tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66704102885014357762024-02-19T04:58:37.804-07:00Yesteryear GamingExplorations of the video games, both good and bad, from years past.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-20045919239526250242012-03-28T07:45:00.000-07:002012-03-28T07:45:00.364-07:00Game Collecting: New Console Ahead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last weekend while retro game hunting, I made another great console find! It's one of the less commercially successful consoles, which is a shame, because it's got some jaw-droppingly amazing games. Any guess at what it is?<br />
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I think this was a pretty easy one to figure out - the <b>Sega Dreamcast</b>! It was initially very successful, but the release of the PlayStation 2 drove it into the shadows and ultimately led to its demise.<br />
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It was in fantastic condition so I couldn't pass it up. After purchasing it, I was surprised to run into TWO more Dreamcasts while hitting my other thrift stores. Luckily, the one I picked up initially was the most complete and in the best condition of all three. This means I'm finally nearing the point of having all the consoles I want. Just need to find myself a Sega Genesis and a Japanese Super Famicom and I'll be quite the happy camper.<br />
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And as an unexpected bonus, there was a copy of Ms. Pac Man in the console! Good thing, too, because I have yet to actually find one single Dreamcast game in all my thrifting expeditions. So many good games I need to find now - Power Stone, Sonic Adventure, Shenmue...the list goes on and on.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-57180685333281306822012-03-23T07:45:00.000-07:002012-03-23T12:48:35.174-07:00Collecting Dust: Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom</b></u></span><br />
<b>Adventure, Nintendo Entertainment System</b><br />
<b>1991 Hudson Soft</b><br />
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Certain games are bizarre, and certain games aren't that bizarre but have disturbing cover art. I think <b>Princess Tomato</b> falls into the latter of the two categories. Even with the blank, desolate stares of the clay vegetable-headed figures on the box art, that famous Hudson bee must mean it's a quality game, right? Let's take a look.<br />
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The game opens with a catchy tune, the likes of which is quite common in Hudson games. The player is to take on the role of Sir Cucumber: hero of the Salad Kingdom. Now-deceased King Broccoli has assigned you to rescue his daughter, Princess Tomato, from the clutches of evil Minister Pumpkin. And if the produce theme wasn't yet bludgeoned to death, your quest will start in the city of Saladoria.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can already tell this little guy is going to get annoying, fast.</td></tr>
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It's a very straightforward adventure game control scheme, similar to the likes of <b>King's Quest</b> or <b>Leisure Suit Larry</b>, with the player able to choose from a set of commands to interact with their environment. Princess Tomato is actually even more basic than those titles, in that you don't have the ability to navigate a character around on the screen.<br />
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You will wander through towns and dungeons, talking to everybody in sight and desperately trying to "take" everything from vegetables on the ground (why are there vegetables if the people are vegetables?) to road signs, to fences, all in hopes of finding an item to help you advance. Boss battles are comprised of a mutant variation of rock, paper, scissors, which means big time frustration. A password system enables you to restart from where you left off, but the game is honestly not very long to begin with anyway.<br />
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<b>The Verdict</b></div>
Princess Tomato appears quirky on the surface, but aside from swapping humans with vegetable-people, nothing about the setting or plot is all that farfetched. Even with its fairly easy puzzles, it can get boring fast. If this game falls into your lap, give it a shot, but I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to play it.<br />
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<b>The Alternative</b></div>
Also an adventure game, and also on the NES, <b>Maniac Mansion</b> is a fantastic alternative to Princess Tomato. It has the same gameplay style, but is much more dynamic and entertaining. It was personally my first foray into adventure games, and it set the bar pretty high for all the other adventure games I've played since then. It also has a DOS version with better graphics than the NES counterpart. Either way, I recommend it.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-12668234515250152432012-03-19T07:45:00.000-07:002012-03-19T07:45:00.239-07:00Review: Suikoden (PlayStation)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Suikoden</b></u></span><br />
<b>Role-Playing Game, PlayStation (PS1)</b><br />
<b>1996 Konami</b><br />
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<b>Suikoden</b> was one of the first RPGs I played on the PlayStation, right around the same time I was exploring titles like <b>Final Fantasy VII</b>. It was Konami's first RPG on the fledgling console, and they certainly came out with guns blazing. Depending upon how it's played, this game can be either a fairly long, or extremely long endeavor, so let's begin our journey.<br />
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The narrative begins with the hero beside his father, General Teo McDohl, in the castle of the Scarlet Moon Empire. He is being groomed to follow in his father's footsteps and become a great general of the Empire, starting with simple errands like tax collection and law enforcement within the towns of their territory. While his father is gone to war in the north, the hero and his father's servants become aware of the vast corruption of the Empire and quickly become part of a fringe resistance movement.<br />
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On all counts, it's fair to call Suikoden an <i>epic</i> game. There are literally 108 (mostly playable) characters that can join the hero's team on his adventure, many of which are entirely optional. One could, in theory, steamroll through the plot and ditch any and all side characters, but there are some massive wars that happen along the way whose outcome is dependent upon the strength of your forces. Unlike most RPGs, rather than simply turn-based combat, there are three types of battles that are fought.<br />
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<li><b>Duels</b>: A one-on-one game almost like rock-paper-scissors where the player must read the reactions of the opponent to determine what type of attack to make.</li>
<li><b>Turn-Based Battles</b>: Standard battle system used in many RPGs, but with some nice flair like summonable powers and the ability for different combinations of characters to use joint attacks. Characters keep the same weapon the entire game, but their weapons can be upgraded by blacksmiths.</li>
<li><b>War Battles</b>: These are large-scale battles, where the player uses cards for different abilities (like flaming arrow attacks) to fight off an enemy force. The size of the player's army and amount of usable forces is directly determined by how many of the 108 characters have been recruited.</li>
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The game's narrative is satisfying, following some of the overarching themes common in many RPGs, but developing them in a deep and sometimes very mature way. Some of the most cherished characters die (or <i>can</i> die), and the journey to dethrone Emperor Barbarosa takes the player to the ends of the world and back.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, that was easy!</td></tr>
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Early in the game, the player commandeers an old abandoned castle. It is there that all of the 108 characters recruited reside. If you recruit a blacksmith, not only can he fight alongside you, but in the castle he will actually set up a smith with a forge to upgrade your weapons. If you recruit a crazy inventor, he will add features like an elevator to your castle. It's a game dynamic I don't recall ever seeing before Suikoden, and it really serves to emphasize the growth of the hero's army and the gravity of his actions. The castle is immense, and at times, simply wandering around it and exploring all the new corridors and shops can be a lot of fun.<br />
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Visually, the game is fantastic. All the character sprites are gigantic and detailed. All 108 of the "Stars" that join your team have presumably hand-drawn portraits, and many major plot characters do as well. Everything is highly detailed and utilizes a very large color palette. The music is dynamic, from simple acoustic guitar tunes to fully orchestral compositions, with many of the songs likely to get stuck in your head long after playing.<br />
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Suikoden comes with my highest recommendation. It's a massive, engrossing, heart-wrenching story that will draw you in and keep your attention for a long time. Trying to find all 108 of the Stars will keep you coming back time and time again. I also recommend the sequel, <b>Suikoden II</b>; but do note that subsequent titles in the series are of questionable quality.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-51960817564024810102012-03-16T07:45:00.000-07:002012-03-16T07:45:00.393-07:00Review: StarTropics (NES)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>StarTropics</b></u></span><br />
<b>Action-Adventure, Nintendo Entertainment System</b><br />
<b>1990 Nintendo</b><br />
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<b>StarTropics</b> is an RPG-flavored action adventure game from the cusp of the early 90s. I'm lucky enough to have a cartridge of this one, and as I promised in <a href="http://yesteryeargaming.blogspot.com/2012/02/game-collecting-small-nintendo-find.html">my game collecting post about it</a>, here is the review!<br />
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Young protagonist Mike Jones (no, not the rapper) is visiting tropical C-Island to see his uncle Dr. Jones. The chief of the natives informs him that his uncle has been kidnapped and mysterious monsters are roaming the island's underground. Mike must act to save both his uncle and the archipelago from imminent danger.<br />
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From a world map, the player travels into a classic RPG-style town. There, a basic yo-yo weapon is provided by the town's chief, and you are loosed into the bowels of the first dungeon almost immediately. On the other side, Baboo, the assistant of Dr. Jones, gives you access to his submarine and hints that something <i>darker</i> is going on amongst the seemingly peaceful islands.<br />
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The game has a somewhat odd movement system in the dungeons, wherein pressing a directional button makes Mike pivot in that direction prior to actually moving. It leads to a sort of slip-and-slide style walking, but it makes for more precise aiming of weapons and actually becomes second nature before you've even finished the first dungeon. Also of note is the fact that the player's sprite doubles in size when in the dungeons. Why Mike is not always this size is beyond my understanding, but it's still pretty interesting to see such large, detailed characters in an old NES game.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You had better get used to jumping. A lot.</td></tr>
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Keep an eye out for the bosses, as well. These guys require really good timing, can kill you in only a few shots, and take <i>a lot</i> of beating before finally perishing. It's amusing that a pixelated, flailing octopus can get your heart pumping a lot more than the bosses in many modern games! You can fend off these baddies with your trusty yo-yo or an assortment of other (usually sports-themed) limited-use weapons. Why are random baseball paraphernalia hidden in the cave systems of a tropical archipelago? Don't ask me.<br />
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In a lot of ways StarTropics seems like an organic broadening of the concepts put forth in <b>The Legend of Zelda</b> only a few years earlier. Whereas Zelda is kind of like one big dungeon, StarTropics utilizes the spaces between dungeons to insert dialogue, characters, and reemphasize what Mike's goals are. For the most part, it's just a repetition of dungeon, town, dungeon, town; but the pacing feels comfortable and the breaks between the sometimes frustrating dungeons are much needed.<br />
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The music is on the bland end of the spectrum, but isn't so bad that you'll feel the need to mute the game. The puzzles almost entirely comprise of jumping on green tiles until you find one that hides a button, so I wouldn't really class this as a "puzzle" type game. There are some unique stylistic choices, namely with the setting, that I honestly don't see developers striving for much nowadays. Collecting interesting items, fighting new enemies, and tackling the
quite difficult bosses is a lot of fun in itself, and for those reasons
alone the game is not to be missed by any action-adventure fans out
there.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-1140860401590303642012-03-14T07:45:00.000-07:002012-03-14T07:45:01.129-07:00Rate With Friends: Top 5 Educational Computer Games of the 90s<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anyone who was a child in the 1990s likely had the joy of playing educational computer games at school or at home. From kindergarten through fifth grade my school had "computer lab Fridays". We got to learn how to use computers and play some awesome games in the process. But which among those educational games were the best? Andrew from <a href="http://yesthesethingsmatter.wordpress.com/">Yes, These Things Matter</a> is back once again - and that means it's time to rate with friends!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 5 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Treasure Mountain!</b></div>
