Beyond Shadowgate

ICOM Simulations - 1993 - U.S.A.

Super CD-ROM

Beyond Shadowgate sucked me in right from the get go. My first time with the game I remember being extremely taken with the hand painted backdrops and the immersing audio. Playing through again for this review, I found things were even better than I remembered them.

A product from the incredibly talented team over at ICOM Simulations, Beyond Shadowgate is the second game in the Shadowgate series. Preceded by the classic Shadowgate that debuted on vintage Apple computers or perhaps more famously, the NES, I played through all three games including the classic-that-wasn’t finale Shadowgate 64 to get a better perspective on things. Beyond Shadowgate takes place a few generations after the final events in Shadowgate and stars a Prince Erik determined to expose the truth behind his father’s murder. His young sister is kidnapped in the process by a man who intends to sacrifice her in order to revive the evil Warlock Lord. It’s up to you to stop him.

Unlike its predecessor and successor, Beyond Shadowgate plays like a more or less non-linear adventure in the King’s Quest style. According to Dave Marsh (of ICOM Simulations), a Mac/PC port of Beyond Shadowgate was in development even before work began on the Turbo version. The Turbo version was ultimately based on the unreleased PC game, and as such the gameplay in Beyond Shadowgate seems almost tailor-made for a mouse. Oddly enough, the game is not compatible with the PCE mouse that already existed for the console at the time of the game’s release.

I already mentioned Beyond Shadowgate’s amazing visual presentation. The artists obviously spent a decent chunk of time on these, and it shows. Every single scene is a hand painted masterpiece that really sets Beyond Shadowgate apart from its peers. Like the first adventure, you’ll encounter plenty of strange creatures along the way. Creature design follows the precedent set by the background art-- which is to say, fantastic.

Deal with these guys swiftly or they'll deal with you.

This guy's a classic.

A common complaint about Beyond Shadowgate is the speed (or lack thereof) at which Prince Erik plods along. Personally, I find his pace a perfect fit for the game. When a game looks and sounds this good, the extra couple seconds it takes me to go from one scene to the next is less a detriment than it is a chance to revel in the game's spectacular environments. If you’re the kind of person that digs games like King’s Quest or Loom, you’ll feel right at home with the gameplay here. That said, BS is best played with a three button controller since it heavily utilizes Button III for item/icon selection. Without one, you’ll be stuck using SELECT for this stuff.

One of the strengths of the Shadowgate series is each game’s ability to create a unique atmosphere while simultaneously maintaining an air of familiarity. Beyond Shadowgate is no different, and one of its best assets is the successful melding of top-notch audio to accompany the visuals. Whether it be subtle wind blowing as you venture up icy mountain ledges, or a pleasant tune accompanied by the sounds of wildlife as you explore a forest, if you’re like me you’ll find yourself getting chills as you play.

Some fans of the TurboGrafx/PC Engine go to great lengths to pan the domestic library at every opportunity, claiming the only titles worth playing were released in Japan. Well, Beyond Shadowgate wasn’t released in Japan and it’s one of the best games on the system. I’d go so far to say must-own if it wasn’t so pricey. Like so many other US titles Beyond Shadowgate often sells for way too much. Unlike many of said titles, BS is actually usually worth it.

Failure has its consequences.

Jack Nicklaus' Turbo Golf CD

~ JACK NICKLAUS' TURBO GOLF ~

Accolade

CD-ROM

1990

Accolade opted not to forsake the Jack Nicklaus HuCard's play system while designing the CD version of the game. Their decision sat well with me: Turbo Golf is a mechanically sound title on either medium. Unfortunately, they also stood pat with the revoltingly crude visual style "boasted" by the TurboChip...

...and elected to continue making players sit through slow, stupid course redrawings in between shots.

Thankfully, JNCD does not retain the card's in-game silence; in fact, it allows you to select from three different tunes during play, and surprisingly enough, all three are pretty good. You'll enjoy listening to them as you tour the disc's five different courses (the mute TurboChip offers but one).

Other additions come off as obligatory CD-version tack-ons. The opening cinema is a three-screen throwaway, and Jack's advice being read aloud isn't much of a "special feature."

