June 2019 Part 2 LIVE Magazine

IVEJUNE ISSUE PART 2 2019

Go to page 28 for more details on SPIDER MAN TM FAR FROM HOME and how you could win some double passes (Australia Only)

From the Editor
Hello and welcome to the second part of the June edition of
Gametraders Live!
This is part two so if you havent seen the first part please feel free to
check that one out! As you may have noticed this one is Spider Man:
Far From Home themed and we are very excited and thankful to Sony
Pictures to say that we have a wonderful article exploring the behind
the scenes of the movie.
We also have an interview with Timothy Zahn as well as reviews for
Dragon Ball Heroes and Super Broly by our writer Paul Monopli.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and as always if you are interested in
writing for our magazine please email live@gametraders.com.au
Emily Langford
Emily Langford,
EDITOR

What’s inside
Spider man: Far From Home Making Of pg. 22
Ten
Interesting
Games From
E3 2019 You
May Have
Missed
pg. 56
DRAGON BALL
HEROES
&
SUPER BROLLY
pg. 34 & pg. 8

THE LIVE TEAM
EDITOR & DESIGNER: Emily Langford
WRITERS:
Scott F. Sowter, Entertainment Review and Opinion
Paul Monopoli, Interviews / Retro Editor
A LOOK AT ALL OF THE STEALTH
GAMES AVAILABLE ON VITA Pg. 42
Adam Cartwright, Evan Norris & Taneli Palola,
VGChartz
TIMOTHY ZAHN
INTERVIEW
Pg. 14
SPIDER MAN TM :FAR FROM HOME
GIVEAWAY
Pg. 28

MOVIES
SPIDER MAN
TIMOTHY ZAHN
DRAGON BALL
SUPER BROLY

,tv&
ANIME

WRITTEN BY PAUL MONOPOLI
MOVIE REVIEW:
Dragon Ball Su
For an anime movie, the latest
chapter in the Dragon Ball franchise
was a huge success in theatres.
Coming off the back of the Dragon
Ball Super TV series, this film is both
a continuation and a self contained
story that can potentially appeal to
non fans of the franchise.
After this meeting the King visits
his son, Prince Vegeta IV, only
to find another child with a high
power level. Seeing him as a
potential threat, the King exiles the
child, Broly, to the distant planet
Vampa, a dire land where only the
strong willed could be expected to
survive. Broly’s father, Paragus, in
Before resuming the main Dragon
Ball story, we are teleported back
to a time before Goku was born.
King Cold, the galactic tyrant is on
his way to the Saiyan homeworld,
Planet Vegeta. The purpose of this
trip is to inform the king, also called
Vegeta, that he will be retiring from
an attempt to save his son steals a
ship and heads to Vampa to rescue
him. Unfortunately the ship crash
lands, leaving the Saiyan father and
son stranded. The problem is that
Broly has a problem controlling his
extremely high power level, leaving
Paragus with two problems.
the business of planet pillaging. His
empire is left to his son, Frieza, a
vicious alien with a short fuse.

per Brolly

Five years later, Frieza has recalled all
of the Saiyans back to Planet Vegeta. A
Saiyan warrior, Bardock, has his suspicions
and Vegeta are safe, as are their brothers
Tarble and Kakkarot. But what of Paragus
and Broly?
as to why the emperor would need to do
this. The only conclusion he can draw is
that Frieza intends to destroy the Saiyan
race. A planet full of warriors could be a
threat to the tyrant, so better that he kills
them all now before they can rise against
him. Bardock’s suspicions turn out to be
true.
The movie fast forwards us back to the
present day, shortly after the Tournament
of Power has ended. The former baby
Kakkarot, now known as Goku, and Prince
Vegeta are continuing to harness their
fighting skills. They are joined by Vegeta’s
wife, Bulma, his daughter Bulla, the God
of Destruction, Beerus and his attendant
Before Frieza can annihilate the planet
and its people, Bardock and his wife Gine
ensure their sons are safe. Raditz is already
off world with the young Prince Vegeta,
though their baby Kakkarot is still on the
planet. They send the young Saiyan to a
Whis. After six of the Dragon Balls are
stolen, the gang, minus Beerus who is
baby-sitting Bulla, head to the known
location of the last one. There they find
Frieza’s henchmen, who are joined shortly
after by the galactic emperor himself.
distant planet called Earth, where they
promise to return if they are wrong in their
assumptions. Shortly after, Planet Vegeta is
no more.
The Saiyans have faced Frieza twice
before, though this time the emperor has
bought a surprise. The emergency beacon
activated by Paragus all those years earlier
Frienza sends a message to the young
prince that his planet was destroyed by
a giant meteor. His colleagues, including
Nappa and Raditz ponder this. It makes no
sense, but there is little they can do. Raditz
had finally received a response. Broly is
now a member of the Frieza force, and
he is ready to take his revenge on the
son of King Vegeta. The battle is about to
commence!

If you have just come off the back of
Dragon Ball Super you will immediately
notice the new animation style. The new
animation director, Naohiro Shintani,
brings a more fluid, manga-esque style
to the Dragon Ball franchise. It is a little
jarring at first, though it looks a lot nicer
than the Dragon Ball Super and Super
make him a part of the main series canon.
The voice actor for Broly, Vic Mignogna,
had expressed his desire for this to happen
in our earlier Gametraders interview. Vic’s
wish has now been fulfilled and Broly has
been given a richer back story than the
one he received in Dragon Ball Z Movie 8,
as well as more speaking lines.
Dragon Ball Heroes anime. Lines look
like they were hand drawn, bringing new
dimension of visuals to the series. With
fast paced fight scenes and attention to
detail, this movie is a feast for your eyes.
The problem long time Dragon Ball fans
may have with the movie is the rewriting
of the series back story. In the 1990 TV
special, “Bardock: The Father of Goku”
Bardock attempted to lead a rebellion
The story was written by Dragon Ball
creator Akira Toriyama. Though Broly had
already featured in three movies, Toriyama
wanted to return to the character and
against Frieza, and faced him before the
tyrant destroyed the planet. In this movie
he does attempt to stop Frieza, though
with less dramatic effect.

against Frieza, and faced him before the
tyrant destroyed the planet. In this movie
he does attempt to stop Frieza, though
with less dramatic effect.
Actually, it is still possible that Bardock was
hit by Frieza’s blast and went back in time
100 years to became a Super Saiyan… At
the end of the day, canon is in the eye of
the individual fan.
The movie follows the Dragon Ball Minus
storyline, written by Akira Toriyama in
2014. This version features a less abrasive
Bardock, who shows genuine affection for
his sons and wife. The 1990 special saw a
cold warrior who could not care less about
his offspring. There is also no mention of
Gine in this version of events. With this
major change, its 2011 sequel, Episode
of Bardock, which saw the character
becoming a Super Saiyan, is also now
relegated to the same section of fandom
If you are happy to mentally rewrite a bit
of Dragon Ball history and ignore the flash
backs in the original Frieza saga, then you
are going to have a great time with this
movie. The visual effects are amazing, the
music is well paced and the main theme,
Blizzard, is very catchy in both Japanese
and English. If the abrupt ending to the
Tournament of Power put you off the
series then this is the tonic that will heal
that fan wound. Enjoy!
as the Star Wars Legends stories.
By Paul Monopoli

PAUL MONOPLOI
INTERVIEW WITH
Sitting in a booth at Supanova Adelaide,
surrounded by a wall of novels was the one
and only Timothy Zahn. A valuable contributor
to one of sci-fi’s greatest franchises, the novels
were the latest addition to the Star Wars
Universe and the latest in the newly revised
Grand Admiral Thrawn saga. After having my
Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade action figures
signed, we sat down and had a discussion about
his career and his return to the new Star Wars
expanded universe canon.

