Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra

~ MIGHT AND MAGIC III ~
Hudson Soft / New World Computing
Super CD-ROM
1993

Might and Magic III is no dawdler or word mincer. It immediately grants you notice that it'll be giving you a difficult time: the city in which you begin your quest is not inhabited by harmless, bumbling townsfolk but by vicious sludge beasts and rat monsters. You'll hack your way beyond the village walls only to find yourself choosing between destinations where you'll be as unwelcome as you were in the vermin pit you just exited. From scheming kings to self-serving mercenaries, even the non-bestial denizens of Terra want nothing to do with you, save for the instances when you can aid them in their own pursuits of wealth and power. Feelings of loneliness and isolation are sure to set in when you play M&M3. It's a good thing, then, that the adventure is so rewarding that the player inevitably ends up just fine with experiencing those feelings.

Before you can reap any rewards, however, you'll have to come to terms with the enormity of the task you're given here. The islands of Terra constitute a realm that's both gigantic and extremely mysterious. You're granted the freedom to explore said realm in any way that your strength and wit will allow you; there is no predetermined sequence of events that the game holds your hand through. There are so many missions to undertake, labyrinths to delve into, riddles to solve, and creatures to slay that some players will conclude almost at once that the challenge of M&M3 is daunting and overwhelming to the extent that the game is nigh inaccessible. That these players will miss out on the intense encounters and fascinating surprises that come with accepting said challenge is truly a shame.

But I can understand why some might find the game to be utterly perplexing. Options are aplenty even before one embarks on one's quest, as simply determining the covey of characters who'll make up the featured fellowship demands study of the strengths and weaknesses of various classes and races. A solid group of pre-set would-be world savers is available for those unwilling to head-scratch their way through notes on proficiencies, but know now that taking the time to make sound early decisions can pay dividends in matters of convenience down the road.

Whatever the complexion of the party you put together, outfitting your selected warriors is sure to prove enjoyable. There are dozens upon dozens of items that can be purchased or discovered throughout the lands of Terra. Though continually having to bring up and wade through equipment-management menus can prove irritating, there's a great deal of fun to be had swapping weapons and trinkets amongst the heroes and developing a band of fearsome monster slayers. The wide variety of enchanted articles that can be acquired via thorough exploration makes each foray into a treasure-stocked dungeon seem like a worthwhile endeavor.

Registers of obtainable skills and spells match the equipment list in length. Nothing is simply handed over to you, however. Accept the challenge issued by warrior-eradicating villains to earn membership to guilds that sell spell scrolls. Pay to be mentored in the ways of the arts by those who are most proficient in them. Avoid melee scrums with titans capable of obliterating your hard-earned weaponry. And don't forget that your own soldiers are hardly emotionless; they themselves can succumb to heartbreak. Even leveling up, a typically simple matter, calls for trips to village training grounds.

Bear in mind that these affairs are all peripheral. Dungeons comprise the true meat of the adventure, the heart and soul of the game itself. Terra's dreaded labyrinths are horrible places that frequently present you with abstract riddles to solve and dire choices to make.

But it's the incredibly powerful creatures that inhabit these places that make even M&M veterans quiver and proceed with great trepidation. The dark, dank corridors are ruled by cyclopes, liches, minotaurs, and other frightful, nearly indomitable monstrosities.

You'll be ripped to shreds in some fights, but combat will remain interesting and exciting no matter how many beatings you endure. Your party can spot approaching creatures from a distance and launch missile and magical attacks as soon as a threat is detected. Of course, their opponents can respond in kind.

This element of chasmal war-waging adds to the intensity of certain encounters. At times, you'll find yourself desperately hurling everything you've got at a hard-charging beast in the hopes that you can eliminate the mighty abomination before it reaches you.

Count on the abomination being animated and well drawn, and count on being treated to detailed, appealing visuals throughout every stage of your quest. The music, with its powerful, throbbing drums, is also excellent.

