R.I.P Ralph Baer 1922 - 2014 - The Father of the Home Gaming Console.

Ralph Baer
March 8, 1922 - December 6, 2014

Ralph Baer the father of the home gaming console passed away December 6, 2014 he was 92. He created the first home gaming console the Magnavox Odyseey. It was ground breaking at the time it was the first time we could play video games at home. Without Ralph Baer and the Magnavox Odyseey there wouldn't be any consoles today. To all the gamers join me in remembering Ralph Baer. With out him there wouldn't be any videos games at home. So remember when you go to play a video game always thank Ralph Baer for his great breakthrough in gaming history. You don't know where you are doing until you know where you have been. Never forget the classics. Thank you Ralph Baer.

Angry Video Game Nerd - Magnavox Odyseey

James Rolfe and Mike Matei play the Magnavox Odyseey

Video Game Music: Smooth McGroove

A little while ago I came across a video of a guy who makes acapella arrangements of video game songs. He goes by the name of Smooth McGroove. He is amazing at what he does and I enjoy his music very much. I hope you enjoy his music as much as I do.

Subscribe to Smooth McGroove

Game of the Day: Street Fighter X Mega Man

Today's game of the day is Street Fighter X Mega Man.

Do you like Street Fighter? Do you like Mega Man? Well this is the game for you. This is an awesome game it is a 8-bit Mega Man style game with Street Fighter characters and the Bosses. The music for the game is the theme music from the stages in Street Fighter composed in 8-Bit Mega Man style. Since its a PC game you can play with the keyboard or if you have a USB controller that can be used. I have a wired Xbox 360 controller I use and I've heard you can use pretty much any USB controller (I don't know 100% if all controllers work but I'm pretty sure you can configure any controller to work with the game).  This is a free fan made game that stays very true to the Mega Man franchise. If you would like to try this game out you can download it from the link below.

Download Street Fighter X Mega Man

Here is a gameplay video courtesy of IGN

Street Fighter X Mega Man Gameplay Commentary by IGN

Homebrew Games: Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril

A few months ago my best friend DJ Bobby Hash (Video Game View) let me borrow a very fun game Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril.

This game is a homebrew NES game and it is a very fun game. It has a mega man feel and it stays true to an old school 8-bit game. This game is very hard with one hit kills. But it’s the type of hard game that makes you want to keep playing because you want to get farther in the game (kind of like Flappy Bird). This game has five difficulty Levels. The difficulty of the game to me didn’t really change when selecting a different difficulty. It just changes the stipulations and settings.

The Difficulties are as followed:

Easy – Infinite Continues, password feature and you start with Damage AMP.

Normal – Infinite Continues and password feature.

Hard – 50 Continues and no password feature.

Very Hard – 20 Continues and no password feature.

Unfair – No Continues and no password feature.

Normal is hard enough for me I may try some of the other difficulties once I beat in on NOrmal. But like I said it’s a hard but fun game. The controls are easy and function well. And the music is awesome. With the current generation of games being all that you see now it’s nice to see people are still making old school throwback games. I along with a lot of gamers agree that just because the graphics are awesome in a game that graphics do make the game and Battle Kid is a perfect example of that.

Here is some game footage for you to see courtesy of nesguide.

 If you would like to check out this game for yourself you can go to retrousb and find this game along with other great homebrews and reproduction carts including Nintendo World Championship 1990.

Video Game Music: Mega Man 2

I love the Mega Man 2 soundtrack. It has some of the best tracks and here are a few of my favorites enjoy.

Metal Man's Stage

Wood Man's Stage

Quick Man's Stage

All Good Things Must Come To An End: A Farewell Tribute to Nintendo Power

All good things must come to an end. If you already didn't know Nintendo has discontinued Nintendo Power  print the last issue this month.

