racketboy.com

Dandy: Zeuon no Fukkatsu (Famicom Disk System)
Lagoon (SNES)

Blog progress expected to slow waaaaaay down now that I have two kiddos. Will still make occasional updates whenever I finish a game.

Best review of Lagoon that I've come across.
I always liked the game. Too few ARPG's let you focus on magic use, and this one practically forces you to (wish magic worked on bosses, if memory serves, you have no option but to poke them to death).
The "toothpick" analogy many people make was always funny to me, but come on, it's a needle at the very least .
Any hero that can save the land using nothing but a needle (and magic) is pretty epic in it's own right.

Agreed about the music. I would have played it just for the soundtrack.

I'll reiterate the sentiments of your review by saying the game has its faults, is a rough start, but ends up worth playing anyways.

Good luck with the kiddos.

nightrnr wrote:Best review of Lagoon that I've come across.

You flatter me, good sir! I slapped that entry out on two hours of sleep with a baby cradled in my left arm.

I guess it's no shock that I dig Lagoon. I also like Hydlide and love Ys and Xak. Old action-RPGs are my thang, so I tend to find good qualities even in the "bad" ones.

I appreciate that you can see the good in Lagoon, but the game is just too annoying for me. However, your thoughts on Lagoon make me curious what you'd think of stuff like Brain Lord

As another one of the fellas here who has crawled his way through Lagoon...it's not as bad as folks think. You can get used to the combat, and even though the bosses can turn into grudge matches to see who will win through attrition, they also make for a good build up to the final boss. I found the game quirky and likable, even if it's bland in its visual aesthetics and tough to get the hang of.

Since it's also a 1990 computer release, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. I'd recommend it to fans of RPGs over the likes of Drakkhen, that's for sure. In fact, I might make Lagoon a qualifier. "You want to play Drakkhen? Have you beaten Lagoon yet?"

Dandy: Zeuon no Fukkatsu sounds pretty cool, and I actually kind of like the way the game looks, even if your character looks like Link with Donald Trump's hair. I'll likely never play it, but thanks for taking the time to write up your thoughts on it, Bone.

Brain Lord is pretty awesome. The puzzles are challenging, but I loved its visuals and enjoyed its combat.

Ack wrote:Brain Lord is pretty awesome. The puzzles are challenging, but I loved its visuals and enjoyed its combat.

Totally agree. I really, really enjoyed Brain Lord. I don't know why the game gets such a bad rap on most forums. Everything Ack said about it is accurate, but I'll add that Brain Lord has a godly OST. Seriously, for my tastes its OST is up there in the top 5 ever for SNES. Damn fine action-RPG, screw the haters.

Exhuminator wrote:

Ack wrote:Brain Lord is pretty awesome. The puzzles are challenging, but I loved its visuals and enjoyed its combat.

Totally agree. I really, really enjoyed Brain Lord. I don't know why the game gets such a bad rap on most forums. Everything Ack said about it is accurate, but I'll add that Brain Lord has a godly OST. Seriously, for my tastes its OST is up there in the top 5 ever for SNES. Damn fine action-RPG, screw the haters.

Yeah, that soundtrack... There is literally a song named "Giant Roach," and it is AWESOME!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULLqI2NRHXg

Brain Lord gets flak because it's considered too hard.

Thanks for the words, all.

I enjoy writing about the obscure FDS stuff the best. I could just make shit up and no one would notice!

I'm actually going to try to get through (most) of the FDS RPG library. I'm skipping the unlicensed hentai stuff as well as Ginga Denshou and Ultraman, which are pretty damn crappy. Märchen Veil is also rather janky, but I'm determined to get through it.

Next two entries will likely be about Lufia games though.