Bionic Commando: Elite Forces - Forget how to jump! Swing into enemies with your mighty claw!

The gameboy color was my system of choice during my time spent abroad in Germany. That was a rather turbulent era of my life so the games I played during that time are the ones I have the fondest memories of. While this particular game might not be familiar to you, as Bionic Command Rearmed 2 has been released less than a year ago. This game had some impressive features as it pulled off things I didn't think were possible on the little handheld at all. The question remains though if this game is worth your time? Read on.

Bionic Commando:  Elite Forces was released in 1999 and surprisingly enough it was developed by Nintendo Software Technology aka the Nintendo's American development team, are you aware that they even had one?!  Well they do and it turns out that they're not half bad!  This game is part of the long running "Bionic Commando" franchise that actually belongs to Capcom.  It borrows elements from the NES title so it almost feels like a remake but is actually quite different from it's predecessors in levels later on.  The premise is also different, as it takes place in a land called Karinia that is under constant attack by the Avars lead by evil mastermind:  Arturus.  Bionic commando Super Joe is deep within enemy lines having found the top secret plans of the Avars but ends up being captured, so it's up to the elite forces (THAT'S YOU!) to rescue Super Joe and stop Arturus once and for all!

You choose from either a male or female bionic commando but they both play the same and the one you don't end up picking becomes a side character that gives tips to you while you're inside a communication tower.  As an action-adventure title, you should know that there isn't a jump button anywhere in this little game.  In order to get around you have to rely on your bionic claw to take you where you need to go by swinging from point A to point B.  Stages start off simple enough as you clear simple gaps, but soon you'll be swinging above spike pits and climbing on ceilings but the difficult scales nicely so things won't get too hard too quickly!  You're also armed with an assault rifle but as you clear stages you'll be finding new weapons and equipment to take into levels with you.  There's also mini-games you can play like a "sniper" mode where you pick off soldiers from a distance and it features some surprisingly detailed blood for a game that has an "E for Everyone" rating.  Another gameplay feature is the top-down mode where the game plays something like Commando or Ikari Warriors as it's just straight-up run-and-gun gameplay which is always pretty fun.

For an Gameboy color game, the sprites are surprisingly well animated, particularly talking about the running and swinging animations.  Portrait sprites are goofy looking, mainly for the male commando, so the overall art style isn't so great.  Music is upbeat but nothing really amazing, it's just enough to get you pumped to do some shooting.  Amusingly enough, they managed to fit in digitized voice acting in this game, you hear the words "Sniper" or "choose your weapon", it's all pretty sporadic though, and you can barely understand it if you're not listening closely but it's all still pretty impressive given it's technology though.

All-in-all, this game was actually really good and it stayed true to the roots of the original Bionic Commando for the NES.  Whether it's as good as the titles before it is up for some heated debate though.  Don't get me wrong this game did a lot of things right, but it's just missing that special charm that made Bionic Commando so cool.  Still, this is a great Gameboy color game in it's own right so check it out.

Bravoman - Punch people in the face from 50 feet away!

As a weird guy, it's only natural for someone like me to be drawn to weird games. Games that are just so crazy, that it will make it a normal person's head hurt just trying to comprehend it all. So when it comes to games like Bravoman, I'm drawn to it like a fat kid on cake. Is this game truly amazing? Not entirely, no, but it trumps many with an absolutely amazing super hero. A hero who makes a shocking return in "Namco X Capcom" and yet hasn't made a single appearance since.

This game was originally released in Japanese arcades in 1988 by Namco. This game is simply too much awesome for America, but they made a Turbografix-16 port in 1990 to be released overseas with a simply amazing English translation. Bravoman is your traditional "tokusatsu"-styled hero among the same veins as the Power Rangers or Kamen Rider. The evil Dr. Bomb is making a horrible "end of the world"-type weapon, and it's up to insurance salesman-turned-superhero Bravoman to save the day! Now why is he called Bravoman? Because he always yells out "BRAVO!" when he attacks! Why does he say "BRAVO!"?  I have no idea.  His powers enable him to punch and kick things from across the screen with stretchable limbs, it's like an action title where you play as Street Fighter's Dhalsim, except you can't set things on fire.

