Sonic Mania Plus PS4 Review

Sonic Mania is a 2D platformer game for PS4, XBONE, Switch and PC was developed by PagodaWest Games and Headcannon, while being published by SEGA. It was digitally released in year Summer 2017, while getting physically released in next summer 2018 as "Sonic Mania Plus" with additional content in the game, artbook and reversible game cover.

I was hoping SEGA to make another great Sonic titles for future gaming since I got really disappointed with hearing such titles like Sonic 06, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyrics which had so many piss-poor reception from fans and critics, while I did give a chance with games like Sonic Colors and Sonic Generation which brings a huge justice to Sonic franchise.
Due to negativity reception of some previous titles, SEGA and the developers had decided to work on classic 2D style title similar to earlier Sonic titles for SEGA Genesis/Megadrive, so we have Sonic Mania had finally make a return of the classic form for the series. The reaction to the game announcement had gain positive overall for its classic roots which could lead to a renaissance of Sonic series as the game finally got released for the modern game consoles and PCs, it became well received title for its 2D gameplay style, presentation, level design, music and being faithfulness to the early Sonic games were praised as being one of the best Sonic games of 2017 and it had sold over one million copies worldwide across all platforms.
As the fan of the Sonic franchises, I got really excited to play another classic Sonic game as I finally got the game physically for my PS4 for £16 from Argos. After beating a game for a weeks, I was very super satisfied with the whole game had turned out quite amazing to see how Christian Whitehead, a lead developer and programmer who previously worked on enhanced ports of earlier Sonic titles for PCs, Consoles and Mobile devices, did a fabulous job of making this game so much fun to play which really adds my nostalgia of good old 16-bit gaming days.
This game has original 2D gameplay, polish looking graphics, upbeat soundtrack, and additional features to this game. Sonic Mania is definitely a fan tribute to past Sonic titles which is very close to fan-made game that are normally featured on the ROM Hacking community where you can able to download and play any of their awesome hacked or fan remade version of Sonic titles on particular emulators which really enhances the new experience that the fan community did such an innovative job that inspires SEGA's developers to make a wicked 2D Sonic game again like Sonic Mania has to offer. 

So without go further do, let's start review.



Presentation

The game starts out with cool looking title screen just like the earlier Sonic titles, so moving on with the story.

The story in the game starts out at the following the events of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic and Tails receive a powerful energy reading from Angel Island and board their biplane to investigate until they discovered Dr. Robotnik's elite groups known as EggRobos had retained a magical gemstone called the Phantom Ruby which leads them becoming the Hard Boiled Heavies, while sending Sonic and Tails through places they have previously visited from the past as they set off their mission to prevent Dr. Robotnik from using the ruby's power for evil.

I got to say the story in the game is somewhat simple as it only shows 30 seconds of opening cutscene which is not that complicated to understand because this game doesn't really need to add proper complex story to make the story elements sounds good, so this is what the game meant to be like that doesn't really need cheesy dialogue, weird storyplot and poor voice cast from the 3D Sonic titles as the story in this game is just absolutely fine the way it should be.
You can also watch 5 cool animated short mini-series called Sonic Mania Adventures on YouTube channel which depicts Sonic's return to his world following the events of Sonic Forces, teaming up with his friends to prevent Eggman and Metal Sonic from collecting the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald.
Going back to this game, it features your favourite playable heroes on the series such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Knuckles the Echidna from the earlier Sonic titles, while the plus edition added 2 new playable characters from the 1993 arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog such as Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Squirrel which I never actually heard of these characters back then, but I think it's sounded pretty cool to have them on this game since Ray the Squirrel haven't been appeared on every Sonic titles, while Mighty the Armadillo did however become last playable character in 1995's Knuckles Chaotix for SEGA 32X.
I really liked Dr. Robotnik as the main villain of whole Sonic titles which he loves causing many trouble and being obsessed with chaos emeralds, while I also liked the other villains in the game such as Fang the Sniper, Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear are making an appearance in the Mirage Saloon Zone as boss characters which I finding it a great choice for this game.   
The presentation is looking just like the classic Sonic titles as you expect. The level environments is looking so much colourful and detailed for every levels as the game features 8 remixed zones from the classic Sonic titles such as Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, Flying Battery Zone, Stardust Speedway Zone, Hydrocity Zone, Oil Ocean Zone, Lava Reef Zone, Metallic Madness Zone which is completely a remade of the original stages that expands the newer elements and recycled ideas from past Sonic titles meaning that all the stages are being extended to make it more bigger level design, while this game introducing 4 brand new zones on this game such as Studiopolis Zone, Press Garden Zone, Mirage Saloon Zone, and Titanic Monarch Zone are also great addition that brings a fantastic concept to this game.
What really baffled me the most was there are some of my favourites stages from classic Sonic titles  such as Marble Zone, Casino Night Zone and Ice Cap Zone are the greatest stage zones of all Sonic game that are missing in this game which is kinda shame that I really wanted to see these stages included in Sonic Mania to gain our gaming nostalgia of 16-bit days. 

Overall, it has classic style level presentation, memorable characters and nice short cutscenes.


Gameplay

The plus version game featured mania mode, encore mode, time attack mode, and competition mode.

On mania mode, you can select any of playable characters such as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Mighty, and Ray. It plays on 2D side-scrolling perspective as your goal is to beat the two acts of certain zones including boss battles and you are also required to collect 7 chaos emeralds by completing special stages to reveal true ending.
Each of playable characters has different abilities like most of them including Sonic uses spindash, while others such as Tails has ability to fly and swim, Knuckles has ability to glide and climb walls, Mighty uses his hammer drop, and Ray uses air glide which really benefits the 2D gameplay mechanics.
Most of the levels had filled with hazardous areas, smaller enemies and couple of dead ends in which you are required to avoid enemy's projectiles and falling off the stage, while you can attack the enemies by jumping on them to kill. There are item box that comes in useful which gives you ability to perform any of these cool things like Power Sneakers which makes you run high speed, Invincibility to make you invincible for 10 seconds, and different types of Shield to protect you from projectiles for one hit. You will need to collect rings which acts as the character's health, but getting hit by the enemies or any hazardous can lead you to lose many of rings in which you can still collecting many remaining rings before it starts disappear in next 5 seconds.
I got to say that controlling the characters in the game is very good for its movement which is very close to earlier SEGA Genesis/Megadrive title, so I see no signs of any input delays and clumsiness in this game meaning that the game had smooth controls and has great use of mechanics which makes the playability more responsive and playable.
The level design in the game is looking spectacular for its multiple paths meaning that it's easier to explore the whole levels to search for secrets and it's great for smaller puzzle aspects which increases the fun factor of the game. My favourite part of the level was Metallic Madness Zone where you can able to jump off the seesaws from foreground into a second layer of Zone geometry in the background, granting the player extra platforming segments which I finding it look awesome. Another segmants that I also liked was getting rid of smokey area and jumping into submarine in Oil Ocean Zone, riding with Tornado plane in Mirage Saloon Zone, and walking on top of the magnetic surface in Flying Battery Zone are also pretty good that adds newer elements to this game.
I finding the boss battles in each zones are quite entertaining to play because of the overall challenge and epic action that makes the game worth playing, so you have really cool boss segmants such as Eggman's huge ass robot, Mean Bean Machine battle, Helicopter segmants, Metal Sonic battle, and many more to fight with that giving us a most epic boss battles in gaming history.               

You can also discover secrets such as a huge gold ring which takes you to special stage which is similar to Sonic CD as it plays on 3D perspective. Instead of attacking UFOs like on Sonic CD, your goal is to collect all 7 chaos emeralds by chasing UFO before time runs out so you will need to collect blue bouncy balls to extend your speed and rings to increase time limits. Once you have 7 chaos emeralds, you will now become Super Sonic by activating with 50 rings which makes him super powerful Hedgehog throughout the stages. So far I really liked this special stage for its challenge because everytime you make lot of mistake and not able to gain chaos emeralds then you are able to get used with the special stages at the end once you finally grab chaos emeralds from the UFOs which really adds the overall fun of the game. 

