R-Type Dimensions III (Multi) Review

All month long we've been looking back and celebrating Capcom's Blue Bomber with MEGA MAY. Let's interrupt this themed month for a little longer to look back at another classic franchise, albeit a shoot-em-up series: R-Type! This review of the recently released R-Type Dimensions III is based off the Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game, and here is the SPC verdict.

Lightning strikes thrice

The original R-Type III was a game that was quite frankly, super punishing in its difficulty, but offered rewards for the players who overcame its challenges and learned to persevere over the game. Now, over three decades since its original release, R-Type III is back with new bells, whistles, and improvements but also some unfortunate major downgrades as well with R-Type Dimensions III.

Let's start with a quick (and I do mean, quick) history lesson. R-Type III: The Third Lightning originally released in 1993 on the Super Nintendo being the first R-Type series installment to not release in arcades. It boasted Mode 7 effects such as the ability to grow and shrink its individual sprites to impressive effect, for one. Unlike past entries which were made by Irem, it was developed by Tamtex.

My "pew pews" with my lasers go "pow pow" on the targets they hit.

R-Type Dimensions III takes the original R-Type III: The Third Lightning game and applies myriad configurable options and amenities to it, such as the ability to customize the controls to your liking (for the most part), as well as freely switch between the original 2D visuals and the all-new 3D mode with a touch of a button. Both graphical modes allow the optional application of scanlines as well. 

Seamlessly (well, with a little slowdown here and there) switch between 2D and 3D graphical modes with a button press.

The visuals of 3D mode are really cool to look at. You have specific segments where the camera can move dynamically to tilt the perspective in an awesome way. Other than that, everything is impressively detailed, from the enemies, whether they be piloted crafts or organic alien nightmares, to the background and foreground geometry. The music has received polish too in 3D mode, offering real instruments as opposed to soundfonts, and it really brings new life to the original's already impeccable, impressive soundtrack.

Another added inclusion is that of a local two-player co-op mode. The original R-Type III had two players able to play, but upon one player's death, it simply switched to the progress of the other player's run. The time around, actual co-op is present, affording two players to pilot their respective ships on the same screen at once. This is a really nifty addition!

Overwhelming odds? Well, two can literally play this game!

Starting off a run in R-Type Dimensions III, you get a choice between three Forces. These bestow your ship with a miniature ship of sorts that grants unique abilities and weaponry. This additional arsenal of firepower can be independently deployed or attached to your ship, which brings some added strategy to the game--of what to pick up and where to place it. There are sections of stages more suitable for deploying while others are better for having your Force attached to your ship. Depending on your particular play style or how you want to initiate and take on a given run, the choice of your starting Force is important to factor in. Each selectable starting Force has its own advantages/disadvantages, pros/cons, benefits/weaknesses to the battles at hand, which is a cool, albeit expected touch.

The original R-Type III wasn't a game you just played through casually and expected to reach its end without any friction. No, this is "Friction: The Game" in top tier form. It's a game that demands your dedication to it, but one of the greatest rewards for an R-Type player is mastering a given stage--perhaps even going for that coveted no-death run.  

Deaths aren't optional for beginners, and heck, even advanced players used to the R-Type series. It's expected. It's mandatory. It's a constant influx of ship explosions, whether from stray bullets, to walls closing in and crushing your ship on the fly. Memorization is key, and even then, you have to properly execute what is expected of you to survive. This is indeed an incredibly challenging, difficult game.

The stages themselves are designed in a masochistic way that losing lots of lives is quite easy to do, unlike everything else in R-Type. Even from the first stage, you pilot your way through the starting openness of space with modest amounts of space debris flying at you, but soon find yourself entering a claustrophobic series of walls that close in, shift about, and even at one point spin while requiring you to move out of harm's way in the process. 

From open space shenanigans to inner alien action, R-Type Dimensions III takes you all over.

Fortunately, the added Infinite Mode alleviates some (but nowhere near all) of the aggravation. Instead of Classic Mode's limited assortment of lives and spawning you back at the last checkpoint, Infinite Mode--as true to its name--grants infinite lives and also respawns you directly back into the action from your current location. Sure, this also means that you can respawn immediately back into harm's way, losing yet another ship in the process, but it's a minor inconvenience for the power of unlimited lives.

That said, it would have been a nice touch to include some kind of rewind capability for at least Infinite Mode. As deaths result in your ship leveling down to its original under-powered, woefully weak state, it makes for an agonizing playthrough, especially when you're perishing every 5-10 seconds like this R-Type "pro" did (read: I absolutely, positively sucked at this game).  

As a shoot-em-up, R-Type Dimensions III is as nice as they get, at least control-wise. Threading the needle through enemy ships, bullets, and hazards feels pleasant and precise. You're not going to die because the controls weren't responsive, that much is for certain. 

Infinite Mode presents players with an unlimited amount of lives to spend.

However, and quite unfortunately, this remake presents new issues not found in the 1993 original rear their ugly head in. For one, hitboxes feel considerably "off" and inaccurate. This means that deaths happen a lot more than they otherwise would due to your hitbox being larger than it's specifically supposed to be. Shots that don't even graze my ship could end in an explosive result, for example, and frustratingly so.

Furthermore, many enemies don't properly register with a helpful visual clue you're hitting them, either with a flashing animation as bullets pelt them or anything else visually. Was I actually dealing damage to a baddie? It was difficult to tell, such as with the second stage's boss, and with a game that's already punishing in its level of challenge, these oversights and added aggravations do not make for a good impression--especially since they appeared to creep and leak over into the 2D portion of R-Type Dimensions III as well!

No doubt the original developers enjoyed Ridley Scott's Alien series.

