My on-going SMS test thread

[soera]

Onward to the "O/P" games.

Outrun - The SMS answer to Rad Racer. Pretty basic driving game with nothing outstanding to mention. Grade : D

Outrun 3D - Will review soon!

Paperboy - The lost art of delivering newspaper on the SMS. Sub-par game for what it could be. Controls are slightly slow and tough to maneuver. Game could be fun if not for that. Grade : C-

Parlour games - Title with 3 game options on it. Billiards, Darts, and World bingo. The pool game isnt too bad. Looks/plays like you would expect it to. Darts is tough to figure out on your own. Not only is there a strength meter to throwing the dart, but there is an additional timing that you hold the button down for how long the "throw" is. World Bingo ... wtf is that? I couldnt figure that out at all. Did not look like any bingo Ive ever seen. Grade : C

Penguin Land - OMG, this game could be seriously addicting trying to just complete a level ... which I never could. You have to roll an egg down levels to who knows where. You can break blocks in the floor to push the egg down (which has a maximum of 3 squares it can fall at a time). Fun but frustrating. I will definitely go back to this one just to complete a level! Grade : B-

Phantasy Star - RPG. Simply put the best game on the system. You are Alis trying to avenge your brother's death at the hands of Lassic. Undeniably the best 8 bit RPG game on any system. Ive completed this game twice and enjoyed every moment of it. This is what Final fantasy should have been! Grade : A+

Poseidon wars 3D - Honestly this is the sea version of F-16 fighter. A horrible looking game with no plot or anything. Not worth even looking at. Grade : F

Power Strike - A fairly difficult shmup. Not much to mention outstanding about this game other than after you die, you can respawn right into your own death again and no way to avoid it. Looks to be one of the better shmups on the system though. Grade : C+

Pro Wrestling - While some of the games that have NES versions are better on the SMS, this one falls short. You have the option to be one of 6 tag teams. Once in the ring, your options are limited. You have a punch, a kick, and a body smash (charging into your opponent to knock them over). If you happen to knock them down, you can throw them to the ropes and do one move on them or attempt to pin them. There is also a timer on the match and you can lose without even realizing its over. Was disappointed. This game needs Starman! Grade : D+

Psychic World - Umm not sure what kind of title this is. You are ... some girl ... who has the ability to shoot things and progress through levels. Kind of a basic 8bit game but did seem like it could be interesting the further you progress. Difficulty however makes progression tough. Want to try this one again. Grade : C

Psycho Fox - This game looks interesting. You are a fox going through levels and on the way you are getting attacked by different things. You can break an egg and release a bird which you can throw at monsters or you can punch things down. Movement is variable. The longer you are progressing ahead, the faster you run and the further you can jump. Was hoping to see more of the game in the test as Ive heard of other options but that did not happen. Im guessing this game would be fun for fans of this genre. Grade : B

[soera]

I went ahead and did the next round today (I did the O/P games last night).

Quartet - This game is pretty cool. You start as some random chick shooting targets and running through the level. You can pick up power ups including a jet pack. At the end of the level is a boss monster that drops a key that you use to open the exit and move onto the next level. I cant wait to try this one for longer! Grade : B+

R Type - Shmup and so far my favorite one on the system. Difficulty is decent but this game is all about the power ups. You get an orb that attaches to the ship either on the front or back and doubles as a bullet shield. You can then add weapons to the orb in the form of rings, reflecting lasers or fire beams that follow the floor. Can also pick up satellites above and below the ship that fire and homing missiles. A fun game and one that has been on my favorite list for years. Grade : B+

RC Grand prix - SMS version of RC Pro am. This game has a better side and a worse side. The better side is the fact that you can earn money to upgrade the car and the more realistic version that doesnt have weapons. The bad side is that there is no map for the course so turns will take you offguard, the fact that there is only 10 levels, and the fact that it doesnt have weapons so you cant blast your way to the front. I like this game. Super fun. Controls are pretty good once you get used to how they work. Grade : A-

Rambo part II - Has the feel of an Ikari warriors wanna be. Wanna be for sure. This is a flop. While the hit detection of the gunfire is pretty spot on, the game itself is lacking. One hit deaths are always a killer for me in games like this. And no idea what the glowing huts are for. Grade : C-

