Game #1306: Cannon Dancer - Osman

 May the real Strider Hiryu 2 please stand up?

 It's no secret that I really dig these ports of classic games, even though not all of them are done with the same level of care. Well, never would I have guessed that Osman, a fantastic Arcade game I knew thanks to emulation, would get one, but boy, am I glad we this rerelease: Cannon Dancer - Osman.

 As a port, it's excellent, as it knows it's a highly unfair Arcade game, so you get all sorts of goodies. There are optional enhancements, such as a double jump, invincibility during jumps, slides and/or attacking and even autoattacking by holding down the attack button. There are also built-in cheats, such as invulnerability or infinite time. Needless to say, you can make your experience with the game as leisurely as possible, or you can opt to play in Challenge Mode which disables cheats and enhancements(Bah! It lets you pick up to two of these) and enables Achievements. There are also Rewind and Fast Forward options, as well as savestates. The game also packs in both the Japanese version, Cannon Dancer, and Osman, the localization. As far as I could tell, besides the language, the only major difference is that Cannon Dancer has blood.

 The only drawback, maybe, is that there's not much in the way of extras such as official artwork... but I'd rather get tweaks and enhancements to make the game more accessible than window-dressing. Few rereleases have had as many options as this one, which makes it one of the best classic port-jobs I've seen recently.

 Now then, a thing to keep in mind is that this game isn't cheap, but it lasts about half an hour, maybe less if you are skilled. But as brief as it is, it is oh, so sweet. You'll visit a desert, you'll surf waves while ambushed by flying machine gunners, you'll travel dystopic 80's styled cyberpunk locales, you'll fight machines, you'll fight GODS. It's an epic, bombastic game that never lets up.

 And the game plays like Strider, as Kirin can cling on to walls and ceilings, much like Hiryu, but Kirin kicks his enemies to death. Kirin can collect power up that grants him up to three after images, and they stay rooted to the last spot you attacked, for a short while, and while they are in place, you can mash attack to have them attack as well! The game's hook is learning where to place these after images so that you can safely attack bosses. Getting hit takes you back a level in power, so you also have to be careful about not getting hit in order to keep your abilities. It's really fun, and very fast-paced, exactly what I love in a videogame.

 When it comes to Cannon Dancer - Osman, I've absolutely nothing to complain about. The base game is fantastic, and the port is excellent, being packaged with all the bells and whistles to make playing this classic as comfortable as possible. The only thing that keeps it from a full recommendation is the price in relation to how short it is, but hey, being an Arcade game... it's quite replayable.

 9.0

Game #1305: Sleeping Dogs - Definitive Edition

 It is considered a sleeper hit!

 Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition has been on my radar even before it became sort of a cult classic, because it reminded me of True Crime: Streets of LA, and there's a reason for it, as it's sort of an spiritual sequel to that game. The game never sold very well, which is surprising since to this year people still keep pumping out videos singing its praises.

 Well, even though I never played the original, since this was originally a PS3 game... you'd expect it to run smoothly. It doesn't, the framerate can dip surprisingly hard, and throughout my entire run I had mini-freezes every now and then. I thought my copy was busted, so I purchased it again. Turns out, it's because I didn't update the game, and it was trying to connect to compare times and what not. Very annoying anyways. This version also includes every DLC that released, which is mostly made up of costumes, as well as three campaigns. One totally eluded me because it's integrated into the main game, a combat tournament, but Year of the Snake and Nightmare in North Point are accessed via the main menu. They are quite brief and sorta dull, one has you fighting Chinese zombies, and the other one is sort of an epilogue in which you tackle a cult.

 The game is your standard open-world crime themed sand-box action shooter. The twist is that you play as an undercover cop, Wei Shen, and it takes place in Hong Kong. The plot is predictable and cliched, but I'd lie if I wasn't entertained. Even though every plot twist is predictable, it was still executed well enough.

