Retro Game Finds

Hey everyone who is reading this lol :) Thought I would use the blog to talk about some awesome retro games I've picked up.

Today on my lunch break from work I found Mega Man 1, the only one in the series I didn't have yet and Mighty Bomb Jack. I used to have Mega Man when I was a kid before my brother and I sold our NES and our 100 games (which was a huge mistake, I'm still trying to buy all the games I used to have) but just haven't got a chance to pick it up til today. I haven't tried Mighty Bomb Jack but I saw on the Game Center episode guide that Arino plays it so I figured it was worth picking up.

I'll have to post a list of the games I currently have, but does anyone know of any "hidden gems" or under the radar type games I should check out? I'm always interested in expanding my collection :p

Hey everyone who is reading this lol :) Thought I would use the blog to talk about some awesome retro games I've picked up.

Today on my lunch break from work I found Mega Man 1, the only one in the series I didn't have yet and Mighty Bomb Jack. I used to have Mega Man when I was a kid before my brother and I sold our NES and our 100 games (which was a huge mistake, I'm still trying to buy all the games I used to have) but just haven't got a chance to pick it up til today. I haven't tried Mighty Bomb Jack but I saw on the Game Center episode guide that Arino plays it so I figured it was worth picking up.

I'll have to post a list of the games I currently have, but does anyone know of any "hidden gems" or under the radar type games I should check out? I'm always interested in expanding my collection :p

Game Center is indeed a pleasant source of inspiration for older games to try out, especially ones that only came out for the Famicom or Super Famicom in Japan. Most notably for me among the bunch I learned about as a result of that show was SOS for the SNES, a surprisingly open-ended game for its time. The controls are absolutely putrid in this day and age, but the structure and overall premise have yet to be really replicated again, save for the especially dodgy PlayStation 1 sequel.

Other games of that sort of obscure vein I'd personally recommend include:

• Ufouria/Hebereke. I list both the English and Japanese titles because they have slightly different content in each version, but they're overall the same game. It's essentially a more cutesy, kid-friendly version of Metroid, but ultimately a bit more compact in terms of scope. I actually enjoyed the game a lot more than the original Metroid because of its modesty; the world is expansive enough without being overwhelming and you get just enough content to play with in the game before it's done. Until it's release on the Virtual Console, it only came out in English in PAL territories, so an English copy is a bit hard to track down, but if you can get one for a decent price, you might enjoy it.
• Metal Storm. It's basically VVVVVV with combat, but released 20 years earlier. While parts of the game get really difficult, the level design is by and large great, greatly complimenting the gravity flipping mechanic in ways even VVVVVV doesn't even attempt. It proves that, if nothing else, not all gameplay tropes from the NES era have been explored and refined in the modern era. Like Ufouria, it's a bit of a rare game, but shouldn't be prohibitively expensive. This one definitely came out in English, albeit with some slight content changes, although it's nothing super substantial in the end.

I had a few others in my head, but then I ended up getting preoccupied with some Internet shopping and then completely forgot. So yeah!