This is sad because I grew up reading Nintendo Power along with a lot of other gamers from the 80s. Today we have the Internet and anytime we have and issue with a game we can go online to websites like GameFAQs.com. But before the Internet we had Nintendo Power. If you wanted to beat a hard game like: The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Super Mario Bros. 3 and many more you got Nintendo Power. If you didn't have the Nintendo Power you usually had a friend who had it. If you didn't well you were probably S.O.L. and just had to figure it out on your own and back in the day that was very hard to do. I remember having a special Nintendo Power that was the Super Mario Bros. 3 strategy guide which helped me get so much farther in the game as a kid. I don't have the issue anymore I wish I did (It fell apart and my Mom just threw it away grrr). Nintendo Power was pack with many goodies too like posters. Not everything was perfect about Nintendo Power. There was one thing I didn't like about Nintendo Power they never said anything bad about any game even if it sucked. They would  give a description about a bad game in a very sneaky way and kids like me couldn't read between the lines. I look back now and I see that was a good way to market and sell games. Nintendo Power isn't the only magazine to do that though pretty much any game magazine that it associated with one game hardware company will be bias and not say bad things about that game. That was just a minor gripe Nintendo Power was the thing that got us through had games. We have so many more ways today to get info on games but like it say at one point Nintendo Power was the only way. To get power over the games you had to get the power Nintendo Power. Nintendo Power will always be alive in our hearts and the guides they printed are still going to be used to beat the games that were hard to beat as kids (and still are hard to beat as adults). I had the Power did you?

Here is a video review of Nintendo Power by the Anger Video Game Nerd enjoy!

Happy 40th Anniversary Atari

June 27, 2012 marks Atari's 40th Anniversary. When you think of the first home console the first thing you think of is Atari. It may not have been the first home console but it paved the way for the future. For me the most iconic thing from Atari was the Atari 2600. I remember my mom buying me on with a bunch of game at a thrift store. I don't remember what happened to it because I don't have it now (I do have the Atari Anthology and Activision Anthology on the PS2 so I still have the games). I do remember on of the games I had was pitfall and I loved playing that game I also believe I had Asteroids and I had some other games. Pitfall is still my favorite game for the Atari I love it so much. Atari was an is an awesome company and they still make games and people still loves to play the games and they are all very easy to access now thanks to the internet. Live on Atari.

The Atari Timeline

Music of Video Games - Covers: Castlevania SOTN, Ninja Gaidan and Mega Man 2

 

Photo taken from beatportal.com.

Checking out YouTube I found some awesome covers of music from some awesome video games. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Castlevania Symphony of the Night - Dracula's Castle




Ninja Gaidan - Level 4 - 2, Basilisk Mine Field




Mega Man 2 - Dr. Wily's Castle Part 1

The Video Game Pad Celeberates Its 2 Year Anniversary

2 years ago today February 23, 2010 the Video Game Pad launched. We were know as the Gaming Pad when we launched and later changing the name to the Video Game Pad. We have grow so much in 2 years as you can see by the chart below.

When we started we were only getting on average a couple hundred pageviews a month. Now as you can see we get a few thousand pageviews a month now and we continue to get more each month. I just want to thank all of you who read this blog if it wasn’t for you the Video Game Pad wouldn’t exist. It is also because of you I want to continue to post great blog entries and I also hope to expand and make some videos. I hope you continue to read as we continue to grow. Thank you all so much for reading my blog.

Top 10 Video Game Series That Have Stood the Test of Time

These are games that came out in either the 8-bit or the 16-bit era and are still going strong in the current generation of video games.

10. Mortal Kombat – This fighting game series is an awesome series. This game series was ground breaking in the fact that is the first game to include blood and be very violent. This game also was the reason the ESRB rating system was created. The system needed to be created and it works great. So may disagree but it does work. This game have come out on almost every system.

9. Donkey Kong – This is the game that got Nintendo’s foot into the door of the gaming market. Donkey Kong is an awesome game it also introduced us to Mario who was known as Jumpman at the time. Donkey Kong has gone on to make many different times of games and they are all good games.

