u/White_FIame

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (7/10) 

• Storytelling was basic yet somehow delivered an amazing plot within a magical toy world. From retrieving the Magic Pendulum to encountering all sorts of unique corrupted toys. 
• Its presentation while short, did have cool scrolling pictures with dangerous flashing lights! 
• You played as Inguz, a Punk who had to defeat the evil Scrubby and save the kingdom from his evil corruption. 
• The pacing itself was pleasant, between 40m to an hour of pure gameplay madness!

 

GAMEPLAY (10/10) 

• Starting with controls, which were basic yet so fun to execute. You could jump either on trampolines, enemy heads or simple traversal, duck to avoid enemy projectiles and attack with your gun in a 360 direction, even during jumps! 
• On top of that, you could use a special attack while obliterating the entire screen with a phoenix bird, collect bomb power ups which cleared all enemies, and even different ammo types. 
• The ammo itself was super cool, as you could have more than one magazine and upon its depletion, Inguz had to manually reload the weapon, interrupting your combat flow. 
• You could also collect health items, extra lives upon completing challenges and even side characters that helped you through the journey. 
• The checkpoint mechanic was a surprise, as I didn’t expect such a cool design for a 1995 game when most arcades spawned you right where you died. 
• Enemy variety was simply outstanding, with so many variations between them. From flying dragons, dinosaurs, traps, turrets, plants, toys and many more. Bosses too, with impressive attack patterns! 
• Platforming was magnificent as well, mostly because the game was filled with all sorts of traps, falling platforms and hidden goodies! 
• Traversal was seamless with so much fun on screen. All that amplified by the balanced difficulty which delivered an outstanding flow!

 

AUDIO (9/10) 

• Sound design had an awesome mono output which combine all audio effects with the music quite well. For 1995 though, stereo was mandatory! 
• The music itself was so good, with many soundtracks having outstanding beats! 
• The same could be said about sound effects, which had amazing punchy vibes!

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was wild chimichangas, as I’ve never seen so many details on an arcade screen. From particle effects to extensive explosions, beautiful art direction, fluid animations and bright colours! 
• The character models were amazing too. From Inguz himself to outstanding enemy encounters and even side characters! 
• Even though all of the above was peak cinema, the performance did suffer from tremendous slowdowns and frame drops. Understandable though, such visual details were way too much even for Arcade machines!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design had an amazing progression with outstanding designs. From the Toyland to the Wild West, Chess Kingdom, Train, Prehistoric world and finally reaching Scrubby’s Lair. 
• I was so impressed by the asset use, as through the whole journey the game seemed unique from start to finish! 
• The atmosphere was magnificent too, amplified by the cracked visuals, chilling music and gorgeous landscapes! 
• World destruction delivered in its own way. With many explosions, destructions and overall mayhem!

 

TL;DR -> An outstanding journey through the Toy Kingdom. It delivered on everything, including its simplistic story. From the cracked visuals to the awesome music, magnificent world design and perfect gameplay. A (9.0) game, masterpiece in my toy book. Would absolutely replay the game again, just so I can jump on some balloons and destroy more evil goons! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (9/10) 

• While the story was pretty basic, it did hint at an alternate ending. Unfortunately, it was another trap set by Taito to keep you engaged while using more coins. The gameplay though, didn’t need any hints at all, as it threw everything in your face straight up! 
• Starting with controls, which were awesome to begin with. You could jump, drop down, high kick as well as drop kick, duck, attack with your knife, rifles, pistols or even rocket launchers. Plus, if you didn’t want to waste any ammo, you could simply use the weapons as your melee extensions! 
• The game also had a lot of creative traps, platforming sections and overall destruction environments. I loved the barrels which ignited with a timer, giving you room to escape their blast. As well as the fuel cans which served as throwables. 
• By defeating enemies on vehicles, you could jump in afterwards and drive through schmucks while shooting with the railgun. 
• Speaking of enemy variety, glorious showcase! On each and every level, there were different types with cool attack patterns. Same for mini-bosses and bosses themselves, although quite simplistic beside the final encounter! 
• The game also had some flying sections with cool hoverboards and machines. I was pleasantly surprised at the changing sceneries and your ability to get in and out of the vehicles at will, or be thrown out of an air carrier altogether! 
• While platforming was reduced to some basic jumps and pole hangings, I did love the ability to fight while sliding on them. 
• Traversal was seamless and a lot of fun, with the total game taking no more than 30m to beat. 
• The difficulty wasn’t too hard, but it did require some careful dodging and enemy attack predictions!

 

AUDIO (8/10) 

• Sound design was reduced to its mono output, even though the machine was capable of stereo. It did combine the sound effects with the music quite well, in the end delivering awesome vibes!

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity was awesome for 1990, with most visual effects and character animations being quite pleasing and actually fun to run through! 
• I was also impressed by performance, as the game didn’t slowdown even in complete mayhem! 
• The art direction was simply magnificent, and I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!

 

WORLD DESIGN (9/10) 

• Level design was another aspect that left me in awe. Starting with all the parallax scrolling effects, which were fantastic. You went through the Front Line, Air Fortress, Aircraft Carrier, a Mine and the final Headquarters with incredible landscapes and overall world destruction. Plus, I loved how the thunder effects not only pleased visually, but interacted with the gameplay itself. 
• The atmosphere was awesome too, although not as immersive considering the game’ pace!

 

TL;DR -> An awesome showcase though military bases and air carriers. It delivered on everything, including its outstanding visuals, cool level designs, awesome music and really fun gameplay. A (9.0) game, masterpiece in my book. Would absolutely replay the game with friends, as while Thunder struck alone, he clearly needed his Fox clone! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (7/10) 

• Storytelling was pretty basic, with the main character embarking on a quest to save his own soul from eternal torment. 
• It had nice little cutscenes with dialogues, which expanded on some interactions. 
• You played as Tarosuke, the mischievous boy who tormented his own village with pranks. Guess the villagers had enough! 
• Other than the main character, you could summon his Grandpa to help defeat some bosses. Plus, gamble some money in a game of dice, have a private dance from a Princess, and even prove your worth to the River Styx guard. 
• While pacing wasn’t too extensive, the game did overstay its welcome with the outrageous difficulty! 
• While I got only 3 main endings, there were 2 remaining with Tarosuke going to the Demon and Beast worlds!

 

GAMEPLAY (3/10) 

• Starting with controls, which were pretty straightforward and simplistic. You could jump, attack with projectiles or press down to charge your super attacks. Be careful though, as holding for too long would freeze you for a couple of seconds! 
• Other than the ground controls, you could swim underwater and even dash by pressing jump. 
• The game also had an awesome upgrade mechanic with other goodies as a bonus. You could buy attack upgrades, health, speed boots or even companions. The cat and dog were useful to an extent, unfortunately they couldn’t keep up as they always stopped to lick their ass! 
• On top of all the upgrades, you could buy health replenishers and even extensions. I still don’t know what the mysterious health item did, oh well.. 
• Enemy, mini-bosses and boss variety was really good, with most encounters feeling like a new challenge. Unfortunately they were clearly too many to handle! 
• While platforming was brutal, the traversal was even crazier. I simply hated the whole experience, mostly because the whole game felt like some psychopath wanted to torture the players! 
• Upon death, you began at the start of the level, with all your coins and collectibles remaining. That didn’t help with its tremendous difficulty spikes, as the game punished you for exploration, staying in one place and even killing too many enemies. You basically had to know exactly where to go and go fast, because god forbid players could get their quarters worth!

 

AUDIO (9/10) 

• Sound design was mostly stereo, which surprised me as the game came out in 1987. 
• The music was really good on most locations, with some having great tunes! 
• The sound effects themselves were pretty diverse for that year, having crunchy and spicy killing effects!

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity was outstanding for 1987, and I really loved the whole map concept. During shops, the top would come off and the overall field of view would increase. All that coupled with extensive visual effects, awesome character animations and game fluidity! 
• The character models themselves were something special, including all the weird mini-bosses. 
• The art style kept a fresh vibe on every location, with the parallax scrolling helping during those awesome landscapes!

