Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: 3HN Egg Layer

 Several weeks ago, my wife and I discovered a garage sale at a nearby house. Being a collector of retro videogame cartridges, I am usually open to browsing at garage sales, but certain garage sales are more likely to have older game cartridges than others. Primarily, I look for the age of the house and neighborhood; if the house and neighborhood is around 15 to 20 years of age, the owners are more likely to still have the artifacts of their children's pasts, namely toys and games. I also look for economically middle-class areas because people there probably had enough disposable income to purchase video games back in the day, but not enough to live in a more affluent neighborhood. Also, I tend to think that wealthy people just throw their old junk away, while middle-class people tend to save their junk in the hope that they will sell the junk... in a garage sale. At least, that's what I do.

Anyway, it was at that garage sale many weeks ago that I recovered two SNES cartridges: NBA Jam and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (heretofore Yoshi's Island). As I wrote in my previous post, NBA Jam for the SNES was a shadow of what it was in the arcade, and that's saying much because I wasn't a huge fan of the arcade version of NBA Jam. Thankfully, I only spent about $1.50 on it, so it wasn't a massive monetary drain. Conversely, Yoshi's Island was (as many other reviewers have written) and is a wonderful gaming experience. When it was released in North America in 1995, I was at UCLA starting my third year of study. I have no recollection of its release, mostly because I was a Sega Genesis owner and a sports gamer. Like many SNES games I have since purchased, Yoshi's Island had passed me by at its time of release and was unknown to me for over a decade.

Yoshi's Island is a platforming sidescroller in the grand tradition of most games in the Super Mario Brothers/World franchise insofar as you need considerable skill to leap from platform to level, you encounter ground-scurrying baddies, and it involves Mario. However, Yoshi's Island turns the Mario concept on its head: instead of you playing as Mario and riding Yoshi as in Super Mario World, you are Yoshi and you must carry baby Mario to the end. When you are hit by a baddie, you lose Mario as he floats away in a bubble. Knowing that your very survival in the game depends on retaining and delivering baby Mario to the end of each level, you must recover Mario and keep him safe from danger. All the way, instead of just squashing your foes, as with Super Mario World, you can ingest your opponent by latching onto your opponent with your sticky tongue and pulling them into your mouth. In addition, you can lay eggs and throw them at foes, which is odd because isn't Yoshi a male? Okay, so sea horse males carry their embryo offspring, so I suppose that Yoshi is exceptional like sea horses (and whatever other animals about which I am ignorant).

Yoshi's Island also departs from its predecessors in how it is rendered; the foreground of each level is an oddly harmonious mix of digitized platform elements and ground textures painted as with watercolors and broad black strokes. The background is a bit more reminiscent of Super Mario World with rich and intricate details, yet with virtual brushstrokes that sometimes engender the feeling of strolling through some kind of digital painting. The bad guys range from the familiar mask-wearing guys from Super Mario Brothers 2 (the North American version, that is) to spitting fish and even end bosses that seem to be full of hot air. Yoshi's Island also departs from its predecessors with its music, which benefitted from the capabilities of the SNES with many layers of melody and rhythm. In 1995, I'm sure that players of Yoshi's Island may have been blown away when considering that, only 10 years previous, the music had come a long way from the simple, albeit memorable melodies of the original Super Mario Brothers. If anything, I'd liken this game's music to a much more upbeat Super Metroid or even a game that was released around the time of Super Metroid: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Speaking of Super Metroid, level navigation is also a departure; you don't just go from left to right, but up, down, and all over the place. There are also numerous secret staircases and passageways to challenge the seasoned platformer. Moreover, the jumps and movements require precision and practice, much like Yoshi's Island's ancestors, but the ante is raised with even more frantic platform movements. Added to the tricky gameplay is the concept of non-linear level progress. Watching a playthrough on YouTube, I am reminded of Super Metroid in the ability to retrace your steps in a particular level, though you don't seem to revisit past rooms to find new items that are now attainable because of previously-acquired abilities like in Super Metroid. That said, Yoshi can acquire some nifty abilities as the game progresses, such as blasting tunnels out of rock and those allow you to advance more readily.

This review does not do justice to Yoshi's Island. Since I recently acquired this game, I have yet to scratch the surface of this adventure, but what I've seen thus far has impressed me immensely. As with many games of the past, there is much more challenge (and sometimes cheese) than today's games. I believe that many children and adults are missing out on some of those classic gems, like Super Metroid, Link to the Past, Sonic & Knuckles, and Yoshi's Island. Furthermore, games on the SNES (and some on the Genesis) were able to save your progress, so gaming in the mid-90s had hit that sweet spot of being able to play a meaningful game for a good amount of time, yet being able to walk away and enjoy your day, knowing that you could continue where you left off tomorrow or next week. Nowadays, games are so engrossing and so entrancing that people wile away consecutive days on-screen. Because of this, I continue to mine the past for treasures like Yoshi's Island: games that are wonderfully challenging but easy to set aside for other things, like Euro-style board games.

NBA Jam: 2HN Basketball Buffoonery

During my UCLA days in the early to mid-1990s, the video game console wars were in full effect with Sega and Nintendo jockeying for the top spot in the marketplace, specifically the media war between the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo. At the time, people either owned one or the other and rarely owned both, as if either company loyalty was that important or consoles and games were just too expensive to invest in two separate systems. As consoles became closer to arcade quality in their presentation of graphics and sound, video game cabinet manufacturers seemed to up the ante, having already introduced laserdisc-based games like Dragon's Lair and Firefox (based on the Clint Eastwood movie) and rolling out games with superior graphics, sound, and two-player gameplay like the once-ubiquitous Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, and NBA Jam. Initially, Sega and Nintendo, though capable of (then) superlative home-based video games, struggled to convert arcade-based games like Street Fighter II and NBA Jam to their consoles... but they eventually succeeded with differing results. While Nintendo (and, to some extent, Sega) did well to port Street Fighter II to the Super Nintendo, NBA Jam was not nearly the game it was in the arcade.

