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NSO Exploring NSO together... Randomly! (Game #13 picked!)

Around when Tuff Enuff was added to NSO was when the dream of good games being continuously added to the service died.

(With the exception of Earthbound)
 
0
I mean, there isn't an endless supply of good games. The games most people want to play are on NES and SNES already. N64 is the only one with big name games still pending.
 
I mean, there isn't an endless supply of good games. The games most people want to play are on NES and SNES already. N64 is the only one with big name games still pending.
I mean, that's mostly from the 1st party side, there are a ton of 3rd party games that people would love on SNES NSO for example (Square Enix I'm mainly looking at you).

In any case, that's the point of exploring NSO, getting both the good and the bad and maybe finding some hidden gems!
 
4-title-screen.jpg

Title screen is a huge disappointment after the boxart...

So, Tuff E Nuff...

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This is Tuff E Nuff! Graphically it's pretty decent.

It's a pretty standard fighting game where you have special moves, blocks, strong and weak attacks... Dunno, it's super vanilla in that sense. It plays fine enough.

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Only 4 playable characters for the story mode, which is a pretty standard arcade mode.

The main modes of the game are a story mode and a local vs mode. For both of those the fighter selection is ridiculously small, but there are cheats to play as the enemies you battle in the story mode (which ups the character selection to like 11 fighters, still fairly small).

8-game-over.jpg
9-win.jpg

So far I've reached the final boss of Normal mode in Story Mode, it was hard to get there but with some practice and cheese it was doable. However, I'm unsure I can actually beat this final boss legit since he's completely BS. I may abuse save states to win or I may change to Easy, I'm considering my options since I wanna beat him but a legit win seems out of the picture... Anyway, I'll have an update later this week and we'll also roll the next game!
 
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Game #5
10-end.jpg

I'm Tuff E Nuff!

Hate to triple post, but I did it, beat the final boss legit on Normal! One thing I forgot to mention in my last post is that Tuff E Nuff features a Replay system after every match. For anyone curious I'll post my final shot of every match:

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Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
14-replay-4.jpg

Round 4
15-replay-5.jpg

Round 5
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Round 6
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Round 7
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Round 8
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Round 9 - This one was a timeout win!
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Final Round!​

Anyway, time for game #5! First, let's roll a console:

1-console.png


#4 is Sega Genesis! A new console this time! There are 37 games on Genesis NSO so we roll a number between 1 and 37...

2-game.png


#22! Checking the list...

3-table.png


The new game is Light Crusader!

250


I have no idea what this game is about, but maybe someone here can enlighten me! In any case, I'll try during the upcoming weeks and share my impressions. I hope to see some more positive impressions of this one (also hope I don't have to quadruple post lol).
 
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Nice, Light Crusader is on the Sega Genesis Classics collection as well.

I've sampled it but don't remember too much about it. I think I'm getting it mixed up with Landstalker in my head. It has an isometric view and I think is kind of like a fantasy action game.

I'll give it some playtime, for sure!
 
0
Light Crusader has been fun so far!

I'm about halfway through the second floor of the dungeon.

Pros:
  • The city has so many goofy touches that make the game instantly endearing. You can push people and animals around like chess pieces so one of the first things I did was line up all of the cows and jump aboard my cow train. The paintings in all of the buildings are hilarious, and I also enjoyed a lot of npc interactions like the piano player.
  • the first floor of the dungeon was pretty breezy, and I enjoyed the boss fights. I'm generally not a big dungeon crawler/ solve puzzles by pushing boxes sort of person, but so far, so good.

Cons:
- isometric platforming. The rewind function helps it from being too frustrating.

Off to a good start, and I'm excited to play more!
 
0
Thanks for the impressions! Neat to see someone else chime in!

4-title-screen.jpg
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Light Crusader begins with a pretty title screen and a neat intro cutscene!

So, what is Light Crusader?
6-game.jpg

The graphics are kinda decent, not the best but they're serviceable.

It's an isometric adventure game. Here, you play as an adventurer named David and your main objective is to explore a crypt, which is sadly where the entire game takes place. I was expecting more of a Zelda-like adventure but this is really more of a dungeon crawler.

7-puzzle.jpg
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It features exciting puzzles and boss battles!

To be honest, the game is super janky. The isometric perspective makes both platforming and battling kinda tough and frustrating, which is mostly alleviated thanks to NSO letting me rewind. I don't often abuse stuff like save states or rewind but this game would be a complete pain to play without using them. To be fair though, some of the puzzles are fun but they're a little difficult to do because of the jankiness. Tons of puzzles involve pushing stuff and it can be a complete clusterfuck. Other puzzles are cryptic as hell, but the solutions can easily be found online.

9-goblin.jpg

There's some goofy dialogue as well!

Overall I'm not that impressed with the game, it has some neat stuff like a cool magic system but it's very frustrating. If it weren't for NSO features I'd have dropped it already but I'll see it through. I'm currently on floor 3 of 6 (I believe) so it shouldn't take me that long to complete the game...

... that is, if Engage hadn't just come out. I think the next game will probably be rolled in a few more weeks as I play both Engage and this, all while being parent of a newborn. It's kind of a miracle I can even finish games!
 
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I haven't played much more to have a new update but...


This surely will be interesting!
 
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Game #6
Finally finished Light Crusader!

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Ultimately, it's fun but super janky, to the extent that it'd be unplayable for me without the rewind function of the emulator. Not sure if I'd recommend it to be honest. It's short enough at least though, it took me around 6 hours to beat.

Now, time to roll a new game! Since GB and GBA were just launched I'll roll just for those 2 consoles this time.

