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  • Electronic Gaming Monthly (August 1997)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    egm-issue-097-august-1997-page-000a

    Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly – Issue Number 97 – August 1997

    In August 1997 the Saturn, PS1 and Nintendo 64 were the newest consoles. EGM was still also covering the Super Nintendo and the Genesis which were nearing their last days. Contents of this issue includes:

    Departments

    • Insert Coin – A look back at the last 9 years of EGM as well as upcoming changes.
    • Press Start – The latest news in the video game world. This month, Sega and Bandai cancel plans for a merger; Sega announces price cuts for the Saturn (as low as $149); Ghost in the Shell comes to DVD; rumors of an upcoming Nintendo 64 game featuring characters Banjo and Kazooie; Singletrac, a formerly PlayStation only developer, announces an agreement to develop games for the Nintendo 64; launch of the 64DD disk drive add-on for the Nintendo 64 is delayed until March 1998 (not that it would ever make it to the U.S.); Tobal 2 U.S. release cancelled; Earthworm Jim 3 announced for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and PC; Interact debuts The V3 Racing Wheel; rumors of Resident Evil for the Nintendo 64; and much more.
    • Top 10 – Takin the number one spots this months according to EGM editors… Overall: Air Combat 2; PlayStation: Air Combat 2; Nintendo 64: Star Fox 64; Saturn: Shining The Holy Ark
    • Gaming Gossip – Rumors this month include information about Dural, Sega’s new 64-bit console; Sony’s new dual analog controller coming soon; new games for the PlayStation including Exodus, Messiah, a James Bond game and a new music game; Namco’s new System 33 arcade board which will host a new Ridge Racer game and a new fighting game among other; a new 3D based arcade board from Capcom which will host Street Fighter IV; Rampage for the Nintendo 64; and more.
    • Protos – A look at upcoming but as yet unfinished games including:
        • Aerofighter Assault (Nintendo 64)
        • MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero (PlayStation, Nintendo 64)
        • Resident Evil (Sega Saturn, PlayStation)
        • Dragonball GT (PlayStation<)
        • Youngblood (PlayStation)
        • Reboot (PlayStation)
        • Clock Tower (PlayStation)
        • Felony 11-79 (PlayStation)
        • Beast Wars (PlayStation)
        • Deathtrap Dungeon (PlayStation)
        • Violent Seed (PlayStation)
        • Freakin’ Fast (PlayStation)
        • Ghost in the Shell (PlayStation)
        • Bravo Air Race (PlayStation)
    • Review Crew – Reviews of the following games:
      • Air Combat 2 – This air combat game for the PlayStation gets EGM’s Game of the Month.
      • Shining The Holy Ark – A must have Saturn owners that are RPG fans.
      • Machine Hunter – A scrolling shooter for the PlayStation that fans of Loaded would probably enjoy.
      • Lethal Enforcers 1 & 2 – An arcade accurate translation of an older light gun shooter for the PlayStation. Graphics have not been updated though and it gets old fast.
      • Xevious 3D – A nifty 3D update of an arcade classic for the PlayStation. I prefer the original though.
      • Raystorm – A solid vertical shooter for the PlayStation.
      • Poy Poy – A simply but fun multiplayer action game for the PlayStation.
    • Trick of the Trade – A code that gives you everything you need in Turok: Dinosaur Hunter; how to enable stage select and expert mode in Buster Brothers Collection; hidden cars in Peak Performance; a variety of cheat for Triple Play 98 and Bug Too!; level select and “cheat kill” in Wing Commander IV; free play, invincibility and more in War Gods; easy mode for Brahma Force; a variety of cheat codes for Descent Maximum; a cheat menu for Independence Day; Invincibility in Doom; a cheat menu in Die Hard Trilogy; and much more!
    • Team EGM – Featuring various sports games including Madden NFL ’98 for the PlayStation, Multi Racing Championship for the Nintendo 64, NCAA Football ’98 for the PlayStation, NHL Powerplay ’98 for the PlayStation, Top Gear Rally for the Nintendo 64 and more.
    • Interface – Letters from readers about Nintendo’s Project Atlantis, rent to own PlayStations, Japanese Saturn games, The City of Lost Children, Final Fantasy VII, the 64DD, and more.

    Win Big!

    • Star Fox 64 – All you had to do for this contest was send in a postcard. Prizes included a Nintendo 64, Star Fox 64, Rumble Paks, Nintendo 64 controllers, and more.

    Special Features

    • Peacetime Programmers – The relationship between defense company simulators and the latest games.
    • Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi – A Star Wars fighting game for the PlayStation. It sounded like such a cool idea but the execution was lacking. As fighting games go, it turned out to be pretty lousy.
    • Psygnosis – Featuring the latest games from this developer: G-Police is a pretty good Blade Runner-esque 3D action game; Colony Wars is another solid game featuring Wing Commander like space combat; Formula 1 ’97 is a sequel to their previous Formula 1 game; Overboard is described here as a cross between Gauntlet and Micro Machines; Psybadek is a free roaming 3D adventure game; Rascal is another such game that falls roughly into the same category; finally we have Shadow Master, a first-person 3D shooter in which you pilot a ship through enclosed areas (reminds me at least in concept of Descent).
    • Polygonal Pinup – A biography of Laura Croft.
    • The Year of the Show – An overview of all the video game related shows around the world throughout the year.

