In that spirit, those of us who follow at home don’t get hands on impressions, we just get 2 minute snippets of the games we’ll be playing from now until next E3. Who had the best?

10: Halo: Reach

After a huge beta test and the most successful franchise on Xbox, Halo: Reach didn’t have a lot left to prove. The trailer gets us a great peak at the Covenant Elite back in action, and shows that the action doesn’t stop on the ground. Vehicles have always been a big part of Halo, but space combat? September can’t get here fast enough.

9: Castlevania: Harmony Of Despair

A new 2D Castlevania isn’t big news, but going HD on XBox Live Arcade with 6 player co-op most certainly is!

8: Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Kirby’s Adventure on Gameboy is a legit classic, but outside of a few instances, the pink puffball has only shined on portables. Nintendo has given him a makeover that might have been as instantly controversial as Wind Waker Link if it didn’t fit the character so well. His vacuum suction isn’t seen here, but he does lasso and swing on a string to grab enemies.

7: Nintendo 3DS

Check out Miyamoto’s pink blazer. Maybe fashion will be his next game?

6: Need For Speed Hot Pursuit

EA’s annual racer gets a major overhaul and serious music from Criterion Games, the creators of Burnout. We got a peak of what this game might be with the Burnout Paradise Cops & Robbers DLC, but this is far more glorious. Only Criterion would make a Bugatti police car. This may be Need For Speed, but the takedowns are pure Burnout.

5: Metal Gear Solid Rising

I Said What What Will You Cut?

4: Gran Turismo 5

GT is the gold standard for car sims, and of course it was going to have a great trailer. What you might not expect was the Top Gear test track and The Stig at the wheel. What happens when you combine the most popular car game and the most popular car show?

3: Devil’s Third

Itagaki’s latest takes all the character action from Ninja Gaiden, adds guns, and turns on the crazy. Maybe its that music, but I really want to play this game more than anything he’s previously done.

2: Donkey Kong Country Returns

Retro Studios turned in three excellent Metroid Prime games and have been silent for years. Now they reveal they’re revamping Donkey Kong Country. Not quite the next step I’m expecting, but if any studio has proved they can take a classic in a new direction and innovate without losing the soul of the original, its Retro.

1: Portal 2

Portal 2 getting a trailer was hardly a surprise: We knew the game was coming and if there was one place to show the first footage it was E3.
However, Valve choosing the SONY press conference to show it, after years of Gabe Newell trashing PS3… well this was a shock that no one could predict.

Portal 2 AND Steam are coming to PS3. Unthinkable.

Bonus: Captain Genius Pick–
Otomedius Excellent

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.

Here at Pax East 2010 Sindra sat down to play the game in the Classic Gaming room and she got a game over screen for all to see.

Sindra getting Game Over in Castlevania: Bloodlines

$20 Game of the Week: Syphon Filter – Logan’s Shadow
Logan’s Shadow is the follow up to 2006’s Dark Mirror, the game that reintroduced the Syphon Filter franchise to gamers and also one of the PSP’s must-have titles. Logan’s Shadow continues the espionage fun with an all new plotline. Once again stepping into the role of agent Gabe Logan, players have to once again unravel a conspiracy. This time however, longtime partner Lian Xing has been suspected of being a traitor and is missing in action, while Gabe Logan’s agency has been disbanded by a corrupt U.S. senator, so the stakes are higher than ever before. If you played Dark Mirror, then Logan’s Shadow will be easy to get into. In fact, the tutorial missions are the same as in Dark Mirror, with the exception of an added tutorial for underwater combat. The only major gameplay change is that the medkit system has been dropped in favor of a Halo-style auto-refilling health bar. You can now chose weather to have the L button use a free-aiming mechanic or the series’ trademark lock-on system. Just like Dark Mirror, Logan’s Shadow features a ton of unlockables, including weapons and missions.

Like it’s predecessor, Logan’s Shadow should be in the library of every PSP owner, and fans of the series will find another round of the action that the series is known for, although the ending leaves the future of the series up in the air. I won’t spoil it for you, you’ll just have to play the game.

Lost Classics: Super Castlevania 4 (SNES, Wii Virtual Console)

Okay, so this game really doesn’t really fit the criteria for a proper Lost Classic. With today being a holiday and this being perhaps one of the games of all time however, I hope all you Poweteers will let me slide.

In my personal humble opinion, SCIV is the best Castlevania game in the series. Yes, there are better games in the series than SCIV, and there are games in the series that I have enjoyed more than SCIV, but no other game in the series has left the impression on me that SCIV did.

In the early days of the SNES, the games that were released for it were basically 16-bit sequels/upgrades of classic 8-bit games. Super Mario World improved upon the overworld design of Super Mario Brothers 3 while adding battery backup. Final Fantasy II (or IV as it was known as in Japan) took the basic gameplay of FF1 (and the Japan only 2 and 3) and added in Mode 7 graphics and orchestra sound. So it was with Super Castlevania IV, which in terms of the series’ chronology, had the same storyline as the original Castlevania: Simon Belmont set out to defeat Dracula, who was risen from the dead once again. Only this time, the game didn’t start right at the entrance. That wasn’t until level 6. While the game started out with the familiar whip-cracking-outside-the-gate sequence, you had to travel through the stables, the marsh, a cave, and more before you even got to the front door. With a front yard like that, you wouldn’t even need ADT security. It would be so much trouble getting to the front door that any would-be burglar would simply give up. Simon thankfully had a new trick up his sleeve to take on the danger: an 8-way directional whip, possibly inspired by Contra. This trick helped a long way towards alleviating some of the frustrations which were common in platform gaming, such as enemies overhead and small flying objects which cause pitfalls. By holding down the Y button, Simon can even dangle the whip, providing a shield of sorts against smaller enemies and projectiles.

