If Zombie Shakespeare were to sit down and compose a love letter to old school Legend of Zelda, he wouldn’t come close to capturing the nostalgia and joy that 3D Dot Game Heroes manages to convey.

3D Dot Game Heroes is an homage to classic Zelda. You and your fairy companion set off to save the kingdom of Dotnia by recovering six orbs and the power of the six sages. To do this, you’ll need to recover a legendary sword and then set off into various dungeons filled with monsters, traps, and puzzles. If it sounds like something you’ve been doing since 1987, well it probably is. However, 3D Dot feels more like a Zelda game than the last couple of actual Zelda games.

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"More faux retro goodness from Capcom."

When Mega Man 9 was revealed, it was a huge surprise. Going back to the visuals and gameplay of the NES era was a bold move. Generally, the response was positive. But with 9 already out, will Mega Man 10‘s continued use of the faux retro design feel as welcome?

Those who played the last entry will know what they’re getting into as far as the format goes. Eight new robot masters, new stages, and of course, new weapons. But there are a few new features this time around. Proto Man is available right from the start instead of being released as paid DLC. Those hungering for the charging and sliding abilities Mega Man left behind in his retro reboot might feel more at home with him.

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When I was a kid, games were rooted in the arcade tradition of trying to steal quarters from you, designed to get you to pump more money into the coin slot. The developer did not want you to win. They wanted to tease you with the possibility of victory before slamming your face into the dirt and taking more of your money.

One hit deaths, enemies on the edge of platforms, Battletoads, crippling slowdown; these were all designed to kill you. Repeatedly. And without mercy.

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"manliness (noun): Fighting a giant space centipede while entering Earth's atmosphere."

Over the last year, a new trend has gained popularity with game developers. I’m talking about new games made in the style (both graphically and in terms of gameplay) of “retro games”. On North American shores, it would seem that “Mega Man 9″ started the retro movement. However, in Japan, the country where such games originate, Konami’s “Gradius ReBirth” was released almost a month earlier.

The reverting of the Gradius franchise into an “old school” style was apparently successful enough to not only spawn “Contra ReBirth”, but also “Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth” and “Salamander ReBirth” (according to recent ESRB ratings and filed trademarks).  Is a game intentionally made to look and play like something a decade or two old worth the ten dollar price tag? Let’s find out!

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"Mappy is Clearly Evil"

Editor’s Note – The following is a story as my shaky memory recalls it from my childhood. All factual errors are due to mankind’s ongoing struggle against an imperfect mind.

Around the time that Jesse started grade school, our mom finally noticed just how much he had been playing the NES. It was a LOT. Basically, any waking moment that he could get his grubby little mits on it, he would throw down with some “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!”.

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"Memories..."

“Castlevania: Symphony of the Night”, “Super Metroid”, “Contra”, and “Super Mario Bros.”  What do these games have in common? Well, besides being some of the best selling and most critically acclaimed games of all time, they were all in glorious 2-D.

These relics of the past still hold up remarkably well, even alongside today’s Unreal 3 powered behemoths. The reason is simple; 2-D games are able to capture a part of gaming that today’s games simply cannot match.

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