As a kid I never actually own a Game Boy. I was one of the “turncoats” who went straight from the NES to the SEGA Genesis in Sonic the Hedgehog’s brilliant blue wake. That is not to say that I didn’t ever play any Game Boy games at the time. I had this good friend whose Game Boy was practically communal between him, myself and his twin sister. We used to play Super Mario Land and Tetris almost constantly, draining a king’s ransom in batteries. I distinctly remember playing Metroid II shortly after it was released in the twin’s basement; making maps on foolscap, color coding different sections, the whole nine.

As a child I never did beat the original Metroid, nor did I complete it’s sequel come to think of it. The Metroid games were something of mystery, an impossible enigma. There was an older kid in my neighborhood who had a code (his own personal password, you see) for the original NES game. He wouldn’t allow us into his parents basement until he had entered it, for fear of his password becoming common knowledge. We didn’t really care, though, because we just wanted to watch in awe while he decimated Motherbrain and gutted the white whale that was Metroid right in front of us.

The original Metroid for the Nintendo Entertainment System was among Nintendo’s earliest successes. Released very early in the life of Nintendo’s NES console, Metroid struck a chord with gamers of the era. Boasting an enormous world, tons of upgradable weapons and armor, and an open-ended freedom that is even today referred to as “Metroid-esque”, the game was destined to be a classic. Metroid was especially important for the young NES console because it exhibited what kind of experience a home video game console could offer, and also what made it a different experience than the arcade. Add to that a highly effective minimalist soundtrack which perfectly compliments the bleak and lonesome atmosphere of the game itself, and Metroid was a bonafide masterpiece.

With that massive success, Nintendo surprised players by releasing the much anticipated sequel for their portable Game Boy system instead of the NES.

Developed by famed Nintendo internal development team R&D1 and produced by the father of the Game Boy itself, Gunpei Yokoi, Metroid II: The Return of Samus pushed the Game Boy’s capabilities to it’s limits recreating sprites nearly identical to it’s 8-bit console predecessor. 

The lack of background detail in the game, which was at time (and even today) was the biggest complaint levied against the game, are actually a key part of the game’s construct. Knowing it would be impossible to match the visuals of the original, Gunpei and team instead used minimalist design and high contrast to add a stark emotionless expression to the isolated planet SR388 where parallax scrolling and color were absent.

The story takes place after the original Metroid, and is currently 6th in overall series continuity, chronologically existing just before the brilliant Super Metroid and after Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. In Metroid II: The Return of Samus, Samus is sent by the Galactic Federation to destroy the Metroids at their source: SR388, their home planet. As Samus you blast your way through the planet collecting power-ups and upgrades vying to reach the Mother Queen and incinerate it and the entire planet. The Return of Samus is notable for the fact that it features the debut of the Varia suit, the costume most identified with Samus and the series as a whole. In fact, it is the duo-tone color palette of the Game Boy which is responsible for the Varia suit’s iconic round shoulders. These were added to the sprite to differentiate it from the regular suit since color was not available to make the difference obvious.

After destroying the Mother Queen and setting in motion the events that will destroy all Metroids and their entire natural ecosystem, a stray Metroid hatches and imprints onto Samus during her escape form the planet. Samus cannot bring herself to kill the orphaned Metroid, the game ends with the two of them escaping the planets destruction together.

With a plot this developed, fully formed and engrossing, Metroid II stands head and shoulders above the majority of the Game Boy’s library and should be experienced by every series fan and action adventure game fan alike.

It’s high time I updated one of the most scrutinized posts I have published since I started writing this blog over 4 years ago… There has been only one new release in the Final Fantasy series since the original publishing date (in the main series, that is. We don’t speak of the MMOs around these parts and spin-offs and direct sequels, ie X-2 and XIII-2 don’t count)

There has been some shuffling in the order, mainly prompted by recent changes of heart because subsequent replays and more critical thinking in general.

Anyway, there is one new game on the list (XIII) and the rest have revised descriptions. Begin!

