2024 Movie Rankings (October)

11 movies consumed in the month of October. As always, I will briefly run down these movies and pick which five of them will advance to my ultimate year end movie ranking. I ended up watching almost exclusively horror movies for the month of October - and not even because of Halloween. I watch horror year round. I don't need an excuse to watch them. It's just an interesting coincidence. Anyway, here are the 11 movies:

Halloween (2018)

Halloween Kills

Halloween Ends

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Joy Ride

The Sentinel

The Menendez Brothers

The Greatest Night in Pop

Eden Lake

The Purge

Unhinged

Not Moving On:

The Sentinel

A really bad old horror movie. I lost interest about five minutes in and started looking at my phone, so I ended up kind of zoning out for the rest of the movie. Maybe it is not as bad as I think it is. Maybe I didn't give it a chance. There seemed to be some legitimately creepy moments. I just couldn't get into it.

Unhinged

I read the synopsis on Netflix and thought it looked interesting, so I started watching it. About ten minutes into the movie I realized - hey, I have seen this before. And I didn't really like it. I ended up finishing the movie anyway. I only mildly liked it. I went back and searched my blog and my Facebook posts for "Unhinged" and I didn't find a single thing that matched. I know I watched this movie, probably within the last three years. I must have forgot to jot it down on my list though.

Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends

I suppose these movies are all right. While enjoyable (for the most part), they just aren't good enough to break my top 5. They have a lack of identity and don't have anything special about them that makes them stand out in my memory.

Joy Ride

I like this movie. I remember watching it with an ex-girlfriend back in the early 2000s and we always would imitate Ted Levine and say "Candy Caaaaaane" to each other. I probably haven't revisited the movie since then. Like I said, I liked it, but it just isn't good enough or deep enough (or believable enough) to move on.

Moving On:

The Purge

The movie that started the Purge franchise! This is probably the weakest movie to move on from October, but I don't care. I enjoyed it. It was either going to be this or Joy Ride - and to be honest, neither of them are winning my ranking. So I'll go with the one I had just a little bit more fun with.

Eden Lake

I discovered this film while reading through a list of "most disturbing movies." I thought it sounded good. I began watching and about 20 minutes into the movie, I realized I had seen it before. This came out in 2008, and I don't know who I would have seen this with or when I would have watched it, but I have definitely seen this before. It's pretty good, but probably is only going to move on because the movies I watched this month were pretty bad. I'd rank it a step or two about The Purge.

The Greatest Night in Pop

I started watching this on a whim and completely fell in love with it about five minutes into the movie. I thought this was going to be a "background" movie, but I paid close attention the whole way through and ended up watching it in one sitting, which is rare for me. It was fascinating seeing the whole project come together, and watching Lionel Richie deal with all the egos and personalities. It definitely makes me see and appreciate him in a new light. If you like classic music and you like the 80s, this is a must watch.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

This is not as good as the original Beetlejuice movie, but it is still better than I expected. A lot of these remakes and sequels these days are awful, but I had a fun time with this.

The Menendez Brothers

Admittedly I knew almost nothing about the Menendez case before watching this movie. But it made me see things in a whole new light. Those guys need to be released ASAP. This is a fast moving and informative documentary that has ignited my interest in the case. It really makes me want to see the new series about them as well.

With these 5 movies advancing, here is a look at the top 50. 10 months down, 2 to go! At the end, we'll have 60 movies - 5 from each month that move on. And then I will determine my favorite. In no particular order, here are the 50 that have moved on:

Last Night

The Help

The Greatest Night in Pop

Doctor Sleep

A Star is Born

Mystic River

Stephen King's IT miniseries

Stand By Me

Dune (1984)

Dune: Part One

Dune: Part Two

Legends of the Fall

Cloverfield

Grave of the Fireflies

Glass

The Shape of Water

The Menendez Brothers

Milo and Otis

Gerald's Game

Dr. Giggles

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition

Ghost

Milk

Forrest Gump

Platoon

Fried Green Tomatoes

The Four Falls of Buffalo

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Open Water

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Old

The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker

Bone Tomahawk

Deadpool & Wolverine

Grizzly Man

Manhunter

The Purge

Dumb and Dumber

The Skeleton Key

The Illusionist

The Prestige

Trauma (2017)

Rear Window

Martyrs (2008)

Transformers

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition

The Disaster Artist

Eden Lake

Saw

Halloween

Past 2024 rankings:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

>HERE<

Video Game review #543: Jersey Devil

Jersey Devil

PlayStation

Nostalgia Factor:

Back in the late 1990s, 3D platformers were probably my favorite video game genre. I was a giant fan of titles like Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro the Dragon, Gex: Enter the Gecko, Croc, etc. So of course I was drawn to Jersey Devil. I fondly remember renting the game from Blockbuster Video for a weekend and playing the absolute bejesus out of it. I don't remember if I actually beat the game or not, but I remember enjoying it. Of course, this was nearly 30 years ago. Looking back, I couldn't really remember many specific details about the game, other than there being a park area that I got lost in for a very long time. Aside from that? Not much else but vague memories of liking the game.

Ever since I learned how to emulate, I've been thinking of coming back and playing through Jersey Devil. Fast forward to 2024. That time has finally come. How does the game hold up in modern times? Let's find out!

Story:

This game does not have a very deep storyline. A mad scientist has been terrorizing a small Jersey town with the monsters he has created - most of which are hybrid creatures made out of fruits and vegetables. It is up to the legendary Jersey Devil to swoop in and save the day, defeating the evil scientist and freeing this small town from the clutches of his tyranny.

Gameplay:

I didn't realize this back when I first played it, but Jersey Devil handles a lot like Crash Bandicoot. The character movement, the jumping, even the spin attack is the same. I guess if you ever wondered what Crash Bandicoot would feel like in an open 3D world, this would be it. The only major difference is how Jersey Devil can glide. When you jump, you can hold the triangle button in mid-air to glide across long gaps. I'm sure you've encountered this mechanic in games before. Unfortunately, this is probably the worst glide I've ever seen in a video game. Jersey Devil's wings don't pop out until he's already on his way down. And he sinks really, really fast. So while it has its uses, it is not as helpful as you'd think it would be.

