NES #36 - Bucky O'Hare

I felt like getting back to my roots and writing about NES this time around, so I picked the type of game that NES did best. This is a game about an anthropomorphic rabbit in space and his other space animal buddies. Now I know that this sounds like a Star Fox clone, and you're probably congratulating yourself for solving that puzzle, but in truth Bucky O'Hare is a much older franchise. It started as a comic book in the late 70s and in the early 90s was turned into a Saturday morning cartoon.

Does anyone remember watching the cartoon? I know that I looked forward to it every week, but it came on at something like 7 in the morning. Even at that age I had a little trouble getting up so early. It didn't come on quite as early as Widget or reruns of The Tomfoolery Show, but it wasn't in one of the prime slots like Garfield and Friends or Bugs Bunny and Tweety. Am I getting off track?

So let's run through the checklist to see how good of a game Buck O'Hare is going to be. It is a side scrolling platform game so we can check that box. It's based on a cartoon, that's another one. It was made by Konami so that's a plus. It has a level and character select feature with a world map. You know I love those. Hey, that's all the check marks. This game's going to be great!

Okay so maybe it isn't great, but it's still a hidden gem. It has challenging and well designed levels, but I guess the problems is that some of the levels were designed for other games. Yeah, this game is kind of a thief. Playing through it, I noticed some familiar layouts and enemies. It had a section that looked like the first level of Contra, those moving blocks from the Mega Man series, and elements from the Mario games. Of course all the games it stole from were classics, and they are blended in nicely with some more original ideas. I guess this is sort of like the Oasis of gaming. Sure it stole, but at least it stole from the best.

I suppose the most important feature in this game is the ability to change between characters. In each of the first four levels Bucky is able to save one of his companions who each have their own unique skill. Bucky can do a charge jump, Blinky can blast through blocks, Dead-Eye can climb walls and so on. There will be parts where you will have to use a certain character, and this makes for some more interesting gaming. It also has one of my favorite features of old gaming. To switch between characters you only have to push a button and they appear where your previous character was just standing. There is no explanation for why one character turns into another. Is the ship beaming people up? Maybe that human kid invented a machine that can teleport people? It seems like the group would be able to get through those planets easier if they used teamwork instead of fighting individually. Anyway, the part I love is that it doesn't really matter. The only explanation you needed back then was that it's how the game works. If this game came out now I'm sure there would be some convoluted explanation that only confused things. I'm happier with the old system.

Another thing I enjoy about this game is how it keeps the action moving. When you get a game over you start back in the section that you died in. There's no starting over from the beginning of the levels in this one. This is good for a couple of reasons. First of all it allows the levels to be more difficult. Some points seemed impossible upon my first inspection, and only became possible after I failed a few dozen times. The other thing is that it keeps the player from giving up. If I had to start over at the beginning of those difficult levels every time I got killed by a boss than there's no way I would beat the game or even want to. And I died many times at the bosses. They are thoughtful and challenging. This game is perfectly designed for what it is, and you can't always say that about franchise games.

The NES had a difficult track record with licensed games. Almost every game based on a movie sucked. Almost every game based on a game show or board game was too simple. The few that are based on live action tv shows did not fare well. The one area where they found success was cartoon adaptations. Maybe it's because they fit the look of the NES so well, or because with a cartoon series you could take more dramatic license, but whatever the reason the batting average for cartoon games is very high. Now Bucky O'Hare isn't as good as Duck tales or as fondly remembered as Rescue Rangers, but it certainly belongs in the same discussion even if it as game you've never heard of based on a cartoon that you never knew existed.

Nintendo DS #4: Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Professor Layton

Well here's a game that reminds me of a couple different things from my childhood, and isn't that one of the things video games do best? This is an easygoing game that combines point and click adventures with brain teasers. It reminds me of a book of riddles that I used to have as a kid. Actually, it has a couple of the same puzzles. Getting the tennis ball out of that hole is easier than you think.

So Professor Layton and the Curious Village is an easygoing murder mystery with a nice young adult vibe. Is that an odd description? Well it's not really that odd of a game. You play as the plucky mystery solver as he tries to uncover several mysteries involving a strange little town. The game is done in a first person point and click style like Myst or Shadowgate. The trick is that whenever you approach someone and talk to them you almost always get a request to solve a puzzle.

