Mike matei obscure snes games

Each character is memorable not just because of their visual design or dialogue, they live in your memory as a series of iconic attack patterns and signature moves. This game is a wonderful example of how video games as an art form can create characters based on how they behave and how it feels to interact with that behavior.

Everyone who considers themselves a gaming connoisseur should definitely have that notch in their belt. From the second I pop this game in, to the time I beat it, I enjoy the experience. Every time I start this game, I am instantly transported back to the late eighties when the most important thing on my mind was The Disney Afternoon.

The pogo-jump at the time was ground breaking. So good in fact, it inspired the primary move for Shovel Knight, one of the most successful indie games of the last several years. I grew up reading all the original stories by Carl Barks. You should definitely go read those, you will be amazed at how good they are.

Trust me on this one. I had to ask myself if that fact slanted my judgement on this being such a great game. Like most Capcom games from this era, it is very well executed. They were one of the best developers for the NES, and this was one of their strongest titles.

When I was young, I only owned the original and was never able to beat it. Regardless, it was always one of my favorite games for the system.

It has to have the most perfect feeling controls of any side scrolling action game ever. Everything you do is satisfying. Wall jumping, flipping through the air, slashing at enemies and using magic attacks just all feel perfect.

While I love the first game, it has a lot of flaws. There were annoying sections where enemies would respawn too easily, or just really poor enemy placement in certain areas. Also, the last level of the game is infinitely harder than anything else so I feel like it was unbalanced.

The Ninja Gaiden series had the modest goal of letting 80s kids live out the fantasy of being a ninja, and the third installment is where this dream was truly realized. Ninja Gaiden 3 fixed all of the issues of the previous installments and retained the same great gameplay. It also has perfect enemy placement and level design. When you get good at this game, it just all feels seamless. I find myself drawn to this game, always wanting to play it over and over. Before we get to number one, I do want to mention Metroid.

I invite you to consider Zelda with some historical context. Something was always missing, something was always off. When this game came out, it was doing many things that no game had successfully executed before, and things we always hoped games eventually would. Our fantasies finally came true.

This is a game that tosses you into a vibrant, unique world and lets you explore it any way you want. And when you explore, you get rewarded with things you actually enjoy finding. I have a natural fondness for puzzle solving, same reason I really love Adventure of Lolo, but putting puzzle solving into the context of an adventure game is like mixing peanut butter and chocolate.

This game is so brilliant that every generation of the games industry since look back to it for inspiration and reference. Even today, developers are looking back to The Legend of Zelda again and finding more aspects of it to try to live up to, such as the modern push for more open ended exploration and letting the player get lost instead of holding their hand. This little gold cartridge is the Holy Relic of video gaming. Also, you have to consider my personal history. Prior to Zelda coming out, I only had played arcade games and Atari Atari games in particular trained me to make up my own story for the game in my head, and Zelda was an entire world for me to do that in.

It blew my mind, and was the exact game I was looking for. And, it still is. This game has stayed my number one throughout the years because of the additional challenges that are possible with it, like doing a 3 Heart only challenge or a swordless run.

And even more recently, there is the Zelda randomizer. So it seems the fun that can be had with the original Zelda is endless. Thanks Jeremy. Yeah, Lolo is one of my absolute favorites. One of the best games on the system! I recently got a hold of my own copies of Palamedes and Krazy Kreatures thanks to you. They are awesome games!! I always take your word or recommendation, thanks! Amazing list, glad to see some of the more obscure puzzlers on here! I think I personally would put some more platformers, especially with Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania being my favorite NES games but I still really liked seeing Gaiden 3 really high, not a lot of people have played it!

So many to choose from with the large NES catalogue! Great list Mike! Thanks Zach. Bucky also had a fun side scrolling beat em up made by Konami in arcades. Both great games. Thanks for reading! Super list, and I can see why you would pick Ninja Gaiden III over the first one, it looks a lot more polished, but the US version can be punishing because of limited continues and more enemy spawns and that you as ryu take more damage too over the Famicom version.

I would also like to mention that beating Mike Tyson without the password is the way to beat that game, the password feels a bit like a cheat to me. Well, using the password is a good way to practice him. Because he does require a lot of practice. Good point! Practice makes perfect! And yes try the Famicom version, you will be suprised how easy that one is. Great list! My list would have to include Super Mario Bros 2.

I have so many good memories playing that game and even now when I play it I love it even more. But definitely agree with your number 1. One of my all time faves as well!

I also love Super Mario Bros 2. It was really hard to pick one Mario game for the list. I almost went with the original. I love all the enemies like Fry Guy and Clawgrip, such a nostalgic game. It is 30yrs old, after all. Yo Mike! Thanks to share with us! Your list is complete. DuckTales is one of my deepest classic. Like you,when I start a game alot of memories coming through. Castlevania are my best series of games of all time specially the fourth installment on the SNES.

We were blessed I think. Reading and watching you help me alot to learn English language. Keep the good work Mike! More great content from the best the internet has to offer.

What is a wordless run in Zelda? Is that not getting the sword etc? Over the past year, Batman has entered my top 5 favorite NES games and the controls definitely have something to do with it. Well, I better go do that! It can be challenging and FYI, if you wanted to pick up where you last were there is a hidden room on the first stage that is a level select room. Each characters has a unique identity that is established by their attack pattern.

It is just you and the game. I never beaten Mike Tyson but I am getting their! Thanks Mike for writing this blog. Awesome idea! I remember in , I bought this PC game called Toonstruck, which is an FMV style adventure game where you control a disgruntled cartoonist who falls asleep and wakes up in the world of his own cartoon creations. Christopher Lloyd plays the cartoonist, and the art style is kinda like a Looney Tunes world, except pretty fucking twisted in parts.

It sucks that almost nobody remembers it, although I was ecstatic to see it actually got a steam release. No reviews, no magazines, just my own feelings on what I saw. These are two I remember feeling like obscure gems to me. Anyways, the HD remake vs. Demons Quest on the orignal Game Boy is a great game. Similar to the Secret of Mana series, it is usually lumped in as a knockoff, but was designed as a standalone game. The game has its flaws, but it provided a cool story about a boy and his dog trying to escape a savage world.

The sound effects were great, and the alchemy system was something different form the common mana spells in rpgs. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Skip to content. November 11, Mike Matei 9 Comments. Good stuff. You, Ryan James makes the best content. Play this and enjoy your enemies wacking themselves in the face. Thanks for reading my blog.

So many freaking games back then with magic and pop in the title. Recommend that snes game as well. And to be fair, ninja gaiden is good. Just fucking hard. Hey Mike! I really like your blog. It looks like your type of game. Mike, did you notice that the first stage music is a cutesy remix of the first stage of Castlevania III? That being my favorite Castlevania, it was by far my favorite Easter Egg.

Is there any other articles, or is this series fairly recent? I think this is a marvelous idea, and I would love to see more. My favorite obscure game btw is mystical ninja by konami for the nintendo 64, found a cartridge sitting out at the local blockbuster and it was one of the most magical experiences of my childhood.

Your blog format is actually incredible, never knew the technological advances in blog sites. Love what your doing Mike, have for years, and will adamantly return for posts. I wanted to try and find another way to reach you and Mr. Rolfe but so far this is the only way that I have found out so far.