This card has 24 of my best predictions about new things. Behold its splendor! So, all you have to do it save it or print it (click for a larger version), then keep an eye on E3 and see what new announcements appear. Then, mark off the boxes that I got right.
K! This one is super easy, because not only is it a great game, but in my opinion, it's the best game ever made. Naturally I mean Kirby 64. Kirby games are almost always awesome. Kirby 64 is still a classic-style side-scrolling Kirby game. But all the characters and backgrounds and enemies are rendered in 3-D, much like New Super Mario Bros. As always, you can suck up enemies and steal their powers. But this one, just like its SNES counterpart, lets you combine powers. For example, you can take snow power and add it to electric power. BOOM! You turn into a fridge. You can launch out food, which you can then eat to replenish health. Plus, the flying drumsticks and sandwiches kill enemies. How cool is that? I could go on for hours about this game. It's a perfect mix of great platforming, ingenious level design, excellent music, a nice story, and most importantly, loads of fun. Lucky for all of us, it's available on Virtual Console, so seriously, there's no reason you shouldn't own this game. If you don't have it, go buy it. Then come back. I'll wait...
L! This choice was kind of hard, but not really. There are two L games that are far-and-away the best ever. The best one is the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. It is one of the few games that I have given a perfect rating. It's a Zelda game, so naturally the quality level is very high. Not only that, it's easily the best and most engaging story of all Zelda games. Link wrecks his ship and washes up on the shore of a small island one day. He is found by a girl named Maryll, who nurses him back to health. He must then find his way off of the island to get home. That's all I'm gonna say, because the game is way too good to ruin. To give you an idea of how much I like it, I've completely played through it at least 5 times. It's got everything a great game needs: an excellent story, fantastic gameplay, imaginitive dungeons and bosses, and nice music and graphics (for its time). Do not surprised if this game shows up on Virtual Console for DSi someday. So get ready for it!
M! Now this was truly a hard decision. I have nearly 100 M games. Think Mario, Metroid, Megaman, etc. But after a short brainstorm I have found the winner. Naturally, it's a Mario game. But it's not the kind of Mario game you might have been thinking. It is Mario Golf (GBC). There have been four Mario Golf games so far, but this one is the best. It's golf, but it's also an RPG. You run around, play golf, build up your stats, buy new equipment, and finally, get good enough to beat Mario himself. It's a brilliant idea, honestly. I put nearly 80 hours into the game before I finally beat everything, too. And that's definitely not a bad thing. It's an exciting game, and it has lots of extra features. For example, when you get a great shot, it saves it for you so you can watch it later. It also has a nice glossary, so you can look up all sorts of golf terms. In short, it's the best golf game ever made, and one of the best Mario games ever made as well. Again, when Gameboy games show up on Virtual Console, go get it!
N! N has significantly fewer games than M, so the decision was a little easier. And of course, why stop talking about great sports games? This one is one of the best. It's basketball, but it's arcade style, so you can push and shove and jump 30 feet in the air and run 90 mph. Of course I mean NBA Jam Tournament Edition (SNES). NBA Jam used to be the de-facto standard for arcade basketball games. This version improves on the original by adding special rules, such as Juice Mode (which makes your player run up to 4x faster than normal) and Hot Spots (where numbered circles appear on the court that give you up to 8 points for a single shot. It's insane, but that makes it insanely fun. Plus, there's practice mode, so you can play HORSE or other silly games. It's a good time, I tell ya whut. Strangely, it's not available on Virtual Console yet. but keep a watchful eye. It's worth buying.
O! And finally, let's talk about O. This one's easy since I only have 2 O games I've played (and 1 I haven't yet). It's Okami. Okami is a story about Amaterasu, who is the Japanese sun god. Okami comes back after a 100-year slumber to help the people of Japan destroy one of the dark gods. It has a very cool cel-shaded (think cartoony) style. And it's a great story. It has a lot of accurate Japanese history as a backstory, which makes it fun to play. Plus, the controls work quite well. Amaterasu (at least in this game) has a magic paintbrush which can be used to slice things, draw items, etc. The goal of the game is to restore the greenery and peace to Japan, and of course that means destroying some of the annoying imps and monsters that appear. I haven't yet completed it, but I have played enough to know that it's a lot of fun, and a very polished game. It was made by Clover Studios, who also made Viewtiful Joe. Sadly, they are now defunct. Oh well. In any case, Okami is one of the most underrated and undersold games of this generation. Go buy it now!