 The city has plenty of the standard stuff you'd expect to find: Optional missions, Racing missions, collectibles(Such as money chests, Shrines that extend your health bar or Jade Statues that grant you new moves), Combat arenas, as well as mini-games, such as Karaoke or hacking cameras. It's pretty by the numbers. You also get different levels, such as Cop level, Triad level and Face level, each has different requirements and gives Wei different perks and bonuses. Triad is increased by defeating enemies efficiently during story missions, Cop level by doing Cop Missions or being cautious when fulfilling story missions, and Face is increased by fulfilling simple side missions or triggering optional events throughout the city. It's a neat system, although I found most perks to be rather mundane.

 The driving is alright, I found people criticizing it, but driving cars works well enough. The camera could be smoother when it comes to turning it, and it should've offered different angles, but it's not half bad. That said, bikes and boats are a hassle to control, so whenever it was possible I avoided driving either. There's a drift button, but it doesn't work very well, and breaking before taking curves gets the job done, so no worries.

 Combat is why most people enjoyed the game so much, but I found it rather mediocre. It takes after Assassin's Creed and the Batman Arkham series, press square to attack, and when enemies shine red press triangle to counter their attacks. Honestly, most enemies either counter your grabs or block most of your attacks, so I found myself playing defensively, waiting for attacks to counter... and it felt boring, since taking the initiative and being aggressive meant spending even MORE time waiting for them to attack so that I could counter them. Wei gets very few combos, there was no reason not to go for the longer attack chain every single time I could.

 The shooting is alright, you don't get to keep firearms, as even the ones you hold will eventually, somehow, make their way out of Wei's hands. Whenever a shootout comes up, there will be weapons nearby for you to pick up. It's cover based, and you can trigger slo-mo when vaulting over cover... and there's no reason not to go back and forth over cover, and why wouldn't you, it's not as if this slo-mo is limited by any gauge and it makes landing headshots so much easier.

 Lastly, the game has a ton of rather annoying minigames. The hacking one is actually rather fun, which is probably why it's the only one they reused in the Year of the Snake DLC expansion. The one when opening safes is cute, since you must roll the dial right and left until you hit the right number, but when 40% of the chests have it... it grows boring. The one in which you must track a signal was a chore, and calibrating bugs was such a waste of time too. Was this a DS game? Why so useless many mini-games, what gives?

 Sleeping Dogs its not bad, it really isn't, but... it felt average, y'know? The setting is original, the plot was entertaining, but the rest of the game was just alright. There's nothing horrible about it, but I don't think it excelled anywhere

 7.0

Game #1304: Fire Emblem - Three Hopes

 I hope that's enough hope.

 Not so long ago, I played my first Fire Emblem game, Three Houses, and it was a banger. Well, Tecmo Koei continues the trend of making Musous out of other franchises instead of their own Dynasty Warriors, so enter Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. I'd hesistate to call it a sequel to Fire Emblem Warriors since so much has changed, as it's more in-line with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, as it's set in the world of Three Houses, but much like AoC, it offers an unsatisfying alternate storyline instead of it being a proper sequel or expansion.

 In this one, the main character is Shez, a new character that was killed by Byleth before the original Three Houses, but in this timeline he survives thanks to a mysterious power up. This time around Shez is not a mute hero, thank god, and he is the one who gets to join one of the three houses. Shez is kinda dull to be honest, and he, or she, can't romance any of the characters. The new storyline was a bit lame to be honest, and the fact that it's an 'alternate timeline' makes it all the lamer. I also felt that seeing Byleth become a total nobody, I mean, he is the famed 'Ashen Demon' and he is feared by everyone, but... he barely gets to interact with the characters that could grow so fond of him in the original game.

 While having everyone from Three Houses return is pretty neat, I miss having characters from all around the Fire Emblem universe, plus, since it's an alternate continuity... it's not as if anything that happens in this game really matters in the overall world of Three Houses, now does it? Might as well just pay tribute to the entire series, right? I also felt that having each character having a single promotion, which would change their outfit, was a bit cooler. This game tries to mimic elements from Three Houses, so now you get a shared pool of classes, and true, each character gets their own unique outfit, but they share class-based outfits.

