I have an Announcement to make. After some thinking,I've decided to revive Retro Talk into a blog dedicaded to my various ideas(for TV Shows,Video Games,Movies,Channel Line-ups,etc) Each cool concept will be posted on the blog.
I'll also be reposting the ideas that I have on this blog onto Retro Talk (which will be renamed). Once the blog is redone,I'll link it here.
Until Next Time
Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Retro Game Rumors
Time to bring you some awesome Retro Game Rumors. Now some of these aren't completely fact checked,so they might be just pure speculation. Regardless,you will find these interesting. So let's get on with the show.
WCW PS2
There was gonna be a WCW Game for the Sony Playstation 2,created by Electronic Arts. This would've been the very first PS2 outing for WCW. However game production was halted due to the Wrestling Company's Buyout by Vince McMahon in 2001.
The game was said to be 10% finished.
---------------------------------------------------
Mighty Morphin' 32X Rangers
In 1995,Banpresto made plans for a Sega 32X version of 'Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie'. However,they quit production when they saw what an abysmal failure the 32X was.
The game was supposed to be a graphically enhanced version of it's Sega Genesis Counterpart,with better sounding music. Banpresto had no plans to make a Sega Saturn version of this game.
----------------------------------
Simon Belmont...Ninja Turtle?
There are rumors that Konami was gonna put Simon Belmont(from the castlevania games)in the Japanese Version of 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2'. There was also rumored that the famous Vampire Killer was gonna be in the Japanese version of 'TMNT 1' as well.
Konami has denied this.
----------------------------------------
Lost Wrestlers
Diesel and Adam Bomb wese Supposed to be characters in 'WWE Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game'. But Acclaim scrapped them due to lack of space and time.
On a similar note,Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Savio Vega were supposed to be hidden characters in 'WWE In Your House'. Unfortunately,they never made it in. The game contains no hidden characters.
-----------------------------------------
Red Ring Z2
The Red Ring was stated to make a return in 'Zelda II: The Adventure of Link'. However,there are no extra dungeons or caves for the Ring to be found. There is a possibility that the Ring could've been planned for one of the existing Palaces or Caves.
The LoZ1 Red Ring was in Ganon's Underground Maze within Death Mountain,so maybe the Z2 Red Ring was to be placed in that game's Death Mountain? There are plenty of empty caves in that area,so it's very possible.
Anyway, The reason for the Red Ring's absence is likely due to the inclusion if the 'Shield' spell,which,like the Zelda 1 Red Ring,give the player a 50% Defense increase.
-----------------------------------
Floating Bloober in SMB1
If you played Super Mario: Lost Levels aka The (inferior) Japanese Super Mario Bros.2,you would know about the Floating Bloober enemy. However,It was planned to be in the first game as well.
This is true,because within the data of SMB1,there is a Bloober that can be stomped on.
---------------------------------
Reverse Sex Discrimination and Stuff
Originally,"Double J" Jeff Jarret was considered to be part of the roster for 'WWF Raw'. However,because they didn't wanna seem too sexist,Acclaim decided to ditch Jarret in favor of a Female Wrestler. They chose Luna Vachon. Why her? Why not Alundra Blaze (aka madusa). And Why not Include Jeff Jarret as a hidden wrestler (like they did with kwang in the 32x version).
Anyway, Speaking of the 'WWF Raw' roster. Initially,there were gonna be different ones for each console version (kinda like what they did for 'wwf super wrestlemania' and 'wwf royal rumble'). However,Acclaim decided that it would be best to have both the SNES and Genesis versions have the exact same roster.
I don't know who would've been on which roster,sorry.
----------------------------------------
Mega Man 2..With Ally?
Aparently,'Mega Man 2' was gonna feature 2 playable characters.
Keiji Inafune and his Crew planned on having a character select option within the game. But in the end,they decided to scrap the idea. Shame Capcom didn't add this feature,because if they did,it would've been revolutionary for it's day.
BTW,the 2nd character was gonna be Roll.
-----------------------------------------
Barefoot Senshi
Originally there was gonna be a way to play as Barefoot variations of Sailor Senshi in the Super Famicom/Super Nes version of 'Sailor Moon'. This was gonna be a small homage to Naoko-san's original plan on making the girls barefoot.
However,for whatever reason,this idea was scrapped.
----------------------------------------------------------
Kouryuu Sentai Power Rangers
There are rumors speculating around that The Sega Genesis version of 'Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers' was originally a Zyuranger game.
The Green Ranger's attitude seem to reflect this. Tommy was never that badass,but Burai(his zyuranger counterpart) was.
For those who don't know Kouryuu Sentai Zyuranger is the show that Saban adapted for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheng Long
There were rumors of a hidden character in 'Street Fighter II' and 'Street Fighter II Champion Edition'.
To intensify the rumors,EGM created a mock-up for their April '92 edition. Of course this was an April Fools prank on EGM's part,but many people believed it was true...including Capcom USA. When Capcom USA told Capcom Japan about this,they were amused and clerified that there were absolutely No hidden characters in those games.
EGM themselves didn't admit that it was a gag until their December '92 issue.
Sheng Long,the hidden character,was to have all of Ryu's moves,as well as a Blazing Shoryuken. he was also stronger and faster.
Another rumor going around is that EGM's April Fool's Gag inspired Capcom Japan to create Akuma,the dark shoto that debut in 'Super Street Fighter II Turbo' as a hidden character.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spring Beauty in Orange
Capcom Japan originally intended for Chun-Li's default costume color to be Orange instead of Blue. The proof is in her 'Street Fighter II' portrait,where her costume is orange. However this was fixed in 'Street Fighter II Champion Edition'.
In future games(starting with super street fighter II),Chun-Li gains more alternate colors to her outfit. One of which is Orange.
------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy 7's Extra Materia
Square-Enix concidered adding even more Materia to the game (besides the golem materia,that is).
Those Materia were: The Super Nova (magic),Tritoch (summon),Holy(magic),Meteor(magic),Wind (magic),and Water (magic).
However this was during 'Final Fantasy 7's' planning stages and(like the golem summon)were Never implemented physically in the game(both the prototypes and the final). I don't have the reasons why.
The Super Nova Materia allowed you to cast Super Nova. This was given to Safer Sephiroth (the 2nd form of sephiroth) as an attack in the Final game.
The Tritoch Summon,The Legendary Monster from 'Final Fantasy 6' was also planned to be in this game. It would've pretty much acted the same way it did in 6.
Holy and Meteor were intended to be usable Magic Materia. But in the final game they were non-usable spells cast by Aerith and Sephiroth respectively.
The Wind and Water Materias are self-explainatory.
--------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy 7's Extra Wespons
Square-Enix also planned on giving Characters more weapons.
There was A Powerful Staff for Aerith(ancient's wrath),2 Swords for Cloud (excalibur and jupiter blade),another Claw Weapon for Tifa(name unknown),A Glave for Cid (name unknown),and a Plasma Cannon(name unknown)for Barret.
Square-Enix also planned on creating a Masamune Sword for Cloud. And The Ancient Wrath was intended to be Aerith's Real Ultimate Weapon.
Like with the materia,None of these weapons exist and were just concepts thought up for the Final Game.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Silver Chocobo of Final Fantasy 7
Square-Enix wanted to add yet another type of Chocobo for the players to breed. The Silver Chocobo.
This chocobo would've been capable of travelling underwater. However,in the 11th hour they decided Not to have the player get this Chocobo.
A Silver Chocobo Is in the Game,though. It's one of the Racing Chocobo's.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Extra Lv. 4 Limit Breaks
Square-Enix originally planned for each FF7 Hero/Heroine to have 2 Level 4 limit breaks. With Vincent and Cait Sith being the exceptions.
This never happened due to Time and Money limitations.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sephiroth Clone Get!
There is a rumor going around in the FF7 community that Square-Enix intended you to recruit The Sephiroth Clone. As you know the Sephiroth Clone killed Aerith and taunted our Heroes thoughout the game.
For whatever reason,the clone would join your party for a while. This is just a rumor and Square-Enix has never confermed this.
------------------------------------------------------------
The Aerith Revival Project
Ah,the most Famous of the FF7 Rumors. According to the rumor,Square-Enix added a special 'Aerith Ressurection' sidequest to the PC version of 'Final Fantasy 7'.
This was created due to some of the fan-backlash about Aerith's death. Since it was too late to implement it in the Playstation version, Square-Enix included it in the PC version of the game.
Of course,this Rumor has long since been proven false.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Zack's Revival
In addition to the Aerith Sidequest,Square also created a Zack ressurection Sidequest for 'Final Fantasy 7 PC'.
But,like with the whole 'Aerith Ressurection' thing,This has been proven false as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------
FF1Q2
It was rumored that Square-Enix wanted to add in a Second Quest after you beat the main game in 'Final Fantasy 1'. In the 2nd Quest,you would have all of the Levels you obtained during the previous one. The Airship would be available as well.
However,due to lack of cart space,this wasn't possible for them to do. This rumor has been proven false by many.
------------------------------------------------------------
Final Final Fantasy
Square-Enix intended to end the Main Final Fantasy Series at 8.
However,their fans pushed them to do more....and so they did. Today,The Main Final Fantasy Series is up to 15.
-------------------------------------------------------
MMVGBC
Capcom Japan was planning on creating a Game Boy Color port of Mega Man V GB/Rockman World 5. However,at the 11th Hour decided not to go through with the idea.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
190+ Pokemon
Nintendo and Game Freak originally planned on having 190+ Pokemon for Generation 1. However,this was Impossible due to limited cart space. All of these "abandoned" Pokemon were added into Generation 2.
As far as I know,this one is True. Nintendo and Gamefreak have also confirmed this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Cubone's Mama is....Kangaskhan????
Rumor has it that Game Freak originally intended for the Baby Kangaskhan(the cute little creature that's in kangaskhan's pouch) to be the Pre-Evolution of Cubone. And that Khangaskahn would be an Alternate evolution for tge Pokemon.
Nintendo and Gamefreak have denied this rumor.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mixed-Up Pokemon Families
Rumor has it that The Final Evolutions of the Butterfree line and the Venomoth line were switched. It makes some sense,since Venonat (venomoth's pre-evolution) and Butterfree look similar. Same goes for Caterpie (butterfree's 1st stage evo) and Venonat.
Nintendo and Gamefreak have denied this as well.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Prof.Oak Wants To Fight
Professor Oak was intended to be fought in Pokemon Generaion 1. He would challange you after you beat The Elite 4 and Gary enough times.
One of His Pokemon would be the fully evolved form of the Starter Pokemon that you and Gary Didn't pick.
Another True rumor. The battle is disabled and Can be hacked back into the game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Super Ninja Guiden IV
Tecmo wanted to create a sequel to Ninja Guiden III for the Super NES. But for some reason they scrapped the idea and gave us 'Ninja Guiden Trilogy' instead.
On a related Note: Konami was gonna create a Super NES Metal Gear title. But decided not to at the 11th hour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MMX72D
Capcom Japan originally wanted Mega Man X7 for the PS2 to be a 2D game. But due to the demand of Sony,Capcom Japan made Mega Man X7 a 3D Game with 2D sections.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MK1 Ermac - The Truth
The 1st Mortal Kombat game only has 1 hidden character,Reptile. The famed Ermac rumor was,in reality,based on a listing in the audit menu,called Ermacs (short for Error Macros). This lead many gamers to believe that there was another hidden fighter in the game.
When a pic of a Red Ninja surfaced,people thought it was Ermac. However,the pic itself was found-out to be a Mock-Up and Ed Boon and John Tobias told the public that Ermac was Never part of 'Mortal Kombat 1' and that no other hidden characters were planned for the game.
Though,eventually,Ermac Was made into an actual fighter in 'Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3' and has been a series mainstay ever since.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's gonna do it for this Rumor-Mill. I'll be sure to find more soon. And when I do,I'll share them with you guys.
Until Next Time,
Stay Gold,Space Cowboys
WCW PS2
There was gonna be a WCW Game for the Sony Playstation 2,created by Electronic Arts. This would've been the very first PS2 outing for WCW. However game production was halted due to the Wrestling Company's Buyout by Vince McMahon in 2001.
The game was said to be 10% finished.
---------------------------------------------------
Mighty Morphin' 32X Rangers
In 1995,Banpresto made plans for a Sega 32X version of 'Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie'. However,they quit production when they saw what an abysmal failure the 32X was.
The game was supposed to be a graphically enhanced version of it's Sega Genesis Counterpart,with better sounding music. Banpresto had no plans to make a Sega Saturn version of this game.
----------------------------------
Simon Belmont...Ninja Turtle?
There are rumors that Konami was gonna put Simon Belmont(from the castlevania games)in the Japanese Version of 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2'. There was also rumored that the famous Vampire Killer was gonna be in the Japanese version of 'TMNT 1' as well.
Konami has denied this.
----------------------------------------
Lost Wrestlers
Diesel and Adam Bomb wese Supposed to be characters in 'WWE Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game'. But Acclaim scrapped them due to lack of space and time.
On a similar note,Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Savio Vega were supposed to be hidden characters in 'WWE In Your House'. Unfortunately,they never made it in. The game contains no hidden characters.
-----------------------------------------
Red Ring Z2
The Red Ring was stated to make a return in 'Zelda II: The Adventure of Link'. However,there are no extra dungeons or caves for the Ring to be found. There is a possibility that the Ring could've been planned for one of the existing Palaces or Caves.
The LoZ1 Red Ring was in Ganon's Underground Maze within Death Mountain,so maybe the Z2 Red Ring was to be placed in that game's Death Mountain? There are plenty of empty caves in that area,so it's very possible.
Anyway, The reason for the Red Ring's absence is likely due to the inclusion if the 'Shield' spell,which,like the Zelda 1 Red Ring,give the player a 50% Defense increase.
-----------------------------------
Floating Bloober in SMB1
If you played Super Mario: Lost Levels aka The (inferior) Japanese Super Mario Bros.2,you would know about the Floating Bloober enemy. However,It was planned to be in the first game as well.
This is true,because within the data of SMB1,there is a Bloober that can be stomped on.
---------------------------------
Reverse Sex Discrimination and Stuff
Originally,"Double J" Jeff Jarret was considered to be part of the roster for 'WWF Raw'. However,because they didn't wanna seem too sexist,Acclaim decided to ditch Jarret in favor of a Female Wrestler. They chose Luna Vachon. Why her? Why not Alundra Blaze (aka madusa). And Why not Include Jeff Jarret as a hidden wrestler (like they did with kwang in the 32x version).
