I'm pretty much done with another 3DS game that's received a lot of play on this blog over the last few months, too--with the game in question being THE "DENPA" MEN 3. That's not because the bloom is off the rose, so to speak, or because this digital RPG has otherwise lost its appeal, mind you. No, it's because I finished this game within the last week or so.
By the way, it may interest some of you to hear that, in the end, I put more than 40 hours into this sucker. That's quite an accomplishment when you consider I nearly gave up after getting stuck around the seven-hour mark. It only got better and better after that unfortunate hurdle, thankfully, and now that the adventure is over I've got to say it was well worth the time and effort I put into it.
Does that mean I'd heartily recommend THE "DENPA" MEN 3 to all who own a 3DS? No, it doesn't. On the contrary, I have a feeling some of its quirks would turn off a lot of those who wander into it without ample warning. If you like RPGs with turn-based battles, though, and if you're not an easily annoyed gamer, it's possible you'll get as much enjoyment out of this title as I have so far.
As for what I've been playing now that both THE "DENPA" MEN 3 and Tomodachi Life have been put to bed, well, the header above kind of gives it away, doesn't it? Of course, the header doesn't mention which versions I've been playing, so at least there's a bit of new information I can share here.
In that regard, the Rainbow Islands ports I've been playing the last few days are the Famicom, GameBoy Color and PC Engine ones. The latter iteration is the one that's been getting most of my attention, thanks in large part to the fact that it's pretty much arcade-perfect, but the Famicom conversion has gotten a good amount of play, too.
Going back to the PC Engine version of this Taito classic, whose subtitle is "The Story of Bubble Bobble 2," I actually reached its end--the real, "good" one, too, not the "bad" one that's encountered if you failed to collect all of the game's "big diamonds"--for the first time ever a couple of days ago. The last few stages alone--one of which is an homage to The Fairyland Story, while two others pull enemies and other aspects from Darius and Bubble Bobble--were worth the price of admission, if you ask me, as were the song and animation sequence that accompanied the game's credit roll.
I can't say I've been as enamored with the Famicom and GameBoy Color ports of Rainbow Islands at this point, but I'm still enjoying them more than you might think given their various deficiencies. The GBC version, for instance, feels a bit "off" in terms of its controls (jumping, especially) compared to every other iteration I've experienced, but it looks so good--better than its Famicom or Sega Master System counterparts, that's for sure--that for the moment I'm willing to ignore that niggle.
The Famicom release, on the other hand, controls well enough--although not perfectly--but is a bit of a letdown in the graphics department. Actually, that's not an entirely fair assessment, as individual sprites--Bob, Bub and their enemies, especially--look pretty darn nice, all things considered. There are so many fewer colors used here than in the arcade original, though, that the overall impression is a disappointing one.
Honestly, I could fill this post with comments on and impressions of Rainbow Islands for the Famicom, but I don't want to do that, as it's already plenty long. Instead, why don't I round them up and share them in a "Second Chances" write-up that I can publish in a few days?
See also: previous 'Shall We Do It?' posts
12 comments:
I have to give to Ranbow Island another shot sometime soon.
I played it just for little bit but it looks promising.
So GBC games isn't thath great? That's bad, i was hooping for some Rainbow action on my GBC :)
And sorry for my engrish :)
If you've never played Rainbow Islands, casino12, or haven't played much of it, the GBC version wouldn't be a terrible place to start, honestly.
People who are well used to the arcade/PCE versions, though, may be put off my the GBC port's controls.
Also, I have to say that while the GBC port is OK, controls and all, the arcade/PCE versions "feel" better and are just more fun to play, so I'd definitely recommend starting there, if you're able.
Oh, and the arcade version can be found on one of the Taito Legends compilations that were released for the PS2 and Xbox (I think) some time ago.
Your English is great!
This was supposed to be really good on the Sega Genesis, right? That's what I've been led to believe, anyway. There was a really good port on the Sega Saturn, but only as part of a collection along with a shabby port of Bubble Bobble.
Well, it depends, Jess. As far as I'm aware, the MD/Genesis version is of Rainbow Islands Special, which for whatever reason took the original Rainbow Islands and rearranged them. My main problem with that is that the game now starts w/ the Darius-themed island, which is really weird and kind of off-putting.
Other than that, though, the graphics look pretty much arcade-perfect to me, etc., so there's no real reason to avoid it. If I had the option, though, I'd go with the PCE version or the arcade original (which can be found on various compilations).
BTW, all of the above could be moot if RI Special on the MD/Genesis also includes an arcade mode. It might, but if it does, I don't know of it, as I've only spent a few minutes w/ that version via emulation.
I just fired it up out of curiosity, and indeed, there is an Original mode. You don't have to enter a code or anything... it's right there in the options menu. The background is still pitch black in the first stage, but you get spiders and bugs for enemies, rather than the shameless plugs for other Taito games.
Oh, that's good to know! But kind of weird, too. I wonder why they didn't just put the stages in their proper order? I mean, I know it's not exactly *that* easy, but it's probably close enough...
The "extra" in the title must stand for extra annoyance.
I'm not super attached to Rainbow Islands to be honest, so the new stage order isn't something that bothers me a great deal. Now if they'd scrambled up the stages in Snow Bros, I might have to have words with the designers...
Taito's output on the Genesis was a little unpredictable. On one hand, you had lovingly crafted arcade ports and original titles, like Sagaia, Space Invaders '91, and this quite pleasant Rainbow Islands port. Then on the other, you had Chase HQ 2, Rastan Saga, and a Flintstones game nobody could have possibly wanted. They were capable of making great stuff on the system, but by the time the Super NES arrived it's like they lost all interest in developing for it.
I don't know, Jess, I think starting a game like Rainbow Islands with the Darius stage is akin to starting the first Super Mario Bros. game with one of the dungeon segments. It just seems ... wrong. Especially since we're talking about a game that's called "Rainbow Islands." It really should begin with a stage that's bright and colorful, if you ask me.
As for Taito's output on the MD/Genesis: to be honest, I've never thought about it until now. Also, I just don't know much about the company's 16-bit output in general--and I'm not including the PCE as a 16-bit machine here, even though I personally consider it to be part of that era.
Was Taito's Super Famicom output at all impressive? I can't think of a single game the company made for that system, actually, although I know they must have made some...
I think The NinjaWarriors (Again) and Pocky and Rocky were both Taito properties, albeit ported to the Super NES by Natsume. They also made a Cameltry conversion called On the Ball and of course the usual Darius and Space Invaders games.
Oh, right! How could I forget about those games? XD Of course, like you said, the SF/SNES Kiki Kaikai/Pocky & Rocky games weren't made by Taito, but I think the Cameltry one may have been. Strange that they didn't really release any of their "big guns" on the system, though...
Post a Comment