Guardians/Denjin Makai II (ARC, 1995)
Graphics-8 Sound-6.5 Control-8 Challenge-5.5/8* Story-5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-6/8* Fun-7.5** Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
*w/o credit feeding
**1-player
+
8 different playable chars
Large variety of moves for each char (context sensitive energy-using special move (punch+jump), uppercut and dash moves (hold punch then press down->up or back->front, flight dive punch attack as Zeldia (double jump then punch), running and running tackles/lunge moves, grabs and throws+pile driver, HP using breakout/smart bomb move, back attack)
Vertical/sideways dodge move
Branching paths on the hub map between levels up until the final level (choose between two at a time until level 5 so 9 levels total however each pair of levels share the same boss)
Can string some moves together for longer combos and there's a hit counter (10+ hits)
Fast and sometimes intense gameplay
Pretty good variety for the genre
Some weapon pickups (sword, grenade) and they stay until you've taken too long to pick one up (7 or so secs?)
Some interesting level design (train ride, forest level where enemies in the background cut trees to make them fall into the playing field)
Some decent bosses (some have 2 forms, final boss has 3)
Some nice level transitions and boss intros
Difficulty options (easy-very hard, up to 5 lives per credit, coin worth options)
Some silly moments like enemies hiding under barrels and running away from you
2-player coop
+/-
Respawn on the spot after using a credit (can change character at this point)
Borrows some stuff from other games (Turtles in Time (firing lines that only briefly stay on screen, barrels?, final boss' first form), Final Fight (last level, basic moveset?), SoR (elevator part?, run and dodge moves?), Girulian seems based on Cyclops and Rou might be based on Gambit from X-Men)
Shooting gallery bonus levels (easy to beat but hard to master?, short)
Some enemies can hit you while you're down but you can hit them as well with certain moves
If you use to many energy-based special moves in a row then you're stunned for a bit waiting for the meter to recharge+you lose a bit of HP (some drops in the levels also recharge it)
Few pits to throw enemies into
Moveset is only explained at the char select screen
Short first level
Standing still charges your energy/power meter
You don't instantly die from falling into pits (lose about 4 HP)
-
Level transitions happen immediately after clearing the screen so any items not picked up are lost
Some control/interface issues (it takes relatively long to get back up after being knocked down, can't aim the ranged weapon (gun for Zeldia) sideways/vertically, some delay when blocking+you stand still making it not that useful whenever the screen gets crowded, sometimes small vertical/sideways hit boxes on your moves, no separate button for picking up weapons - rarely an issue though)
Overly large and hard to read bosses at times (sea creature/boss 4, final boss)
Trial & error (bosses, some cheap attacks)
Not enough throwable barrels
Repeats a couple of bosses in the final level (first boss is also repeated once in the train level) and certain regular enemies a bunch
Kinda tedious third boss (big robot - seems best to use jump attacks from slightly below to not get hit)
A bit short (sub 40 mins if you're good which is a bit shorter than FF1 and TMNT 1 (ARC) & TMNT 4 as well as noticeably shorter than TMNT 2-3, FF 2-3, SoR 1-4, AvP, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Punisher and Fight'n Rage)
Mostly forgettable and kind of lo-fi music in mono (boss music is a bit too happy sounding and sounds like a shoot 'em up) and somewhat scratchy sfx
Overly saturated/garish colors and some slightly ugly enemy designs
Meh ending
Notes:
-Used about 10 credits (Normal/default, 1-player)
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-6/8* Fun-7.5** Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
*w/o credit feeding
**1-player
+
8 different playable chars
Large variety of moves for each char (context sensitive energy-using special move (punch+jump), uppercut and dash moves (hold punch then press down->up or back->front, flight dive punch attack as Zeldia (double jump then punch), running and running tackles/lunge moves, grabs and throws+pile driver, HP using breakout/smart bomb move, back attack)
Vertical/sideways dodge move
Branching paths on the hub map between levels up until the final level (choose between two at a time until level 5 so 9 levels total however each pair of levels share the same boss)
Can string some moves together for longer combos and there's a hit counter (10+ hits)
Fast and sometimes intense gameplay
Pretty good variety for the genre
Some weapon pickups (sword, grenade) and they stay until you've taken too long to pick one up (7 or so secs?)
Some interesting level design (train ride, forest level where enemies in the background cut trees to make them fall into the playing field)
Some decent bosses (some have 2 forms, final boss has 3)
Some nice level transitions and boss intros
Difficulty options (easy-very hard, up to 5 lives per credit, coin worth options)
Some silly moments like enemies hiding under barrels and running away from you
2-player coop
+/-
Respawn on the spot after using a credit (can change character at this point)
Borrows some stuff from other games (Turtles in Time (firing lines that only briefly stay on screen, barrels?, final boss' first form), Final Fight (last level, basic moveset?), SoR (elevator part?, run and dodge moves?), Girulian seems based on Cyclops and Rou might be based on Gambit from X-Men)
Shooting gallery bonus levels (easy to beat but hard to master?, short)
Some enemies can hit you while you're down but you can hit them as well with certain moves
If you use to many energy-based special moves in a row then you're stunned for a bit waiting for the meter to recharge+you lose a bit of HP (some drops in the levels also recharge it)
Few pits to throw enemies into
Moveset is only explained at the char select screen
Short first level
Standing still charges your energy/power meter
You don't instantly die from falling into pits (lose about 4 HP)
-
Level transitions happen immediately after clearing the screen so any items not picked up are lost
Some control/interface issues (it takes relatively long to get back up after being knocked down, can't aim the ranged weapon (gun for Zeldia) sideways/vertically, some delay when blocking+you stand still making it not that useful whenever the screen gets crowded, sometimes small vertical/sideways hit boxes on your moves, no separate button for picking up weapons - rarely an issue though)
Overly large and hard to read bosses at times (sea creature/boss 4, final boss)
Trial & error (bosses, some cheap attacks)
Not enough throwable barrels
Repeats a couple of bosses in the final level (first boss is also repeated once in the train level) and certain regular enemies a bunch
Kinda tedious third boss (big robot - seems best to use jump attacks from slightly below to not get hit)
A bit short (sub 40 mins if you're good which is a bit shorter than FF1 and TMNT 1 (ARC) & TMNT 4 as well as noticeably shorter than TMNT 2-3, FF 2-3, SoR 1-4, AvP, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Punisher and Fight'n Rage)
Mostly forgettable and kind of lo-fi music in mono (boss music is a bit too happy sounding and sounds like a shoot 'em up) and somewhat scratchy sfx
Overly saturated/garish colors and some slightly ugly enemy designs
Meh ending
Notes:
-Used about 10 credits (Normal/default, 1-player)