Faussete Amour

~ FAUSSETE AMOUR ~

Naxat Soft / AiM

Super CD-ROM

1993

This game reminds me of Super Castlevania IV (with its multidirectional attack system and "hook-and-swing" gameplay sequences) and Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (with its armor system). Now, SC4 and SGnG are certainly the best SNES games ever made--yet Faussete Amour outdoes them both. FA has no unnecessary spinning rooms and no adventure-halting slowdown, and its stripped-when-hit star is a cute girl rather than a hairy guy. So, with this one game, the PC Engine officially defeated the entire SNES library.

Seriously though, I enjoy Faussete a heck of a lot more than I thought I would after reading the many lukewarm (at best) reviews. Yeah, the heroine walks slowly and the first two or three levels move along at a rather lackadaisical pace. But things really start to pick up during Scene 4, with plenty of opportunities to put that fun swinging-and-spinning stuff to good use and some tricky platforming gauntlets to navigate. I was kept so busy with hacking and leaping that I eventually forgot all about the slow walking element.

The graphics are bright and appealing from beginning to end...

...the bosses are monstrous and memorable...

...the cinematics are abundant and nicely done...

...and the music is, er... interesting. Really, it's very different from anything you'd expect to hear in this sort of game... and I like it! I know that some folks will HATE it, though.

Some folks might also find themselves under the impression early on that FA will be easy. Indeed, it is very easy... for a while. The later levels feature a number of tough spots and wily creatures that'll really give people fits, especially the two bosses at the very end.

Aside from its pacing issues (which most players will view as negligible by journey's end), Faussete Amour is a very cool game, one that action fans should pick up if they can do so at a reasonable price.