In Honor of Friday the Thirteenth: Friday the 13th NES Game Review

This was originally posted back in 2009, but we felt it should be revisited and revitalized a bit in honor this auspicious date.

Enjoy

INTRODUCTION

Nearly thirty years ago, Paramount produced a movie that would forever staple the "Summer Camp Horror" cliche into our hearts. Only a very special film company can turn a story about a vengeance-seeking homicidal mother of a dead mentally retarded boy into a never-ending series about an undead, invincible, hockey-masked super-human killing machine. It takes a very, VERY special video-game development company to turn this killing-machine into an 8-bit, blue-masked-purple-jogging-suit-wearing juggernaut squaring off against six faceless "counselors", while at the same time turning this into a zombie invasion. Can such a video game really exist? Why yes, it can. What can you do to be a part of the magic? Well, first you can read this ironically elaborate review.

OVERVIEW


Sarcasm aside, let's get this straight...it's an LJN game, it's terrible. That aside, it is actually one of LJN's better put-together titles, and one of the first-ever survival horror games. The game actually manages to "scare" you, when the masked maniac suddenly appears on screen with little to no warning, in many instances. And let's not forget the game's infamous difficulty.

Oh No! It's Jason and he's got a purple jogging suit!

Once the game is started, it goes right to a well-rendered intro sequence, which is an animated throwback to the famous cover design of the Part IV movie case, where a knife flies in from God-knows-where and sticks into the eyehole of Jason's Hockey Mask. Then the screen flashes violently. It's easily the most graphically impressive part of the game. While you sit there, noting how they must have blown their entire budget for the game on that opening sequence, the title screen will appear. You push start, and after it tells you to light the fire places, you select your first character.

Your goal in this game is to destroy Jason before getting all six of the counselors killed off. Likewise with the fifteen children, whom were looking forward to an enriching summer of hiking, rowing, singing, not getting slaughtered, and fishing. You kill Jason by using six different weapons of differing strengths and uses (and by uses, I just mean strength.) When you hear the alarm, indicating to you that Jason is either attacking a fellow counselor in their cabin, or the campers, you race to the cabin, and have one of many, many battles with the Demon of Crystal Lake, until you finally put him down once and for all (or, at least until the next sequel).

Graphically the game is actually pretty well rendered. The backgrounds even change, in the distance based on your location, IE: changing to trees when you're getting near the woods, rock when you're near the cave, and water when you're approaching the lake. They are rather simplistic, but get the job done as far as clarity of the situation, except for Jason of course...nobody's ever going to understand that.

Sound wise the effects are pretty crisp, although nothing resembles anything close to a realistic sound. All of the sound effects are your standard, classic beepy-boopy electronic sound of some sort .Though notably missing is Jason's trademark sound (if you're familiar with the movies you know what I'm talking about.) The music is like most any other NES game, it is obnoxiously repetitive yet strangely intoxicating. The music that plays while inside of a cabin is especially notable, for its distinct sound and ambiance.


GAMEPLAY


-Characters-

I could get extra analytical about this and scout each and every character's strengths and weakness. Instead, I could just put it like this - use Mark. Crissy and Laura are okay too, but Mark is who's going to do this for you. Avoid doing anything with Paul, Debbie, or George. Eventually it will become a necessity to use these three, but until that time comes, put them away in the closet, and take care of Mark and his girls. Though for those of you who WANT something more analytical, read on.

If you going to lay out a kids camp in such an unsafe fashion you kind of deserve a masked maniac

Mark - Moves fast, rows fast, jumps high, he's your guy.Take care of him so that you may make him last for the entirety of the game. Make sure he gets all the potions he wants and give him the Sweater (both of those things will be discussed, below).

Crissy - Also moves fast on land, jumps high, she's just about the female equivalent to Mark and you should also take care of her, as well.

Laura - She moves quickly, but sucks at jumping. She's still a better choice than George, Debbie, and Paul but only because of her speed.

George - A useless cretin, he excels at absolutely nothing. Also, he's also the least attractive one, so it's a pretty standard notion than you want nothing to do with him.

Debbie - She's pretty much just female George, although when he throws a weapon, she really whips that thing. Still, with a name that even SOUNDS slow, Debbie is definitely on the reject list.

Paul - Paul's only better than Debbie and George because he's black. But even so, how black is he REALLY? His name is Paul, for crying out loud and he can't run OR jump. But you have to cut him some slack - he's the one most likely to die in this situation.

-Playing the Game-

You wander Camp Crystal Lake, wondering how a place that so frequently experiences mass murders can STILL be a problem, looking out for goodies and Jason. To keep you busy while Jason's deciding who to kill, you battle yellow and blue zombies, who even walk with the outreaching arms. They are the most annoying part of the game, however, killing them will give you the invaluable lighter (which the game refers to as a "torch" ...perhaps LJN are a bunch of bloody wankers from England?) and killing enough of them may even grant you a special weapon.

Just havin' a friendly chat

Every now and again, Jason himself will appear right on the screen without warning. He has a bit of tell though, generally indicated by whatever zombies that are on screen walking off the screen and by the screen halting its scroll, as you move. When Jason appears he will throw spinning axes which are rather hard to dodge. Hit him enough times with your weapon, and he will run away. The game is slightly realistic in the sense that if you follow him you will likely end up fighting with him again in a moment. Also, if Jason leaves and suddenly the alarm sounds, it will probably be very close to where you two just battled.

Once the alarm sounds, you look to the status bar atop the screen, and see which indicator is flashing. If it is the Counselor Indicator (The one next to the potentially changing number of unhappy-looking faces) you then press start to see which cabin it is that Jason is occupying (it will be green and flashing). A timer will appear next to the flashing indicator, giving you sixty seconds to reach the cabin. It is pertinent that you get over there as fast as you can. The longer you take, the more Health the counselor inside loses and you may need to use this counselor at some point. If you're dawdling, indifferent, or more likely - lost in the woods, and time expires, Jason will slay the counselor inside, effectively costing you one life, and the use of that character. GOD HELP YOU if it's Mark. If the Children Indicator is flashing, then you've got slightly more of a chore to deal with, as the only way to reach them is to row your boat across the lake to their cabins, all the while getting attacked by zombies, birds, and  Jason himself,  who's attack you can do virtually nothing about other than wonder how it is that he's in the water attacking you while simultaneously  killing the campers. The more time you spend dawdling on the way to the campers the fewer of them there will be. Once Jason has wiped out a cabin full of children he will move on to the next cabin when he strikes again. If all your children are wiped out it's game over so as much as you might like to, you can't ignore them.

Thank goodness the quintuplets are safe

Once you've entered a cabin, the screen switches to a pseudo "3D" screen, with very limited movement and excruciatingly slow progression. If there is another counselor in the cabin, you can switch weapons with them by pressing select and choosing the "PASS" option. Though leaving them with a weapon, no matter how nice it is, doesn't seem to help them fend of Jason's wrath without your help. You can also switch places with each other with Select-CHANGE. If you having a potion, cure them with Select-CURE. If you find a weapon or note on the cabin floor, take it with Select-TAKE. If you're in an empty cabin and press start you can choose a new character and you'll start from their cabin, if you do this in an occupied cabin, the cabin's original counselor will move to an unoccupied cabin.

Occasionally you will enter a cabin that Jason is randomly occupying, even if there's no alarm. While in a cabin, you can tell if Jason is there with you because his life bar appears at the bottom of a screen. If you are attacked by Jason in a cabin, you square off with the purple-suited psycho while he attacks with either his fists, a machete, or what looks like a hair brush, but is most-likely an axe. You throw the weapon you have at Jason with the B button. By pushing down and over in any direction on the D-pad, you can dodge Jason's attacks when he steps in front of you. Sometimes Jason will attack you twice in a row without moving, so stay on your pixelated toes. Once you've hit Jason enough times, like any other NES sprite he will flash and disappear and a message will display on the screen, reading "You win...for now." Ominous, no? Meanwhile, Jason will wander off to continue his murderous rampage.Jason's Health Bar depletes over the elapse of several different battles with him, so depleting it entirely can take quite a while.

Sometimes though, if Jason's Health Bar is low enough, he will fight you until it depletes entirely, something that really sucks if you only have one of the first two weapons. Jason may also try and fight to the death when he attacks you on the path, but here, you cannot see his Health Bar, so you just have to keep fighting until he flickers.

Once you've totally depleted Jason's Health Bar, you get a less-than-congratulatory message, and you will find yourself having to kill him again - only now everything's harder.

-Days-

The game spans three "days," each new day starting when you deplete Jason's health. Each day follows a cycle, starting off in daylight, turning to dusk and then night, the progression being completely dependent on how often you enter and leave a cabin.

Day One - Everything's standard, Jason's at normal speed, takes off normal health, zombies are at normal speed...it's normal.

Day Two - Zombies are faster, and Jason is stronger and every now and again takes a snort of crack and starts really flying, making his attacks nearly impossible to avoid, completely.

Day Three - Zombies are still fast and possibly more frequent,  and crows appear on all the roads. Making matters worse it that Jason has become a non-stop speed-demon making every encounter with him a real labored attempt.

-Areas-

Aside from the cabins, there are four different areas to scroll, each of them exhibiting their own special traits and enemies.

A lovely day by the shores of Crystal Lake

Road/Path - The normal screen of the game, you can use the map to navigate this and see which cabins are where,though  often the implied distance is far from accurate. If you happen upon a new, alternate path leading into the horizon, or one at your feet, you can press up or down to travel them, which may lead you to the perimeter of the cave or lake, into the woods, or into the cave or lake.

Whoever established this camp hates kids & counselors, why are there no trail markers?

Woods - Taking on Labyrinthine qualities, it's very easy to get lost in both wooded areas, traveling up and down paths that don't always lead to the same place twice. However, the Woods do hold secret cabins housing secret items and they also yield an abundance of potions. So occasionally venturing in can be very worthwhile.

