Video games – Page 6 – DaveGladow.com

Tecmo Super Bowl — Retro Gaming Essentials (No. 2)

There’s something to be said for polish. Sure, innovation is great, because it lays the groundwork for everything that comes afterward. But when that innovation leaves vast room for improvement, sometimes that improvement can feel like water in the desert.

The original Tecmo Bowl was a smash and critical success, introducing a fast, arcade-like feel to the game of football. Playing fast and loose with such trivial concerns as physics or the rules of the game, the decision to go this direction was without question a good one, as it upped the fun and general sense of chaos beyond what they might have achieved with strict adherence to those guidelines.

The challenge for the sequel was to improve on the original game’s limitations while also preserving the original’s “feel.” While it wasn’t the lone NES sequel to be charged with such an enormous task, it was absolutely among the most successful at rising up to said challenge.

Tecmo Super Bowl
Genre: Sports
Released: 1991
Platform: NES
IGN’s Top 100 Games: No. 24

Chrono Cross — Retro Gaming Essentials (No. 1)

What happens when a sequel isn’t really a sequel, but more of a thematic continuation, but only because it deviates so wildly from the source material, but ultimately in a good way, but not in a way most fans expected or wanted?

Welcome to Chrono Cross, one of the more fascinating non-sequels in the history of video gaming.

Chrono Cross
Genre: RPG
Released: 2000
Platform: Playstation
Metacritic Score: 94

All the Turbografx-16 Mini games ranked

Here’s where I crack my knuckles, take a deep breath, and get to work: I’m going to rank all of the games on the Turbografx-16 Mini (and give you a few thoughts on the system itself), and while this is without a doubt a silly undertaking, I am after all, a silly man.

If you have no clue what I’m talking about, let me catch you up! The Turbografx-16 Mini is the latest and greatest* retro micro-console to hit the video game market. These “mini” consoles are basically plug-and-play versions of classic gaming systems from the past pre-loaded with a set number of games and designed to work with modern televisions. This particular one is over 50 games, some of which are NOTORIOUSLY (all caps) difficult/expensive to acquire.

* Yes, it’s the best of the mini consoles, and by a substantial margin.

My nostalgia for the original system is well documented. And the good news is the new mini-system lives up to basically all expectations. Yes, it’s niche. Yes, it has some (okay, several) clunkers. But it gets into levels of greatness and insanity most systems stay away from at all costs.

Hey Nintendo, release 60 percent of your games in Japanese, you cowards.

WhoDatJedi Podcast: The greatest Star Wars video games of all time

This is a pretty simple concept, yes? On the WhoDatJedi podcast, we tackle the really basic question: What are our favorite Star Wars licensed video games?

Five games the Turbografx-16 Mini needs

The Turbografx-16 Mini is getting closer and closer.

The official Twitter account of the PC-Engine Mini (the Japanese version of the system) recently sent out a tweet showing the box art for the device.

【速報】工場から箱が届いたのでパシャリ。写真の腕前はご容赦ください。（H） #PCエンジンミニ pic.twitter.com/lBUxZppo7k

— PCエンジン mini公式@2020年3月19日発売 (@PCEngine_Mini) November 21, 2019

This tweet had the two-fold effect of:

Making me once again super excited for a product that is still roughly four months away.
Making me sad about the now seemingly near 0% chance that any more games will be added to it.

On that first point, here’s where I express thanks and appreciation for what we are getting. Yes, it could be better (and we’ll be getting to that point shortly), but it is not lost on me that I get to both experience the nostalgia of some of my favorite games from my youth, but also I get to play the games that I never could at the time (all for a price point I can afford). That last point is HUGE, because the Japanese games that did NOT port over to the United States were oftentimes much better than their American counterparts. Trying to acquire them was difficult/expensive, so it became a non-starter.

I recall being insanely jealous that I couldn’t play Castlevania: Rondo of Blood or Street Fighter II on my Turbografx-16. But having already sunk money into the expensive CD add-on, I was wary of trying to jump through the financial hoops necessary to try to play these amazing games.

But in four months, that’s not going to be a problem anymore, because on the American version of this mini, they’re including games localized to America AND Japan, and that Japan lineup is pretty much just a bunch of kick-ass all-stars (and a few weirdos, but whatever).

But anyway, on to Point 2, which is the point [sic] of this article.

I feel there are still some pretty important games that are missing. I’ve hoped some of them might be added, but alas, that doesn’t seem likely.

