HG101 2024 Game Finish Challenge
Sept 14, 2024 7:07:11 GMT -5
Post by spanky on Sept 14, 2024 7:07:11 GMT -5
Shadow of the Ninja Reborn
Tengo Project's latest remake of an old Natsume game. I really like their work - the games always look and play phenomenally. I've always described their 16-bit remakes as not really looking like 16-bit games but rather how they looked in your head as a kid as you pored over screenshots in a magazine or saw 2 second gameplay clip in a TV commercial - larger than life and brimming with detail.
Shadow however, is actually a remake of an 8-bit game. This actually gives Tengo a lot more room to expand and be creative. There was initially some flak about the sort of cartoony designs of the two main characters but the only place you notice it is on the title screen. They look fine in-game.
I don't consume a lot of game reviews nowadays but I have seen some complaints about the controls. There is a slight delay before running and jumping but this feels very deliberately designed. It never feels unfair. The overally gameplay has been heavily expanded. You can now run up walls, hang off ledges and even do a mid air spin move to gain a little distance and altitude on your jumps. There is an honestly gigantic arrary of secondary weapons and items you can pick up. If you make it to the end of any level with these still in your inventory, they are added to a shop and you can "buy" them before each run. Honestly starting from the very beginning of the game with these items isn't THAT useful, it would be nice if you could just visit the shop between each mission but maybe they thought that would make the game too easy.
And the game is tough, but each level has checkpoints, including one at the boss, and the game will give you a few extra items if you continue enough. Yeah I died a lot but I managed to make it just a bit further with each attempt, which is pitch perfect design.
If I had one substantial complaint about the game is that setting up the Continue feature is sort of obtuse. Turning off your game mid-run will start you from the very beginning. To pick things up later, you have to die and select Quit at the Game Over screen to save your place. This feels like some sort of throwback to old school game design but I found it kind of annoying and I had to do several runs from the beginning of the game before I figured this out (my kids are always changing my games on my Switch). Can't wait for the next one! 8/10.
Tengo Project's latest remake of an old Natsume game. I really like their work - the games always look and play phenomenally. I've always described their 16-bit remakes as not really looking like 16-bit games but rather how they looked in your head as a kid as you pored over screenshots in a magazine or saw 2 second gameplay clip in a TV commercial - larger than life and brimming with detail.
Shadow however, is actually a remake of an 8-bit game. This actually gives Tengo a lot more room to expand and be creative. There was initially some flak about the sort of cartoony designs of the two main characters but the only place you notice it is on the title screen. They look fine in-game.
I don't consume a lot of game reviews nowadays but I have seen some complaints about the controls. There is a slight delay before running and jumping but this feels very deliberately designed. It never feels unfair. The overally gameplay has been heavily expanded. You can now run up walls, hang off ledges and even do a mid air spin move to gain a little distance and altitude on your jumps. There is an honestly gigantic arrary of secondary weapons and items you can pick up. If you make it to the end of any level with these still in your inventory, they are added to a shop and you can "buy" them before each run. Honestly starting from the very beginning of the game with these items isn't THAT useful, it would be nice if you could just visit the shop between each mission but maybe they thought that would make the game too easy.
And the game is tough, but each level has checkpoints, including one at the boss, and the game will give you a few extra items if you continue enough. Yeah I died a lot but I managed to make it just a bit further with each attempt, which is pitch perfect design.
If I had one substantial complaint about the game is that setting up the Continue feature is sort of obtuse. Turning off your game mid-run will start you from the very beginning. To pick things up later, you have to die and select Quit at the Game Over screen to save your place. This feels like some sort of throwback to old school game design but I found it kind of annoying and I had to do several runs from the beginning of the game before I figured this out (my kids are always changing my games on my Switch). Can't wait for the next one! 8/10.