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Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures: Kirby’s Dream Land 3

July 29, 2016 colin

Image courtesy of Giant Bomb user hmmisee.

Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is one Kirby’s most fun and creative adventures
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is one of the better entries in the long running series, but also one of the SNES’ most unique platformers.

Released in late fall of 1997, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 has the distinction of being Nintendo’s last published title on the SNES. The game was also overshadowed by the release of the Nintendo 64 and its ever growing library. Gamers were more interested in Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64 and GoldenEye 007 rather than what the little pink guy was copying.

The game was also unfavorably compared to the smash hit Kirby Super Star. While Super Star is a great game in its own right, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 gets the series back to its roots of straightforward platforming, while doing something new as well.

Kirby’s Dream Land 3 showcases the power of the SNES, not with cutting-edge effects, with the impressive color palate the system had. Gameplay is also as fun as ever, but introduces a good amount of elements to keep it fresh each level.

Colors, colors everywhere in Dream Land! Image courtesy of GameFAQs.

Consistently solid gameplay keeps Kirby’s Dream Land 3 interesting
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 uses the typical Kirby format. Jumping, flying around and getting opponents abilities. However, the addition of Kirby’s animal friends make things more interesting. Instead of three, there is now six. Rick, Coo and Kine all return from Kirby’s Dream Land 2. Nago the double jumping cat, Pitch the green bird and Chuchu the octopus wearing a bow all join the ranks of Kirby’s friends. The blue ball Gooey is along for the ride and can be used by player two.

Kirby and Gooey’s Excellent Adventure. Image courtesy of GameFAQs.

Kirby’s Dream Land 3 does not have the gimmick of being “six games in one” like Super Star, but has the same amount of variety. Not in game types, but in gameplay. It is also more streamlined to focus. It does not break down barriers, but keeps gameplay steady.

The amount of animal friends in Kirby’s Dream Land 3 for one is a great addition. Each of them will be helpful in finding secret passages in stages.

The sort of “missions” in each stage will allow for replayability. Kirby’s Dream Land 3 contains a side character in each stage. Some times its an original character. Other times its another Nintendo character. The character will ask Kirby break down a wall, bring back children or find a certain item. It is not the main goal of each stage, but it adds to Kirby’s Dream Land 3’s platforming. It’s a nice addition to make the game feel longer.

It’s random cameo time! Image courtesy of GameFAQs.

Kirby’s Dream Land 3 has the typical copy abilities such as cutter, spark and stone, among others. They aren’t particularly different, but it’s not an overwhelming selection. Each copy ability in Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is useful in its own right, and the player won’t ever feel like they got the short end of the stick. This is somewhat a rare feature, since every Kirby game has its selection of useless copy abilities and this one does not.

The franchise has always had fun, but simplistic, gameplay that keeps players coming back. Kirby’s Dream Land 3 will certainly delight longtime fans and even new comers.

Kirby’s Dream Land 3 boasts a great art style
Kirby’s Dream Land 3’s stylized sprites and backgrounds are absolute eye candy. Similar to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 has a distinct hand drawn style. Outlines of characters will have scribbly lines and the game looks like it was drawn with pencil crayons. The Kirby series has been all about cute visuals, the graphics of Kirby’s Dream Land 3 exemplify this aspect perfectly. It does not display bright colors like Super Star did, but it at least has its own style.

The art style alone is great to look at. Image courtesy of GameFAQs.

One of Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 came out at one of the worst times. A (then) second-tier Nintendo series being released at the very end of a last generation console, and having to live up to an instant classic stacked the cards against the game.

If any Kirby fan or even someone looking for an addictive and clever platformer, than Kirby’s Dream Land 3 will be what the doctor ordered. The visuals alone make the game worth playing at least once, but the addition of several gameplay elements will keep gamers glued to the game. In some ways, it is just as good, if not better, than Super Star.

Kirby’s Dream Land 3 isn’t expensive to find on the SNES and it is available to download on the Virtual Console.

Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures: Darkwing Duck (NES)

July 22, 2016 colin

Image courtesy of Moby Games.

Darkwing Duck for the NES is just as great as the show
Darkwing Duck is good platformer that does the show justice. It is also a solid entry into the consistently great library of Capcom Disney games.

