All 16-Bit

Review #12509 Ninja Warriors Robot Rush'n Attack MD CD 1993 Taito Action Action › Hack n Slash G 47 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Responsive controls. The gameplay amounts to walking right and mashing the attack button. Enemies come from both sides so you have to turn around now and then but you rarely leave the ground. You can jump but there's really no point because you can't attack while jumping. So in doing so pretty much guarantees. You'll take damage on your way back down. You can throw shurikens or attack with a sword, but you have limited ammo so attacks are generally the best. You can also duck and attack while crouched which is usually the safest bet because some enemies fire projectiles although some of those can also duck. Bu...

Review #12504 Earnest Evans Totally not Indiana Jones MD CD 1991 Wolf Team Action Action › Hack n Slash H 31 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Plays just like the Genesis version - horribly. The ragdoll physics and weird movement tech makes gameplay feel like Getting Over it With Bennett Foddy or Surgery Simulator. Your main form of attack is to wave your bullwhip around like it's on fire. It works alright but looks as dumb as it sounds. Enemies have no hitbox and you get no knockback or i-frames so if you get inside them they tank you in a matter of seconds. Pervasive slowdown, just lke the Genesis version. 2 / 5 Level Design The levels aren't terrible. Typical platform stuff but enemies are the key thing t...

Review #12107 Shadow of the Beast II Caveman Rygar Sega CD 1992 Psygnosis Action Action › Hack n Slash X 24 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Significantly better than the first game, but still not even close to good. You've got way more hit points but you're still a damaged sponge with enemies pouring out constantly. They move so fast and your attack is so slow that they're unavoidable. Actually your attack is much better. It's basically the weapon from Rygar. You can pick up a couple other weapons but they're single use so they're useless. I finally gave up and use the game genie to gain invincibility so I could see more than a couple screens. The jump and turn animations are still way too long and your jumps ...

Review #12051 Hook The SNES version is still the best. Sega CD 1993 Sony Imagesoft Action Action › Hack n Slash D 73 / 100 Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Slow movement and animations but good sweeping attack radius Predictable enemy movement Overworld is nice to see how you've progressed 5 / 5 Level Design Well thought out levels make use of the flying mechanic and the limitations of your movement 4 / 5 Theme 4 / 5 Art Style Wonderful graphics but with muted colors. Thye took the SNES version and lowered the saturation until everything was colored orange. I was tempted to drop this all the way down to a 3 because it looks that badly compared to the S...

Review #12000 3 Ninjas Kick Back Sega CD 1994 Sony Imagesoft Action Action › Hack n Slash E 60 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Another one of these lazy Genesis-to-Sega CD ports. This one plays the same, but with long load times added. 3 / 5 Level Design Collect X widgets to unlock the exit. Platforms are hard to spot and harder to start on with the slippery controls. Plenty of variety. This is the saving grace. Climbing, platforming, some combat, etc 1 / 5 Theme This wasn't cool when it was brand new. 3 / 5 Art Style Graphics are comparably to the Genesis version, but with even less vibrant colors. The SNES version is the best looking...

Review #11121 Valis Better than the Genesis version PCE CD 1992 Telenet Japan Action Action › Hack n Slash E 61 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Significantly better than the Genesis version. The draw distance is increased to about 50% and the movement is slightly faster. Hit detection is s much better! This is the most substantial gameplay improvement. There's also a new movement mechanic where you can crouch and slide, but this is only useful during some boss fights. It's not a super compelling experience, but I enjoyed my time with it more than the other version. 3 / 5 Level Design Minimal platforming. Just go to the right and kill enemies as they appear on screen. There's a little more t...

Review #11122 Valis IV Plays more like Regular Valis IV PCE CD 1991 Telenet Japan Action Action › Hack n Slash F 58 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Slow movement Responsive movement Nice sword and projectile powerups but wish they had a committed button rather than up+Y. Feels like this was made for a two button controller like TG-16 or NES 2 / 5 Level Design Pretty boring levels Mostly empty space 3 / 5 Theme Typical anime stuff with spindly 80s characters 3 / 5 Art Style Early SNES games but attractive, colorful graphics 3 / 5 Audio Unimpressive stuff but not offensive either Mor...