TIMOTHY ZAHN
“
Heir to the Empire was the first book
that had been allowed to go after
Return of the Jedi, so I was the first
novelist who was allowed to use all the
movie characters in books.
”

As the man who kicked off the original
expanded universe, Timothy starts to
explain how it all came about:
Lucasfilm looked over the document,
rejected some ideas and made some
suggestions. This would be the process
for each subsequent story in the trilogy.
“Heir to the Empire was the first book that
had been allowed to go after Return of
the Jedi, so I was the first novelist who was
Though the planning was done book by
book, Timothy had a master plan he was
working towards:
allowed to use all the movie characters in
books.”
“I knew right from the beginning, before
I submitted the outlines, I knew where
He was given carte blanche to take Luke,
Leia, Han and the gang and create a whole
new trilogy. Along for the ride were a few
characters of his own creation, including
the story and the characters were going
to end up… I wasn’t “OK, let’s hope I can
come up with an ending”, I already had the
ending set up in my mind ahead of time.”
Thrawn, Mara Jade and Talon Karrde.
Lucasfilm had no input into the creation of
these characters or the story, though they
had to give the go ahead before the story
could be written. This meant some extensive
planning was needed.
The other stand out character from this
new trilogy was the future wife of Luke
Skywalker, Mara Jade. I asked Timothy
about her alleged inclusion in Return of
the Jedi. I told him that I would watch
the Jabba’s Palace scenes as a youngster,
“I wrote out an outline, about… ten pages
for the first book, and a couple for the
trying to catch a glimpse of the Emperor’s
Hand. To that Timothy laughs:
next two, because I knew that by the time
I actually finished the first book I would
have had other ideas and plot threads, and I
“She’s just off camera. That’s my take
on it.”
didn’t want to go too deeply into the others
until I knew where I was starting them.”

After the Thrawn trilogy was released
Kevin J Anderson created the next trilogy,
setting Mara up as somewhat of a lost
write that novel, I have no input into
it whatsoever, and she didn’t care. My
character, my fault!”
girl. There was no longer a proper head of
the Empire she could team up with, and
she refused to join the New Republic. She
would often venture to see Luke Skywalker
and seemed to be keen to continue
training her force powers. This relationship
blossomed throughout the books and
comics, and she continued training her
force powers through video games such as
Timothy explains that while he did create
the story and characters, his contract
dictates that ownership of these assets
become the property of Lucasfilm once the
deal is signed. For him, the trade off was
that he was the one who got to write the
story. That meant more than the creation
of the characters.
the Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight expansion.
I had to ask Timothy how much input
he had in the storylines of his characters
beyond his own books:
Timothy is aware of the character arcs
of his characters and the additional
backstories that were written for them,
such as the video game TIE Fighter
“Beyond my books not at all. The
characters are owned by Lucasfilm, and if
the Lucasfilm people and the publisher,
Bantam and then Del Rey, agree on what’s
going to be done by a certain author,
I have no say about it. I have no input
into it. In fact I was once cornered at a
convention room party by a woman who
was very upset with me for what Mara
Jade had been doing in the most recent
showing Admiral Thrawn rise to the rank
of Grand Admiral. When Disney rewrote
the canon almost everything that took
place outside of the movies was set aside
into a “Legends” mythos. This allowed
Lucasfilm to have these “campfire” stories,
as Timothy calls them, that they can pick
and choose from whenever they see fit.
As for Thrawn, this new version of the
character worked out well.
novel. And I had to explain to her I didn’t

“I didn’t have to worry about that backstory
when I did the (new) Thrawn novel a
couple of years ago. So I got to rewrite the
was making a return, and he was offered
the chance to revisit him within the new Star
Wars universe.
backstory. So yeah, other people had done
back stories, other people had done other
things. Fortunately some that I didn’t have
to incorporate, and the parts I did have to
incorporate worked OK.”
“They were feeding me scripts (for Rebels)
for the upcoming season, so I could see
where Thrawn was ending up, since my book
is a prequel to that. What I could do is look
at what they were doing and incorporate bits
Thrawn had been announced for the third
and fourth seasons of Star Wars: Rebels.
of that as kind of foreshadowing or setup in
the book.”
Timothy was informed that his character

During the events of Rebels Thrawn
interacts with other well known characters,
such as Grand Moff Tarkin. To Timothy it
appeared that these characters had some
existing familiarity with each other. This
gave him the opportunity to incorporate
first meetings into his book. I noted that
Thrawn and Tarkin took their time meeting
each other in that book, though Timothy
explained that he had other events that
needed to take place before that could
happen.
When asked how he felt about the Disney
Star Wars canon rewrite, Timothy was
understanding of their position.
“Once they decided to do new movies
and didn’t want to be restricted by all the
books and comics, which I understand,
what they could have done is gone
through everything and decided what was
canon and what wasn’t. But to do that
they would need to know exactly what
they wanted to do with Star Wars for the
next fifty years. That’s impossible to do.
They’re making it up as they go along like
all the rest of us do.”

