Welcome to Episode III of the Kirby Series! Today I will be looking at the first non traditional Kirby game that came out. Completely breaking out of the mold of the prior two games is Kirby's Pinball Land on the Game Boy.
The game was developed by HAL Laboratory and released in 1993. It was the first spin off Kirby game and is still considered to be one of the better pinball games to be seen on any system. The game features three very different tables with the objective being simple. Defeat the boss on each stage and then defeat King Dedede. I'll take a dive into how this all works.
This is the Wispy Woods table. When you start you will wind up in the center section. From there you can either drop down to the section below or reach the section above. If you fall through the bottom of the last section, you will possibly loose the ball. The ball can be saved however by pressing A at the right moment. As with most pinball games you only have 3 balls to work with, but extras can be earned by defeating bosses. If you reach the top section and find a warp star (in this case by defeating the enemies under the mushrooms and then shooting the ball around and to the top center of the screen) that will lead you to a boss battle.
Here Kirby takes a more traditional look as he battles against either Wispy Woods, Kracko, or Poppy Bros. Sr.. Each battle works differently, but since I'm focusing on Wispy I'll explain his boss battle here. You have to shoot Kirby into Wispy while avoiding falling apples and air blasts from Wispy that will send you hurling towards the warp star and back to the main table. In addition a Gordo will occasionally drop freezing one of your flippers for a short time. Defeat Wispy and you'll return to the table select screen where you can choose another table to play on.
That is essentially the whole gameplay. There is a lot of stuff to find and figure out as you go and since this is not a walk through, I am not going to go any more into the gameplay than I already have. Graphically however, the game looks very nice on the Game Boy. There are a bunch of involved little things visually that brings a lot more fun into the game. For example...
The Kirby on the left appears to be thinking about what he had eaten. Also notice that Kirby apparently eats out of what looks like a dog bowl. Fun little things like that can be found throughout the game that just make it more visually fun and appealing. The sounds of the game are pretty much those that you would expect from a pinball game. Lots of bell like sounds, but also a large amount of sounds from previous Kirby games as well. In fact two of the three tables feature music from the original Kirby's Dream Land. Some call that lazy. I call that smart given the tables are modeled after the levels from the original Game Boy game.
Perhaps the biggest draw to this game though is the fact that the high scores are actually saved. So that means you and your friends can compete in this game for high scores. Unlike the previous two installments of Kirby games, there is nothing to unlock, but no playthrough will in theory ever be the same. That gives this game (and other pinball games) a ton of replayability as the fun never truly comes to an end. I still find myself sticking this game into my Game Boy Advance SP or Super Game Boy and giving it a whirl. It is probably one of the hardest Kirby games as well to boot. I've only defeated King Dedede a few times and doing so was never an easy task.
My final thoughts on Kirby's Pinball Land is that it is a game that really got overshadowed by Pokemon Pinball. Once that game came out, a lot of people were obviously drawn to it and Kirby's Pinball Land kind of fell to the wayside. Personally I think the two games are both very good, but I prefer Kirby. This is really a fun game that doesn't really get a lot of talk as the popularity of pinball is not what it was years ago. Still, if you have not given this game a spin I'd highly recommend it. It plays extremely smoothly for being a Game Boy game and is really a blast to play.
Final Verdict: 8 out of 10. Kirby's Pinball Land is a great spinoff of at the time, a great young franchise, that any fan of any pinball game will thoroughly enjoy!
As always, thanks for reading! Stay tuned for my next blog coming soon as well as the next installment of the Kirby Series: Kirby's Dream Course for the Super Nintendo!
It has come to my attention that a lot of people for some reason or another think that this game right here sucks.
I'm not going to review this game right now, but I want to throw out some thoughts about the game as I've read and have seen on Youtube and Twitch people bashing this game. I do agree that out of the SNES trilogy of Donkey Kong games that 3 is the weakest. However, that does not mean the game sucks by any stretch. So here comes a little list of things I've seen against this game and why I think they're wrong...
1.) The graphics suck compared to the first 2 games.
Okay let's take a look at that shall we.
Okay the image on the right is from Donkey Kong Country 3. The one on the left is from 2. All I can say is that yes, DKC 3 looks more cartoonish and the background of DKC 2 is much better looking than the one in DKC 3. That being said though, the graphics of DKC 3 look nowhere near bad. Cartoonish compared to the first two? Sure. Bad? No chance. DKC 3 I think still has some of the better graphics on the system despite not being "better" than the first two installments. Different yes! Bad no!
2.) The game is too easy.
While I do agree that this game could be the easiest of the three, I by no means agree that this game is "too easy". When comparing DKC 3 to DKC 2 it may seem like this game is very easy, but there are several levels that are more than problematic for one reason or another (I'll get into that in a minute). Compared to the first game, I'd say this game is perhaps slightly easier and I mean slightly if at all really. For example: The level "Poisonous Pipeline" sees the left and right directional buttons reversed only when the Kongs are swimming causing all kinds of confusion when trying to quickly jump out of water, dodge enemies, etc. Example 2.) "Lightning Look-out" sees players trying to dodge lightning that strikes pretty much anywhere on the screen. Not to mention there is water on this level and if you are in the water when the lightning strikes you're dead. Final example.)
In "Rocket Rush you are forced to collect fuel as you travel down a canyon. If you touch the walls however you can die. During your decent you need to collect fuel or you die. Once you reach the bottom you rocket up a canyon dodging ledges and what not that if you touch you can die. If you don't die, but touch the wall chances are you won't have enough fuel to make it to the top... and you'll die.
