Lord Spencer's Gaming (and other stuff) Blog

The original Mega Man Legends game introduced fans to a charming world that strongly evoked Saturday Morning cartoons and anime, and that unique charm earned it a deserved fandom despite its gameplay shortcomings. One of the biggest charming points of that game was the mischievous Bonne Sky Pirates family, with the middle sister, Tron Bonne, becoming an instant classic character along with the yellow Lego-like minions, the Servebots. Recognizing the potential of these characters, Capcom made a complete spin-off starring the Bonne Family and their small army of Servebots, anchoring the whole thing on their charm. Unsurprisingly, to anyone who played games in the series, that charm is strong enough to pull the game beyond its modest gameplay elements into something truly special and worth playing. #A52: The Misadventures of Tron Bonne:- Year: 1999. Genre: Action Adventure, Puzzles, Mini-Games. Publisher: Capcom. Developer: Capcom. "Loath's men... They said that if we can't ...

The first Mega Man Legends game had a unique charm that made it a cult favorite despite what I consider to be some significant flaws and limitations. It looks like it was just a dress rehearsal for Capcom, though, as the second Legends game managed to correct almost all of those flaws, greatly advance the game's formula, and still retain much of its charm. While not a perfect game, far from it, Mega Man Legends 2 is a flawed masterpiece that encompasses the full meaning of this designation. It's a massive shame that we may never get the third game in this sub-franchise #A53: Mega Man Legends 2:- Year: 2000. Genre: Action Adventure. Publisher: Capcom. Developer: Capcom.

I think it's weird how much people like Mega Man Legends . Objectively, I don't think it excels in any one thing that it does. It has charming graphics that are constrained by technical limitations. A well-realized world that is absurdly small in scope. Good gameplay ideas that become repetitive and boring on closer scrutiny. Yet, it combines all these partially flawed systems into a passionate package that manages to charm despite itself. It manages to evoke some special feeling that I think has stuck with fans of the game since its release and grew with its sequel and the unrealized hopes of a third game. Mega Man Legends managed to become a truly legendary game. #A53(S): Mega Man Legends:- Year: 1997, 1998. Genre: Action Adventure. Publisher: Capcom. Developer: Capcom.

Brigandine is one of the few late 90s games that attempted to combine the Grand Strategy genre with Tactical RPGs. Oddly, all of those games, like Dragon Force on the Sega Saturn, feature a similar anime-inspired character design and story that recalled some of the classic medieval setting anime shows of the '80s. That retro look at a time where "futuristic" and "realistic" trends were all the rage may have contributed to their relative obscurity, but their undoubted quality led to some of them being cult hits. I am glad to say that Brigandine on the PS1, in all of its versions, certainly has the quality and pedigree to deserve its cult-favorite status. This is a really good game. #A55: Brigandine:- Year: 1998, 2000. Genre: Strategy & Tactical RPG. Publisher: Hearty Robin, Atlus. Developer: Hearty Robin.

Incredible Crisis may be one of the weirdest games released on the PS1. In fact, it may be one of the first games to showcase a typical brand of Japanese humor and wackiness that would later be replicated by games such as Captain Rainbow, Rhythm Heaven Fever , and the WarioWare series. Like those games, this is basically a collection of small Action, Rhythm, and Puzzle mini-games presented in a wacky exterior with a wacky story. Thanks to its excellent music, character design, and art direction, the game ends up being better than the sum of its parts and worth playing despite the weakness of some of its mini-games. #A56: Incredible Crisis:- Year: 1999, 2000. Genre: Mini-Game Collection, Action. Publisher: Tokuma Shoten, Titus Interactive. Developer: Polygon Magic.

Not having RPG games of its own, Activision in the 1990s attempted to latch onto any obscure RPG properties from Japan and support localizing them. Surprisingly, these localization efforts were highly competent but were honestly mostly wasted on mediocre games. It might seem a bit harsh to call Guardian's Crusade a mediocre game, but in a way, it is designed that way. This is a JRPG that is designed to be a person's first JRPG, and as such, it is basic in its mechanics, story, style, and difficulty. Unsurprisingly, for any experienced player, the result is a simply boring game. #A58: Guardian's Crusade:- Year: 1998, 1999. Genre: Turn-Based RPG. Publisher: Tamsoft, Activision. Developer: Tamsoft.