There is no such thing as a perfect video game. No matter how good a video game could be, or how much it is beloved by the general gaming public, it will never be able to reach the status of truly being beloved by everybody, to where nobody could find a single flaw in it, or everybody could love it as equally as another. However, even if there will never be a perfect video game, there will always be… our perfect video games. The ones that we hold near and dear to our hearts, ones that we love everything about and will continue to love about all the way until we die, no matter what anyone else says, or even if another video game comes along to take its place as your own perfect video game. So, I figured it was about time that, for my 500th review, I would go ahead and talk about my absolute favorite game of all time, without question: the original Mega Man X.

But, before I get into gushing about this masterpiece, we may as well lay down some history for those that somehow aren’t in the loop as to what this is. At this point, it was 1993, and people were getting FUCKING SICK of Mega Man. There were 13 different Mega Man titles that had been released so far, and while there were some different, unique titles of this bunch that we don’t like to talk about, most of them played exactly the same. Yeah, they each had their own set of differences that made them stand out for hardcore fans of the series, but to the general public, they all just seemed to be the same game over and over and over and OVER again, to the point where franchise fatigue set in pretty goddamn early. So, if Capcom was gonna continue making these games, or even take the series to the next generation of consoles, they were going to have to step up their game a bit. They were going to need to add a bit more attitude, a bit more color, a bit more to do, a bit more to find, and more of this universe to explore. To sum it all up, they were going to need to take Mega Man… to the Xtreme (no, not that Xtreme...not that one either).

Needless to say, this experiment with the series managed to become a major success. This singular game would go onto being widely praised by critics and fans alike, selling over a million copies in its original release, and it is now considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Not only that, but it would also lead to creating another separate series alongside the original Mega Man series, one that would continue getting games all the way up to this day, whether it be through main entries that would progress this game’s story and mechanics, side games that would take the series in new and interesting directions, or even things like… Mega Man X Dive… (oh trust me, I have some choice words for that game whenever I get to it… you know, in 5 years). As for what I personally think of it myself… I mean, I think my profile page on this website says everything I need to, but I will go ahead and continue showering this game with all kinds of praise either way. You may as well get a drink or some snacks, because if you couldn’t tell already, this review is gonna be a long one.

I don’t remember specifically when I first learned about Mega Man X, but I do know for a fact that, at that point, I was quite familiar with the Mega Man series, having played quite a bit of the NES games in the past, and falling in love with them enough to where I had become obsessed with them. The first exposure I had to the game was with the original video on it made by The CharityFraudist before it was removed from the internet, and from that first impression I got from the game, I was… mildly interested in it. It did look pretty good, but it just looked like another Mega Man game that just so happened to be made for the SNES. Nothing that I felt like I needed to get my hands on immediately. However, as time would go on… that mild interest I had in the game would only grow from there. I would watch more videos about the game, more videos that would go deeper into it, explaining how it advanced the series further, how it was designed so intricately, and how these decisions made turned it into the classic that we knew and loved today, which got me more eager to get my hands on it then ever before. It was only when I had gotten my Dad’s permission to download it on my Wii U that I finally got the chance to play it for myself, and needless to say… it was love at first sight.

The story of the game is one that is somewhat familiar for the Mega Man series, but at the same time, it takes it to places it had never been before. The game takes place 100 years in the future after the classic series, where an archaeologist by the name of Dr. Cain would discover a capsule within the remains of a robotic facility, one that contains a robot created by the late, great Dr. Light. This new robot, known as Mega Man X, was different from all the other ones, able to feel complex emotions, have human-level intelligence, and even its own free will to do whatever it feels. This type of technology was then replicated by Dr. Cain over the years, in order to create a new set of robots that would also carry these same traits, which would go onto be known as Reploids. Over the years, Reploids and humanity would then co-exist with each other, learning to help each other out and make the world a better place. That is, until some of the reploids started going haywire, starting to cause destruction and commit crimes all over the world, now being labeled as Mavericks.

In response to this, a group of Reploids would be formed to take care of these rogue robots, including Mega Man X, known as the Maverick Hunters. However, eventually, the leader of the Maverick Hunters, Sigma, would end up going maverick himself, and with the help of eight other different mavericks, would go onto spread a level of chaos across the world that nobody had seen before. Feeling partially responsible for this, Mega Man X, or just simply X, decided to set out to take out all of these mavericks, as well as Sigma himself, to ultimately save the world. Again, like I mentioned earlier, it is very similar to the original Mega Man if you only look at it on the surface level, but there is a lot more going on here in comparison, which I can really appreciate and love.

The graphics are fantastic, having the perfect fit for a Mega Man game made for a new generation, while also having plenty of life, energy, and personality through all the stages, characters, enemies, and bosses, the music is some of the best that I have ever heard in all of video game history, having plenty of BANGERS to accompany you through the many different stages present in the game, while also managing to fit the tone for whatever is happening in the game, the control is just right, being mostly what you would expect from a Mega Man title, but also integrating new mechanics that feel buttery-smooth to pull off, making playing the game just that much more satisfying, and the gameplay is, once again, mostly what you would expect from a Mega Man title, but it adds enough to where it feels like a completely new experience, one that many would go to love and adore for years.

The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of X, go through many different levels in plenty of different locations, with a good majority of them you can choose to go through in any order you want, run, jump, and shoot your way through many different obstacles and enemies that stand in your way, gather plenty of different health and ammo pickups that will assist you along the way, fight many different bosses and Mavericks of varying types and sizes, and gain plenty of different power ups from these Mavericks that you can use against other enemies and bosses to your advantage. On the surface, it is pretty much what you would expect from your typical Mega Man title, which could cause some who were sick of the series to be drawn away immediately, but when you actually get into the game, not only does it have plenty of new features that would become a staple part of the series, but also that X-factor that breathes new life into this series that it desperately needed at the time.

For starters, aside from the many weapons that you can get from the Mavericks in this game, there are also now many different new, optional goodies that you can find which will greatly benefit you on your journey forward. From the start of the game, you may notice that your health bar is significantly smaller than the life bar from the NES games, which may seem like quite the downgrade at first, but then as you go along the game, you will then find the Heart Tanks, which will increase your health till it is at its proper size. Some may call this completely unnecessary, but I love this change, since it allows for a sense of progression not only for yourself, but also for X as a character, which I will get more into later. Alongside this are the Sub-Tanks, which are the replacement for the Energy Tanks in this game. Unlike E-Tanks, which you could only use once before they go away forever, you are able to use these tanks an infinite amount of times, as long as you are able to store plenty of energy in them to fill you up. Once again, this could be seen as a bit of an unnecessary change for some, but I greatly prefer having a few E-Tanks that I can refill rather than a bunch that I can only use once, so this change is all good in my book.

From the beginning of the game, you can also see that, as an upgraded version of the original Mega Man, X has plenty of new moves and capabilities that the original Mega Man never had. On his own, he is taller, faster, stronger, and he has the ability to jump up walls repeatedly, which is a fantastic enough addition to your moveset already, but that is only the beginning of what X is truly capable of. Throughout the game, you can find many capsules laid around the stage, each one containing a brand new piece of armor for X to use, as well as a message from Dr. Light on how to use it. Of course, there are ones that are pretty situational or typical, such as the helmet upgrade, which lets you break blocks, as well as the body upgrade, which allows you to take less damage when hit, but then you get the GOOD shit, such as the Buster upgrade, where you are able to charge your X Buster even further to fire an extremely powerful shot and to charge up your weapons, and the leg upgrade, which lets you dash along the ground and move through stages a lot faster than before, which would become a staple ability of X for future games in the series.

All of these upgrades and optional goodies that you can acquire are all fantastic in their own way, and they do a great job at making both X and the player much stronger than ever before, able to take on anything that stands in your way with the amount of style and aggression that feels just right. Sure, not all of them are too useful, and you could just view them as a means of completing the game, but not only does it feel satisfy to find a good chunk of these goodies, which are actually pretty cleverly hidden among the stages, but they do add to your character in numerous ways, and they don’t feel like just simple “things to collect”.

Not to mention, they all contribute towards you getting the ultimate reward for your effort, which you can gain from Armored Armadillo’s stage before the end of the game. After performing a cryptic sequence of events, you can then find a final capsule on the edge of a cliff, containing another message from Dr. Light, who just so happens to be wearing a very… familiar costume. You then get the upgrade, and it turns out to be the Hadoken, straight from Street Fighter II, which you not only perform in the exact same manner as in that game, but it also is your most powerful weapon, able to one-shot any enemy and boss no matter what. This, in my opinion, is the PERFECT reward for getting all of the items in the game, not just as a Street Fighter fan, but also just in general, as it feels incredible to nuke every single boss after this with this weapon, but not to the point where it feels broken, since you can only use it if you have full health.

Ignoring all the new additions, the game itself still remains incredibly satisfying, even if you disregard all of the different goodies you can find. This can all be seen as early as the intro stage of the game, which is one of the best intros of any game in video game history, even more so than World 1-1 in the original Super Mario Bros. Upon pressing start, you get thrown right into the game, without any kind of intro cutscene or instructions screen to hold you back, and you can learn all of the basic controls right off the bat, blasting through the many different enemies that you are faced with. Not only that, but it also places you in unavoidable situations where it also teaches you how to use your new abilities, such as when you get thrown down into a pit upon destroying a giant bee robot, forcing you to climb back up the cliff to get back in action.