It's hard to recommend playing R-Type Dimensions III over the original, especially if you're a purist or diehard fan of the 1993 SNES classic because of these oversights. They make the game much more challenging and pretty much to an oftentimes unfair degree. Those new to the series or game might not mind these issues as much, but the game will essentially curb stomp these players unbeknownst to its dastardly, dire difficulty. The added bells and whistles like switching between 2D and 3D mode, Infinite Mode, and the two-player co-op mode--to name a few--are great additions, but are they worth suffering through a flawed, botched R-Type III remake over the original? Unfortunately, the answer is an emphatic "no".

ININ Games has already put out a statement regarding these issues--in fact, said statement released a day after the game's launch. So, the grievances to the gameplay that players have will hopefully soon be patched, but the fact that this is how the game was launched to begin with doesn't instill much confidence. For the time being, it's best to wait out a patch/update to R-Type Dimensions III and just play the original R-Type III in the meantime. It's a much better experience, even without the aforementioned modern bells and whistles.

[SPC Says: C-] 

A Nintendo Switch 2 game code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Elementallis (Multi) Review

Taking another detour from reviewing Mega Man games for MEGA MAY, we turn to a Zelda-like indie game that released towards the end of last month: Elementallis. Here is the SPC review!

The elements come together for one highly capable Zelda clone.

In the world of Elementallis, the elements that hold the world together are breaking apart, and it's our protagonist's guilt-driven duty to restore them. The story of Elementallis and the motivation behind the custom-named hero (who can be selected as male, female, or non-binary--a nice option to see) are essentially all to do with the sins of their parents. The protagonist's parents set off the chain of events that have sent the elements wild and is seeking to right their wrongs. It's an intriguing premise, though not greatly helped by the overabundance of chatty characters with a lot of words but little of value to say, segments of dialogue, and interruptions to the gameplay. Still, it's a worthwhile tale, all in all.

After the initial bits of story, you're thrust into this Zelda-like adventure's world. Elementallis does a pretty good job of indirectly and organically guiding you to your next objective or area you're supposed to go. This is done by presenting you with roadblocks in the form of gates that require certain elements to destroy, remove, push out of the way, etc. 

Every adventure starts somewhere, and in Elementallis, the journey proper begins in this forest habitat.

Each main environmental zone, or biome, in the world of Elementallis has its own problem due to the elements being out of wack. For example, the first main zone you go to, that of a volcanic mining area, sees little in the way of lava flow due to the volcanoes at the top of the mountains slumbering. This proves to be a problem for the town below which uses the lava to assist in crafting and forging weapons and armor. Thus, our hero needs to make their way to the zone's temple to restore the element to its rightful glory.

That's basically the structure to Elementallis. You head to a new zone--be it a lava mountain, forest, beach, and so forth--listen to the plight of the people in the zone, make your way to the temple, solve puzzles and beat the bosses inside, and restore the element to hopefully bring back life or at the very least a sense of normalcy or calm to the area.

There are times where the camera will zoom out to impressive effect to present a nice sense of scale, 
as seen here with this glimpse at this icy temple we're about to embark into.

Temples in Elementallis are the dungeons of the game. These house plenty of puzzles to solve, whether that be pushing blocks onto buttons to weigh them down, for example, a multitude of enemies to defeat, copious amounts of keys to unlock doors, and of course, hazards and obstacles alike all over. 

Oh, come ON! Even Indiana Jones only had to deal with ONE rolling boulder!

The first phase of each temple involves reaching where the dungeon "item" slumbers. In this Zelda-like's case, this always comes in the form of a new elemental magic. There are eight total to collect in Elementallis, thus there being eight temples to travel to, through, and complete. Each elemental magic is guarded by the temple's midboss, and then you progress forward to the room housing the magic itself. 

Elementallis once again follows an indirect, organic manner of teaching the player how to use a new elemental magic by making entrances into the room housing the magic one-way. The only manner of exiting the room is to use the just-learned magic to form an escape route. For instance, with the fire elemental magic, you use it to launch fireballs to light two braziers, thus opening the locked door in true Zelda-like fashion. This then allows you to reach the temple's big key through solving puzzles and making progress with your new magic, and then facing the temple's boss.

Each elemental magic serves a dual purpose. The Water magic not only serves as a shield, 
but it also allows you to walk over bodies of water.

Again, in true Zelda-like fashion, Elementallis' bosses generally involve using the magic you earned from its boss's temple to use the power against it. Still, even with this knowledge in tow and in the back of your mind, these encounters can still idle between difficult and obnoxious. Thankfully, there are ways to mitigate the challenge through having potions of various types in your possession, such as those that temporarily boost your attack or defense, or serve as a one-time "pick me up" upon losing all your hearts.

Between the constantly moving conveyors and the shocking shots of electricity that stun you, 
I was admittedly not a fan of this particular boss battle.

With each elemental magic earned, new areas of the overworld open up for exploration. The fire element can burn obstructing thorns, the nature element can be used to grow climbable vines on specially marked spots of ground to scale to reach new areas, and the ice magic can freeze the ground in front of you--making certain otherwise immovable objects able to be slid across the ice. By the end of the game, you have eight elements to utilize, but it's never hard to cycle through them thanks to a radial menu that can be brought up at any time during gameplay. This slows the action around your character as you make an elemental selection. 

Overworld exploration isn't just useful for finding out where to go next and how to progress. Instead, it's also for discovering a bounty of treasure in the world as well. From health-increasing Heart Pieces (collecting four bestows a new heart to your health) and Mana Shards (the rule of four applies here, though these extend your Mana/magic gauge), to Gold aplenty, Potion slots, and Wallet upgrades, there is plenty to find that makes exploring Elementallis' world worthwhile. 

The Wind magic allows the ability to dash across certain gaps, like this one for a Heart Piece.

While using the elements and having them serve as items is a clever concept, Elementallis doesn't do that much with the concept. Puzzles tend to always devolve into the same things. If you see a brazier, light it with the fire magic. If you see a patch of soft dirt ground, use the nature magic to plant a seed that turns into a vine. If you see a destructible wall, use the earth magic to destroy it a la bombs in Zelda. There's very little thinking outside of the box throughout the game. One item or magic seemingly always just has the same uses each time, so you pretty much by the end of the game are continuing to go through the motions with the game's puzzles.

