All 16-Bit

Review #12140 WWF - Rage in the Cage You can't cage Hulk Hogan, apparently Sega CD 1993 Arena Fighting Fighting › Wrestling F 56 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Plays like all the cartridge WWF games. Same controls, but with good hit detection and speed. The grappling meter is here, so I think this a suped-up version o fWWF Royal Rumble. Boring, repetitive gameplay, but at least it performs well. 2 / 5 Level Design Wait, this can't be WWF Royal Rumble because the Battle royale mode is missing. Lame. In any case, The modes are One Fall (exhibition), Brawl, Cage Match, and Tournament. One Fall and Brawl are the same except Brawl ends when one of you runs out of health, like a 1v1 fighting game. The...

Review #12138 Wonder Dog Bad dog. No biscuit. Sega CD 1992 JVC Action Action › Platform G 44 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Responsive controls are wasted by oneof the worst means of attack ever in a platformer. You're a dog. A Wonder Dog, but your only means of attack is throwing a star attack that bounces around so randomly that it's impossible to guarantee you'll hit the enemy right in front of you. You can't bop or punch/kick enemies and of course they swarm at you, so you're left mashing A and hoping for the best. I said the controls are responsive, but this is also nerfed by the "hold B to run" mechanic which turns you into a mix between Sonic and an ice skater. Frustrating 2 / 5 Level De...

Review #12137 Wolfchild The Genesis version. With cutscenes and load times. Sega CD 1993 JVC Action Action › Punch n Kick D 74 / 100 Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay You have two forms - a puny human and a werewolf. The human has only a weak punch but the wolf has a projectile attack. Gotta keep from getting hit so you can keep the wolf, ala Zelda or Altered Beast. Controls are very responsive although your jump is way too short. Movement feels good aside from the short jump. Lots of promise Would really benefit from a password system. Enemies have hit boxes but only hurt you when they attack. Love this. 3 / 5 Level Design Linear with some boring level design. Actually it's not terrible but there are a ton of cheap hits...

Review #12136 WireHead Inspector Gadget as a "dumb dad" 90s sitcom Sega CD 1995 MGM Interactive FMV FMV › N/a X 17 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 0 / 5 Gameplay The definition of an interactive movie. You watch a movie and every two or three seconds you're presented with the choice of three directions - up, left and right. Only one choice is correct and will advance the movie while the others result in a game over. So, memorize or use a guide to watch the full movie. There's not else here. Why would someone want to do this? 1 / 5 Level Design There's nothing resembling gameplay or level design. It's a straight up movie with a button press to continue watching it. Still, this is technicall...

Review #12139 World Cup USA '94 The worst one Sega CD 1994 U.S. Gold Sports Sports › Soccer X 10 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 0 / 5 Gameplay I thought Tony Meolo had cryptic menus. This game beats that one hands down. I spent 10 minutes menuing before I was able to play a game. During that time I somehow made the computer play itself offscreen three times before I was able to control my own squad. I still have no idea what combination of button and icon let me play an actual game. Opponents move about 50% faster than your team. Game moves so fast you basically have no control. Maybe I turned on permanent turbo mode in my menuing. Impossible to pass without an opponent stealing the ball. Couldn't get the ball to the opponents side of the ...

Review #12133 Who Shot Johnny Rock I guess Roger Rabbit wasn't available Sega CD 1994 American Laser Games Shooter Shooter › Gallery X 19 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Same awful FMV shooting gallery nonsense. On Wimp difficulty it at least give you a second to react, but these things are all the same. The best thing I can say about it is that you've got a lot of ammo. 1 / 5 Level Design There are a few times when it uses a coin flip to pick which video plays. I suppose 50/50 is the best that one of these titles can offer in terms of replayability. 0 / 5 Theme This is the worst film noir film I've ever seen. I can feel my brain cells melting away as I ...

