The Sega Brat #5: X-Men 2 Clone Wars

X-Men 2 Clone Wars is a platforming video game developed by Headgames and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis console. It was released on May 15, 1995. It is based off the Marvel line of comic books created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It stars Beast, Cyclops, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, Wolverine, and Magento, as they fight to stop the alien race known as Phalanx from consuming the planet Earth. This is X-Men 2 Clone Wars. Any relation to George Lucas?

Walking in a winter wonderland!

X-Men 2 starts right off as soon as you turn on the console with its first stage and a random X-Men character depending on which part of the D-Pad you happen to be pressing at the time. This is the only annoying aspect of the game so if you're going to turn it on you best be ready to have enemies firing bullets at you right out of the gate.

After you get pass the first level the title screen comes up and you can select your character. Each X-Men has a mutant power that can be used during gameplay and melee attacks with the exception of the much slower Magneto. They also have little quirks and different moves that make each character unique and if you play a certain character on a different stage it can make the level either easier or harder depending on the X-Men character skill set.

This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny!

All of the X-Men characters are available to you at the get-go with the exception of Magneto who can be unlocked after completing the Avalon stage. As seen above you can even fight Apocalypse, Deathbird, and Exodus as just a few characters you meet during the field of gameplay.

The story is told through conversations Professor Xavier has with Cerebro telling him about the  Phalanx virus and what it's doing. Throughout the game you go to a sentinel manufacturing facility, Avalon, Apocalypse's facility, the Savage Lands, and finally the Phalanx ship. The game ends with facing clones of the X-Men at the very last level.

Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me I'm the Wolverine!

As any good game it starts off easy and becomes more challenging the more you progress through the game. Unless you plan your selected X-Men character just right. There's one stage where you're just going down an elevator with aerial enemies that is perfect for Cyclops optic blast, and a boss fight where Magento's floating ability combined with his projectile attack is just perfect. Despite Magneto being the weakest of the seven playable characters.

The graphics are sound and bring to life the story of the comic book universe rather well. The sound effects leave a little bit to be desired and the music's not the best, but it doesn't distract too much from the overall gaming experience. X-Men 2 is probably one of the best X-Men games to ever come out and the best X-Men game until X-Men Legends came to stores.

Learn to shoot up.

Overall, X-Men 2 Clone Wars is an exciting retro video game that surprisingly has very little to do with George Lucas, and everything to do with the era of X-Men comics that so many X-Men fans have come to love. If you somehow managed to miss this entry then it's worth looking to get a Genesis console to play. If you already played it then you know just how special it is. There is nothing more to say except...

Get it!

The Sega Brat #4: Comix Zone

Comix Zone is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis console and released to North America on August 2nd, 1995. It stars Sketch Turner, a struggling comic book artist and musician who gets sucked into his own comic book by the evil Mortus who escaped Sketch's comic book and dragged Sketch into its pages to kill him. Embark on a brand new adventure as Sketch jumps from one panel to the next looking to escape before his own creation can kill him dead. This is Comix Zone.

Now I know I'm not in Kansas.

Comix Zone begins in the N. W. E. Command Center as General Alissa Cyan mistakes Sketch for the 'chosen one'. Sending him on a mission to defeat Mortus's alien renegades and save the Earth. You can jump from panel to panel in each stage as you fight various enemies that Mortus draws onto the page with everything else that comic books has to offer. And I swear you really do spell it with a X at the end.

Comix Zone was really intended to be played with the six-buttoned control pad rather than the more common three-buttoned control pad, but it makes up for it if you have to use the three-buttoned control pad such as having blocking automatic and being able to cycle through items with the C button. You can get several different combos going with punches and kicks, but the game is really hard and enemies are a pain in the butt to defeat, made even harder with a poor control scheme.

You maniac! You blew it up!

Sketch can hold up to three items at a time with his life bar directly under it. One of the items include a bomb which can be used to destroy obstacles that gets in Sketch's path. Another is a rat named Roadkill who can reach dangerous places that Sketch can't and can find items by tearing out a piece of the page in the background. There are iced tea bottles you can find that will replenish Sketch's health. Imagine that, and I thought iced tea tasted terrible!

