Chun-Li, Trish, Super Skrull and Dr. Doom make their Marvel vs Capcom 3 debut in this trailer that surfaced today.
Discuss Marvel vs Capcom 3 on our forums here.

Thanks to bentheo for the tip!

Marvel.com has posted the very first screenshots from gameplay of the forthcoming and highly anticipated Marvel vs Capcom 3. The screenshots even have some added commentary mostly explaining that they wanted this to feel like a moving comic book and many of the effects are a result of that. Check out the link for all the original commentary or look at the screenshots after the jump and let us know you think!

       

Here are the Dangerous Boy Tekkaman Blade and Ryu Hoshi to talk about Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars, a fighting game for the Nintendo Wii.

Capcom made several changes to the Vs formula with MVC2. First of all, the game’s system has been cut down to a 4-button system rather than the 6-button scheme that’s been prevalent throughout many Capcom fighters. Secondly, instead of the sprite-heavy CPS2 and 3 boards, Capcom implemented a new graphical system that used 3D objects to construct background objects. While the character sprites are still in 2D, the rendered 3D backdrops look more vibrant and animated than other Capcom fighters. The most significant change of all however, the already-maniac 2 vs 2 battles have been replaced by 3 on 3 fights, making things even more hectic and crazy.

The Capcom side features several new characters. Guile, Anakaris, and B.B. Hood are among the Street Fighter and Darkstalkers alumni who make their Marvel Universe debut, while Hayato from Star Gladiator makes his 2D fighter debut. Among the non-fighters making their debut were Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine, Tron Bonne from Mega Man Legends, Sonson (a monkey-chick who is the granddaughter of the original, who starred in a Capcom platformer from way back), Ruby Heart, and Amingo, (two all new characters. Meanwhile the Marvel side gets Cable, Marrow (out of all the Marvel heroes who should have gotten a shot, they pick her? Ugggh), and a version of Wolverine with bone claws. While it may seem like the Marvel side got gypped, their side also features every Marvel character who has ever been in a Capcom fighting game (with the obvious exceptions of Apocalypse, Onslaught, and any character who was depicted as a palette swap of another), including guys that haven’t been seen in a while such as Doctor Doom, Thanos, and Silver Samurai. While the case obviously leads to some hilariously unbalanced fights, the MVC games have never been about style of finesse, but more so about balls-to-the wall fun.

This game has been ported to Dreamcast, Xbox, and PS2, but the recent Xbox Live Arcade and PSN re-releases are the ones to get, as they contain both online play and remastered graphics. With MVC 3 having just been announced, now is the perfect time to play this game if you are one of the few who still have yet to do so.

False Starts: The Intellevision
Technically, the very first 16-bit system was the Intellevision, which went head to head with the Atari 2600. It was a rather unique system, with a controller design that had users inserting overlays for each game. It was the first system to feature in-game voices (via an add-on module), downloadable games (via the PlayCable, a device which allowed users to download games through cable TV, although without a storage device, they were not kept after the system was turned off), and a 16-way direction pad. Though it was superior to Atari’s system, the Intellivision couldn’t hold a candle against the SNES and Genesis. Moreover, it was a pre-video-game crash system, so it wounded up being swept in the dust.

Nintendo’s Dominance
Since reviving the video gaming scene back in the 80s with the NES, Nintendo almost single-handedly ruled the gaming landscape, thanks to some heavy handed licensing policies, which affected developers, publishers, and even retailers. First of all, stores were only authorized to carry Nintendo products which carried the Official Nintendo Seal of Quality, a stamp placed on a game by Nintendo to indicate to indicate that it met its standards. Publishers were only allowed to produce 5 games a year, and once they agreed to produce players on Nintendo consoles, they were prohibited from producing them for competitors’ systems. Also, Nintendo retained strict control of the amount of cartridges developers had access to as well as how much advertising their products received in their Nintendo Power magazine. While they were intended to prevent the over-saturation that led to the video game crash, they also severely hampered publishers and developers. More resourceful companies found ways around them. Konami created the Ultra Games sub label to produce more games a year while Color Dreams and Tengen found ways to reverse engineer and work around the lockout chips that Nintendo used to enforce its strict policies. Even so, Nintendo’s rules starved their competitors out of much needed third party support. One of these competitors was the Turbografx-16.

Close but not Quite: The Turbografx-16
Hudson/NEC’s Turbografx-16, which competed directly against the NES and the Genesis (which had been released around the same time) had a lot of promise, but even though it was billed as a 16-bit system, it was built around an 8-bit microprocessor. It barely outperformed the NES, and even though many of its games had larger sprites, it was unable to do many of the graphical techniques shown on the SNES and Genesis, such as parallax scrolling. It’s high price point, one controller port (requiring players to purchase a multitap if they wished to play with more than one player), and limited marketing didn’t help matters. Even so, the system ended up being more of a success in Japan than in the U.S., particularly when a CD add-on was released from the system (in fact, In Japan, the Mega Drive was actually a distant third behind the Super Fanicom and Turbografx throughout much of the 16-bit era). Another of Nintendo’s competitors wouldn’t go as easily into the darkness…

The First Runner-Up
There was only one other system that really made an attempt to go against the NES, and had the ability to legitimately do so: The Sega Master System. For the past few decades, Sega had been an innovator in the arcade business, developing games that used primitive 3D technologies years ahead of their time. In 1982, they took their first shot at the game console market and released the SG-1000. It was moderately successful in Japan, and while it was released in South Africa along with select European and Asian countries, it never saw a U.S. release (although Telegames’s Personal Arcade, which WAS released in the U.S. a few years later, could play both SG-1000 and Colecovision games). Unfortunately like many other consoles released during the period, the SG-1000 was swept aside during the video game crash of the mid-80s. Unlike other console developers such as Mattel who either refocused their efforts or gave up completely, Sega didn’t back down. Spurred by the runaway success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega came back with the Sega master System, which was the closest thing to competing with the NES. While Sega’s 8-bit console had a decent following in both the U.S. and Japan, it was Nintendo who dominated 83% of the market share during the 8-bit era. The biggest reason for this was because the Master System couldn’t get the third-party support that had helped the NES remain at the top of the pile. Indeed beside Sega, there were only 2 other third party developers that made Master System games: Activision and Parker Brothers. Still, Sega was determined to remain a player. However, they knew that the next time that they released a system, they would have to do it big. So they went all out.

Sega’s Genesis
In 1989, Sega bought their Mega Drive unit over to U.S shores as the Sega Genesis. The Genesis was powered by a 16-architecture similar to the Sega System-16, an arcade board which powered many of Sega’s arcade titles such as Golden Axe and Shinobi. Sega’s Mega-Tech, Mega-Play, and System-C arcade boards are also based upon this tech, so any game developed for the Genesis could be ported to these systems, and vice-versa. Since Nintendo still had third-party developers and publishers on lockdown, Sega had to work to make its system marketable. To that end, Sega hired Michael Katz as CEO of the American branch, and began an aggressive marketing campaign to compete with Nintendo, advertising their system as the place to go to play arcade hits. Perhaps no one game at the time could illustrate this more than the Genesis version of Strider. While the NES version of the game was basically the red-haired lovechild of Metroid and Ninja Gaiden, the Sega Genesis version was the exact same game that players enjoyed in the arcade, complete with all the water cooler moments. Weather you were storming through Eurasia, battling that huge mecha-creature in the jungle, or you were being tossed around by gravity close to the end of the game, it was all here on the Genesis. Other arcade hits followed suit, and the Genesis saw home versions such as E-Swat and Golden Axe that were just like their arcade counterparts. Thanks do a deal with Capcom, Sega was able to develop Genesis versions of games such as Forgotten Worlds and Ghouls n Ghosts. To further establish a look for the Genesis, Sega partnered with various sports figures and celebrities, and produced games bearing their likenesses, such as Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker, Joe Montana Football, and James ‘Buster Douglas’ Boxing. Still, without third party support, Sega’s Genesis still had a hard time establishing itself in North America, so Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama replaced Katz with Tom Kalinske and went back to the drawing board.