I would have liked to have seen more interactions between elemental magic. The game does little to encourage using multiple elements on enemies, and instead you basically rely on only one at a time. Thus, by the time the game does require you to use two elements to solve a puzzle, I was flummoxed initially because the game hadn't really taught me until this moment to even think about combining elements. And this is in the final temple of the game where this happens. Thus, when I had to look up the solution, I was more annoyed than anything else. Again, had the puzzle design and game encouraged combining elemental magic ahead of time and in a consistent basis, this solution would have been more natural to me.

That notwithstanding, Elementallis' world is absolutely dense with secrets. There's definitely a lot to do outside of following along the main story path, whether that be collecting the previously discussed Heart and Mana Shards, increasing your Wallet capacity, upgrading your sword and armor, adding slots to your inventory to hold more Potions (these Potions are a must in the unlockable Hero mode, where enemies don't drop hearts and you take double damage from attacks), and completing various side quests, including an optional dungeon. 

Looks like these Snowmen brought snowballs to a Nature magic fight.

Also optionally, there's a Bestiary that you can complete. By defeating new enemies, their page gets added to said Bestiary, and through defeating a given enemy a specific number of times, their entry fills out more and more until it's fully complete. This is not only needed for achievement purposes, but it's also just fun to fill out for lore reason, too.

Overall, Elementallis was an enjoyable journey for me. It doesn't reach anywhere near the same highs of the Zelda series it's inspired by, but it does bring some new ideas to the table. While I would have liked less chatty interruptions in the game, more required elemental interactions, and a greater use for these elements for solving puzzles instead of the same rote solutions, I did like exploring the overworld for secrets, how organic exploration in general was, and the simple visual charm of the game. Elementallis may not have absolutely floored me in its 15-20 hour adventure, but it did impress all the same.

[SPC Says: B-] 

Mega Man: Battle & Chase (PS1) Retro Review

MEGA MAY races on, quite literally, with our next retro review featuring Capcom's super fighting robot. But this time, he's Capcom's super racing robot with Mega Man: Battle & Chase on the original PlayStation.

Road Rage with the Blue Bomber

I remember back in the days of gaming magazines being the go-to source for news and announcements about games, and growing unbearably excited towards a little preview--it was maybe 1/8th of the page--of a newly unveiled racing game featuring the Blue Bomber. This game was Mega Man: Battle & Chase, and immediately upon seeing it in incredibly brief preview form, I was beyond hyped. I loved Mario Kart and other mascot racing games--still do--and I loved Mega Man--again, still do. It was a perfect storm for a game for a much younger me to be excited about.

Of course, my excitement would eventually turn into disappointment when Mega Man: Battle & Chase never released on the original PlayStation--at least here in North America. It had a final build--final PREVIEW build for magazines, at that--but it never saw a release here, instead releasing only in Europe and Japan. North Americans would finally get the chance to get behind the driver's seat as the Blue Bomber only when the Mega Man X Collection launched, with Battle & Chase as a bonus game included. 

You can bet your last Energy Tank that I jumped on that collection quickly, as a Mega Man X fan and as someone who waited YEARS to finally play Mega Man: Battle & Chase. Was my wait worth it? Well, yes! But, how is the game today? Is it still worth tracking down and playing? Mega May continues with my look at Mega Man: Battle & Chase.

Grand Prix is the main mode of Mega Man: Battle & Chase, and it's a series of races that can--apart from the final two races--be chosen in any order. It starts off with selecting between one of ten characters to race as. Each character, whether they be Mega Man, Proto Man, Roll, Bass, or one of several Robot Masters throughout the series, has their own reason for entering the Grand Prix and going after the multi-million Zenny prize. It's worth playing through the Grand Prix as different characters, at least once thru, just to see the epilogue for a given character. 

Mega Man leads the pack in his Rush Roadster.

Each character possesses their own vehicle, and in typical Mega Man-inspired fashion, beating other racers allows you to take one part of four from their vehicle: either a wing, an engine, a set of tires, and after all three previous parts are eventually taken through racing and winning against an opponent multiple times, the body of their vehicle entirely.

Oh, Quick Man, always so dramatic and not slow with the theatrics.

The body of each characters' vehicles is where their specific power lies. When racing against opponents like Ice Man, you'll contend with him dropping chunks of ice on the track and potentially blasting you with a freezing shot of energy, temporarily stopping your ability to steer. Through taking the body of Ice Man's vehicle upon racing and winning against him a fourth and final time, you can equip the vehicle's body part to use Ice Man's exclusive ability for yourself. 

Each character in Mega Man: Battle & Chase has two unique abilities. One is used normally, while the second needs the energy meter at the top of the screen to fully charge to use. Whereas Mega Man can pelt enemies and obstructions with normal shots of his Mega Buster, when the energy meter is fully charged, he can let loose and launch a charged shot, able to spin out opponents with a direct hit. Meanwhile, Proto Man can toggle where his famous shield rests, either on the front or rear of his vehicle to deflect attacks, while his Proto Strike can be used as a semi-homing shot on nearby racers ahead of him. 

Take your newly won parts and mix and match them as needed to give an edge on different tracks.

The other parts of vehicles apart from the body: wings, engines, and tires, are just as important, as they give different abilities as well, albeit passive ones. From Guts Man's Press Tires that prohibit slowing down over dirt and other off-road ground, to Quick Man's Dash Engine that gives great acceleration for a trade-off of average max speed, each part has its own pros and cons. Combining these parts into a chimera-like vehicle might look silly in aesthetics, but they're generally majorly helpful put into practice and use. 