As far as mechanics go, this game is very simple. You simply run to the right of the screen while punching whatever that might get in your way. The controls are a bit wonky for game made in this era, so you really need to learn the limit of your limits quickly if you want to survive later on. At the end of the level you'd run across your sidekick known as "Lottery Man" who is simply a robot with a unicycle, usually saying "Hey Bravoman, want to eat?" and throws a couple onigiri your way. If you're so inclined, you can be a complete dick and punch the living daylights out of Lottery Man much to his own annoyance. Do it enough and he'll just appear in the next stages only to taunt you, but eventually he'll forgive you because that's what bros do, they forgive one another.

Bravoman has a cute little theme that you hear in the first level and in jingle form at the end of each level. Other than that, the music isn't particularly noteworthy as I can't even force myself to remember any of the game's tunes. Graphics aren't much to look at either, but for a 1990 game it was pretty great especially since I was still play NES games during this time! At the very least, Bravoman has a great running animation, he truly looks like he's moving with a purpose.

It's not touched upon much in this blog entry, but this game is seriously bizarre. I'd love to talk all the weird stuff you'd find, but it would actually be a lot funnier if you ran into the hidden jokes by yourself (Try punching the telephone booth!). Your head would probably explode in confusion, or you might end up laughing your ass off like I did. As mentioned before, Bravoman teamed up with fellow obscure videogame heroine Wonder Momo in the game "Namco X Capcom" which was released only in Japan. With a much more updated art style, he still remains goofy-looking badass who can throw a mean punch. If you grew up on modern video games I really wouldn't recommend this title to you, it requires some precision and the gameplay hasn't particularly aged too well. But if you're aching for something truly different, then go ahead and try out Bravoman!

King of Demons - What are you willing to sacrifice to save those that you love?

You have to love the times that we live in today. Normally, an obscure game from Japan would only stay in Japan and we would never know about it. But with the era of fan-released English patches, we get to experience a whole new world of games we never got a chance to experience before! This happens to be one such game, it's easy to guess why this game never got released in the states, we weren't so open to demonic subject matter back then, or at least for Nintendo of America.

This isn't even the first boss.

King of Demons, known as "MajyuuOu" in Japan, is an action-platformer by KSS released in 1995. What makes this game worth talking about is it's premise. A guy named Bayer sacrificed the wife and daughter of a man named Abel in order to revive the King of Demons and be granted tremendous power. Abel doesn't look upon family abduction too kindly and sets out to rescue them before he's notified in the beginning that his wife is already dead but his daughter is still alive. With the spirit of his wife taking the form of a guardian pixie, Abel sets out to rescue his daughter.

Armed with only a handgun, Abel can handle himself against the demons of hell pretty well. His pixie wife can attack demons while you focus on those in front of you, and if you happen to fall in battle, she will sacrifice herself just so you can keep going. Now that's true love right there, but now you're without a pixie so the game gets harder! After a boss fight the game will present you with an interesting situation: Do you want more power? The boss will drop a mysterious orb, if you grab it, you'll be transformed into a demon and your attack options improve considerably with each orb you gather. But you'll be sacrificing your humanity for this power and you can never go back. Of course the game gets more awesome when you accept the demons power to save your daughter, and your choice will ultimately change what ending you get. The obvious answer might not always be the one that leads to the best ending ending however, so be sure to choose wisely.

Being a demon does have it's perks.

If you look at the game's atmosphere, you'll might find it really creepy. It's not entirely terrifying like something out Silent Hill, but the mood is definitely there. You're facing horrible abominations, and the idea that you must become an abomination yourself just to even the playing field is a bit unsettling especially when you check out the "good" ending. The music is actually a bit on the catchy side, I quite enjoy it especially during sub-boss fights. The stage map has the most disturbing tune, however, it just reminds you that you're going deeper and deeper into hell.

