Brandish

~ BRANDISH ~

Falcom / NEC Home Electronics

Super CD-ROM / Arcade CD-ROM

1994

Brandish is an excellent overhead-view dungeon crawler, an absolute must-play if you're at all into games that ask you to explore mazes, collect items, and solve puzzles. I wept streams of tears as I neared its conclusion, as I really didn't want the experience to end.

The game actually might not seem all that wonderful right off the bat. It plays a lot like a typical first-person title even though it isn't one (the simple action of turning causes the playfield to rotate ninety degrees), so the control scheme takes some getting used to. Also, the graphics aren't so hot. But I was surprised at how natural the controls felt after just a short while, and the quality tunes (the Tower theme in particular is excellent) make up for the mediocre visuals.

Exploration is the name of the game, so you needn't do much cryptic-clue deciphering. Inability to read Japanese will make one or two puzzles difficult to solve, but for those, you can simply check out a walkthrough for the SNES version of the game, as the solutions to the conundrums in question are basically the same in that rendition.

Brandish's levels are laden with items, secrets, and interesting enemies. They remind me of the labyrinthine floors of Legend of Xanadu's gigantic tower, though they aren't nearly as challenging as those fiendish areas (and they're actually more enjoyable to explore). So if you made it through LoX's devilish final dungeon and enjoyed the experience, this disc is a safe bet.

Another great thing about the game is that it gives you lots of options in regard to how you'll proceed. For instance, I chose to smash up most of my enemies with the protagonist's fists rather than with weaponry; and as I administered one pummeling after another, my character gradually became stronger, so I was able to sell off weapons to earn cash for acquiring other useful items.

Also noteworthy is the final boss, a hardy cyclopean turtle-like thing protected by energy cannons and gates of laser fire.

There's so much to look forward to with every step you take in Brandish. It's always fun to find out what's around the next bend.

Winning Shot

~ WINNING SHOT ~

Data East

HuCard

1989

The realization that I would be having fun with this game occurred the instant my little avatar took a swing and SMASHED the ball across the course. Players absolutely DRILL their drives in Winning Shot; the ball goes way up high and gets really big in a manner reminiscent of the World Class Baseball "pop-fly effect." For video-game golf shots, this is pretty exhilarating stuff.

Amazing!

I know you're thinking to yourself that I'm getting all pumped up over something really stupid, but you need to understand where I'm coming from. You'd be surprised by the number of PCE golf games I've seen mishandle this simple play element. Power Golf 2's shots sputter their way towards the hole, while Ganbare's barely seem to get off the ground. Even the masterful Fine Shot Golf kinda misstepped by having its ball simply launch itself into the sky rather than showing a dude actually hitting the damn thing. But here we've got a game that executes first shots in a cool way.

Thanks to a slow-rising power bar, it's quite easy to pull off those impressive drives. Winning Shot's entire pre-green play system seems easygoing initially; the game even hands you what it believes is the ideal club for each shot (and it's usually right on with its choices). But don't go thinking this thing will be a cakewalk. You'd better familiarize yourself with the hole layouts and the variations in shot arcs that the myriad club types produce. Most importantly, you'll need to figure out just how far your shot will go at each meter increment (and for every club at that), as there's a huge difference between, say, a full-power shot and a "90%" one.

Putting can also be a challenge. The game doesn't help you out much except to give you a general idea of the resistance your shot will be facing, but that's somehow enough once you get used to the system. In fact, to my eyes at least, putts play out here in more realistic ways than they do in many titles that try much harder to be credible simulations.

If you're not satisfied with how your shots are turning out with the character you're using, you can always give one of the other selectable golfers a try. You can even adjust each player's "ability points" as you see fit.

