The 10th Hour 8.22.08: The Top 10 NES titles

Posted by Derek Robbins on 08.22.2008

This week, the 10th Hour takes us back to the past...to play the awesome games that kick ass! The NES has its top 10 games of all time broken down this week...do your favorites make the list? Well, there's only one way to tell!

Hello and welcome to the 10th Hour! As always, there are a couple of tangents I would like to go off on before I get started today.

-Well I started up school at SIU this week…and it's been an alright experience so far. It seems very clear to me that one of the qualifications for the journalism department is: "You must hate all bloggers with the passion of a thousand fires" I swear, I've heard about 20 anti-blogger terms and I JUST started back up this week. It's…actually kind of funny I guess.

-I am the polar opposite of one Mike Minotti in the sense that he had problems winning in Normal versus mode in Soul Calibur 4 where I have problems winning in Special versus mode. It's odd, because my win percentage is in the 70's in normal matches, but when it gets down to using your own creations with their crazy stats apparently I lack because I'm not even .500! Kind of ridiculous…

-I'm going to a Cubs game next week against Philadelphia…I hope it goes well. We're 29 games over .500 as I write this – we just took two-of-three from the hapless Reds – and I hope to be at least 31 or so by the time I go.

Reader Feedback

Well, I did a list of my top-10 protagonists…but what did you lot think?

This guy is just Quackers

Yikes! No Master Chief?

I only accept characters who have appeared in at least one good game.

Age of Awesome has great taste

Derek you are (still) my hero... first an Orton fan AND a Ken fan... Not many of us in the world... fuck the fanboys and Ryu!
Great list, im SHOCKED by the lack of Ness... also since im a Nintendo fanboy I have to put Mario first.

I would have put Ness on the list…I mean, really, what's not to love about him? He's the greatest silent protagonist in history! The problem is that I am a biased hack, you know this, everyone knows this…but I feel I would have come off as even more of one if I had placed Ness on there. Plus I stated somewhere that these weren't necessarily who my favorites were. If it were a favorites list, I think both Ness and Jeff would have appeared. I can also assure you that Link would not have been there.

justwaveyourhandsintheair presumingthatyoujustdon'tcare.

I really liked this list. Three of them even took me by surprise since I hadn't heard of them before. But I'm surprised you didn't mention more characters from fighting games. Granted Solid Snake, Sonic, Mario, and Link are technically fighting game characters as well nowadays, but they didn't debut in a fighting game like Ken did.

I'm not saying that focusing on Street Fighter is wrong or anything like that, but I think plenty of fighting games - especially Mortal Kombat, IMO - have some legendary protagonists. I know this sounds predictable, but how about Liu Kang?

We have a long-standing hatred of Mortal Kombat here at the 10th hour…so unfortunately all MK characters get little-to-no respect. Also, Mortal Kombat was essentially an inferior clone of Street Fighter…so putting someone from that game on this list over OTHER Street Fighter characters who are down right iconic – Guile for instance – would be a bit counter-intuitive.

Also, I am glad you liked it.

I'm no simpleton but…

Can you do a list on gameworlds 'cos they're way more important than characters.

I was considering doing a list on clichéd game worlds. You know what my favorite one is? Fire. Fuck ice, all you do is slide around. Who wants a world made of ice? Real men want the floor to be lava.

Matt P wants to fight me!

Dereck, do you have online for your Wii? If so I may be intrigued by your brawling abilities.

Ohhh crap a whole comment without mention to croagunk, what ever will I do.

My wifi is temporarily broken…my usb adaptor went kaput. I will brawl you the second I either get a new one off of eBay (since the apparently don't sell wifi usb adaptors at the store anymore) or get a router. I am having such online brawl/pokemon withdrawls…

RavenTazECW is onto me.

Ness wasn't even mentioned as an honorable mention... are you sure you're Derek and now Drew? As for Guerrilla War, it was a late 80's arcade/NES game by SNK that had parallels to the Cuban revolution in the 1950's. Fairly easy on the NES, you die all the time but you have infinite continues and continue right where you died with virtually no break in the action. Unlimited weaponry too, it was good, mindless, arcade fun that I found myself playing over and over again either by myself or with a friend. Only good info I found on it online is some review of it:
http://www.neo-geo.com/reviews/nes-reviews/Guerillawar/guerillawar.htm
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It's one of those games where a theme song to a level has been stuck in my head my whole life, haha.

