DAY 109 / GAME 109 Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure

DAY 109 / GAME 109

Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure

          Back when I first had my Sega Genesis, I didn't have the wonder that is the internet.  So, trying to figure out what is a good game to buy wasn't easy.  A few of my friends had subscriptions to EGM or Nintendo Power magazines and that was really the only way to have any insight into what was coming and what was worth buying.  
           I never got into magazines though.  I once bought a book that covered a ton of Sega Genesis games, but it was pretty out of date.  Magazines were always full of ads and I always loathed ads, even though I was about 13 at the time.  So when it came to buying games, I typically bought into IPs that were familiar.  So even though they weren't always the most amazing games in the world, I usually ended up with a game with content I enjoyed nonetheless.  

            In the 16-bit era, side scrollers were king.  Like FPS games now, it was a tried and true game platform that was easy to market.  And so, there were a ton of great properties  from the mid-90's that ended up as side scrolling platformers.  Aladdin, Lion King, Alien 3, Tazmania, the Simpsons, Batman, Ninja Turtles and Mickey Mouse to name a few.  Now, at the time, I was a huge Looney Tunes fan.  I used to tape episodes off of the Bravo network so I had a huge VHS tape full for anytime I was in the mood.  In the early 90's WB released Tiny Toon Adventures, which was a newer, modern take on the whole Bugs Bunny property.  It did real well and from there we saw more of these modernized WB kids shows, like Tazmania and Animaniacs.  I loved Tiny Toons.  It really inspired me to draw and I used to spend a ton of time breaking down and drawing all the characters fairly on model if I remember correctly.  So, where I'm going with all this, is that when the first Tiny Toon's video game was released on the Sega Genesis, I immediately jumped on it.  

           Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure was unique to the Sega Genesis.  The Super Nintendo ended up with a completely different, albeit equally cool game Buster Busts Loose!.  Both were developed by Konami, which explains the quality, but both were totally different.  The SNES game was more difficult, but shorter overall and somewhat more linear in fashion.  The Sega Genesis game contained considerably more levels and had a Super Mario World style map where all your levels were all laid out and with that you could return to any you've completed.

              Konami did a great job of capturing the show's personality.  At least so far as I remember it.  (It was 21 years ago.)  Pretty much every character is represented in the game and represented quite well (for a 16-bit game).  As you made your way through the game you encountered everyone from Plucky Duck, Hampton, Dizzy, Calamity Coyote and even Gogo Dodo.  Most of those you encounter you actually run into as boss fights as they've been controlled with brainwashing helmets and you have to free them to continue.  The final boss fights have you in a race to escape Elmyra and a battle with Montana Max in a big mech suit.  There's even a bizarre set of bonus stages that take place Gogo Dodo's weird Wackyland. 

          Buster's Hidden Treasure ended up as a pretty good buy considering at the time it was really just a crapshoot and I got lucky.  It was a real blend of Mario and Sonic, with the character of the series and enough uniqueness as a side scroller to set itself apart from the rest.  It's been a long time since I've played this game and writing this reminds me I should bust it out again sometime for a go.

DAY 108 / GAME 108 Flashback

DAY 108 / GAME 108

Flashback

          Brought to you by the same company that created Out of This World, Flashback carries forward a lot of the same design sensibilities and gameplay style.  I can't remember exactly where I saw this game first, or when I bought it.  Though, I'm pretty sure I tried it out at my uncle's place and bought it shortly after.  
        Flashback used the same rotoscoped animation for the characters and so maintained the same feel as Out of This World and Prince of Persia.   The controls and general movement and puzzles are very similar as well.  Mostly comprised of making your way screen-to-screen learning about all the deathtraps and enemies through shear trial and error.  Though, it was pretty funny taking the leap into the tunnel (hole) to New Washington without buying the anti-grav belt first..

          Flashback was hard.  Really hard.  On a similar difficulty level as Out of this World was.  The whole game had that realism of one-shot deaths, no 'heath meter', but at one point you do get a portable shield generator.  Short falls still kill you though.  It took me a very long time to get past the first level on Titan but at least when you finally do pass it you get a level code so you can continue the game later on.  New Washington was no easier.  The concept was neat; you end up taking on a false ID and get a job carrying out small tasks in order earn enough money to compete in a tv game show.  But I never did beat this level. At least, I don't think I did.  Eventually I dug up the level codes in a magazine and skipped this level and the Death Tower level and beat the game from that point on.  At least I saw the bulk of the game.  But I never did beat it on my own.