You can also pick up knives to throw at enemies and obstacles, and a fist to turn Sketch into Super Sketch to deal a special attack to all enemies on the screen. You can also make a paper airplane out of the backdrop to throw at enemies, but that cost health so you don't want to use it. I don't even know why they added it as an option to begin with.

I'm going to need a hot shower after this.

While you're going through the different panels there is dialog that is played through speech bubbles and thought bubbles, but they appear so fast on the screen that it's hard to read it all while you're fighting an enemy or solving a puzzle. The puzzles are rather simple and not that hard to figure out if you have common sense, but how common is common sense these days?

The game also has minor voice acting, as some pieces of dialog are spoken through a voice and it makes the game stands out from the sea of older Genesis titles. Since this was pretty late in the Genesis's life span it's no surprise that it's a bit more advanced than past Genesis titles. The game is also very stylist and feels like you're playing through a comic book world with everything that is going on.

Thank you! I'm here all week.

Alissa will speak to you through a radio to give you advice and information as you progress through the game. At the end of each level a bar is filled with all your efforts at the end of the game such as how many combos you completed in the stage. At the end of the game Mortus returns to the comic book pages and puts Alissa in a trap with water rising to the top, and depending on whether or not you can defeat Mortus before the water is full will give you a good or bad ending, kind of like Streets of Rage. Trust me when I say you'll want the good ending.

The graphics are very good for 16 bits and the sound effects are awesome and brings the gameplay to life. The music is pretty good too and gives you a nice set to listen to as you jump from panel to panel. The game's originality really shows throughout the whole game and can make it worth a purchase in your collection just from the originality alone.

What's right? Am I right, or are you right? I'm so confused!

What more can I say than Comix Zone is a fun looking game with plenty of originality making it stand out among a sea of games that came out around the same time. While the controls aren't the best and the game itself is really hard to get pass just the first few panels, it's worth it at the end of the day to see the rest of the game. And there really isn't anything like it available on the SNES. Which comes as no surprise to this fanboy as Sega truly did what Nintendon't.

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The Sega Brat #3: Streets of Rage

 

Streets of Rage (Otherwise known as Bare Knuckles) is a 2D side scrolling beat 'em up game for the Sega Genesis that was released to North America on September 18th, 1991, and spanned a trilogy exclusively on the Sega Genesis console. It stars Adam, Axel, and Blaze, three ex police officers who quit the force to battle against the criminal syndicate that has taken over the city. Choose your character and travel through eight rounds to take back your city. Let's dive in to Streets of Rage!

Go ahead, punk! Make my day!

In Streets of Rage you mainly go left to a different part of the stage and face enemies who can appear on the left and right sides of the screen to challenge your character to battle. At any time during one player mode a second player can join the fight provided you have a second video game controller, and can aid you in completing the game.

The only life bar you can see in the game is your own, not the enemies. So you never know when the enemy is going down on health until they vanish from the screen entirely. The only enemies that has life bars are the bosses, but there are no names on these bars. There is a boss battle on each stage with the exception of the seventh stage.

It's been no pleasure cruise!

Enemies are varied in type and gender. The women enemies tend to carry whips, but you can't knock them out of the enemy's hand and pick them up yourself. You can pick up other weapons in each stage like a knife, a bottle, or a drainpipe.

You can punch, kick, and throw enemies across the screen with the different controls of the game in addition to knocking them out with weapons. Weapons can deal more damage, but are some times few and far between. Some times it's better to just stick with your fists.

Since when did the police have that kind of firepower?

Your special attack consist of a police officer in a police cruiser as seen above firing a rocket that attack all enemies on the stage. This mainly come in handy during boss battles as it can really drain their health than just your normal attacks. You're only given one special attack per life or per level and you can find power ups shaped like police cars to supply another. I would suggest saving them for a boss fight, or when you're surrounded and overwhelmed and you can't handle it on your own.

Axel and Blaze are going for the Tag Team Championship!