There are another bonus stage where you will need over 35 rings before jumping into checkpoint which will accessed you to blue Spheres stages from Sonic 3 where you will need to collect all medals by beating all the blue spheres stage with all remaining blue ones without having to touch the red ones. Having to collecting all medals which will unlock your style abilities from Sonic CD and Sonic 3, and having Knuckles as secondary partner which replaces Tails during the in-game levels. To tell you the truth, I'm not so good at the blue spheres stages as I finding it incredibility impossible to beat which took me while to beat all the stages as possible to gain all the gold medals, but that just me because I know lot of you enjoyed this bonus stage doesn't mean its kinda bad at the same time because I'm still grateful to play with this bonus stage featured in this game. 
The bonus stage that I really liked the most was the pinball stage in encore mode where you need to collect remaining characters and items which I finding it quite straightforward because it's just a simple pinball stage just to grab what you need in the game.

You can also enjoy another game modes such as encore mode is just another remixes of mania mode with entirely new areas and different object placements where you get to play as all characters while teaming up in two party. The time attack mode is just a quick practice on each zones where you had to beat the certain of records, while competition mode has 4-player battle where you and your friends had to race each other in split-screen gameplay.

Overall, it has great classic 2D gameplay, cool level zones, entertaining boss battles, fun game mode, and has good special stage.


Graphics

The graphics in the game is absolutely top-notch which is just like the good old 16-bit days. It has amazing character's sprites with smooth looking animation and personalities. I find the level environments are very colourful and detailed in every zones with cleaner textures on the walls and surfaces, awesome parallax scrolling on the background environments just ran so smoothly, and the special effects in the game is also pretty good as I really liked to look at fiery lava shoots out from the pit in Lava Reef Zone, the water animation in Hydrocity Zone is quite good with great use of transparency, and I love how the whole level of Oil Ocean Zone goes fully smoky which is excellent to enhanced the game overall.
I also liked the look of the 3D style graphics in special stage in which I felt it has more of the SEGA Saturn vibes to it due to stage design choices and 3D character's animation.
I got to say that it's definitely by far one of the best looking classic game that developers had ever produced which really fits the game very well for classic style platformer genres.

Overall, it has smooth animation, colourful environments, awesome use of parallax scrolling and cool special effects.


Music and Sounds

The soundtrack is by far the best part of the game as the music combines with the style of Sonic CD and Sonic 3 to fit perfectly for 16-bit era. Most of the music in each zones from older Sonic games had been rearranged with mixed between classics and upbeating style genres which is a nice remade of all original soundtracks. It was been composed by Tee Lopes did a fabulous job of remixing some of the great soundtracks of classic Sonic titles, while some of them are newer on some stages which are also sounds great in the game.
The game does retain the same sound effects from classic Sonic games which are still sounds great for most of the level in the game.


Overall, it has fantastic remixed originals soundtracks and retains classic sound effects from older Sonic games.


Special Features

The physical copy of the game comes with nicely made holographic slipcase, reversible game cover which resembles SEGA Genesis/Megadrive game cover, 32 page of artbook, and packed with all completed content including 2 new characters and encore mode. The game does have unlockable stuff such as sound test known as D.A Garden, Blue Sphere stage, and Mean Bean Machine battle.
Another coolest features in the game was the debug mode where you can able to use debug program to have fun messing around the game, while you can also use cheat codes to access level select which is awesome.

Overall, it has amazing physical bundle packed with all additional contents and unlockable stuff in the game.



Advantages

Great presentation

Memorable characters

Classic style gameplay

Epic boss battles

Fun special stages

Colourful graphics

Fantastic remixed original soundtrack

Physical copy packed with all additional contents

Unlockable stuff



Disadvantages


No platinum trophies (WTF!)

Some favourite stages are missing in the game (such as Marble Zone, Casino Night Zone and Ice Cap Zone)
    
               
    
Final Verdict


Presentation 8.5/10 - classic style level presentation, memorable characters and nice short cutscenes.

Gameplay 8.5/10 - great classic 2D gameplay, cool level zones, entertaining boss battles, fun game mode, and has good special stage.

Graphics 9/10 - smooth animation, colourful environments, awesome use of parallax scrolling and cool special effects.

Music and Sounds 9/10 - fantastic remixed originals soundtracks and retains classic sound effects from older Sonic games.

Special Features 9/10 - has amazing physical bundle packed with all additional contents and unlockable stuff in the game.


Overall 8.5/10 - Sonic Mania Plus is definitely a best Sonic game of this generation. I'm very glad that SEGA and developers went back to the classic roots to give this game a fairer chance. It brings me so much nostalgia that how much I love that blue hedgehog had given me such a wonderful memories back then.
This game packed with amazing 12 zones, entertaining boss fights, quality gameplay and graphics, replay values, and many more has to offer that the fan of the series will be very pleased to see how this game had turns out to become another successful 2D platformer for Sonic series.
Despite the series did get lot of bad reputation due to piss-poor reception of some Sonic titles in mid-2000s, this game deserves much credit because I really enjoyed the game and I'm very glad that I've picked up physically are worth for my video game collection, so if you're the fan of the Sonic franchise or those who likes playing platformer genres then pick this game up and have fun playing this awesome title.


   
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Top 5 Hidden Gems SEGA Genesis/Megadrive Games

SEGA Genesis/Megadrive are widely considered to be a perfect home consoles of 16-bit era along with their rivalry such as Super Nintendo Entertainment System which is a important example of being a greatest console wars competitors of gaming industries. It was very best known for their numerous of arcade title hits that been ported to SEGA's 16-bit home system like Altered Beast, Golden Axe, NBA Jam, Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition, Mortal Kombat, and Outrun while sharing with their groundbreaking console-only titles such as Gunstar Heroes, Shinobi 3, Thunder Force IV, Columns, Street of Rage, and of course Sonic the Hedgehog are among being listed as the greatest game of all time.

Despite SEGA Genesis/Megadrive had gain popularity for its system quality and has numerous of game libraries, I wanted to focus on some of the forgotten titles that didn't get much credit they deserved due to poor sales and not many people have heard the game before, but it is a good reason to have these kinds of obscure games that are worth picking up for your collection. I'm going to list some of the hidden gems titles that are actually decent to play for its playability, quality visuals, and great soundtrack that the game has to offer.

So without go further do, here is my top 5 Hidden Gems SEGA Genesis/Megadrive Games.



5 - Zero Tolerance

        

In the year between 1992 and 93, we all know those commercially successful titles that originally came out on the PC hardwares such as Wolfenstein 3d and Doom were widely considered to be a huge pioneer of the First Person Shooter genres had inspired several of video game developers to make their own FPS games with Wolf 3D or Doom alike approach style like Blake Stone: Alien of Gold, Rise of the Triad, Alien Trilogy, Powerslave, and of course Duke Nukem 3D.

There is a FPS game released in 1994 that no one had heard of it before was the Zero Tolerance for SEGA Genesis/Megadrive which was developed by Technopop who previously did worked on their early title such as The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin for SEGA's 16-bit hardware, while it was published by Accolade who was known for its infamous Bubsy franchise.
Don't let the publisher logo fooled you because this game is actually pretty decent for the 16-bit console system as it is one of the first game that never bought it at the PC hardware.
You take control of some playable soldier to take all down those aliens while aiming to beat the whole 40 levels of single player campaign.

The game is somewhat similar to early PC shooters like Wolf 3d as it plays on the first-person perspective. Instead of collecting keys to gain access at the new areas and proceed to the exit like normally from Wolf 3d, your goal is to kill all of the enemies on a level before proceeding to the exit, which is either a staircase or elevator leading down to the next level. I find the idea of the game's objective is pretty unique for its FPS genres as it adds a new elements of gameplay style.
Speaking of gameplay, I really liked the choice of weapons which had worked effectively against some types of enemies, the level design is quite simple and straightforward which makes the game less complicated to play, and the game's challenge is quite positive overall despite the game's difficulty is making harder to beat but really adds the fun factor of the game itself.
What makes the game even enjoyable was ability to use Link Cable support that allows you to play 2-player mode with your friends through couch co-op which I finding it very innovative at the time right before Sony did a similar approach with their PS1's Link Cable for some compatible multiplayer titles.
The graphics in the game is acceptable for the 16-bit hardware with useful layouts such as bottom map screen, top-screen weapon slots, and sides health and ammo percentages while in-game design is rather looking impressive for its level environments and 2D enemy's sprites. The gameplay had played decently regarding with SEGA's 3-button game controller had handled well for its combat playability and movement control which is absolutely spot on.