Not sealing off this cave is a lawsuit waiting to happen

Cave - Dark and...scary? This area has bats and holes for you to fall down and die in. It's a bit hard to tell where some of the alternate paths are (the ones in the backgrounds are almost invisible their location hinted only by the crumbled rocks on the ground in front of them, among the other rocks), but once you collect the flashlight, it's much brighter and the paths are easy to see.

You can tell it's a water zombie because it's blue, wouldn't want to mix it up with the land variety

Lake - Here, you row to wherever you're going, the camper's cabins being the only non-pointless destination.  While boating you try to avoid zombies jumping out of the water, birds, and Jason. It takes a little while for your character to accelerate to max boat speed, and the maximum speed is dependent on the character you're using.

-Weapons-

All weapons are projectiles. Nice that picking up just one gives you and endless supply.

Stone - Your default weapon, it takes five hits of these useless things to take off a single pellet of Jason's life...Jason having thirty-two, randomly-numbered pellets in total. (I don't mean to mention crack again...but these ARE big, white rocks...)

Knife - You get this, along with many other items, by jumping in certain areas. You are guaranteed to have at least once instance where you accidentally lose a great weapon by picking up one of these by mistake. Four hits to a pellet, it's not a whole lot better than the Stone but it's still an improvement.

Machete - You can get this either by defeating Jason's mother in the Cave, finding it in a cabin in the Woods, or killing fifty zombies. Usually when you earn this via zombie-death, you're not ready for it, and either would have to downgrade your weapon to get it, or gain nothing, having already acquired a Machete. It's too bad to see it go to waste, as it kills zombies in one hit, and takes only three to take off a pellet of Jason's life.

Thank goodness a class in advanced knife throwing was offered at the camp before things went sideways

Axe - A strong weapon, but slower compared to the others. You throw these spinning, just like Jason does on the road. This can only be acquired by defeating Jason's mother under certain circumstances, or finding it in a secret cabin in the Woods. One hit for zombies, Two-per-Jason pellet.
Torch - The most useful weapon in the game, this one can even be used to hit Jason in the Lake, making those attacks just a bit more fair. This weapon drops to the ground when you throw it, burning for a second, and killing zombies that absent-mindedly run into it. It also takes a health pellet from Jason per hit. It is acquired by lighting certain fire places and then finding it in a cabin by the lake, or by getting it from Mrs. Voorhees. It may also be available in a secret cabin.
Pitch Fork - The hardest weapon in the game to acquire, it is only available by killing Jason's mother on Day Three. It's very fast, passes right-through zombies, killing them instantly and takes off one pellet per single hit on Jason.

-Items-

Items can only be collected by coming into contact with them while jumping. It sounds dumb, but it actually makes it a little easier to avoid collecting unwanted pick-ups. However, it frequently threatens to do the very opposite for you while you're jumping to avoid an enemy.

♫ ...am I only dreaming?

 Is this burning

 an eternal flame...♪

Lighter - Use this to light fireplaces in big cabins.
Potion - You can use these to regain a small amount of health or to heal your fellow counselors in need. If you're carrying one of these when your Health Bar depletes, it will automatically be used and saving you for the time being.
Key - These are used to unlock the doors of secret cabins and the door to Jason's mother's lair. One key can open everything without seemingly disintegrating in the lock,  unlike so many other games.
Flashlight - This is found when certain fireplaces are lit. It appears inside the cabin instantly after you finish the fireplace so don't leave the area or it's gone. You can use this to light up the cave and reveal hidden paths, though it's rather useless once you know what to look for.
Notes - Random notes are left for you in large and secret cabins. They may hint on to where you may find a special item, or they may just tell you to go into a random cabin or into the woods.

-Enemies-
Zombies - The standard enemy of the game, they basically give you something to do while Jason's inactive. Easy to deal with, but you get tired of it real soon.
Lake Zombies - These jump out of the water while you're rowing the canoe. Rather annoying, but weaker than normal zombies.
Birds - Maybe it's a crow? Either way, it appears after about 10 zombies come and go, takes only 1 hit to kill, but it's pretty annoying to deal with. Seen both on the road and over the lake.
Wolves - Appearing in both the Woods and the Cave, (colored baby blue while in the cave for some reason) they're very hard to deal with. They're fast, they jump, and they're very tough, sustaining a lot of damage before being eliminated. It's recommended that you just run away from them.
Bats - A weak enemy that appears only in the cave. Not a huge problem.
Jason - The Hockey-Masked killer we all know and love is done less-than justice, in his sky-blue mask, skin of the same color, and purple jogging-suit. However, his admittedly hilarious look is no reason to take him lightly. Very strong and very fast, as is right, if someone's gonna get ya, it's him.

This looks like it's gonna be pleasant, surely nothing bad will be behind that door.

