SEGA Vintage Collection Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 17 June, 2009

Help the Ages.

Version tested: Xbox 360

Following a drip-drip accumulation of classic SEGA titles on Xbox Live Arcade, the venerable publisher finally splurged itself big-style last Wednesday, with a whopping six titles in one beefy update. Priced at just 400 Microsoft Points (GBP 3.40 / EUR 4.80 in actual pennies) they're already roughly half the price of the same games on Nintendo's Virtual Console, and come with online doohickies to boot. It's a great price point for this sort of game - it makes the true classics an absolute steal, yet also makes the pretty good titles much more appealing.

All but one of these games are, of course, already available on the SEGA Megadrive Ultimate Collection, in almost the exact same emulated form. This generous package of over 40 old games can be picked up for silly cheap prices, but for those who just want to cherry-pick the cream of the crop, this is an excellent update, with a solid line-up of good-to-great SEGA titles spread across various genres. And Altered Beast.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

While his games may not showcase the sort of startling evolution that arch rival Super Mario Bros. enjoyed, the original Sonic titles are too often undervalued when great 2D game design is discussed.

'SEGA Vintage Collection' Screenshot 1

Case in point, this third outing for the blue wonder is superficially similar to the first two games, but contains enough gentle evolutions of the core design to make it pretty irresistible. Size is one of the major changes, with stages that now sprawl in many directions. The space is wisely used as well. Those who prefer the speed-run approach can still hammer through the scenery and make straight for the exit, but there are so many secrets and obscure areas hidden behind rocks, at the top of trees or accessible only by top-notch platforming that more, thorough players can spend blissful hours mining the game for every last ring.

Sonic himself is much as he was in the second game, although he's now able to pick up elemental power-ups that not only act as a shield, good for one hit, but also provide new attacks such as water bubble bounces and fire blasts. There's also a shift to co-op play (offline only, sadly) as Tails can help Sonic by airlifting him to remote areas. The versus mode returns, and is playable online as well.

It's not Sonic & Knuckles, but that's about the only serious criticism that can be levelled at such a confident and polished sequel. Not quite a stone-cold classic, but close enough to make the low asking price a no-brainer.

8/10

Gunstar Heroes

One of the finest action games of the 16-bit era, Gunstar Heroes is the evolutionary link between the ruthless design of Mega Man and the goofy carnage of Metal Slug. A relentless side-scrolling shooter, it also represents all that is great about offbeat developer Treasure's output.

'SEGA Vintage Collection' Screenshot 2

Like Mega Man, you can mix and match from a variety of elemental-themed weapon sets. You can also choose which order to tackle the game's stages. While Capcom's armoured hero was always more about precision platforming than frantic blasting, however, Gunstar Heroes is deliriously paced, its outrageous crescendos beautifully conducted for maximum "daft grin" effect.

Bullets fly, everything explodes and you keep on moving. Enemies that get too close are judo-flipped into their comrades, and the layered platforms ultimately feel like an adventure playground of trigger-mashing destruction rather than any nuanced obstacle course to be navigated.

True to the Treasure house style, the humour is broad, the ideas wacky and the gameplay subtly tweaked every few minutes to keep you engaged. One minute you're sliding down an incline, blasting enemies as they skid past, the next you might be battling a runaway train. Treasure's love of the boss battle is also front and centre, with a rapid procession of fantastically designed and animated foes to wear down through pattern recall and fire-button abuse.

A glaring omission from the disc-based Megadrive Collection, Gunstar Heroes is a great choice for the SEGA Vintage series. The hardcore will lap it up, but anyone who still remembers what it's like to grin like an idiot while blasting hundreds of enemies will more than get their money's worth as well.

8/10

Comix Zone

One of the unsung gems of the Megadrive, Comix Zone mashes up the pugilism of Streets of Rage with some rudimentary inventory-based adventure game mechanics and comes up with a distinct flavour all of its own.

'SEGA Vintage Collection' Screenshot 3

The story finds a comic artist - a very 1990s comic artist, complete with ponytail, Bermuda shorts and sleeveless leather jacket - sucked into the panels of his own creation. You're able to punch enemies from one panel to the next, or rip through the page border and drop down into scenes below. Combat is satisfying, if unoriginal, but this conceptual twist makes the framework seem fresh.