It being a SNES game, the first thing gamers noticed was the improved visuals, particularly Simon Belmont’s sprite. it was huge and well detailed. There were also parallel backgrounds, and the first level of the game in particular took advantage of the new technology. You traversed inside and outside of a gate to make your way through part of the level. Then there was the second stage and its swamp, where after you beat the level’s boss, the level still didn’t end, as you went down a sludge covered ramp. One of my favorite moments in the game takes place in level four. You traverse your way through a tower with rotating platforms, and midway through the level you fight a giant ghost skull. After destroying the skull, you then move on to the level’s second half, which started with a room full of spikes which rotated as you had to hang on for dear life then swing across to avoid getting impaled. Next, you’re in the inside of a rotating barrel full of enemies which come out the background to attack you. The last part of the level took place in a hall which put a whole new spin on the ‘moving blocks’ segment of the platforming genre. At the end, you faced yet another boss: a rock monster which grew LARGER as you damaged him. The next level was a bit of a rest of sorts, as you went up a stairway towards Dracula’s castle. When you finally entered Drac’s castle in level 6, it was a brand-new experience entirely. While level 6 started off with the old-school Castlevania zombie entrance way and underground water lagoon, things soon got hectic as you jumped across chandeliers, battled ghost dancers, and took on possessed suits of armor. The final level was another awesome moment which really put gamers’ fingers to the test, as they outran a giant wheel, descended a tower, and took on THREE SEPARATE BOSSES before meeting Dracula himself. SCIV’s levels were chock full of cool stuff, and the graphics and sound capabilities of the Super Nintendo made everything even more surrealistic.

The music was another huge part of the SCIV experience. While this was right before CD gaming became the norm, the SNES sound processors could give more advance sound systems a run for their money, and SCIV demonstrated this. The game’s first level featured a tune that would go on to become a classic Castlevania anthem, and you’d even hum along to it like you did songs like Vampire Killer and Bloody Tears. The second level’s BGM featured slapping congo drums and an ominous but upbeat melody which went perfectly with the marsh setting. The first part of level three featured a hauntingly beautiful harp-plucking/flute melody which gave way to a strong piano loop when you reached the waterfall in the second part. The final part of the level featured a weird smooth-jazz sounding number which sounded surreal with the area’s Sunken-Atlantis backdrop. The second part of level 4 was an awesome melody which started out almost like a modern R&B piece, but transferred into a more traditional Castlevania-style tune, although it got increasingly frantic as it went on. The R&B ends abruptly with some organs, then the horns and drums come in, and they get louder and more frantic, which was perfect, because the level itself became crazier and frantic towards the end. Level 7’s library featured a quieter string/wood piece, which helped players catch their breaths a bit after level 6’s insanity. It also helped get them ready for 8, which had some foreboding piano keys accentuated with some even more sinister sounding African drums. This was especially perfect, as the level took place in a prison full of traps. The game’s final levels featured remixes of some classic Castlevania tunes as well.

It has been almost 20 years since that Christmas morning that I got my SNES and played SCIV for the first time. However, it still remains one of my favorite games to this day. It demonstrated how an action game should be done, and it was an excellent showcase of the SNES’s capabilities. It was also one of the first games I downloaded to my Wii Virtual Console, and playing it with my Gamecube controller gives me so many flashbacks. No other game in the series has as many water-cooler moments as SCIV, not even Symphony of the Night’s upside-down castle, Dracula X’s burning village, or even Portrait of Ruin’s tag team final boss battle against Dracula and Death. If you haven’t played it yet, you owe it to yourself to do so as soon as you can. It’s an excellent entry in an excellent gaming franchise.

When Sony entered the market as a console manufacturer, they began a whole new era of gaming, and much of it was due to the rise of disc-based gaming. Disc based systems at the time were becoming more commonplace due to CDs being easier and cheaper to manufacture. Since they could hold more information than floppy disks and cartridges, it was easy to see why they were becoming increasingly attractive to developers. Even before the Sony, there were already several disc-based systems on the market, although few of them fully utilized the potential of the added storage space and horse power of the medium. The Sega CD for instance, was merely an add-on to the Sega Genesis. Most of its line up either consisted of amped-up versions of Sega Genesis titles, arcade ports, and interactive movies. such as the controversial Night Trap. The Super CD, an add on for the Turbographix-16, had a slightly more impressive lineup (including the highly sought after Dracula X), but it never made it beyond the borders of Japan. The 3DO, which was a standalone system, carried many of the interactive movies that graced the Sega CD, and it also boasted arcade-perfect ports of games such as Samurai Showdown and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. However, its high price tag prevented it from making a huge impact in the marketplace. The Phillips CD-I, just plain sucked.

Around the early 90s, Nintendo wanted to jump into the CD gaming market. Originally, it was Sony who would help them develop the technology that would power the new system. Sony was of course no stranger to gaming. Under the name Sony Imagesoft, they developed and published several games for their soon-to-be competitors (in fact, you may have even seen a couple of them as Lost Classics). However, the deal would fall through due to lawsuits on both sides, and Nintendo opted to go with Phillips instead. That deal would also fall apart, and Nintendo would eventually abandon the concept of a CD based gaming system altogether in favor of cartridge-based the Nintendo 64. It’s because of this reason that many suspect that the Playstation is what Nintendo’s CD system would have been. Regardless of weather or not that rumor was true, it was ironic that Sony, the people slated to work with Nintendo on their new hardware, instead usurped their place as top dog console manufacturer.

The Playstation, arriving on U.S. shores in 1995, had a slow start due to its $300 price tag. Its major competition would be Nintendo’s Nintendo 64 and Sega’s Saturn. The former, despite introducing the analog stick to gaming, would unfortunately be a nightmare for third party developers due to Nintendo’s stubborn insistence on a cartridge-based medium. The later, despite having a promising library of games that included Panzer Dragoon, Fighter’s Mega Mix, and Guardian Saga, was killed off by Sega in favor of the similarly ill-fated Dreamcast. Sony lowered the Playstation’s price tag shortly after its release, and soon it made its way into the homes of many a gamer who had grown up with Sega and/or Nintendo products. Before long, the big two had finally became the big three.

