The Collection

The NES has always been my favorite console ever since I got one around my 6th/7th birthday. That was an amazing time and the games have always had a special place in my life. Recently I have decided to expand on my NES library by adding in some Famicom carts to my collection and using Famicom to NES adapter. Combined with just this weekend finding an amazing store only and hour away that specializes in Japanese import games a whole new world has been opened up to me and it has been exciting to dig into the history of some of my favorite games that have some major differences between what we got here in the states as compared to Japan (of which I will cover in the future). So to start things off right I will be listing my collection of games by my 3 favorite consoles(NES, SNES, ATARI 2600/7800) + my slowly growing collection of Famicom carts.

NES:

10-Yard Fight
1943: The Battle of Midway
8 Eyes
Addams Family, The
Astyanax
Breakthru
Chiller
Crystalis
Darkwing Duck, Disney's
Déjà Vu
Donkey Kong Classics [No Seal of Quality]
Dr. Mario
Dragon Warrior
Duck Tales, Disney's
Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy, The
Final Fantasy
G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor
Game Genie Video Game Enhancer
Gauntlet
Gumshoe
Gyromite
Hogan's Alley
Image Fight
Joust
Karate Champ
Kirby's Adventure
Kung Fu
Laser Invasion
Legend of Zelda, The
Magic of Scheherazade, The
Maniac Mansion
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Metroid
Ninja Gaiden
Othello
Pac-Man
Pin-Bot
Pinball
Pinball Quest
Popeye
Punch-Out!!
Quattro Adventure
Rad Racer
Raid on Bungeling Bay
Rollerball
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Shingen the Ruler
Snake Rattle n Roll
Solomon's Key
Solstice - The Quest for the Staff of Demnos
Spider-Man - Return of the Sinister Six
Star Soldier
Stinger
Super Mario Bros. - Duck Hunt
Super Mario Bros. 2
Tag Team Wrestling
Talespin
Tecmo Super Bowl
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tennis
Tetris
Tetris 2
Time Lord
Times of Lore
Track & Field II
Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?
Where's Waldo?
Wild Gunman
Wrecking Crew
WWF WrestleMania
Yoshi

Famicom:

Balloon Fight
Ice Climber
Tower of Druaga, The

SNES:

7th Saga, The
Act Raiser
Captain Commando
Clay Fighter: Tournament Edition
Killer Instinct
Killer Instinct Killer Cuts Music CD
Kirby Super Star: 8 Games in One!
MechWarrior
Mega Man X2
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Fighting Edition
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 3
Pinball Dreams
Secret of Mana
Super Baseball 2020
Super Mario Kart 
Super Metroid
Super Pinball: Behind the Mask
Super Punch-Out!!
Super Street Fighter II
Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition

Atari:

super breakout	picture
video pinball	picture
space cavern	blue
frogger	picture
starwars: the empire strikes back	standard
mario bros.	silver
zaxxon	standard
donkey kong	standard
mouse trap	standard
centipede	silver
joust	silver
pengo	silver
yars' revenge	picture
star voyager	picture
atlantis	day scene
cosmic ark	picture
fire fighter	picture
demon attack	text
space war	picture
breakout	picture
reactor	picture
river raid 2	text
space invaders	picture
air sea battle	picture
slot racers	picture
haunted house	picture
adventure	picture
battlezone	picture
3D tic tac toe	picture
space jockey	picture
star raiders	picture
combat	text
human cannonball	picture
surround	picture
fast food	picture
Pac-man	picture
sky diver	picture
night driver	picture
home run	picture
video olympics	picture
outlaw	picture
warlords	picture
canyon bomber	picture
freeway	picture
chopper command	picture
keystone kapers	picture
stampede	picture
laser blast	picture
seaquest	picture
river raid	picture
fishing derby	picture
pitfall!	picture
defender	picture
missile command	Picture – lower case
circus atari	picture
bowling	Text – red
infiltrate	blue
star fox	picture
kaboom	picture
ms. pac-man	silver
jungle hunt	silver
phoenix	silver
kangaroo	silver
moonpatrol	silver
berzerk	picture
berzerk	picture
outlaw	text
space invaders	text
street racer	Text – red
street racer	Text – yellow
hangman	text
Indy 500	orignal numbered text
jawbreaker	picture
riddle of the sphinx	picture
canyon bomber	picture
superman	picture
gangster alley	text
breakout	text
video olympics	text
koolaid man	blank
casino	text
casino	text
bowling	Text – blue
hangman	picture
dodge 'em	picture
journey escape	picture
pitfall!	Text – blue
checkers	picture
solar fox	text
crystal castles	picture
donkey kong jr	text
bridge	picture
sky jinks	picture
Enduro	picture
skiing	picture
Othello	picture
grand prix	picture
megamania	picture
ice hockey	picture
maze craze	picture
q*bert	Red Lable
real sports boxing	Red Lable
Dolphin	picture
Beany Bopper	picture
Rampage	special
Golf	Picture – lower case
Pole Position	silver
Galaxian	silver
Dig Dug	silver
Popeye	standard
real sports football	picture
Demons to diamonds	picture
pitfall II	special
Spider Fighter	standard
Decathalon	standard
Championship Soccer	text
Asteroids	picture
real sports tennis	silver
mouse trap	Red Lable
Robot Tank	Picture
Summer Games	Text
OINK!	Picture
Worm War I	Picture
Snoopy and the Red Baron	Picture
Amidar	Picture
Boxing	Picture

