Sunday Roundup: 1/8/12

The first roundup of the new year, and it’s a rare one for me. I am not one to buy game for systems haphazardly, though it may appear otherwise. I usually stick to my plan and buy games to add to my collection. But how often do you find complete in box Nintendo Entertainment System games? Freaking never!

 

 


Gran Turismo 2
PlayStation 1
Release Date: December 23rd, 1999

Not being a big fan of the racing genre, I’ll try my best to explain the Gran Turismo series. The GT games are realistic racing games, so no Mario Kart craziness, and each game boasts a boatload of cars to buy and race. I remember hearing about the game’s graphics being really impressive, and even the newer games in the series claim this praise. I probably won’t be playing it, but seeing as I have GT1 and GT3, I should probably own GT2.

Darkspore
PC
Release Date: April 26th, 2011

I actually already own this game on PC (through EA’s digital distribution service Origin), but a new copy for $3 is hard to pass by.I’ve also reviewed the game, which you should read! It’s a good Diablo-like RPG.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
Game Boy
Release Date: August 2nd, 1990

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have always been cool. Even the new movie they were in wasn’t that bad. And the NES games featuring them (Well, the second two, really) were fantastic side-scrolling beat-em up’s, so passing no this little Game Boy game would be a crime! Fall of the Foot Clan tries to emulate the gameplay found on the NES versions of the games, but the limited Game Boy powers hold it back from reaching the same sort of prestige. Still though, it’s the Turtles. Pizza and good times had by all.

Donkey Kong Country
Game Boy Color
Release Date: November 5th, 2000

Donkey Kong Country for the SNES is one of the greatest games to grace the console, and could be argued as being one of the greatest games ever created. This Game Boy Color version is good, but no where near as grand an experience as it’s SNES sibling. However, the Game Boy exclusive series Donkey Kong Land is a game to be mentioned, because it’s gameplay is unique and still very fun. Alas, the game is becoming harder to find.Sunday Roundup: 1/8/12

Mappy-Land
Nintendo Entertainment System
Release Date: 1988

How does this happen? It’s 2012, and I go into a Goodwill store while visiting my girlfriend in San Jose, California to find complete in box (abbreviated as “CIB”) NES games! There were only two of them, and coincidentally we already own both of them, but this is a rare sight indeed. And for the mere price of $3 each I couldn’t pass them up. Mappy-Land is an adventure game that is a sequel to the game Mappy. I remember playing both these games in the past, and though they’re not as memorable as other titles, they are still fun.

Super Mario Bros. 2
Nintendo Entertainment System
Release Date: September 1st, 1988

I still can’t get over how near flawless these copies of the games are. The boxes are in such good condition I have to think that a collector had them at one point and then just pawned off his collection to a Goodwill. Either way, I am more than happy to own Super Mario Bros. 2 and display that awesome box art in my collection. Everyone’s played this game, for better or worse, and it’s not THAT bad. It’s just different (very much so) from the other Mario games. It does show up in Super Smash Bros. Brawl though, as Peach can pull out a turnip from the game as one of her special moves. Oh, and it’s usually considered the black sheep of the series, especially on the NES.

Laters,
Jsick

DownStab has been a personal endeavor of mine for many years. Please enjoy the content and let me know if you have questions, comments, or just want to connect. And as always, game on.

– Jason J

Original blue and red Nintendo Switch controllers
Game Boy  •  Game Boy Advance  •  Game Cube  •  Nintendo DS  •  Nintendo 3DS  •  Switch  •  Virtual Boy  •  Wii  •  Wii U

Arcade  •  Article  •  Collecting  •  iOS  •  PC  •  Retro

Support Downstab