Games in Toyland: A GOTD Christmas Countdown

[celerystalker]

Well, December has come, so it feels like time for more themed games of the day to irritate everyone. This time, for the Christmas season, we'll change it up a bit. As opposed to the usual pile of less popular games, for the holidays the theme will be games based on popular toy lines or built around playing with toys. Maybe some folks out there even got some of these for Christmas at one time. So, time to go play with some toys!

[celerystalker]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a multi-media empire that hit kids in the late '80s like a ton of bricks. I recall the first time I saw this arcade game in a Wal-Mart vestibule back in 1989. It was a rare thing for me to get to play an arcade game during that time outside of special occasions, but my dad made zero effort to deny me a chance to play the game based around my favorite cartoon, toy, and everything of the time. I went to the red controls to play as my then-favorite, Raph, and what followed would be burned into my memory for the rest of my life. The cartoon theme song, the vibrant graphics... I didn't clear the first stage. It was electric, and I wanted more.



As a beat 'em up, TMNT is good. Its mechanics have since been outshone by many of Capcom's works among others, and there is little variety among enemies to pummel... but sweet lord, did it hammer down the aesthetics of its theme with authority. Using a bit of the cartoon theme song and opening in the attract mode was ingenious. Bebop and Rocksteady look just like their action figures. Everything is so vibrant and colorful, and four player co-op just brought it all home to the point where it truly felt like an extension of everything I loved about the turtles. It's a game whose actual play is quality, but is just window dressing for getting sucked into the world of TMNT.



I played this cabinet anytime I had a chance... a church group at Showbiz Pizza, Rock & Roll Arena (a skating rink), on vacation in Branson at White Water... and while I never personally completed it back then, just seeing it felt special. The character sprites really look outstanding, and the animations such as hurling a foot soldier against a wall or being launched across the room by a punch ftom Bebop really add personality beyond the simple jumping and attacking. The soundtrack deftly intertwines the licensed music with new compositions that maintain the tone of both the source material and what is happening on-screen with ease. A fan of the toys or show was helpless against a draw like that.



TMNT was the last toy line that I really fell in with as a kid, but it's stay was surely lengthened by this game. For many years, I clung tightly to its really great NES port, and Turtles in Time on SNES helped as well. I still have most of my old Turtles, though the years of play and later abuse by my nieces and nephews has left them far worse for wear. Still, this arcade game has always remained magical in my memories, and when I finally got TMNT: Battle Nexus to play it again... it was neutered. I would later spring for a pcb to play in my Sunset Riders cabinet, and while I thought playing on Battle Nexus was close enough, hearing the licensed music again damn near brought a tear to my eye.

I love this game. Any good memories of it or the toys, especially around Christmas?

[Niku-Sama]

The only thing i can remember about turtles around x mas is that one year as a kid i got an animation still from production of Donatello with dive sort of autograph on it. Can't remember who it was. I still have it some where.

You know probably one of those things i should find...

[celerystalker]

Zillion is pretty popular among Master System fans, and it is often compared to Metroid (in spite of being almost EXACTLY like Impossible Mission...) as a great non-linear action game for Sega's box. So, why include it as a toy-related game, and futhermore, why use its generally looked-down-upon sequel? Welp, as many folks here probably know, Zillion is based on Sega's laser tag toy from the early '80s, called, um, Zillion! The sequel I feel better captures the action-packed spirit of the toy, so I figured it was time to run and gun a bit.



So, the path here is an odd one. Sega creates the Zillion Laser Tag set for Japan (Photon is better, just sayin'), which they partner up with Tec Toy to release in Brazil, and I believe... Matchbox (?) in the UK. It uses the same gun mold they would eventually re-purpose for the Master System's Light Phaser, in effort to draw in loyal players. The toy inspires a manga and eventual anime adaptation, which in turn is the basis for two Master System games... neither of which use the damn gun peripheral that started it all!



Zillion II is now a level-based run 'n gun in which the player fights on foot and on a powerful transforming bike. With proper power-ups and in the right areas, the bike can become a flying robot and obliterate its foes. In other areas, you fight on foot in stages that feel like a rudimentary Contra, blasting through metallic corridors and blowing up robots. You rescue your missing teammates, fight the odd boss, and try to work your way through the trying stages. It's pretty straight forward stuff, and is enjoyable in its simplicity, though the lack of a proper continue function makes it a tough nut to crack.



