4EverGreen Reviews the Best Nintendo Video Games, Year by Year!

[4EverGreen]

Believe it or not, there were an INCREDIBLE 190 GOOD video games to play on various Nintendo systems during the 20^th Century, so I’m going to list them all, and list them on a point score total of 190, with 190 being the most points possible for any video game, unless it’s the best! I hope you enjoy looking at this video game list, as much as I did writing it! /

190. “Adventure Island” NES and Game Boy 1/190 189. “The Lost Vikings” Super NES 2/190 188. “Ren and Stimpy: Veediots!” Super NES 3/190 187. “Jurassic Park” Super NES 4/190 186. “Roadblasters” NES 5/190 185. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” NES 6/190 184. “Mega Man II” NES and Game Boy 7/190 183. “Mickey Mousecapade” NES 8/190 182. “Marble Madness” NES and Game Boy 9/190 181. “Contra” NES 10/190 180. “Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels” 11/190 179. “Mega Man” NES 12/190 178. “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link” NES 13/190 177. “Bomberman 94” Turbographx-16 14/190 176. “Super Mario Land” Game Boy 15/190 175. “Disney's Goof Troop” Super NES 16/190 174. “Paperboy” NES, Game Boy, and Super NES 17/190 173. “Bomberman 93” Turbographx-16 18/190 172. “Ren and Stimpy: Time Warp” Super NES 19/190 171. “Battletoads and Double Dragon” Super NES 20/190 170. “Balloon Ride” NES and Game Boy 21/190 169. “Sonic Blast Man” Super NES 22/190 168. “Sonic Blast Man 2” Super NES 23/190 167. “Final Fight” Super NES 24/190 166. “Gradius” NES, Game Boy, and Super NES 25/190 165. “Radical Rex” Super NES 26/190 164. “The Jungle Book” Super NES 27/190 163. “Tetris” NES and Game Boy 28/190 162. “The Wizard of Oz” Super NES 29/190 161. “Metal Gear” NES 30/190 160. “Double Dragon” NES and Game Boy 31/190 159. “Pac-Man” NES and Game Boy 32/190 158. “Kirby's Dream Land” Game Boy 33/190 157. “Final Fantasy Legend II” Game Boy 34/190 156. “Super Star Wars” Super NES 35/190 155. “Super Return of the Jedi” Super NES 36/190 154. “Donkey Kong” NES and Game Boy 37/190 153. “Ice Climber” NES 38/190 152. “Ms. Pac-Man” NES, Game Boy, Genesis, and Super NES 39/190 151. “Taz-Mania” Super NES 40/190 150. “Pocky and Rocky” Super NES 41/190 149. “Mighty Morphing Power Rangers” Super NES 42/190 148. “Clayfighter” Super NES 43/190 147. “Wayne's World” Super NES 44/190 146. “Clayfighter: Tournament Edition” Super NES 45/170 145. “Final Fantasy II” Super NES 46/190 144. “Lemmings” Super NES 47/190 143. “B.O.B.” Super NES 48/190 142. “Sonic Labyrinth” Game Gear 49/190 141. “Toejam and Earl” Genesis 50/190 140. “Lagoon” Super NES 51/190 139. “Plok!” Super NES 52/190 138. “The Ren and Stimpy Show: Space Cadet Adventures” Game Boy 53/190 137. “The Incredible Crash Test Dummies” Super NES 54/190 136. “Toy Story” Super NES 55/190 135. “Tetris and Dr. Mario” Super NES 56/190 134. “Donkey Kong Jr.” NES 57/190 133. “Ducktales” NES and Game Boy 58/190 132. “Super Street Fighter II: the New Challengers” Super NES 59/190 131. “Disney's Aladdin” Super NES 60/190 130. “Mega Man IV” NES and Game Boy 61/190 129. “F-Zero” Super NES 62/190 128. “Krusty's Super Fun House” Super NES 63/190 127. “Road Runner's Death Valley Rally” Super NES 64/190 126. Mortal Kombat III” Arcades and Super NES 65/190 125. “Super Game Boy” Super NES and Game Boy 66/190 124. “Kirby's Pinball Land” Game Boy 67/190 123. “Super Bomberman” Super NES 68/190 122. “Killer Instinct” Arcades and Super NES 69/190 121. “Super Bomberman 2” Super NES 70/190 120. “Mortal Kombat II” Arcades and Super NES 71/190 119. “Mario's Time Machine” Super NES 72/190 118. “Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind” Super NES 73/190 117. “Kirby Super Star” Super NES 74/190 116. “Aero the Acro-Bat” Super NES 75/190 115. “Hook” Super NES 76/190 114. “Mario is Missing!” Super NES 77/190 113. “King of Monsters” Arcades, Neo Geo, and Super NES 78/190 112. “Gargoyle's Quest” Game Boy 79/190 111. “Metroid II: Return of Samus” Game Boy 80/190 110. “Smash T.V.” NES and Game Boy 81/190 109. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan” Game Boy 82/190 108. “River City Ransom” NES 83/190 107. “Sonic Adventure” Dreamcast 84/190 106. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Return to the Sewers” Game Boy 85/190 105. “New Adventure Island” Turbographx-16 86/190 104. “Adventure Island II” NES and Game Boy 87/190 103. “Columns” Game Gear 88/190 102. “Mario Paint” Super NES 89/190 101. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” Genesis 90/190 100. “Crusin' USA” Arcades and N64 91/190

99. “Mole Mania” Game Boy 92/190 98. “Bomberman 64” N64 93/190 97. “Frogger” Super NES 94/190 96. “Wheel of Fortune” NES and N64 95/190 95. “The Lion King” Super NES 96/190 94. “Sonic Spinball” Game Gear and Genesis 97/190 93. “Wario Land: Super Mario Land III” Game Boy 98/190 92. “Ultimate Mortal Kombat III” Arcades and Super NES 99/190 91. “Super Punch-Out” Super NES 100/190 90. “Mortal Kombat 4” Arcades and N64 101/190 89. “Mega Man X2” Super NES 102/190 88. “Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island” Super NES 103/190 87. “Kirby's Dream Land 2” Game Boy 104/190 86. “Mega Man X3” Super NES 105/190 85. “Earthworm Jim 2” Super NES 106/190 84. “Wario Land II” Game Boy Color 107/190 83. “Pokemon Pinball” Game Boy Color 108/190 82. “Donkey Kong 64” N64 109/190 81. “Rayman 2: the Great Escape” N64 110/190 80. “Super Mario Bros.” Arcades and NES 111/190! 79. “Donkey Kong Country” Super NES and Game Boy Color 112/190! 78. “Super Smash Bros.” N64 114/190! 77. “Rayman” Jaguar, Saturn, and Game Boy Color 115/190! 76. “Cratermaze” Turbographx-16 116/190! 75. “Joe and Mac” Game Boy and Super NES 117/190! 74. “Sonic the Hedgehog” (Game Gear Version) 118/190! 73. “Metroid” NES 119/190! 72. “Donkey Kong Land II” Game Boy 120/190! 71. “Cruisin' Exotica” Arcades and N64 121/190! 70. “Bust-a-Move” Arcades and Super NES 122/190! 69. “Mega Man V” (Game Boy Version) 123/190! 68. “Super Mario Bros. 2” NES 124/190! 67. “Earthworm Jim” Genesis 125/190! 66. “Super Bonk” Super NES 126/190! 65. “Street Fighter Alpha 2” Arcades and Super NES 127/190! 64. “The Legend of Zelda” NES 128/190! 63. “Clayfighter 63 1/3” (What Else?!) N64 129/190!

62. “Street Fighter Alpha: Warrior's Dreams” Game Boy Color 130/190! 61. “U.N. Squadron” Super NES 131/190! 60. “Super Mario Kart” Super NES 132/190! 59. “E.V.O.: Gateway to Eden” Super NES 133/190! 58. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: the Radical Rescue” Game Boy 134/190! 57. “Sonic 3D Blast” Genesis 135/190! 56. “Mega Man X/Mega Man Xtreme” Super NES and Game Boy Color 136/190! 55. “Kirby's Adventure” NES 137/190! 54. “Little Nemo: the Dream Master” NES 138/190! 53. “Super Smash T.V.” Super NES 139/190! 52. “Bonk's Revenge” Turbographx-16 140/190! 51. “Super C” NES 141/190! 50. “Mickey Mouse's Magical Quest” Super NES 142/190! 49. “Mega Man VI” NES 143/190! 48. “Toejam and Earl: Panic on Funkotron” Genesis 144/190! 47. “Mega Man V” NES 145/190! 46. “Contra III: the Alien Wars” Super NES 146/190! 45. “Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting” Arcades and Super NES 147/190! 44. “Star Fox” Super NES 148/190! 43. “Bust-a-Move 2” Arcades and N64 149/190! 42. “Cruisin' World” Arcades and Super NES 150/190! 41. “Banjo-Kazooie” N64 151/190! 40. “Bust-a-Move 3” Arcades, N64, and Game Boy Color 152/190! 39. “Super Mario Bros. Deluxe” Game Boy Color 153/190! 38. “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater” N64 154/190! 37. “Yoshi's Cookie” NES, Game Boy, and Super NES 155/190! 36. “Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose” Super NES 156/190! 35. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time” Arcades and Super NES 157/190! 34. “Mega Man III” NES and Game Boy 158/190! 33. “Bonk's Adventure” NES, Game Boy, and Turbographx-16 159/190! 32. “Mighty Morphing Power Rangers: the Movie” Super NES 160/190! 31. “Earthbound” Super NES 161/190! 30. “Diddy Kong Racing” N64 162/190! 29. “Final Fantasy Mystical Quest” Super NES 163/190! 28. “Street Fighter II: the World Warrior” Arcades and Super NES 164/190! 27. “Super Mario Land II: Six Golden Coins” Game Boy 165/190! 26. “Sonic the Hedgehog” (Genesis Version) 166/190! 25. “Super Mario Bros. 3” NES 167/190! 24. “Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire” N64 168/190! 23. “Super Mario All Stars” Super NES 169/190! 22. “The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX” Game Boy Color 170/190! 21. “Yoshi's Story” N64 171/190! 20. “Sonic and Knuckles” Genesis 172/190! 19. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Genesis 173/190! 18. “Super Metroid” Super NES 174/190! 17. “Donkey Kong Country II: Diddy Kong's Quest” Super NES 175/190! 16. “Super Mario R.P.G.: Legend of the Seven Stars” Super NES 176/190! 15. “Star Fox 2” Super NES 177/190! 14. “Rampage World Tour” N64 and Game Boy Color 178/190! 13. “F-Zero X” N64 179/190! 12. “Pokemon Blue/Red” Game Boy Color 180/190! 11. “Rampage 2: Universal Tour” N64 and Game Boy Color 181/190! 10. “Mario Kart 64” N64 182/190! 9. “Mario Party” N64 183/190! 8. “Secret of Mana” Super NES 184/190! 7. “Chrono Trigger” Super NES 185/190! 6. “Final Fantasy III” Super NES 186/190! 5. “Super Mario 64” N64 187/190! 4. “Star Fox 64” N64 188/190! 3. “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” N64 189/190! 2. “Super Mario World” Super NES 190/190! 1. “The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past” Super NES 200/190! (Yes, it's THAT good!) /

That’s it for my list THIS time!  Stay tuned for next time where we glide (harmlessly) past the Y2K bug, see Pokemon fights enter the 3D realm, see a certain bear and bird team up again, see the Pokemon encyclopedia get upped to 250 Pokemon total to catch, and where we get to play one of the most haunting masterpieces ever released on the N64!  Stay tuned! 

[4EverGreen]

It’s time to enter the 21^st Century!  Not a lot of video games to start off with in the year 2000, but what we lack in quantity in video games, we MORE than make up for it in terms of QUALITY and length!!!! There are seven video games fighting for the top spot! See where they rank on my video game list! *A star indicates that a memory expansion pack is required to play the game. /

7. "Mario Party 2" Rated E, N64 / This video game certainly stepped up its game from its last outing! The controls and graphics are improved, you now have the option to get an item to help you win board games, you now have to pay coins to a Boo in order to STEAL coins from another opponent; but in the board games, every board game is a theme, and Mario and his friends get to dress up in themed costumes for these board games. Also introduced into the mix are RIVAL Board Games! While a good number of these Board Games are the same as from the FIRST "Mario Party"" game, they are at least designed differently enough from their original versions to warrant another play-through. And the player that wins the Board Game gets to face off against Bowser in some kind of a climatic show-down! This video game is currently available to play via the Wii Virtual Console.

6. "Pokemon Stadium" Rated E, N64/Game Boy Color compatible / Basically, what this video game is about is taking the tiny size of the Pokemon monsters in "Pokemon Blue/Red," fluffing them out into 3-D creatures with way better graphics and cooler looking besides, and making the moves look that much cooler to! While there's not much more that can be said of the game plot than that, for a "Pokemon" devotee such as myself; that was enough! Because with 150 possible Pokemon to choose from, fights always had to be done differently as far as strategies in what attacks to use against an opposing Pokemon went. Of course, the game wouldn't be worth mentioning if it weren't for the fun mini-games, such as Sandshrew digging to find water, Magikarp splashing to hit a button, and many other mini-games that were fun for the playing. Although it was wish fulfillment to see what the Pokemon creatures looked like in 3-D, all fleshed out for the very first time, and the graphics, game-play, sound music, and overall control of the game was nothing short of perfect, the only drawback of the game is that there is no real deeper meaning to the game than just having Pokemon that can finally fight each other in 3-D. But for the time, no other experience came close as to what the "Pokemon" series could achieve when it came to better graphics, and it served its purpose and blazed the trail for better-looking "Pokemon" games that would come with the release of the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS. This game still holds a fond memory in my heart, and it is for that reason that I still salute this game!

5. "Ms. Pac-Man's Maze Madness" Rated E, Dreamcast and N64 /  There is no doubt that both "Pac-Man" and "Ms. Pac-Man" are globally recognized video game icons, if only for their original arcade appearances in the 1980's! But a lot of people were wondering if either of them could generate the SAME kind of fun on a higher end system. They got their answer when THIS game came out on the N64 in 2000; it was a resounding: "YES!!!!" An evil witch named Mesmerelda has organized the four evil ghosts; Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Sue into TERRORIZING all of Pac-World, while she in turn captures all of its citizens and imprisons them in her tower so that SHE can have free reign of Pac-World! Ms. Pac-Man must travel through many different maze environments, figure out all the different puzzles and ways to advance through each stage, and avoid getting hurt by the Ghosts and OTHER dangerous enemies lurking in this game! This game works because while it IS in a 3D realm, it STILL retains the classic play and feel of a "Pac-Man" game! Speaking of, the original "Ms. Pac-Man" is even INCLUDED in this game as a free bonus! If you want a fun game that's challenging but not too difficult to play, this is the video game for you!

4. "Banjo-Tooie" Rated E, N64* / When the 21st century rolled around, Rareware was one of the HOTTEST companies in the video game world. As a second-party developer for Nintendo, Rareware NEVER failed to release hit game after hit game, with each game being of the HIGHEST quality in sound, graphics, fun, challenge, control, and variety of different things to do in each game, such as is the case with this game! Nobody could have guessed that behind the bright, cheery environment of this game, Rareware itself was actually experiencing irritation and anger internally. Rareware was getting SICK and tired of being seen as a 'Kiddies' video game company. Most people didn't take Rare seriously as a HARDCORE video game company, even when they released decidedly NON-Kid games such as "Goldeneye 007, Blast Corps, Killer Instinct," and "Perfect Dark." This was one of the LAST gasps of innocence from Rare before they experienced their 'primal scream' moment with "Conker's Bad Fur Day." Keeping ALL the same moves from the LAST game, and introducing MANY new ones, Banjo the Bear and Kazooie the Bird have to face off against Gruntilda AGAIN, back as an undead skeleton and teaming up with her TWO wicked sisters to get revenge against the heroic duo! Upon killing the duo's beloved friend, Bottles the Mole, Banjo and Kazooie must fight against the perils Gruntilda has put up; both together AND solo! For the first time, Banjo and Kazooie will need to separate in order to accomplish different tasks and try to collect all 100 notes in each level, all five Jinjo's (multi-colored creature things) in each level, and all 100 Jiggies (Puzzle Pieces) in the game, in order to open the way through the game and to the final show-down against Gruntilda! Players will even get to control Witch Doctor Mumbo Jumbo, who can cast spells that will help Banjo and Kazooie get to certain places! Although this game has NEVER gotten a proper re-release on a Nintendo system (seeing as how Rare transferred itself to Microsoft in one of the STUPIDEST video game moves in HISTORY!!!!) a variation of this game DID see a release on the Game Boy Advance, only with Klungo being responsible for Gruntilda's come-back INSTEAD of Gruntilda's sisters. Maybe someday, maybe Rareware will see the light and come back to work for Nintendo someday or something. One can always hope.

3. "Wario Land III" (What ELSE?!) Rated E, Game Boy Color / What Mario has done for the main console systems Nintendo has made, Wario manages to do for the Game Boy systems. While Wario isn't exactly known for helping people, he DOES do if it will get him rewarded with treasures and money! Take for instance, this game! When Wario finds and plays a Music Box, he finds out that it's MAGIC! Wario gets shrunk down into the world of the Music Box! A 'Guardian Deity' says he can restore Wario to his normal height, but Wario has to hunt down the four magic music instruments first, located in the four different sections (levels) of the Music Box. Any other treasures Wario discovers on his quest will be HIS to keep! What Wario DOESN'T know, is the 'Guardian Deity' is ACTUALLY a SEALED Demon who's been trapped by the now spell-bound citizens of the magic music box, and the Demon NEEDS the music instruments to be played before the seal on him can be broken! Needless to say, the Demon has no REAL intention of letting Wario getting ANY treasure! But if the Demon thinks it will be EASY to get rid of Wario, than he doesn't KNOW the lengths Wario will go to in order to improve his financial fortunes! This game is unique as Wario is UNABLE to die in this game! Although, Wario can STILL be affected by enemy inflicted transformations! These transformations are actually ESSENTIAL to Wario being able to discover SECRET bonus areas, alternate hidden exits, and rare treasures he wouldn't be able to find otherwise! Wario will have to set himself on fire, get fatter, become a zombie, get stung and float, become a snow-ball, and even get a little 'spring' action in! Along the way, Wario will also increase his move abilities, so that he can do more and find even MORE hidden secrets in stages he has already gone through! So this game provides a lot of re-play value, and when Wario defeats the evil demon, the spell-bound citizens of the Music Box hail him as a GREAT hero and let him keep his treasures! Hey, what people don't know, won't hurt them, or endanger Wario's financial fortunes! This is a REALLY cool Wario game!

2. "Pokemon Gold/Silver" Rated E, Game Boy Color / Despite the enhanced abilities of the Game Boy Color compared to the original Game Boy, the tiny 12-bit powerhouse was beginning to get a little long in the tooth by the time Y2K came and went without a glitch. Many people wondered if the system STILL had any relevance to it when it came to games made in the 21st century. The over-whelming answer was that YES; there was STILL life to be had in the Game Boy Color! Among one of the LONGEST length games in the Game Boy Color catalog, "Pokemon Silver" (along with "Pokemon Gold"), managed to accomplish the IMPOSSIBLE; they UPPED the ante of the ORIGINAL "Pokemon" games! In the originals, there were only 150 to catch and 8 gyms to beat! In "Generation II," there were 250 to catch and 16 gyms to beat! In addition to highlighting the capabilities of the Game Boy Color, "Pokemon Gold and Silver" did a good job of adding new features to the "Pokemon" game world. In the original, only TWO Pokemon had distinct genders (the Nidoran evolution line), but in this game, nearly ALL the Pokemon had distinct genders, and they could even make EGGS/Baby Pokemon, impossible to catch otherwise! Another nice feature, is that Pokemon could now HOLD an item when they went to battle, very helpful in saving Pokemon in a pinch. And new HM moves were introduced, the helpful Whirlpool and Waterfall, which helped players access places that would otherwise remain blocked off. But the COOLEST new feature was the introduction of SHINY Pokemon; that is, Pokemon that appeared in RARE colors, with better stats and features than normal Pokemon, such as the mighty red Gyrados! With all these features, its little wonder how these games managed to out-perform and out-sell their predecessors on every level! That's why I love these games!

1. "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" Rated E, N64* / Although many of "The Legend of Zelda" games are very different from each other in the terms of where Link is and what challenges he has to go through in order to save the day, this game is very different because Link just doesn't have to save the day, he has to save an entire world! This world is called Terminus, and it is in grave danger! There is only three days before a deadly moon comes crashing into Terminus, destroying everyone and everything in Terminus! Normally, this wouldn't be such a problem for Link, but he has one major problem: he's not himself lately, and that's literally! A strange creature wearing a deadly mask has made off with Link's Ocarina and his pony Epona! Compounding the problem, he transforms Link into a Deku Scrub! Now Link must team up with an unlikely ally, a fairy named Tatl, who must guide Link until she can get back to her sister and owner, and until he can return to normal. The problem of the situation is explained all too clearly by a familliar face: the Traveling Mask Salesman. But he's not just happy this time around, he has a major concern. One of his masks, Majora's Mask to be precise, has been stolen from him! And Majora's Mask has the ability to corrupt and bend others to the Mask's will, because the Mask has a mind and will of its own, with incredible powers! And Majora's Mask, is using a friend of Link's, the Skull Kid, into bringing Terminus' moon into crashing down into Terminus! How will Link be able to accomplish this all within three days? Fortunately, Link does not have to face this problem without some help. With the help of some fairies, a squad of kids called the Bomber Squad, Gorons, Zora's, and a cast of several others, Link will discover the way to make things right in the land of Terminus, as well as save it. Link's first task is to get his Ocarina back so that he can find a way to return to normal. Once he gets his Ocarina back, that's when things REALLY get interesting! He plays the Song of Time, and time itself rewinds! Now everything has returned to the first day! Only this time, Link will be able to make much more progress now that he's returned to normal form. But now, he must play it smart. Link must find out how to stop the Moon from crashing down on Terminus, and the only way he can do it is by conquering four temples in the land. Four temples which require very different skills! Link will have to transform into a Deku Scrub, into a Goron, into a Zora, into a Giant, and don several other masks as well in order to accomplish his task! This game features better music, more action, more challenges, and believe it or not, better graphics than "Ocarina of Time!" Plus it introduces (depending on whether one is pro or anti) the famous or infamous Tingle, who provides Link with the maps that detail his ongoing progress! It's a challenging game, and it's definitely an exciting one! One that's made a lot easier by knowing the tricks of a certain song and how by playing it backwards, slows down time. So it's not just an incredible feet in the world of N64 engineering, it's a feet in video game engineering period, and one of sheer brillance! That's why I enjoyed this game! /

That's if for 2000!  Stay tuned for 2001, when Link gets TWO portable games for the price of one, Rareware FREAKS everyone out with their last N64 game, Mario goes flat, and the Game Boy Advance EXPLODES onto the scene, and a fighting video game series gets TAKEN to the NEXT level!!!! Enough said, true believers! 

[4EverGreen]

MAN!!!!  I obviously just had LOADS of disposable cash back in 2001! I actually managed to play most of these games IN the year of 2001! But I digress!  This year, for 2001, I’m going to do something a little different. You see, this year marks a CLEAR divide in video games; the ones that came out for the Game Boy Color and the N64, and the games that came out for the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo Gamecube. Since I don’t think it would be fair for me to compare the video games of a LOWER generation with those of a HIGHER generation, I’m going to divide this list into two parts. I’m going to list the best video games for the Game Boy Color and N64 systems, than I’m going to list the best video games for the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo Gamecube systems, and I’ll let YOU be the judge as to which video games are the best of the best!  /

Part I: Game Boy Color and N64 list.

9. “Mario Party 3” Rated E, N64 / By this point, you could pretty much set your CALENDARS around when another “Mario Party” game was going to be released! Although this game does feature nice new additions. There’s a new host, as new character Tumble, takes over board game hosting duties. And new characters, Toad and Walugi, get to join in on the mini-game madness! Not only that, but you can now hold THREE items at a time instead of just one! It certainly has the best graphics out of the 3 N64 “Mario Party” games. I’m pretty sure it’s available to play on the Wii U Virtual Console, so if it is, try playing it and see how fun it is for yourself!

8. “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2” Rated E, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, and N64 / Nintendo…did NOT want to give up making cartridge based systems! They LIKED their games being built around solid, unbreakable cartridges and saw them as more durable and trustworthy than disc based systems! But by the time THIS game came around, the Game Boy Advance version of this game was STARTING to catch UP to the N64 version; some people honestly mistook the graphics of the Game Boy Advance version FOR the N64 version, and it was getting harder and HARDER for the N64 to keep up with the Sony Playstation 2! So it’s little wonder why THIS video game ended up being one of the LAST new masterpieces for the N64 (although Activision did QUIETLY release the sequel to this video game ON the N64 one year later, when most people STOPPED owning one). The video game has new stages and new skateboarders to choose from, but the N64 version is the ONLY one that doesn’t have annoying load screens during stage transitions. Sadly, not a video game that is currently available on a Virtual Console system yet.

7. “Mega Man Xtreme 2” Rated E, Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance / What many people don't realize about Mega Man's portable video game outings (on the Game Boy) is the fact that MOST of them are actually level REMIXES of the NES originals! That is, the "Mega Man" game on the Game Boy (for example, "Mega Man III") actually takes FOUR stages from the NES version of "Mega Man III" and four stages from the NES version of "Mega Man IV!" When "Mega Man Xtreme" was designed to do the same thing for the "Mega Man X" series from the Super NES on the Game Boy Color, it followed the same pattern. However, the second (and sadly last) iteration in this series takes a divergence. It takes two stages from "Mega Man X," 4 stages from "Mega Man X2," and 2 stages from "Mega Man X3." If that wasn't enough, this game has an original plot not TAKEN from the "Mega Man X" games, with two new villains (serving Sigma, of course), and the ability to play as either Zero or X, a feature not available in the first game, but both robots have different fighting styles! This game features great graphics, great music, great controls, and a great challenge. The big reason why this game doesn't get ranked higher, is because the stages and bosses chosen for this game, aren't as iconic as the ones in "Mega Man Xtreme." The video game IS currently available to play on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, if you are interested.

6. “Bust-a-Move 4” Rated E, Arcades, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance (as “Super Bust-a-Move”) / One of the last fun puzzle games for the Game Boy Color, also ended up becoming one of the first fun puzzle games for the Game Boy Advance, albeit, under a different name. Most people agree that this is where the “Bust-a-Move” series reached its peak, in terms of making new innovations and fun challenges! I certainly spent plenty of fun hours challenging myself, using my brain to figure out the best way to figure out all the challenges! The graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty, are all as solid as ever. Even if this video game isn’t available on a Virtual Console yet, there’s certainly a good chance you will still find it on the Arcade floor; just make sure to bring PLENTY of quarters!

5. “The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages” Rated E, Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance / "Oracle of Ages" is important NOT just because it's the first CANON "Zelda" game to NOT be developed by Nintendo itself, but also because of the cool link feature it shares with "Oracle of Seasons," which we'll see later in this list. What's unique about this game is the fact that it takes place NOT in the land of Hyrule, as is the usual case, but in the parallel land of Labrynna. An evil witch named Veran has possessed the body of Nayru, who is not just a good singer, she's also the Oracle of Ages! Using Nayru's body, Veran travels back in time 400 years to wreak havoc on present day Labrynna and create the foreboding castle called the Dark Tower! Using the Harp of Ages, Link must travel back and forth between present day Labrynna, and distant past Labrynna, in order to solve many challenging puzzles and fix problems in both the past and the present! This game really shows off the Game Boy Color at its most innovative, as the graphics are top notch, and several items and characters from the N64 "Zelda" games manage to make an appearance in this one! Plus, it's now available for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, so if you missed it the first time, be sure to check it out now!

4. “Pokemon Crystal” Rated E, Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance / Unlike "Pokemon Yellow," which was basically a cheap ADD-on to the "Pokemon Blue/Red" saga, "Pokemon Crystal" manages to be a MORE independent game from "Pokemon Gold and Silver." Not only that, it introduces a brand NEW option! For the first time, players could CHOOSE to play as either a boy OR a girl, so that there wasn't just ONE avatar choice to choose from! Also, the graphics and music are even MORE impressive on "Pokemon Crystal" (especially on the Game Boy Advance) and there's a brand NEW quest, where it makes it a LOT easier to catch Suicune (who previously only appeared rarely and VERY randomly in "Gold and Silver.") Also introduced were new SPECIAL days in "Pokemon," where special bargains were offered in shops, and certain Pokemon became easier to catch. "Pokemon Crystal" was the FIRST "Pokemon" game to keep REAL-time track of the days and months that this game was played in, resulting in a richer, more believable gaming experience! It’s now available for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, so if you missed it the first time, be sure to check it out now!

3. “Paper Mario” Rated E, N64 / If "Super Mario 64" was an ESCAPE from 2-D games into 3-D games, "Paper Mario" was like a nice little homage to the 2-D games! Nintendo's first R.P.G. outing with Mario since "Super Mario R.P.G.," "Paper Mario" turned out to be a charming, adventurous, and strangely epic outing that turned out to be one of Mario's FINAL outings on a cartridge game! The characters may be flat, but the action and story are REALLY deep! Bowser has taken kidnapping Princess Peach to a WHOLE new level, as he doesn't JUST kidnap the Princess, he kidnaps her ENTIRE castle as well! Mario sets to trounce Bowser again; only to learn a GRIM secret! Bowser has found a way to make himself IMPERVIOUS to Mario's attacks, to the point where he is virtually invincible; thanks to the help of a magic item known as the Star Rod, which can grant wishes! Bowser uses the Star Rod to do what he has NEVER been able to do before; BEAT Mario to a PULP!!!! But Bowser CAN'T keep a good plumber down; because Mario eventually gets back in the game, and decides to find a way to BEAT Bowser's new scheme, no matter HOW hard it is! To do that, Mario will need the help of eight partners; Goombario the Goomba, Kooper the Koopa, Bombette the Bob-omb, ParaKerry the Para-Koopa, Bow the Boo, Watt the Spark, Sushi the Lung-Fish, and Lakilester the Lakitu. Mario will also need to save the seven star spirits being held prisoner by Bowser's toughest generals; traveling to many different exotic locales in order to do so. Only once Mario has saved all seven star spirits will Mario have the power he needs to DEFEAT Bowser's latest plan, once and for all! The graphics are charming, the sound is great, the controls, music, game-play, and challenge are all stellar, and it all adds up to a great way for the N64 to go out on a high note!

2. “The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons” Rated E, Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance / Since this video game’s partner game, "Oracle of Ages," is already on the list, it makes sense to include THIS game on the same list as well. The biggest reason why this game ranks higher than its partner, is for the fact that according to most people--including myself; find this game to be the better game of the pair. Once again, this game doesn't take place in Hyrule, but in the parallel land of Holodrum. Upon arriving there, Link meets a great dancer named Din, and is even invited to dance with her! But an evil force comes along to interrupt the joyful times, the mighty, evil General Onox, who completely overwhelms Link and captures Din, who also happens to be the Oracle of Seasons! Onox takes the captured Din and places her in his sinister tower. He then submerges the Temple of Seasons into the underground land of Subrosia, throwing the seasons of Holodrum into chaos! Using the Rod of Seasons, Link can manipulate the seasons in the Land of Holodrum, gaining access to places in certain seasons and finding the path to dungeons in others! Once again, a lot of "Zelda" characters from the N64 "Zelda" games make an appearance here. And by using the link feature with "Oracle of Ages," Link can have a continued, expanded adventure from THAT game (or vice-versa) where its revealed that the REAL threat behind Veran and General Onox are Kotake and Koume, AKA Twinrova, who have devised these plots in an attempt to resurrect the EVIL Gerudo Ganon! This is one cool game that is now also available on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console for people who have missed out the first time!

1. “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” Rated M, N64 / "OHHHH, GOD!!!!" That was Nintendo's reaction to what was by FAR, the most CONTROVERSIAL and SHOCKING thing Rareware had ever DONE during its entire HISTORY as a video game developer! This game already had a long and TROUBLING production; initially starting out as a light-heart kid fluff called "Conker's Tales" (the closest THAT ever came to seeing the light of day, was on the Game Boy Color as "Conker's Pocket Tales" in 1999.) It then morphed into a more adventurous, but still kid-friendly labeled "Conker's Twelve Tales;" which ALSO never saw the light of day on the N64. By 2001, Rareware had ENOUGH! They were NOT going to be labeled as a 'kiddie' game company anymore, they WOULD be taken seriously; and they didn't CARE what the consequences were going to be! Of course, if they HAD known that ONE of those consequences would be that they were going to get traded to Microsoft and end up making lousy games FAR below their capability levels, they MIGHT have thought twice before deciding to freak EVERYONE in the WORLD out with this game! Nobody knew just how FAR a video game could PUSH adult-labeled content on a video game; but Rareware decided to tear down EVERY single rule they had established BY that point, in what was expected from one of those games! Right from the game's INTRO screen (VERY unpopular with Nintendo, as it showed Conker CUTTING the N64 logo in HALF with a chainsaw), it was CLEAR that "Conker's Bad Fur Day" was NOT going to be a KID'S game! In fact, it turned out to be the FARTHEST thing from! On Conker's 21st birthday; Conker has FAR more to drink than he should have, gets hung over and lost on his way home; and when he wakes up, he breaks the fourth wall (something that's done CONSTANTLY in this game) and knows he is going to have a BAD Fur Day! 

Rareware not only provided the same great controls, the same great music, the same great sound, and the same great game-play difficulty in THIS game that they had provided in every single Rareware game prior, they also came up with what they called, the "Context Sensitive" button. That is, at certain places, usually on an A button pad icon located in a game, Conker could stand on the icon, press the A button, and perform a unique action EXCLUSIVE to THAT spot, and CRUCIAL to moving the plot forward! But what REALLY stands out about this game are the INCREDIBLE graphics, and the SHEER amount of voice-work in this game! Nearly every single CHARACTER in this game has a voice, and they speak in British accents, with a WIDE range of vocabulary that CAN'T be repeated in front of your parents! If it wasn't enough that the characters had their colorful vocabulary, they also had colorful actions! There is SO much taboo adult content in this game, I can't even repeat it right now! One highlight of the content though, the giant NAKED caveman at the END of the cave-man section of the game! Another change is that Rareware decided to do away with the characters having to collect an INSANE amount of things, and instead, focus on collecting ONE thing; CASH!!!! But the BIGGEST departure from Rare's usual formula, is the fact that this game has a DOWNER ending! Conker's girlfriend Berri is murdered, and Conker loses his chance to bring her back to life! Conker ends up as the King, with all the money and power in the world, but he has lost the one thing that matters to him the most; his soul-mate. Kind of ironic that Rareware didn't heed the warning said by Conker at the end of this game: "You don't know what you've got, until it's GONE!" Rareware's swan song for the N64, was perhaps the best way to signify the end of the N64; revolutionary until the very end! /

Part II: Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube list.

24. “Golden Sun” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / One of the first R.P.G. video games available on the 32-bit portable system, it certainly does its best to impress; by having beautiful graphics, great sound and music, and very good controls, and characters who get to cast lots of different magic. So why does this game only rank at the BOTTOM of this list? The game only gets HALFWAY through the plot, and I was NEVER able to beat the Final Bosses, no matter HOW hard I TRIED!!!! And believe me, I sure did try! Although I am willing to try my luck with a new Nintendo DS sequel that’s currently available, if I ever get around to playing it!

23. “Kao the Kangaroo” Rated E, Dreamcast and Game Boy Advance / You can’t fault Sega for TRYING to do so much with their 128-bit system. They WANTED it to succeed! They threw every single RESOURCE they had into trying to make the Dreamcast a success! But the things that ALWAYS seemed to plague them, were terribly LONG loading times, and HORRIBLE camera controls! Ironically, one of their last games for the Dreamcast, that was seen as yet another failure in the LONG list of failures that they had for that system, ended up becoming one of the Game Boy Advance’s first technical successes! Although the Game Boy Advance version uses “Super Mario World” as an inspiration, that actually WORKS to this game’s advantage! Starring a yellow kangaroo that can jump and punch, Kao must make his way across a variety of stages and levels. I don’t remember the EXACT reason why, but I know that I had fun! The only reason that I don’t rank this higher, is because I remember the other games on this list a lot BETTER than this one!

22. “Cruisin’ Velocity” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The fourth, and FINAL “Cruisin’” game of any REAL worth to appear on a Nintendo video game system, this video game takes the concepts of the previous N64 video games, and manages to shrink it down to fit onto the 32 bit powerhouse of the Game Boy Advance. The graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty are definitely solid. That being said, there’s still a feeling that this video game just lacks the raw strength and challenge that the other “Cruisin’” games had. Maybe THAT’S why there has been only ONE new “Cruisin’” game ever appeared on a Nintendo system SINCE this one; several years later, and on the Nintendo Wii, no less!

21. “F-Zero: Maximum Velocity” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This AWESOME game is actually a direct sequel to "F-Zero," and "F-Zero X." It takes place 30 years after the original "F-Zero" games, and instead, focuses on some of the descendants of the original "F-Zero" racers. Even so, this is STILL a stellar racing game! Featuring exciting tracks, great music, good sound, controls, solid graphics, and fast challenge from the ORIGINAL "F-Zero," game, only now shrunk down to fit on the Game Boy Advance, for the player on the go. For some strange reason though, the "F-Zero" games haven't seen a significant new game since 2004, but as long as players are interested in racing, there's always a chance for the "F-Zero" brand to make a comeback!

20. “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / So far, 2001 holds the RECORD for the most video games for a single YEAR that I ended up playing from THAT year alone! In fact, what REALLY surprises me about these games is the fact that while I have liked and PLAYED most of them, I STILL haven’t managed to review all of the games that I have played from this year! Getting to do awesome skateboard tricks on a portable system was made VERY awesome, thanks to the processing power of the Game Boy Advance! With stages that can give the N64 version a run for its money, and unique techniques for several skateboarders, it’s very easy to see just HOW this became one of the FIRST landmark games for the Game Boy Advance! Ironically, it has since become over-shadowed, by it’s even MORE impressive sequel, that would be released less than a YEAR after THIS game was released!

19. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” Rated E, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and eventually Nintendo Gamecube / The Boy Who Lived can do a LOT of things; he can cast magic, he can ride a broom, he can face Voldemort and his goons on an annual basis, but one thing he HASN'T been able to do, is to make better portable game offerings! Even though this game was made available during the first YEAR the GBA was available to consumers, "Harry Potter" was pretty impressive in terms of graphics, music, sound, and controls overall. Getting to fly on a broom-stick and play Quidditch is a nice touch, but having to learn magic spells through EXACT movement memory challenges is something I can LIVE without! Also, the game plays more like a puzzler than as a game where combat is done (not necessarily a bad thing) but the game doesn't last as long as it should! Perhaps someday, I shall seek out MORE of the boy wizard's game offerings, and see if any of them can impress me more than this one.

18. “Scooby-Doo” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The only reason I wanted to play this game, is because this video game was INSPIRED by the live-action movie version of “Scooby-Doo,” which I was a really big fan of! So imagine MY surprise when I found out that this video game actually MANAGED to come out a full YEAR before the live-action movie version came out! (Which DOES explain why the final boss of this game is NOT the same big bad enemy at the climax of the movie). Playing as Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, Fred, and Daphne at different points in the game, each of them have their own strengths and key abilities to find clues in order to solve the mystery, and potentially beat off any bad guys that try to cause them harm. While this video game certainly won’t win any points in terms of being original or TOO innovative, it is STILL a very solid game, containing good graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty level. I sure wish more people would be willing to give this video game a good look! They might be pleasantly surprised!