Darkwing Duck is a broad superhero parody which ran from 1990 to 1992 on the Disney Afternoon block. The show was about Drake Mallard and his title character alter ego, battling crime in St. Canard. Along for the ride is his adopted daughter Goslyn and wheelman/sidekick Launchpad McQuack, who is from DuckTales. The show had a silly cast of characters who were parodies of comic book and spy film villains. It’s a fondly remembered show, which combines the quality animated comedy of Disney and the fun of comic books.

Capcom released a game based on the show in 1992 for the NES. Darkwing Duck uses the Mega Man mold of being a platformer where jumping and shooting are key. However, Darkwing Duck is not just another Mega Man clone. Darkwing Duck has some creative level design and boss fights. It stuffs two seasons worth of characters and locations to set it apart from the Blue Bomber.

However, being released at the very end of both the NES and show’s lifespan, the game could not have had a more unlucky release window. Which is a shame. Darkwing Duck on the NES is a fun adaptation that manages to have the personality of the show and fantastic gameplay to back it up.

“WHEN THERE’S TROUBLE YOU CALL DW!”
Darkwing is informed the criminal organization known as F.O.W.L. started to run rampant throughout St. Canard. DW is armed with a variety of gadget to help him on his quest to rid the city of crime.

Darkwing Duck has the same open-ended stage selection of Mega Man. Launchpad drills Darkwing on what villain has taken over what section of the city. QuackerJack, the Joker parody of Darkwing Duck takes control of the bridge; Wolfduck controls downtown and the Liquidator has seized the sewers. Other villains from the show will appear, such as the nefarious Steelbeak, the pseudo-Electro spoof Megavolt and Darkwing Duck’s nemesis Negaduck!

Launchpad is willing to bring DW anywhere! Image courtesy of Hardcore Gaming 101.

Let’s get dangerous… on the NES
Turning on Darkwing Duck for the NES, players will be greeted with a semi-recreation of the show’s memorable intro.

The game oozes with the energy of the cartoon, with DW yelling his classic battle cry, “I AM DARKWING DUCK” at the beginning of each level. The colorful graphics and animation reflect the cartoon perfectly

About to take on QuackerJack. Image courtesy of GameFAQs.

Released in 1992, Capcom knows how to squeeze out whatever graphical capabilities the NES has. Darkwing Duck is a fanatastic showcase for the NES’ graphics and has vibrant and varied colors throughout the game. Characters look like their TV show counterparts.

The game manages to nail the cartoony expressions. Image courtesy of Hardcore Gaming 101.

As the terror that flaps in the night, Darkwing moves fluidly thanks in part to some incredibly responsive controls. Darkwing Duck will certainly invoke memories of Mega Man with all the jumping and the shooting. The level design is certainly inspired. There is enough interesting platforming all throughout Darkwing Duck’s world, such as using a grapping hook to climb up buildings or using tires to get across spiked floors.

DW’s array of gadgets help him move around the stages. Image courtesy of Hardcore Gaming 101.

However, unlike Mega Man, Darkwing does not steal the powers of his enemies. Instead he has to find his own power-ups. DW can gain electric powered ammunition or arrows that shoot in two directions for his gun. It’s a small touch, but the game does not feel exactly like Mega Man once the player gets used to it.

Darkwing Duck for the NES is always challenging. Even for veteran Mega Man players. The abundance of creative enemy types also raise up the ante for each stage. DW may be a superhero, but he will need a player of great skill to take care of the enemies. Boss fights in Darkwing Duck are challenging, having the player utilize their platforming skills to the nth degree.

One of Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures
Darkwing Duck is a great Disney cartoon which holds up even today. Darkwing Duck on the NES is an excellent platformer that does the classic show justice. It does not set the world on fire, but it is a fun game in its own right. Colorful graphics go along with the solid gameplay to create an experience any fan of Darkwing Duck can enjoy.

If Darkwing Duck could provide his own narration for his game, he would say something like this:

“This is a game that is a blast to play. This is a game that shows off my crime fighting skills perfectly. This is DARKWING DUCK…on the NES!!!”

