Sini passed away

[csgx1]

That's terrible news. Rest in peace Sinistron.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

GEKISHA-BOY

  Quite possibly the greatest hucard I’ve ever played- Gekisha Boy offers 8 levels of dusted
  out side scrolling target shooting- plus a final 9th level in the style of whack-a-mole.  You’re
  a kid hired to take photographs of the craziest stuff that you come across.  You need to
  reach a certain score which increases from round to round.  Points are given by taking
  specific pictures- and by having left over film.  Film is critical here- as only the craziest
  stuff you shoot will cough up extra.

 If you run out of film before the end of the stage then the stage will grind to a halt
  and your points will be tallied up early. Other power-ups aside from extra film include
  speed and bigger frame size.  Obstacles are flashing objects such as skateboards,
  beachballs, and snakes- avoid these by jumping, dodging, or snapping photos-
  however- you don’t want to waste all of your film on these objects- it is best to dodge
  or to snap a photo in which several dangerous objects are caught in the same frame.


Levels include a town, a ghetto (which includes some downright racist images and
  even the F word sprayed on some walls), an amusement park, underwater, a
  museum, the beach, a haunted graveyard and the wild west.  Some of the things
  you’ll need to capture on film drop references to E.T.,Back to the Future, The
  Terminator, Peter Pan, Spiderman, King Kong, Michael Jackson, The Scream,
  Salvidor Dali, Gradius, Frankenstein, Dracula, the list goes on and on.

  The graphics are spectacular- they have a look that I haven’t seen before in a pc-engine
  game- cartoonish but with a definite drugged-out bent.  The chip music is among my
  all-time favorite- some levels are catchy as hell and fit perfectly.  Above all else- the
  gameplay and fun factor both shine brightly- it may not take you long to beat but you’ll
  keep coming back.  Not only will you keep coming back because it’s so much goddamn
  fun- but you’ll also keep finding new stuff that you didn’t snap the first few times around-
  or stuff that you didn’t snap enough (e.g.- the puff fish in the underwater level- if you keep
  snapping them they’ll eventually explode awarding you with extra film). The first time I beat
  it I was compelled to beat it again the very next instant.  In fact I’ve probably beaten this
  game more than any other pc-engine/turbografx game that I own- it’s that good- and I
  deemed it an instant classic as soon I started in on it.

  It’s a bit pricier than the average pc-engine title- but don’t let that put you off.  You’ll
  get tons of playtime out of this one- and it’s one that you’ll want to show all of your
  friends. It’s definitely the most wildly inventive hucard I’ve played and I can’t imagine
  my collection without it. A must.

SCORE 10/10              review by Sinistron

[ProfessorProfessorson]

GENJI-TSUSHIN-AGEDAMA

  This was one of the biggest surprises for me when I first bought it- a forced
  scrolling platform shooter (think Veigues, Monster Lair) with addictive and
  responsive gameplay, a ridiculous amount of special attacks, decent music,
  colorful cartoonish graphics with multi-scrolling, and an earth shattering
  skull bomb.

  You control a kid who can do double jumps and rolls- with five different
  attacks (shot, wind, green shot, genie and lightning) each with three
  stages. A bar at the top shows what attack you’re currently allowed
  to pull off by holding down the attack button. If you collect enough
  power-ups and your bar is full- then you’ll be able unleash the earth
  shattering skull bomb- one of the most awesome attacks on a hucard
  platformer- up there with the likes of the shattering axe in Legendary Axe.
  The whole screen will quake and any non boss character who can be
  killed will instantly drop dead- even off screen characters who are about
  to leap down at you.

  There is a solid difficulty curve- however if you collect enough power-ups
  you’ll be practically unstoppable (until the last few levels) using the skull
  bomb. There are many health power-ups along the way- and on each level
  there is a rabbit who will take you to some cute chick who will replenish all
  of your energy. If she fellates you to power you back up is anyone’s guess.
  Use your imagination.

