Forgotten Gems: Doom 64

 

Imagine you're a kid in the early 90s. You're used to console games like Super Mario Bros. or Sonic the Hedgehog. You know PC gaming, the likes of Math Blasters, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, or King's Quest. And then all the sudden, one day at the store in 1993, you lay your eyes on the gruesome, evocative image above. You'd basically flip your shit, right?

Well even though things like Mortal Kombat had already come along a year previously, that's still how many kids, and adults, felt at the time. The computer game, Doom, by Id Software, was a "game changer", in many ways. Even though it wasn't actually the first of its kind!

Say hello to Catacomb 3D.

And his brother Wolfenstein 3D.

Id Software themselves, had actually already laid the groundwork for what would become known as the "First Person Shooter" sub-genre of gaming, a year prior themselves with the classic 1992 PC hit Wolfenstein 3D. But there's more! They had actually already made what was basically a prototype to THAT, the year prior in 1991, with a far-lesser-known gem called Catacomb 3-D. Catacomb was a 3D sequel to top-down games they had previously made, and was essentially a "fantasy" version of the genre (think Heretic or Hexen), where you fight goblins and demons and things, and shoot magic missiles instead of firing a gun, etc. Catacomb is actually a lot of fun, and a lot more people should go dig it up and give it a whirl!

For Wolfenstein's part, it was also inspired by previously existing 80s games called Castle Wolfenstein and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, which were simple, Berzerker style "guy goes from room to room" affairs. When developing what would technically become the third in the franchise, Id didn't have the rights to call their game Wolfenstein, even though they wanted it to be. They eventually got the rights, and BAM, the now infamous Wolfenstein 3D, starring BJ Blaskowitz, was born! 

That BJ, hell of a guy.

For my own part, as I may or may not have related in some past article, while I had certainly SEEN games (maybe even sampled) like Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racer, Cruis'n USA etc. in my pre-teen years, the very first 3D game that I'm fairly certain I ever really got to play myself, in depth, was in fact Wolfenstein 3D. My friend Harold popped over one day, and with him, he had a Shareware disk (free/cheap disks that contained the first parts of PC games, as a ploy to get you to buy the rest of the game, something we coveted greatly in those days), of you guessed it, Wolfenstein! I wasn't even sure if our clunky old 386 IBM Compatible would play a 3D game, hell it didn't even have a sound card! But lo and behold, it loaded up fine, and the next thing you know, Harold and I were immersed in 3D polygonal corridors, viscous attack dogs, food just lying on the ground all over the place, and nazis around every corner!

It was likely actually a more intense, spooky experience for us, because all my PC had were little beeping system sounds for the game, no music, etc. Though somehow it did still have the voice samples, like "Halt Stop!" etc. This was, again, only a shareware edition, so it only contained the first third or so of the game, just a handful of levels really. But we played the hell out of them. Even though FPS games, to this day, have never been a major favorite of mine, I will always look back fondly on the time I spent getting immersed in 3D "for the first time" (kinda), and just getting lost in this crazy, maze-like nazi world. 

Pump up the jams!

Say, that's a Big Fucking Gun!

When Doom hit the shelves in December 1993, it made a huge impression. Not only did it cause a major shit-storm, similar to how games like Mortal Kombat, and believe it or not, the Sega CD cheese-fest Night Trap did, but it also became a massive hit. So much so that, to this day, while Catacomb and Wolfenstein came first, and deserve all the credit, most people still refer to these older "corridor" types of shooters, as "Doom Clones", and many give Doom undue credit for establishing the genre. I would amend that to say, it didn't establish it, but it certainly DID popularize it.

The basic setting of Doom is that, in the not-too-distant future, the Union Aerospace Corporation have established a base of operations on the planet Mars, but because travel to and from Earth takes so damn long, they've also had military scientists experimenting with a way to shorten that travel. To that end, they create a means of what they think will "jump" them near instantaneously from Mars to Earth. But what they REALLY did, was opened a gateway to a very Hell-like dimension, and once done, hellish demonic hordes flooded their base, and began wiping everyone out. You, as an unnamed space marine (Doom, or "Doom Guy"), must single-handedly battle your way back from being stranded on the moon, Phobos. 

This game doesn't fuck around, as you make your way from Phobos, to Deimos, and eventually, the pits of "Hell" itself. And in the sequel, Doom II: Hell on Earth, you finally make it back to Earth, only to find that the demons have invaded there, as well. But the story wasn't really what most people were playing these games for. What really made it stand out, and got parents riled up, was the amount of gore they had! Whether it be with a chainsaw, a pulse rifle, a shotgun, or even your bare fists, every time you hit an enemy, blood would spurt, and when you killed them, they would collapse to the ground as a gory, bloody, puply mess. Even your main character's mug, shown on-screen near your health, would eventually get bloody, if you took too much damage. 

Say hello to the Cacodemon!

While the main attraction to Doom, obviously, is running around blasting everything in sight and watching it go splat, a core aspect of the gameplay is actually exploration and, to some degree, even puzzle solving. You don't clear stages by merely killing all the baddies (though that'd be kinda neat). Instead, you have to find, collect, and use colored "Key Cards" (red, blue and yellow), which unlock doors, and eventually allow you to leave via the exit, onto the next stage. Sometimes these cards could be a real bitch to find, as you would have to solve little stage "puzzles", to get doors or hidden panels to open, etc., just to reach them. It was, frankly, the more cumbersome element to Doom, but I suppose it also added to the challenge, and mixed things up. But, much like an old monster movie, when you just want people to stop talking, and have the damn MONSTERS appear already (at least as a kid), sometimes in Doom, you just wanna blast stuff and move on!

