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Even with the jank and frustration in parts, you’ll be rewarded with one memorable adventure and some awesome tunes, and I still can’t help but recommend it nevertheless. It may have a lot of rough edges, but Shockman 2 is a fun gem that I’m super excited to see get the treatment it deserved.
The true shining gems from Making of Karateka however, are the remastered titles. Karateka getting a definitive remastered edition is awesome enough, but a super addicting, finalized version of Jordan Mechner’s Deathbounce? Hell yes, and the latter is definitely the game that’ll keep me coming back to this set again and again for a casual scorechase, while the Karateka titles are presented in the best sort of way that they can.
Really outside of the manual coin option being borked, I do feel that as a means to introduce yourself to this game and see what Toaplan’s other horizontal shooter was all about, Bitwave did a damn fine job at bringing over Hellfire with all sorts of goodies, and considering this comes right off the heels of M2’s impressive port, Hellfire is just a glimmer of what I feel this team is capable of providing once they manage to smooth out the annoyances and bugs in the other ports.
Still, I found that New Zealand Story, Liquid Kids, Darius II and Legend of Kage are easily the best of this batch, and Taito Milestones 2 is well worth picking up for newcomer scorechasers and veterans alike.
Still, of the four ports in Volume 2, I feel this one is neck and neck with Hellfire for being the least bugged of the bunch, and the sound effects are actually pretty darn close to perfect now, so with the high response time, great practice options, and online leaderboards to tackle, this is still an excellent shmup to check out if you like retro shooters, and even the brutal Same Same Same is worth taking on. You might be surprised by how better you’ll get at it over time!
Alas, while this controls smooth as butter and I cannot recommend the game enough, maybe hold off on this port until the sound effects won’t drill a hole into your brain.
If this ends up getting smoothed out and polished, you’ll have one of Toaplan’s best scorechasers available for easy online leaderboard fun at a steal of a price, and as a very easy recommend for newcomers to their shooters. Still, that dreadful explosion stutter is just so painful to witness and see still make it out into the launch build, so if you do nab it now, maybe play this game at a lower volume than you normally would…
Despite being simplistic in concept with just movement and a dash to play with, Quantum Recharged’s scoring loop is just so addicting that you’ll gladly whip it out for a few quick play sessions.
Honestly, the only big gripe here is the pricepoint being double of what Xtreme Sports was on 3DS, and while the game is still great fun, it definitely may come off as a bit steep in the age of Switch Online drops and retro compilations.
I definitely recommend this to fans of old-style SRPGS, but with the high MSRP and some minor freezes here and there, I do feel it may be best to get it on sale or wait for a bit more patching before giving it a spin.
Seeing other aspects fall short of even the versions available via Sega Ages just really disappoint me, and while I don’t think a kid jumping into the Sonic series for the first time via this set will come away disliking any of the games, I do feel that compared to the Mega Collection I grew up with, the spit and polish to make this feel like the ultimate museum for a celebrated franchise is just not here.
Still, outside of that infuriating input bug, this is still a really good port of the Japanese Gimmick; the godly OST is perfectly intact, the input lag is very minimal, and the QOL with rewind and save states make this a great version for newcomers like myself to experience this outstanding Sunsoft gem, and I am so happy to have played it and have had as much fun as I did. I just wish this release had a bit more extras and the PAL version of the game was included.
Still, the stuff you get here is top notch, and M2 nailed everything they could; from play control, emulation, DIP Switch settings, and the quality of the HD remasters, Ray’z Arcade Chronology may be a pricey package, but one that’s well worth the cost at the end of the day, especially if you’re a fan of scorechasing shooters.
Eagle Island Twist is two experiences in one, and both are rather enjoyable, but the Twist levels were the huge highlight for me, being perfect for pick up and play experiences and just pure fun to go through. The main game on the other hand, while fun and sporting a satisfying progression loop with new unlockable abilities, feathers, and stages to traverse, definitely can feel a little repetitive and drawn out at times, and even the randomization elements aren’t enough to keep me too interested in it for long, making it one I just couldn’t click with after a while, especially near the endgame of it.
Honestly, after how brilliant the Breakers Collection turned out, and with how long the gap has been since the last Qubyte Classics drop, I was a little hopeful that some sort of refinement to this wrapper would have taken place: faster menus, some bonuses, or at the very least the removal of that godawful input lag. But no, unfortunately it all returns in stride here, and some cool key art on the store page isn’t enough to really save this package.
Dawn of the Monsters is a really fun time, both in solo and especially in co-op, being a pretty good brawler that’s both a serviceable tribute to the Toku days and one with a decent amount of depth, with lots of great combos and augments to mess around with, and a fun combat system to keep stages interesting as you work towards those S+ Ranks.
Here though in Boosted? I say Batsugun is definitely the best Saturn Tribute title by far in terms of featureset, though it doesn’t hold a candle to either M2’s careful curation or Bitwave’s near instantaneous input times, it still manages to be a ton of fun, with the soundtrack customization alone getting many, many kudos from me, and makes this a must-own for any fans of the game’s score.
I cannot say the same about this port, since it is plagued with a lot of annoyances and problems that make this one of the last places I’d advise you play the game. From audio pitch glitches, barebones options, the lack of save states or an autofill password feature, and a tiny smidge of input lag, this is an incredibly barren port, and for the $10 price, double that of an old NES VC title from back in the day, it is honestly pretty upsetting to see such a fantastic game presented in such a barebones fashion.
I am pleased to say that this still is an outstanding puzzler, from the best, most engaging puzzle mode in the franchise, a fantastic scorechaser world, and decent online multiplayer, Puzzle Bobble Everybubble still shows that Taito can nail a lot of aspects that make the franchise fun to play.
Bugged credits aside, I am pretty impressed with how this game was brought over after all this time, and the treatment here really does give me hope that the other 3 games will follow suit. The original Shockman is rather janky, but it still has a lot of charm to it and is pretty decent fun in co-op, and for the price point + extras, this is definitely a PCE classic worth playing through at least once, especially if you are fond of the sequel that did make it over back in the day.