2025 Special - The Legend of Oasis

Aquaria is in dire need of a Spirit King, a fierce yet compassionate warrior whose mastery over the six spirits will lead the world into a new age. However, the cruel sorcerer Agito stands in the way, wielding the frightening power of the Silver Armlet. You are Leon, a young man destined to become the Spirit King. Bearing the Golden Armlet, you'll face a series of trials that challenge both body and mind. This is The Legend of Oasis, the 1996 follow-up to one of my all-time favorite Genesis games. To put it plainly, Ancient created an excellent sequel, one that does not seek to supplant its predecessor, but to complement it. Both games succeed in everything they set out to do, and it's been a pleasure revisiting them.

Once again, I've gotten ahead of myself. Let's turn that dial on the way-back machine just a tad and dig into what makes this game shine. It starts with the controls, which have evolved a fair amount. The basics of moving around are still second-nature for anyone who'll ever pick up a controller. New are the variety of movement techniques. Crouching and then double tapping a direction will cause Leon to roll. Also, while crouching, he can lie flat on the ground. A great last-ditch move for when players aren't quite sure how to dodge an enemy's incoming attack. Leon's general fighting style has some added flair to it, as well. His jump-kick is stylish and can land several hits on a single enemy. Bombs have their own dedicated button, allowing players a little more versatility in how they handle combat encounters. 

While the limited-use weapons lent Beyond Oasis some creative resource-management, this game goes with a more standardized system. Once Leon picks up a weapon, it can be used as many times as he likes (bombs excluded). Instead, weapons have more pronounced strengths and weaknesses. The powerful sword sometimes leaves openings wide enough for an enemy to exploit. The rod has a purification skill that erases undead, but its utility suffers outside of that particular scenario. Then there's the bow, which is most effective on aerial or faraway foes. Your dagger is still as reliable as ever, but don't sell the other weapons short. The combat system is designed so that in the right hands, the protagonist is always a threat. 

The sequel also greatly expands the verticality that the hero is capable of. With every ledge, there is always some means to reach it, even unintentionally. First, let's consider that Leon is just as much a part of the world as any bush or pillar or monster. He is a being of matter and mass, capable of climbing onto anything (or anyone) he can reach. If you're the type of player that enjoyed jumping onto NPCs in Landstalker or Light Crusader, then this is going to be a real treat. No doubt first-timers will stay on the straight and narrow, only taking the intended paths to reach the goal. However, even as early as the first dungeon, it's possible to save a little time here or there by - let's say - jumping from the back of a rat to reach a valuable treasure. Through knowledge of the environment and its inhabitants, you can do a little sequence bending. There's room for player expression, lending individuality to a play-through. It's a beautiful thing.

Quite unlike most other Action-Adventure games, Aquaria is the antithesis of sprawling. It's tight, compact, and almost claustrophobic in how close-knit everything is. Entrances to dungeons are never more than a couple screens apart from each other. It's not a small game by any means. The first play-through can take anywhere from 6 to 10 hours. Think of it as more of a conscious design-decision. It's a world constructed in layers, wherein purpose lies on the surface, as well as all things above and below. To prove a point, the Wind Shrine is located in the sky and stretches out to every corner of the world. If you fall, you're going to end up somewhere back in the overworld. In essence, it's almost a prototype of what we'd eventually see in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Another shrine, where Leon can recruit the earth spirit Bawu, consists of both forests and underground lairs. Just when you've climbed out of some dank ghoul-filled cavern, it won't be long until you're purposefully tossing yourself into another hole to progress. There is a sense of dynamism and liveliness to exploration, like the world isn't just a series of rooms that spontaneously lock themselves then prevent you from leaving until you've killed x number of monsters and/or pushed the most suspicious-looking block.

Aiding your exploratory efforts are six spirits. Once recruited, they can be summoned from manifold sources. The aforementioned Bawu, who can swallow most anything, is found in all of the plants that dot each location. Dytto's specialties are in the elimination of fire, the freezing of water, and healing. Conversely, Efreet's talents are in creating fire and melting ice. Shade - the darkness that protects - is anywhere that has a reflective surface, including crystals and even the hint-divulging obelisks that dot the world. Brass and Airl offer their own set of talents, such as the creation of sound waves or robot-powering electricity. Leon's toolset grows with the completion of every shrine, and like before, his invaluable allies can be strengthened through the acquisition of hidden gems. 