This game is pretty fun, I'm glad I got a chance to play it. Also, unlike most of the games I recommend to you guys, the game is actually pretty forgiving in terms of difficulty. It was actually pretty hard finding info about this game, so I'm not quite sure about the game's popularity in Japan. Still, if you got an emulator on hand, be sure to try it out.  It's not too hard to find if you know where to look!  See you guys tomorrow.

Burning Force - Dat Hover bike! Dat Ass!

Most of my childhood is a blur but the games I played back then I remember clear as a bell.  How I even acquired most of the games I owned back then still eludes me to this day.  Of course the obvious answer is that my parents bought the game for me, but I wonder what went through my mind when I got this game.  Now that I'm man, I completely understand now: it's for dat ass.  Ha!  Just kidding.  What we really got here is a solid arcade/genesis action title.

Namco's Burning Force for the Sega Genesis was released in 1990, but was originally released for Japanese arcades in 1989. We never got the game in American arcades so we have to make due with the genesis version, which actually fixes the game's difficulty a bit by allowing you to take multiple hits! The game is still hard but not nearly as hard as say....Pick Axe Pete.

Day 3 was kind of trippy.

You play as a cadet named Hiromi Tengenji who aspires to be a space pilot. You guide her on a 5 day training mission fighting a whole bunch of robotic enemies. If you ever played Sega's "Space Harrier" then you get the right idea. Each training day is broken up into 4 parts. The first 2 parts take place in the morning and afternoon as you ride a hover bike dodging bullets and enemies coming at you from all directions and you're only limited to moving to the left or right so you're not very maneuverable. The boss of the day takes place during the evening and your hover bike is upgraded to a full-blown fighter space ship that enables you to move up-and-down as well as side-to-side. Which makes this whole game kind of weird because that makes the boss fights EASIER than the stages leading up to it! Of course this game is hard enough to make you thankful for the extra advantage given with spaceship flight.

This OST album art isn't suggestive at all.

Of course, as the Japanese game poster might imply, you do spend a good amount of time staring at the behind of Hiromi, too bad it's only 16-bit and very far away! Plenty of other games have much better fan-service so there's no point in talking about it really, but hey it did make you read this blog post! Admit it! Graphics aside, the game is backed up with a fitting soundtrack. Each day has it's own backdrop and song with the 3rd day standing out as you race across what seems to be a giant chess board. The game actually had a soundtrack released for it under the name of "Namco Game Sound Express Vol. 2" which features remastered versions of the songs in the game. It sounds very early 90s, so check it out!

Overall though, there's nothing too terribly special about this game. I enjoy the fact that it reminds me of both F-Zero and Space Harrier, and the gameplay is fast paced if not difficult. I spent a ton of time with this game as a kid, probably more than my other genesis games at the time, it was tough but it was also fair in that you get continues to keep going, so this game is VERY beatable. What's interesting though is that somebody actually remembers forgotten videogame heroine Hiromi Tengenji and put her in the Namco X Capcom game released for the PS2 in Japan back in 2005 with a remixed theme song to boot! I'm glad, because I felt the entire character was wasted potential when they did nothing with her after this game. Oh well, check out the footage:

Pick Axe Pete - Fight your way through homocidal boulders to unlock doors to progress deeper into hell!

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the oldest game to be discussed on my humble little blog.  Thanks to AP0976 for suggesting this little treasure to me.  Pick Axe Pete was released in 1982 for the Magnavox Odyssey 2 and it's very awesome!  Be warned though, this game is NOT for babies.  You know who you are!

Welcome to hell.

