Moderately expensive games that are worth the money for Retro Gamers (Part 1 - Sega Genesis)

So a week or so back, I made a blog post about affordable retro games any gamer should be able to get for a reasonable price. This time around, I'll be focusing on the moderately expensive games that are worth getting. Mind you, when I say "moderately expensive", I'm not talking stuff like Chrono Trigger, EarthBound or Phantasy Star IV, where prices can easily reach $100-150+. I'm talking the $30-60 valued games here. The games that you'd pay the same price as you would for a current gen game. There's a lot of games at these values out there, but are they worth it? Well, that's what I'm here for! Let's take a look at the Sega Genesis today.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Konami, 1992)

 
If you've been following this blog, then you've probably already seen my blog post gushing about the fantastic Super Nintendo port of Turtles in Time. Not wanting to leave Genesis owners in the dust, Konami retooled the game, mixed around stages and bosses (While even adding a few new ones!) changed the game's plot, and the result was Hyperstone Heist. The game looks, plays and controls pretty much identically to Turtles in Time. However, the stages are a lot longer this time around, and the game's actually a bit more difficult as a result, though it's not too huge of a jump in difficulty. Two player Co-Op is still present, and many of Turtles in Time's tunes were arranged using the Genesis sound chip, along with a few new compositions. Personally, I prefer some of the tracks in the Genesis version, if only for sounding closer to their Arcade counterparts than the SNES versions do.

Why prioritize it? You're probably going to get tired of me saying this, but it's a licensed game that'll probably never see a re-release. Even more importantly, this game tends to get overshadowed by Turtles in Time and some of the other TMNT games from that era (like Tournament Fighters, for example), making a re-release even more unlikely.

How much? For the cartridge alone, the going price seems to e somewhere between $30 and $40. If you want a complete copy, expect to pay between $45 and 60.

Sample Gameplay:

 

Castlevania: Bloodlines (Konami, 1994)

 

I'll be honest here: A good chunk of this list is going to be Konami stuff. With that said, Castlevania: Bloodlines has the unique distinction of being the only Castlevania game to appear on a Sega platform outside of Japan. (The only other CV title on a Sega platform was Symphony of the Night/Nocturne in the Moonlight for the Sega Saturn, which was ported shortly after the PS1 release in Japan, only.) It's also the first game in the main series to not star a Belmont. Instead, you play as John Morris, a descendant from a branch family of the Belmonts, and his best friend, spear wielding Eric Lecarde, as they battle across Europe to stop the vampiress Elizabeth Bartley, as she attempts to revive Dracula once again. Compared to Super Castlevania IV on the Super Nintendo, Bloodlines takes more of a back to basics approach, and the game is structured in the same arcade-y fashion that the original NES trilogy was built as, instead of the epic, focused journey of SCIV. (I'm also of the opinion that Bloodlines is a better game, but that's a blog post for another day)

This game is also a fantastic example of what the Genesis can do when pushed to it's limits. Konami gave the Genesis some strong support, and this game is definitely one of the showcases, both graphically and music-wise as well. Speaking of which, this game also marked the debut of (former) Konami mainstay Michiru Yamane, who compsed the score for this game, and would go on to compose for many other Castlevania games, including the absolutely sublime soundtrack for Symphony of the Night. (Which is the best gaming soundtrack ever composed, in this blogger's humble opinion.) In particular, "Calling From Heaven", the theme for the final stage in the game is a favorite of mine; Yamane manages to blend a catchy, yet haunting melody with a great drum beat going on in the background.

Why prioritize this? For some reason or another, Castlevania Bloodlines has never seen a re-release on Virtual Console. In fact, a good portion of Konami's 8 and 16 Bit platformers seem to been missing from the service, even the ones that don't have any licensing problems behind them. Considering that this is one of the few Castlevania games to get a direct sequel (Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the Nintendo DS), you would think Konami would make the game available for those who want to see where the story of the Morris clan started.

How much? The cartridge alone will run you about $35, while a complete copy will go for anywhere between $45 and 55.

Contra: Hard Corps (Konami, 1994)

 
Okay, last Konami game, I promise.

Contra: Hard Corps might just be the most aptly titled video game of all time. In a series pretty much known for it's brutal difficulty, Hard Corps manages to make every other Contra title before it look like child's play. With branching paths, multiple playable characters and multiple endings, it's arguably the biggest Contra game from that era. The Co-Op play is fantastic, and playing through the game with someone else helps make the game a bit easier. Compared to the likes of Contra III on Super Nintendo (Spoiler Alert: A blog post gushing about that game is probably going to happen soon!), Contra Hard Corps has less of an emphasis on platforming (though it's still definitely a big element in the game's level design) and more of an emphasis on boss fights. Some of the craziest boss fights in the series can be found in this game, including one against a robotic track runner. No, I'm not kidding. Yes, it's every bit as awesome as it sounds.

Why prioritize this? Like with Castlevania Bloodlines, it's a game strangely absent from the Virtual Console. And just like Bloodlines, the game also received a current gen sequel (well, prequel) with Hard Corps: Uprising, on PSN and XBLA.

How much? The loose cartridge goes for about $30 these days. The complete game will probably run you about $50 or so.

Sample Gameplay:

 

Gunstar Heroes (Treasure, 1993)

If you ever wondered where the hell this blog got it's name from, look no further than Gunstar Heroes.

Gunstar Heroes is the first game developed by Treasure, a company formed by former Konami employees that felt like they were getting railroaded by upper Konami management. They would go on to create stellar titles, such as Alien Soldier on the Genesis, Radiant Silvergun on the Sega Saturn, Mischief Makers and Sin and Punishement on the Nintendo 64, the stellar Astro Boy Omega Factor for Game Boy Advance, and even Wario World for the Gamecube. Needless to say, Treasure has one of the most solid resumes in the entire videogame industry. It might just be the only developer I can think of who hasn't ever crafted a bad game.

