This Week in Defunct Games - January 11, 2011

What Is It? Never heard of Exed Exes? You're not alone. At one point this vertical shooter was known as Savage Bees (or Attack of the Savage Bees) and was distributed by Memetron. But here we have Capcom's arcade classic, which can be summed in one lazy catchphrase: It's 194X ... in space. You play a teeny tiny little space ship flying around the screen shooting fighter jets. Along the way you'll also need to deal with people below you, on floating layers and other space-age land formations. There are power-ups, bosses and cool level designs, but fans of this style of game have already seen most of this in newer, better games.

Does It Still Hold Up? Exed Exes definitely feels its age. The game was first released in 1985 and looks exactly like what you would expect from that era. There are some neat layering effects in the levels, but the small visuals make the game an eye sore. This game also feels a little too much like 194X, which seems to work better as a World War II shooter. Perhaps there are too many competing space shoot-em-ups, but Exed Exes didn't hold my interest for long.

Is It Worth The Money? There's nothing technically wrong with Exed Exes, it's an average 2D space shooter for $8. Unfortunately, the price is a little too high to recommend. You're better off tracking down one of Capcom's arcade compilations, which features this obscure shooter. There are certainly worse shooters on the Virtual Console, but I wouldn't rush out and buy Exed Exes.

What Is It? Ghosts 'N Goblins is the standard story of girl meet boy, boy takes her on a picnic at night, demon kidnaps girl and boy must fight through a bunch of super hard levels ... twice. Yup, it's Ghosts 'N Goblins, the first installment in a line of games that is still with us (Asian countries can look forward to Ghosts 'N Goblins Online sometime this year). You play Arthur, a brave hero who must make his way past zombies, ice monsters, flying dragons, a Cyclops and much, much more. Fans of Arthur's exploits may remember when the 8-bit NES port was first released on the Virtual Console, now everybody can jump back in and play the game in its true arcade glory.

Does It Still Hold Up? The Ghosts 'N Goblins franchise has always had particular controls, especially when it comes to jumping. This is not one of those games where the player has a lot of control over jump movement, so it's easy to steer poor Arthur right into the deadly water. The graphics haven't aged well, but the main game is as fun as ever. That is assuming you can wrestle the control and overcome the game's menacing difficulty.

Is It Worth The Money? Fans of Defunct Games already know that I love the Ghosts 'N Goblins franchise, so of course I recommend the original arcade game. Unfortunately, this game hasn't held up as well as its 16-bit sequels, but that shouldn't stop you from having a great time battling zombies and running away from gargoyles. Fans that already own the NES game may want to think twice about picking it up, but everybody else should definitely make the bet on Arthur!

What Is It? It's the third (and final 32-bit) chapter in the Arc the Lad franchise. If you're one of the many English-speaking adventure lovers that has somehow missed this series, then you're not alone. Even with all the excitement over Final Fantasy VII, Working Designs decided to keep this tactical role-playing series locked away in Japan. Thanks to Monkey Paw Games, American gamers have a chance to play through all three of these forgotten gems for the low, low price of $5.99 each.

Arc the Lad III is a huge improvement over the first two games, offering a bigger world to explore, a story that takes up two CDs, improved graphics, exciting cinemas and much, much more. The big difference is the job system, which allows players a chance to control the pace of the story. Much like the first two games in the series, Arc the Lad III features fast-paced gameplay (considerably faster than other tactical RPGs) and a strong cast of characters. Best of all, gamers who managed to fight through Arc the Lad II will be able to import their save file for even better characters.

Does It Still Hold Up? The graphics have been improved, but they are a far cry from Final Fantasy VII and the like. Of course, most people don't go into a tactical RPG for the flashy graphics. What the game lacks in visual fidelity, it more than makes up for with fast-paced action and a compelling story. Heck, even the writing doesn't feel as clunky as the first two games. It's not without a few problems, but Arc the Lad III definitely holds its own against the other recently released tactical RPGs.

Is It Worth The Money? Even though all three Arc the Lad games were released in one large PlayStation 2 package, the chances of finding that these days seem slim. With a little hunting adventure gamers may be able to track one down, but here you have all three for less than $18. Much like the first two games, Arc the Lad III is a great portable game, thanks in large part to the quick battles and ease of saving. Now that I've managed to play each of these entries, I'm even more disappointed that this long-running franchise appears to be dead. Hopefully somebody can make it relevant again.

What Is It? Forget that recent Front Mission game for the Xbox 360, because there once was a time when this series actually mattered. Back in 2000, Square released one of the most impressive tactical role-playing games ever released. Even by the Front Mission's already lofty standards, this PlayStation game was a revelation. Square improved the game by adding deep role-playing elements, a worthwhile storyline and some of the best cinemas seen on the original PlayStation. At its core this is still a tactical RPG that trades high fantasy for mechs and future technology. With multiple storylines and some impressive large-scale battles, Front Mission 3 is a genuine masterpiece that should not be missed.

Does It Still Hold Up? Front Mission 3 is a great looking game. Even by today's standards, the still looks good. The cinemas are sharp and each character and mech is intricately detailed. Much of this can be attributed to the release date, which happened mere months before the PlayStation 2's launch. By 2000 Square had figured out how to make a great playing role-playing game, and Front Mission 3 is better because of it.

Is It Worth The Money? I'm starting to get the impression that somebody at Sony wants the world the fall in love with tactical role-playing games. This is the fourth game in the sub-genre since October, which may be overkill given how many other styles of games there are. Still, Front Mission 3 is a spectacular RPG that should not be missed. The presentation is second to none, especially when it comes to the impressive cinemas. At six dollars Front Mission 3 is a steal.

What Is It? Re-Loaded was the first truly disappointing sequel released for the original PlayStation. It's easy to see why the first game was so popular. It mixed dark comic book characters with the overhead Smash TV-style shooters of the day. And did I mention that it has blood and gore? The whole thing was a sticky mess of guts and all manners of disgusting perversion. But beyond anything else, Loaded was a fun shooter that reminded us how much fun Guerilla War and Ikari Warriors were.

Unfortunately, something foul happened on the way to making this 1996 sequel. For starters, Re-Loaded squandered its good will by including a batch of boring, linear levels that felt like a significant step down from the original. They also fiddled with the control in a way that makes even the simplest tasks far too difficult. Instead of featuring loads of atmospheric backgrounds, everything is bright and colorful. It's as if the developers completely forgot how to make a Loaded game in the year between releases. To this day Re-Loaded remains one of the most disappointing sequels of all time.

Does It Still Hold Up? From time to time people ask me how I can tell if a game holds up or not. They seem to believe that all old games look bad and play even worse. I dare anybody to look at both Loaded and Re-Loaded and tell me that the original isn't superior in every way. Even if you take the outdated graphics out of the equation, the gameplay, music and level designs are sub-standard. Not all old school games are equal; Re-Loaded conclusively proves that.

Is It Worth The Money? Don't buy Re-Loaded. I don't care how good you think the original game is, this sequel will disappoint on every single level. Yes, I understand that this is the first action game released on the PSN's PlayStation 1 Store in weeks, but that's not a good enough excuse to play this mediocre release. With Arc the Lad III and Front Mission 3, perhaps now is the perfect time to fall in love with tactical role-playing games.