It not only does a great job at setting you up for the gameplay, but it also manages to integrate the game’s story and theme in perfectly. Upon reaching the end of the stage, you are then stopped in your tracks by a brand new foe: a purple-Boba-Fett-reject in a mech suit known as Vile, and upon fighting him, he seems practically unstoppable! None of your attacks seem to be doing any damage, and he proceeds to wipe the floor with you, with there being seemingly nothing that you can do to counter him whatsoever. It eventually leads to a point where you get trapped in an energy shot, grabbed by the fist of Vile’s mech, and taunted as you face what could be your final moments in the game. That is, until… you hear something from off-screen start to charge up.

All of a sudden, an energy blast is fired from off-screen, ripping through the arm on Vile’s mech suit, and freeing you from his clutches. Vile then flees the scene, as a new ally comes in to chase him off, known simply as Zero. And let me tell you, when you first see this guy in action in this scene, you think he is BADASS. He’s got the style, the power, the attitude of a warrior, and… flowing, blonde locks, which is kinda weird, but he is still cool! Infinitely cooler than you, that is. It is then at this point that X starts to doubt his capabilities as a Maverick Hunter, being unable to defeat this one foe, who seemed to overpower him in every way imaginable. However, Zero then gives both X and the player reassurance, saying that you are destined to take him out, and that you will get stronger as you press forward… maybe even stronger than him.

It is then, from that point on, that your goal is clear. You then proceed to take on all the different stages, defeating all of the Mavericks, gaining all of their powers, finding all of the upgrades, and getting stronger, faster, smarter, and overall better throughout the whole game. You then feel this power fully envelop you as you take on Sigma’s Fortress, defeating the many different enemies, bosses, and even all the Mavericks again with all of your newfound powers and abilities, even going as far as to fully come back around and defeat Vile after all this time. This, right here, is what makes this game perfect in my eyes: that feeling of growth, the immense satisfaction of achieving these goals, the hidden potential you have right from the start, and seeing it through all the way to the end in the best and most timeless manner a game could ever manage. It’s just like real life, when you think about it: just when you are at your lowest point, all you need to do is to just simply pick yourself up and keep on going, trying new things and going down different paths, until you can ultimately find the right path for you, and having the ability to prove all of the nay-sayers wrong. I’m sure we have all felt that at some point. I certainly have, believe me.

Overall, there are some things about the game that I could nitpick here or there, such as the helmet upgrade being useless after a certain point, some points of the game being somewhat annoying to go through, and the boss rush of the game going back to how it was in the original Mega Man, but at this point, none of that matters to me, and none of that ever will matter to me. This is, without a doubt in my mind, my favorite game of all time, one that I loved from the moment I first pressed that start button all those years ago, and one that I will forever continue to love, enjoy, praise, and remember for many, many years to come. I would absolutely recommend it, not just for fans of Mega Man or 2D platformers in general, but for EVERYBODY to play at least once in their lives, as it truly is that great on its own, and it is that special to me. There may come a time where I find a game that will manage to surpass this in terms of… well, everything that I had just mentioned, and when it does, I will gladly welcome it with open arms, but until then, I will always forever love Mega Man X, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon……………………….. so that means it is all downhill from here, folks! No, I kid, I kid, but it is a shame that Zero, Vile, and Sigma are now dead, and that they will never come back after this……………. nope, never. Nope nope nope nope. Certainly not in the next game, no. Certainly not in the third game either, nope.

Game #485

Out of all the weird and outlandish, yet still lovable elements to have been introduced in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, the biggest and undeniably the best addition would be with the introduction of Wario. He may not have had that much of a role in the game, simply being put as the final boss, who just so happened to be a fatter and goofier Mario, but you could tell from the beginning not only from his design, but also from the commercial for the game, that he was sinister, greedy, and undeniably lovable. So, much like when Nintendo made Yoshi the star with his own game just two years prior, they were also ready to make Wario the star of his own games as well, so that they could expand the Mario universe and create many more memorable products as a result… while also raking in all that cash (they are allowed to, it’s Wario Time). So, they did this by making a direct follow-up to Mario Land 2 where the big man in yellow would steal the spotlight, and the game would ultimately be called Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.

It was somewhat of a risky move to be sure, making the villain of your previous game the main character of this all new game, especially since it hadn’t been too long since Wario was even a character to begin with. However, thankfully, it worked out in its favor, since not only did it appropriately make BANK for a Game Boy title, but it would also lead to Wario’s own series of games that would continue onto this day… or at least, we would like to think that (just bring back Wario Land already, Nintendo. Pizza Tower was fun for a bit, but I need my garlic eater back in his proper place!). As for my personal experience with the Wario Land series, I myself hadn’t played too much of it back when I was a kid, with the exception of Wario Land: The Shake Dimension (I refuse to call it “Shake It!”), so it was only until a good couple of years ago that I decided to give the series a shot.

Thankfully, I was able to get into it pretty quickly, not just because I prefer villains over heroes, so I was able to relate to Wario much more than I ever could with Mario, but also because the series is genuinely fantastic, with each entry getting better and better as they keep releasing, and as for the game that started it all, it still manages to be a pretty great time upon revisiting it after quite a while. Yeah, it doesn’t come close to the quality of future titles, and for Wario’s first outing, it can feel a bit… lacking, but it still manages to be fun and satisfying, as well as simple enough for anyone to be able to pick up and enjoy.

The story is exactly what you would expect from a character like Wario, where after his defeat in the previous game, Wario sets off to Kitchen Island to steal the treasure from the Brown Sugar Pirates, along with a giant, golden statue to Peach, all to trade off for money so that he can buy a bigger and better castle to beat out Mario, which is the perfect premise for a game like this, and it gets you wanting to get into the game immediately. The graphics are Game Boy graphics, with the overall aesthetic looking pretty similar to Mario, but with a unique group of baddies, locations, and powerups to give the game its own identity, and it all looks really fun and inventive all the way through, the music is an interesting change from what you typically hear in a Mario title, but it manages to fit a Wario game pretty well, with there being quite a lot of banger tracks out of the bunch, ones that you will most likely bob your head to as you play, the control is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a game like this, so there isn’t much else to say on that, and the gameplay is also very similar to that of the previous entry, but with a few new additions to make the game stand out.

The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Wario, go through plenty of different lands and levels all throughout Kitchen Island, defeat many different innocent, yet damaging enough enemies while on your quest for the ultimate goal, gather plenty of different power-ups and hearts to help you out on your journey, take on easy, yet enjoyable boss fights against plenty of colorful characters, unlock secret levels along the way to find more stuff, and of course, gather EVERY SINGLE COIN IN SIGHT. For the most part, it is pretty standard stuff, especially for those who are familiar with Mario games, as this is more or less just a Mario game that Wario took over for himself. However, not only does the game still remain fun, but it also adds plenty of elements that would make it stand out on its own.

If you yourself have yet to play any Wario Land game yourself, when you go into this game, you may think you know what it will be all about, and when looking at it from a surface level, you would be somewhat correct. However, then you will soon learn really quickly that this is NOT a Mario game, but it is instead Wario’s game, BITCH, and as such, it plays much more in the style of Wario. Sure, he can jump on enemies and break blocks with his head, but he can also dash into enemies to completely knock them down and out, grab enemies to throw them all over the place, and he has his own assortment of power-ups, such as a helmet that makes him stronger and allows him to do a ground pound, a dragon hat that allows him to breathe fire onto enemies, even when he is underwater, and a jet hat, which he can use to fly all over the place for a limited amount of time. The fundamentals of a regular Mario game are all there, clear as day, but they have all been Wario-fied, to the point where it is now his game, but not too much so to the point where you can’t tell that it wasn’t a Mario game before. Oddly fitting, wouldn’t you say?

Not only that, but there are also plenty of new features that make the game what it truly is. Since Wario is the physical embodiment of greed, coins make the world go round for him, so naturally, the game makes you want to grab as many as possible, and unlike with regular Mario games, the coins actually serve a purpose here!... to an extent. For every level of the game, you will need to collect coins in order to activate these checkpoints that you can find, as well as with the end goal of the level, which makes it so that you NEED to spend your hard-earned money so that you can complete the stages. In addition, you also get the chance to play several minigames at the end of every level, ones that will allow you to get more lives, or even ones that will allow you to double the amount of coins you have, while also fueling your ever growing gambling addiction.

But that isn’t the extent to what Wario can obtain in this game, as you can also find plenty of treasures scattered throughout plenty of the levels, each one granting you more coins as well, and these treasures, while not necessarily too well-hidden, can be pretty tricky to get at times, which makes getting them all the more fun and satisfying. So, with all that being said, with so many different ways of getting coins and treasures in this game, what exactly do they do? Well… they determine the ending that you get when you beat the game. That’s it. That’s all coins do. Well, that kinda sucks, but hey, it does allow for quite a lot of replayability to the game, and the endings you get are somewhat funny, so that is neat enough. It also helps that, alongside the game itself being pretty fun, with plenty of different levels, challenges, and enemies to overcome, the secrets themselves can also be pretty satisfying to get once you figure things out.