Our hero ladies and gentlemen and his typical catchphrase.
Image courtesy of Nintendo World Report.

Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures: 1080 Avalanche

June 8, 2016 colin

Image courtesy of Giant Bomb user velior.

1080 Avalanche, a great GameCube exclusive
1080 Avalanche is the lesser known sequel to the critically acclaimed N64 game 1080 Snowboarding.

1080 Avalanche manages to maintain the lightning speed of the first game and contains some cutting edge graphics for the GameCube. To top it off, it has a unique trick system and a wide variety of modes to play and creative tracks to ride on.

Why would a sequel with this much polish be overshadowed? SSX 3 was released the same year for all three consoles at the time, the PlayStation 2, original Xbox and, of course, the GameCube. 1080 Avalanche’s comparisons to SSX 3 were inevitable, but odd, since both games are completely different.

SSX 3 may have a slightly easier control scheme and more of a broad appeal. 1080 Avalanche just happens to be more of a difficult game, but when the player sticks to it, 1080 Avalanche is incredibly rewarding and a blast to play.

About to head down the mountain! Image courtesy of GameFAQs.

About to head down the mountain! Image courtesy of Giant Bomb user rabidweasel91.

1080 Snowboarding’s impact
The first time gamers played 1080 Snowboarding, there was no other action sports game like it. A snowboarding game that had a focus on tricks and racing. Somehow, Left Field Productions, the second party developer at Nintendo, emulated the speed of F-Zero. 1080 Snowboarding was a massive hit for Nintendo and is fondly remembered as being one of the best titles on the N64.

A sequel was unavoidable and in 2003, Nintendo Software Technology (NST) developed 1080 Avalanche after Left Field Productions dropped out. The game was previously going to be titled 1080: White Storm in reference to Wave Race: Blue Storm, another underappreciated GameCube exclusive.

Blistering speed makes up most of 1080 Avalanche
If there is one phrase to describe 1080 Avalanche, it’s from the classic 80s masterpiece, Top Gun.

Shredding down the mountains of 1080 Avalanche will urge the player to keep going and marvel at the speed and snow effects. The snow crashing towards the player camera and the wind affecting the character’s clothing on the mountain certainly give the player rushing adrenaline, as if they are on the mountain themselves. With a focus on racing as opposed to tricks, this is a good feature of 1080 Avalanche which brings the player into it’s crazy, snowboarding world.

These screenshots don't show off the speed of the game well. Image courtesy of GameFAQs.

These screenshots don’t do the insane speed of the game justice. Image courtesy of GameFAQs.

The control set up does not hinder the great gameplay of 1080 Avalanche
The original 1080 Snowboarding is a game that perfected controls on the bizarre looking, and rather unintuitive, N64 controller. 1080 Avalanche is able to replicate the success its predecessor had. However, there is a rather steep control curve for first time players.

1080 Avalanche’s controls have a strange layout. The main face buttons on the GameCube controller, A, B, etc. will do the jumping and speed boosts. To do tricks and to grind properly, the player will have to incorporate the shoulder buttons and Z button. The player will have to hold down the A button to get the jump they want, which is similar to how professional snowboarders will have to find the right momentum to get the air they want. In addition to this scheme, players will be incorporating the control stick, if the player wants to perform spin and flip tricks along with their grabs.

Tricks can be complicated or simple. Image courtesy of Euro Gamer.net.

The player’s hands will be all over the controller to perform a trick, making strange claw like hand formations. Whereas SSX 3 had a far easier control set up. This may come as daunting to first time players, but spending more time in the freestyle trick parks of the game will be great practice.

Once a player can master the controls, they will find 1080 Avalanche to be a fulfilling experience as the game is consistently challenging.

1080 Avalanche features a good amount of single players modes, as well as split screen multiplayer. The main mode, Match Race, will have the player select a circuit, with the difficulty of each circuit represented the three levels of difficulty skiiers are used to. Green, Blue and Black Diamond. Completing these will also unlock the Expert level. Other modes are trick attack, which can take place in a park or a slope, time attack, which is great for building stats and gate challenge. They are all fun in their own way and can manage to keep the player busy enough.