For anyone who wasn't born before 1990, let me introduce you to the concept of NBA Jam: it's essentially two-on-two basketball with 1990s NBA basketball stars. Do you like the Lakers? Well, you can play with James Worthy and Vlade Divac. Do you like the Golden State Warriors and long for the days of Run-TMC (Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin)? Cool, because you could play with Hardaway and Mullin. Oh, you say that you love the Bulls? Of course, you can play with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen... or NOT! Instead, you got Pippen and Horace Grant. How about Orlando Magic? Okay, you got Shaquille O'Neal, but you only got Penny Hardaway depending on which console you played the game. Much of who appeared in NBA Jam was dependent on licensing issues and the issues individual players had with royalties and such monetary concerns.

When it came to gameplay, it didn't matter with whom one played because NBA Jam was all about two things: thunderous dunks and fiery three-pointers. The fun of this game was in its uncomplicated, yet undeniably cheesy gameplay which often went like this: with one of your players (it really didn't matter who), you dribble the ball up the floor and either pass to your other player and dunk with heart-pumping authority or you loft a three-pointer from "way downtown." The first dunk of a streak of dunks was rather perfunctory, but the more a particular player dunked, the more acrobatic and gravity-defying the animations became. Likewise, the more a player drained three-pointers, the more the ball would burst into flame and the console or arcade cabinet's speakers would declare that he was "ON FIRE!" or "En fuego!"

The graphics of NBA Jam in the arcade were bright, garish, and eye-popping with each player looking like bobbleheads that are handed out at baseball stadiums as promotional items. Besides that, the uniforms of the players were shadowy reflections of the real-life uniforms, though the home floor of each team was emblazoned with that team's logos and colors to remind us that this WAS the NBA. What was even more indelible in my memory, however, was the sounds of the game: the crowd cheering, the realistic screech of sneakers on hardwood, and the play-by-play announcers' exclamatory remarks all created a hyper-realistic feel that went beyond anything one would watch during an NBA game on television.

In the 1990s, NBA Jam was ever-present in arcades on UCLA's campus and in local arcades and amusement centers I used to visit. I may have played the arcade version of the game once or twice on a lark, but I don't remember doing so. Yet, I'll always recall the NBA Jam announcer blurting, "Rony Seikaly... for three... He's on fire!" even though Rony Seikaly was not known for his three-point shooting. People used to line up their quarters to challenge the reigning player in the arcade; those battles were certainly fun to watch, at least for a few minutes. I never really developed an interest in NBA Jam, but I appreciated its presence in the arcades, at least because the game only added to the animated, noisy buffoonery that was, and still is, inherent to the video arcade lifestyle and motif.

Just last weekend, my wife and I happened upon a garage sale in one of the older homes in our area. Being a semi-avid video game cartridge collector, I reasoned (and hoped) that this older home would have a treasure trove of older games and consoles because the older homes were where peoples lived long enough to accumulate junk from the 1990s and before. Sure enough, I rummaged through a box of discarded and dusty game consoles to find a filthy Super Nintendo console and two cartridges: NBA Jam and Super Mario World 2 (about which I will write later). Both cartridges set me back a few bucks, which I handed to the homeowner with a thin veneer of calm hiding the unrepentant joy and enthusiasm that welled up from within me. Those cartridges were an uncommon find, especially now when savvy sellers are well-aware of the value of retro game cartridges on eBay. I gleefully took both cartridges home, gingerly yet aggressively cleaned the copper pins with Windex and Q-Tips, and washed the outsides of both cartridges with some Greased Lightning and a microfiber cloth. Thankfully, I got both cartridges working in my trusty Retro Duo.

I discovered two things that day: one was that Super Mario World 2 was as awesome as what I had read in a couple of reviews; the other was the NBA Jam on the Super Nintendo was a poor imitation of the arcade version. I played NBA Jam on the SNES for a few minutes to "test" the game's functions and playability and, sadly, found it dull compared to EA Sports' NBA Live series of games. It was just pass-pass-dunk, pass-pass-three, pass-pass-have ball stolen-watch as the computer dunks on my flailing sprites. Oh well... At least the cartridge was cheap and buying it triggered enough of those nostalgic feelings about the arcades of my youth to offset how mediocre NBA  Jam for the SNES was, and still is.

Super R-Type: 3HN Mindless Frustration

Call it a compulsion to extend my family's classic game collection or an odd desire to expose my boys to the finer, less modern games out there, but I'm always on the lookout for classic Super Nintendo or Genesis games. I read reviews and watch players' recorded longplays to isolate those games that exemplify the best of those consoles. Sometimes, I hit gold with games like Super Metroid or Super Mario World, but I also encounter duds, like OutRunners (which I may review in the future - it's a dull, split-screen racing simulation on the Genesis). Before Christmas, I turned my sights on side-scrolling spaceship shmups (shoot-em-ups) because our collection didn't feature one. There are several out there, including the venerable Gradius series and the R-Type series (both of which spanned the NES and SNES). I vacillated between Gradius III and Super R-Type for the SNES; what swayed me towards Super R-Type was the price on eBay, where it was 50 cents cheaper that Gradius III. I must admit that this is a dumb reason to choose between games, but I bought Super R-Type, wrapped it up, and gave it to my sons as one of many Christmas presents.