Like the NES a decade ago, the Sony Playstation would change the face of gaming forever, not just through its technology, but by the library of games that was released for the system, weather they were from Sony’s in-house teams or from third party developers, many of which had churned out product for Sega and Nintendo for years. Games released on the Playstation either refined or introduced game mechanics that would shape gaming for the next 14 years. The following is a list of 10 of the most significant games and franchises that were released for Sony’s console. It’s not a list of the ten best games, as there would be some games that would have been left off and others that would have been included instead.

1. Final Fantasy VII
Perhaps no one game demonstrated the Playstation’s contribution to the video game market better than Final Fantasy VII. What made this game even more shocking was that it was even on a Playstation console at all, as Square had plied it’s trade exclusively for Nintendo since the late 1980s. However, Square left Nintendo’s stable, claiming that the company’s insistence on using cartridges was keeping developers such as Square from taking their games in the direction that they wanted to. Seeing FFVII in action, it was clear what that direction was. While the series always had deep and moving plotlines, the beautiful CG cinematics, which at times rivaled even Disney’s Toy Story, drove it home in a way never seen before. Who can forget that moment when Aeris was brutally killed by Sephiroth, or when the city of Midgard collapsed onto itself, or even when the planet is only moments away from annihilation during the game’s ending? The beautiful cinemas, along with the solid RPG gameplay that the Final Fantasy series was always known for, made FFVII a huge system seller for the Playstation, and it changed the face of an entire genre.

2. Metal Gear Solid
In hindsight, it seemed strange that Konami would choose to revive Metal Gear. The most U.S. gamers had seen of the series was its NES incarnation (which series creator Hideo Kojima didn’t even like) and its unofficial sequel Snake’s Revenge (which Kojima had no involvement with). Meanwhile in Japan, Metal Gear and its official sequel (which Kojima created after Snake’s Revenge) were both released on the MSX home computer. When Metal Gear Solid hit the Playstation however, it became an instant classic with players, and introduced stealth action gameplay to the masses. Though Thief came before it, MGS made stealth gameplay mainstream, as more and more developers incorporate stealth elements into their game. Like Final Fantasy VII, it also made use of cinematics to move its plot. While some more jaded gamers criticize the cinemas as being long winded, the cinemas did a good job of bringing the world to life and adding additional backstory to the series. Plot threads created here would still be bought up in later games in the series, such as last year’s MGS 4. The game also set the tone for the memorable boss fights that would be seen throughout the series. Boss fights such as sniper battle with Sniper Wolf in a snow-covered forest and the fight with Vulcan Raven (who was so huge you had to hit him with remote-controlled missiles) were intense and required strategy and planning to win. The crown jewel of these fights however, was the battle with Psycho Mantis who read your mind by reading the saves off your memory card (of course once you figured out the trick, it was simple to defeat him in short order). It was such features that saw Metal Gear Solid go from one of yesterday’s most sought after games to one of today’s hottest gaming franchises.

3. Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 5 hit the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 this past spring. For the most part, it has been generally well received, and will most likely be nominated for one or more year-end gaming awards. However, many people will agree that RE5 is missing what made the series so special to begin with. If one were to discuss the glory days of the series, then there is a good chance they will point to this second entry. While the first Resident Evil may not have created what is known as the survival horror genre (that honor goes to Alone in the Dark), it provided a blueprint that many developers tried to copy, although few would succeed. The sequel took everything that made the first great and made it even better. Trading in the first game’s secluded mansion for an average American town, RE2 provided players with scares of something that could almost happen tomorrow. Like the first game, there were two heroes players could pick from. This time however, the adventure was so huge, each character had their own disc. Best of all, after you finished the game with one person, you could load up the second disc and play as the other character, complete with new areas, enemies, plot details, and an extended ending. There were also several unlockable features, and this insured that the dame would have plenty of replay value. Years before games like Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising, it was Resident Evil that bought George Romero-style zombie killing fun to gamers.

4. Tekken 2
Since the early days of video gaming, the biggest challenge was getting arcade games to run at home. With primitive games such as Pong and Space Invaders, it was pretty easy. However, moving into the 80s with the NES, developers had to make compromises in order to get their games to run as best as they can while staying true to the arcade. The SNES and Geneses came pretty close, but as games such as Street Fighter II and Fatal Fury began to make use of more advance hardware, even they had to work with home versions that were graphically inferior to their arcade counterparts. However, when companies began to make disc-based systems, they finally had the horse power and storage capabilities to match the latest arcade hardware. Tekken 2 in particular, was one of the first instances of home versions that were actually surpassing their arcade counterparts. Not only did the Playstation 1 version of Tekken 2 feature graphics that were on par with the arcade version, it featured a remixed soundtrack, a new CGI intro and CGI animated endings (gotta love Anna William’s shower scene). The beautiful opening sequence pulled players into the game, and for many people (myself included), it signified the very reason they bought a Playstation. Later Namco fighters, such as Tekken 3 and Soul Edge would continue the trend by offering even more improved graphics and game modes not found in the arcade. As far as the gameplay, its sheer amount of unlockable characters, 3D combat, and emphasis on real fighting styles and combos (as opposed to the fireballs and flying kicks found in the Mortal Kombats and Street Fighters) made Tekken (along with Sega’s Virtua Fighter) much more advanced than any other fighting game on the market at a time when the series stood along alongside Battle Arena Toshinden and Virtua Fighter in the 3D fighting genre. Even when the market became over-saturated with copycats during the late 90s (just as the 2d fighting game market became over-saturated during the mid-90s), Tekken stood tall and maintained its identity, and it’s successive entries (Tekken 4 notwithstanding) continue to set standards for the fighting game genre.