If you consider the HuCard Jack Nicklaus a decent title (as I do), you'll probably want to upgrade to this version for the music and the extra courses. If you're just looking for a quality golf game for your Turbo, well, Fine Shot Golf on Human Sports Festival is far superior to this title. Should you crave more than a single representation of the sport, give Turbo Golf CD a try.

Power Golf 2: Golfer

~ POWER GOLF 2 ~

Hudson Soft

Super CD-ROM

1994

This is definitely a step up in quality from the original Power Golf, thank goodness. PG2 plays better than its predecessor and boasts superior course design.

It's more sophisticated in general, presenting much more in the way of course and play-mode selection.

There are some negatives to note, though: the action plays out slowly, as the game likes to switch views of the ball three or four times during long shots (and with each switch comes a slight delay)...

...and the CD unit's capabilities are largely wasted on horribly grainy "videos" and useless digitized pictures.

I prefer Fine Shot Golf (which can be found on the Human Sports Festival disc), as it's livelier, faster, and more fun overall. Still, golf fans and people who actually enjoy the first PG will probably be happy with this.

Dekoboko Densetsu Hashiru Wagamanma

~ LEGEND OF DEKOBOKO ~

Renovation / Telenet

CD-ROM

1990

For those who aren't familiar with the legend, this Dekoboko is an overhead-perspective "combat racing" game that leans heavily towards the "cutesy" side of things. You drive through or leap over ponds, ice patches, lava streams, and snowy wastelands...

...while evading cows, snowmen, fish, birds, elephants, and flame-spitting dinosaur-things...

...and walloping your opponents with weapons bought at shop-screens in between stages.

The silly-in-theme courses should be the colorful highlights of Dekoboko, but they're actually rather dull. Some canvases are dominated by ugly yellows and browns, and a simple Lego-land can't exactly compete with Mario Kart's Rainbow Road.

The musical tracks are forgettable save for two vocal numbers (a goofy male vocal at the title screen and a decent female vocal at the end) and the Stage One theme, which is remarkably reminiscent of Basted's main in-game tune.

Superficial disappointments might have been forgivable if the gameplay were solid, but it isn't. Dekoboko was designed with five-player action in mind; hence, it insists that all of the cars be visible onscreen at all times. This means that if you're leading the pack, you'll be a mere centimeter or so away from the very top of the playfield and have no time to avoid obstacles that suddenly appear. On the other hand, if you hang back, you'll run the risk of being "hit" by the bottom of the screen, which will send you into a spinout. The spinouts constitute the most irritating aspect of the experience, as it can be very difficult to "right the ship," and you often end up caught in an inescapable chain of spins.

You pretty much have to hang out somewhere in the middle of the field, conserving your energy and keeping your vehicle on course until the very last stretch of a given track, where you can finally make your move and go for the win.

Ultimately, this is more of an obstacle-course run than it is a racing game, and there isn't much of a speed element anyway, as the cars basically just roll along. Give Dekoboko a try and you'll probably end up agreeing with me that the coolest thing about it is that Yuko and Megas briefly appear in the opening cinema.

Super CD-ROM Taiken Soft Shuu

~ SUPER CD-ROM TAIKEN SOFT SHUU ~

Hudson Soft / Red / Falcom

Super CD-ROM

1991

Duomazov friends and fans have been clamoring for us to cover this one for quite a while now, so here goes. This is essentially a two-demo product that allows you to "try out" Tengai Makyou II: Manji Maru and Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes.

We already have reviews posted for the full versions of the two titles, so I'm not gonna BS around with positives and negatives and all that as far as the games themselves go. But I will fill you in on how much "game" you can expect here.

Don't expect much from the Manji Maru sample. Visit a town, visit a cave, do a little grinding, and beat up a boss... it all amounts to a thirty-minute glimpse of a fifty-hour epic, and it isn't really a good indication of what the adventure has to offer, though the one boss fight will probably come off as being pretty darn cool.

You get a more substantive slice of LoH here, a full chapter of the six-chapter journey, which means a little over an hour of a quest that lasts for ten. You can visit a number of villages and even put together a full four-member party before the demo closes its doors and demands you check out the real game for more.

Speaking of the real games, since the full versions of Manji Maru and the Japanese Legend of Heroes can each be had for the five bucks or so it would cost to acquire this disc, well, who needs the demos anyway? This isn't some sort of elusive rarity either, and it boasts zero enticing "extras," making it an unnecessary item for all but the most devout PCE collectors.