Part 7, and probably the final part of my reviews for this year
57. Gunblade NY (Wii): I played both Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns a few years ago on the Wii, but I never properly reviewed them, so here I am doing that. I didn't want to play anything too involved since my fiancee is great at giving me awesome games for Christmas every year. But anyhow, I never played Gunglade NY as a kid, not do I ever remember seeing it in any arcade I went to growing up. I don't think I was made aware of its existence until the compilation on the Wii including it and LA Machineguns was released. Gunblade NY is a balls to the wall arcade rail shooter in the same vein as Virtua Cop or Time Crisis, except there is no reloading, taking cover, or waiting for bad guys to pop up from behind desks and furniture. You literally just have your finger on the trigger the whole time blasting anything that gets in your way for the entire game while you fly around like a madman. The fast paced action is this games greatest asset, as its its great visuals for the time, as well as its destructible environments, and how enemies show physical damage as you pelt them with bullets. Speaking of the enemies, all are a variety of different military looking robots that explode after putting several bullets in them. There are also boss fights at the end of each level of of the two game stages. Boss fights are usually not that difficult however, nor is the game in general. While being able to constantly be shooting at everything is part of this games charm, it is also its greatest weakness; I found myself at times wondering what I was going to have for dinner, or when I had to meet people for Christmas in a couple of days given the task of just aiming and shooting at anything that moves. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very fun game, but like many arcade style shooting games of the 90s, its a pretty shallow experience that can become mundane after a while. Luckily the game can be beat in around 20-minutes so it never feels like it overstays its welcome. The graphics are very impressive for a game, arcade or otherwise, released in 1995, and the soundtrack has that unmistakable Sega Rock/Techno sound that many other Sega arcade games from early and mid 90s had. It's absolutely a trip down memory lane, even if I never played this game growing up. The end result is one of the best, most fun arcade shooting games I've ever played, even if it suffers from same repetition and monotony of games from that genre. (12/23/19) [37/50]
58. LA Machineguns (Wii): Unlike Gunblade NY, I did actually grow up playing LA Machineguns as a kid, and it was one of my favorites at the arcade in the late 90s. Out local Dave and Busters actually had a machine for it up until probably 3 or 4 years ago, no doubt because of how much of a draw it was, and how much fun it was to play. The gameplay is more or less the same as Gunblade NY, except there are fewer levels to go through, but the levels that are available are a bit longer, so the amount of time it takes to get through it is roughly the same. There are also innocent civilians you have to try and avoid shooting, and like good guy NPCs in other lightgun arcade games "accidentally" shooting them comes with a penalty. Luckily in LA Machineguns its just a point deduction and not your health which was something that always sucked in games like House of the Dead or Virtua Cop. Having been released 3 years after Gunblade NY, LA Machineguns is a much better looking game than its predecessor, and with that comes much more vibrant stages, cooler looking enemies and bosses, and cooler destructable objects within the environment. The soundtrack is also a bit better, and also shares that amazing 90s Sega arcade sound. Despite having more nostalgia for LA Machinegun, I actually find myself liking this game about the same as Gunblade NY; LA Machineguns is a prettier game and the OST gets me more pumped, but Gunblade NY doesn't having the annoying NPCs to contend with and gets originality points for being the first to adopt this sort of balls to the wall, giant gun arcade gameplay. Their both amazing arcade shooters, and the compilation on the Wii that includes both is a must have for 90s Sega arcade fans. (12/23/19) [37/50]
59. Nights into Dreams (PS2): Very few people outside Japan realize that Nights into Dreams received a PS2 port back in the day. Not only that, but it includes both the original Sega Saturn version as well as a visually remastered version that looks significantly better. I received Nights into Dreams on the Saturn over the summer so if you want to know what I think about the game in more depth go find that review somewhere in here lol. This is pretty much the definitive edition of Nights as it includes both the mentioned versions, a movie mode where you can rewatch all the cut scenes, as well as the ability to unlock a remastered version Christmas Nights, a game I'd never played until today. All it is is a Christmas themed mod for the first Elliot and Clarise stages, which is very novel and nice, but outside everything getting a coat of Christmas themed paint, nothing is different about the gameplay. One thing that disappointed me about Christmas Nights is the boss for both character stages are the exact same; it seemed like a missed opportunity to not reskin the fat opera singer lady you have to inappropriate grab and then throw into a giant Santa. But regardless it's a charming addition that really makes this a very nice package for anyone who loves this game and has find memories for it as I do. In the end however, I would barely rate the Saturn version higher, mostly because of how big a deal that game was when it came out, and also for it looking visually impressive for a game released in 1996. The remastered version of Nights looks great for the standards of the time it was released, but unfortunately it no longer had that visual awe that the original had back in its day. (12/25/19) [40/50]