8. Street Fighter – Probably the most popular fighting game series. It all started with Street Fighter in the arcade but the series took off when Street Fighter II was released. Street Fighter II also had many remakes and people would buy the games multiple times. Capcom is still doing this with the Street Fighter series. Street Fighter IV came out and Capcom released Super Street Fighter IV which had a few more characters and some extra modes and not they have Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition with a few other add ons and characters. Lucky for us today we have high speed internet with Xbox Live and PSN so we can download the extra features for a lot less than buying the game. Capcom’s ability to keep releasing the same game with more stuff and keep gamers coming back for more Street Fighter is why this series is on the list.

7. Castlevania – This is another series that is still awesome. The Belmonts may not be as well know outside the gaming world but in the gaming world they are the most famous family of vampire slayers. This series of games has been going strong since the NES. Some games may not been as good as other. The old 3D games weren’t as popular but with the Castlevania games on the handheld system the series stayed alive. Then Lords of Shadow came out and showed us there is such a thing as a good 3D Castlevania game.

6. Pokémon – Pokémon is probably on of the most popular hand held games ever made. It's not just popular with kids is also popular with adults. The theme of the games is "gotta catch em all". That was on of the main goals making it a very addicting game to play. You also had different versions of the games like Red and Blue and each version of them game is pretty much the same but each version had exclusive Pokémon which meant you had to have a friend with a different version of the game to get all the Pokémon. You would have to link up your Game Boy to your friends Game Boy so that you could trade Pokémon or you could battle with your friends. Today with the DS we have Wi-Fi we can get only and find random people to trade with making its easier to trade and with the growing number of Pokémon its nice to have. There are also games on the consoles that allow you to transfer Pokémon to the console games like Pokémon Stadium. The Nintendo 64 had a Transfer Pak which allowed you to transfer your own Pokémon to the game. This is a game where you may not like the TV show or anything else to do with Pokémon, but you seem to really think these games.

5. Kirby – One of the most popular character from Nintendo other then Super Mairo. Kirby games are always awesome the game was designed to be a game for Kids and was meant to be easy. As the series evolved the game stayed somewhat easy but they added some things to make it more fun for hardcore gamers and fans of the series. Kirby is a little blob but he is a very popular blob named after a brand of vacuum cleaners.

4. Mega Man – The Blue Bomber is the most popular Capcom series out there and there are still games being made with 8-bit graphics. Mega Man also known as Rock Man in Japan is such an awesome game series. It has had is fair share of spin off games including Mega Man X which became its own series. I remember spending so much time as a kid playing Mega Man and I still have so much fun playing the games. You know a game has stood the test of time when you can have your graphic enhanced for newer games and then go back to the 8-bit graphics for the latest games in the series and people still want to play the game.

3. Final Fantasy – Final Fantasy was Squaresoft’s (SquareEnix now) final attempt at succeeding in the gaming market. Final Fantasy truly met Final Fantasy because if this game failed Square would have gone under. Final Fantasy is the most popular RPG game series out there now. They have 14 games in the main series (two of them being MMORPGs XI & XIV) along with many spin off series. These series include: Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Legend and a few sequels and prequels to some of the games in the main series. Final Fantasy has evolved over the years but you know when you are playing a Final Fantasy game.

2. Super Mario Bros. – Everyone knows who Super Mario is even if you have never played a video game. Super Mario is an awesome game he was one of the main reason the video game crashed. There have been so many types of Mario games. The most popular is platformers. He has also been in racing games, fighting games, party games, sport games and RPGs. Mario has his experience with all types of games. I don’t know if I've even know someone who doesn’t like to play Super Mario game who is a gamer.

1. The Legend of Zelda – This is a series the truly hasn’t lost any its luster. Every game in this series is awesome and I don’t count the CD-i games because they are not part of the series because they don’t have The Legend of Zelda in their names anywhere. This series is so awesome the time line can be very hard to follow but that really doesn’t matter. The game play is awesome and the stories are usually good also. No matter which game in the series I play it always feels like the Legend of Zelda. Technology gets better but the Legend of Zelda will never change. It was awesome when It came out in 1987 and its still awesome now with Skyward Sword (which I’m getting for Christmas). This is truly the game that has stood the test of time the best.

