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• Whatcha Listening To: The Earthbound Soundtrack

  I'm in an Earthbound frame of mind these days, which is a good place to be. With the release of the Mother 3 fan translation inching closer and some very pleasant message board conversations that remind me why I actually sacrificed precious naps to play through Itoi's masterpiece, I've taken to thinking about what makes Earthbound special. I could sit here for hours relaying all the reasons (okay, twenty minutes--I type fast), but one of the main reasons warrants its own entry: the music. Earthbound is probably the most underappreciated title in video gaming's short but passionate history. Everything was overlooked: the expressive graphics, the innovative battle system, the emotional story that perfectly balances bizarre fun with a deep, subtle story about growing up and leaving home...and, of course, the music. Earthbound is not a game that can be appreciated with a glance ("God, what baby graphics. Who made them, Crayola?") or a quick listen ("This music is too cutesy"). You're required to experience it from beginning to end. Admittedly, the music took a while to grow on me, but when it did, it hit me like a Mr Saturn to the face. Read More... Posted Aug 25 2008, 07:01 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with no comments Filed under: snes, earthbound, game music, super nintendo, 16-bit, nostalgia, nadia oxford, whatcha listening to, soundtrack

• Video Game TV: Can It Ever Be Good?

  In a recent post here at 61fps, fellow blogger Bob Mackey dredged up from the pit of nostalgia GamePro TV. I am pretty darn sure I watched this when I was younger. I think there was another show even earlier in my childhood that reviewed games on the Nickelodeon network that I would watch. Looking back I wonder at how awful those shows were. More recently there were things like G4 which showed numerous programs aimed at the gamer audience. I don't think even the ones that continue to survive are what I would call great. Why do Video Game TV shows suck, and can they possibly be done in a way that's appealing? Read More... Posted Aug 22 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: amber ahlborn, nostalgia, television

• Gaming on a Train: Final Fantasy IV

  Before I start, let me officially state that DAYUM Rydia is smokin' hot. There, I said it; I'd say it again if I had to. Let's move on, averting our attention to the right only when hormones deem it necessary. One benefit of taking a mass transit vacation--aside from inexplicably being surrounded by Amish people--is that you can kill most of your travel time by playing video games, instead of waiting for stop signs or the odd empty stretch of highway to squeeze in a quick few turns of Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (I have never done this).  On my most recent trip, I had initially planned on dabbling in quite a few different games I'd picked up over the summer, but ended up devoting all of my time to the Final Fantasy IV remake for reasons that say a lot about the decisions I make in life. Read More... Posted Aug 18 2008, 04:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: rpg, ds, nostalgia, final fantasy iv ds

• Worlds of Power: Books That Worried Your Parents and Pissed Off Your Teachers

  My weekend sojourn with Bionic Commando Rearmed's Mr Rad Spencer reminded me of all things good, pure and 8-bit. I even remembered that my husband owns most of the Worlds of Power books, novel "adaptations" of popular Nintendo games from Back in the Day™. He transferred them over to our new basement apartment home after we were married; it's a dowry my parents are proud of, I'm sure. Alas, I cannot find the Bionic Commando adaptation, but if I were to guess, I'd say Rad Spencer wasn't allowed to shoot anyone with his awesome guns. I did find Ninja Gaiden, which is dedicated to "the Ninja in everyone's dad." Holy shit, I thought my dad just sold alarm systems. This is awesome news. I don't know if you kids today have book fairs, but they were a staple of my school days. My generation was not in love with the printed word and teachers did their best to make sure we didn't fall into any affairs. They policed our book fair purchases, declaring comic books to be verboten "trash," especially comic books about the Ninja Turtles or that rude Bart Simpson. The cutting-edge Nintendo Entertainment System was the worst enemy of my grade school marms, so F.X. Nine's Worlds of Power was bookfair contraband, too. Read More... Posted Aug 18 2008, 01:45 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with no comments Filed under: mega man 2, ninja gaiden, 8-bit, nostalgia, bionic commando rearmed, fandom, game literature, worlds of power, f.x. nine, books

• You Are A Baby and Games Don't Wanna Make You Cry

  Have you been playing video games since at least the NES? Did you ever play one of the Lemmings games? How about classic adventure titles? Does it seem like games today are dumbing down, protecting you from thinking too hard, treating you like a baby who's hand must be held? Yeah, sometimes I feel the same. Read More... Posted Aug 15 2008, 11:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: amber ahlborn, nostalgia, challenge

