1. Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (PCE-CD)
2. Mega Bomberman (GEN)
3. Lost in Shadow (Wii)
4. Kirby's Dream Land (via Wii Dream Collection) (GB)
5. Kirby's Dream Land 2 (via Wii Dream Collection) (GB)
6. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (via Wii Dream Collection) (SNES)
7. Saturn Bomberman (SAT)
8. Rent a Hero (GEN)
9. Tricolore Crise (DC)
10. Super Mario: Yoshi Island (SFC)
11. Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchou no Daibouken (Joukan) (SAT)
12. Mickey to Donald: Magical Adventure 3 (SFC)
13. Kishin Douji Zenki: Battle Raiden (SFC)
14. Super Donkey Kong (SFC)
15. Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy (SFC)
16. Anearth Fantasy Stories: First Volume (SAT)
17. Panzer Dragoon (SAT)
18. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (SAT)
19. Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBOX)
20. Cross Tantei Monogatari
21. Dragon Quest V (PS2)
22. Ryu ga Gotoku (PS2)
23. Dragon Slayer: Eiyuu Densetsu II (GEN)
24. Rokudenashi Blues: Taiketsu! Tokyo Shitennou (SFC)
25. Ranma 1/2: Bakuretsu Rantou Hen (SFC)
26. Contra Spirits (SFC)
Rokudenashi Blues is kind of an interesting game. There are two versus modes--PvP, and PvC--but the main draw is probably the story mode. It plays basically like an adventure game, with six (might have been seven, actually) boss fights at the end of each chapter. Oddly, the last boss, who was supposed to be this bad-ass who was breaking peoples ribs, and hospitalizing all the other Shitennou, was the easiest in the game, and far easier than the two before him. The game is based on a Shuukan Shounen Jump manga series, that ran for about ten years. I don't know anything about that, but the story in the game starts about from zero, where the main character, Maeda, is being reinstated as a high school freshman, after being suspended in his first few days at the school. All together, the story follows Maeda through all three years of high school, and I would assume it's summarizing all, or most, of the major arcs in the manga. The adventure portions of the game can be a little annoying, just because the game often requires one to move back and forth between a handful of screens, and often makes the player go back to a screen she just came from.
I kind of enjoyed the story, even though it was presented in a very choppy, condensed manner. I found it funny at times, and I especially enjoyed how they kept having Maeda punch this longer haired student council member in the face--sometimes before he's even said anything--because he's always sticking his nose into Maeda's business. At one point in the game, when I threw a can that was on the ground, it hit the student council kid off screen, and as he comes in to reprimand Maeda, he got socked in the face. That had to be my favorite running gag.
So there are a number of times when the player can interact with some things in the background, or on the ground, like drinking something in a can that's been left on the street, eating some bread left in a trash can, or picking up a dirty magazine/elicit photos, but this usually either drops Maeda's health, or his anger level. So, this is as good a time as any to mention the fighting aspect of the game. It's not terrible, but it's not especially involved, either. There's a standard back for block, low block, and up to jump configuration, and two main attack buttons (punch and kick). There are also two special attack buttons, which I could not figure out until the second to last fight, because they don't do anything with just the button presses themselves. They require motions that are character specific. There's also a dodge maneuver mapped to the shoulder buttons, but I could never reliably use it. I mentioned the anger gauge, which seems like a way to use a super, but I couldn't get it. (I don't have the manual for the game.) I made it through most of the story mode with just the two regular punch and kick buttons; So, while there is some modest depth in the fighting, it's still a pretty simple game.
I feel like there's some fun to be had in the two player mode for this, but it's not really a very good fighting game, and while the story is kind of interesting, I think it would potentially be better to just read the manga, if the comedic yankee genre is something that appeals to someone.
Speaking of, one of the Shitennou is named Onidzuka, and I got a little confused into thinking that Rokudenashi Blues was the series that GTO branched off of, but no. GTO came from Shounan Junaigumi! They're both set in Kichijouji, though.
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Ranma 1/2: Bakuretsu Rantou Hen includes a story mode, and has a character named Pan-sto Taro. That's all I've got. It plays like a one button fighter, because nothing is more effective than the hard attack button, alternating high, low, and jump attack. I played as Ukyo, and most of the time, I won by mashing out hard attacks, while inching closer to the opponent, if I was out of range. There isn't even anything here for Ranma 1/2 fans, either. The Principal (I never watched enough Ranma 1/2 to really know who this is, but he's surely Hawaiian) offers to help Ukyo with her business ventures (an okonomiyaki stand) if she can win a tournament he put together. She obliges, because she's from Osaka, and will do anything to make more money (obviously). From there, the story is basically over, and defeating the opponents usually just resulted in some chatter about Ukyo's skills with a Kote (a little spatula used in preparing/eating okonomiyaki). The ending was just a short gag that showed the Principal's idea of assistance to be regularly stopping to eat at her stand. HAHAHAHAHA--.
It was released in the US as Ranma 1/2: Hard battle, and in either form, it's entirely skip-able. The graphics are kind of nice, but the sound is terrible, and it's just not much fun to play.
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Contra Spirits: I'm not into it. That is all.
dunpeal2064 wrote:I feel like Hard Corp definitely reaches some high points on par with 3, but it also has some terrible low points that are absent from Contra 3.
They are both certainly awesome games though. I just think 3 is a front-to-back adrenaline rush, whereas HC is a more varied (both in good and bad) romp.
Exhuminator wrote:I enjoy Contra 3's crazy stages and their variety. Hard Corps is awesome, but its stages aren't on par with Contra 3's.
Sirs, y'all's crazy. III is like traipsing through a meadow of daisies compared to the chop-shop carwash from hell that is Hard Corps. (I don't mean from a difficulty perspective, but in the sense of their respective roller coaster rides.)
