Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong
Title: SEGA AGES Ichidant-R
Developer: M2
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Arcade, Puzzle
Price: $7.99
SEGA AGES Ichidant-R finally makes its way to Western audiences 25 years after it was first released in Japanese arcades and on the Sega Mega Drive, and gamers won’t need much time to wonder why. It’s a series of timed puzzle mini-games that, for all its wackiness, holds universal appeal. Both iterations are on offer, although the home console version (which has Quest and Competitive Modes apart from Free Play) is absent any English support; the lack of localization is mitigated somewhat by the inclusion of a digital manual that effectively serves as a walkthrough.
Nonetheless, SEGA AGES Ichidant-R earns its $7.99 price tag. In proving that quantity and quality can mix even in the absence of depth, it throws in shades of its publisher’s own Panic! and Nintendo’s immensely popular WarioWare series to come up with 20 “tests” all told, divvied up within an amusing, if paper-thin, story about a knight needing to go through four castles, in which puzzles abound, to ultimately save the princess in distress from the evil king. En route, themed challenges have the would-be hero besting obstacles through the use of either brains or brawn, or both, but in spurts.
The original Ichidant-R was designed to gobble up coins, so the puzzles can be difficult, if not borderline impossible, to solve. SEGA AGES Ichidant-R on the Switch, however, has a Helper setting that lowers the bar for completion of a level, not to mention adds lives. Still, there can be no discounting the fun factor it provides. For gamers on the lookout for retro goodness in spurts, there’s no better choice than developer M2’s excellent port.
THE GOOD
- First time to be released in the West
- Contains both arcade and Mega Drive versions
- Includes useful Helper setting
- Digital manual serves as walkthrough for Japanese-only Quest Mode
THE BAD
- Difficulty escalation reflects coin-op roots
- Mega Drive version offers no English support
- Can wear out welcome
RATING: 8/10
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