Deae Tonosama Appare Ichiban (SNES, 1995)
Graphics-8 Sound-7.5 Control-7 Challenge-6.5*
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7* Fun-7* Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
*1-player
+
2-player co-op
Two different characters to choose from
Dodge/dash move (clunky to use though due to a long cooldown time and pause near the end of it)
Transform into a body builder (apparently your father's spirit)
Full of national/continental stereotypes from a Japanese perspective
Travel across Japan/Europe/Asia in medieval times
Very good enemy variety
Expressive characters
Mini-bosses
Gremlins 2/Pocky & Rocky style gameplay
Minor combo moves (fan shot, two different fireball shots, spin attack - no explanation on how to pull them off?)
Choose your own path on a world map (see Mega Man, Thunder Force III, Super Mario World)
Comical (slap stick, quirky, stereotypes)
Save and ride on dolphins
Good art direction overall
Difficulty options (no. of lives and hit points only?)
Four different smart bomb/magic attacks to choose from
Some large and fairly detailed sprites
Respawn on the spot with same percentage and no. of scrolls
+/-
You can easily backtrack and farm items from respawning enemies (you can manually scroll the level backwards in most areas)
Unlimited continues? (restart the current stage from the beginning, lose scrolls and percentages)
No enemy drops if you kill them with magic (or just the water magic?)
Playable 'queer' characters (the game makes fun of them in a childish way though)
Unlock bonus stages (the riceball one sucks though)
Can't carry more than four magic scrolls
Somewhat homoerotic (transformation poses, splash screen after beating a stage while transformed)
Limited energy when transformed (every action except posing costs energy and the percentage meter also replaces your HP until it reaches zero, the meter can be increased in the posing bonus stage)
Invincibility when posing (useless?)
Can't change magic elemental or character until you've used a credit or entered the next chapter of the game
The European prince character is the weaker of the two in 1-player (slow rate of fire)
You can only move diagonally (not shoot/punch)
Get knocked over from bosses magic attacks
Boss HP is not shown but they do blink when low on health
-
Slowdown (pretty heavy even in 1-player)
Sometimes sloppy hit detection (platforming and dolphin sequences, guru laser, some bosses)
Trial & error (dolphin ride, boss patterns, fast attacks from all sides)
Uneven difficulty (your body builder form is way too strong against bosses, safe spots against some enemies and mini-bosses, tedious platform sequence in the China stage)
Limited body builder form (can't use magic attacks, no combos?)
The music track that plays when transformed is kind of annoying
Annoying pauses after transforming back into normal form and after defeating bosses
Somewhat slow menu transitions
Double fireball and spin attack are kind of inefficient to use (odd firing pattern and small area of effect, respectively)
Somewhat loose scrolling (rarely becomes a problem though)
Very frustrating end boss (nearly undodgeable attacks) if you're not transformed
Notes:
-Explanations and let's play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alHuKxWWQPc, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mopb6iFbgQs
-Combo moves:
L, R, B, F, Fire - Lord double fireball
B, F, Fire - Lord Spin attack
Hold Fire, then release - Lord Fan attack
F, B, semi-circle to F, Jump - Best Prince attack
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7* Fun-7* Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
*1-player
+
2-player co-op
Two different characters to choose from
Dodge/dash move (clunky to use though due to a long cooldown time and pause near the end of it)
Transform into a body builder (apparently your father's spirit)
Full of national/continental stereotypes from a Japanese perspective
Travel across Japan/Europe/Asia in medieval times
Very good enemy variety
Expressive characters
Mini-bosses
Gremlins 2/Pocky & Rocky style gameplay
Minor combo moves (fan shot, two different fireball shots, spin attack - no explanation on how to pull them off?)
Choose your own path on a world map (see Mega Man, Thunder Force III, Super Mario World)
Comical (slap stick, quirky, stereotypes)
Save and ride on dolphins
Good art direction overall
Difficulty options (no. of lives and hit points only?)
Four different smart bomb/magic attacks to choose from
Some large and fairly detailed sprites
Respawn on the spot with same percentage and no. of scrolls
+/-
You can easily backtrack and farm items from respawning enemies (you can manually scroll the level backwards in most areas)
Unlimited continues? (restart the current stage from the beginning, lose scrolls and percentages)
No enemy drops if you kill them with magic (or just the water magic?)
Playable 'queer' characters (the game makes fun of them in a childish way though)
Unlock bonus stages (the riceball one sucks though)
Can't carry more than four magic scrolls
Somewhat homoerotic (transformation poses, splash screen after beating a stage while transformed)
Limited energy when transformed (every action except posing costs energy and the percentage meter also replaces your HP until it reaches zero, the meter can be increased in the posing bonus stage)
Invincibility when posing (useless?)
Can't change magic elemental or character until you've used a credit or entered the next chapter of the game
The European prince character is the weaker of the two in 1-player (slow rate of fire)
You can only move diagonally (not shoot/punch)
Get knocked over from bosses magic attacks
Boss HP is not shown but they do blink when low on health
-
Slowdown (pretty heavy even in 1-player)
Sometimes sloppy hit detection (platforming and dolphin sequences, guru laser, some bosses)
Trial & error (dolphin ride, boss patterns, fast attacks from all sides)
Uneven difficulty (your body builder form is way too strong against bosses, safe spots against some enemies and mini-bosses, tedious platform sequence in the China stage)
Limited body builder form (can't use magic attacks, no combos?)
The music track that plays when transformed is kind of annoying
Annoying pauses after transforming back into normal form and after defeating bosses
Somewhat slow menu transitions
Double fireball and spin attack are kind of inefficient to use (odd firing pattern and small area of effect, respectively)
Somewhat loose scrolling (rarely becomes a problem though)
Very frustrating end boss (nearly undodgeable attacks) if you're not transformed
Notes:
-Explanations and let's play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alHuKxWWQPc, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mopb6iFbgQs
-Combo moves:
L, R, B, F, Fire - Lord double fireball
B, F, Fire - Lord Spin attack
Hold Fire, then release - Lord Fan attack
F, B, semi-circle to F, Jump - Best Prince attack