Image courtesy of Giant Bomb user pixelrevolt.

Each part of the mountain the snowboarders will populating has a unique feel to it and no track feels the same as the other. There are some basic ones, but 1080 Avalanche has tracks that take place in abandoned saw mills, a posh resort area with a gigantic Mario ice sculpture and shiny ice caves. Of course, all this pales in comparison to the nail biting final level, where you are trying to outrun the growing threat of an avalanche. It’s a truly gripping finale, and one of the few games to capture the dangerous nature of snowboarding in an avalanche.

The GameCube’s graphics present the tracks with enough life in them and manages to capture the snow and ice perfectly. The rest of 1080 Avalanche has a great stylized look to it, as each of the snowboarders have their own unique look.

Similar to the first game, 1080 Avalanche only has five characters to choose from. Returning is Ricky Winterborn, Akari Hayami and Rob Haywood. The two new characters are the Brazilian Kemen Vazquez and “hip-hop diva” Tara Strong (who is not played by the famous voice actress of the same name). The five characters have alternate costumes which exemplify their personality and have their own boards.

The game also has a ton of unlockable snowboards that are unusual, but reflect the nature of the game. There is an NES controller and a live penguin the player can have Ricky Winterborn and the rest of the crew to ride on.

The NES controller even makes 8-bit sounds when jumping. It’s great! Image courtesy of Giant Bomb user rabidweasel91.

1080 Avalanche had a special edition, which included a DVD titled “Snow Sessions.” It is stock footage from various Warren Miller movies set to the soundtrack of the game. It’s not much, but for fans of Miller’s ski/snowboard movies, it’s worth checking out. Strangely enough, the DVD is the same size as a GameCube disc.

One of Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures
Peel away the incredibly dated mid-2000s radio rock (Finger Eleven? Yay.) and steep learning curve of the controls and 1080 Avalanche is a worthy sequel to an immensely popular game. 1080 Avalanche’s gameplay is immensely entertaining and the races are sure to rip through a player’s cornea with its breakneck speed. It’s a fantastic snowboarding game that remains satisfying throughout the time spent on the mountain.

Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures: Alien Hominid

May 27, 2016 colin

Image courtesy of Hardcore Gaming 101.

Alien Hominid is a nice throwback to run n’ guns
Alien Hominid is the definition of an homage, as it pays tribute to is the genre of run n’ guns.

Shooting out on the highway! Image courtesy of Nintendo City.

Run n’ guns are generally simple; they feature one, two or four different soldiers/cyborgs/aliens/etc. and they either will move forward horizontally, or in Ikari Warriors vertically, or shoot everything in their path. Explosions and bullets will be flying all over the screen when playing a run n’ gun, giving the player a sense of adrenaline only over-the-top 80s action movies can deliver.

Fan favorite franchises like Contra and Metal Slug are synonymous with the genre. Alien Hominid plays a lot like the latter, but contains the difficulty of the former. Being released for consoles in November of 2004 as a budget title and published by Q3 (Who? Exactly.), it’s no wonder Alien Hominid was overshadowed by other juggernaut games released at the time. Games released the same time as Alien Hominid were Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Halo 2, World of Warcraft, Half-Life 2 and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Alien Hominid did not stand a chance against those giants. Which is a shame, since it was good enough to be part of that upper class of games that year. Heck, it was even better received than the newest Contra installment, Neo Contra, also released in 2004.

An example of the quirky art style. Image courtesy of Moby Games.

Alien Hominid also has one of the more unique art styles found in any video game. The simplistic and cartoony graphics, along with some solid gameplay which thrives on two players, make Alien Hominid a run n’ gun absolutely worth checking out. Even after the guns have been put down, there are more than a few throwback mini games to keep the player busy as well as some silly unlockables.

Alien Hominid has an interesting background
Dan Paladin, otherwise known by his online name “synj,” is the brainchild behind the lunacy of the artwork. A longtime contributor to Newgrounds.com, Paladin’s boxy, yet overly animated, style is the first thing players are going to look at. Newgrounds’ co-founder, Tom Fulp is also one of the developers behind Alien Hominid, as his love for old school video games shines in the game’s action.

