Nintendo 64 - Paper Mario

Mario's back...but in a flattened form? How will Nintendo Pull This Off
*Mario uses jump attack* 2 Damage Given....You earned 25 star points, Level Up- What would you like to increase HP,FP, or BP? Paper Mario was a really innovative for it's time as Nintendo decided to try out something new by creating a Mario RPG but this time adding paper-like graphics to the game. While it may have seemed like a horrible idea on well paper |no puns intended| it actually was a great success for the N64 not as great of a success as let's say for instance Zelda Majora's Mask or Golden-eye 007 however; it still managed to make an great impact on the players during their 1st time through the game. Which goes to show that when a company decides to be creative and try something original no matter how the graphics look it can make an already great series take a whole new turn and still have it be entertaining. However I digress as we should really move onto the review now since you have a good intro started.


Graphics: 7 out of 10

The graphics in this game as you would expect aren't the best on the system since the graphics are in a paper like form however if you were to just judge it on how it looks with its paper like graphics then I would give it a 9 out of 10 however since we must judge it based on other games that were made on the system I'd have to give it an 8 out of 10. Now you're probably thinking why did you say 8 out of 10 when you clearly put a 7 out of 10 rating as your opinion of the graphics of the game? Well I did take one point off cause in an area of Flower Fields there is a graphics glitch that appears whenever you go near this one spot and It's not cause of vizzed emulators it is even like this one the Wii Virtual Console release which I think could have easily been taken out so that's why I gave it a 7 out of 10 instead of an 8 out of 10. 

Now the graphics themselves are really appealing and show the hours of work that was put into the games design from the scene of Bowser's castle lifting up into the sky to the dark atmosphere in the forever woods to even the flowery and water filled surroundings of Flower Fields, so I would say that a 7 out of 10 is a fair rating for the graphics in this game so let's move on to the rest of the review.


Sound: 10 out of 10

The music in this game can be easily described with 2 words amazing and nostalgic as the music sound very great on the N64 and it even lives up to some of the music we find in games today just like how Dire Dire Docks theme from Super Mario 64 is still considered to be one of the greatest songs ever made showing up in most Top 10 lists today. Also the fact that songs from Paper Mario are widely considered some of the best songs of all time also shows how nostalgic the music is to many people and gamers across the world. 

If I were to list of some of my favorite songs in the game I would Immediately list these songs "Cloudy Climb", "Huffin and Puffin", "Flower Fields Sunshine", and finally "Over Shiver Mountain". Each of these songs injects you with a different feeling inside it could be filling you up with the sense of "Power", "Relaxation", "Happiness", or even "Exploration". The sound effects in this game are what you would expect in a typical RPG game so the sound effects aren't that breath-taking but they are still good for what they are so a 10 out of 10 is the rating I'm giving for sound.


Addictiveness: 10 out of 10

If there is one game I know I never get tired of playing no matter how many times I've played it, the Paper Mario series is one of the many games that first comes to my mind. As it is a very long and interesting game since you have 8 chapters each with there own different environments and enemies, from the desert area with it's large amount of Pokey's to the Flower Fields area with their flower like enemy's to their Monty Moles enemy's, even to the frosty lands of Shiver City with it's icicles and frozen terrain to it's Frosty Piranha's and Gulpit enemies. Also as you move along you gain star points which are used to level up once you get 100 of them, when you level up you have a choice of either upgrading your HP (Heart Points) which is basically your life meter in this game and if it hits 0 then it's game over and you have to start from your last save point, the 2nd choice is upgrading your FP (Flower Points) which you can basically think of as special moves ammunition in which you can use to attack with special moves such as the Spring Jump and the Power Smash, The 3rd and final choice is upgrading your BP (Badge Points) which are used to equip as you would expect Badges that you find during your adventure which enable you to do new moves (special or non-special), gain a power-up such as the (Zap Tap) badge were it makes you electrified and will last until you decide to take the badge off, or allow you to attack an enemy that you normal wouldn't be able to attack due to certain circumstances like having a spike on their head/body or being engulfed in fire which you can attack normally if you equip the (Spike Shield Badge or the Ice Power/Fire Shield Badge). So if you wanted you could try and upgrade all of the stats completely that is something you could do or if you wanted to defeat the master of the dojo in toad town then you could as well, there is alot to do in this game and the boss battles are also enjoyable which gives this game a high addictiveness level in this game so a perfect 10 out of 10 is deserved here.


Story: 10 out of 10

Now you're probably thinking "well it's a Mario game so it's most likely about Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach and bringing her to his fortress and Mario has go through the mushroom kingdom until he reaches the end right?" Well in this game that isn't exactly correct as yes princess peach does get kidnapped  however there is a much bigger and different story than alot of the other Mario games before it as in this game Mario tries to save Princess Peach from Bowser's clutches however when Mario is about to take down Bowser, Bowser reveals that he stole the Star Rod (no not the star rod from Kirby) from the Star Haven and has imprisoned the seven Star Spirits of Star Haven so by stealing the Star Rod Bowser uses it's energy to make him extremely powerful to where Mario can't even damage him and Mario ends up being defeated YEAH that's right MARIO LOST TO BOWSER! The only way Mario can stop Bowser is to collect all the star spirits that Bowser has imprisoned to gain enough power and prepare for a re-match with Bowser and defeat him this time so he can bring peace back to the Mushroom Kingdom and the Star Haven. It is an amazing story and really takes a dramatic turn at the beginning and makes the player really interested in the game to where they will want to continue playing the game until the end which is what every game should try and do. A really good and innovative story so 10 out of 10 once again I what I give this game story wise.


