108 in 2008 Completion: Part 4

So. We're finally here. The last quarter of 2008. Where finishing this goal and passing my classes clashed together. No one knew if the goal would be completed. Except Mario. He knew.

So, starting out, we have TMNT 2: Battle Nexus for GBA! More proof that portable versions can outclass console versions of games. It's more like the classic TMNT games than the 80s, which is obviously a good thing. Plus, it has a racing mode similar to the racing mode on Kirby Nightmare in Dream Land. Fun times!

Moving right along, we've got Megaman Battle Network 5 Double Team DS. Long name… long game? Actually, that's kinda true. These Megaman Battle Network games are fun, I won't lie. But they seem to get longer and longer. This time around, I used cheats to get through it. That way I wouldn't have to go through hundreds of random battles to get to the end of the game. That would save me several hours, actually. But even with cheats enables, I only beat it a few hours faster than normal. It probably would have been about 30 hours otherwise. I can handle some games being 30 hours, but this is the 5^th time through a Battle Network game, so 30 hours can get monotonous fast. Fortunately, I only have 1 more Battle Network game to beat, and I've conquered all 6. 10 bucks says you don't know anyone (besides me) who's done that.

In any case, the next fallen warrior of a game was one of the best games I have ever played. One that took longer than 30 hours and stayed fun the entire time. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Yes. The game I bought for myself nearly 3 years ago and has been sitting on my shelf since has finally been beaten. And it did not disappoint. It's certainly one of my favorite Zelda games. If I had to rank it among the ones I've played, I'd say it's… 3^rd, right behind Twilight Princess, which is second only to Link's Awakening. So yeah, it's an amazing game. All the classic Zelda gameplay is there, and of course there are new items and weapons and characters and enemies and what not. Hoorah!

The roll of good games continues! Next we have N+, the sweet DS game based on the flash game N (featured here a few weeks ago). It has all the same good ol' run-around-and-don't-get-killed ninja action, plus a good level editor. The game does lack polish, but in the end, I would highly recommend it to anyone. Even you, grandma.

And the good games don't stop. Next we have a game that scored just as high as Elite Beat Agents. That's pretty dang good. It's another game with pretty much endless replay value. Looney Tunes B-Ball. This is, by far, the best basketball video game ever created. Even in the face of both NBA Jams and all three NBA Streets, Looney Tunes B-Ball stands supreme. It never, ever, ever, gets old. It's the game I go to when I want to relax, when I want to be excited, when I want to have a little friendly multiplayer. If you have a SNES, you need this game. If you don't have a SNES, you need a SNES. And then, you need this game. So go! Get it now!

Ok, so the fun games kinda level off here for a bit. First off, we have Megaman Battle Chip Challenge. They basically took the fighting part of the Battle Network games and made it its own game. It's pretty fun, but it gets so hard so fast, it loses its appeal very quickly. Fortunately, I have a Gameshark, so it's no sweat to break this thing's spirits. It's kind of fun, and I really like how the battle system is set up. It's just too hard. And we all know how much I hate games that are too hard. But I beat it. So no worries.

Moving on, we have Super Swing Golf. It was a launch game with the Wii and I bought it on sale. It's actually quite good as far as golf games go, especially since it relies on motion controls. One surprising thing: it's extremely short. Like… really short. I beat everyone in under 4 hours. Most golf games take at least 20 hours to beat the story mode. But considering my goal this year, I think that was actually kind of convenient. So yeah. If you can find it cheap, it's worth a buy.

And now we dip deeper in the crap pool. The SNES, while having some of the best games ever made, also has some of the worst games in existence. One word: Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball. But that's not the game I beat. It's Bulls vs. Blazers, which is also a crappy basketball game (thought admittedly not nearly as crappy). The only reason I have it (and many like it) is because I get them with my SNES when I bought it. Not my choice. They just came with it. Anyways, it's one of those games where there's no tutorial or anything. You just start playing and hope with enough practice, you can win the first game. Yeah, right. I was winning after the first quarter, and then the other team starting and cheating, and whaddya know, the power 'failed' right before the game ended. Hmm. I guess they forfeited. Yay!

