Review #608: Gundam Versus

 Namco is murdering the Gundam Versus series.

 It's no secret that I adore the Gundam Versus franchise, I've been a fan ever since Federation VS Zeon on the PS2. And while the games have enjoyed a healthy relationship with both home and handheld consoles, Namco is hellbent on murdering the series. Gundam Extreme VS Force on the Vita was an epic disappointment, even in Japan, while Gundam Versus was dead on arrival thanks to the existence of both a little arcade game called Gundam Extreme Versus Maxi-Boost ON and the PS3 release, Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost.

 Here's the thing, Namco has always been scared about cannibalizing the money the series earns on Arcades, which is why the moment Extreme VS released on the PS3, Full Boost was announced for Arcades. And it took more than two years for Full Boost to make it on the PS3... at the same time Maxi Boost was announced for Arcades. And then Namco stopped, because they wanted all the money and they'd rather people keep putting coins in an Arcade cabinet as opposed to a one-time purchase, so neither Maxi Boost nor Maxi Boost ON got console releases. But Namco wants money, and they know that people want these games on consoles, so they did what they do best: half-assed it. Extreme Versus Force tried to justify its lacking roster and features by featuring a half-assed story mode, and with Gundam Versus they justify it by saying that the game is running on a new engine.

 First problem: Character roster. Full Boost offered a whopping 98 mobile suits on release, while Versus only has 94. Yes, it's just 4 suits less, but considering Maxi Boost has over 120 different units this is very disappointing. They also omitted a few series like G Gundam or Gundam Seed Destiny, and trust me, I have no love for Destiny, but it had some brilliant units like the Impulse. Actually, I'm wrong, G Gundam is in the game. As DLC. The pre-order suits are also greyed out on the character select screen, endlessly taunting you into opening your wallet. Not gonna happen. There's about 130$ worth of DLC unit for this game, which is nuts. The roster choices are also a bit baffling, people have always wished for a few more grunt units, but this game has too many grunts and not enough heroes. Did anybody really ask for the Nemo? While Full Boost was a bit too generous with 00 units, in this game it was mostly the UC timeline that had too many reps. If you've never played Full Boost, this roster might be more than satisfactory to you, but as someone who has followed the series and news about Maxi-Boost this feels like Namco taking the piss.

 Gameplay hasn't changed much, luckily, this game feels exactly like Full Boost but with a smoother framerate. Each mobile suit has its own moveset, as you set out to duke it out on 2 vs 2 battles. Your camera is fixed on an enemy suit, and you can change which enemy you're targeting with the circle button. X is used to fly or dash, which consumes fuel that only replenishes once you touch the ground, triangle is a melee attack and square a ranged attack. Different combinations of buttons also result in a variety of different attacks which vary depending on the mobile suit. There's one new addition to the game and one change to the mechanics. Firstly, the addition, now you can pick a support mobile suit, from a huge roster of options, so that you can make up for your suits' weaknesses. Maybe add a Gerobi beam support to your Epyon, or maybe have the ZZ Gundam dash in and grab your enemy for a few seconds. It's a neat addition to compliment your mobile suit. As for what has changed, it's how burst works. As you receive and take damage you'll fill a gauge, once it's at least halfway charged you can press R3 to use your burst. How it changed from before is that now it's divided into Blaze and Lightning, Blaze Burst  makes you deal more damage while Lightning Burst makes you faster. It also lets you try to use your Burst Attack(By pressing R3), but you only get one attempt at it while your burst lasts.

 The selection of modes is a bit of a mixed bag. First of all, the completely axed local multiplayer modes. It's true, the PS3 struggled a bit with split-screen, but this is better, stronger hardware. They have no excuse not to include it. The arcade mode is the same as it's ever been: Multiple routes, of varying difficulty settings, return, 10 in all and you can unlock extra alternate stages on each route as you clear them. These stages include normal 2 on 2 point-battles, battles in which you must destroy a specific enemy or boss battles against giant units. Most bosses return from Full Boost, but to be fair, there're a few new ones too. There's no mission mode, which were the highlight of these console releases, but in its place is a new Survival Mode in which you must survive various waves of enemies, and as you endure them you get to upgrade your suit(Only for this mode) so that you can better deal with the onslaught. I'll admit that I found the survival mode to be pretty fun, but it's no substitute for Mission mode. And, hey, they remembered about Free Battle this time!... although it doesn't give out points. There's also a 3 on 3 novelty mode, but it's exclusive to online. Lame.

