amphibious_ReViews

As a Japan-exclusive Famicom title, Wagyan Land was a strange discovery for me. Combining platforming levels with word-puzzle-centered bosses, this game is truly unique amongst its 8-bit peers. The platforming sections were also pretty fun, as the player can only stun enemies in the beginning, meaning dodging is everything. Unfortunately, my Japanese is still extremely limited, making the boss battles impossible without the rewind feature. The boss battles were also only ever one of two similar mini-games, making them stale in a way that the platforming segments never were. When adventuring through the levels, Wagyan Land did a great job of providing variety in environment, enemies, and structure. The addition of collectibles that make you temporarily invincible during a level and special upgrades at the end of certain stages mixed up the gameplay even more. Ultimately, Wagyan Land is actually a pretty short game, but it provides a unique experience that I haven't seen from any

Tetris established itself as one of the greatest puzzle games ever made very early in it's life, and it has held that position with minimal competition ever since. In addition to the addicting gameplay, Tetris's  success may be attributed to the fact   it is extremely prolific, being playable on almost anything, from consoles to calculators. It also maintains interest by regularly releasing spin-offs that shake up the gameplay. However, they all generally maintain the structure of the original. Tasking players with fitting falling blocks together in horizontal lines, the basic gameplay is deceptively simple, but strategy is required, especially when the game starts to speed up. I have developed a technique that works for me, but I'm always trying to get better, which makes Tetris  engaging, even after playing it for ages. I have a lot of fun with  Tetris , especially competitively, but even when it's broken down to it's most simple form, it's addicting. Plus,

Probably the strangest mainline Mario title, Super Mario Bros. 2 gave America an unforgettable romp through Mario's deadly dreams. Starting as the Japan exclusive Doki Doki Panic , Mario 2 dropped the classic goombas and koopas in favor of  now-familiar baddies like birdos and shy guys that weren't even meant for the Mario universe. Mario's defeat-an-enemy-by-jumping-on-it superpower is also gone, replaced instead by the ability to pick up and throw almost everything. But most exciting, you can actually play as four different characters, each with their own abilities! Now, Nintendo claimed that they released this title in the US because it was easier than what we now know as The Lost Levels , but I'm not sure I got that. The game was definitely still difficult, which was exacerbated by the length of the levels. Plus the evil masks that chase you when you pick up a key are real jerks and I hate them. Despite my issues with the difficulty, this was a fun, albeit unorth

Nintendo 's mascot has a long history of success, and although Super Mario Bros.  is not his first outing, it may be the most famous. Although some of the design choices in this game are relics of an era past, it holds up incredibly well compared to many of it's peers. Certain aspects of this NES classic ensured that it would hold up for decades, and they are still helping it now. The different mechanics in the game were introduced thoughtfully, allowing players a chance to learn and grow organically during their time in the Mushroom Kingdom. The physics offered an atypical degree of realism to elements like running, jumping, and swimming that often wasn't present in platformers up to that point. Even the music was expertly crafted to match the gameplay and remains easily recognizable. I anticipate that just about everyone who plays games has played this at least once, but if not, it's an almost necessary lesson in quality game design. The game is available for 3DS  her

Starting its life as the hack Crazy Otto , Ms. PAC-MAN  has had a turbulent history that has since made it rather obscure compared to its (frankly less-enjoyable) originator, PAC-MAN . I'll spare you from that here, but it is definitely worth reading into more if you aren't familiar. Luckily, it is still available on mobile, albeit with swipe controls that leave something to be desired. When playing Ms.  PAC-MAN , you may notice that the gameplay is identical to that of the original  PAC-MAN , but the field of play is not quite as familiar. Making this the better of the two games is ghosts with unique personalities (not just memorizable algorithms), four rotating mazes (rather than just one for all 256 levels), and fruit that travels around the maze (adding complexity beyond the capabilities of stationary fruits). Overall, Ms.  PAC-MAN  is still a simple arcade game, but it will easily give you a better time than the original, which earns it my endorsement as the best cla

Dragon Quest was not that fun for me. It was absolutely a worthwhile experience, and I'm glad that I played it, but I have been spoiled by the likes of Final Fantasy and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 , so I know how amazing JRPG's can be. However, all of those games have roots somewhere, and Dragon Quest is almost indisputably the granddaddy of my favorite genre. The whole game was rather short, extensive grinding was an absolute must (not really my cup of tea), and the story was simple, but all of the bones were there and they were strong. Dragon Quest offered a relatively large world to both explore and interact with, it had opportunities to grow stronger with experience or better gear, and it had a grand villain to defeat. That was enough to keep me playing to the end. After playing through the whole game, I concluded that it earned its place as a milestone, but everything that it offers can be found better somewhere else, so it really only holds a place as a relic. I rec

Playing Q*Bert is definitely a unique experience. Although it looks a little bit like Pac-Man and Dig Dug had a weird soul-baby, the gameplay is a very fresh experience. My introduction to this gibberish-spewing, orange bouncy-ball was actually Disney 's Wreck it Ralph , in which Q*Bert was an adorable supporting character easing his way back into the limelight he held back in 1982. Unfortunately, his appearance in Pixels  was a little bit bigger, and a whole lot worse. However, it was enough to get me intrigued. I took on the arcade classic version of this game through the Internet Archive 's "Internet Arcade," which took a little getting used as I was forced to use arrow keys on an isometric field. However, once I understood the controls, I had a pretty good time hopping on color changing cubes and avoiding springy snakes! As the game progressed, the difficulty followed suit, and I had a little bit of trouble keeping up with all the additional enemies, but

