Opinions on poorly documented imports

[celerystalker]

More Sunsoft fun! Volume 3 of the PS1's Sunsoft Memorial Series is another twin-pack of Famicom games, this time containing Toukaidou Gojuu-san Tsugi (I'm sure I made a mess of that title) and Wing of Madoola. These games are both pretty much entirely in English, which is one of the things that attracted me to this disc. So, on to the games!

Toukaidou Gojuu-san Tsugi is a side-scrolling... er... I guess platformer, though platforms aren't really the obstacle so much as ninjas and samurais and such running wild. You are some sort of fireworks/explosives maker on the run from somebody, and your only defense is to throw your explosives at your enemies, who die in a delayed, comical fashion. Control feels a little slippery at first, as the momentum feels a lot different from the likes of Super Mario, but I was able to adjust and get a feel for it. Enemies come in fast and furious, though, so quick reflexes and memorization are the order of the day. There are tons of point bonuses hidden in that old style of oddly-placed invisible locations upon which you must detonate explosives. Your explosives can be thrown one at a time forward in an arc or dropped on a timer at your feet. Those thrown will detonate on impact, whereas dropped are really only good for picking up bonuses. It's a decent little game, and certainly better than the likes of Ninja Hattori-kun, but feels dated even compared to its contemporaries.

Wing of Madoola is an early attempt at a side-scrolling action RPG, and it's full of a lot of interesting decisions as a result. You start of ridiculously weak and slow, but by going into doors you find along the way, you can pick up numerous powerups that increase your attack, speed, jumping ability, and grant you magical attacks such as fireballs that shoot from your sword. The game is divided into separate stages, so when you defeat the boss and move on, you can't just go back to find missing powerup items. However, there is a continue function if you hold select before pushing start after you die, which will allow you to choose which stage up to your current you would like to start from. You retain all found items and increases to your health and magic even when returning to past stages, so don't be afraid to go back if you need to find something you think you've missed (some levels do get a bit maze-like) or to rebuild your health, which refreshes at 1000 upon each continue, but can max out much higher. There are 8 main stages to traverse, and a lot of challenge, especially starting in stage 5, where the purple flying blobs starts to swarm you while you're attempting a tough series of jumps. Overall, I like this one a bunch, with its good-sized levels and non-linear continue system. It's no Rygar or Metroid, and would greatly benefit from a password save, but if you can set aside an afternoon for some archaic fun with solid early generation graphics, control, and music, Wing of Madoola's a lot of fun, and completely in English.

So, again, the main issue with this disc is cost of disc vs. buying loose carts of the famicom games. Toukaidou Gojuu-san Tsugi is a fun but mediocre game, and usually sells for about $10 right now. Wing of Madoola is far superior and even quite fun, but the cart costs typically less than $5 if you don't fall for an overpriced buy it now... and Sunsoft Memorial Series Vol. 3 tends to go for $15-30 shipped. So, if you're already a famicom guy, this disc isn't a super bargain, but I guess it does have a manual, and boxed copies of these two skyrocket. So, it's not a great bargain for more than $15, but the games are quality, and both are probably worth picking up loose carts if nothing else, but Madoola is the better game.