I'm a big fan of the look of the game, even if the enemies and backgrounds are a tad repetitive. It's a bit similar in that regard to a favorite of mine, Quartet, and really represents Sega's style at the time. Not using the Light Phaser feels like a huge miss, and probably would have ruled given Sega's light gun output history. Still, Zillion II offers up some of the faster action on the Master System, and its challenge, while tough, keeps me coming back for more. Color me a fan.

Any Christmas memories here? Anyone actually have the toys? Have sweet VHS tapes like mine? Read the comics?

[Dire 51]

Still, Zillion II offers up some of the faster action on the Master System, and its challenge, while tough, keeps me coming back for more. Color me a fan.

Finally! Someone else that actually likes Zillion II! I don't like the original, mainly because I never cared for Impossible Mission, but I've always liked II. I hate that it gets trashed because it's not like the original. I understand that the original is a celebrated game among MS fans, and that the shift in genres pissed a lot of them off, but it is what it is.

Any Christmas memories here? Anyone actually have the toys? Have sweet VHS tapes like mine? Read the comics?

I owned the first couple of VHS tapes for some time. Never did see any of the episodes past those, but I always wanted to know how the series ended.

[FieryReign]

I don't get why people even like the first Zillion. Crawling on the ground shooting lazers. Reversed jump and shoot controls. Searching trashcans for symbols. Using those symbols to put together passcodes. One of which makes you commit suicide. Don't remember that in Metroid.

It's nothing like Metroid and I wonder what Sega fans are smoking when they compare the 2.

[celerystalker]

Yeah, I definitely prefer Zillion II. The original is even slower than Impossible Mission with its codes, but the second comes out guns blazing. Totally underappreciated.

[celerystalker]

In my younger days, fantastic toy lines were everywhere, and I enjoyed many of them. However, above all other toys and cartoons of the era, GI Joe stands alone as my first love. The first two toys I recall being given by my dad were a Hot Wheels fire truck and a Destro action figure, and yes, that original Destro is the one in the picture. My dad giving it to me just before I was three was such a defining, magical moment that I recall it clearly over many more likely important memories. It was a rare occasion where just the two of us were at K-Mart, and he shared his cherry Icee with me and bought me that action figure, and I will never forget it. Not to mention, that MASS Device mini-series that launched the cartoon and the Marvel comics were freaking dynamite!



I could wax poetic at length about how well those original episodes hold up (and they do, damn it!), but we're here to talk video games. Taxan's take on GI Joe follows the logical path of fast action and using different characters that made the property great to begin with and creates a run 'n gun platformer with selectable on the fly characters, not unlike Konami's first TMNT game, but with a faster pace and a clear stage by stage structure. It's pretty straight forward... run, jump, duck, and attack, but which character you've selected has different ranged and melée attacks and jump/speed attributes to highlight their differences. You can bring along a group of three to any mission, and each mission allows a new selection with a mandatory leader (but you suck if you didn't choose Snake Eyes and Rock 'n Roll), such as Duke in the Jungle or Blizzard in Antarctica. It's a well-designed way to portray each character as unique aside from sprites, and adds a layer of depth as well.



Each stage concludes with a boss battle, often with a recognizable Cobra operative or vehicle. These actually offer up a nice variety of patterns and attack points, making for some enjoyable fights that don't get too frustrating. Each mission cleared offers up a password for later continue, which is beneficial for keeping the game brisk and fun if you don't have time to sit through it all at once. The graphics are sharp, with each character easily realized and the bosses can get pretty big as well. As far as the game's pace goes, it's fairly brisk, but given the verticality and time limit components of each level, it's not quite as speedy and direct as, say, Contra, but is a bit less labyrinthine than a Turrican. Altogether, it's a sharply designed gunner that plays to the strengths of its source material without compromising on presenting a quality video game.



Very few toy lines are as iconic or impactful as GI Joe, and it has produced several fine games, like Konami's outstanding cursor gallery shooter that I'm searching for a pcb for... but I digress. Many of my early Christmas gifts have pleasant GI Joe tie-ins, like the year I got Ace in the F14 Tomcat or the year my mom's parents, who always gave socks or a belt or something, actually got me a Leatherneck action figure. It's a property near and dear to my childhood, and you can pry my Destro out of my cold dead hands... besides, he's basically the most competent cartoon villain ever.