Rambo part III - Phaser game. Doesnt quite add up to the other phaser games on the system. Some of the hit detection is horrible. You can shoot a guy 4-5 times but until you actually hit him in the face, it doesnt even phase him. Others are totally unkillable period. One of the other issues is the fact that you are certain to take damage almost every time an enemy pops on the screen. Surviving levels is going to be a luck shoot. Grade : C-

Rampage - Arcade port. Looks like the arcade but just doesnt feel like it. Not sure if an arcade stick would have improved this. The game has a few minutes of fun breaking down buildings, punching tanks and copters but after a few levels, its just repetitive til you lose all your lives. Grade : C

Rastan - Adventure game. You are a barbarian progressing through levels. You have a sword but you can pick up other weapons along the way. Pretty generic gameplay although its about time a game is made where you dont die instanteously when you touch a spot of water. Would like to play the game further to see if it gets more in depth. Grade : C+

Reggie Jackson Baseball - This game is like art compared to Great Baseball. A lot more effort put into this game. Sadly, it doesnt fix the fact that the AI is pretty cheap. They will crank out a home run almost every throw you toss at them and at the same time, your best timed swings barely get out of the in field. After 2 innings, I was getting slaughtered 0-9. Grade : C-

Rescue mission - An odd take on a phaser game. Instead of just kicking ass, you are driving a mine cart around picking up refugees (which you can accidentally kill with a misplaced shot). Hit detection is the death of this game. You can have your phaser touching the screen and shooting people but until they get within a certain range of you, its worthless. And sometimes its too much to handle waiting on them to get into your range. Would be a hell of a lot better if not for that. Grade : C

Rocky - Game named after the movie series. You are obviously Rocky trying to battle your way to the top of the boxing ladder. Punching trade offs are a bit ... off. You can pummel the hell out of Apollo without him even swinging but the very next match with Lang, you can hardly even touch him. And dont even think about Drago. But in comparison with Buster Douglas, this game is definitely the choice both on fun level and price level. Grade : C+

[soera]

2 days of 14+ hour shifts caused me to not update this over the weekend But I started the first half of the S games today! Here goes

Scramble Spirits - This game is super fun. Its a beginner shmup and right up my play style for this genre too. I found myself continuing til they ran out (which turned out to be well past the 5 minute timer). This one beats R-Type now as my favorite shmup on the system. The only downside is sometimes the background colors disguise the bullets and you die to what seems like nothing. But thats few and far between. I do wish there were more power up options as the only thing I ever got was mini planes on either side of me. And they seem to be cursed cause almost every time I got them, I got hit and lost one. Grade : B+

Shanghai - Some sort of weird block puzzle game that I absolutely could not understand. I suppose if you actually like the puzzle game that this is based off of, you would be happy to own this game. For me, I cant say the same. I may research the premise of this game and give it another go. The grade may change but for now ... Grade : F **Edit** Just read about the "Mahjong" which is what this game is supposed to be based on. Way too confusing for me to mess around with. Grade will change to an "play at your own risk"

Shinobi - Another of the ninja titles on the SMS. And so far definitely my favorite. You basically walk around throwing shuriken at enemies and saving little girl hostages. While it sounds simple, the game is actually fun. Replay value is pretty high! Grade : B

Shooting Gallery - Phaser title. My guess is this is the game that would lead up to the Wii game Shooting range. Different screens of targets doing different things to shoot down. You have a required amount that you have to shoot to move onto the next screen. I got to screen 6 and the difficulty ramped up there. But, like most of the phaser games so far, fun and replayable. Grade C+

Slap shot - Hockey title. Very basic although fouls seem to be a lot more often than necessary and the AI player is pretty good at scoring goals. Hard to control as well. Grade : D+

Snail Maze - The hidden game on most of the basic consoles. To access, you hold up on the control pad and both buttons then turn on the console til the screen starts to scroll to the side. Simple concept of a game. Move the snail through the maze to the other side. You have a timer to limit how long you have to do it. Honestly, this game is tough. I never made it through the second maze. The timer is pretty short considering the whole situation. Also, when you lose, you have to hold up and both buttons again to try again or it will just go onto the built in game of the system. If I had more patience, this would be an addictive game. Grade : C

