The 90s are back and it’s everywhere you look and everywhere you go.
(see what we did there?)
But seriously, 90s culture is striking back. Between Crash Bandicoot, Sonic Mania and StarCraft Remastered, this revival has hit games as well. To add to these popular 90s franchises, DotEmu has brought back a cult classic from 1994, straight to your PS4 and Vita.
Windjammers is a mix of pong, fighting and sports. Send your disk flying into your opponents side of the court, hoping for a miss in order to score points. Quickly tapping the throw button just before you catch the disk will launch it up in the air, allowing players to do a power move, styled much like a fighting game with bombastic animations.
You can also quickly throw the disk back, increasing the speed and power of the disk. This mixed with a slight curve on the left stick with create a curved throw that can be devilishly hard to catch. Matches quickly become fast and intense, leading to a showdown of who has the fastest reaction timing and skills.
Along with the quick paced gameplay comes the killer aesthetic. Windjammers was pulled straight from 1994, with pixel perfect emulation. DotEmu did a fine job of matching the look and feel of the core game with the menus and optional borders. In addition, there are multiple filters in place to get your preferred feel. The CRT filter is especially great, matching an arcade screen with surprising accuracy.
Arcade mode is fun and great for newcomers to learn the ropes, but the online play is the main reason you’ll be coming back. Ranked and non-ranked are both options and matchmaking is strikingly fast. Local versus is present as well, and will have you yelling and screaming with (and at) your friends. Windjammers is perfect for a game night with some competitive friends.
Pizza and beer recommended for an optimal night.
Recommendation: Windjammers is a forgotten multiplayer classic. With a level of intensity that matches hard core fighting games, gameplay that is easy to learn but difficult to master, all along with a radical 90s setting, Windjammers is easy to recommend if you love competitive games. DotEmu’s port work, along with the added online features is top notch, and a standard for future multiplayer arcade ports.