I like the list this week, and Vivi is totally awesome. Out of all of the little stories the FFIX characters had going on, Vivi's was the most interesting to me, followed by the goofiness of Steiner's story.

You caught me! I'm in actuality every single person who posts on this site. It's true! We're all one entity. I am Larry Csonka, Dan Owen, Ramon Aranda, and Theo Fraser rolled into one.

I may have to try Guerilla warfare, it seems interesting…since there were a couple of other commenters that said positive things about it. I do love mindless arcade fun. Also, I see it's made by Neo Geo…and let the record state that Neo Geo is an awesome company.

Glad you agree on Vivi's inclusion…he was THE thing that endeared me towards that game. While the final cutscene had emotional impact that would have got to me regardless, Vivi almost single-handedly kept me interested in the game's narrative…and that's quite lofty praise.

MKaufman brings up an excellent point

I know you hate exploration games but you could have at least put Samus Aran as an honorable mention.

Heck what she did to the face of gaming in the first game should have put her on the list.

I have to admit, I dropped the ball on this one…Samus should not only have been an honorable mention but on the list as a whole. I do have a like for some of the Metroid games, I just…I absolutely abhor backtracking and Metroid seems to make us want to do that a lot, right?

Also, correct…Samus should have been there for her importance to gaming as a whole. Shocking what a gender-revealing ending can do to a man.

All Around Wrestling Fan is a Final Fantasy VII fan with a lick of decency.

"... anyone noticed the BACKSTREET BOYS reference?

shame on you.. but well played"

Damn, you beat me to it. But let's be honest. If there's any shame to be given out, we should get an equal amount for noticing it in the first place...

I'm one of those lame FF VII fans that think it's one of the best RPGs ever. It was my first, go figure. But I'm glad you didn't put anyone in from that game. The only two that I'd ever consider as top protagonists, are Barrett and Aeris.

Barrett is a complete and utter asshole on the outside. Always yelling at people, swearing like a sailor and having the temper of an angry kid with terrets. But on the inside, he's one of the most caring, passionate and loyal characters in any game. Trying to save the planet, taking on the odds every chance he gets, always looking out for Tifa and Marlene and Avalanche. I mean, come on, he took in his best friend's daughter after he thought said best friend was dead. Then he had to fight him, and watched him die for real this time. And instead of moping and feeling sorry for himself, it just made him even more mad and ready in the mood to save the planet and kill anyone and everyone bad that got in his way.

And Aeris, I mean... come on. She let herself be killed for the sake of the entire earth staying intact, but more importantly to her I think, Cloud. Her death scene, while most think is completely overrated, is one of the most damn emotional scenes in any video game. Ever. It's powerful stuff.

I had no choice but to reference that song. I typed two phrases together and…I just couldn't get the jingle out of my head. The only way the cursed song would stop playing is if I jotted it down onto paper. The second I did, the searing pain in my head faded and the only thing surrounding me was pure euphoria. Also, shame on you for picking up on this and NOT THE WHO REFERENCE. That one makes me look much cooler! A pox on you!

I do not have a problem with Final Fantasy VII. I think it's an over-rated game…but I'll admit it's good. I've beaten it like a billion times – including once THIS YEAR, after it topped my most over-rated games ever list – and enjoy myself each time. I have a sick addiction to RPGs though. One that can only be satiated by hours of meticulous cutscene watching.

I do not agree with your choice of Aeris – who was fairly stereotypical in my mind – but I DO agree with Barrett. He went through a lot in the game and showed some real growth and does not get the credit he deserves. You could argue that he goes through the most drastic character change throughout the game. My personal favorite character is Cid, and I can't tell you why. Something about that guy just makes me smile un-controllably.

