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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.
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