HDN

Always happy to help with stuff like this and talk about these games I love. I want everyone to enjoy these sorts of things. And you all here on the I/O have helped ME enjoy things too!

Graphics do not maketh game. Sure, Pac-Man may not look great, but it resembles the arcade game enough. It’s not like you can’t tell what it is supposed to be. It looks like Pac-Man, just a little worse, which is expected. Could it have been done better? Of course. But I feel that 2600 Pac-Man really isn’t as bad of a port as people say it is, and I wouldn’t even say that it is a clone either, though I can totally see where @TrekMD is coming from. Pac-Man on VCS is, dare I say, my all-time favorite version of the arcade classic.

Yes, those are FANTASTIC! Part of the reason this feels like an evolution of my current setup. I use the same sorts of things downstairs, though they're horizontally oriented rather than vertically. In the holes without consoles, I put drawers with controllers, cords, cleaning supplies for games, tools, etc. It works marvelously, and you should really get some.

Very nice setup, @Rocker67! I'd like to do something similar to that someday. It looks awesome! Question for you-- there's another boxed CBS game I see, but the oversized Omega Race box is obscuring it. Which one is that?

Also @RickR-- plain old "Golf" on Game Boy is supposed to be pretty good. I have yet to give it a try. It's a pretty cheap game, and I think I'll pick it up one of these days.

I got you covered, @RickR. PINBALL: Try Kirby's Pinball Land. It's marvelous. Made by the same people behind Revenge of the Gator, Kirby's Pinball Land features similar physics, bonus screens, and multi-layered tables, but it also contains more advanced layouts, killer music, boss battles, and epic music. A must-own for the system, and quite possibly one of my favorite pinball games ever made. TENNIS: Try Top Rank Tennis. It is a very good game. Fast ball physics, lots of different ways to swing the racket, singles and doubles, four-player support, tournament modes, and some awesome voice synthesis. An honorable mention would be the original Tennis for Game Boy. Both are great games, but Top Rank is the better of the two. GOLF: Try Mario Golf on the Game Boy Color. It's an exclusive game in the clear case, so don't count on it working with your Brick, Pocket, or Super Game Boys. The control is great, and the ball goes where it should. Reminds me like an expansion and overall improvement of the phenomenal NES black-box Golf. RACING: Here's one that I'm not particularly fond of, but I think you might like. F-1 Race is a cheap game that you might want to try out. It reminds me a bit of Pole Position with rankings (first, second, third, etc) instead of just a time trial with cars. I'm not too big a fan, but you might find some enjoyment should you play it. FOOTBALL: Play Action Football might be one you would enjoy. It's fine, but I prefer more arcadey football games where you don't have to pick from a vast selection of plays, like 10-Yard Fight and 2600 Football. You would like this one probably. I can appreciate it for what it is and can clearly see that it's a good football game. Just not my cup of tea. BOWLING: I can't think of any bowling games at the moment on GB or GBC. Let me get back to you on that.

Before I watched the video, I was guessing two Froggers and a Pac-Man. Though I did watch the video before posting this.

There is nothing more annoying, intensifying, and ear-splitting in video gaming! Still, a great game. I would like to get the SNES version someday, just because. Oh-ho! We have a 3DS Ambassador in our midst! You lucky ducks, we “normies” never got any GBA games on our 3DSes. I did get both Fusion and Zero Mission on my Wii U. I got Metroid 2 on 3DS. Metroid II holds an incredibly special place in my heart. I ought to tell my story about that game someday. A story filled with mystery, excitement, disappointment, regret, pure bliss, and loads of early childhood memories. Ever since I got my GBA last year, I have been looking for this game. I still have not found a physical copy. There are only a select few games I adore as much as Metroid II. Though it’s far from being one of my favorite games of all time, this one holds an EXTREMELY special place in my heart because of how badly I wanted to play it.

@nosweargamer great video! Some interesting games in there. However, it seems you have come down with a bad case of “No Super Mario Advance 3” syndrome! Have you since remedied this? I recently got this game from my parents and it is a BLAST! I haven’t played much of the original Yoshi’s Island on SNES, and this seems very similar to it. Still, it might be my favorite game on the system so far. You also have “No Metroid” syndrome. Have you fixed this as well? I love 2D Metroid to death and try to get everyone to play them. Overall, great collection!

