100th Post: The (Gaming) Eras Tour

I love talking about games, and, in the past three years since starting my blog, I’ve had the perfect outlet to discuss over 200 games through top ten lists, yearly wrap-ups, and nostalgic memories. For my 100th post, I’ve decided to do something special by highlighting one game from every system I’ve ever owned (or my parents owned). These are games that might not fit snuggly onto one of my lists, but they deserve a moment to shine because of the time I had spent with them.

Walk with me as we explore a trip through my gaming eras!

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Megamania
(Atari 2600, 1982)

The Atari 2600 was one of my earliest experiences with video games, and I even have VHS tape evidence of me playing Pac-Man when I was around 4 years old (in the video, I kept dying and was very angry that my parents were interrupting my play time).

We were fortunate to have a healthy collection of Atari games. Some of my favorites were Donkey Kong, Kangaroo, and Summer Games. However, the game that had me coming back the most (and one that I was quick to share with my friends when they came over) was Megamania, a single-screen space shoot-’em-up game similar to Space Invaders but practically perfect in every way.

Larger sprites, an energy bar, and a satisfying sound when destroying enemies all contributed positively as I pushed further and further for the ultimate high score. Gone, too, was the stressful music and speed of Space Invaders when you’ve dwindled the fleet down to just a few ships.

I never saw the marketing for this game, but this commercial would have anyone hyped. Check it out!

Super Spike V’Ball
(NES, 1988)

I was not generally into sports games but there was something incredibly eye-catching and addictive about Super Spike V’Ball for the Nintendo Entertainment System (a port of the original arcade game). The controls were simple, matches were quick, and it was a blast to play with a friend. I remember the feeling of legitimate progress in the game’s World Cup mode, excited to see which country I’d be facing in each new match and how that would change the background.

One fun Easter egg in the game was that you could play as Billy and Jimmy from the Double Dragon series. Beyond that, nothing was quite as satisfying as sending a spiked volleyball speeding toward your opponent while the game vividly displayed “Kabooom!!” above their hurtling bodies.

Lock ‘n’ Chase
(Game Boy, 1990)

For the longest time, my Game Boy library consisted of just four games: Tetris, Kirby’s Dream Land, Gargoyle’s Quest, and Lock ‘n’ Chase. While those first three games have been thoroughly discussed over the last 30+ years, Lock ‘n’ Chase has been somewhat lost to the depths of time.

So, what is it? Well, it’s basically a Pac-Man clone with a few twists. You play as a thief who is attempting to rob a series of banks (that all happen to be shaped like Pac-Man mazes) while avoiding capture by the police. The main gimmick is that the thief can close off gates behind him, forcing the police to take an alternate route in their pursuit. Power-ups will also sporadically appear that can temporarily incapacitate the cops or make you invincible.

I enjoyed the game’s boppin’ soundtrack and always looked forward to the cutscene after each level which would show the thief escaping to their next location via car, jet pack, hot air balloon, or plane. I also remember the last stage involving a creative puzzle where the thief needed to push a key through the maze to open a lock leading to a giant diamond. I was completely elated when I finally succeeded!

Vertical Force
(Virtual Boy, 1995)

When I was in 8th or 9th grade, I foolishly traded my NES copy of Mega Man 3 to an acquaintance who lived nearby for their copy of Vertical Force for the Nintendo Virtual Boy. Yes, I was one of the five people in the world who happened to own a Virtual Boy (and still do!). Naturally, this was maybe the dumbest move I had ever made, but I truly felt like I had gotten my fill of Mega Man 3 having beaten it dozens and dozens of times. (Don’t worry, kids. I eventually replaced my copy of Mega Man 3 when I saw it at a pop-up gaming shop at the mall for $30).

Anyway, despite Vertical Force being for a generally defunct console, it’s actually a really great game!  Modeled after your typical scrolling shooters like 1942 or Gradius, Vertical Force puts you in the cockpit of a starship that blasts its way through several stages of three-dimensional dangers.  Utilizing the Virtual Boy’s 3D effects, players have the unique ability to toggle the ship between the foreground and the background which can be strategically optimized when parts of the screen start to become too chaotic.  Helper drones can also be collected and exchanged with each other depending on what’s best for the situation.  

Many warned of the potential for eye strain when playing Virtual Boy, but it never bothered me.  I’d sit for hours in pure darkness doing my best to get lost in the red and black world of Vertical Force or Mario Tennis, the only two games I ever owned for the system.

