Ranma 1/2: Toraware no Hanayome

~ RANMA 1/2 2 ~

NCS/Masaya / Tenky

CD-ROM

1991

I've watched some Ranma here and there, but I'm by no means a big fan of it. Still, I absolutely love this game, as it's far more entertaining than anything I've ever seen in the anime. If you like the show at all, then you must get this CD; and if you're thinking about trying some digital comics, this is a great one to start with.

It kicks off with one of my favorite Duo openings, a cool montage featuring amusing skits and well-rendered character images...

...and then the comic proper begins. It's very accessible and extremely easy to play regardless of whether or not you know any Japanese, and if you're at all familiar with the show, you'll be able to get plenty out of the story. The graphics are great, and there are lots of funny moments.

In fact, the comedy here is often more effective in evoking laughter than the hijinks that typically take place in the anime. Take an in-game incident involving Ranma's rival Ryouga, for instance. The poor lad somehow always ends up getting lost in the show, which is funny for about... an episode or so. Of course, Tenky had to include some sort of scene involving that character trait in the game, as there isn't much to The Eternal Lost Boy otherwise.

But instead of taking the anime's usual route of presenting Ryouga as being lost from the outset, they came up with a fresh, funny idea for having him lose his way. During a quiz-based contest to determine who wins vacation tickets, Ryouga thinks of the correct response to the deciding question and needs only take a few steps forward to submit his answer and be on his way to paradise. Sadly, the unfortunate fellow somehow manages to get lost as he's taking those few steps. He ends up running off into the distance, still mad with excitement and under the delusion that he's about to be crowned victor, as everyone else stands around wondering what the fuck just happened.

The game's plot features many such moments that are both funny and inventive. But in a wise move, the writers opted not to ride the jokes all adventure long. Matters become strange and dark late in the drama--even Shadowgate-esque for a stretch!

This is a digital comic of the highest quality, one of the best of the best, but I do have a couple of very minor complaints to make about it. There's an unnecessary maze sequence near the end, and there are menu-driven fight scenes that are largely entertaining but can get tedious at times.

So the game isn't perfect... but, man, is it close.

Kiaidan 00

~ KIAIDAN 00 ~

RIOT / Alfa System / Telenet

Super CD-ROM

1992

Kiaidan makes me feel like I'm in an old Tranzor Z episode. It's a Cinderella-story shoot 'em up that tells of how a goofy young lad assumes control of a giant robot...

...and defeats a cold-hearted crew of master pilots and their monstrous mecha. As you might expect with a premise like that, the boss fights are the highlights of the show. You square off against two-headed dragons, enormous swordsmen, and plenty of other steel behemoths and put them out of commission with special charge attacks that set the whole screen aglow upon connecting. The battles make for extremely memorable and exciting spectacles. I wish the game included a "Kiaidan Alpha" mode in which players would be able to fight only the bosses, one after another.

That's not to say that the stages themselves are unenjoyable. One of them has you fly over a gorgeous snow-covered forest as you contend with families of metal mammoths and armored, hoversled-riding axemen. Another pits you against troops of swift ninjas and caravans of gigantic demon-head tanks.

Admittedly, some spots are somewhat "flat," both visually and action-wise, but those stumble-steps are few and far between.

Here's a bit of a warning: there's a learning curve here, as it takes some time to get comfortable with the rather unusual set of weapons, and trial and error will be required in order to figure out which weapons work best in each location. Also, the game gets pretty hard as you near the end of it. The last level's midboss in particular presents quite a challenge.

You don't have to be a super-pro like me or anything, but you should at least be a decent shooter player if you're going to take this one on. But hey, if you aren't any good and you purchase the disc anyway, at least you'll get to see one of the coolest Game Over screens ever.

Ranma 1/2

~ RANMA 1/2 ~

NCS/Masaya

CD-ROM

1990

Well, I suppose this can be considered a "beat 'em up" of the sidescrolling, single-plane variety. The controls are terribly sloppy: the gameplay is fast but very loose, and there isn't really any way to avoid bumbling into at least some of your enemies as you speed through the levels. At times, you'll be forced to defeat a particular foe, but rarely will this demand more than exploitation of a single simple "technique," be it a matter of repeated heel stomps, simple duck-and-kicks, or plain old button mashing.

