Witch n' Wiz Review (Evercade)

For some the retro style simply isn’t enough and this has led to a resurgence in games coded for original systems. We’ve covered some of these before such as Micro Mages and Alwa’s Awakening, both of which proved to be excellent. They also both ended up heading to the Evercade system as well, something Witch and Wiz is also about to do.

The story is simple, a young boy has been kidnapped by a dark sorcerer and now his witch friend must try and rescue him. Once rescued, the boy wizard becomes part of the many dynamics the game plays around with. Your character handles really well and everything is responsive and free from the flicker and other such quirks of NES games so it may have been designed with 8-bit in mind, but it runs as well as modern ‘retro’ inspired games running on more powerful systems.

Witch and Wiz is a puzzle platform game that is built around single screen levels. Players complete each stage by collecting all the creatures that are within it. This is of course, trickier than it sounds as you can’t jump and need to get around by pushing blocks. It’s easy to lock yourself out of being able to complete the levels but you can reset or rewind your moves which makes it possible to quickly get back on track.

As well as the rewind a new gimmick is added in each new chapter. This could be something such as flipping gravity or adding a second character to control but it means each of worlds stays fresh and original while still focusing on the same core theme. It’s not the longest game either and will likely last you around an hour to complete. But then NES games never have been that lengthy and we would rather have a short, fun, and inventive game than one that outstays its welcome.

The main encouragement for replaying is beating the levels in the quickest time possible. The game keeps track of your best time as you progress so it’s certainly one for the speed runners out there. That said, the nature of the genre does restrict replayability a bit. Each puzzle only really seems to have one solution so once you’ve worked it out there isn’t that much else to do aside from enjoy the simple story.

Overall, Witch and Wiz is another excellent indie game developed for retro hardware. Often in these situations the limitations of the hardware mean developers must get creative and this is yet another example of it. It’s certainly easier than a lot of NES games and aside from speed runners there will be little for many to go back in for, but while it lasts it’s creative, fun and always throwing something new at you. It’ll certainly be perfect for handheld consoles such as the Evercade and Switch and well worth checking out.

Overall 8/10

Goodboy Galaxy Review (GBA)

 

So called homebrew titles have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. Now, we have reached a place where developers can create titles for older consoles and have them fit perfectly into the indie marketplace. Indeed, we think it’s only a matter of time before one of the big developers decides to dive into the world of retro consoles with a fully-fledged retro release.

We’ve covered an ever-growing number of these games including, Micro Mages, Alwa’s Awakening and Witch N’ Wiz, as well as some of the compilation which have made their way to Evercade, who could forget the excellent Tanzer after all? The latest of these to reach our door is Goodboy Galaxy, a platform exploration game for the GBA.

The plot is simple and follows a space dog called maxwell as he fly’s around various planets solving quests and making friends. It’s all one large collectathon, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. Each character you meet along the way will require help in some way (normally finding things) and will then give you their friend card upon completion. Some also give you other items as well to further aid your exploration and allow you to get deeper into galaxy.

Goodboy Galaxy is not a Metroidvania game though, thanks to the well-placed gates around each planet. Maxwell can jump, has a shield which will absorb damage and has a blaster. However, when you pass through one of the gates on each level something will be disabled. This could mean losing your jump, meaning you must think creatively about switches or platforms, or losing you weapon or shield meaning you are much less protected. It’s a gimmick that lasts throughout the game and allows a series of short but interesting puzzle platform sections to be thrust on the player. There are of course ways of getting around these to reveal secrets as well.

It's good then that Maxwell handles excellently. You must get used to the game as it has its own mechanics such as the firing pace of the weapon and the jump working slightly different than how you would expect, but once you’ve played it for a while it all becomes second nature. It’s cleverly done and shows real thought has been put into how players are expected to traverse around the worlds.

The look of the game is classic Gameboy Advance platformer. Bold colours and large cartoon like sprites are the order of the day and you can’t help but smile at the heavy nostalgia and generally joyful vibe. It fits the style of game perfectly, as does the character design which effectively takes animals and objects and puts bigger eyes and jackets on them. Each planet also sticks with the bright feel, while also being distinctive from each other to keep the overall look from becoming too samey.