5. Twisted Metal 2
The Playstation era saw the rise of a new genre, car combat, and Sony’s Twisted Metal was at the top of the pack. This new genre was basically demolition derby with guns added. Nintendo’s Mario Kart laid down the foundation for this new genre, but it was games such as Twisted Metal which really moved it forward. Twisted Metal 2 was heralded by many fans as the best entry in the series, as it would be the last game in the series that developer Singletrac worked on before splitting from Sony. Twisted Metal 2 took the chaos from the original game and took it around the world, from Los Angeles to Paris. The slightly destructible environments added strategy to the game and made for some cool visuals. It was quite satisfying to watch the Eiffel Tower blow up and destroy anyone stupid enough to be inside. The game’s cast of bizarre characters also made Twisted Metal 2 memorable. Players could hit the mode with characters such as Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm, Axel, and several other drivers who were unique as the vehicles they drove. Besides Twisted Metal, the amount of games that could do car combat right can almost be counted on only one hand. Not even Sony could properly follow up Twisted Metal 2, as Twisted Metal 3 was ill received by fans and Twisted Metal 4 went ignored. It wasn’t until SingleTrac developers reunited with Sony to develop Twisted Metal Black. Even after that game’s success, the PSP entry Twisted Metal Head On bought back the atmosphere of Twisted Metal 2 while negating 3 and 4 from the franchise’s overall storyline.

6. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
While the previous 5 games set new boundaries in 3D gaming, Konami’s Castlevania proved that there was still room for old school 2D gameplay in the new era of gaming. Not only that, but they introduced a brand-new style of gameplay for the long-standing series, trading in the traditional linear gameplay for an exploration-focused nonlinear design that was seeming inspired by Metroid. With RPG elements added to the gameplay, SOTN was one of the biggest and deepest Castlevania games yet. Players took control of Alucard, the son of Dracula. He was tasked with discovering the truth behind the sudden appearance of his father’s fortress Castlevania, which was ran by none other than….Richtel Belmont? Playing through the game, it would become apparent that things were not at all what they seemed. Just when you thought you had the whole game figured out (and provided you had the right item), the game threw in a monkey wrench, and you had to explore an alternate version of Castlevania which was upside down. It was moments such as that which made SOTN a hit with both fans and critics alike. It was such a hit, that many later Castlevania titles stuck closely to SOTN’s formula.

7. Street Fighter Alpha 3
It was only by the good grace of god that SFA3 was able to hit the Playstation. The PS1 wasn’t particularly adept at handling the CPS 2 and 3 powered Capcom arcade titles. In fact, many Playstation home ports of Capcom arcade games had to cut out several frames of animation and reduce the speed just to get it to fit. As a matter of fact, a PS1 version of X-Men vs Street Fighter which had been released the prior year had cut out the tag team mode which made the arcade game so popular. So it came as a total shock when it was announced that not only would Street Fighter Alpha 3 come to Playstation, but it would also contain several extras. SFA 3 bought back all the classic Street Fighter characters such as Ken, Ryu, and Chun Li. Several new characters were added, such as Kari and R. Mika. The home version bought back characters such as Guile and Fei Long, and therefore SFA 3’s cast contained every character who was even in a 2D Street Fighter game. Several home exclusive game modes made the package even more epic. World Tour mode allowed players to develop their characters RPG style, while Dramatic Battle mode allow players to create 2 on one handicap matchups, complete with a special background that was reminiscent of the Street Fighter animated movie, thereby allowing gamers to relive that final battle against M. Bison from the film. It was good to see that even as Tekken and SoulCalibur were taking the 3D fighting genre to new heights, companies such as Capcom were keeping 2D fighting games alive and well.

8. Tomb Raider
When it was first released, Tomb Raider representative a new standard for action gaming with its exploration-heavy gameplay, fully 3D environments and movement, and polygonal graphics. Players explored exotic locales such as Egypt and Peru while solving puzzles and avoiding deadly traps. However, Tomb Raider might be more famous for its protagonist, Lara Croft. Despite her ‘assets’, Lara Croft became a hit with gamers as a female Indiana Jones. Croft was such a hit with fans, that Eidos commissioned several real life actresses to portray her. Perhaps the most famous was Angelina Jolie, who played the part of Lara Croft in the two Tomb Raider films. Tomb Raider spawned a franchise, complete with movies, comic books, and action figures. While the series suffered through a serious slump for several years, 2006’s Tomb Raider Legend bought the franchise back from the depths of its own tomb, once again setting it apart from the many games that tried to rip off its formula.

9. Gran Turismo 2
While Namco’s Ridge Racer helped attract racing fans to Sony’s console, the capacity of the PS1’s disc allowed for something that was bigger and more expansive than what the Ridge Racer games had offered. Polyphony Digital helped to deliver this in spades with Gran Turismo. Gran Turismo offered racing fans a simulation that had an unprecedented amount of depth, and its sequel added even more complexity. Featuring 27 tracks and 650 cars from real world manufacturers, Gran Turismo was a dream package for car enthusiasts. Players had to earn licenses to compete on new courses, earn trophies, and buy new cars in order in order to progress. There was an arcade mode for players to unwind by taking any car on any track. This time however, the game was so huge that the game needed to be split between two discs! One disc was for simulation, and the other was for arcade mode. Gran Turismo had so much to offer players regardless of weather of not they were racing enthusiasts. A soundtrack featuring then-current rock hits helped to seal the deal for gamers. To this day, Gran Turismo 2 remains one of the biggest racing games of all time, and it helped to make room for more complex racing games such as Forza Motorsport on the Xbox.

10. Suikoden
Long before Final Fantasy VII changed the face of RPG gaming, Konami’s Suikoden took what was best about old school 16 bit RPGs and added in a few new tricks. For starters, players assembled their crew by seeking out 108 different characters, with a majority of them being available to use in combat. The storyline was quite deep as well, and it smacked of political intrigue and double crossing. One on one dueling and all-out war modes (both of which played similar to paper, rock, and scissors), helped break up the action. Even in today’s modern RPG world, games such as Suikoden showed gamers that old school RPG can hold its own against the fancy new RPGs that were popping up on the PS1 and its competition.