If all that wasn't enough, Leon's weapons can be enhanced to perform other tasks, such as firing arrows through solid objects, gifting the rod with an anti-undead projectile, or smashing pillars with the sword. Once the requisite scrolls are obtained, nearby orbs (or the spirits themselves) provide these beneficial abilities. Outside of certain circumstances, there is very little backtracking. Also, with a spirit at your side and an enhanced weapon, it's like you're carrying two tools at once. Best of all, outside of weapon-switching, this is all accomplished without pausing the action. There is this seamlessness to all actions that keeps the player engaged. What's needed for a given situation is clearly conveyed, and often the puzzle is simply meeting those needs. The more standardized puzzles that involve switch-flipping and object-pushing are still around. Thankfully, they never come off as excessive, let alone detrimental to the pacing.

Doubtlessly, your efforts to conquer the shrines will be harried by monsters of all shapes and sizes. Their numbers seem greater than before, but in most cases, you'll have some means of neutralizing them quickly. I mean, sure, you can still pummel them with a wicked assortment of moves like this were a top-down Streets of Rage, or you could simply freeze them with Dytto. The slightest contact with fire turns zombies to dust. Don't forget about Bawu, who can swallow just about anything. Bear in mind however that it's not always so easy. Enemies have become more versatile since the last game, employing anti-air techniques as well as aggressive tactics. Soldiers who carry bombs are often capable of kicking them towards Leon, or back-dashing to escape his counterattack. 

It's fair to say that The Legend of Oasis is a more difficult game than its predecessor. There's never a lack of healing opportunities, and because of that, enemies hit harder and attack with greater frequency. The rate at which Leon's HP can deplete is sometimes surprising. I've been taken to near-death more than a couple times by just one particularly ambitious soldier. Even the rats are a threat! Late in the game, they perform leaping attacks that'll tear heroes apart. Since food can no longer be stored, Dytto's effectiveness as a heal-bot is greatly diminished. Learning the mechanics of combat and when to employ the other spirits are a much more effective means of survival. Being 1v1, the boss-fights are a little more predictable, but are no less of a threat. They have multiple phases, growing in intensity as their health decreases. Since save-points are always just before a boss, it's not a bad idea to experiment with different spirits or weapons. Combat as a whole is different, maybe even a little chaotic if you rely solely on the dagger or sword. I get the feeling that Ancient wanted the puzzle-solving to extend beyond just figuring out how to open the nearest door, and devised fights where the solution isn't just to mash the attack button.

Over the years, my feelings on the rank system have wavered constantly. Instead of picking up HP-increasing hearts, Leon's maximum health now has a chance of increasing whenever his health is healed... to the max. These "rank-ups" are a system built to be exploited, since the player can just walk into spikes repeatedly while healing to boost it. For the longest time, I've always felt that perhaps the system is a little too punishing for players attempting to get as low a rank as possible, since it'd involve constant save-scumming or a perfectionist's level of skill. Now, I guess I just don't take it as seriously as before. It's basically just a less time-consuming way for players to increase the maximum life available to them, if they need it. That said, the ranking system from Beyond Oasis returns, so anyone seeking bragging rights should make an effort to be as fast and as thorough as possible. 

Indeed, this game has just as much replay-ability as its 16-bit counterpart. The dense level-design and overall closeness of every location means there is absolutely no downtime. Idle runs to the next destination simply don't exist. There's always a shortcut to take, a route to adjust, or an alternative means to progress. One trick to keep in mind is the bomb-jump. It's as simple as placing a bomb, waiting for it to flash yellow, and then jumping. The explosion will catapult Leon onto otherwise not-easy-to-reach cliffs. Blowing yourself up is obviously not without cost, but it's still a lovely skip. It's techniques like these, as well as the weapons & spirits, that create a mechanically rich and fulfilling game. There is so much here that's a joy to interact with. 

The Legend of Oasis is an innovative action-adventure classic... or at least it would be if more people actually played the game. Dammit! I'll admit to being part of the problem here, as for the longest time I saw it as the lesser entry compared to Beyond Oasis. What's here is thoroughly fantastic. All of the dungeons are great. The protagonist has tremendous mobility and an answer for every possible situation. Perhaps most importantly, there is a richness to its mechanics that rewards knowledge and creativity, making for a game worth revisiting multiple times over. 

2025 Special - Light Crusader

"You're done with Light Crusader! Done! Never again!"

"You even recorded a play-through and posted it on Youtube. That's like... throwing dirt on top of the casket, scattering ashes in the wind, leaving flowers at the grave, whatever! Point is, it's over. It's finally-"

It's never over. All that ended up getting buried was the voice telling me that my time with Light Crusader had ended. If I can be brutally honest; he doesn't know shit about shit anyway. There was a time eons ago that I absolutely abhorred Final Fight. At one point, I even hated Mushimesama. Opinions and feelings are prone to change. The fact that I've revisited this particular game time after time, despite my supposed "done with this forever" attitude about it, clearly means something.

I think?

Well, let's go over the basics. Light Crusader is Treasure's first (and last, I guess) foray into the world of Action-Adventure. After a tiring journey, Sir David arrives at The Kingdom only to find out that there have been kidnappings, shadows creeping around the cemetery, and a host of other bad omens. With sword in hand, our hero delves into a massive labyrinth, ready to face the foul monsters and confounding riddles that lie within. Compared to the likes of Alien Soldier & Radiant Silvergun, this might be the most bog-standard plot ever seen in a game by Treasure. Oh no! An evil wizard is about to summon a demon! That's seriously the extent of the story. No twists, no absurd lore, not even a little bit of time traveling. Well, there was one instance of Sir David visiting different worlds to fight ninjas and cowboys. The developer had to slide at least a little absurdity in, and I appreciate it.

As you'll soon see, the game adopts an isometric perspective, but Sir David and the fiends that accost him can freely move in all eight directions. However, most objects will only move diagonally. I actually really like that characters and objects operate by different rulesets. To reiterate, there is just as much adventure that there is action, and objects include everything from moving platforms to exploding barrels. Learning how they work is key to solving the myriad puzzles that await. Sometime ago, I would've likened this game to Landstalker, but the approach here is quite different. Going further, I've started to glimpse the appeal of how the protagonist and the world around him works. There is a lot of fluidity and maneuverability when moving around. This makes the precision required to push objects around really satisfying to pull off. Now, I won't claim it's perfectly handled, since there are rare moments where David will brush up against a boulder, unintentionally causing it to roll away. 99 times out of 100 though, this is a game world that feels good to move around in.

However, even with all of my replays, my feelings on the swordplay are still in the realm of iffy. When fighting the many flavors of adversity, Dave has a habit of auto-targeting whomever he is closest to. It's most apparent when attacking from midair, as he'll perform a diving strike on a nearby target. There will be an adjustment period for players new to Light Crusader, and either they'll get the hang of it after a while, or it will gnaw at them for decades. Oh! Excuse me, I was talking about myself there. Maybe it's because this is one of the shockingly rare instances where the combat system in a Treasure game works 95 out of 100 times instead of the usual 100 out of 100, and my entire being struggles with that.

The same holds true for the boss battles. They all look great but often don't have a strategy past 'walk up and hit it with a sword several times'. There are, of course, exceptions. One late-game boss summons an odd 3D triangle. Bumping into it will drain Davey's health, restoring the boss' in the process. Destroying a literal tank with a sword is also pretty cool. Again, however, this is a game by Treasure, and the sky-high standards they set for bosses isn't met here. Still, there is a part of me, a part I tried to suffocate for decades. That part doesn't believe the mediocre fights are a big deal, and for once I'm starting to understand what he's saying. This is probably a side-effect of the many Action-Adventure games I've played in 2025. I've tussled and tangled with so many bosses. Some were good, several others just okay, and a few made me question my love for video games. I'm fine with just okay. Just okay keeps the quest interesting. Just okay gives life, creativity, and flavor to the world. As much as I would've loved to have seen good or even great battles, I'm far too familiar with the godawful few. In short, good on the developers for exercising restraint and settling for just okay. Whether or not it was intentional doesn't matter.

Another reason I'm willing to forgive the just okay bosses is because... well... it's flat-out impossible to die in this game. Okay, I'm being facetious here. Surely there is evidence out there of Sir David eating one too many clubs to the face, or getting burnt to a crisp by endless fireballs. The possibility that ever happens is less than zero. For one, unless the player decides otherwise, Dave the Brave will instantly chow down on any food that'll bring him out of an injured state. Fish, steak, chicken, anything edible. If the person holding the controller makes the slightest effort to defeat bad guys, their inventory will be stocked with heaping helpings of healing. Obviously, it's in one's best interest to avoid taking damage, but there's practically no harm in tanking damage either. I imagine there's replay value in tackling the game without food stuffs, relying only on the occasional fountains to stay healthy. Hmm... Probably should have tried that myself, especially considering the number of play-throughs I've done. 

