My Back. My Log. My Backlog – Remembered Rentals (Part 9)

Some of my fondest childhood memories stem directly from walking the coveted aisles of a local rental store, committing to a choice that would make or break my entire weekend. For many, Blockbuster is the first name that comes to mind when thinking back on these experiences. But most of my rentals came from the grocery store after our family got our food for the week. Or, even more uniquely, my friends and I would ask for a couple bucks so we could bike over to a small building down the street that had a meager collection of games and movies.

Tying this to my “Backlog” series, I’d love to recollect as many titles as possible to engrave on the eternal walls of my WordPress. I’ll only list games that I rented myself, and I won’t be counting games that were rented/played at friend’s houses.

First, let’s check in with my current progress! Visit any of the parts below to see how far we’ve come.

– Games from the 2020’s (Part 1)
– Games from the 2010’s (Part 2)
– Games from the 2000’s (Part 3)
– Games from Last Century (Part 4)
– Games on the PC (Part 5)
– The Lost Nintendo Games (Part 6)
– The Lost Atari Games (Part 7)
– Handheld Nostalgia (Part 8)

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Games Completed Since Last Post:

Donut County
(Nintendo Switch, 2018)

Forgot about this one! I purchased Donut County back in 2022 at the suggestion of a friend when I was specifically looking for “cozy games.” I found the gameplay to be entertaining but relatively simple, so it didn’t quite hold my attention.

If you’ve never played, it’s a quirky story about a town who gets trapped underground when a raccoon starts working for a mysterious company that promises to rid the city of trash by sending out mobile holes that suck everything into the earth. Imagine a game like Katamari where you control a small hole which gradually grows larger as you pull in increasingly bigger objects.

While there’s not too much challenge, complex puzzle elements slowly get introduced level after level. By the end, there’s even a boss battle!

The dialogue between each stage quickly becomes the main draw, where the trapped characters share quirky discussions as they brainstorm how to get out of the hole. Everyone speaks like late 90’s kids who are addicted to their cell phones, casually throwing out LOL’s mid conversation.

I’m surprised I didn’t finish it sooner – only a few hours are needed to complete the whole game. Now I can cross it off the list! Check it out if you have a chance.

Super Punch-Out!!
(SNES, 1994)

Holy moly I can’t believe it. After committing to one fight per night (while ruthlessly making use of NSO’s save state feature), I finally finished Super Punch-Out in its entirety for the very first time!

Is it cheating to use save states? Well, I only used them between matches and never mid fight. So, for me, it was a quick way to learn my opponent’s patterns and tells without having to meticulously restart every circuit each time I was defeated (and it would have been a lot!). I saved hours and hours of needless playtime, and I don’t have the luxury to commit to a game like I would have as a child. This is the optimal way to experience the game as an adult.

I appreciated the amount of concentration I needed to muster to lock into each opponent. This game takes WORK! You must learn. You must react. You must be patient! Every fight totally pays off, and you feel the sweet success of an earned victory when it’s all over. I really am the ultimate champ!

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Currently Playing:

Final Fantasy Resonance Demo
(Nintendo Switch, 2026)

Here’s another way to circumvent my “no new purchases in 2026” rule – by downloading game demos! I had to try out this new Final Fantasy entry, and it is absolutely breathtaking. I’m especially impressed with the animations attached to the spell-casting, and I just love love love the way everything looks when wandering the overworld.

Battles remind me of Grandia with a bar that tracks turn order, and you have the ability to manipulate that order by strategically attacking enemies that would go before you. I think this is one I’ll definitely purchase when it comes out (to play AFTER the year of the backlog!).

Pokémon Blue
(Game Boy/Super Game Boy, 1998)

I didn’t think I’d play another Pokémon game after finishing Sapphire this Summer, but here we are! In line with my backlog goals, I wanted to maintain a variety in the types of consoles that I played throughout the year. So far, I’ve played essentially every system I own except I’ve not yet touched any titles for the Game Boy. It’s time to take on the one game that has eluded me the longest!

Crazily enough, when I booted up the game, my save file had two badges and my Charmander was already in its second evolution! I remember that I had restarted the game, but I didn’t think I had made it that far! The reason I restarted in the first place was because I was all the way to the Final Four but my party was totally unbalanced. I felt like I needed a fresh start to do it right.

I tried playing on my Game Boy Color at first, but the screen is way too small – and my hands don’t quite fit the device like it used to. I decided to migrate over to my Super Game Boy which lets me play Game Boy games on my Super Nintendo. I must have never done this before because the custom border and fresh colors were a total surprise to me!

