Tag Archives: capcom

September 17, 2025

Marvel Legends Gamerverse Wolverine vs Silver Samurai

By Joe
It’s the latest from Hasbro’s Marvel vs Capcom Gamerverse line!

Video game inspired action figures are quite the hot ticket right now. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but maybe some of that is owed to Jada Toys and how well received their line of Ultra Street Fighter 2 action figures have been received. Hasbro, for their part, has had a “Gamerverse” subline of Marvel Legends for quite awhile now, but it has mostly centered on the Spider-Man games released for the PlayStation. This year, Hasbro decided it wanted a piece of the Marvel vs Capcom pie without actually saying that outright. Gamerverse has now pivoted to that beloved franchise, though strictly the Marvel side. Despite having a previous relationship with Capcom via its Power Rangers x Street Fighter line a few years ago, Hasbro has shown no interest in actually engaging the licensor for these figures instead releasing a series of two-packs and one-offs of Marvel characters from that line of games. Most of them have not been of much interest to me, but there was one I could not ignore: Wolverine vs Silver Samurai.

One of these figures is more desirable than the other.

I have enjoyed the Capcom fighters going back to X-Men: Children of the Atom in arcades. The hyper fast fighting games were a sight to behold and it felt awesome to finally be able to take control of the X-Men in a setting that felt worthy of them. The games only became more popular when they were eventually paired with Street Fighter, then eventually it expanded to include all of Marvel and all of Capcom. The designs from those games always came across as rather unique for the Marvel characters and many years ago Toy Biz made a half-hearted attempt at characters in that style with a series of two-packs sold at KB Toy Stores. They weren’t great and I never actually bought any, but I’ve always wanted figures that match the art style presented in those games.

“Let’s go, bub!”

For Hasbro’s collection, we get the usual mixed bag from the company. Some of the figures in the line do a really good job of matching the games, while others very much do not. And considering most of the releases are two-packs, it probably comes as little surprise that one figure in each set appears to get more love than the other. That is certainly the case with this two-pack featuring Wolverine and Silver Samurai. Wolverine practically looks like he was yanked off the side of the arcade cabinet with his bulky frame and elongated claws and mask fins. Silver Samurai…just looks like the previous Legends release, but in a muted color. I’ll say upfront I do not care about Silver Samurai at all. He’s always been a D tier Wolverine adversary for me and his figure doesn’t offer much. I got this for Wolverine, and considering the set comes at the inflated sticker price of $60, there’s a good chance I way overpaid for a Wolverine figure. Now, I’m going to help you decide if you should do the same.

The presence of dark gray lines on the chest appear to be entirely random.

We might as well get the Silver Samurai out of the way. As best as I can tell, this figure is mostly a straight re-release of the prior Legends figure, but with a new torso and expression. The previous figure had a riveted look to the armor where as this one is pretty smooth. Both the arms and legs feature pinned joints owing to their age so if that’s something that bothers you then you may be disappointed here. The color this time around is a very bland gray. The only paint on this guy is reserved for the exposed part of his face, the white of his eyes, and the red on his crest and sun pattern on his chest. The rest of the figure is that lame attempt at metallic plastic Hasbro likes to use. All it does is create random lines or swirls in the plastic while adding zero luster. The chest on my figure almost looks cracked, but it’s just streaks in the plastic. The character in the game was damn near white by default with gray-blue shading. Hasbro didn’t bother to try and match that sprite or the art from the booklet and instead gave us this ugly lump of plastic.

He looks like a kid posing for a Little League picture.
It’s fine.
Looks cool, but it’s a little heavy for the blade.

For articulation, the Samurai is also not up to snuff. He’s very basic with a ball-hinged head, hinged-ball shoulders, bicep swivel, double-jointed elbows, ball-jointed diaphragm, waist cut, ball-socket hips, thigh cuts, double-jointed knees, boot swivel, ankle hinge and rocker. His wrist hinges are at least the proper vertical hinge for sword wielding, but his lack of a butterfly joint means he can’t hold his sword with two hands in a convincing fashion. You can get two hands onto it, but it looks kind of dumb. The shoulder pads are pegged into his traps and are annoying to deal with and tend to pop off a lot. For accessories, he has his katana which is done in a translucent blue plastic. It looks fine, but mine has some black paint on the blade. It’s also very flimsy which stinks because he also has an effect part for the sword that looks pretty cool. It’s bubbly and done with blue translucent plastic with hits of a dark blue or purple. The swords slots through it, but the weight of the part will cause it to droop. He also has his energy shuriken made out of translucent orange plastic and a flimsy plastic stand to peg into it. The weight can be a bit tricky to get it balanced because the stand is so poor, but it can be done. However, Jada this is not.

Bring it on!

Which brings us to the real reason I wanted this set: Wolverine. What attracted me to this figure wasn’t just the stylization on display, but also some engineering choices Hasbro made. They have not, to my knowledge, made an action figure like this Wolverine and some of the choices they made are ones that I’ve been wanting from them for years. We’ll get to that with the articulation portion, but first the elephant in the room must be addressed: this is a big Wolverine.

He’s a pretty big Wolverine.

Wolverine stands at just a touch under 6″. Wolverine runs taller in those games, probably because his sprite is always crouched, but if you wanted to slide him into your comic collection this may pose too big a hurdle to climb. The X-Men animated Wolverine by comparison comes in at 5.75″. Is slightly less than a quarter of an inch a big deal? Kind of, considering that older Wolverine is probably a little on the tall side as well (mostly owing to the really long neck of that sculpt). What really stands out as different though is just how much bigger all around this new Wolverine is. Line up any part of the body and compare it to the prior one and it’s a stark contrast. His biceps, thighs, fists, are all quite a big larger. It’s almost as if this Wolverine is in a different scale from its predecessors. Marvel Legends is thought of as a 1:12 scale line while this Wolverine almost feels like it’s in between 1:12 and 1:10 scale (I guess that would be 1:11). He’s a little big for 1:12, but not quite 1:10.

Even though he has a single hinge at the elbow, the range is pretty much the same as the prior double-jointed version.

As for the sculpt, this thing is entirely brand new. We have the new head with the exaggerated fins, or ears, or whatever those things are on his mask. He has just the one expression which features a gritted teeth look like the cabinet art. The body is also entirely new with the much beefier proportions. The shoulder pads are separate and looped onto the peg going into the torso as opposed to pegged into the shoulder itself. The black on the torso is painted and not sculpted in while the fins are black plastic. The face also appears to be painted onto black plastic and the opacity is not as thick as it needed to be. The left side of my figure’s face has some black showing through, which is a shame. The overall proportions and sculpt are all very nice, but other paint issues include a yellow speck on the left side of my figure’s abdomen and some blue smudging on the left thigh. The middle claw on the left hand (geez, everything is on the left side) has some excess plastic around the tip which I’ll need to trim. Silver Samurai’s left pauldron has a similar issue as well which I failed to note earlier. The knees also suffer from miscolored plastic, a frequent issue with Legends in the pin-less era, as they’re noticeably darker than the yellow used for the thigh and shin. It may also bother some to know that the back of his ankles feature a black rectangle since the figure is using black, plastic, for the ankle hinges. Unlike other Wolverine designs, the black trim on the boots doesn’t continue onto and down the center of the back of the boot so it does create an eyesore, but better it be there than on the front.

The effect part is whatever, but the torso articulation is aces. This twisting crouch wasn’t possible on older figures.

From a quality control standpoint, this Wolverine certainly doesn’t have a premium feel, but even with the minor paint imperfections I still think it looks pretty good overall. I love the sculpt, I really love the elongated claws, and I’m really happy with what we’re about to talk about next: the articulation. Hasbro did some good stuff here while also making some trade-offs. How the overall package is received will be somewhat subjective, but what is present works pretty well. They did keep the hinged-neck joint. Wolverine being a croucher needs a lot of range to look up and down and Hasbro has yet to find a better way to pull that off so it’s hear once again. We lose the nuance of a double ball, but the joint at least does what it set out to do. The joint some will likely miss is the butterfly joint. Instead, Hasbro has gone with a ball peg shoulder which is the sort of joint McFarlane is known for utilizing. Import companies use the same, but they’ll affix it to a hinged apparatus inside the torso to get that butterfly joint, but here we just get the up and down, in and out, that the ball peg affords which isn’t a ton. They either didn’t have room in the chest for the joint, or didn’t want to cut up the sculpt. Considering it means we don’t have those silly low shoulders many Legends figures suffer from, I’ll consider it a worthy trade-off. Wolverine can still cross his claws in front of his face and has some room to rear back with his arm. Would I have made the trade to cut out a little more on the back so he could really reach back? Yeah, probably, but I am otherwise okay with the range.

It’s too bad stands weren’t included with this set.

The arms also contain another surprise: single-hinged joints at the elbow. Ordinarily, this is something to be frowned upon, but given that it’s Wolverine it’s honestly a nonissue. The arms are always so bulky that even the old, double-jointed, Wolverine can barely bend his elbow past 90 degrees. This one can’t either, but the single joint is cut in such a way that it’s far more pleasing to look at so I consider it an improvement. There’s also a bicep swivel which is more like an import figure in that the piece is floating independent of the elbow. It’s basically just a cover over a straight peg. The elbow also swivels since it pegs into whatever is under the bicep and the wrists feature the standard swivel and hinge.

I wouldn’t come in high, if I were you, Samurai.

The torso is where I was most eager to get my hands on this guy. Most of the old Wolverine figures go with an ab crunch, a big old hinge right in the middle of the figure and a standard waist cut below it. Some of the newer ones use a ball-joint in the diaphragm and retain the ab crunch below it, but at the expense of waist articulation. The thinking from Hasbro is you get rotation in the diaphragm and bend at the waist, but why settle for that if you don’t have to? For this Wolverine, Hasbro went with the ball-jointed diaphragm and paired it with a ball-jointed waist. You know, like all of those import companies making figures that articulate better than the rest. The result is you get forward and back tilt at both spots plus rotation. He crunches forward very well, arches back a decent amount, and can twist and turn with the best of them. And somewhat to my surprise, there’s very little gapping on display at both the waist and diaphragm. They did a really good job with this torso and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t become the default approach going forward. And since it’s a big large and doesn’t feature any sculpted costume details, I suspect we’ll see it reused for other characters in the future.

Tag!

The rest of the articulation below the waist is your standard ball-socket hips, thigh cut, double-jointed knees, and ankles with hinges and rockers. There’s no boot swivel which is a bit of a surprise. It looks like the boot is a separate piece so I can’t fathom why it doesn’t just peg-on. Like the gloves, it’s possible the boot is just a sleeve glued into place. It’s not a huge omission, but if it could be there with no impact to the budget then why not go for it? For accessories, Wolverine comes with a set of fists and two slash effects. The slash is done on transparent plastic with some blue shading in the center. One can peg onto an included stand, the same, cheap, style one as Silver Samurai’s, and the other slash can then slot over that one to form an X. Wolverine has multiple attacks that make such a pattern with his claws in the game, plus his super move which just makes a big X on the screen that he jumps in front of. It’s a decent accessory, but I wish we got more for the price. Wolverine could really use a stand of his own to sell that effect part and I would have loved a second portrait. A yelling head would have been great or an unmasked one.

Wolverine (and Ken) most definitely wins.

This is a hard set to rate. Subjectively, I love this Wolverine. I love the proportions, I love the new articulation, and I just love messing around with him. He’s not one of those overly gummy Hasbro releases and I like that they went for it in making this sculpt really evoke the game. On the other hand, I can’t ignore the minor problems with the paint and I’ve heard of others having similar issues. Those knees are also an eyesore and the accessories are just okay. If we’re to split the price of the set between the two figures, he’s a little iffy at $30. I’d still recommend him at that price, but I wouldn’t feel like I’m getting a real steal or anthing.

Unfortunately, Wolverine is not a $30 figure. He’s sold in a $60 set with a thoroughly mediocre Silver Samurai. By Legends standards, there is nothing special about this Silver Samurai. Nothing interesting about the presentation, the articulation, and the accessories do not overcome that. I like the sword effect part, but I don’t know if I can use it since it’s so heavy. The shuriken is fine and at least it’s from the game. He has no extra parts and I find he looks dumb with two gripping hands at all times. Couldn’t we get one extra set of hands? His articulation isn’t good enough for a sword wielder and he doesn’t look like the character art or sprite. He’s a total dud for me.

One thing is for sure, Marvel vs Capcom fans are eating good!

Is this set worth $60? Absolutely not. This Wolverine is good, ignoring the scale issues it’s easily Hasbro’s best Wolverine. Considering I don’t really care for the proportions on the MAFEX Wolverine it might even be my favorite Wolverine of all time. It’s still not worth $60 or even $40. And if he’s not worth that then what’s Silver Samurai worth? I honestly wouldn’t pay $20 for him, or even $10. I just plain don’t like the figure so it’s worthless. Despite that, I think this set will sell well because Wolverine is, in case you haven’t heard, very popular and toy collectors get pretty geeked up about new articulation schemes. Even though nothing this Wolverine does is truly new, just new for Hasbro and Marvel Legends. And I’m having fun with it, so while I think it’s stupid to pay $60 for this Wolverine, I don’t hate myself for doing exactly that.

If you liked this review then maybe you’ll like these as well:

Marvel Legends X-Men Animated Series Wolverine

The toyline of my dreams was announced last October. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the television series X-Men, Hasbro is doing a dedicated line of Marvel Legends with figures based on the look of the show. The show was obviously inspired by the designs of Jim Lee, but there are differences in the…

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by Joe

Storm Arena Street Fighter Alpha 3 Ken

One of my most anticipated releases of 2025 came out of no where. I was a kid during the early 90s and into video games so I know a thing or two about Street Fighter. Street Fighter II was everywhere and is pretty much the reason why the one-on-one fighting game became a huge genre…

Keep reading
by Joe

Jada Toys Mega Man

We just had 11 consecutive weeks of action figure reviews on Super7’s line of figures based on The Simpsons. Things were getting pretty negative in that sphere as that line went out with a whimper. I don’t like reviewing bad figures and it’s mostly because everything I review here I buy for my own collection.…

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by Joe

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August 28, 2025

Storm Arena Street Fighter Alpha 3 Ken

By Joe
Who’s cooler than Ryu? Ken!

One of my most anticipated releases of 2025 came out of no where. I was a kid during the early 90s and into video games so I know a thing or two about Street Fighter. Street Fighter II was everywhere and is pretty much the reason why the one-on-one fighting game became a huge genre for arcades and home consoles. I actually never owned a copy of that game which kind of surprises me to this day, but it’s mostly because I always had access to it via cousins and friends. Plus, not long after the game took off the copycats started showing up and I found myself lured in by the violence on display in Mortal Kombat. That ended up being my fighting game franchise of choice until later in the decade when I found myself the unexpected owner of a Sony PlayStation. A lot of the franchises I had grown up with in gaming just weren’t available on Sony’s machine early on, but Street Fighter was. Street Fighter Alpha ended up being the third game I’d get for my PlayStation (after Doom and Twisted Metal) and thus it became my most played game in the franchise so these character designs stand out for me the most. Still, I didn’t think I’d be all that interested in an action figure line should one surface.

