Monday MAME Club [10/04/04] - D&D: Shadow Over Mystara

[Flack]

When all else fails, go back to the basics -- swords, hacking and slashing. Years after Golden Axe was released came Shadow Over Mystara, Capcom's second release in the Dungeon and Dragons series.

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara is Hovoc's MAME Club pick of the week!
The MAME Club Pick Of The Week can always be found HERE (http://68.12.158.32:533/mameclub)

http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/D/zDungeons_&_Dragons__Shadow_Over_Mystara.jpg

Download the ROM if you don't already have it, give it a spin, and respond to this topic with your review! Have you played this game before, or is it brand new to you? Do you like the genre? How did it run on your computer? Did you beat it? If so, how long did it take? What was your high score? How far can you get? Did you have any problems emulating the game? When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. Remember, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game!

Club Members:

digitalpress (Battle Bakraid)
Gamereviewgod (ESP Ra.De.)
Wisesalesman (Waku Waku 7)
scooterb23 (I'm Sorry)
ddockery (Penguin-Kun Wars)
AlanD (Dr. Micro)
IntvGene (Strike Force)
NE146 (Portman)
jonjandran (Bronze Adventure)
Flack (Rollergames, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu, Liquid Kids)
IGotTheDot (N/A)
zektor (Battle Bakraid, Haunted Castle)
buttasuperb (Blazing Star)
chadtower (Berkerk)
Sotenga (Caliber 50)
Stark (Mighty! Pang)
christianscott27 (Darius Gaiden)
ECWSandmanECW (League Bowling)
TripppsK (Lady Bug)
vespertillio (Rampart!)
ghsqb (N/A)
TheSmirk (Bomb Jack)
Flukkake (Elevator Action)
BHvrd (NARC)
ManekiNeko (Battle Circuit)
MarioAllStar2600 (City Bomber)
Ze_ro (Pandora's Palace)
slip81 (Biomechanical Toy)
Qbert (Mysterious Stones)
k8track (Go! Go! Mile Smile)
Hamsnibit (N/A)
Lady Jaye (Chuka Taisen/Cloud Master)
Sofa King Gud (Crossbow)
Schenley (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Kaine23 (Super Burgertime)
Arqueologia_Digital (Burgertime)
Jiscan (Withdrew)
-hellvin- (Splatterhouse)
Acidic_Pain (Armed Police Batrider)
Gamemaster_ca_2003 (Block Out)
Vigilante (Pu-Li-Ru-La)
*** Hovoc (D&D: Shadow Over Mystara)
Mr.FoodMonster
sniperCCJVQ
A Boy
JibbaJaba
Cauterize
youruglyclone
Ed Oscuro

Remember, you don't have to be a member of the club to download the game and write up a review, but by joining you get the honor of picking a game to share with the group during your week. If you would like to join, simply send me a PM and I will add you to the list!

Enough procrastinating -- it's time to teach those bitch-ass dragons a lesson and ...

... MAME ON!

[-hellvin-]

Fun game. I don't think there's anything spectacular about it, but it does get a bit bland after a bit. The saturn version is good as well, arcade perfect version. Defenitely worth a look if you're into beat em ups at all.

[Ed Oscuro]

I need to check it out; that screenshot looks different from what I remember playing. Would be a shame for me to ramble on about Tower of Doom like the two are interchangeable, no?

It's a pretty game, but Capcom's takeoffs on western designs feel sort of...odd. Not bad, but it's always struck me as unusual to see franchises such as The Punisher, Aliens vs. Predator and D&D drawn with the Darkstalkers art style. It's a refreshing change from the likes of Gate of Doom, though.

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh, this be the game that I played.

Man, Thief got trashed by the first boss rather quickly! Then I turned around and took him from 3/4 HP to nothing with the warrior in no time flat :o

[Gamereviewgod]

You know, I'm the biggest B-E-U fan out there, but I HATE this series. It's slow, for some reason the controls seem unresponsive to me, it's overly complicated, and the graphics do nothing for me. I'd much rather go with AvP or C&D. Keep it simple people!

[Ed Oscuro]

The item system and lack of moves are holding back a good game, yes. :(

Life as the cool-looking Magic User, in particular...HELL.

[Ze_ro]

I actually haven't played this one all that much, although I used to play the first game in the series quite a bit. I remember going to the arcade and helping out some guys beat the dragon at the end of the first one... I must have spent at least $5 in quarters before it was over, and the dragon was already heavily damaged by the time I got there. If you can get some friends over to play co-op with you, I highly recommend it, as it really makes this game a LOT more fun.

I agree with Ed about the strange contrast between anime art style and western D&D universe, which does feel a little odd, but I think it works out in the end. In fact, I'm very pleased with how well they adhere to the D&D rules here (When I first saw it, I expected it to be just another beat-em-up with a D&D theme, but it's deep enough to allow you to exploit monsters weaknesses and such).

As for the actual gameplay, I love how it's non-linear and even has hidden doors and multiple endings and such. The weapons are a little cumbersome, since some are much more useful than others, so you sometimes get stuck switching weapons looking for the right one when you really need to be in the battle. The enemies (and especially the boss monsters) put up quite a fight so that you get plenty a challenge. The assortment of classes you can choose adds even more replay value. A class act all around.

--Zero

[Flack]

You know, I'm the biggest B-E-U fan out there, but I HATE this series. It's slow, for some reason the controls seem unresponsive to me, it's overly complicated, and the graphics do nothing for me. I'd much rather go with AvP or C&D. Keep it simple people!

By the screenshots I was expecting Golden Axe. After playing this for a few minutes, I loaded up Golden Axe instead. Go figure.

[Ed Oscuro]

Is it just me, or are far too many Capcom BEUs just...not fun? I'm thinking Aliens vs. Predator and D&D, but D&D is by far the best looking game here, and while the play is limited and centers around that pretty godawful menu system it's still better than AvP's pretty horrid combos.

Golden Axe really does trounce this thing, yes.

[Vigilante]

I have to agree, this seems like Golden Axe with a few more bells and whistles. I played thru to the second level and then quit. It would get the first 50 cents or even a buck in the arcade from me, then I would move on.

[Vigilante]

I have to agree, this seems like Golden Axe with a few more bells and whistles. I played thru to the second level and then quit. It would get the first 50 cents or even a buck in the arcade from me, then I would move on.