Each opponent you face has their own home track with different obstacles and hazards to contend with. Roll's Streets track is the simplest with gentle corners and little in the way of obstacles, Quick Man's Ridge track is full of twists, turns, canyons, and water to race over, and Napalm Man's Arms Factory track is home to plenty of de-acceleration zones that slow you down upon riding over them as well as conveyor belts pushing your vehicle left, right, forwards, and backwards. Shortcuts aren't generally an option in these tracks, save for a select few of the 12+ tracks available. Either way, most are short and sweet, and that's good as these are all five-lap races.   

Time to drop some Bass on our opponents and drop the pretense--we've got a race to win!

Each time you beat the initial set of racers, Dr. Wily rears his bald head in. Two final races are unlocked, one after the other. If those are successfully beaten and the credits roll, you're tasked with playing through Grand Prix mode again as the same character, taking on the initial set of racers over again to unlock the Wily races. If you want all of the parts in Mega Man: Battle & Chase, you'll need to finish Grand Prix mode and do this process as a given character no less than four times. The aspect that stinks about this is that parts don't carry over between playthroughs with different characters, so if you want to start a new save file as say, Spring Man, after playing a file as say, Shadow Man, then you have to start all over. 

As for the gameplay itself, I initially found myself not really jiving with the steering or controls. My intuition with racing games, especially kart or mascot racers like Battle & Chase, is to drift around turns. Battle & Chase pretty much lacks a conventional drift option, so my intuition then told me to brake around corners to take them more sharply. This proved not the answer nor helpful either. Instead, it turned out that simply taking most corners at full speed was smarter than slowing down. The only time this was not the go-to solution was when going too fast would result in me slipping or sliding straight off the course, like on Ice Man's track and those dastardly chasms that litter parts of the track. By my second or third race, I started getting into a better groove, coming to terms with the controls and steering, and doing better in races. 

Some vehicle parts do better and worse on certain road--whether uphill, downhill, dirt, water, etc.

Another aspect of a lot of kart and mascot racing games is that of items. Mega Man: Battle & Chase goes a different route with these much like it does with driving and drifting. Items are not handled by racing over panels or through item boxes like other mascot racing games. Instead, there's a bit of a creative touch to items. By defeating Mega Man enemies like well-known Mega Man minions like Metools, sprinkled and scattered along the track, a counter ticks down. Once it hits zero, your racer of choice gets an item through a roulette. Now, this counter generally starts at 10, but certain items used on yourself for a positive outcome or items used on you by your opponents for a negative outcome, can make the counter to get an item shorter or longer respectively. It's a clever and innovative approach to items, and it works rather well in theory and practice.

Quick, Quick Man! Cross that finish line, as Guts Man's breathing down your neck.

At any rate, the items range in offensive and defensive capabilities. Some affect your opponents while others assist you. From helpful invincibility that speeds you up a la Mario Kart star power, to items that temporarily stop your opponent from attacking or strikes them all with a halting bolt of lightning, the items are quite useful. 

And there's some strategy in item usage, too. While you might want to hold on to a particular item, you can only hold onto one item at a time, and if you do so, any enemies you defeat won't tick down the counter. It's wasted effort there. So, there's indeed strategy in when to use an item and when to hold onto it. 

Outside of the Grand Prix mode and the 48 parts available to mix and match your ride with, there is a Versus Mode as well, available for two players to race each other and any CPU opponents you might like as well. Tracks not seen in the Grand Prix mode are available here, as are characters like Dr. Wily and the super-difficult-to-unlock Duo of Mega Man 8 fame. These two are unplayable within the Grand Prix mode.

Mega Man: Battle & Chase presents a simple graphical package. The visuals are suitably colorful, crisp, and character and vehicle models are well done, all said. Meanwhile, the tracks--the playground upon you race on--are less of an appealing part of the package. They're really low-resolution and multiple parts of tracks see routine clipping as an issue. Nothing game-breaking or fun-destroying, but prominent all the same. 

It is, however, especially cool that the game is split up between three views. The map of the track sits in the bottom-right corner, while the main racing takes place on the upper half. The lower-left corner generally shows your rival as well as any special action in the race. This is especially nifty when you drop a bomb on the track, and when your rival approaches it, you can see it detonate and send your rival flying into the air.  

Here, we get a secondary view of Ice Man, who is obviously stunned Shadow Man is beating him so badly.

The audio got a downgrade when compared to the Japanese original version. Now, don't get me wrong--the music and sound effects are fantastic. Heck, Roll's theme here will be familiar to anyone who played Marvel vs. Capcom. The downgrade comes from a lack of commentary that plays during races in the Japanese version that simply isn't present in the English release. No doubt the budget and cost would have risen from translating all the spoken dialogue and voicing it, but it can still be disappointing, if even slightly.

Mega Man: Battle & Chase is without a doubt one of the more overlooked entries in the Blue Bomber's storied series of games. Of course, not releasing in a major part of the world would do such a thing, and that is unfortunate, too. Battle & Chase is brimming with charm, is a unique and more importantly, fun take on the mascot racing game, and I'm sure if more people got to play it, they'd find a lot to like about the game, too.

[SPC Says: B-] 

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales (Multi) Prologue Demo Trailer

Ahead of its release next month, the Zelda and Ys-like HD-2D game, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales has a brand-new demo--this time for everyone--now available. This Prologue allows players to begin the opening of the game and carry over their save to the full release of the game when it launches on all current platforms June 18, 2026. For now, enjoy this trailer from Square Enix.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (NS2) - "An Appetite for Discovery" Trailer

Like this past week's Kalanoro preview, we haven't seen too many trailers posted on SuperPhillip Central in the longest time. In fact, it's been several years! Let's change that up with Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, a cozy platforming-adventure game that takes Yoshi and puts him into a tome to discover all sorts of unique creatures and the ways Yoshi and players by extension can interact with them to solve environmental puzzles. This trailer showcases some of that ingenuity put into practice. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book releases on May 21.