Honorable Mentioning

Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star, Dragon Quest, Metal Gear, Madden, Virtua Fighter and Sim City (and its many spin offs).

Want to learn more about the Legend of Zelda time like check out this video by the Angry Video Game Nerd.

To see more of the Angry Video Game Nerd check out Cinemassacre.

Upcoming collaborations with the Video Game View

I recently sat down with Bobby Hash of the Video Game View. We decided that it would be a lot of fun if we did some video posts together. Between the two of us we have over 1000 video games. So we have the material to do plenty of videos. Right now we are in the planing phase of what we would like to do first. We have a few ideas of what games we would like talk about first and we are open to suggestions. If there are a game or games you would like us to talk about please let us know in the comment section below.

Top 11 Horror Video Games

In honor of Halloween I have made my top 11 list of my best horror video games. This is a genre I don’t play as much so if there is a game you love in this genre I apologize. If I haven’t played the game I can’t put it on the list though. So here is my top 11 best horror video games list. Why top 11? Like the Nostalgia Critic I like to go one step beyond.

11. MediEvil – This is a fun unique game. You are Sir Daniel Fortesque back from the dead as a Skeletal Corpses (in other words a Zombie with a fully functional brain and motor skills for the most part). Sir Dan is summoned back from the dead to fight the evil sorcerer Zarok. Sir Dan had slain Zarok during his life among the living so it’s fitting that he emerges again to fight Zarok once again.

10. Ghosts ‘n Goblins & Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts – These games are very hard but they are so much fun. This game isn’t the scariest game but its jam packed with Horror. These are very hard games just like a lot of games were in the 8-bit and 16-bit era.

9. Silent Hill – I’ve only played the first game in the series and it is very scary and very fun. I’ve always wanted to play other games in the series but I never got around to it.

8. Resident Evil 1 & 2 – These games make the list because they reinvented the horror genre. They made the survivor horror video game the way it is today. I remember playing these games with my Sister and Brother-In-Law in a pitch black room with only the TV for light. In short that was scary.

7. Doom – One of the best FPS games that still stacks up to the games of this generation. It was a great horror game you got to fight all types of demons and monsters.

6. Resident Evil Code Veronica – I love this game it may not be part of the main series but it should be. Code Veronica is a great Resident Evil game and it out now for the Xbox 360 so you should get it if you like Resident Evil.

5. Resident Evil 4 – This is the best Resident Evil game made to date it improved on everything in the series.

4. Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 – Best multiplayer survivor horror games. L4D2 adds Melee weapons but there games are pretty much the same just with different missions and characters. This is another game that is scary and with TV series out like The Walking Dead you are going to have nightmares about the Zombie Apocalypse.

3. Plants vs. Zombies – Not a very scary game but so much fun. Zombies want to eat your brains and you must protect your house (and yourself) with plants. This is one of the best Tower Defense game ever.

2. Bioshock 1 & 2 – Bioshock 1 has one the best Single Player campaigns ever this game is very creepy and it has an eerie feeling the whole way through. Bioshock 2 is lots of fun it may not be as good as the first but it deserves to be on this list because it gave us Multiplayer in the Bioshock universe and it was a lot of fun.

1. Castlevania Series – I love these games some are definitely better than other but I love playing all of them I will focus of my favorite in the series Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. This is of my favorite games of all times and it’s a pure masterpiece. You are Alucard the son of Dracula and Alucard (if you didn’t already notice Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards) wants to take his father down and you will fight all types of creatures of the night in these games. Now let go back to where it started for me the Castlevania trilogy for the NES. The Belmont clan has been slaying Dracula for centuries and they have had help from other as well but the Belmonts are the one who are burdened with there just because they are a Belmont. So if you are born into the Belmont clan in any way you are destined to keep evil at bay and destroy Dracula if you must. Since Dracula never dies it will happen. There are many Castlevania games I love them all some more than others but if you only play one game in the series play Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Then go and play the rest of the games especially the ones on the NES and SNES.