Okay... I'll just summarize my thoughts: Super R-Type is poor. Yes, the graphics are colorful, the aliens are eerily eye-popping, and the in-game sounds are crisp. My issues with this game are not the presentation of it, but the gameplay. As one may expect, side-scrolling shmups are no-brainers: you fly, move top to bottom, shoot things with your basic weapon, acquire stronger weapons, and then blast more baddies to smithereens with those powerful, acquired weapons. Super R-Type is no different, but (as far as I can tell) you only use three of the six available gameplay buttons on the SNES controller - that's a waste. Also, I must say that the second mini-boss is just too HARD to beat; I had to watch someone else's longplay on YouTube just to figure out how to destroy that spinning metal gyromite (Do you like the NES reference?). The first level should ALWAYS be a breeze when the game is set to the EASY setting; but, in Super R-Type, I have yet to get past it, so one can imagine how discouraged my boys were playing the game.

Super R-Type is almost exactly what I would expect from a side-scrolling space shmup: one lone ship, some power-ups, endless squadrons of baddies, and loads of mini-bosses. Considering this, I cannot fathom why I felt it necessary to add such games to our family collection because, honestly, I have always found them dull and pointless (except for Zanac, which continues to grow on me). My boys seemed to agree as they gave up on the game after 10 minutes of frustration. I can't blame them, though I will revisit this game in a feeble attempt to pass that second mini-boss. So, don't believe the hype. My advice is to stay away from side-scrolling space shmups, and avoid the confounding, mind-numbing blandness of Super R-Type.

Retro-Comparo: Super Mario Bros. 3 vs. Super Mario World

Comparing two classic games out of a mega-popular franchise is extremely difficult because... well, both games are unilaterally considered classics. But, it becomes even more arduous of a task when both games were for consoles of different generations. In this case, I'm going to look at Super Mario Bros. 3 (SMB3), which was originally released for the NES, and Super Mario World (SMW) for the SNES. Now, to level the playing field, I will actually compare the SNES version of SMB3 that was included in Super Mario All-Stars, a compilation of the first three Super Mario Bros. games that were first released for the NES in the United States (not counting Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Worlds). SMB3 was remastered with enhanced graphics, colors, and sound and programmed with the ability to save progress. So here goes - my comparison of SMB3 and SMW:

Graphics:

Comparing SMB3 for the SNES to SMW, graphics are of similar quality, driven by the SNES' 16-bit graphics processor. That said, the sprites and backgrounds in SMW are prettier and smoother than SMB3 with more detail and rounded edges. Colors are also more vivid in SMW, despite the revamping of SMB3 in All-Stars, which was released three years after SMW. Win - SMW

Sound:

Differentiating sound effect quality between these two games on the SNES is like picking nits, so I won't do that. If anything, both games feature the technology of the SNES well, especially when comparing it to the Genesis' 8-bit sound. Win - push

Music:

SMW has the advantage of musical composition for a 16-bit system, which means (I think) more tracks and more layered sound. But, SMB3 has the benefit of nostalgia and outstanding melodies, even compared to games today. To be honest, the music in SMW is a cut better, despite the fond memories of SMB3. Win - SMW

Stage Design:

Though SMB3 would have the advantage of nostalgia, SMW put forth some serious complications in its stage design, such as different stage endings depending on how quickly you finish the initial parts of a stage. That said, SMB3 is just plain classic with killer suns and those levels where everything is giant. Win - SMB3

Bonus Stages:

The Ghost Houses and hidden fortresses of SMW versus the mushroom houses and flying ships of SMB3... Give me the latter. Win - SMB3

Hit Detection:

Direct landings from above squash bad guys in either game, though SMW benefits from a spin jump that eliminates baddies in one landing. However, both games suffer when interpreting landings from a down angle; hit detection is iffy, in my opinion. Win - push

Miscellaneous:

This one is hard. Both games have the grow-to-giant-size mushroom and the fire flower, but SMB3 has multiple power-ups, such as the raccoon suit, the frog suit, the hammer suit (which lets you throw hammers), and a tanuki suit that gives you the ability to turn into a stone statue (!). Conversely, SMW has a super cape and probably the most important "power-up" in the Super Mario Bros. franchise: Yoshi, a dinosaur that Mario can ride and use to devour bad guys. Also, both games have world maps that allow you to navigate to different levels in an order you choose, and memorable foes in each level. So hard to pick... Win - push

Overall winner - SMW!

I prefer Super Mario World because it was originally designed for a 16-bit system, so it benefits from the capabilities of the SNES. SMB3 was originally designed for the 8-bit NES; though it was enhanced for the SNES, levels are not as complex and rich as those in SMW. SMW also has Yoshi and a cuteness factor that is more apparent than with SMB3. It's really hard to pick, but if pressured I'd pick Super Mario World.

Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow: 3HN Duck Disappointment

In one of my previous posts, I dubbed the Disney character Donald Duck as the top Sega Genesis game character in terms of personal nostalgia; with a tough and determined demeanor that belies his Disney cute factor and with underrated winners under his belt like Quackshot and World of Illusion, Donald Duck has certainly earned the top spot on my list. So, when I won Super Metroid on eBay last year and a Donald Duck game called Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow was packaged with it, I was pleased to get two games for one.