Decline's Drops (PC, NSW, XBS) Review

We now turn our attention away from Mega Man for a little bit for a review of a game that's been on PC via Steam and itch.io for a bit and has only recently released on consoles, specifically the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S. This game is Decline's Drops, and despite its name, you might find yourself INclined to play this game after reading the SuperPhillip Central review!

This platformer's got some serious punch

Decline's Drops stars Globule, a mute wooden puppet who one day is tending to her lovely garden when all of a sudden, said garden is destroyed! Thus, Globule sets out to discover the perpetrators and their whereabouts to rightfully deliver some justice through her giant punching glove fists. The story is pretty scarce overall (a plus for me, as in a platformer I want to get straight to the action without much in the way of interruptions), save for the opening and ending cutscenes, and dialogue during boss battles, but the game does a nice job of providing a satirical take on concepts like pollution and corporate greed without feeling ham-fisted.

Take the gameplay of Super Smash Bros. and combine that with the platforming and secrets of Yoshi's Island, and you somewhat get an idea of what Decline's Drops is all about. Globule has her aforementioned punching gloves to bash and beat baddies to a pulp with a myriad of moves, from simple short jabs to more powerful "smash"-like attacks. All of these can be combined to jostle, juggle, and jam enemies into submission. 

No time for a rope-a-dope, so just punch that chick into submission, Globule.

Globule even has a Smash Bros-like dodge used to evade enemy attacks at the last moment, as well as being able to use the same evasion move in midair to reach higher or further away areas. Regardless, she'll need all the strength and moves in her repertoire she can muster, as the six worlds in the game pit Globule against all forms and sizes of foes, including those in rooms sprinkled about the levels where all enemies must be defeated before she can move on.

Dodging can not only be done on the ground to avoid attacks, but also in midair to move higher and farther, too!

Levels are wonderfully done, offering plenty of verticality a lot of the time, a multitude of secrets that are smartly hidden but also well telegraphed to not give players a sense of "well, how was I supposed to find THAT?!", and lots of exploration. Yes, you can simply run from point A to point B to clear levels, but exploring them and discovering their cleverly laid secrets and optional areas really gives you a fuller appreciation of these levels. 

Bounce off these streetlamps with care, Globule, or else you'll find that oil's well doesn't exactly end well!

And, goodness, do the levels house some masterfully placed secrets. As stated, secrets are telegraphed well to the point of not being unfair, but also requiring real observance of Globule's surroundings and environments to discover. I'm referring to fake walls that have the telltale signs of being able to be broken through, or ones that require Globule to make a running start so she can eventually transform into a big blue fist to smash through otherwise impenetrable blocks.  

The main optional collectible in Decline's Drops reminds me a bit of the previously mentioned Yoshi's Island and its five Smiley Flowers per level. These take the form of Heart Fragments in Decline's Drops, and you guessed it--there are five per level as well. Most are located in out-of-the-way or hard-to-find or reach locations, while others are inside specific chests, requiring passwords to open. These passwords are situated on nearby signs and come in the form of hitting the chests in specific directions in a specific pattern (aka up punches, down punches, punches from the left, punches from the right). This is where I found that sometimes my punches wouldn't land as planned. What I mean by this is that sometimes Globule would punch twice, fouling up the chest's password in the process, or Globule would smash the ground instead of simply punching downward once. 

When given enough runway to speed across, Globule can transform on
 command into a giant fist to smash through certain objects and obstacles!

Either way, gripe aside, whereas collecting all Smiley Flowers in a world in later Yoshi games unlocked a secret level in the world they were collected in... well, that's actually the same case in Decline's Drops! Instead, a more difficult platforming-filled level known as a Vanitas opens up once all Heart Fragments are obtained in a given world. These seldom host checkpoints, require careful, cautious, precision platforming, and can get the palms mighty sweaty, too! Take it from me. They're enjoyable challenges all the same, however.

Otherwise, another collectible of the optional variety in Decline's Drops' levels is that of a red key. Collecting this and finishing the level with it brings about a post-level mini-game where you pilot Globule in a big blue glove form (she takes on a somewhat similar form when underwater) as you race through a labyrinth of corridors, pathways, and boost pads to beat a pod to the finish line. Winning these races unlocks new color pallet choices for Globule, and once all the races have been won, they net a bunch of Drops, the currency of the game.

There are a wide variety of platforming challenges and enemy types to contend with throughout Decline's Drops and its carefully and cleverly crafted levels. For instance, there are rails that send Globule grinding along their path which she must switch between with caution, Donkey Kong Country-like cannons that fire our puppet protagonist out (and hopefully not into peril) with proper timing, switches and levers that need to be activated to open up gates and doors, and sequences where Globule must make haste and retreat from a pursuing wall of pollution or else find herself instantly defeated. There are also ample opportunities for the game to shine in both its platforming and punching, throwing in puzzle elements, too, such as hitting floating yellow blocks with arrows on them. The direction Globule hits one of these blocks in, sends it flying in that direction until it smacks against a solid object. There are even plenty of puzzles that require you to get these blocks from one destination to another to open locked doors and reach new heights. 

Mind the rails, mind the gap, mind the pollution--heck, just mind EVERYTHING, Globule!

Fortunately, despite all of the trials and tribulations Globule faces on her adventure, checkpoints are fairly common throughout Decline's Drops. Therefore, repeating large portions of levels is seldom a common happenstance. That said, later levels do get incredibly challenging in both battles and platforming tasks. That isn't to say they require a professional's rank of platforming prowess to progress in the latter half of the game, but you will occasionally get stuck. 

