Sonic & Knuckles: 2HN Lock-On Charmer (but a little cheesy)

Back in the early to mid-90s when I was at the height of my Genesis playing days, I used to frequent such stores as Electronics Boutique, waiting for the EA Sports release for NBA Live, NHL, or Madden. Whenever I caught wind of the release of one of these gems, I would take the Blue Bus down to Westside Pavilion and scoop up a copy. It was rather infrequent that I would work up the same enthusiasm for a non-sports game, and I often avoided such games because, at the time, I wasn't interested in anything but sports. For this reason, I often passed up on games that are now considered Sega

Genesis classics, like Earthworm Jim, Rocket Knight Adventures, and the various Sonic titles, about some of which I have blogged. One particular title, which featured a rather innovative design and concept, was Sonic & Knuckles.

When I think back to the 90s, I vaguely recall hearing or reading about the Lock-On technology of Sonic & Knuckles back then. Basically, Sonic & Knuckles is a standalone side-scrolling platformer that is Sonic's modus operandi; anyone familiar with the franchise (at least, in its earlier years) would feel right at home in this game. However, what makes Sonic & Knuckles truly special is its "Lock-On" design, which allows players to plug either Sonic 2 or Sonic 3 into a slot on the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge. If you plug Sonic 2 into Sonic & Knuckles, you can play Sonic 2 as Knuckles; if you plug in Sonic 3, you can play a combined game of Sonic 3 AND Sonic and Knuckles either as Sonic (with Tails) or Knuckles.

As always, you can play as Sonic, spin-dashing through bad guys, looping up and down paths, collecting rings, and jumping here and here; but, you can also play as Knuckles, a red echidna who can't run as fast as, or jump as high as, Sonic does, but can glide and climb walls with his spiky knuckles (thus, the name). Much of the game is familiar with colorful sprites, catchy beats, and vivid backgrounds, but there are new obstacles, such as green chains that latch onto Sonic or Knuckles and can only be escaped by spin-dashing, and new ways of traversing gaps and tricky spots, such as gymnastics-like metal poles and swinging ropes with bars (which are actually similar to what is in Sonic 2).

Sonic & Knuckles has much of what I've come to appreciate about the Sonic franchise on the Genesis: speedy runs, somewhat reasonably precise jumps, and bright and colorful graphics. Despite these positives, this game, as a standalone, is not without its flaws. One is the music: this is personal taste, but I find the music dissonant and irritating compared to Sonic 2. Maybe, it is because my sons have been playing Sonic & Knuckles lately and have been playing the Mushroom Zone over and over again, so the music has worn out its novelty. Another is the length of each zone: some zones take five to six minutes of game time versus the two to four minutes per zone in Sonic 2. For me, longer zones don't make for a more engaging gaming experience. Yet, the biggest irritation of Sonic & Knuckles is (using a term often employed for describing fighting games) its hit detection. As far as I understand it, if you spin and jump on or at a baddie, the baddie transforms into a harmless forest creature and is defeated, but there have been numerous occasions when I have attacked a baddie in this way and lost all my rings. I suppose that it would be safest to jump on top of the baddie, but I have found that hits are not consistently registered. This makes for some frustration end-of-the-zone battles during which I will spin jump level to the boss, but cough up my rings. This is Velveeta cheese. Conversely, in Sonic 2, there was no such confusion. Of course, I must admit that my account is highly anecdotal; to be sure, I should record how I lose rings or experience zero-ring death to find a pattern.

Nonetheless, Sonic & Knuckles is a welcome addition to my family's Sega Genesis library. The action is rapid and engulfing, and being able to play Sonic 2 as Knuckles is simply awesome. I must warn you, though, that because Knuckles cannot jump as high as Sonic, Dr. Robotnik is more difficult to defeat in end-of-the-zone battles for some zones, like the Chemical Plant Zone, so Knuckles may present a new challenge to those who are used to blazing through Sonic 2 with Sonic and Tails.

