- Reviewers always write about this as a ‘cult classic,’ as though it was unpopular due to simply not being as good as e.g. Ninja Gaiden etc. I don’t agree with this, I think it’s really good, and the way it switches between game types is awesome.
- If you did a game today that tried to completely switch between ‘genres’ like this does (top-down shooter on the driving levels, first-person shooter, sidescroller) it would seem chintzy and bad because today, each individual genre takes so much time and effort to get right. I theorize that the reason a lot of these old games get away with genre-switching is because each individual genre requires many fewer things to be perfect in order to ‘feel right’
- The individual stages in this game are SO MUCH harder than the bosses. Both stages of final boss requires some technique, but the others are kinda pushovers. Despite this, the game ‘feels long’ & rewarding, because you are forced to play through at least the back half of a stage before getting to the boss room every time the boss beats you.
サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Vice: Project Doom
(Completed on 28 Dec 2020)
サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
POW: Prisoner of War
(Completed on 30 Dec 2020)
- Honestly not very good because there is no difficulty ramp at all. It’s either “absolutely impossible” (default mode, 2 lives) or “trivially easy” (enter a code at the beginning screen, get 20 lives per run)
- Boring enemies, no variety. Soundtrack, premise & graphics are OK though. Punching out the scuba guys is one of the more fun things you can do on this game. Pretty low-imagination other than that.
サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Faxanadu
(Completed on 23 Dec 2020)
- Originally didn’t want to play this because I heard so many bad things about NES ports of PC/etc games. None of my fears were founded, this game plays awesome.
- Reviewers also all say the controls are wonky, but I didn’t think they were that bad.
- Sorta another ‘must-use-a-walkthrough’ game in that you can really mess up if you don’t buy the right amount of keys for the right area.
- Next-to-last boss (purple dragon thing flying around) was MUCH HARDER than the real final boss.
- System of buying new armor & spells is actually really rewarding.
- Feels Bloodborne-ish in that you have 2 bars to manage (health & magic), a limited amount of healing with each run you do, and possible areas to farm if you get in a jam.
サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Dragon Warrior III
(Completed on 21 Dec 2020)
- The only way to play these games is to follow a walkthrough exactly; clearly you were meant to buy a strategy guide with this
- Because of the class system, there actually seems to be some replay value here. Original had a battery save system so you could continue your game if you shut off your console. Don’t know what happens when you reload that file after beating the game.
- Beat final boss with the default party, everyone around lv 43-44. All walkthroughs make this sound harder than it is but if you get the Stone of Light so that Zoma is cut from 2000 to 1000HP, it’s not bad.
- Actually a prequel to all other Dragon Warrior games, but they did that 2nd gen Pokemon thing where after you ‘beat’ the first world, you’re sent to the world from the earlier game, which in this game exists before any of the events of DW1. Having both of these worlds on one cart makes the game feel HUGE.
サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Kirby's Adventure
(Completed on 4 Dec 2020)
- Everybody says Kirby games are meant to be easy, seems pretty true from how this one went.
- Despite this, the final boss (after Dedede) still took me a bunch of tries. There’s no difficulty ramp at all, it’s a difficulty mountain
- The way one of the final bosses is a shoot-em-up with a time limit is really cool, adds to the challenge.
サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Rad Racer
(Completed on 2 Dec 2020)
- Really only did this because it reminded me of SNES Top Gear, a childhood classic. Easy to see how this game is the father of those, but this is MUCH harder.
- Originally did a run where I’d play a stage, drop it for a few days, then use the stage select tool to pick up where I left off. Doing it this way does not show the ending screen, so I had to start the whole run over and do it without starting in the middle.
- Used the trick where you can hold A and START at the Game Over screen to continue where I left off; this must be at least somewhat legitimate since clearing the game this way still displays the ending.