Mrs. Voorhees - Jason's beheaded mother, she floats up from her candle-lit alter and basically headbutts you with the remains of her body. You can battle Mrs. Voorhees once on all three days, enjoying her shifting of color for each. Her location is obscured, but if you defeat her, you will be granted a special reward, depending on the day it is, and/or the weapon you are carrying:

Day One Prize - Machete. If you already have one, Axe. If you already have that, Torch. Already have that? Axe again.
Day Two Prize - Sweater. In the movie series, the sweater played a notable part in Part 2. It was blue then. Here, the Sweater is a neon pink and yellow...yeah. Upon getting it, your current character will sustain only half the damage he or she receives. You will also flash from your normal color to green, making you feel extra special.
Day Three - Pitchfork. As stated earlier, very strong, very nice. Beware, though...Mrs. Voorhees is a real problem this time around.




CONCLUSION


So, there you have it, poor Friday the 13th didn't wait long enough to have its video game spin-off made...competently. But you know, thinking back to how "competently" the films were made...this seems right, in a way. It must be doing something right...I've spent hours and hours playing and beating this game over and over. It must be stressed again that this is no small feat. This game maybe bad, but it's also insanely difficult, beating it ranks you right up there with the Gods.

 

~Richard

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The Top Ten Most Underrated Video Games (As told by Richard)

Richard one of our regular contributors wrote this as a journal on another site, and while we're not all completely in agreement with this list we thought it well worth sharing here.

TOP TEN MOST UNDERRATED VIDEO GAMES

10. Pro Pinball: The Web (PC, Playstation) - As far as video pinball goes, you'll be hard pressed to find something competitive with this. It's incredibly fun, and high scoring so you feel really good about yourself. Aside from so-so sound effects, the game play here can get truly addicting and consuming. This game features super fun jackpot modes, great graphics and excellent physics, and this is especially true for its three sequels, Timeshock!, Big Race USA, and Fantastic Journey. I'd highly recommend this one for any pinball fan.

9. Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES) - I have to admit, this one made it to the list as the arbitrary winner of a list of a few other games that were last to be selected, but that isn't to say I don't have fond memories of this one growing up. You and a partner should you have one wonder your once peaceful suburban neighborhood, destroying zombies and other monsters with weapons such as water pistols, tomatoes, silverware, soda cans and more. Along the way you want to save the still living neighbors from being killed by the monsters. You lose if every living person (or dog) in a level perishes. You may also encounter things such as a ten story tall baby, killer clones of you and your buddy, and a delightful little level simply known as Chainsaw Hedgemaze Mayhem. This is a solid SNES game that doesn't short out of the fun.

8. No One Can Stop Mr. Domino! (Playstation) - This hidden gem hearkens back to the days when early 3D games, especially in the Playstation era, were often these quaint, quirky, strange, arcade-ish, and most importantly, very fun titles. Mr. Domino was a unique game of notable difficulty in which the player would control and anthropomorphic, walking domino as it would leave behind a limited supply of other dominoes at it progressed, and as the title implies, your little domino can not be stopped. The most you can do is slow down but coming to a full stop only happens when your energy is depleted, and your walking domino turns back into an inanimate little dotted rectangle.

The goal is to leave dominoes in front of various buttons on a repeating course, and leave a trail of dominoes from a marked spot and lead them to yet another button, repeating this as well as you can. Upon coming back around the course, you now run into your initial domino which will trigger some kind of action in the level which in most cases leads to the marked spot being disturbed. If a domino is there, then it will fall, sending any and all dominoes lined up in front of it tumbling to the floor. Do this right and you can create a course-length domino effect that's both impressive to achieve and fun to watch. Also on the course are health pickups, speed ups, slow downs, and reset tiles which reset the level back to default. The darker the back of your walking domino becomes, the less energy you have and the more urgently you need to walk over a health tile. Your health depletes faster as you progress to later levels. Pushing all required buttons in a level clears you to enter the next. So if you can, I highly suggest you pop Mr. Domino into your Playstation. And go ahead. Just try to stop him. I dare you.

7. Vegas Stakes (SNES) - Put your PokerStars and other douchey gambling sites away, none of them can outdo the beauty that is Nintendo's own gambling epic, Vegas Stakes. In this game you and four of your friends set out on the realistic goal of traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada, and not leaving until you've accumulated ten million dollars. Throughout this little (mis)adventure, you will play Slots, Craps, Roulette, BlackJack, and Seven Card Stud Poker. You can also travel to different casinos with differing minimums and limits. Once you've turned your initial $1,000 investment into $100,000, you will be given High Roller status and be invited to gamble at the prestigious Laurel Palace, where there are no limits and all non-slot minimums are $1,000. Classy, no? Also, as you play your little games of chance, other gamblers may engage you for one reason or another. Some of them may be wanting to get some pointers, others may be selling jewelry, and others yet may need money for their sick child. Beware, as some of these people may be pickpockets and con artist. However, an interaction with the right person could gain you any number of riches. These interactions are what sets Vegas Stakes apart from your run of the mill gambling games.