Top Ten First-Hand Nostalgia Sega Genesis Characters (1)

It has come down to number one. Like Sonic, this character needs no introduction; but, unlike Sonic, this character has been around much longer than the Sega Genesis, video games, or even color television. My Top First-Hand Nostalgia Sega Genesis character is... Donald Duck.

As almost everyone knows, Donald Duck is one of the marquee characters in the Walt Disney stable. Along with Mickey Mouse and Goofy, Donald Duck is highly visible in Disney entertainment, appearing in cartoon shorts, movies, merchandise, and, of course, video games. Some may thank Donald Duck for the advent of other successful Disney duck characters, like Uncle Scrooge, Launchpad MacQuack, and Huey, Dewey, and Louie of DuckTales fame, and Darkwing Duck. These characters went on to also appear in lucrative game ventures like the DuckTales games on NES and Darkwing Duck's own game. However, the focus here is on Donald Duck, who appears on two games for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive: Quackshot and World of Illusion.

In Quackshot, Donald Duck is an adventurer a la Indiana Jones, sporting a leather jacket and fedora along with a plunger gun. As one progresses through Quackshot, Donald Duck upgrades his plunger gun to plungers that stick to walls for climbing, and then to birds so that he can hitch rides under them. Donald also goes into a "berserker barrage" kind of frenzy when he eats five chilis, though this happens irregularly in the game. In any case, Quackshot was one of the first games I played on the Genesis and was memorable for its colorful sprites and catchy music, not to mention the irrepressible Donald Duck and his standstill animations.

World of Illusion was Donald Duck's second game, which can be played solo or cooperatively with Mickey Mouse. With a magic cape as a weapon, Donald Duck can flick his cape to transmogrify baddies into butterflies and flowers. Yet, the funniest aspects of Donald Duck's character in World of Illusion are, once again, his standstill animations (in which he shows his impatient side) and his big behind: to pass through tight spaces, he needs Mickey Mouse to pull him through because of his substantial derriere.

Admittedly, both games were not side-scrolling, platforming masterpieces, but I cannot deny the Disney mystique present in both games; up until recently, Disney was able to combine cartoon fun with a sense of dignity, as if we must acknowledge the classic nature of their characters and hold them in reverence. Some may count this as hubris on Disney's part (and I may not be making any sense here), but I used to buy into how "special" Disney characters were and how they stood apart from most other cartoon characters. I suppose that multiple trips to Disneyland and watching numerous Disney cartoons would engender such a reverence for drawn characters.

For all of the reasons stated above, Donald Duck stands at the top of my list of nostalgic Genesis characters. When I look back at my high school and college days and my days of Genesis playing, I hold Donald Duck in the highest regard, even though I know that there have been many other wonderful Genesis characters, like Earthworm Jim, Ristar, and Knuckles, whom I just recently got to play in Sonic & Knuckles. Do you disagree? If so, please comment -- I'm always eager to read other people's opinions regarding their favorite or best video game characters.

Top Ten First-Hand Nostalgia Sega Genesis Characters (6-3)

Yesterday, I offered up the 10th through 7th best 1HN (First-Hand Nostalgia) Sega Genesis characters based on my personal experience with Genesis games. As I stated in that post, I only included characters or in-game depictions from games that I have played, so a lot of classic characters didn't make the list, like Earthworm Jim, Knuckles, and others. Let's continue the list from number six:

6) Barry Sanders (Madden 93). You could probably include any Barry Sanders from any Madden or non-Madden football game on this list because Barry Sanders always had superhuman speed and quickness, but I must include the Barry Sanders from Madden 93 for one personal reason. If you select the Pro-Form formation when you are cycling through offensive plays, and then pick (and the name of the play escapes me) a play in which the right H-Back (Barry Sanders, in this case) goes into motion to his right, streaks up 10 yards or so and then goes to the post, you would be running one of my favorite all-time plays. With good hands and awesome speed, I could pass to Barry Sanders almost every time and gain major yards. Oh, and pitching right from Pro-Form was effective with Sanders, too. Anyway, Madden 93 was an outstanding entry in the Madden library, and Barry Sanders was a money player.