Gunstar Heroes is a co-op run and gun in the vein of Contra (In fact, several of Contra III's lead staff members developed this!), though the focus in Gunstar is in the crazy, over the top scenarios that consistently aims to top itself, all the way to the end of the game. One very notable part of the game comes on the form of Seven Force, a giant, transforming piece of armor that's fought at a breakneck pace in a mineshaft, that transforms between seven unique forms throughout the boss fight. It's basically seven intense boss fights in one, and I can confidently say it's my favorite boss in all of gaming. (And it's also what the URL of this blog is named after.)

Gunstar Heroes is just an excellently crafted game all around. It does things you wouldn't normally expect to see from the run-and-gun genre, and keeps you on your toes the whole way through. To make a fighting game comparison here, Contra is like Street Fighter: It can be slower, more methodical, and even though there's moments where you have to think on your feet, you can approach it at a steady pace. Gunstar Heroes would be more akin to Marvel Vs. Capcom, where there's lasers and explosions everywhere, and "Fuck it, YOLO" is actually a legit strategy at times.

Why prioritize this? Unlike every other game on this list, Gunstar Heroes has been re-released numerous times. It's available on Wii Virtual Console, has an Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network port with (Admittedly sketchy) online support, and the game was even remade for the Game Boy Advance as Gunstar Super Heroes. so why bother, if you have those avenues to take?

Well, there really isn't any reason, to be completely honest, unless you like having physical copies. The Wii Virtual Console version is definitely serviceable if you have access to a Wii, and the PSN/XBLA ports are... acceptable as well.

How much? You can probably nab a loose copy for about $25 bucks. A complete copy will range anywhere from $30 to $45.

Ristar (Sega, 1995)

Ristar was the first non-Sonic title developed by Sonic Team (in it's original form). The game revloves around a star like creature named Ristar that can stretch his arms out to grab objects and propel himself at enemies. The game's conception actually revisits an unused concept for a rabbit like creature that could stretch it's ears to grab objects. That rabbit like creature would eventually go through many different designs and changes, and later evolved into a game about a certain speedy hedgehog we all know and either love or hate.

Despite not being a Sonic game, there's something distinctly Sonic Team about the game; You can definitely tell the Sonic guys were behind this game when playing it. It's a pretty fun and inventive platformer with some really nice environments, although the game hits a difficulty spike somewhere between the third and fourth worlds, and just gets ungodly difficult by the time you reach the final levels. It's still a trip worth taking, in my opinion, especially if you're a fan of Sega platformers.

Why prioritize this? Ristar has actually seen release on numerous Sega compilations dating back to Sonic Mega Collection on the Gamecube, where it was a surprise unlockable. It's really only worth getting if you want a hard copy of the game.

How much? Loose cartridges go for about $30 to 35. Complete copies go for anywhere between $44 and $60.

Sample gameplay:

 

Well, that marks off Part 1 of this list. Next time, I'll get into the Super Nintendo side of things.

Great Momemnts in Licensed Gaming: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

I'll not give the usual speech about licensed video games and how they can be great when given a proper budget and a good developer. So instead, I'll just go right to the point. TMNT IV: Turtles in Time isn't just a great licensed game. It's a damn fantastic video game in general.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more hardcore game cover than this.

TMNT IV is the Super Nintendo port of the 1991 arcade hit, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. While the arcade version was the sequel to the original TMNT arcade game released in the late 80's, the Super Nintendo port billed it as TMNT IV, as three TMNT games had already appeared on Nintendo home consoles at that point: The (imfamously) horrible TMNT 1, The okay-ish NES version of the original arcade game (titled TMNT II: The Arcade Game on the NES), and the surprisingly great TMNT III: The Manhattan Project.

Most of the game translated pretty well to Super Nintendo. Some concessions had to be made, however: The game can't have as many enemies on screen as the arcade version, and the 4 player mode was narrowed down to 2 players instead. While the latter is slightly disappointing (Especially considering one of the draws of the arcade game was being able to have 4 different people control every turtle), it doesn't stop the game from being the definitive version. Because of the concessions made to get the SNES port functional, Konami decided to add some new content in the game that wasn't in the arcade version, as well as tweaking some already existing things. The changes ranged from adding in new characters from across the TMNT spectrum, be it the cartoon, or even the movies in a few cases! I'll explain the additions below:

Sewer Surfin'

My toe, My toe!

In the arcade version of the game, Sewer Surfin was a relatively short surfing level. It was simple, really: Fight waves of Foot Soldiers until Shredder inexplicably shows up out of nowhere and transports the turtles into the past, where the time traveling portion of the game begins. In the Super Nintendo version however, the level is mostly unchanged, although it's now considered one of the game's "Bonus Stages". However, the biggest change is when you complete the level: Instead of Shredder coming out of nowhere and getting rid of the turtles, a new boss takes his place: The Rat King!

While the battle isn't too difficult, it's a nice addition to what was otherwise a short, but still enjoyable level.

Technodrome: Let's Kick Shell!

Above, I mentioned that in the arcade version of the game, ol' Shred-head appeared at the end of Sewer Surfin ' and transported the turtles into the past. This isn't the case in the Super Nintendo version. Instead, the turtles take the fight to Shredder in the SNES exclusive Technodrome level. And it's really a quite awesome level.

Tons of Foot soldiers, robot dogs biting your toes... it's pretty hectic. The mid bosses for this level, are Tokka and Rahzar, from the TMNT II movie. In the arcade version, they were the bosses of the Skull and Crossbones stage, but they've been moved to the Technodrome level in the SNES version.

Now before I go into the next addition, I want to highlight one of the features in Turtles in Time: the screen throw. Basically, there's two types of throws in the game: One where the turtles will slam the enemy  back and forth a few times, and one where the turtles toss the enemy right at the screen, hilariously breaking the fourth wall. It's pretty hilarious. The SNES version of the game actually takes this and does something unique with it...

