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Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

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Trisque

@Ralizah congratulations and huge thanks to completing the links! I have been catching up on reviews, and the links are such an enormous help.

Edit: I realize the original post was mainly me complaining about Death Stranding. If I ever write a review on the game (assuming I finish it) I may consider entering my complaints in that instead.

Edited on by Trisque

Trisque

Kidfried

@Ralizah Wow, the links index is brilliant. This is a great help for me too, as I don't always read the reviews in the moment, but often I browse through the forum pages later on. Congrats.

On the whole discussion of LN, I do want to say that you were wrong about The Godfather of course, it's one of the best films.

Kidfried

RogerRoger

RogerRoger's Random Sonic the Hedgehog Retrospectives
Part Two: SONIC 3D BLAST (a.k.a. Flickies' Island)
November 1996 / SEGA Genesis (a.k.a. MegaDrive) (version played) and SEGA Saturn

At the height of the 90s console wars, SEGA had a problem; a third dimension had come along and transformed the gaming landscape. Sony had released their PlayStation to rave reviews and strong sales, and Nintendo were working on a 64-bit machine. SEGA's own attempt to innovate, the ill-fated Saturn console, was struggling to gain a foothold. Most people were sticking with their trusty Genesis whilst they saved up for one of the newer, better bits of hardware, meaning that the big bucks were only being spent on things which could deliver that exciting third dimension.

Sonic Team had been trying to develop a killer app for the Saturn, entitled Sonic X-Treme, but it was slow-going and eventually, the project would be scrapped, dooming the Saturn to remain without a mascot game in an age where mascots defined gaming. Conscious of the gap in the market and keen to cover their losses, SEGA commissioned British developer Traveller's Tales (they of later LEGO fame) to create something that those wait-and-see Genesis owners could buy.

Something that people would want. Which meant it had to be something in 3D.

Untitled

Let's be frank here: Sonic 3D Blast (subtitled as Flickies' Island in Europe, because everything had region-specific names back then) is not a 3D game, at all. As an isometric platformer, it's about as 3D as Toejam & Earl, with a perspective that cheats you into thinking that there's depth where none really exists. Sonic can move in eight directions, but all this really means is that his sprite changes as the flat, M.C. Escher level artwork moves around him. This fudge is betrayed whenever you try to accomplish anything accurate; jumping on a badnik's head is always a gamble, and moments of platforming precision are easier to bypass with a quick spindash-and-leap combo which feels like cheating. Crash Bandicoot this ain't.

Nevertheless, the sense of 3D it gave Genesis owners must've been pretty remarkable, regardless of whether they knew better or not. Perhaps the problematic platforming helped sell the idea that this game was "too advanced" for the ageing console? I wouldn't know, as I never played it back in the day. I was deeply envious of anybody who did, though, and spent hours gawping at its gorgeous screenshots in gaming magazines and Sonic the Comic. One laughable attempt at presenting a brief, pre-rendered CGI movie aside, 3D Blast looks consistently good throughout. Its bright and colourful graphics boast a level of detail hitherto unseen in Sonic's previous adventures, and it finally revealed what some characters and objects look like when viewed from an angle. My favourite detail, which blew my nine-year-old brain? During boss fights, Robotnik takes battle damage!

Untitled
It was only a matter of time before this egg was cracked.

And yes, I do mean Robotnik. At this stage in the franchise, the lore had yet to be unified, and so Traveller's Tales went ahead and wrote "Robotnik" (not Eggman) into the subtitles of an opening cutscene. Not that it matters much, as there's zero character development and nearly as much story context to the proceedings here. 3D Blast sees our multi-named moustachioed villain capturing magical little birds called Flickies and turning them into robots, and it's up to Sonic to dismantle his plans, rescue the Flickies and blah blah, etcetera etcetera. You know the drill.

The rescuing of the Flickies is incorporated into the gameplay in a much more meaningful way. As I noted previously, Sonic Lost World would block off the next area of its Lost Hex behind a tally of animals rescued but here, 3D Blast won't even let Sonic complete a single level without all of its Flickies in tow. Bop a badnik on its head, and its living battery will become a roaming collectible; find all five, and they'll chain themselves together, following the Blue Blur until he deposits them in the goal ring.

