Goldeneye N64

All aboard for another trip in the "Way Back" machine. Going back now to the late 90's, when my friends and I didn't have a lot to worry about. Fresh outta high school, working crappy jobs just to have money to buy what ever we wanted, not to many worries to hold us down. 

Enter the Nintendo 64 and the game that would rule our nights for years, "Goldeneye 007". I am not sure that I or really anyone, can put a finger on what exactly it was about this game that made it such a time sink. One things for sure though, we all lost countless hours playing this game over and over and over again. 

The story of the game followed directly the story of the movie. It made a few twists and turns but always kept up with the movies plot. You, of course, play as Pierce Brosnon, as the one and only James Bond. Shooting your way through several different environments, using many an amusing gadget, and different powerful weapons. 

The story mode was fine and good, but it really took a back seat to the real draw for this game, the multi-player modes. Five different modes, Eleven different maps, and Thirty different characters to choose from. Countless different variations of the different modes lead to an almost endless list of ways to approach each and every map. My friends and I would play literally all night and never get tired of it. To this day I can still pick up the controller and almost always pinpoint where all the other opponents are strictly based on what they are seeing in their square of the screen. This game (and it's later successor Perfect Dark) was the biggest reason I had such a hard time giving up my N64 a few years ago. 

About a year ago there was a rumor that it might eventually make its way onto the Xbox Live Marketplace. That, sadly, will probably never ever happen due to a mountain of red tape that apparently Microsoft and Nintendo and who ever else is involved can't seem to climb. 

Until the day that they make it for some other system (possibly a download for the Wii Virtual Console) I will have only my memories to keep me company. I don't even care that the graphics haven't aged well AT ALL, I just love the game and everything that went along with it at the time. 

Final Fantasy 6

Well i figured today was as good a day as any to drop a retro review of my favorite game of all time. Final Fantasy 6, or as it was known for so long in the states Final Fantasy 3.

I have such great memories of this game. I remember the first time i saw a friend of mine playing it at his house. I watched him play through about the first hour of the game with wide eyes, internally plotting how i could get the money to buy my own copy. 

I think the first thing that i got caught up in with this game was the graphics. For the time it was probably one of the most colorful and beautiful SNES games on the market. From the environments, to the characters, the spells, everything looked amazing on that 26 inch tube television. 

The story, as i would find out through playing the game, was very inviting and easy to keep up with, yet never boring. Of course this was before the cliche' of stories that had a main character that couldn't remember their past, but needed to save the future. I don't remember the exact count but, along the way you would meet and be able to use a very wide cast of characters. Ninjas, Fighters, Mages, even Gamblers and a feral human/animal thing would all join your party. Each bringing their own special abilities and weapon types.

The Music, well the music from most games sticks with me years after the game has gone. Nobou Uematsu composed some of the most memorable music of the series (at least for me) for this game. Once again, like River City Ransom, I took some of the music and made a ring tone for my cell phone. It's hard to describe music from a game like this and do it justice, the easiest thing to do would be go and find it and give it a listen. I am sure that you can find most if not all of the important songs on imeem.

Gameplay... well as far as RPG's go or the Final Fantasy series goes, it wasn't really revolutionary. However it did introduce a couple of new gameplay mechanics to the series. Sabin (the monk/fighter) had different special moves that he could pull off so long as you entered them in SFII style on the controller. There were also a couple times when your party would be forced to split up and you had to control each independently of the other. These situations usually happened at key plot points in the story. 

There isn't room enough for all the good things that i could say about this game. Like i said before it is probably my all time favorite game. I own it for about three different systems. I play though the bulk of the story regularly about once every 2 years. Sure i know how the story will end, and nothing surprises me anymore in the game but that doesn't matter. From the first time i played it years ago to the last time i played it a couple months ago it still entertains me. 

If you have never played the game before and are a fan of RPGs from the later era of the SNES days, you owe it to yourself to play this one. Other than the original SNES cart, you can also find it on the GBA, and on the PSX as part of the "Final Fantasy Anthology".

Way back Wednesday, now on Thursday...

Let's see, where to begin. 

River City Ransom. This is one of those games that you play over and over again, never really caring about how short it is (or how short you could make it). I remember playing this one with a friend A LOT over the course of about a day and a half. I don't think it was even a continuous play, i think we played it, stopped then played more starting from the beginning. 

This game was memorable for a huge list of small quirks that just made it so much fun. For instance, the fact that the main characters were "Alex" and "Ryan", pretty simple boring everyday names. Also the "story" revolved around you getting through River City then defeating the man behind the take over of "River City High School" named "Slick". In defeating Slick you also rescued Ryan's girlfriend "Cyndi". That was pretty much the entire plot.

This game also managed to hide the fact that it was a beat-em-up wrapped around a RPG. Inside the various stores you were able to purchase food, books, and other accessories. Food ranged from egg rolls to pizza, and the books had titles like "Stone Hands" and "Dragon Feet". Buying books, and sometimes different foods would boost your stats, as well as giving you a permanent upgrade to your attacks and defence. 

