Final Fantasy (Square 1990)

Chances are you've heard about a little company called Square. While Final Fantasy is not their only franchise, it is one of their best and with good reason. Not bad considering the creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi thought this was to be the last game he would make.

The world of Final Fantasy is in trouble. The elements are out of control and this causes all kinds of unpleasant things like the earth starting to rot and stormy weather. The legends tell of four light warriors that will come to save the day by defeating each of the four fiends and finding the four orbs. Now it's up to you and your party of light warriors to stop the chaos and save your world from evil.

Final Fantasy packs quite a few nice options like the ability to pick your party from a group of character classes like Fighters, Thief's, Mages and Black Belts. Each has their own weapon and armor capabilities not to mention spells. After proving your worth, your characters can also be promoted to Ninjas, Knights and Wizards. These features are very nice and were almost unheard of back then in console titles. The world of Final Fantasy is also quite large with a variety of towns and dungeons and you even get different modes of transport like Boats, Canoes and Airships.

Mostly, you'll be fighting creatures for money and experience. Fear not as there are also some puzzles to solve. Taking on the four fiends is no easy task as they reside deep in their dungeons and you can only save in a town or world map. This means you're on your own inside the dungeons so one false move can cost you your life. This means Final Fantasy is one of the most challenging RPGs out there and will really tax your skills. It sucks that you only have one save game slot though.

Combat takes place in turn based format giving you lots of time to plan your next move. All enemies have their own strengths and weaknesses and learning what weapon or spell works best on what monster will help you a lot. There are also lots of magical items and weapons that will make your quest a bit easier. The combat is cool and the only criticism I have is that if the creature you wanted to attack is already dead or has fled your character does not automatically move on to the next one but instead still tries to attack the absent creature.

You can buy a variety of items like tents, cabins and houses that will allow you to save and rest on the world map but once in the dungeons you are on your own. There are also items like healing potions and antidotes as well as potions to cure being turned into stone. For combat ailments like being blinded or paralyzed you'll have to rely on your white mages defensive spells. Seeing as you use so many potions and stuff it's a pity that you can only buy one item at a time. A simple slider or number input could have sped up the process considerable. The music by Nobuo Uematsu is a highlight and you definitely won't be reaching for the mute button. Control is easy and every button has a use.

I have been looking forward to playing this game for some time now and I must say I wasn't disappointed. What it might lack in graphics it more than makes up with in gameplay and this is one game that will take some time to complete. It's tough and challenging but still has that addictive quality that has you exploring every dungeon and town in sight. A very worthwhile addition to your collection and a game that comes highly recommended.

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Dragon Warrior (Chunsoft 1989)

The world of Alefgard was cloaked in darkness until a brave warrior used an item called the Ball of Light to drive off the forces of darkness. After this, a period of peace lasted for many generations until one day the Ball of Light was stolen by an evil wizard calling himself the Dragonlord. This resulted in evil flooding back into the world and monsters roaming everywhere. The people start looking for a hero to bring back peace again and it just so happens that you are a descendant of the original hero. Looks like it's time to go on a quest again.

It's about time that Dragon Warrior got an English conversion. This game came out way back in 1986 in Japan under the title Dragon Quest and it's only now three years later that the game reached western shores. Thankfully the game was given some minor graphical improvements but overall it still looks pretty dated. Unlike other Role Playing Games you play through the entire game by yourself and have no help from party members. You still have some weapons and items to use as well as magic spells to cast. The game reminded me a lot of some of the earlier Ultima titles with a similar world map and town layout. Your quest to retrieve the Ball of Light and defeat the Dragonlord ultimately boils down to finding items to allow access to his castle and gaining enough experience to survive the final showdown. There are very little puzzles in the game and most of the time you're just fighting random creatures or looking for a certain item.