Dan braves ridicule as he submits a couple of lists.

top 10 favorite games:

01. chrono trigger
02. final fantasy vii
03. final fantasy vi
04. mega man 2
05. secret of mana
06. the legend of zelda: a link to the past
07. xenogears
08. the legend of zelda: ocarina of time
09. sonic the hedgehog 3
10. chrono cross

top 10 game heroes:

01. link
02. crono
03. strider hiryu
04. aeris gainsborough
05. mario
06. mega man
07. leon belmont
08. sonic the hedgehog
09. alex kidd
10. pac man

Your Top-10 favorite games list is a little RPG heavy…even by MY standards. It's not a problem, just saying. I don't really agree with FF VII's placement at the top, but…what do I know?

As for your heroes…I disagree with Crono, Aeris, and Leon (Why not Simon?) but all around it's actually fairly balanced. I like it. Points for no Chief.

Bobby Jum rounds out the comments this week with a list of his own.

10. sonic
9. james pond robocod
8. duke nukem
7. tequila
6. cloud strife
5. lara croft
4. solid snake
3. earthworm jim
2. mario
1. THE MARINE (doom)

This is a weird list…The Marine at number one? I dunno man. Cloud Strife, Lara Croft? Ah man…BUT WHAT'S THIS!? Earthworm Jim and Duke Nukem!? Excellent choices there. List has been redeemed. KanyonKreist who was shocked by the lack of Jim would be proud of you.



Top-10 NES Titles

That's right, it's time to break down what I feel are the 10 finest NES games of all time. There are a couple of exceptions…namely I've had to actually PLAY the game for it to be eligible for the list. So sorry to the original Dragon Quest…I never got around to playing you. Should I feel embarrassed?

10-) Battletoads - Without a doubt, this was one of the hardest games of all time. This game probably single-handedly resulted in more holes in walls than any released prior or after. Simply put, if you consider yourself a gamer who always switches on easy mode you may want to skip this title…A lot of games are inadvertently hard due to horrible controls or random glitches…but that is not the case with Battletoads. It controls well and there really are no game-breaking glitches…(Well, there is a notable one that can help you and one that hinders co-operative gameplay…but if you even MAKE it as far as the second one you've done enough) it was just designed to be a pain in the ass, and you REALLY have to respect that. There are twelve levels to play through in this beat-em-up and you have three continues to work with. You might be thinking: "Well, that's okay…when I die I'll just use a continue!". That's where you'd be mistaken. Battletoads takes its masochism to a whole ‘nother level by not even offering you the ability to use a password. You just have to garner up the skill to make it to the end of the game by yourself…and that's going to be a bit of a problem. You also have the option to go through this game with a friend…but unlike in some other games…it just gets HARDER. That's right, playing with a buddy makes Battle Toads even harder to go through. Who has heard of something like that before? Friendly fire is on and can never be turned off so you need to be careful when you're beating up on the same enemy. It'd be super frustrating to go down to your own team-mate wouldn't it? In the eyes of many, Battletoads represented the best the beat-em-up genre had to offer. With levels that varied in how you played them to an absurd difficulty that even the hardest of core struggle with…Battletoads was one of those games for the NES that would absorb your life for weeks at a time…and you could be forgiven for not wanting to get it back. Really, I wish more ass kickings felt this good. A bit of trivia – The company that brought you the "Jawsome" Street Sharks also tried to present you with a Battle Toads animated series. It never got past the pilot but apparently that very pilot was released on VHS. Maybe that's worth hunting down? It looks bad, but hey…I'm sure it'd make you feel ways about stuff.

- Rash, Zits, and Pimple…what a trio.