Also this game was just a huge time sink if you wanted it to be. I can remember playing for hours on end just taking one player with a stick and one with a rock and just playing stickball in the game. Probably now what the developers had in mind with those two weapons but, i am sure i am not alone in using them for that purpose. 

The interaction between the enemies and heroes was pretty good too, i can't remember any specific lines of dialogue. However i do remember that the names of the gangs were hilarious. You had the "Generic Dudes" the "Frat Boys", and more specifically you had guys named "Moose" that you fought against. Oh and sometimes when they died, if they didn't run away, they would say things like "Barf!". Hilarious!

The music also has a way of working it's way into my head from time to time. So much so that i actually took the music from the store interior and made it my ring tone on my cell phone. 

Like with the previous games i have listed in this section of my blog, i would love to see another more updated version. Again, however, i don't want some slapped together shadow of a game. If they can't make one worth the time of the fans of the original, don't bother. I am happy just playing the Virtual Console version of the NES cart for the time being. 

Ducktales (NES)

So here is a game that you may not have thought anyone would review. I for one loved this game back in the day (and still play it every now and then on roms).

Ducktales came out on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the late 80's early 90's. Obviously based on the hit kids show of the same name. You played as Scrooge McDuck, and along with the help of your nephews, and personal pilot Launch Pad, went on adventures through several different environments to get treasure. Scrooge, as usual, is on a quest to be the richest duck in the world. 

Developed and published by Capcom this game was memorable for several different reasons. As always with Capcom the game play was very tight and precise. Scrooge carries a cane which he can use several different ways. He could use it as a weapon to hit enemies with, a tool to break rocks and such, and also as a mode of transportation, if you will, as a pogo stick that he could bounce around the stage. Also being from Capcom, the music was amazing in the game (for its time). I still listen to several different versions of the "Moon Surface" song by groups like "The Advantage", "Minibosses", and "Entertainment System". Over all it was a very easy game to get into and play over and over. 

Also this game had something very strange for the time it was released with, "Non-Linear Gameplay". You could choose which place you wanted to go to from the very beginning. Locations such as "Amazon", "Snow Mountain", "Underground" and the afore mentioned "Moon Surface". Each of these locations had vastly different terrain for you to go through, different "Boss Fights" to overcome, as well as a different treasure for Scrooge to collect.

This is one of those games that (at least in my head) should get a sequel on the current generation of systems. Not like the "Golden Axe; Beast Riders" sequal but more like the "Mega Man 9" kind. Which is pretty handy considering that Mega Man and Ducktales were both done by Capcom. However i won't hold my breath considering that Ducktales isn't really the hit show it was when i was 10 years old. Just like the Rescue Rangers game for NES... ahhh memories. 

All hope is not lost, like i said you can play it as a rom if you like. Also if you have an old NES like i do you can probably find it on ebay or something and still play it... hey wait a second. I DO still have my old NES... Ebay here I come!

Combat!!

Wow does this game take me back. I mean way way back. Combat was probably the most memorable game for me on the Atari 2600. More so even than "Boxing" or the horrible port of "Pac-Man". 

If you have never played Combat on the 2600 then you don't and probably won't understand the nostalgia for this game. You and a friend could play as many as 27 different variations of "Combat" on one cart. Tanks, Bi-Planes, and Jets were all present and accounted for. Most of the modes just involved you destroying the other player how ever you could. The variables came in with the different "Surroundings" as well as all the different types of, i guess you could say, ammo you used. Some bullets would only go a certain distance, some would go farther, some would bounce around the screen. You could play as invisible tanks, the only way to know where you were on screen was the bullet ts coming out of the cannon. 

I can't even count the number of hours that my sister and I would play this game. It helped settle many a family dispute. Who ever wins doesn't have to take out the trash, that kinda thing. My father, and mother would also play against each other some times, which was absolutely hilarious. 

We used to keep a little red notebook beside the Atari that we would log out win/losses in. Which just goes to show that not only do some games not create violence in the home, but they diffuse it. 

If publishers and developers could find a way to harness the essence of Combat into a new generation of video games i would be all over it. I actually think that they are headed in the general direction of doing just that. Think about how Co-Op centered some games have become, not to mention all the games that offer a wide variety of variations on regular Vs. matches. If they could find a way to make a new game that was as readily assessable as that game was, and make it just as much fun to play today as it was then, they would have a hit for sure.

The game has not aged well, that kinda goes without saying considering it was on the 2600. However, if you are as much a game dork as i am (very few are) then it would be worth just seeing where some of these War Games possibly got their start. 

"I have the key to One-Eyed Willie..."

Wow, where do i begin with this game. Of all the games I played on my NES, this one probably has the most fond memories for me. That includes other big titles like Super Mario Brothers, Final Fantasy, and River City Ransom.

First of all to give you a little more back story on myself, I have always loved the movie version of Goonies. I have literally watch the movie upwards of triple digits. I can give you just about the entire script word for word with no assistance. I really don't know why I latched onto the film like I did but it is quite the obsession. So I vividly remember getting this game the year it came out for Christmas. From the second the title screen dropped in and the first stage started with that rendition of Cindy Lauper's "Good Enough" I was totally hooked. 