Given its comic book back-story, it's also a game that could only work in a world made from 2D sprites, and the graphics do a fine job of capturing the little details that mark the difference between an OK game and one with that extra polish.

The game is arguably a little too tough, with plenty of ways to lose health but few to top it back up again, and there are a couple of precision do-or-die leaps that act as stark reminders of the game's unforgiving vintage. Those caveats aside, Comix Zone still impresses with its ideas and execution and is a definite highlight of SEGA's retro line-up.

8/10

Phantasy Star II

If you value gameplay hours, then Phantasy Star II certainly justifies its meagre asking price. A rare JRPG that doesn't cling to the Final Fantasy template, it's an epic and fairly mature tale of sci-fi intrigue and environmental ruin, with a memorable stick-man graphical style and a vast open world to explore.

Visually, your closest reference point is probably Zelda, with a stark top-down perspective and party members that trail behind you. There are random encounters, sadly, but they're easy to flee from in the early stages while you build up your stats.

If it has one major failing, it's that this download version rather skimps on the instructions with only three slides of basic info and as a result the abbreviation-heavy menus and prompts can be fairly overwhelming. Combat in particular requires no small amount of prior experience in the genre to decipher, and the nuances take too long to become clear. This is compounded if you switch on the smoothed graphics, which makes the abundant text practically illegible.

Get past that initial barrier, however, and you'll find one of the better examples of the early RPG genre, and a game of depth and longevity that really stands out alongside its platform and fighting peers. It's hard to imagine who'd want to grumble about a weighty adventure like this for such a low price.

7/10

Shinobi

Shinobi has always been one of those solid series that thoroughly deserves all the warm nostalgia it stirs up, while never quite ascending to the echelons of true greatness. Maybe people get it confused with Ninja Gaiden. That would be very silly, since it actually has more in common with side-scrolling shooters like Green Beret and Rolling Thunder.

'SEGA Vintage Collection' Screenshot 4

You are Joe Musashi, a ninja sent to save kidnapped children from an army of jumpsuited terrorists. You do this by roving left to right, and swapping between two pathways - one high, one low - as you go. An endless supply of shuriken is your main defence, but you can also whip out a sword for a quick up-close melee attack.

There's not much to it, but the design is crisp enough to work some measure of alchemy on such generic base ingredients. It rarely feels unfair, unlike so many of its genre peers, and the control is nimble and responsive, allowing you to attempt daring pixel perfect manoeuvres without fear of being caught short by wonky collision detection.

Only the boss battles tip the scales in favour of frustration, but that's par for the course. The multiplayer mode, meanwhile, is strictly turn-based, but that's no bad thing. It's surprising how easy it is to slip into the old high-score battle mindset.

With crisp sprites (assuming you're not one of those heathens that actually likes the smeared effect of the "smoothed" graphics option) Shinobi is a solid little action game that works beautifully with the 400-Point price-tag.

7/10

Altered Beast

The runt of the current SEGA Vintage litter, I'm always surprised that Altered Beast has managed to endure so long, given that it's such a technically inept and tediously designed trudge to play.

'SEGA Vintage Collection' Screenshot 5

Ordered to "wise fwom your gwave" by Zeus, you're sent to rescue his daughter from an evil wizard. You do this by plodding from left to right, using a tiny number of fighting moves to demolish the laughably crap monsters that shuffle towards you from both sides. Occasionally you'll see a white wolf. Killing these releases a spirit globe, which makes you stronger, and collecting three transforms you into a different special-move enhanced animalistic warrior depending on the level.

It's really only once you've changed into a beast that the game becomes even remotely playable, as life as a human is sluggish and stiff, but even with that little extra boost the experience is constantly plagued by jerky scrolling and baffling collision detection. Compared to other side-scrolling beat-'em-ups, it's a graceless blunt instrument with precious little inspiration to distract from the crude way it spams you with enemies.

The graphics are horrible, and made even worse by that hellish "smoothing" filter. Your powered-up hero has a bulky weightlifter's body with a tiny comedy head on top, while enemy designs are lumpy and ugly. It's possibly worth sticking around for the pink unicorn men though. Apart from that marvellous bright spot, Altered Beast is a grim throwback that looks even worse when played alongside its current company.

