OutRun is the definition of 80s vibes. Very simple in its gameplay, but easily replayable. It's a 3D driving video game where you control a Ferrari, driving at max speed and avoiding and being mindful of curves, crests, dips, and other cars where your objective of the game is to reach the finish line against a timer. This is where the replayability comes into play as you can take multiple routes depending on what you choose and have 5 different end routes you can reach with different endings

It's satisfying to achieve, but getting there can be a bit of pain, at least for me. Even when I'm being vigilant and cautious of the upcoming obstacles in my path, there's a chance that something's going to happen that can affect my run, and then boom, whiplash. Anything outside the road like signs or stone walls can instantly crash your car if you're not careful. It can be frustrating when you have a nice smooth run so far, then boom, reality hits

Since I fully experienced OutRun in the SEGA AGES release, there are a few things that make this version the definitive way to play this classic. There are save states (which I used), there's new music with four new tracks (btw, the soundtrack is great), it added unlockable upgrades, making the game easier; it supports widescreen, and it runs at 60fps, and it looks gorgeously smooth. Now some of these things I've mentioned here were in the 3DS version under 3D OutRun, all of them have been carried over to the Switch version

OutRun is a classic that any gamer who loves retro games should try out. Over the years, there have been numerous ports of OutRun, but in my personal opinion, the SEGA AGES version is the best version of bringing the arcade feel to a home/portable device and is the most accessible way to play it

Duck Hunt is a simple light gun game for the NES that needs no explanation. There is no end to this game, I mean who wouldn't want to shoot some virtual ducks?

The game has three modes. The first is the main "1 Duck" mode, with the second one being the "2 Ducks" mode. They're pretty much self-explanatory, and they're fun to blast through for a little while. The last mode is the Clay Shooting mode, which is also straightforward, and honestly my favorite mode in the entire game

It does get a bit repetitive for a little while, and the Wiimote pointer can make the game a bit easy with the cross hair on in the Wii U version, but out of all the black box NES game I've played so far, this is my favorite one

As an NES launch title, Balloon Fight is serviceable in my opinion. I enjoyed what it's worth, just flying around and popping the enemies' balloons can be fun for a little while, but after Phase 12, the stage variants start to feel repetitive and I've seen what most of this game has to offer. The game controls fine, but it ain't the best in my opinion

Outside of the original balloon fight mode, there is the Balloon Trip mode. It's another single-player mode where instead of fighting Balloon Fishes, you fly around avoiding lightning sparks and collecting balloons to increase your rank and achieve a high score. Honestly my favorite thing to come of out this game. It's maybe because I played Balloon Trip Breeze in Nintendo Land as a kid, but just flying around with the iconic theme song playing in the background just makes the 30 minutes you spent on it worth it

Balloon Fight is a decent game for the NES and can be fun in short bursts, but there really isn't much to it after experiencing the game modes

Virtua Racing was a SEGA arcade that piqued my interest for a little while. Now that I finally got the chance to play it via the SEGA AGES version, this is a quality arcade racing game in my book

The one thing that stood out to me the most when searching YouTube videos for this game was the low-poly 3D visuals. It was one of the first fully polygonal 3D racing games ever created, and even with its modern re-release on M2, they look visually appealing and have a certain charm to it

The game itself is pretty light on content. They're only three tracks, and while I wish there were a bit more, the track designs themselves are pretty solid and the AI in the later courses does put up a good fight

Included in the SEGA AGES version, it features online play and rankings, it adds motion controls, runs up to 60fps with wide-screen support, and has offline split-screen multiplayer races with up to 8 players, which is nuts for just a simple arcade racing game. You can even adjust the colors to make it similar to how was in the arcade release, which is how I set it

Virtua Racing is a decent racing game that has that classic SEGA charm to it. M2 did a lot here to capture this classic game within the comfort of the home. If you haven't played Virtua Racing before and are undecided on which version to go with, the SEGA AGES version is the definitive official to play this game

Excitebike is a side-scrolling released as an NES launch title in North America. This is part of the Excite series that has received several entries, and this game in particular is referenced in numerous games and has seen many re-released on Nintendo consoles via Virtual Console or Nintendo Switch Online, and it has its fans; I'm not one of them

The game has two modes. First is the racing part under Selections A and B. Selection A has five race courses that you must beat the times for to move on to the next track. The objective is to get third place or higher, and any position besides that will result in a game over. Selection B has the same courses as A, but with computer players. The tracks themselves are decently designed and can be fun for a little bit, but the problem is, I don't even know if I'm playing it correctly

The courses are similar to what you see in a motocross stadium, with giant ramps, mud pits, and platforms you get up top are all here. To move, you accelerate with the A button; the B button activates a turbo boost that enhances the bike's speed, but will overheat if it's used for too long. When in the air, landing squarely on both wheels will maintain momentum, but landing unevenly will result in a crash

Now let's get on to the reasoning why I'm not a big fan of this game; it's infuriating and not really fun to play. So when I crash by landing unevenly or didn't pass through the small ramps at the time, it takes forever for the racer to get back on his feet losing so much time, and the same can be said when paying with the CPUs. They are a nuisance to play against whenever I'm behind the biker and touch them, this also results in a crash. I watch a few longplay videos and see how they get through hurdles with minimal crashes, and whenever I do try these tricks out, I fumble it up. I couldn't beat some of these courses without save states, and maybe I can get through them without it, but I was just ready to be done with it

There's also the Design Mode where you can customize your racetrack. I didn’t get much use out of it, and I only made one course, but I guess for 1984-1985 standards, it was probably cool back then, and that's all I have to say for this mode

Excitebike is not my favorite NES launch title. The game is more aggravating than fun, and it probably can be if I was better at the game, but after I cleaned the courses, I was ready to move on

Rusty's Real Deal Baseball is one of the more fascinating 3DS eShop games I've played. This was released before they normalized microtransactions into their games via mobile devices, and what we have here is an experimental free-to-play game using real-life money to progress through the story. It's essentially a minigame collection where you pay for various baseball games, and play them to your heart's content

The story involves Rusty Slugger; a retired baseball player who now operates a sports shop. However, life hasn't been going so well for Rusty since his wife left him. He has to deal with taking care of 10 identical children while dealing with a struggling business. The game's plot is simplistic but enjoyable to watch through, and I think the ending of the game was really sweet

This is where your Mii comes into play. You start with a demo of Bat & Switch given to you by Rusty, but after that, everything will have to be paid for with real money. Now, this is where we get into the meat and potato of the game, the haggling mechanic. The games cost $4 each, but you can get Rusty to lower the price by negotiating, and this contributes to the game's plot. A donut will instantly get Rusty to engage in conversation, hear about his struggles, give him advice, and give him the specific items that can be earned from playing games to help get that sweet sweet discount if done correctly. Not all of these games are tied to the story however, but you can use another method to bargain the price down, and that's through discount tickets. Like with the story objects, you earn these by playing the minigames, and they can range from $0.30 off to half off. Playing the available baseball minigames was fun. While I haven't gotten to every minigame yet, I enjoyed what I've played so far

Rusty's Real Deal Baseball was a unique free-to-play game that I'm glad I got to experience before the eShop closes. I'm surprised Nintendo never did something like this again with their free-to-play games on Switch, but unfortunately, since the 3DS eShop is now closed, there's no legal way to purchase the games anymore, so I had to rush to get all of them. I'm sure modding the 3DS or emulating it via Citra will get past that issue, but it doesn't feel the same without officially paying for it

I hope this little 3DS game gets referenced in future video games someday

Hot Shots Golf/Everybody's Golf is the major golf game on the PS1, being the only one developed by Camelot before going on to develop games in the Mario Golf series, which is kinda cool. This is another PS1 classic that any gamer seems to remember and love, and I can see why. As a PS1 game, it has loads of charm, but as a golf game, it's kinda barebones

You first start out with two selectable characters available before expanding the roster after beating the computer players in a competitive game of golf. There is 6 courses total, and you unlock them by scoring points by getting birdies, eagles, etc, or in tournaments. You can also unlock mini-golf if you want something simple and fun and need a break from all that regular golfing. I like unlocking these modes and courses, but after I've achieved the platinum and got everything available, I don't see an incentive to come back to this game. Don't get me wrong, there is some content, but it’s not enough to keep me interested for long

The controls are... ok. It's tolerable for a golf game in the late 90s, but I felt like some of my shots were inaccurate at times, leading me to abuse the rewind feature, especially when it came to playing against the CPUs and getting the Hole-In-One trophy

Hot Shots Golf is a decent golf game for the PS1 but has aged in a few areas. Besides that, I'm still interested in checking out the sequels and seeing where the series has evolved

HarmoKnight is one of the two 3DS games that were developed by Game Freak. It's a rhythm game that meets platforming where you jump and attack enemies to the beat, and it's a unique concept that could've been fleshed out a bit more