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My big memory of Treasure Mountain was being unable to climb up a series of ladders because some bastard would always appear out of nowhere and push you off. To be honest, I don't think I ever got past <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HAxdTacsgQ&t=6m22s">those damn ladders</a>. And even worse is I think that stupid king guy found his way into my subconscious, because he's definitely popped up in some of my dreams over the years. It was only when researching videos for this write-up did the memories of this game come flooding back to me. Weird, bouncing elves. That creepy king guy. Math. Stuff of nightmares, I tell you.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Treasure Mountain!</b></div>
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Treasure Mountain brought me many great memories as a kid. The Master of Mischief sits atop the mountain donning his stolen crown, and the player must collect treasures on their way up to defeat him. Each level of the mountain is populated with irritating elves that can be caught with a net, and given that the player can answer a trivia question, a hint is given as to the location of a treasure. Simple, repetitive, but oh so fun. There was even a leaderboard which rated players based upon their all-time treasure count. Needless to say, it led to some fierce competition with my friends.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 4 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>JumpStart: 4th Grade</b></div>
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The Jump Start series basically defined my early gaming years, specifically the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade editions. They were basically adventure games, each with their own specific genre: 3rd Grade was science fiction, 4th Grade was horror, and 5th Grade was spy thriller/noir. All three I remember fondly, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Jump Start 4th Grade. The player would make their way through a gloomy forest, filled with ghosts and a bat that talked like Peter Lorre. Along the way, you would have to solve puzzles so that you could eventually save your friends from the evil witch who had turned them all into monsters. The game actually had a decent <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzDoD0OB7FA">atmosphere</a> to it, so not only were you learning a thing or two, you were a little freaked out as well, which was a neat trick.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Logical Journey of the Zoombinis</b></div>
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The Zoombinis game was a hair-pulling series of puzzles and riddles presented behind the guise of some seriously sharp art direction. At the beginning of the game you get to hand pick the facial features of the zoombinis in your party, making it that much more heart rending as they slowly die with each of your puzzle-solving failures. And who could forget the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Dp_Q53Z4UM&t=0m16s">awesome grandfatherly intro narrator</a>?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 3 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Oregon Trail</b></div>
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A list of my favorite educational games wouldn't be complete without the inclusion of the classic Oregon Trail. Truth be told, I'm not sure I ever really learned anything substantial from this game; I was too busy having fun crossing rivers, mowing down buffalo, and watching party members die of dysentery. I actually still own a CD copy of this game, and I tried playing through it again about a month ago. Sure enough, it didn't take long for my party members to start getting sick, and despite devoting all of my efforts to keep them alive, they still ended up six feet under. Damn you, Oregon Trail, damn you.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Oregon Trail</b></div>
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Back in kindergarten, Oregon Trail was the first game I ever got to play at school. I have many great memories associated with it. At the time, I understood so very little of what it meant to plan a cross-country wagon trip, but I never let that inhibit my travels. You want to buy 10 oxen and 100 wagon wheels with no other supplies? Go right ahead! You want to shoot 950lbs of game even though you can only carry 20lbs? Slaughter away! You want to treat Angela's dysentery with a cold compress? Sure! It was these freedoms that made the game so fun; I should note that it still is just as fun today.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 2 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo</b></div>
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I'm not 100% sure the Putt-Putt series can technically be classified as "educational". It's really more of an adventure series for children, but I do remember certain puzzles that required some serious brain activity. Like all adventure games, there were some strange leaps of logic, and some moments really
tested the mettle of my 5-year-old mind. It was also one of the first series I ever played that was more than just learning the alphabet and counting numbers (My alternative pick here would have been Donald's Alphabet Chase, and I don't think I could have lived with myself had <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mex-YfFZkE">that</a> made my list). Even though Putt-Putt journeyed as far as the Moon, the best in the series was Putt-Putt Saves The Zoo. An entire walkthrough of the game is available <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cnFViTQZIQ">here</a>. I will admit to watching the entire thing in preparation for this write-up, and I have no regrets. Ah, the memories of childhood.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>SimAnt</b></div>
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I genuinely had no idea that SimAnt was "educational" until I was an adult. Little did I know that all I learned about ant colonies, scent trails, and insects came from this game. Not to mention my irrational fear of lawnmowers (just kidding!). In SimAnt, you start by founding a new colony, then progress by expanding your tunnel system, leading the colony to food sources, and ultimately defeating colonies of the dastardly red ants. It's great fun, a great challenge, and holds up extremely well to the test of time.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 1 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?</b></div>
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No question in my mind about this one. The Carmen Sandiego series was pretty popular back in the 1990s, with several different games and even a short-lived television series. For me, the height of the series is the 1997 version of Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego?. Like many of the other games on my list, this is basically an adventure game, with the player traveling through a bunch of different time periods in an effort to stop Carmen and her Time Bandits from stealing famous objects and altering history. You started in ancient Egypt, and then worked your way forward through feudal Japan, the Renaissance, and many other locations and times, eventually making your way up to Yuri Gagarin's space flight. In every environment you would get to learn some history while attempting to solve some oftentimes surprisingly difficult puzzles. It was a lot of fun, and over the years I played through it several times. I still own the CD version, and if I could ever figure out how to get it working on a modern system, I'd love to give it another spin. Educational gaming at its finest.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>The Incredible Machine</b></div>
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In short, The Incredible Machine is half physics simulator, half Rube Goldberg machine maker. I was a loyal LEGO kid, and this game explores the same notions of construction and engineering that I loved so much. There are numerous pre-made puzzle levels, where you are tasked with achieving a particular goal, but there is also a level editor with which to create your own scenarios. Using all the pulleys, seesaws, rockets, and mirrors is incredibly fun. Truth be told, my sadistic child self usually made machines that smashed or trapped the little men that ran around in the levels.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-85945275223888157832012-03-11T07:45:00.000-07:002012-03-11T07:45:00.526-07:00Game Collecting: Time to Buy a Sega Genesis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I followed my usual route of local thrift stores, but I changed one thing - I went on a different day. And whether it's because I picked a better day of the week to look for retro games, or I just had some good luck, I found something great!
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As someone who frequents a lot of thrift stores, I know that sometimes you have to trudge through days (or weeks) of finding nothing good to finally get something you want. This Friday was one of those finds that made all the other bad trips worth it. Upon perusing the books and media section of my first stop of the night, I found an entire shelf full of Sega Genesis games!<br />
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Let's go through the laundry list first -<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Pirates! Gold</b><b> </b></li>
<li><b>Prince of Persia</b><b> </b></li>
<li><b>Earthworm Jim</b><b> </b></li>
<li><b>Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse</b><b> </b></li>
<li><b>Kid Chameleon</b><b> </b></li>
<li><b>Ecco the Dolphin</b></li>
<li><b>Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition</b><b> </b></li>
<li><b>Altered Beast</b></li>
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Needless to say, I'm pretty satisfied. All of these were only $16, too. Only problem? I don't actually have a Sega Genesis. Not yet, at least. Now that I have a bunch of great games for it, I have more motivation to seek one out. I've seen a few recently, but all were in terrible condition, so for now the search shall continue.<br />
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I'm even happier about this purchase because all the games I found were CIB (complete in box). Some of them, like Pirates! Gold, even have the little mail-in feedback forms that originally shipped with the games.<br />
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I did leave a few games behind at the store, but they were just some generic sports titles. At $2 a pop, I was half-tempted to get them anyway, but I'm already short on storage space so I just left them behind. Off to find myself a Genesis!The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-65924962694239840272012-03-08T07:45:00.000-07:002012-03-08T07:45:00.157-07:00Review: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)<u><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island</b></span></u><br />
<b>Platformer, Super Nintendo Entertainment System</b><br />
<b>1995 Nintendo </b><br />
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Yoshi's island is a spinoff from the original Mario series of platformers, with the character roles reversed: Yoshi, the noble reptilian steed of Mario, is now the hero. It's actually a sort of prequel to the other Mario games, because in this one Mario is an infant. His brother Luigi was kidnapped by baby Bowser, so Yoshi takes the helm to save the day.
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Anyone who has played a Mario game will already understand the basic gameplay principles in Yoshi's Island. The controls are similar, jumping on the heads of enemies kills them, and there are lots of gold coins! Some familiar characters make appearances like the Piranha Plants, but most creatures are entirely new to the series.<br />
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Yoshi has very different skills than Mario ever did. He can eat most enemies and small objects, instantly pooping them out into a trail of eggs that follow behind him (what a digestive system he must have!). Those eggs can then be used as projectiles against enemies or to destroy objects. He can also pedal his legs mid-air to sort of glide across long spans, and he can stomp down on objects to smash them. Later in the game, he can use powerups to transform into different vehicles like a helicopter. If Yoshi is hit by an enemy, the baby Mario on his back floats into the air on a bubble and a timer in the top corner begins to count down. If you don't nab Mario before time is up, then you lose a life.<br />
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This broadening of concepts from the Mario game series is great, but how does it play? In short: amazingly. Even as a child I remember noticing how finely tuned the controls were. Yoshi moves intuitively and with pixel-perfect positioning. He glides over the often rolling and diverse terrain with ease; gone are the perfectly flat, horizontal platforms of Mario games past. Visually, the painterly landscapes feel vibrant and alive and like they are pushing the SNES to its very limits.<br />
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The best part of Yoshi's Island are its logic puzzles. With the basis of tight controls, a predetermined set of skills, and fairly realistic physics, you're led through progressively harder and harder levels. Most of the hardest puzzles are not required to progress through the game, but your desire for 100% ratings on all levels will be so strong you'll do them anyway.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGXT6fQ8suBdtyIlBoGAkwwg1uYYUhX9aMuI-1aHklS5qxTEGMCvyZHDvtenVGPjyenOTfYsedhhuXwBWM2ghwxHnbPWIpkpN9NLte41Zz3e82Mw1ZzUYTS12maryDD4npa_fHkNvt4WX/s1600/yoshisisland04.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy looks like he means business.</td></tr>
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I also feel that this is the first game in the Mario series where bosses became a more integral component of the gameplay. There are some intriguing and amazing bosses you'll encounter that are unlike anything else in the franchise. Some are quite challenging, but the game is structured so that an analysis of your surroundings and Yoshi's abilities will yield a solution to any problem.<br />
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Yoshi's Island is an absolute joy to play. It takes the tried-and-true concepts that make Mario great, then adds about a million things more to keep your interest. It controls better than most platformers, it's visually stunning, and holds up <i>very</i> well to the test of time. It is among the best platformers ever, and is a must-play as far as I'm concerned.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-61744447126439087022012-03-05T07:45:00.000-07:002012-03-05T07:45:00.853-07:00Retro-ish: Appy 1000mg<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For the Retro-ish series, I'll be taking a look at present-day games that are evocative of retro games either visually or otherwise. First I'll be checking out <b>Appy 1000mg</b>, a game created by Sebastien Benard from <a href="http://motion-twin.com/">Motion Twin</a> for Ludum Dare 20 (May 2011).