Very nice @socrates63! I actually learned about Metal Gear’s value yesterday when I saw it at the game store. $80, WOW! It does look like a pretty fun game however, just not worth the insane price of admission. Like SOS on SNES. Nemesis and Hyper Lode Runner look nice as well and are both ones I would like to get myself someday. And you know me and Mario World! One of my favorite games ever on the SNES.

Your Game Boy collection is very nice, @RickR. I think it's very cool that each system has its own story and is special to you in a unique way. Kind of like how many of my systems have stories, too. What are some of your favorite Game Boy/Color/Advance games and highlights of your collection?

Oooh, Space Invaders! Try plugging that one into a Super Game Boy cartridge and you'll be pleasantly surprised. There was an earlier, non-SGB enhanced version of Space Invaders, but I believe it was released only in Japan. Reminds me when I was given the choice between a DSi and 3DS when I was a wee lad. I went with DSi for some bizarre reason. NO REGRETS! My GBA screen has definitely seen better days, even since I got it. It's been really scuffed up, but I'm fine with that.

Alright, @RickR. I will do that! A little background first. The Game Boy has always been one of my favorite systems, even though I hadn't owned a real Game Boy line handheld until last Christmas when I got my beautiful Glacier Game Boy Advance. My experiences with the Game Boy systems are similar to mine with the Atari 2600; I only was able to emulate them for a period of time, although I didn't have to wait as long to get a means of playing physical cartridges. I used emulation to get my DMG, Color, and Advanced Game Boy fix, though I didn't have an emulator on the Wii. Rather, I had to pay money for the games off the 3DS and Wii U eShop. I really had to make sure that I really wanted the game before I got it! Remember when I talked about how younger-me always envied my dad's cousin's Atari? The equivalent of that was my dad's "Mystical Lost Game Boy". He hadn't seen the thing in years, and I remember spending a really long time rummaging through our basement looking for it. After a few years, I kind of gave up on it. I've talked about my family and our yearly vacation to Sheboygan, WI each August. There near the resort we always stayed at (Blue Harbor in case you are wondering) was the only used video game store I knew of at the time. In 2016, we stopped there on our last day of vacation and my parents said that I could choose one "souvenir". I looked around the store (which was and still is a magical experience) for something I wanted when I spotted it in one of the glass cases. A genuine Super Game Boy! I thought about getting it, just in case we found that Game Boy and its games one of these days. I ultimately decided not to get it. "I've been looking for that thing for years," I thought. "I'm not going to find it anytime soon. I'm not even sure it exists anymore." I ultimately went with StarTropics, which is a fantastic game. The very next day (no joke) my dad, my sister, and I were cleaning out the basement. The Super Game Boy was still fresh on my mind, and I was looking for those games again. I was rummaging through and checking each box. My dad handed me a black fabric pouch, and like with the rest of the things I saw that day I checked to see if I could find the "lost treasure". And guess what I found? Game Boy games. This was awesome! I sort of freaked out a bit and was super excited. YEESSSS! I hurriedly opened up the second compartment of the pouch, and to my horror, all I discovered were a couple of pennies and four immensely corroded Duracell AA batteries. No Game Boy to speak of, and no way to play these games. I jinxed myself! Here were a few games I had been looking for for YEARS that just decided to conveniently turn up THE DAY AFTER I visited the only used game store I knew of at the time. What's more, there was no way to play them! I