Any fans of this NES game? Some good GI Joe memories?

[celerystalker]

One toy line that I always thought looked cool but never really owned as a kid was Masters of the Universe, which showcased the battle of He-Man against the evil Skeletor and Hordak for the fate of Eternia. With figures and play sets roughly the size of ninja turtles, they brought an exciting swords and sorcery element to play time. Oddly enough, I now own the vast majority of figures and play sets thanks to my toy collecting grandma, so I can manufacture a thousand deaths for Orko at my whim, but my only taste of the toys in my childhood came from playing at friends' houses. The Intellivision game relates a daring strike by He-Man into the heart of Skeletor's castle to drive him away from Castle Greyskull.



There are two main phases in Masters of the Universe. In the first, He-Man approaches Skeletor's lair in his hovercraft, the Wind Raider, dodging flying fireballs and dropping bombs on Skeletor, who runs back and forth below. Points are scored by shooting the fireballs and hitting Skeletor, and a bonus is given once the castle is reached. This plays out in a horizontally-scrolling shooter stage, and as loops progress, the fireballs take more hits to destroy and move in more difficult patterns. In the second phase, He-Man must survive an onslaught of magical attacks from his nemesis, crossing through a hell of projectiles across the screen in order to reach the monster for a sword duel. This fight plays out automatically, and Skeletor inevitably retreats, initiating the next loop. There is no ending, and the only reward comes from a high score... but as there never really is peace in Eternia, perhaps the endless struggle truly represents Prince Adam's plight well.



Graphically, Masters of the Universe employs good-looking sprites for the time, and is able to sustain quite a few on screen simultaneously, making the game feel more action packed than it likely is. It looks really solid in motion, and for an early game actually hits its aesthetics pretty well. The sound is a little more generic, though it does get the job done well enough, so it's not really a detractor so much as it just isn't a strength. The packaging, though, especially the overlays, look really awesome, and help drive home that you're playing a He-Man game.



While there have been a handful of games based on Masters of the Universe, it's a license that has never truly seen its potential fully realized in video game form. This Intellivision release is perhaps one of if not the best adaptation the property has seen, and it is actually pretty fun to sit and play for awhile. I'dve loved to have seen a TMNT-style brawler at some point, but as is, this is a pretty good way to go for a He-Man fan, and it's still pretty inexpensive. Any Masters of the Universe memories out there?

[FieryReign]

Had a some of those He-man figures and watched the cartoon. Most of the toys were like all made from the same mold. Stocky and muscular dudes with veins protruding. Even Skeletor was cock-swiesel. Guess that's how the show was. Don't remember much about the film but I do remember leaving the theater like "what was that?"

[celerystalker]

Had a some of those He-man figures and watched the cartoon. Most of the toys were like all made from the same mold. Stocky and muscular dudes with veins protruding. Even Skeletor was cock-swiesel. Guess that's how the show was. Don't remember much about the film but I do remember leaving the theater like "what was that?"

Yeah, there's a ton of figures in that line that have the exact same body parts, just painted differently. It's like a Boris Vallejo painting reproduced by a ten year old, which is both terrible and amazing at the same time.

[celerystalker]

Sometimes, a video game is based on a toy or board game. Other times, a board game is based on a video game. In the case of Genpei Toumaden: Computer Board Game, it somehow manages to be both at the same time. Originally a Namco arcade game called Genpei Toumaden, this Famicom game is an actual board game based on it, but uses a famicom game to play out interactive segments in one of the most intriguing hybrid games I've played to date. Containing both a single player quest and an up to four player multi-player game, there's a lot of fun to be had here!



Following the same story as the second Genpei Toumaden PC Engine game (Samurai Ghost on Turbografx-16), deceased samurai Kagekiyo is brought back from the land of the dead by the Emperor to wage war against the evil shogun Yoritomo. Players move Kagekiyo from province to province, defeating warlords and reclaiming territory in the name of the Emperor. The object of the game is to defeat Yoritomo before he takes over the country while recovering the three sacred Imperial treasures in single player mode. In multi-player, the winner is determined by who claims the most land by the end of the game.



