Leaving Behind a Legacy

Mega Man Legacy Collection

Capcom

Steam (2015)

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The release of Mega Man Legacy Collection has been rather controversial with fans. Here are a few facts everyone should know:

The NES cartridges have suffered remarkably from inflation, and aren't equipped with frustration pain killers (quick save features). Buy them if you want them. The controller is certainly more suitable.

You have the choice to emulate. Use it if you choose it.

The Mega Man Anniversary Collection on GCN included Mega Man 7&8 and some sweet little JP only fighting games, but it also reversed the shoot and jump buttons for a crippling button layout. Regardless, it was a great collection and you can buy it.

Mega Man Legacy Collection doesn't include 9&10. It would have been better if it did, just like if it had also included 7,8, Mega Man & Bass, and the entire X and Zero collections.

Fifteen dollars is really not a lot of money, ya know? I've spent more for broken Early Access games. These are six of our favorite games of all time, with trophies, art, music, and challenges.

The slowdown and flicker plagued our beloved NES cartridges, too.

You may think Capcom sucks because of their recent business methods, or for their treatment of the Mega Man producer and product in the past. That doesn't mean this package sucks.

Watch The Subterranean Dork play Gemini Man Stage.

The Doomed Days of Our Lives

Rogue Legacy

Cellar Door Games

PS3 (2014)

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Over the past few years, I've heard the term "roguelike" being used to describe many upcoming fantasy-themed games. Even though practically anything with a sword has been my jam since the original Zelda, screenshots of said games failed to pique my interest. The reemerging genre was being exemplified by previously underutilized ideas like permadeath and random maps, but the big turnoff for me was the tile-based gameplay. Rogue Legacy however focuses on twitch-perfect Metroidvania action instead, which is a grind I can get behind.

There's a neat little family tree gimmick which ties it all together. A foolhardy knight storms the randomized castle with a sword drawn outward, as if charging into certain doom. It's because they are, and will surely die in a matter of minutes. You will never see them again (permadeath) but can choose one of three random heirs, each with their own often hilarious attributes. Choosing an heir with IBS won't impact your play, but there are throwaway traits like vertigo which are all but unplayable and only novel at a glance.

The chosen heir can immediately exchange the treasure found by the previous ancestor to level up the overall family so that the bloodline grows exponentially stronger. Therein lies the addictive part of Rogue Legacy: to spend the profits you just worked so hard for is to begin the cycle over with a new heir. Rinse, repeat.

 I meant to give it a quick try one night but ended up playing until morning. I started discussing and researching it constantly, spreading the word to friends. I was hooked; Rogue Legacy was the real deal. I hadn't been that engrossed in grinding levels in quite some time. I was working toward collecting every achievement sans the insane trophy with a requirement to beat the game with fifteen heirs or less.

Then, at the peak of my obsession, my save file was mysteriously corrupted and erased. I was nearing level 150 and had three of the four bosses defeated. To start over at that point was beyond discouraging, although it couldn't have been much more than ten hours lost.

Now, I can tolerate the grind in only small doses, running through the castle with a few heirs per sitting as opposed to binge playing all night long. It took a corrupted file for me to regard Rogue Legacy without blinders, but the second time around, the novelty started to wear thin and I surmised that a randomized castle could never be as special as one that's fixed and familiar.

Steam Quickies #3

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare

Torn Banner Studios
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Think of Chivalry as a medieval Call of Duty. For many, that alone is enough to justify the purchase. All of the familiar FPS multiplayer options are included. If you want full-on warfare, join a team deathmatch. If you're tired of getting stabbed in the back, switch to singles duels. The combat is intense albeit clunky. If you want serious competition and an untarnished loss column, look elsewhere. Chivalry is for those who don't mind regularly getting their heads lopped off.

Nidhogg

Messhof

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Nidhogg is akin to a 2D Bushido Blade. Quick and slick fencing controls support a tug-of-war system in which fatal thrusts yield a player more time to push back their opponent's respawn location. It's almost too basic, but this one is all about quality over quantity, from the brilliant graphics and soundtrack to the precision in the combat.

Steam Quickies #2

World of Diving

Vertigo Games

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Vertigo does an exceptional job simulating the diving experience with or without the Oculus VR enhancement. It may even be too realistic; I looked forward to exploring a seemingly endless ocean floor like in Ecco the Dolphin or Treasures of the Deep to a lesser extent, but World of Diving offers a more organized, site-specific experience. With only a few maps to explore at this point, this will be another test for the Early Access development machine.

