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So you've been operating your retro game store for a few months now and things are going better than you could have hoped. Customers are happy, new stock is getting traded in on a regular basis, bank account is moving in the right direction. Nothing can bring you down. Cue Bylaw Enforcement Officer..........
Continue reading Blog Quest: Getting Political - Part I
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Posted on Jan 1st 2015 at 05:00:00 AM by ( Crabmaster2000) Posted under Best of 2014, Mega Man X, Wii U, Bayonetta, Pikmin, Smash Bros, Project X Zone, Fire Emblem, Wipeout, Bomberman, Mario Kart, NES Remix |
This past year saw huge changes to my gaming habits. I spent significantly more time playing with other people than I have in the past and played a lot more games that were convenient for me to setup (which meant 3DS and Wii U). This definitely flavored some of the choices on my list, but a few of my old tendencies still shined though brightly.
Continue reading Best of 2014 - Crabmaster Edition
So you're opening a game store. But what kind of game store will you be? New? Retro? What services will you offer? Repairs? Tournaments? Who is your target audience? Niche gamers? College Students?..................Your Mom?
Continue reading Blog Quest: Branding the Store
Why would a person want to open a video game store and how does that idea go from conception to reality? That question has a nearly endless amount of possible answers. But here is one answer to that question.....
[img width=490 height=318]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/CCF08102011_00005.jpg[/img]
Young Crabmaster getting his first dose of Nintendo
Continue reading Blog Quest: What?!?! No Game Stores??
Recently, I finished a decade long goal of mine and obtained a copy of each and every licensed NES title. With how important communities like rfgeneration, nintendoage and racketboy have been during that quest, it seems fitting that I take some time to give a proper thank you to those that have helped me along this path. With today coincidentally being both the anniversary of the NES in North America and my birthday (pretty cool, eh?), it feels appropriate to chronicle my journey to 677 Nintendo games.
Continue reading NES Story
Many of us Video Game collectors and enthusiasts toy with the idea of having our own Game Store, or at least working at someone else's store. It's definitely more of an option at a younger age, but some of us have trouble letting go of this idea.
On May 4, 2013, I posted a thread here on rfgen asking for ideas and opinions about opening my own local Video Game store and it was met with great supportive response. Flash forward to September 1, 2014 and I was celebrating my first successful year of running a such a business.
Continue reading Blog Quest
Continue reading Unloved #28 - Overlord
With my recent pick up of Pandora's Tower for my much adored Wii I was struck with the thought that it will likely be the final Wii game I buy at MSRP. I'm a bit saddened by that as the Wii was by far my favorite console of the last generation's choices. We picked it up on launch day and never looked back. It easily got the most usage of the 3 consoles in our house and that is because we primarily use our game consoles for gaming (*gasp*), and rarely for the other features. And with my aversion to digital gaming the Wii had the software that I was most interested in spending my money on. There are far too many great games for me to mention them all so I'm just gonna spend some time outlining some of my favorites.
If you feel I missed out on one of your favorites I'd love to hear about them too!
Continue reading Wii Loved U
So today is day 91 of my 100 NES games in 100 day challenge. Fortunately for me though I finished my 100th game a few days back and successfully completed my second 100 NES game in 100 day challenge!!! What started off with many fairly simple games (children's titles, and game shows mostly) ended up being pretty satisfying overall. I played a lot of great titles that I have been neglecting like Gemfire, Nightshade, Bucky O'Hare and many others. Since my last update these are the game I have finished though:
One of my favorite publishers Taito, put out a cool little puzzler appropriately called Puzznic. In Puzznic you have a time limit in which to figure out how to match 2 or more colored gems together in order to clear the entire play area. What starts of as very simple matching eventually becomes pretty tough in the later few levels. Its a very simple premise and even though you have a time limit that only really matters if you're worried about score. If you just want to progress to the next puzzle its quite a relaxing game as you can take your time experimenting until you come up with the right solution.
In addition to the regular Puzznic game there is also a Gravnic mode. In Gravnic you have the same goal of matching gems, but instead of sliding the gems around the screen individually you change the gravity of the entire room causing all the gems to react at once. If you check out my video you'll see that I spent well over 7 hours playing Puzznic/Gravnic in order to solve all the puzzles. For an NES game I feel the packed a lot of value into this little puzzler. Would have been great to see a 2-player mode, but if you like solo puzzle games its definitely worth checking out.
[img width=640 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Puzznic-Ending_zpsd36698e4.jpeg[/img]
Track & Field II is a game that I've actually been plugging away at for weeks now. I've mentioned in the past that I don't like using Turbo controllers and that made this game extremely challenging. In fact I'd rank it among the most challenging games I've been able to beat when playing it with a standard controller. The final day of the game was the most taxing for myself with both the Archery and Horizontal Bar giving me a TON of trouble and countless failed attempts. The game is fun when playing against human opponents, but its pretty frustrating when playing to win the single player at times. Not to mention that I had to take 1-2 week breaks in between my attempts to let my poor fingers recover from the massacre they endured by mashing the A button so much. In fact I literally tore a chunk of my fingernail during one attempt. Glad to be done this one.
[img width=640 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/TrackampFieldII-Ending_zps42625d0a.jpeg[/img]
After Track & Field II it was nice to slow things down again with something like Swords & Serpents. Its a fairly basic First Person Dungeon Crawler. Just the speed of game I was looking for at the time. There is a dragon at the bottom of a 16 floor dungeon and your goal is to slay it. Simple as that. Each floor has a different little theme or trick to it to spice things up a bit. There are check points on the 1st, 5th and 10th floors, but otherwise you must use warps or stairs to traverse down to the bottom. The password system as Bombatomba has pointed out is pretty brutal in this game though. Each of your 4 characters has a code as well as your overall game, and in addition to that you have to rename your characters each time you start the game up. Because of this it takes 3-5 minutes just to start playing again each time. Other than that little hiccup and the 9th floor which I wasn't a big fan of the game was a lot of fun. Very simple, easy to understand, and fun.
[img width=639 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/SwordsandSerpents-Ending_zpsf4964fb5.jpeg[/img]
To keep things on the same pace as I was still recovering from Track & Field II I popped in Tombs & Treasure. This game is a little hybrid of RPG, Point & Click Adventure, and Dungeon Crawling. Like Swords & Serpents Bombatomba has spoken a bit about it during his summer challenge last year. Like a lot of early adventure games I felt you lacked direction quite often and it was challenging to know where to go and what to do. Not the best example of any of the genres it takes on, but its kind of a neat offering overall. Worth checking out only if you're a big fan of any of the genres or just want to try something a bit unique.
[img width=639 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/TombsampTreasures-Ending_zps1fa9ef6b.jpeg[/img]
What better way to finish off my 100 day challenge than by slaying yet another Dragon? I was very pleasantly surprise by AD&D Dragon Strike so I thought I'd check out the only other Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game I owned, Heroes of the Lance. Again I was kind of surprised by the style as I had assumed it to be a first person RPG or dungeon crawler of some sort. I was a side scrolling action RPG instead. You have a group of 8 characters who are represented by whomever you have place at the front of your team. Your goal is to traverse a dungeon and slay a dragon with a specific staff that you start the game with.
