Dungeon Explorer

~ DUNGEON EXPLORER ~

Hudson Soft / Atlus / NEC

HuCard

1989

While Neutopia was content with dressing itself up in nice, cartoony graphics and performing a fairly uninspired Zelda-imitator shtick, Dungeon Explorer found a way to murder the classic from which it borrowed its fundamental play mechanics. Ironically, DE's massacre of Gauntlet had little to do with the adventure elements it added to the mix (as it really doesn't feature much of a narrative); rather, it established its superiority by refining the action aspects it mimicked. As in Gauntlet, players view the proceedings from an overhead perspective and launch swords-and-sorcery-themed projectile attacks as they dash about labyrinthine environments. But there is no barreling through enemy lines here; one can't apply the tried-and-true Gauntlet stratagem of lowering one's head and plowing through armies of grunts and ghosts (in what designers laughably dubbed "melee combat"). Hit-point totals in DE are never stratospheric, and progress is best made methodically. Yet, combat is heavy, and the opposition, relentless, making the game one hell of a success as an action-based TurboChip.

But excellent gameplay is not what DE is most commonly lauded for. This title is renowned for the remarkable quality of its audio and always mentioned early on in conversations about the greatest HuCard soundtracks. It boasts a dynamic collection of compositions and shows remarkable range on the part of the composer by shooting from the amazingly catchy (and strangely Earth, Wind, & Fire-ish) second-maze tune to the enchanting melody that haunts those who venture into Alexis' tower.

Gauntlet, too, has interesting music. It also (in its NES incarnation) requires players to participate in absurd scavenger hunts for "clues" that enable them to access the lair of a dopey end-dragon. No such nonsense plagues the DE experience, but you'll frequently come across and do battle with cool boss creatures, some of whom utilize innumerable projectiles to attack from a distance...

...others of whom prefer to bully you around.

I've slain those bosses many times, but as long as I can still wield a TurboPad, no time will be the last. Even amidst my epic Turbo exploits, I find myself returning to this title quite often, initially planning to take a slow revisitation tour but inevitably playing through the entire adventure in a flash. It's a difficult quest to leave unfinished, even for just a time--especially if friends take part in the conquest.

Popful Mail

~ POPFUL MAIL ~

Falcom / NEC Home Electronics

Super CD-ROM / Arcade CD-ROM

1994

Being a huge Falcom fan familiar with Popful's good reputation, I had very high expectations for the game when I purchased it years ago. It seemed reasonable to anticipate great things from a sidescrolling adventure title that has an Ys-esque feel about it and features three appealing playable characters. Unfortunately, it ended up being a major disappointment. I felt that it had humor and some nice audio working for it, but the level design just totally turned me off. It seemed like I was constantly dealing with slow-moving platforms, or waddling through empty corridors, or sliding up and down pointless poles and ladders, or partaking in whatever other dull activities the designers could think of to make the process of reaching my destination at any given instance as time consuming and annoying as possible.

Some "challenges" they came up with just seemed lame and poorly concocted, particularly a stretch where the heroine latches on to spinning gears and you have to make her let go at just the right moments, shooting her across the room in the process--hopefully on target for a platform or another gear. Adding to the sludgy misery were unskippable in-game voice-acted parts.

When I revisited the adventure a few years later with newfound patience and skill in tow, I enjoyed it a lot more. Make no mistake: those elements I listed above were all still present, and the game was still monotonous and irritating at times. But as I wasn't bumbling around hopelessly or falling repeatedly or just acting like an impatient crybaby in general, the potentially tedious stuff seemed to go by much more quickly. Even the daunting "spinning section" proved to be briefer, fairer, and more entertaining than it had seemed in my misguided memories. A little patience on my part allowed me to "see the light," which made the positives shine that much more brightly.

As I alluded to earlier, humor and audio top the list of positives. There's quite a bit of good comedy here, thanks in large part to a wacky winged fire-breather named Gaw...

...who not only provides laughs but also makes for a fun character to use, especially when the little fellow gains the ability to utilize his gaping maw as a flamethrower. And the Gaw-exclusive stages see the title's soundtrack, which gets off to a pretty good start and improves from there, achieve greatness with an incredibly catchy tune.

There are plenty of high-quality cinemas...

...and the in-game visuals will prove pleasing if you're a fan of the Falcom small-sprite style.

The designers took a neat approach with the gameplay, which feels kind of like a combination of elements from Ys and Dragon's Curse. You can have a blast messing around with the enemy troops: get them to drop their guard or launch errant attacks, or use them to reach out-of-the-way niches and platforms. And the bosses are a lot of fun to fight, even if they aren't all that tough.

Even with that hefty list of positives, I do need to reemphasize the need for patience with this game, as it has its share of parts that can feel slow and/or frustrating. Really, the amount of enjoyment you get out of it might just be determined by your frame of mind when you sit down with it. But if you think you have the required patience, and if you dig sidescrolling quest games, I say go ahead and pick it up.

