Lord Spencer's Gaming (and other stuff) Blog

In what's probably a first, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is the first Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki film to specifically target the young children demographic, and this is represented by the five-year-old age of the two main characters, Ponyo and Sosuke. True to the brilliance of the studio, the movie still speaks to all other demographics despite its focus on children. One aspect of starring such young characters is apparent in the movie’s almost primal nature. Ponyo, the magical fish who causes an environmental catastrophe to become a human and live among them, and Sosuke, the simple boy whose uncorrupted goodness allows him to become fast friends with this magical creature, are not complicated by any other thoughts other than their pure desire. As much as they enjoy the tea that Sosuke’s mom prepares for them, they enjoy each point of life in the same innocent manner. Similarly, the environment around them is showcased with such primal beauty by Miyazaki and his artists, wh...

Going down the Retro Sanctuary list into the top 90-81 games , we are seeing many rather forgettable platformers like Rolo to the Rescue  and Zoro the Kamikaze Squirrel , but we are also seeing some rather solid Shmups and Beat 'em Up. Unsurprisingly, two of the games on this list of 10 have better ports on the SNES, which is something we will unfortunately find down the list as well. With that being said, here is a quick report on each game on this list. Please enjoy:- 90- ESWAT: City Under Siege (1990):   Genre: Run & Gun. Publisher: Sega; Developer: Sega. Shooters in the 16-bit generation are a dime a dozen. First, we have the top-class tier like Contra and Metal Slug , then we get all the rest. ESWAT is one of the earliest 16-bit shooters, and as such, was not compared to the great advances those two series made to the genre, nor was it able to learn from them. Even though this game is actually a fairly capable shooter, it could have been much better if not for a ...

Although the first Medal of Honor game was an important milestone in the development of FPS games, it did have some irksome issues that make playing it again a bit of a slog. As its sequel, MoH: Underground resolved a lot of those issues, making it possibly the best FPS game on the PS1. That's not to say the game is perfect, since the genre hasn't yet matured in many aspects, and the PS1's technology remained a limiting factor for the development team's vision. #20: Medal of Honor: Underground:- Year: 2000. Genre: First-Person Shooter. Publisher: EA. Developer: DreamWorks Interactive.                    

As an action platformer, Alisia Dragoon suffers from its gameplay limitations. However, in general, its aesthetic and overall experience make it a good game. Not without its problems, this is a game that is worth the plunge despite its shortcomings. R1: Alisia Dragoon:- Year: 1992. Genre: Action Platformer. Publisher: General Arts. Developer: General Arts, Gainx 

General Chaos is probably one of the Genesis's most unique games, and probably the only one of its genre. It's a Real-Time Tactics game that involves commanding one squad of units in a battle against another squad. A unique gem in the system, everything is great in the game, apart from it being as short as a tech demo . 89: General Chaos:- Year: 1994. Genre: Real-Time Tactics. Publisher: EA. Developer: Game Refuge Inc.

Shooters in the 16-bit generation are a dime a dozen. First, we have the top-class tier like Contra and Metal Slug , then we get all the rest. ESWAT is one of the earliest 16-bit shooters, and as such, was not compared to the great advances those two series made to the genre, nor was it able to learn from them. Even though this game is actually a fairly capable shooter, it could have been much better if not for a few serious shortcomings. 90: ESWAT: City Under Siege:- Year: 1990. Genre: Shooter. Publisher: Sega. Developer: Sega.