I had to do a little grinding before I could move forward. Now I’ve earned my first HM ability (Cut) and should be well-prepared for the 3rd and 4th gyms. It’s time to be the very best once again!

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Remembered Rentals:

Below is every game I can remember renting myself (in no particular order). Did you rent any of these? Tell me some of your favorite rental stories in the comments!

Mega Man 2

I was already into Mega Man 3 when I tried its predecessor. I remember that I had forgotten to take the game out of the NES, so when my Dad tried to return it, he had to come back home to get it! He was not happy….

Monster Party

I’m pretty sure I saw ads for this title in a gaming magazine and that was enough for me to want to try it. Things turned sour when the sunny, green world suddenly morphed into a gloomy hellscape with half-buried bodies protruding from the ground, giant eyeballs walking to and for, and all sorts of strange cryptic creatures inhabiting the boss rooms.

Battletoads

I may have been able to beat the Turbo Tunnel once or twice, but nothing is more horrendous than the ridiculously long Ice Cavern filled with instant-death spikes coupled with slippery slopes. What was their goal with this game? To crush our hopes and dreams!?

Super Troll Islands

Don’t knock it before you try it – this Trolls game is actually SUPER fun. The goal is to bring color back to a black and white world. Double the fun with a second player (in this case, my sister).

Mortal Kombat 3

We rented this game for a birthday party where we hooked up the SNES in the living room and slept in the same space. I’m pretty sure we spent most of the night trying to beat the Galaga mini-game that can be unlocked with a special code (thanks, Nintendo Power!).

Harvest Moon

I spent all weekend totally devoted to building my farm, upgrading my house, and marrying the love of my life. I specifically remember the sweet sound of rain which meant that I could spend a day away from watering the fields to go explore the town or the nearby mountains.

Bubsy

Nintendo’s attempt at a snarky character to counter Sonic was a complete failure. You die in ONE hit and move too fast to see what’s in front of you. I award you no points, Bubsy.

Aero the Acrobat

In the same vein as Bubsy, Aero is only slightly better in that you have a few fun acrobatic moves to utilize. But…it’s still pretty bad. I think I used a code to get to the end boss and still struggled with finishing it.

Oddworld Abe’s Oddysee

One of the few games I rented for Playstation, Abe’s Oddysee hooked me on the series. I liked it so much that I asked for the game for Christmas and got the sequel shortly after that. If you’ve been keeping up with my backlog series, you’ll know that I finished the fourth game (Stranger’s Wrath) this year!

The Ren and Stimpy Show: Veediots!

As much as I loved the Ren & Stimpy show, these games were some of the worst I’ve ever played. No redeming qualities whatsoever.

Beavis and Butt-Head

Surprise, surprise – Beavis and Butt-Head is also a trash video game. Then again, I’m not sure what I was expecting. Huh huh huh. Huh huh huh.

Claymates

Here’s one I really wanted to love but there was something that held it back. Levels are just a liiiiiittle too long to be manageable, and the game goes on and on. The concept, though, is so wonderfully creative. I still toy with wanting to finish it – especially now that it’s on Nintendo Switch Online.

Ken Griffey Jr Presents Major League Baseball

I was so bad at this game that I cried when my friend kept winning over and over again. Except, it really is a weird baseball game. The camera is zoomed in so close that you can barely keep track of what’s happening on the field!

Stunt Race FX

The only good part about this game is the ability to play as the motorcycle character. The bad part, however, is that you can’t use the motorcycle in normal races. WHY????

Mega Man X1-3

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ These games are fire. Top tier SNES material!

Clay Fighter

Not much substance to a Clay Fighter game but enough entertainment to hold a kid’s attention for a weekend, I suppose!

Kirby Super Star

I remember passing out during a presentation at school which prompted my parents to take me home for the day. Lucky me, we hadn’t yet returned Kirby Super Star! I guess that worked out in my favor.

Cool Spot

Guys, the music in this game – it goes hard.

Barbie

My sister got to pick out games, too.

Little Mermaid

And sometimes she picked out games that were actually pretty cool!!

The N64 with Super Mario 64

It took a lot of pleading to convince my parents to rent this for me, but they finally went for it! Did I hold the controller correctly? Nope! Did I mostly just wander around outside the castle, fully indulging in the acrobatics of a 3D Mario? Yep!

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