The team they provide you with is pretty diverse and features warriors, clerics, wizards, dwarfs, elves, etc. Lots of different classes and races to play around with. The game itself was much shorter than I had anticipated though. Once you figure out how to approach different enemies (such as attacking them high, middle or low or what spells are most effective) its a pretty simple game too. The last boss is huge and terrifying, but if you managed to keep the staff with you and use it on him it isn't really a battle. He dies in one hit from it. Definitely didn't do as much for me as Dragon Strike, but still a very interesting game and has been looking forward to trying the other 2 AD&D games.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/ADampDHeroesoftheLance-Ending_zps4222c708.jpeg[/img]
Here is the full list of 325 NES games beaten since October 2011 when I started my first challenge. This 100 in 100 challenge started with Sesame Street Countdown and ended with AD&D Heroes of the Lance.
Beaten Since Oct.8th 2011
(click on a title to see the video)
Super Mario Bros
Super Mario Bros 2
Super Mario Bros 3
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Castlevania
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
Duck Tales
Duck Tales 2
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2
Felix the Cat
Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout
Ren and Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$
Double Dragon
Contra
Super C
Contra Force
Power Blade
Power Blade 2
Dynowarz: The Destruction of Spondylus
Metal Storm
Journey to Silius
Air Fortress
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Blaster Master
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
Legendary Wings
BreakThru
Commando
Guerrilla War
World Games
Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular
Caveman Games
DK Classics
Jaws
Ninja Gaiden
Where's Waldo?
Bonk's Adventure
Panic Restaurant
Bubble Bobble 2
Dr. Mario
Bubble Bobble
MC Kids
Batman
Circus Caper
Roller Games
Widget
Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures 2
The Jetsons
The Little Mermaid
Monster in my Pocket
Gremlins 2
Kirby's Adventure
Kickle Cubicle
Kung Fu
Yo! Noid
Xexyz
Puss 'N Boots: Pero's Great Adventure
Wall Street Kid
The Karate Kid
Archon
Golf
Super Dodgeball
Super Spike V'Ball
Jakcie Chan's Action Kung Fu
The Three Stooges
Ice Hockey
Tecmo Bowl
Track & Field
Mario Bros
NARC
North and South
Barbie
Battle Chess
The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World
The Flintstones: Surprise at Dinosaur Peak
Snow Brothers
Little Samson
Sky Shark
Ninja Gaiden II
Mike Tyson's Punch Out
The Simpsons: Bart Meets Radioactive Man
StarTropics
Little Nemo: The Dream Master
River City Ransom
StarTropics 2: Zoda's Revenge
The Jungle Book
Castlevania III Dracula's Curse
Mario is Missing
Blades of Steel
Hogan's Alley
Wild Gunman
Burger Time
Silver Surfer
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones
Ghosts n Goblins
Tetris
Pro Wrestling
Gradius
Zanac
Adventure Island
Karnov
Trojan
Excitebike
Baseball
Spy Hunter
Adventure Island II
Tennis
Battletoads
Shadowgate
Battletoads/Double Dragon
Pinball Quest
Section Z
Godzilla
Hydlide
Marble Madness
Back to the Future
Darkman
Terminator 2
Robocop
Total Recall
Predator
Robocop 2
Robocop 3
Hudson Hawk
Home Alone
Home Alone 2
Batman Returns
Ghostbusters II
Ghostbusters
Die Hard
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Krion Conquest
Adventures of Dino Riki
Ultima: Exodus
Legacy of the Wizard
Ultima: Quest of the Avatar
Darkwing Duck
Ultima: Warriors of Destiny
Legends of the Diamond
Pro Sports Hockey
Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball
Yoshi's Cookie
Kick Master
Zombie Nation
Stadium Events
Super Jeopardy!
Joust
Yoshi
Dance Aerobics
Adventures of Bayou Billy
Pipe Dreams
Ski or Die
Werewolf: The Last Warrior
Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants
City Connection
American Gladiators
Roundball 2-on-2 Challenge
720
Athletic World
Super Team Games
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Gumshoe
Bases Loaded
The Addams Family Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt
Kings of the Beach
The Blues Brothers
Volley Ball
Lode Runner
3D World Runner
Twin Eagle
Dragon's Lair
The Adventures of Rad Gravity
Break Time: The National Pool Tour
Bases Loaded II
Rainbow Islands
Conquest of the Crystal Palace
Peter Pan And The Pirates
Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragon Strike
Slalom
Wrath of the Black Manta
Race America
Treasure Master
Krusty's Fun House
King's Knight
Mighty Bomb Jack
Bases Loaded 3
Castelian
Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll
Dirty Harry
Conan
Cobra Triangle
Spider Man Return of the Sinister Six
Tag Team Wrestling
Eliminator Boat Duel
Galaxy 5000
George Foreman's KO Boxing
Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge
Thunder & Lightning
Heavy Shreddin'
Flying Warriors
Rocket Ranger
Roger Clemens MVP Baseball
Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure
Destination Earthstar
Street Cop
Short Order/Eggsplode
Star Voyageur
Days of Thunder
Laser Invasion
Silent Service
Back to the Future 2 & 3
Overlord
High Speed
Sesame Street Countdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Shooting Range
Space Shuttle Project
Double Dare
Win, Lose or Draw
Othello
Whomp Em
Dragon Fighter
Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle
Family Feud
Tale Spin
Platoon
Gotcha!
Gun Smoke
Kiwi Kraze
10 Yard Fight
Tom & Jerry
Wrecking Crew
Hatris
Time Lord
Orb 3D
Wheel of Fortune Jr
Wheel of Fortune Family Edition
Captain America and the Avengers
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune Featuring Vanna White
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Bo Jackson Baseball
Jeopardy! Jr
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary
Cowboy Kid
Crash n The Boys: Street Challenge
Galaga
Color A Dinosaur
Millipede
Popeye
Sesame Street 123
Sesame Street ABC
Sesame Street Hide & Speak
Soccer
Classic Concentration
Fisher Price I Can Remember
Fisher Price Perfect Fit
Mickey's Safari in Letterland
Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
NES Open Golf
Pictionary
Chessmaster
Anticipation
DK Jr Math
Donkey Kong 3
Urban Champion
Balloon Fight
Pinball
Qix
Hollywood Squares
Twin Cobra
Flintstones Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
Tiger-Heli
Winter Games
NES World Cup Soccer
Defender II
M.U.S.C.L.E.
MTV's Remote Control
Spot The Video Game
Spy vs Spy
Taboo The Sixth Sense
Gemfire
Monopoly
Legend of the Ghost Lion
Jackal
Rad Racer
Rad Racer II
Arch Rivals
Deja Vu
Nightshade
Mickey Mousecapade
King's Quest V
Vegas Dreams
Magic Johnson's Fast Break
Touchdown Fever
Caesar's Palace
Casino Kid
Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
Videomation
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bucky O'Hare
The Incredible Crash Dummies
Joe &
Totally Rad
Lifeforce
Wolverine
Maniac Mansion
Puzznic
Track & Field II
Swords & Serpents
Tombs & Treasures
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance
BONUS GAMES:
Assimilate
Nomolos: Storming the Catsle
Future Plans - Take a short break from NES and play Batman Arkham Asylum with the rfgen community. Maybe play another modern game or two and then return to the NES, but at a much more relaxed rate. Still craving some slow moving games so I plan to check out some stuff like Wizardy or some of the KOEI games I've been neglecting.
