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.

Deadly Arts - Smooth beats for a mediocre fighter

To anyone that isn't me, this is a very mediocre fighter that isn't worth anyone's time. Now that I got that statement out of the way, I played this title quite a bit as a kid and I dare say that I still have fun with it even now. Remember folks, I was born with bad taste in video games, and with what I written about in this blog it clearly shows.

Deadly Arts (Known in Japan as "G.A.S.P!! Fighters' NEXTream", which is admittedly a SUPERIOR TITLE NAME) was a game I bought purely on the box-art alone. This was before I was even into anything "anime", I just enjoyed the character designs and the art. The characters are what I remember fondly about this game, a good number are pretty generic as far as in-game modeling goes, but the concept art was fantastic. Supposedly, there's a story to this game but American players will never know it because it removed from the instruction manuals for a silly reason. And since the game doesn't have cut-scenes, it just makes the final boss fight all the more confusing. "Why am I fighting a guy with a hat? Why is he-OH GOD WHAT THE F*** IS THAT?! Oh I won. Is that it?" Yes, this game is also very easy to win. So those looking for a challenge would probably be better off playing against a friend.

The fighting system is pretty simplistic, but also very sluggish. Fighters move pretty slow, but it features a juggling system similar to Tekken, but nowhere near as fun or useful. You're much better off mashing the punch button. That said, there's one cool aspect to the fighting system. In most fighting games whenever the clock runs out the person with the most health is determined as the victor. That isn't the case in Deadly Arts, when time is up your fighting ability is all tallied up into a score, with the highest score being the victor. Score based judgement actually punishes you for turtling so get in there! There is also a nifty create-a-fighter mode which is pretty fun but there isn't much there to spend all your time on it.

If there's one thing the makers of this game did well, it's the music. While it's not the best the video game music scene has to offer, the sound for this game is really smooth. Each character has their own stage and theme which are generally fitting for the atmosphere. The music is clear and sounds great which is backed up with an announcer who speaks perfect English, even in the Japanese version! He'll comment on combos simply going "Cool." or "Very good.", his voice gives off the impression that he isn't easily impressed so it feels reassuring to have him compliment you.

I suppose N64 fighters, aside from a select few, aren't all that great. This game was considered pretty bad, even in Japan. Did I have fun with it? Yes, but even I am aware of it's flaws. If you're a forgiving person, you might enjoy it a bit too. But I shouldn't expect my readers to be as tolerant of a game as I am, so I ultimately wouldn't recommend this game to anybody. Nice beats though.  FIST PUMP!