So yeah, for the most part, the game is a great time, but once again, I wouldn’t consider it anything too great. You can really tell this is essentially a Mario game with Wario slapped onto it, which is fitting for his character, but not only does it come nowhere near the same quality as the later games in the series, but it could also be seen as pretty bland as a result. It is your typical Mario-esque platforming adventure, with nothing to really separate it from the rest other than a few collectibles and mini games to spice things up. None of it is bad, don’t get me wrong, but if you are going into this game hoping to get something at least a little bit different from your typical Mario game, then you will probably be disappointed by what you get. Then again, the game is called “Super Mario Land 3”, so you shouldn’t expect too much going into it, but still. Also, one last little complaint here: the final boss kinda sucks. Sure, it is creative, but constantly having to throw this genie’s lamp to create a cloud to stand on so that you can get a chance at hitting the genie himself… yeah, can we, like, not do that ever again? Cool, thanks.

Overall, despite not too much difference from this game compared to past Mario games, as well as the coins in the game not doing too much for you as a whole, for being the first game in what would become one of the best sub-series in the Mario franchise, the original Wario Land is still a great game to go back to to this day, one that offers plenty for you to have fun with and enjoy, but not too much to the point where you will feel like you wasted your time on it by the end of the day. I would recommend it for those who are fans of the Wario Land series, or for those who are fans of Mario in general, because this game will give you plenty of what you want from both categories, and will serve as a nice appetizer for what comes next. And what an appetizer it was, but you know what, I think I’m ready to see what the next game in this series is. So, what is it?.............. oh. sigh, alright, I’ll go get my sunglasses…

Game #488

Back around some time in 1992, HAL Laboratory were working on a game called Special Tee Shot. It was going to be a simple mini golf game that would’ve been released for the SNES, with a goofy art style and colorful cast of characters, similar to other games that they have made in the past, but would ultimately never live to see the light of day... at least, not in any widely known format, anyway. This would be because of a little pink guy called Kirby, who had just had three separate games made for the Game Boy and NES, all of which would go on to being extremely well received and very successful. After some time though, HAL Laboratory would eventually bring back Special Tee Shot, and it would finally be completed after all this time, but now as part of the Kirby franchise rather than being its own original thing (this will soon become a repeating pattern for this series later down the road). This title would then be released exclusively for the SNES, and be known as Kirby’s Dream Course.

As I have mentioned plenty of different times on this website, I am not the biggest fan of golf, and I haven’t been for the longest time. I think it’s boring, it goes on for too long, the people that play it get way too frustrated at it, and there has been nothing out there, game or otherwise, that has convinced me that anyone actually likes the sport to begin with. Now, mini-golf on the other hand… that’s a different story. Back when I was kid, I used to play mini-golf all the time, usually when going on vacation to other places, and I loved it so much because not only does it actually have some life and personality put into it, but also because whenever I played it with my family, we generally didn’t give a shit about points or what have you, and were just there to have a great time. So, with that in mind, when I had first heard about this particular spin-off in the Kirby series, I wasn’t really that eager to jump into it immediately, because golf, but then I saw it was mini golf, and that got me a little more intrigued. Eventually, I decided to give the game a proper shot, and you know what, for being a mini golf game on the SNES, it is actually pretty damn fun. Sure, it can take a bit of getting used to, especially for someone who doesn’t play golf games, but when you properly get into it, it ends up being a great time, especially with a friend to play it with.

The story (yes, there is actually a story in this game) is one that is pretty typical for this series, where King Dedede steals steals all of the stars out of the night sky (I would question how he did this, but it is Kirby, so it is expected at this point), so it is up to Kirby to go beat the fuck out of him and get all of the stars back, which is about as basic and silly of a plot as Kirby games can get, and that is enough for me. The graphics are wonderful, having the distinct charm and colorful nature that any Kirby game should have, while also having aged extremely well after almost 30 years, the music is pretty great, having plenty of catchy, upbeat tracks, along some remixes of old ones that make it sound that much better, the control is… well, it’s a golf game, so there isn’t much that you get, but for what we do get, it is enough to get the job done, and it works pretty great as a whole, and the gameplay is mostly what you would expect from a golf game, but with plenty of twists and changes to the typical formula that make it much more fun in the process.

The game is a variation of mini golf, where you take control of Kirby, or in the case of the second player, a yellow Kirby named Keeby (I love that name), go through a set of eight courses that have eight holes each, adjust the aim, power, and angle of your Kirby ball to make sure you can get the perfect shot for what you are about to do, launch your Kirby ball into whatever direction or obstacle that you wish to make more progress in the stage or against your opponent, and constantly be aiming for hole-in-ones, because going for anything less than that would make you a Kirby CHUMP…. Chumpby… whatever. It functions very similarly to regular golf, while also having the same flair, color, and fun as mini-golf will, so any fans of either variation of the sport should be able to jump in no problem, but for those of you who are Kirby fans and not necessarily too big of golf fans, then they got you covered as well.

While regular golf/mini-golf requires players to try to get their balls into the end hole as quickly as possible with as few hits as possible, Kirby’s Dream Course does change this formula up a little bit, with you now needing to eliminate most of the common enemies that you will see throughout the stages, to where the final enemy will then be transformed into the final hole, which you will then need to reach. It isn’t that much of a big change, but it is the perfect change to mix up the formula, with this feeling much more varied and exciting as a result, especially combined with the many different Kirby enemies and obstacles that you will encounter along the way, as well as all the different course layouts that you can see throughout the game. In addition, since this is a Kirby game, they have also implemented Copy Abilities for you to get along the course, such as Needle, Tornado, Stone, UFO, and so on, with each one being able to help you out considerably in what you want to do in each course, such as Tornado being able to send you even further along a map just in case an enemy or hole is a little out of your reach, or Stone and Needle being able to help you stop on a dime with strict precision just in case you need to go a specific direction or reach a certain goal. Once again, these additions to the formula make the game that much more exciting and strategic, being able to use these copy abilities to your advantage to either help yourself get along further, or even to get the upper hand against your opponent.

And speaking of getting the upper hand against your opponent, that is where this game truly shines above all else: the multiplayer. Sure, there is a single player mode that you can go through, which is fun enough on its own, but ask anyone who has ever played this game before, and they will tell you multiplayer mode is where it is at. The game functions pretty much the same way as before for the most part, except you are now competing against a second player, with each round ending whenever any player goes into the final hole of any course. However, it isn’t just simply a competition about who can reach the end first, but instead, it is something much better. In this mode, whenever you defeat any enemy, you will gain a star that is represented by your Kirby’s color, and by the end of the game, whether you win or lose will be determined by how many stars you have, which is already cool enough, but you also have the opportunity to STEAL an opponent’s stars if you pass by them, which can quickly turn the tides of any match. This single mechanic right here is what makes this mode the best of the bunch, as while it may seem like the same ol’ boring mini-golf game for the most part, planning out your next move to not only get further along on the board, but to also make sure your opponent doesn’t win makes this mode much more fun than it has any right to be.

Overall, while the game isn’t really anything too great that will blow your mind, it manages to be the first truly great spin-off that this franchise has, one that can provide quite a lot of fun for hours on end, especially with a friend along for the ride, and also manages to accomplish the simple task of actually making golf enjoyable! You can’t hate a game that does that. I would definitely recommend it for not only those who are Kirby fans, but also who are fans of golf or golf games as well, because while it may be different from what you are typically used to with golf, it still manages to capture the true spirit and potential of the sport, while also managing to provide a very entertaining time in the process. It’s too bad we never did get a sequel to this at any point though, even though there was going to be one made for the N64. I would say it’s a good thing it never got made, since they would probably ruin the gameplay formula, but at the same time, it’s Kirby! He’s never had a bad game since his inception, so I know they could do it!

Game #490

While it hadn’t gotten as much love as other Nintendo franchises at this point, like with Mario, Zelda, Kirby, and others, the Metroid series was still considered to be one of their big IPs at the time, and had a bit of a reputation at that point. The original Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus, despite not reaching the same level of quality as future titles in the series, were still good games in their own right, and were a pretty good launch point for this series as a whole. Not to mention, they were pretty successful, selling 2.7 million copies and 1.7 million copies respectively, so naturally, a sequel was going to be made… but not right away. There would be somewhat of a gap in between releases, primarily because the devs were waiting for just the right time, the perfect time, to bring Samus back into the limelight once again. This perfect time would come in 1994, and with the help of Intelligent Systems, who had developed plenty of games with Nintendo before (including the original Metroid), they would then release the long-awaited next chapter in the Metroid saga, Super Metroid.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t go onto sell as well as its predecessors, but it would go onto garner universal praise from fans, die-hard or otherwise, and critics alike, with it now considered to be not only one of, if not THE best Metroid game of all time, but also one of the greatest video games ever made. Many have sung its praises over the years in many ways, it would get plenty of mods later down the road supporting replayability, it would become a favorite amongst speedrunners, and it would help go onto establishing an entire sub-genre of video games as a whole. As for myself though, I wouldn’t jump onto the Super Metroid bandwagon for quite some time, despite watching plenty of videos about it that would praise the game and go into great detail about why it was considered a masterpiece. When I eventually did decide to give the game a fair shot, I immediately understood why, as it is an incredible game, and absolutely deserves the reputation it has garnered over the years. While it may not be my personal favorite Metroid game, it is clear when playing the game that the devs put plenty of love, detail, and care into this game, making it one of the best games you could ever play not only from this era, but from any era.