Action starts in a hub world. You can see several different areas of the game, but the only one immediately accessible is the museum. I was a little confused when I entered the museum stage at first. I didn't realize that there are hubs within hubs in this game. It's a little hard to explain, but when I entered the museum area, I thought I would be going directly to a series of museum based platforming stages. But no. Instead, I entered an area directly outside the museum, where you can pick which museum stage to play first. So you start the game in a hub and have to enter another hub before you actually start playing the platforming stages. Once I figured this out, the game became much easier for me to wrap my head around.

As you play through the game's stages, more areas unlock within the central hub. There's a park, a cemetery, a dump, and a sewer area to explore - in addition to the aforementioned museum area. Once you complete all these stages, the final area is unlocked. Unfortunately, you will not be able to beat the game until you have collected EVERY green nitro box in the game. There are hundreds of these things scattered across the game's levels. This might be why I can't specifically remember if I beat the game as a kid or not. I can't imagine being this patient combing through all the stages and collecting all these things when I was younger. In fact, I almost didn't do it here. Normally when I play a game and then discover I have to go back and replay old levels to find things I missed, I stop playing the game, because that shit irritates me. Look at Jet Force Gemini and Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins. I said hell no when the game pulled that on me. But it was a little more tolerable here, because I actually enjoyed playing this game. If I was having a bad time with it, as I was those other titles, I may have very well stopped before finishing this.

The game's stages are pretty straightforward. There's a lot of precision platforming action. The combat is pretty basic. Some enemies take a lot of hits to kill, which is annoying. Be prepared to take a lot of damage from enemies, although the game is more than generous with its health items and extra lives. In fact, I completely maxed out my lives at 99 about 75% into the game. I was never in any danger of running out. That does not mean this isn't a challenging game. It is. Some of the platform areas are tough as nails. And the bosses, while really fun to play, can drain your health quickly too. I guess it is more of an issue of trial and error and repeating yourself till you get it right than it is actual challenging gameplay.

The stages are large, and often filled with interesting puzzles. The game is at its best when things are clicking and you are moving from one area to the next with relative ease. Unfortunately, your objectives aren't always crystal clear, and I did find myself getting stuck from time to time. Luckily I had the good ol' internet to help me in times of need.

So yeah. The game is fun. I liked it. I have to say, though, that it felt a bit generic from time to time. Jersey Devil doesn't do anything I haven't seen dozens of times already. There were times where I was literally like: "This is Croc. This is Crash Bandicoot." And it doesn't always do these things as well as the game that clearly inspired it. But it was good enough for me back in 1998, and it is good enough for me in 2024. 

Graphics:

Jersey Devil looks primitive by today's standards, but in the 1990s this was about as good looking as you could get. Your enjoyment of the game solely depends on your perspective. If you grew up playing these types of games, you'll probably love the graphics and the look and feel of the game. I know I did. There's an undeniable charm coming back and playing games from this era, when they were just figuring out how to make games in 3D. If you are younger or a new gamer, you may not be able to see past the pixels and the draw distance, and the overall jagged look of things. I can totally see things either way.

Before we move on, I have to note that this is essentially a Halloween themed game. You control a devil with a tail and wings. Instead of coins, you collect pumpkins. The locales of the game, like the graveyard and the museum, are clearly Halloween inspired. You fight freakish monsters. Almost everything takes place at night. The whole game just has a really campy Halloween feel to it. Coincidentally, I played through most of this game in late October. I'm not someone who plays scary or Halloween themed games when they are in season. I play these types of games all year long. It just happened to fall on Halloween this time around.

Sound:

The Halloween feel of the game carries over to the sound, too. It's like the game's music is tailor made for Halloween season. Upbeat, jaunty, and spooky at the same time. Ultimately, however, it is forgettable in the long run.

Sound effects are decent. Many of them sound like they were pulled straight from Crash Bandicoot - like the sound of your spin attack and the sound of boxes breaking. Heck, they probably were pulled straight from Crash Bandicoot. They sound good though, so I won't complain.

Overall:

I had a good time with the game, but deciding a final score is where I am running into trouble. I liked the game; I think that my words have made this clear so far. But "like" is about as far as I'd go. I won't say I loved the game. I won't even say I'll ever come back and play this again in my lifetime. In fact, I am almost certain I won't.

The problem with this game is that despite its cool theme and fun Halloween atmosphere, it fails to do anything new or interesting with its gameplay. Mario 64 was way better. Banjo-Kazooie was way better. Spyro was way better. The list goes on and on. Like I said, I liked this game, but it failed to leave any kind of lasting impression on me whatsoever. It's just so tame and vanilla. We've "been there, done that" so many times before.

I almost compare it to the 2D beat 'em up games that were so popular in the arcades. So many of them are very similar in gameplay, and it boils down to the skin or the theme that makes each game interesting individually. Would you rather play Captain Command, or would you rather play something like The Simpsons or the X-Men? You'd take the Simpsons or the X-Men game 99% of the time. Of course. In this example, Jersey Devil is Captain Command, while games like Gex and Spyro are the Simpsons and the X-Men. Despite the game sharing many similarities as its counterparts, there is just something very generic and milquetoast about this version of it. Not to say it is a bad game. It's just something that is easily overlooked and forgotten.

That sounds like I am being mean, but I am really not trying to be. I'll say it for the millionth time - I liked this game. At the same time, I can't say I got a whole lot out of it. It doesn't have originality, creativity, or staying power. It's just a generically "nice" game that left little to no impact on the gaming world. You can completely skip over this game and you won't be missing a whole lot.

I can't in good faith give this anything in the B range. At the same time, I can most assuredly say in good faith that this is an above average title. So I'm giving it a C+, with the caveat that this is about as close to a B- as you can get without actually being a B-. If this game just had a little bit more originality, a little bit more nuance to its control system, just a little bit more something, it would have done a world of good.