First, let me roll a console, 5 is GB and 6 is GBA:

1-console.png


Gameboy it is! There are 10 possible titles here so let's roll!

2-game.png


Checking the list...

3-table.png


Game & Watch Gallery 3!

Game_and_Watch_Gallery_3.webp


I honestly have no idea what to expect here. I can't imagine this being a particularly lengthy/deep game so it'll probably go by quickly. Interested to hear any impressions from others who have played it or are interested in playing it now.
 
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How do you even count Game and Watch Gallery as finished? I played each game once in both modes, does that count? lol

Anyway, I'm not very fond of minigame collections. The Yoshi one is kinda fun. About the others, I can say they made the originals so much better, but still not enough to grab me. Overall the game feels pointless to me, maybe it needed like 3x more minigames to be worth it.
 
How do you even count Game and Watch Gallery as finished? I played each game once in both modes, does that count? lol

Anyway, I'm not very fond of minigame collections. The Yoshi one is kinda fun. About the others, I can say they made the originals so much better, but still not enough to grab me. Overall the game feels pointless to me, maybe it needed like 3x more minigames to be worth it.
Unlocking the entire museum and all the extra games would be probably when you can consider it done, in which you gotta accumulate stars in the games, which is usually every 200 pts (there are exceptions in some games).
 
Unlocking the entire museum and all the extra games would be probably when you can consider it done, in which you gotta accumulate stars in the games, which is usually every 200 pts (there are exceptions in some games).
Second this! Also love the game and watch gallery series, wish they’d do a new one with everything(barring licensing restrictions )and with at least Half of them remade(or better yet bring back all the old remakes and just add to that)
 
I played the Egg mini game twice with scores of 750 and 800. It was a fun little exercise.

Funnily enough, one of the games I'm latching onto right now was the first randomly explored game, Mario's Super Picross.
 
I've been playing the Game and Watch Gallery and having a blast. But I do wanna get back into Mario's Super Picross, that was such a fun game. I stopped around levels 7 for Wario and Mario.
 
Ok. Game and Watch Gallery is very fun. I could honestly play the Mario Bros one forever and not complain. I will work to unlock everything in this, and am now looking forward to the other versions (and GBA one) coming too. Random question which I could answer if I just selected include the European versions, but does it show up as “Gameboy Gallery 4”?
 
Ok. Game and Watch Gallery is very fun. I could honestly play the Mario Bros one forever and not complain. I will work to unlock everything in this, and am now looking forward to the other versions (and GBA one) coming too. Random question which I could answer if I just selected include the European versions, but does it show up as “Gameboy Gallery 4”?
Game and Watch Gallery 2 was labeled Game and Watch Gallery 3 for some reason in Europe. No one knows why, so there is no Game and Watch Gallery 2 there.
 
How do you even count Game and Watch Gallery as finished? I played each game once in both modes, does that count? lol
I’m unsure how far I’ll go. Definitely won’t go for full stars on everything though. Mostly gonna try to give every game a fair try.
I played the Egg mini game twice with scores of 750 and 800. It was a fun little exercise.

Funnily enough, one of the games I'm latching onto right now was the first randomly explored game, Mario's Super Picross.
I still play Mario Picross from time to time! It’s super long haha.
 
0
Ok, so I've played for a while and I have my first impressions!

4-title.jpg

Mario welcomes you!

As most probably know, this is a compilation of old Game&Watch games plus "modern" remakes for each one of them. Let's go by them one by one:


6-egg.jpg
5-yoshi-egg.jpg

The first one is EGG. In the classic version, eggs start falling from each of the 4 hens and the wolf must catch them before they fall. In the modern version, cookies fall from the 4 conveyor belts and Yoshi must catch them before they fall. In both games, catching your objective is done by pointing in the direction where the object is falling, although the timing is different in both versions, with modern being much more lenient.

My opinion of this game is a big meh, the modern version is somewhat fun but I don't like the classic one at all since it's pretty hard to tell when to catch the eggs.

9-greenhouse.jpg
8-yoshi-greenhouse.jpg

Second one is GREENHOUSE. In both versions, your goal is to protect the flowers from incoming enemies. In the classic version, you spray bugs while in the modern version you shoot melon seeds at shy guys and monkeys. Controls are similar in both, with the d-pad being used to move between floors and the A/B buttons used to attack enemies.

This game is slightly more fun than EGG I'd say since it's a little more involved. The classic version is much more readable as well and I even managed to get a good score here.

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Third game is TURTLE BRIDGE. In both versions, the goal is to cross from left side of the screen to deliver a package to the right side of the screen and then cross back and repeat. In the classic version, you jump on top of turtles and on the modern version you jump on top of seagulls. Both animals eventually get distracted by fish/balloons and will move and if you jump on them when they move then you'll fall.

This game is somewhat fun, the modern version has quicker controls so it's a little more fun to play IMO. It also has coins as an additional mechanic to give some variety.

13-pizza.jpg
12-bowser-pizza.jpg

Fourth is MARIO BROS. Here, you move packages from the bottom of the screen to the top and what you must do is position Mario and Luigi at the correct height each time a package is reaching the end of the belt so that they move it upwards. Both versions are almost the same in terms of controls and mechanics.

This one is actually a lot of fun as it can get pretty hectic with a lot of packages on the screen. I think I prefer the classic version here since the modern one has an annoying mechanic where Bowser does a ground pound and reverses the belts.

15-dk-jr-classic.jpg
14-dk-jr-modern.jpg

Fifth and final one is DONKEY KONG JR. Here, the goal is to save DK from Mario (kinda weird isn't it?) and to do that you must grab the key and use it to free DK. The modern version features classic Mario enemies and more than one stage (the one in the screenshot is the second one).