3/10

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About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (72) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • muscleblade #1 3 years ago

    Loved Gunstar Heroes! The other games can be found in the Ultimate Megadrive Collection for a pretty decent price so.
    Edited by 1 at 17/06/09 @ 08:07

  • Darren #2 3 years ago

    On the PC emulators for really old consoles and computers such as the Commodore 64 they include a "scanline" filter which simulates a CRT TV effect even on LCD screens and made games look less blocky. It mystifies me why retro developers don't include it and all the other filters in these ports, it looks a million times better than the "smoothing" filter.

  • bad09 #3 3 years ago

    I already own these but 400 points is good pricing again from good old SEGA, dig in if you don't have 'em. some greats in there.

    Dan, Dan Dan. Altered Beast 3/10 you sir are a SNES fanboy or something, or is it ANOTHER huge mistake just like that Dead Space one? Carebear..... ;)

  • mkreku #4 3 years ago

    Shinobi on the Commodore 64 is a genuine classic! I still remember the awe I felt when I first fought the gigantic helicopter! Just wanted to mention that.

  • Bloodloss #5 3 years ago

    How dare you talk that way about Altered Beast!

  • Pinewood_Groves #6 3 years ago

    I think the following Altered Beast has is bizarre. I remember playing it on my new Mega Drive in 1991 at the age of 8 and thinking it was a useless piece of junk, before putting Sonic back on.

    Gunstar Heroes is forever awesome though. Only 8/10? :)

  • Doctor_What #7 3 years ago

    Altered Beast only lingers because it came in the box with the UK Mega Drive. Those of us who bought a Japanese imported Mega Drive don't hold the same fascination with the game. It's a load of piffle, with a side salad of tosh, and only memorable for the 'Wise Fwom Your Gwave!' audio sample.

  • andywilkie35 #8 3 years ago

    @Pinewood_Groves

    I agree Sir, I thought it was terrible when I was young and whilst games like Sonic and Mario etc bring back great memories, I physically shudder when I think of that abomination.

  • richyroo #9 3 years ago

    xbox live arcade really shows up the wii's virtual console for the overpriced junkyard that it is! These games run with no borders and at full speed, many include online support and all for LESS than half the price of the virtual console versions.

    Nintendo, you make me laugh!

  • Wastelander #10 3 years ago

    Comix Zone really wasn't that good, it was full of retarded insta-deaths (Skreeches knocking you off wires) and leap of faith jumps that made it a chore to play.

  • bad09 #11 3 years ago

    Reading about all these old SEGA games makes me want to reach for Shenmue tonight!

    / heads to arcade

  • sweetcheeks #12 3 years ago

    ive never played altered beast but from what i understand,
    its creation was a graphical showcase to show people that the megadrive
    was capable of arcade quality visuals well beyond that of current NES competitor.


    please mr sega man sir,
    put zero wing game with the full audio intro as an unlockable in one of your collections.
    surely the greatest jap->eng translation of any media ever.

  • muscleblade #13 3 years ago

    @Mr_Smith

    You must be pretty young i guess. Gunstar Heroes plays better than Killzone 2 in many ways.

  • Aretak #14 3 years ago

    It'd be far better value to just buy the Mega Drive Ultimate Collection, which has all of these games (bar Gunstar Heroes) plus 35 more and can be had for about £15 online.

    Anyway, Comix Zone is a nice game. One of the best-looking of the 16-bit era IMO. It's hard as nails though (you lose health for attacking enemies FFS), and lasts about half an hour at best.
    Edited by 1 at 17/06/09 @ 09:05

  • DFawkes #15 3 years ago

    I love Dice Palace. Rolling a 1 when you really, really need anything except a 1, and the ensuing challenges :) Not many more bittersweet times to be had on a Mega Drive.

    Love that we've finally got the Sonic Trilogy, with Sonic & Knuckles to come.

  • TruSmiles #16 3 years ago

    Sonic 3 was my personal favourite of the series, so despite having the MegaDrive collection, I'm going to buy it anyway, because I'm a tool :(

  • toythatkills #17 3 years ago

    "... thorough players can spend blissful hours mining the game for every last ring."

    No they can't! You die after ten minutes, there's no way to collect every ring in that time.