Review: Rockbot version 1.1.0 (gummybear)

Review of Rockbot version 1.1.0 (gummybear)

Systems: Android, Dingux,Linux,PS2, PSP, Windows

Developer Website: http://rockbot.upperland.net

Rating: B+

Originally created as a base engine to create further Megaman style games the developers have created an interesting game in its own right. Right from the beginning you are given a choice between 2 hero robots, Rockbot who can charge his buster shot and has a shield, and Betabot whose arm cannon fires twin pellets(one regular height the other low) and a dash instead of a slide. I found I preferred Rockbot due to being more like the Megaman I grew up playing. They both maneuver well however I did not care for the slide/dash maneuver being set to a separate button from the tried and true down + jump. This separate button is also what is used to activate Rock's shield which protects against most projectiles.

The level design for the most part is pretty good and while there is not a large number of unique or interesting enemy bots to battle against, many being just reskinned me-tools to fit the level, the ones that was added are very well done and are a nice addition. The robot masters on the other hand are not all created equal.

I enjoyed the likes of Magebot, Apebot, Seahorsebot, and Mummybot as they provided some fun and variation in the battles against them. Techno and Spikebot was OK but nothing to write home about. Then you have Daisie and Dynamite bots, neither of which did I enjoy going into battle against either of them. Neither of them are difficult but their AI are absolutely terrible. Daisie especially has no real AI to speak of other then just running back and forth from wall to wall and throwing her pathetic arced pellet shot at you.

Having played through the game twice once with each of Rock and Beta, I can certainly say that you will only find use for a handful of the weapons short of as enemy weaknesses during regular stage play. Apebots ability is a decent ground clear affect which comes in handy when clearing out large number of me-tools efficiently. Technobot's weapon however takes the cake being a 1 to 3 shot kill on just about every end game boss due to its continuous damage in a isolated area. I was able to walk through the entire end of the game with no trouble at all once I realized this. Not having Rush the dogbot, but instead providing some unique twists on the old hi-jump and flight abilities, we have an eagle and a frog that are quite usable if only for the occasional power up grab.

The music was however all around quite enjoyable. All through out I found myself humming along with, however nothing really stuck in my head short of the amazing boss battle music. The tone of the chosen song reminded me a lot of the music from Mega Man 3. It has a sort of ominous tone to it which gave to the atmosphere. All round the music is top notch.

Overall I really liked the project as a whole being one of the better made fan games I have played with a just right difficulty, decent movement controls, and excellent music. Not a bad effort at all and it appears the developers are still making tweaks and adaptations to it so I hope they take the time to fix up a few of the boss battles and make some of the special abilities more usable. With a few hidden surprises for those who stick it out this is certainly a project I will continue to monitor as I feel there is a real gem here that still has a few rough edges that can be smoothed over and polished.

The Return: an Introduction

I have been a gamer for a great many years now. It all started ages ago in preschool when my dad hooked up a pong machine to the old black and white TV set we had in their room. I would play for hours and although I was terrible I enjoyed it immensely. A few years later I would get a NES of my own and with it a whole new world of Mario. For years my dad and I would play through Mario but sadly I never did beat it.

Now a good 20+ years later I am still a fan of 8-bit sprites and music as I try to collect the best gaming has to offer. I plan to document my journey through as many of the games I never had the chance to play when I was younger as well as reviews of all things old school gaming, document my slowly growing vintage games collection, and the best in retrowave/synthwave music. Its going to be a fun journey so come along and lets see where this takes us.