Nintendo DS #1 - Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

After writing this blog for over six months I finally got around to beating a modern game. Although this will only be modern for the next few months as the 3DS is going to come out in March and displace the regular DS. It doesn't seem to take very long for video games to become retro, so I give the DS about another year before it starts getting talked about on classic gaming forums.

I don't know if you've played many Castlevania games in the last 13 years, but ever since Symphony of the Night came out there have been about a dozen games that are exactly like it. I can't really complain that much because they are all good, but you usually know what you're getting before you turn the game on. The two most noticeable are that they are side scrolling and they all have a really dumb subtitle.

I want to talk about the subtitles for a second because they drive me absolutely crazy. I don't know why they had to make it so hard to tell what order the games came out in. When I started playing Dawn of Sorrow I found out that it's actually the sequel to Aria of Sorrow. I guess I was supposed to know that because they are in alphabetical order. They both end with the word Sorrow, but it's still easy to get them mixed up. Actually my eyes start to glaze over just looking at their names. I think I picked out Dawn of Sorrow because it's the easiest to spell. Would it have been so bad to call them something like Castlevania Advance or Castlevania DS? You need to either give them more specific titles or quit making the storylines connected. Anyway, I'll try not to talk about this so much when I'm playing the other Castlevanias. I think it's out of my system now.

So now that I've gotten my mini rant out of the way I can get on to the game's true bread and butter, the side scrolling gameplay. I don't know if you can remember, but back when Symphony of the Night came out side scrolling games were pretty much dead. Castlevania resurrected the genre just like how they keep doing with Dracula. Ever since then side scrolling has been the standard in the series. There have been some 3D attempts but nobody cares about them at all. I'm honestly not sure why they keep trying.

Dawn of Sorrow is one of the traditional kinds. In fact it's so traditional that it's a little bit boring to talk about. It's got all the gameplay elements you love. The big Super Metriod style map, the items that let you open up more areas, the weapons and armor to buy, and of course the big bosses. You do get to capture souls in this one so that changes things up a bit. As far as I know every regular monster gives you some special ability. You can also augment your weapons with monster souls which can be fun, but can also be very tedious. I probably spent an entire hour fighting the same monster over and over again because I needed his soul to augment my axe. At least with the DS I can watch tv at the same time so I don't get bored.

Honestly there's so much sameness in the series that it's hard to think of much to say. I think they could've made your character move a little bit faster, and I hate that all the strong weapons are also extremely slow. Of course the whole thing only takes about 10 hours so perhaps it's for the best. A faster moving game would have been over much too quickly. Other than that it was another fun Castlevania experience. Hopefully the next game I play in the series will be more interesting to talk about, but I'll try to spread them out some so you don't have to read about them all at once.

NES #33 - Bionic Commando

Okay so I could've wrote about this game a week ago, but I've sick. Whenever I get sick my writing starts to get really dark. Yesterday I was planning out a blog post about how you never get back what you had as a kid, but you will spend your whole life trying. I was going to talk about how that's the reason I play so many old video games. So you can see how my mind goes when I'm not feeling well. For the record I'm not that interested in reliving my childhood, and I'm actually quite happy these days. I'm probably still a little too ill to be blogging, but I get really bored when I miss work. At least this gives me something do to.

So earlier I was talking about how I'm not trying to recapture my childhood by playing old games, but if I was I couldn't think of many better games to do that with than Bionic Commando. For years I said it was my favorite game ever made. While I no longer know if that's true I still think it's just as fun as when I played it all those years ago. The only thing that has changed is my appreciation for other games.

In many ways I think Bionic Commando is the perfect action platform games on NES. I think the only rivals are Mega Man 2 and Mario 3. It has so many things going for it. I mean, look at what it has going for it. First of all there's the unique gameplay. You can't jump, but you got this long arm that you have to swing around with. All the precision swinging makes this a game like no other. Then there's the compelling storyline. This was right after game developers started to see the potential for expanded stories in games, and they use it to great effect here. This game also has the most bloody and adult ending that I had seen in a game up to that point. It also has some RPG elements which greatly enhances the experience. How good can a game be with no towns to visit and no levels to gain? I don't even want to think about it. It's even got a world map which always knocks a game up a couple of places on my list.

