This Week in Defunct Games - March 15, 2011

What Is It? Believe it or not, but Bomberman is a lot like Pac-Man. Both characters come from simplistic games that are still wildly fun to play. Be it a maze of dots or blowing our buddies up, these games rock. But that's not the only reason these two characters are the same. Sadly, for whatever reason, both characters decided to become heroic and star in disappointing action/adventure games. We saw it with Pac-Man World, and here it is again with the dreadful Bomberman Hero. Gone are the multiplayer matches and pretty much everything else we love about Bomberman, in its place is platforming puzzles and dangling from ledges. Bomberman Hero might as well be Crash Bandicoot with explosives. That might sound fun on one level, but anybody going in expecting a real Bomberman experience will be sorely disappointed.

Does It Still Hold Up? The game offers a lot of levels, bosses and platforming puzzles to master, but none of it feels like a Bomberman game. If anything, it feels exactly like every other character platformer in the late 1990s. Hudson could have swapped in just about any other character and it would have been exactly the same game. And then there's the complete lack of multiplayer, the mainstay of the Bomberman franchise.

Is It Worth The Money? How do you make a Bomberman game without any multiplayer functionality? That's like making a Madden NFL game without a football. The action elements in Bomberman Hero aren't bad, but they never rise above the generic 1990s mascot game. Taking out the one thing that everybody likes about Bomberman is hard to swallow, as is the ten dollar asking price. There are far better Bomberman games on the Virtual Console, including a few for cheaper. I would skip this misguided platformer entirely ... along with Pac-Man World (just for good measure).

What Is It? Ridge Racer isn't that great of a game. There I said it. As a console game, Ridge Racer was impressive for only one reason -- Namco was able to port it in only a few months. It featured very few race courses and absolutely no multiplayer support. It was as simple and shallow as a racer could get, which was fine because the biggest competition (Sega's Daytona USA) was also a huge letdown. Eventually Namco would release sequels that improved on the formula, but even those games managed to disappoint. And then came one that didn't, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4.

Released in 1999, Ridge Racer Type 4 takes its cues from the success of Gran Turismo. While the game remains an arcade racer, Namco has finally been able to add enough depth to the racing to make it worth your time. The game features more than 300 fictional cars, tons of variety and plenty of race types to keep people going long after they've finished the eight courses. The game's various modes are impressive enough to convince most cynics that Ridge Racer is a genre game worth paying attention to. It's a shame they followed this gem up with the lackluster Ridge Racer V.

Does It Still Hold Up? There are certainly things about Ridge Racer Type 4 that seem out of place in 2011. The lack of licensed cars is a bit jarring, especially considering how many fictional rides the game offers. I was also underwhelmed by the lack of courses, though it's a marked improvement over the first game. Still, even with these negatives, R4 is a solid racing experience that manages to hold up better than any other Ridge Racer.

Is It Worth The Money? As long as Gran Turismo is not available, Ridge Racer Type 4 will remain the best PS1-era racing game on the PSN. It's not perfect, but at six dollars it's hard to pass up this much content. The graphics are good and this is Ridge Racer at its most creative. It's a shame Namco hasn't been able to recreate this level of depth in their newer (throwaway) Ridge Racer sequels. It's also disappointing that Sony hasn't uploaded Gran Turismo yet. What's the hold up?

What Is It? Vagrant Story proves that not all Square role-playing games are the same. On the surface this may look like a lot of other PlayStation-era adventure games, but this game has more in common with Tomb Raider than Final Fantasy. You play Ashley Riot, a medieval Navy SEALs-type who is on a quest to save the world from pure evil. In order to do that Ashley must navigate his way around the puzzle-filled catacombs far below Lea Monde. Along with the usual enemies to fight, players will be forced to solve puzzles and figure their way around these dark underground passages. If Ashley can make it out alive he'll be rewarded with one of the greatest adventures of all time, but don't think this late-generation game is going to take it easy on him. Vagrant Story has a reputation for being one of Square's most frustrating epics.

Does It Still Hold Up? When I first downloaded this eleven year old adventure game, I was struck by the tiny size. Most Square Soft games run from 800 mb (Xenogears) all the way up to 1.7 gb (Final Fantasy XIII and IX), so you can imagine my surprise when Vagrant Story rang up at a mere 97 mb. Just how outdated is the presentation going to be? The graphics look good, thanks in large part to a unique comic book art style that still holds up. The music is also solid. The only thing keeping this game's file size down is the lack of lengthy pre-rendered cinemas. Every element of the game still works in 2011, though I wish the developers would have been more in adding a tutorial to the early parts of the game. It feels like important information isn't conveyed unless you dig deep into the instruction manual (which comes in digital form here). Outside of that complaint, Vagrant Story still feels as fresh as it did eleven years ago.

Is It Worth The Money? As much as I respect Square's take on Vagrant Story, it didn't take long for me to remember what I disliked about it all those years ago. The game forces the player to pay close attention to what equipment they have. Certain enemies can only be killed by using certain combinations, something that isn't as clear as it needs to be. Often this leads to some frustrating deaths, especially late in the game. Players that pay extremely close attention should have no problem, but expect a lot of dying on your way to saving the world. With its amazing presentation, compelling story and exciting gameplay, I only wish I liked Vagrant Story more. Still, this epic is easy to recommend at six dollars.

What Is It? After blowing everybody away with Final Fantasy VII, Square decided to take aim at a controversial new topic -- Religion. Xenogears tells the epic story of Fei Fong Wong, a young warrior who is on a quest to regain his memories. This is the type of set-up we've seen a thousand times before, but the development team (many of whom worked on some of the best loved Final Fantasy games) managed to make it interesting by inserting huge mechs into the action. And that's not the only change Square made. Xenogears tries out an interesting new gameplay gimmick, one that involves the players creating their own combos. The game gives us three attack buttons (weak, average and powerful), and it's up to us to choose the right combination to beat up the enemies. This applies to both the traditional hand-to-hand combat, as well as the more explosive mech action.

Does It Still Hold Up? There are elements of this 13 year old adventure game that are absolutely striking, even by today's standards. The game's anime cinemas are breath taking, as are a few of the bosses later in the game. The mixture of 2D sprites and 3D landscapes is weird, but it doesn't detract from the otherwise amazing presentation. The game's unique combat system holds up, though I had a problem with the game's dark graphics. I'm not sure if it was due to the emulation or my PSP's screen, but there were parts of the game I found extremely difficult to see. Thankfully those parts are few and far between. Xenogears may not have the graphical punch of newer RPGs, but it's every bit as good ... if not better.

Is It Worth The Money? There are things I don't like about Xenogears. For one thing, the heavy-handed religious overtones can get annoying, to the point where I found myself rolling my eyes. Furthermore, I loathe random battles, one of the many trappings of the late 1990s role-playing genre. Still, these complaints don't overshadow how impressive this adventure game really is. The game's story is as good (if not better) than what we saw in Final Fantasy VII, featuring just as many memorable characters. I love the combat style and wish that Square would find a way of incorporating it into future releases. Xenogears is far from perfect, but this ten dollar PSN release has more than enough good times to make me wholeheartedly recommend it.