Valis II

~ VALIS II ~

Laser Soft / Telenet / NEC

CD-ROM

1990

What I remember most about acquiring Valis II is that, well, I didn't really want to acquire it. It became a part of my collection simply because it was the only Turbo CD title that my local game shop happened to have in stock that day. Predictably, I didn't care much for it. I did love its music, and over the years, I've come to appreciate its story; but I must warn all prospective buyers that--though this isn't necessarily reflective of the game's worth to me--it is the worst of the PC Engine Valis episodes, an action-platformer that rates as acceptable--but just barely.

V2's levels are quite straightforward in design. There isn't much platforming or many tricky obstacles to deal with; subsequent Valis episodes demand far more in the ways of skill and strategy. II places its focus on hack-and-shoot action, and the little challenge it offers comes from enemies who take lots of hits or attack from advantageous positions. You need to figure out when it's best to combat your adversaries and when it's best to flee from them, and making those determinations isn't particularly difficult. The game is short, easy, and very generous: it doesn't penalize you much with its checkpoints or make you begin a whole new battle when you lose a life to a boss--both of which are fine with me.

Valis II disappoints when it comes to gameplay, graphics, and challenge, but its soundtrack is a rather compelling draw. Fast-paced tunes and sinister dirges keep the player motivated and alert when the action itself gets a little bland... which happens quite often.

You'll wind up in difficult situations like this only if you charge ahead recklessly. Proceed patiently and you'll be able to obliterate your foes with little hardship. Utilizing a stop-and-start approach really nullifies any feelings of intensity that the game begins to generate, but it's necessary in light of the clunky controls and Yuko's inflexibility.

The fourth zone, with its blob-and-dragon army, and the fifth, with its deadly obstacle courses, seemed quite difficult to me when I was younger. Now I realize I was just an awful player back then.

Zone 3 is my favorite due to its nice colors, strange enemies, and incredibly sweet music.

The in-game visuals are crude for the most part, and the cinemas are typically of the miniature-window variety.

The plot those cinemas relay, however, has some surprising depth to it and concludes in brilliant fashion. Unfortunately, if you aren't familiar with the preceding episode's story, you'll find yourself baffled by the tale that's told here. I had no idea what the hell was going on back when I first played the game, and it really pissed me off.

Don't worry; this is no Gogan-vs.-the-Punjabbis sort of spectacle. The bosses are large and look pretty cool but put up little resistance.

The platform ride in the final zone can make for a challenging sequence, but you can make life very easy on yourself by holding on to the powered-up wave weapon. The multiform Megas at the end is a pushover, easier to defeat than the third-stage boss in Valis IV (to put matters in perspective).

Last Alert

~ LAST ALERT ~

Laser Soft / Telenet / NEC

CD-ROM

1990

I've been praising Last Alert for years, and every now and then I decide to take my own advice and revisit it. I inevitably roar right through the game, as I can't stop playing once I've started, and I'm always left wanting more despite the impressive number of stages (over twenty). It's an elite "run-and-gun-and-explore," proving time and time again to be worthy of the lavish praise I afford it.

It's just one positive after another with this title...

The hero, Guy Kazama, is a true badass who goes from exploring jungles in a Rambo outfit to wrecking ocean liners in a tux. He gains access to powerful brands of weaponry as he earns experience points and advances in rank.

The gameplay is much deeper and more exciting than what can be found in many similar games, including the Turbo's own Final Zone 2 and Bloody Wolf. There are lots of different missions to complete, with plenty of variety in mission objectives. For some levels, a time limit is imposed; for others, you have to achieve your goals surreptitiously, as utilizing powerful weaponry causes enough of a disturbance to draw enemy soldiers to your location.

Of course, there are also straight-up, kick-ass action boards that simply ask you to plow through enemy lines and defeat big, tough boss characters.

The stages look nice and are, at times, expansive. You may have to conduct a fair amount of exploration as you attempt to rescue hostages, place bombs, or garner intelligence about the enemy.

The cinemas are extremely well done (who could ever forget burning Kazama?), especially compared with those in most other early Turbo CD games. Plus, the music rocks, particularly the urgent boss-fight track that has an alarm sound mixed in.

Last Alert's only possible weakness (as I don't give a damn about the famously goofy voice acting and can't see it being a true deterrent for anyone) is that it's pretty darn easy. But I can easily forgive it for that since it's so enjoyable, and rather than an increase in difficulty, I'd like a few dozen more stages--perhaps then I'd get my fill. Alternatively, a sequel would have been nice!