OOPS!

There's one other aspect of Light Crusader that's well-thought out, but also surprisingly easy to forget about. Anyone familiar with the game already knows that it's the spell system. Each of the four elements are accounted for, and they can be combined in multiple ways to create a wide array of effects. Thing is, it's a difficult feature to discuss in detail because in all these years, I never really took advantage of it. The sword - even with its "pitiful" 95 out of 100 efficiency - is still incredibly effective at handling everything the game throws at me. That said, anyone trying this game for the first time should make an effort to explore magic. What else can I say? It's neat.

More important than anything else, this game has perfect pacing. Ashamedly, this isn't something I've paid attention to before, even though it's the #1 reason why I've replayed it so many times. I mean, there are games out there that I will claim to love with every ounce of my soul, but they've seen less play-throughs than Light Crusader. This is a three-hour adventure, a very lean one at that. Outside of one extremely minor instance of backtracking, you're spending the entire game in the dungeon. Moments where control is taken away are nonexistent. Each of the six floors has a hook that draws you in, and there's no filler that gets in the way. For instance, on the third floor, you'll acquire a Goblin costume, perfect for mingling with the Goblins and getting into places where no human is allowed. It's a novelty that doesn't wear out its welcome. Once you reach the 4th floor, you can safely forget about the costume. Sometimes, retaining player engagement is simply a matter of knowing when something has served its purpose and must be discarded. 

While I'm at it, David's walking speed is amazing. He's got a stride that covers the right amount of distance in the right amount of time. I've never felt like he needed a run button, or a dash-cancel, or some manner of spammable bunny hop that decreases travel time by .02 decameters. Maybe it's a small thing in actuality, but it feels grand when directly compared to some of the other games I'm playing right now. Shining Wisdom, I am thinking about you this very second, and the fact that I have to mash and hold the C button just to reach beyond a snail's pace. Speaking of; that auto-eating system I mentioned earlier drastically cuts down on inventory time. Absolutely brilliant idea.

I feel like I owe Light Crusader more than just begrudging respect. Just because Treasure didn't blow the roof off like they did with Alien Soldier, Guardian Heroes, Radiant Silvergun, Sin & Punishment, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, Gunstar- a... anyway... just because they didn't blow the roof off doesn't mean that they didn't deliver a damn solid game. It has remarkable ideas yet doesn't trip over itself trying to convince the player to invest in them. For a genre that was outside of their comfort zone, they nailed everything that matters. 

2026 Special - Syd of Valis

2026 marks the beginning of a new Special. Gone are the days of men with their swords and top-down perspectives. This year, it's all about ladies jumping and slashing through side-scrolling worlds packed with all manner of danger. There's no worse game to start with than Syd of Valis for the Sega Genesis. Released in 1992, this retelling of Valis 2 features super-deformed visuals, slippery controls, wonky hitboxes, and enough jank to choke a mammoth. 

I remember renting this monstrosity eons ago. It was something of a last resort, since it was the only game in the rental store I hadn't already played, and I couldn't just go home empty-handed. Not to mention, I had the invincibility code from a magazine, so I could see the end no matter what. What followed was a weekend of "Well, it's still better than staring at a wall... I think.". The first few attempts - without cheating - went just as poorly as could be imagined. Yuko was always running off of ledges and into enemies. Her inability to dodge much of anything was also a constant issue, mitigated only slightly by restoratives being fairly common. An action-platformer this wonky should've had at least a few continues, but alas, there are none. It wasn't long before every play through afterwards was with the invincibility code enabled. At least I got to see the ending and my $2 worth. There must have been at least one person out there who paid full price for this mess. My heart weeps for them.

Much older yet not the slightest bit wiser, I'm revisiting Valis Syd to see if there's anything of merit. Well, to start with, at least an ounce of credit must be awarded for the various outfits that Yuko can obtain. They change her stats, offering the possibility of different playstyles. Even in bad games, acquiring new stuff is always nice. Of course, it's all rendered pointless once the best armor is acquired, but I'm trying to be kind. The closest to a second compliment I can muster is that it's rewarding to strategize, work around the jank, and discover exploits for cheesing all of Yuko's adversaries. The heroine acquires four different weapons for her sword, and they'll all see at least some usage.