Multiplayer is  a bit easier since you have a helper assisting you in the various battles throughout each stage, and it's fun to have a second player on your journey with you. This was before online gaming, so the second player was someone who actually came to your house and played the game with you. Ah, the good old days.

Now it's possible to get a different ending on the game depending if you play single player or multiplayer, and whether or not you accept Mr X's offer to join his henchmen. Because of this it's possible to get a good and bad ending depending on the way you play.

Fatality! Oops, wrong game.

The graphics are still pretty good for 16 bit gaming graphics back in the day. The hit detection is well done and there is enough variety in the sound effects when punches are hit that makes you feel the impact. The soundtrack is also very well done and puts you in the mood to play. This was back in the day where Sega could do no wrong, and they really did what Nintendon't!

You have failed this city!

At the end of the day it's no wonder why Streets of Rage was a popular video game series from Sega in the early 1990s and still stands the test of time today as one of the best beat 'em up titles easily surpassing Double Dragon and Battletoads on Nintendork systems. I can say nothing further except...

Get it!

The Sega Brat #2: Alex Kidd in Miracle World

Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a 2D side-scrolling platforming game that was developed and published by Sega for the Sega Master System. Originally coming out in Japan on November 1st, 1986, and was released to North America and Europe one year later. It stars Alex Kidd, a martial artist tasked with the duty to save the kingdom of Radaxian from the evil Janken the Great. Alex Kidd also served as Sega's mascot before the introduction of Sonic the Hedgehog.

As an added bonus of information, while the Sega Master System never really caught on in North America, it was a huge success in Europe, and even won the console wars against Nintendo's NES system proving that people over the pond got it right.

Without further ado, let's dive in to Alex Kidd in Miracle World.

Such a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

The main gameplay in Alex Kidd involves exploring the various levels, getting money from blocks that Alex can break open with his fist, and defeating enemies with his one punch death move. A natural One Punch Man, you could say. Alex must overcome enemies and obstacles to complete the game and save the kingdom of Radaxian.

Needless to say, the game is hard. Very hard. Some players make it look easy, but it's really not. Take the rock, paper, scissor game, for example. You can see what they're choosing over head, but what it lands on isn't what they choose, so you have no earthly idea which one to pick until it's too late. Making it extremely hard to figure out and boiling it down to just dumb luck.

I feel like I should track down the owner, but I really want to buy a bicycle.

After getting enough money you can go to the shop located at the beginning of some stages to buy either a bicycle for riding, or a helicopter for flying. Which greatly enhances your chances of passing that stage because of the way it's laid out. Another item you can find on your travels are extra lives which appear as a mini Alex on the screen.

The fact that the boss battles in the game are basically rock, paper, scissor contests give this game an extra flavor of kid friendliness than most other games. But that gets thrown out the window by the end of the game when their heads come off and they attack you. From there it just like a regular boss fight. Getting hit once or losing the rock, paper, scissor game (otherwise known as jan-ken-pon) kills Alex and you have to start over. This was back in the 80s so there's no way to save your game. You just start off at the beginning again and hope for the best. Overall the game is only 40 minutes long if you  know what to do and how to do it. But the difficulty spike more than makes up for how short the game actually is.

Don't mess with the octopus, kids!

Another aspect of the game is the underwater levels. Where Alex swims and avoid obstacles. Unlike Sonic, Alex doesn't need air bubbles to help him breathe and instead just holds his breath for the remainder of the water level. Makes my job a whole lot easier.

Let's talk about the graphics for a minute. Considering this game came out in 1986 on an 8-bit console like the Master System, the graphics have aged very well. It has a good art style to the game that makes it look cute (and I mean that nicely) and is a fun game to look at. The sound also compliments the graphics well and the music is nice. Needless to say the game is as fun to look at as it is to listen to.

I will tolerate no monkey business!

