Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of the holiday where people dress up like grass and limes, naturally the logical thing to do would be talk about games that have a prominently green cover.

The first one that comes to mind is Chibi-Robo Park Patrol for the DS. In fact, the whole game revolves around making a park greener and greener. As the tiny robot hero, you run around and pick up garbage, plant flowers, and make friends in the surrounding city. Sounds strange, but just like Animal Crossing and other life-sim games, it becomes incredibly engaging in a video game. I will admit, there are a few environmentalist flavored pieces of dialogue, but it is one of my favorite DS games. If you don't own it, you're doing yourself a serious disservice.

Speaking of life sims, of course we have to mention Animal Crossing. The greenest cover is for the Wii version, but all the games revolve around moving to a small town, making friends, catching fish, buying furniture, etc, etc. And since you're in a country town, there's grass all over the place. You can't see it in the winter, but there are cedar trees that are evergreen, so yeah. Green. Oh, and you can create your own clothes, so plenty of green there. Speaking of which, perhaps I'll go create a nice shamrock t-shirt for my character...

Ok, I'm back. Next up, we have Mario Super Sluggers. Baseball fields are green. And so is the cover of this baseball game. For those who haven't played it, I would recommend it. It's loads of fun and easy to play with anyone. Also, you can play as Toad. In fact, you can play as 5 toads. 6 if you count Toadette. My team usually consists of Mario, DK, Bowser, and a bunch of toads. Best. Team. Ever. Anways, the fields are green. At least some of them. There is an ice field. That one's not so green. And some of the others are different colors, too. Ok then.

Probably the greenest sport there is is golf. You go hit tiny orbs with sticks on a giant lawn. Fun times. Also, many golf games have green covers. Take True Swing Golf for example. It's very green. Just a logo and loads and loads of green. I try not to get too caught up in golf games in the winter because it makes me want to drive to somewhere warm and golf for real. But I know my car sucks, so I would get halfway there and break down. And then I'd be missing the cold weather while I fry in the extreme desert heat... What's that? Me, sidetracked? Never!

Next up we have a box from one of many games starring Mario's popular prehistorical mascot. Of course I mean Yoshi, the rainbow-spawning dinosaur. There are some games where Yoshi drives me crazy. But in his own games, he's pretty alright. Take this one, for example. Yoshi Touch n' Go is a DS game where you guide Yoshi and Baby Mario through various levels by drawing lines and creating paths. Not the longest game ever, but a fun one. Those who love Yoshi should get it. It's probably pretty cheap if you can find it. Not that anyone who reads this blog likes Yoshi. Especially not anyone related to me... Not you, ya dork!!!

Alright, so moving on, we have a green game that doesn't involve grass or idiotic global warming. Of course I mean Midway Arcade Treasures 2 for Gamecube. It's a compilation of a bunch of older arcade games. Some of the highlights include the excellent Mortal Kombat II and 3. Plus, there's Guantlet II, NARC, Primal Rage, and Rampage. Considering it was only $20 when it came out, it's a heck of a deal. You can probably find it on the cheap nowadays, too. I mostly bought it for MK II and 3, but I like Rampage and some of the others, too. Plus, you can get to know a few older games that you may have never played before. What a deal!

Finally, we have Pikmin, the odd yet popular Gamecube/Wii game. The Wii version just came out and it's a remake of the Gamecube one, just with Wii controls. If you don't have either, go grab the Wii one. It's only $30 and you don't have to fight for it on eBay. Anyways, the game involves Captain Olimar (who you may recognize from Smash Bros. Brawl) and the tiny Pikmin. Basically, the Pikmin are plant/human creatures that sprout from the ground. Olimar uses them to make bridges, defeat predators, and collect parts of his spaceship that fell of when he crash-landed. It's a little challenging, I will admit, but it's worth your time. A very cool game from the same guy who created a couple of other games you may have heard of (Mario or Zelda ring a bell?)

Well there you have it. Games you can play on St. Patty's Day to avoid being pinched by Mario. Take it from me. That plumber will give you such a pinch.

Honorable Mentions:

TMNT: Pretty much all TMNT games have a green logo. And four green turtles. Yeah. That's pretty green.

Luigi's Mansion (GCN): Mario's lil' green brother also has his own game. It's not totally green though, considering the brackground is an old run-down mansion and lightning.

Clubhouse Games (NDS): Another very green cover. Also, playing cards.

-benjamines

Currently Playing: Animal Crossing: City Folk, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Super Monkey Ball Adventure