Ken comes with a solid spread of accessories for the price.

The past couple of years, Jada has been making waves with its figures based on Ultra Street Fighter II. I’ve basically admired them from afar, but otherwise haven’t been that tempted to dive-in because I just don’t need that kind of collection in my life. Then along came Storm Collectibles and its Storm Arena line. Storm was known to me for its many video game-based toy lines, but they were always in a weird scale and pretty damn expensive. Still, they looked so good that I’ve considered getting one just to basically try them out, but I’ve never pulled the trigger. The Arena line is a new one for them and it’s more of a true 1:12 scale line. Their own lines were always billed as 1:12, but they were way bigger. For the Arena line, Storm secured the Street Fighter license from Capcom and went with looks based on Street Fighter Alpha 3, which was pretty much the same as the first Alpha game. And the best part of all was the price of $26. I may not have benefitted directly in buying a Jada figure, but I have to believer their line and pricing are huge reasons why this line from Storm is being priced so low.

I suspect Marvel vs Capcom fans will have real interest in this line.

Ken is the first release in the line which works for me as I always preferred him to Ryu. At least stylistically, Ryu’s hyper Hadoken super move was definitely way easier to pull-off than Ken’s Shoryuken based super, but not without its uses. Packaging for the line is very similar to most import offerings like S.H.Figuarts and MAFEX as it’s a window box with some game art. There is a lot of plastic used to protect the figure inside so the window is obscured, but I’ll take it over a figure with smeared paint. Ken stands at about 6.125″ to the top of his head which is a pretty decent height for what is probably the most basic sized character in the line. I’m fairly certain this same body is used for Ryu and it might be in use for the upcoming Dan.

I’ve always gotten the impression that Ken is one cocky S.O.B.

Ken is very true to his appearance in the Alpha series. There is more an anime look to the design and he has his long hair which is tied off with a red ribbon. The gi is pretty much the same as his look in other games as it’s red with a black belt. It’s also sleeveless and he wears some yellow gloves. The basic design for these figures is colored plastic throughout, a soft, rubber, overlay for the torso, a soft rubber overlay for the upper part of the gi, and soft, rubbery, hands and hair. Paint is mostly reserved for the face and gloves, but there’s also some light shading all throughout the red. The gi is also textured and Storm did a nice job of matching the shades of red between the mixed media. The figure absorbs light well despite not having a real painted finish. It doesn’t have a plastic look and does have a more premium look than something like Marvel Legends despite basically being the same price.

If you’re of a Hadoken person you’ll need to get Ryu.

The price of admission may be relatively cheap, but that doesn’t mean Storm is skimping on accessories. Ken comes with two portraits – neutral and a smirk. The neutral expression has almost a hint of a smile and exudes cockiness, which feels appropriate for Ken. The smirk is a nice companion, though mine had a black dot on the chin. I normally leave my set as-is for my reviews, but I was so annoyed by it that I’ve already fixed it (a Magic Eraser sheet did the job). For hands, Ken has a set of fists, Hadoken posed, a right peace gesture, and a left “come here” gesture. There’s also an effect piece for his Shoryuken attack. It’s an acrylic piece that fits over his fist and has a nice yellow to orange to red gradient. If you want the Hadoken you have to get Ryu. I wouldn’t be surprised if alternate colorways crop up with different effect parts. There’s also an included stand, though it’s not a great one. It’s a disc with a post that plugs in and on that post is a sliding piece that’s ratcheted. The sliding piece can accept an acrylic clamp that’s similar to a doll stand. It works off of pressure as the further you slide it into the holster the tighter the clamp. There’s also a black, metal, version included though I’m not sure what advantage that offers over the plastic one. Mine also has a rubber piece over one side of the clamp, but not the other. I’ve hear some people didn’t get the black piece at all. The stand works, but it can be a challenge to balance. I’ve had Ken take a couple of tumbles because the weight wasn’t distributed properly. The base could stand to be heavier or bigger.

The stand can be a little tricky to balance, but it works.

Criticisms of the stand aside, it is still a stand that works and it’s included along with an alternate portrait, two extra sets of hands, and an effect part all for $26. Most Marvel Legends only come with an extra set of hands and maybe another head. This is a nice spread for the price and Storm is giving collectors pretty much all that they need for a Ken display. A Hadoken would have been nice, but that would also mean we would need another stand for that. They did opt to make the hair non-removable from the heads so if there’s one critique it could be that one of the heads could have had a different shape to the hair and if they were interchangeable it would add to the display options.

He’s going to hit all of those “Ken” poses.

The look and accessories are great, but the real selling point of a Storm figure for me is the articulation. Storm has a good reputation in this area and it’s what I was most excited to test out with this figure. The articulation points are even more than what one would expect of a super articulated line: double ball peg head, ball neck, hinged ball shoulders, butterfly, bicep swivel, double-elbows, ball-hinged wrists, diaphragm ball joint, waist ball, ab crunch, ball and socket drop-down hips, thigh swivel, double knees, ankle swivel, ankle hinge, ankle rocker, toe hinge. Range everywhere is pretty damn good. The head can’t look up as well as maybe some would want, but it’s because of the long hair. Storm took advantage of the character to design to get as much articulation into the figure as possible. The ab crunch is an example as it would be pretty ugly on a shirt-less figure, but with Ken it’s a non-issue. They actually were going to use it on the famously shirtless Sagat, but scrapped it because fans thought it was ugly. The gi is removable on Ken which will allow you to really push some of the joints to the extreme, but again, Storm took advantage of the design to make it work as best as it could with the gi on. Taking it off reveals an odd sculpt that tapers in dramatically at the waist to make sure the figure isn’t overly bulky with it on. You can do it, but it will look kind of stupid. I had a tough time with it so I didn’t end up taking any shirtless pics of Ken, but you can certainly find them in other reviews if you wish.

What are you doing? You’re both Capcom, you need to unite against the Marvel!

The articulation is as advertised. Ken can hit all of his signature poses without much of an issue. The classic Hadoken pose does require some fiddling, but it is doable. He can also kick super high and hit the splits. The drop-down hips are on a big hinge and there’s no looseness. I don’t know that it adds much, but it’s not as annoying as other drop-down hips nor does it feel fragile like some other figures in my collection. This guy feels very sturdy and the joints are all smooth. There’s no looseness anywhere and nothing was even remotely stuck on mine. The aesthetics of the joints are all plus with perhaps the only thing close to an eyesore being the feet. There’s a little gap between the ankle and feet which provides for excellent range on the hinge, but might be too much of a gap for some. I’m personally okay with it, but the cut-up look of the bare feet in general might turn some off.

This won’t be my last purchase in this line.

I find it hard to believe though that the feet would be a dealbreaker for anyone. I can’t think of anything with this figure that would be a deal breaker for an action figure collector. If you don’t care about Ken or Street Fighter Alpha then, yeah, you probably won’t feel compelled to buy this. Or maybe you will? I thought I didn’t care enough to take a look, but the allure of this one was too strong. This is a really well-constructed action figure at an incredible price. The price has ticked up since it was originally announced, but not substantially. I think Big Bad Toy Store has it for $28 now because of rising costs associated with tariffs and other such nonsense. Hopefully it doesn’t get worse and hopefully this isn’t some introductory price to lure us in. Sagat is more expensive, but he’s substantially larger and that’s the same sort of thing Jada does with its line too. This figure really is a contender for figure of the year. I don’t think Storm could have done much better, or any other company. I’m not all-in on this line, but I’m definitely getting Ryu and Sagat and I’ll keep my eyes on it. I’d love to see Akuma, Blanka, and some others and I’m sure they’ll be announced at some point. Dan is currently up for preorder and we’ve seen Charlie and Chun-Li as well. If Storm can deliver on this level of quality at this price with the rest I don’t see many other toy lines beating it.

This Ken figure may be from Street Fighter Alpha 3, but I think Marvel vs Capcom fans will be very interested as well:

Jada Toys Mega Man

We just had 11 consecutive weeks of action figure reviews on Super7’s line of figures based on The Simpsons. Things were getting pretty negative in that sphere as that line went out with a whimper. I don’t like reviewing bad figures and it’s mostly because everything I review here I buy for my own collection.…

by Joe

Marvel Legends Retro Iron Man and Plasma Canon

90’s nostalgia has taken me on a ride of late. I could blame X-Men ’97, but it could just be me getting older and having more fondness for the decades that have come and gone. It’s not a bad thing, but it can be bad for the wallet. Lately, I started looking at my somewhat…

by Joe

Arcade 1Up Marvel Super Heroes Counter-Cade

Arcade 1Up has been around for a few years now selling arcade cabinets at a reduced size and also a reduced price. The cabinets are significantly smaller than an actual arcade cabinet, but still plenty large enough to take up a lot of floor space in your home. And while they’re cheaper than the “real…

by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in toys, Video Games

July 11, 2024

Marvel Legends Retro Iron Man and Plasma Canon

By Joe
The 90s are here to punch you in the face.

90’s nostalgia has taken me on a ride of late. I could blame X-Men ’97, but it could just be me getting older and having more fondness for the decades that have come and gone. It’s not a bad thing, but it can be bad for the wallet. Lately, I started looking at my somewhat tidy Marvel shelf and the figures from X-Men and Spider-Man which all refer back to their 90s animated counterparts and I felt like I had a hole. And that hole’s name is Iron Man.

This portrait is the only aspect of the figure that is dedicated to recreating the 90s animated series look.

X-Men was my jam when it aired on Fox Kids and Spider-Man was firmly situated in second place. On another channel though was Iron Man. It never sunk its claws into me like the other two shows, but I watched a fair amount of it. I can’t recall a single plot and only remember characters, but I liked it enough to find the accompanying toy line enticing. I never did go deep on it though. While the show was called Iron Man, my favorite character was War Machine. War Machine felt like a more 90s appropriate Iron Man. The name is inelegant and a bit stupid, but kids loved an armored dude covered in guns. I allowed myself to get his action figure and it would be the only figure I would get from that toy line. And he was cool, I just never felt like I needed any other characters.

Well, okay, mullet Tony is also pretty much lifted from the cartoon as well.

Despite that, I do love me some 90s Iron Man. The aesthetic, that is. The modular suit works for me even if it’s kind of stupid. He definitely does not look like a guy in an iron suit. He looks like any other superhero, but with some iron plating in places. No matter, I like what I like and what I like is this look for Iron Man. I did get the Toy Biz Marvel Legends version that came in a two-pack with The Mandarin and it was probably one of my last Toy Biz Legends. I’ve resisted the urge where modern figures are concerned, but obviously I decided to give in.

This guy is definitely more at home in a Marvel vs Capcom display.

In 2022 Hasbro released a retro Iron Man that’s at least an approximation of the animated series look. It’s at least the closest version they’ve felt inclined to release, though it’s mostly a repaint of a more comic accurate modular Iron Man. It’s also less an animated Iron Man and more a Marvel Super Heroes or Marvel vs Capcom 2 version of the character and if that wasn’t obvious by looking at the figure the big gun certainly drives the point home. Like X-Men and Spider-Man, Hasbro has found success releasing Iron Man figures on retro cards that harken back to the 90s. This guy is released on such a card, but also in an oversized box similar to the Pulse Con animated Venom from a few years ago. Only in this case, the box just repeats the art of the retro card with a fake window rather than go with original artwork. Inside the box is the figure on said retro cardback as well as another box for his big, freakin’, gun.

One thing I don’t like about the sculpt is this red hinge.

This Iron Man stands a tick over 6.5″ to the top of his dome. He’s a very glossy yellow and red with almost every part of the figure being colored plastic. It’s an aesthetic that I think works for both the animated series and the video game sprites this deco is based off of. As far as animated Iron Man goes, there’s actually not much to tie it back to that source aside from the default head. It has the full yellow facemask with some yellow piping on top that is consistent for the look of the show’s first season. It’s also really large which is a Marvel Legends trend that has cropped up over the past few years. Comic book characters, if anything, tend to have smaller heads than a real person would since it helps make their usually impressive physiques look even more so. Hasbro apparently sees things differently and whatever they use for their proportions likely wouldn’t agree with an actual Marvel artist.

He has hands for the repulsor blasts, but no blast effects for them.

Aside from that head though, most of this figure matches up with the video game Iron Man. The knock-off Superman logo on the chest is from the game and that’s the clearest tie there. The shoulders should be bigger and scalloped really for both, but the smooth appearance of the figure is certainly closer to that of the video game. The only aspect of the figure that doesn’t really tie back to anything is the angled cut of the “pants.” Some of the artwork from the cutscenes in Marvel Super Heroes makes it look like that angle may be present. Some of those scenes also include the yellow piping on the head so consistency isn’t really its strong point. All that is to say that if you want a true, animated, Iron Man then this is suboptimal. In that, it’s similar to a lot of the animated figures Hasbro has released over the years as rarely are they 100% accurate to the source. If this guy is going on your Marvel vs Capcom shelf though, then it’s pretty damn close if you’re looking to match his first appearance in that franchise. He’s definitely not as beefy as that character sprite. This is very much a Marvel Legends Iron Man with a video game deco and accessories.

It’s light on the Capcom, and that’s the wrong War Machine, but it’s a decent start to an MvC display.

And if you’re screaming at me “Wait! What about the head?” then don’t worry, I’m getting to it. Hasbro included a second head that omits the yellow piping and features a faceshield that matches the shape of the one featured in the game. It basically ends just below the mouth so Iron Man as a red chin. It’s a repaint of the head from the original release of this body and it looks fine. Actually, it looks better than the new head as it doesn’t seem to be as out of scale. Pop this on your figure and you get the true Marvel vs Capcom 2 Iron Man. It’s also the same style of helmet the character wore during his appearance on the Spider-Man cartoon, though the rest of the body was pretty different. We also get a Tony Stark head featuring his mullet hairdo from the cartoon. It’s…fine? He looks like Charles Bronson to me and it too is oversized, but if mullet Tony is your jam then here you go.

Did I mention this figure comes with a very big gun?

The other accessories in the box are hands and effect parts. For hands, we get fists, open, and gripping. The open hands feature pegholes for blast effects, but none are included. They at least painted the rim of the ports yellow so it looks okay. On the gripping hands, the blast holes are filled and painted over. Even though Iron Man doesn’t have blast effects for his traditional, blasting, pose he does have some effect parts. The first is a burst effect that plugs into his chest opening. In the video game he can fire a beam from this spot so I guess this is like a charging effect before that beam emits. The other effect part is for his fist to plug into for his victory pose from Marvel vs Capcom 2. It’s molded for his right fist, but you can squeeze the left one in there if you prefer. Both effects are molded in blue, translucent, plastic with white shading. The burst effect looks pretty nice, while the victory pose effect has the white applied too heavily. It looks more like a sea creature or something and some of the “spikes” are bent and warped.

Iron Man: “To me, proton canon!”