  There’s six colorful levels- all guarded by bosses. The bosses aren’t too
  difficult to wreck once you figure out their patterns- which shouldn’t take
  you too long. On the last level the final boss- a giant purple face- is guarded
  by a wizard who conjurs up a boss rush. That final stage can be a little
  challenging- you more than likely won’t roll up and blow through the game on
  your first couple attempts. The game is excellent though and you’ll definitely
  find yourself coming back to it- wanting to push yourself further. While it may
  be debatable as to whether Genji is a must-have game- I definitely consider it
  good enough to add to a second wave of top tier buys for the system.
  You can’t go wrong.

SCORE   8/10  rreview by Sinistron

[ProfessorProfessorson]

GOMOLA-SPEED


 UPL’s Gomola Speed (hucard) is one of the most original PC-Engine titles out there-
 a true action puzzle if there ever was one. You control a segmented mechanical worm
 in his quest for food and to defeat five bosses over 25 stages.

 You start each stage with only the head segment of your worm- the other bits are
 floating around somewhere in the surrounding areas- and you’ll need all segments in
 order to exit and clear the stage. The exit door only opens after you complete certain
 tasks- in some stages it’s to eat all of the food, in others it’s to defeat the boss character.
 If you hold down one of the two buttons your worm moves at a hastier speed- and the other
 button plants a bomb- which either stuns enemies or explodes certain bricks, allowing you
 access to hidden or closed off rooms. Food is eaten by having your head and tail segments
 touch while encircling the item- a very unique play in my opinion. You can also "eat" stunned
 enemies in this fashion- but enemies don’t stay stunned for too long- some are big so you’ll
 need most of your segments to encircle them- and all of them respawn- later on in the game
 some even respawn as unstunnable.


 There are bonuses and power-ups to be found- some are in plain sight while others are hidden-
 sometimes even under the floor- as in some stages the floor itself can be eaten away to reveal
 items and enemies. Bonuses, additional item and powerups include "treasure", which give you
 additional points, 1-ups, magic lamps that offer clues, an item that makes you invincible for a
 short amount of time, keys to open gates, and a green food item that enables you to shoot (the
 more segments you have the faster your blast is): this item can be found in the boss stages
 (discarding the first one). Be careful when shooting or laying off bombs- the impact- if too close-
 can kill you- or loosen some of your segments.

 The boss fights come approximately every five stages- a tiny cutscene following each. Most of
 the bosses are defeated by continuous shooting- while the first boss- a frog-like creature- is
 defeated after you stun and encircle all of the miniature parts he emits. My favorite boss fight is
 versus a giant worm- who like you starts off as one piece and collects himself- shooting faster
 with each piece he picks up.

 The graphics and music are perfect- in most areas the look and feel of Dungeon Explorer are
 invoked- with a bit of Atomic Robo-kid (another UPL title) thrown in. While the game isn’t too long-some areas may prove tricky or puzzling at first- so thankfully there is a password feature (one of the password characters is Atomic Robo-kid). The passwords, however, are only given out for the first 20 stages- you’re on your own for the last five- but with three lives and three continues you should have more than enough lives to finish the job. Highly recommended title all around- one of my personal favorites.

Score: 9/10  review by Sinistron

[ProfessorProfessorson]

Impossamole

  Impossamole is a side-scrolling platformer for the TG-16 (US only) that was ported over
  from the Amiga by Gremlin. Seems like most of the Amiga platformer ports for the
  PCE/TG play like absolute shit (Shadow of the Yeast, Turricrap, Slim Power, Baby Ruth
  the Super Shit)- and for the most part Impossamole is no exception.


