Castlevania III: Akumajou Densetsu (Famicom, 1989)

(Originally posted in 2010, now heavily remastered for 2015. This is probably the most-remastered of anything I've remastered. Without further ado, let's start this.)

Time for another classic game. It's worth noting that what I'm playing here isn't Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse as we know it here in the States. It's the Famicom version of that game, translated as Legend of Demon Castle. (Note: Pay no attention to the title screen spelling it "Akumajyou", as the Y is evidently a typo in the version I got ahold of).

Why play the Japanese version over the U.S. version, you ask? Well, this version has vastly better music and a more down-to-Earth challenge level. That's right, this is one instance of an NES game that was actually made more difficult for the North American version. A more manageable challenge level is very welcome here; the U.S. version is so difficult that it might as well have been a game about birthing a meteor. The music is also notably improved in this version, due to it having a special sound chip that the North American version lacked. Now that we've established all of that, time to play the most well-balanced version of the third game in the series.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES, 1988)

The second game in the series is...well, how to say this. It is not like the others. It emphasizes exploration and collection of powers. It's a "proto" version of some of the later titles, rather than a straight-up action game like the original. It seems like companies were into trying entirely new things for their second game rather than sticking to what worked at the time, if this and Zelda 2 are any indication. Both are, to an extent, the black sheep of their series. Regardless, this is the first of many "Metroidvania" games. I originally wrote about this in 2010, but here's an entirely remastered post. The original post was legitimately not good and in dire need of editing.

While we're on the subject... what's up with the word "Metroidvania"? Shouldn't games of that style simply be referred to as "Metroid-esque" since Metroid did all this stuff first? "Metroidvania" is like referring to "Reaganesque" politicians as "Reagan/Perry-esque".

...well, maybe not quite that bad.

Castlevania (NES, 1987)

Time to take a look at the original Castlevania. Originally posted this in 2010, but I'm presenting a remastered version here.

For anyone unfamiliar with Castlevania, it's a series where you play as various vampire hunters (such as Richter, and Simon) and battle Dracula and his minions. This series has garnered a hell of a lot of acclaim over the years, and the original - this one right heeah - is where it all began. This is Simon's quest (heh) to conquer Dracula, the terror of the night. It's an NES game from 1987, so it will be an arduous battle. Let's do this.

Gargoyle's Quest II (NES, 1992)

Gargoyle's Quest II is the NES debut of Firebrand. This game got an even more limited release than Demon's Crest, and as a result it's a rarity that almost no one got to play. Follow along as I reference tons and tons of other games that this one reminds me of.

There was a Gargoyle's Quest II for the Game Boy before this, but only in Japan. So this NES version is actually... a port of a Game Boy game? Don't things usually go the other way around? Given that it came out in 1992 - after the NES had started winding down - it's surprising that they didn't take it directly to the SNES.

Gargoyle's Quest (Game Boy, 1990)

Also Known As Red Arremer: Makai-Mura Gaiden, Gargoyle's Quest is a side-story to the legendary Ghouls n' Ghosts series from the late 80's and early 90's. That series was best known for having nightmarish difficulty, even at a time when high difficulty was the norm. In any case, there was one particularly nasty foe, a red gargoyle, which I talked about in the last post quite a bit. This recurring foe, named Firebrand, ended up getting his own series. Gargoyle's Quest is where it all begins. No word on if Arthur shows up in this game to make Firebrand's life miserable, but it'd certainly be karma.

Final Fantasy Type-0 Finale - Verdict

As the battle to end all battles looms, will I flip any more tables? Well, that depends on whether or not The Crystal wants it to happen.

Final Fantasy Type-0 #5 - Battle on the Big Bridge

And we're back, as the rad-looking crystalline zone continues. Today's episode contains...Gilgamesh.

Final Fantasy Type-0 #4 - Wacky Blasters

Judecca is part of the ninth and final circle of Hell as depicted in Dante's Inferno. Does this bode well for our young heroes? Probably not.

My previous Type-0 posts didn't go over super-well because I was downing the game pretty hard. I'm going to try to ease up on it a bit this time, or at least not be as offensive.

Street Fighter II

TODAY... you will feel the POWAH of the WOAH YAH as the cosmic energies descend HO KOGAN.

Nintendo Power, Volume 38 (July 1992)

 Here's a Nintendo Power that I remember reading as a kid. At the time I didn't have a subscription or even any games, but By God these things were still so much fun to read. Let's see what memories it brings back now that I've gotten ahold of this issue again.

Final Fantasy Type-0 #3 - Magitek Raid

Well, this game definitely came out after 2003. In this chapter, we go after... Saddam?

Final Fantasy Type-0 #2 - The Meadow

 Chapter 2 begins with a bang. Tune in as our heroes battle imperial forces, deadly slimes, and hypermobile flying mechs hundreds of years ahead of everything else in the game... for some reason.

Final Fantasy Type-0 (Playstation 4, 2015)

This should be pretty interesting. I have no idea what to expect. Final Fantasy Type-0 (zero) is an action-RPG that started on the PSP and later got a PS4 port. It's a spinoff to the main series that was originally slated to take place in the world of FFXIII (and was called Final Fantasy XIII Agito).

That plan got scrapped by the time it was released. Now I think it might take place in the world of FFXV (which was also originally in the FFXIII world and called FF Versus XIII, whatever that means). I'm looking forward to Final Fantasy 16 just so I'll know it's an entirely new concept.

10 Games I Didn't Enjoy, But Still Finished

Today I'm going to take a look at some games that I played and finished, but really didn't have a very good time with in the process.

Note: This isn't a "worst games" list. Matter of fact, the majority of these games aren't what I'd consider "bad". That's why you won't be seeing Bebe's Kids or Shaq Fu on here. This is a list of games that were good enough to finish, but ultimately not very enjoyable for me.

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages Finale - Death of Seasons

I...I think Princess Zelda is giving birth to Ganon. Holy Hell.

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons #5 - Winter

Today I will beat the game

Gaze upon the cyclopean ghost

This was haiku~

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons #4 - Autumn

 

 Winter is coming.

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons #3 - Summer

Ricky the Kangaroo may have dumped our hero, but now Link has found Dimitri the Dodongo. Who knew that a day would come when man and Dodongo could exist in harmony?

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons #2 - Spring

 

Previously on Oracle of Seasons, former Vermont governor Howard Dean cut a battle rap on the Dungeon 1 boss, shaming him offstage with tales of his time in Cranbrook (that's a private school!)

Now, Link takes a moment to talk to...a guy in sunglasses? Did I step into Earthbound?

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Game Boy Color, 2001)

Here we go, the other half of the Oracle equation. Ages had to do with the flow of time, while this one has to do with the passing of seasons. Which is also time. Er...

Well, point is, while Ages had you bouncing between past and present, this one has you bouncing between the four seasons (in the present, I guess) to affect your surroundings. So basically, Link can control the weather. Which would be really cool in real life, especially when we just had the hottest month in Earth's history.

While Ages is very difficult and puzzle-heavy, this one is on the easier side and combat-centric. I vastly prefer this game. Seriously, Ages was hard to enjoy. Onward and upward though.