Now, that obviously isn’t everything included with this guy. Oh no, we still need to talk about that gigantic gun of his. The box labels it a “plasma cannon,” but all who have played the video games from where this came know it as the proton canon. It’s Iron Man’s big attack as this giant gun comes out of no where and sends a massive beam across the screen. Hasbro definitely wanted to get the size of this thing right as it’s about 6.5″ long making it roughly the same size as Iron Man himself. It’s around 3″ wide from the widest parts. Since no 6.5″ action figure would stand a chance at holding this thing, Hasbro included a 3″ clear, plastic, stand for it to plug into so that Iron Man can basically fake holding it on his shoulder.

Mega Man: “Oh no! After he hits me with that there won’t be anything left for Dr. Light to repair!”

The canon itself is mostly gray plastic, but with darker gray paint applied in parts. There’s a hit of metallic pink on the front and a few places where red is applied for lights or buttons. The one thing not painted that should have been is the targeting reticle that Iron Man looks through. There’s a sculpted bull’s eye on it, but it’s unpainted. It’s probably mostly a hollow piece, but there is some heft to it. The stand plugs in without effort and works as intended. It’s not particularly challenging getting Iron Man into the proper position to look like he’s firing the weapon and the gripping hands are able to grasp it securely.

Mega Man: “Heh, heh…”

Hasbro also included yet another effect part in the form of a blast effect for this gun. If you’ve played the games this thing comes from, then you know it unleashes a devastating beam effect not unlike something one would see out of an anime character. The blast effect Hasbro included is…less than adequate. They included a blue version of the same effect they included for the retro card Apcalypse’s gun. You know, that gun that’s probably a fifth of the size as this one? This dinky little blue thing looks ridiculous when plugged into the center of the gun. There are peg holes all around the center and if this thing was meant to go in one of them (and there were more of the effects) it might look passable, but as-is it looks stupid. And what sucks is the diameter of the peg on the effect means it’s too big to be used with Iron Man’s hands and feet. I wouldn’t have expected Hasbro to include a gigantic beam here, but how about a charging effect? Or just a half sphere or something? I can’t see anyone displaying this canon with this blast effect. You know that popular Bart Simpson meme with the “At Least You Tried” cake? I’m not even willing to give Hasbro that much credit here.

Iron Man: “Sigh….damnit…”

We should probably talk about the articulation on the actual figure before we wrap this one up. Iron Man articulates like most Marvel Legends figures save for the lack of a butterfly joint. The arms and legs are pinless and the torso uses the old style of ab crunch that’s just a big hinge. I do like that the yellow panels on the sides of his thighs come over the thigh cut so the whole piece rotates with the joint when usually Hasbro would just cut right through it. The waist twist is just a standard twist so it gets ugly real fast when you rotate more than one click. Which is a bit of an issue all around with this guy. Very little would be described as smooth as the shoulders, elbows, knees, ab crunch, and waist almost feel ratcheted. The shoulders especially feel like they’re fighting back when moved which is a touch unsettling. I also don’t like how Hasbro did the shoulders as the red caps are cut into for the shoulder hinge. It looks fine on top as the hinge is red, but that also means the underside is red so anytime his arms are lifted it looks goofy. They could have simply pegged the red parts in to avoid this. I’d consider a big red hinge in the armpit uglier than yellow and red pegs in the arms and legs, but I guess Hasbro disagrees.

Animated friends unite to take on evil!

Retro Iron Man is a flawed Marvel Legends release as most are, but not one that is critically flawed or anything. I think most Legends collectors will likely be satisfied with this take on Iron Man. I personally wish the shoulders were done differently and that the heads were more proportional. I also would have scrapped the fist accessory for some repulsor blast effects, or better yet, a better effect for the proton canon. The effect included for that is laughably bad to the point where it would have almost been better to not include one at all. Yeah, we would have complained about the lack of one and would have been justified in doing so, but that would somehow feel less insulting.

He’s not without his flaws, but I’ll allow him to end this with a victory pose.

If you are a fan of the 2D fighting games from the 90s and want an Iron Man for such a display, this gets the job done. I don’t know if there are any third party beam effects that would pair well with this one, but I’m almost tempted to try and tack-on the fist effect to the end. Even a piece of paper with the beam printed on it would look better than the included one if positioned right. The only other drawback to this release is the price tag of $40. A repainted Iron Man with a big gun warrants a $15 mark-up over the standard Marvel Legends figure? Eh, that’s a hard sell, which is why it took me so long to take the plunge (thank you Amazon gift card) as I don’t know if it’s really worth it. If it had a worthwhile blast effect then sure, but you’re going to need to dedicate additional blast effects you may have laying around or dedicate time and/or money into coming up with something better to really make this guy be all that he can be and that sucks. If you do want him though, Amazon still has this one for MSRP. Maybe the patient will score it on clearance at some point too.

For someone who isn’t a Marvel Legends collector, I sure have reviewed quite a few at this point:

Marvel Legends X-Men Retro Card Series Apocalypse

It is Halloween and that means it’s time for costumes, candy, and spooky fun. It’s also Halloween 2022, a pretty important date if you grew up loving those mutants who ran around in colorful spandex fighting for a better tomorrow. That’s because 30 years ago on this very night, the animated series X-Men premiered on…

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by Joe

Marvel Legends Spider-Man ’94 Spider-Man vs Carnage

Last year, Hasbro celebrated the 30th anniversary of X-Men, the animated series that premiered on Halloween 1992 and would become a ratings hit shortly thereafter for the Fox Kids Network. It was responsible for getting a lot of kids into the X-Men and Marvel comics in general and the first, prime, benefactor of that rise…

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by Joe

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June 20, 2024

Jada Toys Mega Man

By Joe
The Blue Bomber is back!..in figure form.

We just had 11 consecutive weeks of action figure reviews on Super7’s line of figures based on The Simpsons. Things were getting pretty negative in that sphere as that line went out with a whimper. I don’t like reviewing bad figures and it’s mostly because everything I review here I buy for my own collection. Why would I want to buy a bad figure? That line let me down and I need a pick-me-up to run this Thursday. Enter Jada Toys and their shiny, new, Mega Man figure!

Jada is a company I have had little interaction with. I bought my kid a remote controlled car years ago that was made by Jada. It was a great toy, fairly inexpensive, and it worked really well for what it was. I have a good impression of Jada as a result, but it’s not like that product should lend itself well towards action figures. That’s a whole different ballgame. Less complicated in some respects, but also more so in other ways. Jada, possibly because the action figure market has expanded over the years, decided to get into that sphere and it has targeted licenses that have been underserved of late – mainly video games and food mascots. It’s an odd combo, but people like both things and there’s a ton of much beloved food mascots out there that have interested folks. None have really appealed to me, but they look so good that I’ve been tempted. Jada’s partnership with video game developer Capcom is where the most popular figures appear to be coming from. Street Fighter II has been the focus and again, not something that appeals to me, but still tempting because they look so good and have received a lot of positive buzz. Finally, and most recently, Jada has released figures for a license I do have interest in and that is Mega Man.

Two heads, an extra set of hands, weapon, and effect part – see! It doesn’t have to be difficult!

When it comes to the video games, I am a casual Mega Man fan at best. If I had to pick a favorite game in the series, it would probably be Mega Man X for Super Nintendo. Is that sacrilege to choose a game from the X franchise over the classic one? I have no idea, but it is what it is. In the 80s, Mega Man games were popular, but also hard. I had friends who owned them, but I never owned one myself because I sucked at them. Even so, television shows like Captain N: The Game Master had me convinced Mega Man was a Nintendo mascot. I’m not sure at what point I realized that wasn’t the case. Even though I’m not a huge fan of the games, I always really liked the character designs from the series, both the classic series and the X one. I watched the DiC animated show and considered getting into that toyline long ago, but never did. I’ve often been tempted by the many model kits and such out there, but I’ve never taken the plunge.

The box art definitely goes with a more late 90s vibe to the artwork, but the figure is pretty much classic Mega Man.

Jada made it easy to finally buy my first Mega Man action figure. Not only have their figures been well received so far, they’re also cheap. The figures in the Mega Man line will only set you back 20 bucks a piece. I think they’re considered 1:12 scale with the characters running small, but $20 for such a scale is almost unheard of now. And it’s not like Jada is scaling back on quality. These things are fully articulated, well-painted, and come with a suitable amount of accessories. And it’s all for a licensed toy line! Is this just entry level pricing and we’re being setup for increases to follow? I don’t know, and I almost hate praising a company for their low prices as that could signal to them they have some room to raise them, but it’s a pretty stark contrast between what Jada is selling for $20 and what a company like Hasbro is selling for $25 and up.

He can run!

Mega Man comes in a box that’s adorned with game art. The actual artwork for Mega Man on the front seems to come from the Mega Man 7 or 8 era as he has a very anime look to him. It’s not the little, chubby, guy from the 8-bit era nor is it the hideous artwork from the US releases. It’s an attractive, tidy, box so if you like to keep things in-box it should serve you well as it’s also quite sturdy. Mega Man stands approximately 4 5/8″ to the tip top of his helmet. He’s a little guy, but if you’re buying this figure for your Marvel vs Capcom display then it will serve you well when it comes to scale. As he is known as the blue bomber, Mega Man is composed of different shades of blue. His torso, legs, and sleeves are a light blue while the boots, helmet, and forearms are a dark blue. The dark blue parts are also glossy which meshes well with the artwork. The light blue portions of the helmet as well as the facial features are painted and look nice. There’s a hint of blue shading on the light blue parts and the light just plays on it very well. It’s a nice looking figure with a good in-hand feel.

He can kick!

Mega Man’s accessories are perhaps not substantial, but better than adequate. We get two heads: a smile and an angry expression. Both are suitable for the character and I have a hard time choosing between the two. I suppose the smiling one when not in use can double as an extra life power-up. Mega Man also has four hands: a set of fists, a right curled gesture and a left wide open hand. I’m surprised the non fist hands are different, but the curled hand is intended to pair with the Mega Buster while the splayed hand is probably meant to harken back to some classic poses. And speaking of, we have a Mega Buster! Both of Mega Man’s forearms are connected to the bicep via a hinged peg and can be removed and swapped with the Mega Buster. The Mega Buster is a nice, glossy, blue with the yellow power indicator on it. You can rotate it any which way so it looks fine on either the left or right arm, though I always picture Mega Man with buster on the left arm. Lastly, to round things out we get an effect part. It’s a translucent, yellow, fireball with an acrylic stand. The stand has two joints in it and you’re supposed to basically put almost two right angles into it in order to get it to the right height. It works well though giving us a spread of two heads, four hands, a weapon, and a power effect. Who knew it was so hard to get that kind of spread with an action figure?

He can slide!

As you may recall, when I pointed out the affordable price for this figure I also mentioned there was no cut to the articulation budget as a result. Mega Man can do just about anything you need him to. The head is on a double ball peg so Mega Man can rotate, look down, and tilt. His range looking up isn’t great, but he does have a ball-jointed diaphragm. That joint will allow him to bend forward and back which should provide for the up range you need at the head. That joint also rotates and tilts a bit to the side with a waist swivel below. Shoulders are simple ball-hinges. Elbows are single hinges and that’s where you’ll get your bicep swivel. Hands rotate and hinge horizontally. Hips are simple ball sockets and Mega Man can do splits and kick better than 90 degrees forward. There is a thigh twist there while the knees are single-hinged and bend about 90 degrees. Ankles hinge back quite far, but not much forward and the ankle rockers work surprisingly well given the unique shape of the boots.

And he can go “pew pew!”

Mega Man moves very well. Even without butterfly joints, he gets solid range at the shoulders for Mega Buster poses. He can rest the curled hand on top of the buster or under it when firing straight out in front of his body, he just can’t achieve that when aiming out to the side. He can do running poses and he’s really good at standing on one leg thanks to the oversized feet so if you want to recreate some Mega Man Soccer you should have no problem. All of the joints are nice and tight too. The only joints that felt a little too tight were the knees as those hinged-peg style knees can be a little scary to move when tight. I didn’t need to heat anything up though to get things moving. I’ve had this guy living on my desk for over a month now and I’m constantly having fun fiddling with him and finding different poses.

If you want this figure for your Marvel vs Capcom display then it should fit in nicely.

This Mega Man figure from Jada Toys is a delight. It is a really fun toy to handle and behold and it comes with just about everything you need. There is very little to critique with it as a result. A neck joint might have helped with the head range and if they could have included mirror image versions of the two style pose hands that would have also been great. Otherwise, what else is there? An action stand? Maybe they could have worked a peg hole somewhere into the figure so it could use the effect part stand? I also have one fist that’s glossy while the other hands appear to have a matte coating on them. I’m guessing it’s an error, but not a particularly impactful one.

All that is to say whatever issues I have with this figure are nitpicks at best. For 20 bucks, I dare you to find a better value in the current action figure market. There are unlicensed figures of similar quality to this figure that cost considerably more. This isn’t from some huge company either. I don’t know how Jada is doing it, but I hope it continues. This Mega Man line is not one I’m going to go all-in on or anything as I’m not a big enough fan of the franchise. I’ll cherry pick my favorites, and at 20 bucks I won’t be waiting for a discount or anything. I’m tempted by Ice Man, but I’ll definitely get Cut Man and I’m very interested in seeing what they do with Guts Man. And if they do an X I’ll definitely grab him. This is a great line and if you have even a passing interest in Mega Man I urge you to give it a try. This toyline is going to be on a lot of “Best of” lists at the end of 2024.

Not a lot of video game inspired toys on this blog, but there’s still plenty of fun here:

Marvel Legends X-Men Animated Series Wolverine

The toyline of my dreams was announced last October. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the television series X-Men, Hasbro is doing a dedicated line of Marvel Legends with figures based on the look of the show. The show was obviously inspired by the designs of Jim Lee, but there are differences in the…

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by Joe

NECA Turtles in Time…Turtles!

Longtime readers of this blog might have noticed something in my review of the Turtles in Time Bebop and Rocksteady – they were paired up with the Turtles in Time Leonardo and Raphael. I’ve never reviewed those figures and they’ve been out for a long time. Well, I held off. Initially, I just wasn’t convinced…

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by Joe

Arcade 1Up Marvel Super Heroes Counter-Cade

Arcade 1Up has been around for a few years now selling arcade cabinets at a reduced size and also a reduced price. The cabinets are significantly smaller than an actual arcade cabinet, but still plenty large enough to take up a lot of floor space in your home. And while they’re cheaper than the “real…

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by Joe

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January 12, 2022

Arcade 1Up Marvel Super Heroes Counter-Cade

By Joe

Arcade 1Up has been around for a few years now selling arcade cabinets at a reduced size and also a reduced price. The cabinets are significantly smaller than an actual arcade cabinet, but still plenty large enough to take up a lot of floor space in your home. And while they’re cheaper than the “real thing,” they’re hardly what I would call cheap. Many of the full-size units will set you back over 500 big ones, and newer models have eclipsed the $700 price tag as components become harder to come by and virtually everything has become more expensive. Even when the units were cheaper, I was never able to bring myself to spend hundreds of dollars on what is essentially a novelty item. The cabinets, being smaller than the real thing, are less functional. You can’t physically accommodate four adults for a game of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for instance. And these are all games that can be experienced in a far more convenient and cheaper manner. Only some of the side-scrolling beat-em-ups are unavailable for purchase these days, but they’re also games not really designed for home consumption. They were made to entertain in bursts and consume quarters, with free play they last less than an hour and have little to no replay value once completed.

