Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8 - DLC Review

This week saw the release of the second pack of DLC for Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U. This coincided with a slight lull in university work and a visitation from my friend Andy Dodd, who is also an avid Nintendo fan, both events forcing me to play (I tried protesting… honest).  

The DLC (for a explanation of DLC see Here) is named Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8. It is the second pack of DLC for the game coming about a year after the games release. The staggering of extra content for Mario Kart 8 demonstrates Nintendo’s refreshing approach to DLC. Don’t worry I won’t praise Nintendo’s  DLC policy too much, I don’t need to when I did it in this post.

Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8 infuses the game with elements of the Animal Crossing series of games. The DLC adds a total of three new characters, six new kart parts and eight new tracks. All of these come at the price of £7.00 which isn’t too bad, especially as it hasn’t come straight after the game’s release.

As mentioned I have played, and been trounced on (thanks Andy), the tracks and thought I would give a brief review of my thoughts. We were also joined by Amy in this, who terrified us both with a spot of road rage (‘spot’ may be a slight understatement).

Crossing Cup

Baby Park

Courtesy of Nintendo Everything

This track is a remake of the Mario Kart Double Dash track on the Nintendo GameCube. The track is a small oval and the normal three laps is increased to seven. Whilst in some racing games a simple oval can be boring, in Mario Kart they become gleefully chaotic. By the middle of the race you are often left unsure whether the person you have just passed was in front of you, or if you lapped them. Plus there is the potential for weapons overload, which can lead to both tears of joy and frustration. Either way the simplicity of the track hides the hectic fun to be had.

Image courtesy of Nintendo Life

Cheese Land

An impressive 3D remake of the 2D GameBoy Advance Mario Kart. This track didn’t make much of an impression on me, although to be fair, I have only played through once. It just seemed to pass by in a blur of cheddar-yellow and reminded me of Dry Dry Desert. Still a track made of cheese can’t be a bad thing, right?

Wild Woods

Image from Mario Wiki

This is probably my favourite track of the Crossing Cup, not because of the track, but because of the scenery. The track winds its way through a forest full of Shy Guys and Toads having fun. There aren’t many racing games where characters swing above you on tree vines or wave from rope bridges. But even though these are background elements, they add fun to the game. These touches demonstrate why Mario Kart can be such a fun franchise, as it combines endearing characters with gameplay that makes you want to Luigi ‘death stare’ your nearest and dearest.

Animal Crossing

A cool elongated figure of eight map which takes you around an Animal Crossing town. The cool feature of this map is that, like the game, the season changes randomly when you select it. All I have experienced is winter at this point, but driving through snowmen is rather entertaining.

Image from Nintendo Everything

Bell Cup

Neo Bowser City

A remake of the track from Mario Kart 7. This track goes through a brightly lit city under the control of King Kooper himself, Bowser. The track is cool in its design, but compared to the other tracks in the Bell cup, didn’t make much of an impression upon me.

Image from Nintendo Everything

Ribbon Road

Image from Mario Wiki

My favourite track of the DLC, due to it being made up of toys, including the titular road made of ribbon. Everything about this track screams fun, except when it makes you actually scream as a result of another Red Shell. The track reminds me heavily of Toy Story, right down to the wallpaper and bed in the corner. The best part, in my opinion, is the gliding section where you have to avoid two swaying jack in the boxes. Once again the playful element is a sure sign that you are playing Mario Kart.

Image from Mario Wiki

Super Bell Subway

A cool track which includes some formidable subway trains. These add an interesting element as they can be avoided, or boarded from above. This means that each lap is different as the trains continually move as you play. Just make sure that you mind the gap.

Big Blue

The final track is one long stretch of road broken into sections instead of laps. It is based on the F-Zero games series. This is a racing series featuring flying cars, and this fits in perfectly with Mario Kart 8’s new anti-gravity mechanism. A race along this road is filled with futuristic visuals and uncertainty as to which way up you are. I am glad that another single lap track has been added as it makes a nice change from the usual lap-tracks.

Image from Mario Wiki

As this is Mario Kart each of these tracks is accompanied by upbeat theme tunes that are sure to get stuck in your head. The best track of the bunch is probably the theme for Wild Woods.

I haven’t tested out the characters yet as I am still playing as Link from Legend of Zelda. After all what is better than when two of your fandoms combine?

A note on the character of Dry Bowser courtesy of Andy, can any of you imagine a Dry (aka firey-zombie) version of Mario, Luigi and Peach… shudder.