 Points are earned by playing Survival, Arcade or Online Matches and these can be spent on unlocking Emblems, Titles, Navigators(Anime cut-outs that rattle as you battle your enemies), alternate pilots for a few mobile suits and, lastly, Support units. It's alright, unlocking support units is a decent reward, although unlockable playable suits or even alternate color schemes would've been even better.

 I can't say that I didn't enjoy Gundam Versus, but that speaks mostly about how Gundam Extreme Versus was than about this game itself. The character roster just leaves so much to be desired that this game feels more like "Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost: The Remix" than anything else. If they were gonna go the route of marketing as a new game they should've made the returning units feel different from their Full Boost counterparts. But they didn't, because they are lazy. Because a straight-up port from Maxi Boost ON meant not getting ALL of the money they could have gotten, but making a new Versus game was too much work. Bad form Namco, bad form. All they are managing to do is murder any chance the series has of hitting it big overseas.

 The game is still pretty dope though, just try to pretend like Full Boost and Maxi Boost don't exist.
 8.0 out of 10

Gundam Versus Impressions Part 4(Z, Iron Blooded Orphans)

Hyaku Shiki

 Maybe it's a bit stronger than it used to be, since it's now a 400 cost instead of 2000, but this suit is pretty much exactly the same as it was in Extreme VS. That means that Hyaku Shiki covers pretty much every base, a bazooka shot, a gerobi, beam rifle(With cartridges instead of waiting for it to recharge) and pretty decent melee. It helps that it's my favorite design in Gundam.

Zeta Gundam

 I think the shield-recoil shot has been changed, and now, assuming it did, is an area-of-effect stun blast. Other than that, it's the same exact suit that it used to be, but it got bumped up to 500... which probably isn't its best fit since it doesn't have all that many different tools to work with.

Super Gundam

 Another unit that hasn't changed much, if at all, the Super Gundam is a fantastic suit, with good melee and a decent amount of projectile weapons.... and then you turn on the Super Mode in which case it becomes a long-range monster, with quick gerobis and strong beam attacks, not to mention a devastating flurry of missiles. I love it.

Gundam Mk II

 A very basic mobile suit, it has a standard beam rifle(cartridge based) and decent melee, but it feels a bit lacking and boring. The blade-beam projectile is strong, but it doesn't manage to make it stand out among other suits.

NEW Nemo

 Quick question: Who asked for the Nemo? It's one of the weakest 200 cost units I've tried yet, with a pathetic beam rifle and pathetic melee attacks. It has a neat side-step attack in which the Nemo mounts a flier and shoots three times, as well as a sticky glue that might make it useful as a support unit, but other than that.... it's terrible.

NEW Methuss

 I used to love this guy back when I first played Gundam Z VS Gundam. This boy can heal himself and resupply ammo, he's kinda fun to use but his close-ranged attacks leave a lot to be desired. Probably one of the weakest 200 units I've tried, but I guess his healing abilities make up for it.

NEW Rick Dias

 The Rick Dias is one of the most iconic suits in the franchise, it's surprising it took him this long to get in! He's a great all-around unit that works well at any range, although its low 200 cost means he is better suited for support. I loved his behind-the-back shot with the turrets on his back!

NEW Marasai

 I've always found the Marasai an interesting unit because it looks like a Samurai Zaku, and that's badass. This guy is very fast, with a bunch of fantastic long-range tools to zone his enemies. Plus, a manual reload makes him pretty darn useful. I liked him a lot, although I think they should've made him a tougher close-range unit.

NEW Gabthley

 This fellow looks like a long-range specialist, but its actually an all-around type. He's got good melee, good beams and a decent gerobi attack. His fast melee makes him a pest you don't want getting close to you. Its also got a MA mode to close in on faster.

Gabthley

 Looks can be deceiving! The guy looks like a fast attacker, he's got a MA mode 'n everything, but this one is very slow. Slow projectiles and slow attacks makes for a bulky tank. Can't say I liked him too much.