The Ultimate Doom?

Now by April 1997, Doom had not only been ported to several different platforms (even the Super Nintendo), but there was the aforementioned Doom II, Ultimate Doom (an expanded version of the original game), and Final Doom. which you could honestly call the original (actual?) Doom III. But in 1997, having launched the previous fall, the Nintendo 64 console was the new hotness, and being more powerful than the Sega Saturn or Sony Playstation, it seemed like it might be tailor made for the Doom experience. But thankfully, instead of being cheap, having someone just make a "straight port" of the now over three year old game, what we got was a completely new adventure!

That's right, a DOUBLE chainsaw!

That lighting, though.

Licensed out to Midway, who developed it in house, this N64 exclusive would not only give us completely redrawn graphics and redesigned enemies, but it also had all-new levels. This was an entirely new game, no skimping, and to any Doom fan, that was awesome. But more than that, at least to my mind, Doom 64 provided what I still to this day consider the ultimate Doom experience. Plus, when it released, roughly half a year after the console itself launched, the system didn't have a TON of games yet, so Doom 64 was a very welcome addition, and actually became something of a hit itself.

While the graphics weren't as impressive, to some at that time, as the fully polygonal games such as Quake or N64's own Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (which had released just a month prior), I would say they were quite impressive, really. Thanks to the N64's hardware features, the 3D stages and textures never looked better, and the redrawn pre-rendered enemy sprites looked fantastic! But the real deal-maker, to me, was the lighting. While the game for some stupid reason had some crazy SUPER dim pre-sets (we had to actually turn the brightness up on the TV), also thanks to that 64 hardware, the game showed off some very eye-popping uses of advanced lighting effects. Very clever uses, in some instances, like a series of corridors where everything's pitch black but for certain little spots, or a room with a spinning "strobe" effect, which is not only disorienting but had a slight effect on near-invisible enemies. In its own way, I would consider Doom 64 to be something of a graphical showcase, as its basically the best looking of the classic, sprites-as-enemies "corridor" shooter mold.

Just look at them sprites.

Meet the Unmaker.

But as if textures, shaded sprites and lighting effects weren't enough, what REALLY puts the Doom 64 presentation straight over the top, is the sound. Unlike the previous Dooms, which had arguably cheesy rock guitar music that kinda ruined the creepy vibe they were going for, Doom 64 has no soundtrack, zero tunes. They instead leaned HARD into the creepiness, as the only sounds you hear, are your gunfire, monster noises, and (progressively more as you advance through the game) ambient, spooky background noises. It really added to the tension and atmosphere, when you'd be in a dark room, surrounded by semi-invisible enemies, but you could hear them (in glorious stereo, if your TV had it). As you progress through the game and make your way to the "Hell" dimension, things REALLY ramp up, as you start hearing more things like ghostly whispers, demonic growling, and what sounds suspiciously like babies crying in the distance. That kind of shit made playing this simple "run and gun" shooter, in the middle of the night with the lights out, some genuinely chilling stuff. 

Along with all-new stages and some new versions of enemies, Doom 64 also gifted us with one totally new exclusive weapon: The Unmaker. Prior to this, the "BFG" (Big Fucking Gun) was THE ultimate weapon for Doom fans. But this Unmaker, which you don't get till late in the game, seems to be made of flesh and bones, truly a weapon from "Hell", and it spews forth evil death-rays, that pretty much lay waste to all but the strongest enemies, quickly. 

Mother is angry....

The game also has an exclusive final boss, never before seen in the series. Up till now, the "Big Bads" had been things like Barons of Hell, or a giant Spider-Demon, or some big evil Face in the Wall. Doom 64 takes it a step further, and introduces us to the MOTHER Demon, ostensibly the very source of all these evil hordes that have been spewing forth from our ill-begotten portals! The Mother Demon fight is a doozy, too, lemme tell ya. Not only is she tough herself, but as she seems to be the source of the demon hordes in general, she also summons demons to help fight you. I always kinda liked this idea, and overall, to me, Doom 64 feels like the true "Doom III", the final end to the series.

I know that an actual Doom 3 would come along later (which I wasn't a fan of), and later games besides. But while I appreciate the attempt at the "old school" approach that the 2016 game and Eternal tried for, to me THIS is it. Much like I prefer my Mortal Kombat 2D, with "digitized" characters, I prefer my doom with blocky corridors, and hordes of 2D sprites to mow down, as well. I don't like the "clever" term some have slapped on these old style shooters of late, "Boomer Shooters" (hell I dislike that idiotic "Boomer" term for anything slightly old, in general). But I DO love these classic kinds of shooters. Like I said, FPS has never been a favorite of mine, but with the exception of N64 Goldeneye death matches (THE best ever), classic shooters like Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem 3D, Hexen, and Doom are where its at. And as far as this man is concerned, Doom 64 is the best of the bunch. The Ultimate Doom. 