There’s nothing particularly practical about what Arcade 1Up sells, but that doesn’t mean it’s worthless. I already used the term novelty when talking about them, and that’s really what they are. They liven up a room at your house, give people something to talk about when they come over for the first time, and do offer some entertainment value. Especially when it comes to skill-based games. And I certainly am willing to spend money on novelty items as I own several mini consoles and recently reviewed the Zelda Game & Watch. I just have a limit on what I want to spend on such a device and on how much room I want to dedicate to one. I’ve often considered buying an arcade cabinet for my bar room at home. I was really close to doing so with an SNK cabinet more than 10 years ago since those can actually swap games. And when a local arcade closed-up shop near me five years ago I strongly considered making an offer on their Simpsons cabinet, but thought better of it in the end. Arcade 1Up has always had some appeal to me, but nothing got me to bite. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles one came the closest because of my love for that IP, but realistically I’d play it a couple of times and then never touch it again. I thought I might take the plunge if Arcade 1Up ever did The Simpsons and they did in 2021, but the $700 price tag was a non-starter for me.

Now isn’t that cute.

Arcade 1Up seems to know there are lots of folks like me out there that want their product, but are hesitant either due to cost or space concerns. Enter the Counter-Cade! This is a smaller version of an arcade cabinet intended to be placed on a counter, or better yet, a bar. And I have a bar! Aside from a bar-top juke box, I can’t think of a better accessory than a small arcade cabinet. And that’s what the Counter-Cade is, it’s just a small arcade cabinet with a short base. Since they’re even smaller than the normal Arcade 1Up, they’re only suitable for 2 players so no four-player models exist (that I’m aware of) and it looks like many have fewer games loaded on them than the bigger model, which makes sense as Arcade 1Up needs something more than size to entice folks to pony up the big bucks. There’s no wi-fi either, but you can plug in a controller if you find it too small to comfortably accommodate two players (though I tried it and didn’t have much luck). I was interested when I first saw the Counter-Cade, but I wanted it to contain games I’d actually play. My wife seemed to pick-up on this for underneath my Christmas tree was the Arcade 1Up Marvel Super Heroes edition of the Counter-Cade.

The games that come pre-loaded.

The Marvel Super Heroes Counter-Cade from Arcade 1Up comes with four games pre-loaded onto it: Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom, and The Punisher. All four are developed by Capcom and obviously contain characters from the world of Marvel Comics. Three of the four are 2D fighters, while The Punisher is a two-player beat-em-up. It’s a solid assortment of games as you get a traditional 2D fighter in Marvel Super Heroes and a pair of tag-fighters. I would have preferred it if Arcade 1Up had made this an X-Men themed unit based on Children of the Atom, but oh well. I’m sure almost everyone would have preferred another “VS” title in place of The Punisher, but I’m okay with it as it gets another style of game into the set.

There’s a USB port on the right side for a controller, though when I plugged in my 8bitdo controller it didn’t map the buttons properly.

What’s going to sell this unit is the size, price, and game selection. As far as size goes, the cabinet basically takes up a space of 16.5″ wide, 16 1/8″ high, and 13″ depth. That’s me measuring the unit at it’s widest part, which is the platform where the controls are mounted, but that’s roughly the area this thing occupies. It runs off of an AC adapter so you do need to be relatively close to an outlet as the chord is only about 4′ long. The screen is approximately 6.5″ wide x 5″ high and it’s suitable for the software. The colors are vibrant and there’s no taring of the sprites. It’s also pretty loud so if you were worried about the audio I think most will be fine. There is a headphones jack for those who want to game without disturbing others, though the clicky joystick and buttons will prevent truly silent play.

Soda can for scale.

The components outside of the screen seem fine. I don’t know that the joystick is quite on the level with a true Capcom unit, but it’s better than a lot of third party joysticks I used long ago (granted, I have not bought an arcade style controller for about 25 years). There are seven buttons for each player with one of those being a Start or Credit button to enter the game. There are six buttons for actual gameplay, which is all you need for the software present here. The buttons feel okay, I feel like they’re a little soft and could rebound a touch firmer, but are otherwise fine. The theme is Marvel Super Heroes so you get Thanos on each side with blue filtered comic art on the front and platform. The marquee does light up when the unit is on and features the cast from that game so if you were hoping to see Rogue or Ken on the cabinet you’ll be disappointed.

This bad boy is going to live beside my Lego NES.

When the unit is powered on it takes you to a simple screen with the highlighted game displayed. You can cycle through and upon selecting a game a quick controls dashboard is displayed. It’s not entirely useful as it basically just tells you what each button does in the game. It won’t tell you, for instance, how to tag out in the VS titles or how to use grenades in The Punisher which stinks. Once you select a game, the unit basically becomes an arcade cabinet. If you leave it alone you’re effectively in “Attract Mode” for the selected game, which is definitely a fun thing to have in a rec room, even if it isn’t practical from a power consumption point of view. Everything is set to free play and there are no coin slots anyway so you can’t make money off of your friends directly. It’s easy to get out of and into another game and the interface is simple and intuitive enough.

As for the games, well, reviewing each one individually would take some time. Basically, if you’ve played a Capcom fighter then you probably know what to expect. Marvel Super Heroes is the most straight-forward as it’s a one on one fighter starring some of the heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe. It’s always been a little odd in that respect (Shuma-Gorath?), but it’s actually probably better received now than it was in the 90s given how popular the Avengers are now versus then. Still, it was pretty cool to get a dedicated Marvel fighter in 1995 and the fact that it was dedicated to Jack Kirby gives it a little extra sweetness. I don’t consider it a great 2D fighter, but it’s a perfectly fine alternative to Street Fighter 2 for the Marvel fan.

SNES and Genesis model 2 for scale.

The VS games are probably want most fans will play the most. X-Men vs Street Fighter is what got the whole thing rolling. It features a terrific roster from both franchises and it actually feels more focused than the games that followed. If X-Men is your jam, then this might be your favorite from the set. Marvel vs Capcom is very similar, but bigger. This was the last 2 vs 2 fighter as its sequel would up things to 3 on 3 and get almost too big for my liking. You may notice one game was skipped, Marvel vs Street Fighter, but you’re not missing much by going straight to Marvel vs Capcom. This lets other Capcom stars get a chance to shine and help even the sides as it was pretty rough for the World Warriors to have to take on the entire Marvel Universe.

Lastly, we have The Punisher. It’s a perfectly cromulent brawler. Player One controls the Punisher while a second player can join in as Nick Fury. The two will banter a bit (via text) to liven things up while battling through the criminal underworld leading to a final confrontation with the Kingpin. It’s less impressive than the fighters from a presentation aspect and the mechanics of the game are pretty standard: attack, jump, and a special attack that drains life when it connects. Sometimes The Punisher and Fury will be allowed to use guns, usually in response to when the villains do the same, but mostly it’s a melee affair. There’s an abundance of temporary weapons to bash foes with that helps add a little variety, though most are just something to bash a foe with. A playthrough will take most around 45 minutes and when it’s over there likely will be little appetite in venturing forth again. There’s no reason to from a gameplay perspective aside from achieving a better score, it’s just the video game equivalent of chewing gum. At least it’s a longer experience than what Fruit Stripe offers.

One last shot for scale. It’s certainly not small, but definitely not as big as a true stand-up cabinet.

I had a desire to add an arcade machine to my bar room, and this Counter-Cade from Arcade 1Up gets the job done. It’s an attractive piece with a solid selection of games which 3 of the 4 offer incentive to play and replay while the 4th is certainly good for entertaining younger gamers (ignoring the violence). And the other important selling point, maybe the most important, is it’s not ludicrously expensive. The MSRP on this is $229 at most stores and many offered discounts during the holidays. Since this was a gift, I don’t know exactly how much my wife paid, but I know it was less than $200 due to sales and the use of good old Kohl’s Cash. At the high end of $229, I do think it’s a tougher sell, but not terrible. If you really love the games included and want something to bring your room together then I think it’s doable. On sale though, it becomes a much easier call. You’re still better off going in a different direction if your goal is simply to play these games, but as we established earlier, if you’re interested in this set then you’re in it for the novelty more so than the software.

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June 12, 2019

Ranking the Games of the Sega Genesis Mini

By Joe

us genesis mini box

Commemorating 30 years of the Genesis, Mega Drive to you non-Yankees, in comes the Genesis Mini to go along with your other mini consoles.

Did you think the era of the mini console was over? You would be forgiven if you had. Last year’s Sony Playstation Classic arrived with a thud. Originally retailing for $100, you can probably score one now for less than half of that as they clogged shelves during the holiday season and failed to excite. And it wasn’t a surprise. Sony just didn’t have the software muscle to make the Playstation Classic a must-own console. It wasn’t for a lack of effort on Sony’s part. There was a clear desire to have this device harken back to the early days of the Playstation as a celebration of one of the most popular gaming devices of all time. The problem was it may have been too reverential for those early days as a lot of the software just hasn’t aged too well. And the games that had have been readily available for download or in compilation packages for years. Top it off with no dual shock and a hefty price tag just made the console undesirable. Maybe Sony still made money off of the machine, but it wouldn’t be surprising to learn the electronics giant took a loss either.

bad genesis mini

Not to be confused with the awful other mini Genesis units out there.

If you thought that high profile failure would deter others from following suit, well then you would be wrong. Throwing their hats back into the ring is Sega, who has been licensing its old software and hardware for years as part of third-party plug-and-play devices of less than desirable quality. Even when the NES Classic was available, Sega had a Genesis Mini on store shelves that boasted wireless controllers and a port on the console for an actual Genesis cartridge. Everything about it though was clunky and pretty awful. Since it was licensed out, it likely cost Sega nothing aside from a hit to its brand reputation. Maybe Sega decided it needed to help that brand out while making another effort at tapping into that mini console nostalgia that has boosted Nintendo’s bottom line for a few years now.

To do so, Sega has sought the services of M2, the developer behind the Sega Ages compilations which have been universally praised for their emulation quality. Sega also is apparently handling the actual hardware in-house, and actual Genesis controllers will ship with the system this fall. This smells like an honest attempt at a quality device, the only question really is can Sega still manufacture and produce quality hardware? It’s not something the company has been involved with for decades now since the high profile failure that was the Dreamcast. Considering there isn’t much to these mini consoles, there probably should be some degree of confidence Sega can pull it off. By sticking with wired controllers there’s no worry about cheap, wireless, devices which plagued the prior models. And we already know the emulation end should come out quite well.

genesis mini tower

Sega is apparently going all-in on the nostalgia and even releasing a non-functioning Sega CD and 32X mini in case you want to remember this abomination.

What we also know is the price ($79.99, same as the SNES Classic) and contents of the package. The US version will include two classic 3-button controllers and 42 games. Yes, it would have been preferential to have the six-button controller, which will apparently be included with the Japanese version so perhaps there will be some six-button controllers for sale, but it’s not a deal-breaker since every game had to utilize the 3-button layout. Mostly though, look at that games total:  42! Where Nintendo seemed careful about what it included with the SNES Classic, likely wanting to adhere to placing a dollar value on each game, Sega has simply said “Screw that!” and put a vast collection of games on this set that well-represent what the Genesis was famous for. Sure, there are some notable omissions. Mortal Kombat was huge for the Genesis, so it’s surprising to see it excluded. Considering the game doesn’t possess the gameplay to match its visuals, it’s only a sentimental loss. An actual good game that is missing is Sonic the Hedgehog 3 + Sonic & Knuckles. It’s possible the lock-on function was difficult to duplicate, or maybe Sega just felt that would be too much Sonic. Otherwise, there aren’t a lot of obvious omissions. Sports were huge on the Genesis, but licensing for sports titles is likely far too complex and expensive. Likely, most of your personal omissions are a preference for one game in a series (Shining Force vs Shining Force II, for example) vs another.

I’ve taken the time to rank the games of the other high-profile mini consoles, only skipping SNK’s, so I feel an obligation to do the same for the Genesis. This is the only negative for me of Sega including 42 games as I have to rank them all! This is no easy feat, but I’ll do my best. Now, I have played every game on this list, but that doesn’t mean I am supremely familiar with all of them. I’ll try to convey my familiarity where I can, but this is also just one man’s opinion so take it for what it is.

First of all, there are actually 2 games I have not played and they are the two most recent revelations:  Tetris and Darius. The Genesis Tetris was somewhat infamously discontinued before it got going. It’s one of the most expensive carts to this day. It’s Tetris, so you probably have played it before on another platform. I’m sure it’s good. The other game I have not played is the arcade-only Darius. A fan version of this game showed up on the internet and it’s speculated the version here is the same. It’s an auto-scrolling shooter from Taito so if you like that stuff I suppose you’ll be excited to play it. As for the other 40 games, well let’s just get right down to it.

altered beast boss 1

Altered Beast is memorable and was an early success story, but it was never really a good game.

40.  Altered Beast – Altered Beast is an arcade classic, and as an early Genesis title, it does have some fans. On the other hand, it’s an example of how porting from arcade to the Genesis wasn’t entirely smooth and that arcade perfect ports were still years away. The transforming beast gimmick is neat, but everything else is rather terrible. It’s playable, and as a kid I liked it enough, so if it’s your worst title then that’s not too bad.

39.  Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle – The mascot before Sonic, Alex Kidd is perhaps best forgotten, a super floaty platformer that is representative of a lot of the shovel-ware that would clog game systems during the era. There’s at least some skill to be formed while playing this one, hence why I put it ahead of the vanilla brawler, Altered Beast.

38. Virtua Fighter 2 – Virtua Fighter 2 is a late era representative of how porting from the arcade to the home was hard. This time, it’s because arcade hardware had more than lapped what was available for most gamers at home. If playing this title on the Saturn, then it’s pretty good. On the Genesis? Well, let’s just say it’s a shocker they even bothered.

37. Eternal Champions – Sega’s in-house fighting game entry, Eternal Champions was the straight to home fighting game that wanted to be violent and shocking. Instead, it’s just a one on one fighter with little charm that’s also some-what bogged down by overly complex mechanics. The fact that it was developed for the Genesis, and not the arcade, made it noteworthy at the time because that was practically unheard of for fighting games. It ended up being a harbinger of things to come as the arcades became more marginalized as the 90s wore on. Playable, but hardly memorable unless you really like the fatality-like Overkills.

36. Ecco the Dolphin – Pretty nice looking for a Genesis title and certainly unique given that you play as a dolphin and solve puzzles. It’s also one of the most boring titles I’ve ever played. Some people love it, and it was a huge seller, so maybe others will too.

35. Ghouls ‘n Ghosts – I’m on the record as just not being a fan of this franchise. This version is naturally superior to what was on the NES, so if you like that game then you’ll love this one. I personally just find this game difficult to a fault, where it only cares about being hard and not being entertaining. Such a slog.

space harrier 2 4

Space Harrier 2 is certainly a unique shooter that was far more impressive back when it came out than it is today.