 

WORLD DESIGN (9/10) 

• Level design was divided into multiple sections, either underwater, mountains, forest, desert or underground. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, as for 1987, that was truly mind boggling! 
• The atmosphere was there, but mostly ruined by the constant pressure. I couldn’t enjoy the sights, as the overall enemy encounters were simply too much! 
• World destruction while reduced to enemy killings, did have those annoying boulders!

 

TL;DR -> An awesome journey through hell, with a clear drawback on gameplay pressure. I did enjoy most of the game, but when you force someone into madness, the result does bring heavy judgement. A (7.6) game, very good in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, as even if I left 2 endings behind, I’d rather go blind than proceed with the grind! 

I’d highly recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (5/10) 

• Storytelling followed the same idea as the previous 2 games. But here, the way it was presented didn’t even make sense, as I didn’t understand who I was fighting, why and most of all, when?! 
• The presentation although messy, did have its own charm with cool locations from China, Italy, USA, Brazil and even Kyoto. 
• The characters were very nice with awesome designs. Once I discovered Okuni though, I chose to play that way, the boobs way! 
• Pacing was pretty long with the game overstaying its welcome. It required at least one hour of continuous play, and by the end, it got so tedious that I simply wanted to quit on the spot. 
• The game also teased a sequel, guess 3 games with the same story was more than enough!

 

GAMEPLAY (4/10) 

• Starting with controls, which were quite extensive once you understood every combo and special attack. You could dash, run, punch, slash, jump, throw, grab, do specials with alternate abilities, super moves and more! 
• The tutorial helped on the initial screen, which I always love as most of the time the games don’t even show you what’s possible. 
• On top of all of the above, you could also pick up and throw shurikens, darts and even bombs. As well as collect health items hidden within boxes and destructibles. 
• The game also had a power meter, where the more damage you dealt, the more power ups you could use. I ended up using quite a lot of special attacks by the end, mainly because the enemies themselves were literal sponges! 
• Changing characters upon death was cool, although already outdated by 2001 standards. Plus, removing what the originals created with switching characters on the go was a bad move! 
• While platforming wasn’t extensive, the game did have some cool jumping sections with traps and nice scalable environments. 
• Now, while all of the above sounds good on paper, the game was a total snooze-fest. Starting with enemy variety, which didn’t change from the start of the game till the end. There were some new enemies on certain occasions, but essentially, you fought the same types with reskinned looks and increased health bars. 
• Speaking of health bars, who in their right mind develops such monotonous crap?! I swear to god, the last stage got so tedious I dropped the game and was ready to scrap the review, only pushing forward after a few days! 
• Your own combo moves got repetitive to hell, as once you got the best sequence, you didn’t need the other ones. You could juggle enemies sure, but doing the same attack patterns upon spongy enemies, over and over again, wasn’t fun! 
• Traversal was boring AF! So boring that I couldn’t understand the shift from the original and its sequel. What happened?! You went on a diet or something?! 
• Difficulty was brutal by the end. While it started gradually with increased spikes, by the end I ended up spending more than 10 greasy bucks!

 

AUDIO (9/10) 

• Sound design was very good with a cool stereo output. Yet again, the first game remains unbeatable in this department. 
• The music though, pure perfection. Each level had its own unique soundtrack and I’m telling you, push the volume to the max! 
• While voice acting was reduced to some character shouts and minimal dialogues, it delivered in its own way. 
• The sound effects themselves were pretty awesome, with quite some variations between them!

 

VISUALS (7/10) 

• Now, I might be biased or extremely cracked in the head, but I swear, the previous 2 entries were so much better than what was shown here! 
• Fidelity wasn’t good, as most levels were reduced to huge sprites with little to look at besides landscapes. For 2001, I’d say that was a bust. 
• Character models were spectacular though, with each having awesome cloth animations, body movements, attack patterns and even bouncing melons! 
• The enemies though, were terrible and showed extensive monotony! 
• Performance kept a steady frame-rate even in demanding scenes. 
• The art style was cool and minimalistic on each location, with most backgrounds adding unique vibes! 
• The visual effects were quite nice for 2001. From reflections to smoke, fire, explosions, water, wind, dust and so on, quite unique.

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design while divided into multiple sections within each location, delivered outstanding vibes with cool backgrounds and landscapes. You went from Italy to Japan, China, Brazil, USA and even the Underworld Dungeon in Kyoto! 
• The atmosphere was off the charts thanks to the music and awesome art direction. If you closed your eyes and simply mashed buttons, it gave you even better vibes! 
• World destruction was great, with smashing doors, pots, barrels and more!

TL;DR -> Quite a step backwards from Sengoku & Sengoku 2, although with some unique perks. While the overall progression coupled with enemy variety butchered the gameplay, the story didn’t fall far from the mark. Visually not impressive, not even for 1993, let alone 2001, with only the sound and world design redeeming themselves. A (7.0) game, good in my book. Unfortunately a good game doesn’t quite make the cut for a replay, as I’d rather meditate for an entire day than replay this monotonous clay! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (8/10) 

• While storytelling was pretty basic in comparison with the original Sengoku, it also followed the same plot and characters. Same presentation, same vibes, same everything really, with only the Tengu replacing the Samurai from the original. 
• The gameplay on the other hand, was altered in a new direction. Starting with controls, which added new and cool attacks in between. You could attack from a normal or low stance, jump, change characters and even do charged attacks or specials with magic abilities. 
• The game also had a tutorial, which helped with basic knowledge as to what buttons to press. 
• It had the same orbs with power ups, but here you didn’t change swords, you simply gained magic abilities and attacks. The main character had swords by default, with the Tengu wielding a staff, the Wolf his bloody claws and the Ninja throwing shurikens around. Here though, I hardly used the Wolf, as he wasn’t as needed as the other ones. 
• The horse rides were nice too, although quite short and pretty basic for a change. Although I loved slicing horsemen heads off! 
• Enemy variety was heavily reused, with some unique entries on new stages, but mostly the same throughout the whole game. I did love boss encounters, as those were really awesome! 
• The enemies themselves had the same block patterns with unique animations, but mostly the same as the original. 
• Traversal was seamless within each teleportation, with every level transition feeling like a new journey. The levels themselves were short, with the whole game being no more than 30m to beat. 
• Difficulty was nice, but I did drop at least $5 here, maybe more!

 

AUDIO (7/10) 

• Sound design remained the same with an awesome stereo output, although not as good as the original.
• The music was nice, but not my cup of tea. 
• Voice acting was in Japanese, which was a nice addition for 1993. 
• The sound effects themselves were heavily reused and by the end, you got bored of the same slicing and punching effects.

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity had the same outstanding vibes as the original, but with improved immersion vibes all around. The combination of visual effects with the ancient and modern art styles was simply magnificent. 
• Character models were insanely well made with a lot of new animations. I was really impressed by the amount of enemies on screen as well, as the game kept a steady frame-rate even in intense scenes!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design was truly spectacular, and I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. On a side note, I did love the modern environments in combination with ancient enemies, really scared some kids around the block! 
• The atmosphere was off the charts, mostly because you fought Ninjas, Samurai warriors and even mythical creatures on top of an air bomber, during a World War and even on modern city streets! 
• The landscapes were breathtaking and the world destruction itself while not extensive, did have sharp cutting animations on poles and stones!

 

TL;DR -> An awesome continuation of the original Sengoku, although with some drawbacks on monotony and enemy variety. While Boss encounters shined in their unique ways, the overall progression towards them felt stretched and monotonous. Still, an (8.7) game, very good in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, as it didn’t quite catch the same sound and gameplay aspect as the original. 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (8/10) 

• Storytelling had its own twists with cool boss battles and enemy encounters. It focused on the evil Warlord and his plan for world annihilation! 
• The presentation itself was cool with awesome cutscenes and flashy visual effects. 
• You played as a Cowboy, but could choose the Ninja depending if you wanted to give CO-OP a shot. Plus, could transform into the Ninja in Solo, Samurai or Wolf if you so desired, which helped with different enemies and their attack patterns. 
• The pacing itself was somewhere between an hour and 1/5h if you got your ass kicked, less than that if you were trained by a Ninja at birth!

