Squaresoft (these days known as Square-Enix) sure diversified itself after first leaving Nintendo. Even though their name is associated with some of the finest RPGs ever made, they set out to prove that they were anything but a one trick pony. During the Playstation 1 years alone, they released a modern-day themed RPG, a survival horror game (which was a sequel to said modern-day themed RPG), and no less than 5 fighting games (with only 4 of them making it to U.S. shores). The early years of the PS2 era saw them release everything from beat-em-ups, to racing games, and even a pro-wrestling game. If anything could demonstrate how far off the beaten path Square had gone, it’s this side-scrolling PS1 shooter. Other than a few key flaws, it isn’t a bad first effort, considering this came from the guys who made Secret of Mana and Romancing Saga.
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When it was first released, Blood Omen was like no other game before it. You didn’t play as your typical pretty boy good guy, you played as a vampire hell bent on seeking revenge. You don’t care about saving the world, you only want to cure yourself of this fate, and you use any means necessary to extract this revenge. You sucked blood from villagers to restore your health, changed form to destroy your enemies, and spread terror across the land. It was such a shame that subsequent entries in the series didn’t do much justice to Silicon Knights’ classic, otherwise the Legacy of Kain series could have stood alongside franchises such as Zelda and Castlevania. As it is, this PS1 title stands alone in the series as one of the system’s classic titles.
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It’s a New Year, and one that looks exciting for geeks everywhere. To celebrate (and to make up for my tardiness), I’ve got a three-piece of new game related content. Along with the $20 GOTW and Lost Classics, we have the debut of our new section, Maximum Letdown. What is Maximum Letdown? Well you remember all the gaming classics from your youth? You know, the beloved Castlevanias, Contras, Zeldas, Street Fighter 2 Turbos, and the Final Fantasies that we love to reminisce about. Of course, there are other games from that era that we don’t like to talk about so much. Remember the CD-I Mario and Zelda games? How about the Adventures of Master Chu and Drunkard Hu (WHAT!?!?)? Do you remember when the Grand Theft Auto games had lousy play control? Or better yet, Wisdom Tree’s bible games? For every Gears of War, Halo, and Castlevania released, there are a thousand more Pixar/Disney/Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network shovelware carts destined for the bargain bin, if the even make it that far. Yeah, Maximum Letdown is gonna remind you of the darkside of gaming. We’re gonna dredge up some seriously bad memories. These are the games that either didn’t deliver on their promises, had that one fatal flaw that ruined it for gamers, didn’t do its license or predecessors proper justice, or was just plain awful. This won’t be done as frequently as a Lost Classics or $20 GOTW, but we’ll have a new one up at least twice a month. Speaking of Lost Classics and $20 GOTW, the former deals with a fighting game released at the dawn of the 32-bit era, and the latter is a game based on a fighting game. So without further ado, read on after the jump.

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This title from Sammy (now owned by Sega) is one of the finest, yet most underrated titles on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game contains 3 different styles of gameplay. There are side scrolling platforming segments in which players can switch between various weapons, light-gun shooting levels which are similar to Operation Wolf, and driving levels similar to Spy-Hunter. The story, told through cinemas explores genetic mutations, cloning, and secret conspiracies which take the game beyond the standard ‘save the princess’ storylines seen in other games of that period. This game is a sought after title for the Virtual Console. In fact Mark Bozon, editor of IGN’s Wii Page have been asking the company about the possibility of the game being available on the service. However, Sammy apparently doesn’t remember the game and is tracking down the licensing rights to it. That’s a shame too, as this is an excellent title that deserves a second life.

Mortal Kombat caused a huge shakeup in the fighting game genre. MK stood in direct opposition to Capcom and SNK with its button tap friendly, yet accessible special moves and combos in contrast to the complicated joystick motions of Fatal Fury and Street Fighter. Although the character designs were simple, they had well developed backgrounds, making the game’s backstory more fleshed out than the usual “some guy wants to know who the world’s strongest fighter is so he holds a tournament” story we see in 90% of fighting games at the time. The game also featured digitized actors with motion capturing. While it looks incredibly cheesy by today’s standards, it gave the game an unprecedented level of realism for its time. Oh, and there was one other big thing about it…oh yeah, that’s right, the blood. Punches and kicks drew blood, bodies were decapitated, hearts were pulled from chests as they were still beating, spines were ripped out, parents everywhere had fits, and politicians sensed opportunity.

Like many big gaming movements before and after MK, many games sought to imitate what made it special. Rather than presenting gamers with an equally accessible play control scheme or fully fleshed out characters, the companies decided to concentrate on the gore. As a result, we got games such as Incredible Technologies/Strata’s (keep these names in mind as they will come up again later on in the article) Time Killers and the 3DO ‘classic’, Way of the Warrior. While the latter game at least went the extra mile to use digitized actors, the play control and character designs of both games were so bad, that they actually rank among the greatest games of all time (albeit for all the wrong reasons). There were good games that used blood as a selling point as well. Eternal Champions, or rather its Sega CD iteration contained lots of hidden secrets, as well as a fighting game based on real-life styles that was more akin to Street Fighter than Mortal Kombat. Primal Rage set itself apart by not only featuring Dinosaurs and prehistoric apes as its characters, but by having a unique style of control motions that had players holding down the attack buttons while entering the motions. One game that stands in the middle is Strata/IT/Chun Soft’s Bloodstorm. While the play control and character designs leave a bit to be desired, it featured some unique gameplay mechanics which would have made it a classic had they been developed further.

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It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, a.k.a. “Cyber Monday”. As if we didn’t get enough shopping done on “Black Friday”, now there is an online holiday shopping rush. Now it seems we have another opportunity for some early X-mas shopping. Well be that as it may, now that your turkey is digested, I got this week’s $20 Game of The Week for you. You don’t have to wake up early for this one. Also, I got two lost classics this week, so there is no shortage of leftovers either. This week, you’ll get a remake of a classic, a classic remake, and a game that should have been a classic. So click after the jump and be thankful for Powet.tv.
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Remember when Nintendo released Zelda II: The Adventure of Link? Its side scrolling gameplay was and still is a radical departure from the series. The most we would see of another 2-d Zelda are the crapfest CD-I entries, but the less said about them, the better. However, Y’s III, Wanderers from Y’s is pretty close to what another 2-D Zelda would be like. Ironically, Y’s III itself is a departure from its norm, as all prior and subsequent entries are from the top-down perspective (in fact, a 2005 Windows remake of the game is done with an over the top view with a 3-d graphics engine).

The game once again puts players in the role of series hero Adol Christin, as he and his friend Dogi visit Dogi’s hometown of Redmont. Seems some strange things are happening there, and Adol takes it upon himself to investigate. Before long, he gets mixed up in something involving monsters, demons, and such. Unlike the previous entries, this is a platformer with RPG elements. You now have to press a button to swing your sword (as opposed to just running into enemies like in the first two entries), and there is some typical platform jumping. Along with gaining levels, you can equip several rings which grant special powers. Cool boss battles, catchy music, large areas, and an interesting storyline round out the package. Y’s III was ported to several systems at the time of its release, but its most well known port in the United States is the Super Nintendo version, which was released shortly after the system’s launch. Hopefully this should show up on the virtual console in the near future, as Y’s Book I & II, (the Turbografx-16 port of the first two games) is already available on the service.

Election season has passed and we’ve elected a new president. To commemorate this occasion, this week’s $20 GOTW focuses on a contest, which, just like politics can get brutal and leave a lasting effect on its participants. This week’s lost classic represents a bold change in the formula of a well known classic shooter franchise. So head on in and celebrate the end of this historic election season.
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