Retro Re-release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit Game Gear, 1992)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has been re-released for the 3DS. It was previously on the Sega Game Gear in 1992 and differs from its brother of the same name for the Sega Genesis. Instead of teaming up with Tails to thwart Dr. Robotnik’s plan of creating a robot army for world domination, Tails and Sonic’s other friends have been kidnapped by Dr. Robotnik and will only be released if you collect and hand over six chaos emeralds. The game is fun and more challenging than the Sega Genesis version. It features different maps and different ‘vehicles’ for each level, including a cart, hand-glider and bubble. Additionally, if you feel like it, you can pretend as though you are playing it on the Sega Game Gear by having half the screen resemble the Sega Game Gear (I do not recommend this setting, as it makes everything smaller and harder to see).
Enjoyable as it is, most of the difficulty comes from the fact that you cannot spin dash (charging up a roll) so if you miss a roll sequence where you are supposed to break a wall you are out of luck. Luckily, in the 3DS iteration, you are able to save your progress. This eliminates a lot of the frustration you might have experienced in the other game. One thing that I do not recall from the Game Gear version, which I have experienced on the 3DS version, is that the game tries to almost centre sonic on the screen. When jumping from platform to platform trying to avoid lava, the camera follows sonic into the air so high that you can no longer see what is beneath you and makes landing in the proper place more of a trial. I realize this might be done because the screen is small and they want to be able to show you the rings above you when you jump, but I would prefer being able to see where I am landing. All in all it was a challenging and reasonably fun game. Highly recommended for those who are big fans of Sonic or anyone looking to feel nostalgic.
Mighty Gunvolt
Mighty Gunvolt is styled after Mega man. It is a fun and quick platformer featuring playable characters from Gal*Gun and Mighty No. 09. The three characters have different abilities and their own maps, offering different play styles and more content. Even with the ‘three ways to win’, the game is very short if you do not die (if you pay attention, this is easy to accomplish). Very little of the plot is explained, and what is explained is extremely vague. What I gathered is that there is a media group called the “Sumeragi” who genetically engineered super humans to be pop idols, they also cleared all the females from the schools and love (or at least heterosexual relationships?) was in danger as a result.
Only you (gunvolt) and two others can stop them and clear them out. There are five levels for each character. The levels are fairly straightforward and easy to go through. Some of the bosses prove more challenging than others (in no particular order), and do vary in attacks and tactics. Recommended if you are a fan of Mega man or the other games. Be warned, it is very short (though, there is the option of DLC).