The duo actually released Alien Hominid through Newgrounds.com as a “beta.” Newgrounds users were only playing the first level, but compared to a lot of Flash based games on the site, the game felt bigger and played with more polish.

Paladin and Fulp, along with their friend John Baez, started the Behemoth, an independent video game developer. Alien Hominid was a success on Newground for a couple of years, with it being featured on their main page predominately and was later released as the Behemoth’s first game. The Behemoth later went on to develop Castle Crashers and Battle Block Theater.

Alien Hominid doesn’t break down walls, but instead crashes through them in spectacular fashion
Alien Hominid has an easy to follow story, much like an classic run n’ gun. An FBI agent shoots down a UFO carrying our little yellow hero and he crash lands on Earth. The FBI try to cover this up in a hilarious, not so subtle fashion, but the alien is not having any of it. From here on out, the alien starts his (her? Its?) sadistic quest to get revenge.

The one guy who caused this. Image courtesy of Moby Games.

The presentation of the game is very familiar to those who have watched Flash cartoons hosted on Newgrounds. It has a vibrant color scheme, with yellow and green being the big stand outs. The animation is not Disney quality, but has a kinetic energy to it that is more along the lines of a classic Tex Avery cartoon. Character’s eyes will bug out and mouths will drop right down to the floor. Characters will look minimalistic when they are idle and but it adds to the charm of it all. Bosses are over-the-top goofy as well. However, the level of gratuitous violence is what sets it apart from classic cartoons and more along South Park.

The FBI trying their best to cover up the incident. Image courtesy of Hardcore Gaming 101.

The alien will be biting heads clean off of the FBI agents, slicing and dicing them and even shooting them in areas where no man should be shot. The alien and the FBI also have no qualms blowing up everyone’s cars on the highway. It’s not overly gory or done in a tasteless manner though, as it still has this cartoonish edge to it all. Still, not exactly a kid’s game with all the beheadings going on.

The gameplay does not bring the newest food to the table, but instead makes a classic meal exceptionally well. Alien Hominid has a simplistic control scheme of jump and shoot. There are other moves in the game, such as the ability to throw grenades, use a melee weapon (borrowed directly from Metal Slug) and dig underground as a stealth tactic, but for the most part, players will have to make sure the Alien Hominid is shooting, jumping and dodging. It helps the controls are consistently fluid and responsive.

EXPLOSIVE action and HUGE bosses are found aplenty! Image courtesy of Nintendo City.

Metal Slug is Alien Hominid’s main source of information, even down to the “How to Play” screen that shows the player the controls. Even the sense of humor is similar. The whole tongue-in-cheek manner of the story and presentation will certainly create some laughs among the players.

On the side, there are a couple of old school minigames made with Atari in mind. The most prominent, Super Soviet Missle Mastar is an excellent parody of Cold War era paranoia.

An enormous difficulty curve may not be for everyone
Similar to Metal Slug, Alien Hominid showcases an immense level of difficulty. It is not Contra: Hard Corps level difficult, where bosses being thrown at the player every few feet, but it does require a level of skill. Make no mistake, Alien Hominid is not the most difficult game of all time, but it is certainly no cakewalk either. This is where it might scare some players, but if they are used to the overly difficult nature of run ‘n guns, then they can brush this off.

Alien Hominid may be one of the few games with a pudding boss. Image courtesy of Nintendo City.

One of Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures
From a little Flash game to big retail release to even an HD re-release on the Xbox 360, Alien Hominid is proof that anyone with a creative vision for video games can make it in the field. An imaginative and energetic art style and tight gameplay which harkens back to a cult hit video game series, make Alien Hominid one of Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures. It is an absolute blast throughout and can be enjoyed with two players, like any old run ‘n gun. Alien Hominid may be punishing, but sometimes it hurts so good.

It is not terribly obscure, as copies on Amazon don’t break the bank and the game is now available as a download but if any lower tier game was released around holiday 2004, they would be lost in the shuffle too.

gaming’s undervalued treasures

Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures: Kirby’s Dream Land 3

Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures: Darkwing Duck (NES)

Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures: 1080 Avalanche

Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures: Alien Hominid