 The game lasts about 25 hours... and that's just a single playthrough. As it tries to borrow as many elements from Three Houses as possible it also has three routes depending on which house you pick at the start, so you actually get three different storylines to follow. And this is its own can of worms, at least in my opinion, making it kind of a hassle to play. Instead of having a simple mission select screen or map, as any other decent Musou game, you get a linear plot and set of missions. You can recruit characters from other houses in certain missions... but if you start a new game plus, you can only use the characters that you recruit on THIS new playthrough. To be fair, after chapter 2 you get a facility that lets you replay missions, and you can actually use any character that had joined you in previous playthroughs, to play these missions, but once again, it's an unnecessary hassle. This also means that starting a new playthrough is a pain in the butt, you get the replay mission facility about an hour into it, and you have to replay the boring and slow paced introductory chapters and tutorial all over again. Yes, the game forces you through the tutorials AGAIN, even though it's a new game plus.

 You only get to play two missions before the timeskip, which is kind of rushed, but hey, everyone gets new timeskip designs. Of course, the new designs are hit or miss, and pretty much all of them are based on their original costumes. I appreciate having new designs, but having the old ones as optional costumes would've been perfect.

 At first the game felt very overwhelming, new mechanics kept being introduced pretty regularly, and each tutorial was at least 3 pages long. And then you find out about all the different character classes, and just how would you know which classes are better? But before long you'll get the gist of it and feel comfortable playing it. Even when it comes to classes, the game highlights which classes fit each character the best. But yeah, it feels too complicated at first, but it really isn't.

 So far, I haven't had many good things to say about the game, but that's about to change! The gameplay is really good. Not only are there a lot of classes, but you are encouraged to try them all because besides the unique passive abilities each class gets, your character also learns skills that they can equip regardless of which class they are using! This allows for an interesting degree of customization on everyone. Each class also has Special Attacks that you can then equip with other classes, although some require an specific weapon type. Characters can equip up to two of these abilities, and they consume weapon durability. Not to worry, weapons don't break, and you can fix durability during battles by finding purple crystals.

  Just as in the original Fire Emblem Warriors, this one tries to give the Musou formula an strategic edge, so you can actually bring up to four characters to each battle, and swap between them at any moment. You are also supposed to regularly pause the game to assign orders to everyone. It sounds annoying, but it's not.

 Stages and Missions are just large enough to be enjoyable, but brief enough as to feel appropriate on a handheld console. There's only so many missions types besides capturing strongholds or defeating specific enemies, but as with the best Musou games, the action is fast, loose and flashy. If anything, I'd complain that the first Class Tiers are a bit dull since they don't have many combo finishers, so if you like to mash buttons... sometimes mashing X will produce nothing and just stop your combo. It's not until the very last Class Tier that classes get full movesets.

 It's not the best Musou Koei has ever made, but at least it's not the worst. Thankfully the gameplay is solid, unlike their previous effort, Touken Ranbu Warriors. That said, I'm getting tired of these wet-blanket 'alternate continuity' plots, either move the plot forward, device a plot that is actually part of the license's world, or go back to just grabbing characters from multiple worlds, pertaining to the license, and writing an excuse plot, because both Age of Calamity and Three Hopes have an excuse plot that limits the characters they can borrow, and that sucks.

 7.5

Game #1303: Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series

 The dream isn't dead.

 You wanted more Klonoa? Well, you get twice the usual amount of Klonoa with Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, a two-pack remake compilation of the first two Klonoa games!

 The good news is that as far as gameplay is concerned, these are pretty much identical to the originals, so I won't go over how it plays or what each game is, as there's no need to. I'd rather speak about the remakes as a whole... or as two halves of a whole? Anyways...

 While the gameplay remains brilliant and simple, well... Klonoa 1 had this beautiful sprites against 3-D backdrops that made the game stand out. The second game instead of having sprites had cell-shaded character models. Both games looked gorgeous in their own way. I won't say here and claim that the games are ruined, because they are not, but now the feature generic 3-D graphics. Nothing about these games, graphically, stands out from other games. What's more, since both games run on the same engine, Klonoa 2 feels like little more than an expansion pack featuring a slightly taller Klonoa. They could've at least went for cell-shading on both games. Again, for most people this is a nit pick, and it could very well be, but the original games feel ever so slightly more charming.

