To anybody who cares--Shadow Of The Beast is a good game.
Contrary to Derrick's opinion, I actually do not find Shadow Of The
Beast's graphics to be so wonderful. They are very good. But it is not
an orgasm for the eyes. Shadow Of The Beast was originally designed for
the Amiga computer, where it was seen as a trendsetter, and it truly
was. Its parallax became the gold standard, for that computer and for
other consoles as well, although it was quickly improved upon I will
admit, Shadow Of The Beast was one of the first to do the things it
does very, very well. Not just the graphics, but the gameplay. The
gameplay of Shadow Of The Beast is not at all dissimilar to Impossible
Mission, items to find, purposes to learn, all for the sake of
completing the game. Its gameplay is superb. It is simple. It is a
thing easily accomplished. It is, however, extremely well thought out,
and it is also very, very difficult. Those things do not ordinarily
coexist at all. Simplicity almost by definition begs ease of play, and
fine-tuned gameplay is often associated with a game that allows you to
blow through stages quickly. But Shadow Of The Beast takes your
expectations of the good and associates them with other good traits.
Shadow Of The Beast exists across a schism, one which Derrick does not,
I believe, enjoy moving over. Shadow Of The Beast is very European. It
is a platform game that incorporates quest as much as an RPG, and yet
does it on a platform game's terms. In my opinion, Shadow Of The Beast
on the Duo is absolutely the best version of the game, for no other
reason than it is a showcase of the best technology at work. And yes,
I'm saying that the graphics are the best of all versions on the Duo.
(Again, in my opinion.) I am not, however, saying that they are the
best graphics, effects, animation or et cetera that you will see
considering all of your potential Turbo library, but to brush Shadow
aside as crap without reservation is to miss a great deal of what's
going on in this game. Rarely has any game been so well at so much and
still be so different in the process. To the Sonic-weaned player,
powering up with other Japanese inspired thematic mascots, Shadow is
all at once too cerebral and too action-oriented. There aren't quite as
many games that will frustrate as much as entertain. (I did say it's
hard, didn't I?) I wouldn't dream of recommending anyone steer clear.
It takes a certain character to get into it, but it may only require a
mood. The kind where you know you're ready to close the shades and turn
off the ringer for the afternoon, until you learn to unlearn.
Shadow Of The Beast has a lot of fans, and that's my opinion as to why.
~Alek
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