New Boss: Battletank Shredder

Shredder confronts the turtles in a shiny new battletank, with the intention of getting rid of turtles (Or so we think...?) once and for all. But wait... the battle starts, and we actually witness the boss battle from the perspective of Shredder himself! To beat Shredder, you have to grap the foot soldiers and throw them into the screen, which deals damage to shredder. It's one of the most uniquely designed boss battles I've ever seen in a game, and it's definitely pretty damn fun to play. At the end of the level, Shredder decides he's had enough fun for one day, and sends the turtles far back in time so that they'll never bother him again.

New Boss: Slash

Instead of the somewhat boring Cement Man in the Arcade version, the Super Nintendo version replaces him with an awesome (But difficult; In fact, he's generally considered to be the hardest boss in the game) battle against Slash, the mutant turtle created by Bebop and Rocksteady in the cartoons. Speaking of which...

New Bosses: Bebop & Rocksteady

Aww yeah, everyone's favorite duo of idiots get added to the SNES version of the game, in place of Tokka and Rahzar, who were the bosses of this stage, previously. They're even decked out in pirate wear! The best part about this boss fight is when you get both characters down to one bar of health, they'll eventually start bickering with each other and end up killing themselves in the process. Ha!

Neon Night Riders

In the Arcade version of the game, Neon Night Riders was another stage in the vein of Sewer Surfin' but with surfboards subbed out for hoverboards, and the sewers of 1991 New York subbed for the mean highways of 2020. It also has the best level theme in the game. Seriously. Listen to it.

The SNES version completely remakes the stage and turns it into an F-Zero esque stage using the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 technology to give things a 3D feel.

I actually prefer the hectic pace of the Arcade version to the more relaxed SNES counterpart, but it's still a pretty sweet stage overall. Like Sewer Surfin' before it, it's also been made a bonus stage now.

A "Super" surprise lying in wait...

When the turtles finally confront Shredder for the last time in the arcade version, he throws off his cape, draws his lightsaber, and awesomeness ensues. However, Konami pulled one hell of a bait and switch for SNES players. When the level starts, Shredder rises into the air for a bit... and transforms into his Super Shredder form from the TMNT II movie! You know... the form he takes for all of five seconds before unceremoniously getting crushed by debris?

Yeah, that guy!

 As a kid, seeing Super Shredder in the movie for under a minute, only to end up not getting to see him fight felt like a huge rip off. Finally getting to experience a proper fight with him was just the cherry on top of an already awesome game.

The boss fight itself is actually radically different from the original battle with him in the arcade version. Whereas the arcade version mostly had him fencing with his sword with an occasional energy attack, Super Shredder teleports wildly around the arena, using different elemental attacks, including one that turns the turtles into... well, regular turtles. It also instantly takes a life away, no matter how much health the turtle had.

So yeah, if you have any nostalgia for the ninja turtles and want a really well crafted side scrolling beat 'em up, the SNES port of Turtles in Time is your best bet. Unfortunately, it'll likely never see release on Virtual Console, as it's a licensed title. Your best bet to acquire it would be on eBay or Amazon, though prices for it have been rising as of late. Copies start at $35 and only go up from there. But it's definitely worth the money for the definitive version of one of the best beat 'em ups ever made, and one of Konami's finest games.

And this has been "Great Moments in Licensed Gaming". Maybe I'll make this a regular thing.

Affordable Games that should be priorities for Retro Collectors (Part 2 - Sega Genesis)

Ah, the Sega Genesis. Nintendo's direct competitor during the 16-Bit console wars, and arguably Sega at their peak in the US console market. With aggressive marketing tactics and a focus on being the cool kid on the block, the Genesis managed to be the first home console to really eat into Nintendo's market share on the console market, which was almost unprecedented at the time. (The PlayStation would come along and do the same, but on a much larger scale) Unlike the Super Nintendo though, a lot of the Genesis' best games don't hold their monetary value all that well. There are a few games that are pretty expensive (M.U.S.H.A. comes to mind) but on the whole, Genesis games are on average, a lot more affordable than Super Nintendo games.

With that in mind, let's look at some of the most affordable quality titles for the system, shall we?

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Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Sega, 1992)

What better way to kick of this list than with the flagship series for the Genesis? While it's not my all time favorite game in the series (That would be Sonic 3 & Knuckles), Sonic 2 represents the peak of the franchise for many people. Memorable levels, a catchy soundtrack, lush, colorful visuals, multiplayer, all wrapped together by some fantastic level design powered by Blast Processing (Disclaimer: Blast Processing isn't actually a thing). This is a game that should be a part of the library of anyone looking to start a Genesis collection.

Why prioritize it? It's Sonic 2. 'Nuff said. Also, it's incredibly easy to find, as it was a pack in game with the Genesis at one point. 

How much? Sonic 2 might just be the most common game on the console. You can easily get a copy of the game for about $5. A CIB copy is cheap as well, usually hovering around $10.

Sample Gameplay:

 

Castle of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse (Sega, 1990)

 

I mentioned in my SNES post that Capcom developed some Disney games back in the early nineties. However, Sega also developed a few Disney titles of their own, most notably the "Illusion" series, a series of platformers starring Mickey Mouse. The first game in the series, Castle of Illusion, was one of the first "must have" titles for the system in a time before Sonic existed. It's a somewhat easy, but still lovingly crafted platformer with whimsical visuals and some catchy tunes. Sega has also recently announced a full on HD remake of the game, although it remains to be seen whether or not that'll turn out good.
  
Why prioritize this? As I already mentioned, there is a remake of the game that may or may not turn out good. On the off chance that it turns out to be a complete disaster, it's conceivable that the value for this game will slowly rise. With that said, it would make sense to pick this game up while you can for a cheap price. Also, licensed game titles tend not to stay on digital platforms for too long; they stay for however long the contract is in effect until it expires. Getting the Genesis version would ensure that you'd always have a hard copy of the game.

How much? Castle of Illusion isn't a terribly expensive game. You'll likely be paying about $11 or so for the loose cartridge, and about $20-25 for a complete copy.

