Capcom has done a very good job of remedying those issues by releasing several art books spanning many game series ranging from Street Fighter to Phoenix Wright.

I happened to order a copy of Mega Man Official Complete Works off of Amazon after months and months of delay.

With Mega Man 9 coming out last year and Mega Man 10 coming out next year, Mega Man Official Complete Works is a great way to celebrate the original Mega Man series. The art book was released in Japan a while ago, but now it’s available in English.

The book itself has around 200 pages, which is more than you can say about most art books.  The cover and pages are made from nice paper, though I couldn’t exactly tell you what kind of paper is used.

The Mega Man games are so artistically interesting that the book didn’t have to be padded with useless filler material. Mega Man Official Complete Works was originally released before Mega Man 9, so it mainly covers Mega Man 1-8 as well as Mega Man & Bass.

Here are just some of the things that the book covers:

1. Images of all the boxarts

2. Pictures of all the bosses sorted by game

3. Pictures of all the forms of Mega Man

4. Pictures of all the enemies

5. Character profiles

6. Original sketches

7. Pictures of the original comics

And to top it all off, most of the individual pictures have a quote from series creator Keiji Inafune related to the particular picture.

Overall, Mega Man Official Complete Works is an excellent gift for any Mega Man fan. It truly is the definitive art book of our beloved series. Now, if only they did a definitive music compilation of the Mega Man series…

The Complete Works brand also extends to the Mega Man X and Mega Man Zero series. I’m not a big fan of Mega Man Zero, but I’ll definitely pick up the Mega Man X Official Complete Works art book in the future.

Happy New Year!

Today I’m going to take a look at the PSone, or Playstation Slim that I got a while back.

The PSone was released in 2000 as a redesign for the original Playstation. It was considerably smaller and white. More importantly, however, is that it gave gamers the option to add a Sony supported LCD screen attachment to the console itself. This gave the console more portability, as it could be played anywhere as long as an outlet was available.

Original PS1 (left), PSone (right)

I have to say, the PSone is a really neat piece of technology. The screen attachment works well, and I get to use the console like I would a handheld gaming device before I go to bed. Admittedly, the only reason one would even want a PSone these days is for the screen attachment, as I’m sure just about everyone reading this blog at least owns one PS1 player in the form of a PS1, PS2 or PS3.

The screen attachment allows you to adjust the volume and brightness settings at any time with the press of a button.

The hardware itself is very lightweight, making it nearly as mobile as a handheld as mentioned earlier. Aesthetically, it looks pretty sleek, especially compared to other devices that were released at the time.

That’s about all I have to say on the subject. I can’t say that I’d recommend the PSone to everyone, because as mentioned earlier, just about every gamer has a PS1 player. The screen attachment makes the console infinitely more valuable, especially if:

A) you’re young and go on a lot of long car rides

B) you have 30-60 minutes between classes in college and want to play PS1 games

C) you haven’t hacked your PSP to play ripped PS1 games

At the very least, the PSone + screen combo pack comes at a very cheap price on eBay.

Now, if only Sony followed their own lead and released a PS2 screen attachment…

“Yeah, as if a game that has sold well over 15 million copies worldwide can be under appreciated.”

Well, hear me out.

The game came out on the DS in 2006. To provide some context, the DS Lite was yet to hit North America. Gears of War hadn’t yet jump-started the graphics arms race. Heck, the PS3 and Wii weren’t even out yet.

There were a few things going for NSMB before its launch that made it an object of desire for gamers:

1. It was the first traditional Mario side-scroller since Yoshi’s Island

2. It previewed well, coupled with a great E3 demo and one of the most well-made video game commercials in recent memory.

3. It had Nintendo’s full marketing muscle behind it

Fast forward to the day of its release, and my anticipation for the game is off the charts. As a big Nintendo fan (shocker), I had been waiting for another Mario side-scroller for years. Fresh off of my trip to Best Buy to acquire the game, I popped in the game into my old black and silver DS and marveled at its graphics. Keep in mind that the DS was less than 2 years old, and was yet to become the software juggernaut that it is today. I played the first level, which did a nice job of showing what the game is in a nutshell; a new Mario game in the style of the original Super Mario Bros. with a few modern twists.

