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I may have some complaints about the game’s overall design choices and gameplay mechanics, but I will certainly give it another playthrough or two and may well change my mind. If that ends up being the case, you’ll all be the first to know, as there’s a ton of potential here. And in the meantime, if you like what you’ve seen and heard so far, you’ll almost certainly find something of worth here — so I encourage you to check it out for yourself.
And once that scenario editor is released — and perhaps some more popular user-made scenarios are translated into English — there’s potentially limitless dungeon-crawling fun on offer right here, making Wizardry: The Five Ordeals a fantastic investment for those who like nothing more than getting the graph paper out and splattering some monsters across the nearest wall.
A single run through Zengeon will probably take you an hour to an hour and a half if you make it all the way through, and the game is relatively on the easier side for the genre — you’ll likely clear the game’s easiest difficulty on your first or second attempt without too much difficulty. There’s plenty of replayability, though, with how different the playable characters feel and the inherent variation in the randomised equipment you acquire from the chests on each run.
That said, despite the obvious erotic potential in a game like this, Strip Poker Night at the Inventory is not a game you should go into primarily as a piece of pornography. Instead, you should go into it in the hope of seeing how an incredibly varied cast of characters interact with one another in a somewhat erotically charged situation — and enjoying how the whole thing somehow manages to feel delightfully supportive and inclusive rather than sleazy, all while keeping most of the characters admirably authentic to their source material.
It’s a pity that no physical releases of Lair Land Story seem to be planned right now, but Circle Entertainment has been known to partner with some of the limited-press houses for some of their other titles in the past, so never say never. For now, though, rest assured that Lair Land Story is a game that will put a smile on your face from the moment you start playing — just do your best to make sure you keep a smile on Chilia’s face also. You never know when you might need a magical girl.
Despite never having come across this game prior to trying it in Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, I’m now very much convinced that this is a proper hidden Capcom gem. Like most arcade games from the era, it’s got a bit of a learning curve — but stick with it and you’ll find an interesting, rewarding and enjoyable game that is quite unlike anything else from this period in gaming!
Thankfully, it’s easy to enjoy Gaplus today either through emulation or via the aforementioned official “demake” by Namco. Like most fixed shooters of the era, it’s a challenging game, for sure — but the few extra features over its predecessors may well make it a bit more accessible to those who have previously struggled a bit with the genre.
Pretty Girls Klondike Solitaire remains the weak point in the collection — it’s by no means bad, particularly if played in handheld mode with the included stylus, but its lack of immediate titty gratification and buggy controller support is a bit disappointing when surrounded by the other titles.
So if you’re after a stiff challenge with a lovely, cheerful, colourful atmosphere and a touch of mild fanservice along the way — fans of armpits and feet will find themselves particularly well catered to, I have to say — then Super Bullet Break will keep you entertained for quite some time. So what are you waiting for? Lock and load!
It’s presented well, it plays well and it’s fun — and this time around it has the added bonus of being based on a solitaire card game we rarely see given much love. In other words, it fits perfectly into the rest of the Pretty Girls series, and is yet another eminently worthwhile addition to your lineup of casual games.
f you have to pick one for yourself, I’d say your choice will primarily come down to your preferences in terms of two things: the overall game structure and the combat system. If you prefer action gaming, Tower of Fantasy is the obvious choice, as it has the feel of a single-player character action game. If you prefer more traditional role-playing games, Final Fantasy XIV is where you should hang your hat, as while the game isn’t turn-based, the cooldown-based nature of the combat is quite akin to the series’ classic Active Time Battle systems with added movement.
It all ends up pretty well, though; after finally causing the evil sorcerer to blow himself into oblivion by overusing the magic of the Phiel Rings, Rance ends up releasing the spirits of the 40 girls who had previously had their magic absorbed by the deadly jewellery. And when they promise to grant him any wish he wants in exchange for releasing them — whether it be riches, fame, immortality or anything else he might desire — there is, of course, nothing he wants more than a forty-onesome with this bevy of naked magical beauties before their spirits finally dissipate and find peace once and for all.
Strider is still worth experiencing today, don’t get me wrong — just don’t expect to get through the game without at least a bit of frustration along the way! But at least it won’t clean you out of pocket money any more…
Is it better than Genshin? No frickin’ clue; I never played Genshin. But as a first foray into this “shared open-world” subgenre of online RPG, I’m having an absolute blast with Tower of Fantasy — and I suspect I will continue to do so for quite some time, at the rate I’m going.
Today, Bosconian is an early Namco title that holds up very well indeed. It’s something a little bit different from the other shoot ’em ups of the era — and its accessibility makes it a great title for taking your first steps into early ’80s blasters if you’ve previously found the unforgiving nature of fixed shooters a bit tough to get to grips with!
Tower of Fantasy may not be doing anything especially new — it’s fairly shameless how much of a Genshin clone it is in terms of presentation, with even the dialogue window layout and font bearing an uncanny resemblance to MiHoYo’s hit — but it does what it does very well. It’s a good-looking game with an intriguing storyline, likeable characters and enjoyable mechanics — at least in its early hours.
Don’t expect an easy ride — this was an arcade game, after all — but take the time to learn Gun.Smoke’s distinctive mechanics and overall feel, and there’s a really rewarding shoot ’em up experience to be had here, for sure.
I truly think that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 combines the best features of its predecessors and gives us something that goes beyond both of them, certainly as far as gameplay is concerned. As I mentioned earlier on in this piece, I am currently at chapter 6 and while I don’t want to jump the gun, it’s looking to be the best of the three numbered entries so far!
My one hesitation with MultiVersus right now is that there just aren’t any characters that I really care about. Wonder Woman is neat, yes, and I’ll always have a soft spot for Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry, but there just isn’t the same “magic” that Smash has in terms of the roster. I’m sure this will change over time — Warner Bros. has a vast catalogue of characters they could potentially draw from over the long term, after all — but right now Smash absolutely still has a significant lead in terms of making me excited to try different fighters.
It’s just a shame that the actual mechanical and structural aspects of the game make it so difficult to enjoy. There’s a great game in here really struggling to get out; perhaps a patch or two from the developer can allow this game to really shine, but for now I’m sad to say this is probably only one for the most hardcore masochists out there.