When I was in elementary school, times were very different. I only had one console, and the controller only had two buttons. There was no Kotaku or Joystiq. Getting a new video game was a rare treat, not a Friday evening. My parents would surprise me with games they’d purchase while I was at school, hand-picked not based on review scores or my own personal requests, but whether the box art was something that would appeal to me or not. I acquired some pretty rad NES games that way, but one stands out in my mind as being extremely special: Trog!

So I just got done playing some of the old Capcom NES Disney games. Rescue Rangers, DuckTales… man, those are STILL good games. The gameplay is still solid, the music is among the best ever on the NES, and they were based on awesome cartoons.

Now I really want a Hi-C and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

EDIT: Haha, April Fools!

So I’ve been talking to people from all around the world since I started PK Bloggin’!, because no matter where you are, there’s people who love games. I was talking to a young lady from Japan, Yonichi Kiyotsukete, about how much we love old platformers, and she told me something I had never known: Japanese side-scrollers go from right to left, instead of left to right.

She said that’s how they’ve always been, but when the games are released in Western countries, they’re flipped. In Japan, books are read from right to left, so it’s how they naturally perceive progression. However, Japanese game companies didn’t think Western audiences would get that same sense of progression and adventure from going the opposite way that they’re used to reading, so the games are flipped before their North American and European releases.

This was actually why there was a push for 3D games, because they would never need to be flipped! Pretty neat, huh?

This past Valentine’s Day, I received the most romantic gift ever: A boxed Sega Game Gear with a copy of NBA Jam and a rechargeable battery pack. I’ve known for a while that I was marrying the right woman, and this is just another example of the choir being preached to.

The Game Gear is a handheld system, but I wouldn’t call it “portable,” even by early 90’s standards. The thing is comfortable in your hands, but it’s still bulky and there’s no WAY this thing would fit into your pocket, especially considering how tight everyone wore their pants back then (well, everyone except MC Hammer).

Lunar: The Silver Star, Silver Star Story, Silver Star Story Complete, Lunar Legend, and now, Silver Star Harmony…

As you can probably guess from that list, the first game in the Lunar saga has a bit of a convoluted history, with more remakes and rereleases than you can shake a stick at. There’s alot of argument among fans about which version is the best, and non-veterans of the series generally have no clue where to begin as a result. Despite all this, Lunar’s popularity these days is still quite a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps it is even because of that thriving fanbase that we’re about to get yet another installment in the series: Lunar: Silver Star Harmony.

I was at the mall today for GameStop’s Pokémon event (don’t worry, I didn’t buy anything) and I stopped in the comic shop we frequent. They have some used games, all older titles, since they only want to carry what GameStop doesn’t. There’s been some cool stuff in there, but today I found a Sega Game Gear for $15. I love collecting old games and systems, and I am a huge Sega fan, so I’m going back tomorrow to get it. The only reason I didn’t buy it today was because we were in kind of  a rush and the comic store had one guy working and he was running around doing a million things already. Anyway, I was immediately reminded of this commercial, which I am now aware stars Ethan Suplee:

I was a Sega Kid. I had an NES, but when the 16-bit wars kicked into high gear, my best friend already had a Super NES, so I got a Genesis so we could play everything. Then he turned into a jerk and we stopped being friends, so it was just me and my Genesis. Of course, you had to talk a lot of smack back then so I loved the Sega commercials and ads that ripped on Nintendo.

My, the times, how they change.

EarthBound, released for the Super NES in 1995, is the very definition of a cult classic. Plenty of games have a strong fan following, but I can’t think of any other game that has a group of fans that are as passionate and dedicated as EarthBound does. Their love for the game, and the series as a whole, is so genuine and so deep, it’s a spectacular testament to creator Shigesato Itoi’s ability to strike a very personal chord with every player with his masterful storytelling.

Many of today’s EarthBound fans are in their mid to late 20s, having played the game for the first time when they were young. I’ve seen a few people on message boards talk about how playing through EarthBound once a year has been a tradition for them since the first time they booted it up.

I love EarthBound, as you can probably gather from the name and layout of the blog. It’s in my top 10 games of all time. Unlike many other fans, though, I don’t have fond memories of buying the game in 1995 and marveling at its giant box. I didn’t get to smell the scratch and sniff cards that came with the strategy guide. I don’t have the Mach Pizza Air Freshener. I didn’t play EarthBound when I was a kid. I didn’t get to play it until I was 24.

For me, one of the main draws of the Wii was the Virtual Console. Not only does it make playing old games more convenient by letting me play them all from one system, but it also gives me the opportunity to pay again for things I already own.

My favorite system of all time is the Nintendo 64. My two favorite games ever are Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, plus the system plays host to a ton of other games I love, like Mario Kart 64, Pokémon Puzzle League, and more I could list that you would get bored reading very quickly.

The biggest hurdle when it comes to enjoying Nintendo 64 games on my Wii is the controls. Playing Super Mario 64 with the Classic Controller or GameCube controller just doesn’t feel right. Sin & Punishment is nearly impossible to play on either, since it was one of the few games to use the “left” orientation on the Nintendo 64 controller, using the d-pad and control stick simultaneously. For the other consoles represented on the Virtual Console, there are great controller substitutes. We have the Wii Remote which is a great substitute for the NES controller when you turn it sideways, and the Classic Controller feels just like a SNES controller with a couple analog sticks thrown in for good measure. Nintendo 64 games, though, really don’t work.