Sigma Star Saga - Game Boy Advance Review

This is a unique game.  It's a shoot 'em up, adventure, and RPG combined.  There is a story tied to the game that is actually pretty good.  When you are walking around exploring, you will get random battles where you go into shoot 'em up mode and have to eliminate a certain number of enemies to win the battle.  There are plenty of upgrades for weapons that you will find while adventuring.  Graphics are decent and on par with the GBA and sound is pretty good.  Some of the music gets repetitive after awhile.  The game play is pretty good, but you will find the game to play really slow at times.  Sometimes you have to play a level 5 or 6 times to learn it before you can beat it and move on to the next stage.  There are experience points in the game and you can level up to make your ship stronger and more powerful.  Overall, I give this game a 7 out of 10 stars.  I recommend that you pick it up and play it.  You can get a loose copy on ebay for about $10.

Super SD System 3 Review

You can purchase this device at https://shop.terraonion.com/en/ for 240 Euros with shipping.  It comes out to roughly $300 US.  Option number two: you can buy from my favorite video game store https://stoneagegamer.com/ for $299 US plus shipping.  The advantage of buying it from Stone Age Gamer is that you get it shipped faster, and if there is an issue, you can call them for support.  I had a minor issue with the audio and they worked with me and found out it was a cable issue.  They gave me a free cable and a new unit!  So what does this thing do for $300?  Everything!  It first and foremost emulates the CD-ROM unit allowing PC Engine and Turbo Grafx 16 CDs to be played on either system (all region free).  The device plugs into the back of either a TG-16 or a PC Engine where the CD-ROM would plug in.  It has a micro SD (up to 256gb supported but 128gb is plenty of space) slot on the side to put the CD images on.  As if CD support wasn't enough, you can also read TG-16 and PC Engine HuCards from this device!  Oh yeah, and it has direct RGB out the back, using a Genesis / Megadrive 2 cable.  Also, it gets its power from the console so it requires no external power!  It also has no moving parts.  I forgot to mention that it has the PC Engine Arcade Card built in also and a handy green LED that flashes showing the loading from the SD card.  When you power the system on with the Super SD System 3 attached, it will take you to a menu system where you can load all your games.  This device works flawlessly and I would highly recommend it to anyone that is considering getting a DUO or a CD-Rom attachment.  Lets face it, this is the way most everyone will get to play all the exotic, expensive games that you can't afford.  Well worth the $300 investment.  Highly recommended! 

1942 - Game Boy Color Review

This game is pretty much the same version as the NES version.  Nothing special about it, just a port of the arcade version.  Same repetitiveness, horrible beeping, and flickering water.  Not a terrible game, just a primitive arcade game.  It has the same feel and game play as the NES version.  Overall, it gets a 5 out of 10 stars.  Just a normal shoot 'em up.

Killer Instinct - Game Boy Review

Killer Instinct on Game Boy?  Seriously, why did this ever get made?  To start off with, Game Boy has 2 buttons.  I believe this game originally utilized 6 buttons.  It is impossible to play, it is slow, and the graphics are choppy and blocky.  The music is terrible.  It sounds like just a bunch of beeping. The last screen shot above shows the game on the Game Boy player cart on the SNES with the color border. Do yourself a favor and just stick with the SNES version of this game.  Overall, it gets a 2 out of 10.  Cheesy and barely playable.

Armored Warriors - Arcade Review

This is a Capcom game so you know its going to be good, right?  Yes, its awesome.  This is a beat em up game but with giant robots that your character pilots.  You have a choice between 4 different robots, each with their own speed / strength / abilities.  The power ups in this game are awesome!  Drills for your arm, claws, rocket launchers, and various guns.  The game play is really good, the music is really good, and the graphics are great.  The game is fun with a lot of variety to keep in interesting.  Overall, I give this game an 8 out of 10.  If you get the chance to play this game, do it, its worth it.

Monster Truck Rally - NES Review

This game is complete garbage.  Slow, boring, terrible graphics, terrible game play.  It is one of the few games that supported the 4 player feature on the NES.  I don't really have anything positive to say about it.  It does have a track editor and a random track feature that is ok.  Overall, I give this game a 1 out of 10.  Don't bother playing it unless you are a complete zombie.  My wife even said while I was playing it "what is this piece of shit you are playing"?

Violent Soldier - PC Engine Review

A pretty decent shooter on the PC Engine (there are a lot of them).  Its kind of like R-Type and Life Force had a baby.  The first few stages are pretty easy and then the difficulty picks up considerably after that.  Good sound, good graphics, decent power ups, and decent game play.  If you like shooters then you will probably like this horizontal shoot em up.  I did notice a little slow down when fighting one of the bosses however.  I think it is because every time your weapon hits a target, it displays a big blue circle where it hits for about 1.5 seconds.  This causes slow down when there are a lot of sprites on the screen.  Its minor, and doesn't really affect game play.  Overall, I give this game a 6 out of 10.  It is better than average but not super spectacular.

Cyber-Cop - Sega Genesis Review

I absolutely detest this type of game.  I hate when then try to port a PC game like this to a console.  WYSIWYG, the screen shots are the entire game, boring and slow.  The game is terrible in my opinion.  I hate games where you have to switch back and forth and select icons with a pseudo mouse cursor.  Keep these types of games on PC, they are a chore to play on a console.  The other thing that is bad about this game is the horrible repetitive music that is constantly pumping in the background.  Game play is terrible but I do appreciate the level of 3D graphics on a 16 bit console.  Overall, I give this game a 2 out of 10.  Don't bother playing it unless you like this specific style of game. 

Vay - Sega CD Review

I played through about 3/4 of  this game.  Why not all the way you ask?  It was becoming a chore to play the game and not enjoyable anymore.  This game is very basic.  It had a Final Fantasy Mystic Quest feel throughout pretty much the entire game.  There is really nothing to explore.  The over world is pretty much linear as well as most of the dungeons.  The battle system is generic, turn based, J-RPG style (which is not always a bad thing).  It seemed like about 1/3 of the way through the game, there were a few bosses that were extremely hard to beat, and then it got super easy after that.  The game is pretty unbalanced in difficulty, which can be frustrating at times.  It also doesn't seem like there are a lot of cut scenes or voice for a CD based game.  The graphics, music, and sound seem just a bit sub par for the Sega CD.  The game play is ok.  It is typical J-RPG style game play / grinding / walking around.  Overall, I give this game a 5 out of 10.  Some people may think this is a great game and may think it deserves a much higher score.  I think it is just middle of the road and actually a bit boring.     

Arkanoid: Doh It Again - SNES Review

I guess this is part 2 of Arkanoid.  Nothing super special about this game.  It plays identical to the original Arkanoid.  Graphics do not really appear to be much better.  The only difference I can see, is that after 10 levels you fight a boss.  I don't believe the original game had bosses but I could be wrong.  Overall, I give this game a 5 out of 10 stars.  Very generic and doesn't really stand out.