    Next Wave

    • Dungeons & Dragons Collection (Saturn) – Includes both Tower of Doom and Storm Over Mystaria. These were originally arcade games and play like a cross between Final Fight and Golden Axe.
    • Sky Target (Saturn) – Ported from Sega’s Model 2 arcade hardware, this game is a bit reminiscent of After Burner II.
    • MDK (PlayStation) – A goofy and violent 3D 3rd person shooter that was originally developed for the PC. MDK was long rumored to stand for “Murder, Death, Kill”.
    • Machine Hunter (PlayStation) – A one or two-player top down action shooter.
    • Poy Poy (PlayStation) – A sort of 3D Bomberman.
    • Resident Evil Director’s Cut – Because you can never have too much Resident Evil…
    • Street Fighter 2 Collection (PlayStation) – A nice collection for Street Fighter II fans including Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold.
    • Lethal Enforcers 1 & 2 (PlayStation) – These lightgun classics are reviewed elsewhere for the Saturn.
    • One (PlayStation) – This 3D action game explores what happens if you wake up full of rage with a metal gun where your arm used to be…
    • Jersey Devil (PlayStation) – A 3D cartoon adventure but the name reminds me of the X-Files episode.

    Nintendo 64 PlayStation Retro Games Sega Genesis Sega Saturn Super Nintendo (SNES) 📎and tagged

  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Super Nintendo, Game Boy)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    electronic_gaming_monthly_two_001_122

    Source: EGM 2 – Volume 1, Issue 1 – July 1994

    Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was released for the Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and Game Gear in the fall of 1994. The ad above from the first issue of EGM 2 (or EGM^2) is for the Super Nintendo and Game Boy versions of the game. So why is it not for all of the versions?

    Basically, for each system the game was completely different. The Nintendo versions were done by Bandai and the Sega versions were done by Sega themselves. That explains why this particular advertisement is only for the Nintendo versions. While the Super Nintendo and Game Boy versions are both side-scrolling actions games, they really aren’t based on each other.

    The Sega versions are completely different. Both the Sega Genesis and Game Gear versions are fighting games but they are only somewhat similar to each other. The Sega CD version is completely different again. It is a button clicking full motion video game (think Dragon’s Lair).

    You would think with so many different variations of the game that one of them would be good but really they are all mediocre at best. Die-hard Power Rangers fans might be interested for a little while (maybe) but that’s about it.





    Game Boy Retro Games Super Nintendo (SNES) 📎and tagged

  • Super Double Dragon (Super Nintendo, 1992)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Super Double Dragon (SNES, 1992)

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/158707133131/kazucrash-return-of-double-dragon-super

    While the first couple of Double Dragon games started life as arcade games, Super Double Dragon or Return of Double Dragon as it was known as in Japan, was developed exclusively for the Super Nintendo. Reviews for this game are truly wildly mixed. It was a fairly early release for the Super NES, with the Super Nintendo having only been released the year before. Graphically, it was a huge improvement over older games in the series but it still didn’t take full advantage of the Super NES. The biggest complaint is that the gameplay is very repetitive and gets boring quickly.

    Due to time constraints, Super Double Dragon didn’t have everything originally intended by the developer. There were supposed to have been cut scenes that would have added in-game plot, more traps and obstacles, and another boss among other things. This probably would have helped at least some with the perceived repetitive nature of the game.

    Game play is typical for a game in the side-scrolling beat-’em-up genre. You walk from one side of the screen towards the other while punching, kicking and otherwise beating the crap out of endless enemies. You have four basic moves: punch, kick, jump, and guard which was new for this game. There is also an arm grab move that works only on certain enemies as well as different special attacks that can be used depending on how full your “Dragon Power” gauge is. The game can be played by one or two players and there are two character choices (Billy and Jimmy) differentiated by slightly different moves.

    Oddly, the Japanese version, Return of Double Dragon, features a number of differences that make it worth trying even if you have played Super Double Dragon. There are some changes that not too significant like having a different title theme and a different order of background music. Other changes are more significant to the game play like being able to perform different actions (e.g. retrieving a boomerang after throwing it), different enemy placement, and weapons doing less damage. In addition, there are also two extra levels in the final mission. Both the Japanese version and the North American version were released at almost the same time so it isn’t clear to me why they bothered with the differences. Interestingly, an officially licensed version of Return of Double Dragon in cartridge form was released in the U.S. in 2018 via Retroism. Unfortunately, it only works with 3rd party Super NES compatible systems and not the original Super Nintendo.

    Super Double Dragon was the last Double Dragon game produced by the original team at Technos and while earlier games in the series have been remade or otherwise re-released for other systems, a Super Nintendo or emulation thereof remains the only way to play Super Double Dragon (though you can play Return of Double Dragon as mentioned above). If you are a fan of the original Double Dragon then it is at least worth checking out.




    Retro Games Super Nintendo (SNES) 📎and tagged