DEMONS HOLD -=FUN FACTOR=-
As far as all 4 games are concerned, for myself, I think that Demon's Hold is the most fun of the bunch, and I can play it for hours and hours all by myself, as I have always loved Blackjack. Before this game came out, I had no idea that Blackjack was actually one of the 4 games included on the game, and I honestly was not very excited about the game all the way up until it's release. When I bought the game, and it arrived at my doorstep, I put the game into my Neo-Geo, and was checking out the games, and thought that the only one I would like would be Cursed Mynd. Little did I know that Demons Hold was actually Blackjack 21.
I was so shocked I remember telling my wife in excitement, "Holy shit honey, this damn thing has Blackjack, and it does it in the style of Crossed Swords!", I tell you, I was floored! Then I heard all the sound effects, and voice samples, coming from the warlock and I fell in love with this game immediately! I am so happy with not only the quality of the game, but also the art, and everything else that was done so well, that I know I will never be selling this game. I just cannot imagine Blackjack being any more fun, on any system, in any way! If you like Blackjack at all, then this is the one you want! It is THE Blackjack game to play!
-10/10
-=FINAL REVIEW THOUGHTS=-
For the first time ever, the NeoBitz team have really impressed me. The game that I initially thought would be "meh" at best, ended up being a game that I enjoy quite a bit, playing with my family and friends, and I REALLY suggest anyone with a NEO-GEO to get this game if you like Poker, Blackjack, or Dice/Memory style games. This game brings something fresh and new to the Neo library, and it really is a fun game to play! I applaud NeoBitz for their first effort, and I do hope for another game in the future from them. Perhaps, we can get a new Pinball game, in the same style as Knights Chance? You never know.
-=The Good=-
This game finally brings something new to the NEO-GEO Library, which is a fantastic accomplishment considering that just about everything has already been done on the greatest console of the 90's, the NEO-GEO Advanced Entertainment System! The artwork, music, voice acting, sound effects, use of the Neo-Geo color pallet, EVERYTHING about this game screams authentic NEO-GEO quality, and the only thing missing from it, is the licensing from SNK to make it "official", and not homebrew. Otherwise, this game should be considered just as authentic as any game made by SNK during the 14 years they officially supported the Neo-Geo, it is just that good!
-=The Bad=-
The fact that this game does not support something that 99% of Neo-Geo games have, which is 2 Player support! This really is a damn shame, as it would have added loads of fun to the game. Being able to play against your friends and family, could have made this the ultimate party Neo-Geo game. As it stands, the game is really good, and a lot of fun with a group of people, but, without real 2 player support, it makes me scratch my head in confusion as to why such an obvious feature should have been included, and yet was omitted instead.
The only other thing that begs to be asked about this new 2014 Neo-Geo release, is why in the world is the music in Knights Chance Mono sound, when all the newest games on Neo-Geo are now featuring cd style music that is in stereo. IMO, music is a very important part of the game, especially for old style 16-Bit games, and so when I played this game for the first time I was shocked to find it was not in stereo.
Of coarse, this does not take away from the fun of the game too much, and it is something that you do get used to as we did in Metal Slug 4 and 5, and other games back in the early 00's, but, I really hope the next game from team NeoBitz brings cd style stereo music to the table, if not for anything else, so it can show off what the Neo-Geo can do, and also show people that NeoBitz can do what others can do. Stereo music just sounds better, and I think anyone can agree on that fact.
-=The Ugly=-
Priced at $499 for the AES cart, $429 for the MVS Collectors Edition, $349 for the Standard Brown Box "Game Center Edition" Kit, and $299 for the bare MVS cart alone, makes this game affordable for the people that have a lot of money to blow, and leaves the average consumers in the cold.
The cheapest way to get the game, which is the bare MVS cart, were made in extremely limited quantities of about 20 copies worldwide, which seriously does not supply the demand for this amazing game. So, that means unless you jumped on that bare cart edition, you will need to at least have $349 to get in on the Game Center Edition that came with the MVS cart, a brown box that has always come with MVS carts in the past, and a few little extras inside.
Either way, due to the cost of Neo-Geo games, (not just this game, but, all of them being made these days), this game is going to be missed by the majority of gamers until a cheaper alternative hits the market, either on the Neo-Geo CD (which is what I would prefer it to be on, simply because it is a Neo-Geo game), or on the Sega Dreamcast, which has become a haven for indie developers to make money on, due to the simplicity of it's anti-piracy scheme. This is a shame, because the fact is, Knights Chance is a very well made game, and is quite unique, just expensive due to the console it was made for, the Neo-Geo Advanced Entertainment System, (and MVS).
-=Untested=-
I am aware that you can change many settings using the Soft Dip Settings, and this changes a few things about the game. I will leave this up to the buyers of the game, and you all can let everyone know what exactly this does to the gameplay of Knights Chance. There are so many things that I must do, and no time left to get into those settings. Sorry about that.
-=OVERALL SCORE=-
Graphics: 8/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Controls: 8/10
Music: 8/10
Sound Effects: 9/10
Fun Factor: 9/10
Overall: 8.5 out of 10
For more pictures, be sure to check out my photobucket album on the link below:
http://s111.photobucket.com/user/Fakk2/library/Knights Chance?sort=6&page=1
Thanks for reading!