I think I speak for many gamers when I say that while it was because of Nintendo that got me playing video games, it was because of Sony that I kept playing them. These games, along with countless others, have played a vital role in shaping gaming into what it is today. So whenever you stock your garage in Forza, blow apart a zombie in Left 4 Dead, or make your way through the world of Shadow Complex, think about the Playstation. Even today as the system is well into its third iteration, the Playstation’s library continues to innovate with games such as Little Big Planet and Resistance. If you haven’t checked out these games yet, then I strongly advise you to do so, weather you purchase them off the Playstation Network, or buy them from amazon.com (by clicking the thumbnails).

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.

Music Used:
New Messiah
Ripe Seeds
Original Sin

Intro Music (By Popular Demand):
“Take Up The Whip” by Master Hatchet (Battle of the Holy Remix)
Can be found Here

Like It but Don’t Have It?

Apparently the HP of the film hadn’t been completely taken out, though. BloodyDisgusting comes back to report that the movie is back on, with yet another director slated to take over the script and reigns of the flick. James Wan, who helped co-create the SAW series, has taken the helm to hopefully head the film back in the right direction. And why not? It’s better than Sylvian “Stomp the Yard” White or Paul “I rape VG movies almost as bad though not as frequently as Uwe Boll” Anderson. That’s a matter of opinion, of course.

Despite my overwhelming cynicism towards a Castlevania movie ever turning out decent and not like Helsing, my interest is piqued simply for the fact Wan actually references staples of the series beyond the words “Belmont” and “Dracula”.

Looks like the ideas of a live-action Castlevania movie have been saved from the horrors of bad directing this time around. Bloody Disgusting reports that the movie, originally handed to AvP and Resident Evil director Paul Anderson and more recently thrown to Stomp the Yard’s Sylvian White, the script for the movie has been pretty much put into the category of “development hell”, halting any further progress. While not declared legally dead as of yet, the thready pulse of the story meant to be the tale of Dracula’s origins in facing the Belmont Clan has seemingly been put into a consistent catatonic state of which there seems little recovery.

Of course, this is far from where the development was taking it in the first place, so really this change of course simply keeps the corpse of the screenplay from being utterly raped, and instead will more than likely pass into blissful death quietly.

Songs Used – “Iron Blue Intention” and “Calling from Heaven”

Links:
Mr.P’s Castlevania Realm
Vampire Killer Gallery

The second of my twin reviews on the recent Castlevania games released, this one about the Wii game Castlevania Judgment, this one being not quite as lenient as it’s brother. Be sure to check out that review also if you haven’t already.

Ending Music: Dracula’s Castle Remix (Alucard’s Theme)

Favored in the series for its early take on RPG elements and a vast array of stages and a varied cast of playable characters to be unlocked beyond top-class Belmont whip-toting compliments of Trevor Belmont, Dracula’s Curse has not only been desired for a VC release, but also has been highly demanded by fans to be the next installment in the “Chronicles” sub-series. At the very least, now we have the 1st part of that request. Here’s hoping the 2nd will be in the near future. For now, we have one more installment of classic Castlevania NES goodness to tide us over. REJOICE!

Ending Music: “Unholy Vespers”

The first of my two reviews for the recent Castlevania games. Like what you see? Be sure to check out my Staff Pick for the month. (last month too!) Make sure to check back here at Powet.tv for the other Castlevania review you won’t want to miss!

$20 Game of the Week: Castlevania – The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)
The Turbografx-16, or the PC Engine as it was known in Japan, was an incredible system for sure. It was also the first American console system to support a CD add-on. However, its major problem was the CD add-on’s high price point($399), it’s small library (thankfully the system had no region protection, so importers could play Japenese titles) and the lack of third party support (due mostly in part to Nintendo’s harsh licensing practices at the time). While NEC’s console was popular in Japan (lasting until 1999) the system would die a premature death in the US by 1993. As a result, several of the PC Engine’s more popular games, such as Konami’s Dracula X, were never released outside of Japan. The most North American gamers would see of the game is a Super Nintendo title that had very little similarities to the PC CD title they yearned for so badly. It would be 14 years and 3 console generations before American gamers would finally see a release of the PC Engine CD original.

Last fall, Konami finally bought the ‘real’ Dracula X to US shores – in the form of a PSP remake. The graphics have been redone, the soundtrack has been remixed, some of the level layouts have been changed, and some new enemies have been added, but for the most part, this is the Castlevania game we’ve been waiting for for years. Want the original game? Don’t worry, it’s on here too, as one of the game’s many unlockables. As an added bonus, Symphony of the Night is also hidden on the disc. So how does the game play? Well, remember how Castlevania used to be before the games became SOTN clones? Well, that’s how this plays. Dracula X was the last Castlevania game which stuck to the linear level based format, although this entry brings in a few new twists. There are multiple paths through the stages, and there are several alternate levels. Rescuing the maidens yields items which help destroy certain barriers. Destroying these barriers is important to discovering alternate routes and getting the good ending. As in the PC Engine game, if you rescue Maria, you can choose to play as her. To say that she’s unique is an understatement. Maria utilizes some very unconventional methods of attack such as kittens, birds, turtles, and other sickeningly cute stuff. However, it’s quite powerful. Richter still uses the classic Castlevania arsenal, which means the boomerangs, knives, axes, and holy water still work as you remember. However, Richter can utilize a powered up version of the weapons, called the item crash. While the item crash uses more hearts than the weapons normally do, they can turn the tide of a battle. You’ll need every advantage you can get too, as this game is among the hardest in the series. Casual gamers may be turned off, but more masochistic gamers will gladly take the punishment. There isn’t much to the game after you complete the stages, but you can go back through and find the unlockables, including music tracks and a minigame.