Overall, Goodboy Galaxy is a fun game that would have easily found an audience if released during the original GBA years of handheld dominance. It’s like finding a hidden gem for the system and hopefully it will find a much larger place when it releases on modern consoles (Goodboy Galaxy is also currently available on the Evercade). There’s a lot of fresh ideas here and if you are looking for something new that seems like something old then this is an excellent place to start.

Overall 8/10

Full Void Review (Switch)

Indie games certainly go through trends, first everything was Metroidvania and then came the Roguelikes. Now it seems the Cinematic Platformer is the genre of choice. In recent times we’ve had Lunark, Eternal Castle, Library of Bable and remasters of Another World and Flashback to mention a few. Full Void is the next game to take on this approach and, for the most part, it does a pretty good job.

The story of Full Void is told entirely visually. There’s no voice or text so it’s left to the brief cutscenes and general environment to get across the near future world where some form of AI menace has started to enslave humanity and steel away it’s children. You start out running in a forest before heading back into the city as you simply try to survive and escape the ever-pursuing creatures.

The style of the Full Void fits perfectly with down beat colours and a pixel style graphical approach. It gets across the nostalgia of the genre and acts to portray the story and environment well. It also looks very much like its own game and doesn’t take too much from classics in the genre, meaning it is distinctive enough to standout in an ever more crowded market.

 Controls are simple with a two-button scheme which lets you jump or interact with objects. There are no guns or weapons, so you are always vulnerable to enemies and it is very much about keeping away from things. The game responds well so there are few frustrating deaths caused by controls and the checkpoint system is also sensible so when you do die you won’t be repeating huge sections of the game.

The other added bonus is that each death comes with a small cut scene to further emphasise your demise. The only slight blip here is that two or three times (and only two or three times), the story cutscenes turn interactive without warning, often leading to a quick death as you are not expecting it. In one of these you are required to duck, while another requires you to press the interact button to shut a door. These Dragon’s Lair like interaction come so out of the blue and are so inconsistent that you’ll have little chance of surviving them first time which is a shame.

Away from the running and leaping there are also puzzle sections to overcome. This starts out with some simple box moving scenarios and a basic hacking game where you must line up spinning tubes. Before long you’ll acquire a sort of robot thing than can be issued instructions at various control panels. The robot can be used to get through dangerous environments or sent to hard to reach places and then activate switches to make it safe for you to progress. We did find that there were a few too many of these sections and some of them are a bit obtuse but generally our progress was never halted for too long. We aren’t sure the game would lose much without them though.

Full Void is also fairly brief with general play time around an hour. That’s no big deal as such, as the story feels about the right length but there isn’t an awful lot to go back through the game for aside from a few secrets. Once completed the game does let you start from any chapter you like though so you can easily play your favourite sections or seek out a few easter eggs if you wish.

Overall, Full Void certainly works as a Cinematic Platfomer. The look and controls are spot on for this sort of game and the story is interesting and well thought out. The platforming sections work far better than the robot puzzles but there is nothing here that is going to stop you from enjoying the experience. It would have been nice to have more reasons to go back to it after finishing but what’s here is inventive and fun and easy to recommend - as long as you aren’t expecting an epic.

Overall 8/10

Micro Mages Review (NES)

The indie revival has moved forward somewhat in recent years. For a long time, we have been reviewing games made to look like titles on classic systems. In the last few years though more and more indie titles are making the full jump and simply being developed and released on the original hardware. Micro Mages for the NES is one of the most high profile of these.

Micro Mages is a platformer where up to four players can help each other ascend a tower before existing the door at the top. Don’t worry though because it is perfectly playable on your own. Your little dude can jump and shoot and they also stick to walls. Some of the later levels require a few more advanced techniques such as a power jump (caused by fire a charged shot down while jumping), but it’s basically your starting skill set all the way through.

It can be tough as well as one hit kills and you aren’t exactly brimming with lives. More can be picked up along the way of course and you can also pick up a few items which protect against instant death. There are four worlds in total with a stand off against a large boss creature at the end of each. Once completed you unlock an advanced mode which remixes the levels enough to make it worth while playing through again so it will keep you occupied for a decent amount of time.

The biggest criticism is that your character and enemies are quite small on screen. It’s not such an issue on original hardware but if you are playing the rom on a handheld or the Evercade version it can be difficult to see what’s going on. That said, you are never in a position where things become impossible. 

The controls are wonderfully responsive as well and allow players to leap around the levels with the confidence that your character is going to respond in the way you think. This is handy as the game runs at an excellent pace and suffers none of the characteristic slow down or flicker often associated with NES games. 

Overall, Micro Mages is a welcome addition to the ‘original hardware’ indie scene. It’s one of the few games in this category that would have happily sat alongside the original systems releases. This new focus on simple but effective gameplay and the creativity that working with reduced memory is breeding is something we can get behind with Micro Mages being among the very best examples. If you’ve never tried any of these sorts of titles before this is certainly one to start with.

Overall 8/10

Alwa's Awakening and Cathedral Cart Review (Evercade)

This is the second two cartridge game to come to the Evercade after the mix of Xenocrisis and Tanglewood. Considering that one worked out well it shows that with the right games the Evercade fan base are more than willing to buy in to carts with fewer games on. It certainly helps that both these games are published by Elden Pixels, purveyor of some of the finest retro themed fun out there.

The first title, Alwa’s Awakening is both a wonderful game and a wonderful achievement. It fits perfectly on the NES while also being modern and forward thinking in its design and play mechanics. There’s little doubt that if this had been released in the days of Nintendo’s flagship system then it would be sitting easily in the all the top 10 NES games lists across the internet. But it’s not just living off a nostalgic kick either as it can also go toe to toe with the many other Metroidvania titles out there and stand above most of them. Turning Alwa’s Awakening into a NES game was the best thing that ever happened to it as it really seems to have found its home now and having it accessible via the Evercade is a perfect match.

Alwa’s Awakening is basically a 2D Metroidvania adventure spread over a single interconnecting world. Our hero, Zoe, explores the region picking up spells and other magical objects which in turn then let’s her have access to more areas to explore. Zoe must enter dungeons, defeat boss monsters and then, of course, take on the big bad to save the land. You know how it goes.

Each region and area are easily identified and different looking and how the game has managed to be squeezed down into the limitations of a NES cartridge is absolutely astounding. Even walls of bricks or different woodland areas are distinctive from one another which really helps to keep the player engaged - and also works as a handy navigational aid.

Zoe has a handful of things to help her along the way which act as puzzle solving tools and weapons. As well as her standard staff which she can use to just bash things with there are three spells available which can be upgraded as you go. The first one you will find is the magic block which you can conjure to use to activate switches or give yourself a boost for jumping. Later you can also make it waterproof so that it can be used to travel across rivers.

Cathedral has the honour of being the first native Evercade game. This is a real milestone as it opens the door for other indie games and even exclusives to make their way to the system. It’s a magically realised adventure game filled with a feeling of mystery, joy and the urge to push ever onward that many players may not have felt for a very long time. It encapsulates what made 8-bit adventure games so good while also ironing out many of the issues that they were often hindered with. There’s also no noticeable difference between this and other versions of the game that we could see.

We love a good romp through titles like Wizards and Warriors and Battle of Olympus but Cathedral does it better. There may be hundreds of Metroidvania games out there but hardly any of them can hope to be as accomplished as this. It’s a classic and the new indie standard in the genre. It also manages to rocket to the top of the Evercade best games list effortlessly.

You start the game inside the mysterious old Cathedral of the games title with little understanding of what’s going on or what your mission is. Shortly after this you will escape and head to a nearby town. The town’s folk will help to fill you in on the games law and from there you undertake a vast adventure to defeat a particularly big bad in the best traditions of magic and fantasy.

The game throws you early on in terms of how it plays. Initially, we were pretty convinced what we had unearthed was effectively Shovel Knight the Metroidvania. The art style is similar and our hero knight can even do the Duck Tales bounce with his sword. The longer we played though the more we realised the game was very much its own beast and one that seems more influenced by Rare’s Wizards and Warriors trilogy on the NES (but much smoother in terms of how it plays).