Depth: 10 out of 10

Like I stated in the addictiveness part of the review this is alot that you must go through in this game and lots of other things you can do before you finish the game as well. Since there are 8 chapters in the game it will take some time before you make it all the way to the end as every chapter that you finish the next one is usually longer than the previous one not only that but if you were trying to get lets say 100% completion then you will definitely have many hours that you will be spending on the game. If you are willing to put in the time and effort into this game then it will surely pay you back with many hours of enjoyment that is able to come so a 10 out of 10 is what Paper Mario is receiving for depth.


Difficulty: 5 out of 10

Paper Mario on Nintendo 64 isn't exactly a extremely difficult game but it isn't a fairly easy game either as there are some parts in the game that can be confusing at first but you should be able to understand it soon enough once you start experimenting with it however it also isn't a massively hard game as there are some tricks that you can use to help you defeat a boss or solve a puzzle faster or easier. One example of having a puzzle being easier or done faster is a section of Flower Fields were you have to lower or raise platforms in able to make it to the other side is to take your party member Lakilester and looks at all the platforms and how they would raise higher or fall lower whenever you spin jumped onto them by doing this it can save you time and you can easily make it to the other side without any major problems. 

A trick that can be used to make some bosses easier are for example: on Lava Piranha if you uses alot of water or ice attacks he should go down quickly and won't really be able to attack that much and by using the Ice Power badge along with those attack it will really help out because as I described in my addictiveness part of the review the Ice Power/Fire Shield badge lets you attack enemies that are on fire. Another example is the boss Huff N' Puff as to make this boss easier you are going to want to use the Star Power attack "Chill Out" to lower his attack power so that way whenever you attack him and those mini Huff N' Puff clouds come out they won't be able to do any damage to you, also having the Zap Tap badge on can also be helpful for when he charges up his attack and is electrified as having the badge on will enable you to still attack him without receiving any damage which is very helpful and effective against him. There are many more tricks in the game but I think this is enough for the review as I don't want to give away everything about the game so difficulty wise a 5 out of 10 is what I think this game deserves.


So that is Paper Mario for the N64 a great game by Nintendo which really took an interesting turn by using paper quality graphics instead of just regular Mario series like graphics all the while having this game be an RPG which really shows that Nintendo can come up with a simple kind of game design but still make a really great and innovative game which I why I love Nintendo as a gaming company. However I must state this while this is one of my favorite games on the N64 this isn't my most favorite Paper Mario game as it is only my 2nd favorite since my favorite is on a system that isn't available on vizzed so unfortunately I cannot do a review on that Paper Mario game. But our time is running out here as we have to stop Bowser before he succeeds with his wicked plan so let's get this mustached plumber into action and prepare for an epic adventure!

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Paper Mario Box Description:

Mario pals around in an all-new action adventure! Mario's back in his first adventure since Super Mario 64, and this time, Bowser's bent on preventing a storybook ending. When Princess Peach is kidnapped, Mario plots to rescue the seven Star Spirits and rid the Mushroom Kingdom of Koopa's cruel cohorts. As he travels from the tropical jungles of Lavalava Island to the frosty heights of Shiver Mountain, he'll meet up with seven all-new companions... and he'll need help from each one or there'll be no happily ever after.

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Paper Mario Description: Up in Star Haven, there exists a Star Wand that allows the stars to grant wishes to those who are pure of heart. The Star Wand is looked over by the Seven Star Spirits, who protect it in its sanctuary. However, Bowser attacks Star Haven, steals the Star Wand, and locks up the Star Spirits so that they cannot challenge his power. With his new powers, Bowser defeats Mario and lifts Princess Peach's castle into the air, taking her and all her guests as prisoners. Now, the only way to challenge Bowser's unbridled power is to rescue all seven Star Spirits, which have been imprisoned all over the land.

Paper Mario is the follow-up to Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars for Super Nintendo. Basically, this is an RPG set in the Mario universe. Mario has the ability to gain experience and grow levels by defeating enemies and bosses. Mario also has the ability to recruit teammates to help him out in battle. As well, Mario can collect badges that will help his combat abilities, star pieces that he can trade for badges, and more items that he can use throughout the game. The Star Spirits will also aid him in his quest.

Like Super Mario RPG before it, Paper Mario's graphics are very unique to any other game. All the characters are 2D within a fully 3D world. This gives the feeling that each character is made out of "paper".

Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat is famous for two things. Firstly it's fighting system, with intense fighting and dodging moves, but secondly and (probably) more importantly, the blood! Well....it was a noticeable feature. It was popular because it quite possibly the first fighting game to include blood in and not be ashamed about it, and we're talking really gruesome stuff here. It wasn't afraid to let the player completely over kill their opponent in pointless yet satisfying moves and have blood spat everywhere. But is there more to the game than just mindless violence? .....Your right....what am I saying? Lets just look into it then.

The story is....a little foggy. The screen comes up and tells you about different codes, such as a secret code or the code of honor. Then talks about Mortal Kombat following a certain set of codes. I don't know, then it takes you to the menu screen. Once you start playing, you realize you are in a tournament to be the best fighter, as it shows you a ladder you must climb and fight whoever these guys are. You get to pick bewteen eight characters. I'll pick the Scorpion guy, 'cus he's the only one I really know. And I set it to easy, as these sorts of games tend to have really misleading difficulties, as in normal being next to impossible, with hard being "have to be Chuck Norris" to beat wrtien all over it. This might be different....

The fighting seems simple enough, you can attack with kicks (and punches) and can attack while jumping. But get this, most attacks are round house kicks, so if you want to block them, then all you need to do duck, and they miss. This can lead to really intense game play if done correctly. But the battles can end in a matter of seconds if you don't know what your doing. I found this out the hard way.....on easy mind you! But I defeated the first opponent after a game over or two. There was a chance to finish him, in which I kicked him and.....nothing, he just fell. Wasn't there meant to be a really gory move that involved pulling their spine out if their throat or something?