With nearly all my family out of town this week I really capitalized on my newly obtained free time and played a TON of NES games. So ignore my past whining about being nervous about not having enough time to complete my challenge. Barring some unexpected event I'm feeling pretty confident now. I was able to cross a whopping 12 games off since last blog 
After having sooooooo much fun with Vegas Dream I thought I'd spend some more time gambling my pretend cash away. I played Caesar's Palace to scratch that itch. In order to get the best ending you need to leave with at least $140,000 after beginning with $1000. After some simple math and asking someone who had previously finished it off it seemed the best method for getting rich quick was going to be getting $3500 and then betting it all on the 40:1 odds of the Wheel of Fortune. After several hours of playing I was finally lucky enough to get a 40:1 payout and then promptly sped off in my new Ferrari-ish thing........probably never to return 
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/CaesarsPalace-Ending_zps019d4e22.jpeg[/img]
Not getting enough of that sweet sweet gambling action I was also plugging away at Casino Kid during the same time. The goal in Casino Kid is to beat 10 Black Jack dealers and 10 Poker Players which will eventually score you $1,000,000 which can be used to buy into a poker game with the final opponent. Things were going pretty good at first and then I hit a big bump when I had to win $50,000 playing Black Jack with the max bet being a measly $1,000. After many many failed attempts, when I was almost ready to give up, I accidently stumbled upon some extra options by pressing select during the match. Apparently after a certain number of hands you can actually force the guy to bid everything all at once. This made things go a lot smoother from that point on. Now that I know that I'm actually looking forward to tracking down a copy of Casino Kid II to try out.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/CasinoKid-Ending_zps72b392bf.jpeg[/img]
Sticking with the slow paced games I plugged in Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom. I had pretty high hopes for this game as it seemed quirky and I usually like that kind of thing. It turned out to be a bit disappointing though. With the odd setting and characters I was really hoping for a very comedic game. I have no idea why they went with the vegetable theme though as the story of the game was quite serious about kidnapping, an underground resistance and a little bit of pain and suffering. Really not what I was in the mood for with a game called Princess Tomato.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/PrincessTomato-Ending_zpsbf8f96a1.jpeg[/img]
Videomation, like Taboo, is not really a game but more like really awful video creation software you can run on your NES. So I made a video of a baby crawling down the middle of a road. Enjoy!!
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Videomation-Ending_zps595e19e3.jpeg[/img]
Wasn't really sure what to expect from Bram Stoker's Dracula, but I was hopefully for something enjoyable. It wasn't the worst action game I've played, but it wasn't overly memorable either. Each stage has a short time limit in which you need to make it to the end of. A lot of the bad guys can easily be avoided instead of confronted and there are a TON of secret areas and items scattered throughout the game. I don't have a problem with any of those parts really. The parts I found annoying where the boss fights/mid-boss fights and a few particular areas in which it seemed the only way to progress was to jump into spikes and take the damage. Granted there were a lot of secrets in the game so its possible I just missed a couple secret entrances in order to not have to use the damaging spikes to progress, but it was pretty lame regardless. And literally all the boss fights just suck. But at least if you duck in the correct spot after killing a boss it looks like your character is farting up a storm 
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/BramStokersDracula-Ending_zpsb518c9f6.jpeg[/img]
Konami has quite a few decent titles on the NES, but I think Bucky O'Hare might be my absolute favorite of the bunch. I used to watch the show as a kid and have a few of the toys, but I was completely unaware that there was a game for the franchise until well over a decade later. Its got 5 different characters that can be recruited and swapped to on the fly. For an action game its actually quite long, but it doesn't get stale as the types of levels are incredibly varied. Really awesome game that you should definitely check out should you have the chance.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/BuckyOHare-Ending_zps7f417857.jpeg[/img]
Since I seem to like LJN games a bit better than many others I'm never scared to pop in a new LJN game to try. That was the case with The Incredible Crash Dummies and I didn't regret it. The boss fights were pretty sad, but otherwise I thought it was a decent game. You go back and forth between playing one level at a time as a guy with a unicycle for legs and a guy who can walk normally. Each level is designed specifically with those characters in mind and it works out well. It was fun to navigate through each slightly maze like level with these two different types of characters. The pacing felt pretty good by changing the play style after each area. Not a great game, but a good game.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/TheIncredibleCrashDummies-Ending_zpsecdfb417.jpeg[/img]
Joc & Mac is a game that I'd played a few times in the Arcade as a child. Never had the chance to try the NES one until more recently though. The backgrounds were gorgeous, but otherwise the game was pretty forgettable. Its short, its easy. Not much else to say.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/JoeampMac-Ending_zpse31dc11e.jpeg[/img]
Totally Rad most likely holds the record as the game I rented the most as a kid. I loved that you could use any of your magic spells right from the start of the game, particularly the transformation spells. I was never able to beat the game as a kid, but I did beat it once as an adult about 5-6 years ago. After playing a lot of other action games recently and recalling some tactics from my last successful at the game it wasn't too hard to finish this time either. Its not prefect, but I'm very nostalgic for this game so I hold it in high regard.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/TotallyRad-Ending_zpsde907761.jpeg[/img]
I've heard that Lifeforce is like the beginners version of Gradius. That may be what frustrated me the most about it. I felt it was much harder than Gradius. I really hated a lot of the level design such as the areas that you need to shoot to pass through (and many of them regenerate if you're not moving quickly), or all of stage 3 (those arcs of fire are savage!!!). The final escape wasn't very much fun if you were at the slowest speed either. Definitely not my favorite shooter.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Lifeforce-Ending_zpsfbd6d7fa.jpeg[/img]
After being disappointed with my last Konami game I thought I'd pop in another LJN game, Wolverine. At least if I was disappointed with this game it wouldn't be much of a surprise. Much to my delight I really liked it though. Don't get me wrong though, Wolverine's name shouldn't have been anywhere near this game. Its extremely un-Wolverine, but its still pretty fun. You don't really have to kill to many enemies and mostly just run and explore each maze-like area until you find the correct door to leave. The gameplay mechanics are really smooth so they make running and dodging pretty enjoyable. You get two consecutive boss battles at the very end of the game, but they are both pretty anti-climactic. The rest of the game up to that point was very fun though.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Wolverine-Ending_zpsd133c3bf.jpeg[/img]
And lastly I played an NES "classic" that I had been neglecting, Maniac Mansion. I had a lot of trouble the first few times I played, but once I figured some things out it was a lot more enjoyable. Some of the humor was pretty good, but like a lot of other point and click style games of the era many of the puzzles seemed a bit to obscure for my tastes. Overall I had a good time though even though I had to call the "space police" like 4 times because I couldn't figure out how to get them to bust in and save the day.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/ManiacMansion-Ending_zps5de26ff4.jpeg[/img]
If my math is correct I've got 5 more games to beat until I hit that magical 100 game mark and I've got about 20 days left to do so
2013 NES List
Sesame Street Countdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Shooting Range
Space Shuttle Project
Double Dare
Win, Lose or Draw
Othello
Whomp Em
Dragon Fighter
Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle
Family Feud
Tale Spin
Platoon
Gotcha!