5) Frank Showtone (PGA European Tour Golf). Already, you can see that EA Sports games figure prominently on my list; that's because I was a huge EA Sports guy, which I've stated ad nauseum. Anyway, I was such a big EA Sports fan that I even bought PGA European Tour Golf, which is actually a solid golf game for the Genesis. Now, there were many great European golfers in that game, like Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, and Colin Montgomery, so why do I mention Frank Showtone? And... what the hay, who on Earth is Frank Showtone?! If you can't find him on the Internet, it's because he was created by my friend Ed, who was one with whom I had many of my Genesis adventures. To make a very long (but interesting) story short, Ed was on a "Frank Showtone" kick, like he was some lounge singer or something, and he decided to use that name for his in-game avatar. As it turned out, Frank Showtone took on a life of his own, won a few tournaments, and the legend grew. Of course, Frank Showtone has a new distinction: he's the only user-created character on this list. The legend continues!

4) John Madden (various). John Madden was not a playable character, but an in-game non-player character that, much like his real-life counterpart, added color commentary to any Madden football game. Quotes like "Boom!" and "He'll remember that number" would be repeated at least three or four times in a course of a twenty-minute game. The amazing thing was that (also like his real-life counterpart) John Madden's voice NEVER got old. After a while, hearing his sometimes ill-timed quips took on a surreal, humorous quality and often punctuated playful trash-talking. Ed was especially adept at goading me by pointing and laughing at me right after one of his defenders laid the boom on my running back for a loss. BOOM!

3) Brett Hull (NHL 95). When I first started playing the NHL franchise of EA Sports games in 1993, I became a fan of the St. Louis Blues. Why? Well, for the lamest reason possible: I liked the color blue. As I played NHL 94 more, I became not only a bigger fan of the Blues and of ice hockey in general, but also of Brett Hull, who was the sharp-shooting right-winger. In NHL 94, he was excellent, but when I graduated to NHL 95, Brett Hull was absolutely spectacular because one-timers were especially effective in NHL 95. To get the most out of Hull, I used to put him at center on my top line, Brendan Shanahan on the right wing, and Tony Amonte (who I had to acquire from the Blackhawks) on the left wing. With that line, Hull would score three to four goals per game with alarming regularity, and the strategy was simple: streak up one side of the ice with Amonte or Shanahan with the puck, and then with Brett Hull trailing, pass the puck across to him and tap C to shoot just before he received it. The one-timer animation was triggered, and Hull would top-shelf the puck into the net. NHL 95 was THE high point for Hull on the Genesis because EA Sports did something to NHL 96 to weaken the effectiveness of the one-timer. This is why I cite Brett Hull from NHL 95 as my third-best Genesis "character" ever.

Keep an eye out for number two in the next post!

Top Ten First-Hand Nostalgia Sega Genesis Characters (10-7)

You know, a common perception of Top Ten lists is that they are highly opinionated, self-indulgent, and personal. I mean, why would I want to know what some guy thought about which ten Van Halen songs were the best of all time? Well, actually, I often find other people's Top Ten lists to be exceptionally intriguing, depending on the subject matter; I get much insight from what others think about stuff in which I am interested.

With that in mind, I have prepared a Top Ten list of the best video game characters I have personally experienced in Sega Genesis games. Why the Genesis? Because I owned one back when it was relevant... and I still own the same one! Now, there are many games I have not played that feature such classic characters as Knuckles, Earthworm Jim, Ristar, Vectorman, Sparkster (from Rocket Knight Adventures), Strider, and the like. I did not include those characters because I have never experienced them first-hand.

Despite this, I do have characters like Sonic, Ecco, and those dudes from Gunstar Heroes on my list, but I also have several surprises (including some in-game depictions of real people) on the list with which you may vehemently disagree (By the way, I will break up the list into four separate blog entries so that you won't be stuck with reading one LONG post). So, here goes -- my Top Ten First-Hand Nostalgia Sega Genesis Characters (10-7):

10) Those Dudes from Gunstar Heroes. These two dudes, whom I will dub Red and Blue, were cute sprites with angry faces that threw, kicked, punched, and blew away any baddie that they encountered. Beyond what they did, these characters were as dull as dirt -- they were just angry dudes that destroyed stuff. Maybe they were angry about the injustices faced by their home planet Gunstar, but the characters were bombastic, monotonous, and gratuitously violent... much like the game itself.

