I’m not really a fan of most video game YouTubers.  Many seem like just young punks just yelling profanities into the microphone, and spending more time talking about games rather than playing them.  Plus I’m just jealous that they’re stealing all my thunder (hey at least I’m honest).  But there are a few I can stand.  One of them is John Riggs.  He talks mostly about retro games and seems to be about the same age as me with the same experiences with video games in the past, so he’s relatable.  And he made his own homebrew game and I got to review it!  (Switch version reviewed here)

So the story goes that back in the NES days, there was a game listing in a print catalog for upcoming titles.  On this list was a title called Yeah Yeah Beebiss.  But nothing was heard of about the game since.  The game reviewed here is the sequel to that unknown title!  Yeah, I dunno.  Seems kind of like how that time Capcom created a made up story of how Dark Void Zero on DS was a long lost PlayChoice 10 title.  But what do I know?

Anyway, in this game you play as one of two Jiangshi.  What are those, you might ask?  Well, they’re mythical Chinese vampire zombie ghost things, and they appear in many video games.  You might’ve fought them in the NES Phantom Fighter game, or even stomped on them in Super Mario Land.  Probably the most famous one in video games is Hsien-Ko, a cute fighter from the DarkStalkers series.  I guess if I had to pick a favorite character from those games, she’d be it.  Anyway here you play as one of two Jiangshi as you defeat enemies in single screen areas under a strict time limit before going to the next level.  Kind of reminds me of a spooky Bubble Bobble.

One of the characters shoots out a lightning blast in front of him, while the other shoots some sort of life force beam.  But they’re both about the same.  You can hold down the button and continuously fire the blast as you move around, as well as jump.  In each level are roving enemies that look like masks, seahorses, and floating eyeballs with different attack patterns.  Your job is to clear the screen of these baddies before the time runs out.  If you let the time run out or deplete your energy by getting hit too much, you’ll lose a life.  Lose all your lives and it’s Game Over.  Sometimes enemies will drop power-ups that’ll activate when you collect them, like point boosts, more time, energy refills, and more.  One or two players can go at it at the same time in co-op mode, too.

There are a few neat extras, like being able to view the fictional box art and printed manual.  I would’ve liked to have seen more added to this game to warrant the price, though.  Like maybe an endless mode where you didn’t have to worry about a time limit, or more power-ups like speed-ups or long range shots.  Or more original music that wasn’t just jazzed up chiptune versions of classical songs.  But if you like homebrew games, you might want to check this one out.

Kid Factor:

Yeah Yeah Beebiss 2 is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Fantasy Violence and Mild Blood.  You zap enemies that disappear when defeated, but I didn’t notice any blood.  Reading skill isn’t needed, but younger players may find the game too difficult.

Tags: Game Reviews