PlayStation Magazine - 05.2020

092

REVIEW

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DOUBLE 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 Dean

FOOTNOTES 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.

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MY HERO ONE’S

JUSTICE 2

All For One, One For All

L

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 Lineham

FOOTNOTES 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!

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HIDDEN THROUGH

TIME

Looking closely for the good stuff

A

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-Kent

FOOTNOTES 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.