Battletoads & Double Dragon (1993) - #VideoGame #Review

A brilliant game!

Ok so back in the early 1990s some of the biggest, 'B' level media characters were, 'Battletoads' and, 'Double Dragon'.

Now Double Dragon is still an excellent video game series, even though it has mostly disappeared, but back then, this game series was one of the first, 'fighter style' video games for the, 'Nintendo', and was so much fun, that a movie would eventually be made in to it!

And then there was the, 'Battletoads'... Now this series is gone... I hate to say it, but it is true... But this series is similar in basic concept to the, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,' except that instead of being mutants from ooze... It is about a group of teens that can go back and forth between being, 'Toads' as well as being, 'humans'!

Now both of these series have individual video games that are a lot of fun... But they also have a video game together that totally rocks! Battletoads & Double Dragon (1993)!

Classic!

Developed by: Rare for the various consoles of the day, (including: Nintendo, Super-Nintendo, Game Boy and the Sega Genesis,) and was an amazing cross-over video game series between the two franchises!

And I have to say the individual video game series, this game rocks, it's fighting style is awesome, the FX are cool... The only two problems I have to say that really about the only things that I really don't like about this game... No story, and for some reason, the Graphics kind of really suck!

They don't really make these types of games anymore... It is a shame!

In the end though it is worth trying... Especially if you are a fan of the older video games.

Star Fox (1993) - Video Game Review

This game was truly revolutionary for it's time!

In a lot of ways, you could say that the, 'Super Nintendo' was a truly revolutionary product as far as video games go... I mean I suppose that the next generation video game systems, those video game systems that have, 'staying power', are pretty revolutionary...

Now eventually I will go more in-depth in to this, but for now, let me say this, ''The SNES' for what it was definitely was one of those video game systems that has allowed Nintendo to be one of the longest running (if not, 'THE' longest running) video game manufacturers of all time... But that is for another blog...

The reason that I mention what I mentioned above, is because there was a game, that, when it came out was a truly remarkable and... well... no pun intended, but was, 'a game changer' for the space fighter games of the tine... This game being: Star Fox (1993)!

A game that was truly ahead of it's time!

Developed by: Nintendo EAD, this game told the story of: Andross, a scientist, has fled to Planet Venom after being banished from Planet Corneria, and has now declared war on Corneria and unleashed an enormous army to wreak havoc on the Lylat system. General Pepper, the commanding officer of Corneria's defense force, has decided to dispatch a prototype high-performance fighter aircraft called the "Arwing." However, lacking in time to train pilots for the new fighters, he summons the elite mercenary team Star Fox to defeat Andross. Fox McCloud, the leader of the team, is accompanied by his teammates Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad!

Considering the similarity in content, and despite how much fun Sega's, 'Sonic: The Hedgehog' is... Star Fox definitely gave Sonic a run for his money!

In the end, this is one of the first, first person style space fighter games that I had ever played (what I mean is that up till this point, most space fighter based games that I had played generally tended to be 2D as opposed to 3D...)

Another cool thing is the fact that this game was one of the first games to employ, '3D Polygon Graphics,' which they were able to accomplish this due to the fact that this game was one of the first to utilize the SuperFX graphics acceleration coprocessor!

Another interesting fact is that this game was originally release in Japan for the Super-Fammicom (The Japanese version of the North American, 'Super Nintendo Entertainment System',) on February 21st, 1993, and would later be released for the Super Nintendo on March 26th, 1993 and then for Europe on June 3rd, 1993!

The box art for, 'Star Fox' on Japan's, 'Super Famicom'... The Japanese equivalent to North America's, 'Super Nintendo Entertainment System'!

Ultimately guys, I guess what I am tring to say, is this, if you like first person shooter games, or if you like space games, this game is a total blast... Admittedly it maybe a little hard to find, but if you can find it, then I highly recommend checking it out... It is more then well worth it!

