Remote Life Switch Review

Remote Life
Developed By: Next Game Level
Published By: Ratalaika Games
Date of Release: May 27, 2022
Price: $18.99

Well I've been seriously blown away here. I've just experienced Remote Life, a new SHMUP from one-man dev team Mario Malagrino. I was honestly not sure what to expect when I saw the previews, but I can say with no doubts that this has been an awesome experience to play. It seems like lately these solo dev efforts (the Axiom Verge games for instance) manage to outshine a lot of recent releases from major studios. Remote life definitely falls into the category of outstanding solo efforts, and the production values are though the roof.

Remote Life is a horizontally scrolling SHMUP with a seriously unique playstyle and art design. The artwork is quite unlike any series I've seen before and has a techno-organic feel to it, and the animation quality id extremely fluid, it really needs to be seen in motion to be believed. As for the gameplay, the standard horizontal SHMUP gameplay has been blended amazingly with a dual-stick firing setup, which lets you aim at enemies anywhere on the screen. The difficulty is pretty tough on the default setting, but it's definitely fair. My only complaint is that you can collide with some of the items that look like they should be in the background, though it may be just a bug with the parallaxing.

The soundtrack is really unique as well, with awesome 80's style buttrock coupled with great synths. Then it switches gears and goes full on dubstep. On top of that there's dialog voiced with these bizarre voice synthesizers, and it totally fits the feel of the game. If the dev was going for an overall atmosphere to match weird 90's scifi, he definitely succeeded. All in all, Remote Life is a badass SHMUP, and I can definitely recommend it, especially at the asking price.

Cotton Fantasy Switch Review

Cotton Fantasy 
Developed By: Success

Published By: ININ Games

Date of Release: May 20, 2022

Price: $49.99

Those who have been reading my blog for a while now certainly know my dark secret: I have a weakness for the Cute-em-up style of SHMUPS. Especially the Cotton series as a whole. From its humble beginnings on Japanese retro computers to the home console versions, I've always loved the series. And now Success has released the latest iteration in the franchise, Cotton Fantasy on the Nintendo Switch, but does this new title hold up to the series pedigree? 

For starters the general presentation is a sight to behold. colourful 2D cutscenes pop off the screen with decent voice acting at key points in the game. The voice acting continues into the gameplay, and this is where my first complaint arises. There is no translation for the Japanese voices during gameplay (despite subtitles being promised), and the characters talk a mile a minute. Adding to the confusion it doesn't matter which character you select, the game simply proceeds during cutscenes as if you've chosen Cotton herself.

The music is up to par with the rest of the series, and so is the core gameplay loop, but the entire experience seems to lack polish, from the missing subtitles, graphical glitches and slowdown, music looping incorrectly or simply just cutting out randomly, and so forth. The game's polygonal graphics, while sufficient, lack the charm of the series signature sprites. All in all the whole package seems underwhelming, especially with such a steep asking price. My suggestion is if you're a Cotton fan, wait for a sale.

Taito Milestones Switch Review

Taito Milestones
Developed/Published By: ININ Games
Date of Release: April 15, 2022
Price: $39.99

Back in the 80s, arcade gaming was really starting to take off, thanks to the likes of companies such as Namco, Midway, Atari and others. However there was also another major name out there at the time, Taito. They pretty much revolutionized the arcade landscape with their 1978 smash hit Space Invaders, and they really kept the hits coming. And now with the release of Taito milestones on Nintendo Switch, it's possible to explore an eclectic and interesting collection of those titles on the go. 

Included in Taito Milestones are 10 games from across the decade of the 80s, with a wide variety of genres. The titles are: Alpine Ski, Chack'n Pop, Elevator Action, The Fairyland Story, Front Line, Halleys Comet, The Ninjawarriors, Qix, Space Seeker, and Wild Western. It's certainly an interesting collection of games, and a decent representation of the 80s Taito, though I think it would have been nice to see Kiki Kaikai and Arkanoid on here.

All in all however, the offering of games on display here are definitely worth experiencing, and they are all well emulated with an absolute plethora of options to customize the display and controls, and even the triple-monitor madness of The Ninjawarriors is represented perfectly here. There's no discernible input lag, and the sound seems spot on. My only complaint really is the small selection of games that are on offer considering the somewhat steep asking price. It would be nice if some more titles could be added later on as DLC. Anyway, if you are an arcade fan, then Taito Milestones is definitely worth checking out.

