Live 1/2 NES-a-thon!

NES-a-thon is typically a term used to describe 24-hour non-stop NES sessions. This has always been a goal of mine. I know that I won't make 24 hours today... but I'm pretty sure I can use today as my practice 1/2 NES-a-thon! (Marathon runners do the half marathon thing... same concept here).

Come check it out in my twitch channel (www.twitch.tv/Robot2600), or just watch it here on 8-Bit City. If you actually go to twitch, however, you can chat, yell at me, curse, and be a general public nuisance. I would obviously go that route, but the choice is yours!

I'm going to start things off with Castlevania 3. If you have a request I'll play at least a few minutes of it. I'm not uptight or elitists like some twitch bcasters either. Unlike some of the bigger streamers, words and "spam" don't bother me and your insane antics will only serve to amuse and delight.

So let's talk about the games a bit. I've never beaten Castlevania 3, although I'm getting better at it every day. Lately I've been playing SMB3, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, and Rygar... so expect those guys to show up over the next 12 hours.

Hopefully, with this practice session I will be able to complete one of my life goals: to play NES for 24 hours, stream it live, and document the entire thing with text as well. I don't have a set date yet, but maybe in a few days? Let's do 12 hours first.

Here is the live stream for today:

NES Streaming Live Tonight

While play Dwarf Fortress I've been listening to this list of the top 70 NES songs on repeat, and can no longer go another minute without playing some NES. The D0RFs will last, for now. Castlevania, Mega Man, and Adventure Island here I come!

Taking requests for games to play also.

It's live now @ www.twitch.tv/Robot2600

Colecovision Wizard's Quest

The first "Metroidvania," Metroid and later Castlevania, among others, would eventually copy this classic' style and sense of exploration.

Top 10 Budget DS Games to Buy Other People or Yourself, or, a Cyber-Monday Video Game Guide to the DS

You've got friends, children, people, and they need video games. They've probably got a DS, but you honestly don't know what they hell to buy them. Maybe your on a budget and don't want to waste a chunk of change for a crap game. This list is in no particular order, because I've tried to offer a variety of genres for everyone.

These are the games that define the DS.



#10 Final Fantasy III

You really can't go wrong with Final Fantasy III. The commercials for this game really showed off the power of the DS, and made this Famicom classic come to life. Everyone was waiting for Final Fantasy III to come out, and about 5 of my friends bought it on launch day. I was the first one to complete the game--3 months later. This adventure will always be remembered by anyone who conquers the crystal tower, and is a must-have for the DS. It's been out for years, so you can find it cheap.





#9 Contra 4

I remember the E3 announcement for Contra 4: gamers were stunned. A new golden age in retro releases and rehashes was beginning, and Contra 4 helped get us there! Contra 4 is sidescrolling action perfected, and if your buddy has the cart multiplayer mode can be a blast.

#8 Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow (and, sure, the others)

My personal favorite Castlevania, and one of the games that convinced me to buy a DS. Metroidvania gameplay is perfected, and a few stylus gimmicks keep things fresh. This of this game as Symphony of the Night on crack, and you're approaching Dawn of Sorrow. You can summon Death's Scythes, swarms of demonic locusts, and fire a 9mm handgun and rocket launch ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Need I say more? It's got more modes and difficulties than you'll know what to do with; well over 50 hours to complete everything.




#7 Sonic Rush

Another early DS game, and not a bad entry in the Sonic series. Unlike some of the more recent flops, Sonic Rush holds up as a Sonic game, and manages to be worthy of Genesis comparison. For those who are tired of Sonic 1, 2, and 3, Sonic Rush would be a much better option than Sonic 4 of Sonic Unleashed or Sonic Colors.





#6 Dragon Quest 9

Not a port; this is a full-fledged original entry in the Dragon Quest series. RPG fans will appreciate the standard JRPG grind fest and explorative adventure. Some people hate it, others love. Personally, I lament the loss of what this game could have been: an online action RPG--until fans backlashed and the game was redesigned. They listened to the fans, but I wish they hadn't. DQXI is a solid entry, and great fun on the DS.