The O

 I liked this guy back in Extreme VS, but... he feels so weak in this one. His long-distance and mid-range tools feel very weak, and his melee is average at best. To top it off, his super move blows.

Mobile Suit Gundam - Iron Blooded Orphans

NEW Gundam Kimaris Trooper

 This guy looks really dumb, so I didn't really want to play as him, however, he proved himself a very fun close-range unit to use. His bullets are pathetic, but his got a few nifty close range attack as well as a forward flight-bullet hail attack that's pretty good to close distances. Probably one of my favorite new units.

NEW Gundam Barbatos

 Another suit that took me by surprise, this puppy shoots missiles from his giant club, the same giant club he swings around with reckless abandon. It's glorious. He also has a Katana it can throw against his enemies, use it on his Super Move or on his Forward+Attack attack string. While his mid-range missiles are pretty dope, this guy is built for close range, he's got a swift dash as well as a few neat command-special moves with his club.

Bonus: Mobile Suit Gundam

Gundam RX-78

 Plays exactly like he has played before: The beam rifle, the hyper hammer, the bazooka, Final Shooting... everything is here and accounted for. There's nothing much else to say about it, probably the best unit to start playing the game with.

Review #607: Super Bomberman R

 Patches do make the game.

 Super Bomberman R was released to coincide with the oddly selected 33rd anniversary of the series. It was also released the 3rd of March. It received a somewhat lukewarm reception, but despite review scores, it managed to sell pretty well, So well in fact that the game received numerous patches with free content. Before you boot up the game, do yourself a favor and download the patches, they are worth it.

 The game is a bit light on content. Story mode is made up of 6 worlds with 8 stages and 2 bosses each, which you could probably finish in under two hours. Well, eventually, as the game is tough as nails, don't be ashamed to play on Easy, I did. Stages play like your oldschool Bomberman mazes in which you must defeat every enemy while destroy blocks with your bombs to make progress. Some stages add some variety, like switches, springs or having to collect keys while enemies respawn continuously.  There's also a VS mode with up to eight different players or AI enemies. You can customize the rules a bit, how many rounds, how many opponents, whether you get to keep playing after you are killed, etc. The AI is brutal on this mode, so be warned. Furthermore, you can't play against AI bots using special characters(Such as Simon, Goemon or Snake) instead being limited to the Bomberman brothers. Lame. Downloading the updates adds Grand Prix which lets you play in Team Matches and with bonus objectives, such as king of the hill, collecting crystals or saving civilians. Finally, the free patches also add a seventh stage to the Story mode. Neat.

 Yeah, the game is a bit light on playable content, but if you download the updates, well, they make up for it in fanservice. The good kind. There are tons of different playable characters, each with their own special abilities, based on Konami's properties. Jehuty and Anubis, from Zone of the Enders, Bill and Lance, from Contra, Alucard, Simon and Dracula, from Castlevani even Pyramid Head made it in, with a devastating ability that murders anyone on his path but decreases his speed considerably. If you've ever liked Konami, there'll be something for you here.

 As for the game itself... it's Bomberman. It's you against at least 3 other opponents, trying to hit each other with your bombs. Stages are made out of grids, with a few unbreakable objects and destructible onjes that hide power ups, to the amount of bombs and the length of your fire power to more practical abilities, such as punching or kicking bombs. How much fun you'll have depends on how much you like Bomberman and how many friends you've got that also enjoy Bomberman. As for me? Both Single Player and Multiplayer modes bored me to tears. It sucks that unlocking characters, stages and customization items takes so much time, with characters costing between 1000 and 5000 coins each, while clearing a world nets you about 500 coins and winning a multiplayer battle about 150. It's gonna be a long, loooong grind, my friend.

 I wish I could call Super Bomberman R a winner, but maybe I've outgrown the franchise. I vividly remember growing up with classic Bomberman on the NES, and enjoyed the hell out of Bomberman 64. But this game lacks a strong single player mode, and I've never been too much of a fan of the Multiplayer. That said, it was nice getting to see Goemon, Jehuty and Anubis again. For what it's worth, there's nothing really wrong about the game, everything plays as well as it should, I just wish the was more meat to these bones.
 5.5 out of 10

Review #606: 64 Memories - Banjo-Kazooie

 Not a music/rhythm game.