17. “Luigis Mansion” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / It's almost never easy to be the first launch game available for a brand new system. This is especially true considering the fact that Nintendo was leaving behind cartridges and going onto discs for the first time. But instead of going for a Mario game as was expected by everybody, Nintendo instead opted to make Luigi star in his very first game to have his name on it! While the game, graphics, sound, music, and challenge are all very stellar, this game's biggest draw-back is its LENGTH!!!! It's by far the shortest game available on this list! Thankfully, Nintendo has FINALLY decided to give this video game a second chance to make a good impression, as they are FINALLY going to re-release this game on the Nintendo 3DS, with a BUNCH of brand new bonus content available to play! Good things come to those who wait!

16. “Klonoa: Empire of Dreams” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This was a sleeper hit, to say the least. I say that because I ended up not PLAYING this game until several years after it was first available! Thankfully, I managed to be pleasantly surprised by it. In this game, you don’t ALWAYS just destroy your enemies; sometimes you just stun them and you actually USE them as platforms in order to jump to places that you wouldn’t be able to access otherwise! There was even a SEQUEL to this game for the Game Boy Advance, released in 2004! And a super-popular re-release of the ORIGINAL “Klonoa” game released on the Wii after that! Not bad for a little Cabbit! (Cat/Rabbit!)

15. “Gradius Galaxies” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Believe it or not, this was actually my first experience with the “Gradius” franchise! And I must say, the experience did NOT disappoint! The action was fast, frantic, and furious! Challenging, but always fun! The graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty are all very solid! If you want to have portable, flying fun on the go, “Gradius Galaxies” was one of the very first Game Boy Advance titles to offer it!

14. “Frogger’s Adventures: Temple of the Frog” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / If I had to describe what I was in 2001, with just one word, it would be “Prolific.” I would HAVE to be in order to play and remember THIS many video games from a single year! Believe it or not, this was the beginning of a transition for the “Frogger” video game franchise. No longer content to hop across highways and ponds; Frogger is now a genuine video game character, and hero! And Frogger has to navigate and solve the many puzzles within the Temple of the Frog, hence the name of the game! This was a very fun game back in the day, and I sure hope it becomes available on a Virtual Console system someday, if it isn’t already.

13. “Namco Museum” Rated E, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo Gamecube / When it comes to compilation video games, they can be either hit, or miss. Thankfully, both the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube versions of this game are more hit than miss, as they contain many arcade masterpieces, such as “Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug,” and “Pole Position” just to name a few! While this was a good compilation game, I found ONE compilation game this year to be EVEN better!

12. “Pac-Man Collection” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Prior to this video game coming out, I had NEVER personally experienced the original “Pac-Man” experience for myself! Thankfully, this video game not only gave me the ORIGINAL “Pac-Man,” it also gave me three additional games! Pac-Man’s first adventure in a 3-D realm called “Pac-Mania”, a “Tetris” inspired game called “Pac-Attack”, and a brand NEW game called “Pac-Man Arrangement,” which took elements from “Pac-Man” and “Pac-Mania,” and combined them to form a unique, and very interesting puzzle game! Needless to say, this was just one of MANY reasons why many people (such as myself) WANTED to own a Game Boy Advance in 2001!

11. “Iridion 3D” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Believe it or not, there are actually SOME critics out there that label this as a BAD video game! And the only reason they do THAT, is because I honestly think that they have NEVER played this video game for themselves! Since a “Star Fox” game was NEVER made available for the Game Boy Advance, this is about as close you can get to shooting down enemies within a 3-D playing field, scoring power-ups and high scores across a variety of well-designed levels and stages. While not as fast and furious as “Star Fox” or “Gradius”, it can more than hold its own in terms of being fun and enjoyable! This is a video game that DESERVES to be re-released on a Virtual Console system, if it hasn’t already!

10. “Spyro: Season of Ice” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / When the Game Boy Advance first came out in May of 2001 (I remember because I was one of the proud, FIRST owners of the hand-held), a lot of people thought that the Game Boy Advance was going to be little more than just a way for Nintendo and some other companies to re-launch pre-made 16 bit games to a new generation. But the Game Boy Advance quickly proved to be MORE than just a home for good, 16-bit games made in the 1990's, it turned out to be a GOOD home for brand new, 32 bit games as well! "Spyro: Season of Ice," was the purple dragon's first outing on the Game Boy Advance AND his first on a Nintendo system. An isometric 3-D game, Spyro handles his environments very well. In addition to gliding, horn ramming, and breathing fire, Spyro can also learn to breathe ice, electricity, and wind! The variety of challenges is incredible for a first year Game Boy Advance game, and the music, sound, graphics, and control are all very good as well! What's even more impressive, is that Spyro's next two sequels on the Game Boy Advance, would end up doing BETTER than this one!

9. “Earthworm Jim” Rated E, Game Gear and Game Boy Advance / Not only does this awesome game feature the SAME smooth controls, graphics, music, hilarious sounds and voice samples, awesomely designed stages, and a variety of enemies to fight (including some hilariously designed bosses) from the Super NES version, this game features off-beat, surreal humor hard to find in many other games! Even better about this game, is the fact that THIS version of the game has a brand NEW level exclusive to the Game Boy Advance that WASN'T available on the Super NES. Also, there are now THREE difficulty levels instead of just two, and the ability to save ANYWHERE in the game is a nice new update. Also worth playing are the versions available on the Nintendo DSI download, and the Wii U Virtual Console. /

8. “Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Before the concept of the Virtual Console came along, it was the Game Boy Advance that first made the phrase "Everything Old is New Again," come true. "Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival" took the "Street Fighter" game series back to basics, by focusing on raw, pure, unfiltered fighting! In truth, "SSFIITR" actually takes elements from TWO different "SFII" games originally on the Super Nes; it combines the Hyper Fighting from "SFII Turbo", adds it into "Super Street Fighter II," and even provides a cool, new story mode for all 16 of the playable fighters from the Super NES game! Also, the amazing sound, music, controls, and graphics are EVEN better on the Game Boy Advance than they EVER were on the Super NES, making this version a definitive version worth of playing!

7. “Rayman Advance” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The limbless wonder made his triumphant debut on the Game Boy Advance in this game, in the VERY first month of the Game Boy Advance's availability! While the game has been available in some form since 1995 as "Rayman," it is the version available on the Game Boy Advance that has proven to be the best available as a physical game! With awesome sound, music, controls, challenge, and even BETTER graphics than the Playstation or the Atari Jaguar (plus no annoying loading times), "Rayman Advance" is the definitive version of the original "Rayman" game, and a good way to get started on "Rayman" games in general! See just how good the original is, by playing it!

6. “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3” Rated T, Game Boy Color, Nintendo Gamecube, and eventually N64 and Game Boy Advance / This review refers MORE to the Nintendo Gamecube version, as the Game Boy Advance version won’t become available until 2002. I could not begin to TELL you how impressed I was by how BIG the shift in graphics were from the N64 cartridge to the Gamecube disc! In May 2001, "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2" came out on the N64. And while the graphics were better than the first "Tony Hawk Pro Skater," people were ACTUALLY convinced that the Game Boy Advance graphics of "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2" were the graphics for the N64 version; that's how much the Game Boy Advance bridged the gap between portable systems and hardware systems! Clearly, the time had come for a graphics overhaul. "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3" did NOT disappoint! All the AWESOME controls, graphics, camera control, sound, rocking music, and challenges are the top notch for a debut game worthy of the Gamecube! And the fact that you can play as a real-life pro skateboarder, or even create your own, only adds to the fun! It's all the excitement of skateboarding, with NONE of the real-life risks! No helmet, knee-pads, or elbow-pads required!

5. “Nicktoons Racing” Rated E, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance / For every good "Mario Kart" game, there seems to be an equally bad "Sonic Drift" or some OTHER knock-off game trying to leech money off unsuspecting consumers. Thankfully, "Nicktoons Racing" veers FAR closer to "Mario Kart" than it EVER does to "Sonic Drift." "Nicktoons Racing" is a very SOLID Kart Racer game, with fast speed, smooth controls, good graphics, good music, great sound, and even voice samples for the characters! With several courses to race through, course difficulty levels, and one unlockable secret character, this game has a lot of re-play value for one through four players! "Nicktoons Racing" can definitely hold its own against the mighty game series that is "Mario Kart."

4. “Wario Land 4” (What ELSE?!) Rated E, Game Boy Advance / It’s been roughly 17 YEARS since this video game came out, and I’m only NOW just REVIEWING it?! That’s what I call REALLY dropping the ball! This was a REAL step up from Wario’s earlier adventures on the Game Boy Color! The graphics are enhanced, the music, sound effects, controls and difficulty are SMOOTHER than ever, and the mini-games you can play are a LOT of fun! The bosses are well designed, and after a TWO game hiatus, Wario can now be HURT by enemies again! Thankfully, being transformed by certain enemy attacks STILL remains a key part to finding ALL the hidden treasures, located throughout this FUN game! And the collectible music and art samples are pretty funny and unique as well! This is definitely ONE Game Boy Advance game that is worth playing, even today!

3. “Super Mario Advance” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Some games seem to get better with age. One of those games is "Super Mario Advance" which mostly revolves around an updated game version of "Super Mario Bros. 2". But the reason it winds up on this list, is that it is different enough from its NES and Super NES versions to also be included on this list! Also featured on "Super Mario Advance" (as well as every other "Super Mario Advance" game), is an updated version of the Arcade Game "Mario Bros.", with better controls, better challenge, better music, better sound, and better graphics! In addition to the main game of "Super Mario Bros. 2", there is a BRAND new boss, RoboBirdo! A giant robot version of the pink dinosaur! Also included is a brand new scoring system, an additional health mushroom to find in each stage, five red coins to seek out in each stage, and two hidden Yoshi Eggs hidden in the Subcon versions of the normal stages. There are also a few other new surprises and twists that wait in this definitive version of a Nintendo masterpiece!

2. “Mario Kart: Super Circuit” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / "Mario Kart Super Circuit" is an AWESOME game! Not only does it contain 16 brand new tracks available for racing on the Game Boy Advance, it also includes all TWENTY of the original track courses from the Super NES game of "Super Mario Kart," for unlocking in this game! The game graphics, challenge, control, sound, and music are ALL updated to make full use of the 32 bit portable system's power, and the best part of this game, is getting to play with a friend competitively! Needless to say, "Mario Kart Super Circuit," was the MOST fun you could have with a Kart Racer game on a portable system! (Until "Mario Kart DS" came along, of course!)

1. “Super Smash Bros. Melee” Rated E10, Nintendo Gamecube / If there was ANY game that was going to earn its OBVIOUS place on the top of THIS Nintendo list, it was GOING to be THIS game! Why? The better question would be; why NOT?!!! Because there is SO much to LOVE about this game! Take the concept of the original from the N64, make the sound, music, graphics, control, camera control, and stages have a BETTER design, have MANY more challenges to tackle, feature more than a DOZEN playable characters and more than a DOZEN unlockable characters, let them duke it out against each other in THREE different video game modes, feature a BUNCH of collectible trophies detailing Nintendo's long and storied history in video game's up to 2001, and you've got a bona-fide winner in every single way imaginable!!!! Plus, this game introduced Crazy Hand, the psychotic partner to Master Hand, and Giga Bowser; a SPECIAL boss that players who were LUCKY enough not to lose more than two lives on normal difficulty level of Adventure Mode or harder, got to fight against! This game was so good, it was GOOD enough to remain the definitive version of a "Super Smash Bros." game for a good SEVEN years until "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" came along in 2008, but this is STILL a great fighting game to play on either the Gamecube, or the Nintendo Wii! /

That’s my list for 2001!  Stay tuned for 2002, when the Game Boy Color gets its LAST great game, Crash Bandicoot arrives on the Game Boy Advance, Mario gets environmental, we take a detour into “Animal Crossing,” and H*** itself freezes over, when Sonic FINALLY appears on a Nintendo system!  Don’t miss it! 

[4EverGreen]

The time has come for me, to list a NEW top 20 list for a Nintendo video game system, and THIS time, I’m doing a TRULY revolutionary video game system!  The first video game system to have TRUE 3D video game environments, and the LAST major video game system to utilize cartridges as the media format, it’s the N64!  This list refers ONLY to video games I have actually played and beaten, so if you don’t see a game you like on this list, that’s probably the reason why!  As always, you can find out more information about these games by going to Gamespot.com and reading the video game reviews written by me, 4EverGreen! I hope you enjoy reading this list as much as I did writing it! /

20. "Pokemon Stadium" 1997 Super NES (Japan only), 1999 N64, 2004 Gamecube (re-made as "Pokemon Colliseum"), 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. When "Pokemon" became a GIGANTIC smash on the Game Boy Color, Nintendo wanted to quickly capitalize on the popularity of the digital monster craze by releasing a proper "Pokemon" game on the N64! But that endeavor PROVED to be harder than it sounded! "Pokemon Snap", and "Hey You! Pikachu" failed to grasp just what made the Game Boy Color "Pokemon" games so great. But this N64 game got it right! Taking the gym battle concept from "Pokemon Blue" and "Pokemon Red" AND expanding it into a 3D realm, this game also included fun multi-player mini-games to play alone, or with friends! While this game DID do its job of bringing "Pokemon" into the third dimension, it has sadly not aged relatively well. The "Pokemon" characters do NOT look as detailed or as expressive as they would on LATER system releases on the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo 3DS. And there isn't a lot of re-play value to be had once all the challenges are beaten in this game. One nice thing about this game, it allows you to play "Pokemon Blue" and/or "Pokemon Red" through a special cartridge link-up through the N64 controller. Final score: 53/100.

19. "Diddy Kong Racing" 1997 N64, 1999 Game Boy Color, 2007 Nintendo DS, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. This game was Diddy Kong's chance to strike out on a solo venture apart from Donkey Kong, and have a solo video game experience. However, company STILL managed to tag along! At first glance, it's easy to compare "DKR" to "Mario Kart 64," but "Diddy Kong Racing" really DOES a lot to expand on the racing game genre! Featuring boss battles, multiple vehicle choices to choose from (before the "Mario Kart" series got the idea) and an imaginative cast of characters (including Timber Badger, Banjo the Bear, and Conker the Squirrel before he changed his image), Rareware brought the collecting craze concept introduced in the Super NES "Donkey Kong Country" games, and brought them into this racing N64 game. Although extending the game-play through complete item collection was a GOOD idea in theory, it quickly proved to be an EXERCISE in the tedium! If it wasn't hard ENOUGH for players to AVOID all the dangerous obstacles on all the race courses AND the weapons fired by the challengers, players are almost always REQUIRED to collect EVERY item possible during a race, making it IMMENSELY hard to win a race! Not to mention that Rareware made it unnecessarily HARD for players to figure out just HOW to BEAT every single boss!

But the graphics, sound, music, and control are thankfully all stellar for N64 game standards, and while the Nintendo DS re-release doesn't feature Banjo or Conker, it thankfully does AWAY with the annoying item collection craze, and makes it a whole lot EASIER for players to actually BEAT the bosses! Final score: 57/100.

18. "Cruis'n U.S.A." 1995 Arcades, 1996 N64, 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. Although there were only THREE launch games available for the N64 when it was FIRST released (this game being one of them), the N64 PROVED to be a durable enough system with games of quality and length, that Nintendo could afford to take their time with their games, and MAKE games that would stand the test of time (which sadly can't be said for the MAJORITY of the games available for the Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, and the Sega Dreamcast). This game was first released by Midway on arcade floors, and it was the FIRST game to show off the power and potential of the N64! Featuring relatively realistic graphics for its time, rocking music, solid control, and an excellent challenge, "Cruis'n U.S.A" has players competing solo or against other players in a cross-country race from San Francisco, California, to Washington D.C. Broken up into sections or stages, the goal of the game is to place first in every single stage race! Thankfully, it’s easy to do that by practicing on the stages in time trial mode (without any other cars) and seeing how fast each different car (four are initially available, two are unlockable) can go. Although a solid racing game, there really isn't any other hook to this game, which is why it doesn't get ranked higher. Final score: 59/100.

17. "Bust-a-Move 4" 1997 Arcades, Sega Saturn; 1999 Sega Dreamcast, N64, Neo Geo Pocket Color, and Game Boy Color; 2001 Bandai Wonderswan and Game Boy Advance; 2003 N-Gage; 2004 Nintendo DS; 2007 Wii Virtual Console; 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. Puzzlers don't get much more fast, fun, OR frantic than THIS game! Featuring dinosaur buddies Bob and Bub, it is their job to clear each stage of ALL the different colored bubbles before time runs out...for THEM! Time doesn't count down in the traditional sense (although there is a timer; but it counts how much time has passed); instead, the TOP of the playing area of the stage gradually comes DOWN the longer Bub and Bob take to CLEAR all the bubbles! And if the bubbles go OVER the line into Bub's and Bob's bubble deploying area, its game over for them! It's possible to play alone, or enjoy the fun with friends! And with a lot of stages to play through and challenge, there is no shortage to the amount of time a player can spend on this game. Final score: 61/100.

16. "Cruis'n World" 1997 Arcades and N64, 2001 Game Boy Advance (as "Cruis'n Velocity"), 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. A faster, smoother, better, longer sequal to the first "Cruis'n Game", Midway delivers yet again for the racing genre by expanding the game-play from ONE country, to the ENTIRE world! With more cars to choose from, more music to hear, better graphics, the same smooth control and more levels to race through, "Cruis'n World" proves to be both a more challenging game than its predecessor, and a lot more fun! What makes this game the most fun of all, is the fact that one level is unlockable, and it lets players race; on the MOON!!!! (Don't ask how that works, it’s just for fun!) "Cruis'n World" is a solid racer that still holds up as a solid racing game, even today! Final score: 63/100.

15. "Rampage World Tour" 1989 NES (as "Rampage"); 1994 Arcades, 1997 N64; 1999 Game Boy Color; 2007 Wii Virtual Console; 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. "Rampage" initially didn't start on the N64; it started nearly a decade earlier on the NES as an eight-bit game. Although fun and filled with challenge, most players did NOT learn of this game's TRUE potential until the 16-bit battle was WELL under way, and the 32-bit era was beginning to dawn. Midway first debuted the "World Tour" version of "Rampage" on Arcade floors in 1994. With three different monsters to choose from; Lizzie the giant reptile, George the giant ape, and Ralph the Giant wolf, it’s possible to play this game either alone, or with a friend. The object of this game is to travel to MANY exotic locations around the world, and SMASH all the buildings to pieces! Reduce human civilization to rubble, and one monster will RULE as the ruler of THEIR Earth! Just don't tear down buildings right away, valuable items can be hidden in buildings, such as cash money, food, or even PEOPLE for the monsters to eat! But be careful; poisonous items and traps are ALSO hidden in the building; learn which items to grab, and which items to avoid! And if any tank or military vehicle tries to put a stop to the fun, SMASH them! The N64 and Game Boy Color versions are the DEFINITIVE versions to play, as they even add a neat on-going story in for good measure! "Rampage World Tour" may be a DESTRUCTIVE game, but it's a FUN destructive game! Final score: 13/20.

14. "Yoshi's Story" 1997 N64, 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. This game just can't seem to catch a BREAK in the United States! Despite being a gigantic hit in Japan, and doing modest success in America, plans to re-release the game on a portable system in the States, have fallen through THREE times! But at the very least, it's still an enjoyable game to play on the N64, or the Wii U Virtual Console. A sequel to "Yoshi's Island," this story (told like a children's storybook) follows six young Yoshi's (two unlockable Yoshi's can be picked up along the way) who have to save the Tree of Happyness from Baby Bowser, who has selfishly stolen it for himself so that the Yoshi's can't have it. The majority of this game isn't particularly hard, but finding all the secrets are! The toughest goals in this game, are to find the three hearts hidden in EVERY stage, and to TRY to eat ONLY melons in this game! Not as easy as it sounds, as the hearts can be WELL hidden at times, and sometimes, if a player FAILS to get a melon the FIRST time, it WON'T be available for eating later! Thankfully, this game has a lot of re-play value. Instead of having to beat ALL 24 stages in a row, players are given a CHOICE as to WHICH stages they want to play on any play-through of "Yoshi's Story." Players have to beat one stage on all the six levels of this game, before finally facing off against Baby Bowser. And by collecting the hearts and melons in each level stage, it makes all the other stages in each level available in a players’ stage selection! So any play-through (as well as the story) can change quite significantly every time this game is played! Final score: 33/50.

13. "Mario Party 2" 2000 N64, 2005 Game Boy Advance (as "Mario Party Advance"), 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. The 21st century definitely has no shortage of "Mario Party" games; ten main "Mario Party" games have been released on Nintendo's hardware systems, and three games have been released on Nintendo's portable systems! But when Y2K came and went without a glitch, most players STILL wanted to see what a "Mario Party" had to offer! While this game had SOME of the same mini-games as its predecessor, the look of those same mini-games have been changed enough from its original source to make it worth playing on this game as well. As was the case with the last game, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, and Donkey Kong are all duking it out to become the number one super-star across every party board in this game! What makes this game really fun is that players get to see the different characters dressed up in different costumes! Each party board is based on a different theme, so the characters all wear a costume that fits the theme of that board. And the player who becomes the super-star of the board gets to face off against Bowser in a cool story duel! Introduced in this game are special Duel mini-games, where two players compete each other in a unique mini-game, where stakes are often high and costly for the losing player! This game improves on its predecessor by including in-game items for players to use, either by collecting them, or by buying an item, but each player/ character can only hold one item at a time. Sadly, stealing coins is no longer free like it was in the first game, it costs five coins to steal coins from a player, and there's no guarantee as to how many coins a player will get. Although this game gets dinged a few points for that fact, this game is still cool enough and unique enough to include on this list. Final score: 67/100.

12. "Banjo-Tooie" 2000 N64, 2003 Game Boy Advance (as "Banjo-Kazooie: Gruntilda's Revenge"). When the 21st century rolled around, Rareware was one of the HOTTEST companies in the video game world. As a second-party developer for Nintendo, Rareware NEVER failed to release hit game after hit game, with each game being of the HIGHEST quality in sound, graphics, fun, challenge, control, and variety of different things to do in each game, such as is the case with this game! Nobody could have guessed that behind the bright, cheery environment of this game, Rareware itself was actually experiencing irritation and anger internally. Rareware was getting SICK and tired of being seen as a 'Kiddies' video game company. Most people didn't take Rare seriously as a HARDCORE video game company, even when they released decidedly NON-Kid games such as "Goldeneye 007, Blast Corps, Killer Instinct," and "Perfect Dark." This was one of the LAST gasps of innocence from Rare before they experienced their 'primal scream' moment with "Conker's Bad Fur Day." Keeping ALL the same moves from the LAST game, and introducing MANY new ones, Banjo the Bear and Kazooie the Bird have to face off against Gruntilda AGAIN, back as an undead skeleton and teaming up with her TWO wicked sisters to get revenge against the heroic duo! Upon killing the duo's beloved friend, Bottles the Mole, Banjo and Kazooie must fight against the perils Gruntilda has put up; both together AND solo! For the first time, Banjo and Kazooie will need to separate in order to accomplish different tasks and try to collect all 100 notes in each level, all five Jinjo's (multi-colored creature things) in each level, and all 100 Jiggies (Puzzle Pieces) in the game, in order to open the way through the game and to the final show-down against Gruntilda!

Players will even get to control Witch Doctor Mumbo Jumbo, who can cast spells that will help Banjo and Kazooie get to certain places! Although this game has NEVER gotten a proper re-release on a Nintendo system (seeing as how Rare transferred itself to Microsoft in one of the STUPIDEST video game moves in HISTORY!!!!) a variation of this game DID see a release on the Game Boy Advance, only with Klungo being responsible for Gruntilda's come-back INSTEAD of Gruntilda's sisters. Maybe someday, maybe Rareware will see the light and come back to work for Nintendo someday or something. One can always hope. Final score: 34/50.

11. "Mario Party" 1999 N64, 2011 Nintendo DS (as "Mario Party DS"), 2014 Wii U Virtual Console. Believe it or not "Mario Party" is NOT the first video game to have a party board set-up as its main game idea! Sonic actually BEAT Mario to the punch two years prior, with a little-known game on the Sega Saturn called "Sonic Shuffle." However, THAT game turned out to be a bomb, seeing as how it was RELEASED on the Sega Saturn while it was in its DEATH throes; so it took Mario to make a PROPER video game release of a party board game. And this turned out to be one of the FIRST times (out of many) that Mario TOOK something Sonic did, and made it a 100 times better! Featuring, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, and Donkey Kong as playable characters, one through four players can play against each other on various different party game boards! Six different boards are available initially, two are unlockable, to have ALL the different characters duking it out against each other, to see who can become the superstar of each party game board! To do that, players must earn coins and stars! The stars are the primary factor for determining a winner, coins are the secondary factor for determining a winner. In addition, coins can ALSO be used to BUY mini-games that players can play at ANY time (to test themselves, beat their own high scores, or for fun). Also, special blocks can be bought in order to enhance game play. Blocks that add coins, subtract coins, limit the number of spaces a character can move, or ensure that a character can move a great number of spaces! Needless to say, this is one game that can provide endless hours of fun for players of ALL ages! Final score: 69/100. /

10. "F-Zero X!" (What else?!) 1991 Super NES (as "F-Zero"), 1999 N64, 2001 Game Boy Advance (as "F-Zero Maximum Velocity"), 2003 Arcades (as "F-Zero AX"), 2009 Wii Virtual Console, 2013 Wii U Virtual Console. Despite this game's predecessor not even getting onto the Super NES list (it WAS revolutionary for its time, but it’s bland compared to its sequels, and its challenge hasn't aged well). This game makes absolutely SURE that there is NOTHING bland about this game as it takes racing to the TENTH level, hence the "X" in this game! Instead of only four different racers to choose from (like there were in the first game), there are THIRTY different racers to choose from! Every one of them is a unique racer, and each vehicle they race has its own unique strengths and weaknesses about its vehicle. Find out the best vehicle for your own personal taste by testing them out in time-trial mode, than race either solo, or with a friend, in every one of the games fast, furious, very DANGEROUS, exhilarating, and fun race courses! The challenge isn't JUST to finish in first, the challenge is to finish ALIVE!!!! Every other car is trying to knock the OTHER cars OUT of the race, whittling down the competition, and improving their chances of being first! So if a car pushes yours, feel free to push back! But the best part of this game has GOT to be the inclusion of an "F-Zero" version of the Rainbow Road course from "Mario Kart 64!" This is definitely fun for multi-player sessions, and is challenging enough for solo players to enjoy! Final score: 71/100. 

9. "Banjo-Kazooie" 1998 N64, 2018 Nintendo Switch (Rumored). Remember when Rareware USED to make only GREAT, QUALITY games that EVERYONE enjoyed?! They SURE don't seem to; otherwise they wouldn't suck so much with Microsoft! Nintendo KNEW what Rare was good at, and what their best strengths were! Making entertaining platformer games was one of them! Even though this game is basically Rare's take on the "Super Mario 64" formula, Rare DOES the formula justice; putting its OWN spin on the formula, making it different enough, fun enough, AND challenging enough to warrant a complete playthrough! The evil witch Gruntilda, wanting to become beautiful, has decided to kidnap Banjo the Bear's LOVELY younger sister, Tootie! And once Klungo completes his Beauty Extracting/Transfering Machine, Gruntilda plans to use it to transfer Tootie's beauty from Tootie to Gruntilda! Banjo is NOT going to allow THAT to happen, so he and his pal Kazooie must travel through many different challenging levels and confront all the different obstacles! Along the way, Banjo will also need to transform into various different things. Each level will often have a Mumbo Jumbo Skull House which Banjo will need to visit; and upon paying Mumbo currency (Mumbo tokens) Mumbo will transform Banjo into a unique creature transformation capable of helping Banjo get through a difficult part of a level or accessing places Banjo can't reach normally. It's recommended (but not required) for Banjo to find 100 notes in every level, five Jinjo's in every level, and 100 Jiggies (puzzle pieces) hidden throughout the game! The biggest secret ABOUT this game, is the fact that Rare managed to keep SOME of it secret until it was just about to LEAVE Nintendo! By putting in special codes inside of the sand beach castle in the second level, its’ ACTUALLY possible to collect all the different colored eggs, and the ice key, as seen in the easter egg ending of the game! It's still HARD to believe Rare traded SURE success for...whatever it is Microsoft makes them do! Final score: 73/100.

8. "Ms. Pac-Man's Maze Madness" 1999 Sega Dreamcast, 2000 N64, 2004 Game Boy Advance, 2014 Wii U Virtual Console. There is no doubt that both "Pac-Man" and "Ms. Pac-Man" are globally recognized video game icons, if only for their original arcade appearances in the 1980's! But a lot of people were wondering if either of them could generate the SAME kind of fun on a higher end system. They got their answer when THIS game came out on the N64 in 2000; it was a resounding: "YES!!!!" An evil witch named Mesmerelda has organized the four evil ghosts; Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Sue into TERRORIZING all of Pac-World, while she in turn captures all of its citizens and imprisons them in her tower so that SHE can have free reign of Pac-World! Ms. Pac-Man must travel through many different maze environments, figure out all the different puzzles and ways to advance through each stage, and avoid getting hurt by the Ghosts and OTHER dangerous enemies lurking in this game! This game works because while it IS in a 3D realm, it STILL retains the classic play and feel of a "Pac-Man" game! Speaking of, the original "Ms. Pac-Man" is even INCLUDED in this game as a free bonus! Game icons don't get much more iconic than Ms. Pac-Man, and games don't get much more fun than this gem on the N64 AND the Game Boy Advance! (Except for the seven games that follow THIS one!) Final score: 75/100!

7. "Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire" 1995 PC, 1996 N64, 2010 Wii Virtual Console, 2015 Wii U Virtual Console. Before the prequel series came along and bitterly divided fans of the "Star Wars" franchise, this game was released in the mid 1990's to critical acclaim and financial success! Co-inciding with a popular book and Dark Horse Comic Book series of the same name, this game covers the events between "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" quite well. Playing as Hero for Hire/Rebel Smuggler Dash Rendar, the ace pilot/gun shooter is initially asked to aid the Rebels as they try to escape from the onslaught of the Empire on Hoth, but soon finds himself in a much BIGGER quest altogether! It turns out that Darth Vader isn't the only villain trying to rule the galaxy; an alien named Prince Xizor has his eyes set on REPLACING Darth Vader as Emperor Palpatine's right-hand man, and has conceived of a brilliant, EVIL scheme to make it all possible! Prince Xizor plans to have Luke Skywalker killed! When an evil gang of bikers fails to do the job, Prince Xizor KIDNAPS Princess Leia and holds her hostage, in order to lure Luke Skywalker into a trap! Dash Rendar will travel to some familiar locales (as well as a few new ones) in order to fight against BOTH the evil Empire, and Prince Xizor's EVIL Black Sun Syndicate, a crime organization which is FAR more expansive than Jabba the Hutt's! There are five different difficulty levels; Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Jedi! Only by beating the game on Normal Level or HARDER, can the true ending of the game be seen! This game was an early, but WORTHY addition to the N64 line-up, featured as FOUR variant subscriber bonus issue covers of the January 1997 issue of Nintendo Power! This is ONE solid game! Final score: 77/100!

6. "Star Fox 64" 1997 N64, 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2011 Nintendo 3DS (as "Star Fox 64 3D"), 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. As far as video game sequels go, a lot of them STRIVE to be better than their predecessor, but few manage to do as EXCEPTIONALLY well as THIS one! While this game has pretty much the same story-line and plot as the original "Star Fox," the execution is pulled off a LOT better on the N64 as it has BETTER controls, BETTER sounds, BETTER graphics, BETTER balanced challenge, BETTER music, and some new tricks and techniques are introduced also! Playing as ace pilot Fox McCloud, the Star Fox team is commanded by General Pepper into duty; their mission is to protect the Lylat system against the evil Ape Genius Scientist named Andross, and his invading Venomian army! Featuring 16 different worlds with 24 different paths to choose from (two of them secret!) Fox and his fellow pilots Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad (and occasionally helped by Bill the Dog and Katt the Cat), the Star Fox team must battle through Seven different worlds in one game playthrough, with Corneria ALWAYS being the starting planet, and Venom as the ending planet (although Venom is divided as two separate levels, depending on the path TAKEN to get to Venom). Players CAN take the EASIER paths to beat the game, but only by CHOOSING the harder paths, and beating Andross in his TRUE form, can the TRUE ending of the game be seen! Plus, by earning a medal by shooting down ALL or MORE of the recommended amount of enemies in each level (except for the easy version of Venom), can an even HARDER version of the game be unlocked, with more enemies to fight and greater DAMAGE to the player's Arwings! When it comes to exhilarting space shooters, it's hard to get more exciting than THIS game! And that's what makes this game so GREAT! Final score: 79/100! 

5. (Tie!) "Super Mario 64" and "Paper Mario" ("Super Mario 64") 1996 N64, 2004 Nintendo DS (as "Super Mario 64 DS"), 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console; ("Paper Mario") 2001 N64, 2006 Gamecube (Japan only), 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. It's a double Mario threat for THIS entry, TWO different Mario games for the price of one! One came out at the very BEGINNING of this system's life-span, one came out near the very END of this system's life-span; both are VERY great games! In the mid 1990's, 3-D games were mostly uncharted territory. Sure, there were attempts; semi 3-D games such a "Q-Bert, Star Fox," and "Sonic 3D Blast;" but none of those games gave players a TRUE feeling of freedom and exploration! In 1996, the limitations of gaming would be shattered FOREVER!

For many developers, jumping from the 2D realm into the 3-D one would NOT be an easy task; but Nintendo had an advantage, because they had spent a WHOLE year experimenting with it for the planned Super NES game "Star Fox 2" (never officially released OUTSIDE of Japan), and they had time to work out all the bugs of playing in a TRUE 3-D environment, and figure out the best way to make a TRUE 3-D game work! All that early testing paid off on September 29th, 1996 when the N64 and "Super Mario 64" officially showed up in game stores, and added a new dimension to video games! For the first time, players AND critics could see just HOW much potential 3-D games had! Now that Mario could MOVE in any direction possible; he had a WHOLE lot more moves available to use, as well! He could double jump, triple jump, long jump, crouch, somersault, wall jump, punch, kick, get shot out of cannons, ride on koopa shells, backwards jump, ground pound, backwards flip from a tree or other post thing, hang from ledges and move left to right while holding them, slide on slides, throw certain enemies in order to defeat them, and with the help of certain blocks, fly in the air with a winged cap from a red block, turn invincible with the help of a metal cap from a green block, or turn invisible with an invisible cap from a blue block! If all of THESE tricks weren't impressive enough, the fact that Nintendo had all this AND perfect 3-D camera controls from the very start (something that Sega has had an ENORMOUS difficulty with), "Super Mario 64" was an important watershed moment for video games, and has remained a gold standard for 3-D video games to live up to and emulate, even to this very day! /

If "Super Mario 64" was an ESCAPE from 2-D games into 3-D games, "Paper Mario" was like a nice little homage to the 2-D games! Nintendo's first R.P.G. outing with Mario since "Super Mario R.P.G.," "Paper Mario" turned out to be a charming, adventurous, and strangely epic outing that turned out to be one of Mario's FINAL outings on a cartridge game! The characters may be flat, but the action and story are REALLY deep! Bowser has taken kidnapping Princess Peach to a WHOLE new level, as he doesn't JUST kidnap the Princess, he kidnaps her ENTIRE castle as well! Mario sets to trounce Bowser again; only to learn a GRIM secret! Bowser has found a way to make himself IMPERVIOUS to Mario's attacks, to the point where he is virtually invincible; thanks to the help of a magic item known as the Star Rod, which can grant wishes! Bowser uses the Star Rod to do what he has NEVER been able to do before; BEAT Mario to a PULP!!!! But Bowser CAN'T keep a good plumber down; because Mario eventually gets back in the game, and decides to find a way to BEAT Bowser's new scheme, no matter HOW hard it is! To do that, Mario will need the help of eight partners; Goombario the Goomba, Kooper the Koopa, Bombette the Bob-omb, ParaKerry the Para-Koopa, Bow the Boo, Watt the Spark, Sushi the Lung-Fish, and Lakilester the Lakitu. Mario will also need to save the seven star spirits being held prisoner by Bowser's toughest generals; traveling to many different exotic locales in order to do so. Only once Mario has saved all seven star spirits will Mario have the power he needs to DEFEAT Bowser's latest plan, once and for all! The graphics are charming, the sound is great, the controls, music, game-play, and challenge are all stellar, and it all adds up to a great way for the N64 to go out on a high note! "Super Mario 64" Final score: 21/25! / "Paper Mario" Final score: 22/25!

4. "Mario Kart 64" 1997 N64, 2006 Nintendo DS (as "Mario Kart DS,") 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. It might seem weird that THIS game winds up so high on THIS list, when its predecessor barely MADE it onto the Super NES list; but there is a good reason for that, "Super Mario Kart" has NOT aged well in terms of good challenge and game-play! "Mario Kart 64" however, is STILL a fast, furious, fun, sometimes challenging, but ALWAYS entertaining racing game that ANYONE can enjoy! Choosing from eight different characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach (she's the BEST!), Yoshi, Toad, Bowser, Wario, and Donkey Kong, players must race their way through sixteen different courses on four Cup Circuits on three difficulty levels (and an unlockable mirror course difficulty level, where the course level designs are REVERSED); and all players must race while avoiding the different weapons and hazards deployed by either the computer-controlled opponents, or the other players! This game is fun enough for a solo player, but it's REALLY entertaining when two-four people play against each other! There is no shortage in the amount of fun that can be had from this game, so it is a definite must-play! Final score: 23/25! 

3. "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" 1998 N64, 2002 Gamecube (as "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest"), 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2011 Nintendo 3DS (as "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D"), 2012 Wii U Virtual Console. I'm probably going to get some flak for this; but I HAVE to say it: "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" is NOT the best video game in HISTORY!!!!...There, I said it. That honor would fall to "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past." Don't get me wrong; this game is good. I mean, this game is REALLY good; it's GREAT!!!! It's just not PERFECT, and there's ONE major reason WHY; Navi the Fairy! It's bad enough she has to fly around, and buzz in Link's EAR every five minutes; but to give her one of the WORST acting voices in HISTORY; it's almost impossible to tell WHAT Nintendo was thinking with that! My solution, just mute the TV so at the very least; Navi's voice CAN'T be heard by the player! The rest of the game is really stellar! Great controls, great graphics (by N64 standards), great music, great control, great sounds, excellent game-play, solid challenge/difficulty, and a great story to boot! If you HAVEN'T played this game yet, I'm NOT going to spoil it for you; pick up a copy of the Nintendo 3DS game version and play it if you haven't already! It even includes the special "Master Quest" version of the game; a mirrored version of the ORIGINAL game, with a RIGHT-handed Link, and TOUGHER dungeons to beat! This game definitely set a HIGH standard for video games to top, but TWO games manage to top it on THIS list! Keep reading and find out which ones! Final score: 24/25!

2. "Conker's Bad Fur Day" 2001 N64, 2018 Nintendo Switch (Rumored). "OHHHH, GOD!!!!" That was Nintendo's reaction to what was by FAR, the most CONTROVERSIAL and SHOCKING thing Rareware had ever DONE during its entire HISTORY as a video game developer! This game already had a long and TROUBLING production; initially starting out as a light-heart kid fluff called "Conker's Tales" (the closest THAT ever came to seeing the light of day, was on the Game Boy Color as "Conker's Pocket Tales" in 1999.) It then morphed into a more adventurous, but still kid-friendly labeled "Conker's Twelve Tales;" which ALSO never saw the light of day on the N64. By 2001, Rareware had ENOUGH! They were NOT going to be labeled as a 'kiddie' game company anymore, they WOULD be taken seriously; and they didn't CARE what the consequences were going to be! Of course, if they HAD known that ONE of those consequences would be that they were going to get traded to Microsoft and end up making lousy games FAR below their capability levels, they MIGHT have thought twice before deciding to freak EVERYONE in the WORLD out with this game! Nobody knew just how FAR a video game could PUSH adult-labeled content on a video game; but Rareware decided to tear down EVERY single rule they had established BY that point, in what was expected from one of those games! Right from the game's INTRO screen (VERY unpopular with Nintendo, as it showed Conker CUTTING the N64 logo in HALF with a chainsaw), it was CLEAR that "Conker's Bad Fur Day" was NOT going to be a KID'S game! In fact, it turned out to be the FARTHEST thing from! On Conker's 21st birthday; Conker has FAR more to drink than he should have, gets hung over and lost on his way home; and when he wakes up, he breaks the fourth wall (something that's done CONSTANTLY in this game) and knows he is going to have a BAD Fur Day! 

