SideArms vs Spriggan Mark 2

[Nando]

I wanted to own SideArms since I played it in the arcades and then saw it on the TG16, however I've never played Spriggan 2.  They seem like similar type of shooters.  The graphics obviously look better on Spriggan.

Which one do you guys like?






*I'll hopefully own both down the road some day.

[Black Tiger]

Sidearms has been a favorite of mine since it first hit arcades. I own the arcade and it was one of my first CD games. I love Spriggan Mark 2 (which is painfully underappreciated), but Sidearms will always be more special to me than most games.

Sidearms is usually compared to Forgotten Worlds (and Section Z).

[Nando]

I thought about Forgotten Worlds as well, since it's got that Bi-directional firing, but I like giant robots

SideArms holds a HUGE nostalgic place in me heart.

Never did play that NES game.

The graphical presentation, that I've seen, on Mark 2 is fantastic. How's the gameplay?

[Obfuscate]

Forgotten Worlds is great and way better than both. Sidearms is OK in doses but just not addicting to me. Spriggan Mark 2 is fun but not great but I would take it over Sidearms pretty easily though.

[Bonknuts]

SM2 is waaaaaayyy underappreciated. I love the shit out of that game. I played it first, before playing the first in the series (even though they are unrelated). I like it better than the Spriggan, even. SM2 just has that awesome 16bit presentation to it. It's basically a flying/shmup version of Target Earth/Cybernator. I liked Sidearms. I played it in the arcades, and then later on the TG16 hucard. And about 10 years ago on CD. But these games are nothing alike, other than they are hori-shmups.

[Black Tiger]

Spriggan Mk2 has some of the best executed "strip" parallax of the 16-bit  generation.

The PCE ports of Sidearms add quite a bit more star parallax than the arcade had.

[esteban]

Like Black_Tiger, I have a soft spot in my heart for SideArms.

EVEN BACK IN THE DAY, when it was first available for TG-16, it was an old-skool shoot-em-up. It did not scream "new, fresh, aesthetically groundbreaking" like the newer (and soon-to-be released) cousins...

HOWEVER, despite seeming somewhat dated (mechanics and aesthetics), it is a solid game. Sure, the game recycles some bosses (mini-bosses), and the power-up system is a variation of Capcom's own 1941 games (not everyone will get warm-up to this power-up system...but if you've played 1941 & kin then you will be fine).

I simply love flipping back and forth, flying frantically around the screen, and taking out enemies ALL AROUND YOU. Some segments are wonderfully cruel and painful until you've figured out a winning strategy.

It has horizontally- as well as vertically-scrolling segments, which is nice to break up the monotony. Also, there are segments where your main objective is simply to DODGE the oncoming (big-ass) missiles. I personally like the variety of elements and the pacing of the game.

I found the game to be a nice challenge (you keep going back to get a little further).

I still have to sink my teeth into the special CD version ("Before Christ")...I played through it many, many years ago (1999? 2000?), and it is certainly a nice treat for folks who enjoyed the game. The Red Book closely follows the chiptunes (the chiptunes are superior, I think, but I love listening to the Red Book for variety...it's nice to have more...also, the chiptunes emphasize the melody...whereas the Red Book has an interesting layering of instruments, subduing the melody so it isn't blaring "IN YO' FACE"...)


Spriggan Mk 2, as BonkBonknutsTomatenuts stated, is certainly nothing like Spriggan. I was disappointed at first...but the game has certainly grown on me. I still haven't beaten it (I'm only 3? 4? levels in), but it is on my list of games to get back to.

The presentation in Mk 2 is certainly nice, precise and polished. Unusual for the genre, there is a pretty elaborate story (not that I understand it)...but I'm not sure the story really adds anything (it might, it really depends on how well it is written...even though Bloody Wolf has a generic storyline, the "plot twist" towards the end of the game added a nice touch (IMHO)...if Spriggan Mk 2's story has anything approaching this, then I would definitely list it as a "plus".

It's been many years since I've played Mk 2, so I should pull it out and play it alongside CD Before Christ SideArms.

[fragmare]

Both of these games have very good gameplay and are quite fun, but the graphics and presentation of Spriggan Mk2 make Sidearms look downright primitive by comparison.  For that reason alone, I picked Spriggan Mk2.  Though, like I said, in terms of strictly gameplay, both games are excellent.

[ParanoiaDragon]

SM2 is waaaaaayyy underappreciated. I love the shit out of that game. I played it first, before playing the first in the series (even though they are unrelated). I like it better than the Spriggan, even. SM2 just has that awesome 16bit presentation to it. It's basically a flying/shmup version of Target Earth/Cybernator. I liked Sidearms. I played it in the arcades, and then later on the TG16 hucard. And about 10 years ago on CD. But these games are nothing alike, other than they are hori-shmups.

I knew you'd be voting for SM2!   I like Sidearms but yeah, Spriggan 2 wins IMO.

[Tatsujin]

mark2 for me

[awack]

Spriggan 2 is an amazing 16bit shooter, the SCD format is put to good use, the animation on some enemies and bosses is just fantastic, some standard enemies will rotate 360 degrees as it tracks you, then it will shed its outer skin or transform, on top of that it has an entirely different skin when destroyed, even though the duo does not have hardware rotation some of the enemies and bosses have beautiful rotation on arms and or legs, arguably the best production or set pieces for any shmup on the three 16bit consoles, rain pouring as giant lasers from outer space destroy the city and any enemy or friendly ship that gets in its away, combined with the beautiful animated enemies already mentioned, awesome particle explosions( explosions are different depending on the atmosphere) as night turns to day you will see the city in ruins.

Other pieces have huge rockets (three overlapping layers) forcing you upwards as the level comes to an end, This game has the best sense of depth I have ever seen in a 16bit game, the level with the large craters....when you reach the end boss the background speeds up, the speed, the smoothness and the way everything is drawn, from large to small, give the most amazing sense speed and depth Ive seen, infact other than rondo of blood, the only game (on snes genesis or duo) that impresses my friends and brother is that particular part of that game, its kinda funny when you think about it, the system that gets bashed the most for its crappy parallax scrolling, has one of the most impressive use of it.

Its only weak point is that it only has one load time per level, the animation and attention to detail could have been even more awesome, the extra memory probably would have went to more diverse backgrounds (more unique tiles) like winds of thunder. This game reminds me a lot of Macross 2036 even though you get 2 load times per level on Macross it doesn't have the animation/detail of spriggan, its only a CDrom2  game.

Any way, its one of ten games that make the Duo my favorite system of all time, followed closely by the genesis and super nes.

[shubibiman]

As Awack said

[Nando]

What's the price range on Mark2?

[Tatsujin]

around the 100 mark



if you're lucky you can find one for 60 to 80 tho

[Black Tiger]

What's the price range on Mark2?

On eBay you can get it for $30 - $40, but it was as much as $50 - $60 a year ago, so it'll likely come down a bit more before it steadies.