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Street Fighter 2 - Turbo: Hyper Fighting (1992) - Video Game Review

I am going to say it... I am pleased with the fact that Capcom eventually gave up the whole, (Street Fighter 2) sub-genre of the classic competitive fighting series, but I will admit that I do rather miss it a fair amount as well!

I mean don't get me wrong, I am very much aware of the fact that all good things do have to end, and that there is only so many different ways you can make the same thing new and exciting... But for me, I grew up with this series, and this was the first stylized competitive fighting video game series that I had ever played!

And you know what? The first version of this game was awesome (please click here, for more information on the first game,) but the next game set the tone in my opinion for a fun, fast paced video game series that would entertain both boys and girls for years!

That game being: Street Fighter 2 - Turbo: Hyper Fighting (1992)!

A classic!

Yes... It is true that there is not a hell of a lot of difference between this game, and it's awesome predecessor, but the truth is, is if you are like me, then you are not a fan of the some times over the top slow nature of this video games immediate predecessor... And the fact that the game was sped up helped hugely!

Can you guess which one of these characters had a cameo in, 'Wreck-It Ralph'?

Another cool thing about this game is that there are some new awesome moves that did make it even more fun!

Finally... For me, the best part of what made this game great is that with all the changes that were made to this game, that it still maintained the same basic style and characters that made this series so awesome!

So, if you haven't tried it... Then do so, I do recommend it, if you get a chance!

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Earthworm Jim And The Battletoads: A Couple Of Forgotten Heroes Of TheWorld Of Video Games

We all know about the modern heroes of the world of video games, I mean who doesn't know of, 'Master Chief' from Microsoft's popular, 'Halo' video game series... And if you are a little bit older, I am sure you guys will remember, 'Sonic the Hedgehog' from the famous Sega series,  or, ' Mario' from Nintendo's legendary, 'Super Mario Bros.' franchise... (All though I will admit that Mario is as much a modern day hero as any of the rest of them!)

But I thought that I would go back through the decades here and I thought it would be fun to talk about two in particular that I personally, I think you will agree, should be brought back to prominence!

Let's get started!

At number 1: Earthworm Jim

Earthworm Jim, now here is a game that has been ported from just about all the great video game systems of the last 20 years or so, and has been also on Computer as a Computer game!

At number 2: The Battletoads... A popular set of heroes that had games on just about all of the famous video game systems of the era (Nintendo/Famicom, the Amiga, The Sega Genesis, Gameboy, Game Gear, and that is just to name a few!)

There are a ton more, these two in particular I decided to mention because... I mean lets be honest here, they are pretty awesome, and almost completely forgotten!

The Evolution Of Mario In All Of The Super Mario/Mario Bros. Games

Like all great things, if you follow it from the beginning, you get the opportunity to see what ever endeavor you are engaged in flourish from the beginning, and see it grow, and evolve... And so I thought that you guys would enjoy the evolution of, 'Mario' as seen in the various, 'Super Mario Bros./Mario Bros.' Games!

Donkey Kong.

Mario in his first ever appearance in the original, 'Donkey Kong'!

Now you might be wondering why I have worked Donkey Kong in to the equation... Well, it may not technically be a, 'Mario Bros' game so to speak... But this game is the first game ever to introduce the character.

Mario Bros.

Mario before he became the man everyone Nintendo fan knows and loves!

Now here is an interesting one, this Mario is from before he was on, 'Nintendo' in, 'Super Mario Bros.', He had a one hit wonder on the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200 with, 'Mario Bros.'

Super Mario Bros.

Mario from, 'Super Mario Bros.'

The Mario us old timers have come to know and love!

Super Mario Bros 2.

It looks like Mario is getting a little clearer in, 'Super Mario Bros 2'

In Super Mario Bros 2, we begin to see Mario become a little bit more defined, and a little bit more like a real person.

Super Mario Bros 3.

In Super Mario Bros 3, we see that Mario is able to pick from more options of super powers he can gain.

In Super Mario Bros 3, Mario and his crew are given more super powers... Including the ability to fly with his raccoon suite!

Super Mario World.

Mario really wants that level up!