So thankfully for all of you, if you've never played this bad boy, it happens to be available on most modern platforms (Playstation, Xbox, Switch, PC, maybe even mobile devices for all I know), as a fairly inexpensive digital download. AND they even fixed the dim pre-set lighting problem, so the graphics and lighting effects look even better than ever! It's a hell of a fun game, with a surprising amount of atmosphere and spookiness going on. So give it a whirl!

And may all of you have a very happy Halloween!

Silver Screen Stories: Captain Sindbad

 

 

I'm back again, to talk about another of the significant things from my childhood. That being, the Arabian legend of Captain Sinbad, Sailor of the Seven Seas! I've talked before about my abiding love for one of my top favorite films of all time, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, as well as how I discovered the other Ray Harryhausen Sinbad films of the 70s, thanks to (pre-Joe Bob) TNT's Monstervision. But now I'm going to get into what was probably the first Sinbad film I saw as a kid, and the influence of the character in my young life, in general. 

The first major Sinbad film.

Arguably the best Sinbad film.

Now it's entirely possible that I saw something like 1947's Sinbad the Sailor, starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., or even 7th Voyage itself, on TV as a youngin' in the 80s. It's also very possible, even probable, that I saw some old cartoon played on TV, like the old ComiColor cartoon Sinbad the Sailor, or the classic Popeye Sinbad cartoon. The last is especially notable, both for featuring fantastic animation and effects (thanks to Fleischer Studios), but also for the fact that Sinbad (Bluto) is portrayed as a villain! 

Iwerks greatness.

Fleischer greatness.

Either way, while I cannot clearly recall in what form I first encountered the legendary Sinbad as a small child, I most inarguably did encounter him. He was enough of a cultural character, "out there in the ether", so to speak, and he must've left enough of an impression on kid me, that I was inspired to name my first childhood pet after him. At freshly six years old, I got my first dog, a mid-sized, white and fluffy "Cockerspaniel/Terrier mix", whom I decided should be named after Sinbad the Sailor. I even clearly remember that there was a little girl who lived behind us (I don't remember her name...maybe Sarah?), who I would talk to or play with now and then, who I introduced the dog to, and she asked about his name "Is it because he's a sin, and he's bad?". And I was like "No! He's like Sinbad the Sailor!" She clearly didn't know who Sinbad even was, but I sure as hell did!

My childhood dog, Sinbad.

Getting back around to the point, as it pertains to the first Sinbad film I ever saw growing up, because it's how I vaguely seem to remember it, let us just say for the sake of this article that it likely was the titular film of this piece: 1963's Captain Sindbad. First thing's first, let me say that I have no idea why this film put a "d" into Sinbad's name. It's entirely possible that in some versions of the old stories, his name had an extra "d". But this is the only piece of entertainment that I actively know of, where it is spelled this way. Perhaps they did it to be different, and have it stand out more? Who knows.

Cool poster art for the film.

Another cool poster.

Captain Sindbad was a King Brothers production, a smaller outfit who had mostly been known for crime and western films, but who had also been responsible for bringing the Toho kaiju film Rodan to the west, as well as trying their own hand at a giant monster feature in 1961, Gorgo. "Sindbad" is well directed, as always, by Byron Haskin, a director I have a fair amount of affinity for, thanks to classics like Treasure Island, The War of the Worlds, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, and of course this gem. It features a wonderful cast, led by Guy Williams (of Zorro and Lost in Space fame) as Sinbad, Heidi Bruhl as Princess Jana, and and Mexican actor Pedro Armandariz (known for his roles in John Wayne westerns Fort Apache and The 3 Godfathers) in a wonderful turn as the pompous and maniacal villain, El Kerim. 

Another great role, and probably my favorite character in the story, is the goofy court wizard Galgo, played by British character actor Abraham Sofaer. Production took place at Bavaria Studios, in Western Germany, which was home to a wide variety of films, such as the likes of The Great Escape, The Sound of Music, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Enemy Mine, and The Neverending Story. 

Dashing leading man, Guy Williams.

Captain Sinbad's international crew.

The setup for Sindbad is simple enough, but bearing all the trademarks of a classic fantasy tale. The aging king of the middle eastern land of Baristan, is seemingly too old or too ill to rule, and thus manipulated by the classic "evil vizier", it is instead the wicked and cruel El Kerim who rules the kingdom in his stead. He is a military dictator, seemingly making war to consolidate power, and he intends to marry the princess Jana, to make his rule permanent. Along with all of this, he intends to capture and/or destroy the great Captain Sindbad, a hero of the people who is also Jana's beloved. Both to eliminate Sindbad's threat as a rival, as well as the threat he might pose to leading the people in revolt. 

To this end, though Princes Jana convinces the awesome (and hilarious) wizard Galgo to change her into a "firebird", so that she can deliver a message of warning to Sindbad and his crew of El Kerim's plans. But Kerim himself orders Galgo, whom he holds power over via a magic ring, to transform some of his guards into giant Rok birds, to drop boulders on their ship, seemingly eliminating his threat. 

Princess Jana and the wizard Galgo.

The evil El Kerim.

Naturally, most of the crew survives, including our beloved hero, the good Captain. Being rescued by some fishermen at sea, Sindbad sets out to try and rescue the princess, aided by some of his closest crewmen who manage to find him in Baristan. Plans go awry, however, when he discovers, much to his dismay, that Kerim quite literally has no heart. It has somehow been removed by black magic, and protected in some far off and dangerous tower, so long as it is kept safe, he is seemingly immortal and unharmable. At the very least to conventional things like swords or spears.

