Zero Wing Review (Mega Drive)

“For great justice! Take off every Zig!”

“All your base are belong to us!”

If those words are familiar to you then you will have heard of the infamous space-shooter Zero Wing. In the early 2000s and Newgrounds flash animation became an internet sensation on the back of the badly translated opening cinematic of this game. However, the fame of the infamous intro in my view has distracted people from what is actually a very good space-shooter.

Gameplay: 4/5 – Your actions are limited to firing and a tractor beam which can be used to capture smaller enemies for use as a shield or for throwing at other enemies. However, the controls are quite fluid and responsive which makes the playing feel right. In its simplicity, I think the controls are really good.

Graphics: 5/5 – Very detailed. I like the enemy designs and the stages also look nice and varied.

Animation: 4,5/5 – The opening cinematic looks really cool despite its infamous Engrish and I can’t say much anything bad about the in-game animations either. Well, the could have tried to make your Zig a little more distinct looking, but other than that, there’s no big problems with the animation.

Music: 5/5 – Zero Wing has one of the best game soundtracks I’ve ever heard, which always makes me wonder why people constantly ignore the game itself. The opening theme of course is well-known to anyone who’s seen the meme videos but the in-game music is also excellent and not a single one of the themes starts to sound repetitive.

Sound: 3/5 – Nothing special here.

Replay value: 3/5 – The game is quite fun and easy. You also get infinite continues, but it’s definitely a game you’ll enjoy more in short spurts.

Score: 82% – Zero Wing is a classic in my view and one that gets over-looked due to the internet meme associated with it. If you want a solid and fun space shooter for the Mega Drive, this one is definitely it.

My Top-10 Horror Movies

While I don’t really consider myself a horror buff, I have to admit that in recent years I’ve become fascinated by the horror movie genre. I’ve also seen enough horror films that I feel comfortable about doing a top-10 list of them. Here we go…

10. Friday the 13th Part 1 & 2

Slasher films don’t hold a particular appeal for me, but if one was to pick a must-see example from this genre, I think both of the first two movies in the Friday the 13th series are the ones to go with.

The first movie is really worth seeing just because it’s so different from the sequels, but the second is a disturbing and yet, in a bizarre way, entertaining horror piece with improved acting and a far more hard-hitting approach. Friday Part 1 is a quaint little picture but one that still manages to creep you out sufficiently. Part 2 is the iconic slasher prototype for the rest of the franchise where Jason Voorhees is still incredibly frightening, even without his iconic hockey mask.

I really feel that it was from the third movie onward that the franchise became reduced to utter nonsense so you really don’t need to bother with the rest.

9. Cujo

Now you might be thinking to yourself: How can a movie about a rabid Saint Bernard be scary? But Cujo is indeed a very powerful movie. It doesn’t rely on any supernatural aspects, unlike most works of Stephen King, but instead on a very simple concept to deliver a relatable human story.

Cujo isn’t just a horror movie, it’s a well written drama with the added horror element making it stronger. It still plays well with its subtly creepy and panic-inducing atmosphere, but is not a massive gore-fest by any definition. (Neither are any of the other movies on this list, so you’ll want to look elsewhere for that.)

Those finding themselves paranoid about dogs after watching this film though should turn to Beethoven for its calming effect.

8. The Exorcist

Well of course I had to include the most famous horror movie of all time. I’ve had a bit of an on-off relationship with the Exorcist and for the longest time I actually hated the movie immensely, despite the fact that I did love the main theme, composed by Mike Oldfield.

In the end though, I finally came around when I realised that the movie, despite using some pretty explicit supernatural elements, relies heavily on subtle suggestion to make the atmosphere truly desolate and hopeless. The character performances in particular are excellent and you really feel the terror creeping in the further you watch it.
I’ve not seen either one of the sequels, but I feel I need to comment on the prequel Exorcist: The Beginning by Renny Harlin. I feel it’s a movie that gets a lot more hate than it deserves. Certainly it’s not a masterpiece on the level of the original, but in my view a passable horror flick for the current generation.

7. Hannibal

The Hannibal films have always been very interesting to me and I maybe need to explain a bit why I put this one specifically on here. Now, my favourite Hannibal Lecter film is in fact the 1984 pre-Anthony Hopkins piece Manhunter, based on The Red Dragon. Of the Hopkins canon of films, The Silence of the Lambs is definitely my favourite and in my personal opinion the best written film. However, both Manhunter and Silence feel like thrillers where as Hannibal is straight up horror.

