World 1-20: Mega Man 7

Mega Man 7
~SNES

Original Completion Date: May 4th, 2009

I find it kind of strange that Capcom would continue the original Mega Man series after introducing the Mega Man X series. And so we have Mega Man 7. Mega Man 7 was released 2 years after Mega Man X came out. Honestly, I would have been much happier to see Mega Man X3 released than this clunky game. And that's saying something, since out of the three Mega Man X games on SNES, X3 is my least favourite. I'm going to be completely honest here, I don't remember a lot about Mega Man 7 seeing as I beat it once, and only once, nearly two years ago. Looking back, I seem to remember the game play being slower, heavier, and just all around more difficult (and not in a requiring advanced skill way). I wasn't a huge fan of this set of bosses either. There's nothing all that original about them, I mean come on. Slash Man? Spring Man? And by the way, doesn't Spring man look an awful lot like he could pass for Junk Man? And on that thought, don't both of those guys look like they could pass for Morph Moth, from Mega Man X2? Sure, they did the robot junkyard theme well, but that's just pushing it. The only thing I can say for sure about this game is that the Old Western style end scene looks pretty neat.

World 1-19: Legend of the Mystical Ninja

Legend of the Mystical Ninja
~SNES


Original Completion Date: May 3rd, 2009




I originally discovered Legend of the Mystical Ninja on the Wii's Virtual Console, but never managed to finish the game back then. However, I loved the game so much that I just had to give it another (and another, and another...) chance, until I finally pulled it off. I love everything about this game. It's cute, it's fun, it's serious good times. It has a great Japanese feel to it, and even though the game plot is the typical "holy crap that dumb ass princess got stolen, quick somebody save her!", it turned out really well. I also thoroughly enjoyed the music and sound effects. As this seems to be a bit of a hidden gem, I definitely recommend this to anybody who calls themselves a retro gamer. Find this game and play it immediately! It's worth every minute. 

World 1-18: Super Castlevania IV

Super Castlevania IV
~SNES

Original Completion Date: April 24th, 2009

Another day, another SNES game added to my collection. To be honest, I don't think I really understood how all the power-ups worked in this game. I just grabbed whatever dropped out of those candles I smashed and made a break for it. Hey, if that were my castle and Simon was storming in there killing my buddies and smashing my property, I'd be pretty pissed off! Well anyways, most of the game was pretty much just walking around, jumping around awkwardly, climbing a few shady stairs, and then slaying the final boss. I don't really remember much else other than that. Oh, and the wicked music!

Dananana nananana nananana na na na na...

World 1-17: Tetris DS

Tetris DS
~Nintendo DS


Original Completion Date: September 5th, 2008

Well, technically there is no way to finish this game, but I figure maxing out the level and lines is about as good as it gets. My high score from this game was: 49,208,733. I actually calculated approximately how many hours I spent playing this round, and it came out to over 20 over the course of a few days (maybe a week). I also calculated that, had the level kept going up, I would have been around level 2000. So, here's to endless Tetris!! 

My high score:

World 1-16: Kirby Squeak Squad

Kirby Squeak Squad
~Nintendo DS

Original Completion Date: December 29th, 2008


Kirby Squeak Squad is a truly classic Kirby game. It has all the staples of the classic Kirby series: tons of new and exciting power-ups to try out, classic side scrolling, platforming, run 'n fly action, and of course it has that super easy difficulty level that makes it so good for newcomers and old school gamers alike to pick up and play mindlessly. Both the difficulty level and cutesy music/animation make it a great game to pick up before bed while winding down from a busy day. And while the game doesn't feature much stylus use, it actually contributes to the relaxing features of Kirby Squeak Squad, since you don't have to mess around with the touch screen and stylus. And if you're feeling especially lazy, you can just use your thumb to move the bubbles on the bottom screen (which is the full extent of the touch screen features for the game).

World 1-15: Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2

Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 
~Nintendo DS


Original Completion Date: October 27th, 2008

Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, as the name implies, is the sequel to the original Trauma Center: Under the Knife game. It's not the second game in the "Let's begin the operation!" super surgeon video game series called Trauma Center, but rather the fourth. The original concept is very original (I can't think of any other video games that require you to perform surgery on a regular basis), but the game play itself gets pretty repetitive. Of course, there are different types of surgeries you are required to perform, but it's pretty hard to elaborate after you've introduced the medical warfare disease GUILT, which is the main obstacle of the game. There are a few puzzle levels that take Dr. Stiles out of the usual OR, and they are ridiculously hard, but other than that most of the game revolves around performing operations on GUILT infected patients. Still, the surgery-based levels are very in depth and require a lot of concentration and patience to master. The music also adds a great deal of suspense, drawing you into the game completely. 

World 1-14: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
~SNES


Original Completion Date: October 23, 2008

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island was one of, if not the, first game to really accent Yoshi's existence after his original introduction in Super Mario World. Unlike most Mario games, SMW2:YI actually requires you to be riding a Yoshi throughout the entire game (sans a baby Mario power-up here and there), since the whole plot revolves around the fact that you are just a helpless baby who would die if the Yoshi's hadn't found you. This game was fairly different from the first Super Mario World game in that there is more than one bonus game, and you can repeat them whenever you feel like it after getting 100% on every level. You can also find items and power-ups which are stored in your inventory for use whenever you feel like it. And of course, it's also "that game where you can make Yoshi get high" in the level "Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy". I could spend hours just running around in that level (in fact, I already have). Let me tell you, if any authorities ever found Yoshi running around blitzed off his ass with a baby in his saddle, it would be game over, dude.