Part 1: The Flashback

 I used to love this game, yo! I can clearly remember that we rented this game at least twice before I finally got my own copy, and boy oh, boy was it swell. I played this game oh so many times that I dare say I knew it by heart. Not so much now, I actually had to look up the locations of a few things!
 I don't know if I knew it then, but Banjo-Kazooie was easily one of my favorite N64 games, and I'm oh so happy to report that the game has held up spectacularly.

Part 2: The Review
 Super Mario 64 established what a 3-D platformer should and could be for its era, but Banjo-Kazooie built upon it to cement what a 3-D platformer collect-a-thon is. You have an overworld Hub and 9 levels, each with 10 Jigsaw Pieces, 100 Musical Notes, 5 Ginjos, 2 Honeycomb pieces and a Witch Switch that unlocks a Jigsaw Piece on the overworld. Not to mention the plethora of extra moves, supplies and Mumbo Tokens left to collect. Yup, you've got your work cut-out for you.

 Thankfully, most of the time it's pretty easy to figure out what you have to do on each level to collect the jigsaw pieces, and you don't have to go too far out of your way to collect every musical note.  Progression is locked behind both of those, the pieces being required to unlock new worlds and the musical notes are needed to open gates on the overworld. You need about 810 notes out of 900 and 94 jigsaw pieces out of 100 in order to beat the game... but if you collect everything you'll have access to nifty, but pretty much unnecessary by that point, upgrades.

 Banjo and Kazooie travel together, Banjo being a bear that carries Kazooie, a bird, on his backpack. One of the coolest things about the game is how they both work together. Pressing A makes Banjo jump, but pressing A again makes Kazooie flap her wings to help him gain air.  Banjo can attack by swiping or rolling, but Kazooie can shoot(or fart) eggs or use her wings to shield Banjo, as long as your Golden Feather supplies last. There are a ton of different moves for the pair, including free-form flying around levels, if you find a flight-pad and the now-mandatory ground pound, and every single ability has its uses, not a single one goes unused.

 One thing that did leave a bit to be desired were transformations. By collecting Mumbo Tokens and entering Mumbo's hut in a level, Mumbo will transform you into something: A Termite on World 1, an Alligator on World 4, a Morse on World 5, a Pumpkin on World 7 and, finally, a Bee on World 9. These transformations will be required, mostly, for a single Jigsaw piece on a level. Which is a waste! The Termite, the Pumpkin and the Morse only have the ability to jump, at least the Alligator lets you bite and the Bee lets you fly. Transformations could've added so much more to the game than simply access to a very few Jigsaw Pieces that only require you getting there in a transformed state.

 Controls are, for the most part, pretty tight, but they can be a bit lacking when it comes to flying around the stages. Aiming the 'Beak Bomb' attack can be particularly finicky. The camera is pretty good of its era, sometimes I wished I could get full 360 degrees of movement, as opposed to 90 degree shifts, but you can work with it.  A bigger annoyance would be dying on a level, which makes you lose all your collected musical notes for the level. On the flipside, and this was a huge deal back in the day, collecting a Jigsaw Piece doesn't boot you back to the overworld, unlike Super Mario 64.

 One of the best things about the game is that you can completely finish 7 levels on your first attempt. Freezeezy Peak and Gobi's Dessert require having an unlockable move found on each other before you can finish them, but you can simply enter either level, find the unlockable move, travel to the other level and finish it, and then return with the OTHER unlockable move to the first level you visited. I kinda wish all levels could've been finished on your first go, but it's alright. Stages are pretty well designed, but Level 8, Rusty Bucket Bay, is a bit unnecessarily tough, with a large body of water that depletes your oxygen a bit too quickly and moving engines from which Banjo slips too easily. There's also an Event near the end of the game, 'Grunty's Furnace Fun', which is all kinds of annoying, featuring questions that have different answers for every playthrough, and the only way to figure out the answers, besides trial and error, is to find an NPC on the overworld and talk to it multiple times. Annoying. 'Grunty's Furnace Fun' comes right before the game's climax, putting a huge damper on what had been an excellent game until now.

 Banjo-Kazooie is easily the best game I've replayed for this Nintendo 64 series. Its designed has aged like a fine wine, with but the tiniest of blemishes here and there. Banjo-Kazooie is one of those games that needs to be on any Nintendo 64 collector's shelf.
 9.5 out of 10

Review #605: 64 Memories - Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

 He also hunts tribal men, giant mosquitoes and, in Europe, robots.

Part 1: The Flashback
 I rented the game once, I mean who wouldn't? Look at that epic cover!, and that one time was enough to hate it. That's right, I hated Turok and I hated its controls. I could never figure out why the game received such high praises.
 Not that that would stop me from owning every single Turok game that came afterwards. I just settled for accepting that Turok 1 had bad controls and thus I'd never be able to like it, unlike its successors.
 As a final memory, I think Turok was one of the games that were talked about the most in the magazines I purchased. Cheats, walkthroughs, what have you. Maybe I just hold clearer memories of it since it was a game I didn't like yet... kinda wanted to?

Part 2: The Review
 Turok's blade is not as sharp as it used to be. This was the first first-person shooter released on the Nintendo 64 and despite the technology being so young, managed to be pretty darn good. Sadly, age has caught up with it. Let's start with the controls: You use the analog stick to aim and the C-buttons to move around. It's suboptimal, but you can get used to it and it actually works pretty well.

 Sadly, the problems arise with the game design. Turok followed a trend many other FPS of the era loved: Platforming. It doesn't work very well, and the game is filled with obnoxious jumps. No lie, it's easier to die from falling to your death than to your enemies. Not that they aren't trying, while their AI can be questionable at times, letting you hit them as they stand motionless in front of you, most enemies respawn pretty frequently, sometimes it takes but a few seconds for them to respawn right in front of your nose. Add to this that the game features rather large maze-like levels in which you have to find stuff... and it becomes grating. Having to keep an eye on your constantly dwindling resources due to unlimited enemies as you brave bottomless pits... it can be quite an ordeal.

 The game is a bit more open ended than other FPS of its time, seeing how you can return to any previously visited stage and, depending on how you obtain the keys, even visit stages in different orders. The first stage has five keys to find, three that open up level 2 and two keys for level 3. At the end of the stage you'll happen upon the Portal Hub, a stone circle upon which you can use your keys to open up portals for other levels. While I think you could finish the game without needing to clear every stage, each level has a fourth secret: A piece of the Chronoceptor, the most powerful weapon in the game, so you might be tempted into visiting every stage!

 I can tell how good the game was for its era, I mean, I played up to level 5 in one sitting because of how much fun I was having, but by the second half of the game I was ready to call it quits. Level design is just too obnoxious, searching for all the keys is more of an annoyance than anything else thanks to respawning enemies and unforgiving platforming. Some of the keys are just impossible to find without a guide, as early as level 2 you're expected to fall below a seemingly bottomless pit on order to find a key and, later through the level, another Chronoceptor piece. I'll admit I turned on the invincibility cheat midway through level 5, when I got tired of aimlessly going in circles looking for the way through while endless waves of enemies costed me my ammo.

 It's true, there's a lot of fog in the game, but most of the time it wasn't too bothersome. I think I wasn't bothered by it up until level 5, when I just wanted to go through the goddamn level and would've liked being able to see a few more meters in front of me, as to better traverse the level. There was also an oversight with ammo types, the Shotgun and the bow feature two types each(Arrows and explosive arrows, pellets and explosive pellets) but you are forced to spend the secondary ammo before you can use your normal ammo, which sucks since you'd probably want to save up your explosive ammo for bosses. On the flip side, the game features instant loading, even going from huge level to huge level is seamless.

 If something came out of playing Turok is that now I can understand why it was such a beloved title. The game has all the markings of a great 90s first person shooter, and for a time, I had quite some fun with the game. Sadly, it's aged(And still aging...) design makes it a bit of a chore to play. Casuals be forewarned, this one is for people that are into retro games only.
 4.0 out of 10

Review #604: 64 Memories - ClayFighters 63 1/3

 Even they knew they were a few megabits short.

