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Post by dunpeal2064 on Aug 5, 2018 12:56:20 GMT -5
Net Guardian Net Guardian is a vertical shmup developed by Moguraya using Shooting Tkool 98, and released in 1997. Though some of the common Tkool traits are here (Like those ugly, square yellow bullets), NG sets itself apart with an almost cute-em-up style of graphics and a Gradius-like powerup system. Of the Shooting Tkool games I've tried so far, NG immediately stood apart from them in quality as well, as its player sprite controls very well, and the shot types, enemies, and bosses look pretty nice. The game even has story cutscenes between its 8 Stages.   Net Guardian, for the most part, plays out like your typical shooter. Stages feature tons of popcorn enemies that are easily dispatched, possible midbosses, and a boss. These stages move by swiftly, making the meat of the game the boss encounters. Taking a hit drops your power down, but recovery is easy, as actual powerups are dropped separately from the Gradius bar items, which rather than power you up, simply select which shot type you want to use. Things do get a bit interesting around Stage 5, as the game starts to implement stage obstacles with multiple paths and dead ends, something more commonly seen in horizontal shooters. They get quite devious with this almost immediately, too, attempting to lure you into these dead ends with point items.  Net Guardian is, clearly, a game made in a shmup maker, and a game made, from what I can tell, entirely by one person (Aside the music). Though more polished than other shmup maker games I've played, it is still not quite on level with the more well produced games, nor some of the other solo shmup projects on the computer. The difficulty balance here is kinda off, and most of the stages bring little to the table, other than attempting to take a life via dead end. That said, I still found myself impressed by this project. The little touches like the powerup system, graphic style, warnings for enemies attacks coming off-screen, and such go a long way, but more importantly, the game is just fun to play. The ship handles well, your attacks look cool, and mowing down enemies feels good. And while far from a difficult shooter, the bosses patterns are enough to make you feel engaged with the dodging and shooting.    I love the little drawings at the end, and that Moguraya included his "mascot" on the final screenNet Guardian is a nice game. Its not a killer app, and far from the top tier of PC-98 shooting, but considering its source, its still rather impressive. I haven't played all the Tkool-developed shmups, but of the ones I've tried, Net Guardian has the most polish, ambition, and love put into it. Its unfortunate that Moguraya seems to have only worked on this one game, as there was certainly potential there. I do know that I would be proud of a game like this, had I made it by myself in a shmup maker. Gameplay 6/10: The general shmup-feel is done well here, and is something a lot of devs miss when going for the bells and whistles. Its stages leave a bit to be desired, but some of the boss fights were genuinely fun. Art/Sound 6/10: The art style is good, but the overall quality isn't so great, though it retains charm despite that. The OST is a mixed bag as well, but does contain some nice tracks.Lewd Factor NA
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Post by dunpeal2064 on Aug 5, 2018 15:05:42 GMT -5
Hercequary Hercequary is a 1v1 fighting game developed by ZyX and released in 1994. Like most PC-98 fighters, it features an all-female cast, and rewards each victory with a series of lewds. Hercequary plays out like your average fighter, with a "Story" mode (Lewd pics are the only story here) where you pick a fighter and fight against the rest of the roster. There are plenty of great-looking pixel art scenes in the opener, and each fight is prefaced by a nice intro animation and voice sample. Each character has their own set of special moves, and comes equipped with a weapon to use as your primary attack.   While the bells and whistles here are nice, the game unfortunately lets down where it matter most. Gameplay here is choppy at best, running at what feels like 10 frames a second. The AI isn't broken, but it is able to actually play in this terrible engine, giving it a massive advantage. I took a few of the characters in and tried to do some good, clean fighting, and found the game to be nearly unplayable. The only way I was able to make it through Hercequary was to be cheap, using a character with a slide to corner each opponent. This works, too well, to the point where I never lost a match against anyone in the roster. The game doesn't even have a final boss, it just cuts to an end screen after beating the last playable character.  I imagine the biggest draw to this game, and the only reason someone would play it today, are its lewds, as they come equipped with fully-voiced dialogue moving along a 3-4 panel story. In an attempt to promote replay/difficulty, the 4th story scene is only rewarded when you 2-0 a fight, which is admittedly clever. The ending here disappoints as well, though, as you don't even get some sort of bonus lewdness for completing the game.   [\spoiler]  Gameplay 4/10: The game is nearly unplayable for me, outside of using cheap tactics, at which point it is playable, but unexciting. It gets some points for at least having a cast, and having weapons for each character is fun. That said, I can't imagine ever playing this again. Art/Sound 6/10: The opening scenes and intro animations are lovely, but the in-game graphics, sound effects, and music are below average. Lewd Factor 8/10: This is literally the only reason to play this game. Visually, the game doesn't get as lewd as other PC-98 games (It's still well into hentai territory), but the voice clips are a first in my experience with the platform so far. Pixel art here is still quality, the voice samples have not aged quite as well. If for some reason you want to play this game but don't want lewds, you can play VS mode against the computer for an identical play experience, but without "story".