           The designs in this game were fantastic.  It had a real 90's future look to it and the variety in locations really added to it all.  The jungle on Titan was full of tech, New Washington was vertical and full of these cool flying cars and taxis and the final level on the alien planet had a great, well, alien feel to it.  The animated intro for the game was fantastic and cinematic.  The hoverbike design they included set my imagination over the top.  I loved it and for years I was always drawing them based on this concept.  Each of the cutscenes were great.  It really helped maintain the whole cinematic feel to the game, something I felt was unique at the time.



         Flashback was one of those games I adored, it had a real Bladerunner future style to it, it was super difficult but not obscenely and it had hoverbikes.  Ubisoft recently released a new rebuild of this game, all in 3D but with the same 2D camera and controls.  It's really fantastic, much more playable than the original and definitely very true to the design.  My only complaint is that the voice acting is goddamned awful.  It's so bad it's really just comical and I've accepted it as much.  It also includes an copy of the original game, but it's displayed with no audio (or was it just no music) and on a the tiny screen of an 3D arcade.  It's the worst.  But I personally found the new one easily worth the 10$ for anyone interested in giving it a whirl.

DAY 107 / GAME 107 Halo 3: ODST

DAY 107 / GAME 107

Halo 3: ODST

          It seems to me a lot of people weren't very happy with Halo 3: ODST, but for a lot of reasons it was my favorite of the series.  (Not including Halo 4, I haven't tried that yet and I hear it's awesome.)  As much as I've always enjoyed Halo in the past, especially for multiplayer, I've always found the single player campaign to be a little bit short and repetitive.  I think I remember the end gauntlet in Halo 2 being almost the exact same as the end in Halo 1.  There were a number of levels which were recycled from earlier levels within the same game and although I did enjoy it, there wasn't too much depth to the shooter mechanics.  It relied on being solid and very playable.

         ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) however was a fresh new take on the Halo series.  Designed as a small side game to fill the development gap between Halo 3 and Halo: Reach, ODST's budget grew and ended up as a full sized AAA release.  Rather than focusing on the Master Chief storyline, ODST returns to the events of Halo 2 where the Covenant launched an attack on Earth to follow a different group of soldiers.  

         Halo 3: ODST had a somewhat different pace.  Instead of a straightforward gunfight from start to finish, ODST finds you following a team of elite soldiers who get divided during a drop.  You search for clues as you make your way through the abandoned city of New Mombasa in Africa discovering what happened during the invasion, where your teammates ended up and what your secretive mission really entails.  To add to all this, half of the voice actors that make up your team come from the cast of Firefly (Jayne, Wash and Mal.)  and Nathan Fillion's likeness is used for ODST team leader Buck.   

          So, as a shock trooper and not the Master Chief, things handle a little differently.  You take fall damage, your shields don't recharge and you have to find recharge stations and you can't dual wield big heavy weapons.  On the upside you have the added VISR system.  An overlay system that outlines structures and enemies pointing out weaknesses, helping navigate the darkness and showing locations of useful items along the way.  There's also a nice little side story that you can discover as you access data ports in the city.  It follows a young girl named Sadie who escapes the city with the help of it's AI system during the Covenant attack.

         I really enjoyed the Halo 3: ODST single player campaign quite a bit.  But one of the other reasons I really loved this game is simply because Denise got it for me.  It's a rare thing when Denise buys me a game, even during Christmas and Birthdays and even then it's usually a game that I suggested on a list.  But in the case of ODST Denise did some digging and found a game that was new, I wouldn't have bought yet and I was likely to enjoy.  And so, I liked it that little extra more than if I had bought it for myself.

DAY 106 / GAME 106 Sonic the Hedgehog 2

DAY 106 / GAME 106

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

          Sonic the Hedgehog was the first game I ever owned for the first console I ever owned.  So you can only imagine how absolutely ecstatic my brother and I were at age 10 and 12 when Sonic 2 was released.
  

        Released just before Christmas of '92, for my brother and I Sonic 2 was highly anticipated.  So of course, it was no question that we had asked for this for Christmas.  I remember, my brother discovering the secret hidden location of this gift before the holidays hit and we ended up driving our Grandmother nuts until she let us open it early.  I think we may have beat the game by the time Christmas morning actually rolled around.  