I later found out that I needed to preform a special move through a series of different buttons, much like the special moves of Street Fighter. It's never simple with these things....I suppose it's all the more satisfying if you press a combination of buttons to make it work. Time to check the internet for these moves. Ah, they are called fatality moves. That's quite catchy. So after a few tries I preform the move correctly and....WOW! Did you see that? Scorpion burnt the opponent to a skeleton! ....I might have over reacted there =S    Each player has their own fatality move for you to try out. Some are pretty gruesome, even by my standards. Well.... now that I've looked at the fatality moves, I think I'm done with the game, to be honest.

On with the the rest of the review, I suppose. The graphics are pretty good, as the backgrounds are pretty detailed, much like Double Dragon. The players look very realistic, even in 16-bit. But the graphics that make them look real, ironically, make them look fake and cheap. It looks like they used some photo system instead of making the spirits themselves. This makes them lose their charm apposed to ones that were made without shortcuts. Just looking at them annoys me a lot, and I'm not sure why.

The music, I think, is much like Street Fighter. But I don't like it as much. It's a bit plain, in my opinion. The game has more to offer than meets the eye. You can fight a hidden character called Reptile, but getting to fight him involves not only a lot of skill, but a lot of luck and patience's. To get double flawless (as if just being flawless wasn't enough), is one thing, but to get it on a certain stage as well? Why....how could you even begin to figure that out? I think there's a cheat to enable blood with every hit, but I've been unable to enable it.

The game is hard, even on easy. I like a challenge, but the difficulty balance on this game seems rather unfair. The first fight is ok, if not  little hard, but the fight after is just insane. I can hardly get his health down to half. You seem to have little recovery time in hits, which can lead to great combos, or your instant death. When you get hit, you must do something clever, or forget it as your death is then intermittent. It's a case of learn fast or die, which isn't good for a fighting game. Good for a steep learning curve strategy game. But for a fighting game? good chance is that some might give up too soon. Although I am pretty bad at these types of games, it's a wonder I completed Street Fight II =P

Overall, I give this game a 7.4/10       This game has something about it that I like about it. I hate it, it annoys me, and it doesn't seem that good. But I can't help but like it as well. The game play can be extremely intense by the very fact of just ducking to dodge a round house kick, and I like that a lot. If you like Street Fighter, you'll probably enjoy this game. If you felt a fighting game should have more violence and gore, then this is the game for you. I have a feeling that this game got it's reputation through the gore alone. Now, I see that a lot of people enjoy this game, and I thought it was one of the all time greats, but the more I play it, the more annoycited (a combination of annoyance and excitement.....yeah, I just made that up) I feel, but more annoyed more than anything. Maybe I just don't understand it. Similar to Street Fighter, I can see what makes it so good, but I don't get it. Maybe it'll grow on me, like Street Fighter....
  Graphics 6   Sound 7   Addictive 7   Depth 6   Story 3   Difficulty 10

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Mortal Kombat Box Description:

The #1 arcade hit is here: from Sub-Zero, Rayden and the rest of the Kombat Warriors to the grueling endurance and intense mirror matches! Execute bone-shattering combos and ferocious finishing moves! Defeat the half human dragon Goro, and destroy the shape-changing Shang Tsung to become the Supreme Mortal Kombat Warrior!

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Mortal Kombat Description: Five Hundred years ago, an ancient and well respected Shaolin fighting tournament, held every 50 years, was corrupted by an evil and elderly sorcerer by the name of Shang Tsung. Shang was accompanied by Prince Goro, a warrior of the Shokan race (a four armed half-human/half-dragon). Knowing that if ten tournaments in a row were won by the Outworld champion, the Earth Realm would be conquered by evil and fall into darkness, Shang entered Goro in the tournament and had him defeat the great Kung Lao. Goro has been reigning supreme as the undefeated fighting champion for five hundred years now. As the last tournament required draws near, Raiden, Thunder God and protector of the Earth Realm, enacts a plan to tip the scales in the humans favor, Seven fighters step into the arena on Shang Tsung's mysterious island: Shaolin warrior Liu Kang, Special Forces operative Sonya Blade, the mercenary thug Kano, fame-seeking actor Johnny Cage, the ice wielding Lin Kuei warrior Sub-Zero and his undead adversary Scorpion, and Raiden himself.Mortal Kombat is a side-scrolling 1 on 1 fighting game. Fighting is set as one on one kombat, allowing each player to perform a variety of punches, kicks, and special moves in order to defeat their opponent. When the opponent faces their second round loss, the winner can perform a finishing move called a "Fatality" on the loser. The Fatality is a humiliation move that graphically kills the loser in a blood-soaked finale.Mortal Kombat began its life as a 2-player arcade title. It is notable for its use of digitized actors to represent the game's fighters, as well as its use of copious amounts of blood during gameplay.

Sega Genesis - NBA Jam

Sports genre, meet your soul mate: Action! Get ready to hit the courts with the classic game that revolutionized the sports genre! The developers at Midway saw a big problem with the current state on sports games in the late 80s and early 90s: they were relatively slow paced, even boring. Controls and game-play were often difficult and hard to learn. Basically, this meant that most sports titles ostracized a key demographic: teens and preteens. Success within the genre paled in comparison to platformers like Sonic and Mario. So the folks at Midway set out to create a game that not just adult males would want to play, but also their kids. They released the game initially to arcades where it outshone competitors, leading to its home console version. 