Rareware not only provided the same great controls, the same great music, the same great sound, and the same great game-play difficulty in THIS game that they had provided in every single Rareware game prior, they also came up with what they called, the "Context Sensitive" button. That is, at certain places, usually on an A button pad icon located in a game, Conker could stand on the icon, press the A button, and perform a unique action EXCLUSIVE to THAT spot, and CRUCIAL to moving the plot forward! But what REALLY stands out about this game are the INCREDIBLE graphics, and the SHEER amount of voice-work in this game! Nearly every single CHARACTER in this game has a voice, and they speak in British accents, with a WIDE range of vocabulary that CAN'T be repeated in front of your parents! If it wasn't enough that the characters had their colorful vocabulary, they also had colorful actions! There is SO much taboo adult content in this game, I can't even repeat it right now! One highlight of the content though, the giant NAKED caveman at the END of the cave-man section of the game! Another change is that Rareware decided to do away with the characters having to collect an INSANE amount of things, and instead, focus on collecting ONE thing; CASH!!!! But the BIGGEST departure from Rare's usual formula, is the fact that this game has a DOWNER ending! Conker's girlfriend Berri is murdered, and Conker loses his chance to bring her back to life! Conker ends up as the King, with all the money and power in the world, but he has lost the one thing that matters to him the most; his soul-mate. Kind of ironic that Rareware didn't heed the warning said by Conker at the end of this game: "You don't know what you've got, until it's GONE!" Rareware's swan song for the N64, was perhaps the best way to signify the end of the N64; revolutionary until the very end! And yet, this game is ONLY perfect! Which game could top THIS one?! A truly LEGENDARY game that surpasses ALL the other N64 games! Final score: 100/100!

Drum-roll please, and now it's time to find out the #1 game of all time that was EVER released on the N64! /

1. "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" 2000 N64, 2004 Gamecube ("The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition"), 2007 Wii Virtual Console, 2014 Wii U Virtual Console, 2015 Nintendo 3DS ("The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D"). The direct sequel to "Ocarina of Time," this game is often at ODDS with its direct predecessor, mostly for the BIG departure it takes from the LAST game! While "Ocarina of Time" was immense, expansive, and a bright, open world FREE to explore; "Majora's Mask" was relatively compact, confining, and a dark, gloomy, confining world seemingly DOOMED to be DESTROYED by the threat of the Menacing Moon! This game takes place not in Hyrule, but in the parallel world of Termina. In this game, Link only has THREE days to race around and make things right before the Moon will fall onto Termina and destroy ALL who live on it! But as it turns out, Link actually doesn't HAVE just three days; he has the SAME three days; to relive multiple times! Another major departure from "Ocarina of Time," is the repeating three day structure. By using the Ocarina, Link can LITERALLY turn back the hands of time, slow it down, or speed it up! In this way, Link can actually CONTROL time however he wants, and figure out the best way to USE his time in order to solve puzzles, earn prizes, win items, beat bosses, and solve the tough dungeons located in Termina! Although there's a decidedly SMALLER amount of dungeons in "Majora's Mask" than "Ocarina of Time," they are bigger, trickier, and tougher to SOLVE than the puzzles in "Ocarina of Time." Not to mention that there are many side-quests that Link can go on, all of which can help Link get strong enough in order to fight against Majora's Mask itself! What's really unique about this game, is the fact that Link needs to TRANSFORM in order to accomplish different things, with magical masks! As Deku Link, Goron Link, Zoron Link, and Young Link, Link will need to utilize his FOUR main forms in order to beat different monsters and get into different places.

In addition to the three main masks, there are twenty additional masks that must be found and/or won by accomplishing different tasks in the world of Termina, each mask giving Link a unique ability that can help him out in solving a puzzle. And only by finding ALL twenty of these masks, will Link be able to win the most POWERFUL mask transformation of all; as Fierce Deity Link! But the biggest reason this game is ranked higher than "Ocarina of Time"; is Tatl! Unlike Navi, Tatl does NOT consistently 'hold' Link's hand, and Link actually has to SOLVE many of the puzzles in THIS game on his own, making for a more challenging, but more REWARDING video game experience overall! "Majora's Mask" is not just a unique video game in the "Zelda" game series, it is a very UNIQUE game overall! Dark, moody, atmospheric, exciting, and DEFINITELY epic! A game that has few other gaming peers worthy of being in the same legendary league it is in! Link's last outing on a cartridge game was also one of his best; and that's why this game is so great! Final score: 110/100! (Yes, it's THAT good!!!!) /

That's it for the Top 20 N64 games of all-time! / I'll see you around next time! 

[4EverGreen]

In 2002, H*** itself froze over!  How else do you explain just how and WHY Sonic would EVER appear on a Nintendo system?! For Nintendo, it was poetic justice, and vindication that THEY had won the 16 bit system battle!  For Sega, they really had no choice. Sega was losing just FAR too much money with their Dreamcast system, and they just couldn’t keep up with the output that Sony was putting out. So Sega did the UNTHINKABLE in order to survive as a company; they DROPPED out of the hardware race, and became a software ONLY company! Not only that, they decided to primarily put their software out for Nintendo, because they TRUSTED Nintendo to handle their software the BEST! The result? A mutual partnership that has ended up working out for the BOTH of them, as the video games that Sega has put out for Nintendo’s systems, are often some of the BEST video games that Nintendo has seen in the 21^st century!  That being said, there’s a video game that should SADLY, be avoided, for the year of 2002, and it comes from the LEAST likely candidate EVER! /

WORST video game of 2002: “Star Fox Adventures” Rated T, Gamecube / WHY, Rareware?! How could you let yourself SINK so low?! After the nasty fall-out that WAS “Conker’s Bad Fur Day,” Nintendo and Rareware were BARELY willing to SPEAK to each other, let alone WORK with each other; so that might be the reason why THIS video game did NOT turn out as well as it should have! Despite having by FAR, the best graphics, sound, and music the Nintendo Gamecube would SEE for four years, it’s all brought down by unbearably HARD controls and IMPOSSIBLE difficulty sections! I couldn’t get past the area where you had to play a push of war against a dinosaur! So maybe there really isn’t any secret as to why Nintendo sold off Rareware to Microsoft, but at least the “Star Fox” franchise got the awesome Krystal out of the deal, so mixed emotions about Nintendo NOT having Rareware anymore. /

Now with THAT out of the way, it’s time to see where Sonic and Mario rank, on the SAME systems, for my list of a WHOPPING 30 best video games of 2002! /

30. “Zapper” Rated E, Game Boy Advance and Gamecube / This was a nice, fun, challenging little platform game, even if I have not yet played the Gamecube version. Playing as the title-named cricket, who has the power to electrify his foes, this video game definitely had the potential to become a new video game franchise. Despite having good graphics, sound, music, and controls, the difficulty was a little bit harder than a truly GOOD Game Boy Advance game should be. I was never able to get to the last section of the game and truly beat it, though certainly not from a lack of TRYING! If you feel like seeking out this game and trying it for yourself, feel free to do so.

29. “Blender Bros.” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This video game has nothing to do with the kitchen, it’s more about mixed and matched animal characters fighting each other for…reasons. Definitely unique, as far as video games go. The graphics, music, sound, and controls are all good, but once again, the difficulty was a little hard, from what I remember. This game only ranks here, because I remember the other video games a lot better than this one.

28. “Crash Bandicoot: the Huge Adventure” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Honestly, the "Huge" in the game's title is a bit misleading. This game is not as big as other Game Boy Advance games can be. Thankfully, the Bandicoot does manage to make an impressive showing on his first Nintendo Video Game system outing. Taking a break from full on 3-D graphics, the Bandicoot goes on a mostly 2-D scrolling video game with a few 3-D flying and running levels. While the side scrolling and flying levels are pretty basic, the running levels can get a little annoying after a while! In the running levels, Crash is running towards the screen, and there is a Yeti behind Crash that will kill Crash if the Bandicoot gets stuck behind something. Not only that, but if Crash runs into or jumps onto one Nitro Box, than Crash will die! And unfortunately, there is no advance warning for when a Nitro Box is coming, or where on the screen it is going to be. However, this game isn't that bad (certainly not as bad as his PS One outings) because Crash isn't imitating "Super Mario 64" like he usually does. My final verdict on this game is that it is better enjoyed as a rental than as a fully purchased and owned video game.

27. “Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Some people might be wondering, why is a game that was originally on the Super NES in 1995, in this list as well? It's because THIS game is different enough from its original source to be included on this list! Each level of the game now has four BONUS stages that can be played...as long as all of the other stages in the level are beaten PERFECTLY first! Also, the sound, graphics, music, and control are even BETTER on the Game Boy Advance than they are on the SNES! The reason this game doesn't get ranked higher, is that Baby Mario STILL cries too much whenever Yoshi loses him! One nice little update to this game, Yoshi can now practice the bonus areas located in the game as often as he wants to, so it makes it a little easier to figure out how to get a perfect score with each different bonus area!

26. “Mega Man Zero” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Even if Capcom had ONLY decided to take the "Mega Man X" games ORIGINALLY released on the Super NES and Playstation and re-released them on the Game Boy Advance, that would've been fine for most people. Instead, Capcom did something COMPLETELY unexpected, by coming up with a BRAND new "Mega Man" series entirely! A "Mega Man" game that provides good graphics, sound, music, and controls. Interesting enough, the game series doesn't REVOLVE around Mega Man, it centers on his partner Zero, which is why the series is CALLED "Mega Man Zero." Evil reploids are waging war against good robots and innocent humans. Zero is found AND reactivated in order to fend off against this scourge! A game with RAZOR sharp challenges, all designed to make even SEASONED players BEG for mercy, its little wonder how the "Mega Man Zero" series came to be so successful, and yet be the bane of SO many players' nightmares! And if you haven't played the game yet, you won't BELIEVE who the final boss ends up being; but it's NOT Dr. Wily OR Sigma! The best way to play this game now is on the "Mega Man Zero Collection" for the Nintendo DS, which even has a new EASY mode for the games, to give beginning players more mercy.

25. “Mario Party 4” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / I was certainly anticipating what the “Mario Party” franchise could do when transferred from the cartridge based N64, to the powerful disc based Gamecube! This game adds new tricks, such as mini-mushrooms that let you access places that only a TINY character can reach, or mega-mushrooms that you advance MANY spaces and STOMP any character in your path! Also, Donkey Kong becomes a non-playable NPC and instead becomes a friendly helper to getting players their super-stars, depending on WHO is currently WITH Donkey Kong at the moment. Thankfully, Daisy is also added into the mix, so Peach is no longer the only woman in the party! Pretty fun, all things considered.

24. “Sonic Advance” Rated E, N-Gage and Game Boy Advance/Nintendo Gamecube compatible / There was a period of six years, where the idea of a completely 2-D Sonic video game was UNTHINKABLE, let alone one on a Nintendo system! But with no more hardware system of his own, Sonic and his fans swallowed their pride, and took a chance with Nintendo! The result was some of the BEST video games that Sega had made in YEARS!!!! Sonic’s first outing on a Nintendo system went back to the basics of the Genesis days, while adding in a few new tricks. Playing as either Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Amy Rose, it is your job to make it across a variety of levels and stages, busting up robots, collecting Chaos Emeralds, and defeating Dr. Eggman’s latest, SECRET, EVIL plot! I was never able to collect ALL the Chaos Emeralds and see the TRUE ending; but for Sonic’s first successful video game outing on a Nintendo system, this is the one to play! You could even connect with “Sonic Adventure 2 Battle” and take the Chao raised from THAT game, onto the Game Boy Advance and play mini-games with them here! Now THAT is processing power!

23. “Sega Smash Pack” Rated E, Dreamcast and Game Boy Advance / This video game is on this list for one good reason: “Sonic Spinball!” While I would have liked it for Sega to re-release this game with a much more immersive VERSION of this game on the Game Boy Advance, releasing the game with “Golden Axe” (which is okay) and “Ecco the Dolphin” (which I never played), is pretty good in itself. Thankfully, Sega doesn’t mess with a good thing, and keeps all the solid graphics, music, sound, controls, and difficulty intact from the original versions of these good games, making them worth playing on this compilation game package even more!

22. “Sonic Adventure 2 Battle” Rated E, Dreamcast and Nintendo Gamecube/Game Boy Advance compatible / Sega thought that “Sonic Adventure 2” was going to BE the game that would SAVE the Sega Dreamcast from financial ruin, and PROVE that Sega was going to CONTINUE to be a dependable hardware company. Sadly, “Sonic Adventure 2” was just ANOTHER video game riddled with LONG loading times and HORRIBLE camera controls! So imagine Sega’s surprise when they OFFERED Sega the opportunity to re-release their LAST video game, and give them the chance to FIX all the problems of the Dreamcast version! The result was Sega’s first TRUE success on a console video game system in YEARS! Featuring great graphics, rocking sound and music, good controls and difficulty, and WAY better camera controls AND shorter loading times; this game lets you play as either Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Dr. Eggman, and/or Rouge across a variety of levels and stages as you bust up robots and collect Chaos Emeralds. While I was never able to collect all the Chaos Emeralds and get to play the TRUE final level, the Chao Garden and mini-games were a nice, new addition to this video game, and it let you connect with the Game Boy Advance, in order to raise and play Chao in fun mini-games within the “Sonic Advance” video games! So this is definitely worth playing, even today!

21. “Tekken Advance” Rated T, Game Boy Advance / I had never before PLAYED a “Tekken” game in any way, shape or form, before I played this game. So I was scared, I had my doubts. Thankfully, this game plays fast, frantic, furious, and fun! Even if I have NO idea on who the characters REALLY are! Thankfully, this is a nice, easily available alternative to the “Street Fighter” video games, so this is definitely worth playing as well!

20. “Rayman 2” Rated E, Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance / One thing Nintendo is NOT usually known for, it's for resting on their laurels. This is especially true of many games released near the tail-end of their system's life-time! Nowhere is this more evident than in one of the last great masterpieces for the Game Boy Color, "Rayman 2." While "Rayman 2" can be criticized for coming out on WAY many more systems than it had the right to, that doesn't change the fact "Rayman 2" remains a solid game on MANY of the systems it comes out on! But "Rayman 2" winds up on THIS list, as it's the ONLY version of "Rayman 2" I have managed to beat to date. Not only does this version manage to take all the GOOD parts of the console versions of "Rayman 2" into THIS game version (No ANNOYING "Land of the Livid Dead" race stage), the game manages to be GRAPHICALLY impressive, musically enjoyable, has great controls and challenge, and remains a GREAT high-light from Rayman's short (but incredible) run on the Game Boy Color!

19. “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / I can’t believe that I have NEGLECTED to mention this FUN video game for SO long! I guess one of the good things about reviewing the best video games of the year, from year to year; is getting to see precisely the games that have escaped my focus before, which means that I can focus on them NOW! In this video game, Tasmanian Tigers are alive and well! Playing as Ty, you get to explore the Australian Outback and throw many different boomerangs at a variety of enemies for…reasons. It’s been a while since I have last played this game, but I do remember that it was plenty of fun! So much fun, two sequels were released for the Nintendo video game systems alone! So Ty the Tasmanian tiger; definitely wasn’t a one-trick pony, or in this case, a Tasmanian Tiger!

18. “Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Although this video game is a re-make of the NES video game called “Kirby’s Adventure,” the graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty are greatly boosted to take full capability of the Game Boy Advance’s hardware! Figuring out the best enemy transformations to copy and then use against enemies, is HALF of the fun of this video game! The other half is getting to defeat unique enemy bosses in this fun video game! It’s a game worth playing, even today!

17. “Pac-Man World 2” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube and eventually Game Boy Advance / Have I HONESTLY never reviewed this video game BEFORE?! The concept of forgetting about this one BOGGLES my MIND! Taking all the fun and challenge of solving mazes, and taking it into the 3-D realm, this game also gives Pac-Man many abilities inspired by Mario. Thankfully, these abilities help out this already great game! As usual, you gobble down fruits, power pellets, and occasionally ghosts. While I definitely enjoyed this video game, it’s been a while since I have played this game last, and I don’t remember it that well. If I ever come across a relatively cheap copy of it again, I’d like to play it again so I can give a more comprehensive review.

16. “Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / There was a long time (about twelve years), "Dragonball" and "Dragonball Z" was a VERY popular manga and anime series in Japan, but not in America! It wasn't until 1996 when "Dragonball Z" was FINALLY ported to the states where people started to see what all the fuss in Japan was about. Still, an official game in the states was DIFFICULT to come by until 2002, when the Game Boy Advance FINALLY came out with THIS good game and gave people what they wanted! This game does a pretty good job of sticking to the script of "Dragonball Z" from the beginning of the Saiyans Saga to the end of the Freeza Saga. Goku can perform ki attacks, fly, blind enemies with solar flare, and perform the fabled Kamehameha attack in this game. The music, sound, graphics, and control are pretty good, but the length of the overall challenge ends up being shorter than it should be! Still, it’s because of Infogrames (NOT 'InfoGames'), that America got its OFFICIAL first good "Dragonball Z" game!

15. “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / I think one of the reasons that the “Cruisin’” video game series stopped being popular, is that an even MORE popular racing game series came along to take its place; this one! With fast, furious, frantic, and fun racing levels, with high-notch graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty; this was by FAR one of the most premiere racing games available on the Gamecube! I personally like it, because in SOME of the California levels, there are some signs where you can read the name of the TOWN that I grew up in and lived in for a good portion of my life! So it’s nice to know that my town is known at least SOMEWHAT!

14. “Mega Man Anniversary Collection” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / Up until 2002, I had NEVER had the pleasure of playing or owning an original "Mega Man" game from the NES. "Mega Man Anniversary Collection" was the first opportunity I had to play with the six original games, and see just how tough they were! Even though the graphics and music remain the same, the great challenge remains intact! The ability to now save on any stage is a welcome addition, although it only lets you save from the start of any stage you're currently on. Still beats having to remember a password code or play the whole thing again! "Mega Man" got a lot of love from Capcom with this release, and it's a level of love that he DESERVES to have again!

13. “Super Mario Sunshine” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / By 2002, what video game series WASN'T trying to copy "Super Mario 64" and all the standards it set up for how a 3D platformer game should be?! Surprisingly, Mario ITSELF! Nintendo could've very EASILY turned in another platformer like "Super Mario 64" and called it a day; instead, they were willing to try something different! Unlike "Super Mario 64", which featured a variety of different worlds, there were only a few different levels in "Super Mario Sunshine," and they were all a riff on the Tropical Island theme. Thankfully, every single level riffs on the Tropical Island theme very differently and makes Mario's venture through each level feel new and unique. This game is REALLY epic, because it's the debut of Bowser's eighth Koopa Kid, the appropriately named, Bowser Jr.! Proving to be just as bad as his father, he's decided to FRAME Mario, by disguising himself as Shadow Mario, and making a REAL mess on Delfino Island! Speaking of, the Delfino natives are a NICE new character addition to the Mario series! Thankfully, Mario has some help in order to clean up the mess made by Bowser Jr.; the E-Gadd F.L.U.D.D. 3000! A water jet-propulsion system that is good for spraying water forwards, backwards, up, down, sideways, diagonally, and can even let Mario hover temporarily! The F.L.U.D.D. 3000 is an integral part of solving many puzzles in this game; but this game has a few surprises, such as BONUS areas where Mario DOESN'T have the F.L.U.D.D. 3000, and instead, must get through the bonus area old-school! The best part about this game, the inclusion of getting to ride on Yoshi again! Sadly, you can't ride on him in the water like you could in "Super Mario World." Maybe making "Super Mario Sunshine" so different from "Super Mario 64," might have prevented it from selling better, but it definitely makes for a MUCH more unique video game experience!

12. “River City Ransom EX” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Some games take a LOT longer than others to get popular recognition. Take "River City Ransom EX" for example. Although the game had already been released 12 years prior on the NES, the game only had OKAY sound, music, control, graphics, and challenge. Such a game might not seem to have a place in the 32 bit market. But Nintendo proved that "River City Ransom" just needed to wait for the RIGHT video game system to TRULY make an impact! Although it’s basically the same script and story from the original NES game, the execution is pulled off a lot better! Thankfully, the AWESOMELY bad original translations of the Japanese text are still left intact; making it cheesy, but in a very GOOD way! The sound, music, control, graphics, and challenge are MILES better on the GBA than they were on the NES, and there are a variety of ways one can get through this game! Oddly enough though, this game has YET to receive a PROPER sequel! So far, the only other "River City Ransom" games available are sporting ventures on the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo 3DS.

11. “Robopon 2: Ring Version” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Without a doubt, the biggest problem with the "Pokemon" video games is that they spawned FAR too many knock-offs from other companies quickly looking to duplicate Nintendo's success and make a quick buck off of it. Atlus themselves tried to do it in 2000 and failed because they tried to be TOO similar to what "Pokemon" was without making any attempts to truly differentiate themselves from the franchise they were trying to copy. Dauntless, Atlus decided to try again in the year 2002 with a Game Boy Advance version. Playing the previous game installment isn't necessary, just so long as there's a basic understanding of what is to be expected. In the Game Boy Advance version of "Robopon," Atlus wisely decided to differentiate their potential video game series away from what "Pokemon" was. Unlike in "Pokemon," the creatures had to be created! And the only way to do that was by fusing together batteries! Endless possible battery combinations meant for nearly endless possible creature creations. And the one thing "Robopon" had on "Pokemon" that the original video game series didn't have yet was the possibility of fighting with more than one monster at a time. And not only that, four monsters at one time could fight against the protagonists opponents, and they could do that all the time instead of just in certain situations! The graphics were FAR superior to anything that "Pokemon" had made up to that point, and the music, gameplay, challenge, and interesting story line was absolutely superb for a video game of its kind of vein! So it comes as a surprise to me as to why there has never been another "Robopon" video game made to appease fans who want something that's a different experience from "Pokemon." But until such a day might come, this game will definitely remain the best in the "Robopon" video game series, an experience that I certainly enjoyed, and it is for those reasons that I reviewed this game!

10. “Spyro 2: Season of Flame” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Spyro's last adventure outing on the Game Boy Advance was such a success, that this follow-up game got produced! Continuing the great video game formula and video game design from the last Game Boy Advance game, Spyro is now cool AND hot! Upon arriving back home from his last adventure, Spyro has discovered that his flame has mysteriously gone out and has been replaced with ice! It seems that Spyro's old time nemesis, Ripto, has returned to cause trouble once again! Ripto has scattered all of the FIREflies from the Dragon Realm over several unique, challenging levels. The sound and control are once again among the best a Game Boy Advance game can feature! And even more impressive is the fact that the video game wizards behind Spyro manage to make the backgrounds and enemies even MORE graphically beautiful than ever before! This game continues the dragon's great legacy on the Game Boy Advance!

9. “Animal Crossing” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube/Game Boy Advance compatible / The Gamecube was the first, and sadly, is really the ONLY major video game console that promotes connection between itself, and a portable game system! When it first came out in Japan as "Animal Forest," it was a fine enough game. But there were two major problems wrong with it. There wasn't a cool, secret place to go to, like a tropical island, and the only way you could travel to another town, was to buy an N64 Memory card, which most people WEREN'T willing to do! But when the game got a GLOBAL release on the Gamecube in 2002, it got world-wide recognition! The games that feature hook-up capabilities with the Game Boy Advance, really do their best to make it well-worth a player's while to have that capability! For instance, when the Tropical Island feature was added in for the Gamecube; even after one of your four characters left the island, it was STILL possible to play on the island. By hooking in the Game Boy Advance (without any other game in it), you could play on a 32 bit version of the island. You could water plants, dig and bury plants, fish, grab butterflies, and cut down trees, and sometimes find rare items while playing on the island. As neat as this feature was, it only showed a SMALL sample of what the Game Boy Advance was capable of when connected with the Gamecube! In addition to this neat feature, the fact that you could live a simulated life in a nice, rural area populated with animals, only adds to the game's charm! The best bonus of this game, is being able to play bonus NES games that can be found INSIDE "Animal Crossing!" This is one solid game!

8. “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / I consider this to be an ENTIRELY separate/different game from "Ocarina of Time." Because it's actually TWO different games for the price of one! The Japanese were the FIRST lucky people to be able to play the "Master Quest" version of "Ocarina of Time," through the N64 DD Add-on! But American consumers showed no demand or desire for having a disc add-on, to a cartridge experience. (Probably for the best; seeing as how SEGA'S disc add-ons to systems failed so BADLY.) As a special pre-order bonus for "The Wind Waker," consumers could buy the special game package, and see just how challenging the "Master Quest" could be! In addition to enhanced graphics, sound, music, and control from the N64 version, the "Master Quest" also featured remixed dungeon lay-outs and puzzles! Player's had to figure out new ways to uncover all the secrets hidden in Hyrule, and challenge themselves as never before! This promotional release was SO successful, it was repeated as a debut game for the Nintendo 3DS, as this game got a graphical update as "Ocarina of Time 3D" in 2011; making that the BEST way to play this game today!

7. “Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The "Final Fantasy" series was SLOW in getting its start in America. While "Final Fantasy" made its debut in Japan in 1987, it took seven LONG years for the series to get popular in America. And despite the 1994 success of "Final Fantasy VI" (originally called "Final Fantasy III" in the states), it would be another eight LONG years before another "Final Fantasy" title graced a Nintendo console. This game was Squaresoft's (now Square Enix), welcome back party after a six year absence away from Nintendo. And to start off their comeback right, Square Enix went back to the beginning of the "Final Fantasy" era, with "Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls." Since neither of the games were particularly long on the NES, or the Famicom Disk System (Japan's version of the NES), the two games are put together on the same cartridge, but with IMPROVED results! The graphics, sound, music, layout, and controls of the game are COMPLETELY revamped from their 8-bit originals, with graphics that even surpass the lofty graphics of the Sony Playstation! Plus, the incredible DIFFICULTY of the original games have been toned down IMMENSELY, making the games FAR easier to play, and ACTUALLY beatable! (Don't let that mislead you though; the games are STILL challenging even in this updated form!) For providing TWO great R.P.G. games for the PRICE of one, Squaresoft has DEFINITELY got to be saluted!

6. “Disney’s Magical Quest Starring Mickey and Minnie” Rated E, Game Boy Advance/ Nintendo Gamecube compatible / In 1992, "Mickey Mouse's Magical Quest" was a fun, challenging game on the Super NES, but its biggest problem is that it was only for one player. The Game Boy Advance version fixed THAT problem, by making it so that two players could play as either Mickey OR Minnie Mouse, either cooperatively or competitively! In addition, this game now has THREE difficulty modes, making for a better game replay value than before! The ability to now save ANYWHERE in the game, is also a welcome addition. Plus the same great graphics, sound, music, and controls from the Super NES version, are even BETTER on the Game Boy Advance! Thankfully, this great game is now also available on Wii U Virtual Console. So if you haven't tried it already, learn how fun a game can be by playing "Magical Quest" now!

5. “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / While the Game Boy Advance version of "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3" may not be able to do anything NEAR what the big boy video game consoles can do, Tony Hawk proves that he CAN, DOES, WILL, and IS able to kick BUTT on a portable video game system! This is a beautiful, isometric, 3-D skating game that can hold its own with the big boys. There are fourteen different skaters to choose from, or there's the option to create a Skater! The game play control is very easy to master AND control! The music tracks are loud and ROCKING, and the levels of the Game Boy Advance version are pretty consistent with the equally awesome Nintendo Gamecube version of "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3!" There's also a multi-player feature in this game that will keep many skateboarding fans happy! It is now official; the Hawk has landed and he is here to stay!

4. “Sonic Mega Collection” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / At long last, a truly remarkable experience is available for Nintendo video game players. For the first time ever, Nintendo devotees will be able to see just why Sega was major competition for Nintendo in the early 1990's. Sega was the only company that could actually manage to go blow for blow against Nintendo and not get knocked out like Hudson Soft and Atari did when they tried to go head to head with Nintendo. Unlike the rest of the competition, Sega wasn't going to go anywhere without a fight! And Sega sure did put a fight which rewarded video game players with some of the most fun, rewarding games to ever be released for a 16 bit system. The original "Sonic the Hedgehog," fighting in Green Hill Zone, Marble Hill Zone, Star Light Zone, Ocean Labyrinth Zone, and Smoke Factory Zone. "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," introducing Miles Tails Prower, Casino Night Zone, Air Hill Zone, Oil Ocean Zone, the Death Egg, and Super Sonic! "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," where Sonic met rival Knuckles the Echidna, and fought in Angel Island Zone, Hydro City Zone, Marble Canyon Zone, Carnival Night Zone, and Winter Hill Zone. "Sonic and Knuckles," where playing as either Sonic or Knuckles, players could fight through Mushroom Hill Zone, Air Fortress Zone, Hot Desert Zone, Magma Lava Zone, and Chaos Emerald Zone. "Sonic Spinball" where Sonic the Hedgehog must fight through four arcade themed levels in order to defeat a plot by the nefarious Dr. Robotnik! "Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine," a fun puzzle game made in the vain of "Dr. Mario" and "Tetris." "Sonic 3D Blast," a fun, challenging isometric 3D game! And for even more fun, unlockable games! "Blue Sphere, Flicky, Knuckles in Sonic 2," and "Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles." There is also artwork, and comic book covers to look at, and it’s definitely a lot of fun both for the nostalgia factor and for the retro factor! It's an experience that's hard to beat in any other game! I certainly enjoyed it, and that's why I reviewed this game!

3. “Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / A stellar example of 32-bit graphics, music, and control, "Super Mario World" not only does a good job of staying true to the Mario platform game formula, it also enhances Mario's abilities! Mario can now perform spin jumps and break yellow blocks, throw koopa shells and ice blocks UP, float in the air with a P-balloon, turn enemies into silver coins with a gray P-switch, climb on fence walls (and sometimes run UP walls,) fly with a cape, and then SOAR down to the ground to deliver a great GROUND pound, knocking off and/or over many enemies! But the best part of this game has DEFINITELY got to be the introduction of Mario's loyal dinosaur pal, Yoshi! Yoshi can lick up many enemies, ice blocks, power-ups, and apples, swallow them, and each enemy that Yoshi swallows, equals another coin in Mario's coin collection! Different colored Yoshi's also have different abilities when it comes to swallowing koopa shells! The red Yoshi ALWAYS spits fireballs after inhaling a koopa shell, the yellow Yoshi always does a shocking GROUND pound and knocks down nearby enemies after inhaling a koopa shell, and the Blue Yoshi always FLIES after inhaling a koopa shell! With nine different levels to explore, and 96 different course exits to find, this game has a LOT of re-play value! But that value can be extended even FURTHER, by completing the eight "Special" stages! By doing so, Mario can change the way all the levels look, and some enemies will CHANGE the way they look in each stage! Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi must battle their way against Bowser's 1st 7 Koopa Kids, and finally Bowser himself, debuting his signature flying clown helicopter, who has both trapped Yoshi's friends in eggs, and kidnapped Princess Peach again! This game PROVED Nintendo WAS, IS, and WOULD continue to be a video game powerhouse, no matter WHAT!

2. “The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past/Four Swords” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This video game definitely marked the TURNING point for ALL video games when it first came out on the Super NES! Games were no longer just juvenile experiences for kids, video games could NOW tell epic storylines, have vast WORLDS to explore, and be engaging from the 1st to the LAST minute of game-play, and yet STILL have players coming back for more, because the game is THAT good!!!! Maybe there IS no true definition of "Perfect," but "A Link to the Past" has come FAR closer to the definition of being "Perfect" than any video game BEFORE it, or any video game since (which doesn't STOP a lot of video games from trying)! Taking the original formula from the first "The Legend of Zelda," amplify it, AND enhance it 1,000-fold; this game didn't just MAKE video-game history, it IS video game history! There are FAR too many reasons to go on as to WHY "A Link to the Past" does SO much better than many other games, but that's what MAKES this game SO great! And beating the video game is SO rewarding! That's why THIS game is the BEST!!!!

1. “Dragon Ball Z Budokai” Rated T, Nintendo Gamecube / This game is the game that was made to get people interested in not only playing "Dragonball Z," but watching "Dragonball Z" as well! Everyone's favorites are here! Including Raditz, Goku, Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Nappa, Vegeta, Dodoria, Zarbon, Recoome, Jayce, Captain Ginyu, Freeza, Android 19, Android 17, Android 18, Android 16, Cell, and even an appearance by the Great Saiyaman! Fighting, flying, and intense action are the rules of this game where winning is the most important thing that matters! With dozens of moves and dozens of ways to beat up the competition, this game will keep "Dragonball Z" fans and fighting video game fans entertained for hours on end. But not only does this game allow people to play against their favorite opponents using their favorite characters, they can also play through the main story arcs of "Dragonball Z" from the Saiyan Saga to the Cell Games Saga, including alternate story arcs that illustrate "What If" situations if something different happened in the cartoon series. To truly enjoy the game, it helps to have an understanding of the story within "Dragonball Z" to get the most out of this game, but fighting game fans won't mind, and will want to get right to the butt kicking in fighting against CPU and other human opponents in this fun video game that's full of challenges and many competitive events that will keep players entertained for hours on end! I certainly enjoyed it, that's why I wrote this review! /

That's it for 2002!  Stay tuned for 2003, when Mario AND Luigi get an R.P.G. video game, "F-Zero" AND "Mario Kart" get new racing games, "Dragon Ball Z" gets an AWESOME portable video game, and "Sonic" gets ONE of his BEST Nintendo games EVER!  Stay tuned! 

[4EverGreen]

OOPS!!!! I accidentally posted the same post TWICE!!!! I fixed it now! / 2003 was ANOTHER full year for video games, with a WHOPPING 30 video games in total that were made available in THIS year alone! And with just a COUPLE of exceptions, I managed to PLAY most of these games in the year they came out! Come and see where all of my played video games rank! /

30. “Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Rareware…was CLEARLY the LOSER of their transfer to Microsoft when Nintendo sold them. Rareware suffered GREATLY under Microsoft; making games like “Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Kameo: Elements of Darkness,” and “Perfect Dark Zero” that were just FAR below their capability levels! In fact, this game (and to a greater extent, the Game Boy Advance re-releases of the “Donkey Kong Country” games), were some of the ONLY instances or Rareware making ANY profits from their games AFTER their transfer to Microsoft! This game takes place right in-between “Banjo-Kazooie,” and “Banjo-Tooie”, with Klungo being able to free Gruntilda instead of her sisters. As a ghost, Gruntilda causes more havoc, so Banjo and Kazooie must once again team up, to collect Jiggies, Jinjos, and Musical Notes. With many of the same skills from the N64 games, and very GOOD graphics, music, sound, controls, and difficulty; the only thing that prevents me from ranking this game any higher, is the fact that I was NEVER able to beat the Final Boss, no matter HOW hard I tried! And believe me, I DID try! If Rareware EVER decides to come back to Nintendo, I sure hope they are willing to re-release this video game on a Virtual Console someday, because it would make a LOT of people happy!

29. “Sonic Advance 2” Rated E, Game Boy Advance/Nintendo Gamecube compatible / While “Sonic Advance” was a surprising return to form for the 2-D Sonic games, this game just feels like more of the same. While Cream the Rabbit is a nice new addition, it’s still TOO hard to collect all the Chaos Emeralds in this game! Not only that, but the game itself isn’t that memorable, because I don’t remember much about the levels themselves. I think this game is available on Wii U Virtual Console, but I’m not too sure. If it is, it might be more worth playing the game on that than trying to search for an authentic Game Boy Advance copy.

28. “Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The second (and sadly, as of 2017), is so far, the LAST “Pokemon Pinball” related game to be released; this is another fun and unique “Pokemon Pinball” video game. The pinball boards take their themes from the regions in the video games of “Pokemon Ruby” and “Pokemon Sapphire.” In addition, more Pokemon can be collected by Pinball than in the original “Pokemon Pinball.” A nice little bonus, is that if you play this video game on the Nintendo Gamecube Game Boy Player add-on, you can feel the RUMBLE on the Gamecube controller! The graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty are all solid for this nice Pinball game. The only reason that I rank this video game here, is that I remember all of the other video games a lot better!

27. “Super Duper Sumos” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / A fun and funny video game, based on the MASSIVE (pun intended) hit cartoon series of the same name, that APPARENTLY aired on Nickelodeon! I remember it aired SOMEWHERE; just not that channel! Although there are three different characters to choose from, they all have the same skills and abilities, so it really doesn’t make a difference which character you play as. The graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty are all solid in this humorous video game, even if I don’t remember much about the plot! This is a nice, hidden little gem, though. So you should play it, if you get a chance!

26. “Balloon Fight” Rated E, Game Boy Advance E-Reader / Nintendo released a device for the Game Boy Advance called the E-Reader, in the year 2003. By attaching this device into the Game Boy Advance, and scanning cards with electronic codes on them, you could play nice little games on them. Nintendo even re-released six FULL NES games for the E-Reader, even though only three of them are worth paying the money in order to play it through the E-Reader. This is one of those games. You play as a character, who gets to fly through the air (because two balloons are attached to his back), and pop a bunch of other floating balloons, because sometimes enemies are attached to them. But there are plenty of natural and man-made obstacles to avoid, in addition to the enemies. It is a fun, but thoroughly challenging game. The best way to play it now, is by experiencing the NES Virtual Console version on either the Nintendo Wii, or the Nintendo 3DS.

25. “Frogger’s Adventures 2: The Lost Wand” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This is a game that should have been included for my 2002 list. But if I had, I wouldn’t have had a FULL 30 video games for THIS list, so it worked out well for me. Frogger comes back for more hopping and platform action! This time, Frogger must travel through five distinct regions (bigger than the four Temple sections of “Temple of the Frog”) in order to find and repair the five broken pieces of the title-named, Lost Wand. It has the same charming graphics, sound, music, and solid controls and difficulty from the first “Frogger” Game Boy Advance game; so if you like that one, this one is definitely worth playing as well!

24. “Disney’s The Lion King 1.5” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / After a seven year hiatus, starting in 1995, Disney started making a good comeback in making GOOD video games again! “Kingdom Hearts” was the start of this trend (but I haven’t played it yet, which is why I haven’t rated it yet); but this was Disney’s first good, ORIGINAL video game for a Nintendo system in years! Based on the oddly named Direct to D.V.D. Movie of the same name, this game follows the exploits of Timon and Pumbaa as they explore the Pride Lands and several other locales in this graphically good video game. The sound, music, controls, and difficulty are very good. The best part of this video game, is that it even featured ACTUAL clips from the animated movie, nearly a FULL year before the movie was out in stores! While this game isn’t of the same caliber as “The Lion King” or “Disney’s Aladdin” (which I’ll review later in this review), it can definitely hold its own as a fun video game to own and play!

23. “Pac-Man World” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Although this game has already been available for four years on the Playstation, I have never played the Playstation version; but I have played, beaten, and enjoyed THIS version of the Video Game! The graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty not only MATCH the Playstation version; this version EXCEEDS it! Not only that, but this version has NO annoying load screen times, making this version the DEFINITIVE version to play! A new villain named Orson, has organized the four ghosts, Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde to attack Pac-Man, in this fun and challenging 3-D maze adventure! The stages and levels are varied, and Pac-Man gets a lot of new tricks to help him get past the many various obstacles located in this game. It is definitely one that is worth playing, owning, and beating, even today!