6. Super Punch-Out!! (SNES) - Although nothing can quite measure up to the classic boxing epic that was Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, this game had so much comical, zany fun packed into it that it's no wonder the word "Boxing" is never once found in the game. You are now controlling a new character whom you yourself will name. The gameplay is rather similar to the NES game, heavily based on dodging and counter punches. The main difference is better graphics, and you are no longer vertically challenged. When you gain enough momentum, you can unleash a powerful hook to the face, body, or a pummeling flurry of blows to either area. And, until you are hit again, this is unlimited. But remember, this is not a boxing simulation. This is an arcadey, cartoonish, fist-heavy (but not limited), brawling, ass-kick-a-thon. And your opponents may not-so-discretely sneak in a headbutt, kick to the face, spit in the eye, or even a large cane shot to the head. The game features fast and fun action, although admittedly repetitive, hilarious facial expressions and amazing if not slightly ridiculous knockdown animations. It's somewhat rare but a great play even for non-boxing fans.

5. Fire Pro Wrestling (GBA, Playstation 2) - Fire Pro Wrestling, especially in its later days, was a wrestling game that's always been well received in Japan but never properly loved here in the states. This could probably be attributed not only to stuff competition of WWE games, but also its cartoonish graphic style. Which is truly too bad because these games are amazing examples of in depth details, movesets, and especially customization. The Gameboy Advance version already offered character editing that was incredibly in depth, making each new character no less than a 30 minute project assuming you were as experienced with it as I was.
It offered over 70 characters to make in addition to the ones already there, and I managed to fill them all. But as much as I loved this, nothing could prepare me for the customization offered to you in Fire Pro Wrestling Returns on the Playstation 2, one of my recent acquisitions. Follow me on this. In this game, you can edit a character, including looks, moves (lots of moves...), gender, theme music, favorite weapon, nationality, and tons of other details, you can edit a wrestling organization, and a logo for your new organization, a referee, a title belt, and even a wrestling ring, which you can even put your logo in the center of. You can also choose a finishing move for your wrestling and rename it to whatever you want. And I shit you not, you can even make your character gay. Why is this important? Well...certain moves can only be done by people...willing to perform them. The game also includes moves and faces belonging to actual wrestlers, allowing you to recreate your favorite superstars. And the intense character editor makes it very possible to make other characters you love (just ask Solid Snake and Little Mac over there on my memory card). There is so much more to this game I could get into but I fear I must move on. But if you are a wrestling fan, this really is a must have. And what's more, the Playstation 2 version usually sells for around $5. Sometimes under appreciation pays off.

4. Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012 (Playstation) - It's like Twisted Metal. Only better. In fact, this game was made by the same team who did the first two Twisted Metal games, and the near identical graphics and controls prove this. But this title had a twist that made it infinitely more interesting. Your goal in this game was not only to destroy other vehicles with a huge arsenal of deadly, combustible weapons...
but also, to hijack (yes, hijack) a tourist, and bust into the privately owned last vacation spots on a post apocalyptic Earth, getting them to photo ops and most importantly, collecting cash to use on health and weapon upgrades. There is just one tourist per level, and every auto-mercenary wants him...sounds fun, right? Each level ends when you've "blasted all the competition." However, Big Daddy, owner of these vacation spots, is unhappy about you scoring profit off of his properties. In due time he will send Daddyland security to neutralize you. And should that fail, you will face off with Big Daddy, himself. And let's just say that's not just a name. This game is one I'll always hold close to my heart, existing as one of the first ever games I played on Playstation, and take it from me - it beats the shit out of Twisted Metal.

3. Incredible Crisis (Playstation) - I cannot tell you how much me and my siblings love this game. My sister first brought this home to us when she found it cheap in a store. Far as I know, she knew nothing about it. Its contents would prove to be something we would never forget and cherish forever. Incredible Crisis is a mini-game based title that follows a Japanese family as they go through a series of unlikely, comical, and strange, yes, crisis in order to get home on time for Grandma's birthday. The mini games may involve trying to stop a falling elevator by button mashing, getting a golden piggy bank from a secured room with a crushing, spiked ceiling by measuring grocery items' weight to replace it with, escaping a praying mantis after being shunk down to the size of an ant by running and avoiding obstacles, or our personal favorite, trying to give a pretty lady a satisfying back rub...off camera...on a ferris wheel...with only moans to tell you how you're doing...with fireworks going off upon completion. The goal of all of these games and the many more within is to complete the task at hand without blowing your top from stress. A head-shaped meter tells you how stressed you are, and lets you know how urgently you must keep your cool. It's one of the most fun games the Playstation has to offer, and is something that can only be properly explained by playing it.

