Standard Controller
VGA Box
Using Team RDC's release you can play this game as though it is a commercial game with only a brief loading screen.
Emulation
The Last Blade is emulated very well, which is impressive considering that it came later in the life of the Neo Geo CD. The gameplay is smooth, but there are several loading times before and after matches. Thankfully they have no impact on gameplay.
Gameplay
Ah, the Last Blade. The black sheep of the SNK fighting games which the hardcore speak of in hushed tones… sort of reminds me of a little game called Street Fighter III. It's actually a very fair comparison. The Last Blade features a kind of parry system (though it's much easier to execute than in SFIII) which can make for some pretty cool sword fights. There's also a choice of style for each character of either speed or power. The implications of each of those are pretty obvious, so I shouldn't need to elaborate. It's an interesting idea and it allows players to tune characters to their own personal style. These additional systems can make the game more interesting for hardcore players, and due to their simple implementation be utilized by novice players as well.
Storyline
Graphics
The Last Blade really shines with its graphics. The backgrounds are excellent and convey the intended time period very nicely. The same care has been put into the characters, who animate nicely and have details far greater than what is put into the other SNK series.
Sound
It conveys the time period I suppose, but I don't think it's likely that too many of you will be getting the songs stuck in your head and seeking out a soundtrack CD.
Conclusion
Maybe I'm just Capcom biased, but it seems to me that The Last Blade still has the same pitfalls as other SNK fighters. There's still not a lot of depth to this game, even with the added systems. It definitely makes it one of the best SNK fighters, but the game never quite achieves what it could have. This sounds negative, but it's not really. I like the game and think it could have achieved more with a bit more development time. There's always the second game though…
9.0/10
Marvel vs. Capcom Review
Original release:
Japan: March 25th, 1999
North America: September 9th, 1999
Europe: February 17th, 2000
Game details:
1-4 Players
VMU Compatible
Jump Pack Compatible
Standard Controller
Arcade Stick
VGA Box
Gameplay
This is an interesting one. I'm mostly only familiar with the later MVC games, so I'll give you my perspective from there (it's likely that it's the same for most people). MVC isn't wildly different from later entries in the series, but what is different makes a pretty big impression. One of the biggest differences is that there is no way for you to select your assist partner without a cheat. This can mean you'll be fighting alone, or you were incredibly lucky and kicking all kinds of ass. Some of you may be confused by not being able to select your assist partner; this is still a tag team game. Your tag team partner cannot come out and assist you at your whim like in MVC2 and 3. Only your randomly selected assist partner can.
The next thing to note is that the roster is incredibly slim. If I recall correctly, there's only about 15 characters with WAY more assist characters than playable characters. With only 15 characters, the game can get old pretty fast. If you're new to this particular entry, it'll probably keep you interested for an afternoon or two while exploring all of the changes. There's not a lot of holding power here, though. It would be great if MVC2 didn't exist, but it does and that has to be accounted for.
Storyline
This storyline takes place in the Marvel continuity, specifically in the clusterfuck-tacular Onslaught event. So, meh. At least it's not a clusterfuck on the scale of Civil War, I guess.
Graphics
This is a big old mixed bag, which shouldn't be too shocking for anyone familiar with the early entries in the vs. series. The Capcom sprites are generally of pretty low quality since they just ripped them out of other games. The Marvel sprites, on the other hand, are rather well done with a level of detail you'd expect for the time. I'm particularly fond of the backgrounds, which look exactly like something that would come out of a Marvel comic in that time period. Backgrounds are definitely something that MVC has over MVC2.
Sound
Another point for MVC against MVC2. It's not the best music, but at least we're not being taken for a ride. Or sipping brandy in a hotel lounge or something…
Conclusion
Marvel vs. Capcom will be a good distraction for those of us who love Capcom fighters, but maybe missed out on one or two of them and is curious. If you don't have any interest in the vs. series, then it's probably not for you. If you're a fan of MVC2, it's worth an investigation.
8.0/10
Sega Bass Fishing Review
Original release
Japan: April 1st, 1999
North America: September 9th, 1999
Europe: October 14th, 1999
Game details
1 Player
VMU Compatible
Jump Pack Compatible
Standard Controller
Fishing Controller
VGA Box
Gameplay
Sega Bass Fishing is unsurprisingly a little limited in its scope, especially since it began life as an arcade game. You'll find a spot in the area you're finishing in that you want to cast out to, reel in your lure a little to attract a fish, and then bring in the fish. Rinse and repeat. There are several different lures to choose from, but unfortunately this doesn't bring a large amount of strategy into the game. There's usually so many fish around that at least one of them will think your current lure looks pretty good. The only time that any strategy actually comes into it is when you've reached the final area of arcade mode, where you're tasked with catching a "super bass." There's only a few of them, and they seem to take your lure choice pretty seriously. Unfortunately, this is the only time you're required to choose carefully. Once you land a super bass, the game is over.