Super Mario World would see the transition for Mario and the rest of his gang from the NES to the SNES.

Super Mario 64.

Yikes!

Super Mario 64 would see another transition for Mario and his crew, from the SNES to the Nintendo 64.

Super Mario Sunshine.

Whose up for a little sunshine?

An odd name, but it looks like this game would bring Mario in to the Nintendo Game Cube... As a first person shooter?

New Super Mario Bros.

The Bros are back!

New Super Mario Bros would bring Mario in to the world of both the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii!

Super Mario Galaxy.

That is a big ball!

 This would see Mario in a whole new adventure on the Wii!

It's so awesome that they brought back the raccoon suite!

In Super Mario 3D Land we get to see Mario on his next big adventure on the Nintendo DS in the second 3D platform to grace the portable system!

New Super Mario Bros. U

A new suite? 

This is one I thought I would put up because in all honesty, it is one of the newest, and it does show Mario with a new suite!

Super Mario 3D World

Almost got it... Almost got it...

Now Super Mario 3D World I thought that I would mention here because between the first time Mario is ever seen, and this one, the change is absolutely amazing!

I will be honest with you guys and say that I have skipped a few games... But to be honest, in the evolutionary sense of what we have been working toward, those games would not have really given you something new... This here should give you a clear look at Mario's humble beginnings to where he is now!

Nintendo Power... A Collector's Item

This magazine may have joined the dearly departed, but it will never be forgotten!

That's right folks... If you were born before the 1990s I imagine that you would not have only heard of , but maybe actually owned this magazine, a magazine that during it's production was initially called, 'Nintendo Fun Club News'!

Now for a little bit of history about this magazine, first off, this magazine was initially being created in house at, 'Nintendo Of America' as, 'Nintendo Fun Club' back in the mid to late 80s! Well it looks like in 1988 that, that this particular magazine was discontinued in favor of bringing to the world of Video Games at the time, 'Nintendo Power'!

Nintendo Fun Club News was the pre-cursor to Nintendo Power. 

Now the intention of Nintendo Power was to act as sort of a news/strategy guide, (initially just for video games that were made in house at Nintendo, but later would include games and what not that were licensed through Nintendo...)

This magazine would continue on through out the decades leading up to it's unfortunate end back in 2012... But during the height of it, and after Nintendo released the follow up console to the, 'NES', Nintendo Power started to add cartoon strips that would include stories from such classic games as: 'Super Mario World' and, 'Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past', and that is just to name a few!

Super Mario Adventures was the name of serialized comic that ran in Nintendo Power after the release of the Super Nintendo!

And that is just to name a few of the gimmicks that Nintendo Power did over the years that it has been around. a couple of more examples being a, 'Top 200 Video Game list' in issues 196 - 200, a top 20 list of all of the games that have ever been released for a Nintendo console as a way to celebrate Nintendo Power's 20th anniversary, and again that is just a few of them... Because if I explained all of the ones that have been around over the decades, we could be here for awhile...

Never-the-less, sadly, with the downfall of Nintendo Power, this magazine and all of it's issues have since become collector's items, so heck, if you are looking for a Christmas item for the gamer fan in your life this year... This might be the right gift for him or her!

This magazine maybe gone, but will never be forgotten!

Discovering The World Of Video Gamming And Their Consoles For The FirstTime... Again

Contra... A particularly violent game... Definitely one that boys enjoyed back in the day!

When I was a kid, one of the things that I discovered at a very young age (as a matter of fact, I think I may have been in either 3rd or 4th grade when I first discovered these, but till then I was still so young that I was still mostly playing with toys... That was till I discovered the world of video games!

The way this happened was... Well it was when I was in Elementary School or so... You see, one of the things that the Principle of the School let kids do on Fridays, was get off School a bit early and one of the kids would bring in one of their Video Game Consoles (back then we are talking, Nintendo... Sega Genesis... etc...) And all of us kids got to play...

Well in the end, this gave me the opportunity to dive in to the world of video games at a very young age... And I will say, that video games...  As a kid growing up, gave me loads and loads of fun, I got introduced to some very awesome video games, such as: Final Fantasy (1987), Contra (1987) as well as, Space Harrier 2 (1988), as well as so much more!

A truly classic game, and was one of the ones that I am happy to say helped me to truly enjoy the world of video games when I was a kid!

 Well... I hate to say it, but as time went on, I came to stop playing video games all together... Considering the fact that I developed a website that has to do with reviewing and blogging about video games that this might be a little odd... But it is true!

You see, I happened to be in Colorado with my wife a few years ago visiting the inlaws, and her brother (who fancies himself a bit of a, 'gammer',) introduced me to the world of the, 'XBox 360'... And well to say the least, I was hooked like I was back in the late 80s through the 90s!

Well when my wife and I got home, of course I wanted to get me an XBox 360... Couldn't do so at the time... (At the time, the XBox 360 was still a bit pricey...) The first system though I was able to dive in to was Microsoft's original, 'XBox' video game console, and the few games I was able to get my hands on when I bought the system and games from a friend of mine who was selling his!

The first, 'XBox' video game console that Microsoft released.

 The XBox 360... A video game console that was released by Microsoft, and is one of two of probably the most prolific video game consoles to have come in the 21st century!

In the end, I was able to get my XBox 360... And I have not looked backs since!

Now you might be wondering why I am writing this... Well if you are some one who has any doubt about the value of a kid's first video game system... Well let's put it this way, coming from a gammer of many years... Engaging in activities outside is important for everyone, no matter what age they are, and so... The reason that I write this, is that yes, it is a toy... But you never know... Some day your kids could do what I did, and turn their love of video games in to a worthwhile career!

Final Fantasy (1987) - Video Game Review

Official Score = 3 Devils 

When I was a kid, one of the things that I had really wanted was a video game system of my very own, I had found out about them because when I was still in school, one of the things that the Principal let us do, is they let one of the kids (who had, it seemed like most of the available video games, and systems of the mid 80s...) And so of course I really wanted one!

Well my mom wouldn't let me have one... Not sure exactly why, to much violence in video games I reckon (in the mid to late 80s, that was starting to become an issue for a lot of folks, especially when it came to their kids...)

Well to the least, my Dad ended up getting me a Nintendo (I know, I am starting to feel really old,) anyway he got that with a Basketball game that was fun, but another game that was pretty addicting to my dad when he first got it for me, and is still one of my favorite games... (Albeit more Fantasy the Science Fiction... But there is enough of that to make it count...) That game is Final Fantasy (1987)!

A classic!

Originally developed for the: Famicom, and which would later be released on the NES. MSX2, Wonderswan Color, Playstation, Gameboy Advance, various mobile phones over the years, PSP, Virtual Console as well as for the, 'Playstation Network' tells the story of how when fours warriors of light appear, each carrying orbs that kind of control the 4 elements (earth, wind, water & fire.)

Now these orbs are currently all dark, and so monsters and the like are being allowed to run rampant, and it is the mission of the Warriors Of Light to destroy the monsters, and to bring the Orbs back to life!

The fighting sequence may look a little lame... But what do you expect? I mean this game came out in 1987... And to this day is still a total blast! 

Now this game is a total blast, and I will say this, despite the fact that this game is old, it is still so good, that I myself am currently playing it on an old phone of mine that I kept just so that I could beat it!

The only problem with this game is this, the Final Fantasy series is known for the players getting in to a lot of moments when they are going to have to fight, and the first one is no different, the problem is, is this happens a little to much, to the point  where it can start to get a little irritating, and thus can make long term play a little rough!

Check it out, it maybe old, but it is fun!

The First Five Video Game Console Series.

Hey guys, so you have seen me do a lot of the history of video games, and well I got to thinking here recently... I personally love history, I love the history of video games, I have played some video games that have gone back to the mid 70s, and so I was thinking, well since these video games systems are so far removed, that you guys might like to see what came first... With the first five video game consoles series!

At number 1: The Magnavox Odyssey.

The first the world has ever seen!

Now this controversial video game system is universally considered to be the first video game console to have ever come out, having been released by Magnavox in 1972!

As for the second one to come out we have: Tele-Games

The Sears, 'Tele-Games' console was a console dedicated to, 'Pong'!

This system was a dedicated system that was developed by Atari in 1975 and released through Sears... And was the first real direct competition for Magnavox's, 'Odyssey' system... So much so, that I believe this system may have been partly responsible for Magnavox taking Atari to court over Atari's Pong game.

At number 3: Binatone TV Master

This is one of the models of Binatone's, 'TV Master' TV Game system. 

This system was Britain's move to the world of, 'Video Games', you see around the mid 70s, Binatone would release it's Binatone TV Master... This would grow the market by about 5 times in the first 2 years... As another side note, there was more then one model of this particular gaming system, which would be licensed by, 'Magnavox' for the United States!

Now the next one, and the fourth on our list, we have the, 'Coleco Telstar' (Model 6040).

The first of the Coleco series.

This one was the first of the video game systems that would be created by Coleco as part of their move over from processing shoe leather in to the video game market... This first video game system, which would be released in 1976 is a dedicated video game console with 3 pong variant games on it (Hockey, Handball & Tennis,) and this game it appears had 2 paddles as controllers...

This may have  been the first model, but it certainly would not be the last, with Coleco releasing 13 more video game consoles under the, 'Telstar' name!

And last, but certainly not least, we have a name you might recognize, with the Color TV-Game 6, that was released by Nintendo back in 1977!

Color TV-Game 6... Dull name, but before Nintendo's game systems we all know and love like, 'The Wii', or 'The DS', one of the earliest was, 'Color TV-Game 6'!

Before Nintendo released it's now legendary systems, such as: 'The Nintendo', 'The Super Nintendo', 'The Wii' or, 'The DS', or any of it's other classic video game systems from it's long list of amazing video game systems, Nintendo released the, 'Color TV-Game 6'... Well a dull name, but along with the other model in this line... Including: Color TV-Game 15, Color TV-Game Racing 112, Color TV-Game Block Breaker & Color TV-Game, would help to create the video game revolution we all know and love!

For more information:

The Evolution Of The Video Game Soundtrack: From Analog Music ThroughMovie Styled Video Game Soundtracks

A program used by Mac computers to create computer generated music.

Most people recognize that video game soundtracks in the modern day are becoming more and more like Movie or TV soundtracks... But before this really began to take shape, at the beginning of the world of video games... well as it turns out, most video games had computer generated music, and before that, Cassette or LP generated music.

Some of the music that has been computer generated... Well in the early days was pretty horrible, and well, if you really dig in to it, there are some truly fun scores (such as: Super Mario Bros. (Believe it or not, it is a fun soundtrack) and even Final Fantasy 7!)

To really understand this progression, lets really start with the progression of computer generated music (I mean after all, computer generated music is where video game music got it's start.)

In this case, the first computer to generate music was a computer called the, 'CSIRAC', (which stands for: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer.) Now I can give you all the technical jargon if you want (but that is probably not much use for what we are working toward in this blog.)

The earliest known computer to play music.

To say the least, this computer (which is one of the oldest first generation electronic computers ever built,) was built in Australia in the late 40s by Trevor Pearcy & Maston Beard and which in the early 50s would be programmed by a mathematician by the name of Geoff Hill to generate music.

Since then, there has been many advancements in the programming for computer generated music, leading up to, and for our purposes, the first video game to ever play computer generated music...

Now before I continue on I should also mention the direct predecessor to computer generated music for video games...

Like movies, in the case of video games, early video game music was played on independent systems separate from the video game itself.

You see, in the 1970s, when arcades were really having their Golden Age, video game music would be played in analogue form (on cassette tapes, or on LPs.) Well to say the least this proved to be unworkable, and the age of computer generated music was born!

You see, it turns out that a more workable solution for this was to insert a computer chip that would create music from electric impulses created from the games code in to analog music.

