April 1st is April Fool’s Day but it’s also “Reading is Funny Day” – a time to enjoy the silliness of joke books and riddles. As a child, I was particularly fond of these same books, and I would constantly be looking for someone who would listen to me recite my newest bit. Usually met with groans, I at least knew I had the following characters that would always laugh at me – for better or worse!
Below are my Top Ten Instances of Laughter in Video Games!
10) Chrono Trigger
Met at the Millennial Fair, this strange head with a pair of hands runs a tent game where you copy poses to win silver points. His haunting laugh makes you wonder if you should have stuck with the singing robot.
9) Street Fighter 2
Lots of victory laughs in this game but E. Honda’s always stood out to me – especially after hearing an onslaught of “haw haw haw haw haw” and “looks tight!” (I have no idea what he’s actually saying).
8) Turtles in Time
You’ve destroyed Shredder’s mechanical armor by throwing a series of foot soldiers directly into him, but he has escaped into time! Shredder cackles with glee from the beyond the portal.
7) Donkey Kong Country
Finally besting King K. Rool aboard his Gangplank Galleon, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong return to their treehouse to…play malicious pranks on each other!
6) Mario Kart 64
Nothing quite as intimidating as being hit with a red shell and then hearing Wario’s dubious roar of laughter to rub it in your face!
5) Zelda II
And thus begins the “game over” portion of my blog post. As if losing your lives wasn’t bad enough, now we have the main villains laughing at our misfortune! Zelda II was especially punishing because it meant you’re usually starting way back at the first temple.
4) Super Mario 64
I heard a rumor that the entire game of Super Mario 64 is just Bowser watching a recording of Mario’s adventure. That’s why every time you die you can hear Bowser laughing in the background.
3) Banjo Kazooie
In a way, Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie improves upon the Mario 64 formula in every way by allowing more open-world exploration and far more involved characters/story. So, naturally, they had to also have a far more devious cackle to heighten your game over experience.
2) Final Fantasy VI
Kefka’s laugh had a way of hitting me right in the gut. Usually we’d hear it before we saw the character, hinting that this evil clown was right around the corner.
Honorable Mentions:
Final Fantasy X
A list about laughter wouldn’t be complete without this “iconic” moment! That’s all I’ll say about that.
1) Duck Hunt
Love it or hate it, the Duck Hunt dog has been laughing at gamers since the early 80’s! Time to sit closer to the TV.
Thanks for stopping by to read my post! What are your favorite instances of laughter in games? Who did I miss? Let me know in a comment!
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March 15th is “National Shoe The World Day,” and it invites folks to make sure that everyone has access to high-quality footwear! With that in mind, let’s take a moment to check out some high-quality footwear in video games! Below are my Top Ten.
10) Legend of the Mystical Ninja
You’d think it would be obvious that wearing sandals would be easier and faster than walking around barefoot. But, then again, if you get hit once, they fall off and disappear forcing you to buy another set! Horrible craftsmanship!
9) Final Fantasy 6
Gone are the days of slowly walking around your RPGs. The sprint shoes literally changed the pace of FF6 and made the game much quicker to navigate! What a change from previous entires.
8) The Goonies 2
I remember wandering this game rather aimlessly for hours and hours before finally stumbling upon the jumping shoes. When I realized that this unlocked all sorts of new areas for me, I was instantly hooked and couldn’t wait to hunt down more items that would similarly help me to advance. And, thus, I fell in love with Metroidvanias before there were Metroidvanias.
7) Mario Kart 8
What’s better than running in great shoes? Driving in great shoe! The sneeker car makes you wonder which giant character from the Mario universe lost their right shoe.
6) Super Bomberman
Speaking of shoes with wheels… skates! I love to imagine a bunch of Bombermen roller skating around an arena, dodging fiery blasts from their freshly detonated bombs.
5) Bayonetta
When hand guns aren’t enough, attach some pistols to your heels. Now you can kick and shoot at the same time!
4) Banjo-Kazooie
Talon Trot your way to victory with this fancy pair of sneakers that seemingly have an invisible owner when they’re out in the wild.
3) The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past
Pick up the Pegasus Boots to add a dash of dashing to Link’s moveset. Though, wasn’t Pegasus a flying horse? Shouldn’t Link get the ability to fly??
2) Mega Man X
One of the first upgrades picked up by X are the dash boots in Chill Penguin’s stage. These boots completely set the X series apart from the original Mega Man games, making the action infinitely more fast-paced!
