Mortal Kombat II (Game Gear) Review

Mortal Kombat is without a doubt the most infamous video game of the 1990s; for crusaders against video games and fear-mongers, it perfectly typified all the anxieties associated with video game violence. Politicians and parents could blame Mortal Kombat instead of looking at the real sources of violence in our society--ignorance, a harsh prison system, racial inequalities, xenophobia, etc.

Well, the joke's on those fuckers because today the "violence" in Mortal Kombat is laughable at best--cartoonish explosions of 4 heads, 16 arms, 5 torsos, and 9 legs; skeleton's rising from acid; heads being eaten by dragons... you know, all the standard shit that in 2012 feels closer to a Nintendo or Disney production than a serious threat to society.

The solid gameplay, however, remains undisturbed and has easily evaded Time's deadly caress.

Like the Ultima series, Mortal Kombat is a franchise that I'd like to delve deeply into over the following months, and to kick off this exploration I'd like to look at the first Mortal Kombat game I owned: MK2 for the Sega Game Gear.

Quite possibly , MKII for the Sega Game Gear is the best 8-Bit fighting game you'll ever play. Considering the Game Gear is as powerful as an NES, the animations and graphics are an incredible achievement. Although 4 characters were purged for this release (Raiden, Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, and Baraka), the rest of the cast looks very close to their arcade counterparts. The moveset has been simplified as well, due to the reduced buttons (so just 1 punch button and 1 kick button), but if anything this just makes the game slightly easier without hurting anything. For example, Scorpion's spear is still activated by Back, Back, Punch, and so players can easily transfer the moves they've learned onto this version. Even Fatalities are the same, however mercy's, babialities, friendships, and animalities are all absent.

The game only has 2 regular stages to play on, which is disappointing but acceptable. The bosses, thankfully, have unique arenas. You can still uppercut players into the spikes for a stage Fatality. Music is recognizable and catchy, but fewer tunes exist than on the arcade, which is to be expected.

There are 3 difficulty settings, each ups the intensity and also adjusts how many credits the player has. Every character has an ending, and I'm pretty sure the storyline follows the arcade, but I can't remember if it is exactly the same.

As a kid I couldn't put this cartridge down. I'd stay close by a power outlet so I play (Game Gears took 6x AA batteries per 3 hours...) These days I'd probably rather play Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, but that doesn't mean I won't occasionally power down the M.A.M.E. and indulge in a nostalgia trip through Game Gear City.

You should too. Via Meka if necessary.

Magical Puzzle Popils Game Gear Review

Tengen didn't just port Tetris in the '90s, they also created one of the best puzzle games for Sega Game Gear.

Magical Puzzle Popils looks like the stupidest game on the planet, but actually proves to be one of the deepest puzzlers on a Sega Handheld. Popils, I guess, are cube-shaped people. You play the boy character and you have to punch blocks to drop columns, climb ladders, avoid bad guys, and use magic doors s you proceed through an impressive and exciting 100 levels.

The player unlocks sets of 5-10 stages every so often, effective auto-saving the game. In addition to these pre-set stages, you can save up to 30 of your own design on the cartridge. This amounts to a lot of fun, and rather endless possibilities.



It's not unlike battle lode runner, but Magical Puzzle Popils has a much faster game pace, making it well-suited to a modern audience. It features the addictive gameplay puzzle fans crave, but continues to remain obscure due to any North American release )to my knowledge).

My friend actually had a copy of this growing up, and I gladly traded Sonic 2 to her in order to play this game. I'd be interested to know if anyone else ever heard/played this game. If you don't have a Game Gear, MekaW and the Japanese rom are going to be your best bet. The cartridge is built to display in English or Japanese.

Magical Puzzle Popils is a classic Game Gear puzzler that avoid the "falling block" routine and focuses on foresight and logic. The addition of level-creation makes this import title a safe purchase and a great candidate for someone(Sega?) to remake or import to the VC.