Psychosis

~ PSYCHOSIS ~

Naxat Soft / NEC

HuCard

1990

My favorite aspect of this shooter is its atypical music, not only for the excellence of the compositions themselves but also for the distinct audio quality. It's not the same sort of stuff you can hear from the lauded Dungeon Explorer and The Legendary Axe II soundtracks--in fact, it's very bizarre and very different from any other HuCard-presented material I can think of--but it's immensely impressive, frequently frantic, and extremely compelling. Consider this title a good reference point for misguided fools who believe the TG-16's aural capabilities don't extend beyond NES-caliber sound.

Aside from its intense, atmospheric score, Psychosis is best known for its intriguing "delve inside a troubled mind" theme (your mission is to enter a girl's subconscious and preserve her sanity by obliterating the nightmarish images that have tormented her), and it really takes advantage of the concept with an awesome ship design, outlandish enemies, and a generally abstract feeling about the realm it takes place in.

Also worth noting are the interesting allies you can recruit. If you protect a besieged little caterpillar at the beginning of the first stage, a battalion of butterflies will aid your efforts against the boss. Should you be able to reach the fourth area without dying, a giant turtle will come wafting along to defend your ship.

Wave guns, lightning barriers, and maneuverable options can be acquired and employed to ensure you'll have a solid shot at survival even if you fail to enlist the services of the aforementioned creatures.

I first played Psychosis back when it was originally released, and every time I revisit it, I find myself pleased to discover that it holds up extremely well. In fact, I enjoy it now more than ever. Unfortunately, it's cake for good shooter players. I can blast through it without dying and with no practice, and at five stages, it's far too short. Considering how enjoyable the game is, though, its relative lack of difficulty needn't be viewed as a deterrent. And it does loop with a "World II" that features identical level layouts but bullets that fly at insane speeds and foes who can really take a pounding.

Some enemies make themselves more conspicuous than others.

The fox boss shouldn't present much of a challenge, but the guy with the large knives will be a totally different story until you figure out his pattern.

Safe spots this obvious should be outlawed.

The last fight isn't too tough, but you'll probably have lots of fun getting to and partaking in it.

Fantasy Zone

~ FANTASY ZONE ~

NEC Avenue / Sega

HuCard

1989

During a very brief period when I was a dopey little kid, this sidescrolling shooter was actually my favorite video game. Well, I'm a dopey adult now, and FZ no longer holds that lofty status, but I'm still a sucker for its jolly music and pretty pastels. And I think it's awesome when Opa Opa, the heroic little pod-ship who acts as the game's protagonist, sprouts tiny legs to dash across planet surfaces. To top it all off, the TurboChip is PINK!

Well, I guess that all might sound kind of lame, but FZ's action is actually pretty heavy. Every stage save the last requires Opa Opa to hunt down and annihilate a number of enemy outposts lest the level loop interminably, and there are plenty of stray projectiles and oddball villains for the valiant craft to worry about as he endeavors to fulfill his seek-and-destroy responsibilities. Boss fights follow the outpost hunts, and things can get really tight during some of the strip-concluding clashes.

Still, as nostalgic as I am for the game, I must concede that it doesn't feature any especially thrilling stages or sequences, mainly because of the restrictive shoot-the-outposts-and-move-on formula it's built upon. Said outposts take more shots, and the small-fry become more aggressive, as the game goes on, but the aesthetic aspects stand out more than anything that has to do with the actual shooting. Whenever I revisit Fantasy Zone, it's to see the pastels and hear the tunes, not to dodge the bullets.

I must admit that I dreaded these bosses back in the day.

You can use money you acquire by defeating enemies to upgrade your engine and weaponry, but I usually don't even bother with the shops except to buy fire bombs for the final level.

Speaking of the final level, it pits you against some very grumpy adversaries.

The end-boss shoots snake-like things at you, one at a time. The last one is extremely fast; use the fire bomb to kill it.

Exile: Wicked Phenomenon (Exile II)

~ EXILE: WICKED PHENOMENON ~

(JPN: EXILE II)

Riot / Telenet / Working Designs (US)

Super CD-ROM

1993 (JPN: 1992)

Exile II starts off in exciting fashion with an excellent opening cinema. Granted, said cinema basically just shows off the four main characters, but it makes them look like badasses, and the music accompanying it is absolutely fantastic. The scene at the end of the game depicting an unexpected dilemma for returning-hero Sadler is also pretty damn cool.

But look between those two extreme points and you'll find a very short, very easy, very average action-RPG. It's a lot like the first Exile but even more linear: the "adventure" is actually no more than a straight line from town to battle scene to town to battle scene. This is nice in that the language barrier won't become a factor if you opt for the cheap import, but it doesn't make for great questing.

The action plays out poorly, but it doesn't matter in the Japanese original because you're way too powerful for your adversaries to handle, regardless of how many hits they get in. If you choose to purchase the much more expensive and notoriously "difficult" US rendition, Wicked Phenomenon, you'll find that Working Designs made the enemies hardier and capable of dealing greater damage. This isn't nearly the big deal that many make it out to be; you just have to do a little more leveling and pay a bit more attention to boss patterns (and endure some horrible voice acting as you proceed--they really sissified Sadler). WP can feel more rewarding than its Japanese counterpart since it actually requires players to pay some attention to what their foes are doing; but it can also be a lot more irritating, as it frequently makes players hack away at slow, dimwitted roadblocks who pose absolutely no threat but refuse to go away until they've been hit a few million times.

