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Virtual Console Roundup Review
Wii Retro Review by Dan Whitehead
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Are things slowly picking up for the Virtual Console? After several agonising weeks of solitary releases, we've now had two weeks in a row offering two games apiece. Not exactly an extravagant feast, and a far cry from those giddy days of yore when Friday morning brought three or more new retro downloads, but at least it offers some sort of choice. Read on to see if these latest batches are worth your Wii Points...
Eternal Champions
- Platform: Megadrive
- Wii Points: 800
- In Real Money: GBP 6 / EUR 8 (approx)
Gaming has always been a "me too" industry. Heck, the very early years were rife with blatant rip-off arcade cabinets, so it's hardly surprising that when someone hits on a winning formula, everyone else tries to snag a piece of the pie. Eternal Champions, then, was SEGA's attempt to ride the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat wave.
While the gameplay owes a clear debt to both Capcom and Midway, with combo-centric fighting and "overkill" fatality moves, the concept borrows more heavily from SNK's World Heroes (also available on the VC). Fighters are drawn from past, present and future, including a 1920s gangster, a 19th Century Russian acrobat, a genetic vampire, a robot kickboxer and a caveman called Slash. It's actually quite a fun mix, brought to life with a graphical style clearly influenced by the Marvel comics of the early '90s.
But there's no getting away from the fact that Eternal Champions is a copycat title, with little to recommend it that hasn't been borrowed from elsewhere. The special moves are easier to pull off than other fighting franchises, since the game opts for timed button presses over directional sweeps, but the overkills are no replacement for Mortal Kombat's fatalities, relying too heavily on hitting a precise piece of scenery at the right time.
It's all passable enough if you're a die-hard fighting game fan with flexible standards but, with a multitude of superior brawlers already available, Eternal Champions does little to justify its 800 point price tag.
6/10
Phantasy Star II
- Platform: Megadrive
- Wii Points: 800
- In Real Money: GBP 6 / EUR 8 (approx)
Much as Eternal Champions is decent entertainment, provided you pretend that no other fighting games are available, so this early entry in SEGA's RPG series provides just above average amusement but pales alongside its rivals. While Eternal Champions strives to sit alongside Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, so Phantasy Star tried to muscle into the picture in between Zelda and Final Fantasy.
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. Enemies are fairly uninspiring, which doesn't help make the random battles any more palatable.
With numerous Zelda games, from all eras, plus Paper Mario, Breath of Fire II and sundry other role players already on the VC, Phantasy Star can't help looking like a second, or even third, best option. Worthwhile for the rare few who have already worked their way through those superior titles, but missable for everyone else.
7/10
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Comments: 1-21 of 21 in total
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Can you imagine the amounts of cash that Sony or Nintendo could make by selling these kind of titles for their handhelds?
Games such as Front Mission, Disgaea, Final Fantasy Tactics, Sonic, James Pond, Flashback, all the greatest stuff from the 80s and 90s in your hand. Obviously on the PSP you can do this already if you have questionable morals (or well) with the homebrew emulators on the PSP. But since that is the greatest thing about the PSP why haven't Sony and Nintendo properly recognized it yet? All those old games who only used D-Pads and a few buttons, they fit perfectly. Recognize suits. I'm giving you free money here. |
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Der_tolle_Emil
24/02/08 @ 15:40
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River City Ransom is indeed very fun. It is very charming and has a certain style that makes the game really enjoyable. It's not trying to be as 'manly' as say Double Dragon which makes this game special.
Also quite funny is the fact that those sprites have been used in so many games - most people will know them from Nintendo World Cup, which uses the exact same sprites. Might be the first NES game I will get on VC. |
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@disc
"But since that is the greatest thing about the PSP why haven't Sony and Nintendo properly recognized it yet? All those old games who only used D-Pads and a few buttons, they fit perfectly." Because those rip off plans are well organized. First you pay for the home console version and THEN they'll ask for more money if you want the handheld port. |
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MasterControlProgram
24/02/08 @ 20:50
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Never played, but I remember reading reviews of Phantasy Star 2 when emulation craze was starting (10 years ago,oh my) and it had high reputation, just slightly inferior to PS 4 that is considered the best of the series and probably the best for Megadrive.
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creepylizard
24/02/08 @ 22:09
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I think that phantasy star 2 was a much better game than that. I played through 1 and 2 again not that long ago and I found the atmosphere pretty unique, even now, among jrpgs. great weird msuic too..
or I could just be talking out of arse |
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creepylizard
24/02/08 @ 22:11
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and now I've read everyone elses comments and realise that I wasn't being original at all.....
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SeesThroughAll
25/02/08 @ 07:19
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Because those rip off plans are well organized. First you pay for the home console version and THEN they'll ask for more money if you want the handheld port.
?? I never payed twice for any PS1 game, and could always play it on both the PS3 and PSP. |
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Der_tolle_Emil
25/02/08 @ 09:25
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Rating those games out of 5 has just one effect: You can't compare the review scores directly with the reviews of current games. But here's the thing: You can already do that now! Just don't compare the two! Problem sovled.
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yagisencho
25/02/08 @ 20:56
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I'm a Phantasy Star fanatic, so I'll just go on record as saying 'Pbtbtbt!!' (rude noise involving tongue and lips).
From an objective point of view though, it does have a number of things going against it: 1) Hard as nails level grinding, especially given #2 2) Complicated, multi-level dungeons (and no map) that often involve dropping off one level onto another in experimental fashion 3) No 'save anywhere' feature until partway through the game, assuming that you even know the undiscoverable trick to unlocking it. 4) Random battles with a placeholder grid as the background. That said, consider these noteworthy accomplishments (for the time): 1) The story involves space travel, laser guns, robots, and mutants. 2) There is actual character development in the storyline. Your eyes may even moisten at one point. 3) Your characters have devastating combo attacks. 4) The soundtrack contains some of the finest frequency modulated ditties ever programmed. 5) Those complicated dungeons feature parallex scrolling (another first at the time). A much better option is one unavailable to English-speaking audiences, and that's the PS2 remake of the game. |
Comments: 1-21 of 21 in total
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