Anyway, Speaking of the 'WWF Raw' roster. Initially,there were gonna be different ones for each console version (kinda like what they did for 'wwf super wrestlemania' and 'wwf royal rumble'). However,Acclaim decided that it would be best to have both the SNES and Genesis versions have the exact same roster.
I don't know who would've been on which roster,sorry.
----------------------------------------
Mega Man 2..With Ally?
Aparently,'Mega Man 2' was gonna feature 2 playable characters.
Keiji Inafune and his Crew planned on having a character select option within the game. But in the end,they decided to scrap the idea. Shame Capcom didn't add this feature,because if they did,it would've been revolutionary for it's day.
BTW,the 2nd character was gonna be Roll.
-----------------------------------------
Barefoot Senshi
Originally there was gonna be a way to play as Barefoot variations of Sailor Senshi in the Super Famicom/Super Nes version of 'Sailor Moon'. This was gonna be a small homage to Naoko-san's original plan on making the girls barefoot.
However,for whatever reason,this idea was scrapped.
----------------------------------------------------------
Kouryuu Sentai Power Rangers
There are rumors speculating around that The Sega Genesis version of 'Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers' was originally a Zyuranger game.
The Green Ranger's attitude seem to reflect this. Tommy was never that badass,but Burai(his zyuranger counterpart) was.
For those who don't know Kouryuu Sentai Zyuranger is the show that Saban adapted for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheng Long
There were rumors of a hidden character in 'Street Fighter II' and 'Street Fighter II Champion Edition'.
To intensify the rumors,EGM created a mock-up for their April '92 edition. Of course this was an April Fools prank on EGM's part,but many people believed it was true...including Capcom USA. When Capcom USA told Capcom Japan about this,they were amused and clerified that there were absolutely No hidden characters in those games.
EGM themselves didn't admit that it was a gag until their December '92 issue.
Sheng Long,the hidden character,was to have all of Ryu's moves,as well as a Blazing Shoryuken. he was also stronger and faster.
Another rumor going around is that EGM's April Fool's Gag inspired Capcom Japan to create Akuma,the dark shoto that debut in 'Super Street Fighter II Turbo' as a hidden character.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spring Beauty in Orange
Capcom Japan originally intended for Chun-Li's default costume color to be Orange instead of Blue. The proof is in her 'Street Fighter II' portrait,where her costume is orange. However this was fixed in 'Street Fighter II Champion Edition'.
In future games(starting with super street fighter II),Chun-Li gains more alternate colors to her outfit. One of which is Orange.
------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy 7's Extra Materia
Square-Enix concidered adding even more Materia to the game (besides the golem materia,that is).
Those Materia were: The Super Nova (magic),Tritoch (summon),Holy(magic),Meteor(magic),Wind (magic),and Water (magic).
However this was during 'Final Fantasy 7's' planning stages and(like the golem summon)were Never implemented physically in the game(both the prototypes and the final). I don't have the reasons why.
The Super Nova Materia allowed you to cast Super Nova. This was given to Safer Sephiroth (the 2nd form of sephiroth) as an attack in the Final game.
The Tritoch Summon,The Legendary Monster from 'Final Fantasy 6' was also planned to be in this game. It would've pretty much acted the same way it did in 6.
Holy and Meteor were intended to be usable Magic Materia. But in the final game they were non-usable spells cast by Aerith and Sephiroth respectively.
The Wind and Water Materias are self-explainatory.
--------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy 7's Extra Wespons
Square-Enix also planned on giving Characters more weapons.
There was A Powerful Staff for Aerith(ancient's wrath),2 Swords for Cloud (excalibur and jupiter blade),another Claw Weapon for Tifa(name unknown),A Glave for Cid (name unknown),and a Plasma Cannon(name unknown)for Barret.
Square-Enix also planned on creating a Masamune Sword for Cloud. And The Ancient Wrath was intended to be Aerith's Real Ultimate Weapon.
Like with the materia,None of these weapons exist and were just concepts thought up for the Final Game.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Silver Chocobo of Final Fantasy 7
Square-Enix wanted to add yet another type of Chocobo for the players to breed. The Silver Chocobo.
This chocobo would've been capable of travelling underwater. However,in the 11th hour they decided Not to have the player get this Chocobo.
A Silver Chocobo Is in the Game,though. It's one of the Racing Chocobo's.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Extra Lv. 4 Limit Breaks
Square-Enix originally planned for each FF7 Hero/Heroine to have 2 Level 4 limit breaks. With Vincent and Cait Sith being the exceptions.
This never happened due to Time and Money limitations.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sephiroth Clone Get!
There is a rumor going around in the FF7 community that Square-Enix intended you to recruit The Sephiroth Clone. As you know the Sephiroth Clone killed Aerith and taunted our Heroes thoughout the game.
For whatever reason,the clone would join your party for a while. This is just a rumor and Square-Enix has never confermed this.
------------------------------------------------------------
The Aerith Revival Project
Ah,the most Famous of the FF7 Rumors. According to the rumor,Square-Enix added a special 'Aerith Ressurection' sidequest to the PC version of 'Final Fantasy 7'.
This was created due to some of the fan-backlash about Aerith's death. Since it was too late to implement it in the Playstation version, Square-Enix included it in the PC version of the game.
Of course,this Rumor has long since been proven false.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Zack's Revival
In addition to the Aerith Sidequest,Square also created a Zack ressurection Sidequest for 'Final Fantasy 7 PC'.
But,like with the whole 'Aerith Ressurection' thing,This has been proven false as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------
FF1Q2
It was rumored that Square-Enix wanted to add in a Second Quest after you beat the main game in 'Final Fantasy 1'. In the 2nd Quest,you would have all of the Levels you obtained during the previous one. The Airship would be available as well.
However,due to lack of cart space,this wasn't possible for them to do. This rumor has been proven false by many.
------------------------------------------------------------
Final Final Fantasy
Square-Enix intended to end the Main Final Fantasy Series at 8.
However,their fans pushed them to do more....and so they did. Today,The Main Final Fantasy Series is up to 15.
-------------------------------------------------------
MMVGBC
Capcom Japan was planning on creating a Game Boy Color port of Mega Man V GB/Rockman World 5. However,at the 11th Hour decided not to go through with the idea.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
190+ Pokemon
Nintendo and Game Freak originally planned on having 190+ Pokemon for Generation 1. However,this was Impossible due to limited cart space. All of these "abandoned" Pokemon were added into Generation 2.
As far as I know,this one is True. Nintendo and Gamefreak have also confirmed this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Cubone's Mama is....Kangaskhan????
Rumor has it that Game Freak originally intended for the Baby Kangaskhan(the cute little creature that's in kangaskhan's pouch) to be the Pre-Evolution of Cubone. And that Khangaskahn would be an Alternate evolution for tge Pokemon.
Nintendo and Gamefreak have denied this rumor.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mixed-Up Pokemon Families
Rumor has it that The Final Evolutions of the Butterfree line and the Venomoth line were switched. It makes some sense,since Venonat (venomoth's pre-evolution) and Butterfree look similar. Same goes for Caterpie (butterfree's 1st stage evo) and Venonat.
Nintendo and Gamefreak have denied this as well.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Prof.Oak Wants To Fight
Professor Oak was intended to be fought in Pokemon Generaion 1. He would challange you after you beat The Elite 4 and Gary enough times.
One of His Pokemon would be the fully evolved form of the Starter Pokemon that you and Gary Didn't pick.
Another True rumor. The battle is disabled and Can be hacked back into the game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Super Ninja Guiden IV
Tecmo wanted to create a sequel to Ninja Guiden III for the Super NES. But for some reason they scrapped the idea and gave us 'Ninja Guiden Trilogy' instead.
On a related Note: Konami was gonna create a Super NES Metal Gear title. But decided not to at the 11th hour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MMX72D
Capcom Japan originally wanted Mega Man X7 for the PS2 to be a 2D game. But due to the demand of Sony,Capcom Japan made Mega Man X7 a 3D Game with 2D sections.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MK1 Ermac - The Truth
The 1st Mortal Kombat game only has 1 hidden character,Reptile. The famed Ermac rumor was,in reality,based on a listing in the audit menu,called Ermacs (short for Error Macros). This lead many gamers to believe that there was another hidden fighter in the game.
When a pic of a Red Ninja surfaced,people thought it was Ermac. However,the pic itself was found-out to be a Mock-Up and Ed Boon and John Tobias told the public that Ermac was Never part of 'Mortal Kombat 1' and that no other hidden characters were planned for the game.
Though,eventually,Ermac Was made into an actual fighter in 'Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3' and has been a series mainstay ever since.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's gonna do it for this Rumor-Mill. I'll be sure to find more soon. And when I do,I'll share them with you guys.
Until Next Time,
Stay Gold,Space Cowboys
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Retro Game Factoids
As you know,every single franchise known to man has some form a trivia related to it. Well,today,The King of Retro will be bringin' you some cool factoids relating to various Video Game franchises. I already did a Mega Man focused one,so today's list will be focused on other games.
Let's begin!
Resident Not-So-Evil
With the aid of Resident Evil 1,Capcom was able to save itself from failure during the PS1/N64/Sega Saturn era. Today,the RE franchise has turned into complete crap [for a number of reasons].
----------------------------------------
Lefty Linky
Nintendo made Link left handed.It's in honor of his designer Shigeru Miyamoto[aka mr.nintendo] who is Left-Handed as well.
----------------------------------------------------------
The Sony/Nintendo connection
Nintendo themselves were responsible for the creation of the PS1,the N64s arch-rival?
Y'see In 1991,Nintendo made plans with Sony to create a CD add-on for the SNES,called the Play Station [2 words]. However at the eleventh hour,The Big N feared that Sony might have majority control of the content and profits,so they secretly made a deal with Philips.
When Sony found out about this at CES,they were furious and as an act of revenge,created their own stand-alone console: The Sony Playstation.
The CD add-on deal with Philips fell through,but Nintendo allowed them to create games based on Mario and Zelda. Of course,we All know how well those games turned out. Mah Boi!
Anywhay,so remember, if it wasn't for Nintendo's paranoia,The Playstation and it's fandom wouldn't even exist today.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Super Game Boy = Game Boy Color Prototype
In '93-'94 it was rumored that Nintendo was developing a Color Game Boy, but it turned out to be a GB converter for the SNES, the Super Game Boy. I took a while longer but the Game Boy Color is a reality!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Centaur Mario?
In the beginning of the development of Super Mario Bros. 3 there were plans for a "Centaur Mario" ability for our favorite plumber!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Popularity of Pocket Monsters
Pokemon aka Pocket Monsters, was such a super hit in Japan,that it helped the Game Boy Completely Destroy it's rivals in Handheld market.
Pocket Monsters was so popular that it spawned many game sequels..but that ain't all,there are also Pokemon posters,stickers,trading cards,toys,stuffed dolls,manga,and even an anime series.
The Franchise Mascot is Pikachu.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Star Fox,The Testing Program
Star Fox was originaly just an testing program to test out the FX-chip's capabilities, but the designers continued working on it and finally Nintendo released it and it became a big success.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Samus Aran's Popularity
All of the Metroid games has been huge bestsellers in the US,Europe,and even Australia. But for some reason,they weren't in Japan.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Super Mario 3D
Did you know that Nintendo planned to release a 3D Mario game for the SNES using their S-FX chip? However,it didn't work out due to the lack of buttons on the SNES controller. Because of this,the 3D Mario game had to wait until the creation of the N64.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Origin of Jumpman
In 1981 Shigeru Miyamoto,guided by Gunpei Yokoi,made the first mainstream game for Nintendo starring everyones favorite plumber,Mario. It was the arcade game Donkey Kong.
At the time Mario didn't had a proper name! He was just called "Jumpman" and was a carpenter. And when Donkey Kong came to the US,Jumpman was renamed Mario!
Yeah its true, Mario was first a carpenter before he became a plumber! He also starred in the sequel to Donkey Kong: Donkey Kong Jr. In Dk jr.,Mario was officialy given the name Mario. When Mario Bros came out,Mario's brother Luigi was born.
Here's how Mario got his name. When Minoru Arakawa, the president of Nintendo of America, first saw "Jumpman" he thought that it looked like the building's Landlord,Mario Segale. How Luigi got his name is unknown,though a prevailing theory says that he was named after a local Pizzaria.
Though many other theories say he was named after the Japanese word Ruigi,which means 'Similar' in that language.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surname of the Bros.
Mario and Luigi Have no Surname. It was originally thought to be "Mario",but that's never been the case.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy Fun Fact # 1
The two characters Biggs and Wedge, sometimes known as "Vicks and Wedge",have appeared in many Final Fantasy games (FF VI-VIII to be exact). What few people know is that their names were taken from Star Wars wing men: Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter.
------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy Fun Fact # 2
In all Final Fantasy games,except for Final Fantasy 1,the character Cid has appeared as an important character. The Producer of the Final Fantasy games, Hironobu Sakaguchi, once described this character as "the Yoda of the Final Fantasy series". One interesting fact to note is that the Cids are almost always either engineers or mechanics.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy Fun Fact # 3
In all of the Final Fantasy games the best and the second best swords are named Excalibur and Masamune.
You may recognize the name Excalibur from the classical King Arthur story and the Masamune is named after an ancient Japanese swordsmith.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy 64?
After Final Fantasy VI for the SNES was complete Square began experimenting with 3D characters. and in 1995 they proudly introduced to the press, a CGI demo featuring: Locke, Terra and Shadow battling some kind of a stone enemy.
This little playable demo was assumed by everyone that Square's next Final Fantasy game would be for the Nintendo 64. Unfortunately,that wasn't the case.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nintendo Hates Genies
Nintendo deliberately programmed SNES games to crash when used with a Game Genie! When Nintendo lost their trial against Galoob and Galoob was free to sell their Game Genie freely,Nintendo started implementing a chip within various games,that made those games screw up,if the Game Genie was used.
That's why there is about 3 or 4 versions of Final Fantasy III[VI] and Chrono Trigger.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metroid Translation Mistake
On the box and the manual of the Original Metroid, it states that the game takes place on the planet Zebes. However, the text inside the game itself calls the planet *Zebeth*. This is because there is no basic 's' sound in Japanese--words that end in 'th' are sometimes translated as 's'. The 'Zebes' spelling that's used in every Metroid title.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Legend" of Zelda
Miyamomto has openly admitted that "The Legend of Zelda" game series was based on fantasy books,his childhood,and the movie "Legend". The movie "Legend" was released just before "The Legend of Zelda" was, back in 1986. "Legend" was directed by Ridley Scott,and starred Tom Cruise.
