Konami recently came out with a collection of their licensed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games they released back in the late 80s and early 90s, during the first round of the Turtles’ heyday. Since a lot of people grew up with and enjoyed these titles, this collection is a pretty big deal. Especially since for a long time, it would’ve been hard to get the rights to all these games again! But I guess since Nickelodeon has all the rights to TMNT stuff now, maybe that part was easier to do? Anyway, of course I got this collection so grab a slice of pizza and let’s take a look at the games on here as well as my personal history with each title.
As a late bloomer to RPGs, I was mostly ignorant of the Final Fantasy series until 1997, when that commercial for Final Fantasy VII caught my attention in all its epic CG glory. But it would be another two years before I finally saw a demo of the game in action, which sparked my love for RPGs. The point is that I missed out on Final Fantasy VI (originally titled Final Fantasy III in the US) when it was released in 1994. Fortunately, the Super NES Classic Edition's release several years back allowed the opportunity to play Square’s magnum opus of the 16-bit series. And boy, was it worth the wait.
I played Switch, X360 and XSX systems. I'd like to make that Switch, PS4, XSX sometime. I always wanted to get to all three major systems during play sessions.
When I was a wee lad in the arcades, motorcycle racers were not often a priority for me to spend my quarters. I was too busy playing After Burner, Galaga, or Ms. Pac-Man. But one day, I saw something that stood out from the usual bunch- Sega’s Super Hang-On, initially released in 1987. As I hopped on the mechanical bike and blasted around that first corner, I knew it was worth every quarter spent. I was one with the road- until I crashed seconds later. While I never won the race or played it in the arcade again, I always remembered how much fun it was. Thankfully, most of the traits that made the coin-op version fun translated well on the Sega Genesis.
It's about all I can do writing a blog in the short time I have, take a shallow dive into games I've sometimes barely played. Here's what:
How primitive were graphics in video games in their early days? Some games didn't even have graphics. Instead, these games had textual descriptions of your environments and the on-screen action. You interacted with these games using a command prompt.
Back during the PSOne days, Square released a mascot kart racing game featuring cute versions of their Final Fantasy staple characters. You know, chocobo, moogle, white and black mages, etc. It was called Chocobo Racing. I wanted to get this game when it came out, but I was poor college student at the time and couldn’t afford to get it at full price. Plus I heard it was getting a lot of bad reviews, so I decided to wait for a while. Shortly after I graduated college, I found a new copy of Chocobo Racing at a flea market and it was only 20 bucks. And since I had a bit more disposable income by then, I decided to get it. And you know what? Despite it having such bad reviews, I really liked it! Sure it was no where near as good as Mario Kart or other mascot racers at the time such as Diddy Kong Racing and Crash Team Racing. But I really liked how they implemented Final Fantasy themes and tropes into the gameplay and presentation. So when Square-Enix showed a sequel of sorts last year coming to the Switch called Chocobo GP, I was really excited and wanted to get it. So now I finally have it and I wanted to talk about it and all the characters and tracks found therein. So let’s get started!
When Final Fantasy VII appeared in the late 90s, my initial reaction was that of shock at the significant gulf in sequels for the US. It was a harsh reality to learn that, of the three mainline Final Fantasy releases we received, Japan had double that number by the start of the PlayStation era. As time marched on, Square (now Square Enix) eventually released the sequels we had missed. Meanwhile, I’ve been playing a nearly 30-year-long game of catch-up since 1997. A particular blind spot for me was Final Fantasy III- the last one to be developed for the Famicom. However, after finally getting around to playing it, I now have a new appreciation for this long-running series.
If there’s ever a time I dread writing a review, it’s when my subject is a highly favored game that has received so much praise over the years that it’s a bit hard not to sound like I’ve just hopped aboard the nostalgic hype train at this point. Check any top 10 list of the best Super Nintendo games, and you’ll be hard-pressed not to find The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past floating somewhere within the top five, if not the number one spot. It’s a testament to its staying power in the minds of the gaming community at large. When I sat down to play this game for myself, I only had one question- is the game really that good? Yes. Yes, it is.
It’s your lucky day! St. Patrick’s Day is coming up so I’ve got some reviews for you I’ve recently written over at GamerDad.com! Please click on the links and read as many as you can and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
I guess I celebrated Mario in a way by playing my randomly sampled game, Super Smash Bros. on Wii-U. I randomly rolled the Wii-U and the number 3. The game was number 3 on Metacritic's list of best Wii-U games.
Well we’ve reached the finish line of another BaD! Sorry I couldn’t participate, but writing three game reviews a week plus all my other life commitments is enough for me! But I sure enjoyed reading all your other blogs and I hope you all will continue to post blogs more frequently in the future! So to celebrate the end of another good BaD, here are game reviews I’ve recently written at GamerDad.com! Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
I've played several games in this Queen's Quest series, but I played Queen's Quest 5: Symphony of Death most recently because it was free-to-play on Xbox One.
Happy Valentine’s Day! I’ve got valentines for all of you! Game reviews I’ve written recently at GamerDad.com! Show your love by reading as many as you can, and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it! OK let’s begin!
It's been quite a year! I played a ton of games this year, and there were plenty of games that I wanted to play that I didn't get to (too many games!). Some of those games will roll over into next year. For 2021, I beat a total of 25 games! Instead of talking about all of those, I'll just highlight the ones I really enjoyed this year and after that, I'll tell you my personal Game of the Year. So here are the games I beat this year that I really loved.
Happy New Year! I thought I’d end this year with one last blog with reviews I’ve written lately over at GamerDad.com. Please click on the links and read as many as you can and maybe even post a ‘like’ or comment or two. OK let’s begin!
Merry Christmas everyone! I’ve got some presents for you! Game reviews I’ve recently written at GamerDad.com! Just what you always wanted! Please click on the links and read as many reviews as you can, and maybe post some ‘likes’ and comments, too! I’d appreciate it. And in the comments section, give me a pretend present and I’ll give you one, too! It’s the thought that counts…literally!
After seeing the incredible success of Konami's shoot-'em-up Gradius, Sega sought to create an arcade game that could rival it. So in 1986, game designer Yoji Ishii (Flicky, Outrun, NiGHTS) came up with a concept that combined the whimsical sensibilities of Twinbee with a giddy samba-esque soundtrack to create Fantasy Zone. As a lighthearted take on side-scrolling shooters that later cemented the "cute-’em-up" subgenre.
We’re going to start celebrating Halloween a little bit early with game reviews I’ve recently written over at GamerDad.com. We’ve got games featuring witches, ghosts, and some retro goodness, too! Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe even post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was an odd beast for many reasons. It originally released in 2011 for the Wii, and had a lot of expectations to live up to, both from fans and from Nintendo's financial department. Unfortunately, it met with a sharply divided reception among both, in no small part because Skyward Sword often got in its own way with its design.