Honorable Mentions:
Sonic Frontiers
Power Wash Simulator
Command & Conquer: Generals
Thank you for the new shoes!
1) Super Mario Bros. 3
A fan favorite for all, Kuribo’s Shoe or Goomba’s Shoe only shows up in 5-3. I loved that you had to hit enemies from below a block in order to separate it from its owner, mixing it up from Mario’s standard stomp-on-everything approach. I also loved the sheer power of being able to pounce on piranha plants and spineys with no fear! This item, without a doubt, is the best shoe in video game history!
Thanks for stopping by to read my article! Can you think of some other fun instances of shoes in video games? Leave me a comment, and let me know!
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A very happy Mar10 day to you! Our mustachioed man of honor is typically known for running and jumping, but he shows up in all sorts of places. Today, we explore the top ten sightings of Mario in other professions or timelines!
10) The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Link’s Awakening turns out to be aaaall a dream but that Tarin guy sure looks a lot like Mario! There are nods to other Nintendo franchises all over this game – like an enemy shaped like Kirby, a man who suspiciously looks like the mayor of Sim City, and a frog who resembles Wart.
9) Golf
Before we formally had NES Open and the Mario Golf series, we just had regular old Golf. But, like his appearance in Link’s Awakening, there are quite a few similarities between our main man and this golfer dude. Later, we’d learn that this IS in fact Mario – though, according to Wikipedia, they formerly called him Ossan, which was apparently a generic reference to him when they were making Donkey Kong!
8) Punch-Out!!
Knock out! Mario moved on from the dream world and life of golf so he could call the shots in the boxing ring.
7) Game and Watch
In the re-release of the Game and Watch games, Mario takes on the role of a deep sea explorer, hunting for buried treasure guarded by a giant octopus.
6) Alleyway
If there’s one thing Mario is good at, it’s breaking blocks. Mario takes it to the next level by piloting a small craft that bounces a block-breaking ball around the room.
5) Wrecking Crew
Before he was plumbing, he was working construction in direct competition with Foreman Spike. And by construction, I mean deconstruction… with explosives!
4) Mario’s Picross
Mario channels his inner Indiana Jones and uncovers hidden messages on coded stone slabs. At least, that’s how I envision the scenario. Otherwise, it’s just a generic puzzle game – one that just released on Nintendo Switch Online!
3) Yoshi’s Cookie
It’s Yoshi’s cookie but Mario is the main chef? Yoshi finally gets his revenge for being dropped in all those pits by forcing Mario to bake him cookies.
2) Donkey Kong Jr.
Call the Humane Society, Mario’s only villain role during his career shows the cruel separation of animal families when he takes a father away from young Donkey Kong Jr.
Honorable Mentions:
Mario Paint
Make some music with Mario’s decapitated head!
1) Dr. Mario
The doctor is in, and he’ll write you prescriptions until the problem finally goes away – just a like a real doctor!
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Hoping you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day! Were you looking for the perfect gift? Consider a flower from one of these game!
10. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Atari, 1982)
E.T.? Stay home.
One of the few objects you can actually interact with in the game, E.T. uses his extra-terrestrial powers to raise a flower that was in poor health – just like in the movie!
9. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (Super Nintendo, 1995)
“Wheel of morality, turn turn turn.”
Flowers are collectibles in this Super Mario World sequel (prequel?) starring our favorite dinosaur friend. Find all five and you’ll have better odds at earning the chance to play a mini game at the end of a level!
8. Super Alfred Chicken (Super Nintendo, 1993)
The “this” in this scenario is a watering can.
One day Mr. Pekles the flower was trying out his new “Super Spy-radio’ when he intercepted a message from the Meka Chickens about how they’ve developed advanced technology and kidnapped Billy Eggs who will be cloned to build their “invincible Meka Chicken Army!” Only Alfred can stop their evil plans and save Billy!
(I owned this game and had no idea this was the plot).
7. Loves Me…? Minigame Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo DS, 2004)
“I’m the one you want! It’s me! It’s meeeeeeee!”
The DS port of Super Mario 64 includes a whole slew of fun multiplayer minigames including this one where a lonely Yoshi overlooks the sea and tries to pick the last flower petal, proving that someone loves them. Who could it be?
6. Flower Town (Nintendo 3DS, 2013)
“When you’re alone and life is making you lonely you can always go – Flower Town.”
