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   Company Irem ESRB Rating E for Everyone Release Date US - May 7, 2007 Controllers Wii Remote Classic Controller Gamecube Controller Wii Points 600  Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 Virtual-Turbo |
As
popular as the shooter genre was on the TurboGrafx-16, it's no wonder
that we're seeing yet another shooter released on the Wii Virtual
Console. This time out it's the Namco cute em' up Ordyne. While Ordyne
will inevitably garner comparisons to other TurboGrafx-16 cute shooters
like Parodius and Irem's Mr. Heli, Ordyne manages to have it's own
distinct look and feel that makes it stand out from the crowd. Based on
the 1988 Namco arcade game, the Turbografx-16 version manages to bring
most of the fun and light-hearted game play from the arcade title while
only having to cut a few minor visual corners. Ordyne loses a little
bit of the flash that made it such a standout title in arcades, but
thankfully it's managed to retain all of the fun game play.
Gameplay in Ordyne is fairly simple. You basically have two types of firepower including your main cannon and your bomber. You can collect crystals from destroying enemies and completing levels in the game and then turn around and use them to purchase stronger firepower and ship upgrades at the Space Inn. You can also stop by the Space Lottery where you can gamble your crystals for more money or special power-ups. The control in Ordyne is tight and responsive, and you'll need it when you begin navigating some of the extremely tight spaces found throughout the many levels of the game. The one problem with the Virtual Console release is the lack of turbo fire buttons. The original Turbo Pad had turbo fire settings but unfortunately none of the controllers for the Wii have this feature. Ordyne doesn't automatically include rapid fire, which means you have to keep pressing the buttons in order to fire your primary weapon at any type of speed or be content with the slow progression of fire by holding the button down. It won't be long and you'll have the good old-fashioned shooter thumb cramps. Luckily there is a cheat code, which you can find at the end of this review that will allow you to turn on rapid fire so you can just hold down the buttons to get a steady stream of cannon fire. I guess we can always hope that Hudson will add auto-fire to the Wii Virtual Console release, although I wouldn't count on it since that would involve changing actual code. Trust me, if you want to save your thumb a lot of pain and suffering, use the cheat code. As a bonus it also contains a level select as well. What makes Ordyne so much fun to play isn't necessarily the enemies in the game, it's the intricate level designs that you'll have to maneuver around. As you progress in the game, the open spaces in the levels becomes much tighter and you'll also have to deal with many rotating objects that will hinder your progress as well. It's these things that prove to add the most challenge in the game, although in some of the last levels, the sheer amount of enemy fire is brutal and will test even the most seasoned shooter fan. Don't let the cute look of Ordyne fool you. This game will give you a serious run for your money. This is where the 2-player co-op mode comes into play. Not only does it make the game a little more bearable in the later levels, it's also a fun way to play with two people in seeing who can rack up the most points. It doesn't add a lot of fanfare to the overall experience, but it's a nice bonus for those who like cooperative play. Visually, Ordyne for the TurboGrafx-16 is a bit of a letdown for fans of the original arcade game. Many of the morphing effects are now gone, and the lack of parallax scrolling also robs the levels of any real feeling of depth. That being said, the graphics in the game are very vibrant and colorful and show a great amount of detail in many areas. Character animation is also very well done, and even when two people are playing the co-op mode, the game rarely exhibits any serious amount of slowdown. Don't expect the flashy special effects from the arcade version, but Ordyne is certainly on par with most other cute em' ups found on the Turbografx-16 system. The music in Ordyne is very upbeat and corny, but it fits right in with the offbeat visual style of the game. It's a little reminiscent of the musical tracks in Konami's Parodius game, although not quite as catchy and memorable. The sound effects are decent, but nothing to get excited about. If you've ever played the arcade version of the game, you'll know what to expect. The boss music seems to be where the quality of the music tends to pick up, but it never comes close to reaching the quality of some of the CD-based shooter titles the Turbografx-16 became so well known for. It's hard not to like Ordyne, as the game does so many things right. The gameplay is smooth and responsive and the challenge is impressive. It might not be the best looking game, but it's got a lot of charm in its over-the-top cartoon-like appearance. Ordyne never seems to reach the level of quality found in Konami's Parodius titles, but it's a definitely a worthy substitute if you can look past it's few minor shortcomings. Shooter fans will enjoy this title and will most likely be quite surprised at the game's fairly high level of difficulty, especially considering the cute and non-threatening look of the game. Overall Ordyne is yet another solid Virtual Console release, that further shows why shooter fans consider the Turbografx-16 the system of choice for this particular genre. |
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