Part 1: The Flashback
  I think that we might've rented the game once or twice before buying it, but I'm not too sure. Regardless, it was one of the earlier games I got. I remember enjoying the game and its look and characters, at first, but by the time I was outgrowing the console I thought it was one of the weaker fighting games I owned.
 Which doesn't mean much considering I used to ADORE fighting games, but whatever. I had a few good times with my father and a couple of friends playing this one.

Part 2: The Review
 The third installment in the short lived ClayFighter series of fighting games, 63 1/3 was their first jump into the fifth generation of videogame consoles.  It's a simple fighting game with ridiculously good graphics that's more eye candy than anything else.

 The game is as simple as you can get, upon turning on the console you can only select Game Start or options. There are no extra modes, like time attack, just Arcade VS and VS Player. The character roster is made up of 9 characters and 3 bonus characters which you can access with codes. If it's worth anything to you, 16-bit heroes Boogerman and Earthworm Jim are playable characters. Beating the game on easy earns you an encouragement to try harder difficulties, and these harder difficulties only reward you with text endings. Lame.

 The game's most noteworthy feature is its graphics. Character sprites were made from clay figures, and they look fantastic. I've never been a fan of digitalized sprites, being more of a pixel-purist, but these sprites look fantastic, Mortal Kombat wishes it looked this good. That said, a few animations could've used more frames. While fights take place on a 2-D plane, you can move on the Z-axis with the R and L buttons, which doesn't work as a sidestep, but you can use it to line up your enemy against a window or a door so that your next hit is a stage-transition. Yes, stage-transitions are a thing, and you could move from one end of Clayfighter's world to the other, since stages are interconnected in various ways, heck, some feature transitions to more than a single place, depending on where you enemy lands. I'd lie if I said that how the game handled stage transitions wasn't incredibly cool.

 Sadly. aesthetics are the only thing worth writing about ClayFighters 63 1/3. You have six attack buttons(A, B and the C-buttons), but controls are very unresponsive. It feels as if some inputs are 'queued up', so hopefully you are not much of a masher.  That said, I think you can have a bit of casual fun with the game as long as you don't take it too seriously. You've got your Special attacks and even energy-gauge consuming Super moves. As a whole, the game is about as good as the upper echelons of the less than average Street Fighter clones.

 The poor reputation ClayFighter games have is well deserved, absolutely, but I'm willing to give 63 1/3 a pass because you can get it for fairly cheap and the game is worth a look if only to see how good claymation sprites can be.
4.0 out of 10

Review #603: 64 Memories - Starshot - Space Circus Fever

 Come one, come all, our next attraction: a bad, baaaaaaad game.

Part 1: The Flashback.
 I had read about Starshot in a few numbers of a Spanish Nintendo 64 magazine called.... 64 Magazine(I'm not kidding) and boy did it capture my interest. That issue featured a few screenshots of the game alongside Banjo Kazooie and Gex, two games I liked, so it instantly won my approval.
 Fast forward a few month(maybe a year?) later, it was at night-time, inside a Shopping Center where I came upon the game inside a Computer Tech Store. And somehow I got my parents to purchase it for me right then and there.

 I loved Starshot. I remember how marveled I was at how far you could zoom-out the camera. The diverse worlds you could explore, the ability to fly, move around your shots and the cast of characters... I don't exactly remember how much I loved the game, but whether I did or not, I found it one of the most memorable games of my childhood. This was probably helped by its terrible cliffhanger ending, I just couldn't believe it, maybe I missed a few collectibles? But I hadn't. The game ends just like that. Worst Ending in a videogame ever. I still remembered it fondly, yes, even the part about its disappointing ending, which years later I would learn was the only ending.

Part 2: The Review
 It suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. Among every single disappointment I had with replaying Nintendo 64 games this one is the one that hurt the most. Let's start with the biggest culprit, our well known friend 'Camera issues'. It's incredible how many N64 games have camera issues, but this one is one of the worst offenders. Sometimes it can get stuck behind walls, and while you can manually move the camera around, zoom in and out, it seems like the camera slowly returns to its default position, which is terrible since it's too zoomed in and hardly a good fit for platforming and exploring.