In 2013, Nintendo finally added some new games to their popular “StreetPass” feature for the 3DS. If you’ve never heard of StreetPass, it essentially allowed players to exchange data with each other when literally passing each other in the street while their 3DS systems were stowed away in a backpack or pocket in sleep mode. Players would then use this data, basically the Mii’s of whoever passed you, to play a number of selectable games on the system. I loved StreetPass because it also showed a player’s country or state of origin when you collected their data and you’d unlock new locations on a globe – an especially fun endeavor when I brought my 3DS with me to Japan!
Anyway, Flower Town was the most passive of these new StreetPass games, and it allowed the player to collect plants for their garden which you would then place around your space simply for aesthetics. Nothing special gameplay-wise, but I couldn’t help but try to max out all the possibilities (which I never did)!
5. NieR: Automata (Various, 2017)
“And at last I see the light.”
Help a “friend” in NieR: Automata and they’ll show you where they live! That’s all I need to say about that. I’m currently (still!) playing through this game, and there’s so much story and intrigue. Maybe YOU should play it, too!
4. Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo, 1994)
“New boyfriend? Well, that’s news!”
Before there was Tinder, people would just send each other flowers via carrier pigeon. Who could be this mysterious new boyfriend? Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets.
3. Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985)
“Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!”
For many, this might be the first flower that comes to mind when talking about flowers in video games. What a feeling it was to grab a fire flower and feel absolute power for the first time – at least until you accidentally jumped in a pit.
2. Flower (Various, 2009)
It would be hard to not make a list about flowers and not include the one game out there actually called “Flower.” But, seriously, this is a very beautiful game that also appeared as my #1 choice for my Top Ten Wind in Games article – it also boasts an excellent dynamic soundtrack!
Honorable Mentions:
Spring Weekend (Windows, 1990)
With how cold it has been lately, I could really use a Spring weekend.
Beauty and the Beast (Super Nintendo, 1994)
“Okay, a simple ”wrong’ would have done just fine.”
1. Undertale (Various, 2015)
“Howdy Doody time!”
I think no other flower in gaming history has made as big of an impact as Flowey the Flower from Undertale. If you don’t know about this guy, my lips are sealed. Find a copy of Undertale today, and find out what all the fuss is about!
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Not even the sidewalk is safe! After dodging an onslaught of cars and semis on the highway, Frogger has to contend with a snake who is also out for their daily exercise.
9. Pitfall
Let out your loudest Tarzan call but don’t jump too late! Pitfall Harry’s first enemy is coiled up at the other side of a gaping chasm.
8. The Legend of Zelda
Anyone got any rope? In the first Zelda game, bats are “keese” and snakes are “ropes.” Try not to get roped in!
7. StarTropics
Hopping between blocks, Mike Jones wields his mighty Yo-Yo against the C-Serpent in an early dungeon of StarTropics.
6. Battletoads
Do you hate yourself and want to fall deeper into darkness? Play Battletoads! Level 6’s Snake Pit has you navigating several screens of the serpent express as you try to reach the exit.
5. Super Mario Bros 2 (USA)
What’s worse than one snake? Three snakes – that shoot fireballs! Triclyde does just that in Super Mario Bros 2. At least it’s easy to remember all their names: Clyde, Clyde, and Clyde. That’s why they’re Triclyde.
4. Rattler Race
Got a minute between classes or calls? This classic game from the Microsoft Entertainment Pack held all of our attention. Apples are the best source of nutrition for a growing snake!
3. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
A new edition to the Donkey Kong Country series, Rattly makes his first appearance in the second entry. Who do you think is the better jumper? Rattly the snake or Winky the frog??
2. Mega Man 3
I could have very easily chosen Snake Man for this #3 entry, but he’s more machine now than snake(man). This giant snake enemy is the most iconic obstacle in the stage with his slew of menacing fireballs and his slithering platforms that rise and fall with his “body.”
Honorable Mentions:
Metal Gear Solid
Snake! Snake! Snake!
1.Snake, Rattle ‘n’ Roll
A game where the controls are made up and the perspective doesn’t matter, Snake, Rattle ‘n’ Roll rocks its way into the 3rd dimension with its unique isometric view and a soundtrack straight out of the 1950’s. Now go eat some balls and lick some feet! (!!?)
Thanks for stopping by to read my article! Who are some of your favorite snakes in games? Leave me a comment and let me know! If you’re enjoying my content, be sure to “like” my post, and considering “following” my blog to show your support!
Nintendo’s Year-in-Review just dropped which means it’s time for me, as is tradition, to recap all the games I finished in 2024!
