Sunday Roundup: 10/18/15

Something I’ve known for a long time about GameStop but I can say with 100% confidence now is that there are tons of crappy games available on the Wii for only a buck or two. Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball is likely one of them. The premise is simple enough, and one that I’m willing to throw a dollar at to experience. Here’s hoping the dodgeball is marginally fun, because some other dodgeball games I’ve played are actually entertaining.

This game was nestled right next to a copy of Sid Meier’s Pirates for Wii. That game, which I already own a copy of, was easily worth the $3 price of admission. I would have bought an extra copy of that, but I told myself I wasn’t in the reselling market just yet and didn’t need it. As for this game, I decided to grab it because of the price, and because it’s another of the Wii’s on rails shooters I’m trying to grab. This genre is so over populated I’m beginning to wonder if I’m making a mistake.

It seems as though every GameStop has a pleothra of MySims games lying around. This is the first time I decided to pick up one of said games, mainly because it’s a party game. From what I can tell though, and as would be expected, this likely isn’t going to be all too great a game to play with friends. But you know what, I was honestly surprised by Pac-Man Party, so maybe there is hope for this one after all.

I’ll admit I actually enjoyed Doodle Jump when it first released on iOS way back when. It was a simple yet addictive arcade game with an easy learning curve. The game was released on the DS some years later with expanded game modes, and then a new version (seen here) was pushed out for the 3DS with even more new content. I’m not sure how the game will feel or how long it’ll last on a non-mobile phone, but we’ll see. And it’s complete, so yay!

Not a big find for other people I’m sure, but I’ve had this game and it’s Wii version on my mind for over a year now. Bermuda Triangle is just a mediocre puzzle game with cheesy graphics, but for one reason or another I’ve been wanting it and could never find it. The search continues for the Wii game, but until then I’m happy to be able to track down this DS copy.

Probably the first “good” game found on this trip, Viva Pinata was originally released for the Xbox 360. I played that Xbox 360 version and thought it was visually amazing, but not my type of game. It’s a sandbox type game, giving you free reign to sort of do whatever it is you want to do, but I usually enjoy more of a refined, directed gameplay method. Still though, having a DS version is great, and I don’t think I had seen it out before.

A great find indeed! Korg DS-10 is a music synthesizer, so not really a game and more of a sound/music maker. It is designed to imitate the effects and capabilities of a similar synthesizer but on the DS. This game usually sells for around $10 loose, but it’s sequel Korg DS-10 Plus can sell for $20 to $25. I think that price might go up if the market were bigger. It’s hard to find, but doesn’t command a high price because the demand likely isn’t high.

Recommended by a site talking about underrated DS games, A Christmas Carol is based off the animated movie starring the voice of Jim Carey as Scrooge. This DS game is actually a puzzle game and adventure game of sorts, and reviews for it are kind of all over the place. Still though, I like to do some research every now and then to learn about potentially fun games that are cheap, so I had to give this one a shot!

The Fossil Fighters franchise has been around for awhile, and ever since my nephew had a feigning interest in it when I was still in Indiana I’ve kept my eye on the series. There are still new games being released periodically for the 3DS. I believe this version is the first, and there’s also a sequel on the DS. The gameplay reminds me of Pokemon; you collect, raise, and battle different dinosaurs. Pokemon with dinosaurs is a great sell all by itself, so you can see why this series has persisted.

A bit of a backstory here: Laura and I have a friend we met in college who is incredibly into horses. When we were all attending Gen Con, a huge board gaming convention in Indianapolis, one year, she found a booth selling trading cards for something called “Bella Sara.” She bought a few packs. We later found out Bella Sara is a collectible line of horse themed stuff. There are fans of the series, so when I saw this game for the DS, I did a quick eBay/Google search and determined the price was right to have it my collection. Don’t judge me!

Legend of Legacy looked like a solid turn based RPG with roots in the past. Many tout it as a spiritual successor to the Saga series, but I sadly haven’t played them, so I can’t attest to that. After about 5 or so hours with the game, I can say it’s decent but kind of reliant on grinding. I really enjoy the Final Fantasy II like level progression system where you level up skills and stats based on their usage. Hopefully the store picks up though, as it is as bare bones as you can get!