The game has only a few towns and even less dungeons so it's pretty hard to get stuck or lost. There are a few obscure parts where you have to find an item that's quite well hidden but overall there's nothing here to really tax the brain cells. The gameplay is quite simplistic but that's hardly surprising for such an old game. The game has a bit more animations than the original and maybe a bit more color here and there but overall the game looks pretty much the same as the three year old Japanese version. Only a few sprites seem to have been changed here and there and as far as I can tell the game plays exactly the same.

The music in the game is quite good although a bit more variations in the tunes would have been nice. Don't even expect to hear sound effects though. Controls are the usual RPG fare although Dragon Warrior seems to like its menu system a bit more than other similar games. Where you usually just have to walk over stairs to go up and down in this game you have to stand on the stairs and then go into the menu to choose the "stairs" option. Likewise with doors that are locked. This can be pretty annoying at first but you'll soon grow used to it.

Playing as a single character instead of a group means you have fewer people to worry about but combat can also be a lot tougher. There is only one place in the entire game where you can save and this is at the castle. This means you have to trek all the way back there each time you want to switch off. Fortunately the gameworld isn't that big and you have a few items and spells to get you there faster. Dying also dumps you back here although you do lose some money as a penalty.

While Dragon Warrior doesn't come close to the Final Fantasy series it's still challenging and interesting enough to warrant a play. Hard-core role playing fans will enjoy the challenge although it has to be said that gaining levels takes quite a long time. The game is also quite slow paced and there is virtually no plot revelations or twists while you play. The game can also become quite tedious at times as you slog your way through armies of monsters to reach a location. A few more boss monsters, some new story elements and a few other minor improvements and Dragon Warrior could have been a classic. As it is, it is still a solid and entertaining title. 

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Conquest Of The Crystal Palace (Asmik 1990)

The citizens of the Crystal Palace were happy until their once peaceful homeland was conquered by an evil spirit and his undead minions. With their King  and Queen killed, their only hope was the young prince. Unfortunately he was only six months old at the time. Fortunately the palace guardian and keeper, Zapolis survived despite being turned into a dog. Now fifteen years later prince Farron and his trusty dog Zap must venture back to their home and defeat the warspirit once and for all.

I have to say I'm impressed with this effort from Asmik. They have taken a sound platform game and added a bit of role playing elements to shake things up. The graphics are quite good and features some nice details. Some levels such as the Gateway of Flame have nice effects like the lava. The main character has some nice animations and is also quite responsive to control. Levels also shy away from the run of the mill formulas and feature some originality for once. Besides walking about, slaying your foes and collecting the coins they leave behind, you will also come across a shop from time to time. Here you can replenish your health, buy some new weapons or even catch the wacky news. While fighting you can also call upon Zap to attack your enemies and he has his own life bar that can also be filled up again by buying some food at the shop.

The game only has five levels but they are moderately long and feature some really hectic boss battles. Some of these guys are really tough and having the right weapon for the job helps immensely. You start out with only a sword but can buy some projectile weapons along the way. These don't last long so must be used sparingly and preferably kept for the bosses.

Another highlight is the music which is surprisingly good for a NES game, especially one of this era. There are also some downsides, but luckily not much. Gameplay can be a bit frustrating at times with things hitting you all over the place, but with patience and timing you can easily complete the game. Dying is also a frustrating experience while fighting a boss as you have to travel all the way back to him to restart the fight, instead of simply starting the battle from scratch. The last level also features some particularly nasty maze like layouts that can cause much frustration. Don't let these criticisms put you off though. Conquest of the Crystal Palace is still an enjoyable game and one that stands out in the platform market due to the extra features.

[8]

Battletoads (Rare 1991)

One thing's for sure, if I knew what was lying ahead when I started playing Battletoads I probably would not have bother playing at all. It's not that it's a bad game or anything, but later on it starts to get maddeningly tough. And not just mildly challenging, I'm talking pulling you're hear out, screaming at the screen, jumping on the gamepad tough. Death waits around every corner and one small miscalculation sends you back to the start screaming in frustration. Apart from all that it's actually a damn good game though.