I considered Zero Tolerance is a criminally underrated FPS game that didn't get a sequel as they already cancelled the development due to lack the success of the original game, so if you're into with the classic FPS game then give this game a go.



4 - Red Zone

        

I was familiar with the game like Red Zone which is a top-down shooter title for SEGA Genesis/Megadrive. It was developed by Zyrinx which is a same team that did worked on their titles such as Sub-Terrania for SEGA Genesis/Megadrive and Scorcher for SEGA Saturn. The game was originally titled as Hardwired as they trying to get SEGA to publish the game, but unfortunately it never actually happen instead the Time Warner Interactive had to took over the rights to publish the game as it been re-titled as Red Zone at the final release in 1994.

Its one of the game that uses the numerous of graphical technologies that were not prevalent at the time on the SEGA Genesis/Megadrive which allows developers team to push the game into hardware limits. It featured rotation background for textures, 3D Vector graphics for its sprites and objects, Realtime Zoom and FMV Compression which does not requires the use of console add-ons making it the most technically impressive title that Zyrinx had ever produced.
I was blown away with the opening presentation of the game with kick ass FMV opening intros and animation sequences of characters which is very good to see how the developers can able to fit straight in the game's cartridges regarding with the cart's MB limitation.
The game is kinda like the EA's top-down shooter Urban Strike for SEGA Genesis/Megadrive as it plays on top-down perspective where you take control of overhead helicopter to take down those enemy in order to reach at the enemy's bases while other levels is more like the on-foot segment where you get to choose these three playable characters as your main objective is to plant self-destruct at the enemy's bases.

The top-down gameplay is quite playable as it takes while to get used with the helicopter controls at the overhead stages while the combat gameplay is pretty responsive for most part of the game with great selection of weapons for both gameplay segments. The graphics for most part is super impressive to see how SEGA's 16-bit hardware can able to manage the whole environment of technologies as you can see the overhead perspective in on-foot stage has magnificent level design which utilises the 3D environments of building stages and has realistic look of character's sprite animation while most of the vector objects and special effects in helicopter segments are looking spectacular for most part.
The game really has intense electronic soundtrack was composed by Jesper Kyd who previously had worked on his music on some titles such as Amok, AWS Pro-Soccer Moves, Sub-Terrania, Adventures of Batman and Robin, and Scorcher while he still continuing to work his music on later best known video game series such as Hitman and Assassin's Creed as most of the soundtrack on this game is sounds absolutely wicked for most of the in-game levels meaning it's gets you pumped up ready for the epic action.

Despite some positive aspects, the game might not be suitable for everyone to play this regarding with the game's difficulty is somewhat pretty unforgiving to play, yes I know its painfully hard, but if you can get a hands on with this type of action-packed game then be fully prepared for the bigger challenge. 



3 - Mega SWIV

           
    

One of the game that I remember back then when my cousin bought it from the rental store which is Mega SWIV (A.K.A Super SWIV for SNES), a vertical scrolling shooter created by SCi Games which is a extended port of the 1992 SNES title's Super SWIV. It is a third title of the SWIV series following 1988's Silkworm and 1991's SWIV for Home Computers.

Its kinda odd to see that SEGA Genesis/Megadrive version of the game is being exclusively to European releases in 1994 meaning that it never got released at US release, so unlike the SNES version was also been released in the US are being re-titled as Firepower 2000.
The game's plot involves a secret underground race on an island in the Atlantic Ocean which has stolen top military vehicles and equipment from around the world which allowing them to built powerful war machines to destroy the nation, so your goal is to infiltrate their base and destroy them before its too late.

You get to choose between these two playable vehicles such as helicopter which will not be blocked by obstacles, while Jeep has ability to shoot in different direction. It has nine different kinds of weapons that you get to use it for in-game action such as flame, plasma, laser, and other special weapons which comes in useful.
It plays on vertical scroll perspective as you take control of what playable vehicle you're playing are required to shoot down enemies and avoid enemy's projectiles.
Unfortunately most critics finding this version aren't faithful as the SNES counterpart, so the SEGA Genesis/Megadrive version had missing Jeep's ability to jump over the obstacles was present on the SNES version and it also criticised the game for its missing 16-colour palette and the Enemy's A.I weren't recreated faithfully, causing Mega SWIV to become an easier game.
Despite the flaws, I don't think this version are just bad as everyone think because I find this game is still fun to play regarding this version of the game did get some bad reputation from critic's point of view.
The game still had a similar vibes to the original SNES version for its gameplay style and presentation settings as the game is still somewhat playable for the whole levels with unique weapons to choose from and it has interesting gameplay mechanics on both playable vehicles which adds the new elements of the shoot em ups genres and you can also play 2-player co-op with your friends through the entire level which makes the game fun to play. The graphics in this version is not as bad for most part as I really liked the looks of sprite animation of vehicles and the use of special effects in the game, but I find the whole environment is quite muddy for its textures based level design and it was bit zoomed-in too close at the level bases compared with the SNES version has better looking environments and it was zoomed-back away from level bases.

So far, Mega SWIV is an acceptable vertical scroll shooter that may be worth for pick up and play, so the SEGA console owners might able to still give this game a second chance.   
  
  

2 - Mega Turrican

   















Turrican series was originated in Home Computer gaming of early 90's which was developed by Rainbow Arts for the Commodore 64 while the Amiga port was developed by Factor 5. The first and second Turrican game was well received at the release especially with Amiga as being a superior to all Home Computers version. While the series had becoming quite popular on the Home Computer release, the third title was in development for the Amiga version by Factor 5, but unfortunately they never able to finish the Amiga demo instead they transferred to other teams such as Kaiko/Neon Studios had to took over the Amiga development in 1993, while Factor 5 been working on SEGA Genesis/Megadrive version re-titled as Mega Turrican in 1994.

Mega Turrican is a Run N Gun game for SEGA Genesis/Megadrive created by Factor 5 and it was sequel to previous two titles of the series.
The story involves dark forces under the Machine command are starting to assemble again allowing to destroys dozens of planets and enslaves hundreds of mankind. As Bren McGuire (A.K.A Turrican) receiving a message from young girl pleads him to save her planet, he sets off his mission to defeat a dark forces of the Machine.

Just like the previous installment, it plays on 2D perspective where you play as Turrican has to complete numerous of large levels involves searching for secrets to pick up items and enemies to shoot. There are different types of power-ups that makes your weapon stronger such as multiple spread gun that shoots wide-orange bullets, laser that shoots powerful green plasma, and rebound that fires shots directly up and down that travel along floors and ceilings. He has ability to use wheel-mode allows him to roll around while planting small bombs and using his rope allows him to swing around in the stage.
So far, the style of gameplay has unique upgradable weapons, great platforming stages, and cool boss battle that adds up the fun factor of the game. The graphics in the game is pretty look fantastic for the SEGA's 16-bit hardware which heavily utilised with the use of parallax effects for its background scrolling animation and it has rich looking environments with well textured stages, and whomping special effects. Turrican series are also known for having a best soundtrack in every stages as it was composed by Chris Huelsbeck did a spectacular job of making perfect soundtrack that fits well to the series.

While I've enjoyed this type of Run N Gun classics, this is definitely must play for not just the fans of the series, but the fans of the genres will be amazed how awesome this game plays.



1 - Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure

I remember watching this show when I was a kid back then. Tiny Toon Adventures is a early 90's slapstick cartoon show created by Warner Bros Animation and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment.
It sort of like a miniature version of Looney Tunes series which retains a same slapstick style and it also uses the parodies and references of the current events of the early 1990s and Hollywood culture.
It had becoming one of the most memorable animated show that made the series so popular at the times. It has lovable wacky characters, sense of humour and personality, funny jokes, slapstick moments, musicals and great storylines. The success of the show had spawned with merchandises, spin-offs, films and of course video games.

Konami had shares with their great licensing titles based on films and shows like TMNT: The Arcade Game, The Simpsons Arcade, and X-Men Arcade, but I was expecting to see any of Tiny Toon Adventures games turned out to be just great as what Konami had did with their previous licensed titles. At the start, I wasn't impressed with the game like Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Bust Loose! on SNES due to awkward controls, wonky camera system, and cheap level design which I felt regretted that I should have been brought a better Tiny Toon game than this, so I decided to pick up a game called Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure for SEGA Genesis/Megadrive.
It's definitely a huge step up in the right direction because I actually liked this game a lot better over a Buster Bust Loose! on SNES.