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Post by Ex on Aug 5, 2018 15:30:20 GMT -5
This is becoming a legendary thread dunpeal2064. You're a PC-98 smashing machine! |
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Post by dunpeal2064 on Aug 5, 2018 15:32:02 GMT -5
This is becoming a legendary thread dunpeal2064 . You're a PC-98 smashing machine! Ha ha, thanks man! I don't know what it is, I'm just so enthralled by this computer right now. I can't stop!  |
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Post by dunpeal2064 on Aug 9, 2018 13:39:35 GMT -5
Touhou Yumejikuu ~ Phantasmagoria of Dim.Dream PoDD is the third Touhou game for the PC-98, released by ZUN in 1997. This game is a competitive versus shooter, heavily drawing inspiration from ADK's Twinkle Star Sprites. In fact, the two games are so similar that it would be fair to call PoDD a clone of TSS, though Zun still leaves his own mark on the style, primarily in the bullet count.
PoDD's setup is what you might expect from a shmup/vs hybrid. You pick one of 7 characters (With 2 more that can be unlocked upon completion), and play through 9 stages, fighting one of these characters on each stage. You have a shot button, and a bomb, as well a special attack that can be charged by holding down the shot button. The goal here, much like a vs puzzle game like Puyo Puyo, is to survive what is happening on your side of the screen, while causing bullets, full attack patterns, and even bosses to spawn on your opponent's screen.
While PoDD may appear simple in design, it plays out in a rather complex fashion, as there are many ways to both survive attacks and initiate your own. Killing en enemy causes it to explode, and that explosion can not only kill other enemies (causing a chain), but it can cancel normal white pellet bullets (Which are sent to your opponent as fireballs), and fireballs that have been sent back to you. Chaining enemies and canceling bullets (As well as a myriad of things) raises your meter's level, giving you access to longer charges for stronger attacks. While your level 1 charge is a simple, strong attack, higher level charges will summon attacks on your opponents screen (Unique to each character). The level 2 attack summons pellets, which can be returned, making the attack quick but risky. The level 3 attack spawns a similar pattern, but one that cannot be reflected. A full charge summons your boss attack. There are even more mechanics beyond this, such as other ways to summon bosses, ways to send bosses back at your opponent, a hyper mechanic, spell and charge levels that are increased as you play, etc. As stated, it is a complex game, and it plays out in a rather manic fashion, often in sending massive waves of bullets and bosses back and forth within seconds of each other.
I think PoDD is an interesting game, as it shows early on that ZUN is not ashamed of aping an idea he likes and wants to play with, as well as his ability to do various styles while making them feel very much his own. Also of interest is that, as of this game's release, all three Touhou games were entirely different genres, only sharing characters and high bullet counts. PoDD is also the first Touhou game to offer playable characters other than Reimu.
While PoDD has quite a learning curve, and might be a little too busy for some, I ended up liking it quite a bit. Once you come to grips with its mechanics, it is a full-on adrenaline rush of a game, and I think ZUN's approach magnifies the best aspects of Twinkle Star Sprites. Sadly, I have not had the chance to play this game against another human, but I imagine it would be thrilling.
Gameplay 7.5/10: This was almost an 8, as just about everything here works as advertised. The only thing I disliked is the way AI is handled, as the computer is on a timer. Prior to that timer expiring, it will try not to die (Its very good at this), and once time's up, it will start to kill itself. (The last boss has no timer until you die once at her, which is really nasty). Now, there might not be a better way to do this, but it still rubs me a bit wrong. This hardly takes away from the overall experience, though, which is very fun.
Art/Sound 6.5/10: Pretty bland enemy sprites, and overall not a looker of a game (ZUN's art is consistent, at least). The music, as per usual, is the best aspect of this category.
Lewd Factor NA
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Post by chibby on Aug 9, 2018 16:54:44 GMT -5
Lewd Factor 8/10: This is literally the only reason to play this game. Visually, the game doesn't get as lewd as other PC-98 games (It's still well into hentai territory), but the voice clips are a first in my experience with the platform so far. Pixel art here is still quality, the voice samples have not aged quite as well. If for some reason you want to play this game but don't want lewds, you can play VS mode against the computer for an identical play experience, but without "story". I'm envisioning a board meeting where people are like "With all of these other fighting games out right now, how are we going to make ours stand out from the pack?" And then after an argument ensues, there's one guy who is totally spaced out and not paying attention and he realizes he's forgotten something and yells "Aw fuck!" and everyone stops and looks at him and is like "You're a genius!" Then a little bit later, there's another board meeting with other people and they're like "With all of these fighting games with sex in them, how are we going to make ours stand out from the pack?" Evidently voice clips are the answer. |
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Post by dunpeal2064 on Aug 11, 2018 0:08:17 GMT -5
Rude Breaker Rude Breaker is a vertical shmup released by Compile in 1996. Though not technically part of their more famous "Aleste" series (As far as I know), this game will still feel very familiar to anyone accustomed to Compile's style.