Hannibal is the only movie to tip the gross-out meter on this list, but between a man who looks like a zombie seeking vengeance on Lecter, a French cop getting hanged and gutted and Anthony Hopkins eating the brains of Ray Liotta, the film just leaves powerful images in your head which is why it works so well.

Story-wise, I think most of the other Lecter films are better, but Hannibalis by far the most scary.

6. Silent Hill

Based on the famous horror game series by Konami, this extremely under-rated horror piece is like diving into a bad dream. The film may take more than a few liberties with the plotline and characters from the game series, but it delivers a truly disturbing and creepy story.

The monsters and horrors of the town of Silent
Hill look as effective and creepy here as they did in the video-game. The haunting visuals as well as the music, brought directly from the game, enhance the movie’s atmosphere. The story and powerful actor performances are what keeps the whole thing together till the end.

It pains me not to include the movie in the Top-5, but I decided to keep only one video-game film for each half of the list.

5. The Shining

Another Stephen King film from the legendary director Stanley Kubrick, this one is also widely recognised as a classic. The film isn’t about the supernatural per se, but the insinuations and the delving into the disturbed mind of Jack Nicholson makes this a very effective piece. It builds up the horror in a very quaint and simple way and comes out strong.

Like all of Kubrick’s films, The Shining is strong on the visuals – perhaps more than on the story, but it definitely delivers in the main areas that a horror movie should. At the same time, it avoids the clichés and doesn’t go for overt shock-value which is why I’ve always admired it, even though I’m definitely not Kubrick’s biggest fan.

It is simply put a must-see.

4. Halloween

As I mentioned before, I am not a particular fan of the slasher genre, but John Carpenter’s Halloween stands out in the genre as a grade-A example of a well-made slasher film, which doesn’t reduce itself into a gory mess. Instead it relies on genuine suspense and atmosphere.

Here Michael Meyers is not just a faceless killer and a slapstick movie monster. He’s genuinely frightening and disturbing.

The whole movie can be taken as a fairly realistic look at a serial killer stalking his victims, but it leaves enough vagueness that there is still an element of mystery left in it. I also love the soundtrack and I think the theme melody is one of the greatest pieces of movie music ever composed (by Carpenter himself, no less).

3. Resident Evil

As far as the Zombie genre is concerned, I haven’t unfortunately seen that many films. Out of the few I have, my absolute favourite is probably Shaun of the Dead, but since it’s principally a comedy, I think Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil, loosely based on the game of the same name by Capcom, is the most suitable candidate and certainly a great, serious and suspenseful zombie flick.

The chilling atmosphere is enhanced greatly by Marilyn Manson and Marco Beltrami’s score, and the zombies themselves look gross and scary. To top it off, the film creates a bizarre atmosphere where the characters have no names and everyone is at a loss at what to do about the hordes of undead walking the corridors of the underground research facility.

With a solid and straight-faced cast, the intensity of this claustrophobic zombie thriller works extremely well. Even if it’s not necessarily the most original film of its kind, it’s certainly a well crafted celebration of the genre.

2. Frankenstein

Out of the Universal horror classics, I honestly think that Frankenstein still holds up the best. Though barely resembling the Mary Shelley novel it’s based on, the movie comes out superior due to its well crafted stage-design, memorable and grandiose (though thankfully not over-the-top) performances and the iconic Boris Karloff in the Jack Pierce make-up which became the look of the monster for all eternity.

Excellent build-up and atmosphere, coupled with a well-written story about science gone awry is in my view the finest mad scientist film still to this day. Who can forget the graveyard scene, the monster’s creation, the little girl or the confrontation at the windmill? This movie is the very definition of iconic.

While many consider its sequel The Bride of Frankenstein to be a superior movie, I personally favour the more serious and dark original, whereas Bride has more of a camp and comedic value in my eyes.

1. Event Horizon

Paul W.S. Anderson’s space horror movie is one of the most under-rated films in its genre. By paying homage to several great horror films of the past, it manages to tell its own intricate and disturbing tale of a ship that went to Hell and back.

Event Horizon walks a fine line between subtle and disgusting but never goes too far the deep end. It manages to maintain its suspense and never once starts to feel overdone. It does get a little gruesome, but I feel in acceptable increments.

Over-all the movie manages to create a great atmosphere as well as make you care about the characters, most of whom meet a very unfortunate fate. The film is also audio-visually magnificent and leaves everything vague enough for the audience to imagine what is actually happening.