Well to say the least, starting with Gun Fight (1975)... A game which proved to be one of the earliest examples of computer generated music for games, we find video games getting better and better computer generated music... Leading to (what I would say), would be some great early computer generated music from such awesome NES games as (well besides what I mentioned above,) such stuff as: Contra (1987), Mega Man (1987) & even Castlevania (1987), to name a few!

Castlevania... A fun game, with a fun computer generated soundtrack! 

And you know what? This music just kept getting better and better, with the passage from, '8 Bit' games to, '16 Bit' games, as well as the advent of the first Playstation, etc... I am going to go so far as to say that the height of singularly computer created music format for video games was with the advent of the first, 'Playstation.'

Don't get me wrong, there has been a ton of fun video game soundtracks to come out before this, but some of the video game soundtracks that came out with the first playstation were truly... Amazing! A great example again is, Final Fantasy 7! I mean the music for this video game was truly prolific , to the point where one could have been said to be a, 'Computer Generated Opera!'

Now I don't exactly know when the change first started occurring (I unfortunately had a bit of an absence from the world of video games,) but I did notice that as time has gone on, and leading (at the very least up until the XBox 360,) that video game soundtracks have become less computer generated, and more like movie soundtracks!

Crackdown for the: XBox 360 is a great example of a video game that has an almost, 'movie' like sound track to it!

I reckon that as long as video games keep getting better and better and the lines between movies and video games get more and more blurred, that in the end, the soundtracks will as well!

For more information, please check out these examples:

Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) - Video Game Review

Official Score = 4 Devils

I am gonna call it... I think that Super Mario Bros. maybe the most prolific video game to have ever come out in the history of video games!

Don't get me wrong, there are certainly a lot of truly awesome video games out there, but this game... Which believe it or not, since, 'The first Mario game' actually came out for the. 'Atari 26000', and was just simply called, 'Mario Bros.'

This video game series has not only catapulted, 'Nintendo' and all of it's home video game consoles in to the stratosphere... And when all of Nintendo's competitors either went out of business, or stopped making video game system, since Nintendo started in the video game market (with the exception of Sony's 'Playstation series' or Microsoft's 'Xbox series'... But let's be honest here, both companies as far as video games go, are relatively recent arrivals, and shouldn't count.)

Well regardless, with Nintendo having maintained it's status as a major player in the world of video games, thanks to the, 'Mario Bros.', it is no wonder that when a lot of people think of video games, they think about, 'Super Mario Bros.'

Now where as I believe that the first, 'Super Mario Bros.' is probably the most prolific, I have to say that Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), is probably my favorite!

Mario going through one of the levels in Super Mario Bros. 3!

The reason for this is simple... This game, which has been seeing various releases on various video game platforms since the late 80s, and all the way up to the present... A video game which tells the story about how Bowser, his children and their Koopatroopa army invade the Mushroom Kingdom and stole the wands of the various King's and using them to turn them in to animals, are one of the most inventive of the series to date!

Don't get me wrong, each Mario game in it's own right brings something to the table that just makes things better, but I found that I really liked the fact that Mario and Luigi can find various suits that give them special powers that most of the time looks like animals, (I especially like the, 'racoon' suit'!

But besides tha I also found that I really liked the fact that they also had the classics super power getting power ups (including the, 'flower' that lets you shoot fire, or the, 'star' that kills any enemy that you touch.)

Mario with one original power, and is about to grab the, 'Flower Power' in Super Mario Bros. 3!

Also I like the fact that this video game was the first video game to introduce a world map for each of the, 'zones' that you have to work your way through... It is fun, and it gives you some choices as to which level you do or don't want to play through!

The last thing that I wanted to mention here... And this may seem silly, but there are some extra games that you can play while going through the game that if you win can help you as you make your way through the game (or drive you nuts if you loose often enough!)

In the end, I have to tip my hat to the team that made this job, they did a fantastic job, and well... If by some stroke of a lack of luck, you ended up not trying this game... Do so, I doubt you will regret... I know that I don't!