Namco Museum Archives playthrough Part 4 (Dragon Spirit, Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti, Galaga)
2My ISP went down on me near the end if my scheduled recording time, so the end here cuts off somewhat abruptly. But not much is missed really. I was taking a peak at Battle City, which I'll dive into next time.
Today's games have been the best of the Namco bunch so far though. Sure, I still used rewind to get through them faster, but I could absolutely see playing them without. First was Dragon Spirit: The New Legend. Since it is a sequel to the original Dragon Spirit, and not simply a port. Honestly, there are a few complaints to have with it, but overall it's a very fun game. And unlike a lot of the other Namco games, this one had some real diversity in it. The stages offered differing challenges as you progressed, making the game feel fresh throughout. And you get to play as a freaking dragon! ...Kinda. You're a human transformed into a dragon, so it loses points there. And it's another game with powerup symbols but no manual etc. to tell what they are. Shame. Overall though, a fun game.
Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti is an interesting entry. Splatterhouse, the original, is a more over-the-top graphically violent side scroller. Made for arcades, but it was one of the titles really highlighted for the TurboGrafx-16. This is the second Splatterhouse game, made to be cute, for the NES. Somewhat like Kid Dracula. And, like Kid Dracula, it hadn't made it here originally. It plays fairly well. It's not terribly difficult, though I wish the end boss gave you some kind of indicator that you WERE actually hurting it. Yea, I enjoyed this one too! Even if I don't know what the ending said. Ah well.
So that ended the first volume, for now. I then took a look at Galaga. Of all the various Space Invader style games, Galaga is my favorite. And the NES port is really well done here. It even includes the iconic "captured ship" mechanic, where you can let one of your ships be captured - at the cost of a life - but recapture it back and thus have two guns going. It's a powerup with a trade off that I think really works well. There's not a lot of say for this game, so it was another short preview. But again, a good game.
Last I took a peek into Battle City, and compared it to a World of Tanks New Year's game mode from many years ago. One of my favorite events that they had, clearly based on this game (or the same source this game is based on). Another game it's sad we didn't get here. But I will give this more in-depth next time.
So today was overall a winner for Namco's sets. Still not sure it makes them worth it... -- Watch live at https://www.twitch.tv/the_nametag
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