The controls and game-play of NBA Jam were deliberately simplified. Rather than a full roster, the game's officially licensed NBA teams consisted of its two best known players and games were played 2-on-2. All rules (besides a shot-clock and goal-tending) were thrown out the window, turning elbowing into an art form (playing against an expert "elbow-er" inevitably led to shouts of "Hey, no fair!"). Sinking baskets really took no skill, just an in-game player with good stats. Play as Shaq or Abdul-Jabbar and the threes would drop like flies. To add some action, in-game physics (or lack there-of) allowed players to jump twice their own height, spinning and twisting mid-dunk. Three consecutive shots and the player was officially declared "On Fire!" giving him increased speed and accuracy, and setting the ball ablaze, of course. Getting into on-fire mode late in the third or fourth quarters gave the player the chance of realizing every kid's dream: shattering the backboard. 

These changes set NBA Jam apart and above its fellow sports titles, redefining the genre and launching a series of sequels that continue to this day. 

Graphics: 9 
Would have been a 10 if a little more detail was given to the crowd. To compare graphics, NBA Jam was better than Sonic, but falls short of Jurassic Park. On a positive note, half-time reports featured a live-action (albeit very low resolution) video of Micheal Jordan dunking. A first back then. 

Sound: 9 
There could have been more music tracks, even for a Sega game. The lack there-of is probably due to the game being originally designed for arcade play. However, the in-game announcer's trademark phrases were heard on playground and driveway courts country-wide: "Boom-shaka-laka!" "He's on fire!!" 

Addictiveness: 9 
As a little kid then, I played this game over, and over, and over. And over. (and over) There was nothing like dunking my step-dad into a quibbling, emasculated pile of goo. The game was great for having friends over, which meant it was definitely very re-playable. 

Depth: 2 
Absolutely no depth beyond playing each game and trying to get better. No career mode, manager mode, fantasy draft or anything similar. This also was probably due to its original arcade format. 

Difficulty: 2 
As stated above, the game was deliberately simplified for kids in arcades. 

Overall: 7 
I know the average adds up to like 6.2 or something, but I boosted it to 7 because of its originality and the fact that it changed the genre so much. (You're welcome Midway.)
  Graphics 9   Sound 9   Addictive 9   Depth 2   Difficulty 2

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NBA Jam Description: The ULTIMATE arcade JAM comes home! YOU control the super moves, amazing blocks and awesome slam dunks of the NBA's hottest stars! Sky-walking slams - Cannonball, Tomahawk, Helicopter and more! Turbo boost for lightning-fast steals and intense rejections. 4-player adaptable for true arcade competition. AutoStat saves your records and stats as you drive to the Championship. NBA JAM puts you on the court and above-the-rim!

Nintendo Entertainment System - Mega Man 2

I never used to be into the Mega man games on the NES. I thought they would be bad and boring. I took very little attention to them at all. However, after hearing the soundtrack and listening to a particular epic dual of two awesome groups, I couldn't resist it anymore. But is it any good? Is it really one of the best platformers on the NES? Lets have a look into Mega Man 2. 

The game welcomes you with a happy tune with a short story of what's happening. Oh dear, it looks like that Dr. Wily's up to no good again. He's escaped and he has built eight evil robots, if 6 wasn't enough last time. Ranging from Metal man to Quick man and from Airman to Woodman. There's Lighter Man.....err...I mean Fire Man.....no, no no....Heat Man. Can't confuse them two together. They get really stingy with their names. Much like the first game, the game offers you to choose what robot master you want to fight. Most robot masters have their own weakness. You'll have to fight at least one with your Mega Buster, although it was called the Plasma Cannon at the time. (and like all good games, you lose all your powers from the previous game with no reason what-so-ever. Did Mega Man thing he'll never need them again? And why did he think the same thing for 8 more games?) Although some of the Masters have more that one weakness. I was very amused to find a one hit kill for some robot masters (I'm not going to tell you, you'll just have to try them out ^^). 

As you kill each robot master, you get their weapons to use. After you kill a certain amount of robot masters, Dr. Light gives you a special weapon to use that will make the game more convenient, but this takes forever!. They really do take their sweet time with it. There's no way to skip it. It takes even longer when Dr. Light gives you another weapon. Uhg! The game play is amazing, though. You jump higher and more lightly than the first game, allowing jumps to easily be executed. The layout of each level gives an easier play though than the last game, but enough difficulty to keep the player challenged. There is also a harder mode you can play for those who like a challenge, but it basically just makes the bosses have more health. No more enemies than the normal mode =( 

The music.....ahhhhhh.....it's legendary to say the least. I don't need to tell you how good the music it. These are the sorts that get locked into your head. The best of the lot is Wily's Castle stage 1 and 2. Almost any fan of this game will agree. The graphics are also a little better than the first game. There are, sadly a couple of flaws that are minor, like the Green Dragon boss, one slip and you have to start again from the last checkpoint, and if you got no energy left for the floating platforms, your going to spend the next half an hour killing the same enemy for some energy power. 
Overall, I give it 9.3/10     This game is simply amazing. I'm glad I played it. One of the best. The graphics mixed with the fluid controls and music makes for an experience of a great game. It's a little short, and you have to do all the Wily stages I one go, otherwise you'll have to start from stage one of Wily's Castle, but I wouldn't have it any other way. A true classic.
  Graphics 8   Sound 10   Addictive 7   Depth 9   Story 2   Difficulty 7

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Mega Man 2 Box Description:

He's Back! And this time the evil Dr. Wily (once the supreme power in the universe) has created even more sinister robots to mount his attack. But as MegaMan, you've also grown in power and ability. Can you save mankind from the evil desires of Dr. Wily? Each of the eight empires is ruled by a different super-robot. You must defeat each enemy on his own turf, building up weapons as you go. Only after all are destroyed will you go head-on with the mastermind himself, the evil Dr. Wily.