Sample Gameplay:

 

Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure (Konami, 1993)

Ah, another Konami Tiny Toons game. While Super Nintendo received an exclusive Tiny Toons title in Buster Busts Loose!, the Genesis received one the following year with Buster's Hidden Treasure. It's a pretty basic platformer. While Buster Busts Loose had some unique and novel level design ideas, Buster's Hidden Treasure plays things a lot straighter. It's a 2D platformer, with a Mario Bros. 3 esque map screen with which you select levels with. The game itself starts out easy, but actually hits something of a difficulty spike halfway through. It's also a bit longer than Buster Busts Loose as well.

Why prioritize it? Like with Buster Busts Loose, it's unlikely that this will ever see a re-release in this day and age. That alone is reason to track down the game.

How much? Buster's Hidden Treasure can be obtained for almost comically low prices these days. You'll be paying about $2 to 6 for the cartridge, and $10 to $15 for a complete copy. I'm guessing a lot of copies of the game must have been printed, because those are some pretty low prices for what's otherwise a pretty good game.

Sample Gameplay:

 

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Sega, 1993)

Shinobi III is the third mainline game in the Shinobi series, after the arcade original and the Genesis launch title sequel, Revenge of Shinobi. Shinobi III is viewed by many (including myself) as the absolute pinnacle of the series, thanks to it's fluid controls and great level design. The game actually went through many iterations during development, with a few betas leaking onto the internet in the past few years. However, going by the final product, the wait was especially worth it. It's definitely an action/platformer every Genesis fan needs in their library.

Why prioritize this? Admittedly, there's no real reason to prioritize getting this over other things aside from it being a damned great game. It's been released on Wii Virtual Console, and it's popped up in several Sega Genesis compilations (Although the emulation in said collections are... sketchy, to say the least)

How much? You'll likely be paying somewhere between $8 to 15 for the cartridge, and between $20 to 30 for CIB copies.

Sample Gameplay:

 

NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (Midway, 1995)

 NBA Jam was Midway's exaggerated action packed arcade Basketball series. The first game in the series got ports to SNES and Genesis, but the most popular release of the game was NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, which was ported to both Genesis and Super Nintendo, as well as a variety of other systems. Tournament Editon adds a Tournament Mode (obviously) as well as massively updated rosters and the ability to substitute players during a game. What makes Tournament Edition particularly notable is the fact that it features some of the wackiest and most unexpected secret characters in any game in the medium. Secret Characters in this game include Bill and Hillary Clinton, Heavy D, Jazzy Jeff, Fresh Prince, Prince Charles, the Beastie Boys, and many, many more.

Why prioritize this? Well, it's unlikely that this particular iteration of the game will ever see a re-release. EA did release a pretty good re-imagining of the series on Wii/360/PS3, but there's no replacing the original. It's also pretty great in multiplayer.

How much? NBA Jam TE's another really cheap game. You'll be paying between $3 and 6 for a loose copy, and a whopping (not really) $8 for a complete copy. This is one game I'd definitely get a complete copy of, if only because it's so affordable.

Sample Gameplay:

 

And that's it for now. I'm not sure whether or not I'll tackle NES games or more SNES games next. Guess it depends on how I feel tomorrow.

I hope this small list will help any doing retro collecting the same way similar lists have helped me!

Affordable Games that should be priorities for Retro Collectors (Part 1 - Super Nintendo)

Retro Gaming is bigger than it's ever been in years.

And I'm not just saying that. As someone that's been doing some retro game collecting over the past two years, prices for classic games are at an all time high. The 10-15 year olds of yesteryear are now the twenty and thirty-somethings of today, with disposable income and a yearning to recapture their childhood. Games that might have sold for $60 or so three to four years ago are going for $80. Highly sought after games like Wild Guns and EarthBound have ballooned to ridiculous prices, even in spite of both games having Virtual Console releases. (Or in the latter's case, confirmed to be coming to Wii U Virtual Console, anyhow.) With the advent of Retron consoles, nifty little systems that play NES, Genesis and SNES games (and soon, many more), prices for SNES games are higher than they've ever been.

So are you looking for some great SNES games to play but don't want to drop $85 on that copy of Chrono Trigger? Well, that's where I come in.

Here, I'll go through some relatively affordable SNES games you might want to pick up, and outline reasons why they should be in your library. Without further ado, let's begin!

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Breath of Fire (Capcom/Squaresoft, 1994)

 

Breath of Fire is Capcom's first foray into the RPG genre, an obvious attempt to cash in on the RPG craze that Squaresoft set the world on fire with with their Final Fantasy series. It's not a bad RPG, but it's definitely one that pretty much plays it by the books. You play as a boy (Don't let that box art fool you; the covers for Breath of Fire I and II were hilariously Americanized) named Ryu who has the ability to transform into a Dragon. He goes on a quest to rescue his sister Sara, and to bring prosperity to what remains of his Dragon clan. It's a pretty basic RPG that can be easily broken balance-wise, but it does bring some neat ideas to the genre, and is worth a look, at the very least. Decent soundtrack, as well.

Why prioritize this? Despite saying Capcom developed this game, you may have noticed the big ol' Squaresoft logo on the box art. That's because at the time, Capcom didn't have the staff or experience to translate a full fledged RPG. All they've ever had to translate were platformers and fighters, neither of which have much text. So, desperate to get the game out in America to cash in on this newfangled "JRPG craze", Capcom went to the one company that had experience in that field: Squaresoft. Squaresoft ended up doing the localization of the game for the US, and as far as I'm aware, own the rights to the localization. However, the contractual issues behind that deal have prevented this game from being ported often, as it's mysteriously absent from Wii Virtual Console, despite it's sequel being on the service. It did get a Game Boy Advance port early in the handheld's lifespan, but it's a... decent port at best. The Super Nintendo release still reigns supreme, in my opinion.