9-) Metroid - It's no secret that I am rather critical of the Metroid franchise. For whatever reason, the idea of rolling into a ball and just bombing the hell out of your enemies just never hit home with me. There are a total of three Metroid games that I would claim to be a fan of, and behold…here we have the first of the three – the original Metroid. (If curiosity is bothering you right now, Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 3 are the other two) The game itself is relatively short, but it's a pretty significant title none-the-less. It was a non-linear title which was pretty unique back then…now it's pretty much every day stuff, so much so that I wish we had MORE linear titles. Weird huh? What you essentially did was roam around the land in search of power-ups that could give you access to new areas. It doesn't sound like much, but the formula actually holds up well to this day. This is a theme you'll see reciprocated throughout this list a lot…Metroid was released in the year 1987 in the United States. That means in this country, Metroid is as old as I am…21. Twenty-one years after Metroid saw release, the game still remains playable. There is no, "Gosh, I am playing a fossil here…" there is only awe that a game so old can have such value in a world where videogames are strictly in the third-dimension. On top of being a genuinely fun title, Metroid does one other thing of note…you play through the game as a robot…and we just naturally assume the gender of said robot is male. Well, lo' and behold…if you finish the game in time you find out that Samus isn't a boy at all…but a girl! It's hard to explain, but it felt kinda funny learning the main character was something you thought it wasn't. Samus definitely set the table for future gaming females. She's still among the best and was definitely robbed last week on the top-protagonists feature. Twenty-one years later Samus is still a gaming icon…and I truly see it staying like that for a long time to come.



8-) Mike Tyson's Punchout - Arguably the franchise that needs to be revived the most out of any of Nintendo's old franchises. Can you imagine, as the Exploding Barrel Podcast has mentioned, a Punchout title that took advantage of the balance board for your bobbing and weaving conveniences? Oh sure, gamers may be clamoring for a new Kid Icarus…but I could really care less about a game franchise that hasn't received even ONE good game yet. Every Punch Out title, whether it be in the arcades or for the NES or SNES, is fun. I'm sure you all know about the basics of the gameplay, but I will hit on it for you anyhow. Essentially what you do is use your reflexes to evade punches from your opponents and strike back at opportune times. Simply dodging and attacking won't necessarily get the job done though…you need to memorize the movements of your enemy if you want to win. By george, you could say it's kind of like REAL boxing where you need to study your opponent! Shocking! Of course, Punch Out could never be confused with real boxing as it's…fairly un-realistic and I'm fairly sure there are several rule violations going around. I mean, Super Punch Out's Dragon Chan breaks the FIRST rule of boxing…NOT USING YOUR FEET. So it's weird…realistic-ish boxing gameplay in a non-realistic setting. It's unique, that's for sure. To compliment the gameplay is an assortment of fighters that is hard to forget to say the least…you have GLASS JOE, your designated jobber…you have King Hippo, the morbidly obese…and of course you have Mr. Dream himself…MIKE TYSON! It's really fun and a good way to kill an afternoon. If you own Animal Crossing I would recommend using a cheating device to get the Punch Out ROM. It easily offers more gameplay than you would normally see in that game. It was a true classic from an unlikely source.



7-) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game - I assure you that this is most assuredly a homer pick. Look around at other top-10 NES game list and odds are you won't find a ninja turtle games among their ranks but HERE WE ARE. Growing up, one of the purest of joys was going to an arcade and being assured that there was a cabinet with Ninja Turtles there. The arcade game was a pure blast, so it's only natural that I'd be drawn to the NES game claiming to be that arcade title, right? Well…kinda. The graphics and the sound were far-behind what was available in the arcades at the time. On a brief tangent, isn't that one of the weirdest things about gaming today? I remember when games promised arcade-quality graphics and today games are much, much better looking on home consoles than they are in the arcades. Anyhow, back to the point…even though visually it was less impressive they threw in more levels and extended some others to make the game worth your hard-earned income. As a side-scrolling beat-em-up it really doesn't get much better than this. The only true gripe you can really have with the title is the fact that four players can't play at once, like in the arcade, and to be totally fair…not many titles back then offered four player simultaneous play so it even gets off the hook in that point. While aesthetically it wasn't the most pleasing game, if you get a group of friends together and huddle them around this title…even today it will provide hours upon hours of pure bliss. The sequel to this title on the NES, the Manhattan Project, was a fun game but I just don't think it captured the joy of this arcade port so that one…regrettably remains absent.

- Heroes in a half-shell…TURTLE POWER.