Unfortunately, I now realize that I played the game incorrectly at the time. I powered through the game quickly — and as a result didn’t go out of my way to look for all the secrets the game contains. I was satisfied with the game, but didn’t get the same joyous experience I got when playing the other mainline Mario games (minus SMB2 Japan) for the first time. I get the feeling that others shared that same sentiment, as I often hear people citing the game as “uninspired and nostalgia-driven”.

On the wake of New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s release, I decided to give the game another shot, and I’m happy to say that NSMB for DS is for real. It’s not uninspired, and it’s definitely not a cash-in that set its sights on exploiting Mario fans such as myself. The music is a mixed bag, though it’s better than I remember. The music in the first level (which is used in many levels of the game) is catchy and the music in the castle stages is another notably good song. The graphics still look colorful and vibrant, especially on the DS Lite and DSi. Admittedly, some of the models (including regular small Mario) look pixelated beyond belief, but the game’s graphics has a sort of “overachiever” demeanor reminiscent of N64 and 3D Saturn games, so I don’t mind the mess. Other than the standard Mario 1 gameplay, NSMB has some neat quirks such as wall-jumping and ground pounding which are pivotal in finding the game’s many secrets. After the first two worlds or so, the creativity definitely opens up in the level design, which is especially evident in the ghost house levels.

However, I still had some gripes with the game, ranging from minor to significant. For example, playing NSMB on a DSi is a hand-cramping nightmare. For me, the hand-cramping started after mere minutes of gameplay, due to the positioning of the jump and run buttons. It may not look pretty (in fact, I assure you that it doesn’t), but you might want to stick with the original DS when playing NSMB. My second and final gripe with the game is its forgettable, lifeless map screen. It might not sound like a big deal to most, but the map screen ultimately puts the game on the cusp of greatness rather than full fledged elite tier-dom. It makes the game feel less distinct, unlike SMB3 and World, which had lively map screens.

I’m glad I had the chance to replay NSMB DS, as I now finally understand the greatness of the title. Ranking wise, I would put it above SMB1 and SMB2 (Japan), but below the rest.

I could go on about why Super Metroid is among the best games ever created, but that’s a tired discussion that you’ve probably heard a million times.

Instead, I want to talk about Metroid Prime Trilogy, which I just received in the mail minutes ago. For those unaware, Metroid Prime Trilogy is a one disc compilation of the three Metroid Prime games.

It’s not just any compilation though. We’ve received Nintendo collections in the past, such as Super Mario All-Stars and The Legend of Zelda Collector’s Disc. What sets Metroid Prime Trilogy apart from other standard compilations is the package itself. Nintendo went out of the ordinary for this game, and and released the game in a beautiful tin case as well as a little art book which contains concept art from the Metroid Prime series on one side and a timeline on the back. I also received a cool Metroid poster because I pre-ordered the game. This is a package that would normally run you $70-80 on the PS3/360, yet its Wii release is merely $50.

Sure, the Metroid Prime games included on the disc aren’t ‘new”, but Metroid Prime 1 and 2 were revised to include true widescreen support and the superior Wii Remote controls among other additions to warrant a double dip for those who already own all three games.

I’m impressed that Nintendo put so much effort into making this package special. It makes a strong argument for why retail boxed copies of games will always be more appealing to me than digitally distributed games. Games have the potential to be more than just items you play; but rather something you experience. Lots of old PC games came with extra goodies and sometimes even books that provided more context to the games. This Trilogy package definitely makes me more excited to replay the games than if it were just a standard Wii retail boxed game, and I hope it gets the sales it deserves because Retro Studios deserves a lot of credit for what they did to revive a previously dormant but beloved franchise.

With this post, I’ve decided to include some pictures of the package in case you haven’t seen it.

