Monday Morning MAME Club [9/27/04] - Pu-Li-Ru-La

[Flack]

My MAME Club updates have become pretty routine. When I get to work Monday morning I dig out the MAME Club template, plug in the screenshots courtesy of KLOV, and write a little description about the game. While I've played a lot of the MAME Club suggestions, I can usually write descriptions even for the ones I haven't played based on the KLOV screenshots.

Vigilante has put an end to that trend! This week's game is ... well, I don't even know what to say about it. According to KLOV it's some sort of wacky Japanese side scroller. Other than that, I don't know what to tell you. If ever there was a week I was looking forward to hearing people's reviews of a game, this is it.

Pu-Li-Ru-La is Vigilante 's MAME Club pick of the week!
The MAME Club Pick Of The Week can always be found HERE

__

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 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
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!

I can't wait to see the reviews on this one. Time to get yourself into a wacky Japanese mood and ...

... MAME ON!

[Ed Oscuro]

I've played through a little bit of this one before. It's odd, and it gets yet more odd. Oddworld Inhabitants don't have ANYTHING on this game! :P

Great little character graphics, though.

Overall I prefer Ninja Baseball Batman's look and play (from what I've seen of each, anyhow), but this isn't too shabby. Has a home console port on some system or other too (well...it's probably there in the MAME info listing).

[ddockery]

I'll definitely have to check this out.

Flack, any chance you can ditch the yellow text? I use the subSilver baord style and it's impossible to read without selecting the text. Not a huge deal or anything though.

[Flack]

I'll definitely have to check this out.

Flack, any chance you can ditch the yellow text? I use the subSilver baord style and it's impossible to read without selecting the text. Not a huge deal or anything though.

d'oh -- had no idea. Would red work okay?

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh, haha, all this time I thought the yellow text was there to camoflauge it! For some reason I didn't think of that in terms of the normal board (I also use the silver version)

[Vigilante]

Flack hit the nail on the head.... this is a VERY odd game, that's why I picked it.

I played thru the entire game and it just gets stranger the futher in you go. It starts out all cute with the boy and girl main characters knocking out robots and turning them into puppies. Then you find out that time has been stopped and you have to fix the clock. One of the pics posted shows the ice skater boss with the big nose. Another boss character is like a witch doctor who's got this wooden shlong thing. Later in the game you get attacked by a giant tongue.

Some Japanese games are weird but this one really stands out. I've never seen anything like it before.

[Gamereviewgod]

Wow. Stage 3 is wacked.

Seriusly though, this is the reasone we have this every week. This game looks amazing, way beyond it's 1991 release date. It's simple, enjoyable fun, one I've never played before. I wish it was a little more traditional (combos please?) but it's just so out there, you can't stop playing. Good pick.

[Vigilante]

Now that the wife and kids have gone to bed I can play thru this game...

Yeah I think the 3rd board is the weirdest of the six boards. I also found that in between boards 5 and 6 is like a bonus stage which might open up another level. I didn't get there. I guess I didn't zap enough fish or somthing.

I got a score of 41,460. I wasn't going for points, just for distance.

Keep in mind that you have an attack, jump, and magic buttons. The magic attack is the funniest. You have to see when the super hero guy wraps up the enemies and microwaves them.

I'm glad I had the chance to really pick out a game that stands out from the crowd. Keep posting. I'd like to see what everyone else thinks about this strange game.

[ddockery]

I'll definitely have to check this out.

Flack, any chance you can ditch the yellow text? I use the subSilver baord style and it's impossible to read without selecting the text. Not a huge deal or anything though.

d'oh -- had no idea. Would red work okay?

Red should look fine. It's a light grey/silver background.

Thanks!

[ddockery]

Alright, I played through the whole thing. I too didn't get the bonus stage. It's just strange enough I may have to try again. My favorite is the microwave magic attack, that rocks. The emulation is a bit off as I get some tearing on the background, but nothing major. I found the control a bit off overall, but I think that's the game itself. Sometimes it's VERY difficult to line up with the guy you're trying to hit. The boss battles were a bit lame too. Just getting in close and smacking the attack button pretty much did the trick.

[Flack]

Anyone else get a chance to try this one out yet?

[Vigilante]

I forced my wife to sit down and play it last night... if that counts?

She said "This sucks, all you do is pound on the keys. Wait, what's that? This is stupid!" and played thru the entire thing. Then she moved on to PacMan.

[Ze_ro]

Ye gods this game is bizarre! "I'm Sorry" has got nothing on this... it just makes less and less sense the whole way through. The awful translation doesn't help anything either. My guess is that the game follows one characters gradual descent into mind-destroying insanity accompanied with heavy binge-drinking punctuated with heroin injections.

As for the actual gameplay itself, I thought it was a little weak. As far as side scrolling beat-em-ups go, it's not even in the same league as Alien vs. Predator, Captain Commando or even Final Fight... Aside from the general insanity of the whole thing, the game really doesn't seem to have much going for it. An interesting diversion nonetheless.

--Zero