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Retro Gaming 90’s- Earthworm Jim: (1994)

As far as platform games from the early 90’s are concerned one the few titles that retro gamers instantly think about in relation that time period is Earthworm Jim which was developed by Shiny Entertainment initially released back in 1994. Earthworm Jim was released for 16-bit consoles such as the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in ’94 before it appeared on game systems such as Game Boy, Game Gear, Microsoft Windows and Sega-CD in 1995. Earthworm Jim had a rather basic but intriguing plot that was somewhat strange. The game starts of with a super-suit that falls from the sky which Jim gains access to. After acquiring the suit Jim has to deal with various adversaries who attempt to take it from him. Also, Jim is charged the the task of rescuing a Princess while trying to thwart off various foes throughout the game making for an exciting platform/run & gun adventure. While the original Earthworm Jim game was not quite as popular as other 16-bit platformers such as Super Mario World and the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy from the early 90’s it managed to spawn a sequel that was arguably more successful following its release in 1995. Some would probably argue that the damsel in distress aspect of the story was not needed especially considering the fact that the super suit discovered by Earthworm Jim was interesting enough.

Also, despite how bizarre yet fascinating the plot was the ending was considered to be somewhat dark since Jim accidentally crushes Princess What’s Her Name after rescuing her. As a 2D platformer Earthworm Jim is seen as a cult classic while being praised by fans and critics for various quality such as gameplay, graphics along being an adventurous title that gamers of any age could easily sink their teeth into. Finding hard copy retro titles such as Earthworm Jim is rare when visiting used game stores which only proves how valuable it was approximately 25 years ago. If anything Earthworm Jim was arguably one of the best non-Sonic or Mario platformers of the 16-bit era and is one that which will remain a classic in the eyes of many people.

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Retro Gaming 90’s- Donkey Kong Country: (1994)

When we think about classic platform titles of the early 90’s that appeared during the 16-bit era of gaming one of the few names that instantly comes to mind is Donkey Kong Country. For those who do not know Donkey Kong Country was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo when it was initially released in November 1994. Donkey Kong Country was the first major game within the series to appear on a home based console during the 90’s. While Donkey Kong had first became very popular on the NES similar to characters such Mario & Link during the 80’s it seemed like the Country series stood out more. Donkey Kong Country had realistic characters sprites and a basic plot which involved a bunch of bananas being stolen by Kremlings. Players have to compete various stages while encountering numerous adversaries while controlling Donkey or Diddy Kong as they progress through 40 different levels within the game. One of the coolest features that Donkey Kong Country had was the multiplayer co-op mode which was similar to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 & 3 where one player got to be Sonic and other was Tails. The co-op two player mode in some ways made Donkey Kong Country better than older Mario games from the 80’s and Super Mario World to a degree as far as gameplay is concerned.

As far as overall success is concerned Donkey Kong Country managed to sell over 9.3 million units worldwide and ended up becoming the third best selling game for the Super NES during the 90’s. In fact, Donkey Kong Country ended up becoming the third best selling game for Nintendo’s 16-bit console while being surpassed by Super Mario World & Super Mario All-Stars. Donkey Kong Country was a title that spawned two SNES sequels which were both released between ’95-’96 and were largely successful as well. Despite, its release approximately 24 years ago Donkey Kong Country is a game worth playing for those who never had a chance to do so. As a 2D platformer Donkey Kong Country looked like it was ahead of its time following its release in 1994.

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Retro Gaming 90’s- Crystalis: (1990)

As far as retro RPG’s are concerned in relation to the Nintendo Entertainment System there have been several memorable titles from the 80’s and early 90’s. We got to see 8 bit RPG games such as Dragon Quest I-IV and Final Fantasy I-III between the ’86-’90 which were arguably more popular in Japan opposed to America. However, a game like Crystalis is never really mentioned in the same light as that if the Final Fantasy series despite the fact that its considered to be a cult classic by various gamers. In fact Crystalis is one of the most recognizable RPG titles that SNK has ever made and was released for the NES the same year the Neo Geo AES came out in Japan. Crystalis was considered to be a action-adventure/action role-playing game with a basic plot yet interesting involving an unnamed protagonist. The main character who awakes from a deep sleep makes some startling discoveries such as his presence being the key from saving humanity from destruction despite not remembering anything including his own identity. As far as the setting and the background for the game is concerned the idea of a fictional nuclear occurring in 1997 was one that was intriguing especially considering the fact that the game itself was released in 1990.

While the storyline, soundtrack and visuals for Crystalis were considered to be strong positives there are some people who would probably argue that the game could have been a masterpiece if it had better graphics. If Crystalis were released for the 16-bit Super Nintendo console which also came out in 1990 the game could have ended up becoming more popular than it was especially considering the fact that the NES was starting to get old during the early 90’s. Also, SNK is well known for their fighting games from the early 90’s such as Art Of Fighting, Fatal Fury and the King Of Fighters series. Crystalis was definitely a solid RPG title for its time and eventually ended up appearing on console such as Game Boy Color in ’00 and even the Nintendo Switch this past year in 2018 with different developers and publishers being involved in each respective port. While Nintendo Software Technology developed the Game Boy Color version Digital Eclipse worked on the Switch version with NIS America being the publisher. Seeing how popular if a RPG Crystalis was and still is today its surprising that the game never received a direct sequel on over 28 yearS since its release.

