I own some video games

Super R-Type (1991, SNES)
Beaten: No

There are a lot of SNES Side Scrolling Space Shooters out there, but this and Gradius are the ones people remember mostly.  It’s actually a lot nicer looking that Gradius, and it’s a lot simpler (since you don’t have the Powerup Grid that Gradius has at the beginning.)

However, R-Type is disgustingly hard.  Dying is frustrating in most games, but this one has probably been responsible for a lot of broken controllers.  Grazed by a bullet?  All the way back to the start of the level.  No, we don’t care how close you were to beating the boss, back you go.  And stay there.  Checkpoints are for wusses.

I had a friend in college who was named Rachel who I called R-Type to distinguish her from the three other Rachels I knew at the time.  She’d never played the game.  Then she did.  We almost weren’t friends after that.

Saints Row: The Third (2011, Xbox 360)
Beaten: Yes

I have a very long, somewhat detailed writeup on this, which I intend to post when I figure out how to get tumblr’s “READ MORE” pagebreak to work.  I had it working for a moment, then it was taken away after editing the post to fix a spelling error.

This game was my first new game purchase in over a year, and it was well worth it.  Tons of fun, super funny, and I think it should be the blueprint for any sandbox game in the future.  You’re basically turned loose and told “knock yourself out.”  And do you ever.

My favorite part of the design is the use of Respect as a kind of leveling system to unlock abilities that you buy.  It makes it so that when you become an invincible monster at the end, you feel like you’ve EARNED it.

Capcom vs SNK 2 (2001, Dreamcast)
Beaten: Yes

Another import!  This one was another Chinatown acquisition.  I had played the first Capcom vs SNK, and played the Neo Geo Pocket version (that’s coming up at a later date) both to death.  Sure, I could’ve bought it on PS2.  But I was insistent on doing things the hard way.

The game was fun, and I liked how they included some really weirdo characters in it (see: Fatal Fury’s fat luchador Raiden, Eagle from the first Street Fighter, or Final Fight’s Maki) and I liked the new sprites they drew for the SNK characters.

However, looking back, the game is actually super complicated all around.  There’s SIX different super bars to choose from, and the controls were bumped up to six buttons as opposed to four in the first one.  I know they were trying to make concessions for fans of both companies, but it made the game hard to play for new people.  It basically was a case where I would either obliterate people who had no idea what to do, or I would get my face handed to me easily.  (Playing this in an arcade was a severely humbling experience)

Pretty sure this copy is unplayable too.  Last time I tried booting it years ago, the music started skipping and the game froze.

Graduis III (1991, SNES)
Beaten: absolutely not

I really like shooting games, and Gradius III, if it isn’t my favorite, ranks pretty high up there.  It takes the convention of ship shooters and kinda turns them on their ear with the sheer amount of options you have for your weapon upgrades that you set when you start playing.  I have had discussions and arguments with people over what the “proper” loadout for this game is.

For the record, I always go for the ripple laser, the Force Field, and having my Options trail behind me.  I’ve gotten pretty far with it, but one frustrating thing about the game is when you die you lose EVERYTHING, and if you die in a bad spot you may as well reset because your miserable pea-shooter of a gun to start out with isn’t going to work that well on the boss.

Oh, and seek out the soundtrack.  It’s fun.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (2004, Gamecube)
Beaten: Yes, multiple times

As I’ve said before, I’m not huge on RPG’s.  This has made me kind of a heathen in some people’s eyes.  (I honestly didn’t like Earthbound, Chrono Cross, or Final Fantasy 7.  It’s raised the ire unintentionally in a lot of people)

Having said that, Paper Mario: TTYD is one of my favorite games.

Even though it was a turn-based battle system, you’re always doing something because you’re hitting either the A or B buttons to block or add to your attacks.  The battles were fought on a literal stage, with the crowd contributing to your power meters when you do well.  It made for a very dynamic battle, simply because random chance isn’t involved: you literally can block every attack in the game and take no damage if you have perfect timing.  It’s a small thing that very well could’ve been left out and it still would’ve been an excellent game.  But this adds a new layer of skill because it’s something you’re doing -all the time-.  You have more leeway using the A button, and can reduce the damage of the attack, but you fight hard to get good with the B button so that you can nullify it completely.

Oh, and the writing is hilarious, and the visual style of “2D in a 3D world” works so well it still blows my mind to this day.

Mega Man 4 (1991, NES)
Beaten: Yes

No joke, this is the first video game I ever played and beat without Game Genie’ing.  I was actually really proud of myself.  Though, it can be argued that it’s one of the easiest Mega Man games.  The biggest thing that makes it easy is how when you charge the mega buster, getting hit doesn’t reset it.  Every other mega man game resets it, but in this one you basically play the game with the B button held down.

The bosses are some of my favorites too.  In particular is Dust Man, who’s a giant vaccum, and Dive Man who looks like Hard Man’s fat older brother.  (Dive man’s stage music is one of my favorite tracks, though.)

This game also started a weird trend for the next 3 games where it seems like there’s a new mad doctor destroying the world with his robots but WHOOPS HAHAH IT WAS WILY THE WHOLE TIME GOTCHA.  It actually is kinda comical in retrospect.  Oh, and Pharoh Man’s weapon is hilariously broken, in that the orb you form above your head can be used to attack, then you can fire it again without spending more weapon energy.

(Sadly, this is the end of Megaman posts.  I don’t own copies of 1, 5, or 6, but I’ve been trying to find them.  Anyone with copies, hit up my ask box.  Let’s make a deal!  I REALLY want 5 because that’s my favorite Mega Man.  No joke.)

Mega Man 3 (1990, NES)
Beaten: Yes

This was my first exposure to Mega Man.  We rented it from the local Blockbuster, and then rented it several more times because we loved it so much.  Admittedly, I wasn’t very good at games at the time, so in order to beat it, I had to use a Game Genie.  I’ve since beaten it proper.

In this one, the Needle Cannon is your Go To arm cannon replacement, but I rather enjoyed the uselessness of the Top Spin.  That and the sheer juvenile nature of saying “hard man” followed by snickering.  The Megaman 2 boss throwback levels are actually pretty hard, but kind of in that “sheesh we’re really trying to stretch the game out” kind of way.

This game introduced Proto Man, who actually is my favorite Megaman character.  Coolest guy on the planet, and I love the protoman whistle.  (When I finally get around to getting a smartphone, that’s gonna be my ringtone.)

Mega Man 2 (1988, NES)
Beaten: Yes

In honor of capcom’s latest addition to Street Fighter x Tekken (BAD BOXART MEGAMAN!) I’m bumping up this entry, because it’s the runner-up in the “bad boxart megaman” contest.

A lot of people cite this game as their favorite Mega Man.  I’m not one of them, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad in the slightest!  Though, the game does get a little easy when you get the metal blade and just shred everything in your path.  But considering how difficult and rough the first game was, the contrast of the second game next to it probably is why people hold it so high.

I had a friend who’s “thing he was really good at” was beating Megaman 2.  He could do it in one sitting in less than an hour, and it would never cease to be amazing when we’d see him do it.

(Though, I’m a little sick of everyone remixing the music to Wily Stage 1.  It’s overdone at this point!)