The PPR Top 5 Week-09/20/2009 Top 5 2.5D Side-Scrollers

So this is also another new thing we will be doing with the Top 5 segment for Press Pause Radio. we've been posting up the choices & lists on our pages of course as well as discussing them on the episodes that we have done so far but now I have also decided to do some in depth looks at the choices that are made for each new episode & off course why they were chosen or what kind of light we felt that Press Pause Radio would like to have brough to it. We have already dont a few Top 5 lists since I introduced it back from episode 5 so with this being the newest list to start this new trend I figured I'd get the ball rolling with a bit of an off kilter list if you will about a sub genre that doesn't get the love that it deserves which is the 2.5D side-scrolling of games & here is the ass end of the list with

5. Wario Land [Virtual Boy]

So being as the fact me along with a few other gamers who bought into the hype & release of the Virtual boy. Being as I was pretty excited from all of the coverage that Nintendo Power gave it, I tried it & was wanting to get it but didn't want to pour out the money for it & I was also keeping up with the impressions that EGM & Gamepro gave it the ol' shitty heave ho & before there was next to none of it's remaining stock left in major retailers, I was lucky enough to pick one up for $25 at Toys'R'Us along with a couple of games for it & one of them being Wario LandVB. The reason why Virtual Boy was in it's name was because Wario Land was also on the Gameboy & it's now an established franchise but the Virtual Boy entry was very different from the Gameboy version. with the 2.5D asppects within Wario LandVB it was very similar to Top Hunter but was very in depth to where there were puzzles thaat involved you jumping in & out of the foreground or background with secret paths or rooms giving you alot to do & alot of replayabillty. The definitive game to own for the Virtual Boy & though I have a small softb spot for it, it was a pretty clunky & unruly console but if you were to pull it out, you need to play one of tthe best 2.5D games ever

4. Pandemonium [Multi]

So the funny story behind this game is that I bought it originally for my Sega Saturn when it was released because I didn't really know what to get for my Saturn at the time & then I found myself in the exact same position when I didn't know what to get for my N-Gage at the time when they ported this game to it years later. It's a shame that not many peoople have played this game either even though it was also on the Playstation as it was released during the time that 2D & even 2.5D weren't anythiing of interest because off the whole 3D phenomenon that took place during that generation. The game had an addicting sense of platforming ith hidden alternative paths through out each stage which led to getting powerups or items, the gameplay doesn't feature any deep collecting of the sort but has depth in it's very core mechanics, you have the option of choosing between the two characters Fargis or Nikki who both have their own set of moves & abillities that make them the more suited choice for cerrtain stages while not being the best for other stages, giving the game awesome replayabillity as well as a seense of critical decision making for game progression the way Megaman does, the game's currently on the iphone as a game app so I highly reccomend picking it up.

3. Top Hunter [Neo Geo AES, MVS, & CD]

Top hunter was an experimental take on the Metal Slug series with alot in depth takes on it when it comes to side scrolling. using a similar tactic that Wario LandVB used thhere is a Fore ground that you start off on & there is back ground however unlike Wario LandVB the background is not always at level with the foreground & this adds an element of strategy as you can not always travel between the two. what makes this game so unique beside changing up the routes of travel between the background & foreground is the switches through the game that also changes the conditions of the enviornment as well along with beat'em up elements & the depth of special moves taken from SNK's library of fighters like Art of Fighting or  Fatal Fury or the power ups, bonus rounds, & on scrreen insanity.Another instant pro about the game is that it is 2 player Co Op so you & friend can travel through the chaos of bounty hunting. The one complaint that I do have with the game is that is the game is very short but great none of the less. If you have a Neo Geo, grab this game, if not you should at least snag it up on the Virtual console for the Wii for 900 points, hella worth it.

2. Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return [PSX]

One of the best games within the library of the Playstation is also one of the best 2.5D games in existence, the sheer size & multitude of thi game is still sometthing to marvel, with even more in depth quests & abillities than the first ever did have. Tomba! 2 has several different intersections if you will for 2D travel within a huge 3D stage as well as if in a sense the game also have a "Metroidvania" feel to it because of the huge overall sprall of the game & later pathways that make them selves open when new items or abillities are availble. The RPG element is also addicting in which there are different sets equipment to be worn with different abillities granted which I have to make special mention of the flying squirell suit as it's a total omage or tribute to Super Mario Bros.3 making leagues more awesome. The collectathon gameplay doesn't even feel very stale or dated, when you figure out the solution to a quest which involves it being a solution to another quest, it pumps this adreneline into you about the game. Tomba! 2 is only availble on the PSone as it hasn't been made availble any other way, this game would make the obvious choice for a PSN release but it seems Sony's lack support behind the release of PSone titles on PSN is following the way of the Virtual Console on the Wii

1. Klonoa [Multi]

Nothing can just beat the charm & quality of Klonoa. The story, simple yet complex platforming mechanics & secrets that fill in this game are only fractions of it's calibur. The game as I mentioned within the Podcast is surprisingly mature in it's plot growth & I don't want to spoil. The game is similar to Pandemonium & Tomba in it's movement where there are intersections again in which you make travel into alternative paths that have trapped villagers that you save, being the oonly thing you collect in the game & it once again without spoiling anything from the game gives you a really great reward. Klonoa is a game that should be experienced by all & it should not be passed up. The boss battles, the replay & the sheer simplicity but oh so incredible charm of it is what warrants to be in this spot & I'm glad I haven't played a single bad game within the Klonoa franchise

Ok so that's it, I posted a direct link to the newest episode of our podcast on our Sega Dreamcast retrospective along with some extra info along with the details for the PPR  contest for the Dreamcast so be sure to check up on the blog until then it's been a blast...

Comments

[NakedBoB]

Pandemonium? Ugh! I hated that game when it first came out. Might have just been the crazy looking Jester, though. Woulda replaced Pandemonium with Viewtiful Joe maybe. Otherwise a very neato list!

Love,
Naked BoB