Sonic the Hedgehog - Sega's answer to Mario. This version is very lacking compared to the well known Genesis version. Challenge is almost non existent. All it seems you do is pick up rings and walk to the end of the level. Yet when you fight the boss at the end of the stages, you have no rings at all. He also does not quite accelerate like on the Genesis title either. Very weak version. Grade : C-

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Sequel to the above title. Really can not understand the appeal of Sonic games. Very boring series and this one does not add anything that the first one did not have. Grade : C-

Space Harrier - Arcade port. Not sure what kind of genre you want to call this other than a rail shooter is my closest guess. Very difficult to play cause of the layout of the field. Hope that the 3D version of this game fixes a lot of that (although I havent gotten glasses yet and will have to wait on it til then). The game does appear to have a fun quality once you figure out the layout. Grade : C-

[burningdoom]

If it's the same game, like the PC game, then Shanghai is just Mahjong.

Basically you have to match two of the same tiles to eliminate them from the puzzle. But you can only choose outer-laying or top-laying tiles. And the goal is to make all the tiles disappear.

I agree that R-Type is one of the best games on the system. It was one of the reasons I decided to get my Sega Power Base Converter for my Genesis. Great shoot-em up, especially by 8-bit standards. I'll have to check out Scramble Spirits, never heard of it. I hope it's not a rare pricey one.

And wow, low score on Space Harrier. Granted it's not as good as the arcade, but I still thought it was a ton of fun. Lots of action, fast-paced, great music, and quite unique for it's time.

Any SMS Sonic game has been on my wishlist FOR-FREAKING-EVER!!! I've never seen one, and I want one so bad! Whether that be Sonic 1 or 2, or Sonic Chaos.

[soera]

If it's the same game, like the PC game, then Shanghai is just Mahjong.

Basically you have to match two of the same tiles to eliminate them from the puzzle. But you can only choose outer-laying or top-laying tiles. And the goal is to make all the tiles disappear.

I agree that R-Type is one of the best games on the system. It was one of the reasons I decided to get my Sega Power Base Converter for my Genesis. Great shoot-em up, especially by 8-bit standards. I'll have to check out Scramble Spirits, never heard of it. I hope it's not a rare pricey one.

And wow, low score on Space Harrier. Granted it's not as good as the arcade, but I still thought it was a ton of fun. Lots of action, fast-paced, great music, and quite unique for it's time.

Any SMS Sonic game has been on my wishlist FOR-FREAKING-EVER!!! I've never seen one, and I want one so bad! Whether that be Sonic 1 or 2, or Sonic Chaos.

Yeah, just updated the review on Shanghai once I figured out what it was. Scramble spirits isnt expensive and I think most of the reason I liked it as a shmup was because its not one of those bullet-hell games that would frustrate the crap out of me. Its not hair pulling tough. The score on Space harrier is mostly cause of its layout issues. Im hoping that the 3D version of the game fixes that. The Sonic game is very lacking compared to the easier to find Genesis version. It just simply is not as fun. There was nothing to even hardly attack you all the way up to the first boss fight which was made ... odd ... by removing the rings all together on that stage.

[disgaeniac]

I think I've got an "R-Type" game (a PSP version) in my backlog- anyone know if they're "related"?

[burningdoom]

I think I've got an "R-Type" game (a PSP version) in my backlog- anyone know if they're "related"?

I'm sure it is, it's a long running-series. The last being R-Type Final on PS2, I believe. An R-Type game has been released on all kinds of systems including PS1, SNES, Game Boy, TG-16, etc.

[soera]

Today is a special day : Im off work heh ... so I had time to review the other half of the "S" games. Plus Double Hawk arrived in the mail today bringing my missing total to 8 and I went ahead and reviewed that one too!

Space Harrier 3D - Will review soon!

Spellcaster - An odd adventure game. Has an aspect of Shadowgate where you have a single screen with text options and also an action part where you travel from town to town fighting monsters in a generic adventure style. Not bad, not great. Probably needs more time to get into it to get a better feel of it. Grade : C-

Spiderman - Action game based on the Marvel character of the same name ... well, I say action. Its more like failure. What a flop. Every single computer controlled adversary in that game can kick Spiderman's ass. You shoot something with a web, it breaks out in 1-2 seconds. You punch something, it blinks and still commences to kicking your ass. No fun at all. Grade : D

Sports pad football - Sports pad required football game. The Sports pad is an abomination. And both of the games that require them are the same thing. Nothing else can be said about this. Do not ever play this. Ever. Do not. Period. Grade : Z

Spy vs spy - What a suckfest. You are the white spy trying to get to the airport before the black spy. Along the way you will do a lot of nothing, be confused consistently, and just general wasting of time. Avoid this. Grade : D-

Strider - Action/adventure game. You would assume this is like the NES version. You would be wrong. This is definitely the lesser version. Completely laggy to the point of everything looks like non stop slow motion. Cant believe the difference between the two versions. Sad really. Grade : D

Submarine Attack - Shooter. I found myself a bit hesitant to put this game in consider this is the system with Poseidon and F-16 fighter but the moment it actually started, I was happier. Its nothing like those previously mentioned titles. Its an underwater shmup and pretty fun too. You start with missiles and overhead shells. You can get power ups to increase speed, attack, etc. Not bad at all. Grade : C+

Super monaco GP - Racing game that does not equal any of the other titles so far on the system. First off, the car is an automatic which is boring for racing. Car will flip for no reason and crash other than you have one tire near the grass line. RC Grand prix and Outrun are both more enjoyable and, at least Outrun, is easier to find here. Grade : D

Super tennis - Sports title. Not a horrible sports title for the system. With more time and practice playing, it would certainly be a decent title on the system and probably one of the best sports titles on the SMS. Controls are very touchy where you could actually get stuck in backhand form and miss the ball completely. But it has potential for sure. Grade C-

[burningdoom]

So Spider-Man and Strider aren't ports of their Genesis counterparts?

[soera]

I am not certain. I never really messed with the Genesis other than Sword of Vermilion. It could be.

[burningdoom]

I am not certain. I never really messed with the Genesis other than Sword of Vermilion. It could be.

Ouch. That's not a good way to introduce you to the Genesis, lol.

[soera]

I really enjoyed Vermilion. The overhead view was one of the most awesome of any travel options in any RPG I ever played.

[soera]

Today has been a good day. I got to do another round of gaming!!! This time its "T/U/V"

Teddy Boy : Very basic platformer of sorts. You kill monsters on the screen with your gun and they turn into an orb. Once all the monsters/orbs are gone from the screen, you move onto the next one. Nothing else to mention on this one. Grade : D

Tennis Ace : Sports game. It certainly has cool moments. The options when you serve the ball are cool and the overhead view is different. But neither of those save the game from its horrible difficulty. I did an entire first round (first person to score 6 points wins the round) and in that time, I may have actually had a legit serve 3 times. Not cool. Grade : D

Thunder Blade : Helicopter shmup. Not a bad shmup option and it has 2 different fight styles. A normal vertical shooter and a 3D rail style shooter. Never really saw a power up and not sure there are any. Also another one of those games where the bullets are the same color as the background making some deaths unnoticeable. Decent game however. Grade : C-

Time Soldiers : Shooter with a twist. You have 5 homies that are turned into orange pellets at the start (really ? Orange pellets? Whateva) and you have to travel to different times to save them. The game has one obvious annoyance. Your weapon is shoulder mounted so shooting is a bit off. Really tough to get used to as well with the 4 way directions. Needs a 360 firing pattern or a strafe for sure. Not enough continues either. Grade : C-

Transbot : Yet another shmup. This one is an oddball. Almost none of the enemies fire at you. Very weird. Also to get power ups, you shoot an armored looking car on the bottom of the screen and an orb flies out. Once you grab the orb, your meter starts going from A-G very quickly. Which one you land on is your weapon. I didnt get them all but I do know that A refills your health (awesome!), B is some weird ring that doesnt last long, C turns you into a robot with some beam that is as tall as you are, and F is a also a robot but a stupid weapon that fires slow bullets both in front of and behind you. Very basic otherwise and seems to be pretty long and monotonous. Grade : C

