Top 5 Favourite Video Game Consoles

I'd just like to begin by saying that this list is inspired by both the Cartridge Bros. and Lo Burton. The Cartridge Bros. recently posted a video from their new weekly series Not So Deep Thoughts and the topic was their personal top three favourite consoles. Being the professional lister that I am it instantly piqued my interest. Not long after watching their video I saw that Lo Burton of And Then She Games fame responded with her personal top five favourite consoles. After reading her blog post I just knew I had to make my own list!

Yes this is a list of five, which might make you wonder why am I not posting it on Five-O-Rama? The reason is that it's a personal list, so I felt it more-so belonged here on Retro-Def. If I was, say, making a list of the Top 5 Best Consoles of All Time, regardless of my personal opinions, then that would definitely makes its way to Five-O-Rama.

Also, why a top five? I tried to just pick my top three, but I kept feeling like I was leaving something important out by not mentioning the other two consoles on this list. Also I like lists of five. And Lo broke the rules first!

Onward!

Sony Playstation 2

The big beast it all its glory.

I bought my PS2 the summer I graduated from high school and I instantly fell in love with it. I'm a big cinephile and the fact that it came with a DVD player built in was a huge selling point, but also I had a deep love for its predecessor, which I'll mention in a moment. It was an easy sell.

The PS2 continued to foster my love for game series like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid, and also introduced me to different types of games that I had never played before, like Dance Dance Revolution. Yes, I played DDR... and I was damned good at it.

It also lead to my first foray into online console gaming. I'd done some modem matches in PC games up to this point, but the simplicity of the PS2's network adapter and hopping online while sitting on my couch was something I really fell in love with. I became obsessed with the SOCOM: US Navy SEALs series and a few of my friends and I would stay up until the wee hours of the morning eating pizza, drinking beers, and playing with our clan in SOCOM; all thanks to my beloved PS2, which remains hooked up in my house to this day.

Also I watched The Matrix on that thing like a kajillion times when I finally got it on DVD.

Nintendo 64

Look at that controller!

I had a really difficult time placing this console in the hierarchy of this list, but in the end it still lands in my top five so that's saying something!

The N64 makes the list because of all kinds of amazing solo games, like Super Mario 64, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, StarFox 64, and - my favourite Legend of Zelda title - Ocarina of Time.

Most importantly, however, it is because of the incredible multiplayer experiences I had with this system. I, like so many others, played countless hours of Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye 007, and Perfect Dark. I can't tell you how often I can recall staring bleary-eyed as the sun started pouring through an open window and not even realizing that my friends and I had been up legitimately all night battling each other in these incredible games.

Nintendo Entertainment System

The one that started it all.

Another system that I had a hard time placing!

The NES had to make the list, however, simply because it is the system that started it all for me in this hobby of video gaming. It houses in its library some of my favourite games of all time, like Super Mario Bros. 3, Mega Man 3, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I didn't really understand what an entertainment system gaming console was when I first received my NES as a Christmas present 25 years ago, but I quickly became attached to the concept and it has endured as one of my favourite pastimes all these years later.

What's even more interesting (for me) is that in the last few years I've actually been getting back into my NES. If I had written this list in the not-so-distant past I'm not sure where it would have placed, honestly. I had great memories of it, but rarely, if ever, hooked it up to play it. I started picking up some NES carts for games I'd missed on the console at flea markets - games like The Legend of Zelda, The Adventures of Link, and Hogan's Alley - and in a way it's almost like I'm falling in love with my NES all over again.

Sony Playstation

The only "revenge console" on the market.

Up until the PSX (yes I still use that acronym) gaming for me was something I occasionally did on my own free time, but I'm not sure I considered the hobby something incredibly personal. I mostly loved playing games with friends. There were some games that were released on the SNES and N64 that started me down that path, but the Playstation was where I really started to take this whole gaming thing to heart.

I first decided I needed to have a PSX when I began reading about a then upcoming game from Konami by the name of Metal Gear Solid. The graphics, the ideas behind the gameplay, the correlations with film; all of these bullet points, plus my fascination with its NES predecessor, had me dying to play the game. As a huge Final Fantasy fan, you would think it would have been Final Fantasy 7 that brought me over to Sony's "new kid on the block" console, but that just wasn't the case.

