Game Boy Memories Part #4

May 9th, 2009

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More to Come

The upright, grey brick may have already received its inauguration into the 20-Somethings, but it’s life is hardly over, at least for me anyways! While I’m rather up to date with the compulsory, must-play portable titles, there are a few holes that I’m still hoping to plug as well as a handful of titles that I’m simply curious to explore. Maybe you can lend a hand?

Peering over my laptop screen I can see Wario Land III, Metroid II, Kirby Tilt and Tumble (might give Kirby a miss) and Legend of the River King that all need proper play throughs. I unfortunately missed out on most of those titles the first time around. Actually Kirby T&T is imported, never came out in PAL regions, maybe I ought to give it a shot, I’m weary of having to wiggle around the GBC though, will likely hinder vision.

On the GBA I’d like to replay the two Pokemon titles as well as the excellent Kuru Kuru Kurrin which is more difficult than I remember it. On top of these three are Mario Kart Super Circuit (turned this down originally, gasp!), Castlevania Double-Pak and Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones, the last two which I’ve kinda started. Wow, certainly some heavy hitters to look forward too.

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This post isn’t intended to brag about titles already within my possession though. I hate materialism, and don’t wish to whine over unfortunate dilemmas like which games I intend on playing next. Seriously, people complained about this issue last Christmas, if they don’t like having so much to play, maybe they can sell their unused games to clog up retail chains. I want to instead spew out a list of names that interest me, maybe if you’ve had some experience yourself, you can pitch in with ideas/suggestions.

As one of the few people to pimp ambitious portable developer Vicarious Visions, I’m interested to go hands on with one of the seven (is it really seven?!) isometric iterations of the Tony Hawk franchise. I remember the fuss surrounding THPS2 at the GBA launch, the hype leveling it with PSone quality graphics. That’s obviously a lie, but the titles are still a technical milestone.

Metal Gear Solid on the GBC is a game that I also ought to add to my collection. This game has received unanimous critical acclaim, and before GTA IV and the Orange Box ever showed up, MGS GBC was firmly holding a position in GameRankings top 5 best titles. I hear there’s an Aboriginal villain in it too!

My brother and I are avid fans of the Harvest Moon franchise, yet we’d dare touch anything but the sacred SNES original. Even though the quality of the newer titles tends fluctuate a little, the series appears to have evolved respectably, still that doesn’t shake hardened fans like us. I’m curious though, with the exception of the off-shoot Rune Factory series, how do some of the games stack up? The GBC titles seem interesting place to ponder that question.

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Lastly, I am dying to play (probably through emulation, I suspect) Stranded Kids or Survival Kids, I’m not sure which is the PAL/NTSC name here. This GBC game is the precursor to the Lost in Blue series. I’ve been intrigued by this RPG since I first caught eye of it in NMS magazine, yet I’ve never seen it on store shelves. The premise seems to place the game in the same obscure, life-RPG niche as Harvest Moon and Legend of the River King.

And that concludes this week’s Game Boy retrospective. I wish this was done and dusted last we, but sometimes time doesn’t permit. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. For now we return to the regular broadcasting content.

All images used in this series proudly swiped from MobyGames