Am I gushing a little bit? Well I really love this game. I've beat it many times over the years. Although I have an interesting story, or at least a not completely boring story, about this time through. This was actually going to be one of the first games I played when I started this blog. I knew that I could get through it easily. It was always my plan b in case another game was taking longer than expected. Well I tried playing through this one during just about every RPG I've covered on this list and never could beat it. I discovered that somehow I sucked at Bionic Commando. But this was my game! I couldn't possibly be so bad! I was missing every jump, getting hit by every soldier, and running out of lives fast. What was going on? I had remembered this game having very fluid motion. You were able to swing around like Tarzan. How did it get so sluggish? I thought that maybe it was a Tetris scenario where I had played so many newer versions that the old NES one seemed rough by comparison. The problem with that theory is that I've never really played any of the other versions of Bionic Commando. It was about that time that I realized that my controller was broken.

So all this time I've been playing these games with a broken controller. Or at the very least an unresponsive one that needs a good cleaning. I don't really know that much about the technical side of gaming. Anyway, I got out one of my other controllers and beat this game easily. I finally learned how to get continues and realized that there's still a lot I don't know about this game. I didn't know that you could use your energy recovery pills over and over again. I thought that was a one shot deal. Also, I still don't know how to get the machine gun. Not that I need it much when I've got a rocket launcher. Still, I'd like to know. I think it's great that I've spent more time playing this game than just about any other platformer and I still don't know everything about it. Some games just have staying power.

So did I mention how much I love this game? I guess there's not much more for me to say. I can't say that it's the greatest game of all time anymore, but it certainly is one of the best sequels anyway. The developers took the game Commando and expanded it beyond anyone's wildest dreams. I would like to close by saying that I hope people are impressed out there that I had been playing through all these NES games with a broken controller. But since I'm a guy who spends his free time playing twenty year old games and writing about them ten years after all the other bloggers out there I doubt you will be. Well there I go getting dark again. That's why I get for blogging when I'm sick.

A couple more Mario 2 items

I forgot that I uploaded a couple more pictures for my Mario 2 article. The first one's real good too.

Does anyone remember Wacky Packages? Well back in 1991 there was a very brief revival and this was one of the cards. I've had this one for years, but I'm not quite sure where it is at the moment. This one's funny for a few reasons, but most of them are unintentional. I think my favorite part about it is that the artist has no idea what a video game is. He clearly drew a vhs tape coming out of the box. He must've heard the word "video" and assumed that's what it was. I remember that when I was a kid I thought that was really dumb. Who hadn't seen a video game before? I also think it's kind of funny that this is a parody of Mario 2 even though by then Mario 3 and possibly even Super Mario World had been released. Wacky Packages parodies are usually spot on, but this one's a little off. I actually did some research, but I'm not entirely sure who did the art for this one. I know it's not John Pound or Tom Bunk. Pat Piggot maybe? Oh well, nobody cares but me.



I think this picture is interesting because it was used for the cover of the very first issue of Nintendo Power. There were so many great pictures of Mario floating around at the time that I have no idea why they went with the goofy clay portrait. Perhaps they wanted it to stand out on the shelves, or maybe they thought it was more realistic. I sure hope it's not the second one. Also Mario is holding a carrot which I think is a little odd. He mostly holds turnips in the actual game. I guess carrots were easier to shape out of clay.

Nintendo Power 1 is also the only issue that I have. I never got into Nintendo Power that much because I didn't like how biased the reviews tended to be. That's what I thought back then anyway. I would usually just look at the issues my friends had and buy EGM or an occasional Gamepro. Now I wish I had them all. They are very entertaining from a historical standpoint, and I love all those old pictures of levels that were laid out like maps. My issue 1 is sadly missing its cover so I never get to see funny clay Mario. I guess that's what the internet is for.