Unfortunately, unlike Donald Duck's Genesis titles, Maui Mallard on the Super Nintendo is lackluster not because of its graphics (with colorful and sharp backgrounds and character sprites), the animation (which is fluid and comical), or the in-game sound (which is good by SNES standards), but because of its gameplay. One problem is figuring out where to go. Playing the first level, it is initially confusing and difficult to know where to go; for example, I had trouble solving how to enter the background (outside of the house) from the foreground (inside the house). Once I overcame that, I found it annoying trying to navigate in the background with walls and window edges in my field of vision. Even after I successfully returned to the foreground, I could not easily determine where to head (or what to do) to exit the level.

Okay... I realize that it may seem lame that I cannot navigate the first level. Admittedly, Super Metroid is all about figuring out where to go; like Super Metroid, I could just watch someone's longplay video on YouTube or read a walkthrough to solve Maui Mallard. Anyway, it isn't navigation that makes Maui Mallard almost unplayable as much as the slippery controls. In Maui Mallard, jumping feels imprecise, running feels like sliding across ice, and shooting Donald's gun lacks the "fun" factor of Quackshot. What is he shooting -- tomatoes?!

Navigation and controls are the two major gameplay elements that bog down Maui Mallard, but I must also mention the act of collecting objects. Is the point to simply amass a higher completion percentage? I wasn't sure and I grew to not care after a few minutes of gameplay. After a while, the game felt pointless, which is not as much a reflection of gameplay as a lack of a cohesive story. Who is Maui Mallard? Why do I have to wait until later levels to turn into Cold Shadow, the icy, deadly ninja duck? What's the point of having to transform when I could just be a ninja throughout the game?

Yet, more important than these questions was my concern about the "Eastern philosophy" elements in the game, such as the Taoist yin-yang symbol and ninja iconography, as well as the Polynesian-type idolatry present. What kinds of images would be impressed upon my sons' minds when viewing these symbols? All of these questions flooded my mind as I turned off my Retro Duo and pulled out the Maui Mallard cartridge.

As I wrote this post, I pondered how Maui Mallard and Super Metroid share some similar features: laudable graphics, vivid sprites, platform gameplay, somewhat baffling and confusing level navigation, and tracking of percentages of items collected are aspects of both games. Yet, unlike Maui Mallard, Super Metroid features fluid gameplay with accurate jumping and movement along with special abilities gained as the game progresses. Super Metroid also affords Samus Aran wall jumping, which comes with much practice but is available from the game's onset. Maui Mallard is plagued with a feeling that you have little control over where Donald Duck goes and, eventually, little desire to go anywhere. Sadly, because of this game, Donald Duck doesn't rank too highly on my list of nostalgic characters on the SNES.

Sonic the Hedgehog: 1HN Blast Processing Original

In light of my last post about Sonic the Hedgehog 2, I thought it would be appropos to talk about its predecessor: Sonic the Hedgehog. Back in my college days, I owned Sonic the Hedgehog (heretofore Sonic 1), which was the classic side-scrolling platformer that both started the Sonic franchise and convinced Sega Genesis owners (and wannabe owners) that "Blast Processing" was as real as Sonic's speed runs. At that time, the Genesis and Super Nintendo were duking it out for the top spot in the market; I jumped into the Console Wars in media res, buying my Genesis in Spring 1993. I had received Sonic 1 as a part of send-away offer for only the cost of shipping and handling. However, because I was a huge EA Sports game fan and wasn't interested in platformers at the time, Sonic 1 did more to frustrate me than amuse me, so I ended up selling Sonic 1 as a used game to Electronics Boutique, where I most likely purchased some EA Sports game with the proceeds.

Fast forward to 2011: after having played Sonic 2 somewhat extensively, I regret my impatience with Sonic 1. Sure, Sonic 1 didn't have Spin Dash or Tails or many of the speed parts of Sonic 2, but Sonic 1 has three advantages over its successor: Sonic 1 was THE original, which carries with it a unique sense of nostalgia; though the 3D-perspective bonus stages in Sonic 2 are fun and challenging, the bonus stages in Sonic 1 present a directional challenge that appears to be absent from every other Sonic game; and, it is the cheapest cartridge to buy among all the Sonic titles for the Genesis right now... If you perform a search for Sonic Genesis games on eBay, you'll see this bear out.

In any case, Sonic 1 is still an excellent platformer with much to offer to the wayward gamer, such as creative level design, bilateral movement (i.e. you can go left to right to left, which was new compared to Super Mario Bros. 1), and, honestly, superlative 8-bit music (Yes, I said "8-bit music" -- the Genesis had a 16-bit processor, but an 8-bit Zilog Z80 sound controller). More importantly, Sonic 1 raised the ante in the Console Wars between Sega and Nintendo by both giving Sega a marketable mascot and a viable rival in gameplay and presentation to the Mario series of games on the NES and SNES. For all of these reasons, if you have a chance, buy Sonic 1; I'm sure you won't regret it nearly as much as I regret having sold it for some forgotten EA Sports game.

Super Mario Bros. 2: 1HN Sitting on Airborne Eggs

Ah, Super Mario Bros. 2: the oft-forgotten game in the NES/SNES library of Mario games. As I mentioned in my brief review of SMB: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2 was originally a game called Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic, which was released in Japan as a title that was completely unrelated to any Mario game before it. However, when Nintendo saw in its infinite wisdom how much of a cheesefest the original Super Mario Bros. 2 game was, they re-worked the characters in Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic and re-badged that game as Super Mario Bros. 2. Thus, for decades, Americans were playing a game that they grew to know and love, but was not originally a Mario game at all.

