Thursday, July 30, 2020

Every Super Nintendo Game I've Ever Played

As part of my celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System,I'm gonna be listing All of the SNES games,I've Ever played and give you some thoughts on each of them. This list will be comprised of games that I Physically Own,Have Played Through Emulation,and Downloaded Via The Nintendo E-Shop.

Ok,let's get started.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System: I remember seeing the first commercial for this system back in '91 and I was amazed. But,when I played this system over at a relatives house,I knew I had to get one. So in 1992,I recieved the SNES as a surprise birthday gift from my grandmother (god rest her soul) and with it,a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. The SNES is such an awesome system.

Super Mario World: This was the Pack-In Title,which I got in addition to Turtles in Time. I first played this game at a relatives house and loved it. The 2nd greatest 2D Mario game,behind Mario 3.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV - Turtles in Time: Got this gem with my Super NES. Me and my friends (and sister and cousin) would play this game for hours. Plus,the SNES port is Superior to the Arcade Version..no lie. This is the Greatest Ninja Turtles Game Ever!

Super Off Road: A 1992 X-Mas Gift. This game had a variation of the old Toyota theme. The play control needed improvements,but overall a decent racing game. Me and my sister would play this sometimes.

Super Adventure Island: Another 1992 X-Mas Gift. A tough game due to the fact that Higgins (the player character) can't take a hit. Still a decent game,though. The music was great,so very 90s. Still haven't beaten this game,and I doubt I ever will.

Joe and Mac: Another '92 X-Mas gift. Dunno why they were called Caveman Ninjas? They don't seem very ninja-like to me. Had a fun time playing this one though.

Legend of Zelda - A Link To The Past: Got this Legendary Title on my B-Day in 1993. This Is the greatest 2D Zelda game of all time. The music for this game makes the music from the Mega Man series blow chunks,it's just That great. I first played this at a relatives house,before getting a copy for myself. Got the official stratagy guide a month later.

Super Mario All-Stars: When I first heard about this game,I Wanted it so much. And sure enough,In 1994,I received it as a surprise gift from my Grandma (god rest her soul). I loved the 16-bit renditions of the NES Mario Trilogy and had a fun time replaying these classics on the Super NES. Plus,this marked my first experience with the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2,renamed The Lost Levels in this Compilation.

Mega Man X: This title took me by surprise when I first heard about it in Nintendo Power magazine. So in 1994,I went to Toys 'R' Us and bought this game (along with Mega Man Soccer and Toejam and Earl:Panic on Funkatron) using some recently acquired Birthday Money. From the very moment I started playing this,I was hooked. Clearly,it was the greatest Mega Man game up to that point.

Mega Man Soccer: Got this with Mega Man X in '94. I wasn't that big on Soccer,but bought the game because it was a Mega Man game. And even though,I'm still not a fan of the sport,I still like this game.

Cool Spot: Got this as a 1994 X-Mas gift. A fun game. Years later,I'd buy the Sega Genesis version.

Shaq-Fu: Got this as an X-Mas gift from my late-Uncle Bob (god rest his soul) in 1994. I was kinda unimpressed with the gameplay,though the music was kinda cool. Got the slightly superior Genesis version years later. Good music,mediocre game.

The Super Gameboy: Another X-Mas 1994 gift. This was something I wanted ever since I saw the commercial. Playing Game Boy games on My TV And in Cllor was such a cool thing that I had to try for myself. I really enjoyed messing around with the colors.

Donkey Kong Country: And yet another 1994 X-Mas gift. TBH,I almost forgot that this game existed before I got it. But I'm glad I did,because this game ROCKS! Few peices of trivia for ya: 1 - This game's soundtrack was the very first Video Game soundtrack to be released on commercially in the Western Market. Video Game Music Albums were only a thing in Japan before then. And 2 - It helped Nintendo decimate Sega in the Console Wars.

Mario Paint: Got this one for X-Mas in 1995. I had much fun screwing around with this games various modes. Shame the SNES Mouse had no real function outside of this game. It's also shameful that Nintendo never gave this game a DS or 3DS sequel. Seriously,Big N,WTH!?

WWF Wrestlemania - The Arcade Game: Got this one for X-Mas in 1995 as well. A super fun take on WWF Wrestling. It's like Mortal Kombat and The WWF had a lovechild and This Game was it. The only issue I had with this port was tbe lack of Yokozuna and Bam Bam Bigelow. Lazy Developers! Still,even without these 2 big men,Wrestlemania - The Arcade Game is a blast. It even got a PS1/Sega Saturn sequal,WWF In Your House.

Donkey Kong Country 2 - Diddy's Kong Quest: The hit sequel to the Super Hit,Donkey Kong Country. Had just as much fun playing this game,as I did the original. No CD tie-in,sadly. I got this as an X-Mas gift in either 1995 or 1996,I forget which.

WWF Super Wrestlemania: Believe it or not,I got this game as a B-day Gift,mint in box,in 1998. Crazy huh? It's an Okay title,but nothing special. The Genesis version,which was released later,had the Wrestlers Finishing moves.

Mortal Kombat II: Got this on my B-Day,along with Street Fighter II - Turbo,in 1998. This is the greatest home version of MKII. Too bad it lacks a Cheat mode,which the Genesis version did have.

Street Fighter II - Turbo: A '98 B-Day gift. Got this along with MKII. Love the game,though I really wish you could set the speed to great levels like you could in it's Genesis Counterpart,Street Fighter II - Special Champion Edition.

Ken Griffey Jr. - Winning Run: Got this one in 1999. The Only Baseball game I have for the SNES was given to me as a gift. A fun game with great visuals and sound.

Final Fantasy II aka Final Fantasy IV: My 3rd Final Fantasy game (behind 7 and 1). A cool game,though nothing outstanding. I had a ton of fun using the Game Genie on this game,though. Bought this one at Gamestop in 1999.

Super Bomberman: My buddy Phil got me into Bomberman,so I bought the Classic NES title and liked it. So I decided to give Super Bomberman a shot. It was a fun game. Loved both the music and the Battle Mode. Another '99 Gamestop purchase

Mega Man X2: This game was a surprise B-Day gift from my Late-Uncle Bob in 1999. It was also the 1st Mega Man X title that I beat without a Game Genie. I also used to rent this game quite a bit before I owned it.

Super Castlevania IV: Another Gamestop buy,this time in 2000. I enjoyed the NES CV trilogy and decided to give this one a go. Long story short,I wasn't disappointed. The graphics,sound,and gameplay were awesome. This clearly is the best Castlevania Game on the SNES.

F-Zero: Picked this up at Gamestop in 2000 because I wanted a racing title for my SNES. It's basic,yet cool looking. I'm proud of this buy to this very day.

Actraiser: Picked this one up at Gamestop in 2000. I Love the action stages,but hate the simulation parts. Love the music as well.

Sim City: I bought this at Gamestop in 2000 out of curiosity. Unlike Actraiser's simulation levels,Sim City was actually fun.

WWF Royal Rumble: Bought this at Gamestop in Late-2000,along with WWF RAW. I liked Super Wrestlemania for the SNES,so I decided to get this. Button-Mashing Fun,Ladies and Gentlemen.

WWF RAW: I already owned this game on tbe Sega Genesis,but I wanted to complete my SNES WWF collection,so I bought it.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest: I heard of the game and knew it was a beginner RPG,but I bought it and enjoyed it anyway. The soundtrack is awesome. My 1st Gamestop purchase of 2001.

Super Ghouls and Ghosts: Another Game I'd get at Gamestop in '01. It's Crazy Hard,yet Crazy Addicting.

Mortal Kombat: Sanitized Kombat!!!!!!!!!!! Got this just to see how edited it really was. Thankfully,I only payed 5 bucks for it at Gamestop in 2001.

Super Street Fighter II: Wanted the SNES port,despite already owning the Genesis version. Another Game I bought at Gamestop in 2001.

Spider-Man/Venom - Maximum Carnage: Bought at Gamestop in 2001. I wanted to get the Genesis version of this game,but Gamestop didn't have it,so I had to settle for the SNES version,which they Did have. Hard game,but fun.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: Got this at Gamestop in 2001. I had the Genesis port of MK3,so I decided to try out the Ultimate version on the SNES. I wasn't disappointed.

Mega Man 7: Another 2001 Gamestop buy. Like with X2,I actually rented this one and bought it years later. One of my favorite SNES games.

Mega Man X3: In Mid-2001,I remember seeing this game at Gamestop,but it was pretty expensive and I was 20 bucks short,so I want home without it. But my Grandma (god rest her soul),knowing that I loved the Mega Man games,gave me the extra $20 for the game and I went back to Gamestop to buy it. To this day Mega Man X3 is the most expensive SNES game that I own. It's also the Final Super Nintendo game that I bought physically. I was,and still am,very grateful to my Late-Grandma for doing this for me.

And Now The Games that I've played via Emulation (though PC and Wii Virtual Console)

Rockman and Forte (aka mega man and bass): This Japanese-Only title was the very first game I played on emulation. Hard as hell,but Bass was very fun to play as.

Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden: I was a fan of the show,so I decided to try out the games. Now All DBZ games during the SNES-era were Japanese Only,so naturally these games were in Japanese. Anyway,didn't have as much fun with this game as I did with other Fighting titles,same goes for Butoden 2 and 3.

Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 2: The 2nd game in the Butoden series. Story takes place during the Cell Games Saga of the Anime.

Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 3: The 3rd game in the Butoden series. Story takes place during the Majin Buu Saga of the Anime.

Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension: A Spin-off game in the Butoden series. This game was an improvement over the last 3 games. I enjoyed playing this.

Sailor Moon: A fun Beat'em-Up from Japan. I became a fan of the franchise years prior,so I had to play this. Story takes place during the Dark Kingdom Saga of the Anime.

Sailor Moon S: A simple,yet fun Fighting Game.

Sailor Moon SuperS: Another fun Sailor Moon Fighting Game.

Sailor Moon: Another Story: This SM game is a JRPG. The story iteslf is unique,it involves an Evil Mystic from the Future who wants to alter Crystal Tokyo's history for her own purposes. Hard as hell and in Japanese,but I enjoyed it.

U.N. Squadron: A fun,but difficult,Shoot'em-Up with the ability to buy upgrades for your jet.

Final Fight: A somewhat watered-down part of Capcom's Arcade Classic,but it's still a blast to play. Got this on the Wii Virtual Console too.

Gradius III: Fun Shoot'em-up action.

Street Fighter II: Vanilla Street Figbter Ii. Wanted to check out tge not-so-obvious differences between it and Turbo,so I downloaded the game....for free on emulation,of course.

Super Mario Kart: The one that started it all! Got this fun game on the Wii Virtual Console too.

X-Men - Mutant Apocalypse:  A Beat'em-up platformer that I wanted to try,but couldn't get into. I partially blame the difficulty.

Spider-Man/X-Men - Arcade's Revenge: A mediocre Action-Platformer starring Spider-Man and tbe X-Men.

Super Metroid: An Amazing game that can get very very tough,very very fast. Still tbe greatest Metroid title,though.

Super Double Dragon: I was not much of a fan of the Difficulty or the Control Layout. And Double Dragon II NES is Still the Best in the Franchise.

The Incredible Hulk: A very mediocre Platformer-Beat'em-up starring everyones favorite Angry Green Giant. It had a coll soundtrack,though.

Super Bomberman 2: I played the first one,so I wanted to play the 2nd. Very challenging game but has it's fun moments. The battle mode is where it's at for the Bomberman series and this game does that slightly better than the original.

Saturday Night Slam Masters - Capcom's answer to the WWF. Very cool game to play.

Fatal Fury - Played the sequel in the Arcades,so I decided to try out the Original. It was a cool game and a good beginning of a great franchise. Kudos SNK.

Fatal Fury 2 - Played the Arcade version and liked it,so I decided to try out it's SNES counterpart. It's just as good. Sure the Graphics and Sound got a downgrade,but the game plays like the Arcade. 

Fatal Fury Special - An Improved version of Fatal Fury 2. 

World Heroes - Played this in tne Arcades and thought it was fun. The SNES version is just as good.

King of the Monsters - The game looked fun,so I decided to try it out. It's Pro-Wrestling meets Daikaiju,what's not to love?

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: I rented this game once and thought it wasn't that good..especially compared to the more fun Sega Genesis version. When I played it via Emulation,I still thought it was mediocre,but I learned to like it more. Best thing about this game (and it's sequel) was the soundtrack.

Super Punch-Out: A fun sequel to the NES Classic,Punch-Out. Have this one on the Wii Virtual Console,as well.

Super Adventure Island II: One of the Final games in the Adventure Island franchise. The gameplay has been changed up and you get hit points this time. It's a difficult,but fun experience.

Final Fantasy III (aka Final Fantasy 6): The Final Final Fantasy for the Nintendo Systems until 2002. This game is a true masterpiece. The story,the music,the visuals,the characters..All Excellent. Got this game on the Wii VC many years later.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters: A solid fighting game that can be hard as hell. Visuals and Soundtrack get an A- from me.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie:  I like the Sega Genesis version better. However,the Soundtrack for This version completely blows away it's Genesis counterpart's.

