NFOpocalypse

[ Superior ] Epic Legendary

The genre-bending epics of contemporary games certainly have their place, but the success of Viewtiful Joe and similar games shows that side-scrolling action isn’t dead.  Indeed, there’s something special about a side-scrolling, mook-stomping, “story irrelevant” adventure.  This week’s ROMiniscing hearkens back to the earlier days of the genre: Rare(ware)’s Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team.

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Superior Epic [ Legendary ]

We might be used to the idea that SquareSoft can take something like the Disney universe and make a full-fledged role-playing experience out of it, but Kingdom Hearts does not come without precedent.  Before Paper Mario, before Kingdom Hearts, and before Rare unhitched its wagon from Nintendo, there was today’s ROMiniscing feature: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

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[ Superior ] Epic Legendary

Any SNES\Genesis\TG-16\Neo Geo gamer can opine about the long list of games that never made it to the North American and PAL region markets, but how many can name one that never made it into the Japanese?  And with Action RPGs having their origins in Japan, wouldn’t you be surprised if this game fit that bill too?   Well then get surprised, because today we ROMinisce about exactly that: Secret of Evermore.

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Superior [ Epic ] Legendary

Being a creative medium, a fresh idea like Spore is well-received in the game industry (even if it’s tantamount to a five-part minigame).  Long before YouTube was flooded with “Creature Creator” penis-monsters, evolution was the focus of a now obscure 1993 title published by Enix known as E.V.O.: Search for Eden.  Combining Platforming with Role-Playing, creationism with evolution, and science with mythology, this classic game remains distinct and downright fun.

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Superior Epic [ Legendary ]

As the spiritual predecessor to the future Horror sub-genre and the first reported game to receive a parental advisory warning (and you thought it was Mortal Kombat!), Splatterhouse is a significant point in video game history.  By today’s standards, fighting crucifixes and zombies as a Jason Voorhees-esque maniac might seem tame, but this marked a step towards opening darker-themed mature content to players.  Ultimately, we have Splatterhouse to thank for letting video games become more than a teenager’s delight.

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Civony has taken a page from AIG’s playbook and rebranded; perhaps to dodge the bad press, or perhaps to make it less obvious that they’re hijacking elements of popular games to piece together a money scheme.  Either way, it’s clear their marketing people haven’t changed.

Note their use of “half a million players.”  They can’t say it in advertising if it isn’t true, right?

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You may have seen these Google ads on sites like… well, everywhere.  While I can’t find screencaps of the original “Your queen is waiting” ads, they were what got my attention because I’d always wanted my own sexy fairy queen.  A few nights ago, I finally gave Civony a try - hell, the worst case scenario was that I’d unearth some blog fodder!

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If you want to play some classic games via PC Emulation, you’ll find that a keyboard is a poor substitute for a gamepad.  Luckily if you have a PS3, you’re good to go!  The SIXAXIS controller can be used on your PC (despite the impression you got when you plugged in the USB and winged it).

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