It’s my personal favourite horror film and one I enjoy watching endlessly.

My Top-10 Mario Games

The Mario games are my personal favourite series of games ever, so today I decided to share with you the Mario games that I love and never get tired of.

10. Donkey Kong

Some of you might be surprised to see this game up here, but there’s a reason why Donkey Kong became a timeless classic in spite of its silly name. It’s just plain old fun.

The game may only have four levels but they are still well designed and offer a great challenge even if you are a veteran. The game has been ported to numerous platforms, including Nintendo’s on NES and was included as a built-in game in Donkey Kong 64. There was also a longer remake for the Game Boy released in 1994, but I still prefer the original.

Donkey Kong is just one of those classics, like Pac-Man, that you just love coming back to and which never lose their appeal. Admittedly, it’s a primitive 2D platformer, but one that still holds up extremely well.

9. Super Mario Bros.

The game which truly made Mario into an immortal icon of video-gaming didn’t come around until five years after his debut in Donkey Kong but it is still one of my favourite platformers ever made. The simplicity and fluidity of the play-control and the memorable and challenging level design is what makes this one so timeless in my eyes.

Plus, for a game with only six pieces of music composed for it, the soundtrack never gets old, tiresome or even repetitive. Also, the challenge rises fairly and in the later levels of the game, there is a real sense of accomplishment just making it to the flagpole at the end.

However, the formula has been improved a lot since this first game which is why I can’t put it any higher on the list.

8. Super Mario Land

On the offset Super Mario Land may seem like more SMB on the Game Boy, but this game actually has its own distinct charm. The level variety is much better than in SMB and the soundtrack is excellent, despite not being composed by the grand-daddy of all great video-game composers, Koji Kondo.

Also, the game has its own unique variety of enemies and such a high fun factor that you’ll never notice that the game is actually shorter than Super Mario Bros. Plus, this game introduced Daisy – the second princess in the Mario universe – to the world as well as the Super Ball, a fun if not all that recurring power-up from the series.

In addition, Mario gets in a space-ship, a submarine and a plane, adding some more gameplay variety to this instalment. If you own a Game Boy, you need to get your hands on this over-looked classic.

7. Super Mario Bros. 2

Another highly under-rated Mario game, this one definitely deserves a major shout-out. In 1988, Nintendo had to make up for the gap in the Mario franchise left by the fact that Super Mario Bros.2, a.k.a. Lost Levels, was never released outside Japan. Nintendo took another one of their games, Doki Doki Panic, and redesigned it somewhat to turn it into a new Mario game.

As a result, Super Mario Bros. 2 plays very differently from the rest of the franchise, but that’s what makes it so great. It’s new and different with a total of four playable characters with their own distinct attributes. It also has a unique cast of enemies and an extremely memorable soundtrack.

This game receives a lot of undeserved hatred for not being a “true” Mario game, but I think it’s infinitely better than Lost Levels.

6. Mario Party (any version)

One thing that Mario games are always… is fun. That is also very true for the Mario Party games. There’s no reason for me to choose a favourite since whichever instalment of the series you pick it’s bound to be enjoyable.

Mario Party is essentially a virtual board game with intensely competitive mini-games to spice it up and make the competition for collecting stars more interesting. Despite its simplistic concept, Mario Party never gets tiresome, and sometimes the competition can get super-brutal with everyone doing their best to either get to the stars first or to steal stars from other players.

Mario Party basically created the concept of party-games, and it’s still the king of its kind.

5. Super Mario World

Mario’s jump to 16-bit was in my view very successful. Super Mario World offered new exciting levels and enemies while still bringing back timeless classics from titles past. Plus, the game introduced Yoshi, one of the most useful and adorable supporting characters in the Mario franchise.

On top of just providing a massive and great game, Nintendo also hid surprises and secrets into the game-world, allowing for far more exploration than the prior Mario games.

However, on the front of new features and power-ups the game didn’t perhaps offer anything revolutionary and there were certain aspects of the game’s predecessors that I would have liked to have seen in this instalment as well. It’s a super solid title and definitely deserves its spot in the Top-5, but slightly lacking in certain areas.

4. Dr. Mario

Mario is even cool in games that don’t involve action but instead thinking. Dr. Mario was Nintendo’s early attempt at cashing in on the emerging puzzle game craze created by Tetris. What sets Dr. Mario apart from the competition is that it was actually a very solid concept.