Even though it utilizes 2.5-d polygon graphics, and even with all the new additions, Dracula X Chronicles brings back the old school style of Castlevania which hasn’t been seen since the 16-bit era. The new additions make the deal even sweeter. Weather you’re a fan of the series, a PSP owner starved for a new addition to their library, or just a classic game lover, you’ll want to pick up this disc.

Lost Classics: Dracula X (Super Nintendo)
Lets rewind to 1995. The Super Nintendo was on its last legs, and 16-bit gamers were desperate for some action. So you can only imagine how pleased players were when rumors emerged that Konami would be making a new Castlevania game for Super Nintendo. Better yet, this game would be known as Dracula X! Finally, the PC Engine classic would make it over here, and on Super Nintendo no less…

…Or so gamers thought. Their joy would be short lived, as in short time the other shoe dropped. While we would get a new Castlevania game called Dracula X, it wouldn’t be THE Dracula X gamers have waited for and shelled out huge amounts of money to import. Instead, we’d get a brand new game, while sharing a few similarities with Dracula X, was clearly NOT the game we had so desperately wished for. Yes, it contained the same basic plot and gameplay. Richter sets out to rescue both his fiancee and future sister-in-law from Dracula. However, it contained several differences from the original PC Engine game. Neither Shaft nor his ghost was nowhere to be found, the levels were different, and worst of all, there was no playable Maria. Even so, the game was still good in its own right. It featured mode 7 graphics, a bright color palette, alternate routes and endings, and a soundtrack which featured several tracks from the original PC Engine CD game. However, the game contained some poor level design, leading to a lot of frustrating platforming moments for gamers. Still, while it may have been a huge letdown in terms of getting the ‘real’ version of Dracula X, the SNES version holds it’s own as both a solid entry in the Castlevania series, and as a late era Super Nintendo title. Even so, it would have been much better received by gamers if the PC Engine version of Dracula X didn’t exist. Personally, my only real regret with this game is that Konami didn’t give the Super Nintendo new Contra and Gradius titles before the 16-bit system died off.

After Dracula X, Symphony of the Night was released on Playstation. Not only was it one of the best games on the system, but it bought the Castlevania series back to its former glory, and proved that 2-d gaming was still alive and well, even in the 32-bit polygon era. It’s RPG-like stat building served as inspiration for a majority of the games which followed it, particularly those on the Game Boy Advance and teh Nintendo DS. Even though the Metroid-inspired gameplay has yet to grow stale, fans everywhere long for a return to the franchise’s original linear format. It may be a long while before that day comes, but at least players can experience this lost chapter of the Belmont saga, and enjoy the classic gameplay that they remember from so long ago.

It would seem series frontman Koji Igrashi begs to differ. He announced at the Tokyo Game Show that they have yet another Castlevania game in production to be released in the future for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Iga dropped the bigger bomb when he said that this new game would be a direct sequel to series highpoint, Symphony of the Night.

If this comes as a shock, the feeling is mutual. Even at the TGS the audience was surprised at the announcement, but Iga made good on his word by releasing some information, as well as a teaser image that looks strikingly like SotN protagonist Alucard.

Special thanks to Serio of the Chapel of Resonance for the improvement on the image clarity.

Some are believing the game to have possible ties to the Symphony of the Night radio drama that was released in Japan recently, which tells the tale of the aftermath of SotN and features returning characters from the game as well as some all new characters. If this turns out to be true, than this new game could indeed be the sequel that fanboys of the series have clamored for since the game’s release in 1997 on the original Playstation. With the other two games on the near horizon, new information is bound to be leaked out in a steady stream to keep anticipation high.

But there are some that dare to be different, and turn the entire idea of franchise gaming on the ear. For the purposes of this list, games that jump between generations are omitted as upgrades and changes are expected on new hardware.

Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (NES)

The first in the series is a great linear dungeon crawler. Its proven the test of time, and started a series still going very strong today (in 2D no less!). But wow, Simon’s Quest was really different. Its much more of an open world, introduces RPG elements, and even adds a night & day passage of time. Modern Castlevania games balance elements of exploration and action well, but this was uncharted territory at the time. Castlevania III, while a fantastic refinement of the game play of the first, misses out on the stuff in Simon’s Quest.

TMNT 2: The Arcade Game (NES)

The super hard NES side scroller based on the exploits of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has its share of fans, but about the same time an arcade game came out that looked and played a lot closer to the animated series. A variation of the gameplay found in Double Dragon, the turtles took on hundreds of Foot clan ninjas as well as Baxter Stockman, Bebop and Rocksteady. The NES port of the game slapped a roman numeral two at the end, as well as adding a couple new levels and bosses. Its a far greater game for all the changes, and subsequent TMNT games, regardless of platform, have tried their best to duplicate this formula.

Halo 2 (XBox)

The original Halo kept the XBox alive as it struggled to compete against the Playstation 2 and Gamecube. When Halo 2 came out, it pushed the platform forward and gave it one of the most popular games ever made. The changes weren’t readily apparent, but as the community got the game, they became glaring. The primary weapon of the original was gone, replaced a machine gun and the battle rifle. The pistol had been nerfed to the point of uselessness. Players no longer had to put up with split-screen, getting the option to play online, giving the game a long shelf life. Even the single player campaign took you out of the helmet of the Master Chief for the first time, forcing you to play as the mysterious new Covenant character The Arbiter for half the game. In Halo 3, the pistol, the AR, and a full Chief-only campaign returned.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES)

Arguably the greatest masterpiece of the NES, The Legend Of Zelda deserved a follow-up. This game dropped “The Legend Of” along with all the gameplay of the original. Link was now a teenager, and travelled Hyrule’s overworld more like a mapscreen. When approached by an enemy or entering a dungeon the game changed to a sidescroller where link had to duck, jump and slash his sword more skillfully than before. Add on an experience point system and you’ve got a fundamentally different game, with some familiar music and characters. The next game, A Link To The Past, favored the originals gameplay while upgrading for the new Super NES.