This one is probably my favorite, particularly the modern one that almost feels like a regular platformer. Classic is a bit too stiff and annoyingly hard.

Other than the games, Game&Watch gallery has a "gallery corner":

7-gallery.jpg

Mario's here again!

Here, you can listen to the game's music, see some hints and a museum of Game&Watch games all of which are unlocked by getting a stars, which are earned every 200 points on each game. If you get enough stars you unlock extra classic games, with the last one being unlocked at 60 stars. As of now I have 35 stars so I may make the attempt to reach 60 to consider this "complete".

My opinion of this package is decent, the games all play well and the modern versions have nice graphics. However, I'm not a big fan of score focused games in general, they're huge timesinks and it gets pretty repetitive to try and improve your score, so I may also just call it quits before the 60 stars if I get bored.

I plan on rolling the next game during next week probably, after I give the minigames here a few more tries.
 
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Ok, so I've played for a while and I have my first impressions!

IMG_8255.jpg

Mario welcomes you!

As most probably know, this is a compilation of old Game&Watch games plus "modern" remakes for each one of them. Let's go by them one by one:


IMG_8257.jpg
IMG_8256.jpg

The first one is EGG. In the classic version, eggs start falling from each of the 4 hens and the wolf must catch them before they fall. In the modern version, cookies fall from the 4 conveyor belts and Yoshi must catch them before they fall. In both games, catching your objective is done by pointing in the direction where the object is falling, although the timing is different in both versions, with modern being much more lenient.

My opinion of this game is a big meh, the modern version is somewhat fun but I don't like the classic one at all since it's pretty hard to tell when to catch the eggs.

IMG_8260.jpg
IMG_8259.jpg

Second one is GREENHOUSE. In both versions, your goal is to protect the flowers from incoming enemies. In the classic version, you spray bugs while in the modern version you shoot melon seeds at shy guys and monkeys. Controls are similar in both, with the d-pad being used to move between floors and the A/B buttons used to attack enemies.

This game is slightly more fun than EGG I'd say since it's a little more involved. The classic version is much more readable as well and I even managed to get a good score here.

IMG_8262.jpg
IMG_8261.jpg

Third game is TURTLE BRIDGE. In both versions, the goal is to cross from left side of the screen to deliver a package to the right side of the screen and then cross back and repeat. In the classic version, you jump on top of turtles and on the modern version you jump on top of seagulls. Both animals eventually get distracted by fish/balloons and will move and if you jump on them when they move then you'll fall.

This game is somewhat fun, the modern version has quicker controls so it's a little more fun to play IMO. It also has coins as an additional mechanic to give some variety.


IMG_8264.jpg
IMG_8263.jpg

Fourth is MARIO BROS. Here, you move packages from the bottom of the screen to the top and what you must do is position Mario and Luigi at the correct height each time a package is reaching the end of the belt so that they move it upwards. Both versions are almost the same in terms of controls and mechanics.

This one is actually a lot of fun as it can get pretty hectic with a lot of packages on the screen. I think I prefer the classic version here since the modern one has an annoying mechanic where Bowser does a ground pound and reverses the belts.

IMG_8266.jpg
IMG_8265.jpg

Fifth and final one is DONKEY KONG JR. Here, the goal is to save DK from Mario (kinda weird isn't it?) and to do that you must grab the key and use it to free DK. The modern version features classic Mario enemies and more than one stage (the one in the screenshot is the second one).

This one is probably my favorite, particularly the modern one that almost feels like a regular platformer. Classic is a bit too stiff and annoyingly hard.

Other than the games, Game&Watch gallery has a "gallery corner":

IMG_8258.jpg

Mario's here again!

Here, you can listen to the game's music, see some hints and a museum of Game&Watch games all of which are unlocked by getting a stars, which are earned every 200 points on each game. If you get enough stars you unlock extra classic games, with the last one being unlocked at 60 stars. As of now I have 35 stars so I may make the attempt to reach 60 to consider this "complete".

My opinion of this package is decent, the games all play well and the modern versions have nice graphics. However, I'm not a big fan of score focused games in general, they're huge timesinks and it gets pretty repetitive to try and improve your score, so I may also just call it quits before the 60 stars if I get bored.

I plan on rolling the next game during next week probably, after I give the minigames here a few more tries.
I've learned a few things regarding each minigame I thought was interesting. At least how the mechanics work.

EGG Classic- The movement on the eggs on the ramps really doesn't matter to you. What matters is which order they hit the edge of the ramp. That determines when to have your basket ready and in what order.
EGG Modern- The score multiplier uses this really cool risk and reward system where the closer the cookies are to the edge will determine how good your extra yoshi meter rises. It is tough though because if Yoshi is even facing the eggs he automatically lashes his tongue out.

GREENHOUSE Classic and Modern- Both share a mechanic on the bottom halves where you can delay the spiders and monkeys somewhat if you're having a hard time. If you spray from far enough away the spiders will be pushed back. And if you aim at the monkeys from behind their barriers they will stop and laugh. Both of these can be absolute lifesavers in pinches. It's how I managed to score 1000 points in classic.

Turtle Bridge Classic- The middle turtle doesn't get any fish for a while in mode A, so that is the safe zone. Mr. G&W also has a sort of delay in the air which you can use to your advantage if you want to move to another turtle that is underwater, and yours is gonna sink. Using this can save you more than once.

Turtle Bridge Modern- Just hopping up and down in the middle stops the middle platforms from disappearing. You can get an easy 1000 points just by abusing this feature.

The other two I find aren't that complex other than DK Jr and how you get more points if your fruits hit multiple targets or hits them from further away. But dang is Mario Bros fun, both versions.

