• Review,  Video Games

    Review – Super Dodgeball

    I absolutely love the Kunio-Kun series. Over here, we got about 5 titles on the NES, all confusingly branded differently, whereas over in Japan, they got about a dozen, all confusingly branded differently. The unified artstyle, the cartoonish violence; the Kunio-Kun series is a special series for me for quite a few reasons. Super Dodgeball is also pretty special to…

  • Video Games

    Review – Pilotwings

    When the Super Nintendo finally landed on Western shores in 1991, it brought with it three games. Super Mario World and F-Zero have gone on to be legends in their own rights, but the third game is a little more obscure. Pilotwings may seem like the less exciting choice when stood up next to a Mario game and a hyper-fast…

  • 1990s,  Review,  SNES

    Review – Demon’s Crest

    This is the oddly named third game in the Gargoyle's Quest series. Demon's Crest ditches the more cartoonish aspects of the previous game and goes full horror. Firebrand is also a hot piece of toast, and people don't read this far down in these excerpts, do they? That would be embarrassing.

  • Review,  Video Games

    Review – Super Castlevania IV

    I don’t think I’ve really had the chance to hammer home the point that I absolutely love Castlevania, but don’t worry, those days will most likely arrive. Love bloomed late, however, as I never really played the inaugural game until I was in my twenteens. I did have one experience with the series, and that was back in my childhood.…

  • Review,  Video Games

    Review – Gargoyle’s Quest II

    In the twilight years of the NES, Capcom made what are arguably some of the best action platformers of the time. Using lessons learned from their time designing Mega Man, games like Duck Tales and Yo! Noid were tight games that felt solid and satisfying. Even on their worst days, Capcom typically came along with something at least playable. Gargoyle’s…

  • Review,  Video Games

    Review – Mega Man X3

    I often regard the six original Mega Man games as sort of one single game. They were all basically the same title, with small tweaks and additions made throughout. You get a power-slide in 3, a chargeable buster in 4, and so on and so forth, but otherwise they were essentially interchangeable. This ended when Mega Man X hit the…

  • Review,  Video Games

    Review – Mega Man X2

    The Mega Man series left a sizeable footprint on the NES after 6 titles in total were released on it. That’s pretty extreme. What amuses me is that they were all essentially the same game. Each had similar graphics and spritework, minutely improving after each title, and each had the exact same framework. Not that I’m complaining, Mega Man is…

  • Review,  Video Games

    Review – WarioWare Gold

    A gentle nudge from a high school buddy sent me to the original WarioWare on the GameBoy Advance. I remember the day I bought it pretty clearly; from picking it up in the mall to trying it out at a table at Red Lobster with my mother. It started a love affair with the series which, judging by the excitement…

  • Review,  Video Games

    Review – Mega Man X

    Even if it has been mentioned before, it bears repeating: I love Mega Man. I hold the NES titles in such high regard that I view them as a benchmark for similar titles on the console. In terms of challenge, control, and length, I feel it’s those games were the absolute sweet spot. They’re not perfect, but I think they’re…