Yes all three of these examples are late in the game, but there are plenty of other challenging levels throughout that keep things interesting. Sure the difficulty may not stay high for any long stretch of levels, but when it gets cranked up, it's cranked up. Also, this game features the toughest boss battles of the series. DKC 1's bosses were all pretty simplistic in how to defeat them (mostly jumping on them). DKC 2's bosses were a bit tougher, a bit longer, and featured more than one phase during battle. Another cool addition was the addition of a boss that you had to fight as an animal buddy. In DKC 3, with the exception of the first boss, the bosses can all cause some trouble. I'm looking at this guy in particular.
Honestly Barbos (this guy^) gives me more trouble than the final boss in the game. So to say that this game is too easy is a bit ridiculous. I will say that the game tends to throw extra lives at you like they're nothing for like the first three worlds or so which makes the game feel more like a modern day side scroller (looks at New Super Mario Bros), but you will still find yourself dying a lot in this game (unless you're a pro at it of course).
3.) The animal buddies suck compared to the other games.
Okay let's take a look at the animal buddies from the three games. In Donkey Kong Country you have Rambi the rhino, Enguarde the swordfish, Expresso the ostrich, Winky the frog, and Squawks the parrot (in one level and only carries a light for you). The second game featured Rambi and Enguarde returning, Squitter the spider, Rattly the rattlesnake, and Squawks returned with the ability to shoot nuts at enemies. Glimmer the anglerfish and Clapper the seal both act as animal buddies that the Kongs do not ride or turn into but provide light in Glimmer's case and cools water in Clapper's. The third game features the return of Squitter, Enguarde, and Squawks. In addition to them, Ellie the elephant was brought in as a replacement for Rambi. Parry, a little bird, was added as a buddy that the Kongs can't ride or turn into, but can lead to an area to receive rewards.
DKC 3 features the return of Squitter, Enguarde, and Squawks. Those three animal buddies alone make the lineup of animal buddies pretty impressive as it was in DKC 2. Yes, they removed Rambi in what amounts to a stupid move, but Ellie is far from useless and the rest of the animals are all still really good! You can't possibly tell me that Rattly or Winky or even Expresso are better than Ellie. You can't tell me that the purple Squawks on DKC 3 that doesn't shoot nuts, but rather picks up barrels and drops them is worse than the purple Squawks of DCK 2 that literally just floats in a downward direction. Yes the loss of Rambi hurt. There was no reason they couldn't have just replaced Rattly with Rambi, but they didn't So while the loss of Rambi sucks, the animal buddies as a whole are right on par with the other games and certainly do not suck.
4.) The story sucks
Tell me which of the Donkey Kong Country games had a good story then? The first game's story was that King K. Rool stole a horde of bananas. There was no mention of the story throughout the game unless you beat a boss and regained a giant banana. DKC 2's plot was that Donkey Kong was kidnapped, but you didn't see any story until you actually reach Kaptain K. Rool. This game is pretty much the same. Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong are both kidnapped by Baron K. Roolenstein and outside of 1 boss that actually talks a bit, there is no mention of any story until you free the Kongs. So the story is not in your face... IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE! All three of these games operate in a way that there does not need to be a story being told as you go. The difficulty increases, the levels get more dangerous, you get the feeling that you are approaching ultimate victory. That's the story here. Just because it is not scrolling up the screen or being spoken does not mean it's not there. If you say this story sucks than the other two game's stories suck as well and ya know what? The story is probably the last thing that people play Donkey Kong Country for.
5.) Rare didn't care about this game.
This is a statement that is simply stupid. People say this game was rushed out. Remember folks, Donkey Kong Country 2 came out 1 year after the first. So to say that Rare rushed this game out and that's why it "sucks" doesn't make much sense considering the greatness that is 2. Did Rare put as much effort into this game as the other 2? Probably not as evidenced by the steps back in the backgrounds, overall charm, soundtrack, and difficulty in finding collectibles, etc. which are far easier to find all of in this game than either of the first two. Despite Rare not putting their best effort into the game, to say that Rare didn't care about this game is just silly. The Nintendo 64 was becoming a big deal (it was even in DKC 3) and the Super Nintendo's popularity was dropping so it's not all that surprising that Rare did not come out with a game that topped the previous two. However to say that Rare didn't care and this was a last attempt to milk the series is a little ridiculous.
6.) Kiddie Kong Sucks
Yes he does. However...
This guy was not much better in Donkey Kong Country. Seriously people give Kiddie Kong so much crap for being slow, not being able to jump real far, and being a slow climber that they don't even realize that these are all the same exact things that held Donkey Kong down in the first game. The biggest differences between the two is how they hold barrels (DK above his head, Kiddie in front of him) and their special ability sort to speak. In the first game Donkey Kong can slap the ground to uncover hidden bananas, lives, and defeat some enemies. Kiddie Kong in DKC 3 is able to perform a water skip jump which proves to be very valuable and while controlling Dixie, can be used as a means of uncovering hidden items or as a steel barrel that Dixie can jump on and ride. In fact, I think the only thing that DK has over Kiddie is looks. I mean seriously, Kiddie looks extremely silly in comparison to any of the other Kongs in the Kong Klan.
So while he looks stupid, no he does not "suck" especially if you compare him to Donkey Kong. There is far more you can do with Kiddie.
7.) The trade sequence and banana birds suck
Okay I give Rare some credit for trying to add stuff into the game to spice things up a bit. I do. The trading sequence that takes place in this game revolves around a family of bears who you trade items to in return for other items or banana birds. Other than that it serves zero purpose. If you are not trying to 100% the game you can easily ignore it as there is no requirement to do it other than that. The same thing goes for the banana birds that are normally released from their crystal prison if the Kongs can basically play a game of Simon with the X,Y,A, and B buttons. All things considered the trading and banana birds are probably the worst parts of the game. They really probably are and that's not a horrible thing. Rare tried to do something different and while it works for the most part, it just isn't that fun to get an item from one bear and transfer it to another. At least the banana birds offer some kind of memory challenge. Still. To say a whole game sucks because of what amounts to optional content is really not a great claim at all.
Those are seven common complaints that I have seen about this game. In my honest opinion the game still does a whole lot more right than it does wrong. To say this game outright sucks is basically silly when the above complaints are the common ones. The game still flows wonderfully, the characters are still different and fun to play, and the controls are still excellent. Yes the graphics are cartoonish, but they're still really good. The soundtrack may not be as epic as either of the other games, but it too still has some good high points. Overall, yes I'd say that DKC 3 is the weakest of the three games, but not by much at all despite it coming out at the end of the SNES era. I'll eventually do an actual review of this game to bring more highlights of this game to light, so stay tuned for that.
As always, thank you all for reading! My next blog with be the third installment in the Kirby series: Kirby's Pinball Land!
In celebration of Jurassic World coming to theaters I figured I'd do a Jurassic Park game review. The game that I am going to review today is Warpath: Jurassic Park for the Playstation.
The first thing that I want to say about this game before getting into much detail is that I find it to be very entertaining... The game was produced by Dreamworks Interactive and Black Ops Entertainment. The game was released on October 31, 1999. Now that that's out of the way let's look at some things that come to mind quickly when firing this game up. There is no story line at all so the game is basically an arcade fighter. Literally in each game mode you will be doing the same thing. Whether it's the training mode, survival mode, or regular versus, you will be doing the same exact thing time and time again. At the same time though, it is an arcade fighter so I'm not quite sure what else you'd want to do in this style game. I mean I guess they could have stretched for some kind of story mode, but I feel like that would have wound up being a disaster.
If I had to pick a fighting game to relate to this one, it would be Primal Rage. I like to compare the two as they're quite similar. The dinos all attack with their teeth, or tail, or claws, or heads. Primal Rage did the same thing with their dino characters. Just like Primal Rage, each dino has the potential to string moves together, but it always felt easier to do with the small dinos. There are 14 dinosaurs that you can use to maim, claw, slaughter, kill, bite, whatever your opponent with. The dinos all play quite similar to each other and it almost feels like the bigger you are the harder you fall.
By that I mean the smaller dinosaurs seem to have an advantage over the bigger, slower dinosaurs. Then again many of the dinos are around the same size. I mean the T-Rex is only slightly larger than the raptor in this game. Not sure why Dreamworks Interactive decided to go that route. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that the T-Rex had no problems tossing raptors around in Jurassic Park so they decided to give the raptors steroids. I dunno. Another thing to make note of is the AI in this game. It is pretty terrible overall. There will be times where the cpu will stun you and then just stand there and wait for you to get over the stun before attacking again. I guess the creators wanted the dinos to be fair fighters as opposed to ruthless killers? Again, I dunno. That along with the AI just being very easy to deal with, even on hard makes the game kind of boring for solo play.
All in all, the point I'm trying to make is that this game is an arcade fighter that has an AI that is lacking and unbalanced dinos. Those are the low points of the game.The high points of the game are as follows. The soundtrack of Warpath is one of the best on the Playstation. It is almost a step above the system and probably can stand up to any arcade fighter to date. It is extremely lifelike and extremely well done. Each and every stage's music just reeks of Jurassic Park. Speaking of extremely well done... The game's graphics are right up there with many of the top Playstation games. The only thing that holds them back is the fact that many of the dinos attacks don't look like they're doing enough damage.... Until you see the sheer amount of blood your dino looses during a fight...
The fighting arenas are largely big time areas from the first two movies. As you can see, you can fight in the visitor center where the T-Rex and Raptors fought at the end of the first movie. Fans of the second film will love fighting at the 76 gas station in San Diego where the T-Rex sent the massive 76 ball rolling down the street. Dreamworks did a great job in bringing these locations to the game and kept enough destructible objects in the stages as well to make it feel like you were at said location and not just fighting with a background of said location.
Alright so how would I rate Warpath: Jurassic Park. Well on a scale of 0-10 I'd give it about a 6. The game is fun for any dinosaur loving fan, but for those people looking for a real good, smooth, crisp fighting game, it's probably not all that appealing. The visuals and soundtrack are excellent, but hit detection issues and moves looking like they're not really doing much despite mass amounts of blood being seen hurts. On top of this is the fact that this game is virtually an old school arcade fighting game with no other modes other than arcade mode. Yes there are other game modes in the game, but they all come down to the same thing... Arcade style fighting.
Final Verdict: 6 out of 10: A fun dino fighting game with great sound and visuals, but marred by it's one track game modes and poor hit detection.
The second game in the Kirby series is my one of my favorite entries in the series. That game is Kirby's Adventure on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
The game was produced by HAL Laboratory and was released on May 1st, 1993. This was the first game that saw Kirby with his famous pink color and was the first Kirby game to make use of an in game save system. This game also brought Kirby's most revolutionary feature into light, his ability to copy the abilities of his enemies. I'll touch more on that in a little bit.
The plot of the game is that Kirby wakes up from a nap and realizes that he did not dream at all during his slumber. He travels to the Fountain of Dreams to discover that the Star Rod (the source of power for the fountain that gives the citizens of Dream Land their dreams) had been stolen by King Dedede and his minions.
Ironically after hunting down King Dedede and all of his minions, including the now popular Meta Knight, and returning the Star Rod to the fountain the evil Nightmare that corrupted the fountain prior to King Dedede removing the Star Rod emerges takes off into space. King Dedede acts quickly by inhaling Kirby and the Star Rod and blasting them off after Nightmare. Kirby defeats nightmare and makes up with King Dedede and Dream Land exists happily once again. The ironic thing is that King Dedede, the series main protagonist actually stole the Star Rod in an effort to protect Dream Land from Nightmare. He also shot Kirby after Nightmare which if he hadn't done, Nightmare could have easily returned and did far more damage. That leads to this curious question. Is King Dedede as much a hero in this game as Kirby? I do believe so, but of course it is debatable.
Meta Knight vs Kirby!
So that's the plot of this game. For the most part, the game acts in a similar manner to Kirby's Dream Land. You go through each level eating enemies and floating through the air. Many of the same powerups (maximum tomatoes, food, and candy) make a return to the game in a similar manner to how they acted in Kirby's Dreamland. So that's what stayed the same, here's what's different. Unlike Kirby's Dreamland, this game contained worlds and levels. To access a level in a world you would go through a door. Also within the world map were bonus doors that you could access to try to snag some extra lives or access abilities (more on that to come) or take you to other worlds. Many of the later levels were given a hidden switch that would allow Kirby to access additional bonus areas on the world map screen.
The world map of Rainbow Resort
The hidden switch found in later levels
The bonus rooms are fun little minigames that can earn you extra lives or an opportunity to grab an ability with no hassle... or a lot of hassle. There is also a brief bonus level at the end of each level where you will see Kirby land on a platform and it is the player's job to launch him upwards. The higher you go, the more points you'll score unless you hit the top where you will get a 1-up instead!
Crane Fever is a bonus stage in which you operate a crane machine and try to pickup Kirby's and deliver them to the winner's tube. Big Kirbys are worth 2 lives while small Kibys are worth 1. The chances of dropping a big Kirby are higher than those of dropping a little Kirby... Surprise surprise.
In the colosseum, Kirby faces off against one of several mini bosses seen throughout the game. This is a great way to pick up a more rare ability such as the hammer or wheel ability. If Kirby succeeds he is also rewarded with a maximum tomato for his hard work.
In Egg Catcher, King Dedede will throw a mixture of eggs and bombs at Kirby. You can earn extra lives by eating enough eggs, but if you eat a bomb, it's game over. Word of warning. It is pretty high paced.
Quick Draw is a game that tests your reflexes. You wait until the word FIRE appears on screen and then you shoot your opponent. Whoever shoots first wins. Lightning fast reflexes will earn you extra lives while slow reflexes will land you well...shot.
The final bonus area is the museum where Kirby can freely copy an enemies ability. With that being said now is the perfect time to explain this copy ability I've mentioned time and time again in this blog.
The greatest change from Kirby's Dreamland to Kirby's Adventure was the addition of the copy ability. Kirby became able to eat certain enemies and rather than spit them out at other enemies, swallow them and copy the ability of the enemy. For example. If Kirby ate the enemy seen in the museum photo, he would gain a sword and become Sword Kirby. In this game, Kirby is able to gain the following abilities... Sword, fire, spark, backdrop, ball, beam, burning (fireball in this game), freeze, cutter, hammer, high jump, laser, ice, parasol, needle, throw, stone, tornado, UFO, and wheel. Each of these abilities do different things so Kirby changes the way he plays often. All of these abilities give Kirby a massive advantage over his enemies both minions and bosses alike. There are several cases in which you'll actually need a specific ability to do certain things. For example, fire or burning Kirby can light a fuse that leads to a cannon that once fired with Kirby inside will send him to a secret area. There are two other abilities as well. Crash is a one time use that will eliminate all enemies on the screen (besides bosses). Microphone does the exact same thing as it did in Kirby's Dreamland... Clear all enemies on the screen besides bosses... The difference between the two abilities is that microphone can be used 3 times. The copy ability was such a massive change in the direction of Kirby and one that really brought the series to life on a whole new scale.
For the most part the game handles pretty well. There are a few times that I've experienced pretty nasty lag in this game, but really only when the little spark guys (Sparky by name) are attacking you or Kirby using spark with a lot of other stuff on the screen. Graphically the game is what it is as it is on the NES. Overall I think they look pretty good, perhaps even some of the best the system has to offer. The game really captured what has become the theme of Dream Land through the rest of the series. The music is bouncy and happy throughout the game. The only exceptions are during boss battles where the boss music is playing. I'd honestly have to say that this game had some of the best music on the system to go along with some of the best graphics...
This game is one of my favorite NES games and one of my favorites in the Kirby series. Later in the series this game was remade in a sense into a fantastic gameboy advance game under the name Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland (more on that later). That game stayed true to the original, but updated the graphics, soundtrack, etc. The original though still holds it's spot as the game that changed Kirby forever. As is the case with most Kirby games, this game is not overly difficult. In fact I found that I had a surplus of lives even the first time playing through the game.
Overall I'd rate this game an incredible 9 out of 10. There really is not anything really wrong with this game. It is extremely fun. It is a game that introduced a core for a gaming series to be built around and did a magnificent job of doing that. Both new and experienced gamers should find themselves playing through this game and having a blast. Perfectionists? Well there's plenty of hidden switches to be found to 100% this game! If you own a NES or a virtual console that has this game available on it, I highly recommend giving it a go as it really is a lot of fun and pushes the NES to the limits! Now that you've heard all about it. Enjoy watching some of the first world of this game in action! (Note: For some reason the sound effects and music during levels is kinda wonky... Still learning the ins and outs of the recording program X_X)
Final Verdict: 9 out of 10. Kirby's Adventure is quite possibly the best game in the series!
Thanks for reading and watching! The next game in the Kirby Series will be an adventure full of bumpers, flippers, and balls...Kirby's Pinball Land!
Hey everyone. Tonight I will doing my first countdown! I'll be counting down my top 20 Super Nintendo Games. By that I mean I will be counting down my favorite SNES games. This is not what I think are the 20 best per say, but what I see as my personal favorites. I am also going to attempt to record a little bit of gameplay from the start of some of these games to give you an idea as to what the game is like. I apologize in advance if the videos have issues as I've never done this before. Also the videos are not going to be much in the way of spoilers as games that have a story to them I won't really be doing much in. For example one game I literally run around a castle for no apparent reason. I'm not lost, it's on purpose. So, get out the pitchforks and torches and I'd hope in some cases be ready to nod in agreement cause here we go!
20.) Primal Rage
Ok so right away I know what a lot of you are probably thinking. Primal Rage in a top 20? Yes in this case and here's why. As a kid Primal Rage was amazing to me (a huuuuge fan of Jurassic Park) as it was the closest thing I could find to a dino fighting game. I mean sure, the game is missing a lot of what other fighters such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat have, but to me the cast of characters, being able to kick your worshipers around and even eat them was far more appealing then trying to put together a great finish to a fight. The game is nothing special to a lot of people, but to me it's a childhood fighting game that I cannot ignore.
19.) Gradius III
Gradius III was one of the first games released on the SNES. It's a classic side scrolling rail shooting game where you pilot a space craft and blow stuff up. Sounds like most classic rail shooters right? Correct! What I love about Gradius III that sets it apart from the others for me is being able to choose your upgrades prior to starting. This makes things seem so much less redundant when I play this game. This game is quite difficult to boot and the arcade mode is not one to be taken lightly. Overall the mayhem of Gradius III lands it on this list, beating out Super R-Type.
18.) Toy Story
This Disney game is the very first SNES game I ever owned, Super Game Boy aside. Toy Story is a, in my opinion, extremely well done game. You play as Woody and basically go through the story of Toy Story. You knock Buzz out a window, go undercover in fast food containers, play in a crane machine, drive R.C., and even fight a freakish nightmare Buzz in Woddy's nightmares. Personally one of my favorites was donning the food containers and sneaking through Pizza Planet. In the end you make it back to Andy and everyone lives happily ever after. Toy Story got a lot of things right graphically, musically, and play style. Making it a truly memorable game.
17.) Tetris Attack
The first time I played a game like Tetris Attack was Pokemon Puzzle League for the Nintendo 64. Only recently had I actually played Tetris Attack and learned how great it is. Despite the label and box art, the game actually involves many characters from Yoshi's Island. The game was originally called Panel de Pon in Japan and featured different characters, but when it came to the U.S. Yoshi took over the reigns. This challenging puzzle game you've probably seen before, line up like blocks and use them to drop crap on your opponent if you line up 4 or more. You keep going till one player's stack hits the top and loses. Sounds simple in theory, but can be quite challenging in practice. This game continues to try and push it's way up the list, which it could very well do!
16.) Super Mario All Stars
Back when I was younger I did not have a NES (I did for a brief time, but it met an unfortunate end) so the only way I got to really experience the original Super Mario Bros games was through Super Mario All Stars. I was wowed by Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros 3. I was confused by Super Mario Bros 2 which I later learned was actually a different game in Japan. To wrap it all up I became frustrated with Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels which I later learned was actually the Japanese Super Mario Bros 2. I logged countless hours into this game when I was younger, but now that I have an NES and the original games to go along with it, I don't play it as much at all, but still certainly a favorite on the system!
From here on in, this is going to get real difficult for me. I have like 20 or so more games that I really love on this system, but only 15 of them are going to make this list. At the end I guess I'll do some honorable mentions or something cause they too need a tick of recognition I think. So let's continue!
15.) Earthbound
Yes bust out the pitchforks on this one people. Burn me at the stake. Tar and feather me too. While I agree that Earthbound is a tremendous game and certainly one of the top games on the SNES, it was just not an all time favorite of mine. Personally RPGs are not my thing. In fact outside of the Pokemon series, I can think of only one RPG that I've been able to go back and play again and again. Earthbound is just not that RPG. I will not knock the game much at all. The game is certainly one of the strangest yet most charming games I've played. I mean you can talk to some animals which is awesome. The battle scenes are lacking a bit with no real combat visuals and backgrounds that can and probably have caused many a seizure. The soundtrack of the game is simply brilliant and in many cases simply trippy. If you are a big RPG fan unlike myself, you will probably fall in love with this game. It really is hard not to and even though I didn't find myself wanting to jump right back into the game after I finished it, I have returned to it and have enjoyed it far more than most RPGs. Earthbound starts out the top 15 and is a game that I really enjoy despite not being a huge fan of it's genre. I'd say I love the experience of playing this wacky game more than I actually like the game itself cause if nothing else, this game is really an experience.
14.) Stunt Race FX
Look familiar? Probably because I just did a blog on this fantastic game not long ago. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that this game would appear on this list. Stunt Race FX is a wacky racing game that has many play modes and several completely different vehicles to race with. Sure the graphics aren't the best, and the soundtrack isn't all that expansive, but if you're looking for a great racing experience on the SNES and don't want to deal with items or extremely high speeds, check this game out! For my full thoughts on this game check out the blog on it and check out the game itself. It truly is a hidden gem of the SNES that does not get even close to the recognition it deserves and I will stand by that! Seriously check it out! http://hydragamingblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/stunt-race-fx-thoughts-and-review.html
13.) Mega Man X
The first and by far my favorite Mega Man game I played was Mega Man X. My grandparents got this game for me as a birthday gift and what a gift it still is. My initial thoughts on the game were that the game was really fun and really hard. Now the game feels much easier after playing it for so many years, but it remains just as fun. You play as X and in classic Mega Man fashion proceed through stages stealing the powers of bosses that you kill en route to your final battle (in this case against Sigma). The levels actually interact with each other a bit which I thought was mind blowing as a kid. An example would be after beating Chill Penguin, Flame Mammoth's world becomes frozen over. Little things like that changed levels so much that it really felt like your choice of enemy to pursue was really making a difference (cause it was). I cant really find anything wrong with this game that would make me not recommend it to anyone. It's that good. The music, the stages, the gameplay. All brilliant. Okay perhaps it could have been a bit longer or more difficult, but that's about all I got.
12.) Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
Donkey Kong Country 3 is the last entry in the Super Nintendo Donkey Kong series. In fact the game came out after Nintendo decided to start pushing the Nintendo 64 so a lot of people at the time had already moved on from the Super Nintendo. This game gets a lot of flack compared to the other two games in the series, but I still had a TON of fun with this game and still do today. Sure it introduced Kiddy Kong who generally feels like a waste of space compared to Dixie, but still, the game is awesome. The challenges of this game I feel in some cases are greater than in the other entries in the series (boss battles in particular). The soundtrack is generally on par or just slightly below the first two games. The game added some unneeded things such as banana birds and a trading family of bears, but both of those are side quests only needed if you're looking to fully complete the game. This game could easily be higher on my list, but there is still plenty more to come that just edge it out.
11.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle IV: Turtles in Time
Now we're gettin down to the nitty gritty with these games. Wow. Turtles in Time. What can I say about this game? Take the arcade game, dub down the sounds and visuals just a tad, add a level and boss fight along with a few other small changes, and slap an SNES label on it and that's what you get. AKA you get a truly incredible game! Turtles IV to this day is still one of the most accurate and similar ports of an arcade game I've ever seen. Action packed levels throughout, tough boss fights, literally (not really) throwing members of the Foot through your TV screen, and even some classic comic book comedy bits all come together in a perfect blend of epicness! This very well could be my favorite arcade style beat em up of all time. There's a reason this game gets incredible amounts of praise to this day. Seriously if you have not tried this game yet you're missing out. The two downsides are that the game is 2 player only compared to it's arcade brother which is 4 players and that the game is rather short (beatable in under 20 minutes if trying hard enough). Still. Phenomenal game right here at number 11.
10.) Super Castlevania IV
Okay want to talk about a game jumping onto a list? Super Castlevania is a game that I played all of 10 minutes of up until a month or so ago. Now it is easily one of my favorite SNES games of all time. The music, the gameplay, the sounds, the story, the levels, the difficulty, the enemies, and all of the everything! It's all just really really good. You play as Simon Belmont in a quest to destroy Dracula. By using his trusty whip you'll progress through Transylvania until you reach your ultimate goal. All kinds of enemies appear including things from mythology as can be seen by Medusa's head clearly being on the box. I have not finished this game yet and yet here it is in the top 10 for me. By the end it could end up higher, but that's for another time right?
9.) Super Mario Kart
As much as I love Stunt Race FX, Super Mario Kart is where my SNES racing gold medal lives. Another game I got as a gift from my grandparents, Super Mario Kart wowed me as a kid and as time has come and gone and Mario Kart has evolved into some really crazy stuff, the original still holds a special place for me. The tracks (minus that horrific Rainbow Road) are not overly difficult, but are all unique and very different. Even tracks of the same set I.E. Bowser's Castle tracks, all behave differently making it feel like those recycled songs and backgrounds didn't even exist. I've spent probably more time on this Mario Kart than any other (besides Mario Kart 64). I find it to be that entertaining, in particular when playing with someone. The game that started all of the Mario Kart madness sits at number 9 and while I wish the AI of the computer controlled racers was better, but it can still put up a challenge on 150cc. The box says "where racing becomes an adventure". That's a pretty accurate statement as you'll be trying to dodge thwomps, monty moles, pipes, ice blocks, ledges, mud, water, and other hazards as you race. Trying to do all that and then dealing with Mario or Luigi who can just turn on a star whenever they want is a challenge in itself let alone trying to collect coins for a speed upgrade... Ah. Such good times!
8.) Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country is the first in the trilogy for the SNES. The game is still simply beyond impressive. I've played through this game many times and was actually the first of the series that I beat despite it not being the first of the series I owned(Makes sense right?). This game really needs no introduction. If you've spent any time playing a SNES, you probably know about this game. The graphics are revolutionary, the soundtrack is perfect for background music, all the level designs are inspiring (Those forest levels though), the gameplay is virtually flawless. In fact the only thing I can really say negatively about this game is that there is a lack of collectibles given the sheer amount of bonus rooms in the game. Yeah. That's reallllly nit picking isn't it? I will also say that this game serves up a nice dose of difficulty too. The first world is really a cake walk, the first level of the second world isn't hard at all either, but then the difficulty starts to ramp up with the first mine cart level. Personally I think the difficulty peaks on Snow Barrel Blast and then actually drops a tad for the rest of the way. Man that level still gives me headaches. Trying to perfectly time rotating barrels in the middle of a blizzard isn't exactly the easiest thing to do...