I am honestly having a great time just playing these and figuring out their simple nuances.
 
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I played Egg for a bit just now, Classic was kinda of awkward and not that fun, but Modern is actually really fun. I ended up with a score of around 800, which seemed high but who knows. I’ll probably check out the rest of the games now. I definitely wouldn’t have ever touched this collection if not for your thread @jnWake
 
Game #7
I managed to finish the game earlier than expected!

17-end.jpg

Credits roll around the 50 stars!

So, it's time to roll a new game. This time, I'll roll for the 6 consoles instead of just GB and GBA:

1-console.png


Console 6 is actually GBA! That's convenient. There's only 6 games to roll here, so let's go!

2-game.png


(Disclaimer: I rolled 2 first but I've already played through Minish Cap so I discarded that roll)

Number 5... Let's check the list:

3-table.png


Mario Advance 4!

1200px-Super_Mario_Advance_4_Box.png


I have, of course, already played through Super Mario Bros 3 before, but this one includes extra levels so I'll allow it! Anyone is free to share their experiences with either the original SMB3 or the extra levels here. I'm actually pretty excited to see what's different here!
 
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Last bit on the topic of G&W gallery. I really, really appreciate the small score counter, more than I ever thought I would. I feel a real sense of progression every time the number goes up by the hundreds. I wish more games had small score counters like this and just made the point increments smaller to make up for it.

SMB3. Well, I already made a thread documenting my adventure through World-E so I won't really beat around the bush. It is a great adventure all the same.
 


You thought this was dead, didn't you? It took me a while to play through the last game, all thanks to the combined effects of being a parent and Tears of the Kingdom (+ other games like Hades). In any case, I did finish Super Mario Advance 4, so I'll share my experience now!

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Anyway, SMA4:SMB3 (this title...) is a port of SMB3 with enhanced graphics. I'm no expert on how accurately the game was translated in terms of aspect ratio and physics but, to me, it felt like a pretty good replica of the original game.

7-boom-boom.jpg
8-end.jpg

First, I finished the regular SMB3 game. I wanted to experience the full thing so I didn't skip levels, which meant killing a lot of Boom Booms and eventually rescuing Peach!

Of course, the main thing about this port isn't really the SMB3 port, it's the extra levels! SMA4:SMB3 features around 30 additional levels, created specifically for this release.

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These new levels feature a ton of new mechanics and ideas, some taken from games other than SMB3 even! All in all, it's a pretty neat extra.

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Even Boom Boom battles get an upgrade!

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New to the extra levels are also collectible coins that are hidden on each level. They're usually fun to collect, although some can be a little annoying. I got them all though.

Overall, this is a neat port. As I said in other thread, I didn't really enjoy SMB3 as much as I did on the past but it's still worth a playthrough!

I already rolled the next game, I'll post about it soon!
 
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Love SMA4 so much. Its my Mario 3, and unlike the other GBA games, its not impacted by the screen crunch nearly as much.

It was a flash of genius that they just removed the HUD to gain all that real estate.
 
Game #8
Ok, time for a new roll! First, we need to pick which console gets its chance:

1-console.png


It's Game Boy time again! As of today, there's 19 games available for GB NSO, so let's roll!

2-game.png


Let's look at the list:

3-table.png


The chosen game is Wario Land 3! As you can see, I have Tetris and Yakuman marked in red. I do that for games I'll skip either because I've already played them or because they're only available in JP NSO.

220px-Warioland3.jpg


I've never played a Wario Land game before and I know a ton of people like them, so I'm pretty excited to try out this one!
 
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Ok, time for some impressions. I’ll save the screenshots for my proper review post later.

I’m very impressed with Wario Land 3! I was expecting a traditional platformer but instead I got a puzzle-ish platformer with Metroidvania elements!

I really like how the game is built around enemy attacks being both hindrances and “power-ups”. Like, on the second level there’s a zombie enemy that transforms Wario into a slime-like thing. When Wario is in this form, he goes through thin floors, which makes vertical platforming tough, since you have to avoid these zombie enemies. At the same time, there’s a part in the level where you must transform into slime Wario to go through the floor and reach an otherwise inaccesible area. It’s super cool!

I just unlocked the 3rd world so it’s fairly early but I’m liking the game a lot.
 
Game #9
K, so I'm kinda alone in this thread... I finished Wario Land 3, so let's do a mini review!

4-title.jpg

NSO has the GBC version of the game!

So, as I said in my previous post, Wario Land 3 is a cross between a platformer and a Metroidvania, with its main gimmick being that Wario can "transform" after being hit by certain enemies.

7-zombie.jpg
8-fat.jpg

Zombie Wario and Fat Wario are some examples of transformations!

Each level features several exits, each one reached by solving puzzles that involves Wario's transformations and the power-ups you discover through the game. It's a fun gameplay loop, clearing a level to unlock something new, either a new level, a new power-up or a new unlocked path in an old level. I'll say though that, sadly, the game kinda stops surprising the game very early on. Most of Wario's transformations are shown to the player in the first 2 worlds and the latter half of Wario's power-ups are basically upgrades to his moveset, like a higher jump or a stronger tackle. There's no moment like unlocking the Shinespark or the Space Jump in Metroid, which completely change how you look at the game.

9-golf.jpg

There's also a 2D golfing minigame inserted into the game!

Anyway, so that was my adventure with Wario Land 3. I enjoyed it a ton, but I have to say that a big part of it was thanks to the Rewind button. In this game, Wario can't really die and there's no "Game Over" screen (only against the final boss) so the way the game punishes you for mistakes is basically returning you to early parts of a level and making you waste time. If I were playing this on original hardware I'd have probably lost my patience quite early into the game.