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Mega Man 2 Description: After defeating Dr. Light's six robots that were reprogrammed by the villainous Dr. Wily in Mega Man, it seemed like the world was safe. But it was not to be. Dr. Wily has escaped from prison and is madder than ever, this time creating eight new Robot Masters of his own to take over the world and crush Mega Man! Is the world doomed?

Mega Man 2 is the sequel to the NES game Mega Man. In this game, Metal Man, Air Man, Bubble Man, Quick Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Heat Man and Wood Man are Dr. Wily's eight prize creations that have been sent to take over the world. As Mega Man defeats these bosses, he can steal their powers and use them for himself. Each Robot Master is weak against another's weapon, and through experimentation, Mega Man can gain the upper hand by using the weapon they're vulnerable against.

Other additions to the game include the 'E-Tank' - an item that can be used at any time to completely refill Mega Man's energy, and a Password System, which allows players to continue their game by recording which Robot Masters have been defeated and how many E-Tanks they have. Mega Man 2 also removes the scoring system from the original game.

Nintendo Entertainment System - Mega Man

A look at the first Mega Man game for the NES
This game is a classic slid-scrollin' shooter/slightly RPG game that had interesting properties that other games didn't have at the time. Is this game worth playing? Lets have a look. You play a blue and cyan super fighting robot warrior named Mega Man, created by Dr. Light, that must defeat the evil Dr. Wily, who is hell bent on taking over the world (of course). He has created 6 Robots that each have their own powers and weaknesses. It is your job to defeat all the Robot Masters and their stages, break into Wilys castle, and bring him down before takes over the world. 

This game allows you to choose what stage you would like to fight. This adds some edge to the game play. After you defeat a Robot Master, you gain their powers. You can access these powers by pressing start and picking it there. Each boss has his own weakness to a weapon. Some are easy to work out, like fire on bomb, but some don't quite make sense. Like cut on electric. Shouldn't that be the other way around?  I mean, cut would be made out of metal, which is a conductor.....unless it means that electric man uses wires, and cut man would cut off those wires.....It's always fun to figure out why that power works to well to that Robot Master, even though it doesn't matter why. Try it out next time your playing a Mega Man game. It's a nice little exercise. So this has a good replay value to figure out which order to go in is best. You can even play the stage you once defeated again. At first, this might seem only to gain more points, but later you figure out that one of the Wily Castle stages are impossible with out a special weapon that is in electric mans stage, which requires......Accurately, I'm going to let you figure it out. 

Now, the design of theses levels are pretty nice. The enemies are also nice, a combination of flying pac-mans and black blobs in yellow helmets clearly says something about there creativity. They normally bear similarities to the Robot Master and are challenging at first, but you get used to them and can complete it after a game over or two.....Until you play ice mans stage. This stage is completely unfair. The first half is ok, in fact pretty easy, but when you get to the part when you have to jump on these green flying platform that shot on their sides......that's when this game reveals its true colours. I mean, they have no pattern what-so-ever, they fire from their sides - which also are random - so you have to jump to avoid them, but as they have no pattern, that jump could cost you a life. Then after jumping on four of them, you have to jump on four more, only find there are some missile bird things that you need to dodge. This makes it harder than it needs to be. You could jump to dodge them, but you could land on one of those bullets, causing you to fall off. You could attack those missile bird things, but they explode on impact/killed, so you could get hit by those explosions and you could fall off. You could attack them, jump around them, then land on them without flaw, but then you realize that you need to jump again because of those darn flying platforms are about to attack, and in a state of panic, you jump in the wrong direction then try and get back on, only to get hit by those pesky unpredictable bullets! 

There is a way to get round this easily, you need that......I'll let you work that out for yourself (sorry, no spoilers! =D). Now, the music. The music is awesome. Full stop. Period. Comma. Explanation....The music works well with the stage it is given. Just play fire mans stage and bomb mans stage and you'll see what I mean. In fact, the music was so great, a video game band known a The Megas made a cover on some of the music in this game. It was interesting to see them add lyrics to them, each Robot Master having a personality and how Dr. Wily didn't really want to take over the world, but instead think mans time has ended and Robots should now rule the earth, and stated that Mega Man was a murderer for killing his "sons". You kinda feel sorry for Dr. Wily after hearing this song. That's a sign of good lyric writing, and as they couldn't have made that song without that music, makes this game responsible for that song. That is how good this music is. Of course, the second games music is legendary to say the least. But lets just say that the first game was the start of epic music for video gamesin the future. 

The controls are slightly stiff. Your jumps are quiet heavy meaning you have to time them very well in order to get further. The powers you get from the Robot Masters are nicely done. Sometimes they are simple like firing fireballs from your Arm Cannon, and others are a little more unique. Take Guts man for example. When I first got his power, I though it was to punch people. But when nothing happened I didn't know what to do. Then I realized that you could pick up certain objects while having this power. It's always satisfying to pick up something and throw it at something a quarter the size. Which brings me to......the difficulty! 