Here is what I think about that: it doesn't matter at all. The American... I mean, our Super Mario Bros. 2 is an absolute hoot. What better way is there to spend a couple of hours than jumping onto foes, pulling them over your sprite's head, and then throwing them at other foes? There aren't many better options than that! Super Mario Bros. 2 plays unlike other Mario games in this regard: instead of squishing bad guys with your ample posterior, you pick them up and throw them at other bad guys. You can also pick up radishes, keys, and even POW blocks with devastating effect. You can even jump onto enemy eggs as they are shot at you, pick them up in mid-air, and then throw them back at the enemy!

Modes of attack aside, Super Mario Bros. 2 is also unlike its brethren in that there are no raccoon or tanuki suits, no fire-flowers, and no Yoshi. Instead, you get a choice of four characters (the first time a Mario game featured this), a kind of life meter with a maximum of three hits, potions that lead to the negative world where objects turn into coins, and you get annoying phantom faces that chase you around if you pick up a key. This game feels very different from its brethren that it's almost... like an unrelated game. Go figure.

Super Mario Bros. 2 is a lot of fun for all ages. Is it violent? Perhaps, but I contend that Mario/Luigi/Toad/Princess are just trying to defend themselves from these dastardly foes. I am a Christian, I believe in Jesus, and I can say this: the Bible has its violent moments, especially the battles in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Chronicles. But, the violence was not for violence's sake -- it happened for numerous reasons that were sometimes in God's will and sometimes committed by those who weren't in His will. Anyway, my point is that Super Mario Bros. 2 is not nearly as violent and is a lot more innocent than the kids' shows out there today.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox...

Super Mario Bros. 2 is most fun played with enhanced graphics and sound on the Super Mario All-Stars SNES cartridge, but if you can get your hands on the NES cartridge, it's the same game. By the way, this is a first-hand nostalgia (1HN) game for me: I played this back in the day, and it's as fun now as it was back then.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels: 3HN Cheesefest

One month before Christmas, I was determined to get yet another classic game cartridge for my sons (and me): Super Mario All-Stars. This SNES cartridge includes not only all three Super Mario games from the NES, but also a game that had not been previously released in the U.S. -- Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels. This was the selling point to my wife: if I get this cartridge for my sons, it would include three games with improved graphics and sound (compared to the NES), and an additional fourth game. She wasn't fully convinced, but she humored me, so I got it.

Here's a little history: The Lost Levels was actually Super Mario Bros. 2, which was first released in Japan shortly after the classic Super Mario Bros. The prevailing rumor/fact was that the original Super Mario 2 was TOO difficult for U.S. kids (really?) and TOO similar to the original Super Mario Bros. Thus, what the U.S. got was a game (called Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic in Japan) that was repackaged as Super Mario Bros. 2; but, The Lost Levels were eventually released as a part of the Super Mario All-Stars compilation.

Anyway, we've had the cartridge for about a month. My sons have had little desire to play any of the games on it as they are currently fascinated with Super Mario World, but I have dived into the games, particularly Super Mario 2 and 3. However, I have been playing Lost Levels for the last couple weeks, and I can say with some certainty that this game is littered with cheese. Indeed, this game is hard... really hard, and needlessly so. How can a game be "needlessly hard?" Let me give you an example: in World 2, Level 2, there is a point where there is an impossible chasm across which you have to jump. You can't jump it, you can't turbo jump it, and you don't have the benefit of a tanuki suit, raccoon suit, or cape (from Super Mario World) to help you across the chasm. Okay, there's a pipe way up in the sky, but how do you get to it?! Well, if you jump around enough, you will eventually find a secret block. Okay, so I found that block, but I still can't reach the pipe. What do I do?! Once again, if I jump around, I will eventually find ANOTHER hidden block. If I jump on THAT block, I can reach the pipe, but then I have to turbo jump from atop THAT pipe to make it across the chasm. Sheesh! Though I'm up for a good challenge, hiding blocks that necessitate reaching a point that would already present a difficult jump takes away from the fun of this Super Mario game and renders the game more of a test of patience than a pick-up-and-play classic. Thankfully, you have unlimited chances to continue and try again, but gaining an intimate familiarity with the Continue screen is no way to enhance one's life.

Throughout Lost Levels, the frustration is in full effect with nigh-impossible jumps, crazy falls that require accurate placement, and death mushrooms which come out of Question blocks that kill you! I have a funny story about these mushrooms: in World 1, Level 1, the first special mushroom that I encountered when I first played Lost Levels was this purple mushroom that emerged from a Question block. "Ooh, this must be for some new ability," I thought. Little did I know that it was a poison mushroom that would automatically kill me upon consumption! Oh, and there are surprise areas that actually hinder gameplay! For instance, if you over-jump one stage-ending flagpole in World 3, you are taken to a Warp Zone, but that's not a good thing: it's a Warp Zone to World 1! Who'd want to do that?! It can all be frustrating...

Furthermore, I must comment on the game's controls -- more so than the first three Marios (which we know as 1, 2, and 3), Mario's momentum sends him forward and off many platforms if you're not especially careful. Mario also hangs longer when he jumps, which threw off my timing when bouncing off one foe to land on another. I have lost count of how many times I have died bouncing off one opponent only to land behind another, thus touching the foe while on flat ground and dying instantly. The controls feel different from Super Mario 1, 2, or 3, as if Mario were on the moon. It's difficult to describe, much like it's difficult to control Mario with any accuracy.