The ship types here are probably the most unique aspect of Rude Breaker. You are given the choice between three pod types to accompany your ship (Vulcan, Laser, and Missile). They autofire as you shoot, and instead of the second button being a traditional bomb, it instead switches your pod to its alternate attack. Vulcan is a wide shot that also has a homing mode, Laser is a strong linear attack with a rotating shield as its secondary, and Missile lets you swap to mines. I liked this mechanic, as it gave just a bit more choice to how you approach things, without giving all the tools to one ship type, still making them feel unique. There are 5 stages here, each with (the same) midboss, and a boss at the end. You can pick up pod powerups, and shot powerups are dropped from carriers as little pellets (Identical to Aleste). There are some scoring items here, too, but they are few and far between, feeling more like a bonus point than an actual scoring system.
Rude Breaker's difficulty feels much like Aleste too. Extra lives are given out in abundance, and if you are equipped with a pod, taking a hit simply destroys it. Powering up your shot also gives you a temporary invincibility. The invulnerability period after deaths is gracious, and dying drops a pod powerup, insuring you can take two hits per life. Interestingly, your ship also does a huge amount of damage if it collides with another ship. This is usually lethal to you as well, but you can abuse your invulnerability time to wreck havoc with this. That said, Rude Breaker does feel more arcade-y than Compile's usual works, both in its noticeably shorter length, and its higher bullet count. There is a lot of room for error here, but there are also a lot of pretty tough parts that will take a few lives.
Gameplay 7.5/10: There is certainly some fun to be had here, and manipulating the pod feels great. I also appreciate the game not dragging on, and there are a few neat bullet patterns in its back half. My biggest complaint here would be that the design just feels a bit sloppy. Difficulty comes in small, seemingly-random spikes, sometimes feeling like the devs knew you would have too many resources, and needed to take hits. To contrast that, there are many parts that barely do anything. I still had a lot of fun, but I'm not finding myself eager to return anytime soon.
Art/Sound 7.5/10: This game looks sharp, with really nice detail in the sprites. Music here isn't bad either, the boss theme in particular was quite good. Quality is generally high, but variety is not quite as much. Other than the single, repeated midboss (Who is also the last boss, and looks identical), there just aren't a lot of enemy types. What is here looks great though.
Lewd Factor NA
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Post by Ex on Aug 11, 2018 0:25:42 GMT -5
I'm surprised Rude Breaker wasn't better than your review suggests, considering it was a Compile jam. The screenshots look quite nice though, so graphically at least they had it together.
I hope before you burn out on PC-98 that you play through Rusty and Night Slave.
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Post by dunpeal2064 on Aug 11, 2018 0:45:59 GMT -5
Yugekitai Yugekitai is a VN/Adventure game released by doujin team TKO Soft in 1997, with a fan-translation by Garatar. You are Saito, the leader/drummer of a punk rock band, and you and your band mates must save the world!
This game is a trip. Its simultaneously over-the-top and silly, at times having scenes that almost look like they could be in Fist of the North Star, but sporting character art that could easily be called caricature art. Its a short game, probably clocking in around an hour in length, but it takes you all the way from the punk stage to the feet of gods in that time, a rapid-fire of wacky machismo.
  
Gameplay here takes a back seat, consisting mostly of simple menu choices (Talk/Fight/Leave), though even those aren't constant. The game does throw you into a very simplistic 1v1 fighting mode a few times (Well, literally 3 times), but most of your time here will be spent reading, and taking in the odd beauty of this game's art.
 
There really isn't a whole lot I can say here without just going through the plot of the game. Reviewing VN's was something I was hesitant to do, but this game pulled me in enough that I thought I'd take a crack at it. Hopefully the screens make up for the lack of writing. If any of this looks/sounds cool to you, then know it also comes with a hearty recommendation from me!
Gameplay 7/10: This is hard to judge, and also barely matters. I will say that there are some fun/funny options occasionally. I guess the fighting stuff could have been better, but the gameplay matters so little here that I almost didn't even score it.
Art/Sound 8.5/10: The art style here, and the way it sells the whole vibe of the game, is outstanding. Sure, its not the highest quality of art on the PC-98, but it oozes personality, and communicates the narrative perfectly. It manages to capture a silly Shonen-like vibe, and fuse it into its quirky nature. The sound is similarly odd, oftentimes almost sounding like a horror game. It isn't of the same quality as the visuals (It almost sounds like GEMS Genesis presets at times), but it suffices, and even stands out a few times.
Lewd Factor NA: You can peek in a girl's locker room at one point, which just results in your nose getting bloodied.
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Post by dunpeal2064 on Aug 11, 2018 0:48:36 GMT -5
I'm surprised Rude Breaker wasn't better than your review suggests, considering it was a Compile jam. The screenshots look quite nice though, so graphically at least they had it together. I hope before you burn out on PC-98 that you play through Rusty and Night Slave. I should mention that, in general, I'm not a huge fan of Compile's shmups. I like them well enough, but I don't think I like them as much as most do. I will say that, for anyone that is a Compile fan, I can only imagine they'd dig Rude Breaker. And, while it didn't blow me away, it did surpass my expectations, and might be my favorite Compile shooter. And don't worry, I will most definitely get to those. In fact, I've been working on one of those for a bit now, but its a tough game, and I've yet to get the clear (Not that this gives it away, as both games seem pretty difficult!) |
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