I played the game every moment that I was allowed to and probably have an entire notebook somewhere of all the passwords that I would acquire. That's right kiddies, before there was hard drives, or even memory cards, you had to do things the hard way. Beat it in one sitting or get a pad and pen and write down your code, or you were back to square one. Anyway...

I don't think I really ever cared that the game was called "Goonies II" and I never saw the first game, that was released in Japan only. Nor did I seem to care that the story line of the game was a complete fever dream of the movie. I mean really, three Fratelli brothers, and ice world, and... AND a mermaid named Annie!! None of that mattered to me. I was just happy to take on the in game persona of "Mikey" as he went on a quest to save his friends from the evil Fratelli's. 

The game took you to strange locations not seen in the movie, like the Fratelli's Attic, the "Underworld", a strange Ice level, and the underwater level where you had to rescue Annie. You would collect interesting items along the way. Some were weapons, like the slingshot, the bomb, and the boomerang. Some items helped you out in stages, like the spring shoes, the helmet, and the candle. There were also other random NPC's that would help you along the way too. There was the old man, and the old woman that would either give you info or items. There was the Eskimo and how could I forget "Konami Man". Best thing about the NPC's was that if you hit them either with a hammer or your fist they would usually say "OUCH! What do you do?". That is just some great engrish there. 

I absolutely loved this game. I can't say enough about it. I have played it recently through ROMs on my PC but it just isn't the same. I need to have Nintendo release it on the Virtual Console, then i can get the full pleasure of playing it again with a (mostly) original controller. To me this game hasn't aged a bit. Sure the graphics aren't "Next Gen" but who cares. This game is timeless to me. So if you still have an old NES sitting around your house and a couple extra bucks, you almost owe it to yourself to play this game if you never did in the 80's.

Super Metroid (SNES)

As far as games for my  Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) goes, this one sits very high on the charts. The first time i played the game was at a friends house, and on his SNES, not my own. 

I owned the first Metroid for the regular NES. For whatever reason, possibly b/c it was the first NES game that i purchased on my own, i always loved the game, even with all of it's back tracking and confusing world layout. I had to wait a very long time before it would see a sequel, and even though some say the sequel came in "Metroid II" for the GameBoy, i don't (and didn't) buy it. That was a game i borrowed from a friend, beat, and immediately gave back. 

Flash forward to some time in 1994 i believe, and there was Super Metroid. Like i said, at first i didn't own the game, but i knew it was out there. I think my initial reason was that "Metroid II" wasn't very good, and that is why i didn't purchase it day one. After playing several hours of the game at a friends house i was hooked. Purchased it at the first chance i had after that, and have been hooked ever since. 

The story is the usual stuff as far as Metroid games go. You are a Samus Aran, bounty hunter extraordinaire. You deliver the "Last Metroid in captivity" to a group of scientist and take off. Naturally the planet then is attacked and the metroid is taken by "Space Pirates" for their own nefarious plans. You then go around the planet collecting bits and bobs for your suit and your weapon. Thus unlocking sections of the planet that were previously inaccessible. The usual back tracking and scouring the planet for items takes place. At the end of the story you face "Mother Brain" (again) and take her down with (spoiler... wait really?) the help of your little Metroid buddy that thinks your its mother. 

This game introduced many of the items that have been present in Metroid games after it. Like the "Super Missile" and the "Grappling Hook". Most all of the other game mechanics and items were polished versions of the previous games items and/or weapons. 

Probably what hooked me the most with this game was the way it looked on screen. Now this is back in the day when a really well done 2-D, go right, game was king. The different environments were all complex and looked drastically different. From the overgrown plant level, to the lava of Norfair, even the Ghost Ship, all felt really well thought out and executed. Also in this version of the game were Mini-Bosses. Besides the usual Ridley, Kraid and Mother Brian, there were other LARGE enemies to take down. Most of which you needed to use a certain item or weapon to exploit a weakness, and pretty much all of them would reward you with another/better item or weapon. Also the music in the game is wonderful. Many of the songs have been taken and remixed by actual bands and are amazing (look up Stemage/Metroid Metal). 

All in all this game still to this day is in my top 10 games of all time. I regularly play through the story and enjoy it every time. As recent as this past summer fell back into the game (on Wii Virtual Console) and went through it for probably the 10th time. 

If you have never played the game and are a fan of the action adventure side scrolling game, i would highly suggest you check it out. You can probably find a copy on ebay cheap or if you own a Wii i think you can pick it up for about $8 (play with the classic controller though). 

Way Back Wednesday's

So i want to do something that i have been thinking about for a while now on my blog. I have an over abundance of "Old School" games in my head that i play or have played over the last twenty some odd years of gaming. 

I have decided to call the section, "Way Back Wednesday's" partly b/c i want a snazzy name for it, and partly b/c i can't think of anything better to call it. 

Since today IS Wednesday, what better day to start it off?