What a pleasant surprise this game was! I generally stick to arcade beat'em ups over their console counterparts, but this game has so many traits of the late 1980's and 90's games that I love.
First, I really appreciate that the game takes less than 35 minutes to beat. As good as newer games like Streets of Rage 4 look, a time commitment of an hour (or more) to clear is a big ask for me personally.
While the game is easier than most arcade beat'em ups, the reason for that is due to the number of lives you get. On default difficulty (which is "Hard"), the game gives you 5 lives. You can also get 1 extra life per level, if you know where on the stage it's hidden. However, the game will also kill you off quickly and let you know when you've messed up. Getting hit just a few times from some bosses or groups of enemies is enough to wipe out your entire lifebar.
The developer definitely did a great job of balancing the gameplay with a great Super meter system. The common risk / reward situation of "do I supermove here, or try to conserve life and get out of a potentially bad position without it?" is tuned to perfection. Once you fill the Super meter, you're granted a "free" Supermove attack that covers 360 degrees around you - it won't reduce your lifebar. But, each character's Special Move (Clarie's is Ultrasonic Burts, which looks like a hadoken) will deplete that same meter when used. In many situations, you won't have a full Super meter to get the Supermove without the lifebar penalty, so you'll have to choose wisely when to use them.
I picked this up during the Steam sale last week, and loved it so much I also got it for the Switch so I could play it in bed. Two thumbs way up...when's Final Vendetta 2 coming?
Thank you for watching!
#longplay #retrogaming #beatemup
25 мар 2023
