Super Street Fighter II on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive - FIGHT !!!

Prior to this game play review, I'd only ever experienced Street Fighter on the Commodore Amiga. This system was the one I grew up with after owning the ZX Spectrum.

The Amiga version came on four disks which you had to swap quite regularly and of course, you only had one fire button so a lot of the character special moves were very tricky. To get the best out of this, you really need multiple buttons.

Anyway... over 25 years later, I got to enjoy it on another platform, the Sega Mega Drive. Hooray!

Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers was published on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive by Capcom in 1994. Below is my game play review type thing. I'll always be a bit of a noob with these! It seems to be the long established style we're going with. :P

Street Fighter II first appeared in the Arcades in 1991, was a huge success, then quickly ported to many home computer and console systems.

Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers is an evolution of this game.

All twelve varied characters are carried over from the previous game plus four additional new characters for you to get to grips with. These are T-Hawk, Cammy, Dee Jay and Fei Long. Fei Long is the obligatory Bruce Lee type character that these games suddenly liked to include.

The number of matches in single player mode are the same to complete the game. You will face eight random opponents and then have to defeat the adept Grand Masters. The Masters are Vega, Segat, M Bison and Balrog. Along the way are the usual expected Bonus stages involving smashing up some poor person's car.... we never find out who it belongs to. They won't be pleased.

The sound has been re-scored since the previous incarnation. Each character has their own unique location which is represented in the background design. Also some of the characters Special Moves have been either added to or refined.

Admittedly I was a bit of an amateur button-masher with this game, but if you put in the practice Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers is an addictive and rewarding game which you will just have to complete using every character available.

I much preferred it to the Commodore Amiga version I owned back in the day even taking nostalgia into account. Using three controller buttons was an improvement over just one, but to get the full experience, I think you'd ideally need an eight button controller.

Check out my video review above hosted on Youtube. Good game!

Nick :o)

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Super Off Road on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive

Super Off Road was one of my favourite racers from back in the day. Used to play the game a lot on the Commodore Amiga. That version had a license on it for Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart'. Was very interested to see how the game played on the Sega Mega Drive in comparison.

Super Off Road is a racing game published by Virgin in 1992 and based on the arcade coin-op from Leland Corporation in 1989.

How does this one play then?

Well, I'm pleased to say it plays wonderfully. This version is a bit different from the Amiga version I was previously used to and you can sort of look at this as an enhanced arcade version. Very pleasing indeed!

You control a small red car in this oblique top down racing game. It's kind of like a dirt-version of Super Sprint. You race three other opponents and the aim is to progress to as many different courses as possible without getting knocked out.

Prize money is awarded depending on your finishing position which you can use to upgrade your car. Upgrades available are Nitros, Acceleration, Tyres, Speed and Shocks. All are vital to ensure your successful progress. Finishing fourth means no prize money at all meaning you can't upgrade your car for the next race... when this happens a few times in a row you know GAME OVER is imminent.

It seems there are a lot more courses available here than on the Arcade and Amiga versions which is fantastic. The game play is very welcoming for the beginner new to the game, but can rank up quite quickly due to a kind of in-built rubber-banding system.

After each race, you hopefully see yourself on the podium with scantily clad bikini girls. Erm yes... this was probably okay for 1992, but nowadays the Political Correctness police would be heavily on your case. Grid Girls being no longer used in Formula One of course. Changing times. When looking at Retro Games, you have to take yourself back to the era they were originally produced.

Super Off Road is a magnificently fun game. Would highly recommend this version for people both new to the game and those who only had other versions such as myself. It's like a Super Off Road Enhanced Edition!

Check out the Youtube video review above!!

Nick :o)

Please share and spread the word on social media platforms!  :)   #njenkin

Road Rash 3 on the Sega Genesis / Megadrive

Road Rash 3, you won't be surprised to hear, was the third instalment of the Road Rash Series which began on the system in 1991. Road Rash II arrived in 1993, then this third game in 1995. All were published by Electronic Arts.

The first game was outstanding, the second built off the same gaming engine and gave us tougher opponents and more bikes, so what does the third give us? Is it any better? Below is the Youtube video review.

Road Rash games consist of racing with a difference. That difference being comical violence. It's all clean fun. No pixels get injured... I think.

Simply, you start on a Skill Level of 1, must finish in the top 3 on each of the tracks to increasingly level up and face better and stronger AI opponents. It's racing meets fighting. Ace! You have the ability to punch fellow riders off their bikes, club them, hit them with chains, anything to hinder them finishing in front of you. Seems fair.

Road Rash 3 again builds on the greatness of the previous games to offer us slightly more.

You start off with quite a weedy bike, a leaf blower, but by completing races and earning money, you can eventually upgrade. So a bit of grinding. Continuous play will be rewarded. There are three Bike Classes with the highest one being Super Bikes which we must all aspire to. This is where the addictiveness builds. The game is already heaps of fun, but you just want to get enough money for the next bike upgrade. Just one more race...

This time you are racing through 5 different countries. Oncoming traffic in each is not always on the same side of the road which means you have to adjust your tactics a bit depending on where you are. Those evil crossroads are still in place.

The sprites of the rider have been updated from the first two games which isn't a bad thing. The playability is still there. It's still Road Rash. It's manic racing fighting action all the way !!

Overall, I'd rate in on Parr with Road Rash II. It offers a bit more, but not a massive amount. If you enjoyed the first two games, you will absolutely love this one. I sure did!

Nick :o)

Please share and spread the word on social media platforms!  :)   #njenkin

Road Rash II on the Sega Genesis / Megadrive - a great sequel ?

A short while ago we looked at Road Rash on the Sega Mega Drive and the verdict was, it was pretty awesome. I enjoyed playing it so much. This ground-breaking racing/fighting game was released by EA in 1991. Knowing there was also two sequels, it seemed only right, I'd get to those also. Sensed there was lot more fun yet to be had with this adventure.

This time it was the turn of Road Rash II published two years after the original game, hitting the shelves in 1993. The game was also published by EA.
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Hopes were high after the success of the first one. I was hyped to maximum which isn't always a good thing. Sets you up for disappointment. Remember the Star Wars Phantom Menace movie? Ok, sorry if you'd blocked that film out your memory. Bits of it are okay right? The Podrace... the Darth Maul fight scenes. Think I'm going off on a tangent...

Erm anyway, is the second Road Rash game as good as the first, better or worse?

The sequel is instantly recognisable as Road Rash. They don't drift a huge distance from the winning formula. The game admittedly uses a lot of the original sprites and is clearly based off the same gaming engine. Thankfully it does build from the impressive first outing and offers more.

There are a numerous bikes to save up for by earning cash from races. These gradually increase in horsepower through Classes ranging from Light to Super bikes. You just know as a kid you would have played and played to get the money for the fastest bike in town.

There's a new set of tracks, more aggressive opponents and a variety of weapons to upset your fellow competitors with. Nothing can beat the fun of leaping fifty feet into the air, landing on the road and hitting another rider over the head perfectly with a big chain. The chain is my personal favourite.

It's all clean fun. Kind of. The occasional police officer on the road won't find it very amusing and try to bust you. The aim is to finish in the top through on every track to progress to the next difficulty level. Your bike can get wrecked along the way or you can end up in the hospital if you're not too careful. These are mean streets. Funny though!

This worthy sequel maintains the enjoyment and addictiveness of the first game and adds yet another superb layer. A really really enjoyable game. Shear brilliance !!!

Have a watch of the video review hosted on the channel via Youtube.

Will have to look at Road Rash 3 very soon. What a series so far !!

Nick :o)