World 2-19: Earthbound

Earthbound

~SNES 

Well, after about 30 hours I finally have Earthbound in my trophy room! And you know what? I'd totally do it again. Earthbound definitely earned it's place in my top 10, with it's odd sense of humour, interesting game mechanics, and totally catchy soundtrack. There were so many awesome quirks in this game that made it memorable and worth being in everybody's trophy room. 

Overall, the game was pretty straightforward, as it was never too hard to tell where you had to go next. I count that as a big plus, because I hate running around aimlessly with no idea what to do. There was also no shortage of save points either (another big plus). One of the interesting game mechanics mentioned earlier is that if you stay out too long, your character gets homesick (resulting in botched battles because your character is off in Lala land). And on the even more annoying side, staying out too long also results in your dad constantly pestering you to save and take a break (at least you don't have to listen to him). But by far the most useful game mechanic comes into play by sheer advancement: after you reach a certain power level, you can run into monsters to initiate a fight and one hit KO them, bypassing the fight screen entirely. This is a huge time saver, and a great way to power level. 

One feature I didn't like much was that you couldn't get rid of key items, even after using them. However, you can leave items with your sister. Unfortunately, I didn't find that out until the very end of the game, so it was pretty useless to me. I ended up ditching a lot of good items because I simply had no space to keep them, even with 4 characters that each had 14 spaces to hold items. 

For leveling, I found that the best places were after you finished each My Sanctuary location, as you could go back to the sanctuary and get a free full recovery as many times as you wish. Also, you could hunt down the monsters in the place you just finished, and they would run away from you. And if you were strong enough, you could also one hit KO them. Talk about power leveling!

Without going into spoilers here, the final boss had some very unexpected twists, and no matter how much power leveling you do (I maxed out all my characters to level 99 quite early) he is still challenging, which I thought was very cool. There's nothing worse than beating the final boss in one shot without putting any effort into it whatsoever because your characters were too strong. Earthbound managed to avoid that entirely, and I was very impressed by that.

World 2-18: Super Bomberman 5

Super Bomberman 5
~Super Famicom

Well, Hudson Soft really changed the series up this time! Now, instead of set levels and worlds, you can basically choose what stage you want to go to after you finish each level, because multiple portals open up! Of course, it's a mystery which one takes you closer to the end boss, and there are even darker portals that put you back levels as well! Again, more monsters were added for riding on, and a new powerup was added as well: bombs that follow your enemies! This power up was especially effective for trapping enemies in corners, then just waiting nearby for the bomb to blow up. I still prefer the timer bomb, but it was a neat little addition to the Bomberman power-up family. 

Overall, I managed to finish the game in about an hour after figuring out how the portals worked. I can see this game taking someone anywhere from an hour to quite a few hours if you take the wrong portals, as there are sometimes up to 21 levels in each world. The bosses were also much harder this time around. It was worth the play for me, as now I have all the Super Bomberman games in my trophy room. 

World 2-17: Super Bomberman 4

Super Bomberman 4

~Super Famicom

When I originally read that there were 5 Super Bomberman games, I didn't realize the last two were only released in Japan. Surprisingly, the version I found said it was Japanese but came in full English, so it seems there was no real reason not for it to be released in North America as well - other than the fact that it was completely unoriginal from the rest of the series. There were hardly any new ideas implemented in this game that weren't there in Super Bomberman 3. The only real differences, other than the final boss (more on that in a bit), were the addition of a few new monsters to ride on and a couple new level themes. Overall, there was nothing astounding about Super Bomberman 4.

Super Bomberman 4 was much shorter than the first 3 games, featuring only 5 worlds (each with 7 stages) and the last world was just constant boss fights. However, the method for killing the final boss was finally changed up a bit. Rather than the usual picking up bombs and hurling them at him, he changed forms, much like Smithy from Super Mario RPG. That's about as far as the originality of this game went. Overall, it wasn't a bad game, but not really a great game either. 

World 2-16: Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

~PS3

I had at least 10 other way cooler pics to choose from, but this is the only one with the trophy up there as proof that I beat the game (on medium).

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time is a completely awesome game. I'm going to guess I spent about 12 hours playing this game, and I was nowhere near 100% done. Now that I've finished it on Medium mode, it's time to move up to challenge mode, upgrade all the guns to max level, collect all the Zoni and gold bolts, and then kick the crap out of Lord Vorselon!

Everything about this game is so amazingly structured. I never thought I'd go out of my way to admire the graphics in a game, but I absolutely LOVED how they were done. They're so incredibly smooth, and the colour scheme is absolutely perfect. Every planet you visit has incredibly defined scenery, and while the music doesn't really stick out in my head, it seems to have matched each section of the game quite well. The storyline is also really intriguing - basically, your little robot buddy, Clank, has been abducted by Dr. Nefarious as a means to access the Orvus Chamber in the Great Clock so he can use the power of time travel, which would have grave consequences on the very existence of the universe. So it's up to Clank to make sure nobody gets into the Orvus chamber. Back on Ratchet's side of the story, you and Qwark (the goofy captain you work with sometimes, and who is very similar to Futurama's own Zapp Brannigan) try to hunt down another Lombax (Ratchet's species) who is hellbent on also doing a bit of time travelling himself.

All in all, there wasn't a thing I didn't like about Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time. It will definitely hold it's place in my trophy room as one of my favourite games ever.

World 2-15: Super Bomberman 3

Super Bomberman 3
~SNES

Alright, only 2 more Super Bomberman games to go until I'm done them all. What I love about Bomberman is that there's no real learning curve - you drop bombs, you wait for them to explode, and just dodge the path of the explosion. It's a bit of strategy, but if you play your cards right there's nothing hard about it. Especially after you get the timer bombs so you can blow them up whenever you feel like it.

The cool thing about Super Bomberman 3 is that they finally added some new stuff! For instance, you can pick up a dinosaur pal in the first area. I managed to keep my dino for the duration of the game (which isn't hard at all on emulator). There were a couple new powerups, like the water bomb, which I never did figure out the purpose of. The other new feature in Super Bomberman 3 that wasn't there in the first two were doors that led to additional rooms in each level, and pillars you had to blow up in order to open those doors. So the game was a bit longer, had a few new features, but basically still rocked the Bomberman title. The only thing I didn't really like was how slow you walk around compared to the first and second games. Sure, you can get the roller blades, but they really don't help much. 

World 2-14: Super Bomberman 2

Super Bomberman 2
~SNES

I didn't even know there was a second Super Bomberman game, but as it turns out there are five of them.

I loved Super Bomberman 2 because it was quick, had cute graphics, and also had catchy music. There wasn't much expansion from the original Super Bomberman game - in fact I don't think there was a single new power up - but they did alter the graphics of the power ups and added a few new level themes too. Once again, to fight the final boss you must throw bombs at him. The idea that you need a specific power up to kill the end boss is kind of silly, but at least in Super Bomberman 2 it was a lot easier to execute.

By the time I fought the final boss, I had collected a bunch of hearts (which allow you to withstand one extra hit without dying), and I guess they stacked up because I was able to stand in one spot and spam the lay bomb/throw bomb button for about 10 seconds until the final boss was dead.

Overall, Super Bomberman 2 is a pretty fun game, taking only about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, to complete. It also has awesome replay value; I can see myself coming back to this game many more times in the future.

World 2-13: Kid Icarus

Kid Icarus
~NES

This is my 13th completed game of the year, and it was a pretty good one. I can't tell you how many times I attempted this game on Virtual Console, and failed miserably. However, it was a breeze on emulator (as most games are). I even made it through the last level on my second loop, which is apparently very difficult because you have to defeat a certain amount of enemies on a scrolling screen. Most people end up looping through the same level for about 10 minutes before making it to the final boss.

The controls are a little bit sticky in Kid Icarus, but I enjoyed the storyline and the way the levels flow into each other; you start as an angel stuck in the underworld, summoned by the Goddess Palutena to take out the evil Medusa (who Palutena transformed into a hideous monster). You then work your way through the overworld, skyworld, and storm your way through the Palace in the Sky to put an end to Medusa and her evil army that has been reigning over all the worlds.

There are plenty of upgrades to get, and you can stockpile potions to take with you once you find a barrel to store them in. I'm not exactly sure how it's easier to carry a barrel than it is a chalice of life, which you can drink but not carry, but whatever. You can also collect hammers, although I never ended up using any of them because I didn't know how. The music is super catchy, and I find that even a few days (and games later) the theme is still rolling over in my head. Overall, this game is pretty tough, but definitely worth the play.