Retro gaming, hard games for hard men

I recently found a box of my old games at my parent’s house, they were a bit dusty, but it still felt like I’d found some long lost treasure. And maybe I did, according to E-bay, but I digress…

My first reaction was ‘oh cool, old games’. My second reaction was to blow the dust off them, because that’s what you do with cartridges. My third reaction however, was fear. Fear because it suddenly came back to me how hard these games where. Compared to the theme park ride that is modern gaming, these things where pure evil. Limited lives, little to no saving options, bosses that would destroy you in an instant if you mucked up the pattern… It felt like nostalgia mixed up with a yearning to be punished.

*cough*

Anyway, on to the games themselves. The trove included NES classics like Mega Man 2, Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest and Super Mario Bros 3. All cracking, and challenging games. The sturdy NES was my first console, and much loved. Coming from a ZX Spectrum, it felt like a huge upgrade. Don’t even get me started on the controllers however. As much as I loved the system, joypads should not have corners!

Also present was a good chunk of my Mega Drive collection. Goddamn I loved me some Sega. The games included the insanely awesome Gunstar Heroes, Street Fighter II Championship Edition (with the special 6 button pads) and The Adventures of Batman and Robin. The latter was a beautiful game art wise, capturing the style of the 90s animated show perfectly, but my god it was hard.

The Batman animated series deserves an honourable mention for inspiring the modern Arkham games. If you aren’t a fan, shame on you. Bale can do one, cartoon Batman is way cooler.

Finally, an honourable mention to the smattering of Dreamcast games, including Street Fighter 3: Double Impact. The Dreamcast was a great console that never got the recognition it deserved. A moment of respectful silence please… Even the hardest of us can shed a tear.

My hands never did recover from playing Street Fighter on the monster that is the Dreamcast pad (the 6 button Mega Drive pad was so much better). I am now forever disfigured.

Retro gaming, thou hast ruined me.

Next up – THAT Turtles level, why I hate Gill, and metal blade conquers all.

MPW