It's a 2D platformer game developed by Konami where you get to play as Buster Bunny has his mission to trace down and defeat Montana Max, who has stolen and hidden some treasure and rescue Babs Bunny and several of his friends have been brainwashed by these foes such as Roderick Rat and Gene Splicer.

You will have overworld map screen which is similar to Nintendo's Super Mario World which lets you explore around the map and select any of levels to choose from, so your goal is to complete all the stages as possible including all the hiddens and boss stage. In the in-game stages, Buster has his ability to dash and run, jump on enemies, wall jump, and use special. Each of the levels has different sets of locations such as grasslands, forrest, cave, lava and more. You get to collect items in the stage like carrot for adding score points, heart to increase health, Buster head to add your lives, and Diamond to make you invulnerable for a short time. You can also discover a hidden levels by finding the green flightless bird named Gogo Dodo will allow you to enter a portal which leads to the unlockable secret levels.
I've enjoyed this game quite a lot because it has great playability for its stable control scheme, well made level design that made the game easier to navigate, the boss battle is quite entertaining to play, and has nice replay values that is worth for playing again. I also liked the cartoony style graphics in the game are also fits right for the Tiny Toon universe making it more colourful and wacky for its characters, stages and presentation.

It's definitely an underappreciated 2D platformer title for SEGA Genesis/Megadrive library that the fans of the genres will soon able to appreciate this quality platformer game that is worth picking it up, so I was lucky I got this for £6 in full complete boxed game.



Honorable mentions:

Granada
Gaires
Arcus Odyssey
Alien Soldier
Crue Ball
Dragon's Fury
Ranger X
Disney's Quackshot
Chiki Chiki Boys
Dynamite Headdy
MERCS



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This is Zeeshan Mirza's Blog and I'll see you next time, happy blogging everyone.
          

Top 5 NES Games

In year mid-80s where Nintendo Entertainment System had dominating the gaming market of third generation era. It is heavily regarded as being a most successful home consoles at the release which sold over 60 million units at worldwide due to cool looking hardware system filled with technically advanced 8-bit graphics that showing the power of the NES hardware, the controller were considered revolutionary at the times when they introducing d-pad controls, 2-action buttons and has select and start buttons which are used for extra playability, and it has most of the best NES library that packed with Platformers, Run n Guns, Hack N Slash, and RPGs.

I never had own the original NES at my good old 90's days until I have finally got hands on with the NES Classic Minis which is a miniature version of original NES was released in year 2016, so I had to pick it up so I can able to enjoy playing some classics like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and so on. I wanted to focus on my favourite NES game that I really liked for its story presentation, challenge, style of gameplay and best looking graphics.

So without go further do here is my top 5 NES Games.



5 - Ninja Gaiden

          



















The game that caught my attention was the Ninja Gaiden which is a Hack N Slash game was created by Tecmo. You take control of a Ninja Warrior named Ryu Hayabusa went on his mission in America to avenge death of his father was murdered by unknown assailant while searching for the archaeologist named Walter Smith who knew the information about Ryu's father and the ancient demon statues.

I was blown away by the story presentation filled with cinematic designed cutscenes and story dialogue in which I was impressed to see how developers can able to fit well in the whole NES cartridge. It has beautifully made animated sequences and fantastic storyline that are easy to understand the game's plot.
What really made Ninja Gaiden so great was the 2D gameplay style which is very similar to Konami's NES title such as Castlevania, but with added newer mechanics in the game such as ability to jump and climb walls which is very new to the genres. Ryu has abilities to use basic katana sword as primary weapon, while using his techniques as secondary attack such as throwing stars, twirling fireballs and jumping slash which is very useful for most of the levels and boss battles. The game was known for being ridiculously tough to beat as the whole game filled with the respawning enemies and having to remember all the enemy's patterns including boss characters is what really makes the game harder to play, but it really does adds up the fun factor of the game. The level presentation has cool looking stages including city, forrests and ancient temple which has well designed levels due to great use of parallax background effects, well builted stage design with great use of textures, flashy special effects and great character animation sprites are looking spectacular for NES hardware. This game also has the best original soundtrack of each story cutscenes and levels which really fits well to the series.

Ninja Gaiden is definitely a finest Hack N Slash titles of 80's which I highly recommend you all to play.



4 - Castlevania

            



















I was familiar with this series back in a day where I've played Super Castlevania IV on SNES which is one of my favourite game of the series that got me interest to play some of the Castlevania titles like Castlevania: Bloodlines on SEGA Genesis/Megadrive, Castlevania Advenures on Game Boy original and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on PS1.
The game that I really wanted to play was Castlevania on NES which is a action-platformer title was created by Konami, a same company was very known for their famous franchises of the retro gaming days like Gradius, Contra, Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid.
You take control of vampire killer named Simon Belmont has set off his quest to defeat the vampire named Count Dracula as your goal is to reach at the Dracula's whereabouts by completing all of stages.

The game was known for darker and gritter presentation in the whole levels and the game mixes the genres with platforming and action styled gameplay.
Simon Belmont has a basic whip attacks while upgrading the whip makes it better for the longer range attacks and it has useful items attacks such as throwing knives, holy water, and throwing axe. The game filled with the types of enemies such as flying medusa's head, bats scatted around, dead skeletons, and knights are the highlight of the game for its difficulty as you have to memorise their attacking patterns which is great for its platforming gameplay, while this game has several of tough ass boss characters such as Death the Grimreaper, Frankenstein's Monster, Mummy Men, Phantom Bats, Medusa, and of course Dracula which really adds the epicness of the game.
I also liked the look of the graphics which has very gothic looking stage design and quite medieval looking enemy's sprites which really fits well to the series as I really liked the gritty styled castle building and horror style presentation that really adds the atmospheres, so if you're looking for a great action-platformers titles then this game is for you to play.



3 - Megaman 2

      
















      
Ahhh good old Blue Bomber, Megaman is considered to be a Capcom's legendary franchise was known for having a best boss battles, hazardous level design, catchy soundtrack, and cool weapons is what really makes the game so amazing to play and of course Megaman is also a lovable video game heroes that he can kick all the robots masters and Dr Wily asses in pieces.
Starting off with the NES original Megaman was first came out in year 1987 and it was well received at the release, but not quite successful as the later Megaman titles. It was praised for its overall game design and difficulty which is a biggest highlight of the game, but it was later improved for its better sequel called Megaman 2 was came out a year later after the first game which featured a password system, improved audio-visuals, and new power-ups. Unlike the first Megaman, the sequel had becoming a commercial success which sold over 1.5 million units and it also listed as being one of a greatest game of all-times.

I grew up playing several of the Megaman titles such as Megaman X for SNES, Megaman X4 for PS1, and Megaman 9 and Megaman 10 for PS3 in which I had fun playing over an hours, but until I got hands on with Megaman 2 on my NES Classic Mini which I considered this game as my favourite game in the series.
It is a action-platformer title that you take control of a blue bomber named Megaman has his mission to stop Dr Wily's evil plan once again as he has to take out those robot masters in order to reach at Dr Wily's whereabouts.
Megaman has abilities to use his blaster as primary weapons, while you can able to gain new weapons after beating stages such as Metal Blade, Atomic Fire, Quick Boomerang, Bubble Lead and more which is very effective to use heavy damage on any of robot masters depending what their weakness are being immune to. While the weapons are worked absolutely fine in the whole game especially with boss battles, the platforming stages are quite hazardous which requires players to avoid those enemy's projectiles and some dangerous objects without taking so much damage which really adds the fun of the game itself.
The game does also have an memorable characters including most of the robot masters did have an awesome concepts to the game and I say Dr Wily is by far the best villain of 80's gaming era. I also liked the graphic design in the whole game which is very futuristic and colourful which makes the whole environment looked amazing for its NES standards and it does have a catchy original soundtrack that Megaman series are also being known making it a memorable video game soundtrack in history.

Megaman 2 is a better choice that I highly recommend playing this on not just the original NES, but it is also available on Switch, PS4, XBONE and PC as part of the Megaman Legacy Collection.