What Nintendon’t
Though Kalinske knew little of the video game business, he surrounded himself with people who did. He began a brand new 4-part marketing plan which in many way was similar to the gamble that Nintendo took when introducing the NES to North America. First of all, the system’s price was cut. Secondly, Kalinske formed a marketing team dedicated to promoting the console to North American audiences, similar to the teams that Nintendo used to first promote the NES. Thirdly, Sega’s advertising became even more aggressive against Nintendo. Who could forget the unforgettable “You can’t do this on Nintendo”, along with it’s spiritual successors the “Sega Scream” and “Welcome to the Next level”? Finally, the pack-in game of Altered Beast was replaced by Sonic the Hedgehog. With Sonic, Sega had a mascot that could compete with Nintendo’s Mario, and the game would be the start of one of gaming’s most prolific franchises. Soon Nintendo would be forced to end their restrictive licensing policies, and in 1990, companies such as Acclaim began to develop games for the Genesis, and soon Sega would would command an increasingly higher market share. Finally, Nintendo had some real competition to face.

The War Begins
Sega had released the stylish Genesis to compete with the increasingly aging NES. However, Nintendo wasn’t done yet. Not one to take this lying down, Nintendo released the Super Famicom in the U.S as the Super NES in the late summer of 1991. The SNES was a more technically impressive system than its competitors. It’s advanced graphical capabilities allowed games to easily produce graphical tricks such as advanced tiling, background layer techniques, and mode-7, which gave games a pseudo-3D scaling effect. The 16-bit audio board made for sound effects and music that were more impressive than what was on other systems. Individual game cartridges could even include custom graphics chips, such as the Nintendo’s Super FX (Star Fox, FX Trax) and Capcom’s Cx4 (Mega Man X2) which could further push the system’s capabilities and create new special effects. The dual-grip control pad was also iconic. It contained 4 action buttons on the face, and two trigger buttons on the top. To this day, the basic design remains an influence in later systems, such as the Xbox 360 and the PS1/2/3 controller.

However, regaining ground was still an uphill battle. When the SNES launched, there were only a handful of games available compared to the dozens of games available on the TG16 and the Genesis. Not only that, the Genesis’s library was bolstered even more thanks to the Power Base Converter, which allowed Genesis owners to play Master System games on the Genesis, and there was no such device available to allow SNES owners to play their old NES games. Most of the SNES’s early lineup consisted on sequels, remakes, and arcade ports. Many older NES titles received SNES sequels, such as Super Mario World (which added battery backup and huge scaling sprites to Super Mario World 3’s over-world formula), Final Fantasy 2 (which featured an orchestral soundtrack), and Super Castlevania 4 (which also featured an orchestral soundtrack, along with some mode 7 techniques and huge character and enemy sprites). Around this time, developers were exploring the compact disc medium as a gaming format, and the PC market was already well in. The gaming console market would soon follow, although to varying degrees of success.

CD Games: A New Frontier?
NEC was the first game console manufacturer to release a CD add on in North America. The Turbografx CD released at a very steep $399.99 (which most likely intimated potential customers, especially since the system didn’t have a pack-in game). In 1992, NEC re-upped with the Turboduo. This system combined with the TG16 and the CD and allowed players to play newer ‘Super CD’ discs. Realizing the system’s $299.99 price tag was a bit steep, the game included several pack-in titles such as Bonk’s Adventure and Y’s Book I and II. For the original TG CD, an add-on card was released which allowed players to play Super CD titles without having to buy the new system. Sega, seeing the popularity of the format, released its own Sega CD (or the Mega CD as it was known in Japan) in the U.S 1992 as an add on for the Sega Genesis. Much of the Sega CD’s line up consisted of FMV video game such as Sewer Shark and Night Track. These games, which were basically the illegitimate bastard offspring of the old Space Quest and Dragon’s Lair arcade titles, employed varied production values (sometimes even Hollywood quality, but you wouldn’t know it) and D-list actors and required little interaction on the part of the player. Because of the Sega CD’s limited color palette, the video quality was often muddy and pixelated. Once they were finished, there was little incentive to keep playing. There was an upside to the FMV game genre. PC Adventure games such as Gabriel Knight and Phantasmorgia integrated FMV sequences with the genre’s classic point-and-click gameplay. This paved the way for games such as Final Fantasy 7 and Metal Gear Solid which used cinematics to drive their story along. The other huge majority of the Sega CD’s line up consisted of port-ups of Genesis and arcade titles, usually adding animated sequences and/or a CD soundtrack. That’s not to say that there were no good titles on the Sega CD. In fact the Lunar games became a critically acclaimed role playing game series and was ported to other systems, the Sega CD Sonic game is highly regarded as one of the best in the series, the Sega CD version of Eternal Champions outclassed Mortal Kombat II which had been released that year, and Konami’s Snatcher became a much sought-after cult classic. The Sega CD did better than the TGCD and Duo in North America, although it was a distant third in Japan. Part of the reason for this was the TGCD/Duo’s high price tags and small U.S library (although players could import games from Japan as the system had no region protection). Well, there was also the embarrassingly bad ‘Johnny Turbo’ comic ads, which implied that Sega falsely claimed that it’s CD add-on could play games by itself (Sega never made such a claim, as the Sega CD was always marketed as an add-on). The TGCD flourished more in Japan, where the library included far superior games such as Ys IV and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Even so, the high price tag was a deterrent for many buyers, and the CD was discontinued in 1995. Of course Nintendo had also shown an interest in developing a CD add-on for the SNES. First they partnered with Sony, and the deal fell through, eventually resulting in the Playstation. They tried again with Phillips and that deal fell through again, so Nintendo remained with the cartridge format.

Of course NEC and Sega weren’t the only companies to invest in CD gaming, and they weren’t the only console developers to compete with Nintendo. Other companies threw their hats into the pile, albeit with mixed, and mostly poor results…

The Competition, or Lack Thereof
Several competitors rose up to compete against the big two, and for a while it was feared that the market would become over-saturated, and there would be another market crash. Thankfully, despite supposedly being more powerful than the SNES and Genesis, these systems tanked for various reasons, most common of which was their high price tags. The best of the worst so to speak, was the 3DO. Designed by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, who had envisioned a CD-based platform for developing games that could be licensed out to third parties. Thus in effect, the 3DO was about it’s internal tech rather than the console itself, and models of the 3DO were produced from 4 different manufactures; Panasonic, Sanyo, Goldstar, and Creative Labs (the Creative Labs model was actually a PC card which allowed gamers to play 3DO titles on the PC). Its library consisted of high-res versions of older Sega CD and PC FMV games as well as ports of arcade games such as Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Samurai Showdown (the former was regarded as being superior to the arcade title as it had a CD-quality soundtrack). It also boasted other games such as Gex and Immercenary which were received well. Despite this, the system’s $700 price tag kept it out of many player’s homes. The Phillips CD-I was another critical failure. Not so much of a video game system so much as a glorified disc player, the CD-I’s lineup consisted of game show titles, educational titles, and kids software. Oh yeah, as a by-product of the failed Nintendo-Phillips CD-venture, Phillips had the right to create software featuring various Nintendo characters. The less said about them, the better. It’s controller was ranked the fifth amongst IGN’s worst video game controllers of all time. Despite it’s line up being horrible, the system lasted all the way from 1991 – 1998, and the interactive media techniques employed on the system served as a blueprint of sorts for the DVD format. Then there was the Atari Jaguar. The system that would end up being Atari’s last foray into the console business sported an ugly and horrendously complex controller (#1 on IGN’s worst controller list), a horrific line-up (despite including the excellent Alien vs Predator, Tempest 2000 and ports of Doom and Wolfenstein 3-D), and a CD add-on which made the system look like a miniature toilet seat. Despite being billed as a 64-bit system, the system was barely more powerful than the SNES and Genesis, and the system was discontinued in 1995. On the bright side, when Hasbro bought out the rights to the Atari Corporation and it’s properties, they released the development specs to the Lynx and Jaguar to public domain, opening the door to homebrew development, though I can’t imagine anyone wanting to play the system, much less develop for it. The Pioneer Laseractive, released in 1993 war Pioneer’s attempt at a disc-based gaming console. The unit itself cost $700, and one could purchase add-ons for around $600 each. Surprisingly enough, two of these add-ons were made by Sega and NEC. The Sega add-on allowed users to play Genesis and Sega CD games, while the NEC allowed users to play TG16 and TGCD games. Now keep in mind that at the time of the release, hell, even well before, the Sega Genesis and its CD add-on, the TG-16 and it’s CD add-on, and the TurboDuo were all available for under $600 each. Also, the LaserActive games, nearly all of which required a special module to be played, retailed around $120 each. So you could see why this thing flopped.