You play as Tempo, as he sets off to save Melodia and defeat Gargan and his Nozoid army. The story... exists. It's completely basic, but it does the job when progressing through the game. Along the way, you'll meet a few companions that will help you in certain stages, adding a bit of variety to the gameplay department

The music here is... ok. It's not terrible by any means, but it's pretty average and not all too memorable for a rhythm game. The standout songs from the soundtrack are the five Pokémon songs that are unlockable later on, but they're surprisingly short in length. I also find the timing for some segments to be quite off, and that is no more evident than the clockwork and minecart levels. Not only do I feel like they're kind of off-sync, but they're based on trial and error, leading me to retry several times, and I didn't enjoy my time with these

HarmoKnight is a decent 3DS eShop exclusive game. It has a unique concept with a neat art style that could've used a bit of polish. While I enjoyed my time with the game, I think something like Rhythm Thief (another 3DS rhythm game) is worth more of your time. Sad that this has never been ported outside of the 3DS, but if you have a modded 3DS or Citra, I say check this one out if you're curious about the games Game Freak made outside of Pokémon

Listen, I like puzzle games, and Dr. Mario for the NES scratches that itch for me. It's a neat little addictive game, and matching up the pills with the colored viruses is kind of fun, though the last few levels can be kind of nerve-wracking

Levels 19 and 20 are where I had the most trouble since there are so many viruses and they are near the top at the point where you have to play it almost perfectly. I couldn't do these last two without save states, and I was so close, but I just couldn't do it

Dr. Mario is a decent NES puzzle game and a decent spinoff of the Mario franchise. It is by no means amazing, but I recommend checking this one out

Chill is the best theme btw

Beautiful: having beauty; possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind (Dictionary.com)

If I had to name one game that defines the word, Tetris Effect: Connected will be one of those games for me. It's rare for me to experience a video game that is so moving, and so visually appealing unlike this one, and it's a freaking falling block puzzle game

Gameplay-wise, it's Tetris, but what makes it stand out from any other Tetris game I've played is its presentation. From its magnificent soundtrack and sound effects, and its marvelous visuals, they all culminate together to create an immersive experience. The Journey Mode is an excellent example of this. When you progress through the mode whatever difficulty you set it on, you'll unlock more "effects" as the game calls it, and every effect is distinct, the speed of the Tetrominoes will change depending on the tempo of the song. One little thing I love about playing the many effects in this game is how every time you rotate a piece, there's like a certain beat that plays feeling like it's part of the rhythm of the specific theme it's playing in the background, which is so cool. Playing this game just evokes a certain feeling, putting me in a state of zen when clearing lines and listening to the euphonious music, and this is best recommended with headphones to get the true Tetris Effect experience

One of the big features that were implemented in Tetris Effect is the Zone Meter. You'll see that on the bottom left of the screen, and will eventually fill up as you clear lines; once triggered, everything stops and allows you to clear a bunch of lines with the maximum being 22 lines or Impossibilitris. The highest I've gotten was Decahexatris, I haven't gotten to the point of something like Perfectris yet, but I want to achieve that someday, but it feels so satisfying when you clear a high amount of lines

Of course, there's more than just the Journey Mode available, as there are a whole lot of game modes to choose from. There's your typical Marathon, Ultra, and Sprint, but there are a lot of new modes such as All Clear or Purify, but there are a few I want to talk about the most

First up is Mystery mode. It's similar to Marathon but has a bunch of random mechanics that are activated for a particular time period, such as no-hold, having the game in reverse, or having a big giant piece on your grid. Classic Score Attack is the usual Marathon but uses the classic gameplay mechanics and visual styles from Nintendo's NES version of Tetris, which I found to be pretty cool. Finally, there is the Connected mode, an online co-op multiplayer mode that was added in the Connected update of Tetris Effect (which was the version released to the rest of the major platforms outside of PlayStation). It's essentially a 3 vs. 1 game where your team must battle against an AI-controlled boss or a human player, and the only way to attack is to fill up the Zone Meter; once the team's meters have filled up, their grids combine and have to clear so many lines as possible for a certain amount of time and knock the opposing player out by a big splash of Zone Meter clears. All of these modes available in the game are a blast to play through and are fun to replay and achieve a high letter rank

Tetris Effect: Connected is now one of my favorite Tetris games. From its visually gorgeous effects to the game modes and the upbeat and atmospheric music, playing this game gives me a magical feeling, unlike any other puzzle games I've played. This is a game that everyone should try at least once in their life, and I will always boot this game up again if I'm in the mood for more Tetris