Gynoug review - Sega Megadrive
The evil demons of Iccus have risen to give the heavnely a bit of a bad time (plenty of fire and brimstone, eternal darkness and the like), so it's time for a shining angel (named Wor) to pick up his wings and his finger-mounted death cannons and give these god-forsaken devil-spawn something to think about. What the Mean Machines staff thought
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The game concept is remarkable only in the fact that it's exactly like virtually every other horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up - blast everything, power-up, beat end guardian, but it's packed with playability and sports some stunning graphics. The main sprite is a bit crummy, but some of the multi-layer parallax scrolling backgrounds, special effects and end-of-level baddies are absolutely superb. The extra weapons aren't amazing, but for fast action, excitement and, most important of all, a highly addictive challenge, this take some beating.
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Retrospective comments
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This easily ranks as one of my fave shooters on the 'Drive. I must admit that it was the stunning graphics (and Gary Harrod's excellent Gynoug tips section) that drew me in when I first witnessed this rather unusual title within the pages of Mean Machines, but thankfully the game has playability to match those sumptuous (if rather disturbing) visuals. As Julian rightly mentions, the weapons are pretty unimpressive, but they get the job done and the ability to power-up your shots throughout the game is nice. Gynoug also presents a stern challenge - this isn't a game you'll tear through in the space of an evening. All in all, this is a thoroughly recommended blaster. If you've experienced this game and have a taste for more, check out Cho Aniki and Ai Cho Aniki on the PC Engine CD-ROM (also known as the Super Big Brother series) - they're by the same designer and feature even stranger enemies than Gynoug! |
Have your say about this review
kintaro - 22 Jul 2008, 00:54 GMT
Gynoug was an early Mega Drive game (I actually bought it in 1993, by which time it was one of the half-price range of classic titles), so when the reviewers say the graphics are amazing, they mean compared to what they had been used to on 8-bit consoles -- compared to later Mega Drive games the graphics aren't that impressive.
What they are, however, is incredibly imaginative. When, in later life, I discovered the art of H.R. Giger, I was like "Oh wow, did this guy design the game?" Well, he might as well have! Some of the weird fleshy/mechanical bosses are kind of perverse -- in one of the screenshots above you can see part of what is in fact a very phallic-looking appendage :)
While Gynoug is not usually considered one of the best scrolling shooters of the period, it's a gem of a game and surely a memorable experience for anyone who played it.
b smith - 30 Oct 2008, 00:36 GMT
some people say r-type, but for me this is top. Nice challenge curve, changes of perspective of background hurtling fast below, and everything in correct perspective to give realistis changes in gameplay. Very cinematic 3D feel. Shooters saw graphics as unnecessary to gameplay till this, which usually held true, this broke the mould, maybe it was to try and scupper 3D firefox on the snes, but i can't be sure on my dates.
Dan - 24 Feb 2009, 10:39 GMT
I was actually a bit disapointed in this game, don't get me wrong it was good and I played through it several times and hung onto it for a while, but overall I was a bit underwhelmed by it. The bog-standard baddies were a bit pap (it often felt like SUE by the numbers with the patterns they attacked in), as were the weapons and it wasn't till the later stages that things got going. Still great fun at times though and when things did get frantic they were frentic-frantic.
Rafael - 07 Feb 2010, 02:48 GMT
i was a kid when i played this, i never beat it, and as was really scared of it. amazing, amazing game with tons of action and many fucked-up creatures
Tens - 17 Apr 2013, 17:59 GMT
Quite a good shooter this one,
The weapons are a bit of a let down as rather than a variation in weapons you have just 2 types of way you shoot/ Direction....The blue fires in front spreading outwards up & down, The red Enables you to shoot stuff from behind you, You pick up red or blue icons which determine the strength of your fire power, The more you collect of one the stronger and more effective the power of the shot's.
The bosses however are excellent and remind me of some of the bosses on Super Probotector for the Snes.
The graphics are good and the difficulty setting seems just right, The music is also good and aids the games pace.
Also the sound the character makes when he dies is quite humorous.
A decent amount of levels, Good music and good game play.
If you're a fan of shooters give this one a go.
8/10 I give this.
Tens - 17 Apr 2013, 18:01 GMT
Also forgot to add.....Throughout the game you can also pick up different "Magic" weapons to use for a limited time during the game which adds a good element to the game play.
