Category: Video Games

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Video Game #21 (Mario)

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The iconic character in video game history made its mark in a Donkey Kong arcade game as the ID of Plumber. He became more than that in the decades to come. From Platformers, any sport in the books, RPG’s even, you name it and they have it in store for you to try.

Mario transcends in the world phenomenon to be engaging to video game goers alike including myself. One of many was Super Mario 64 that taught children how to learn basic instructions. A simple matter of review, using it to progress through the game to defeat a long stride video game bad guy Bowser to save the princess. Toadstool was its original which still is used from time to time, but now she is namely Peach as many of you know her by.

Super Mario RPG was the first RPG in the Mario series in my opinion to show off that part of the generation of traditional games such as Final Fantasy and various others. You get a sense that Bowser isn’t really a bad guy in this one, better yet he joins you to take out a sinister threat that made his castle not usable for his evil ways. To make matters more interesting, a non-Final Fantasy character to this day I am not sure where he came from goes by the name Culex. It ironically plays Final Fantasy music when being fought which at the time was really cool. Onto the next genre of the series.

Super Smash Bros. is accountable as one of the best things to happen in video game history. It brought characters from iconic to unknown individuals that would end up eventually in their own game to become popular for a time. Various companies competed with this with games such as Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat, and more. A world phenomenon saw an even bigger picture on this given game that it made gaming communities to come together to create branches of various communities which is amazing.

Returning to RPG’s, Paper Mario really out done itself in its time. The 1st one is what you could expect: memorable Mario characters, areas, Bowser himself, and others. In the 2nd Paper Mario (known as Thousand Year Door), things took a very different turn which makes it the most intriguing thing in a Mario game. Very sinister plotting in this game was really something. When you come across something that is dangerous, they really mean it. When you successfully collect all seven relics known as Crystal Stars, the Thousand Year Door opens in a dark and disturbing matter. When entered, it plays a stinger that says you should not be here. Even your party members say something feels wrong and we probably shouldn’t be here. That means something in a video game, but you continue onward to see horrors that will transpire at the end of the tunnel. It turns out there was a being known as an Eldritch Abomination that came out of the tomb. It took over the host (that being Peach), and became the one thing Mario wanted to save only to see her as this thing taken over. For the first time in his hero career (and plumber), he lost. Eventually something remarkable happened. The people including his brother Luigi were encouraging him to not give up on the struggle against the ancient being known as the Shadow Queen. Mario did succeed but made it so he got help by others to guide through the fight. So it comes to show you that even Mario cannot always be on a winning streak and must call it quits from time to time.

I name many others but I would be ramble on and on so I made it clear that Mario became an icon in many ways in every video game goer’s view. To the question being what did you see when Mario came into the world of gaming? What is your favorite Mario genre and game thus far? Do you think it will continue to strife through more decades to come?

Thanks for your time and have a great week.

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Video Game #20 (Final Fantasy)

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A franchise that is the true meaning of fantasy (literary). Final Fantasy is to be considered the most influential towards the world and myself included. I personally have not played all of them but I get a sense of what they represent in their own game.

Starting off with FFI (Final Fantasy (whatever the number)), my buddy showed it to me but wasn’t able to play it through its entirety. You got yourself a basic story to get a group of members together and rescue the princess from evil bad guy (sound familiar?). After completing the task, it turns out the credits begin to roll, BUT the game continues to something more unique afterward. Sadly I wasn’t able to see the rest of it, but I got a sense of what story would come through just the 1st game.

FFII is not what I played, so not much is known on my experience.

FFIII I was being observant when my brother played it, and he said it is a hard Final Fantasy alongside various others.

FFIV was a Final Fantasy that a remaster in the Nintendo DS to which I did play it when I had one. Here’s the thing about this one: at first you don’t succeed train harder and try again. Or in the case of having a lot of luck on your side. That’s the 4th installment in a nutshell, good game nonetheless.

FFV was only watching videos on and not playing it. My brother showed my a few clips from it such as Gilgamesh’s debut into the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole. He showed me the villain Exdeath and one of your party members refuses to die and stays at 1 HP for an crazy event that occurs during the fight. Moving onto the next installment…

FFVI was what made Final Fantasy really what it is today. You got a kingdom, government, a world, and a particular character by the name Kefka. This fellow did the impossible: destroy the world and become god. That’s saying a lot since he was the guy behind the guy sequence. His maniacal laugh is infamous in all ways of direction of this particular character. Considered to be the best video game villain of all time past various video game bad guys I’ve seen.