 

GAMEPLAY (9/10) 

• While the controls were pretty basic at first, the gameplay itself did expand beyond that with cool swords, magic attacks and even a flying section. 
• You could also change the characters at will, but the Samurai was always locked behind mini-bosses, which I hated, because he was the most powerful one! 
• By collecting basic orbs, you got magic abilities depending on the character. But the golden ones, well, you better find that on your own! 
• Enemy and boss variety was impressive for 1991, even mini-bosses while mostly reused, had their own unique attacks. Their attack patterns and attack combinations were so good, cause you had to adapt to each and every enemy, each attack and each pattern. Hence the character selection on the go, so you’d avoid getting your ass kicked! 
• While you wielded a sword, you could clench with some enemy attacks. Also, some could drop their weapons from your strikes or simply break them while still being armed, which made my jaw drop from pure awesomeness on screen! 
• Traversal was seamless between each world, either during underground or top levels. The ability to respawn with I-Frames was really useful, as most enemies killed you in 3 hits. 
• Difficulty was balanced, as in emptied your pocket change balance. It started easy with an incremental spike towards the middle, while by the end it got nearly impossible!

 

AUDIO (10/10) 

• Starting with the sound design, which was outstanding. This was the first Arcade game where I truly felt the stereo kick my spatial awareness. It wasn’t simply streamed from left, right or middle, it merged together perfectly in combination with all audio effects. 
• The music was nicely integrated within each level, providing cool immersion vibes from the get go. 
• Voice acting was mostly in Japanese, but I did recognise some shouts and screams from my own deaths, as they spoke in an universal language! 
• One extra detail that I noticed, was how each step had its own audio effects depending on which surface you stepped onto.

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity had that futuristic vibe in an ancient setup. While the visuals were gorgeous, the visual effects and overall art direction blew me away. There were some instances where I really thought I was playing a modern indie game! 
• The characters models were fantastic as well, with so many unique animations and attack patterns it was crazy. From the downed animations to the sword swings, parries, clenches, jumps, background enemy introductions and so much more!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Now, while I was impressed with the visuals, the overall world buildup and scenery change was simply mind blowing. You went from one stage to the other seamlessly, with so many changes to the backgrounds, art direction, landscapes and even atmosphere! 
• Speaking of immersion, the vibes were through the roof. I also loved how the game made you feel like you were supposed to go somewhere farther, just to drop or ascend you to a new area! 
• While world destruction wasn’t present in a general sense, I did love the lava explosions and cracking floors upon entering a new section.

 

TL;DR -> Here we are, at the end of an awesome game with an even better visual, audio and world design perspective. While it suffered from some difficulty spikes, it did deliver on everything else. A (9.4) game, masterpiece in my book. Will definitely replay the game with friends, as the Cowboy alone clearly couldn’t handle all the mayhem on screen. Time to change into a Wolf and run to the next encounter! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (8/10) 

• Storytelling was pretty basic with some final dialogues about Rastan’s treasure hunts. I did love his King appearance at the end teasing yet another sequel, sadly nothing came of it. 
• The presentation was awesome with many cool pictures and little cutscenes in between. Plus, the fact that the game had multiple hidden levels depending on how you performed was yet another surprise. 
• The characters themselves were nice, with Rastan being the usual 28 year old with a body of an athlete who worked out his whole bloody life. Dewey was great, as well as Sophia with her huge breasts and even bigger arms. Each one had their own introduction and backstory, which I found awesome! 
• Pacing was pretty fast, with the whole game taking no more than 40m to an hour if you chose to explore every path and collect the 8 hidden treasures. 
• The original Rastan, Rastan Saga II and Cadash all served as a pathway to deliver 2 screens with one hell of a steroid injection!

 

GAMEPLAY (9/10) 

• The controls were nice to discover and have fun with. You could run by double pressing the directional buttons, jump, attack with your weapons or kicks by pressing both buttons, use a health costing special, deflect projectile attacks by swinging your weapons, grab monsters and even throw them around. Plus, during bonus stages or level introductions, you could control a horse, a flying dragon or ski off a whole mountain! 
• By collecting coins and treasures along the way, you could gain some health back at the end of the stage, as well as some health potions during gameplay and cool power ups like the fire or lightning sword, speed, power or different weapons entirely. Also, a wizard companion that could freeze enemies into ice, shoot down meteorites or simply transform enemies into statues. 
• Enemy variety was heavily reused though, with many not even having different skins up until the end. Boss battles on the other hand were cool, although too easy to defeat. I did love the downed enemy kills and their attack patterns though! 
• While platforming was pretty basic, there were some cool traps and jumping sections around, which you could use to lure enemies and kill them on the spot. 
• Traversal was seamless and quite pleasant coming from the previous “3” Rastan games. 
• The difficulty itself was quite easy at the start and medium at the end, with only the final boss giving me some trouble.

 

AUDIO (9/10) 

• Sound design had a stereo output, but with some weird twists. Since the cabinet used 2 monitors merged together, when there was action in the center, you’d hear the balanced effects. But, when the enemies shouted Japanese battle cries from either left or right, you’d have an increased audio volume from those channels! 
• It wasn’t bad, just unexpected and weird from an immersion standpoint. 
• The music was awesome in its own way, with many soundtracks having great vibes! 
• Voice dialogues were cool too. While the Japanese dialogues sounded off, the English ones were pretty crisp! 
• Ambient sounds had nice variety with so many impressive sound effects for the time!

 

VISUALS (10 out of 10 Skeletons) 

• Fidelity was mind cracking for 1991, even though the game shipped to the public in ‘92. The cabinet itself used 2 CRT monitors, one in front of you and another facing upright with a seamless mirror reflection to achieve an ultra widescreen effect, giving you that mind boggling experience. I’d also recommend watching the pictures in landscape mode on your phones, this way you’d see their true glory! 
• The visual effects themselves were crazy good too, with some elements seeming like 3D in a 2D world. Plus, the amount of enemies and environmental destruction on screen was amazing, with no frame-drops in between. I especially loved the sword hand switching animation on Rastan, so slick! 
• The character models were spectacular as well. Rastan had that 28 year old body we all grew up with, as well as Dewey and Sophia. While their overall animations were GOATED, their idle ones were just teasing those poor suckers! 
• Speaking of enemies, their overall attack patterns, sword or shield drops, death animations and so on rewarded you with even better combat vibes. 
• The art direction gave you that medieval vibe with actual dragons and mythical creatures!

 

WORLD DESIGN (8/10) 

• Level design made you appreciate every single area and sometimes even stop and admire a squirrel passing around or an eagle flying by. The whole game was divided into 4 stages, but the bonus levels increased them extensively. You started with normal side scrolling, then got your running sections just to arrive at some bonus levels later on! 
• The atmosphere wasn’t good though, and I just can’t explain why. It was that feeling of a weird sound output that didn’t quite catch my full attention. 
• The landscapes and world destruction was amazing though, with so many background sights and even better destructible environments!

 

TL;DR -> An amazing journey through yet another treasure hunt. This time Rastan had some help, but the King’s throne was only his to keep. In the end, it was a pretty balanced experience, unfortunately not quite enough for a masterpiece. An (8.8) game, very good in my book. Would definitely replay the game once more, as I want to collect every treasure and discover each hidden bonus stage. While Rastan was jacked as a bloody bull on steroids, Sophia showed him that her arms set the actual high bars! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (10/10) 

• Storytelling was awesome with so many character dialogues and RPG like elements. I was shocked that I was playing an RPG on an Arcade, mostly because the whole game felt high quality from the get go, with so many interactions and overall character progression in between! 
• You could talk to everyone, even skeletons and animals on some occasions, with most interactions being optional, but so satisfying to find out and gain additional information. 
• You basically went on a quest to save the Princess from the evil Baarogue, which turned out to be hidden in plain sight. The whole progression felt so good it was crazy, and I couldn’t believe how detailed the whole experience was! 
• The presentation itself was magical with cool backgrounds and actual NPCs that followed you around and were minding their own business. The Gnomes were hilarious, as well as your own transformation! 
• There were 4 total characters to choose from, and I went straight to the Fighter. But, the Mage, Priestess and Ninja clearly await another play-through. 
• Pacing was quite long for an Arcade game, with the whole experience being between one to two whole hours if you chose to take your time. Besides, saving a Princess isn’t some childish adventure, it takes preparation and resource management. 
• While the game was considered a spiritual successor to the Rastan & Rastan Saga II games, it delivered outstanding vibes which no Rastan ever could!