HOWEVER, actually playing the damn game is still as lousy as ever. Running is just a bad idea in general. Instead, you'll have to stutter step. A little bit forwards, a tiny bit backwards, for as long as it takes until the credits roll. Jumping is essential for progress, but every leap saps an ounce from your soul. At least the developer was considerate enough to make it so that most pits aren't instant death. Shame they didn't try to make spike pits less annoying, but that's more an issue of Yuko's constant struggle to recover after taking damage. She's a large target, and every moment she gets hurt leads to dropped inputs, loss of rhythm, etc. Some of the best action-platformers of the era have knockback, so in a sense it's understandable, but this isn't even in the same dimension. When the mere act of running is a trial and a half, every instance of pain & suffering is amplified a hundred-fold.

On the plus side, every boss either has a very simple pattern, or a secret exploit that trivializes them. Upon meeting the very first mid-boss, Yuko can just blast him out of the sky without leaving the perch she's standing on. One of the bosses, whose most common attack is spikes that rain upon hapless adventurers, can be undone just by pressing against the right side of the screen. The 4th boss is ridiculous if you attempt to fight him on his terms. Instead, find a spot to sit that'll cause his AI to fall apart. Then you're free to plink away with homing bullets. In all honesty, it's almost a shame that there aren't more fights, since breaking them is Valis SD's only compelling aspect. There certainly isn't anything between the bosses that's worth remembering.

Yes, the final boss will often fire an attack that misses Yuko entirely while she pelts him with homing bullets. Positioning and weapon choice matter far more than skill. Once I realized that, the game started to make a bit more sense. Then again, there's always the possibility that none of it was intentional and the developer expected players to hop around dodging everything. Yeah, well... ha ha ha... That sounds like a way to make an already bad game truly loathsome. 

The entire experience is made even more unpleasant by the uncharacteristically poor music. When combined with the uneven visuals and poor cinematics, one has to wonder if this really deserves to be a part of the Valis series. I'm not trying to be rhetorical here. The presentation is one of the strongest qualities of these games. What's here just looks cheap.

If you're the kind of person that absolutely must play everything, no matter its quality, then you must be me and at this moment I'm writing to myself. Seriously though, this is an unserious adventure, probably best left to be swallowed up by the sands of time. Only give this a go if for whatever reason you don't appreciate the games you already have. Don't forget that there are (or were) poor shmucks like me who only had SD Valis to play. 

Oh! I have good news for fans of rating systems. For this year and this year alone, I'm introducing a rating system of my own. There's a catch, however. Great, good, and even passable games won't receive a rating. Bad games will. More specifically, bad games will be awarded images of Yuko's horrified face, because she has just witnessed something truly abominable. Expect the worst games to see a lot of Yukos.

Without further ado.

Final Rating: 

oh my god

2025 Special - Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

Sometime in late April, I - finally - started playing Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. It's a story of a man who realizes too late that the un-life of a bloodsucker who can no longer experience the pleasure of a warm bath might not be the greatest thing ever. Believing that slaughtering a cadre of elite sorcerers will cure his vampirism, Kain embarks on a quest through the twisted lands of Nosgoth. In 1996, a video game that treated being a vampire as anything beyond "cool powers" was astonishingly rare, but Silicon Knights proved that they were up to the task. This is not just another action-adventure with a sword-swinging protagonist and macguffins to collect. It delivers on the promise of being a lord of the dead, with all the consequences that come with. Damn good game, though it's taken me forever and a few months to finish it.

Just to be clear, I started my play-through in late April and finished in early July. That's a lot of weeks lost to a 13-to-18-hour piece of media. You already know this, but I'll say it anyway: I was busy with other stuff. Besides the handful of similar sword & spell titles I've covered in this blog, I've also been playing what seems like the entirety of the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast library. If that wasn't enough, I started work on a list of the top 100 worst Genesis games of all time, only to shelve it. Maybe I'll dig that back out in 2028, maybe not. Also, a lot of late hours were spent watching clips from The Sopranos, rolling (fully clothed) into a mountain of crushed sertraline, and wallowing in the endless depths of self-pity. You know how I normally spend my hours outside of games-writing.  

