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Retro Gaming 00’s- Left 4 Dead 2: (2009)

When we think about memorable first person shooters from the late 00’s one of the few games that instantly comes to mind is Left 4 Dead 2. For those who do not know Left 4 Dead 2 was developed and published by Value Corporation and was released for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows back in 2009. The Left 4 Dead series began back in ’08 and the sequel that we got the following year in ’09 was arguably a better title than its predecessor. The plot for the game itself revolves around players trying to defend themselves against hordes and following zombies following the aftermath concerned a deadly pandemic. Left 4 Dead 2 including both single & multiplayer gameplay as players controlled survivors who could utilize melee attacks along with various weapons to stay alive. The replay value involving Left 4 Dead 2 was very high especially since the game included at least five different campaigns. Out of the five Campaigns included in Left 4 Dead 2 many would argue that Dark Carnival & Hard Rain were among the best that the game had to offer. The mini-games included in Dark Carnival along with the environmental obstacles included in Hard Rain seemingly stood out the most out of the five campaigns that were included in Left 4 Dead 2.

Ever since, its release Left 4 Dead 2 has been praised by critics and various gaming entities as being one of the best video games that Valve Corporation as ever made. Despite, the technical issues that players may of had with Left 4 Dead 2 regarding multiplayer online gameplay it was still a well polished first-person shooter game that rivaled the likes of Wolfenstein and Fallout 3 in terms of popularity. Left 4 Dead 2 was seemed every bit as good as its predecessor and managed to reach at least four million Cop in sales before the end of 2009. While Left 4 Dead 2 was enjoyable on the Xbox 360 it seemed more addictive to PC gamers during a time period were online gaming was starting to increase in popularity. In fact, the first person shooter and survival horror genres of gaming were beginning to become more mainstream as it related to 3D gaming between the late 00’s and the 10’s decade. Left 4 Dead 2 was huge attraction back in ’09 and its a game that would probably hold up well in year 2020 if it were remastered in high definition for a current generation console.

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Is Tetris the best puzzle game of all-time?

As many people know the series Tetris has been around since the 80’s following the inception of its very first game back in 1984. The legendary tile matching puzzle game was developed by Russian software engineer Alexey Pajitnov and is a game that has been released for multiple game systems around the world such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy and the SNES under the name Tetris & Dr Mario in ’91. Since its inception Tetris became a game that became easily accessible through iOS mobile devices throughout the 00’s and 10’s decade as more remastered versions of the game was released. While the 2D tile matching puzzle genre is not as popular today as it was back in the 80’s & ’90’s some of the most recently installments within the Tetris series would not even exist with the original game from ’84. Between late ’18-early ’19 we got to see the release Tetris Effect for the PlayStation VR and Tetris 99 for the Nintendo Switch. Both Tetris that were recently released gain mainstream attention and were praised for being innovative by fans and critics alike. While Tetris VR offered players a more atmospheric yet sensational experience pertaining to gameplay Tetris 99 introduced a multiplayer Battle Royale mode which was addictive.

It should also be noted that at least one Tetris game has appeared on just about every major game console that ultimately became successful in terms of sales for over the past 30 years. There have been a few Tetris games that has involved iconic cartoon or video game characters such as Mickie Mouse and Super Mario mainly during the 90’s. Also, puzzle games such as Puyo Puyo, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Kirby’s Avalanche and Super Puzzle Fighter II: Turbo were all titles inspired by Tetris following their respective releases between ’91-’96. However, the Tetris series had always remained a top attraction within the puzzle genre of gaming as it continued to appear on younger generation game systems while still appealing to gamers from 80’s & ’90’s. It was reported back in 2018 that Tetris was one of the best selling games ever with at least 170 million copies sold since its ’84 release. Without the original Tetris game where would the puzzle genre of gaming be today in terms of popularity? Tetris pretty much put the puzzle genre of gaming on the map and is quite possibly more of an attraction today then it was during the 80’s and 90’s.

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Retro Gaming 90’s- Sparkster: (1994)

During the console wars between Nintendo and Sega that took place throughout the 90’s there were so Man big titles that appeared both on the SNES and Genesis that were classics. Sparkster a game that was both developed and published by Konami and released in ’94 may not necessarily be considered a classic by many people ; but it was still a solid platform shooter game during its time on the SNES. Sparkster was considered to be the direct sequel to Rocket Knight Adventures which came out back in ’93 exclusively for the Sega Genesis. As far as visuals and sprites were concerned many people would argue that Sparkster was more superior than Rocket Knight Adventures was on the Genesis console. Also, the soundtrack from Sparkster was pretty good especially the first stage which was arguably one of the most underrated 16-bit theme songs from the early 90’s. The plot for Sparkster was pretty basic and involved the Rocket Knight known as Sparkster trying to rescue a princess by the name of Flora within the kingdom of Eginasem.

The goal of rescuing Princess Flora comes with trying to overcome an onslaught of animal-based soldiers affiliated with the Lioness army; while dealing with a key antagonist known as Rocket Knight Axel Gear who aligned himself to take down Sparkster. The formula used in creating this game seemed intriguing since it took elements from popular platform games if the early 90’s and blended them into one. The damsel in distress element is one that has basically definite Super Mario games since its inception back in the mid 80’s. The idea of having a rival/nemesis to make life more difficult for the main protagonist is somewhat similar to what we got in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 back in ’94 when Knuckles The Echidna made his video game debut. The side scrolling shooter element of Sparkster felt somewhat similar to that of Mega Man X which was released for the SNES back in ’93. Following its initial release the feedback that Sparkster received a positive reception from critics for being an improvement over its predecessor. Despite, Sparkster not being on the same level as games such as Super Mario World, Mega Man X, Super Castlevania IV in relation to the platform genre its still a retro 16-bit that some people are still quite fond of to this day.

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Will streaming continue to grow in popularity during the 2020’s decade?

There is no question that streaming has become very popular throughout the 10’s decade. Despite the fact that Steam was launched back in 2003 it seems like Value Corporation’s platform has received more mainstream attention in the 10’s than it did in the 00’s and has often been the go to site for those who want to play demos for upcoming video games prior to their respective releases. In fact, majority of indie games have become noticed on through streaming and it seems like something that has and will only continue to increase in popularity as we move into the 2020’s decade.

In relation to streaming services its a well known fact that Microsoft wants to focus more on streaming services in the future meaning that we might not see another game console following the Xbox One X. In fact there has recently been talk about Nintendo possibly moving away from the development of game consoles in favor of streaming while focusing more on mobile gaming in the future. Its quite possible that the console era of gaming will eventually come to an end during the 2020’s due to the advancement of technology and the rise of streaming; but hopefully that will not be the case since video game consoles are still considered to be huge attraction in retailers worldwide. However, there is no doubt that streaming will continue to increase in popularity throughout the 2020’s decade.

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Should TMNT: Turtles in Time be re-released for the Nintendo Switch?

When it comes down to popular SNES games from the early 90’s one of the many titles that instantly comes to mind is the beat em up classic known as TMNT: Turtles in Time which came out back in 1991. Ever since TMNT: Turtles in Time appears in arcade centers the game had become a smash hit and rivaled titles such as Final Fight, Double Dragon and Streets of Rage 2 in popularity. While it would be pretty cool to have this 16 bit classic on the Nintendo Switch the game has already been re-released for the SNES Classic back in September 2017. The idea of bringing TMNT: Turtles in Time to the Nintendo Switch does not make too much sense in general.

In theory having TMNT: Turtles in Time would be great because it would give people the opportunity to enjoy the multiplayer gameplay that allows up to 4 players similar to the arcade version of the game. However, TMNT: Turtles in Time is not quite as popular in this day and age as it was back in the day due to the fact that beat em up games have slowly lost their appeal since the 90’s.

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Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (2004) vs 3D Dream Drop Distance (2012) which game had more success?