The story continues on from where Metroid II ended off, where Samus Aran, now with a baby Metroid in her possession, brings it to a team of scientists at the Ceres research station to conduct further study on the specimen, but shortly after she leaves, the station is attacked by Ridley, back in the flesh after his defeat in the original game, killing everyone inside and stealing the baby Metroid, and fleeing back to the planet Zebes, so it is up to Samus to travel to Zebes once again, get back the baby Metroid, and uncover what is really going on here. It is a fairly simple premise, one that is easy to understand for new players, but also complex enough to create intrigue for those that are wanting to learn more about this game and its universe, making it very pleasing to experience and ponder about.

The graphics are absolutely phenomenal, not only bringing Samus to the 16-bit era in the perfect way, but also creating plenty of iconic locations, enemy designs, and atmosphere that still holds up tremendously well almost 30 years later, the music is wonderful, creating a perfect balance of being moody, setting the tone for many of the environments you travel in, yet still being filled with plenty of life, while also being tense and action–packed when it needs to, the control is perfect, feeling like the perfect evolution for how Samus should control in one of these games, while giving plenty of new things to mess around with right from the get-go that give you more versatility than ever, and the gameplay is pretty similar to the last two titles in the series, but now it has been made to be a lot more exciting, approachable, and memorable.

The game is a 2D action-adventure game, where you take control of Samus Aran once again, go through the depths of the planet Zebes once again, this time with much more detail, life, and secrets to find, defeat plenty of creatures, big or small, that inhabit the planet and want you dead as you go deeper and deeper into the planet, gather plenty of upgrades to Samus’s arsenal to make her into the ultimate warrior, such as with health upgrades, beam power ups, or regular power ups that give you new abilities, and take on plenty of bosses, both new and old, that will provide a challenge to those unprepared for what is to come. It has all the same elements that the previous two games had, not really introducing anything that majorly different for the series at the time, but there is one thing that it does manage to do above all else: perfect the formula.

As I mentioned earlier, Samus is now more capable then she has ever been before, not only having the same basic abilities and powers that she could get from the previous game, but she is now also able to aim in eight separate directions, she can crouch, and she even now has a wall jump, where you can continuously scale up a wall if you press the right sequence of buttons, allowing you to ultimately make the game YOUR BITCH. It is the perfect way to naturally evolve not just Samus and her capabilities, but also how the game plays, because when compared to the original game and Metroid II, this is just perfect in every way. Not only that, but the arsenal of weapons that she can acquire throughout the game is just as helpful as before, with classics like the Missiles, the Morph Ball, the Hi-Jump boots, the Screw Attack, and the various beam powers making a return, and each of them are incredibly helpful in plenty of situations.

Not only that, but there is also a good amount of new power ups for you to mess around with in the game as you go about finding them. There’s the Speed Booster, which allows Samus to run extremely fast and make her an unstoppable bullet train, the Shine Spark, which allows you to fire yourself through hard structures while using the Speed Booster, the Grapple Beam, which can be used to latch onto certain surfaces and swing around all over the place to reach new areas or more goodies, and the X-Ray Scope, which allows you to scan nearby areas to see if you can find any hidden passageways, power ups, or otherwise. Most of these new additions would become staples in the series in the coming years, and all of them are extremely useful and wonderful to test out in plenty of locations… with the exception of the X-Ray Scope, which I barely used at all, but hey, it is there for newcomers, so that is good.

And speaking of newcomers, like I mentioned before, this game is much more approachable when compared to the previous two titles, not just in terms of what it provides the player, but also in terms of design. In the first two Metroid games, there was always the possibility of getting lost or confused while traveling through these corridors, because not only did you not have any way to track where you were in the game, but also because a lot of the hallways look almost identical to each other, meaning you could think you are in a whole new area, but instead are stuck back-tracking when you didn’t want to so that.

Thankfully, with Super Metroid, not only do you now have a map which can track where you have been, making it a lot easier to decide where you want to go next, but every single area in the game, big or small, now has a distinct look and design to it, making it so that you will always have new things to discover, and even if you haven’t fully explored one area due to a lack of tools needed to do so, you can always find your way back in order to do so later. With that being said though, even though you do have a map, it doesn’t automatically point out every single thing to you, encouraging you to explore around more and see where more items and secrets can be hidden, which is always a great thing to have when it comes to any video game.

One last admirable quality about Super Metroid that I really admire, especially when it comes to video games of this era, is in terms of its storytelling. Most games around this time either don’t give you too much story at all, or they are all saved for cutscenes and the instruction manual, which is fine on its own, but it doesn’t give you much opportunity to really connect with the game’s world as a whole. Super Metroid, however, manages to do this flawlessly, starting off with an intro sequence that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know, or about what happened in the previous two games, but they tell you enough to where you get ready to go and want to learn more. Even when you land on the planet of Zebes, you can tell that it’s gone through plenty of changes, with the first areas looking all desolate and destroyed, no doubt a result of your actions from the original game. However, after you get the Morph Ball, this beam of light shines on you from the corner of the room, and suddenly, all kinds of baddies are up and at 'em, ready to take you down, which is a really nice detail.

Everything else remains relatively normal and simple from there on out, until you end up fighting Ridley, where after you defeat him, you end up finding the capsule that the baby Metroid was sealed in… but it is now shattered, and the baby Metroid is gone. You have no clue what could’ve happened, so you end up going about the rest of your business, getting more items, fighting more guys, and breaking the game to your heart’s content, until you reach the final area of the game, where you descend down further into the core of Zebes, and that’s when the final events of the game start to kick off. Oh, and by the way, spoilers for the final act of the game are coming up, so if you haven’t played or seen through that part of the game yet (even though you have had 30 years to do so), then just skip to the final paragraph of the review.

As you enter this area, you notice that it is surprisingly… quiet. There isn’t that much going in with the environment, and the only enemies that you find in this place are Metroids and those weird ring things that shoot out from the walls. Eventually, you find more enemies later on, but they appear to be… drained of their life, disintegrating upon contact, leading you to suspect that something weird is going on here. You then find another one of these enemies, alive and well, seemingly impossible to kill as you try every single weapon on it, but nothing works. Before you can think of what to do next, all of a sudden, this GIGANTIC Metroid comes out of NOWHERE, and latches itself onto that creature, draining it of its energy, and probably scaring the shit out of whoever is playing the game at that point.

After it finishes off this creature, it then heads straight for you, starting to completely drain you of all your energy as well, with you being able to do anything about it, as you fidget around in an utter panic. However, before your health bar drops to zero, all of a sudden… it stops. It stops draining your health, and it detaches itself from you, letting out some cries, until ultimately fleeing the scene. It is then you realize that this giant Metroid that almost killed you was the baby Metroid that you got from SR388, and it had one HUGE growth spurt, but even after becoming the ruthless killer that all Metroids naturally are, it still cares deeply about Samus, and wishes to bring no more harm to her.

Once that is all over with, you once again go through the game like normal, finally reaching Mother Brain, back once again from the original game, right alongside a fight that seems like it was ripped straight from that game, with you needing to defeat her in the exact same way. However, when it seems like she is destroyed, she then rises up from her defeat once again, now rocking this brand new body. Naturally, you start to throw everything at her, but it doesn’t seem like anything is really doing all that much to her, as she fights back and then starts to charge up something. This then leads to her firing this gigantic rainbow laser beam of death at you several times, which not only starts draining away all of your health like crazy, but it also takes away all of your missiles and bombs too!

At this point, you are now stuck, unable to move, and getting continuously beat up by Mother Brain, wondering how the hell you are going to get out of this one. However, before Mother Brain can land the final blow with one more laser beam attack, the full-grown baby Metroid then suddenly barges in and starts draining Mother Brain of all her energy, causing her to start to stagger and cry out in a panic, until she is left petrified for a brief moment. The Metroid then goes towards you, latching onto you once again, but instead of draining your health again, it then starts to… heal you? No clue how the hell they are supposed to be doing that, but at this point, you’ll take it. But then, while the Metroid is starting to heal you, Mother Brain gets back up.

It then starts to fully attack the Metroid non-stop, causing it to grow weaker and changing to a much weaker shade of purple and yellow, until the Metroid then unlatches itself from you, and then goes in for one final attack. Unfortunately though, before it can land that final blow, Mother Brain gets the upper hand, killing the Metroid, and causing it to explode into dust. You may not have known him for long, but you are probably feeling pretty saddened and angry about Mother Brain killing your baby, but fear not, because from the ashes of the Metroid, you gain one final upgrade to your beam that is capable of killing Mother Brain: the Hyper Beam.

You then unload plenty of shots from your own rainbow laser, right into Mother Brain’s dumbass face, until it ultimately crumbles to the ground, ending your mission, and leading you to quickly escaping from the planet. This entire sequence of events, from where you find the destroyed capsule all the way up to when you kill Mother Brain, is executed flawlessly. It is such a simple sequence of events, but they are presented to the player so naturally, without any real pauses in the gameplay, allowing you to fully get absorbed in these moments, which make them all the more surprising, jarring, heart-breaking, and satisfying. Of course, you probably already knew about all this, and you may not think it is such a big deal, as did I when I went into this game, but even when I knew all of what was going to happen, it still made it so that those emotions were rushing through me by the end, and if a game manages to do that even when you already knew it was coming, then that deserves only the highest regards.