That's about the story of this arcade port. It's just too little. There's really not enough here; what's here isn't bad. It's more like too little of a good thing. With some modifications to the arcade style (maybe removing the time limit, it just gets annoying), then this could be a really excellent game. As it stands, it's just sort of alright. Removing the time limit would also have made the game much better because load times are excruciatingly long. Who knows why the hell it takes so long to resume your game right where it ended.
Graphics
Sega Bass Fishing certainly has some great graphics. There's some nice reflections on the surface of the water, and the fish are intricately detailed. I did notice some slowdown occasionally, but this isn't too shocking considering it was an early Dreamcast game. It would've been nice to have some particle effects like some dirt coming off of the bottom of the lake when the lure hits, but I suppose we can't have it all.
Sound
If you know Sega arcade games, then you know what to expect here. Cheap sounding music and an announcer who huffed some paint before recording his lines. It's a beautiful disaster.
Conclusion
Sega Bass Fishing is definitely worth a play. It's a good time killer, but don't expect much more than that. It's purely an arcade game, and you'll only find replay value in it if you absolutely want to continuously better your score. Unfortunately, I didn't have a fishing controller to play this with, but I'm positive that wagging your arms around would make this a better experience.
7.8/10
Monday, January 16, 2012
Wind & Water: Puzzle Battles Review
Game Details:
1-2 Players
Standard Controller
Arcade Stick
VGA Compatible
VMU (4 Blocks)
Gameplay:
When you first start this nice little Indie game it gives the option of either English or Japanese for language choices. Then you are brought to a colorful intro screen and asked for your name. Once it is input you have three modes of game play and I will try to explain each for you now.
Story - Now this is my favorite part as it has a cute anime story line that actually uses the developers names in the game. It has hints of RPG melded into a quirky puzzle game much like the hit game that came on everyone's Xbox 360 HDD Hexic. You move around and choose levels much like one did in Super Mario Bros. 3 on the NES with sprites that are very similar. The first couple levels you are tuning your Wind & Water skills for battle at the tournament coming up soon. I don't want to go to much more into detail as I don't want to ruin the game play for you but I did want to leave you wanting more so now feels like a good time to stop and move to the next style of game play.
Arcade Mode - Yep you guessed it, this is much like the game play aspect of the story mode. If you just want a quick play or just don't want to be fussed with the leveling up of story mode then this is the mode for you. Again a very basic clone of Hexic almost but none the less still a good game. The objective is to rotate the "elements" into a pattern that causes four of them to unite and explode thus dropping new blocks and adding to the fun. Over time the speed increases and hopefully so does yours or you are toast and it's game over.
Puzzle - This mode is much like the arcade mode but you have limited turns to complete the puzzle in or it is game over, back to the beginning and time to hone your skills. Not much else to say about this mode other then it can be addictive and hard at times.
There is also a mode called "Tutorial" that does just what it says, it will show you the basic game play. It also gives you a look inside on how to pull off chains and combos to really perfect your game play.
Graphics -
The game isn't a visual powerhouse but the frantic game play doesn't really allow you to see anything other then the puzzle at hand. I can say that they did go all out really for a independent game. It has a really neat intro video, a kind of insight into how the game was developed from a retro pixelated aspect, and bright vibrant colors make for a unique experience for puzzle and Dreamcast fans alike.
Your time is at the top and the left side shows your character that actually interacts once you achieve a combo/chain etc. In the two player mode you poke back and forth to the other character each time you score, the bigger the score the more "in your face" the dis really is and made my us laugh during testing. The right side shows your combo gauge, hi score, current score, level, and difficulty. The bottom shows your "Attack" & "Defense" levels as well.
Sound -
The sound is amazingly dynamic sounds that accurately portray the story elegantly. It intensifies as you mess up or a challenger has fired back with a big chain. I really enjoyed it as there was a nice mixture of sounds from the normal traditional sound of a Japanese game to the electric sound of the distinct American sounding guitar riffs.
Conclusion -
The game starts with a quote "It all starts with a pixel", we were really treated to a gem of a game well after the Dreamcast official demise and I suggest that this game be in everyone's library. Support third party developers guys so we can see more great games like this come in to fruition. This game is what the independent scene is about. Not a stupid SHMUP game as much as I love them but a quirky, fun, while still being a addictive & obsessive puzzle slash RPG game hybrid.
