Super Mario Land 2 - Review

 The gold standard when it came to portable Mario Games, for what had to be several decades, with short worlds and short levels but such a variety and multiple different locations, everything from a Graveyard to outer space, Under the Sea to within a robot climbing to the head of said robot, all of which trying to get the six medallions to the locked door to Mario's Castle (Which apparently explains why he is no longer allowed to have any more, and ends up living with Luigi for every other game that we see him in), and fight to get the castle back from the hands of the (newly introduced) Wario, and right from the beginning, Wario is a one of a kind villain, where even though he shows up at the end, seeing him use Mario's powerups must have shocked so many kids back in the day, and his alterations to Mario's castle make it one of the hardest in the series.

All within a Game Boy cart.

Are we sure this is in the same series as Daisy's introduction?

Party House (UFO 50) - Review

 A year or two ago, a group of indie game creators all got together with a vision and a dream, to create 50 or so games all for a system that didn't exist, all with it's own story and unique feel that each game has their own storytelling devices, and each one stands out and is genuinely unique enough to deserve it's own release away from the complete package.

One of these games is that of Party House, in which you are running a House Part, and need to get 4 important visitors in on one night, within a certain amount of time, without getting too many troublemakers getting into the part and getting the cops called on you. Especially given that it is based in an NES style, and yet the Puzzle is fresh and hard to choose, because with the currency of "Popularity" for your party, you can add to the pool of potential party guests, and with money expand the area to let in guests, both making it easier to try and get 4 important guests, but pray to whoever you do that you don't get too many troublemakers.

This ain't no Redneck House Party, after all.

Super Mario Land - Review

 The opening bell, the beginning shot of a race. The launch titles of a system are almost always the most important, due to the way that they tell just how much time and effort has been placed to make sure the console is ready for launch, and just how many games have been made to keep the attention of little Timmy readying the next adventure without having to go into the woods himself, or exploring the wide open plains. The Nintendo Game Boy was the first foray into mass marketing portable systems with cartridges that people actually wanted to play, it had to get this right.

For a Mario game, with 4 worlds into Daisy's Kingdom to rescue her, while Luigi's been kidnapped himself to stop him from saving the day (the only excuse we have for why you don't play as Luigi), it is a beautiful portable Mario game, compacted into 12 levels, with even some mix ups to the formula and some unique enemies never seen since.

It may not have aged perfectly well, but it is a Mario Game through and through, just a bit off.

Score - 185700

Tetris Review - Game Boy

 Given how I reviewed the updated look of the game that was made for the Game Boy Color, it only makes sense to look at the game that became a cultural icon and launched the Game Boy into the atmosphere originally. While there was some who played Super Mario Land, or played some of the other launch titles, there was always, always, someone talking about Tetris, the unique puzzle game from the NES, brought to the small screen and made portable, made for quick bouts of matching blocks into lines, and spouted from it so many memes in the future that it still holds it's cult status.

Best Part, is the Music, which trounces many of the ports of the game, who some forget to all put into effect one simple song. Tetris: Type A.

Score: 75983

Level : 12

Lines : 126

Whose Line Hoedown - Doctor's Visit

I had to go see my Doctor, not too long ago,
It drove me crazy as to why, like I was facing a mortal foe,
For every time he tells me, as I sit there in annoyance,
Why? It’s real easy, He’s an amateur Clairvoyance.

Dr. Mario - Review (NES)

 One of the unique introductions to the Nintendo Entertainment System, a persistence throughout its entire life, and one that would spread into the Super Nintendo, was the introduction of Puzzle games starring Mario Characters, simple, matching puzzle games akin to Tetris to try and capitalize on the popularity of the growing mascot thanks to the breakout hit that was the original Trilogy.

However, the most famous of these games would have to be one Dr. Mario, in which Mario trades in his overalls for a lab coat and tries to fight viruses in his medicine bottles by filling them with multi colored pills aimed to try and knock out all of the viruses before you can move on to the next level.

And believe me when I say, the difficulty in this game, scan scale fast if one doesn't expect it.

Final Stage - Level 7

Final Score - 25000

Super Mario Brothers Advance 2 - Review

 You really can understand just how this game was able to both capture the imagination of children, and also be known as one of the games that "Every LPer should do in their career", given it's reputation. The levels are short, but they are unique enough to stand out, and with each level having the possibility for secret exits (Which can lead to even more different routes to castles and the elusive Star Road Levels), challenge and difficulty can rise and fall to one's liking.

The GBA port added one thing, as well, to help in the challenge, and that is the ability to switch between Mario and Luigi, Luigi having his floaty jump and being slightly like he is constantly on Ice does give him a bit of a "Hard Mode" feel, but honestly, it feels better to play as him, given how his floaty jump can get to places Mario's normal jump cannot without Yoshi or the Cape.

All in All, a Fantastic Port of a Classic Game.

Tetris DX - Review

 There are many a version of the game Tetris that have either come out or resurfaced in the last couple of years, that a few are sadly left in the dust for just being inferior ports of the classic game that everyone loves to try and put together a run or two before continuing back on their day to day work.

Sadly, Tetris DX is one of those versions.

Coming back out on the Nintendo Switch Online Service alongside the original Game Boy version, with none of the music that made the game legendary and stand out amongst the crowd, the game's only selling feature, the fact that it is now in color, is woefully inadequate in the modern age, especially given that you can compare it directly to the original port.

Sadly, it is a game that was made when color was the new thing for portable video games, and has not held up in that regard.

Final Score -

66370

Level - 

15

Lines - 

154

Whose Line Hoedown - Physical Media

 The other day I sat down, trying to make a decision.

One of the hardest I’ve made, without any true restriction.

It was to choose a new movie to watch, something to brighten up one’s day,

When I realized my movie shelf was tilted, it almost started to sway!

Alleyway Review (Game Boy)

 It's Breakout.

Well, ok, that would be the easiest thing to say, end the review there, and move on like I was some kind of YouTube Short with some kind of  sensory video playing in the background, but that's far from what I am trying to convey with this.

Yes, it is Breakout, but honestly it is a little more than that, actually taking ideas from other arcade games like Space Invaders and Pong to try and brighten up the levels to make them harder, or to change up the levels, and honestly is a pretty engaging arcade adaptation to boot, even for the Gameboy Standards.

Just, know that when you're going to put it on, that it is breakout, and set your expectations appropriately to that.

Whose Line Hoedown - 10 Year Reunion

I can’t believe it’s been almost 10 years since the date,

When I took my diploma and danced the night away right out of State,

However one thing that never once came to my mind, especially as the reunion nears,

Is to go back to those halls, and relive School cheers!

Whose Line Hoedown - Repairman

While yes I must admit, I have been angry at the speed of his arrival,

One cannot be angry at a man working for his economic survival,

To try as he can, the best job he can preform,

Only to tell us that, “Oh no, I seem to left the part at home!”

Whose Line Hoedown - New Year's Resolutions

From Exercise, to Budgets, to even showing one’s dancing moves,

To even trying to lose weight by drinking that horrid healthy smoothie,

New Year’s Resolutions are always both common and live life on the edge,

Mainly because most of them fall right off that ledge!

Whose Line Hoedown - Beach

Well here I am, after a bet, trying to swim in the Ocean.

Where the waves are choppy, and foamy, spinning around in quite the slow motion.

And as I look out back at the beach, a Sun Tan lotion filled Bastion,

I cry out and wonder, “Where oh Where is Lifeguard Pamela Anderson?!”