Metroid II: Return of Samus (Gameboy)

Many will credit Super Metroid as a giant leap over the original in both gameplay and storytelling. But few ever mention Metroid II on the original GameBoy. This game continued the exploits of Samus Aran, as she travelled to SR388, to exterminate the Metroids. Along the way, the wave beam, spider-ball, and space jump helped her traverse the landscape and became staples of many Metroid titles to come. The games epic final battle made way for a turn as unlikely as the preceding game: a single Metroid hatchling joins Samus Aran as she leaves the planet.

Honorable Mention:
Super Mario Bros 2: Great game, but really just the US Doki Doki Panic. Drastically different from SMB1, but few elements repeated in future games. It was all a dream anyway.
Mega Man 2: More bosses, perfect music, and refined gameplay. Although one of the most popular in the series, its not significantly different from the one before it, or any of the hundred after.
Sonic 2: More fun than the first, which was already pretty fun! VS mode and co-op, new bonus stages, and the spin-dash! A refinement more than a revolution, but Sonic hasn’t been the same since the Genesis…

Order of Ecclesia already had some footage released that’s been floating around the net, and this video just provides greater coverage of the Glyph system that the game uses, as well as a bit of dialogue between main character Shanoa and her mentor Barlowe. The Glyph system is interesting in that you can assign glyphs to each hand to attack with, using either the same glyph for both or different glyph for each. As has been mentioned before, the action will be combination of styles from previous recent Castlevania games such as Symphony of the Night or Dawn of Sorrow, with a traveling map similar to oldschool classic Simon’s quest.

As for Judgement, we only get to see a small snippet of playtime. Playable characters revealed are Simon Belmont, Maria Renard, and Alucard. Though gameplay seems fluid and the characters seem to move and attack well, the game thus far looks like a clone of Soul Calibur….with zombies. However, I will hold off on my contempt for the game until I get to watch the full thing when it’s released.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, reported upon earlier, is the Nintendo DS title following upon the footsteps of previous games such as Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow in terms of gameplay, as an action-adventure 2D platformer. It takes control of newcomer Shanoa as she searches for the lost Belmont family while battling the minions of Dracula.

Castlevania: Judgement, if you haven’t heard yet, will be a 3D fighting game; a first for the series. (for obvious reasons) Castlevania characters from all over the series continuum will be thrown together in a style leechingly-similar to Soul Calibur to fight one another in a (hopefully) non-canon battle royale. A even more shocking twist is the hiring of Death Note’s Takeshi Obata to do character designs, completely overhauling pre-existing designs mostly coming from series-usual Ayame Kojima.

This fall will surely prove to be an interesting turn of events for Castlevania fans. Many debates have already begun as to the fate of both games as numerous fans, while liking the usual-style Ecclesia is going with, denounce Judgement as straying too far from the Castlevania norm and claim it to be merely Konami’s cash-maker. Come this autumn, we’ll see what’s what when both games are launched to brave public scrutiny.

Another interesting bit of Castlevania news has been rumored as to the next Castlevania game after Ecclesia, which has been confirmed as being for a console. The title “Castlevania: Judgment” has been registered by Konami almost right on the heels of Ecclesia, and whispers from Japan hint that the console of choice very well might be the Nintendo Wii. The real reason this is interesting is because IGA had stated long ago that he was frowning at the idea of having a Castlevania on the Wii due to obvious gimmicks that would be associated with the Wiimote and a whip-weapon system. Only time will tell if these rumors, like the ones for Ecclesia, prove to be true.

The term Ecclesia means “a gathering of those summoned”, though as is well known with other Castlevania games, a title doesn’t need to necessarily have anything to do with the actual game. (Harmony of Dissonance for example had neither). There is also no account of this having anything to do with the supposed leaked game images that I reported on a few months ago, though the silvery design of the logo does match up with the previous images in Japanese.

Late April Fools? Konami holding out on fans? Who knows. All I hope is that this is a precursor to actual official news on *any* Castlevania game in the works being released in the very near future. Any tidbit I find out about I’ll be sure to pass on to you.

Questions:
1. Any plans for a 12 or 18-inch Alucard from Castlevania? If there may be one, I would love to see additional swords packed with it.

2. What’s up with news if any on a second Castlevania line? I suggest Richter..(and a MUCH better whip and improved paintjobs for all involved figures. The sculpts from the first line were great but the plastic used was VERY poor quality.)

NECA Response:
1) no plans for this at all

2) no news on more Castlevania – I don’t think we will be re-visiting this license

Some Castlevania fans speculate that this revelation comes as no big surprise, after complaints of less-than-excellent workmanship on the quality of the figures may have contributed to lack of sales in the first series line. Regardless, a cancellation of any additional series releases in the Castlevania line would prove disappointing and unfortunate, as series fans (myself included) have awaited a toy line for the long-running video game series for many years now, only for it to now seemingly be nipped in the bud soon after it’s debut. However, that may be how the cookie crumbles in this situation, if NECA truly decides to cut it’s losses rather than improve on past mistakes and trudge forward.

The game’s supposed name? Akumajo Dracula: Ubawareta Kokuin. (Castlevania: The Stolen Seal)

Of course this leads to much speculation and many denouncings by the Castlevania community, who are skeptical of the image, after a hoax game (the falsely titled “Duel Moons”) a few years back managed to fool even members of several gaming news sites. This new rumor could very well be the same photoshopped nightmare. What also make fans raise an eyebrow is the fact the image portrays the main playable character as a female protagonist – something series producer IGA has stated he doesn’t like doing. (secondary female characters are fine though, it would seem)

So, with no official word from the Konami bigwigs, and only an image and one man’s words to go by, we’ll just have to see if this is another hoax, or if it could be the first we see of the third 2D Castlevania DS game that has been confirmed by Konami. Once I know, you’ll know.