Gun Smoke
Kiwi Kraze
10 Yard Fight
Tom & Jerry
Wrecking Crew
Hatris
Time Lord
Orb 3D
Wheel of Fortune Jr
Wheel of Fortune Family Edition
Captain America and the Avengers
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune Featuring Vanna White
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Bo Jackson Baseball
Jeopardy! Jr
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary
Cowboy Kid
Crash n The Boys: Street Challenge
Galaga
Color A Dinosaur
Millipede
Popeye
Sesame Street 123
Sesame Street ABC
Sesame Street Hide & Speak
Soccer
Classic Concentration
Fisher Price I Can Remember
Fisher Price Perfect Fit
Mickey's Safari in Letterland
Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
NES Open Golf
Pictionary
Chessmaster
Anticipation
DK Jr Math
Donkey Kong 3
Urban Champion
Balloon Fight
Pinball
Qix
Hollywood Squares
Twin Cobra
Flintstones Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
Tiger-Heli
Winter Games
NES World Cup Soccer
Defender II
M.U.S.C.L.E.
MTV's Remote Control
Spot The Video Game
Spy vs Spy
Taboo The Sixth Sense
Gemfire
Monopoly
Legend of the Ghost Lion
Jackal
Rad Racer
Rad Racer II
Arch Rivals
Deja Vu
Nightshade
Mickey Mousecapade
King's Quest V
Vegas Dreams
Magic Johnson's Fast Break
Touchdown Fever
Caesar's Palace
Casino Kid
Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
Videomation
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bucky O'Hare
The Incredible Crash Dummies
Joe & Mac
Totally Rad
Lifeforce
Wolverine
Maniac Mansion
Future Plans - I've been working away on Track & Field II again. I'm currently stalled out on the final 3 events. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it off very soon. Also been working on POW, but I'm having some trouble on like the 4th stage. Hopefully I'll be able to break through the barrier on each of those games before too much longer.
With all the gloom and doom I was spouting last time about not making my goal, I've actually done a decent job of finding games to keep beating. The list is running short, but I should be able to keep making some progress. And besides that there is a glimmer of hope now!! My wife and son are going out of town for about a week to visit the in-laws so if I buckle down and attack as many NES games as I can stomach in that time I might be able to get a significant boost towards my goal of 100 games beaten over 100 days!!
On to the games since last update though. Not expecting much I popped in Arch Rivals and found it wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. It almost feels like an early version of NBA Jam, which is a game I really like. Besides having to watch a really stupid and occasionally nonsensical little cut scene whenever you score a basket it was fairly decent. You can punch your opponents down to the ground and take the ball by force! I havn't really found a stand out basketball game on the system, but this is one of the better ones I've played so far.
[img width=643 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/ArchRivals-Ending_zpsc9202b55.jpeg[/img]
Starting my point and click style adventures I went with Deja Vu. Same vein as Shadowgate, but with a 1950's private detective setting to it. You wake up with a little amnesia in a building with a dead body. After a little snooping around you'll discover that you are being setup for murder!! But by who??!?!! So your goal is to both solve the case and clear your own name. For the most part its a pretty cool game, but there are some things that are just crazy obscure and I'm not sure how you're supposed to figure them out on your own. Not a bad game, but I liked Shadowgate a bit better even if torches drive me nuts.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/DejaVu-Ending_zpsa720e254.jpeg[/img]
Nightshade is one of the most surprising games I've played in a while. Not only was it a point and click style game, but it broke up the monotony associated with that style of game with both action oriented fighting sequences and a great sense of humor. You start the game with your main character tied to a chair speaking with the games villain. Both characters are purposely over the top and stereotyped which set the mood for the rest of the game right off the bat. After a few puzzles in the sewer that act as sort of a linear tutorial you'll enter the main city. The city seems overwhelming at first, but after a bit of exploration I found it to be the ideal size for this type of game. It had just the right amount of space to explore. Most different areas of the city hold some sort of secret of information you'll need in order to defeat Sutekh, with the occasional dead end.
Another really cool thing about Nightshade was the game over screen. There are 5 game over screens in total, that play out in a specific order. When you die in the main game you'll find your character in an elaborate death trap concocted by Sutekh. The cool part is that you can actually figure out how to escape 4 of the 5 traps which will let you keep playing the game instead of dying. These range from the classic tied to a conveyor belt or room closing in on you to more interesting setups that take a few different steps to overcome. Very neat game overall and something I'd urge you to check out if you're looking for something unique to play on your NES.
[img width=643 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Nightshade-Ending_zpsd4b6da6c.jpeg[/img]
I have always assumed that Mickey Mousecapade was a 2 player game. I was actually looking forward to trying it out with my son as a helper. After getting over that disappointment I set my sights on getting it crossed off my list asap. Minnie tags along for the entire game (granted she isn't captured by a ghost), which is mostly helpful. If you get her star weapon it adds a bit of extra firepower to your game and she is also invulnerable to enemies with the exception of the ghost I mentioned. The annoying part is in the platforming. She lags behind trying to mimic your moves. If she falls into a pit you both lose a life. But the part I found more frustrating than losing her to a pit was navigating her in the final stage when there were lots of platforms and walls for her to get stuck on. The game would be a bit better without Minnie, but even then its far from some of the other great Capcom/Disney titles on the system.
[img width=643 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/MickeyMousecapade-Ending_zps71d210ea.jpeg[/img]
There are only really 2 PC game series that have ever held a special place in my gaming history. King's Quest is one of those and I was a little nervous to give King's Quest V a try after playing another bad PC port on the system (Ultima Warriors of Destiny). Much to my surprise King's Quest V felt very much like it should. Yeah it was a bit uglier and you had text boxes instead of voices, but it still felt very much like the King's Quest V I remember playing as a kid on my friend's PC. It was like they stuck the 5th game into the same engine that the first or second game in the series played on. It had a lot of great humor and puzzles (and a few frustrating ones of course). I had beaten this game with a friend many years ago, but I missed out on a decent sized chunk in the middle because his brother had come home from college and helped him through a part we were stuck on at the time. It was extremely satisfying to finally be able to finish this game off completely. It made me wish that there were console ports of some of the other games in the series as it was a lot of fun overall. Definitely another one to check out if you like classic adventure games.
[img width=643 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/KingsQuestV-Ending_zps6a28bd61.jpeg[/img]
Vegas Dreams on the other hand isn't to exciting. After figuring out early on that you get a password to save your progress is became pretty easy to exploit the game. Simply choose your favorite gambling method (I used Black Jack), bet it all, and win!! What you didn't win? Just punch in your previous password and try again until you do then. After winning a little start up cash on the slots and experiencing a few of the random encounters that you'll get during the game I just started doubling my money on the Black Jack table until I hit the final goal of $10,000,000. The measle $700 I entered with was now a fortune. And apparently that means my character has to act like a total ass during the ending
[img width=643 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/VegasDream-Ending_zps7cc1c132.jpeg[/img]
With a little downtime at home I decided to try and knock out some simple sports titles this morning. Tried out Magic Johnson's Fast Break. Even put it on the hardest difficulty (Professional) and mopped the floor with the computer by about 30 points when it was over. No sort of league or tournament mode so it was just the one game. Arch Rivals was much more fun.
[img width=643 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/MagicJohnsonsFastBreak-Ending_zps03a472ef.jpeg[/img]
Lastly for this update was Touchdown Fever by SNK. The cover looks awful if you ask me. I was just expecting 10 Yard Fight part 2. Luckily SNK makes better games than they make covers It was actually kind of fun. Very arcade style visuals/gameplay and great music made the tournament mode go by pretty quick. The computer opponents turned out to be pretty easy to figure out after the first couple games and I was able to shut out my final opponent after having a bit of trouble in the first rounds. Gonna have to try this one with a second player and see if its as good as it seems to be.