THE GRADE:

C+

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

>HERE<

2024 Things: October

January 2024

February 2024

March 2024

April 2024

May 2024

June 2024

July 2024

August 2024

September 2024

10.1: Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.34). Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.01). Listened to 1 episode of Worth it or Worthless (ep 2). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (2.06).

10.2: Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (36.03). Watched 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix (5.1). Watched 1 episode of Agatha All Along (1.04). Watched 1 episode of Invincible (2.05). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Off Balance). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (9.30.24 episode). Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.02).

10.3: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.04 and 36.05). Watched movie: Halloween (2018). Watched 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix (5.3). Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club podcast (CC Weekly #75). 

10.4: Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Recapping the Stand: Pocket Savior). Finished video game: Sonic Frontiers. Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.35). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (2.07). Watched 2 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series (The Man Who Killed Batman, Mudslide).

10.5: Watched movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (AAPOD180). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (ep 46 pt 2). Listened to 2 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.2 and 10.3.24 episodes). Watched 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix (5.2). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.01). 

10.6: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.02). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.01). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks: Citizen Ruth. Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde podcast (Syphon Filter). Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast podcast (Shadows of the Empire). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (Stand Showrunner Benjamin Cavell). 

10.7: Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (2.08). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E03). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.02). Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (T7R #249). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (Recapping The Stand: Blank Pages). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 243). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.7.24 ep). 

10.8: Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.36). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.03). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.03). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.4.24 ep). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema podcast (Top 5 Favorite Full Moon Movies +SXSW Review).

10.9: Watched 1 episode of Agatha All Along (1.05). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.06 and 36.07). Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 411). Finished video game: Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon.

10.10: Watched 1 episode of Invincible (2.06). Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Editor's Corner ep 5). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.04). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (36.08). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.03). Finished video game: Panzer Dragoon II Zwei.

10.11: Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.03). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries podcast (Fatal Fire). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.37). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.04). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (36.09). Watched 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix (5.4). Watched movie: Halloween Kills.

10.12: Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast podcast (Mortal Kombat I & II). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.38). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 244). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.10 and 36.11). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.05). Watched 1 episode of American Murder: Laci Peterson (1.01).

10.13: Watched 2 episodes of Invincible (2.07 and 2.08). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.06). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (Recapping The Stand: The House of the Dead). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (ep 88). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Paging the Crime Doctor). 

10.14: Watched movie: Halloween Ends. Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Editor's Corner ep 6). Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club (CC Portable #7). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Super Mario Kart). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (AAPOD181). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema podcast (ep 37). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (The Stand's Julie McNamara). Watched movie: The Sentinel.

10.15: Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (36.12). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.39). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.04). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Zatanna). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.07). Watched 1 episode of American Murder: Laci Peterson (1.02).

10.16: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.05). Watched 3 episodes of The Challenge (36.13, 36.14, and 36.15). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (The Mechanic). Listened to 1 episode of Ear Biscuits (ep 43). Watched 1 episode of American Murder: Laci Peterson (1.03).

10.17: Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.05).  Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 218). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.16.24 episode). Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (T7R #250). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.06).

10.18: Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 412). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.16 and 36.17). Finished video game: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. Watched movie: The Menendez Brothers. Watched 1 episode of Agatha All Along (1.06). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E04). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.15.24 episode).

10.19: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.18 and 36.19). Watched 1 episode of Invincible (202.01). Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast podcast (Doom 1993). Watched movie: The Greatest Night in Pop." Watched movie: Eden Lake.

10.20: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.07). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (Recapping The Stand: Fear and Loathing in New Vegas). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Joe and Mac). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 219). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks: Kentucky Fried Movie. Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (Game Launch Edition: Ace Attorney Investigations Collection). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (AAPOD182). Listened to 1 episode of How Did This Get Made? (Congo). 

10.21: Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.04). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #76). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries podcast (Demonic Possession). Listened to 2 episodes of Carrier (ep 1 and ep 2). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.08).

10.22: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.20 and 36.21). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Pokemon Legends: Arceus). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (The Stand's Owen Teague). Finished video game: Jurassic Park: The Game. Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (13.01). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.09).

10.23: Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (13.02). Watched 2 episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.08 and 1.09). Watched movie: Unhinged. Watched 1 episode of The Challenge All Stars (1.01). Listened to 1 episode of The Retroblast (Resident Evil - The Lost Movie Script). Watched 1 episode of Agatha All Along (1.07).  Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Top 5 Favorite Weed Smoking movies). Listened to 1 episode of Carrier (ep 3).

10.24: Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Harley and Ivy). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge All Stars (1.02). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.06). Finished video game: Wolverine.

10.25: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge All Stars (1.03 and 1.04). Watched 1 episode of Star Trek Lower Decks (5.01). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries podcast (Three Dead at Blue Ridge Bank). Watched 1 episode of Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter (1.01). 

10.26: Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club (ep 133). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks: Rocky 2. Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge All Stars (1.05 and 1.06). Watched movie: Joy Ride. Watched 1 episode of Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter (1.02). 

10.27: Watched 1 episode of Star Trek Lower Decks (5.02). Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.05). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.24.24 episode). Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 19). Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (T7R #251). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E05). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (AAPOD183). Listened to 1 episode of Carrier (ep 4).

10.28: Listened to 1 episode of How Did This Get Made? (Deep Blue Sea). Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast podcast (Parasite Eve). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (Game Launch Edition: Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Blind as a Bat).

10.29: Watched 1 episode of This is the Zodiac Speaking (1.01). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge All Stars (1.07 and 1.08). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde podcast (Jackass: The Game). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.10). Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (13.03). Watched movie: The Purge.

10.30: Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club podcast (CC Weekly #77). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge All Stars (1.09 and 1.10).

10.31: Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (13.04). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.01). Watched 2 episodes of Agatha All Along (1.08 and 1.09). Watched 1 episode of This is the Zodiac Speaking (1.02).