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<a href="http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/">Ludum Dare</a> is a site that holds a semiannual rapid game-making competition. In 48 hours, entrants have to make a game from scratch within a given theme. Mr. Benard's entry was the winner in both the "graphics" and "overall" categories for the <i>"It's Dangerous to go Alone, Take This!"</i> competition.<br />
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In Appy 1000mg, our robot hero is in pursuit of his constantly-vanishing love Pixelle across a picturesque natural landscape. What follows is a pretty easy to understand platformer, wherein the player uses the arrow keys to move. Harmless pink blobs bounce around, and aside from falling into bodies of water, there is nothing that can harm Appy.<br />
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After a strange encounter with a sage-like old robot man and some pills, the game shifts to a much darker tone. The world remains laid out the same way, but a palette shift occurs and the bright sunset backdrop turns to a dark, ashy sky. Those friendly pink blobs? They turn into explosive zombie robots.<br />
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I won't give the rest of plot away because you can <a href="http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-20/?action=preview&uid=2982">play the game yourself for free</a>. Once this dichotomous world is established, a short but powerful story unfolds that's paced just perfectly for a 48-hour game. Much like a good short film, it falls in the sweet spot of narrative; a sympathetic character, a goal, and thing preventing him from reaching that goal. It packs quite a punch for such a small feature. I recommend spending the 5-10 minute necessary to see it through to completion!The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-71766106070156493222012-03-02T07:45:00.000-07:002012-03-02T07:45:00.787-07:00Blue Ribbon: 5 of the Best Final Bosses in SNES RPGs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've decided to expand my "Blue Ribbon" series of posts to list specific elements of games in addition to games themselves. There are a lot of games that aren't necessarily my favorites as a whole, but do have elements or characters I am fascinated by. With this expansion of the format, I can honor some of the titles that I might otherwise gloss over. Today's category is <i>the best final bosses in SNES RPGs</i>.
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Daos (Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals)</b></span></div>
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Just look at this guy. He's huge! Lufia is known for its enormous, hyper-detailed monster art, but Daos sure takes the cake. The leader of the Sinistrals puts up a pretty good fight, too. This one sits lowest on the list due to the fact that the buildup to get to him doesn't feel as epic as it <i>could</i> have, thanks to a rather dull plotline through the game itself.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lavos (Chrono Trigger)</b></span></div>
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Chrono Trigger is arguably the most epic game in scope on the entirety of the SNES. After literally traversing space and time, forwards and back, Chrono and his party finally fight the monster that is slated to destroy the world. By this point in the game, the player has been bloodlusting for the battle for so long that it's fulfilling to say the very least. <i>Don't forget - his first form shoots lasers from its nipples!</i> The only reason this one isn't higher up on my list is due to the fact that visually it isn't as awe-inspiring as some of what is to follow.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Deathevn (Breath of Fire II)</b></span></div>
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Deathevn is so large he makes Daos from Lufia II look vertically challenged. Not to mention he has six toothed phalluses that are each roughly the size of the player. This guy is a big, bad and bizarre cult-demon-dragon-thing that is allegedly a remnant of the final boss from game 1 in the series. It is oh so satisfying to bring this guy down.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Giygas (Earthbound)</b></span></div>
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Much like Lavos from Chrono Trigger, Giygas is an interdimensional monster bent on destroying the earth. This baddie is so strong, in fact, that our heroes must travel <i>back</i> in time just to find him in a form weak enough to be defeated. They find his gluttonous thirst for power was so strong that it destroyed his own mind, and he sucks the party into a black hole betwixt the fabric of space and time. His final form is nothing but a billowing, ghostly form that defies physical manifestation. To top off the horror, word on the street is that the boss battle was inspired by a rape scene from an old Japanese movie.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kefka (Final Fantasy III / VI)</b></span></div>
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<img alt="Best SNES RPG Boss 1: Kefka from Final Fantasy III VI" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrqAKbFhPkTNqC0KOTnDdBTqXfn1-PzmgNdnNnrJaoU3RHwq0WqJvvcL85SFoiaK-6NcVyLVX6WEz8evNA1ZfjFEIfhprPl4QYvnH6GA4uSwAncSx6g58cnKhZymnUFg1gH35SERMk3rR/s1600/snesboss5-02.jpg" /></div>
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How could I <i>not</i> put Kefka in my number one spot? He is the preeminent insane villain of an entire generation of video games. From the beginning to the end of the extremely lengthy masterpiece that is Final Fantasy III, the player witnesses Kefka devolve from a power-hungry general of the Empire to a genocidal, egomaniacal, self-destructive abomination. This guy destroys the entire world, and that's only half way through the game! Final Fantasy III is easily in my top 10 favorite games of all time, and Kefka is a large factor in that decision.<br /><br />PS: <a href="http://youtu.be/JbXVNKtmWnc">the background music</a> is half of what makes this battle so amazing.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-71649157208613738232012-02-29T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-29T07:45:00.429-07:00Review: Illusion of Gaia (SNES)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Illusion of Gaia
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<b>Action Role-Playing Game, Super Nintendo Entertainment System</b><br />
<b>1994 Enix</b>
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For some reason, <b>Illusion of Gaia</b> is one of the games from my childhood whose box art is forever ingrained in my head. An Enix release from smack dab in the middle of their SNES RPG dynasty, it follows closely to the formula they used in many other games. But does it hold up to the test of time?<br />
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Our protagonist, Will, has been raised by his grandparents because his archaeologist parents went missing (<b>StarTropics</b> anyone?). He lives out his dull life in a small town, until one day he receives a summons from the king. Armed with naught but a strange psychic flute, he embarks upon a journey through many familiar real-world ancient landmarks to solve the mystery of his parents' disappearance and a strange comet that is due to pass the planet.<br />
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The general gameplay consists of towns and dungeons, both of which are reached through a rudimentary world map. The dungeons are much in the style of Zelda, Secret of Mana, or any other action RPG from the same era. Will upgrades his defense, attack power, and health by destroying all the enemies on a given screen. The elements of each dungeon vary, but ultimately the goal is to collect a number of ancient relics.<br />
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<img alt="Illusion of Gaia: Dark Space" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhONbsr-MWR9r9CComlgfgoqkMabnZBWKDpSSApgUVh0kCw0p7m9YfWUfsrBScJ-L0hjpxYancdmnJ3haCU35b26nlQC_9MAso7rHPVmADVGmKeVmMExM08-XGNuztg7ZUfD9ol-2M2ei/s1600/illusionofgaia02.png" /></div>
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One interesting gameplay feature is Dark Space. Sprinkled throughout the towns and dungeons of Gaia are black portals that lead to a screen used to save and change characters. Or, at least transform characters. Or mutate. To be honest, it's never quite explained why or how Will has three forms; perhaps they're different aspects of himself or entirely different beings altogether. It's also not established that Will finds it in any way strange that he, a humble peasant boy, can tear open the fabric of spacetime and shapeshift inexplicably.<br />
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While on the tangent of odd character quirks, I should mention that the plot of this game is the real weak point. There are some earnest attempts on Enix's part to create heart-wrenching scenes, but with no attachment to the entirely one-dimensional characters, it comes across as nothing but sappy and childish. This is worsened by the fact that there are a few unskippable, heavily contrived character development scenes (trapped in a prison cell, adrift on a raft at sea). Real life locations are integrated into the world of Gaia, like Incan ruins, the pyramids in Egypt, and the Great Wall of China. While all the art assets are well-drawn, the disjointed and frankly pointless inclusion of some of the places make for a forgettable journey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Illusion of Gaia: Freedan fights a boss" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdxSxt6wQXnAnGLLbq1Vpcey-CFE-tskAv2TjmPAoRgGda9hSdoGAjV5NEcd3s5wPWCTY_fZQCCd-hpZ1bX0Lx2ZjfozeaIDXPYkhL6ODysag9LIj2MnrhdZH8wSduTH34roQKrD_POaK/s1600/illusionofgaia03.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bobby, did you get stuck in that hole again?</td></tr>
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If you close your eyes and rapidly hit the "A" button to skip through the bad dialogue, you're left with just the dungeons. The controls and combat are tight, intuitive, and interesting. New abilities acquired through the alternate forms of Freedan and Shadow mean you'll have to frequently switch characters in order to complete certain puzzles. Sometimes it takes a bit of thinking to figure out, but a challenge is always good. Aside from the bosses, the enemies are rather unimaginative and often make no sense as to why they would exist in their surroundings.<br />
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Even with all the bad I have to say about the game's plot, Illusion of Gaia is actually quite a fun time. Anyone who enjoys action RPGs will surely get some enjoyment out of it. It's sort of like when you go and see the next big awfully-plotted action blockbuster in the theater. It's not because you're expecting a masterpiece, it's because you want to just have some mindless fun. If you go into this game with such a mindset, you'll certainly find something to like.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-90970354390807264172012-02-27T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-27T07:45:00.104-07:00Game Collecting: A Small Nintendo Find<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqxNh7VkK6TvjVW9t_PNegQkaOV88ZQABpWPvCeDIL3X2Wo-VTsU3gJpe7_tHFloGiCmDGXMSAezBOaUE6HvbKEjyPPmq52iR2cjhLpZla3MVuB7SACBrVt7ze7Od7YqRn2iKeyl-cBsK/s1600/NES-startropics.jpg" /></div>
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This post will be a brief one, because it's about an individual game I happened upon this week. What game you ask? Well, it's an action-adventure title from the good ol' NES that follows protagonist Mike Jones as he journeys across a tropical island to find his missing archaeologist father. If you haven't picked up on it by now here you go - <b>StarTropics</b>!