Donkey Kong Country 3:
Dixie Kong’s
Double Trouble
(SNES, 1996)

Donkey Kong Country 3 was one of the last games to be released for the Super Nintendo, and it was the last game that I was gifted for the system before I became a Sony kid. The stakes have been raised even higher in this third adventure where both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have been captured by the menacing Baron K. Roolenstein.  It’s up to Dixie Kong and a random gorilla baby with massive arms to save the dynamic duo.

I was and continue to be a huge fan of the DKC series (see last year’s Halloween costume for confirmation).  Nintendo hooked most of us right from day one after sending us a certain VHS tape in the mail that highlighted the making and gameplay of the first game.  I played the crap out of DKC1 and had access to its sequel at a friend’s house.  

I was excited to receive the third game which came out just two years after the release of the first one.  Secrets abound, I enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny.  It became one of the few games back then that I completed to 103% (a running gag since the first game which allowed you to get 101% and then 102% in DKC2).  New vehicles, hidden banana birds, and a secret lost world, DKC3 managed to continue the platforming magic and wonder of the first two games.  While it isn’t quite as perfect as Diddy’s Kong Quest, I’m glad I have this one as part of my collection.

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
(Playstation, 1997)

The N64 and original Playstation ushered in a new era for 3D gaming, and developers were all scrambling to create the next platforming icon.  Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Banjo Kazooie, Gex, Conker, Ape Escape… The list goes on and on!  In between them all sat Croc, an endearing reptile in a colorful world who weirdly controlled like a tank.  I was all about it.

Don’t get me wrong.  Croc could be horribly frustrating.  Often, I’d find myself misjudging the distance of a jump, fumbling with camera angles, or simply trying to turn around so I’d be lined up for the next sequence of moves.  Yet, like in DKC3, I was oddly determined to save all the Gobbos.  

I think it was a game I really needed at the time.  It came out right around when my parents were getting divorced.  I’m guessing I would have gotten it the following year or so.  I’m happy I had the distraction.  And, hey, maybe I’ll come back to it if this remaster turns out to be true!

Bomberman DS
(Nintendo DS, 2005)

One of my favorite multiplayer experiences when I was younger was the Multitap mayhem of Super Bomberman for the SNES. So, when I saw that Bomberman had made his way to the dual screen chaos of the Nintendo DS, I knew it would be a winner.

It did not disappoint. I was fortunate to be surrounded by a handful of friends who were also proud DS owners, and a major plus of the Bomberman game was that only one person needed to own the cartridge in order to play with others. Furthermore, up to EIGHT people could partake in a full on battle royale extraordinaire. This game was a hit on several Vocal Jazz trips where we were all crammed on a bus together, and we’d regularly bust it out at get-togethers. One of my favorite aspects of the multiplayer mode was the ability to get back into the game after being sacked by flicking bombs via the touch screen toward unsuspecting players.

I think I did end up beating the single-player campaign at some point. But with Bomberman, it’s all about blowing up your friends.

Dance Dance Revolution:
SuperNOVA
(Playstation 2, 2006)

My first experience playing Dance Dance Revolution was at the house of a friend who was having an up-all-night gaming marathon. Everyone brought TV’s and their own gaming systems, and there was stuff going on in almost every corner of his large basement room. One person, however, took the cake by showing us his moves in this rousing rhythmic rigamarole.

We were so entranced that friends were lining up in hoards for their turn to prove that they’re not an ordinary fellow. While we waited, we would stand on the sidelines and “practice” following the arrows on the imaginary dance pads that we laid down on the floor in front of us. Most of us were musicians (and in show choir!), too, so we felt personally attacked if we couldn’t keep time. We must have played for hours, and none of us were able to advance much further than “basic,” but it lit a fire within us.

Several years later, I had an epiphany. Wait a minute. I could have owned this game all along! After receiving some Christmas money, I rushed out to Best Buy and finally grabbed my own copy of Dance Dance Revolution: SuperNOVA. I was on my way to greatness (I’m pretty okay on Difficult but start to tire easily when attempting an Expert track).

It would take a little time for me to be in good enough shape to get back to my glory days. I also have downstairs neighbors who might not enjoy my attempts. However, I’m hoping to bring my PS2 back out of storage the next time I visit home. My favorite track? Mur Mur Twins.