The story involves a certain Dark Queen kidnapping one of the Battletoads and his girl while they are out cruising around. It's up to the remaining two, guided from their flagship by a vulture mentor, to descent to the surface of the planet and save their chums. Of course this isn't going to be easy and it will only be something like twelve long hard levels later that you'll get to confront the queen herself.

The graphics in Battletoads really is quite good. Although the overall colours might seem a bit drab it's the animation that really shines. Punching an opponent a few times causes you're hand to grow larger and deliver a devastating uppercut to finish him off. Run at an opponent and press attack and you'll turn into a battering ram. All these small animations add a lot of character to the game and can't help but laugh when you see an opponent being hammered into the ground and then kicked in the face with a giant boot. 

The locations that you'll be traversing are also quite varied. The backgrounds also contain their fair share of hazards. You won't be restricted to just beating up enemies either. Some levels have you speeding around on a hover bike avoiding obstacles and trying to keep up with the sheer speed at which the game runs. Others will have you hanging on the giant snakes that are moving through the caverns, while you try to avoid falling off or getting hit by giant spikes. There are also some underwater and flying levels included. The last level is the strangest in which you have to ascent a giant tower. The tower itself is round, so by walking left or right the background rotates. It looks quite impressive and this is one of the few times I've seen something like this in a game.

The sound is just as good and keeps in character with the game. Overall it's quite moody and eerie, but the sound effects are cartoonish and hitting an enemy around you can almost feel the blows. The gameplay is unforgiving and tough and only serious gamers with a lot of patience will ever complete this one. There will be times when you just won't be able to believe what the game expects you to do and you're arcade reflexes are going to have to be honed to perfection to even stand a fighting chance. Some of the later levels are a bit too rigid in what they expect you to do and this could lead to frustration as you miss that last jump by a few inches and have to do it all over again. Completing the game however gives you quite a feeling of achievement, but be warned if you're doing it all just to see the ending, prepare for an epic disappointment. This is one of those games that are for hardcore players only.

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Air Fortress (HAL Laboratory 1989)

When the peaceful people of the planet Farmel started exploring the galaxy they were understandable a bit upset when they found eight planet destroying fortresses in the Yubbart Galaxy. Even worse these living fortresses were heading right for them and seem to have the intention of using their planet for fuel. After a direct assault fails they decide to send in their hero, Hal Bailman to infiltrate the eight fortresses and destroy their central reactors.

Air Fortress is actually two game styles in one game. First you have to make your way through the air base on your space ship blasting everything in sight and picking up bomb and energy tokens. Take one hit and you die and although you continue where you left off, if you die three times it is game over. Once you reach the airlock Hal hops off and enter on foot. The interiors of the fortresses are like mazes that you have to traverse in your search for the reactor. Once this is blown up you only have a small amount of time to locate the exit before moving on to the next fortress.

The graphics in the game is nothing special but overall it's not too shabby. The spaceship design is a bit dodgy though. The side scrolling shooter graphics is pretty average and nothing really special happens outside. Once inside things look marginally better with lots of weird enemies and strange traps. You can fly around inside the structures but every movement you make detracts from your energy. This replenishes once you stand still but if you are hit it will go down permanently. This makes it vital that you gather as much energy as possible outside. Your bombs are also limited and are needed to destroy the reactors. Without it you'll have a tough time destroying the fortress.

The sound in the game is average with nothing exceptional or annoying happening and the sound effects is likewise pretty tame. Controls are pretty responsive and the way gravity affects your actions inside the fortresses is novel. This means if you fire a shot your momentum will propel you backwards and lots of traps are designed with this in mind. You get a password when you die that will restart you at the beginning of the fortress you've died in and overall the game isn't all that hard.