 

GAMEPLAY (9/10) 

• Starting with controls, which were the same as Rastan Saga II but with the slickness of the original Rastan. You could jump, duck, thrust downwards (which I never used), slice upwards and even block with your shields. By hitting townsfolk, you could interact with them. 
• The mechanics were insanely well made, with an upgrade mechanic that felt years ahead of its time. You collected coins from defeated enemies to acquire new gear and become more powerful. As well as upgrade your character through fighting and gaining experience points up to level 20. The more you levelled up, the better your health, attack power and speed became. 
• While the game was most likely designed to be played in CO-OP, I did love the other shop items which were locked behind certain characters. Besides, the whole outfit management was so good, with so many variations and shiny armours! 
• Enemy variety was insanely well made as well, with incredible variety and cool designs all around. Boss battles too, although reused later on. 
• While platforming was basic, there were certain sections that required precision. But, somehow falling in deep water or actual lava didn’t kill you instantly, more like did damage over time. You did gain the Scale of the Mermaid to breathe underwater, but the lava still didn’t make sense. 
• Traversal was seamless and actually pleasant to progress, with some backtracking and clever use of puzzle mechanics. Besides, no loading screens for such an extensive game was super impressive! 
• Now, while the game was manageable with the upgrade mechanic and item upgrades, it was literal horseshit on its difficulty. If you didn’t own a cabinet back in the day, you could easily, and I mean easily spend 10/20 dollars here. Mostly because the game was designed with a deep penetration mindset!

 

AUDIO (10/10) 

• Sound design was magnificent with so many cool sound effects everywhere. From thunder strikes that actually felt like they were striking you down, to the shield block vibranium like sound and more pleasant surprises. 
• The overall sound design was mono, even though the machine was more than capable of stereo.
• The music was fantastic on so many levels, which combined the sound effects, environmental ones like rain and enemy grunts perfectly!

 

VISUALS (10 out of 10 Gnomes) 

• Fidelity wise, mind blowing. I’d like to remind you that it was released to the public in 1990, although competed in 1989. I was speechless from the moment I stepped outside the castle! 
• The visual effects like rain, thunder, clouds, waterfalls, fire, debris, zombie walks and so on were on another level.  
• Character models too, with cool animations and so many iterations. The townsfolk were genuinely impressive, mostly because you felt in an actual living world rather than a simple adventure! 
• The art style delivered shivering vibes. From the Gnome world to the dungeons, castles and even hidden villages!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design had so many different layouts, traps, puzzles and backtracking that I genuinely couldn’t understand the Arcade development. Such a game was way ahead of its time to deliver a Skeleton Graveyard, Castles with seamless door transitions, Forests, Dungeons and whole bloody Villages! 
• The atmosphere was off the charts, with the music changing wether you stepped into a cave or went to the Innkeeper for some recovery time! 
• The landscapes themselves were simply magnificent, delivering magical vibes! 
• While world destruction wasn’t the game’ selling point, it did deliver on most enemy encounters.

 

TL;DR -> A genuine mind blowing experience. It left me shocked from every bloody point to the actual hidden details. From the moment I started to interact with every character on screen, to the upgrade mechanic, visual spectacle and audio magic, I knew I was in for an outstanding experience. A (9.8) game, my first near perfect Arcade experience. Will abso-fucking-lutely replay the game with friends, as the Mage, Priestess and Ninja still have to prove their worth. While the Princess wanted the Fighter to stay, he clearly saw another way! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (6/10) 

• Storytelling was rather simplistic with some dialogues in between fights, which only gave you a final insight as to why Rastan fought as hard as he did. The gameplay part though, a true coin sucker! 
• Starting with controls, which were the same as in the previous game, but with a shield as a mechanic. You could block enemy attacks and even falling debris or boulders, as well as defend against projectiles. Beside the jump, attack, duck and thrust attacks, the game was mostly the same. 
• The weapons themselves were basic and didn’t provide much variety in their attack variations like the prequel (sequel). You had your sword and shield, a huge sword and Wolverine claws. Plus, you could collect some power ups like fireballs. 
• Enemy variety had the same charm as in the original, with new enemies emerging at unexpected times. Same for boss battles, which surprised you with their cool designs. 
• The overall platforming sucked literal ass though, with such huge characters within tight spaces it was crazy to look at. Some sections even required pixel perfect precision, which was maddening for an already clunky game!  
• Traversal was brutal and the difficulty ate your coins like a hungry lion. It was such horseshit that I literary gave up trying to be perfect and simply used I-frames to progress forward.

 

AUDIO (7/10) 

• Sound design had the same mono output, with nice sound effects all around. Unfortunately the machine was more than capable of stereo, but the cabinet was designed with one speaker in mind. 
• The music was pretty awesome considering the repetitiveness, still, it delivered cool vibes!

 

VISUALS (8/10) 

• Fidelity had its own charm for 1988, but I do feel like the game was a downgrade from its predecessor. Maybe because everything seemed too big to fit on the screen! 
• Character models were amazing though, their huge sprites helped see minor details and cool animations. 
• The art direction felt very good from the beginning, with cool backgrounds and overall visual effects.

 

WORLD DESIGN (8/10) 

• Level design beside being brutal, was somehow charming with immersive sights. Each level felt unique, even though with reused assets. 
• The atmosphere delivered chilling and claustrophobic vibes! 
• The landscapes were the most memorable part of the game, with world destruction being pretty good.

 

TL;DR -> While the original Rastan felt groundbreaking for the time, this sequel didn’t quite impress. The visual and world design perspective was fine, as well as the music, with only the gameplay lacking behind. A (7.3) game, good in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, as it was mostly composed of huge characters with fragile health bars! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (8/10) 

• While storytelling was pretty basic, I did love the way it was presented. A King sitting on his throne telling you a story of how he arrived where he is now. From a Thief and Murderer to a King, difficult times indeed. 
• The controls were pretty nice with cool variations. You could attack, jump and duck while also doing jump attacks, down thrusts, upper thrusts and even fight while crouched. 
• You could also use a variety of weapons like your normal sword, an axe, hammer and fire sword by collecting them with pretty crazy jumps. On top of those, you collected power ups like the mantle, armature, medicine, gold sheep and so on for more power or health regeneration, as well as weapon attack speed and points. But, here you could pick some poison as well, which reduced your attack power and drained a little health. 
• Enemy variety was awesome, with at least one enemy per level being new. There was the repetitive design in most of them with their reskinned looks, but having flying demons, minotaurs and mythical creatures as a bonus was very entertaining. Boss battles too, with many having cool variations, although quite easy to cheese and defeat once you got the right equipment. 
• Platforming was pretty nice too, with so many cool sections, hidden traps and pixel perfect jump requirements. As well as swinging on vines or simply climbing on ropes or chains. 
• Traversal was seamless until the very end, without any loading screens in between. Although the progression itself was brutal, where you could die in mere seconds by the enemy overflow. 
• Difficulty was very hard but not impossible like on most arcade games. Here, at the end of every level or even within them, you could get one ups, giving you more room to breathe on one coin. But, be wary of the final stage, because it forces you to complete it on one coin, and if you fail, game over!

 

AUDIO (9/10) 

• Sound design shined in its mono glory, with cool sound effects, screams upon death and Rastan’s own heartbeat while on low health. 
• The music was very good too, although quite repetitive by the end.

