Two weekends ago I participated in the first annual super-epic retro game day. Participants included myself. In my apartment. Okay, so maaaaaybe it wasn’t all that epic, but it was fun!
But um, I only got through two games: Donkey Kong Country and Pokémon Blue. The plan was to also break out Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Kirby Super Star and Goof Troop (HEY! Don’t laugh! While single player is fun, Goof Troop has one of the best co-op experiences on the SNES! ;D) but by the time I defeated the first boss in DK:C, Pokémon Blue was starting to sound reeeaaaally good. So good, in fact, I quickly swapped the gorilla platformer for some Super Game Boy action.
And as soon as I fired up that Super Game Boy and the Pokémon theme began blasting out of my television I knew I’d be spending the rest of my day with my long lost Pokémon friends. Now I’m hooked on Pokémon Blue and determined to catch as many as I can without having to trade. (Anyone in the Seattle area with Pokémon Red?!!)
I snapped a few photos of the momentous occasion:
I was really excited to see where I last left off in DK:C, but as soon as I saw the select-a-game screen I frowned. I ONLY played DK:C with my dad growing up; we NEVER played competively, and I knew we had beaten the game at least once. These saves made no sense! Buuuut then I remembered the saves are stored within the CARTRIDGE, and this one was probably a copy I picked up at a garage sale last summer. My original DK:C is probably somewhere in my womancave.
Okay—hold the phone. These cart levels were always a BITCH. Not to sound conceited, but I kick a fair amount of ass at these old SNES platformers. But these cart levels always pwn me. ALWAYS.
THEEEN came Pokémon. But instead of writing about that awesomeness, I’ll point you to my Pokémon Blue game log. I’ve been documenting my progress in it. ^__^
If you have some old consoles lying around, I seriously recommend taking a few hours out of your week to revisit some of the classics. Sure, you can download most of them via PSN, XBL or the Wii Shop Channel, but there’s something completely and utterly satisfying about holding a vintage controller in your hands.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, has been the Blonde Nerd’s recommendation of the day.
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I’m about to tackle a few PS1 and PS2 games that I recently picked up: Vagrant Story and Fatal Frame 3.
Fun fact: The “old” console that I’ve been playing the most recently is my Gamecube. Just got through the REmake and moving on to Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.
Meanwhile, I have thirteen 360 games to play…
DUUUUDE. I have Vagrant Story! I haven’t played it yet, though. It was another garage sale find!
Also, it’s so weird that “Gamecube” is now “old” WTFBBQ.
We should tag-team a Vagrant Story Game Log, lol.
Mother of gusta…
<3 DK:C are some epic memories!
Seriously! I remember being no more than eight or nine and playing DK:C with my dad until the early hours of the morning! So much fun!
Kicking it old school with my original Spyro games. And if anyone thinks the PS2 ones are the originals… then you need to check your brain for failure tumors.
Hahaha, failure tumors…I like it! The first time I ever played a Spyro game was on one of those demo discs. I’d romp around in the field, sizzling sheep for hours.
Aww I loved the minecart levels! My favorite part of DKC was riding the animals, though. It was reminiscent of Hudson’s Adventure Island, which was another childhood fave of mine.
Hmm. I am itching to go fire up the oldies now…
Retro game day: UK Style
Not epic, not yet…like you, its just me, and so far, as i am only just delving back into my inner geek, i had a limited range…
Problem A: I don’t know about you, but in the UK, televisions aren’t the same- Sony Bravia is the nemesis of old consoles..graphics weren’t great then, but this begs belief….problem solved, ancient box in the loft the size of a car, old tv that works
Problem B: Dodgy hardware. Have you ever heard of the Commodore 64? (I am not up on my anglo:american gaming history). Well, its some old shizzle, nuff said. To play a game, you have to play a casette on a casette deck for up to 40 minutes to load, then turn it over and play again for 20 minutes to play- after some re-wiring, my bodge job with a soldering iron meant the plug worked…good times
So…retro game day UK- 1. Commodore 64, game: Postman Pat- a british kids tv programme (still running) about a postman, his cat, some creepy villagers, and the daily trials of delivering letters… the game: his van, some roads that whind about, and some letters to deliver AT SPEED, using a rickety old joystick…strangely exciting, and severely addictive.
After two hours (yes TWO) i did give up, mostly after realising this thing was so old you can’t save your game, so i could deliver as many letters and parcels as i liked as quick as i liked BUT in this case, points did not mean prizes.
2. Mega Drive (Genesis in US?)- Game: Streets of Rage
Theres actually no more i can say, if you know the game, you know i didn’t stop playing until i passed out with my crippled hands glued to the controller. I never realised how much you could miss the simple days of gaming, 3 or 4 buttons, left, right, kick, punch, pick up a pipe, smack some purple haired punks, pipe breaks…pick up a bottle, smack some green haired punks who are a bit tougher(because hair colour indicates toughness), glass bottle breaks in half, glass a RED haired punk, who is super tough, bottle breaks- find another pipe or bottle…or punch someone, brilliant, and hours of entertainment.
None of this build up your magical skill level or learn how to block with your shield while stabbing someone by pressing A, B and C and holding down R2 malarky (WTF?!?)
This Saturday is set to be HOT in the UK, but i refuse to give up on a retro weekend(inspired by your awesomeness!) and so have invested in a Game Boy from eBay: this week i am set to play…Super Mario Land 2 ‘6 Golden Coins’, ‘Navy Seals’ and ‘Mortal Kombat 3’…wish me luck ;)
Captain Squiffy x