Castlevania 1, 2, and 3 - NES

Castlevania is not just a game, but an entire franchise for Konami. Yeah, we tend to think of the Wii title that flopped recently, but it's definitely one of those series that will go on for a long time. The story is simple: Dracula is alive and well; he commands an army of darkness; the Belmont family has a tradition of killing vampires. Yes, we all remember the whips, the crosses, and funny potions. Where else can you battle the Grim Reaper, the Sand Man, Frankenstein, and Medussa in one game? Let's travel back in time for a minute and look back at these classic games. 

The first one was basic. You side-scrolled your way through levels, grabbed hearts, and fought bosses. You had a whip and a little knife to throw, and that was enough to make a classic. I know I beat this game, but I can't even remember what the pitiful ending was. It might have just been a picture of you looking at the castle with words scrolling up... which is usually the case in old NES games. 

The second one was totally different. Coined as, "Simon's Quest", it became more of an RPG mixed with elements from Metroid. You had to complete quests and find runes, all while defeating ghouls and goblins of all types. Bosses lead to more questions and questions lead to more quests. There were events in the day and events in the night. I remember beating this game, but I don't think I liked it too much. 

The third one of the first trilogy involved one of my favorite characters, Alucard (of course that's Dracula spelled backwards). He's on his quest to defeat his own father. Now the gameplay of this one is more like the first one, but for the first time, there were more than one main character. The clock-tower was one of those places that burned into my memory; something about jumping and having medusa heads loom towards you made me hate that level. 

The Belmont family continues!

Completion: Beat the game:

Castlevania - 20 hrs

Castlevania 2 - 40 hrs

Castlevania 3 - 20 hrs 

Hours Spent: approx. 60 hrs.

Check out the Angry Video-game Nerd bashing Castlevania 2:

Swords and Serpents - NES

Ahh yes, another heavily forgotten game for the NES. Another game that I am writing about because it's old and lesser known? Well, just like the Magic of Scheherazade, I owned Swords and Serpents as a kid also. It was an RPG in the first person, and boy was it boring. I think when you're a kid, you had a knack for boring things, or at least I was. 

The game consists of your four characters fighting in a labyrinth to save the world from a certain evil. Sounds like Gauntlet doesn't it? Well, it's not because it's turn-based and the graphics were sub-par. You really don't know if you've hit the monster well because all it does is blink. The map on the screen was interesting, because you basically felt like a rat in a maze. Worse of all is that a lot of the rooms are filled with dead-ends, and yes, they just kind of sucked. You had to figure out where the trick was, because sometimes you can just jump through. 

I couldn't remember what the hell the ending was to this game, but I know I beat it. It was a crazy hot summer, and I wasted too much time on my Nintendo. 

Completion: Beat the game 

Hours Spent: approx. 40 hrs.

Check out these retro videos on you-tube, amazing!

And this TV commercial of the game!

the Magic of Scheherazade - NES

What is this game? Why is this worth writing about now? Why talk about this game that nobody cares about anymore? Well it's only important because it belonged to me. This game came out in 1989 and I actually went out and bought it at a Woolworths with my mother. It's odd why I picked that one, but I think it's only because I liked RPG's, and back then RPG's were few. I had a lot of fun with this one. Just look at the cover-art! Still looks inviting today. I think another reason was because my friends already had Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior. 

The game is basically one of the earliest action RPG's for Nintendo. You're a warrior that is out to save the Princess Scheherazade (I still have a hard time pronouncing that name) that is abducted by an evil wizard. Not the most original of plots, but it establishes the mission. The setting is Arabic, and pretty much as stereo-typical as it goes. You weild a scimitar, you have balloon-like pants, and heck, you even wear a turban. You walk around from place to place talking with merchants and wacking monsters. You have a health bar and a magic bar, and you had levels. 

I don't remember much about this game after that. I knew I bought it, I played the hell out of it, and it was lost in this mass jettison of old stuff that I owned in my past. I'd like to see it again, but I doubt I'd really have the patience for it now. It just reminds me of the good old days. 

Completion: Beat the game 

Hours Spent: approx. 40 hrs.

Enjoy this video from youtube! Ahh, the 8-bit graphics. 

Shining Force Neo - PS2

Shining Force Neo is an action RPG developed by SEGA as a throw-back to it's original Shining series. As the title suggests, the "Shining Force" is a sword that the hero finds to defeat the evil monsters conjured by the Clan of the Moon. Max, the hero of the story, begins at a fortress outside of the towns and is being trained by a Captain Graham.

On the first few hours of gameplay I realize that it's very similar to Diablo and Diablo 2. You run through dungeons, collect forcepoints to upgrade your skills and magicks, collect items and "identify" them for your inventory, and you are the sole person that you actually control. While there are other characters that fight with you along screen, they are pretty much NPC's. The monsters swarm on you like D2 and as you cut them down, their energy bars fall like Record of the Loddoss War (for Dreamcast). I miss games as simple as this one. The game boasts "over 90 enemies appear on a single screen", so I have yet to see this. The first boss, which is a bug, attacks with more than 30 bug minions. But still it is quite insane seeing them clobber you.

The game is ranked B+ on 1up.com. I bought it from Gamestop for 10.00 bucks, but hopefully it will be sold for a bit more as it seems rarer than rpg's out there today.

God of War - PS2

God of War is one of those games that are so hyped these days that I find myself at odds with playing it for the first time in 2009. I did not have a chance for it when it just came out, as I was in Japan at the time, and it didn't really appeal to me. "Another slasher with cinematics?" I thought. But as I started playing it, I realize there was more to it. There was a great story.

After the first scenario, the Aegean sea where you fought the Hydra, you realize that there were more to just hack and slash. You'd have to think to defeat the bosses or fulfill the scene's objectives. So it became a puzzle game for me. I did get lost in the buttons for awhile (and am still learning the plethora of moves for Kratos), but I could get by with the Square, Square, Triangle combo. Just like Dynasty Warriors right? Perhaps. 

From there I learned more about Kratos's love-hate relationship with the Gods and his Spartan history. Rushing through the Temple of Athena, he defeats goblins, minatours, and medusas. I did hate medusas, as they could stone you and destroy you with one hit afterwards. I acquired their ability to solidify people, and started my way through the sewers. There was a lot of work involved but I found it relatively enjoyable. I didn't really start liking the game until I got the Sword of Artemis (shouldn't it be the bow?). But anyway, yes, I felt that the blades that Kratos used were a bit weak against the monsters, but the Sword of Artemis really got the job done. 

There was a time when I was really into Greek mythology, but I had forgotten it as school went by. Somehow my favorite was the story of Arachnid, the story of the spider woman. Or was it the story about how Zeus turned into a swan to court (or rape) the girl. Ahh, the Gods are crazy. 

From here I am walking through the maze known  as the Temple of Pandora. More medusas awaits!