This is especially true for the bosses, which pit you against one of the six Hydra heads in battle. These end-of-world levels, like any game worth its weight, relies on witness boss patterns, acclimating to them, knowing when to go in to attack, and knowing when and how to dodge each boss' offensive advances. These battles will take not just part of your cunning, but pretty much all of it to come out unscathed--or at the very least, the victor. I did appreciate the level of challenge of the bosses, and each time I failed, it was because I didn't properly dodge attacks or got too greedy. It was always on me, and never the game.  

The first Hydra to fight. "Hi, 'Dra! Why so angry?"

Fortunately, there are ways to assist Globule and the player in general on their adventure. An in-game shop run by a genetically-engineered ape named Serge houses a host of helpful trinkets and tools that Globule can spend her fiercely fought and hard-earned Drops to purchase. Only one particular trinket can be equipped at once to Globule, but these range from boosting her special attack, doubling her health, turning all of her special attacks into massive fireballs, and providing hints as to locations of the game's hidden goodies--to name a handful of helpful wares.

Decline's Drops is a rather meaty game all-in-all, coming in at around 10 hours for me, though I was methodically going through levels to make sure I collected every Heart Fragment along the way to unlock and complete the Vanitas levels, and also played through the final optional seventh world, complete with its own challenges, platforming perils, enemy types, and yes, a true final boss. I didn't, however, opt to aim for all of the time trials, and thus take on going after all of the gold times which seemed far beyond my level of play (and honestly, far beyond my level of commitment to the game either). That said, the option is there to add even more replay value and longevity to Globule's journey.

The art style of Decline's Drops is marvelous in presentation and appearance. The entire adventure is seemingly hand-drawn, and the first world definitely brings about an aesthetic reminiscent of Yoshi's Island, which was much appreciated to me, as a fan of that game. Future worlds offer the same beautiful hand-drawn goodness, offering detailed environments, backgrounds, easy to parse areas visually, and fluid animations all-around. Musically, I found the soundtrack to be very good. In fact, I am eager to purchase it on the artists' Bandcamp page to further support it, and that's not something I do often! Nevertheless, the soundtrack is full of memorable and rather nifty and neat themes that I will enjoy listening to outside of the game.

Decline's Drops is most certainly a looker with a charming, gorgeous hand-drawn delight of an art style.

While I wouldn't raise Globule's glove up and claim she and her premiere adventure are the undisputed champions or anything like that, I will say that Decline's Drops certainly surprised me with its high quality in precision platforming, engaging combat, and copious secrets in its well done level design. This mishmash of Super Smash Bros. gameplay and Yoshi's Island-like level design is one that I certainly enjoyed and can see myself coming back to in the future. Minor aggravations and gripes did pop up, and the difficulty of the game may be off-putting for many not used to Smash Bros. and its particular style of melee gameplay (and heck, even for those who ARE used to it). Overall, though, if you can dig a gorgeous hand-drawn 2D platformer with plenty of personality, charm, and character, as well as lots of action and platforming goodness to adore, then definitely "drop" what you're doing to take on the drop of a different variety with Decline's Drops.

[SPC Says: B+] 

SuperPhillip Elsewhere on the Web

Greetings, everyone! If SuperPhillip Central isn't enough video gaming content from yours truly, please consider checking out my YouTube, Instagram, and Bluesky accounts, where I post and sometimes cross-post from SPC!

SuperPhillip Plays is my YouTube channel, where I publish and share gaming Let's Plays, video top tens, and so much more.

SuperPhillip Plays on Instagram brings daily reels of personally-recorded gameplay from titles both modern and retro for your entertainment!

Finally, the latest addition to my social media efforts is that of Bluesky with an account dedicated to posting a mishmash of content in the form of new articles/reviews from SPC, fresh videos from YouTube, and new reels from Instagram. 

 

 

Kalanaro (Multi) Preview

We haven't done a preview of a game in such a long time on SuperPhillip Central. Do I even remember what a preview is?! Well, let's find out that answer together, as well as look into a game from my favorite genre, the platformer, with Kalanoro.

Kalanoro comes from Red Raketa Studio, an indie developer based in Madagascar. The entire game centers around Madagascan culture and Malagasy folklore. If you're completely ignorant on what any of that entails like I was when I was introduced to the game and demo, here's some quick background. 

The name "Kalanoro" refers to the human-like cryptids, beings believed to be spirits watching over Madagascar itself, said to bring good luck. Appearance-wise, they're small, short, bare fangs, and have unkempt hair that covers up their bodies.

Red Raketa Studio's Kalanoro begins with Kalakely, a Kalanoro creature, keeping to herself and enjoying life when suddenly a caravan of trailers fly by. They're all flying to start up a massive concert for a witch named Raneny, a self-celebration, as it were. Kalakely sets off on a bus to travel the island far and wide, rescuing and assembling a collection of lemur musicians that were captured by Raneny's troops, with the main goal of crashing Raneny's giant musical to-do.

Kalanoro is a top-down 3D platformer with nothing in the way of manual camera movement. It's somewhat similar to Super Mario 3D World with its perspective and level design, where Kalakely moves from point A to point B, bashing foes with her fists, hair, and weapons, as she performs various platforming feats through obstacle-filled levels.

The demo currently available to play offers four levels. The first level is a brief tutorial that sees Kalakely set off on her adventure and take to the bus. It teaches some basic moves, like being able to quickly dash around, either on the ground or in midair, phasing past objects like gates and fences in the process.  

This first level also introduces some of Kalakely's attack options, chiefly the ability to pick up weapons and use them on enemies. These come in the form of footwear like sandals, vegetables like carrots, and heavy tools like sledgehammers. Each weapon type has its own strength as well as its own durability. After a set amount of hits, it'll break on you, but there is an immense number of weapons strewn and sprinkled about stages that losing a weapon is never a bother. It just forces you to improvise further mid-battle and pick up another makeshift weapon, for instance.

The second level is the first real platforming challenge without safety nets and with things that can actually harm Kalakely. It brings forth collectibles in the form of scrolls and blue gems. Each level has a specific number of these to optionally collect, which can in turn be used to purchase helpful one-time or multiple use items in various shops throughout the game. The demo just had one shop available.  

