Segata Sanshiro: The Legendary Unknown

 

Most video game consoles find a mascot to represent the company and sell their product—this idea is nothing new. Established franchises tend to take the stage and sell based on brand identity. However, not every mascot originated in this way. In fact, one of my favorite advertising campaigns of all time involves the use of a completely unknown actor to sell its product. The video game console is the Sega Saturn and the mascot I speak of Segata Sanshiro.

I first encountered this mysterious character when I was watching a subtitled Dragonball Z on VHS about seven years ago. I was really excited about the upcoming brawl between Majin Buu and Vegeta, but that momentum was slowed by a very odd commercial. In the commercial, a man was kicking a soccer ball at a goal. The goalie, a large man in a karate gi, gave a shout and lifted one side of the enormous goal. He lifted the goal onto its side so that the ball passed by the net. The voice announcer then launched into the promotion for a soccer game, but I paused the tape to absorb what I had just seen. I was in total awe of this odd man and the catchy music that accompanied his appearance. It wasn’t until many years later that I rediscovered this odd fellow and learned more about him. Continue reading “Segata Sanshiro: The Legendary Unknown”

Villian’s Exposition: Black Isle

When I began writing for this issue, it was with every intention of bringing to light the recent shortage of games in the post-apocalyptic genre (Left Behind doesn’t count). It seemed a pertinent enough topic, given the current political climate and how good such games as the Fallout series and Wasteland, among others, were.

Yet as much as I missed taking down super-mutants at 1,000 paces, I realized that what I really missed was PC games that spent as much time on the game as gameplay. Oh, sure, we’ve still got some of the heavy hitters in Blizzard and Bioware, but we’ve also lost the names that ate up hour after hour, leaving us to question how it had gotten so late when we finally looked up. Continue reading “Villian’s Exposition: Black Isle”

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves

 

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves continues in the short but noble tradition of micro-games on the Nintendo Wii. Aside from the Wii remote, it plays nearly identical to the other titles in the Wario Ware series.

For those of you unfamiliar, you are given a series of micro-games to play through. If you complete enough of them more games open up for you to play. You have four lives to get through each level leading up to a boss stage, which is typically a micro-game of a longer nature. Continue reading “Wario Ware: Smooth Moves”

Final Fantasy III: Final What?

 

Very rarely does a newly released game—or anything for that matter—come out and remind me of my childhood. Final Fantasy III D.S. does, however, meet my requirements for a full-on extravaganza of nostalgic delight. I know this is a much older title in its development in storyline and game style, but it was completely remade with the options of today and still retained its classic approach with more polished outcome. I am reminded of “the old days,” when I sat for hours, glued to a fantasy world brought to life with brilliant display.

Keeping it real with such aspects as crystals, airships, black-robed black mages and white mages, extremely hard to find elixirs and an overabundance of weapons that are lesser in point value than the one you acquired hours ago during game play. But I like these things and have grown biased to a classic rpg style that the original Final Fantasy’s revolutionized. Continue reading “Final Fantasy III: Final What?”

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

Lost Planet comes to us from the creator of Mega Man and Phoenix Wright, Keiji Inafune. With such a diverse pedigree it can’t help but be a fun gameplay experience. The graphics shine on the Xbox 360 as they should, with absolutely no slowdown even with uncountable enemies on the screen.

The action of the game takes place throughout the frozen world of E.D.N. III, a world in the midst of colonization in the future. No word is given on why humanity felt the need to abandon their original home, but their determination to colonize is firm, motivated in no small part by the newfound thermal energy within the bodies of the planet’s only inhabitants, the insectile Akrid. You play the role of Wayne, an amnesiac who can only remember two things: his name and the death of his father at the hands of the giant Akrid Green Eye. Continue reading “Lost Planet: Extreme Condition”

Kosher Kuts: Super Mario RPG

When I was eleven, I really did not like RPGs. Chrono Trigger’s plotline was too confusing and Final Fantasy seemed too complicated. I just couldn’t wrap my head around the genre. A glimmer of hope resurfaced when I heard about a new RPG starring Mario. Not only Mario, but also a few new characters were present … and Bowser was a playable character? I read about it in Nintendo Power, rented it at Blockbuster, and brought it home soon after returning the rental. Long after I have sold many other Super Nintendo games and moved on to other systems, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars has remained ingrained in my memory. With the recent introduction of the Wii and its Virtual Console line-up, this game is now available to a whole new generation of RPG fans. Does this eleven-year-old RPG withstand the test of time? Continue reading “Kosher Kuts: Super Mario RPG”

Bargain Review: Mario and Luigi, Partners in Time

If you read my review of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the Super Nintendo, you might have guessed that I would enjoy the other games in the series as well. I honestly could not tell you. I was so turned off by the series’ sudden change in direction with the Paper Mario games that I didn’t bother to purchase them. It was only recently that I stumbled across a used copy of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga at the local GameStop for a cheaper than usual price. Lured by nearly unanimous good reviews and the promise of a non-Paper Mario adventure, I picked up the game and plugged it into the Silver Taco (my nickname for my old-style Gameboy Advance). Could this game revive my interest in the series and, dare I say it, give me the same warm and fuzzy feelings that the original did? Continue reading “Bargain Review: Mario and Luigi, Partners in Time”

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

 

I haven’t properly explored any Castlevania games since the second or third was released for the NES. I’ve seen the 3-D iterations come and go and I’ve heard all of the wonderful things said about them, so understand this is coming from a bit of an outdated perception of the franchise.

First off, I wasn’t exactly comfortable hunting Dracula without a proper Belmont by my side. I mean, for me, Simon Belmont was the heart of the story. That feeling quickly faded, however, as the story isn’t the heart of this side-scrolling, whip-cracking platformer. Continue reading “Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin”

Elite Beat Agents Are Go!

 

I had heard about how [s]Japanese[/s] odd this game was before I purchased it, but the full force of it doesn’t strike you until you’ve played through a couple of levels.

You’re an Elite Beat Agent. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find people stuck in sticky situations – like asking the high school quarterback to go steady, or saving the world from an alien invasion – and cheer them on to victory. That’s right, no super weapons or outright ass-kicking, you’re a secret agent/cheerleader.

This is a rhythm game with a unique DS twist: Instead of tapping buttons, you’re tapping the screen and following patterns with your stylus. I was surprised at the number of licensed songs in the game as well. I didn’t think the tiny DS carts could hold nineteen songs plus a game and animations.

While the game play may sound simple, the learning curve on this can be brutal. You may find yourself struggling to complete the easiest difficulty of the game. There’s even a story on the Internet of a disgruntled gamer viciously dashing his DS against the wall and then impaling it with a screwdriver after being unable to complete the last portion of a song. Sounds like a big ol’ crybaby to me! Continue reading “Elite Beat Agents Are Go!”

Bushido Blade: Mortal Combat, the Honorable Way

 

Bushido Blade is not an RPG, but it is on my top-three list of games Square ever created. It is easily one of the most subtle and nuanced fighting games ever produced.

Unfortunately, it only ever saw one sequel, which didn’t live up to the original in my opinion, and both were only available for the original Play Station.

Contrary to most fighting games where you have a health bar to determine how close you are to defeat, any attack had the potential to be a one-hit kill. It was also one of the first, and still only, fighting games to incorporate body-specific damage. Continue reading “Bushido Blade: Mortal Combat, the Honorable Way”