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It's a funny thing, but although I play a lot of games it's not often that I see them through to the end. Blame it on distractions. I suppose it takes a lot for me to be focused enough on a single to devote the time to complete it. More often than not, I start thinking about another game halfway through the one I'm playing. I doubt that's a rarity these days though, especially amongst retro collectors. We have a hobby where a stack of new games can be had for pocket money. But all year I've been keeping track of the games that I've beaten, and this year I made it to seventeen. I've never kept track for a full year before, but I'm quite sure that this must be the most I've beaten in a single year. So I thought it would be fun to sort of fully document the whole thing.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/bJYEz.jpg[/img]
1. Phantasy Star (GBA)
My first game of the year was actually the only RPG that I completed all year. As much as I really enjoy the genre, it's a perfect example of what I was talking about with my horrible attention-span for a single game. But Phantasy Star was the January choice for the http://Racketboy.com Together Retro game club, which meant that I forced myself to stick with it for an entire month. And actually I was really glad that I did. In fact, the game turned out to be one of my all time favorite 8-bit RPG's ever. Really it was an amazing game that needs to be experienced by all fans of the genre, though admittedly the 3D dungeons were way too difficult, so I did need some maps to make my way through. I highly suggest the GBA collection which also features the second and third installments of the series, along with some horrible box art.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/afdMx.jpg[/img]
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (GB)
I actually remember being in bed with the flu when I beat this one. Fall Of The Foot Clan was one of my very first Game Boy games back in 1989, and I still think it's great to this day. I also remember I was playing through it with the intention of doing a blog entry about the original GB trilogy of TMNT games sometime soon (oops). Though it's definitely extremely short and very easy, it also features some wonderful sprite animations and details that show an early understanding of the Game Boy hardware on Konami's part. A lot of people seem to look back on this one with disdain after the two Game Boy sequels were released, but as different as they games are, I still love this one. It's definitely a bit of a comfort game for me.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/jYjvu.jpg[/img]
3. Super Mario Bros. 2 (GBA)
Speaking of comfort games, Super Mario Bros. 2 just might be the game I've beaten more times than any other game ever. In fact it's one of those games that I tend to beat about once a year now, but what's funny is that I never tire of it. SMB2 is often considered a black sheep of the series, but it will always be a great game in my opinion. Oh, please notice that I will never refer to this game as Super Mario Advance by the way, and although I enjoy the updated graphics and save-feature, I detest the added voices.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/4JZB3.jpg[/img]
4. OutRun (GBA)
OutRun was another Together Retro game club pick, but as far as arcade racing games go, I couldn't have been happier. This is one of the few arcade racing games that I actually equate with memories of the arcade of my youth (it was called Dream Machine). The GBA port is part of the Sega Arcade Gallery, which I can mostly recommend, at least for this game and the necessary Space Harrier. I know I didn't end up beating the game through every single possible ending, but that was mostly because I lost track. I did try to do it with a racing wheel though, which didn't work so well for me. Oh well.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/h6LkN.jpg[/img]
5. Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival (GBA)
Generally speaking if somebody asks me what my absolute favorite GBA game is, this is the one that pops into my mind. Though I admit it's hard to say for sure what my real favorite would be, there's no doubt that this one is way up there. Street Fighter II has long been a favorite arcade fighter to me, and it just seems that Turbo Revival gets everything perfect. There's a lot of purists out there who will try to say that a 6-button game can't be done with four, but this is proof that it certainly can. I'm pretty sure that I can be this game in under twenty minutes now, and it may even be quicker than I know since I've never timed it. But don't think I'm bragging either, since I'm still not very good at Alpha 3 or Capcom Vs SNK 2, and I just recently found out that I'm pretty bad at Street Fighter IV. Really I'm just pointing out just how often I come back to this game. Oh and I always use Chun-Li if you're wondering.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/7c2B4.jpg[/img]
6. Mortal Kombat II (GB)
After Street Fighter II it seemed obvious to try my hand at its arch-nemesis, Mortal Kombat II. Though I'm not much of a fan of the series, I have always enjoyed the second game quite a bit. In my opinion the SNES version is the definitive port, but surprisingly the Game Boy release is quite competent. I say "surprisingly" because the first and third games got Game Boy releases that were just total crap, but the second was actually quite fun. Disclaimer: the game is missing quite a bit of the roster, and yes that's a letdown. I myself would have liked to see Baraka in this one. But once you get past that the truth is that the GB port is a lot of fun. Its controls are good, the special moves and fatalities are (mostly) present and it looks good. It's not perfect, but it gets things just right enough to want to finish the game. Which I did as Sub-Zero of course.