There was one other system so to speak, the Neo Geo. Although it tanked as well, it wasn’t because of crappy games or stupid marketing. As a matter of fact, SNK’s system bought arcade titles home by using the exact same boards that the arcade cabinets were ran on. So instead of half-assed ports, versions that had to be developed from the ground up for the system(Genesis Strider), and games that didn’t remotely resemble the arcade game they were based on (NES Strider), we got the actual arcade title. Though it started off with several shooters, platformers, and sports titles, its bread-and-butter became fighting games. Games such as Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury became favorites among collectors. A cd version of the system, released a few years later, tanked due to long load times and low hardware reliability rates. If it wasn’t for the high price tag ($400 – $600 for the unit, $200 for the games), SNK could have been a serious contender to the SNES and Genesis. Of course, this is another story for another time. As their would-be competition floundered around them, Nintendo and Sega chugged right along. However, Sega would soon get a lead on Nintendo. In their quest to provide family-friendly entertainment, Nintendo would create a critical error, and this error would continue to haunt them to this day.

Moron Kombat
In 1992, Midway’s Mortal Kombat was all the rage, and gamers were eagerly awaiting their chance to play the game at home. MK was a fighting game whose key hook was the massive amount of blood and guts. Punches and kicks drew blood, and at the end of each fight, players could perform fatalities to decapitate their opponent, rip out their still beating heart, and even pull out their spine. With moves this gruesome, parents, teachers, clergymen, and politicians would be outraged. Wanting to avoid the potential negative backlash, Nintendo had Acclaim (who was responsible for developing the home versions) remove the violent fatalities and replace them with non-gory (and glitch-like) ‘finishing moves’. The Sega versions on the other hand, had the blood accessible via a code. Even though the SNES version’s graphics and sound was closer to the arcade game, it didn’t matter, since the SNES version didn’t have the blood. So while Nintendo may have successfully avoided the media backlash, the backlash from gamers had just begun. To this day, Nintendo consoles would be tagged (many times unfairly) as kid’s toys. Sega on the other hand, saw it’s popularity soar upwards as the Genesis was now regarded as the ‘cooler’ system. In fact, at the time, many teens would not admit to owning an SNES over a Genesis, as revealed by a Sony-conducted focus group. With titles such as Streets of Rage, Vectorman, Sonic 2, and Castlevania Bloodlines, Sega’s library expanded, offering players a selection of soon-to-be classic games that pushed the hardware to its limits in order to compete with the best of what Nintendo had to offer. They even attempted to make a foray into the 32 bit market with the forthcoming Saturn and the Sega 32X add on. However, in doing so, they made a few critical mistakes of their own.

Sega Competes with Itself
Where as Nintendo tried to hard to make kid friendly products., Sega spread themselves thin with products that were either superfluous or just weren’t that good. The 32X was a prime example. The cartridge-based add-on for the Genesis boasted a color palette of 32,760 colors, although most games released on the unit only looked slightly better than most Genesis and SNES titles released at the time. There were even games that required the Sega CD to be attached to the unit, one of which being an enhanced version of Night Trap. As all three had their own AC adapters, this made things very problematic for one’s power bill. Recognizing the problems with the 32X, Sega planned another console, the Neptune, which would combine both the 32X and the Genesis into one unit. However, this would eventually be scrapped as the Saturn was preparing it’s North American debut by the time a prototype had become available. Overall, it didn’t make much sense for Sega to have a 32 bit add-on in the market when they were preparing to release a legitimate 32-bit gaming system, especially when said add-on couldn’t produce the 3-D polygon techniques that were done by the Nintendo 64 and the Playstation. It wasn’t exactly flying off store shelves either, as it was selling as low as $19.99 by the end of it’s life-cycle.

The 32X wasn’t Sega’s only flop either. In 1994, Sega had released the Pico, which was a system designed to get younger players to play video games (getting small children to sit in front of their video game screen instead of going outside and being active, one can only imagine how well this could have gone over with parents). It was discontinued in North America and Europe around 1996 and 1997. As far as educational software goes, it wasn’t horrible, and the Pico was more of a causality of Sega’s decision to focus on the Saturn rather than any issues with the product itself. In Japan, new games were produced for the unit as recently as 2003, when a game based on Nintendo’s Pokemon hit the console. That’s right, a Nintendo product on a Sega system. By the end of 1995, Sega, along with many third parties that developed games for their systems, were either actively supporting and/or providing software for 8 different formats: The Master System, Genesis, Game Gear, Sega CD, 32X, 32X CD, Saturn, and Pico.

Nintendo’s Third Renaissance
Nintendo on the other hand, only had to worry about the SNES and Game Boy for the majority of the mid 90s period, and thus they weren’t as overstretched. In addition to that, Nintendo had just started development on it’s Ultra 64 platform, the system that would then go on to become the Nintendo 64. It had partnered with a slew of developers and publishers who were committed to producing software for the platform. Among this ‘Dream Team’ were DMA designs, Rare, and Midway. Having learned their lesson from the Mortal Kombat fiasco, and with the establishment of a new ESRB ratings system on the horizon, Nintendo allowed Acclaim to leave the blood and guts intact for the SNES release of Mortal Kombat II. Thus, the SNES release of the game was the closest players could get to the arcade. Well, at least it was without having to buy a pseudo-32-bit add-on, and since the 32X, which was released months later, didn’t exactly move a massive amount of units, the SNES remained the preferred platform for the game. Therefore, Nintendo began to regain some of the fans they lost over the past few years. The period between 1994 – 1996 saw some of the console’s best and most innovated titles as well. Square bought over the classic RPGs Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 (or 3 as it was known over here), Nintendo released Yoshi’s Island, which had cartoon-like graphics and was powered by the Super Fx chip (although you wouldn’t tell, as most games utilizing the device had 3-D Polygonial looks), and then there was Donkey Kong Country. Developed by N64 dream team member Rare, DKC made use of 3-D computer graphics rendering which was unheard of at the time of its release, and the game’s graphics (on a 16-bit system) rivaled those of many games available on ‘next-generation’ systems. At the heart of the game, it was the same hop-n-bop platforming gameplay that had been around since the days of Mario, but it didn’t matter since it was so awesome to look at, and it gave a sign of things to come. Now things weren’t all rosy for Nintendo however. 1995 saw the U.S release of the disastrous Virtual Boy. The handheld, whose screens were in red and black was Nintendo’s entry into the 32 bit market. More accurately, it was meant to tide players over until the Nintendo 64 was released. However, the thing sold so poorly that it was discontinued the following year. Eventually, the end was nearing for both the SNES and Genesis, as one next-gen competitor was quickly gaining leeway into the video game console market.

