Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)

A classic, albeit redone, is nonetheless a classic.  This game is what defined a generation of action games and what set a very high bar for the genre.  Every Zelda game since it's release has been compared to it.  Although I have beaten and played the N64 version, I did enjoy this quite a bit.  It was a great bit of nostalgia.

I won't bore you with the details of this game because most likely you have played this in some form.  Being an incredibly huge action adventure fan as I am, I have to say this game is one of my favorites.  It is not without it's flaws and I do not praise this game.  I take it for what it is, a classic example of how to do certain things correctly.

First, the design is incredibly polished and well-thought out.  The puzzles are solvable and the combat is simple and to the point.  The music is great and the story is a grand with many facets.  My biggest issue with this game is just the sheer amount of time you can pour into it and never achieve everything.  I have never gotten all the heart pieces.  I have tried on several occasions to do it but it never happens.

Sure there are some frustrating parts, namely the Water Temple and for me Bongo Bongo, but the game pushes you.  Each new item is used in various ways in each dungeon.  This game is a classic for a reason, it does things right and set the standard almost for a whole generation of games.

Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light (PSN)

This game is probably a good example of how not to do an RPG.  Seriously, it is awful.  There are no redeemable qualities about this game.  I played this on my PSP for a while and honestly I regret buying it.

Let's get this out of the way.  This game is generic.  Very generic.  So generic it hurts.  The battles are slow, the dialogue slower.  You can't figure out where to go and what to do early.  Sure I didn't play for that long but I didn't have to.  I figured out this was going to be a mediocre title from the get go.

Now some traditionalist RPGamers will say this is a good game.  It has some decent ideas but they are executed poorly.  So poorly that it is near unplayable.  I never finished this and I hope I never do.  If I do somehow get through this wretched game, I will come back to this.

Mission: Impossible (N64)

For as much as I have played this game, at least an hour total, I have to say.  Playing this with no book or guidance is absolutely terrible.  You have no idea what anything does or how to do anything.  I was literally just dropped into the game and they told me to accomplish my mission.  How do I avoid things?  How do I shoot weapons?  How do I use items?

Beats me.  Probably why I will never play this game.  If I had paid for it, I would be mad.  Luckily, I inherited it when my sibling got rid of his N64.

Dynasty Warriors Next (PSVita)

The first Vita game I get to review and also my first Vita game.  I had never really played a Dynasty Warriors game and I decided to start here.  Sure there was a lot of annoying parts but it was an overall enjoyable experience.

Let's get down to it.  This is a simple game.  Run around, kill people, and capture bases.  What makes this game more fun is just the insane amount of people all on the screen fighting at the same time.  This was boggling for a while until I realized that most of them didn't ever actually attack.  Once I knew this, I knew how to go about fighting.

The downpoints of this game are pretty low.  The touch minigames are absolutely horrid and unfun.  They really bring down the experience.  The other part that really mars an otherwise good game is the duels.  Dueling is all done via the touch screen but it is just so touchy that you can go from winning to losing, just from touching at a mere split second too early/late.  It is awful and I wish it wasn't in the game.

Being able to make your own character is always a big plus to me and there are lots of options once you beat the main campaign.  I'm sure there is an online aspect but I rarely if ever partake of those.  If you need a quick, hack-n-slash, mindless game for your Vita.  Get this.

Megaman Anniversary Collection (GCN)

8 games in one...plus two arcade games.  I have a lot to talk about.  So I will talk about each game.

Mega Man 1 - What can I say?  This started it all.  It definitely hadn't aged well.  The whole score thing and what not.  It was still fun but I never beat it.  The Yellow Demon is near impossible.

Mega Man 2 - This is by far one of my favorites.  Even though I always beat Air Man first instead of Metal Man.  I've never completed this one either.  I should someday.

Mega Man 3 - This is the odd-one in the bunch.  With Top Man and Snake Man.  It isn't a bad title but the Wily Stages seem a little lazy...well not Wily Stages.  The stages with clones seem lazy.

Mega Man 4 - This was technically the first Mega Man game I had ever played.  I still have the NES cart for it.  I enjoyed it a lot but never beat it.  Notice the trend?

Mega Man 5 - This is the second game in the series I had ever played.  I had beaten the Robot Masters so many times, that I could do most of them without the weakness.  Except Napalm Man cause he is wild and awesome.  Never finished this one though.

Mega Man 6 - This one I had never played before this collection.  It has a weird set of Robot Masters like 3. Tomahawk Man and Yamato Man being my favorites.  Never beat this one.

Mega Man 7 - I had rented the original SNES game a long time ago but could never beat Wily.  Still can't do it either.  I have tried to beat it though.