  This game gets a really bad rap- but not without cause- I can imagine most people playing
  it for the first time getting incredibly frustrated for a few reasons- one being Monty Mole’s
  piss-poor kick attack- sure, you can pick up defeated enemies (who all turn into the same
  block with eyes regardless if it’s a abominable snow freak or a tiny snake) and throw them
  into others, and there’s two different types of "guns"- but somehow it just doesn’t feel all
  that fun. Another frustrating aspect are the falling icicles, bricks, blocks, etc. that get really
  redundant really quick- they seem to be everywhere- even in the tiniest of corridors, and
  having to pause for them almost grinds the game’s rhythm to a dead halt. Also- the
  graphics are doable for this type of game (colorful and cartoonish)- but the backgrounds
  are practically non existent- a little more effort to make it look nice would’ve been welcome.
  Things spruce up a touch on the Bermuda Triangle and Alien Base worlds- but not all that
  much- I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned it.

  There’s really not much here you haven’t seen anywhere else- you start off with four
  "worlds" to pick from- the Orient, the Amazon, the North Pole, the Bermuda Triangle- beat
  all of those and you unlock the alien base world. Each world has three levels- the first two
  are comprised of finding the "scrolls" (for whatever stupid reason) and the third level is the
  boss fight- and the bosses are all absolute jokes (the final boss no exception). Only the
  poorest of gamers will have trouble with the bosses- while most amateur gamers will find
  the scroll-finding levels quite challenging. Power-ups consist of the afore-mentioned "guns"
  (one is a bubble gun, the other a hammer gun- both look identical), strength cans which
  make your kick and guns stronger, free Montys and cans of worms (full power). The power
  meter is three Monty Mole faces that undergo damage- you get the drift. Enemies are
  exactly what you’d expect in this type of game- not even worth mentioning. The music is
  fairly decent- could’ve been much worse.

  So- aside from the constant annoyance of the falling objects, the shitty backgrounds,
  the poor hit detection- this game is pretty average. Here and there it’s kind of fun to find
  the scrolls- but it’s not like they’re really hidden that well for the enjoyment to last. I will
  say however that it’s MUCH more playable than the other Amiga ports I’ve played- namely
  Turdican and Guano of the Beast. Just expect some annoying bits and you’ll be alright.
  For hardcore platformer fans only (not because of the difficulty- a seasoned player won’t
  have trouble- but because you’ll need patience). There is a password feature for the
  weaker players. Yay. This game defines lackluster- maybe you can even tell from reading
  the review how bored out of my skull I was writing it.

SCORE: 4.5 out of 10 for platform lovers- for all else 3 out of 10.  review by Sinistron

[ProfessorProfessorson]

JB-HAROLD-MURDER-CLUB

  Murder Club is a murder mystery for the Turbo Grafx CD- one of
  the titles I owned back in the day and definitely got my money’s
  worth from. You are J.B. Harold- a suave Sherlock on the trail of
  Bill Robbin’s killer. There are red herrings galore, a bevy of sexy
  dames, and enough shady characters to fill out a high stakes poker
  den.

  First thing you’ll notice is the sizzling jazz intro that alone makes
  this a worthwhile purchase. It’s one of those tracks you’d like to
  crank out of your stereo on a crisp fall night with all of the windows
  open while kicking your feet up with whiskey and a smoke. One
  thing this game definitely establishes is a mood.  The gameplay
  consists of interviewing those in the know (a still photo of the
  interviewee holds the screen while text scrolls and CD voice audio
  plays (there is an option to turn off the voices- don’t use it)),
  discovering and processing evidence, researching related cases,
  gaining search warrants to search suspicious areas, locating suspects,
  arresting same, and interrogating the suspects in the interrogation
  room. Included are features such as an overhead map which shows
  you places that you are currently familiar with (can’t search out a place
  if you don’t hear about it first from someone else), a rest area where
  you can check out your progress percentage, and options such as
  saving your game or switching the voices from English to Japanese.

