“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

As the resident Mega Man fan here, you… oh wait, I guess Jesse is here too. As the resident other Mega Man fan here, you might think I love the series all over and I think it can do no wrong. I mean, I do maintain a Mega Man fansite and try to shill for it at every opportunity I get. But the truth is I’m pretty discerning in what I see as quality in games, and Mega Man 5 is an interesting case. While it was the first Mega Man game I ever owned and I do have fond memories of playing it, I’ve come to determine it’s one of the weakest games in the series.

It’s by no means a terrible game; it was derived from a tried and true formula and had the benefit of a few years of experience and fine tuning. It’s probably still one of the better NES games out there. But Mega Man 5 is also where the series really starts to run out of steam. If Mega Man 2 was lightning in a bottle, Mega Man 5 was a bottle opener. Had I not been 10 when I played this game, my perspective of the whole franchise might be wildly skewed from what it is today.

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It’s that classic situation you’ve had nightmares about. Your essay on the Sengoku Period for your Japanese History class is due, and you haven’t even started studying the subject yet. What’s a student to do?

Instead of reading boring ‘ol books, why not play Capcom’s study aid, Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes? Insert this learning tool into your Playstation 3, and within minutes you’ll be able to answer such questions as “Which General is actually a robot?”, “What magical element does Yukimura Sanada use?”, and “At what battlefield did Masamune Date declare a One Eyed Dragon Party Time?”

Don’t worry about the cash! We have a free copy waiting for one of the commenters on this post. Simply read the rules below and tell us both a historical period and how you’d like to see it spiced up. For example, how about adding ninjas to the American Civil War?

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"A lesson on Japanese history... with magic robots."

Sengoku Basara has a strange history in the states. This first game technically made it here, but in a bastardized form known as Devil Kings that was far removed from its original Japanese identity. The sequel didn’t make it here in any form. Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes is actually the third game in the series, but the first real version to make it to North America with its identity intact.

The game is exactly what its title advertises it to be with “Sengoku” being the warring states period of Japanese history in which the game takes place, and “Basara” roughly translating to “stylish” or “over the top”. And let me tell you, they aren’t messing around when they use the word, “Basara”.

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"No seriously... we're not making it up this time."

We don’t normally cover any news on WingDamage (other than on the podcast), but today is different. As long time readers and listeners of the Barrel Roll! podcast are already aware, Mega Man Legends is a series that’s near and dear to us. We do everything we can to make sure a sequel will get in development from spreading the word about what makes the games great to posting a PSA to suggest it in Capcom Unity’s suggestion box.

Well it finally happened… seriously.

After over a year and a half of jokingly confirming Mega Man Legends 3 on our podcast, we’ll finally be able to confirm it for real on next week’s episode. In honor of that very special episode, please take this opportunity to share your thoughts on the series, past and future, in the comments section of this post, or email them to us at podcast@wingdamage.com and maybe we’ll share them on the show.

Check out the juicy details of the game over at The Mega Man Network, share your thoughts with us, and never give up hope that dreams can come true.

Thanks, Capcom Unity!

The Marvel Vs Capcom games have featured some of the biggest stars in the Marvel universe. Everyone from Spider-Man to Wolverine to Captain America has had the chance to throw down with Mega Man and Ryu.

But as a comic fan, I can’t help but think about some of the amazing Marvel characters that haven’t been given the chance to whoop Tron Bonne’s ass. I have tried not to restrain myself to characters that I feel would make a great addition to the cast.

So hit the jump to see them in all their second tier not quite A-List glory.

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Much like Dragon Quest, the Monster Hunter series is one of the biggest names in gaming in Japan and almost unheard of in North America. Most people over here just don’t “get it”, and many of them don’t want to put forth the effort required in order to really understand what the game is all about. After all, even with more accessible entries in the series such as Monster Hunter Tri, there is still a very steep learning curve to overcome.

Originally I wanted to write a review of Monster Hunter Tri in order to spread the word. However, after over 100 hours of playing the game, I still haven’t experienced all it has to offer. I’ve come to realize, it’s not a traditional review that’s going to spark interest. My hopes are that by sharing the reasons that the series is so engaging (many of which are not immediately obvious to the new player), it will help more people realize the joys that can be found from becoming a Monster Hunter.
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E3 is finally over. Lots of exciting announcements were made as well as some not so exciting ones, WingDamage actually had somebody providing coverage this year, and people made fools of themselves dancing in front of cameras from the future. But what of our predictions? Did any of them come true?