2. Thrasher: Skate and Destroy (Playstation) - I'm just gonna say it. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater's got nothing on this. You want a game about straight up, dirty, gritty street skating? This is your game. This Rockstar classic is not an arcadey, ridiculous example of super hero-like skateboarding. And it's also not easy. It's a realistic, down to earth street-skating game that requires actual skill to master. There are no secret tapes, no silly letters to collect, no bums to ollie. Simply put, it's all about skating, and skating well. The only way to finish a level is to rack of a score with grinds, flips, grabs and other moves, which are improved by tricking over risky areas such as ramp transfers and over moving vehicles. When a level begins you're free to explore for as long as you want. Once you've got an idea of what you're doing, you can start your run, and you'll have 2 minutes to get the required score.
Once you've done it, head for the exit. If you do not leave the area in time, then at the end of your run (unless you're in an official competition), you'll be pursued by a cop, a mugger, or even a police dog. The screen switches to their view with you in the distance, making controlling quite a bit more difficult. Doing tricks in front of these guys is worth triple would they would be normally, giving you one final shot to break through the ceiling of the needed score. If you're caught, then you will have to start the level over. If you escape, you will only win if your score is high enough. What also makes this game great is fully "customizable" bails. That's right, unlike Tony Hawk's preloaded animations, once you leave your board, your character basically becomes a rag doll and what happens to him now is up to your environment and God. If you sustain too much damage during your run, your board will break, which is an automatic loss. Also, in two player mode, there are several games you can play. But one of those games stands head and shoulders above the rest: Sick Fix. Simply put, a contest on who can hurt their character the most. And believe you me, this can get interesting in the Subway level. There's so much more to discover in this skating classic (including the best old school rap soundtrack ever put together, yes rap, it IS cool you scrawny white bastards) and it's truly too bad there will never be another. But if you're a real skater, not just a Tony Hawk fan, then go find this game. If you don't love it, you suck.

1. Silent Hill (Playsation) - Yes, I'm sure at least some of you find this to be a surprising conclusion to the list, especially since the Silent Hill series has plenty of appreciation at this point but hear me out. For a long time, Silent Hill's release was followed with skeptics shrugging it off as a Resident Evil clone. And only when Silent Hill 2 came out did the original start to get the appreciation it had long since deserved. At yet, despite all of this, due to factors as trivial as graphics and the inclusion of Pyramid Head, Silent Hill 2 has long been hailed the superior game of the ever expending series. But here are the fact, from a guy who started from the beginning. The original Silent Hill was a genius game that offered things never before seen in video games and is the scariest piece of media you ever own, period.

When I first played this game, I couldn't believe how much it scared me, especially considering that I was long used to PS2/Xbox level graphics by the time I got to it. But despite that and the admittedly laughable voice acting, once the lights go out and the music starts up...you'll wish you never put this one in the machine. The atmosphere was never again matched, even in the sequels, likewise with the music. The music in this game is absolutely horrifying and is unparalleled by any other horror compositions. The bizarre story is gripping despite being nearly unfollowable, and by the time this one's over, you may truly never look at horror games the same again. It is the scariest game of all time, no arguments, and although Silent Hill 2 is a great game in its own right, it never comes close to achieving what this one did. And for that matter, the original Silent Hill takes its place as my pick for the #1 most underrated video game.

So there we have it, the first of perhaps many top ten lists to come. This one literally took me hours to write which is just how I like it.


-Richard

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Retro Review: Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

--Introduction--

The Legend of Zelda was a ground breaking game, offering a depth of adventure never before seen by gamers. As the years progressed several, equally as compelling sequels would spawn from the original classic. Those that would grace the heldheld genre proved to be some of the most unique spin-offs a video game series had seen. And as the first Legend of Zelda to be featured on Nintendo's own Gameboy system, Link's Awakening took the essentials that made The Legend of Zelda great with new, quaint features and gameplay that while not entirely traditional, were certainly not forgettable.

Link's Awakening DX Title Screen

The story begins with our hero Link sailing across the sea for reasons not ever revealed, just presumably for another quest. A vicious storm brews and while Link struggles to keep control of his ship, a bolt of lightning strikes the mast, and Link blacks out. He washes up on the beach of a mysterious, unidentified island. He his found by Marin, a sweet young girl with a fondness for animals and an affinity for singing. She brings him to the house she and her brother, Tarin, share. Here, Link tosses and turns until his eyes snap open to see a worried Marin at his bedside. Relieved at Link's revival, Marin tells him that he has washed up on Koholint Island. Not only that, but monsters have appeared and are acting very violently ever since Link washed ashore.

Link's Awakening waking up on Koholint Island

Link hops out of bed, and regains his inscribed shield from Tarin. He leaves their home, and ventures out into Mabe Village, a small, peaceful place with fluttering butterflies, frolicking animals, and playing children. Link travels down the lane, to the beach where he came ashore. Nearing the splintered wood of the wreckage site, Link finds the resting site of his trusty sword. As he approaches, he is accosted by a mysterious owl, who stops him and tells him that he will be unable to leave this island until he can wake the Wind Fish. Giving link instruction to start in the Mysterious Woods, the owl takes off back into the sky, as Link emphatically retrieves his sword.

Link's Awakening wake the Wind Fish

The adventure begins.

-Overview-

The heart of Link's Awakening remains true to the great, classic Zelda games. Ninety percent of the game is played in a top-down view, while Link (or whatever name you've decided on) swipes his sword out at enemies, blocks spears and stones with his shield, and places bombs, shoots arrows, sprinkles magic powder, and uses a variety of other tools and abilities to see the end of his quest. The gameplay could best be described as a perfect crease between the original classic, and the SNES masterpiece, A Link to the Past, boasting some of the more advanced features of ALTTP while maintaining a lot of the simplicity and control of the NES original.