 I got far ahead of myself, let me set up the game: You play as Starshot the Star Juggler, a member of the Space Circus. While trying to perform in the planet Tensuns, Virtua Circus arrives first to stop you. Hijinx ensues, and now you have to travel four different planets in order to find attractions for your circus: A machine that always malfunctions(Push it forwards and it moves backwards!), a Ghost dog, a bird that lays eggs that hatch into anything and, finally, the last surviving earthling. If you couldn't tell by now, humor is a large part of the game, and easily the element that has aged the best. Games that try to be funny tend to end up as either unfunny or lame, but Space Circus is honestly funny. The diverse characters and enemies that populate the different planets are fairly amusing to behold, I always looked forwards to what came next because of it.

 While most of the game is spent trying to awkwardly jump from platform to platform, thank god for infinite lives, Starshot can shoot stars to defend himself. If you tap the B button your shots will fly in a straight line, but if you hold down the B button... you can actually move your shot around, a few puzzles in the game make use of this feature. This is Starshot's only means of defense, and if you run out of ammo, incredibly easy since your reserves cap out at 50. That said, whenever you respawn on a checkpoint you are restored 25 shots, so, sometimes, it's a good idea to just kill yourself when you reach a checkpoint and thus restock your ammo. That said, flying around spends rocket energy, which caps at 40, and if you die lose all your flying energy stock. Starshot has a three-tiered Jump, like Mario, but instead of needing to time your jumps you can just hold down the A button and Starshot will automatically jump higher, up to three times, and then keep jumping at full height as long as you hold down A. You can also fly around by collecting Rocket Energy, these pickups tend to be pretty scarce, but if you manage to hold on to your flying energy you can fly pretty much anywhere at any time.

 Blue stars restock your ammo, Yellow rockets fill your flying energy stock, green Starshot heads restore your hit points and then there are the... red triangles, or Mega Fuel. The game tells you to find them and collect them, but they are very easy to find, and you only need 100 to finish the game. They are so plentiful that I had the 100 mega fuel I needed by world 3, Primitron, and went on collecting Mega Fuel just for kicks. You don't need more than 100, there are not alternate endings, so don't bother. That said, you can travel back to any planet you've already visited, if you want to search for more or just play around.

 The wonky camera and poor framerate may make the platforming terrible, but what really brings down the game is poor level design. The creatures and enemies are interesting, the humor is great, and the planets have personality... but they are poorly designed. Just to name a few, planet 2: Killer Expo features a mazelike part of the level in which missiles are constantly following you. The only way to get rid of them? Throw yourself into the water...which has the potential of taking you back to the first part of the maze It's ridiculous. Might as well just let it kill you and respawn on a checkpoint nearby. Planet 3, Primitron(Actually, the last four levels can be played in any order), you have to guide tiny robots into fixing trees, which is incredibly annoying since they seem to want to run anywhere but towards the tree while avoiding incoming air-traffic that you can't even see coming. The last part of the level has a section in which you must bend trees and use them as catapults(Hey, it's a funny, creative game!) but the last tree is VERY particular as to where you have to stand on to avoid being thrown into the lava, which instantly kills you. I actually went online to find a video since I didn't know how to proceed, and found out that what I was doing was the right path, I just needed to stand in a very specific part of the tree. Lame.

 Levels are a bit too large for their own good too. Planet Earth is a decimated wasteland, which sounds great on paper, but the level is too large for no good reason. There are no hidden worthwhile collectibles, so there's no need to explore so there's no need for it to be so large. Holding Z and pressing Starts brings up your objective and where to find it, so if you ever get lost on the big planets, just  bring out the map. Ultima Crash, a planet filled with ghosts from people that crashed their ships there, and TechnoMummy, a planet that houses a Museum of old technology are fantastic concepts for levels, but large parts of these levels are a confusing mess of stretch walkways over empty space. These concepts hold so much potential, but in their attempt at making a large level they forgot to make exploration fun.

 Writing about Starshot Space Circus Fever hurt, because I know that I enjoyed the game when I was younger. What's more, I could find a ton of great, original ideas in the game, just poorly implemented. It almost hurts to play it too, since you can see what they wanted, you can practically envision what it could've been. If you really want to play Starshot, I recommend the PC version, better graphics and framerate, but I also saw a few fixes, the trees in Primitron are much more forgiving(They made the landing zones in the jungle larger) so it seems like the best version of the game.
 3.0 out of 10