7.) Kirby Superstar
There are actually 4 Kirby games that were released on the Super Nintendo. Each of these games are pretty good in their own right and will eventually be reviewed as part of my Kirby series, but Kirby Superstar stands out as one of my favorite Super Nintendo games. The games aren't overly long at all, but each of them are a lot of fun. From the loose remake of Kirby's Dreamland in the form of Spring Breeze, to racing against time to destroy Metaknight's ship in Revenge of Metaknight, to racing King Dedede for all kinds of food, to collecting lost treasure, to stopping Dyna Blade (a massive bird) from destroying the crops of Dream Land, to so much more, this game offers a ton of fun. One of my favorite parts about this game is the expanded copy ability that allows you to create allies. The ally can actually be controlled by a second player. So this game is actually a multiplayer game, which is freaking awesome! The cartoon graphics, the silly music, and the sheer expanse of abilities that Kirby can use makes this game truly a great one and one that can provide gamers of all ages with a lot of fun!
6.) Super Mario World
More pitchforks! Super Mario World just misses my top 5 favorite SNES games. This game is a magical game to say the least. It took everything that the NES had set up with Super Mario Bros 3 and did nothing but in my opinion, improve upon it. I could probably say there are times when I feel like I am lost in Super Mario World. Literally I feel like I get sucked into this game. Countless hours have been spent trying to unlock the whole map, defeating Bowser, and clearing the Special Area of Star Road. I could go on and on about this game and perhaps I will at some point, but right now I'll highlight some of my favorite things about this game! There are a ton of different paths to unlock, a very well done soundtrack, exciting gameplay and well... The rest can be summed up in this commercial.
Good stuff there for sure and as you can see the graphics are pretty good in their own right as well. This game really hits all the right marks and is a great experience for gamers looking for something casual or challenging as things can get a bit dicey in Super Mario World.
5.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
I see a bunch of little red dots on me right now... Am I about to be shot? Seriously though The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is easily one of the best Zelda games ever made. It's just that I happen to enjoy 4 other titles on this system more. The first Zelda game I played was the original on NES. Then I played Link's Awakening on Game Boy. Then I played Ocarina of Time on N64. Then I finally got to play this game and was blown away. I can still rmember the first time I stepped on that portal that threw Link into the Dark World and was hit in the face with the fact that the game literally had two worlds in it. Needless to say I was thrilled when Lowrule appeared in A Link Between Worlds as well. I am a huuuuuge fan of the top down view Zelda games and let me just say that out of all of those top down Zelda games, this one really takes the cake. The story is amazing, the gameplay is amazing, the grapics are amazing and still stand up today as incredibly bright,clear, and oozing of nostalgia, the sound effects are amazing, the whole game is simply in one word. Amazing. Some people call this game the best Zelda game of all time. That of course is a huge debate though. For me A Link To The Past is probably my 3rd favorite Zelda game!
4.) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Just missing the Bronze Medal is Yoshi's Island. This game, this game, this game... So much to say. This game is a beast to say the least. The graphics are out of this world colorful. It's like a rainbow exploded in your face! Yoshi's Island really offers up some of the most colorful, fun loving, and beautiful graphics that the SNES had ever seen. Everything that was right with Super Mario World can be found in here to some degree with a bunch of new stuff added in. This is the game that saw the debut of a helpless duo of babies in the form of baby Mario and baby Luigi. The hero of the game is Yoshi who up to this point played the role of Mario and Luigi's little dino friend and nothing more. For the first time Yoshi was the hero. Yoshi can hover in mid air, eat enemies and spit them back out or turn them into eggs. The eggs can then be used as weapons. Kinda morbid if you think about it. Anyway. The game controls great, the music is upbeat overall, and challenge awaits as you inch closer to the end of the game. This has always been one of my favorite Super Nintendo games and has only recently been bumped out of the top 3. While some people may say it's too cartooney or silly or stupid looking, the game is truly one of the best platformers the system has to offer and that my friends is an opinion backed by many, many people.
3.) Super Metroid
The Bronze Medal goes to Super Metroid!!! Growing up, this game was a legend to me. I had heard about it. Heard how good it was. Heard how it took everything that was from the previous Metroid games and exploded it. Heard that it could just be one of the best of all times. Sadly, I never had a chance to play it. Years later it sits in the top 3 of my Super Nintendo games. There is literally nothing that I can find wrong with this game. It is massive, it is beautiful, it is legendary. The music fits perfect to the environments, the detail is stunning, the gameplay is beyond fluid, etc etc. This is another game that I could go on and on about as far as it's greatness is concerned, but for now I won't, but I will say that this game is one of my 3 favorites for the system for many many good reasons!
Samus facing Ridley in the beginning of the game... Ridley for Smash Bros 3DS/Wii U...
Samus vs a Giant Metroid!
Simply awesome... That is the best way I can describe this game. Despite there really being nothing wrong at all with the game it is still beaten out by 2 games that I just find to be more fun!