There are no plans to bring back Mara
Jade at this stage, though Timothy
informed me that Thrawn’s original side
kick, Admiral Pallaeon, is once again
pitch a story including her to Lucasfilm,
though he once again explains that they
have the final say on whether she will
return or not. He is hopeful it will happen:
canon. In the last battle in Rebels Thrawn
calls for Captain Pallaeon, who could
possibly climb the ranks to once again
become an Admiral. Zahn explains there
was a reason for his lack of inclusion in
his novels:
“You know, it’s only been a couple of
years since Thrawn arrived in Rebels…
and you know, they’re looking at the
popularity of Thrawn, and they’ve gotta
be thinking “what else could we bring
back from Legends that the fans would
“The thing was, when I did (the new
book) Thrawn, if I had Pallaeon there,
it’s still a very different dynamic. It’s no
like?” So I’m happy to let them have time
to make the right decision, i.e. the one I
want.”
longer the master and the learner as
Pallaeon was more or less the Dr Watson
to the Sherlock Holmes. If I’m going to
do a different dynamic I may as well do
a different character, so I came up with
Eli Vanto who’s now going to be learning
along with Thrawn and finding his way
through the Imperial fleet.”
I finish by lamenting the fact that Luke
has now passed in the storyline, and
there was no mention that he was
married to Mara Jade in this continuity.
Ever the creative mind, Timothy Zahn
has a plan that could make that fit in
with The Last Jedi, though as always,
that is up to Lucasfilm. Though with her
Timothy confirms that if he can find a
logical place for Pallaeon to return in the
novels he will definitely make it happen.
Mara Jade fans can rest assured that the
same rule applies to her. He has plans to
former popularity still quite high within
the fanbase, it is my opinion that fans
of the former Emperor’s Hand may have
something to look forward to in
the future.
Written by Paul Monoploi

SPIDER MAN
: FAR FROM HOME
Making Of
Where Tom Holland’s first solo outing as
Spider-Man introduced us to the webslinging
icon in the familiar surroundings
of New York City, the eagerly awaited
sequel is set to be a worldwide event.
“This is so much bigger,” says Holland,
fresh from a morning spent bounding
across the backlot at Leavesden Studios,
the London base of Sony Pictures’ epic
new adventure Spider-Man: Far from
Home.

After several appearances in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (the
“MCU”), including worldwide box office
in London. “This will be the first truly
international Spider-Man movie,” boasts
Carroll.
sensation Avengers: Endgame, we are
familiar with Spider-Man swinging
between skyscrapers. The sight of him
above the historic canals and bridges of
Venice in Italy will be something new.
After the events of Avengers: Endgame,
Peter is excited to get away on his class
trip and spend some time with his
friends – like any regular teenager. “One
of our mission statements on this film
“We went for the title, Far from Home,
because it is a fun call-back to the first
movie, but also because the big idea
was to get Spider-Man not just out of
his comfort zone, out of New York City,
was to remind people why they loved
the first movie,” adds Carroll. The fact
that Spider-Man is not a prince, he’s
not from another planet and he’s not a
multibillionaire, he’s just a teenager.
but out of the States,” explains executive
producer Eric Carroll. Peter Parker is
going on a school trip to Europe: a
chance to see the world and then save it
“I really want that aspect of a 16-yearold
with superpowers to come across
again,” insists Holland.
once more.
All Peter wants is to set aside the
Produced by Kevin Feige and Amy
Pascal, written by Chris McKenna and
Erik Sommers and again directed by
the hugely talented Jon Watts, the
storyline will spin between Mexico,
Venice, the Alps, Prague, Berlin and
the Netherlands, before culminating
superhero business and have a good
time only his dream vacation keeps
getting interrupted. With the world
forever changed after Avengers:
Endgame – and now under threat --
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is asking
Spider-Man to step up more than ever.”

“This is the dynamic everyone got really
excited about when we started thinking
about ways we could take this movie,”
enthuses Carroll. “You would have this
grizzled Cold War spy and the teen who just
wants to get back to his vacation.”
“It’s an interesting combination,” laughs
Holland, “because obviously Peter is kind of
upbeat and Nick Fury is so scary. Let’s just
say, it’s been a fun ride.”
With the rest of the Avengers otherwise
occupied, alongside Agent Maria Hill (Cobie
Smulders), Fury recruits Spider-Man to help
investigate an outbreak of catastrophic
explaining that they put Spider-Man in
situations where he has to outthink his foe.
“He can’t just use force.”
"No one ever said
being a friendly
neighbourhood
SpiderMan was
easy."
events. The work of antagonists the likes
of which we have never seen before —
Elemental Creatures. Based on classical
mythology, each is a giant, humanoid
version of
one of the traditional elements: fire, water,
earth and air.
Not that he will have to tackle these
creatures alone. Spider-Man: Far from Home
sees the debut of comic book favourite
Mysterio (by day Quentin Beck), played
by the brilliant Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback
Mountain). With glowing green body
armour, transparent helmet and scarlet
“They had thought they were legends,
but then they thought Thor was a legend
and he showed up one day,” notes Carroll,
cape, according to Carroll, this enigmatic
new arrival resembles “the lovechild of Thor,
Doctor Strange and Iron Man.”

“Jake’s amazing,” says Holland. “He’s
seamless in and out of character.
Sometimes it is quite disconcerting
May (Marisa Tomei) and not-so-adorable
minder Harold ‘Happy’ Hogan (Jon
Favreau).
because you think he’s just talking to you,
then you realise he is doing the scene
right now. I have learned a lot.”
There is also the tricky matter of his
serious crush on schoolmate MJ, given
such winningly offbeat charm by Zendaya.
For all the CGI used to create the
Elemental Creatures, as well as Spider-Man
Sassy, self-reliant MJ will play a much
bigger part in the sequel.
and
Mysterio’s more elaborate heroics, Watts is
determined to keep his filmmaking as real
as possible.
Beyond all the realism provided by the
character relationships, locations, sets and
costumes, Holland’s enthusiasm to do his
own stunts remains impossible to quench.
The 100-acre Leavesden Studios backlot
features a devastated Mexican street, large
parts of London’s Tower Bridge and a
sprawling subsection of Venice built across
a huge tank. A tour of the soundstages
reveals the interior of a Stark Industries
“I don’t do everything,” he insists. “I am
very happy for my double to do it if he can
do it better.” Nevertheless, he rehearsed
key moves for “weeks and weeks”
beforehand, getting back into character.
super-jet and an Italian restaurant in New
York about to descend into chaos.
“At the end of the Venice sequence, with
Mysterio and the Water Elemental Creature
With the film’s extensive sightseeing
bookended with sequences in Peter’s
natural habitat of New York, Holland’s hero
will be reunited with his adorable Aunt
fighting, they clip a bell tower,” says
Carroll. “It is left to Spider-Man to try and
keep the tower from toppling onto the
crowds, while the bell keeps hitting him

the face. We have an actual tower on an
actual gimbal that an actual Tom Holland
is going to get into and we
are going to throw an actual bell at him.”
There is also a new look for Spider-Man.
Care of Nick Fury’s clandestine division of
superspies (which have evolved from the
remnants of SHIELD) there is what Holland
calls his “stealth suit”. It is jet-black from
head-to-toe with “flip-up” spider-eye
goggles and presents a radically new
approach to the character. This will be the
first time in Spider-Man’s onscreen history
he will sometimes be seen out of red and
blue.
“He’s keeping a low profile,” says associate
costume designer Michael Mooney. “You’ll
see there’s no spider symbol, but we
kept a badge space, hinting that this was
some kind of old SHIELD suit. Plus, we’ve
updated the web-blasters.”
No one ever said being a friendly
neighbourhood Spider-Man was easy.
Written by Ian Nathan

DOUBLE PASS GIVE AWAY
Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take
on new threats in a world that has changed forever.
Starring Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon
Favreau, JB Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr with Marisa Tomei and Jake
Gyllenhaal.
Directed by Jon Watts. In cinemas July 1.
WIN A DOUBLE PASS!
Thanks to Sony Pictures and Gametraders you could win a double pass to see
the new Spider Man TM Far From Home
All you have to do is go to the Gametraders Facebook page and like the
competition post, tag who you’re going to take and comment why you want to
see Spider Man TM Far From Home!