22. “Ice Climber” Rated E, Game Boy Advance E-Reader / Believe it or not, I wasn’t even AWARE that there WAS a video game called “Ice Climber,” until “Super Smash Bros. Melee” brought it to my attention in 2001 with their inclusion of the Ice Climbers as playable characters. The E-Reader Version of this game was my first opportunity to play this fun and challenging game for myself. While I enjoyed it, I would still recommend playing this game in a Virtual Console format, on either the Nintendo Wii or the Nintendo 3DS.

21. “Wario World” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / Wario is a fun character, with a very unique personality, so it was only a matter of time before he got his own big video game for a home console system. Until the game is actually played through, then it’s easy to see why Wario had only appeared mainly on handheld video game systems prior to this game. The problem with Wario is that his goal in his video games is pretty simplistic: find treasures, get treasures, and destroy anything between him and his treasures! The game is fun to be sure, there's just not a lot for it for the serious video game player. But for those who need to know, the plot of this game is that Wario has picked up a treasure which is having mysterious effects on Wario's castle. It has turned Wario's castle into a haunted frightfest and it has transformed Wario's treasures into vicious monsters! Now Wario must fight the monsters to turn them back into treasure and defeat the curse of the mysterious treasure in order to get his life back. One thing Wario has that Mario and Luigi don't is that in Wario's game, he doesn't need to use any gimmicky tools to achieve his goals, he can do it using his own skills! Now if the game had more characters, more interaction, and a meatier story, the game would be perfect! But for people who have a completely open weekend, this game is great for a rental! Also, people will get a taste of the Microgames series that Wario has created within this game! This game is fun, just not long enough to justify a big time purchase. But I still enjoyed this game, and I still recommend it to anyone looking for a good time.

20. “Mario Kart Double Dash” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / Believe it or not, it's actually possible for up to SIXTEEN people to play this game at the SAME time, over a LAN wireless connection! The fourth entry in the "Mario Kart" series is somewhat more divisive than others. Instead of just controlling one person per kart, you have to control two. One who does the steering and driving, the other who throws the items behind them. Figuring out the best character combinations to fit in the best karts available will help immensely. One nice new update about this game, is the fact that the characters NOW have more than ONE kart choice available to them, depending on their collective weight and what they can ride in. Even if the two rider concept wasn't a hit with everyone, this is STILL a stellar racing game for any racing fan to enjoy! And thanks to the Nintendo Switch, this will probably SOON be available as a Virtual Console game! So I will definitely be playing it if and/or when it IS released again!

19. “F-Zero GX” Rated E, Arcades and Nintendo Gamecube / What's interesting about this game is that at the same time "F-Zero GX" debuted on the Gamecube, a partner game, "F-Zero AX" (developed by Nintendo's RIVAL, Sega!) debuted in arcades! By taking the Gamecube memory card and putting it into a memory card slot for the arcade "F-Zero AX," players could see how they ranked against players from across the world, and add their scores from "F-Zero GX" into "F-Zero AX!" If that wasn't cool enough, the fact that this game was bigger, better, faster, smoother, cooler, had better music, sounds, graphics, and controls than its N64 predecessor, plus an expanded story and challenge mode for all 30 characters, make this the definitive "F-Zero" game to play! The only way to make this game even better; add HD graphics! Hint, hint Nintendo! May soon become available as a Virtual Console game, thanks to Nintendo Switch!

18. “The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker” Rated E10, Nintendo Gamecube/Game Boy Advance compatible / Before "Twilight Princess" came around and GRABBED everyone's attention with how controversial IT was going to be, the BIGGEST controversy "Zelda" had garnered (not involving the DREADED Phillips CD-i games) was the DIVISIVE "Toon Link" look. But as people everywhere soon found out, there was MORE to Link than just a new art approach, it was actually a branch off of a GREAT "Zelda" legacy! If you haven't played the Gamecube or Wii U update, than big SPOILER alert; near the END of the game, it's revealed that the OCEAN Link's been traveling on, is actually COVERING the entire old WORLD of Hyrule! The island's that remain are actually the mountain tops of the old Hyrulian kingdom! This game made you FEEL, like you were CONTROLLING a cartoon character, because all the graphics were cel-shaded, a very unique approach that first got attention when it was used in the Gamecube's version of "Dragonball Z Budokai," but actually became popular because of THIS game! And if people were SHOCKED to find out Shiek was ZELDA in "Ocarina of Time," they were even MORE shocked to find out Tetra was Zelda in "The Wind Waker!" Especially when Tetra herself had no knowledge of her dual identity! And if anyone was doubting this game's ability to be epic, they definitely WEREN'T after they see what Link DID to Ganondorf at the END of this game! In fact, it was THIS video game that was the whole REASON the “E10” rating was even CREATED in the FIRST place! The only reason this game gets docked points, is that the sailing sections can get tedious at times. But the Game Boy Advance hook-up with Tingle's bombing ability and hidden treasure map is a nice feature!

17. “Donkey Kong Country” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / With improved graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty over the Super NES original, as well as nice new bonus games and new collectible pieces of in-game artwork to collect, this is a very good improvement over the original; even if I was never able to figure out just HOW to get 101% in this game. But if you still have a Game Boy Advance or a Nintendo DS, this is one video game you should play! Not just for nostalgia value, but because it is a WHOLE lot of fun!

16. “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4” Rated T, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube / While I have never played the Nintendo Gamecube version of this game, I have owned, played, beaten, and enjoyed the Game Boy Advance version of this game! With improved graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty over its predecessors, this game marks the pinnacle of Tony Hawk’s video game series (in the fact that I haven’t played any other “Tony Hawk” video game since then). But I definitely recommend playing this one, and you can enjoy the thrill of skateboarding, without ever leaving the comfort of your own house!

15. “Donkey Kong Jr.” Rated E, Game Boy Advance E-Reader / The best of the Game Boy Advance E-Reader games, this game takes all the fun and challenge of the Arcade/NES original of “Donkey Kong Jr.”, and allows you to take it on the go! The graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty are all intact in this version; but it’s probably a lot easier to play the Arcade/NES original via a Virtual Console system, on either the Nintendo Wii, or the Nintendo 3DS.

14. “Mega Man Zero 2” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / After making a HUGE, critical success like "Mega Man Zero", how do you improve on it? By making the sequel have BIGGER stages, better enemies, new weapon choices, and by making the game's difficulty challenge level more finely tuned than its predecessor. Zero discovers that the Reploid Resistance, is trying to discover the secrets of the Dark Cyber Elf, a super-powerful force that was once used to eliminate the evil Sigma! But somehow, the Dark Cyber Elf became corrupted itself, and now possesses deadly powers that in the wrong hands, could bring utter devastation and chaos to both humans and reploids. Unfortunately, the Reploid leader Espion, wanting to destroy the evil Reploid Mavericks once and for all, decides to take it upon himself to find and RELEASE the Dark Cyber Elf, by ANY means necessary! The normal game mode is challenging enough, but by beating it, an even TOUGHER, harder version of the game can be unlocked! Challenge it if you are feeling confident about your own skill! The “Mega Man Zero Collection” for the Nintendo DS, contains this game, with a brand new easy mode for beginners; making THAT the best way to own, play, and enjoy the game today!

13. “Disney’s Aladdin” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Capcom and Nintendo were both VERY busy this year! Although Sega made a version of "Aladdin" for their Game Gear and Genesis systems, I have never played their version. I have played Capcom's faithful adaptation of the popular Disney movie, and I have enjoyed it very much! There are seven different levels, with seventeen different stages, including two boss stages. The graphics, sound effects, music, controls, and difficulty are all top notch by Capcom standards! The Game Boy Advance version comes with an additional stage for SIX of these levels, making THIS version worth playing, beating, and enjoying today.

12. “Disney’s Magical Quest 2 Starring Mickey and Minnie” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / I'm surprised by the audacity that some people have. That audacity is that just because a video game has a Disney name on it, then it automatically means that video game will be bad. I think it's fair to say that there was a time when Disney was not automatically equated to failure. No, there was a time when Disney games were highly respected, back when Capcom had the reins. Capcom knew all about 2-D games, they knew how to design them, how to build them, how to fill them with items, put interesting characters in them, and engineer interesting enemies to fight as well. They proved it time and time again with "Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, The Little Mermaid, Tailspin, Aladdin" and with the "Magical Quest" trilogy as well! Although all three of the trilogy games were built for the Super NES, somehow only two of them made it stateside for the home console, and that is a crying shame! Thankfully, the same mistake wasn't repeated for the Game Boy Advance! This game is like a lost gem from the 16 bit graphic days, but it plays and handles with 32 bit standards and a large amount of fun, with a very good plot included for the game! With different magical costumes come different abilities, and enemies which Mickey and Minnie must find a way to overcome. Even though Disney's record has many track marks of hits and/or misses, Capcom has always been known for being successful. And it's not just successful in the 2D fighting genre, it's also successful in the 2D platforming genre! That's why I love many of Capcom's games such as this one which I thoroughly enjoyed!

11. “Aero the Acro-Bat” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This is another fun mascot platform video game character, originally from the 1990's! There's a lot of different stuff to collect, many different enemies to beat, and many different goals to achieve in every stage of each level. Counting Bonus Stages, there are four levels, and there are 25 stages in all. 7 Stages for Levels One, Two, and Four, and just 4 Stages for Level Three. Although Aero is a Bat who is an accomplished Acrobat (hence the name of the game) who can jump, spin, hover, and even sometimes fly through the air with the greatest of ease, this game isn't all about fun and games. There are some obstacles that are fairly tough to get past without the proper knowledge and know-how of each stages' layout, and how best to take out each enemy. Fortunately, while having a good finishing time in each stage is a great goal to achieve, it's not completely necessary in order to beat each stage! The greatest strengths about this game is that the controls feel really slick, the graphics are pretty cool by Game Boy Advance standards, and the music is really rocking to! This game is currently available to play, via Wii Virtual Console.

10. “Street Fighter Alpha 3” Rated T, Arcades, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance / Very rarely, does a video game manage to come out that makes me wonder: "How did they manage to FIT so many amazing fighters, stages, great graphics, good sound, rocking music, excellent controls, and solid challenge onto such a tiny package?!" But "Street Fighter Alpha 3" managed to do just THAT when it debuted on the Game Boy Advance in 2003. It managed to take ALL of the features of the Sega Saturn version, shrink it down to fit for the Game Boy Advance, and even manages to eliminate the annoying loading times from the CD versions of the game! And despite THIS impressive hat trick, there are STILL nine games that manage to do better than THIS one!

9. “Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire” Rated E, Game Boy Advance/E-Reader compatible / 2001 and 2003 felt like a long time to wait, in terms of "Pokemon" games; it felt like the LONGEST gap of time between "Pokemon" games that there had ever BEEN! The transition from 12 bit Game Boy Color to the 32 bit Game Boy Advance is NOTHING short of significant! Not only do the Pokemon look better than ever; there are now MORE of them to catch than ever! There are a total of 386 different Pokemon that can be caught, raised, evolved, traded, and hatched, in order to achieve a complete Pokedex. Although there are only eight gyms to beat again, the game is significantly longer than its predecessors, with plenty of new quests, areas to explore, and secrets to uncover! There are three new updates to the "Pokemon" formula with this game; there's a new feature called "Pokemon" contests; where Pokemon perform moves based on how much they can impress, and there are five different types of "Pokemon" contests they can enter. Another new feature, is the ability to grow Pokemon berries! Previously, you could only pick two berries from a tree once a day, and wait a day for the berries to grow. Now, you can plant and grow your OWN Pokemon berries, at any selective spot you want, and figure out the best way to grow each type of berry. But the best new update of the game, is the fact that it is FINALLY possible to delete HM moves by visiting the Move Deleter! These games are REALLY great!

8. “Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / In terms of a successful franchise, Vivendi Universal had their hands on one when it came to Spyro! And they wanted to keep it going for as long as possible. Spyro's third outing on the Game Boy Advance, while not as financially successful as the second outing, was more loved by critics than the first or the second one. Spyro's old nemesis, Ripto, is at it again, causing mayhem in the Dragon Realm! Spyro will once again have to trek through many different environments, lay the smackdown on several of Ripto's lackey goons, learn new skills, and eventually battle against the evil Ripto himself! Spyro also learns a couple of new tricks; he can now blow bubbles and water, swim, and protect himself with an electric charge from his horns! Perhaps someday, when the "Skylanders" craze dies down, Spyro can be brought back to focus on a brand new, fun adventure again.

7. “Rayman 3” Rated E, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube / If you are wondering, what is even MORE impressive than a "Rayman" game full of GREAT graphics, sound, controls, music, and challenge? A game that has ALL those things, AND the ability to connect with the Nintendo Gamecube VERSION of that game, in order to unlock hidden stuff! Although it plays a lot like "Rayman Advance," it turns out to be in Rayman's best interest. If it's not broke, don't fix it! There are more levels, and a LOT more stages than in "Rayman Advance" and the biggest, HARDEST challenge of the game is, to find ALL the secrets hidden in the game, such as where all the cages are located, and breaking open every one of them. I'm proud to say that I took that challenge head on and won! The best way to play this game now is on Wii U Virtual Console. So if you haven't already, I highly recommend checking it out!

6. “Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / I find it simply AMAZING the amount of quality between the FIRST "Crash Bandicoot" game for the Game Boy Advance compared to the second one; it is LITERALLY the difference between night and day! It's like the things that were a problem for the FIRST game, have BOTH been eliminated, and REPLACED with their exact opposites! "Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced," was a PERFECT way for Crash Bandicoot to improve his game playing ability in every single way possible! Not only does it feature better controls, better sound, better music, improved graphics, and a better difficulty level, the stages are longer as well, there are more stages to beat, and the bonus stage is VASTLY improved over the first Game Boy Advance games! Instead of Neo Cortex, Crash has to battle against two NEW enemies; N-Trophy, and N-Tranced! Hence the name of the game! Oddly enough though, Crash's career has seemed to have stalled ever since his 2008 game of "Mind over Mutant," but his second outing on the Game Boy Advance STILL remains a masterpiece to be played!

5. “Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Nintendo proved that Mario could have VERY good R.P.G. games on the hardware systems available from Nintendo, but people wondered if they could duplicate the same kind of success on the Game Boy Advance. Nintendo proved once again, that they knew how to make lightning strike where it counted! This game has GREAT graphics, great sound, great controls, good music, and excellent challenge! With the help of Alpha Team, Nintendo crafted a very epic, very original, and epicly FUNNY script for Mario AND Luigi to go on! As is the case with "Super Mario R.P.G.", Bowser isn't the BIG bad this time around! In fact, he gets STRUCK with amnesia and is convinced that he's an aspiring villain wanna-be for most of the game! Instead, the Big Bad this time is the EVIL Creepella, who with the help of her EPIC quotable side-kick Fawful, plans to STEAL Princess Peach's voice, only with SURPRISINGLY explosive results! Not only do Mario and Luigi explore an incredible NEW land called the Bean-Bean Kingdom, they will have to WORK together and co-ordinate their attacks in order to take down enemies and bring down bosses! Not only is THIS game GREAT, but all four sequels (so far) that carry the "Mario & Luigi" name have managed to do EVEN better!

4. “Sword of Mana” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / After 10 years of waiting, both fans of action-adventure and RPG games finally got what they wanted with a prequel that they've waited a long time for. "Sword of Mana" tells two stories. It tells the story of a girl warrior destined to change the balance of the world, and a boy warrior who would do anything to fight and protect her to achieve it. What's great about the two stories is that they don't both follow the exact same paths, it diverts off into different places and there are new places to explore and different creatures/ people to meet depending on which hero, is the main hero chosen during each game. The monsters are cool, the plotline is immersive, the magic is impressive, there are different weapons, each having their own purpose, each boss has a different weakness to a type of magic spell which must be exploited, treasure chests to be opened, and a unique type of weapon upgrade system. By using fruits, veggies, metals, other materials, and many different types of seeds, weapons and armor can be customized to protect against many different various types of ailments, so players are free to experiment with which types of customizations they like. Not only does this game tell the origin of the Mana Tree and the Mana Sword, it tells it very well and gives us the backdrop of what will become the "Secret of Mana." Until "Secret of Mana" comes out on a Nintendo handheld or comes out on the Switch, this is a good game to play for fun and entertainment until then. I played it, I enjoyed it, and that's why I wrote this review!

3. “Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube/Game Boy Advance compatible / One of the problems with Sega is that they don't know a good thing when they've got it. Sure, the original "Sonic the Hedgehog" games were fun and exciting, and "Sonic Spinball" was an interesting diversion, and I really enjoyed "Sonic 3D Blast." But then, Sega had to ruin everything. Instead of focusing on games like they should have been doing, Sega focused all of their money into building mostly useless hardware systems that nobody asked for and far fewer people wanted. The only system Sega made that was remotely any good was the Genesis! After that, Sega REALLY went downhill! Their next step was to release the 32X which had next to zero games and lasted about 32 days on the market before being retired after making only 32 sales! So Sega tried again with the Sega CD system. Even though "Sonic CD" was good, everything else really wasn't, and most of the other games were stuck in a bunch of controversy, making it another disaster. Sega Game Gear would've been a bigger hit if it wasn't for the fact that it ate AA battteries like no one’s business! Sega rushed much too quickly with the Sega Saturn, making few games available for it when it was released, and even then it still sold badly compared to the Sony Playstation. Sega Dreamcast was the last chance Sega had to stay in the market. But with horrid camera controls, poor video game controls, and remarkably long loading times for games and for Internet video games, it was only a matter of time before Sega called it quits and packed the hardware division in. But with the burden of releasing video game systems lifted off of Sega, they could finally focus on what was REALLY important: making video games! Sega finally did something right and gave "Sonic Adventure" the love and respect it should've gotten on the Sega Dreamcast. Everything that was done incorrectly on the Sega Dreamcast was finally fixed on the Nintendo Gamecube! The graphics FINALLY do Sonic in 3D some real justice, as well as his other friends. The controls handle much better and the camera works a lot more often to! Plus with well-designed levels, interesting and engaging enemies, and a well-crafted story line featuring six different characters, this game was finally the fun, entertaining experience it was meant to be. But did Sega stop there? No way! Sega added on the Chao Garden raising experience onto the game, making Game Boy Advance trading and trading between "Sonic Adventure 2 Battle" possible and competition and Chao customization a real joy! And as a special bonus, Sega even added on new mission journeys for the characters, and all of the Sonic Sega Game Gear games into this game, making for endless hours of gameplay and wonderful times for playing fun video games! This game is definitely worth a better play than its sequel, and there are more interesting things to see and do in this game as well! I certainly enjoyed it, and that's why I reviewed this game!

2. “Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3” Rated E, Game Boy Advance/E-Reader compatible / How do you take the MOST impressive Mario game from the NES, transfer it to the Game Boy Advance, and make it even MORE awesome?! With the help of the E-Reader device, you can scan in electronic cards, earn awesome power-ups, access awesome NEW stages, and have awesome new bonus abilities! In addition to this new feature, with the help of the Game Boy Player for the Nintendo Gamecube, by playing THIS game on the Game Boy Player, players can now feel the RUMBLE on the Gamecube controller while playing on the Gamecube! The sound, music, controls, and challenge remain just as good as ever, but the graphics are even BETTER on the Game Boy Advance than they are on the Super NES version of "Super Mario All Stars!" It is for this reason why "Super Mario Bros. 3" STILL remains a definitive game to play on the Game Boy Advance, even to this day!

1. “Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Back in 2003, Atari had been OUT of the video game business for seven years. It had been trying to put itself back together after the COLOSSAL mis-fire that was the Atari Jaguar, and "Bubsy 3D" which pretty much DESTROYED them! But after a great period of wandering around in the dark, they FINALLY announced their LOUD, ROARING comeback with one of the GREATEST "Dragonball Z" games to EVER grace a portable console, and one of the GREATEST games period! "DBZ: TLoGII" does an even BETTER job than its predecessor of sticking to the main story line, and it even throws in Cooler from "Cooler's Revenge" as a nice bonus! The plot of this story goes all the way from the Trunks Saga, to the end of the Cell Games Saga. Despite the fact that Goku isn't AVAILABLE to play as a playable character, until closer to the end of the game, this is still one SOLID game to play! The graphics look even better than ever, the sound, music, and challenge are more in tune with the show than the first "DBZ" Game Boy Advance Game was; and a nice NEW addition, is that characters can NOW move diagonally, which can really help when fighting against a particularly tough boss! There are five/six main characters to play as, Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, Vegeta, and Hercule Satan! One of the best challenges of the game, is earning golden statues for the main Z fighters, and accessing a bonus ending for Hercule! This game was the PERFECT way foe Atari to announce its come-back, and a PERFECT way for "Dragonball Z" to become a successful video game franchise as WELL as a successful comic book and anime series franchise! /

That’s it for 2003!  Stay tuned for 2004, when “Dragon Ball Z” gets an interesting fighting game, the original “Pokemon” games come back bigger and BETTER than ever, Samus relives her original mission with AWESOME new graphics, Donkey Kong and Mario reignite their rivalry, Sonic makes his FIRST awesome, original Nintendo Gamecube game, and the Nintendo DS announces its AWESOME arrival!  Stay tuned! 

Edited March 22, 2018 by 4EverGreen
I accidentally posted the same post twice.

[4EverGreen]

2004…the year I graduated from High School, the year I started College, and the year that the Nintendo DS suddenly EXPLODED onto the video game scene, and provided Nintendo with another killer app for people to own!  Things have quieted down a bit from last year, with 25 video games fighting for the top spot. Read on and find out what they are! /

25. “Mario Party 5” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / I should’ve listed this game from last year, but it arrives here so I can have a full list of 25 video games for THIS year! It’s another fun entry of mini-games, collecting party stars and coins, and more board game madness than ever before, but it JUST doesn’t try to innovate or try ANYTHING that the “Mario Party” video games have already DONE before! Maybe THAT’S why I didn’t play another “Mario Party” game after THIS one until “Mario Party DS” came out. But it might come out as a Virtual Console game for Nintendo Switch, so it will probably be more worth it to own it and play it then, when it’s not as expensive as a physical video game copy!

24. “Sonic Advance 3” Rated E, Game Boy Advance/Nintendo Gamecube compatible / Even though this video game ranks near the bottom of this list, this is ACTUALLY a SLIGHT improvement over its predecessor. While it has the same graphics, music, sound, control, and difficulty as the other “Sonic Advance” games, one nice new addition to this game is the tag team mechanic. You can play as either Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, or Cream the Rabbit. And whichever character you choose as your main character; you can choose a supporting character to help your main character out. And whichever team dynamic you pick, it will help you out to get to certain areas of levels and stages that can’t be reached using any other team dynamic. Even so, the Chaos Emeralds are STILL too hard to pick up in this video game, and the most memorable part of this game ends up being the Chao Raising experience from the first two “Sonic Advance” games, that can still be traded to and from the “Sonic Adventure” games. Still, if you want to play the last, ORIGINAL good “Sonic” game on the Game Boy Advance, this is the game you need to play!

23. “Dragon Ball Z: Buu’s Fury” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This is NOT the awesome “Dragon Ball Z” fighting game I was talking about in my promo from my last list; that will be listed later. This video game contains the same controls as from the previous two main “Dragon Ball Z” entries from the Game Boy Advance. It also has the same graphics, sound, and music; and is more or less, faithful to the “Dragon Ball Z” anime. The problem is, that unlike the first two “Dragon Ball Z” Game Boy Advance games, they make THIS one far too simplistic and EASY for the challenged video game expert to enjoy! Although there’s an option to locate and track down bonus items that illustrate various plot points throughout “Dragon Ball” and “Dragon Ball Z,” it is not necessary to find them all in order to complete the game. It’s probably worth it for someone with less experience to find, play, own, beat, and enjoy this game; but seasoned veterans (such as myself), would probably find their money better spent elsewhere.

22. “Spyro Orange: the Cortex Conspiracy” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This game happened to be Spyro's FOURTH and FINAL outing on the Game Boy Advance. It's also the ONLY "Spyro" game on this list where Spyro is confined to a 2-dimensional platforming plane, which is one of the reasons this game doesn't get ranked higher any higher. This game is unique, because it can link up with "Crash Purple" in a unique cross-over game that features Spyro, in Crash's video game environments, fighting a mix of both Crash's enemies and Spyro's enemies. The graphics, music, sound, and controls are very good, but the challenge isn't up to par with Spyro's other games on the Game Boy Advance. Sadly, Spyro hasn't gotten a lot of love since this game came out, and his entire image was re-branded. Still, this was a good way for Spyro to (officially) end his run on the Game Boy Advance.

21. “Disney’s Magical Quest 3 Starring Mickey and Donald” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The third and final “Magical Quest” outing starring Mickey Mouse; this one also features Donald Duck. As either character, you must again assume a wide variety of magical costumes with powers, all in order to rescue Princess Minnie. The graphics, sound, music, controls, and the difficulty level of this game are all top notch, but I sadly don’t remember that much about it, other than that I really enjoyed it. If this game is available via a Virtual Console system, I highly recommend finding and playing it, because the game is REALLY enjoyable!

20. “Mega Man Zero 3” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The video game series that is, “Mega Man Zero”, definitely doesn’t shy away from being as hard as nails! While this game is no exception to being difficult, it does at least TRY to be more merciful to beginning players than its predecessors…which isn’t really SAYING much! You’ve got colorful graphics, rocking sound and music, good controls, and an intense difficulty! The Cyber Elf system is still in place, but it is now more refined and more useful than it was in the first two games. Also, the plot is that the EVIL version of Reploid X has been re-created, and a NEW evil is threatening the City of Neo Arcadia! If you want to find out WHO it is, play this AWESOME game; currently available as part of the “Mega Man Zero Collection” on the Nintendo DS!

19. “Ty the Tasmanian tiger 2: Bush Rescue” Rated E, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube / Believe it or not, I wasn’t even AWARE that there WAS a Game Boy Advance game version of this game available, until I did the RESEARCH for this year! While this game contains mostly the same controls and difficulty from the first game; it now gives you multi-player options, as up to three people can play as Tasmanian Tigers, in more Australian Outback stages, with even MORE variety than in the first game! Also intact is the rocking, sound, music, and graphics for the first game! This is definitely ONE video game that I want to have become available as a Virtual Console game for the Nintendo Switch!

18. “Power Rangers Ninja Storm” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This is a video game that I SHOULD have listed for my 2003 year, but if I had, I wouldn’t have had 25 full video games for THIS list, so it ended up working out well for me. After an eight year absence from playing any Power Rangers” based video games; I was intrigued when people started saying good things about “Power Rangers Ninja Storm” as a season, so I wanted to see if it held up as well as a video game. Thankfully, it does NOT disappoint! Playing as either the Green Samurai Ranger, the Thunder Rangers, or the Ninja Rangers, you must trek across a vast variety of levels, beating down a bunch of monsters that appear from the ACTUAL season of “Power Rangers Ninja Storm” itself, before getting to throw down on Lothor himself! With good graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty, this game was REALLY enjoyable! Too bad the game version of “Power Rangers Dino Thunder” didn’t rise up to the same lofty heights that THIS game did! So if you want to play a Game Boy Advance game based on the “Power Rangers,” this is definitely one that I highly recommend!

17. “Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The third outing of the orange mammal on the Game Boy Advance, and it WOULD'VE been the last, if Sierra Entertainment didn't decide to release a Game Boy Advance version of "Crash of the Titans" at the last minute, Crash may have gotten his start on a rival system, but he makes playing on the Game Boy Advance, feel like he is right on home on that system. This game is a cross-over and can link up with "Spyro Orange," and it’s unique because this game has Crash fighting in Spyro's environments, facing off against a mix of Spyro's enemies as well as his own! Like "Spyro Orange," the graphics, sound, music, and control are very good, but this game ranks SLIGHTLY higher than its partner, because the challenge and controls are slightly better in THIS game than they are on the "Spyro" game. This is a good game to get started on for a GOOD "Crash" experience on the Game Boy Advance.

16. “Super Mario Bros.” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Right as I was graduating High School, Nintendo had a VERY brilliant idea! They decided to release some “Bargain” based video games; that were ORIGINALLY available on the NES, and re-release them to play on the Game Boy Advance! And for only $20 each, the price was very reasonable, as well! In addition to the same challenge and fun as the original game, this game now includes a handy save feature, so you can now save the game at any time you want, and when you return, you can continue from that point! You can even play two-player by hooking up with someone else who has a copy of the game! The only reason this game doesn’t rank higher, is because this game is NOT the graphically enhanced version from “Super Mario All-Stars.” This game is probably easier to play and enjoy, as a Virtual Console version on either the Nintendo Wii or the Nintendo 3DS.

15. “Metroid” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Before Nintendo WOWED everyone with its graphically enhanced re-make of this video game, they wanted to remind people of where the “Metroid” series first began, so they re-released the original eight bit NES wonder! The password save system, is now replaced by the much handier, and convenient, hard save system! That is, you could save at ANY point in the game, and you could return from the EXACT same room that you last played in! An in-game map would’ve also been a nice inclusion, but it probably wouldn’t have been as genuine of a hard-core “Metroid” experience if it had. This video game is also available to play on either the Wii or Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.

14. “The Legend of Zelda” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The best of the “Bargain” based video games that were originally available on the NES, this was actually the FIRST opportunity I really had to play, own, beat, and enjoy the NES original! While this video game doesn’t come equipped with any new save systems, it doesn’t NEED any since the original game already HAD a save system to BEGIN with! It also would’ve been nice to see some nice little graphical updates, but this game still holds up in a 32 bit era. The Nintendo Wii and/or the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console is the easiest way to play, own, beat, and enjoy this NES original now!

13. “Ms. Pac-Man’s Maze Madness” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / While a version of this game already exists on the Sega Dreamcast AND the N64, this was the first time this game was available to play on the 32 bit portable wonder that WAS the Game Boy Advance! This game version is actually the SAME as the little-known Playstation One version, only slightly better in graphics, and WITHOUT any annoying loading screen time! An evil witch named Mesmerelda has organized the four evil ghosts; Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Sue into TERRORIZING all of Pac-World, while she in turn captures all of its citizens and imprisons them in her tower so that SHE can have free reign of Pac-World! Ms. Pac-Man must travel through many different maze environments, figure out all the different puzzles and ways to advance through each stage, and avoid getting hurt by the Ghosts and OTHER dangerous enemies lurking in this game! Game icons don't get much more iconic than Ms. Pac-Man, and games don't get much more fun than this gem on the N64 AND the Game Boy Advance!

12. “Donkey Kong Country 2” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Rareware’s lone video game entry for 2004, is this video game. Rareware has many reasons as to WHY they are proud of this video game; it’s one of the most graphically IMPRESSIVE available for the Game Boy Advance! It was ALREADY impressive on the Super NES, but Rareware went the extra mile and made the game look EVEN better!!!!...Which MAY explain WHY Rareware got SO ticked off when Nintendo MANAGED to make an even BETTER looking game…WITHOUT Rareware, for the Game Boy Advance this year! Namely, “Mario vs. Donkey Kong!” Even so, this game is STILL worth playing, because there is a LOT of re-play value! There are a lot of things you can collect, fun bonus stages, iconic bosses, and a difficulty level that is hard to find in video games THESE days! And the ability to SAVE the game at ANY time, is a nice new addition! This is DEFINITELY a video game worth owning, playing, beating, and enjoying on the Game Boy Advance OR the Nintendo DS!

11. “The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube/Game Boy Advance compatible / Link was VERY busy this year, but this is his LONE original video game outing for this year! Link’s nemesis, the evil Vaati, has got his evil sights set on Hyrule! In order to combat this evil, Link must divide and unite himself, by using the legendary Four Sword! With graphics inspired by the masterpiece that IS, “The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past,” only with enhanced tricks and graphical tricks that the Super NES wasn’t capable of; this game allows you to play both cooperatively, AND competitively; either by yourself, or with up to three other friends! You can even hook up a Game Boy Advance to this game; so that at certain sections, the action will SHIFT to the Game Boy Advance screen! So this game might have actually BEEN a predecessor to the Nintendo DS AND the Wii U! So even as good as THIS game was, there are TEN games this year that manage to do EVEN better!

10. “Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors” Rated T, Game Boy Advance / "Dragonball Z" DEFINITELY has some WEIRD ideas when it comes to fighting games! While most fighting games go OUT of the way to copy whatever is popular in arcade rooms, "Dragonball Z" seems PERFECTLY content with trying their OWN ideas! In this game, a lot of popular DBZ characters get a chance to fight one each other in a high stakes, flying combat game filled with extreme fists, extreme kicks, extreme moves, and ESPECIALLY extreme explosions! Players can either fight computer-controlled opponents or OTHER players for fun, or they can play the story mode! While the story mode doesn't go into a deep detail of the many plots of DBZ like "The Legacy of Goku I & II" do, the main focus of this game is the fighting, which it happens to handle VERY well! And to keep the WEAKER characters from being too badly beaten by powerful mammoths of power, all characters have THREE levels of power that they can achieve, but the HIGHER levels of power have to be UNLOCKED first, not just by playing story mode, but by engaging in brand-new "What-If?" scenarios! For certain characters, the "What-If" scenarios examine how the story-line in the DBZ series might have changed if one thing had been different initially, and how that would change the way events unfolded in the story-line. This game was so successful, a sequel was made for the Nintendo DS! Unfortunately, the quality of THAT game is nowhere NEAR the level of good quality this game is! A good alternative would be to play the "Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkai'ichi" games on the Nintendo Wii for a game of this particular build.

9. “Astro Boy: Omega Factor” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / When Sega quit the hardware business in 2001, focusing only on software video games, many thought that Sega had finally lost its edge, and that it would cease to be relevant as a video game force. But those critics were proven WRONG, as Sega ONLY became stronger! Being able to focus ONLY on software, really helped Sega out in becoming a BETTER video game company! One of their best moves for Nintendo was developing the INCREDIBLE game called "Astro Boy: Omega Factor" the graphics featured in this game are almost MILES better, than anything else on the Game Boy Advance, and the game itself is pretty big to! Even if you know absolutely nothing about "Astro Boy" and its extended anime families that make cameos in this game, this is STILL a challenging, riveting, fun game to be had! With SOLID controls, great music, awesome sounds, and hours of fun, all on one tiny Game Boy Advance cartridge! And even with THIS amount of praise, there are eight games that manage to be even BETTER than this one! Read on and find out which ones they are!

8. “Pokemon Leaf Green/Fire Red” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / It's amazing how much a video game series can progress in just six years! Although it was very impressive in its original form on the Game Boy in 1998, it just didn't pack the same kind of fire-power on the Game Boy Advance. That changed when "Pokemon Blue" and “Pokemon Red” got re-made as "Pokemon Leaf Green" and “Pokemon Fire Red” for the Game Boy Advance!" It keeps the same gyms, gym leaders, and Pokemon as in its original game, but it also adds a WHOLE lot more to it! In addition to the main Kanto region, trainers can now travel to the brand new Seven Islands (only three, than five are initially available before all seven can be traveled to.) And once all the Gym Leaders are beaten, "Pokemon" initially only available on the later generation releases, will also be available to catch on "Pokemon Leaf Green," or its partner game "Fire Red!" Plus, add in the fact that this game has better sound, graphics, music, challenge, and the same awesome controls, you can also now battle wirelessly (with the help of the Game Boy Advance Wireless Pak) and battle up to 15 feet away with any other player! It definitely makes finding, playing, and CATCHING any Pokemon easier than ever!

7. “Kirby and the Amazing Mirror” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This game is a completely ORIGINAL outing, full of great graphics, sound, music, challenge, and control for the pink puff of wonder. Once again, Kirby has to inhale enemies, copy their abilities, and use them against other enemies strategically. Where this game differs from OTHER "Kirby" games, is the fact that King Dedede isn't the BIG BAD this time around! Instead, it's Kirby's nemesis Marx, from "Kirby Super Star," who has come BACK for revenge, and plans to release a sinister force called The Darkness from the Nightmare Realm! But Kirby WON'T have to battle alone, he can battle WITH himself! Thanks to an object called the Amazing Mirror (hence the title of this game), Kirby has been split into FOUR different colored versions of himself; Pink, Red, Yellow, and Green. By playing solo, or with up to three friends, the different Kirby's will have to co-ordinate their efforts to solve puzzles, beat bosses, and find a way to overcome the evil Emperor Marx from plaguing all of Dreamland into the Darkness! This is one solid Kirby game that DESERVES to be played!

6. “Mario vs. Donkey Kong” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The oldest video gaming rivalry of them all, Donkey Kong and Mario, gets re-ignited once again in this solid platforming/puzzle game mix for the Game Boy Advance! Not only is this game REALLY fun and REALLY challenging, what's REALLY impressive about this game, is the fact that the graphics on THIS game almost reach Nintendo Gamecube levels at times! That's quite a lot of power in such a tiny package! In any case, Donkey Kong has raided Mario's Toy Factory, and has kidnapped all of the Mario Toys for himself, so that no one else can have them! Mixing up the original "Donkey Kong" style of maze layouts, with many brand new levels, stages, obstacles, traps, and ways to potentially get through many of the stages, "MVDK" is not just a well-designed puzzle game, it's a BRAIN Reflex game that can challenge even seasoned masters! This game not only requires good reflexes, it requires CLEVER thinking! That's what makes THIS Game Boy Advance game work so great!

5. “Metroid Zero Mission” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / "Metroid" was a VERY impressive game when it came out on the NES in 1987. It proved to be SO successful, that Nintendo decided to release the SAME game AGAIN 17 years later, on the Game Boy Advance! Only this time, the graphics, sound, music, controls, challenge, and layout of the game have all been VASTLY improved to handle all 32 bits of the Game Boy Advance's AWESOME portable power! Not only that, the story has been greatly improved to; for whenever Samus completes a section, she updates her story with a nice anime cut-scene. The game is significantly longer than its NES original, so it has a nice new save feature that lets you save ANYWHERE in the game! Another nice new update, is the fact that Samus now has an IN-game map, that keeps track of where Samus has BEEN, and when Samus gains new abilities, she can REACH or access places on the map she couldn't reach before! But the best part about the game, is the fact that the game is extended BEYOND the original "Metroid" game! After fighting through the original "Metroid," missions, Samus finds herself STRIPPED of her Varia Suit, forced to fight in her VERY vulnerable Zero Suit until she can find her most POWERFUL form, the Gravity Suit! This rocking game is Samus' most successful 2-D outing on a portable system, and is highly recommended for fans of the "Metroidvania" style of games!

4. “The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / Prior to this game coming out, there was never a retrospective way to relive four of the most important "Zelda" games to grace Nintendo consoles. That changed with this game. Not only did it contain four FULLY playable games; "The Legend of Zelda; Zelda II: The Adventure of Link; The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask;" and a demo of "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker." It also gives a short retrospective look on the "Zelda" series up to that point, and a special sneak peek look at the THEN upcoming "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess!" And the fact that this game has beefed up graphics, sound, and control from their original versions with ALL of the original challenge left intact, makes this game a winner!