19 episodes of The Challenge watched.

11 movies watched.

10 episodes of Only Murders in the Building watched. 

10 episodes The Challenge All Stars watched.

9 episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles watched. 

8 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series watched.

8 episodes of Fantasy Football Happy Hour played.

7 episodes of The Losers Club played.

6 episodes of Big Brother watched.

6 episodes of Agatha All along watched.

6 video games finished.

Video Game Review #542: Wolverine

Wolverine

Nintendo Entertainment System

Nostalgia Factor:

I first played this game back in the 1990s, when I rented it from Blockbuster Video. I remember very little about the game, other than the fact that I liked it, and that I was able to beat the game. I seem to remember it being somewhat difficult. I also remember a water level driving me nuts. Other than that, I don't remember much of anything.

Recently, I happened to stumble upon an AVGN review of the game, where he trashed it and said it was terrible. Like I said, I don't remember much about the game, but I do not remember it being terrible. I told myself that I was going to return to Wolverine someday and see if the AVGN was full of shit or if he was right.

He was full of shit. Keep reading for my full thoughts.

Story:

There is probably a story somewhere in the game's manual, but I didn't have access to the manual when I fired this up. In-game, nothing is explained. You are just thrown right into a side scrolling action stage.

After you beat the first level, Sabretooth appears and taunts Wolverine. Then you play the second level. At the end of this level, he appears to taunt Wolverine again. This happens after every level in the game.

On the second to last level, you fight Magneto. On the last level, a few fellow X-Men show up for moral support. Then you have to defeat Sabretooth by punching him off a cliff. Your reward for beating the game? A still shot of Wolverine posing, followed by a screen that says: The End?

What. A. Story.

Gameplay:

For an LJN game, Wolverine handles pretty well. You can walk forward and back. You can duck. You can punch. You can jump. Wolverine can jump pretty high for a little guy. You can move around mid-air and adjust yourself with relative ease. The controls are pretty responsive, and I never found myself battling against them. That doesn't mean the gameplay is perfect, though. Wolverine's range of attack is very small. You often have to get right up in an enemy's grill in order to hit them with your melee attack. This often results in taking unnecessary damage that you never would have had to take if your range was just a teeny bit longer. This is especially annoying when fighting flying enemies. It is very hard to not take damage. Swimming can also be a touchy affair.

The basic point of the game is to simply make it from the start of the stage to the end. Point A to point B. You are constantly under attack from enemies, most of which are invisible and materialize when you get near them. This often results in taking some cheap damage. Other enemies are located in fixed positions. I was having some difficulty when I first started this up. I was taking a lot of damage and dying a lot. Then I remember something I had read on Reddit: treat this game like you are trying to speed run it. If you stop to fight every enemy in your path, you are going to have a rough time. But if you keep moving and keep pushing forward, often jumping over and evading your enemies, it makes the game much easier. And sure enough - it did.

There are nine stages in total. Most of them are pretty straightforward, although they do often feature branching paths you can take to get to the end. The only one that I struggled navigating was the underwater stage because it is very maze-like. The game is very tough, and you are going to find yourself dying quite often. You get three lives, with one continue. Use up all those lives, and you have to go back to the beginning of the entire game. I did manage to beat this as a kid, but all I can say now in my old age is thank god for save states.

I have to talk about the glaring problem with the game: Wolverine's claws! You don't use them by default. He just punches with his regular fists. You can press the select button to pop his claws out. They are a little longer than his normal attack, plus they deal out extra damage. Unfortunately, each time you press the attack button with your claws out, it drains your health. This game is so difficult, it basically makes the claws not worth using. You need every scrap of health you can get. Luckily, enemies go down pretty easily, and you never really need to use your claws.

The whole game can be beaten in about a half hour if you know what you are doing. I played through it twice for this review. The first time, when I was still learning the game, it took me over an hour to beat the game. My second attempt, when I knew what I was doing, was much faster. A half hour, give or take.

Graphics:

This game looks okay, I guess. I would not say it is ugly or anything, but it is very primitive looking. You can tell who the characters are, but just barely. It looks like a seven year old made them in MS Paint. The backgrounds are fairly dull and unexciting - although they do get better as you make it deeper into the game. I guess plain is the word I am looking for. The game is very plain. Doesn't look bad, just plain.

I do like the little Sabretooth teaser screens between stages. There's also a still shot of Wolverine at the end of the game that looks like it was pulled right from the comics. These look decent. But as far as the game itself, when you are actually playing? Very meh. It's a few steps below Mega Man, if that helps put some type of reference point on things.

Sound:

I've read a lot of praise for this game's music online. Some people even say it is the best thing about the game. I think it is okay. Again, it is not bad, but it is not what I'd call great, either. It's just kind of your typical NES crunchy, techno-ish music. It is fast and upbeat. I don't really know how else to describe it.

None of the songs were catchy enough to stick in my head. Even though I just finished playing through the game twice, I can't hum or bring to mind literally any of the game's music. I'll post a link to a YouTube playlist of this game's music and let you make up your mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueenCa5U_EI&list=PLEOQ0YA_1DWkHCtVe5GaSbPiUpofm6pIz

Overall:

Let me get this out of the way: this game does not suck. I had a pretty good time with it. It can be frustrating at times and there are a lot of annoying things about the game, like the invisible enemies and the way using your claws drains your health. I also wish you had unlimited continues, because for how tough this game is, three lives and one continue is not nearly enough. The game itself is fun, though.

I like the controls. I like the platforming. I like the quick decisions you always have to make. I even like how fighting versus running is a completely valid way to play this game. You have multiple ways to tackle things.

The game is also pretty short, and does not overstay its welcome. This is perfect for a quick game to blast through when you have an hour or two to sit down and play a retro game.