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Retro Gaming 90’s- Twisted Metal: (1995)

As far as memorable games from the 90’s are concerned in relation to violence and mayhem one of the few titles that the world got to see during that decade was Twisted Metal. For those who do not know Twisted Metal was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and initially released back in November 1995 for the PS1. In countries such as America Twisted Metal was very popular among teens and young adults for its addictive gameplay involving vehicular combat where players have to struggle to stay alive in the streets of Los Angles. The plot for the game takes place in 2005 and centers around competition held by Calypso where participants go through various levels and try to destroy each other in order to stay alive. The concept of the Twisted Metal competition was very creative but some people have criticized the game on the past for having a weak single-player mode. Despite, some of the game’s drawbacks there were more positives than negatives in the first Twisted Metal game such as the arsenal of weapons players were provided. In the games players had the ability to carry over 20 different weapons giving players numerous options on how to destroy their enemies.

Also, the co-op story mode was interesting as well since players had to share six lives which really forced people to strategize as the difficulty of the game increased during progression. The idea of sharing lives during co-op gameplay can be seen as a negative in the eyes of some people since it was somewhat similar to the NES Battetoads game where two players had to share lives in a game that can be difficult. Various stages in game where the competition took place included skyscrapers, freeways, warehouses and even the suburbs which made Twisted Metal even more interesting. The graphics for Twisted Metal were pretty decent by mid 90’s standards especially since 3D gaming was still considered to be new during that time period. The original Twisted Metal game ended up spawning two successful sequels between ’96-’98 which both sold over one million copies worldwide on the PS1. As a vehicular combat game Twisted Metal was one of the most innovative titles the gaming world has seen and its a title that is still somewhat popular to this day. The latest entry that we got to see in the Twisted Metal series was back in 2012 and for the most part fans and critics were fond of that game. Hopefully, sometime in the future we will get a chance to see another Twisted Metal title for a current generation console such as the PlayStation 4 or even the upcoming PS5 game system.

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Retro Gaming 90’s- Windjammers: (1994)

As far as retro sports related games are concerned relation to the 90’s one of the few games from that time period that is com to be highly underrated Windjammers. For those who do not know Windjammers was initially created by a now defunct video game developer known as Data East and has had various publishers since its arcade release back in ’94. Windjammers had been ported for mainly SNK developed consoles such as Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD back in the 90’s. As many people know the Neo Geo AES was very expensive at the price $649.00 following its release in the early and did not sell as much which may be one of the reasons why many people never heard of Windjammers at all. Windjammers was a 2D game that resembled ultimate frisbee where players have to stop their opponents offensive throws from entering their goal zone. The game provides players layers with six playable characters to choose from all with their own unique set of stats with each having certain strengths and weaknesses.

Windjammers provides players with the option of competing against other players or against the CPU. The difficulty of the game increases after players defeat CPU controlled characters which made Windjammers more interesting. Windjammers was a Neo Geo classic that was considered to be both underrated and popular back in the day and has recently been ported to current generation consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch. As it currently stands we are still waiting for the official release of DotEmu’s Windjammers 2 which is expected to occur sometime before 2020.

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Upcoming Switch Games- Greak: Memories of Azur (2020)

As far as upcoming releases are concerned in relation to the Nintendo Switch one of the few games that has been making headlines as of late is Greak: Memories Of Azur. For those who do no know Greak: Memories Of Azur is a single-player side-scrolling adventure game with hand drawn animation developed by Bromio that is expected to appear on the Switch console in 2020 on a date that has yet to be revealed. As far as the plot is concerned emphasis is placed main three protagonists as the land of Azur is taken over during the Urlag invasion forcing the Courines into retreat in the process. The three main characters are all siblings named Greak, Raydel and Adara as they learn and utilize various skills to navigate throughout different levels of the game.

There will also be puzzle solving elements included in Greak: Memories Of Azur which something that will definitely contribute to the overall appeal of the game itself. As an indie game Greak: Memories Of Azur would def shine on the Nintendo Switch than it probably would in the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One especially since indie platform titles seem to be a bigger attraction on the hybrid console in general. It will be interesting to see how successful Greak: Memories Of Azure will be on the Switch console in 2020 and whether or not it becomes popular enough to eventually become a series in the future.

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Retro Gaming 80’s- Donkey Kong Jr. (1982)

As far as Nintendo based arcade classics are concerned one of the few titles that retro gamers think about in relation to the 80’s is Donkey King Jr from 1982. Donkey King Jr was the highly anticipated sequel to its 1981 predecessor that was also popular in arcade centers which placed emphasis on Mario being the main villain of the game. In fact, Donkey Kong Jr was probably the only game where Mario played the role of a villain as he captured Donkey Kong for revenge in relation to what happened in the original Donkey Kong game. In the 1981 Donkey Kong game DK was the main villain because he captured Mario’s ex-girlfriend Pauline and made him go through various obstacles & stages in order to get her back. Some would argue that Mario was justified for his actions in this game especially since he ended up presented as hero in just about every other game that Nintendo has developed since 1982. In this game Donkey Kong’s son has to rescue him after he is captured by Mario and as he makes his way through each stage in this vertical platformer. The stages become more challenging as players progress throughout the game requiring them to be more strategic then they would in side-scrolling platform games.

Since its arcade release Donkey Kong Jr was ported for the NES and release in various different countries throughout the 80’s. Donkey Kong Jr. also appeared on other consoles such Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 and is a platform classic that is still somewhat popular to this day. As a platformer some might argue that Donkey Kong Jr was more difficult than most Mario and Donkey Kong games from the 80’s and early 90’s. While the plot for Donkey Kong Jr. was very basic the fact that Mario was casted as a villain opposed to that of a hero will always be considered one of the most aspects about this game in particular.