[img width=643 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/TouchdownFever-Ending_zps5cf0bd1b.jpeg[/img]
2013 NES List
83 Games Beaten Over 70 days
17 Games more to reach goal of 100 with 30 days left to do it
Sesame Street Countdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Shooting Range
Space Shuttle Project
Double Dare
Win, Lose or Draw
Othello
Whomp Em
Dragon Fighter
Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle
Family Feud
Tale Spin
Platoon
Gotcha!
Gun Smoke
Kiwi Kraze
10 Yard Fight
Tom & Jerry
Wrecking Crew
Hatris
Time Lord
Orb 3D
Wheel of Fortune Jr
Wheel of Fortune Family Edition
Captain America and the Avengers
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune Featuring Vanna White
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Bo Jackson Baseball
Jeopardy! Jr
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary
Cowboy Kid
Crash n The Boys: Street Challenge
Galaga
Color A Dinosaur
Millipede
Popeye
Sesame Street 123
Sesame Street ABC
Sesame Street Hide & Speak
Soccer
Classic Concentration
Fisher Price I Can Remember
Fisher Price Perfect Fit
Mickey's Safari in Letterland
Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
NES Open Golf
Pictionary
Chessmaster
Anticipation
DK Jr Math
Donkey Kong 3
Urban Champion
Balloon Fight
Pinball
Qix
Hollywood Squares
Twin Cobra
Flintstones Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
Tiger-Heli
Winter Games
NES World Cup Soccer
Defender II
M.U.S.C.L.E.
MTV's Remote Control
Spot The Video Game
Spy vs Spy
Taboo The Sixth Sense
Gemfire
Monopoly
Legend of the Ghost Lion
Jackal
Rad Racer
Rad Racer II
Arch Rivals
Deja Vu
Nightshade
Mickey Mousecapade
King's Quest V
Vegas Dreams
Magic Johnson's Fast Break
Touchdown Fever
Future Plans - My slower games are going to consist of things like Casino Kid, Caesar's Palace and Maniac Mansion. When my family leaves I'm going to try and hammer out some action games like Life Force, Bucky O'Hare, P.O.W., Rush 'n Attack, Joe & Mac, etc. Wish me luck!!
This blog entry sees me at a very significant milestone with my NES playing. It marks my 300th victory!! Since my NES collection is just a few games shy of 600 that also means I am finally at a point where I've beaten more than half of my NES collection! Even if I don't make my goal of 100 games beaten over 100 days this time I can at least take some solace in the number 300. The range of games played for this update is also pretty diverse. Its got everything from Non-games to Strategy to Racing.
The first game I played this time was possibly my shortest video so far. Spy vs Spy has the same ending on every difficulty level so I figured "why bust my ass playing on hard if its just the same?" and opted for the default level which is the lowest setting. The game is meant for quick multiplayer matches so it was pretty painless. Hard to judge the game based on playing against the computer, but it does seem like it would be kind of lame even against your buddies 
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/SpyvsSpy-Ending_zps05c90fc8.jpeg[/img]
I also played everyone's favorite non-game (no it wasn't Color A Dinosaur again, sorry), Taboo: The Sixth Sense. If you are not familiar with this cart it isn't a game at all, but a Tarot Card simulator. So you ask the game a question and it draws out the cards and reads from the Arcana provided in order to give you some insight into your question........ and then provides you with lucky lotto numbers at the end . I asked it the most profound question I could think of.......
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Taboo-Ending_zps15598145.jpeg[/img]
Gemfire is a game I've been wanting to get to for quite some time now and with my new recording setback this seemed like a great time to finally tackle it. Gemfire is a KOEI strategy game set in a mythological world. Your goal is to conquer every province on an island in order to unite the land under one leader. Much of the game is spent in menus developing your territories and building your army. The battles take you to another screen and involve moving your units around in a turn based fashion in order to capture your opponents base or defeat their army. Your army always consists of 4 units (1 Cavalry unit, 2 Knight units, 1 Archer unit) divided evenly between the number of troops you have available and you have the option of recruiting a 5th separate unit by either hiring them, meeting certain conditions (such as having a high morality level) or obtaining one of the 6 Gems scattered across the island in the hands of rival leaders.
Unlike many of the other KOEI games I've tried Gemfire is pretty user friendly. If you are looking for a game to introduce you to strategy games on the NES this is probably the best one. All the menus are simplified and the battles are extremely easy to grasp right from the start. There is still quite a lot going on each month, but its much easier to manage than on some of the other KOEI games. The scope of the game isn't quite as intimidating either. While Romance of the Three Kingdoms took me a whopping 40+ hours to beat, Gemfire only stole a mere 6+ hours of my life. Unfortunately the price of Gemfire hasn't been immune to the recent sky-rocketing NES prices, but if you are interested in strategy games its a really fantastic game for people like myself who are largely inexperienced with the genre.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Gemfire-Ending_zps5f30834b.jpeg[/img]
Digging through my library for any more game show style games I stumbed across Monopoly which I've been neglecting. It might seem boring to most, but I have a pretty big soft spot for Monopoly. My cousin and I used to play the board game like crazy when we were kids and always argued about the rules. As a result I became pretty familiar with the rule book. I have a hard time playing with most people in real life because basically no one play the game properly. Wether its free parking paydays, not auctioning property or double the cash for landing on Go I get seriously irked when playing with most people. Luckily for people like me there are video game versions that allow me to play against computer opponents who must obey the rules!! I had a lot of fun with this as I haven't had a good game of Monopoly in quite a while now (no one wants to play with me and my rules ).
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Monopoly-Ending_zps511df2fe.jpeg[/img]
Legend of the Ghost Lion is a game that I didn't know much about gameplay wise. I knew it was some kind of RPG and that was about it. It started off pretty decent. Very little for story and the directions where often pretty vague, but those are both things I expect from NES era RPGs. You play as a relatively weak young girl, who fortunately can summon various creatures to help out in battle. As you find enchanted items throughout the game you can summon things like Giants, Dwarfs or Centaurs to do most of your fighting for you. Grinding is almost non-existent because of how the level up system it set-up. Instead of gaining experience from battles you only gain currency. To make your character stronger you have to find Fragments of Hope which are found in treasure chests scattered in dungeons around the map. Another nice thing about the game is that pretty much all the dungeons are relatively short and straightforward.
Unfortunately once you enter the 3rd area of the game the difficulty really spikes. Because you only level up from obtaining Fragments of Hope there is a maximum level you'll be at for each area (assuming you found all the Fragments up to that point). So if you are struggling as I was at some points you can't grind your way out of it. Luckily dying only causes you to return to the last save area and lose half your cash. Money is pretty easy to obtain again so that isn't a big deal and the map is small enough that getting back to where you were isn't to bad as well. Its just kind of frustrating. The game is pretty short compared to many other RPGs too, so its not to big of a time sink either. What started off ok got a bit tiresome after a while.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/LegendoftheGhostLion-Ending_zps1db78d3f.jpeg[/img]
When I'm at home I can still play some of the faster paced games and I've heard Jackal is decent and short so I popped it in. Most of the game isn't too bad, but I found one thing very annoying from start to end. That was that your jeep could only shoot its bullets directly upwards. This meant that to fire in any other direction you needed to rely on your secondary missile/grenades. These are your big explosive weapons so they fire understandably slow. Its pretty bothersome when you've got several enemies coming at you in an action game like this the last thing you want is to suffer through sluggish weapons and that problem persisted through the entire game. I feel like Jackal could have been amazing with that one little problem fixed.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Jackal-Ending_zps2b540dfb.jpeg[/img]
If you've browsed my list of finished game you may have noticed several "classic" or "essential" games missing from it. One of those has finally been rectified. After far too long I've finally played through Rad Racer! It was actually quite a bit of fun for something so simplistic. Really had a good time on almost all the tracks. Track 5 was a bit frustrating, but otherwise it was pretty solid straight through.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/RadRacer-Ending_zpsbdc0bb6b.jpeg[/img]
Game number 300 was none other than Rad Racer II. Unfortunately Rad Racer II suffers from what a lot of NES sequels also suffer from. It somehow is very similar to the first game, but almost inexplicably loses some of its initial charm. I felt that way when playing other games like Chip n Dale 2, Duck Tales 2, Power Blade 2, Bubble Bobble 2, StarTropics 2, etc. Its a decent game, but for reasons I have trouble verbalizing I liked the first one a lot more.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/RadRacerII-Ending_zps0dc99530.jpeg[/img]
Since 300 is a special number for me here is the full list of games done instead of the usual smaller list with just this years challenge games. Enjoy!