Bubblegum Crash

~ BUBBLEGUM CRASH ~

ARTMIC / Naxat Soft

HuCard

1991

BC's story really doesn't do much for me. It focuses on a group of gals who decide to investigate some mysterious bank robberies. The little troop goes from place to place and from person to person, finding clues and unearthing truths that just aren't very fascinating.

Sure, many other digital comics require players to partake in the same sort of fetch-questing, but the quality CD ones usually feature superior eye candy to make the location hopping a little more tolerable, not to mention music that isn't a complete afterthought and at least a few effective attempts at drama. Here, my attention drifted, as nothing remotely exciting happened until a brief cinematic sequence that preceded an interactive (but unchallenging and lusterless) bike chase.

But as boring as things had been to that point, the worst was yet to come. The final stretch is a first-person maze sequence, a downer of a gameplay element in almost every comic that employs it. This one is even worse than most, though, as it has you participate in random battles that never play out quickly but are practically impossible to lose. You'll have to put up with lots of these pointless fights (which always pit you against one of only two enemy types) and search dozens of rooms (almost all of which are "labs" or "warehouses" that contain absolutely nothing) before you'll finally solve the labyrinth and face a wimpy final foe.

It's during this maze trek that the game goes from dull to dreadful, and the short, subpar ending sequence does nothing to redeem the by-then-floundering effort.

Power League '93

~ POWER LEAGUE '93 ~

Hudson Soft

HuCard

1993

Well, not much has changed since Power League V. '93 even utilizes many of V's tunes. Granted, we're talking good music here, but I wouldn't have minded hearing some good music exclusive to this title. The visuals are largely redundant as well...

...and the old post-game show and scoreboard animations have definitely worn out their welcomes.

One adjustment worth noting is that '93 is tougher than V: base hits aren't nearly as easy to come by here. This tweak is no write-off, but to be honest, I kind of enjoyed racking up stats to fill the league leader board in V. And any player worth his salt will be celebrating a championship before long in '93 anyway.

Not this crap again...

Frankly, the only PL I had less fun with was IV. But I must note that I was unimpressed with this title mainly because it's extremely similar to V, which I'd already played through. Shoot straight to this episode and you'll almost certainly find it to be a great baseball game.

Power League V

~ POWER LEAGUE V ~

Hudson Soft

HuCard

1992

Churn out enough sequels and you're bound to fall prey to redundancy at some point. Power League IV was an enjoyable baseball title on its own (and thus not a total waste), but it was also a largely irrelevant addition to the PL line. Hudson rallied for the fifth episode and delivered a product that would've made perfect sense as the immediate followup to PL3. 5 is a great game, boasting visual enhancements over its predecessors along with irresistibly catchy in-game music and gameplay that feels more refined than 4's.

The batters are a good deal larger in this episode, but they sometimes assume awkward-looking stances.

The field graphics haven't been altered a whole lot since PL2, but what's good is good. The action is a little slow compared to PL4's, but if anything, the game is better off for the adjustment.

The old pitching system is back, meaning you have plenty of control over the ball as it makes trips to the plate.

The computer doesn't put up much of a "fight." Gotta love those eighteen-run innings. Home runs actually aren't all that common, but you'll typically bombard your opposition with line-drive base hits. This episode is even easier than PL4...

...so don't be surprised to see your entire lineup on the league leaders list. But lack of challenge didn't ruin the first PL, and it doesn't ruin this awesome title either.

No surprise here. More stadiums!

Players sometimes fall down after swinging strikeouts. Personality had kind of been waning since the first game, but it's back a bit here.

These celebration scenes have worn out their welcome...

...but PL5 is still a winner.

Power League IV

~ POWER LEAGUE IV ~

Hudson Soft

HuCard

1991

This is the first Power League title that felt a bit superfluous. It's a good, fun baseball game, to be sure, but it isn't much different from the series's previous outing. There are new pitching mechanics to master, but opposing teams pose less of a challenge than PL3's stout squads, and most of the new material is of the "bells and whistles" variety.

Visually, not much has changed from PL3 (or PL2, for that matter).

Addressing the new stuff won't take long: there are nighttime games, animated bits on the scoreboard, and more stadiums to play in. It's all nice but kind of insignificant when there's nothing really fresh about the gameplay.

The most noticeable mechanical tweak concerns the pitching system. You aren't granted as much control over pitches as they head towards the plate--no more of that waving-them-around stuff. This new system doesn't feel great at first, but it's more realistic and requires more skill and thought than previous PL pitching systems. Pitchers seem to last longer as far as pitch counts go (perhaps to account for the inevitability of more balls being thrown), which is cool.

The game keeps track of a few more statistical categories than its predecessor. Don't be surprised if the league leader board ends up filled with your players, as PL4 is easy and, for a Power League vet, unrewarding.

Even celebration scenes seem eerily familiar.