Between teaching classes, lessons, concerts, gigs and travel (and general self care), I have to be very careful about how I budget my time for gaming. Yet, despite having what I thought was an even busier schedule, I managed to take on 11 (relatively substantial) pieces of interactive media. Last year, I only finished 6.
So, let’s dive in! Here’s what I played for the past 12 months along with a few of my thoughts. What did YOU play this year? What were your favorites?
Celeste
Beaten 1/6/2024 (any %)
The year was off to an incredible start when my winter break included this masterpiece of a game. Celeste has a perfect, winter-y vibe as our main character faces the isolated climb of the mountain in front of her – a metaphor for the conflict that lies within her.
Tight controls, precise platforming, and music that fit the mood, I made the most of my time away from my work, cozying up under blankets while I journeyed toward the summit. Easily one of the best games of the year!
9/10
Metroid Prime Remastered
Beaten 3/10/2024
22 years after the game’s original release on Gamecube, I got to spend my February and March finally playing Metroid Prime for the first time.
A number of reasons prevented me from playing this game previously: I never owned a GameCube, the Wii port was hard to find, and to tell the truth, I’m not really a fan of FPS games on consoles. The remaster updated these controls slightly, and that was very attractive to me.
Overall, I thought the game was fine. There were some issues with platforming where it was hard to judge my jumps. Backtracking also became pretty long winded as there weren’t enough warp points to quickly get me to where I wanted to go. But, I did like the feeling of progression and discovery while exploring the depths of Tallon IV. Still, I’d rather play one of the 2D entries in the series.
7.5/10
Pocky and Rocky Reshrined
Beaten 3/29/2024
Pocky and Rocky for the SNES was a game that we rented a few times, and it held my attention well enough. The “reshrined” version seemed appealing for the nostalgia alone, and I do enjoy the arcade sort of gameplay that’s offered. The physical copy even came with stickers!
My favorite part of the new game was the addition of two new characters, each with their own special sets of abilities. However, I found it a little silly that the two-player mode, the most fun aspect of a Pocky and Rocky adventure, had to be unlocked by beating it in single-player mode. Still, fun was had.
6.5/10
Alba
Beaten 4/14/2024
Ever dream of wandering around a tropical island and taking pictures of local wildlife? Alba is the game for you!
Okay, so maybe I’m not the proper age demographic for this game, but it was a completely calming experience. In the first few hours, I helped rescue a beached dolphin before being shipping off to the tropical wonderland of Secarral. From that point on, it was my mission to save a defunct wildlife refuge from a greedy real-estate mogul who wanted to replace it with a luxury hotel. All the while, I captured shots of the island animals and searched especially for a mysterious Iberian lynx.
After I finished this game, I found myself wanting to pull out my own phone to get some pics of animals in my area. It certainly made me pay more attention to nature!
7/10
Hollow Knight
Beaten(?) 5/29/2024
Another deeply lauded game by my friends, Hollow Knight sent me to the realm of Hallownest where I sought to break the kingdom free from a deadly infection. The maze-like pathways made easier to navigate by parchment from a humming mapmaker and upgrades from colorful shopkeepers, I loved the atmosphere and characters that inhabited this world.
I only managed to complete the “easy” ending, which is quite a feat in itself. But, to go any further requires a level of dedication and precision that I wasn’t ready to undertake. Perhaps someday I’ll come back to it to see what else the game has to offer – maybe with the help of a strategy guide.
8.5/10
Dragon Quest II
Beaten 7/30/2024
When Nintendo showcased the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, I knew I wanted to play it. I had one problem, though. I’ve never played Dragon Quest II!
In fact, I haven’t played most of the Dragon Quest games save for the very first entry, a game I distinctly remember playing every morning before 5th grade and may likely be the first RPG I ever finished (it was a gift from my aunt one Christmas).
In any case, to prep for DQ3, I needed to beat DQ2 – and it was on sale! (Okay, I know it doesn’t really matter what order you do). Internet chatter told me that it’s the least-liked in the series. However, I’m an old pro who knows that there’s nothing too hard if you just do a little grinding.
And that’s what I did. My only hang up was when I did some extensive exploring one day that led to a town where my second character became cursed and bedridden. I couldn’t allow this, and it would have been too challenging to find the cure normally, so I loaded up an old save and continued on my way, avoiding the trigger to lose my character.
With the game tucked safely behind me. I’m ready for the new remake!