• GameTrailers' Top 10 Most Difficult Games

  GameTrailers.com posted a video list that names the ten hardest games of all time (so far). Does anything look familiar to you? Maybe selection number seven is responsible for that fist-sized dent in your wall? Perhaps #3 is represented in your mind by a controller dashed against the floor? Not surprisingly, the comments section for the video is filled with insightful discussion, including "WHAT? Devil May Cry 3 was easy! ur just a pussy faggot!" and "u shuld get cancer & die." The revival of old franchises has also rekindled a lot of talk about truly challenging games versus unfair games. Bionic Commando, for example, is a tough journey because you have to re-think everything you thought you knew about game physics. You unconsciously hit a jump button that's not there; you have to scale up, not out. Suddenly, a simple obsticle with an enemy soldier lying in wait behind it becomes a small puzzle because you cannot initiate a death from above. Not in the traditional goomba-stompin' manner paved by Mario. My pick for hardest game doesn't make GameTrailer's list, but it will burn on in my heart like a cinder: Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. Capcom's fifth installment in its famous RPG franchise about swords and dragons was anything but traditional. Dragon Quarter takes place in a congested underground world that's as hostile as a baboon pen during mating season. Everything is out to kill the main character, Ryu--including the less-than-benevolent dragon spirit that posesses him. Read More... Posted Aug 14 2008, 02:02 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: capcom, nostalgia, breath of fire dragon quarter, challenge, gametrailers.com, top ten list

• More Downloadable Remakes! More, Says I!

  Bionic Commando Rearmed is apparently excellent, not like there was ever any doubt (well...maybe just a titch). Chances are good that Mega Man 9 will be playable as well, which leads me to believe that Capcom has a pretty good idea about how to handle its remakes. I would like to see more. On one hand, the state of the gaming world is making me brood like Yahtzee. Why are the most exciting games of today remakes and sequels to old franchises? Am I a dirty person for being more excited about ancient gaming lore than Mirror's Edge? I don't know if there are any rabid Osamu Tezuka fans among us, but the whole ordeal reminds me a bit of the Phoenix manga series. In it, mankind's progress sputtered and stalled because he became nostalgic for the past instead of trying to innovate for the future. Eventually, the human race decayed and crumbled before the master computers running the world burnt civilization to the ground with hydrogen bombs. Gamers' pining for the past might be a grim prophecy. We should tread carefully and be wary. On the other hand...hey, Bionic Commando Rearmed! Read More... Posted Aug 13 2008, 07:04 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with no comments Filed under: psp, capcom, yahtzee, psn, mega man powered up, nostalgia, bionic commando rearmed, xbla, remakes, phoenix, mega man maverick hunter x, osamu tezuka

• Are You Buying Final Fantasy IV DS? Huh? Huh? Huh??

  (Pant pant pant, eager tail wag.) Square-Enix's remake of its SNES classic is garnering good reviews, though I've seen more than one make mention about how it's a bit early for yet another Final Fantasy IV remake. For those of you at home keeping count, Final Fantasy IV has been released on the SNES, the PSOne, the Wonderswan (I think?), the GBA and now the Nintendo DS. I'm going to go ahead and offer myself up for blame: I buy every remake Square-Enix throws at me, except for the WonderSwan remake because that would just be wack. I can't help it; Final Fantasy IV, when it was known as the dumbed-down Final Fantasy II was a cornerstone of my awkward teenage years. I actually played it after getting through Final Fantasy III/VI, but I enjoyed it for its simple story and gorgeous music. I also played it while recovering from major surgery and I was pretty high, so there might be a bit of bias there. I'm pretty sure it's okay to love a game because it reminds you of your youth or the carefree summer days you should've spent outside, but it's less okay to love a game because it reminds you of a codeine daze. Read More... Posted Jul 23 2008, 05:24 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: remake, review, nintendo ds, rpg, square-enix, nostalgia, final fantasy iv ds

• Burn Your Skin for Pac-Man

  I'm always interested in video game-based body modification. Though I sport no video game tattoos of my own or indeed, any tattoos at all (am I a chicken? You'll never know), I like to know what kinds of choices people made before they went ahead and got Mario stamped upside-down on their foreheads. I'd especially like to know what the motivation is for the latest fad going around: burning images, particularly of game characters, into the skin with industrial strength lasers. For one thing, I'm not sure about the intended use of these lasers under circumstances when the Stupid virus isn't rampant, but I'm pretty sure body art isn't it. Health regulations? Risk of post-procedure infection? Ahhh, big deal! Read More... Posted Jul 04 2008, 11:34 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: pac-man, retro, body modification, gaming culture, laser images, tattoos, video game tattoos, laser burn, space invaders, nostalgia