[img width=300 height=400]http://imgur.com/ZvrHe.jpg[/img]
7. Viper Phase 1 (arcade)
As far as my memory serves, this is actually the first arcade game I've ever beaten. The story goes like this: my nephew was having a birthday party at one of those "Fun Zone" kind of places with basketball hoops, dodgeball courts, pizza parties and that sort of stuff. Against one of the walls I noticed a row of light gun games that I wanted to give a try, but every time I checked they were occupied by many children. Then I noticed a lonely arcade cabinet that nobody seemed interested in. I went over and to my great joy it was a vertical shmup that I had never heard of, and it was set to free-play. I didn't have the intention of beating the game, so I didn't keep track of how many quarters I would have gone through. But all I know is that about an hour later I was watching the ending and inputting my initials into the high-score screen (in which I had ranked #2). Good times.
[img width=300 height=200]http://imgur.com/ev0jG.jpg[/img]
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time (SNES)
Here's the only other non-GB-related game that I beat this year, and I need to immediately point out that I didn't beat it alone. This was the first game that my wife and I beat together cooperatively. It was a lot of fun too. We played two nights in a row. The first night she was getting used to the controls, but by the second night she was a total ninja warrior. This is definitely a perfect co-op game.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/xZmCE.jpg[/img]
9. Godzilla: Domination (GBA)
I actually did a whole blog post raving about this game not that long ago. If you missed it, here's the scoop: Domination takes the format of King Of The Monsters and combines it with Kaiju monsters. How could you go wrong? Well maybe you could, but luckily they didn't. This game is brilliant. It utilizes some amazing sprite work and has a truly startling and memorable boss-fight at the end. Totally recommended. (Oh and I use King Ghidorah).
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/9WmhR.jpg[/img]
10. Iridion II (GBA)
If I had a dollar for every time I mentioned Iridion II on this blog... (note to self: see if you can work out a deal where you're paid a dollar every time you mention Iridion II on this blog). At any rate, I can't pretend the game is infallible. Certainly it begged for a battery for saving high scores. And it also was a bit on the easy side on the default setting. But none of that matters. The game is amazing. It looks amazing. It sounds amazing. It plays amazingly. It's quite possibly the best GBA shmup out there, and for the most art an homage to the heyday of 16-bit shmups without being overly derivative. I beat the game using an arcade stick, which is totally recommended if you've never given it a try. I also intend to beat the boss-rush mode sometime soon as well.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/XajTF.jpg[/img]
11. Scooby-Doo: Classic Creep Capers (GBC)
Here's one that I hyped up on the blog around Halloween this past year. As you might remember I compared it quite positively to Maniac Mansion. Not too long after that I played through the whole game so that I could work on a short article that I submitted to an upcoming book that http://Hardcoregaming101.com is compiling on the history of adventure gaming. And I loved every last moment of doing so. Classic Creep Capers a short but wonderful game that really needs to be played through by any fans of classic adventure games. Though it didn't take me that long, it still felt rewarding to see the end screen on this one.
