Digimon World 2 Review

Author: Logan Petty

While perusing my favorite used game store a few weeks ago, I came across a great gem that holds fiscal value as well as sentimental value. It may not be as exciting as coming across a Nintendo World Championships cartridge, but it is still one worth writing about. The game in question is Digimon World 2. Online, you would be lucky to get it for $50-$60. I picked it up for a mere $8. I was ecstatic.

For those of you unfamiliar with Digimon as a whole, it started in the form of a keychain digital pet, like Tamagotchi (In fact, they were Bandai’s spin-off of Tamagotchi). The franchise got wildly popular in Japan and mildly popular in America. Most of the games produced at the time, like many Bandai products, maintain a great collector’s value. Digimon World 2 is one of the more valuable games for the PS1. So, what is the game all about?

Digimon World 2 took a different route from it’s predecessor, which had the player raise a single Digimon much the same way as he or she would on the keychain. The game did take place in a 3D world and had a storyline, but was more focused on the raising of your digital pet. In the second game, the player is a young boy who is just stepping into the role of a Guard. You choose one of three factions to join, which determines your starting partner. From here, the game becomes a dungeon crawling, turn based RPG. You can recruit other Digimon and have teams of three at a time to help you in the dungeons.

At first, your new recruits can only reach a low max level (e.g. 16). You must use DNA digivolution to raise that level cap. You are also rewarded Digivolution Points, which can affect what your Digimon will digivolve into. The digivolution process is the most difficult, and some times frustrating part of the game, but if done correctly, is quite rewarding. It is possible to go all the way to Mega form for some digimon (The fourth and final form).

Another challenge in the game is the dungeon crawl itself. The protagonist, Akira, is charged with entering Domains (the dungeons) and defeating evil Digimon. To do this, you must (obviously) reach the end of the dungeon. This is not as easy as it sounds, because your Digi-Beetle, the tank you drive around the Domains in, only has a certain amount of energy that gets depleted with every step you take. This adds limitations to exploration early on and until you upgrade your engine, could result in playing a Domain over again. These frustrations add to the addictiveness of the game. It adds challenge that many of today’s games simply lack.

If you happen across this game for a decent price, I would recommend picking it up and giving Digimon a chance. Even if you decide you do not like the game, you could make a decent profit off of this rare work.

Zelda Oracle of Ages & Oracle of Seasons Review

Author: Logan Petty

Last week's Nintendo Direct had a plethora of interesting information for retro gamers. One of the biggest buzz was about the release of a 3DS sequel to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

With all this chatter about the new game, some of you may have overlooked the news about The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons coming to Virtual Console May 30.

A few weeks ago, I picked up a hard copy of Oracle of Ages at my local used game store for $13 (about $9 cheaper than ebay would have been). I am personally more interested in the actual games than the virtual ones, but this does open up possibilities for everyone who missed them to play them this summer.

In case you just missed out on these Game Boy Color classics, I am going to give you a brief rundown on what to expect and why they are worth playing.

The first reason they are worth playing; they are Zelda games. If that’s not quite enough to convince you, these games are unique within the Zelda franchise. They are actually meant to be played together, one after the other, with no priority on which one is played first. They use a password system that gives you passwords in one game to unlock items, upgrades, and other secrets in the other game.

Once you beat either game, you are given a password that, when entered while starting a new file on the other game, will alter dialogue and events in the game to make it into a sequel to the one you just beat.

In Oracle of Ages, Link approaches the triforce in its sacred resting place. When he does, the triforce sends him to a foreign land that needs the hero’s help. In Ages, that land is Labrynna and the oracle in danger is Nayru, the Oracle of Ages. In Seasons, Link is sent to the land of Holodrum to help Din, the Oracle of Seasons.

Whichever game you play first is up to you. Seasons’ dungeons are more combat-oriented while Age's dungeons are puzzle-oriented. The games play much like the other GameBoy Zelda game, Zelda DX. Link must go through eight dungeons while gathering essences needed to stop the villain. While the format of the two games together is unique, the game play is traditional and well designed.

