Time for a Ramble #1

Very, very sorry about the extremely late post. I actually wasn't sure what to write about today, but as I played some games I actually had an idea to write briefly about 3 games I finally beat today. All of these games are on the PS3 title "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection," which is one of my favorite games to play, because of the myriad of Genesis games and even extra games like a few Master System titles as well. I won't go over every title right now. but one day I definitely will. For now, I'm going to talk about these 3 games I finally beat today. I would also like to say that I beat these games with the use of save states. Yes, that's cheating, but it's not like I can't go back and beat them the proper way. The game offers save state use and I take advantage of it sometimes, but not always. I won't go into massive length about the games, just a little overview and my thoughts on three. Let's get rambling!

The first game I finished is the RPG known as Beyond Oasis, also known as "The Story of Thor" in other regions. In it, you control Prince Ali (yeah, I know what character you're thinking of right now, you can't hide it, we're all thinking of Aladdin right now after reading that name xD) who discovers a gauntlet called the Golden Armlet, a part of a set of twin gold and silver armlets. The Gold Armlet was used by a wizard who could summon the spirits of the elements, and the Silver Armlet used by an evil wielder who wanted to plunge the world into chaos. The game is actually shorter than you think, and the ability to summon the elemental spirits on your quest is fun. In a similar sense to the Legend of Zelda series, some dungeons make use of the last spirit you obtained, while later dungeons have you utilizing 3 or all 4 of them to solve the puzzles within. There's no level up system, rather, as you defeat enemies, eventually they'll drop a heart. Picking it up makes your rank go up by one. It's essentially a level up, as it increases your max HP and your max SP. Enemies drop food items that you can use to replenish HP or SP, and you can use multiple weapons. The game even has a battery in it, so you can save your progress without having to beat the whole game in one fell swoop!

I enjoy this game quite a lot. For a 1995 title, the presentation is very charming. The music is nice, the animations are smooth and solid, and even though the bits of voices used are a little.. bit-crushed, they still sound pretty good to be honest. I can beat it in a few hours because I like to run to the next location asap, and my save file said I beat it in just under 4 hours when I beat it. While this game isn't huge like, say, Phantasy Star games, it still holds up as one of my favorite RPGs and I enjoy going back to it from time to time to take up the Golden Armlet once again, to save Oasis.

The next one I finished is a game I've been dying to finally beat for ages now. Dynamite Headdy is one of those really strange and weird games that has a lot of charm, in my opinion. The entire game looks like a play, the backgrounds are clearly painted, you see props often, you see bits of machinery behind backgrounds in some stages. Nearly every level also mentions "Scene," which adds to the charm. Headdy is also a puppet, according to the game. A puppet whose head doesn't stay on his shoulders and you throw it around to bonk enemies and transform it into different forms, like a hammer, or a spike ball. You can tell it's Japanese because of the strangeness that most American audiences wouldn't understand, at least not back in 1994 when the game came out. I really wish this game had some kind of sequel, I would love to try it out.

Another thing I love is the post-credits joke battle. To get to it, you have to play a Basketball minigame and beat it 4 times. There are limited chances so if you miss too many, you can't do it. And you cant go online to find the code, it's always randomly generated every time you play the game. So for example, my code to use was "2342," however next time my code might be something like "8402" or something else. I think it's cool because you have to work for this silly ending battle. After watching the credits all the way through you reach a keypad, and if you remembered all 4 digits (because they tell you to remember, they don't just display it for you) you can access the battle against a businessman and his employees. And they throw money at you. Money that harms you. This game is quirky, silly, and amazing, and I love it!

And lastly, the game I just finished prior to starting this post, ESWAT: City Under Siege, or just ESWAT. This game does NOT mess around, either. Firstly, you're a cop. And once you reach stage 3, you don an awesome mech suit as seen here on the title screen. It comes with rocket thrusters, a plasma cannon, and rockets, to name a few features. As hard as it is, I keep playing it and I try to beat it but I could never beat the 4th stage. However, I tried harder tonight, and save stated a lot, and I finally beat this 10 stage game. Even though, for me, it's really difficult, its just how games were back then. You had to earn that win. I don't think I could beat it without save states, but if I practise more, I know I can finally do it. If you're looking for a retro and challenging game, this may be one for you to try out. I know I would definitely recommend it.

And there you have it. I know this isn't extremely interesting to read tonight, but it's something, you know? And don't worry, I'll be rambling more about Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection and the games within when the time comes. If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading. Have you played these games before? If so, let me know what you think about them, I'd love to hear your stories! Until next time, thanks a bunch for reading and I will see you next time! :D