Throwback Thursday: Kingdom Hearts

Throwback Thursday: Kingdom Hearts

Robert Knuckles

Simple and Clean

With Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue being released a few days ago I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the game that started it all. The original Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts was released in America on Sep. 17, 2002 for the PlayStation 2. It was developed and published by SquareEnix but at the time it was called SquareSoft.

Kingdom Hearts bought a collaboration of characters from Walt Disney and Final Fantasy. I’m pretty sure everyone including myself wouldn’t imagine a combination like that.

The Story focuses on the main character Sora (who the player controls throughout the whole game) and his friends Riku and Kairi who plan to leave from their home Destiny Island to explore new worlds. One night Destiny Island was attacked by Heartless (creatures that have no heart). Sora then obtains the keyblade, a weapon that is used to fight the heartless. Sora gets separated from Riku and Kairi. At the same time when this event is happening, Donald (who is a wizard) and Goofy (who is a knight) notice that King Mickey is gone from their castle and leaves a note saying he’s going to fight the forces of darkness  and that Donald and Goofy need to find the key-blade wielder (which is Sora.) Sora ends up in Traverse Town where he meets up with Donald and Goofy. Together all three go on an adventure to not only find Riku and Kairi but to put an end to the Heartless and close all the keyholes.

The gameplay is very unique and the reason why I say unique is that SquareSoft goes away from their RPG style and into a hack and slash action role playing game in a third person style. Donald and Goofy are controlled by the A.I. Since Donald is a wizard his magic which is called MP is the highest of the group and since Goofy is a knight his health is the biggest of the cast. Players obtain experience points by defeating enemies and bosses, which can unlock more moves for longer combos, more magic, more health and so much more. What I find pretty cool is that since players can still edit Donald and Goofy’s moves although they are A.I. controlled.

On your adventure you’ll enter Disney worlds such as Halloween Town, Never-Land or Agrabah. Player’s will also team up with other Disney characters such as Aladdin, Jack Skellington, Ariel and so much more. Now you can only have a team of three so you’ll have to switch out Goofy or Donald or just play with the original three. I normally tend to take out Goofy since Donald heals everyone when they are low on health.

You’ll face Disney Villains on your adventure as well. It really felt good beating up Captain Hook, Jafar and Ursula. Many more tough boss battles await Sora and his friends.

There are tons of backtracking in this game. Since you beat a world doesn’t mean you fully beat it. There are tons of secret locations to find secret items that will come in handy in your adventure.

Kingdom Hearts is a fantastic game the only downside is that if you die at a boss fight you’ll have to re watch the whole cut-scene again. The soundtrack for this game is truly amazing. I’m pretty sure we’ve all fell in love with Simple and Clean. I honestly never get tired of hearing that song. It’s also pretty cool to see Disney characters kick some butt. Kingdom Hearts is a very long game worth every minute. If there is something this game had teached me is that the importance of being there for your friends. Kingdom Hearts is definitely a must buy if you own a PS2. Players can also play Kingdom Hearts on the PS3 with Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix. Players can also get the upcoming release of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 Remix on March 28th 2016. It contains: Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix, RE: Chain of Memories, Birth By Sleep Final Mix and cut-scenes of 358/2 Days and Re:coded.

Be sure to check out my review of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue this weekend!

Throwback Thursday: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie Sega Genesis

You know what day it is time for another Throwback Thursday. With the release of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Mega Battle recently released I thought that I talk about a similar Power Rangers game that touched my heart and that’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie for Sega Genesis.

There is also a Super-NES version of the game which played differently but we're going to focus on the Sega version of the game. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie came out for the Sega Genesis on September 1995 made by Bandai.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie is a 2 player beat em up game that focus on parts of The Film that came out on June 30 1995 with the Power Rangers saving Angel Grove from the evil Ivan Ooze. A few stages focus on the movie while the other stages focused on past events focused from the TV episodes of Power Rangers. Players can choose between the six Power Rangers each with their own special move. On the stages focusing on the Film players choose between Tommy (White Ranger), Adam (Black Ranger), Kimberly (Pink Ranger), Billy (Blue Ranger), Aisha (Yellow Ranger) and Rocky (Red Ranger). Players also have past Rangers Zach (Black Ranger), Jason (Red Ranger) and Trini (Yellow Ranger) but only play as these Rangers on past reflection stages.

Now the past stages are pretty cool. Players get to fight the Putty Patrols and familiar monsters such as the three S. Sentinels; Ear, Neck and Ring, Goldar and Lord Zedd.

Now whats a Power Rangers game without the MegaZords. MegaZord Battles are fun. Players can choose between the Ninja Megazord or Falconzord who is O.P.!!! Past Stages players can choose between the Thunder Megazord or White TigerZord.