[img width=300 height=300]http://i.imgur.com/QImAs.jpg[/img]
12. Trax (GB)
Speaking of short -- Trax is way too short. But it's still a blast. You need to check this one out if you're at all a Game Boy fan. It's made by Hal Labs which is already a good sign. It's kind of a shmup, although the screen doesn't auto-scroll. Also the gun can fire independent from the direction that the little oval tank is driving. But the gun an only aim by moving in a clockwise motion. It sounds weird, and it kind of is, but it's really fun.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/voLNP.jpg[/img]
13. Super Mario World (GBA)
Look I was in the theater watching The Wizard the first time I saw Super Mario Bros. 3. I remember what a big deal that was. However I still remember Super Mario World as the Mario's greatest platformer to date. You see I may have been a NES and Game Boy fanatic back in the day, but I even I fell for Sega's evil marketing campaigns. Even I fell for that hedgehog's speed and attitude. I thought Mario was relegated to my youth. Nintendo was for kids I assumed. I was a teenager now, and Sonic probably swore. But then I witnessed Super Mario World running on Ninty's new 16-bit SNES and everything wrong was right again. I've beaten SMW many times over the years, but I never bore of it. I am always amazed at the level design. I always nod my head when Yoshi adds some extra beats to the tunes. And I always remember that this is what I compare all platformers to. Oh and that last Bowser fight is still awesome.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/h3jBy.jpg[/img]
14. Super Puzzle Fighter II (GBA)
This is another game that I often consider one of the best GBA carts out there. It's another one I've raved about already on the blog, but consider this: any Game Boy fanatic probably has a fair share of puzzle games. I know I do. And there's a lot of amazing ones out there. In fact I do plan a nice long puzzle feature on the blog sometime soon (I swear). But no matter how many awesome puzzle games I come across, none seem so absolutely perfect as Super Puzzle Fighter II. I mean the game is so awesome that it's a sequel without a first game. It's so awesome that it has a super-deformed Morrigan. It's so awesome that I've beat it numerous times. And I've beat all the extra challenges and unlocked everything there is to unlock on the cart. And still I'm not sick of it. In fact I still don't even feel like I've completely mastered it. This game is so good that it becomes sort of a sickness. It's awesome. Everyone should have a copy.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/Klmvs.jpg[/img]
15. Alien Hominid (GBA)
People often talk about all the great Japanese exclusives on the GBA, but actually Europe got some pretty interesting ports as well. Case in point: Alien Hominid the ultra-bloody, cartoonish run-n-gun best known for appearing on the PS2 and GameCube. Of course once I knew a GBA version existed I had to try it out. And to be honest, I haven't played the GameCube disc since. Admittedly I do most of my gaming by myself, so co-op wasn't a big omission here. But yeah, I loved this game and was super-impressed by everything about the GBA port. If you can track one down, I suggest you do so.
[img width=300 height=300]http://imgur.com/i3uf1.jpg[/img]
16. 1942 (GBC)
I had been looking for a copy of 1942 for a while, so I was thrilled to finally get one in a trade. So thrilled that I had to hook it up to the Game Boy Printer (did you know it did that?) and play through the entire game in a single sitting. In truth it didn't take that long. Though I should note I had never played any of the 19xx series prior, so it was actually a pretty awesome achievement for me. If you're wondering how the port holds up, I can't compare it to any other version. But the audio is horrible. I can say that much. But besides that I really enjoyed the full game, even if the ending was a total disappointment.
[img width=300 height=450]http://imgur.com/RF0rp.jpg[/img]
17. Donkey Kong (e-Reader)
I first watched The King Of Kong back in 2008 and loved it. So recently decided to watch it with my wife. And she loved it as well. True story: we had actually visited Fun Spot on our honeymoon in 2006. Anyway, after re-watching it I couldn't help but be drawn to Donkey Kong again. Of course my scores are nothing impressive. But I figured that since the NES/e-Reader version is only three levels that loop, that really beating the first three levels is beating the game. So I reluctantly added it to my list.
At any rate, looking back on all these titles was a lot of fun. It was a fun year!
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