  • Wastelander #18 3 years ago

    I'm hearing you Aretak, outstanding presentation but just stupid frustrating in places.

    Is there any plans to get Ristar up I wonder? Surely up there with Sonic, if not even better.

  • muscleblade #19 3 years ago

    Ristar is on the Megadrive collection. I thouth it was crap. Better than Sonic you say. You make me laugh.

  • BillyBrush #20 3 years ago

    Altered Beast was the fall guy....shame..

  • creepylizard #21 3 years ago

    God, I loved Phantasy Star 2 when I was younger...I think I paid about 70 quid for an american import at the time too..

  • videogangs #22 3 years ago

    I remember playing Altered Beast on a crappy coin-op in a Spanish cafe all the time near my grandparent's apartment- I used to think it was the shit at the time but I must have been able 7 and being deprived of all videogames for a week or 2 at a time probably had that affect!

    I came back in 1998 when I was about 12 they had Soul Caliber and one of the Metal Slugs, so they'd moved on a bit :-P

  • miiiguel #23 3 years ago

    Comix Zone hard? You guys must try it now that you are all grown ups :) It's quite easy (except, maybe for Kung Fung, lvl 2 boss).
    You want hard, try finishing Phantasy Star 2 (PS2) . Btw, I like the "smooth filter" in PS2. And yes, the PS2 was crazy expensive back in the days, and it amazes me how a 20mb game can be so complex.
    Edited by 1 at 17/06/09 @ 09:51

  • Eoin #24 3 years ago

    Dan, Dan Dan. Altered Beast 3/10 you sir are a SNES fanboy or something, or is it ANOTHER huge mistake just like that Dead Space one?

    I'd say 3/10 is generous for Altered Beast. It really has very little going for it, especially as a game appearing alongside a wide range of other - massively superior - Mega Drive games (both on Xbox Live Arcade and on the recent Mega Drive Collection. I think that a lot of the people who buy it because of their memories of the game are going to be surprised at how very badly it holds up in 2009.

  • TheMoonRat #25 3 years ago

    Why don't they used http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Hqx scaling?

  • darm #26 3 years ago

    I never finished PSII although always wanted to. Maybe now achievements will make me more diligent.

  • VicViper #27 3 years ago

    I never beat Sonic 3 due to one thing, that goddamn plaform in the carnivale zone. You had to jump and land on it to move it out of the way to move on, there entire level bottle necked around it. Urghhrag! I hated that platform couldn't even use cheat debug to get past it.

    maybe I'll finally beat it now

  • kinky_mong #28 3 years ago

    "Altered Beast only lingers because it came in the box with the UK Mega Drive. Those of us who bought a Japanese imported Mega Drive don't hold the same fascination with the game. It's a load of piffle, with a side salad of tosh, and only memorable for the 'Wise Fwom Your Gwave!' audio sample."

    That and the "POWER UP!" and "WELCOME TO YOUR DOOM!" samples.

    But it really is one of the worst games ever created.

  • Eurolamer #29 3 years ago

    Quite possibly one of the worst names for a game too. I mean, 'Altered Beast'? Think on it for a moment.

    Sounds like a game starring Dolly the sheep or something.

  • muscleblade #30 3 years ago

    @miiiguel

    How come you bought Comix zone and Phantasy Star 2 when their already on the megadrive collection?
    Easy Achievements i guess?

  • steellam #31 3 years ago

    As a kid I loved Altered Beast, Golden Axe etc. but I think they were definately at their best in coin op format where 20ps were in limited supply :)

  • DonLimey #32 3 years ago

    @VicViper - You can just hold up and down on the pad in sync with the platforms movement and it'll go up & down further. I remember trying to do exactly the same as you when I first played it when S3 was originally released.

  • miiiguel #33 3 years ago

    @ muscleblade: Not easy Achievements, just Achievements (tbh I also thought Comix Zone was hard, but too many years passed, it's not all that really), regarding Phantasy Star 2, lol... easy???! Why don't you give it a try? But remeber you have to actually finish the game, and it features gameplay that does not feature headshots and muscled dudes saying one-liners.

  • Eraysor #34 3 years ago

    I wasted many days in my youth getting high scores on Gunstar Heroes. Apart from Sonic, it's easily the best Mega Drive game.

