2014/1/29: Genesis: Mutant League Hockey, Shadow Dancer

[VideoGameCritic]

Here are two Genesis review updates for your reading pleasure.

[Rev1]

I never much cared for the Mutant League games, I tend to find them a bit overrated but I absolutely love Shadow Dancer. I picked it up after seeing your review and I'm often torn about whether I like Shinobi 3 or Shadow Dancer more. They are both just great games. I love the dog sidekick in this game. He adds some nice variety to the game and helps stand it apart from the other games in the series. Good reviews. I enjoyed the updates.

[Greg26001]

As a single player game, MLH probably isn't that fun.  But if you can get several people at once, it's one of the best "party" games I've ever played.  It's like General Chaos because it's so hectic and crazy.  Deserves far more than a D.

[KingVoxel1]

Shadow Dancer is a Genesis masterpiece!  I had this game mastered in the old days - I could beat it on hardest setting with no shurikens.

[Tron1]

I remember being at Cedar Point & stepping into the arcade. I just wanted to see what they had. I wasn't going to play long, because I was there to ride the rides right? Well I saw Shadow Dancer & had to play it. It was awesome so I kept playing it. I probably played it for half an hour. When I was done I was angry at myself for wasting the time playing a video game when I could've ridden the Cork Screw. Still I'm sure I rode the Cork Screw at least a couple times that day & I don't really remember it. I do remember playing Shadow Dancer though.

[JustLikeHeaven1]

I don't really agree with the low score for MLH.  Is the game as polished as something like NHL 94?  No, it isn't.  However, the fun factor is through the roof.  I've never had any problem controlling the players or having 2P matches.  Sure things get a bit hectic with all the traps and weapons etc...but I've always viewed those as positives.  I liked the violence, the silly attitude, the weird 'coach speak'...it all felt so wild and crazy.  It was games like this that made owning a Genesis worthwhile, you couldn't get these types of titles anywhere else.  The system is loaded with stuff that is the equivalent to "b movies", which is something that I love about it.

The Mutant League series was one that EA should have never given up on.  It would have gained so much from annual or bi-annual releases.  It's a shame that EA decided to stop releasing these wild and sort of 'out there' designs.  By the mid to late 90s you stopped seeing stuff like The Immortal, Haunting: Starring Polterguy, General Chaos etc...they became much more focused on there EA Sports lineup.  I guess it all worked for them in the long run as they went on to become one of the biggest publishers in the business for a wee bit...

[ShadowAngel1]

It's funny how he critisizes the arenas for looking bland - when they're exactly the same as NHL 94, just with monsters in the crowd. Really, with the camera angle, what could they do about the arenas and why are they great in NHL 94 but bad here? The controls are exactly the same as NHL 94 too. The only negative thing is the choppy framerate but it isn't really that bad on NTSC (it's horrible in PAL though, VGC, maybe set your emulator to NTSC? )
And saying that the Single Player mode is better than the Two Player mode gives me the impression that this was once again a typical VGC review...really looks like the game was just played for 5 minutes and then a quick comment called review is written in 30 seconds and it makes not sense at all. What did the guy expect? Just flat out NHL with monsters and nothing else?
Because this is one of the best fun sport games for multiplayer on the Mega Drive. I've played it with a ton of people over the years and everybody enjoyed it. It's crazy, it's complete chaos and mayhem and that's what most people want and enjoy.

[a1]

Wow Shadowangel, I don't understand why you come here. I love this site. It's the only place to find reviews for nearly every system out there and it's not filled with annoying ads. The critic has stated before that he doesn't play on an emulator. I've disagreed with plenty of his reviews but it's just an opinion. I think we should all appreciate that this site exists.

Anywat, I love Shadow Dancer. It's a very close contest between Shinobi 3 and Shadow Dancer as best Shinobi game. Next would be the original with last going to Revenge of Shinobi.

[mbd361]

I've beaten all three Shinobi games for the Genesis on normal difficulty.

"Revenge" and "Shinobi III" are both great.

"Revenge" is a real challenge but not insurmountable. I did need to consult Gamefaqs for the final maze. Thank goodness this game is so generous with extra lives. The control is a little rough. You have to get used to the timing for the double jumps. But that only adds to the challenge.

While not as frustrating as "Revenge", "Shinobi III" is challenging enough in the later levels. The part where you have to climb the falling stones is where it gets hard. The controls couldn't be better, and there is a nice variety of stages. This is the true successor to "Revenge".

"Shadow Dancer" is the weakest, IMO. The graphics are quite good for a Genesis game, and it's fun, but it's also shorter and has less depth than the other two. I guess it's the best if you just want a quick arcade experience. It has more in common with the arcade Shinobi than with the other two games on the Genesis.

[VideoGameCritic]

[QUOTE=ShadowAngel]It's funny how he critisizes the arenas for looking bland - when they're exactly the same as NHL 94, just with monsters in the crowd. Really, with the camera angle, what could they do about the arenas and why are they great in NHL 94 but bad here? The controls are exactly the same as NHL 94 too. The only negative thing is the choppy framerate but it isn't really that bad on NTSC (it's horrible in PAL though, VGC, maybe set your emulator to NTSC? )[/QUOTE]

How about irregular shaped rinks?  I would have put spikes on the goals or maybe have zombies reach in from the crowd on the edge of the rink.  I mean, they could have been a little more imaginative.  I just don't think they put much effort into that aspect.

I love chaos as much as the next guy, but when you can't even tell how the puck got into the goal, it tends to downplay the sense of competition.