The point is that there really isn't a point. My reasons for taking months to finish a single play-through are uninteresting and not at all related to the quality of the game. Like I said, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is damn good. It has sexy mood lighting everywhere, this wonderful sucking noise just before Kain slurps his victim's blood, and delicious narration for every plot beat or object of importance. There are other great qualities, ones more fundamental to the typical enjoyment of a video game product, but it's these that'll stick to my mind flesh until it crumbles to dust. They create that all-important flavor and identity that I've been crowing about for what feels like eons.

In the beginning, Kain can't do much beyond swing a sword and drain a dying adversary of their blood. Unlocking his full potential involves the exploration of caves, castles, lairs, and any other locale where mortals fear to tread. Oftentimes, you'll know you're on the right path as soon as you walk through the front door. Images of what you can expect to find are prominently displayed. Whereas Nosgoth is packed with winding passages and myriad secrets, its dungeons are generally more direct, more straightforward. Sure, hallways are doubtlessly laden with vampire-killing traps as well as fiends galore. You're far less likely to hit a dead-end or be forced to take an alternate route though. It's very "what you see is what you get" game-design, which keeps the adventure moving at a brisk pace. Well, as brisk as Kain's pitiable walking speed will allow.

In similar games, I'd be hunting down the boots of walk-fast or mastering the button combination required to move 3% quicker. Here, it's not such a big deal, and that's partly attributed to the forms. Naturally... I mean unnaturally, the vampire can take the shape of a wolf to cover more ground and leap over danger. Turning into bats allows him to fast travel, with other forms offering the means to walk on water or interact with the locals beyond slicing them apart. Also, admittedly there is something appreciable about Kain moving rather slowly. Walking becomes a conscious almost weighty decision. This isn't like some other action-adventure titles, which emphasize the action by letting the hero run all over the screen, blowing past everything. Here, the simple act of attempting to walk past a monster has risks. The one time you try to avoid fighting one monster might lead to you getting trapped in a pincer attack a moment later. Kain's wolf form is faster, but transforming takes time, creating an opportunity for nearby foes to surround him. The simple act of evading trouble in whatever form it takes is actually compelling.

Still, you should make full use of Kain's repertoire, particularly his spells and sub-weapons. Spells tend to fall into the direct-damage or puzzle-solving categories. Pretty self-explanatory. Though, also unlike similar games, the chances of you frequently using the same powers are fairly low. One spell allows Kain to control someone's body, using their flesh to pull switches and collect items. Thankfully, this novel ability doesn't suffer from constant reuse until it becomes mind-numbing. When obtaining a new ability, there's a brief tutorial section, and maybe a handful of incidents beyond that. This keeps trips to the inventory menu for spell reassignments to a welcome minimum. Sub-weapons are limited in number but are really effective when the circumstances are ideal. In fact, anything is better than losing health, since it's not often easily replaced.

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is not afraid to place its players in precarious predicaments. The Circle of Nine, those oligarch bastards you've been tasked to hunt down, all have lairs that are equal parts elaborate and labyrinthian. Whatever confidence you might be feeling after raiding the last habitat and eliminating its occupant will disappear shortly upon arriving at the next one. Malek's Bastion is a castle completely frozen over, with nary a drop of warm blood within its halls. A nightmarish place for any vampire, let alone a whelp like Kain. Did I mention the ice physics? Probably should've, because there aren't any other appropriate times to slide that factoid into the review. 

Somehow, Kain must persevere, even if it involves consuming several Hearts of Darkness. These are perhaps the most important items, the life after death for the unliving I guess. They revive Kain with a scant amount of HP when he dies. They're a clever means of giving someone multiple chances without giving up any tension. You'll want them nearby if, for example, you were caught unaware, and it was a long time since your last save. This is a great feature since it keeps the player glued to their controller and doesn't require a reload whenever something goes wrong. I say all this, without even realizing that the hearts can be consumed for far more health than if used solely as a revival tool. Oops. Still, you'll want to hoard these as much as possible, since late-game enemies will hit very hard.