The puzzles are widely varied. Some of them require you to pick from several different choices. Some of them ask you to write in your answer to a logic puzzle. Some of them are more puzzle game based and require a bit more action. Many of them are intriguing, but they are not flawless. So many of the puzzles can be solved by guessing 0,1, or either the highest or lowest number. I was able to solve several puzzles that I didn't even understand by simply picking 1. Another problem is that it's a little too easy to cheat. Want to save your hint coins and get a very high score? Just save before you talk to a person, reveal the three clues, guess until you find the answer, and then reset. I know that's a cheap strategy, but this is a cheap world. Probably most people out there red all the solutions on an online faq anyway. Now I never did anything like this, but I sure thought about it at times.

Well I know that this is mostly just a description of the game, but I think that's somewhat appropriate. Don't get me wrong though, this game does have a lot of character. The visuals are quite nice, and everybody's got a funny British accent. The mystery really goes in an unexpected direction so it kept me interested. Yep, this is a high quality gaming experience.

SNES #5- Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest

Yes, I'm following up Final Fantasy 13 with that fake Final Fantasy game that was only released because people thought Americans were too dumb to play real RPGs. Actually, the two games are much more similar than they initially appear, and I'm glad I played them back to back. They are both action oriented games that are considered black sheep in the series. At least 13 is considered a real Final Fantasy game. Mystic Quest is another story altogether.

When I was a kid I didn't think there was anything strange about this game. It was just the next Final Fantasy game. The gameplay was different, but this did not seem unusual. Developers took much more radical chances with sequels back then. This wasn't too long after we had the side scrolling Zelda game and RPG styled Castlevania game. So I remember renting this one a couple of times and actually being a little excited about how easy it was. I could never beat games that I rented, especially RPGs. With this one I felt like I actually had a chance.

Of course it wasn't too long until we all figured out that this game was different. It was probably around the time Final Fantasy 3 came out. That game was a life altering experience. It was one of the most in depth and exciting games to ever come out, and we all knew that Mystic Quest wasn't in the same league. I'm not sure how you figured stuff out back then, but one of my friends stumbled on the secret. Mystic Quest was made as a simple starter RPG for the American audience. The genre had never sold well in this country, so this was a trick to lure people in.

Of course, the game developers made some odd choices in what they thought the mass market would enjoy. It must've been bad market research or something. They thought that people really liked using heal potions and not knowing how many hit points they had left. There are some points in this game where I was using heal potions every other attack, and the life bar only confuses things more. It's shown as a bar, but enemy attacks are shown as a number above your head. It can get confusing. They must've also decided that people hate exploring, because you almost always know where you are going. The game is mostly stripped down to fighting battles and visiting towns. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can be a shock to the system if you've played other FF games and are expecting something like that.

I really hate to dwell on what this game lacks, but it's hard to avoid. This's game's reputation is based on it being a failed experiment. I know this games gets a hard time among fans, but I actually think it's pretty good. I think it's fun that you get items which let you interact with the environment more. I also think it's fun that the monsters will transform as you hit them. That's something that not even FF3 did. All in all this is a fun little game that is good for a couple afternoons and isn't hurting anyone. I certainly don't see a problem with that.


(As a bonus here's the infamous brain ad for the game. I love how they make the game sound like it's both really hard and really easy. It sure confused me in 1993.)

Playstation 3 #1 - Final Fantasy 13

This has got to be one of the strangest games I've ever had to write about. This is a Final Fantasy game like no other. If you think some of the other departures in the series were shocking than FF13 will put you directly in your grave. The two hour long battles on FF8? That's kid stuff. The side scrolling portions of FF10? This game makes that one look as traditional Dragon Warrior 1. How about those non random battles on FF12? Well actually you're getting warm on that one. Still, no other Final Fantasy game even comes close on the crazy factor.

So how crazy is this game? Well how about this: You don't make it to the overworld for 30 hours. That's right, 30 hours! And I thought slogging through Midgar was tedious. Until that point it is basically an on the rails combat game with a few RPG elements thrown in. There's not even MP in this one. Sure, you gain levels in a way, but even these are restricted by your progress. So much for every gamer's favorite time waster. Once you get to the overworld there's not even that much to do. You do get to go on hunting missions though. I was so relieved to be able to walk around freely that I worked on those for a dozen hours before I let any more story line sneak in. That was actually my favorite part of that game. I got to ride around on chocobos fighting larger and larger monsters in a beautifully rendered world. I would play a game that was just that. Is there a game like that? If not there should be.

Oh and how about those characters? No knights or wizards in this one. Instead you have mercenaries and unlucky civilians with names like Lightning, Hope, and Snow. It's like your normal RPG characters got replaced by the American Gladiators. They also have some of the goofiest dialogue heard in a game in some time. The whole time we were playing it, my girlfriend and I kept shouting things like "Moms are tough!" and "Here comes your hero!". This is much different than your typical cast of brooding heroes, dark and mysterious magicians, and rough but lovable engineers from games past.

