19th April 2010, 11:40 AM
SNES vs. Genesis: Attack of the Zelda Clones
The Legend of Zelda is a popular series, so it’s not surprising that a few clones have popped up over the years.
Gunman’s Proof
Released in January 1997 for the SNES by ASCII, Gunman’s Proof tells the goofy story of aliens landing in the American southwest during the 1880’s and causing all sort of trouble. The main protagonist, a young boy who decides he wants to fight the the aliens, known as Demiseeds. It’s not long before the boy meets up with another group of aliens, who are also hunting the Demiseeds. The captain of the crew convinces the boy to let him take over the boy’s body during their mission, which the boy agrees to. Then they go fight the Demiseeds together. Like I said, it’s pretty goofy. The gameplay is straight-up Zelda, no question. The main difference is that you have a variety of guns, instead of a sword. As you progress, the local gunsmith teaches you how to use other weapons aside from your pea-shooter, which you pick up as drops from dead enemies. There’s an overworld and a town or two for you to explore. Much of the gameplay takes place in dungeons where you find treasure and eventually fight the dungeon’s boss. It’s actually fairly simplistic, as there are no items and little in the way of puzzles to overcome. It’s mainly just fighting and exploring. The music is cheerful and the chirpy and the graphics are colorful and vibrant. Gunman’s Proof is a fun game with a nice, breezy pace, but lacks the depth of Link to the Past and is probably best appreciated by younger kids who aren’t quite skilled enough to tackle more difficult games.
This game is only available through translated ROM as it had no released outside of Japan.
Crusaders of Centy
Released in June 1994 for the Genesis by Sega in Japan and Atlus in the US [it was developed by Nextech, a contractor responsible for Code Veronica, Time Crisis 3 and 4, and various Shining games], tells of a world beset by monsters. As the son of warrior who died in combat, the main character is given his father’s sword at age 14 and summarily sent out into the world to fight monsters and do various other heroic things. One of the interesting things about the story is that it actually questions whether or not the monsters are actually “evil” or if there’s more to it than that. Story aside, it plays very similarly to A Link to the Past, even down to the way the main character swings his sword. The overworld, however, is just a large map that the character moves automatically to once the locations have been unlocked. There are several different moves to acquire, such as jumping, a powered up sword throw, and various others things that make it possible access new locations. You can also have various animals as your companions, up to two at a time, who will help you out in your quests by provided various abilities. The first half of the game, after the first hour or so, you lose the ability to talk to humans but gain the ability to talk to plants and animals. One problem is that movement is restricted to four directions, so movement ends up feeling stiff and a bit unresponsive. It also lacks some of the depth of A Link to the Past, but offers a bit more than Gunman’s Proof. The graphics and music are both pretty good. It’s a fun action/adventure game with some depth to it and some interesting story elements.
Overall both games are fun additions to the genre and each have their pros and cons. This round ends in a draw.
http://greatrumbler.wordpress.com/2010/0...da-clones/
The Legend of Zelda is a popular series, so it’s not surprising that a few clones have popped up over the years.
Gunman’s Proof
Released in January 1997 for the SNES by ASCII, Gunman’s Proof tells the goofy story of aliens landing in the American southwest during the 1880’s and causing all sort of trouble. The main protagonist, a young boy who decides he wants to fight the the aliens, known as Demiseeds. It’s not long before the boy meets up with another group of aliens, who are also hunting the Demiseeds. The captain of the crew convinces the boy to let him take over the boy’s body during their mission, which the boy agrees to. Then they go fight the Demiseeds together. Like I said, it’s pretty goofy. The gameplay is straight-up Zelda, no question. The main difference is that you have a variety of guns, instead of a sword. As you progress, the local gunsmith teaches you how to use other weapons aside from your pea-shooter, which you pick up as drops from dead enemies. There’s an overworld and a town or two for you to explore. Much of the gameplay takes place in dungeons where you find treasure and eventually fight the dungeon’s boss. It’s actually fairly simplistic, as there are no items and little in the way of puzzles to overcome. It’s mainly just fighting and exploring. The music is cheerful and the chirpy and the graphics are colorful and vibrant. Gunman’s Proof is a fun game with a nice, breezy pace, but lacks the depth of Link to the Past and is probably best appreciated by younger kids who aren’t quite skilled enough to tackle more difficult games.
This game is only available through translated ROM as it had no released outside of Japan.
Crusaders of Centy
Released in June 1994 for the Genesis by Sega in Japan and Atlus in the US [it was developed by Nextech, a contractor responsible for Code Veronica, Time Crisis 3 and 4, and various Shining games], tells of a world beset by monsters. As the son of warrior who died in combat, the main character is given his father’s sword at age 14 and summarily sent out into the world to fight monsters and do various other heroic things. One of the interesting things about the story is that it actually questions whether or not the monsters are actually “evil” or if there’s more to it than that. Story aside, it plays very similarly to A Link to the Past, even down to the way the main character swings his sword. The overworld, however, is just a large map that the character moves automatically to once the locations have been unlocked. There are several different moves to acquire, such as jumping, a powered up sword throw, and various others things that make it possible access new locations. You can also have various animals as your companions, up to two at a time, who will help you out in your quests by provided various abilities. The first half of the game, after the first hour or so, you lose the ability to talk to humans but gain the ability to talk to plants and animals. One problem is that movement is restricted to four directions, so movement ends up feeling stiff and a bit unresponsive. It also lacks some of the depth of A Link to the Past, but offers a bit more than Gunman’s Proof. The graphics and music are both pretty good. It’s a fun action/adventure game with some depth to it and some interesting story elements.
Overall both games are fun additions to the genre and each have their pros and cons. This round ends in a draw.
http://greatrumbler.wordpress.com/2010/0...da-clones/
Sometimes you get the scorpion.