Enjoy the aesthetics. Bask in the glory that comes with achieving notoriety for jobs well done, with killing creatures thought to be unbeatable. Nothing comes easily in this kingdom. Overcome all obstacles and you'll truly be deserving of the title of Champion that the game bestows upon you.

Super Air Zonk

RED/Hudson Soft - 1993 - U.S.A.

Super CD-ROM

When Super Air Zonk was originally released and for years following, I had been under the impression it was simply a "Super" enhanced CD version of the cartridge-based game Air Zonk. It's a shame, really, as had I known it was an actual sequel I would've picked it up back then instead of years later after it had doubled in price.

Even once I learned it was a true sequel, I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to pick it up as by then all accounts had it pegged as a poor excuse for a followup. To be perfectly honest, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, my first exposure to SAZ was via the Wii's Virtual Console. To be blunt, I wasn't exactly thrilled with the five minutes I spent with it and decided everything I'd heard had been more or less accurate.

A year or so later I managed to pick up an actual copy of the game for my Duo at a halfway decent price and decided to give it another chance. A real chance. To my surprise, the game wasn't quite as bad as first impressions had led me to believe.

A few plays later and I found myself actually starting to dig the game. See, the main problem with this second episode is that it's such a different experience than its predecessor. The original Air Zonk was the epitome of the perfect chip shooter. The boss face-offs were fast-paced and epic and Zonk was often bombarded with veritable floods of enemies to contend with all while a brilliant chiptune soundtrack pounded away behind the action, heightening the sense of excitement.

Super Air Zonk, on the default difficulty especially, starts off at a seemingly lackadaisical pace by comparison. The odd "rockabilly" soundtrack only serves to augment the "laid-back" atmosphere, at least initially. SAZ never achieves the intensity of the original; boss battles are fought at a virtual stand-still while your opponent lumbers leisurely about the screen. This is the aspect of Super that hurts the game the most, in my opinion, the sense of urgency that pervaded Air Zonk is nowhere to be found here.

For no good reason that I can determine, you are allowed to choose the order in which you play the first four (of seven) stages.

This time around, you'll need to rescue your friends from the clutches of evil before they can join you.

Friends all have unique attack techniques when separated from Zonk.

The choice of a rockabilly soundtrack for an Air Zonk game was a strange one to be sure, and probably a poor one at that. It took numerous playthroughs, but many of the tracks have grown on me, and I can appreciate how some of them actually accent the wackiness of the action. Still, there are a number of tracks that just seem ill-fit for this sort of game.

One major area of contention involves Super Air Zonk's visuals. It's hard not to compare Super to part 1, which featured many layers of parallax scrolling in each and every level. On the other hand, multiple layers are far less common in part 2 and indeed seems to be the exception rather than the rule. This doesn't bother me nearly as much as it seems to bother other people, since on the whole the backgrounds mostly look great regardless and those that don't feature any parallax work just fine without it.

One area has you exploring a TV set in a studio...

...while another has you facing off against the aquatic ranks of Sandrovitch's army.

One glaring exception being the flat, poorly designed "Doublehead Stage." A bit of parallax would've done wonders for poor ol' Doublehead.

It's easy to see why the game gets a bad rap based on first impression comparisons to Air Zonk. Despite this, there are certain elements of Super that are unquestionable improvements over the original. There is no delay when you lose a life, for example, waiting for Zonk to fall off the screen and respawn. Your life supply is simply decreased by one. While you don't get to hand-pick your "buddy" for each level in this episode, once you rescue him he sees the battle through to the end with you. More importantly, you have the ability to combine and separate with him at will. Last, but certainly not least, I find the "charge attack" works much better here than in part 1. After holding the fire button for a specific duration, Zonk will automatically charge up and emit a ring of destruction upon release of the button, obliterating anything within a certain radius.

Many of the boss designs live up to the Air Zonk standard...

While others leave you wondering, "What the fuck?"

Don't be surprised if you fly right through the game on your first or second run with it on the default difficulty. I've found boosting the difficulty level up to "Hard" makes for a better game and intensifies things just a bit.

