Detana!! TwinBee (TurboGrafx-16, 1992)

 

TwinBee is a series of Konami shooters that didn't get much attention, with the Gradius and Salamander series grabbing most of the hype. This is possibly the best game in the TwinBee series from what I've heard, and started life as an arcade game before getting a direct and accurate port to TG-16. There were other TwinBees on console before this, but none of them captured the aesthetic the series was going for until this one. Character designer Shujiro Hamakawa drew inspiration from Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump while working on this. The soundtrack was composed by Michiru Yamane (who would go on to the Castlevania series) so that adds a lot to the game as well.

The TurboGrafx-16 is a system that didn't get much attention, with the Super NES and Sega Genesis grabbing most of the hype. I really need to spend more time with this system...if only there were reasons to that I haven't already played. This can be found on the Wii Virtual Console, and there's a two-player mode that makes the game much easier. You can do some weird and unique stuff, like have the two characters lock arms to increase their firepower (one character's controls become dominant temporarily). Not sure about playing this on modern systems; the Switch has kinda balked at Turbografx-16 and Neo Geo VC-ing last I checked.

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#713 - 728)

 

#713 Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One) – Summer 2018

High-res remake of the original that looks great. This was a big killer app for the XBox One S when it was making a big comeback suddenly. I got the system for free due to running a store, and it seemed like it was really outselling the PS4 for a bit there. Everybody was popping in to either get this game or an XB1. I think this might have also been a pack-in with the system, not sure. I didn't have time to actually play it until after the game store era was over, but it was high on the list for summer games to plow now that I had more free time.

Today on the list: The XBOX ONE ERA.

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#701 - 712)

 

#701 Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) – Fall 2017

Not a fan of the MercurySteam Metroid games. It is what it is. Metroid 2 is one of my favorite games from when I was a kid, and needed a remake. So this was 50/50 for me. On one hand, I could definitely recognize that it was Metroid 2 under the redesign. They added some really interesting new elements that made the game feel a lot more modern and streamlined, but also the difficulty went up considerably from the original and it lost some of that 1991 Gunpei Yokoi charm. I think me and a lot of other folks were really just hoping for a Zero Mission 2.

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#680 - 700)

#680 Persona 5 (Playstation 4) – Spring 2017

One of the early games I played on an LG OLED, and a very worthy game for that. With high contrast and lots of black and red, the color palette of this game was perfect for seeing what the new TV could do. I got more into this one than the others, but it was just a one-and-done playthrough while the others were multiple time events.

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#662 - 679)

 

#662 - Pokemon FireRed (Game Boy Advance) – Winter 2017

It's crazy how long it took for me to really get into the Pokemon series. I played Gen 1, took off for a decade, returned and bounced off Gen 4's terrible initial versions, took off for a decade, came back and played everything retroactively in the late 2010s. This series is basically comfort food, as far as games go. They're never all that demanding or difficult. The gameplay is simple, to the point, and you feel like you're getting somewhere every time you play.

The Top 13 Worst Square Game Areas

This started out as a "worst RPG areas" list, but I was drawing a blank on non-Square entities so it became a Square list. Not to dump on Square here, as they're my favorite game developer of all time (with Konami and From Software essentially tied with them, but yeah). These are worst areas, so not limited to dungeons. Can also be overworld zones, provinces, etc. Because I'm limited to Squaresoft, the whole list won't be dominated by Phantasy Star 2 dungeons. Also, this list won out over the competition, "Top 10 Thiccest Dragon Quest Maous" so there we go.

Previously posted December 2024 as a top 11, now reposted with two new entries (the top two)

SNK Vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (Neo Geo, 2003)

 

This is the much lesser-known SNK version of the mashup. That's right, SNK did this one instead of Capcom, so it's considerably stiffer and more difficult than the two previous games from Capcom.

I think Mai and Chun-Li might be about to kiss.

Capcom Vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 (Arcade, 2001)

 

In Japan, this game is called "Millionaire Battle 2001". Weird, most of these characters don't seem like millionaires. I'd be surprised if Terry Bogard is a thousand-aire, guy seems like he's barely scraping by. Released a year after the other one, this is a huge improvement much like Marvel vs Capcom 2 was over the previous game.

The Top 17 Bosses That Were Tougher Than The Final Boss

Time for another list. This features a lot of RPGs. Only main story, required bosses count. No uberbosses (Ruby Weapon, FFVII), postgame bosses (Nemesis, FFX), or optional fights (Warmech, FF1) and that also includes DLC bosses for newer things. The only criteria for this list is that it's a main story boss in the main game that exceeds the final boss in difficulty, or at least causes more grief for the player than the last boss. Also, one boss per game.

Previously posted January 2020 as a list of 12, now with five new additions

Ranking all 160 Super NES Games I've Finished

In celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States, it seemed like a fitting time for a GIANT LIST.

This will be the last of these wacky, overlong, Jason Graves style lists. I was going to try to do N64 as well, but the earlier lists didn't get enough views/comments to justify the work. SNES I was doing regardless just for the fun of it. The SNES is what I consider the last true "classical era" system, the height of 2D's artistic development before 3D came rolling in looking terrible and dominating everything. It took until 2020 with Demon's Souls on the PS5 for me to finally feel like 3D had reached the level of artistic merit that 2D had by 1996.

Way more games on this list, so I'm going to be keeping the blurbs for each game very short, in the interest of getting through all 160 (Jesus...) in a timely manner.

Don't take the placement TOO seriously on here. Any given group of ten could basically all be in a statistical tie with each other. Ranking these based on how well they hold up now.