#12 – Final Fantasy II (Famicom)

I still have this one at the bottom. It has definitely NOT improved since my original list. That being said, I gave this game a fair chance. I own it 6 times over (Famicom, WonderSwan, GBA, PlayStation, Reproduction cart, and PSP and I can say without a moments hesitation that this is the weakest entry in the series. The entire game is completely bogged down by the confusing, annoying, and punishing leveling system where by you have to exercise an attribute before you can have it bolstered. There are no levels as in a classic RPG system, where by you gain experience points and reach higher levels, instead your stats increase after each and every battle. This may sound pretty cool, and that’s exactly what I thought before I ever played the game, but the theory put into practice is a lot different, mainly because the game is incredibly difficult and having to level grind is so tedious using the game’s revamped leveling system that the first couple times I played it I got frustrated and lost interest. Overall, the game had a pretty good story and plot compared to it’s contemporaries, but there is a reason they did a major over haul of the game mechanics for part 3.

#11 – Final Fantasy (NES)

I have to admit that putting the original Final Fantasy game this low on the list was a tough decision for me. I first played this game around the time of it’s release and I must have begged my parents for it for months. But the memories of strategizing with my friends and leading heroic charges through Warmech territory has succumbed to the simple fact that there are better Final final Fantasy games. When it comes to North American NES games, Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior 4 stand shoulder to shoulder in dominance of the console for plot, game play and graphics, but the one that started it all just isn’t as good as many of the games that followed it.

#10 – Final Fantasy III (Famicom)

I originally had this game a lot higher on my list, and I dropped down a few notches after replaying it last year. The reason? The game is too hard. Now, I am not some wimp who only likes easy games; I love the challenge of a hard game, especially a hard RPG, but there are points in III where the difficulty grinds the pace of the game to a halt (for HOURS at a time) and it really affects the enjoyment of the ambitious story. The game is not really a good Final Fantasy game, but it is an important one. With the addition of the job system, III paved the way for the sweeping innovation that can still be seen in nearly every Final Fantasy title to follow. The job system that got it’s start in part 3, while primitive by today’s standards, created an amount of depth that at that time had not yet seen in console RPGs. In terms of series innovation, III is at the top of the list with IV and VII, and that’s where I got confused on the previous list. As a game, it doesn’t hold up quite as well and it’s best left in the past.

#9 – Final Fantasy V (SNES)

For a long time Final Fantasy V was an elusive creature to the English speaking west. The only numbered Super Famicom Final Fantasy game to not receive a North American release at the time, many Western gamers had no idea this game even existed because of Square’s renumbering of the localized Super NES titles. Part 5 was one of the earliest rom fan translations and finally saw the light of day in North America, first in 1999 as a part of the Final Fantasy Anthology series, and then as a stand alone re-release for the Gameboy Advance. Perhaps there was method to Square’s madness; the game is without question the weakest of the Super Famicom titles and not much stands out in the game other than the job system, which is an improved variation on the Famicom release Final Fantasy III. A solid game through out, the game really suffers because of the lack of a memorable antagonist, who would all but be forgotten if not for the Dissidia spin-offs.

#8– Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation)

Chances are VII is the first Final Fantasy game you played. In fact, part 7 was the first console RPG that millions of people played, and this plays a large part in its legendary status. You must remember that before Final Fantasy 7 came out, the console RPGs of the 16 bit era had a really tough time finding an western audience, and part 7 served as an introduction to not only the Final Fantasy series and console RPGs in general, but also to the Sony PlayStation, one of the most popular platforms in video game history. Now there is nothing wrong with this game; the addition of FMV cut scenes and the transition to 3D were truly revolutionary at the time of the game’s release, but I truly believe that if any one of the three PlayStation Final Fantasy titles were released in it’s place they would have had the same success and be held in the same bulletproof regard as Final Fantasy 7 is today.

#7 – Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)

If you can get past the cheesy, elfish character designs (which is my least favorite of the series), then there is a lot of good here. Part 9 was the swan song for Final Fantasy games on the PlayStation and the game was treated as a retrospective tribute to the series to that point. In fact, there were many months of doubt during the games development whether or not it would actually be titled as part 9 or be a gaiden to the Final Fantasy series. The game is littered with tons of references to earlier Final Fantasy games, especially the first title. There is an awful lot to like about this return to the roots of the series, and while the game is the highest ranked title of the series on MetaCritic, it fell sort of expectations for many fans of the series. After the drastic and revolutionary changes made to in Final Fantasy 8, it was assumed that 9 would push the envelope even further. Regardless of it’s decided lack of innovation, IX actually succeeds by hearkening back to a simpler style of RPGs that made the series famous in the first place.

