Lord Spencer's Gaming (and other stuff) Blog

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.  

Made by one of the early stars of Sega's development teams, Landstalker was Sega's answer to the Legend of Zelda . The fact that nearly the only similarity between the two is that it stars a blonde elf is a significant positive for Landstalker . For better or worse, Landstalker is not a middling Zelda clone. It confidently goes forward as its own thing, warts and all. 5: Landstalker:- Year: 1993. Genre: Action-Adventure. Publisher: Sega. Developer: Climax Entertainment.  

Contra: Hard Corps is what happens when a series well known for its arcade-style roots evolves into a full-fledged console title. This is not your simple Contra Run & Gun game; it's the basic popular formula, with some of the best production values in the Genesis library. And that's a big reason why Hard Corps may be both the best Contra game and the best Run & Gun on the system. 10: Contra: Hard Corps:- Year: 1994. Genre: Run & Gun. Publisher: Konami. Developer: Konami.