And how about the story? There's this mysterious force out that the turns people into superhumans. Since there are two competing worlds that means that pretty much everyone wants you dead. Oh, and each one of these superhumans has a special task that they don't know which turns them into crystal if they complete it. if they take too long they get turned into grotesque beasts. It's a weird story. It's weirder than Final Fantasy 10, and in that game people could only truly be dead if someone waved a special stick in front of them.

So it sounds like I'm blasting this game, but it all works in a strange sort of way. Sure it's mostly waking in a straight line fighting things, but the combat system is one of the most unique and challenging I have seen in an RPG. The shifting job classes really requires you to think. I also know that there are no towns to visit, and you are stopped by dialogue every fifteen minutes, but I like the directness of the game. There are hardly any side quests, and even though the story makes no sense it's fairly easy to keep up with. Your group gets turned into supernatural beings while trying to save your sister, and then you have to run from the evil government while trying to save the world. What could be simpler? The characters also have a directness about them which is refreshing. There's a couple of dark secrets among them, but not too many. They seemed more like real people than most video game characters, and I enjoyed the way they interacted with each other. Plus Sazh is cool. If you thought that Barrett was a little racist with his gun arm, Sazh makes up for it by having a chocobo in his fro.

So this game is kind of a contradiction, but for the most part a fun one. I really enjoyed playing it, but I have no idea why. It was certainly easy on the eyes, and unlike most FF games it even had a good ending. This one was a major departure in the series, so I wouldn't be too surprised to see the next game in the regular series take a more traditional approach. Of course after this game it wouldn't surprise me if the next game was a racing sim. You gotta love those guys over at Square. They certainly know how to make their fans angry.

Nintendo DS #3: Picross 3D

Fresh for Halloween it's, well, Picross 3D. This game is based on the semi popular picross puzzles which I love but you've probably never heard of. I don't want to explain them too much in this post because I'm also playing the regular picross game for DS, and I want to have some words left when I write about it. Needless to say this one adds and extra D.

It's hard to think of a game that I had more fun with and played longer which has less I can write about. It reminds me of the sculptor explaining that his statue was always in the stone. He just had to get it out. If you understand this than you will understand Picross 3D. You've got a block and a set of numbers. Your job is to chisel away at the blocks until a picture emerges. You're like a sculptor who creates blocky 8-bit statues. Actually, I'd be really surprised if there wasn't someone doing that already. Artists love stupid stuff like that.

So what is there to say? It's certainly a portable game. It's simple, addictive, and seemingly endless. I think the main game has about 300 puzzles, and there are plenty more to unlock. It's all stylus, so get ready to have people look at you funny while you're getting your oil changed. When I first got this game I only had one other DS game, so I took it everywhere with me. I half watched countless tv shows while tapping away at little squares. I'm sure ten years from now it will make me feel sentimental.

Just a couple of minor complaints about this one. It's a little too easy to guess your way through some puzzles. This is especially true in the earlier levels. Also, some of the clues don't appear to make sense. I know this could be me, but at the same time I know that I'm really smart. It's probably the game.

So I'm looking back on this post and I'm surprised that I was able to write so many words about this one. What is there to say about a game played on a rotating grid where you make one big block turn into several tiny blocks? It's a good game, but it's not a very inspiring one.

Nintendo DS #2: Dragon Quest 9

I can't believe that it's taken me this long to write about Dragon Quest 9. I think I beat this game about a month ago. I also can't believe that I've been playing so many rpgs lately. What happen to all those 8 bit action games? Playing lengthy RPGs is a good way to have one blog post a month. I need to step up and play some games that don't take 70 hours to complete.

Okay so I guess I do remember why I never got around to writing about this one. When I beat this game I was dizzy with fever, and I hardly even remember finishing it. I do remember that he ending was kind of a letdown. It was so subtle that I didn't even realize the game was finished. I wandered around for a few more hours before I noticed that there was nothing left to do.

I shouldn't complain about it too much though. Dragon Quest knows how to do a lengthy quest better than anyone. I mean, who really knows what's going on in Final Fantasy games most of the time? I know I don't. This isn't because the people behind the FF games don't know what they're doing. It's just really hard to tell a story that lasts 40 or 50 hours. It's not unusual for a Dragon Quest game to be twice this long, and yet they still mostly make sense. It really is impressive when you think about it.