MARVEL and all related character names: © & 2019 MARVEL. Spider-Man: Far From Home, the Movie © 2019 CPII. All Rights

gameS
TOP 10 GAMEPL
TRAILERS OF E3
2019
A LOOK AT ALL OF THE STEALTH
GAMES AVAILABLE ON VITA
DRAGON BALL HEROES:
WORLD MISSION

AY
REVIEWS

WRITTEN YOUR SAYBY PAUL MONOPOLI
NINTENDO SWITCH REVIEW:
Dragon Ball Heroe

s: World Mission
Card collecting has always been a
popular pastime in Japan. Houses
are smaller, so children owning
large collections of toys is a near
impracticality. Cards are smaller, fit
in folders or small boxes, so they
child. Playing arcade games has
also always been a popular pastime
in Japan, with many Westerners
flocking overseas to check out the
various game centres scattered
across the land.
are ideal for the average Japanese

In late 2010 the Dragon Ball franchise
married these two activities together in
the form of Dragon Ball Heroes. Finally
you could collect cards, then take them
place your cards on the pad and move
them around the battlefield. The buttons
were used in combat and to select menu
options.
to the arcade and use them in a game.
The Dragon Ball Heroes arcade machine
featured a large screen, with a flat pad and
3 buttons on either side of it. You would
Home releases of Dragon Ball Heroes were
scarce until recently. The Nintendo 3DS
received three home ports, though until
“
...The strategy is in managing
which characters are going to
attack during which round...
this year that was the only way to play
game away from the arcade. As a person
who does not live in Japan, this is where
am still buying cards online and building
teams for my next trip there, so I can just
jump right in to the game.
my experience with the series begun. I
imported a Japanese 3DS and purchased
all three games are they were released.
Fast forward a couple of years and I found
myself in the land of the rising sun, where
I was able to collect actual cards and
play the game. When I am not in Japan I
Obviously I am a fan, and I’m not the only
one. Dragon Ball Heroes has spawned its
own subset of Dragon Ball culture, with
a promotional anime and more than one
manga series appearing in various Jump
comics. Some of the characters from the

”

series have made their way into other
Dragon Ball games including Fu who
could be found in Xenoverse 2. Figures of
characters created just for the game can
additional cards and items, then take them
to the arena to battle it out against various
opponents. This is where your adventure
begins.
also be purchased in Japanese toy stores.
After familiarising yourself with the
In 2016 the game was refreshed to
become Super Dragon Ball Heroes (from
this point known as SDBH), including new
cards and missions. This is where we find
ourselves with this title, Super Dragon Ball
Heroes: World Mission.
gameplay, the story ramps up with Great
Saiyaman 3 recruiting you to help find out
why various Dragon Ball villains are making
their way to the real world. The story is
rather flimsy, and it really is nothing more
than a skin on top of the shallow gameplay
behind SDBH.
I had seen the marketing for this game
while in Japan, and I was anxious for a
release in the West. While I own the 3DS
What? Shallow gameplay? I thought you
were a fan?
games, they are in Japanese, which makes
it difficult a person who does not speak
the language. Thankfully this game is in
English, making gameplay so much easier.
While I am a fan of Super Dragon Ball
Heroes, even I can see that the gameplay
is very limited. Each game takes place over
a maximum of five rounds. If you fail to
While this title does accurately replicate its
arcade counterpart, Bandai Namco have
included a story mode, taking place in a
world where SDBH is the equivalent of
an e-sport. Players can visit stores to buy
defeat the enemy in that time you lose.
The aforementioned grid you place your
cards on is split into four segments. The
front, red section is for high attack and
defence, the orange section is for mid

attack and defence, the yellow section is
for light attack and defence, and the blue
section is to recharge your energy.
you place the card. The yellow section only
uses one energy slot, while the orange uses
two and the red uses three. The strategy is
in managing which characters are going to
Each card has a maximum of four energy
slots that are used up depending on where
attack during which round and who is going
to recharge and be used later in the game.
The actual fights are where the gameplay
is let down. When you are attacking or
defending you are faced with a bar that
moves back and forth at various speeds.
You hit a button to stop the bar when you
think it is as high as it can go. If your bar
is higher than your opponent, then you
attack or defend successfully. If you fail then
they defend your attack or successfully hit
you. This element of the game can become
frustrating fast, and it why I only ever play
the arcade game two or three times before

I am done for the day. Sadly this is how
you ‘fight’ in the game, so it is a core
component of the gameplay. Sometimes it
is enough to make you rage quit and while
it works in an arcade it does not translate
arcade game the machine spits out a new
card for you to use. In this game you are
given tokens which can be used in a gacha
store, which in its defence is another way
you can get cards in Japan.
well into a home release that debuted at
$79.99.
If you find yourself becoming bored or
frustrated with the story you can jump into
The game is nice to look at, though it
far from stretching the abilities of the
Nintendo Switch. It looks pretty much
the arcade mode, that contains missions
found in the arcades in Japan. The problem
is the gameplay is just more of the same.
like a direct port of the arcade game with
little to no enhancements. On the other
hand, the music is excellent. Over the years
many themes tunes have been created for
Dragon Ball Heroes. You can hear these
and other themes from the Dragon Ball TV
series in various missions of the game.
I do find myself going back to SDBH,
though only for a couple of games at
a time before I get bored and return to
whatever RPG I am going through at the
time. The gameplay is frustrating, so it
must be the Dragon Ball license bringing
me back for more. It’s not the worst
The game features over 1100 cards to
collect, with over 300 different characters
to use. It may seem like a lot, but when
game you could ever have in your Switch
collection, but don’t pay full price! $79.99
is just not worth it!
you look at the final 3DS game, Ultimate
Mission X, and realise that that game
contains 3300 cards you start to feel a little
By Paul Monopoli
short changed. Each time you play the

ADAM CARTWRIGHT
A LOO
STEALTH GAME

K AT ALL OF THE
S AVAILABLE ON
This is the eighth entry in a series of articles
I’m writing that will look at all of the games
available in a particular genre on the Vita. The
articles will highlight all Vita-native games, as
well as any backwards-compatible PSP and
PS1 titles that can be downloaded in English
(i.e. from the EU or NA stores), and will include
some commentary on how well those games
run on Vita and whether they fill any missing
gaps in the library.