The Lost Levels plays with your Mario sensibilities, turning what we've been conditioned to accept as "rewards" such as mushrooms and Warp Zones into bad things! Now, you have to be careful about where you go and what you get. You also have to contend with a Mario that hangs in the air just a bit too long and had a braking distance that is just a bit too long. This is not challenging -- this is cheesy. I mean, I like the first three Mario games because they're challenging, but they're fun and the challenges are right in front of you instead of compelling you to find hidden blocks to advance... for the most part. Anyway, there's a feeling I have when playing The Lost Levels as if I have to get every move just right in order to succeed -- there is no margin for error, and this is what separates this game from the fun of the first three Mario games and Super Mario World after it. In my opinion, games have to have even a small margin for error to preserve the fun of the challenge. After all, we are all human and incapable of performing perfectly every time. We all need the space to make a mistake or two. You may disagree, but that's why I liked Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, or 3; you didn't have to stick a perfect jump every time, but you did need to do it occasionally.

Nonetheless, truth be told, I will return to this game again and again... until I beat it. Wouldn't that mark a "great game?" Let me get back to you about that. In the meantime, I had better get used to cheese.

Updated Info about the Retro Duo

Today, I added an update section to a review I wrote for Epinions about the Retro Duo, a NES/SNES clone console:

Retro Duo: Crisp SNES, Cruddy NES

If you are only interested in reading my update excerpt, here it is:

"After 9 months of irregular use of the Retro Duo, one of the controllers became problematic; I could push the D-pad or any of the buttons, but I couldn't do both at the same time and get any game response. I cut the controller cable from the internal control board and resoldered it, but the connection problem seemed more inherent to the board and less inherent to the cable. Thus, I confirmed that the Retro Duo's controllers are somewhat flimsy and I suspect that the internal control board is the reason.

"To resolve this, I recommend buying original Super Nintendo controllers (not the cheap knock-offs, but bona fide controllers) through eBay or Amazon Marketplace. I won two controllers through eBay, received them last week, and then cleaned them up with alcohol and cotton swabs. The controllers work flawlessly with the Retro Duo and feel much better than the controllers that come with the system. However, I would keep the Retro Duo controllers as back-ups or for spare parts (e.g. the internal button contact parts).

"Also, I found that the Retro Duo is very sensitive to any jarring movements, such as when children accidentally jerk their controllers while playing. If inserted cartridges experience any kind of quick movements, any active game is disrupted; this is because the cartridge insertion ports on the Retro Duo are wider than the actual cartridges and the pin contacts inside the console allow for leeway. So, don't jerk your controllers.

"Other than these complaints, the Retro Duo is still a viable replacement solution for failing SNES or NES consoles, even though NES performance is sub-par."

Super Mario World: 1HN Super Fun

Twenty years ago (on November 20, 1990 to be exact), Super Mario World was released to the... uh, world along with the Super Nintendo videogame console. Rivaling the Sega Genesis, the Super Nintendo delivered 16-bit graphics AND sound, but none of this would have made an impact without the capabilities of the Super Nintendo displayed fully through the play of Super Mario World. I first played Super Mario World in 1992 when I visited a friend of mine. At the time, I had grown weary of side-scrolling platformers and was gravitating more toward sports games like NES Play-Action Football and Kings of the Beach. Anyway, I played Super Mario World and was somewhat impressed by the graphics and gameplay. However, because I wasn't a fan of such side-scrollers, I quickly gave up playing and asked if my friend and I could play Street Fighter 2.

Fast-forward 20 years: it was Christmas 2010 and my wife and I gave our two young sons Super Mario World along with three other cartridges as part of their Christmas booty... er, presents. Upon inserting Super Mario World into our Retro Duo, we (my wife included) were astonished (even in 2010) by the graphics, the sounds, and the gameplay of this classic. The first couple of areas in Level 1 are great for our two boys, but areas after that increased in difficulty as one progressed. Even though areas became more difficult and frustrating for all of us, the "cute" sprites and bright colors made the drudgery of overcoming stubborn obstacles over and over again tolerable. I even found (and sometimes find) myself humming the background music. There was just something undeniably catchy about the game.

Just to mention one aspect of Super Mario World, we all enjoyed that element that was added to Super Mario gameplay with this game: riding Yoshi, a friendly dinosaur who can eat foes, spit fireballs, and lay (!) 1-UP eggs. Of course, Yoshi often proved to be more of a tainted temptation than a helper: whenever Mario or Luigi is hit by a foe whilst riding Yoshi, Yoshi scurries away at high speed. When playing, this led all of us to pursue Yoshi because he was THAT fun to have in the game, but pursuing the wayward Yoshi almost always led to death by contact with a foe or falling down a hole. My wife and I sagely concluded that if one is hit while riding Yoshi, just let him run away...

In short, Super Mario World is a pleasant way to wile away an hour or two with the family. You can play cooperatively on the same map or individually with everyone taking turns. Plus, you can save games at certain key points and go back to them later; nowadays, this is no big deal but for an old-time gamer like me this is huge. Back in the day, it was more the exception than the rule that one could save a gave, so one either had to play all day until one finished the game or just quit and try from the beginning later. In any case, this classic can be acquired as a cartridge through eBay or through the Wii's Virtual Console; either way, you won't be disappointed with this 20-year-old game.

Mega Man X: 2HN Stiff Shooter

Back in the mid-90s during my college days, I was a loyal Genesis player, particularly of EA Sports games on that console. Occasionally, I bought and tried other games, like Sonic and Ecco the Dolphin. While I wasn't an ardent side-scrolling platform game player, I respected them enough to acknowledge them.