               Sonic 2 was everything we wanted and then some.  Not only was it a more polished take on the Sonic series, but it added a two-player element that was a big deal for someone with a close-aged brother.  There were two 2-player portions to this game.  First off, while playing the single player mode a second player can join in as Tails.  The screen camera only followed Sonic, so it was easy to get lost off-screen, but Tails couldn't be killed and could assist Sonic by airlifting him short distances.  Kind of a casual second player mode that was nice enough to appease a little brother.  

            Then there was another neat two-player mode that was quite smart.  The developers designed a special set of levels just for this mode which was split-screen and pegged Sonic and Tails against each other in a race from start to finish.  Even the levels felt like the were built to be viewed in that wide split-screen mode, which I think was even squashed a bit to fit more on-screen.

           Sonic 2 also added some great new levels.  It starts with a classic 'green hill zone' but added a ton of new ones.  Rather than 3 levels per zone there are 2 which means there are more zones total and a larger variety in level types, 13 different ones to be exact.  Everything from the Mystic Cave, Oil Ocean, Hilltop and Wing Fortress. 

            Sonic 2 also added a new take on the 'special stage'.  When you collect enough rings and hit a mid level post you can take a stab at the special stage.  Also available for two players at once,  it was a kind of pseudo-3D that had you barreling down a half-pipe chasing rings.  If you got enough you were rewarded with a chaos emerald.  

        Sonic 2 also added a very important feature found in every Sonic game after part 1, the Sonic spin dash.  Where you can spin-up and shoot off at high speed which really helps you maintain the high-speed of the game more often, especially after hitting an enemy or getting jammed up.  

        I'd say this my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog game, but it's not.  But the nice thing with the older Sonic games is that they are all great.  Each of them have their own personality especially defined by their unique set of levels.  And Sonic 2 really showed that Sonic Team and Sega knew how to take it in the right direction.

DAY 105 / GAME 105 Mirror's Edge

DAY 105 / GAME 105

Mirror's Edge

          Mirror's Edge is one of the most unique FPS games ever made.  Mostly because unlike other First Person Shooters, it doesn't focus on shooting at all.  In fact, it's best if you avoid it completely.  Mirror's Edge instead focuses on Parkour and the speed and finesse required to make it through a level.  When I first saw this game during it's announcement, I was impressed by the beauty of it all, but I couldn't understand why they would present it in first-person instead of third-person where you could get a better idea of where you character is vs your terrain.

            In the end though, Mirror's Edge worked out quite well.  The first-person perspective gave the player a unique view on the world.  One that is unobstructed by any unnecessary UI elements and instead presented itself as more first-person that the usual game.  Standing still you look around at the beautiful landscape around you, crisp and in a sense minimalist.  Leaving most elements rendered as white and highlighting platforming elements as red so that you can run through the world without thinking twice about where you should land or jump.  You have a smart view of your limbs as you run and climb, or look down at your feet, so that you really get that VR sense of being without feeling so disconnected as so many other FPS games that present themselves as floating hands with a gun.

          Mirror's Edge could have been a very terrible game, especially if it was released on an older generation of consoles.  The fact that it is very smooth, allowing you to manage your jumps, flips and slides without cursing the system means that the games you're playing is a fun challenge and not a beautiful nightmarish hell.  (Though, there are some parts, where you are forced into combat, which do feel this way, even if it's only for a short period.)  The story is great and the game plays out quite well.  There is enough of variety in the level design that you don't get bored and they generally did a good job keeping the focus on the platforming elements.

         Mirror's Edge was a gorgeous game that is just stunning to look at.  Everything is so crisp and well rendered with fantastic shadows and perfect lightning.  It's the kind of game that begs you to stop and take screenshots.  It's accompanied by an equally great soundtrack that matches the pacing of the levels, from it's slower puzzle moments to the faster action sequences.  The game itself is a decent length and to top if off it has some speed-run levels so you can go back and hone your skills when you're done with the main story.  
        I'd love for DICE to finally make a sequel, it's been rumored for a long time.  I believe this did more than well enough to call for one and I know it would be fantastic.