had to wait until Christmas of that year to be able to play them. Every Christmas Eve, we go over to my grandparents' house for a Christmas party. This year, the Super Game Boy was at the very top of my list, and I was very happy to have gotten it. That year, my mom and sister stayed home sick and only my dad and I went over to the party. When we got home, they were both asleep on the couch. I crept down into the basement where the SNES was hooked up at the time and played the Super Game Boy all night long, mostly Tetris and Link's Awakening. Good times. It was later revealed that my mom threw out the original GB system. Just... threw it out. WHY?! Later on, last Christmas season in fact, I had asked for a Game Boy. As in, brick, green screen, blurry, four AA batteries Game Boy. I ended up not getting one. Rather, I got a Game Boy Advance system (which is much better). I thought perhaps that the GBA would be much more expensive, but it seems to be the opposite. A few days later, I visited Game Trade for the first time and REALLY started collecting retro. My two "dream systems" were the 2600 and the Game Boy. I had always really, REALLY wanted these. Now, I have them both! It seems that fulfilling this lifelong dream of mine came at a cost, however; only a few days after I got my 2600 the pandemic lockdown began! Anyways, that's my story with the thing. Here is my collection so far. I'm mainly a DMG Game Boy collector, that is the original green-and-black brick games in the gray cartridges. One of my first goals in GB collecting was to gather all the North American launch titles, which I did. There are five: Super Mario Land, Tetris, Baseball, Tennis, and Alleyway. Fun fact: all these games have Mario in it in at least one way. I have 21 DMG Game Boy games so far. The launch titles are on the top row on the left, and the rest of the games are below it. The Super Game Boy enhanced games are there on the right along with the SGB itself. Some of my favorites here are Super Mario Land, Kirby's Pinball Land, Kid Icarus of Myths and Monsters, and Castlevania the Adventure just to name a few. There are so many good games for the Game Boy! Next up, we have two of my smaller libraries. Game Boy Color (a pitiful three games) and Game Boy Advance (better, but the games are harder to find as they're more sought-after these days). I don't collect as much for these systems. There aren't many Game Boy Color games I'm terribly interested in at the moment. There are lots of GBA games I'd like to get, but they aren't very easy to find and generally hold their value better. I should get on the waiting list for a few I'm looking for. I was fortunate enough to get Metroid Fusion yesterday. I have three Game Boy Color exclusive games, eight Game Boy Advance games, and zero GBC games that will also work on the original Game Boy and Super Game Boy. Some of my highlights here? Well, Mario Golf, Metroid Fusion, Game and Watch Gallery 4, Super Mario Advance 3, and Super Monkey Ball Junior just to name a few. You'll also see in this picture my Game Boy Advance itself as well as a few slips of paper. What are these? Well, these are my custom Super Game Boy color palate codes! If anyone's interested, I'll gladly post them here. There are a few games that I would really, REALLY like to add to my collection. Especially Metroid II, Super Mario Advance 2 and 4, Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, Super Mario Brothers Deluxe, Donkey Kong '94, Pinball: Revenge of the Gator, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, and Metroid Zero Mission. I don't know if anyone here has any duplicates of these (or really any) Game Boy-series games, but I would most definitely be interested in maybe purchasing a few from you guys (once I pay off Metroid Fusion!). Thanks again, @RickR, for letting me share my story and collection here with everyone. I LOVE the Game Boy line with all my heart, and I'm happy to blab on about it here.