Another feature that adds tension while also being quite convenient is the "ghosts". A person or creature that is killed in a building or dungeon will reappear the next time you enter the room, but only as an ectoplasmic anomaly. Ghosts are weaker than their living counterparts, and they don't restore health when fed upon. Indeed, free lunches only grow in scarcity as the adventure continues. Several enemies in the overworld won't become spirits when they're killed. They're also very unlikely to be on the path to your next destination, let alone several rooms deep in a dungeon. By the way, the presence of living creatures usually indicates you're visiting a building or cave for the first time. It's a nice touch. I also appreciate that the next location Kain must visit is highlighted on the map. Even after dropping the game for multiple months, I was able to get back up to speed and resume my place almost instantly.

As I said way back, trouble takes many forms. These forms can walk on two legs, or four legs, or slide across the ground on one big gloppy appendage-like thing. It's easy to swing a sword wildly whilst yelling VAE VICTIS, but doing so without getting hurt in response? Not quite as easy, but you'll get the hang of it. Stepping back or stepping to the side are effective dodging measures. Depending on the type of enemy, you might want to show some restraint by attacking with a blade instead of magic. In other words, kill them but leave them standing. You can't feed on the living if they're in pieces or ashes. That said, if you're not hurting for resources, then it is thrilling to indulge in the power fantasy that is laying waste to scores of foes. I'm partial to the worms that melt anything they come in contact with. Always a good time. Beware though, as there are many cretins that exist solely to spread misery. A certain zombie will let loose with tiny projectiles. By tiny I mean "smaller than a pixel". Don't even try to run past these jerks if you're in a cramped corridor. Evil Spirits are obnoxious bullet-spewers placed in equally obnoxious locations like swamps and sewers. The constant is that instances of backtracking are shockingly rare, so you'll only deal with their ghostly forms if you absolutely want to.

There is always a touch of problem-solving when dealing with bosses. Rushing them sword in hand never works, unless of course that sword is the Soul Reaver. This extremely powerful blade is obtained about 2/3rds of the way through Kain's quest and will make instant mash of what remains of The Circle of Nine. The only catch is that it costs a ton of MP to wield, but that's easy to work around. With some resource management, trivializing the endgame wasn't much trouble for me. I walked into the final battles with over 60 Hearts of Darkness. Not that I needed them when I had a sword that kills anything in a hit or two, but whatever.

Still, I also have to recognize that I missed out on quite a lot of secrets, 75 out of 100 in fact. Most of these discoveries led to sub-weapon ammo and other welcome resources. Other rewards were more memorable, such as bits of lore and visuals not seen anywhere else in the game. I should've been more thorough, but my play-through was already waylaid by countless delays, and taking breaks just because I was sick of constantly checking a guide was off the table. Maybe in another timeline, one where I played this at the time of its release and wasn't cursed with an endless fount of other games.

Complaints are few, with most centered on the rather cumbersome UI. First off, kudos to the version available on GOG for being playable right out of the "box". There wasn't any need to look up some fan patches or futz with .ini files. The port also adapted perfectly well to my Logitech F310. It's nice being able to play through the entire game with just a controller, even though every button is required in order to choose powers, forms, or items. The inventory screen feels slightly dated, but at this point I'm just nitpicking decades-old sensibilities. I suppose I should also mention the poor hitboxes, particularly when they lead to Kain taking a lot of cheap hits. It's... really not a big deal. The game could have Dodonpachi-level hitboxes and that'd affect the score* by maybe a decimal point.

All in all, I'm glad that I've finally put Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain to rest. It was a very enjoyable adventure, particularly in how much of a mid 90s time-capsule it turned out to be. There is this distinctly wonderful vibe coursing throughout, no doubt the result of talented voice-actors and artists. Nosgoth is impressively realized with plenty to explore. Some rough edges exist, but I'd say they're hardly worth considering. 

*As if I was ever planning on tacking a score to the end of a review.

2026 Special - Kendo Rage

Everything wants you dead!

Oh, and you're going to be late for school.

That's the basic premise behind Kendo Rage, a hack & slash platformer where you rush through waves of ghosts and maniacal wildlife. At the end of each round, you'll contend with a vicious rival. Time is not on your side. You'll get bad endings if you're late... not that the good ending is much better. The difference between the two is mostly a matter of pride, something you'll need a bit of survive this adventure. What we have here is a video game that's very lean, but also a bit unforgiving. It was the style at the time. Release a game that most players can somewhat easily survive until the last level, then throw them in "the grinder". For some, it's an opportunity to push their gaming skills to new heights. Others will succumb to frustration and possibly rage. 