3. “Final Fantasy IV Advance” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / "You are a Spoony Bard!" With this AWESOMELY bad translation, an iconic game was born, and the legend of "Final Fantasy" became mightier in the 1990's than it EVER had before! Yet, as impressive as the game was on the Super NES, the graphics were lackluster compared to other Super NES games, and the challenge was DREADFULLY unfair to novices! Thankfully, "FFIVA" manages to make the graphics SHINE on the Game Boy Advance! While not up to Playstation 2 standards of graphics, they can definitely hold their own. This game has great music, great sounds, great challenge, great game design, great controls, and a great R.P.G. story, that's surprisingly dark for a game that came out in 1991! While the main game itself is a pretty long game, once the main game is beaten, brand new quests open up for the remaining R.P.G. characters. Some of the R.P.G. characters get brand new dungeons to explore, can face off against brand new enemies, and earn an AWESOME new item! In addition to these brand new dungeons, the ending of the final game can now CHANGE, depending on WHO fights on the Moon in the Final Battle with Zeromus! Beat Zeromus with ALL the R.P.G. characters at least once, and a brand NEW challenge awaits players, the Soul Shine Dungeon! A sprawling labyrinth, accessible only to certain characters on a certain play-through, that give more insight into those characters, and allows them to earn AWESOME items that are almost impossible to come by anywhere else! Also recommended is the version available on Nintendo DS, as it features an even BETTER challenge, and an even BETTER story set-up!

2. “Sonic Heroes” Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube / Speaking honestly, "Sonic Heroes" was THE last great game made that featured the traditional Sonic game BEFORE "Shadow the Hedgehog" and "Sonic 06" MESSED things up! In a way, "Sonic Heroes" is about the closest thing we have to a "Sonic Adventure 3" right now. The coolest thing about this game is that it isn't just ONE story, it's actually FOUR different stories interwoven together! Team Rose, featuring Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, and Big the Cat; are on a quest looking for Sonic, Cheese the Chao, and Big's pet frog, Froggy. Team Sonic, featuring Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, are on what APPEARS to be another typical quest to stop Dr. Eggman from trying to conquer the world again, but LOOKS can be deceiving! Team Chaotix, features MORE obscure Sonic characters Espio the Chameleon, Charmy the Bee, and Vector the Crocodile, who are running espionage and infiltration quests for a mysterious benefactor. And Team Dark, featuring an amnesiac Shadow, a self-serving Rouge, and the intelligent robot Omega, are on a quest to infiltrate Dr. Eggman's base in order to restore Shadow's memory and plunder Dr. Eggman's riches! The stage and level designs are absolutely AWESOME, the challenge difficulty curve is perfect (start with Team Rose, than go with Team Sonic, Team Chaotix, and Team Dark in that order); the music is rocking, the camera controls are PERFECT, and the team-mate switching system is perfect!

Being able to know when and where to switch between your speed character, your flying character, and your power character will really help you out in this game! The only weak spot this game has is in one of the jungle stages, both Team Sonic and Team Dark have to out-race a GIANT, hungry crocodile, and that's an experience that I could've lived without! But by completing ALL four stories AND collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds (with ANY team) it's eventually revealed that the BIG BAD of the game is actually METAL SONIC, who has been impersonating Dr. Eggman and has devised all the evil schemes in an attempt to DESTROY Sonic once and for all! Turning into Super Sonic and sending Metal Sonic back to the scrap heap feels like a satisfying way to wrap up Sonic's time on the Nintendo Gamecube! Here's hoping that someday, "Sonic Adventure 3" gets made for REAL, and features an even MORE awesome story and game than this one. Anything's possible!

1. “Super Mario 64 DS” Rated E, Nintendo DS / With the re-release of "Super Mario 64" on the Nintendo DS as a launch game, everyone expected that Nintendo would just simply re-hash the exact same game and shrink it down to fit for their portable system. Instead, they got something MUCH better! Not only does this game have BETTER graphics, new levels, more STARS to collect, and brand new fun bonus games to play, you get to play as FOUR different characters! Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario! Although only Mario gets to trounce Bowser, that's a small gripe in an otherwise stellar game! In addition to Mario being able to fly through the air with a winged cap, Luigi being able to turn invisible with an Invisibility cap, and Wario being able to turn metal with a metal cap, Mario can also float through the air with a flower power-up, and temporarily turn GIANT with the help of a power mushroom! In addition to many of the same great challenges from the original game, there are also some brand new ones, which keeps this game interesting and brand NEW!!!! So this version of a great game is one that is well worth checking out! /

That’s it for 2004! Stay tuned for 2005, when Link gets miniature, Mario and Luigi team up with their YOUNGER selves, and Pokemon goes “Emerald!”  The games will be awesome, like they ALWAYS are!!!! 

[4EverGreen]

2005…definitely a lot happening in the world this year; but video games certainly had a good year, all things considered. Things have quieted down a bit, with 23 video games fighting for the top spot. Read on, and find out which ones they are! /

23. “Mario Pinball Land” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / What could THIS be?!!! Is it POSSIBLE that a “Mario” title actually ranks at the BOTTOM of this list?! Sorry, fanboys, but even MARIO can release a relatively lackluster video game every now and then; a TRUE fan can realize that, and accept the fact that Sonic does NOT always release INFERIOR games compared to Mario! Bowser is terrorizing the Mushroom Kingdom (again), and this time, in order to defeat him, Mario must transform into a pinball shape in order to thwart his plans. While getting to explore the Mushroom Kingdom via Pinball board levels is a nice, new idea; and there are plenty of good graphics, sound, music, controls, and themes to go around; Nintendo really doesn’t try to innovate with this game and try anything unexpected or different from what they usually do. Not only that, but the difficulty is really uneven in this game. It’s either WAY too easy or frustratingly difficult to win this game! Even “Sonic Spinball” put a LITTLE effort into making THEIR pinball game fun, and different from the main “Sonic” series. So while this game didn’t win any awards for originality, it definitely reminded Nintendo that the video game industry was and never will be ANY place to get over-confidant and cocky.

22. “Marble Madness/Klax” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / You can basically IGNORE the fact that this is a compilation game, because “Marble Madness” is the only GAME of the pair worth playing! Not only does this contain the original Arcade/NES version of the hit 1980’s video game, it also contains a brand NEW graphically enhanced version with Game Boy Advance level graphics! The same sound, music, controls, and razor-sharp difficulty is still intact in either version of the game; but the challenging hardness is one of the things that gives “Marble Madness” its iconic reputation.

21. “Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2” Rated E10, Nintendo DS / I, really, REALLY wanted to like this game MORE! I really, REALLY wanted it to succeed as a game! Despite better graphics, sound, and music, there is an unusually BAD translation, uneven fighting skills between certain characters, and a confusing to figure out story mode layout, makes the game NOT reach the lofty heights that its Game Boy Advance predecessor did. While there is a nice new Support Fighter selection to choose from to aid characters in battle; most of the new characters featured for this game don’t really add anything ground-breaking to this game; aside from Legendary Super Saiyan Broly, and he is RIDICULOUSLY slow! I would recommend playing “Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2” for the Nintendo Wii if you want to play a GOOD video game of this nature!

20. “Mega Man Zero 4” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The “Mega Man Zero” series definitely aspired to push the boundaries of hardness far MORE than many other video games in recent memory…than for some reason; “Mega Man Zero” went AGAINST that concept! There are good graphics, good sound, good music, good controls, and is an EASY mode for beginners! While it’s a good addition, a surprisingly NOT that difficult NORMAL mode also exists! If that weren’t enough, the clever Cyber Elf system has been replaced! Instead of being able to customize your Cyber Elves, you get an all-purpose Cyber Elf that will give you different protection statuses, on a scale of Zero to Ten, with zero being the least amount of protection statuses given, and ten being the most. The result is a game that ends up being FAR easier than it should be, and does not reach the lofty heights of hardness that seasoned veterans had been expecting! Apparently, people don’t WANT an easier “Mega Man Zero” game; they WANT consistency! At least this video game is now available (and a better buy) to experience as part of “Mega Man Zero Collection” for the Nintendo DS!

19. “Sonic Rush” Rated E, Nintendo DS / Nintendo was…understandably nervous, when Sega decided to ABANDON its super-popular “Sonic Advance” series, and decide to OCCASIONALLY dive into the 3-D realm with their NEW game of “Sonic Rush!” Sega had NOT had the BEST track record of making 3-D based levels in the past! Thankfully, Sega manages to make those fears seem completely unfounded; and keeps the game focused mainly on fast speed; just like a good “Sonic” game should! This video game is actually two different stories. It not only features Sonic facing off against Dr. Eggman, it features brand NEW character, Blaze the Cat, facing off against an even MORE evil version of HER Dr. Eggman; and that’s because BOTH Blaze and Neo Dr. Eggman, are from ANOTHER dimension! This game features better graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty than the “Sonic Advance” games. With that being said, I was only able to half-way beat this game. I say half-way, because I was able to beat ALL of Blaze’s story; but I couldn’t beat the Final Boss in Sonic’s story OR collect all the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic’s story, because SOME of his Chaos Emeralds are STILL too hard to collect in the HARD Bonus Stages! Blaze’s quest was easier, because she automatically EARNED one of HER Sol Emeralds, every time she beat a boss! Still, if you want to experience a GOOD “Sonic” game on the Nintendo DS, it’s hard to go wrong with THIS one!

18. “Paperboy/Rampage” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Compilation video game packages got really popular, for the Game Boy Advance this year. This time, there are two VERY different video games, both originally available for the NES. The “Harder than it LOOKS” video game of “Paperboy,” and the “More Enjoying than it even LOOKS” video game of “Rampage!” In “Paperboy,” you play as a (three guesses as to what you play, and the FIRST two don’t count); who has to deliver papers. Sounds easy, but there are potholes and traffic hazards to avoid, the occasional attack dog, and the fact that you get docked points for every newspaper you ‘accidentally’ throw through a window or something (although some people might ARGUE that particular aspect makes the game even MORE fun!) And “Rampage” is the original version of what “Rampage World Tour” was all about; all on the NES! You play as either George the Giant Ape, Ralph the Giant Werewolf, or Lizzie the Giant Reptile. And you get to roam around, smash buildings, and the occasional attacking tank or plane, and generally reduce the greatest cities of human civilization to rubble! While neither of these games feature any enhanced graphics; these games are already, very good as they are, so they don’t NEED anything extra! I highly recommend playing this Compilation Video Game for yourself!

17. “Ty the Tasmanian tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan” Rated E, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube / The last “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger” video game that I have personally owned, played, beaten, and enjoyed, I actually have only played the Game Boy Advance version so far. I STILL don’t know what the HECK a Quinkan IS! It’s some sort of a super-natural…something! One nice new addition to this game, is that Ty can now ride around in vehicles, such as an Outback Jeep; so he no longer has to run everywhere in order to vanquish the evil enemies that are infesting Australia! There are also good graphics, good sound, good music, good controls, and a REALLY solid difficulty that can be found in this game, and that’s just in the Game Boy Advance version! I hope the Gamecube version comes out as a Virtual Console game for the Nintendo Switch, because I want to play, own, beat, and hopefully enjoy THAT video game as well!

16. “Animal Crossing: Wild World” Rated E, Nintendo DS / “Animal Crossing” was a surprise hit on the Nintendo Gamecube, and it was really well-liked! The only real problem was that you couldn’t really take THAT version of the game, out on the go! Thankfully, this video game comes around to fix that problem! The game contains the same simple graphics, music, sound, controls, and basic simulation game that the first one has. Thankfully, the game really utilizes the two screens to its advantage! Very often, there will be gifts that float through the air on balloons, and you have to shoot them down with a sling-shot in order to get what’s inside them! They will often be very rare or unique items that are HARD to come by otherwise! Even MORE rarely, a UFO will fly through the sky, and if you shoot THAT down, an alien will ask you to help you repair its ship. Do it, and you’ll get a RARE piece of Space-related furniture that would be PRACTICALLY unattainable through normal circumstances! This game also makes visiting other players’ towns easier, through the Nintendo DS Wireless Connection; meaning you potentially have access to “Animal Crossing” towns, from ALL over the world! That being said, not having access to full NES video games is a noticeable absence, but it’s a small price to pay in order to have “Animal Crossing” on the go.

15. “Dig-Dug” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Believe it or not, this arcade favorite was available to play on the NES, but “Dig Dug” NEVER made its way out of Japan!...Until Nintendo QUIETLY translated the game to PLAY on the NES in 2007! So it was really surprising to people to find this video game included as part of Nintendo’s bargain based video games, originally available on the NES! The gameplay mechanics, controls, sound, music, and difficulty are all very good for this game. Naturally, the game starts off easy, but progressively gets harder for every stage that you get past, as you must try to SMASH or blow up enemies, and collect vegetables on each level! The best way to play and experience this game now, is via the Wii or the 3DS Virtual Console systems!

14. “Zelda II: the Adventure of Link” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This game was definitely an obvious choice for Nintendo, to include as part of their bargain based video games, originally available on the NES. While it’s not really noticeable, the sound and music of this version receive a tune-up from the NES original, as this version is NOW recorded in stereo! Other than that, the same graphics, controls, and hard difficulty (for better or for worse), remain intact on the Game Boy Advance version. Still, it’s hard to say “No,” to Link on the go! The NES original is also available on the Wii and/or Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.

13. “Crash & Spyro Superpack” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / While neither of the video games featured are particularly iconic or great on their own, being put together in the same video game package boosts their likability status a whole bunch! While the graphics and basically everything else about “Spyro Orange” and “Crash Bandicoot Purple” remain unchanged; one nice new change to these video games; is that instead of having to LINK with the partner game on another Game Boy Advance system, you can now use a much handier password system, in order to transfer elements from ONE game to its partner game! So if you missed owning these games the FIRST time; owning them in THIS form makes it a much more worthwhile buy!

12. “Mario and Luigi: Partner’s in Time” Rated E, Nintendo DS / After the success of the original "Mario and Luigi," people were wondering if Alpha Dream could team up and partner with Nintendo again to deliver the same kind of success on the Nintendo DS! Not only did they do it once, they did it twice! The first dual-screened RPG experience for Mario is unique, because it doesn't just feature TWO Mario brothers, it technically features FOUR! An evil alien race called the Shroobs (a species that looks like purple anthropomorphic fungus) are invading the Mushroom Kingdom; not just in the present, but in the past as well! The Shroobs have come for one simple mission, to invade and take over the Mushroom Kingdon, either in the present, or the PAST! Mario & Luigi will have to team up with Toddler versions of themselves in order to take down the many different enemies scattered throughout this game. Items play a bigger role in this game than they did in the last game, as a lot of the combo moves the four Mario brothers use involve using items to defeat the many different enemies located in the various areas of play! Great music, sound, graphics, control, and story line are a given, but it doesn't get ranked higher because there's just not as much self-induced humor at Nintendo's own expense as there are in the other "Mario and Luigi" games, although the Koopa that speaks in Internet text is a nice touch! Still, the first R.P.G. outing for Mario and Luigi on the Nintendo DS is a solid game!

11. “Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness/Pac-Man World” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This video game is REALLY impressive, because it features TWO full 32 bit video games for the PRICE of one! “Pac-Man World” and “Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness” are both impressive on their own; but owning both of these fun maze games on the same package is simply INCREDIBLE! While neither of these games get any technical updates; when your video games are as GOOD as THESE are, they don’t really NEED any! I highly recommend owning, playing, beating, and enjoying this compilation video game if you own either a Game Boy Advance OR a Nintendo DS Video Game system!

10. “Spyro Superpack: Spyro, Season of Ice/Spyro 2, Season of Flame” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / It’s amazing how much the Game Boy Advance managed to…well, advance, in terms of containing processing power, and video game length and quality! How else can you explain two top of the line 32 bit Game Boy Advance video games, being able to FIT together on the same package?! This was a great game to own if you wanted to experience two of the BEST “Spyro” video games on the Game Boy Advance, on a SINGLE package! Bargains don’t get much better than this, so I highly recommend playing it if you haven’t already!

9. “Rayman: 10^th Anniversary” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / This video game celebrated two of Rayman’s BEST Game Boy Advance games on a single package! The awesome “Rayman Advance,” and “Rayman 3.” It’s hard to find video game precision and excellence, and this compilation video game has it in spades! It’s definitely worth owning if you have a Game Boy Advance or a Nintendo DS system!

8. “Pokemon Emerald” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Although this is basically a video game remix of both “Pokemon Ruby” and “Pokemon Sapphire,” it manages to outshine the two games it is based upon! Unlike in the original games, you can NOW sometimes face off against TWO trainers at the same time, resulting in DOUBLE battles! Also, the battle animation has been greatly spruced up and enhanced, so it’s no longer just a simple swipe or dodge when it comes to fighting animation! Also, Pokemon now have active battle statuses! That is, they have an ability unique to them; that can become active during battle! Pokemon that have the battle status of Poison Needle or Static, have been the bane of MANY player’s existence within the video game of Pokemon! This game also makes it so that you have the opportunity to catch BOTH Groudon AND Kyogre in the SAME cartridge, and makes it a LOT easier to catch Latias, Latios, and Rayquaza! Also new to this game is the Battle Frontier, a brand new region that puts new rules and challenges to Pokemon battles; that can also lead to great rewards! This is definitely the LAST, great NEW “Pokemon” game to be made available for the Game Boy Advance, and it’s definitely one to play and enjoy!

7. “Frogger’s Journey: the Forgotten Relic” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / I don’t know why, but I thought this game came out a LOT later than I thought it did! I thought this game came out in 2006, but it actually came OUT in 2004! The things you realize when you go through your own video game reviews after NOT looking at them for a few years! In terms of video game icons, Frogger has been around for a long time. One of the first recognizable mascots to debut in arcades in 1980, there were a lot of people thinking that Frogger's hopping and jumping skills had no place among the big boys of the Game Boy Advance, but as it turns out, he did! Frogger's fourth, final, and most financially and CRITICALLY successful of the Game Boy Advance "Frogger" games, is also one of Frogger's best overall! Namco found a way to make the old, new again, and they add several new tricks to Frogger's wide range of moves, with the help of a sentient machine called O.P.A.R.T. A nice puzzler game, it also has a pretty good story that would seem right at home on an R.P.G. Needless to say, the graphics, sound, music, control, and overall challenge are very great in Frogger's best outing on the Game Boy Advance, and one of his best game outings overall! And there are STILL six games better than this one! Keep reading to find out which ones!

6. “Rayman: Hoodlum’s Revenge” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Rayman's THIRD official Game Boy Advance outing, is also his ONLY Game Boy Advance game where he gets the isometric 3-D treatment, like Spyro often did. Thankfully, Rayman proves just as adept, able, and adaptable at handling three dimensions just as well as two! This game is unique, not just because you can play as Rayman, you can also play as Globox! (Incidentally, this game begins to mark Globox's character transformation, from that of a cowardly side-kick, to being as brave a warrior as Rayman is!) Andre, the evil Fuzzy Lum, has come BACK, looking for revenge! He tries to GUN for Rayman, but instead ends up getting SWALLOWED by Globox! Now his evil army is gunning to take down Globox, only Andre is STILL alive inside of Globox! And if Globox is killed, Andre will be killed to! Rayman will have to help both Andre and Globox avoid Andre's evil forces as they try to get back to Andre's ship, in order to safely separate Andre and Globox. This game has great controls, great graphics, great sound, great music, and a good difficulty level. Plus it features the trademark humor that the "Rayman" series is known for!

5. “Donkey Kong Country 3” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Rareware’s lone video game entry for 2005, is this AWESOME video game! I have actually never played the original version of "Donkey Kong Country 3" on the Super NES. "DKC3" on the Game Boy Advance plays VERY well, it has great graphics, great control, great challenge, excellent music, cool sounds, and a wide variety of levels and stages to travel through! In addition to now being able to save ANYWHERE, the game makes it a LOT easier to save and rescue the Banana Birds. Whereas previously, the Banana Birds could only be kept safe as LONG as Diddy and Kiddy Kong didn't lose a LIFE until they could get back to the Great Banana Bird, the Banana Birds can now be kept safely at Wrinkly Kong's until the hero Kong's meet the Great Banana Bird much later in the game! Other brand new updates are two cool new bonus games! You get to do Kung Fu Karate Defense with Cranky Kong (training to get in shape for "Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze") and race down a LONG pipe maze (similar to the bonus stages of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2") trying to get to or above the number of bananas required for BEATING that bonus stage! The best part about this game is the fact, that not only is King K. Rool NOT the big bad in this game, he doesn't even make an appearance! It's a brand new villain called Dr. K. Rankenstein, who plans to unleash genetically modified Kremling havoc on Kong Island! This is Rareware’s LAST great video game for the Game Boy Advance, and it is one that I highly recommend owning, playing, beating, and enjoying!

4. “Dragon Ball Z: the Legacy of Goku I & II” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / The first thing I want to say is that when it comes to video game reviews, I consider myself a master of them in addition to being a master of video games in general. Second, it doesn't matter how old a game gets, it is still just as fun to play it now as it was when it first came out. "Dragonball Z" is the best anime series ever made, and its video games like this 2 in 1 game that make "Dragonball Z" entertaining for video game players as well as anime lovers! The first game, originally released in 2002, spans the series length from the beginning of the Saiyans saga to the end of the Freeza saga. The previous drawback of that game being too short has been somewhat fixed now, as area sections in the Other World and Planet Namek have been lengthened and extended, so it's no longer such a chore to level up Goku, and it makes the game play slightly better to! The second game, originally released in 2003, is still as awesome as ever, as it spans the series length from the beginning of the Trunks saga to the end of the Cell Games saga. What's really incredible though, is that certain areas of that game have expanded the field of the levels, making there more to see and explore, and although it's therefore easier to level up the characters, it's also balanced out by there being more enemies and their fierceness quotient has also been upped, making it more satisfying to play and beat, even for seasoned experts! Personally, I find it impossible for anyone to NOT like this video game series, I personally find it very entertaining and enjoyable on many levels! If there's anything else I need to say is that it is very essential to own and play this game! I did, that's why I enjoyed playing this game and wrote this review!

3. “Pac-Man World 3” (What ELSE?!) Rated E, Nintendo Gamecube and Nintendo DS / I may not have gotten around to playing the Nintendo DS version yet, but I have owned, played, beaten, and enjoyed THIS very great Nintendo Gamecube game! In my many years as a video game player, one of the things that I strive for in looking for a great video game experience is its ability to be difficult enough to be challenging, but also fun enough to play as I pursue high scores in each and every level that I play through. Thankfully, "Pac-Man World 3" is that kind of game, with great music, great level design, and a challenge that puts Pac-Man into his greatest adventure yet! The story of the game is that a mega-maniacal evil genius named Erwin, is draining energy from the Spectral Realm (the place where Pac-Man's ghost chasers/chased enemies live) in an elaborate plot to power up his robot machine empire forever, and leave the whole world dark, cold, and weak enough for Erwin to take over as he builds towering statues to depict himself as an important; all powerful emperor of evil!

Fortunately, Pac-Man will not have to confront this menace alone! Pac-Man's former enemy/present buddy Orson has the tips, tricks, and info needed to get Pac-Man past all the traps and robots that Erwin can throw at Pac-Man! Also, Pac-Man will need to rescue his ghost rivals for a change, as Pinky and Clyde have abilities that will help Pac-Man get through challenging parts of levels. Pinky has the power to see Spectral platforms (surface areas that are normally visible only to ghosts) and she can make them both visible enough and solid enough for Pac-Man to jump onto and walk around on. Clyde has the power to break certain blocks and environment areas to help Pac-Man get to areas he normally wouldn't be able to get to. Even in the era of the Nintendo Wii, this is one Gamecube gem that deserves to be played on the current Nintendo system. It's an ideal game for people who are fans of puzzles, platforms, and/or both! 8) I am, and I highly recommend it to people looking for a fun, challenging time with a video game!

2. “The Legend of Zelda: the Minish Cap” Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Is this POSSIBLE?! An original "The Legend of Zelda" game; that does NOT automatically wind up at the top of a video game list?! Strange, but true. "The Minish Cap," is a great game, it’s a REALLY great game! It's just not, "Ocarina of Time" level great. Still, this game features awesome graphics, awesome controls, awesome dungeon layout, awesome music, cool sounds, and a solid challenge! One of the most INTENSE challenges is a brand new Kinstone challenge! One of the super challenges is to find pieces of Kinstone, fuse it to a NPC's Kinstone, and create an awesome new item or reward! The REAL challenge is finding every SINGLE Kinstone and Kinstone Fusion available in the game! The game also provides an awesome origin story on Link's nemesis, Vaati, as this is chronologically his first appearance in the "Zelda" games. Surprisingly, it also gives a COOL origin tale on why all the different Link's in all the different "Zelda" games wear a green hat! Speaking of, that's one of the cool points of this game! In this game, Link's green hat is actually a SPECIAL type of hat called the Minish Cap, hence the name of the game. With it, Link can shrink down to a microscopic size! What was small becomes BIG, and what was BIG becomes GIANT! Link will have to adjust his size accordingly, in order to find all the secrets hidden throughout the game, and solve different puzzles! Even though this is Link's ONLY full-fledged original outing on the Game Boy Advance, it is also one of his best!

1. “Mario Kart DS” Rated E, Nintendo DS / Although the Nintendo DS version of this game has a COMPLETE set of original tracks, exclusive characters, and a choice of karts for each character to drive, it also has some tracks from the four preceding "Mario Kart" games, mainly because four courses from EACH game appear as a Retro Course on the Nintendo DS game! For the first time ever, the "Mario Kart" series goes completely wireless in its Wi-Fi approach! It's possible to play for a player to play against seven different people at the same time, from ANYWHERE in the world (as long as you are at a reliable Internet hot spot!) This game has great graphics, great music, great sound, great controls, and some new items to use on the race course, including a bullet bill power up that allows you to ZOOM past many drivers, or the Blooper item which allows you to squirt ink in characters eyes! If that happens to you, your driving screen will be all black, and you'll have to wipe it off with the stylus in order to see again. In addition to these new items, many of the same great characters and popular items from past games make an appearance in this one; even R.O.B. from the "Super Smash Bros." games gets in on the act as an unlockable character available to play! And what's REALLY amazing about this game, is the fact that the retro courses from the N64 and the Nintendo Gamecube, look just as GOOD on the Nintendo DS as they do in their original games! That's what makes this game worth playing! /

That’s it for 2005! Stay tuned for 2006, when Yoshi and Baby Mario face off against an enemy FROM the FUTURE, Princess Peach gets her CHANCE to save the day for a change, Sonic’s Genesis original goes portable, Mario makes the old 2-D side-scrolling platform game brand “New”; Link explores his more WILD side, and Nintendo RISES like a phoenix, thanks to two words: NINTENDO WII!!!! Enough said! 

[4EverGreen]

Has it REALLY been Twelve years since the video game landscape changed?!  MAN; time sure flies! It's time for the video game list of 2006! Things have quieted down a lot during this transitional year, with only 16 games fighting it out for the top spot; but a lot of them are REAL game changers!  Read on, and find out what they are! /

16. "Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island" Rated E, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Gamecube, and Nintendo DS / Note that this review refers only to the Game Boy Advance, as that is the only version that I have played so far. The graphics are good, the sound is good, the plot is basic, but not lazy, as it does TELL a story. The game plays more like a puzzle than a traditional platform game as the characters don't do any attacking, and they are focused on collecting machine parts and hearts in order to seal an evil creature called the Mawgu back into a volcano before it spreads its evil all over the world. Spongebob blows bubbles and can travel through dirt; Danny Phantom can pass through certain blocks, as well as see and land on other blocks that the other characters can not; Timmy Turner can launch himself from rings in any direction he chooses, and later turn into a comet that can smash through certain walls; and Patrick can grab onto grass panels that the other characters can not grab onto, and he can shoot himself out of a cannon and parachute/glide to places that the other characters can't reach. Despite the character skill diversity and the stage design diversity, the game feels a little shorter than it should have been. The difficulty challenge feels too easy in the earlier stages, and too hard in the later stages, with little middle ground in between. While it's not the best licensed game by any means, it's certainly a lot better than many others, but I'd recommend renting it before choosing to buy it. For those who do choose to buy it, the game is a fun and entertaining ride for the people who love "Nicktoons."

15. "Wii Sports" Rated E, Wii / It takes a VERY addicting game to KNOCK "Super Mario Bros." out of the TOP selling video game of all time slot! Of course, it helps when SAID game is already packaged with an EQUALLY addicting video game system! Neither Sony NOR Microsoft ever THOUGH that Nintendo could EVER manage to keep up with their level of graphic quality, let ALONE, surpass their video game system sales! But Nintendo PROVED to them that Nintendo would NEVER let itself get KNOCKED out by those two, as the Nintendo Wii flew in like a HURRICANE; and left the Playstation 3 AND the X-Box 360 dazed and confused! This is a very handy game to play, in order to get used to the video game controls of the Nintendo Wii. As the name implies, there are a variety of different simulated sports that you and/or your friends can play together. The game is unique because the sports are easy to learn, but much more challenging to MASTER!!!! How good of a sports player can YOU become, in this groundbreaking Nintendo Wii game? Find out by playing it for yourself!

14. "Over the Hedge" Rated E, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Gamecube, and Nintendo DS / Note that my following review only refers to the Game Boy Advance game. I have never played the Gamecube version, and I TRIED to play the Nintendo DS version, but it got too difficult and challenging to beat. Thankfully, the Game Boy Advance version of this game, based on the hit animated movie, can more than hold its own in terms of video game quality. It has very good graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty. Just like the movie, you have to sneak around a bunch of human households, snatch up a lot of food and goodies, and avoid getting caught and/or hurt by various traps, obstacles, and unfriendly animals. This is definitely a nice little gem to have if you want to add it to a Game Boy Advance collection, and I highly recommend owning, playing, beating, and enjoying this video game version for yourself.

13. "Kirby Squeak Squad" Rated E, Nintendo DS / Despite having a career spanning over 20 years, Kirby is often dismissed as Kid fluff, games that even the smallest of children can beat. However, that doesn't STOP the games from being good, aimed for kids or not, Kirby's games know how to be fun and entertaining, and this one definitely is! A bunch of evil mice have over-run Dream Land, and they are called the Squeak Squad! (Hence the name of the game.) In addition to a brand new power-up ability (the ability to tunnel through certain walls and spots in the ground like a mole) Kirby now has the brand new ability to SAVE up to three different power-ups inside of himself, and then pull it out (with the touch-screen,) and use it any time he wants! Certain power-ups can also be combined, to create a totally brand-new, RARE power-up that's hard to come by anywhere else! In addition to the main game, there's also fun mini-games available to play. The graphics, sound, music, controls, challenge, and game play are all excellent staples in a Kirby game that find their way in this one. This game is fun to play!

12. "Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis" Rated E, Game Boy Advance / There are two different types of games. There are original games (including sequels) and then there are re-released games released onto different formats. Some people might instantly think that "Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis" contains nothing additional that can't be found in "Sonic the Hedgehog," but that is simply not true! For starters, players can now use the famous rolling spin attack in this game and zoom from place to place, meaning that since Sonic can now move faster, he can finish zones a lot quicker, so the 9:59 amount of time limit isn't as much to worry about as it was in the original Genesis version. Another thing to remember is that the Genesis version wasn't capable or producing stereo sounds from it's 16-bit hardware. But on the Game Boy Advance, the music rocks harder than ever with it's stereo capabilities and the graphics look better than ever thanks to the Game Boy Advance's 32 bit powerhouse! And finally, once a player beats an entire zone within the game at least once, they can then go select that zone and start from that level and try to improve their time score or their ring score. The controls DO take some getting used to, but the original Sega Genesis version did to, and many people tend to forget that the hardware in the Sega Genesis wasn't originally meant to be capable of Mode 7 graphic capabilities while the Game Boy Advance was. So any feelings about the game not being as well-rounded as the original Genesis version are purely feelings of nostalgia trumping common sense. The bottom line is, this game is great for nostalgia buffs or for fans looking to experience the magic for the first time. This is a great game to buy or rent at a bargain! That's why I'm reviewing this game!

11. "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" Rated T, Nintendo Gamecube and Wii / Okay, I'm probably going to get a LOT of hate for putting a game of this stature so low on this list, but there's a really GOOD reason as to why this game doesn't get RANKED higher; the amount of HARD in this GAME is just too D*** HIGH!!!! There, I said it! I NEVER thought I would live to see the day when there would be a "Zelda" game made that was HARDER than "Zelda II: the Adventure of Link!" I know that when it comes to the "Zelda" games, they REALLY like to respect and point out references to their past games a lot, but taking the hardness of "Zelda II" and applying it to the Nintendo Gamecube (and by extension, the Wii version) of this "Zelda" game, was NOT a necessary move that Nintendo had to make! Don't get me wrong, the game story is awesome, the music and sound effects are awesome, the dungeons are well imagined, and the Wolf transformation for Link is one of the most original ideas that the "Zelda" series has had in years, but this games biggest hurdle is by FAR the difficulty level. Just because the idea of "Figuring the game out for yourself" worked in "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask," doesn't mean that it ALSO works out for "Twilight Princess," because it doesn't WORK for a game that is as expansive at this. I'm not sure if I will ever get around to playing the new Wii U remake to see if it's any better, but than again, anything can happen.

10. "Super Ghouls n' Ghosts Advance" Rated E, Game Boy Advance / Even though this game came out in 2002, I thought that for SURE, I had already reviewed this game PRIOR to this year, but it turns out I hadn't! Good thing I checked, or I might have missed out on EVER reviewing this video game. Even though this game is actually available on the Super NES and by extension, the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS Virtual Consoles, do yourself a favor. If you want to play this game and actually WIN it without having to RAGE quit; please, Please, PLEASE play THIS version!!!! The Game Boy Advance version of this game actually has a SANE difficulty level that's NOT harder than college, you can actually SAVE this game anytime you want and pick up from wherever you left off, and the graphics and sound on this video game version, are even better than the Super NES version! So if you want to play a version of Capcom's "Super Ghouls n' Ghosts" video game, you should DEFINITELY play THIS version! Your sanity, will thank you.

9. "Rayman Raving Rabbids" Rated E10, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Wii / Although I have still yet to play the Wii console version of this game which mainly revolve around mini-game events, this platforming game for the Game Boy Advance is entertaining in its own right. Featuring some of the best graphics and music available for this portable system, it gives Rayman unique capabilities for use in his battle against the Raving Rabbids. As can be very accurately guessed, Rabbids are the "Rayman" equivalent of rabbits. For a long time, they have had a kind and gentle nature. Unfortunately, far too many OTHER creatures took advantage of the Rabbids nature, until finally the Rabbids couldn't take being abused anymore and are now revolting (against the abusers, not necessarily revolting in their appearance.) Even though the Rabbids don't want much, they go to extremes to exact their revenge, as they capture Rayman's friends and scatter the lums (energy orbs necessary to maintain life forces in the world of "Rayman,") to the far reaches of the world in order to make every other creature feel as miserable as they have been made. Rayman, of course, knows that two wrongs do not make a right, and decides to tackle the Rabbid problem head on! In this game, there are brand new racing courses which make for a new, unique experience, some new enemies to fight and end-level bosses that require different strategies to beat them. In addition to new enemies, Rayman gains new, unique abilities whenever he gains the ability to change into a new costume. When Rayman is a rapper, he can pound down pencils (by jumping down on them hard) in order to gain access to new areas! As a punk rocker, Rayman can chew and spit out bubble gum, creating trampolines from stumps, and defeating certain enemies that can't be beaten otherwise. As a grandma (I kid you not) Rayman can lay down carrots, which is useful to distract certain enemies that Rayman normally couldn't get past, and gives Rayman a chance to launch a sneak attack on those enemies that Rayman ordinarily wouldn't be able to dish out! As an Elvis Presley rock and roller, Rayman uses a guitar to break certain objects and deal damage to certain enemies that couldn't be damaged otherwise. And as a disco musician, Rayman gains a super-powerful fist that deals out double the damage of his regular fist, and can take out enemies that would normally be too tough to harm! The level design is very creative in this game! My personal favorite was the level where practically everything was made out of chocolate and sweets!  The game is a little on the short side, but it's still an entertaining experience all the same. So if you can pick it up relatively cheap, it's worth a play through. I enjoyed this game, and recommend it to players looking for some new fun!

8. "Yoshi's Island DS" Rated E, Nintendo DS / I don't see how anyone could NOT like this game, the graphics are very beautiful! Not only does the hand-drawn artwork of the original "Yoshi's Island" returns, it's now on two screen and "Yoshi's Island 2" makes very good use of those two screens in terms of showing enemies and hidden items. Baby Mario is back again (and thankfully, this time much less noisy!) Only this time, he's brought along a few friends along for the ride. Baby Peach proves that she doesn't need Mario to protect her all the time. She can handle herself and use her umbrella to float from place to place and reach heights that no one else can reach! Baby Donkey Kong proves that even as a tyke, he was the King of Swing, as he can grab onto vines as no one else can (because no one else can) he's the only one that can swing on ropes, and his fists of fury can break things that no other baby can break! And even as an infant, all Baby Wario could think about was money. He uses his magnet to attract metallic platforms which can get him to secret places, and brings all the coins towards him and makes him very rich indeed! Finally, even Baby Bowser joins the team as in a real twist, Adult Bowser has come from the future to do what his younger self could not and capture the heroic infants once and for all! But Baby Bowser realizes the problem that Adult Bowser is setting up. If Adult Bowser succeeds in stopping Mario in the past (Baby Bowser's present) then Bowser won't grow up to have a potentially glorious future (Adult Bowser's present.) So Baby Boswer uses his spiky shell spinning abilities to make certain platforms move, deflect deadly projectiles, enemies, and even though Yoshi can't lay eggs with Baby Bowser, Baby Bowser can breathe fire and melt ice and defeat enemies with ease (even if its not for purely altruistic reasons.) All of the babies skills are needed to reach different areas and Yoshi will once again sometimes transform into different vehicles depending on the situations he is sometimes in. The levels are once again designed brilliantly that has a par which few other games can reach. The bosses are once again created to provide a challenge and different ways that they have to be beat in order to prevail in saving both the babies present, and the babies future! It's an enriching, unique platform game filled with good music, great controls, and many different ways of having fun in this engrossing game. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and that's why I wrote this review!

7. "Children of Mana" Rated E10, Nintendo DS / The one thing in common with all of the other Mana games is that they have pre-designed areas that are to be traveled to in a certain order, and fighting bosses in a generally linear order. That's not the case with this game. This is actually based on a concept with which I have NOT had too much experience with in other games, but I actually enjoyed with this game; the concept of the random dungeon generator. Choosing from a selection of four different heroes (heroic boy, girl, sprite, or a giant warrior rabbit) you have to slay monsters, find treasures, and rescue innocent people based on the different quests you accept from the people in your home town. Along the way, you will pick up pieces of Mana, that will let you customize your character so that they can have different strengths and bonus abilities. Although the types of dungeons you face are random, the ultimate object of the game is not. Someone is trying to RULE the world, by creating an excess amount of Mana, draining it from creatures and objects that need it to thrive and survive, and your object is to stop him! This game has good graphics, good controls, good sound, good music, and the game never feels like it gets too repetitive or redundant. Sadly, the "Mana" series has not seen a good, original "Mana" game since this one. I hope another installment will someday appear on the Nintendo 3DS, and brings back interest into this great video game series!

6. "Super Princess Peach" Rated E, Nintendo DS / For the most part, Princess Peach has had the UNFORTUNATE distinction of being captured, kidnapped, abducted, marooned, imprisoned, stranded, jailed, and locked up by Bowser over the course of two decades. But in "Super Princess Peach," it's finally HER turn to turn the tables and save the day! Tired of always losing to Mario and Luigi, Bowser has kidnapped them BOTH and has taken several Toads hostage as well! But Princess Peach is NOT going to let Bowser get away with this, and she doesn't have to! With the help of her new, Magical, talking Parasol called Perry; Princess Peach can change her abilities and access different powers! When she gets sad, her tears can cause magical plants to sprout and grow to giant heights, helping her access places she couldn't before. When she gets MAD, flames surround her, burning obstacles and many enemies in her path. When she feels as light as air, she can use Parry to catch powerful wind currents, and soar to new heights and lengths! And when she gets hungry, she eats a delicious cake and can regain health. There are eight levels to get through, with well-designed stages, filled with good graphics, sound, music, controls, and memorable levels that Nintendo is well-known for having. Although a sequel for this game has been floating around as an idea for the Nintendo 3DS has been floating around since 2012, it has yet to materialize. If this game proves anything, it's that Princess Peach is just as capable and just as able of holding her own against Bowser and his army of loyal goons!