#5 Chrono Trigger

A timeless classic. Considered by many to be the greatest game of all time. Either you've already got an opinion on Chrono Trigger, or you need to play this game. The DS version is far superior to the Playstation port; this game is recommended to all! I've seen this game for 5 bucks at stores, so you've got to be able to find it.




#4 Kirby Canvas Curse

A game that uses the stylus with style. Either all gimmick or no gimmick, Kirby Canvas Curse is still the best Kirby game on the Nintendo DS, and, in my opinion, the best Kirby game of all time if we don't count Super Smash Brothers Brawl. This one might be a little more rare, but if you see this game this holiday season, you might want to grab it for a gamer.








#3 Retro Game Challenge

If 8-Bit City were a video game, it would be something like Retro Game Challenge. Actually, if 8-Bit City were a game, it would be Star Quest. Expectantly, Star Quest and Retro Game Challenge feature a similar mechanic: games within the games; except in Retro Game Challenge you get magazines and new cart as you grow up as a young kid playing the Famicom. It's stranger than that, but this game is without a doubt one of the best on the DS, and reason enough to buy a used DS Lite or something.






#2 Meteos

The best puzzler around, and it's for the Nintendo DS. Meteos is half space shooter, half puzzle game, and all action. You need twitch reflexes and pattern recognition skills for this one. Improve your mind, play Meteos!






#1 Contact

The most underrated game for the DS, Contact went barely noticed. It still enjoys a cult following, and you can probably find it haunting a Gamestop this year. Contact breaks the forth wall, and recognizes that the player is playing the game and communicating with space aliens via a device called the Nintendo DS. It gets weirder from that, as you possess a boy from another dimension and turn him into a killing machine, all to help a dubious 8-Bit scientist. Contact engages the player directly, you can't help but love this game. If you're buying someone a gift for the DS, make it Contact--this might be the last year you'll be able to find this rare gem. It's sure to be worth quite a bit in the future, and will likely be sought after by collectors as an essential piece of the DS library.

Super Castlevania IV Nintendo Power Scans

Scans from the January 1992 Nintendo Power covering Super Castlevania IV. I still love the layouts and the artwork they worked into their magazine spreads.

Super Castlevania IV is the shit, what more can I say? It's got the smoothest whip action in any 2-D Castlevania, a ridiculous amount of levels, great difficulty curve, amazing music, and if you haven't played it you should probably do so immediately. Don't even read the last paragraph, you could be playing Super Castlevania IV.

Anyway, enjoy the gallery! Click the images for the full size.

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth

I just remembered that this game launched last year but I forgot about it. I'm finishing up my semester and I think it's time to download this game.

[Goes to download]

It's supposed to be a remake of the Gameboy game, but with updated graphics. I'd actually prefer older graphics, but Castlevania did find a nice look with 32-Bit level sprites, so I'll keep an open mind. Initial Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth thoughts in a few hours.

[Next morning]

The game appears solid enough, I only managed to beat 3 levels last night before I fell asleep. It's full-on Castlevania nostalgia trip, and the game even has an option to play with Castlevania 1-style jumping. I prefer the ability to slightly move in the air. I don't really enjoy the artificial challenge of poor controls, but Castlevania has always been an exception. The monsters don't move too fast anyway, only Medusa Heads and crap like that really present a problem.

The graphics and sound are both nice, but a little bland. It's almost like playing a watered-down Rondo of Blood. Just as I'm typing that, I realize that Rondo of Blood was, in fact, released for the VC and it's 100 points cheaper. Go buy that if you want a Castlevania game, but The Adventure ReBirth still offers a fun experience.

[A few hours later...]

I came home determined to play more Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, but I decided that 9 dollars for Rondo of Blood was too good an offer to pass up. So, you can get 2 really good Castlevania games for 19 bucks. That's still cheaper than some sort of collection disc they might release. You can certainly emulate Dracula X: Rondo of Blood using Magic Engine, but I've found the sound to periodically get really fuzzy. I don't own a PSP either, so that was out of the question. But having Rondo of Blood on my Wii is only a click away from Mega Man 9 and 10, and that's pretty cool.

I had to move Adventure Island: The New Beginning to the SD card to make room to download the Rondo of Blood CD Rom from the Wii Store. I hope the sound quality is nice, judging by the large file size (273 blocks!) it should be on par with The Dynastic Hero.