Super Mario: Yoshi's Island: A very fun game...though Baby Mario's crying gets really annoying,really fast.

Ninja Guiden Trilogy: Thought this was gonna be another Wily Wars/Mafio All-Stars-type situation..turns out there was not much graphical improvement. The only noticable upgrade was the soundtrack.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Fighting Edition: A pretty solid fighting game where you either play as a Megazord or a Giant Monster. Sadly,This was last Good Power Rangers game until Legacy Wars.

Chrono Trigger: Nothing I can say can do this Adventure of a Lifetime justice. An even Bigger Masterpiece than Final FaNtasy III [VI]. Have this on the Wii VC as well.

Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers: A mediocre Racing Game that tries to be Mario Kart,but fails in a big way.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie's Double Trouble: I enjoyed this game. Though I still think that the first 2 were way better.

Marvel Super Heroes: War of Gems: A Spiritual Successor to X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse. Plays better too.

Super Mario RPG: The Final Square (now square-enix or squeenix) game for the Nintendo platforms until 2002. This was also the first and Only time Nintendo and Square worked together on a project. And the end result was something great. I recommend playing this jem.

And That,my friends is the List. The SNES has given me decades of good memories and great fun. Happy 30th Super NES,you are still loved.

'Till Next Time,
See Ya,Space Cowboys.

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Go in Peace - RIP Regis Philbin

This just in.

Regis Philbin, the man known as the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business," has died on July 24th, 2020.

Regis Philbin was not just an actor, but he was best known for being one of the most recognizable names in daytime talk shows, mostly in the morning, for he was the original co-host of LIVE! with Regis and Kathie Lee, alongside Kathie Lee Gifford, which was later renamed LIVE! with Regis and Kelly, after Kathie Lee left and Kelly Ripa took her place. Known for his funny wit, Reeg, as most of his friends and fans call him, was quite a ham, not only in his own talk show, but also in late night, with the likes of David Letterman, Conan O'Brian and Jimmy Fallon, but appeared in many TV shows like Spin City, Mad About You, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and How I Met Your Mother, the various Disney Park Parades (mostly around Christmas time), and even on game shows, including the one show that became a household name, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Because of his hard work in show business, he earned the Guinness World Record of Most Hours on U.S. Television.

Originally died of natural causes, it was revealed that he died of Cardiovascular Disease. He was only 88 years old, one month shy of his 89th birthday.

For his wild sense of humor and a quick wit to boot, We will never forget the times that Regis Philbin put a smile on everybody's faces.

Go in peace, Reeg. Godspeed.

(TAPS plays)

Regis Francis Xavier Philbin
August 25th, 1931 - July 24th, 2020

This has been a Retro Rebellion Special Report

Monday, July 6, 2020

The King of Pop Is Now Part of The Retro Rebellion Hall of Heroes

Michael Jackson was one of the greatest music icons to ever exist. He helped break racial barriers in music thanks to his partnership with MTV (they were decent back then,i swear). With his cool attitude,look,and sound,Michael Jackson was a huge draw with fans worldwide and would continue to hold such drawing power until the late 90's.

Despite all of this success,though,Michael wasn't without his enemies. Back in the day,some in the Media didn't like him that much and labeled him a pedophile when he was falsely accused of sexually molesting young boys. These accusations almost ruined him and would have if they were true..but they weren't,so they didn't.

However in recent times,each and every one of these alligations were proven to be false and Michael was cleared of all wrong doing.

Michael had gentle soul and seemed like the type of guy you'd wanna be pals with. So with all this said,Retro Rebellion is Very Proud to induct "King of Pop" Michael Jackson into the Retro Rebellion Hall of Heroes.

You are missed like crazy,Michael. Thank you for entertaining us through the 80's and 90's. Rest In Peace,King of Pop. 

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Back To Work After The 4th.

Announcement!!

Following the 4th of July,I will be back on the job again. Just to let you all know. Also,I'm considering adding Super Smash Bros Director and Kirby creatr,Masahiro Sakurai, to the Hall of Heroes. This dude is doing so much for the Smash Community,he deserves every ounce of praise he gets.

So there we go. See ya on July 5th or 6th,Space Cowboys.

Stay Gold and Stay Safe.