Overall, while it still isn’t my favorite game in the entire series, or even my favorite 2D Metroid for that matter, I can’t help but fully admit that Super Metroid, on its own, is almost completely flawless, giving a natural evolution for this series that excels it to new heights, and providing so much fun throughout all that it offers, whether it be through gameplay, presentation, story, or otherwise. I absolutely recommend it for anyone, those who are big fans of the Metroid series, or if you are someone that is wanting to get into the series yourself, because it is not only a perfect starting point for newcomers, but also a title that has held up masterfully after all this time, and it is clear why it is still so prevalent in plenty of gaming communities to this day. Although, I will say one thing, for those of you who are planning on playing this at some point… make sure to save the aliens. You may not know what I am talking about, but trust me, you will want to remember that, so that you won’t get shunned by your peers for doing something wrong.

Game #492

While the original arcade titles weren’t anything to write home about for the most part, the adaptation of the original game that was made for the NES, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, was a definite improvement in many ways. Sure, it didn’t look or sound as good as its arcade counterpart, but it was still fast and fun, had great music, fun visuals for the fighters, addictive gameplay, and it keeps you coming back for more even if you face defeat, making you want to learn the patterns of your challengers so that you can knock them on their ass and claim that sweet belt for yourself. It is hands down the best boxing game on the NES, and it may also be the best sports game on that system as a whole, so naturally, since that alteration managed to do so well, Nintendo figured that there would be no harm in doing it once again. Naturally though, this next adaptation would be released for the hottest thing at the time, the SNES, and rather then taking the original arcade game as its basis, it would use its direct “sequel” instead, which would then lead to the release of the Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES.

Out of all of the Punch-Out!! games that have been released over the years (not including the arcade titles), this is the one that I had zero experience with whatsoever before going into it. Sure, I had played the original NES game long before finally beating it, and I have spent time with the Wii game for an afternoon or so, but in terms of this game, I had never really played it at all, nor even seen too many videos on it. However, given that this was Punch-Out!! that we are talking about, I wasn’t expecting this game to be anything I hadn’t seen before, so I was able to jump into it straight away with little to no trouble whatsoever. Now that I have beaten the game, I can safely say that, out of all the Punch-Out!! games that had been released at this point, this one is definitely the best, with no contest. Sure, it doesn’t add that much at all to the formula to make it stand out from its predecessors, but it manages to deliver the most fun, energy, and content out of all the games so far, to where it was wonderful to finally check out after so long.

The graphics are incredible for what it is, not only looking really great for the system and having wonderful sprites and animations for all the fighters, but it also looks just as good, if not BETTER than the original arcade title it is based on, which is something to admire, the music is great, definitely not being as memorable or iconic as the NES game’s tunes, but still providing the right amount of energy that should go right alongside one of these boxing matches, and it is great to hear, along with all the voice acting for all the different boxers and other characters, the controls are about the same as the NES game, but they do feel just as responsive and tight as ever to where you can jump in right away with no problems whatsoever, and the gameplay is also about the same as the previous games in the series, but it is fine tuned to being the best it has ever been.

The game is a boxing game, where you take control of Little Mac once again, now sporting a brand new look which includes a disgusting new haircut, go through four different circuits each with four opponents for you to fight, throw plenty of different kicks in varying directions to deliver the smackdown onto your opponent swiftly and painfully, make sure to avoid as many attacks as you can, while counter attacking at the right time to get the upper hand on your opponent, and stand victorious amongst all that fell before you as you raise that championship belt high for the crowd to see. It is all what you have come to expect from a Punch-Out!! game, and it all feels like it fits right at home here, providing a very similar, yet much faster and satisfying experience through and through, which was great to experience again after so long.

One big change that was brought back in was in the form of the Power Meter from the arcade games. No longer do you have to punch opponents at specific times in the hopes of getting a star, for now, whenever you build this meter up fully (without getting hit, of course), you are able to throw out devastating attacks to your opponent to deal massive damage, such as with hard-hitting uppercuts or with fast-flying rapid punches. These don’t feel as satisfying to pull off as the Star Punches from the NES game, unfortunately, but the fact that you can have an infinite amount of these to use as long as you don’t get hit is a fair tradeoff, and it does feel great to successfully nail that hit, and just watch as your opponent gets pelted by plenty of punches that knock down their stamina bit by bit. Aside from that though, there isn’t anything else that’s really new to see when it comes to the main gameplay, but that doesn’t bother me here in the slightest, as it still manages to provide the fun, snappy, and fast gameplay that I have come to expect with this series.

Aside from the main circuits, there are additional modes that you can try out in the game, such as a Time Attack mode, where you can see how quickly you can knock down your opponent and try to beat your fastest times, and a Records View Mode, just in case you wanna admire how good or terrible you are in comparison to all of the other fake records that are on display. Not only that, but you can also access a multiplayer mode by inputting a cheat code in the game, where you can duke it out with a pal and see who is the best boxer of them all that entered the ring…………… which many people didn’t know you could do for the longest time. Yeah, this mode was only discovered recently back in 2022, so the fact that there was no clue towards this being a thing from both Nintendo Power or Nintendo themselves beforehand is kinda surprising. Why wouldn’t you want to be able to beat the shit out of your friends like this?

With all that being said though, there isn’t much else to be seen within this installment. It is about as straightforward as you can get for a Punch-Out!! title, which could potentially turn away new players who are hoping for a little more variety and additional gameplay mechanics from this series. Then again, given how it is a boxing title, I’m not sure what else one could possibly hope to expect from these games. All they need to do at the end of the day is provide a fun, fast, and charming experience full of lovable racial stereotypes, and we got that in spades here, including returning characters like Bear Hugger and Dragon Chan, and even new faces to punch such as Aran Ryan and… Bob Charlie. The subtlety of that character hit me about as hard as a sledgehammer to the skull, let me tell ya.

Overall, despite a lack of major change, Super Punch-Out!! managed to take the fun and addicting gameplay of the original NES title and amplify it to new heights, featuring plenty of fun visuals, lovable characters, and fast and intense gameplay that makes me wanna come back for more even as I am typing this right now. I would highly recommend it for those who loved the NES Punch-Out!! game, or for those who are big fans of the Punch-Out!! series in general, because while this isn’t the best game in the series by a long shot, it still shows off what this series can do at its best, and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s just a shame that after this, we never did see another Punch-Out!! title for 15 years. Yeah, I get it, perfection takes time, and it was well worth the wait, but still, they could’ve sped it up a little bit.

Game #498

(Part 1 of 5)

It seems so wild to me that, despite now living in a constant state of confusion, with the quality of his titles constantly going up and down like a rollercoaster, Sonic was pretty much on top of the world back when he was fairly new to the gaming scene. Not all of his games at this point were good, but for a good majority of them, Sonic had managed to knock it out of the park with high speed platforming, enjoyable challenges and bosses to take on, secrets that lead to wonderful rewards, and just a general overall sense of fun that can be seen throughout the titles, and it was clear at this point that Sega was nowhere near close to stopping. It wasn’t too long after we got a slew of Sonic titles, both main titles and spin-offs, when we would get yet ANOTHER Sonic game, but this one was important, as it was the BIG one, one that would prove to be the fastest and the best of the bunch. That game would come to be known as Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

So, truth be told, out of all my years playing this particular entry in the Sonic series, I had actually never played through the original version of the game. I had always played through the & Knuckles version of the game, which makes sense, given that it is the complete version of this game, but I figured, if I am gonna review this game correctly, I have to cover EVERYTHING about it, all the way from the original release to all the little secrets about this title. Therefore, I decided to then play through the original Sonic 3 for the first time, and what a shocker, it was a wonderful time. I wouldn’t say that this is the version of the game that you should play, nor is it perfect by any means, but for what we have here, it is still a great Sonic game on its own, and one of the best games to have for the Sega Genesis.

The story is similar to the previous games, yet somewhat mixed around, where after his defeat in Sonic 2, Robotnik and his Death Egg end up crashing into another land known as Angel Island, a floating island that manages to sink into the ocean due to the previously mentioned crash. Soon after this, he repairs the Death Egg, and Sonic and Tails can’t have that, so they go off to stop him, which is all mostly a typical story from this franchise, but it is good enough to get you on your way, as well as having a few extra elements to it that I will get to in a bit. The graphics are wonderful, being the best looking game in the series so far, making the environments as colorful and full of life as ever, while also providing great designs for all of the characters, enemies, and bosses. The music is also incredible, with there being plenty of bangers that you can listen to throughout the game, which makes sense, given that part of it was made by Michael Jackson!.... oh, wait, I’m sorry, it was “allegedly” made by him (even though we all know he did). Anyway, as for the controls and gameplay, both of these work just as well as they did before, if not better, and they have some new elements added to them to spice things up just a tad.

