With this one coming out in the 90s, it feels like something Newman would say dramatically on Seinfeld. "You can't stop me, Jerry! When you work with the mail you know how to use... EL VIENTO!"
One interesting difference between Sega and Nintendo of this era (that I didn't discover until much later in life) is how a lot of the anime influence in games was scrubbed from Nintendo releases but, for whatever reason, just... wasn't on Sega? There are so many games on Genesis (and even more on Sega CD) that have very-obviously-anime art, whether it's character portraits in a menu screen or big obvious CG renders like at 1:37, but the SNES had like.... three lol
What you're saying about many Genesis games having overwhelmingly large level designs with little boundaries for direction has not gone unnoticed. It's something my brother and I referred to as "Genesis levels" when describing a game. e.g. "Super Return of the Jedi is full of Genesis levels."
El Viento is absolutely worth playing. Then if you don’t like it much, it’s absolutely worth selling. Holds some great value these days if you stumble upon an actual physical copy
Slow downs (even in music when you are doing nothing) is a deal breaker for me. But for the real fans there is a RERELEASE preorder unti the end of july going on right now
I had a major crush on this character growing up, note that I didn't actually own a Gensis, and the friends I had didn't own this game. That crush is mostly from the adds that ran in gaming magazines.
Magical ninja, prohibition era gangstas, Lovecraftian horror, commuter dolphins, butchered engrish narration, and ginormous explosions... This definitely goes on my to-do list.
That weird liquid boss reminds me of the boss from 5-4 on Super Mario World 2 Yoshi's island. A giant of those pink gooey things but it appears partially translucent but you see a big heart in it and you have to keep throwing your eggs at it to push its squishy body inwards enough to allow an opening to throw your egg at its heart multiple times
One of my favorite Genesis games! I remember there was a cheat code that allowed you to start with all the spells already and this could make some boss battles much easier (like ending some of them with a single shot) - or harder! Try firing that giant hadouken at the big blob, lol. So glad you reviewed this one, it's surely Sega on its best. I love the anime style cutscenes and the japanese box art
I will always remember this game being featured on Nick Arcade, and the contestants never played it. I was so curious about it for years until I looked it up. I still haven't played it but I think I should finally try it out.
Came here to say this. I saw the title and flashbacked to the early 90s. Never heard anyone talk about it outside of the Nick Arcade host naming it as an available game.
All I had to hear was "Wolf Team" and all those wild references made perfect sense to me. They were responsible for Tales of Phantasia, and there's a similar variety of references and influences on display in that game. They were one of the great studios of the era and this game looks well worth a play!
I've loved this game since I first seen it in a couple of episodes of Nick Arcade back when it was still on. I eventually got a copy of it from Funcoland back in 1997 and I still have it to this day with the case and instruction manual.
3:30 I suspect that's because a lot of European developers with Amiga and Atari ST experience jumped into MD/Gen development, due to the similar architectures, and that sort of maze-like design was pretty typical of Euro-platformers of the day.
This reminds me of another weird gem I discovered through your channel, which is Psycho Dream. The sprite-size, apparent flow and general insanity all match that other title (which, despite being on SNES, also gives me that Sega vibe you describe). Have a great rest of your day and thanks for your work. Love from Brazil
Both were done within Telenet Japan, even if by different teams. But that could explain the similarities as they would have likely shared some techniques, if not some people. I remember SNES Drunk covering Psycho Dream and I thought it looked cool and the kind of thing I might like on the SNES.
i never felt bad about this, true, genesis had this and ranger x and shinobi, but we had Hagane and RUN SABER that is perhaps one of the best ones ever made, both consoles had their gems and i loved that so so so so much.
This is one of my personal favorite sega genesis games along with valis 1 & 3. I remember playing this game a lot when I was a kid. I was first introduced to this game by cousin along with rolling thunder 2 and I’ve been playing it ever since. I like this game for its killer soundtrack and it’s superb anime styled cutscenes. Sure this game is tough, but I still enjoy it. Definitely a hidden gem worth checking out.
