Hi, I'm Dranzerstorm
Welcome to the Video Game & Music Lounge
This world is dedicated to Video Games and Music as I'll be showcasing the following.
Video Game Reviews set to the same tones as Retro Retrospective's Anime Reviews
Music reviews of Anime Openings & Closings
Western Cartoon music
Vocaloid Classics.
We may even have some Top Tens
I hope this World entertains you.
Four this special, were talking about different takes on Tetris.
Settris
With music far too pop like with an aquarium like backdrop from the people who brought you cheap achievements, East Asiasoft comes Settris, a puzzle game where you are given select tetriminos to complete a jigsaw like puzzle, pretty easy, no puzzle ever felt too hard to complete.
C-Tier Game
Tetris 99
Off the back of the battle royale craze comes Tetris 99, as the name suggests, 99 players all play the same time with one left standing, brutally hard to win where the average opponent reacts faster than most normal people, the amount of focus required is exhausting and very draining especially if that elusive win never comes.
C-Tier Game
Puyo Puyo Tetris
Collaborating with Sega's own puzzle game Puyo Pop comes the colourful puzzle extravaganza that is Puyo Tetris, having played to near completion, the addictive puzzle games mix well with a very colourful cast of characters in a variety of modes to keep you entertained, Sega's magic touch is plain to see, even if at times it can be notoriously hard to complete the game.
A-Tier Game
Tetris Effect Connected
I honestly believe this to be the magnum opus of the franchise, a carnival of sound and visual masterpieces combine to give you the greatest Tetris experience ever witnessed, it's like watching Disney's Fantasia on a Star Wars budget.
S-Tier Game
I had enough for a part two, so let's get going.
Panorama Cotton
Continuing the trend from previous games, Cotton goes after more willows to eat with her sexy fairy friend this time taking out an assailant that's burning the willows, the main difference is that were playing a super scaler rail shooter like Space Harrier, the blast processing showing impressive speed for a very busy game back in the 90s but not so much now, while easier to play than Cotton 100% it can feel like there's more chaos than ever, it'll be luck whether or not you survive a playthrough.
B-Tier Game
Gunbird 2
Seven warriors embark on a quest everything from vampires and witches to robots and gay samurai to Aladdin types and girl geniuses plus Morrigan Aensland if you own the Dreamcast version, they look to find three sacred treasures to create a potion to grant any wish, a classic style shooter in the genre with plenty of amusing moments but very limited on replay value beyond all the character and co-op endings.
A-Tier Game
Trouble Witches Neo
All the cute witches in the anime world cannot save this game from the worst, yet most hilariously bad English dialogue in gaming history, a bar already set quite low if you've been around the gaming community for a long time.
Is the game any good? yeah it's pretty good but that voice acting, my god.
B-Tier Game
When you make a legendary IP like Pokemon or Mario, it's hard to break free of that legacy to create something new without being reminded of what they made before, so I've assembled five different industry legends and one legendary company to see if leaving their legacy really was the right decision.
Keiji Inafune
The man behind the Blue Bomber Megaman ended up leaving Capcom having started from illustrator moving up the hierarchy to some top positions, his two most notable titles since leaving have been Azure Striker Gunvolt and Mighty No.9.
Verdict
While Azure Striker Gunvolt is pretty well received if very niche, Mighty No 9 was an infamous failure that even destroyed consoles, meanwhile legacy collections of Megaman continue to sell well with pretty much every title coming back in some form.
Yuji Naka
The man behind the Blue Blur Sonic the Hedgehog was a prominent Sega figure throughout Sega's tenure as a console maker up until 2006, his only notable game since was Balan Wonderworld for Square Enix.
Verdict
Balan Wonderworld was a doomed project from the start and Naka would fall out with Square Enix and leave all while Sonic began a new renaissance guided by new talent, Naka's career would come to a halt as he was arrested for Insider Trading Fraud last year.
Hideo Kojima
The man behind Metal Gear Solid turning a stealth top down shooter into a cinematic gaming juggernaut would later divorce from Konami following some messy disputes, creating Death Stranding with his own studio.
Verdict
The eccentric personality behind Hideo Kojima really shows when even four years after release, no one knows what Death Stranding is supposed to be, meanwhile it's clear that Metal Gear Solid can't survive without Kojima.
Yu Suzuki
The man, the myth, the legend and now the new breakfast cereal, Yu Suzuki is Sega royalty behind their best arcade titles creating a metric ton of hits including Space Harrier, Outrun, Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA and Shenmue. He would establish his own company to finish the ill fated Shenmue saga but also reminded the industry what he's capable of with Air Twister, a Space Harrier/Panzer Dragoon legacy game.
Verdict
It's clear that Shenmue is never going to leave his shadow while Air Twister is a reminder of what he can really do, it's clear that he maybe should've stopped on Shenmue as we could've continued to have some really stellar titles. It's worth noting that much of what made Shenmue work is now in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise that other than Sonic is Sega's money maker.
Game Freak
The developers behind Pokemon being the main driving force of it's video game success although the franchise is facing rougher waters with how messy Scarlet and Violet are, it's not showing signs of waning in popularity. Game Freak have shown willingness to make their own games with the most notable being Tembo the Badass Elephant.
Verdict
I doubt they'll ever escape Pokemon and I can foresee a future that Pokemon will switch from Game Freak to a different developer. Tembo isn't a bad title but it's certainly not bringing in Nintendo money.
Christian Whitehead
Credited with saving the Sonic franchise, known as Taxman, Whitehead provided all the support for Sonic's current gen classic re-releases with polished versions of the classics as well as the legendary Sonic Mania.
Verdict
He's burned a few bridges with Sega following Origins so whether we'll see him contribute to Sonic in future instalments remains to be seen, his team are working on Penny's Big Breakaway, an attempt at a 3D platformer, remains to be seen if he can breakaway from Sonic.
Were at the home stretch now of our Advent style review season.
Released in 1989, Golden Axe is a side scrolling beat em up set in a highly stylised fantasy setting. A Barbarian, an Amazon and a Dwarf have all lost a loved one at the hands of the tyrannical Death Adder who desires the Golden Axe to rule over the land, very basic fantasy plot, nothing else needed.
Fantasy artist Boris Vallejo was responsible for much of the franchises promo art.
Pros
The lore and setting of Golden Axe is pretty good.
Of all the side scrollers thia is the easiest to play.
Quite generous with pick ups.
Cons
A bit short.
Hit detection can be pretty bad depending on port.
Those little hobbits are annoying to hit.
Verdict
One of those games that you don't forget yet you likely haven't played it for years.
With this title, most people forget it was part of the franchise, still trying to figure out why.
Obviously released in 2001, Daytona USA 2001 was the first in the franchise to be specifically designed for console release. Featuring 8 tracks, secret cars along with circuit configurations for reverse and mirrored, it's the most complete version of the game to date.
Sega accidentally killed the online servers for this game through poor coding.
Pros
Plenty of content, more than any other Daytona title.
Music is still amazing.
More than enough cars to cater to every playstyle.
Cons
Most if not all players will still drive Hornet even if other cars are faster.
The botched online mode means that online multiplayer is non existent.
Verdict
I love this game but then again I'm a sucker for arcade racers.