In each turn, players enter their current province for a brief RPG stage. This plays out on the Famicom, and the active player begins exploring, finding temple gates, statues, treasures, and castles. Meanwhile, a monster portal flies about, and can release a set number of ghouls to attack Kagekiyo in menu-based encounters a la Dragon Warrior. Kagekiyo can use the spoils from these to level up his attributes at shrines, refill hit points at statues, or pay for warps through the big shrine gates. Upon reaching the castle, players can bribe or fight the warlord to take control of the region, which refills the life meter, offers money and treasures, and allows selection of which adjacent territory to move into next. In multi-player, another human controls the monster portal, chasing the active player, selecting the type of monster to release, and even controlling monster actions in battle. It's a clever way to keep all players engaged during the modestly lengthly turns.



I'll be doing a more detailed write up on the game mechanics in Import Mania as I continue translating the manual with my brother. However, the single player game is pretty straight forward, as it doesn't require the board, cards, and tokens to be played, tracking everything in-game. In multi-player, the cart doesn't track your spells and the like, as you play cards and select the appropriate menu response regulated only by the other players. Basically, single player plays like a simple RPG with board game mechanics, whereas multi-player plays out more like a board game with light RPG elements, requiring the cards, board, and tokens to be played properly. It's pretty clever game all around, and one of the more interesting Famicom exclusives out there. I dig it!

[celerystalker]

Oh, Star Wars... few franchises have had the ups and downs across so many forms of media. There are not just loads of books, movies, specials, comics, curtains, blankets... you get the idea, but there have been several successful toy lines as well. From the iconic Kenner classic line to Rogue One toys in stores now, Star Wars action figures have been around for decades. With a huge library of games to choose from, I'm going with Super Return of the Jedi for the SNES to represent Star Wars toys. Why? It came out at arguably a peak time for Star Wars fans, as the special edition theatrical releases were happening, the wildly popular CCG was raking in money, and the Power of the Force action figure line was in stores with Shadows of the Empire on the horizon and the books gaining traction. People were into Star Wars in growing numbers, and the Super Star Wars games were a big deal. Why Jedi? Because I got it for Christmas!



Building on the progression of the first two SNES games, Super Return of the Jedi continued their action/platforming tradition with the odd Mode 7 vehicle stage. Jedi still had several playable characters and pretty decently followed the film, but placed a much heavier emphasis on Luke Skywalker using his lightsaber. Not only did Luke continue to use his force powers, but actual dueling and deflecting lasers really became a big part of the game's presentation. The new speeder bike segments were a bit different than the vehicle stages in the prior games, and for whatever reason we needed to play as Wicket the ewok. The control has continued its refinement, and ends up feeling the most responsive of the trilogy. It all boils down to a quality platformer with a more cinematic feel thanks to the breaks provided by the vehicles and that sweeping music.



Graphics and sound are really the highlights of all of the Super Star Wars games, and Super Return of the Jedi looks pretty great. The feel of the films comes across very well, as the color palette matches up nicely, the stages generally represent the progression of the film, and the music, while plagued with some reverb, still is reproduced very well by the Super Nintendo hardware. In a licensed property like this, hitting the aesthetics is every bit as important as nailing the gameplay, and they got it right here. The control, while continually improved throughout the series, is still more slippery than the tightest games on the system. It remains very playable, and even fun, but there are moments where the focus on animation trumps stopping when you should.



Super Return of the Jedi is a great time for a fan, and represents to me that last era where I just loved all things Star Wars unquestioningly. Today, I spend more energy trying to convince myself that I can still enjoy those classic films and the like the way I used to than enjoying new Star Wars media. In the mid-late '90s, though, there was still a mythology that I welcomed into my imagination, ready to absorb its legends and secrets. On my Super Nintendo, though, I still loved Star Wars, and that hasn't changed so much over the years.

[FieryReign]

Never played Super Jedi. Did they fix the issues of the first 2 games? Where dozens of enemies and hazards would just respawn out of thin air and bombard you from every angle?

Not really a Star Wars fan but I plan on seeing the new one. Just because of Donnie Yen. Hope they don't waste his talents again, like Hollywood did before.

[celerystalker]

Never played Super Jedi. Did they fix the issues of the first 2 games? Where dozens of enemies and hazards would just respawn out of thin air and bombard you from every angle?

