Space Fantasy Zone

NEC Avenue/SEGA - 1991 - Japan

CD-ROM

Ever imagine what it would be like if you could literally combine Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone? As a vintage SEGA fan, this game is like a dream come true.

Space Fantasy Zone takes the best of both worlds and, quite successfully, meshes these elements to create a thrilling into-the-screen shooter that plays exactly like Space Harrier. Only you are Opa-Opa, and this is the Fantasy Zone. Groove to a delightful redbook medley of the Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone themes as you zoom through familiar locales.

While the basic gameplay is old news for Space Harrier vets, SFZ adds a powerup system reminiscent of Fantasy Zone for added dynamic. Learning to utilize powerups bought in "Weaponald's" armory is absolutely essential to your success. Of the three difficulty modes "Hard" is the only one that poses much of a challenge, but this is one of those titles you can excuse since the ride itself is so enjoyable.

Powerups become an integral part of the game.

Space Fantasy Zone is a lighthearted game and makes for a wonderful, casual pick up and play experience. The game is just filled with fan service, seemingly tailor-made for vintage SEGA junkies such as myself.

You'll see some familiar faces, albeit from a different angle.

This is one of the few Duo titles that never actually got a proper commercial release. Some promotional copies made it into circulation through a magazine or a contest or something, but these are insanely rare (more so than the coveted Darius Alpha). A third party made a run of reproductions of this game in 2007 to sell online via a website. These facsimiles are of great quality, but the party responsible charges a ludicrous premium for a copy. Unfortunately, your only other option to play the game is to go the ISO route unless you're a lunatic who wants to track down an original and pay thousands for it. Chances are, if this is you, you aren't interested in playing it anyway.

Camp California

~ CAMP CALIFORNIA ~

ICOM Simulations / TTI

Super CD-ROM

1993

Never in a million years did I think I'd end up enjoying Camp California. Goofy animal characters... sunny days at the beach... crappy tunes like "Good Vibrations"... it all sounded rather hellish to me.

I tend to prefer games that aren't as lighthearted or as Beach Boys plagued as CC is--games like, say, Shape Shifter. So it came as no small surprise when my open-minded brother Alexei told me that Camp California is reminiscent of SS in a number of ways, from how certain characters control to the usage of identical sound effects (indeed, Alexei's hunch that many of the men who made up the CC production team had also been members of the SS design crew proved correct). Upon receiving this news, I promptly purchased the game and gave it a go...

...and lo and behold, I was quite happy with what CC had to offer. I expected the graphics to be good, as I'd already seen some of the wonderfully colorful backgrounds and enormous sprites in screenshots. But the controls functioned much better than I'd anticipated; and while the vocal numbers are awful, the in-level tunes are actually very catchy and usually give way to badass riff-driven tracks when you reach the final area of a given stage. And the journey CC sends you on is not some simple jaunt on the beach; you get to visit plenty of different locations, many of which are anything but "cheery."

Some of those locations require that you make use of skills exclusive to particular characters: one guy can fly, one can swim, and one can tornado his way through enemy lines. While I wasn't looking forward to meeting this silly-seeming animal crew, I actually had a lot of fun putting their many interesting abilities to good use.

You have to rescue your abducted buddies before you can utilize their talents, however. And the path you need to travel isn't immediately obvious; you have to tour the area in your ol' jalopy and do a little experimenting in order to figure out the correct route to take.

You can't cruise around endlessly, however, as you have only so much fuel to burn. But if you put some time into exploring the surprisingly large levels, you can find lots of secret items, including recyclable objects that can be converted into gas.

Of course, you'll run into some tough (and very odd) villains who won't allow you to roam around at your leisure.

The characters, visuals, stage tunes, and exploration elements all work in CC's favor, but I can't pretend that the game is flawless. Yes, it plays much better than I thought it would, but the controls are far from perfect. And when you take hits due to those controls, you'll have to endure annoying screams of "Bogus!" or "Bummer!" from the otherwise likable characters. Also, it can be frustrating to march halfway through a long level only to realize the character you picked isn't cut out for the job at hand. And while the length of the quest is a positive, the absence of a save feature is not. You may end up traveling quite a long way only for real life to intervene and force you to abandon your console, leaving you no choice but to resume play from the very beginning when you return to the game.

But Camp California succeeds in so many areas that it shouldn't be very difficult for players who give it a fair chance to look past its issues and enjoy it.

King of Casino

~ KING OF CASINO ~

Victor Musical Industries / Algorithm Institute / NEC

HuCard

1990

This is a game that some people will enjoy spending hours with on a dull, rainy Sunday. I'd rather stand outside in the rain than spend even a second with it, myself.