Super will undoubtedly be a little jarring initially for players familiar with the excellent Air Zonk, but given time, I think even the most loyal AZ fan will find something of merit here. Players coming in fresh with no past Zonk experience will find a decent shooter, one that competently prepares them for the ultimately superior part 1. It's a shame what has happened to the U.S. TurboGrafx market, and unfortunately Super Air Zonk is one of the biggest casualties. It's now not uncommon to see the game selling for hundreds of dollars, and for no good reason. The good news is that the JP version, which I understand is virtually identical, is still affordable.

Tenshi no Uta II

~ TENSHI NO UTA II ~
Riot / Telenet
Super CD-ROM
1993

There would be no big surprises this time. The first Tenshi no Uta was a stunner, a one-dollar toss-in equipped with the gameplay, soundtrack, story, and spirit of an all-time classic. Tenshi II would not be sneaking up on me in similar fashion; in fact, in light of its predecessor's incredible showing, I expected nothing short of excellence from it. Riot went with a safe and smart game plan for II, delivering a product that relies on and succeeds via the strengths of its forerunner. It's a sequel broader in scope than its already-epic progenitor--if not quite as impeccable in execution. Once again, players are granted a seat placed far above the action, an advantageous perspective for exploring the featured realm and its many labyrinths. The sprites are not quite as lovably tiny this time, but everything is a bit more colorful, even bordering on cartoonish at times, both out on the field...

...and within the confines of combat.

Riot's artistic ambitions occasionally went awry: extreme Ys III-esque choppiness riddles sporadic scenes plagued by ill-executed parallax. Areas that should've come off as beautiful are rendered rough, slowed-up sludge-stretches instead.

Despite the graphical stumbling, it's fun to scout out each countryside township and dreary dungeon. As was the case with the first game's mazes, Tenshi II's feature a fair number of well-thought-out puzzles and dramatic story-advancing sketches. Never do they annoy with their many branches or frustrate with their numerous conundrums; the game shuns convolution and remains engaging throughout.

Offering convenience in matters of party management is one of the many reasons that the original Tenshi shines; its sequel makes a tradition of such handiness, even having departing party members leave their equipment behind with the warriors still under your control. Never will a character you spent lots of cash equipping abruptly dash off with expensive, newly acquired wares.

Fast-paced fighting is another of the first episode's strengths, and Tenshi II sticks with the player-friendly skirmish style for the most part. A number of the bullyish monsters here can prove to be very tough customers, leading to some longer-than-Tenshi-norm combat scenes, but battling seldom becomes irritating.

Among the coolest of those combat scenes is a showdown with the ogre who suffered limb severance at your party's hands in the previous game. The wily fellow shows up this time with prosthetics in place.

And he's not the only old friend you'll run into. Riot devised a brilliant method of connecting this wonderful new plot with the adventure experienced by the original cast, even calling on certain stars to assume important guest roles in the name of achieving closure following the stunningly bleak turn the first story took at its end (which they went about accomplishing in very satisfying fashion).

You'll notice that said old friends are depicted in a vastly different way here. Indeed, while the cinemas in the first Tenshi did a nice job of establishing the featured fellowship as an extremely unlikely, goofy-but-endearing group of heroes, II's represent an enormous step forward with gorgeous artwork and exemplary animation. Particularly memorable is the surprise-laden ending sequence.

Prior to viewing that sequence, you'll do battle with a stern final boss to the tune of a catchy number reminiscent of Popful Mail's finest tracks. While you'll enjoy a significant dose of excellent red book audio before hearing that climactic tune, one of the most impressive numbers is the chip-produced, bass-driven battle theme. Greatest of all the tracks, though, is the one Riot employed for the game's final dungeon, a terrifying dirge backed by ominous chanting.

And as it just won't do for anyone to get stuck and be unable to hear that amazing track, I wrote up a strategy guide that players can check out if they're ever in need of assistance while making their way through the game.

Playing through the game is something I've done myself many, many times. Still, while my adoration for the first episode never wavers, I tend to forget just how damn good this sequel really is. Each revisitation reminds me that it's the excellent latter half of what ultimately amounts to a two-classic saga.