Xardion
Reviewed by Breakman
This is a rather old, forgotten title that many people probably haven't
even heard of. I, myself, just stumbled upon renting it quite a few years
back. Recently, I vaguely started remembering the game, and after
searching game lists and such on the Internet to remember its name,
I found an old copy and really liked the nostalgia of it all when I sat
down for a play. Well, to quickly summarize the game, it's a very nice
mix of genres. Lots of action and platform elements, and level-gaining
like an RPG. You have 4 different characters to use and train (one of
which you meet late in the game), each with his own 4 special attacks
that use up the character's Ammo meter. In very short terms: Mega Man
meets Zelda 2, with multiple characters. Now, on with the review!
Graphics: 9 out of 10
Now, these graphics were really sharp for the time the game came out.
Some of the enemies and background are pretty jaw dropping for an early
SNES title, and some of the characters' special moves look pretty dang
cool. The color is very nice. I can't really think of anything bad to say
about it, except that some of the graphics could have probably been a
bit more detailed.
Music and Sound: 6 out of 10
This is one area where the game takes a nice thwack to the head. The
sound usually seems kind of...well...not exactly what you'd expect from
giant robots blasting the crud outta stuff, but hey, remember when the
game was made...not too many years after the era when the most advanced
sound effects were *blip* and *bloop*. Much of the music could use a
work over, such as the annoying boss theme and the head-splitting theme
of "Oceansphere stage 2". But don't get me wrong, a couple of theme are
very nice. I especially enjoyed the final boss's background music, if
you must know.
Game Challenge: 4 out of 10
Another soft spot in an otherwise good game. What you'll probably agree
with me on is the fact this game is very short. It would've been very nice
to see a huge game with battery back-up saves and the ability to get to a
much higher experience level than 12. Most of the secrets and special
items are hard to miss, and there's not very much challenge at all in most
levels, aside from some pretty ugly bosses. There's also the fact you have
infinite lives, etc. but one kind of annoying thing to deal with is the fact only
the robot that actually DIES is the one that gets healed; it's quite hard to get
ammo and life up aside from making yourself die one by one. Bleh.
Game Play-Fun: 10 out of 10
Ooh yeah. Sitting down to this game for awhile really relives some
stress. Maybe it's because I like Mega Man games, along with level gaining
action games such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night? Or maybe
because it's so simple and unannoying? Who knows, but this game just
really takes the cake for me when I want to waste some time, well,
when I want to play it, hehe... Besides the fairly low replay value, this
is a very good time-killing fun game.
Frustration
I covered much of this in the Game Challenge section, but let's take a
short look again.
Sometime-slow play control
Hard to recover characters
A couple nasty bosses
Replayability: 4 out of 10
Ouch, another punch in the gut. Like I said, this game isnŐt any Pokemon
or anything, but it DOES have a bit of replay value. You might want to
train your characters differently, try to play for speed, or just bust some
time running around when you're bored. It doesn't wear out too quick, but
you're not gonna be drooling on it like a multiple-ending RPG for half
a year straight.
Overall: 7 out of 10
Xardion might just not be for everybody, but it's worth a look (if you
can find it) and you'll probably be at least amused. It's a great mix of
genres which I think would be a fantastic game idea for any developer.
It could be the fact this game just kind of holds a little place in my heart,
but I suggest anybody out there should at least give this game a look. It
ain't bad, ain't bad at all.