Dragon Quest 9, like several other games in the franchise, works because it is episodic. There is an underlying story that is fairly easy to follow split up by separate quests. In this case you are an angel looking for magical fruit. Don't worry, it's just as silly as it sounds. Anyway, every new fruit that you look for has its own little quest complete with separate towns and characters. This works especially well on a handheld system where a person is likely to play for short amounts of time and then leave the thing behind for a while.

So how was the gameplay? Well it was Dragon Questy. It was fairly simple to play, had plenty of side quests, and looked an awful lot like Dragon Ball Z. At this point what else would you expect? Where Final Fantasy is always trying new radical things that anger the fan base, Dragon Quest keeps things traditional. There is a way to play with people online, but I never tried it. I play most of my games alone because I'm still not quite ready for online gaming. It seems that everyone playing it is either a million times better than me or a million times worse. Maybe I'm just too old for that sort of thing.

As far as the quality I guess I'd put this game right in the middle of the series. It's not as good as 7 or 8, but few games are. I played the thing for 70+ hours, but it felt far shorter. That's usually a good sign. I just wish that it didn't take so long to gain levels, and that you got attribute points after every level you gained instead of every other level. That really prolongs the game. It's also a little too clever sometimes. Does every enemy have to be a pun? I'm sorry if I don't sound overly enthusiastic about this one. It is a very good game, but not one to go crazy about. However, when I got my DS it was the first game I wanted to buy. There's always something comforting about the dependability, quality, and sameness of the Dragon Quest series. It's the hot chocolate of the gaming world.

SNES #4: Final Fantasy 3

I am having so much trouble writing about this game. I've deleted and started over several times. I even had a high quality post, but somehow accidentally deleted it. Now that I'm writing this for the 50th time I'll try to do it right. One thing I've learned about gaming is that it's much easier to write about a bad game than it is a good one. Bad games are funny and insightful. If you ever want to learn about what makes a game great than go play some awful ones. With great games all you want to do is sit back and say "aw yeah, this is the good stuff." In fact, I think that's what I'm going to do.

I think this would be a good time to make some ridiculous comparisons. Of course everybody knows that FF3 is the greatest game ever made. It kicks Ocarina of Time's ass. It makes Super Metroid look like regular Metroid. It's as good as Duck Tales and Bionic Commando put together. FF7 has to bow down to it when they walk past each other in the hallway. It even makes Mario a bit nervous. Of course, the crazy thing about all these comparisons is that they are all true but one. Also, you either agree with me or you are wrong. Like a politician I have no middle ground on this issue.

So I played through this game again after about 10 years and I discovered that it is still the Citizen Kane of gaming. Playing it for even five minutes make me happy that I was born in the 80s. Screw you 1960s. All you had was The Beatles. Today I am much more acclimated to modern RPGs, so the slower story parts are much easier to sit through. When I was 9 and playing through this game I wanted to fight monsters and walk around town more. I found the first half to be a little too slow. I always hated going through the opera house back then, but now it only takes like five minutes. Why did that bother me so much? I must've been a jerk back then. That's the only explanation.

Of course the first half is great, but the game's true bread and butter is the remarkable second half. Every RPG before this one would've ended on the floating island in the World of Balance. However, once the world is torn asunder the bleak and dying World of Ruin opens up many new possibilities and freedoms. It's the most open ended RPG I've ever played that doesn't lose track of itself. There is truly only one thing on the agenda in the World of Ruin, and that is fighting Kefka in his fortress. Before that all you need to do is gather your companions, collect magicite, build up your character's abilities, gain levels, and do side quests. The best part about this is that it's mostly up to the player to decide what to do next. I remember finding it very liberating to do something in a different order than what the strategy guide told me. I didn't have much to rebel against back then. It seems like today's games have two templates. They either tell you exactly what to do and you move in a straight path to complete them, or they are completely open ended and have no ultimate goal. FF3 allowed you to explore and solve mysteries while making you feel like you were playing towards something. They sure don't make them like that anymore.

Heck, this is such an great game that even the flaws are engaging. I'm not sure that the game would be as good if we ever found out what was up with Siegfried or what happened to Bannon. Or how about the bugs and glitches? I fought the dragons legit this time, but as a kid I x-zoned like crazy. How about the one in the Veldt that when you sketch Gau you get like a million dirks? Love that one. These are all things that add color to the game and I'm truly glad they are there. I mean, if games didn't have bugs than what would people make all their youtube videos about? I just wish it didn't take me 15 years to find out the evade stat is meaningless.

So this is a game that has left an inedible impression on me. I know that I have been gushing in this review, and greatest game of all time is always a debatable topic. However, sometimes all a writer has is his hyperbole. What else is there to do when a game has been talked about so much? Of course, with this game hyperbole is quite easy. The sky's the limit.