  This game enraptured me as a kid- It helped to set the tone for my
  current fascination with murder mysteries- even my absorption of the
  true crime shows on trutv on demand. The story in this game is a
  good one- with many layers and hidden angles that will have you
  considering scenarios even after the game is turned off. It is also
  incredibly mature for a TurboGrafx game- I can’t think of another
  American PCE release in which you’ll actually hear the word “rape”.
  There are many memorable spots in this game- from the amusing
  dialogue- which for the most part is perfectly voice acted (highlights
  include the hilarious parking attendant and the chick hitting on you
  at the movie theatre) to the solid resolve and expertly crafted finale.

  Should you pick this title up? If it sounds good then get it. I personally
  love it- and I know of many others who have as fond a memory of this
  as I do. It’s different- it’s smart- it’s entertaining- and it requires more
  thought than most other titles of the period. If you’re wildly impatient
  and just craving instant button-mashing satisfaction then look elsewhere.

SCORE  8.5/10      review by Sinistron

[ProfessorProfessorson]

SKWEEK

  A decent little Q-Bert-esque action puzzler for PCE- Skweek is an amusing
  looking smiling orange fuzzball- the goal is simple- turn all of the blocks pink
  by walking over them. The music is whimsical, colors are bright though a bit
  fruity- and there's an undulating wave of colors in the background that some
  may find nauseating- thankfully if you wish you can get rid of it in the options
  menu. The playability is fairly good- a decent speed and smooth controls.


  A decent little Q-Bert-esque action puzzler for PCE- Skweek is an amusing
  looking smiling orange fuzzball- the goal is simple- turn all of the blocks pink
  by walking over them. The music is whimsical, colors are bright though a bit
  fruity- and there's an undulating wave of colors in the background that some
  may find nauseating- thankfully if you wish you can get rid of it in the options
  menu. The playability is fairly good- a decent speed and smooth controls.

  While playability is good- replay is questionable- there's little variety in the
  look of each stage- but the game provides short passwords for each level so
  you can just throw this sucker on for a little r&r, bust up a few stages, mark
  down your password and move on to something else before it gets old.

  Enemies are suns, clouds, octopuses, ghosts, squat blobs with wizard hats
  and so on- pretty much the kind of enemies you’d expect to see in a game
  like this. Some enemies will shoot at you but it doesn’t become much of a
  problem until the later stages- when you confuse others’ shots for your own
  (sometimes the shots bounce around for a bit). Enemies regenerate from
  snapping plant jaws that appear in a set time pattern from clear blocks- you
  have to have patience when running over these- unless you're in a daring
  mood- then it's fun to throw caution to the wind- but you'll likely wind up
  getting pissed every so often when you're almost through a stage and then
  suddenly one of these plant bastards snap up your last life.

  You start off with a limited number of guys- with the ability to earn extra. If
  you die while still retaining lives then you pick up where you left off with the
  blocks you changed pink remaining so- but there are enemies and certain
  blocks that will change pink blocks back to blue- and there are stages where
  new blocks materialize. There are ice blocks- which can be tricky at first as
  you can't turn on them- only slide through in one direction- sometimes this
  can drop you off of the playing field if you're not careful- run off the playing field
  and you die. There are also arrow slide blocks, blocks that kill surrounding
  enemies, blocks that crumble and disappear when you walk over them, blocks
  that cause chain reactions and portals that will take you to other areas in the
  stage.

  There's a couple of powerups, like rapid fire shot (Skweek starts off with the
  ability to shoot one projectile at a time), spread shot, freeze shot, etc. Other
  bonuses include points (mostly in the shape of food), extended time, free
  Skweeks, non slip shoes (for ice and arrow blocks), super speed, giftboxes
  with surprise effects (like the skulls in Bomberman), a doorway that will let
  you clear the stage early and teddy bears (collect all colors of the bears for
  an additional bonus). The side of the screen will show you when a bonus
  becomes available- with an arrow pointing up or down letting you know in
  which direction it is.

  Difficulty is varied from stage to stage- for the most part this is an easy game-
  although there are a few stages that you may find frustrating until you figure out
  the best way to proceed. There are 99 stages total.