5.5/10
Crypt Stalker
Console mode 7/30/24: Handheld mode 7/31/24 Screenshot from nintendo.com
Taking advantage of another sale, it was hard to pass up this new adventure clearly calling back to games like Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden.
I liked that the game had two distinct modes: “console” which played like an 8-bit NES classic, and “handheld” which looked like something from the Game Boy era.
It’s a short game, it feels good, and had just enough challenge to keep me interested. Enough said!
6.5/10
Final Fantasy V (Pixel Remaster)
Beaten 9/17/2024
Very excited about this one! Final Fantasy V was an elusive entry in the FF series being one of the few titles to skip a North American release. I stumbled across it while I was in high school when I was exploring the world of emulators. But, I only made it a few hours in before I moved on to another activity.
The FF Pixel Remasters were a day-one purchase for me, and they were the perfect excuse to finish the games that had slipped through my fingers previously. I’d say that FF5 fits in snuggly with the rest of the 16-bit era entries. I can rank it easily behind my two other favorites: 4 then 6. I loved the return of the job system (originally from FF3), and I found myself digging deep into some strategies that helped optimize my character customizations.
It may not have as iconic of a villain as the rest of the more modern games, but it’s certainly the best game out there where you fight an evil tree.
8.5/10
Final Fantasy II (Pixel Remaster)
Beaten 10/6/2024
Upon finishing FF5, I immediately started on my next conquest: Final Fantasy II!
I watched an old roommate in college play bits and pieces of this game on the Final Fantasy Origins collection for PS1. My one takeaway then was that if you want to do well, you have to spend hours hitting yourself (you level up skills by using them!). The Pixel Remaster made this super easy with an auto-battle feature that took away all the hard work. Many of my grinding sessions were done passively while I simultaneously watched TV.
The story and characters here were… not memorable in the slightest. I did like, though, the implementation of having to “remember” key phrases to help progress the plot. And, it’s pretty wild (rose) that your party literally ends up in Hell for their final confrontation.
5.5/10
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (100%)
Beaten 10/31/2024
Finally, a normal Zelda game! And it’s… just okay. Many folks really loved Echoes of Wisdom, and some even thought it should earn “Game of the Year.” I, however, found it be incredibly repetitive with so much unused potential.
While the game returned to its roots in offering more linear dungeons, it tried to capture an open-world feel by allowing our main protagonist, this time Zelda, the ability to summon “echoes,” copies of monsters or objects. Designers of the game proudly proclaimed to us that there would be hundreds of “echoes” that players could utilize in their arsenal. But, I found that I really only cycled between a handful of the same types: beds to create bridges and high-level creatures to do all my fighting.
This means that our main hero, known for being a total badass in games like Ocarina of Time (where she appears as the ninja Sheik), Windwaker (where she leads a group of pirates), and Breath of the Wild (where she uses her magic to keep Ganon at bay for 100 years), can now only 1. Not speak 2. Stand in a corner and watch monsters fight for her 3. Jump on furniture. I didn’t even talk about how she handles in Hyrule Warriors or Super Smash Bros.
To push this ridiculousness even further, the developers gave her a power where she can temporarily TURN INTO LINK, making her uniqueness completely irrelevant.
I did play this game to 100% completion, but only because I felt motivated to collect everything in my evenings after a long day of work (a somewhat cathartic activity). I’m hoping Nintendo’s next LoZ entry will be even more of a return to tradition that stays away from the open-world aspects (I’d also accept a remaster of Adventure of Link!).
6.5/10
Super R-Type
Beaten 11/27/2024
Going out with a random one… I was browsing the SNES catalog on Nintendo Switch Online one night when I came across Super R-Type. In terms of space shooters, I consider this game to be the little brother to Gradius III. It *looks* like a cool, hi-tech flying game, but it’s more or less underdeveloped with a massively horrendous difficulty spike.
Like other games of this style, if you get hit once, you’re dead and you start over with no power ups. When I died on the first boss and it sent me back to the very beginning of the stage, I knew that this game didn’t play fair. So, I didn’t either. I abused save states to an obsessive degree.
I’m not sure how anyone was ever able to finish this game normally. If you were one of the few who did, you have my sincerest congrats. I’ll stick with Gradius.
5/10
Just started:
Outer Wilds
Started on 12/22/2024
To be continued:
NieR Automata
Currently working through ending B
Purchased but not yet played:
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Thanks for stopping by to read my post! Have you played any of these games? What games did you best this year? What are you looking forward to in 2025? Leave me reply and let me know your thoughts!