Some of the WP bosses aren't quite as weak as the complete chumps in the first Exile, but they're still pushovers; and the stage design is worse here, as the original's levels are larger and more labyrinthine. Offering a few different characters to play as doesn't make up for these deficiencies. Plan to have this one beaten in a day (yes, even the "impossible" WP), and don't plan to make any return trips once you're done.

The opening sequence is superb, but it's all downhill from there...

...except, of course, when you get to watch subsequent solid cinemas.

The decent-looking backgrounds and character sprites are the most noteworthy elements of the in-game experience.

Town scenes are uneventful.

You shouldn't have to break a sweat when fighting the bosses... or at any point at all, really.

Barunba

~ BARUNBA ~

Namco / Zap

HuCard

1990

Barunba seems to be antiquated garbage from afar, but it isn't a terrible little shooter. While there's nothing surprising about the area concepts it utilizes, its backdrops do look distinct and appealing enough to make its battle sites stand out from other titles' cities, forests, and mountain ranges. You don't get to explore at your leisure, but the adventure doesn't feel entirely linear, as each stage has you alter your course numerous times. You'll come across plenty of different enemy breeds and partake in some fairly demanding boss fights. Hard-core shooter players will be happy with the high level of difficulty and the amount of practice required by the game's tougher sections.

But it's doubtful that they (or anyone else, for that matter) will find the control scheme acceptable, as it requires players to rotate their cannons about their craft and makes some tight stretches a lot more difficult than they should be. You're sure to feel clumsy as you struggle just to move your guns into proper position. Also awful is the high-pitched sound made when you get hit, and since your globular craft makes for an enormous target, you'll be hearing that noise quite often. You might give up on the game prior to the cacophony becoming unbearable, though; boredom will set in due to some lengthy stages requiring way too much time.

There's nothing wrong with laying out a few bucks for Barunba; it might surprise you to an extent if your expectations are low like mine were. Just be prepared for the frustration you'll feel as a result of dealing with clunky controls, super-long stages, and irritating sound effects.

Some of the areas don't look all that bad, I suppose, and each plays home to plenty of different kinds of creatures.

Your adversaries in the underwater zone are interesting, but the backdrop is rather ugly.

The bosses are goofy looking, but you'll still need to come up with solid plans in order to beat 'em.

These mini-bosses will be the least of your worries as you blast your way through the final level.

Now here's someone to worry about...

Bomberman

~ BOMBERMAN ~

Hudson Soft / NEC

HuCard

1991

My favorite parts of my Bomberman experience were the Gate of Thunder breaks I took every few levels. My fondest memory of it revolves around the discovery that my Gate 3-in-1 disc contained a free fourth game. I was happy about that, even though I seldom bothered with the freebie. I always looked at Bomberman as something laughable; I felt embarrassed for Hudson that this basic, archaic effort was their pride and joy, the foundation for their trademark franchise. I could see why, say, Compile would wave their Puyo Puyo flag proudly; I don't dismiss the notion of a series with a simple premise having a huge impact on players, especially if its games are charming and addictive. But I'd never believed that the Bomberman line possessed those traits, and upon finally bothering to beat the first episode's adventure mode, I felt all the more confident in my long-standing view.

No manual perusing is necessary for grasping the basics here: just drop a few bombs, dash for cover, and watch as your mindless adversaries are blown to bits by the ensuing explosions. The game becomes mildly enjoyable once you grab power-ups that enable you to walk through walls and detonate bombs at will, but it also turns into a cakewalk once you acquire those capabilities. Prior to that point, it feels extremely slow and repetitive, what with the waiting around for bombs to blow up and the stages that all seem very similar to one another. By the time I reached the second half of the adventure (which is made up of eight rounds, each of which contains eight stages), I was sick of the whole play system. Irritation ultimately set in: starting in Stage 8-4, multiple spinning-face things (which can cruise through destructible walls) would come right at me as soon as I'd gain control, which made for many cheap deaths as I tried to escape from the very-tight "start corners." I endured the unfairness because I knew I was near the end; and for my efforts, I did get to experience a fairly interesting fight with a covey of evil bombermen. Unfortunately, most of the other attempts at "boss battles" fell flat.

Things eventually improved for Bomberman on the PCE; '93 and '94 are both much better than this "pioneer." It's often said that this first title is a heck of a lot more enjoyable in multiplayer mode, but I doubt it would do much for me even if others were partaking in the bomb-laying mayhem, and frankly, I don't think I'll ever bother to find out. My friends and I usually play quality stuff like Asuka 120%, Puyo Puyo, and Dungeon Explorer when we get together, and I can't see this moldy old-timer cracking the rotation.

The bad guy got away with the girl. Thank goodness we have the helpful map screen to guide us to his lair.

You'll have to deal with certain types of enemies over and over again, and the "environments" that host the redundant battles aren't very interesting.

Here's a look at some of the bosses. I say blow these fools up quickly and get back to Gate of Thunder.