The same can fairly be said about the graphics and sound. The look of the DX version of the game is very beautiful for the Gameboy age, which can be greatly attributed to the lovely coloring. However, even the original, colorless version of the game was an impressive introduction to what Nintendo's Gameboy could do. The art of the game is quite nice, not something that will blow you away such as the first time you saw A Link to the Past, but the detail and cartooning is certainly a few steps up from the first game. Flowers bounce happily up and down much like those found in ALTTP, and also like that game, you can slice through bushes and tall grass, followed by the animation of leaves being strewn about.

Link's Awakening Big Fish

Link's Awakening also features multi-level surfaces, such as standing on a ledge while your enemies cover the ground below, something that the original Zelda game did not have, making it a pretty impressive feature for an 8-bit hand-held system. Water is also animated in Link's Awakening, although it's not the best job you will see. Water at the shore line is a pretty good effort but everywhere else, it is a very basic graphic.

"Cut-scenes" can also be seen in the game, such as in the intro, during a photo sequence, the end, and in other areas. They boast higher detail and higher quality art that could maybe even stand up to simpler SNES games. However, the animation in these sequences is not complex by any means. Also, in some instances, the focus of the game will change from the normal view to a close up of a specific object or image. Once again, these sequences have very high art quality but are not animated. These changes in view and detail are one of the many features that sets this game apart from its NES and SNES cousins.

Link's Awakening Opening Cut Scene

The game has little for flaws in the sound department when you consider that most gameboy games of the time generally featured little more than a series of thuds and beeps. Link's Awakening, however, feature a slew of distinct sounds and music. Link's sword makes a clear "swipe" noise, while touching your items to a wall makes a little "clink" noise. Tapping your blade against a thin, destroyable wall adds a quaint echo to that noise. Not every sound indeed sounds like what it is, treading water is a very basic "whoob" noise, setting something on fire makes a generic hand-held type noise, but the mere variety that this early Gameboy game offered in sound is what truly sets it apart from what would otherwise be par.

Link's Awakening Marin Singing

Musically, we're talking about something very impressive for what it was. Once again, the quality of it can be identified somewhere between the NES and SNES age. At its core, the music is a series of beeps and buzzes with very, very basic electronic percussion. But put into the hands of the musical genius known as Koji Kondo, these bare elements can be turned into the great, complex, and memorable compositions that you will find in Link's Awakening. The main theme you will hear during gameplay is an altered version of the classic Legend of Zelda theme, half of which is the theme we all know and love, and the other half being a new and interesting twist while not losing the sense of adventure the original score instilled in us. Music changes when you enter different areas, such as the village or the forest. The village's music is simple, sweet, and conveys the peaceful living that takes place in the area. The forest's music gives a feel of mysterious while also a bit sneaky, which seems par for the moblins that live within it. Dungeon music stands out the most, as each dungeon features its own unique, eerie music, something that not even A Link to the Past could say for itself. While a couple of the dungeons' music could be described as the cave-area music slightly altered, there is still a difference between each dungeon, giving these areas a sense of individualism, and helping each stop be a specialized experience.  The Ballad of the Wind Fish, the theme song to the game's story, is arguably the most beautiful piece of music ever composed on an 8-bit Gameboy Game, boasting a tone of both sadness and hope, so impressively well put together that its reoccurring nature never becomes one of annoyance.

-Gameplay-

There are no unwanted changes here for the most part, and the mechanics of the gameplay are unchanged from the classic Legend of Zelda formats we know and love. You wander the map, swiping your sword at enemies and collecting rupees and other helpful supplies to aid you on your quest, while bombing through secret walls and talking to the occasional villager and other characters. The gameplay never changes much, but if you're familiar with Zelda then you know what you're getting into. You can at least be comforted knowing that the scenery does change quite a bit over the span of the game. There are some small, irking things that can start to wear just a bit on your nerves, a large example of this being the messages that appear every time you touch a rock or similar item before you can actually lift it. This goes for multiple obstacles in the game. Many of these messages cease to appear after you tackle the obstacles but it's not always an immediate thing.

Link's Awakening Link Lifting Rock

There isn't any shortage of items in this game, though with the constantly changing obstacles and situations to overcome, the lack of buttons make frequent visits to your item screen both necessary and a little annoying. You'll find yourself cursing link for being unable to both wear a bracelet and carry a feather. Interestingly, this is the first and only early Zelda game that allows you to change the controls for your sword and other items. You can control your sword with either A or B, same with other controls. This is nice if you find yourself to be more of an A masher rather than a B, and vice-versa.  In fact, you don't have to have your sword equipped at all.A con here would be that your shield isn't automatic and must be equipped to be used. You also have to push the button for Link to actually hold it in front of him. Due to the unending need to lift stones and jump gaps which require equipping other items, the shield will likely get very little use during your game.