And that my friend is the Wolf Team Experience! Mostly Unpolished, crazy, somewhat creative, fast, wanky, and with badass early Motoi Sakuraba music. That's why their games have tons of charm, they weren't top tier developers but you can tell they made what they wanted and thankfully SEGA was very receptive with that kind of game philosophy and we got some of their best...and bad ones too :D
I had a bad time with Earnest Evans back then, so when I heard that EL Viento was from the same team/franchise I didn't even tried to play it. But from what you're saying here, now I feel like I need to give it a shot. The spells look really cool! that alone makes me wanna play :D
I only recently discovered this game while digging at second hand media store - and I found a copy of El Viento that had a pick and save sticker on the back; I guess at some point they either sold or rented out video games?
This looks like literally THE Sega Genesis game, showcases everything that was unique about the Genesis. Unfairly difficult, no passwords/saves, super fast scrolling, cheesy music with whack samples, and Shinobi-esque gameplay. Gonna have to try it.
I’ve definitely heard of El Viento and how awesome it is because it’s made by the same developer who made the Tales series and it’s one of those titles that definitely looks so cool even better with a super sexy female protagonist to go along with it. Unfortunately I have to bring up the depressing news that El Viento is one of the rarest Sega Genesis Games and it’s very expensive and has skyrocketed in price in recent years. Either way Great Review as always SNES Drunk.
Me too I was Lucky. 30$ in a pawnshop in 2016-2018. Don't remember, but did not knew the game at all so I bought it because it's a Renovation game and one of my favorite publishers on the Genesis. No it's not a bootleg.
I did not know the game was this expensive and rare !! I'm not a fan of its difficulty. I'm stuck on the third level. Right now I'm consolidating my collection and I think I will sell it.
Dope videos - nothing better than popping on a playlist of yours and binging. I will likely never play any of these games, but it's awesome to learn about them and to see the visuals. Thank you for making and sharing them.
One thing that always impressed me about the genesis was its ability to double or triple sprites in hardware (Making for the giant explosions) and the scan line interrupts for the blob boss. Love games written to the hardware.
This one passed me by until now, a shame as it looks excellent. Growing up I was the sole SNES in my friend group so I was exposed to a lot of random Genesis titles so odd to me that this one never popped up.
yea I had a genesis (and master system prior) and my neighbor had an SNES (NES prior lol) so we basically played both, and didnt care much back then over which was the better system, we just played both, guess we was happy we were able to do that, so not so much animosity. However NOW, i find myself re playing more sega games then nintendo games (8 bit and 16 bit) but probably due to nostalgia.. I do play games from both systems (and others, i like retro games) i never played before to this day
How timely as I just finished this trilogy last week. It's still one of my favorite Sega Genesis games of all time. So much so I have it CIB as well as the Japanese version CIB. On a side note. It'd be cool if you and Sega Lord X did a collab. I think your 2 styles and expertise might mesh well together.
Good review! I've never even heard of this game and I grew up with a Genesis. It looks like a fun game. I totally understand that it has a distinct "Sega" feel. Sega definitely has some weird, wacky, and wild games. A lot of early Genesis games had a similar fast-paced and gritty style.
Looks like a great Sega game. High speed, frantic action, and kick ass music. Definitely add this to my modded SNES Mini. Thank you for the awesome game videos!
This was part of my collection when I was younger. I collected a lot of games that people slept on I played everything and found out what was good, and kept every good game while I still had my collection
Nice! That's what I like the most about the Genesis. I grown up with SNES and it's my favorite console but I know all its library by the gameplay contrary to the Genesis where I constantly stumble on games I don't know nothing at all like El Viento among others.You don't have any video game collection anymore?
Nah, I lost most of my collection almost 20 years ago lol You want some other interesting games to check out for the Genesis tho, you can try General Chaos, Boogerman, Beyond Oasis, Quackshot, Landstalker, World of Illusion:Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck, and Vectorman
The sequel, Earnest Evans, also released on Sega CD, but the Sega CD version only came out in Japan. It's a shame because that version has some wild cutscenes that we didn't get here in North America.
I had a Sega CD (well, Mega CD in Europe) with a Japanese copy of Earnest Evans. I was excited because I knew it was a sequel of El Viento and I loved it, but GOD! did EV suck, even with the animated cutscenes...
The reason for the 1920s setting and the gansters is because the devs where very clearly playing the tabletop game THE CALL OF CTHULHU. back in the day devs would just throw in anything they found cool like how in sonic 2 they decided sonic needed a super saiyan form just because it's cool
Wolf Team were the 'Grasshopper Games' of the early 90's. Either you understood that their imagination was limited only by its low budget and loved it or detested their games for being so innovative that sometimes it borderline on unplayable.