In the due course of events, with a mind to spoilers, Sindbad and Co. manage to learn of the heart and the tower, thanks to Galgo, and they set out to destroy it. The final act of the film is a race against time, as having refused to marry El Kerim, he has ordered Princess Jana to be executed. Because he's a real prick like that. 

The Monster from the Pit.

The Hand of Doom.

As far as how this film measures up to other Sinbad movies, I would personally say pretty well. The original 1947 Sinbad the Sailor, with Fairbanks Jr. in the titular role, is a good movie, and a fun adventure, but it barely has any of the more fantastical and fantasy elements that make, in this man's opinion, a Sinbad story great. And while Sindbad lacks, sadly, the amazing stop-motion magic of Ray Harryhausen (or one of his proteges), like 7th Voyage, Golden Voyage, and Eye of the Tiger enjoy, otherwise it is, for the most part, every bit as lush and lavish a production. The acting is on point, the story is very solid, it features some great sets and costumes. And most importantly, to a young boy, it has its share of magic and monster battles! Not stop-motion, of course, and it would have been great if they could have afforded it. But the special effects that are on display, are not shabby whatsoever. 

The effects for Galgo's magic, as well as those of the invisible monster Sindbad is forced to fight in the arena, are quite strong for the 60s, for a film that most assuredly didn't have a big budget. The giant mechanical hand which guards the heart in the tower, is also a very impressive feat of design and animatronics, for the time. Even the great Hydra-like beast the men face in the swamp, while it doesn't move the best, still aesthetically LOOKS fantastic. All told, even without stop-motion model wizardry, this movie is a testament to the strength (and superiority over CGI) of practical effects. 

 

 

My favorite Sinbad.

 

On a final note, where it concerns my favorite Sinbad depiction, and where Guy Williams ranks? I have stated in its own article, that Kerwin Matthews from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is, without question, my top favorite Sinbad of all time. The dude was just the total package, and had it all. I think as far as Williams is concerned, I would almost be willing to say he is tied for my 2nd favorite Sinbad, though I think I have to still give the edge to Patrick Wayne from 1977's Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. Guy Williams is a great leading man, and portrays the legendary sailor very well. But there is just something about Wayne, he has a presence, and his acting was actually quite strong. He was an actor who, in my humble estimation, should have been a much bigger star. Then again, I feel the same way about Kerwin Matthews. So ultimately, I guess I'd say Williams is probably my 3rd favorite Sindbad, but that's still pretty great! 

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If you've never seen any Sinbad films, ever, I would highly suggest you give this one a whirl. In fact, I'll do you one better, and list out what I think are films, in order of "MUST SEE", the Sinbad adventures I think you should all watch. And make sure you do, because they're excellent!

1. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1957)

2. Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)

3. Captain Sindbad (1963)

4. The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974)

5. Sinbad the Sailor (1947)

And as a fun bonus, you simply MUST watch the 1936 animated Fleischer masterpiece, Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor! It can pretty easily be found online for a free watch. Cheers! 

My Top Favorite Game Boy Games

 

I think it's high time I give you fine folks another peek at some of my favorite games, by console. In the past, I've talked about what are probably still essentially my Top 10 Favorite Games of All Time. I've also in more recent years gotten more specific, talking about many of my favorite games for my Favorite Console of All Time (NES), as well as favorites for what is probably my Second Favorite Console of All Time (SNES). So NOW, I think it's about time I dive in a bit to talk about some of my favorite games of all time, to what is most likely my Third Favorite Console of All Time...the Game Boy! 

Similar to the NES and SNES, growing up a poor kid, I obviously never got systems when they were new. Hell, when the NES first launched and first became popular in the mid-80s, I had no idea it even existed. I don't think I really knew about it until around 1988, at the earliest, possibly not even until 1989. Simply because I didn't know anyone who had one until then. I didn't get my own NES until probably around September 1990, and didn't wind up getting a used SNES from a cousin until around Christmas 1995. As for the Nintendo Game Boy, the first true dedicated portable video game console, while it originally launched (to great acclaim and success) in 1989, I didn't get one until Christmas 1993.

The original "Gray Brick" Game Boy, which I owned.

I suppose the big difference, though, is that I got the NES as it was starting to become "old news", as the SNES was about to launch the following year (though I was SUPER thankful that the system continued getting games, including some GREAT games, until 1994), and likewise I got the SNES when the N64 was on its way in 1996,. With the Game Boy, I got it probably at the peak of its popularity. Nintendo was weird with the Game Boy, in that it launched in '89, but they didn't release a true successor to it until 1998 (the Game Boy Color), which in this man's opinion was about two years too late. But regardless, that original "Green Screen" (Black & White graphics) hardware, was going strong for most of the 90s. So when I got mine, it was at the height of its powers.