I have to give Wolverine an above average score. That's a no-brainer. But do I go with a C+ or a B-? That is the question. Ultimately, I feel like the quality of the game's visuals and the cheapness of the difficulty is going to hurt it a bit. I just can't see myself giving it something in the B range. It's close, but it doesn't quite earn it. Even though I had a relatively fun time with this, I can see why it is so divisive.

Does it stack up with Mario, Sonic, Castlevania, Contra, and all the great classics of the 8 and 16-bit era? Not really. I am never going to be like "oh yeah, Wolverine, what an amazing game!!" In fact, now that I've played through it for my review, I am not sure if I will ever play it again. So yes, I liked it. Yes, it is a decent game. But ultimately it is forgettable in the long run. If you missed it growing up, you should not feel any rush to go back and give it a try. I would not discourage you from doing so, but by no means is this a must play game.

THE GRADE:

C+

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Video Game Review #541: Jurassic Park: The Game

Jurassic Park: The Game

PlayStation 3

Before playing:

I've played through this game once before in my life: back in May of 2014. That's over ten years ago, in case you are keeping track. Time sure does fly, doesn't it?

I am not sure what exactly drew me back to this game, other than my intense desire to review everything I can, coupled with the fact that this is a quick and relatively easy game to play through. Didn't take much to sell myself on the idea of returning to this game.

I don't remember much about it from my first playthrough, other than that I liked it. At the time, I vaguely remember expecting this game to suck, because of the reviews I had read. They were mostly negative. That just goes to show you: never trust other people's reviews.

My opinions are good, though. You can trust mine.

Story:

As this is a Telltale game, it is heavily reliant on its storyline to keep you playing. The game picks up after the events of the first Jurassic Park film. A mercenary named Nima has been sent to the island by the Biosyn Corporation after Dennis Nedry has failed to show up with the shaving cream can full of dinosaur DNA samples. Her job is to locate these samples and bring them to BioSyn before they thaw out and become completely ruined.

The game also tells the story of Dr Harding and his daughter Jess. After failing to evacuate, they are now stuck on this dangerous, dinosaur-infested island. They cross paths with Nima, who has been injured and knocked unconscious after a dilophosaurus attack. Additionally, a rescue team has been sent by InGen to look for survivors. This team, led by Billy Yoder, encounters this small group of survivors after their helicopter crashes on the island. The two groups must work together to find a way off the island.

Things take a turn later on, when the can of DNA samples is discovered. It becomes a battle between Yoder and Nima as to who is going to bring the can back and claim the reward. This sparks a battle between the survivors, with Yoder turning out to be the game's "bad guy." After Yoder is defeated, the survivors get on a boat and escape the island.

I'm glazing over a lot of the game's plot points, but that is pretty much it in a nutshell. You do encounter a doctor character at one point who assists in your escape, but she too becomes untrustworthy when she threatens the survivors in order to advance her own personal agenda. She does explain how she was able to lift the "lysine contingency" so that dinosaurs do not die if they are cut off from their supply of lysine. This helps explain the somewhat glaring plot hole regarding how the dinosaurs stay alive when they get off the island. So that's kind of cool.

Gameplay:

Telltale games are not known for having the strongest gameplay, and this game is the perfect example of that. Most of the action takes place through quick time events, conversation choices from a menu, or by examining things in the environment. You can't really control your character. You just move a cursor around and look at things.

There are some light puzzles in the game, like a puzzle where you use a switch to re-arrange the order of cars on a roller coaster. There's another puzzle where you have to use sounds to help herd a group of dinosaurs to a certain location. Basic stuff like that.

There is not much challenge here, but what challenge there is comes from the quick time events. I was pretty good at them (for the most part), but sometimes I would inexplicably fail and it would really tick me off. As far as I know, you can die an unlimited number of times, and you pick up relatively close to where you left off. I did not die too often, so I am not sure what happens if you die repeatedly in one area. Do you get a game over? Do you have to start the chapter over again? I don't know.

There are four chapters in total. I'd say each one is between one and two hours long, something like that. I didn't get out a timer or anything. But it moves by pretty quick. Once you've made it through all four chapters, the game is over. There's not much reason to replay, unless you really liked the game's storyline.

Unlike other Telltale games, the choices you make do not affect anything. There are no branching paths or multiple endings. That gives the game limited replayability. I played through it once back in 2014, and I played through it once here in 2024. I can't see myself returning to it again, anytime soon. Maybe 2034?

Graphics:

This game definitely looks its age. It's an early PS3 game and it shows. I also think it was one of Telltale's first efforts, so maybe they were still perfecting their craft. But yeah, a lot of the environments and character designs are lacking. Things look very plain most of the time. And there are a lot of little glitches here and there.

But I have to give credit where it is due. The game may not look perfect, but it does an admirable job at recreating the atmosphere of Jurassic Park. I loved seeing the Visitor Center and a few other locations from the film. Nedry's crashed car is another example. The game even does a good job introducing some new areas that feel right at home - like the roller coaster and the underwater observation room.

The dinosaurs in this game definitely look better than the humans. The humans themselves are a little uninspiring in their design. The dinosaurs, on the other hand, look great.

Sound:

This may be the first Jurassic Park game I've played that actually uses music from the movie. Lego Jurassic World probably does, but do any original games in the franchise? I don't remember the 8-bit, the 16-bit, the 32-bit games, or any PC Jurassic Park games using music from the movie. I have to say, the music really adds a lot. Gives it a feel of genuine authenticity. Can anything with the Jurassic Park soundtrack attached to it be bad?

Not only does the game have a great soundtrack, it uses sound effects from the movie as well. The classic T-Rex roar, the hoot of the dilophosaurus, and the raptor screech are all present and accounted for. The only criticism I have is of the voice acting. But it's not bad, and I can't be too critical of it considering how great everything else sounds.

Overall:

Like most Telltale games, you will enjoy this if you like the source material. So, if you're a Jurassic Park fan, this is a must play. If you're not, you probably wouldn't care much about this.