How Much? If you're looking for a loose cartridge, expect to pay between $20 to 35 for a decent condition cartridge. If you're going for a copy complete in the box, you'll likely be paying $80-90. But if you were looking for complete in box games, you wouldn't be looking at a blog post about affordable games, now would you? ;)

Sample Gameplay:

 

Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose! (Konami, 1993)

Before they became a company that only knew how to put out Metal Gear games and middling Castlevania games, Konami developed a ton of licensed games during the 8 and 16 Bit console generations. And a lot of them were quite good! One particularly noteworthy game is Buster Busts Loose, a platformer starring the eponymous Tiny Toons character. It's an admittedly short, but fun platformer featuring cameos from a few Tiny Toons characters and some novel level design concepts (The football game level immediately comes to mind). It's no Mario World or anything, but it's still definitely worth having in one's SNES library.

Why prioritize this? A lot of licensed games from that particular era usually have pretty strict contracts. And more often than not, the owner of the IP being used in the game retains all rights to the game, and any subsequent re-releases, meaning that there are a treasure trove of great licensed titles that will likely never see the light of day on digital platforms unless a publisher actually goes through the effort needed to do so. (See: Capcom with DuckTales Remastered, Sega with Castle of Illusion, etc.) Buster Busts Loose is one of those games that will likely stay in limbo.

How much? Thankfully, Buster Busts Loose is a relatively inexpensive game to buy online. If you want the loose cartridge, expect to pay somewhere between $6 to 11 dollars. For complete in box copies (hereafter referred to as CIB), you'll be paying between $15 and $25.

Sample Gameplay:

 

Batman Returns (Konami, 1993)

Like I said, Konami created some fantastic licensed titles back in the day. Batman Returns is a side scrolling beat 'em up in the vein of Final Fight and Streets of Rage. The graphics are great, the soundtrack consists of a great, moody SNES adaptation of the score Danny Elfman composed for the film, and it's a reasonably paced game all around.

Why prioritize this? Like with Buster Busts Loose above, this is a licensed game that will likely never get re-released in any capacity ever again. It's also a solid beat 'em up.

How Much? Batman Returns isn't very expensive, thankfully. You'll most likelly be paying between $10 and 18 for the cartridge alone. Complete copies are rather hard to come by, though. You'll be paying anywhere between $28 to $49 for it.

Sample Gameplay:

 

Starfox (Nintendo, 1993)

Starfox is the first game in the Starfox series, and a showcase for Nintendo's Super FX chip, which allowed for faux 3D graphics on the 16-Bit powerhouse. Compared to it's more contemporary entries, Starfox hasn't aged terribly well, and you can tell that the game can barely stay within the constraints of the SNES specs, but it's still very playable, and if nothing else is a great example of a time where Nintendo was at the forefront of console technology.

Why prioritize this? There's actually two very good reasons to own a copy of this game. Like with Breath of Fire, the game has yet to see a release of any sort on the Wii Virtual Console, likely because of difficulties emulating the Super FX chip. More importantly, it makes for a good diagnostic test of sorts for your SNES. You see, in some (admittedly rare) cases, Super Nintendos will stop working as they should with games that used special chips, such as Star Fox and Stunt Race FX (which uses the Super FX chip), Yoshi's Island (Which uses the Super FX2 chip) and various other titles. If you're buying a used SNES from someone, there's no guarantee that the person has a Super FX game to verify that it'll play Super FX games the way they should. If you have a copy of Starfox, not only do you have a decent game, but you have the knowledge that your SNES is in great working order as well! (Provided it runs as it should.)

How Much? You'll likely be paying $10 or 15 for the cartridge only. CIB copies will run you about $20 to $30.

Sample Gameplay:

 

Disney's Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse (Capcom, 1992)

Like Konami (and perhaps even more so), Capcom made some quite well received licensed titles on the Super Nintendo. One of the most notable examples were the Magical Quest games, which starred Mickey (and sometimes Minnie or Donald) and threw them into a magical platforming adventure, using different costumes to gain powerups. The first game in the series, The Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse, is generally regarded as the most solid game in the series, and with good reason. It's not as difficult as some of Capcom's other platformers from that era, but still offers a great challenge, nonetheless. It's a great platformer that has that distinct Capcom touch.

Why prioritize this? Again, it's a licensed Capcom title, and the chances of seeing it remade are slim to none, even in the face of the recently announced DuckTales Remastered. The series did get ported to the Game Boy Advance however, even adding Minnie as a playable character in the first game, as well as adding minigames. (It was also the first time that the third game in the series saw a US release) The ports are actually pretty good, so you might want to check those out if SNES isn't an option for you.

How much? You'll likely be paying about $15 to 20 for a loose cartridge. A CIB copy will likely run somewhere between $25 and $35.

Sample Gameplay:

Well, that's all she wrote for now. I might do a follow up post consisting of even more great, inexpensive SNES titles, but as of now, my next blog post will likely focus on great, inexpensive titles for the other big 16-Bit platform from that era.

Why you should be watching Video Game Championship Wrestling

First off, I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm not really a fan of wrestling.

Real life wrestling, that is. I used to love watching it as a kid, especially considering that I grew up when it was at it's peak during the "Attitude Era". My interest in it tapered off as I entered junior high, and was pretty much non existent by the time I was in high school. So imagine my confused reaction during one fateful IM conversation when a friend says: "Dude, you have got to check this wrestling stream out." and links me to the channel of one Bazza87 on TwitchTV.

And the rest, as they say... is history.