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I had actually encountered this cartridge about a half dozen times over the past month or so. What kept me from picking it up sooner? The first three I found were at a swap meet and were in terrible condition. I try to avoid damaged games altogether, be they functionally damaged or cosmetically damaged. I don't have a ton to spend on retro games so I am pretty discerning about the condition of my carts. I then found two more at the same swap meet, in fantastic condition, but priced absurdly high ($40 for one, $50 for the other). Early this week I found one on craigslist locally, but it was for $20 and still way more than I wanted to pay for it.<br />
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A trip to a local thrift store this weekend led me to it once again. And for a mere five dollars, no less! So at last this old favorite of mine is added to my collection. The battery even still works, by some strange witchcraft. Expect to see a full review of this title in the near future.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-77973170826609141932012-02-24T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-24T07:45:00.983-07:00Collecting Dust: Tomba! (PlayStation)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Tomba!</b></u></span><br />
<b>Platformer, PlayStation</b><br />
<b>1998 Whoopee Camp</b><br />
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Anyone who watched television in the late 90s probably remembers the iconic series of commercials for the game <b>Tomba!</b>, wherein people wearing ridiculous cotton candy-looking wigs posed and talked about the character. Although these commercials were memorable, very few people ultimately bought the game from fledgling developer Whoopee Camp. I personally bought the game when it came out, and found it proved that sometimes the commercial failures are some of the best games out there.<br />
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Tomba! is, at its core, a platformer game, but perhaps it's better classified as being a platforming RPG. Our pink-haired, caveman-esque hero ventures across the lands to defeat seven evil pigs and help people and animals out wherever he goes. The occasional friendly character usually provides a quest of some sort; some straightforward and other more elusive. Completion of these quests yields AP, which unlocks different areas and items throughout the game.<br />
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Part of the allure of Tomba! is the intertwining of RPG elements with a platforming format. Quests and exploration are rewarded with all variety of items from equipment, to weapons, to new skills. The sense of progression this imparts upon the player makes for a highly addictive experience. Like the tried-and-true MMO format from games like World of Warcraft, just as you're beginning to get bored or tired, the game feeds you one more cool item to keep you chugging along.<br />
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Visually, Tomba is vibrant and dreamy. Like many PlayStation-era games, it uses numerous 2D sprites overlaid on 3D backgrounds. Many of the landscapes altered by the evil pigs look like they're straight out of Candyland. As you go forward you'll spot lots of strange unknown objects and inaccessible areas, but fret not, because with further progress you'll figure out ways to access all of them. Backtracking to old areas is enlivened by the fact that they're often entirely different than the first time you came through.<br />
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Don't expect the game to go easy on you just because it's pink and fluffy, however. The general gameplay format involves large, multi-planed open areas that are left to be explored freely by the player. Lots of experimentation with different interactive objects, jumps, and enemies will be the only way you'll ever discover the solution to many of the quests. It's a far cry from the "go right until you hit the end of the level" format that many other platformers take.<br />
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<b>The Verdict</b></div>
Tomba! is a fast-paced, bright, amazingly fun platformer with RPG elements that give it the extra push from <i>good</i> into <b>great</b>. It comes with high recommendation from me, but don't be surprised if you have a hard time finding it - the game's cult status means copies can go for a pretty penny nowadays.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-64563122969129027472012-02-22T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-23T17:27:23.842-07:00Review: Final Fantasy II / IV (SNES)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Final Fantasy II / IV</b></u></span><br />
<b>Role-Playing Game, Super Nintendo Entertainment System</b><br />
<b>1991 Square</b><br />
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I'll go ahead and quell the inevitable outrage right now - <i>yes</i>, I know <b>Final Fantasy II</b> for the SNES should technically be called Final Fantasy IV. <i>Yes</i>, I know that there were two other Final Fantasies on the NES (II and III) before this one, so it <b><i>really really</i></b> is Final Fantasy IV. But, neither of those NES titles were released in the US on the NES. And seeing as I'm only reviewing American releases, I'm going to go ahead and call this one as I see it on the box art and label for the game - Final Fantasy II!<br />
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So let's start with developments in the Final Fantasy series from the last game to this one. For all intents and purposes, us Americans jumped from #1 straight to this title. There were some improvements in the series during those two phantom Japanese-only releases, so it's sad that we didn't originally get to see them. The hallmark Chocobos came into play during that time, the battle system turned into more of what we recognize today, and there was a shift from anonymous "heroes" to characters with very human emotions and trials.<br />
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In Final Fantasy II, the story opens to an airship descending upon a kingdom called Mysidia to steal their powerful Water Crystal. Cecil, the leader of the group, is riddled with guilt for what he has done, and upon returning to his home kingdom of Baron expresses his concerns to the King. He and his second-in-command Kain are then sent unknowingly on a trip to suicide bomb a town of mages (you couldn't make this stuff up), and soon realize a strange man named Golbez is behind an evil plot to control all crystals of the world.<br />
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<img alt="Final Fantasy II: Cecil become a Paladin" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxsPX6ZmvSLC8I0iCQStJdBniDKmG0w8FEDGOfsU2mwYNl1dPtf0UCXwZzkBouZMVICpZl5XbKrWV62kwOwG5LWkjnG9nbv0HCIyXRZTkRcL-AxtcKbWSIQ0GQdvBdWH0Ja-BITKoXp37/s1600/finalfantasyii03.png" /></div>
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Everything about this game is crafted with such love that it creates a markedly more memorable experience than the original Final Fantasy. The music is a beautiful arrangement of catchy and diverse compositions. The graphics are vibrant and detailed. The characterization is leaps and bounds ahead of the predecessors; so much that many of the characters and lines of dialogue are still <a href="http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/You_Spoony_Bard%21">cherished to this day</a>. This game raised the bar for not only the Final Fantasy series, but RPGs as a whole. It also has one of my favorite hero plotlines involving a sort of vision quest that changes both Cecil's physical appearance and his entire skill set.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Final Fantasy II: The party attacks an Octopus boss" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbf-MChfEFASec3Vcvj3a0D8IELXupftE1S9TheMCnva3stfBLaSZi1bOir7tSO8E2bFAPqi7kYIRg8YkkvhZcV2XpqgzQFm25eTrRIVUe2vlC-FWydGLWqpBoPAv2qQIYjtfHArGnZoM-/s1600/finalfantasyii02.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what an octopus looks like on acid.</td></tr>
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And then there's the menu and battle systems. They're so far improved from the first game I think they merit mention as well. Gone are the "dumb" attacks, where a character will slash at the empty air where an enemy once resided. The equipment isn't a guessing game anymore; not only are there icons next to each item corresponding with the type of character that can equip them, but it's much easier to determine which piece of equipment is the strongest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Final Fantasy II: The party explores the underworld" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XYWqKRFto-3xq9kytpG-PcqvlCFbV9ufn3zXERwbrgxVguyH5zy66nxL_7Bcgdu_9jot2PbmCGgMSkH0eqrFQANq9Tti_hD2RvPAHVTg0D0A7DFq36laL5y6apOxolxt5sj_prYEw5Dm/s1600/finalfantasyii04.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just cruising around the center of the earth with my airship, bro.</td></tr>
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Final Fantasy II is one of my fondest gaming memories. It features a broad ensemble cast, the graphics are much improved from the NES premiere of the series, and the world simply feels so alive and fantastical. The story begins with the standard "save the world" cliche, but soon expands farther and farther, until you find yourself taken aback at how far the characters have come. Anyone who enjoys turn-based RPGs, or even just a good story are in for a treat with this one. It is easily among the best of Super Nintendo RPGs, and in my opinion one of the best in the Final Fantasy series as a whole.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-67805670332885145002012-02-19T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-19T07:45:00.441-07:00Game Collecting: My First Super Famicom Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've always had a small retro game collection, but recently have decided to become more proactive about expanding it. As a result of my current employment situation and "grown-up" financial commitments, I don't have a whole lot of disposable income to spend on video games, though. So when I make retro game purchases I'm pretty discerning about what's worth my money. While the child in me wants to accrue a complete NES and SNES collection, I have to restrain myself for now. So that means I only really look for my absolute favorite games (primarily RPGs). This week I made 2 fantastic additions to the collection!