This game is seriously hard. If you though that the Robot Master stages were easy, then the real challenge begins at Wilys Castle. The first stage is probably the hardest. You must tackle jumps that threaten you with fire unless perfectly jumped, and *sign and talks coldly calm*, those green flying platforms and *signs again* SPIKES! SPIKE! SPIKES! I hate spikes. I hate them for killing instantly even though you  touch the side of them or something......And in this game, it's even worse. Normally, when you get hit, you "blink" or "flash". This gives you  temporal invincibility for a second or two, or what we call "recovery time". In Mega Man 2, when you were hit, you could walk on spikes until the recovery timer went off, giving you enough time to get out of there.In this game, when you get it, and land on spikes.....You die. Yep, you don't get recovery time for that, you just die. CRUEL! In fact, of spikes are so effective, why doesn't Dr. Wily make a Robot Master out of them? there was needle man in the third game, but that's not spike man. An why can't he just make a corridor out of them, with no  platforms? He must have.....Stupid Evil Villain Syndrome! At the end of this stage you'll probably meet one of the hardest bosses you'll ever have the misfortune to fight. The Yellow Devil. I could have defeated this boss legibly, but it was getting late, and I wanted to defeat this game, and I didn't know about save states then. So I used the pause bug and- 

*Audience booing* 

All right, ALL RIGHT. I cheated, lets just move along. The stages in Wilys castle are - what I think - are better than the stages themselves. I 
mean, you get to fight......I'll let the surprise of that get you when you come to it =D Overall I give this game a 8.5/10 This game is hard, but offers a good challenge for those hard-core gamers out there. The music is great and the graphics are swell. I would recommend this game to any Mega Man fan. Although not the best, it is definitely worth a look if you like mega man. it has a lot to offer. Check it out.
  Graphics 7   Sound 10   Addictive 7   Depth 8   Story 2   Difficulty 10

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Mega Man Description: In the future city of Monsteropolis, the use of robot labour has helped civilization grow more than ever before. At the forefront of this technology is Dr. Light and his assistant Dr. Wily, who are commissioned to build six robots to handle a variety of specific tasks. They are named Bombman, Gutsman, Iceman, Cutman, Elecman, and Fireman in reference to their individual prime functions. Dr. Wily, however, has bigger plans and chooses to take control of the robots and let loose destruction in a bid for world control. Dr. Light fights back with the best tool he has, an experimental human-like robot, Rock aka Mega Man, who had been tested to perform cleaning duties. Now properly armed, it's up to Mega Man to take on the maverick robots, fight his way into Dr. Wily's castle, and end this madness.Mega Man is a side-scrolling platformer. Mega Man has the ability to jump and fire his weapon. He must travel to the levels of the six robot masters and defeat them in combat. By doing so, Mega Man is able to acquire their power for his own. These powers can then be used interchangeably with his main weapon and target the weaknesses of specific enemy bosses. Additionally, some hidden areas of the levels can only be accessed by using certain captured robot weapons. A special Magnet Beam ability can also be found which can be used to create steps. Travelling throughout these levels, Mega Man is confronted by an army of lesser robot creations. Destroying these usually yields energy capsules (for refilling Mega Man's Energy), weapon capsules (for refilling Mega Man's special robot weapons), and extra lives shaped like Mega Man's head.

Sega Master System - Sonic the Hedgehog

The Lord of the Rings... And Speed. 

In 1991, Sega created Sonic the Hedgehog... As a response to the Nintendo's famous pet: Mario. The Hedgehog's game was the thing that the Genesis/Mega drive needed to become famous. His original game play, which involved speed. Make many people buy the Sega's console. But, What about the Master System's users? Of course, they got their own version of the game... Which was pretty different from his 16-bits counterpart... Today, the lucky game that will get his very own review will be... Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega master system! Let's take a look at it. 

History: Somewhere in the world there's a place that doesn't appear in any map... This place is know as "South Island" a beautiful island in where different species of Animals give life to the place, and in where some of the most exotic plant species can be found. This island is some of the few places in the world that isn't covered with the pollution of the big cities... But, one day. An evil man known as "Dr. Robotnik" gets to this place, and his intentions weren't take some good vacations. He came for something more bigger: The Chaos Emeralds... Six powerful gems that contains a big power. Robotnik builds a big factory in the island. Also, he captures all the animals of the place and uses them as the main power source of his Badniks... Soon, the Island feels the consequences of the Evil scientist's base... And it starts getting contaminated... When everything seemed to be lost, Sonic the Hedgehog appears... He's the only that can save the place from the Robonik's tyranny... The only way to succeed is find the Emeralds before the Evil fat man, That's the only way to clean all the pollution of the Island, Here's where the adventure starts... 

An evil man that uses animals as power source.. Well, Back in the 90's this kind of history wasn't very common... Pretty different from the habitual Kidnapping history. (8/10) 

Graphics: Okay, the 1st.thing you may notice is that the sprites are a bit more smaller than in Genesis version... Also, the backgrounds has less details (Green Hill Zone is the most notorious example) However, Keep in mind that this game is for a 8-bits console... So, They are okay... Animations are good, also. Just look at the Jungle zone's waterfalls of Sonic when spinning fast. (7/10) 

Sound: Music is Okay... The GHZ's music is the only one that is based on the Genesis version of the game... The rest of the music is new and exclusive for this port... Composers did a great work at it, Scrap brain and Sky high zone themes are my favorite. FX is a bit different from the 16-Bits version (Of course, this is due to the console's limitations) However, these don't get annoying. (7/10) 

Addictiveness: This game isn't really addictive. Once finished you will not play it for a good time. It's something that depends of the player, Personally, I only finished this game once. (6/10) 

Depth: Run as faster you can until finishing the Act while grabbing rings, that's the only thing you will do here... However, some zones can present different challenges. Such as the 3rd. Act of Scrap brain. In where you must find the exit in a big labyrinth full of doors and teleporters or the 2nd. Act of Jungle zone in where you must go up being careful of not falling. (7/10) 

Difficulty: The game starts as something easier. But, As more closer you get to the Final Zone more challenging becomes... Sometimes, the thing becomes really harder and frustrating. (8/10) 

Final Rating: 8 

This isn't one of the best Sonic games... If you want some challenge. This is your game... If you only want to run to end. Then this isn't for you. A pretty good game that you can play for pass the time, Just give it the chance. 