It’s also fair to say that it took a few hours to get into. To begin with we found it difficult to judge the edges of platforms and the general inertia of the knight which had us falling to our death over and over. There are also some pretty heavy colour blind issues surrounding health bars and some on screen objects. But after finding a few items and giving the game some time everything simply clicked into place and all our initial problems just faded away.

Overall, these two games are more than worthy of sharing a cart together. If the system can keep putting out quality titles like this and making them more accessible then it might have really found a niche it can mine for years to come.

Game Rankings - 

Alwa’s Awakening 5/5

Cathedral 5/5

Codemasters Collection 1 Review (Evercade)

The Oliver Twins collection was one of our favourite Evercade releases as It encapsulated the feel of the multi-game collections that were so prevalent during the days of microcomputers. The Codemasters collection is another release which again captures the fun, variety and nostalgia of the budget release and is packed with a solid seventeen games spread across the NES and Megadrive.

A lot of the games here were originally on a selection of multi-game budget carts that were released on the NES and they work well without overstaying their welcome. Boomerang Kid and CJ’s Elephant Antics aren’t really anything amazing but in this context, they are breezy distractions that are fun enough platformers to keep you playing for their short duration.

Boomerang Kid is sort of like a semi-bad take on Manic Miner while CJ is a bright but average platform game. Linus Spacehead would be pretty bad on its own but if treated like a short mini game style distraction it is much more palatable with each of its short stages requiring a different sort of platforming. It’s quite varied with one stage having you jump across bubbles, while the next has you avoiding boulders. It’s incredibly frustrating though so thank heavens for the save states.

Two more NES games round out the 8-bit platform section of the cart with both of the Big Nose the Caveman games included. These are much more polished and substantial titles. Again, they aren’t anything revolutionary but both games are enjoyable and fun and well worth spending a chunk of time with. For a bit of variety puzzle/driving game stunt buggies is another of the short and sweet games here with players needing to drive around a maze avoiding obstacles while picking up bombs. It's a good spin on the Pac Man format that is great for quick sessions of play.

Three shooters are also included and each of them has its merits. Bee 52 is a side scrolling blaster with the twist that you are playing as a Bee trying to bring nectar back to it’s hive. It can be frustrating but it’s an original and inventive game that works well. It has perhaps a few too many levels which means things start to get a bit repetitive but it’s well worth a look.

F-16- Renegade and MiG 29: Soviet Fighter are similar games, but both are decent. They are vertically scrolling shooters that also have levels which turn into Afterburner style 3D sections. There are a decent amount of power ups available, and the action is responsive and solid. The level variety helps to keep them fresh, and both proved to be real surprises to us.

By far the best of the NES titles is The Ultimate Stuntman which is quite difficult to get hold of on original hardware now. This uses the classic trope of the day by having each level broken into a different type of game. You start out racing against the clock in a top-down driving section, only to move onto a side scrolling action platformer, a flying level, a wall climbing section and so on. It’s tough but fun and certainly one of the highlights of cart. This really does qualify as one of the ‘hidden gems’ that the Evercade is so keen to unearth.

If the majority of the NES contingent could be seen as the ‘budget’ games, the same cannot be levelled at the Megadrive selection. Ok, so Super Skidmarks is a shambles when compared to the Amiga version but there are genuine all-time classics included here as well.

Perhaps the highest profile of these is Cannon Fodder. This mix of action and strategy has long been fondly remembered across a number of formats. The Megadrive version is a perfectly good port of the game, and it remains as chaotic and fun as it always has as your little squad goes blasting it’s way through a variety of environments.

Another stone cold classic included is Sensible Soccer. The Evercade is lacking is decent football games so this not only helps the collection gain even greater variety but also bolsters the machines line-up considerably. The game remains as fun and playable as always, with the simple controls and high-speed gameplay proving the perfect match for the system both on the VS and via the handheld. There’s a ton of different cups and competitions to play as well so if the bug bites you, you’ll be playing this for hours.

Mega-Lo-Mania is a great fun take on the God sim game. It seems easy at first, but you’ll soon find that assigning your dudes to research and attack takes an awful lot more thought and planning than it seems. It’s likely to eat away many hours of your life as you conquer your way to galactic dominance.