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Through a <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/gamecollecting/">retro gaming community I'm part of on Reddit.com</a>, I've met a lot of people that have some jaw-droppingly impressive retro game collections. And on a rare occasion, some of these fine folks have duplicate games or decide to downsize their collections and offer some titles up for sale. This week I spotted a great Super Famicom Japanese RPG collection for trade/sale and couldn't resist.<br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyB3MiyE5iEkmDZuJ2AubXLB7thFeRXl-A0Ku2n7rB0qxGdn2hRjIjlsqoFubMLAReXM1lGiMkjlSEgHF1UMVlrS6Ohb3xMG5-uCg0Gxw-zFq6sdk5b3A3t2ZlxaBwwOtkkfRjfhzBxrWo/s1600/SFAM-mother2chronotrigger02.jpg" alt="Chrono Trigger and Mother 2 Super Famicom Boxes" /></div>
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So with my small budget in mind, I narrowed my sights to my two favorite games from the batch. <b>Mother 2</b> (better known as <b>Earthbound</b> in the US) and <b>Chrono Trigger</b>, complete in their original boxes with manuals and inserts. These are the Japanese versions of the games, meaning they are Super Famicom cartridges. Sadly they aren't compatible with my American SNES, but I do have the intention of eventually getting ahold of a Super Famicom to be able to play them.<br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQF7eqYV8yOVcqbOyZnsbPqNdrZe_C41Y79NBABFiL4Qf6TWlVqL-fe9Tv0kiwECSXdztev0uyLbB2-C8h-zq75_WL0Amtldsxlbvc5ufSXeR5ps-udk3VjU8uja4YUSEMGUN7R8aiZQBp/s1600/SFAM-mother2chronotrigger03.jpg" alt="Mother 2 Super Famicom Box and Cartridge" /></div>
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In a perfect world I'd exclusively collect CIB (<i>Complete In Box</i>) games like these, but without specifically buying them direct from another collector they're really tough to come by. I'm quite happy to have them added to my collection, though. The American versions of these two go for a small fortune, especially Earthbound at $250+, but I am going to keep my eyes peeled for them in hopes that one day I'll find someone who doesn't realize how much they're worth.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-89751047663535207582012-02-16T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-17T17:28:03.359-07:00Rate With Friends: Top 5 SNES Platformers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For today's Rate With Friends, Andrew from <a href="http://yesthesethingsmatter.wordpress.com/">Yes, These Things Matter.</a> returns as my accomplice so that we can sort out our top 5 favorite SNES platformers. It's an immense field of games to narrow to a mere five, and I know both of us put a whole lot of thought into the matter. Let's see how we compare!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 5 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Kirby Super Star</b></div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA98yQ4hntQwAnuQTyGQVJsFJLVJLlD85JXX65t-hbUZ1cW0a0GNHkBqJD1HMdZ9H1tMZqOQYwfyFhyUwDPzkLHgDiOABx5u8cjQyb13hypCh3_8xkdplC1uBZLLl7mauA58rrdrm0nahe/s1600/kirbysuperstar01.png" /></div>
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I've played many Kirby games over the years, but for the most part they've never really made any kind of impact. Kirby him(?)self is one of the more bizarrely compelling creations in gaming. A floating pink puffball who has the ability to eat enemies and steal their powers? Sign me up, please. But for some reason the games have frequently let me down; the only exception is Kirby Super Star. Billed on the box as "8 GAMES IN ONE!", Kirby Super Star was jam-packed with content, offering up several different storylines, each with their own unique hook, as well as several addicting mini-games. Plus, as icing on the cake, you could play co-op with a friend. This game had it all, and still remains enjoyable to this day.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Demon's Crest</b></div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUm64VURvROG1QnaNbNkMB3DAYDlIiO6qyJ0OxR15RexIhG8CZ7hKZMPW9qg5TGzv2lFYxvVdNbURSXpm0b8vTXqnU6vxFLIC2MwDIaAU38GU2bONZ3L6pIgabB4VU1-nf50AvR89_oJp/s1600/DemonsCrest01.png" /></div>
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Demon's Crest is sort of an oddball of a game when it comes to the elements that make up the whole. It's a spinoff of the <b>Ghosts 'N Goblins</b> series, starring a demon that was actually an enemy in those games. It's a platformer, but with a Mode 7 world map to navigate between levels. There are even towns, where you can use money earned on your quest to buy spells and alternate demon forms. All in all, these seemingly disparate parts add up to one incredible game. It's dark, challenging, and at times humorous.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 4 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Super Metroid</b></div>
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I included the original Metroid on my Top NES Platformers list, so it wouldn't make any sense if Super Metroid didn't make the cut here. This is a game I somehow missed the first time around; I didn't catch up with it until it was released on the Wii Virtual Console. Boy, was I missing out on something. Take the atmosphere of the original Metroid and multiply it by 10, add better graphics, a more involving storyline, a countless number of secret collectibles, and some of the best platformer/shooter action ever, and you get Super Metroid. There is a reason why this game is frequently listed as one of the top games ever made, not just on the SNES, but ever! There aren't many games out there that rival the experience that it provides.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Super Mario World</b></div>
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For most people who had an SNES, Super Mario World was the first game they played on the console (because the two were generally bundled together). It continues the NES mario tradition of highly responsive, straightforward controls, and adds tons of great new gameplay elements that enhance the strong foundation that is Mario. The iconic Yoshi makes his first appearance in this title, and the board game-style world map is revamped significantly from Super Mario Bros. 3. As much as I love and cherish Super Mario World, the only reason it isn't higher in my list is because there are a small handful of later platformers I think refined the genre even more.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 3 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Super Star Wars</b></div>
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Nostalgia plays a heavy role in this inclusion on the list. In just about every way, Super Metroid is the better game, but Super Star Wars and its two sequels have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. So many memories. Battling through the Jawa Sandcrawler only to encounter a lava monster
who did his best to push you off the platforms, which meant instant death! Fighting through the cantina to the damn boss who was literally impossible to beat without saving up blaster powers! Being able to play as multiple characters, something that was emphasized more in the later games but was still
ridiculously cool the first time around! Those damn banthas that charged with with reckless abandon, only to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLZNfH4ZOEc">explode when defeated</a>! This game certainly had flaws, but in a strange way none of them seemed to matter. We were too busy playing through our
childhood dreams.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Kirby Super Star</b></div>
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As I already noted in our <a href="http://yesteryeargaming.blogspot.com/2012/01/rate-with-friends-top-5-nes-platformers.html">NES platformers list</a>, Kirby is one of my favorite game series. It highlights a very simple but unique game mechanic that is twisted in so many different ways. Just like the wildly successful <b>Portal</b> series was built upon one weapon used in dozens of ways, Kirby takes the idea of eating enemies to absorb their powers and makes it so fun it hurts. Kirby Super Star is actually comprised of multiple smaller chapters, each with a unique plotline. Even with its laid back difficulty, I never get sick of it.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 2 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Super Mario World</b></div>
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An obvious choice, sure, but also a necessary one. Everything that was great about Super Mario Brothers 3 made the leap over to Super Mario World. We got the large variety of environments, we got the epic platforming action, we got the cool power ups, we got the hidden secrets. With Super Mario World,
we got all that and more. We got substantially better graphics. And we got Yoshi. His presence alone boosted the game into instant classic status. Every couple of years I go back and replay through Super Mario World, to relive old times and marvel at how it gets everything just right. It's a perfect game.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Donkey Kong Country 2</b></div>
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Of course i had to pick a Donkey Kong Country game for my list. So why 2, and not 1 or 3? I love all three, but I think it comes down to level design. Donkey Kong Country is an amazing game, and I love it to death, but Donkey Kong Country 2 really hones the game mechanics. The inclusion of Dixie Kong and her helicopter-hair is a great addition, and makes for numerous areas that only she can access. For the completionist, there are special coins hidden in each level. I sure loves me some collectibles. Most important is that this game is markedly more difficult than the first. I think everyone should play the whole trilogy, but this one is the best.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>===== 1 =====</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Andrew - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Donkey Kong Country</b></div>
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When constructing my list of the top SNES platformers, there was really never any question in my mind as to which game would end up at the top. A late entry into the SNES library, Donkey Kong Country delivered a flawless platforming experience with one of the most striking graphical presentations you
had ever seen. It found new ways to challenge even the most battle-tested platforming veterans; I still dread having to navigate those floating, rotating barrels to this day. But the game wouldn't be number one on my list if it were just a great platformer. Like so many games from this era, it gave me some
special memories. I played through and loved every game in the series when they were first released, but I'll never forget the times spent with it years later when they were rereleased on the Virtual Console, and I wasn't even the one playing! Instead, I spent many nights just watching as my brother
and cousin struggled mightily to work their way through the games, back in a time when people played games together in the same room instead of far apart through online connections. It's tough for me to explain just why this was so memorable, but those are memories I know I'm never going to forget, and
it's the main reason Donkey Kong Country is my #1 on this list.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>The Ocotillo Kid - </b></i></span><br />
<b>Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island</b></div>
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Yoshi's Island was the very first game I remember that challenged my perceptions of what a video game was "supposed" to look like. It had an art style that, at the time, was completely out of left field. It looked more like a painting than a video game. Though bearing the "Mario" name and characters, this title could not be a farther cry from the original Super Mario World. Throwing different colored eggs and chasing down a crying baby Mario were unlike anything I had seen before. The bosses were gigantic, and amazing, and seemed so far beyond what I thought the Super Nintendo was capable of. There is a mountain of different collectibles for completionist purposes, so even though the game itself is not more than a few hours, backtracking to achieve 100% is where most of the fun lies. I hope to one day nab a CIB copy of this title.<br />
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<b>Final Lists:</b></div>
<br />
<b>Andrew</b><br />
<ul>
<li>5) Kirby Super Star</li>
<li>4) Super Metroid</li>
<li>3) Super Star Wars</li>
<li>2) Super Mario World</li>
<li>1) Donkey Kong Country</li>
</ul>
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<b>The Ocotillo Kid</b><br />
<ul>
<li>5) Demon's Crest</li>
<li>4) Super Mario World</li>
<li>3) Kirby Super Star</li>
<li>2) Donkey Kong Country 2</li>
<li>1) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island</li>
</ul>The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-52507964099896547612012-02-14T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-20T21:01:00.688-07:00Review: Phantasy Star IV (Genesis)<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Phantasy Star IV</u></span><br />
Role-Playing Game, Sega Genesis<br />
1995 Sega</b><br />
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My first exposure to the Phantasy Star universe was <b>Phantasy Star Online</b> for the Dreamcast. I never owned a Genesis as a kid, so regrettably, for classics such as this I have to go back to retroactively experience them. At the time, I wasn't even aware of the original 4-game series of RPGs at all. But at the request of many other classic game aficionados, I've gladly taken some time to go back and experience the game that is considered by many to be the best RPG on the entirety of the Sega Genesis - <b>Phantasy Star IV</b>.<br />
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Our hero Chaz has just been initiated into the Hunters: a group of bounty hunters that completes tasks for money in the land of Motavia. He and his partner Alys venture across the arid landscape to complete contracts and help the citizenry, but soon find themselves fighting an evil sorcerer named Zio, who appears to be behind many of the strange monsters that are showing up.<br />
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When it comes to RPGs, I get the most enjoyment when I feel a sense of major character development. I want my heroes to start as poor nobodies, and end up becoming the saviors of their respective world. From the dopey humble start town to some sort of giant dungeon ruled by an enormous beast. From broken wooden equipment to 9999 damage-dealing super weapons. And Phantasy Star IV is a textbook example of doing just that. Continuing in the tradition of the series, not only are our heroes saving the world, but they're saving an entire solar system.<br />
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For a sizable first chunk of the game, Chaz's party is in a pretty standard fare "complete a task then go to the next town" type RPG on a barren desert world. It's pretty digestible and nothing too unexpected. Party members come and go through a revolving door. But then strange technological and futuristic dungeons start popping up the further you go. Next thing you know, the characters have their own spaceship and are traversing between entire planets. How's that for awesome?<br />
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This game is so polished it may blind you with its shiny splendor. The worlds are gorgeous. Battle sprites and animations are some of the best among 2D games. No static pictures of enemies here - when something attacks you, it actually attacks you. When your characters engage, they're fully animated with moves specific to whatever weapon they are wielding at the time. And don't let me forget the cutscenes. Though I'm not a big fan of generic JRPG-style artwork, having high-resolution portraits of the characters and their expressions as they talk enhances the player's emotional connection to their plight. No corners were cut. Anything that deserves a cutscene, a detailed sprite, or an animation - it has one.<br />
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Really, what sets this game apart from others in the genre is not its innovations, but its quality. The general game mechanics are not special in any way, but everything has been fine tuned by the knowledge gleaned from all the games before it. All the math is spot on - experience points, damage, and the economy are perfect. You never feel too poor or too rich. Never too strong or too weak. Enemies are dispatched easily for the first few quests, and ever-so-gently increase in difficulty as you get stronger, so by the time you're actually feeling challenged you feel very prepared. The art is a feast for the eyes and it brings surprises at every turn. Even today, this is a game that any RPG fan can get a lot of enjoyment from.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-88804901750380541872012-02-12T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-23T17:28:49.401-07:00Collecting Dust: Crusader of Centy (Genesis)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Crusader of Centy</b></u></span><br />
<b>Action-Adventure, Sega Genesis</b><br />
<b>1994 Atlus</b><br />
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Here is yet another that had fallen under my radar for over a decade (almost 2, actually). If I were to synopsize it, I'd say <b>Crusader of Centy</b> is a Zelda clone with lingering RPG undertones. How this game went relatively unnoticed for so long is beyond me, but the fates have brought us here so let's take a nice long look at it.
