LepricahnsGold
Reviews
Blue Max 2001 (Commodore 64)
In a word, bleck!
The Good
Well, I do like the title screen music. It has a nice, spacey, futuristic sound to it. I am afraid that is about all the 'good' I have about this game.
The Bad
Where to start. It scrolls up-left so it can be hard to get used to. Aiming is near impossible (but can be done sometimes). Bombing is difficult, at best. The enemy saucer AI is almost nonexistent.
The Bottom Line
A very disappointing sequel to Synapses' Blue Max.
By LepricahnsGold on September 2nd, 2005
Breath of Fire (SNES)
Not too bad, overall...
The Good
I liked the story. It had a fair depth to it. The characters were good also. I liked the depth of some of their stories. It was also nice that you didn't learn each character's total story right away but only as you played the game. And for some characters, you don't get their total story until much later in the game. It was cool that you can become a dragon in battle (later in the game). A dragon that you become near the end of the game is MAJOR powerful.
The Bad
The plot is rather linear, requiring you to complete certain steps before moving on. There are very few "Let me go explore here, first" options.. And towards the end of the game, the dragon you (and your party) can become is TOO powerful. It makes the last battle too easy. This dragon has 999 hit points! It was rather disconcerting to, at one point, fight what looked like a little girl. But I got over it.
The Bottom Line
Overall, a good game with a rather neat story. There are good characters and interesting castles, cities and dungeons. In this game, you, the main character, can learn to become a dragon! That is cool but a dragon near the end of the game is too powerful.
By LepricahnsGold on September 1st, 2005
Breath of Fire II (SNES)
Overall fun but...
The Good
I loved the plot. It was nice and deep and complex. I also loved the indicator that let you know the mood of the person you were talking to. This is a good idea on a system like a SNES because you don't have facial expressions. I also liked the characters. They, like the plot, had a good depth to them. Some may not seem so at first but as you learn more about their story you learn how deep some of their personal plots go.
The Bad
My main gripe is this: in the first Breath of Fire, when Ryu became a dragon he was a dragon for the whole battle. The problem was the last dragon spell was so strong (999 hit points) that you were near invulnerable. In Breath of Fire II, they tried to compensate for that but they overcompensated. Now your dragon spells are 1 shot only. If you want to hit them again with a second dragon blast, you will need to recast the spell (if you have the magic points). This makes the game very difficult, later. Also, sometimes you will need to have a certain character in the front of the party when walking, to achieve certain things. It can be difficult to determine who needs to be in the lead.
The Bottom Line
A sequel to Breath of Fire with a great plot. It also has great characters who themselves have deep plots. The overall plot is complex and engaging. It is, unfortunately, much harder later in the game than it needs to be due to the changes made in the dragon spells.
By LepricahnsGold on September 1st, 2005
Who Dares Wins II (Commodore 64)
Nice sequel
The Good
The gripes I had in Who Dares Wins are fixed here. Your comrade is now tied to a tree so they don't move. Love the title screen music.
The Bad
Just that it gets hard later so you may become frustrated.
The Bottom Line
A fun one-man-against-an-army game.
By LepricahnsGold on September 1st, 2005
Who Dares Wins (Commodore 64)
Rather fun (but hard)
The Good
It was a fun action shooting game. It is always fun to lob a grenade onto an enemy. :-)
The Bad
My only gripe was that it can be hard to save you comrades sometimes. An enemy soldier starts at the right third of the screen and leads you man away to the top-right of the screen (unless you shoot him first). If you are unlucky enough to be near the left of the screen, your man may be done for.
The Bottom Line
A good game of one man against an empire fighting his way through.
By LepricahnsGold on September 1st, 2005