The Rise of Sony and the Twilight of the 16-bit Years
Sony had been a third party developer for both Nintendo and Sega. When their deal with Nintendo to create a CD-based system fell through, it was strongly hinted that the technology was used in the forthcoming Playstation unit. The PS1 was released in late 1995, and along with the Saturn, was regarded as one of the first consoles to do disc-based gaming right. Sony marketed its product towards the older generation who had grown up with Nintendo and Sega products, and the console was depicted alongside the TV and VCR as being a necessary part of one’s entertainment center. Throughout the next several years, Sony would assume dominance over it’s competitors, although this is another story for another time. You can read most of this story in our Playstation One article.

Sega of Japan’s CEO decided to discontinue all Sega systems beside the Saturn. This hurt the Genesis in North America, where unlike in Japan (where it was a distant third behind NEC), it was still closely following after Nintendo, and there was still a strong user-base for the system. Not only that, third parties were having a difficult time developing for the Saturn, and soon it would be discontinued in favor of the Dreamcast. The next few years saw the prerequisite third party multiplatform ports, the disappointing Sonic 3D blast, and a god-awful Genesis port of Virtua Fighter 2. The last official Sega Genesis (and SNES) release of the era was Frogger, which was released in 1998. Nintendo on the other hand, despite having just released the Nintendo 64 (which was also hard for third party development) continued to support the SNES for as long as it could, and a few third-party developers continued to do so as well. Capcom in particular had originally intended to pull the plug on several SNES games it had in development, including Mega Man 7, Marvel Super Heroes, and Breath of Fire 2 when fans began a massive letter writing campaign, leaving the publisher no choice to put them back on the release schedule. Along with Final Fight 3 and Mega Man X3, they became the original Capcom 5 (my name, not the medias). Of course this became the Capcom 6 when Nintendo published a SNES port of Street Fighter Alpha 2 in the fall of 1996. Square-soft partnered with Nintendo to produce the critically acclaimed Super Mario RPG, and Natsume showed more RPG love with Lufia 2. The last first-party game for the system was Kirby Dream land 3, which was released in 1997 (it’s a shame that Nintendo couldn’t have held out for another year or so, otherwise Nintendo gamers could have seen a North American release of the awesome Mega Man and Bass), and production of the console ceased in 1999. In Japan, support for the system continued all the way until late 2000, and the system’s production ceased in 2003. The last game released for it was Metal Slader Glory Director’s Cut, a graphic novel style game. Like that, the 16-bit era of gaming went out not with a bang, but a trickle and fade.

Or did it? (Epilogue)
As the law of conservation of mass dictates, nothing is truly gone forever, and this was true with 16-bit gaming. Although the SNES, Genesis, and Turbografx-16 have been discontinued officially for over a decade and third parties have stopped officially supporting the consoles, the 16-bit gaming scene has been alive as ever, thanks in no small part to the illegal emulation/ROM scene. Rom hackers have provided translations for many Japan-only release such as Final Fantasy 5, and have opened the doors for homebrew development. There were legal ways of keeping the systems alive too. The Game Boy Advance’s library contains several upgrades/re-releases of classic SNES and Genesis titles such as A Link to the Past, Super Ghouls and Ghosts, and Breath of Fire. In many cases, new features have been added to each game. Also, many GBA and DS titles have been created within the spirit of the era, with graphics and gameplay mechanics that are reminiscent of the 16-bit days of gaming. Titles such as Contra 4 and mega Man ZX may be more recent, but they give gamers an excellent throwback to yesteryear. If course the Wii’s Virtual Console service contains many classic releases, not only for NES, N64, and SNES, but for Genesis, Master System, and TG-16, despite all of them being competitors less than a decade ago!

Sega on the other hand, has had the biggest posthumous following. With Sega no longer a console manufacturer, the company has released many of its classic titles by way of the many compilation discs that they have released over the years. The console itself is still around to speak, as it’s possibly received the most hardware revisions out of any console, be it an officially licensed product, an international release, or even a bootleg. Many of these new versions either omitted features with the aims of cutting costs (most of them didn’t support any of the add-ons) and many of them were region-free, meaning they could play most internationally released games. In 1997, Sega licensed the Genesis hardware to Majesco, who released it at a budget price before developing a third version of the console. There have even been new commercial releases for the system. In 2006, Super Fighter Team released Beggar Prince, which was translated from a 1996 Chinese Genesis title. They followed it up in 2008 with The Legend of Wukong, also translated from a Chinese original. A team of homebrew developers are hard at work on the RPG Pier Solar and the Great Architects, which is being developed from the ground up for the Genesis.

More than anything, the SNES and Genesis will be remembered as demonstrating that it’s not about the hardware that you are working with, but what you do with it. When you have games such as Donkey Kong Country and Vectorman outlasting the supposedly more powerful 3DO, then you know you got something special. Many of the lessons learned during these years would grow to shape gaming for years to follow. Sadly, not too many companies have this king of work ethic anymore, not even Nintendo and Sega.

With the success of Megaman 9 on most consoles as downloadable content, it seems Capcom is following up with another sequel to the Megaman series. Gametrailers.com has the debut game trailer for Megaman 10 coming out in 2010 with new Easy Mode!

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$20 Game of the Week: Special Megaman Edition

During the early 80s, the video game market was in danger of dying off before it could take off. Too many manufacturers were releasing too many consoles no one cared for, and developers were making too many games that were mediocre at best. This would lead to a diminished demand for them in the consumer market as well. If that wasn’t enough, the home computer market was slowly beginning to emerge, as PCs were becoming cheaper and more easily accessible to consumers. It would be a fool’s errand for a company to attempt to reenter the market, yet Japanese developer Nintendo would jump in the market head first.

Nintendo was certainly no stranger to gaming or family entertainment. They had existed since the late 1800s, cutting their teeth by making playing cards. During the 70s, Nintendo shifted focus from playing cards to toys, arcade machines, and electronic gaming. They had created a number of arcade games such as Donkey Kong, and In 1983, Nintendo released the Famicom in Japan. Two years later, Nintendo was planning on releasing system to the American market as the Nintendo Entertainment System. After changing around the basic design of the system(the original Famicon had controllers hardwired into a console as well as a microphone built into them), they also had to hit on the right marketing scheme to sell a new video game system to an American market that had been burnt out by over saturation. They marketed the console not as a video game console, but as a toy. Nintendo employed a dedicated marketing team which set up their own displays, conducted telemarketing, and performed in-store demonstrations of their product. They regulated third party developers via shrewd (and somewhat controversial) licensing policies (such as allowing certain publishers to release only 5 titles a year, controlling the amount of cartridges they would have access to, and a 2-year lock out agreement preventing publishers for releasing titles for other consoles) were designed to prevent the over-saturation that had led to the market crash 2 years earlier. They also managed to win over retailers with a risk-free proposition: if the system bombed, they would buy back any unsold units. With very little to lose, retailers took a chance with Nintendo’s console, and it became a complete success, forever changing the direction of the video gaming industry.

What really made Nintendo’s console a success had little to do with their marketing practices. What really made the NES a household name was the library of games that were released for it. Both Nintendo and the third party developers who made games for it put their best feet forward, creating games that were not only fun to play, but have become iconic franchises which have laid out blueprints that have been followed by many of today’s games. This article discusses 10 of the most significant games for the system. Please note, this is not a top ten list. If it were, there would be some games on this list that would be left out.