10-end.jpg

-----------

I'm not really seeing much interest on this thread lately but I'll keep going at it since I have fun playing NSO games... Unsure if I'll keep making reviews with screenshots though, as those take a bit of time.

In any case, let's roll a new game! First, the console...

1-console.png


NES! First time we roll this console. According to my records, there's 98 NES games on NSO, but a lot of them are SP versions which I'm ignoring, I'm hoping rolling for a game doesn't take that long...

2-game.png


Number 81! This was actually my first roll and it's...

3-table.png


Rygar!

MV5BMDVlNjE3NWItMTBmYy00MzYyLTgyOGYtM2VlMTk2MDIzNmEwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzg5OTk2OA@@._V1_.jpg


I've never heard of this lol, but a quick read of Wikipedia says this is some sort of adventure game so... Let's dive into it! If anyone here has any experience playing this game, please share!
 
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K, so I'm kinda alone in this thread... I finished Wario Land 3, so let's do a mini review!

IMG_9194.jpg

NSO has the GBC version of the game!

So, as I said in my previous post, Wario Land 3 is a cross between a platformer and a Metroidvania, with its main gimmick being that Wario can "transform" after being hit by certain enemies.

IMG_9197.jpg
IMG_9198.jpg

Zombie Wario and Fat Wario are some examples of transformations!

Each level features several exits, each one reached by solving puzzles that involves Wario's transformations and the power-ups you discover through the game. It's a fun gameplay loop, clearing a level to unlock something new, either a new level, a new power-up or a new unlocked path in an old level. I'll say though that, sadly, the game kinda stops surprising the game very early on. Most of Wario's transformations are shown to the player in the first 2 worlds and the latter half of Wario's power-ups are basically upgrades to his moveset, like a higher jump or a stronger tackle. There's no moment like unlocking the Shinespark or the Space Jump in Metroid, which completely change how you look at the game.

IMG_9200.jpg

There's also a 2D golfing minigame inserted into the game!

Anyway, so that was my adventure with Wario Land 3. I enjoyed it a ton, but I have to say that a big part of it was thanks to the Rewind button. In this game, Wario can't really die and there's no "Game Over" screen (only against the final boss) so the way the game punishes you for mistakes is basically returning you to early parts of a level and making you waste time. If I were playing this on original hardware I'd have probably lost my patience quite early into the game.

IMG_9201.jpg

-----------

I'm not really seeing much interest on this thread lately but I'll keep going at it since I have fun playing NSO games... Unsure if I'll keep making reviews with screenshots though, as those take a bit of time.

In any case, let's roll a new game! First, the console...

image.png


NES! First time we roll this console. According to my records, there's 98 NES games on NSO, but a lot of them are SP versions which I'm ignoring, I'm hoping rolling for a game doesn't take that long...

image.png


Number 81! This was actually my first roll and it's...

image.png


Rygar!

MV5BMDVlNjE3NWItMTBmYy00MzYyLTgyOGYtM2VlMTk2MDIzNmEwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzg5OTk2OA@@._V1_.jpg


I've never heard of this lol, but a quick read of Wikipedia says this is some sort of adventure game so... Let's dive into it! If anyone here has any experience playing this game, please share!
Rygar is awesome, but Nintendo hard. Both the scrolling sections and the overworld has its own combat, tools ( some of them kinda janky to activate) and design. I do remember getting lost since there are some parts where it's not very clear where you have to go so had to use a FAQ .
 
K, so I'm kinda alone in this thread... I finished Wario Land 3, so let's do a mini review!

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NSO has the GBC version of the game!

So, as I said in my previous post, Wario Land 3 is a cross between a platformer and a Metroidvania, with its main gimmick being that Wario can "transform" after being hit by certain enemies.

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Zombie Wario and Fat Wario are some examples of transformations!

Each level features several exits, each one reached by solving puzzles that involves Wario's transformations and the power-ups you discover through the game. It's a fun gameplay loop, clearing a level to unlock something new, either a new level, a new power-up or a new unlocked path in an old level. I'll say though that, sadly, the game kinda stops surprising the game very early on. Most of Wario's transformations are shown to the player in the first 2 worlds and the latter half of Wario's power-ups are basically upgrades to his moveset, like a higher jump or a stronger tackle. There's no moment like unlocking the Shinespark or the Space Jump in Metroid, which completely change how you look at the game.

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There's also a 2D golfing minigame inserted into the game!

Anyway, so that was my adventure with Wario Land 3. I enjoyed it a ton, but I have to say that a big part of it was thanks to the Rewind button. In this game, Wario can't really die and there's no "Game Over" screen (only against the final boss) so the way the game punishes you for mistakes is basically returning you to early parts of a level and making you waste time. If I were playing this on original hardware I'd have probably lost my patience quite early into the game.

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I'm not really seeing much interest on this thread lately but I'll keep going at it since I have fun playing NSO games... Unsure if I'll keep making reviews with screenshots though, as those take a bit of time.

In any case, let's roll a new game! First, the console...

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NES! First time we roll this console. According to my records, there's 98 NES games on NSO, but a lot of them are SP versions which I'm ignoring, I'm hoping rolling for a game doesn't take that long...

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Number 81! This was actually my first roll and it's...

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Rygar!

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I've never heard of this lol, but a quick read of Wikipedia says this is some sort of adventure game so... Let's dive into it! If anyone here has any experience playing this game, please share!

Nice. So I've been stubborn in holding off playing Wario Land 3 until Nintendo puts Wario Land 2 on the service. I know that there isn't any story stuff, but it is just a silly personal thing.
 
