Sonic and I have had a rocky past. Sure we had our fun in the 16-bit era when I first got my hands on a Sega Genesis and the original Sonic the Hedgehog. As the series progressed to include Knuckles and its crazy snap-on cartridge, I was rapidly losing interest in the little blue guy. Then along came the Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure which hooked me once again. That is until I came across the levels starring anyone but Sonic. When I hit the first Big the Cat section, I left the game for good. I’ve played a few levels from random other entries in the series, but Sonic Generations is the first time since the classic games that I’ve completed a Sonic the Hedgehog game.

I bring this anecdotal history of my time with the franchise up, not to disparage the fans of the game or the franchise itself. I bring it up only because SEGA has made it very apparent that Sonic Generations is for the long time fans of the franchise, and after playing most of the console version, I wanted to see how the 3DS entry stacked up as a modern platformer.

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Last year, Sonic Colors showed me that 3D Sonic games could be fun again. Of course, this was the very same year that Sonic 4 dashed my hopes of a quality 2D Sonic experience. So when it was announced that the next game in the series would feature both styles of play, I was skeptical of SEGA’s ability to handle the classic stages.

It turns out they actually learned from their mistakes… well, most of them anyway. Sonic Generations, while not perfect, manages to be a rather successful blend of old and new Sonic gameplay that’s fun in spite of its shortcomings.

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Back in the SNES era, one may remember a title Interplay and Visual Concepts developed that bears the word “Clay” in it. Probably to most, the first game that will pop in your head is the memorable Clayfighter fighting game. But there is another lesser known “Clay” gem they both produced in the same year called Claymates, a colorful platformer that hid under the shadows throughout the console’s life.

Claymates is about a boy named Clayton who one day is in a laboratory with his father, who has created a serum that can transform clay into animals. Apparently witch doctors fiend for this stuff because one magically appears out of nowhere and demands that Clayton’s father hand over the serum. He denies him and the witch doctor then strikes Clayton with lightning, transforming him into a blue ball of clay, then proceeds to steal the serum and Clayton’s father away in a flash. Clayton vows to rescue his father and the serum, even if he is just a ball of clay.

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I’ve written before that I’m not terribly pleased with Nintendo’s direction on the latest Kirby title for the DS. Of course, as it happens Nintendo heard my concerns and went about creating one of the greatest Kirby games in years if not decades. So truthfully I could care less what happens to Kirby Mass Attack. Still, that’s not any reason not to give the game a try.

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I picked up Monster Tale because I’ve been getting tremendously annoyed at Jesse flaunting his progress in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. As the guy probably most responsible for getting me into the series, it tears me up to hear about his stories of Ice Barroths and Poison Royal Ludroths. I keep seeing all the fancy new equipment and armor dancing around in my head at night. I had to do something, anything, to tear in and bash up some monsters. I had to get my fix.

It turns out Monster Tale has absolutely nothing to do with Monster Hunter, but it’s still a really good game.

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“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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"Retro Studios hits another one out of the park."

Metroid Prime really put Retro Studios on the map. After they wrapped up the series, “What will Retro do next?” became a hot topic of discussion. The revival of Rare’s 2D platforming series, Donkey Kong Country, was definitely not among my guesses.

Donkey Kong Country Returns may not look as wildly different from earlier titles in the series as Prime did to Metroid, but it’s still crammed full of new ideas. Rather than attempting to make a shinier version of what you’ve already played a decade and a half ago, Retro has used the SNES originals as the foundation for something greater.

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“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.

By 1991, games on the NES were already starting to be overlooked. The onset of fancy new 16-bit game consoles like the Sega Genesis stole a lot of their thunder. Heck, the Super NES launch was right around the corner!

Even games that were critically successful would often fall to the wayside. Sadly, Metal Storm suffered this fate. It didn’t help that it was also published by Irem, the people that brought us Deadly Towers, the game popular satirist Seanbaby refers to as “the worst Nintendo Game of all time”.

The good news is Metal Storm is no Deadly Towers. It’s an action platformer where you control a mech that must navigate some very tricky levels.

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For this review, please imagine me hunkered over, holding my back with one hand while propping myself up with a cane with the other. My trousers are held up with suspenders, my plaid shirt is tapered, and my face wears a constant scowl. Got all that in mind there? Ready? Ok, good. Ahem.

In MY day, games were hard as hell, and we liked ‘em that way! Didn’t need no too-tour-ree-alls, or yer fancy shmancy fast time situations or whatever ya have. Ya hit start at’n the title screen, ya played the game, and ya got yer keester whipped. And that was just fine! … … … AN’ ANOTHER THING! There ‘as no ten minute cuttin’ scenes or surround sound dij’tal Dolby an’ all that nonsense. Only had there 256 colors, at best, and we LOVED it! Why in my day, yadda yadda yadda… I think you get he point.

So many games these days are too complex, too stuffy, and frankly too easy. And I’m from the late NES era. Just imagine what the arcade era thinks! Ahh, but thankfully, before I really do turn into that old man and make my grandchild hate visiting me, there’s Super Meat Boy.

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At this year’s E3, Nintendo’s biggest announcement was naturally the 3DS. But it’s also an announcement we expected. For me, Nintendo’s biggest unexpected announcement was that quality 2D platformers on consoles were not dead. Certainly the sales of New Super Mario Bros. Wii were a big wake-up call for them, and suddenly gamers were looking forward to a new Kirby and Donkey Kong Country on the Wii.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn stood out to me because it is the first console Kirby experience since Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (although having never owned a Nintendo 64, my last console Kirby was Kirby’s Dream Land 3), and it is a series I have many fond memories of. But while that’s all fine and good, Epic Yarn was also prepared to shake up the Kirby formula a bit. Maybe that’s not a shock, since Kirby was delving into pinball, golf, and block stacking games even in his early years. But what would it mean for a platformer?

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