 On the other hand, both games are so cute, and play so well... that they feel right at home on the Nintendo Switch. It's as if this is where Klonoa should've been from the start, so yeah, I'd rather play it on the Switch.... even if I experienced a few framerate drops here and there. Both games now feature a new easy mode, I didn't try it, but you get more hitpoints, infinite lives and longer reach on your grab, which sounds perfect to make the games more accessible.

 Klonoa 1 is pure bliss, the has only two buttons: Jump and grab, and once you grab an enemy you can use it as a projectile or as a double jump. With these mechanics you'll get to platform your way through an admittedly short, but very sweet, adventure romp. The story is super depressing too! Klonoa 2 adds more puzzle elements, sometimes you'll have to use new enemies that supercharge your jump upwards, enemies that turn color as they absorb other enemies and what not, heck, bosses now have multiple phases, and there are new skating stages too. The plot is super depressing too! Both games are fantastic in their own right, I love the original's simplicity, but I also love how they evolved the gameplay without messing with how basic Klonoa's moveset is.

 I do think the original games look better, even if they didn't look as sharp, but here's the thing... both Klonoa games are prohibitedly expensive nowadays, but with this cart you get both games, they play JUST as fantastic as before AND you even get accessibility options... So yeah, there's absolutely no reason as to why you shouldn't get this cart instead of splurging on the original too. Now then, if we could only get Namco to remake the GBA Klonoa games using this engine too....

 9.5

Game #1302: River City Girls Zero

  Who cares about Kunio-kun these days anyways, right?

 It was like... 10-15 years ago, I was surfin' the web for SNES roms, and I came across the news that Kunio-Kun something-something was finally translated, and knowing absolutely nothing about it I gave it a try. It was a beat'em up! I used to love beat'em ups, and it was edgy, and dark, with the characters starting out in JAIL over running over a woman. Well... the River City Girls are a thing now, so the game finally gets an official translation... and it's been horribly rebranded as River City Girls Zero. I loved the River City Girls, but I hate the rebranding, they did Kunio dirty.

 So, about this package... There is a pseudo save-state, but you have to save and quit to use it. There's a tiny art gallery with the instruction booklet it Japanese... and that's about it really. No rewind, no save states, no 'enhancements'. Don't even play the game in Easy mode, as it just stops midway through or somethin'. On the other hand, the game offers two translations, a more literal one, which even has Kunio calling his girlfriend a bitch(Japanese games were hardcore like that) or a more localized script. Either way, I think this is a pretty neat way of making both camps happy. I couldn't care less for a localized version that thought they could be funnier or more '''''topical''''' than the real script, even if it came across a bit rougher, but if you prefer something more colorful... go ahead! The game also features a new cringy intro song that breaks the fourth wall, but the animation looks pretty decent. There's a new intro and outro too featuring the River City Girls. I dunno, I didn't care for those.

 The game... hasn't aged very well. You can punch, kick and jump, and you get a third 'back' attack. You can couple all three attack buttons with Block to produce special moves. Kunio, Riki, Misako and Kyoko get their own special modes. You can press ZL to swap between characters at any time, but if any of them dies... it's back to the last checkpoint. It can be played with a second player. In between stages there are AWFUL bike-riding stages that control poorly, and if you touch a wall it's back to the start. Thank god the Save slot that can help you cheese them.

 What brings the game down is how unpredictable it feels. Sometimes hitboxes can feel off, and enemies can just attack out of your combos. It doesn't feel very fair, at all.... which makes the lack of a rewind feature, or any other enhancement to make the game more palatable, a very glaring omission.

 It hasn't aged very well, it's missing features that most modern ports of old games have and, to top it all off, it was horribly rebranded as a River City Girls game, when both Miyako and Kyoko play a very small part in.... but I'm still glad the game got an official release. Having official re-releases of old games is always OK in my book.... even rereleases as lackluster as this one.

 5.0

Game #1301: Star Wars - The Force Unleashed II(Nintendo DS)

  Leashed, it's very much leashed.

 I was bamboozled! I was watching some videogame footage and came upon Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II on the DS, and it looked as if, unlike the original, it didn't have tacked-on stylus controls. But I was wrong, as it's even worse than I remembered the first one being.