The story is similar to the Zelda games: Young scrawny elf-like boy is sent out by various dwarves and pixies to delve into the dark dungeons and rescue the princess captured by the evil Gannon like demon. In his way are many smaller demons. It also has the exact same mythological and medival fantasy feel to it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donkey Kong's Name
A rumor says that it was meant that Donkey Kong's name would be Monkey Kong.but due to a bad phone connection, someone heard wrong and thought that it was Donkey Kong.
The more true theory is that Shigeru Miyamoto looked in various dictionaries for a word for "stubbern" because he wanted Donkey Kong to be that way and found the word "Donkey". The other part of the word,"Kong",came from the famous King Kong.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Biggest. AC Adapter. Ever!:
Colecovision had[has] the biggest AC adapter of any existing game system.
---------------------------------------------
Gender Confused
For some odd reason NoA changed Birdo,a female enemy,into a guy who thinks he's a girl. Though in some Japanese media,Birdo Is a guy.*shrugs*
-----------------------------------------
The Lost Zone of Sonic 2
Sonic 2 was originally supposed to have 12 Zones instead of 11. Hidden Palace Zone was cut due to time and money. This Level was mostly deleted from the final version of the game,though you can visit a crapped up version of it via cheat device. The true look of Hidden Palace can bee seen in the Sonic 2 Beta.
The Zone was restored in the iOS port.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic and Knuckles = Sonic 3 Part 2
Originally,Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles were supposed to be a single game. But due to limited cart space,the game was split in half. To compensate,Sega created Sonic and Knuckles with 'Lock-On' technology,so that you can play Sonic 3 in it's entirety.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Why The NES Looks How It Does?
Due to the Video Game Crash of '83,the Video Game Industry was looked down upon by both the press and retailers in North America. Because of this,Nintendo America designed the NES to look like a toy and advertised it as such. This helped the NES get into North American stores.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic 1 Beta Stuff
In Sonic 1 Beta,Spring Yard Zone was called Sparkling Zone and Scrap Brain Zone was called Clock Work Zone. Also in Sonic 1 Beta,there was an enemy that didn't make it into the final game. This enemy was a Rabbit badnik called Splats. Splats was a quick enemy who attacked Sonic by jumping at him.
There was also a goggles Item that supposedly allowed Sonic to breath Underwater and an 'S' Item,which gave Sonic Both Super speed and Invinsibility. These Items were scrapped for the final game,However,if you hit the Sign Post while screwing around with the debug mode,you can see the icons for these items in the sign post.
--------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy 4 NES
Final Fantasy 4 was originally planned to be an NES game? However,Square decided to make it an SNES title instead. Thank God they did this.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Tougher Enemies in Zelda 2 Jp?
In the Japanese Zelda 2,the bosses are a bit tougher. In The US version,these bosses have a weaker defense and slightly more predictable patterns.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Palutina and Princess Lana
Captain N's Princess Lana is loosely based on Goddess Palutina from Kid Icarus. She's also said to be based on a character from an obscure game called "Chesterfield"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Punch-Out Debacle
Because Mike Tyson's contract with Nintendo expired,Nintendo decided to re-release Mike Tyson's Punch-Out as just Punch-Out. In this Re-release,Mr. Dream replaced Mike Tyson as the final opponent.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Popeye the Jumpman:
The first Donkey Kong game was originally supposed to be a Popeye game. But before the development of this game,Nintendo lost the rights to the Popeye licence. Because of this,Nintendo changed the Popeye characters to the characters that we all know and love. This is why Paulina looked like Popeye's girlfriend,Olive in the early NES era.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Castevania 3's 10-Bit Music
The japanese version of Castlevania 3 has slightly superior music than it's US counterpart. That's because the Famicom has slightly better sound and graphics capabilities than the NES.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Nintendo's Silent Hero
Link never talks in any of the Zelda games. Don't ask me why,he just doesn't. He doesn't talk in the Super Smash Bros. Games either.
----------------------------------------------------
Sega's First Mascot
Alex Kidd,star of the Alex Kidd series of Games,was Sega's first mascot. When they found out that he couldn't compete with Nintendo's Mascot Mario,Sega decided to replace Alex with a new Mascot. Sega chose Sonic The Hedgehog[among a few others] to be their new mascot.
Why,because Yuji Naka wanted a speedy Mascot,and Hedgehogs were known to be fast. Sonic became blue,to match the Sega Logo. Also the Buckles on his sneakers were inspired by the buckles on Michael Jackson's Boots.
----------------------------------------------------
Sonic 3 and Michael Jackson
It was planned for Michael Jackson to do the music of Sonic 3. However this idea was scrapped,due to Jackson's "issues" at the time. Jackson also wasn't a fan of the Genesis' Sound System.
On a related note,The music for Sonic 1 GG's Bridge Zone was sampled by Janet Jackson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Adventure Island and Wonderboy
The 1st Adventure Island game is in reality a modified port of Wonder Boy 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Goblin's Goblin's Everywhere
Almost every Final Fantasy game has the Goblin enemy. I think Final Fantasy 6 and Final Fantasy 8 are the only 2 games in the Retro Final Fantasy Series that lack this Enemy.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Toadstool to Peach,Robotnik To Eggman
Princess Peach was called Princess Toadstool throughout the NES and SNES eras. Super Mario 64 for the N64 was the first mainstream game that calls Princess Toadstool,Princess Peach. BTW,Peach is the Princess' Japanese name.
On a similar note,Dr. Eggman was called Dr.Robotnik throughout the Genesis and Saturn era. They started calling him Dr. Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2 for the Dreamcast. Eggman is the Mad Scientist's Japanese name.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fast Classic Gaming Fact 2
According to Mortal Kombat creators Ed Boon and John Tobias,Mortal Kombat wouldn't have done that well if it lacked fatalities.
----------------------------------------------------
Sonic 2 Lost Badniks
The Alpha and Beta versions of Sonic 2 had enemies that were absent in the final game. Those enemies are: A Bat that swooped down at Sonic,a T-Rex enemy,a Triceratops that rushed Sonic when it sees him,a Snail that had the same method of attack as the triceratops,a second Snail that climed up walls,a Fish that jumped up from the water to attack Sonic,a Gator that bites sonic if he came near,and finally a 3-Eyed Fish that dropped bubbles on Sonic.
A Frog enemy was planned,but it never made it past the drawing board.
-----------------------------------------------------
Sonic 2 Beta Zones
Sonic 2 had 3 Zones that never made it into the final. The first one was Wood Zone,it was a treetop level that had converyer belts and tunnels.
The next one is Hidden Palace,a rocky cavern with jewels,tubes,and an underwater section. Hidden Palace can be found in the final via cheat device,but it's a glitched up mess.
The final one was Genocide City,It was nothing but a glitched up screen with no floors or anything else for that matter. To my knowlage,Genocide City was supposed to be a clone of Sonic 1's Scrap Brain Zone.
There was also supposed to be a Desert Level,but,like the Frog Badnik,it never made it past the drawing board.
-----------------------------------------------------
Dust Hill?
Sonic 2's Mystic Cave Zone was originally (and erroniouslyll called Dust Hill Zone
------------------------------------------------------
Boxer The Goblin
Square,aka Square-Enix,was planning to make a Goblin playable in Final Fantasy 7. This goblin would be a good Goblin called Boxer. However,this idea was scrapped early in the games development.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Aerith' Original Death Place
Square intended Aerith to be killed in the Northern Crater in Disk 2,instead of the Forgotten Capital in Disc 1. I'll talk more about this another day.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fast Classic Gaming Fact 3
The Sega Genesis' original Pack-in game was Altered Beast. But,for the sake of sales,they replaced Altered Beast with Sonic The Hedgehog. Smart move,Sega.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Forgotten Consoles
The Atari Jaguar,Panasonic 3DO,and Philips CD-I are the Game Systems that very few people remember.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another Final Fantasy Fun Fact
The REAL Final Fantasy 2 was ment to come to America,but Square decided to abandon the translation in favor of translating Final Fantasy 4 instead.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fake Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is concidered to be the Fake Final Fantasy by Final Fantasy fans and RPG maniacs. However,the game itself is really good. Short,not very difficult,but Good.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Lost Concept Of Sonic 2
Sonic 2 was originally gonna involve Time Travel,with past,present,and future versions of the Zones. However,this idea was instead saved for Sonic CD,which was being worked on during Sonic 2's development. I'll talk more about this another time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Only American Zelda Villian
Zelda 2 Boss,Gooma,is an American creation. Nintendo of America replaced the Japanese version's second Helmethead with Gooma.
On a related note,the Helmethead boss that we know is actually Zelda 2 Jp's second helmethead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roaring Bosses
The Bosses of Japan's Zelda 2 actually roar. This is because the Famicom has better sound capabilities than the NES.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fast Classic Gaming Fact 3
The NES was the very Game System that made Video Games popular AND saved the industry after the Video Game Crash. So thank Nintendo for the popularity...and existance of Video Games.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fast Classic Gaming Fact 4
Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition was The very first Fighting Game for the Sega Genesis.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy Number Confusion
Final Fantasy 2 US is really Final Fantasy 4 and Final Fantasy 3 US is really Final Fantasy 6.
On a related note,Final Fantasy 7 was gonna be called Final Fantasy 4 here in the U.S.,but Square decided to just leave the name alone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Street Fighter Name Madness
In Japan,Vega the Spanish Ninja is called Balrog,Balrog the American Boxer is called M.Bison,The Evil M.Bison is called Vega,and Akuma the Dark Shoto is called Gouki.
The reason For this is that in America Trademark was a big big deal. Balrog,in SFII,looked a lot like Mike Tyson. So to prevent a lawsuit by the Boxer for using his likeness,as well as using a name similar to his,Capcom USA decided to switch the names of the bosses Around. Vega's Japanese name,Balrog,was given to the Boxer.
They also figured that the name Vega sounded spanish,so they gave it to the clawed fighter. And M.Bison,the remaining name,was given to the Super Villain.
Also,since Capcom USA found the Dark Shoto to be Evil,they decided to change his name from Gouki to Akuma.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fast Classic Gaming Fact 5
Tails is based on a Kitsune,a mythical Japanese Fox that has multiple tails.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lost Materia of Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7 has some "disabled" materia that can only be accessed by hacking. These materias are: Housoku,Suichu Kokyu,Booster,MaBarrier,Reflek,and Refaub
The Housoku Materia gave you the ability to throw Gil at your enemy,kinda like the 'Coin' ability gained from the 'throw' materia.
The Suichu Kokyu Materia was disabled in the Japanese version of the game,but Re-enabled in the U.S. version. This materia was turned into the 'Underwater' Materia.
MaBarrier gave you the ability to cast 'M-Barrier'.
Reflek gave you the abillity to cast 'Reflect'.
Refaub gave you the ability to cast 'Wall'.
Booster increased the number of AP you got in battle. Since certain Weapons increase the Number of AP you get in battle,Square felt that this Materia wasn't needed.
A Materia called 'PFD' aka 'Prevent Floor Damage' was planned,but was scrapped because Square didn't want to put any "Damage" floors into Final Fantasy 7.
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Golem Summon in FF7
The 'Golem' summon was planned to be in FF7,but Square scrapped the Idea because they thought that the 'Golem' would make the game to easy.The Golem appears in FF7 as an Enemy.
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Tifa the Sabin?
Tifa was planned have Saban's 'Blitz' technique as her limit breaks. But Square scrapped that idea in favor of the 'Slot' Method.
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Cloud's 4x Materia Growth Weapon
Cloud was planned to have a sword that gave him 4x Materia growth. This sword never made it past the drawing board.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Extra Endings of FF7
In Final Fantasy 7's ending Yuffie and Vincent are 100% absent..even if you had them in your party. Square planned 3 extra endings:one with Vincent,one with Yuffie,and one with both Characters. However,Square scrapped those ideas due to lack of time and money.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FF7's Weapons
The Ruby and Emerald Weapons were American creations And that the Diamond Weapon was turned into a boss. However,all of this and more,were added to the Japanese re-release,Final Fantasy VII: International.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic Crackers
Sonic Crackers aka Sonic Stadium was the Alpha version of Knuckles Chaotix. This prototype game starred Sonic and Tails. Sonic Crackers was basically a crapped up version of Knuckles Chaotix.
-------------------------------------------
Zelda 2's Lost Item
According to a rumor I once heard,The Red Ring is a Hidden Item in Zelda 2. I'll be doing a seperate post for Retro Game Rumors.
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Castlevania 4 = Castlevania 1
In Japan,Super Castlevania 4 isn't a continuation of Simon Belmont's adventures,instead the story is actually a re-telling of Castlevania 1's story.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Placeholder Kirby
Kirby was originally an unnamed place holder for a game.But Nintendo and HAL liked him so much,they've decided to make him the main character of the game. This decision proved to be an excellent one,as Kirby has become one of Nintendo's most popular characters.
At first the character was named Popopo,but was soon changed to Kirby,after the Vaccume. Though,some say Kirby was named after John Kirby,the lawyer who helped Nintendo against Universal Studios during the whole 'Donkey Kong' copyright debacle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic's World
The official name of Sonic the Hedgehog's Planet is still unknown,because Sega of Japan hasn't told us yet. Sega of America used to call Sonic's World,Mobius. But,unfortunately,that's inaccurate.
Some say that Sonic's World is an alternate version of Earth. However,I find this questionable and SoJ has never confirmed this. So Sonic's World will remain nameless,until Sega of Japan reveals it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Universal vs Nintendo
Universal Studios sued Nintendo because they stupidly believed that Donkey Kong was a illegal licenced King Kong game. Universal lost the case miserably for 2 reasons: 1,Nintendo didn't rip off the King Kong franchise. And 2, The King Kong franchise itself was Public Domain. So no copyrights were violated and Universal was forced to pay Nintendo millions of dollars in damages.
The day Nintendo one that case,was the day it became a recognizable company.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Master System = Master Fail
Due to the bad fun factor of most of it's games,weak marketing,and having little to no 3rd party support,the Sega Master System failed in both America and Japan. You see,even with it's superior graphics and sound,the SMS failed to beat the NES.
However in Europe,it had a stronger following. In Brazil,the SMS was extremely popular. In fact,it's popularity among Brazilians is still alive today.
----------------------------------------------------------------
When the Proto is the Final
The Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man is actually the Prototype. Ya see,Atari wanted to get this game out early,so instead of finishing the production quickly,they mass produced and released the Prototype instead.
That was really lazy.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Kongs
Did you know that D.K.,the Donkey Kong that we know of is the Son of Donkey Kong Jr. So that would make D.K.'s Grandpa,Cranky,the original Donkey Kong.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst.Atari Game.Ever!
Did you know that ET was the most hated Atari game ever. The gameplay was very crappy and the graphics(for an atari) were garbage.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not A Real Street Fighter
The NES Title,Street Figher 2010 isn't Even part of the Franchise. Despite being called Street Fighter. Ken Masters isn't even in the game,the protagonists name is Kevin and was only renamed Ken in the US version.
Why? Beats tbe hell out of me.
------------------------------------------------------------
The FF7 Petiotion of '96
In 1996,Fans of Final Fantasy heard about plans to bring Final Fantasy 7 to America,They were exited..However,they didn't want a repeat of Final Fantasy 2 (4 in jp) and,to some minor extent,Final Fantasy 3 [6 in jp].
So a large group of fans created a single petition (i think it was an online one,though i could be wrong) asking Square USA to be fair with the translation. They wanted the following things:
1 - Keep the Original Name
2 - Keep The Death Scenes and References to Death
3 - Keep the Violence intact..including Blood.
4 - Keep the Disterbing Scenes intact
5 - Don't Sugercoate the Villains..or the Heroes.
6 - Keep All Abillities and Weapons Intact.
7 - Keep The Dialouge close to the Original.
8 - Keep the Difficulty as is.
The Petition was a success and the Fans got most of the stuff they wanted. Interesting huh?
I hope you all enjoyed this long list of interesting facts. I'll make another list once I collected some more factoids.
Until Next Time,
Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.
Let's begin!
Resident Not-So-Evil
With the aid of Resident Evil 1,Capcom was able to save itself from failure during the PS1/N64/Sega Saturn era. Today,the RE franchise has turned into complete crap [for a number of reasons].
----------------------------------------
Lefty Linky
Nintendo made Link left handed.It's in honor of his designer Shigeru Miyamoto[aka mr.nintendo] who is Left-Handed as well.
----------------------------------------------------------
The Sony/Nintendo connection
Nintendo themselves were responsible for the creation of the PS1,the N64s arch-rival?
Y'see In 1991,Nintendo made plans with Sony to create a CD add-on for the SNES,called the Play Station [2 words]. However at the eleventh hour,The Big N feared that Sony might have majority control of the content and profits,so they secretly made a deal with Philips.
When Sony found out about this at CES,they were furious and as an act of revenge,created their own stand-alone console: The Sony Playstation.
The CD add-on deal with Philips fell through,but Nintendo allowed them to create games based on Mario and Zelda. Of course,we All know how well those games turned out. Mah Boi!
Anywhay,so remember, if it wasn't for Nintendo's paranoia,The Playstation and it's fandom wouldn't even exist today.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Super Game Boy = Game Boy Color Prototype
In '93-'94 it was rumored that Nintendo was developing a Color Game Boy, but it turned out to be a GB converter for the SNES, the Super Game Boy. I took a while longer but the Game Boy Color is a reality!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Centaur Mario?
In the beginning of the development of Super Mario Bros. 3 there were plans for a "Centaur Mario" ability for our favorite plumber!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Popularity of Pocket Monsters
Pokemon aka Pocket Monsters, was such a super hit in Japan,that it helped the Game Boy Completely Destroy it's rivals in Handheld market.
Pocket Monsters was so popular that it spawned many game sequels..but that ain't all,there are also Pokemon posters,stickers,trading cards,toys,stuffed dolls,manga,and even an anime series.
The Franchise Mascot is Pikachu.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Star Fox,The Testing Program
Star Fox was originaly just an testing program to test out the FX-chip's capabilities, but the designers continued working on it and finally Nintendo released it and it became a big success.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Samus Aran's Popularity
All of the Metroid games has been huge bestsellers in the US,Europe,and even Australia. But for some reason,they weren't in Japan.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Super Mario 3D
Did you know that Nintendo planned to release a 3D Mario game for the SNES using their S-FX chip? However,it didn't work out due to the lack of buttons on the SNES controller. Because of this,the 3D Mario game had to wait until the creation of the N64.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Origin of Jumpman
In 1981 Shigeru Miyamoto,guided by Gunpei Yokoi,made the first mainstream game for Nintendo starring everyones favorite plumber,Mario. It was the arcade game Donkey Kong.
At the time Mario didn't had a proper name! He was just called "Jumpman" and was a carpenter. And when Donkey Kong came to the US,Jumpman was renamed Mario!
Yeah its true, Mario was first a carpenter before he became a plumber! He also starred in the sequel to Donkey Kong: Donkey Kong Jr. In Dk jr.,Mario was officialy given the name Mario. When Mario Bros came out,Mario's brother Luigi was born.
Here's how Mario got his name. When Minoru Arakawa, the president of Nintendo of America, first saw "Jumpman" he thought that it looked like the building's Landlord,Mario Segale. How Luigi got his name is unknown,though a prevailing theory says that he was named after a local Pizzaria.
Though many other theories say he was named after the Japanese word Ruigi,which means 'Similar' in that language.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surname of the Bros.
Mario and Luigi Have no Surname. It was originally thought to be "Mario",but that's never been the case.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy Fun Fact # 1
The two characters Biggs and Wedge, sometimes known as "Vicks and Wedge",have appeared in many Final Fantasy games (FF VI-VIII to be exact). What few people know is that their names were taken from Star Wars wing men: Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter.
------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy Fun Fact # 2
In all Final Fantasy games,except for Final Fantasy 1,the character Cid has appeared as an important character. The Producer of the Final Fantasy games, Hironobu Sakaguchi, once described this character as "the Yoda of the Final Fantasy series". One interesting fact to note is that the Cids are almost always either engineers or mechanics.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy Fun Fact # 3
In all of the Final Fantasy games the best and the second best swords are named Excalibur and Masamune.
You may recognize the name Excalibur from the classical King Arthur story and the Masamune is named after an ancient Japanese swordsmith.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy 64?
After Final Fantasy VI for the SNES was complete Square began experimenting with 3D characters. and in 1995 they proudly introduced to the press, a CGI demo featuring: Locke, Terra and Shadow battling some kind of a stone enemy.
This little playable demo was assumed by everyone that Square's next Final Fantasy game would be for the Nintendo 64. Unfortunately,that wasn't the case.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nintendo Hates Genies
Nintendo deliberately programmed SNES games to crash when used with a Game Genie! When Nintendo lost their trial against Galoob and Galoob was free to sell their Game Genie freely,Nintendo started implementing a chip within various games,that made those games screw up,if the Game Genie was used.
That's why there is about 3 or 4 versions of Final Fantasy III[VI] and Chrono Trigger.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metroid Translation Mistake
On the box and the manual of the Original Metroid, it states that the game takes place on the planet Zebes. However, the text inside the game itself calls the planet *Zebeth*. This is because there is no basic 's' sound in Japanese--words that end in 'th' are sometimes translated as 's'. The 'Zebes' spelling that's used in every Metroid title.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Legend" of Zelda
Miyamomto has openly admitted that "The Legend of Zelda" game series was based on fantasy books,his childhood,and the movie "Legend". The movie "Legend" was released just before "The Legend of Zelda" was, back in 1986. "Legend" was directed by Ridley Scott,and starred Tom Cruise.
The story is similar to the Zelda games: Young scrawny elf-like boy is sent out by various dwarves and pixies to delve into the dark dungeons and rescue the princess captured by the evil Gannon like demon. In his way are many smaller demons. It also has the exact same mythological and medival fantasy feel to it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donkey Kong's Name
A rumor says that it was meant that Donkey Kong's name would be Monkey Kong.but due to a bad phone connection, someone heard wrong and thought that it was Donkey Kong.
The more true theory is that Shigeru Miyamoto looked in various dictionaries for a word for "stubbern" because he wanted Donkey Kong to be that way and found the word "Donkey". The other part of the word,"Kong",came from the famous King Kong.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Biggest. AC Adapter. Ever!:
Colecovision had[has] the biggest AC adapter of any existing game system.
---------------------------------------------
Gender Confused
For some odd reason NoA changed Birdo,a female enemy,into a guy who thinks he's a girl. Though in some Japanese media,Birdo Is a guy.*shrugs*
-----------------------------------------
The Lost Zone of Sonic 2
Sonic 2 was originally supposed to have 12 Zones instead of 11. Hidden Palace Zone was cut due to time and money. This Level was mostly deleted from the final version of the game,though you can visit a crapped up version of it via cheat device. The true look of Hidden Palace can bee seen in the Sonic 2 Beta.
The Zone was restored in the iOS port.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic and Knuckles = Sonic 3 Part 2
Originally,Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles were supposed to be a single game. But due to limited cart space,the game was split in half. To compensate,Sega created Sonic and Knuckles with 'Lock-On' technology,so that you can play Sonic 3 in it's entirety.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Why The NES Looks How It Does?
Due to the Video Game Crash of '83,the Video Game Industry was looked down upon by both the press and retailers in North America. Because of this,Nintendo America designed the NES to look like a toy and advertised it as such. This helped the NES get into North American stores.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic 1 Beta Stuff
In Sonic 1 Beta,Spring Yard Zone was called Sparkling Zone and Scrap Brain Zone was called Clock Work Zone. Also in Sonic 1 Beta,there was an enemy that didn't make it into the final game. This enemy was a Rabbit badnik called Splats. Splats was a quick enemy who attacked Sonic by jumping at him.
There was also a goggles Item that supposedly allowed Sonic to breath Underwater and an 'S' Item,which gave Sonic Both Super speed and Invinsibility. These Items were scrapped for the final game,However,if you hit the Sign Post while screwing around with the debug mode,you can see the icons for these items in the sign post.
--------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy 4 NES
Final Fantasy 4 was originally planned to be an NES game? However,Square decided to make it an SNES title instead. Thank God they did this.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Tougher Enemies in Zelda 2 Jp?
In the Japanese Zelda 2,the bosses are a bit tougher. In The US version,these bosses have a weaker defense and slightly more predictable patterns.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Palutina and Princess Lana
Captain N's Princess Lana is loosely based on Goddess Palutina from Kid Icarus. She's also said to be based on a character from an obscure game called "Chesterfield"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Punch-Out Debacle
Because Mike Tyson's contract with Nintendo expired,Nintendo decided to re-release Mike Tyson's Punch-Out as just Punch-Out. In this Re-release,Mr. Dream replaced Mike Tyson as the final opponent.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Popeye the Jumpman:
The first Donkey Kong game was originally supposed to be a Popeye game. But before the development of this game,Nintendo lost the rights to the Popeye licence. Because of this,Nintendo changed the Popeye characters to the characters that we all know and love. This is why Paulina looked like Popeye's girlfriend,Olive in the early NES era.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Castevania 3's 10-Bit Music
The japanese version of Castlevania 3 has slightly superior music than it's US counterpart. That's because the Famicom has slightly better sound and graphics capabilities than the NES.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Nintendo's Silent Hero
Link never talks in any of the Zelda games. Don't ask me why,he just doesn't. He doesn't talk in the Super Smash Bros. Games either.
----------------------------------------------------
Sega's First Mascot
Alex Kidd,star of the Alex Kidd series of Games,was Sega's first mascot. When they found out that he couldn't compete with Nintendo's Mascot Mario,Sega decided to replace Alex with a new Mascot. Sega chose Sonic The Hedgehog[among a few others] to be their new mascot.
Why,because Yuji Naka wanted a speedy Mascot,and Hedgehogs were known to be fast. Sonic became blue,to match the Sega Logo. Also the Buckles on his sneakers were inspired by the buckles on Michael Jackson's Boots.
----------------------------------------------------
Sonic 3 and Michael Jackson
It was planned for Michael Jackson to do the music of Sonic 3. However this idea was scrapped,due to Jackson's "issues" at the time. Jackson also wasn't a fan of the Genesis' Sound System.
On a related note,The music for Sonic 1 GG's Bridge Zone was sampled by Janet Jackson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Adventure Island and Wonderboy
The 1st Adventure Island game is in reality a modified port of Wonder Boy 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Goblin's Goblin's Everywhere
Almost every Final Fantasy game has the Goblin enemy. I think Final Fantasy 6 and Final Fantasy 8 are the only 2 games in the Retro Final Fantasy Series that lack this Enemy.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Toadstool to Peach,Robotnik To Eggman
Princess Peach was called Princess Toadstool throughout the NES and SNES eras. Super Mario 64 for the N64 was the first mainstream game that calls Princess Toadstool,Princess Peach. BTW,Peach is the Princess' Japanese name.
On a similar note,Dr. Eggman was called Dr.Robotnik throughout the Genesis and Saturn era. They started calling him Dr. Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2 for the Dreamcast. Eggman is the Mad Scientist's Japanese name.
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Fast Classic Gaming Fact 2
According to Mortal Kombat creators Ed Boon and John Tobias,Mortal Kombat wouldn't have done that well if it lacked fatalities.
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Sonic 2 Lost Badniks
The Alpha and Beta versions of Sonic 2 had enemies that were absent in the final game. Those enemies are: A Bat that swooped down at Sonic,a T-Rex enemy,a Triceratops that rushed Sonic when it sees him,a Snail that had the same method of attack as the triceratops,a second Snail that climed up walls,a Fish that jumped up from the water to attack Sonic,a Gator that bites sonic if he came near,and finally a 3-Eyed Fish that dropped bubbles on Sonic.
A Frog enemy was planned,but it never made it past the drawing board.
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Sonic 2 Beta Zones
Sonic 2 had 3 Zones that never made it into the final. The first one was Wood Zone,it was a treetop level that had converyer belts and tunnels.
The next one is Hidden Palace,a rocky cavern with jewels,tubes,and an underwater section. Hidden Palace can be found in the final via cheat device,but it's a glitched up mess.
The final one was Genocide City,It was nothing but a glitched up screen with no floors or anything else for that matter. To my knowlage,Genocide City was supposed to be a clone of Sonic 1's Scrap Brain Zone.
There was also supposed to be a Desert Level,but,like the Frog Badnik,it never made it past the drawing board.
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Dust Hill?
Sonic 2's Mystic Cave Zone was originally (and erroniouslyll called Dust Hill Zone
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Boxer The Goblin
Square,aka Square-Enix,was planning to make a Goblin playable in Final Fantasy 7. This goblin would be a good Goblin called Boxer. However,this idea was scrapped early in the games development.
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Aerith' Original Death Place
Square intended Aerith to be killed in the Northern Crater in Disk 2,instead of the Forgotten Capital in Disc 1. I'll talk more about this another day.
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Fast Classic Gaming Fact 3
The Sega Genesis' original Pack-in game was Altered Beast. But,for the sake of sales,they replaced Altered Beast with Sonic The Hedgehog. Smart move,Sega.
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The Forgotten Consoles
The Atari Jaguar,Panasonic 3DO,and Philips CD-I are the Game Systems that very few people remember.
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Another Final Fantasy Fun Fact
The REAL Final Fantasy 2 was ment to come to America,but Square decided to abandon the translation in favor of translating Final Fantasy 4 instead.
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Fake Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is concidered to be the Fake Final Fantasy by Final Fantasy fans and RPG maniacs. However,the game itself is really good. Short,not very difficult,but Good.
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The Lost Concept Of Sonic 2
Sonic 2 was originally gonna involve Time Travel,with past,present,and future versions of the Zones. However,this idea was instead saved for Sonic CD,which was being worked on during Sonic 2's development. I'll talk more about this another time.
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The Only American Zelda Villian
Zelda 2 Boss,Gooma,is an American creation. Nintendo of America replaced the Japanese version's second Helmethead with Gooma.
On a related note,the Helmethead boss that we know is actually Zelda 2 Jp's second helmethead.
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Roaring Bosses
The Bosses of Japan's Zelda 2 actually roar. This is because the Famicom has better sound capabilities than the NES.
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Fast Classic Gaming Fact 3
The NES was the very Game System that made Video Games popular AND saved the industry after the Video Game Crash. So thank Nintendo for the popularity...and existance of Video Games.
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Fast Classic Gaming Fact 4
Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition was The very first Fighting Game for the Sega Genesis.
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Final Fantasy Number Confusion
Final Fantasy 2 US is really Final Fantasy 4 and Final Fantasy 3 US is really Final Fantasy 6.
On a related note,Final Fantasy 7 was gonna be called Final Fantasy 4 here in the U.S.,but Square decided to just leave the name alone.
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Street Fighter Name Madness
In Japan,Vega the Spanish Ninja is called Balrog,Balrog the American Boxer is called M.Bison,The Evil M.Bison is called Vega,and Akuma the Dark Shoto is called Gouki.
The reason For this is that in America Trademark was a big big deal. Balrog,in SFII,looked a lot like Mike Tyson. So to prevent a lawsuit by the Boxer for using his likeness,as well as using a name similar to his,Capcom USA decided to switch the names of the bosses Around. Vega's Japanese name,Balrog,was given to the Boxer.
They also figured that the name Vega sounded spanish,so they gave it to the clawed fighter. And M.Bison,the remaining name,was given to the Super Villain.
Also,since Capcom USA found the Dark Shoto to be Evil,they decided to change his name from Gouki to Akuma.
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Fast Classic Gaming Fact 5
Tails is based on a Kitsune,a mythical Japanese Fox that has multiple tails.
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Lost Materia of Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7 has some "disabled" materia that can only be accessed by hacking. These materias are: Housoku,Suichu Kokyu,Booster,MaBarrier,Reflek,and Refaub
The Housoku Materia gave you the ability to throw Gil at your enemy,kinda like the 'Coin' ability gained from the 'throw' materia.
The Suichu Kokyu Materia was disabled in the Japanese version of the game,but Re-enabled in the U.S. version. This materia was turned into the 'Underwater' Materia.
MaBarrier gave you the ability to cast 'M-Barrier'.
Reflek gave you the abillity to cast 'Reflect'.
Refaub gave you the ability to cast 'Wall'.
Booster increased the number of AP you got in battle. Since certain Weapons increase the Number of AP you get in battle,Square felt that this Materia wasn't needed.
A Materia called 'PFD' aka 'Prevent Floor Damage' was planned,but was scrapped because Square didn't want to put any "Damage" floors into Final Fantasy 7.
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Golem Summon in FF7
The 'Golem' summon was planned to be in FF7,but Square scrapped the Idea because they thought that the 'Golem' would make the game to easy.The Golem appears in FF7 as an Enemy.
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Tifa the Sabin?
Tifa was planned have Saban's 'Blitz' technique as her limit breaks. But Square scrapped that idea in favor of the 'Slot' Method.
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Cloud's 4x Materia Growth Weapon
Cloud was planned to have a sword that gave him 4x Materia growth. This sword never made it past the drawing board.
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3 Extra Endings of FF7
In Final Fantasy 7's ending Yuffie and Vincent are 100% absent..even if you had them in your party. Square planned 3 extra endings:one with Vincent,one with Yuffie,and one with both Characters. However,Square scrapped those ideas due to lack of time and money.
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FF7's Weapons
The Ruby and Emerald Weapons were American creations And that the Diamond Weapon was turned into a boss. However,all of this and more,were added to the Japanese re-release,Final Fantasy VII: International.
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Sonic Crackers
Sonic Crackers aka Sonic Stadium was the Alpha version of Knuckles Chaotix. This prototype game starred Sonic and Tails. Sonic Crackers was basically a crapped up version of Knuckles Chaotix.
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Zelda 2's Lost Item
According to a rumor I once heard,The Red Ring is a Hidden Item in Zelda 2. I'll be doing a seperate post for Retro Game Rumors.
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Castlevania 4 = Castlevania 1
In Japan,Super Castlevania 4 isn't a continuation of Simon Belmont's adventures,instead the story is actually a re-telling of Castlevania 1's story.
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Placeholder Kirby
Kirby was originally an unnamed place holder for a game.But Nintendo and HAL liked him so much,they've decided to make him the main character of the game. This decision proved to be an excellent one,as Kirby has become one of Nintendo's most popular characters.
At first the character was named Popopo,but was soon changed to Kirby,after the Vaccume. Though,some say Kirby was named after John Kirby,the lawyer who helped Nintendo against Universal Studios during the whole 'Donkey Kong' copyright debacle.
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Sonic's World
The official name of Sonic the Hedgehog's Planet is still unknown,because Sega of Japan hasn't told us yet. Sega of America used to call Sonic's World,Mobius. But,unfortunately,that's inaccurate.
Some say that Sonic's World is an alternate version of Earth. However,I find this questionable and SoJ has never confirmed this. So Sonic's World will remain nameless,until Sega of Japan reveals it.
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Universal vs Nintendo
Universal Studios sued Nintendo because they stupidly believed that Donkey Kong was a illegal licenced King Kong game. Universal lost the case miserably for 2 reasons: 1,Nintendo didn't rip off the King Kong franchise. And 2, The King Kong franchise itself was Public Domain. So no copyrights were violated and Universal was forced to pay Nintendo millions of dollars in damages.
The day Nintendo one that case,was the day it became a recognizable company.
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Master System = Master Fail
Due to the bad fun factor of most of it's games,weak marketing,and having little to no 3rd party support,the Sega Master System failed in both America and Japan. You see,even with it's superior graphics and sound,the SMS failed to beat the NES.
However in Europe,it had a stronger following. In Brazil,the SMS was extremely popular. In fact,it's popularity among Brazilians is still alive today.
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When the Proto is the Final
The Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man is actually the Prototype. Ya see,Atari wanted to get this game out early,so instead of finishing the production quickly,they mass produced and released the Prototype instead.
That was really lazy.
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Kongs
Did you know that D.K.,the Donkey Kong that we know of is the Son of Donkey Kong Jr. So that would make D.K.'s Grandpa,Cranky,the original Donkey Kong.
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Worst.Atari Game.Ever!
Did you know that ET was the most hated Atari game ever. The gameplay was very crappy and the graphics(for an atari) were garbage.
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Not A Real Street Fighter
The NES Title,Street Figher 2010 isn't Even part of the Franchise. Despite being called Street Fighter. Ken Masters isn't even in the game,the protagonists name is Kevin and was only renamed Ken in the US version.
Why? Beats tbe hell out of me.
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The FF7 Petiotion of '96
In 1996,Fans of Final Fantasy heard about plans to bring Final Fantasy 7 to America,They were exited..However,they didn't want a repeat of Final Fantasy 2 (4 in jp) and,to some minor extent,Final Fantasy 3 [6 in jp].
So a large group of fans created a single petition (i think it was an online one,though i could be wrong) asking Square USA to be fair with the translation. They wanted the following things:
1 - Keep the Original Name
2 - Keep The Death Scenes and References to Death
3 - Keep the Violence intact..including Blood.
4 - Keep the Disterbing Scenes intact
5 - Don't Sugercoate the Villains..or the Heroes.
6 - Keep All Abillities and Weapons Intact.
7 - Keep The Dialouge close to the Original.
8 - Keep the Difficulty as is.
The Petition was a success and the Fans got most of the stuff they wanted. Interesting huh?
I hope you all enjoyed this long list of interesting facts. I'll make another list once I collected some more factoids.
Until Next Time,
Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.
Friday, May 17, 2019
Retro Anniversaries in 2019 and 2020!
Just for fun,I'm gonna list some Current and Upcoming Anniversaries noteworthy of Retro Rebellion.
2019
The Sony Playstation (25th)
The Sega Saturn (25th)
Rocky II (40th)
Disney's The Little Mermaid Franchise (30th)
Ruby-Spears Mega Man (25th)
Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers (30th)
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (30th)
Captain N - The Game Master (30th)
Super Smash Bros Franchise (20th)
Final Fantasy VIII (20th)
The Nintendo Game Boy (30th)
The Lion King (25th)
Pokemon Gold and Silver (20th)
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Game Franchise (30th)
Street Fighter II - The Animated Movie (25th)
Toonami's TOM (20th)
WWE's The Mega Powers Explode (30th)
WCW's The Fingerpoke of Doom/Tony Schiavone's "Mick Foley" Misfire (20th)
The Self-Destruction of WCW aka The Beginning of the End for WCW (20th)
The Death of Owen Hart (20th)
WWE's Ultimate Monday Night War Victory (20th)
Batman (80th)
Toy Story 2 (20th)
Toonami's Move To Saturday Nights (15th)
The Batman Movie Franchise (30th)
Final Fight (30th)
WWE's New Generation Era (25th)
Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage's WCW Debuts (25th)
Hulkamania (35th)
Black Saturday (35th)
The Simpsons [TV Show] (30th)
Nick GaS [TV Network] (20th)
The Y2k Myth (20th)
Super Metroid (25th)
Final Fantasy VI (25th)
Spyro the Dragon (20th)
The Super Mario Land Series (30th)
Saved By The Bell (30th)
The Karate Kid Franchise (35th)
The Donkey Kong Country Franchise (25th)
The Sega 32X (25th)
Sonic Adventure (20th)
The Sega Dreamcast (20th)
V.R.Troopers (25th)
WWE Smackdown (20th)
Digimon [Anime] (20th)
Spider-Man: The Animated Series (25th)
The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy (20th)
The (horrid) Birth of Discovery Family (5th)
The Power Rangers Video Game Franchise (25th)
Transformers (35th)
The Disney Renaissance (30th)
2020
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movie Franchise (30th)
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers The Movie (25th)
WrestleMania (35th)
The Super Famicom/Super NES (30th)
The Sega Game Gear (30th)
The Sega Nomad (25th)
Mega Man 3 (30th)
The USA Action Xtreme Team Block (25th)
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (25th)
Xena: Warrior Princess (25th)
WCW Monday Nitro (25th)
The Monday Night Wars (25th)
The Hub Network (10th)
Kids WB (25th)
Chrono Trigger (25th)
Nintendo's Complete Console War Victory (25th)
Street Fighter Alpha (25th)
Pac-Man (40th)
This Blog (10th)
These are all of the Anniversaries that I'm aware of. Will you guys be celebrating (or in some cases,mourning) any of these? Anyway,Drop a line down below.
'till Next Time,
Stay Gold,Space Cowboy.
2019
The Sony Playstation (25th)
The Sega Saturn (25th)
Rocky II (40th)
Disney's The Little Mermaid Franchise (30th)
Ruby-Spears Mega Man (25th)
Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers (30th)
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (30th)
Captain N - The Game Master (30th)
Super Smash Bros Franchise (20th)
Final Fantasy VIII (20th)
The Nintendo Game Boy (30th)
The Lion King (25th)
Pokemon Gold and Silver (20th)
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Game Franchise (30th)
Street Fighter II - The Animated Movie (25th)
Toonami's TOM (20th)
WWE's The Mega Powers Explode (30th)
WCW's The Fingerpoke of Doom/Tony Schiavone's "Mick Foley" Misfire (20th)
The Self-Destruction of WCW aka The Beginning of the End for WCW (20th)
The Death of Owen Hart (20th)
WWE's Ultimate Monday Night War Victory (20th)
Batman (80th)
Toy Story 2 (20th)
Toonami's Move To Saturday Nights (15th)
The Batman Movie Franchise (30th)
Final Fight (30th)
WWE's New Generation Era (25th)
Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage's WCW Debuts (25th)
Hulkamania (35th)
Black Saturday (35th)
The Simpsons [TV Show] (30th)
Nick GaS [TV Network] (20th)
The Y2k Myth (20th)
Super Metroid (25th)
Final Fantasy VI (25th)
Spyro the Dragon (20th)
The Super Mario Land Series (30th)
Saved By The Bell (30th)
The Karate Kid Franchise (35th)
The Donkey Kong Country Franchise (25th)
The Sega 32X (25th)
Sonic Adventure (20th)
The Sega Dreamcast (20th)
V.R.Troopers (25th)
WWE Smackdown (20th)
Digimon [Anime] (20th)
Spider-Man: The Animated Series (25th)
The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy (20th)
The (horrid) Birth of Discovery Family (5th)
The Power Rangers Video Game Franchise (25th)
Transformers (35th)
The Disney Renaissance (30th)
2020
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movie Franchise (30th)
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers The Movie (25th)
WrestleMania (35th)
The Super Famicom/Super NES (30th)
The Sega Game Gear (30th)
The Sega Nomad (25th)
Mega Man 3 (30th)
The USA Action Xtreme Team Block (25th)
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (25th)
Xena: Warrior Princess (25th)
WCW Monday Nitro (25th)
The Monday Night Wars (25th)
The Hub Network (10th)
Kids WB (25th)
Chrono Trigger (25th)
Nintendo's Complete Console War Victory (25th)
Street Fighter Alpha (25th)
Pac-Man (40th)
This Blog (10th)
These are all of the Anniversaries that I'm aware of. Will you guys be celebrating (or in some cases,mourning) any of these? Anyway,Drop a line down below.
'till Next Time,
Stay Gold,Space Cowboy.
Monday, May 13, 2019
Top 30 Favorite Sega Genesis Titles
I was gonna do a Top 30 Must Play Sega Genesis games. But,I've decided to do something a little better. Today,I'm gonna list 30 of My favorite Genesis titles.
The Sega Genesis gave me many great memories. It was my 1st 16-bit system and me and my buddy,Phil played the hell out of it. Plus,I love the music. The Genesis sounds are just so cool,so 90's.
Anyway,here we go with the list. Please note,that I'm only gonna list the games that I own and/or played. And as usual,this list is in no perticular order.
Honorable Mention 1 - Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: My first Power Rangers game. it's just a basic fighting game,but I have fond memories playing it. Plus,you can play as Green Ranger and Dragonzord. Sweetnes.
Honorable Mention 2 - Michael Jackson's MoonWalker: The first game on this list that I've only played via emulation. As a fan of the King of Pop himsrlf,I couldn't help but to like this game.
Honorable Mention 3 and 4 - Revenge of Shinobi and Shinobi III: I'm kinda cheating because I can't decide which game I like more. These 2 are also games that I've played through emulation.
30 to 28 - The Streets of Rage Trilogy: Yeah,I'm cheating again. All 3 of these games are so awesome. The music is great,the gameplay is great,as are the graphics. Sadly,I only played these through emulation.
27 and 26 - Golden Axe and Golden Axe II: No more cheating,promise. Again,I only played these through emulation,i don't own copies. The first 2 Golden Axe games were awesome and are well worth playing.
25 - Afterburner II: Yet Another game I played via Emulation. I have the 3rd game for the Sega CD and loved it,so when my Sega CD broke,I downloaded this game for my Sega emulator. It's a pretty fun dog fight game.
24 - WWF Wrestlemania - The Arcade Game: A game I rented and then played on emulation years later. It's a fun hybrid of Mortal Kombat and WWF Wrestling.
23 - Toejam and Earl: A true classic.
22 - Spider-Man and Venom - Separation Anxiety: The superior sequel to Maximum Carnage. Plus,it has Co-op mode.
21 - Toejam and Earl - Panic on Funkatron: Toejam and Earl in a platformer. Lots of cool memories playing this.
20 - Street Fighter II - Special Champion Edition: My first Street Fighter title. This game let's you play the game in hyper speed right off the bat. Awesome.
19 - Mortal Kombat: Genesis does what Nintendon't. This was my first exposure to the franchise itself.
18 - Mortal Kombat II: Inferior to the SNES version,but still a great game. Plus,it has cheats.
17 - Mortal Kombat 3: Not a bad port of the Arcade original. This one,like the orevious 2 games,has cheats as well.
16 - Super Street Fighter II: My 2nd Street Fighter game. Lacks the hyper speed option,but still a great game.
15 - Sonic Spinball: Sonic and Pinball make an excellent combination.
14 - Sonic and Knuckles: Part 2 of Sonic 3.
13 - Sonic the Hedgehog 3: The first part of Sonic 3.
12 - Sonic the Hedgehog: My first Genesis title. Sonic became a favorite from the get-go.
11 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Greatest Sonic Game. Period!
10 - Mega Bomberman: Bomberman on the Genesis. The battle mode is the thing that made me love this game.
09 - Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers - The Movie: Get a Streets of Rage vibe from this title.
08 - WWF RAW: My first 16-Bit WWF game. Button Mashing fun! To fully enjoy this title,play it with a Turbo Controller.
07 - Roadblasters: It's Rad Racer with weapons. Cool.
06 - Columns: My first Genesis Puzzle Game. I still love this title,even to this day.
05 - Dr.Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine: An awesomly fun puzzle game. Played this on emulation first,before playing it on the Sonic Mega Collection for the Game Cube.
04 - Sailor Moon: A japanese beat'em up based on Sailor Moon,one of my favorite Anime series. I played this through emulation as it was the only way for me to play it.
03 - Cool Spot: Owned the SNES game first and got the Genesis version years later.
02 - Vectorman: Like with MBM,I played this on emulation first,before playing it on the Sonic Gems Collection for the Game Cube. It's really tough,but really fun.
01 - Ristar: Like with MBM and Vectorman,this js another title I played on emulation before owning it fkr real as part of the Sonic Mega Collection. This game was really fun and is worth owning. Ristar was one of the mascot ideas pitched to Sega during their famous "Mascot Search" in 1990. Instead of being a Star Kid,the proposed mascot was a rabbit who grabbed stuff with his ears.
And there ya have it,my top 30 favorite Genesis titles. There's no denying the coolness of the Genesis. It really is a great system.
Until Next Time,Stay Gold.
The Sega Genesis gave me many great memories. It was my 1st 16-bit system and me and my buddy,Phil played the hell out of it. Plus,I love the music. The Genesis sounds are just so cool,so 90's.
Anyway,here we go with the list. Please note,that I'm only gonna list the games that I own and/or played. And as usual,this list is in no perticular order.
Honorable Mention 1 - Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: My first Power Rangers game. it's just a basic fighting game,but I have fond memories playing it. Plus,you can play as Green Ranger and Dragonzord. Sweetnes.
Honorable Mention 2 - Michael Jackson's MoonWalker: The first game on this list that I've only played via emulation. As a fan of the King of Pop himsrlf,I couldn't help but to like this game.
Honorable Mention 3 and 4 - Revenge of Shinobi and Shinobi III: I'm kinda cheating because I can't decide which game I like more. These 2 are also games that I've played through emulation.
30 to 28 - The Streets of Rage Trilogy: Yeah,I'm cheating again. All 3 of these games are so awesome. The music is great,the gameplay is great,as are the graphics. Sadly,I only played these through emulation.
27 and 26 - Golden Axe and Golden Axe II: No more cheating,promise. Again,I only played these through emulation,i don't own copies. The first 2 Golden Axe games were awesome and are well worth playing.
25 - Afterburner II: Yet Another game I played via Emulation. I have the 3rd game for the Sega CD and loved it,so when my Sega CD broke,I downloaded this game for my Sega emulator. It's a pretty fun dog fight game.
24 - WWF Wrestlemania - The Arcade Game: A game I rented and then played on emulation years later. It's a fun hybrid of Mortal Kombat and WWF Wrestling.
23 - Toejam and Earl: A true classic.
22 - Spider-Man and Venom - Separation Anxiety: The superior sequel to Maximum Carnage. Plus,it has Co-op mode.
21 - Toejam and Earl - Panic on Funkatron: Toejam and Earl in a platformer. Lots of cool memories playing this.
20 - Street Fighter II - Special Champion Edition: My first Street Fighter title. This game let's you play the game in hyper speed right off the bat. Awesome.
19 - Mortal Kombat: Genesis does what Nintendon't. This was my first exposure to the franchise itself.
18 - Mortal Kombat II: Inferior to the SNES version,but still a great game. Plus,it has cheats.
17 - Mortal Kombat 3: Not a bad port of the Arcade original. This one,like the orevious 2 games,has cheats as well.
16 - Super Street Fighter II: My 2nd Street Fighter game. Lacks the hyper speed option,but still a great game.
15 - Sonic Spinball: Sonic and Pinball make an excellent combination.
14 - Sonic and Knuckles: Part 2 of Sonic 3.
13 - Sonic the Hedgehog 3: The first part of Sonic 3.
12 - Sonic the Hedgehog: My first Genesis title. Sonic became a favorite from the get-go.
11 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Greatest Sonic Game. Period!
10 - Mega Bomberman: Bomberman on the Genesis. The battle mode is the thing that made me love this game.
09 - Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers - The Movie: Get a Streets of Rage vibe from this title.
08 - WWF RAW: My first 16-Bit WWF game. Button Mashing fun! To fully enjoy this title,play it with a Turbo Controller.
07 - Roadblasters: It's Rad Racer with weapons. Cool.
06 - Columns: My first Genesis Puzzle Game. I still love this title,even to this day.
05 - Dr.Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine: An awesomly fun puzzle game. Played this on emulation first,before playing it on the Sonic Mega Collection for the Game Cube.
04 - Sailor Moon: A japanese beat'em up based on Sailor Moon,one of my favorite Anime series. I played this through emulation as it was the only way for me to play it.
03 - Cool Spot: Owned the SNES game first and got the Genesis version years later.
02 - Vectorman: Like with MBM,I played this on emulation first,before playing it on the Sonic Gems Collection for the Game Cube. It's really tough,but really fun.
01 - Ristar: Like with MBM and Vectorman,this js another title I played on emulation before owning it fkr real as part of the Sonic Mega Collection. This game was really fun and is worth owning. Ristar was one of the mascot ideas pitched to Sega during their famous "Mascot Search" in 1990. Instead of being a Star Kid,the proposed mascot was a rabbit who grabbed stuff with his ears.
And there ya have it,my top 30 favorite Genesis titles. There's no denying the coolness of the Genesis. It really is a great system.
Until Next Time,Stay Gold.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Top 10 Favorite Fictional Mothers/Motherly Figures
In honor of Mother's Day, I give you my Top 10 list of my favorite fictional mothers/motherly figures.
10. Black Canary (DC Comics): For someone who is known for her sexy leotard, fishnets, self-defense moves and a loud, loud sonic cry, Dinah Laurel Lance, when she is not fighting evil, can be the mother hen to every young hero that wants to be trained or help find themselves. Don't believe me, watch an episode or two of 'Young Justice'. She serves as their mentor/teacher/mother figure to the young heroes.
9. Chi-Chi (Dragon Ball series): The daughter of the Ox King. Ever since marrying Goku and having their first son, Gohan, Chi-Chi became the very mother some can be, the overprotective one, but in a funny, comedic kind of way. She is nice most of the time, but she will make you do your homework if you rub her the wrong way.
8. Aunt May (Spider-Man): Although not an actual mother, but she serves as the motherly figure to her nephew, Peter Parker, after the death of Uncle Ben. Even though she is mostly terrified of Spidey, she is always there for Peter through thick and thin, even if she doesn't know that he and Spidey are one in the same.
7. Maddie Fenton (Danny Phantom): Danny's mom and a more level-headed ghost hunter than her husband, Jack. And whether she knows her son is part-ghost or not, rest assure, she will always have his back, even if she smothers him with a lot of hugs and kisses.
6. Ayame (Dead or Alive series): The mother of Hayate, Kasumi and Ayane. Though not a playable character, Ayame played a key role in the story arc of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan. Despite the fact that she was raped by Raidou, resulting in the birth of Ayane, all she ever wanted was to see her children happy and free of the old ways, especially wanting to see Kasumi once more. She is one of many ficitional characters that lived by the phrase, "Abandon the old ways and embrace the new." After all, like she said to Ayane, the bonds of a family are much stronger than any Shinobi code. Wish Ryo Sanada had a mother like her.
5. Helen Bennett/Mother-1 (Bionic Six): The matriarch of the Super, Future family herself. Working as a homemaker one minute and uses her telepathic powers through bionics against Dr. Scarab's evil forces the next. "Ultra-tastic" as her daughter, Meg/Rock-1 would say.
4. Elastigirl (The Incredibles): From one Helen to another, this Super can stretch her way to get the job done, literally. In her youth, she was independent and proud being a superheroine. And now married to Bob Parr aka Mr. Incredible, she now balances superhero business with that of being a wife and mother to 3 superpowered offspring. Despite her issues, Elastigirl, like her husband, will always prevail in the end, even though she deals with aging and being a homemaker and such.
3. Princess Celestia (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic): The ruler of the pony kingdom of Equestria. For the first 4 seasons, she was the one who guided Twilight Sparkle in learning about friendship throughout her adventures. Although royalty, Celestia is a mother figure to her subjects, especially Twilight. Whatever problem you have, Princess Celestia will always guide you. Always remember to write to her when you have learned a lesson about friendship. And why she isn't a queen instead of a princess, I'll never know.
2. Queen Serenity (Sailor Moon): The ruler of the Moon Kingdom at the time of the Silver Millennium. Beautiful and wise in her age. With the power of the legendary Silver Crystal, she banished the Dark Kingdom from her world, ultimately losing her life. However in spirit, she guided Sailor Moon to be a better warrior and later a queen in her own kingdom, Crystal Tokyo. Looks like the lifeline of Serenity will live on forever.
1. Ariel (The Little Mermaid): You know it was coming. The most beautiful mermaid in all of fiction. Her red hair and her beautiful voice alone is what makes her so special. Despite what some nay-sayers would say about her, but Ariel isn't perfect. And seeing her being motherly towards some of the denizens of the deep, makes her worthy of being a mother, especially taking up after her mother, Queen Athena. And to this day, Ariel is the only Disney princess to ever be a mother, for she has her daughter, Melody. And if that doesn't make her more special, then I don't know what does.
And there you have it. My favorite fictional mothers/motherly figures. Until next time, remember, always respect your mother. Stay frosty.
#HappyMothersDay2019
10. Black Canary (DC Comics): For someone who is known for her sexy leotard, fishnets, self-defense moves and a loud, loud sonic cry, Dinah Laurel Lance, when she is not fighting evil, can be the mother hen to every young hero that wants to be trained or help find themselves. Don't believe me, watch an episode or two of 'Young Justice'. She serves as their mentor/teacher/mother figure to the young heroes.
9. Chi-Chi (Dragon Ball series): The daughter of the Ox King. Ever since marrying Goku and having their first son, Gohan, Chi-Chi became the very mother some can be, the overprotective one, but in a funny, comedic kind of way. She is nice most of the time, but she will make you do your homework if you rub her the wrong way.
8. Aunt May (Spider-Man): Although not an actual mother, but she serves as the motherly figure to her nephew, Peter Parker, after the death of Uncle Ben. Even though she is mostly terrified of Spidey, she is always there for Peter through thick and thin, even if she doesn't know that he and Spidey are one in the same.
7. Maddie Fenton (Danny Phantom): Danny's mom and a more level-headed ghost hunter than her husband, Jack. And whether she knows her son is part-ghost or not, rest assure, she will always have his back, even if she smothers him with a lot of hugs and kisses.
6. Ayame (Dead or Alive series): The mother of Hayate, Kasumi and Ayane. Though not a playable character, Ayame played a key role in the story arc of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan. Despite the fact that she was raped by Raidou, resulting in the birth of Ayane, all she ever wanted was to see her children happy and free of the old ways, especially wanting to see Kasumi once more. She is one of many ficitional characters that lived by the phrase, "Abandon the old ways and embrace the new." After all, like she said to Ayane, the bonds of a family are much stronger than any Shinobi code. Wish Ryo Sanada had a mother like her.
5. Helen Bennett/Mother-1 (Bionic Six): The matriarch of the Super, Future family herself. Working as a homemaker one minute and uses her telepathic powers through bionics against Dr. Scarab's evil forces the next. "Ultra-tastic" as her daughter, Meg/Rock-1 would say.
4. Elastigirl (The Incredibles): From one Helen to another, this Super can stretch her way to get the job done, literally. In her youth, she was independent and proud being a superheroine. And now married to Bob Parr aka Mr. Incredible, she now balances superhero business with that of being a wife and mother to 3 superpowered offspring. Despite her issues, Elastigirl, like her husband, will always prevail in the end, even though she deals with aging and being a homemaker and such.
3. Princess Celestia (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic): The ruler of the pony kingdom of Equestria. For the first 4 seasons, she was the one who guided Twilight Sparkle in learning about friendship throughout her adventures. Although royalty, Celestia is a mother figure to her subjects, especially Twilight. Whatever problem you have, Princess Celestia will always guide you. Always remember to write to her when you have learned a lesson about friendship. And why she isn't a queen instead of a princess, I'll never know.
2. Queen Serenity (Sailor Moon): The ruler of the Moon Kingdom at the time of the Silver Millennium. Beautiful and wise in her age. With the power of the legendary Silver Crystal, she banished the Dark Kingdom from her world, ultimately losing her life. However in spirit, she guided Sailor Moon to be a better warrior and later a queen in her own kingdom, Crystal Tokyo. Looks like the lifeline of Serenity will live on forever.
1. Ariel (The Little Mermaid): You know it was coming. The most beautiful mermaid in all of fiction. Her red hair and her beautiful voice alone is what makes her so special. Despite what some nay-sayers would say about her, but Ariel isn't perfect. And seeing her being motherly towards some of the denizens of the deep, makes her worthy of being a mother, especially taking up after her mother, Queen Athena. And to this day, Ariel is the only Disney princess to ever be a mother, for she has her daughter, Melody. And if that doesn't make her more special, then I don't know what does.
And there you have it. My favorite fictional mothers/motherly figures. Until next time, remember, always respect your mother. Stay frosty.
#HappyMothersDay2019
Top 40 Must Play SNES Titles
Yesterday,I created a list of what I thought were 40 of the Must Play NES games. Well today,I'm gonna be doing one for the SNES. This is the Top 40 SNES Games You Must Play.
Note: This list is my opinion and if you have a different one,feel free to make your own list of SNES games. And this list is in no particular order. And,I'm only listing games that were released Stateside.
Alright,let's get started.
Honorable Mention 1 - Final Fantasy Mystic Quest: A fun game with awesome music. The only downsides to this game is the lack of overworld exploration and the low difficulty.
Honorable Mention 2 - Final Fight: A really great game. Sadly,it's bogged down by it's lack of features from the Arcade original.
Honorable Mention 3 - Super Bomberman: A better version of Bomberman II.
40 - Super Castlevania IV: The best Castlevania on the SNES. Period.
39 - Star Fox: The first game to utilize The Super FX Chip. Why go to the next level,when you can go lightyears beyond?!
38 - NBA Jam - T.E.(tournament edition): An updated version of the greatest Basketball game on the SNES.
37 - Mortal Kombat II: Solid port of the Arcade original. Plus,unlike the port of MK1,This port remains untouched gameplay-wise. Yup,the blood and fatalities are all intact.
36 - Super Mario World - Yoshi's Island: Fun and colorful with great gameplay. A classic for sure. The only thing that annoys me is Baby Mario's crying.
35 - Mega Man 7: So what if this game ain't like Mega Man X,it's still great. Plus,lots of homages to the previous 6 games.
34 - Mega Man X: Capcom took everything we loved about the NES games and improved upon them greatly. This game is a gem.
33 - F-Zero: The first ever Racing game for the SNES is also one of the best.
32 - Actraiser: Awesome Music and gameplay make this one an instant classic. The very thing that made me frustrated about this game are the annoying "Simulation" parts.
31 - Super Mario Kart: The game that started it all.
30 - Super Mario World: Super Mario busts onto the 16-bit scene with this gem. The ever popular Yoshi debuts.
29 - Super Mario All-Stars: A perfect 16-bit compilation of the first 3 Mario games and the Japanese Mario 2. This would the west's first exposure to the original Super Mario 2.
28 - Donkey Kong Country 2 - Diddy's Kong Quest: The sequel to the Awesome Donkey Kong Country. Not as great as the original,but still worth owning and playing.
27 - Donkey Kong Country: The game that helped push Nintendo over the edge in the console war with Sega. This game had everything. Awesome graphics, Great Gameplay,and a Killer Soundtrack. Play It Loud!
26 - Super Street Fighter II: The best fighting game on the SNES. 'nuff said!
25 - Final Fight 2: The 2nd best Beat'em Up on the SNES.....right behind Turtles in Time.
24 - Gradius III: The greatest Shm'Up on the SNES. Sorry Super R-Type.
23 - Kirby Super Star: 9 games in 1. Kirby at his best.
22 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV - Turtles in Time: A vastly improved version of the Arcade original. Truely one of the all-time greats.
21 - Legend of Zelda - A Link To The Past: Best. Zelda. Game. EVER! Sorry,Ocarina of Time,you'll always be 2nd best.
20 - Killer Instinct: Another Arcade classic brought to the SNES.
19 - Super Metroid: The definitive Metroid title. No other game in the series could/can top it.
18 - Sim City: For the SNES players who need a break from the action.
17 - Final Fantasy IV: A great adventure. Very difficult and not as great as 6,but still a great game.
16 - Ken Griffey Jr's Winning Run: The Ultimate 16-bit homerun for Baseball gamers.
15 - Zombies Ate My Neighbors: A Cult Classic.
14 - Cool Spot: A fun platformer with fun music.
13 - Earthbound: A legendary RPG. The 1st game to be released here,despite it being the 2nd in the series. This game is tough,very tough.
12 - Actraiser 2: The improved sequel,with Zero Simulation parts.
11 - Pilotwings: Skydiving and hang gliding in 16-bit never looked so good.
10 - Street Fighter II - Turbo: A very good port of the Arcade. Plus you can enter a code to get you extreme speed.
09 - Wild Guns: the Ultimate shooting gallery game.
08 - Legend of the Mystical Ninja: Despite the stupid U.S. names for Goemon and his sidekick,this game is really really worth playing.
07 - Super Bomberman 2: This game takes the best parts of Super Bomberman and makes them better.
06 - Mega Man X2: Not as awesome as the original,but has much going for it,such as the Air Dash.
05 - Super Punch-Out: Arcade-style boxing fun for the SNES.
04 - Super Ghouls and Ghosts: Extremely hard game,that's pretty addicting.
03 - Super Mario RPG - Legend of the 7 Stars: Classic. Mario in his 1st RPG. Another game that pushed the SNES to it's limits.
02 - Final Fantasy VI: The greatest RPG on the 16-bit consoles...next to Chrono Trigger.
01 - Chrono Trigger: Nothing I can ever say can do this Adventure of a Lifetime justice.
And that's the Top 40 SNES Titles you must play. Some of these are even on the SNES Classic Edition.If you haven't played these yet - Do So!
'Till next time,Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.
Note: This list is my opinion and if you have a different one,feel free to make your own list of SNES games. And this list is in no particular order. And,I'm only listing games that were released Stateside.
Alright,let's get started.
Honorable Mention 1 - Final Fantasy Mystic Quest: A fun game with awesome music. The only downsides to this game is the lack of overworld exploration and the low difficulty.
Honorable Mention 2 - Final Fight: A really great game. Sadly,it's bogged down by it's lack of features from the Arcade original.
Honorable Mention 3 - Super Bomberman: A better version of Bomberman II.
40 - Super Castlevania IV: The best Castlevania on the SNES. Period.
39 - Star Fox: The first game to utilize The Super FX Chip. Why go to the next level,when you can go lightyears beyond?!
38 - NBA Jam - T.E.(tournament edition): An updated version of the greatest Basketball game on the SNES.
37 - Mortal Kombat II: Solid port of the Arcade original. Plus,unlike the port of MK1,This port remains untouched gameplay-wise. Yup,the blood and fatalities are all intact.
36 - Super Mario World - Yoshi's Island: Fun and colorful with great gameplay. A classic for sure. The only thing that annoys me is Baby Mario's crying.
35 - Mega Man 7: So what if this game ain't like Mega Man X,it's still great. Plus,lots of homages to the previous 6 games.
34 - Mega Man X: Capcom took everything we loved about the NES games and improved upon them greatly. This game is a gem.
33 - F-Zero: The first ever Racing game for the SNES is also one of the best.
32 - Actraiser: Awesome Music and gameplay make this one an instant classic. The very thing that made me frustrated about this game are the annoying "Simulation" parts.
31 - Super Mario Kart: The game that started it all.
30 - Super Mario World: Super Mario busts onto the 16-bit scene with this gem. The ever popular Yoshi debuts.
29 - Super Mario All-Stars: A perfect 16-bit compilation of the first 3 Mario games and the Japanese Mario 2. This would the west's first exposure to the original Super Mario 2.
28 - Donkey Kong Country 2 - Diddy's Kong Quest: The sequel to the Awesome Donkey Kong Country. Not as great as the original,but still worth owning and playing.
27 - Donkey Kong Country: The game that helped push Nintendo over the edge in the console war with Sega. This game had everything. Awesome graphics, Great Gameplay,and a Killer Soundtrack. Play It Loud!
26 - Super Street Fighter II: The best fighting game on the SNES. 'nuff said!
25 - Final Fight 2: The 2nd best Beat'em Up on the SNES.....right behind Turtles in Time.
24 - Gradius III: The greatest Shm'Up on the SNES. Sorry Super R-Type.
23 - Kirby Super Star: 9 games in 1. Kirby at his best.
22 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV - Turtles in Time: A vastly improved version of the Arcade original. Truely one of the all-time greats.
21 - Legend of Zelda - A Link To The Past: Best. Zelda. Game. EVER! Sorry,Ocarina of Time,you'll always be 2nd best.
20 - Killer Instinct: Another Arcade classic brought to the SNES.
19 - Super Metroid: The definitive Metroid title. No other game in the series could/can top it.
18 - Sim City: For the SNES players who need a break from the action.
17 - Final Fantasy IV: A great adventure. Very difficult and not as great as 6,but still a great game.
16 - Ken Griffey Jr's Winning Run: The Ultimate 16-bit homerun for Baseball gamers.
15 - Zombies Ate My Neighbors: A Cult Classic.
14 - Cool Spot: A fun platformer with fun music.
13 - Earthbound: A legendary RPG. The 1st game to be released here,despite it being the 2nd in the series. This game is tough,very tough.
12 - Actraiser 2: The improved sequel,with Zero Simulation parts.
11 - Pilotwings: Skydiving and hang gliding in 16-bit never looked so good.
10 - Street Fighter II - Turbo: A very good port of the Arcade. Plus you can enter a code to get you extreme speed.
09 - Wild Guns: the Ultimate shooting gallery game.
08 - Legend of the Mystical Ninja: Despite the stupid U.S. names for Goemon and his sidekick,this game is really really worth playing.
07 - Super Bomberman 2: This game takes the best parts of Super Bomberman and makes them better.
06 - Mega Man X2: Not as awesome as the original,but has much going for it,such as the Air Dash.
05 - Super Punch-Out: Arcade-style boxing fun for the SNES.
04 - Super Ghouls and Ghosts: Extremely hard game,that's pretty addicting.
03 - Super Mario RPG - Legend of the 7 Stars: Classic. Mario in his 1st RPG. Another game that pushed the SNES to it's limits.
02 - Final Fantasy VI: The greatest RPG on the 16-bit consoles...next to Chrono Trigger.
01 - Chrono Trigger: Nothing I can ever say can do this Adventure of a Lifetime justice.
And that's the Top 40 SNES Titles you must play. Some of these are even on the SNES Classic Edition.If you haven't played these yet - Do So!
'Till next time,Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.
Friday, May 10, 2019
Top 40 NES Games That You Must Play!
Ah,the Nintendo Entertainment System,the thing that saved the Video Game industry from the Crash of '83 and brought so much joy and memories for people everywhere.
So Today,I will be listing the Top 40 NES Games You Must Play. Note that this list is in no perticular order,despite the numbering. Also,these are just My opinions,so don't hate.
Honarable Mention 1 - Battletoads: This game is tough,very very tough. To this day,I still can't beat it (infact,I can't get by the turbo tunnel) This game's a classic though,so I had to add it. Plus,the soundtrack's nice to listen to.
Honerable Mention 2 - Bomberman: It's still a classic,even to this day.
40 - Castlevania III - Dracula's Curse: The best of the NES Castlevania Trilogy. It takes everything that made the 1st game a classic and improved upon them with Multiple Paths,Tag Partners,More Levels,A Better Soundtrack,and Multiple Endings.
39 - Metal Gear: A tough classic. The debut of Solid Snake.
38 - Tetris (Nintendo): People are gonna beet the livin' sheeeeeet out of me for saying this but....The Nintendo Version of Tetris is Superior to the Tengen Version (despite the lack of a 2-player mode)!
37 - Ninja Guiden II - The Dark Sword of Chaos: I feel that this is the best game in the NES NG Trilogy. It has more to offer than the first game and is overall a better experience than the 3rd.
36 - Double Dragon II - The Revenge: A sweet Beat 'Em-Up and one of the very few on the NES. DDII is a vast improvement over the 1st game,with better gameplay,cutscenes,and even a 2-Player mode. The best of the DD NES Trilogy.
35 - (Mike Tyson's) Punch-Out: A cool boxing game that's extremely fun and addicting.
34 - Super Mario Bros. 2 (the superior american version): Originally a Prototype Mario game,which got turned into Doki Doki Panic,then turned into a full Mario game. Crazy,huh?
33 - Super Mario Bros. 3: Returned the Series to it's roots and made many improvements too.
32 - River City Ransom: The first Beat'em-Up to feature RPG Elements. It's a tough game but kinda fun.
31 - Metroid: Nintendo's 1st Run 'n Gunner will Always be a must play NES title for Gamers.
30 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II - The Arcade Game: Despite lacking a 4-Player Mode,like it's Arcade Counterpart,TMNT II for the NES is Awesome!
29 - Legend of Zelda: Another classic. The first open world 8-bit title.
28 - Zelda II - Adventure of Link: A departure from the 1st game,but still a worthwhile experience.
27 - Kirby's Adventure: Kirby's first console game. It's also the debut of his Copy Abilities.
26 - Adventures of Bayou Billy: Super tough,with 3 gameplay styles: Beat'em-Up,Shooter,and Racer.
25 - StarTropics: An awesome Zelda-clone that Japan never got. Nintendo initialy made this game to strengthen their foothold in the American market,after seeing the Sega Genesis win over many many American gamers.
24 - Mega Man 2: One of 2 definitive NES Mega Man titles. The MM title that exposed every gamer to the franchise.
23 - Mega Man 3: The 2nd of the 2 definitive NES Mega Man games. It's Mega Man 2,but Better!
22 - Ducktales: The definitive Disney/Capcom game. Woo-oo!
21 - Darkwing Duck: Another Disney/Capcom game that's a must play.
20 - Chip 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers: See previous.
19 - Contra: Extremely difficult game,but too iconic not to put on this list.
18 - Pac-Man: A near-perfect port of the Arcade Classic.
17 - Donkey Kong Classics: 2 Classics in 1. Shame they never restored the Factory level in Donkey Kong.
16 - Gradius: This game and it's spin-off Life Force,are the best Shoot'em Ups for the NES. Gradius was also the first game to incorperate the famous Konami Code.
15 - Life Force: Spin-off of Gradius. Another great shooter from Konami. This game has a Cooprative mode.
14 - Final Fantasy: The very game that made Square a household name. Warriors,Revive The Power of The Orbs!
13 - Duck Hunt: The definitive Zapper Gun game! Period.
12 - Crystalis: A really great Ys clone. Since the NES Ys titles never came to the States (or europe),this was the West's first exposure to this style of gameplay. Thanks SNK!
11 - Maniac Mansion: A weird,yet compelling,point and click game.
10 - Blaster Master: Another classic jem from Sunsoft.
09 - Batman - Return of the Joker: The best Batman/DC Superhero Game on the NES. Seriously.
08 - Mighty Final Fight: Don't let the SD style fool ya,this is one tough Beat'em-Up.
07 - Bomberman II: A great improvement over the original,plus this one has the famous Battle Mode.
06 - Monster Party: A super strange horror-themed game with a controversial history.
05 - Super Mario Bros: The original SMB is still fun to play.
04 - Jackie Chan's Action Kung-Fu: A tough,but fun action platformer starring Jackie Chan.
03 - Rad Racer II: A great improvement over the original. This one gets rid of that useless 3D mode.
02 - Vegas Dream: A nice little casino game.
01 - Kid Icarus: A tough game based on greek mythology. Sister title of Metroid.
And that's the Top 40 NES Titles you must play. Some of these are even on the NES Classic Edition. If you own an NES and have a chance to get these games (if you don't have them already),Get 'Em.
'Till next time,Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.
So Today,I will be listing the Top 40 NES Games You Must Play. Note that this list is in no perticular order,despite the numbering. Also,these are just My opinions,so don't hate.
Honarable Mention 1 - Battletoads: This game is tough,very very tough. To this day,I still can't beat it (infact,I can't get by the turbo tunnel) This game's a classic though,so I had to add it. Plus,the soundtrack's nice to listen to.
Honerable Mention 2 - Bomberman: It's still a classic,even to this day.
40 - Castlevania III - Dracula's Curse: The best of the NES Castlevania Trilogy. It takes everything that made the 1st game a classic and improved upon them with Multiple Paths,Tag Partners,More Levels,A Better Soundtrack,and Multiple Endings.
39 - Metal Gear: A tough classic. The debut of Solid Snake.
38 - Tetris (Nintendo): People are gonna beet the livin' sheeeeeet out of me for saying this but....The Nintendo Version of Tetris is Superior to the Tengen Version (despite the lack of a 2-player mode)!
37 - Ninja Guiden II - The Dark Sword of Chaos: I feel that this is the best game in the NES NG Trilogy. It has more to offer than the first game and is overall a better experience than the 3rd.
36 - Double Dragon II - The Revenge: A sweet Beat 'Em-Up and one of the very few on the NES. DDII is a vast improvement over the 1st game,with better gameplay,cutscenes,and even a 2-Player mode. The best of the DD NES Trilogy.
35 - (Mike Tyson's) Punch-Out: A cool boxing game that's extremely fun and addicting.
34 - Super Mario Bros. 2 (the superior american version): Originally a Prototype Mario game,which got turned into Doki Doki Panic,then turned into a full Mario game. Crazy,huh?
33 - Super Mario Bros. 3: Returned the Series to it's roots and made many improvements too.
32 - River City Ransom: The first Beat'em-Up to feature RPG Elements. It's a tough game but kinda fun.
31 - Metroid: Nintendo's 1st Run 'n Gunner will Always be a must play NES title for Gamers.
30 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II - The Arcade Game: Despite lacking a 4-Player Mode,like it's Arcade Counterpart,TMNT II for the NES is Awesome!
29 - Legend of Zelda: Another classic. The first open world 8-bit title.
28 - Zelda II - Adventure of Link: A departure from the 1st game,but still a worthwhile experience.
27 - Kirby's Adventure: Kirby's first console game. It's also the debut of his Copy Abilities.
26 - Adventures of Bayou Billy: Super tough,with 3 gameplay styles: Beat'em-Up,Shooter,and Racer.
25 - StarTropics: An awesome Zelda-clone that Japan never got. Nintendo initialy made this game to strengthen their foothold in the American market,after seeing the Sega Genesis win over many many American gamers.
24 - Mega Man 2: One of 2 definitive NES Mega Man titles. The MM title that exposed every gamer to the franchise.
23 - Mega Man 3: The 2nd of the 2 definitive NES Mega Man games. It's Mega Man 2,but Better!
22 - Ducktales: The definitive Disney/Capcom game. Woo-oo!
21 - Darkwing Duck: Another Disney/Capcom game that's a must play.
20 - Chip 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers: See previous.
19 - Contra: Extremely difficult game,but too iconic not to put on this list.
18 - Pac-Man: A near-perfect port of the Arcade Classic.
17 - Donkey Kong Classics: 2 Classics in 1. Shame they never restored the Factory level in Donkey Kong.
16 - Gradius: This game and it's spin-off Life Force,are the best Shoot'em Ups for the NES. Gradius was also the first game to incorperate the famous Konami Code.
15 - Life Force: Spin-off of Gradius. Another great shooter from Konami. This game has a Cooprative mode.
14 - Final Fantasy: The very game that made Square a household name. Warriors,Revive The Power of The Orbs!
13 - Duck Hunt: The definitive Zapper Gun game! Period.
12 - Crystalis: A really great Ys clone. Since the NES Ys titles never came to the States (or europe),this was the West's first exposure to this style of gameplay. Thanks SNK!
11 - Maniac Mansion: A weird,yet compelling,point and click game.
10 - Blaster Master: Another classic jem from Sunsoft.
09 - Batman - Return of the Joker: The best Batman/DC Superhero Game on the NES. Seriously.
08 - Mighty Final Fight: Don't let the SD style fool ya,this is one tough Beat'em-Up.
07 - Bomberman II: A great improvement over the original,plus this one has the famous Battle Mode.
06 - Monster Party: A super strange horror-themed game with a controversial history.
05 - Super Mario Bros: The original SMB is still fun to play.
04 - Jackie Chan's Action Kung-Fu: A tough,but fun action platformer starring Jackie Chan.
03 - Rad Racer II: A great improvement over the original. This one gets rid of that useless 3D mode.
02 - Vegas Dream: A nice little casino game.
01 - Kid Icarus: A tough game based on greek mythology. Sister title of Metroid.
And that's the Top 40 NES Titles you must play. Some of these are even on the NES Classic Edition. If you own an NES and have a chance to get these games (if you don't have them already),Get 'Em.
'Till next time,Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Game Challenges: Pokemon
Every now and again a Retro Gamer (or any gamer,for that matter) feels the need to Breath new life into their old games. They do this by challenging themselves. Challenging themselves by creating their own way to play. Well, I'm no different and today, I'm gonna list some Video Game challenges for the Pokemon titles.
- 1 Type: In this challenge, the player can only capture/choose 1 pokemon of each type and stick with them for the rest of the game. Ex: If you choose to capture Pidgey,you will Not be allowed to capture Any more flying types. So choose Wisely!
Evolutions are ok,though. So if you evolve Magikarp into Gyarados and already have a flying type Pokemon,it's perfectly fine. Also,in regards to Pokemon with duel typing,similar rules apply.
However,duel type pokemon can only serve as one type on your team. Ex. If you want a Jynx you must either forgo catching a psychic type or an ice type. If you get Jynx and lack a psychic type,but already have an ice type,Jynx must act as your teams psychic pokemon.
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- The Mighty 6: You can only Capture any 5 Pokemon (the 6th pokemon is the starter) and use them for your permanent team. You are Not allowed to capture any other Pokemon once the Roster is full. And,If you get a Gift Pokemon and your Roster is full,you must keep that Pokemon in the PC. Trades are not ok.
Choose your Monsters Wisely.
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- Peter Pan Attitude: Capture your Pokemon in it's base form and Don't Ever Evolve It. And, No, You can't capture The Evolved forms. Trades are also forbidden.
You Can, however, capture Pokemon that Have no evolution (like far'fetched).
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- Nuzlocke Challenge: I'd thought I'd mention this. This is a harsh challenge with limited options. Any Pokemon that faints is "dead",and must be released. Plus, The first Pokemon to appear in a single area (route, cave, town, etc.) is the only one you can capture in that area, unless you've already captured it.
To add a bit more emotion to this chalienge,you can also nickname your Pokemon. This part is optional,though.
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- The Type Disadvantage Victory Challenge: Fight and Beat The Rival, The Gym Leaders,AND The Elite 4 using Pokemon that have a type disadvantage against their Pokemon (ie, using a machoke against sabrina's kadabra or pitting your poliwrath against your rivals exeggutor).
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- 101 Run: A Classic Challenge. Capture Every Pokemon Available, Get Every Item, Fight Every Opponent, and Make All In-Game Trades.
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- No Flash, No Fair: Navigate through Dark Caves without Using Flash.
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- Pika Pals: Play through the game WITHOUT storing Pikachu into the PC. You must keep it in your party at all times and battle with it very often. You also must Keep it alive and Healthy. If it faints, revive it as soon as possible.
Pokemon Yellow Only!
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- 1-Type Team Challenge: Create a team of Pokemon of the same type and beat the gane with said team.
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- The 3 Amigos Challenge: Create a 3 Pokemon Team. You can capture others, but those monsters must be put into the PC. Team Switching is allowed (for obvious reasons).
Well,that's all of the Pokemon Challenges I can come up with. If I come up with anymore,I'll let you know. Anyway,hope you guys try out the Pokemon challenges tgat I layed out? May posts some Mega Man challenges next time I decide to do one of these.
Thanks for reading and Stay Gold.
- 1 Type: In this challenge, the player can only capture/choose 1 pokemon of each type and stick with them for the rest of the game. Ex: If you choose to capture Pidgey,you will Not be allowed to capture Any more flying types. So choose Wisely!
Evolutions are ok,though. So if you evolve Magikarp into Gyarados and already have a flying type Pokemon,it's perfectly fine. Also,in regards to Pokemon with duel typing,similar rules apply.
However,duel type pokemon can only serve as one type on your team. Ex. If you want a Jynx you must either forgo catching a psychic type or an ice type. If you get Jynx and lack a psychic type,but already have an ice type,Jynx must act as your teams psychic pokemon.
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- The Mighty 6: You can only Capture any 5 Pokemon (the 6th pokemon is the starter) and use them for your permanent team. You are Not allowed to capture any other Pokemon once the Roster is full. And,If you get a Gift Pokemon and your Roster is full,you must keep that Pokemon in the PC. Trades are not ok.
Choose your Monsters Wisely.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Peter Pan Attitude: Capture your Pokemon in it's base form and Don't Ever Evolve It. And, No, You can't capture The Evolved forms. Trades are also forbidden.
You Can, however, capture Pokemon that Have no evolution (like far'fetched).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Nuzlocke Challenge: I'd thought I'd mention this. This is a harsh challenge with limited options. Any Pokemon that faints is "dead",and must be released. Plus, The first Pokemon to appear in a single area (route, cave, town, etc.) is the only one you can capture in that area, unless you've already captured it.
To add a bit more emotion to this chalienge,you can also nickname your Pokemon. This part is optional,though.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- The Type Disadvantage Victory Challenge: Fight and Beat The Rival, The Gym Leaders,AND The Elite 4 using Pokemon that have a type disadvantage against their Pokemon (ie, using a machoke against sabrina's kadabra or pitting your poliwrath against your rivals exeggutor).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- 101 Run: A Classic Challenge. Capture Every Pokemon Available, Get Every Item, Fight Every Opponent, and Make All In-Game Trades.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- No Flash, No Fair: Navigate through Dark Caves without Using Flash.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Pika Pals: Play through the game WITHOUT storing Pikachu into the PC. You must keep it in your party at all times and battle with it very often. You also must Keep it alive and Healthy. If it faints, revive it as soon as possible.
Pokemon Yellow Only!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- 1-Type Team Challenge: Create a team of Pokemon of the same type and beat the gane with said team.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- The 3 Amigos Challenge: Create a 3 Pokemon Team. You can capture others, but those monsters must be put into the PC. Team Switching is allowed (for obvious reasons).
Well,that's all of the Pokemon Challenges I can come up with. If I come up with anymore,I'll let you know. Anyway,hope you guys try out the Pokemon challenges tgat I layed out? May posts some Mega Man challenges next time I decide to do one of these.
Thanks for reading and Stay Gold.
Friday, May 3, 2019
Chewie Has Bit It! The Loss of Peter Mayhew!
We at Retro Rebellion are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Peter "Chewbacca" Mayhew.
Mayhew was first chosen by George Lucas to play Chewbacca the Wookie,solely because of His height. Mayhew towered over much of the Star Wars cast at 7'2 1/2".
Since then,Chewie has been the role people most associate with the British-Born Actor. Although he did some non-Star Wars stuff,Chewie was his most famous role.
Mayhew also did some voice work too. In the English version of Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy, he provided the voice for Susha.
Mayhew died of a heart attack on April 30th at his home in Boyd, Texas. He was 74. His passing was a very unwelcome surprise. He will be missed.
R.I.P.
Peter William Mayhew
May 19th 1944 – April 30th 2019
Mayhew was first chosen by George Lucas to play Chewbacca the Wookie,solely because of His height. Mayhew towered over much of the Star Wars cast at 7'2 1/2".
Since then,Chewie has been the role people most associate with the British-Born Actor. Although he did some non-Star Wars stuff,Chewie was his most famous role.
Mayhew also did some voice work too. In the English version of Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy, he provided the voice for Susha.
Mayhew died of a heart attack on April 30th at his home in Boyd, Texas. He was 74. His passing was a very unwelcome surprise. He will be missed.
R.I.P.
Peter William Mayhew
May 19th 1944 – April 30th 2019
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