Link's Awakening item Screen

  

While most of your special items will be discovered in dungeons, a few of these as well as basic items are available in the one and only supply shop in the entire game. Being the owner of the only shop available allows its purveyor to charge whatever we feels fit for an item, without fear of competition. It may not always seem fair, but there may be a way around it... .

Link's Awakening Shop

Naturally every "chapter" of the game ends with a dungeon. The lack of on-screen scrolling is a throwback to the old days in these areas but the much more elaborate layout of the dungeons and multiple floors is yet another mirror of A Link to the Past. Each visit to a dungeon reaches its conclusion with a final battle with the "Nightmare" monster, and then retrieving the Siren Instrument hidden beyond the door of the Nightmare's lair. Some complaints about the dungeons would first touch on collecting the compass, which annoyingly tells you all about its special features every time to get it, regardless of how many times you acquire it. Additionally, dungeons are very confusing in this game for a variety of reasons, mostly stemming from a lack of direction provided for you. There are multiple instances where your only hope of completing a dungeon is to bomb through a wall that has no visible cracks or weaknesses. Without a walkthrough, some players may find themselves stuck in an area for months or maybe longer before they discover the solution. Hints as to what you must do are often provided by finding the owl's beak (stone tablet-piece in the original release) and reuniting it with the rest of the owl/tablet, which will then give you a helping message. However, these messages range from patronizingly clear to mind-bendingly cryptic. This game is not recommended for those who don't consider themselves inquisitive.

Link's Awakening Dungeon

Sword play and dungeons are just one part of this very interesting and elaborate Nintendo title. There are several extra little fun things to partake in, such as...

fishing for prize money...

Link's Awakening Fishing

river rafting...

Link's Awakening River Rafting

and even a claw machine...

Link's Awakening Trendy Game

One of many things that make a good game would be features like these to hinder productivity.

Other quirky additions to this game that make it an oddity of the Legend
 of Zelda series would be things such as Phone Booths, hollowed out trees with an old-style telephone inside which you can use to call Old Man Ulrira to get help on what to do next in your adventure.

Link's Awakening Phone Booth

Next would be the Camera Shop, a little hut where you'll find an anthropomorphic rodent whom is an avid photographer and has chosen you as his new favorite subject. Throughout the game, you may find him waiting for you at strange and often hidden photo opportunities. All the photos he snaps of you will be stored in your Photo Album, available for viewing at his shop. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that you'll actually have the necessary accessories to print these photos but nonetheless, it's fun to try to find all of the often humorous photo ops throughout the game.

Link's Awakening Thief Photo

Unfortunately, there aren't much for side quests, as most of what seems like one actually turns out to be required for the game's completion. Some of these things can be done at different times but all and all, it eventually leads you to your main goal, which makes them less special. There are a few extra things to do/collect and the DX version of the game has one endeavor that could be considered a side quest but that would be the one and only example. More quests that lead to optional bonuses would make this game that much closer to perfect, but that's not to say it's not an exceptional title.

Interactions with Non-Playable Characters in Link's Awakening can be quite enjoyable if not a little repetitive at times. The things people say tend to be the same at any one time, but as the game progresses, so do their phrases and even actions. All of the characters in the game have distinctive personalities which boil down to their interest, lifestyle, and even style of speaking. At one point during gameplay, you are briefly joined on your quest by the game's main character (aside from yourself), Marin. During this time your interactions with her can be very deep but mostly just humorous and fun. Due to the new feature of item-trading in this game, some people you've already met will suddenly want the special item you're holding onto (do not worry, these items are useless to you for the most part). Giving them this item not only grants you a new one to trade, but can sometimes trigger a very amusing sequence with that character.

Link's Awakening House O' Bananas

While we've already spent a lot of this review comparing Link's Awakening to the original Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past, it is worth mentioning, if not more with the following images, that this game in many ways could be called a Gameboy Color version of ALTTP (a better description before The Four Swords was released on the Gameboy Advance). Many of the same enemies, items, mechanics, and other aspects are straight out of the SNES classic. This isn't a negative thing, and is even a bit fun to see, again.

Now one thing that's immediately noticeable within Link's Awakening would be Nintendo's addition of perhaps...guest characters from past games? Rather than go into explicit detail, why don't you just take a look at the following images and ask yourself: does any of this look familiar to you?

Link's Awakening features very fun, classic-style gameplay that can keep you amused for hours. Along with this are graphics that are very pleasant to view, and sounds that are what all other hand-helds of the time should be measured against. Likable characters can offer a feeling of in-game companionship and compassion for their lives and fates. The story is one of mystery, discovery, and triumph over evil. As it unfolds, the tale manages to be exciting, funny, and even genuinely saddening. Once you've finished the entirety of this title you'll want to reset your Gameboy and start it all over again. And if only for that reason, this is why Link's Awakening is a truly genius part of the Legend of Zelda phenomenon.

Link's Awakening Link & Marin

It is just too bad that you have to eventually finish it.

~Richard

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