Metroid: A Retrospective

Guess what comes out on the 31st? Metroid: Other M. I’ll have a review for that eventually, but in the meantime, I wanted to take the time to write about my experiences with the Metroid series, a series that is seriously fantastic. It may be surprisingly, but the Metroid series has in recent years become a much larger success in teh USA rather than its home ocuntry of Japan. How odd. If you’ve played a Metroid game or two, you probably already know how good the franchise is. If you haven’t played a Metroid game before, then great, this will be new territory for you. Let’s head to outer space and follow Samus around for her various missions, today for my Metroid retrospective.

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My Pokemon Team Over The Years

I’ve been thinking about Pokemon a lot lately. Part of this is because of the nice commenters on the Best Of and Worst Of Pokemon lists I posted a while ago. People were mad about which ten I liked best, and equally mad about the ten I liked least. So I figured I’d finally come out and show what my teams were over the many years I’ve been playing. This includes only the Game Boy and DS games since the games on the GameCube were, well, meh. These are the versions I owned and played, and this list isn’t intended to be a “Best Pokemon Strategies” retrospective, but rather a “This Is How I Got Through The Games” retrospective. So kick back and enjoy a nice trip down memory road.

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Forget-Me-Nots: Tie Fighter

Computers were nothing more than an advanced video game system when I was a young boy. My brother had his sports games (“NBA Jam” mostly) and I had “Star Wars: Tie Fighter.”

Released in 1994, “Tie Fighter” was the sequel to “Star Wars: X-Wing” and was the first Star Wars game that put you in the role of the Galactic Empire. They may have been bad, but the game was nothing short of awesome, and I submit it as the best flight simulator ever.

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Spring-loaded Serenade: Exploring Nerf

Funny how toys come about, isn’t it? As we all learned last week, Mr. Potato Head started as cereal prizes attached to real vegetables. A similar history surrounds the foam-based line of projectile (toy) weapons and soft sports balls: Nerf.

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Smash Bros: A Retrospective

The idea of all my favorite Nintendo stars fighting each other in one big game was a concept I never imagined would become a reality. Even now I’m a little skeptical that it really exists, and furthermore, that it’s straight-up awesome. But somehow Super Smash Bros is a real thing and for that I couldn’t be happier. So to start a Monday off right, how about a Super Smash Bros Retrospective? That’s what I thought.

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Zelda: A Retrospective Part 1

If there’s any series I love more than Mario, it’s the Legend of Zelda. I’ve been a fan for years now and I’m guaranteed to play each new title as it comes out, regardless of my preference for the art style or any other factors. I just have to play me some Zelda. Well, as predicted, Nintendo showed off the new Zelda title at E3 this year, the Skyward Sword, and I’m pretty excited. So much so that I decided to give my own little Zelda retrospective. So here it is, grab your magic bags and Master Swords and let’s take a trip to Hyrule.

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Guys and Dolls: A Male’s Retrospective on Barbie

If you haven’t been paying attention, I’m a boy. Shocking, yes? I was born a boy, grew up a boy, and am currently still a boy. This is relevant because today I’m going to talk about Barbies. What could a boy possibly say about Barbies? Plenty, because while I grew up as a boy, all my friends were girls. Plus, Barbie is still incredibly popular these days, so it’s time for a follow-up article to the most famous girls’ toy from a boy’s perspective. Grab your pink convertible and let’s go for a ride. Read more

Apples to Apples, Dust to Dust: An Apples to Apples Retrospective

For a while in high school I had friends that became obsessed with the game Apples to Apples. It was the only game anyone would bring to parties anymore and the only game people would specifically ask for at said parties. In fact, people would plan parties around playing this game. So for me, I was hesitant to enjoy this game, assuming it was a fad. But was it? It still sells well to this very day. Let’s learn more. Read more

Crash Bandicoot: A Retrospective Part 2

Make sure to read part 1 before reading part 2 today!

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Crash Bandicoot: A Retrospective Part 1

Long ago in a console war far far away, the dynasties of Nintendo and Sega were at a stale mate. Leading SNES was legendary jump man Super Mario, while the flag of Genesis was single handedly kept up by the demon of speed Sonic the Hedgehog. In their never ending battle for dominance, they monopolized the entire interactive entertainment industry with no sign of slowing down (and for Sonic, that was quite literally). As the VG Universe nears toward the verge of a whole new generation (the 5th one to be exact), Nintendo sought out the allegiance of Sony for the construction of a whole new disc-powered gaming device to combat Sega’s new machine, the Saturn. Sony agreed, and began the blue prints of what would become the Nintendo Play Station. But just as the technology was within their grasp and all their hard work was about to pay off, Nintendo pulled the plug. They had been secretly giving their money and characters to Phillips behind their backs to work on the same thing. With no one to turn to, would Sony let everything they worked for die in vain?

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