Whenever I engage in a conversation about the “good old days” of SNES gaming, my friends usually bring up Super Mario World, Mega Man X, Super Punch Out, Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Kart. I loved SMW and SMK as much as the next person, but the following 16-bit titles are the ones that stuck with me.
“Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars”
Every other week I was begging my mom to let me rent this game from Blockbuster, and it only took 5 weekends plus rental fees for me to get through the whole game. I’d say that it was this game over any other back then, that really held my interest long enough for me to make the commitment to see it through the end. I just checked Amazon for a copy, and I practically did a spit-take when I saw someone was selling it for $1,297.50! That’s insane! Although I think $40 for a used copy is equally steep, so I’m going to keep rummaging through boxes at yard sales and swap meets until I get lucky. “Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island”
I still claim that this is my favorite game of all time –I have it on my Super Nintendo, Gameboy Advance SP, Wii Virtual Console, AND my Nintendo 3DS! It’s a classic tale of stealing babies, throwing eggs, licking shy guys, and getting high –what’s not to love? I will fight any person that claims that Mega Man is a better character than Yoshi! Don’t let my small stature fool you –I’m scrappy when I have to be. Side note: I’m surprised that adult Mario doesn’t have more issues based on his traumatic childhood, although he does smash his head into blocks quite often. “The Lion King”
I remember seeing the The Lion King movie in the theater and feeling like my 9-year old brain had exploded. The Lion King is STILL the highest grossing, hand drawn film of all time, and when they announced the video game release for Christmas that same year, we all rejoiced. I think Aladdin was my only experience playing a video game based off a movie at that point, but I wasn’t very critical yet, so I loved every game I could get my hands on. I had a blast roaring, running, and rolling around this game, and even now when I think of the most challenging moment of game play in my life, I think of escaping the stampede. Side note: Nala doesn’t appear as a cub or as an adult in this game…..which I prefer anyway, because their incestuous relationship really grossed me out. “Donkey Kong Country”
I have the best memories of playing this game with my sister –and back then, there wasn’t a whole lot that we agreed on. It’s amazing how video games can save your family when you’re snowed in for a few days in Colorado (and thank god the sequel came out during another big storm a few years later). This was the game that also sparked my interest in cheat codes and hidden areas –I started subscribing to Tips&Tricks magazine and I would research gaming chat rooms on the internet. I also have Donkey Kong Country on SNES, Gameboy Advance SP, and Wii VC. During the 2009 E3 conference, I was overjoyed to hear that they were reviving my favorite series with the release of “Donkey Kong Country Returns” on the Wii, so I ran out and bought a console as soon as I could! I wasn’t prepared for the let down that I experienced after playing it for an hour –the main reason being that I couldn’t use the classic controller like I was used to. So I’m glad I can still play the original to my heart’s content –especially because the Gameboy and Wii versions do not have all of the shortcuts or cheat codes. Tapping B-A-R-R-A-L during the game select screen will give you 50 extra lives! “Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos”
This game slipped through the cracks until I spotted it at a vintage game store earlier this year, and the memories came flooding back. Another game that retails for $60+, which doesn’t surprise me because it was amazing, and fairly rare. The reason why this game was so engaging is because it resembled the game play in Sonic the Hedgehog, which I loved because I didn’t have a Sega Genesis. Speedy races through Mexican Villages trying to rescue his cousins who were kidnapped by cats, collecting cheese, and avoiding spikes, cages and pits. It didn’t get very high ratings, but I couldn’t put it down!
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