Not really a Star Wars fan but I plan on seeing the new one. Just because of Donnie Yen. Hope they don't waste his talents again, like Hollywood did before.

There are still too many respawns, but not as badly as in the other two. The worst part in this one is that the bosses soak up crazy amounts of damage. The second boss is a bitch if you aren't Chewbacca, and some others are really dependant on which character you chose.

[celerystalker]

I know that the trend and running joke is that everything becomes cool again a couple of decades after it was initially popular, but those crummy, goofy-looking troll dolls didn't seem like the sort of thing to get a second run in the mainstream. Still, we're staring down the barrel of an all new Troll movie and toy line, and I'm just as excited as I get every time a celebrity launches a new perfume line (read: it's pretty pointless). Whether it's Taylor Swift's new Rectal Fantasies Body Spray or little girls braiding coifs of colorful hair puffed above a goofy-ass face, it's safe to say I'm not in the target audience. Still, these little abominations were at a time insanely popular and are trying to get back, so I figured I'd go with one of the surprisingly many Troll games. Fortunately, Super Nintendo's Stone Protectors is kind of awesome.



Appearing as if Jem and the Holograms got drunk and banged a bunch of Troll dolls, the Stone Protectors were an attempt at marketing Trolls to boys so damn tubular that it would have been social suicide to have them on the cover of your school folder. The idea is that punk rocker trolls bond with fragmented crystals that they must protect by beating the shit out of all comers. These things got a cartoon, action figures, the works... and promptly failed. In this SNES offering, things play out as a belt-scrolling beat 'em up that, while flawed, gets more right than wrong. For better or worse, it is true to the source material, with all of the colorful nonsense encompassed therein, which makes for a brightly tinted brawler with a pretty distinct look. Actually, the sprites look pretty great, and the music, while hokey, at least supports the radical tone that was intended. There is a decent amount of cool scrolling and transparency effects in the backgrounds, and the stages are nicely varied. The animation can feel a tad choppy at times, especially in two-player, but overall, I feel like they actually got the game that they really intended to make to come across, and I can commend that, dubious of a proposition as this abomination of a license is.



Gameplay wise, you get a pretty straight forward beat 'em up with a surprisingly robust move set, complete with charge attacks and Street Fighter-style specials. The timing takes a bit of getting used to, but the Stone Protectors have more moves than the likes of Rushing Beat or Final Fight. The important two player co-op is present that all beat 'em ups should have, and the challenge is actually pretty well balanced either way. Collecting one of each colored gem in each stage awards an extra life, so cooperative play benefits both players, leading to a pretty pleasant multi-player experience, and you can turn off player on player violence. Realistically, aside from the campy theme and slightly choppy frame rate in co-op, Stone Protectors isn't half bad... it's actually pretty fun!



Stone Protectors is a game that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It came out when beat 'em ups were losing steam in the public eye, and was hamstrung by a license that I'm not sure would have worked un-ironically in any era. Still, if you have a taste for the cheesy and want to mess around with a colorful brawler with a uniquely goofy presentation, you could do a LOT worse than Stone Protectors. It's a legitimately fun game, and far superior to Super Troll Islands, which I refuse to do a write up for, or even use proper grammar in said denial. Or, if you're that one person who seriously loved Stone Protectors... well, have fun!

Any Troll Christmas memories (about the toys, not trolling me about Christmas)?

[celerystalker]

Monopoly has cross-pollinated in so many other brands that making it its own video game must've been an absolute no brainer. One of the most popular board games in existence, it has gone on to influence other board and video games as well. It has seen ports across loads of consoles and computers, making it nearly as successful as a video game license as a board game. So, the real question is, why play Monopoly as a video game instead of a board game?



In my case, I chose the Master System edition due to a personal history with my copy. I'd owned it for years from a bulk purchase, but had never bothered to really play it. I was renting a house with a good friend at the time, and had started dating the girl who is now my wife. In this house, my room was the master on the main floor, my buddy's was a big basement room, and another main floor bedroom was the "Neo Geo Room," home of a futon, two huge media shelves chock full of anime, a Sony Trinitron monitor, and my Neo Geo AES... and a small TV in the closet hooked up in case I wanted to listen to a ball game when playing Neo Geo or we had a house guest. My future wife and I were trying to decide what to do one day when she asked if I had Monopoly. My board game was at my parents'... but I had a video game version if we wanted to try that. I plugged in my Genesis 1 with Power Base Converter, as it used the same composite cable as the AES, and we were off! It became a somewhat regular thing for us to curl up in the Neo Geo room and play Monopoly on Master System. It's long since been replaced by Fortune Street, Top Shop, and Culdcept, but Master System Monopoly was a great little time for us.