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With E3 having come and gone now, I do miss it a little. By all means, it was no walk in the park. Driving around busy downtown LA looking for parking, wading through crowds of gamers, and sitting in lines for upwards of an hour just to try a game for ten minutes; it’s a lot of work. And yet somehow I feel like I came back too soon. Sure, it was fun to try out a lot of cool games before they release, but there was also an energy in the air that I miss being a part of.

At any rate, I must give sincere thanks to Capcom, especially Joveth “jgonzo” Gonzales. Due to my large involvement with The Mega Man Network, and promoting Mega Man in general, they offered me a pass as a way of saying thanks for the support. I am very humbled to know how much they appreciate the work I do, which has never struck me as anything incredible. Still, it’s unfortunate that none of Capcom’s announcements pertained to Mega Man… but I’m thankful all the same! Above is me on Capcom*Unity’s E3 stream with jgonzo and Noah, another Capcom fan. Sadly, I don’t recall what was said to make jgonzo produce such an awful expression.

Also deserving of thanks is my good pal Cheston, who accompanied me and helped out with some of the expenses, and more of the driving around. He also acted as our eyes as assistant media coordinator and took many of the photos we’ve used here in our reports. Cheston is getting married next month, so this may have been our last big adventure. But who knows! Couldn’t have done it without you, man. Congrats on tying the knot.

Finally, I guess I should thank the WingDamage crew for giving me a podium to express my experiences, since they wouldn’t really fit on TMMN. But having gotten to know Jesse and Jonah… yeah, I dunno. They’re sketchy to me. Anyway, enough sentimental crap. To close things up, I’m taking a look at Hard Corps: Uprising, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Metroid: Other M, Dead Rising 2, and Marvel vs Capcom 3.

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As I mentioned yesterday, finding out when and where to eat at E3 is important business. While there is food on site, like at the Convention Center’s Galaxy Cafe, it’s just so-so and fairly overpriced. “Either eat on a budget or pay for a decent meal,” is my motto. But what’s the best way to go?

On day one, after exploring the grounds a bit, my friend and I left the Convention Center and found our way to Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge. They offered an $8 lunch special that included a round of bowling (yes, there are lanes on the site). That atmosphere was very laid back and comfortable, and the cheeseburger and fries were very satisfying. Sadly, we had no time for bowling. A fine meal, but a little pricey and time consuming.

For day two we decided to go totally budget. Unfortunately, there isn’t any fast food around the Convention Center, but we were still in luck. To promote the game Homefront, an upcoming FPS about North Korea taking over the US in the future, THQ subsidized a traveling food vendor to sell themed food items, like Korean BBQ tacos and kimchi quesadillas (clever, if not controversial). The food was pretty good for its simplicity, and two tacos and a quesadilla cost a mere $4.

But the best way to go is eating for free, though this may take investigation and connections. When we finally found Activision’s area (which was separate from the two main halls) and saw a presentation for Call of Duty: Black Ops, we realized they were serving free pizza. It was awful, but shoot, it was free. A little later we got free beef and cheddar sandwiches from Capcom, as we were invited to their swanky special event on site. I should also mention that there are plenty of people in and near the Convention Center who will give away free energy drinks, so keep your eyes peeled for them.

Boy, all this talk is making me hungry. Let’s get on with some games. Today I’m here to give impressions on NBA Jam, Bionic Commando ReArmed 2, Okamiden, Ghost Trick and Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes. And yeah, that’s me and Charles Martinet up top! Woohoo!

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"Looking for treasure... just like the Goonies."

In any given RPG, the wooden sword and cardboard shield you start with aren’t going to be the ones you keep forever. Usually you get rid of them by the time you hit your first town. But when you buy that new set of gear and equip it, only to find your character has only changed in numbers and not in appearance, it is a bit of a letdown.

If you are talking about old school sprite based games, I will concede that it was more trouble than it was probably worth to put visible loot into a game. Re-drawing that many sprites would be time consuming and prohibitively costly. Where 3D character models are involved, there aren’t a lot of excuses left when you are dealing with stat driven games and RPG mechanics.

There is nothing quite as addictive to me as a progressive, well thought out loot system that is reflected on your character.

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