2000 was a good year for fans of Square-Enix, or Squaresoft as they were known back then. They released nearly a dozen titles, each gaining at worst cult status and at best critical acclaim from gamers and crtics alike. This was one of those titles, Vagrant Story. This game featured a complex plotline, lots of puzzles, a weapon customization/upgrade system, and espionage action not unlike Metal Gear solid, but in the dark ages. Although it didn’t use stealth, it made use of a sphere targeting system previously seen in Parasite Eve. Different weapons could damage different enemies, and they could all be upgraded and enhanced at a blacksmith’s shop. By timing your button presses correctly, you could unleash devastating combos on your opponent, doing massive damage. The trade off however, was that the farther you went along in the combo, the higher your “risk” meter became. The higher your risk was, the more damage you could do, but the less accurate your strikes were. The key to this game was keeping a good stash of weapons for whatever enemy you faced, and managing your risk. In the game, you play as Ashley Riot, a agent of the Valendia Knights of the Peace, or VKP for short. You were involved in a simple operation gone wrong, and now you are up against the kingdom’s elite troops, an apocalyptic cult leader, and a horde of beasts, both living and undead as you try to clear your name and get to the bottom of the conspiracy surrounding the ancient town.

When I got the game, I was at first dissappointed that it wasn’t the Midevil Metal Gear Solid I had been led to believe, but the game quickly redemmed itself with it’s mix of puzzles, story, and action. Even though it may not have sold like it should, you’d be hard pressed to find a gamer who didn’t enjoy it. This game ending leaves it open for a sequel which may unfortunantely never see the light of day.

Fun fact: This game was the third game to receive Famitsu’s (Japan’s gaming magazine) perfect score of 40/40. It was the first one earned by Squaresoft, and not even it’s Final Fantasy games have earned this score until Final Fantasy XII this past March. To date, only 5 other games have earned this score.

Since the early 90s, Capcom has been known for it’s fighting games. It’s three main franchises in the genre are Street Fighter, the Marvel games, and Darkstalkers. Of the three, Darkstalkers has had the least exposure, with only 3 games in the series and a few Japan-only “Championship edition” upgrades. Darkstalkers was unique due to the anime reinvention of classic universal studios monsters like the wolf man, dracula, and the mummy to name a few. Even though it’s based on the 6 – button street fighter engine (also seen in the marvel games), the game features crazy attacks and moves that you would never see in an SF or even any X-men game. One character summons a god from heaven to stomp on your opponent while another has an attack that turns his opponent into a female version of themself! Darkstalkers 3 is the most recent in the series, with 18 characters, 4 of which are new to this installment.

Darkstalkers chronicle (also the first PSP game featured here) gives players the “Street Fighter Anniversary Edition” treatment by allowing players to select versions of each character as they played in previous games in the franchise (i.e. Nightwarriors Morrigan vs Anakaris from the original Darkstalkers). Also, you can choose to play using rulesets from each game in the series as well, also accessing the music from them. The game also throws in a new “Chaos tower” mode, where you pick three characters and try to make it up the tower as fas as you can, unlocking artwork and features on the way. Some of the matches force restrictions on you, such as no punching and no specials. This game is light on the features as are most Capcom fighters and the PSP control pad is a bit cumbersome to work with, but the music and bizzare characters make up for it. This release proves 2D fighting is neither dead nor dying. Hopefully Capcom will give us a sequel, or at least a new 2D fighting game that’s not a remake or a rehash of 10 year old sprites.
Note: Darkstalkers 3 is also availabe on PS1. You can’t interchange characters and battle systems, but the rulesets from Darkstalkers 1 and Nightwarriors are unlockable. The game features a color edit mode in place of the PSP’s Chaos Tower mode. You create a character by editing the color palette of another and then build it’s stats. I’m sure it’s cheap too, so if you don’t have a PSP, find a copy.

In 2000, Eidos released a ground breaking game that should have been the start of a mega franchise. Fear Effect was one of the first games to use the popular cel-shaded style of animation seen in games such as Jet Grind Radio, XIII, and Zelda: The Wind Walker. It was a survival horror game with a compelling and bizarre plot, three playable characters each with their own abilities, multiple endings, and LESBIANS! It was also heavy on cinema sequences which depict your character being instantly killed if you don’t do the sequence right, similar to old school adventure games. Even the “health” of your character was innovative. Instead of managing a life bar, you had to manage your character’s fear. Solving puzzles, stealth killing enemies, and overcoming obstacles decrease your fear, while being spotted, taking too long on certain sections, or triggering traps raise it. If it’s too high, you could be killed instantly. A sequel was released in 2001, which added a new character, Rain, and told the gruesome backstory of how the three mercenaries came together. It was an even larger game, and the action was spread out amongst a series of levels. Sadly, a third game, Fear Effect Inferno had been planned for PS2, but it fell through due to developer Kronos’s collapse. Fortunately for fans of the series, all is not lost; a movie adaptation is in the works for 2008. Hopefully this will revive interest in the game, and it can finally get the attention it so rightfully deserves.

Seriously though, how the hell could a game with this in it not be doing Grand Theft Auto numbers?

