PS2 Sega Ages

[Shellshock]

Man I played Penguin Land so much on my Argentine MSX when I was younger... I also had Konami's Antartic Adventure and used to think they were somehow related. Good times.

Regarding Golden Axe, I agree to disagree. We can't all have the same opinions.

[aggroger]

admin said:

I stand by my Golden Axe line though. I'm a huge Sega fan in general, but both of those games were more about BIG THINGS GO SMASH then them actually being decent games or anything.

I totally agree;Golden Axe and Altered Beast although sporting great graphics are nothing to write home about gameplaywise.
Moreover,I can't stand the abuse of colour cycling in Golden Axe and the fact there aren't actual differences between the various types of enemies.

[vysethebold]

I for one hate Altered Beast today. Golden Axe is a bit more playable but still not as good as some other beamups that I'd rather be playing.

[ahnslaught]

Of the many, many flaws in Altered Beast, the one I hate the most is how you kick up when you crouch. What the hell!

[Shellshock]

ahnslaught said:

Of the many, many flaws in Altered Beast, the one I hate the most is how you kick up when you crouch. What the hell!

That's not a flaw. That kick repels flying enemies and jumping "toads". If you want a low hit use Down + Punch.
The game has only 2 true faults: its controls and its cheap difficulty (which in part stems from the crappy controls). It was quite difficult, but I finished it on one quarter a couple of times, unlike Golden Axe which is a 25-cent guaranteed play-thru.

[ahnslaught]

sh3llsh0ck said:

That's not a flaw. That kick repels flying enemies and jumping "toads". If you want a low hit use Down + Punch.
The game has only 2 true faults: its controls and its cheap difficulty (which in part stems from the crappy controls). It was quite difficult, but I finished it on one quarter a couple of times, unlike Golden Axe which is a 25-cent guaranteed play-thru.

Wait, so you think pushing down to hit something above you was normal? It was about the most unnatural thing I've seen in video games at that time, and only served to add to the frustration of the game.

[Shellshock]

ahnslaught said:

Wait, so you think pushing down to hit something above you was normal? It was about the most unnatural thing I've seen in video games at that time, and only served to add to the frustration of the game.

Uncommon back then? Yes. Awkward command? Definitely. Useless kick? Could be. But that's about the only thing you have to remember about the command. And I'm sure if your head can retain how to execute Terry's "Power Geiser" you'll have no problem remembering that "Down + Kick" hits up. Just ask Ryu what "Down + Punch" means to him.

Uncommon during the 90's? Not at all. I challenge you to find a single fighting game that doesn't have such a command.

[ahnslaught]

Hold on, first you yourself criticize the controls of the game along with everyone else, but now you decide to defend this one crazy control scheme? Where's this coming from? Just feel like making arguments for arguments' sake?

Comparisons with fighting games are invalid. Fighting games commonly use button combinations to create special attacks, and we're already conditioned to the convention where pressing up will cause you to jump. Not so in Altered Beast, which is a plain and very, very simple beat 'em up with a separate jump button. This leaves the up direction unused, which could easily deal with above attacks, for example.

[Shellshock]

ahnslaught said:

Hold on, first you yourself criticize the controls of the game along with everyone else, but now you decide to defend this one crazy control scheme? Where's this coming from? Just feel like making arguments for arguments' sake?

Comparisons with fighting games are invalid. Fighting games commonly use button combinations to create special attacks, and we're already conditioned to the convention where pressing up will cause you to jump. Not so in Altered Beast, which is a plain and very, very simple beat 'em up with a separate jump button. This leaves the up direction unused, which could easily deal with above attacks, for example.

I critize the responsiveness of the controls. It is awful. The character is slow, the collision detection is bad, and bouncing back when getting hit ala Castlevania can result in cheap combos when the CPU surrounds you. What I'm defending though is the fact that although awkward, pushing Down + Kick to hit up is a very simple command to remember, and it can be useful in some situations. It does not count as one of the (many) game's faults.
And yes, you do have a point about the invalidity of a comparison to fighting games.

[ahnslaught]

Ah hell, let's just agree that the game sucks ass and move on. I can't believe I gave this crap as much thought as I did! Who in blazes thought it was cool to turn you into a bear, anyway?

[vysethebold]

I wish I could turn into a bear. Nobody'd mess with that shit.

[Shellshock]

Don't mock the bear. It's a bear that jumps around as a fluffy ball and emits petrifying burps.
How about the fact that they couldn't come up with a cool beast to transform into on the last level and had to palette swap the wolf?? Cheap.

[ahnslaught]

Yeah, but he was pure gold...kinda like gold Sonic, but just without any of the flair, distinguishing personality, or fond memories.

Come to think of it, didn't Tekken basically rip off the tigerman form with King?

[dartagnan1803]

Tekken essentially took VF and added style over substance.
With realistically designed characters doning and doing anime inspired things.

KING (if I remember correctly) was an ex drug dealer that wanted to reform and donned the tiger mask as a form of pennance. This would later include gaudy art design and a finicky move-list (probably the only other rippoff from Altered Beast aside from the face :mrgreen: ). He was not a powered form for one of Zeus' pawns, just some guilt tripper with a stupid mask. . .which is much better than a guy with a tall cylindrical haircut.

[Shellshock]

and since this thread is going nowhere, let me say that I don't know how people like VF and its shady physics. Tekken and Soulcalibur did it all better.
And how about an E-Swat article? That's another cool Sega title from the times of Altered Beast and Golden Axe.