FFVII was my first Final Fantasy that I played (surprised?) Great nostalgia from start to finish as controlling Cloud for the most part. This FF is notifiable of its characters, places, gameplay, music, you name it. Sephiroth being another iconic character as second best to Kefka as being the first (there I said it!). The most awesome thing that happened in this Final Fantasy was a move called Super Nova. When this triggers, it is a 2:06 animation. Seeing for the first time is amazing, after a while you can go somewhere and come back to it when it finished.

FFVIII was a heard from case scenario. Saw it at my brothers old buddy’s house and showed the ending sequence that being the final boss. His buddy wanted to show us a super attack called Lionheart which was the coolest thing in this Final Fantasy game. An odd and yet interesting story I’ve heard too which I might come to play it in the near future. Also would like to end with if you intend to do the “trading card” side quest, you are up for many mistakes on the way and a lot of luck.

FFIX was the case that I played it and didn’t get very far which is quite a shame. I for the most part watched my brothers play it to which I enjoyed watching of course. This was also the case of doing the segment over and over again until you complete the task so that was annoying. This Final Fantasy holds the most unique and hardest bosses in the franchise: Ozma. Does level matter, yes. Does skill matter, yes. Do you need a lot of luck, absolutely. This Final Fantasy marked the end of your traditional aspect to the genre.

FFX was the second Final Fantasy I played. This Final Fantasy marked as the first of the genre to have voice acting, cinematic experience, a brand new battle system, and various other attributes. Very notable characters, story doesn’t pick up until the end to which was a bad thing however in this one it was still an excellent game nonetheless. That dang Blitzball is one of most annoying and hard minigame to this day. However, it holds the best overlimit ability to one of the party members Wakka so something to consider in your playthroughs for one day. If you so happen to love playing Blitzball, have at it.

FFXI is a Final Fantasy I have not played so moving on.

FFXII is a game that introduced another new system that would apply to future Final Fantasies: Real time combat. It was good while it started out in this particular one, I personally thought it would change this franchise as a whole (to which it did). I like to end this with a boss that is for the ages: Yiazmat. Grab food, drinks, cause it is going to be a long and hard encounter. Time is 30-35 minutes so good luck with that.

FFXIII, XIV and XV are only watchable in my time so not much to talk about. I’ve only heard of things too from my brother and a buddy of mine and that is it.

So the question is what is your favorite Final Fantasy? Character? Event? Boss? Music? Until then, see you next time.

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Video Game #19 (Donkey Kong)

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Donkey Kong is an extravaganza to behold. From the arcade to the long platformer of the decades to racing for a time to various cameos. Aside from Mario as the plumber to save the distressed Princess Toadstool (eventually would be called Peach), Donkey Kong left himself a mark in video game history.

It begins in a arcade room filled with wonders beyond imagining. I was considered to be the last generation to witness such toys to see and play with at that given time. It was a good feeling, because now looking back it took away the activeness of going somewhere and play round after round and have a good time. Doesn’t seem the case nowadays, however parties are gathered from peoples houses to play this given genre and many others from that arcade room. Over time it would consider to be history in the making as they all say. Back to the present.

My story really starts at a game of this given franchise called Donkey Kong Country. Whether it was day time or night time, Donkey Kong Country rings sounds to my ears. Very memorable platformer in its prime (still is to this day). Made various sequels to which I did not play because it felt not the same to me. Still great games, just the first one was enough.

Jumping to the second generation of Nintendo, the N64. Good old Donkey Kong 64, a game that always has something fun and entertaining to see, watch and play of course. From levels, mini-games, multiplayer, bosses, puzzles, you name it, it was all presentable very well. The only thing to this day is how I never understood this was the case, but you have to do those very old arcade games to get those N64 coins to just to complete the story to fight the final boss (granted he was worth the patience). People are glad that those are still presented from time to time in current video games.

I like to finish up by saying Diddy Kong racing would have been a fantastic spin-off if it kept going instead of disconnected from being bought out by another corporation. But at the time, it was what it had to be done I guess. Still bothers me that it could have been more if it was just their own corporation to be left alone and continue without interruption. Sadly, I am just one individual and have no control of that kind of stuff. So we are presented of what we have and enjoy it.

What was your most memorable moment of Donkey Kong franchise from its birth in the arcade room? Is it still doing fine in the gaming industry today in your mind? As always, have a great week.