Review #12131 Vay Working Design's other Sega CD RPG Sega CD 1994 Working Designs RPG RPG › Japanese D 78 / 100 Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Plays a lot like Working Design's other RPG series - Lunar. The battle view is different (from behind) but many of the same QoL mechanics are present, such as auto-battle. Load times are more noticeable that Lunar, but battle speeds are a little faster. Overall this is an unremarkable but fun little RPG. 4 / 5 Level Design Not much grinding necessary. Simple, linear progression and instant two or three person parties. 4 / 5 Theme Standard rescue the princess plotline, but wrapped around a sci-fi mech suit core theme. I'm intrigued and ea...

Review #12132 Wheel of Fortune FMV Hangman Sega CD 1994 Sony Imagesoft Puzzle Puzzle › Game Show F 54 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Sooooo slow. Spinning the wheel after each turn is painful. This is the slowest game of Hangman ever. The UI is improved over the SNES and Genesis version. Letters are on two rows, making them easier to find. It's a slow experience, but I actually enjoyed it more than other 16-bit game shows. 2 / 5 Level Design Yeah, you know what you're getting here. I couldn't figure out how to play against computers, so that was weird. But the puzzles all made sense which I appreciated. The words and phrases haven't aged as much as those in Jeopardy. 2...

Review #12135 Wing Commander Full voice acting, better artwork, but worse gameplay Sega CD 1994 Electronic Arts Simulation Simulation › Flight E 61 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Gameplay is significantly worse than the SNES version. How is that possible given the added power of the mighty Sega CD?! Whatever the alcuase, the choppy movement and slowdown is cranked up to 11 here. A terrible control scheme adds to the frustration. Instead of R and L for your throttle you have to hold B and press up or down to accelerate. This is not easy during a dogfight. Despite the improved.conematocs, this is the weaker 16-bit version. 4 / 5 Level Design I didn't see a lot of missions but each level receives a deta...

Review #12134 Wild Woody If THQ created Earthworm Jim Sega CD 1995 Sega Action Action › Platform X 22 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Plays like Earthworm Jim, if it was created by THQ. Truly awful, jerky controls. Terrible hot detection. Etc. etc. 2 / 5 Level Design Nothing terribly wrong with the level design, but far from good. Stages drag on far too long and have so many dead ends and useless branches that you'd think they were procedurally generated. 0 / 5 Theme Everything that's wrong with mid 90s sensibilities wrapped up in a neat little package. You are a pencil. Yes. A pencil. Once that has been animated by a mystic totem found by a modern Indiana Jo...

Review #12130 Ultraverse Prime Discount Superman Sega CD 1994 Sony Imagesoft Action Action › Beat Em Up F 53 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Punch, kick and jump. Fast movement but no run. You can grab and throw but it happens inconsistently. It's actually terrible when it does because throws don't hit other enemies so holding an enemy leaves you vulnerable to all others. Small sprites. Good hit detection. 20% draw distance Worthless jump kick. 2 / 5 Level Design Typical fare. Nothing worth mentioning. Almost no environmental elements and small waves of enemies over and over again. 3 / 5 Theme 90s comic book with steroid fueled heroes and enemies. ...

Review #12126 Third World War Saving the world one menu at a time Sega CD 1993 Extreme Strategy Strategy › 4x H 35 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Plays like the Koei titles. Lots of menus and resource allocations before ending a turn. When in battle the controls are painfully bad. You have to micromanage every unit/army which is only annoying if you've got more than a handful. It's not a good time though, and moves at a snail's pace. Ultimately it's perfectly playable but not much fun. Success or failure is mostly up to chance. 3 / 5 Level Design There's some intricacies and scenarios to play. But they're all about the same - eitehr go on a conquering spree or be the world's police ...

Review #12129 Trivial Pursuit A true digital bored game. I mean, board game. Sega CD 1994 Virgin Tabletop Tabletop › Board Game F 53 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Other than slow loading times, this is a great digital version of the board game. It shows a picture with each question and then reads the question to you. You don't have to type in an answer like on Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune. Instead, you just choose whether or not the player gave the right answer. Again, the slow load times are my only complaint. 2 / 5 Level Design There are no configuration options. No difficulties to choose, for example. Just choose the number of players and jump into a game. Actually, you can choose between ...