  • Ryze #35 3 years ago

    @Pinewood_Groves

    Altered beast is a cheese cult classic!!!

    'Wize fwom you gwave!!!!!!'

    'Power UP!'

    'Ha Ha Ha Haaaaaaa!'

    It's all about 1991 playing it as one of the only games your spoilt mate had on his new MD... then once he got Road Rash, Streets of Rage and EA Hockey - you never looked back!

    :D

    edit:

    @VicViper

    Can't remember ever getting stuck on that at age 15.

    There is a bug in the Carnival zone though - where you could actually get stuck in the scenery! That caused much annoyance back in the day, but Sonic 3 has a save game system, so I can't believe you never got off of Carnival zone onto the Ice zone with the snowboarding at teh start!!!!

    You missed out, man. Sonic 3 & Knuckles played through in a few sessions is the most complete, and fantastic Sonic experience I had as a yooot'.

    Give it a go once the lock-on feature is available (or on Sonic Jam on the Saturn), and you'll knwo what I mean...
    Edited by 2 at 17/06/09 @ 11:12

  • miiiguel #36 3 years ago

    I know what Vic is talking about, there's a wheel on Carnivale stage that you have to turn by pressing up and down with an almost pixel-perfect coreography. One could "cheat" to pass that level though.

  • VicViper #37 3 years ago

    @Ryze
    I did use a debug mode cheat to pass through it but it was a rental when I got it, back during those dark times when I could not buy games on a whim. I did see the Ice Zone (awsome music) and the snow boarding but I'm convinced that using the debug glitched the game so I couldn't finish it (least thats what I tell myself) and then I had to return it to XtraVision.

    I read years later that you had to press up and down to get past it were as I was jumping and pressing down, if only the internet had existed in its form today back then.

  • neonxaos #38 3 years ago

    I hated Altered Beast from day one, but it was a freebie with many MD systems for the longest while. I got the Super Monaco GP package instead, thank God for that.

    Phantasy Star II, however... I was more into that game than I had ever been into anything else. I thought about it all the time when I wasn't playing. Nothing had come close to that experience before... I beat the game all the way up until the final boss, but never managed to take it down (there's a long, dangerous trek from the last save point to the boss). I still think I'll pull my Mega Drive out and finish it some day, but I've forgotten all the intricacies of combat, so I probably don't stand a chance anymore.

    And Gunstar... one of the most impressive technical achievements on the Mega Drive, and one hell of a co-op game. Still shines today.

  • AgentCool #39 3 years ago

    I've already got the Mega Drive Collection so won't be buying any of these. However, I would have bought Sonic 3 for the three-thousandth time if it had Sonic & Knuckles attached to it so you could play Sonic 3 & Knuckles with its 14 emeralds and Hyper Sonic unlockable. It was on the Saturn's Sonic Jam collection so why not here?

  • slivir #40 3 years ago

    Why didn't they include Sonic and Knuckles with Sonic 3? I reckon they were always meant to go together anyway... If they had I would have been sold on this.

  • miiiguel #41 3 years ago

    @ neon: are you referring to Dark Force or Mother Brain? Phantasy Star has too much grinding, been 20 hours into the game and I barely scratch the surface - the dungeons are crazy complex, it's virtually impossible to complete them withour maps (which came with the original game - Dan's right, this port, as it is, it's unplayable without other info). Kudos to EGer Mr.Lutz who's been quite helpfull (dude knows the game by heart, impressive!).
    Edited by 1 at 17/06/09 @ 11:55

  • Retroid #42 3 years ago

    WRONG ASPECT SCREENSHOT FAIL

  • kingcrude #43 3 years ago

    i'm so glad there are others who see can see just how bad Altered Beast really was, is anmd will be. My mates take the piss out of me for how passionate I get when I start screaming at people when they say they remember how much they thinik its great. Arghhhh! And those pink unicorns dont raise the score from a 2 to a 3.

  • Daryoon #44 3 years ago

    How does:

    "Story-wise, it's embarrassingly generic, opening with a nightmare-stricken hero who is swiftly handed the task of investigating the sudden appearance of monsters. Everything unfolds much as you'd expect, with the only notable point of difference being the sci-fi setting and a combat style that apes Square's turn-based strategy but in a clunkier way."

    turn to

    "A rare JRPG that doesn't cling to the Final Fantasy template, it's an epic and fairly mature tale of sci-fi intrigue and environmental ruin, with a memorable stick-man graphical style and a vast open world to explore."

