SEGAmaniacal Summer Challenge: Streets of Rage--Beaten!!

Well, I put Streets of Rage to bed this evening--what an awesome game. Great but simple control scheme, fun levels, and brutal bosses.  After playing through this whole game, I think I enjoy it more than Double Dragon.

Anyway, the SEGAmaniacal Summer Challenge continues--on to Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master!

Dad Was an Arcade Hero Last Night

Every year our family goes to Maine, and one of the best parts about the trip is that there are a few great arcades in the area. Last night we went to the Boardwalk Arcade at Wells Beach, and I had a great moment with my five-year old son. As we were winding down our arcade trip, my son pointed over to a machine in the corner--one of those "claw" games that are designed to rip you off (you know the ones).  He pointed to the machine, and more specifically at a penguin plus toy inside and said "Dad, will you win me a penguin?"

I strolled over to the machine, only to find out this was a claw game with a twist. You have to play a Tetris-like minigame just to get a chance at using the claw. Lose the game, and you don't even get a try with the claw. So I popped my two quarters in, and beat the minigame on the first try. I then deftly maneuvered the claw over the penguin in question, and snagged it on the first shot.

As my son watched with glee, the claw dropped his brand new toy down the chute, and I walked away a hero for the day.

Sonic Not as Fast as We Remember?

As I've been playing Sonic the Hedgehog this month for the SEGAmaniacal Summer Challenge, I've been thinking a lot about the franchise and how it's evolved over the years. Even moreso, I've been thinking about how pretty much every Sonic since the Dreamcast iteration has been criticized for the same thing--not being fast enough.

Go read reviews of any Sonic game over the past few years. Inevitably, you'll get to the part of the review where the writer laments how this new game doesn't stay true to the original concept of Sonic. The game isn't fast enough, Sonic doesn't run enough, there's too much stop-and-go gameplay, etc.

Many of the reviewers remember the original Sonic games as being one long footrace, where Sonic always runs at blinding speeds and the gameplay never slows down.

The thing is, that's not what the original Sonic games were at all. Sure, there are plenty of moments in the early Sonic games where you are racing through levels at insane speeds. But, there's also a great deal of times where you are at a dead stop, carefully planning your next move or jump, as you traverse lava pits, spiked bridges, and the like. I'd say it's probably a 6-40 split in terms of slow gameplay versus fast paced gameplay.

Thinking about this has made me want to play some of the more recent Sonic games that were panned critically, as I think a lot of reviewers were comparing them to the nostalgic view of Sonic they had, as opposed to what the actual games played like.

What do you think?

SEGA GENISIS on your Dreamcast

As many of you already know, you can run many platforms on the Dreamcast thanks to many emulators available throughout the internet. With the SEGAManiacal Summer under way I thought I'd share some emulators with you. While I never condone piracy, I do enjoy putting the games I already own on easier to use platforms. For example. I'm planning on burning all three titles of the SMS onto one easy to load disc for one of my Dreamcast consoles. This way I'll have Sonic, Streets of Rage and Shinobi III all in one easy to find spot so I can make sure I get my play time in this year.

Here's a link to a pile of emulators for your Dreamcast.

The SEGAmaniacal Summer Challenge Starts Tomorrow!

Dust off that old Genesis, because tomorrow kicks off the SEGAmaniacal Summer Challenge. Three months, three games, starting with the game that established SEGA's mascot for the 90's--Sonic the Hedgehog.

Over the next month, Jason and I will be checking in on the SI forums, as well as with a couple of podcast segments, so get playing!

Get Ready for the SEGAmaniacal Summer Challenge!

It’s time to start doing thumb push-ups, and getting your 16-bit self in shape, as the SEGAmaniacal Summer Challenge starts in a couple weeks.

Last year, we took 3 NES classics and played them during the summer months. This year, we’re giving the same love to SEGA’s 16-bit masterpiece of a console. Three months, three games, a summer of awesome.

First up in June is “Sonic the Hedgehog” (1991). The mascot of of the SEGA Genesis, Sonic’s blend of speed and platforming was like nothing that came before it. Despite the fact that the series has gone downhill over the years, the original is still amazing.

“Streets of Rage” (1991) will be punching players in the face during the month of July. The side-scrolling brawler let’s you take on the role of either Adam Hunter, Axel Stone or Blaze Fielding, three rogue cops trying to clean up the gang-ridden streets of the city.

Everyone knows that August is the month of the Ninja, and this year will be no different. “Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master” (1993) is a fitting game to round out this year's trilogy. It combines the platforming and brawling of our first two games, and adds in some ninja flavor to make a casserole of carnage.

All three of this year’s games can be found on “Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection” for the PS3 and Xbox 360. You can also find some of them on Wii Virtual Console, Steam, or iPhone and iPad. And let’s not forget, you could dust off your old Genesis and play the original carts themselves. Either way, you have a couple of weeks to get your games before we kick things off in the first week of June.

Get ready!

Gameboy Advance Time Machine

I really enjoy all the Famicon style designs Nintendo came out with in Japan back in the day. I loved the American version as well, but there's something really cool about these designs. The other really cool thing about early Nintendo in Japan is that they came out with all sorts of insane accessories. Later in the game, Nintendo actually created a "GBA Time Machine." I assume it was Nintendo and not a third party. It allows you to play your NES carts right on your GBA. Now, you can get a tiny card that supports micro SD slots to do the same thing via ROMs. But the fact that you can play your own carts and show off your coolness to all the other retro gaming nerds, makes me want one even more.