#6 – Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)

Upon it’s release XIII took a lot of crap for it’s linear progression and elongated combat tutorial that spans the first 25 hours of the game. What many people seem to forget is that every Final Fantasy game since VII has had the same lengthy linear introduction, but the developers of XIII just decided not to dress it up in this installment. Look at X, or XII- it’s about 15-20 before you really get any freedom to speak of in those games, much like Final Fantasy XIII. However, once Final Fantasy XIII opens up the world is enormous, absorbing, and  beautiful. The stars of XIII are the characters, and they are thoroughly developed and explored, each with their own arc, motives, and surprises. The combat system is among the best in series, with the Paradigm Shift system providing nearly limitless strategic layers to combat. The combat actually does require that you spend 20 hours mastering it’s nuances, because  every battle, even seemingly innocuous encounters with grubs, is potentially lethal and requires every bit as much strategic aforethought as any boss battle in the game. XIII is a game that asks a steep investment of time, but those who choose to surrender to the games linear structure are rewarded with a rich, satisfying experience and one of the largest post-game adventures in console RPG history. Plus the game is really hard (in a good way).

#5 – Final Fantasy VI (SNES)

This game holds a fair bit on nostalgia for me personally as I can remember playing when I was an impressionable young nerd. The vastness of the game at that time was unreal. Playing one video game for 40 hours before you beat it? It was unheard on a Nintendo console. It is with this misty eyed wonder that I look back on this game. Great characters, plots twists and a huge world to explore. Not to mention that Final Fantasy VI boasts the greatest, most vile villain in video game history. This is the game that new Final Fantasy games are still consistently compared to and is often remembered with the same over-inflated grandeur as Final Fantasy 7. But where as part 7 is often revered as a jump to the next plateau, part 6 is seen as the end an era and the close of the golden age of console RPGs.

#4 – Final Fantasy IV (SNES)

Easily one of the greatest RPGs made in the 16 bit era, Final Fantasy IV is, at it’s core, a story of betrayed loyalties and the bond of relationships. When moving the series to the Super Famicom Square took enormous strides in both plot and character development. The story and especially the score are among the best in the series to date and the game has seen several re-releases, including a complete 3D remake for the Nintendo DS and an enhanced port for the PSP that includes the DLC only “The After Years” epilogue story. If you have not played this game yet, then I would get the PSP remake before it goes out of print; this is a game that needs to be experienced.

#3 – Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation)

I have no idea how this game got such a bad wrap. Maybe because Square didn’t remake Final Fantasy 7 and went in a different direction. While it’s true that much of the hate on Final Fantasy 8 comes from simply the fact that it’s not Final Fantasy 7, I can safely say that it’s completely unjustified. First off all, the graphics, both in game and cinema FMV, are among the best on the PlayStation, and the story is extremely well crafted and methodically paced. Final Fantasy 8 remains the champion of character development in the Final Fantasy series. The game features some cool elements such as switching between two different parties, one in the past and the other in the present. This opens the door for you to trigger events in the past that you can manipulate in the present. The game is truly cinematic and plays out more like a opera than a video game. Never afraid of innovating, Square completely revamped the leveling system by introducing Draw, Junction, and Guardian Forces, where by you learn abilities through your summons creatures. There was some initial backlash against this system because it was so radically different than anything else in the series, but the Draw / Junction system has ultimately proven to provide the game with a level of customization far deeper than that of the Materia system in FF7. If you have stayed away from this entry because of it’s negative stigma, then I suggest you pick yourself a copy, forget what you’ve heard, and let the exciting mission based game play, epic story, and rich characters be the judge.

