Games I Beat In 2014 #31-40: May-July

This is the fourth batch of Games I Beat In 2014. This started in May and ended in early July. Only three of them were first-time playthroughs this time around, although Déjà Vu could technically have counted since I hadn’t specifically played the Game Boy Color version. The game was substantially similar enough to the NES version, however, that I opted not to do that. Additionally, I wasn’t 100% blind on any of them, although I may as well have been as regards Captain Skyhawk. Once again, the title and first few words of each entry are found below.

#31 (#13 NEW!): Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse

For whatever reason, a truism of several series that started in the NES era is “The second game was nothing like the first, then the third game was the first game on steroids”. In the US, Super Mario Bros. was like this (The Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 was deemed both too difficult and too …

#32: Life Force (NES)

Generally speaking, I’m not a big fan of shoot-em-ups, or shmups, as they’re called. I’m just not good at them. In fact, outside of today’s entry, I’m not sure I’ve ever bought a shmup of my own accord. I even only played this again after I had some leftover time once I beat Castlevania III …

#33: The Oregon Trail (Apple IIe)

If you’re of a certain age, one of your fondest elementary/middle school memories is getting to use the Apple IIe computer(s) that your teacher(s) had. And while there were any number of fun games for it–Number/Word Munchers, the Carmen Sandiego games–there was one game in particular that all the kids wanted to play, regardless of …

#34 (#14 NEW!): Rambo (NES)

I want you to use your imagination here. You’re the executive of a video game company. There’s this movie, it’s a sequel to a popular movie. The original movie was an action movie, sure, but the action wasn’t at the forefront–it’s more about a guy trying to return to a country that doesn’t want him, …

#35: Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom

This showed up in this series kind of on a whim. I had some time after beating Rambo on the Rizeup Gaming stream, and filled the time with this game, which I’ve beaten before. Did I enjoy revisiting the game? Well…. Released in 1991 by Tecmo, Ninja Gaiden III is the final game in the …

#36: Dragon Warrior (Game Boy Color)

The original Dragon Warrior (Called Dragon Quest in Japan–the naming history of the series in the US is a bit complicated, but suffice to say that in the last 10 years or so, the series is called Dragon Quest in the States too) is one of very few games whose influence cannot be overstated. Much …

#37: Final Fantasy V Advance

Early in this project, I played through The Dawn of Souls version of Final Fantasy II. I consider FFII the most important game in the series in terms of deciding what the series identity would be. However, “Most important” is very different from “My favorite.” Indeed, while I respect FFII for having grand visions and …

#38: Escape the Tied Girls

Today’s Game I Beat In 2014 doesn’t have a 100% accurate title. Like much of the manual for The Magic of Scheherazade, the title is, I believe, technically correct English, while also being written in a way no native speaker would write such a title. Released by an outfit called Games 2 Rule, Escape the …

#39: Déjà Vu (Game Boy Color)

I guess I’ve had a thing for point-and-click-type games of late. The original version of Déjà Vu (Sometimes given the subtitle of “A Nightmare Comes True!”) was released in 1985. In contrast to early Sierra games or text adventures, which had what Homestar Runner referred to as the “You Can’t Get Ye Flask” problem (Or, …

#40 (#15 NEW!): Captain Skyhawk

This was an unexpected entry in the series. In late June 2014, a local independent video game store, Gaming Source, suddenly closed its doors. As a result, they had a going-out-of-business 50% off sale. I managed to get down there on the last day, and while most of the good stuff was gone, I did …