Alter Ego  is a game that wasn't originally even in my line of sight. I have a lot of games waiting to be played, so a DOS game about living a whole new life didn't even cross my mind. However, I was browsing through the Internet Archive 's collection of saved DOS games and I thought this one might be worth a go. I anticipated it to be a short little choose-your-own-adventure style game, and in a way I was right. However, this game isn't short, and the choices I made mattered more than I thought they would. Alter Ego  is a hard-hitting life simulator that pits you with nearly everything life has to offer, even the bits you would have never thought about. You are tasked with balancing your health, reputation, relationships, finances, education, and more while being given very little direction. Every choice and decision impacts your personal "stats," which in turn alter what choices you can make in the future and the consequences of those choices. What I rea

At first, I was a bit skeptical at coming back to Minesweeper . I was aching for a good, old-fashioned puzzle, like sudoku, but I never really got around to finding one. Soon after, Minesweeper came to my attention again, but I was a bit wary to give it another chance, as my only experience with it previously was as a clueless child clicking boxes (which was no fun, I'll have you know.) But upon my return, I was pleasantly surprised! The thought process in this early  Microsoft  gem is very similar to that of sudoku, which I was pleased to discover, but I found that Minesweeper is plenty of fun, whether or not I'm craving a puzzle! The gameplay is engrossing and addictive, causing a "one more round" type of mentality. However, it isn't without it's flaws. The one major downfall that I've found with this game is that it can't all be solved with just deep-thinking. There is always a degree of luck required, especially when you're pitted with

The origin to my favorite series is still quite the adventure, despite its age. However, the amount of ambiguity surrounding what is required of the player to advance in the game makes it rather frustrating. Without neighborhood friends to talk about game secrets with, or the fabled assistance of Nintendo Power , this game almost guarantees that modern players will reference an online walkthrough if they intend to beat it. However, that ambiguity seemed to really be the game's only major flaw. The Legend of Zelda is exciting, and progression always feels fantastic. Plus, though the story is rather thin on the surface, details within the game, such as the sparse and hidden population amongst the monster-ridden world, fueled my curiosity like body spray in a campfire. Although this game ultimately doesn't earn a place as one of my favorites in the franchise, I always enjoy returning to it for an adventure through the first Hyrule that the world ever knew. This is absolute

Like its counterparts on the NES ,  Zelda II: The Adventure of Link  and Super Mario Bros. 2  ( Super Mario USA ), Final Fantasy II  almost completely ignored what made its predecessor so successful. However, I think it was a much more enjoyable game as a result! Final Fantasy II 's most blaring difference was the implementation of a stat-growth system instead of the traditional leveling system found in the series' other entries. Many found it tedious that you had to repeat an action to improve it (or its associated stats), but I actually enjoyed grinding in this entry because I could focus on new combat strategies in order to improve my target stats, instead of just fighting the same fight repeatedly. FFII  also took a huge step by introducing characters with names, faces, and personalities, over the anonymous heroes of FFI . The interactions between characters through predetermined dialogue sequences and the interactive "ask/learn" system helped to flesh out the

I'm sure that  PAC-MAN  needs no introduction, he is a legend both in the gaming world, and outside of it thanks to cultural references (both good , and bad ). So, in the hopes of saving you the same old spiel, I want to get right down to it.  PAC-MAN  is difficult (assuming you don't know the patterns), but that is what brings people back to keep playing! The most fun I have with this game is finding it at a restaurant or something, and playing it with a group of friends to see who can set the highest score. The only problem is that the quarter-eating machines also tend to have  PAC-MAN 's many spin-offs, which almost always seem to be more exciting. With that being said, they wouldn't exist without the original, and even though it has been improved in many ways in the series' later installments, this classic never really gets old. The number of iterations and recreations also make it pretty accessible, and chances are that every self-respecting gamer has so

Donkey Kong, and his nemesis Jumpman (soon to be the legendary Mario) are featured in a very short (in a modern perspective), but extremely addicting game. The platforming is simple and the concept is easy to grasp, but just as you think you have mastered it, the game ups the difficulty and takes you down (at least it did for me). But that just opens the door for you to try again! and again. and again... The success of this game is exemplified even further by the fact that its two most prominent characters have spawned countless other games and have become some of the most iconic characters of all time . Keep in mind when playing the different versions of this game that each have their own quirks and differences, but they are all enjoyable and are worth the couple minutes they take to play. A flash version of the game can be found here (as of 8/17/2016):  http://www.donkey-kong.org/ The game can be purchased for Wii U here (as of 8/17/16):  http://www.nintendo.com/games/detai

Final Fantasy was a fun little game that I started playing for a while on bus rides, but that was all. It wasn't until recently that I decided I should truly delve into the game and see what it had to offer, and I was not disappointed. The first game plays in the traditional RPG style (although it set most of the precedents now known as "traditional"). There is a large overworld and many sub-locations for the player's party to travel to in order to find key items, defeat bosses, and trigger events that will allow for progression through the story. The game revolves around four heroes restoring light to the four elemental crystals/orbs in order to revive the crumbling world in which they live, and such a quest will not be short of challenges! I played the GBA version over the original  NES  version because I would have easier access to the sequel that way (same cart and all), and I am glad I did. The interface was gorgeous and everything fit together so nicely,