#2 – Final Fantasy X (PlayStation 2)

Games this beautiful only come a couple times a generation. This best thing about Final Fantasy X is that at it’s heart it is basically a simple love story. two people come together, over whelming odds, etc. The back drop for this epic story is that of a world in ruin struggling to be reborn. Everything about this game is nearly perfect; the graphic, pre-rendered backgrounds, the game play, even the cinema FMW are motion picture quality CGI. The battle system has once again been re-perfected in the form of the Sphere Grid, which is an ingenious way of providing the player with true computer RPG level customization. The game holds a near infinite amount of replay power when you factor in the side quests, the legendary weapons, monster hunts, and hidden Aeons to name a few. I have a file clocked at just short of 140 hours and still don’t have half of the legendary weapons or all the hidden monsters. The game is just that huge. Final Fantasy X was also the first in the series to feature voice acting. The acting has been done incredibly well, however they faced some criticism due to the fact that the character’s lip movements where not re-animated for English localization, so often the English voice actors would have to fit a sentence of dialogue into one-syllable’s worth of mouth movement. This problem has been addressed in all subsequent games in the series, however. The one thing that makes this game stand out in my memory, though, is the story. The epic love story and the tragic beauty and attention detail that comprises the world of Spira made Final Fantasy X truly worthy of the ushering in the next generation of console RPGs.

#1 – Final Fantasy XII (PlayStation 2)

Winner of countless awards, the only Final Fantasy game granted 40/40 by prestigious Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, the cream of the crop, the best of the best. Final Fantasy XII is truly a feat. The developers managed to squeeze every last drop out of the aging PS2 and create a next generation level game on a six year old last gen console. Everything about Final Fantasy XII is first rate. Theater trained voice actors, sweeping orchestral score, a plot wrought with emotional and political intrigue. The depth of the characters, and the size the world combine to make this game on of the all time classic video games, not just of the Final Fantasy series, or of console RPGs, but of all gaming. Gone are the random battles, in their place a fully customizable battle system based on a mechanic referred to as Gambits that not only grant you complete control over every action your character makes, but also gives you total control over your entire party, even if you have them set to the games player-friendly AI. The entire world is laid out in front of you; no longer do you have to go to a map screen or world view, the transition from town to country-side to battle is 100% seamless. The attention to detail in Final Fantasy 12 is almost obsessive compulsive. It almost seems as the world around you is alive, constantly changing and evolving. The game is set in Ivalice, much just like Sqaure’s Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, and much of the quasi-medieval setting is borrowed and recreated on a grander scale. The main quest will take bear minimum 35 hours, but are so many side quests, hunts, and hidden dungeons to explore that a complete game, if you took your time, would take in the neighborhood of 180 hours. I know, because that’s what my 100% complete Final Fantasy 12 file ended up at. The strength of Final Fantasy 12 is the games ability not just to be one of the biggest console RPGs ever made, but to fill that space with enough depth, beauty, originality and rock solid game play that you keep coming back again and again. The level of quality of Final Fantasy 12 is what makes me excited each time a new Final Fantasy game is announced- the prospect that it has the potential to be as sweeping and absorbing this.

Ikki is a pretty neat little Famicom game. Based on the arcade game of the same, you play as a poor Japanese farmer in Feudal Japan, taking part in a revolt against the feudal lords (Ikki translates to “revolt” or “insurrection”). Ikki is an action game where you run from screen to screen throwing sickles at bad guys. Does the game look primitive? Yes. Do the graphics reek of early Nintendo? Yes. But, is the game fun? You bet your ass. It is, after all, a Sunsoft title. Sunsoft being one of the greatest third party developers in the history of the NES/Famicom.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? I own all the other version of this game, I might as well have the Famicom cart version, too. Definitely one of the favorite video games of all time.

This is a game that I have been looking to for a while now. The legendary Famicom entry in the Parodius series, Parodius Da. Parodius is a schmup series that does just as it’s name implies; parodies Gradius. The adding of absurd enemies, cigar chomping birds, and super deformed weirdos, to name a few makes this game a colorful, challenging entry in the series, the peak of which has to be the Super Famicom gem Sexy Parodius. This game saw a NES release, but only in PAL territories. I suppose it was too much for our dumb westerner sensibilities.

