In today's Review Redux, this time is
Baraduke II (or
Bakutotsu Kijuutei), which is a sequel to
Baraduke, released in 1988 by Namco in Japan only for the Arcade.
REVIEW
Graphics: A
Since it utilizes the then-powerful Namco System 1, the graphics are astonishing, and pretty much in anyway better looking than its predecessor. The sprites are much better animated than that of its predecessor, in both the spacewomen and the aliens (or Octys). The backgrounds have also improved, because they aren't as repetitive. However, I don't really like games that seem to look more cartoony than the previous game. , but I guess to make it more tongue-in-cheek to relate to other stuff relating to alien planets, I guess. There's not much to say, because other than that, the graphics are near-flawless.
Gameplay: B
The gameplay is kinda different, but it keeps the same style the original did. The level layouts in this game are much better, since it doesn't usually give the Octys an unfair advantage. Also, the gameplay is more fast-paced than the original, which I liked about this game. Unlike
Baraduke, in which you had to kill all the aliens to exit the level, while in this game, you just had to reach the end without having to kill all of them, which is a much better idea. Also, unlike the original, which the Paccets were only used to have an extra chance to get an extra shield, but in this game, there are white and yellow Paccets. The white ones help the heroine by also shooting, while the yellow Paccets are only there to get extra bonus points at the end of the level, depending on how many of these Paccets (white ones don't count) you have. While these are improvements, there are some problems. Unlike the original, where you have 2 or more shield (basically your health bar) to prevent you from dying. In this game, your maximum hits are 2: 1 for your suit alone, and 1 if you have the gun turret on you. Although, you do actually have temporary invincibility, but seriously, only 2 hits? Why only 2 hits!?! To make things worse, in contrast to its predecessor, in which you had to move out of the way to open the capsule, while in this game, it immediately opens once the capsule's there, even when you're overlapping it. Now you may be saying, so what? It can get really if those Baganns (Pac-Man like aliens) come out of it and kills you. Also, to make things
MUCH worse, you only have one life. Once you die, you have to put another credit in. What kind of thing is that? I mean, imagine someone in Japan, playing this game and see this. They would probably be pissed out of their minds. To make things stranger, the whole idea of only having one life is actually the
default settings! What in the world was Namco thinking when they did that? However, you can actually increase the number of lives to 5. Getting off-topic, are the bosses rehashed in this one? Well kinda. There are more bosses in this game than just only 3, but 2 of them are reused twice. At least, it's better than like the first one, where the first two bosses were rehashed like 3 times. When you lose all your lives (or just your one life), or before a boss stage, a roulette appears to determine what you get like a gun powerup, a gun turret with 2 or 3 guns equipped, or get a Paccet equipped with a gun turret etc. Other than that, the gameplay is as good as you're going to get in 1988, despite the cheapness being much worse in this game.
Sound: C
This game actually has music in the game, but I would rather prefer the more realistic style the original utilized. The music in this game aren't catchy nor memorable, because it sounds very cheesy and dull. Also, the sound effects are just average, and it makes me prefer
Baraduke's sound over this game. Overall, it's decent, but in comparison to
Splatterhouse, a Namco System 1 game also released in 1988, it makes the overall sound of
Baraduke II look like
Action 52 (well, kinda).
Controls: A+
The controls here is exactly the same as the original, so not much to say here. Ditto here, it's just plain niche.
Replay Value: B-
While it does have it's advantages and disadvantages over the original, it just doesn't make tempt me to play as well as
Baraduke. Other than that, I still like to play this once in a while.
Overall: B
Baraduke II is overall pretty good, as it boast some good stuff for a game released in 1988. People may not enjoy it because of the cheapness, which can throw people off. While it's still a very enjoyable game, I prefer the original over this, mostly because the game is just right for me. But still, I enjoy it all the time.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUsQs9-5Kgc"]YouTube -
BARADUKE2?[/ame]
NEXT REVIEW REDUX: Frankenstein - The Monster Returns
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