Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Super NES, 1996)

Time for the Aliens of this series. Lufia II is AWESOME. While the original is a perfectly acceptable RPG, this game still holds up today as being on the top tier of 16-bit RPGs. It came along pretty late in the life of the SNES and as a result it didn't do as well as it should have, but it has a strong cult following nonetheless. This is, of course, the prequel to the original game, so we know how it ends. Still, the journey to get there is a fun one.

Aladdin (Super NES, 1993)

I previously played the Genesis version of this game, and now it's time to check out the very different Super NES version. I hear it features less blood and fatalities.

Lufia and the Fortress of Doom (Super NES, 1993)

Time for an old Super Nintendo classic. And judging from this title screen, the first openly gay RPG. Cue up Ace of Base and we'll party like it's 1993! Massive spoilers abound, so read at your own risk.

Super Adventure Island II (Super NES, 1995)

The best of the Adventure Island series, in my humble opinion, is this little-known gem. It's a vast departure from the side-scrolling Mario clones that make up the rest of the series, integrating RPG and adventure game elements. It's sorta like Zelda II: Adventure of Link, but vastly better.

Super Adventure Island (Super NES, 1992)

 This game is a huge improvement over the NES game that I just played, to say the least.

Wrestling Games

Today I'm going to do something that I haven't done since I took a look at Love Hina games: An ensemble post where I look at a number of different games. Originally it was going to be a post looking at one game in-depth, until I realized I can't actually beat any of these games. Let's have a look.

Breath of Fire (Super NES, 1993)

The first in a fairly popular series of RPGs from Capcom. I'm just doing one post for this game; played it in the past and don't want to go through it again. Taking a look at the first hour or two of the game should be fun, though.

This is a game that has a bit of history with me. This, 7th Saga, and Secret of Mana were three RPGs that I rented and attempted to play through before I really liked RPGs. I didn't get too far with any of them (maybe 5% of the way through the other two, about a quarter of the way through this one) before hitting roadblocks. In 7th Saga it was the Red Pison fight. In Secret of Mana it was the Fire Gigas fight. In this game, I got to a part where you need to acquire a gold bar to proceed. They cost 65000 G and I legitimately thought you needed to farm that much gold, which would take hours upon hours of battles, so I quit. Turns out you can get a gold bar in a nearby dungeon (but if you sell it for 32500 G, then you'll have to farm the rest of the 65000 after all). What a weird idea for a quest.

In any case, once the inarguably-awesome Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI made me really like RPGs, I revisited this one and finished the game. It's a good one. Taking a quick look at it today. No series, just one quick look.

Kirby Super Star (Super NES, 1996)

Kirby's Dream Land 3, I respect you and I'mma let you finish, but it's time for the best Kirby game of all time. OF ALL TIME!

Alien 3 (Super NES, 1993)

 I was going to do a full post on this game next, but the game suuuuuuucks. I didn't get very far. I did take some shots, so I'm going to take a moment to talk about it. This game has always been intriguing to me, but now I'm glad I didn't bother with it.

The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (Super NES, 1992)

 Here's an old Super NES game that I'd like to highlight a bit. It's a surprisingly great game, and it's enjoyable in the Kirby's Dream Land sense: Short, easy, and fun. And really, I'm just glad to be playing something colorful and happy after playing The Last of Us.

The 7th Saga, Part 1 - Apocalyptos

This week I'm doing a full series for one of the more difficult RPGs on the Super NES. This game came out in 1993, and I played it in 1995. This was before I was interested in RPGs (which didn't happen until Chrono Trigger) so I didn't really know what I was doing. As a result, when I initially played this, I couldn't finish it. Not even close. Time to avenge a career loss, to put it in MMA terms. Egad! How far did I get back then? The battle with Red Pison. I played the game again a couple of years ago, which we'll be seeing screenshots of now. Tune in to find out how it went with double digit years of experience under my belt.

Yoshi's Island (Super NES, 1995)

Nintendo was in an interesting position in 1995. With the Sega Genesis more or less vanquished, Nintendo could have easily phoned things in that year... However, they were faced with new threats in the form of the Sega Saturn and the Sony Playstation. These spiffy new 32-bit systems threatened to make the Super NES look old and outdated. With the N64 a year away, Nintendo had to do something to keep their fans from jumping ship and spending their money on the competition - something plenty of them did regardless. They did their best to stave off the enemy at the gates by continuing their parade of high-quality games throughout 1995, with titles like Chrono Trigger, Donkey Kong Country 2, and this one... the aptly-named Yoshi's Island.

Donkey Kong Country (Super NES, 1994)

And now... Advanced Computer Modeling! Silicon Graphics! Ultra 64! Nintendo Power! The Treehouse! Rare! 32 Megabits! One of the greatest soundtracks in gaming history! Magical times for all! This game was originally supposed to be for the Nintendo Ultra 64 Ultra 64 Nintendo 64, but they managed to transform it into an SNES game for the ages.

Space Megaforce (Super NES, 1992)

As those who have been reading this saga of posts are already aware of, I'm following the progression of space shooters a bit. Not a lot... just as far as the NES, SNES, and N64 go. Here we have what I consider the best space shooter I've ever played: Space Megaforce (or as it is known in Japan, where it was far more popular, Super Aleste). This is a great game that more people need to know exists, so for this one I'll be doing a lot of discussion of the gameplay.

Demon's Crest Revisited

Demon's Crest is effectively Gargoyle's Quest 3. If it were called that, more people would know Gargoyle's Quest 2 exists. Two years ago I played this game and wrote about it. Now it's time to revisit this world, having finally played the first two games.

Super Metroid (Super NES, 1994)

Best game ever? Possibly

My 2012 Metroid Crusade rolls on with what is almost undisputably the best Metroid game. It's on plenty of shortlists for "best game ever". It scored the lofty #1 on the now-defunct (or is it?) Electronic Gaming Monthly's "Top 100 Games of All Time". It's the game that I got an SNES for in 1994. This is Super Metroid, one of the SNES's crowning moments and one of those games that helped the SNES bury the competing Sega Genesis.

Wild Guns (Super NES, 1994)

Today I'm taking a quick look at a forgotten SNES game. It has achieved slightly mythical status in the last couple of years due to a number of high-profile members of the internet singing its praises. It's... surprisingly great.

Batman Returns (Super NES, 1993)

This was, hands-down, the best Batman game ever made before the Arkham games started coming along in the past couple of years. In other words, this was the best Batman game in existence until the late 00's.

Skyblazer

Sony and Nintendo's Obscure 1994 Marvel Team-Up

Skyblazer is one of the forgotten gems of the SNES era. It went largely unnoticed at the time of its release, overshadowed by big-name fare like Super Metroid and Yoshi's Island. It also went unnoticed in stores, probably because of the awful box art. That's unfortunate, because it's a really good game. If it weren't for Nintendo Power devoting a couple of pages to it, I never would have known it existed. What is Skyblazer? Read on.

Paladin's Quest, Part 1: Whiskey Dick

A Game For The Ages

Paladin's Quest is a 1993 RPG for the Super NES. Originally called "Lennus" in Japan, this is a fairly underrated classic with a unique world. They made a second game, Lennus 2, but it was never released outside of Japan. This series is similar to Dragon Quest in terms of how it plays, with a higher than average difficulty that is, at times, brutal. Join me for this look at a game that almost no one played. For these posts, I'll be calling the game "Lennus" - the original name of the game. The one that means something.