So, what are the negatives here? Well, the music is bad. Turn the game on and you'll immediately be hit with loud, abrasive cacophony. Things get a little quieter but not much better during play. Also, there's only one course to tour. But some of the hole designs are very interesting and feature smart, creative placement of islands and hazards. Sometimes you can even stumble upon sneaky shortcuts to the flagstick. And tournament mode attempts to spice things up by offering bonus dough to players who pull off particular feats (such as a hole in one or the longest drive) on certain holes.

Winning Shot is a real oldie, but I honestly wouldn't have guessed that from its mechanics and presentation elements. I recommend it to folks seeking a fun golf title.

Thunder Blade

~ THUNDER BLADE ~

Sega / NEC Avenue

HuCard

1990

Thunder Blade is a hybrid blaster that alternates between vertically scrolling fare and "into-the-screen" sequences. Both of its play modes are afflicted with the same disastrous flaw: they're choppy as hell. Honestly, I'm not one to allow visual elements to make or break a deal, but the jerkiness here is revolting, and it impacts the gameplay significantly. Hit detection is way off during overhead play (which actually often works in the player's favor) while it can be hard to judge the positions of environmental hazards during the behind-the-'copter scenes (which, of course, is not beneficial to the player at all).

Still, TB is not difficult. Unless you're actually concerned about your score, you can easily steer clear of enemy flocks throughout the overhead strips, and there's a peculiar gameplay quirk that, if discovered, will allow you to cheese your way through the sub-levels that follow. The game also isn't epic in length, but by the end of its fourth and final stage, I'd had my fill anyway.

As hard as I am on it, Thunder Blade is not terrible. It's, uh, functional, I suppose. But I see little reason for anyone to go ahead and purchase it, as neither of its play modes stands up well. Space Harrier and After Burner II are faster and more challenging than the forward-flight levels here, not to mention that they feature smoother visuals and better tunes (though TB's music actually isn't bad). And we don't even need to look to CD to find about a billion PCE verts that crush TB's traditional blaster segments.

The choppiness in the vertical levels is completely unjustifiable. The bland, ugly terrain; small, simple sprites (the same few of which appear over and over again); and wimpy weapons don't comprise an adequate explanation. We're not talking ambitious stuff here.

I'm not letting these parts off the hook either, as Space Harrier, After Burner II, and even Jimmu Denshou show that stages of this style can be pulled off pretty well on the system.

Most of the bosses are large machines that require you to weave amid periodic blasts and annihilate cannons.

The final fight is reminiscent of boss confrontations in Burning Force, though BF's bosses are cooler and tougher than this thing. BF, of course, is much better on the whole, as are many other similar titles.

Ganbare Golf Boys

~ GANBARE! GOLF BOYS ~

NCS/Masaya

HuCard

1989

Ganbare doesn't make the greatest first impression. A mere two courses to choose from at the outset seems to indicate a lack of variety right off the bat, and matters only become grimmer once an actual round of golf begins. It's not that the graphics are poor, per se, but everything looks so tiny, and even prodigious drives appear to get little lift. The distant view will make most players feel detached from the action, and it doesn't help that this "action" plays out very slowly.

There's one thing that gives Ganbare a shot at success after its unceremonious start. A sweet on-the-course number made me think this would be yet another early-days NCS/Masaya effort that features good music but struggles mightily in other respects (think Energy and the first Schbibin Man). As I tried out the various play modes and advanced through a sequence of tourneys, I found that the soundtrack is no one-cool-tune wonder.

I also discovered that Ganbare's play system is actually quite solid. The targeting system is as simple as can be, and while the game's shot mechanism always feels fair, you won't master it without a little practice.

Blessed with nice music and satisfactory mechanics, Ganbare makes players comfortable within its simplistic confines to the point where issues regarding the game's speed and visuals are easily forgiven and forgotten about.

And while Ganbare initially seems opposed to the idea of letting anything that happens during play seem all that exciting...

...it eventually lightens up and has a little fun.