My only fault with the game is that I really hate these types of maze games and as such the game wasn't all that fun to me. There is nothing wrong the game though and it has a few good ideas so if you don't mind getting lost and having to map out sectors then by all means go for it. The game has surprising depth for such a simple looking game and it looks like it can provide quite a challenge later on. If you're anything like me however the confusing maze layouts will have your more bored and confused than entertained and you might want to stick with something else. Not a bad game just not my type of adventure.

[6]

Secret of Mana (Square 1993)

What does an exiled young boy, a girl looking for her lost love and a sprite with an attitude problem have in common? Besides being the last hope for a world losing all its mana, they are also the stars of one of the greatest SNES Role Playing Games ever, Secret of Mana. Coming from the masters at Square it should come as no surprise that this is an excellent game, yet nothing can prepare you for how good it is until you've actually played it.

Few games can grab your attention right from the start and hold it until the ending credits scroll by. Secret of Mana does this effortlessly and the ending isn't even over yet before you start thinking about how badly you want a sequel. Not that the game is short by any means it took me four days of solid playing to crack this one. It's been a while since I played a game until four in the morning and had to tear myself away before sleep deprivation did me in.

The graphics in the game are what you expect from Square and everything's of extremely high quality. Every screen is packed with the maximum amount of color and the animations are a joy to behold. There are a multitude of towns, villages, castles, dungeons and other strange locations to visit and each one has been expertly designed. Your three characters are interesting and each has a full range of animations. Likewise, enemy designs are brilliant and there are some truly excellent foes you fight. I'm not even talking about the beyond cool boss characters. Square has also jammed in some impressive Mode 7 sequences and you even get to fly around on the back of a dragon on a huge Mode 7 map view of the entire world. The last boss also makes use of this special effect for a truly memorable battle.

The music in the game is just plain awesome and there are so many cool tunes playing it's not even funny. Most of the tunes are cheerful and funny but there are also some atmospheric and moody tunes for when the serious plot changes take place. Sadly the sound effects aren't all that great and sound pretty generic with no real "bang". Still there is the occasional cool effect and overall the audio of the game is way above average.

During your huge quest you find quite a few weapons and unlike other Role Playing Games you stick with the weapons you find and upgrade them instead of buying new ones. For this though you need weapon orbs and these can only be found by beating the various bosses. This means while you might start with a standard whip it will soon be upgraded to a Chain Whip and end up as a Giglas Flail. You also have weapons like swords, axes, pole arms, bows, boomerangs and gloves. All your characters can use any of the weapons although some are more proficient with a certain weapon than others. The only armor you have to worry about is Helmets, Armor and Gauntlets.

Although your main character cannot perform magic, your other two characters can cast effect and attack spells. Along the way you'll find and receive help from elementals like Gnome, Lumina, Dryad, Shade, Salamando, Luna and Undine. Each of your magic users gets three spells from each Elemental although finding and freeing them usually involves some puzzles and bosses. Since combat is real time, two of your characters are under CPU control while you control the main character. At any time though you can switch to any of the other characters to cast a spell or use an item. This makes combat very frantic and your constantly switching between characters castling spells and healing. The really cool thing is that a second player can jump in during combat and help you out. This can help quite a lot and makes for even more entertaining gameplay provided your friend knows what they are doing.

Your characters level up in the usual RPG style by defeating enemies but your weapons also level up while fighting. While at the start you might just perform a simple one hit attack by the end you can unleash some devastating combos if you power up your weapon. This means if your character has a level eight in Swords you have to hold in your attack button till it charges up all the way to level eight and then release the button to activate the attack. This is critical for boss battles and some serious cool looking combos can be performed. Of course, for the characters not under your control you can set their attack patterns (stay away, defend or move in) as well as what level they should attack at.