The Kalanoro demo's third level brings Kalakely to a tropical beach and cove. The main mechanic introduced here was using Kalakely's hair to channel and transfer electricity from a working generator to a non-working one. Transferring power means opening locked doors and gates that would otherwise be impossible to pass. The earliest locked generator door revealed not only a treasure chest but also a little lost koala kid. Through picking the child up and taking them further into the level to their home, Kalakely earned her first five "fans". 

As Kalanoro deals with music and building an ensemble of musicians to combat Raneny's concert, it's important to not only build a band but also a following, too. This is where the "fans" mechanic comes in. The fourth level, a trek in and out of mines, is all about vandalizing posters featuring Raneny and putting Kalakely's crew's posters on top of them instead. Each poster placed in a level rewards new fans. These fans are not only used to build a following, of course, but they also act as ways of unlockable new areas/levels in the game. 

That's how the final area in the demo unlocks, after all. This final area is less of a level and more of a glorified rhythm game followed by a preview of a boss before the demo ends. It's as simple as hitting the correct button with proper timing when the prompt presents itself, all the while knocking away Raneny's goons who wish to disrupt the Kalakely and friends' mini performance. It's not much to look at--the performance, that is--from the beginning, but all bands have to start somewhere. I'm eager to see in the final version how large of a band and massive of an audience the end-game performances get in Kalanoro. 

Intermissions between levels put players back on the bus with Kalakely as she plays host to her lemur musician guests. It's not just as simple as saving or rescuing a musician and calling it a day for them. No, they're pretty high-maintenance, usually requiring food made from found ingredients in the platforming levels. Ignore a guest's desires at your peril, because as the game notes, ignored requests can make a musician become captured all over again. 

I'm hoping in the final version of the game that we won't have to babysit the characters too much, or that the timer for when a character will get captured again isn't too strict. I can imagine it getting tedious to repeatedly rescue characters that were already saved. That said, you're given a bounty of ingredients in levels just by simple exploring and playing the levels, so at least in the demo, running out of or not having a given ingredient was not an issue.

Speaking of issues, playing on my Steam Deck saw little in the way of performance problems. This was both in docked and handheld forms. Pausing mid-cutscene or mid-dialogue sequence, however, did cause the HUD to show up during these scenes, which I imagine is an unintended oversight. Otherwise, the game looks great, colorful, vibrant, and I really dug the music as well.

Kalanoro is shaping up to an enjoyable 3D platformer with lots of heart and better still, it's one that showcases the demonstrably rich culture and folklore of part of the world that doesn't get much representation in and even out of gaming. We'll find out how it all turns out when Kalanoro steps onto the stage for some platforming action on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch in Summer 2026.

A code was given to me by the developer for the purpose of this preview.

Mega Man X5 (PS1) Retro Review

We continue this month of Mega Man--MEGA MAY--with the fifth entry of the X sub-series. Mega Man X5 was meant to be the end of the X sub-series, but as we know, that did not come to pass. Was that good thing or a bad thing that X5 wasn't the final note from the franchise? Let's find out with the SuperPhillip Central review!

To X or not to X; that is the question.

It's decidedly a difficult challenge to review games in a vacuum, particularly games within a franchise's own series. When you've reached the fifth installment of a series, or in Mega Man X's case, sub-series, you have certain expectations you have to live up to. Mega Man X5 was originally planned as the finale of the X sub-series. For better or worse, the games continued after X5. With that and with reviewing games in a vacuum in mind, Mega Man X5 delivers a stellar and steady amount of action that one would want from the X sub-series, but it also stumbles as a sequel to even its most recent at the time predecessor. 

An encounter with Sigma after the intro level of the game sets the stage and events that transpire in Mega Man X5. The Eurasia space colony is headed towards Earth, which would result in the spread of the Sigma Virus at best, and the annihilation of the planet's population at worst. With little in the way of recourse and options, the Maverick Hunters hedge their bets on two plans: 1) a lunar cannon to destroy the colony before it can make contact with the Earth, and 2) having someone pilot a shuttle to crash into the colony, again before it destroys Earth. Either way, both plans require Mega Man X and Zero to enter into one of eight stages to secure the necessary materials for either operation to get off the ground, both figuratively and literally. 

Better Eurasia than Uranus heading towards us! (...I'm SO sorry.)

Mega Man X5 indeed takes a different approach to its formula. Yes, you still have eight stages at first to choose from, but the game highly encourages you to play the Maverick stages containing the necessary equipment to be used for the Lunar Cannon first. There's also a time limit, too. Every time you beat a stage or get a game over and switch stages, an hour ticks down until the colony is set to crash into Earth. The time limit given isn't too taxing or much of a concern, as you really have to try to have the countdown hit zero (the number, that is, not the Maverick Hunter). 

It's hard not to be reminded of Mega Man X4 when a starting select-able armor for X is
the Fourth Armor, directly from, you guessed it, Mega Man X4!

Even still, upon collecting the first four supplies needed to launch the Lunar Cannon, there's no guarantee it will work. In fact, most of the time you'll find the Lunar Cannon plan fails, thus it goes to plan B which is the manned shuttle option. The latter plan requires X and Zero to, of course, enter the other four Maverick stages. Generally, the shuttle will work, but there still is a chance of failure, however slight. 

Mega Man X5 is an interesting game, for sure, with its structure and story, but it's also a game that when coming off the superb, excellent Mega Man X4--one of my favorite entries featuring the Blue Bomber, period--it feels like an immense downgrade. Taken by itself without X4 in the equation, it's a quality entry to the franchise. However, most of Mega Man X5's players probably won't jump directly into this entry, thus X4's baggage will always be there.

X marks the spot for action, and you get plenty of that in Mega Man X5.