1. Super Mario Brothers
If Super Mario Brothers didn’t create the platformer genre, then they certainly made it into what it is today, introducing many of its characteristics. It also demonstrated Nintendo’s philosophy of making games which are easy to play, yet difficult to completely master. When you powered up the game, you learned exactly what you needed to know within seconds: run to the right of the screen, jump on enemies to kill them, bash your head under blocks to either break them or receive items. After pressing start, you picked up on everything else rather quickly. Despite how easy it was to play the game, it would take even longer to master. There is not a person who played the series who hasn’t tried to find the way to get into the minus world, attempted to master the koopa shell 1-up technique, or discover the right combination of warp pipes in order to make their way to the end of the game. Even today, one can go online and see speed runs of the game. With Super Mario Brothers, Nintendo has made Mario one of the most recognizable cultural icons of the 20th and 21 centuries, ended the 2-year video game sales slump, and created one of the best selling video game franchises of all time.

Fun Fact: A Japanese-only sequel to this game had a look that was similar to this title. Thus the game that we know as Super Mario Brothers 2 was actually a Japanese game called Doki Doki Panic with the Arabian characters replaced with Mario and pals. We wouldn’t see the Japanese SMB 2 until years later as a Super Nintendo remake called The Lost Levels.

2. Legend of Zelda
If Mario was the president of Club Nintendo, then the Legend of Zelda’s Link was the vice president. The Legend of Zelda featured exploration, puzzles, and fantasy action. Legend of Zelda would layout the groundwork for console action RPGs. You gained many weapons and objects, and you utilized them to help defeat a dungeon’s boss and access areas that had previously been inaccessible. When you completed the game, a second quest opened up which rearranged the maps and the locations of enemies and power ups. Although he didn’t speak any words (lame TV show notwithstanding), Link would come to be just as memorable a character as Mario, and a Legend of Zelda game (lame CD-I system entries notwithstanding) would be a surefire system seller, be it the original, the N64’s Ocarina of Time, or the more recent Wii entry, Twilight Princess.

Fun Fact: Of course provided they had the guts, one could access the second quest from the beginning just by inputting Zelda as their name on the character select screen.

3. Metroid
Metroid bought science fiction action to the NES. It also introduced the first hints of the open world genre, as it would be seen in later games such as Grand Theft Auto. As bounty hunter Samus Aran, your task was to make your way through the planed Zebes, defeat the space pirates, and destroy Mother Brain. What was great about the game was that it wasn’t neatly hashed up into levels like so many other games. As with the Legend of Zelda, the entire world was open from the get go, and it was up to you to figure out where to go and what to do. Thankfully the game had a good way of keeping players from being overwhelmed. While you could see what was beyond the horizon, you needed a new item, a new ability, or something to happen before you could access it. Maybe you needed something to help you jump high enough to reach that ledge, or you needed a weapon that allowed you to destroy that seemingly impossible barrier, or you needed a special suit that could help you survive an area with a heat-filled atmosphere. When you defeated Mother Brain and escaped from Zebes, you were greeted with a huge surprise. The guy you just guided to victory wasn’t actually a guide at all, instead it was a female, and if you beat the game in under 3 hours, you even got to see her in her swimsuit. Samus Aran would grow to become one of gaming’s leading female protagonists, and Metroid’s style of gaming would influence several other games, from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to the Xbox Live Arcade title Shadow Complex.

Fun Fact: If you enter the password ‘JUSTIN BAILEY’, then you can play as Samus without her power suit.

4. Mega Man
Not only did Nintendo crank out quality franchises, but the third party developers and publishers it employed also had the proverbial fire lit under their rear ends. One of these third party developers was Capcom. Capcom had enjoyed a rich arcade history, creating classics such as Commando, Trojan, and Legendary Wings. Later on, they would create even bigger arcade classics such as Street Fighter, Final Fight, and Darkstalkers. However, their home console support would become just as significant, and they created an original franchise with Mega Man. Mega Man had a unique gimmick: players would select the order in which to play the stages in. After defeating the boss of that stage, Mega Man would receive the boss’s weapon. There was another boss that the weapon would work on, and the trick was to decipher the correct order in which to take them on. After defeating them all, you’d take on villain Dr. Wily in a multi-level castle, where you eventually had to battle the previously defeated bosses again before taking on Wily himself. It was a simple formula, and it managed to spawn 6 installments on the NES alone. It has also branched off into several spin-offs, some successful (the Mega Man X series) and others not so much (Mega Man Star Force). The best games in the series have kept it close to the basic formula established so many years back. In fact, last year’s Mega Man 9, despite being released through various modern-day digital distribution methods (Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, WiiWare), returned the series to a more retro style, complete with 8-bit graphics. Capcom had created a hero that was just as much of an icon as anything that Nintendo was able to create.

Fun Fact: A Psp remake of this game, entitled Mega Man: Powered Up features 2-d graphics, a level editor, and the ability to play as the bosses.

5. Castlevania
Konami was another third party developer that built its reputation on the Nintendo. It too managed to produce a string of hits that started in the arcade days and continued on with recent titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4. Castlevania was one of their most famous NES franchises, and like many others, it managed to remain relevant well after the 8-bit era. Castlevania told the tale of Simon Belmont’s quest to destroy Dracula. By making use of your vampire killer whip, and a set of sub weapons, you made your way through several levels, battling classic universal monster movie alumni such as the wolfman, the mummy, and Frankenstein’s monster. Castlevania would spawn a franchise of sequels, each expanding upon Catlevania’s rich backstory. Surprisingly, the most current entries in the series take their inspiration from Metroid. Even so, they are every bit as enjoyable as this NES classic.

Fun Fact: Although they are completely different games, this game, Super Castlevania IV, and Vampire Killer (which was released over here as Castlevania Chronicles) are all the same in terms of the overall series chronology. The arcade game Haunted Castle is also a remake of this game, although the kidnapping storyline is not a part of the original Castlevania.

6. Contra
Contra was another Konami entry. Although it started out in the arcades, it would be the NES version that players grew up with (as evidenced by the lousy sales of 2006’s Xbox Live re-release of the arcade version). It was also one of the first titles geared toward hardcore audiences. You (and a friend if playing co-op) traveled through several levels, blasting at unending waves of enemies. If one of them hit you, you lost a life, and if you lost all your lives, you had to use a continue. When you lost all your continues, it was game over. While the previous 5 games were safe for kids, only the strongest of the strong stepped up to take on Red Falcon. Of course, you could be a chump and use the famous Konami code, but if you were a real man, then you went through the game yourself using the three lives you were given. After several successful 8 and 16 bit games, the series took a step into mediocrity only to be bought back with the Playstation 2 entry Shattered Soldier. The series was further bought back to prominence with the 2007 DS entry Contra 4, which bought the series back to the white knuckle shooting action that made it famous.

Fun Fact: The European versions of Contra were renamed Probotector, and all the human enemies were changed to robots due to many European countries’ laws against computer and video games that depict violence against human life forms. Probotector would make his U.S. debut as an unlockable character in Contra 4. This wasn’t the only Contra name change. This game’s sequel, Super C, was changed to such to keep anyone from associating it with the Iran-Contra affair.

Fun Fact #2: The aforementioned Konami code (up up down down left right left right B A start) has many uses in several other games. In addition to its use in Contra, it is also used to grant 10 lives in Super C, 30 lives in Life Force, full powerups in Gradius III (when L and R are used in place of left and right), and unlocks additional features when entered in each game in the Game Boy Advance title Arcade Advance.