34. Space Harrier 2 – A strange behind-the-back on-rails shooter. You can move your character all over the screen to avoid attacks. It gets pretty chaotic, but if you’re a fan of on-rails shooters it might offer a nice change of pace from the typical approach.

33. Golden Axe – A solid arcade port that’s still plenty playable, Golden Axe is far more enjoyable with two-players. I’m surprised Sega went with the original here, but there’s not a ton separating the games in this franchise so I suppose it matters little. It’s fine, but I’ve played Golden Axe so much that it’s hard to get excited about it.

32. Kid Chameleon – A platformer in which you play as what appears to be a 50’s greaser and collect power-ups that impart new abilities. It’s a neat concept and if you stick with it you may find it rewarding. I’ve personally just always hated the “feel” of this one as the character is really floaty and slippery.

31. Comix Zone – One of the coolest looking games on the Genesis, Comix Zone has a great concept. You play as a comic book artist who gets sucked into his own panels. It’s just so unbelievably hard that all enjoyment is ruined. I guess you could save-skum your way through it, but that’s hardly what I consider fun.

30. Light Crusaders – An isometric RPG, it’s actually one of many RPGs on the Genesis Mini. It’s crazy how many there are. Is this one the worst? Probably. I’ve never spent a ton of time with it though so maybe I’m selling it short. I’m not a fan of the perspective or the visuals, finding it frustrating. It does at times feel like a precursor to the much superior Diablo given the perspective and the fact that there’s just one, really long, dungeon in the game. It did receive quite a bit of praise when it was released in 1995 so maybe I should give it another shot?

beyond oasis

Visually, Beyond Oasis strikes me as Secret of Mana meets Dragon’s Lair.

29. Beyond Oasis – A top-down action RPG, this one reminds me of Secret of Mana. It has some distinctive visuals, but the animations can be a bit chunky. Not the greatest controls either as you’re most likely going to find little snakes you have to crouch to hit to be the biggest annoyance. It’s an interesting game, but it’s somewhat made worse for its RPG elements as dealing with NPCs just feels tedious and dry.

28. Super Fantasy Zone – a shooter, but one in which you have full control of the vehicle similar to TaleSpin on the NES. It’s a pleasing title to look at and an easy one to just pick up and play when you have a half hour to kill or something. I prefer this style to auto-scrolling, even if it’s still not the type of game I seek out. It was also never released on the Genesis in the US, but was released on the Virtual Console in 2008.

27. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse – Disney and Sega had a nice thing going for awhile. Castle of Illusion was among the first and an early entrant on the Genesis. It’s a rather benign platforming title that might be easier than you remember if you last played it as a little kid. That is unless your skills in 2D have diminished, then it might be harder than you remember.

26. Earthworm Jim – This game was inescapable when it came out as the marketing was obnoxious. It’s a flashy looking shooter/platform type that gets pretty hard pretty fast. I think it’s a bit style over substance, but it does have an addictive quality to it. I know it still  has a strong fanbase to this day, which is probably why the character is set to attempt a comeback on the Intellivision Amico.

25. Thunder Force III – This game is a totally serviceable shooter in the same vein as R-Type. Not my cup of tea, but plenty fine. This is the best game in the franchise as it switched to the horizontal format and even introduced some elements that would be considered forgiving, a rarity in this genre.

24. Wonderboy in Monster World – Yet another RPG, this one is a side-scrolling action one. It’s perfectly playable and even enjoyable still today. It’s also a little boring when it comes to the RPG elements which is probably why Wonderboy never took off like Zelda did. Either that or it was because his name is Wonderboy. I mostly rank it this high on the list because I find the aesthetics of the game quite charming.

dynamite headdy

Dynamite Headdy was a later arrival on the Genesis so it may have been overlooked by many.

23. Dynamite Headdy – There were so many mascot plaformer types in the 90s that it’s forgivable if you forgot about Dynamite Headdy. He’s basically a bug without a neck who can throw his head at enemies. Interesting concept, for sure, and a totally fine platforming title. Headdy handles well and the game is bright colorful, what more do you want?

22. Alisia Dragoon – It’s kind of like Castlevania with lightning bolts and dragons. Alisia Dragoon is a side scroller in which you have lightning powers and multiple dragon sidekicks to cycle through. Like Castlevania, there’s exploration elements and hidden places to find. It’s also pretty relentless about attacking from all sides making it imperative to use your powers judiciously so they have time to recharge and strike out in all directions. This is a game I’ll likely spend more time with should I get a Genesis Mini.

21. Sonic Spinball – It’s pinball, but with Sonic the Hedgehog instead of a ball. I’m actually not sure if this title is overrated or underrated. When it came out, a lot of people were a little irritated it wasn’t a proper new Sonic game, but it’s hard to deny it’s a rather fun experience. It won’t blow you away, but you’re unlikely to have a bad time at least.

20. Columns – A Sega classic, of sorts, Columns was the brick-falling game not named Tetris. It’s a match 3 type of puzzler and it’s fine. It won’t wow you, but it’s easy to get absorbed in. I’d much rather play this than something like Yoshi’s Cookie, though I’d prefer to play one other puzzler on this set over it.

19. Landstalkers – Another isometric action RPG, this one is just much more enjoyable than Light Crusader. It’s nicer on the eyes, and while the story isn’t anything special the world is far more interesting to explore. The perspective is still more annoying than fun, but this is a title in need of some added exposure so hopefully the Genesis Mini is a benefit for it.

monster world iv

Monster World IV features a colorful and cute design that I just find so charming.

18. Monster World IV – The last entrant in the Wonderboy series on the Genesis and a game previously unreleased on the console outside of Japan. It has been included on compilations in recent years, but this will be the first time US gamers will get to experience it on Sega hardware. It’s yet another side-scrolling RPG, but it has charm and looks great. A surprise, but worthy, inclusion for the Genesis Mini.

17. Mega Man:  The Wily Wars – This one is almost like cheating as it’s a compilation of the first three Mega Man titles ported to the Genesis with enhanced visuals. It should be awesome, but I’ve never liked how it feels compared with the NES games. It seems slower and more deliberate almost as if Capcom went too far in updating the visuals and instead negatively impacted the gameplay. Maybe that’s why it originally went unreleased, being only available on the Sega Channel. I’ll give it another shot, for sure, as it’s still Mega Man and those three games are classics in their own right.

16. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck – I’m probably ranking this one too high, but it was a personal favorite of mine as a kid. It’s Castle of Illusion, but with two-players and much improved visuals. It’s a fun, breezy, platformer that should be beatable for even those who have let their skills diminish over the years. It just might take some practice.

sonic 1 main

Sonic’s gameplay is somewhat divisive, but what isn’t is the impact he had on Sega and video games as a whole in the 90s.

15. Sonic the Hedgehog – Sega’s first real answer to Mario, you either love it or you don’t. The game is a constant battle with the urge to travel at top speed, because once achieved, you open Sonic up to a world of hurt in the form of spike traps and death pits. It’s a game of trial and error, and had it not been a success back in the 90s we might not even be here having this conversation. Still very playable, just not the best Sonic title any longer.

14. Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition – It’s the arcade classic now on the Genesis. This is about as competent a fighter as you’re going to find, it’s just hard to get excited about playing it in 2019. The 3-button controller is not the ideal way to experience Street Fighter, but it’s competent at least. It’s still Street Fighter II though, which is a nice floor to have.

13. Road Rash II – The motorcycle racer that was a staple on the Genesis, until it wasn’t. This game was largely popular amongst my friends because you could attack other racers, but even absent that it was still a damn good time and a fun racer. I’m a bit surprised it’s the only racer on this set though, but I’m not sure Outrun has aged all that well and Virtua Racing is probably too hard to emulate.

12. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine – Another stacking puzzle game, this is just Puyo Puyo but with a Sonic skin. Specifically, it’s done in the style of the cartoon Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s the rare puzzler that’s better with two players. Probably the only puzzle game I prefer to it is Puzzle Fighter, which isn’t surprising since they’re pretty similar. Definitely check this one out if you never have.

11. Contra:  Hard Corps – The venerable Contra series on the Genesis. Some Contra fans cite this as their favorite entry in the series. I’m no Contra expert, so don’t ask me. It’s a fun and challenging shooter though. Too hard for me, and I’m not ashamed to admit that. Have fun using save states on this one.

strider

Strider is Capcom’s forgotten hit franchise. Its visuals are a tad dated as this was an early Genesis title, but its gameplay is not.

10. Strider – This felt like Capcom’s answer to Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden. Strider is a bit more vertical and the main character Hiryu has a lot of weapons at his disposal. Strider controls well and offers plenty of action, a good one to get lost in especially since the challenging difficulty will keep you busy.

9. Vectorman – Speaking of hard games, here’s another. Vectorman is a shooter/platformer with some gimmicky stuff as well as the titular character can change form. Visually distinctive, Vectorman is a game I enjoy despite the fact that I suck at it. Maybe I just need more practice. I’ll probably play this one a few times and struggle to make it to level 3.

8. Shinobi III – A challenging platformer, but one more deliberately paced. I’ve always preferred Shinobi to Ninja Gaiden or Strider because of that pacing. It’s easier to plot out an attack and feel out a boss fight. It’s also still hard, but often fair. Smart move by Sega to go with the third entry over the other two as this one has always felt like the most balanced entry in the series.

7. Phantasy Star IV – A more traditional JRPG, this series is basically Sega’s Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy. I’m a bit surprised they opted to go with IV over the more popular II, but either one is fine. I wish it looked and sounded better, but it’s strangely addicting thanks to its combat system and I look forward to playing through it.

toejam_and_earl wiener

The only game brave enough to refer to its characters as wieners.

6. Toejam & Earl – Too high? Possibly. This game is just too weird not to love and represents the oddball nature of the Genesis so well. You practically have to play it with two players, but the journey to piece together the spaceship of a couple lost aliens is certainly memorable and humorous. This is also the rare game where the power-ups feel more like a curse as they make it so hard to control the characters. This is definitely the go-to game when a buddy stops over. Maybe now I can finally beat it?

5. Gunstar Heroes – A more forgiving run and gun game than Contra or SNK’s Metal Slug. It’s also faster and has its own distinct visual style. This is routinely cited by many as one of the best games on the Genesis so it was a must-include for Sega. It’s surprising that this series hasn’t been able to live on as a modern-looking version would be amazing. We’ll just have to settle for this release, I guess.

4. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – It’s like the first game, only everything is better. Maybe you want to say the soundtrack is better on the original – that’s fine. Every level here though is probably superior to every level in the first game. The inclusion of Tails technically makes it two-player, but no one has fun controlling Tails. He’s the original “give this guy to your little brother/sister” character as he can’t die and has no control over what is happening on screen. Which is why if I play any game with one of my kids it will be this one.

streets 2 uppercut

Arguably the best brawler ever created, it’s amazing that Streets of Rage 2 has maintained a stranglehold on that title for so many years.

3. Streets of Rage 2 – Considered by many to be the best brawler ever created. Even better than Final Fight or Double Dragon II. Streets of Rage 2 stretches the genre about as far as it can go. It has a surprisingly deep combat system and it looks great as well. So many games have attempted to rip it off, and none have come all that close.

2. Shining Force – If Phantasy Star was Sega’s answer to Dragon Quest, then Shining Force was its answer to Fire Emblem. Shining Force is a criminally under-appreciated strategy RPG. Maybe we just didn’t have the attention span for it back in the day, which explains why Nintendo never bothered with Fire Emblem until much later, but I never knew anyone who talked about this franchise. It’s great though, but I’m surprised Sega went with the original over the better sequel. It’s not a big deal though. If you don’t like this style of gameplay, then Shining Force won’t win you over. I’m a bit of a junkie for this stuff though, hence the placement here.

bloodlines 3

Bloodlines was sort of dismissed upon arrival, maybe due to Castlevania fatigue, but it’s one of the best games in the long-running franchise.

1. Castlevania:  Bloodlines – The secret best 16-bit Castlevania? A lot of praise gets tossed at Super Castlevania IV, but Bloodlines is the superior game. It returns the player’s sprite to a more diminutive size giving the game more space. It features tried and true Castlevania gameplay and a great soundtrack as well. Like a lot of games on this console, it wasn’t appreciated as much as it should have been at the time, but at least there’s time to rectify that. This is a fabulous game on the Genesis, and if you love Super Castlevania IV but haven’t played this one much or at all then now is as good a time as any to rectify that.

That’s my opinion of the Genesis Mini’s software. It’s a great collection of games and the sheer amount likely pushes this one ahead of the SNES Classic in terms of value. What remains to be seen is if Sega can deliver on the quality, and while I’m fairly confident the company can, it’s hardly a sure thing. Performing this exercise has, more or less, convinced me to get one myself. And thankfully, it looks like the Genesis Mini will be a lot easier to come by than either of Nintendo’s offerings initially were. And if you think we’re done with mini consoles, well you are mistaken. Konami just announced a TurboGrafx-16 Mini so there’s that to look forward to. And the specter of a Nintendo 64 Classic will continue to loom large over the market until it’s either released or we all collectively decide to believe Nintendo that it isn’t coming.

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October 29, 2018

Ranking the Games of the PlayStation Classic

By Joe

psx classic gamesWhen the PlayStation Classic was announced a few months ago it was only revealed what 5 of the included 20 games were going to be. It was odd, but considering most places pre-sold out I suppose it didn’t matter. When Nintendo had success with the NES Classic Edition, it meant we were in for more of these devices. Myself and many others tried to predict what would be included on a potential SNES Classic and most people probably came pretty close to nailing the final line-up. Nintendo is heavy with first-party titles and its brand is forever connected with the likes of Mario and Link. With Sony, that first-party recognition isn’t there. During the height of the original PlayStation, Crash Bandicoot was positioned as the company’s mascot, but he wasn’t even owned by Sony. His games were just published by Sony, but the character would eventually come to be owned by Activision. Still, it seemed inconceivable that Sony would pass over Crash, and yet they did! He will not be appearing on the PlayStation Classic as Sony has finally unveiled the remaining 15. I knew predicting the line-up would be more difficult than doing so with the SNES Classic, but apparently I didn’t realize just how hard it would be as I went a putrid 1 for 15 with my predictions.

I suppose if I wanted to give myself bonus points I could dampen that showing by saying I at least hit on two additional franchises. And two of my requested titles (Intelligent Qube and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo) actually made it, even though I thought it would be a long shot to see them included. There’s no hiding from it though, I whiffed big time and I’ll own that. The actual line-up has likely surprised many and it has some nice surprises and some not-so-nice surprises. It’s a weird line-up, and since the PSX era did have some weird games I suppose that’s appropriate. There are three puzzle games among the 20, no 2D fighters, and only one title each from Konami, and Square-Enix. That means no Mega Man, Lara Croft, or Alucard. Were publishers not willing to “play ball” with Sony and its machine? Or was Sony just not willing to pay more for bigger titles? The Japanese version does have some different titles, including Parasite Eve and SaGa Frontier, but the Japanese market is a lot smaller than the North American one so maybe Sony is trying to maximize profits outside of Japan and is less concerned about the home country.

alucard

There are a lot of contenders for biggest snub, but Alucard might be the biggest.