5. "Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime" Rated E, Nintendo DS / In this humorous R.P.G. experience, Akira Toriyama and Square Enix team up to deliver one of the most unique game experiences available on the Nintendo DS! What makes this game unique is the fact that it features three different elements; traditional platforming level tricks, recruiting different monsters or citizens to help you in boss battles, and having those boss battles actually be GIANT mobile fortresses that fight your OWN giant mobile fortress! To combat the mobile fortresses, you need to collect items that can act as weapons. As you level up and get stronger, you can also make your fortress and your weapons stronger. And it helps to make your fortress and your weapons stronger, because each mobile fortress is tougher to defeat than the last. This game does a really good job of taking the lowly Slime monster (which often appears early on in the normal "Dragon Quest" games as a WEAK monster) and turning him into a TOUGH, versatile hero! I would like to see MORE of these video games on the Nintendo 3DS and/or the Nintendo Switch in the future!

4. "Star Fox Command" Rated E10, Nintendo DS / This game is absolutely epic! It takes a little while to get used to the touch screen controls, but after getting the hang of it, the game is both figuratively and literally a blast! This is the first game I've played where not only were there multiple ways to get through the game to win it, there were also multiple endings depending on the decisions made by the characters! There are many different characters in different jet designs to play with, and they all have their interesting stories and conflicts to deal with! Whether you decide to play through with Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, Krystal, Wolf McDonnell, Panther Caruso, Leon Powalski, Amanda, Lucy Hare, Katt, Dash Bowman, Bill, or James McCloud, each story arc has an interesting ending with interesting revelations about each character. Personally, my favorite was finding out about Marcus McCloud being born after Fox and Krystal get married during one ending. So if you haven't played this game yet, you definitely owe yourself to give this game a try! It's epic!

3. "Chicken Little: Ace in Action" Rated E10, Nintendo DS and Wii / Although I haven't played the Wii version yet, I have owned, played, beaten, and enjoyed the Nintendo DS version of this game! With this game, Disney released something that had never really been released before and introduced video players to this game which had surprisingly good looking graphics, a surprisingly hard-core, surprisingly well-designed, surprisingly challenging, surprisingly intelligent, surprisingly funny, and surprisingly entertaining game, and it was called "Chicken Little: Ace In Action!" The game follows the Hollywood alter egos of Chicken Little, Ugly Duckling, Runt of the Litter, and Fish Out of Water as they fight against Loosey Goosey and Foxy Loxy who are commanding an evil empire, and President Turkey Lurkey is commanding them to save the Universe from their evil! Fish dishes out tactical advice, Runt pilots a tank which destroys much of anything it fires against, Abby Mallard pilots the spaceship with great navigational skill and expert space shooting, and Ace is a ground combatant who must duck and weave through many robots and devilish fiends as he seeks to destroy the mechanical evil that Foxy Loxy intends to throw at Ace and his friends! The levels are challenging, the bosses are challenging, and there aren't that many opportunities for recharging the characters health, so this game is definitely not for the casual gamer, but this is the reason why I liked it so much, because it managed to challenge me like no other Disney video game had managed to do for quite some time! And the best part is, even when the character loses all their health, they don't die, they just simply teleport back to the last saving point in the stage they were fighting in and continue on from there. But for the impatient gamer, this can get infuriating at times. But for players looking for a hard-core challenge featuring Disney characters, this is definitely the right game for them as they will find thoroughly engrossing and will be playing to help Ace and his friends save the cosmos! I certainly enjoyed it, and that's why I wrote this review!

2. "New Super Mario Bros." Rated E, Nintendo DS / 15 years after making his last fully playable appearance in an original 2D side-scrolling platform adventure game and about five years since any Mario character had appeared in an original 2D side-scrolling platform adventure game, Mario finally got back to doing what got him superstar video game status in the first place: appearing in an original, 2D side-scrolling platform adventure! It's a continuation of the "Super Mario Bros." series after a 16 year hiatus (not counting "Super Mario World" or "Super Mario All-Stars" or various re-releases.) Mario still grows big by using a mushroom, he still can throw fireballs after touching a fire flower, he still collects coins and 1-Up Mushrooms, and he still can become temporarily invincible by touching a Star Man. But there are brand-new twists brought into this familiar formula! Now Mario can shrink to a microscopic size and jump super high, run on water, fit into narrow passages and fit into tiny pipes he normally wouldn't have been able to fit into! There's a blue shell which allows Mario to knock over approaching enemies, surf over water, lava, and dangerous enemies! And my personal favorite, the Super Ultra Mushroom which allows Mario to become a giant and knock off over any attacking enemies just by touching them, break nearly any obstacle and rack up an insane amount of 1-Ups! Also, Mario will also use the tricks he learned in his 3-D games, namely punching, kicking, triple-jumping, wall jumping, wall shimmying, rope hanging, and long jumping in order to overcome various obstacles! Plus, there are also warp cannons for people who want to zip through the game, or they could choose their own route towards winning the game, or they could be like me and discover everything that can possibly be found within the game, which makes it more challenging, but more richly rewarding in the end as it allows players to play through an additional four stages and one more boss level before beating the game! Both old and new Mario villains, obstacles, and challenges await to test Mario both in old ways and in new ways! It's not just a trip back to what made Mario great in the first place, it also introduces new concepts and new strategies that's both great for old and new players alike! This game is extremely enjoyable for players of any skill level! That's why I highly recommend it and that's why I wrote this review!

1. "Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2" Rated T, Wii / Awesome, awesome, awesome...did I mention that this game is AWESOME?!!! For me, this game was the KILLER app that Nintendo needed in order to give BOTH the Playstation 3 AND the X-Box 360 the knockout punches that they BOTH deserved! This incredible game lets you fight through ALL of "Dragonball Z," including many of the animated movies, and it even lets you fight through a modified version of "Dragonball GT." If that weren't enough, there are interesting fight challenges you can tackle, by beating a certain set of opponents in a certain order, collecting Dragonballs in order to unlock goodies or get secret stuff, unlocking characters by completing story events, and even MORE cool What-If story mode featuring Raditz, Zarbon, and the Supreme Kai! Someday, I hope to get around to playing "Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkai'ichi 3" for the Wii, to see if THAT game is even more amazing! But for now, I have to say that this video game that I have played is TOTALLY awesome!!!! /

That's it for 2006!  Stay tuned for 2007, when the Game Boy Advance gets its LAST great video game, "Animal Crossing" greets us with "City Folk," "Mario Party" goes portable, and Crash Bandicoot enters the Nintendo DS with a really ROCKING portable game! Stay tuned! 

[4EverGreen]

FINALLY!  A NORMAL year with a MANAGEABLE amount of video games to review!  In 2007, I actually managed to only own, play, beat, and enjoy ten personal video games this year. But when ONE of those video games is "Pokemon Pearl," than I'm actually lucky that there weren't MORE video games floating around this year!  It's time to see where my video games rank!

10. "Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam" Rated E, Nintendo DS and Wii / Note that this review refers ONLY to the WII version as that's the only version of this video game that I have played so far. I REALLY should've listed this for LAST year's video game, but then I wouldn't have had ten video games for THIS year, so it ends up working out for me! I was nervous about PLAYING with the Wii Remote Control; I had my doubts. But as I learned, I should have NEVER questioned Nintendo's decision to make this video game controlled through motion control of the Wii Remote! It takes a little practice, but once you've mastered it, you can find yourself performing tricky skateboard maneuvers you never thought POSSIBLE...even in a VIDEO game! Tony Hawk is the best for beginners, but there are other interesting skateboarders to, and MANY cool, exotic locales that you get to travel to! Plus, the more you play, and the more trophies you collect, the more you'll unlock! More skaters, more locations, more challenges, and even short little live-action footage of Tony Hawk and crew! It's definitely the best Tony Hawk video game that I've played in years! I enjoyed it, and I highly recommend for anyone looking for all the fun of skateboarding, but without ANY of the risk!

9. "Wario: Master of Disguise" Rated E10, Nintendo DS / Wario's first TRUE video game outing in four years; Wario comes into the possession of a Magic Brush named Brushwell, which allows him to be teleported inside the world of his favorite TV series. Using Brushwell (drawing on the Nintendo DS touch pad with the stylus) Wario can change himself into many different forms, or solve puzzles with the help of Brushwell. The different forms allow Wario to disguise himself and master many different disguise forms, hence the name of the game. This game features the slapstick comedy, humor, great controls, sound, music, and graphics that Wario is known for. The one problem of this game is that if your Nintendo DS touch screen becomes unresponsive and won't work (like my FIRST one did in 2010) it becomes IMPOSSIBLE to get through the rest of the game, and you have to get either a NEW Nintendo DS, or a 3DS if you want to continue playing it! Despite the touch screen drawback, its still a great, funny game to play ALL the way through to the end!

8. "Crash of the Titans" Rated E, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Wii / Although this game does have a Game Boy Advance version available as well, it's the Nintendo DS version that left a remarkable impact, in the terms of being the better game! Crash is back, and not only does he have a brand new look, he has some brand new tricks! One of those tricks is his ability to jack (or control) certain monsters. This skill is an essential part to learn and master in this game in order for Crash to solve puzzles, break barriers, and clear obstacles that Crash can't clear on his own. And different monsters have different skills, each of which is helpful for Crash to have at some point, making it well-worth your time to track down and experiment with each and every one of them. This game has great graphics, good music, sound, great controls, a good story line, and good voice casting. Crash's adventure isn't the ONLY main point about this game, but I don't want to give TOO many surprises away! Play for yourself to find out how good of a game this really is!

7. "Animal Crossing: City Folk" Rated E, Wii / It never fails to amaze me how so far, each new MAIN entry in the "Animal Crossing" games is better than the LAST main entry that came before that game. This game is no exception. In addition to the returning hooks such as catching bugs and fish, finding fossils, growing flowers and trees, and buying paintings, you can now even customize how your playable character looks! And thanks to the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection capabilities, traveling between towns that other people have made is now easier than ever! Any game that lets your character live among animals is a good game in my books!

6. "Final Fantasy VI Advance" (What ELSE?!) Rated E10, Game Boy Advance / One of the LAST main games available to play on the Game Boy Advance, also ends up being its BEST! Although its available as "Final Fantasy III" on the Super NES, this game makes enough changes and updates to the Super NES original to allow for inclusion in here! Not only do the sounds and music sound better, the graphics, characters, spells, and espers look better than ever, the controls, story, and overall feel of the game feel better than ever; the fact that there are brand NEW Espers to find, plus an all new challenge to face in a brand new labryinth challenge called Dragon's Den, makes this version of "Final Fantasy VI" a MUST play for ANY true lover of R.P.G. games and video games overall. With this game, Square Enix made sure that the awesome legacy and power of the Game Boy Advance, would go out on a high note, and for that, all players should be immensely thankful to them for providing such greatness!

5. "Drawn to Life" Rated E, Nintendo DS / I'm usually not that crazy about games where you get to 'play' God; real life is filled with enough crazy people convinced of their God status, that I don't feel like adding to it by contributing to video games that advocate it as a popular activity. This game however, is different. The basis of being able to move forward in this game, is to start off as a kind, compassionate God. A race of being called the Raposa (tiny, furry, anthropomorphic creatures) need a hero to save them from the terror of a Raposa gone bad; a villain named Wilfre! So it's up to the player to LITERALLY draw a hero into life! Although you can draw up to three different hero designs, each hero functions the same way. Although there are only four different levels with fifteen different stages between them (including a boss fight at the end of each level), the length of each stage and level MORE than makes up for what could've been a much smaller game! It's actually beneficial to rescure and help out as many Raposa as you can. The more Raposa that are rescued and unlocked, the more rewards and abilities that can be purchased, awarded, or given to the hero! The graphics, sound, music, controls, and story are all charming, but its the hook of being able to literally DRAW your own character that make this game REALLY special! Personally, I enjoyed drawing Conker from "Conker's Bad Fur Day," and Samson from "Camp Lazlo" as my designed heroes! Sadly, this unique game hasn't seen a new installment since the 2008 Wii release. But as long as people are creating, I think that there will ALWAYS be a market, for a unique game just like this one!

4. "Contra 4" (What ELSE?!) Rated T, Nintendo DS / When you're asked to come up with a list of games that cause you to rage quit, one of the video game series on top of ANY of those lists is the "Contra" video game series! In fact, "Contra III" was SO hard, it took Konami SIXTEEN years to come up with a video game that could TOP the difficulty in "Contra III!" I cannot STRESS enough how difficult this game is; not that hard, not that HARD, not THAT HARD...super, duper, extensive, uber, freaking, mega ULTRA HARD!!!!!!! And that's just the NORMAL difficulty level! Don't even ASK about the HARD difficulty level, that's the equivalency of video game SUICIDE! It's a good video game, graphically, control-wise, with good sound and music, but the difficulty may be too MUCH for beginners! But as a nice bonus, the original "Contra" and "Super C" for the NES are bonus games that can be unlocked in this game as well. If you're feeling super confidant about your own skill, and you can stand all the pain that a bunch of aliens can throw at you, than "Contra 4" is DEFINITELY a video game that can challenge you!

3. "Pokemon Pearl" Rated E, Nintendo DS / The "Pokemon" video game series had managed to change and evolve through three game generations, and even had one of those generations remade! "Pokemon" had generated many merchandised characters, and had a huge fan base. So people were wondering if it was possible for Nintendo to make ANOTHER "Pokemon" game without repeating themselves in any way. The resounding answer was; YES! They COULD! With it's partner game "Pokemon Diamond," the fourth generation of "Pokemon" games introduced what was THEN, the largest Pokemon library up to that point; 493 POSSIBLE different Pokemon to collect, some of them with multiple different forms! (Incidentally, this video game OWES me about FOUR years of my LIFE that I spent in collecting SO many Pokemon for this game!) Also, brand new HM moves were introduced; De-fog, which could clear cloudy conditions, and Rock Climb, which allowed Pokemon to scale certain rocky cliffs! In addition to an EXTENSIVE game with brand new graphical update twists, great music, sound, controls, and story facing off against Team Galactic, a nice new feature of this game is the ability to go underground, and dig for buried treasures! Rare items can often be found only in the dirt, and not anywhere else; and the occurrence of certain items changes depending on the location of the character at any given point, so there's incentive to explore everywhere! Unfortunately, the amount of time one can spend on this game actually HELPS to work against it, as trying to collect as many Pokemon possible becomes an exercise in difficulty, in striving to complete the most Pokemon possible. It's a lot easier with the help of the Game Boy Advance Pokemon games. By having a copy of any of the Game Boy Advance "Pokemon" games in a Nintendo DS at the same time as "Pokemon Pearl," it's possible to transfer Pokemon FROM the Game Boy Advance games, to the Nintendo DS. But you WON'T be able to transfer them back, so be warned. This is still a good game, though, despite the long length.

2. "Diddy Kong Racing DS" Rated E, Nintendo DS / The last great game from Rareware, is this revival of an N64 original! Maybe on paper, the idea for Rare to jump ship from Nintendo to Microsoft LOOKED like a good idea, but of course, it has turned into an absolute MESS for Rare. There's not a single game that they've RELEASED on a Microsoft console that is even CLOSE to the level of what Rare would consider an AVERAGE game...on the N.E.S.!!!! So it comes as no surprise to me that the last great game that Rare has made so far, is available ON a Nintendo system! In this DS remake, the graphics have been polished up, the sound effects and music sound better than ever, there's now an option to customize the way your vehicles look, and by collecting Rare coins (pun intended!), you can also upgrade your vehicles to make them faster and race better! My personal favorite racers are Bumper and Timber. If you're looking for a good example of what a great game from Rare is SUPPOSED to look like, look no further than "Diddy Kong Racing DS." I highly recommend it for fans of the kart racing genre.

1. "Mario Party DS" Rated E, Nintendo DS / I lost my interest in the "Mario Party" video game series somewhere after the fourth or fifth installment; they just got too repetitive and derivative for their own good. But I always wanted to at least try a portable version of "Mario Party," but the Game Boy Advance version wasn't going to do it for me. Thankfully, the Nintendo DS version is a LOT better! It's fun! It's ACTUALLY fun! It's possible to play as eight different characters; Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Daisy, Wario, and Waluigi. There are six different board games to play on, and over three dozen different mini-games available for the playing! In addition to the returning solo mini-games, duel mini-games, two vs. two mini-games, one vs. three mini-games, and free for all mini-games, there's a brand new boss duel mini-game for the winner of each party board! Whoever beats the boss representative of each board will be declared the true superstar of each board! And there's an incentive to win, besides bragging rights. There are many different types of badges to win as well, that are obtained whenever different objectives are meant, and it's possible to play wireless with four different people at the same time! The game-play is only limited to ten rounds of play for each board, so it's much more challenging to ratchet up stars and coins then it was in other installments, so you've got to give it to Nintendo for crafting a SOLID, portable "Mario Party" experience! /

That's my list for 2007! Stay tuned for 2008, when Sonic gets an R.P.G. video game experience, "Final Fantasy IV" becomes BETTER than EVER, Sonic unleashes his WILD side, and Mario and Sonic FINALLY get a chance to settle their age-old rivalry once and for all...in "SMASH!!!!"  It will be AWESOME!!!! 

[4EverGreen]

I honestly cannot BELIEVE that I have PLAYED so many video games, and JUST on the Game Boy Advance!  I managed to count a TOTAL of 110 video games that I have played on Nintendo's portable masterpiece system!  Since I have already talked about these video games in length, I shall list, on a point scale with 110 being the highest (unless it's the best!), for all the video games you're about to see. I hope you enjoy reading this list, as much as I did writing it! /

110. “Golden Sun” 1/110. 109. “Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge” 2/110. 108. “Sonic Advance 2” 3/110. 107. “Zapper” 4/110. 106. “Blender Bros.” 5/110. 105. “Crash Bandicoot: the Huge Adventure” 6/110. 104. “Kao the Kangaroo” 7/110. 103. “Cruisin' Velocity” 8/110. 102. “F-Zero: Maximum Velocity” 9/110. 101. “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2” 10/110. 100. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone” 11/110. 99. “Super Bust-a-move” 12/110. 98. “Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island” 14/110. 97. “Scooby-Doo” 15/110. 96. “Klonoa: Empire of Dreams” 16/110. 95. “Mario Pinball Land” 17/110. 94. “Gradius Galaxies” 18/110. 93. “Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3” 19/110. 92. “Marble Madness/Klax” 20/110. 91. “Mega Man Zero 4” 21/110. 90. “Sonic Advance 3” 22/110. 89. “Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury” 23/110. 88. “Mega Man Zero” 24/110. 87. “Sonic Advance” 25/110. 86. “Sega Smash Pack” 26/110. 85. “Tekken Advance” 27/110. 84. “Paperboy/Rampage” 28/110. 83. “Frogger's Adventures: Temple of the Frog” 29/110. 82. “Namco Museum” 30/110. 81. “Pac-Man Collection” 31/110. 80. “Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land” 32/110. 79. “Pac-Man World 2” 33/110. 78. “Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku” 34/110. 77. “Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire” 35/110. 76. “Super Duper Sumos” 36/110. 75. “Balloon Fight” 37/110. 74. “Frogger's Adventures 2: The Lost Wand” 38/110. 73. “Spyro Orange: the Cortex Conspiracy” 39/110. 72. “Disney's Magical Quest 3 Starring Mickey and Donald” 40/110. 71. “Mega Man Zero 3” 41/110. 70. “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue” 42/110. 69. “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan” 43/110. 68. “Dig-Dug” 44/110. 67. “Zelda II: the Adventure of Link” 45/110. 66. “Power Rangers Ninja Storm” 46/110. 65. “Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage” 47/110. 64. “Disney's The Lion King 1.5” 48/110. 63. “River City Ransom EX” 49/110. 62. “Iridion 3D” 50/110. 61. “Pac-Man World” 51/110. 60. “Ice Climber” 52/110. 59. “Crash & Spyro Superpack” 53/110. 58. “Over the Hedge 54/110. 57. “Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis” 55/110. 56. “Super Ghouls n' Ghosts Advance” 56/110. 55. “Crash of the Titans” 57/110.

54. “Rayman Raving Rabbids” 58/110. 53. “Spyro: Season of Ice” 59/110. 52. “Robopon 2: Ring Version” 60/110! 51. “Earthworm Jim” 61/110! 50. “Spyro 2: Season of Flame” 62/110! 49. “Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls” 63/110! 48. “Donkey Kong Country” 64/110! 47. “Super Mario Bros.” 65/110! 46. “Metroid” 66/110! 45. “The Legend of Zelda” 67/110! 44. “Ms. Pac-Man's Maze Madness” 68/110! 43. “Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival” 69/110! 42. “Rayman Advance” 70/110! 41. “Donkey Kong Country 2” 71/110! 40. “Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors” 72/110! 39. “Astro Boy: Omega Factor” 73/110! 38. “Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness/Pac-Man World” 74/110! 37. “Spyro Superpack: Spyro: Season of Ice/Spyro 2: Season of Flame” 75/110! 36. “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4” 76/110! 35. “Disney's Magical Quest Starring Mickey and Minnie” 77/110! 34. “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3” 78/110! 33. “Donkey Kong Jr.” 79/110! 32. “Mega Man Zero 2” 80/110! 31. “Disney's Aladdin” 81/110! 30. “Disney's Magical Quest 2 Starring Mickey and Minnie” 82/110! 29. “Aero the Acro-Bat” 83/110! 28. “Street Fighter Alpha 3” 84/110! 27. “Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire” 85/110! 26. “Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs” 86/110! 25. “Rayman 3” 87/110! 24. “Rayman: 10th Anniversary” 88/110! 23. “Pokemon Emerald” 89/110! 22. “Frogger's Journey: the Forgotten Relic” 90/110! 21. “Rayman: Hoodlum's Revenge” 91/110! 20. “Donkey Kong Country 3” 92/110! 19. “Pokemon Leaf Green/Fire Red” 93/110! 18. “Kirby and the Amazing Mirror” 94/110! 17. “Mario Vs. Donkey Kong” 95/110! 16. “Metroid Zero Mission” 96/110! 15. “Final Fantasy IV Advance” 97/110! 14. “Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced” 98/110! 13. “Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga” 99/110! 12. “Sword of Mana” 100/110! 11. “Nicktoons Racing” 101/110! 10. “Wario Land 4” 102/110! 9. “Super Mario Advance” 103/110! 8. “Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3” 104/110! 7. “Mario Kart Super Circuit” 105/110! 6. “Final Fantasy VI Advance” (What Else?!) 106/110! 5. “Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku I & II” 107/110! 4. “The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap” 108/110! 3. “Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2” 109/110! 2. “The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past/Four Swords” 110/110! 1. “Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II” 120/110! (Yes, it's THAT good!) /

That's it for my list THIS time! I'll see you the NEXT time a list needs to be made! 

[4EverGreen]

I have now officially played every SINGLE video game you CAN play on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition Console at LEAST once; beaten ALL of the FUN ones, and now, I can officially RANK those games in order of how FUN they were! Also, I'll rank the top 60 Super NES games that SHOULD have been included on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition Console over the ones that I personally feel, SHOULDN'T have been included!  Remember, my opinions do NOT necessarily reflect your own!  They might on OCCASION, but not necessarily!  I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did WRITING it!  /

21. "Kirby's Dream Course" - NO!!!! / 20. "Super Ghouls n' Ghosts" - Only IF they had TONED the difficulty down! / 19. "F-Zero" - Does NOT age well as a Racing Game! / 18. "Super Punch-Out" - A LOT harder than I REMEMBER it being! / 17. "Contra III: The Alien Wars" - The Easy and Normal levels of difficulty ARE beatable with some LOTS of practice; but you'll probably RAGE quit trying to beat the HARD level of difficulty! / 16. "Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island" - Nintendo picked THIS; OVER "Donkey Kong Country II: Diddy Kong Quest" and OTHER gems?! Was it REALLY, TOO difficult to negotiate with Rareware for MORE than ONE game from them?! / 15. "Kirby's Super Star" - Okay for the Super Nes, but the Nintendo DS re-make called "Kirby Super Star Ultra" basically makes THIS version obsolete. /

14. "Super Castlevania IV" - A video game that I thought I WOULDN'T enjoy, but pleasantly surprised by! Earns MAJOR bonus points for being the FIRST "Castlevania" game I've EVER managed to beat and enjoy! / 13. "Star Fox" - Only reason it ISN'T ranked higher, is because it took me SO long to actually BEAT every single level of the game! / 12. "Donkey Kong Country" - Still enjoyable, even if I STILL don't know how to get 101% complete collection in this game! / 11. "Super Mario Kart" - The BEST racing experience you can GET on the Super NES! / 10. "Mega Man X" (What ELSE?!) - A great game, that SHOULD have been joined by "Mega Man X2", "Mega Man X3", "Mega Man 7", AND an English translated version of the Japanese Super NES game "Mega Man & Bass"! / 9. "Earthbound" - Could have benefited from a BETTER translation job, but STILL a pretty good game! / 8. "Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting" - An obvious choice for inclusion, but "Super Street Fighter II" and "Street Fighter Alpha 2", should have been included as WELL! / 7. "Secret of Mana" - Would have LOVED to SEE the Japanese ONLY Super NES sequel get a translation and be included as well, but I'll STILL take THIS any day of the week! / 6. "Final Fantasy III" - A trilogy of games which should have also included "Final Fantasy Mystical Quest", as well as a better translated and easier version of "Final Fantasy II" would have made this experience SO much sweeter! Still an impressive game in its OWN right! / 5. "Super Metroid" - 16-bit video game perfection...need I SAY anything ELSE?! / 4. "Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars" - STILL desperately hopes that SOMEDAY, a REAL sequel to this game WILL appear! / 3. "Star Fox 2" - Took FAR longer than it SHOULD have to come out; but at LEAST we FINALLY got it! / 2. "Super Mario World" - Only thing that could have made THIS experience better, was if we also got "Super Mario All-Stars; Tetris & Dr. Mario"; a translated version of the Japanese only Super NES game "Mario & Wario"; "Yoshi's Cookie; Mario is Missing"; SEVERAL obscure Japanese only Super NES games STARRING Mario; and the highly speculated Japanese ONLY levels/stages of "Super Mario World" that only the Japanese GOT! / 1. "The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past" - Perfect as it is, but they should have thrown in the Japenese only Super NES version of "The Legend of Zelda" re-make, as well as the Japanese exclusive video game starring Link that I don't know the NAME of, anyways! /

Now, for games 21 through 15, here are the games I WOULD have picked over THOSE! /

60. "Jurassic Park" / 59. "Radical Rex" / 58. "Disney's Goof Troop" / 57. "Battletoads and Double Dragon" / 56. "Ren and Stimpy: Time Warp" / 55. "Sonic Blast Man" / 54. "Sonic Blast Man 2" / 53. "The Jungle Book" / 52. "The Wizard of Oz" / 51. "Super Star Wars" / 50. "Super Return of the Jedi" / 49. "Final Fantasy II" (Preferably with a better translation and slightly toned-down difficulty). / 48. "Lemmings" / 47. "Pocky & Rocky" / 46. "Ms. Pac-Man" / 45. "Taz-Mania" / 44. "Mighty Morphing Power Rangers" / 43. "ClayFighter" / 42. "Wayne's World" / 41. "Lagoon" / 40. "ClayFighter: Tournament Edition" / 39. "B.O.B." / 38. "Tetris & Dr. Mario" / 37. "Toy Story" / 36. "The Incredible Crash Test Dummies" / 35. "Krusty's Super Fun House" / 34. "King of Monsters" / 33. "Road Runner's Death Valley Rally" / 32. "Hook" / 31. "Super Game Boy" (with a bunch of SELECT Game Boy games INCLUDED!) / 30. "Super Bomberman" / 29. "Super Bomberman 2" / 28. "Plok!" / 27. "Disney's Aladdin" / 26. "Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind" / 25. "Aero the Acro-Bat" / 24. "The Lion King" / 23. "Mario is Missing!" / 22. "Mario Paint" / 21. "Mega Man X2" / 20. "Mega Man X3" / 19. "Earthworm Jim 2" / 18. "U.N. Squadron" / 17. "Earthworm Jim" / 16. "Frogger" / 15. "Street Fighter Alpha 2" / 14. "Super Bonk" (as well as a translation of the Japanese only Super NES game, "Super Bonk 2") / 13. "Bust-a-Move" / 12. "Joe and Mac" / 11. "E.V.O.: Gateway to Eden" / 10. "Mickey Mouse's Magical Quest" / 9. "Super Smash T.V." / 8. "Yoshi's Cookie" / 7. "Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose" / 6. "Mighty Morphing Power Rangers: the Movie" / 5. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time" / 4. "Final Fantasy Mystical Quest" / 3. "Super Mario All Stars" / 2. "Donkey Kong Country II: Diddy Kong's Quest" (What ELSE?!)  / 1. "Chrono Trigger" /

That's my list for THIS time!  Stay tuned for next time! Enough said! 

[4EverGreen]

Did I REALLY only get around to JUST playing eight video games from 2008?!!!  I think the reason WHY I wasn't playing so many video games from THIS year, was because I was TOO busy playing TOO many video games from the past on my Wii Virtual Console! Thankfully, the handful of video games that appear this year (with the exception of "Mario Kart Wii", which I am NOT even going to mention EVER again); are nothing short of amazing!  And there's a very good reason as to why I choose THIS song to introduce the year of 2008; the LONG awaited match-up between Mario and Sonic, on "Super Smash Bros. Brawl!!!!" Now THAT'S a "State of Shock!"  Read on and find out where it ranks! /

8. "Sonic Chronicles: the Dark Brotherhood" Rated E10, Nintendo DS / When most people think of Sonic, they DON'T think of him as an R.P.G. star, unlike Mario, who IS thought of as one. However, Sonic HAS ventured into this realm at least once, with this great game that Sega made with the help of Bioware! During the course of this game, it is possible to play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Rouge, Big the Cat, Shadow, Dr. Eggman, E-120 Omega, and Shade the Echidna. The game itself isn't overly long like many other R.P.G. adventures, but it's still challenging and has a good story. The graphics, music effects, and sound effects are all good (although it DOES honestly puzzle me as to WHY the whole game has to be played with a stylus; that's ONE of the reasons why I have NEVER played any of the Nintendo DS "Link" games!) In any case, Sonic's goal this time is to stop an evil clan of Echidna's from another dimension, from trying to conquer Earth/Mobius! Although this is a really great adventure, it has the dubious distinction of ending on a CLIFFHANGER! The plan that Sega had, was that they were going to release ANOTHER "Sonic" game to continue ON with the adventures of this first game, but due to PRESSURE from rabid, STUBBORN Sonic fans who REFUSED to take "NO" for an answer, such a sequel has YET to see the light of day. Still, if you want to play with Sonic in an R.P.G. adventure, this is DEFINITELY the way to do it, as it is completely playable on the Nintendo 3DS!

7. "Kirby Super Star Ultra" Rated E, Nintendo DS / Of the seven video games featured this year, three of them are re-makes of already existing video games. Thankfully, this one, and the two others that follow, all contain beefed up graphics, music, sound, game controls, and difficulty over the original! Not only that, but this game contains brand-new animated cut scenes, as well as some brand new mini-games that are EXCLUSIVE to this version of the hit video game! So if you missed out on it the first time, it's DEFINITELY checking it out THIS time!

6. "Wario Land: Shake It!" Rated E10, Wii / What Mario did for the Nintendo DS in 2006, Wario did for the Nintendo Wii in 2008. That is, he brought 2-D side-scrolling games BACK into the main-stream! What's AMAZING about this game, is that it actually LOOKS like you are watching AND controlling an animated cartoon character...in LUXURIANT graphics, that few other video games have reached! Wario takes a journey into the Shake Dimension, in order to free the Merfles and their Queen from the evil Shake King! Of course, Wario isn't doing this for altruistic reasons, he wants to collect ALL the treasures located within this world; especially the legendary bottomless coin shake, that NEVER runs out of coins no matter HOW much you shake it! As the name implies, a good portion of this game revolves around shaking the Wii remote, in order to get coins out of their coin sacks, you can shake rare GOLDEN enemies and collect THEIR coins, and you shake the prisons the Merfles are held in, so you can free them. In addition to the primary goal of freeing the Merfles, you are also encouraged to complete secondary goals; such as finding the three treasure chests hidden through-out each stage, or beating the various objectives set by each stage. Some are easy; after you free a Merfle, you must return to the beginning of the stage in a set amount of time; or they can be as hard as NOT taking damage in the ENTIRE stage! This game is relatively easy to learn, but a whole lot HARDER to master! It will definitely keep you busy for at least a few weeks, so I highly recommend trying it if you haven't already!

5."Chrono Trigger" Rated E, Nintendo DS / In 1995, it was pretty special when Squaresoft and Enix, THEN two separate companies, teamed up to produce one of the greatest video games of the 1990's, "Chrono Trigger." In 2003, Squaresoft and Enix joined forces PERMANENTLY by merging into Square Enix! Five years later, they re-released one of the greatest video games they had ever worked on; this one! Not only does it have beefed up graphics, music, sound, and game controls from the original, it now has all new anime cut-scenes that it didn't have before, to help tell the story! There is also an interesting new monster raising experience. You can raise, customize, and have a wireless battle as a unique monster against other player's unique monsters! In addition to the unique time-traveling hook, the same great characters, the same great challenging enemies, and all of the different multiple endings in this game; there is also one brand NEW ending exclusive to the Nintendo DS version of this game! Can you find all the different endings of this game? It's quite a challenge, but a fun one!

4. "Final Fantasy IV" (What ELSE?!) Rated E10, Nintendo DS / Although this game is already available in two different forms, on the Super NES and the Game Boy Advance, the Nintendo DS version may be the DEFINITIVE version when it comes to how "Final Fantasy IV" is presented. The graphics are INCREDIBLE!!!! They are SO stunning, they even reach PS3 LEVELS at some points!!!! If that's not an impressive hat trick, I don't know what is!!!! While the core majority of the game remains the same, there are some key changes as to how the game is played. For instance, anyone expecting to take down bosses in the EXACT same way they took them down on the Super NES and the Game Boy Advance, will find themselves in for a WORLD of hurt, as many of the bosses now have DIFFERENT weaknesses, and new strengths that they will exploit against you! Thankfully, all of the playable characters in this game now have new STRENGTHS as well. None of the characters that are playable will have ANY useless qualities; even Edward and Porom are no longer USELESS, as their formally useless Song and Cry have been replaced and upgraded respectively. Song is now Bard Song, and has far more and BETTER uses than the original Song, while Cry now reduces monsters' defense and special defense, instead of making it easier to run away. The best part about this game is that before you become unable to use a certain character anymore, you can transfer their unique ability to one of the more permanent members of your party! Be sure to choose carefully though, because you can only transfer the unique ability once, and only to ONE character! In addition to the stellar graphics, great music, great sound, great controls, and great difficulty level, this is one solid game that is a prime example on how great the Nintendo DS was, and how some games are still enjoyable today!

3. "Sonic Unleashed" Rated E10, Wii / In 2006, the popularity of Sega and Sonic took a MAJOR hit when both the Playstation 3 and the X-Box 360, in an attempt to TRY to put Nintendo out of business ONCE and for ALL, had the BRILLIANT idea to convince Sega to dish out a hit AGAINST Nintendo, by re-booting Sonic the Hedgehog in 2006. As it turns out...WORST IDEA EVER!!!! Camera controls? TERRIBLE!!!! Choice of music and sound effects? TERRIBLE!!!! Level design? TERRIBLE!!!! Challenge DIFFICULTY? TERRIBLE!!!! And a story FEATURING the most POINTLESS character EVER created (and I'm INCLUDING Big the Cat in that statement); Silver the Hedgehog, and a LOVE interest between a human girl that Sega REFUSED to include in the ORIGINAL 1991 "Sonic the Hedgehog" game?! AWFUL, TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, WORST GAME EVER (and I'm INCLUDING the 1982 "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" in that statement!) Honestly, I haven't SEEN a score THAT negative since the last time "Celebrity Jeopardy" was on!!!! If Sony and Microsoft thought that re-booting Sonic the Hedgehog was going to 'SOLVE' their Nintendo problem once and for all, Nintendo had the LAST laugh when they rose like a phoenix with the Nintendo Wii in 2006, and made games that not only would make people WANT to play them, but games that people would ENJOY playing them! The Playstation 3 and X-Box 360, for all their talk about high definition graphics, couldn't come up with a SINGLE game that could even SCRATCH the popularity of the Nintendo Wii! And helping to LEAD the charge with Nintendo? Ironically, Sega! They felt SO burned by how BADLY butchered Sony and Microsoft made "Sonic 06," they decided to help Nintendo fire some shots BACK in order to show them how a REAL Sonic game was made! While "Sonic Unleashed" isn't strictly CONVENTIONAL Sonic by any means, that's actually what I LIKE about it! Sega actually LET Sonic take a chance to do something different (like Mario gets to do so often) by giving Sonic the ability to transform into a Werehog! Personally, I LIKE the Werehog combat stages! It feels like such a HUGE breath of fresh air into the "Sonic" series, especially at a time when they needed it the most! The music was awesome, the challenge difficulty curve is perfect, the graphics are the BEST that I have seen available on the Wii (which should give you a clue as to how MANY Wii games I have actually played), there are a lot of cool secrets to find, the story is rocking, and it all boils down to a final fight against the REAL big bad of the game, DARK Gaia (and confidentially, he is about the BUTT-UGLIEST boss I've EVER fought, and I'm including the G.M.P. from "Conker's Bad Fur Day" in that statement!) Personally, I think it's sad that 'die-hard fans of Sega and Sonic will probably ensure THIS type of game NEVER happens again, but I personally salute it for Sega's bravery to try something new with the Blue blur!

2. "Dragon Ball Origins" Rated T, Nintendo DS / Believe it or not, the Nintendo DS was NOT the first choice for Nintendo to release a "Dragonball" based game on. That honor falls to the NES. As early as 1986, Nintendo SOMEHOW managed to get a "Dragonball" game over to the states on the NES! Unfortunately, the game was re-branded as "Dragon Master", HEAVILY Americanized, and almost EDITED to the point where nothing of what made "Dragonball" unique and interesting even MADE it to the states! Nintendo tried again in 1991 AND 1999, on the Super NES and the Game Boy Color respectively, but those versions never made it out of Japan! Nintendo finally succeeded in 2005, with a game on the Game Boy Advance! But while the graphics were good, the Japanese to English translation was WAY off; making that game's story a mess to understand and enjoy. Ironically, in 2008, Atari was ABLE to do what Nintendo had such difficulty in trying to pull off, release a SUCCESSFUL "Dragonball" game! This game successfully covers the "Dragonball" story, from the beginning of the Emperor Pilaf Saga, to the end of the Master Roshi World Tournament Saga, and even throws in a few surprises for fans of the Anime and the Manga! This game has GREAT graphics, great music, great sound, great controls, a great story (written by Japanese great Akira Toriyama and DESIGNED by him as well), and a great difficulty learning curve as well. By taking the time to explore each area and vanquishing each foe, the game never feels too overwhelming, and it has all the humor one would expect from the great "Dragonball" cartoon series. If you have ever wanted to enjoy playing the story of "Dragonball" on the go, this Nintendo DS game is the best way to do it!