Dropping three of the same coloured pills on top of viruses is a simple idea but the challenge is not dealing with the viruses but the left off parts of the pills that start to pile up and endanger your chances of success. It’s also a game where you don’t need to start from the easiest level but can jump to anywhere on the challenge scale if you want to be challenged. And to top it off, it’s one of the most fun puzzle games to play in multiplayer.

Dr. Mario has been ported and updated several times but I still think the original with its two alternate tracks of music is still the best version of all though the remake for the SNES is decent and even comes with Tetris as a complementary game.

3. Super Mario Bros. 3

In my view, 2D Marios have never gotten better than this. SMB3 took what made the original Super Mario Bros. great and made everything bigger and better. From the game worlds that now appear as huge maps and with varied themes to the power-ups which are hands down the most memorable from any Mario game, SMB3 just did everything right.

Not only that, the game had a bigger variety of enemies than the original, impressive as SMB1’s enemy cast was very varied and memorable in its own right, but the game had a greater variety of excellent music from Koji Kondo.

The feature which I felt SMB3 had over Super Mario World was that you could carry multiple items with you and therefore had more resources open to you during this epic adventure.

2. Mario Kart 64

Super Mario Kart was a great idea that perhaps didn’t reach its full potential on the SNES, but as soon as the Mario racing title hit the full 3D 64-bit console what was born is hands down one of the best racing games of all time.

With a memorable cast of playable characters, a great set of power-ups and absolutely the best tracks from any Mario Kart game, Mario Kart 64 is one of those games that I love coming back time and again. Who doesn’t love rushing through Donkey Kong’s Jungle stage, the icy level or heading down Toad’s Highway? Despite the characters still being 2D sprites, they made the driving challenging and added much more varied land-scape than the flat-plains of the original Super Mario Kart. Plus, the game also has great multiplayer features.

Each consequent sequel has been flashier and more audio-visually impressive than Mario Kart 64, but to my eyes, it’s still the most fun game from the franchise.

1. Super Mario 64

Mario made one of the most solid jumps from 2D to 3D. It didn’t simply introduce players like myself to a completely new dimension of gaming but also brought all the charm of prior Mario games along with it.

Excellent levels, coupled with almost limitless exploration possibilities and the most responsive play and camera controls of any 3D platformer I’ve ever played. It still puts most other 3D platformers to shame and not even the later 3D Marios have managed to match its awesomeness. Not to mention, it has easily the best soundtrack of any Mario game to top it all off.

Super Mario 64 is simply a game I never get tired of. It’s one of my favourite games of all time and nothing will ever change that.

Castle of Illusion Review

I recently was reintroduced to Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse for the MegaDrive. Castle of Illusion was one of the very first games I played for the MegaDrive and still an endearing and fun game. Here’s my review of it…

Gameplay: 4/5 – The controls are simple and very responsive which is good. Mickey has decent hang-time during jumps and you can even get a projectile attack for taking out enemies you can’t jump on. The platforming is quite challenging at times but never intolerably so. However, I do wish Mickey would walk a bit faster.

Graphics: 5/5 – The graphics are ver lively and colourful, in other words, perfect for a Mickey Mouse game. There’s tons of variety with the level designs, from the standard forest and cave levels to the colourful toy and candy lands. The enemy designs are quite silly, but I feel appropriate for a game like this.

Animation: 5/5 – There’s a lot of high quality work here, especially on Mickey, but the cutscenes and boss animations are also pretty solid. The full-score comes particularly for the care that was taken with the ending animations.

Music: 4/5 – Very cheery as you might imagine but also very appropriate for the game. The tunes put me in a good mood and they’re quite well orchestrated even if they may not be the most memorable pieces around. Very good none the less.

Sound: 3/5 – Really nothing special but appropriate for the game.

Replay value: 3/5 – The game has three difficulty modes which help you build up experience if you find the game too challenging from the start. The game is also well-designed and therefore a lot of fun to play, but also quite short with only some 10+ levels. Still, for a game designed to be finished as a single session, it’s quite challenging.

Score: 80% – Sega crunched out a high quality Mickey title back in the day and it is still my favourite game to feature the iconic Disney mascot. If you want to play a colourful, fun and well-designed platformer on the MegaDrive, I definitely recommend giving this one a go.

