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Well, This Was Overdue

Well, This Was Overdue published on 1 Comment on Well, This Was Overdue

Years ago, I had a handful of Game Informer magazines. I didn’t have a subscription, as much as I enjoyed it, especially the section they dedicated to oddball import titles. Of them, for some reason, possibly just due to the sheer awesomeness of the title, one particular Japanese PlayStation game stuck in my brain for years, quietly lurking until the chance came to make itself known. So, after finally remembering how to get a PS emulator to work (don’t laugh; the only time I ever used one was before I found an actual copy of Misadventures of Tron Bonne) so I could stream MegaMan Legends for RGLtv, I got the crazy idea to finally take that game for a test drive.

SPEED POWER GUNBIKE! God, just say that out loud. Doesn’t that feel great? Gunbike is actually the first game made by IntiCreates, currently one of the best developers of “new retro” style games like Blaster Master Zero, Azure Striker Gunvolt, and the later MegaMan titles. Interestingly enough, this game uses a cartoony low-poly style that kind of makes it look a little similar to Mega Man Legends at a glance. I guess they’ve just always had that kind of style. History lesson aside, I’ve found Gunbike to be seriously entertaining once the initial awkwardness of the controls was… mostly past. Make no mistake, this gem is cut rough around the edges. A fair amount of it can probably be blamed on being a pre Dual Shock PS1 title, which basicaly means a lack of precision movement and the camera is your cruel and uncaring master. Each character has a unique set of special attacks from mostly-undocumented controller inputs that aren’t… esoecially useful for the most part. But still, the core idea is gold and with some adjustment it’s a load of fun to play.

In the far-flung year of 2097, an alien race known as the Michi have invaded, and conventional weaponry is useless against them. To combat the alien threat, Gunbikes were developed as a means to combat the Michi by turning soldiers into living bullets and slam into them. I assume this is some kind of life energy/chi thing, but I can’t be sure since information on the game is surprisingly hard to come by, even on the Internets age. Most of what I know of the storyline comes from a friend giving some manual scans I found a once-over, an old IGN article that says the game “will be” released in November 1997 and Hardcore Gaming 101’s article on it. I would love to learn more about the storyline because the ending is really weird and I want to know how things escalate to the heroes flying naked though space surrounded by 2001: A Space Odyssey slabs. (Is it still a spoiler if it’s not coherent?)

Regardless of which of the three drivers you choose, the basics remain the same- Zoom around levels on a transforming super motorcycle, smashing enemies and roadblocks on your way to bosses. The bikes can transform from bike mode, to a wider-stanced Rally Mode, to Robot Mode, where your offensive powers are pretty much all based. The bike is the fastest, but taking damage in this form will fling the rider off the seat and force them to run back to it, like Excitebike. Wasting time is a Very Bad Thing in this, because your supply of “Anergy” (sic) is constantly ticking down, and depletes in chunks when you are hit by enemies as well. Since your life and timer are one and the same, the emphasis of the game is on moving as fast and efficiently as possible. Ippei is the easiest to use, a hot blooded former biker gang leader who wants to avenge his brother’s death to the Michi and also seems to really bond with his Gunbike’s computer. Ami is an artificial human created from a mix of human and Michi DNA, with some mental issues. Major Nouno rounds out the team as the ‘cool senior’ type character, at least until he loses it and turns on everyone.

So yeah, that’s been one among many sidetracks lately. Here, have a sketch dump!

 

 

Catching Up

Catching Up published on No Comments on Catching Up

Oh dear, I’ve been neglectful again. :( Been keeping busy most of the month with work, family, and Twitch stuff, not doing as much actual drawing as I’d like, but I think I’ve cooked up an idea for a livestream routine that’ll let me get my groove back a bit: basically, picking a theme and working off of it for a few hours as practice and chat casual like, so I have something arty to work on that doesn’t fall under ‘work’ in my brain. Tonight I kicked it off with WayForward, I may see if anyone wants to join me on the Discord voice chat for a little topical discussion in other sessions. I have a major remodel idea in mind for around here in the future, so if you wanna run around and save some stuff just in case something go awry.. hey.

Holy Crap, It Doesn’t Suck: A High Accolade

Holy Crap, It Doesn’t Suck: A High Accolade published on No Comments on Holy Crap, It Doesn’t Suck: A High Accolade

So, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is out now to the general public, and holy shit is it everything I had hoped for. As hypey as that sounds, what I was literally “hoping for” was “more of the same with another layer of refinement.” Wayforward’s been a company I’ve enjoyed following a while now since they manage to slip out original titles that show a clear personal investment in between licensed products that they still put a good effort in where I imagine a lot of companies would be content to just cash in. Who the hell would get the license to a Harvey comic strip and think to turn it into a Metalstorm clone?

Lately I just really find myself being drawn to examples of series that genuinely improve on themselves over time. Shantae for the GBC was okay, but plagued by blind jumps and probably a few too many moves for only two buttons. Risky’s Revenge was a solid little game, though it showed some signs of ideas that didn’t get quite fleshed out (the multi-layered town and forest areas, the awkward map chiefly.) Pirate’s Curse was another solid step up, enough so that her pirate equipment was easier and more fun to use than her transformation dances to the point I was actually kinda worried about what her having her powers back ruining Half Genie Hero.

Well, luckily that’s not the case and I’m enjoying the heck out of it. It’s structured in kind of an ‘episodic’ feel with each short story netting a piece of Uncle Mimic’s latest machine to set up the final chapter with Risky inevitably swiping to nobody’s real surprise. The jokes are mostly pretty funny, the animation is gorgeous, and backtracking is made more palatable by the levels usually changing to remove the more obnoxious hazards from the first time around and changing enemy types. If you find yourself stuck in a level you can whistle for Sky to pick you up, even if it makes no sense like your being on a waterslide or in an underwater cavern polymorphed into a crab. So yeah, I’m stoked- a long-awaited crowd funded game release that’s actually really good. That’s one point for 2016.
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