Today, as I plumb the depths of not only platforming side-scrollers, but also Super Nintendo games, I stumble upon games that even gamers now hold in high regard. One of those games is Mega Man X, which was one of Capcom's early SNES releases after a successful franchise run on the NES. In college, I wasn't directly aware of Mega Man X, but I did recognize the Mega Man character, who I believe is robot boy/man made out of metal. This recognition compelled me to buy the game from a co-worker, who happens to still own SNES cartridges.

Mega Man X starts up with a rocking soundtrack and the main character "X" leaping into the title screen. The game looks good and sounds great, but when I started playing I realized something: I can't duck! I can jump, I can shoot, but I can't duck! And, I can't shoot at a angle, which means that I have to jump to shoot. This is how it is in the first stage: X is capable of firing charged beams, jumping or sliding off walls, and jumping. There is no turbo run, no ducking, and no angle shooting from the start; the lack of such abilities sometimes led to character death. Super Metroid gets this right, but it appears that X has to gain certain abilities as he finishes missions, such as sliding on the ground. I haven't investigated what other abilities X can inherit, but you don't start off ducking and that bothers me.

After I passed the first stage and endured an "event battle" (i.e. a battle you are destined to lose, but must happen to advance a paper-thin plot), I found myself able to choose which stage I could try out. Which stage do I do first? I don't know, but apparently there is an optimal order because some stages are harder than others without certain upgrades. If any game needed a walkthrough, Mega Man X is such a game. How about an indication of which stage is "Stage Two?" No such indication, sadly.

Overall, the look and sounds of Mega Man X are awesome, but the gameplay is stiff and restrictive from the beginning. I've heard that this is how Mega Man games were on the NES, so I can see why my friends never recommended it (if the stiffness was the reason). I must compare it to Metroid; even on the NES, you could angle your shot up or diagonally up, and you could duck. With X, all you can do is jump to avoid missiles, rolling robots, and other baddies. Why Mega Man X is a classic is beyond me.

By the way, in Mega Man X, you blow up robots with your arm cannon. This technically qualifies as violence, but there is no blood though X writhes in agony whenever he's shot. If this game sits well with you, you could try it out, but be prepared to be a little frustrated.

Battletoads Double Dragon: 3HN Violence

A few months ago, I wrote a relatively lengthy post about violence and how Christians must assess the violent content of any game. Recently, I borrowed Battletoads Double Dragon for the SNES, and by the standards of 1990s videogames, this game is pretty dang violent.

Battletoads Double Dragon is basically a beat-um-up side-scroller that combines two NES games: Battletoads and Double Dragon. Battletoads involved three anthropomorphic toads and Double Dragon featured two muscular dudes. Combined, you can choose from any of the five characters; and, like both predecessor games, you can team up with another player.

What's the point of the game? To kick enemy butt -- that's it. You (and another player) run from left to right punching, kicking, and throwing any foe that crosses your path. From a gameplay standpoint, this game is a disappointment. Out of the six possible buttons, there are only two buttons used for unique functions: attack and jump. It's like Tradewest ported an NES game directly to SNES and upgraded the graphics, but retained NES gameplay. In this way, the game is lackluster.

Otherwise, Battletoads Double Dragon is mindless and oddly cathartic, though it is disturbing that dudes beat up on whip-wielding ladies, as skanky as them may be. I can say with certainty that this game does not exemplify Christ, but if it's any consolation most of the foes are robots and alien creatures... I will be returning this game to the coworker from whom I borrowed it. I am thankful I didn't buy it.

Super Metroid: Tips and Tricks

Last weekend, I chipped away at my current Super Metroid adventure, managing to defeat Ridley after two tries. During my first encounter with Ridley, I attempted to bombard him (?) with Super Missiles, and then with Missiles, but neither did much damage and only annoyed him. However, after referring to my walkthrough, I found that charged Ice Beam shots at his head did the most damage and more quickly dispatched the purple beast. Now, what awaits me is the Mother Brain.

What I realized after my most recent foray into Zebes was that, despite the assistance of my trusted walkthrough, there were a few tips and tricks about Super Metroid that many hint-providers failed to mention. So, here are my tips and tricks using the default controller setup:

• To shinespark/rocket boost in a diagonal-up direction, (holding down the B button while possessing the Speed Booster), press down as soon as Samus begins to flash. Then, press the L button to go diagonal-up to the left, or the R button to go diagonal-up to the right. Initially, I tried to press the D-pad diagonal-up in the desired direction, but would end up going left or right.
• To Space Jump with or without Screw Attack and stay airborne, press or tap left or right on the D-pad right before each press of the A (Jump) button. Pressing diagonal-up negates the Space Jump and sends Samus down for a landing. I wondered why my space jumps would end so prematurely and found that pressing diagonal-up killed each jump. Note: it is the intensity of Samus' jump, and not the angle of the D-pad press, that governs how high and where she goes.
• To wall-jump, jump close to a wall. As soon as Samus brushes the wall, press the D-pad into a direction away from the wall and, in quick succession, press the Jump button. If both the D-pad and Jump button are pressed at the same time, the wall jump does not occur.

The wall jump, Space Jump, and Shinespark are the three most difficult, yet necessary, skills to learn in Super Metroid. If you have any more hints or experiences to share, please feel free to post.

Ciao!

Super Metroid without a Walkthrough?! Ugh!