NES #32 - Super Mario Bros. 2

And now by special request, here's Super Mario Bros. 2! I honestly wasn't sure if I wanted to play through this one yet, but I'm glad I did. This is one of those popular games that will ensure me many page views. I like to spread those out, but I'm doing this one right after Super Mario Bros. 3. The two most popular NES games right in a row. What was I thinking? I bet I get twice as many for this one as I'm going to get when I play through something like Widget or Wurm. At least I've still got Super Nintendo.

And now for the disclaimer. I know that this games was originally Doki Doki Panic and not SMB2. It was converted for the US after the Japanese SMB2 was deemed too difficult and too much like the first game. It was later released as the lost levels on Mario All-Stars and several other carts. I don't want to dwell on this too much though. As a kid playing this game it was nothing but the next Mario game. I think it deserves to be treated that way too. It's certainly earned it.

I love the early days of the NES. The developers really seemed fearless, and everything was new. I mean, they turned Legend of Zelda into a pseudo side-scroller, and they weren't afraid to do the same for their most important character. Japan can keep their sequel, we want a game that is completely different.

Actually the game couldn't be much more different than the first one without completely switching genres. It has none of the same enemies, radically different levels, and completely different play mechanics. It's a little shocking when you think about it. The first game was all about what was above you. All the items were hidden in blocks over you heads. To kill enemies you had to jump on them. In the second game, it's all about what's under you. You don't break up blocks but pull up plants and mushrooms. Jumping on enemies does no good unless there's something hidden above their heads. Probably the most famous difference, however, is the ability to change characters from level to level. Each one has their own pros and cons. I'm a Luigi man, but when I play through this game I use everyone but Mario. This has got to be the only Mario game where you can play through it without even seeing him. You have to admit, that is pretty shocking.

All of these changes could've made the game playing public angry, but all I remember from the time is love. This game had something that the first one didn't have. It had much better advertising. When I was real little Mario was everywhere. He had that great cover picture that got pasted on just about everything. I wish I still had my Mario belt and lunch box, but they've been lost. The first game came out and Mario was the game to play, but by the time the second one came along Mario was already becoming a legend.

I have many memories of this game. It was the first game we ever rented back in that glorious time when you could rent Nintendo games cheap. At our local place the trick was to rent the games on Saturday because the store was closed on Sunday, and you could keep it an extra day. This started a tradition of me and my brother renting a game every week for years. Right up to the Dreamcast era actually. That's a long time when you think about it. This was also a game I got on my 7th birthday. I know this because I've seen the pictures. This would make it 1991, so I must've played it for a while before I ever owned it. I think I already had Mario 3 by then, but there is no picture of me getting that one.

What I'll always remember about this game is its difficulty. If the real SMB2 was too hard for Americans, it must've been by only a couple of spiny eggs. I spent more time playing this game than just about any other, but I never beat it till I was in college. College! I'm not sure what my hang up was as a kid. I remember getting past world 4 with no trouble, but after that my mind gets a little fuzzy. Fry Guy was pretty tough, and those mushroom power-ups get much more difficult to find, but I don't remember a specific level that hung me up.

Anyway, I had a much easier time of it here in 2011. I had plenty of lives and actually got through it quite quickly. I of course skipped all the warp zones, but they're there if you need them. I would say my favorite world in this one is world 4 with the ice and those whales that shoot the streams of water, but the worlds aren't connected in this one like they are in the other games. They are much more random.

I remember in college I used to hear people complain about the ending to this one, but I gotta tell you something. Even going into this game you know how it's going to end. I knew it when I was seven, and I didn't even know how to tie my shoes. If you read the prologue then it shouldn't be a surprise for you. So if you want to complain about this one, find something real to complain about. I actually don't have many negative comments about this one. Go figure.