Of course, an Evercade collection wouldn’t be complete without another hidden gem and the 16-bit one on this cart is Cosmic Spacehead. Not to be confused with its NES budget cousin this game is a mix of point and click adventuring, platforming and puzzles. It’s a quirky fun adventure that manages its hybrid format very well. The story follows Cosmic who has crashed his spaceship. He needs to traverse the alien landscape to find the parts to fix it then blast off back home.

Codemasters has also included a previously unreleased game which will enhance its appeal to completionists. Tennis All Stars is difficult to get to grips with but when you do master the tricky controls it does play a solid game. Psycho Pinball rounds out the collection for high score chasers which proves to be a steady, if not amazing, take on the digital pinball format.

Overall, this is one of the best value and most fun carts that you can currently get on the Evercade. There’s a host of different genres and styles to play around with and while many of the games are of the solid to average standard, when put together on one collection is all sort of works. There’s also a good selection of genuinely excellent and iconic games here which makes this an utterly essential purchase and borderline system seller.

 

Overall –

NES Games

Bee 52                                             3/5

Big Nose Freaks Out                      3/5

Big Nose the Caveman                 3/5

Boomerang Kid                              2/5

Cj’S Elephant Antics                      3/5

F-16 Renegade                               3/5

Linus Spacehead                            2/5

MiG 29: Soviet Fighter                  4/5

Stunt Buggies                                 3/5

The Ultimate Stuntman                4/5

Megadrive Games

Cosmic Spacehead                        4/5

Mega-Lo-Mania                             4/5

Cannon Fodder                              5/5

Psycho Pinball                                3/5

Sensible Soccer                              5/5

Super Skidmarks                            2/5

Tennis All Stars                              3/5

Worms Collection 1 Review (Evercade)

 

It was a bit of a surprise when the Evercade team announced that Worms was coming to the system. A handheld doesn’t necessarily seem like the best place for the games to be played (we have nightmares about the Gameboy version to this day). But then the VS came along, and everything made more sense.

There are only three games here, which may well raise eyebrows from some. It’s likely down to the space available as the PS1 version of Worms Armageddon is the main part of the package. The Megadrive version of the original game and GBA version of Worms Blast round out the cartridge.

The first issue we found was that Worms on the Megadrive is almost impossible to play if you are colour blind. You simply can’t see the menu’s when they highlight. This is less of an issue with the filters on the VS but still. Also, if you are going to play the original game this really is not the version to go for. If you do get a game set up and running it does run well though so if you have nostalgic memories of it, they should remain untainted - just don’t expect all the sound and videos that some of the other versions have.

Worms Blast is a take on the Puzzle Bobble format where your worm sits in a boat at the bottom of the screen and uses different weapons to blast coloured blocks. It is surprisingly addictive and well realised even in this downgraded version of the game. Colourblind issues are at the fore again, though they are less fatal here. This is really the game that most handheld Evercade players will probably play the most on the cart and while good it’s not amazing and knowing better versions exist is a shame.

The real highlight is of course Worms Armageddon, which is a stalwart of nostalgic multiplayer mayhem. The game runs well on the handheld and removes most of the visual issues that the other games have. There is also a decent single player campaign which acts as a sort of lengthy tutorial for all the weapons with players taking on different challenges. The multiplayer element will potentially last you for years with all the new weapons and additions turning an already crazy game into something even more chaotic. It is potentially the best multiplayer game on the Evercade so if you are looking for something to while away the hours with friends then this could be the game for you.

Overall, this is a difficult cart to pin down. Space may well have been an issue, but the included content does seem light. If Worms Pinball, World Party and the PS1 version of the original game had been included it would have created a much better (and criticism proof), all-round package. The Evercade doesn’t support the PS2 generation of consoles but again, having the stripped down GBA version of Blast here is also a compromise. What it really boils down to is - are you are willing to pay the money for Armageddon?  For some that will be enough. If the game had been bundled with the VS it would feel much more relevant but on its own it may well struggle to get the audience, it deserves.

 

Overall –

Worms                                 3/5

Worms: Blast                     3/5

Worms: Armageddon    5/5