7. Ninja Gaiden
Like Contra, Ninja Gaiden began life as an arcade game that became more popular when it hit the NES, and like Contra, it was also a game for the most hardcore audience. However, the challenge didn’t come from unending waves of enemies (but make no mistake, the game had plenty of these too), but it came from many of the perilous jumps you had to make. One misstep, and you lost your life. What made things even more difficult were the small creatures that casually floated across of the projectiles that were thrown by enemies. Precision was paramount here, as you had to plan each jump in advance. Strangely enough, even though the game was difficult, players still enjoyed it and braved through the challenge just to see what is next. This was no doubt due to the cinematics that took place between each level. These cinemas told more about the game, and added more to the story than the standard ’save the girl’ plot that we’ve seen so many times before. Years down the road, other games would also feature cinema scenes, and their inclusion became a huge force behind the success of games such as Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid. As for Ninja Gaiden itself, after 3 entries on the NES and a Game Boy spinoff (which was supposed to be another game altogether) the most we would even see of this series (beside a Super Nintendo compilation package) would be his appearances in the Dead or Alive fighting games. In 2004, Tecmo bought Ninja Gaiden back to Xbox. Although it had nothing to do at all with the previous NES games, it captured the original spirit of using its difficulty to motivate players into trying harder to push farther.

Fun Fact: Like Contra (perhaps you may have noticed a theme here), Ninja Gaiden was also subject to a name change for its European release. Since German laws forbid video games that feature ninjitsu and violent marshal arts, Ninja Gaiden was released under the title Shadow Warriors.

8. Tecmo Bowl
Tecmo Bowl was as significant a title for the sports genre as it was for Nintendo games. As one of the first games to make use of an NFL player’s license, Tecmo Bowl became one of the first video game sports titles to make use of real players. Although there were no real teams, the fictional teams in the game had players such as John Elway, Lawrence Taylor, and Bo Jackson among their ranks. It also featured playbooks, bringing depth to video game sports. Although there were some balance issues and glitches, Tecmo Bowl did a good job of being one of the first football titles to show what the game was all about.

Fun Fact: The sequel, Tecmo Super Bowl, was the first NES football game to feature both NFL and NFL Player’s Association licenses (most other games up to this point either had one or the other, but not both), thus bringing in real NFL teams and players. It is a favorite of ROM hackers, as they release patches with updated team rosters each year.

9. Dragon Warrior
Dragon Warrior, or Dragon Quest as it was known in Japan, was one of the first console role-playing games on Nintendo’s system. It was a milestone for the genre, as it was the first console RPG to make use of top-down graphics. While its storyline about the legendary hero saving the princess from the dragon was as generic as it got, it’s game play was anything but. You explored a huge world, battled enemies in a menu-driven interface, and learned more about the game’s plot by conversing with townspeople. The real joy of the game however, was leveling up your character into a powerhouse, increasing his stats, gaining new weapons, and learning new spells. While the game was tough at the start, it was only after toughing it out with the game’s enemies, gaining experience points, increasing your character’s level, and learning new abilities that you were able to put yourself on even ground with whatever the game threw at you. Dragon Warrior’s success paved the way for more console RPGS, most specifically games such as Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and even Suikoden on the Playstation.

Fun Fact: Dragon Warrior is not to be confused with the pen and paper RPG Dragon Warriors, written by Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson. Speaking of which, the U.S. version of Dragon Quest was renamed Dragon Warrior to avoid conflict with American company SPI, who released a pen and paper RPG called DragonQuest. SPI was later bought out by TSR and DragonQuest was later published as a dungeon and dragons offshoot.

10. Tetris
Although Tetris wasn’t created specifically for Nintendo, it was on the NES where it gained the most fame (as well as created a huge amount of controversy). Created by Russia’s Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris was a different kind of game. However, out of all the games on this list, it’s the closest in spirit to the early days of video gaming, where games were all about hand-eye coordination and split-second thinking. Just like in Space Invaders and Pac-Man so long ago, you competed against yourself just to see how high you can score. However, Tetris was like nothing ever seen before. There wasn’t any alien invasion to thwart, terrorist attack to stop, or princess to be rescued. Instead it was a well in which blocks would drop into, and your job was simply to rearrange them and make them disappear by forming lines. It sounded so simple at first, but when the shapes started coming faster, you had to be as quick as you can in order to keep the well from filling up. Tetris has been bought to virtually every computer operating system and video game console, either by an official release or by homebrew, and other puzzle games such as Dr. Mario and Columnus do not stray too far from Tetris’s formula.

Fun Fact: There was another NES version of Tetris created by Atari games (who were going by the name Tengen at the time). However, after much litigation, this version of Tetris had been recalled. This was a shame too, as the game featured a two player mode and is considered superior to Nintendo’s release.

These 10 games, along with so many others, laid out a foundation for nearly every game that you see today, regardless of what system it is on. If Nintendo hadn’t taken a chance so many years back, then the video game industry would have died out long ago. If you enjoy gaming at all, then you need to thank Nintendo for revitalizing the gaming industry. Virtually all of these games ara available on the Wii Virtual Console, so check them out.

My first exposure to Mega Man was with his second offering, passing around the controller before school. It was wild to find out what you could do with the second controller, so being a passive observer suddenly became more appealing — and less passive. But you still needed the mad skillz to get to Wily. The worst part? That effing stage where you have to use the Crash bombs to defeat a bunch of annoying lightbulbs, and if you miss EVEN ONE hit, you’re done, man. That game was brutal, but it made the defeat that much sweeter.

Not a single game was the same after that. Sure, we loved Mega Man 3, but did we really need to slide? And Rush? Every robot boy needs a robot dog, sure, but something different was happening here. And I beat the game a week after I first played it. Fun? Yeah. But I wasn’t playing so much before school any more.

That didn’t stop me from guessing what Mega Man 4 might be like, designing my own levels and bosses (this time after school). I caught on pretty quickly that games like this and Mario were pretty cookie-cutter, but it didn’t dampen my enjoyment.

When the NES grew up, Mega Man had to as well. Thus Mega Man X was born — not Mega Man 10, as the uninformed will profess. The X is for prototype, as the game will clearly state. They even stuck another one in the year, so you have no IDEA when in a hundred years this story of 20XX takes place (hopefully at least a year after 200X).

The opening level grabbed you by the diodes and didn’t let go. It was also my first experience being forced to suffer failure to proceed in a game. (Now I can spot that shizzle like a light-year away, but I digress.)

I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, just like I wasn’t sure how I felt about the death of Doctor Light. Fortunately, it looks like time was the culprit, and not Doctor Wily, but I still missed the crazy old coot. And what happened to Rock? Did he finally sacrifice himself in a shower of mult-colored concetric circles defeating evil once and for all? What about Rush, man?

Even with the release of its little brother, the NES was neither down nor out. All of the crazy tricks and cut scenes were somehow coaxed out of the little gray box to create the visually stunning Mega Man 6. It was to be the last installment on the console (and one of the last hurrah’s for the NES in general). Mega Man’s move to the SNES felt unnecessary, and perhaps a little confusing — especially for those who thought that “Mega Man 10″ had already come out, so why are they going backwards? Maybe if I’d known it’d be the last time we saw him on a Nintendo console, I would have paid more attention

I have no idea what happened to Mega Man after that. It’s not that I don’t realize that X4 and X5 came out, along with Mega Man 8, and Mega Man Legends. It’s not that I didn’t own the console when those games came out (I didn’t, but that’s not the point). It’s the game boy games, when Zero spun off into his own series. And what the heck us up with Battle Network?

You know that a game is an inspiration when you name your band after one of the supporting characters. You know that band is special when you dedicate and entire ROCK OPERA to the subject of its inspiration. That’s exactly what The Protomen did.

They cannot be explained, only experienced. I first heard about them from Penny Arcade, but you can take a listen for yourself. “Breaking Out” had me convinced they were truly poised for greatness.

