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Nothing makes me angrier than sending off for a game that looks absolutely incredible in screenshots, only to have the actual product be a plodding stinker. Only two games ever really burned me this way: Fantasia and today’s review choice – Dahna Megami Tanjou. Who knew that she’d be a minisucle little thing running around, hacking fruitlessly at enemies and sliding off cliffs? Who could have anticipated the sedating gameplay or the dreary visuals?
After Capcom’s Street Fighter II exploded onto the scene, dozens of copycats popped up on consoles everywhere. Among them was Black Hole Assault, an early Sega CD brawler that was only slightly less yawn-inducing than most of the other imitations out there. Even the cool cut scenes and CD soundtrack couldn’t save this one from obscurity. Read our full review, and remember that we play bad games so you don’t have to!
In the realm of Genesis shmups, there are games that are brutally difficult, but balance the challenge with great gameplay and awesome level design. These are the shmups that make you want to suffer, and you continue to be abused until the table is turned, and you’ve finally beaten that last boss. Then there are those that are hard because of the way they’re designed. Weak weapons and cheap enemies add an artificial layer of challenge, and the true victim ends up being your poor control pad. Which of the two best describes UndeadLine?
Few platformers are as enthralling and challenging as Prince of Persia. If the jumps and sword duels didn’t get you, you still had to contend with time limit. It was lots of trial and error combined with lots of patience and skill, and gamers loved it. Thankfully, Tengen came up with a pretty decent port for the Genesis.
During the first year or two after the Genesis launched, third party titles were few and far between, thanks to Nintendo’s iron-clad licensing agreements. During those dark years, Sega had to use all kinds of tactics just to get companies to even publish on its console. One of the most successful methods was the licensing and reprogramming of arcade hits by Sega itself. In addition to the great Capcom line up of reprogrammed games like Forgotten Worlds and Ghouls ‘N Ghosts, Sega also managed to snag some Atari titles, like the arcade hit Cyberball. Like its brethren, Cyberball received some home extras while retaining the look and feel of the coin-op as much as possible. The only problem with the futuristic football game is that it might not have been deep enough for the home market.