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After a 30-second blunder of a birthday party in which all 3 guests leave before it even starts, our hero Corona is handed a sword by his mother and sent off to conquer the evils of the world. Yep, that's about as thick as the plot gets in this one. I'd argue that for a very RPG-styled game, this one wastes no time getting to the point.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, Super Mario Bros. 3! No, wait a second...</td></tr>
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I wouldn't consider a sparse plotline to be a mark against a game, but when the plot is so sparse that it actually becomes an impediment to gameplay, then we have a problem. And to a degree, that's the case with Crusader of Centy. We are given the whole set-up of a RPG style game: a humble starting town, a king to give you orders to save the world, a worrisome mother who thinks you'll die adventuring like your father did, and a world map. But missing is a bare minimum of dialogue and plot development to keep the player in the know.<br />
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At the start of the game, the king informs you that you are to go to a training school for heroes, which will provide you 3 medals after completing 3 obstacle courses. With those 3 medals, you have proven yourself to be a worthy hero and that you can conquer...whoever it is that you're supposed to defeat. Going to the school reveals you can only complete one of the three courses without further special abilities. But no one tells you where to go to learn them. Wandering the world for a while will reveal an inexplicable Red Riding Hood boss, whose defeat yields you...nothing? Well that's because you're supposed to go talk to the witch! What witch? The witch in the plaza of course! What plaza? Oh, it's hidden in a back alley of the start town. <i>You see where I'm going with this?</i> Nothing in-game tells you how to do any of the above, and even with a guide I had a tough time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cameo, anyone?</td></tr>
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But complaints aside, we have the game mechanics. This game has sharp graphics and smooth player movement, paired with some quality 8-direction character sprites. It adds a noticeable degree of polish and life to a world that, aesthetically, seems to lean on titles like <b>The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past</b> and <b>Harvest Moon</b>. There's also a unique animal sidekick system that offers a multitude of special combos and abilities to the player. In a lot of ways, the mechanics introduced in this game are similar later action-adventure titles like <b>Alundra</b> for the PS1: especially the inclusion of towns, collection of special "hidden" items, and quirky character interactions. When it comes down to it, it plays well.<br />
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<b>The Verdict</b></div>
I like this game. It's visually sharp, the controls are simple as can be, and it's a lot of fun. But with that praise I have to attach the disclaimer that I would <i>not in any circumstance</i> recommend playing it without a walkthrough handy. You'll just spend too much time wandering aimlessly. A Genesis Zelda-killer, it is not, but a fun game it most certainly is.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-15440752145699837112012-02-09T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-09T07:45:01.303-07:00Game Collecting: A Weekend Flea Market Find<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've collected retro games pretty casually over the past 5 or so years, acquiring only a Super Nintendo and a handful of games. I've made it a goal to be more proactive about finding new items to add to the collection. On Superbowl Sunday last weekend, I ventured to the main local swap meet and spent a few hours looking around. Here's what I found!<br />
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The swap meet spanned multiple acres so there was a lot of ground to cover. I went down rows and rows of vendors with very little luck at first. There were sock vendors (literally at least a dozen exclusively selling socks!), bedazzled booty jean vendors (nearly as many as the sock vendors), then people selling used tools. Didn't look too promising. A big table with a series of glass cases at the end of one aisle caught my eye. Finally, a mountain of retro games - Genesis, NES, and SNES! Closer inspection revealed that these people knew what they were worth. All the good ones were $40+. So close yet so far.<br />
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Further aisles yielded similar results; the only game vendors had cartridges that were severely overpriced. At the very last booth I was going to look at before calling it quits, I saw the trademark orange of an NES light gun peeking out from behind an old TV. Beside it was an entire NES console in excellent condition, with 2 controllers, all the cords, and 3 games (one of which was actually an SNES game). Thirty bucks later and I was happily on my way out of the swap meet.<br />
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The games I netted were <b>Dr. Mario</b> and <b>Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt/Track Meet</b> for the NES, then <b>Ultima VI: The False Prophet</b> for the SNES. I haven't played The False Prophet before, so that should be an interesting one to check out.<br />
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So what's next? I am going to check out a local used bookstore and then a retro game store I found on Craigslist the other day. Not sure what to expect with either, but we shall see. I am going to focus primarily on RPGs, as those are my favorite, but I'll certainly keep my eyes peeled for any other good titles.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-24988998254371548002012-02-07T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-13T17:43:23.896-07:00Review: Final Fantasy (NES)<u><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Final Fantasy</b></span></u><br />
<b>Role-Playing Game, Nintendo Entertainment System</b><br />
<b>1987 Square</b><br />
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The vast media franchise of video games, spinoffs, films, toys, and merchandise galore that we know as <b>Final Fantasy</b> began long ago as a desperate last attempt by a failing game company to stay afloat. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the brain behind the series, titled it as such because it was his final attempt to succeed in the gaming industry before giving up altogether. As we all know by now, the game sold well enough to not only keep Mr. Sakaguchi working, but to propel it into becoming one of the best selling game franchises in history.<br />
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Though primitive in comparison to its successors, Final Fantasy 1 really got the ball rolling for the RPG genre as a whole. The "Light Warriors" - the band of heroes the player controls - are four anonymous, generic warriors whose names and classes can be chosen at the beginning of the game. Want four fighters? Go for it. A diverse group of different styles? All yours. Four healers (though I don't know why you would)? Feel free. Half way through the game, you can take each character and branch them into a further specialization as well.<br />
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As far as game mechanics go, there are two major items of note here:<br />
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<li><b>Inventory Limitations</b> - By either primitive programming in NES cartridges or an intentional design decision, there are tight limitations on equipment in this game. Each character has 4 slots for weapons, 4 slots for armor, and 3 slots on any given "level" of spells. This means that inventory management is actually important through the game, and the player can't simply grab everything they see without consequence. The reason this is so unique is because of the fact that subsequent games in the Final Fantasy series abandon this notion altogether. In later entries like <b>Final Fantasy 3</b> for the SNES (a.k.a. Final Fantasy 6), stacks of 99 of every item in the game can theoretically be carried simultaneously, eliminating any need for inventory management.</li>
<li><b>Battle Style</b> - As far as I'm aware, this was the first RPG ever to add the "side view" perspective in turn-based battles. In and of itself it's not that big of a deal, but the same perspective would be used through the entire rest of the 2D Final Fantasy games, and even still mimicked in the 3D ones later on. Dozens, if not hundreds, of other RPGs would also come to imitate this style.</li>
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The Light Warriors' journey leads them across multiple continents, slaying demons, awakening the male equivalent of Snow White from a cursed slumber, aiding dwarves with mass amounts of explosives to blow up an entire peninsula, and so many more bizarre and captivating quests. Ultimately, they face the demon Garland (Chaos) on a floating castle and banish him from whence he came.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miles from the nearest inn and trapped underground, our hero begins to question his career choice.</td></tr>
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While all of this is just fine and good, I would be remiss not to warn you of the difficulty of this game. Level grinders rejoice, because you will be fighting a lot of enemies that yield very little experience and are at times absurdly difficult. You will buy items not knowing whether they're better than your current equipment, or if you characters can even equip them. You will find yourself fleeing from more battles than you fight. You will fill your mage's 3 spell slots with indecipherable spells, casting at random and hoping for the best. Not too many games nowadays would flagrantly display this level of challenge, and that's a big part of why I love Final Fantasy so much.<br />
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Between the slow curtain-close screen transitions, the acid-trip rainbow flicker when the menu opens, and the many other odd design features, 3D-era Final Fantasy fans may want to tear their hair out in exasperation. For me, revisiting this game meant slowing down a bit. Back to a time before loud, fast-paced, flamboyant games full of gore and testosterone. Back to a time before the JRPG genre was the fluffy-haired, teen angsty beast that it is today. Just four generic characters fighting a powerful demon who likes to travel through time and destroy elemental crystals. And you know what? There is a whole lot to enjoy in a game like that.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-52095471738916933912012-02-05T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-05T07:45:01.084-07:00Blue Ribbon: 5 of the Best NES RPGs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'll go ahead and say it: all my favorite games are RPGs. And as a result, I know more about them than any other genre. While platformers were where I started (Donkey Kong and Pitfall I'm talking to you), once I was exposed to RPGs and realized the epic scale that a video game could have, I was hooked for life. Regrettably, there aren't too many modern RPGs that I enjoy, so it seems like a good time to go back and reflect upon the RPGs of yesteryear and why they were so great. Here are my favorites from the Nintendo Entertainment System.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Faxanadu (1989)</span></b></div>
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<b>Nintendo</b></div>
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Faxanadu isn't a game big on hand holding, but after an initial learning curve it gets to be a lot of fun. <i>"You must go see the king at once,"</i> eh? Well they certainly won't tell you where the old man is at. <i>"You must go fight off the dwarves and restore the World Tree from the grasp of the Evil One."</i> Alright then, thanks for the thorough directions.<br />
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In all honesty though, this game is great. With only a limited color palette, the designers managed to construct some very robust and detailed backdrops. The enemies are interesting and challenging. And for me personally, there is a real sense of progress from purchasing new equipment that can actually be visibly equipped on the character.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Dragon Warrior IV (1992)</span></b></div>
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<b>Enix</b><br />
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Next to Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest is one of the most famous JRPG series to date. Number 4 in the series builds upon earlier developments, which makes for an all-around exceptional game.<br />
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I would say this game takes the award for "latest appearance of a game's protagonist". The story starts with four chapters, each of which follows a different individual in their personal quests. It is not until chapter 5 that the <i>real</i> hero is revealed, when they finally team up with those from the previous chapters. Overall, Dragon Warrior IV is a commendable RPG. Comfortable difficulty curve, great battles, and a wonderful story. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Legend of the Ghost Lion (1992)</span></b></div>
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<b>Kemco</b></div>
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This is a really obscure one here. I had never even heard of this game until just recently, when someone brought it to my attention. Legend of the Ghost Lion is one of only a handful of RPGs that feature a female protagonist. Ever. The cover art looks like an ad for the early 1990s, but that aside, it's an entertaining game. After her parents go missing while searching for a fabled ghost white lion, young Maria is given a magic lion-slaying spear by the village elder and told to go after them (shouldn't the elder have given the spear to her parents in the first place?).<br />
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Swept into the "Dream World", Maria fights zombies, werewolves, and other baddies in search of her missing parents and the elusive Ghost Lion. Battles only yield money, so leveling up can only be done by finding special items in the world. It's a solid game, albeit with a slightly weak plotline. It also features a very one-of-a-kind ally summoning system that almost seems like a Pokemon precursor. The bright colors and quirky music definitely give off a certain <b>StarTropics</b> vibe.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Crystalis (1990)</span></b></div>
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<b>SNK</b><br />
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Crystalis is a really intriguing game. It takes the "medieval world with sword-wielding hero and dragons" cliche and turns it entirely on its head. The main character awakens from a cryogenic slumber 100 years after worldwide nuclear war. All that remains is a strange irradiated landscape dotted with small towns of refugees. Technology has been shunned and primitive weaponry is used to fend off the mutated creatures that roam the land.<br />