River City Girls Zero Switch Review

River City Girls Zero
Developed By: Wayforward/Limited Run Games/Technos

Published By: Wayforward

Date of Release: February 14, 2022

Price: $14.99

Well at this point it's no secret that Technos' Kunio-Kun series is an epic saga of badassery, and the latest release from Wayforward, River City Girls Zero is no exception. Hailing from the halcyon days of the Super Famicom, this title was originally released as Shin Nekketsu Koha: Kunio-tachi no Banka in the year 1994. This fourth entry into the beat-em-up franchise marked the first time that Misako and Kyoko were playable characters, as they teamed up with Kunio and Riki to liberate their hometown.

This port of the game is the first time that the game has been localized for a western audience and has a new script that matches the tone of River City Girls, as well as a new theme song/anime intro and manga cutscenes as well. There's also the option to play a literal translation of the game, or the original Japanese version as well. The localization is rather welcome as this is an incredibly lore-heavy game, with an extensive plot laid out through character dialogue. The emulation is spot-on, using MVG's Carbon Engine, previously seen in the Switch port of Shantae. It's really a masterful effort.

Of course none of this would matter if the game was no good, eh? Luckily this is one of the better titles in the series, despite the slightly clunky combat compared to more modern titles, however that's to be expected considering the game is 28 years old at the time of this review. It's still an amazing experience, and Wayforward has truly done an excellent job bringing it into these modern times and updating the story to match their canon. River City Girls Zero is a must have for anyone who is a fan of the series, or beat-em-up fans in general.

Powerslave Exhumed PC/Switch review

Powerslave Exhumed

Developed by: Night Dive Studios

Published by: Night Dive Studios

Date of Release: February 10, 2022

Price: $19.99

Well, today we're going to be looking at the classic Egyptian-themed metal album Powerslave by Iron Maiden. Wait no... what we have here is a classic FPS game being remastered for modern systems, my bad! Back in 1996 Lobotomy Software released this amazing game on the SEGA Saturn, powered by it's in-house SlaveDriver engine. Powerslave is a FPS set in Egypt during an alien invasion, and rather than just being a standard FPS affair it actually has a structure more reminiscent of Metroid Prime. Later on it would get a port to the Sony PlayStation, and also an entirely different and linear version for PC built on the same Build Engine that powered Duke Nukem 3D. Somewhat ironically, the SlaveDriver engine would power the Saturn version of Duke Nukem 3D (as well as Quake!).

Powerslave Exhumed is a combination of the best features of both the Saturn and PlayStation versions, all rolled into a delicious new burrito of first-person metroidvania goodness. Night Dive Studios have transplanted it into their tried and tested KEX engine, fitted with all the modern conveniences that one would expect from a remaster of this caliber. From widescreen graphics to a CRT filter that has a bevy of options to mess around with including simulations of the original console graphics, there's something here for everyone. It's quite an experience with both version to play Powerslave at 60 FPS in modern resolutions. The better visibility and control also make the platforming sections much more palatable.

The Switch version of Powerslave Exhumed has some lovely gyro aiming support, and using the joycons on the switch in handheld or using a pro controller both feel quite intuitive and snappy. As for the PC version, you can also play it with keyboard/mouselook, though at the time of writing there's no Y-axis inversion which makes things difficult for those who grew up on classic PC games, however the devs say support will be patched in as it was merely an oversight. All in all it's clear that a lot of love was put into this port, and it's nice that a new generation of gamers will be able to experience this definitive version of such a classic game. If you're a fan of retro shooters, metroidvanias, or just having a good time in general, I seriously recommend picking it up.

River City Girls PS5 Review

 River City Girls PS5

Developed By: WayForward
Published By: Arc System Works
Date of Release: January 20, 2022
Price: $29.99

Back in the good old NES days, there was one game that always had me coming back for more, it was the famous River City Ransom. A sidescrolling beat-em-up with mild RPG elements, it was an amazing experience and it blew my young mind. You'd beat the crap out of your foes, take their lunch money, and use it to level up in shops and spas. The gameplay was tight, and the graphics were awesome for the time. Later on I found out that River City Ransom is actually part of a larger series from japan known as Kunio-Kun, and I had a blast playing the other entries in the series whether they had been localized or not. There have been a lot of games in the series over the years covering a wide range of genres, and I loved them all. But that's all in the past though, in modern day 2019 Arc System Works teamed up with WayForward to make a new spinoff entry in the series: River City Girls, and it was AMAZING, very much worthy of it's place alongside the mainline Kunio games. And now with this re-release on the PS5 (with a free upgrade for PS4 owners might I add!) even more people can enjoy it.

