Popful Mail for PCE CD
Review #11081
Popful Mail
The worst version of Chibi Red Sonya
Gameplay
The worst version of this game, and it isn't close. Whereas the draw distance was the worst aspect of the SFC and Sega CD versions, in this one it's the intolerable combat mechanics. Falcom tooke the stupid buttonless combat from their Ys series and incorporated it into a hack n slash platformer, to predictable effect. In Ys it kind of worked because enemies would be pushed back as you walked into them but here they stay put, causing you to walk into their hitbox. To avoid this you either need to tap on the d-pad to initiate an attack or else jump on them from above and allow gravity to perform a diving attack. This results in you standing on their head as if it's a platform. The whole thing is completely unituitive and annoying. I hated every second of it which again is a shame because the movement tech isn't half bad.
Level Design
Has the same layout as the Sega CD game, but with everything scaled down by 50-75%.
Theme
There's a lot of Japanese text and simpler cutscenes. I'd say this is a game that's mostly playable without knowing Japanese but a lot is lost in translation.
Major step down from the Sega CD version.
The setting is a mix of fantasy and steampunk with some enemies being robotic. You play as a red-haired sword lady. I assume it's a chibi Red Sonya to be honest.
Art Style
Laughably bad compared to the excellent Sega CD version and the passable SFC port. This only looks like a Pico-8 title. No disrespect to that little platform, but I expect more from the PCE CD.
Audio
The same soundtrack as the Sega CD version, albeit with slightly worse sound quality. Sega wins this matchup.
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