Although Secret of Mana is an excellent game there are sadly some niggles that detract from the overall experience. My main gripe with the game is the way that other party members tag along behind you. They have this irritating problem of getting stuck behind scenery and seeing as lots off the games dungeons feature complex mazes and loads of obstacles you can see how this might get annoying. It can also get you killed in combat if you try to run away and someone is stuck behind a pillar (again) while the enemy starts casting evil spells. Less problematic but also slightly annoying is the way you sometimes ping pong helplessly between enemies as they hack away at your health. Don't even get me started on enemies that can kill you in one hit and dungeons with no save points.

Don't let any of this put you off from playing one of the best RPGs for the system. This is the reason to own a SNES and not a Mega Drive if you are into your Role Playing Games. The plot is engrossing and there are some kick-ass puzzles and dungeons. The game is huge and there is never a lack of things to do or see while playing. Things can get a bit whimsical at times (at one point you meet Santa Claus) but overall the plot is quite serious with a nice storyline and great plot turns. The combat is cool and makes a nice break from all the turn based titles out there. 

[9]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Konami 1989)

I for one am overjoyed that Konami got this really cool license. Considering how popular Kevin Eastman's mutant creations are the potential for a cheap cash-in by a crappy company was enormous. Nobody walking away from this title will be disappointed though. By combining solid platforming action with some fun top down adventuring sections Konami has crafted a challenging and engrossing game that you'll want to play to the end. There isn't much of an overall storyline though, the Turtles simple do what they do best, fight Shredder and his Foot-clan minions. One the first level for example you'll fight to liberate their reporter friend April from the clutches of Be-Bob and Rocksteady while later missions sees you defusing bombs underwater against the clock or searching for your rat master, Splinter.

The levels look excellent and are packed with an amazing amount of varied and detailed enemies. Mousers, ninjas and mutants are all out to stop you as you battle through towns, sewers and underground bases. You'll also face a few mean bosses from time to time to keep you on your toes.

The game  has an overhead view where the emphasis shifts more to exploration than combat. This is where you'll be travelling between each of the subsections of the six levels. The camera is far overhead giving you a big view of the surrounding area and you even get to cruise around in the Turtle van at one point. Not all of the locations you can enter is vital to complete the stage but is worth seeking out for the rewards you can find inside. Since each level is quite large, you get a nice map showing you where you are and where all the locations you can enter is. This screen is also where you switch Turtles and get advice from April or Splinter. The hordes of freaks you fight are constantly respawning when you leave the screen which can be a bit annoying but nothing too serious.

The audio is typically good Konami tunes with not one bad or annoying track in the game. Controls can take some getting used to as the Turtles are quite maneuverable and very responsive. Everything from a small hop to a full blown somersault with every motion in-between is possible. You also have full access to all four the Turtles and can switch between them at any time. This makes for some strategy since two has long range weapons (Leonardo and Donatello) and two short-range (Raphael and Michelangelo). Some are also stronger than others or have weapons better suited to the task at hand. The Turtles strengths and weapons seem a bit unbalanced though and I found myself using some Turtles much more than others. Along the way you can pick up power-ups like shurikens and boomerangs as well as the obligatory pizza for health.

The six stages on offer are quite large and become very challenging towards the end. You might think that having four Turtles makes things too easy but each Turtle only have one life and when they lose all their health is "captured" by the enemy. This leaves your remaining Turtles to finish the level where they get no life refill at the end and have to go search for the fallen Turtles on the next level as well. There is no battery backup or password but you can continue when game over albeit from the very start of the level.

While there are plenty of things that can annoy you in the game there are no serious bugs or flaws to spoil the fun. It has to be said that the game is very difficult and can be borderline unfair at times so stay away if you are easily frustrated. There is the occasional bit of flickering or slowdown when things get too hectic but this is not unusual when you see how far the NES has been pushed. The dialogue in the game can also be a bit spotty at times (hopefully they'll hire better translators next time) but nothing that detracts from the overall experience. If you are a fan of the Turtles then I can heartily recommend this entertaining and original game for your collection. 

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