Retro Review – Page 6 – Savior Gaming

Resident Evil 2 ( classic)

re2 classic

One of the best games we got in 2019 was the Resident Evil 2 Remake which I have to say, is one of the best done horror games of this console generation. As a kid, my friends and I used to plug away at the classic RE2 on the original PlayStation and pray we didn’t die because we didn’t have a memory card. The question is, how does the old Resident Evil 2 hold up over 2 decades later?

Months after the destruction of the mansion in the Arklay Mountains, a massive outbreak of zombies has befallen Raccoon City. It’s here that we’re introduced to series legends, Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy. Claire is looking for her brother Chris after he went M.I.A after investing the mansion in the original; Leon is a rookie cop on his first day on the RCPD who meets Claire as she’s about to be zombie food. They try finding refuge in the police station, only to get split up and set to face the secrets of station and the influence of the relentless Umbrella Corporation and the horrors they’ve unleashed, as well as the creator of the new G virus, the monstrous William Birkin…

So while regardless of it’s age, the game is a horror classic that definitely surpasses the original. The atmosphere and music are still eerie and the monsters still hold up, especially during some impressive cut-scenes for the time. I still remember wanting to crap myself when they introduce the Licker and Birkin’s massacre post transformation. While I admit, I don’t have much experience with Leon, I do appreciate the differences between the campaigns more than there was with Chris and Jill in the first game. What seriously kills the game are the damn tank controls which are clunky as hell and make some puzzles that aren’t hard on there own way more of a bitch than they need to be ( the best example is the library bookcase puzzle). There is a good amount of content including Hunk and Tofu’s campaigns. The graphics are muddy for most of the main game and the writing and voices haven’t held up that great unfortunately. In the end, the game is well worth a play for vintage gamers, but if you can’t stand the controls and gameplay style, move onto the remake. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Star Wars Trilogy Arcade

With Rise of the Skywalker debuting close to Christmas this year, I want to look at one of my favorite childhood Star Wars games. Me and my dad, Duke, spent many a hours at the local arcades as a kid. Besides the awesomeness of Air Hockey, the Star Wars game was my favorite. It is simplicity itself, a joystick and a big red button but what was done with it was pretty impressive. The opening three stages come from Star Wars , The Empire Strikes Back , and Return of the Jedi . The Death Star run is exceptionally done and feels epic as hell. Hoth and Endor are done really good. My favorite parts are the special stage boss battles where you follow the prompts and battle Boba Fett and Darth Vader; while they warped my anxiety as a kid,they were also one of the biggest victories I faced as a kid. I could never beat the last stage, the second Death Star run because it was frankly insane. The graphics and music are damn good and overall, it’s some of the closest I felt to feeling like being in Star Wars. If you ever find it in a arcade, I urge you to give the game a try. May the gaming gods bring you glory and may the force be with you.

Super Punch Out

Super Punch Out is another game I love to go back and play occasionally. It is a boxing game where each fight follows a set pattern and each one has its one set of moves. Tho I still don’t get how I can get kicked in the damn face so often in a boxing match.

Anyway the first fight is against a guy that has a record of 1-99. Not sure who he beat, you can basically win this fight randomly smashing buttons.

As the game goes on the fights get more challenging. Some guys you have to stun before you can hit a weak spot or you have to dodge and counter a certain move. The last two guys have a similar record tho one is undefeated and the other has one loss against the other which I always thought was fun.

This is another game that seems like it wouldn’t be fun but to me was the best this series had to offer. Best wishes and may the gaming gods being you glory.

Super Mario RPG

Every so often I love to go back and play what I consider a classic, and Super Mario RPG is one of those. You play as Mario and start out by raiding Bowsers Keep to save the Princess. Suddenly a giant sword slams through the castle and everyone is tossed out.

After this you will set off on a journey to find the Princess, tho this time you will be doing it in a turn based RPG filled with characters to join as you try to find magical stars. These characters do include the Princess herself and Bowser along with a few others. Each character has their own play style and moves to master.

It was always just fun to see the Mushroom Kingdom in this way, and to see new enemies, a new boss and even new characters made it even better honestly. The story is still great and graphically for its time it was phenomenal, and holds up well with controls that to this day are fluid and easy to use. If somehow you missed this one, go try it now.best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Dragonball Z Boudakai Tenkaichi 3

dbz bt3

Has anyone ever picked up a licensed video game, yearning for the experience to live out your favorite series? You ever feel a heap of soul crushing defeat when you realized this game was crap? Well, good news, this post won’t be about that terrible experience.

