Gunstar Heroes - (PSN)
Kidou Senshi Gundam: Renpou vs. Zeon DX - (DC)
Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream - (DC)
Was playing
Gunstar Heroes for Together Retro, and while it's a really good game, I somehow expected to enjoy it more; probably because I've been meaning to really play the game for an extremely long time. Also, it made me want to go back and try to finish Gunstar Super Heroes.
I used to own the US PS2 release of
Kidou Senshi Gundam: Renpou vs. Zeon DX, which I didn't realize until picking up this DC version a while back. Honestly I hated the PS2 version, but playing this on the DC with the VGA box and the Arcade Stick is an experience hardly beaten. The dash controls can be a little aggravating in later arcade levels, considering how much you have to depend on it to avoid enemy attacks later on. I guess they just expect you to be able to time your dashes more accurately at that point. This one feels a little archaic compared to Kidou Senshi Gundam VS: Extreme Boost, but in typical Japanese arcade fashion, almost anyone you play against on that machine is going to be soul crushingly good. So I guess Renpou vs Zeon DX is more fun for me. It makes me really sad to see Network Battle options in the main menu of Dreamcast games, these days, though.
Napple Tale is kind of a hard game for me to talk about, partly because I just spent the last few hours grinding the score attack stage for coins to try to complete the card collection, and after pumping at least 5000 coins (10 coins per card/item) the damn gatchapon machine still won't give me the one friggin' card I still need. *grumble*
Anyway, it's a great little artistically inspired game, with a lot of charm, and great atmosphere. Particularly adding to the atmosphere is the incredible score by Kanno Yoko. I probably like the music more than the actual game, really. The game case classifies it as an Action RPG, but I'd call it a platformer with some 'inspiration' from Majora's Mask, really. It's pretty rudimentary stuff though, and it's baby-town frolics from start to finish in terms of difficulty. The story's there, and it's not too bad. Although there aren't really any surprises, and the director/writer fancies himself a poet, but I find him to be just a bit ostentatious. Particularly in the one of the character's diaries that you unlock after beating the game: It feels much more like an excuse to showcase some poetry rather than giving any insight into the story events, or the character himself.
There are some really good moments, where the narrative dispenses with the laughs and nonsensical jargon in favor of some truly poignant scenes, though: Most notably in the 'boss fight' at the end of one of the Autumn stages.
Overall, I think it's worthy of one's time, but I would just caution not to go into it expecting too much. Unless you're a fan of Kanno Yoko; in which case, I'm fairly certain you won't be disappointed.
Never really feel like dedicating alot of time into a super long game unless it's something I consider a must-play like Mario RPG or something.