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Issue 28 Reviews

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 7:12 pm
by Fiery Phoenix
Aaah....Oink!

For me at 84% vastly overrated - although others may disagree.

For me though, everytime I see the screenshots of The Last Ninja, I am still taken away, even after 21 years! I still think they look great - remember seeing them for the first time and getting that wow factor.

I still think they underrated it - should have been a GM ( did'nt 2 & 3 get GM's? )

Regarding the 98% for graphics - in the same issue, Defender of the Crown got the same mark for it's graphics. Ok, some nice static shots, but the sprites in the castle fighting sequence are terrible. The graphics mark is waaay too high. High 80's for me.

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:55 am
by Professor Brian Strain
Oink! - well presented, it's just the difficulty of the mini-games varied so much. Plus if you weren't a fan of the comic it had limited appeal.

Last Ninja - the control method for me is what keeps it from being a Gold Medal. (2 got 94%, 3 got 93%)

Defender of the Crown - I disagree on the fight sequence, the huge shadows on the wall are a clever touch. And there's the "wow" factor - how did they squeeze all those fantastic Amiga-style graphics into the C64? At the time it deserved such a high mark, but I'd drop the overall slightly because it becomes repetitive... still a great achievement.

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:18 pm
by Fiery Phoenix
You are right about the shadows in DOTC - they were great

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:04 pm
by Fiery Phoenix
Just going through a few more from this issue. As excellent as Head Over Heels is - 98% for graphics????

Even 79% for music is overrated in my honest opinion.

Thing Bounces Back was a really disappointing sequel for me, cant beleive JR raved over it and the 86% score baffles me, especially when another sequel, Auf Wiedersehen Monty scored in the 40's - which I think is a far superior game.

I also used to LOVE the Zzaptionnaire results - which are also in this issue.

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:27 pm
by Professor Brian Strain
Lloyd responded to criticism of Head Over Heels graphics in a letter a couple of months after, pointing out the cartoon animation, the distinctive styles of the different planets and the way it all works in 3D. I'd only knock a point or two off that rating.

I never got on with Thing Bounces Back, typically I'd play a couple of levels and then get squashed. Mid-70s in my opinion, trading on the name. (Loved the Mk2 Thing though with his shiny red nose)

Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:32 am
by spurs
Loved The Last Ninja I thought this game was better than 3 but not 2. DOTC was great for it's time, from the beautiful music to the brilliance of getting those Amiga graphics onto the machine. As my mother used to say "They don't make 'Em like that any more"

Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:18 pm
by Iain
Welcome! Last Ninja was a great game alright but Last Ninja 2 sticks in my mind since I played it first and completed it using the map / solution out of one of my first Zzap issues :)

Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:46 pm
by spurs
Yes Last Ninja 2 was a classic game.
Thanks for the welcome.

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:34 am
by vectrex
The Last Ninja... top game... has to be in my top 5... The only thing that I would change is the jumping over the water/mud bits... this had to be pixel perfect... and I never did find a method that got me over 100% of the time... so you could be doing really well...only to come up against the jumpy bit and loose all your lives! I did complete the game in the end... also thanks to pokes from zzap :-)

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 4:58 pm
by Iain
You might appreciate the following comic from Funny Webcomic by Cameron Davis then:

http://funnywebcomic.com/2010/10/19/old ... ame-jokes/

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:00 pm
by vectrex
Very funny!!! and oh so true.... I'm glad it wasnt just me then!

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:03 pm
by Iain
I wonder if the youth of today would have such patience for dealing with an obstacle like that. I know I wouldn't! :)

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:04 pm
by vectrex
I doubt it... they wouldnt even wait for the 10 minutes or whatever it took to load!

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:58 pm
by andy vaisey
Iain wrote:I wonder if the youth of today would have such patience for dealing with an obstacle like that. I know I wouldn't! :)
Today's youth wouldn't have to.

With save states, online cheats galore and things like Youtube to guide you, well, you get my meaning...