Clockwise from left: Vegeta, Waluigi, Zangief, Dr. Eggman, Little Mac, Solid Snake and Nappa

VGCW is actually a pretty simple concept. Using the "Create a Wrestler" feature of WWE '13, VGCW creator Bazza87 downloads custom wrestlers based on videogame characters (Or characters that are related to video games, such as Gabe Newell, the Game Grumps and a few others) and have them duke it out in the ring to the sound of a bunch of video game music. It sounds like it's not too big a deal at first, but it's really one of those things that you have to experience to understand what makes it so entertaining. I'll share an anecdote of the very first VGCW match I watched. After I was linked the stream, I clicked it, not knowing what to expect. To my surprise, I ended up smack dab in the middle of a "King of the Ring" tournament match in which Donkey Kong of Nintendo fame duked it out with JonTron of all people, while some Donkey Kong Country boss music played in the background. I had to chuckle, especially considering Donkey Kong's custom model looks like this:

So, it started out mildly amusing, until things took a strange turn, and JonTron knocked DK through a set of barricades, dealing what looked to be some fairly major damage to Donkey Kong. JonTron runs back to the ring to avoid being disqualified for being out of the ring too long. DK attempts to get up, makes a motion as if his back gave out, and collapses to the floor, where he remained for the rest of the match, all the while ominious sounding Donkey Kong Country music played:

And the Twitch.TV chat went berserk. That's another part of the VGCW experience: The stream chat. The stream chat on a lot of streams, particularly gaming related ones are... sketchy to say the least. They usually devolve into mindless posting of porn, shock images, and blatant racism. While it's not entirely safe from that (No stream is, really) the VGCW stream chat is actually a positive experience overall, and almost feels like the actual audience at a wrestling match. When the events of the aforementioned video happened on stream, the chat flooded with comments like "JON YOU MURDERER" and "DK IS DEEEEEEEEEEEAD", which are just about the kind of comments you'd expect from witnessing something like that. It was from then on that I decided to start watching this on a regular basis, and later on, it began to engross me like I never would have imagined.

So you'd think that's pretty much all there is to VGCW, right?

Oh no. The rabbit hole goes deeper. Much, much deeper.

WWE '13 is a very glitchy game, for starters. The game itself actually runs on an engine used for wrestling games since the PS1 era, so there's no shortage of crazy antics, hilarious glitches and occurrences that quite frankly, shouldn't happen as much as they do. However, this adds something of an element of unpredictability to VGCW. Bazza87 (Or Baz, for short) doesn't control the characters at all; he instead sets every character to being controlled by the AI, so what happens in a match is left to the mercy of the game's AI. So much so, that Baz himself doesn't even know what's going to happen 90% of the time. These glitches (Or THQuality as it's affectionately referred to; Named for THQ, the former publishers of the game) while entertaining, ended up actually ended up giving way to arguably the most exciting aspect of VGCW today: The Plot.

Yes, VGCW has a plot.

It all started during a "Money in the Bank" match on the November 27th broadcast. You see, in a Money in Bank match, a briefcase hoisted above the ring. Six competitors have to climb a ladder and dislodge and acquire the briefcase before anyone else. However, competitors are encouraged to stop this by any means necessary, including dirty tactics like removing the ladder from under them. The competitors for this particular match consisted of Zangief from Street Fighter, Little Mac from Punch Out, Captain Falcon from F-Zero, Wesker from Resident Evil, JonTron, and Nappa from Dragon Ball Z. MiTB matches usually take a while to finish, as everyone is usually busy sabotaging each other. However, in a fantastic display of THQuality, the match ended in about a minute flat, thanks to Zangief immediately going for the briefcase, and no one doing a thing to stop him. You can see it here. (Fast forward to about 6:15)

Soon after Bazza decided that the results of that didn't make for an entertaining match and decided to set up a rematch. After that followed a bit of outcry, with fans claiming that Zangief had won fair and square. However, Bazza thought differently, and placed the blame on Zangief himself, saying that "Gief had screwed Gief." This would go on to create a rivalry of sorts between Little Mac and Zangief, forming what's now known as "The Little McMahon Saga" in which Bazza did a little self insertion and portrayed himself in game as Bazza McMahon, the General Manager of VGCW. While I won't get down to the nitty gritty, as it's best watched for yourself than told secondhand, the end of the season ended with Little Mac and Zangief making amends. On his way out from the arena however, Little Mac was struck by a car driven by an unknown assailant, which set the stage for the plot of season 2 "Turnabout Turnbuckle" in which an unlikely alliance is formed between Phoenix Wright and Nappa, as they investigate who hit Little Mac (Who has been in the hospital out of action ever since), and the appearance of the mysterious Mr. L, a green hat wearing fellow dressed in black who seemingly attacks people at random.

I won't spoil Mr. L's identity (heh), but the events of that season led to a final showdown that to this day, I still champion as the best thing I've ever seen on an internet stream.

It starts out pretty intense, but gets downright amazing at about 3:40

Youtube commenter Fimbulvetr090 makes a poignant point in the top comments of the video:

"It's really sad how that entire night beats a majority of actual television today."

And I'm kind of inclined to agree. The best thing about VGCW is that it knows how to finely tread the line between ridiculous and hilarious, but still knows how to put on an entertaining (and in the above case, sometimes even heartwarming) show. There's a weird mix of factors that contribute to VGCW being so great, and almost everyone I've showed it to that's watched more than 10 minutes of it, ended up being sucked into it. In fact, it's even popular among the staff and administrators of Twitch.tv. A few staff members post in the stream chat on a regular basis, and even awarded Bazza a partnership where Bazza will actually make a little bit of ad money. (And this is in spite of the fact that Bazza was initially adamant about not receiving money from anyone, and not even accepting donations. What a guy!)

Why yes, this is Nappa suplexing Gabe Newell into the mat so hard the ring breaks.

The following season of VGCW started with a big tournament to find a new General Manager after Baz's in-game persona was incarcerated thanks to the efforts of Phoenix Wright. This season saw the debut of Dracula (from Castlevania) and started a side plot in which Woody (From Toy Story. Not even kidding) urged the wrestlers backstage to play with their toys. Sadly, it didn't end so well for Woody. At the end of what was supposed to be the grand finals match between Gabe Newell and Adam Jensen, Dracula hijacked everything and announced his takeover of VGCW, along with his stable of wrestlers: Dan from Street Fighter (who had recently betrayed his tag team partner Mr. Satan), Vegeta (who, frustrated at his constant losses surrendered himself to Dracula's control, becoming Majin Vegeta), and Kefka, who's seemingly just along for the ride. This newly formed "Drac Pack" has become the basis for Season 4, aptly titled "WrestleVania"

The stream's usual theme "Tonight" (The main theme of WWE '13) gets a Castlevania themed remix titled "Symphony of Tonight" (A play on Symphony of The Night, one of the more popular games in the Castlevania series.)



