Lord Spencer's Gaming (and other stuff) Blog

In the 70 to 61 places in Retro Sanctuary's 100 Saturn Games , the site once again selected 10 games from various genres, a few of which were actually Saturn exclusives. That doesn't matter really, as the games are starting to get marginally better from the last 30 games. At least, in Mega Man 8 , we have a seriously good game. As usual, the sports games are relics of the past (and that's fine), and there are several Japan-exclusive games. Note that Iron Storm looks like it is an excellent strategy game. However, I could not figure out exactly how to play it, since there were no tutorials at all. Based on that, the two games that I reviewed in detail are Mega Man 8 and Herc's Adventure .

Like Mega Man 7 before it, Mega Man 8 finds itself in a weird place as a follow-up to the classic series; at the same time, the Mega Man X sub-series is going strong, with the release of the excellent Mega Man X4 in the same year. As such, Capcom strangely seemed to push through two Action Platforming Mega Man games at the same time. Many saw that this game, which is much simpler than the flashier X4 , wasn't worth it. However, taking the game without comparison to others in the series, this just shows how the franchise simply edged anything else competing with it in the genre at the time. 69: Mega Man 8: Year: 1997. Genre: Action Platformer. Publisher: Capcom. Developer: Capcom.

Past the halfway mark in Retro Sanctuary's Top 100 PlayStation 1 Games list and we are supposedly going to get to the good stuff. This appears to mostly be the case despite Tomb Raider polluting the list (it deserves a place on reputation alone despite aging like milk). Weirdly in this list of 10 (and supplements), there are two Shmups, with one of them deserving its place on the PS1 while the other is just better on the Sega Saturn. Other than that, we have some great games such as Valkyrie Profile and Dino Crisis 2 along with strong and interesting titles like Silent Bomber and Devil Dice . Capcom features on the list twice, with the best Mega Man game on the console, as well as yet another fighter, and JRPGs are represented by Atlus's then-fledgling Persona series. Overall, this is a strong choice, and it's indicative of the strength of the console's library that its top 50 game list shouldn't have any weaknesses. Of course, I expect Retro Sanctuary's ...

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.