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Video Game #18 (Yoshi’s Island)

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A classic platformer of the ages made this game title a nostalgia train ride. Yoshi makes a solo game debut about his adventures with baby Mario to get him home and move through various obstacles. What I enjoyed about this game was that revisiting old levels, unlock the bonus mini-games in each world. etc.

One of the things I applaud for was its difficulty. Each level of every world gets gradually harder. Get a selection of enemies, obstacles, and eventually see all of them put together in a massive cluster of fun. Each boss of course made things unique by doing a certain action or strategy developed by you as the player. It does give hints on every boss, but won’t give you the answer unless you try it. At first you don’t succeed, try it again.

A platformer such as Yoshi’s Island took a few years to beat. It makes you want to have a break from it then eventually come back to it later. In the end, this was the case because you as the video game player see what cool mechanics and crazy strategy presented in other video games as to apply to this given game. Looking at it as a hard core platformer gamer, there have been times that it turns out all you had to do was do this action rather than develop your own. Sadly it is a long time habit to just complete the game and move on to the next thing which is beyond your control.

How has platformer games changed over the years? A question asked from time to time. But anyways, see you next time.

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Video Game #17 (Wario Land)

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It was first under the “Super Mario Land” sub franchise but quickly became its own game genre. Wario Land was the bomb back in those days. A game so that everything balances out gameplay wise so you know how that goes on platformer games.

In Wario Land 2 (my personal favorite Wario Land game), it is firstly play it through and see what you as the player can do. Because there are different routes that triggers different endings. The game will show you the timeline of events of the levels that you did and did not complete. Guess what, discover them to explore different results and it is fun and funny all in a good time.

Wario Land 3 and the most frustrating thus far, this particular one makes you visit the same areas from time to time to extend more of the level. Whether weather change, more obstacles, or reach for previous things that were out of reach unless you had an ability to do it. Bosses were a pain, however fun, just hair pull every failed attempt. Great game, just a lot of backtracking as you progress through the game.

The last Wario Land I played was obviously the fourth installment. In this one is memorizing the level because there’s a game mechanic called time, cause it based around the story. It gets harder every level and if you screw up, it’s back to the beginning of the level and that can be frustrating. Fun installment, just a lot of time constrains to get through each level.

There were other Wario Land games but did not continue with it after the fourth one. Four Wario Lands as enough for me. So, what was your experience of Wario Land as a whole to take a break from Mario? What was favorite one of the series? As always, have a great week.

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Video Game #16 (Legend of Zelda)

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Riding back on the nostalgia train this week with this title. This was my first video game that I came in contact with when I was young. Let us start with Ocarina of Time. It is still considered the #1 video game in my VG history books with many, many others. A great inspiration of gaming as a whole really which brought various game genres we see today. Enough said about that one, so onto the next.

Oracle of Ages and Seasons were a blast from the past. These two were a long and patient games as to go back and forth between destinations, wait for events to occur, and the dungeons were a headache if in the habit of dying alot (which was the case in my playthroughs). Turning the page of another blast from the past.

Link to the Past was Oracle of Ages and Seasons first generation (as to where Link’s Awakening is based from Oracle of Ages and Seasons as the second generation in my personal basis). It felt like you get thrown into something massive without seeing the bigger picture. There were at times it was annoying to get to where you need to go and dungeons were the usual.

Moving on to Majora’s Mask. This particular Zelda game was time based cause it is the end of the world scenario and you know how that goes. Knowing how to work around it takes a little effort (nowadays everyone knows that concept). I find this Zelda game interesting and annoying at the same time that you have to do the same event over and over again since you sometimes have to call in a retreat (as in rewind time).

Continuing on to Four Swords Adventure. It was a side game on the Link to the Past if I remember correctly until it got its own game years later. Now, the kicker for this Zelda game is there is multiplayer of the story so things can get really crazy such as stealing your gems. There’s a voting event at the end of each level so have at it blaming on that person.

Wind Waker, ah, yes, Wind Waker. I was A LITTLE skeptical when introduced to this one, for which reasons is unknown. All and all, it was fun from start to finish. Just one thing, I hate collecting the triforce pieces which took a millennia (literally) but then the end game was awesome so it is worth your time. I believe they made it easier in the HD Remaster so no more spending months and years finding every last one of them.

Finally, the last Zelda I played was Twilight Princess. I saw Nintendo take an even darker approach which they succeed. There were a few gameplay elements that were odd, but dealt with it like any other video game. I wasn’t in love with this one, but was fun to interact with since it came out on the latest Nintendo Wii back in the day.