Jurassic Park: The Game is not going to win anyone over with its fast, addicting gameplay. Instead, the game delivers a forward-moving narrative that tells a fun story taking place right after the first Jurassic Park movie. It introduces new characters and adds to the lore of the series. If that sounds like your kind of thing, I'd suggest you play this. It's like getting a movie or a TV series about what happens after the first Jurassic Park film. I would have loved that when I was a kid.

I'm a little torn on my final grade. I understand that the game isn't necessarily "fun" to play, but at the same time, I still found myself fairly addicted to it. I don't get much time to play games anymore, but when I do, I would spend a lot of it playing this. I wanted to see what would happen next, and where the story would take me. I'm a big Jurassic Park fan, having seen this movie and read the book dozens of times in my life. There was no way I was not going to like this.

I'm going to give it a solid score, but not anything too incredibly high. Like I said, I enjoyed this, but it was mainly because of the game's setting and storyline. It was not because of the gameplay, or because the game has any kind of depth to it whatsoever. Character choices have no impact and there are no branching paths or multiple endings. It's a very linear game that tells a story.

If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, by all means you should play this. If not, you won't be missing much if you skip this. Unless you're a Jurassic Park fan. Then you need to play this regardless.

THE GRADE:

B

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Video Game Review #540: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

Before playing:

Although this game has been out for a long time now, I only first heard of it just last year. Shortly after Christmas, I saw the game for sale on the PlayStation Network for a dollar or two. I watched a quick video preview of the game, and immediately fell in love with how it looked just like a classic NES Castlevania game. I mean, it looks JUST like Castlevania. It's so blatant, it is like they did not even try to hide it.

I knew I had to check this game out, so I bought it. The game then proceeded to sit in my "purchased" folder for about ten months. To be honest, I think I forgot I had even bought the game. Well, I finally circled around to it and decided to jump in. How would I like it? Let's find out!

Story:

I understand that this is a prequel to the main events of the Bloodstained series. Unfortunately, I have never played anything else in the series, so I can't really tell you how this ties in. You control a character named Zangetsu. He is a demon slayer who just hates demons, and he sets out to destroy big daddy demon who is hiding out in his castle. As you fight your way through the game's stages, some of the demon boss characters revert to human form after you defeat them. You can either slay them, ignore them, or go against Zangetsu's principles and recruit them to your team.

The game has multiple endings depending on the route you choose to take. My first playthrough, I recruited all of the allies and got the good ending. The next playthrough, I decided to just save one ally. The next time I killed them all, etc. To be honest, the story is really not anything too amazing. If you swap out Zangetsu for Simon Belmont and the demon enemies for vampires, you have the OG Castelvania. Or maybe Castlevania III, which seems to be this game's main inspiration. But really, do we play these types of games for their storylines? I know I don't. While the story may not be anything special, it more than serves its purpose.

And who knows, maybe if/when I play the rest of the series, it will be clear to me just how this game ties into the other games. Maybe I am not giving it the credit it deserves, and I just don't realize it yet?

Gameplay:

This is essentially the fourth NES Castlevania game. To be honest with you, I enjoyed this game much more than Super Castlevania IV. I'm going to consider it the "real" Castlevania IV from now on. Okay, maybe not, but it carries the spirit of the original NES Castlevania games so incredibly well. I love it.

For those who have never played a Castlevania game before, this is a 2D side scrolling platformer. You have a character whose main attack is with a melee weapon. You knock down candles for special weapons and power ups. You make your way through each stage, navigating a linear path from point A to point B. Once you reach the end of the stage, you fight a boss character. Beat the boss, and you move onto the next stage.

What makes this game unique is the ability to use alternate characters. Clearly, this is inspired by Castlevania III. But I really like it. Each character has something unique about them. Your default character, Zangetsu, is very generic. He moves fast and strikes quickly with a sword. His jump height is medium. He's a decently well rounded character. Miriam, who you can recruit at the end of stage one, is my favorite character. She can jump the highest, and her melee attack covers a lot range. She can also slide underneath obstacles, which gives you the opportunity to take shortcuts through some of the stages. Alfred the wizard was the character I found to be the most useless. He is slow, can barely jump, and has a very small attack radius. You can use magic with him. I'm sure this magic serves some kind of big purpose, but to be honest I rarely used him - so I never figured it out. Gebel is essentially Alucard from Castlevania III. His main function is turning into a bat and accessing areas where other characters would never normally be able to access.

All these characters have independent health bars, so if you are running low on health, you can switch to another character. Find some health, and you can switch back to the injured character and pick it up. You want to keep as many characters alive as possible, because if they all die you lose a life. Run out of lives and you have to start an entire stage over again. Luckily, this game has save points and you never have to start the entire game over again. Because of this mechanic, it makes the game much harder to beat solo, without recruiting any enemies. Die once, and you lose a life. When you have allies in your party, you don't lose a life till they are all dead.

While the game is linear, each stage does have branching paths you can take to get to the end. This, combined with all the different endings, really gives the game a ton of replay value. I played through this game three times before I sat down for this review. If you know me, you know that is almost unheard of. I'll beat a game once (at the VERY MOST twice) before I review it. Three times? That's unprecedented.

And you know what? I want to go back and play some more. This game is that good.

Graphics:

This is a very good looking game. It recreates the charm of NES Castlevania games perfectly. Not only that, but it improves upon the visuals in minor ways without breaking the "immersion" of playing an NES game. Little things, like rain effects, wind, and other atmospheric effects really keep things feeling fresh and new. The boss characters are a highlight of the game for me. Some of them are really big, and they are soooo well-designed. I loved seeing what they were going to throw at me next. 

Sound:

This may be a controversial opinion, but I actually do not like the music in this game. To me, it fails to recreate that classic Castlevania feel to things. The music is so pivotal in the Castlevania games. The graphics and the gameplay both succeed, but the music misses the mark. That's not to say the music is bad, it just doesn't fit the overall look and feel of the game. There are a few stages where it seems like it is trying to emulate that classic music, but even then it misses the mark. Most stages, the music is not Castlevania-like at all.