In fact, there's enough fun to be had here that the chip actually beats out a number of its respectable PCE peers. It's more polished than the Jack Nicklaus titles, and its shot-to-shot action flows more smoothly than Power Golf 2's. Of course, it's far from perfect and anything but a life changer, but it's a likable game and a viable option if you're up for some HuCard golf.

Appare Gateball

~ APPARE GATEBALL ~

Hudson Soft / Azuma

HuCard

1988

I'm not going to explain how the game of gateball works, as that would be boring, but suffice it to say it's a ball-and-mallet croquet sort of thing and its rules are easy to pick up on in this video context.

It's a straightforward kind of competition, but Appare here lets you "customize" your experience, offering two types of playing surfaces, three play modes, and a dozen nutty characters to choose from.

Despite that remarkable cornucopia of options, the game lacks charisma and can be quite boring. The characters look like wackos in their "close-ups," but they're all business when they hit the court. There are no celebrations when a tough shot is nailed, no displays of frustration when a foul-up occurs, no sideline-clearing brawls when one player screws over another. Yeah, I'm being a little silly here, but something could've been done to liven up the proceedings.

Sadly, a lot of players will find Appare not only boring but awful through and through. Its graphics are dreadfully primitive, and its targeting/shot-power system never truly feels reliable or precise.

I'm no gateball fan, but I do know that someone doesn't need to follow or enjoy a particular sport to have a good time with a video-game representation of it. I'll never be able to sit through a round of golf, but I poured plenty of hours into PGA Tour. There are many people (read: fools) out there who dislike hockey, but everyone played and loved NHL on Genesis. Unlike the aforementioned classics, Appare isn't going to make a convert out of anybody; but I wouldn't say that it makes a mockery of gateball (which is actually considered quite exciting by a lot of people who know the ins and outs of it), and I do get some enjoyment out of playing a good round and using a little strategy to screw over my opponents.

World Sports Competition

~ WORLD SPORTS COMPETITION ~

Hudson Soft

HuCard

1992

I've never been into these "summer games" types of titles. For one thing, I don't care for summer games. For another, they all instantly bring to mind NES Track and Field, which I feel is utter crap. I don't like it when a game forces the player to partake in rapid button annihilation to the degree that the process becomes a cardio exercise in and of itself. And in the almost-never cases where I've been willing to use a turbo-blessed controller to earn a cheap triumph in such a game, I've preferred to cheese my way through something a bit more entertaining, like Pro Wrestling.

World Sports Competition doesn't act ignorant of the fact that there are lots of folks like me out there, players unwilling to mash their thumbs and joypad triggers into oblivion. So while most of its events do call for some old-fashioned smashing, you can activate an "auto-fire" option pre-play. (Of course, with a TurboPad you can just flick the turbo switch and, voila, problem averted, but I digress.) And the designers tried to make even the call-to-smash events a little more interesting by incorporating other elements (which will be covered momentarily). But really, unless you're truly into this summer stuff and you feel compelled to set records for each type of trial, you'll probably find that there just isn't much to these mini-games. And while eighteen events sounds like a lot, don't kid yourself: there's plenty of redundancy from one to the next. With decent graphics and not-so-good music in tow, WSC rounds out to an average title.

The gun-based events are probably my favorites, as they don't involve button hammering and they do involve good timing, especially the pistol-firing trial. Small crosshairs make practice necessary in clay blasting.

Archery actually plays like a lot of golf games: you have to aim your shot while considering the strength and direction of the wind, and you have to utilize a quick-filling "accuracy meter." It's a decent, if not particularly hard to master, event.

The "throwing stuff" games require you to make your tosses at precise angles and power your efforts via button bludgeoning.

Most of the track dashes place heavy emphasis on mashing, as you might expect, though timely leaps are sometimes required for success.

Rafting and swimming competitions demand that you get into a rhythm of refraining and hammering lest you deplete your energy/oxygen supply. Getting the timing down can be challenging.

The game presents records for you to break--a little incentive for mastering everything, I guess. I couldn't find many other good reasons to stick with WSC for long.