These titles, Twin Bee and Twin Bee 3 are shooters in the same vein (but not nearly as good, in my humble opinion) as Parodius. Goofy, colorful, and fun schmups. Again, the Twin Bee games skipped us here in north American and have stayed mainly in Japan.

Frankenstein: The Monster Returns is a NES game I gave wanted for a while, but until last week had never seen in the wild.  The game is kind of like a Castlevania 2 clone (in a good way) with shades of Monster Party (in a good way) mixed in. Lots of buildings and hidden areas to discover and lots of items to collect. I plan on spending some time with this one in the near future.

What can I say? Legacy of the Wizard is a classic. A game I played the hell out of as a kid, Legacy of the Wizard had a warm place in my heart, even if it hasn’t aged the best. Little did I know at the time. but it was in the same series (called Dragon Slayer in Japan) as another classic from my childhood, Faxanadu.

Again, Star Trek 25th Anniversary is another game I remember fondly from my formative years. I am a huge fan of graphic adventure games, and this is one of the few titles that made it from PC to the NES. I am not a huge Star Trek fan, but I do have a soft spot for the original series and this game should not be missed by adventure game fans.

Cybernator is a grossly underrated SNES title. While the game play is a lot like a dumbed down version of the SNES masterpiece Metal Warriors, Cybernator is actually part of the Assault Suits series, being released as Assault Suits Valken in Japan. It is actually 2nd in the Assault Suits series after Assault Suits Leynos for the Mega Drive, which we got for the Genesis as Target Earth. Cybernator is a fantastic mech action game, and can be found on the cheap. Totally worth picking up and adding to you SNES collection.

Arkanoid is one of my favorite classic arcade games, and until now that’s the only pace I would ever play it. Something is certainly lost without the dial control of the arcade machine, but the speed and responsiveness of the SNES version is good enough to be pretty close. The addition of a password system in this one, coupled with unlimited continues makes some of the super-tough later stages a lot more manageable..

Undoubtedly, the 8-bit Nintendo era was the perfect casual crossroads in videogame technology- think of it as the iPhone of it’s day. Let me explain: At the time of it’s release  NES was far more cost efficient than a computer, with the savings far out-weighing what those computers could offer the casual consumer for entertainment. It also offered the potential for more complex types of games, as compared to the vastly inferior blocks and bleeps of the Atari 2600 and other contenders prior to those who didn’t survive the infamous early 80s video game industry crash.

As the NES found its way into more and more living rooms, it became an ideal platform for the ultimate casual player time-sink; puzzle games. From my own childhood, I can comfortably say that the release of the NES version of Tetris caused a massive influx of casual gaming interest. Different from the Wii boom, this was still a time when videogames were viewed as little more than children’s toys, and as a result this first casual revolution did not serve to sell more Nintendo consoles to casual players but instead saw game time on your own Nintendo eroded by your parent’s newly sparked interest in your “toy”.

Over its lifespan, the NES saw some of the most beloved and enduring puzzle games in history grace its 72-pin connector. Titles such as Tetris (the GameBoy iteration is arguably the greatest videogame ever made), Dr. Mario, Yoshi, and Yoshi’s Cookie, Irem’s Kickle Cubicle, Lode Runner, Solomon’s Key, and even such action/puzzle hybrid games as The Adventures of Lolo, Rainbow Islands, and Bomberman. Of course there is one title that I feel rises above all the rest, and remains today one of the greatest and most under-appreciated game from that era.

Released by Nintendo in July 1990, and developed by famed studio Rare, Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll stands alone in its unique action/puzzle gameplay offering. Taking a page from Atari’s 1984 coin-op Marble Madness, Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll’s gameplay takes place on a colorful multiscreen isometric grid, complete with platforms and terrain. You play as a snake, navigating these multi-leveled isometric playing fields in search of “Nibbley Pibbleys”, small sphere like creatures, which you eat. Consuming nibbley pibbleys increases the overall length of your snake ,and thereby increases the amount of damage you can take. After enough nibbley pibbleys are eaten, your now-lengthened body will begin to blink, signalling that you can now exit the stage. Your biggest threats are environmental hazards such as spikes and pits, and the various enemies that roam the levels.