This is not an optimal line-up of games, but does that make it bad? Lets suss it out and rank these titles starting with the least appetizing:

20. Battle Arena Toshinden – A decent looking launch title, it was quickly overwhelmed by Namco’s Tekken franchise. Most people forget about this franchise, and with good reason. It’s not a good game, and it’s odd to use this one instead of the better sequel, but even that game isn’t great.

destruction derby

Excited to revisit this one?

19. Destruction Derby – This game was a one-trick pony when it was released in the launch window of the PlayStation. It was cool to see cars explode and get smashed-up and it was sort-of perversely fun inflicting damage on other vehicles, but it was all empty calories. No one should be playing this game in 2018.

18. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six – This was one of the most heavily marketed games of its era. I probably saw more commercials for Rainbow Six than I did Final Fantasy VII. It’s okay, but the PSX port was pretty abysmal. Anyone playing Rainbow Six in 1998 probably shouldn’t have been playing it on PSX. Electronic Gaming Monthly even awarded it a dubious 3.8/10.

17. Jumping Flash! – We knew this one was included, and I even argued it had a place given it was a launch title and was just so very “of the era.” That doesn’t mean it’s particularly good and by today’s standards it’s quite ugly. Unlike the games listed before it though, it has a certain curiosity factor going for it that will make it worth a look when the PS Classic drops, but it might not be a game you actually stick with.

16. Cool Boarders 2 – If you like snowboarding and “extreme” sports games, then you’ll probably have this one ranked higher. It’s all right, but most people will probably wonder why it’s here and not Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (it’s the licensing, folks).

twisted metal 1

I probably logged over 100 hours with this game, but I’ve never wanted to replay it after Twisted Metal 2 came out.

15. Twisted Metal – I loved this franchise on PlayStation, well the first two games at least. The first one though has not aged well at all, and even in the moment, I knew I was playing a junky game, but it had a certain fun factor. The sequel though is way better and actually still playable. I considered it the most obvious lock for the mini console even ahead of Metal Gear Solid so the fact that this game is included but the sequel is not blows my mind.

14. Oddworld:  Abe’s Odyssey – I said the PS Classic has three puzzle games, but you could make the case Oddworld is more of a puzzle game than a true platformer. This game was hyped a bunch as being a game that gave the player numerous ways to solve a problem, but it didn’t really play out that way. It was interesting, but hardly great. It’s graphical approach should hold up well enough though.

13. Wild Arms – One of the previously announced titles, I gave my speech on it already. It’s serviceable, and its simple JRPG mechanics mean it will always remain playable. It’s just a bit crazy to think that this machine has only three RPGs when the PSX was an RPG behemoth, and Wild Arms is one of the three.

12. Grand Theft Auto – GTA was a surprise hit for the PC when it was released, and it was somewhat surprising to see it get a PSX port. It was also the first title I was denied an ability to purchase at a GameStop. Like modern GTA titles, it was arguably at its best when it was just played like a sand box causing mayhem. Unlike modern GTA titles, the actual missions and story isn’t that rewarding and the game was really difficult. It was at least a little easier to handle on the PSX than with a keyboard. It should still be fun to screw around with, but might not have much legs with the PS Classic.

Intelligent-Qube

The inclusion of Intelligent Qube is a bit of a surprise. Is it a system-seller? Probably not, but it’s worth a look if you end up getting a PS Classic.

11. Intelligent Qube – This was a surprise inclusion, but a worthwhile one. It’s an interesting puzzle game that’s at least not another brick-falling puzzler. I don’t know how well it’s held up because it’s been many years, but it should be playable and may be a dark horse contender for many folks’ most played title on the Classic.

10. Resident Evil (Director’s Cut) – There’s no denying this title was huge for the PSX, and the Director’s Cut version was superior to the original. It is possibly the worst in the franchise on the PSX though and its controls are not something I look forward to returning to. It took many hours to get a handle on them in 1996 and I’m not sure I still have such skills. Maybe it’s like riding a bike?

9. Syphon Filter – This was basically Sony’s attempt at a first party MGS or Rainbow Six. It was fine for what it was, though I’d prefer a dual shock to play it. It’s going to look ugly, and even Gabe Logan’s running animation looked horrendous in ’99. It might surprise though, and the only reason why I didn’t include it in my prediction was because I didn’t think Sony would release it without dual shock support.

8. Ridge Racer Type 4 – A totally competent racer, but let’s face it, this isn’t the racing game you want. Gran Turismo was the first-party behemoth, but I’m guessing licensing issues made it impossible to include. WipeOut was an alternative racer, but one I’d consider more fun than Ridge Racer. I would have taken Crash Team Racing over this one, honestly, and I’m not sure if I’d even play this more than once on the PS Classic. The racing genre is one that basically improves a lot with better technology, so going back isn’t always fun unless it’s more of an off-beat title. I suspect this still plays well enough though, which is why I’m ranking it this high.

persona

I’m happy to see the original Persona included in this collection, but it’s also not a hard to find game so I wish something like Valkyrie Profile was included instead.

7. Revelations:  Persona – The first game in what is now known simply as the Persona series is the biggest surprise inclusion on the PS Classic. This was not a popular game when it was released, and Persona still has more of a cult franchise vibe than a mainstream one. The first game is not as good as more recent entries with the series really blossoming with Persona 3. It is still playable though, and it’s more strategy-oriented battle system differentiates it from Wild Arms and FFVII. This one is a nice surprise and unlike the original Final Fantasy on the NES Classic, fans who are only familiar with the newer entries might actually enjoy playing the first in the series as opposed to just checking it out for the sake of curiosity.

6. Mr. Driller – The nice thing about puzzle games is that they age well. Mr. Driller is another surprise inclusion. It was well-received in its day, but not really a system mover or anything. It’s fun and charming though and if you like puzzle games with a slight Tetris vibe then you’ll get some mileage out of this one.

5. Rayman – Rayman was all over the place in the mid-90s. He was so omnipresent that I kind of wrote him off for this system as I never associated him with PlayStation. His game is pretty good though, and its 2D approach should hold up just fine. I never loved Rayman, but I never hated his games either.

4. Metal Gear Solid – I’m not crazy about this list of games, if you haven’t noticed, but I do think it’s pretty top-heavy. The last four are mostly interchangeable, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Metal Gear Solid tops many lists such as this one. My reasoning for placing it 4th is because I think we’re missing out on some of the bells and whistles with this version by not having the dual shock support and a memory card full of Konami games. I also think the game hasn’t aged too well and recent entries in the series really helped to smooth out the gameplay experience. It’s still a fantastic game, it’s just not as fantastic as it could be on the PS Classic.

puzzle fiighter

This is a great choice for inclusion. I have nothing bad to say about Puzzle Fighter.

3. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo – This is probably my favorite puzzle game. It’s incredibly addicting and the rare puzzler that might be more fun in two-player mode than single-player. It’s got a lot of charm and personality and its sprites should hold up very well. I’m a bit surprised at its inclusion, especially given the omissions of traditional Capcom fighters, but also delighted.

2. Final Fantasy VII – We’ve all probably played it. And even though there’s been backlash towards this title over the years because it’s the most recognizable from the long-running series, that doesn’t mean it’s still not in the conversation for best Final Fantasy game. It’s readily available on other platforms so its inclusion isn’t sexy, but it’s also necessary. If you’ve got about 40 hours, you should give this one some time.

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The visuals may not wow you like they did in 98, but Tekken 3 is still a blast to play.

1. Tekken 3 – And the best game of the PS Classic is Tekken 3. A late era title, it actually holds up quite well in the visuals department and the game is simply one of the best 3D fighters ever made. It has a huge roster of characters, some fun additional modes and characters, and there should be something for everyone in terms of fighting styles. If you don’t like 3D fighters then maybe this won’t win you over, but I spent many hours with this one and I’d actually be excited to run through it again and try to unlock all of the additional characters and modes. Well, maybe not Tekken Force Mode.

 

So that’s it; the PlayStation Classic and its 20 games. Are you going to get one? Did you already pre-order one and are reconsidering that decision? I’m over-all not impressed with these 20 games, the majority of which I don’t need to revisit. Even some of the games that I think are fine I still don’t want to really play in 2018. Why play Twisted Metal when you can easily play Twisted Metal Black? Why play Rayman over the easily acquired (and cheap) Rayman Legends? I wasn’t that excited over this console to begin with, as the nostalgia factor just isn’t quite there for me with the PSX era. If the list had turned out to be something closer to what I predicted I might have been tempted. With this list, though? I’m looking at spending 100 bucks to play Persona, Intelligent Qube, and Mr. Driller as the other games I really enjoy I still own for PlayStation and can play them right now if I want. I have a first-gen PS3 hooked up to my TV right now so nothing is stopping me from popping in Tekken 3 if I wish to play it. I’m not everyone though, so for those who loved the PSX and maybe sold all of their old games I can at least see some appeal, but I still feel like this roster is one big missed opportunity.

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September 22, 2018

Forecasting and Perfecting the PlayStation Classic

By Joe

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Aww, it’s so adorable!

Sony announced the PlayStation Classic on September 19th and it is set to go on sale December 3rd. Following in Nintendo’s footsteps, the PlayStation Classic is a mini version of the original console with 20 pre-loaded games, a single controller, and HDMI output. It will have support for saves via a virtual memory card as well as numerous display modes to toggle through that will try and preserve the original look of the games or try to smooth them out and update them for today. At $100 MSRP, the PlayStation Classic finds itself priced in-between the SNES Classic and the soon to be released Neo Geo Mini. Making things more interesting, and also frustrating, is that Sony chose to only reveal 5 of the system’s 20 pre-loaded games:  Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, Tekken 3, Ridge Racer Type 4, and Wild Arms. It’s an odd form of marketing, but Sony must feel confident it will have strong pre-sales to hold back that information for the time being. It also likely thinks it will help build excitement for the machine if they drip-feed consumers. Maybe it will be a weekly event to reveal another game or two. There are 10 weeks separating the system’s announcement and release so such a strategy is possible, or they could just come in bunches.

Choosing to withhold information on the included games is likely an annoyance for prospective consumers. I know I personally am not pre-ordering a gaming device in which I don’t even know what games I can play on it will be. It does however create the fun scenario in which people like me can speculate on what will be included and also what should be included. Those are two very different questions as if it were up to me I would load this thing up with RPGs, but I’m sure Sony will want a more balanced lineup. Adding further intrigue is the fact that Sony isn’t the first-party powerhouse that Nintendo is. With the SNES Classic, it was relatively easy to predict what games would be included because so many of them were Nintendo developed titles. Those games were not only among the best the system had, but also cost Nintendo next to nothing to include. With Sony’s machine, they’ll likely be cutting sizable checks to Capcom and Square-Enix with this thing.

Lets rundown the games I think Sony is going to include. Since we already know five of them, that means I need to only come up with 15 for this exercise. This is a prediction, so I’ll also include my opinion on if I think the game should be included, and where not, what I would include instead with the idea being I wouldn’t boot a fighting game to add a strategy one and will aim to stay within the genre. Let’s start with the included games:

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This was expected.

Final Fantasy VII – This is likely the PlayStation’s biggest game, not the best-selling, but in terms of what it meant to the console. This legitimized Sony with the hardcore crowd since Sony was able to pry a successful Nintendo franchise away from The Big N. And even though it’s readily available on Sony’s Eshop and will soon be available on The Switch, Sony basically had to include it here.

Jumping Flash – This is a game that has not aged well. It’s going to be ugly, and may even make you nauseous due to the first-person perspective, but in terms of early launch window games few spring to mind as being of the era than Jumping Flash. It’s a relic, but one forever tied to Sony’s machine. As a legacy game, it feels appropriate to include.

Ridge Racer Type 4 – Squaresoft may have stole the headlines when it announced FFVII would be on a Sony console, but lets not forget how important Namco was for the PSX early on. Namco supported Sony’s machine rather extensively, and one of its signature series was Ridge Racer. Ridge Racer would eventually be over-shadows by the gear-head adored Gran Turismo series, but its arcade approach remained fun and Type 4 was probably the best of the bunch and is rightfully included.

Tekken 3 – Another Namco staple, the first Tekken was a launch window title and a worthy adversary for Sega’s Virtua Fighter series. It proved to be the best of the 3D brawlers on Sony’s machine far surpassing the likes of Battle Arena Toshinden. Tekken 3 was the final Tekken released for the original PlayStation and it represents the pinnacle for the franchise for the era. It was gorgeous for the time and felt like a game that pushed the system beyond what anyone thought it could do. It’s still my favorite entry in the series and it most certainly belongs here.

Wild Arms – The Sony produced RPG had the benefit of arriving before FFVII. While some blame that game for the lack of success enjoyed by Wild Arms, I knew more than one person who purchased this title simply because they couldn’t wait for FFVII. It’s a totally serviceable RPG and it has its share of fans, though it’s never been a favorite of mine. On one hand, it does represent the early era of PSX role-playing games, but I would not have included it.  Suggested replacement:  Blood Omen:  Legacy of Kain – a top-down action RPG, Blood Omen was the start of a successful Sony franchise for Kain and eventually Raziel. It had a lot of style, and as a fellow 1996 title and pseudo RPG it would be a suitable replacement. If something could be done about the horrendous load times in bringing it to the system then all the better. It’s possible the sequel, Soul Reaver, will be among the other 15 and if that is the case then I would not include this one.

And now for the predictions! I’m ordering them from most likely to least, and it should be noted, this is entirely subjective for the most part though I’m avoiding any game that was intended to be played with the Dual Shock controller (like Ape Escape), with one noted exception.

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Twisted Metal was arguably Sony’s premiere franchise in the 90s.

Twisted Metal 2:  World Tour – The most successful Sony first-party franchise during the PSX era was probably Twisted Metal, and that franchise’s best game was easily Twisted Metal 2:  World Tour. It took everything that made the first a surprise hit and improved upon it. Better presentation, better controls, a huge roster, and new gameplay additions made this one a blast to play. It’s probably pretty ugly by today’s standards, but still playable and likely still infectious.

Metal Gear Solid – FFVII was the signature third-party game, and franchise, for the PlayStation’s early days, but it feels like it was supplanted some-what by Metal Gear Solid. MGS revolutionized what could be done from a cinematic perspective and its attention to detail was something seldom seen in gaming. It was an instant masterpiece, and also the game that will most suffer by the lack of Dual Shock support. If It wasn’t so important to the legacy of the PlayStation I’d say hold off for an eventual Dual Shock version of the PlayStation Classic.

Final Fantasy Tactics – Another game that is readily available, but also one synonymous with the PlayStation. Final Fantasy Tactics took the guts of Tactics Ogre and gave it a new coat of paint. It’s also a bit more accessible, but just as serious about its story. FFT wasn’t what folks who had just played FFVII were expecting, so it got kind of lost in the shuffle, but has since been more appreciated and is routinely cited as one of the best RPGs ever released. It would feel weird to not include it.