Beaten Since Oct.8th 2011
(click on a title to see the video)
Super Mario Bros
Super Mario Bros 2
Super Mario Bros 3
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Castlevania
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
Duck Tales
Duck Tales 2
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2
Felix the Cat
Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout
Ren and Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$
Double Dragon
Contra
Super C
Contra Force
Power Blade
Power Blade 2
Dynowarz: The Destruction of Spondylus
Metal Storm
Journey to Silius
Air Fortress
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Blaster Master
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
Legendary Wings
BreakThru
Commando
Guerrilla War
World Games
Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular
Caveman Games
DK Classics
Jaws
Ninja Gaiden
Where's Waldo?
Bonk's Adventure
Panic Restaurant
Bubble Bobble 2
Dr. Mario
Bubble Bobble
MC Kids
Batman
Circus Caper
Roller Games
Widget
Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures 2
The Jetsons
The Little Mermaid
Monster in my Pocket
Gremlins 2
Kirby's Adventure
Kickle Cubicle
Kung Fu
Yo! Noid
Xexyz
Puss 'N Boots: Pero's Great Adventure
Wall Street Kid
The Karate Kid
Archon
Golf
Super Dodgeball
Super Spike V'Ball
Jakcie Chan's Action Kung Fu
The Three Stooges
Ice Hockey
Tecmo Bowl
Track & Field
Mario Bros
NARC
North and South
Barbie
Battle Chess
The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World
The Flintstones: Surprise at Dinosaur Peak
Snow Brothers
Little Samson
Sky Shark
Ninja Gaiden II
Mike Tyson's Punch Out
The Simpsons: Bart Meets Radioactive Man
StarTropics
Little Nemo: The Dream Master
River City Ransom
StarTropics 2: Zoda's Revenge
The Jungle Book
Castlevania III Dracula's Curse
Mario is Missing
Blades of Steel
Hogan's Alley
Wild Gunman
Burger Time
Silver Surfer
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones
Ghosts n Goblins
Tetris
Pro Wrestling
Gradius
Zanac
Adventure Island
Karnov
Trojan
Excitebike
Baseball
Spy Hunter
Adventure Island II
Tennis
Battletoads
Shadowgate
Battletoads/Double Dragon
Pinball Quest
Section Z
Godzilla
Hydlide
Marble Madness
Back to the Future
Darkman
Terminator 2
Robocop
Total Recall
Predator
Robocop 2
Robocop 3
Hudson Hawk
Home Alone
Home Alone 2
Batman Returns
Ghostbusters II
Ghostbusters
Die Hard
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Krion Conquest
Adventures of Dino Riki
Ultima: Exodus
Legacy of the Wizard
Ultima: Quest of the Avatar
Darkwing Duck
Ultima: Warriors of Destiny
Legends of the Diamond
Pro Sports Hockey
Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball
Yoshi's Cookie
Kick Master
Zombie Nation
Stadium Events
Super Jeopardy!
Joust
Yoshi
Dance Aerobics
Adventures of Bayou Billy
Pipe Dreams
Ski or Die
Werewolf: The Last Warrior
Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants
City Connection
American Gladiators
Roundball 2-on-2 Challenge
720
Athletic World
Super Team Games
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Gumshoe
Bases Loaded
The Addams Family Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt
Kings of the Beach
The Blues Brothers
Volley Ball
Lode Runner
3D World Runner
Twin Eagle
Dragon's Lair
The Adventures of Rad Gravity
Break Time: The National Pool Tour
Bases Loaded II
Rainbow Islands
Conquest of the Crystal Palace
Peter Pan And The Pirates
Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragon Strike
Slalom
Wrath of the Black Manta
Race America
Treasure Master
Krusty's Fun House
King's Knight
Mighty Bomb Jack
Bases Loaded 3
Castelian
Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll
Dirty Harry
Conan
Cobra Triangle
Spider Man Return of the Sinister Six
Tag Team Wrestling
Eliminator Boat Duel
Galaxy 5000
George Foreman's KO Boxing
Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge
Thunder & Lightning
Heavy Shreddin'
Flying Warriors
Rocket Ranger
Roger Clemens MVP Baseball
Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure
Destination Earthstar
Street Cop
Short Order/Eggsplode
Star Voyageur
Days of Thunder
Laser Invasion
Silent Service
Back to the Future 2 & 3
Overlord
High Speed
Sesame Street Countdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Shooting Range
Space Shuttle Project
Double Dare
Win, Lose or Draw
Othello
Whomp Em
Dragon Fighter
Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle
Family Feud
Tale Spin
Platoon
Gotcha!
Gun Smoke
Kiwi Kraze
10 Yard Fight
Tom & Jerry
Wrecking Crew
Hatris
Time Lord
Orb 3D
Wheel of Fortune Jr
Wheel of Fortune Family Edition
Captain America and the Avengers
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune Featuring Vanna White
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Bo Jackson Baseball
Jeopardy! Jr
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary
Cowboy Kid
Crash n The Boys: Street Challenge
Galaga
Color A Dinosaur
Millipede
Popeye
Sesame Street 123
Sesame Street ABC
Sesame Street Hide & Speak
Soccer
Classic Concentration
Fisher Price I Can Remember
Fisher Price Perfect Fit
Mickey's Safari in Letterland
Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
NES Open Golf
Pictionary
Chessmaster
Anticipation
DK Jr Math
Donkey Kong 3
Urban Champion
Balloon Fight
Pinball
Qix
Hollywood Squares
Twin Cobra
Flintstones Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
Tiger-Heli
Winter Games
NES World Cup Soccer
Defender II
M.U.S.C.L.E.
MTV's Remote Control
Spot The Video Game
Spy vs Spy
Taboo The Sixth Sense
Gemfire
Monopoly
Legend of the Ghost Lion
Jackal
Rad Racer
Rad Racer II
BONUS GAMES:
Assimilate
Future Plans - Gonna give a few point and click games some time this next week. Deja Vu and Univited and the like. Maybe King's Quest V if time permits.