F! This one is an easy one. Everyone knows (or should know) that F-Zero is one of the best franchises on any console, so naturally F-Zero X is my choice for F. Even though I give it an A+. For those who don't know, F-Zero is a futuristic racing game. Not only can you race, you can destroy other cars (somewhat like Excite Truck). Speeds of some levels can reach insanely high levels, which can make even staying on the track difficult. But it's loads of fun. And F-Zero X (N64) has tons to offer. One of the best parts is the X Cup. It's a Grand Prix, but every track is random each time. Sometimes they're easy, sometimes they're hard, sometimes they're freaking impossible. Either way, it's amazing fun. Now we just need an F-Zero for Wii and for DS. Come on, already!
G! Today must be an easy day, because G is a super-easy choice. You've probably all guessed that naturally, Goldeneye 007 (N64) is the best G game ever. It's not the first FPS ever, but it was one of the most groundbreaking. Not only that, it was just plain fun. Because the N64 had 4 controller ports, it was easy to do local split-screen multiplayer. And it was amazing. I must say, the people I played with normally had no problem kicking the crap out of me in this game. But it's one of those games where you can consitently lose and it's still a load of fun. In fact, my longest video game spree to date was playing this game. I played it with a friend and my brother from 4pm one afternoon until 10 am the next morning. Without stopping. 18 hours. Beat that. In short, it's one of the best games ever made. Unfortunately, it will likely never be released on the Virtual Console because of licensing issues. So, naturally the best thing would be to run out and buy a used N64 and a copy of the game. It's worth it. Trust me.
H! This choice is also easy, not just because it's a great game, but because I only own 3 games that start with H. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a point-and-click style adventure game for the DS. It's made by the same people who made the awesome Trace Memory way back when. You play as Kyle Hyde, a washed-up detective who's searching for his traitor partner. You wind up in a dumpy hotel called Hotel Dusk, which has a history of strange happenings and such. The game design is ingenious, really. You use the stylus to pick up objects, rub dirt off of something, flip switches, etc, etc. Plus it a has a pretty good story to go with it. Plus, the game is only $20, so you all should really go buy it right now. There's no reason not to.
I! Today is obviously not Monday, because these game are super easy to pick. The best I game ever is clearly Ice Climbers. Ok, so most of you have probably only heard of or played them in Smash Bros. But long before that, they were clubbing sheep and smashing through mountains on the NES. It's a brilliant concept, really. One or two players can simultaneously play. You use your hammers to jump through the floor above you. Some floors are moving clouds, which means you have to time your jumps correctly. Plus, even when you break through a floor, the sheep will sometimes come and cover the hole up again. So speed is essential at times. Once you clear the bottom half of mountain, you get to scale a series of non-breakable platforms. If you can get to the top and hitch a ride on the pterodactyl, you win! Sounds extremely weird, but remember this game was invented in Japan in the 1980s. So yeah. Makes perfect sense.
J! Oi vey! Again with the easy choices! But this game is pretty good. It's Jazz Jackrabbit! For the GBA! It's loosely based on the Jazz Jackrabbit for DOS from oh-so-long ago. You run, jump, and blow the crap outta stuff. What else do you need for a great game? Nothing, I tell you! While it doesn't have all the charm of the original, it is still an amusing game. Plus, it's not too easy, not too hard. And the story is quite amusing, to boot. So yeah. That's about all I have to say on the matter.