This core mechanic essentially results in you playing Fetch Quest: The Game and if that sounds like a tedious frustration to you, then look away now. It isn't helped by the fact that the Flickies themselves come in various flavours; some will seek Sonic out when rescued, gravitating towards him, but others will actively try to resist his animal magnetism and fly straight into lava, or an electrified floor, or some other Game Over guarantee. If you consider that, whenever he takes a hit, Sonic's collected Flickies scatter along with his rings, then even this game's most ardent of defenders can't deny swearing at more than a few of the bloody-minded birds (and if they do, they're lying).

Untitled
"Yeah," sneered Sonic, "and good riddance to the lot of you!"

This shift in gameplay, coupled with the realities of isometric platforming, serves to slow Sonic right down. As I mentioned earlier, you can still spindash, but it's a near-suicidal move considering the hazards which it no longer protects against; instead, it's more of a tool, used for breaking open secret passages in rough bits of wall and triggering loop-de-loop level transitions. Even when running, Sonic doesn't handle well at speed, skidding about haphazardly as though the floors were all made of ice (which makes the game's obligatory ice level an ironic laugh). This is where 3D Blast loses a lot of support amongst fans, because Sonic built his reputation on going fast, not on exploration.

But it's also where it gains my respect. Whenever the 2D classics forced exploration, either for hidden objectives or essential ones, they ruined the momentum and therefore the experience (cough cough, Sonic CD, cough) because you're not meant to stand still in their levels; you time out and die after ten minutes. 3D Blast breaks this mould, but it was supposed to. It was designed from scratch with exploration in mind, adding a few scripted nods to Sonic's speedy legacy every now and again. I always used to barrel past my chances to grab Chaos Emeralds in previous adventures because "that's how you play Sonic games" but here, I appreciate that my usual check-every-corner compulsion is being rewarded. There's no timer on the HUD, and Sonic won't die if you hang around.

As a result, I end up finding Tails and Knuckles more often than not (they're the gatekeepers to the Special Stages on the island, because cameos). Gathering up all seven Chaos Emeralds doesn't unlock Super Sonic, thank goodness; he'd be an uncontrollable nightmare here. What they do do (snigger) is grant access to a final throwdown with Eggm... sorry, Robotnik, and beating him there unlocks the true ending. It's almost not worth mentioning this as an unlockable, because the Special Stages themselves are insultingly easy (this coming from me, of all people). As your standard collect-a-certain-amount-of-rings-before-the-next-checkpoint kinda deals, it's not uncommon to be asked to grab less than you've already got. As long as you don't go and make a cup of tea whilst Sonic runs them, you can't lose, and therefore it'd be a challenge to see anything other than the full defeat of Eggnik Robotman.

Untitled
I mean, can't I just leave? Take the extra three, I don't mind!

There are also the early DNA strands of the moment-to-moment variety I loved about Sonic Lost World, albeit featured far more sparingly. My favourite of these can be found in the Rusty Ruin Zone, whereby Sonic needs to smash large stone pillars to proceed. He can only do so by walking over special fans in the floor, which cause him to pirouette until he jumps or takes damage. It's a very light-touch puzzle element, but it's a puzzle element all the same, and I really enjoyed its inclusion.

What I didn't enjoy was the game's shoddy emulation. For the purposes of this review, I replayed 3D Blast via the SEGA Genesis Classics portal on Steam. Avoid it like anthrax. It features a game-breaking bug which fails to register simultaneous keyboard commands. Usually in classic Sonic games, this isn't a problem because you're playing in two dimensions, but the 3D halfway house of an isometric perspective occasionally requires you to make diagonal jumps. The game watches you press up, right and jump together and will merely pick any two it chooses, at random; death invariably awaits. I bludgeoned my way through because I'm a stubborn super-fan who likes taking screencaps, but there's a far superior version of 3D Blast available in Sonic Mega Collection Plus (GameCube, PC, PS2 and Xbox).

At least my bludgeoning was short-lived, as 3D Blast is not a long game. It also has a soundtrack which squeezed the last few drops of upbeat life from the Genesis sound chip, with a couple of tunes that would make a comeback to accompany Sonic's triumphant Dreamcast debut. I'm a sucker for the snow levels, so my choice to champion would be Diamond Dust Zone, Act 2 but there are other highlights, including the aforementioned Rusty Ruin Zone and, as always, some of the boss music.

3D Blast has an odd legacy. When it became clear that Sonic X-Treme wasn't working, SEGA got Traveller's Tales to port it to the Saturn. It got better textures, some neat weather effects, actual 3D halfpipe Special Stages and its own separate, CD-quality soundtrack. Despite this, the "last hurrah" of the Genesis would never become the next generation's flagship system-seller. It was one of the Saturn's most successful games, but take that in context of the Saturn in general and it's pretty meaningless. Contemporary fans swing back and forth; one year, people will be kind to 3D Blast and praise its plus points, and then the next, it'll be the spat-upon nadir of the franchise.