That may explain why I enjoy video Monopoly, but why would anyone else? Well, there are a few reasons. One, no setup. No unboxing, no doling out cash, no one has to be the banker... you just choose how many players and whether you want a time limit, and you're off. Two, no one can cheat. If you grew up with my sister, this is actually very helpful, as no one inexplicably has stacks of $500s that nobody saw coming. Three, you can save. Monopoly can be a long, grueling game, and being able to come back later without having to preserve a board setup is rather nice. Lastly, there is drop in/out play if someone needs to leave or take a break and everyone else wants to keep playing. One player who sours on the game pisses all over it, so being able to convert it to a CPU player is fantastic. So, if you play a lot of Monopoly, playing on a console can actually alleviate several minor issues in a convenient package.



There are many versions of Monopoly, and some add new modes, like Monopoly Party on Gamecube allowing simultaneous turns for faster play. I personally prefer the Master System edition, Mono Poly as it is misprinted, as not only do I have memories tied to it, but it's also a very straight forward, simple, pure game of Monopoly with a brisk pace and classic rules. It's a great way to enjoy a classic... and, hey... it ended up as a gateway drug for my wife, who now plays the shit out of some Culdcept!

[celerystalker]

There were a lot of great toy lines in the '80s and early '90s, and one of my favorites is Hasbro's classic WWF action figure line. Just about every wrestler anyone wanted got a great little figure here, complete with stubby legs, exaggerated features, and some sort of spring-loaded attack to use on unsuspecting Ninja Turtles. My buddy Tim had the ring and a healthy selection of figures, so my dream matches like Earthquake destroying the Ultimate Warrior and Demolition crushing, well, everyone, could come true. There's more story there involving McDonald's Playland balls, but that's for another day. The fact was, these were my favorite line of wrestling toys, followed closelyby LJN's Wrestling Superstars line, and while not a direct tie-in, WWF Wrestlefest was basically an arcade game starring Hasbro's rendition of the stars of the day.



As wrestling arcade games go, Wrestlefest goes for elegant simplicity. Minimizing the button mashing that plagued the genre in those times, it used a combination of strikes and grapples that became progressively stronger as matches continued. Some small measure of mashing exists, but the grapple will resolve quickly based more on your wrestler's condition and timing. Mechanically, this makes for a simple to learn game that's less about complex controls and more about ring positioning and well-placed attacks over jamming buttons and hoping. It's good that they opted for this route, as in many ways this is all simply an excuse for massive fan service.



Theatrical entrances, colorful wrestlers that instantly recall Hasbro's plastic renditions, cutscenes of the Legion of Doom towering over Mean Gene and threatening the beating if a lifetime... not to mention modes based on the popular events of the Royal Rumble and Saturday Night Main Event, Wrestlefest's attract mode and its wanton display of its roster's finishers was a siren song WWF fans found irresistable. Main Event is basically a re-hash of the previous WWF Superstars cabinet, as a tag team title hunt mode, whereas the Rumble is a no-holds-barred free-for-all in which literally every character would get involved. This time, up to four players can play at once, making for a raucous wrestling experience for the right crowd (i.e. current or reformed Hulkamaniacs). Finishers are so ridiculously easy to perform that you always get a chance to see them, making for an all around fan service monster that truly embodies the WWF in the early '90s.



With a great roster, two modes, and aesthetics that make you feel the same as when buying Hasbro figures, WWF Wrestlefest is an iconic game of my youth. Sure, it's not particularly deep or intense, but it is a nostalgia trip for the ages. Plus, with icing so delicious, who really cares if the cupcake is only okay? Now, somebody please get me a god damned Slim Jim so I can snap into it. Please.

[celerystalker]

The Thunderbirds property originates from the flying boss from The Adventures of Link giving those Team America guys a lift. The end.


This guy disagrees. He's a nerd.