This is my favorite Sega Genesis game. I got this for my birthday back in the 90's. I got rid of it years ago like an idiot, but I heard that they are re-releasing it later this year. So this will be my chance to get it back.
never played this game.. until a few months ago on emus.. good game.. some sega games I grew up on Strider Revenge of Shinobi Sonic 1 and 2 Toe Jam and Earl Castle of Illusion Quack shot Little Mermaid Fighting Masters Streetfighter 2 Mortal Kombat and SMS Rocky Rambo Missile Defense Space Harrier Hang on/Safari Hunt Golvelius (my cousins had it) Hope you do Golvelius, Missle Defense, Quack Shot and Castle of Illusions. shoot do Rocky lol.. My best friend had NES and SNES lol so I also grew up playing Super Mario bros/Duck Hunt (who hasnt?) Super Mario Bros 3 Punch out Kung Fu Friday the 13th Yo Noyd Super Mario Bros Donkey Country 2 Streetfighter 2 Weapon Lord Killer Instinct Tetris also had access to a gameboy and my first system ever was a coleco vision.. Then some type of Atari, then the Sega Master System. never was into the rivalry, though i thought it was all funny
This is one of those moments when I get to put a name to a face! I saw something about this somewhere and took note when I saw a shot of that cutscene with the main character. It was very anime that, at the time, wasn’t as well known in North America. Now I definitely want to try this out now That I finally had my memories dusted off!
Picked this up CIB at a pawn shop in Colorado randomly about 16 years ago. Glad I did cause it's an awesome game, and goes for crazy prices these days.
It is worth noting that the team who made Valis and this game went on to make the Tales and Star Ocean series but were split between two teams, one that makes the Tales games and the other making the Star Ocean games as well as Valkyrie Profile which can be mistaken for a Super Nintendo game. A lot of 2D software on the PS1 (sadly most stayed in Japan because apparently Sony had a no 2D policy explaining why most PS1 games featuring 2D graphics were stuck in Japan) can be mistaken for being on the SNES, it happens to me a lot. Final Fantasy Tactics, Valkyrie Profile, Gunners Heaven, the Adventures of Little Ralph can all be mistaken for being on 16-bit hardware because of their presentation but that couldn’t be further from the truth. “Am I playing a Super Nintendo game? No, this is a PS1 game. Gotta remind myself, this is a PlayStation or Sega Saturn game, looking at the console and controller in my hands.” Just thought I’d say (mistaking 32-bit games for 16-bit, anybody else does that? Because there are a lot of PS1 and Saturn games that feature SNES-like graphics, sometimes more like the Genesis or Arcade in the case of Nekketsu Oyako and Blast Wind) that so a comment like this could get attention.
I’m playing this on my RG35XX.. luckily it came pre loaded with this game .. I always wanted it back in the day, but my mom wouldn’t buy me the Sega Mega Drive or the SegaCD .. I was stuck with a Super Nintendo and a game gear ( both super fun tho, thanx mom! ) lol!! Now at the age of 39 I’m finally able to play this title , and I must say it’s very frustrating! But I love these old games! The newer games might be beautiful but there’s just something special about the Sega , Nintendo , and Neo-Geo heydays of the 90s 🤙🏻
played this way back on sega genesis days multiple times. game was fun & soundtrack also lovely to hear. too bad the one i got are in japanese, but the game easy enough to understand how-to, only knew there's english version many years later
Great review. I have no familiarity with this game, but it is on the Renovation cartridge for the Evercade. I'm thinking about picking that one up, there are several good ones on it.
Anyone who's a fan of Wolf Team games like this should also check out Granada on the Genesis. It's a top down shooter that plays a lot like a shmup. It's also got one of the best soundtracks on the Genesis. I would love to see SNES drunk do a video on it!
Great video retro eval, like usual... Looks like this game would go from good to great with a quality-of-life patch for controls & difficulty ...also, LOOK AT DAT DONK! 😂
This came out first, but Earnest Evans was technically the first game chronologically in the series. Both Earnest Evans and Annet Futatabi unfortunately are NOT good games, but Earnest Evans’s Sega CD port was saved by its cutscenes. Annet Futatabi however was so bad that it may have killed the series. But El Viento is a great game at least.
