Donkey Kong Country

There was a lot of hype surrounding Donkey Kong Country when it was first released. The CGI visuals were a cut above what SNES owners were used to at the time and the game seemed to give the Super Nintendo a much needed second wind. Over 15 years later, the graphics are still great but they can't save the game from any criticisms it may receive. It this case the only really complaint I can muster is that, apart from the graphics and despite putting many unique ideas on the table, it still feels like a rather generic platformer. A complaint that I can only really guess comes from my enjoyment of the sequels.

Donkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platformer like Mario. DK and Diddy can dispatch enemies by rolling through them, pouncing on them, or by tossing barrels at them. Each character has his unique strengths. DK can dispatch larger enemies that Diddy merely bounces off of, while Diddy can jump a little higher. What the game does do differently is that the different things you can do in each level help keep the journey lively. Each stage has its own theme, like swimming underwater, riding in mine carts, or launching your character out of barrel-cannons. There are secret passageways that lead to bonus games where you can earn bananas and balloons(extra lives). In many places, there are crates that contain animals that you can ride and control anything from a rampaging rhino and a bouncing frog to a swimming swordfish and a flying ostrich. Over a decade has passed since this game's original release and although some of the shine has dulled it still manages to be a fun diversion. The first game in the series may not in the same league as Super Mario World, but Donkey Kong Country still ranks as one of the better platformers out there.

Super Metroid (Review)

Super Metroid was the third game released in the Metroid series, but is the seventh game in the series's timeline. The game's story ties together elements from the original game and the Game Boy sequel. The game sees Samus returning to planet Zebes and entering the Space Pirate's base. She finds a lone Metroid in a room which is instantly captured and is taken somewhere deep within Zebes, with Samus in pursuit to find out where the Metroid has been taken and why. The story isn't that interesting, as is the case with most Nintendo games, but the story does take place on the same planet as the first game so I got to see some familiars enemies and places. The game not only uses the worlds from the original game but expands on them. Many of the repeated rooms have also been re-designed, providing the right balance of nostalgia and new challenges, which was something I enjoyed.

Not much has changed since the first game, you're still exploring the depths of the planet, killing alien enemies, finding new power-ups to help you progress. As with most sequels there are new power-ups like the speed booster which lets you crash through certain walls, the power bomb, which destroys extremely hard surfaces and the very helpful X-ray visor, which lets you finds hidden paths and power-ups. A lot of people have often referred to Super Metroid as the best game in the Metroid franchise and one of the best games of all time and maybe because that's the only thing I ever hear when someone talks about the game, I find it rather easy to disagree. While exploration is the main hook of the series, it's still way too easy to get stuck/lost with no clue where to go. While this did help me feel fustration in the same way Samus was probably feeling, it's not fun to be at a complete loss of what to do for long periods of time. Also some of Samus's abilities control like crap, I'm mostly referring to the untrustworthy grapple beam and the dreadful to use wall jump. Despite those complaints, Super Metroid is still a wonderful game filled with top-notched gameplay and an haunting atmosphere. Definitely one of the Super Nintendo's best titles and one of the better games on the Wii's virtual console.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Review)

Super Mario RPG was the last Mario game produced for the Super Nintendo. It was a joint project between Nintendo and Square-Enix and was the first RPG for the Mario franchise. This game was not very well known because it was released only months before the N64, so nobody gave it any attention. Luckily, I got the game for a birthday present and though it took me a while to figure out how to play it (I was 8 and it was the first RPG I ever played), it became one of my favorite games. Those that played it considered it to be one of the best games of all time and really wanted Nintendo to put it on the Wii's Virtual Console. The game was finally released on the Virtual Console last September and everyone who missed out on it got to see what all the fuss was about. Meanwhile, I played through it and found the game to be just as amazing as it was way back then.

The game's RPG roots allowed for the Mario storyline to be properly expanded for the first time. The story starts like a typical Mario game with Mario going to save Princess Peach from Bowser. Once Mario is about to rescue her, a giant sword falls from the sky crashing into Bowser's castle. The crash sends Mario, Bowser, and Peach flying in all different directions and Mario ventures off to find Peach. Eventually, Mario meets a spirit in the form of a doll named Geno who explains that when the sword fell from the sky, it fell through The Star Road spreading the pieces of it everywhere. The Star Road is what grants everyone's wishes and the sword is a henchmen for a alien named Smithy, who plans to get rid of all wishes and replace them with weapons. In 1996, it was definitely refreshing to see a major Mario game that didn't center on saving Peach. The story is well written with plenty of humor, though I don't think the writting is as good as the later RPGs in the series. The game's full of interesting and unique new characters and the classic cast of Mario characters have their personalities defined and expanded. Bowser in particular, steals the show with some truly hilarious dialogue.

The game is pretty much the same as any other RPG. The big difference is that in battle you can use actions called Timed Hits. For example, if you have Mario punch and you press A at the right time while attacking, he will punch twice instead and do extra damage. This also works defensively and with special magic attacks. It's intuitive and it has been implemented in every Mario RPG game since this game. Like other RPGs, you can use magic in battle which take up FP(Flower Points) and when FP is gone, then you'll have to use an item to replenish it. You also can buy or find new Weapons and Armor to equip on your characters. The weapons that you can equip are fun and fit the Mario universe well, like a giant koopa shell, hammers, a star gun (for Geno), and razor claws (for Bowser). The only problem comes with the item storage, you can only carry 30 items and duplicate items don't stack. You'll receive items from battle constantly so it won't be long before you have to start selling/trashing items to make room for better ones.

The overall game is not that difficult, although most of the latter bosses can cause a decent bit of trouble due to some really cheap overpowered special attacks. The game is a fairly decent length running about 7-8 hours, which becomes longer when you explore the game's big overworld to find all the hidden secrets. The game has really great replay value as I've already played through the game several times over since its re-release last year. I've talked about this game a lot longer than I meant to, but that's only because I love this game so much. I say anyone who loves fun games should do themselves a favor and check this one out. It's easily one of the best games in the Mario franchise.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time Re-Shelled (Review)

The 2nd Ninja Turtles arcade game: Turtles in Time, and more specifically the Super Nintendo enhanced port of the game are not only the high point of Ninja Turtles nostalgia, but also represent the peak in quality of the beat em up genre. To celebrate the turtles 25th anniversary, Ubisoft has updated the arcade version for the X-Box Live Arcade (it will release later for the Wii and PS3). I use the term "update" loosely as all that has really been changed for this version is a nice graphical improvement and the voice work being handled by the cast of the current Ninja Turtles series. The only major gameplay change comes as a result of the new 3d environments. Instead of just being able to attack in two directions, the turtles can now attack in all eight directions and since your enemies can also attack in this fashion, things get pretty hectic at times.

The game still has some of the cheap trappings of an arcade game trying to steal quarters out of your pocket, but its actually fairly manageable here, unlike the 1989 arcade game. Also unlike the 1989 game, the game is fairly enjoyable in single player. There still isn't any sort of delay time when you get knocked down so enemies near you when you try to get up will still easily attack you again, but it's not as punishing this time and doesn't seem to happen as frequent. Bosses are actually fun and seem to have some semblance of a legit attack strategy (well most of them anyway). Just like the 1989 game, the game is a lot more fun in mulitiplayer and much easier. The only major downside to this release is that its an update to the arcade version of Turtles in Time instead of the SNES version that had more levels and better boss choices. Despite its quirks, I'd say this remake gets a recommendation. It's a pretty fun game to play by yourself, and even more fun with friends.