Gotzendiener

~ GOTZENDIENER ~

GAINAX / NEC Home Electronics

Super CD-ROM

1994

Coming in, I expected Gotzendiener to deliver an isometric blend of Brandish and Prince of Persia. That was probably unfair of me, considering that most players don't like the game very much. High expectations aside, Gotzendiener's gameplay is slow and horrible and gives the player hardly anything to do--hardly any fighting and hardly any puzzle solving. You simply stumble around ugly mazelike environments, and before you know it, the whole thing is over. The music and sound effects are horrendous, so the game falters even where many other mediocre Turbo CDs shine (though I will say that the few cinemas do look somewhat nice). Whether Gotzendiener was released unfinished or merely unpolished, it comes off as an incomplete effort, an empty, glitch-plagued husk of a puzzle-based adventure.

It starts off in a cool and unusual way. A good guy and a bad guy fight it out for a girl; the two idiots end up killing each other, leaving the princess to find her way on her own.

The game does have its moments of intrigue as well as a few areas that actually don't let us down graphically. Most of the decent material is presented early in the quest.

Later levels have you wander around dull, empty, ugly environments.

Half of the interesting objects you come across end up serving no purpose whatsoever. It makes you wonder if the designers intended to do more with these "red herrings" but weren't granted enough time to complete their project.

Combat unfolds as slowly and choppily as you might expect, but defeating the lumbering monsters isn't difficult at all.

Even your final foes fall easily and make little impact during their brief onscreen appearances. They're fitting representatives of the game on the whole.

Galaxy Fraulein Yuna 2

~ GALAXY FRAULEIN YUNA 2 ~

Red / Hudson Soft

Super CD-ROM

1995

Yuna 2 makes people think it's going to be better than its excellent predecessor by starting off with a lengthy and very well-done opening cinema. Actually, the game is pretty good graphically throughout; but in most ways, it tumbles after its fast start. The soundtrack fails to follow the lead of the quality artwork, as it counts but one nice tune amid many unmemorable jingles. More importantly, the story isn't nearly as entertaining as the first GFY's, and it gives you far fewer choices to make, so the experience seems very low on interactivity. Simply put, while it looks nice, Yuna 2 is a very boring game.

It's anything but boring initially, however. The opening presents an awesome space clash that makes Force of Arms seem like a pistol fight, and during the first few moments of actual play, Yuna is called out by the Clubber Lang of the idol world.

Then, Yuna stumbles upon a new best friend. The comic goes straight to hell from there...

...as it focuses on the two of them doing stupid things and occasionally playing awful mini-games.

Y2's fights are nowhere near as cool as the ones in the first game. The "pick a card" battle system is somewhat interesting but ultimately annoying, as combat often comes down to chance and can be very time consuming.

The story steps things up a bit towards the end and features a pretty cool giant mecha showdown, but the grand finale won't make anyone forget the long stretches of boredom endured prior to that point.

Had Red made the middle section of the adventure a little more exciting and the battles a little less time consuming, they might've had another excellent comic on their hands. It certainly is sad the way things turned out.

Galaxy Fraulein Yuna HuVideo

~ GALAXY FRAULEIN YUNA HUVIDEO ~

Red / Hudson Soft

Super CD-ROM

1995

Those looking to acquire Galaxy Fraulein Yuna (and that should be everyone who does not currently own it) have a choice to make. They can go for the nice, cheap, plain-Jane regular edition, or they can pick up the rerelease, which comes packaged with a HuVideo bonus disc. Those looking to find out what HuVideo actually is won't be given any technical explanations here, as I don't know anything about that stuff, but I'll try to spell things out in layman's terms: take your typical PCE CD cinema, make the animation incredibly smooth (far, far beyond what you've seen in any other release this side of 3x3 Eyes), make the video exceedingly grainy, and shove the result into a relatively small window. HuVideo!

This particular HuVideo episode is about sixty seconds long and details both an outer-space blade fight and an assault on a giant ship.

Yeah, you've pretty much got the gist of it right there. But remember, the "plot" isn't the point here; this is essentially a show-off disc, and you're supposed to sit there and be amazed at what the PCE is actually capable of. And really, as a means to that end, the little animated "film" gets the job done. Of course, you can also witness HuVideo during Gulliver Boy's intermissions (and Gulliver Boy is worth playing anyway).

But a minute of video isn't all that the Yuna bonus disc has to offer. It does present some extra artwork in the form of still sketches.

Considering that there aren't many other ways to catch a little HuVideo and that the rerelease costs only a few bucks more than the original nowadays, you might as well pick up this edition if you're going to purchase the game at all.