The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of either Sonic, Tails, or both of them at the same time, take on six different zones through many different locations seen on Angel Island, run through each level at the speed of sound while defeating plenty of different Badniks along the way, gather plenty of rings and powerups to help you out against the many foes and traps you will find, locate special stages in order to get a chance at nabbing the Chaos Emeralds, and take on the many different machines that Dr. Robotnik has prepared for you in plenty of boss fights. Those who are familiar with Sonic at this point know exactly what they are getting into with this game, and thankfully, it just so happens to be the fastest, tightest, and most enjoyable adventure in the series so far. Not to mention, just like with every other mainline Sonic game at this point, there have been numerous additions made to this game to ensure you don’t get tired of it easily.

In terms of Sonic himself, he retains all of his moves from the previous games (except for the Super Peel Out, because fuck you), and in addition, he has a brand new move called the Insta-Shield. It doesn’t really do much, as it just creates a little barrier around the player for a brief moment, but this move can actually be pretty useful for both taking something out and getting yourself out of a bind, so I would say it is a good addition to Sonic’s moveset. Speaking of good additions, Sonic also now has new shields he can mess around with, each one of them carrying an elemental property of some sort. There is the Fire Shield, which allows him to not only dash in mid-air, but also protects himself from fiery hazards, the Bubble Shield, which lets you bounce on the ground for extra height, while also protecting you from drowning, and then there is undeniably the best one, the Electric Shield, which gives you a double jump, and it allows you to attract any lonesome ring that you pass by straight towards you. These shields, when you can get them, are very helpful against whatever you may run into along your journey, and on their own, they are pretty fun to use to see what new paths you can reach by using them.

In terms of other new additions, there is, of course, one new character that gets introduced in this game: Knuckles the Echidna, and when you first encounter this guy, you think he’s an asshole! He just uppercuts you out of nowhere, steals all of your Chaos Emeralds, laughs at you, and then runs away, which leads you to think “What a dick! When I find him, I’m gonna kill that fucker!” Unfortunately though, you don’t get to fight him at all in this game, and he just laughs at you more while making your life hell throughout the entire journey. That’s all he really does in this part of the game, but not only does he get more purpose and story in the later part that I will get to soon, but also, just like with Tails, Amy, and Metal Sonic, Knuckles does become one of the central characters of the Sonic series, not appearing as often as some characters like Tails or Robotnik, but enough to where many fans of the series will recognize him and love him all the same. And I mean, how can you not? He’s like Sonic, except infinitely cooler, obviously. Not to mention, he doesn’t chuckle. He’d rather flex his muscles.

Of course though, we can’t forget about one of the main draws of any Sonic game: getting the Chaos Emeralds, and just like with the previous games, there is a brand new method of getting them here, and in my personal opinion, this is the best method of getting them that the series has had so far. Throughout the stages, there are plenty of these big ol’ 3D rings that you can find, hidden in alcoves that are either easy to spot, or can be pretty tricky to find. Once you find them, you just simply jump right into them, and boom, you are in the special stage! No need for any 50 rings bullshit or anything like that, you are just right into it, which I prefer heavily over the alternative.

As for the special stages themselves, they consist of you running through these simplistic, 3D environments where you have to collect a handful blue balls (stop laughing), while doing your best to avoid all of the red balls that plague the levels, and once you manage to collect them all, BOOM, the Chaos Emerald has been retrieved. Yeah, it isn’t as complex, exciting, or drug-trippy as other Sonic special stages, but they are pretty damn easy in comparison to what this series has given us before, and honestly, I am all for that. What’s even better is that, once you get all seven of the Chaos Emeralds, you can now transform into Super Sonic once again, who functions basically the same as he did in Sonic 2, but who cares, because you are now a golden god, and everything cowers in sheer terror as you blaze through them, which is all that matters at the end of the day.

Would you believe it though when I tell you that, in terms of special stages, that’s not all that this game has to offer? If you do still manage to get 50 rings and pass by a checkpoint, a sparkling ring will appear above it, and when you jump into it, you can then enter one of three special minigames, with them serving the purpose of getting you more rings, power-ups, as many rings as you can carry. I don’t typically go for these types of special stages, as I usually already have plenty of rings and lives to work with, but not only can they be pretty helpful for those that need it, but once you get the hang of them, they can be pretty fun to bounce around and exploit for your own good. And finally, speaking of things I don’t typically check out, there is also the multiplayer mode of this game, returning from Sonic 2. It essentially works almost the same as that game, except now you can play as Knuckles, and you run through several stages that aren’t in the main game at all. These are pretty cool to mess around with, not just to see new content, but also to challenge your friends if you have nothing else to do, even if I myself don’t personally ever see myself trying out this mode ever again.

So yes, all of this makes for a better and more enjoyable experience when compared to every previous mainline Sonic entry, but… there is one area of the game that is severely lacking: the content. The game as a whole is pretty short, with you being able to beat it in about an hour if you know what you’re doing, which isn’t helped by the fact that there isn’t as much content here, with there being only six zones with two acts each to play through. That may sound like quite a bit, but compared to Sonic 2, which had 11 zones in total, or even Sonic CD, which had 7 zones, each with two different acts and a boss fight, that is quite a decrease in content. Of course, there is an explanation for all of this (which I will get into in a later part), but still, that does kind of suck, especially if you were one of the people who bought this game back when it first came out, and you were able to beat it relatively quickly, considering what you have to deal with.

Overall, despite the lack of stages for a Sonic game, this is still a pretty great version of this game, one that does offer plenty of content to mess around with, fun new additions that make playing through it all the more enjoyable, and that same solid gameplay that manages to still be just as fun and timeless as ever. I would definitely recommend it for those who are fans of Sonic, as well as those who just love old-school 2D platformers in general, because this is certainly one of the best ones you could find on the Sega Genesis, or from the 16-bit era in general. Although, if we are being completely honest, if you are looking for the true Sonic 3 experience, then you probably shouldn’t play this one, and you’ll soon see why……….. BUT FIRST-

Game #506

(Part 2 of 5)

For those of you who are familiar with the original Sonic the Hedgehog 3, then you would probably know that, despite how great it is, it is an incomplete game. Originally, the game was going to be much, MUCH bigger than what we ended up getting, with plenty more stages, bosses, features, and gameplay additions, one that we would eventually be able to get… but not right away. Due to deadlines needing to be met, the game ultimately had to be cut in half, with the first half of the game coming out as what we now know as Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which does explain why the game is pretty short and lacking in stages when compared to previous games. Thankfully though, the second half of the game would live on, and we would receive this second half of the game a whole 8 MONTHS after the first half of the game was released. Kinda understandable why it took so long, but either way, this second half of the game would be released under the guise of a brand new game known as Sonic & Knuckles.

Just like with the original Sonic 3, I myself have never played the original version of Sonic & Knuckles before, since I would, once again, always stick with the & Knuckles version of the whole game. For this review, I did end up playing through Sonic & Knuckles, as I did want to see what was different about this version of the game compared to the complete version. That’s one thing I forgot to mention in the previous review, that when I did play through that original version, I did notice quite a few differences compared to the & Knuckles version, such as different sprites, music, and even different bosses, so I wanted to see if this version would change up anything like that as well.

one playthrough later

It barely changes anything from the & Knuckles version. Nevertheless, for being the second half of Sonic 3, it is still pretty great, continuing the high-speed gameplay of the first half, giving plenty new and interesting gimmicks to mess around with as well.

For the most part, the game remains the exact same in terms of presentation from the original. The story picks up right where Sonic 3 left off, so nothing really changes in terms of plot, the graphics are the same, and all the new environments look pretty great, the music still continues the line of rocking, kick-ass tunes, and the control/gameplay is as tight, responsive, and approachable as Sonic 3. The only real difference between the two games is that there are now all new stages, challenges, and bosses to take on, and you can now play through the entire thing as Knuckles, which, believe it or not, actually has a little more meat on its bones rather then just simply being another character that you can play as.

In terms new additions, the only real new thing this part of the game offers is, again, new stages, each one of them does bring a somewhat new and interesting theme that we haven’t seen before, such as being in a hidden desert temple, a giant death fortress (which you can actually play through this time), and in one of Dr. Robotnik’s airships. For a good majority of these levels, they are pretty fun to play through, not only keeping the speed and platforming aspects of the series alive and well, but also introducing new types of hazards, gimmicks, and bosses for you to face along the way. Really, the only stage out of the bunch that I generally dislike would be Sandopolis Act 2, where you will spend most of the time trying to avoid getting crushed by rising sand, while also making sure to jump on all these hanging switches so that these ghosts don’t kill you. It’s not a bad stage, but it is one that can be pretty annoying to get through, especially if you are inexperienced.

Then there is the aspect of playing as Knuckles, which, rather than just being yet another character to play as like with Tails, actually has some proper extra things to play through and check out. It even has a completely different story, taking place after the events of the main game, where Knuckles now realizes that Dr. Robotnik is the bad guy in all of this, and one day while he is chilling on Angel Island, the EggRobo comes around and starts fucking everything up, so he has to go take him out. After that though, you are pretty much going through the usual stuff you have seen before, going through almost the exact same stages as before, as well as fighting the same foes, except the only difference is that there are some unique bosses to be found here, and again, you are playing as Knuckles, who can not only glide through the air (don’t ask me how he does it), but also climb up walls to reach hidden passageways. Personally, I don’t play as Knuckles that much whenever I go back to the classic games, because I am so used to playing as Sonic that he’s just my go-to, but Knuckles is a nice alternative just in case you want something a little different from what you are used to.