Honorable Mentioning

Deadrising, Deadrising 2, Diablo, Diablo II, Doom II, Doom 3, Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil 3, Zombies ate my Neighbors,

Many may not consider Diablo a horror game but you do venture into Hell and fight Diablo himself along with Zombies, Demons, and much more.

Happy Halloween!

I have reached the 100 NES game mark!

A few days ago I bought my one hundredth NES game. Before I get started I know this isn’t a very big collection but it is a big deal for me that I have reached 100 NES games. I purchased the game Gun.Smoke from a local store called Across the Board Games (If you live in Mt. Airy, NC or close to it you need to check out this store). Since then I have purchased three more games making my official total of NES game 103. I am proud of my collection but there are still a lot of games I would like to get. Here is a list of my NES games (in alphabetical order):


1. A Boy and His Blob
2. Adventures In The Magic Kingdom
3. Adventures of Dino-Riki
4. After Burner
5. Baseball
6. Batman
7. Battletoads
8. Battletoads & Double Dragon
9. Bible Adventures
10. Bionic Commando
11. Blades of Steel
12. Blaster Master
13. Burgertime
14. Captain Skyhawk
15. Castlevania
16. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
17. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
18. Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
19. Clash at Demon Head
20. Contra
21. Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum
22. Defender II
23. Dig Dug II
24. Donkey Kong 3
25. Donkey Kong Classics
26. Double Dragon
27. Double Dragon II: The Revenge
28. Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stone
29. Dr. Mario
30. Dragon Warrior
31. Dragon Warrior II*
32. Dragon Warrior III
33. Ducktales
34. Excitebike
35. Faxanadu
36. Fester's Quest*
37. Final Fantasy
38. Gauntlet
39. Gauntlet II
40. Ghosts 'N Goblins
41. Gun.Smoke
42. Gyromite
43. Hydlide
44. Ice Climber
45. Ice Hockey
46. Ikari Warriors
47. Iron Sword: Wizards & Warriors II
48. Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road
49. Jordan vs Bird: One on One
50. Kid Icirus
51. Kirby's Adventure
52. Legend of Zelda
53. Legendary Wings
54. Little Nemo: The Dream Master
55. Mach Rider
56. Marble Madness
57. Mario Bros.
58. Mega Man
59. Mega Man 2
60. Mega Man 3
61. Mega Man 4
62. Metroid
63. Mickey Mousecapade
64. Micro Machines
65. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
66. NARC
67. Ninja Gaidan
68. Ninja Gaidan II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
69. Operation Wolf
70. Paperboy
71. Phantom Fighter
72. Pro Wrestling
73. Rad Racer
74. Ring King
75. RoadBlasters
76. Section Z
77. Sesame Street 123
78. Skate or Die
79. Smash TV
80. Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular
81. Solar Jetman
82. Spot: The Video Game
83. Spy Hunter
84. Spy vs. Spy
85. Strider
86. Super C
87. Super Mario Bros.
88. Super Mario Bros. 2
89. Super Mario Bros. 3
90. Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt
91. T&C Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage
92. Tecmo Super Bowl*
93. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
94. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
95. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
96. Track and Field II
97. Trog!
98. Trojan
99. Win, Lose, or Draw
100. Wizards & Warriors
101. Xexyz
102. Yo! Noid
103. Zelda II: The Adventures of Link

I’m a proud of my collection it may not be the biggest collection of NES game, but I feel it’s still impressive to hit triple digits. I keep track of my games with a Excel spreadsheet and its a great thing to do if you are a collector.

*Games purchased after reaching 100 NES games.

My Top 10 Nintendo 64 Games

Here is a list of my top 10 Nintendo 64 games.