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity gave you that WOW moment when you realised it was released in 1987. The whole game had so many cool enemy attacks, animations, beautiful visual effects where the whole scenery changed mid gameplay, awesome art direction on every level and more details that left you in awe! 
• Character models had their own charm with outrageous body types. Rastan himself seemed like Schwarzenegger in his prime. Plus, every enemy was depicted with cool animations and unique attack patterns!   
• Performance did suffer on some heavy sections, but nothing game breaking. 
• I did love the end level scenes with Rastan posing and showing off, congratulating you on the win!

 

WORLD DESIGN (8/10) 

• Level design had great sections within each location, although it did get repetitive with the same kinds of layouts towards the end. I did love the hidden paths though, giving you an alternative route in case you felt overwhelmed. 
• The atmosphere was peak, with so many cool backgrounds and landscapes merging together seamlessly. 
• World destruction was great too, with destructible walls, stones, falling boulders, spikes and so on!

 

TL;DR -> An amazing journey through Rastan’s memories. It did deliver on everything but some difficulty spikes and repetitive level layouts. Still, for 1987 that was bloody impressive! An (8.5) game, very good in my book. If not for some technicalities, it could’ve been a masterpiece. Wouldn’t replay it though, as the gameplay itself wasn’t too diverse to earn another play-through! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (8/10) 

• While storytelling was reduced to Athena singing, the gameplay itself was a step up from the previous disaster! 
• The controls themselves were basic with the directional buttons for jumping and dropping down, plus the attack and special buttons. You used the normal attacks for destroying walls and alien structures while the specials were useful against tougher enemies. 
• As in the previous game, you had a variety of power ups that helped you along the way. Here though, upon collecting enough power ups, you could transform into a fiery dragon and obliterate everyone on screen. Plus, you could collect swords which tore through walls like nothing, fireballs which dispersed into other enemies and even rotating magic discs around you that defended against enemy projectiles. 
• Enemy variety was awesome, even though with some reskinned types. I loved the fish jumping from the water, the detachable heads from rock enemies and the mafia thugs! 
• Boss battles too, but quite repetitive on their weak spots! 
• Platforming was very basic yet a lot of fun. You could use trampolines to ascend to the top levels faster, as well as your own jumps by avoiding enemy attacks. I did love how Athena would trip over small obstacles, made her character more relatable! 
• Traversal was seamless up until the very end, with the game literally having 0 loading screens in between. The whole game was pretty nice to go through, but the final stage was what I call “Psychopath Design”! 
• I already got accustomed with the original Athena, but my god, the difficulty spike towards the end was literal madness. Guess the devs decided to go back to their idiotic roots. At least they implemented proper quarter-muncher designs!

 

AUDIO (9/10) 

• Sound design shined in all its mono glory. The implementation with the sound effects and music was awesome, as well as enemy dialogues and voice acting! 
• I didn’t expect to hear extensive music with actual voice lines in a 1987 game, so I was really impressed. 
• While the sound effects themselves were pretty simple, they did deliver crunchy vibes!

 

VISUALS (7/10) 

• Fidelity was great for 1987, but I do feel like the prequel had a better art direction and overall visual effects. Here, the game felt mostly the same, with different backgrounds sure, but the layouts were really monotonous by the end. 
• Character models while with their unique animations and cool attacks, were a step down from the prequel. 
• Performance was lacking. When the game had too many enemies or projectiles on screen, your own attack inputs were slowed down too, which reduced your chances of survival.

 

WORLD DESIGN (8/10) 

• Level design was very repetitive with a lot of reused assets. While the backgrounds were amazing, the same type of layouts did have an impact on your level progression and overall monotony! 
• The atmosphere was lacking up until the final level, where it was very impressive with lots of aliens all around. 
• World destruction was fantastic for the time, with most walls, buildings and literal goo being obliterated.

 

TL;DR -> A clear step up from the Original Athena, although with some drawbacks in the visual and level design department. On the other hand, the devs did redeem themselves with the gameplay, even though the last level summoned their psychopathic behaviours! An (8.0) game, very good in my book. Wouldn’t replay it, even if it had CO-OP as an option. I’m done with Athena, and I wish she’d just go back to her War and leave me the fuck alone! 

I’d recommend watching this video only after you read the review, for extra spicy context! 

GAMEPLAY (0/10) 

• There was no story for the game, which I didn’t mind at all for a 1986 title. But, the gameplay was something I’ve never experienced before! 
• Starting with controls, which were simplistic and to the point. You could attack, jump and duck. By pressing the jump button multiple times in a row, you could jump higher and even gain momentum for some farther swings. By ducking, you could use your swords or clubs to smash bricks for goodies. 
• Speaking of goodies. The game had so many power ups and weapon variations that I was left confused. You could collect a variety of armour plates with different colours and defences, shields, health upgrades which expanded your health bar, unique swords with normal or projectile attacks, clubs or even using your own fists and kicks! 
• By destroying bricks either on land or underwater, you could collect a siren’s tail and become a literal mermaid, which gave you better momentum underwater. The same on land, where you could get literal wings and fly around. The mechanics themselves were cleverly made, with unique items that helped defeat stronger enemies. 
• The enemies themselves were quite diverse up until the very end. Boss battles too, with some unexpected designs! 
• The platforming itself was pretty straightforward and didn’t require maddening precision, although destroying some bricks while you were chased by enemies was pretty tense! 
• Traversal was brutal, as every enemy chased you down and didn’t give you any room to breathe. The same could be said about the timer, but you could collect some extensions to expand the clock. 
• Now, while the above sounds good on paper, the actual gameplay was absolute, hot fucking CACA. I’ve never seen a more stinking design in my entire gaming journey, and I’ve played so many games that I lost count. 
• Starting and ending with enemy hit-boxes, because I don’t want to write about a garbage design with a headache! They were literal madness from a design, placement, overall speed and horseshit spawn perspective. You could die in a couple of hits from normal enemies, let alone boss fights, which were even more insane. The way the game punished you on every corner was literal madness, and when you died, you respawned at the start of the level with no power ups, collectibles or anything really, just your naked ass. Besides, once the continues ran out, GAME OVER, start again from the very beginning! 
• Be warned, the game stinks of literal shit. And I’m 100% certain that it was designed by psychopaths. I have a feeling that no other game I’ll play will have such an impact on my mental health. To me, it’s the WORST game I’ve ever experienced in my entire life!

 

AUDIO (8/10) 

• Sound design had a mono output, with the overall audio effects having that crunchy vibe. I’d say it delivered a decent quality for 1986. 
• The music was pretty nice on most levels, with many soundtracks having punchy beats!

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity was magnificent for 1986, with most visual effects having cool depth with gorgeous animations. Climbing on ladders or vines, swimming underwater and destroying huge amounts of bricks was really impressive for the time. All with their own unique animations wether you wore a siren tail, wings or a fiery lightsaber! 
• The character models themselves were amazing too, with cool animations from every direction. The archers which hid within hideouts were annoying yet quite nice to see them pop. As well as boss battles with their unique attacks! 
• The art style was magnificent on each location. From the Forest to the Underwater World, Caverns or Icy Mountains.

 

WORLD DESIGN (9/10) 

• Level design had impressive layouts, which didn’t force you in one direction. You could choose your own paths and sometimes even avoid boss encounters altogether. Each level had clever sections with most parts ending with next area doors or your literal doom! 
• The atmosphere was ruined by the constant enemy chases and spawns, although I did love exploring some sections. 
• World destruction was really impressive for the time, with not only bricks being destroyed, but pillars and stone ladders too, much more than that really!

 

TL;DR -> A disgusting gameplay with impressive level designs, visuals and overall audio tracks. I’ve never had a more exhausting experience than what this game had to offer, and I’m telling you, don’t attempt a play-through unless you want to have spicy headaches. To me, this was a mind fuck, a pretty strong one at that. A (6.7) game based solely on its visual and audio cues. I would NEVER, EVER touch this piece of absolute disgust again. Terrible fucking experience, I wish I never knew about this hot stinking caca of a game! 

