Be sure to check out my previous entries in the Retro Gaming Club, where I write short preview posts on three retro games I played that month. Oftentimes I haven’t played them before. so it can be a fresh experience for me. I also want to highlight older games and give them a little spotlight for you to check them out as well.
River City Ransom: 1989, NES 🎮🎮🎮 out of 🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮
If you read my previous Retro Gaming Club post, I wrote a little about Double Dragon II. I can’t remember where but I read that River City Ransom was an inspiration for that game, so I was looking forward to giving it a try. Well, it definitely is similar to Double Dragon, but it has RPG elements in that you can improve your stats, buy items, collect money, and fight bosses. The story isn’t that complicated, you are out to beat up some street gangs to clean up the city and save Ryan (one of the main characters) girlfriend.
The beat’em up style is fun and challenging, as enemies will go right up to you and bash you with weapons. They don’t hold back, and if you aren’t fast you will be easily overtaken so make sure your ready! I noticed that sometimes they would rush me from a corner of the screen so it was tough to dodge them. If your playing on the Nintendo Switch like I was, then you can review or save your game with ease. If not, there’s a password system you can use.
I haven’t beat this one yet, but I do recommend it if you like games like Streets of Rage, Final Fight, and the NES era. It is not a short game, and there are lots of places to explore as you wander around but it’s interesting to see since it’s based in Japan. Overall, I recommend this one but be in for a challenge.
Watch the full playthrough here.
Super Valis IV: 1991, SNES 🎮 out of 🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮
When I look through the library of games available from the NES or SNES era on the Nintendo Switch, I like trying out games that look a little different. The box art isn’t familiar nor have heard of the game before, so those are the ones I would rather play so I can see what I’ve missed out on. Super Valis IV is definitely not your average SNES game, mainly because of it’s difficulty and odd plot. It’s about a warrior named Lena who seeks out to stop the king of evil spirits from controlling the world. Somehow the moon has something to do with this, but I’m not sure so I won’t try to figure this out.
It’s a side-scrolling platform game where you fight enemies with a sword and projectiles you can collect in each stage. Each projectile is different but they run out, except your main one so use them when in a pinch or during the boss fights. The bosses can be painfully hard to beat, or a breeze, so get ready to be frustrated. If I had rented this game when renting was around, I would never have been able to complete this one. I’m still stuck on a boss where he flies around and your stuck on a small platform. He appears on different sides of the platform but he’s so fast and there isn’t much space to move that he’s hard to avoid.
I don’t know if I will be going back to this one, but if you haven’t played it yet, give it a try to see how far you can get or if you can get through it all and let me know.
Watch the full playthrough here.
Wrecking Crew: NES/Famicom, 1985 🎮🎮 out of 🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮
I did not know that there was a Mario game that I had not played, especially one so old! Wrecking Crew starts off with Mario who is dropped off in various levels, or phases, where you have to destroy various objects like walls or ladders to complete the stage. If you are touched by various enemies that chase you around then you lose a life, but it’s not that difficult to avoid them.
I’ve played through several levels already but when you turn on the game, I noticed you can select all the way up to phase 100, and I don’t see myself playing this for that long. It’s fun and can get tricky to figure out how to get to the objects to wreck, but it’s definitely an arcade game that is meant for you to play for long periods of times and use quarters to finish the game.
Check this one out if you want to see one of Mario’s first games. Just be careful of those little blue suckers, they will chase you all over the place!
Watch the full playthrough here.