Next we have Kung Fu for NES. Considered to be one of the semi-classic NES games, you run around and beat people up and see how far into an endless dojo hallway you can get. My favorite part: you can defeat enemies by kicking them in the groin. Totally awesome. And totally realistic, too! I'm pretty sure athletic cups go against the code of the ninja.

Anyways, next we have yet another disappointing 80s sports game. And I know people love this game. But it goes against my bane of video games: it's football. Don't hate me, but I'm talking about Tecmo Bowl. I will say that it is easily the best-looking and best-designed football game of the NES era. But that's like saying it's the least-stinkiest turd you'll be eating for dinner. One pro: it's really easy to catch passes (a problem with many football games). One con: it's really easy to have your passes stolen, which makes for serious frustration. It's not nearly as frustrating as NFL Street (don't ever, ever buy NFL Street. It will give you a coronary), but it's still a football video game. 'Nuff said.

Alright, so now we can talk about some good games again. Space Invaders Extreme! It's one of those classic remakes for a modern audience games. It's quite literally like Space Invaders on Acid. And I'm not talking hydrochloric. Your spaceship shoots lasers based on the beat of the music. Plus, it supports the rumble pack, which is cool. It's an extremely polished game, which is good. Some of the later levels are really, really hard, but all-in-all, it's a good play. Plus, it's a bargain bin title.

Next up, we have Bubble Bobble Double Shot, which is also a bargain bin title. Bubble Bobble is one of those games that I have to buy out of habit. It's my modus operandi. This one is pretty fun. It has some of the best music of modern Bubble Bobble games, and the gameplay is well done, too. My complaint? You can't start from where you left off. You have to go from the beginning. And while you can continue, your continues are limited, so unless you are really good, you'll never see the ending. But other than that, the game is well done. So there ya go!

Now we have a title that I remember from my childhood. Bubsy II for the SNES. I remember being impressed by the fluid animation and the wacky, insane minigames and level designs. What I didn't remember is how freakin' hard the game is. I beat it using save points on an emulator, but it's still quite difficult. When you're a kid, you just seem to enjoy the few levels you play, even though they're really hard. I don't think I ever beat more than 2 or 3 levels back then. In any case, it's pretty fun. A good dose of nostalgia, anyways.

Now for a rose among thorns. Though, I don't think Strong Bad would appreciate that analogy. SBCG4AP Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free! It's a cool game! The King of Town sets a ding-dong tax on all sent and received e-mails. Now he's gone too far. It's up to Strong Bad to keep the king from ruining Christmas!... I mean, his e-mails! This episode plays just like the original: weird crappy old-school game, make fun of Strong Sad, send e-mails… it's good times! Plus, there's a really cool, but kinda hard board-game-esque part near the end. I enjoyed it mucho. Can't wait for episodes 3-5!

Next, we have what is quite possibly one of the most hilarious, yet most frustrating games ever made. Earthworm Jim 2. I love Earthworm Jim. He's hilarious, the games are ridiculous, and the cartoons are golden (but that's a discussion for another day). But this game… it feels like it tears me in half. I wanna laugh, but I'm so frustrated with the ridiculously difficult gameplay that I wanna scream. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!! There. I screamed. I feel much better now.

And now for something completely stupid. Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball. Another SNES turd on a stick. You know how in baseball games, you press right + A to throw the ball, cause the D-pad kinda resembles a baseball diamond? It's an unwritten law, I think. Well, this game shows the point of view from the outfield, so when you want to throw to first, you have to press right + A, but first base is on your left. It's backwards!! What the crap! That's all I'm gonna say, because that's all that needs to be said.

Ok, so Sonic Mega Collection. This is a great deal. $20 gets you like 10 Sonic games, plus 2 difficult Vectorman games. But it has Sonic 3, the best one to date on my opinion. The others are good, too, though. This one comes highly recommended!

Next we have Viewtiful Joe 2. It's a lot of the same run around, slow down time, beat the crap out of robots style, and that's not a bad thing. Plus, you can play as Sylvia, Joe's girlfriend. She has other powers, like the ability to hit something 3 times instantaneously. Cool! Makes for some difficult, but great puzzles. It's pretty hard, just like its predecessor, but it's still quite fun. Yay for Joe!