The stealth genre is one that some would
argue doesn’t even exist – many titles
include stealth elements, but actually fit into
one of a number of other genres like action,
platformer, or third-person shooter. Ever
since the breakout success of the Metal Gear
franchise (in particular Metal Gear Solid),
though, the genre seems on much more
stable footing and it demonstrated that you
In recent years we’ve seen other things
like Assassin’s Creed, Hitman and Splinter
Cell continue to push the genre forward,
although it still has somewhat limited appeal.
Thankfully, the Vita has a healthy selection of
stealth games available (and even more with
backwards-compatibility), meaning if you’re
looking to do some sneaking on the go then
you’ll be well served with the console.
can have a veritable blockbuster on your
hands relying only on stealth mechanics as
the main gameplay element.

VITA NATIVE GAMES
Ever since the release of Metal Gear
Solid in 1998, Hideo Kojima’s stealthaction
epic series has gone from
strength to strength, and two of the
most well-received entries landed on
reviews from critics, who commented
on the extremely solid porting job,
although many were disappointed
that Peace Walker wasn’t included,
making it an incomplete package.
the PS2 – Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of
Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake
Eater. Both were ported to Vita in the
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection in
2012, which provided a fantastic way
to play them on the go.
Despite its resounding sales success,
few games have attempted to copy
the style of Metal Gear Solid aside
from spoofs like Never Stop Sneakin’
(aside from Konami’s own Nisekoi
Yomeiri?!, a visual novel with a few
Based on the expanded versions of
each (Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence,
respectively), the games followed the
further adventures of Solid Snake
(and Big Boss) in the increasinglyconvoluted
storyline about patriot
control and individual freedom. The
stealth elements are incredibly welldeveloped,
allowing you to cling to
walls, camouflage to hide in tall grass,
and take down foes silently – in fact
you can even go for a no-kill run in
both titles. It received very positive
stealth elements thrown in). One
title that did attempt it is Volume,
an ambitious indie from Mike Bithell
(famous for Thomas Was Alone)
that apes the formula of the PS1
title Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions.
Including elements such as cones of
vision and corner-peaking, as well as
using sound as a hook to allow you
to sneak past guards, it received a
similarly positive critical reception
(and a limited physical release
through Limited Run Games for those
who like collecting hard copies!).

The Vita’s other tentpole AAA
stealth release was Assassin’s Creed
III: Liberation, a bespoke entry in
Ubisoft’s epic open-world saga that
was designed specifically for Vita.
It had you hiding on rooftops and
silently assassinating targets on the
go. The was one of the big holiday
titles for 2012 and was sold alongside
a limited edition console, ensuring that
it sold well enough despite reviews
commenting on its cut-back features
and technical shortcomings. It was
enough of a success for the company
to release Assassin’s Creed Chronicles
on the handheld a few years later,
introducing a 2D take on the formula to
mixed results.
Speaking of turning open-world
3D stealth games into 2D handheld
counterparts, another series which
did this on Vita was Batman with
Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate.
Switching up the gameplay to more of
a metroidvania with a heavier emphasis
on stealth takedowns than before was
a unique proposition which offered a
fun experience. However, its shared
development with the 3DS was evident
and resulted in a title that didn’t make
the most of the console it was running
on. If you’re looking for something
closer to the home console Arkham
games, you could try The Amazing
Spider-Man, which has plenty of
optional stealth for its indoor sections.

Offering a completely different take
compared to other stealth games is the
Sly Cooper series, which consists of the
Sly Trilogy and Sly Cooper: Thieves in
Time. All four games are 3D platformers
at their core but encouraged stealthy
play as you’ll need to do things like
avoid guards, pick their pockets, and
make your way through laser grids.
The first is arguably the best of the
bunch and offers the purest sneaking
experience, but they’re all worth
checking out.
Offering a similarly cartoony aesthetic but
just as enjoyable stealth gameplay, Spy
Chameleon is a puzzler where you play
as a chameleon able to change his colour
to avoid detection. It’s a neat idea and is
similar to Level 22, where your goal is to
sneak to your office desk after being late
to work without your boss spotting you’re
missing. The latter provides predictably
fun and hilarious results. There’s also
Hitman Go, which again offers puzzles,
but with turn-based gameplay as its base
and it works surprisingly well - it won over
a lot of reviewers.

Some stealth games in the Vita’s library
got completely overlooked – one of
loved it thanks to its mix of platforming,
stealth and shooting elements.
the biggest for me is Shinobido 2:
Revenge of Zen, which I continually
argue is one of the console’s hidden
gems. Pitting you as a ninja in the midst
of a war between clans, you undertake
missions that invariably involve sneaking
behind enemy lines and assassinating
targets. It’s janky as hell, but incredibly
enjoyable and offers arguably the best
sandbox stealth experience out there.
Another overlooked gem is Counterspy,
a Cold War-inspired espionage thriller
where you have to stop a nuclear war
by collecting launch codes. I absolutely
In fact, there are plenty of indie games
out there like Counterspy that blend
stealth elements with other ideas, the
obvious one being Stealth Inc: A Clone
in the Dark and its sequel Stealth Inc
2: A Game of Clones. These titles have
you escaping test facilities in a 2D
platformer hybrid which works pretty
well. Meanwhile in The Swindle your
goal is to break into banks and steal
all their gold, for which you’ll of course
need to deploy a variety of sneaky
tactics to succeed.

Then there are the games that really
belong to other genres but include light
stealth elements. For example, Unit 13
is a squad-based third-person shooter,
but you’re going to need to hide in the
shadows if you want to succeed. The lands
of Oddworld are filled with horrendous
creatures you’ll want to avoid too,
You’ll also find stealth elements present in
horror games like Resident Evil Revelations
2 and Yomawari: Night Alone (and its
sequel, Yomawari: Midnight Shadows),
where it’s better to hide from monsters
than engage with them. There are
elements of this in the rather abysmal
NightCry too.
which means plenty of sneaking around
is required in New ‘n’ Tasty, Munch’s
Oddysee and Stranger’s Wrath.

