Previous Years:
- 2011: 17
- 2012: 7
- 2013: 23!
- 2014: 27!!!
Total: 74 new completions! Incredible. And that's not counting all the regular games I usually beat once or twice a year (ex. Punch Out, Bionic Commando, Double Dragon, SMB, etc.)
January:
Wizards and Warriors (had this as a kid and could only beat it with a Game Genie. It wasn't too difficult you just needed tenacity. Finished the game with 524,230 points!)
Here's a tip: you have unlimited continues so keep at it! If you lose your Boots of Power don't despair! You can get by just fine in the later levels. Just be sure to avoid the blue skulls as best as you can.
Another tip: The Bat Boss can easily be destroyed by doing this; when you first meet it run straight by it. As you run into the wall do a straight up jump (as far as you can), at the top of your jump hold the d pad left to move over the Spider as it dives under you. If you have the dagger or the ax sub weapon hit him. Repeat to the other side. :)
APRIL:
Been awhile. Life got busy, then quiet. So Target: Renegade has goaded me for a longtime. A wee bit better than Renegade (which shares no tie in to the game at all) but also, not as good as the first Double Dragon.
I was determined to beat it but I knew level 5 always got me. Pro Tip: the mini bosses in the tuxedo suits can be dispatched easily but repeated kicks. Stick and move, keep enemies on one side of you and, move up and down if you get in trouble. Also, kick then sweep. Most enemies will die in four hits so remember that one.
I finished it on my second playthrough which was surprising.
I saw ads for this all the time as a kid in video game magazines. Recently found a copy for 12 bucks and snapped it up without hesitation. Boy, was I glad I did.
Great music, decent sound effects and pretty humorous game. The controls take AWHILE to get used to. ESPECIALLY on the last boss fight. Nearly cracked my controller by repeatedly dying on that level.
Vastly underrated, one of Jaleco's best publications on the NES.
GODZILLA
My friend Gerry used to have this game. The first time I played it was around '95. Funny enough, that's the first time I had played Final Fantasy on the NES as well.
I forgot how fun this game was. Basically you start on a hex shaped grid. You play as both Godzilla and Mothra try to reach the base of each board thus teleporting you to the next stage.
In your way are a variety of other monsters (Varan, Hedorah, Gigan, Mecha Godzilla, etc.) as well as defense forces for each planet. Mothra moves 4 spaces on the board, and Godzilla, 2.
Wherever space you land on, you end your turn with that monster overcoming that planets defense force (switching to a side-scroller).
Great game, with tons of hidden passwords and good overall challenge. Good graphics and I really enjoyed the music. Here's a tip for you: early on Mothra will be your bread and butter. Save her and use godzilla and plow your way through the monsters and defense forces. If you die, no biggie. Use Mothra and get to the base. When you leave you'll start the next level with both monsters again! Note: if one monster leaves and the other is defeated (as BOTH must exit each stage) you'll get a game over.
This one has retro game of the year written all over it.
Pinbot
Score over 9.8 million points and you can see the credits roll at the end of the game. Well I scored well over that mark and landed at a hefty 19 million plus!
Great game that I now love. Much better than its later release High Speed (although that game sports some excellent voice synthesizers).
By the way, release the plunger mid-way (not a full pull) to shoot the middle hole in the vortex (that corkscrew ramp). This will increase the multiplier (up to X10, and after that you get a million points per middle shot). Also, shoot the ramp to increase the solar bonus points. It goes to a maximum of 5 million. You can collect it by activating the multi-ball feature and shooting one of the balls into the solar ramp.
This one may well be my retro game of the year.
August:
That is, until today. From start to finish I conquered this long and interesting game. I didn't even buy the last magic. I always remembered this game being cryptic as hell, but thanks to the internet I was able to navigate the dungeon halls again. Mind you, I didn't have a guide next to me or anything (just watched a few videos before and during my run).
Great game with excellent (and eerie) music. Graphics are great too. My only nitpick are the controls take some getting used to.
OCTOBER:
I've finished many difficult NES games. Ghost N' Goblins, Battletoads, Adventure Island, TMNT, Ninja Gaiden, all the Mario's, all the Zelda's, all the Mega Man games, Life Force, Gradius, Friday the 13th, Silver Surfer, Batman. The list goes on and on.
But for some reason, I've always had issues with TMNT II: The Arcade Game. And I'm not sure why either. Maybe starting off with 3 lives was just not enough. Maybe the limited continues always ticked me off. Perhaps it was just the length of the game (it is quite long to complete. Not as long as TMNT III mind you!).
This time around I finished the game! Although I used the stage select code to warp to the last level in the Technodrome. Using 1 continue to finish off both Krang and Shredder I claimed ULTIMATE victory!
But, it just didn't feel right. As a kid I finished the game with the use of the Game Genie, but that just doesn't count. Retro Matt and I used that thing to finish off a lot of tough games. No, this time I would finish this for good against shred-head and the foot. PRO TIP: use the A+B button attack, it takes away no health when you use it, and is your strongest attack! A little over an hour later I squared off against ol' shred-face and carved him a new one! Going into it I had 5 lives, but left with 3. Not only that, but I used NO continues! Hurray! This may well be my retro game of the year.
Until Krang gets himself outta' Dimension X,
-Will ^>^
