If this is your first time visiting this blog, you may be thinking “Why Mega Man 6?”, well, throughout the year I’ve reviewed 1-5, so this not only ends the original NES run of Mega Man games on this blog, but it’s also the Mega Man franchise rep for the Smash Bros. Ultimate marathon! Double… er… thing. Anyway, does Mega Man’s original run end with a bang or a whimper? Let’s find out!
We reach another game I was always going to feature on this blog eventually, as it’s a personal favourite of mine. Punch-Out!! (yes, I missed out on the Mike Tyson version) was one of the few NES games I was actually good at, being so young at the time, and it remains incredibly fun and playable today. So let’s take a look!
Well, when I started this blog I don’t think I ever saw a time when I’d review Wii Sports, but that’s this Smash Ultimate Countdown for ya! Yes, this was all I could think of to match with the Mii fighters in that game, but it makes sense. This game’s only characters are Miis, and the menu theme is in the game! (I assume it’s still in, anyway…) So let’s take a look at this hot-selling “classic”, shall we?
“Why aren’t you reviewing the original Arcade game?” I hear you cry. Well, much like a later game on this list, I chose this version so I can both talk about a memory of playing it when I was young, and so I can finally get a game on a console that currently has “Coming Soon” listed on its blog page… So, yeah, Pac-Man! He’s gaming’s first icon, and I was thrilled to see him arrive in Smash Wii U and face off with Mario and Sonic, but Pac-Man Atari 2600? Yeah… it’s, retrospectively, not very good…
Funnily enough, out of the black box light gun games for the NES, I had (and still have, boxed on the shelf!) Wild Gunman and Hogan’s Alley, but never owned Duck Hunt. I did however play it around a friends a few times, so I was at least a bit familiar with it growing up. Still, on the topic of Smash Ultimate (as this marathon is!) I was more thrilled for the Wild Gunman and Hogan’s Alley references in Duck Hunt Duo’s moveset than the duo themselves when they were revealed for Smash 4. Anyway, it just wouldn’t make sense to review anything other than Duck Hunt for Duck Hunt Duo’s day in the countdown, so… let’s do it!
I was tempted to save my Street Fighter V review for this Smash Ultimate countdown, but it just didn’t feel right… When talking about Street Fighter as an overall series, you just have to talk about SFII. Hell, look at most of the Smash references, it’s mostly SFII by design, with a few SFIV moves thrown in. So let’s take a look at one of the most important and influential computer games of all time and its first two follow ups (I’ll save the Super Street Fighter IIs until later…)
I have a confession to make: I’m David Hogan and I don’t like turn-based RPGs. It’s not that I look down on those who do or anything stupid, but it’s just not my thing, I find it tedious, especially the older ones where you have to grind and level up and face endless random encounters. So why (beyond this being the Smash Ultimate marathon) am I reviewing Final Fantasy VII? Well, I played through it from start to finish in 1997. Why? Well… mostly peer pressure (EVERYONE at school was playing it…) but the story, setting and soundtrack had me completely hooked. How does it hold up today? Well, it’s funny you asked…
I was excited when Simon and Ritcher Belmont were announced for Smash Ultimate, not just because I’ve wanted Simon in ever since Mega Man appeared as a NES-era 3rd party rep in the last game, but also it meant I got to cover a Castlevania game on this blog! I mean, I was going to eventually anyway, obviously, but this is a nice excuse to jump straight to the favourite one that I’ve played: Super Castlevania IV. Let’s take a look, and kick off the actual game review part of the Smash Ultimate countdown!
Spider-Man is a lot of people’s dream game, allowing you to properly feel like your playing as the titular hero, swinging across New York, helping innocent people with small crimes while trying to tackle bigger plots from crazy villains… I have to say though, whether you a fan of the hero or not, this game is extremely enjoyable, taken to excellent when you factor in a really well written and acted storyline. So whether this a dream come true or you’re looking for a fun open world game to play, let me tell you why you should pick up Spider-Man…
As we near the end of the original NES run of Mega Man games, we start to see the problem with an action platforming game releasing so many entries on a single system. While there is a new bird companion (if you manage to collect all the slightly-hidden letters on all stages, which for the record, I didn’t… That’s what I get for going in blind!) the game otherwise feel like the same old, same old. Is that a bad thing, though? Let’s find out!
Hogan Reviews 