-Eddy Out-
  Graphics 7   Sound 7   Addictive 6   Depth 7   Story 8   Difficulty 8

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Sonic the Hedgehog Description: Bust the video game speed barrier wide open with Sonic The Hedgehog. Blaze by in a blur using the Super Sonic Spin Attack. Plummet down tunnels and spin through space. Bounce around till you're dizzy in a pinball machine. You've never seen anything like it!

Sega Genesis - Sonic & Knuckles

“The confusion is solved after 8 months”
As you stood there confused, wondering why your game has ended so quickly. It seemed as if Robotnik went down way too easily this time, and we just assumed that he was finally taken down, but something just kept nagging at us in our head saying “NO there’s no way this can be the end!” In October 1994 we finally had our questioning finished when Sega released Sonic & Knuckles for the Sega Genesis, which was a direct sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 which If you’ve read my review of that before starting this one (Don’t know why you’d read this one first?) you’ll remember I said that they actually wanted Sonic 3 to be a bigger game but in the end due to limitations they had to split their idea into two separate games Sonic 3 and its sequel released 8 months later known as Sonic & Knuckles. Anyway now that you’ve made Robotnik’s Death Egg ignite into fire and explosions as it falls along with its ashes into hopefully for Sonic...the sea, but the destruction of the Death Egg has also thrown you down deep into a mysterious spot on Floating Island known as the Mushroom Hills. Our blue-blur knew he didn’t have any time to waste as he knew Robotnik would eventually come along to look for the Master Emerald located on Floating Island which is the most powerful emerald known to the Sonic World as it has the power to stop the chaos emeralds (and most likely the Super Emeralds as well). However; one problematic scenario appears before us, while we try and stop Robotnik how are we supposed to fend off against that stubborn echidna Knuckles who always seems to try and prevent us from moving forwards. It’s time for another adventure so as Sonic would say “This is gonna be way past cool” so let’s begin the review!


Graphics: 9 out of 10

The only reason I have rated this a 9 out of 10 is because compared to other levels in Sonic 3 this game had better visual backgrounds and stages in my opinion my personal favorite being either Mushroom Hill Zone or Sky Sanctuary, if you were to just ask about the basic graphics I would only give it a 8 out of 10 because all the characters look the same as in Sonic 3...Also since like I said this was supposed to be a single game but had to be divided because of limitations I guess we can’t really blame Sega for this. Anyway I feel the levels in Sonic & Knuckles put more emphasis on their levels such as the rotating conveyor belts in Flying Battery Zone, to the ancient and home to the Super Emeralds known as Hidden Palace Zone, and even the toadstool field land of Mushroom Hill Zone (I bet Mario would love it here). Although the graphics may have been the same (especially since it has a good reason) I don’t think it’s a reason to not give this game a chance to impress you at all as I’m certainly sure that at least one point in this game will make you smile so I’d give this game a 9 out of 10 for its graphics.


Sound: 10 out of 10 

This is definitely my favorite out of all the Sonic genesis games especially for the music as there is only 1 song in general that I dislike but not so much as I did with Sonic 3’s version which is the Super Sonic theme since this one has a nicer sounding tone and it doesn’t sound as repetitive because of it. What are my most favorite tracks you say? To be honest I don’t have one song in particular I like but if I had to choose then my favorite tracks would be from 4 different levels: Flying Battery Zone, Sky Sanctuary Zone, Death Egg Zone, and finally The Doomsday Zone and I shall explain in detail why I like these songs in their own individual sections. For Flying Battery Zone I enjoy how it starts off sounding soft but yet it has a feeling of speed at the same time, then it goes into a more hardcore beat giving you an even greater feeling of adventure as you traverse the flying aircraft. In Sky Sanctuary Zone I love how even though you know that it’s dangerous you have an ambient and calm tone playing in the background almost making it seem as if you’re just enjoying the scenery as you speed through the level. At Death Egg Zone it’s exactly what you would expect of a villain’s main hideout/fortress to sound like, very dark and mysterious with that hint of danger lying ahead of you along with the fact that you’re almost at the Evil Doctor Robotnik’s location. Lastly The Doomsday Zone gives you a strong feeling of empowerment as well as ecstasy since you know you’re at the end of the line as you take down the doctor’s last ace in the hole and save Floating Island. Finally we should talk about the sound effects for Sonic & Knuckles which as I stated in Sonic 3 I found them to be superb especially the shield power-up sound effects (Static like for Electric, Torch like for Flame, and I guess you could say Spring like for Water). I’d say if you want a Sonic game that’ll have great music while you play along then Sonic & Knuckles is definitely for you so I’d give this a 9 out of 10


Addictiveness: 10 out of 10

As you know I really enjoyed the previous game (Sonic 3) because of how the story of the game started off exactly at the end of Sonic 2. This game was no exception as this one I enjoyed how it left off from the 3rd entry in the series because I didn’t enjoy how the last game ending with Sonic jumping in front of the screen after destroying Robotnik’s newest machine which made me scratch my head since I knew that couldn't’t have been the end of the game so when this game started off in Mushroom Hill Zone I was relieved to see that this was in actuality where Sonic 3 would have continued had it been as long as intended. Not only that but you can play as Knuckles the Echidna in this game, where he does not only have his own path to traverse through in certain levels but also a new story for him as well because in the game Knuckles has a new foe known as Egg Robo who threw a bomb into the lands of Mushroom Hill Zone where Knuckles just happened to be relaxing at. I’m guessing that’s it for everything you can do on Sonic & Knuckles right?! So sorry to inform you but that is incorrect as this game cartridge was designed with something known as Lock-on technology where you could lock on the previous Sonic Games to play extra modes that couldn't’t normally be accessed such as putting a Sonic 2 cartridge on a Sonic and Knuckles cartridge enabling you to play as Knuckles in Sonic 2, and including Sonic 1 with Sonic and Knuckles makes it so you can play a game known as Blue Sphere which is basically playing Sonic 3’s special stages until you reach the last level, as well as locking onto Sonic 3 with Sonic and Knuckles which basically lets you play Sonic 3 if it had been made as long as originally intended. However; I shouldn't’t dwell too deep into those facts since this is a Sonic & Knuckles review and nothing else, so in terms of addictiveness I’d definitely suggest picking up Sonic & Knuckles since it deserves a 10 out of 10 in my books.


