Capcom: In Memorium Part One: Maximo Ghosts to Glory

Last generation when I owned only an Xbox there was one main reason I wanted a PS2. That reason was Capcom. The developer made a ton of games that I really wanted to play, most more than anything on Xbox. By the time I got a PS2 in 2008 many of these games were hard to find, and I felt that most of them would feel pretty dated. Regardless, I played all three Devil May Cry games. I also had played Genma Onimusha on Xbox and I rented God Hand, and that was up until now the extent of my experience with Capcom games last generation. Over the past several years, though, I have collected quite a few Capcom games. Here they are:

 

Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry 2

Devil May Cry 3

Onimusha 2

Onimusha 3

Onimusha Dawn of Dreams

Maximo Ghosts to Glory

Shadow of Rome

Legend of Kay 

 

I am still missing Okami and Maximo 2, but I've mostly collected every Capcom game I wanted to play on PS2. But I've never played these games. This generation Capcom has been left a shadow of its former self. On the PS2 Capcom was the company to beat in a lot of ways. This generation Capcom has fallen behind. Early hits like Dead Rising and DMC4 haven't lead to many modern successes outside of the company's fighting games. Even Resident Evil 5 was considered by many to be a disappointment. The reasons for this are simple. Capcom's creative team have one by one left the company for new ventures. While many of them have claimed that this would allow for new young talent to rise, the loss of Inafune, Mikami, Kamiya, Inaba and Okamoto have been hard to recover from.

 

These days Capcom has outsourced much of its development to external Western studios. The few remaining internal teams are having trouble capturing the magic that made Capcom one of the greatest developers in the history of gaming. So in honor of the Capcom of past, I have decided to play at least a portion of my collection of Capcom games over the next month or so. I've decided not to replay the DMC games. I have also decided to go in chronological order so I can take in any improvements the studio made to its games over the five years they developed for the system. This means that I will start my journey with Maximo Ghosts to Glory. I'm going to try a certain format and we'll see how it goes. Since this will involve a pretty serious time investment on my part, I want to know if there are any certain things you'd like me to write about. Also, if there is a game outside of Maximo 2 and Okami that I am missing let me know. I'm aware I don't have any of the fighting games or survival horror games. I don't have any desire to play those. Obviously if the game is terrible I may not have a huge interest in playing it. But I want to be as comprehensive as possible and most of these games are only a couple of dollars.

 

 

Capcom: In Memorium Part One: Maximo Ghosts to Glory

 

 

Release Date: February 11, 2002

Developer: Capcom Digital Studios

Metacritic Score: 84

 

HISTORY

 

Maximo was originally planned as an N64 game but was eventually moved to Dreamcast, and finally PS2. The game was developed by Capcom's American development arm, Capcom Digital Studios. Along with Devil May Cry and Onimusha it was one of Capcom's first generation PS2 games. Designed as a throwback to hardcore action games of past, Maximo was the spiritual successor to Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins series. The artwork was done by Susumu Matsushita and design was lead by David Siller. The game was released in February of 2002.

 

STORY

 

You have returned from somewhere only to find that your wife(?) is being held hostage by some old man who has taken over your kingdom. This old man kills you. On your fall down to Hell, Death asks you to return to Earth and defeat the old man who is stealing Death's souls to create undead soldiers. And so you do. Your initial goal is to find a sorceress who will increase your power. She of course tells you to find another sorceress, and I assume there are four of these ladies you have to get powers from if you wish to defeat the final boss. The story is tongue and cheek which is good because the voice work is bad and the script is really corny.

 

 

GAMEPLAY

 

After playing through the first world of Maximo I have determined that the game feels very much like the N64 game it initially was. Though there is combat, it is closer in styIe to Zelda than Capcom's other PS2 games Onimusha and DMC. Likewise the platforming and lack of camera control feels very N64ish. Maximo is split into five worlds, each containing six levels. The second level of the first and second world have been hub levels, and I assume this continues throughout the game. The sixth level of each world is a boss fight, and the remaining four worlds comprise the majority of the game. Each level can be beaten in about 20 minutes at most. It would make sense then, that the game would only be five or six hours long, and this might be true except for one thing.

 

Maximo is almost criminally hard. It isn't the core gameplay. Anyone who has played an N64 action game should be able to handle this. The challenge comes from the way the save system works. Unlike most modern action games, Maximo has lives and continues. You can only save the game in the hub world, and then only with 100 Koins, which is about as many as you'll find on most levels. Koins can also be used to buy potions, armor, and other helpful items, but doing so may leave you with too few Koins to save the game. Like many old school games, your life counter doesn't reset between levels. So even if you get a chance to save, you may only have a couple lives and no continues left with which to beat the rest of the game. There are checkpoints in the levels, but using a continue starts you back at the beginning of the level. Now you might wonder how you go about getting more lives and continues. There are ways. To get more lives you must collect hearts strewn throughout levels. These hearts so far have been at the end of precarious platforming segments that are just as likely to lose you a life as gain you one. To earn more continues you must collect souls to buy special coins that you give to Death as a gift for a chance to fight again. You need 50 souls to earn a coin. I managed to collect 50 souls by the end of the first world. But after using it, I was told that next time I would need two coins to continue.

 

 

So the point is that this game is hard. I started over three times before I did well enough to beat the first world. Like many old school games, it is often better to simply quit the game and restart if you lose too many lives in a level. You have to pace yourself. Using too many lives in one sequence just isn't wise. Expect to play this game over and over before you get good enough to make it to the end. This is the type of game where one mistake can lose you a life and one lost life is often enough to force you to load a save.

 

So Maximo is an action platformer in the styIe of action platformers of old. I plan to continue playing this game in hope of maybe seeing the third world. If I do make it I'll write a follow up blog before moving on to Part 2 of this blog which will be Onimusha 2.

 

GRAPHICS

 

Maximo looks like an N64 game. It is colorful and bright even in dark settings. The art is humorous and full of whimsy. The basic geometry and texture work belies the games N64 origins. Although the environmental destruction is a cool touch, it isn't able to hide how simple this game looks. The characters are a highlight, being far more advanced than what the N64 was capable of. In the end, Maximo looks like a product of the era, and it is honestly a shame that this art styIe has fallen by the wayside because regardless of technical shortcomings, this game is great to look at.

 

AUDIO

 

Maximo sounds pretty basic. The music isn't anything special and the voice work is as corny as other Capcom games of the era but that is part of the fun.

 

COMING UP

 

Maximo: Ghosts to Glory: Part Two

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny