R-Type Final (PS2)

Few shooters have as great of a mechanic as R-type despite its age. Not only did R-type Final stand out as an awesome, well designed game, it had almost infinite replay value (even if you aren't the type of person that goes for high scores)

Some shooters have as many as 6 different ships to choose from, so how many did R-type Final have? One hundred and one... unlockable through playing the game a ton. Add to that 83 different charge shots and 53 force pods total. That amount of interchangability makes an incredibly varied game, but there is a lot of creativity involved in the varied options as well. One force pod is a "camera" force which is weak in combat, but if you destroy an enemy with it, it adds it to your research index and you can read about it later.

There are also a ton of variations and alternate routes in the levels. One awesome example is a level that is half filled with water and when you beat the boss, a red(hot) and blue(cold) button show up. When you play through the next time, the water will either fill the level or be very low depending on which one you hit BUT if you hit the same color again, it will be even further modified on the next playthrough.

Overall this game is an incredible R-type game sporting amazing re-designed graphics and an attention to detail that is rarely seen. Some people have been complaining about the price of R-type Dimensions on XBLA, those people should consider picking this game up for the same price on Ebay if they have a PS2/3

Metal Storm (NES)

If a cover like this doesn't look great to you, you need to have your head examined!

For those of you looking for a great retro game that you've never played, check out Metal Storm.  The game is really pretty basic: You are a walking armored mech and you have 2 abilities, shooting and jumping.  The really great thing about this game though is that if you hold up while jumping, you reverse gravity and you can walk along the ceiling.  

It may sound like a flimsy gimmick but this game was developed by the same people who made R-Type (IREM) and the mechanic is exceptionally well integrated into the game play.  The production values of this game are surprisingly great as well.  The explosions are animated really well and make you feel a little better about blowing up.  Considering that there's a fairly good chance this is ALREADY on your computer in some NES romset you downloaded, it shouldn't be too much effort to give this game a shot.

Xenogears (PSX)

Like Brave Fencer Musashi, Xenogears was released in the Final Fantasy 7/8 era during which Squaresoft somehow figured out a way to manufacture one outstanding game after another so fast that a lot of people missed quite a few of them. Xenogears is longer than Final Fantasy 7 and 8 but had a completely different hand-drawn look to it.













In the battles on foot, the characters were well-animated sprites but they could also board customizable mechs to battle in. This game really has everything you could want from an RPG: cool characters (some of which are morally ambiguous), complex epic plot that deals with dark parts of human psychology, awesome vehicles, and challenging battles.










There are a few hiccups in the design though, one is that the mech battles are pretty repetitive and the bosses you fight in the mechs feel like you are slowly degenerating (since you're running out of fuel) and you have no idea when they'll finally die. I definitely respect this game a lot more than Final Fantasy 8, and most people who have played it consider it one of the best RPGs of all time.













^this chick's pretty cute (gotta love redheads)

Brave Fencer Musashi (PSX)

This game actually sold pretty well immediately after its release (because it was bundled with a Final Fantasy 8 demo) but quickly was forgotten by everyone besides devoted Squaresoft fans. It was no legend of Zelda, but it had a lot of similarities despite its much lighter, manga inspired aesthetic. The time of day changed in real time. There was a central village that everyone lived in, but all of the villagers have been kidnapped. As you rescue them one-by-one they return to the village, giving you access to more dialogue, buildings, and stores.













Musashi can do all kind of cool sword combos (including air combos) and there were a lot of tricky platforming sections to this game. The bosses were incredibly well designed and really looked amazing for the time.














If you're not convinced that this game is worth checking out yet, there's one more thing: You can copy enemy abilities! I always find this mechanic to be really fun (kirby and megaman are also awesome) but in brave fencer Musashi you do it by throwing your sword into them and sucking their power out with magic. Doesn't get much better than that.

Silhouette Mirage (PSX)

Silhouette Mirage is another Treasure game (as promised) for the PS1. It was also released on the Saturn, but thanks to Working Design's love of good games, they brought it to the US market on the Playstation and translated it themselves. You play as a girl who has the ability to fire one colored shot while facing one way and another while facing the other way. You can shoot opponents of the opposite color and reflect the bullets that are the same color. Being a gameplay fusion of Gunstar Heroes and Ikaruga (and being developed by the same people) really can't be a losing formula.













Despite US gamer's constant complaints about amazing games never coming to the US (Radiant Silvergun, Front Mission 5, Tobal 2) Silhouette Mirage didn't get that warm of a welcome. It seems that gamers are content to gripe about what they didn't got while overlooking the amazing games that are right under their noses.