River City Girls stars Kunio and Riki's girlfriends Kyoko and Misako as they set off on an ass-kicking adventure to rescue their missing boyfriends. And kick ass they do, with style and flair! The spritework in RCG is absolutely amazing, with fluid animation and amusingly exaggerated expressions on your foes as they receive their beatdown. The fighting system feels just as good as in the original games, and has some decent upgrades as well with EXP earned for knockouts, and the ability to recruit defeated foes. The music and voices are amazing, with an awesome assortment of vocal tracks backing some stages. The controls are tight, and fighting your foes feels great with awesomely destructive combos and special moves you can pull off. The DualSense controller really gives you a good sense of feedback through it's haptics as you pull off combos. The bosses are also incredibly punishing, until you figure out their attack patterns and grind a couple levels. When you finally beat them it feels like a real accomplishment.



The only complaint I really have with River City Girls is that the multiplayer is local couch co-op only. I'd have liked to play online with my friends but it just doesn't have that feature, and I suppose the timing would have been a nightmare to get going over the internets. But other than the lack of online, this is an amazingly solid experience. The local co-op is extremely well done, with friendly-fire options that can lead to plenty of amusing situations (and real world fights!). The story is extremely entertaining, overflowing with anime cutscenes and awesomely voiced manga panel based cutscenes to tell the story. River City Girls is every bit in the spirit of the rest of the Kunio-Kun series, and WayForward should be proud of what they accomplished. I'm absolutely looking forward to River City Girls 2 and Zero later this year.

ShadowMan Remastered Switch Review

 

ShadowMan Remastered

Developed and Published by: NightDive Studios

Date of Release: April 17, 2022

Price: $19.99

 

In the beginning, there was Acclaim. Maskers of many good games, and seemingly as many bad ones. Masters of the licensed tie-in game, they weaved tales of dinosaur hunters, foul-mouthed children, and roid-raging police officers alike. Then came the game that in my humble opinion put Acclaim on the map, ShadowMan. Released in 1999 on the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast and PC to moderate fanfare, it was a sprawling third-person shooter of metroidvanian influence. The scope of the game was quite massive for the era, despite having a large amount of planned content cut out to ship it in time. Regardless of any cuts, the Nintendo 64 version was amazing, quite easily one of my favorite games on the system. I don't think I've ever played a game that just drips with so much atmosphere, with the dark ambience just oozing from every pore of this game's being. 

The voodoo-based trappings of ShadowMan's story paint a colorful backdrop to the game word, and the visual presentation is very unique. The visual aesthetic is wonderfully twisted as gothic architecture gives way to rusted industrial brutalism, and structures made of stitched skin with bone supports. The whole world has a real lived-in(or died-in) feel to it, and you can almost smell the blood and corrosion caking the surfaces. The soundscape of ShadowMan can simultaneously be a treat for the ears, but also nightmare fuel at the same time. The haunting ambient melodies that play as you traverse Deadside give way to the horrific sounds of torture and surgical machinery as you traverse the Asylum.

Now there original game holds up pretty well, but NightDive wasn't satisfied with that. They got Kaiser to rip out ShadowMan's soul and transplant it into the KEX engine, with all the modern conveniences that such a process entails, and on top of that they have restored the majority of the cut content, had the composer remaster the original soundtrack and compose new tracks for the cut areas, and then reskinned the entire package with HD textures, uncensored the models, and added improved rendering. As if that wasn't enough, they then updated the control scheme, re-did the physics, and then shoved a SECOND Violator up it's arse (hope it fits!).

All of these enhancements seriously made the PC version of ShadowMan Remastered a must have, and that resulted in it being at the time my favorite way to experience the game. However now that it has been ported over to the Nintendo Switch with all of the bells and whistles intact, and the full suite of graphical options as seen on PC, not to mention the new gyro controls, the Switch version is by far the definitive way to play ShadowMan. All in all NightDive, Kaiser and the KEX team have outdone themselves. The Loa smile on this remaster, as well as this amazing Switch port, and I wholeheartedly recommend checking it out.