I started playing the game for the first time only a few minutes ago and I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve experienced. The main character is Pulseman, a red, Mega Man boss-esque creature who utilizes electricity to traverse the 2D landscape. As far as gameplay is concerned, Pulseman is a 2D platformer akin to many other games in that era, with some unique twists. For example, Pulseman can use electricity to kill enemies (via melee or projectile). It shares a similar mechanic to Super Mario Bros. 3 in that Pulseman can temporarily “fly” using electricity as he gains momentum, though he doesn’t need a special suit to do so. This is useful for reaching areas that Pulseman can’t normally reach through traditional jumping. It can also be used to attack enemies and bounce off walls. The graphics are colorful and vibrant, some of the best visuals the Genesis has to offer. One gripe I have is that the controls feel strange on a GameCube controller. For example, jumping in the traditional sense is mapped to the X button. Obviously this wasn’t an issue on the Genesis since it had a horizontal button layout, so this issue can only be attributed to the GameCube pad.

I’m eager to play more, and it’s interesting to look at a Game Freak creation before the company became a slave to the Pokemon franchise.

Thousands of video games have been released since the young industry began decades ago, but only a small portion of those games are top tier releases, unfazed by time and hardware upgrades. In light of this, I decided to list the best games of all time; not merely good, not merely great, but the best games of all time. The games on the list are games that I would recommend to anyone even remotely interested in video games. I will also provide a list of consoles that each game has appeared on, though in most cases the main platform I list each game under is the optimal one. Collections and compilations will not be included in this list. Current generation software will also not be included.

NES

Super Mario Bros. (Also on Game Boy Color, SNES and Virtual Console)
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Also on Game Boy Advance, SNES and Virtual Console)
Super Mario Bros. 3 (Also on Game Boy Advance, SNES and Virtual Console)
Mega Man 2 (Also on Playstation 2, GameCube, Xbox and iPhone)
Contra

SNES

Super Mario World (Also on Game Boy Advance and Virtual Console)
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (Also on Game Boy Advance and Virtual Console)
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Also on Wii Virtual Console)
Mega Man X (Also on Playstation 2 and GameCube)
Mega Man X2 (Also on Playstation 2 and GameCube)
Mega Man X3 (Also on Playstation 2 and GameCube)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Also on Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console)
Super Metroid (Also on Wii Virtual Console)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest (Also on Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console)
Chrono Trigger (Also on Playstation and DS)
Earthbound
Star Fox

Nintendo 64

Super Mario 64 (Also on DS and Wii Virtual Console)
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (Also on GameCube and Wii Virtual Console)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (Also on GameCube and Wii Virtual Console)
Star Fox 64 (Also on Wii Virtual Console)
Banjo-Kazooie (Also on Xbox Live Arcade)

GameCube

Metroid Prime (Also on Wii)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

Game Boy

Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong ’94)

Game Boy Color

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX (Also on Game Boy)
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

Game Boy Advance

Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green (Also on Game Boy)
Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Metroid Fusion
Metroid Zero Mission (Also on NES, vaguely)
Wario Ware, Inc. : Micro Minigame$
Wario Ware Twisted!

Genesis

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Also on Saturn, Playstation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade Playstation 3, Wii Virtual Console and PSP)

Sega CD

Sonic CD (Also on GameCube)
Snatcher

Saturn

NiGHTS Into Dreams
Dodonpachi

Dreamcast

Jet Grind Radio
Rez (Also on Playstation 2 and Xbox Live Arcade)
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of the Super Heroes (Also on arcade and Playstation)
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (Also on arcade, Playstation 2, Xbox, Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network)
Samba De Amigo (Also on Wii)

Playstation

Metal Gear Solid
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Also on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and PSP)
Mega Man X4 (Also on Saturn, Playstation 2 and GameCube)
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (Also on Wii)

Playstation 2

Klonoa 2
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Also on Xbox)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
Space Channel 5 Special Edition (Also on Dreamcast in 2 parts)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Also on Xbox)

Xbox

Panzer Dragoon Orta
Jet Set Radio Future
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2x (Also on Playstation, Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast in two parts)

Arcade

Pac-Man (Also on…just about everything)
Donkey Kong (with an arcade-perfect port on Nintendo 64)
Street Fighter 2 and all of its variants (Also on…just about everything)
Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike (also on Dreamcast, Playstation 2 and Xbox)

There may be some glaring omissions, as I don’t primarily play PC games, but it’s a good list of what the video game industry has to offer.