1. "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" Rated T, Wii / Awesome, Awesome, Awesome...did I mention this game is AWESOME?!!!  Featuring some of the best known Nintendo video game stars (as well as a couple of guest stars) this game is 9,000 kinds of awesome! (Vegeta: "It's OVER 9,000!!!!) Sorry, I couldn't resist throwing in that "Dragonball Z" reference in there! It took me two years of owning and playing this game, before I reviewed it for the first time; because that is when I had played and achieved just about most of what I've wanted to get out of this game. The music, soundtrack, graphics, control, and difficulty curve is completely perfect, even if the tendency to trip and some of the characters aren't all that impressive, but those things are just a minor gripe. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Link, Zelda/Sheik, Ganondorf, Toon Link, Fox, Falco, Wolf, Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Samus/Zero Suit Samus, Pit, Marth, Ike, Captain Falcon, Wario, Pikachu, Lucario, Jigglypuff, Olimar, R.O.B., the Ice Climbers, Mr. Game & Watch, Ness, Lucas, Pokemon Trainer with Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard, and the special guest stars Snake and Sonic, this is one video game with many different types of fights and challenges to keep you busy for many hours to come. And if it was not enough to have just the original "Smash Bros." type of play, or the All Star Version of play, the Adventure Mode has been completely revamped with original bosses and many great levels of play, new enemies, and challenging obstacles to get past in this awesome way to play. And this game wouldn't be complete without a bunch of trophies and stickers to collect! This game will keep players busy for a long time, and I highly recommend it to players looking for what might be the best experience of the Nintendo Wii by a LONG shot! /

That's it for 2008! Stay tuned for 2009, when you will get to experience "The Beatles: Rock Band," an usual Nintendo DS game that will make you go "Boing!", the first ORIGINAL downloadable Nintendo DS game makes an appearance, and the BEST "Dragon Ball Z" Nintendo DS game EVER arrives in America!  Stay tuned! 

[4EverGreen]

I’m going to take a short break from posting my favorite video game of the year. This time, I’m going to review what are; in my opinion, the sixty BEST video games that are available to play on the Wii Virtual Console system (and by extension, the Wii U Virtual Console as well)!  Note that this only refers to video games that I have actually played, beaten, and enjoyed on the Wii Virtual Console system. So if you don’t see a game that you like on this list, that’s probably the reason why. Since I have already described these video games in length on posts that I have already made, I’ll just list which systems they originally came out on, and in which year, and where the games rank on a scale of 1/100. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy reading this list as much as I did writing it! /

60. “Super Castlevania IV” 1991 Super NES, 3/10. / 59. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” 1989 NES, 31/100. / 58. “Bomberman 93” 1993 Turbographx-16, 8/25. / 57. “Bomberman 94” 1994 Turbographx-16 (Japan only), 33/100. / 56. “Cratermaze” 1990 Turbographx-16, 17/50. / 55. “Double Dragon” 1987 NES, 7/20. / 54. “Zelda II: the Adventure of Link” 1988 NES, 9/25. / 53. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” 1992 Genesis, 37/100. / 52. “Contra III: the Alien Wars” 1992 Super NES 19/50. / 51. “King of Monsters” 1991 Neo Geo, 39/100. / 50. “Dig Dug” 1986 NES (Japan only), 2/5. / 49. “Ice Climber” 1985 NES, 41/100. / 48. “Bonk’s Adventure” 1990 Turbographx-16, 21/50. / 47. “Pac-Man” 1993 NES, 43/100. / 46. “New Adventure Island” 1992 Turbographx-16, 44/100. / 45. “Mega Man III” 1990 NES, 9/20. / 44. “Super Punch-Out” 1994 Super NES, 23/50. / 43. “Bonk’s Revenge” 1991 Turbographx-16, 47/100. / 42. “Super Bonk” 1994 Super NES, 12/25. / 41. “Metroid” 1987 NES, 49/100. / 40. “Super Mario Kart” 1992 Super NES, 5/10. / 39. “Donkey Kong Jr.” 1986 NES, 51/100. / 38. “Chrono Trigger” 1995 Super NES, 13/25. / 37. “Super Mario Bros.” 1985 NES, 53/100. / 36. “Super C” 1990 NES, 27/50. / 35. “Kirby’s Adventure” 1993 NES, 11/20. / 34. “Mega Man VI” 1994 NES, 14/25. / 33. “Mega Man V” 1992 NES, 57/100. / 32. “Yoshi’s Story” 1998 N64, 29/50. / 31. “Super Mario Bros. 2” 1988 NES, 59/100. / 30. “Super Mario Bros. 3” 1990 NES, 3/5. / 29. “Sonic the Hedgehog” (Genesis version) 1991 Genesis, 61/100. / 28. “Sonic Spinball” 1993 Genesis, 31/50. / 27. “Yoshi’s Cookie” 1993 NES, 16/25. / 26. “The Legend of Zelda” 1986 NES, 13/20. / 25. “Final Fantasy Mystical Quest” 1992 Super NES, 33/50. / 24. “Aero the Acro-Bat” 1993 Super NES, 67/100. / 23. “Sonic 3D Blast” 1996 Genesis, 17/25. / 22. “Street Fighter II: the World Warrior” 1992 Super NES, 7/10! / 21. “Donkey Kong Country” 1994 Super NES, 71/100! / 20. “Toejam and Earl: Panic on Funkotron” 1993 Genesis, 18/25! / 19. “Earthworm Jim” 1994 Genesis, 73/100! / 18. “Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting” 1992 Turbographx-16 (Japan only), 1993 Genesis and Super NES, 27/50! / 17. “F-Zero X” 1999 N64, 15/20! / 16. “Sonic and Knuckles” 1994 Genesis, 14/25! / 15. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” 1994 Genesis, 77/100! / 14. “Super Metroid” 1994 Super NES, 8/10! / 13. “Mega Man X” 1993 Super NES, 81/100! / 12. “Star Fox 64” 1997 N64, 21/25! / 11. “Super Mario World” 1991 Super NES, 17/20! / 10. “Secret of Mana” 1993 Super NES, 43/50! / 9. “Final Fantasy III” 1994 Super NES, 44/50! / 8. “Super Mario R.P.G.: Legend of the Seven Stars” 1996 Super NES, 9/10! / 7. “Donkey Kong Country II: Diddy Kong’s Quest” 1995 Super NES, 91/100! / 6. “Super Mario 64” 1996 N64, 23/25! / 5. “Paper Mario” 2001 N64, 93/100! / 4. “Mario Kart 64” 1997 N64, 19/20! / 3. “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” 1998 N64, 97/100! / 2. “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” 2000 N64, 100/100! / 1. “The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past” 1992 Super NES, 110/100! (Yes, it’s THAT good!)  /

I hope you enjoyed reading that list! Next time, I WILL review my top video game choices for the year of 2009! Stay tuned! 

[4EverGreen]

I'm obsessed with my own thread.  I've finally reached the end of another decade! It's time to reveal the best video games of the year for 2009. There are ten games representing this year, and FIVE of them are Nintendo DSI downloadable original games!  I hope you enjoy reading this, as much as I did writing it!  /

10. "Crazy Hamster" Rated E, Nintendo DSI Download Game / This is a game that SHOULD have used its potential a LOT better than it DID! Sure, it has good graphics, good music, good sound, and good controls, but WHY do you HAVE to do EVERYTHING through the touch screen?! I just think that if you could have been given the OPTION to ACTUALLY CONTROL the hamster, the game would have been MORE enjoyable! It certainly could have HELPED make some of the LATER levels EASIER to actually SOLVE and BEAT! But as it is, there aren't even THAT many levels as there SHOULD be; and even THEN, the game gets TOO hard, too fast! You'd probably be better off spending your money on something else first, before you check this one out.

9. "Castle of Magic" Rated E, Nintendo DSI Download Game / This game used the features of the Nintendo DSI a lot BETTER than the preceding entry, and as such, ranks higher. But unfortunately, this game is brought down by being TOO hard to BEAT in trying to get to the end of the game, because I couldn't beat it even after giving it everything I COULD give it! Still, it was a pretty nice game. Pretty good graphics, good music, good sound, good controls; and you could use standard controls OR the stylus touch screen. Plus, if you need a power-up, a feature within the game allows you to (at certain points) take a picture of something around you, and if the color matches one of the power-up choices at these certain points (it has to be a 50% or higher match), you'll get that power-up! Definitely a better taste of the potential that the Nintendo DSI download games have to offer.

8. "Dr. Mario Express" Rated E, Nintendo DSI Download Game / The Dr. Mario franchise was an OBVIOUS choice for Nintendo to make a downloadable game out of. With better graphics, sound, music, controls, and new modes to choose from, it was a definite step-up from the NES and Game Boy originals, as well as the Super NES update! Sadly, this game has now been greatly overshadowed by its much more successful downloadable sequel on the Nintendo 3DS. Still, you got to give props to Nintendo for being dedicated to making this downloadable game as good as any physical copy game out there!

7. "Bomberman Blitz" Rated E, Nintendo DSI Download Game / I have NO idea why Hudson Soft is SO obsessed with trying to redesign their successful Bomberman character! The original NES character design didn't look THAT good, so I can understand why they redesigned THAT one! But the Super NES and N64 designs looked REALLY good! The chibi designs from the Game Boy Advance era onward, just look kind of...off. (But STILL, nowhere NEAR as bad as the universally DISOWNED X-Box 360 re-design!) Still, if you're looking for a multi-player fun-fest for up to three of your friends, it's hard to go wrong with this frenzy that features explosions, explosions, and MORE explosions! Try it for yourself if you haven't already!

6. "Oscar in Toyland" Rated E, Nintendo DSI Download Game / Prior to owning a Nintendo 3DS, I had always tended to stay away from playing any original downloadable games. I found the idea of playing a game that I knew absolutely nothing about, that video game magazines gave absolutely NO coverage to, completely foreign to me. But with the library of Nintendo DSI downloadable games completely accessible to me, I decided to take a more personal look. To my sheer luck, I found an original gem! A platform game that's a great throw-back to the platform games of the 1990's. Oscar is an anthropomorphic animal (although I have no idea what TYPE of animal he is.) In any case, he's a fun loving kid who's on a quest to retrieve toy's modeled after himself, which have been scattered throughout many different levels and stages! The graphics are incredible, the music, sound, controls, and challenge are all very solid, and it never feels like it gets TOO difficult! There are a lot of different temporary power-up abilities available in this game (and even some temporary power DOWN abilities to avoid!) Needless to say, I hadn't seen a game with THAT level of ingenuity and plethora of power-ups available, since the days of Bubsy the Bobcat and Aero the Acrobat. The only reason why this game doesn't get ranked higher, is that the downloadable game series of Oscar (he has three other DSI games besides this one available to play) is that his series is not as recognizable as the other entries on this list. It's definitely a good choice for players who want to try something different, though!

5. "Boing! Docomodake DS" Rated E, Nintendo DS / There is DEFINITELY a big gap between the types of games that Japanese people like to play, and the types of games that Americans typically like to play. Usually, Japanese games are quirky, weird, tricky, and tend not to make a lot of sense to the American consumer, so most games designed for the tastes of the Japanese (such as the criminally NON U.S. released "Tingle's Rose Scented Rupeeland"), never make their way to the States. But by some SHEER stroke of luck, this game managed to do what a LOT of Japanese games weren't able to! Not only DID it get released in the states, there was almost NO change in the name of the game's title from Japan to the U.S. The game is a charming, inventive, innovative, unique approach to puzzler games. You control a living mushroom named Papa Docomodake (obviously a Japanese thing) as he searches for members of his family who have suffered several mishaps. There are seven levels to go through, filled with adorable graphics, a touch of humor, solid controls, good music, sounds, and a solid difficulty level! What's unique about the main character, is that he can split himself into smaller, mini Docomodake's, in order to help him solve puzzles. For instance, if Docomodake can't jump high enough to reach someplace, he can split himself into several smaller mushrooms, form a ladder, jump to where he needs to get to, and be able to pull himself together from where he has gotten to! Although the story itself isn't that deep, it doesn't really need to be. The game tells a good story all on its own. The reason why this game doesn't get ranked higher, is because of how obscure it is. Finding a good copy of this game (especially an English copy) isn't easy, but well worth it for consumers looking for something different. That's why this game gets put on the list!

4. "The Beatles: Rock Band" Rated E10, Nintendo Wii / Can I just say right now how much I LOVED this game?! Because it was SO awesome! I thoroughly consider myself a fan of rock and roll music, especially if its retro! But if I was to EVER play a video game where the goal is to try to be as good of a rock and roller as you can be; than THIS was definitely the game at the TOP of that list! This video game is a labor of love, as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison were all instrumental in lending their perspective as to how this video game should turn out. This video game does a pretty good job of following the careers of the Fab Four, from their early days at the Cavern in Liverpool, to their first appearance on Ed Sullivan, their years on tour (at Shea Stadium and the Budokan), their studio albums (such as Revolver, Sergent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, The White Album, Abbey Road), and their final live concert on the rooftops of the Apple Recording Studios. This video game not only contains several of their big hits, but some more obscure song choices as well. While you can choose to play the guitar or drums, my favorite was getting to sing along with The Beatles, and try to be as GREAT at singing as they were! The game is very graphically good, and the challenge never feels overwhelming. This is definitely a video game that DESERVES to be played!

3. "Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story" Rated E, Nintendo DS / After the slight stumble that was "Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time," Nintendo and Alpha Dream teamed up, and got back to what made Mario and Luigi popular, poking fun at many of their own plot cliches and even at Nintendo itself in general! This time, Mario and Luigi are faced off against a REALLY dangerous foe; not Bowser, but FAWFUL!!!! That's right! The former minion of Cracklella is back to wreak havoc, and he's got a large army to do it with! Not only that, but he proves himself to be FAR more competent at causing destruction than Bowser is! Mario and Luigi would put a stop to Fawful's plans, but unfortunately, they're somewhat indisposed...inside of BOWSER!!!! Thanks to a cursed mushroom, Bowser has swallowed the Mario Brothers and other various objects of the Mushroom Kingdom inside of himself! In order to get out of Bowser and stop Fawful once and for all, Mario and Luigi will actually have to explore INSIDE of Bowser (hence the name of the game) and actually USE Bowser as a tool of sorts in order for Bowser to beat up BADDER bad guys and indirectly HELP the Mario Brothers get rid of Fawful's evil, as well as Bowser's new rival, Midbus! In addition to the great graphics, great music, great sound, great controls, great story, and great difficulty level present in this game, it also contains a LOT of the great humor the "Mario and Luigi" R.P.G. series is well known for. This game is DEFINITELY worth checking out!

2. "Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days" Rated E10, Nintendo DS / Wow...just, WOW!!!! It's been a LONG time since I have truly been impacted by a video game the way this video game has impacted me! It truly is a video game with challenge, depth, ambition, and wild adventures on par with the regular "Kingdom Hearts" games. After playing this game, I appreciate the fact that I played "Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded", first. That game was relatively easy compared to this one, and this game was very challenging to complete by comparison! If you don't know what you're doing or what you're supposed to do, it can be very easy to get lost and miss out on completing challenges that should be attempted if you want to uncover everything there is to uncover in this game. The music is good, the challenges are interesting (even if some of them are unrealistically hard), the characters are intriguing, and the story is AWESOME!!!! The story revolves around Roxas (Sora's Nobody), as he goes on missions for the mysterious Organization XIII. It also examines his relationship to Axel, and a special Nobody named Xion, who is hiding a very BIG secret about her! The worlds you get to visit in this game are Twilight Town, The Castle That Never Was, Agrabah, Beast's Castle, Olympus Coliseum, Halloween Town, Wonderland, and Neverland. If this game wasn't challenging in itself, you also have the option to go on Missions in Mission Mode, or by trying Challenges where you must complete Days (stages) by meeting specific criteria. Although the game does give you a big sense of satisfaction by being able to beat it, but I still think this game should rank just SLIGHTLY lower than "Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded" as a video game, but only because this game is more challenging than its sequel. If you want to play a game that will really wow you, than you should play this game, as it is completely playable on the Nintendo 3DS! It is simply incredible!

1. "Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans" Rated T, Nintendo DS / The reason why this game gets ranked at the top, isn't JUST because it is a "Dragonball Z" game, it's about how GOOD it is made! This game covers the entire story from the beginning of the Piccolo World Tournament Saga in "Dragonball," to the end of the Vegeta Saiyans Saga in "Dragonball Z," and even throws in PLENTY of surprises and Easter egg references to fans of the anime and the manga as well! The graphics for this game are top notch, it actually FEELS like you're controlling the real characters, and not just representations in them. The music and sounds are perfectly ported from the series, to the game. The controls are perfect, and the story game difficulty is among the best that can be found in the entire Nintendo DS catalog! The protagonists in this story are Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, and Yamcha, and every one of these heroes have different strengths and skills to handle different enemies. The best part is, that when certain heroes team up together, they are capable of creating unique combo super moves! The game NEVER feels too difficult to beat, and taking the time to explore the game will help you level up your characters up in time to beat the next boss! (Although to be fair, when you fight the SECRET boss Legendary Super Saiyan Broly, three of your characters should be at LEAST level 75 before you even THINK about taking him on!) Other than that, this game has no other precautions that need to be noted, and is the best game available on the Nintendo DS! And by the way--Vegeta: "It's over 9,000!!!!" Just kidding! But it IS that AWESOME! /

That's it for 2009! But before I go on to the list for 2010, I will go back and list the best video games for the first decade of the 21st Century!  It will be an awesome list, as ALWAYS!  Enough said! 

[4EverGreen]

I just realized something AMAZING about myself!  In the first decade of the 21st century, I played an AMAZING 190 video games, an average of 19 video games per year!  Since I have already discussed these video games in length, I'll just list where each game is ranked, what system/s they came out for, and how many points they got out of 190 points total, unless it's the best! I hope you enjoy reading this list as much as I did writing it!  /

190. “Golden Sun” Game Boy Advance, 1/190. 189. “Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge” Game Boy Advance, 2/190. 188. “Sonic Advance 2” Game Boy Advance, 3/190. 187. “Blender Bros.” Game Boy Advance, 4/190. 186. “Crash Bandicoot: the Huge Adventure” Game Boy Advance, 5/190. 185. “Mario Pinball Land” Game Boy Advance, 6/190. 184. “Crazy Hamster” Nintendo DSI Download Game, 7/190. 183. “Castle of Magic” Nintendo DSI Download Game, 8/190. 182. “Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire” Game Boy Advance, 9/190. 181. “Mario Party 5” Nintendo Gamecube, 10/190. 180. “Sonic Advance 3” Game Boy Advance, 11/190. 179. “Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury” Game Boy Advance, 12/190. 178. “Spyro Orange: the Cortex Conspiracy” Game Boy Advance, 13/190. 177. “Sonic Chronicles: the Dark Brotherhood” Nintendo DS, 14/190. 176. “Dr. Mario Express” Nintendo DSI Download Game, 15/190. 175. “Bomberman Blitz” Nintendo DSI Download Game, 16/190. 174. “Kao the Kangaroo” Game Boy Advance, 17/190. 173. “Cruisin' Velocity” Game Boy Advance, 18/190. 172. “Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Super Mario World Two: Yoshi's Island”), 19/190. 171. “Mega Man Zero” Game Boy Advance, 20/190. 170. “Super Duper Sumos” Game Boy Advance, 21/190. 169. “Balloon Fight” Game Boy Advance E-Reader and Wii Virtual Console, 22/190. 168. “Frogger's Adventures 2: the Lost Wand” Game Boy Advance, 23/190. 167. “Disney's Magical Quest 3 Starring Mickey and Donald” Game Boy Advance, 24/190. 166. “Marble Madness/Klax” Game Boy Advance, 25/190. 165. “Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2” Nintendo DS, 26/190. 164. “Mega Man Zero 4” Game Boy Advance, 27/190. 163. “Sonic Rush” Nintendo DS, 28/190. 162. “Paperboy/Rampage” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 29/190. 161. “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan” Game Boy Advance, 30/190. 160. “Animal Crossing: Wild World” Nintendo DS, 32/190. 159. “Dig-Dug” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 33/190. 158. “Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island” Game Boy Advance, 34/190. 157. “Wii Sports” Wii, 35/190. 156. “Mario Party 3” N64, 36/190. 155. “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2” N64 and Game Boy Advance, 37/190. 154. “Mega Man Xtreme 2” Game Boy Color and Wii Virtual Console (as “Mega Man X2”), 38/190. 153. “F-Zero: Maximum Velocity” Game Boy Advance, 39/190. 152. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone” Game Boy Advance, 40/190. 151. “Mario Party 4” Nintendo Gamecube, 41/190. 150. “Sonic Advance” Game Boy Advance, 42/190. 149. “Mega Man Zero 3” Game Boy Advance, 43/190. 148. “Disney's The Lion King 1.5” Game Boy Advance, 44/190. 147. “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue” Nintendo Gamecube, 45/190. 146. “Zelda II: the Adventure of Link” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 46/190. 145. “Kirby Super Star Ultra” Nintendo DS, 47/190. 144. “Wario Land: Shake It!” Wii, 48/190. 143. “Mario Party 2” N64 and Wii Virtual Console, 49/190. 142. “Pokemon Stadium” N64, 50/190. 141. “Bust-a-Move 4” Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance (as “Super Bust-a-Move”), 51/190. 140. “Scooby-Doo” Game Boy Advance, 52/190.

139. “Luigi's Mansion” Nintendo Gamecube, 53/190. 138. “Klonoa: Empire of Dreams” Game Boy Advance, 54/190. 137. “Gradius Galaxies” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Gradius”), 55/190. 136. “Frogger's Adventures: Temple of the Frog” Game Boy Advance, 56/190. 135. “Namco Museum” Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube, 57/190. 134. “Sega Smash Pack” Game Boy Advance, 58/190. 133. “Sonic Adventure 2 Battle” Nintendo Gamecube, 59/190. 132. “Tekken Advance” Game Boy Advance, 60/190. 131. “Pac-Man Collection” Game Boy Advance, 61/190. 130. “Rayman 2” Game Boy Color, Nintendo DS (as “Rayman DS”), and Wii Virtual Console (as “Rayman 2: the Great Escape”), 62/190. 129. “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger” Nintendo Gamecube, 63/190. 128. “Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land” Game Boy Advance, 64/190. 127. “Pac-Man World 2” Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube, 65/190. 126. “Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku” Game Boy Advance, 66/190. 125. “Pac-Man World” Game Boy Advance, 67/190. 124. “Ice Climber” Game Boy Advance E-Reader and Wii Virtual Console, 68/190. 123. “Wario World” Nintendo Gamecube, 69/190. 122. “Mario Kart Double Dash” Nintendo Gamecube, 70/190. 121. “Power Rangers Ninja Storm” Game Boy Advance, 71/190. 120. “Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage” Game Boy Advance, 72/190. 119. “Crash & Spyro Superpack” Game Boy Advance, 73/190. 118. “Mario & Luigi: Partner's in Time” Nintendo DS, 74/190. 117. “Ms. Pac-Man's Maze Madness” N64 and Game Boy Advance, 75/190.

116. “Iridion 3D” Game Boy Advance, 76/190. 115. “Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2” Nintendo Gamecube, 77/190. 114. “Mega Man Anniversary Collection” Nintendo Gamecube, 78/190. 113. “Super Mario Sunshine” Nintendo Gamecube, 79/190. 112. “Ms. Pac-Man's Maze Madness/Pac-Man World” Game Boy Advance, 80/190. 111. “Over the Hedge” Game Boy Advance, 81/190. 110. “Kirby Squeak Squad” Nintendo DS, 82/190. 109. “Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Sonic the Hedgehog”), 83/190. 108. “Oscar in Toyland” Nintendo DSI Download Game, 84/190. 107. “Boing! Docomodake DS” Nintendo DS, 85/190. 106. “Spyro: Season of Ice” Game Boy Advance, 86/190. 105. “River City Ransom EX” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “River City Ransom”), 87/190. 104. “F-Zero GX” Arcades and Nintendo Gamecube, 88/190. 103. “The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker” Nintendo Gamecube, 89/190. 102. “Donkey Kong Country” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 90/190. 101. “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4” Game Boy Advance, 91/190. 100. “Super Mario Bros.” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 92/190. 99. “Metroid” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 93/190. 98. “Donkey Kong Jr.” Game Boy Advance E-Reader and Wii Virtual Console, 94/190. 97. “Mega Man Zero 2” Game Boy Advance, 95/190. 96. “The Legend of Zelda” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 96/190. 95. “Donkey Kong Country 2” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 97/190. 94. “The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures” Nintendo Gamecube, 98/190. 93. “Super Ghouls n' Ghosts” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 99/190. 92. “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” Nintendo Gamecube, 100/190! 91. “Robopon 2: Ring Version” Game Boy Advance, 101/190! 90. “Spyro 2: Season of Flame” Game Boy Advance, 102/190! 89. “Disney's Aladdin” Game Boy Advance, 103/190! 88. “Disney's Magical Quest 2 Starring Mickey and Minnie” Game Boy Advance, 104/190! 87. “Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors” Game Boy Advance, 105/190! 86. “Spyro Superpack: Spyro, Season of Ice/Spyro 2, Season of Flame” Game Boy Advance, 106/190! 85. “Rayman Raving Rabbids” Game Boy Advance, 107/190! 84. “Yoshi's Island DS” Nintendo DS, 108/190! 83. “Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam” Wii, 109/190! 82. “Wario: Master of Disguise” Nintendo DS, 110/190! 81. “Crash of the Titans” Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, 111/190! 80. “Animal Crossing: City Folk” Wii, 112/190! 79. “Chrono Trigger” Nintendo DS and Wii Virtual Console, 113/190! 78. “Banjo-Tooie” N64, 114/190! 77. “Wario Land III” Game Boy Color, 115/190! 76. “Earthworm Jim” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 116/190! 75. “Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Super Street Fighter II”), 117/190! 74. “Rayman Advance” Game Boy Advance, 118/190! 73. “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3” Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube, 119/190! 72. “Animal Crossing” Nintendo Gamecube, 120/190! 71. “Aero the Acro-Bat” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 121/190! 70. “Street Fighter Alpha 3” Game Boy Advance, 122/190!

69. “Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire” Game Boy Advance, 123/190! 68. “Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs” Game Boy Advance, 124/190! 67. “Rayman 3” Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube, 125/190! 66. “Astro Boy: Omega Factor” Game Boy Advance, 126/190! 65. “Pokemon Fire Red” Game Boy Advance, 127/190! 64. “Kirby and the Amazing Warrior” Game Boy Advance, 128/190! 63. “Rayman: 10th Anniversary” Game Boy Advance, 129/190! 62. “Pokemon Emerald” Game Boy Advance, 130/190! 61. “Frogger's Journey: the Forgotten Relic” Game Boy Advance, 131/190! 60. “Children of Mana” Nintendo DS, 132/190! 59. “Super Princess Peach” Nintendo DS, 133/190! 58. “The Beatles: Rock Band” Wii, 134/190! 57. “Pokemon Gold” Game Boy Color, 135/190! 56. “The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages” Game Boy Color, 136/190! 55. “Pokemon Crystal” Game Boy Color, 137/190! 54. “Rayman: Hoodlum's Revenge” Game Boy Advance, 138/190! 53. “Donkey Kong Country 3” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console, 139/190! 52. “Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime” Nintendo DS, 140/190! 51. “Nicktoons Racing” Game Boy Advance, 141/190! 50. “Wario Land 4” Game Boy Advance, 142/190! 49. “Super Mario Advance” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Super Mario Bros. 2”), 143/190! 48. “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest” Nintendo Gamecube and Wii Virtual Console (as “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time”), 144/190! 47. “Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls” Game Boy Advance, 145/190! 46. “Disney's Magical Quest Starring Mickey and Minnie” Game Boy Advance, 146/190! 45. “Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced” Game Boy Advance, 147/190! 44. “Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga” Game Boy Advance, 148/190! 43. “Sword of Mana” Game Boy Advance, 149/190! 42. “Mario Vs. Donkey Kong” Game Boy Advance, 150/190! 41. “Metroid Zero Mission” Game Boy Advance, 151/190! 40. “The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition” Nintendo Gamecube, 152/190!

39. “Final Fantasy IV Advance” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Final Fantasy II”), 153/190! 38. “Pokemon Leaf Green” Game Boy Advance, 154/190! 37. “Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku I & II” Game Boy Advance, 155/190! 36. “Pac-Man World 3” Nintendo Gamecube and Nintendo DS, 156/190! 35. “The Legend of Zelda: the Minish Cap” Game Boy Advance, 157/190! 34. “Star Fox Command” Nintendo DS, 158/190! 33. “Final Fantasy IV” Nintendo DS, 159/190! 32. “Final Fantasy VI Advance” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Final Fantasy III”), 160/190! 31. “Drawn to Life” Nintendo DS, 161/190! 30. “Contra 4” Nintendo DS, 162/190! 29. “Pokemon Pearl” Nintendo DS, 163/190! 28. “Diddy Kong Racing DS” Nintendo DS, 164/190! 27. “Sonic Unleashed” Wii, 165/190! 26. “Dragon Ball Origins” Nintendo DS, 166/190! 25. “Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story” Nintendo DS, 167/190! 24. “Paper Mario” N64 and Wii Virtual Console, 168/190! 23. “The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons” Game Boy Color, 169/190! 22. “Mario Kart Super Circuit” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Super Mario Kart”), 170/190! 21. “Sonic Mega Collection” Nintendo Gamecube, 171/190! 20. “Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut” Nintendo Gamecube, 172/190! 19. “Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Super Mario Bros. 3”), 173/190! 18. “Sonic Heroes” Nintendo Gamecube, 174/190! 17. “Chicken Little: Ace in Action” Nintendo DS, 175/190! 16. “New Super Mario Bros.” Nintendo DS, 176/190! 15. “Pokemon Silver” Game Boy Color, 177/190! 14. “Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days” Nintendo DS, 178/190! 13. “Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “Super Mario World”), 179/190! 12. “The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past/Four Swords” Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console (as “The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past”), 180/190! 11. “Mario Party DS” Nintendo DS, 181/190! 10. “Conker's Bad Fur Day” N64, 182/190! 9. “Dragon Ball Z Budokai” Nintendo Gamecube, 183/190! 8. “Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II” 184/190! 7. “Super Mario 64 DS” Nintendo DS and Wii Virtual Console (as “Super Mario 64”), 185/190! 6. “Mario Kart DS” Nintendo DS, 186/190! 5. “Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2” Wii, 187/190! 4. “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” Wii, 188/190! 3. “Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans” Nintendo DS, 189/190! 2. “The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask” N64 and Wii Virtual Console, 190/190! 1. “Super Smash Bros. Melee” Nintendo Gamecube, 200/190! (Yes, it's THAT good!) /

That's it for the first decade of the 21st Century!  Stay tuned for 2010, when the Nintendo DSI gets “Prehistorik,” “Dragon Ball” continues its “Origins” story, “Sonic” goes WILD with “Colors,” “Pokemon Gold/Silver” get SUPER upgrades, and a proper “Dragon Quest” entry FINALLY enters my list! Enough said, true believers! 

[4EverGreen]

2010 is REALLY the year that Nintendo DSI download games came into their own as a respectable format. While these games can be either hit or miss, there are thankfully, eight video games on this list that are really great! Read on, and find out what they are! /

15 & 14. "G. G. Series Ninja Karakuri Den" and "G. G. Series Super Hero Ogre" Both Rated E, both Nintendo DSI download Game / In an unusual move, you get TWO video games for the price of one to start off this list! Let me be totally honest here. Genterprise is a company that releases games for the lowest income bracket of people who own a Nintendo DSI or a Nintendo 3DS, who buy download games. Why do I say this? Because there games are usually dirt CHEAP compared to all the OTHER games out there! Unfortunately, the saying that, "You Get What You Pay For", also applies to these Cheap games. And sadly, cheap doesn't usually equal good as far as Genterprise games go. Although these two games were JUST good enough to make my list for this year. However, neither of them give me much to talk about on their own, which is why I lumped them together! In the first game, you play as, you guessed it, a Ninja! And expect all the HARDNESS you can get from the ORIGINAL NES "Ninja Gaiden" games, in this throwback to the Turbographx-16 graphic days. The second game is SLIGHTLY better, as you play as a heroic transforming monster, that saves the day from villainous monsters. Of course, this game isn't THAT much easier than the first. Still, if you're looking for a bargain on the 3DS Virtual Console, you usually can't get much cheaper than these games, so give it a try if you're looking for something a little different from what you're used to.

13. "Aura-Aura Climber" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download Game / In this game, you have to control a colored aura sphere, and get it up past several deadly obstacles to its home in the sky for...reasons. While the graphics, sound, music, and touch-screen stylus controls are really good for this game, I just felt like this game was...lacking, in terms of the overall challenge and enjoyment it SHOULD have provided me! Of course, being the expert player that I am, the challenge probably wasn't enough for me, and is more suited to the beginning player. Proceed with caution, IF you decide to buy this game!

12. "Prehistorik Man" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download Game / Although a version of this game already exists on the Super NES and the Game Boy Advance, this is the only version that I have really played. This version features enhanced graphics, music, sound, controls, and difficulty over the previous versions. It also features an improved hard save feature, whereas the Super NES only had a password save feature. It's a nice, little diversion, but it will probably last only a week at best. Still, it's relatively cheap, so if you want to check it out, feel free to do so.

11. "Globulos Party" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download Game / One of the WEIRDER games that I have played in recent memory, this game has you controlling different varieties of the game-titled Globulos, which are creatures that appear to be Blob-like in nature. You control them with the stylus in this touch-screen game, in a variety of different mini-games. While the collection of mini-games are either hit or miss, the ones that hit can REALLY hit and be a lot of fun! However, the skill level of the computer A.I. is NEVER really consistent from game to game, or even between difficulty levels for the same mini-game. Not to mention, controlling the Globulos through the touch-screen can be KIND of tricky! Because even though you are GIVEN a general idea as to where your Globulos WILL move before you move it, it can't account for will your Globulos will go TO, IF it happens to bounce off ANOTHER Globulos, be it friend or foe's, or a wall, or another object. So sometimes, winning these games can be totally an element of luck, rather than pure skill! Still, if you want to play one of the more fun Nintendo DSI download games out there, this is one that I recommend you try! You might be pleasantly surprised!

10. "Oscar in Movie Land" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download Game / The sequel to the Nintendo DSI download game of "Oscar in Toy Land," there are actually two OTHER video games starring the mammal animal named Oscar, but the other two games actually contain some re-skinned levels from Oscar's first game, as well as this one. While the object of this game remains the same, find all of Oscar's toys, then get to the goal, the variety of levels get a lot more varied in this game. As the name implies, Oscar is now a Hollywood star, and so must make his way through several movie-themed levels, and every level is practically a shout-out to a different movie! If you want to download a video game that's a nice throw-back to the 16-bit era, this is the game for you!

9. "Dragon Ball Origins 2" Rated T, Nintendo DS / Continuing from where the previous "Dragon Ball" game left off, this game features the same great visual graphics, sound, music, controls, and lets you play as more characters than just Goku. Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha, Android 8, and Arale-Chan are also playable. This game covers the Red Ribbon Army saga, and the Fortune Teller Baba saga. This game is really challenging! In fact, it's surprisingly MUCH harder than it's predecessor to beat; which is why this game doesn't get RANKED as high as its predecessor. The game is definitely rewarding to beat, but it will REALLY make you work for that victory! Thankfully, the game is also playable on the Nintendo 3DS, so if you still want to check this game out, there's never been a better opportunity to do so.

8. "Mega Man Zero Collection" Rated E, Nintendo DS / This is where the video games for this year begin to get REALLY good! A video game series known for its blistering difficulty, is the "Mega Man Zero" video games! Thankfully, this time around there is actually a brand-new EASY mode for all of the previously released "Mega Man Zero" games that weren't available before. By beating the easy mode for each game, it unlocks bonus content for "Mega Man Zero 3;" e-reader bonuses that the Japanese could access, but was never made available in the states prior! In any case, the same great graphics, music, sound, control, and challenges from the original game are left intact in this video game collection. Although this is a great way to play four games for the price of one, the difficulty of each game is a little un-even from each other, and there's not a lot of additional content available for unlocking. Still it's a good way to play each "Mega Man Zero" game if you didn't play any of them before on the Game Boy Advance.

7. "Earthworm Jim" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download Game and Wii Virtual Console / Believe it or not, the only way to play "Earthworm Jim" on the Nintendo 3DS, is by utilizing the Eshop feature, and buy a download NOT from a Virtual Console, but for an updated version of this game from the 1990's, that was originally utilized for the Nintendo DSI download feature. The graphics, sound, music, and controls have been spruced up and look better than ever, but the only NEW feature that has been added, is the ability to take a picture of your own face in certain places, in order to get an extra life. Of course, with the game already as GOOD as it is, it really didn't need anything extra for me to play it! The only reason this game doesn't get ranked higher, is due to the fact that this is BASICALLY a re-release of a game that's playable on other formats. But if you want to play it on the go for the Nintendo 3DS, this is currently the only way you can do it! So give it a try if you haven't already!

6. "Super Swap" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download Game / The most fun AND entertaining Nintendo DSI download game that I played for THIS year, is this little puzzler gem, that has you matching different sized gems, spheres, cones, rings, hexagons, and cubes in a rapidly paced puzzle game! Utilizing the stylus through the touch screen, you must match three or MORE of the same object AND color of that object, in a ROW, in order to clear it! It's one of those games that SOUND easy and SEEMS easy at first, but gets PROGRESSIVELY harder and FASTER the more levels you clear! Not to mention, sometimes, gold crystal X's will sometimes appear in a row, preventing you from shifting ANYTHING in that row up or down, or to the left or right, forcing you to shift OTHER rows that aren't affected by the crystal X's! Fortunately, you CAN destroy them, by placing either a stick of dynamite, or a mine next to it, and by matching it to two or more objects of the same color, you can destroy it! This is definitely one of the better puzzle games out there as a download, and I highly recommend it for you to try if you haven't already!

5. "Sonic Colors" Rated E, Nintendo DS and Wii / It seems so odd that the best place for Sega's Sonic, when it comes to games, is ironically, on a console developed by Sega's former console rival! And while Sonic has had his fair share of hits and misses in the 3-D realm, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE for Sonic to go wrong with a 2-D game! This game is no exception. While this game gleams a LOT of inspiration from Sonic's Sega Genesis days, this actually works to this game's advantage. The Wisp power-up idea is the best that Sega has come up with for Sonic in years! Being able to speed up to super SONIC speeds; turn into a fiery, red burst of flame; turning into a rocket, turning into a yellow drill, turning into a cyan laser, and even turning into a violet void, these abilities will help Sonic discover the hidden secrets of Eggman's latest venture, a theme park that is ACTUALLY a sinister plot to harness energy from the five planets of the Wisp's worlds in order to control the minds of innocent civilians on Earth! Naturally, Sonic isn't about to let THAT happen! The graphics (especially the in-game movies) are among some of the BEST available for a Nintendo DS game, the music and sound effects are great, the control is great, and the game-play is absolutely superb in this Sonic game! If you want to play a modern day Sonic game, I definitely recommend playing this one, because it rocks! I thoroughly enjoyed playing and beating this game.

4. "Sonic Classic Collection" Rated E, Nintendo DS / The reason that this compilation game makes the list, is because it introduces some MUCH needed refinements to the first four "Sonic" games for the Sega Genesis. First off, it's NOW possible to save your game for all FOUR of the games ANYWHERE you ARE in them! (Although "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" remains unchanged, as that game has ALWAYS had a save feature.) Second, on the ORIGINAL "Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic can now SPIN dash like he DOES in the later "Sonic" games (the concept was ORIGINALLY introduced in the under-rated "Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis" for the Game Boy Advance in 2006.) Plus, all "Sonic" games have brand NEW stereo sound that they NEVER had on the Genesis! And by playing this game, you get to see COOL artwork pertaining to the "Sonic the Hedgehog" games, and its history in general. While it may not have as many bells and whistles as "Sonic Mega Collection" for the Nintendo Gamecube, it's STILL pretty hard to beat getting to play FOUR great "Sonic" games for the price of one! (Six, if you count playing "Sonic and Knuckles" connected with "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" as separate games!) This game is a TRUE reminder of how STRONG "Sonic" was as a video game force against "Mario" in the early 1990's.