If you are convinced now, the Virtual Console games will be out for America May 30. You can get them for much cheaper that way. If you are like me and would rather have the original versions of the games on physical cartridges, you can check around your local used game stores. Maybe you can find them for a good price.

If not, you can get them both for around $40 on eBay. Whichever way you decide to go, I hope you give these games a try.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Hyperstone Heist Review

Author: Logan Petty

If you are an old school scholar, you have probably played or at least heard of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, but did you know it has a cousin? The turtles had a run on the Genesis at roughly the same time. The game was subtitled The Hyperstone Heist.

I came across this game on accident while going through the rows of used games at a nearby used book store. It was three dollars, and I am a huge fan of the turtles, having grown up with Turtles in Time, so I grabbed it up. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had stumbled across a hidden gem worth around $40 on Amazon and the cheapest eBay sellers offering it for $20.

Values aside, the thing that interested me the most was its uncanny resemblance to my childhood companion. As I looked over the box, I noticed a level that looked incredibly familiar. My first thought was Hey, that’s "Alley Cat Blues". Is this a port of Turtles in Time? At first glance, it is easy to wrongly assume that it is.

It is actually a different game with a different story. Sure, the story is just pasted over the same slides that start "Turtles in Time", and yeah, the character sprites, soundtrack, and animations are similar, but there are changes in the game. The biggest difference in the game is the level layout.

The levels are longer, divided into different stages before you face a boss. Despite longer levels, there are only half as many levels in the game as in its predecessor. This is well balanced however, because one thing the Genesis has over the SNES is the ability to make the game run faster at the cost of the vibrancy present in the Super Nintendo game. Because of this, characters and enemies move faster and the enemies are much less forgiving. Even though the game is shorter, the increased difficulty makes up for it.

I personally enjoyed the game despite my bias towards its older cousin. It was exciting for me to come across this game. It was like the day that you discovered there was a second Star Fox on the Super Nintendo. I was shocked that I had never heard of this game, yet I embraced it due to the legacy it was a part of. Though it did not feel as refined to me, that does not make it a bad game. I do not hold the view that it was just a Genesis knock-off, but as a separate game that throws back to its forbearers.

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D Is Awesome

I'm surrounded by tons of enemies, I can hear a chainsaw wielding man somewhere behind me, and I need to get a time bonus in 10 seconds or the level is over. My heart is pounding as I pull out a shotgun, blast a hole through the zombies, and grab the 90 second time bonus with seconds to spare. Resident Evil Mercenaries is one of the best games I have played in a long time. It is like a little adrenaline rush every time I play.

I've been playing tons of Mercenaries on the 3DS over the past two weeks and I love it. The first few tutorial levels are a bit tedious but once you get to the levels in section 4 it is nothing but thrills.

Resident Evil Mercenaries: The Basics

You choose one of the characters from previous Resident Evil games and try to get as many points as possible in a level by killing enemies. Each character has their own weapons like shotguns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles, pistols, knives, grenades, proximity mines, etc. Each level starts with two minutes and the level ends when you die or time runs out, but you can extend time by killing enemies in certain ways or getting time bonuses spread throughout the level. To advance to the next level you need a certain number of points per level.

The levels are taken from previous Resident Evil games but they are perfect. And the game is balanced very well with a low enough supply of ammo where you can't be reckless and enough enemies where you feel like you should be.

Resident Evil 3DS Multiplayer

The best part of the Mercenaries 3DS is the online multi-player. All the excitement of single player but you need to work together to get combos, heal each other, and partner-up to kill the really big enemies. For example, you'll shoot out an axe wielding monster's legs with a sniper rifle while your partner uses their machine gun to shoot the weak spot in the back.

And there are always people ready to play. I've played at 9am on a Saturday and 11pm on a Thursday and almost every time in between. I've found a partner within 10 seconds every time.