Did you like 1994? Read this review then
Well I posted this as part of my "Obscure Saturn imports" thread here over at the Import-Mania! thread but I think this one has enough universal appeal that I thought I'd try my hand posting it here too, because I know some of you loved the mid 90s gaming and thought this would be a bit of a fun read for some of you:
The year was 1994.
It was the year of the 2D fighter.
The year of the Doom clones.
The year "T.G.I.F" was in its absolute prime
The year of the 16-bit wars in full throttle
The age of innocence.
It was a hot summer night, and somewhere in Sacramento was a 2 story house filled with laughter and joy. The parents talked and laughed with the other parents, and us kids, we did our own thing. We spent the night Dragon Punching*, slam dunking** and blowing each other up***. In fact, we spent much of the early-mid 90's doing just that on our get-together sleepover bonanza's. Ohh it was the best of times... THE BEST.
Basic overview: our group was an out of town friendship thing... 5 families, 18 kids... est. circa mid-late 80's. The dads who survived the Vietnam War, bonded and kept in touch; we all grew up together... our get-together sleepovers were legendary -- truly some of the defining moments of my childhood with plenty of coming-of-age moments. I could write a whole novel on it but I'm sure no one came here for that, heh heh.
Ah yes, '94... it was the best of times...
*
**
***
*tires screeching sound effect*
Then 1995 came.
Couple of the older friends in our group got girlfriends. Or became more involved with local friends. Some lost interest in video games. Times were a'changing. The parents got a little older. Suddenly the long drives were looking less and less attractive. The 16 bit wars was pretty much over, with the 32-bit generation breathing down its neck and SNES clearly beating out the poor Genny. I wanted no part of it. Too much change... too fast
*steps out of time machine*
Ah that was an interestng look back at more innocent, fonder days. And what the hell did that have to do with my next writeup?
I'm happy to say that this next game is a pure rocket buster straight from the days of old. It's just a kick to play, and harkens back to the days of innocence when wide-eyed kids would gather round the TV and stay there for hours on end.
What game am I talking about?
HATTRICK HERO S!!
We recently took a look at Taito's magnificent Mizubaku Adventure, now let's check out their ace soccer game. (by the title one might easily assume it's a hockey game but it's not)
HHS is an arcade-type game as opposed to a sim. Kind of like Neo-Geo's Super Side Kicks series except it was on Taito's F3/Cyber Core arcade system.
Super Side Kicks 2 from Neo Geo fame
HHS is a smooth playing soccer game with funny old school blocky sprites running about kicking a rubber ball. The game is almost entirely in English. You have:
-Arcade Mode: pick an ace and a team, and see how far you can advance! Can you reach the final team -- the dreaded MAX team??
-World League: Basically a tournament type mode
-Exhibition: One game
-PK Mode: Penalty Kick mode... nice little mode for bragging rights.
There are 8 "aces" to select from (players), once you select an ace you get to pick 1 of 42 country teams. Everyone from China to Nigeria is represented. Then you can set up formation and your lineup of players.
A is shoot, B is pass, C is turbo on Offense
On defense, A is sliding kick, B is punch/jump kick/sweep kick
On defense I recommend using A. It's not as effective as jarring the ball loose from your opponent, but B is a violation that sometimes gets called for a yellow card! (depends on whether the ref caught you or not... it seems about 50/50) But you know... sometimes you just see that punk there and you wanna punch his lights out. ^_^
Camera angle is adjustable and very nice. You can go high, low, near, far, etc. All on the fly too. L and R for near or far. X and Z changes the angle, and Y sets it back to default. Good stuff.
On offense, you can pass the ball then hold the pass button down to set up overhead kick passes. The announcer yells "GOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!" quite enthusiastically when someone scores, then there's a shot of the two coaches- one cheering and the other cringing. Some players even celebrate by doing a fancy dance. It's hilarious. Also there is a neat slow mo replay system after goals are scored.
You can power up your players to do a "Super Shot"- this is sweet, the game will stop and the announcer yells "Super Shot!" followed by a close up of your player kicking the ball toward the screen. You've got to get the ball to the right player for this to happen though. After this, it goes back to the in-game screen where the ball flies insanely fast toward the goalie, it knocks him into the net, and you get a goal. You have to earn enough "Units" to use this though. "Super Play" (this allows super shots, hyper shots and whatnot) can be turned off at the option screen if you'd rather not use it. Shaolin Soccer, anyone?
And then if this wasn't all enough good old fashioned fun for you, Taito pulls something wickedly random out of their sleeves....
Take a guess...
FEMALE STREAKER!!!!, the first time I saw this I was both befuddled and cracking up! I thought it was a bug at first but then realized... hey crazy things happen during soccer games all the time, Taito just wanted to capture that! Don't get TOO excited though, she's not a "full-fledged" streaker. Haha I think I just heard a collective groan. "Yes Bob take a point off." To top off the hilarity of this event the word HAPPENING! flashes on screen.
I dunno bout you but it's little things like that that makes video games so cool and fun... it's always about the little things...
Another random cool feature: you can knock out the ref! I've seen soccer balls that have knocked the poor ref down, and sometimes he gets caught in a melee! He gets up after about 4 seconds lying on the ground. When he is down you can attack your opponents with "B" as the ref can't yellow card you since he's obviously stunned on the ground. Good stuff.
Here is another person's (quick) take on HHS:
Before the time of polygon based soccer games there was sprites. Hat Trick Hero is a perfect example of the older times. Blocky sprites wobbling up and down the pitch in what looks like a feeble attempt to run (^o^), hahaha. Great game for those nostalgic nights.
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Overall, Hattrick Hero S scores a definite GOAL! for me. The best thing was, I got this game for a measly $2.99. So it's NOT expensive AT ALL.
I'll never forget the first time I played it. It was 0-0 down to the wire. I kicked the ball toward the goal... the goalie left his feet to block it... the ball then ricochet to my other player, and I quickly kicked it in! I ended up winning 1-0.
Overall especially at its low price I recommend this game particularly if you're not opposed to the odd arcade soccer game here or there. It has a solid pick-me-up-and-play factor... and yes, it's 1-4 players. Just a fun, fun game. Of course I'm sure someone will play it and say "I don't get it? What's so fun? It seems a little crappy to me." Hey, not everyone liked even Tetris.
To end this I do want to say that the group is still cool. No we don't meet up every month like we did in the old days, and no we don't spend every major holiday together like we used to, but whenever we do get together, we pick up where we last left. We still manage to crank out good times. Like the big "Reunion" Lake Tahoe trip in '99... damn good times still. So... its a new era, generation, whatever you want to call it... but.... it's a friendship/bond for life.
Just like the oleee SEGA Saturn.
Have a good one.
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Originally Posted by boatofcar
