Game: 3D After Burner II
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: M2
Release Date: 15th January 2015
Afterburner and Afterburner II seem to be in the 2nd division of Sega's classic titles for many people. While Outrun and Sonic are taking most of the spotlight, the Afterburner games get forgotten. M2 however, have not forgotten about the series in their efforts to port classic Sega games to the 3DS with all new functions and gameplay modes (in some cases at least). While there's not a whole lot of new features included with this port of Afterburner II, it's at least a chance for those who haven't played it before to have a go.
The game centres around flying a plane through the 17 stages of the game, and avoiding being shot down any enemy aircraft that are encountered. Strangely it doesn't seem necessary to shoot down enemy aircraft; I made it to Stage 7 with 650,000 points without firing a single bullet or missile just to test this. Obviously shooting down enemy aircraft earns points for players, but it doesn't seem to decrease the chances of being hit by missiles particularly, so I'm not entirely sure whether the point of the game is to dodge as much as possible, or to attack.
Graphically the game looks just as impressive and vibrant as ever, and the 3D effect works very well with the gameplay style to create a real sense of speed and movement within air battles. Musically the game has a fast paced and enjoyable soundtrack which fits well with the style of the game, and Sega releases of the time. In terms of extra features for this title, there's not a whole lot added from the Mega Drive version, save for a Special mode which has a couple of options players can toggle that don't seem to affect the gameplay in any tangible way.
It's strange that out of all of M2's ports of classic Sega games, 3D Afterburner II is one of the most highly rated and recommended titles. It's true that the visuals and added 3D effect are great for the system, and the game is a faithful port that controls very nicely, but the original game seems to be fairly mundane, as it can't decide on whether shooting down enemy planes is even something required to progress through the game; everything says "shooting down these planes will help" but they're only there for score purposes, meaning that Afterburner is essentially Outrun in the air.
Rating: 71/100
Grade: C
Game: 3D Fantasy Zone
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: M2
Release Date: 12th February 2015
Fantasy Zone is, in my opinion one of the greatest and most unique games in the Sega back catalogue, and seeing that it was getting a 3D re-release in M2's collection was great news. Firstly, the game plays just as nicely as it always did, the controls feel responsive and tight, and any mistakes are due to player error rather than any fault of the game, despite the high difficulty level. Having reviewed Fantasy Zone before, I'm only going to dedicate a paragraph to its play mechanics before we get into the real differences between this and the original version.
The goal of Fantasy Zone is for the player to make their way through 8 stages; 7 of which have a number of bases which must be destroyed whilst dodging enemies and their fire (a single hit causes players to lose a life). Once all of the bases in a level have been destroyed, players must face the level boss. On reaching Stage 8, players must fight each level boss in sequence, before the final boss of the game, in order to win.
My issue with the original Fantasy Zone was that its extremely high difficulty level prevented players from being truly able to experience all the game had to offer. While it's true that the game hasn't exactly been dumbed down for the modern audience, there are adjustable difficulty settings, adjustable shot speeds (including a hidden option), and most importantly a coin bank, which saves up money for players to use on another turn, as a headstart towards beating a particularly difficult level. As if this wasn't enough, there's also unlockables for saving up large sums of money, including infinite shot time for purchased weapons, and double money mode.
With all of these aids for progression, it's far easier for players to train for and defeat more difficult stages, and I found myself being able to progress further overall after beating difficult stages a few times. Having experienced all the stages thanks to the new mechanics, the final stage was still quite a challenge, but beating the entire game unlocks the option to play as Upa-upa, in a mode where players have a limited amount of cash that can't be replenished, with which they must purchase any weapons necessary to beat the game. This adds even more replayability to an already great game.
One thing that stood out to me after having played each stage was the amount of variety between the bosses of each stage. While most involve some sort of avoiding and shooting, the imagination put into the design and gameplay shows through and is particularly impressing for a game which debuted around 30 years ago. Even the levels themselves in the game are interestingly designed and feature a good variety of colour and themes.
The 3D effect added for the 3DS works nicely and isn't too extreme, but instead adds a nice depth to onscreen events, and doesn't make it any harder to dodge incoming fire or enemies. The music is still classic and enjoyable as ever, with the boss theme being particularly fun and groovy. As a remake, 3D Fantasy Zone does everything right, adding hidden features, unlockables, and making the game far more accessible than it originally was. This is the ultimate version of Fantasy Zone, and I have high hopes for Fantasy Zone II which was also remastered for this 3D collection!
Rating: 89/100
Grade: A
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