Review #11111 Strider Hiryuu I hiryuu, Strider PCE CD 1994 NEC Action Action › Hack n Slash E 67 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Slow movement. Maybe even a touch slower than the Genesis version. I think this is how all arcade action games from the late 80s operate. Stiff movement, esepcially on jumps where you can't correct midair. Best to stay grounded as much as possible. Main attack has the most massive hitbox in video game history. So satisfying. Hard to tell when I'm hitting bosses. 4 / 5 Level Design Slopes. Slopes everywhere. The grab-anything mechanic is equal parts awesome and horribly annoying as you constantly grab stuff you don't intend. Still, this game has a variety of obsta...

Review #11060 Kaze Kiri PCE CD 1994 Naxat Soft Action Action › Hack n Slash E 68 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Plays a little like Ninja Warriors. You've got multiple attacks which work on certain enemies. You attack depends on how close you are to an enemy. If no one is close you throw a shuriken. If one is close you swing a sword. If right next to some enemies you throw them. You can jump and swing your sword or do a down kick by holding down and attacking. Movement is slow except when jumping. Oh and you can do a sliding attack by tapping twice on the d-pad. It's not perfect and could be more responsive but I enjoyed the variety. 2 / 5 Level Design Unfortunately the levels are not interesting at a...

Review #11058 Kaizo Chojin Shubibinman 3: Ikai no Princess Cute Strider PCE CD 1992 Masaya Action Action › Hack n Slash D 75 / 100 Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Looks like Mega Man X but plays more like Strider. Main weapon is a sword with a wide arch but limited range. Enemies have ill defined hit boxes and collision, especially the bosses. You can power up an orb which is the best way to attack. Kill enemies off screen or before they can get close, power up, and repeat. You'll take a lot of his but health drops are plentiful. I really wish there were other weapons or upgrades. 5 / 5 Level Design Every stage is distinctly different from the last. Enemy patterns aren't terribly interesting, unfortunately. But one min...

Review #11053 Iga Ninden Gaio Ninja Gaiden, if Ryu was a tank PCE CD 1993 Nihon Bussan Action Action › Hack n Slash H 38 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay The slowest movement ever in a hack n slash. So painfully slow that you can't even jump over enemies. Instead you just slowly move to the right and mash attack to take out enemies who run into your blade. Two attacks - sword swing and a shuriken that requires holding down on attack, Mega Man X style. This attack is only useful for bosses who keep their distance. It takes too long to power up to be used against regular enemies. Ultimately this is just boring due to the horrible lack of speed. Hit detection is fine. 1 / 5 Level Design Horrible. It's like a du...

Review #11050 Hiho Densetsu: Chris no Boken Tomb Raider Jr. PCE CD 1991 Pack-In-Video Action Action › Hack n Slash E 68 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Castlevania clone with the standard features like slow movement, tricky platforming, and good ranged weapons. The weapons are the highlight, including a wedge projectile, a boomerang, and a long sword. The slow movement is what holds this back the most. 4 / 5 Level Design Each stage has a very short time limit. Dilly dally for even a few seconds and you'll run out of time, which is measured in days! Stages are linear and long, and feature tons of one-time, interesting set pieces. There's a fair amount of precision platforming and annoying enemy pl...

Review #11042 Genocide Geno slideshow PCE CD 1992 Brain Gray Action Action › Hack n Slash H 26 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Like watching a slideshow on 10x speed. Sprites fly around the screen by disappearing and appearing somewhere else. It's all you can do to mash the attack button and hope an enemy dies after 10 or so hits. Meanwhile you're getting bashed around seemingly at random. Awful hit detection, hitboxes, and a short range of attack round things out. Truly a terrible experience. 1 / 5 Level Design Each level seems to have the same structure - kill all enemies to unlock a gate and proceed to the next locked section. Fight a boss at the end and finish the level. These mini arenas can be extreme...