My Top-10 Game Series

Today’s list is pretty self-explanatory. These are my favourite game series, the ones I tend to turn to for great gaming enjoyment…

10. Metroid

I didn’t grow up with Metroid and admittedly I never found much appeal in the NES original or even Super Metroid on the SNES. However, the Metroid Prime games did get me interested in Nintendo’s sole serious sci-fi series (sorry StarFox). The fact that Nintendo introduced one of the earliest and most notable female game heroes to the world is notable in itself, but so is the fact that Nintendo has managed to create such as an action-packed and yet at the same time atmospheric series of games and keep it going for so many years is rather notable.

My personal favourite gameplay wise has always been Metroid Prime 3: Corruption but I have to my disappointment say that the first game in the series to actually attempt telling a serious storyline is Metroid: Other M.

Never the less, between these two and the original Metroid Prime, I have definitely become attracted to this series and look forward to a new instalment of it.

9. Castlevania

Konami’s horror-action series is one of the most notoriously difficult ones and also a series which has seen many phases, from the 2D platformers, to the proverbial MetroidVania style and the later 3D games. My personal favourites however have always been the early 2D instalments.

The first and third games on the NES are what got me started, and especially the first one sticks in my mind as a timeless classic. I even quite enjoy the somewhat notorious Simon’s Quest, due to its music and atmosphere. However, my absolute favourite game from the series is one that unfortunately was never released globally, Akumajou Dracula/Castlevania X: Rondo of Blood. It is by far the most well-crafted and most well designed of all the old school Castlevanias.

I also quite liked Super Castlevania IV on the SNES and I have to admit to liking Castlevania: Bloodlines (a.k.a. The Next Generation) on the MegaDrive.

8. Broken Sword

The British Revolution Software company is one of the last active adventure game studios left in the world of gaming. Since 1996, the company has graced the adventure scene with one of the most memorable, funny, exciting and genuinely enjoyable adventure game series: Broken Sword. From the very first instalment, The Shadow of the Templars (a.k.a. Circle of Blood), players are introduced to the antics of the heroic yet sarcastic attorney George Stobbart as he uncovers great historical mysteries and thwarts the evil schemes of nefarious master-minds with his on-again off-again girlfriend Nico Collard.

The first game is an untoppable master-piece from the series story-wise and its Aztec inspired sequel, Broken Sword II: Smoking Mirror, was at least a very entertaining if not as polished title by comparison. The third game of the series, The Sleeping Dragon, was also a stand-out title with some of the best puzzles and dialogue in the whole franchise, plus some new exciting action-sequences thanks to its new 3D look.

The Angel of Death was a bit of a dip in quality for the franchise despite its returning to the point-and-click roots of the first two games, but it still had its stand-out moments. A fifth game is currently in development and hopefully Charles Cecil will be able to keep the franchise on a high standard from here on out.

7. Donkey Kong

This loveable gorilla of gaming has starred in one of the most endearing series of platformers ever conceived. In the mid-1990s, Rareware and Nintendo teamed up to update the image of the big N’s originally villainous, now heroic monkey. What resulted from that was Donkey Kong Country, a game with the simplicity of Super Mario Bros., the speed and challenge of Sonic the Hedgehog and a memorable soundtrack all its own.

The sequel Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest was a vastly improved title and hands down the second best platformer released for the SNES, after Yoshi’s Island. And despite not being quite as impressive, it’s more beginner-friendly follow-up, Donkey Kong Country 3:Dixie’s Double Trouble, was still a worthwhile title.

While Donkey Kong 64 tends to split opinions, I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if I did feel that the game didn’t quite live up to the same standard as the prior DKC games. However, the franchise made a successful comeback with Donkey Kong Country Returns so hopefully we’ll get to see more high-quality titles from the loveable Ape and the rest of the Kong family.

6. Monkey Island

Unfortunately there aren’t that many long-lasting and popular adventure game series left in the business, but one delightful surprise, time and again, are definitely the swashbuckling Monkey Island games. Starting from The Secret of Monkey Island in 1990, what followed is one of the most solid adventure game series ever made. The hilarious comedic writing, clever puzzles and warm Caribbean feeling brought by the artwork and the memorable musical scores of Michael Z. Land are what make this series so timeless and enjoyable.

Of course, my personal favourite from the series has always been The Curse of Monkey Island from 1997, but all the games in this series are definitely worth a try because each of them are so distinct and have their own style and distinct nature. I admittedly have never been the biggest fan of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, but many fans consider it a timeless classic.

I also personally enjoyed both Escape from Monkey Island and TellTale Games’ Tales of Monkey Island. Here’s hoping that there will be even more Monkey Island titles in the future.

