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Video Games

99: Batman

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Genre: Platformer

Developer: Sunsoft
Publisher: Sunsoft
Year: 1990

Basic Idea:  Somewhat based on the Keaton/Nicholson movie, you go around Gotham killing baddies armed with several types of weapons and a wall-jump.

Review: I’ve known several people who insist this game is awesome, so I’ve given it a shot several times.  The graphics are top-notch and the music ain’t bad either.  The weapon choices rock as well.  But when on the first level of the game I continually fall into pits and crash right into enemies, I have a hard time mustering the strength to keep going.  It also ain’t just because the level design is difficult.  Batman’s jumping ability (and its responsiveness on the controller) leaves a bit to be desired.  The one thing I can say is that the game gives you unlimited continues, so if you’re good enough to get through a stage on three lives, at least you never have to start from the beginning.

Why is the game ranked #99 despite the tepid review?  Well, it does have some positives going for it.  Mainly, though, I had a hard time filling out my top 100.  I played many, many, many games trying to fill it out, and many of them couldn’t make the cut either.  So I thought I’d give the final two spots to two classic games that I don’t personally love but I can see why others do.  The remaining 98 games are all ones I do get enjoyment out of playing.

Video Games

100: Bubble Bobble

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Genre: Arcade

Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Year: 1988

Basic Idea:  You defeat enemies by blowing bubbles and capturing them inside said bubbles.  Then you stomp on them, collect some power-ups, and do it about another 100 times.

Review: I admit I have never played this game with two people, which I hear is where most of the fun lies.  As a 1-player game, it’s a little repetitive.  Not nearly as much as Pac-Man, but it’s still a bit simplistic for my tastes.  The graphics are distinct but drab, and the repetitive music doesn’t hold me either.  That said, it is easy to learn, with responsive controls and an appropriate difficulty curve.  I’ll take it for granted (especially since this game often hits top ten lists) that the game is pretty awesome with two people.

Video Games

Crystalis

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Developer: SNK
Publisher: SNK
Year:  1990

Reason It Could Make Top 100: I’ve played it for about an hour, and I was impressed with what I saw.  It’s not The Legend of Zelda as far as action RPGs go, but it was still engaging.

Reason It’s Not There Yet:  By the time I played it I wasn’t engaged enough to slog through a long game.  But I have little doubt had I finished it, I could find a spot for it in the list.  In fact, this game makes pretty much all top 100 lists that are out there, and is sometimes in the top 25.

Questions for Readers:  Is there enough here to warrant playing when there are more modern RPGs I would rather play?

Okay, enough stalling.  Game #100 will appear on Monday!

Video Games

Nightshade

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Developer:  Beam
Publisher: Ultra
Year: 1992

Reason It Could Make Top 100: It’s a point-and-click adventure game, and I love games that are mind over reflexes. Unlike King’s Quest V, it wasn’t a port, but designed specifically for the NES.  The graphics look amazing.  The game allegedly has great humor.  And unlike most adventure games, there is more than one way to get to the end.  In other words, your decisions matter.

Reason It’s Not There Yet:  I would really need to invest hours upon hours into this game, and I don’t have the time, especially without the use of a mouse.

Questions for Readers:  Anyone play it?

Video Games

Zoda’s Revenge: Startropics 2

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Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Year:  1994

Reason It Could Make Top 100: The first game makes the list, obviously.  More than that, there’s a time travel plot that sends Mike to different eras and locations.  Play control is more fluid.

Reason It’s Not There Yet:  I didn’t try playing it until I was much older, and I had a hard time motivating myself to go very far.  While I found the first section or two appealing, it didn’t blow me away.  It actually seemed less colorful (both sprite and personality wise) than the original.  The play control was more fluid, but in a way I found it more difficult.  The first game, you can only move in four directions, but movement is very predictable.  Zoda’s Revenge allows for movement and fighting in eight directions, but I feel it’s awkward at times and the enemies are much stronger to compensate.

Questions for Readers:  If anyone has played it, have they progressed far?  Is the story line engaging?  Are the puzzles fun?

Video Games

Mega Man 4, 5, 6

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Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Year:  1991, 1992, 1993

Reason It Could Make Top 100: Well, it’s Mega Man.  I have played the first three games.  And, because I’m listing these three games, you can bet at least one of the first three made the top 100 as well.  Capcom games, especially these, have quality controls, good music, and fun level designs and bosses.

Reason It’s Not There Yet:  To be honest, I just don’t care.  The first three were so similar to one another that I had little desire to keep going.  I feel the same way about the real Super Mario Bros 2, NHL 95, Oracles of Ages (I played Seasons first) as well as Spirit Tracks (I played Phantom Hourglass first).  I don’t want to play the same game more than once, even if it is excellent.  I realize it’s a fine line I’m drawing in the sand.  I will say I felt Mega Man 2 was different enough from the first game to avoid this distinction.  I did not feel the same way about Mega Man 3.  And from what I’ve read, the next three games in the series aren’t terribly original.

Questions for Readers:  Considering what I wrote above, should I go ahead and play these games anyway?  Is there something about any of them that would blow me away?

Video Games

Top 100 NES Games Countdown

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When I was a kid I had Nintendo Power.  While the magazine was mostly awesome (in both a helpful and an 80’s sort of way), it always had a list of all the games I didn’t have.  I dreamed of one day owning every single game.  You know, when I got older and was rich.  I was so excited when I learned about emulators.  Imagine my disappointment when I realized most NES games sucked hard.

There are 785 titles for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and that doesn’t include Famicom titles that didn’t make it over from Japan (I decided not to include Famicom titles).  And I think 781 of them are either shooters or platformers.  I don’t have anything against those two genres (in fact, many will make my list), but if the NES library came to life it would be attack of the clones.  I have not played every game.  However, I have played many of them, if not to completion, at least long enough to know they sucked.

A lot of sites will break down scores for graphics, sound, control, etc. when reviewing games.  Bah. The only score that matters is “How likely am I to want to play this?”  All of those subcategories affect my enjoyment, but I like different games for different reasons.  For example, there’s one game with atrocious sound and underwhelming graphics that is in my Top 20.

I hope you will join me in fondly remembering and discussing these classic games.  I hope there are some hidden gems you’ll discover.  I hope that there are some hidden gems that you all can educate me about.  I also hope there is at least one game Rhubarb has played, hated, and is high on this list.

Game #100 will be posted next Monday.  Starting tomorrow and throughout this week, I will post games I am confident would make my Top 100 if I bothered to play them.  But because they are long and I no longer have the patience to go through them, I didn’t feel right just randomly giving them a spot in the countdown.  Perhaps some of you have played them and can enlighten me further.  If by chance I do wind up playing a game and adding it to the list before it’s over, I’ll simply cram it between two games on the countdown where it would be.

Enjoy this list, and boot up your emulators, because now you’re playing with power!

Video Games

Top 5 Original Songs From Video Games: Still Alive

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#1

Song: Still Alive
Artist:  Ellen McLain
Game:  Portal

While the end game song for Portal 2 is pretty good, I honestly remember nothing about it despite listening to it a few times already.  The final song for the first game has stuck with me for a long time, and might honestly make my top 100 songs in all genres.  It’s gorgeous.  It’s creepy.  It’s catchy.