The story of the game is pretty simple and is told through gameplay. Jaken the Great defeated King Thunder of Radaxian and kidnapped his son, Prince Egle, and his fiancee, Princses Lora. You find out from a friendly old man that you're actually the long lost son of King Thunder so the matter becomes more personal for you as you set out to defeat Jaken the Great's henchmen and then Jaken the Great himself. Turning him to stone as a result of defeating him. At the end of the game you retrieve the crown and Radaxian is restored under the newly crowned King Egle. And everyone lives happily ever after, except for Alex Kidd who knows the whereabouts of his father is still unknown. Chances of a sequel is greatly multiplying.

Some times you have to let your fist do the talking.

At the end of the day, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a fun, cute game that is plenty difficult to provide a good challenge for more hardcore gamers, while still having aspects that can draw in a more casual fan. While still looking pretty good considering it has been three decades since the game originally came out. If you're interested in seeing what Sega's old mascot had to share the world, then by all means, give it a go. It was definitely a reason to buy a Sega Master System back in the day.

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The Sega Brat #1: Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog is a platformer game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was released to the Sega Genesis console (Sega Mega Drive for you international folk) on June 23rd 1991 and quickly became the company's mascot competing against Nintendo's popular Mario franchise. This was the beginning of a new era and catapulted Sega to compete with then juggernaut Nintendo and its SNES console that was released the same year. The console wars were only just beginning and Sega was proving to be a true competitor to Nintendo.

Back before my games became complete garbage!

Like most games back in the 16 bit era Sonic starts off with no story explanation and takes you to the first level of the game. Each stage has three acts which ends with a boss battle against the notorious Dr. Ivo Robotnix who trapped Sonic's animal friends into robots and metal capsules trying to claim the six Chaos Emeralds and harness their power for evil. It's up to our main protagonist, Sonic, to stop him and get the Chaos Emeralds himself before Dr. Robotnix can get his grubby mitts on them. 

Not my Green Hill Zone!

The object of the game is to collect rings which serve as protection against bumping into enemies and things like spikes. But there are still a number of things that can kill Sonic despite how many rings he has. Like running out of time, drowning, being crushed, or falling down bottomless pits. When he is hit with rings in his possession they scatter and disappear unless they are picked up again. You can defeat enemies with Sonic's spin attack or jumping on them.

All throughout the stages are different power ups with different functions. Like giving Sonic more rings, a barrier of protection, or temporary invulnerability. Kind of like Mario when he receives the golden star. Unlike Mario you're not cursed to only go in one direction and can move back and forth throughout a level finding different items and enemies along the way. If you collect fifty rings or more you unlock a hidden bonus stage that allows you to collect extra lives and a Chaos Emerald. Getting all six Chaos Emeralds give you the game's ending, and failing to do so causes that evil Dr. Robotnix to taunt you with the remaining Chaos Emeralds you didn't collect. I'm giving myself a promotion!

I came in like a wrecking ball!

At the end of the last act of each stage comes Dr. Robotnix in a different vehicle to cause destruction. Like the machine carrying a chain and a wrecking ball at the end of the Green Hill Zone. Like any good game the stages with him get harder the more you progress leading you to the final big battle to stop his reign of terror once and for all. If you want another Mario comparison, though I can't imagine why, Dr. Robotnix is basically Sonic's Bowser, but it takes more to take him out then simply flipping a switch to take away a bridge and make him fall in some lava. Not that I ever played a Nintendork game, mind you. Not at all!

Who left all this lava here?

Another main aspect of the game is the speed which Sonic can run. Thanks to Blast Processing making Genesis games run faster than the slow Super Nintendo, Sonic can run at speeds that amazed many of us when we were younger. The whole point is to gain momentum in the running and see how fast you can go within the time limit to completing a level while exploring each stage to the best of your ability. The speed alone is one of many aspects that made Sonic stand out among the sea of other platformers that came before and after.

What can I say about Sonic that hasn't already been said? There's a reason he remains the most popular Sega character to date. The original Sonic the Hedgehog is a fun platforming game that takes you to new heights for its time and is a real treat for any Sega fan looking to start their new Sega adventure with either the Mini or collecting an old Sega Genesis console from a place like Vintage Stock. There is simply nothing more to say but...

Get it!

Dedicated to

Virginia Norland

1922 - 2019