And, if I'm honest, I do the same (minus the spitting, of course). I like it because it's a self-contained, good-looking little blast which prevents all of Sonic's other classics from blending together in my brain but boy, does it take practice and patience. You can't just pick it up and play it, you have to learn its unique approach to controlling Sonic and develop an eye for its faux-3D trickery. I respect it for trying to innovate, and would never criticise such noble intent, but the finished product isn't problem-free.

Whether that's the fault of Traveller's Tales, or simply the foregone conclusion of entering the Genesis into a race with the PlayStation and Nintendo64, I'm not really qualified to say.

Untitled
Sonic 3D Blast (a.k.a. Flickies' Island) = 6/10

All this reminds me of another time Sonic went isometric. It wasn't for a platformer, though, but rather a type of game nobody ever expected him to star in... and if you're gonna do an RPG, you should really get BioWare to develop it, right?

Sonic the Hedgehog will return.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Thrillho

@RogerRoger I have a very vague memory of having played this as a nipper (probably rented from Blockbuster) but not getting very far.

Is that the first time the “flickies” name is mentioned as I’d never heard that term until very recently... but then again I’m sure I’d never heard the term “badnik” until recently either.

The game is certainly no Sonic Spinball..

Thrillho

RR529

@RogerRoger, great write up! I had a PS2 Sonic collection back in the day, and this (along with Sonic 2) were the only titles I actually managed to complete on it.

Though I honestly can't say I remember much about the experience now.

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

RogerRoger

@Thrillho Oh God, please no... anything but Sonic Spinball...

There was actually a 1984 arcade game called Flicky, about a little blue bird which was later, as an in-joke, added as one of the animal sprites Sonic can rescue in his 1991 debut. Things snowballed from there, and there's pages of weird SEGA lore you can Google. I think Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island was the first time the animals were given prominence, and so the name stuck with my nine-year-old self. It might be specific to birds, or even an individual type of bird, but that's a layer of detail beyond even my fanboyism!

@RR529 Thank you, and congratulations on clearing it, especially considering those controls (although it's much more accessible with the DualShock2's analogue stick)!

For my money, that PS2 collection is still the best way to experience the classics.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Ralizah

@Trisque I think pieces filled with complaining are fine. I actually reviewed Gurumin 3D when I was halfway through. It was unusual for me, as I beat almost everything these days, and sometimes even 100% games, but I really wasn't having a good time with it and felt like I'd played enough of it to be able to intelligently discuss it.

@Kidfried Thanks! I appreciate the feedback. I'm glad people are actually finding it useful.

RE: The Godfather... with pretty much any popular thing, you'll have a small crowd of weirdos who look at it and say: "I don't get it." That's me half of the time.

@RogerRoger Another great Sonic piece! It might not be a true 3D title, but combining the isometric perspective (which has long been used to flesh out otherwise shallow 2D worlds) with what I assume are digitized sprites like those found in Donkey Kong Country is certainly an effective way of creating an illusion of 3D. And, looking at some of the earliest full 3D games, maybe that wasn't a bad approach. I know most of the games that have held up best on PS1 were either side-scrollers or 2.5D games like Klonoa. The Saturn might not have been a success, but I do think there is something to be said for it having a library of gorgeous 2D games.

The description of the gameplay, and how easy it is to lose those birds, does sound quite frustrating, though.

And yeah, I actually don't mind the idea of a Sonic game dedicated to exploration, considering the uneasy balance between speed and platforming that exists in a number of his other games.

Out of interest, have you tried playing games you've struggled playing on a keyboard with a controller instead? The DS4 is actually natively supported on Steam.

Oh, and I remember reading that Sega eventually made Robotnik the canon name for the villain, with "Eggman" being a sort of nickname or insult. It may have been the result of intrusive localization, but, to be honest, I think it probably worked out for the best.

PS: I actually really like Sonic Spinball. The two areas I've managed to actually see of it, anyway. 😂

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Yakuza Kiwami 2 (SD)

PSN: Ralizah

ralphdibny

@RogerRoger excellent write up on sonic 3d. I largely agree with your thoughts. It's actually an awesome game when you get over the fact that it's nothing like any other sonic game. I'd probably bump the score to an 7.5/8 but that's without adding anything to or changing anything about your review. It was pretty spot on! I had it on mega drive but played through it properly on the GameCube mega collection. That might seem like a high score I guess but I'd say sonic 3+Knuckles is a 10 and sonic 1+2 are around the 8.5/9 mark.

