Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999

About fourteen years ago, I developed a fondness for the NeoGeo Pocket Color but never picked one up. I'd seen this game on the retail shelves along with the NGPC and many accessories. Most mall retail game stores only seemed to receive approximately one of every game. It's hard to imagine that the system had even remotely acceptable sales. Still, most of the games had this unique and high-quality feel. The NGPC was a very well-designed system. But even technical superiority over the GameBoy Color wasn't enough to help SNK. But that doesn't matter. NGPC still has a great number of fans and most of the games are pretty easy to come by at reasonable prices.Recently I finally picked one up for about 20 bucks. A steal, I'd say, for a good condition Japanese slimline version (with the slide-off CR-2032 battery door). I couldn't pass it up. I'd always had my eye on this game and for the price, it's cheap fun.At first glance, I'd have to say that this game most closely resembles an 16-bit version of Shadows of the Damned and the old SNK NES classic Crystalis. The gameplay is almost identical to that of Crystalis, as is the music. It's uncanny. The weapons are exaggerated, as in Shadows of the Damned. Some of the guns even look identical (and some say that this may have served as inspiration for the title).Unfortunately, this game doesn't have the depth of either of those games. While it's excusable compared to a 360 game (this was from 1999, after all), it lacks the depth and translation quality of even an average game from 1999; let alone Crystalis, which was 9-10 years older!And while the gameplay is tight and fun, and the 8-way control is excellent, even the games positive traits don't save it from bland storytelling with poor localization. The game can easily be finished in about 4-6 hours and there are only about half a dozen areas that can be explored in about 15 minutes or less. The game tries to extend its playability by forcing you back to areas several times over, in both day and night scenarios where you find different monsters and items. I started playing it just yesterday afternoon and was able to upgrade my weapons in no time at all by:*SPOILER* spamming the fat guys that give 30 points in a nearby village by attacking and capturing them, then leaving the room and returning.This technique made hours of pointless grinding get literally whittled down to mere minutes. I think that 30 minutes of play could easily max out three of the most important weapons in the game.Which brings us to another topic. The weapons system is cool but I'm not sure that the reward system is all that worthwhile. When you feed captured souls too your weapon, you accumulate enough points to upgrade the weapons to a new type. This evolution erases all previous weapon levels that occurred through grinding. The increases in power aren't terribly substantial and you might just be better off leveling them halfway if you want to get through the game without grinding. Evolution does have its gains though in the respect that the weapons get some new perks; like knockback and body armor.Even with the game's faults, and relatively short 4-6 hour playtime, it's pretty fun to play. Dark Arms incorporates the frantic old-school 8-bit game mechanics and improves them with a more modern upgrade system that gives some customization. It's entirely possible that completionists could spend two or three times as much time in collecting every monster in the game and completing an optional 50-level dungeon at the end. Other gamers, like myself, will move on to the next game. The real problem is that it never does anything to make the game memorable. It just seems like the development budget was cut short. Had it been on the right platform with the right improvements to story, exploration, and game length, it would have been met with critical acclaim and might have been considered a classic among games.Considering that you can get this for a buck on Amazon, brand new (without the packaging), you could certainly play something far worse to fulfill that retro gaming itch.

came before expected! excellent products! excellent service! I looked for this item for weeks on other sites and this was the BEST deal i could have found! you guys rock! thanks for helping me keep my inner child amused during down time at work!

Fun title that any fan of Shooters or action RPG's should think about adding to their own collection. Death has a sense of humor making the game enjoyable. I will be replaying this game several time through.

Great game. If you have a NGPC and like RPGs, you must get this. Not a lot of good games on this system, but this is one of a few.

Good game - Good price - Kids love it !