BACKWARDS-COMPATIBLE PSP GAMES
Sony’s first handheld housed the two most
recent – and arguably greatest – entries,
entitled Dark Mirror and Logan’s Shadow
respectively. Following super-spy Gabe Logan
across the globe as he attempts to stop the
spread of a deadly virus, the series’ trademark
third-person shooting elements are still present
here but there’s a much greater emphasis on
hiding in the shadows and taking out enemies
without them spotting you (plus, both games
Another franchise that wasn’t present on Vita
but showed up on PSP was SOCOM, whose
three Fireteam Bravo entries offer some of
the best handheld tactical shooting on the
market. In them, you order round a squad of
troops while controlling your own player from a
third-person perspective, but stealth is hugely
important – a single bullet can mean death,
meaning you’ll have to carefully plan your route
to the target without being detected.
play much better on Vita thanks to the ability
to map controls to the second analogue stick).
If you’re looking for a similar taste of tactical
shooting with a heavy dose of stealth, you
Of course, the grandfather of the genre is here
too (it wouldn’t be a Sony console without
it) and you can get both Metal Gear Solid:
Portable Ops (plus its expansion pack Portable
Ops+) and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
through backwards-compatibility. Acting as
prequels to the mainline series and providing a
trimmed-down version of the core experience,
they still received rave reviews and introduced
some interesting new gameplay ideas to the
formula (my particular favourite being the
could consider one of the many Tom Clancy
titles. The obvious pick is Splinter Cell
Essentials, the original espionage thriller series
following black ops agent Sam Fisher as he
carries out undercover missions without being
spotted. There’s also Ghost Recon Predator that
plays like an inferior version of SOCOM, or you
could try the fairly terrible duo of Ghost Recon
Advanced Warfighter 2 and Rainbow Six Vegas,
both of which were massively chopped back
from their console counterparts.
ability to kidnap tranquillised enemy troops to
have them work for your squad).

Then, for something completely different,
there’s Manhunt 2, Rockstar’s hugely
controversial sequel following a mental
patient as he attempts to escape the
asylum he is sectioned in. While it
garnered a large amount of press coverage
for its gruesome execution scenes (which
You can also get Assassin’s Creed:
Bloodlines and Shinobido: Tales of the
Ninja, prequels to their respective Vita
counterparts, although the more primitive
gameplay means you’re likely better off
checking out the sequels unless you’re
itching for more.
were censored in the final release), you
can expect some tight stealth gameplay
in between that has you stalking the
corridors of the asylum before finishing off
your targets.

BACKWARDS-COMPATIBLE PS1 GAMES
While there’s precious little in the way of PS1
games which offer stealth elements, there is
one key title that absolutely should be a part of
every Vita owner’s library.
VR Missions (which offers plenty of timed
simulation missions), as well as the heavilyinspired
imitator Syphon Filter and its two
sequels, which offer a dated but still enjoyable
experience.
That is of course the original Metal Gear
Solid – the origin of tactical espionage action
and a title that holds up just as well now as
it ever has, casting you as Solid Snake as
he takes down terrorists on Shadow Moses
Island. You can also get the expansion pack
Of course, there are a handful of other things
that offer stealth elements – the two Oddworld
titles, the original Rainbow Six and a number
of Spec Ops games, but none hold a candle to
MGS in my eyes.

CONCLUSION
As a genre, stealth has remained a niche that
rarely achieves mainstream success, likely due
to its slower pace and the methodical thinking
needed, which doesn’t offer a particularly
accessible experience. Despite this, when a
stealth game gets made it tends to be made
in all the other series here – blockbusters like
Assassin’s Creed and Manhunt, cult classics like
Sly Cooper and Syphon Filter, and overlooked
gems like Counterspy and Shinobido, then
you’ve got a veritable goldmine of variety in
the palm of your hand.
extremely well, crafted with a tonne of love and
care.
While it is disappointing to see things like
Hitman (aside from a spin-off), Tenchu (despite
You don’t have to look any further than the
Metal Gear Solid series for this and the fact
that Vita has access to 8 entries (if we include
the visual novel) makes it basically the ultimate
MGS machine on the market. When you throw
the possibility of the games being added to
PS1 classics) and Thief absent, there’s more
than enough here to satisfy fans of the genre,
making Vita a brilliant way to take your
sneaking on the go!
Written by Adam Cartwright

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YOUR E3 2019, SAYBY Taneli Palola
10
INTERESTING
GAMES FROM E3
2019
THAT YOU MAY
HAVE MISSED
The Electronic Entertainment Expo is once
again behind us and the hype machine has
gifted us with a ridiculous number of trailers
and announcements to digest for the days
and weeks to come. As always, most of the
attention at E3 goes to the big AAA titles
showed at the high profile press conferences,
but somewhere beneath them there are
hundreds of smaller games that often get
Yet, many of these games still deserve to be
acknowledged and seen by as many people
as possible. Naturally, I can’t highlight every
intriguing smaller title here, and there’s never a
guarantee that the following titles are actually
going to be good, just that they look very
interesting and promising at present. With that
in mind, here are ten interesting titles from E3
2019 that you may have missed.
overlooked or just completely ignored by the
vast majority of people.

Ary and the Secret of
Seasons
Release date: Q1 2020
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
The 3D action-platformers that were very much in style a few console generations ago have been
going through something of a renaissance in recent years, and Ary and the Secret of Seasons is very
much looking to tap into that particular well. The main gimmick of the game is the main character
Ary’s ability to control seasons, which she uses to defeat enemies, solve puzzles, and get around
other obstacles in her way.
You can obviously see the limits of the game’s budget, but if the gameplay and story are well
designed and engaging then things like dated graphics aren’t going to be that much of an issue
- for me at least. Titles like Yooka-Laylee and A Hat In Time have showed that there is definitely a
market for games like this, and I think Ary and the Secret of Seasons is worth keeping an eye on.

Lost Words: Beyond the
Page
Release date: TBA
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
One of the most interesting parts of any E3 for me is looking for games that do something different
with established game mechanics. Lost Words: Beyond the Page is at its core a 2D puzzle platformer,
but adds a very interesting mechanic in using words to change the stage around you in order to
proceed further.
Games where the story and gameplay are interconnected and affect each other in a significant way
are disappointingly rare, so titles like Lost Words are more than welcome. The fact that the game is
written by Rhianna Pratchett also piqued my interest. Indie platformers like these often live and die
by their stories, but here the gameplay also looks to have some welcome depth to it. Definitely one
to look out for when it eventually comes out.

El Hijo
Release date: TBA
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
An isometric stealth game with strong spaghetti western influences isn’t necessarily something I
expected to see at E3 this year, but I’m more than happy that I did. In El Hijo you play as a 6-yearold
boy looking for his mother after bandits raided and destroyed their farm, leaving the boy in the
care of a monastery. Refusing to be separated from his mother, El Hijo decides to escape from the
monastery and find her somewhere in the harsh world.
There’s obviously plenty of upside to a concept like that, and while we’ve had plenty of stealth
games in recent years, the rather unique setting for one combined with a beautiful art style gives El
Hijo a very good foundation at the very least. The one thing that matters now is how interesting the
actual gameplay is going to be and whether the game can provide a genuine challenge.

Valfaris
Release date: 2019
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
With the new Contra looking less than stellar it’s nice to see that some developers haven’t
abandoned the kind of frantic, fast-paced, run ‘n gun gameplay that Konami’s once venerated series
was known for. Valfraris comes to us courtesy of Steel Mantis, a relatively unknown developer, but
one with undeniable talent and potential.
With games like Contral and Turrican stated as sources of inspiration, and with its gorgeous pixel
art visual style, I was already intrigued by Valfaris, but it was the addition of a heavy metal infused
soundtrack that really caught my attention. If the gameplay lives up to the promise the rest of game
is showing, we might have something quite excellent in our hands soon.