Story: 9 out of 10

You’ve now finished the showdown between you and the despicable Dr. Ivo Robotnik upon the Death Egg, and as Sonic as well as his partner Tails watched his fortress fall into oblivion they’d assumed that this was the end of the Death Egg as well as Robotnik’s plan for Floating Island. But then in the blink of an eye they found out that the mechanical fortress had just fallen onto a part of the Floating Island having been severely damaged in their confrontation though, Robotnik has decided to find the Master Emerald in order to power his creation to have the Death Egg be born anew. Sonic knows he must race against time while crushing through the badnicks and areas in order to stop Robotnik from stealing the emerald and return peace to the Floating Island which in turn means he’ll have to help that pesky echidna even if it means having to deal with him in a fight, will this rivalry end up with the destruction of the Island? Guess that’s something only you the player can find out by playing this game so the story gets a 9 out of 10.


Depth: 9 out of 10

Compared to Sonic 3 This game is in all actually longer containing 15 acts or in simpler terms 7 worlds with 2 acts and the final world with only one act (Doomsday Zone). However; there are only 6 worlds with 2 acts if you play as Knuckles although you can access the Death Egg Zone with Knuckles by using the level select menu, Still having this many levels and worlds each with their own traits by which player you choose to play as...is one of the main reasons why this is my favorite Sonic Genesis game of all time. I already mentioned above that you can choose between Sonic or Knuckles where each one’s levels can vary in what path you take which I find very intriguing and a fun addition to this game since they could’ve just made you play as Sonic and leave Knuckles as an enemy, finally there is one character that I haven’t mentioned yet and he plays differently depending on who you fight against him with. This character is known as Mecha Sonic, now you’re probably thinking “So...is this just an upgraded version of Metal Sonic?” In a sense yes but that’s not 100% true and an easy way to tell you about Mecha Sonic is to imagine having Silver Sonic and Metal Sonic combined into one creation. Basically having the electrical powers and energy blast of Metal Sonic and the speed and spinning blades of Silver Sonic, now let’s say if you were to play as Sonic you could consider him a normal boss and once you defeat him he’s done on the other hand if you play as Knuckles during this boss he won’t go down so easily and will use the power of the Master Emerald to transform into Super Mecha Sonic which you can think of as the Final Boss for Knuckles. With all of this in consideration it’s certainly fair to give the game a depth rating of 9 out of 10.


Difficulty: 7.5 out of 10

In my opinion Sonic & Knuckles difficulty has been both spiked up a notch and toned down a bit as if you want a harder game it’s best to choose Sonic since he can’t climb walls like how Knuckles can, even with this ability this game will still give you a few stabs here and there so don’t take this game too lightly because of this. Just like before in Sonic 3 you have the 3 shields that were introduced to help you out in various situations the electric, fire, and water shield which if you’ve read my previous review they should be self-explanatory but just in case you haven’t read it let me just put it like this (Electric + against anything electrical, - against water, and – against water. Fire + against lave and fire attacking enemies, - against water and electricity. Water + being underwater without the worry of drowning, - against fire and electric) I guess we could also include the insta-shield which Sonic can use by pressing the jump button twice but since this isn’t a shield that you pick up so I didn’t add it in the above scenario. One thing I will say is the final boss can be tough if you’re not good a ring collecting and dodging obstacles since you’ll be losing rings due to your Super Sonic form and if you run out you lose a life so keep an eye out for rings and be quick on your feet, all in all I’d give the difficulty a 7.5 out of 10.


It’s finally time to face against the foul doctor once more by going into space and chasing after him as Super Sonic in order to stop him by retrieving the Master Emerald and returning it to the Floating Island so the hot-headed echidna can watch over it again to hopefully protect it from being stolen once again. We’re now prepared to leave this Island and head back home having done our deed by bringing justice to the lands of Mobius, as we fly away our rival as well as newly acquired friend Knuckles watches us depart and most likely thinks to himself “I’m willing to bet this isn’t the last I’ll see of that hedgehog” This tale has finally reached its conclusion so I guess just like Tails and Sonic I’d better be off as well.
                  
                                                                             *Activates Hyper Form in front of the Tornado*
                                                                                                                                                              *Sonic57’s Sonic & Knuckles Review Tm* 
     
                                                                                    |Presented by Vizzed.com & Sega|

  Graphics 9   Sound 10   Addictive 10   Depth 9   Story 9   Difficulty 7

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Sonic and Knuckles Description: Sonic and Knuckles join forces to defeat rotten Dr. Robotnik's Death Egg invasion! Play Sonic & Knuckles by itself or Lock-on with other Sonic games. This game's revolutionary Lock-on technology adds all new features to your other Sonic games for ultimate replays! Play as Sonic and let loose on Robotnik with amazing new powers. Play as Knuckles and tackle Robotnik and Metal Sonic with bare-fisted attacks, high-speed glides and wall-climbing power! Lock-on with Sonic 3 and transform Floating Island into a huge 34 meg Sonic-epic loaded with new secrets! Play as Sonic, Knuckles, and even Tails - with Game Save! Lock-on with Sonic 2 and play as Knuckles with all his signature moves!