With many people getting into downloadable 2d arcade games on the 360 and PS3 that cost about the same amount, it really doesn't make sense to pass up this great game which you can get used for $15 or less on amazon (and would probably sell for $70+ if it was never brought stateside)

Pikmin 2 (Gamecube)

I really have no idea why Pikmin 2 never became more popular. When I first went to buy this game it had been out for a long time but was still retailing at $44.99 When I asked why it was still so much, I was told that the game had been discontinued so the price wasn't being changed. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Maybe because the first game was too short and limited for the early adopters and the rest of the crowd thought it was another "kiddy" Nintendo game. The second Pikmin expands dramatically on the first one adding not only two more types of Pikmin, but also underground caves where you have to conserve Pikmin and a bunch of really fun 2 player modes. As for the people who don't like "kiddy" games, I would like to know why they value a generic "mature" aesthetic over innovative and well crafted gameplay because those priorities seem like they should be re-evaluated.

This game has a great, funny plot, lots of gameplay that challenges your problem soving skills, and a fulfilling sense of accomplishment that you feel when you do a ton of stuff in one day through multitasking with the other main character (who you can switch to on the fly.) This game has all of the subtle touches that make a game exceptional. Even after you've beaten the game, it's really fun to go back and replay to see how few days you can collect all of the treasure in. This is another game that everyone should pick up for their Wii if they missed it last generation.

Resident Evil (Gamecube)

Today is the big day! Resident Evil 5's release date. I'm really looking forward to playing it but I do feel that one thing will still be missing: fear. Resident Evil's dark secret is the fact that somewhere along the way (RE4) they destroyed a genre that they popularized in the first place: survival horror. The new genre should probably be called action horror because there is no feeling of being in a survival situation whatsoever.















I still remember playing the original Resident Evil on Playstation and the dogs jumping through the window or the licker on the ceiling in RE2 and being terrified. I think there are 3 main reasons that I was scared.
1.I didn't have enough health or ammo to kill every enemy
2.If I died, I would have to go back to the last time I saved
3. There were long enough breaks in the action that I built up a significant feeling of suspense.

This post is about a game that has these features. It's about what I feel is the best survival horror game of all time. The Resident Evil Re-make for Gamecube.


















If you want to see what Resident Evil used to be all about (fear and challenging survival gameplay that requires thinking) you should definitely pick this up. It's a highly polished and great looking take on the game that started it all. It has more improvements than flashy graphics, the defensive items play a huge part in the strategy of the gameplay and the zombies must be decapitated or burned to make sure they don't come back to life.















Unlike RE4's slightly more challenging professional mode that you can still breeze through, the GC REmake has progressively more difficult modes of play all the way up to the infamous invisible enemy mode.














A lot of people may have missed this because they didn't have Gamecubes when it came out but now you can play it on your Wii! I hope everyone gives this game a shot, it's a high point of a recently deceased genre.

Gradius V (PS2)

I like SHMUPS (you're a ship, dodge bullets in 2d) a lot. One that gets a lot of credit (but still not enough) is Gradius V. It probably seems to be just another Gradius game at face value, but the major difference is that this Gradius was developed by Treasure. I think Treasure has the best track record of any long-standing developer out there. Almost all of their games are amazing. They started out with games like Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Heady and made the jump to 3d and other genres without ever sacrificing quality. I'll definitely be covering more of their games in the future.













Gradius V takes all of the great things about Gradius and improves them with Treasure's creative level design. The game doesn't seem too overwhelming (like Radiant Silvergun's 7 weapons or Ikaruga's complicated combo system) They use the winning formula of giving you one more continue for every hour you play the game so that every time you re-play the game you get to see more of it (unless you beat the game before unlocking infinite continues @ 20 hours) This seems to work much better than games that never give you more than 3 continues or games that start off giving you infinite continues.













Compared to other Treasure shooters, Gradius V can't be beat for its simplicity and strong design. It also has ouite a satisfying length to it and a really cool time travel part. It might not be for you if you like epic final boss battles, but if you're hardcore enough to beat the game, you can actually keep going on another loop (which is harder and has modified bullet patterns) untill you finally run out of lives.

Mario vs. DK (GBA) and Donkey Kong (Game Boy)

Mario has been around for a long time and most people expect the same thing: run to the right and jump. Mario vs. DK seems like it would be more of the same but it is really a lot better than that. It is a puzzle-platformer that is so well crafted that some levels will leave you completely stumped. Your objective in every level is to reach a key and then carry it to the exit. Sometimes the key is easy to reach but there seems to be no way to get it to the door.



















All of the mechanics are introduced in a fair way and every set of levels has some new mechanic to figure out. Not only that, but just moving Mario around is a lot more fun than usual because he has great moves like a handstand which protects you from things falling from above. This is one of the best Mario games ever made (and is probably better than your favorite game in the series) and when you beat it, what do you unlock? A whole new set of levels!!! how many levels? As many as you already played to beat the full-length game! Sound amazing? That's why you should play the game.









There is actually another reason this game is great though, and as was briefly mentioned in many reviews, that reason is that it was based on an even better game for Game Boy: Donkey Kong. This is the true Neglected Gem. Maybe a lot of people thought it was a port of the NES port of the arcade game (which featured 4 levels that looped...boring unless you're into high scores) but this game had 97 more levels... From 4....to 101. That's progress. Not only that but only Tetris can touch this game when it comes to gameplay on the gameboy. If you enjoy platformers or puzzle games, get these games-and tell others about them too.