Pilotwings Resort
(Nintendo 3DS, 2011)

There was a time when I would compulsively buy cheap DS and 3DS game off of Amazon, and Pilotwings Resort just happened to be the right price (a $7 purchase in 2012!). I was genuinely interested, though. For one, I was very curious to see how the natural 3D effect would enhance the gameplay (it actually made it a little more challenging because the effect required a very specific amount of focus), and I was eager to revisit the Wuhu Island setting that I knew from Wii Sports Resort.

It would take me 8 years to finally achieve 100%. Pilotwings Resort was something I could play in short bursts at any time, so it was easy to take it little by little over almost a decade. I liked that it would continue to throw new challenges at me, and it was incredibly enticing to want to perfect my score for each vehicle when it seemed like I was only a few points away. I loved that the classic rocket belt, plane, and hang glider all had secondary super vehicles versions that could be unlocked, continuing to spice up the quality and longevity of the game.

The final challenge for me was the game’s “Free Flight Mode” which allowed you to fully explore Wuhu Island in the vehicle of your choosing during various times of the day. The goal here was to collect balloons or rings at every location on the island within a time limit. Once collected, it would register to your overall total, and you wouldn’t have to collect it again. However, these items didn’t disappear on each subsequent attempt, and it only registered as a new find if they had never been collected before. For years, I would aimlessly wander the map searching for ONE last balloon in the rocket belt free flight mode. I would even study Wuhu Island maps to try to chart out my course, searching desperately for a place I hadn’t yet seen. Finally, May 14th, 2020: it was roughly 10:45 pm, and I decided to try it one more time. I can’t remember exactly where it was, but when I saw that untouched balloon, my heart leapt. Finally! Another chapter of my gaming life had come to a close.

Nintendo Land
(Wii U, 2012)

I had watched demos of Nintendo Land at E3, and the gameplay looked like a blast. I thought the new gamepad with a separate screen was an incredibly clever and inventive way of using the new hardware. I couldn’t wait to see what developers would do with this power! Unfortunately, the Wii U didn’t catch on like they had hoped, so only a few games truly utilized this unique feature. That didn’t stop us from having boatloads of fun.

Nintendo Land featured some of the most thrilling multiplayer experiences I had ever played on a home console. A series of minigames based off of classic Nintendo franchises, each selection took full advantage of the second screen, gyroscope, and motion controls. In “Mario Chase,” a group of Toads (your friends) try to catch Mario (you) who is using the gamepad with the ability to see the entire map as well as the location of each Toad. In “Luigi’s Ghost Mansion,” equipped with their flashlights, a team of Luigi’s (your friends) try to track down an invisible ghost (you) who is attempting to pick off each green Mario one by one. In “Metroid Blast,” a small army of Samus Arans (your friends) are joined by Samus’ gunship (you) to take on several stages destroying enemies, collecting tokens, and facing off against classic Metroid bosses.

In addition to the multiplayer games (and I’ve only named a few), there’s a plethora of single player challenges that are equally as engaging. I particularly loved “Donkey Kong’s Crash Course” which had you tilting the controller to navigate a trolley through DK-themed obstacle courses. To activate certain mechanisms, you may find yourself twisting a control stick, toggling an L or R button, or even blowing into the microphone! This was the kind of gameplay I had always wanted from a Nintendo system, and I’m sad that we never got a sequel.

Inside
(Nintendo Switch, 2018)

Long before Bo Burnham released his brilliant mid-Pandemic commentary on the the state of his (and our collective) mental health via Netflix, the Indie developer Playdead released their own mind-bending tale of a horrifying dystopian society.

Inside pulls you in immediately with its story. Dropped into the woods, your main character has no choice but to proceed to the right where they must quickly avoid capture by strange men with flashlights and their guard dogs. You’re not sure why you should be avoiding these people, but there’s something sinister going on that slowly unravels as you explore each new area. I had to find out. I won’t give it away, but let’s just say that this game was well worth the $5 I paid for it on the Nintendo Switch (it’s often on sale!). Do yourself a favor, and play it as soon as you can!

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I’ll point out that there’s a certain lack of N64 and Wii games on this list. While my sister and Mom owned both of these systems, my access to them was limited. I also never owned a Sega or Microsoft system. Additionally, I decided to exclude selections from my PC life. That’s worthy of a whole separate post of its own!

I hope you enjoyed my journey, and please stick around for the next 100 articles!

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