9.5/10
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Geist Force is almost here!
I just got news that Assembler, from Assembler games forum has gotten word the beta of the unreleased Dreamcast game arrived at the presses and he should have the shipment in the mail next week!
You can view the thread here.
Geist Force is the game everybody has be anxiously awaiting since news that the unreleased game was found by an Ex Sega employee April last year. It was sold to a user of Assembler forums that goes by the name Legit. Sadly the first beta that was sold from an entirely different individual was scuffed beyond repair.
Fast forward a few weeks later and another Ex Sega employee found a better version of the game tucked away in his collection. Another purchase was in order to acquire the disc for the masses, so a group purchase was made with donors getting limited edition disc's pressed and made with custom covers and inlays.
After all donors get their copies, the game will be made available for free to download for anybody with a Dreamcast or Dreamcast PC emulator to play. This may take a month, as the people that made this release possible do deserve to get their monies worth before the rest of us get to play it.
I unfortunately didn't donate towards this game, times have been rough sadly.
Oh well, not much more longer folks!
I will leave you with a video of the game running on the Dreamcast Emulator for PC called NullDC.
You can view the thread here.
Geist Force is the game everybody has be anxiously awaiting since news that the unreleased game was found by an Ex Sega employee April last year. It was sold to a user of Assembler forums that goes by the name Legit. Sadly the first beta that was sold from an entirely different individual was scuffed beyond repair.
Fast forward a few weeks later and another Ex Sega employee found a better version of the game tucked away in his collection. Another purchase was in order to acquire the disc for the masses, so a group purchase was made with donors getting limited edition disc's pressed and made with custom covers and inlays.
After all donors get their copies, the game will be made available for free to download for anybody with a Dreamcast or Dreamcast PC emulator to play. This may take a month, as the people that made this release possible do deserve to get their monies worth before the rest of us get to play it.
I unfortunately didn't donate towards this game, times have been rough sadly.
Oh well, not much more longer folks!
I will leave you with a video of the game running on the Dreamcast Emulator for PC called NullDC.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Last Hope: Pink Bullets Review
Original release:
Worldwide: September 9, 2009 (Happy birthday Dreamcast fans!)
Game details:
1 Player
VMU Compatible
Standard controller
Arcade stick
VGA Box (240p)
Conclusion
While not the best homebrew game we have seen for our beloved Dreamcast it still provides hours of fun with a high replay value for any fan but don’t expect it to stand well along side of some of the shooters the system has to offer from its retail library. If you enjoy the feel of a retro SHMUP (think Gradius) then this will be a title you will enjoy thoroughly. Take it for what it is an excellent retro homebrew SHMUP with a third party release.
7/10
Worldwide: September 9, 2009 (Happy birthday Dreamcast fans!)
Game details:
1 Player
VMU Compatible
Standard controller
Arcade stick
VGA Box (240p)
It's atreyu187's first Dreamcast review! We posted it under my account since he doesn't have one set up. Send all love his way, though.
Gameplay
Well here is my first review for the RDC team so go easy on me folks. This like all Neo Geo to Dreamcast ports doesn't take full advantage of the Dreamcast hardware. Does that make the game any less fun? Not in my opinion; as a Dreamcast fan I am used to not having the best graphics but the gameplay is here for tons of enjoyment. Keep in mind this is a homebrew port no less, but it does a good job of providing some good ol' fashion SHMUP fun. There are two ways to get multipliers in this game. The first is of course using your pod to absorb “Pink Bullets” and the second is by using your beam charge by holding “A” button with “X” button being repeat fire. A little more on your pod is that it not only absorbs bullets but it also can be used as a gun as well. It rotates with the trigger buttons in a 360° angle giving you the ability to return fire from behind, above or below. Also in this version the difficulty has been adjusted so that even the novice SHMUP fan can finally enjoy. Combine that with a few extra credits and you might be able to complete the game this time around.
Storyline
Well like most our Neo Geo emulation releases on the Dreamcast there isn’t much of a story line. The only storyline I can find is in the manual and it is Japanese so there isn’t much I can tell about that. What I can do is quote the features from the NG:Dev Team as Pink Bullets adds nice features that simply were not in the original release like use of the arcade stick, VGA support, and now Hi-Scores are saved.
