In fact, the story is where 198X falls shortest in its overall package. 198X does so well at delivering a taste of most of what’s offered, but I couldn’t help feeling bummed there wasn’t more of any of it.īetween each arcade visit, Kid’s story unfolds in beautiful pixel-art cutscenes reminiscent of anime films like Akira (Kid even closely resembles Kaneda), with an oddly noir tone, void of any conflict or dramatic intrigue. Art, sound, and gameplay are so incredibly executed it’s hard to find any fault among them apart from their lengths. The moments of playability are relegated to the arcade remakes, each only providing a handful of stages at the most. Much like Kid, the game spends its hour runtime meandering aimlessly between arcade stints. ‘Out of the Void’ (shmup) and ‘The Runaway’ (racer) particularly stand out for their replications of R-Type and OutRun, respectively, despite becoming easier renditions.įor all its meticulous design in art and sound, 198X doesn’t take the narrative anywhere that feels especially satisfying. The story also features a sci-fi shmup, a highway racer, a side-scrolling ninja slasher, and a first-person dungeon RPG – all of which play and feel exactly as you’d expect, and somewhat fit thematically within the narrative’s framework. It’s here where Hi-Bit Studios begins showing off its talented pool of pixel artists, with bespoke animations and stage design the game looks fantastic, but I’d argue the fidelity of the arcade games is higher than their actual counterparts, especially for the ‘80s. 198X begins with a Streets of Rage-esque beat ‘em up, complete with the expected tropes mohawked street punks, baseball bats, et al. The game spares no time in launching its thematic romanticism of the arcade era.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |