rdrunner

Just looked up SMB3 in my old Game Genie manual. There's a group of codes (28-32) that give you various "permanent" super abilities. It comes with the following text, which I will quote verbatim (can you spot the typos lol?): "IMPORTANT: IF YOU USE ANY OF CODES 28 THRU 32 TO DEFEAT BOWZER, YOU SHOULD STAND IN FRONT OF THE DOOR AND HOLD "UP." AS SOON AS THE DOOR OPENS, YOU PASS THROUGH INTO THE CHAMBER WHERE THE PRINCESS IS HELD. IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS, YOU MAY GET CAUGHT IN BOWZER'S TIME TRAP AND THE GAME WILL PAUSE FOREVER!" So not sure if these codes were used or if the pause button had anything to do with it? Either way, I enjoyed the excuse to crack the book open, so thanks!

1. Legend of Zelda 2. Super Mario Bros. 3 3. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! 4. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link 5. Super Mario Bros. 6. Ninja Gaiden 7. Castlevania 8. Mega Man 2 9. Contra 10. Adventures of Lolo 3 Sooo many awesome games, it's a shame to only pick 10. Maybe after the top 10 shakes out we could "freeze" the list and vote on the next 15 for a top 25? These lists get much more interesting the longer they go.

Woo! Love this time of year. In!

I will give NSO credit for one thing: I was impressed enough with it to buy an $8 3-month subscription. Had a great time playing SMB35 when it came out, as well as Tetris 99. That said, not enough draw for me to pay for more than that, even at the base level. (N64 level is right out). I'm just not into multiplayer enough to pay for games I already own.

My only memory of this game is getting a fake email from "eBay" saying that I bought it for over $300 and to "click here if you didn't". So yeah, was never interested.

Wow, so far 6 votes, all different. Not voting yet. I'm in the middle of my first playthrough and will know more later. I will say that I'm really enjoying the game so far. Unless something bad happens, it's at least an 8. What I don't know is how I will end up comparing this to Melee (my only other version of Smash). So far Melee has been the gold standard for the series, despite being only the second entry. Time will tell if Ultimate can do what the other sequels couldn't.

Not voting since I have yet to finish playing it. Want to give it a fair chance. That said, I've had plenty of opportunities to play this game and keep losing interest. Not a good sign.

Just saw the thread. Glad to see Bubble Bobble getting some love. Can't wait to see your write-up on the game mechanics too! Hint: Fall through a lot of holes.

Thanks for the responses! I probably should have mentioned that I am at least interested in a handful of Wii U games if I go for this. The two Zeldas are obvious choices if I give up hope that they eventually get ported to the Switch. Also since I never owned a Wii, I might pick up things like Metroid Prime Trilogy or the Punch-Out remake. Also yeah...no pirate's life for me. Sorry that this thread sparked that old argument. To each their own, everyone.

This may be a silly idea, but I'll ask it anyway: Would it be worth getting a Wii U just to play Virtual Console games (mostly GBA)? I barely own any GBA games and with the way prices are skyrocketing, I could easily sell what I have, then get the Wii U and all the same games back, with money to spare. I know the eShop is probably going to be shut down before too long, but I would guess I have at least a year to explore the best of the library at a discount. Not terribly familiar with the Wii U, so wondering if there are any glaring flaws in this plan. The one thing I've read so far is the gamepad isn't really a handheld and so I must keep the console close by. All thoughts appreciated. Thanks!

Depends. My life is too busy for me to drop the 20, 50, 100 (or more) hours needed to beat most modern games, so I usually find myself sampling those. However, give me anything 16-bit or older and I'll finish it (RPGs excluded of course).

Haven't played it, but I keep hearing about it. Not much into deck building card games, but I may make an exception here. Definitely on my radar.

9/10 (belated) - Inspired by this thread, I recently finished Banjo-Kazooie for the first time. Since I already voted "never played but interested", consider this an unofficial vote. Proof that there are people out there that haven't played this game that may still like it! I obviously don't mind what people have been calling the "collectathon" genre. Heck, most 3D Mario games work the same way. Coins, notes, bananas, stars, jiggies, or whatever, it's just fun to go exploring and be rewarded. The different worlds had some fun themes, with my favorite being Click Clock Wood. It was fun seeing how the puzzles changed with the seasons (even if I did fall off that tree a few too many times). Least favorite was Rusty Bucket Bay, where I missed a jiggy by not knowing all the secret ways to enter various parts of the ship (only time I consulted the internet). Only real complaint I have is the Easter egg system, where the game teases a bunch of unreachable things in a few levels, which I found out later can be reached by activating secret codes after beating the game. I wasted a LOT of time on those parts, thinking I was doing something wrong (which I was). Would have been nice if these things were just invisible or something. Gruntilda makes for one of the better villains I've seen lately. Part Mother Goose, part game show host, all stereotypical wicked witch, she really steals the show at times. No game has made me laugh quite like her random quips about how I'm doing (best part has to be the toilet from Mad Monster Mansion...was NOT expecting that one). She holds her own as a final boss as well, putting up quite a long fight without much room for error. Not too hard if you know what you're doing, but I had some trial and error moments during the flying part (dive-bombed myself off the tower a few times). Overall this is a wonderful game, easily one of the best on the N64. It deserves all the praise it has received!