2 - The Legend of Zelda

  
  















"IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS"  Memorable Quote from Unnamed Old Man in The Legend of Zelda   

Zelda franchise is always be my all time favourite Action-Adventures series that Nintendo has ever produced. Going for quest to save a Princess Zelda, defeating evil Ganon, gaining three triforces, solving the puzzles, retrieving an items from open chest, collecting rupees and running around the overworld is what made Zelda series so much fun.
It's regarded as being one of the Nintendo's most successful video game franchise had received acclaimed titles such as Breath of the Wild, Link To The Past, The Windwaker, Twilight Princess, Majora's Mask and of course the legendary title Ocarina of Time had won several video game awards and being listed as greatest video game of all-time.

I had fun playing some of the Zelda's titles back in my days where I had SNES, N64, Gamecube, and Wii, until I finally had a chance to play The Legend of Zelda on my NES Classic Mini. The story set in the fantasy land of Hyrule is been horribly invaded by evil Ganon and his army. In attempts to stop Ganon from stealing the triforce, the hyrule Princess named Zelda has splitting the triforce in eight pieces and hides them into secret underground dungeons before she being kidnapped by Ganon. You get to play as the Hyrule's hero named Link setting off his quest to collect eight missing pieces, defeat Ganon and rescue Zelda.

The game is actually mixed with the genres of open-world Action-Adventures and RPGs elements which was played on overhead perspective allowing players to explore the large map of overworld with various environments. The combat gameplay is much more simple and easy to use as Link uses his sword as primary weapon while some items such as bomb, boomerang, and arrow are the secondary weapons which is very effective for some different types of enemies. There are some useful items that adds the variety of gameplay elements such as candle for its dark area, life potion to increase health, rings that reduced hit damage, and stepladder to walk past the small spans of water, lava and pits which makes the game so unique to its genres. What makes the game really entertaining was the dungeon stages which filled with clever puzzle solving, great exploration to discover the new areas including secret passage, and excellent boss battles which adds the fun factor of the game itself.
The game was praised for its fantasy setting presentation, memorable musical score, detailed graphic design, and non-linear gameplay which makes the franchise a biggest pioneer of the Action-Adventures genres.



1 - Super Mario Bros

                  


















"THANK YOU MARIO, BUT OUR PRINCESS IS AT ANOTHER CASTLE" Memorable Quote from Toad in Super Mario Bros

Yes everyone, we all know that Super Mario Bros is always be the greatest game ever made.
Starting off with mastermind video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto who had previously worked on his early 80's arcade title like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. He wanted to make a different Mario title that focused on more of the Side-Scrolling platformer which is Super Mario Bros was originally released at the year of 1985. During the release of the Super Mario Bros on NES, it became worldwide successful which sold over 40 million copies making it a best-selling games of all time and it is also listed as being the greatest game of all-time which turns the popular franchise into a worldwide phenomenon. The success of the franchise had spread with numerous sequels, spin-offs, animations, movies and merchandises.

Mario is always be my favourite video game heroes that loves spending time to jump on goombas, kicking koopa's shell, throwing fireballs, entering warp pipe, saving Princess Peach all the times from King Bowser, you name it because it's f***ing Mario, so everyone loves their favourite Italian plumber hero. I grew up playing several of Mario titles back in my childhood days when I had SNES, N64, GBC, GBA, and GC kept at my bedroom to play games like Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Land, and Super Mario Sunshine that really defining my gaming life as a kid, but in my nowadays I have finally had my NES Classic Mini to play those classic games especially with Super Mario Bros is by far my favourite NES game of all-time.
You take control of heroic Italian plumber named Mario to rescue Princess Peach from that mean ass Koopa King named Bowser.

The game is very straight-forward to play as it plays on side-scrolling gameplay style where your goal is to beat all the stages without wasting time limit by heading straight to finishing flagpole in order to enter King Bowser's castle. Along with the goals, you had ability to jump and dash as the main part of the gameplay action which is used for jumping over the obstacles without falling off the stage and there are koopa's minions that gets in your way such as brown mushroom shaped goomba, bouncy turtle Koopa Troopa, non-stop hammer throwing minion hammer bro, big black missile bullet bill, and of course chomping pipe creature piranha plant that you are requiring to dodge or kill those enemies is what adds the overall challenge. The flower power and star invincibility are also comes in handy which allows you to attack enemies quicker which is a great addition to its side-scrolling elements.
It has memorable stages including overworld level, underground area, seawater stage, and King Bowser's castle are the main highlights of the game. The graphics are looked phenomenal which has aged remarkably well over the years and lets not forget the Koji Kondo's famous theme song in the game are widely considered to be a huge landmark of video game music genres which turned into a biggest signature song of Mario franchise.

While I've also enjoyed playing another sequel such as Super Mario Bros 2 and 3 which are also fantastic overall, but Super Mario Bros is still remains my number 1 favourite NES game of all-time.




Honorable Mentions:

Kirby's Adventures
Contra
Batman
Battletoads
Blaster Master
Kid Icraus
Metroid
Final Fantasy
Punch Out
Gradius
Startropics



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Nintendo Classic Mini Console Review

Back in the early 80s when the crash of gaming industry had been starting off in between 1983 and 1985 where several of companies had declared with bankruptcy which causes them to stop producing their home computers and video game consoles in their region. Due to poor reception of Atari 2600's title such as Pac-Man 2600 and E.T the Extra-Terrestrial are the biggest examples of failures that damages the company's reputation which led Atari, Inc. to decline in 1984, there are one of the game console that saved the gaming industry was Nintendo Entertainment System is a Japanese 8-bit game system created by Nintendo was released in year between 1985-86 for western release and it is considered to be not only being one of the greatest game console of all-time, but it is also being one of the best-selling console of 80's which sold over 60 million worldwide. It was known for being technically impressive 8-bit graphics filled with colourful and advanced looking game design, the controllers are fully well-designed for the quality of gameplay style, it has memorable 8-bit soundtrack that defined video game music genres, with all the help and support of third-party developers making their titles for the Nintendo's system, and spawns numerous of killer games that defined gaming like Mega Man, Castlevania, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, Kirby's Adventures, The legend of Zelda and of course the Nintendo's biggest landmark title Super Mario Bros which is highly successful video game franchises in history.

The success of Nintendo Entertainment System had inspired several of manufacture companies such as SEGA, Atari Corp, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, and Microsoft in later gaming generation of 90's to 2000's. With the legacy of NES, the company Nintendo had decided to make a smaller version of their successful 8-bit console called Nintendo Classic Mini (AKA NES Classic Edition in US and Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer in Japan) was released in November 2016. It's a miniature game system which features 30 licensed NES library and ability to use save state for all of them. It sold 2.3 million of game system during the release and got discontinued in April 2017 which causing confusion to consumers and leading with higher price among sellers. Due to console demand, Nintendo had finally re-release the system on June 2018 till December 2018.

Back in my gaming nostalgia days when I grew up playing several of classic game systems such as SNES, Megadrive, N64, PS1, Saturn, Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox original, and GBA, but I never had a chance to play the original NES until in 2016 I had finally got hands on with the Nintendo Classic Mini because I f***ing love Nintendo with passion, so I had to get this bad boy setup on my HDTV and start playing several of great NES title in over 3 hours a day. I was super surprised with the mini system had turned out to be a successful which did not disappoint me at all as I really enjoyed playing Super Mario Bros, Kirby's Adventures, Punch-Out, Donkey Kong and many of games to play on this tiny little system. I love several of the NES games titles which I felt this is a great choice to fit well on the NES library and I also liked the NES controller which is simplistic and comfortable to hold. The graphics and sound design are so far well emulated on HDTV standards offering much tidier and neater display and all of the sounds were still present for most of the NES titles. Despite the positive aspects of this system, it also had some minor drawbacks such as short length wire, missing posters and plug adaptor for European releases, and some favourites NES titles weren't featured in the classic mini such as Batman, Blaster Master, Ducktales and Battletoads in which I will discuss these further later while reviewing this product. I'm very glad that it was manufactured by Nintendo themselves because I didn't want to buy any of crappy third-party companies like how AtGames, a companies who was known for making their piss poor clones consoles, totally destroys their clone version of SEGA's beloved console from early 90's such as SEGA Genesis/Megadrive, so looks like SEGA got their lesson learned because Nintendo just got their own dedicated console right where it should be and knows how to make the console properly before the release. 


So without go further do, lets start the review.



