In the late years of the PS1, Bandai released a game that, while it captures the essence of what we love about classic gaming, it also updates it with a clever twist.  You play as Jutah, a man running from the demons of his past while by attempting to save the world from a rogue warship.  It’s a top-down shooter, but instead of blasting at enemies, you plant bombs on them and detonate them.  This game play turns what would have been an average shooter into something totally different from the norm.  The setting and detonation of bombs allows for a new layer of strategy.  Also, it’s pretty fun and sadistic to plant bombs on moving targets, even if they are just robots.  When you get tired of the vs mode, there is a 2-player vs mode you can play.  This game is pretty rare, so if you manage to find a copy, do yourself a big favor and pick it up.

Even though Batman is one of the most prolific names in movies, comics, and TV, his history in video games has been somewhat less than encouraging as of late, as evidenced by the recent Batman Begins game. However, things weren’t always like this. Lets head back to a time when Batman games were *gasp* good.

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Sure you know about the Gradius series, but what do you know of Konami’s other shooter, Axelay?  This SNES shooter showcased some cool mode-7 effects, awesome stages, and had a catchy soundtrack.  Stages in the game were both side-scrolling and horizontal, and there were some kick-ass boss fights, such as the lava man shown on the cover.  You could select you weapons at the beginnng of each level, although some of them had limited ammo.  Some of the people who worked on this game left to form Treasure, which produced the cult classic Gunstar Heroes.  Not a whole lot else to say about this game, so check out the ROM, or pray that Konami brings it to Wii’s virtual console.

This little number came out nearly 2 years after the PS2 launch, when PS1 support was all but a joke. As a result, some really good games slipped by, including this. Gundam, one of the biggest franchises in anime, hasn’t had very many good games, making this a real stand out. In fact, I would go on to say that this 2-D fighting game is one of the best games to make use of the licence. You take control of over 30 mobile suits from each major period in Gundam; the one year war, Gundam Wing, and G Gundam. In the story mode, you select one of 8 characters and take them through an individualized storyline based on thier series, complete with mid-bosses and final bosses. Although the character selection and storylines for G Gundam is somewhat dissappointing, (no Sweede Gundam, Schwartz Bruder, or Shining Gundam, and Master Asia remains a good guy but at least there are no major spoilers for the people who haven’t seen the anime) Many of your favorites from UC and After Colony are here, including some really big ones like Dorezil’s big mech and the Neue Ziel. The animation is pretty unique, animating individual parts of the mobile suits rather than the whole. This is a fun game to check out for anyone who likes 2-d fighting games, especially Gundam fans.

One of the most enduring subgenres of gaming is the Strategy-RPG, or SRPG as I’ll refer to it for the purposes of this write-up. Combining turn-based RPG conventions with grib-based strategy, these games are like a marriage of chess, Command and conquer, and Final Fantasy. From Shining Force on the Sega genesis to Final Fantasy Tatics, this subset of RPGS are easy to pick up and play, yet difficult to master. This week’s $20 GOTY and lost classics will take a look at two entries in this genre.

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This week’s $20 GOTY and lost classics segments focus on the eventual re-emergence of the brawler.  Ever since the golden age of titles such as Final Fight and Double Dragon, arcade and console gamers have enjoyed bashing thier way to the other side of the screen using an assortment of moves.  However, after the 16-bit generation, the popularity of true brawlers has waned, due in fact to developer’s instance of making games in 3-d, including our belover beat-em-ups.  In recent years however, there has been a resurgance of intrest in the brawler, mostly due to the fact that developers have managed to do it the right way.  Lets take a look at two such games, one you may have missed, and the other being more recent.  BTW, starting this week, or whenever I stop being lazy, I’m moving this back to the weekend.  (Will’s week-in gaming.  Get it?)

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From now on, instead of writing 2 different columns each week, my $20 GOTY and Buried Treasures sections will be combined into 1 big juicy post. This will ensure that you don’t miss anything, especially from the other writers. Also, this is important becuase this week will be extra big. You’ll know why as soon as you finish reading this sentence.

It’s the day after labor day, and while other news sites might chill out after the holidays, I double up! That means you get 2 articles this week. Oh waitaminute, it’s been 1 year since I started doing the $20 GOTY, so that means I gotta add in 1 more to celebrate. Two of these games you may have seen before, becuase they got lost when we switched to word press and they were so dope, I needed an excuse to look at them again. Besides, it will be a first time a lot of you will be seeing them anyhow, especially if you’re reading this on Area 4:51. So without further ado, come ride with me [to the bargin bin at your local gamestop]. [Read the rest of this entry…]

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.