Once again though, like with the original Sonic 3, I can’t recommend playing this version of the game over the superior & Knuckles version, not just because that game has more stuff, but also because, compared to the original Sonic 3, this game is also pretty lacking in terms of content. In terms of zones, there are technically 8, but a good couple of these zones are just one-off shoots that only serve to progress the story or boss fights, so in terms of actual stages, there are still only 6. Again, that is completely justifiable given the circumstances surrounding this game, but that is worth mentioning regardless. Not to mention, it doesn’t have a lot of the bonus features that the original Sonic 3 had, such as not having any sort of competitive mode to it, and you can’t even save your game anymore! Having neither of those things isn’t a deal breaker for me, but still, kinda sucks that those things were completely left out of this second half.

Overall though, despite another understandable lack of content, as well some annoying levels to get through, Sonic & Knuckles is still a great game all on its own, one that I’m sure any Sonic aficionado would be able to get into, and one that is pretty fun to run through even to this day. I would recommend it for those who are Sonic fans, as well as those who are big into old-school 2D platformers, because just like its first half, this is one of the best titles that you can get on the Sega Genesis, as well as one of the best platformers of the 16-bit era. But anyway, now that we got that out of the way… I know why you all are here. You all don’t wanna hear about these solo versions of the game, nah, you want the REAL, prime version of Sonic 3. I hear you loud and clear, and I think it’s about time we finally get around to that.

Game #507

(Part 3 of 5)

As I have previously mentioned, during development of Sonic 3, the game had to be split in half in order for Sega to meet deadlines with their releases, and out of this decision, we got two completely separate games: Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Sonic & Knuckles. This decision did make both of these games seem a bit lacking in terms of content, but thankfully… there was a way to remedy this situation. See, while Sonic & Knuckles is still a fully original game that you can play all by itself, it is also a game with a lock-on feature, where you can take any other Sega Genesis title and plop it right on top of Sonic & Knuckles while in the system, making it look like some sort of inbred monster. For the most part, most Sega Genesis titles don’t really give you anything new or special from doing this (aside from one thing that I will get to later), but, whenever you put Sonic 3 onto it, you are able to finally play the true, definitive version of Sonic 3, which is comically referred to as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles.

For all the years that I have been playing this game, THIS is the version that I have always stuck to, whether it be for just a regular run or for a 100% run, and honestly, why wouldn’t I? Given the fact that this is a thing, there really isn’t any reason to go back and play through the original versions, unless you wanna see all of the little details those games had compared to this, which are interesting to see, but let’s be real here: THIS is the only version of Sonic 3 that you ever need to play. So, with that in mind, I can confidently say that this is, without a doubt, one of the best games in the entire series, and quite possibly the best game you could possibly find on the Sega Genesis. Sure, it’s not my favorite Sonic game, and it doesn’t necessarily fix some of the smaller issues I have about the game, but as a whole, it not only brings these two games together to make one big, wonderful package to blaze through, but it adds just that little bit extra to make it all worthwhile.

Once again, for the most part, not too much about the game has changed, as all the graphics, music, the story, control, and gameplay remains the same, running at that consistent quality you come to expect from these titles, but this time around, some things are now altered to fit the experience more. From the start of the game, you can now play as Knuckles, and you can play through all the levels as him, from Angel Island all the way to The Doomsday Zone, so that is pretty cool. In addition, several of the levels have new layouts for the sake of having these new characters to play as, you go right from Launch Base to Mushroom Hill whenever you beat that level, and you can now play as Tails in all of the S&K levels, so that is pretty cool for those of you big Tails fans out there.

The biggest change made between this and the original versions, however, would have to be with the Chaos Emeralds. As per usual, you collect them in the same manner that you would in the original Sonic 3 and S&K, and you can still turn into Super Sonic, but you don’t get to do so forever. Once you reach Mushroom Hill Zone, all of your Chaos Emeralds are now gone, and you are now forced to go looking around for new Special Rings in order to get them back. Only this time, once you go inside one of these rings, you are taken to Hidden Palace Zone, where you will be tasked with getting one of the seven Super Emeralds… which are essentially just the Chaos Emeralds, except bigger and more powerful. You do this by playing through the special stages from S&K, and once you manage to get all of them, you are then given the ultimate reward: the ability to turn into Hyper Sonic… which is essentially Super Sonic, except now you can do a screen nuke attack, and you can give people seizures! So that’s fun.

Sonic doesn’t get to hog all the god-like fun for himself though, as Tails and Knuckles can also get their own super forms from doing this as well, which is pretty great to see, especially since Tails didn’t even get his own super form in the original Sonic 3. For the most part, these forms are pretty similar to that of Hyper Sonic, so there isn’t much difference to be found here, with the exception of Super Tails, who not only has all of those previously mentioned qualities, but he can also summon an army of birds to help him out. Once again, I don’t particularly play as Tails or Knuckles in this game, but for those that do, getting these rewards is pretty great if you enjoy these characters more then Sonic, and they can also be even more helpful, such as the aforementioned bird army Tails has, which is able to annihilate bosses.

Overall, despite not adding too much new content, or changing anything in the game too drastically, Sonic 3 & Knuckles manages to do what it sets out to do, and as a result, creates not just one of the best games on the Sega Genesis, but also one of the best Sonic games of all time. It is one of my personal favorite games in the series (previously my favorite), and it has so many fantastic qualities to it that are still fun to go back and revisit all the way to this day, even after 30 years. I would absolutely recommend this version of the game alone, for those who loved the original versions, or for those who are just Sonic fans in general, because if you somehow haven’t played this version of the game, then you have clearly been missing out for all these years. By the way, you wanna know why Sonic 3 was initially sliced in half during development? Like, the actual, concrete reason why? It’s because Sega wanted the game to be released alongside a Happy Meal toy line that was gonna be released with McDonald’s… I’m fucking serious, look it up, it’s so dumb.

Update #7

Out of the many different SNK fighting games that were released in the early 90’s, the original Art of Fighting was one that generally wasn’t anything all too special, at least, when compared to their other games. It did introduce several elements that would become staples in the fighting game series, such as with the Spirit Gauge, and it made changes to the overall formula that I was a big fan of, such as with bonus stages that actually did something rather than wasting your time, but all in all, it was just another SNK fighter, with not much else going on for it to really be all that memorable or loveable. Of course though, since this is a fighter from SNK, it is contractually obligated to get a follow-up of some kind, so eventually, we would get the sequel to that original game, Art of Fighting 2.

Not gonna lie, I wasn’t looking forward to checking this game out. I didn’t think that it was gonna be really bad, but I had a feeling that, now that I have played so many of the other SNK fighters, or just more fighting games in general, I was going to end up hating this one in comparison to everything else that I had experienced. Thankfully though, that ended up not being the case, and instead, what we are left with is… yet another generic SNK fighting game. Despite that, as a whole, I would say that it is better than the original AOF, and if you were a fan of the original game, you will easily be able to get into this one, enjoy it, and start kicking ass all over again.

The story takes place a year after the events of the original AOF, where Ryo and Robert had saved Yuri and learned that the one that kidnapped her is, in fact, Ryo’s father Takuma, who was forced to kidnap Yuri under orders of a man named Geese Howard (where have I heard that name before…), who just so happens to be setting up a King of Fighters tournament to recruit contestants into his gang, so it is up to Ryo and Robert to enter the tournament to take him down, which is about as generic of a plot that one could expect from a fighting game like this, but then again, it fits pretty well with the game as a whole, so I will let it slide. The graphics are pretty good, being an improvement over the original, both in terms of animations and the designs of characters and environments, but it doesn’t look much different from other SNK fighters, the music is good, well-fitting each environment the fights take in, and going along well with the ass-kicking you will be doing, but none of the tracks themselves are all too memorable, and the control/gameplay are the same as always, with veterans of the genre being able to jump in right away, with there being improvements to be seen… as well as some downgrades.

The game is your typical 2D fighter, where you take control of one of 12 different fighters, face off against plenty of different opponents in many different locations, throw out plenty of different punches, kicks, grabs, and special attacks to fight back against your opponent and show you are the best fighter around, take on several bonus games to either increase your health, strength, or Rage Gauge (which is just the spirit gauge, except rage) further so that you can get an advantage over your opponents, and be the last person standing as you truly harness the art of fighting…. while also making sure that you don’t break your hands in the process. Many fighting game fanatics should be very familiar with how this goes at this point, and AOF 2 doesn’t really do that much to try to change any of that up, which doesn’t really make it any better or worse than the original to me, but it does still manage to be fun for a good bit before you move onto something else.