If you ever played Nintendos' Donkey Kong you have a similar idea of how Pick Axe Pete works. As the titular hero, Pick Axe Pete, you destroy oncoming boulders with your mighty pick axe while trying to find the key that opens the door to the next level. The pick axe gives Pete the strength that gods would envy as you make short work of any boulder coming your way, but such power is fleeting as your pick axe would disappear before your very eyes leaving you only to your wits and athletic ability as you jump or duck under any boulder coming your way to avenge their fallen boulder brethren.  Luckily, Pick axes respawn, but often enough they would be too far away leaving you to make a complex decision: Do you stay where you are and wait for the possibility of a key spawning nearby? Or do you climb all the way down for that pick axe to forsake what may be your last opportunity to escape the mine?! This is one game that forces you to think on your feet for sure.

I'M COMING FOR YOU SATAN!

In case you can't tell, Pick Axe Pete is a man. A man for a manly game, a game that doesn't need "good graphics", or "online multi-player". Make it to level 5 and then suddenly die? WELL IT'S BACK TO LEVEL 1 FOR YOU, SCRUB! Extra lives? Check Points? What the heck is that pansy crap? Screw you, go back to playing Call of Duty 4 that your mom probably bought you, you stupid baby. Pick Axe Pete is too much game for you.

All ribbing aside, this game has aged incredibly well for me to find it fun despite the ancient hardware. Find a way to give this game a shot, see how far into madness you can delve into before a boulder appears and ends your life. Also, here's a little challenge to my commentators: Try leaving a comment without using the words "Old-school", "Retro", "Nostalgia", or any synonym for the word "old".  Not too difficult, right?!

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon - This game has its' own laugh track...

Much like Metal Saga, I have passed this game up many times before because of the stupid looking box art/characters. And again, much like Metal Saga, I was wrong for putting it off for so long. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon for the Nintendo 64 is a gem, and I know many of you got a chance to play this and agree with me as well. If you want a Zelda game that isn't Zelda, then give this game a shot!

Released in the states in 1998, America was simply not ready for Mystical Ninja. This game is Japanese to the max! This was my first time, as a kid, being exposed to so much Japanese culture at once. The second you pop this game into the system, you are treated to a crazy song with Japanese vocals and it was then that I knew that this game was going to take me for a ride I wouldn't forget. The game's plot is so out there that you wouldn't be able to make sense of it, let's just say that a UFO in a shape of a peach fruit attacked Edo castle and transformed it into a European style castle. A EUROPEAN CASTLE IN JAPAN?! THAT CRAZY BULL**** WON'T STAND! And then it's up to Goemon and friends to save the day. The game's plot is meant to be humorous, and this is probably a laugh riot in Japan. But when you translate it into English, it's just downright bizarre. But you need not worry about knowing whether or not to laugh! Because this game has a laugh track! Just laugh when the "audience" does and nobody will think you're an idiot at all! Nope. I certainly won't at least. Maybe.

This game simply has a lot to offer. From the great platforming, the multiple playable characters which you can switch out on the fly, to giant robot boss battles, there's simply something here almost any gamer can appreciate. But one thing I always remember clearly is the dungeons (technically they're Castles). Each dungeon is unique thanks to the varying locals and, more importantly, the theme music. The song that plays in each castle starts off with a simple beat which sets the mood for the dungeon. You'll soon find out that as you progress deeper into the castle that the music gets increasingly more complex with new instruments added into the already existing beat. Once the song hits full swing you got yourself a memorable tune. Ghost Toys Castle is a particular favorite of mine, but all of them are great!

Of course, I'm sure a good number of you people played this game, or at least heard of this one. Goemon is a classic franchise in Japan but it never really saw the same success over here in the states. It's understandable though, some games simply just don't appeal to all cultures, and one really needs to have an open mind when playing a game like this.  But cultural ignorance doesn't stop this game from being awesome!  One of the NPC town people even says that this game can teach you about Japanese geography.  I'm going to go try to plug my N64 into something, later....

On an unrelated note, happy 50th post!  Have a good weekend everybody.