A! This one was a tough one, actually. But, after a short deliberation, I have decided that it is Animal Crossing: Wild World for the DS. For those who don't know, Animal Crossing is an amusing life sim. Basically, you move to a small town where anthropomorphic animals live. You get a house, catch and sell bugs and fish to pay our debts, make friends, plants flowers and trees, and buy cool things for your house. Sounds odd, to be sure, but it's actually very engaging. Plus, you can play online and visit friends' towns, which makes it easier to get good items, since you can trade. In case you were wondering about the different versions, here's a short comparison:
B! Surprisingly, I have 25 games that start with B, which I thought was weird, since it seems like a less common letter. In fact, I picked a game with TWO B's, so yeah. Double awesome. Naturally, it didn't take much to convince me that Bubble Bobble (NES) was the best one. In Bubble Bobble, you play as tiny dinosaurs Bub and Bob, who have the interesting ability to capture monsters in the bubbles they can shoot from their mouths. Sounds odd, of course, but it's one of the best NES games ever made (and that's saying something). Plus, it's one of the great NES multiplayer games. There have been countless sequels (which are decent), but the original is the best. By the way, it's available on Virtual Console (and there's a new WiiWare version in the works). So go buy it now!
C! This game is easily one of the most under-played games of all time. Of course I mean Chibi-Robo, the story of a tiny robot who helps a family keep their house clean. In the process, he helps sort out some of the more serious problems the family is having. As always, sounds odd, but it is one of the more adorable and engaging games the world has ever known. Basically, you walk around, pick up garbage and clean floors, which earns you happy points. Enough happy points and you can buy new gear, such as the ability to float, or a longer-lasting battery. Once you get enough gear, you can traverss the entire house and backyard, giving you plenty of opportunities to meet the toys and animals of the house and help them with their problems as well. If you don't have this game, you're in luck! The New Play Control! version (for Wii, of course) is on its way and may be here sometime this year. Wait until it comes out, and then... Go buy it now!
D! There are a number of good D-flavored games, so it was a tough decision. At last I decided that the winner should be Ducktales, the classic NES game. If I remember correctly (and I usually do), it was the first NES game that was my very own. I got it for my birthday or Christmas and loved it then, and I love it now. It has tight controls, excellent music, a great story, and is just a fantastic play all-around. It's not a hard game, but as the Kirby games have proven, that's not a bad thing. You play as Scrooge McDuck on his quest to get the biggest and best treasures in the world. Prepare to pogo-stick off of monkeys and hit rocks into giant spiders to get to the end. Unfortunately, this game is not yet available on Virtual Console, but don't be surprised if and when it shows up. And then, go get it. Cause it's awesome. And amazing. Awesomazing.
E! The final game of the day is a classic. Excitebike 64 is the sequel to the really cool Excitebike for NES. The N64 version took everything great about the original and nitro-charged it to the super-extreme! Admittedly, it's one of the hardest games to learn, but once you get it, you've got it for good. It's a work of art, really. Not only are there races and tournaments, but there are other crazy things to do, like soccer. On motorbikes? Yes! You hit a giant soccer ball across a giant field. Super fun! Plus, there's time trials, a hill climb, a never-ending desert with never-ending jumps. Not only that, it has a very intuitive level editor. In short, it has limitless replay value. Sadly, it is not yet available on Virtual Console. Perhaps soon, dear friends, perhaps soon. And when it does... well, you know the drill.
Hello All! In lieu of Flash Game Friday, I'd like to tell you about a nice deal going on right now at Telltale Games. For those who don't know, Telltale Games is a company that makes episodic adventure games. You, the readers, are likely most familiar with Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. They also make Sam & Max, games based on the comic book Bone, and the new Wallace & Gromit Grand Adventures. Typically, each episode of a game would run about $10. Well, for a short time, every single title is only $5 That's right, you can get the entire Strong Bad season for $25! Or, get Sam & Max for $25 a season. Even better, get the new Wallace & Gromit games for a paltry $5 apiece. Honestly, it costs more to drive to work in the morning. But them now!
Anyways, today I just wanted to inform you of some really cool and exciting news in the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This year marks the 25th Anniversary since the original comic book was published, and to celebrate, there are a bunch of new and awesome items releasing this year. First off, as I've talked about previously, is the new TMNT Smash-Up game, coming this fall to Wii. It's like Smash Bros, but with TMNT. Awesome! Plus, they're remaking the TMNT: Turtles in Time (SNES) game, with 3-D graphics, kinda like how New Super Mario Bros. has 3-D characters, but it plays like a 2-D game (shown at left). Amazing! Plus, that's not all! They are re-releasing the 4 full-length movies on DVD with (supposedly) new bonus content! Still not done! There is a new, live-action TMNT movie being made which will release in two years. INCREDIBLE!!