This last week was quite slow for me because unfortunately I lost access to the setup that I do 90% of my playing on. This means that I have to revert back to my original setup of playing straight into my Laptop. Now by doing my recordings this way I have a little amount of lag to deal with, which means that any game that requires quick reactions is gonna be MUCH harder. Its unlikely to change anytime in the immediate future so I'll just have to make due with what I've got to work with. This means the selection of games I had prepared might not be ideal at the moment. I'm going to be focussing on games that don't require much in terms of reflexes. Things like RPGs, Strategy Games or some types of Puzzle games. Unfortunately those genres tend to be pretty time consuming in comparison to what I had in mind so its gonna be a struggle to get to my goal of 100 games in my time frame. Luckily I was able to get a little ahead before this happened and still have several pretty easy games left to cross of the list. So while last week I was basically positive I was gonna reach my goal, now I'm not so sure. But I'll try to get as close as I can given my current limitations.
If anyone can recommend any slow moving games that are relatively quick victories I'd really appreciate it though!
Now onto what I have been able to do in the last little while.
Some of you may remember that I really liked World Games. So I was hopeful that Winter Games would be enjoyable too. Unfortunately it wasn't nearly as good. It had fewer events and none of them stood out to me as very good. Pretty big let down after World Games.
[img width=643 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/WinterGames-Ending_zps924ac634.png[/img]
Decided it was time to sink a little effort into the only Soccer game I ever played as a child, NES World Cup Soccer. Like most Technos games its pretty fun, but can get a little repetitive since you have to play through 12 games to win. The first 6-8 games are pretty much a joke too. It really doesn't pose much of a challenge until you get to the games in the finals. Even then I only lost one game the entire time. Definitely more fun with some friends.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/NESWorldCupSoccer-Ending_zps6bcdd2f0.png[/img]
Here is another early arcade port, Defender II. Unfortunately there is no high score to beat, ending or areas to loop. So it was basically just beat a level I guess :/. Nothing to write home about.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Defender-Ending_zpsf294d3c5.png[/img]
Next up is everybody's favorite wrestling game M.U.S.C.L.E.!! The game starts looping after the 4th stage and the preset high score was beaten after the 5th stage so since there is no ending I'm calling that good enough. Kind of a lame game though. Gets old and repetitive VERY fast and the random power up things that get launched across the ring each round kind of break the game.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/MUSCLE-Ending_zpsdf93dfa0.png[/img]
You thought I was done with all the game shows by now? Fear not I found another one! MTV's Remote Control. TV trivia wasn't to hard, but to make things even easier they don't punish you for getting wrong answers! So I could just buzz in first every single time wether I knew the answer or not and take a 1 out of 3 chance of getting it correct. Its like they wanted me to win!
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/MTVRemoteControl-Ending_zpse971a181.png[/img]
Lastly this time around was Spot The Video Game. Hopeful that it might be the long awaited game to surpass the almighty Othello I was sadly disappointed The game moves far to quickly and has some flashy animations and annoying sounds, so it'll never be in the same league as Othello. The default computer was a bit smarter than me, but after 5-6 attempts I was able to finish it up.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Spot-Ending_zpsd283b743.png[/img]
2013 NES List
67 Games Beaten In 56 Days
Sesame Street Countdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Shooting Range
Space Shuttle Project
Double Dare
Win, Lose or Draw
Othello
Whomp Em
Dragon Fighter
Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle
Family Feud
Tale Spin
Platoon
Gotcha!
Gun Smoke
Kiwi Kraze
10 Yard Fight
Tom & Jerry
Wrecking Crew
Hatris
Time Lord
Orb 3D
Wheel of Fortune Jr
Wheel of Fortune Family Edition
Captain America and the Avengers
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune Featuring Vanna White
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Bo Jackson Baseball
Jeopardy! Jr
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary
Cowboy Kid
Crash n The Boys: Street Challenge
Galaga
Color A Dinosaur
Millipede
Popeye
Sesame Street 123
Sesame Street ABC
Sesame Street Hide & Speak
Soccer
Classic Concentration
Fisher Price I Can Remember
Fisher Price Perfect Fit
Mickey's Safari in Letterland
Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
NES Open Golf
Pictionary
Chessmaster
Anticipation
DK Jr Math
Donkey Kong 3
Urban Champion
Balloon Fight
Pinball
Qix
Hollywood Squares
Twin Cobra
Flintstones Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
Tiger-Heli
Winter Games
NES World Cup Soccer
Defender II
M.U.S.C.L.E.
MTV's Remote Control
Spot The Video Game
Future Plans - Already put a decent amount of time into Gemfire so I plan to continue that one. Also plan to keep trying on Track & Field II after heal from an injury on a previous attempt Gonna be looking into more strategy and RPG type games. Perhaps Nobunaga's Ambition or Legend of the Ghost Lion.
With NES Open Tournament Golf finished so that its not eating up a ton of my playing time I'm moving along at a much more comfortable pace now. 9 Games downed since last update!!
Went on a Black Box binge which started with some Donkey Kong 3. I had never played this before and expected it to be much like the original...... WOW was that not the right assumption. I really liked it, but the game was extremely odd. Puffing air at DK's ass until he knocks a beehive onto his own head....... how did that ever get made? Anyway like many early games and arcade ports there were only a few levels to loop so it was a quick victory.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/DonkeyKong3-Ending_zpsbebe8bad.png[/img]
After DK I decided to take it to the streets with some Urban Champion. Since the game goes on forever and winning one match and calling it a day felt pretty lame I decided to keep playing until I was awarded a trophy for my victory icon. Still not overly hard, but at least I had to play it for more than 1-2 minutes.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/UrbanChampion-Ending_zpsa6760358.png[/img]
One of my favorite Black Box titles that I have not played in far too long was Balloon Fight. I like it mainly for the Balloon Trip mode. The regular mode is fine too, feels like a better version of joust. But I really enjoy the Balloon Trip a lot. You get ranked in Balloon Trip mode so my goal was to get the 1st place ranking.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/BalloonFight-Ending_zps5868eea7.png[/img]
Last for my Black Box triumphs this update was Pinball. This was the game I spent the most time on also. Pinball doesn't have an ending, highscore or levels. So I decided my goal should be to get the flippers to disappear (100,000 points), then reappear (150,000 points) and save the lady in the bonus scene at least once. Felt like an appropriate goal to call it done. Took me a while to figure out how to build a decent score, but much like when I played High Speed it got quite enjoyable once I figured out how the table played. Not as bad as I first assumed.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Pinball-Ending_zpsea0b91f0.png[/img]
Next game is one I was lucky enough to pick up while down south visiting the flea market with Shadow, Qix. It took me far to long to finally plug it into my NES. It is a really addicting little puzzler. I dunno if its just me, but I found it pretty challenging and also a ton of fun. You run a line across a big rectangular area trying to create shapes in it without hitting enemies. The goal is to fill a certain percentage of the level with your shapes. Sounds lame, but so do most puzzle games when you say it out loud. This is one I'll definitely revisit later on.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Qix-Ending_zps7058bba7.png[/img]
Still looking slate my insatiable hunger for game shows I dusted off my copy of Hollywood Squares and won myself a car! The questions are fairly easy and after only a couple playthroughs you'll probably notice a lot of them being recycled, but the humor is actually pretty funny most of the time. Definitely more fun with a friend than against the computer though.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/HollywoodSquares-Ending_zps2b8ee084.png[/img]
Looking for something a little more action packed I decided to revisit a game I havn't played in a few years, Twin Cobra. It doesn't get talked about much when people discuss scrolling shooters on the NES, but I think its great. The powerup system is very basic (I actually like that) and the controls are very tight. They recycle a few bosses, but for the most part they are varied and interesting. I think its a great shooter definitely worth checking out.
