Happy 15th Anniversary Nintendo 64

In 1996 today the Nintendo 64 was released. The Nintendo 64 was the system that came out after the Super Nintendo. The Nintendo 64 was an awesome system. To be honest I didn’t have a Nintendo 64 growing up as a kid I choose to get a PlayStation. I would have liked to have both growing up but I couldn’t afford both the PS1 and the N64 along with all the games I would have wanted to buy. Never the less I had friends who owned the N64 and I was able to play it every time I went to their house. I own a N64 now and I was able to build a Library of games that I played at my friends’ houses. The N64 was Nintendo’s big leap into gaming in 3D environments. It was also the first system to include 4 controller ports making 4-player gaming much easier for gamers because there was no need to buy a multi-tap. So right off the bat the N64 encouraged multi-player gaming with more than just 2 players at a time. One of the launch titles was Super Mario 64 which showed how awesome Mario is in a 3D world. The N64 also introduced rumbling controllers with the Rumble Pak. The Rumble Pak was bundled with another great Nintendo game Star Fox 64 the first game to feature the Rumble Pak. The N64 also brought us some new games like Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark which are still highly competitive first person shooters. The N64 also created some new series that are on newer Nintendo systems which include: Paper Mario, Mario Tennis, Mario Party and probably the most popular series that started on the N64 Super Smash Bros. Other great classic they brought into true 3D world were The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong and Mario Kart 64. Those are just a few of the games there are many more. The N64 was a great system that came with a good amount of bells and whistles. They were the First to have 4 controller ports and the first to have rumbling controllers. They also released an expansion pak which increased the RAM on the N64. This was required for a few games but it enhanced graphics in a good amount of others. The N64 started a lot of great things but what would you expect from Nintendo. The N64 is still an awesome system to have when you are gaming with your friends.

Cult classics of the SNES – The Legend of the Mystical Ninja

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is an awesome game but it’s not a very well know game in the United States. The reason for that being is that the story was based on Japanese culture and folklore but I won’t be getting into that today. I came across this game when I was at a used game store with my friend Bobby and he saw the game and told me to pick it up. I did just that and I’m very glad he told me to buy the game because it’s a very fun game. The main characters are Kid Ying and Dr. Yang (Goemon and Ebisumaru in Japan). This is a fun action/adventure RPG-like game. You can get weapon upgrade and everything you get hit your weapon is downgraded. This game has a very unique style and is lots of fun to play. The game is also a 2 player game where the 1st player takes control of Kid Ying and the 2nd player takes control of Dr. Yang. If you would like to try out a different game check out The Legend of the Mystical Ninja and you won’t be disappointed. You can get the cartridge of the game for the SNES. If you can get a hold of a cartridge you can download it for the Wii Virtual Console for 800 Wii points ($8). Roo from the Clan of the Gray Wolf did a great review of this game for his show 16-Bit Gems. Check out his review below.




To see more of Roo and The Clan of the Gray Wolf check out the following links:

Blistered Thumbs – Clan of the Gray Wolf
RetrowareTV – 16-Bit Gems
Clan of the Gray Wolf’s YouTube Channel

Gaming and Giving for Good

Dear Friends,

Help me get in the game!

I'm raising money and awareness for my local Children's Miracle Network Hospital.

On Oct. 1, 2011, I will be playing Xbox LIVE games on behalf of sick and injured kids in my community. I hope you'll support me by giving just $5 per hour that I pledge to play.

Your donation is tax-deductible and 100 percent of your gift goes to help kids.

My fellow G3 gamers and I are going to make miracles happen for kids. I can't reach my goal without your support. Any contribution will help, and all donations are tax deductible. Donating online is safe and easy! To make an online donation please click the "Support This Participant" button on this page.
Thank you for your time, support and participation.

Support me by clicking here. I will be playing for Duke Children's Hospital & Health Center

If you would like to take part and raise money for your local Children's Miracle Network Hospital by playing video games on Xbox Live click here.

5 Reasons Why The Super Nintendo Ruled The 16-Bit Era

In my opinion the Super Nintendo ruled the 16-bit era. I’m not saying all other 16-bit systems were bad because I like the other systems. I’m only saying the SNES is the best from that era. So I decided to make a list of the reasons why the SNES ruled the 16-bit era.


1. Easy to Mod Super Nintendo to play Super Famicom Games – I didn’t find this out until about a year ago but they SNES can easily be modded to play SFC games. Even though it wasn’t talked about when the SNES came out it is still something that makes the SNES awesome. Check out a previous post if you would like to mod your SNES to play SFC games. Click here to Read SNES mod blog post.

2. Great Graphics – The SNES had the best graphics in the 16-bit era. Graphics don’t always make a game good but it’s nice to look at good graphics. The SNES processer was one of the best in the era and if you play the same game on multiple systems the SNES version always seemed to run smoother than any other version.

