Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Pt 2 - Amber Turd

 

Somehow, I went into April with five games "in progress" on here at once. That has never happened before. It's usually one at a time, sometimes two. Can I handle five games at once? Hell no I can't handle five games at once. So I need to wrap all of those up before I embark on something new. I'm down to four now and soon I'll finish this up too.

Note: This game is not, in fact, a turd. It's very good!

Super Mario Bros. 3, Part III

 

Today we finish up with SMB3: Now on SouljaGame! Available at no retailers.

Double Dragon Neon (Lots of systems, 2012)

 

Another retro revival of the series, though more in the vein of Streets of Rage IV in that it's modernized and all the better for it. Modernized or not, it's also 80's (and metal) AF, and a MUCH better usage of your time than Double Dragon 4, despite this launching years earlier. Let's go.

Double Dragon IV (Switch, 2017)

 

Super Double Dragon was always regarded by fans as the fourth game in the series but I guess it was never official. I mean, we got a Double Dragon 5 on the SNES. Regardless, they decided to go back to the well and finally fill in this maybe-blank in the series that didn't really need to be filled in. This game is very retro and very hard, and quite frankly wasn't on my radar until recently. Let's give it a run.

Highlander 4x04 - Leader of the Pack

 

Today on Highlander: ...Oh God, the British.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Part 4 - Thermosphere

 

Next up: The Earth Cave. First, we gotta cross this snowy mountain from Final Fantasy X. What's it doing here? I don't know. Also featuring Marilith. That's right, TWO Fiends today.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Nintendo Switch, 2022)

 

It's Kirby in post-apocalyptic Earth! ...WTF? I seriously have no idea what to expect from this game going in, so let's find out.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Part 3 - The Multiverse of Madness

 

I tried to trade the SouljaGame in for this at Gamestop and they wouldn't take it.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Part 2 - Neon Genesis

 

Damn.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (Playstation 5, 2022)

 

I've never covered the original Final Fantasy on here, yet here I am covering its remake. That IS what this is, right? I don't know! Let's find out.

The Game Boy Player's Guide (Plus NP Review #24)

Today I'm looking at a true blast from the past.

Super Mario Bros. 3, Part II

 

Today on SMB3: How many worlds can I get through?

Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1990)

I remember when I was a kid, and had only played Super Mario Bros a few times. I thought that game was the coolest thing ever. At some point shortly after this sequel came out, I was at someone's house and they had -all three- of the Mario games. I would have given up a year's salary as a second-grader (all $50 of it) to have one of them. Of course, I wanted to play Super Mario Bros since I was obsessed with it, and my friend was like "No, you've gotta see Super Mario Bros 3, it's even better." This, of course, was hard to believe. Better than the first one? So we fired it up, and it was.

Super Mario Land 2 (Game Boy, 1992)

It's March 10, you know what that means. It's MARIO DAY. Time to look at the Game Boy's second and last mainline Mario game. How much can graphics improve in two years?

I hear Mario carries both a red and blue bandana in his pockets, because he has earned respect from both coasts.

Nintendo Power Review #23 - Mario Paint Issue

 

Why does Mario look so guilty in this shot? Regardless, video and notes within.

Super Mario Land (Game Boy, 1989)

 

It's March 4th, you know what that means. Time to march forth with Impromptu Mario Week! What awaits in this impromptu week of Mario? Tune in to find out. First up, the Game Boy classic that punched well above its weight. This is something I wanted to play as a kid, but didn't get around to it until I was an adult. Actually played the second one way before I played this one. While the second is objectively a much better game, I kind of preferred this one for its elegant simplicity and lack of gimmicks. Not being tired of the Mario format yet is probably a large factor in this.

That box art is tremendous, too. So colorful and action-packed. If I'd seen this in a store as a kid, I no doubt would have begged my way into getting it. Instead, Kirby's Dream Land was the lucky winner of the first game choice...mainly because Caldor didn't have this game. Let's get to it.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Part 5 - Childish Bambina

 

Rodrigo decides for his daughter that Gazpacho is worthy. Worthy? Maybe Nera isn't worthy of ME!

And has anyone asked her opinion on anything?

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Part 4 - Images of Sorrow, Pictures of Delight

 

Today on Dragon Quest V: Our hero goes on a quest for rings so that he can get married. But to who?

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Part 3 - The Gulag Archipelago

 

Today on DQV: The Gulag. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn would be horrified.

Highlander 4x03 - The Innocent

 

This episode deals with something no other episodes dare touch on: What would happen if an immortal were special needs? An episode that probably wouldn't be made today, it's kind of sad and unhappy but I'll make the most of it. Let's goooo.