Barry's on a high-seas adventure!
Gaiden is not a bad game. Compared to the unoriginal slushpile of the Gameboy and the Color systems, this game is a genius work on the level of Metal Gear Solid. Alas, this is only comparatively. The game functions primarily as a semi-above view angle in which Barry travails with the aid of his map. Unfortunately this map lacks any or of labels or identification of areas other than telling you floor number. Areas where you absolutely must go to to advance the story are helpfully marked in red, although finding out how to open them is a great runaround if you happen to go the 'wrong' way. The game's help files state that running away from enemies is a good thing, however a great deal of necessary key items are in fact found on defeated zombie corpses. As long as your health is fine, just kill everything. Items can also be located by wandering close to them. A helpful green exclamation point will appear to indicate, "hay d00d thar stuff here =D!". You cannot actually see any items, but considering the size of a GBC's screen it's hardly a point for irritation.
The irritation comes in through some of the vague items and their descriptions. Evidently the flaming oven in the ship's kitchen hasn't enveloped enough crewmen to qualify as 'dangerous', so Barry is forced to bear his fire extinguisher indefinitely. However, at least this makes sense. Previously Barry was forced to use a coolant fuse in order to open the refrigerator. While this would make sense in order to make the fridge actually function, why on earth is this required just to jam the door open? Ammunition is another source of irritation, as Barry must make note of ammo he cannot pick up. Because, you know, if he doesn't have the weapon, why stockpile it in your inventory and not have to backtrack? There is a reason the layperson doesn't design games! You cannot possibly understand the divine clarity of not being able to obtain rocket launcher rounds if you don't own the launcher itself!
Combat is actually quite an interesting affair. Depending on your equipped weapon, Barry can use an aiming reticle to initiate battle from afar. If an enemy surprises Barry and tries to chomp on his delicious flesh, the player can randomly press the directional pad to try and shove the undead freak and gain a little distance. Battle functionally works a little more like a bizarre shooting minigame, where the enemy has a 'hit' bar which the player must intersect with the little icon of aiming. The closer the enemy, the easier it is to hit. There is a minuscule center of the hit bar where one may get critical hits to damage the zombies more. Ammunition is relatively plentiful (freshen up in the bathroom with... bullets? Sure, that makes sense!) unless as stated you bypass a key item and wander around 70% of the map. In battle you may use herbs and change weapons, although the zombies will still be chewing on Barry's delectable self.
Just as this is not a bad game, it's not an especially ugly game. Character animation is actually quite good for the scale on the map, whereas the zombie battle animations are extremely well done. Granted, it looks as though the zombie women have implants, the standard male zombie and the crowbar foaming-from-the-mouth sailor zombie are awesome. They have a very far turning animation, a far ambling animation, a mid-range 'I'm going to bite you' animation, and a close standing then trying to utterly eat your soul animation. Back on the map, one interesting implementation is working shadows. While this is a small thing for games these days, those growing up with the Genesis and SNES know how infrequently a character sprite will darken in a shadowed area. Zombies can effectively lurk in these dark places, nearly unseen until the warning exclamation point pops up and the unmistakable moaning of the undead issues. Minor animations add to the ambiance of the game. Flickering lights, the sparkle of puddles in the drained pool and flickering flames of unmanned stoves just help plush the survival horror feel despite its pocketable sprite-based world.
Music is the unfortunate sour issue. While it is realistically impossible to expect a soundtrack even touching the quality of the console Resident Evil series, it is so very repetitive. There are likely less than eight actual tracks, several of which are just a base track with a few added notes. The base tracks are so mind-numbingly bland that one will actively want a zombie to pop out and add to the melody. The 'omg there's a zombie!' notes make the base tracks bearable, but there are only two bases with two variants apiece. Sound effects are much better, with the zombies each having two digitized and quite distinct undead groans. The title screen fared a little less better. "Residenevil" would be a decent name for a harmonically tonedeaf rock band.
Despite its vague direction and propensity to let the player wander while not furthering the plot and repetitive soundtrack, Gaiden is still not a bad game. If one has the required patience and can ignore the map music digging forever into your head with its blandness, it's quite an enjoyable little cartridge for those DS-less folks who desire a little zombie wholesale slaughter on-the-go. Plus you play as Barry Burton. Come on, it's Barry! BARRY!