Mega Man recently returned to his roots with Mega Man 9, released on the various current downloadable console offerings — which includes Nintendo. Also, much to my chagrin, it has somewhat retroactively validated the “Mega Man X is Mega Man 10″ school of thought. Was it fun? Sure? Hard? Hell yeah. Satisfying? I’ll get back to you. But it did bring me back to those days when I would see how far I could get in Mega Man 2 before I had to go to school.

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (PS2)
Although the Fire Pro Wrestling series has been popular in Japan for nearly 2 decades, this is only the third time that it has hit the US (the first two times were on the Game Boy Advance). Although the graphical sprites look like they’re from an early 90s WCW game, underneath the hood lies the most complex and engaging wrestling experiences on any console in any generation, even surpassing THQ/Yuke’s WWE Smackdown vs Raw series in terms of customization options, variety, and even amount of wrestlers. You can book your own dream cards in match maker mode, create (or recreate) any wrestler you wish, and even create your own wrestling league, complete with face/heel sub-factions, your own referee, ring, and your own custom logo. Weather you’re a casual mark or an insider fan, this game has plenty to offer you provided you can look past the 16-bit era sprites and brave the steep learning curve. Oh yeah, and to the developers of this game, if you’re listening, I think I speak for fans everywhere when I say that we would love to see a sequel with online play and content sharing options that’s downloadable on Xbox Live Arcade/Playstation Network/Wii Ware. We would even settle for a DSi title, as long as we can use the stylus to design our own logos.

ESPN NFL 2k5 (PS2, Xbox)
What Fire Pro Wrestling is for wrestling fans, ESPN NFL 2k5 is for football fans. The game was only $20 when it was first released, although many fans would have gladly paid full price for the content it included. You can set your team’s weekly practice regimen in a revamped franchise mode, customize your crib with various cool stuff, battle against stars like Funkmaster Flex and Carmen Electra, or just hit the field for a game of pigskin with a friend or the computer. Xbox owners can even use their custom soundtracks as stadium music. NFL 2k5 gave EA’s Madden some serious competition this year, and had them scrambling back to the drawing board. Want proof? Just months after this game’s release, EA Sports bought up exclusivity rights to ESPN, the NFL, NCAA football, and even Arena Football, thus locking Visual Concepts and Sega out of the video game football ring. That is a shame too, as an NFL 2k6 would have pushed the envelope even further.

Capcom Classics Collection Volume 1 (Xbox, PS2)
Capcom may not be a console manufacturer, but they have created so many memorable intellectual properties that they have become almost as well known as a Nintendo or Sony. I’m willing to wager money that every gamer worth their salt has played at least one Capcom game during their life. Weather you’ve pwned chumps in Street Fighter, Unleashed an insanely cheap combo in Marvel Vs Capcom 2, blown apart zombies in Resident Evil, or even beat apart thugs in Final Fight, nearly every gamer has an entry from Capcom on their shelf. Capcom Classics Collection is a compilation of arcade hits from Capcom’s early days. Most of their classics are on here, from Final Fight, to Ghost ‘n’ Goblins, and even 3 versions of Street Fighter 2. The disc includes artwork, remixed music, and special hints and tips. For older gamers, this is a trip down memory lane, and for younger gamers, this is a look at how gaming was like before 3-d graphics, Havok physics, cell engines, or online play.

Also check out:
Capcom Classics Collection Volume 2 (Xbox, PS2)
Capcom Classics Collection Remixed (PSP)
Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded (PSP)
Mega Man Anniversary Collection (Xbox, Gamecube, Playstation 2)

The King of Fighters 94 – 98: The Orochi Saga (PS2)
I could have put any of SNK’s recent compilation packs on this list. Between them and the recent home releases of KOF XI and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, there are almost enough for SNK to make up this list themselves. Be that as it may, what better way to represent SNK’s presence than it’s flagship fighter, King of Fighters? When it was first released, KOF shocked the world by introducing 3 on 3 gameplay in the fighting genre and teaming up characters from several SNK franchises. This compilation disc represents the first 5 entries of the series, from the debut of badass SNK villain Rugal to the mysterious Orochi, KOF’s storyline held many twists and surprises. The 98 ‘Dream Match’ allowed a break in the series by removing the storyline and bringing back characters who were either killed off or incapacitated in earlier KOF games. This disc also contains a challenge mode where you can unlock music tracks and artwork.

Also check out:
Fatal Fury Battle Archives Volume 1 and 2 (PS2)
Samurai Showdown Anthology (PS2)
Metal Slug Anthology (PS2, Wii, PSP)

Taito Legends Volume 2 (PS2, PC)
Taito may not have been as recognizable as a Capcom, Midway, or even an SNK, but they are responsible for some of the most significant games of our hobby. Where would be gaming be without Space Invaders, Qix, Operation Wolf, Bust-a-Move, or Araknoid? At the very least, without a starting point for student developers, that’s for sure. This disc has around 40 games from Taito’s past. They have a better variety of games than any of the other recent compilation titles, as you’ll get everything from beat-em-ups, to puzzle games, to shooters, and even a few sports games thrown in for good measure. Some of the standouts here include G Darius, Elevator Action 2, and Arabian magic. There is something here for everyone.

Also check out:
Midway Arcade Treasures 1 – 3 (PS2, Xbox)
Taito Legends Volume 1 (Xbox, PS2)
Taito Legends Powered Up (PSP)

Mass Effect (Xbox 360, PC)
Simply put, this game is a masterpiece. It hits on all levels, from storytelling, to character development, art direction, and dialogue. Anyone who has played Knights of the Old Republic or Jade Empire can tell you that Bioware is good at crafting an engaging storyline in an rpg game, but with Mass Effect, Bioware has crafted a sci-fi universe that is as deep and epic as Star Wars and Battlestar Galatica. The way the game allows you to shape your character is nothing short of brilliant as well. You have complete control over Commander Shepard’s looks, gender, abilities, personality, background, and skillset. The only thing you can’t change about him (or her) is his (or her) last name. What is even more amazing is that this is only the first part of a 3-part trilogy. If you haven’t played this game yet, now is the time to do so, as many surprises are in store for the sequel. Oh and check out Powet’s top 5 things to do in Mass Effect.

Silent Hill 2 (Xbox, PS2, PC)
There has been lots of debate about weather videogaming can be considered a viable literary art form. I say, all you have to do is pick up a copy of Silent Hill 2 (along with the game above and below this entry). It has one of the best narratives in gaming, and it provides a unique brand of survival horror that you just don’t see in other games in the genre (or even later games in the series for that matter). James Sunderland’s quest to find his wife (who is believed to have been deceased) in the town of Silent Hill contains many twists and turns, its endings leave a lot to the player to interpret. You can even go on Gamefaqs.com and find a number of plot analyses in the FAQ section which dissect this game. Mark my words, in the near future, when gaming IS considered a literary art form, students will take literature classes where they will have to play the game, then do reports and homework assignments which take aim at its plot.

Eternal Darkness (Gamecube)
This is another Survival Horror game on the list for a completely different reason. Eternal Darkness is an amazing game on Gamecube, and it would be the last good Silicon Knights game that wasn’t a remake (Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes). Featuring 3 different storylines complete with their own enemies and endings, a dozen playable characters, a do-it-yourself spell crafting system, and a storyline that spanned over several centuries, Eternal Darkness was in a class by itself. However, what really put it over the top was the fourth-wall breaking hallucinations that occurred when your character’s sanity meter got too low. You’d walk along innocently, then watch as your body suddenly fell apart piece by piece, your TV suddenly shut off, the blue screen of death suddenly popped up, the game seemingly deleted every save on your memory card, the screen starts tilting, and other fun stuff. A lot of people wonder why this game didn’t do the numbers it should. If you think about it, it was quite easy for this game to slip through the cracks. The Survival horror genre contains many copycats, so it’s hard for a good title to be noticed unless it has the name Resident Evil or Silent Hill. Also, it was on a Nintendo system, and Nintendo systems are unfairly stereotyped as being ‘just for kids’. Even so, Eternal Darkness provided some much needed M-rated action on the Nintendo Gamecube. It’s too bad that Silicon Knights is too busy with the lackluster Too Human to give us a proper sequel.

