092
REVIEW
INFO FORMATPUB ARC SYSTEM WORKS PS4 ETA OUT NOW DEV ARC SYSTEM WORKSDOUBLE DRAGON
AND KUNIO-KUN:
RETRO BRAWLER
BUNDLE
Give it the elbow?L
ike having the code word for a secret
The Weeknd gig, there’s a level of
smugness that comes with knowing
the ‘right’ videogames. This collection of 18
games from the Japanese ’80s Kunio-kun
and Double Dragon series will have those in
the know twitching with excitement.
These aren’t arcade conversions but
remasters of the made-for-console NES
editions, and play differently to their coin-
op counterparts – like remixes of classic
moments with added platforming stages and
bosses. Patient zero is Renegade, the arena
brawler that set the template for many of
the games in this collection and beyond. Your
street urchin on a mission to rescue his girl
from a gang can fend off enemies from all
directions... well, all two of them.
Most of the games have a two-button
control system, and though some only ever
released in Japan^1 (such as Kunio-kun No
Nekketsu Soccer League) are addictive in
their simplicity, others (like Go-Go! Nekketsu
Hockey Club Slip-and-Slide Madness) fail to
live up to their excitable titles. You’re here
for the curiosities of the 11 games never to
see a gamepad in the West but you’ll stay
for those that did: the Double Dragon trilogy,
Renegade and the moreish Super Dodge Ball.
A caveat: these games, even in their
Quality Up editions,^2 look their age. Let’s
remember most of them use less RAM than
a Twitter meme. Fun in short
spurts, patchy in quality, this is
a club not everyone will want to
get into, even if they have the
password. Ian DeanFOOTNOTES 1 These releases include full translations from the
original Japanese for the first time. 2 Some titles feature improved
framerates, bug fixes, and enemy balancing.INFO FORMATPUB BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT PS4 ETA OUT NOW DEV BYKINGMY HERO ONE’S
JUSTICE 2
All For One, One For AllL
ike the Quirk One For All, My Hero
One’s Justice 2 has learnt from its
predecessor to improve itself in every
way. Boasting an expanded roster and a
throng of brand-new characters, including
Sir Nighteye, Overhaul, and Lemillion, there
are enough heroes and villains here to
create your dream team.^1
The story mode, which focuses on
the Provisional Hero License Exam and
Shie Hassaikai arcs, is heavily condensed
compared to the source material. There is a
handful of brief animated cutscenes, but the
story is told mostly through comic-book-like
cutouts and text. It speeds through main plot
points as if it’s utilising Iida’s Engine Quirk,
and struggles to reach the emotional highs
of the anime, but the sub-episodes and slight
deviation from the end of the second arc
bring in battles to be excited about.
This is a fighting game anybody can pick
up. There are two control schemes, Normal
and Manual, with Normal allowing you to
string together combos without needing to
know their inputs. Manual means you need
to put the effort in, but it gives you access
to combos which are unavailable in Normal.
Inputs are shared among characters, so it’s
easy to jump around and see who fits your
playstyle. There are several offline modes
to tackle; Mission mode^2 is filled to the brim,
and take to online if you fancy your chances
against other inspiring heroes or villains!
The visuals are an improvement on My
Hero One’s Justice, but there’s still a lack of
English dub, despite the series’
popularity. This is a game made
for fans, and it’s clear Byking’s
staff are fans themselves. Plus
Ultra! Mitchell LinehamFOOTNOTES 1 There are intro and Plus Ultra animations based on
certain teams – find them all! 2 Characters who rarely interact do
in Arcade and Mission modes. Experiment to see cool conversations!INFO FORMATPUB CRAZY MONKEY STUDIOS PS4 ETA OUT NOW DEV CRAZY MONKEYHIDDEN THROUGH
TIME
Looking closely for the good stuffA
s if we don’t all stare at our screens
too much, Hidden Through Time asks
you to stare even harder. A hidden
object game more in the vein of Where’s
Wally than Artifex Mundi’s more adventure-
game-lite efforts, you’re presented with
various ‘historical’ scenes and a selection of
objects to find. The four time periods (Stone
Age, Egypt, Middle Ages, and Western) are
tropey and full of fantastical elements, like
goblins ransacking castles and cavemen
hunting dinosaurs.
There’s a small amount of interactivity to
each scene. Tapping an object often plays a
sound effect, you can remove roofs to peer
inside houses, and some characters move
around or sway in place. Sometimes this is
fun, like looking inside the Great Pyramid, but
sometimes it can be hard to pick out what’s
important in a sea of very similar assets.^1
Later stages in each time period can be
huge, and while you can zoom in to see the
cute cartoon artwork up close, it becomes
hard to keep track of objects you’re looking
for when you have to keep panning over
large scenes. To help, each object has a clue,
though these vary wildly in helpfulness.
What really makes the game is Map Editor
mode, where you can create your own maps
and share them online. This is much more
worth your time than the main mode. Many
of the creations already available show great
inventiveness with limited assets – things
like cross-time football games or ‘Little
Yharnam’, a Bloodborne-themed
map.^2 Hidden Through Time
is basic, but at a low price
(£6.49), it’s worth fooling
around with if you’re still fond
of Wally. Oscar Taylor-KentFOOTNOTES 1 Cynics might say this feels a little too close to Hidden
Folks, a popular mobile game from 2017. 2 This impressive creation
recreates the Hunter’s workshop, werewolves, and more besides.