The little intro portion in the video is custom made, too. It's a really nice touch.

It's almost kind of hard to believe it's made it this far, really Almost surreal, even. And I think that's what draws me to VGCW. This is a show where Ganondorf goes from a feared video game villain to one of the most beloved and respected characters in the league. Ash goes from a Pokemon trainer that constantly loses championships to one of the hardest working and most respected wrestlers in the league, with a weeks long winning streak that continues to this day. The fan community behind VGCW is excellent as well. There's a comprehensive Wiki detailing the wrestlers, the story arcs, and even the music that plays during matches. 

You can read the wiki here, by the way

All in all, VGCW's a very fun watch. Even if you don't watch it seriously, it's something nice and silly to have on the background. I find myself eagerly anticpating the next week's episode with an enthusiasm I haven't had since the days of Dragon Ball Z. So if you haven't watched it yet, give it a chance. You might just like it. You can follow Bazza's twitter account as he'll usually tweet "Tonight's the Night" whenever he'll be streaming soon.

So take care, and remember... Tonight's the Night.

List of past broadcasts for those interested in watching:



http://vgcw.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Broadcast 

Mega Man Zero (Or, how to properly close out a series)

Bear with me, 'cause this is going to be a long one.

 Before you even read any further, I want you to think of a few long running game series. Preferably ones with an overarching plot. Finished? Good. Now I'd like you to think of how many of those series received a conclusive ending. It might be a little harder, but I'm sure you can think of a few. Done? Good. Now (and this is the big one), I'd like you to try to come up with a series that got a conclusive ending and actually stayed that way.

Not so easy now, is it?

One of the biggest differences between a classic series, and a stale series is knowing when to quit. Perhaps there might already be a blueprint in place for the series to follow, complete with a grand finale that wraps up loose ends and sees the plot and whatever plot threads that come with it come to it's natural conclusion. Maybe there's an ending in mind, but the person in charge decided to wing it until they found a way to finally lead in to their envisioned ending. When this is done right, it's usually downright amazing. One example that I'm fond of referencing comes in the form of the Mother trilogy, which spanned the NES, SNES, and ended with a spectacular bang with the (regretfully Japan only) Game Boy Advance release of Mother 3. While characters from the series occasionally find their way into other series (Notably the Super Smash Bros. series of crossovers), the series is for all intents and purposes, done.

Unfortunately, the Mother series is an outlier here. Some series have had conclusive endings written for them, only for the series to be dragged on because of popularity and/or executive meddling. One of the most notable examples of this comes in the form of the Mega Man X series. The Mega Man X series (itself a direct continuation of the canon established by the original Mega Man series) very obviously had a framework in place leading up to a big finish. The games slowly built up the mystery of the mysterious creator of the series deuteragonist Zero, and the possible ramifications it could have on the friendship between his Maverick Hunter partner, X. All of this buildup and foreshadowing came to ahead in Mega Man X5, where revelations are made, and X and Zero have their destined battle (although it's not under the circumstances one would initially assume) The ending seemed pretty definite. The series antagonist Sigma had seemingly been killed off permanently, thanks to a heroic sacrifice from Zero. It's a bit somber, but it was definitely an ending worthy of the series.

Then Mega Man X6 came out a little over a year later, brought Zero and Sigma back, and all of the emotional weight behind X5's ending gets pulled from under it's feet. Needless to say, this annoyed a lot of people. It doesn't help that Mega Man X6 wasn't a very good game on top of that.

So when the Mega Man Zero series was announced and promised to wrap up Zero's role in the series, I sarcastically thought to myself: "Oh, this'll be good." I had already witnessed one series run into the ground long after it had run it's course, and knowing how Capcom can be regarding franchise milking (see: Resident Evil), I expected the worst.

Oh, how wrong I was.

Did I mention that this series has some fantastic artwork?

 The Mega Man Zero games take place a little over a hundred years after the events of the Mega Man X series. As a fail safe to keep churning out X games while still making sure that they didn't conflict with the Mega Man Zero games, Capcom put an ending in Mega Man X6 that takes place an unspecified amouont of time after the events of the game in which Zero seals himself away. Well, long story short, he doesn't stay that way, and he (in a new body) and X end up having to fight yet another war. Stuff happens, X ends up sacrificing his physical body, and Zero finds himself sealed away yet again.

Fast forward to the beginning of the first Zero game where he's found, freed, and eventually roped into becoming a part of a resistance movement against the oppressive Neo Arcadia regime. The first game dealt with Zero seemingly finding himself at odds with his old partner X, though it's quickly revealed that this is a mere clone that was created when the original sacrificed his physical being. The second game continued following the exploits of the resistance in their struggle against Neo Arcadia, and foreshadowed the events that would come to pass in Mega Man Zero 3.

Now, before I go any further, it might be worth mentioning that Mega Man Zero 3 was intended to be the conclusion of the series. This is usually the point in which a series starts overstaying it's welcome and starts becoming stale as a result. In this case, however, there were some legitimate loose ends to be tied up, the fans wanted more, and the developers legitimately thought that there was still more potential to be realized for the series. hence Mega Man Zero 4 released.

seriously guys this art is amazing

Mega Man Zero 4's plot involves Dr. Weil, the antagonist of the series attempting to draw people back to live under his Neo Arcadian rule (After the events of Zero 3, many people began leaving Neo Arcadia). His plan? Destroy all remaining places on the planet that humans could settle in so that humans would have to settle for returning to Neo Arcadia. In a nice bit of continuity, Area Zero, one of the last remaining habitable areas on the planet turned out to be the remains of the space colony Eurasia, which fell to the earth at the climax of Mega Man X5, setting the stage for the final turn of events in that game.