Instead of being a sequel, Doom 3 is a remake of the original. Once again playing as a nameless space marine, you explore a space station on mars that has been infested by demons. While the story hasn’t evolved much, the gameplay and graphical prowess has. There are minimal cutscenes, and most of the information in the game is learned from computer terminals scattered about. The classic enemies have each received a next-gen overhaul, making them even more fearsome than they were in 1993. There are several different weapons used to dispatch them with, including the classic BFG and chainsaw. The lighting is also key to enhancing the fear factor of the game, as in many sections your flashlight will be the only way that you’ll be able to see whats coming. Some argue that the AI could be better, but for mindless creatures in a survival horror video game, it works just naturally. An expansion pack, Resurrection of Evil adds new weapons, enemies, and further expands on the plot of Doom 3.

There are several ways to experience Doom 3. There are retain versions available for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. There are also two Xbox versions, (both of which are backwardly compatible on the Xbox 360) a regular edition and a collector’s edition (which contains ports of Ultimate Doom and Doom 2 which feature split-screen multiplayer). In addition, the game, along with most of ID’s back catalog, is available on Valve’s Steam downloadable game service. While there are better and deeper FPS games than Doom 3 (Halo, Half-life 2, and Timesplitters come to mind), there are few that have had the legacy or the impact on the industry that ID Software’s masterpiece has had.

Lost Classics: Castlevania Chronicles (Playstation)
Last week saw the release of a Japan-only Castlevania title in the form of a remake. However, this isn’t the first time that a Castlevania title hit shores as a remake. In 2001, late into the life cycle of the original Playstation, Konami released Castlevania chronicles, a remake of Akumajo Dracula, a game that previously saw release on the X68000, a home computer system from Japan. Akumajo Dracula has the same storyline as the original Castlevania (Dracula has been revived in an occult ceremony, and only Simon Belmont can stop him), and in in terms of Castlevania’s main backstory, both games are essentially the same. Castlevania Chronicles is a traditional 2-d Castlevania. You battle enemies throughout several stages (including a clock tower, an underground waterway, and that famous entry way from the first Castlevania), and you face bosses such as the wolfman and the mummy. The soundtrack contains many tunes that are familiar to series veterans such as Vampire Killer and Bloody tears, and there are several selectable sound hardware settings that remix the music in different ways. The Arranged mode adds new sprites for Simon Belmont and Dracula (including a pink-haired anime inspired metrosexual look for the former), an easier difficulty, a new soundtrack, and FMV sequences for the intro and the ending. The original disc was produced in limited supply, so it’s a bit hard to find, although there are rumors that this game will be hitting the Playstation Network sometime in the near future. Fans of the series should seek out this game. While it may lack the flash that later games in the series have, it’s an enjoyable experience all the same.

Lost Classics Part 2: Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo)
Developed by Lucasarts and published by Konami, this overlooked title from the 16-bit era casts players as either Zack or Julie (or both in a 2-player co-op mode) as they battle an assortment of monsters and rescue their neighbors throughout the game’s 48 levels (with some hidden bonus areas thrown in for good measure). You’ll use unorthodox items such as silverware, water guns, weed whackers, and soda cans to dispatch your enemies. The game is a homage to monster movies of the 50s and 60s. You’ll battle werewolves, vampires, mummies, and other things that go bump in the night. Each monster has a weakness to certain items, for instance, silverware is lethal to werewolves. Boss battles, including a giant baby and an alien spaceship help add variety to the game’s levels. Even though it’s underrated, it’s one of the best games of the bit days, and it’s still a blast to play today, especially if you bring a buddy along. A sequel, Ghoul Patrol was released in 1994 but it wasn’t as well received as the original. Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia, recently released for Windows and Xbox 360, while being a spiritual successor to this game only made fans want the original that much more. Due to licensing issues, only time will tell if this game will receive a release on the Wii Virtual Console. Here’s to hoping it does, because this game is just too flat out fun to not get a second chance at life.

That’s all for this week kids, have a happy Halloween, safe trick-or-treating, and try not to overdose on the sugar. Oh, and whatever you do, DON’T LOOK BEHIND YOU!

Players select one of the two heroes at the beginning of the game, and they both have key differences in gameplay. John Morris wields the traditional vampire hunter whip, which can allow him to swing across pitfalls by latching onto the ceiling. Although he can whip diagonally, he doesn’t have the 8-way directional whipping or the whip dangle from Super Castlevania 4. Eric Lecarde wields a spear, which he can use to leap up towards higher levels. Instead of simply traveling around Dracula’s castle or even just Romania, players will head to Italy, Germany, France, and other parts of Europe to battle a unique and strange assortment of enemies.

Even though this game lacks the Mode 7 effects that made Super Castlevania 4 so memorable, the game manages to push the Genesis hardware to create special effects all on its own, many of which even add to the challenge. The city of Atlantis features reflecting water, Italy features a swaying Tower of Pisa, and the final level features sequences where players fight upside down and in a mirrored area. Bosses are made up of multi-jointed sprites. The soundtrack isn’t bad either. Composed by Michiru Yamane (who would later compose music for Symphony of the Night), the music met the standards set by the more familiar anthems in the Castlevania series. The theme to the second level shows up in the GBA title, Circle of the Moon. In a nice little touch, and a rather daring move at the time (especially for a game rated GA), some of the enemies bled to death upon being killed. While it was nowhere near Mortal Kombat levels, it was a nice little addition to a Castlevania title.

You shouldn’t have much trouble finding the original cart at your local Gamestop or CD Exchange. There is also a solid chance of this game coming to the Wii Virtual Console eventually. Either way, fans of the series, or just fans of 2-d platforming in general would do well to check out this entry in the series. Before I go, make sure you be here next Wednesday for the Halloween special, where I’ll feature a group of horror-themed video games, including another Castlevania title.