Based on a UK TV program using advanced marionette techniques, it relayed the stories of the Thunderbirds, who were apparently less of Pontiac enthusiasts and more protectors of the planet. Utilizing future technology and top notch intelligence, the Thunderbirds would fly off from their mountain base into danger, bravely fending off the menace of the day. The show was wildly popular, and spawned a toy line so powerful that it reportedly outsold Star Wars toys for a good while. Action figures, playsets, vehicles... it was all a rather big deal, and even has had reboots and re-launches as recently as this year. A handful of video games followed suit, including this NES release.



Taking these high-flying adventures to their logical format, the game plays out as a mission-based shooter. You select a stage from a map of Earth, launch forth, and tackle said objective. Successfully clearing a short stage can yield power-ups and open up both new stages and new paths through existing stages. These new paths often employ different vehicles from the Thunderbirds' garage, each of which has unique features and weapons. In a few ways, it really reminds me of a PS1 favorite of mine, Meta-Ph-List, which uses a similar mission structure to progress. It's a pretty novel approach for the era, and while lacking flashy boss encounters, bombs, and other modern shooter tropes, its unique style is pretty endearing.



The control in Thunderbirds is spot on, although without a turbo controller, prepare to jam the shit out of that A button. B is for repositioning your options, and many of your mission spoils are the ability to place your option in different positions. Weapons can be powered up three times, and two options can be snagged to beef you up for battle. Each vehicle moves at different speeds, has unique firing patterns, and different challenges, such as being low to the ground and having to fire through barriers or dodge walls. This variety, coupled with the brief missions, keep the game fresh. There is also a password function, allowing you to continue protecting the blue planet at your leisure. It's unique among NES shooters, and is all the more fun for it.



While never as popular in the US, Thunderbirds certainly still has its fans. Any good memories of this game, the show, or toys?

[celerystalker]

When I first learned about Skylanders, I was irritated. It sounded like a bunch of on-disc DLC that had to be unlocked by buying trinkets, and that just seemed like an enormous scam. Then, I sat back and pondered... if I were a ten-year-old reading about it, how would I feel? If I were to be honest with myself, I'd have gone ape shit for that stuff. Action figures that can be used in a video game? Holy hell, I'dve paid every penny I could scrape off of a parking lot and then some for that sort of thing. Then I thought, hey, I've got a bunch of nieces and nephews who could never afford such nonsense, and was planning on having kids of my own... so I bought it all. Every basic figure from the original set, the extra stages... I made up my mind that for that one game, I was buying in. I picked up the Wii and 3DS versions, and ya know... they're actually pretty fun. I'll be talking about the 3DS offering today, though.



While all of the big console editions are top-down hack 'n slash adventures, Skylanders on the 3DS is more a traditional 3D platformer in which characters can be swapped out in order to use their unique talents to access various parts of each stage to find all of the secrets and reach the end. Unlike the big brother ports, there's far more differences than just speed and attacks, as jumping prowess and hovering also play a role in what can be reached. Leveling and experience still transfer between all versions, so a powered up Wii figure will retain its advanced abilities and continue its progression in spite of being played in a completely different style of game, which is a neat unifying feature. The toys end up acting like their own memory cards, working in all versions of the game, which is an excellent design feature for such a cash grab.



The platforming unique to the portable edition is actually really solid. Stages are of a good length for portable play, featuring a nice balance of attacking, jumping, and puzzle solving in order to both progress and find treasures, which can also transfer between versions with your figures. Being a single-player game on handheld, you select two skylanders by placing them on the portal between stages in the hub world. Sometimes, it can be beneficial to re-enter a cleared stage with a new pairing, using new abilities and elemental affinities to gain entrance to different areas or elemental gates. Fortunately, this sort of replayability is targeted at growing characters and finding tangible rewards such as treasure that offer stat bonuses as opposed to the collectathons that dominated the 32/64 bit era. It ends up feeling like a nice, brisk pace that fits nicely into portable chunks, yet still feels like an adventure.



Honestly, I really prefer Skylanders in this format, although both are fun. I feel like the promise of the toy end of the equation was finally reached a couple of years ago when they released some actual toy playsets for use purely out of game, truly blurring the line between video games and toys. If you're able to put aside that feeling that you're being fleeced, Skylanders is a pretty nifty experience, and a fine little platformer on the 3DS that I enjoyed far more than I'dve anticipated.

Anyone else been dumb enough to get into this one?