Hardware and Design

On the box set of Nintendo Classic Mini, it has nicely made front cover art of this package that has the image of the game system and controller with 30 games pre-installed that really adds the public attention to consumers. I also liked the gradient background colour of black and blue adding with white doted on the front of the box set, while the side of the box shows the person's hand holding the NES mini console and the back of the box shows the selection of NES library which I think it's pretty look good for its box art design meaning it gives a significant feel of the original NES from the mid-80's.
After unboxing things, it comes with one manual which has a guidance instructions to help you how to set up the game console correctly which comes useful, it comes with one controller which you will need it in order to play NES game by plugging into the console ports, the USB power supply cable are used for powering up your console where you can plug it on the USB port, but unfortunately the European release doesn't come with the USB plug adaptor so unlike the US release you have to buy a USB adaptor separately from the store, the HDMI cable are for connecting from back of game console into the HDTV which allows system to display the game in the HDTV screen. So far the actual game box are packaged nicely well especially with the brand new condition that keeps the overall product well neatly without any signs of damage.

The design of the mini console is just about the size of the human hands which feels quite lighter to hold as the build quality of the system are quite acceptable which Nintendo has done properly right meaning that it doesn't feel any cheap and clunky on the system which I'm glad that the NES Classic Mini is looking spectacular to see how they managed to make a perfect quality console. This console obviously resembles to 80's original NES which I really liked the overall design with orangy red font style on the front of the console and the whole console mixed with light and dark grey surfaces with vertically black rectangular shaped on the top-right side of the console. It has two button on the front-left side of the console where you can able to turn on or reset your console and the front-right side of the console has two controller ports which is very identical to Nintendo Wii Remote's port which is different from the original NES controller port from the 80's has only 7 pins connector. The back of the system has USB power supply port which you will need to connect from the system into the USB port of devices or adapter, while the HDMI output port connects from the system into the HDMI output port of HDTV.

While testing the NES mini console for more than the week, I felt the hardware emulation is responding well as the original NES which I don't see any sign of game crashes and major slowdowns meaning that this system is quite flawless with no sudden mistakes when using the NES system for 3 hours a day. There are some minor glitch for some NES game (such as Super Mario Bros 3, Megaman 2 and Kirby's Adventures) was present on the original NES version which I don't think it would effect the gameplay overall as I say that it plays absolutely fine with no sign of display lags when playing these awesome game on HDTV.
It is good to see that most of the NES titles on the European NES Classic Mini system are running on the forced NTSC region meaning that the NTSC version has better emulation speed than the slower PAL version.
For example, I've began to research by watching the video comparison between the NTSC and PAL version of the original NES console where most of the TV technologies from the 80's had different two encoding systems on each countries such as the NTSC are originated from Americas, while PAL are originated from Europe. I started to notice that the NTSC version of original NES console runs on 1.79 MHz allowing the games to have better overall frame rate and screen resolution, while the PAL version of original NES console has 1.66 MHz which is slightly slower compared with NTSC, but still remains playable. So far, the NES Classic Mini had worked positively which I barely see any of problems on this hardware meaning that the Nintendo had done successfully well on making this piece of technology as being a highest quality of all dedicated console.


Overall, it has sleek console design, great build quality and responsive hardware emulation.



Presentation

On the menus, you can see how good the user interface looks such as icons, images, colours and designs. I really liked the dark blue backgrounds and the grey layouts of menus which presenting really well for the NES theme. I felt that the menus are easier to navigate things because it has highlighted blue box which allows you to navigate things as the navigation in the menus felt really smoother to control these selectable options. I really liked the icons on the top menus which helps me able to recognising these options easier such as display which has TV display icon, options has tool icon, languages has letter symbol, manuals has question mark icon and legal notice has paper icon, and I also liked the wings animation and size of box screen on the save state options. On the front of the NES menu screen which has selection of games to choose as these games title has image of game's front cover, four smaller circles for save states and player icon for number of players.

I believe these numerous of NES titles were included on this system are seems to be pretty wise choice for NES mini console such as Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Ninja Gaiden, Super C, Castlevania, Kirby's Adventures, Donkey Kong, Excitebike, Final Fantasy, Punch Out, and Megaman 2 which really fits well for the NES categories, while I think Tecmo Bowl and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest are kinda seems to be bizarre choices for NES collection because I'm not good at playing the American Football type of game and it would have been better if Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse were included on this than the Simon's Quest in my opinion, but still it wasn't a bad thing to have it on the NES Classic Mini library. There are some fewer missing games that aren't present on the NES classic mini such as Contra, Ducktales, Batman, Battletoads and Blaster Master which should have been a much fun choice to add it on the NES mini system.

So far, I really liked the overall presentation and the game choices of NES console mini as it appeals to all retro gaming fans who liked the old-school style gaming may going to enjoy playing these games on the modern HDTV.


Overall, it has simple UI design, easy to navigate menus and great selection of NES games.



Controller

The original NES controller is remarkably legendary when it comes with the classic 8-bit gaming was known for innovative gameplay which heavily utilises the NES controller meaning it has ability to add more commands for its gameplay style such as allowing character to move, jump, shoot, and etc.

Going back to this controller for NES console mini which is exactly the same as the original NES controller, but there are notable differences from the original. It has the rectangular shape of the controller with d-pad, 2-buttons, and Start and Select button just like the original, but it has different wired plug which is identical to Nintendo Wii's Classic Controller which fits into the Wii remote's port so I can able to use NES classic mini controller plugged into the Wii remote to play Virtual Console NES titles which is sounds pretty cool. The overall design itself is definitely spot on because the button layout on the controller is well designed and I liked the shape of the controller which is comfortable to hold and play many of the NES games, but the problem on this controller is that the wire is lot shorter than the original NES which is harder for gamers when trying to bring their controller near them as they preferred sitting on the couch far way from TV over sitting on the floor near too close to TV unless getting the third-party extension cord is the best option to make the wire much longer. So far, I really liked the controller because its one of the most inspiring video game controller ever created by Nintendo themselves. I have no issues with the controller while playing some of the NES titles such as Super C where I can able to shoot anywhere in different direction and on Super Mario Bros I can able to dash and jump at same time which works absolutely fine with no annoying input lags whatsoever meaning that the controller is still fantastic overall.


Overall, it has impressive design and responsive controls.



Graphics and Sounds

The graphics in each NES titles are looking spectacularly on the HDTV due to use of HDMI output can able to run on 720p/1080p making it look more cleaner and neater without any signs of blurry ness and messy images. You have the options to select any of three graphics filters such as CRT which is more of the old-school style filters from CRT TV of 80's and 90's, the 4:3 resolution has normal size screen which is more balanced looking pictures with simple filters, and the pixel perfect has smaller screen but has better graphics filters which I preferred more of this better over the previous displays options. I see no signs of display lags on the HDTV which I believe Nintendo knew how the classic gaming console worked properly when testing several of NES games to see if works properly done on HDTV.

The sounds on the NES classic mini has catchy 8-bit tunes on the menus which kinda reminds me of jingle tunes from Wii Shop Channels. The soundtrack from the NES titles had worked really well meaning it hasn't missing out the melodies whatsoever making it a near perfect music when listening some memorable tunes such as Mega Man 2, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, Punch Out and many of games, and the sound effects are also present on every NES games with no sudden sounds delays meaning that all sound effects are working fine as normally on original NES.


Overall, it has cleaner graphics and perfect sounds design.



Special Features

What really made this mini system cool that aren't present on the Original NES console was the ability to use save states that allows you to save game as a bookmarks so you can able to continue the game where you left off makes very easier for newcomers to save whatever they want and other cool features is that your Wii classic controller are compatible for this system meaning that you can able to play NES games with your Wii classic controller which I finding it a wise choice by Nintendo because now I can use my Madcatz Arcade Controller (Wii) on this system which worked really well when playing most of the NES titles. It's a shame that they didn't include the poster from the US release which is kinda bummer for those who have NES Classic Mini from European release because I really wanted to stick the cool looking poster in my bedroom, but oh well that's Nintendo to you guys. 


Overall it has cool save states and compatible controllers.



Advantages

Sleek looking old-school console

Great controller with no input lags

Magnificent selection of games to play

Game looks fantastic on HDTV with much cleaner graphics filters

Perfect sounds emulation

Cool special features


Disadvantages

Some few games are missing such as Contra, Ducktales, Castlevania 3: Dracula Curse, Batman, Blaster Master and Battletoads (Why Not?!)

Short length of wire

The poster and DC plug adapter were missing on European release


Final Verdict


Hardware and Design 9.5/10 - sleek console design, great build quailty and responsive hardware emulation.