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I’ve never been a Crash guy, but I won’t deny him his rightful place.

Crash Bandicoot 2:  Cortex Strikes Back – Crash was conceived as the original PlayStation mascot meant to oppose Mario and Sonic. It didn’t really work out that way, since Sony didn’t even own the character, but for awhile he was utilized that way. Arguably his best contribution to that era were the commercials (“Hey, plumber boy!”), but the games were pretty good in their own right. Not really my cup of tea, it would be hard though to deny Crash a spot on the PlayStation Classic and most agree that his second outing was superior to the first. They would also probably argue the third was even better, but I’m guessing Sony is placing an emphasis on earlier games which is why they may opt for this one over Warped.

Resident Evil 2 – Really, the only thing that makes me thing think Resident Evil 2 might not be included is the fact that Capcom is working on a remake as we speak. For that reason, it may prefer to include the original or even the less celebrated third entry. Everyone likely agrees that RE2 was the superior title, so in the interest of keeping things simple, I say Capcom relents and lets Sony have it.

Castlevania:  Symphony of the Night – We’ve long since past the era when Symphony of the Night was an under-appreciated classic. Famously released to a hostile public because it dared to be 2D, most have come to realize how silly a notion it was to declare 2D gaming obsolete and have embraced SoTN as one of the very best games in the long-running franchise. And those that didn’t realize it at the time certainly did when Castlevania 64 was released.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 – Most associate the 16 bit era with the height of the fighting genre, but it was still alive and well come the 32/64 bit era as well. PlayStation was not known for its excellence with 2D fighters, leaving that to Saturn and eventually Dreamcast, but Street Fighter Alpha was an exception. And of the games released in that series for the system, Alpha 3 was the best.

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I had a lot of good times with Wipeout.

Wipeout XL – Perhaps an aggressive ranking, but Wipeout felt like an important franchise during the early days of the PlayStation. The Psygnosis developed futuristic racer could have been mistaken as an F-Zero clone, but the physics and course design made it so much more. XL was the pinnacle for the series, and assuming Sony can work out the licensing issues, I expect it will be included.

Tomb Raider – Lara Croft’s humble beginnings were as an ugly, pointy-breasted, mess of polygons that I’m not sure people even in the moment felt looked particularly good. She was tough to control, but wasn’t a tank like Jill Valentine, and her adventure was pretty damn difficult. She did move onto other consoles, but Tomb Raider always felt like a Sony franchise and it’s likely viewed as important to the console, even though I do not want to revisit it. Suggested Replacement:  Parasite Eve – not exactly a one for one, but the shooter/RPG hybrid was quite interesting for its era, and as a franchise that never made it off of the PSX, it would be nice to see it here. The sequel is better, but may be hard to get into without knowing what happened in the first.

The Legend of Dragoon – Seeing how successful Final Fantasy was on its machine, Sony decided to get into the RPG business with The Legend of Dragoon. Seemingly thinking RPG fans enjoyed length over anything else, TLoD was gigantic and is probably the longest RPG on the system. It also looked great, and its battle system was okay. Aside from that, it’s not very good, but since Sony produced this one it won’t cost them much to include it and they probably view it as a signature title for the system. Suggested Replacement:  Valkyrie Profile – Oh boy, does this system not lack for RPGs. You could easily fill the console with 20 RPGs and not run out of quality software. Xenogears is my favorite, and it has an outside shot of being included, but a game that’s also good and brutally expensive is Valkyrie Profile. It would be great to see Sony use the PlayStation Classic as a means of delivering hard to find games to the consumer, but I’d be shocked if they included this one. It would probably cause me to buy one though, since getting a PlayStation Classic is way cheaper than buying this one second-hand.

Gran Turismo 2 – Assuming Sony can sort out the licensing issues, this one feels like a no brainer. Gran Turismo is one of Sony’s premiere franchises, and even though it’s faded some, it’s still remembered quite fondly. And given that its sim approach makes it way different from Ridge Racer, there’s room for it on the Classic as well. Though for me personally, it’s also a game I wouldn’t play.  Suggested Replacement:  Crash Team Racing – so it’s not exactly a sim, but I struggled to come up with a more appropriate replacement. CTR was stealthily the second best kart racer of the era, behind Diddy Kong Racing and ahead of Mario Kart 64. Yes, you read that correctly. MK64 is the most overrated game in that long running series and doesn’t hold up, but CTR is frantic, fast, and fun. The only problem is you’d pretty much need to get a second controller.

mega-man-x4

X found a home on Sony’s console, where Zero was allowed to flourish alongside him.

Mega Man X4 – Capcom is not shy about loaning out Mega Man for compilations, and since he’s featured on both the NES Classic and SNES Classic it stands to reason he’ll appear here. The X series was the most prominent on Sony’s console, and X4 was the best of the Mega Man games released for the system which also included the underrated Mega Man 8. And yet, it doesn’t feel like the most “PlayStation” of the Mega Man games…Suggested Replacement:  Mega Man Legends – Mega Man X4 was just released as part of a compilation of X games. It’s easy to come by. What’s less easy is Mega Man’s first foray into RPGs on the PlayStation, Mega Man Legends. I won’t argue it’s better than Mega Man X4, because it’s not. It just feels like a more appropriate release. The only thing that would change my mind is if Nintendo is already developing a Nintendo 64 Classic and intends to include the port, Mega Man 64, on its machine. If that’s the case, then stick with X4.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 – The Tony Hawk series was a huge hit on Sony’s machine, and the second game was the most well-received. It was basically the first and only skateboarding sim worth playing, and I knew many people obsessed with this game that weren’t even that into skating (but the ones who were into skating were even more obsessed). There are challenges in bringing it to the PlayStation Classic, but I would bet Sony finds a way to get it done. Suggested Replacement:  Bushido Blade – Confession time! I never liked the Tony Hawk games. Sorry! And since there is no skateboarding sim worth replacing it with, I’ll go with the sword-fighting sim from Squaresoft. Bushido Blade was a really neat take on fighting games as it aimed for more realism. Not total realism, just more. And it primarily did that via one-hit kills. If a guy gets slashed across the gut with a sword that shouldn’t merely take away some of his health bar, it’s going to incapacitate him. As a result, fights could be really brief, but most actually turned into endurance matches. They were tense, and in order to succeed you had to get your opponent to fall for a feint or just get careless leaving them open for an attack. It’s a toss-up which version is superior, this or the sequel, but most seem to lean towards the first since it had more weapon options.

Suikoden II – Suikoden II has become such a popular game long after the PlayStation era came to a close that I think it’s actually likely that Sony includes it. It’s on their web store for Vita/PS3/PSP and it was presented as a pretty big deal when it first showed up. Sony probably has a solid relationship with Konami and won’t have too much trouble bringing this one to the PlayStation Classic, but it remains possible that Sony thinks this would be too many RPGs and leaves it out. That would be a very bad move.

parappa smooth

Expect PaRappa to appear on the PS Classic, but don’t expect him to look this smooth.

PaRappa The Rapper – Sony’s flagship rhythm game was pretty well-received. It also helped to popularize what came to be known as cell-shaded graphics. It was recently remastered and re-released, which is why I’ve placed it at the bottom of this list. It’s possible Sony doesn’t want to eat into that at all, plus it’s going to look pretty terrible in comparison, but it’s popular enough to merit inclusion. Had it not been for that re-release I’d have pushed this into the top 10 easily. Suggested Replacement:  Tobal 2 – I don’t really care for PaRappa, or rhythm games in general, so for my last slot how about something exciting? The SNES Classic certainly benefitted from including the previously unavailable Star Fox 2, and if Sony wants to drum-up some similar excitement announcing Tobal 2 for a North American release would be one way to do so. I believe it was prepped for one, but abruptly cancelled as the era was winding down and the first game did not sell particularly well. As a result, some of the localization may still exist, and if it doesn’t then that might not be much of a hurdle anyway as fighting games usually don’t require much, so how about it, Sony? Give us some sizzle!

 

Well, that’s it! What do you think? Is this something you would buy? Think I pretty much nailed it or did I miss something obvious? Surely, they’ll try and get a Spyro game onto this thing, but I’m not sure at what game’s expense (alright, probably Suikoden II, but maybe Sony will do the right thing and not include The Legend of Dragoon)? The PlayStation was perhaps my most favorite system as it came around when I was most interested in gaming. I was in my early teens so I was able to obsess over gaming without the distraction of what would follow in high school. Picking just 20 games just highlights how many games have to be excluded, so let’s go out with some honorable mentions. For the most part, these are games I would definitely include on my personal PlayStation Classic, but acknowledge Sony is unlikely to do so for one reason or another:

valkyrie profile

Oh please! Oh please! Oh please!

Xenogears, Final Fantasy IX, Chrono Cross, Tomba!, Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, Vagrant Story, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, Mega Man 8, Mega Man X5, Rogue Trip, Street Fighter EX Plus a, Brave Fencer Musashi, Colony Wars, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Front Mission 3, Spider-Man, Alundra, WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, IQ: Intelligent Qube

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February 21, 2018

Mega Man X

By Joe

snes_mega_man_x_p_xky270When Mega Man X was released in 1993 I was so confused. I saw the X in the title and assumed it stood for 10. Back in the 90s, it wasn’t uncommon for games to not get localized and released in North America for various reasons. Famously, we only received 3 Final Fantasy titles in the same amount of time as Japan getting 6. At the time, there were 6 regular old Mega Man titles released, and the sixth one had just been released on the aging NES hardware, so it didn’t really make sense that there would be three titles missing. Of course, there wasn’t and Capcom had basically just felt it was a good idea to give Mega Man a slight rebranding when moving him to the new hardware – the Super Nintendo.

Mega Man X, or just X, is a future Mega Man who is just a bit more advanced than his predecessor, and yet it feels like he’s moved so far beyond what Mega Man was previously. When the game starts, X mostly looks like Mega Man but with a higher detail sprite making him look more like the character art than the old in-game models. He comes equipped with the X-Buster which mostly functions like the old Mega Buster including a charged shot. He’s lost the ability to slide, but instead can dash forward either with the press of a face button or a double tap of a directional. He can also do a wall kick which allows him to continuously jump off a wall and scale it. Combining the dash with a jump or a wall kick can open up new areas for X and adds a new level of exploration not really found in the prior games.

MegamanMHX

Minus the cool armor upgrades, X doesn’t look THAT different from the old Mega Man.

Aside from all of that, the conventions of the game are still really familiar. Dr. Light and Dr. Wiley are both dead, but in their place X has an ally in Zero, a Maverick Hunter who goes after rogue robots and mostly looks like a red version of X with a ponytail. The villain is the Incredible Crash Dummy look-alike Sigma, a former Maverick Hunter turned….Maverick. The plot is basically that X was the first robot created with free will, and fearing he was too strong and unpredictable, Dr. Light sealed him away. Well past his expiration date, a Dr. Cain found X and basically reverse engineered him to create Zero as well as legions of other robots. A bunch of them went nuts, became Mavericks, and here we are with X having finally awakened on his own. Like any other Mega Man game, the story is simply there for you to take in if you wish, but it’s hardly essential to enjoying the game.

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The opening stage introduces the player to ally Zero and enemy Vile.

The rest of the setup is also essentially the same. Eight robot masters stand in the way of X and a showdown with Sigma. There’s an intro level which introduces both Zero, as an ally who comes to Mega Man’s aid, and Vile, an enemy robot who pilots a mech suit. The robot masters are only changed in the sense that now they resemble an animal of some kind. They still possess unique weapons and each one is weak to another. Clearing a stage means X can re-enter it and exit it at will, which is important because there are numerous extra goodies to uncover. In addition to the familiar E-Tanks, now called Sub Tanks, X can also find health upgrades that extend his overall health meter. And more importantly, X can also find capsules Dr. Light left behind which contain new upgrades for X’s armor like a chest guard that allows him to absorb more damage and leg upgrades that let him break certain walls. There’s even a special upgrade that allows X to perform a famous maneuver from another popular Capcom series. These armor and weapon upgrades will become a staple of the X franchise, which now has as almost as many games in it it as the regular Mega Man series.

Mega-Man-X-Screen-1024x576

The eight robot masters are all now aligned with animals of some kind, a trait that will continue throughout the X series.

Once the robot masters have been dealt with, Sigma’s base opens up and X is free to pursue the ultimate enemy of the game. Sigma’s base is broken up into three stages, and unlike traditional Mega Man games, there’s no boss-rush room. Instead, X will encounter the defeated robot masters throughout the three stages which makes things a little more fun than the usual room full of capsules. There are also additional other bosses to take down, including a showdown with Vile, before Sigma can be challenged. Like Dr. Wiley before him, Sigma’s fight will encapsulate multiple parts (in this case, three including the fight with his mutt) and is designed to test X’s skills up to this point. Whether it does or not is a matter of opinion, I suppose, though like most boss battles, once you figure out the patterns he’s not particularly difficult. Especially with some fully stocked Sub Tanks.

34557-Megaman_X_(Europe)-10

Gameplay wise, you’re not getting anything you aren’t used to, and yet it feels new.

What makes Mega Man X such a resounding success is the sense of freedom within the game. The various health and armor upgrades are all basically optional and you’re free to make the game as easy or as challenging on yourself as you like. The X-Buster is fairly strong on its own, offering multiple levels of “charged” for damage output. As a result, the robot master weapons need to provide other functions to make them worthwhile and the game does an excellent job of just that. And once X acquires the X-Buster upgrade he can even charge all of the enemy weapons giving them new functions such as Chameleon Sting’s invincibility or the forcefield offered by Rolling Shield. There’s even one weapon that has a Cut Man property to it and can cut-off certain parts of enemies weaponry including some bosses. The generous amount of Sub Tanks that can be acquired also seems to encourage some experimentation as you can always farm power-ups and refill the tanks if you hit a tough part or happen to fail to recognize what weapon works best on a particular enemy.

Visually, Mega Man X looks great for an early Super Nintendo title and holds up quite well even today. The sprites are colorful and well-detailed and there’s very much a Cybertron-like quality to the design of X’s world that works for the franchise. There are numerous large-scale enemies that are common throughout the levels and the usual amount of setting variety as well such as more jungle-like levels and even an underwater one. The bosses are all pretty fun, and they seem a little more agile this time around since X is better equipped to dodge them. Some of the easier ones will let the player exploit X’s wall-kick, but later enemies will know how to get you off the wall and out of the corners. The music is also a strength. It may not be as classic as a Mega Man 2, but it’s still a high point for the franchise.

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X does look pretty bad ass once he gets all of his upgrades.

The only negative with Mega Man X is that the abundance of enemies and detailed graphics do lead to some slowdown. Even when playing on the SNES Classic, slowdown is pretty common at certain points. I especially notice it in Armored Armadillo’s stage when X has to ride a mine cart like device and the screen is loaded with enemies. The slowdown won’t really impact play, since X is largely required to be stationary throughout all of this, but it can be a bit frustrating. I at least can’t recall an instance of slowdown during a tricky platforming section or something.

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If you can find it, the 2006 X collection for PS2 and Gamecube is a worthwhile pick-up, though it probably makes more sense to wait for the PS4/Xbox One/Switch release.