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My time for art this year has dwindled slightly, but I’ve managed to squeeze in a few projects here and there. Posting them to WordPress, however, has not been a thing. So, here’s everything I’ve done since April (with maybe a few more coming this month)!
See if you can guess the reason for choosing each of my subjects!
Doug & Porkchop Doug’s Big Game (Gameboy Color, 2000)
Created April 13th, 2024
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (NES, 1991)
Created September 7th, 2024
Simon Belmont Castlevania (NES, 1986)
Created October 13th, 2024
Jason Voorhees Friday the 13th (NES, 1989)
Created October 19th, 2024
Mr. Hyde Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (NES, 1988)
Created October 20th, 2024
Rudolph & Santa Secret of Mana (Super Nintendo, 1993)
Created December 16th, 2024
Thanks for stopping by to check out my art! Which one was your favorite? Do you remember playing any of these games? Leave me a reply, and tell me your thoughts!
The theatrical release of Wicked arrived this past weekend, and green has got us dancing through life! Despite my career in music, I had never been able to experience the stage production, and my only exposure to the songs was when every music major ever was pairing up to do their own renditions of “What Is This Feeling?” or “For Good” for their senior recitals.
Well, it’s safe to say that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were phenomenal as Galinda and Elphaba, and I loved the special appearance from our hero and king, Jeff Goldblum. Since seeing the show, I was inspired to find some other *popular* characters who are also green. Below are my top ten!
10. Slimer Ghostbusters
“He slimed me.”
The Ghostbusters’ first job took them to a nearby hotel where this menace was ravaging all the food carts. “That’s gotta be some cockroach!”
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
“Turtles fight with honor!”
Lean, green fighting machines, these turtle boys don’t cut [Shredder] no slack. Which one is your favorite? (Mine is Donatello!)
8. Gamora Guardians of the Galaxy
“Whatever nightmares the future holds, are dreams compared to what’s behind me.”
Orphaned and stolen from her home planet, this “beloved daughter” of Thanos was a key member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but she was eventually sacrificed in exchange for a Soul Stone. Now, through the magic of time travel, we’ve got a Gamora variant who knows nothing of the relationship she had with her former (future?) friends.
7. Oscar the Grouch Sesame Street
“I’m not happy unless I’m miserable!”
Who lives in a garbage can on Ses’me Street? Os-car the Grouch! Despite his prickly appearance and demeanor, the kids love him – and I did, too! Perhaps we all connected to a carefree lifestyle where we never had to clean up after ourselves and somehow that would be okay.
6. Roger Klotz Doug
::guitar riff plays::
Doug’s first day in Bluffington was off to a rough start when he accidentally got ketchup on Roger’s “new, suede shoes.” This local bully never let up and made life miserable for everyone around him. However, Doug always seemed to get the best of him, and he even outsmarted him in that first episode when he convinced Roger that neematoads really do exist in the local swamp. “Kalookakoo! Come out, you stupid neematoad!”
5. Shrek
“”What are you doing in my swamp?”
Misunderstood and headstrong, Shrek just wants to go about his business in the swamp (another swamp!). But, when the evil Lord Farquaad starts rounding up all the fairy tale characters in the land and it interrupts his day, Shrek gets haphazardly thrown into a quest to save the Lord’s bride-to-be Princess Fiona. Like ogres, like onions, this plot has layers.
4. Yoda Star Wars
“Do, or do not. There is no try.”
Head of the Jedi council, Yoda made us all think we could move objects with our mind if we focused hard enough. Most of us met him for the first time in The Empire Strikes Back in the murky swamps (and ANOTHER swamp!!) of Dagobah where he mentored a young Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force. Yoda trusted the Force, and his frustration was felt when others went against his word. “Patience, you must have!”
3. The Incredible Hulk
“Hulk smash!”
Lou Ferrigno, Eric Bana, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo… There have been a lot of Hulk’s in the past 50 years. I never saw the two standalone movies from the 2000’s, but I know enough about them. I appreciate how Marvel is starting to weave those stories into the current MCU. We’ve seen the return of Abomination through Shang Chi and She-Hulk. Now, we’ll get to see more characters from the Hulk universe with the release of Captain America: Brave New World including Red Hulk and The Leader.
2. The Grinch
Grinch: I’m an idiot! Echo: You’re an idiot!