That said, the circumstances surrounding my getting it were odd, to say the least. The grandmother who raised me, as I've related and impressed many times in the past, was a real piece of work. She could be cool at times, but she could also be a real nightmare. And you could never quite tell when "nightmare" was going to come into play. I found myself grounded from video games (except ironically PC games) for two whole months (a lifetime to a kid, especially a sheltered kid who didn't have friends that lived anywhere close to me), in the fall of 1993, because I got caught *GASP* playing Super Mario Bros. 3 for multiple hours. As you might well imagine, I was fairly miserable during that stretch, as the NES was a huge part of my life then. And it was compounded by the fact that I discovered I would no longer be getting Kirby's Adventure, a game I had just recently rented and loved, as a birthday present. I was pretty devastated, to say the least. I was allowed a couple of hours moratorium on that grounding, on my birthday in late November, so that I could play NES with my friends who came to town for my party. But the grounding was back on until probably almost mid-December. Practically almost Christmas!

So imagine my genuine surprise, come Christmas Eve (we always woke up around midnight to open our presents), when I got a whole GAME BOY and at least two or three games, as Xmas gifts! She would, for no good reason at all, later inform me that she was sending a copy of Pac-Man back, instead of just letting me have it (more of her inconsistent logic), but I had beauties like Tetris and Link's Awakening! All told, I only came to own six Game Boy games, along with a Game Genie and a Light Boy peripheral. Which was hilarious, because you could only plug one of them into the system at a time, so you had to choose whether you wanted to cheat, or see the screen! I also didn't get to leave the house a whole lot, and didn't really feel like playing the games out in the yard, so the vast majority of my Game Boy playing was done in my trusty bean-bag chair, in my little book-shelf nook in the corner of my room, behind my bed. I would play it, plugged in so it retained power, and usually with the aid of Light Boy so I could see the goddamn screen, sometimes for hours, though I rarely got away with that. 

 

The clunky Light Boy attachment, both a light AND magnifier!

Sufficed to say, it's not hard to understand why at least some of the games I owned back then, are still to this day some of my top favorite games for the system, period. While I only had a handful of games, even compared to my beloved NES treasure trove (I wound up with 20 something NES games as a kid, mostly thanks to a couple local stores going out of business, before my grandmother passed when I was 13), I was very fortunate in that NONE of them were crap. In fact, some of them were some of the best games on the system! So let's waste no more time, and dive right into what precisely some of my All-Time Favorite Game Boy games are!

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 1 – Game: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1993

The game that I spent the most time playing, both because it's a big adventure game, but also because I wound up loving it the most, was also the game that to this day is still my overall favorite Legend of Zelda game of all time, Link's Awakening! This was the very first Zelda game, I'm fairly certain, that I ever played as a kid. I would experience Zelda II at a friend's house at some point, but I didn't really get to play it myself. And while I am certain that I borrowed or somehow played the original "Zelda 1" at a young age, I don't think that predated this. Link's Awakening was my own true "First Zelda", and I got swept up in that fantasy world, quickly and easily. 

Still beautiful, in the preferred original "Black & White".

Everything about this entry in the storied series, from its quirky humor, to the several Mario cameos (such as being able to temporarily have a CHAIN CHOMP as an ally!), to my beloved Roc Feather for manual jumping. Everything was/is great about this game, and it's my preferred favorite Zelda experience. To me, because I played this first, by the time I got A Link to the Past (what many consider the "best" game in the series) years later for Christmas 1996, because it had many of the same mechanics, but didn't have jumping, wasn't as imaginative and quirky, etc., I LIKED it, but it almost felt a bit passe, compared to Link's Awakening.

And truly, they did an AMAZING job, translating the ALttP experience to the Game Boy's limited hardware. It really looks and feels QUITE similar, the graphics even having an almost "16-bit" look to them. No matter how you shake it, from the gorgeous graphics, to the excellent soundtrack (still my favorite version of the main "Zelda Theme"), to the large, enchanting dream world, this is hands down one of the very best games the Game Boy ever received. And it is easily my very favorite Game Boy game of all time. If you've never tried it, or even if you've played the recent Nintendo Switch remake, I'd say you need to go back and try this original masterpiece. You'll be glad you did! 

 2 – Game: Mega Man V, Publisher: Capcom, Originally Released: 1994

 As for what is probably my second favorite Game Boy game, that would have to be Mega Man V. Not to be confused with Mega Man 5 on NES, the Game Boy had its own MM series, after a fashion. Except that while they had some new content, the first four games in that series, were made up of parts of the NES Mega Man games. For instance, Mega Man II featured four bosses from Mega Man 2 on NES, and four from Mega Man 3. This would continue for Mega Man III and IV. But for Mega Man V, Capcom finally stopped being lazy, and gave Game Boy its own FULLY original Mega Man game, a wholly unique experience! Not only that, but MMV holds the distinction of being the ONLY traditional Mega Man game in the entire ridiculously expanded franchise, that doesn't hold with the OG series' convention of all bosses being named "____ Man" (like Heat Man), or the X spin-off series' convention of every boss basically being "Adjective Noun" (such as Chill Penguin). 

On the magical Super Game Boy!