9) Marcus Allbäck (FIFA 97). Back in the day, I was a huge EA Sports game guy, and FIFA 97 found its way into my Genesis library. One of the first teams with which I played was an Allsvenskan (Swedish League) team called Örgryte. On that team was a super-speedy striker named M Allbäck. I didn't know his real first name, so I used to call him "Mats," based on famous tennis player Mats Wilander. But I would later discover that Marcus Allbäck was not only a real player, but he would eventually become an important player for the Swedish national side and play a key role in the European success of FC Copenhagen... Anyway, going back to 1996, Allbäck was a speed merchant who became my most prolific goalscorer and the one player I would often try to acquire whenever I played with another team.

8) Transformable Mecha (Herzog Zwei). Okay, could any American kid who didn't speak German pronounce this game's title right back in the day? My friend Ed and I used to pronounce it "Herzog Zweee," just as one may process American English orthography based on the American English phonemic library and phonological constraints. However, the actual German pronunciation is "Heut-sock tsvai" (IPA: ˈhɛɐ̯tsok ˈtsvai). Pronunciation aside, the transformable mecha controlled by the player was undeniably awesome: you used it to deliver and drop tactical units, you could fly it around to scout what the enemy was doing, and you could transform it into a giant robot to blast away the enemy's tactical units. It was a versatile "character" that was the poster child of one of the first real-time strategy games ever produced, making the character and the game underrated classics.

7) Ecco (Ecco the Dolphin). We all know Ecco -- he's the super-smart and courageous dolphin who has been charged with finding out to where all his sea creature buddies were abducted. He is beautifully rendered, swims fast, has a cool and effective nose attack, and can get some mad hops out of the water. Despite these positives, the plodding, pensive pace of Ecco the Dolphin may be too dull for some, unless you have hours of time to search for answers to arcane puzzles and explore narrow caves and vast expanses of open ocean. Ecco the Dolphin was and is one of the few non-sports games I've played on the Genesis, which is why Ecco rates so highly. Nonetheless, the game may be worth a look, even if the character isn't "exciting."

Stay tuned for 6 to 3!

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: ?HN Speed Ringer

It's the Christmas of 2009. Wanting to expose my young sons to games from a more innocuous gaming era, I bought Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and gave it as a Christmas present along with several other Genesis and NES games and a Gen-X Dual Station clone console. I am not sure if I had played Sonic 2 before that time, but the presence of Tails seemed to trigger a latent memory from long ago... In any case, my boys really enjoyed Sonic 2 because it was fast, you could make tons of mistakes and still survive, and the first levels are really easy. The level of difficulty gets ramped up, though, as soon as Sonic and his buddy enter the Chemical Plant Zone. From there, the platforms become harder to land on and speed, if used at the wrong time, can kill more than it can help.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2, like its predecessor, Sonic the Hedgehog, is a classic game. Some fanboys acknowledge it as the best of the Sega Genesis era, though some may tout Sonic 3 ahead of it. With everything from the standstill Spin Dash (which you perform by pressing down on the D-pad and tapping any one of the Genesis controller's buttons repeatedly) to more speed parts (e.g. a lot more loops, bumpers, and slopes to dash down) to Tails (who is especially helpful when a second player grabs the controller at the end portions of each zone where Sonic fights Dr. Robotnik), Sonic 2 introduced many of those Sonic gameplay aspects many have grown to love. Yet, Sonic 2 can also be frustrating with the underwater zone (and the need to catch air bubbles before drowning), annoying critters that shoot barely visible projectiles that cause Sonic to burp up all his rings, irritating jumps that can be difficult because of Sonic's inertia (think Chemical Plant Zone), and Tails (who dies endlessly at any obstacle). Nonetheless, for a seasoned platform gamer, this game is essential.