” All Versions
Free 360° rotary protection unit for shooting and dodging enemy fire
Six stages
Handdrawn NEO·GEO style backgrounds
Fully animated CGI enemies
Superb video game style soundtrack
Constant 60 fps with up to 4 parallax layers
Lighting FX
Smooth plasma FX
Pink Bullets specific Features
Six credits and instant respawn during one credit
Higher player ship speed from beginning
Players ship does permanently equip the Rotary Protection Unit
Protection unit itself can destroy enemies
Five difficulty settings
Overall less hard difficulty
Altered stage color theme for higher Visibility
Advanced scoring system, with beam chaining multiplier/combo meter
Pink enemy bullets
Arcade Stick, VMU and VGA support”
Graphics
Well what can I say? This by no means pushes the Dreamcast to its limits even by homebrew games standards. Looking at a game like DUX even makes this games GFX look weak but this is expected when porting from an inferior system as with all direct ports. Pink Bullets at least enables VGA support this time around though it is only 240p but I can tell you this version is leaps above its standard counterpart with new backgrounds and “Pink Bullets” you can actually see this time around. The standard version had bad visibility problems and made the bullets near impossible. All in all the game still has solid hand drawn sprites that will satisfy and retro gamer.
Sound
The soundtrack is great in this game and blends well with the frantic gameplay later in the stages. All CDDA for this release is 100% intact and sounding phenomenal with crisp highs and deep bass especially during the later stages when the difficulty picks up.
Gameplay
Well here is my first review for the RDC team so go easy on me folks. This like all Neo Geo to Dreamcast ports doesn't take full advantage of the Dreamcast hardware. Does that make the game any less fun? Not in my opinion; as a Dreamcast fan I am used to not having the best graphics but the gameplay is here for tons of enjoyment. Keep in mind this is a homebrew port no less, but it does a good job of providing some good ol' fashion SHMUP fun. There are two ways to get multipliers in this game. The first is of course using your pod to absorb “Pink Bullets” and the second is by using your beam charge by holding “A” button with “X” button being repeat fire. A little more on your pod is that it not only absorbs bullets but it also can be used as a gun as well. It rotates with the trigger buttons in a 360° angle giving you the ability to return fire from behind, above or below. Also in this version the difficulty has been adjusted so that even the novice SHMUP fan can finally enjoy. Combine that with a few extra credits and you might be able to complete the game this time around.
Storyline
Well like most our Neo Geo emulation releases on the Dreamcast there isn’t much of a story line. The only storyline I can find is in the manual and it is Japanese so there isn’t much I can tell about that. What I can do is quote the features from the NG:Dev Team as Pink Bullets adds nice features that simply were not in the original release like use of the arcade stick, VGA support, and now Hi-Scores are saved.
” All Versions
Free 360° rotary protection unit for shooting and dodging enemy fire
Six stages
Handdrawn NEO·GEO style backgrounds
Fully animated CGI enemies
Superb video game style soundtrack
Constant 60 fps with up to 4 parallax layers
Lighting FX
Smooth plasma FX
Pink Bullets specific Features
Six credits and instant respawn during one credit
Higher player ship speed from beginning
Players ship does permanently equip the Rotary Protection Unit
Protection unit itself can destroy enemies
Five difficulty settings
Overall less hard difficulty
Altered stage color theme for higher Visibility
Advanced scoring system, with beam chaining multiplier/combo meter
Pink enemy bullets
Arcade Stick, VMU and VGA support”
Graphics
Well what can I say? This by no means pushes the Dreamcast to its limits even by homebrew games standards. Looking at a game like DUX even makes this games GFX look weak but this is expected when porting from an inferior system as with all direct ports. Pink Bullets at least enables VGA support this time around though it is only 240p but I can tell you this version is leaps above its standard counterpart with new backgrounds and “Pink Bullets” you can actually see this time around. The standard version had bad visibility problems and made the bullets near impossible. All in all the game still has solid hand drawn sprites that will satisfy and retro gamer.
Sound
The soundtrack is great in this game and blends well with the frantic gameplay later in the stages. All CDDA for this release is 100% intact and sounding phenomenal with crisp highs and deep bass especially during the later stages when the difficulty picks up.
Conclusion
While not the best homebrew game we have seen for our beloved Dreamcast it still provides hours of fun with a high replay value for any fan but don’t expect it to stand well along side of some of the shooters the system has to offer from its retail library. If you enjoy the feel of a retro SHMUP (think Gradius) then this will be a title you will enjoy thoroughly. Take it for what it is an excellent retro homebrew SHMUP with a third party release.
