4 reviews by grolt..
Wonder Boy in Monster Land

2007-09-11
From: grolt
Comments: I grew up with the Kidd, but in retrospect there is no denying that WONDER BOY IN MONSTER LAND and WONDER BOY III dominate Sega's mascot in every possible way. They make Mario look shallow too, with a great RPG-like monetary leveling up system, a decent story and fabulous animation. Customizing your character changes the game drastically, making strategy key as you try to upgrade his shield, armor, shoes, sword and magic. Jumps get a bit higher, attacks stronger and defense mightier, and depending on your choices your approach to each level will be different. Add in tons of little secrets peppered in every level, and you'll never just be trying to get from left to right, you'll be actively scouring every little part of the frame. It's addicting how much turning our mascot into a capitalist adds to the game. All the sprites look beautiful and are all highly animated (you cut a ghost and a flesh wound appears, cut him again and he's a bag of bones). Aside from the last few levels, it's pretty linear to follow too, not nearly as labyrinthine as the at times frustrating WONDER BOY III. That said, the game is way too hard with only one life and no continues. Not ALEX KIDD IN HIGH-TECH WORLD hard, but it can get really cumbersome having to replay the entire game after every death. It may get frustrating, but it's always a marvel, one of the greatest 8-bit games of all time. It ditches the fun but fleeting gameplay mechanics of the original WONDER BOY, instead building on the foundations laid by ALEX KIDD IN MIRACLE WORLD. What Sega made was a masterpiece, the Mario killer that the mainstream never got the chance to play. The fact they could do so much here with 8-bit proves that Sega earned the right to the WONDER of the title. It's awesome.

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Alex Kidd in High Tech World

2007-08-31
From: grolt
Comments: Before I start, here's my password for those that don't want to sludge through the opening RPG portion: DTfNdIfEKS I love Alex Kidd as a mascot and wish Sega would have done more with him. Part of the reason he fell out of favor, I believe, is because Sega never game him a formula for gamers to recognize. Each of his games was so different, was he a platformer star, an arcade character, a geisha looking for a map or Shinobi? What? If Sega wanted a platformer mascot, the least they could have done was give him some platformer games to star in! I bought this game under the impression it would be a platformer like Miracle World, but boy was I wrong. What unfolds is some weird RPG-like game where you write tests(!), search for maps, talk to people and play against the clock. Despite defying all expectations, it actually seems kind of fun. But then you die randomly for PUTTING ON A PIECE OF ARMOR. What? And that new computer that he wants to turn on...YOU GET ELECTROCUTED. What the fuck. This game basically kills all the fun out of the RPG component by making deaths so random and ill conceived. There's no way to guess that doing a certain thing will kill you, but you do it and you have to start from scratch. Stupid stupid stupid. So finally, through trial and error (and error and error) you finally make it out of that damned house and embark on a more platform-like ninja quest. The deaths aren't random this time, they just happen EVERY FUCKING SECOND BECAUSE IT IS SO DAMN HARD. One hit and you are dead. No checkpoints or anything. You get hit by a throwing star, or touch a squirrel or jump in the water and BOOM, you are back at the start. You'll have to play this level over and over and over again to finally master it. The good thing though, is that the control is very responsive, so it will reward someone who has memorized the level and the controls. Kudos to Sega for that. But it is so tough. And then the final level back through the woods is even more so. Still, there's a great sense of accomplishment in completing the whole thing though, seeing little Alex playing the best damn arcade game there ever was, OutRun. At least this game had an ending, unlike the kick to the nuts that is The Lost Stars, which simply ends on a black screen reading "THE END". Thanks for coming out. The city scene in between the ninja levels is more of the same random shit that made the house level so frustrating. This is a platform game for kids, what else would they want to do than go and pray 100 times in between levels. What were they thinking? Again, like most of the first level, there's no suggestion that you need to do this, but I guess after trying everything else 100 times, you'd probably accidentally pray that much also. And what is the point of saving up all your money and buying all these supplies...you can't even use them. Glad I bought that carton of french fries! This game is so frustrating, and while playing it I was mostly in an angry rage. Yet I was addicted. There is hardly another game quite like it, especially for a platform character (even if he's just a modified geisha sprite), and the innovation and difficulty mixes for one addicting outing. I hated it while I played it, but you know what, I want to do it again. Without a doubt the greatest paradox Sega ever made.

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Alex Kidd: the Lost Stars

2007-08-31
From: grolt
Comments: This was the first Alex Kidd game I ever played, and I loved every minute of it. Compared to the original it is easy, but it is still challenging enough to keep you coming back. The whole game has an easy, breezy feel, from the simple gameplay to the cheery music and bright colors. It's a child's fantasy, and the big sprites make it all the more engulfing. I wish they'd have made 12 levels rather than recycling 6 of them a second time, but to Sega's credit at least the repeated levels had new challenges thrown in. Still, I don't get the hate, this is a beautiful looking game, probably one of the nicest of the system, and it just exudes fun. It's easy to finish, but so easy to come back to. Great games don't have to be tough if the fun is there. And the music, ah, that first level song is one of the best gaming riffs ever. So happy. And now for the two cult aspects of the game. Yes, there really are naked punks who shit out skulls. What the hell is going on? The rest of this game is happy time and then all of a sudden Sid Vicious is naked and shitting out Jimmy Hoffa. I can't imagine the trauma I'd experience seeing this as a kid, but still, that definitely wins for most random and offensive image ever in a kids game. And lastly, there's that awesome voice sample. "FIND THE MIRACLE BALL". My one major gripe with Altered Beast is that the iconic Arcade/Genesis opening mantra, "RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE", is only found in text form on the Master System port. That sound, in all its garble, was the goods. I guess because this was a Two-Mega cartridge we get a sound byte - glad to know the extra space was spent wisely. It won't win for depth, but Alex Kidd The Lost Stars embodies that bright, colored and easy to play fun that brought Sega to prominence in the arcades all those years ago. Don't be fooled, it's one of the classics.

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Altered Beast

2007-08-31
From: grolt
Comments: Against all my good judgment I love this game. I should hate it, really, I should. The graphics are awful, sprites constantly flickering and clipping rampant with every clunky bit of scrolling. The control is pretty weak, and the gameplay totally unforgiving. One bad move and you could lose an entire life from ricocheting off the baddies. Like another said, you basically have to memorize it (and then get lucky) to actually get anywhere with it. Yet, the whole game has a great feel. The great games are about atmosphere. You remember NiGHTS for the amazing dream world Sega was able to create, and here is one of their best nightmares. The zombies and bad guys all lurch along in scary fashion, and the music really fits, feeling like it came from an old Universal Monster Movie. Changing into the beast too, is awesome. You have to love the brevity with which the story is presented. Zues comes up on screen and "RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE AND RESCUE MY DAUGHTER". That's it. No other exposition needed. Get your ass to work! I do have to dock points for the missing audio cue for the awesome opening line. The Genesis launch will forever be remembered for those awesome four words..."RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE". Without that crushed audio sample this game feels incomplete (especially since the "POWER UP" and taunting laughs are still included), but still, no matter how poorly this looks and controls, it's still one hell of a fun game. Once again Sega turned what should be dookie into a diamond. Now save Zeus's daughter. Now!

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