Pax East Round Up/Rant Down

PAX East wasn't the only source of news, I also read that Tim Burton is making a live-action Dumbo movie. Clearly, I haven't seen everything after all.

On set photo of Burton's live-action Dumbo (joke)

But before I get onto a rant about another franchise being Burtonised I will talk about what I had intended for this blog-post. Very recently we had this year's PAX East event, this time being held in Boston. PAX are the Penny Arcade eXpos, established by the creators of the popular web-comic Penny Arcade's as a series of festivals dedicated to gaming. The festivals area place for games that are soon to be released to be aired, and demoed, and should hype gamers up for the year's releases.

I say should because, unfortunately, I feel like the games took a backseat this year. The focus shifted towards demonstrating virtual reality hardware instead, and as a result I feel like the event suffered in the same way that E3 suffered a few years ago when the new consoles took centre stage. Hardware advances are all well and good, but should not eclipse the software (games, apps etc.). Without that software the hardware has no purpose. And the software that was presented didn't get my gaming juices flowing, and felt rather stagnant.

It may be hard to believe that this is a game, not a film.

The parts I paid most attention to were those displays by Square Enix. Final Fantasy XV looks amazing and to see it in demo form got me excited. The cut scenes shown previously at E3 made my jaw drop as they looked almost like a live-action film and not a video game. But this has happened before, with games promotional material looking stunning but the game play looking like it's made of play dough. A clear demonstration of this divide was seen in Alien Colonial Marines, and all gamers know how that turned out. Too often shiny clips promise something that game play just can't fulfil. Yet, looking at the gameplay footage of Final Fantasy XV it would appear like this issue has been solved. And the gameplay visuals appear just as photo-realistic as the cut scenes. I should mention that I acknowledge that graphics aren't everything and a games story and gameplay are major deciding factors on whether it is a great game. But remember that this is a Final Fantasy game so story is hopefully assured. And gameplay wise it is looking rather innovative, for a FF game, which too is reassuring. Overall, I am really looking forward to FF XV's release, and hope that by then I will own a console that can play it.

The Alien Colonial Marines demo looked good... looked!

Other highlights include the trailer for Bloodborne by From Software (yes that is the developing companies name), the studio that have recently brought us Demon Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls II. All of these were dark bleak games, which were brutal in difficulty, and yet were both very enjoyable and beautiful in design. And it would appear that their trend continues to Bloodborne. The trailer shown at PAX showed a nightmarish land that had rich detail hiding beneath. It even made Amy, who is far from an avid gamer, sit up and take note. Stating that it looked beautiful. I have faith that this game will be just like the aforementioned, even if it has become a PS4 exclusive.

Worryingly little was heard from camp Nintendo. Although this could be due to an upcoming Nintendo Direct. Perhaps like their announcements during E3 they allow us to think there is nothing before blowing us out the water in private. Splatoon, their new first-person painting shooter got an airing. It still looks rather cool, but the real testament for me will be whether it has any single player appeal. As mentioned in this post, I am rather hesitant about Splatoon as I am no longer a big online gamer.

Courtesy of Forbes

Also worrying was the announcement that Mass Effect 4 will be including multiplayer. But then again the whole existence of the game confuses me. I would have preferred if Mass Effect had remained a trilogy, especially considering such a final end. Not that I am surprised considering it was a major franchise, but sometimes even that doesn't warrant not allowing something to end before it grows too old.

I was sad to hear that Sony have allowed the patent on The Last Guardian to run out. As this could be a sign that they have given up on the game. Considering how long it has been since any news appeared it could be rather likely that the game has been abandoned.

The Last Guardian, gone, but hopefully not forgotten.

Things that passed me by, other than the virtual reality, was that Far Cry 4 now has yetis. I guess at least it now has something that is different from Far Cry 3. And also the fact that Uncharted 4 has been pushed back and that the Assassin's Creed film has gathered some momentum with cast being announced. Neither of which made me excited as both franchises have become examples of overstaying your welcome.

I will try to end on a enthusiastic tone however. Indie games on show were all rather cool looking, which just reaffirms my belief that right now indie gaming Is the way to go. Which is my main reason for not buying either the PS4 or the Xbox One. Also we have heard some of this year's E3 line-up which includes some exciting titles. So, perhaps the gaming horizon isn't as bleak as PAX would suggest.

What do you all think of PAX East? Let me know in the comments section.

Unicycle elephant from johnlund, FFXV image from galleryhip, Aliens image from Scified, Final image from DualShockers.

Inspirational Blogger Tag Challenge

I have been nominated to list seven facts about myself  by Amy-Elize Brown. This is part of the Inspiring Blogger Award, and I’m honoured that she thought of me. Please check out her awesome, and equally as inspiring, blog: Asleep in the Woods.

Like her, I have done a seven facts post before. If you do want to see seven little known facts then check out my previous post: Here. To do something a little different, I thought I would reflect upon seven video game developers who have made a good impression on me.

Traveler's Tales
Many of you may know Traveller’s Tales (TT) for their work on the Lego games series. Before they were releasing Lego games in a range of franchises, they developed some great games like Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex (the best Crash Bandicoot game in my opinion). But it was a game preceding this that left an impact on me. The video game adaptations of A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2 were some of my earliest forays into gaming. In fact, A Bug’s Life is one of the only games that I collected the hidden items out of enjoyment, and not for achievement/trophy. Whether you love or hate the Lego games you have to admire the franchise. Especially considering they still update their Lego game's mechanics, even after establishing a working formula.

Valve

This one shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as Valve corporation pretty much feature on many gamer's admiration list. With a backlog of impressive series like: Half Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal and Team Fortress, it is easy to understand why. Each game is iconic in its own right, and have attracted cult followings. The only criticism I have, and many will agree, is that the studio seems to have a dislike for the number three (Half Life2: Episode 2? – why not just call it Half Life Three?-), and we are still waiting for some of those much needed final acts (Half Life!)

Bioware

They are one of the best in the gaming business at storytelling. No other games developer spring to mind who have been able to complete a whole trilogy without it feelling stale or repetitive by the end. Yet with the Mass Effect trilogy, Bioware managed to keep me hooked throughout. Each game has a strong story that stands alone. I’m sure some people will disagree with me on that one, especially regarding Mass Effect 3’s ending. Another reason I respect Bioware’s storytelling is due to Dragon Age: Origins, which has been one of the only fantasy worlds to draw me in; and very effectively too. By the end of the game I was left shaken as I had to leave the world and its people behind.

Rare Ware

I have already mentioned that Traveller’s Tales had an effect on my childhood, but they weren’t the only ones. I grew up playing the N64, and as such experienced the golden age of Rare Ware. I have talked about many of their games before, and if you want to hear more about them check out this post Here. But suffice to say, the studio brought us games like Banjo-Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing and Goldeneye. These are some of the games that people think of when they think of great retro gaming.

Rare Ware's pre-Microsoft days... sigh.

Nintendo

This one shouldn’t come as much surprise to regular readers of my blog. What may surprise some of you is that Nintendo actually began their gaming career with playing cards. Thankfully, they went a bit more high-tech and produced some of the greatest video games. Without the grandparent of gaming we wouldn’t have critically acclaimed series like Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby,or even my beloved Legend of Zelda. Despite what some people may say about Nintendo they are still going strong, and will hopefully keep providing us with amazing games.

The Behemoth

Image from Giant Bomb

From one of gaming’s giants, to an indie developer. It’s hard to create a 3D game that can hook someone into its world, but it’s harder still for a 2D game to create the same sense of immersion. Yet, immersed I was in the world of Castle Crashers. A game that was a simple side-scroller with a plot that was at most: Go save the king. But, there was enough collectables, unlockable and hidden features to keep me hooked. Their other game, Alien Hominid, was just as simple and still had more re-play value then most modern AAA games.

Rocksteady
Game developers attempts at superhero games are fraught with bad memories. Very few decent games have been made based on comic book characters, Spiderman on the PS one was the last good effort. Before Rocksteady entered the arena. Rocksteady have managed it twice, and hopefully will achieve a hat-trick. Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, are not just great superhero games, but great games full stop. Before anyone mutters: What about Arkham Origins? Well that was a low point (still good compared to many AAA titles), but made by another developer. I have every faith that Batman: Arkham Knight will be a fitting conclusion. Even if I do have to wait some time to get a PS4 in order to play it.

So there you have it, my top seven video game developers who I admire. You may not agree with me, but let me know why in the comments section.

Also, another thank you to Amy for tagging me. She certainly deserved the inspiring blogger tag before me, as she was one of my blogging inspirations.

I would like to nominate David Owen as my inspirational blogger/author. David is a graduate from university (University of Winchester), and has gone on to become a published author. Plus he is a video games journalist and has written for IGN; which basically makes him a god.

Thankfully, he accepted the tag and posted seven facts about himself here.

Rare Ware image from DragonBorn9617

The New Nintendo 3DS &3DS XL: Are They Really New?

I remember when Nintendo first announced the new 3DS XL, alongside its sister the new 3DS, not to be confused with the existing 3DS XL and 3DS of course. Back then it was being referred to as the 3DS XL LL and 3DS LL respectively. A few thoughts struck me as I clasped my face in my palms. Firstly, 'that's a lot of random letters.' Followed by 'that’s a lot of 3DSs.' I realise that console makers are known for remodelling their consoles in a bid to keep a fresh appearance, but the 3DS family has become a bit ridiculous.

In the beginning we had the 3DS, launched in 2011. The 3DS XL brought us a bigger screen in 2012. I could see the logic in increasing the size, but the time gap could have been longer. For 3DS owners like myself, the announcement of an update mere months after purchasing the first felt like an insult. Then came the 2DS in 2013, and to be frank I’m still not sure why. The unique selling point of the 3DS was the 3D in many ways. It distinguished it from the original DS in more so than updated graphics, but the release of the 2DS took focus away from the 3D aspect. Also, it doesn’t close like the rest of the family, making the 2DS closely resemble Cousin Itt from the Adams Family. This then brings us to the new Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL. Do we really need them?

They offer some improvements to the past models; both have bigger screens than the 3DS, although the same size as the 3DS XL. These screens have apparently got improved 3D ability, which overcomes the original 3D problem that it limited you to looking directly at the screen. You had to have your head positioned exactly a 30cm ruler’s distance away, with your eyes pointed directly at the screen's centre, and make sure there wasn't a strong wind to tilt your gaze or you would end up with a fragmented image.

I have owned a few too many of these
 to mention without embarrassment

The new 3DS and 3DS XL are also said to have a quicker processing power than older consoles, and have been redesigned slightly in regards to button colour. As well as this, the positions of the stylus, volume slider and game cartridge is different. The buttons do look nice in a purely superficial way, but I don’t agree with the relocation of the stylus. I am a creature of comfort, therefore the stylus should be found on the top of devices or the right-hand side to avoid confusion (it doesn’t take much). Cartridge and volume slider movement doesn’t really bother me much. The start/select buttons have moved too, and actually they have improved in ease of use but not aesthetics.

The biggest draws for these new consoles come from the new C-stick and exchangeable faceplates. The C-stick allows for two joysticks, which comes in handy. Most gamers have become accustomed to movement and camera being controlled by separate analogue sticks, and handhelds that offered a single stick always feel a bit clunky. Directional pads can never quite live up to the precision of an analogue stick in my opinion. The C-stick is about the size of a pea and looks like it is made of a rather uncomfortable rubber substance, and I was a bit unsure of whether the new addition would be welcome. After giving it a try, however, I found it quite accommodating, responsive and all-round a nice new addition. It is very similar in appearance to the mouse nubs some laptops have sitting at the heart of their keyboards, but these have a tendency to be too responsive and often shoot the mouse off to an unknown screen edge at the lightest touch. Thankfully, the C-stick doesn’t and actually feels like you are slowly rotating a normal analogue stick despite not actually moving itself. The C-stick feels good and gave me a reason to play Monster Hunter 3, which I enjoy more now as it is easier to control. I was very impressed by this and it outshines some full controllers, and is a definite improvement on the 3DS Pro that Nintendo launched a few years ago (this was a bulky add-on that clipped to the side). 

I feel the need to mention that new shoulder buttons have also been added, but I have yet to find a use for these.

The exchangeable faceplates are a nice touch for people, like myself, who like to buy new devices when the old one begins to bore them. I look forward to the release of new designs, and the changing of plates is as simple as unscrewing two screws and unclipping the old plate. They also announced two limited editions, a Majora’s Mask edition and a Monster Hunter 4 edition. As a life-long Legend of Zelda fan I fell in love with the Majora’sMask edition on site.

I may be a nerd, but now I'm a happier nerd.

I haven’t really noticed a dramatic improvement in the 3D effect. Although, I tend to play it with the effect off unless I am watching a particularly stunning cutscene.  I have noticed that the device looks flatter and feels a bit lighter, although neither is too noticeable.

Lastly, a word on data transfer. Nintendo have issued various step-by-step guides that help to transfer data from your old device to the new. As someone who is an avid player with a lot of game-time this was essential. The process was nail-biting to say the least. As I watched a cute little animation of Pikmin moving my data, the thought that I had accidentally deleted years of my life made me feel ill (I can hear you judging me over there). Thankfully, the process went smoothly, and no data was harmed in the transfer.

If you are looking to buy the new 3DS or 3DS XL then I would say it would be worth it, but on a few conditions. One, that you do not already own a 3DS and you have been looking for a reason to buy one. Two, that you own an old 3DS and think the increased screen size of a 3DS XL is worth it (it is). But I would not advise those who already own a 3DS XL to buy the new one. The C-stick is a great addition, but I would hold out on buying one until major games are released that can't be played without it; like Xenoblade Chronicles. Unless you are like me, and can’t stand being behind in all things new and shiny.

 Size comparison image from Gomgom54, Nintendo tree from Pinterest

Retro Game Gabbing - (Part 2)

Welcome back. This week I tackle part two of my Retro Gaming Gabbing, reflecting upon my retro gaming history. You can catch part one be clicking this link. In my last post I talked about discovering a gift box site, named Man Crates, which offered retro gaming crates.

One crate contained a cartridge of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game Duck Hunt. Upon seeing this I started to reminisce on the vintage gaming that has made me the man geek I am today. Unfortunately (or fortunately), if you found it interesting, I went into too much depth on generation three and four (see here for an explanation of generations) and I ran out of lines to go further. I am of the belief, that blog posts should be kept short and sweet; especially when you are as dull as me.

Image from Steam Community

So, without wasting any more time, here is my memories of gaming generation five. Sorry if it seems Nintendo heavy, I was little hooked (not in a cultish way).

Generation Five

Generation five was all about hand-me-downs for me. At the time I was still playing a generation four console, whilst my brother played his N64 in his room. Occasionally I was allowed to play games with him, like Blast Corps. and every fanboy’s favourite Goldeneye. Looking at these titles alongside a few others released for the N64, such as Diddy Kong Racing, MarioKart 64 and Super Smash Bros.,I realise that this generation was a golden age in split screen (for me at least). To be fair it makes sense, games had progressed to a point where they could handle a lot of on-screen activity, but we lacked the capabilities of the advanced internet we have today.

Image from How Stuff Works

When my brother got a Playstation One (PS1) I inherited his N64. Which meant that the N64 was the first console that I bought my own games for. I can still remember going around a friend’s house and experiencing Banjo Kazooie. On the next trip to the local shopping centre I recognised it on shelves, and purchased it with what pocket money I had to hand; plus a little advance from my father of course. I can remember vividly the store I bought it from, and the feeling of holding that small cardboard box in my hands (the old boxes felt much warmer than the cases we have today, ah nostalgia’s rose-tinting glasses). Unfortunately, the box is gone and the store too. But Banjo Kazooie’s cartridge still remains in my possession. My collection soon grew to including Pokemon Stadium One and Two, Pokemon Snap, Super Smash Bros.

In fact Pokemon Stadium One still stands out in my gaming history as one of my finest moments. For weeks I attempted to beat the Champion League’s Elite Four without any luck, even my brother couldn’t accomplish it. But then, one Saturday morning as everyone slept (I do resent them not being present for such a defining moment), I finally beat the League. To say I was excited would be an understatement. I am not ashamed to say that I ran up and down the house, multiple times cheering my head off. If my family had been asleep they certainly weren’t for long. I hadn’t even checked to see what my prize was for such an accomplishment. I was a little disheartened to find it was just an Eevee, but still beating them was enough, something I did regularly after I realised the formula.

Image from WiiU daily

One regret I have about the N64 is that I never owned a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on it. The game is one of my favourite stories, in my favourite game series and yet I haven’t owned the original cartridge. I have, of course, completed Ocarina of Time (in fact multiple times on multiple consoles), but not on its original platform. I also admit to never finishing The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, although I will rectify this soon with the upcoming remake on the Nintendo 3DS.

When my brother moved on to generation six with the Playstation Two I got my hands on his PS1. At this point I became rather fickle and forgot about my allegiances to the N64. Too caught up in the amazing Metal Gear Solid, a story so complex that my head now can’t even cope with the story. I don’t think I was too concerned at the time; not when I could take down a helicopter, right after repelling down a building. The game captivated me so much that I began telling people I wanted to be a missionary, just like Solid Snake (the main character: a mercenary). People were rather confused that I believed a missionary went on secret missions to say the least.

Start-up screens still give me a shiver (in a good way)
PS1 start-up screen from Galih

I also remember the morning of my eighth birthday as a result of receiving PS1 games (I really am a geek aren’t I?). That morning I awoke bleary eyed to find that my Mum had piled my presents around me as I slept. That day I received; a garish green and purple neon Walkman, with a tape of the Witch Doctor, a copy of Rayman and Gex: Enter the Gecko along with other things that have faded from my memory. I loved both of these games, and still do, but have yet to complete them. I still retain an obsession for Leslie Phillip’s voice due to his voice acting in Gex.

Yet again, I seemed to have had more to talk about than I expected. I will stop there before I bore you any further. The next post on Geek Boy Babbles won’t be so indulgent I promise. There will be a break in gaming generations before I return to tackle generations six, seven and then handheld histories.  

Until then let me know your opinions and memories in the comments below.

Retro Gaming Gabbing - (Part 1)

Last week I became aware of a gift box site called Man Crates from a friend. Apparently they sell gift boxes sent in crates, and of course, need to be opened with a crowbar. At first I thought that he was just kidding, that perhaps it was a riff on the Loot Crates idea. But then I checked it out and was rather taken aback to say the least.

You can check out a link to their gifts for men page here.

I have to say that upon viewing their site I was hooked by the humour and shocking range of sets (I'm not sure eclectic covers this place). Two boxes stood out to me. Firstly, the zombie crates which seem to all feature some rather intimidating knives. But mainly their retro gaming crates, which would be like mana from heaven for a geek like me.

As soon as I spied the cartridge of Duck Hunt in a crate package I immediately had inspiration for this week's blog post. 

Good job they provide a crowbar, perfect for re-enacting Half Life

As I began to reflect upon my personal gaming history I realised it wasn’t just a hobby. Gaming is something that has helped me shape the person who I am today. Some may say that this is a reason that gaming should be banned, but we will ignore that for now.

So where to begin? Well, I think it would be best to deal with it by console generation.

For those that don't know consoles can be catagorized by generations. Typically generations are when consoles that were released in neighboring years are grouped together. Usually the key console makers (companies like: Nintendo, Sony, Sega etc.) release one console per generation and aim to create a new console every ten years or so. Right now we are in the eighth generation of consoles with the likes of the X-Box One, the PS4 and arguably the Wii U.

Generation Three

Technically I wasn’t born until the fourth generation, but thanks to an older brother and a family a little behind the times my console experience predates my birth. My gaming experience from this gen was of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the Sega Master System I.

Specifically I have fond memories of playing the NES around my Nan’s house. My brother and I would end the visit with an hour playing coop on the console. Unfortunately, we only had one cartridge that would work; fortunately it was a double pack: Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. An odd combination, but a lot of fun as Duck Hunt included a light gun. As you can imagine we had many arguments over who was winning and who was cheating by edging closer to the screen. 

However, one thing we united over was our hatred for the giggling dog that popped up when you missed the targets (thank you Super Smash Bros. forWii U for allowing me to enact vengeance upon the pooch finally). Super Mario Bros. was my first introduction to platforming and I still have the theme song permanently etched on my brain. We never did actually complete the game, the furthest we got was world five… out of ten!

Laugh for now, but your time will come!

The Master System was our home console and we had a few games, although I don’t remember any. I think the reason I don’t remember that many is because I rarely played anything other than Sonic the Hedgehog. As such I actually finished this one.

Once again I found myself bounding with my family through gaming and not just my brother. My Mum too got involved in this game and actually spent more time playing it than I did. She didn’t make it past world two; the bridge level always foxed her.

Suffice to say that despite not being born when this generation was active I have strong memories of the consoles that make it. 

Generation Four

I don't have much experience with this generation. We did have a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) at home, but I don't really remember playing it too much. It was my brothers console really, and we only played a few titles together like Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Country. This generation passed me by somewhat and I do regret missing out on some genuinely good titles. I especially regret never owning a Sega MegaDrive.

Image courtesy of the Old Computer.

I hadn't realised when I began this post that I would have so much to talk about in such early generations. To help this I will end this post here and carry on the generation reflection in next week's post. Be sure to check back in a weeks time.

Also I want to hear your gaming history, let me know in the comments section below as always.


Man Crate image from ManCrate.com, Duck Hunt image from IGN,