But the focus isn't really on the action. In fact, exempting the eighth and final level (most of which takes place in a structure with multiple floors), total play time for a one-life clear doesn't far exceed five minutes. The cinematics are the main draw, and Ranma fans will love how closely events here mirror scenes from the first (and best) season of the show (until the game's story takes a weird turn near its conclusion). You get the best of the early Ranma plot points (including the famous scalping of Akane) in cinemas that are humorous and fairly well done.

The designers did try to spice up the gameplay just a bit by giving you a variety of tasks to complete. Along with partaking in standard punching-and-platforming fare, you'll have to escort Akane to school; win a race; and defeat some of Ranma's longtime adversaries, including the ever-lost Ryouga. Almost all of it is a breeze to get through, and the sloppiness will repel most players immediately; but there is goofy, kitschy appeal to the game (similar to the appeal Night Creatures can have), and those acquainted with the anime will definitely find the interludes and level concepts amusing.

Hellfire S

~ HELLFIRE S ~

NEC Avenue / Toaplan

CD-ROM

1991

The awful Genesis version of this sidescrolling shooter takes a lot of heat for being ridiculously difficult and employing an irritating checkpoint system. This decidedly superior rendition is less difficult than its Genny counterpart, as enemies fire slower projectiles and take fewer hits (though the adjustments certainly weren't taken far enough to make the game easy) and respawns occur instantly. Fantastic red book audio (courtesy of T's Music) and nice anime cutscenes are thrown in for good measure.

I'm not a huge fan of the "choose a direction" cannon system (you use only one weapon throughout but decide on the fly whether it fires horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), and I don't lament the fact that it wasn't taken on by any other PCE shooters, but Toaplan implemented it well enough that it's effective as a one-game gimmick.

You visit deserts, jungles, and odd outer-space gardens while contending with villains that rate as respectable...

...though I would've liked more out of the bosses, who often ask that you simply shoot a "marble" or pull off minor-league evasive maneuvers.

The large steel knight who acts as your final adversary is pretty impressive, however.

The big draw here is the brilliant soundtrack. The number played for Stage 5 is one that I rank among the best PCE CD shooter tunes, as it features an outstanding lead that actually goes a melodic route rather than a wailing one. The theme of the subsequent level is of such heavenly caliber that it calls Ys to mind.

Most second-tier PCE shooters have obvious flaws, but Hellfire-S manages to do at least "pretty well" in every area save for boss design. Back when I bought it, it almost always sold for $40-50, but it seems easy to obtain for a modest $20-30 these days. Considering its solid action and great music, I'd say it represents a good value within that price range.

Cosmic Fantasy Visual Collection

~ COSMIC FANTASY VISUAL COLLECTION ~

Laser Soft / Telenet

CD-ROM

1993

This is a straightforward, no-frills compilation disc that allows you to watch cinemas from Cosmic Fantasy games. It would actually be a really nice collectible for CF fans if not for the fact that it features interludes from only the first two titles.

If you want to watch cinemas from episodes 3, 4-1, and 4-2 via PCE CD, your only recourse is to purchase the respective games. I'm sure Telenet planned to release another installment featuring scenes from subsequent chapters; but, of course, they never did.

Nonetheless, there actually is one good reason to acquire this disc: It contains a redone Rim shower scene.

Yes, the mist that shrouded Rim's glorious flesh in CF2 has been done away with. Since you and I both know you're curious, here's a comparison, with the game version on the left and the brilliant Visual Collection masterportrait on the right:

Other than that, there is little fresh art to be found on the disc, and none of it is really worth getting excited about.

Not that there's anything wrong with the CF and CF2 cinemas as they were originally drawn and sequenced--quite the contrary.

But while a complete CF-cinema compilation would've been something spectacular for fans (especially if it had included a decent amount of original art), this disc is pretty much purposeless. It's something that CF aficionados will want to own just for the hell of it--I, for one, know I couldn't have considered my Cosmic Fantasy adventures complete prior to beholding the true glory of shower-time Rim. And at least this disc is a lot easier to find (not to mention cheaper) than the Valis Visual Collection (which is also incomplete, as it features cinemas from the second, third, and fourth Valis episodes, but not the first).