In 2004, Activision and the crew at Raven released one of the best games based on any comic book property. It bought the X-Men mythos into the realm of roleplaying, and it won over comic book fanboys everywhere. A year later, Activision granted us a sequel that not only added more of what the original awesome, but it addressed the complaints that players had about the first one, mainly the uselessness of some characters, and parts of the game where players were forced to fight solo. With over a dozen characters, (some of which are hidden) unlockable costumes, online multiplayer, and just about every facet of the X-universe a gamer can think of, this is a Marvel fan’s dream come true…at least until Marvel Ultimate Alliance arrives this fall.

For those of you just joining us, the Buried Treasures section is where I spotlight a game that, while it may not be as well known as the Mega Men, Final Fantasies, and Contras, it’s still a classic in it’s own right.  This week’s entry is the Parasite Eve series from Squaresoft years before they merged with Enix.  These two games strayed far away from the norm as you can get, eschewing the mideval/fantasy plots of other games and placing it within a Modern day setting with guns and a heavily laden sci-fi plot.  The first game was an RPG with Resident Evil-esque survival horror elements.  You play as Aya Brea, a New York police dectective attempting to prevent a catostrophic outbreak while discovering the secret within her own genetics.  The series deals with the origin and purpose of mitochondrial DNA (Yeah, I’m lost too, you’ll just have to play the game to understand).  The first game introduced a strange, but innovative targeting system which would allow players to target any part of thier enemy.  (This targeting system would later show up in another Square title, Vagrant Story.)  Also, you could upgrade your weapons, attaching any adjustments you could find on it.  When you beat the game the first time, the New Game+ opened up, allowing access to a secret area and the true ending.  The only bad part of this game was that there were no shops, so you had to rely upon whatever you found in chests or whatever was dropped by enemies after battle.

Parasite Eve 2 was a Resident Evil-esque survival horror game with RPG elements.  The combat was real time, and the weapon sphere and upgrade systems were unfortunantely gone.  Thankfully, by earning credits from defeating enemies, you could buy things at any one of the game’s shops.  The plot was designed so that players didn’t have to play through the first to understand the second game.  There were a number of hidden modes and weapons (including Squall’s gunblade) you could unlock in the game, and the plot was as science-heavy as in the first.

You should be able to find these games used at about any decent gaming store, so you might want to check them out especially if you’re a fan of Resident Evil. or are just tired of the same old RPG conventions.  Also of intrest is the movie and novel of the same name.

2 years ago, Tecmo released what was not only one of the most anticipated games on Xbox, but an addition to one of thier most beloved franchises, Ninja Gaiden.  It had some of the finest graphics of the current console generation, a deep weapon upgrade and combat system, a large variety of enemies, and an insane difficulty level which makes even easy mode a challenge, it became an instant classic with many gamers.  Tecmo also released two ‘hurricane pack’ downloads over Xbox Live.  The first of these two downloads added new weapons, new bosses, and an adjustable camera while the second pack added a challenge mode.  Last fall, Tecmo released this update with both of the hurricane packs, a new mission mode, a new difficulty mode, new cinemas, and an unlockable version of the arcade ninja gaiden.  In short, it’s heaven for an action gamer.  You know a game is great when it’s hard as hell, but you still keep trying to play it just to get to the next part.  I have to warn you though, if you wimp out at a high difficulty, then THIS IS NOT THE GAME FOR YOU!

Last fall, we had no less than 5 classic gaming compilations from Capcom, Namco, Taito, Tecmo, and Midway. Now this is shaping up to be another good fall for fans of classic gaming. You already know about the Wii, and it’s ability to download Genesis and Turbographix 16 games, but what you may not know is that you don’t have to buy the new system in order to play some of Sega’s classics. Indeed, comming this November, the Sega Genesis Collection will be comming to PS2 and PSP with over 30 titles! Shniobi 3, Comix Zone, and Golden Axe 2? I think I’m gonna cry.

If that isn’t enough, Konami is giving Xbox 360 owners old school action via the Live Arcade. You already know that the arcade versions of Contra and Super C are comming, but early next year, Konami is also gonna hit us with the definitive Castlevania game, Symphony of the Night! This is shaping up to be a good time for those who enjoy the games of thier youth.

This game was released the same year as Contra 3 for Super Nintendo.  This is not the Contra you’re used to.  In fact, I have no idea why they even decided to call it a Contra title, if for no other reason than simply to cash in the success of Contra 3.  The only similarity is that you can be killed in one shot.  You don’t fight evil aliens or renegade robots. Instead you take one of 4 playable characters (each with their own special abilities and can be switched at anytime during the game) on a mission to take on a terrorist organization and rescue your kidnapped superior.  You gain weapons just like in Graduis, grabbing a number of backpacks based on the weapon you want then hit select when you gain the acquired number.  Objects can be destroyed, and the music is pretty cool for an NES title.  When you check this game out, don’t expect the original Contra, or even Super C, but it’s still a solid experience on its own merits.  Hopefully this will resurface as a Wii download.  If only Konami had given NES owners a new Castlevania title before the NES ended.