3. "Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary Edition of Super Mario All-Stars" Rated E, Wii / While this is the same video game as the Super NES edition, of "Super Mario All-Stars," the reason this game makes the list is because the game came packaged with a nice bonus CD of some classic tracks from some of Mario's classic console video games through-out the years. Thankfully, the same nice graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty of all four games featured in this video game package have not been messed with in any way, which makes this game worth playing on the Wii, especially if you missed out playing the original version on the Super NES!

2. "Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver" Rated E, Nintendo DS / Perhaps no other video games in recent memory, have managed to be as enjoyable, as innovative, and as captivating as the "Pokemon" remakes of "Gold" and "Silver." Not only can you catch all of the original 250 Pokemon originally available in these games; but after you beat the Elite Four at least once, hidden Pokemon from the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions will become available to catch, but they are well hidden! You will have to use tricks, like using certain radio tunes to draw certain Pokemon out at certain times in certain areas, or listening to see if there is a mass out-break of a certain, and otherwise unobtainable Pokemon. That makes this game worth owning alone; but what makes this game REALLY worth playing, is an inclusion of the Pokeathalon! Using the stylus, you can play with three Pokemon at the same time, in different athletic events. These events are divided into five different categories, of speed, strength, skill, stamina, and jumping. Each Pokemon has their own stats, which can be raised (and sometimes, unintentionally) lowered, by using something called Aprijuice, made from the collectible Apricorns. By blending up to five Apricorns at a time, you can create juice that raises either one, or a bunch of these stats all at once! Playing the Pokeathalon is not only fun, it's good for earning bragging rights, as well as points that can help you redeem rare items, such as the previously find-only item of PP Up, which is VERY useful for raising the power points of your Pokemon moves! These two games are absolutely STELLAR games to own on either the Nintendo DS, or the Nintendo 3DS! And I highly recommend playing these games if you haven't already!

1. "Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride" Rated E10, Nintendo DS / I REALLY can't understand WHY this game was NOT released in the U.S. shortly after it was released in Japan, on Japan's equivalent of the Super N.E.S. no less! Then again, there's a good chance I wouldn't have been able to beat this game in the 1990's. The objectives of what the main characters have to do throughout the story can be a little confusing if the player is unsure of what exactly has to be done next in order to advance through the game. I really have to thank the Internet for all the advice I gleaned in order to win over this game; a strategy that I have not needed to use for any game prior, although it's probably safe to say that I wouldn't hesitate to use the strategy again if I had to! Anyways, this video game is very different from many other games of its type, and in a good way, too! The way it is different is in just HOW deeply written the story is, and not only is it deep, but the story is very good to, as it really shows the main characters being able to progress throughout the story. The most important character in this game is a (male) character that can be totally customized by the player. In this way, the game feels more personal to the player in the simple fact; that in a matter of speaking, the player IS the hero questing throughout the game. The male character starts out as a young boy, traveling throughout a strange world with his father Pankraz, who is secretly a King of a place called Gotha Castle, and the world is filled with many strange monsters and maze dungeons to quest through, and to explore. The hero is on a quest to find his mother. On his journeys, he meets a young girl called Bianca, a saber cat tiger named Sabre, a helpful fairy named Honey, and a young rapscallion Prince named Harry. The first phase (or generation) of the game ends when the heroes are unable to destroy a deadly enemy by the name of Bishop Ladja, Sabre is turned wild and feral, King Pankraz is killed, and the hero and Prince Harry are captured by the Bishop's lackeys and forced into slavery. Fast-forward ten years later, the Hero and Prince Harry are still slaves, forced to work in hard labor to build a temple, for some great, nefarious purpose. With the help of a girl named Maria, the trio manage to escape the shackles of slavery, and they wind up in a place called Heaven's Above Abbey. From here, is where the game gets REALLY interesting! The game gets more customize-able after that point, as the hero is free to go wherever he (AKA: the player) wants to go (although there are certain recommended places he should go in a certain order, so that he is NOT totally destroyed by tougher bad guys!) The first stop is a city of Fortuna, where the hero can buy a wagon and a helpful book on a list of all the monsters that the hero can meet while traveling around the world.

The reason the hero buys a wagon, is because it gives him the ability to recruit certain monsters who will offer to reform their monstrous ways, and help the hero out on what becomes THEIR journey, as well as the hero's! (Personally, I recommend recruiting at the VERY least, a Slime, a Knight Slime, a Dracky, a Lazy Eyes, a Golem, a Brownie, a Rotten Apple, an Orc King, and a Moustafa, not necessarily in that order.) The main goals to accomplish in this phase (or generation) of the game, is to help Prince Harry reclaim his kingdom, recruit Sabre with the help of Bianca's Ribbon, learn the Zoom spell, accept a 'Wedding Quest' on behalf of the rich Mr. Briscolotti, choose a bride (I recommend marrying for TRUE Love, not money, by choosing Bianca, especially since she has the ADVANTAGE of having already leveled up from fights that occurred back in the first generation, gain the Zenithinian Sword and Shield, pass the Trial of becoming the King of Gotha, start a family, and try to rescue your wife from a kidnapping by the evil Bishop Ladja! The second phase/generation of this game ends with Bishop Ladja turning the King and Queen into stone, a spell that lasts for eight long years! It's finally broken by the King's son and daughter (who have default names, but they can be changed into something different at the initial naming.) In order to bring true peace and prosperity back into the world, the three main characters need to find the Zenithinian Helmet, level up (a lot!!!!), eventually destroy the Monster Bjorn in order to gain the Ultimate Key, look for previously locked away treasures, rescue a man named Dr. Agon, find the Fairy Palace, go back in time, re-obtain the Golden Orb (from the younger Hero!), raise Zenithia back into the sky, head into the Dragon Temple, obtain the Dragon Orb, use the Orb on Dr. Agon to turn him into the Zenithinian Dragon, head to the Temple of the Zugzwang Believers, obtain the Zenithinian Armor, cure the hero's wife of her petrification, obtain the Circle of Life, open the gateway into the underworld of Nadira, level up more (I recommend at least Level 43 for the Hero, Level 40+ for the Hero's son, Level 43 for the Knight Slime, and high Level 30's for any other character that is available at the moment, make sure that all the characters are equipped with the best armor, weapons, healing/magic restoring and life restoring items possible, and defeat both Bishop Ladja and the ultimate enemy, Grandmaster Nizmo!!!! It's a long journey, but the graphics are absolutely incredible (they look especially stunning on a Nintendo 3DS XL,) the music is amazing, and there is certainly no shortage of side quests and/or bonus games that can be played, which equals for many hours of fun (in my case, about 86, but I was enjoying the time I was taking) which all equals to one great game experience that I highly recommend to players who are fans of GREAT R.P.G. games; especially games that have characters and monsters designed by famed, legendary Anime Master and creator of "Chrono Trigger," the "Dragon Quest" video game series, and the legendary "Dragonball Z!!!!" This game is absolutely EPIC and will NEVER disappoint ANYONE who plays it! I did, and I absolutely ENJOYED it! /

That's it for 2010! Stay tuned for 2011, when "Kingdom Hearts" gets "Re: Coded," the "Super Mario Land" series FINALLY returns after a LONG hiatus, "Street Fighter" enters into it's AWESOME "Fourth" edition, and the Nintendo 3DS arrives to BLOW your MINDS!!!!  It will be awesome!  Enough said! 

[4EverGreen]

The format of the downloadable game really EXPLODED this year, as both the Nintendo DSI and the Nintendo 3DS saw the release of a BUNCH of downloadable games, at least SIXTEEN that I have played so far; as well as some really solid physical games that were also released this year!  See where they rank, and remember, if you disagree, I don't go EASY on "Super Smash Bros. 4" on the Nintendo 3DS, if you know what I mean! 

25. "AR Games" Rated E, 3DS / It's kind of hard to describe this game, seeing as that it's actually a built-in FEATURE of the Nintendo 3DS! Granted, Nintendo really wanted to show off what kind of possibilities that 3D game-play could bring to the table. But what I don't understand, is just WHY they had to make this a built-in feature for the Nintendo 3DS! Don't get me wrong; I'm sure the idea to take 3D pictures of special cards in order to make artwork out of hidden images, sounded like a good idea on paper. The trouble is, this feature hasn't been utilized for any other Nintendo 3DS game that I have played so far. Also, you can also take pictures with the built-in Nintendo 3DS 3D camera, so this game/feature should have been a built-in option for THAT feature instead! Thankfully, this is only a SMALL sample of what the Nintendo 3DS would end up bringing to the world at large!

24. "Rayman 3D: The Great Escape" Rated E, 3DS and Wii Virtual Console (as "Rayman 2: The Great Escape"). For some reason, despite all of Ubisoft's efforts to re-release this video game from 1999 with newer and more impressive graphics, I am STILL only able to beat the Game Boy Color version of this game! Though certainly NOT from a lack of trying! This version of the video game contains very great controls, sound, music, and graphics, that come straight from the DREAMCAST version of this video game! Unfortunately, the sheer DIFFICULTY of this video game makes it MUCH too hard to really get any ENJOYMENT out of it! Ironically, it was Rayman's NEW entry from this year, that ended up impressing me more!

23. "Rayman Origins" Rated E10, 3DS and Wii / This is definitely the most LUXURIOUS and PRETTY looking game for the Nintendo 3DS that I have played so far! And it's got good music, sound, controls, and humor to boot! So why does it rank near the bottom of this list?! The answer is: the amount of HARD in this game is TOO D*** HIGH!!!! There, I said it! While certain aspects of levels themselves, aren't that hard, trying to accomplish certain goals ON those levels, are right on the "Contra" side of being next to IMPOSSIBLE!!!! Although getting to play as either Rayman OR Globox at any time, is a nice new touch. I just hope that the next time I play a "Rayman" game, it won't be as hard as THIS one!

22. "Outrun" Rated E, 3DS download game / Even though this game has been on the floors of the arcades and on quite a FEW of Sega's systems since 1986, the 3DS 3D version of this game was the first opportunity that I had to play this game. While the sound, graphics, music, and control are all fine by 1986 standards, the quality of this game from that time has NOT aged as one would hope, from one of Sega's older, more respectable titles. The overall difficulty of this game is what prevents this game from being more enjoyable. Although owning it on a portable format STILL beats having to shell out quarters on the arcade floor, so give it a try if you're feeling more adventurous.

21. "Fantasy Zone" Rated E, 3DS download game / Another Sega game that got the 3D upgrade this year, was this relatively obscure space-ship shooter originally released in 1986! The graphics, sound, and music are all pretty trippy and impressive, ESPECIALLY by 1986 standards! Unfortunately, this game suffers in the department of overall enjoyment; mainly because the game really doesn't make it clear on what you're SUPPOSED to do, or what you're supposed to collect, in order to get from level to level, meaning you need what TV Tropes calls a "Guide, Dang It!"; in order to get the MOST out of this game! Although this game ranks slightly higher than "Outrun," mainly because you have the ability to upgrade your spaceship with main weapons, defensive options, and secondary weapons, in order to help you beat bosses in this unique space-shooter game.

20. "Antipole" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download game / With the Nintendo 3DS looming on the horizon when this game came out in early 2011, developers for downloadable DSI video games decided they REALLY needed to step up their efforts in trying to deliver unique and enjoyable video games, filled with ideas that nobody ever really thought of trying before! One of those ideas was this unique puzzler, where the idea is to get from Point A, to Point B. The trick is, that sometimes, you have to flip GRAVITY itself in order to accomplish this goal! In fact, you actually have to utilize this trick SEVERAL times! Because you often don't just go through ONE room in order to get to the goal, sometimes you have to go through SEVERAL! This is a really unique game, and could have been a really GREAT one, but the game gets TOO difficult and puzzling in the later stages and levels, to really get any enjoyment of trying to figure these puzzles out for themselves! Just because a video game is a download, doesn't mean that it DOESN'T need any strategy devoted to it in gaming magazines! (Remember THOSE?!) Still, if you want to REALLY challenge yourself with a unique game, this is one of the better ones to do it with. Just make sure to proceed with caution.

19. "Mighty Switch Force" Rated E10, 3DS download game / 2011 is a year that has proven to be QUITE prolific, in terms of the number of video games that I have actually PLAYED from this year! Another unique game that came out for this year, was this puzzler game where a female cop has to capture all the escaped female prisoners, and then bring them back to her mobile robot unit in order to complete each stage! The part where the "Switch" comes in, comes from the fact that this female cop has the ability to switch solid blocks to transparent blocks, while simultaneously switching transparent blocks to solid blocks! And the key to catching all the prisoners is knowing when and where the best time is to SWITCH these blocks, in order to get from one place to the other, and utilizing these tricks as efficiently as you can in order to beat each stage as fast as you can! How many stages can YOU beat?! That goal is entirely up to you!

18. "G. G. Series: Drift Circuit" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download game / The lone "G. G. Series" game representing Genterprise this year, this video game is actually one of Genterprise's more SOLID offerings for the Nintendo DSI/3DS download games. You race across several different race circuits over different environments and terrains, by utilizing the touch screen stylus! While the concept may be a little tricky at first, once you start to master it, winning each course can be a blast! The game may be a little on the short side, but for the low price of just about two dollars, most people won't find any reason to complain! This is definitely a bargain video game you should try, if you haven't already!

17. "Streets of Rage" Rated E10, 3DS download game / Straight from 1991 and the Sega Genesis, this game was Sega's answer to Capcom's "Final Fight" video game series! Choosing from one of three different fighters, you have to fight across several different levels of bad guys and bosses, in order to save your friends. While the graphics, sound, music, and controls are all pretty good by the standards of a 1991 Sega Genesis game, the difficulty MAY be a little too tough for beginners! Even I had some difficulty in actually BEATING this game, and I'm an expert! Not only that, but this game has actually been overshadowed by it's own sequel, which made improvements to the difficulty, as well as adding more character choices to choose from, in beating that game. Still, if you want to play one of Sega's more notable video games from the past, this is definitely one you should consider, if you're feeling confidant about your own skill.

16. "Oscar in Toyland 2" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download game / I just recently found out two interesting things! Apparently, Oscar is a video game character who actually WASN'T just created out of thin air for the Nintendo DSI in 2009! He actually HAD an original video game CALLED "Oscar", WAY back in 1994, that appeared on BOTH the Amiga and the Super NES! Also, this is one of TWO video games that Oscar actually appeared in this year! The game's goal is still the same as always; collecting toys that look like Oscar. Sadly, fatigue must have been setting in for the game developers who made these "Oscar" games, cause if you play this game AFTER playing the original "Oscar in Toyland", you'll notice that the layout of SOME of the stages look EXACTLY the same as some of the stages USED in the ORIGINAL "Oscar in Toyland", which brings down the enjoyment factor of this video game a LOT, for re-using some of the same stage ideas! Thankfully, it's immediate sequel is slightly more successful, in avoiding sequel fatigue!

15. "Space Harrier" Rated E, 3DS download game / Strangely enough, Sega's oldest video game that they used as a re-release for this year, ended up being one of their BETTER video games that I played for THIS year! "Space Harrier" is a frantic-paced running and shooting game, where you are simultaneously running away from the screen of the game, and running towards enemies and obstacles that appear in the distance, and attack you as you get closer! The object is to shoot them down as fast as you can, and get the highest score that you can! While the original graphics, sound, music, and controls were all fine by 1985 standards, they have thankfully gotten an upgrade to match Game Boy Advance levels of graphics! And the ability to save this game at any time and return to it anytime you want is a much welcome update to this game! This is definitely a Sega classic that should NOT be missed for today!

14. "Kirby's Adventure" Rated E, 3DS download game / Unlike MOST video games that Nintendo re-released from the NES as a download release for the 3DS, Nintendo ACTUALLY considers this to be a brand new version of their original game! This is due to the fact that the sound has been upgraded to have stereo capabilities that the NES original didn't, the controls have been improved, and also give you the option to utilize the touch-screen stylus, and the graphics have actually been enhanced, so it looks like you're controlling a Turbographx-16 or early Super NES video game! So if you haven't played Kirby's only outing on the NES yet, this is definitely the version you should play, to get a taste of what Kirby is all about!

13. "Learn & Speak Spanish" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download game / There really aren't that many education video games out there that can also be fun! Thankfully, this is one of those educational video games that is also VERY fun! It makes learning how to speak Spanish from English into a game! By learning about how to pronounce every day objects, it's definitely one of the more FUN ways to learn a second language, that I personally know about! Although there are other games like this one for other languages, this is one that I have actually personally played and enjoyed, and I highly recommend, especially for people traveling abroad to a Spanish-speaking country in the near future!

12. "Pushmo" Rated E, 3DS download game / The 3DS was the perfect opportunity for Nintendo to debut some new mascot ideas that they had never had the opportunity to do so before! They used the download service of the 3DS, to debut a red sumo character called Pushmo, in a video game of the same name. This was actually the start of a series of video games that Pushmo has since starred in; "Crashmo" and "Stretchmo" are two others that come to mind. The object of the game, is that Pushmo must get through levels, by solving the puzzles in them. Given the nature of this game AND his name, this is often solved by pushing blocks into the right place, so that Pushmo can hop onto them, and be able to get to the goal. Like many puzzle games, it starts off easy, and gets progressively harder the further it goes along. Even though this is a download game, the graphics, music, sound, controls, and difficulty aren't diminished a bit from physical video games, which makes this video game a good buy for the discerning consumer.

11. "Oscar's World Tour" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download game / The second video game that Oscar appeared in this year, as well as the most RECENT video game that Oscar has starred in, this video game has Oscar traveling ALL around the world in order to find toys that look like himself! While some of the stages are once are again RESKINNED stages from "Oscar Goes Hollywood", it's thankfully a LOT harder to TELL that they ARE re-skinned stages, mainly because they had the foresight to utilize different backgrounds for the re-skinned stages! Still a pretty good buy, all things considered, and this is definitely a good way for Oscar to wrap up his performance on the Nintendo DSI download games. Hopefully, he will get another chance to star in another creative video game in the future!

10. "Cave Story" Rated E10, Nintendo DSI, Wii, and 3DS download game / Ever since 2004, people had been STARVING for a nice, little video game that was a nice homage to the hard-core video game series of "Metroid" that was also a 2-D side-scrolling game. You play the role of a robot (which you get to name), and you find yourself stranded in a cave. You must explore a series of labyrinth mazes, as you soon get involved in a plot of a much more serious nature. A peaceful race of rabbit-like creatures, called the Mimiga, are being terrorized by a Doctor who has gone mad with power, who has help with a computer-looking robot and a very emo goth girl. Armed with a series of different guns, and eventually a jet-pack, the robot must solve the puzzle of the floating island, bring an end to the mad Doctor's plans, and rescue the Mimiga who are just pawns in the Doctor's evil scheme! I've only played the 3DS version so far, but it is definitely one VERY good game to play, so I highly recommend it!

9. "Monster Shooter" Rated E10, 3DS download game / I've been doing this video game reviewing thing for a long time now (in Internet years), so when a good game comes around that I like, I feel that it is usually worth my time to review it. And when that good game is a downloadable game, I think it is even more note-worthy! Just a little note, the title isn't talking about SHOOTING Monsters, it's talking about a Monster that SHOOTS! Specifically, shooting down lots of octopus and fish type aliens! And when I say a LOT of aliens, I mean it can get to be a LOT of aliens! On some stages (especially in Survival Mode) the amount of aliens on the screen can make the game feel like it is "Contra" level hard! Thankfully, there are many different weapons you can purchase, and upgrade! Not to mention items and perks that can make the game a little easier. As you go through the game in story mode, there are additional missions that you can undertake, in order to obtain higher ranks. Being the accomplished video game veteran that I am, it only took me FIVE days to find and accomplish everything! But the graphics are great, the music and sound effects are cool, and the challenge difficulty is absolutely awesome! I highly recommend downloading and trying this game if you own a Nintendo 3DS, and you are a fan of shoot-up games!

8. "Sonic the Hedgehog 3D" Rated E, 3DS download game / If there was ANY game that Sega was going to re-release as a Nintendo 3DS download, that was going to prove to be the most awesome, it OBVIOUSLY had to be THIS game! Celebrating his 20th anniversary and birthday in rocking fashion, Sonic's game has been updated to take full capabilities of the 3DS stereo, the spin dash, the ability to save your game at anytime, and the ability to save the high scores of each stage you've beaten! And the game has even been upgraded to reach graphic levels of the Game Boy Advance! This is definitely one classic video game that should not be missed, on the Nintendo 3DS download games!

7. "The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download game / Awesome, awesome, awesome...did I mention this game is AWESOME?!!! Before this game came along, my expectations for original, downloadable games (as well as a lot of other people's expectations, for the most part) were very low; and the chances of finding a GEM of an original, downloadable game, are STILL too few and far in-between. Luckily, for fans of Nintendo games, and especially "Zelda" games, Nintendo has stepped in, to raise the bar WAY up when it comes to setting standards for just how great an original, downloadable game can be! "Four Swords Anniversary Edition" is now THE gold standard as to what original, downloadable games should aspire to be like! Awesome stages, cool items, challenging enemies, unlock-able bonuses (such as the Hero's Trial which includes remixed flashback stages of "A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening," and the ORIGINAL "The Legend of Zelda,") and the ability to play by yourself or with three friends makes this game a real treat to get, and one that should NOT be missed! It isn't often that this game is available for the downloading on Nintendo DSI, OR Nintendo 3DS systems, so for those who get the chance to download the game, should do so! They will NOT be disappointed by what they find, and will absolutely enjoy the THRILL of the challenge, and enjoy the fun of a truly engaging original, downloadable game. I did, and that's why I wrote this review!

6. "Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded" Rated E, Nintendo DS / This video game pulls out ALL the stops in showing off high resolution video game graphics, music, story, and voice-acting samples! This is the way the story goes in the video game. After having completed two journeys; one to keep darkness from spreading and the other to re-unite hearts to the people who have lost them, it seems that the many quests that Sora and his friends had taken in the past is all in the past and there's nothing left to accomplish. The one major problem is that the contents in the book of the first journey is almost completely blank! Blank until a mysterious new message appears in the book! Mickey and his cohorts have no idea who wrote the message into the book, and they don't know what it means without having access to any other clue BESIDES the book! Mickey however, knows that the contents of an entire book just can't completely disappear! Just because they don't SEE what was written in the book, doesn't mean that the contents AREN'T there anymore. Mickey and the others decide to digitize the contents of the journal, and see the worlds contained within it in a virtual matter and manner. But something unexpected occurs when that happens; bugs appear in the journal, making it impossible for Mickey and the other to decipher it from the outside! Thankfully, Mickey has a Plan B; have someone who is already INSIDE the journal vanquish the bugs from within, and clear the contents so that the mystery behind the message can be discovered. Enter Data Sora, who awakens into a journey that will reveal there's a new adventure ahead, waiting for Mickey and the REAL Sora. Data Sora must travel through eight worlds in order to help out every single digital person or THING that needs helping out, there's Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, Wonderland, Olympus Coliseum, Agrabah, Hollow Bastion Part I, Hollow Bastion Part II, and Castle Oblivion. Along the way, Sora will re-meet some familiar and some not-so-familiar faces, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Chip and Dale, Yen Sid (if 20 or more trophies are collected by meeting certain conditions,) Huey, Duey, Louie, Cid and Cloud Strife from "Final Fantasy VII," Alice, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, Hercules, Philoctetees, Hades, Cerebus, the Rock Titan, the Ice Titan, Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, Jafar, Iago, the Genie, Pete the Cat, Maleficent, a Data version of Riku, and even Sora's Heartless; AKA Roxas! There are many different challenges available to face, plenty of adventures to go on, and no shortage of quests available for Sora to tackle! It's very easy to get immersed in this game, not only because there's so much to see and do, but because the game is very fun besides all that! The leveling up system and Command Power-ups are easy to master with a bit of learning, and there's a variety of spells and attack moves available for Data Sora to learn so that he can pound some sense into ALL the evil bad guys! Plus, the game never feels TOO overwhelming or too hard to accomplish by ANY stretch of the imagination! It is a VERY entertaining and worthy entry into the "Kingdom Hearts" video game series, and I highly recommend it for people who own a Nintendo DS or Nintendo 3DS video game system!

5. "Super Mario 3D Land" Rated E, 3DS / If you want to play an original, 3D Mario game adventure for the Nintendo 3DS, this is the game for you! The puzzles are really clever and ingenious, there's lots of stuff to see and do, the nice, animated pictures you get during the game are cool, there are many different types of enemies and puzzles to solve, and while a lot of puzzles are challenging, they never feel impossible to solve and/or do. (Granted, I do wish you could still fireball Bowser away like you could in other "Super Mario" games, but that PALES in comparison to what this game manages to do). Not only does this game manage to bring the "Super Mario Land" franchise back to life after a 19 year hiatus, it does so with Bowser AND Princess Peach! This is one amazing game, and I highly recommend it to people who want to know what the Nintendo 3DS has to offer!

4. "Super Street Fighter IV 3D" (What ELSE?!) Rated T, 3DS / When it comes to fighting games, the "Street Fighter" name might not have invented the genre, but it definitely perfected it! With lots of characters, several special moves for each of the characters, dozens of different locations, and awesome music to listen to, it's definitely easy to see why and just how the "Street Fighter" name has managed to endure for as long as it has. Now the game-play of "Street Fighter" comes to life as it never has before; in fully-rendered, stunning graphic, artistically beautiful 3-D game-play! Not only are the backgrounds rendered in impressive C.G.I., the characters themselves now also are displayed with 3-D bodies! Thankfully, Capcom didn't dare mess with a good thing, as the fights remain on a level 2-D plane, the car smashing and barrel smashing bonus stages are back, there are impressive combos to pull off, and every single fighter is unlocked right from the start!  Old favorites like Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, E. Honda, Blanka, Zangief, Guile, Dhalsilm, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, M. Bison, T. Hawk, Dee Jay, Cammy, Fei Long, Akuma, Rose, Gen, Sakura, Dan, Cody, Guy, and several new fighters add to the diversity and mix of a great game! The cool thing about this game is that every character has a cool, little Anime animation story that explains the reasons why they're fighting, and a brief story of what happens if the character manages to beat all of their opponents. There are many different achievements available for the earning, so it is sure to keep fans of "Street Fighter" coming back for more! I highly enjoyed playing this game, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a good time!

3. "Mario Kart 7" Rated E, 3DS / After the HORRIBLE stumble that was "Mario Kart Wii" (which FORCED people to use the Wii Wheel which I didn't like one little bit) we finally get back to traditional controls, and EVERYTHING works like it is supposed to! Not only are the graphics REALLY impressive for this early Nintendo 3DS games, the new choice of character selections are COOL, customizing your kart allows you to fill your need for speed and control like never before, and the choice of kart tracks, both new and old, are some of the best around! Not only do you get to race underwater, you also get to GLIDE through the air with an air glider in some stages! In fact, some of the classic tracks have even been redesigned some in order to fit in this brand new feature, and those stages are now better than EVER!!!! The battle games are fun as well, and it never feels too challenging to beat every single track with a fast time. If you want fun solo, or with a bunch of friends, "Mario Kart 7" is DEFINITELY the game for YOU!!!!

2. "Star Fox 64 3D" Rated E10, 3DS / This game has benefited greatly from the leap from the polygonal N64 to the fully rendered 3DS. Character icons, spacecraft, and locations have gone from being mildly detailed, to intricately detailed pieces of art that pop up to life; especially in full 3-D mode! The story is the same as it was on the N64, but with the game already being as great as it is, there wasn't any need to tinker with the formula! The sound effects, music, and vocal acting sound better than ever on the 3DS, and the controls are superb on the N64 mode of control! In addition to the return of Battle Mode and Expert Mode, there's now a new challenge for seasoned players with Score Attack, where players can attempt to play any stage on either Normal or Expert Mode (after they've beaten it, of course) with the goal being to earn a medal, either in Bronze, Silver, or Gold, with each medal level being harder to achieve as there are more enemies that are required to be shot down with each progressive medal level! This game is one of the best for the Nintendo 3DS, and I hope that the next "Star Fox" offering for the Nintendo 3DS, or Nintendo Switch, manages to bring just as much, if not more, to the table than this game!  I highly recommend playing it and enjoying it as I have!

1. "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D" Rated E10, 3DS / Video games can sometimes have a way of surprising people. Even if there are people who think they know every single nook, cranny, and trick that a game can throw at them, they can still be knocked for a loop! Nowhere is the evidence for this statement more apparent, than in this 3-D remake for "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time." The leap from a home-based console to a portable one proves to be no problem for Link and all the other characters that come bundled in this video game package! The cinematic moments that come at key points in this game look more movie-worthy than ever, with brand-new camera angles, and camera motion being more fluid than it was in the N64 version! Although to be fair, "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" is probably NOT the best video game to practice using the circle-d pad of the Nintendo 3DS, but it's not such a big handicap to overcome. The graphics are LITERALLY eye-popping in 3-D, but it looks absolutely stunning even in 2-D! Characters, enemies, bosses, and environments have gone from being mildly detailed, to being full-figured, space-filled, detail-oriented objects that look as though they can be physically touched! Houses, caves, and dungeons no longer look as barren as they used to, as they are filled with more detail than ever! While there are no major changes to the story (not that it needs any, being one of the best stories a video game can HOPE to have) it does THANKFULLY turn down the frequency of how often Navi wants to talk to you, from every five minutes to about once every twenty minutes, so her annoying factor has shot WAY down! Even though Link still goes through the game in the exact same way, it still feels like a different game because it's being played in a way that it has never been played before, on a Nintendo 3DS, and with new features that the N64 didn't have! Thanks to touch-screen control, the iron boots can now just be assigned to a touch button, FINALLY making the Water Temple not be such a huge pain to navigate through! Plus, there's new content featured for this game! The new boss attack time challenge mode challenges players to beat the bosses as fast as they can, than it REALLY challenges them to attempt the Boss Gauntlet, and try to beat all the bosses in a row! And if that wasn't enough, after playing through the main adventure, the Master Quest presents a MIRRORED world, a right-handed Link, altered dungeons, and more brain-bending puzzles than the original quest did! Both versions feel VERY satisfying to beat, seeing Link deliver the finishing blow to the evil Gerudo King, Ganon! This game is an absolute must-play for fans of Nintendo games, and a thrill to own and play on a Nintendo 3DS game system! I highly recommend it to all video game enthusiasts out there! /

That's it for 2011! Stay tuned for 2012, when "Mario Party" returns after a hiatus, "Animal Crossing" turns over a "New Leaf," and "Paper Mario" impresses (at least me) with "Sticker Star!"  It will be AWESOME! 

[4EverGreen]

When it comes to video games, 2012 might not have had a lot that I played, but the games I did are good where they really count! There are only eight video games for this list. Read on, and see where they rank! /

8. "Flipper 2: Flush the Goldfish" Rated E, Nintendo DSI download game / The lone Nintendo DSI download game for this year, has pretty good graphics, music, sound, and okay controls, and it certainly tries to imitate "Earthworm Jim". Only we have a goldfish named Flush in a blue superpowered suit for this unique video game trying to keep his human boy owner safe from harm for...reasons. Despite the interesting premise, this game is sadly bogged down by really hard difficulty levels that make the game progressively less fun the further you try to go in the game. While it's not relatively expensive, I still recommend proceeding with caution before playing this game.

7. "Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa" Rated E, 3DS download game / A sequel to the first "Fantasy Zone" game that got ported to the 3DS from Sega systems originally, this game improves on the graphics, sound, music, and controls of the original, and even makes the game slightly easier than its predecessor. But unfortunately, just like the last game in this planned franchise, the game eventually gets too hard and too confusing to figure out, to REALLY have any FUN with it! But it's pretty trippy looking, so if you want to see a visually pleasing Sega game, this is definitely one that's worth a look!

6. "New Super Mario Bros. 2" Rated E, 3DS / While this game has improved visuals, and the same great sound, music, and controls as the last "New Super Mario Bros." video game on the Nintendo DS did, this video game does not reach the same heights as its predecessor did. The reason for this, is that unlike the previous video game, Nintendo felt that they 'needed' to show critics that this was NOT just another 'easy' fest for kids, and they went out of their way to make finding all of the secrets in each level, unnecessarily complicated! Not only that, but getting through each stage and level can sometimes be a chore in itself! Don't get me wrong, the game IS beatable, just don't expect to FIND everything without having to resort to the Internet to find all those secrets! Thankfully, Mario has two other video games this year that are better than this one!

5. "Streets of Rage 2" Rated E, 3DS download game / A MASSIVE improvement over the previous game in this franchise, despite having pretty much the same plot. There are now five different characters to choose from instead of just three. Also, the graphics, sound, music, controls, and difficulty have ALL been GREATLY improved, making the feat of beating this game MUCH more enjoyable and easier than its predecessor! So if you want to see some of the best that Sega has to offer from the Genesis, this is definitely a video game to check out on the Nintendo 3DS!

4. "Crazy Kangaroo" Rated E, 3DS download game / Chasing and running games don't usually thrill me that much, but this video game is an exception. Playing as a Crazy Kangaroo, you have to run away from dangerous predators, evil hunters, and other hazards, and get from the beginning of the level, to the end of the level. Sounds easy, but there are a lot of obstacles thrown into the path of the Crazy Kangaroo, and you have to get through each level WITHOUT taking a single hit; so expect a lot of trial and error if you want to beat this game. Thankfully, this video game has very good graphics, sound, music, and controls, despite the relatively short, but challenging length of this video game, so it's definitely worth a download to play, if you haven't already.

3. "Mario Party 9" Rated E, Wii / The only Wii game from this year that I have played so far, is also one of the last great masterpieces that came out for the revolutionary Wii video game system! After taking a five year break from releasing "Party" games, this series comes back, and it's bigger than ever! Unlike in previous games, where each character acted separately as they hit dice blocks and take turns; anywhere from two to four characters get to travel together in a vehicle, in order to collect mini-stars in this game, meaning strategy, skill, timing, and sometimes, a LOT of luck is required in order to become the superstar of each party board! While most of the mini-games featured in this outing are pretty good, nice, and funny pieces of entertainment, just like a good number of OTHER "Mario Party" games, there are some c***shoot games that either rely solely on luck, or you have to play with the Wii remote in such a way, that only a skilled ACROBAT could hope to win THOSE mini-games! Thankfully, collecting mini-stars serves a real purpose in this game, as each mini-star you collect gets converted into party points, and you can use those party points to purchase star constellations, alternate stage vehicles, or an unlock-able level featuring Diddy and Donkey Kong! So needless to say, this is a VERY interesting video game to play by yourself, or with up to three other friends. I recommend trying it for yourself if you haven't already!

2. "3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2" Rated E, 3DS download game / The one video game that REALLY benefited from getting a download re-release on the 3DS is this stellar classic from Sega! The graphics, sound, music, and controls now reach Game Boy Advance levels, your high score levels are now saved for each stage, and you can save and return to the game at any time! But the best part of this game is that once you beat a stage or a bonus stage at least once, you unlock the ability to GO to that stage from the options screen ANYTIME you want, meaning you could POTENTIALLY collect ALL the Chaos Emeralds BEFORE you even BEGIN playing the game proper, and play as Super Sonic in every single stage possible! So if you ever wanted to play "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", this is DEFINITELY the version you should play!

1. "Paper Mario Sticker Star" Rated E, 3DS / This video game is actually pretty divisive among Mario fans. While many players HATED that Nintendo did away with the leveling-up system, and replaced it with a sticker system, I actually thought the approach was very unique! I also APPLAUD Nintendo, for having the courage to TRY something different, and NOT stick to the same R.P.G. system that everyone else uses! As is the case with many "Paper Mario" video games, humor is highly rampant, the visuals are stunning, and the sound, music, controls, and difficulty are all solid in this great video game! Not only do stickers form the basis for your fighting skills, they are also the key to solving puzzles located through-out this video game. Sometimes, you will come across an unusually placed object, that you will need to peel OFF, and then re-peel into a correct position, in order to process through your game. In addition to the normal stickers, you can upgrade them to shiny stickers, and again into flashy stickers, which do more damage or work better than their normal counter-parts! If that weren't enough, in this video game, there are actually some 3-D OBJECTS! You can actually turn THEM into stickers, and use them against boss enemies, to deal massive amounts of damage! While this video game might not have appealed to everyone's tastes, it certainly appealed to mine! And I highly recommend trying it! You might be pleasantly surprised! /

That's it for 2012!  Stay tuned for 2013, when "Mario and Luigi" form a "Dream Team," and "The Legend of Zelda" shows us a "Link Between Worlds." It will be AWESOME! 

[4EverGreen]

Believe it or not, I apparently have only gotten around to playing 30 note-worthy games for the combined systems of the Gamecube and the Wii!  Perhaps if my artwork and/or writing skills EVER help me come into a ton of money, I might someday remedy this problem. Until then, please enjoy the top 33 video games for the Gamecube and/or the Wii, since you can play Gamecube games on the Wii. Each game on this list will be rated on a point scale, with 100 being the maximum total, unless it's the best!  /

33. “Luigi's Mansion” 2001 Gamecube, 2018 3DS; 60/100. 32. “Wii Sports” 2006 Wii; 62/100. 31. “Mario Party 5” 2003 Gamecube; 63/100. 30. “Mario Party 4” 2002 Gamecube; 64/100. 29. “Sonic Adventure 2 Battle” 2002 Gamecube; 65/100. 28. “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger” 2002 Gamecube; 66/100. 27. “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue” 2004 Gamecube and Game Boy Advance; 68/100. 26. “Pac-Man World 2” 2002 Gamecube, 2003 Game Boy Advance; 70/100! 25. “Wario World” 2003 Gamecube; 71/100! 24. “Mario Kart Double Dash” 2003 Gamecube; 72/100! 23. “F-Zero GX” 2003 Gamecube and Arcades; 75/100! 22. “The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker” 2003 Gamecube, 2013 Wii U; 76/100! 21. “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2” 2002 Gamecube; 77/100! 20. “Mega Man Anniversary Collection” 2002 Gamecube; 78/100! 19. “Super Mario Sunshine” 2002 Gamecube; 80/100! 18. “The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures” 2004 Gamecube; 81/100! 17. “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” 2006 Gamecube, 2016 Wii U; 82/100! 16. “Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam” 2007 Wii; 84/100! 15. “Wario Land: Shake It!” 2008 Wii; 85/100! 14. “Animal Crossing” 2002 Gamecube, 2005 DS; 86/100! 13. “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest” 2002 Gamecube, 2011 3DS; 87/100! 12. “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3” 2001 Gamecube, 2002 Game Boy Advance; 88/100! 11. “Sonic Mega Collection” 2002 Gamecube; 89/100! 10. “Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut” 2003 Gamecube; 90/100! 9. “The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition” 2004 Gamecube; 91/100! 8. “Animal Crossing: City Folk” 2007 Wii, 2013 3DS; 92/100! 7. “Mario Party 9” 2012 Wii; 93/100! 6. “Pac-Man World 3” 2005 Gamecube; 94/100! 5. “The Beatles: Rock Band” 2009 Wii; 95/100! 4. “Super Mario Bros. 25Th Anniversary of Super Mario All-Stars” 2010 Wii; 96/100! 3. “Sonic Heroes” 2004 Gamecube; 97/100! 2. (TIE!!!!) “Dragonball Z Budokai” and “Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2” 2002 Gamecube and 2006 Wii; “DBZB” 98/100! “DBZBT2” 99/100! 1. (TIE!!!!) “Super Smash Bros. Melee” and “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” 2001 Gamecube and 2008 Wii; “SSBM” 100/100! “SSBB” 110/100! (YES, it's THAT good!) /

That's it for my list THIS time!  I'll see you next time!