Lord Spencer's Gaming (and other stuff) Blog

To compete against Nintendo in the console wars, Sega made the conscious decision to make in-house games with as many varied genres as possible. That became even more important as Nintendo dominated in 3rd party support. The huge success of the first Dragon Warrior game in 1986 on the NES probably spurred Sega into making their own RPG franchise, which they obliged with the first Phantasy Star in 1987. However, Square’s subsequent success with Final Fantasy in the same year meant Sega could not rest on a single game, and so an RPG franchise was born. With both competitor franchises being based on a fantasy setting, Sega decided to look at the stars instead, and the Phantasy Star franchise became one of the first (and one of the most important) sci-fi RPGs of its age. Still, with its dedicated fanbase and consistent critical and commercial sales, Sega decided to retire the series after the release of the fourth game, in perhaps another strange decision in their string of mid-90s ter...

In their quest to dominate the console market, Sony pushed to build a massive genre-spanning library that could hold the console on its own, with JRPGs naturally being an important pillar of that library. While Sony published more famous JRPGs such as Wild Arms and The Legend of Dragoon, Legend of Legaia shouldn't be casually forgotten. Thanks to its unique fighting-game-inspired combat system and rather impactful story, the game manages to make one hell of an initial impression despite some dated visuals. However, what starts as a promising premise soon starts creaking under the weight of its content, so much that you are too glad when the credits roll. #A9: Legend of Legaia:- Year: 1998, 1999. Genre: JRPG. Publisher: Sony. Developer: Prokion.

Similar to how I played the original Resident Evil 2 after I played the modern remake, I played Resident Evil 3: Nemesis after I played its own modern remake. While I absolutely loved the remake of the second game, I was indifferent to the remake of the 3rd. Naturally, that experience was in my mind as I played both original games, expecting to like the second more than the third. Unsurprisingly, that's exactly what happened. While both games are very different from their eventual remakes, you can see how each game's different character had a major influence on how those were developed. In the case of RE3 , it attempted to increase the prevalence of action in the gameplay and reduce the puzzle elements the series was famous for by that time. Ironically, while that approach had a major negative impact on my enjoyment of Resident Evil 3 Remake , it didn't have as much of an impact when comparing the original games to each other, even if the third game is a bit of a downgrad...

During the 16-bit console wars, the Phantasy Star series was the Genesis answer to the various excellent RPGs of the SNES, and it was fighting a mostly lonely battle on its own. Phantasy Star II was a good game but with a significantly dated design, and PSIII had great ideas, but its execution was a little off. Only with Phantasy Star IV does the Genesis have an RPG that can stand toe to toe with the SNES greats. It manages to fix most of the issues plaguing the two games before it, while also improving in all other areas. 2: Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium:- Year: 1995. Genre: JRPG. Publisher: Sega. Developer: Sega.  

Before there was Senran Kagura , before there was Dead or Alive , before Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball was even a speck of a thought, there was Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel. Actually, that's not exactly fair. While women's wrestling outside of the Olympic sport was specifically conceived for its titillation factor, it had the mixture of sport and realism to maybe make a game that isn't only focused on the sexual aspect. Ringside Angel , probably due to the lack of graphical ability of the time, is that game. R3: Cuties Suzuki no Ringside Angel:- Year: 1990. Genre: Wrestling. Publisher: Asmik Corporation. Developer: Copya System Ltd.  

I must confess that I wasn't a big fan of Treasure's other games on the Genesis. Alien Soldier was definitely a solid shooter, but it was too chaotic and hard to follow, and the less said about Light Crusader , the better. I am also not a big fan of the Run & Gun genre, finding it too limited and repetitive for great games to come out of it. Which is why it is doubly surprising that I managed to enjoy Gunstar Heroes so much, proving that this game is a pinnacle for both the console and the genre. 3: Gunstar Heroes:- Year: 1993. Genre: Run & Gun. Publisher: Sega. Developer: Treasure.