Groovy competition in rhythm game market Just when Konami thought it had the market cornered on rhythm games along came In the Groove. The series took the formula of timed arrows, music and dance charts and finessed it into better… Continue Reading
Camping with friends My love affair with Animal Crossing began in 2003, a year after the GameCube version was released in the U.S. It wasn’t enough to merely start a life with a character — known as Rubes(kitty) — in… Continue Reading
Ninja copy fails Black Manta People were apparently wild about ninjas in the ’80s. Really wild. I’m guessing this because it seems to be a million and one games about ninjas that were made in the 1980s. These were all… Continue Reading
A refreshing platformer in good taste Every so often there will be a licensed game that’s actually worth something. It will have a great soundtrack and decent controls and not be so obnoxiously unplayable that legions of older gamers remember… Continue Reading
Ripoff molded into decency In 1994, there was a glut of fighters on the market — something for everyone, if you will. You couldn’t stand in a circle and turn your head without bumping into a fighting game. To stand… Continue Reading
Guilty Gear successor cleans up nicely in fighting game arena Fighting game connoisseurs have a robust buffet to choose from these days. There’s Marvel, Street Fighter, Tekken and Mortal Kombat for tournament purists, a new Soul Calibur has been announced,… Continue Reading
Father of fighting games gets super upgrade Gone are the days of roaming a local arcade to play the throng of would-be challengers and pretenders to the throne of the best local fighting game champion. In its place are home… Continue Reading
When Tetris’ and Disney’s worlds collide Messing with an old and universally loved favorite such as Tetris is a risky proposition. You can get it right or mess it up horribly, where it is forever known as the “messed up… Continue Reading
Puzzle Bobble’s breakout hit Bubble Bobble isn’t super famous last I checked, but I learned who Bub and Bob were by the time I finished their first puzzle effort for the Super NES, the mid-90s appropriately named Bust-A-Move. There’s much… Continue Reading
Fruitless showdowns with respect to balloons The best thing I can possibly say about Balloon Fight is that it’s innovative for its concepts at the time. Other than that, this isn’t a game I’d recommend to anyone beyond the age… Continue Reading
Rolling the dice with Animal Crossing Judging from the standpoint of an avid Animal Crossing player and enthusiast, the concept of new games coming into my beloved franchise is not always welcome. There have been particularly good games (i.e. Wild… Continue Reading
Super Mario Land Mario’s first adventure outside of the Mushroom Kingdom just happens to also be his first in the portable sphere. Mario Land is a serviceable adventure filled with the weird and different (Tatanga, anyone?), but it’s still good… Continue Reading
Super Mario Bros. 2 an uneven, heavy-handed sequel If there were ever a time when Mario was considered not to be fun, this would be it. I have always had a major fascination with Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom, but… Continue Reading
Mario Kart’s growing pains Mario Kart has always been an interesting experience. Combining go-karting and Mario has and is a recipe for success for Nintendo, quite honestly. And, by the time Nintendo got around to making the sequel to the… Continue Reading
Mario’s greatest evolution Most of the gaming world would agree that Super Mario 64 is one of the greatest games of all time. I would agree also except for two things: First, the game gives me a tremendous headache after… Continue Reading
A serviceable tale on paper The moment you know Mario has gone on too many adventures is when you know you’ve played way too much Mario. Paper Mario, the sequel to the hard-to-top Super Mario RPG, is when I knew… Continue Reading
A masterpiece in the making Super Mario Maker is the Mario game that isn’t quite the standard Mario fare but is the game you didn’t know you needed. It is, alongside few others, the killer app for the Wii U.… Continue Reading
Spirit of an Olympic champion Hearing the name Track & Field II easily creates powerful nostalgia in me. I was a young girl learning the ins and outs of an NES in 1989 when my older brother, Tony, brought home… Continue Reading
Like father, like son I don’t believe there is anyone who reads GI who doesn’t know that I don’t care for Donkey Kong. By now, it should be painfully obvious that I don’t care for the simian’s retro exploits or… Continue Reading
Ultimate retro package It’s one thing to trade off of nostalgia. And we all know Nintendo does that often and well. What we don’t often get to see is Nintendo using its history to change the way its games are… Continue Reading
