Reader Roundtable Vol. 138

[Melf]

'Tis the season for family, merriment, food, and friends. Wait, that sounds a lot like last month! Well, there are still lots of great Sega games to play, and hopefully you got some gaming gifts this year for the holidays! Read the full article for more details.

[Benjamin]

I'll have to give Robocod another chance. The original James Pond was one of my first Genesis rentals, and I remember it fondly, though I think I spent more time listening to the title screen with my headphones than playing the game. I also liked how playing as a fish made the game feel so different being able to swim around everywhere. I think my reaction to James Pond II was similar to how so many ToeJam & Earl fans perceived Panic on Funkatron. It just felt like they altered the formula too much for me, and being able to stretch up felt like a useless gimmick.

I was surprised to see David say how simple Sword of Vermillion is since it always looked very ambitious (for the time) with the dungeon view, overhead battles, and one-on-one boss combat. It's just that it doesn't do any of those things particularly well. I still think I should make an effort to beat it someday. I remember the VG&CE review going on about how solid the story and soundtrack were. Just seems like it's more effort than it's worth.