After months of deliberation, I finally decided to order the paddle controller off of eBay, and was pleasantly surprised at how responsive the add-on is for the two games that it supports. The two games control via a dial-like handle which controls the movement of your arkanoid paddle or space invaders ship. The dial is surprisingly responsive, and has no dead zone; in other words, you can keep spinning it without hitting a threshold.

As far as Arkanoid DS is concerned, the traditional button controls makes the game nearly unplayable. The stylus controls are tolerable, though a bit uncomfortable to utilize after a short period of time. The paddle controls, however, are the ideal way to play the game thanks to the responsive controls. For Space Invaders Extreme, the traditional button controls are fairly good, though the use of paddle controls allows more speed and precision. In other words, it’s what the mouse and keyboard control scheme does for shooters.

Overall, I would only recommend the DS paddle controller to those who are big fans of Arkanoid DS and Space Invaders Extreme, otherwise the controller serves no purpose. I assume that Space Invaders Extreme 2 will support the paddle as well. Due to the DSi’s lack of a GBA slot, the paddle controller is not compatible with the system. It’s one of the few reasons why the DS and DS Lite are still viable.

Mario (Main series):
Nintendo 64: Super Mario 64 (2)
GameCube: Super Mario Sunshine (3)
Wii: Super Mario Galaxy (1)

Winner: Wii

Legend of Zelda (Main series):
Nintendo 64: Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask (1)
GameCube: Wind Waker and Twilight Princess (2)
Wii: N/A (yeah I said it)

Winner: Nintendo 64

Metroid (Main series):
Nintendo 64: N/A
GameCube: Metroid Prime 1 and 2 (1)
Wii: Metroid Prime 3 (2)

Winner: GameCube

Donkey Kong
Nintendo 64: Donkey Kong 64 (2)
GameCube: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Donkey Konga 1 & 2 (1)
Wii: Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (fuck this game)

Winner: GameCube

F-Zero:
Nintendo 64: F-Zero X (2)
GameCube: F-Zero GX (1)
Wii: N/A

Winner: GameCube

Pokemon:
Nintendo 64: Pokemon Stadium 1 & 2, Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Puzzle League, Hey You Pikachu! (1)
GameCube: Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, Pokemon Channel, Pokemon Box (2)
Wii: Pokemon Battle Revolution, My Pokemon Ranch (fuck both of these games)

Winner: Nintendo 64

Super Smash Bros.:
Nintendo 64: Super Smash Bros. (3)
GameCube: Super Smash Bros. Melee (2)
Wii: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (1)

Winner: Wii

Mario Kart:
Nintendo 64: Mario Kart 64 (1)
GameCube: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (3)
Wii: Mario Kart Wii (2)

Winner: Nintendo 64

Star Fox:
Nintendo 64: Star Fox 64 (1)
GameCube: Star Fox Adventures, Star Fox Assault (2)
Wii: N/A

Winner: Nintendo 64

Paper Mario:
Nintendo 64: Paper Mario (1)
GameCube: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (2)
Wii: Super Paper Mario (3)

Winner: Nintendo 64

Overall winners:

Nintendo 64: 5
GameCube: 3
Wii: 2

I think that’s enough comparisons for now. Based on these ratings, I guess it’s fair to say that as far as the big franchise games go, the N64 is superior. However, there are still some great GameCube games that aren’t big Nintendo franchise games (Pikmin 2, REmake, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes etc). All I can say is that both consoles rock.

My Top 5 Games:

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

A cool mixture of Metal Gear and James Bond story telling with a more mellow atmosphere compared to MGS2. The medical/healing mechanic of the game was a flaw but ultimately didn’t hurt the amazing experience.

2. Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

I liked this game just as much as 3 but I didn’t list it above 3 because it’s less replayable and the whole Plant chapter area is pretty bland. However, the story is incredible and there are some cool set pieces.