He’s as cuddly as a cactus. He’s as charming as an eel. He’s a bad banana with a greasy black peel. I think of all the classic Christmas shorts that played during my childhood, How The Grinch Stole Christmas was easily my favorite (behind Rudolph). It was cartoony, colorful, and the song was iconic. I’ve grown to love the Jim Carrey/Ron Howard adaptation (though, my first experience with the movie in the theater was chaotic – we were in the very front row and I could barely tell what was going on). I quote it every year. “Dinner with me – I can’t cancel that again!”
Honorable Mentions:
Shego Kim Possible
Number Muncher
The Jolly Green Giant
1. The Wicked Witch (Elphaba) The Wizard of Oz/Wicked
Okay, you caught me. I made this list because we just saw Wicked and OF COURSE I’m going to put Elphaba at the top. Mistreated simply for the color of her skin, the racial undertones and struggles against political power in this musical are readily apparent. As of the end of Part I, I am fully behind Elphie’s plight against the Wizard who uses corruption and deceit to fool the people of Oz into following him. Is she truly wicked? Or was she thrusted into wickedness due to her circumstances? I guess we’ll find out next year!
Also, shout out to the original Wicked Witch of the West Margaret Hamilton who brought this character to life way back in the 1939 film! Perhaps there’s a little bit of wickedness in all of us.
“And you my dear, what an unexpected visit. It’s so kind of you to visit me in my loneliness.”
Thanks for stopping by to read my article! What do YOU think? Are there any other green characters who would be great for this list? Leave a comment, and let me know about them! Also, if you’re enjoying my content, I would greatly appreciate if you’d “like” my article and follow my blogto show your support!
I recently read the article “WordPress, what? Generate with AI, what?” from Cary over at Recollections of Gameplay, and I resonated so much with their frustrations that I felt compelled to comment my own experiences about trying to create images with AI. This led to an amusing exchange between the two of us where I generated a Mad Lib prompt and Cary filled in the blanks with a similar random word generator.
I decided to take it one step further and used AI to create images that would illustrate the adventure. Read below to see the results! Thanks, Cary, for the inspiration – maybe AI can be useful after all? 😂
“It’s-a me, Mario! I’m-a on a quest to rescue Princess Peach from-a the clutches of-a ALCOHOLIC (adjective).
I’m-a running and-a jumping through-a the TERRIBLE (adjective) Kingdom,
stomping-a on COWEBS (plural noun) and-a VISITORS (plural noun).
I’m-a power-a up with-a some CELERY (food) and-a CAMERA (plural noun),
and-a I’m-a feeling like-a I can-a take on-a CALCULATOR (noun)!
But-a then I-a see-a BUDDY(name)’s-a castle,
and-a I know-a I’m-a in-a for-a tough-a SOUP (noun).
Wish-a me-a TOOTH (noun)!”
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I’d argue that puzzle games became mainstream to the public with the introduction of Tetris on the Nintendo Game Boy in 1989. While it was originally developed and released in 1984, having the power of the game in the palm of your hands made it an incredibly addictive form of entertainment – not to mention that there was the ability to play against your friends.
Soon after, everyone was trying to get a piece of the puzzle pie. So began an endless stream of developers who would slap their beloved characters onto generic puzzle games in order to capitalize on the craze. Since June 6th is officially “World Tetris Day,” it’s only fitting that we take a look at a few other franchises that also dabbled in the puzzle genre (for better or worse…)!
Dr. Mario (1990, NES)
Speaking of hopping… Mario was firmly established in the platforming genre ever since his first appearance in the original Donkey Kong arcade game. By the time Dr. Mario showed up, we already had three solid Super Mario entries on the NES and one on the Game Boy. Suddenly, Mario trades in his plunger for a stethoscope, and a hit puzzle game is born!
Did we question it? No! Did we love it? Yes! Now, bring on the cool groove of that Chill music, and let’s eliminate some viruses!
Yoshi/Yoshi’s Cookie (1991/1992, NES)
Yoshi quickly became a beloved character as he was one of the prominent new features of Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Perhaps he had been dropped off a cliff so many times that he decided to go into the world of puzzling! Despite being the title character, it’s still Mario who is pulling all the strings (wait, now he’s a baker! Gosh, he sure has a lot of hats.).
Wario’s Woods (1994, SNES)
Wario was the main antagonist of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the Game Boy in 1992 and got his own platforming adventure in the “sequel” of 1994. I don’t think Nintendo knew what to do with him, though, so not only did they throw him into a Bomberman game with Wario Blast, but they also made him the face of Wario’s Woods – both releasing in the same year. Weirder yet is that you don’t even control Wario in this game – you play as Toad who is desperately trying to rid a tree of colorful bombs. Surely Toad is on track to be the new head of the Mushroom Kingdom EPA!