Wario Land 3 is a game I didn't have as much fun which as I thought I would despite 100%ing it. The philosophy of wasting time vs wasting lives is interesting, but I can't help but feel that design just encouraged the devs to be more punishing for failure.

Rygar is a solid NES game. I've played it using save states after every item unlock, and I gotta say, it's surprisingly ahead of the curve. It's got Metroidvania qualities, but with less freedom overall. But aside from the lack of proper save function, it's a really solid game albeit jank.
 
Nice. So I've been stubborn in holding off playing Wario Land 3 until Nintendo puts Wario Land 2 on the service. I know that there isn't any story stuff, but it is just a silly personal thing.
I'm like that as well, but I'm letting the randomness guide me!

Wario Land 3 is a game I didn't have as much fun which as I thought I would despite 100%ing it. The philosophy of wasting time vs wasting lives is interesting, but I can't help but feel that design just encouraged the devs to be more punishing for failure.
I agree about WL3, having a Rewind button is definitely a game changer, I think I'd have hated the game otherwise... especially the boss fights.

Nice to see some activity! I actually played a bit of Rygar just now (up to the first boss?) and it's surprisingly fun. I can see hints of the BS incoming though, it's very finnicky. Digging the music as well.
 
Nice thread! I've been delighted with NSO personally as it's a nice way to play older games I never had without mucking about with unofficial emulations.

I'll join in on this, though I think I'll start from the beginning and play each game that I haven't yet tried.

Thanks for keeping this going, OP.
 
YEah never saw this thread and I remembered I had bought some games in the 3DS for replaying them. Going to tackle Bionic Commando again
 
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Hadn't seen this thread before for whatever reason. I think this is a great idea and I likewise may try to participate.
 
I'm like that as well, but I'm letting the randomness guide me!


I agree about WL3, having a Rewind button is definitely a game changer, I think I'd have hated the game otherwise... especially the boss fights.

Nice to see some activity! I actually played a bit of Rygar just now (up to the first boss?) and it's surprisingly fun. I can see hints of the BS incoming though, it's very finnicky. Digging the music as well.
I recommend these Jeremy Parish videos on Rygar.





These videos were actually what got me interested in beating the game. And I think with the context, you can really appreciate what the game is trying to do for the period. It's still very clunky, but at the least it's clunky with ambition.
 
Wario Land 3 was a bit hard to greasp as an early teen. I will definitely replay my cart on Analogue Pocket even if nowadays, wasting time is the worst thing I can do when playing games x)
 
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Finished Rygar! It wasn't all that hard honestly. I didn't even abuse savestates, outside of using them as save points since the actual game has none. One of those "clear it in one sitting" games of the NES era. Anyway, let's do a short review!

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Title screen is very meh!

So, what is Rygar? It's an adventure game that combines elements from many different genres. On one hand, it's a sidescrolling action platformer. On another hand, it also features top down sections where the gameplay changes.

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The 2 perspectives, side scrolling sections are actually good looking

Some interesting features present in Rygar are RPG mechanics where the main character grows stronger as he defeats more enemies (life increases and hits get stronger). Also, the game features some light Metroidvania-ish elements, with parts of the map and levels being locked until you find specific power-ups. What's neat about this is that Rygar actually released before Metroid!

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Pictured: One of the power-ups! It's very janky

Overall, I enjoyed my playthrough of the game. It's fairly short, took me 2 hours and 9 minutes according to NSO. I didn't use guides or didn't abuse savestates so even if it may seem a little hard at times it's actually not too bad. If you die you don't have to start over and only get sent back to the last door you found, so you just need a little patience to beat the game. I did search for the game's manual online though, since there's no in-game explanation for how to use any of the items you discover through the adventure.

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Bosses can be a little silly with their attacks but most don't have much health

Anyway, that's it! Rygar was a fun short game to beat after Wario Land 3 which was a tad longer.

I already rolled the next game but I'll leave it for next week!
 
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Yeah, using save states in place of save function is how I did it. Aside from not having the ability to save, the game is very fair in how it doles out difficulty. Maybe it's a little more forgiving than you'd expect, what with death having little to no consequence. But it's only fair with there being no ability to save in the original release.

I avoided using guides too because the world map is so small and segmented that you rarely find yourself needing to backtrack or turn around outside of very specific moments.

A solid short game.
 
I’ve been playing some of the previous games, and the one that’s left the biggest impression on me so far is Mario’s Super Picross. I’ve never played Picross before, so I had to read up on the rules, but it was fairly addictive.

Before I attempt Rygar, I’m giving Wario Land 3 a fair chance. Still very early, not sure how I feel about it just yet.

Edit: lol autocorrect 🙄
 
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I’ve been playing some of the previous games, and the one that’s left the biggest impression on me so far is Mario’s Super Picross. I’ve never played Picross before, so I had to read up on the rules, but it was fairly addictive.

Before I attempt Rygar, I’m giving Warrior Land 3 a fair chance. Still very early, not sure how I feel about it just yet.
Super Picross is the only game on NSO I have over 100 hours in. That game is dangerous.
 
Game #10
K, so I rolled a new game!

First, console:

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SNES! I seem to roll this one a lot. Now, let's roll a number!

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(actually rolled 43 first, but we already played that one!)

Number 20 is...

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Super Soccer!

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Umm, not gonna lie, not the most exciting pick haha. I think I actually owned this game when I was a kid, but it may have been some other SNES soccer game. Anyway, I'm not really expecting much from this one, I doubt a SNES soccer game is particularly deep or even particularly fun... but the point here is to play random games so I'm gonna play this!

If anyone has any memories or anything about it, please share!
 
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K, so I rolled a new game!

First, console:

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SNES! I seem to roll this one a lot. Now, let's roll a number!

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(actually rolled 43 first, but we already played that one!)

Number 20 is...

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Super Soccer!

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Umm, not gonna lie, not the most exciting pick haha. I think I actually owned this game when I was a kid, but it may have been some other SNES soccer game. Anyway, I'm not really expecting much from this one, I doubt a SNES soccer game is particularly deep or even particularly fun... but the point here is to play random games so I'm gonna play this!

If anyone has any memories or anything about it, please share!
Just wanted to say, always when I see this thread updated I get excited to see whcih game you pick and to read your experiences. You came up with a great format and I like how you show the picking step by step. Will try the game on NSO one of these days!
 
Back when the pandemic began, the only games my friends and I had in common were NES and SNES, since we shared a family subscription. So we regularly ended up playing games like Super Soccer and Super Tennis online.

It’s simple to control, with an okay shootout mode that can be used to pass the time if there’s not much else. But with all the games they’ve added since then, I haven’t had a reason to go back to it again.

While it’s not the type of game I’d normally play, I still have fun memories of those early lockdown days because of Super Soccer and other arcadey sports games like this one.
 
Always glad to see this thread update, even when the pick isn't exactly the most exciting. I guess this is a good excuse for me to at least open this game.
 
A friend of mine had Super Soccer back in the day, and he and his brother would play Tournament mode together against the CPU. A hilarious thing about this game is that after beating every match (15 of them), the referee would steal the trophy and reveal he coaches the Nintendo team, and if you want the cup back you have to beat them.

It was hilarious the first time I saw that, because you end the Tournament by playing a secret game against a team of ridiculously buffed units, and with the most rigged referee ever. Yes, the Nintendo coach STILL ACTS AS REFEREE WHEN PLAYING AGAINST THE NINTENDO TEAM, and in most cases he would ignore the fouls against you but give your team red cards as soon as you even touch the opponents.

Now I want to play this game again.
 
I played a little bit yesterday (around 4-5 matches)... First impressions are not good. I dunno how many here play football games, but as a south american I'm a certified football and football game fan so I've played tons. You know what's the usual perspective in these games?

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International Super Star Soccer and Mega Man Soccer, both for SNES

A somewhat sideways camera! It's a natural idea, since it lets you see both sides of the field evenly and gives a nice vision of where each player is. Now, what does Super Soccer do?

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A "vertical" view, as if a camera was somewhat behind one of the goals and followed the players... Now, if you're aiming at the goal on the top of the screen this view isn't actually too bad, you get a nice view of your players and can plan where to go. It is, however, a bit annoying when defending since you can't see all your defenders or your goal. The true pain of this view is when you're aiming towards the goal at the bottom of the screen, which happens on the second half of every match. You literally have to pass blindly since you can't see your attackers... it's ridiculous.

Anyway, maybe I'll get used to this camera but as a first impression it's rough. I'll give it a week or so, gonna try my best to win a tournament so I can call this game "complete" but we'll see, besides from the view the game's also pretty hard so...
 
I played a little bit yesterday (around 4-5 matches)... First impressions are not good. I dunno how many here play football games, but as a south american I'm a certified football and football game fan so I've played tons. You know what's the usual perspective in these games?

19764_4fa1bb99e6f3db6d6fb5a338375d2f9581f6c038.png
timthumb.php

International Super Star Soccer and Mega Man Soccer, both for SNES

A somewhat sideways camera! It's a natural idea, since it lets you see both sides of the field evenly and gives a nice vision of where each player is. Now, what does Super Soccer do?

ss08.png

A "vertical" view, as if a camera was somewhat behind one of the goals and followed the players... Now, if you're aiming at the goal on the top of the screen this view isn't actually too bad, you get a nice view of your players and can plan where to go. It is, however, a bit annoying when defending since you can't see all your defenders or your goal. The true pain of this view is when you're aiming towards the goal at the bottom of the screen, which happens on the second half of every match. You literally have to pass blindly since you can't see your attackers... it's ridiculous.

Anyway, maybe I'll get used to this camera but as a first impression it's rough. I'll give it a week or so, gonna try my best to win a tournament so I can call this game "complete" but we'll see, besides from the view the game's also pretty hard so...
This is probably that Madden influence sneaking up as well as trying to show off Mode 7. Doing it the older style may have just been seen as dated at the time.

But well, I tried this, didn't get far. Just dropped it. I had no idea what I was even doing to get used to this camera.
 
Umm, not gonna lie, not the most exciting pick haha. I think I actually owned this game when I was a kid, but it may have been some other SNES soccer game. Anyway, I'm not really expecting much from this one, I doubt a SNES soccer game is particularly deep or even particularly fun... but the point here is to play random games so I'm gonna play this!

If anyone has any memories or anything about it, please share!

Never played or rented this as a kid. I'm showing a I have a few minutes of playtime on NSO, but I have no memory of it (lol). Going to give it another go, even though soccer/football isn't something I'm really into relative to other sports (especially baseball).
 
Ok, so I actually managed to finish Super Soccer... (some small cheating, but I'll tell you later!)

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A very vanilla title screen

So, as you can figure out from the game's name and from what I mentioned on my previous post, this is a football game (I'll use the south american term for the sport, sue me). Game's not particularly deep in terms of content, featuring an Exhibition mode (basically to play a single match) and a Tournament mode, which is not really a tournament but rather something like the Arcade mode in fighting games, where you'll have to play against all the rest of the teams in the game to win.

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The roster seems a little random at first but it's actually teams from the 1990 World Cup (plus Japan)

For my first match, I picked Brazil and things went really well!

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Things really went bad in the second half...

And by really well, I mean awfully. I already ranted about the perspective on the previous post, but as you can see I really struggled on the first game, but it wasn't only the perspective (rant incoming)...