6-) Contra - I've already mentioned one of the hardest games ever, so why not just pull in another one of them? Contra is legendary for its difficulty…so much so that if you know someone who has beat it WITHOUT cheating…you know that person is good. Isn't that just insane? Can you imagine gamers being lauded today for beating a game without using cheats? Devil May Cry 3 was hard…but it wasn't criminally hard. I've never beaten Contra without the 30-life cheat and I don't figure I ever will…it's just too difficult for me. Hell even with THIRTY lives, towards the end I found myself spiraling dangerously close to a continue. Seriously…when a game can take thirty lives from you (Good day, Metal Slug) and feel 1-) Not Broken and 2-) FUN…you know you're doing something right and Contra does both of those things rather well. Once you learn and master Contra it can feel really rewarding…I mean, it's one thing to do well in a videogame, but it's a whole different thing entirely to excel at a game everyone else is deficient at. It just makes the experience all the more special. It mixes side-scrolling gameplay with behind-the-back gameplay and the results are masterful…and still rather challenging to this day. No matter how good you think you are, on an initial play through you just won't be good enough for Contra…and that's pretty impressive. Contra 4 for the DS came out and tried to recapture the success of the original and it really does that. Fun to play, challenging but not broken…just a good title. So if you feel the need to be challenged, I would recommend that you hunt that one down. We need more Contra titles.

- You're about to have a lot of fun.

5-) Super Mario Brothers - You could say this game saved the gaming industry in a time when it was starting to look rather bleak…and I'd be fairly loathe to disagree with you. This game is a straight-forward platforming title. You go right, finish level, rinse and repeat…it doesn't try to do too much and in doing so it's just right. It combines intuitive level design with challenging yet clearable gameplay…it really just does everything right. I wish I could point to something ultra-intuitive about Mario that would make you gasp and awe, but there really isn't much to say about it as a whole…you had 1 health point (2 if you had a fire flower or a mushroom) and had to work your way through levels with what life you had. Usually the levels required precision jumping, but unlike most every other game that requires it…it wasn't a pain in the ass. It was actually fairly fun trying to navigate Mario onto that small strip of land. Of course, the terrain wasn't Mario's only enemy…you also had Bowser's underlings. This is where Mario's love of jumping comes into play as you essentially just jump on everything to beat it. It sounds so simple…and that's because it is! It does everything right and is easily accessible to ANYONE. Really, I've seen my grandmother play it to some success. Today when you hear that a game is accessible to everyone, the first thing you think is: "Oh no, what gimmick are they abusing?"…Super Mario Brothers maintains no gimmick and yet is highly accessible. Games have advanced a long way since this title, but if you look at the most successful games in history you'll see that they follow a similar trend. They appeal to everyone shunning a fan-base. This is the game that MADE Mario and any NES list that does not include this game has essentially committed a crime.

- Well…not everything Mario does has been golden.

4-) The Legend of Zelda - This marks the start of yet another franchise…one that we see regular updates to in the year 2008. If a game comes out in the year 1987 and that franchise is still around today, you know you've done something right. Seriously, run up and down this list and tell me how many of these franchises are still around…By my count seven of the games included are still viable viable franchises in the year 2008…and that really says something about the NES. It had a lot of quality titles and truly saved the console gaming industry after Atari tried their damndest to destroy it. Enough about Nintendo as a whole though, let's touch on our favorite Hylian lad…Link! The game did a number of great things…from offering a saving system instead of a password system – which believe you me was a god send – to featuring great gameplay combined with thought-provoking puzzles. At a time when gaming was pretty straightforward, stuff like this was quite welcome. It's hard to believe that two incredibly innovative games such as Zelda and Metroid were both released in the same year…but they were! Zelda introduced things that are still in play today…so to say it had a pretty significant mark on the game industry would be a bit of an under-statement. While the story was a bit lackluster, that would eventually develop in later games…but as far as gameplay is concerned, everything you could want is here. The ground-works for an incredible franchise were laid here. If you're looking for a history lesson, you really couldn't do much better.

- Here's to you.

3-) Castlevania 3 - It should be no surprise to you that I am not the biggest supporter of the Castlevania franchise. After all, it does a lot of things that I do not like. I mean, a non-linear title? WHO WANTS THAT!? STRAIGHT LINES FOR ME, BABY. The NES Castlevanias were different though…this was in the days before you had to explore worlds a billion times in order to find what path you were supposed to take…they were about pure platforming! Well, uh, they were except for Castlevania 2, of course. That game was just bad, no matter what your take on the franchise as a whole is. Anyhow, back to Castlevania 3…even though it's pretty much a pure platformer it does some fairly non-linear things as well. You are given choices throughout the game that can significantly alter how the course of the game goes. Usually when a game gives you choices, the result always ends up the same…but that wasn't the case here. THIS is the kind of non-linearity I enjoy! Is it because I'm too lazy to explore levels? Perhaps so. Perhaps I just hate seeing the same backgrounds over-and-over again ala Halo 1…but whatever the reason is, exploring and back-tracking always sets me off. Always. I liked Symphony of the Night pretty well – I defy you to find someone who has played the game that would say otherwise – but without a doubt…my favorite game in the franchise is the one that is just straight up action. Does that make me odd? Perhaps so…but I can't help that I feel this way. It's just more fun. My only main complaint regarding this title is that its main protagonist, Trevor, is no Simon or Richter. Then again, most Belmonts aren't. If you're looking for classic side-scrolling action there really is no other place for you to look to. Castlevania 3 does it well. I can't believe I avoided this title for so long due to fears of backtracking…they were unfounded and what laid before me was one of the finest experiences the NES had to offer. Who knew, eh?

- The only place to look for vampires that aren't shitty.

2-) Megaman 2 1987 was one hell of a year, wasn't it? Not only was I born that year, arguably an improvement upon the year 1986 where I was yet to grace the world, but Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Metroid, and the Legend of Zelda were all unveiled to us. Three games that would remain in our hearts for years to come. There would be one more title added to this prestigious list…and that would be, of course, Megaman.. That's right, 1987 also brought us the original Megaman! It offered a fairly non-linear "choose who you fight" game style that would become a staple of the franchise. While it hosts quite possibly the most annoying password system in history, what was enclosed in the game was pure platforming goodness. You couldn't possibly expect its sequel to improve on it, could you? After all, the American Mario 2 and Zelda 2 were arguably downgrades from their original…so what was there to expect from Megaman 2? In 1988 the second game was released and lo and behold some of the best platforming the NES had to offer was on this cart…and the impact of this game, combined with the quality of the original and 3…made Megaman an icon for years. I cannot say enough good things about Megaman 2. The levels were a perfect length. For those of you who have played Megaman 5 and 6 you'll understand why THAT is important. The boss battles were a great mix of fun and challenging. Odds are you couldn't go into a boss fight and just kick ass…you had to know what they were doing and what to throw at them. It was fun. I would still call Air Man one of the hardest bosses in videogame history. He really blew me over, so to speak. As if the new robot masters weren't enough, Megaman 2 also has some of THE best game music of all time. I defy you to listen to Crash Man's theme without it getting stuck in your head all day. Seriously, I was watching a video last night involving Crash Man and…this day, all throughout my classes…it just rang through my head. Seriously, some impressive stuff. If you know someone who doesn't enjoy megaman, at least the early games…you know someone who has absolutely no taste. Replaying Megaman 2 has made me want to play Megaman 9 more than ever. It may not be that great, but…it's a nice trip back to the past and it's something someone like me – who clearly gets wrapped up in nostalgia – will love totally. Hats off to ya' Capcom, you milkers of success, you kings of men…you've ensnared me in your sinister milking scheme.