I used to love sonic the comic too! I have a lot of issues in the loft (including one I made a terribly drawn cover for because the original one went missing somewhere!). Either I'd get it or I'd just read it in the magazine aisle of co op while mum did the shopping. It was an innocent time, before the word boomer was used as an insult haha. I actually didn't get why the mag called readers boomers until recentishly when I realised it was a pun on sonic boom. 🤦🏻‍♂️

@Thrillho I think I always called them flickies, probably because of sonic 3d though. Also I called the robots badniks, maybe it was something that was drilled home by the comic but I'm sure it was in the game manuals too. I kind of thought the animals from the first 3 games were flickies too until I realised/re-remembered that different animals jump out of the badniks/prison pump thing. Including rabbits, which I always liked to think one of them was Johnny Lightfoot which is a name I'm sure @RogerRoger will remember! I believe Flicky (the game) was included on sonic mega collection too.

Anyway, not to be controversial but I actually quite like sonic spinball...😅

See ya!

RogerRoger

Oh no, the Spinball fans are massing! What has @Thrillho done?!

In my defence, the reason I dislike it is something Ral alluded to, namely that I suck at pinball and have therefore always had to "grin and bear" some of the brief instances of it during casino-themed stages, which I otherwise love. Give me a whole game based around it, no matter how good said game may be, or how funky its soundtrack is (because it really is), and I'm out!

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@Ralizah Thanks! I did feel bad, posting it the day after you'd finally got the directory sorted. "I'm finally done!" "Um, no you're not." I'm also trying not to spam the topic with these Sonic pieces; even if I space them out, you might be sick of them before I'm done, so apologies in advance.

I think you're right, y'know. Considering a lot of those early PSone 3D platformers have been getting remakes of late, rather than remasters or simple re-releases, I reckon that says something about the originals' continued playability. I must confess, my blinkered adoration of Sonic means that I'm not particularly familiar with the Saturn's back-catalogue beyond Sonic Jam, Sonic R and this game's port. Does it have many other 2D games to write home about?

I have 3D Blast on PS2, so that'd be my place of choice to play it; I literally got the Steam version because I was just passing through, it was cheap, and I realised I could take screencaps of it. I have weird reasons for not wanting to plug a controller into my PC (which I won't bore you with) but thankfully, most modern games have great KB&M support, and the classic Sonic games are usually fine because of their simplicity (have also been playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles lately, and it controls great, despite suffering the same refusal to compute more than two inputs). It was just the isometric gameplay which caused the glitch to be progress-halting in places. Thank you, though. If there's ever anything I'm desperate to play via PC but that simply won't work with my KB&M, I'll keep that Steam tip in mind.

And yes, that's right. Eggman has always been called Eggman in the Japanese manuals, but SEGA's localisation team thought that sounded silly, so they called him Robotnik. They started to blend both names in Sonic Adventure, and his full name has subsequently become Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik (a nickname Sonic gave him, but one he wholeheartedly embraces).

***

@ralphdibny Thank you! Truth be told, I'd love to score it higher, and probably would if this was a dedicated Sonic forum (which it should never be, despite my best efforts). With these Sonic retrospectives, and with my recent review of the Keeley Hawes Tomb Raider games, I'm constantly fighting against my inner fanboy, who just wants to give everything a ten. I never usually do scores anyway (for that very reason; they're incredibly subjective) but I'm trying to force myself to remain objective and analytical. If I don't, the reviews become worthless to anybody who might be genuinely curious.

I foolishly gave away my entire Sonic the Comic collection to a friend I fancied. Should've kept them, but then hindsight is always twenty-twenty! Some of the strips have apparently found their way online over the years, but it's not the same. Ah well, live and learn!

But I do remember Johnny Lightfoot, yeah! Wasn't there a character based on the pig, too? My favourite was unquestionably Shortfuse the Cybernik. He was awesome.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

nessisonett

...I like Sonic Spinball too 😅

Plumbing’s just Lego innit. Water Lego.

Trans rights are human rights.

RogerRoger

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

HallowMoonshadow

For 2005 or whenever Shadow The Hedgehog released that CGI still looks rather good to me. Even in GIF form!

Nice write up @RogerRoger on Sonic 3D. I know absolutely nothing regarding SEGA and it's consoles due to me not being interested in gaming at that point in time. Sounds pretty interesting though Sonic looks a little off to me in those screenshots!