Now it gets interesting. The game I am about to show you is the 100^th game I beat this year. And it's a good one! Mario Party 5! Everyone loves Mario Party, right? I would say that this one is one of the better ones. It's better than 4, and way better than the first one (but probably all of them are better than the first one). In any case, it takes the same cool Mario Party gameplay and adds cool new games. Plus it has great side games, like beach volleyball and a sweet board/card game thing. I likes it mucho!

The next game I beat was actually another Mario Party game, but this one is quite different. It's Mario Party advance, which is kind of like a mix between WarioWare and Mario Party. It has a heavy 1-player influence, which is good. You go around and help people with their problems by beating mini-games. Cool! It's not too-too hard, either. I enjoyed it much much.

And now for more crap. The Lion King for SNES. The movie was great. And for some reason, I was under the impression that the game was great, too. There is no way a kid could beat this game. No. Way. I know kids have more patience than I do, and I know kids are smart, but there is simply no way a kid could beat this. I can't beat this stupid game. Wanna know why? Cause it's not worth beating. This is another one that came with my SNES. And I'm glad, because I would be upset if I paid money for this travesty.

Ok, now that that's out of my system, let's talk about a fun game. Kirby's Dream Course! It's a golf game, with a Kirby spin. You can copy powers from enemies and use them to get to the hole. For example, rock power lets you stop right where you are, which makes it a little easier to drop in the hole. This is by far the hardest Kirby game ever, but it's pretty fun. Multiplayer is probably more fun, cause then it doesn't matter how bad you do. So yeah. Good game. Go download it on Virtual Console.

Alright, coming closer to the end now. Next we have Wii Fit. I've owned it since like May, but because of school I never got around to unlocking all the activities. Well, one day I decided to unlock everything. And I was pretty sweaty when I was done. But I did it. And it was good. Wii Fit is pretty cool. I'd much rather do the snowboarding than the yoga, but if I had been playing the game every day since I got it, I'd be in much better shape right now. In any case, I think the game is fun, and next semester I hope to use it fairly often.

Getting warmer… next we have Donkey Kong Country 3. This is a cool game. I really like the style of the SNES DK Country games. They look cool, they play cool, and they feel cool. Like ice on your butt. Or something. In any case, it's a fun, if difficult game. I used save points, so it wasn't quite as hard, but even so, it took me all day to beat. So there's plenty of meat in there. Which is good. Meat is good.

And now, the grand finale. Game #106: Metal Slug Anthology. It's a compilation of 7 Metal Slug games. It only cost me $17. Holy crap, that's a good deal. Metal Slug is really cool. I hadn't played until someone showed it to me in an old arcade in El Salvador. And I was hooked. You run around, get huge guns, and beat the ever-loving tar out of everything in your sight. And it is awesome. The graphics are extremely fluid, the bosses are extremely huge, and the fun factor is through the roof. Hooray for fun! If you have a Wii, you owe it to yourself to get this game. If you don't have a Wii, then get off your girl bike and go buy a Wii. Then you owe it to yourself to get Metal Slug Anthology.

So close I can taste it… Game #107: Contra 4. This game is so, so, so, so, so hard. BUT... it's not in a bad way. Contra is known for being hard. But this game makes it bearable. You play through an intense jungle, then move on to a decrepit laboratory, then you fight off a giant robot while hanging on to a giant missile. Pure adrenaline. That's what Contra is all about. But that's not even the best part. There's challenge mode, where you have to get to the end of a level in a certain time limit. Or you have only 15 bullets and you have to get to the end somehow. Plus, the best part is you can unlock the original NES Contra. Wow. Oh, and don't forget the second NES Contra game. Double way. It's a fitting tribute to the great NES classic of 15 years ago, and it's an extremely polished funfest that all DS owners. Need. Yeah, I'm gonna tell you to buy this game, and a DS if you don't have one. Here we go: Buy this game. If you don't have a DS, buy one. Then buy this game. Dangit.

And now, we shall find out what the final game of the 108 in 2008 goal is… as soon as Friday comes. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

-benjamines

Currently Playing: Line Rider 2 Unbound, Animal Crossing City Folk, Warioland Shake It!