You know... damn the Saturn is some good shit. Every once in a while it hits me again just how wonderful this system is... as long as you have the right games
I still got a TON left to touch on in this topic... so many games to go... we ain't done yet... not much by a longshot. Trust me the best is yet to come! So much more good stuff to share... keep it tuned right here. Some real good gems are in the works....
(So how is your want game list eh? heh heh)
Tonight we take a look at one of my personal favorites. IMO it's the best game on Saturn with the title "Waku Waku" in it... and no I'm not talking about Waku Waku 7. (which was a sloppy port at best BTW)
It's a shame it's so little-known, but perhaps I can help to change that a bit tonight.
In 1998 Altron (makers of the ole cult favorite Robo-Pit) released two puzzle games. I was after both puzzlers for 2 and a half years. They just never popped up on the internet.
One was called ROX. A dice puzzler I thought it would be a kick-ass combo of Tetris meets Devil Dice, but its overly complicated gameplay system and drab graphics/sound really killed it. Ah what a disappointment. But the other game in the batch, the one I had less expectations for... actually turned out to be a hell of a puzzler.
WAKU WAKU MONSTER
There are six colors (red, purple, white, green, yellow and blue) and you have to get a color combo of 3 touching each other to disappear.
The blocks/bubbles come in the cute form of a little creature... most similar to a rabbit or hamster (think Hamtaro). The game options however allow you to change the blocks to any of the following:
-Yoshi like eggs
-Magical Drop style bubbles
-Jewels and diamonds
Hey why not? But I always play with the creature bubbles, they're just too darn cool to pass on.
It's a battle of monsters and their caretakers. You can select from a total of 15 monsters (3 by which you must unlock), but there are a total of six caretakers... so each one represents 3 or so monsters. Each of the 6 caretakers have their own "falling debris pattern".
The monsters just give you different animations and sounds. I guess you could say there's really only 6 characters but IMO the monsters have personality so it feels more like 15 different characters.
They include the dreaded two-headed red dragon Guren, the pink little bunny (and our animal on the front cover) Myu Myu, the yellow little Pikachu wannabe Pomul, a kangeroo Woodhead, etc.
So what makes WWM stand out from the crowd of puzzlers?
-You drop one block at a time
-The caretaker appears in small form at the top of your puzzle field
-Caretaker holds one block in his or her hands
-One by one, you guide the caretaker left or right and press "A" to drop
Because of this unique twist on the ole Tetris theme, WWM becomes a game of Speed and Hand Eye Coordination. If you ever played Speed the card game, WWM is a good virtual simulation of that.
There is also a bar. Every time you pop the blocks it rises up. At any time you can press B to launch an onscreen attack which throws debris on the opponent's field. Or you can hold back on pressing B and wait til it hits MAX where then it automatically sends debris over. The higher the bar, the more debris there will be.
You can also counter the opponent's attack by pressing B once they pressed B.
It cancels (well, depends on how much of the bar was charged for both you and your opponent).
So there's some strategy there. Do you counter and cancel the debris? Or do you take it and then, knowing full well his bar is zero, unleash your fury to which he cannot counter? Good stuff.
Debris are just black bubbles that turn into regular colored bubbles once you connect 3 or more regular bubbles next to it. This can often times unleash a MAJOR 5+ hit chain.
D= Debris
W= White
Y= Yellow
Note: remember different caretakers have different block patterns, this is just an example, and not universal
D
DW
DW
DY
DY
Now you got a white block in your hands... drop it on the two white's already on top of each other:
DW
DW
DW
DY
DY
The white blocks will burst and pop out of play, unlocking the three Debris pieces, in this case we'll say each three will turn into green
G
G
G
DY
DY
The 3 greens will pop out of play, unlocking only the debris piece directly below it. It may very well turn yellow (depends on block patterns of your opponent a la Puzzle Figher, but let's say it does turn yellow)
YY
DY
Those 3 yellow's are touching, bam gone!
A nice little 3 hit chain... and believe me you can get much more complex.
So WWM stresses speed and high combo's. It's fun to start racking up the chain and watching the monsters yell and duke it out onscreen with an onslaught of flames and what have you. It gets pretty intense!
My ex girlfriend absolutely LOVED this game. She loved it more than Puzzle Fighter, if that means anything to you. And she loves Puzzle Fighter, but she just happened to like WWM that MUCH more. It definitely would be a big hit if you had a significant other...
Charming characters/animals/monsters, bright luscious simple graphics, an addicting puzzle system, nice sound and just a whimsical atmosphere adds up for one great package. 2 player mode is awesome flat out competitive fun. Against the CPU it just fails to capture the same intensity and taunting and what have you.
If you have a significant other who likes puzzle games or gaming friends who are down with the odd puzzle fight here and there I highly highly recommend this hard to find puzzler.
If you like puzzlers but are a lone gamer, I'd still recommend it.
But again, 2P mode is where it's at.
The rush of tapping "A" and "left" and "right"... it's different in a way, and it works! Waku Waku Monster is an awesome puzzler!
http://vgrebirth.org/games/game.asp?id=2473
Please keep in mind: once you press "A" the caretaker drops the bubble straight down... you can't change its flight once you commit. So... work fast! A misplaced block can ruin the game... you have to be fast and accurate... against a strong competitor this game is exhilarating...