10 video games that made my life gayer (#2): Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy wasn't the first RPG I ever played, but it was the first RPG I enjoyed.

Although I played through Dragon Warrior shortly after it was released in the States--all the way back in 1989--I didn't fall head over heels in love with the RPG genre until I worked my way through the formidable Final Fantasy about a year later.

I can't remember exactly what it was about the latter game that prompted that change of heart, but I have a feeling its visible party members--not to mention visible spells and weapons--had something to do with it. (I've always been a sucker for such superficialities.) The title's deeper, more engaging story--compared to Dragon Quest and other RPGs of the time, at least--and eternally memorable tunes (such as this nasty little earworm) likely played a role, too.

All of those features and then some bring me back to the original NES version of Final Fantasy--I'm not a big fan of the GBA, PSone or PSP remakes--on an annual basis, despite the fact that the game is, as many critics and gamers proclaim (and complain), archaically clunky.

Even if I didn't regularly respond to Final Fantasy's siren call, though, it would have earned a place on this list--and in my heart--simply because it's the game that turned me into a lifelong RPG fan(atic).

See also: '10 video games that made my life gayer (#1): Bubble Bobble'

16 + 63 = 1,000?

The equation above makes sense when you realize the 16 stands for the good ol' TurboGrafx-16 system, the 63 stands for the number of TurboChip (aka HuCard) games being sold in this craigslist ad and the 1,000 stands for the amount of money you'll have to fork over for the whole shebang--a TurboGrafx-16 system plus the 63 aforementioned games--to be yours.

By the way, a number of those 63 games are absolute winners, including (but not limited to) Air Zonk, Alien Crush, Blazing Lazers, the first two Bonk titles, Legendary Axe, Military Madness and Splatterhouse. A few of them aren't complete (i.e., they're missing a manual and/or a case), but it's still a pretty good deal--if you have 1,000 bucks to blow.

(Via retro-treasures.blogspot.com)

'A totally terrific tribute to Taito'

While scouring the web for Bubble Bobble screenshots yesterday (that's when I wrote my inaugural '10 video games that made my life gayer' post), I came across "a totally terrific tribute to Taito."

The site caught my attention because, as its name suggests, it doesn't just cover Bubble Bobble but (almost) all of Taito's arcade hits (and a few misses, too) from the '70s, '80s and '90s--including Liquid Kids (aka Mizubaku Daibouken), The New Zealand Story and Rainbow Islands.

Another reason the site stopped me in my tracks: It introduced me to a Taito-developed game--The Fairyland Story--that, until yesterday, I'd never heard of. (I just played it via MAME--yes, I'm a dirty pirate--and found it pretty enjoyable, even if it doesn't exactly hold a candle to similar games that followed it, like Bubble Bobble and Don Doko Don.)

Anyway, I recommend checking out the site if you're at all interested in classic arcade games.

10 video games that made my life gayer (#1): Bubble Bobble

I have a distinct--and rather fond--childhood memory of regularly running down to my hometown bowling alley to play a few rounds (or more) of Bubble Bobble.

Sure, said bowling alley sported a number of newer, more graphically impressive arcade games that I could have blown my allowance on, but for various reasons I almost always fed my handful of quarters to the establishment's beat-up Bubble Bobble machine instead.

Why? Well, it starred a so-cute-it-was-sick green dinosaur, for starters. Also, that dinosaur blew bubbles--and then used those bubbles to encapsulate the game's similarly cute-as-buttons enemies. Sealing the deal was that, when defeated, those formerly encapsulated enemies would transform into anything and everything edible--including bananas, cakes, martinis and sushi. (I've been a bit obsessed with such things ever since my first experience with Tōru Iwatani's fruit-gobbling Pac-Man.)

Bubble Bobble had more going for it than charming visuals, of course. It also had catchy tunes and tight controls. (The latter being a necessity given the game's challenging nature.)

For me, though, all of the above-mentioned "features" pale in comparison to the warm-and-fuzzy feeling of nostalgia that washes over me as soon as the game's start-up jingle begins to play.

See also: 'Bookmark this site, too (101videogames. wordpress.com)'

This is what I thought I was getting when I bought an NES

Actually, that's not true. By the time I bought an NES, I knew I was getting that iconic gray box (and a copy of Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt). For some time before that, though, I thought I was getting this:



By the way, the "M82 Demo Kiosk" in the video above is being sold via eBay. (Here's a link to the auction.) The current bid, with about two days to go, is $2,000.

Yeah, I think I'll stick to playing NES games on my Wii.

(Via gonintendo.com)