  Chances are if you think you'll like it then you probably will- if oldschool Pac-Man
  /Q-bertish action mazes are your thing. It's nothing phenomenal- but for a twenty
  minute diversion you can do much worse.

SCORE: 6/10   review by Sinistron

[ProfessorProfessorson]

Tale Spin

  The two Disney games for the Turbo- both developed by Radiance- are widely
  regarded as huge failures. I’ve always regarded Tale Spin (the other one is
  Darkwing Duck) as the better of the two titles- however it’s certainly no treasure
  box. You control Baloo (and Lil’ Britches in one level) as they search out the
  pieces of some lost treasure of some lost city. You know the song, you know
  the dance. The game counts five stages (the first four you can choose in any
  order)- but there’s more than that going on, and this in my eyes is one of the
  things that elevates Tale Spin above Darkwing Duck. Aside from the five main
  stages (island, snow, underwater, hangar, cloud city), there is (as I mentioned
  above) a mini-stage where you control Lil’ Britches, a horizontal shooter stage,
  and several overhead flying stages where Baloo pilots while Lil’ Britches sky
  surfs to collect bonus points. While none of these stages are the stuff of dreams-
  they add a nice little mix and a feeling that at the very least the developers tried
  to make something memorable.

  The boards are colorful, the music is tolerable, and the graphics range from lush
  to mediocre- with dual scrolling in some spots. Where this game fails is in the
  gameplay.Aside from a few spots, it gets pretty tiresome running Baloo around
  tossing coconuts and snowballs; the underwater level may very well be one of the
  most hideous platform levels to ever exist (the legendary Nat Hall from pcenginefx
  . com chose to play this level first- forever tainting his overall experience with this
  game) and the last level in the sky city is beyond tedious- as you have to inch
  forward then stop and throw, inch forward then stop and throw, etc.- making what
  is technically a short level a drawn out experience. Boss fights (where you do battle
  with the likes of Shere Kahn and other familiar faces) are for the most part devoid of
  strategy. Power-ups, discounting free guys and bonus points- are pretty much
  nonexistent.

  With all that said however- there’s worse platformers on the pce/turbografx- and the
  other Disney game is one of them, though that’s for another review. Tale Spin gets
  some points for variety, for a colorful cast of familiar faces, and... okay- for not much
  else. If you’re A) a Tale Spin fan, B) someone who feels the need to play all of the TG
  platformers (this was an American release only), or a huge platformer fan in general
  who can handle and get a kick out of mediocre titles- than you might want to pick this
  one up. Don’t expect a mindblowing (or even overly engaging) experience- and don’t play
  the underwater level first- and you’ll be alright.

SCORE 5.5/10  review by Sinistron

[ProfessorProfessorson]

TATSU NO KO

  On first play this hucard platformer by Tonkin House may seem pretty damn poor- it’s
  got choppy old NES/kid niki-esque graphics, the music is forgettable and the gameplay
  rhythm feels a touch off -- but it has a certain charm to it if you stick with it- and it is an
  unusual game. You control some peasant-looking dude with a stick that gets upgraded
  each level by some hairy guy in the village who later turns out to be the final boss-
  surprise of surprises- sorry to ruin it for you, but if you’re like me and can’t read Japanese
  then there’s really no story to ruin. You get a life bar and a magic bar (both can be
  extended by way of power-ups)- the magic is used (pause the game then switch the stick
  to the magic book in the bottom box) to shoot projectiles out of your stick. Aside from life
  and magic replenishes there is also a double genie power-up- in which two genies come
  on screen and start killing any enemies that get in their way.