There were a couple of others I didn’t name because I did not play them or had them in my possession. The only Zelda game I would like to play at this time is Skyward Sword. Things are seen differently before Ocarina of Time I hear and considered to be filled of interesting moments in that one so I will check it out in the near future.

What is your favorite Zelda game so far? Until then, see you next time.

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Video Game #15 (Mass Effect)

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Let be clear that this TRILOGY was entertaining to the last. My experience of Mass Effect went off the charts when it came to story progression and its gameplay elements. Based on decisions that you as the player made throughout each game affects the story which was really something. Of course not everything isn’t as specific as you might think it is because it leads up to the same course of action on the long run. So you can consider it filler at given times of dialogue and scenes witnessed, but still considered to a fantastic experience nonetheless.

The first game was a nerve wreck as graphics and mechanics weren’t perfect but surprisingly held up. Great climax and ending overall so no doubt it is worth playing. Though I will admit that the water animation (physics) were surprisingly the best I’ve seen in a video game so applause to EA (Electronic Arts) on that. Mass Effect 2 was jaw dropping from start to finish thus the graphics were fixed for the most part. Excellent DLC’s (namely The Lair of the Shadow Broker) and striking ending of the 2nd installment. Between the guy pulling the strings from the 1st and 2nd game, I enjoy the 2nd the most in the transition to the 3rd installment.

Now onto Mass Effect 3. Very enjoyable from the start up to the confrontation of the Illusive Man (2nd guy string from earlier). The ending of the trilogy was a particular nerve wreck that decision making is no longer existent to which I understand perfectly. Was not thrilled of the outcome, but it could have been worse I thought to myself. One things for sure: The Illusive Man was right all along (if that ending was chosen).

So what was your memorable moment of the Mass Effect Trilogy? Good, bad, neutral? Have a great week.

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Video Game #14 (The Last of Us)

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Guess people were expecting me to talk about this game huh? Well you got yourself a blog post about it. I just finished it and as much as I am not obsessed with it, it was a emotional feel from start to finish. The chemistry between the main characters Joel and Ellie were remarkable. Whether an adult feels depressed of all that has happened, the kid finds a way to keep them moving forward and vice versa. This defined the storyline as a whole and interesting when I experienced it firsthand. Gameplay was what you can expect so do not need to go into much detail.

Otherwise, there will be a second one coming out since it was recently announced and people geeked out about it. So I have in hopes to everyone who has played this game will enjoy what the second installment will have in store. I’ll come across it eventually, so won’t be doing a person brief summary on the sequel anytime soon. So what was it in people’s minds about how the relationship between adult and child in a situation of survival? If you want my opinion, it is fate and a lot of luck.

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Video Game #13 (Rayman 2)

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Now this particular game brings back nostalgia as this was accounted as one of the hardest video games in its prime (to I think it still is). Rayman 2 is the one and only game in this given franchise that I played. I saw other people play various Rayman games but nothing compared to this one.

Let me start by saying that you get one shot on obstacles and thankfully not all enemy combat. Treat it as a no damage run in any video game to date and that’s Rayman for you.

The gameplay is what is presented from other versions of the game, notably the N64 (Nintendo 64) and Playstation respectively. It displays various objectives, however there is a slight difference between the two. There’s stuff on the N64 that is harder than the Playstation and vice versa. Levels change on which game console you play on and there could be more content on the other. You won’t know until you play it through once on both the N64 and Playstation. What game console I would prefer on this given game you might ask? Well, there are amazing stuff that happens in both but will be going for the N64 since that was all I had back in the day.

How would you define nostalgia as a general basis? Does Rayman apply to your list of video game classics? And as always, have a great week.

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Video Game #12 (Metal Gear Solid 4)

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I finally got the chance to explore MGS (Metal Gear Solid), in this case MGS4. I am not very good in shooter games as much as I was years ago. Not able to play the previous games prior to the fourth one made things very difficult to follow, but thankfully the game talked about past events leading up to the “now moment”.

Let me start by saying that gameplay was a little slim as in not much of it. I personally didn’t really care for it for me really which made cutscenes to be more engaging the moment they are on screen. I have witnessed the longest ending in video game history which is amazing. I applaud for it as it came to a close.

In the past, I see other people play or show me stuff from this given franchise on the web. To see something in a perspective in my view of it took longer than it had to. Otherwise, I did enjoy it and seeing stuff that were told. Whether it was truthful or not, doesn’t matter to me.

Those of you who have played the franchise, what was your experience when it came to the gaming industry? With that, until next time.