Cris Tales
Release date: 2020
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of classic JRPGs, from Final Fantasy to Breath of Fire and more, so it
shouldn’t come as a surprise that when I first heard of Cris Tales I was instantly excited for the prospect
of playing a new JRPG that takes influence from a classic of the 90s. It also helps that the game itself
is absolutely gorgeous, with a striking art style and beautiful animations. The idea of playing in three
different time periods at the same time is also very interesting and ambitious and I’m definitely curious
to see how it’s going to work in action.
I also love the fact that Cris Tales is using a turn-based combat system, for as much as I like the modern,
more action-focused real-time battle systems in JRPGs nowadays I still miss playing games that require
more strategy and thinking than fast reactions and reflexes. This could very well be a real sleeper hit, as
it’s been proven several times over with games like Octopath Traveler that there is definitely demand for
old-school style JRPGs.

Valfaris
Release date: 2020
Platforms: PC
Strategy games have quietly been experiencing a restoration of sorts in recent years and much of
that has been driven by small indie developers creating interesting gameplay experiences, often
based on very familiar gameplay mechanics, but with some added element to make it fresh again.
Per Aspera is essentially a base-building strategy game where you are tasked with terraforming
Mars.
I’m interested to see just how vast the game’s scale is, as the trailer makes it seem like you’re going
to be building across the entire planet at the same time, rather than being separated into individual
missions, but naturally the trailer could be misleading in that regard. Whatever the case, people
looking for new strategy games should keep Per Aspera in mind.

Remnant: From the Ashes
Release date: August 20, 2019
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
The developer behind Remnant: From the Ashes is Gunfire Games, best known for creating last
year’s Darksiders III, which is at once a reason to keep an eye out for Remnant as well as cause for
concern. The studio has shown that it has the talent to create something truly special, but so far it
hasn’t really been able to put everything together in such a way.
Remnant: From the Ashes is a third-person survival action shooter, where the player takes the role
of one of the last remaining humans trying to survive in the post-apocalyptic wasteland overrun by
monsters. The element that caught my interest was that the game can actually be played in co-op
with up to two other players. In some ways this seems like a horror version of Borderlands, and quite
frankly I’m alright with that.

Songs of Conquest
Release date: Late 2020
Platforms: PC, Mac
It’s honestly quite surprising that more games haven’t tried to copy the Heroes of Might & Magic
formula and give it a slight spin. Songs of Conquest is doing exactly that. It’s a turn-based strategy
game that isn’t even trying to hide its influences, but there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with that as
long as the thing you’re making turns out to be good.
The two things that initially caught my attention were the game’s visual design and the music that
played in the trailer. Then when I realized it’s basically a new take on old-school Heroes of Might &
Magic I was sold. They are some of my favourite strategy games ever after all. Unfortunately, Songs of
Conquest still has quite a long way to go before it’s finished, so anyone interested will have to wait for
at least another year to get their hands on it.

Rad
Release date: Summer 2019
Platforms: PC, PS4, NS, Xbox One
Rad is a game that could just as easily end up being amazing as it could turn out to be forgettable. It’s being
developed by Double Fine, a studio with a history of inconsistency, ranging from the exceptional to the
mediocre and anything in between. However, one aspect where Double Fine has always shined is in creating
an interesting concept upon which to base its games, and Rad is no different.
Rad is an action rogue-like where the player must traverse a radioactive wasteland in order to bring life back
into the world. The central conceit of the game is that the further into the wasteland you travel, the more
the various toxins ravage the main character, transforming and mutating them. It seems that in mutating
the player gains new abilities to help them on their journey, but at the cost of becoming less human in the
process. Maybe there’s going to be some kind of trade-off, where you have to give up something for these
new abilities, essentially making the gameplay a series of increasingly difficult decisions as you balance your
humanity against the skills you need to survive.

Griftlands
Release date: Fall 2020
Platforms: PC
We’ll end this one with another rogue-like, although one very different from Rad. Griftlands is a
deck-building rogue-like in development by Klei Entertainment. Klei is probably best known for
titles such as Mark of the Ninja, Don’t Starve, and Invisible, Inc., giving the company a reputation for
always trying out new genres and playstyles.
Griftlands originally started life as an RPG, but after a few years in development the game’s direction
was shifted and it became a rogue-like deck building game with a strong focus on narrative. In
Griftlands the player can approach situations in many different ways. You can of course simply fight
your way through, but you can also negotiate, steal, or use a number of other methods to get to
your goal. It’ll be interesting to see how Klei manages to make this concept work properly, but since
the game is still over a year away from release they definitely have the time to do so.

Were there any interesting, underappreciated games you came across from E3 2019 that weren’t
included in this list? Share them in the comments below so others can find out about them too.
By Taneli Palola

Evan Norris
REVIEW NS:
CRYSTAL
CRISIS
It feels like slowly and quietly publisher
Nicalis is building a video game cinematic
universe in the style of Marvel and Disney.
Crystal Crisis is a nice diversion that
unfortunately doesn’t take full advantage of
its all-star cast.
Blade Strangers, with its roster of crossover
fighters, was the first sign, and puzzle
game Crystal Crisis, which pulls together
characters from many Nicalis-published
titles—including Cave Story, The Binding
of Isaac, and 1001 Spikes—is yet another.
It even introduces playable characters from
Nicalis games in development (the video
game equivalent of a backdoor pilot). With
lots of familiar faces, plenty of content, and
some clever puzzle-fighting mechanics,
Crystal Crisis is closest in DNA to Super
Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. It’s a color-matching
puzzle game where Nicalis mascots duke it
out in the background. Players drop crystals
in sets of two, lining up identical colors to
form square and rectangular clusters that
double attack power. At certain intervals a
spark crystal will appear. Drop a green spark
crystal on a green cluster, for example, and
it disappears, filling your rival’s display with

unbreakable “countdown crystals” that
revert to normal after several moves. Chain
together spark crystal combos and it’ll
soon be game over for your opponent.
push it toward the left or right wall, it will
split—so you can drop a blue crystal on
the far left side and a red crystal on the
far right side. This adds a new strategic
layer to traditional puzzle mechanics.
This is well-worn territory, but Nicalis
infuses a couple inventive wrinkles into
the formula to make Crystal Crisis stand
out. The first is a wrap-around grid. If you
rotate a two-crystal block horizontally and
Equally strategic are burst moves, powerful
offensive and defensive moves unique to
each of the title’s 20 playable characters.
Princess Solange’s offensive burst move,
Deluxe Countdown, changes opponents’

