Two Quick Reviews in One – Games From My Childhood

One of my earliest memories is from when I was about four and my father was teaching me how to hide behind the scenery in Super Mario Brothers 3 for the NES.  I grew up in the nineties playing these original Mario games, so you can imagine how excited I was to see Super Mario All Stars on the wall at work.  SO EXCITED.  I got it, brought it to the Boyfriend’s house, started playing, and was pissed almost immediately.

“WHATISGOINGONHEREWHYDOIKEEPDYING?!” is basically how that went.  You’re probably thinking “Oh, she’s just out of practice”.  My NES still works and I have all these games, so I’m not out of practice.  I didn’t understand it either.  I went to Wal Mart and actually bought a Wii classic controller, hoping that it would improve gameplay, but it did nothing.  The main problem is the controls lag.  If you jump, it takes longer for Mario to react than in the original game.  This poses a problem for players that are used to the normal controls.  I kept jumping at what would have been the perfect time on the NES, but on the Wii was too late, so I died.  A lot.  When you hold down B and dash and then hit A to jump over something, the jump takes so long to actually happen you end up running right into a goomba.  It’s also really hard to jump and land on something accurately.  I had to try multiple times to jump on top of the fire-spitting fly trap’s tunnel pipe thing.  When you hold down B and dash in the original game, you can turn around really quick and Mario (or Luigi, if you swing that way) will stop.  It takes so long on the Wii to turn around that Mario will just run and fall into a hole.

The controls are the most important part, but to add validity to my review, I’ll nitpick just a bit more.  They changed the backgrounds a bit.  It’s really not that big of a deal, but while examining the weird jungle-like scenery, I was brutally murdered by a turtle.  That’s just not cool.  Also, the music has been “enhanced”.  I personally think it sounds like they masked over it with a G major chord through the entire soundtrack.  They’re the same general songs, but they’re not the familiar midi-type tunes I’m used to.  It’s all strange and harmonic.

Basically, if you happen to be freaked out by change (OHGOD CHANGE IS AWFUL *fetal position*) or are just too attached to the original games like I am, don’t buy this.  Sure, eventually your Nintendo will crap out, but hopefully by then the Wii controls won’t lag as much.  If you are new to these games or don’t really care, go ahead and get All Stars.  I hope you enjoy the classics as much as I do.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE.  As I was straightening the PS3 wall at work, I discovered Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, and almost cried out of excitement.  Not really, but I did smile.  I bought it, brought it to the Boyfriend’s house, started playing, and was SO HAPPY because this one didn’t suck.  It’s true to the original Genesis games, and there’s no lag!  I think it’s just a Wii thing.  They need some help with their wireless remotes or something.  Sonic and Knuckles is my favourite Genesis game by far, so it’s great to see that on the game.  I still have my Genesis, but being able to play all of these on one disc on the PS3 is a plus.  This isn’t just Sonic, though.  Golden Axe, Phantasy Star, Streets of Rage, and Ecco the Dolphin, plus a ton more games are on it.  Ecco the freaking Dolphin.  No lie, I’m terrible at this game, but I was thrilled to play it nonetheless.  I have no gripes about this game whatsoever, but of course if you look at Amazon reviews you see a ton of complaining about what was left off.

To sum up this whole post, don’t buy Super Mario All Stars, but buy two copies of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection.  You need one to play and one to mount on a plaque and hang on your wall.  Really, trust my judgment.