When damaged, you risk losing segments of your body. Preventing this at all costs is important, because after finding the exit to a level, you can only unlock the door by first standing on a weight scale located nearby. If you are too light, the exit remains sealed and you must hunt for more nibbley pibbleys. The game features 11 stages of increasing difficulty, with the stages past 4 becoming brutally hard. But the difficulty of the game is such that you never feel that you are killed unfairly, and part of the fun of the game is finding the easiest way to clear each stage. None-the-less, Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll is an extremely challenging, yet oddly addictive, hybrid action puzzle title. Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll added another dimension to the gameplay with multiplayer co-op, something not often seen in puzzle games of the era. With a second player working to clear stages, the mode adds an additional element of strategy– trying to keep both snakes well fed makes the co-op more competitive than co-operative at times. Success, however, is determined by having both players finish each level, so it is imperative that you strike the correct balance.

If you manage to make it to the end of the game, you’re treated to a screen hinting at a sequel called Snakes in Space. Though such a sequel was never released, a portable version did see the light of day on Nintendo’s GameBoy. However, the gameplay style was altered from an isometric puzzle game to a side-scrolling platformer, killing off much of the charm and challenge that made the original so special. If you are looking for something different, Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll is a true gem, and is worthy of a thorough play-through even today. The addicting, fast paced gameplay and bright, colourful environments make this a high watermark in the NES’s game library worth the revisit.

This is a reoccurring feature here were I provide updates in my quest to own all of the Zelda games complete-in-box. Play catch up on my progress by checking out my flagship entry, the first update, the second update, the third update, and the fourth update .

If you are among my most faithful readers, than you already know all about my awesome Christmas present which I got from my amazing wife, but the gift came with a game also-  which means I get to add another CIB Zelda to my collection:

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few months, you will also know that the long awaited follow-up to The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess was released this past November. Of course, I was there on launch day:

The last game I added was of the last Zelda GBA game that I needed, the NES Classic Series port of the original The Legend of Zelda. I was hesitant to pick this up as the price has risen quite steadily since the GBA was discontinued, but I finally found a really nice copy for under $20 shipped, so I jumped at the deal.

There you have it. I am few steps closer to completing my CIB Zelda collection. I plan to make a push and finally get this completed this year. Check below for an update on the list, slowly but surely…

The Legend of Zelda (Classic Series version, grey cart) (NES)
The Adventure of Link (Classic Series version, grey cart) (NES)
The Legend of Zelda (Classic Series) (GBA)
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Gameboy)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (Regular version without holographic cart)(N64)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Gamecube)
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) 
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii) 

A popular theme in many manga (mangi?) and anime flicks is the retconning of World World II. Games, manga and anime such as Valkyria Chronicles, Operation Darkness, and Pumpkin Scissors all take the setting, esthetic and look of 1940′s Europe and each add their own twist, whether that be mechs, steampunk technology, or field medics in fetish outfits.

Pictured: War

A casual glance at the cart for UN Squadron elicits virtually no excitement at all. It appears to be a run-of-the- mill, throw away cart- a game that seems to belong along side Bill Elliot Nascar and Bulls Vs. Lakers in a thrift store bargain bin.

Save for one, very important part of the label… the little red rectangle that says “Capcom”. Capcom, fresh off dominating the third party library of the Nintendo Entertainment System, began it’s reign of 16 bit effulgence primarily with arcade ports, such as Final Fight and UN Squadron.

However, where the SNES port of Final Fight is ultimately remembered as a famously co-op free misstep, UN Squadron is barely remembered at all.

Beneath the generic label and uninspired name, lies what Super Famicom players knew as Area88; a challenging, colorful 16-bit actioner that separates itself from the formulaic design of the standard spaceship shmup in a couple of ingenious ways. Having more in common with Gradius than After Burner, UN Squadron strayed further form both by adding non linear stages, upgradable and selectable weapons and aircrafts, and a most revolutionary of all, a health bar.

Back in 1989 when the Game Boy was first released the primary user base were grade school children. Most Game Boys were subjected to a harsh treatment from the moment they left their packaging; stuffed into under-sized pockets, careless tossed into backpacks not to mention the endless hours bouncing around in the back seat during car trips. And once they fell out of use they were often stored in less than ideal conditions, thrown in attics, crawl spaces and under piles of in closets, drawers and storage rooms.