Puzzle Bobble (1994, Arcade)
8 years after the release of Bubble Bobble, Puzzle Bobble (or Bust-a-Move) made its way into the arcades, and it included the cute dinosaur-esque duo of Bub and Bob. While in the first game you were using bubbles to try to clear away your enemies, now you’re using bubbles to clear away…other bubbles! And suddenly you’re equipped with a giant bubble-launching machine. Technology has really come a long way in the Bubble Bobble universe!
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine &Kirby’s Avalanche (1993, Sega Genesis & 1995, SNES)
Huh. Kirby’s Avalanche sure looks a lot like Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. Well, that’s because they’re both re-skins of a completely different puzzle game, Puyo Puyo, an arcade game from 1991. The rabbit hole goes even deeper because Puyo Puyo is a puzzle game based on characters from yet ANOTHER game, Madō Monogatari, which is a 1990 RPG for PC! YOU get a Puyo! YOU get a Puyo! EVERYONE gets a Puyo!!!!!!
Mario’s Picross (1995, Game Boy)
Here’s a strange case where adding Mario to the title didn’t necessarily bolster a game’s sales. (Well, hold on…let me think about this…Mario Teaches Typing… Mario is Missing… Mario’s Time Machine… Hotel Mario…). Ahem. Anyway… This time, Mario dusts off his archaeologist skills to chisel away at square grids a la Minesweeper, revealing a hidden picture at the end. At least, he’s depicted as an archaeologist sporting the traditional explorer’s garb, rope and all. Wouldn’t it make more sense to show him as a sculptor? You know, someone who actually chisels pictures out of stone?
Rampage Puzzle Attack (2001, Game Boy Advance)
After doing a quick search of Rampage games, I’ve learned that almost all of them are rated an average of about 5/10. So, with that boppin’ success rate and hot off the heels of Rampage Through Time for the PS1, it’s no wonder Midway Games decided to license out their iconic giant monster characters to try their hand in another genre. Thus, Rampage Puzzle Attack is born! But wait, no… no… it’s just another clone of Drop Mania. Oddly enough, the game did score better. I’d rather smash up buildings and eat people, though.
Pokémon Puzzle League (2000, N64)
Not even Pokémon is safe from the world of puzzles. Could it be? A totally original puzzle game using images from one of our favorite anime series? No, of course not! Tetris Attack(Panel de Pon in Japan) was released 5 years earlier on the Super Nintendo, and it’s the exact style of gameplay. This is like when macaroni and cheese companies put cartoon characters on their packaging to entice children to their buy their product (or adult men, i.e. me).
Energy Converter in Mega Man ZX (2006, Nintendo DS)
The Energy Converter puzzle game found in Mega Man ZX isn’t actually a full game. Rather, it’s a bonus mini-game that can be accessed via an arcade in one of the main areas of the world. Following the trend that we’ve been seeing on this list already, it doesn’t connect in the slightest to the Mega Man series. The goal is to link falling, colored crystals with a similar color below it, eliminating everything in between (a la Othello). These crystals don’t even appear in the game. By 2006, we’ve had at least four separate Mega Man series from which they could have pulled icons. But, no…we just get generic crystals. A very strange choice for additional content!
Puzzle De Harvest Moon (2007, Nintendo DS)
Is a life of farming not exciting enough for you? Try Puzzle De Harvest Moon! I watched a few minutes of YouTube footage for this game, and it looked like frantic chaos. Basically, you compete against three other players to try to harvest as many crops as possible, again using a similar setup to Othello to maximize your output. In classic DS style, you spend a majority of the game just rubbing the screen as hard as possible, risking severe hand injuries. I think I would have more fun actually farming!
Phew – we’ve reached the end! When I first came up with this idea, I invited fellow blogger, Kim from Later Levels, to collaborate with her very own article about puzzle games. You may remember her from our previous collaborations about zombies and another about schools.
Well, she’s in the midst of a complete blog overhaul, and it’s not quite ready yet. So, I invite YOU instead to follow her Twitch channel where she’ll be doing a livestream (TBA) about the topic! She can be found at: https://www.twitch.tv/laterlevels
Thanks for stopping by to read my article!Can you think of any other puzzlers that pull characters from popular franchises? Leave me a comment, and tell me about it!
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Eric Hagmann Music 