Presentation 9/10 - simple UI design, easy to navigate menus and great selection of NES games.

Controller 9/10 -  impressive design and responsive controls.

Graphics and Sounds 9.5/10 -  cleaner graphics and perfect sounds design.

Special Features 9.5/10 -  cool save states and compatible controllers.


Overall 9.5/10 - Nintendo Classic Mini is got to be one of the best dedicated console ever I've bought it for my gaming collection. It has tons of NES games to play, great controller, options to change filters, having Wii Classic Controller compatibility and everything that this system has to offer. I had such fun of playing this system over a 3 hours a days with zero flaws and not making any of issues meaning this things works brilliantly for the fans of the retro gaming.

This system cost originally £50 at the release which unfortunately when the mini system went out of stock quickly that causing to increase cost higher than the original price meaning that it makes lot harder for consumers to buy it from online or retail store because it may be harder to find as it goes fully rare and expensive now of days, unless find something cheaper from any of local video game store or flea market for less than the original price. Despite the ridiculous high price due to out of stock units, I'm very glad that I had thing thing in time so I can able to spend time more playing on NES system and I highly recommended to all the collectors to go pick it up and play all your favourite classics to bring back your gaming nostalgia, so if you are able to master all your favourite classics NES titles then now you're playing with the power.
                                                             

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Shantae: Half-Genie Hero: Ultimate Edition PS4 Review

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a 2D Side-Scrolling Adventure game for PS4, PSVita, XBONE, Wii U, Switch and PC and it is a sequel to previous titles of the series. It was first originally released in 2016 as digital title for all version, while Switch version was later released in year later. The game was finally get a physical releases in 2018 as Ultimate Edition which packed with fully completed content included on game disc, soundtrack CD and official artbook.

I got very impressed with previous game title that I've played on my PS4 such as Shantae: Risky's Revenge and Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, so I'm definitely look forward to play with Shantae's new title as I'm a huge fan of playing several of 2D side-scrolling games. This game comes with brand new adventures with more exploration and discoveries, great storylines and cast of characters, complex gameplay with 2D metroidvania-style, and fluid looking animation as I had a fun spending time playing this game for more than an hours which kept me more motivated to enjoy this awesome title. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a remarkable game that the series is kept getting better with numerous of sequels really shows how much the game had improved upon from the previous titles.

So without go further do, lets start the review.



Presentation

The game takes place after the event of the previous title. The story focused on Half-Genie girl named Shantae, who been awoken from her dream experience after discovering the Genie Realm. She began to visit her Uncle named Mimic who is working on a new invention known as the Dynamo, which will keep the Scuttle Town protected from the attack until the town was been invaded by Pirate leader named Risky Boots and their minions known as Tinkerbat are aiming to steal Mimic's blueprint. After Shantae had finally finished battle against Risky Boots, Mimic had given her quest to collect the remaining components which requires Dynamo to get it run, so Shantae begins searching across Sequin Land for the remaining components with the help of her friends such as Bolo, Rottytops and Sky.

The story in the game is still positively interesting which explains that how Shantae had discovered her mysterious dreams which she was visited by the Genie Realm tries to warns her with the fewer important details. The story in the game are also has cool storylines between Shantae and cast of characters that kept the story ongoing such as the part where Mayor Scuttlebutt once again fires her from her position as the town's guardian genie due to Risky's escape and the damage incurred in Scuttle Town, and the part where Shantae started to confronting her enemies before the battle starts are also pretty good for its single-player story dialogue.
I really liked the style of animation on its characters to make it look more like Japanese anime with acceptable personality and facial expressions, and it also has really great dialogue boxes on the actual sildeshow cutscenes.
Shantae as a playable character is still an amazing protagonist in whole game which was known for her special powers, long-purple hair, and has cool belly-dancing sequences, while the supportive characters such as Mimic, Sky, Rottytops and Bolo are also quite memorable in the game. I got to admit the cast of villains such as Risky Boots are cool and edgy looking female pirate that always loves spending time putting trouble on Shantae. She is so much just like from the other video game villains of popular 2D platformer games such as Dr.Wily from Megaman series and Dr. Robotnik from Sonic the Hedgehog series. Several of boss characters such as Ammo Baron, Squid Baron, possessed Giga Mermaid, and others are also quite good in the game.

I really liked the concept of level design filled with fitted kinds of settings such as the main streets are more like the arabian-style environments, the Mermaid Fall are full of water and forrest, Tassel Town are sandy-dessert places, Cape Crustacean has racing-circuit track, and Hypno Baron's Castle filled with horror typed settings which is very well made for its single-player presentation.

Overall, it has great storylines, excellent characters, and cool level concepts.



Gameplay

At the main game, you take control of Shantae exploring around the level to collect important key items, gaining new abilities, and defeating boss in each locations.
She uses her long-purple hair as a basic attack to knock down enemies, but you are also required to gain more abilities, upgrades and magic items which allows your character to become more stronger for its attacks, so in order to do so, you will need to earn enough of gems which you are able to purchase it from the shop in Scuttle Town. The upgradable items will allow to reducing damage hit and increasing attack power, while magic items such as fireball, pike ball, Scimitar, and Storm Puff which is used for its magic attacks and bubble are used to protect character from enemy's projectiles which worked very effectively for its combat gameplay. You will able to earn more abilities by defeating the boss which allows you to perform transformation into different kinds of animals such as the monkey are used for climbing on walls, the mermaid and crabs can swim underneath the water, the bat and bird has ability to fly through the level, the elephant can break through the heavy objects, the spider can crawl through the top path, and the mouse can access through the smaller lines of sculptures which adds the newer variety of gameplay style.
What makes the game very interesting is that you can able to do side-quest where people in the certain location had given you a objectives to complete the task by finding a missing important key items are required to access a new map in the game, so it is a good to re-visit the same level to find a new discoveries such as hidden secret areas and obtaining new items from treasure chest.
The gameplay plays really amazing with their useful magic items, transformation abilities and combat controls which worked really well for its 2D side-scrolling environment. I also liked the level design choices with bigger area to explore and I loved the platforming style in the game where you had to avoid hazards objects and jumping through the levels which adds the overall game's challenge, so the level has great segmants such as the Cape Crustacean where you had to jump on magic carpet during the race, the Mermaid Falls where you had to avoid objects without falling off the stage and the Tassel Town where you had to survive through from the dangerous pet worm which increases the game's atmospheres. The boss battle in each levels are also quite entertaining especially playing on both Main and Hardcore mode which makes the game even fun to play.
What really makes the game quite bummer is the lack of the actual map screens on the pause menu which are used for examining the level stages in whole game was unfortunately not included in this game making it quite too linear compared with previous game which allows you to check the map screens.

There are two replayability modes such as Hero mode where you can able to re-visit a same main story with few transformations at the start, while the Hardcore mode focuses on a old-school style gameplay with much more harder difficulty to play which adds the fun replay values of the whole game.
You can also play these two expansions such as Pirate Queen's Quest which you're playing as the main villain Risky Boots, while Friends to the End takes control of three playable characters such as Sky, Rottytops and Bolo which focused on different playstyle and storylines.
There are four non-story mode to play such as the Ninja Mode, Officer Mode, Beach Mode and the Jammies Mode which is a nice addition to the game itself, but my favourite two are Ninja and Officer Mode because the Ninja mode is basically like Ninja Gaiden for NES, while Officer Mode heavily borrows the same gameplay mechanics from Mighty Switch Force series which I kinda enjoyed the most, but I do find Beach Mode is kinda weak compared with other game modes due to my frustration on sunburn damage which quickly drains down your health which makes the game down right unplayable, but at least the Jammies Mode plays it better overall which is a much more nicer addition.

Overall, it has amazing 2D gameplay style, great exploration, cool new abilities and items, and extra modes to play.


Graphics

The graphics in the game is looking so spectacular with anime-style characters and cartoony looking environments.

The characters in the game are well drawn with fluid animations and great use of facial expressions which adds the personality of the character's development. the level environment is looking amazing on each locations such as Scuttle Town has whomping 3D panoramic background effects, the Mermaid Fall and Tassel Town has really crystal clear water animation and sandy dust wind effects which is looking quite cool. The whole environment is quite colourful with amazing background details and some great use of textures on level objects. I got to admit that the game is looking different from the previous titles are more of 16-bit style presentation which is excellent, but I adored with the newer style graphics for the recent title to make the game looked more up to date.