Nintendo is known for their extremely durable build quality, often leaving the case in great shape, with the soft plastic screen to showing most of the wear.

Thankfully, replacement screens for all models of the Game Boy are plentiful and cheap. I picked the replacement screen I am using here for around$3 on Ebay, brand new. Just make sure you get the right screen, as Game Boy Color screens are not interchangeable with the original model.

Another plus is that replacing the screen is incredibly easy and takes about 5 minutes, all told. All you need are a Game Boy that needs a new screen, a replacement screen, and an xacto knife or small flat screwdriver. It is also a good idea to have a soft clean cloth, a can of pressurized air, some fine-grit sand paper and some crazy glue.

Begin by using the knife to gently pry up the screen. I prefer to use the hobby knife, or retractable box cutter because you have  a bit more give, and are less likely to chip the Game Boy around the edges of the screen than if you use a screwdriver.

Work your way around the edges of the screen until you can easily pry it off using the knife. Most Game Boys are round 20 years old, so the glue should not put up much of a fight.

After you have the old screen off you can discard it. Next, take the fine-grit sand paper and gently remove some of the glue from recessed screen area. This will help the new screen fit a bit more flush and stick better, however, this step is not necessary and can be skipped. Take your can of air and blow any dust from the screen area. It is surprising how much dust can accumulate under the screen. This will also remove any loose glue bits as a result of your sanding. After all the dust is blown out, take your soft, dry cloth and carefully wipe the LCD screen itself for good measure, making sure it is spotless and clean.

90% of all after market replacement screens you will come across will already have an adhesive back, but putting three or four small dots of super glue on the area the screen will cover will help is stay in place even if the adhesive gives out.

Make sure the screen is placed properly and press into the recesses on the Game Boy firmly. and there you have it- an honest to god, almost brand new Game boy for under $10!

I have been off of collecting for the NES for a few years now, mainly because there aren’t that many games left for the console that I feel I desperately need, and I only have about 100 carts. There are still a couple titles I am actively seeking, however, and I do occasionally switch out a loose cart for a CIB set. These are my NES finds over the last few months.

My dad actually picked this bare bones NES console for me at a thrift store. The price was $5.99, and the 72 pin connector (as well as the general condition of the console) is like new. I am pretty impressed. I gave it a good cleaning and I now have another back-up Nintendo.

I upgraded my kind of ratty cart-only copy of Mega Man 3 for this descent shape CIB copy. I am not one of those collectors that has to have the boxes in perfect mint condition, so I am very happy with this copy. Mega Man 2 will always be number one with a bullet, but any series where a game this refined and near-perfect is second best is pretty amazing.

I have always been a fan of the Kirby games, especially part 3 for the SNES, but at the same time I have always found them to be lacking any semblance of challenge. At any rate, this minty CIB copy of Kirby’s Adventure replaces a cart only that went missing from my mom and dad’s place many years ago.

I picked this up for dirt cheap from Replay Games on a hunch it would a worthy sequel to Sunsoft’s amazing NES original. It’s not. The game is pretty good, I guess, but it suffers from being WAY harder than it needs to be and that really hurts the playability. I am no slouch for hard games, but Batman: The Return of the Joker is far to cheap and unforgiving.

This is actually a cart I have been looking at getting for a while now. I remember having poured untold hours into this game as a kid. I am a big fan of PC point-and-click adventure games, and this is about as close as you can get on the NES. It’s kind of like playing a cross between an Alfred Hitchcock movie and Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, I.E. totally bad-ass and awesome.

Uninvited is another game I rented a lot and played the crap out of as a kid. I only paid $15 for this, and it seems to go for $20+ easy on Ebay. Much like Deja Vu (and Shadowgate) it’s a PC style point-and-click adventure game ported from the Macintosh, if I am not mistaken. Uninvited has you searching a haunted mansion trying find your missing girlfriend after you wake up alone in a crashed car. My friends and I used to try and find all the hilarious and gruesome ways you could die in the game. It’s pretty fun exploring a creepy old mansion, triggering booby traps and getting killed. Not in real life, though. That would be terrible.