Can't remember which one came first, but it was definitely an Atari 2600 game. Beat all kinds of things, depending on what counts. Ex: Space Attack, Frogger (10 stages repeat), Star Raiders, E.T. (not that bad), Word Zapper.

Any iteration of You Don't Know Jack. Even today it's still fun to get all the questions wrong just to hear the jokes. I also like how Runbow has a snarky one-liner every time you die, like "imagine winning" or "so close".

Not all of them. If I remember, my actual score was for the low score thing was just under 20k. I believe there was a bonus for not dying that made it look lower.

7/10 - Greatest game ever it's not, but you could do a LOT worse.

Never played this, but I own it and Tooie, fully intending to play both. I like DK64, so these should be right up my alley.

9/10 - It has some flaws, but it's hard to ignore what is becoming one of the best gaming libraries ever seen. I don't see it overtaking my GOAT vote (NES), but it is very quickly becoming my second favorite console. The library is completely stocked with great games, both new and old. My wish list on a certain eShop sale tracker website keeps growing at an alarming pace! While I don't think I'll ever have enough free time to fully enjoy them all, I've thoroughly enjoyed what I've played so far. Personal highlights include everything from obvious hits like Mario Kart and Tetris 99, to re-releases of rare titles like Wild Guns Reloaded, all the way down to the first ever console release of arcade Punch-Out! (Arcade Archives) Two negative points: 1. Nintendo Switch Online does not and should not replace the Virtual Console. It should still be possible to buy digital copies of Nintendo classics without a subscription. Currently, I find myself stocking up on such things on my 3DS before they shut that avenue down. If I had a Wii U, there are a few games I wouldn't mind downloading onto that as well. 2. Joy-Cons are lousy controllers. Or at least I've heard enough warnings about their fragile nature that I refuse to use them for anything other than menu navigation. Thankfully there are more normal controller options or I may not have ever bought the system. Also good thing I don't mind treating it like a console instead of a handheld (zero points for portability, at least for now).

I recently played through an indie title named Horace. It only fits this genre during one specific scene, but this thread is as good an excuse as any to bring it up. I randomly bought this game when it went on sale on the eShop ($2!) and was simply amazed. It stars a robot that can defy gravity in ways Blaster Master's Wall1/Wall2 tank upgrades should have. It also has a surprisingly funny and emotional story that is told through many cutscenes, complete with heaps of nostalgic references to gaming history. Well worth your time. Side note: I don't mind the term "Metroidvania", though I agree that the genre has become a bit too broad. Even the modern Castlevania games are more accurately just evolutions of Simon's Quest. The only thing that ties them to Metroid games is the map system.

Basically anytime near the end of a speedrun. It's usually so intense that I have to constantly remind myself to calm down so I don't screw it up.

Is Bayou Billy better or worse when the meat is dropped by random strangers? Anyway, another silly one is the hidden cigarette in Golgo 13. Instant short term life refill, unknown long term side effects.

DKR, then F-Zero X before even thinking about Mario Kart.

I hated all the major fights in Metroid Prime for this exact reason. I felt particularly outgunned against space pirates for what felt like bad design. I powered through to the end, but my enjoyment of this game took a huge dive when the space pirates showed up. I never knew that this was improved in later editions. If the trilogy ever gets re-released on Switch, I might give this another try. Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious, Super Metroid all the way for me.

Classic debate here. I personally prefer the NES versions of just about everything, but it's just a matter of personal taste. Here are some of my favorites: Bionic Commando: Mostly the same as NES with different characters (no "Master-D" this time). Has some great original levels that really take advantage of the bionic arm mechanic. Elevator Action: Not like the NES port is worth its weight in salt, but this is a great game. Watch out for the new robots and attack dogs! Wizards and Warriors: I still like the original NES game more, but the GameBoy title is one of the better entries in the series (way more fun than IronSword or Visions of Power).