My only grips with the game is that I believe it’s too short and skips major scenes from the movie for example the game doesn’t allow players play on Pheados. It would be cool to have the players play as the ninja rangers in the Neola Jungle and fight the Skeleton Creatures and Stone Gargoyles. Now I did say the past stages were cool but I believe they were unnecessary because they didn’t follow the movie. I think Bandai only added these stages to add more to the game because there are only three stages that focus on the film. You can pretty much beat this game in under an hour.

In the end Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie is a fun game. The soundtrack is awesome. It follows the music from the TV series. I would only recommend this game to Power Rangers fans.

Throwback Thursday Mario Party 3

Throwback Thursday Mario Party 3

I’m giving you guys more and more Throwback Thursday games. I just can’t stop. Another game that’s close to my heart is Mario Party 3 which is one of my favorite Mario Party games.

Mario Party 3 was released on May 7, 2001 on the N-64. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Wario and Donkey Kong return alongside new characters such as Princess Daisy who actually first appeared in Super Mario Land as the damsel in distress and after her first appearance in Mario Tennis she’s been in almost every Mario game. Another newcomer is Waluigi who’s Luigi’s nemesis who first appeared in Mario Tennis.

Mario Party 3 plays just like the previous two games. Four players play on game boards then play mini-games. Boards still have the classic Blue, Red, Happening, Battle, Bowser and many more but there is a new space called Game Guy space which is probably the most hated space ever and it’s my only dissapointment. Players who land on this space have to surrender all their coins to Game Guy. You’ll have to face Game Guy in a mini-game. If the player wins they get double the amount of coins but if the player loses they lose all their coins.

Now what’s a Mario Party without the mini-games. Snowball Summit is a mini-game where players build snowballs and hit players off the hill. I also love Toadstool titan where players break bricks to find the mushroom to knock players off the screen. Now one mini-game i found interesting is M.P.I.Q. This is a questionnaire mini-game that test players about their knowledge in the Mario world. Players still have 1 vs 3, 2 vs 2, Duel mini-games, Battle, Item and some secret mini-games. Now players for the first  time need to unlock mini-games. When selecting mini-games players will notice question marks which means the mini-game hasn’t been played yet. So players will always be curious to see what mini-game it is.

A new feature that Mario Party 3 are the Duel Boards. This can only be played by two players and the objective is to defeat your opponent by attacking them with their partner by depleting the opponent's health. Players use partners such as Koopa Troopa or Goomba but there are partners that have special abilities. Chain Chomp attacks opponents simultaneously. Now players have 20 turns if players are still alive during those 20 turns the player with the most health wins. I thought duel mode was pretty interesting but it didn’t appear in any other Mario Party games after 3.

Mario Party 3 features  Story Mode a first in the series. Now you can only play as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario and Donkey Kong. They all want the Millennium Star now I don’t want to get to get too much into the story but I’ll give small details. Player has to win on each of the  game boards and get a star stamp. Now players will also have to duel it out against other characters in the game to get their stamps and there will be one final battle for the player to win and get the Millennium Star. I thought it was pretty cool to have a Story Mode in a Mario Party game. I believe that Nintendo wanted to do something different and they probably took a risk by adding this mode but it was worth it.

Now you still have the mini-game room where you can pick out which mini-game you want to play but like I said before you have to unlock them first in order to play them.

In the end Mario Party 3 touched my heart as a kid. I remember getting the game like it was yesterday. I liked the new addition of characters, the mini-games are fun, Story is a blast to play and Duel mode is fun. My only grip with the game is the Game Guy space. It’s completely unnecessary. I sometimes don’t even blame the players for wanting to reset the game for losing against the Game Guy maybe it’s salty but just that space alone is my only negative thing about this game. Now it is hard to find this game in a store or find a cheap price online. Players can download this as an emulator but I really want this game to be on the Wii U virtual console. I’m just waiting….

Throwback Thursday Guilty Gear Isuka

Time for another Throwback Thursday game and last week I talked about Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator but this time I’m going to talk about a Guilty Gear game that got me into the series and that’s Guilty Gear Isuka.

Guilty Gear Isuka was released in Japanese arcades on Dec. 17 2003, then it was released on the PS2 in America on Nov. 2, 2004.

Now granted Isuka is probably not the favorite of the series and I wouldn’t blame them. Now Isuka plays similar to other Guilty Gear with couple BIG differences. One of the huge features is that there’s a turn button meaning that the character doesn’t automatically turn when their opponent goes to the other side which I don’t understand why they would do that. Another new feature is the four player battle. I think for the first time in a 2D fighting four players can play at once whether it’s a battle royale or team battle. Now you did have Capcom’s Street Fighter Alpha 3 with it’s dynamic mode but I don’t believe four players can play on that mode. In four player battle royale players can also change positions by moving from the front to the back or back to the front. I can see why they added that feature because players sometimes might not want to get in the way of their teammates.