It's cool to hear about this faux 3D sonic game that I'd otherwise never know about.

I also have no opinion on Sonic Spinball luckily (Or unluckily?)

Was surprised to hear it was made by Traveller's Tales too of all people (I've actually tried playing the Lego Ninjago game they gave away for free a few months back a couple of times this week but couldn't get into at all!)

Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
.
.
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"

ralphdibny

@RogerRoger haha you don't have to defend your dislike for sonic spinball, I don't think your in the minority 😂

Yeah the numbers are kind of arbitrary but I always read reviews as somebodys opinion never as gospel, helps to know a reviewers background with games of the same ilk too. I'd never poopoo somebodies opinion on something, just seems like a lame thing to do. As I was saying earlier in the thread, there's loads of popular stuff I don't get along with and loads of absolute trash that I just adore! I might disagree though for the sake of discussion but I'd never poopoo!

I think that fella was called Porker Lewis if I remember correctly and do you remember there was a green bird (actual bird, not slang, though I think she was female) who I think was called Tekno, maybe she was a canary or something!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy travellers tales used to be all over games in the old days and actually made good games. Not to say Lego: Insert Licensed Property games aren't good, they're just kind of like, play one and you've played them all (in my opinion, I know lots of people like them and I still attempt a few if it's a license I'm already into).

They made toy story for mega drive, toy story 2 on PlayStation (which is actually one of my favourite games!) and A bug's life amongst other bits and bobs

Edited on by ralphdibny

See ya!

Ralizah

@RogerRoger If I'm ever done with the directory, it means the thread is dead, and...

It's super easy to update. No worries.

RE: Sega Saturn, it had a number of niche/obscure releases that still managed to look quite good:

Astal:

Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams:

Keio Flying Squadron 2:

Magic Knight Rayearth:

Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari:

Princess Crown:

Also, a bunch of games that were on Playstation as well.

Yeah, playing on older consoles is troublesome due to the lack of screenshotting. My supplemental materials in the DDS2 review will just have to not include my own screenshots.

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Yakuza Kiwami 2 (SD)

PSN: Ralizah

mookysam

Been catching up with the past month's worth of reviews and have really enjoyed reading them all. Great work everyone and apologies if I've missed anyone out below. Also big cheers to @Ralizah for indexing and adding links to reviews on the first page.

@Ralizah @RR529 Cheers for the Origami King reviews. I felt a little deflated when it transpired this wouldn't be another Thousand Year Door-esque entry, but I actually think I'll really enjoy it. I initially thought that the combat would be a particular sticking point for me. The puzzle aspect sounds rather interesting. The music tracks you posted are great @Ralizah. It's a shame the same can't be said for Gurumin. Eesh. I can't believe they came Falcom Sound Team. I've recently completed Ys I & II Chronicles and the music is phenomenal! :-/

@RogerRoger Trunderworld is my favourite in the Keeley Hawes trilogy. I love the large, open levels and tight focus on platforming. The early Thailand level is particularly impressive. The combat is still terrible, of course, and I feel the whole thing loses its way a little in the final level with the weird zombie things.
Ace pair of Sonic reviews too. I love the music in The Lost World!
It's fair to say that Sonic 3D isn't my favourite game in the series. I remember seeing it on the shelf every time I went in Woolworths and desperately wanting it. I eventually played it on the GameCube's Mega Collection and viewed it as little more than a curio, so was actually glad I didn't pay full price for the Mega Drive original! At the time, stacked up against Mario 64 and Crash, it must have seemed a little twee and old-fashioned, but also a reminder of just how long the Mega Drive was successful for. In a vacuum it is reasonably impressive for the Mega Drive and looks and sounds nice (though not as nice as the similar looking Mario RPG) but the controls are extremely slippery, which makes it quite frustrating to play.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I'm really pleased you enjoyed Danganronpa. The second game is even better and V3 is phenomenal! Although the characters are a little tropey, I liked most of them, especially Sakura and Byakuya.

@Rudy_Manchego Ooh Carrion sounds interesting. I like the thought of playing as the monster! 😂 The lack of a map would irritate me. I'm currently playing Hollow Knight, and until I unlock the map in each area don't like the feeling of not knowing where I am.

@RR529 Haha, it's fair to say Waifu Uncovered probably isn't my cup of tea. 😂 I like the look of A Short Hike and Gato Roboto - specially considering in the latter you play as a cat! I'll keep an eye out for sales. Short experiences like that are nice to break things up a bit. Cheers for highlighting some lesser known games.