3. Excellent Sound Quality – The SNES had the best sound card. For example play Doom on the Sega 32x and then play Doom on the SNES. The graphics may be better on the 32x version but the sound on the SNES version make the SNES version of Doom superior to the 32x version.

SNES Doom music compared to 32x Doom Music





4. The Super Game Boy – Nintendo was a genius when they made the Super Game Boy. Nintendo is the only company they made an add-on so that you can play your handheld games on your console. When the Super Game Boy came out it was a very big deal because it was the first time you were able to play Game Boy games in color. After the release of the Super Game Boy Nintendo made 2 player games for Game Boy (Example: King of Fighters ’95) where you could play your friends with one game cartridge on the SNES with the Super Game Boy. The first time I saw the commercial for the Super Game Boy my eye got so big and I ran to tell my Dad that’s what I wanted for my birthday I had to have it.


Super Game Boy Commercial






5. Awesome Game Library – This is the reason the SNES was the best games of the era. Here are a few of the games: Super Mario World, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Final Fantasy II & III (Final Fantasy IV & VI Japan), Super Mario RPG, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, Super Castlevania IV, Super Metroid, Secret of Mana, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Mega Man X and Star For. Those are a few of the games that only came out for the SNES. There are so many awesome games and if a game was released for multiple systems as I said before the SNES version was the superior version. Full list of SNES games.

These are a few of the reason the SNES ruled the 16-bit era. The SNES was the perfect system to carry on the great legacy that the NES created. I love the SNES Hail to the King of the SNES.

Game of the Day: Super Mario World

Today’s game of the day is Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Super Mario World is the first game I ever played and owned for the SNES. This is my favorite vintage Super Mario game in the series (not including Super Mario RPG). This was a great sequel to an already awesome game Super Mario Bros. 3. Super Mario World takes place in Dino Land where as usually the Princess has been kidnapped by Bowser. This game had a very familiar game play style with some new power ups like the feather which game Mario the ability to fly, glide and dive bomb enemies. You also had the ability to perform a spin jump at any time giving you the ability to break certain types of blocks. The best addition to the game was the introduction of Yoshi.

I love Yoshi and I’m not sure who doesn’t love Yoshi (If you don’t love Yoshi I’m sorry but something is wrong with you). Yoshi was a green dinosaur that had a very long tongue used to grab and eat enemies. Green Yoshi was the normal Yoshi and there are three other colors of Yoshis in the game. Along with green Yoshi you had red, yellow, and blue Yoshi. The Yoshis have very few differences Green Yoshi as I said was normal if he ate a red koopa troopa he would spit fire. He ate a green koopa troopa he would just spit out the shell. If he ate a yellow koopa troopa he would just spit the shell out also he would be able to stomp the ground and kill enemies under and nearby with a power stomp as long as he had the koopa troopa in his mouth. If he ate a blue koopa troopa he again would just spit the koopa troopa out he would also gain the ability the fly as long as the koopa troopa was in his mouth. The other Yoshis would do the same thing except red Yoshi always spits fire no matter the color of the koopa troopa. Yellow Yoshi always had the ability to do the power stomp as long at a koopa troopa is in his mouth. Blue Yoshi is probably the best Yoshi for the fact that no matter which type of koopa troopa he has in his mouth he can fly. Yoshi is a very big deal in this game but the game has so much more to offer then just yoshi. You can gather point every time you complete a level you can collect anywhere for 0 – 50 points at a time when you complete a level. Once you hit 100 points you get a bonus level where you can get some 1ups. This game is a big game with 8 main bosses. Just like in the SMB3 you will fight all of Bowser’s kids and then you battle Bowser at the end. You also have mini castles called fortresses. You also had ghost houses which have a lot of tricks and secrets within them. There is also an area called the Star Zone and once you complete that you get to go the Special Zone and when you Defeat the Special Zone the game looks very different when you leave the Special Zone. The first time I saw it I didn’t understand what happened I asked a friend and he said that’s just what happens when you complete all the levels in the Special Zone. This game has a ton of content and I still haven’t covered it all. If you haven’t played this game you need to get it and play it. If you have a SNES and you collect game this is a must own for the system. If you don’t own an SNES but you do own a Nintendo Wii you can download it on the Wii virtual console for 800 Nintendo Wii points ($8). So if you have the means to get this game please do because if you don’t you are missing out on loads of fun.

Happy 20th Anniversary Super Nintendo

August 23, 1991 the Super Nintendo was released in the United States. It was the perfect system to continue to the next generation after the Nintendo Entertainment System. I love the Super Nintendo and it is one of my most favorite systems ever made. So the month of September is going to be dedicated to the Super Nintendo. All my posts will be about the Super Nintendo and its games. Let us celebrate the SNES for all its glory and greatness and I hope you enjoy everything I have to say about the SNES this month.

Check out some of our previous Super Nintendo posts:

Game of the Day: Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III US SNES)
Modding your Super Nintendo to play Super Famicom games
Evolution of Video Games Epic Medley Made on Mario Paint Composer
My Top 10 SNES Games/Game Series