  All in all there are five worlds- and if you’re like me you may wind up having to play the first
  level over by accident (you’ll see what I mean). The fifth and last world is partially "hidden"
  but I’ve already given you the major clue in the first paragraph. One thing that may turn
  people off of this game is a level early on that requires a lot of tight jumps on moving logs
  and sinking poles- since the poles sink you may think that you have to jump off of them
  before they go below the water surface- don’t worry: if you’re placed on a pole when it sinks
  you won’t fall in. Keep in mind that this level is perhaps the game’s toughest- get past it
  and you should be okay.

  Enemies are turtles, dragons, flying witches and goons- your typical crazy Japanese shit.
  I’ve read in a review on a certain site (a great site for the most part) that the game is
  frustrating because the enemies are so quick and seem to come at random- they certainly
  DO NOT come at random- and I can’t think of one normal enemy that wasn’t easy to
  dispose of. Some levels- like the two with tight jumps- may take a few tries to learn but
  there’s really nothing here that should frustrate anyone into turning off the game for good.


  What makes this game so unusual to me is that when you beat the boss of each world- you
  turn into a much bigger guy done up in a different graphic style- to fight a much bigger boss.
  The bigger character can jump and punch- unfortunately there’s not much strategy needed in
  these fights- but it’s still a welcome and unexpected change nonetheless.

  The game comes with unlimited continues (which you’ll need as it’s basically a one life
  game), and there’s the villages where you can power up your life and magic to the max that
  your bars allow. There’s also secret doors hidden within each world where you can power-up
  – all in all the game isn’t much of a challenge for seasoned players, but it can be fun if you’re
  patient enough with it at first. A decent enough diversion.



  Score- 6.5 out of 10         review by Sinistron

[ProfessorProfessorson]

TITAN

  On paper- an Arkanoid type maze game doesn’t look so bad... On screen though
  it’s a total disaster. The goal of course is to break all of the bricks- 
  the bricks are spread out through an overhead maze- and you control a pitiful
  little square that you use to knock the ball around. Trying to hit the ball
  the right way with this little square can prove to be as fun as lighting your
  cock on fire.

  There’s really not much more here- clear the bricks within the allotted time,
  avoid the skulls, “power-ups” include extra time and multiple balls, and you
  can also hold the ball still if you’re able to cover it with the square while
  holding down a button. Fun. Not really. Add to the bland gameplay some appropriately
  uninspired graphics that just consist of balls and squares, chip music that may
  be worse than the everlasting pulsating loop from Xevious (very similar in fact),
  and you’ll be wondering just why you’re playing this title. To call this game
  tedious would be one of videogamedom’s greatest understatements. Shortly after you
  turn it on you’ll turn it off- and perhaps you’ll test it out again in a few months
  to see if it’s really as bad as you remembered. You’ll find out that it’s even worse
  than you remembered- and from then on it’ll likely go unplayed for the remainder of
  your life.

  This is the kind of game you might find yourself playing in hell- without end, without
  break, your nerves screaming for sweet release.

SCORE- Goose Egg. TOTAL FAIL.   review by Sinistron

[PunkicCyborg]

I'm just going through "The Race is on Bitches!" thread and having a laugh. Sin was a force. I'm just laughing constantly. Lol.

It's time to man up and get some clears in.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I too read through the whole thread recently and was very impressed in his passion for beating pce games. Id almost say he was a big part in my interest in playing through them and was hoping hed come back and participate in the clears thread.
RIP dude!
Truly a PCEFX legend

[ProfessorProfessorson]

If someone gets a chance, please post his reviews he did on the other site on here as well. Thanks in advance.

[Tatsujin]

great reads but makes me so  but that's just the way it is supposed to be, to make one so

[Arjak]

Oh, God...this is horrible. I don't even really know what to say, because really, what can I say that will help in any way?

I didn't know Sini very well, but I definitely saw him around here and I know he was a major member of the forum. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. I hope he is now in a better place, where friends and happiness are plentiful and American copies of Magical Chase are free and abundant.

RIP Sini. You will be missed.

[termis]

Sad news indeed.  Condolences to his family, and everyone close to him. 

He is definitely a piece of PCEFX history.