GAMEPLAY (5/10) 

• While storytelling was basically nonexistent, I did love the final radio call with Snake. Initially I thought that SNK copied the character from the original Metal Gear, but turns out they used it before as Iron Snake in their 1988 Iron Tank NES enhanced port of the original TNK III Arcade game, and the actual name and bandana was inspired by the 1980s movie about Snake Plissken and probably the Rambo: First Blood movie. 
• Anyway, the controls were pretty straightforward with a punch, kick and jump button. You could also use both the attack buttons to deliver a header, which was cool to see but not as effective as a jumping kick or a straight punch in the gut. 
• Besides the normal attacks, you could also use knives from defeated enemies and a rifle. By throwing the knives, you hit just one enemy, but with the rifle, you could hit 2/4 enemies in a row with one shot kills. 
• The enemies themselves were heavily reused through the whole game, with slight variations during boss encounters. I did hate the enemy dodging and jumping attacks, mostly because by dodging you lost precious ammo and by doing jumping attacks they killed you in one hit. But, I loved how enemy grenades and bike explosions hurt other enemies, giving you more room to breathe. 
• Speaking of hits, there wasn’t any health replenishment around, so you stuck with your coins. One coin gave you 4 life bars and a one up. Unfortunately the game was such horseshit that I literary spent over 10 dollars just to progress forward. Literary, one of the worst coin suckers I’ve ever played! 
• Traversal was seamless within each level, with only 3 interruptions for a level complete screen. While the game was quite impressive for 1988 in its long levels, the difficulty was a literal nightmare. One hit deaths, weird hit boxes and absolutely disgusting life per coin reward. I never understood why a game would give you a health bar if you’d proceed to die in one hit, nonsensical to me!

 

AUDIO (8/10) 

• Sound design was mono here, but the integration between sound effects, music and overall explosions was quite nice. 
• The music in general was pretty decent, with many soundtracks fitting the world itself. 
• On the sound effect side, the game featured nice explosive effects, cool gunshots and crazy screams!

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was impressive for 1988, with the game seeming like it came from the future. The overall art work, enemy numbers and explosion effects were awesome for the time. 
• The characters themselves while not as varied in their overall looks, did have cool downed poses and very entertaining hit animations. I loved how after each hit, kick or explosion the enemies or yourself for that matter, would have cool gut punching animations, airdrops or even visible spits! 
• Performance was decent as well, although the game did suffer from occasional slowdowns.

 

WORLD DESIGN (9/10) 

• Level design was quite varied for the 30m to an hour of gameplay. From enemy bases to cliff jumps, helicopter rides and even roof outings! 
• The atmosphere was there, with the game having that military outlook which enhanced your gut punching desire! 
• The landscapes were awesome in their limited form, and world destruction was impressive for the time. The destruction from bike falls with their explosions, barrel destructions or the simple grenades provided enough mayhem on screen to keep your visual receptors entertained.

 

TL;DR -> An amazing showcase with great level designs, cool visuals and a pretty nice soundtrack. From a gameplay perspective though, absolute coin eating slut. This was my first experience where I genuinely felt disgust in giving more coins, and I had an unlimited amount at that. A (7.8) game, very good in the other departments but gameplay. I wouldn’t touch the game ever again, mostly because I’d rather switch it up to the NES port, where you at least have power ups, new levels and proper boss encounters! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (7/10) 

• While the Arcade version didn’t have a proper story, the later home ports did introduce some cool backgrounds. Like the Half-Man / Half-Beast sequence and the Blind Priest, which was the reason for our main protagonistTsukikage (Moonlight) losing his family and becoming the White Wolf himself. 
• The controls themselves were pretty straightforward with 3 buttons this time. You had your normal attacks, the jump button and the switching between weapons. Through the whole game, you could jump higher by holding the jump button, duck (never used it), walk on ceilings like a true Ninja, shoot projectiles in a 360 aim rotation and even have Ninja doubles who helped you along the way, mimicking your own attacks and delivering more mayhem on screen! 
• The weapons themselves were amazing, simply because you didn’t just have a sword, shuriken, dynamite or rope-dart, you also could collect different power ups which expanded each weapon ability. Some could destroy projectiles thrown at you, others could dispose of heavy enemies in a fast manner, with some protecting you from close combat encounters. 
• I did love how the game told you beforehand which weapon was best for that specific level, that way you could pick it right up and continue having “fun”! 
• The enemies themselves while heavily reused, did feature cool attack patterns and way too much pixel perfect requirements. On some sections, it did get so intense that I simply questioned wether it was made for masochists or simply madmen! 
• Boss battles on the other hand were awesome, with so many variations and cool attacks between them. 
• Platforming was reduced to some ceiling walks and clever dodging, nothing overly complicated. 
• Traversal was quite nice, because the game didn’t just push you towards the right end of the screen. On some levels, you had to climb up or drop down to an infinite death sequence. I have no idea who developed that one level, but fuck me, you my friend are a special kind of insane! 
• Difficulty was very hard, to the point where you couldn’t understand wether it was your own skills or simply the game being absurd.

 

AUDIO (8/10) 

• Sound design was mostly mono, with the game having the same kinds of sound effects and screams. Still, for 1988, I’d say it delivered in its repetitive glory! 
• Music was awesome though, with so many soundtracks fitting the chaotic gameplay itself.

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was gorgeous for 1988, with most visual effects having punchy appearances with an outstanding amount of enemies on screen. 
• The performance did drop on most sections, but I saw that as a bonus, as it helped with the game’ chaotic nature! 
• The character models were awesome too, with so many attack animations either from up, down, air or even while falling. The final cutscene was really good, although be mindful about flashing lights! 
• The art style changed sceneries on nearly every level, which I found great for freshness!

 

WORLD DESIGN (9/10) 

• Level design had its own charm, although its nature with the constant enemy spawns either from left or right didn’t help much in enjoying the progression. It did feature a Temple, Forest, Night-walk, Den, Cavern, Cliffside and many more great levels. All unique with their own twists and traps, which increased the pressure! 
• The atmosphere was quite nice, with many levels having those beautiful landscapes which gave you additional vibes! 
• World destruction was reduced to enemy explosions, which I didn’t mind for a 1988 title.

 

TL;DR -> An awesome little adventure with Ninjas, Wizards, Magical items, Riflemen and more. If it wasn’t for its insane progression and difficulty, the game would’ve been a literal masterpiece. Still, the Ninja did have his own perks. An (8.3) game, very good in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, as I’ve got enough on my plate to avoid tempting fate! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (6/10) 

• While storytelling was pretty basic, I did love its presentation with the cool character additions. The way you could choose a character before entering a new area was nice, as well as their overall variety. 
• The controls themselves were pretty simple too, with a jump, dodge, attack and 2 specials by using the hold button or dodge and attack. Loved the tutorial at the start as well. 
• The game had some power ups, like different ranged attacks and more speed, one ups too, but limited per boss encounter. 
• There wasn’t any life regeneration or health to collect, only 3 lives per coin. You might think that was generous, it wasn’t. 
• Enemy variety was mostly reused, but I did love some new additions along the way. Mini-Bosses and Bosses too, with the same ones until the end. There were a couple that stood out, like the characters you later played as, but the others were simply reused without any skins or attack alterations. 
• The game also had some platforming sections and traps, where you could fall off platforms or climb on some mechanical nets. Nothing major, just annoying when you fell of the screen! 
• Traversal was mostly ruined by the insane difficulty spikes. You went from one level to the other seamlessly, but had to fight for your life to go through. 
• The difficulty itself was an absolute nightmare. At the end I simply gave up and started putting in coins to progress, mostly because even normal enemies could defeat you in one or two hits, which was such horseshit for a brawler it was crazy. Who in their right mind puts a health bar on screen when you get your ass kicked in 1/2 hits?!

 

AUDIO (8/10) 

• Sound design was pretty nice with its stereo output, although quite limited in the audio effects department. You went through the whole game with the same type of screams, punch attacks and overall monotony. 
• The music on the other hand was awesome with quite an extensive soundtrack variety. 
• Voice acting too, which I didn’t expect to hear the characters speak on top of their limited dialogues.