 The game follows the same plot as the console game, however, for cutscenes we get ugly stills. The game is made up of about five stages, and each stage lasts about 30 minutes, which feels like a slog considering this is a handheld game and the game isn't much fun.

 You use the DPAD to move and you use the touchscreen to attack and use your force powers. The gist of it is: Swipe to slash, tap and hold to use: Push, Electricity, Saber Throw or Grip. Force Powers can be used in battle, but you'll also need to use them to solve puzzles, and sometimes, puzzle bosses. So, firstly, combat is a masher, rather, a swiper, it feels clunky and ungratifying. Even worse, as you swipe on enemies, sometimes the game will think you tried using a Force Power instead. It's not too bad since force powers are still useful in battles, but it's annoying.

 So, the combat isn't fun, what about the rest of the game? Just as dull. There's a lot of platforming, and falling into a bottomless pit means being sent back to the start of the section, which can be so frustrating when it feels so unfair. You jump with the R button, but it feels super janky, the jump is too high, and too floaty, so it's easy to mis-calculate the direction. And when it involves the double-tap dash? Ugh....

 The second boss almost made me drop the game. You have to bring down its shields with force powers, but using grip didn't work. So I looked up guides... and nobody wrote one, so I searched for a gameplay video.... I could only find a single longplay.... and the guy was doing exactly what I was doing, so why wasn't it working? Eventually it started reading my inputs... some times? It was SO frustrating.

 The Force Unleashed II on the Nintendo DS is a trainwreck, the first game was already bad, but this one is even worse.

 2.0

Game #1300: Shin Megami Tensei V

 Will the real Nocturne please stand up?

 I've enjoyed pretty much every Shin Megami Tensei I've played.... except SMT IV, which is why I'm so happy that Shin Megami Tensei V went back to Nocturne. In fact, it might stick a bit too close to its source inspiration, but I'm not about to complain considering how much I adored Nocturne in the first place.

 In what may be a bit disappointing considering this is an RPG, the plot in this game is easily it's weakest aspect. The game is a bit more open worldish than any other game in the series, so there's more to explore and what not, while the plot takes a bit of a backseat. It's not too bad, it has a small ensemble of mysterious, arguably because they are underdeveloped and underutilized, characters that you meet with every now and then. As for you, taking a page from Nocturne's iconic Demi-Fiend, now you play as the Nahobino, a fusion of man and fiend. As per usual, you get a scant few dialogue choices... that matter very little, as which ending you get depends on what you choose at the end... and whether you finished a few sidequests or not.

 Overworlds and dungeons are a thing of the past.... kinda. there's a very small traditional SMT dotted map overworld but only for the human world, and you'll only use it during interims, as the proper game is divided into four large open areas. Each of the four zones will take you upwards of ten hours to completely finish, at least if you, much like me, try to finish every sidequests, battle every bonus boss and find every Miman, tiny red demons that give you rewards every five you find of them. Enemy encounters now appear on the map, and you can choose to engage them, which will transition into the classic turn-based, press-turn combat that SMT has been using since Nocturne. 

 A thing to note is that all four zones are a bit similar, as they represent different parts of Tokyo in ruins, which means a lot of sand. Golden sand in the first area, red sand in the second area, grey sand in the third area and white sand in the final one. Not to say they are identical, as they all have their landmarks, but you'll be treading through deserts. A lot of deserts.

 There are also three very rudimentary dungeons in the game. The first one comes after you finish the first zone, and it's just a multi-leveled corridor-based dungeon. A bit dull. the next one comes after the third zone, this one has puzzles regarding fans that propel you upwards or forwards. This one was a bit tedious and confusing. It was far longer than it needed to be too. And then the final dungeon is about freezing time, which... eh, it was alright. The dungeons were a bit of an after thought, but I wouldn't go as far as hating any of them.... it's just that there rest of the game is simply SO much better.