Command and Conquer: The First Decade (PC)
Sure, the Command and Conquer series isn’t as deep as Starcraft or Age of Empires, but Westwood/Ea’s real time strategy series helped pioneered the basics of the 4x (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) gameplay that has driven the genre. This compilation title contains every game up to and including Generals Zero Hour (except for the online game survivor). You’ll witness all the high and low points of the franchise, from the first battle against Nod in C&C 1, the alternate reality battle with the Soviets in the Red Alert, and even the FPS spin-off, Renegade. Make sure you go to the website and download the latest updates and patches, especially if you use Windows Vista.

Also check out:
Starcraft Battle Chest (PC)
Empire Earth 2 (PC)
Rise of Nations Gold Edition (PC)

Contra 4 (Nintendo DS)
Now as much as we love today’s current crop of games, I think we all miss the glory days of 8 and 16 bit gaming. Back then, there were no CGI cinematics, online leaderboards, Havok physics, or motion sensing controls. It’s just you blasting through waves of enemies trying to take down the final boss. Contra 4 is a throwback to those days. Picking up where Contra 3 left off, Contra 4 gave gamers all the challenging gameplay they could handle while introducing Contra to a new generation of gamers. The game is also noted for its minimal use of the DS’s two screens. Instead of shoehorning in lame stylus gameplay, the second screen is simply used to extend the vertical length of the battlefield, upping the challenge even further. Numerous unlockables, including the original NES Contra and Super C, make the package even sweeter. This is a must have for any DS owner.

Also check out:
Mega Man 9 (WiiWare, Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network)

That’s it for our feature. Make sure you keep checking out Powet’s weekly $20 Game of the Week column for more cheap gaming ideas.

Even though hardcore Mega Man fans tend to look down into the series, Mega Man X was the natural extension of the classic Mega Man gameplay. However it was even deeper. Not only did you add to your weapons cache, but you must also search out new body upgrades. The upgrades gave X new abilities, and they were as important to achieving victory as the bosses’ weapons were. A leg upgrade gave players the ability to air dash, and a blaster upgrade enabled players to power up an enemy’s weapon. The game also introduced an interesting new character in Zero. Though he got slagged in the first entry, he was rebuilt in the second, and eventually became a star in his own right, headlining his own series. The series was at its best in the first three Super Nintendo entries. 4, 5, and 6, which were released on the Playstation 1 were good also, but some familiarity set in. 8 and 9, which were released on Playstation 2, had gameplay issues, and weren’t received as well. Along with a compilation of the first 6 games in the series, Mega Man X also spawned an RPG spin-off for Gamecube and PS2. When Capcom decided to remake the original Mega Man in 2005, they decided to sweeten the deal with a remake of Mega Man X as well. Now fans and new players alike can experience the first adventure of X in a whole new way.

Like Mega Man Powered Up before it, Maverick Hunter X eschews the original 2-d sprites of Mega Man X for a 2.5-d polygon look. Thankfully, it doesn’t share Powered Up’s overly cutesy art style. The game featured new level layouts, spoken dialog, and animated story sequences. It doesn’t offer much in the way of extras compared to Powered Up, but there is an unlockable mode in which players take the role of series villain Vile. Even so, it’s an excellent addition to any PSP owner’s library, especially for Mega Man fans.

Super Double Dragon IV/Return of Double Dragon
Long before Final Fight completely changed the norm of beat-em-ups, the Double Dragon series was the alpha and the omega of the genre. Even after Final Fight, Double Dragon’s impact was still felt on gaming. It blossomed into a franchise, spawning a [horrible] movie, comic books, a cartoon series, and action figures. Even though it started in the arcade before hitting the 8-bit Nintendo, it was the NES home versions which gained it the most notoriety. Double Dragon 2 added more story elements, levels, and enemies, while the NES version of Double Dragon 3 was considered by many to be better than its arcade counterpart. Like Mega Man before it, Double Dragon’s Super Nintendo debut was eagerly anticipated but didn’t make the launch window. It wouldn’t show up on the SNES until a few years later, but the 16-bit debuts of Billy and Jimmy Lee were well worth the wait.

Instead of simply being a sequel to Double Dragon III, Super Double Dragon takes the Super Castlevania IV route, in which the game is a re-imagining of the first Double Dragon. A gang called the shadow warriors has kidnapped Marian (who is a policewoman rather than the typical damsel-in-distress in the original game), who just so happens to be the girlfriend of martial artist Billy Lee. Billy Lee doesn’t take kindly to this, so he and his brother Jimmy take to the streets to bring her back. The two travel through several levels while busting shadow warrior heads. The locations you’ll explore include a casino in Vegas, an air port, a forest, and the top of a truck. There are weapons you can pick up and use, and the boys have a new selection of martial arts moves to use. A blocking stance helps set up counterattacks and throws, while a power meter enables them to pull off heavy damage attacks. The soundtrack is good, and there are even a few remixes of classic Double Dragon anthems.

Double Dragon hit the Super Nintendo in a big way. Even with the millions of Final Fight clones, Super Double Dragon helped the franchise retain its own unique identity. It reminded players why they love Double Dragon so much while at the same time providing a fresh new gameplay experience. Sadly, after SDD, the most we would see of the series is a Neo-Geo fighting game based on the movie, a 16-bit fighting game based on the cartoon, and Rage of the Dragons, which is a Neo-Geo fighter sorta kinda maybe loosely inspired by Double Dragon. The original arcade game was re-released on the Game Boy Advance and Xbox Live Arcade (with the former having new levels), and the original NES game was re-released on Virtual Console. We may never see a new ‘true’ Double Dragon game, but hopefully Super Double Dragon will make its way to Virtual Console. Its a prime example of the series and the genre at its best.

Also of note is Return of Double Dragon, which is the Japanese version of the game. While for the most part its the same game as the American release, it contains new story sequences, slightly different levels, and a different soundtrack.

Tuff E Nuff
Jaleco just doesn’t get the props it deserves as a game developer. It created a classic baseball series in Bases Loaded, the Rush-n-Beat beat-em-up franchise, and several solid platforming games (including Avenging Spirit). It’s a wonder why they aren’t looked upon and respected the same way as a Capcom and a Konami. One of their 16-bit lost classics is a simple known fighting game by the name of Tuff-E-Nuff. Cheesy title and goofy box art aside, it was a pretty decent fighting game. In your typical post-apocalyptic setting, a man by the name of Jade rises to become one of the world’s top fighters. The last remaining free nations choose 4 of their champions to face him. First they have to battle each other for the right to face him (and develop their abilities in the progress), ascend his tower, defeat his henchmen, then face him in final battle.

The gameplay is pretty typical of most mid-90s fighting games. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel (indeed, the biggest difference between this game and others is the fact that the health indicators are on the sides of the screen rather than the top), but the controls are responsive, the visuals are good, and the music is solid. Unfortunately, you can only select from the four champions. To make matters worse, two of which are even Ryu/Ken style clones of each other. Thankfully, there is a code which allows you to play as the entire cast, and that’s a good thing, as the enemies you’ll face have attacks and abilities which make them a lot more interesting than the generic looking heroes.

Despite this critical oversight, Tuff-E-Nuff is a fun fighting game from an underrated game company. Sadly, as good as it was, it did little to set itself apart from the other fighting game titles of that period, and became one of many games which critics dismissed as a Street Fighter clone. Hopefully, the game can receive a second life on the Virtual Console. Fans of 2-d fighters will eat up this lost classic.