Prehistorik Man (Super NES, 1995)

Time for a BLAST FROM THE PAST. They made Game Boy and SNES versions of this game, but it's safe to say the SNES version is the one to play. While the Game Boy version has five of the levels, this one has all of them. In other words, this is Prehistorik Man: Definitive Edition.

Been wanting to check it out for a while, so let's get a look at it.

My Top Twenty Tedious Boss Fights

 

Today I'm looking at a bunch of tedious boss fights. These are fights that gave me varying degrees of grief, not necessarily because of the difficulty, but because of their tedious elements. You know the type of fight, the kind you want to skip every time you replay a game.

Note: Originally posted in 2024, this was a top ten of mostly RPGs. I was doing a new list with non-RPGs and then decided to just combine it with the old one to make a Top 20. So about half of this is new. New content is in BOLD.

Capcom Vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 (Arcade, 2000)

 

The turn of the century was a pinnacle time for fighting games, at least from Capcom and SNK. You had Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, and this game right here, for starters.

Best of all, it's available on the Switch now via Capcom Fighting Collection 2, so you can play it on the go when your wife's boyfriend wants the TV, or when they kick you out of the house.

Capcom Fighting Evolution (Arcade, 2004)

 

Interesting mash-up of a bunch of different Capcom games here, as CAPCOMANIA continues. Just mash-ups upon mash-ups this past month. Sometimes Capcom mashes up with Marvel, sometimes Capcom mashes up with SNK. Sometimes Capcom mashes up with both of them! Marvel isn't allowed to mash up with SNK on their own though, Capcom would fly off the handle. This despite that Capcom would mash up with LJN if the money was right 'cause Capcom's a total slut. So you can do it but I can't, huh??

As usual, I don't really know what's going on or what I'm doing with these fighting games. So this is a mash-up of a bunch of things I don't get, creating a vortex of "I don't get it" inception. Playing this on Capcom Fighting Collection 2.

A Controversial Ranking of the Nine Quentin Tarantino Movies

 

Just what it sounds like, ranking the works of Tarantino. Him keeping count of his movies kind of elevates all of them, like numbering WrestleManias. Looking forward to the tenth and final one, Kill Beatrix or whatever it ends up being called. Actually, "Kill The Bride" has a clever ring to it from a marketing perspective.

In b4 everyone finds out this weirdo spent a bunch of time on an island

Ranking Highlander Season 1

Since Season 5 is shorter than it should be, and I, you know, want to delay the last episode because, you know, S5's lifespan gets cut short in such a thoughtless way by, you know, giving it 18 episodes...... it seems like a good time to do a long-overdue episode ranking. Also, a note on Season 1's DVDs: The Watcher Chronicles spoil WAY too much. First-time series viewers would do well to stay FAR away from those. They get a lot better at only covering up to the current episode later; not sure when, though. Season 3, I think.

I'll be throwing some ratings at the end of the entries, as well, but don't put too much stock into this. While the rankings are well thought-out, the number ratings are off the top of my head, and graded on the curve of this show specifically. So a 1 isn't the worst thing ever made or anything like that. 1 is the worst tier of episodes this show has and 10 is the top tier of episodes this show has, the rarified air of the top ten or so best of the best episodes.

Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite (Playstation 4, 2017)

 

The final game in this series, this one is a step back in a lot of ways. Ultimate MVC3 is the way to go if you want a modern one, and MVC2 is the way to go for the retro series.

This one reminds me of Mario Kart World taking a step back in most ways from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (another "Ultimate" version, too). That game changed too much for its own good, like adding highways leading up to the actual courses. Well, this game also changes too much for its own good, like going back to two-character teams despite trios working so well.

Presumably this game will involve the Infinity Stones, given the name and the fact that it came out during the leadup to the Thanos movies.

Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (Playstation 3/XBox 360, 2011)

 

Here's the back half of MVC3. The finished version. Seriously though, two game releases in one year, with one being an incomplete version of the other? MVC2 was definitely the high point of this series. This here is probably the second highest point, and an effort to capitalize on the popularity surge of the MCU. Either way, MVC2 was the pinnacle, they let it languish a while, and then they brought it back to make some money. It is what it is.

All in all this was a really fun series to do, so I regret nothin'. Two left. Also, right now this game is $4.99 on PSN. Why the hell are things still .99? We got rid of pennies so retailers would stop inconveniencing people with the deceptive pricing of putting a .99 at the end of everything. Apparently none of them got the memo. Regardless, this game normally goes for five times as much as it's on sale for right now, so that's a steal.

Double Dragon (Neo Geo/Arcade/Playstation, 1995)

 

Double Dragon: The Movie: The Game is the first Neo-Geo game I've ever beaten. How is that even possible? Well, it's what the list says. This is an arcade fighting game that I'm long-overdue to take a look at. This game should have gotten a lot more respect from consoles. Hard to believe that the far-inferior Double Dragon V was the fighting game that most consoles got. I played that one on the SNES and it was one of the most mediocre games on the system. Then again, this one might be a little too advanced for the SNES. Outside of the Neo-Geo, as far as systems that people actually had goes... it did get a PS1 release. In Japan. I didn't even know this game existed until a few years ago.

Strider (Arcade/Sega Genesis, 1989/1990)

 

This is the 200th action game I've covered on here. My God. 200. I have a feeling that if I'd grown up as a Sega Genesis kid instead of a SNES kid, this would have been one of my most-liked games. I probably wouldn't have been able to beat the game though. As usual, not sure what I'm getting into here, this is a first-time playthrough of something I've only heard of, on a system that I haven't done enough with.

There's also a stripped-down, scaled-down NES version, but it pales compared to the Arcade and Genesis versions. They can be played on a TV easily enough today with the Capcom Arcade Stadium and Nintendo Switch Online respectively.