2.) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
The Silver Medal goes to a game that came out during the end of the Super Nintendo era. People had already began ditching their Super Nintendos in favor of the shiny new Nintendo 64. Those that did not abandon their 16 bit consoles were treated to a truly spectacular game. Square (now SquareEnix) teamed up with Nintendo and put a spin on Mario that the world had never seen and really has not seen since. Super Mario RPG introduced a slew of new characters to the Mario Universe (many of which have not been seen since) that made Bowser's minions look like child's play. From Exor, a massive sword the pierces into Bowser's Keep to Yardovich who was the bane of my existence in this game for the longest time, the new characters are just plain dirty. Of course Mario's new allies in Geno and Mallow are brilliant in their own rights as well! The soundtrack of this game is border line intoxicating. Tunes can and will get stuck in your head from this game! The RPG turn based combat system is incredibly well done and unlike many other RPG's, not boring at all. The attack animations from both heroes and villains are great with everyone having their own animations for different attacks. The equipment you can use is pretty basic in terms of picking out which items work the best. This simplicity honestly adds to what I love about this game. I feel like too many RPGs have soooo many items to equip that it becomes almost tedious trying to figure out which item is the best for the current situation in every town. This game lacks that feeling for me however.
Another thing that has to be said about this game right here and now is that there is literally a TON of things to do. There are mini games and easter eggs literally littered throughout the entire game! Secret paths, racing, an arcade game, and various other challenges can be accomplished that aren't even part of the game's storyline. Speaking of story, the story of this game is crazy good. I've heard some people say that RPG's don't hold too much replay value, while I tend to agree with that, this game is a huge exception in my book. Super Mario RPG is my favorite RPG of all time and will probably continue to be my favorite RPG for a long time to come!
Okay. It's all come down to this. My all time favorite Super Nintendo game! Before revealing what some of you have probably already guessed I'd like to take a moment to list off a few honorable mention games that I thoroughly enjoy playing, but just missed this list.
1.) F-Zero
2.) Aladdin
3.) The Lion King
4.) Super R-Type
5.) Claymates
Really I could think of about 20 or so more titles that I would throw on this list. The Super Nintendo holds a special place in my heart. I've spent more time playing SNES than I have any other system. The list of SNES games I've played continues to grow and I have yet to find even one that I can say I 100% hate everything about. Sure there are games I'd rather never play again, *cough* Bubsy *cough*, but even those games I can't say I hate. Enough of all of that though... My all time favorite Super Nintendo game and quite possibly my favorite game of all time is....
1.) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
The gold goes to Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest! This game has literally consumed my SNES at times. When I was younger I remember waking up early to play a little bit of this before school. More recently it's been late nights of Kremlin bashing fun. The plot of the game is simple, rescue Donkey Kong from Kaptain K. Rool (King K Rool). The way the game goes about doing this though. Wow. First of all there is virtually nothing friendly about the feel you get playing this game. It is obvious without even being said that you are not welcome on any of the levels. This is different than the first and third games where some of the music and levels feel a bit upbeat. No, in this game you get a sense of danger that starts on the first level of a creaking old ship and lasts the entire way. I'm probably looking to far into it, but it's literally like you are straight up invading Crocodile Isle. I can sum it up like this. You ride a ship smack into a volcano that you escape and end up on another ship (this time sunken in a swamp at the island's base, then you finally start moving up the island passing through a twisted carnival, haunted woods, a castle, and finally to your ultimate destination. All out offense in trying to save the big ape.
Besides the story that I think is pretty easy to follow despite no actual story being recited there is a ton more I love about this game. The level designs are beautiful for one. The first game had backgrounds that looked nice, but really didn't do too much. In DKC 2 though, that all changed. Take the bramble levels for example.
There are literally layers to the level backgrounds. The moving clouds actually appear behind a second layer of bramble in this level making it seem like the Kongs are not only dealing with the bramble in the foreground, but literally an entire mess of it. Many of the levels are like this including the haunted woods where beams of light come through the background and straight into your bedroom or living room or whatever.
There is just an added layer of creativity in these small things that Rare completely nailed in each and every level. Even though the backgrounds may be used more than once, none of them (except for the carnival and lava levels that I can think of) are exactly the same.
You can see what I mean here. The lighting of the woods is replaced by a sort of mist blowing through the woods despite the background being the same, it gives the illusion of being on a completely different level!
Another I love about this game is the soundtrack. In fact I have this soundtrack and I listen to it a lot. So many great tracks in there including Stickerbush Symphony, Mining Melancholy, Locjaw's Saga, and Big Boss Bossanova. Sure the soundtrack of Donkey Kong Country was good, but for some reason a lot of it felt more like background music (particularly in the cave) while this music is just perfectly tuned to each level and adds another massive layer to the levels. Seriously take a listen to these tracks. The first is for the mine levels, the second is for a wasp's nest levels, and the third is for the bramble levels.
Another huge high point for me is the climbing difficulty throughout (culminating in one brief area as Squawks the parrot... Go die Animal Antics) the game. The first world isn't bad at all, but as you start to progress through the second you will notice a slowly climbing difficulty.
Squawks + wind = one of the most evil things to exist in a video game...
Donkey Kong Country 2 is a game in which Rare took everything that made the first Donkey Kong Country great, expanded on it, added in a bunch of new ideas, and created a MASTERPIECE. While this game may not be the favorite of most it is hardly ever forgotten about as one of the best games the Super Nintendo has to offer. After playing this game for over 10 years, it still is by far the most entertaining game on the Super Nintendo to me. It is my absolute undisputed favorite and that is something that will not be changing anytime soon! Check out an extremely good DKC 2 player completing one of my favorite levels "Hornet Hole" and the notorious "Animal Antics".
Well everyone that completes my top 20 SNES games! Again, there are so many games I enjoy on this system and trying to pick just 20 was no easy task for me. It feels good to finally have this thing finished for now. Expect more lists and Donkey Kong Country 2 stuff in the future!
I hope you enjoyed reading and watching! There is lots more to come of course. Next time I'll be diving into the second Kirby game in the Kirby Series. That of course being Kirby's Adventure on the NES.
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