I got a PSX for MGS, but there were so many other titles that kept me clocking time in with it for many years to come. Titles like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Final Fantasy 9, Suikoden, Resident Evil, Parasite Eve, Final Fantasy Tactics... the list just goes on and on.

I feel like I developed my taste for games with the PSX. Before that I had played a few RPGs, and I knew that I loved Final Fantasy 3, but I wouldn't say that I was an "RPG fan". Like I just mentioned, I was interested in FF7, but I was just as happy to watch my buddy play it on his PSX. It wasn't until I had my own Playstation and started wading into the ever-growing torrent of RPG titles finding their way to North American shores that I became the RPG-hound that I am today.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Finally, the games could top-load!

The SNES is significant to my gaming history for so many reasons. Before it if a game wasn't a side-scrolling action title, I didn't care if it existed.

Even writing that I realize that most of my favourite games on the SNES were the likes of Super Mario World, TMNT IV: Turtles in Time, the Mega Man X series, and the Donkey Kong Country series. That said, however, the SNES is where I began to cut my teeth on games of a different ilk.

If the PSX is where I cemented my love for RPGs, the SNES is where the love affair all began. I played ground-breaking titles on it like Final Fantasy 2, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, and ultimately Final Fantasy 3.

I still find my SNES to be my most accessible system. It plays all of my old, favourite games flawlessly. Just plug them in and off I go. In a moment I can be whisked away to so many worlds that I loved visiting in my childhood, whether it be Dinosaur Island with Mario, time-hopping with the Turtles, or bearing the cold winds of Narshe with Terra and Locke.

I've tried to express my love for FF3 before, and I think I've failed to truly get that across, but that game alone would probably make the SNES my favourite console of all time.

And, for the record, I love those pastel purple buttons!

Hope you enjoyed,
R

My Bloody Valentine (1981) Commentary with Paul Kelman!

I had the privelege last night to sit down with my Sausage Factory brethren and do a live commentary for one of my favourite slashers of all time, My Bloody Valentine, with the film's star Paul Kelman, himself!

If you want to watch me nerd out like crazy, definitely check out the video. Make sure to cue up a copy of the film while you're at it!


Hope you enjoy,
R

My Favourite Games at Christmas

Our Christmas Tree this year.

The other day I actually got a few hours to myself and I decided I'd game for a bit. With a newborn son it's become increasingly difficult to find time to game (or do anything else, for that matter), so when I saw the opportunity I didn't hesitate. I put a few hours into Bravely Default and it was a blast.

It got me thinking about how one of my favourite things to do during the Holidays is play games. Not shockingly, of course, because when I was a kid that would have been when I'd receive most - if not all - of my new games for the year.

Although in the last few years my favourite Holiday tradition for gaming has been chilling by the Christmas tree with whatever game is currently in my 3DS, there are certain games that I like to boot up around Christmas, or have fond memories of playing at Christmastime, so I thought I'd share a few of those with everyone. 'Tis the season!

Battle the evil Kremlings for your lost Banana Horde!

Donkey Kong Country was probably my most anticipated title ever released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and in 1994 I was not disappointed when I found it waiting for me under the Christmas tree. I didn't even care about Donkey Kong from the arcade, or any of its ports and sequels on the NES, but the pre-rendered 3D environments that had been teased in Nintendo Power Magazine had me frothing at the mouth to play this game.

And it did not disappoint. Donkey Kong Country is one of the best platformers ever developed and really put Rare on the map as a household name in the video game market. The engrossing surroundings, tight controls, and plethora of secrets, coupled with the ability to switch between characters at will, made DKC a top contender for best platformer on the SNES. And this is in a world where Super Mario World is already on the system. It was also so accessible. My little sister (who is not a gamer) and I would play this - and its subsequent sequels - together and she could easily play along, even if I had to help out with the more difficult stages.

Then there's the music. David Wise's soundtrack is probably what made me love video game music to this day. Whenever I throw this game on around Christmas, and I hit those water stages, or the any of the levels in Gorilla Glacier, I'm blasted right back to 1994, feverishly tackling the challenge of DKC.

Take on the role of  Raziel the Wraith as he battles for revenge.