All of that said, it wasn't until recently that I began to appreciate platforming games. Back in college, I had no patience for the pinpoint accuracy some of the jumps in platformers like Sonic 2 and Super Mario Bros. required. I also couldn't stand the monotony of level after level of moving platforms and hazards -- at least, that is what I used to think. Now, with sports games ascending to a new height of gameplay difficulty, platformers have an inherent simplicity that is refreshing and escapist. For these reasons, I now enjoy Sonic 2, though I must say that with all of his speed and coolness, Sonic is a less accurate jumper than Mario of Super Mario World. Compare the two games: you'll find that there is a lower margin for error in Sonic 2 than Super Mario World. Just an observation...

Zanac: 1HN Fun Frantic Shmup

Ah, Zanac. Wuh, you've never heard of Zanac? Well, it wasn't one of those well-known classics in the NES library -- just a vertical bottom-to-top shoot-em-up flying game with power-ups, lots of bad guys, and stage upon stage of bases to destroy. Just imagine 1942 in the future... And, like most shoot-em-ups (shmups), the action gets frenetic and the projectiles keep coming... and coming... and coming.

Zanac would not stand out too much if it weren't for one bit of programming: apparently, Zanac was programmed with artificial intelligence that made Zanac more difficult the better you played. So, if you start out strong, the enemies come out in droves. The stronger you are, the more the enemies come out. If you die, your ship reappears, but the enemies come out fewer than before. For a long time, when I played Zanac, I believed that this programming existed, but that was when I was a teenager. Recently, I played Zanac again and realized something: the enemies that come out, and the amount that come out, is almost directly related to which power-ups you get and how many you get.

Here's how it works... There are eight possible power-ups numbered 0-7. You start out with 0, which is a special orb-shooting weapon. If you pick up another 0 power-up, you shoot two streams of orbs and more aliens emerge. I noticed that when I picked up 3, which is an orb that circles your ship like a defensive shield, special kinds of enemies that launch barrages of missiles and eject indestructible shells attack. Whichever power-up you get, you get certain enemies; if you get another power-up of the same type, more baddies attack.

So, Zanac is a fun shmup with some cool power-ups, fast-paced action, and lots of chaos, but the aliens are unspectacular and, like most shmups, the cheese is poured on thick. Nothing is worse than dodging a bunch of foes and projectiles only to explode because one stray projectile grazes your ship, as in passes one pixel from your ship. To become really good at Zanac, you have to enter a mental state in which you just focus on dodging while holding down both the standard fire button and the special weapon button. Just move and shoot... Oh, and never, ever get anything but 0, 3, or 7. The rest are a waste of time, especially 2. Trust me.

What Defines a (Iron) Man?

Yesterday, I pondered that which defines a man. I started off from the dangerous standpoint of what I cannot or do not do: I can't fix a car, plan a camping trip, program my own website, engage in martial-arts beatings, use a firearm, kill game with my bare hands, ride a mechanical bull, lasso a real-life bull, drink alcohol, or urinate for great distances. There were many guys at my old church that could do many of these things and they formed a nice group of men that could band together in the end times to form a viable commune and defend it with an acumen for survivalism and shotguns.

I then thought about what I could do: I can speak Japanese, teach linguistics or history or English, fix my computer, cook dinner, clean my house, iron my clothes, connect and configure electronic equipment, use an SLR camera, play most sports okay, run five miles, and write reviews, blog entries, and/or academic essays.

When I compared the lists, I became despondent because my skill set really does not correspond with what most men (even men in our churches) equate to masculinity. I began to ask myself: if the poop were to hit the proverbial oscillating fan, could I protect myself and my family? Could I stand up for myself? As the self-questioning questions flooded over me, I grew even more distraught.