    ?

  • anomagnus #45 3 years ago

    gunstar heroes was amazing. simply amazing

    as for altered beast, i remember standing in my local shopping centre in a queue for 30 minutes to try out the demo of it, on a demo megadrive

    i couldn't beleive the graphics at the time, i thought this was it, the future was here.

  • sickpuppysoftware #46 3 years ago

    Altered Beast is remembered to this day not because of it's graphics or gameplay but purely because of "wise fwom your gwave"

  • Lutz #47 3 years ago

    Altered Beast isn't worthy of 3/10. Much too high.

    Gunstar, seriously, it's a 9 or 10. Truely awesome. And EVERYONE dreads getting the sodding "Curry and Rice" fight in the Dice Palace! End boss is hard as nails if you don't have "homing" or co-op.

    Whoever said Phantasy Star II was "easy achivement points" is off their ROCKER. Seriously mental. 75gp of the 200gp available are unlocked by the final series of boss fights, and this game has, by some considerable distance IMO, the toughest final boss fights of any RPG. First you get an arduous slog through a tough dungeon, then back to back boss fights with Dark Force and Motherbrain, and the best spell in the game to help you actually blasts your party too. Rock hard. And that's if you can even GET to the end. The dungeons are insanly big and complex, and the amount of grinding needed in the game is unreal. Probably a 60 to 80 hour monster of a session this game. I'm a big Phantasy Star fan, but I'd be hard pushed to give it anything higher than a 6/10. Wait for Phantasy Star 4; now THAT'S a great RPG.

  • X #48 3 years ago

    I got stuck on that also for about an hour compared to cruising through the rest of the game. Was tempted to give up but accidentally did it by jumping up and down on it to gain the momentum instead but then realised its just a case of doing the up/down action.

  • Slipstream #49 3 years ago

    Ryze hit the nail on the head. Altered Beast has a the classic retro cult following of the cheese and barrage of people who played it back in the day who would pay this price to play it again. By no means is a the game a shining example of quality gaming, and I KNOW Sega realise this.

    Anyhow I'd already bought Sonic 3 and Gunstar Heroes, all I want is Streets of Rage 3 so I can play it co-op online. xD

  • Lutz #50 3 years ago

    I think "Help the aged" would have been better.

  • muscleblade #51 3 years ago

    "But remeber you have to actually finish the game, and it features gameplay that does not feature headshots and muscled dudes saying one-liners. "

    I finish all the games i play. What make you think i only play games featuring headshots and muscle dudes. Think you mistake me for someone else.

  • siro #52 3 years ago

    I must say, muscleblade's gamercard holds true to the statement. There's virtually nothing unfinished on that. Quite the feat.

  • muscleblade #53 3 years ago

    @Miiguel

    Seems easy to me:

    [link url=http://www.achieve360points.com/forums/showthread. php?t=113774
    ]http://ww w.achieve360points.com/forums/s...[/link]
    [link url=http://www.achieve360points.com/forums/showthread. php?t=114236
    ]http://ww w.achieve360points.com/forums/s...[/link]

  • miiiguel #54 3 years ago

    @ muscleblade, it isn't to me, though - despite what those 4 (four) persons said. Not by a long shot, I find myslef completly lost at times, though I know I'm a rubish player. You should try it, it can't be easier than Terminator, can it? I mean, all talk and no play...

    disclaimer: I'm not really sugesting PS2 is a good game to you, lol. I could bet a finger you would never, ever complete it. It's not "manly" enough.

    Edited by 3 at 17/06/09 @ 14:43

  • Lutz #55 3 years ago

    muscleblade: Those 200gp will take you about 60 hours. Comparred to Gunstar Heroes' 200gp, which take about an hour.

  • Celdrahil #56 3 years ago

    I imported the MD as it was released in Japan and got Altered Beast and Herzog Zwei with it. AB looked awesome for me back in the days and I played it quite some time until I figured out how to play HZ:)

  • miiiguel #57 3 years ago

    Hey Lutz, I'm sorry to be bothering you here, but I'll take the chance of being (yet again) a boring guy, but, can you rememeber if it's possible in PS2 to attack one particular foe, when you are attacking a group of the same type?
    I found out one can target the attack to diferent types, but what about when you have a group of the same kind?