ALL FOR FREE! I just had to drive 10 km from my office and pick it up.

My freebie Gamecube lot includes a Silver Gamecube console with matching Silver controller, a third party memory card, a third party wireless controller with receiver and the following games, all complete and in really good condition; Mario Kart: Double Dash, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Medal of Honour: Frontline, Donkey Konga 2, Starfox Adventures and James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire.

I had none of these games, save for Mario Kart, so that is an added bonus.

In this day and age, with people  auctioning off the crap in their attics thinking they will strike it rich, you don’t often see video games being given away for free. All because some asshole found a copy of Stadium Events, sold for $30,000 and it got reported on CNN.

My Gamecube bundle benefactor made no such assumptions of value. He just wanted it out of his house because he had moved on and was sick of looking at it. Fine by me.  I have a certain small place in my heart reserved specifically for free games.

Pictured: hard fucking games

A lot of old Nintendo games are, as a matter of principal, really hard… but let’s be honest here. Video games these days for the most part are moronically easy. There are exceptions to this rule, but the rule remains. Challenging video games are a dying art form.

Back in the 8-bit era games had to be hard in order to justify paying $60 (or more) for a video game with 6 stages. Video games of this time period were not played for the amazing, dramatic story arcs, or for mining achievements and trophies- they were played for fun, and often times the fun came from the challenge itself.

If you actually did beat a difficult video game, you either had to have your mom’s camera ready (and I swear, no child took a successful photograph of a TV screen before digital cameras) or have friends present to witness the feat. Barring either of the these scenarios meant that no one would believe you. I swear to god, I bet Mike Tyson in Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, but to this day not a single one of my friends believes me because I did it alone in my apartment in 2006. Dicks.

The near unplayably hard games for the NES were not just the Bayou Billys, the Amagons, or the Golgo 13s of the NES library. Some of the most loved and fondly remembered video games from the NES era were genuinely challenging affairs. The first 3 Mega Man games, Castlevania I- III, and Contra are among the best and hardest games of the late 80′s and early 90′s. They were also massive financial successes.

The difficulty type of 8-bit video games really falls into two separate and distinct categories; artificial difficulty and actual difficulty.

Actual, genuinely hard games slowly ramp up the difficulty and always make the player the master of their own fate. The room-crossing lasers in Quickman’s stage from Mega Man 2, the Grim Reaper boss from Castlevania, the final level in Super C. They are all hard, but fairly so. When you die you only have yourself to blame. Enough practice and you can master these obstacles and fly through without a second thought.

Artificial difficulty, commonly referred to as “cheap” difficulty, bursts from the seams of the most irritating hard games because they are, first and foremost, unfair. Randomly disappearing platforms, picky hit detection, over powered enemies, difficult and out of place platforming sections, and the combination of poor level design and one-hit-kill environmental traps all contribute to give a hard game an overall stink of cheapness.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The fucking birds.

Ninja Gaiden, a series famous for it’s high difficulty has three games (the NES trilogy) that entirely owe their reputation as controller smashers to those winged devils. Those fucking Ninja Gaiden birds still haunt my nightmares, and the nightmares of every gamer who has subjected themselves to the original TECMO Ninja Gaiden games. Seriously, jumps that were often hard by themselves, plus birds? Together? CONSTANTLY?

Some games, most notably Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, straddle the boundary between actually hard and artificially hard. One could argue that the first half of Zelda II is actually hard, in a good way. A fun, challenging platforming action game that gets a lot of things right. The second half of the game however switches gears, and becomes critically difficult. While certainly grind heavy through-out, it becomes an absolute nightmare to achieve the highest levels because the enemies that yield the most experience are often overpowered and difficult to kill.

“Fuck it. Let her sleep.”

The last few palaces become nightmarishly long themselves, and the frustration mounts as the task of even uncovering their locations becomes more and more convoluted.

In an ironic twist, the North American version of Zelda II was intentionally made to be more difficult than the original Japanese Famicom Disk System version. Conclusion? Nintendo of America hated us.