Last weekend, I had some free time after everyone had gone to bed and I had poured a couple of hours into a presentation for Historical Linguistics class, so I decided to pop Super Metroid into my family's Retro Duo console. Up to the point where I had saved my game, I had been using a walkthrough that was posted on IGN. It has been a good walkthrough, but more written from the perspective of a speed player who is trying to beat Super Metroid under 90 minutes. However, I have found that following a walkthrough word-for-word can be tedious, sapping the fun and adventure out of Super Metroid. So, I decided to just wing it and play without the walkthrough...

For the most part, I did well enough. Because I had saved my game in Maridia after defeating Draygon, I still had to find a reserve tank and a missile tank. I found these items easily enough after navigating for 30 minutes using Samus' map screen. It was after that when things got tough as I worked my way to Norfair, where I spent five minutes trying to get a missile tank located on the other side of some crumble blocks, got into a nasty fight with an evil Torizo, and then acquired the Screw Attack. After that, I tried to screw attack/space jump my way up a massive room, only to have the Space Jump (I loathe Space Jump) work half of the time, while I would fall or crash into nigh-invincible Metal Pirates the other half of the time. After 25 more minutes, Samus drowned in rising acid as she failed to complete her space jumps. Sheesh.

Because I didn't (or couldn't) save after beating that Torizo, all of my progress after acquiring the reserve tank was lost. Thankfully, I at least saved when I did, but I realized how hard Super Metroid is without a walkthrough. I'd like to blame the Retro Duo's controller, though; I mean, why can't I string together successive Space Jumps?!

Goof Troop: 3HN Father and Son at Play

Last week, my four-year-old son and I decided to play Goof Troop, a Super Nintendo game based on the animated series of the same name that was broadcast in the early to mid-90s. The basic premise of the game involves Goofy and his son evading pirates, finding keys, using various items, and solving puzzles to rescue their friend, Pete, who has been kidnapped by the aforementioned pirates. The game is played from above with a perspective reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda, except that this game is much simpler and involves teamwork if played with another player.

Much to my surprise, the more I play Goof Troop, the more I am impressed by the gameplay and fun factor, particularly the fun of playing such as goofy character as... well, Goofy. I had initially purchased this game from a co-worker solely on the premise that this was a cooperative game which my two sons could play together, but I have found that the game is better played when one more-skilled player (me, in this case) plays with a younger, less-skilled player (my youngest son) because the more-skilled player can bail out the less-skilled one. How? Well, one of the prominent tactics of Goof Troop involves movement from one screen to the next: if one player leaves a particular screen, both players appear in the next screen. This not only allows one player to save another from imminent danger, but it also allows for additional tactics, like one player luring foes to one corner of the screen while the other player leaves; or, one player runs across the screen to retrieve an important item and the other player leaves shortly after retrieval. Besides this, players can throw projectiles to each other if one of the players needs it, and both players can carry different items that may be useful on different screens.

It took my youngest son and I about 20 minutes to pass the first stage of the game, which was a wonderful accomplishment for him, especially because he is only four years old and he has just started learning how to play video games (specifically, retrogames). I really enjoyed playing alongside him to beat the stage. As a dad, I suppose that is what I enjoy most about retrogaming: watching my sons enjoy and do well with games that were relevant when I was younger.

First-hand vs. Second-hand Nostalgia

Howdy!

I was pondering the concept of nostalgia vis-a-vis retrogaming, and I realized that there are two kinds of nostalgia: first-hand nostalgia and second-hand nostalgia. "First-hand nostalgia" (1HN) refers to that positive feeling that emerges when remembering something one directly encountered; for example, my remembrances of Super Mario Bros. and any positive feelings associated with it would comprise first-hand nostalgia. Conversely, in my estimation, "second-hand nostalgia" (2HN) refers to remembering what one experienced about something that was indirectly related to a first-hand nostalgia item; for instance, I never played Kid Icarus, but reading about that NES game and thinking about my experiences with that gaming system would comprise second-hand nostalgia.

From this point on, I will consistently refer to FHN and SHN when talking about games. Why? Because as I explore old games that I never got to play when those games were released (i.e. 15 years ago), I am finding that any positive memories that surface are mostly second-hand, or 2HN. An applicable example of this would be thinking about a movie from the 80s that I had heard about during the 80s, but never got a chance to see; yet, when I think about that movie (at least, any spurious information I have about that movie), I am reminded of the rad aspects of that decade.

Actually, I should then address third-hand nostalgia (3HN): positive feelings experienced with something with which one neither had direct nor indirect contact. A good example of this is that joyous feeling I get when I think about games like Super Metroid, Goof Troop, Mega Man, and other SNES games because I didn't own that system, and I never knew those games existed in the 90s, but when I look at those games now I am reminded of the decade during which I was in college and then in Japan.

Okay, so we have 1HN, 2HN, and 3HN. Confused yet? Here's the breakdown:

• 1HN: Nostalgia related to something directly experienced in the time period during which that thing was relevant or contemporaneous.
• 2HN: Nostalgia related to something that was not directly experienced, but known about during the time period that thing was relevant or contemporaneous.
• 3HN: Nostalgia related to something that was neither directly experienced nor known about during its time of relevance, but has recently emerged because of current knowledge of that thing, which in turns stokes positive feelings about the time period or other items connected to that thing.

I hope that clears things up.

Ciao!

The Retro Duo: Good with SNES, Bad with NES

Howdy!

I just posted a new review of the Retro Duo video game console at Epinions:

Retro Duo

To summarize, the Retro Duo is a clone console that was manufactured with Nintendo technology from patents that expired a few years ago. You can play NES and SNES games on it. Basically, it does really well with SNES games, but poorly with NES games.

Ciao!