[img width=639 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/TwinCobra-Ending_zps3d2fe2b1.png[/img]
Oddly enough I actually owned, played, and beat Flintstones Surprise at Dinosaur Peak long before I did any of those with Flintstones Rescue of Dino & Hoppy. It was about time I fixed that. This game reminded me a lot of the Jetsons. It seemingly does a lot of things I like, but for some reason it just doesn't feel that much fun. I think with a new fighting mechanic it might flow a lot better. Kind of a "meh" game for me.
[img width=639 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/FlintstonesRescue-Ending_zpsfdb9041d.png[/img]
And to finish the night off this evening I popped in yet another scrolling shooter with Tiger-Heli. Unlike Twin Cobra its pretty obvious why this one doesn't get mentioned much. Its not terrible, its just incredibly bland. It doesn't have much personality to it at all. And it feels very slow. Luckily there are only 4 short levels and then it starts looping stages.
[img width=639 height=479]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Tiger-Heli-Ending_zpseb4b9381.png[/img]
2013 NES List
61 Games Beaten Over 44 Days
Sesame Street Countdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Shooting Range
Space Shuttle Project
Double Dare
Win, Lose or Draw
Othello
Whomp Em
Dragon Fighter
Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle
Family Feud
Tale Spin
Platoon
Gotcha!
Gun Smoke
Kiwi Kraze
10 Yard Fight
Tom & Jerry
Wrecking Crew
Hatris
Time Lord
Orb 3D
Wheel of Fortune Jr
Wheel of Fortune Family Edition
Captain America and the Avengers
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune Featuring Vanna White
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Bo Jackson Baseball
Jeopardy! Jr
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary
Cowboy Kid
Crash n The Boys: Street Challenge
Galaga
Color A Dinosaur
Millipede
Popeye
Sesame Street 123
Sesame Street ABC
Sesame Street Hide & Speak
Soccer
Classic Concentration
Fisher Price I Can Remember
Fisher Price Perfect Fit
Mickey's Safari in Letterland
Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
NES Open Golf
Pictionary
Chessmaster
Anticipation
DK Jr Math
Donkey Kong 3
Urban Champion
Balloon Fight
Pinball
Qix
Hollywood Squares
Twin Cobra
Flintstones Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
Tiger-Heli
Future Plans - Might try another sports compilation like Winter Games or Track & Field II.
The title of this blog is particularly fitting as I recently registered myself for Kindergarten. Apparently the spot for my child's name wasn't clearly labelled enough for me and I mistakenly entered my own. Oh well, at least I'll be prepared after these last few batches of games!!
What better to follow up Sesame Street games than with some Fisher Price!! I don't like to brag or anything, but my matching and remembering skills were a bit too much for poor Electro to handle. I played Perfect Fit a few years ago with my son and I think it helped him get comfortable with the D-Pad.
[img width=640 height=477]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/FisherPriceICanRemember-Ending_zpsf3e3c631.jpg[/img]
[img width=640 height=477]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/FisherPricePerfectFit-Ending_zpsf2178873.jpg[/img]
Padding my list further I popped in both of the Mickey Mouse educational games, Numberland and Letterland. The both actually surprised me a bit in that they were actually games Letterland in particular had some platforming and exploring elements to it. They were probably the least effective in terms of actually teaching anything to the player, but they were the most fun to play of the educational games I've come across so far.
[img width=640 height=477]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/MickeysAdventureinNumberland-Ending_zpsd78c0fb3.jpg[/img]
[img width=640 height=477]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/MickeysSafariinNumberland-Ending_zps25506ea4.jpg[/img]
While I've been knocking off a few easy titles a night for a quite a while I've also been sinking a LOT of time into NES Open Tournament Golf over the last week or two. The goal is to get your prize winnings to at least $1,000,000. The unfortunate part is that that amounts of money you win for most things are pretty low so it takes quite a while. You can increase your rank, but while doing that you gain $0. Regardless I spent the first couple nights increasing my rank to pro so that it would increase my tournament prize money. Then it was just a matter of getting decent enough to place high in the tournaments. I started to be able to win a tournament every time or two until I reached $500,000. At that point the competition started going from -3 to -6 under par for a round to -9 to -11. I started placing around 15th and worse from my consistant top 3 victories. The easiest source of income at this point seemed to be by playing 1 hole at a time bets. First hole was worth $2500 then $3500 then $5000. I basically just started practicing those first three holes and got decent enough at them to walk away with some prize money in most situations. Eventually my persistence paid off and I got my $1,000,000.
[img width=642 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/NESOpenGolf-Ending_zpsf2ea6420.jpg[/img]
After a few nights of golf and a couple more of Super Mario Bros 3 for a high score competition at nintendoage I just wanted some more quick easy games. So I dug into my game show vault and pulled out Pictionary and Anticipation. Both follow the same premise of guessing pictures. In Pictionary you have to play a little mini-game which depending on how you do will unlock a certain percentage of the picture you need to guess. Some of the mini-games are decent while others are pretty boring. Its a pretty short game with just 1 player as it was obviously meant for more. Ancitipation requires you to guess the picture as its being drawn before your opponents do. If you guess a correct picture in each of the 4 categories you are raised to the next level. After solving 12 different categories and moving past the 3rd level of the game you are declared the winner.
[img width=643 height=481]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Anticipation-Ending_zps9cd56018.jpg[/img]
I was hoping that Chessmaster might be a great follow up to my ever popular Othello video, but unfortunately you get the option to rush the computer opponent if you choose so it doesn't quite have the same appeal . By forcing the computer to make moves in a timely fashion its not nearly as challenging either.
[img width=641 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Chessmaster-Ending_zpsd0ffe798.jpg[/img]
Lastly I busted out some more learning and tried my hand at DK Jr Math. Much like Pictionary this game is meant to be played with a friend. So it was pretty easy to stomp my inactive opponent and prove my superior mathematic skills!!
[img width=643 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/DKJrMath-Ending_zpsc495e611.jpg[/img]
2013 NES List
Sesame Street Countdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Shooting Range
Space Shuttle Project
Double Dare
Win, Lose or Draw
Othello
Whomp Em
Dragon Fighter
Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle
Family Feud
Tale Spin
Platoon
Gotcha!
Gun Smoke
Kiwi Kraze
10 Yard Fight
Tom & Jerry
Wrecking Crew
Hatris
Time Lord
Orb 3D
Wheel of Fortune Jr
Wheel of Fortune Family Edition
Captain America and the Avengers
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune Featuring Vanna White
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Bo Jackson Baseball
Jeopardy! Jr
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary
Cowboy Kid
Crash n The Boys: Street Challenge
Galaga
Color A Dinosaur
Millipede
Popeye
Sesame Street 123
Sesame Street ABC
Sesame Street Hide & Speak
Soccer
Classic Concentration
Fisher Price I Can Remember
Fisher Price Perfect Fit
Mickey's Safari in Letterland
Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
NES Open Golf
Pictionary
Chessmaster
Anticipation
DK Jr Math
52 Games Beaten Over 40 Days
Got myself a nice little cushion to fall back on now which is pretty nice especially considering how much time I sunk into NES Open Tournament Golf. Now I'll be a bit more comfortable playing a few of the more interesting titles on my list. Plus I'm running out of Edutainment options 
Future Plans - It would be nice to give myself an even further boost ahead of my goal if possible so I think I might do a little Black Box spree tomorrow and check out stuff like Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong 3, Urban Champion and Pinball.
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