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Fouls are a common occurrence...

K, so the game's full of really annoying mechanics. First, we have the tackling system. In every football game, defense play is a big part and positioning your team and correctly using the different tackle options to steal the ball (and avoid fouls) is key. In Super Soccer there's 2 tackles, a shoulder tackle that's super effective and a sliding tackle that's a little less effective. Now, there's a trade-off, as shoulder tackles will sometimes result in fouls... completely randomly. Yep, there's no way to tell if a potential tackle will result in a foul beforehand, it's 100% random AND each foul is penalized with either a yellow card or a red card, also randomly from what I could tell. So, essentially, when defending you either have to risk the sliding tackle, which isn't too effective, or simply pray randomness doesn't screw you... It's really frustrating. There's a funny upside though, as a "red card" foul will always injure the player that receives it, so you may randomly take out your opponent's best player with a foul ocasionally (more on that later).

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Own goals have the silly "Oh no!" screen play after one happens!

The second really annoying mechanic is on attack. Scoring is ridiculously hard... for you, as computer controlled teams can score with complete ease. Computer team goalkeepers will no sell basically all your shots, while your goalkeeper will more often than not do absolutely nothing against opposing shots. Against strong teams this is very frustrating, as you basically have to completely forbid them from shooting if you want to win. Luckily, as any old game, there's some exploits for "easy" goals that come to the player's aid. I was initially hesistant to use them, but after playing for a while I realized they were mandatory if I ever wanted to win.

Anyway, after that first loss as Brazil I continued playing Exhibitions and after a while it happened...

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Germany is the best team in the game, and Belgium is the worst... but I'll take it!

I won! With the confidence boost from this victory, I decided that I would tackle the Tournament mode, knowing it'd mean I'd have to defeat every nation!

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Argentina was the final enemy, and Germany are the champs!

It was hard fought, but I managed to beat every other country! I even did this legit, without using savestates or anything. For anyone interested in more details, I'll describe the tournament in the following section:

1. 2-0 vs Belgium. Had to beat them again after that first Exhibition win. It actually took a few tries.
2. 3-2 vs Uruguay. Won on first try, but it was close!
3. 1-0 vs Yugoslavia. Also first try, but close.
4. 2-1 vs Colombia. This one was tough as Colombia had one very strong striker.
5. 5-1 vs Japan. Don't let the score trick you, Japan was easily one of the hardest teams to beat for me, taking me several tries. Why you ask? Well, they had 2 ridiculously good players, striker Yoshi and midfielder Jiro (iirc). Yoshi could score goals from almost anywhere and Jiro is one of the best players in the game. The only way I beat them was by actually injuring both Yoshi and Jiro in a match, which meant I played with only 9 players but their team was heavily weakened.
6. 3-2 vs USA. Nothing noteworthy here, I think it was a first try win as well.
7. 3-2 vs France. Teams start getting more balanced by this point, every single match is tough now.
8. 1-0 vs Ireland. Tough enemy, as their goalkeeper is one of the best in the game.
9. 1-0 vs Romania. Balanced team, tough to beat.
10. 4-3 vs Cameroon. IIRC, Cameroon used a very offensive formation, which lead to tons of goals.
11. 3-2 vs England. First team to use the Sweeper formation I believe, which was pretty annoying since it almost completely avoids one of the goal exploits.
12. 4-3 vs Holland. From here on, the opposing teams are really strong, featuring strikers that score from almost anywhere...
13. 1-0 vs Brazil. Last team I beat on the first attempt!
14. 3-2 vs Italy. Another Sweeper team, it was hell.
15. 5-2 vs Argentina. Another match won through injuries taking out their best players!

Someone already spoiled this on a post above, but beating every single team isn't the end... In a plot twist (yes, one in a football game!) it's revealed the referee also wants to challenge you!

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I'm pretty sure this is exactly what it means...

Now, this is the cheating part I mentioned above. The team you battle here is called "Nintendo Team" and it's completely bullshit. Every single player is very good and it's just a complete pain to beat them legit... I tried for a while but I eventually gave up and used Rewind to win and even then all I could manage was a measly 1-0.

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I still feel I earned this, despite how I won that final match!

And with that, Super Soccer is over! Being honest, I didn't like it much. It's not unplayable but the perspective is simply bad, it makes both offense and defense very tricky, and the switch of perspective on the second half is just terrible. If that wasn't enough, the broken Foul system and the absurd cheapness of computer controlled teams just make this game a pure exercise in frustration. I'm not even sure why I pushed myself to beat 99% of it legit but I did anyway! Guess my south american blood didn't want to give up at football.

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Anyway, with this we've reached 10 games cleared on the Exploring NSO project! To celebrate, I wanted to share two things!

First...

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Playtimes! If anyone had ever wondered how much time I dedicated to every game, here you go! I'm not proud of that Super Soccer time. I also now realize I actually didn't play that much of Wave Race, guess that's one game I should revisit sometime.

Second, and this could be spicy... the TOP 10 of games played so far!

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Wario Land 3 gets the gold medal! Don't flame me Mario 3 fans please...

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This post is a little lengthy so I'll leave the next roll for a future post.

Finally, there's one last thing I wanted to share here. I've decided to set up a special rule for one game... IF I ever roll Golden Sun: The Lost Age, this will active a massive Wombo Combo and I'll play through both Golden Sun games, one right after the other! Why? Simply because The Lost Age's best played directly after the original Golden Sun both for story reasons AND gameplay ones, as your progress from the first game actually matters there! Don't take this as a tease as I legit haven't rolled the next game yet, but I wanted to share this special rule just in case it gets rolled!
 
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