Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo 3DS, 2011)

 

I mentioned playing this back to back with the DS one in 2015 or so. Well, let's see if I form any new opinions playing them back to back for a second time. Originally I liked this one a lot more, but ever since I've heard about how great the DS one is.

Fun Fact: This was the first 3DS game I ever bought/played/finished, which shows how much I like this series.

Mario Kart DS (Nintendo DS, 2005)

 

Back in the day I did most of the Mario Kart series, but couldn't get a couple of the portable ones. That's no longer the case. Doing something a bit different and giving a rundown of every course here. I was never crazy about this game back when I first played it, probably because the DS in general was a system I wasn't crazy about. Also, Mario Kart 7 on 3DS was already out, so I was just playing this for completion's sake before the new one. It was just an appetizer! Yet ever since then I've heard that it's better than its 3DS counterpart. Heck, I've heard that this is one of the best games in the series, so we'll see if I have a higher opinion of it this time.

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#411 - 431)

#411 Batman: Arkham City (Playstation 3) – Summer 2012

This is the point where my game-finishing took off because I decided to go for 1000. Played more short games from this point forward to get that number up. So the finish-rate basically doubles for the rest.

Castlevania - Harmony of Dissonance (Game Boy Advance, 2002)

 

Second of the GBA trilogy and generally agreed upon to be the weakest of the Big Six portable 'Vanias from this era. They're all good, but this one is a step down. At least it's canon, unlike Circle of the Moon. They also brightened this one up to the point of being neon since CotM was so difficult to see on GBA hardware. It's basically the flipside of CotM in pretty much every regard. You can also tell from the main character design that they were really trying to emulate Symphony of the Night. It also marks Koji Igarashi returning to directing after skipping CotM.

Castlevania Legends (Game Boy, 1997)

 

A game that Koji Igarashi once referred to as "an embarrassment". Rumor has it that the entire nation of Japan considered issuing an apology for this game, citing it as "the worst thing our country has ever done". China was outraged so Japan had to walk back that idea. I don't know, I think Koji was being a little unfair on this poor game.

So, is it really that not-good? ........Yes. However it's better than Castlevania Adventure and even though that's a low bar, it's a bar that this game safely hurdles over. Not sure why there was such a step down from Belmont's Revenge to this, though. The main sin of this game is that it tries to completely re-write the Belmont canon to make Alucard the father of the entire line, just because they wanted him and Sonia to be love interests. Which means, by extension, that they're all descended from Dracula. Alrighty then.

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (Game Boy, 1991)

 

This game is so much better than the previous one that it's mind-boggling. If I'd gotten this as a kid, I'd have had a total ball with it and would probably have it up there with stuff like Metroid II now. I know we were all hoping for Belmont Pachinko for the next game, but this'll have to do.

Castlevania Adventure (Game Boy, 1989)

 

The next Castlevania I wanted to cover...also happens to be the next Game Boy Player's Guide game, so I can take out two things with one stone. Unfortunately this one is broadly considered to be the worst game in the series, at least out of the 2D games.

There are 10 more Castlevania games I want to check out. I've gotta save some for Halloween of course but I'm doing a few before that because it's always a good time for Castlevania.

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#395 - 410)

#395 Catherine (Playstation 3) – Winter 2012

A game about women...and pushing crates around. It's kind of fitting that this is what I was playing when I started dating my longest-term girlfriend. Fitting because she is best known for pushing giant crates around. Wait a minute, is this game a metaphor for helping women move into a new place?

Mortal Kombat Master Post

 

Here are all the MK links in one place and a tier list now that I finished the series. What a completely bonkers series.

Mortal Kombat 1 - Act Three

May is gonna be the "finish unfinished things up" month. Have a number of things to wrap up, starting with MK.