Overall, it has spectacular character's design, amazing level environment and great use of special effects.


Music and Sounds

We all know Shantae series always has the best original soundtrack in every game.
The music was composed by Jake Kaufman, a well known composer behind Shovel Knight, Ducktales: Remastered, and previous Shantae titles, did a incredible job of making a wicked electronic arabian style soundtrack on whole game which really fits well on every game levels. The game also has great use of sound effects for most of the levels with amazing background noise and atmospheric effects, while the voice acting in the in-game dialogue and gameplay stages seems to be quite limited instead of using a proper full voice over which is kinda shame, but its still sounds good overall that didn't effect the story dialogue.

Overall, it has incredible soundtrack, decent sounds and acceptable partial voices.



Special Features

The physical ultimate edition of the game bundled with artbook, soundtrack CD and all completed content such as two DLC expansion story, costumes and extra game modes are included on actual game disk. The game are also featuring bonus gallery mode including fanart and unlockable transformation for single-player mode such as Sophia III from Blaster Master Zero.

Overall, its a proper full completed game for all collectors. 




Advantages

Excellent Presentation

Amazing 2D Gameplay

Spectacular Graphics

Incredible Soundtrack

Ultimate Edition of physical copies packed with completed bundle.

So much replay values.


Disadvantages

Lack of actual map screens

No fully voice over for story dialogue

Beach Mode aren't as fun as other game modes


Final Verdict


Presentation 9/10 - Great storylines, excellent characters, and cool level concepts.

Gameplay 9/10 - Amazing 2D gameplay style, great exploration, cool new abilities and items, and extra modes to play.

Graphics 8.5/10 - Spectacular character's design, amazing level environment and great use of special effects.

Music and Sounds 8.5/10 - Incredible soundtrack, decent sounds and acceptable partial voices.

Special Features 9/10 - Proper fully completed game for all collectors.


Overall 9/10 - Like I've enjoyed the previous titles of Shantae series, this is by far not the only best 2D side-scrolling game, but its one of the better sequel of the whole series which I'm very happy to see what the developers can able to push the game forward allowing to make the series getting so much further and better with the awesome artstyle of game graphics, exciting game modes to play, complex 2D gameplay style, catchy arabian-style soundtrack, and great story presentation with cool characters is the main highlight of whole game especially with the ultimate edition of physical copies is a nicer addition for all video game collectors should able to pick this game up for worth less than the original price because Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a outstanding game for all the fans of retro gaming. 



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My 5 Christmas Wish List of 2018

Yep, it's almost Christmas, a holiday that where people celebrating this season with bunch of Christmas related stuff like decorations, trees, building snowman, dressing up as Santa, singing Christmas Carol, watching Christmas films, preparing special dinner and of course unwrapping the present from the family and friends is what the Christmas is all about, but I wanted to focus on the things that I considering getting it on this holiday as I'm looking forward to see what kind of my gifts that I end up getting, so I decided to make my own wishlist that I wanted to have on the day of Christmas.

Here is my 5 Christmas Wish List of 2018.



1 - Nintendo Classic Mini

Back in the day of mid-80's where gaming console had becoming a worldwide successful which is the original Nintendo Entertainment System that finally saves the gaming industries from the terrible crash of Video Game in 1983 due to numerous of game libraries, third-party support, simple controller design, colourful 8-bit graphics and memorable soundtrack from each games that really defines gaming.   

Despite the success of the original NES console from the 80's, Nintendo had finally revealed the smaller version of NES which is a Nintendo Classic Mini (AKA NES Classic Edition in US and Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer in Japan) was released in year November 2016 and then got discontinued in April 2017. Due to high demands of NES Classic Mini console, it got re-released in June 2018. This dedicated system helps the gamers of 80's era by re-visiting back to their childhood favourites featuring a 30 games titles built-in such as Ninja Gaiden, Megaman 2, Castlevania, Super Contra, Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros and many more great titles to play on.

I felt that the price of this system is very reasonable which made me want to pick it up for less than £50 because I just really wanted to play these old-school gaming, so if I don't buy this on time before it went out of stock again then the NES Classic Mini goes really expensive for more than the original price cost.



2 - Shantae: Half Genie Hero - Ultimate Edition (PS4)

     
















I was super impressed with the past Shantae titles such as Shantae: Risky's Revenge, and Shantae and the Pirate's Curse which is the 2D metroidvania games where you take control of half-genie girl named Shantae sets her quest to save her homeland from the evil Pirate leader named Risky Boots. During her quest, Shantae has her ability to use her hair as whip attack and using her magic items as well as unlocking her new abilities and discovering new locations which leading her to battle against her nemesis in whereabouts.

While I finding these games are quite entertaining, I'm considering to pick the physical copy of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - Ultimate Edition which comes with official soundtrack, artbook, and all DLCs pack are included on the actual completed game disc. I'm looking forward to play a newer titles filled with brand new adventures with story and gameplay, cartoon style graphics, and more game modes with extra content.



3 - Sonic Mania Plus (PS4)

   

















Back in my old days of 90's where the Blue Hedgehog named Sonic had becoming one of a SEGA's most lovable mascot that really made SEGA's 16-bit hardware quite successful. The very first Sonic game that came out in year 1991 for SEGA Genesis/Megadrive to complete with their rivalry such as Nintendo's memorable mascot Mario with the SNES. It sold over 15 million copies worldwide that led into SEGA's success which spawned numerous of sequels, spin-offs, toy merchandises, cartoon shows, comic books and etc.
Despite the success of the franchise, it went go down the drain with shitty Sonic later titles in around mid-2000s and nowadays. SEGA had learned their lesson from their horrible titles from the past (such as Sonic 06 and Unleashed) which led the team to work on the project called Sonic Mania which is a 2D platformer game that finally brings back the original 16-bit root of the classic Sonic titles that we all love.
It filled with enhancement 2D graphics resembling the classic 16-bit era, 12 levels including eight redesigned stages from the past games, speedy 2D platforming gameplay, and three playable characters. The plus edition comes with two newer characters, new game mode with remixed levels and four-player competition mode.
As a fan of Sonic franchises, I'm very glad that SEGA are going back to this classic root of Sonic titles which got me excited to play this type of game.



4 - Megaman 11 (PS4)

    



















The blue bomber is finally back for its 30th anniversary of beloved franchise by Capcom. Megaman is a action-platform game where you take control of Megaman to battle against his nemesis Dr.Wily and the Robot Masters. It was known for its unique levels filled with hazardous objects and enemies, gaining newer weapon ability, cool presentation with great story intro and characters, and amazing 2D gameplay.

It's been for like a 8 years since after the release of Megaman 10 where Capcom did a shitty move of cancelling their recent projects such as Megaman Legends 3 and Megaman Universe that really got the fans excited for the announcements, but got badly outraged at the end after finding out the cancellation of these bigger two projects. Capcom had finally opened their ears to the fans and give them what they wanted with the newer Megaman title released in year 2018. It retains the classic Megaman 2D gameplay with newer weapons and abilities, newer robot masters to fight against, modern style graphics with classic style 2D environments, and additional features including Time Trials, Missions, Concept Art Gallery and more.

I'm definitely to look forward to see a new Megaman game which got me hyped to see a return of the classic franchise.



5 - Action Replay Plus (SEGA Saturn)

 



















Back in our retro gaming days where some of the third-party companies wanted to make their own kinds of gaming accessories like game controllers, universal game adaptors and other weird technologies. I remember the time that I had the Action Replay for the Nintendo Gamecube and Game Genie for the SEGA Genesis/Megadrive which I am using these for not just for the actual cheats system like unlocking stuff, infinite mode and other weird stuff, but I just wanted to use it to bypass the system region code which allows me to play any of US and JP NTSC games on my PAL game system.

I'm considering to get a Action Replay Plus for SEGA Saturn because I just wanted to play any of US and JP exclusive titles that never got made in PAL releases like Radiant Slivergun, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Astal and other kinds of titles. The price of this adaptor are quite expensive on Ebay which mean I had to wait for while until it goes down cheaper for like less than £20 in the right future. I just wanted to have a fun experiment of having this thing tested on my game console to see if its actually works well when attempting to play JP games on my PAL system.



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This is Zeeshan Mirza's Blog and I'll see you next time, happy blogging and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.