• DuckTales 2 cover
    1990s,  NES,  Review

    Review – DuckTales 2

    DuckTales is pretty great. Not just the cartoon, but the first NES game which I usually point to as a baseline for licensed platformers. It has unique mechanics partially informed by the subject matter. Duck Tales 2 is more of that. More of that and not much else.

  • Hoshi wo Miru Hito Header
    1980s,  Kusoge,  NES

    Review – Hoshi wo Miru Hito

    I’ve spent quite some time mired in the sticky pits of kusoge. Crap games are becoming an area of expertise for me. That’s not simply to say that I know of a lot of bad games, but rather that I know how to appreciate them. That’s right. Did you know you can enjoy bad games? Not just in an ironic…

  • Monster Party Bert talking to, uh, I think his name is Mike.
    1980s,  Miscellaneous,  NES

    3 Child Endangering NES Intros

    Rescued from the now sunk Destructoid community blogs, this article harkens back to a time when I was desperate for attention. I mean, I still am, but I was then, too. It's about how 8-bit children threw themselves headlong into danger, sometimes for the promise of candy, other times through coercion.

  • Castlevania NES Header
    1980s,  NES

    Review – Castlevania

    I still remember the day after I first completed Castlevania. I met with my friend and said to him, "Okay, you're really not going to care or even understand what I'm going to tell you, so just pretend to be excited: I beat Castlevania." He was very convincing in his performance.

  • Robocop NES Cover
    1980s,  NES,  Review

    Review – RoboCop (NES)

    RoboCop is a great movie, but great movies don't always make for great games. In fact, they rarely have. Especially in the '80s. But does RoboCop break from the standard and become an exception? No, it doesn't, but it's also not that bad. I guess I gave away the review in this excerpt.

  • Ducktales NES Header
    1980s,  NES,  Review

    Review – DuckTales (NES)

    I played DuckTales rather early in life, so I have an unshakeable fondness for it. It shows Capcom when they were showing how licensed games didn't have to be mediocre claptrap. DuckTales is easily the best game about a geriatric duck pogo sticking around on his way to find treasure.

  • Review,  Video Games

    Review – Bionic Commando (NES)

    Just trust me here. The first thing you want to do in Bionic Commando is to use “transfer” to move your helicopter into one of those trucks roaming around the world map. Once you do, kill the guys who look different than everyone else and they should drop little medals. Pick those up. What are they? Continues. Bionic Commando starts…

  • Review,  Video Games

    Review – Dragon Warrior IV

    I didn’t really plan on picking up another Dragon Warrior game after finishing Dragon Warrior III. I love the games, but they consume massive amounts of time, and I have other games that need finishing. Yet, Dragon Warrior III left me hungry for more and I had just one more NES title to knock off before I was done. I…

  • Dragon Warrior 3 Header
    1980s,  NES,  Review

    Review – Dragon Warrior III

    For quite a long while, I couldn't stomach JRPGs at the best of time. However, in order to acquire a taste, I jumped in at the deep end with the Dragon Warrior (Quest) games on NES. Dragon Warrior 3 was the one I heard the most praise for, so I was very curious.

  • Review,  Video Games

    Review – Legacy of the Wizard

    The NES library is rather cluttered with obscure, Metroid-like sidescrollers contained within interconnected worlds, from Goonies 2 to Rygar, and I’m still surprised by how often I turn over a rock and come across a new one. Legacy of the Wizard was something I bought years ago with the intention of playing immediately, only to have it languish on my…