In Mega Man V for Game Boy, the Earth is invaded by "Stardroids", allegedly robots from space! And while Dr. Wily (SPOILERS!) is of COURSE involved, the robots he builds THIS time, are made of stronger "space metal", and based on an ACTUAL space robot he discovered, the final boss "Sunstar". Regardless, these "Stardroids" are named after the nine (yes 9, Pluto's still a planet, dammit!) planets of our solar system. Mars, Mercury, Neptune, etc., all except Earth, which HAS an equivalent, but he's a boss you face more than once, named Terra (because I guess "Earth" didn't sound cool enough). MMV also featured a couple other elements unique to it, the first being the "Mega Arm" upgrade for your traditional Mega Buster, which as you can see above, shoots out a big FIST instead of a blast of energy. This fist is useful, because it can be used to snatch hard to reach items, and there's even an upgrade you can buy from Dr. Light's workshop, which basically makes it attach to a given enemy, and punch them to death! The OTHER unique element, is a new robo-pal, who for some idiotic reason is ONLY featured in this one, sadly more obscure entry in the series: Tango, the robo-cat! Tango is a special weapon you can summon onscreen, who essentially turns into a big buzzsaw, bounding around the screen, killing enemies for you. Plus he's adorable! 

 As you can also see above, Mega Man V was one of several later Game Boy releases, that were extra-compatible with the Super Game Boy peripheral for the Super Nintendo. While all Game Boy games were playable on the SGB, which was a cartridge that you slapped your tiny Game Boy carts into, which allowed you to play them for your Super NES on TV, only some of them were made with the SGB specifically in mind. Normal GB games you could still "colorize" with limited palettes, and choose from several generic borders. With games like MMV, they came programed with their own palettes (still limited, but some looked MORE "colorized" than others), and their own unique screen borders. When I got the Super Game Boy, quite randomly as I recall, in 1996, I was stoked, because now my handful of old Game Boy games had new life, as I could play them and enjoy them on a bigger TV screen. Though, as a side note, I DO generally prefer to experience my Game Boy games in the original "black & white", just as I dislike "colorized" black & white shows or movies. There's something about those "colorless" GB graphics that I find quite charming!

Overall, while Mega Man 2 on NES is my top favorite MM game of all time (and 2nd favorite game of all time, period), Mega Man V on Game Boy is my 2nd favorite Mega Man. It's just a really fantastic game, a great soundtrack, cool and actually useful boss powers (especially the Black Hole you get from Saturn, which sucks enemies into it, and politely drops any items right onto you), just a fun and unique entry in the franchise in general. If you've never played it, go dig it up somewhere (even if you have to find it on the "side of the road"), and give it a whirl! 

 

 

 

  3 – Game: Kirby's Dream Land, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1992

As I related earlier in this article, my first experience of Kirby, was actually the sequel to this, Kirby's Adventure on the NES. I'm going to going to guess that I probably rented Adventure sometime in the summer of '93 (it released in May), but either way I didn't even own a Game Boy when I played that. I was aware of this original game, however, through gaming magazines, and the neat claymation commercial which I'm sure I saw on TV. But I'm eternally grateful that HAL Laboratories made Adventure for NES. They could have made it for Game Boy, a logical sequel to one of the most successful games on the portable powerhouse (they would later make Dream Land 2 for Game Boy in 1995). Or they could have made the sequel in full-blown 16-bit, on the still fairly new Super Nintendo. But instead, Nintendo decided that the old, now mostly "defunct" NES, deserved a sequel to Dream Land instead. And not only did they make a sequel, they absolutely went nuts with it!

This original game is simple, but brilliant. However, it lacks many of the conventions of the series that most people are used to, such as copying enemy powers, hell, even a simple act like being able to slide (which for some stupid reason you STILL can't do in Dream Land 2). In Kirby's Dream Land, which was made as most early Game Boy games were, with "bite sized", shorter portable gaming sessions in mind, all you can do, is suck up enemies, and either swallow them, or spit them back out as stars. Seems very basic, compared to the rest of the series. HOWEVER, while short and simple, Dream Land IS still a very funny and whimsical experience. When it first launched, there was really nothing quite like it. While sadly I never got to play this game when I first had my Game Boy as a kid (for some dumb reason rental stores just didn't want to rent out Game Boy games), I still got to play it later in life, and my abiding love for Kirby makes me love it more than even some gems I actually owned and got to play in my pre-teen/early teen years.

This game was somewhat remade as "Spring Breeze" in the SNES Kirby Super Star game, but I would still highly suggest experiencing Kirby in his original Game Boy form.

4 – Game: Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1994

Another Game Boy gem I spent a lot of time playing, was the original Wario Land. Wario first appeared as an oddball new big bad in Super Mario Land 2. He's a greedy, fatter, vulgar, almost doppelganger of Mario himself, and "Evil Mario" if you will. But, he also proved to be quite popular with fans, so much so that similar to what they did with Yoshi, Nintendo took a chance, and gave him his very own game!

Technically speaking, this game, and the rest of the Wario games that follow, is a spin-off of the Mario series. It does, in point of fact, have almost nothing to DO with Mario. But, much like the original Yoshi's Island on SNES, they still titled it "Super Mario Land 3", because corporate marketing logic says that that type of thing, retaining a name connected to something that has already succeeded, will somehow make the new product more of a success. As far as I'm concerned, this isn't "Mario Land 3", and Yoshi's Island most definitely is NOT "Super Mario World 2", and I don't think either needed those confusing titles. I think they would have done JUST as well, had they simply been called Wario Land and Yoshi's Island.