The only real new addition to the series that can be seen is where now, before each match, each of the characters will taunt their opponents with banter before a match, which, I will admit, does add a lot of personality and charm to this game as a whole, and it does make me wanna see all the different dialogue options that you can possibly get in the game. The only downside to this dialogue though is that, since this is an early 90’s SNK game, the translation of said dialogue is hilariously awful, which admittedly does make it more entertaining, so if you haven’t seen or read any of these lines yet, you should do yourself a favor and look them up, cause it is rich. Aside from all that, it is still your typical fighting endeavor, and as a whole, the game does still play alright. It implements all of the same features from the original, the combat is fun and satisfying to pull off once you get the hang of it, and thankfully, unlike the original game, you can actually play as more than just two characters in the main mode, so that makes it all the more enjoyable. Although, is it just me, or does the movement and executing of moves in this game feel pretty stiff when compared to other fighters, sometimes bordering on being unresponsive? It’s probably just the form of emulation I used for the game, but I dunno, something about it did seem kinda off, but not enough to where it kept me from playing.

What did keep me from playing though, eventually, was the difficulty, because HOLY HELL, it is no joke in this one. I mentioned back in my original AOF review that that game felt easier when compared to every other fighter I had played at that point, even when it was set at the same difficulty I usually set these at, but in terms of this game, it is a whole other story. Even by the second match, I was getting knocked down left and right, losing matches non-stop, and while I was able to get an upper hand on the opponent at some point and proceed through more matches, the AI just kept progressively getting more ruthless, which is more of what I would expect from an SNK fighter, but they are flat out vicious here. Or maybe I just suck. Either way, this time around, the difficulty is no joke.

Overall, despite the hard-as-hell difficulty and the lack of any substantial new changes, AOF 2 is what I would consider a slight improvement over the original game, making the game feel much bigger, better, and more fun to play then the original, while also not being anything too noteworthy to get your mitts on right away. I would recommend it for those who were fans of the original game, as well as those who are a big fan of old-school fighting games, but for everyone else, there are plenty of different options that you could check out over this. But man, I sort of feel bad for Art of Fighting, y’know. I mean, there’s gotta be some way that the series could become better, as well as more memorable, rather then just being another fighting series made by SNK that most completely forgot about. Perhaps, what could help it out would be with………. a crossover…

Game #510

Back when it originally released, the original Mortal Kombat was a smash hit, and was extremely successful for not just a new game, but for a new direct competitor for Street Fighter II. The game sold millions, with home versions selling over 6 million copies, and it not only managed to gain a massive fanbase worldwide, but was also a direct contributor to the creation of the ESRB rating system. Not many other games can claim to have changed the industry forever like that, and it was clear from this success that Mortal Kombat was gonna be not just a new mainstay for Midway, but also for the fighting genre as a whole. So, despite them originally planning on making a Star Wars game next, Ed Boon and John Tobias were then put to work on making a sequel almost immediately, and this next game was aiming to be bigger and better than the original in every way, making things even more bloody and fun. Thus, just one year after the first game, the world was then given a second helping of gore and violence with Mortal Kombat II.

Out of all the classic Mortal Kombat games, this is definitely the one I had heard about the most, not only being considered the best of the original trilogy, but also one of the best fighting games of all time. Just like with the original Mortal Kombat, I hadn’t really played too much of MKII before, only playing it in short bursts at barcades, but not really getting anywhere past that. So, I decided to finally tackle it properly, and yeah, I would say that the game definitely deserves the reputation it has. It is better than the original game in every way, being one of the best classic arcade fighters I have ever played, and while it does have its issues, none of that stopped me from having a bloody good time with it.

The story, on the surface, is pretty simple, with Shao Kahn, the true emperor of Outworld, sparing and deaging Shang Tsung while making a brand new fighting tournament to try to take over Earthrealm, and so Liu Kang, along with many other fighters, step up to the plate to try to take down Shao Kahn, with there also being plenty of other separate plot details accompanying it with each characters’ separate story, making the story a simple, yet enjoyable follow-up to the original game, the graphics are very similar to the original game, but it does look better then the first game, having much more detail given to the environments, characters, and fatalities that you can perform, the music is pretty good once again, having plenty of tracks that fit the environments very well, and it gets you pumped up to kick some more ass, the control is still somewhat stiff, but it does feel better to play when compared to the previous game, with more moves that you can pull off this time, and the gameplay takes what was introduced in the previous game, and is expanded upon more and more to make an undeniably superior sequel.

The game is a classic arcade fighting game, where you take control of one of five of the previous games combatants (along with Reptile and Shang Tsung, because why not), as well as five new challengers that would become mainstays in the Mortal Kombat series, take on another opponent in plenty of different stages with the feel of death permeating through them, throw out various punches, hits, and combos to your opponent to beat them down before they even knew what was coming, perform a brutal Fatality to prove that you are the superior fighter and a force to be reckoned with, and climb up the ladder of opponents until you are able to reach Shao Kahn himself. In many ways, a lot of what was introduced in the first game remains unchanged, but again, much like many great sequels, this game takes all of what was great about the original Mortal Kombat, refines many of its best elements, and adds plenty more to it.

If I were to describe this game in one simple sentence, I would just say it was Mortal Kombat but MORE. There are more characters, more stages, more moves you can pull off, more fatalities, more bosses to get your ass kicked by, and more secret characters that you can face off against if you know what you are doing. It may feature the same means of progression as the first game, but with many different characters to use and many different moves to pull off, there is a lot more to see and do in Mortal Kombat II. Not to mention, the game itself plays just as well as the original, if not better. The movement can still be a little stiff, and it definitely as smooth or fast as other fighters, but it does feel a lot more satisfying and quick to control, with plenty of violence to accompany the combat to add to that same feel of satisfaction, along with the sound effects adding a lot to it. I’m sure many of us who have played this game are quite familiar with the many screams and grunts that the characters will let out when they get hit, and even for those who haven’t played any Mortal Kombat game, you may be quite familiar with the phrase “GET OVER HERE!”, which is still one of the most famous video game lines to this day.

Of course, the fatalities are brought back in this game, and they are without a doubt a MASSIVE improvement over the original game. The original fatalities were still pretty good, but the ones we get in Mortal Kombat II are much better and bloodier, with some of my personal favorites being one where Kung Lao uses his hat to slice an opponent in half, showing broken ribs and all, and one where Liu Kang straight up turns into a MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON, and he then chomps off the top half of the opponent's body. How can you not love something like that? Not to mention, in this game, you could now perform multiple fatalities per character rather then just being limited to just one. For example, with Mileena, you can either use your sai to constantly stab through your opponent in one violent burst of fury, or you can take off your mask and suck up your opponent into your big-teethed mouth, only to then spit out their bones all onto the ground next to you. The choice is yours! And finally, there are more stage fatalities that you can perform as well, such as knocking your opponent into the pit of acid surrounding you in a level, knocking them into the spikes hanging on the ceiling in a level, or just knocking them off to where they slam on the ground far below you. They may be simple, but they are still satisfying to pull off.

But if you think that the Fatalities are all this game has to offer in terms of finishers, then you would be wrong! Two new different types of finishers were introduced in this game, which aren’t as violent as fatalities, but they are still just as fun to see and pull off. The first of these new finishers are the Babalities, where you turn your opponent into…. a baby. Yeah. Not exactly sure how this kind of finisher came into existence, but again, it is still one that is hilarious to pull off, and extremely satisfying, turning your opponent into a big ol’ crying baby, literally. In addition to this, there are now also Friendships, where instead of killing your opponent or turning them into a baby, you perform an act of friendship that is also funny and charming to see in action, such as with Shang Tsung creating a rainbow out of thin air to show how friendly and pro-equality he is, Baraka offering his opponent a gift rather then his blades of fury, and Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Reptile each advertising their own doll versions of themselves that you can now buy at your local Wal-Mart or Outworld store. They may be stupid, but they are incredibly enjoyable to see, and are some of my favorite finishers in any fighting game that I have ever seen.

Now, with all of that out of the way, I can’t pretend that Mortal Kombat II is a perfect sequel, even though it is very close to being so. Once again, just like with the original game, this game has a severe case of fighting game syndrome, where many of the opponents you will face will be incredibly overpowered compared to you, and will make sure to kick your ass all around the arena and leave you as a bloody corpse at any chance they get. Of course, it is still doable, but you are gonna need to bring your A-game if you wanna even stand a chance against these opponents. In addition, while I do love a lot of the fatalities that are present in this game, a lot of them do feel repetitive when you compare them all. A lot of them either involve you either slicing or punching someone’s head off, and slicing or chomping their body in half. I may be a simple man who claps when limbs go flying and blood goes pitter patter, but I also would like a touch more variety in these fatalities, or at least, a little more then what we already got in this game. Then again, those things I previously mentioned are merely just minor complaints, as this is still a pretty solid follow-up all around.

Overall, despite a somewhat repetitive nature with some fatalities and fighting game syndrome still very much being a thing, Mortal Kombat II is a fantastic follow-up to its bloody predecessor, and one of the best classic arcade fighting games that I have ever played. It is clear why many regard this to be the best of the original MK games, and it will definitely be one I come back to if I am in the mood to beat someone’s face in for a half-hour. I would definitely recommend it for those who are big Mortal Kombat fans, as well as those who are fans of fighting games in general, because while it may not be as content-packed or creative as future installments, it still provides a great, bloody spectacle that will provide fun for plenty of time, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Man, now that I have gotten through this game, I can’t wait until we get to Mortal Kombat 3! I’m sure that game will be even better than this one, and have plenty of new stuff to introduce to the series as well…………. Right?

Game #431