If you don't mind, @RickR, may I show off my non-rumble pack Game Boy collection?

Well, look what showed up at the Game Trade! I decided to buy it, though it was expensive.

I almost bought one of these today, but I decided to go with something else.

That used to be part of my "Pac-Man" ritual, before I got lazy and stopped caring.

How terrible! She fought the good fight. My condolences to Oscar. He is going through a very tough thing. Like with any tragedy, however, we have to look on the positive sign of things. Lung cancer is a horrible thing to go through, and Rosa must have been in a world of pain. She no longer hurts, for the first time in years. I believe with all my heart that she is in a much better place now.

Today's entry of GFBMT is going to be a little different. Today, I will be ranking the Classic 2D Super Mario games from best to worst. I won't be going in-depth here, just listing the games. We'll be ranking the pre-NSMB (New Super Mario Brothers) era Super Mario games that appeared on Nintendo systems (Sorry, Super Mario Brothers Special!). We will also only be talking about the mainseries Super Mario games, not any of the spinoffs. Mainly, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 won't be included here. These are just my opinions. I do plan to review most of these games in-depth in future blog entries, whenever that will be. We are also only looking at the original versions of these games. We will NOT be counting any remakes, such as Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario Brothers Deluxe, and the Super Mario Advance games. Without further ado, my rankings from best to worst! Super Mario World This game is simply superb. While there are loads of great things about World, such as the bountiful secrets and fantastic score, the absolute greatest thing about it is the superb physics. Mario handles like a dream. It's impossible to put into words how much better he feels than he did in Super Mario Brothers 3. You'll just have to play it for yourself. Super Mario World is my favorite 2D Super Mario game of all time, and one of the greatest games ever made. Super Mario Brothers 2 (USA) (Super Mario USA in Japan) I have always enjoyed this one. The game is short enough so that the lack of a save feature isn't that bad, and the game's 20 levels offer a lot of variety and challenge. The music in this game is phenomenal as well. Four different playable characters add strategy and replay value to the game. Sure, the NES version may not be as forgiving as its SNES and eventually GBA remakes are, but unlike its sequel Super Mario Brothers 3, the NES version still holds up pretty well today. Though this originally was released as a non-Mario game in Japan, this sprite-swapped version of the game still seems to feel like a Super Mario game, and improves on the shortcomings of the original in many ways. Super Mario Land Here's one I adore. Super Mario Land may not be as polished as many of the other games on this list, but it has lots of its own feel and character that make it stand out above the rest. Though the gameplay quirks hold it back behind SMB2 and SMW, it still managed to be pretty close to my top spot. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto had no involvement in this game, and it shows! The wacky and foreign atmosphere of Sarasaland hasn't been replicated before or since SML's release in 1989. The physics, while wonky at first, actually work quite well for the game. At a measly twelve levels, Super Mario Land is the shortest game on this list, though the game is challenging and is highly replayable. The game also has a hard mode, which is sorely lacking from so many other games. Super Mario Brothers This is the only Super Mario game that I own on the NES. This is a truly fantastic game, with excellent physics that still hold up 35 years later. While I'm very nostalgic for the SNES version, I feel I prefer the NES version for its superior physics. This game was a real game-changer at the time and is often credited for revitalizing the North American console game industry. This game is amazing. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins Another great game, and while I will admit this is a better game than the original Super Mario Land, I don't prefer it. Mario has incredibly floaty physics in this game, though I don't really mind them much here. At least his momentum makes sense, unlike our next game. Super Mario Land 2 has a unique non-linear World Map setup, and it has mostly unique and new enemies and bosses. This was the last-released game on this list, and is a very unique one at that. If only modern 2D Mario games offered the same amount of uniqueness and diversity instead of regurgitating the same generic Mario garbage with every release. I've been using the word "unique" a lot here, and that's the word that best describes this game. Super Mario Brothers 3 All of the games mentioned before this point are among my favorites. Super Mario Brothers 3 is not. I just don't like this game, though I've really tried to. Everyone else seems to like it quite a bit. In my opinion, Super Mario Brothers 3 is just OK. Whenever someone says differently, ESPECIALLY when someone likes it better than Super Mario World. The NES version has some flaws that are inexcusable and make the game the worst-aged of the NES SMB releases. There's absolutely no way to continue after turning off the system, not even a password system. Sure, there's the Warp Whistles, but good luck beating the later levels without a stockpile of items. Mario 3 is a long game, several hours in fact. But whatever, I can look past that. The real killer of this game is the horrendous physics. Mario is so freaking floaty here, and his momentum and jumping is unpredictable. I've played this game a lot, and I still mess up all the time. There's a jump in one of the World 5 fortresses I often think of. It looks like you should run and jump to it, but whenever I do that I always overshoot it. Landing on small platforms is always a source of anxiety. Everything about how this game controls is just jarring to me. While I enjoy SMB3 enough, these physics always hold me back and take way too long to get used to. This game just isn't the masterpiece everyone says it is. I like the All-Stars version much more, and I can see why some people enjoy that more than World (though I don't agree), but the NES version just kind of sucks. Super Mario Brothers: The Lost Levels (Super Mario Brothers 2) (JPN) I was debating whether I should even put this on the list. Obviously, the Famicom Disk System version of SMB2 is the worst of the classic Mario games! Need I say more? While the original version sucks, I think I might like some of the remakes more than the original NES version of SMB3. Sorry for going off on Super Mario Brothers 3 there! That's always been a source of rage for me. I hope you enjoyed my rankings. What are your thoughts?

I'll be sitting this one out as well. I'll be back for F-Zero!

Congratulations, @SuperTrooper! Be sure to let us know what the mystery packages were!

I have always wondered if something like that had ever happened to someone with the Sears releases! I think the funniest part of this story is how you were playing Air-Sea Battle when he brought out Target Fun. You could've been playing Combat or Space Invaders, but no. You had to be playing the same game!