Review #11033 Faussete Amour Girly Ghouls 'n Ghosts PCE CD 1993 Naxat Soft Action Action › Hack n Slash E 68 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Painfully slow movement. You run at about half the speed you'd expect. This makes platforming equal parts easier than usual, but also harder, because you have to account for the slow speed when dodging enemies and whatnot. It's my only complaint, really. Borrows a LOT from Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Lose your armor when you take a hit, and die if you're hit again. Your weapon is an extending staff which has very long range and a few extra mechanics, such as a projectiles attack by jumping, holding down and attacking. You can also use the staff as a Bionic Commando-style grappling hoo...

Review #11016 Chiki Chiki Boys Play the Genesis version instead PCE CD 1994 NEC Action Action › Hack n Slash F 58 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Your only attack is to swing a sword. It has a decent range and you can mash it to almost make yourself in vulnerable since your attack hits things above and even behind you. Enemies and even their projectiles can be destroyed. So generally you just walk around mashing the whole time. You've got a screen clearing magic attack that you can use once or maybe twice per level and between stages you visit a shop where you can upgrade your sword, your defense, and your magic. Your jump is quite short so you have to time it well. Also enemies swarm to you and spawn infinitely so most of the challenge...

Review #11002 Akumajo Dracula X: Chi no Rondo 8.3 on the Richter scale PCE CD 1993 Konami Action Action › Hack n Slash C 83 / 100 Very Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Satisfying conclusion to the classic Castlevania gameplay. I always have and will prefer the Metroidvanias but this one has its charms. Richter has a backflip you can use to avoid a frontal assault, but like with most of these games, jumping is always a gamble. Your whip has a long reach but is weak to most enemies so special weapons are the way to go, especially the boomerang cross. It's amazing how few hack n slash games have a usable jump attack, so it's nice to play a game that does. The game is tough but fair, with predictable enemy patterns and placement. 4 / 5 ...

Review #10039 Valis II Twice the Valis TG-16 CD 1990 NEC Action Action › Hack n Slash E 62 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Faster movement than the first game, but the jump feels horribly floaty. Best to stay grounded except when absolutely necessary. Collect four weapons (normal, wave, sort of homing, and 3 way). No double jump, as in the Genesis remake. Most enemies go down quickly but in later levels they're bullet sponges. There's no draw distance like in the Genesis version, but gameplay still amounts to slowly moving while constantly firing. Fairly easy game, since there are plentiful health pickups. The only real issue is when enemies get inside your hitbox and stay there, dealing a ton of damage. 3 / 5...

Review #10040 Valis III The Castlevania one TG-16 CD 1992 NEC Action Action › Hack n Slash E 63 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Major upgrade over the Genesis version. Faster movement, easier platforming, better hit detection, improved draw distance, etc. This is easily the definitive version of this game. There are two playable characters in the new one uses a whip like a Belmont. The second level even has a ferryman sequence similar to Castlevania 2. You can switch between the two at any time, ala Portrait of Ruin. It takes several seconds to switch, however. 3 / 5 Level Design Much better level design than the other two Valis games. There's some vertical sequences and just more variety in the lev...

Review #9904 Mado King Granzort Mega Man Zero Zero PCE SG 1990 Hudson Soft Action Action › Hack n Slash C 82 / 100 Very Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Feels great. Movement is the right speed, enemies have distinct and predictable patterns, and your weapons have nice reach and power. My only complaint is that you can't attack while moving. You can switch between three mechs - red, green, and blue. Red has a fast sword attack with fantastic arch and reach while green has a gun that does what you'd expect. Blue is completely useless and should never be used and honestly just gets in the way as you switch between red and green. It's a one-hit kill game, which makes it very challenging, but 1-Ups are everywhere. I had 15 or 20 by the time I reached le...

Review #8136 Tatsunoko Fighter Blunder Boy PCE 1989 Tonkin House Action Action › Hack n Slash H 25 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Floaty controls. Terrible platforming. You slide off platforms all the time. Hard to land a jump. 2 / 5 Level Design Cheap enemy placement. They pop up all over the place. Levels are too vertical and feature tiny platforms. 1 / 5 Theme No idea what's going on. You look a bit like Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece. 2 / 5 Art Style NES+ quality graphics. Not a trainwreck but as tame as could be. 0 / 5 Audio Atrocious, offkey music. I can't begin to express how terrible the "...