Chibi-Robo is a series I want to love, but I haven’t. Ever since the GameCube game, which I only rented and don’t actually own sadly, I’ve been a fan. Unfortunately I haven’t seen a game as fun as that one since. The DS Park Patrol was good, but I don’t think it held by attention and I never finished it. Photo Finder or whatever it was called on the 3DS was novel, but not a real Chibi-Robo game. Sadly, the review for Zip Lash are disappointing me before I’ve even played it. I really hope it’s great, because this is such a great idea and it just needs to be implemented well to be a huge franchise.

For as much love as the Worms series has, I don’t actually think I’ve ever played a Worms game. My cousin told me how much she loved the game way back in like, 2000, and I still haven’t played it. I’m actually not even sure what the game is like: I guess it’s a sort of tactical game? With worms fighting other worms? I’m not sure. Someone clue me in!

Man, I’ve been looking for this piece of crap game for a long time now! A few months back I decided I needed to own a classic set of crappy games for the Wii: the Data Design games. These included Anubis II, Ninjabread Man, and Billy the Wizard. This game is also part of that awful designer’s legacy, featuring similarly awful mechanics, visuals, and sound. And now I have them all! Hooray?

Another game that I had never heard of until seeing it on the shelf, Survivor is based on the reality TV show which I had heard of. The game is, what else, a collection of minigames spun around the “Challenges” of the TV show. There’s probably some sort of season mode where you need to note be voted off the island, but I’m thinking this’ll likely be an average game and nothing more.

Normally I’d pass on most all sports games, but this one was just a dollar, complete, and looked interesting enough. I decided to give it a try. After some research I found out the game was well received upon release, and praised for its game modes and controls, something hard to come by on the Wii. My only real experience with soccer games is, of course, the SNES’ amazing Mega Man Soccer.

A game I solely bought because of the name. Yeah, it’s complete, and it was just a dollar, but honestly? Pheasants Forever? I mean how could I not buy this game?

Man, I played the shit out of Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 back on the GameCube, of all systems. After the glorious Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series released, it wasn’t long before imitators came out. With Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX on the PS1, my brother and I found an excellent and legitimately fun substitute for skateboarding on consoles. And then when the Cube released I picked up Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, and literally DMFB2 as my second game. I loved it a lot, and really enjoyed the music as well. Here’s hoping this Wii version can capture even a small essence of what made doing BMX tricks exciting and fun!

Growing up I had a few of the LEGO Bionicle toys. I thought they were a cool alternative to the traditional LEGO bricks, but only really played with them for a year or so. When I saw this game on the shelf it reminded me of my youth and I felt kind of nostalgic. The game looks to be a sort of brawler/beat ’em up, which I think would be a great genre for this series.

I was shocked they had this game complete! Granted it’s not an expensive game by any means, just seeing complete DS games at GameStop is a rarity. The first game in the short Marvel Super Hero Squad series, this first game is a team based RPG featuring a lot of famous Marvel Heroes and Villains. I think I am more excited to play the sequel, based on the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, than this original one, but I’m still happy to have it in my collection.

I remember playing Desktop Tower Defense on, well, my desktop. It was originally a flash game with addictive tower defense gameplay that I’d play between classes. I remember when the DS game came out a lot of outlets kept asking “Why?” The game is free to play online, so why would people pay money to play it on their DS? I guess it’s for those really serious tower defense players. And now it’s for me for just a few dollars.

The Line Rider games started out on the PC I believe, but it seems as though the DS is the best system for the series. That being said, there’s also a Wii version of the game, which I obviously need to now track down as well. Drawing lines seeing little dudes sled on them seems like a good time, right?

Transformers was never really my favorite cartoon. I think I grew up after it’s prime (haha!), but I did enjoy its spinoff series Beast Wars. That being said, the Transformers franchise is booming now, and it’s highly collectible. This DS version is apparently based on the newer animated series which released around the time of the movies.