Oh well. This game does everything else so well, I am willing to give it a pass here.

Overall:

I had a blast with this game. Who would have thought that a game I bought for only one or two dollars would turn out to be so great? Like I said before, this would easily be right at home sitting next to the NES trilogy of Castlevania games. In fact, it's a better IV than IV is! 

Even though I've played through this game three times already, I still have the itch to play it some more. And I probably will. This is a retro-inspired game done right. Programmers, take notes!

I hear that this game has a direct sequel. And then there is the mainline Bloodstained series. I can't wait to check those games out. If this game is any indication, I am going to like them a lot.

If you are on the fence about this game, get off it. Especially if you like the old Castlevania games. I can't imagine disliking this game if you liked the others. It's fun, it's challenging (but easier than the OG Castlevania games), and it offers a lot of replay value. There's almost nothing to dislike about this game. I'm going to give it a very high score, but I'm going to shy away from an A+ because it is not a perfect game. It's not particularly original either. But that's really all I can say about the game that is bad.

Bottom line: play this game.

THE GRADE:

A

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Video Game Review #539: Bubble Witch 3 Saga

Bubble Witch 3 Saga

Mobile

Before playing:

I have had this game downloaded on my phone for about eight years now. Back in 2016, I had just started playing Bubble Witch 2. Coincidentally this game came out almost immediately after I started that one. I ended up liking this one a thousand times more than 2, which I found to be slower paced and bit on the dull side. I quickly kicked 2 to the curb. I've been playing this game exclusively ever since. Perfect for killing time while pooping and going on long car rides.

Having played this for eight years, I considered myself fully qualified to write a review for this game. So here we are. I'm reviewing it. I hope you enjoy.

Story:

There's not much of a story here. The game's theme does the heavy lifting. You're the Bubble Witch. You have to save ghosts and pop bubbles and fight Morgana the evil witch. Occasionally, the game will hold a special event, where you have to go through a graveyard, or something. Your character will talk to someone via the speech bubble for a few seconds. It's never anything I'd consider serious story.

Gameplay:

I've always enjoyed the way this game feels. It is fast and arcade-like. It really feels like you're lining up a shot, letting it go, and firing away. The point of the game is to line up a colored shot so that you are hitting two other connected color pieces of the same color. This eliminates them from the playing field. in most stages, you are starting at the bottom of the stage and working your way up, as you blast these colored pieces away.

Aside from the colored pieces, there are also special pieces, like a bolt that eliminates all horizontal pieces. Arrows rotate around the board, and are launched when you make contact with them. There are pieces that shoot out rockets and eliminate random pieces on the board. All kind of different little things to keep the game fun and engaging.

You'll also encounter white pieces, that turn the color of the pieces next to them that you eliminate. So you have to use these white pieces strategically. You want to chain together a long combination. It's hard to explain in writing. But if you've played this game, you know exactly what I am talking about.

There are a few different types of stages. In one type of stage, you simply have to eliminate every playing piece on the field. For another type of stage, you have to blast away pieces to raise a ghost up and out of the level exit at the top of the stage. For another type of stage, you have to eliminate all the colored owls.

As you play, you get special items, like an item that eliminates all of one color on the screen. Another one is like a bolt of lightning that blasts away all the pieces it touches, in a straight line. There's one that knocks out about six horizontal pieces. Another one that blasts away pieces like a grenade.

The game offers special events, where you can earn items. You can also explore areas on a new map, like a graveyard, and unlock hidden items. You can participate in challenges (like save 30 ghosts) that other players are also participating in. You can work together to get extra items. There's a dice rolling game. There have probably been so many more little games tossed in over the years that I have forgotten about. It's a game that is always evolving and always changing for the better.

It may be the game I am most addicted to at the moment. And I've been playing it for eight years. The fact that it still hasn't gotten old speaks wonders about it.

Graphics:

One of the appealing things about this game is its theme. I love the ghosts, owls, witches, cauldrons, bats, etc. The colors on the screen really pop. The characters are vibrant and cartoon like. It's a really good looking game.

Sound:

This game has great music. The sound effects are perfect. Everything fits the witch theme to a tee. Unfortunately, I have to say that I muted the game's music and sound effects years and years ago. I always play this while watching TV and doing other things... and I play this a lot! So it makes sense to have it muted at all times.

Overall:

This is a truly fantastic game. I know that people like to poop on mobile games, but if you are going to play one to pass the time, I can't think of a better game than this. It looks good, it sounds good, it's fun, it's addicting. The fact that this game has kept me glued for eight years is just wild - especially if you are familiar with me and my gaming habits. I don't linger on individual games for too long, and am often eager to move along so I can try the next big thing. But here I am. Playing this since 2016.

I think what might be the most impressive thing is the way the game continues to evolve. I'm sure if I went back and looked at what the game looked like in 2016, I almost wouldn't recognize it. It's been modernized and updated, and kept up with the times. The continually added new content is impressive. There are lots of ways to earn lives and items. It's just a super fun, super addictive game. I can't recommend it enough.

I feel this review may earn some scorn, because if you are someone who looks down on mobile games, you are going to think I'm giving this game a score that is too high. But if you are like me and you consider all games to be on equal ground, no matter the platform, you hopefully can see where I am coming from. I mean, I've been playing this for eight years and show no signs of stopping. What other game can I say that about?

THE GRADE:

A+

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Video Game Review #538: Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei

Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei

Sega Saturn

Before playing:

I first played Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei when I was about 15 years old. I had played the original Panzer Dragoon, and I only sort of liked it. Aside from Star Fox and Solar Eclipse, these types of rail shooters weren't really my thing. This game got much higher scores than the original Panzer Dragoon. I remember reading nothing but positive reviews in video game magazines. So of course I had to play it.

I rented this game from Blockbuster and came away unimpressed. To me, it was just more of the same, but with better graphics. Still, I continued to read about this game in various video game magazines. It was getting a lot of very positive feedback, often being brought up in the conversation of best Saturn games of all time. I rented the game a second time, thinking that surely I must have been missing something the first time around. Nope, still didn't like it.