Ultima IV : RPG. You start off the game with a story that eventually leads to you picking your personal virtue. Definitely based off of a PC style game. This is one you have to be ready to invest a lot of time in and really enjoy the style of play. If that fits you, give this one a try. Grade : B+

Vigilante : Fighter trying to save your girl (what the hell is it with people's girl getting kidnapped in all the 8/16 bit titles?). Strange fight style. Enemies can grab you and siphon your health pretty quickly. There really isnt any sort of jump attack option. You hit both buttons to jump but cant do much else with it. The boss of the very first level is overpowered and I never got to see anything past him. Not really a fun game in all honesty. Double Dragon is a much better option. Grade : D+

[soera]

Today we progress on. The "W" titles. Here we go!

Walter Payton Football : Football game and definitely the best option on the SMS as far as that goes. Lot more interactive than the other titles and one that is actually fun. If I liked football, this would be my go-to game right now. Grade : C+

Wanted : Phaser title. This one is among the bottom of the phaser games so far. The hit detection on this game is the worst Ive seen of all the options. The difference between the bad guys and the innocent people (other than the females in their bright pink dresses) is almost indistinguishable. Not worth bothering with on this one. Grade : D

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? : Puzzle sleuth game. Neat little title. You are on the hunt for a thief that stole a precious artifact and you have to fly around the world getting clues from different people in each town. If you have the almanac supplied with the game, it would make it much easier (I have it but I was playing as like a demo). Game has potential to be fun if you invest the time in it. Grade : C+

Wimbledon : Tennis game .. first thing I have to say is this is a super fast paced back and forth game. The fastest volleys Ive ever seen in a tennis game. The part I didnt like was switching sides of the court. If your back is to the screen, its MUCH easier to control. When you are on the far side of the court facing the screen, its very tough to hit the ball at all. If they hadnt changed sides, this game would be pretty damned cool to play. Grade : C

Wonder Boy : First in the series and ugh, I cant see how any sequels come from this game. Basic platformer with no redeeming qualities. The hero of the game is very limited in what he can do and there are plenty of spots just near the begining that he is unable to reach/jump across. What a flop indeed. Grade : D+

Wonder Boy in Monster Land : Second in the series and a vast improvement over the first game. Feels more adventurish and so many more options. A high point in the SMS library. Grade : A-

Wonder Boy III the Dragon's Trap : Third in the series and a decent addition. This game is just as good as the second one, if not better. I am definitely looking forward to jumping deeper into these two games. Grade : A-

World cup Italia '90 : Soccer game. A good entry into the sports genre for the SMS. Lots of action. It plays like I would hope a soccer game would play. Grade : C+

World Games : Backyard type of sports game. 4 totally random events. Barrel jumping, Log rolling, Caber toss, and bull riding. None of which are easily controlled at all. Sort of along the same lines as California games. Frustrating to say the least. Grade : D

World Grand Prix : Racing game. Finally a racing game with precise controls. Pretty average otherwise although its weird that the cars will actually aim toward you as you are trying to pass them. Grade : C-

[soera]

Since I had a lot of time today, I tackled the last 4 games + 1.

Xenon Megablast 2 : Shmup. Not a great entry into the shmup category. Very laggy when the screen gets a bit clustered. Flight area also is a bit cramped. Has potential if you can get past that. Power ups seem pretty solid. Grade : C

Ys : Action RPG. Awesome game. Only the first half of the game is available on this system but its good enough on its own. The fight style is cool where you just run into the enemy with your weapon instead of hitting buttons and swinging weapons. I have amazing nostalgic memories of this game from the Turbo Grafx CD personally. This version falls short of that but its still a must play title. Grade : A-

Zaxxon 3D : Will review soon!

Zillion : Adventure title. Kind of confusing on what you need to do other than looking for ID cards. Seems like it would play like Metroid and, if so, its certainly worth playing longer. For the test, however, its hard to tell where it will end up. Grade : B-

Zillion II : Odd sequel to the game above. You drive a motorcycle jumping over holes and shooting things. Nothing really spectacular to report on this one. Seems nothing like its predecessor. Grade : C


And there you have it. I will upgrade this whenever I get my last 8 games. I enjoyed doing this and hope it helps people decide on SMS games.