  • Lutz #58 3 years ago

    Miiguel: No worries, feel free to ask anywhere. Although I'm usually in the forum; don't tend to venture into the comments threads that much. :)

    OK, in PS2, no. You can only target whole groups, and your characters will randomly attack 1 monster in that group, unless they have a "burst" weapon, like the Shotgun. (Which is why I recommended you get one for Rudo ASAP)

    In PS3 they changed it so you can attack any individual. Some weapons also attacked a whole row of enemies (There are 2 rows) and some attacked groups. It was still simple, but more complex than PS2.

    PS4 is like PS2, except you can target anything individually.

    The best system would have been PS3 with the macros and skill/techs from PS4.

  • muscleblade #59 3 years ago

    "You should try it, it can't be easier than Terminator, can it?"

    It cant be. Easiest 1000 points since Avatar. I played Terminator (got it free)for my review on a Norvegian game site. Whats your excuse? Bionic Commando from the same developers is actually hard and good btw :-). Must be hard to be bad at games and at the same time being obsessed with gamescore completion. You need to skip a lot of great games like DMC4 and NG2.
    And buy games like Comix Zone intead of playing Rez HD that you already own.


  • miiiguel #60 3 years ago

    @ Lutz: Thanks, I was hoping I was missing some clever sub-menu obscure thing..., that individual targeting would be usefull to these green amoebas I came across, they use a self-clone technique which is bloody annoying.

    @ muslcle: yes.
    Edited by 1 at 17/06/09 @ 15:43

  • neonxaos #61 3 years ago

    "@ neon: are you referring to Dark Force or Mother Brain? Phantasy Star has too much grinding, been 20 hours into the game and I barely scratch the surface - the dungeons are crazy complex, it's virtually impossible to complete them withour maps (which came with the original game - Dan's right, this port, as it is, it's unplayable without other info). Kudos to EGer Mr.Lutz who's been quite helpfull (dude knows the game by heart, impressive!)."

    Actually, I was referring to Dark Force. It may not be the actual final boss, but it is on the final page of the map book that I had, and I remember that there was no help on how to beat it. That book was my Bible - the game is rock hard without it.

    But the real reason I never beat the game was that I simply didn't want it to end.

  • Lutz #62 3 years ago

    neonaxaos: Dark Force wasn't the final boss. And he was easy comparred to Mother Brain.

  • Zachm #63 3 years ago

    I'm a big Phantasy Star fan, but I'd be hard pushed to give it anything higher than a 6/10. Wait for Phantasy Star 4; now THAT'S a great RPG.

    Personally I prefered 2 to 4.
    While 4 has better graphics and is much more balanced and fair, I liked the story and the more dark and gritty feel and atmosphere of 2 a lot more.

  • Skywise #64 3 years ago

    Shinobi seems to look a bit like Phantasy Star 2 :-)

  • octavedoctor #65 3 years ago


    Bloomin sort it out, where's goddamn $%^$^% Revenge of Shinobi on 360 or Wii?!?!?




  • Incarta #66 3 years ago

    Is anyone else having trouble downloading these? I keep getting a "No Content Available" messege.

  • Lutz #67 3 years ago

    Incarta: XBLM is knackered ATM

  • Incarta #68 3 years ago

    Bummer. Cheers for the heads-up

  • Rodney #69 3 years ago

    I once recorded the 'wisde from your gwave' bit and used it is my alarm clock sound on my mobile.

    Best alarm clock ever!

  • muscleblade #70 3 years ago

    @Miiiguel

    Your one crazy dude my friend. I like it.

  • Gecks #71 3 years ago

    it might seem like a strange criticism, but i was totally put off by the lack of interesting achievements in gunstar heroes. this is a game i played to death in my youth, and i was hoping for a beefy challenge, but it's all trivial 'complete the game' stuff.

    i think half the fun of these retro XBLA reissues is testing your gaming metal 15 years down the line, and to that end it really disappoints. no sale :(

  • Scyrenn #72 3 years ago

    So um... This is the arcade version of altered beast, right?

    That's pretty damn cool. :p