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was pretty awesome for 1990, with most visual effects having spicy punches, literal fiery dragons and lots of enemies on the screen. 
• Performance held the mark even in the most demanding scenes, which was impressive! 
• The character models themselves had cool animations with their hair and cloth moving around while idle. But, enemy and boss battles had the same type of deaths and animations, which I didn’t appreciate. 
• The art style was great, with most levels having that depth of field effect while the characters moved out or into the scene!

 

WORLD DESIGN (7/10) 

• While level design had awesome variety with cool landscapes, it wasn’t extensive enough. Each section took no more than 1/2m with the exception of boss battles, which moved you to the next area before you could enjoy the actual one. You started from the City Streets and went into the Ninja Tower, passing through the Amusement Park, Highway, Construction Site and Cave along the way. 
• The atmosphere was mostly ruined by the constant deaths, as well as the same enemy encounters and monotonous sound effects. 
• World destruction was awesome though, with most sections having that environmental shift which changed level aesthetics.

 

TL;DR -> A nice little adventure with cool characters, awesome visuals and a pretty varied soundtrack. It suffered from its monotonous enemy encounters and short level designs, as well as the same audio effects and succulent coin eating technique. Still, a cool 30m experience, with fiery dragons, cool specials and fast pacing. A (7.5) game, good to very good in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, as in CO-OP the game would be even faster to complete, even with friendly fire as a developer cheat! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (7/10) 

• The story was basically nonexistent apart its basic plot, which was to fight off Mutated enemies and save the futuristic city from extinction. 
• The controls were pretty basic too, with an attack, jump, grab or special by holding the attack button.
• To have different specials, you collected shiny orbs, as well as some health replenishers. They clearly didn’t give you enough health though, because the game was very punishing towards the end. 
• I did love the combo attacks with your basic moves, felt like you were dealing actual damage instead of just punches. You could do uppercuts as well as air attacks, grabs and so on. 
• The enemies themselves were heavily reused, but did present some unique ones every once in a while. Same for the mini-bosses and bosses themselves, which were thrown at you at the last stage in their repeatable form! 
• Plus, all of them had I-frames which protected them from your constant attacks, which required constantly backing off. Same for their downed animations, which didn’t make sense as they punched you even before getting up. 
• Traversal was pretty fun with great little transition screens in between to proceed to the next area. The areas themselves were divided into multiple scenarios which I loved. 
• Difficulty was hard, but not as hard as other similar games I tried from that era.

 

AUDIO (10/10) 

• Sound design had that awesome stereo output which streamed from either center, left or right simultaneously. This amplified the explosions, punches and overall mayhem on screen. 
• The music was awesome, with great tracks all around. One thing I absolutely adored, was how the character moved in tandem with the music, giving you that badass vibe while perfectly synching with the world around you! 
• Same for the ambient sounds, which were pretty cool during those Motorcycle enemy spawns!

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity was fantastic for 1992, with most visual effects having such impressive details. Like the reflections during the Bay Area, enemy explosions which splattered literal goo or simply the amounts of enemies on screen. 
• All that amplified by their unique animations with cool attack patterns! 
• The art style kept you entertained on each level, not giving you neither room to breathe nor stagnate!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design had that unique 90s vibe to it, where everything screamed futuristic enemy encounters with old school environments! 
• The atmosphere was outstanding. The simple movement under great music beats gave it a memorable aspect, as well as the landscapes and overall world destruction combined!

 

TL;DR -> An awesome visual, audio and world design showcase under a pretty monotonous gameplay. While enemy variety did present something new at the right intervals, it did suffer from a repetitive combat loop. Still, a (9.3) game, masterpiece in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, as even with a friend, I suspect the gameplay will simply overextend! 

GAMEPLAY (9/10) 

• While storytelling was pretty generic, it did feature 4 different endings based on your outcome or CO-OP play. I got the first ending by beating the game on one credit, but there were the others by beating the game with at least one death and having duels with your CO-OP partner. It’s kind of strange that you get the bad ending with your submarine being destroyed by being perfect, but when using coins you get the good ending with people cheering for you! 
• Anyway, the controls were pretty basic with only 2 mash buttons and the directional ones. It wasn’t a simple scheme, because the mechanics were so complex that by the end I felt overwhelmed. 
• You had your direct torpedoes with other power ups like missiles, exploding projectiles, sonars and so on. Then, an upper gun which got its own power ups, with multiple rockets, bombs and exploding balloons. Plus, I did love the way you had to progress further by resurfacing to hit ground enemies and going underwater to deal with the deep sea ones. 
• Speaking of enemy variety. They were so diverse, so many types with so many tricks up their sleeve. You encountered normal enemies with rockets, helicopters, jets, mechs, huge boats, turrets, underground bases, ground missiles and on and on. Truly spectacular work in every encounter! 
• The bosses themselves were cool as well. With some being simple machines, while the others literal monsters. The mini-bosses too, with scary eels chasing you down the deep! 
• The game featured some unique platforming sections too, with pixel perfect precision requirements, insane amounts of obstacles on screen and unique puzzles which you only understood after calming yourself and paying attention. Going through some underwater buildings just to reach the other end was a unique feature I wasn’t expecting, as well as destroying literal concrete blocks to escape a monstrosity! 
• While the game had a normal pace, with no more than 40m to an hour, It did feature an outstanding traversal with unique traps. I was so impressed by their variety and unique use, like smashing icebergs just to move forward or destroying whole buildings with supersonic glass shatters! 
• The difficulty was extra crispy, with some levels having pixel perfect requirements and insane amounts of enemies on screen. Similar to what these developers did with Metal Slug afterwards, where mayhem was their only option!

 

AUDIO (8/10) 

• Sound design was mostly mono, which was weird for a 1993 game. It did feature cool sound effects and explosions, which perfectly combined with the music by not overcomplicating the output. 
• The music itself was very good with an awesome variety. Basically, each level and boss fight had its own unique soundtrack!

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was magnificent in every department. From the overall destruction to enemy animations, scrolling fluidity and absolute mayhem on screen! 
• The models themselves were impressive, mostly because the game always surprised you with a new type. 
• While I did admire the amounts of explosions, enemies and visual effects on screen, the game did suffer slowdowns during intense sequences. With some dragging for 5-10s at a time. 
• The art style was magnificent though, with each level having unique set pieces all around.  
• The visual effects themselves were too advanced for the time. The bubbles before or after an explosion, missile waves underwater, the hot water after explosions, smoke, debris, collapses, whole building destructions and much more. Truly spectacular work!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design was magnificent on each section. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but I’ll also add that the use of both ground and underwater sections was simply perfect! 
• The atmosphere was there too, with cool music, insane enemy encounters and beautiful landscapes! 
• World destruction itself had that level of mayhem that not only impressed you with extensive explosions, but also surprised you with so many particle effects, debris and unique levels of destruction you didn’t even expect!

 

TL;DR -> An amazing game with a pretty balanced core. I would’ve loved to see some equipment upgrades besides the power ups, although the submarine did become overpowered once you got your desired weapons. A (9.0) game, masterpiece of absolute mayhem! Would definitely replay the game in CO-OP when I’m bored, just so I can become the new D.A.S. LORD! 

I’m well aware that some of us got a surprise with Control: Ultimate Edition the past month, as the Extra license overwrote our Essential one and locked us out of playing the game. 

I’ll try to keep this brief and concise, just to show how insane the PS licensing system is! 