But, this morning, I kept in mind the best answer I could muster -- that answer being to look at Jesus. He was indeed the Man -- self-sacrificial of his time and health, wise to always ask for His Father's help, courageous in the face of an inevitably painful crucifixion, and loving of humanity enough to reach out to both the masses (from the Mount, feeding the 5,000 with two fish and a loaf of bread) and the individual (Zacchaeus, Martha, Mary, and so on).

Thus, I was reminded that my yardstick of comparison should not be the guys at church, but the Man who is the head of the Church. Of course, I fall short of that yardstick as do us all, but I have to believe that I can do all these things in He who strengthens me. If I can strive to do those things, I could indeed protect my family and ensure my own safety with much more God-given strength than just being able to pummel any foe.

Then again, even David had a sling. :)

RC Pro-Am: 1HN Racing

Back in my adolescent days, I owned an NES console, along with 15 or so games. Most of the time, I was entertained by those 15 or so games, but there were times when I wanted to try other games, so I'd often borrow games from my friends Ed and Brian. One game I borrowed from Brian was RC Pro-Am.

The premise behind RC Pro-Am was simple: take control of a red radio-controlled car as you zip around a track riddled with various power-ups, oil slicks, speed-boost strips, and other road hazards. All the while, you can use bombs or missiles to hold your rivals at bay as you strive to cross the finish in third place or better (fourth place meant elimination). It was a relatively simple game except for one wrinkle: as it is with controlling RC (radio-controlled) cars, if the car comes toward you, you have to steer left to go right, and vice versa. Okay, this is a bad explanation... Imagine this: the RC car is coming at you and you want to make it go to your left, so you press right on your control stick, right? Wrong. You press left because you have to pretend that you are driving from the perspective of the RC car... Get it?

That's okay -- my sons don't...

My wife and I got RC Pro-Am, along with several other NES games, for our sons for Christmas, along with a Gen-X Dual Station clone console. I initially thought that my boys would enjoy this racing simulation, but I found that the concept of oncoming perspective was too much to overcome. Thus, after 10 minutes, both of my boys asked to switch games, obviously frustrated at the idea that you had to press left to go right.

In any case, once you overcome this mental hurdle, RC Pro-Am is a whole lot of fun, especially when the computer turns on the cheese and gives the yellow RC car sudden bursts of supersonic speed -- and, the only way to stop this yellow demon is to blast it to bits... repeatedly. Despite this, RC Pro-Am is addictive and is easy to pick up, play for a while, and then put down with the satisfaction of having gotten the "need for speed" (and destruction) out of your system.

Quackshot: 1HN Underrated Classic

When I was in high school, I remember hanging out with my friend Ed, who owned a Sega Genesis (before I eventually got mine in college). One of his brothers had rented a game called Quackshot, which was a side-scrolling adventure game starring Donald Duck. I remember playing the game and being impressed by the cartoonish graphics, the quirky background music, and, most importantly, the amusing and unique gameplay. Nineteen years later, I decided to buy the game used and include it as a retrogaming Christmas gift for my two sons, along with a Gen-X Dual Station and some other NES and Genesis games. Upon opening the gift, both of my sons were taken by the game and wanted to play it. Needless to say, like I was 19 years ago, they were impressed by the game.

Quackshot is one of those underrated classics that many gamers do not recognize, except for those Genesis gamers that are now active retrogamers. However, in what other game does the protagonist shoot a plunger gun that becomes more versatile as one acquires power-ups? Or, in what other game does a Disney character, vaguely dressed like Indiana Jones, travel from Duckburg to Mexico to Egypt to Transylvania to a haunted Viking ship? Not many other games but Quackshot. The unique gameplay not only involves using your plunger gun to stun foes, climb walls, and hitch rides attached to flying bird, but also involves the ability to slide as well as jump and duck -- most games did not have such versatility of control 19 years ago.

If you can, look for Quackshot on eBay or (if it's available) on Wii's Virtual Console. Because Donald wields a plunger gun and the game has that Saturday Disney cartoon look, it's a relatively innocuous game for young children, and it's a hoot for older kids who aren't averse to a good ol'-fashioned side-scroller that doesn't feature blood, guts, and explosions.