Essentially, Mega Man X5 is a case of "what if we took Mega Man X4... and made it worse?" Because that's what Mega Man X5 feels like. Level gimmicks and mechanics from Mega Man X4 such as Dark Necrobat's gravity flipping was seen in X4's Cyber Peacock stage, and it was done better there. The bike segment seen at the start of Volt Kraken's stage was done already in X4's Jet Stingray stage, and yes, it, too, was done better there. In fact, with the latter example, you can actually die in Volt Kraken's stage before the word "Ready" disappears! Whoever decided to have a bottomless pit that players have to manually jump over to start a stage before you're actually asked by the game if you're "ready", needs a lesson in acceptable game design. 

Other stages incorporate their own unique and exclusive to X5 mechanics and gimmicks. Burn Dinorex's stage, for instance, takes place in a volcano, where players start descending down into its depths. Eventually they stumble upon intermittent eruptions in the form of walls of instant-death flames. The only salvation here is to hide behind clearly marked sections of wall to avoid them. It's a clever mechanic and one that is quite exciting to contend with.

Other mechanics don't fare so well. Take Tidal Whale's stage. No, seriously, please take it, as it's not good. It's a tedious auto-scrolling stage where you're at the mercy of the auto-scroll and the sunken battleship either pursuing you or you giving chase to. Either way, it's a slow, plodding pace, and that'd be okay if it was a one and done deal. Instead, if you want to collect everything in the level, you have to play through the majority of this stage no short of three separate times! One to beat the stage normally, another to reach Dr. Light's capsule, which of course requires the special weapon you earn from this stage's boss, and a last run-through to climb the spikes housing where the stage's Heart Tank rests. 

Tidal Whale's stage plays a remix of Mega Man X2's Bubble Crab's level music... 
Unfortunately for Mega Man X5, it's another reminder of a better X game.

Mega Man X5 changes up how Dr. Light's capsules function, the first time in the X sub-series, as well, and also how future entries would handle them. Instead of getting a part for a new piece of armor and being able to use it immediately, you have to collect all four parts of the armor first before being able to assemble and use it as needed. There are two armor sets in Mega Man X5, and the first, the Falcon Armor which gives X the ability to temporarily fly over short distances, is required to get a fair number of pieces of the second armor, the Gaea Armor. This Gaea Armor can climb and touch spikes without the instant death that any other character would succumb to by touching a spike, but X also cannot use special weapons when equipped with the armor. Needless to say, there are plenty of places that require the Gaea Armor and require backtracking to previously completed stages to reach otherwise inaccessible goodies and items.

Instead of supplying X with a usable armor part immediately, Dr Light requires all 
four pieces of a given armor set to be obtained before using it.

Outside of capsules, there are the standard eight Heart Tanks (these bolster the amount of your maximum health) to optionally obtain in Mega Man X5, one hidden in each Maverick stage, and usually each require a special weapon or armor to reach. There are also two Sub-Tanks, which serve as health-restoring items that must be manually used within the menu, one Weapon Tank (weapon energy-restoring tanks), and some other collectibles that can add to the replay value as well of the game. Not only do they serve that purpose, but they also come in clutch for making this difficult game less so. Or, rather, they at least give the more novice or inexperienced players more of a fighting chance.

One of the eight Mavericks to battle, Burn Dinorex (I refuse to use the absurd North American names) heats up!

Let me interrupt my griping by saying that I know I'm giving a lot of crap to Mega Man X5, and that is purely because it's coming off such a phenomenal entry in the franchise, X4. Trust me when I say that X5 is still a highly competent and capable entry... even as I now continue to bash it some more. 

Coming off of Mega Man X4, you can't help but see how much the budget took a hit with Mega Man X5 as well. Long gone are the beautiful, cheesy-voiced anime cutscenes that were quite impressive for the time--heck, still are. Instead, what you get are slideshow cutscenes, with next to nothing in the way of animation. There's limited voice work, which further disappoints. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of interruptions to the gameplay as well. Alia is a character that serves as an operator of sorts to X and Zero while they're on the field, and she is sort of a quasi-Navi (a la The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) in how she interrupts you from figuring out things for yourself. But instead of a "hey, listen" and optionally see what Navi has to say, Mega Man X5 just stops you dead in your tracks to have slow text boxes of mostly obvious information pop up. 

What's a guy-a gotta do to get-a this Gaea armor? Well, find all four Dr. Light capsules, of course!

That said, with all of those gripes (and yes, there were many), Mega Man X5 is indeed a worthwhile entry. It did introduce some good things to the sub-series, such as the ability to crouch, for one, which makes dodging and avoiding enemies and their attacks much easier. There are also wires of both the vertical and horizontal variety that X and Zero can cling to in order to cross otherwise impossible chasms and reach higher heights. Awesome stuff, truly! These two added abilities put together with the tried and true run, gun, jump, and dash gameplay of previous Mega Man X games makes X5 almost play better than ever. X and Zero have far more utility available to them.

X and Zero can cling to similar ropes/wires like these to move up and down them for some added mobility.

This doesn't make the game any easier than past installments, though. Mega Man X5 is still very much a challenging game even on one's best day. But things like collecting Heart Tanks, Sub-Tanks, the lone Weapon Tank, and Dr. Light's generous armor upgrades, make for some things that definitely level the playing field, so to speak, in X and Zero's favor. 

On its own, Mega Man X5 is another X-cellent entry in the series, and the last entry in the series until X8 that was of a high quality, in this fan of the Blue Bomber's opinion. Of course, it's difficult to ignore X5's predecessors and review the game in a vacuum. With the sub-series' past as a point of context, Mega Man X5 did let me down back when and somewhat does now. As time has gone by and gone on, I've come to appreciate Mega Man X5 more, flaws and all. It may be a bit of a step down from past entries, but it also can stand on its own two feet as an enjoyable game all the same. 

[SPC Says: C+]