Review: Justice League Heroes: The Flash

3 Replies

Today’s guest post is by liquidcross of The Indigo Tribe.

Let’s take a look back (a flashback, if you will) at a video game that fell under many fans’ radar: a sidescrolling beat-’em-up for the Game Boy Advance starring the Flash. Designed as a side story to the 2006 Justice League Heroes console game, the aptly-named Justice League Heroes: The Flash features the scarlet speedster zipping around the globe as he takes down the forces of evil. Unlike many licensed games, the end result is pretty damned good, so let’s examine why JLH:F is a hidden gem.

At its core, JLH:F is a 2D brawler reminiscent of the Streets of Rage series. You’ve got the usual punches and kicks to dispatch your foes, but since you’re the friggin’ Flash, you’ve also got his superspeed. (Note: It’s never explicitly stated within the game which Flash this is, as everyone just refers to him as "Flash." However, the developers at WayForward Technologies have stated that it’s the Wally West incarnation). The use of superspeed in the game actually works quite well; the "A" button will dash you to the closest enemy, allowing you get in some swift combo attacks ("B" is your attack button). The "R" trigger will kick you into Flash Speed mode, and everything will appear to slow down…except for you. This is what life is like from the Flash’s perspective, and you can use it to thrash opponents before they even have a chance to react! To keep things fair, though, you’ve got a Speed Force meter right below your lifebar; when it’s depleted, you can’t use Flash Speed mode until it recharges. (Fighting enemies and finding certain powerups will recharge the Speed Force meter.) Finally, if you’re in a real pinch, you can call in other Justice League members to help clear the screen: Superman, Wonder Woman, the Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, or Green Arrow will jump in if you hit the "L" trigger. Their assistance can only be called upon a limited number of times, but you can find powerups that’ll let you summon your fellow Leaguers more often.

As you progress through the game, you’ll earn new moves (like a whirlwind attack), explore new areas, and face the inevitable bosses. Most of them are classic Justice League villains like Circe, but there’s a few Flash-centric baddies in there such as Gorilla Grodd and my personal favorite, Zoom. Another Flash "villain" appears in JLH:F, but not as a stage boss. Want to find out who? Trying using Flash Speed mode right after you lose your last life.

While JLH:F is a portable game, the graphics are top-notch. WayForward have mastered the art of high quality 2D graphics, and their other games like Shantae, Contra 4, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold are shining examples of their craft. JLH:F is no different; the sprites may be tiny, but they’re filled with detail and fluidly animated. Last but not least, let’s take a look at the game’s audio and extras. The background music’s pretty good, and the sound effects are standard beat-’em-up fare. JLH:F is peppered with voice clips, and that really makes it feel like you’re playing an arcade title. Some of the clips might get annoying after a while, but still, it adds to the overall charm of the game. As far as extras are concerned, you can unlock the game’s cutscenes, background information, preproduction art, and more.

Overall, JLH:F is a very good game, but there are two minor flaws. One is the aforementioned focus on Justice League villains. For a Flash game, it would’ve been nice to see a game filled with the hero’s infamous Rogues. Where the hell are Captain Cold and Mirror Master?! The other downpoint is the poor quality cutscene art. I understand that WayForward probably didn’t want to hire a professional comic book artist just to do a few tiny panels here and there, but the art they did use is subpar. Even worse are some of the coloring errors, like the one seen below:

I don’t recall Wonder Woman sporting a bare midriff in the comics; this ain’t an early 1990s Image book. That’s supposed to be armor plate! I know it seems like a minor concern, but it’s a rather glaring (and annoying) error.

Fortunately, these flaws have no effect on the gameplay, and that’s all that really matters. The game engine is rock-solid, and the Flash plays just like he should, dashing around dealing out ass-kickings at superspeed. JLH:F is a great street-brawlin’ game that’ll bring back fond arcade memories for anyone who sank tons of quarters into Final Fight and its brethren. The Game Boy Advance may have been rapidly swept away by the Nintendo DS, but games like JLH:F prove that the GBA still had some life left in it towards the end. For Flash and beat-’em-up fans alike, Justice League Heroes: The Flash belongs in your library. Start diggin’ around on eBay…

Did the Flash Save Comics?

2 Replies

This essay was originally posted on K-Squared Ramblings in 2008.