Review #12127 Time Gal Turtles in Time, if April was making the time jumps Sega CD 1993 Renovation FMV FMV › N/a G 44 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay The reaction time required is insane, even on Easy. This game is significantly more difficult than Road Avenger or Revenge of the Ninja. It plays just like those games, with all four directions or pressing any face button being the possible choices. I like that the timing isn't precise, so you can mash, just like in Road Avenger. Still, this is a step below the other Wolfteam titles. 2 / 5 Level Design The levels are incredibly short - often only required a handful of inputs. They'er far shorter than the other Wolfteam FMV titles. 4 / 5 T...

Review #12128 Tomcat Alley Bottom Gun Sega CD 1994 Sega Shooter Shooter › Gallery X 19 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay As is the case with all of these "Full-Screen Interactive Movies" thre's precious little you can do here, but it's more than most. You aim your familiar reticle (which bobs around like you're drunk) and either fire a missile at a target, or select waypoints which take you to the next target. You can also choose between a couple of different weapons and switch between Air or Ground mode. So there you go, that's the "extra" interactivity that this game offers versus all the other interactive movie gallery shooters. The main problem here is the imprecise aiming reticle. Locking on to y...

Review #12124 Surgical Strike I thought there'd be more doctors Sega CD 1995 Sega Shooter Shooter › Gallery X 5 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 0 / 5 Gameplay One of the last and somehow one of the worst of these interactive movies. A shoots a gun, B is rockets, and C allows you to steer at certain times, ala Sewer Shark. You never have enough time to get the reticle to the target and even if you do you rarely kill anything. Regardless, within 10 seconds you'll be dead as you seem to take damage constantly. This is well and truly unplayable. 0 / 5 Level Design The stage begins with a map showing a few key targets. Once in the game you can't see the map so you better have committed it to memory, I suppose...

Review #12123 Supreme Warrior Little Trouble in Big China Sega CD 1994 Digital Pictures FMV FMV › N/a X 13 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 0 / 5 Gameplay Theoretically this so a one-on-one fighting game, but it's simply an impossible button masher. Like Prize Fighter before it, there's no way to know what to press and how to defend. What a ridiculous waste of time. 0 / 5 Level Design No idea. I couldn't get past the first grunt enemy. 3 / 5 Theme The most generic Chinese fung fu setting ever. A Raiden cosplayer wants to acquire the other half of a powerful mask which will grant him limitless power. So yeah, it's the plot of Kung Fu Panda. 2 / 5 ...

Review #12125 Terminator Come with me if you want to ROCK! Sega CD 1993 Virgin Action Action › Gun C 83 / 100 Very Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay So much better than the SNES or Genesis versions! It's night and day. The controls are a little wonky since you can't stop to aim and shoot but this is easily worked around by carefully planning where to stand or crouch. Movement feels great and the rapid fire guns are fun to play with. Enemies lock onto you but have movement and attack patterns that give some variety to each encounter. And your grenades are fun to use, even though they require some forethought given how they travel. Tons of pickups through the stages. 4 / 5 Level Design Labyrinthine level maps but they...

Review #12122 Stellar-Fire Fast Battlezone Sega CD 1993 Dynamix Shooter Shooter › Corridor X 24 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Plays like Battlezone, that vector-based first-person tank shooter game. Only, in this game your enemies aren't slow-moving tanks. Instead, they're lightning fast birds and missles that you simply can't hit. You've got two weapons plus a screen clearing bomb with limited ammo. The gun and missile weapons have unlimited ammo and rapid fire. Hitting anything is only by chance due to how fast enemies are and the fact that they spend most of the time flying around being untouchable. They hit you far more often than you hit them. Health pickups are everywhere to the point where I never even though...

Review #12121 Starblade It's too big to be a spacestation Sega CD 1994 Namco Shooter Shooter › Gallery H 38 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Rail shooter with a fast cursor and more targets than you can possibly kill. The challenge is to hit those that will attack you and ignore the rest as much as possible. Holding down on any button gives you auto-fire but there's a pause between shots such that it's far better to mash. This gets old, of course. There are no other weapons or powerups, so just fire away for a few minutes. 2 / 5 Level Design You're flying toward the Death Star...*reads notes*...Red Eye to destroy its core before it can blow up Yavin IV...or whatever the planet is called. The stages a...