Still, I’m ever the optimist. In this article I propose the manufacturer of this exciting system, Konami, make five simple additions to take this system from great to phenomenal. Konami could make the call to replace five games, just five games on this thing and it would be basically amazing.

Genesis Mini: Ranking all the games

Let’s be honest. This was inevitable. My obsession for mini consoles should be well established by now, and I recently purchased the Genesis Mini (and offered my general thoughts here). The only real question was whether I’d keep it simple and rank the games on the Genesis Mini, or expand the list to be a “best of” for the entire catalog of the original console.

I’ve decided to mostly go with the former. I have some thoughts on the games I feel are missing here and really wanted to share them, so I’m going to lead off with those. But I still haven’t experienced enough with the 700-game library to truly put together a proper “best-of” ranking. Sure, it would be useful to neophytes, but I wouldn’t feel super great or confident about it, either.

So instead, here are some thoughts on my favorite games missing from the Genesis Mini, followed by my ranking of the 42 games that did make the cut.

Enjoy!

Should one purchase a Genesis Mini?

So should you buy a Genesis Mini?

I’m going to hedge. Know this upfront.

Most articles like this won’t admit that in plain, written English. But it’s what the majority do.

“If [so-and-so] then yes, absolutely you should buy this.”

That’s where we’re going to end up, so skip to the end if that’s why you’re here.

But if you want to see me wax nostalgic for a bit (and maybe bring back some good memories of your own), feel free to ride along for a little bit. Because if there’s no other lesson to be taken from mini gaming consoles making a killing in the video game market right now, there’s this: These things call to mind a different time and place.

And they do it well.

There’s value in nostalgia

I’ve gone and done it. And by “it” I of course mean, “convinced my poor wife to bless my purchase of another micro video gaming system.”

In this case, it was the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, an absurdly niche system that was only available for pre-order on Amazon.com … probably so that the manufacturer could get an accurate head count on just how many machines to produce. The original system was not a big seller when it debuted in the United States back in the late 1980s, so prudence, it would seem, is more than justified here.

This system joins the hallowed ground of the NES Classic, Super NES Classic and the soon to be purchased Genesis Mini as micro-consoles occupying a place of prominence in our entertainment center.

For lots of people, these systems serve as collectible trophies, trinkets to be displayed but basically non-functional. For me, they’re so much more.

60 Video games I’d recommend to anyone

Let’s throw some love out there. These are my favorite video games of all time. Yes!

As is always the case with a list like this, mileage may vary. Tastes differ, and more importantly, unless you’re a fanatic collector or work in the industry in some fashion, it’s impossible to play everything. To wit, I have a giant honking blind spot in my list for basically anything released over the last 15 years or so. I thought of calling it “favorite retro games” or some such, but let’s just go with this.

But the point is this: it’s my list. These are 60 games I’ve loved experiencing, and I thought in the interest of saving my thoughts for posterity — in case anyone would find them of value — it would be good to have it all written down. Maybe my kids will look at this list someday and want to explore it or my wife will get better insight into my gaming life, or maybe it will drum up nostalgia for you regardless of your connection with me. Cool, mission accomplished!

The best NES games of all time

Hey, the NES Classic has (somewhat quietly) gone back on the market, which has made the system decidedly less rare. Way to be, Nintendo!

For the uninitiated, the NES Classic is a retro re-imagining of the original Nintendo Entertainment System, wherein 30 of the original games for the system are pre-installed on a miniaturized version (including shorter cords!) for retro-game enthusiasts.

This thing was created and released in 2016, promptly sold out, and then no one could get one. Acknowledging the demand, Nintendo has now re-(re?)-released the system … and I’ve managed to acquire one to bathe myself in the nostalgia … making it the perfect time for me to list out what I consider to be the Top 40 NES games of all time.

Why 40? Because I couldn’t narrow it down to just 30. (And I STILL left off a ton of good games.)

In cobbling this list together, I discovered less than half of my favorites made it onto the NES Classic. That should inform your purchasing decision (as should whether you already own any/most of the games on the device). For whatever it’s worth, I’ve got no regrets on my end. I’m happy to have these games now.

If some (all?) of this sounds familiar to you, I did this same rankings thing with the Super NES last year (and also offered a mini-review of that system). So feel free to check that out to decide how intelligent/dumb I am and/or engage in some Super Nintendo nostalgia.

Yes, it’s fair to say I love both of these systems. They were a big part of my teenage years.

So without further delay, here are my Top 40 NES games of all time.

Continue reading The best NES games of all time