Black Lives Matter
Trans rights are human rights

Rudy_Manchego

@mookysam Thanks. I would say the lack of map is less of a problem than it would be in Hollow Knight given that games size but enough to make you go grrr a fair few times.

Now I may be an idiot, but there's one thing I am not sir, and that sir, is an idiot

PSN: Rudy_Manchego | Twitter:

RogerRoger

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Sonic went through a period of having the most beautiful CGI openings around, starting with Shadow the Hedgehog. My favourite will forever be Sonic Unleashed.

Best. Opening. Ever.

Glad you enjoyed my ramble! You're not alone in thinking Sonic looks a little weird in 3D Blast. It's a very unique game, let's put it that way. Also glad to see you're not another convert to the Cult of Spinball; take my advice and run, run whilst you still can!

And yeah, Ralph is right to say that LEGO games aren't for everyone. It helps if you like the licence being adapted, but they're incredibly samey. It's a shame Traveller's Tales are stuck making so many of them, as they used to be quite innovative back in the day (again with mostly licenced games, but at least they were different every time, and not just stuck over a pre-existing template).

***

@ralphdibny That's cool, glad you see reviews that way. I think if everybody did, regardless of the review's subject or its author, there'd be far less drama surrounding the scoring system. I'm currently debating with myself whether to include Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) in these retrospectives I'm writing. My problem is, despite its many faults, I really like it, and would therefore want to defend it... even if it is undeniably a broken scrap-heap of unfinished code. I think it'd be safer (for my credibility, if nothing else) to just skip it, and stick to some of the games that are easier to discuss.

Tekno had the red-and-black striped jumper on, didn't she? And it was basically her, Johnny and Porker as the comic's version of the Scooby Gang. Johnny wielded one of the giant cotton buds from Gladiators, only his was made of metal and therefore badass!

***

@Ralizah Aww, you're speaking to me with Sonic videos! My language!

Those games you've embedded do look real sweet, even if some of their basic components are only minor upgrades from the Genesis era. It's about presentation and execution, I suppose; all of the simultaneous bullet-hell elements in that sequence from Cotton 2 would've tanked the framerate of a 16-bit cartridge, and the speed at which they're moving is impressive. No chance of the full voice clips from Keio Flying Squadron 2 either. Personally speaking, I'd say Princess Crown is the prettiest of the bunch there, but they're all doing some pretty cool things in places.

It'll be no surprise that I haven't ever heard of those games before. I hope you don't mind the assumption, but they look very much like your kinda thing! Did you have (or do you still have) a Saturn?

Kicked myself a couple days ago, when I went to play a PSP game I'd downloaded onto PS Vita thinking that I could screencap it. Should've done my homework; the PS Vita cannot (or will not) screencap PSP games, nor PSone Classics. Ah well, lesson learned. There's always Google Image Search!

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@mookysam Cheers, buddy! Sorry to have given your favourite of the Keeley Hawes games the lowest score, but the issues you mention are what dragged it down for me, alas. If the entire game was the quality and consistency of Coastal Thailand, it would've been the clear winner!

I think I have the exact same memory about 3D Blast, with the Woolworths and everything. It had that head-on CGI render of Sonic on the cover, didn't it? He looked so badass; very effective marketing! And I agree with everything you say about (finally) getting to play it. As a kid... heck, arguably even today, given how little I've broadened my gaming palate over the years, the whole "not knowing any better" thing would've helped, but only for a while. You're right, credit to the MegaDrive for surviving as long as it did, but just because it was the only console in our house didn't mean it was the only console in the world.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

nessisonett

@RogerRoger I will defend the Sonic Unleashed day levels but those night levels are utter garbage. I bloody hated Chip too, he sounded like a choirboy being burned at the stake. One of the most flawed but not completely unplayable games I’ve played and I’d honestly rather play Shadow the Hedgehog again.

Being able to screencap PSP and PS1 games on Vita is part of why I downloaded custom firmware! Very useful along with overclocking.

Plumbing’s just Lego innit. Water Lego.

Trans rights are human rights.

RogerRoger

@nessisonett Right, won't be reviewing that one, then!

Sometimes I wish I were brave and / or smart enough to tinker with my tech, but I'm too scared of irreparably breaking things. I also have to remind myself that I took some screencaps of PS Vita games and they came out looking awful when I transferred them to my PC. Nothing quite beats that OLED screen.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

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