Dragonball Z Boudakai Tenkaichi 3 is is the best DBZ gaming experience I’ve had. Combat is fast and the areas are open. The character roster spans from Dragonball Z ( The Saiyan Saga) to DragonBall Z: Buu Saga (Kid Buu) and the full list of movies while including key moments from the original Dragonball and Dragonball GT as well as having a few What IF segments that are pretty good. The roster is impressive, including transformations that are show accurate; Saiyans can go ape during the night stages, you can fuse Goku and Vegeta as well as Goten and Trunks mid fight and the story mode evolves as the story does, instead of multiple one fight missions. Besides a full sized story mode, there is also a variety of tournaments and even a mini RPG surrounding a fight with Cell. Throughout the story, Dragonballs are hidden throughout the environments and once all 7 are collected, the Dragon can be summoned and exclusive items can be found which is epic as hell. The entire time, I felt like I was in the show. It’s one of my favorite fighting games of all time and I highly recommend checking it out if you have a Wii or PS2. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Total Recall

total recall

As a kid Arnold Schwarzenegger was my favorite actor, and while he hasn’t been in many great movies in a long time, the dude never sleepwalks through a movie. Surprisingly, unlike many, I never saw Total Recall until a few days ago. I was in for a hell of a ride…

Douglas Quaid is a normal dude with a lame ass job who keeps having strange dreams about Mars. He wants to take a trip to the colonies up there but his wife refuses to go. To spice his dull life up, he goes to the Recall center, where they implant memories of your choosing into your brain to reinvent your reality. Doug ops to be a secret agent. He gets way more than he bargained for when armed men start trying to kill him, he discovers his wife is a spy and corporate assassin, and the memories weren’t fully implanted. Doug heads to Mars, unraveling the reality before him while starting a a revolution on the red planet in the process…

Total Recall is a fun, batshit WTF movie that’s pretty awesome. It’s a good blend of action, suspense and deep sci-fi that never feels preachy. Schwarzenegger sells the movie and makes it fun without losing the cool cerebral points the movie is trying to make. Visually there is some really cool scenery and even a three boobed prostitute. The pacing lags at times and I admit the plot has moments where it’s hard to follow so you have to pay attention more then your typical action movie. Overall, Total Recall is a fun and thoughtful sci-fi action movie I’d recommend checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Day 22, The Nemesis

nemesis

In all the years of Resident Evil history, there is one monster that brought the fear and chills than Resident Evil 3’s Nemesis. Nemesis is the ultimate Tyrant tasked with eliminating the S.T.A.R.S members in Raccoon City to contain secret of Umbrella’s involvement. Characterized by his tall, brutish physique, long black coat, and rocket launcher, the Nemesis is a damn near unstoppable foe that only grows stronger after phase of its mutation. Nemesis is the king of every 90’s horror fans nightmares. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Tony Hawk’s Underground

th underground

I’m not a sports fan by any means but damn I love the old school Tony Hawk games, my favorite being the first Underground. You create your own skater and custom board and go from random skate punk in Jersey to superstar while dueling your rival Eric for the spot as pro spanning throughout the US and even going into Moscow on a fun as hell adventure. I had a blast being a skate punk, causing havoc and doing tricks. The skating is top notch and controls great better than the games that would come console generations later. I love the huge selection of licensed music at your disposal and the varied locations you can travel to, including a KISS concert as a bonus level with none other than Marvel’s Invincible Iron Man as a unlockable character. The most memorable moment I can recall is doing the 360 McTwist off a skyscraper over a helicopter. This game gave me a lot of awesome ideas growing up that went into my book throughout the years. I highly recommend this game. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Star Wars pod racer 64

When Star Wars reignited after Phantom Menace debuted, there were a crap load of video games. One of my favorites capitalized on the pod race scene, which besides the final lightsaber fight was Menace’s most memorable part. Extreme speeds and a lot of damage, pod racing was the shit. This racing game used to make my heart stop as the other racers would smash the hell out of my pod, forcing me to pull back and repair my engines so I didn’t explode. The worst was getting slammed off course mid jump and crashing to my fiery death. Make no mistake, this game was a hard son of a bitch but it was really fun for a racing game which I’m normally not into. If you were disappointed by Star Wars Episode 1: the game on PlayStation, this makes up for it on the N64. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Star Wars Episode 1: the game

menace game

With the final movie of the Skywalker saga in Star Wars coming out at the end of this year, I’m going to start looking at pieces of the Star Wars I growing up. Given to me as a gift way later in life so I checked it out before upgrading to the PS3, brand new at the time. I can tell you this game did not age well at all.

The Phantom Menace game recounts the events of the game ( minus the pod race and thankfully the debate scenes). You play as Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Padme, and her bodyguard dude I can’t remember the name of. For Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan you primarily use your lightsaber and try to reflect blaster shots back at the enemies which requires pretty acute timing but is still hit and miss. You can use a force ability which helps. The other two characters are strictly shooters which wouldn’t be so bad if the game didn’t use tank controls. Yes, tank controls, so be ready to feel like you are going through a chore. The graphics are pretty bad, and you don’t get much resolution in the characters which can look kinda creepy at times. The music is fine but loops too often and the sound is Ok. This is one of those games I rage quit and didn’t look back from; between getting lost so often with the bad controls and bullshit deaths I just couldn’t bring myself to get past level 4. I can’t tell you if I would’ve liked this game more back then but in a more modern day, hell no. Regardless of your opinion on the movie, I can say you are good to skip this game. May the gaming gods bring you glory.