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Attack of the Western Golfing Robots with Swords Right, having covered most of the interesting budget conversions of Simple2000 games, and with the release of another six under the Essential Games label having been delayed until February 2007 for no apparent reason, I've turned my attention to some of the other obscure Japanese stuff in 505 Gamestreets catalogue and present four titles worthy of interest: Two mid-price titles that both mash ideas and genres in their own ways, plus two full-price cult RPGs... Street Golfer
At first sight, this comedy golf game from Polygon Magic, the people behind PS1 cult favourite Incredible Crisis, appears to simply be intended as the Japanese equivalent of the under appreciated Outlaw Golf games - i.e. Taking out the strippers, ex-convicts and rappers, then replacing them with cute teenage girls, salarymen and androgynous literal half-men, half-women. Once you actually start playing, though, it becomes clear that there is something genuinely different going on in terms of gameplay. Whereas the Outlaw Golf games use their unusual settings to produce challenging but broadly conventional golf holes, Street Golfer uses the concept of golf matches being conducted through the narrow streets and tall buildings of Japanese cities to change the nature of the game itself, turning it into a hybrid of golf and pinball. With perhaps a dash of platform gaming for good measure. Here, bouncing the ball against walls and obstacles is not just valid strategy, but practically required if you want to score low; Do you get round that corner with a couple of safe, short controlled shots? Or do you try to do it in one by bouncing a draw shot off that awning and hoping you don’t end up in the sand trap? Holes can involve hitting the ball down into subway stations, trying to reach the tops of office buildings from the ground, or vice-versa; This is the only golf game you’ll ever play with a 9 yard par 5. The graphics and sound might be mostly first generation PS2 level, and the quirks of the shot control and general presentation may take a little getting used to, but don’t let that put you off: If you’re bored of the Tiger Woods 200Xs of this world, or, like me, you’ve ever pondered the possibilities of a golf game where you were actually encouraged to bank your ball off the scenery, here’s your answer.
From the ‘What it says on the tin’ school of game names comes Samurai Western, whose entire high concept is neatly encapsulated in the title: It’s guns versus swords, and you brought the sword. In a plot that comes on like Shanghai Noon directed by Akira Kurosawa (there’s even an Owen Wilson-like blond cowboy sidekick), you step into the shoes of a young samurai who has come to the American west to find his dishonourable brother, and ends up facing off against a corrupt businessman and his legions of gun-toting thugs. In a world filled with games that make you work like a dog for upgrades and abilities, it’s always a delight to fall onto one of those that make you a virtual superhuman from the off, and that’s the main hook for Samurai Western. Not only are you capable of deflecting/slicing bullets with a spin of your sword, tapping the R1 button with the right timing enables you to dodge shots so fast your character actually leaves blurred afterimages in his wake. Charging straight at someone spraying you with machine gun fire, dancing through the hail of ammo and finally slicing him in half with a single stroke is a jaw-dropping moment the first few times you do it – So much so, in fact, that particularly well-timed displays leave any surrounding enemies standing about gawping in amazement, giving you a brief window to cut them up at no risk. Like most hack-and-slash games, there isn’t exactly a whole lot of variety on offer in the gameplay here, and despite various bonus challenges and dozens upon dozens of unlockable swords, characters and daft costume accessories from parrots and pirate hats to furry paws and demon horns, the enjoyment you get out of this will depend on how you take to the central dodge/deflect game mechanics, but if you enjoy the sense of satisfaction that comes from fighting off overwhelming odds single-handed – And if you don’t then why are you playing videogames? – that should take quite a while.
Fed up with the constricting non-interactive nature of linear plot-centred games? Not satisfied by the unfocused, directionless feel of your average GTA-style ‘sandbox’ game? Fondly remembering the way Deus Ex combined a solid plot with an enormous amount of freedom in how you chose to follow it? Well, then you should try Steambot Chronicles. Of course, this is a Japanese RPG rather than a western one, so instead of being a cybernetic government agent in a dystopian near future and sunglasses, you’re a spiky-haired teen with amnesia [no, wait, come back] in a semi-steampunk world centred around walking mechanised vehicles called Trotmobiles. Woken up on a beach after a shipwreck by a young singer named Connie, you set out to discover who you are – And here is where this game kicks most delightfully against JRPG convention; your amnesia is not the prelude to discovering you have some predetermined fantastic destiny, but simply a way to start you with a blank slate and allow you to choose not only who you are but who you were – Quite literally, in one instance. The plot unfolds at a leisurely pace, offering you plenty of time to explore the enormous variety of ways the game offers you spend your time and make your living. The initial option of busking on street corners and performing with Connie’s band is elaborate enough in itself, with nine different instruments to play, each with it’s own rhythm mini-game, but you quickly find that to be just the tip of the iceberg – Dig up fossils and sell them to a museum? Fight in arena battles with your highly customisable Trotmobile? Dabble in the stock market? Become a pool hustler? Ferry goods and passengers around from town to town? Chronicles has the keep-playing-to-see-what’s-around-the-next-corner feel of Grand Theft Auto, but feels far more relaxed, a difference most hilariously expressed by the game’s comical imitation of a certain GTA game mechanic with the substitution of warm cocoa for hot coffee. Artistic and creative ambitions do outstrip budget and technical ability, with some irritating slowdown and sometimes too frequent loading areas, but for anyone in search of originality, variety and imagination, the good far outweighs the bad.
In contrast to Steambot Chronicles’ assured balancing act, Wild Arms 4 plunks itself down between several stools so heavily you can practically hear the smack of Japanese botty on floor tile. It’s too much a traditional JRPG for non-fans of the form; it’s somewhat too easy for those who are hardcore fans; and just to top it off, fans of the Wild Arms series itself will be disappointed to find a number of the trademark elements missing, and the distinctive fantasy Western setting now reduced to little more than an audio-visual gloss over a compendium of more standard Japanese gaming clichés. Which is a shame, as in the middle of all this is a very satisfying combat system which feels at times like someone sat down with a list headed ‘Bloody Annoying Things About Traditional Turn-Based JPRGs’ and carefully took them all out. Battles take place on a small hex grid, with almost all attacks and effects applying to a chosen hex as a whole rather than a specific character within it, requiring you to apply careful thought to your positions on the field and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of grouping characters together on a single hex or keeping them apart. As I say, hardcore fans may not find it very hard, but you’re not going to beat every fight by pressing X twenty times in a row either, and there’s something very appealing about the feeling that you can actually strategize and change tactics in the middle of a fight rather than get stuffed over because you didn’t prepare exactly the right way beforehand. Add on automatic health restoration after every battle, no-penalty retries if you’re defeated and the ability to turn off random battles in individual areas once you’ve levelled up enough, and anyone who’s ever lost a half-hour boss fight in a Final Fantasy game then realised their last save was two hours ago will want to take the disc out of their machine and hug it. December 2006
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