Race the Sun

Flippfly LLC

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It's not just any endless runner featuring procedural generation, it's the best looking one. Race the Sun is sure to captivate the minimalist genre's die-hard players, but the rest will move on quickly after its cosmetic appeal subsides.

A Return to the Golden Age

Double Dragon Trilogy

Dot Emu (originally Technos Japan)

Steam (2015, originally 1987-1990)
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If you're an avid player of the brawler genre (yes, we still exist) Double Dragon Trilogy is a no-brainer. For $5.99, young gamers can also now experience the history of the virtual mean streets during the late 1980's. The old school can even meet the new school online for cooperative play. What else do you need?

Not much. Double Dragon was never complicated: street punks kidnap girlfriend, must get girlfriend back. This simple premise was flawlessly presented with no dialogue at the start of the original in a matter of seconds. Ass-kicking ensues thereafter.

There’s been plenty of sequels, remakes, and reworks over the years, and none of them were too shabby (save for the terrible one-on-one fighting entry that was Double Dragon V). With Trilogy, you should expect more arcade faithful versions of the original three, rather than the fondly remembered and popular NES ports. I’m sure we can all agree that Double Dragon II for NES is the superior version, but the original was a great game in its own right.

The very best in the series, Double Dragon Advance, incorporated skills from previous entries like the headbutt, spinkick, hyper knee and uppercut, mount, stomp, wall jump, grab, and parry to name a few. These powers complimented each other for a furious festival of flowing fists and feet. You won’t find such a diverse arsenal of moves in Trilogy- only the simplistic fighting styles that graced arcades back in the golden age.

That being said, don't assume the most recently released homage, Double Dragon Neon, is the superlative entry. While it did wield an impressive move list and an insider's nostalgia, it never felt quite like a Technos game. For those looking for the genuine experience starring their beloved super-deformed characters and pick-up-and-play controls, Trilogy is the way to go, even if the platforming has aged beyond rationality by today's standards.

Back to Basics

Dragon Quest

Square Enix

iOS (2014, originally 1986)
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I wouldn't be able to discuss this game without bias, being that I was one of those kids in 1990 who got a free copy with a subscription to Nintendo Power magazine. I had to use every one of the tips from the various inserts and booklets to wrap my head around this strange new genre of slow-paced tactical gameplay. At first, the RPG archetype felt like digression for settling for command lists instead of Zelda-type action.

It proved that we didn't need hack-and-slash gameplay to immerse ourselves into a role. Hauntingly hypnotic loops set the tone for a wide open world full of heroic lore, Elizabethan speak, and deeply covered secrets, and it's all presented in the quirky art style of the legendary Toriyama. 

I remember searching the ground looking for the flute, carrying the princess in my arms, and walking around on the southeastern island for hours grinding Gold Men...

Are you wondering if this ancient relic of an RPG has stood the test of time and deemed itself worthy of another release in the states? It will depend on your perspective. I'm personally a fan of the game, the series, and the genre it defined, so my critiques are simply picking nits about new translations in the nostalgic material. A slime doesn't appear. It draws near! That's not a she-slime, it's just red.

A legitimate gripe would involve the blatant dumbing down of secrets. Items that required searching now shine like a star. With all the information readily available today, the last thing people need is hand-holding. 

Some players criticize the original in retrospect for having a one-on-one battle system. I have always admired it for that simplicity. Battles are quick, making the grind easy. Just don't walk around the wrong part of town too soon.

Unfamiliar audiences who are willing to try RPG's would probably do best to start here. It's rapidly paced, only a few hours long, and fitted with quick-save functions to make it accessible for even the most casual of players.

Another Another World Port

Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition
Delphine Software

(2014, originally 1991)

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You need this game. Not only is it one of the greatest video games ever made, but it's also one of the best pieces of science fiction available in any format.

1992: I stayed home sick from school and asked my dad to rent Street Fighter II or Lost Vikings or something else I had already played a million times. He came home with Out of This World. I was not pleased, but was about to learn that I shouldn't have judged this epic masterpiece by its terrible cover art.

I would like to thank my dad for bestowing the experience upon me that day. I would like to thank Eric Chahi for single-handedly raising my critical bar for video games and sci-fi alike for years still to come.