[and, finally]

The sound quality is fantastic, I'm also pleased to see they didn't translate the game. I prefer not knowing exactly what the characters say, but I do understand a bit of German and a little Japanese, plus I'm sure the pictures explain exactly what's happening anyway.

Rondo of Blood is hard, I remember it being easy. I must have been using save states, but the game is as fresh as ever. Super Castlevania 4 comes close, but doesn't quite measure up. Plus, despite the kawaii factor, Maria is really fun to play as. She moves like Alucard in Symphony, and is much stronger than Richter. You can unlock her in Stage 2, just get the key from the second candle after the first pit while being chased by half of the behemoth. The graphics and level design are top notch, and even though it's basically a linear platformer, you'll feel like you're exploring a large castle because of the multiple paths, secret levels, and optional secrets.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is the latest entry in Konami's (as far as I'm concerned) best franchise. Taking a page from Symphony of the Night, it continues the Metroidvania formula, but adds multiple levels to the mix. It's similar to Portrait of Ruin in that respect, but is much more focused, cohesive, and enjoyable. The lead female protagonist, Shonoa, is a refreshing change, but, unfortunately, doesn't get much characterization because of story-related issues.



Having recently defeated Dracula (i.e. last night), I've just started to explore the extra content that makes Castlevania games so damn enjoyable/replayable. You've got Albus mode (a teleporting gunslinger), hard mode, level caps, new game + and a boss rush mode; all unlockable after completing the main quest. I could go on and on describing the various aspects of this cart, but, and I hate to say it, it's really similar to the other titles in the series. What's impressive, is that this game still feels fresh. I recommend this title to anyone with a DS (though if you haven't played Dawn of Sorrow, you're probably better off starting there).



There was a time when I thought 2D gaming was dead for good. Today, not many gamers fear for the fate of platformers, and its titles like Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Contra 4, and Mega Man 9 keep the genre alive in the commercial world. Indie games also embrace the 2D game, arguably out of technical limitations, but perhaps out of a love for the gameplay and an aesthetic appreciation less dimensions. It's nice to see 2D gaming develop as a distinctive style and maintain momentum in modern time.

I wish I had the time to go through all of the extra modes, but they will have to wait for a few weeks. My list of games to play is out of control. Want an idea of how bad it is? I've started (and would really like to finish in the next 6 months) Chrono Cross (need to completely restart because its been so long), Twilight Princess, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, Ys: Book I & II, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Final Fantasy 9 (once again, I've got to restart it), Final Fantasy 7: Dirge of Cerberus, Yoshi's Island DS, Super Paper Mario (on the LAST level), Dragon Quest 8 (have to restart, been waaay too long) and La-Mulana.



There really is a superfluity of great games out there, and trying to play them all does lead to over-consumeration of video games. Yes, games are a commodity, but they are also art, and require a large time investment to be fully appreciated. Also, plenty of games are made and given away free (see, Cave Story, 8-Bit Killer, Hasslevania) so the idea that video games are purely a commodity is obviously flawed. I don't play games to waste time, I play games to better understand life, video games, software, art, programming, music, visual arts, design and to enjoy time spent.



Yesterday I began playing through Septerra Core, and ancient RPG from 1999 that was incredibly overlooked, which I started in about 2001 but never finished.

I needed an RPG to slow me down a bit and relax from all the twitch gameplay I'm so fond of. Thus far it is nothing short of amazing. I am only 2 hours into it, but plan on playing for 6 hours after this post. It's an ambitious title with a unique setting, interesting characters, and a serious storyline.



It's got a healthy dose of nostalgia, because I can remember fragments shored against the ruins of my memory. A cutscene or line will leap out, disturbingly familiar, yet different because of the time gap in between playthroughs. Nostalgia teaches us about ourselves, how we saw the game them, how we see it now, and often exposes the shortcomings of memory and the nature of time. Like visiting you high school after college, you notice the changes, and you learn about yourself. The connection is more prevalent in video games because the architecture doesn't change. The game is exactly the same, and the ability to be in identical spaces years apart creates an uncanny reality.

Shanoa art by hf-Zilch

Maya art by dune3001