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Before going much further, I confess that maybe "somewhat easily" is lifting more than it should. As early as the first level, players will quickly realize that their adventure will not be a forgiving one. Josephine is about as squishy as the average Belmont. Four hits are all it takes to bring her from full health to full death. Enemies are also a bit more plentiful than the typical Castlevania and not afraid to attack from multiple directions at once. They don't respawn when killed, which is appreciated. The catch of course is the clock, doing psyche damage with every tick. Logically, you'll have a better chance of success if you play slow and methodically. That tends to fly out the window when you glance at the clock. At that moment, the urge to hurry along gets the better of you. Before you realize it, you've bumped into an enemy, lost your rhythm while dodging a series of attacks, or flat-out lost a life. 

Again, the difference between endings is so miniscule that being late should mean nothing. There's something about video games though, how they make players commit to multiple play-throughs and deal with waves of emotions, all with just a line of text. The 16-bit era was particularly egregious. Several ending screens will tell you "Not bad. Now play normal mode." and then "Good job. Now play hard mode." and then "Great job. Now play very hard mode." and then "Fantastic job! Now play maniac mode." only to finally be told "Congratulations, maniac." Josephine being late for school doesn't lead to the end of the world. Nevertheless, the clock influences every action, compounding the player's chances of actually reaching the end. "It's a marathon, not a sprint." I tell myself repeatedly while myself repeatedly tells I to shut the hell up with the "loser" talk. Needless to say, we tried to rush through Kendo Rage and suffered for it. 

The first boss sets the pace that should be followed: measured and consistent. Her attacks have a very clear pattern, punishing anyone who gets greedy with trying to land more hits. One thing that will become apparent before long is that while most enemies are crushed in 1 or a few hits, bosses get progressively more durable with every passing level. It's a tricky balance, designing a boss that takes a lot of hits but doesn't require a long time to defeat. I think the game is mostly successful at it. Players are encouraged to stay back and watch for openings. 

Future levels play out in similar fashion. The locales and sometimes the architecture will change, but most time in levels are spent hacking through a bunch of foes while engaging with fairly basic platforming. A couple gimmicks come into play like the requisite underwater and auto-scroller levels. Getting around isn't the worrisome part, especially since there aren't traps, mazes, or bottom-less pits. There are, however, a lot of monsters all trying to take a piece out of Josephine. The level of difficulty is a very clear upward curve. The things originally taken for granted - full-healing items - become increasingly rare until they disappear entirely.

In spite of the odds, it shouldn't be too much trouble for most players to reach the final level. Josephine immediately respawns after dying, so defeating bosses through attrition is possible. That all changes in the final level, "the grinder" portion of the game. It's a Boss Gauntlet. Unlike refights in some other games, the rivals aren't weakened in any way. In fact, many of them have received new attacks and patterns. You can pick up yellow orbs, which allow the heroine to take extra hits, but no healing items. Naturally, the gauntlet ends with a final boss, who has three increasingly dangerous phases to contend with.

In what is essentially the last third of the game, I have to unlearn all of the bad habits I developed over the course of my playthrough, such as relying on attrition to defeat bosses. Providing additional stress is the fact that running out of lives means redoing the entire gauntlet, provided I had any continues left. Then there's the final boss himself. His three phases all have their own health bars. If that somehow wasn't enough, defeating the final phase will likely require some very particular attack timings. Basically, hitting a boss will cause them to flash for a few frames. providing just enough time for the player to run or jump through them without taking damage. This is exactly what being "the grinder" is all about. Backloading the most significant jump in difficulty isn't something I tend to like in video games, but I respect what the developers went for here. It gives Kendo Rage a spicy flavor that keeps it from being immediately forgotten, like so many other action-platformers of the era.

Uh... honestly though, I don't really like playing this game. Josephine is a large target, and her attack is delayed just enough that attacking on reaction sometimes doesn't work. This creates instances of cheap damage, typically inflicted by small yet quick creatures. Besides the yellow orbs, there are other orbs that changes Josephine's attacks so she can fire projectiles when her PSY meter is full. It doesn't seem to affect her damage output enough to matter. The 6th boss is a tennis match that instantly loses its charm in the gauntlet. Speaking of, I'm just not a fan of boss gauntlets in general. Just not a fan at all. Yeah, I know I said that it's what gives this game its flavor, but it's a flavor I can live without.

Give Kendo Rage a try if you're curious, but chances are you'll have more frustration than fun.