I just hit the local Gamestop to pick up a copy of Resident Evil 5. I’m not going to talk about that game in particular, especially since I haven’t started it and also because I hate mentioning Gamestop because every person I’ve met who’s worked at one is kind of grating, but I found myself doing something with this game (instead of playing the thing) that I hadn’t done with any other game of this generation or last - I flipped through the manual. It’s a weird thing, looking through this little booklet and it took me back to the little horizontal NES manuals that came in the flimsy cardboard box. Remember those and all the weird drawings that were in there? All the weird descriptions that were in there too?
It’s been a while since I’ve sat down to review something, but this time I’ve brought you something really short and sweet. By short, I mean there’s not much to say about this particular game, and by sweet, I mean that it’s bad for your health. If you grew up in the age of blast processing, you know all about Sonic the Hedgehog’s speed, but Sega did what all game companies try to do – branch out. The game most guilty of this branching is Sonic Spinball, released for the Sega Genesis.
With the release of a new Street Fighter movie in theaters, I’ve been brought out of a really regretable period of silence to comment on game movies. The last time Hollywood saw fit to bring Street Fighter to the screen was back in 1994. I remember seeing that movie as a kid and thinking it was awesome if only because all of the brightly colored characters from the game were recreated. Sure, Van Damme as the all-American soldier Guile was laughable, and frail Raul Julia as Bison was a little sad in the “fat girl trying to get laid” kind of way, but in hindsight, that movie has a campy charm that only comes with time. It bombed at the box office, and for good reason. Where were the flashy moves? Where were the fireballs, the sonic booms, the lightning kicks, Chun-Li’s massive thighs? All gone. Instead, we were given a corny action movie filled to the brim with camp.
Some games don’t get the credit they deserve, especially in the music department. Sometimes a really bad game can have an awesome theme thrown in somewhere in the middle that you’ll be humming for hours, even after you’ve cast aside the horrible taste of the game. I’m just going to take a moment here (and hopefully in the future) to acknowledge some of the redheaded step-children of the gaming music world.
The Donkey Kong Country series is famous for its exploration, teamwork, and awesome platforming, but when it comes to music, it usually only tops internet lists because of that horrible DK rap on the N64. However, the original Donkey Kong Country on the SNES has one of my all-time favorite game songs - Gangplank Galleon. The transition from sea-shanty to up-tempo action music is awesome, and both parts of the song are really catchy. Check it out at the vid:
You’ve got to hand it to the marketing geniuses at Nintendo. Back when they were running the world, they had their hands in everything from cereal to movies (like the Wizard, a feature-length commercial). Their influence was also felt in that most sacred of periods - the Saturday morning cartoon. If you grew up in the 80s, you’ve seen Captain Lou Albano sporting the Mario costume and Link spouting “Excuuuuuuuuuu….uuuuuse me, Princess.” Those guys had their own series (technically, Link just had a series of cartoons piggybacking off of Mario) because they were A-listers, but Nintendo, not content to let their B-listers avoid promotion, slapped them all together, threw in a spunky teen, and created Captain N: The Game Master. I have fond memories of this show, but will it still hold up once I removed the rose-tints?
Some games don’t get the credit they deserve, especially in the music department. Sometimes a really bad game can have an awesome theme thrown in somewhere in the middle that you’ll be humming for hours, even after you’ve cast aside the horrible taste of the game. I’m just going to take a moment here (and hopefully in the future) to acknowledge some of the redheaded step-children of the gaming music world.
Ok, so we’ve all heard the Mario theme over and over again, played by flutes, pianos, drums, a choir and reenacted by everyone from high schoolers who weren’t even born when the game was released to barnyard animals. Granted, it’s memorable, and iconic, but enough is enough. However, there is one bit of Mario music that I can listen to all day, every day - the ending music to Super Mario Bros. 2. Intricate in its simplicity, a soft ending to a manic game, easily played by anyone, and catchy as hell. This vid comes courtesy of banksta2 on youtube.
Anybody think of any other underappreciated bits of game music?
February is upon us, the shortest month of the year and also the “most romantic.” That’s right, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so what better way to celebrate the day of love than by talking about shooting things in the face with arrows, battling snakes, demons, and Medusa herself? Those things just scream “I Heart You,” and with that, ladies and gentleman, allow me to present “Kid Icarus” for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Though the Dreamcast isn’t that old, it did spawn a ton of instant classic games. Jet Grind Radio, Shenmue, and Soul Caliber were all spectacular games for their times and remain so today. But there was only one game that let you live out your childhood fantasy. You know the fantasy I’m talking about…the one where you put some eggs in a tank, kill a squid and watch as those eggs explode from inside the squid carcass talking and had human faces and would carry on whole conversations with you before escaping to freedom. Really? I’m the only one? Come on, I’m not the only one who had that fantasy. Anyway, for those of you noncomformists who didn’t have that particular dream, Seaman for the Sega Dreamcast was still awesome. I don’t think there’s enough meat here for a full blown review, but I just want to acknowledge this game for trying to do something different and actually incorporating meaningful voice interaction. It was nice being able to use a microphone and not have to deal with 12 year olds telling me to go back to Africa.
For those unenlightened, here’s a clip of the game, courtesy of youtube user benstylus. It’s short, but..umm..weird?
Every take notice of a character that just kinda stands out? One who’s unassuming nature makes him more conspicuous? Maybe it’s just me, but I’m kinda weird about recognizing things that don’t seem to click, so when I started the Unsolved NPC Mysteries feature here at Homestyle, there were two NPCs that I knew I had to talk about. The first was Error, but the second is this guy:
