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Kevin's Top Video Games: 20-16
By Kevin - 02.20.03
20. Super Mario Bros. 3
1990 - Nintendo Entertainment System
 SMB 3 is probably the best game for the NES, and thus by extension, the best game ever made- however, it is not higher on my list simply because I like other games more, 19 other games to be exact. Yet, let this not belittle the importance of this, the holiest of holy games from 1988. We all know, of course, one of the reasons that this game did so well: were it not for the combined efforts of Fred Savage, that grand state of California, Christain Slater and a little city called Reno, less people would have known about SMB 3. That is right my friends, much of the game's greatness can in fact be attributed to a little film called The Wizard. It is not only the ultimate filmic representation of video games, but a torrid drama, a character study of what bad author Eugene F. Provenzo, JR calls "Video Kids," and even a crime film (that detective is soooo memorable.) The game is considered the centerpiece of the film, as it takes all combined inklings of video game prowess to even glimpse its majesty, let alone play it months before it hits the shelves. A nod to the filmmakers for including the secret of finding the first warp whistle, as it no doubt set ablaze the imaginations of dwebs and geeks alike. Enough about The Wizard for now, more will probably be documented about it later somewhere on this site.
 Mario is back for his third appearance Stateside, this time free of the land of dreams and well away from the land of brown bricks. He must this time brave 8 large and challenging worlds, each fraught with enemies, power-ups, drug-referencing "mushroom huts," disgustingly mutated monarchal leaders and the token hammer brothers. Yet this time, he has one weapon at his disposal that was not previously available- yes, you the gamer, and your trusty Super Mario Brothers 3 Strategy Guide, courtesy of Nintendo Power. If you did not own this guide and still managed to play the game, kudos to you for being a brave soul. I actually purchased the guide before I was lucky enough to get my NES, so I had nearly memorized it by the time I scored the game. Despite all of the advantages garnered from the plethora of print sources that circulated in 1989 and 1990, the game was still fucking hard. Countless times could a player get all of the warp whistles, accumulate 20 lives and be sitting on top of the world only to find themselves dying over and over on "the bridge." For all those familiar with the game, you know where I am coming from. As the Grateful Dead said, "If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will." In SMB 3 terms, "if the bridge don't get ya then the fucking tanks, Bowser's ass-hard palace or the weird airships will."
19. Lunar: Silver Star Story
1992 - Sega CD
 Will I be the only one with a bona-fide Sega CD masterpiece on their list? Perhaps. Unfortunately, most folks know this game because it has been reissued more times than Coltrane's back catalog (which, for your information, has been reissued a lot of times.) Of course, gamers were in heaven once the Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete boxed set was released for the Playstation, which was a repackaging/slight tinkering of the game for a still-alive system. More recently though, the game will see the light of day for the Game Boy Advance (or maybe it won't, considering the GBA isn't backlit…HAR HAR HAR.) The game will be portable and largely the same, albeit with less cinematics and none of the really annoying voices. I swear, the one problem with the Sega CD version of game are the inane ramblings of the voice actors- if I ever again here a semi-shrieking pronunciation of "ALLLLLEEEEXXX," some caps will be popped in some asses.
 So what makes the game great? Well, it was the best rpg for the Sega CD, a much maligned and under-supported system (however, other quest-like games such as Dark Wizard, Popful Mail, Vay and Lunar: Eternal Blue were fun too.) What we get is some great sprite-based action, hours of game play, frustrating dungeons, quirky characters and a really annoying load sound whenever a battle begins. The Sega CD matches the Dreamcast in terms of weird sounds a loading disc can make, but they are sustained for a loonnggg time on the Sega CD because of the slow speed of the drive. Lunar's music is superb and truly takes advantage of the medium, but you've got to crank it to drone out the sound of the spinning disc. Approach this game with ample time, because it just may suck your life away once you start.
