That’s right – not only did I buy the staggering game that is Lady Cruncher, I found next to it another game: Cruncher in Mazeland. You heard me. It’s a sequel! Here’s a quick review: Cruncher in Mazeland is a Pac-Mania clone, only from the same camera angle as the Saturn game Bug! and stars a toilet/robot hybrid in drag. On each level you collect balls, bananas or coconuts (instead of dots) and giant balls or apples (instead of power-pills) …
Remember this? Well, I bought it today, as it was only a pound. It took a bit of convincing to run on my MacBook (under Parallels) as it kept flicking screen mode, but eventually I made it work. And OH MY, was it so not worth bothering. Here’s a brief review: Lady Cruncher is a Pac-Mania clone, only from the same camera angle as the Saturn game Bug! and stars a toilet/robot hybrid in drag. On each level you collect …
Excite Mode DONE! S ranks GET! Super Excite Mode UNLOCKED! Game Hardness INCREASED! Frustration Factor ENHANCED! Wii Controller NEAR BREAKING POINT! Game ACE ANYWAY!
That Richiter is a bit ACE with his whip, no? I mean, I killed Death on just my second attempt – and I was only on Level 13! I then killed Stella and Loretta, although they were a bit more difficult (two hits from pretty much any attack and you’re dead), so I levelled up to 20 and tried again. Once dead, I found that I do need to do some paintings after all – the way to Dracula is …
ACES! All Silver races S ranked! Of course, I did have to spent quite a while on a couple of them. Being just two stars out of the required total at the end of the race isn’t nice. I’ve now made a start on the Gold races, and have managed to S rank two of them. I’d already S ranked one, somehow. I have a new truck now too, which isn’t so hot in the air, but is waaaaay faster …
I certainly wasn’t going to leave the game “done” at that, was I? I mean, 50.4% complete, even though I’ve seen the credits? So I set about getting all of the remaining green crystals, then completed the rest of the unlocked secret levels, before racking up 10 gold cups for some of the mazes (the first 5 in normal mode, and the first 5 in mirror mode). I also unlocked Space A and Space B, and so completed them. I …
Played through a little more of Richiter Mode this evening, although mainly only to progress through the map. I’m trying to get to where Dracula should be, to see if I really need to do all the paintings to complete the game. However, I can’t remember the route and so keep getting lost.
So it’s easier than Super Monkey Ball. That much is now very clear. But it’s not a totally fair comparison. Yeah, both games have you guiding balls through mazes, but Kororinpa is more about the vertical and the twisting and the almost-upside-downness of the mazes. And there’s the crystal collecting too. So it’s different enough to not be classed as a clone, in my opinion. Anyway. I’ve finished Level 45, which it told me was the last one. Afterwards, there …
Hurrahs! I realised that changing my truck for another one might be a good idea. And lo, it was – I stormed through the last three Platinum races without much in the way of problems, although I only got A and B ranks for them. So that was all the races done. Sort of – I now have to unlock “Super Excite” mode, by getting all S ranks for all races. What? How? That can’t be possible. Or so I …
I decided to Keep on Truckin’. Ahahahahahaaha. Haha. Ha. DYSWIDT? DY? DY? And I’m stuck now. I’ve managed just two of the Platinum races in about an hour’s play. Two. In an hour. That’s got to be some kind of rubbish record. I only just scraped through on them both in the end as well, so no chance of an S rank on either of those.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Excite Truck is one part F-Zero GX, two parts Super Off Road, one part Project Gotham Racing and a dash of Pilotwings, all mixed together in a big pot with liberal application of the Photoshop motion blur and lens flare tools. Today, I finished all the Silver races, will at least B ranks in everything (actually, I got one S rank too), and then attempted the Gold races. And passed all them too (with …
Um. NINE new games arrived today. Yes, 9. To add to the two that came yesterday. I have too many games to play. Tch. So I decided to play one of my new games, and chose Gunpey. I used to love Tarepanda no Gunpey on the Wonderswan, and this version, although lacking in the squished-panda department, is just as ace. Stylus control really makes it much simpler and less frantic, although I suspect they’ve upped the speed a bit to …
Would be a great name for a band. Sadly, it’s just something that happened at work: I like the Supermassive Black Hole and the Not-So-Massive Black Holes that are keeping it company. You can even see the black bits when the screen is off. Even though the screen is black. And the holes are black. Amazing scenes.
As an aside, I really should get round to scanning the covers for some of these games… I thought I’d have a quick go through as Richiter Belmont. And it was quick. I mean, he’s fast. Badly animated, but fast. I killed the boss at the end of City of Haze, who was really easy, and due to the way the map is open from the start I found my way to the Clock Tower and killed Stella (or Loretta? …
To hell with the 8917286 not-yet-completed games I have currently on the go, and hurrah for New Games Day! Excite Truck and Kororinpa both arrived from Choices today (cost me less than £50 for the two, which was nice). Excite Truck then. It’s, erm, fast, yes? And a bit bloody hard to control. But ooooooo is it fun. I’ve done all the Bronze races, getting three A ranks and a B rank without much difficulty, but then the Silver races …