99Vidas (PC) Review

By Gabriel Jones 17.01.2017

Review for 99Vidas on PC

Since ancient times, the four guardians have guarded a legendary artefact known as the 99Vidas. Whoever holds it is granted 99 lives. Surely such an awe-inspiring and potentially dangerous power would never fall in the wrong hands? Well…about that… Maybe the four guardians were distracted or didn't drink their coffee that morning, because this almighty artefact has been taken by the villain known only as "Boss." With the command of the elements and a knack for fisticuffs, the heroes must defeat Boss and save the world.

The standout aspect of this game is its presentation. 99Vidas really looks and sounds like a passion project. The sprites are extremely well-done, with superb animation and plenty of detail. The backgrounds are similarly fantastic in construction and design. Also, the colours and effects really pop, giving the action plenty of visual flair. Then there's the soundtrack, which is quite excellent. There's not a single poor or even mediocre tune in the game. As always, good music can elevate any game, and this one is no exception. The sound effects are punchy and satisfying, and the voices are pretty amusing. They appear to be low quality samples, which mesh well the 16-bit aesthetics.

Screenshot for 99Vidas on PC

As with most other arcade beat 'em ups. The player can choose from four characters, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. Afterwards, they must trek through up to eight stages of side-scrolling action. The process is simple; enemies appear, the heroes beat them up until they fade from existence, repeat. Some stages mix things up with environmental hazards such as moving cars, but thankfully there's a warning indicator, so the protagonists know when to get out of the way. At the end of each stage is a boss, whose abilities and attack patterns are unlike the common minions. Typically, the best way to deal with them is to figure out their openings, and avoid getting walloped too hard. Oh, and be sure to check the crates and barrels for delicious food and game consoles. While inedible, these classic gaming systems are worth a hefty amount of points.

In between stages, the heroes can go shopping, using their hard-earned points to purchase move upgrades and extra lives. The heroes in this game have a wide variety of attacks, at least compared to the average beat 'em up. They can punch, kick, grab enemies, perform dash attacks, and pull off a couple different combos. Part of the appeal of the genre is using a fairly limited arsenal to its maximum potential. Unfortunately, this is where the game falters. There's a combo that's performed by pressing the punch four times. It would be in the player's best interest to upgrade it immediately, because they're going to rely on it almost exclusively for the entirety of the game. Most of the other moves do too little damage, or leave the guardian open to attack.

Screenshot for 99Vidas on PC

The difficulty tends to be more frustrating than challenging. A number of enemies have invulnerable dash attacks, and will throw them out occasionally just to score a bit of free damage. They also have the impressive ability to land an attack on a player in the few frames between the second and third attack of their combo. Furthermore, grab moves aren't very effective, because only one of them can knock down nearby enemies, and even that's not guaranteed. Using jump kicks to clear space can help, but enemies also have a habit of backing away when they're not about to attack, which gets to be pretty annoying.

The bosses are just plain cheap. Since the only opportunity to do any real damage is when they're stunned, their attacks become steadily faster as their health meter depletes. They also get a little extra help from the peanut gallery, leading to more headaches. Also, there isn't an invincibility period after getting up from a knockdown. If an enemy times their attack just right (such as the fifth boss and his ground-based laser-fire), they can land hits on the hero immediately after they get up, leaving them without any means of escape. All of the playable characters have a desperation move they can perform, but it's awful. It does very little damage, while draining an inexplicably large amount of health. If an enemy wielding a knife grabs the hero from behind, they're going to perform a headbutt on them. That headbutt does less damage than the desperation move!

Screenshot for 99Vidas on PC

As mentioned earlier, the heroes have the option of purchasing extra lives at the shop. This is a perk that they should take advantage of at every opportunity. Lives are actually really inexpensive. If someone is playing the game by themselves, and they've already purchased the necessary upgrades, they could easily afford at five or more per stage. Even with all of the cheap deaths that are liable to occur when facing certain bosses, most people shouldn't have too much trouble with the game. Granted, there are the higher difficulties to consider, but by that point it just becomes a war of attrition. If the guardians have enough lives and patience, they'll come out on top.

Screenshot for 99Vidas on PC

Cubed3 Rating

5/10
Rated 5 out of 10

Average

What it all comes down to is that 99Vidas simply isn't as fun as it could be. A good beat 'em up is more than just hitting bad guys until they fall over. There has to be enough nuance and depth for skilful players to develop their own style, while using very little, if any, resources, such as health restoring food or lives. There also have to be enough leniencies to make the game appealing to someone who just wants a "mindless" yet still entertaining button masher. This game deserves top marks for its aesthetics and charm, but its mechanics and overall design leave something to be desired. If the difficulty was better balanced and the heroes had more viable attack options, this would be a title deserving of a spot in any brawler fan's library.

Developer

QUByte

Publisher

QUByte

Genre

Brawler

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  5/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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