7/10
Hanagumi Taisen Columns II Review
Original release:
Japan: January 6, 2000
Game details:
1-2 Players
Standard controller
VMU compatible
Jump Pack compatible
VGA box
Keyboard
Gameplay
Some of you may have heard of Columns. If you're a collector, you might even have it. It was released for the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive in 1990. 10 years later, a sequel is released. It's not an ordinary sequel. It has a Hanagumi Taisen (Sakura Wars) theme to it. And, of course, it's in Japanese. Fortunately, it doesn't affect the game since, well, it's a Columns game. But it's a little frustrating in the menus. But, I'm going to put that aside and speak about the gameplay itself.
Hanagumi Taisen Columns II is a mediocre game. It features the same style as the original Columns, but unfortunately they decided to add new elements to it. Sometimes that's a good thing. In this case it's a bad thing. They added the option to play as different characters, you can use special attacks on your opponent and there's a story mode. All of this was featured in the first Hanagumi Taisen Columns. It's just so unnecessary to add these things into a Columns game. What I love about the original Columns is that you could pick it up and play at any time. No story mode, no characters and no special attacks. Columns isn't supposed to be an RPG. I feel like they wanted to bring in some more cash so they released a game that is based on Hanagumi Taisen. And Hanagumi Taisen was huge back then in Japan. That pretty much explains why it was only released in Japan. It does feature some hentai which makes the game a little better.
Storyline
As I said before, it features a story mode. The difference between the arcade mode and the story mode is that you get to see some ”cutscenes” after each round. If you're a Hanagumi Taisen fan you'll probably know the story already.
Graphics
What can I say about the graphics in this kind of game? They're certainly better than the original Columns. The blocks look a lot better, which they should. The background art during the rounds look great. Here's where you see the hentai. Makes you forget about the game too...
Jokes aside, the graphics aren't impressive. I understand that there's not much you can do in a 2D puzzle game. But they could've used their imagination. Add some cool graphics instead of the story mode.
Sound
The music is actually really good! They probably put a lot of effort to it, considering the rest of the game. Although, the Japanese voices kind of ruin it for me. But, still, the music is great!
Conclusion
If you're fan of Hanagumi Taisen you'll most certainly be able to play it. If you can speak Japanese, even better! But if you don't know about Hanagumi Taisen, or Japanese for that matter, you won't enjoy this. If you've got nothing, I mean nothing, else to do. Pick this up. Well, pick it up if you don't have any games at all.
3.5/10
Japan: January 6, 2000
Game details:
1-2 Players
Standard controller
VMU compatible
Jump Pack compatible
VGA box
Keyboard
Gameplay
Some of you may have heard of Columns. If you're a collector, you might even have it. It was released for the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive in 1990. 10 years later, a sequel is released. It's not an ordinary sequel. It has a Hanagumi Taisen (Sakura Wars) theme to it. And, of course, it's in Japanese. Fortunately, it doesn't affect the game since, well, it's a Columns game. But it's a little frustrating in the menus. But, I'm going to put that aside and speak about the gameplay itself.
Hanagumi Taisen Columns II is a mediocre game. It features the same style as the original Columns, but unfortunately they decided to add new elements to it. Sometimes that's a good thing. In this case it's a bad thing. They added the option to play as different characters, you can use special attacks on your opponent and there's a story mode. All of this was featured in the first Hanagumi Taisen Columns. It's just so unnecessary to add these things into a Columns game. What I love about the original Columns is that you could pick it up and play at any time. No story mode, no characters and no special attacks. Columns isn't supposed to be an RPG. I feel like they wanted to bring in some more cash so they released a game that is based on Hanagumi Taisen. And Hanagumi Taisen was huge back then in Japan. That pretty much explains why it was only released in Japan. It does feature some hentai which makes the game a little better.
Storyline
As I said before, it features a story mode. The difference between the arcade mode and the story mode is that you get to see some ”cutscenes” after each round. If you're a Hanagumi Taisen fan you'll probably know the story already.
Graphics
What can I say about the graphics in this kind of game? They're certainly better than the original Columns. The blocks look a lot better, which they should. The background art during the rounds look great. Here's where you see the hentai. Makes you forget about the game too...
Jokes aside, the graphics aren't impressive. I understand that there's not much you can do in a 2D puzzle game. But they could've used their imagination. Add some cool graphics instead of the story mode.
Sound
The music is actually really good! They probably put a lot of effort to it, considering the rest of the game. Although, the Japanese voices kind of ruin it for me. But, still, the music is great!
Conclusion
If you're fan of Hanagumi Taisen you'll most certainly be able to play it. If you can speak Japanese, even better! But if you don't know about Hanagumi Taisen, or Japanese for that matter, you won't enjoy this. If you've got nothing, I mean nothing, else to do. Pick this up. Well, pick it up if you don't have any games at all.
3.5/10
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