• On May 26 I wanted to continue playing Control on PS5, but without success as the game was locked from my library. I was like, that can’t be right, I have the receipt from the February 2021 monthly game. While checking the receipts, I’ve found another one dating back to June 2022, likely the Extra license. 
• So, I gather every information and screenshots available while contacting PS Chatbot. After going around the Chatbot trying to talk to a human Agent, I finally get to talk to one. By talk I mean waiting between 20-30m between messages for them to respond. I give them the receipt information, order number and everything to reinstate my license while waiting for their response. They say they’ll forward the matter to another support team and solve my issue in the following days. 
• Stubborn as I am, I call the phone line to get some immediate answers. Well, that was the most useless experience I’ve had in a long while. I talked to a person who didn’t know what to do, said I didn’t have a PS Subscription at the moment when in fact I did, and tried to persuade me to buy the game from the store. After around 15m on the phone, explaining what in the actual chimichangas is going on, I get a ticket with PS Support over Email. 
• Now, if you have the same issue, I’d recommend strapping in hard while preparing to suffer a long and useless exchange until you get to the right person! 
• Long story short, the support tried to tell me how to download and install the game first, then delete my save files to somehow unlock the game, restore my licenses when in fact the license was overwritten and even assure me that I didn’t have the game while it was clearly stated in my receipt. 
• After pushing the same problem for days, 8 to be precise, I finally got to talk to a potential problem solver. Which, wasn’t capable of solving the problem and reinstating the license. But, they were kind enough to grant me a €15 account balance to buy Control: Ultimate Edition currently available for €3,99, and thanks to their generosity, The Bioshock Collection as well.

  

In the end, I have no idea who designed their licensing stuff, but that was an extremely confusing experience! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (6/10) 

• While storytelling was pretty basic, with the 4 rangers keeping the animals safe, it did have an unexpected final twist. Kinda loved how each animal not only was present for the story presentation, but helped you in battle as well. 
• The controls were simple too, with an attack, push by double tapping the directional buttons and jump button. From what I tried, there was no special attack, only picking up and dropping weapons by pressing both buttons. 
• Speaking of your arsenal. You could pick up a whip which gave you an Indiana Jones appearance, machine guns, swords, pipes, grenades and knives. All of which helped you through the short but entertaining journey. 
• Mechanics wise, not too complex. You could blow people up, pick up stones or barrels to use them as throwables, or simply use your ranged weapons in close quarters once the ammo ran out. 
• Other than that, there was a level where you used a bit of platforming, but nothing crazy. There were a couple of traps with cool lava fireballs, which I did enjoy in their limited form. 
• Traversal was seamless without any loading screens in between, but be prepared to drop at least 30 coins to complete the game. 
• The enemies themselves while impressive for the time, were clearly too many for one player to handle. CO-OP is a must on this one! 
• Boss battles were nice, with at least 4 in my experience. But, each one had unstoppable attacks and would always hit you from any position you took on the screen, removing any possibility for dodging. At first it was nice seeing their attacks, but soon after it became stressful and simply boring! 
• Difficulty was too much for one player, maybe in 4 you could handle the whole screen with ease!

 

AUDIO (10/10) 

• Sound design was pretty awesome, with every sound effects having that punchy vibe. It did feature full stereo, which helped combine the music with all the explosions and breakable object though the game. 
• The music itself was so good. The first track screamed a nonchalant soundtrack under a heavy load of bullets, punches and overall animal madness! 
• The game also featured some voice lines with cool dialogues, pretty impressive for 1990! 
• The ambient sounds themselves were limited, but still cool hearing those huge elephants stomp through those schmucks!

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was great for 1990, with most visual effects having that extra punch. The explosions themselves were awesome, and I did love how the main characters dropped down once a grenade was thrown! 
• The character models while not too diverse from each other, with 2 of the 4 having the same body types, did feature cool outfits. 
• Performance was impressive considering the amount of overall enemies, explosions and mayhem on screen. 
• The art style had that gritty look through the whole game, with little changes until the very end. 
• The effects themselves were good, with chilling water splashes and awesome respawn animations!

 

WORLD DESIGN (6/10) 

• Level design was mostly the same, with the same types of assets and locations. Some backgrounds did change, and you did ride the train plus the underground section, but that was it. The whole game felt like a stretched level, not a full game. 
• The atmosphere was there, with cool music and heavy amounts of enemies. World destruction helped as well, as you literary obliterated the whole screen!

 

TL;DR -> A pretty average gameplay and world design experience, with only the audio and visual effects having a spicy punch. I did enjoy the brawling at the start, unfortunately it got pretty monotonous by the end. An (8.2) game, very good in my book. Would only replay the game with 4 player CO-OP, mostly because it was a punishing experience by myself. And by the looks of it, the bar did offer 4 seats, unfortunately I didn’t have enough quarters to buy some more drinks! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (7/10) 

• Storytelling was pretty basic for 1994, with the usual plot about saving the world from terrorists. 
• Its presentation was magnificent though, with cool backgrounds on mission starts, great mission briefings and ending scenes!  
• The characters themselves were balanced in their own way, which gave you the opportunity to play and experience all 3 of them, deciding which one suited you the most. 
• The game’ pacing was just right, with no more than 40m to an hour of gameplay. 
• While the previous game had no story at all, this one delivered a basic yet entertaining journey! 
• The game also had 2 endings, which were locked behind your timer. So you better get moving!

 

GAMEPLAY (9/10) 

• I mostly got accustomed with the controls from the previous game, but here, they were expanded to the next level. You had the usual duck, jump and shoot buttons, but with more twists. Here, you could fire up and shoot cameras, robots or other enemies from above. Could run by double tapping the directional buttons, kill enemies in close quarters with cool attacks or do high kicks like in the original.  
• The mechanics were expanded even more. With shooting up generators to disable force fields or lights, using blue doors for power ups, destroying crates and trash for weapon upgrades, picking up health to replenish your health bar, destroying blockades which enemies hid behind, throwing bombs to literally burn enemies alive and much more. 
• Speaking of enemies, their variety was awesome. With so many variations between each other, even dogs, crawling robots on ceilings or floors, turrets and so on. Their attack patterns varied as well, with some laying on the ground and shooting you in the feet, others going mad and shooting bursts of bullets, some having literal flamethrowers and on and on. 
• Unfortunately boss variety was nearly nonexistent apart the final one. You got the usual enemy spawns to complete a level, which I found lacking. 
• Your weapons were reduced to your character choice, but there were some additional power ups with machine guns and a rocket launcher which obliterated whole floors with one shot. 
• While the platforming was pretty basic, the traversal felt incredible. You jumped from one section to the other with awesome transitions without any loading screens in between! 
• The difficulty wasn’t too hard, mainly because you had a health bar, life replenishers and 1 extra one up upon death!

 

AUDIO (10/10) 

• Sound design had that amplified stereo where you could hear all the cool audio effects from either far left or right, center or even both while you shot across rooms! 
• The music itself was so good, with each soundtrack fitting the game’ vibes perfectly. It wasn’t too rushed or too slow, just right. 
• The game had voice lines during gameplay as well, which expanded the overall experience! 
• The ambient sounds combined with all the sound effects were amazing too, oftentimes giving you that trapped feeling!

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity was incredible, even for 1994. I was so impressed by all the environmental shifts, explosions, fire effects and so much more. The game also played at rock solid 60Fps, with no frame-drops in between, even during heavy scenes! 
• The character animations were peak as well, with most having next gen level of fluidity. The moment I saw how enemy bullets hit you in the leg, torso or foot, and your character reacted exactly where the bullet hit, I understood how awesome these devs were! 
• Enemies too, with so many cool death animations it was crazy! 
• The overall art style was magnificent as well. This time, not only with inside locations, but on the outside too. The environments themselves shifted constantly, giving you that refreshing experience! 
• And let’s not forget about the visual effects, which were insanely well made. The burning and fire effects, generator sparks, robot explosions, barrel rolls, enemy spawns behind corners and so much more, all with slick visual effects!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design was so good. You started from the Skyscraper, then went down to the Airport, Shopping Mall, Oil Rig, Underground Base and finally reached the Missile Silo. All with incredible traversal shifts between them! 
• The atmosphere was expanded by the beautiful landscapes, music, magnificent visuals and overall world destruction. The combination of all of them gave you peak vibes!

 

TL;DR -> What more can I say, an awesome experience which started with elevators and finished with literal mayhem all around. Unlike the first game, this one expanded on everything, delivering an outstanding experience 11 years later! A (9.2) game, masterpiece in my book. Would absolutely replay the game with friends, as I want to play in CO-OP and see how the world ends!