 The only big issue I found with the open world approach is the fourth, and final, zone. The previous three zones, while large, had a clear route forward. You were free to explore around, but you could draw a line between the start of the map and the end of the map that has you going through every part of the map. The fourth area is more of a circle. You are start close to the center of the map and you are supposed to roam around while grinding, and grind you'll have to, as you start this area with your level as high as late 50s at most, while basic enemies can reach up to level 70. The bosses you have to defeat in this area are level 76 too. And this is compounded by the hidden damage modifier that makes higher level enemies hit harder and take less damage from you, the opposite is true as well, as lower level enemies deal less damage and take extra damage. This means that the fourth area feels aimless. Just roam around, battling enemies and finding fast travel beacons so that you can attempt the bosses once your level is high enough. No other part of the game is like this, and I won't lie, it was annoying at first when enemies 10 levels above me could wreck me, while I tried to fight encounters I could farm for XP.

 That makes me suspect that it was done on purpose. The only way to get the true ending involves defeating the Super Boss, which is at level 96. The highest level enemy you can find is at 87, which means... getting to its level is incredibly tedious unless you've been saving... which why would you, if you didn't know that higher level enemies didn't exist? But there's a way to solve that... buy the DLC that lets you farm gospels. Atlus is known to be scummy when it comes DLC, so this tickles the noggin;

 Combat, on the other hand, is fantastic... because Atlus struck lightning in a bottle with Nocturne, and there's a reason it hasn't changed since. Basically, scoring a critical or hitting an enemy with their weakness gives you an extra turn, enemies can also get extra turns like this. It's still really fun after all this years. You can also skip animations by mashing A, which makes it go by faster. They added a new wrinkle to the combat in the form of Magatsuhi, a new gauge that refills every turn, and once full can be spent on an extra ability. The main character, as well as every demon race, have access to a generic "every hit will crit" ability, which remains useful until the end of the game since it means you get EIGHT critical attacks in one turn, but each race also has their own exclusive ability. For instance, the Fiend class gets the Demi-Fiend's Freikugel that deals a ton of damage in one turn. And do be warned, enemies get the 'every hit crits' ability, and trust you me, bosses love to spam it. Oh! And hitting an enemy in the overworld, in order to trigger the random battle, doesn't always grant you the first strike, which is kinda whacky.

 Much like every other hero in SMT, the Nahobino is joined by a party of demons you can recruit by negotiating with them. It's been a bit more mainstreamed than before, and most demons are usually recruited after you give them a few items or money. The other way you get demons is through fusion, and boy oh boy, it's easier than ever to create THE ultimate demon. For starters, now you can see all the results you can get.... by purchasing demons from the ones you've registered in the compendium, so fusing every single monster and getting whatever demon you want is EASIER than ever.

 So, you've got your dream demon, but its skills quickly get outclassed by stronger demons, well, fret not, as now you may find a Demon's essence after a fight or as a gift after leveling up the demon. These essences can be used to teach any other demon, or the main character himself, the abilities that the essence's demon can learn! Except for unique skills, but still! This means you can pretty much give any demon ANY skill. Oh, but there's a reason you are encouraged to fuse fuse and fuse demons, since they level up very slowly, right? Well, the game is very generous with Grimoires, items you can use to instantly level up a demon. Snazzy. The game is quite generous with permanent stat boosting items for demons too. In other words, if you grow fond of a particular demon you can very easily take it with you until the end of the game. It's amazing. I really liked Yoshitsune's guaranteed 8-hit critical unique skill as well as Alice's "Will you die for me?" unique skill, so I pumped them full of Grimoire's and kept their movesets up to date through essences.

 The Nahobino gets an extra degree of customization, as you can use essences to take up that demon's elemental weaknesses and resistances... if you get the enhancement. There's another currency called Glory, given to you by Miman or by finding Glory Crystals, and Glory can be spent on all sorts of boons, like raising your mastery of elements, increasing the amount of magatsuhi you get per turn, increasing the amount of demons you can carry, etc. There's not enough Glory to get everything, so be careful.

 Shin Megami Tensei is a brilliant step in the right direction after SMT IV, at least if you like the PS2 era SMT games. It has a few quirks and flaws, but overall it's a fantastic new game in the series that takes after its most iconic outing. I found that the game was a bit divisive, since I found a few people that actually hated the game... and it's usually people who liked SMT IV. Thank god it's nothing like IV.

 9.0