1-) Super Mario Brothers 3 - When doing a search on top-games for the NES…very frequently you'll see Mario Brothers 3 on the list. Even when a game is good, you'll see dissent over how good it is. If you look at top-10 lists for Nintendo systems that aren't the NES you will notice that the number-one game tends to waver. Well, I guess except the N64, but I'm talking outside the GameFAQs community here folks. Super Mario Brothers 3 is the exception as it is globally lauded as not only one of the best games on the NES…but also one of the best games ever and this is for a very good reason. Mario Brothers 3 takes everything that the original Mario Brothers does and improves upon it. Instead of offering you simply a fire flower and a mushroom…Super Mario Brothers 3 offers you a plethora of power-ups, most of which are remembered fondly to this day. After all, it's hard to forget the first time you picked up that leaf and saw Mario sprout a tail. It's that sort of thing that resonates with you after all. Like the original game, Mario Brothers 3 is simple and appeals to all gamers…but this time it goes the extra mile. The game requires some serious dedication if you wish to beat it, the campaign is much, much longer than the original Mario's, and even when you DO beat it…it's littered with little secrets that you may not pick up on your first time through. It's very easy to see why this title dominated so many living rooms for years. It was engrossing and way ahead of its time. It's hard to believe that arguably the greatest sidescroller of all time was released on the NES…but here we are, several years later, and some gamers are calling it just that…if not the greatest game ever. That's certainly hefty praise for any game, but especially so for one that is so ancient. It's amazing, glancing over this list, just how much lasting value these games have. I know it's me sounding like an old fogey (I feel that way and I'm only 21…there's something wrong with me), but can you see many of the games from this generation being played 20 years from now in the same way the NES games are played way after their original release? I honestly don't. Super Mario Brothers 3 was the epitome of what was one of the greatest consoles in history. You'd be remiss to miss this title.



Well, that's it for this week. As always, you can e-mail me if you have any comments, complaints, whatever…where you would send that is [e-mail]. Or you can simply comment below. Whatever it is, do it to your heart's delight!

Before I go though, let's see what's going on around the 411 game section shall we?

The Exploding Barrel Podcast, voiced by Mike and AJ Minotti. THIS IS THEIR 50th PODCAST! Isn't that awesome? I have to e-mail them regarding the SC III extraordinaire…I better get on that soon, too. They also have an interesting new segment called "Answer or Die". Basically it's rapid fire Q & A. Wouldn't it make for a great podcast if one brother killed the other, and it faded to static with the killer saying: "And the deed is done"?

Nintendophiles written by Theo Fraser brings us some GREAT news. Suda 51 and Shinji Mikami ARE TEAMING UP FOR A NEW PROJECT! Suda was behind No More Heroes and Shinji is behind Resident Evil no fuck thatGOD HAND. This can only be the best news ever.

Tommy Coloma writes The Negative Edge News Report and good news! Harmonix doesn't like signing bands to exclusive contracts. I wish Activision would learn from them. Seriously, fuck games like Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Chris Evans brings us the PC-Centric Extravaganza…he talks a lot about the TF 2 update and believe you me, I was quite pleased with what they did. Did you know the backburner makes a new noise? Those little touches…

The Curryman tells us three things that need to happen in Potter games, he gets it right (especially the grit)…but did you know he runs a 411 fantasy football league and there's a team in the league called: "I Hate John Curry"? Isn't that insane? Also I'm winning the league.

Drew Robbins writes COMING ATTRACTIONS. And this week he discusses the apparent "flop" in Too Human. He also has his most comments ever at 21. Too bad only two people commented. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME.

Rod Oracheski brings us Achievement Unlocked and he goes down the list of some XBLA games coming out and tells us what he thinks of them…Megaman 9 seems hard as HELL to get them all…and I'll be eager to try the challenge. I seriously could not want Megaman 9 anymore than I do. I will buy two copies for the copy Vincent Chiucchi doesn't buy. One on my PS3, the other on the Wii. I may even repair my 360 just to get it on there too. PROFITS

Speaking of Vincent Chiucchi…he writes the Select and Start News Report! He is also super hyped up about the Suda/Shinji pairing. He also tells us that Yu Suzuki is in fact still with Sega! Just with a different role and lower profile. I am glad he's still there…VF is one of my favorite franchises

I am pleased to report that Joe Roche of the Full Circle News Report also couldn't give a shit over Tales of Vesparia. Glad I'm not the only one! Joe, we're the last of a dying breed. Too bad you are my new arch-rival.

I write B3yond the Report and I am awesome. That's all you need to know.

Well, that's it. I'm out.

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