So, I rented it twice and never bothered to even beat it one time. It was too difficult for me, and I just didn't have the patience for this kind of game back then. I moved onto bigger and better things, and I never returned to this game.

Until now, the year of our Lord, 2024; about 27 years since I last played the game. In that time span, I've played through the original game, the remake of the original game, and Panzer Dragoon Orta. It's always been my intention to play through all the Panzer Dragoon games before finally tackling Panzer Dragoon Saga, my personal Holy Grail of video games. I've been wanting to play that game for so long!

Anyway, I digress. Before I can play Panzer Dragoon Saga, I have to make it through this one first. So how did I like it, all these years later? Not to give too much away, but this may now be my favorite game in the series. Keep reading for the full deets. 

Story:

These Panzer Dragoon games never make any sense to me. From what I could gather here, the world of the game is a post apocalyptic future where biological weapons have decimated mankind. The remaining factions of humans are furiously digging to unearth ancient weaponry to take out their foes.

They never learn.

You play as a boy names Lundi. He lives in a small village. Unbeknownst to the people in the village, he has taken in and sheltered a baby dragon creature - which are forbidden within the village. One day, he is out riding the dragon, trying to see if it can fly - when his village is attacked and destroyed. It seems like a squadron of Imperial soldiers are chasing something, and the village got caught up in the battle.

The game consists of you and your dragon, flying through seven different stages and fighting hordes of enemies until you get to the end of the game, where you catch up to the mysterious object that destroyed your village. You fight it, only to discover an ancient dragon within it. You defeat the dragon, and lose consciousness, entering a trippy 2001: A Space Odyssey-esque sequence. You wake up and enter a cave, where you encounter a picture of your dragon drawn upon the wall. The game ends.

I don't understand what really happened. I am not sure what the point of the story or the moral of the story is. I am not sure if I am even supposed to feel anything one way or another. Like I said, these games never makes any sense to me. I got nothing out of it.

Gameplay:

This is what we call an on-rails shooter. You have limited control of the dragon you are riding. You are mainly just moving the cursor around on the screen and pressing the fire button. You can tap the button for rapid fire shots. You can hold it down to lock onto enemies and launch heat seeking shots at them. The lock on attack will quickly become your dominant form of attack.

Unlike other shooters such as Star Fox, you are not just looking directly in front of you as you fly through these levels. You can tap the shoulder buttons to rotate the camera. Enemies can attack you from the side and from behind you, so being able to rotate and react quickly is key to success at this game.

On the bottom of the screen you have a health meter and a meter that charges for your special attack. Charge this meter by shooting down enemies. When the meter is fully charged, you can unleash a powerful attack to all enemies on the screen. You also can't be hit while this attack, which lasts somewhere between 5 and 10 seconds, is underway.

The game is comprised of seven stages. Each stage ends with a boss fight, where you have to find a boss's weak point and exploit it. You also have to get good at dodging enemy attacks and shooting down their projectiles.

That's pretty much the entire game right there. It is very straightforward. It is pretty challenging, though. The first few stages I passed with relative ease, but I started running into problems around the forest stage. From then on out, you are pretty much trial and erroring your way through these stages. You almost never get it on your first attempt, but once you've played through it (sometimes multiple times) it becomes much more manageable on subsequent attempts. It's all about memorization and pattern recognition.

I finished the game in a little under two hours. It's definitely doable if you put your head down and just do it. I don't think I was quite as patient (or as skilled at this type of game) when I was younger, which is probably why I gave up on it after renting it two times.

Before I forget, one thing this game does differently from the original is that it offers branching paths. I don't think these choices make too much difference in the long run, but they do give some replay value to the game. 

Graphics:

This game was considered a real beauty back in the 1990s, but it clearly shows its age. The characters are very jagged and messy looking. The scenery flickers and has draw distance issues. Textures tend to look sloppy and overly pixelated. It's a very "Saturn" looking game. But it works.

The game just has a great vibe to it. It's very dark and brooding and atmospheric. I like the stage where the snow gently falls around you, or the stage where you are racing along, close to the ground in the forest. The battles are swooping and epic. The fight with the giant fish machine that jumps out of the water is epic. The water looks great in this game, for a Saturn title, by the way. Don't see that too often. If I had to compare the feel of the game to a more modern title that people know, it would be something like Shadow of the Colossus. Not exactly the same (this game has flying dragons and giant air battles), but there's just something about the mystery and magic surrounding you that feels the same.

Sound:

This game has a very grand, sweeping orchestral soundtrack. It really soars during battle and gets your blood pumping. It is also very serene during the game's quieter moments. As I've mentioned already, this game succeeds in its atmosphere, and the music and sound effects play a big role in that.

If I had to offer any criticism, it is that there are not any standout tracks to me like there were in the first game. Nothing that is going to go on any of my gaming music playlists. So this is a little bit of a disappointment in that regard.

Overall:

I had a pretty decent time with this game. I'm not gonna lie, I'm still not the world's biggest Panzer Dragoon fan, but I think this is probably the best game in the series so far. Better than the original and better than Orta. Even though I say it is better than the original, I am still going to give it the same review score, though. I just can't go any higher than a B+ for this game.

That said, I am glad I played this, and I think everyone should give the series a look. When I think back on the Sega Saturn, Panzer Dragoon is one of the first games to come to mind, and it is a shame that the Saturn was such a big flop and no one got to experience these games. As far as rail shooters go, this is a very good series that I think would impress a lot of people if they ever got to play it, because it is quite good. It's not my favorite genre of game, but I have to admit that it does what it does very well.

That's that! Now that I've played through all these Panzer Dragoon games, there is only one left for me: Panzer Dragoon Saga. Like I said earlier, this is like the Holy Grail of video games for me. I've been wanting to play it since it came out 26 years ago in 1998, but I've never been able to track the game down. This ends soon, by whatever means necessary.

THE GRADE:

B+

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