Well I think I've said my peace about this one. It's a really special game to me that I've had longer than just about any of them. 800 games later and it still has a special place in my heart. I miss the days when Nintendo wasn't afraid to be bold and made sequels that weren't just carbon copies of the previous game. Well there it is. I hope you enjoy it. And please come back when I'm out of cool games to play and have to play through Demon Sword or Code Name: Viper. I would really appreciate it.

NES #31 - Super Mario Bros. 3

Well it's a new year and I finally have a new computer, so I can actually get back to writing about games again. I was going to do a year end recap at the beginning of January, but then I remembered that I started this blog in June. I will wait till then so that I can record a whole year of actual gaming.

I can think of very few ways to start out the new year better than talking about Super Mario Bros. 3. This game is very special to me. In fact, I would say that the two things that define my childhood the most are They Might Be Giants and SMB 3. Yeah I know, I was a cool kid.

I'll never forget the first time I played this game. My cousin had got it right when it first came out. I was five years old at the time and can't remember if I knew it was coming or not. I was pretty little though, and we didn't get Nintendo Power so video game news traveled slowly. I doubt anything could've prepared me for it. I thought that it was the most amazing thing I had ever gotten my hands on. I was instantly hooked by the great graphics and wonderful gameplay. It was like the first SMB, but everything was improved by about a million times. I just figured that playing that game was all I was ever going to do. I found my true purpose in life. For about the next year or so I was right. Then the Super Nintendo came out and that's a whole other story.

I even had my parents put it on lay away for me at Wal-Mart the next time I saw it in a store. We didn't have very much money back then, and this was the first game I ever got that wasn't for a holiday or birthday. I'll never forget when they picked me up from school the day they finally paid it off. The world sure was awesome twenty years ago.

So at the beginning of Christmas break I sat down to play through it yet again. Honestly I would've played through this one a long time ago if it wasn't for the game's lone flaw. This game takes a long time to play through, and since there are no saves or passwords you have to play through it in one sitting. Now I know that there are those flutes that race you right through the game, but every level is so much fun and lovingly designed that it's a shame to skip over them. I'm not saying that warp zones are only for losers or anything like that, but who wants to skip all those cool desert levels, or the ones where you skip between being tiny and regular sized, or all those ice levels with the frozen coins that you shoot with a fire flower? It makes me a little tingly just talking about it.

As much as I love it though, it really starts to wear me out after a couple of hours. I don't remember having that same trouble as a kid. I guess I'm getting old. The worst part is that I always start out flawlessly. I think I made it to world 3 without even dying once. However, just as my eyes are starting to gloss over and my back starts to get sore from sitting in the same spot for too long the game gets very hard. Pipe World drives me absolutely crazy. As if Sky World and Ice World aren't hard enough this one's full of puzzles. By then I've usually got about 50 lives and still don't know my way around very well. There are multiple levels in that world where the time will run out on me. After I've been playing a game for three hours that last thing I want to do is die from lack of time. Luckily I saved all my clouds so I was able to skip a couple of the harder levels.

In fact I remember the last time I attempted to go through this game it was with my friend Dustin in college. He was the same person who used to play SMB every day so we were well in tune with the series at that point. We got to pipe world and got so wore out that we had to quit playing. Sometimes you get to a point where you can't go on anymore. I was playing with a purpose this time though so I was able to press on.

Finally I got past it and raced through world 8. I know that Bowser is really easy in this game, but that's probably just to even things out a little bit. Getting to him is so difficult that nobody could stand a tough boss fight. I would say that I got through the game in about 3 and a half hours. That's not too bad without using warp zones and having not played it in about two years.

So that's my SMB 3 story for today. It wore me out, but I still had fun with it. My goal was to beat one of the Koopalings using my hammer brother suit. I remember doing this as a kid and I thought it was really cool how the king said something different. I was about an inch away from victory, but I misjudged my jump and got hit. So I failed that one, but I still had a great time. I was still amazed by the great level design and seemingly endless secrets. I still love Pipe World after all is said and done. Everything is right with the world.