When it comes down to RPG titles for handheld console there is no doubt that Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories along with Dream Drop Distance were both enjoyable titles. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was very interesting due to the card based battle system which players found challenging as they progressed throughout the game itself. Also, the FMV cutscenes in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was impressive on the Game Boy Advance since there was not people who were expecting it during the time. Also, since it’s release Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories had managed to sell over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

In terms of graphics Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was clearly a more superior game on the Nintendo 3DS than Chain of Memories was on the Game Boy Advance. The idea of having a normal hack and slash gameplay opposed to a card based system made Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories easier for people play than Chain of Memories. Also, the drop system was a pretty cool feature that allow players to switch roles between Sora and Riku throughout the game. Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance was one of the hottest titles for the Nintendo 3DS in 2012 and reportedly managed to sell at least 200K units in America alone during August of that year. In terms of which game was more successful is debatable but some might give the slight edge to Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the Game Boy Advance over 3D: Dream Drop Distance for the 3DS.

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Should TMNT: Turtles in Time be re-released for the SNES Classic?

As of right now there are so many cool games that are set to be featured on the SNES Classic Edition including Super Mario World, F-Zero, Mega Man X, Super Mario Kart, Star Fox 1 & 2 and more. While all of those games were awesome back in the early 90’s some are wondering if TMNT: Turtles in Time should be re-released for the SNES Classic.


Not only was TMNT: Turtles in Time very popular in arcade centers in the early 90’s but it was probably the best Ninja Turtles game of that decade as well.  Seeing this SNES beat em up title would be something that many retro gamers would love to see for the SNES Classic and would be something that would turn heads as well.

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Would TMNT: Turtles in Time have worked on the Sega Genesis? 

Back in the 90’s we got to see the release of so many cool beat em up titles in arcade centers.  When TMNT: Turtles in Time was first released in 1992 it was probably on of the most popular beat en titles of that year. But looking back at TMNT: Turtles in Time some cannot help but wonder whether or not the game could have worked for the Sega Genesis or the Mega Drive back then.


While we did get some pretty exciting beat em up games for the Sega Genesis like the Streets of Rage series some could make the argument that the SNES had better graphics in terms of resemblance to the arcade version of the game.  Even though, the world never got to see Turtles in Time for the Sega Genesis we got to see TMNT: Hyperstone Heist which many people actually enjoyed.  While Hyperstone Heist was a fun beat em up TMNT title for the Sega Genesis it seems like Turtles in Time for the SNES is more popular overall.  

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Was Tekken 7 more successful than Street Fighter V?

For over the past few years gamers has the opportunity of seeing some very cool fighting titles released for consoles such as the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.  When it comes down to fighting games between 2015-2017 two major titles that people like to mention is Tekken 7 and Street Fighter V. In terms of which game was more successful in terms of sales many people are likely to say that Tekken 7 had a significant edge over Street Fighter V in countries such Japan.  

However, before Tekken 7 was first released many people knew that it was as most likely going to be the last game in the series.  The fact that Tekken 7 is most likely going to be the final game in the series was probably one of the things that made people want to buy the game despite how expensive the game was during its release.  When Capcom had released Street Fighter V in February 2016 the development of the game itself was not fully complete similar to how Soul Calibur V was back in February  of 2012.  However, after the story mode of Street Fighter V was fully complete along with the addition of more characters it turned out to be a really good game overall.  In terms of which game was successful overall is something that is debatable between Capcom and Namco fans.

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Does X-Men: Children of the Atom deserve more credit?

The CPS II era of gaming was something that was truly special if you were fan of fighting titles back in the 90’s.  One of the most common fighting games that many people remember from arcade centers was X-Men:Children of the Atom which was the first ever X-Men based title that Capcom had developed.  In terms of sales the game probably did not do as well as people expected on the Sony PlayStation or the Sega Saturn.


However, X-Men Children of the Atom did pave the way for games like Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel vs Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom.  The visual design for each stage along with the detailed sprites included in Children of the Atom looked amazing.  Also, the gameplay for Children of the Atom was arguably better than the Street Fighter Alpha series.

Even though, the Marvel Super Heroes game was like a spiritual successor to X-Men: Children of the Atom it would have been pretty cool the game had a direct sequel.  The CPS II era of fighting games was arguably one of the best in gaming history and games such as X-Men: Children of the Atom is proof of that.