DAY 104 / GAME 104 Viva Pinata

DAY 104 / GAME 104

Viva Pinata

          Another one of the first games I ever purchased for the Xbox 360, Viva Pinata is an absolutely beautiful garden simulator.  I think the intended age range for this game is probably somewhere between 6 and 10, but hell if a bunch of kids could complete this game.  
          This game is truly great for all ages though.  Because although some elements of it are quite difficult,  everything else about the game has a very relaxing and zen element to it.  Viva Pinata starts you off with a dirt patch and it's your job to cultivate it and turn it into a supple grassy paradise to attract a variety of local Pinata wildlife.
            There's sixty different pinata animals looming around the area surrounding your garden.  Each of them have a set of prerequisites your garden must satisfy before any of them will wander into the area and then make home there.  

             Everything about the game is so beautiful.  A fantastic showcase for the Xbox 360 back when it first came out, Viva Pinata features bright colourful designs, calming weather fx, blowing grass, glistening ponds and these cute and creative animal designs.   Turns out that Rare and the same team involved in the creation of the Banjo-Kazooie spearheaded this game.  Suddenly everything makes sense.  The fantastic looking world that is rendered so nicely, giving it a real tangible feel and really pushing the calming effect of tending to a living garden.

                 All the pinata animals are just great.  As they become permanent residents of your garden you can name them, give them little accessories and best of all, mate them to produce little pinata babies.  The mating process is pretty amusing.  Of course you must have two of every animal you intend to mate, they must have a special home purchased for them (Which is neat, because you can look inside and watch them sleep, or carry on with their day.) and they must meet a couple prerequisites in order to become ready for children.  AND THEN, the best part, is that you have to complete a little mini-game.  In the case of the Whirlm for example, you must make your way across a short maze.  When you do, you are rewarded with a little mating dance between the two pinatas and a little baby pinata.

        I enjoyed this game an absolute ton.  All the pinatas are all designed so well and other than the fact that I kinda hit a wall with my progress in the garden, it was a super relaxing game.  I never did play any of the sequels, but I'd love to try the sequel some time, especially if the garden is more complex.

DAY 103 / GAME 103 Super Mario World

DAY 103 / GAME 103

Super Mario World

          When the Super Nintendo was released, there were only a few titles available to start with.  But most of those titles were really strong and really carried the system launch.  I remember the brochure that some of the kids had in the schoolyard (I was in grade 5 at the time.) and it basically revolved around F-Zero, Pilotwings, Gradius, SimCity and most of all Super Mario World.
          Super Mario World probably carried the sales of the SNES until Link to the Past was released a couple years later.  And it wasn't even just a great 16-bit title, it may be the the best Super Mario game ever released.  

            That's not even a sentiment shared only with myself, I'm fairly certain most people would agree with me on.  As a game whose roots remain in a 2D sidescroller, this is the last one Nintendo would make in this style up until the recent release of Super Mario Wii, which never quite recaptured the perfection of Super Mario World.  
           This game was huge.  With almost a hundred levels in total, I've never beat it and I've never seen a lot of the extra hidden levels.  Part of the reasons being, I never actually owned a copy myself for the longest time.  Even though my brother eventually got an SNES back when we were kids, this is one game we never bought.  Then, when Super Mario All-Stars was released which included updated versions of Super Mario 1-3 and Super Mario World, I really should have grabbed a copy, but instead we borrowed it here and there off those people who did buy it and put it off until it was no longer available.  Nintendo even recently re-released Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii, but they didn't include Super Mario World.  So I finally broke down and bought it for the Wii Virtual Console.  

             So since then, I put a whole lot more hours into this game.  But I got stuck again.  I love this game and I love that there are so many hidden levels and little extras, but I only wish I had managed to see some of them.  It feels like one of those games that you would have had to have played it back when you were a kid to have spent the time discovering all the little tricks it had to offer.

             Still, it was great.  For the first time, Yoshi was introduced.   This really added an extra element to the sidescrolling platformer that no one had seen before and wouldn't see again for a while, if ever.  Of course, it wasn't even just a platforming element, Yoshi was this great new character that became as important in the Mario series as Toad or the Princess really.  On top of Yoshi they also really expanded on Bowser's character, giving him a ton more emotion and a added the element of all his kids who you have to defeat on your way to the final castle.  This made each of the castle levels much more interesting as each of bowser's kids had a different personality and the level reflected that.  On top of this there's also the addition of the ghost house levels, another staple Mario element I had to think twice about to be sure it wasn't in any of the earlier games.

             Heck, I could go on about Super Mario World forever.  There are so many fantastic Mario elements that started here.  I'd love to see them clean this up for HD just a little bit.  But I'm more than happy playing this with the copy that I have on the Wii-U, forever and ever.