10. Mario Party – The name says it all this game it’s a party and its perfect game to play on game nights with friends and family.

9. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask – This game takes place right after the events of Ocarina of Time you have 72 hours to save the world or all will be doomed. This is another awesome Zelda game and it utilized the expansion pak for the N64 (which was required to be able to play the game). It has great graphics and a deep story.

8. Star Fox 64 – If you like the original Star Fox you can’t pass this game up. This game was also the first to have rumble pak support which added a new and different element to home console gaming.

7. Mario Kart 64 – Another great party game for the N64 anyone who is anyone knows what Mario Kart is. This game is probably one of the most competitive games on the N64.

6. Perfect Dark – The 2nd best first person shooter on the N64 this game is so awesome. This game also has great multiplayer. It’s another game that utilized the expansion pak and you couldn’t play the single player campaign if you didn’t have the expansion pak. I heard that you could also take the Game Boy camera and take a picture of your face and transfer your face to a character in multiplayer and have your face in the game using the Game Boy transfer pak. I’m not sure if you can do that because I haven’t been able to try it but if someone can confirm this for me that would be great.

5. GoldenEye 007 – The best first person shooter on the N64 GoldenEye is still played on the N64 and it still holds up to any other FPS that is out there. Some people even say this is still the best FPS ever made. It is another competitive N64 game that is still played at game parties.

4. Mario Tennis – The best tennis game ever made. Whether you are playing single player or with a group of friends this game is an absolute blast.

3. Paper Mario – This is a unique RPG. It has a great story and it’s perfect for someone who doesn’t have much experience with RPGs. Newbies will be able to learn the mechanics of the game very fast. Experience RPG gamers will be able to jump right in and get the mechanics right away. Again this is a unique RPG and it make push the hardcore gamers away but I think they anyone who likes Mario and/or RPGs needs to give this game a chance.

2. Super Mario 64 – The 1st game out of the N64 still can hold up to any other game. It was the 1st Mario game to enter the 3D world. This game is very unique but still had the Super Mario feel to the game.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – One of the best Zelda games ever made game is truly a masterpiece it was the first Zelda game to enter the 3D world. This is on my list of best Zelda games (which is another blog post for the future).


Honorable Mentioning

Super Smash Bros.,Yoshi’s Story, Donkey Kong 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Clayfighter 63 1/3, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and Wave Race 64.

These are the games that I feel are the best on the N64. I love these games and I hope that you do to. I also hope you try out the games if you have never played them before.

Since I haven’t played every single game for the N64 this list is subject to change if I happen to come across a game that is better than the games on the list. It probably won’t change but you never know.

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

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

Game of the Day: Knuckles Chaotix

Today’s game of the day is Knuckles Chaotix for the Sega 32x.

This is a very fun game. If you have played any Sonic games you will have no problem with this game. The thing that makes this unique is the fact you always have a partner and they are connected to you by the power rings you both hold. This doesn’t matter too much in one player mode, but in two player mode you must work together if you don’t have teamwork you won’t complete anything in the level together. You start off as Knuckles for the opening stage and you meet Espio the Chameleon and he becomes your first partner. After beating the opening level you can pick from Knuckles the Echidna, Mighty the Armadillo (who previously appeared in the 1993 arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog), Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee and Vector the Crocodile. The game also featured two additional partners known as Heavy the Cook and Bomb the Bomb. These character you can get from the claw machine where you get your partner in one player mode (You can use the claw machine in two player mode as well). Heavy and Bomb are pretty much useless. Heavy is a robot that kills everything he runs into and is indestructible. Bomb is quick but all he does is blows up when he gets hit and hurts enemies around the explosion and he can also hurt his friends as well. This is a very fun fast paced game like all the Sonic games. This is one of the better games on the 32x and its pretty rare now a days. When it came out it got mixed reviews you either loved it or hated it. I was part of the group who loved it. If you have a 32x this game is worth picking up. Check out the video below to see some of the game play.

Resources: Knuckles Chaotix Wiki