When the New York Daily News broke the news about Barry Allen’s return, they brought up the hero’s key role in launching the Silver Age of Comics. Superheroes had fallen out of favor in the early 1950s, and comics were exploring genres like westerns, horror, romance, etc. When DC successfully relaunched the Flash in 1956, there was an explosion of new super-hero titles.

The Daily News quotes former Flash scribe Geoff Johns as saying, “Without Barry Allen, we’d still be reading comic books about cowboys.”

I don’t think that’s precisely true. Not to discount Barry’s contribution—it’s entirely possible, even likely, that super-heroes would have remained a background genre. But for one thing, we’re looking at half a century of ephemeral pop culture. For another thing, let’s consider: why were comics going after the western, crime and horror genres when super-heroes failed? Because that’s what was popular in movies and television at the time.

I’d guess that, without the Flash revitalizing super-heroes, we would have seen more science-fiction comics in the 1960s, more police comics in the 1970s, sitcom comics in the 1980s, and so on. Comics genres would probably have followed along with trends in pop culture instead of becoming heavily focused on a single genre.

We wouldn’t be reading cowboy comics today; we’d be reading reality comics.

Perhaps the presence of multiple genres would have eventually gotten rid of the “but, you know, comics are just for kids” mentality. (Not that it’s worked for cartoons or video games yet, but video games are still relatively new, and cartoons have similarly been dominated by the musical fairy tale and slapstick comedy short.)

Eh, who knows? Maybe they’d be all about pirates.

Wanted: The Flash: Earth One

6 Replies

Today’s guest post is by Brandan of Speedster Site.

What does it take to make a character memorable? Is that what it takes to make a character iconic?

When DC Comics announced that writers Geoff Johns and Joe Michael Straczynski would be writing 100+ pages each about Batman and Superman respectively, I couldn’t have been happier. I immediately thought that this “The Perfect Chance”. Johns and Straczynski are writing Batman: Earth One and Superman: Earth One. Two original graphic novels that have their own unique spin on DC’s icons. Why was this the perfect chance though? Simply because DC Comics has about 7 specific characters that could thrive under this type of release.

Of course the most important of those I’m speaking of is our favorite hero, The Flash! Let us look at the math of this perfect chance. One of the most recognized characters in comics, plus a symbol that’s known to many outside of comics, subtracting the monthly wait and occasional artist deadline rush, adding a highly capable artist, and to top it all off, its over 100 pages of new content. I was never good at math, but I am pretty sure that equals a sure fire success story.

But why The Flash? I know what you’re thinking. “Surely you must be happy with the relaunch of the series, and excited about the upcoming Flashpoint event. Why waste time on 100 pages of Flash?” Why? Because while that first issue of Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul’s The Flash may be new comic reader friendly, its not going to bring in more readers like The Flash: Earth One could. Still not convinced? Well how about the idea of a Barry Allen story that defines the character you have come to love and respect? Yeah, I thought that might change your mind.

Continue reading →

Speed Reading

Leave a reply

Rogue Profiles: Keeping the Flash on Schedule

11 Replies

This is probably a crazy idea, but it’s something I thought about while writing up my thoughts on Flash #6:

DC should plan for the book to get delayed.

I really like Francis Manapul’s art, and Geoff Johns, when he’s at the top of his game, can be a great writer. I’d rather not lose this team on the book right now. But it’s been a while since The Flash managed to release twelve issues a year. To catch up, they’ve planned a couple of Rogue Profiles before the next story arc: done-in-one issues that tie into the ongoing mythology but focus on a different point of view, namely one of the Flash’s villains. These were great during Geoff Johns’ run on the Wally West Flash series, and I’m glad we’re seeing more.

Meanwhile, the pacing of the series seems a little bit more decompressed than it needs to be. As much as I enjoyed it, “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” felt like it could have been told as effectively in four or five parts instead of six. Flash: Rebirth definitely could have – it seemed like half of the final issue was epilogue. But six issues is the standard length for a collection, so that seems to be the story length that they’re shooting for.

My suggestion: Make the story arcs five issues long instead of six, and schedule a Rogue Profile in between. Put another artist on the profile, one suited to the villain getting the spotlight. If Geoff Johns is busy, let another writer work from his outline, or hand it outright to someone who understands the current take on the Rogues.

That way, the star creative team is only committed to ten issues a year instead of twelve, and we get some great stand-alone stories that DC can either include with the main story collections or save up for a couple of years and put in a collection as “The Flash: Rogues Gallery.”

What do you think?