This is one of those games that should have been among the first to show up here when GoG started all thoser years ago. What's there to say? A macabre, gorgeously gothic take on Zelda, with one of the few examples of an edgy, cynical protagonist done right. Indeed, everything about this game was done with love, from the oppressive atmosphere to the spot-on voice acting. This is one of Silicon Knights' best titles, the one that put the company on the map back in 1996. Being snappier than the PlayStation version is just a bonus. This is a game that needs to be experienced, every bit the tour-de-force it was over 20 years back.
The releases here are of the SNES port of First Samurai, as well as the Genesis/Megadrive port of Second Samurai. There's not a lot of work that's gone into this outside of the garish borders around the games. Thankfully, it's not that hard to pick out the rom from the folder. There's a folder called "res" in each game's install, and in each of them is a file simply called "game." Rename them with the appropriate extension (.sfc for the first game, .md for the second) and you can play them in a better emulator than the somewhat basic one provided here. Dissapointing that they didn't go the extra mile to add the Amiga versions of the games, that would have been a good addition. They could have also gone a bit further with the emulation (though it's nowhere near as bad as "Castlevania & Contra" on GOG). As is, though, the games are enjoyable enough, if you're willing to get beyond the crap presentation here.
What you have here is an aggressively devious little puzzle game series. all wrapped up in a tiny little bow. The objective in all three games (Hyper Drive Edition is a beautiful 1080p remaster of the first game, which is also included here) is to snatch up the Hooligan Sisters in every level while navigating the expertly crafted puzzles throughout. Surprisingly, the gameplay keeps fresh, even with the relatively simple gameplay compared to some other action-puzzle games here on GOG, thanks to its clever use of the block-switching mechanic throughout in order to kill enemies and clear the path. Mighty Switch Force 2 does a wonderful job of adding to the formula with some of the new mechanics based on the water cannon that replaces the original game's blaster, but also includes a brain-twisting optional challenge with the babies that can be found in each level. For those with a suitably large screen and some friends, Mighty Switch Force Academy is a four-player version of the game featuring zoomed-out levels that can be cleared quickly with some good teamwork. I would have honestly preferred that all the games be given the Hyper Drive treatment, rather than having two editions of the first Mighty Switch Force in the pack. Also, as Mighty Switch Force 1 and 2 were originally for the 3DS, the screens in those games seems a bit zoomed in (especially compared to the Hyper Drive Edition of Mighty Switch Force 1!) However, these are such minors gripe for what amounts to a damn good package, and one I heartily recommend.
(CD VERSION review) There's really no reason to talk about the games themselves, as they're among the most revered classics of the Nintendo Entertainment System. HOWEVER, they're not presented well here at all. They're blown up to the PC resolution with no regard to how that would affect image quality. VERY basic menus, no filter options, no customization for the controller, and no extra content (regional variants, art, etc). Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this was just running off a sloppy implementation of NESticle or something. For games like this, more effort needs to be made. They really should have put out the Anniversary collections that are on Steam instead. Even if they charged more money, it would have been worth it. As it stands, the ONLY reason to buy this is if you feel bad about using the (readily available) roms that are all over the internet.
The game boasts upon bootup "Welcome to the Wizardry Renaissance," and yet the game feels a bit like a step back from "Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land," a PS2 game (Labyrinth of Lost Souls was originally a PS3 game). Compared to Tale, the dungeons here are copy-paste jobs of one or two wall types per dungeon, without much in the way of distinguishing landmarks, much less visual flair. The battles are much more static, without the moving enemies of the first game, and the UI placing the front and rear rows of the party on the sides of the screen is a bit odd indeed. Objects in dungeons like staircases and switches will appear disconnected and copy-pasted, sometimes literally floating in space, as opposed to being integrated into the game world. Even the mapping system is a bit oddball. Instead of buying maps that are mostly filled out, you have to buy maps just to have a blank map that fills in as you move. If you don't have maps, we're going back to 1985 with graph paper and pencil, hoping not to get it wrong. The game isn't BAD, but it's such a step down from the previous title, much less other games here on GOG like the Grimrock titles or Starcrawlers. If you've played through everything else by all means, you'll find a serviceable game here. However, you owe it to yourself to hunt down Tale of the Forsaken Land, or to at least play some of the better examples of the genre here on GOG, before spending time here.
First off, let's get the obvious out of the way - the game runs at a SOLID framerate, the cars feel weigthty enough, there's a solid selection of game play modes, and it's very, very pretty as far as 2D racing games go. The problem with this game isn't the tangible, technical side of it. Rather, what we have here is a distinct lack of personality. The game is very deliberately made to resemble Outrun, though perhaps it plays a bit more like Outrunners, the third arcade title in the series. Certainly handles crashes the way Outrunners does, with your car flying through the air only to land on its tires with only a bit of speed loss. However, the game lacks the personality that Outrun, and especially Outrunners, have. The cars, while pretty, are painfully generic, looking like a set of model cars you'd get at the Walgreen's, trying to look like real cars while avoiding licensing. The cars don't even have license plates, which seems a small thing, but points to just how far the developer went to avoid putting a personality of its own into the game. The rivals, tracks, music, everything is simply designed to be a reference, a sort of "remember when..." moment for gamers, but not really evocative of the games and music being cribbed from. This is very much the "retro game" fad in a nutshell. It's a well-made game, to be sure, but it doesn't bring its own spin on what it's taking from, and the lack of personality really hurts it.
I pre-ordered the game and waited the months since the last-minute delay of the PC version, only to be disgusted by the abhorrent state of the game - bug-riddled, poorly-translated, and generally a mess. No doubt NIS would have left it like that, but after the overwhelming backlash (and doubtless pressure from Nihon Falcom), they actually got about making the game a great title, fixing a lot of the translation issues and turning it into a smooth experience. While there's no excuse for the state the game originally released in, and NIS' hand was likely forced into fixing it, the game is an enjoyable one indeed, a fine example of what an Ys title should be. Hopefully Ys VIX will be released in the US by XSEED so we don't have another repeat of this drama, but if you're coming into the game now, without having experienced the game in its initial form, you'll have a great time.
Killing Time was released in 1995 for the 3DO before being ported to the PC by Logicware in November, 1996. For those of you unfamiliar, the 3DO had a controller that was akin to the three-button Megadrive/Genesis pad with shoulder buttons and two function buttons instead of one. Playing on a PC, it's easy to tell this was a quick and dirty port. Most suspect is the fact that the game takes away turning/sidestep control from the turn keys to sidestep, and the game lacks a true mouse-look, something both Duke Nukem 3D (February 1996) and Quake (June 1996) had. It's best to use a retro-style USB controller, like Hyperkin's Scout or GN6 (Make sure they're the USB versions, as they also make versions for the SNES and Genesis respectively). Then use JoyToKey or a similar program to map the keyboard keys. After that, you'll have an enjoyable, if a bit basic, 90s FPS.