Mega Man 8 - One of the first PS1 games I ever owned.  I have beaten this one.  I had gotten so good at the Robot Masters that I can beat most of them without their weakness too.  Except a few like Sword Man and Search Man.

The two remaining games were enjoyable arcade fighters basically.  You go around and just kill enemies.  Lots of throw backs and nostalgia.  I wish I had beaten more of these games and there is still time to.  Mega Man, I wish they hadn't forsaken you.  Darn you Capcom.

Star Wars Pod Racer (PS2)

What can I say about this game?  I never really made it past the first race.  In fact, I don't think I ever even completed a lap in it.  The game is so hard to figure out and I have no manual.  So I have no way of knowing what to do.  I do remember the first time I watched Episode 1 though.  I wasn't too young but I still got into it.  Pod-racing was one of my favorite scenes and I guess that I had high hopes for this.  I didn't play this game till much later in life and I realized that it isn't good.

Simple statement, it's not fun.  Sure there will be defenders of this game.  Claiming it to be the best ever racing game out there.  I will rebuff that with a big fat "Why?"  Even for a PS2 game it is ugly.  The racing isn't all that fun and you can't really figure out what to do till it is too late.  Sure I could revisit this and love it but I have too much left to review.  So if you like this game, kudos.  I, for one, do not quite care for this game.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Rings of Fate (NDS)

What's this?  A Final Fantasy game with poor quality because they focused too much on multiplayer aspects instead of actually making the game fun!?!  Precisely.  People will say this game is great because it has multiplayer and that I am wrong for saying that it was bad.

No, it was bad because the single-player campaign was bad.  Sure co-op may have been fun but I live in a place where people only play Madden.  I have nobody to co-op with.  Not only are the physics in this game wonky (I cheated to get to the last boss by making a tower with my characters) but it just feels unpolished.  Some of the bosses get a little annoying and everything slows down at the wrong times.

I would say the only redeeming quality is the fact that this is an Action RPG but I have played better.  Much better on the same system.  Still, it was a decent romp through a world that I had already felt I had been to.

Contra (PC)

Infamous cheats aside, I have to get this out of the way.  I couldn't beat this without the code.  I barely did it with the code.  I've never been the greatest at twitch shooters and games of this sort.  It's the reason I never got into Metal Slug because I just couldn't get used to being in the right place at the right time.

Sure this game is a classic and if I compared it to modern titles, it just wouldn't compare.  It's a hard game, really hard.  But at the time when it was created, games had to be hard.  Things from this gen had to be hard to keep kids interested.  There was no such thing as Gamestop or DLC.  Kids had to find this game and shell out quite a bit of money just to play a game where you might never see the end.

The game itself is a simple concept, go around and kill everything.  Try not to die too much and move on.  Where it is different is just how fast-paced and intense it gets at times.  Even on the PC (Thanks to the Konami Classics Collection), there are times when there is just so much on the screen, everything slows down.  You need that slow-down to survive a lot of times.

Would I play this again? Maybe.  Would I beat it without the code?  No.  I'm just not that good.

Castlevania III (PC)

For such a simple concept, the art of vampire hunting has never been simple.  Each time you get dragged to a new place with new foes and sometimes you have to wonder "Where do all these things keep coming from?" It seems Dracula has an inexhaustible army at his disposal each time he is revived.  Maybe it's the sweet castle or just the fact that he steals men's souls and makes them his slaves.  I don't know but I set out to find out with this game.

Now, it's been an incredibly long time since I played this and I cannot for the life of me remember if Dracula is actually in this.  I can't remember if I ever even beat this.  I do remember playing it on my PC with the Konami Classics Collection though.  I remember being able to play as different characters at certain points and I did like climbing walls and things.

This game evokes all sorts of nostalgic feelings and it shouldn't.  I didn't play it for the first time until like 5 years ago, but the feeling just oozes my childhood.  I don't know if is just the overall concept but this game gives me those warm feelings.  Sure I never beat it but there is still plenty of time to do that.  It's not like it's a terrible night to have a curse or something.

Drawn to Life (NDS)

This is a simple game.  Very simple.  You basically draw your hero and then draw some of the objects in the world.  Platform around and get different powers.  These powers are things you draw too.  Like the snow-shooter or wings.  You get to decide what is in the game.  Sure there are limitations to this but it has it's charms.

The platforming could be frustrating at times but the game is solid.  It's not a hard game at all but it isn't bad.  The story is worthless and you can ruin it with terrible drawings too.  Like the planet I drew in the story was actually just a green dot. Then they show it later and it kind of ruins it all.

This wasn't a terrible game.  It wasn't the best game ever but it wasn't awful.