Another new feature or mode Isuka introduced is Boost Mode. Boost Mode is a beat’em up side scroller adventure up to two players fight spawn of enemies and fight a Robo-Ky. By playing Boost Mode players can obtain points to use it for the new factory Robo-Ky where players can edit a Robo-Ky giving him moves, combos, attack, defense and so much more.

Now Guilty Gear Isuka is a mixed reviewed game and I understand both sides. Like i said before this was the first game that got me into the series so it holds a special place in my heart. I fell in love with the characters. My favorites were and still are Ky Kiske, Millia Rage and Jam Kuradoberi. The music in this game is incredible as well. Now would I prefer this game if you want players to get into the Guilty Gear series? It’s a tough question to answer because everyone has their own opinion. In the end I believe Guilty Gear Isuka is an okay game. My biggest issue and probably everyone’s issue is the turn button. If the turn button was gone this game would probably be a better reviewed game.

Throwback Thursday Streets of Rage

Streets of Rage Series

Were back with another classic game but instead of talking about a game we're going to be talking about a series and that’s Streets of Rage.

Streets of Rage is a classic beat-em up game that was published and developed by Sega that was released for the Sega Genesis in 1991. It was a response to Capcom’s beat-em Final Fight.

Streets of Rage focus on heroes Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding and many other friends saving their city from the evil Mr. X and his crime syndicate.

There were three Streets of Rage that Sega Developed and were going to talk about each one.

Streets of Rage 1 was released on August 2 1991. The story focus on three young cops Axel Stone the Well-Rounded Fighter, Blaze Fielding the fast fighter and Adam the heavy hitter risk their lives to save the city from the evil Mr. X.

Just like any other beat-em up players can either choose to play alone or play with a friend where they scroll through levels beating up enemies until they reach towards the end of the level and fight a boss. Players can also pick up weapons such as pipes and knives to attack enemies. A unique feature that Streets of Rage has is that players can call help the police to help them out. The police drive by using a rocket launcher blasting and killing enemies and giving bosses huge damage. Another unique feature are the different endings. When the player is about to fight Mr. X the player is giving a choice whether to join his syndicate or not. Of course there is a good ending where peace is restored to the city but there is also a bad ending when the player becomes head of the crime syndicate.

The famous Streets of Rage 2 was released on December 20 1992. The story continues where the first one ended. Peace is restored to city but is short lived when Mr. X comes back but not only is he back but he has captured Adam. Axel and Blaze go out on a rescue mission and alongside are two new characters Skate who is Adam's younger brother. He’s a fast character but has low power. Plus Skate is the only character that can run. Another new character is Max. He is a professional wrestler and Axel's friend. He's a very strong character but among the slowest of the cast. The gameplay is follows its predecessor with longer levels  but the ability the call cops has been removed and has been replaced by special attacks that the cast can use but drains a bit of their health so players will have to use it wisely.

Now Streets of Rage 3 probably has to be the hardest of the series. It was released March 17 1994. The story is a bit more depth. Mr. X has been defeated once again by the young cops but he has returned again and started company called RoboCy Corporation. He gets Dr. Dahm to design robots to replace the original city officials and start a robot army. New character to the series Dr. Zan a robot part of the Corporation has seen the evil ways and decides to contact Blaze to tell her what the syndicate is doing. Blaze contacts Axel and Adam. Axel joins but Adam couldn’t because he’s on another assignment but he sends Skate to help them out. The gameplay is just like it’s predecessor but a couple of new changes. Streets of Rage 3 is more fast paced. Players can now run and can do running attacks. Also new is the power meter. Players still have the ability to use their special but with the meter players now have the option to either use their special move before the meter is filled and the health is drained but if they use their special attacks with a full bar of meter it won’t drain their health. Players can still use weapons but each character has a special unique attacks for certain weapons but new character Dr. Zan uses an energy ball instead of a weapon.

Streets of Rage 3 features multiple endings that depends on the players completing tasks in a certain amount of time and I want to give players a heads up. If you plan to beat this game do it on Normal or higher because if you play it on easy at the end of level 5 the game will tell you to beat it on a higher level.

The Streets of Rage series continues to be one of Sega's greatest games and is still played to this day. The music for each of these games is amazing and they have their own soundtrack. It reminds me of the good old days. I recommend this game for all gamers. Players can download these games on the Virtual console, Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Network or can play it by purchasing Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection on the PS3 and Xbox 360.