But as for the game itself? It's certainly an odd duck, but then you'd expect it to be, centered around an odd character like Wario. Where I suppose you could state that Mario games tend to have more "classic" style enemies, Wario's enemies and bosses were quirkier, more out of left field. Where Mario games tend to have often brighter, bouncier and energetic music, Wario Land features a very off-kilter soundtrack. In fact, one of the games musical idiosyncrasies, is that many of the tunes in the game, are different variations on what you could call the "main theme", differing in tone and "flavor", to fit the differing worlds you traverse.

I wouldn't say that I LOVE Wario Land, or his series in general, certainly not like I love the classic Mario titles. But given how much I played this as a kid, I AM rather fond of it, and they definitely didn't skimp. Wario Land is a high quality product, and a sizable adventure well worth playing for the portable powerhouse.

 

5 – Game: Donkey Kong, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1994

Another game that I'm including in large part because it was one of the handful of games I actually owned when I originally owned a real Game Boy (and didn't play them on other platforms, via emulation), is the 1994 remake of Donkey Kong. Yes, yet another '94 hit for the gray brick. 1994 was an excellent year for gaming in general, but especially so for the Game Boy and Super NES. Even the old NES still got some love (the last year, in fact, that it received new games in North America), with releases like Star Tropics 2, Mega Man 6, and Wario's Woods 

In fact, '94 could also rightly be called the "Year of DK", because not only did the Game Boy get this great exclusive, but the SNES also received the super-popular Donkey Kong Country. However, DK on Game Boy is more than just a straight remake. While the game does in fact begin with versions of the original four stages from the arcade classic, once you beat those, the adventure explodes into something else altogether. There's actually a nice graphical touch, where those classic stages look simple like the arcade did, but once you dive into the MAIN adventure, the graphics become more snazzy and elaborate, with more detail, backgrounds etc. All told, DK '94 features a whopping 101 total stages, spread across 9 worlds. And in each world, you are faced with new (sometimes quite sinister) types of puzzles and obstacles to overcome, but you're also taught new moves or abilities to use in overcoming them.

This game is elegantly simple, like its arcade forebear, but it's also deceptively deep, and can become quite challenging. Nintendo didn't skimp when it came to the content of this game, any more than they did with Link's Awakening or Wario Land. This was truly a golden era, in the late 80s and early to mid 90s, when companies like Nintendo, Capcom, Konami, etc., actually gave gamers their money's worth, regularly releasing high quality games, often stuffed to the gills with more content than they honestly needed to pack in. We were spoiled in those days, but I'm glad we were.

If you've somehow never had the classic Donkey Kong experience, I'd say that there is no better way to rectify that, than with this game.

  6 – Game: Tetris, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1989

Another game I'm including in part because I owned it back then, and thus played it a fair bit. But it also deserves to be included, because it is, simply put, one of the finest puzzle games ever created. In fact, it innovated and established conventions that countless other puzzle games would emulate, for decades to come! Created just for fun in his spare time by one Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris first blessed the world (or rather, Communist Russia), in 1984. Through licensing via the Russian government (poor Alexey wouldn't see a penny for his mega-ton creation until the 1990s), versions of Tetris made their way outside the "Iron Curtain" by 1987 and 88, for various platforms. But it was Nintendo, winning the "licensing lottery" if you will, who secured the full rights to make their own version of Tetris (not to be confused with the unlicensed Tengen Tetris), exclusively for their own gaming platforms, in 1989.

Tetris on the NES was a major hit, even though it nonsensically didn't include 2-player gameplay. But Tetris on the Game Boy, was not only THE major launch title of the Game Boy's debut in the summer of '89, but for many the pack-in game included with the system itself. That not only made the Game Boy an instant smash success, further spreading a love of video games to many people who otherwise didn't "game", it was also THE version that helped make Tetris a household name. Tetris on Game Boy went on to become one of the top best selling video games of all time, and as stated, people from all walks of life who otherwise didn't play video games, would often buy themselves a Game Boy JUST for Tetris, and would be addicted to JUST that game, for years!

As for my own Tetris experience, I first played it when we rented it on NES, probably in late 1990 or into 1991. It's very possible that my grandmother may have rented it more than once, which she did with multiple games she liked, though for some reason she never just bought us a copy of it. It wasn't until receiving the Game Boy for Christmas 1993, that we finally owned a copy. And wouldn't you know it, she would go on to regularly annoy me by keeping ME from playing my Game Boy, because she was spending hours playing Tetris herself. She really should have just bought it on NES. But as for me, while it may have been one of my lesser played GB games, I did still spend a fair bit of time playing it. And for my money, while I'm quite fond of the NES version, and certain later iterations of the game, I am quite nostalgic for this OG Game Boy game the most. Not the least of which, because unlike the NES game (who knows why it lacked it), the GB version has THE classic tune that most people just call "The Tetris Song", a fantastic 8-bit rendition of "Korobeiniki", a Russian folk-song.

7 - Game: Avenging Spirit, Publisher: Jaleco, Originally Released: 1992

One of the games that I first wrote about for my Forgotten Gems series, Avenging Spirit was originally a somewhat obscure but ahead of its time arcade game by Jaleco. And surprisingly, the ONLY port of any kind, was to the Game Boy (the same was true for fellow arcade classic Tumblepop). As I impressed in those pieces a decade ago, these are games that should have been ported to NES, and/or even the fairly new at the time Super NES, or Sega Genesis, or PC. But nope. Game Boy was it. Which, on the one hand, sucks that those other platforms didn't get ports of what is a really unique, fun game. But I guess, on the other hand, it IS neat in a way, that GB had some oddball exclusives like that.

Originally titled "Phantasm" in Japan, this quirky arcade hit really was ahead of its time in a way. Specifically, the core mechanic of the game is that you play the ghost of a dead man, who is trying to save his girlfriend from the same fate. To do so, you must possess enemies, and use their abilities to fight their fellow henchmen, on your way to rescue her. For one thing, it's very unique for a 1991 game, or hell, ANY game, to feature your main hero being a ghost who's already DIED! Meaning, in some sense at least, the hero of the game already lost before the story begins. But it's also unique in that, unlike Mega Man or Kirby, where you absorb/gain a defeated enemy/boss' power, in Avenging Spirit, you literally BECOME the enemy themself. The enemy abilities aren't SUPER varied, but you can become many different things, like a high-kicking punk chick, a magic-wielding wizard, a gun-toting mobster, or even a fire-breathing dragon!

The Game Boy port is a bit different, naturally, than the arcade original, having its own graphical look, and somewhat different (but similar) levels. I'm not sure if EVERY enemy/power from the arcade is present in the GB version, but there are still a fair few. All in all, it's a good port, and a game I'd highly recommend (on arcade OR GB). It's another game I wish I'd been able to play as a kid, because I would have loved it (though the hero already being a ghost would have made me a bit sad). 

  8- Game: Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2, Publisher: Kemco, Originally Released: 1991

As I covered in depth when exploring the history of one (technically TWO) of my favorite NES games (Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout and Kid Klown), the history of Kemco's Crazy Castle series is a somewhat confusing one, and pretty unique in gaming history, to boot! When I rented The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle on NES, I had no idea that in Japan it was a Disney game that starred Roger Rabbit! I just rented it because I loved Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes. I also had no idea that in Japan, there were multiple Game Boy entries starring another childhood favorite of mine, Mickey Mouse, or that in America, those too were transformed into Bugs Bunny games. All told, because of different licensing deals for different international regions, this Kemco franchise featured Roger Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Garfield, the Real Ghostbusters, the European character Hugo, and Woody Woodpecker. I don't think any other franchise can make that kind of claim.

I like Crazy Castle on NES, in fact if I had made the list even longer than it is, I'm fairly certain it would be in my Top 30 or at least Top 40 NES games, for sure. But it isn't in my Top 10, or even Top 20 (though Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout, and Kid Klown, are). But this is another case where I really wish I had been able to rent Game Boy games as a kid, and had been able to play at least one of these Game Boy Crazy Castle games, because the series grows and improves over time. The first Game Boy entry, which again was a Mickey game in Japan, is extremely similar to the NES/Famicom game. 

 

 

Same game, different characters.

 

 

My favorite entry (excluding Kid Klown, which was technically Mickey Mouse III in Japan), is Crazy Castle 2 on Game Boy. It sticks to the same core set-up and gameplay, wherein you guide your hero through a series of rooms, collecting keys (originally carrots, or hearts in the first Mickey game) while avoiding enemies. In the earliest Crazy Castle entries, you merely collect all of the items in a stage, and once you have, the stage is clear, and you move on to the next. A very simple, arcade-like experience. In Crazy Castle 2, however, it gets a bit deeper and a tad more complicated, as while you do collect keys, this time around you actually use them to unlock doors, one key per door. There are also non-locked doors, and each contains some kind of item, whether it be another key, or a weapon you can use against enemies and obstacles in the stage. You eventually get all the keys, and unlock the exit of the stage, moving you on to the next. 

It's just good, simple fun, perfect especially for Game Boy's "bite-sized gaming on the go" motif. Crazy Castle 2 has a nice variety of enemies and stages, more, I think, than the first NES or GB games. If you've never played any of the Crazy Castle series, I highly suggest playing at least the original NES game. But if you get a chance, check out Crazy Castle 2 on Game Boy, I think you'll have yourself a dang blasted good time!




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I'm going to make a quick admission: PART of the reason that I'm only listing 8 games, besides saving time (and you more reading), is because, sadly, in ALL the years I've had access to Game Boy roms, there aren't a ton of original GB games I've sat and played through, and beaten. There are MANY I've played, and liked, but not enough that I feel confident in saying "THIS is one of my favorite GB games". I absolutely need to change that, and thus I'm certain I will expand this list in time. One game I actually owned and played a fair bit as a kid, that I DIDN'T list, was Kirby's Pinball Land. It's a good game, probably one of the best pinball video games ever made, in fact. But while I like it, I don't LOVE it, so thus I didn't list it. I've also beaten, and quite like, Super Mario Land 1 & 2, but I left them off this time around, because they're not TOP favorites, over those I did list.

Here are some other GB games I like, however, that may well be considered candidates for an expanded Top Favorite Game Boy Games list (as well as other games you should definitely check out):
 

Super Mario Land

Trip World

Kirby's Star Stacker 

Metroid 2

Super Mario Land 2

Gargoyle's Quest

Kid Niki (different from the NES game)

Knight's Quest

Mickey's Dangerous Chase

Kirby's Dream Land 2

Battletoads (different from the NES game)

TumblePop

Bonk's Revenge (different from the TurboGrafx 16 game)

etc.