If the only negative in your 15 year old game is occasional slowdown, then that’s a pretty good legacy to leave for Mega Man X. It was at the time, and still is today, a bright spot for the Mega Man franchise. It felt so fresh at a time when Mega Man was definitely growing stale and playing it today after recently playing both Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 8 it still feels that way. It injects a bit more fun into the formula by making the main character just more fun to handle. It’s the main reason why Mega Man X is arguably the greatest Mega Man game ever made. I’d rather play it over any of the mainline games, though I’d love to revisit Mega Man X4 before declaring it’s definitely the best. Like the regular series, the X series would also suffer from over-saturation as Capcom would fast track another pair of X games for the SNES and then continue along with the Playstation. The games would eventually add Zero as a playable character, which definitely helped reinvigorate the franchise as Zero played differently from X and offered a new set of challenges.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter where Mega Man X fits in the overall series because by itself it’s pretty damn awesome. And thankfully, it’s still pretty easy to come by. It sold really well when it came out so cartridges for the SNES can be found for a reasonable cost today. There was a compilation of X games released on both the Gamecube and PS2, but that’s actually a little harder to come by. Capcom is prepping a new collection of X titles for 2018, so it should be easily available relatively soon. And if you happen to find one, it’s also included among the 21 games on the SNES Classic, which is thankfully a lot easier to find than the NES Classic, but still not as easy as just walking into a store and buying it on any given day. However you go about experiencing it, it’s likely you’ll have a pretty good time with Mega Man X.

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February 14, 2018

Mega Man 8

By Joe

25576-mega-man-8-anniversary-edition-playstation-front-cover

Mega Man 8 (1996/1997)

Mega Man 8 is perhaps the most divisive game in the history of the Blue Bomber. The first developed without series creator Tokuro Fujiwara, it was the only mainline Mega Man game released during the 32 bit era, and for a long time, was the last to be made with current generation technology, even though it didn’t seem like that at the time. After the release of Mega Man 8, the series essentially disappeared in favor of the many Mega Man spin-off franchises such as X, Legends, Battle Network, and others. When Capcom finally reconvened to create a Mega Man 9 it opted to pretend as if this game (and to some extent its predecessor Mega Man 7) never existed going back to a visual style akin to the original NES games and a gameplay style that went even further back. Capcom would stay with that look for Mega Man 10, but finally announced in 2017 that a new Mega Man game is coming and it won’t feature illusory 8-bit images.

It’s interesting that the game has become so maligned over the years, since at the time Mega Man 8 was supposed to be a celebration of Mega Man and the impact he had made in the world of gaming. Coinciding with the 10 year anniversary of the first game, Mega Man 8 stayed true to the series roots by sticking with 2D gameplay when the whole world was demanding 3D. Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) initially wanted nothing to do with the game because of its use of 2D visuals. Wanting to highlight the processing power of the PlayStation, SCEA nearly prevented the release of the game in North America, but eventually relented when Capcom agreed to dress-up the packaging. Since it was also to be released on the Saturn, SCEA wanted exclusive content and thus received a little booklet to be included with each copy of the game recounting the legacy of Mega Man. Maybe out of spite, Capcom would introduce better, exclusive, content on the Saturn with optional hidden bosses.

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There’s a whole bunch of new enemies for Mega Man to vanquish.

Mega Man 8 largely follows the formula of the games that came before it building off of Mega Man 7. So unlike more recent entries in the series, this one still retains the charge shot and slide maneuver as well as the bolts currency which can be used between levels to purchase upgrades for Mega Man. Dr. Wiley is the main antagonist once again and Bass and Treble return from 7 to make Mega Man’s life more difficult. The plot isn’t of much importance, suffice to say that Wiley is up to no good and has created 8 robot masters that Mega Man has to get by before he can ultimately take on the mad scientist. A new character is introduced, Duo, who’s from outer space and brings with him some kind of weird energy that Wiley wants to make use of. He starts off as an ambiguous character, but will eventually become an ally when he “senses justice” within in Mega Man, or some nonsense.

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Most of the levels have an appealing design that serves its robot master well.

What you need to know as a gamer is that Mega Man has roughly 12 new stages to topple. After a simple introductory level, four additional stages are open to Mega Man and each features a robot master to take down. Following their defeat, an intermission stage is unlocked before the final 4 robot masters are available and then eventually the multi-stage Wiley Tower. Splitting the 8 robot masters into two separate groupings of four does make it a little easier to determine an order to tackle them in. As is the case with virtually every Mega Man game, defeating a robot master earns Mega Man a new weapon and each one is a natural weakness for another robot master (Wiley should really avoid doing that when creating these things). There is an added challenge in introducing the robots this way as the player needs to figure out which robot to tackle first – twice! There’s no overlap in terms of weaknesses between the two groups of four, so the first boss you fight and the fifth will basically necessitate relying on the Mega Buster to topple. If you want my advice, I suggest starting with Grenade Man and Aqua Man, respectively. Although I did have this game before I had internet access and a boss order available to me so I have taken down more than just those two with the Mega Buster.

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Mega Man 8 is gorgeously animated, but few appreciated it in 1996 since it wasn’t 3D.

Scattered throughout the stages are bolts. There is a finite amount of them in the game and they serve as currency for Mega Man to purchase upgrades. Since you’re limited by the amount of bolts in the game, this also means you’ll be unable to purchase all of the upgrades in a single save file. Some of the upgrades available to Mega Man include a fast charge attachment, a shield that will prevent knock-backs, a laser shot, and a spread gun, among others. Basically all of them are useful to some degree, though I’d argue the most essential is probably the quick-charge. One annoyance, the ability to exit already completed stages must be purchased, so if you want to go back for bolts that you missed (and you will, since some require a weapon acquired later to access) you will have to either waste bolts on this feature or play through the entire level again.

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There’s some auto-scrolling segments to break-up the gameplay. This Rush segment works well, but don’t ask me about the snowboarding one.

The stages feature a solid mix of run and gun and platforming gameplay, as well as a couple of auto-scrolling events. The levels offer a rather average level of difficulty for a Mega Man game sitting this one squarely in the middle of the pack if arranged accordingly, though perhaps closer to the easy side. Continues are unlimited, so the game is forgiving in that regard, but the checkpoints are spread out enough that having to use a continue does hurt a bit. There are no E Tanks in this game, which might explain why it’s a touch on the easier side, but there is a Rush attachment that can be used once per stage that summons Mega Man’s trusty robotic canine who will drop power-ups as he flies back and forth. It’s not as seamless as an E Tank since Mega Man still has to chase down the power-ups and there’s no guarantee that Rush will drop exactly what you want. This makes him a bit unreliable during the chaotic boss encounters in the game and he’s also basically useless if you’re in an area where Mega Man is limited by where he can stand (auto-scrolling segments, spike pits, etc.).

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In what was apparently common for Capcom at the time, fan input was sought for boss designs. Some of the original fan-submitted works appear in the credits.

Of the main stages available, none are probably memorable enough to supplant a Quick Man or Flash Man stage, but they mostly offer plenty of variety and avoid the pitfalls of tedium. Tengu Man’s stage features a pervasive gust of wind that extends Mega Man’s jumps when moving with it, but also hinders his ability to backtrack. This stage also features one of the auto-scrolling portions where Mega Man hops aboard Rush and uses him like a jet-board as he soars through the air. During these segments Mega Man can also summon his lesser allies like Auto and Beat to assist him in taking out the various enemies he encounters. Astro Man’s stage features some maze-like portions as well as a frantic escape from a sinking tower. Sword Man’s stage is broken up into sections that can be tackled in any order, sort of like the boss gauntlet that appears towards the end of every Wiley Castle. Some levels also feature a mid boss and defeating that boss unlocks a new Rush ability (4 in total) that include the health power-up, as well as a few other things that aren’t really essential but can be useful.

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Mega Man has finally learned how to swim, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

Some levels, on the other hand, don’t go over as well. Frost Man’s stage features the snowboarding auto-scrolling bit and it is not enjoyable. The input feels laggy, and the developers apparently noticed this as well because they inserted audio prompts commanding the player to “Jump! Jump!” or “Slide! Slide!” These segments are mercifully short, but also short on fun and it’s a shame they recognized the need for the cues but not the need to just cut them entirely. Aqua Man’s stage also features scenarios completely submerged in water. Mega Man has apparently received a software upgrade that taught him how to swim, as he no longer just jumps around slowly in water. Swimming basically works the same way in Mega Man 8 as it does in Super Mario Bros, which is to say it’s not good. Mega Man is also a lot longer relative to Mario so it’s not easy to maneuver him around enemies. You’re better off to just plow through those segments and hope for the best.

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Mega Man’s “sister” Roll runs Dr. Light’s shop which you can visit to purchase upgrades for Mega Man after acquiring enough bolts.

The bosses themselves are all fine. They’re fully voiced, like Mega Man (more on that later), and it’s kind of funny to hear them taunt Mega Man before and during confrontations. There’s nothing particularly logical about who is weak to who, unless you know more about the robot than the game presents. For example, Sword Man does have a fire element associated with him that’s not apparent just by looking at him and Aqua Man’s Aqua Bubble is his weakness. There’s also no weapon on par with the Metal Blade that makes life easier across the board, though the multi-hit Grenade Bomb is pretty good and seems to have the most uses. Other weapons are more utilitarian. The Tornado Hold can be used to levitate Mega Man or hit enemies that are high in the air and the Thunder Claw can be utilized like Bionic Commando’s claw at certain points in the game (another benefit to splitting the bosses in groups of four means levels can be designed to utilize certain weapons because it’s guaranteed the player will have it). There’s also a 9th weapon that Mega Man receives in the opening stage:  the Mega Ball. It’s basically a soccer ball and pressing the fire button causes Mega Man to drop the ball. He can then dribble it if he likes or even jump on it for a small height boost on his subsequent jump, or press the fire button again to kick it. The ball can ricochet off walls, but it’s mostly too unwieldy to properly utilize. Only one boss requires its use. Two other very useful weapons include the Homing Sniper, which can fire up to three homing missiles, and the Astro Crush which rains down death on the entire screen. As a result, it has a very limited amount of uses.

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This is the only boss who requires the use of the Mega Ball, and as a result, he’s pretty annoying.

Where things start to fall apart with Mega Man 8 is after the eight robot masters have been vanquished. Wiley’s various stages are lackluster and downright annoying at times. The first opens with another snowboard segment, this one far more annoying and longer than the ones from Frost Man’s stage. Worse yet, it ends with the only boss fight that requires use of the Mega Ball, and as a result, it’s pretty tricky. If you have to resort to a continue you’ll be stuck playing through that snowboarding segment once again and you’ll want to snap the disc in half. After that is another Rush auto-scrolling segment that uses the scrolling gimmick to kill you if you’re not paying attention (and it’s mean enough that you probably will die at least once when you hit that part for the first time) and concludes with the worst boss fight in the game. It’s long and tedious, but as a plus it’s not particularly difficult so hopefully you take it out on the first try. The third level is better and finally presents what feels like a fair challenge plus a dual boss fight when you take on the Bass + Treble machination and then the Green Devil, or whatever it’s called. The Devil boss is probably the easiest one of them all, but if you don’t know its weakness it is considerably more difficult.

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Seriously, fuck this shit.

Finally, there’s Wiley, and unfortunately he kind of sucks too. He’s very similar to his Mega Man 2 version in which you take on his tank thing before fighting him in a floating capsule/bubble contraption. The tank is not terribly difficult, but it’s also not easy, and given the lack of E Tanks there is a bit of added challenge. The capsule part is a bit boring because he just doesn’t take much damage. He doesn’t appear to be weak to anything, so you just have to make sure you outlast him.

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The anime cut scenes by and large look great considering they’re stored on CD ROM, but the voice acting just kills it.

Since this was the 10 year celebration for Mega Man, Capcom decided to dress things up with some anime cut scenes! Xebec was contracted to do the scenes and they actually did a really nice job considering these are forever trapped on a PlayStation disc. Since the total run-time for all of the sequences put together is probably only 10-12 minutes, they could afford to take their time and put a lot of effort into making them look good. Unfortunately, the same degree of care was not put forth into the voice acting when it came time to localize the game for North America. I don’t know if the Japanese voice acting was equally terrible, but the English version is hilariously bad. It’s the most infamous part of the game and what people think of first when they think of Mega Man 8. Mega Man sounds like an adolescent high-voiced girl while apparently no one realized that the characters Bass and Treble refer to music and not fish. Dr. Light is especially bad and sounds like a bumbling old fool who refers to Dr. Wiley as “Dr. Wow-ee” while the voice actor for newcomer Duo just sounds like he would rather be anywhere than in a studio voicing this character.

The voice acting is a real shame because outside of that the production values are pretty great. While few wanted 2D games in 1996, no one could argue that Mega Man 8 wasn’t attractive to look at. It’s hand-drawn visuals have aged way better than basically anything else on the PlayStation. Mega Man is the right size in relation to the screen and is lovingly animated. Many of the generic enemies are brimming with personality and the bosses, in particular Frost Man and Sword Man, are also a lot of fun to look at. The music is solid as well, and while most are probably nostalgic for that 8 bit sound I doubt few would suggest the soundtrack is poor. And while the voice acting during the anime bits is atrocious, it does succeed in adding some personality to those bosses and its mostly welcome in that space.

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An assortment of mini bosses keeps things interesting and provide a vehicle for awarding Mega Man with even more power-ups.

Mega Man 8 performed rather well at retail when it was released, but reviewers were far more mixed. Incidentally, what it was maligned most for (its visuals) is what it’s most likely celebrated most for today. There was an undercurrent of backlash from some outlets because of its simplified look and there was also some Mega Man fatigue at the time. After all, this wasn’t just the 8th Mega Man game. It also followed three Mega Man X titles and some handheld ones as well. That’s a lot of Mega Man games in the span of 10 years so reviewers and gamers could be forgiven if they weren’t as excited for a proper Mega Man title in 1996 as maybe they would be today. Opinions are still divided on this one though. As recently as 2010, IGN considered it the worst of the mainline Mega Man titles. More recently, Retronaut’s Jeremy Parish ranked it as high as 5th among all of the Mega Man games (did you know there’s 20 total as of this writing?) which is probably the most praise I’ve ever seen given to the game. Perhaps not surprisingly, I tend to fall somewhere in between those two extremes. It certainly is not the worst of the Mega Man games, but Mega Man 2 and 3 are probably superior, at least. I definitely would rather play this one than Mega Man 7, though I’m less sure when it comes to other games. I’m not an expert Mega Man gamer and I never touched the ultra hard Mega Man 10 because it sounded like something I wouldn’t enjoy. When I picked this game up in 1997 as a birthday present I had some fun with it and returning to it in 2018 was by no means a bad experience. If you like Mega Man, but have never played this one and have only heard bad things then I’d suggest giving it a shot. It’s not hard to come by thanks to the compilations put out by Capcom nor is it prohibitively expensive if you want an original PlayStation version (if you want it for Saturn you will have to pay a lot, though) so you only have yourself to blame if you haven’t played it.

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