Blackjack is easily my "favorite" of this gambling-games assortment (poker, roulette, keno, and slots are also included), but even it gets boring pretty quickly. If I ever really feel the need to indulge in some Turbo twenty-one, I'll go head to head with Death in Dungeon Explorer II. I will not resort to playing this.

There just aren't any hooks present in King of Casino's versions of these games that make them more enticing to me than what billions of other computerized card/casino titles offer. Heck, I've played little LCD handhelds that get the job done just as well.

Still, there isn't anything particularly wrong with what's here; and what you see is basically what you get, so if you like what you see...

But I'll take one more shot at the game: its music is extremely annoying.

Battle Royale

~ BATTLE ROYALE ~

Incredible Technologies / NEC

HuCard

1990

Battle Royale has one thing going for it but fares poorly in practically every other area. It definitely has personality, which it is imbued with by its colorful, showy, rambunctious wrestlers and their nutty, freaky-looking managers. And that's where the good news begins and ends, as BR's gameplay and graphics are simply terrible.

Your job is to use one of the gregarious grapplers to clear the squared circle of the hooligans who stand against you. Unfortunately, there just isn't much to the action: without any real "techniques" to make use of, you basically have to smack people around until somebody hits the mat; then you can lift up the fallen brawler and heave him from the ring. The controls aren't very good, but they suffice for beating the game, as it's so simple and easy. The fighters' movements are extremely choppy, but it's amusing to hear the fools scream as they're eliminated, which brings us back to the game's strong (and utterly wasted) charisma.

That charisma is the reason Battle Royale is considered by many to be a viable multiplayer option. There's nothing wrong with mashing buttons for a little while with friends, especially when a game provides a great cast to pick favorites from. But make no mistake about it: there are lots of better games that you can go with for any given Turbo get-together, titles that feature superior gameplay and more than one virtue to boast of.

The announcer introduces you to BR's cast of misfit musclemen...

...and then you take control of a manager and race for the right to represent your favorite fighter. You can pummel your rivals if you want to, but I usually just make a beeline for my brawler of choice.

The managers exude confidence regardless of whom they end up with.

Tournament mode has you work your way up from one-on-one affairs...

...to all-out rumbles. I usually hover on the fringe of the fray and utilize my "special kick" when the opportunity to do so presents itself.

The post-match stats chart isn't very interesting.

Stockpile moneybags as you rack up victories.

These people really do creep me out.

Shanghai III: Dragon's Eye

~ SHANGHAI III ~

Activision / Home Data / ASK KODANSHA

CD-ROM

1992

Opinions I'd garnered on Shanghai III were few (two, to be exact) but differed to a wild degree. "BEST OF THE PCE SHANGHAI GAMES!" yelled one man; "DISGRACE TO THE SERIES!" warned another. But being indifferent to the game of Shanghai to begin with and an all-around goofball in general, I didn't really care about any of that "good or bad" or "integrity of the series" stuff. I was just intrigued by the idea of playing another ASK KODANSHA product, as the company had endeared itself to me somewhat with its likably wacky HuCard RPG, Necros.

Well, Shanghai III didn't need the aid of my pro-KODANSHA bias to impress me right away; its many available options accomplished that on their own. Lots of different board layouts and four interesting tile sets can be experienced as soon as you start up a basic game.

The variety in setups doesn't extend to the backgrounds, but you can uncover some silly anime-chick images in "Tournament" mode.

There are also some "conflict" modes to check out.

And while the free-for-all "Battle" game is pretty much a mess, "Dragon's Eye" is kinda cool and challenging and adds an overwhelmingly exciting man vs. dragon element to the mix.

Very exciting stuff.

Whichever mode you choose, you'll have some great music to listen to (as you've probably come to expect from the series if you're a veteran of it). KODANSHA put a lot of effort into the sound effects as well, as most clearly evidenced by the growls and roars and drawing of blades that accompany Fantasy World tile-set play. But it's surprising, and not just a little disappointing, that such care wasn't devoted to the game's art. Tile design work was shoddy, and due to apparent lack of perspective consideration, it can be difficult at times to discern which pieces are actually in play and what images adorn their faces. But I got used to the bad graphics and was able to forget about them for the most part, focusing instead on more interesting matters (such as slaying that dragon).

HuCard Shanghai is the good, honest working man's episode, as it allows the player to jump right into the fray with great chip tunes to enjoy and not a whole lot of extra stuff to be concerned about. Shanghai II comes off as the series's most polished entry. But thanks to its many play options, Shanghai III ended up being the one I put the most time into--and got the most enjoyment out of.