egular crystals to countdown crystals and
increases them to 9. Astro Boy’s defensive
burst move, Atomic Rotation, allows
Reflection is a total game-changer. It’s no
coincidence Akuji sits at the end of arcade
mode.
players to rotate sections of their grid to
create clusters and set up chains.
Arcade mode comes in many different
flavors and difficulty levels. There’s a
The drawback of burst moves is that
they’re hardly balanced. Akuji (Akuji the
Demon), for example, has a devastating
offensive burst called Demon Reflection,
which swaps all the crystals on your grid
with all the crystals on the enemy’s grid.
Now, some of the more powerful bursts
require a full energy meter where lesser
maneuvers require only one third of the
meter, but even so something like Demon
standard puzzle mode; survival, an endless
gauntlet filled with increasingly-difficult
enemies; inline, a variant where players
must match colors in lines of three; tag
team, where you swap between two
characters; and memory, a challenging
mode where you’ll need to memorize
color combinations as each crystal’s
identity is obscured once it lands. Inline
is perhaps the best mode, despite (or

perhaps because of) its simplicity. A pareddown
match-three game, it strips away
the randomness of spark crystals and
momentum-killing burst moves and focuses
on skill-based matching mechanics.
leaderboards to track your progress (or lack
thereof). You may end up spending most
of your energy in multiplayer matches, as
the game’s AI, even in the “normal” arcade
modes, can prove daunting.
Most modes are available in local and online
multiplayer, so you can pick your poison
with buddies at home or with players from
around the world. Online you’ll choose
ranked or unranked matches, play with
friends, or set custom rules. There are also
The big draw alongside arcade mode
is story mode, which ends up being
disappointingly bland. It’s just a sequence
of 1v1 battles tied together with some
character introductions and an unexciting
plot about a powerful red crystal.

Essentially it’s arcade mode with a
MacGuffin. It’s a shame, really, in light of so
many crossover characters and fan service
opportunities. There is some replay value—
choosing certain characters will create
branching paths—but apart from that there’s
no reason to return, minus narrator Peter
Cullen’s dulcet voice.
For folks who’ve enjoyed Tetris and Puyo
Puyo games on Switch, or for those who’ve
longed for a return to Super Puzzle Fighter
II Turbo, this is the game for you. It’s not
as refined or as well-paced as some of the
stalwarts of the genre, and its story mode
is a let-down, but it’s still a clever puzzlefighting
hybrid with many different modes
and lots of fodder for fans of games like
In addition to multiple modes, Crystal Crisis
includes lots of special artwork, several
unlockable characters, and many in-game
The Binding of Isaac, 1001 Spikes, and Code
of Princess EX. It’ll be fun to see where the
Nicalis initiative goes from here.
achievements that will keep you coming
back to achieve 100 percent.
By Evan Norris
Artistically, the game won’t win any medals,
but its clean graphics, meaty character
models, and unobtrusive UI go a long
way. The only technical quirk: weirdly long
loading times. It can sometimes take 20
seconds to boot up story mode, enter an
online bout, or wait for the next match
in arcade mode. It’s hardly the end of the
world, but it’s still a constant, nagging
feature of the game—strange because
it’s not like Crystal Crisis is pushing the
technological envelope.

Evan Norris
REVIEW NS:
Gato Roboto
Not every game needs to be groundbreaking
or state-of-the-art. Sometimes
the Metroidvania camp, let down only by its
short running time and low difficulty.
all you need is a great formula and a cute
cat. Such is the situation with Gato Roboto,
a Metroid clone that leans into the best
of that franchise: 2D action-platforming,
labyrinthine maps, hidden power-ups, and
memorable boss fights. It’s a solid entry in
Gato Roboto embraces that most
foundational of sci-fi beginnings—a ship
responds to a distress call on an alien
world—but flips the script by sidelining
the heroic soldier and elevating his feline

companion. While the ship’s captain is stuck
in his crashed vessel, his adorable cat Kiki
is free to roam the surface and depths of a
mysterious world, fighting hostile life forms and
automated defenses, discovering and upgrading
a Samus Aran-esque power suit, and, ultimately,
unraveling a surprisingly sinister and sentimental
story. Overall, Gato Roboto finds a meaningful
mix of genre subversion and sarcasm on one
upgrades, and climactic boss encounters. The
action is fun and fluid, thanks to Kiki’s agile
mech suit and some flexible (if borderline
loose) controls. Exploration is fun and never
tedious, due to developer Doinksoft’s efficient
use of space and shortcuts. Finally, for the
completionists in the audience, there are plenty
of hidden health upgrades and cassettes, which
provide different color palettes.
hand and pathos on the other. Pro tip: be sure to
load your saved game after the credits roll for a
cute epilogue.
Those palettes, which come in everything
from “grape” to “Meowtrix”, are a welcome
sight, especially because Gato Roboto, despite
Apart from its unusual hero, Gato Roboto sticks
closely with the Metroidvania formula. It’s a 2D
action-adventure game with platforming, realtime
combat, large maps, secret rooms, optional
extracting a lot of personality from its 8-bit
graphics, suffers from a monochromatic
aesthetic. It’s just not as visually-rich as other
Metroidvania titles on the market.

Its two-color scheme notwithstanding,
Gato Roboto manages to evoke a sense
a cassette, but this is the exception to the
rule.
of place across its several biomes. Heat
lines and plumes of fire dominate the
furnace area, while leaky pipes and deep
pools of water define the aqueducts.
In addition, each area comes with its
own unique challenges and bosses. In
underwater sections, Kiki can enter and
pilot a submersible. In the claustrophobic
ventilation area, Kiki must disengage her
power suit and travel unarmed through
monster-infested vents. There are a lot
of different gameplay experiences in the
game despite its short length.
All that said, Doinksoft does locate an
appropriate level of difficulty with its
extraordinary collection of boss battles.
Together, these fights are the highlight
of the game. There are showdowns with
angry, sentient furnaces (which look like
something out of Banjo-Kazooie), a battle
against a flame-throwing mech over a
pool of deadly lava, and an undersea
skirmish with a multi-tentacled robot, to
name a few. All are taxing episodes that
demand patience, quick reflexes, and,
sometimes, more than a few attempts.
Indeed, the biggest drawback to Gato
Roboto is that it’s over all too soon.
While the maps and environments
are varied, they’re relatively small and
digestible—leading to an adventure
that could be completed in three to four
hours. Furthermore, the game sits on the
easy side, where regular monsters and
platforming segments pose little trouble.
There is one difficult section where Kiki
must use her spin jump to bounce off four
Gato Roboto is everything you’d expect
from a Metroidvania and, importantly,
everything you’d want. Movement is fast
and fluid, maps are vast and littered with
fun secrets, boss battles are memorable
and tough, and the game’s locations have
a personality despite 8-bit limitations.
With more substance and trickier tasks, it
could be a new classic. Even without, it’s a
fine example of the sub-genre.
suspended mines in a row, to reach
By Evan Norris

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