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« on: October 28, 2018, 01:51:54 am »
Aladdin (Mega Drive)
- I got the console bundle for Christmas, and even the artwork alone used to keep me captivated, but the game itself is an airtight performance on the Sega system. I sincerely hope it gets remade or even just sharply ported.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Master System)
- the pack-in game on the Master System II that I got for Christmas, which served as my first introduction to home gaming. The vibrant colours, fast and varied gameplay and difficulty had me spending hours on this. Operation Wolf was the other MS-defining game for me, but there are more iconic games that eclipsed it later.
Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
- I remember not quite believing how good this looked, it sure was and still is a real looker. The water level, it's music and sense of depth with the rippling sand, fluid controls and the pingo-stick nose attack would be one highlight; the turquoise lit treetop level being my very favourite; and the first level's sunset sealing the initial burst of excitement with the promise of more to come. Diddy's Kong Quest cranked it up even further on every level, but this was my first SNES game and what a beginning.
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
- even before I had a SNES, the Mario iconography always fascinated me, and I even had a Merlin sticker album that I completed. This is simply a classic - as close to perfection as the hardware's capabilities could allow, the squelchy intro music and relative novelty of such an accessible concept and design still captures my imagination to this day. What needed done was the 3DS to gave shown one half on its top screen and the top-down map on the bottom screen. Nintendo's next chance to give this game a definitive version years later would be if on Switch it has both online functionality and new racers added (can you imagine a 16-bit sprite for the likes of Rosalina and Wario?) This game could be far from over yet - here's hoping.
Wave Race 64 (N64)
- the stunning water effects, a dreamy and buoyant motion like a potion of polygons, was a pleasing sensation that even modern jet-ski racers are still in the turbulent trail of. My grudge against the GameCube sequel is only paused temporarily for the fact that Aspen Lake still looked utterly gorgeous. Drake Lake's fog clearing to reveal the mirror like stillness remains one of my favoirite gaming experiences to this day. The more energetic waves, rising sea levels and acrobatics elsewhere combine a thrilling charge with a finesse that the sequel sadly forgot about.