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This was the first top-down game I remember playing that had pixel-based movement rather than tile-based movement. It makes for really smooth controls and more complex attack strategies when fighting enemies. There is a huge inventory of spells, equipment, and special items, all of which have to be used strategically throughout the game. All in all, Crystalis is a game that operates far beyond what I ever thought the NES was technically capable of.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Final Fantasy (1987)</span></b></div>
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<b>Square</b><br />
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I had to include the first game in what is likely my favorite series of all time. Final Fantasy 1 seems simplistic in all that it does, but really it was laying the groundwork for hundreds of games to come. It seized the throne from the popular Dragon Quest series in 1980s Japan and propelled forward to become famous worldwide.<br />
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This was the first game to let players choose classes for their characters, and effectively choose what strategy they wished to use throughout the game. Archaic battle mechanics and slow message displays make for some long level grinding, which is absolutely required to be able to progress forward. Though difficult, anyone willing to put in the time will reap the rewards of this awesome game.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-3177572232445024732012-02-02T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-23T17:28:25.773-07:00Collecting Dust: Big Sky Trooper (SNES)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Big Sky Trooper</b></u></span><br />
<b>Action, Super Nintendo Entertainment System</b><br />
<b>1995 JVC</b><br />
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The faint memory of a certain childhood game had been nagging at my brain for years. All I could remember was that it involved a dog, a spaceship, and beaming down to different planets to collect items. I asked my fellow gamer friends, and conducted occasional Google searches, but to no avail. While writing <a href="http://yesteryeargaming.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-happens-when-zombies-ate-my.html">the review for <b>Zombies Ate My Neighbors</b></a>, I found a familiar sounding game that utilized the same game engine as <i>Zombies</i> - <b>Big Sky Trooper</b>. This was the forgotten game I had been looking for!<br />
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Sometimes the nostalgic overload of finding a long-lost classic can be so strong that it clouds your judgment of what would otherwise be a terrible game. Sadly, with Big Sky Trooper, I can say that the revoltingly bad gameplay was able to break right through my rose-colored glasses.<br />
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The game begins with a mission briefing by a man who either is on some sort of 3D TV, or is literally so large that he is busting out of a giant window. I'm not even sure what the setting is supposed to be, but presumably it's a spaceship of some sort. The player chooses to either be a boy or a girl, and after some pointless aptitude tests (that are impossible to fail) you are launched into a canine spaceship which serves as your base of operations for the rest of the game.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You're watching a video on your ship, OF your ship. So meta.</td></tr>
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Given a map of nearby planets, the player navigates to one of their choosing (with plot-important planets marked as goals). The "slug" aliens that occupy each planet must be eliminated before the player can move on to the next. As you arrive at a slug-controlled planet, it begins with an <b>Asteroids</b> type game. And right about here is where my nostalgia love began to chip away. The controls are horrendous. Unresponsive. Nonsensical. Even after a relentless barrage of enemy attacks, I still never managed to die at this stage of the game.<br />
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Once on a planet, the game changes format. The player runs around zapping lasers at the slug enemies and collecting completely unexplained powerups and items. It's a very sparse game mode, and sadly, what 99% of the game is comprised of. The planets take place on looping screens that are generally very tiny. Later planets are slightly more interesting, but still repetitive.<br />
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Attacking enemies is a real chore. Though utilizing the same engine as Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Big Sky Trooper somehow manages to make it worse. Enemy hitboxes are a few pixels wide, and hitting them sometimes requires some seriously tedious repositioning. The player's zapper range is too short, so the only way to really kill any of the erratically moving enemies is to get so close that you take a fair bit of damage before eliminating your target.<br />
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When I was young, I distinctly remember spending hours and hours playing this game. Playing it through now, I could barely force myself to last for half an hour. I'm baffled at how I figured out some of the spaceship mechanics as a kid, because as an adult it took me an honest five minutes to figure out how to even land on a planet. It's a lot of confusing menus and mechanics to wade through just to get to what is a very bland and repetitive game.<br />
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<b>The Verdict</b></div>
Visually, this game isn't half bad. I actually enjoyed the oversized sprites and colorful, bold graphics. The gameplay, however, is about as exciting as a wet saltine cracker. The redundancy hurts. The story is essentially nonexistent. Do not buy this, unless you need an extra drink coaster or paperweight.<br />
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<b>The Alternative</b></div>
If you like the general themes of Big Sky Trooper but not the game itself, what's a good alternative? The obvious choice would be <b>Zombies Ate My Neighbors</b>. Same control scheme but leaps and bounds ahead in gameplay, replayability, and general fun. Thematically, I would have to pick <b>Robotrek</b>, another lesser-known game. I expect to do a writeup about that one in the near future, because it's absurdly fun.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-6115342287225431512012-01-31T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-13T17:45:10.880-07:00Review: Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Zombies Ate My Neighbors</b></u></span><br />
<b>Run and Gun, Super Nintendo Entertainment System</b><br />
<b>1993 Konami</b>
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Over a decade before <b>Dead Rising</b>, there was only one way for gamers to get their comical, zombie-slashing, destructive fun. From Dracula, to Frankenstein, to just about any B-movie creature you could conceive of, this game has them all. Even a few you may never have heard of before. Horror fans rejoice, because today we discuss <b>Zombies Ate My Neighbors</b>!<br />
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Through most of my SNES years, Zombies Ate My Neighbors was a mainstay in my console. Like all good arcade-style games, the first thing you do is to pick a character. Zeke, the 3D glasses-wearing bart simpson wannabe, or Julie, the sporty cheerleader type girl. Your choice has no effect upon the gameplay aside from aesthetic value.<br />
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Things start simple. You are armed with naught but a squirt gun, and find yourself facing some zombies. Quick work can be made of them and the player continues on to rescue all variety of innocents from the growing monster invasion. There is no real plot development, but each level has a theme, with later levels becoming quite varied in their scenery. A level is beaten when either all civilians are rescued, or none remain (they can be killed by monsters). At least one person must be rescued to be able to continue onward.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason Voorhees eat your heart out.</td></tr>
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Horror movie knowledge is of great benefit in this game, because the abundance of bizarre weapons is most efficient when used correctly. Werewolves are most easily dispatched with silverware, vampires with a crucifix, and so forth. In a pinch, you can use whatever is on hand to kill most enemies. The best tools are rare, so sometimes you don't have the luxury of using the best weapon for a given situation. There is a vast array of items, including inflatable clowns that distract enemies, potions that turn you into a werewolf/hulk-like beast, weed whackers, and even bazookas. Alien plants spread a purple algae that hurts when your character walks across it, but a weed whacker can clear you a path. If you're stuck in a hedge maze with chainsaw maniacs, a bazooka can blast holes straight through the walls to create a much more direct escape route. Never are any of these items specifically required, but the freedom of choosing to use brute force instead of smarts makes for a great time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In-game, this giant baby runs around like Speedy Gonzales.</td></tr>
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Oh boy, the bosses. Every few levels is a boss battle, and let me tell you, these baddies don't go down easy. Any arsenal you've accrued by the time you get to a boss will be spent quite rapidly. I'll refrain from spoiling them, because some are really impressive and will catch you off guard.<br />
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For me, the game shines most in co-op mode. Playing with a friend will really make you rediscover the game in a new light. Players are tethered together (meaning no split screen, and you can't moved ahead if your friend isn't tagging alongside you). In general, this is of no consequence, but if you are playing with a friend who likes to "go rogue" and wander about, it can make for some hilarious and frustrating situations. Though working together to rescue the victims, marks my words: a natural competitiveness will arise between the two of you. The lure of a high score, and the limited number of weapons in each area can bring the best of friends to a fierce rivalry.<br />
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I'm a story-driven/RPG gamer at heart, but give me a game as fun as Zombies Ate My Neighbors and I'll take gameplay over plotline any day of the week. It's easy to pick up, easy to introduce to more casual gamer friends, funny, and nostalgic. For any who enjoy the horror genre, this is a must-play. You will find yourself picking out characters from all kinds of B movies you forgot even existed. Avoid the sequel, <b>Ghoul Patrol</b>, at all costs, but do enjoy the original!The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-82414263308670017992012-01-29T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-03T21:19:16.485-07:00Bottom of the Barrel: 5 of the Worst SNES Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While basking in the nostalgic glory of the best retro games, it's easy to forget that in a dark corner somewhere are the rotten ones, lying forgotten and dejected. Join me on what will be the first of many painful visitations to the bottom of the barrel. Today, we look at a selection from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Shaq Fu (1994)</span></b></div>
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<b>Fighting</b><br />
<b>Electronic Arts</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98CkFPfEa_5fkyXsPbSXjKXmjrdQ7WaxXExq4N-lzb3BYYnzpJNJoQme-sCFcBKr5xVhUw88ib3Z86EdAzVMa5L9Sj3eTYXKt_WrKOeFIYh2rI2uNqapnLDw4asI6ghR75TxDNYEprLL1/s1600/shaqfu01.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Written by Steven Spielberg.</td></tr>
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On his way to a big charity basketball game (what a philanthropic individual Mr. O'Neal is!) Shaq inexplicably stops at a Kung Fu dojo. The man inside tells him to go into the back room to "save a little boy", a classic line used by sexual predators. Shaq obliges and tumbles into a world of Asian cliches, fighting, and terrible controls.<br />
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There is a world map, which is typically reserved for RPG-style games. In this case, it serves simply as a menu to pick which person you wish to fight. In battle, Shaq controls like a sloth mired in hot tar. There seems to be some kind of hint of a plot line taking place, but I've never been able to beat any of the enemies in this game. I'm absolutely <i>dying</i> to know what happens.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Captain Novolin (1992)</span></b></div>
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<b>Platformer</b><br />
<b>Raya Systems</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOEjIx8DjN441uwylItL-BRo40bj_WH_gu1wdRY17Z7PF7fbeEgc034VQSX3WWR7jTWw6GrarpZySgD4DcgzXA-JJQRxg5590shiakkm7AFcZn6lT9WeLGtRBR5LlDCBaEeFJ6fVSYPfa6/s1600/captainnovolin01.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That mullet, that disproportionately large head...I'm in love.</td></tr>
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Captain Novolin was created for use by kids with diabetes. While a commendable idea, the game itself is an awful mountain of horse manure. At the beginning of each level, the long lost twin of Michael Jackson quizzes you on your blood sugar level. A buzzer rings at every wrong guess until you get it correct. This seriously draws in to question the state of the American health care system, when a patient has to pay a fortune for health insurance just to receive this caliber of primary care.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghc3ZEahMCqOaFAhzIbeCOQ-3el2zQKWr9t-sIqpQtTxAVG_me80aegYX3nk4kqrQ1jsoXeqz2hzKnAXLHcq_GzuIKeB51zp3VdYUIBUVzZwtuBk68hIfpXNvJpgjVO3vQNQgHmc92BL2F/s1600/captainnovolin02.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hero hard at work. </td></tr>
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The controls are cumbersome, and Captain Novolin's only "move" seems to be to jump like an olympic gymnast on the moon. Simply touching a doughnut will cause Captain Novolin to collapse to the ground, convulsing in diabetic shock. Worst superhero, ever.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Bebe's Kids (1994)</span></b></div>
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<b>Beat 'Em Up</b><br />
<b>Motown Games</b></div>
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In 1992, a cartoon movie called Bebe's Kids was released, about three bastard children and their terrible antics. It was a total box office flop. So logically, in 1994 Radical Entertainment decided this animated feature would translate perfectly to a video game.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ZRi7xgfM3r94aCZqGpGC2xpI-c5rziCfVBdPunK-5v6QmckbhqItR_GEKD69iLEuxDTc2lM9bp9wYuJY1WQU-6ZdXpzlQOGQHOZ_Bf0zLDsxtv08X3FrfiQ4ktveEbDjJH-FX7d3Edye/s1600/bebeskids02.png" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For a pedophile, this sure is one happy-go-lucky man.</td></tr>
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The background music is comprised of a four second long bassline that repeats again, and again, and AGAIN, slowly eroding away at your very being. Strange men in mouse costumes and suits sexually assault the player; the former thrusting their pelvises at you, and the latter lifting you into the air by your crotch and holding you. Staring into your eyes. Just staring. If you are somehow able to navigate the minefield of game-breaking glitches on the short first stage, good luck ever getting past the second, in which a baby throws priceless dinnerware at your head until you die.