5. The Legend of Zelda

Similarly to Metroid, I didn’t really grow up with the Zelda games and therefore didn’t have quite a strong connection to the early titles on the NES and SNES. However, after playing Ocarina of Time, I became a massive fan of the series. Ocarina of Time was one of the first games I played fanatically in order to finish and I still have not gotten tired of it after so many years. Every other Zelda game really pales to its main-quest which is in my view the most well crafted and fun.

However, the later Zeldas have all contributed to the franchise as a whole. Majora’s Mask had an intricate game-world and admittedly the best gameplay of any game in the series. Wind Waker was the most cinematically impressive and Twilight Princess also offered an interesting story and one of the most memorable casts of any of the games. While I thought that the franchise’s newest instalment, Skyward Sword, was a tad underwhelming – it was still fun to play and did include at the very least the bare bones of what a good Zelda game ought to be. And in that it still comes out stronger than most other action-games.

Though there may never be another master piece in the franchise on the same level as Ocarina of Time, I am continually drawn to the series and eagerly wait for the next major instalment from the franchise.

4. Mortal Kombat

Nether Realm productions’, formerly Midway, Mortal Kombat series is the most bizarrely addicting fighting game franchise I’ve ever played. Like many others, I was actually drawn to the franchise by the 1995 movie, which is still one of my personal favourite video game films, but the early games in the franchise now admittedly seem very dated to me.

Really, my long-term relationship with MK started with Deadly Alliance which, on top of being just a super-fun game, also offered great extras. Armageddon brought the storyline to the front, which I liked, but was perhaps lacking in its over-all polish. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was a fun cross-over but a quickly expended gaming experience.

Surprisingly it was Mortal Kombat 9 that proved to be my personal favourite from the franchise, not just due to its solid gameplay but also due to its excellent story-mode. And though I criticise the older games, I still enjoy the very first Mortal Kombat as well as Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

3. Sonic the Hedgehog

Despite my history as a Nintendo kid, I will have to admit that I was immediately taken by Sega’s blue hedgehog when I first played Sonic on the MegaDrive in the early 1990s. And my love for the fastest hedgehog alive has never died.

Almost any of the official Sonic-titles from the MegaDrive are worth playing, but my personal favourites have always been the two first titles in the series. Sonic 1 is just so simple and it’s one of those games you can just pick up and play from start to finish. Sonic the Hedgehog 2, however, is an untoppable masterpiece with the most memorable levels and soundtrack as well as the most polished gameplay from entire franchise. Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles are both fun games but in my view not comparable to these earlier titles. Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 are also extremely solid titles and worth getting for anyone who finally wanted to see Sonic deal with a serious storyline.

People have mixed opinions on the later games in the franchise and unfortunately I haven’t gotten around to playing as many as I would have hoped. Sonic 4 Episode 1 was okay in my view, but I will have to try out some of the newer titles a little later on…

2. Mega Man

Capcom’s blue bomber was one of my first favourite game franchises and still one of my favourites. The 2D action platformers are some of the finest ever made and still hold up after all this time. All six games on the NES are timeless classics and even the later games have their own certain appeal.

Mega Man 2 is the obvious favourite of everyone, but even later titles like Mega Man 5 offer great challenge and excellent levels and just tons of fun. However, these later games can also be frustratingly challenging at times, so it’s highly recommended for beginners to start with an easier title from the franchise such as Mega Man 3.

Not only is Mega Man just one excellent series of games, it’s several. However, of the many spin-offs my personal favourites have been the Mega Man X games, specifically the first three on the SNES. If you’ve played the classic series games to death and wants something new and refreshing, then the X-series is definitely for you.

1. Mario

I guess it’s no surprise. Super Mario Bros. was the first game I ever played. Almost anything that has Mario in it, in my view, is at least worth a try and especially the platformer or main series games from the franchise are an absolute must-play for anyone who enjoys a well-crafted gaming experience.

Whether we’re talking about the classic SMB titles on the NES, Super Mario Land on the Game Boy or Super Mario World on the SNES, every single Mario game has something distinct and great to offer. And to top it off, Mario went to 3D with style, with Super Mario 64 still being one of the best 3D platformers of all time. The Galaxy titles are of course a must-play and I’d even say the somewhat opinion splitting Sunshine is worth a go.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Mario can also be found in puzzle-games like Dr. Mario, in racing games like Mario Kart 64, in virtual board-games like the Mario Party series and in any number of sport-related titles. If it has Mario, it’s almost always bound to be good and that’s why this cheery Italian adventurer has never lost his appeal with me. Wa-hoo!