A solid RPG find for a decent price, Lunar Knights is an RPG by Konami and produced in part by the man himself Hideo Kojima. Lunar Knights is a spiritual successor to Kojima’s Game Boy Advance RPG series Boktai. This game, just like Boktai, uses a special sunlight sensor to enhance gameplay. Well, Lunar Knights sort of does that: you actually need to slot in a GBA version of one of the Boktai games to get that added benefit. That’s a pretty sweet addition if you ask me. I have the original Boktai as well. I need to find that if I want to start this one though…. hmm…

Looking at the cartridge, I could only really go off the title to determine what the gameplay would be. I was honestly hoping it’d be a sort of rhythm game featuring tanks, army men, or anything like that. Unfortunately, it’s just a generic tactical/strategy game. It sold poorly and was reviewed negatively, but despite this it actually was given a sequel for the DS.

For just a dollar I can’t pass up on a flying sim/RPG hybrid. And it’s a Natsume game, meaning it’ll likely feature heavy story elements and character development. I can’t look at Natsume as a developer of anything else but the Harvest Moon series (which they should probably just stick to making solely), and I imagine anything they make outside of that series to be essentially that series with a new main focus. Wooing characters by day and going on air raids by night? You can’t tell me that doesn’t sound awesome!

I had heard about this game before, mainly because it was such a late release DS game and featured some intriguing gameplay elements (hopping around, go figure!), but never saw it in the wild before. For the price, though, I thought about simply passing on it. After some debating I decided to get it since I haven’t seen it any other time and it could be worth the investment.

For another buck I decided to pick up another one of those “Brain Boosting” games on the DS. Seriously, there are a ton of them. All in the wake of the massive and unexpected success of Nintendo’s Brain Age series, we started seeing a lot of DS games that offered puzzles and challenges to apparently enhance your brain’s capabilities. Maybe it’s time I start picking up some of these titles since they’re on the cheap.

Since I can only go by the title and small artwork on the cartridge, I was at first intrigued by this game. It said it was by Sega, and with the PictoImage moniker, I was thinking maybe it’d be akin to Picross or perhaps Color Cross in terms of gameplay. Sadly, I don’t think it’s like that. From what I can tell now, you and a few friends play the game, drawing images that each other player can see and just tries to guess what it is? It makes me wonder if the game is even playable with just one cartridge. Hopefully there’s download play. But let’s be realistic, I won’t be playing this one. Haha. Sorry Sega.

A few months back I picked up WordJong Party on the Wii, because it was also a dollar and many cited it as a fairly fun party game with a different approach to gameplay than just random minigames. Well, that game started out on the DS, and has you making words from tiles to clear a game board. I’m all about puzzle games, and this one sounds like a good one.

Hooray! I’ve been looking for this game for ages! Ever since the first Meteos came out I’ve been hunting for this Disney inspired sequel of sorts. I say “of sorts” because I don’t think this game actually added anything new: it was literally just the first game with a Disney skin. Still though, considering Meteos was one of the coolest and unique puzzle games on the DS, I’m more than happy to try it out again with Mickey Mouse!

Another game I’ve been looking for for what seems like years, Teenage Zombies is kind of like an exploration game like Metroid but no where near as good. You get to play as three different zombies at once, switching between them when needed to utilize their unique powers. I don’t remember the game selling well or reviewing well, but I’m willing to give it a shot.

A trip to Goodwill after a dentist appointment turned out to be incredibly fruitful! Not only was I able to pick up the original SSX on the PS2, which rounds out the PS2 SSX games for me, but I was also able to find a handful of PS1 games in great condition. Those games far trumped this one, but seeing as I already have them I won’t be giving them a full space on the Roundup. Those games include the original Spyro the Dragon, Spider-Man, and a black label version of Mega Man 8! All for just $2.49 each! Hooray!

It’s not too often I can find complete PS1 games these days, so even the average finds like Future Cop are exciting! The disc on this one looks a little beat up, so hopefully it plays. But for just $2.50 I’ll give it a chance.

Yarn Yoshi! I likely would have bought this game or picked it up later at some point, the inclusion of the Yarn Yoshi amiibo made me plop down the money on a pre-order. Laura has been in Taiwan for work recently, but is back this weekend. I didn’t want to play it without her here, but now that she’ll be back I’m itching to give it a go! It just looks so adorable! Unfortunately though the reviews are coming in and calling this one an average game. I’ll judge for myself though.