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Space Ace (1994)</span></b></div>
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<b>Action</b><br />
<b>Absolute Entertainment</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qoWRsJ5aVpscVt44StC8d21bYg4V6IQD8r3T1kLw6odawEP5L1L9abdKVtaxY5pT3L-YdAwqm_XO9Ucn_aWjCTJihpuDELAMWSyWjqlez4qCRIat0atMO9wD8mts6eLQAi_zyNB4RiQz/s1600/spaceace01.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This intro sequence is terrible. There, I said it.</td></tr>
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Space Ace has a distinctly Disney feel to it, and rightfully so, because the art is by none other than Don Bluth. Sadly after the art, the entire rest of the game is an atrocity. Prepare to break your gaming system in a fit of rage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UhUY-KbnJaUatn8E85AQkLoI2rgK9efEtXrCp-LhKH-yY2rzAoeVyBN9B_h1GVPERaMhGVn5np9IlsjhxFr32JcZN8DdDNph-e9aRK8KGao-bKPbomIF8D_7CKOinxYGGl7OL7DjLNpC/s1600/spaceace02.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You will see the death video play quite frequently.</td></tr>
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The game begins immediately with the player fleeing from an alien shooting lasers from a floating platform. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to his movements. The controls are so sluggish that there is absolutely no way to dodge his shots without either luck or memorization of his movements. This goes on forever. Each one-shot player death results in an excessively long death video, and after five such deaths it's game over.
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Pit Fighter (1991)</span></b></div>
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<b>Fighting</b><br />
<b>Atari Games</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMYaWkJD0uUtemjDRj4KJhlpBE0rp63i5mvBx1qjw4vOE3sI0u0qJBD3L8U7xtTISBLZWO8v_pPby92f0CHwxVMx8r5BoMoE5xef73UVjrrokp29Q9ZooyZ29ckhO0wqROlkYAQTShjVX/s1600/pitfighter01.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's like his foot is really breaking through the screen!</td></tr>
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This one is a great example of screenshots being unable to fully convey the terrible nature of a game. Pit Fighter was a half decent arcade game, which somehow lost all that made it fun during the port to the SNES. The music is grating, the controls unresponsive, and there is no explanation whatsoever as to what is going on. Who are these people? Why are they here? Why are they fighting? Can't we all just get along?<br />
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After you pick your character (spoiler alert: there's only 3!) you are thrown right into battle. Each time you are hit, the controls lock up momentarily. Even when you swear you're pressing the attack buttons it seems as if the character is taking a while to think about whether or not he <i>really</i> wants to hit the enemy. Once you find yourself inevitably defeated, your character sprawls across the ground and turns gray. Yes, gray. Did I mention you only have one life? Avoid this pile at all costs.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-4649719381128707182012-01-26T07:45:00.000-07:002012-02-12T22:31:21.972-07:00Review: Shadowrun (SNES)<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Shadowrun</b></u></span><br />
<b>Action RPG, Super Nintendo Entertainment System</b><br />
<b>1993 Data East</b><br />
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For those unfamiliar, <i>Cyberpunk</i> is an odd man out among the science fiction/fantasy genres. Popularized by authors like Neal Stephenson and William Gibson, it came to be in the 1980s with the popularization and increasing affordability of computer technology to the general public. It was a time when words like "hacker" finally found their way into our lexicon, and computers seemed to be the surefire way to propel ourselves into the magnificent future. But with every gleaming image of the great world around us, there must be a dark counterpart. I like to think of cyberpunk as the underbelly viewpoint of technology's ever-increasing entanglement in our daily lives.<br />
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Cyberpunk worlds are ones of the highest technology and the worst kinds of people. Neon signs and skyscrapers tower over the city slums where hackers are mobsters, detectives, and cold-blooded killers. The genre often has a lot of parallels to dystopian and film noir type stories, and it's easy to see why. <b>Shadowrun</b> originally began as a tabletop RPG (like a cyberpunk version of Dungeons and Dragons), but its ever-increasing lore and storylines expanded it into a series of novels, and ultimately, the video game here before us.
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Our protagonist, Jake Armitage, awakens from a morgue slab with no memory of his past life. As he wanders through the world of year 2050 Seattle, he receives cryptic warnings from a telepathic dog and learns of a mob boss named Drake that has something to do with his attempted murder. To get to the bottom of what happened, he has to avoid numerous additional attempts on his life and become entrenched in the seedy world of hacking and crime.<br />
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Though we've established that Shadowrun is a cyberpunk game, there is yet one more element that sets it apart from even its own subgenre. As a nod to classic fantasy, elements such as orcs, dragons, and magic are incorporated seamlessly into the world. It's jarring at first to see these things in a futuristic dystopian setting, but ultimately it makes the world that much more unique.<br />
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Just as it blends elements of multiple literary genres, Shadowrun incorporates different types of video games as well. It's a top-down isometric game, typically reserved for the more "board game" style selections like <b>Ogre Battle </b>and <b>Final Fantasy Tactics</b>. To interact with objects, you have to press a button to pull out a cursor, then slide the cursor over to the object, then select a type of interaction (inspect, open, take, etc) just like an old point-and-click adventure along the vein of <b>Leisure Suit Larry</b> or <b>Maniac Mansion</b>. These design choices seem to try to force the player to acknowledge the tabletop RPG beginnings, because in reality the gameplay doesn't seem to necessitate any of them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFQox6ZeA8iXLqbhwj37l89fmWie7_z27ybbHiq6unfNqxBpd3QX_ArE_143EDBZJJvJoh1hkB7UqcKcEK_iuNCT5XeblZKuLxEzXR6wn0j2YEufcAoVEehQrkKoeOigJJV7bFiYMdUG6/s1600/shadowrun01.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you can see, Hamfist is a real looker.</td></tr>
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The game also has a heavy focus on dialogue and learning key phrases. The player cannot talk to someone about a topic unless they've learned the phrase related to it. It's a sort of roundabout way to try and unlock dialogue options, but it really forces you to read the dialogue and explore all the options to ensure you don't miss anything.<br />
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I personally know of very few people who have played Shadowrun. At the time of its release, it received a solid amount of critical acclaim and was even voted best RPG of the year by many gaming magazines, but somewhere along the way it seems to have fallen out of the public eye. I rarely see it mentioned when people reminisce about their favorite old Super Nintendo games. I was able to get my cartridge on the cheap from eBay, and to anyone interested in a dark and unsettling noir type RPG, I highly recommend you do the same.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670410288501435776.post-60732305258835208872012-01-25T07:45:00.000-07:002012-01-25T07:45:00.212-07:00New X-COM Reboot to Remain True to Original Series<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In 2010, an X-COM remake was announced by game studio <b>2K Marin</b>. Many online were furious at the decision to turn it into a first-person shooter, a choice that some other studios had taken with classic game reboots.<br />
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But now those angry gamers can rejoice, because <b>Firaxis</b> is making yet another X-COM reboot, which promises to stay true to the series roots. <i><b>XCOM: Enemy Unknown</b></i> promises to maintain the isometric point of view, ruthless difficulty, and strategy gameplay elements that players hold so dear, while updating the graphics to reflect modern hardware capabilities.<br />
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Oddly enough, Firaxis and 2K Marin are both 2K subsidiaries, meaning 2K is publishing both a first-person shooter and strategy game reboot of the same series, at roughly the same time. I wonder if they're just hoping one of the two sticks so they can ditch the other. No word yet on a release date.The Ocotillo Kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289866888845080784noreply@blogger.com0