18. Super Street Fighter II
1994 - Super Nintendo
I am going to ruin the surprise and declare this the only treet Fighter game on my list, despite the fact that there are many, many good SF and SF universe games. All but Puzzle Fighter II, which should not exist. But it does. Damn. Needless, I have to sing praises of this beautiful arcade port. Well, we all know that Street Fighter II revolutionized the arcades, revitalized a genre and made lots of people smile, but it also was one of the first games to really push the SNES's 16 bits of glory. Big sprites, fluidity, perfect controls and very little slowdown pinned it as a success. By the time that this sequel rolled in, the SNES had become the king of home systems, having wretched the belt of supremacy from Sega's icy and relentless grasp (dig the imagery, aye?)
 
So, why SSF II over SF II Turbo and SF II and even SF Alpha II? Well, because Dee Jay, Cammy, Fei Long and Thunderhawk are awesome. They are excellent "balance" characters, by which I mean they had easy moves, were master-able quickly and looked cool as shit. Don't agree? Cammy has an amazing leotard/swimsuit thing that is straight out of a hardcore porn, and Dee Jay is wearing pants that would probably go for $200 on ebay. Add to that the fact that Fei Long was a total Bruce Lee rip-off. Oh, and lest you forget the fact that Thunderhawk is probably the result of Native American groups petitioning for a stereotypical, huge and fairly dull-witted hero to represent them in a fighting game that is only played by Whites and Asains. Dee Jay is my favorite of the bunch: probably an ex-member of The Wailers, he has an easy assortment of charge-forward moves and does lots of cool kicks. And lets face it, kicks are nearly always preferable to punches in fighting games, since no one kicks in real life fights, and even if they did, no one would do it correctly.
All said and done and then done again and said once more and maybe even reiterated a bit, this game kicks ass: playable bosses, character vs. character, new characters, new stages, speed settings, difficulty settings, sound test and a kick-ass title screen. The 16 bit fighting game that I would bring with me to a desert island- assuming there are such things.
17. Final Fantasy Legend II
1991 - Gameboy
The Final Fantasy series permeates all levels of video gamedom, and had a fairly successful run on the Game Boy. The game in question,  Final Fantasy Legend II is far and away the best for the little system: larger than FFL 1, more customizable and less fucking weird than FFL III and less frustrating/deeper than Final Fantasy Adventure. Despite the fact that weapons were annoyingly mortal (apparently you can either use a sword 99 times or you buy 99 different swords and use each one once…I guess,) most of the features found in the game are fun and original. The Magi system was a cool way to differentiate characters and find nifty powers, and act as a precursor to Espers and Materia.
The fact that there wasn't one large world map, but several different "worlds" plays off of the idea of the tower as explored in FFL 1. Thus, each time one travels to a new locale, you are actually leaving worlds- to be able to say to someone "Yeah, I did EVERYTHING in this WORLD, I'm gonna go find a new one" is every self-respecting American astronaut's dream. Not every world was created equal however- the two coolest are the Dungeon world (several burrowing levels of hard enemies, cool treasures and simplistic mazes) and the Shogun/feudal Japan world, where things get really stereotypical but fun. Had to try pretty hard not to use "cool" or some direct variant thereof more than twice in the last sentence- such is the enthusiast's curse. Beyond that, you get to fight Apollo at the end- that's right, everyone's favorite classical God. Although he would probably go down easily: in this game, you literally have to Nuke him in order to kill him. Overall the game is pretty easy, but certain encounters can be challenging beyond belief.
16. Super Metroid
1994 - Super Nintedo
Yes, I have played Metroid Fusion, and yes again, it is good, but no, tis not better than this. Reason? I have many, but the most important may be the fact that this game is a little easier, and thus more enjoyable for me. This game made the Super Nintendo proud at the height of its reign, and is justifiable one of the games most often cited when nostalgic lads like myself hearken to the heyday of beatific gaming. By itself, it is a game that can make people buy the system, even if they don't play another game. The fact that it continues the Metroid tradition of one interlocked, highly explorable world, but then adds hosts of new weapons, new enemies, better graphics and sound, more space to explore and something more of a story makes it a gem. I could force a lot of words out and say a lot of stuff that I may/may not mean about this game just to take up space, but I won't. It is a really great game- play it, fucko.
 
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