- Call backs to major events in previous games? Check.

However, after a last minute betrayal, and the destruction of Neo Arcadia, Dr. Weil takes matters into his own hands and instead of using the huge laser in the space station he crafted to destroy Area Zero, he decides to just crash the entire space station into it, which again, mirrors a similar gambit by Mega Man X series antagonist Sigma during the events of Mega Man X5. Zero makes his way to Weil, and after a rousing little speech from Zero (A speech that would end up personifying his role as a character in both the Mega Man X series and his own series), it becomes clear that Zero has no intentions of coming out of this battle alive, only that going to protect those that he cares for, and that he's going to do it the only way he knows how: Fighting.

- Final speech given by the protagonist that firmly establishes their character and personality? Check.

Zero goes on to defeat Dr. Weil, and destroys the space colony before it gets to the planet. However, Zero doesn't make it out, and goes down with the colony. Although no body is found, it's that sacrifice that signals the start of mending relations between Reploids and humans, and begins the start of a new age for the world, finally realizing the dream of peace Zero and X worked continuously towards from the beginning of the X series. And just to squash any hopes of Zero possibly surviving, players get treated to an image of this:

- Only small traces remaining of the protagonist left where they made their final stand? Check.

What makes this ending even more poignant for players, especially for those who followed the Mega Man series since it's inception is the irony in Zero's sacrifice. Zero was created by Dr. Wily during the classic series to be his greatest masterpiece, with the purpose of terrorizing the world. However, a few twists of fate and several hundred years in the future, it's the same Zero that gives up his life for the sake of the planet, effectively ending several centuries of fighting (Centuries of fighting which was actually indirectly started by Zero's creation, no less), and crafting a brighter future for reploids and humanity.

Even more impressive is the fact that this actually stuck. There's been no talks of a new Mega Man Zero game, Various other Mega Man series have come, gone, and even been cancelled. The developers and producer had a clear vision for how they wanted to close out that chapter of the series, and pulled it off flawlessly, in my eyes. Mega Man ZX, the short lived series to come after this, make numerous references to this series, and Zero even kind of lives on in spirit through Biometal (One of the focal points of the ZX series, but that's a blog post for a later day) but it's done so in a way that respects the conclusion of the Zero series and doesn't dull the impact it had.

I'm not actually sure with where I was going with this post when I started it. But hey, I'll take any excuse to gush about the Zero series. I guess my main point was to highlight a series that for once, knew how it wanted to end, and did so, and did it well, in spite of the company behind it. It hit all of the spots that a great finale is supposed to, and stands as one of the highlights of the entire series.

Well, I think that's enough gushing for one day.

Musings Of A First Time Donkey Kong Country Player

I've recently been on something of a retro game kick as of late, and I've taken the opportunity to catch up on some classic games that I might have missed back when they first released. And as the title of this blog post ever so obviously points out, I'll be talking Donkey Kong Country today.

...Yeah, I'm not going to make an "It's on like Donkey Kong" quip here.

The Donkey Kong Country series has always weirdly eluded me for some reason. Growing up, I was fortunate to live in a household with relatives that were avid gamers (My older sister and uncle in particular) and was exposed to the joys of the NES/SNES/Genesis at a very early age. I was able to play a lot of the usual SNES standbys: Super Mario All Stars/World, Starfox, Chrono Trigger, even EarthBound. (Which I'm totally going to make a blog post about one of these days.) Yet, I was never able to play any of the Donkey Kong Country games. I knew that they existed and that they were platformers, but I never actually spent any time with them. Or at least the SNES versions, anyway. My first exposure to Rare's Donkey Kong platformers were through the Donkey Kong Land series:

Man, do I love Classic Nintendo box art.

So when I decided to permanently bring my SNES out of retirement, I knew that the Donkey Kong Country games would have to be the first thing I had to try. I actually owned a Wii for quite a while, and could have easily bought all three games in the series from the Virtual Console, but when I actually decided to purchase the games, Nintendo decided to take down all three games from the service. Luckily for me, there remain a few under the radar game stores that still have a decent (albeit shrinking) selection of Super Nintendo games for sale. One trip and $35 dollars later, I found myself a proud owner of Donkey Kong Country. The game itself was only $15, I bought Breath of Fire along with it, which brought the price up an extra $20. I hooked up the Super Nintendo, jammed that cartridge in and began my experience.

Now, I always heard that the Donkey Kong series could be a bit tricky, especially regarding levels involving mine carts or copious amounts of barrels. What I wasn't informed of is just how many of these levels boil down to straight up trial and error. The first level that completely stumped me was the appropriately named "Mine Cart Carnage"

Now, when I first reached this level, I wasn't expecting to lose as many lives as I did. But sure enough, my life count dwindled down, and I found myself pretty frustrated by deaths I deemed to be pretty unfair. And that leads right into my first gripe with the game:

Donkey Kong Country's hit detection is weird.

A majority of my deaths on this level weren't because I mistimed a jump and jumped into a pit or into an oncoming Kremling, but because a stray mine cart clipped the bottom of my mine cart. After the first two times that this killed me, I wised up and attempted to approach that particular jump differently, which worked. However, on the very next obstacle, I attempted the same, and promptly lost a life. It's just not limited to the mine cart sections in particular, though. Trying to bounce on a string of enemies in the game reveal just how inconsistent the hit detection can be at times. It's far from game breaking, but considering how unforgiving a few stages can be, it does become something of an annoyance.

I've since gone on to beat the game, and currently considering playing the highly praised sequel, but what I've mentioned so far is just a brief mention of some of the things that annoyed me in the game. There's a lot more things (And one particularly nasty level I have in mind) that I could talk more about, but I think that's enough DKC talk for one day. I'll probably get around to highlighting that in a follow up post in the future.

And hey, this is my first time doing any sort of blogging, so feel free to leave any sort of comments and criticisms!