3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

I’m not a huge fan of the GTA series, but I love Vice City mainly because of the city itself. It was way more compact than San Andreas which is a bonus in my book and had a cooler 80′s Miami beach setting. The music in the game is in my opinion the best in the series and the driving is way better than it is in GTAIV.

4. Katamari Damacy

I only got this game recently but it leaves a big impression pretty early on with its quirky gameplay, humor and music. I can already tell that the sequels don’t have the magic that this game has.

5. WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain

Kind of an odd choice, most would say. Sports or extreme sports games don’t usually appear on top video game lists, kind of like how comedy movies are never nominated for Oscars. However, this is the best wrestling game of all time with a TON of customization, match types and gameplay. I literally played this everyday for over a year.

Legacy and My Own Thoughts

The PS2 went on to sell over 120 million units (and counting), and only recently dropped to 100 dollars in the US. As of now, it’s the best selling console of all time, and was a big reason for the DVD format’s success. I’ll be honest, when I think of the PS2, I think of a console that was (is, I guess, since they still make games for it as of this post) the jack of all trades, but not particularly strong in any particular genre except for Japanese RPGs. I know that’s an unpopular opinion, and anyone reading this will probably just think I’m crazy, but when I look at my list of PS2 games (it’s not like I don’t have many PS2 games, I have more PS2 games than anything else except for the GameCube) and I see a lot of good but not great games. Granted, I’m not a big RPG fan, so there are only a few amazing games like the two MGS games but I wouldn’t really list anything else as a “top 30 games of all time” caliber game. I played the PS2 a ton last gen and still play it now a fair amount, but I don’t see the memorable games. In fact, the reason why it’s only a top 5 list is because I couldn’t think of 10 incredible games. I’d like to note that I haven’t played too much of ICO or Shadow of the Colossus, so if you’re wondering why either of those aren’t on the list, well there you go. I’ll try and play both of them sometime this year, and I might edit the list accordingly if I like them enough.

Anyway, before I get castrated for what I said about the PS2, I’d just like to say that I’ll be doing a top 10 (yeah, that’s right, 10) list for the Dreamcast next time, so stay tuned (!).

As I mentioned earlier, the RetroDuo is a third party console that plays NES and SNES games. In addition, it also plays PAL SNES games and Japanese Super Famicom games.

The package includes:

- 1 RetroDuo unit

- 2 SNES-like game controllers

- A/V and S-Video cables

- Instructions

Note: The S-Video cables are not compatible with NES games

The console itself is small and sleek with high gloss. There are three color variants currently available: White and Blue (as pictured above), Black and Red, and Red and Yellow.

As far as games are concerned, I tested out a few of my SNES games on the console and they worked perfectly with no audio issues. I don’t have any Super Famicom games at the moment, but based on other reviews, most if not all Super Famicom games work on the RetroDuo. There are two slots on the machine (one for SNES games and one for NES games) with a switch that enables you to jump from NES to SNES games. All of the games I tested worked without me having to blow on them beforehand. A minor issue would be that there is no eject button, so you have to pull out the games fairly hard to get them out.

As you can see from the picture, the controller looks like an official SNES controller except for the colors. However, the D-Pad isn’t very good and the buttons are more “clicky”. Like the console, the controller is also glossy, which may irritate some people. The RetroDuo is compatible with most SNES accessories, so I would recommend using your own official SNES controllers if you have them.

My only real complaint, which can range from negligible to major is the audio of the console. From the two NES games I’ve tested (Super Mario Bros. and Mike Tyson’s Punchout!!!), the audio isn’t nearly as good as it should be. Out of the many SNES games I’ve played using the RetroDuo, only one game (Mega Man X) has had an audio issue.

Overall, I would highly recommend the RetroDuo v2.0 console. As a retro gamer myself, I can appreciate the sleek look of the product as well as its functionality. It also helps that I don’t have to use RF cables anymore like I used to with my regular NES and SNES. If you’re an audio junkie, you may want to look for a better machine, as the RetroDuo does have some audio issues at times, especially for NES games.

If you wish to buy it, you can do so here

Well, that’s all for now. Later.