The Sony Playstation was such a surprise for me and really changed me as a gamer. All for the better, of course. I was a "Nintendo Kid" and had no intention of getting a PSX (my preferred acronym for Playstation), but after watching my best bud Cole playing his I eventually saw the benefit in owning one and I actually received my very own Playstation with a copy of Metal Gear Solid (the game that really sold me on the PSX) on a frosty Christmas morn. So why am I not writing about Metal Gear right now?

I don't really know how to explain it, but Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, always comes to my mind when I think of Christmas gaming memories. What makes it especially odd is that I've never owned a copy of Soul Reaver.

It was nearing Christmas one year and on the street I grew up on all the neighbours would get together and have this big outdoor Christmas party every year, where we'd drink hot chocolate (hot toddies for the adults) and light up a huge Christmas tree. I was a teenager during the PSX years and I remember I was being all angsty and didn't really want to join in on all the Christmas cheer.

As a sidenote, I went to the party and had a blast. You're never too old for Christmas!

Previously that day I had gone to my local video store (my Mecca) and picked up Soul Reaver to play for the weekend. As I awaited going to the Christmas Party (we called it the Light Up) I crunched a few hours in Soul Reaver and was just whisked away. I had played some of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, and it didn't really grab me, but the story of Raziel, the Elder God, and this gothic 3D-rendered vision of the world of Blood Omen was absorbing. I can remember playing hours of this game as the light of all those Christmas lights bored through the blinds on my bedroom windows, illuminating an otherwise black room; the perfect twilit ambiance for playing Soul Reaver.

Run free as Super Mario takes the jump into full 3D!

Everyone's seen the Nintendo 64 kid, and anyone that was into gaming in the mid-90s can remember the fervor surrounding the Nintendo 64 during Christmas of 1996. For me it wasn't as much about it just being Nintendo's newest console, but also the intrigue surrounding that strange new controller.

I had not yet seen a "3D controller" - even though I would play Nights Into Dreams with the Sega Saturn 3D Control Pad in the not-so-distant future - and reading about the analog thumbstick in Nintendo Power just had my mind hopping as to how it would work.

I can remember being in a Canadian Tire during that Christmas season and seeing that they had three kiosks set up; one with a Sega Saturn playing Panzer Dragoon, one with a Sony Playstation playing Battle Arena Toshinden, and a Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64. The Sega Saturn I had seen; a friend owned one. The Playstation I had never seen before and I can recall my exact thought of testing it out: "The controller is funny. There are too many buttons on the top." And then I laid my hands on the Nintendo 64 controller, ironically the strangest controller ever conceived, and yet it just made sense.

I tenderly held the controller in my hand, and wiggled the analog stick just a little and saw Mario react on screen in full, glorious 3D. And that was it. Even at a young age I knew I didn't want to ruin what could be an amazing Christmas morning, if I were lucky enough to receive an N64.

And I was that lucky. Santa is such a badass. I got the Nintendo 64 and the game I'd wanted to play for so long: Super Mario 64.

The next few weeks were a blur. Another friend of mine got an N64, as well, and although we'd never spoken it aloud, we were heatedly racing one another to see who could collect all 70, and then all 120 stars, first. We'd call each other up each day and rattle off which stars we'd discovered, never giving quite enough information and giving away the secret. The tallies continued to grow, and then on New Years Eve 1996, as the world slowly turned another year older I collected my 70th star and took down Bowser one final time.

Over the next few weeks I took my time and savoured the game, finding those last 50 stars hidden around the beautiful and enthralling 3D world of Super Mario 64. I didn't know it at the time, but I was building one of my favourite Christmas memories, which lasts to this day. I'm not sure if there's any other game that makes me think more of Christmastime than when I boot up Mario 64. The two have become inexorably intertwined in my mind, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hope you enjoyed,
R

Enter: The Broad Saber

The Internet exploded today with the release of the teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams hotly anticipated sequel in the Star Wars series. Check out the trailer below.

I've been avoiding as much news on this as I possibly could, because I've heard a lot of spoiler talk is making its way around the Web, but a teaser trailer is something I could not ignore.

Seeing images of X-Wings, TIE Fighters and the Millennium Falcon doing a loopdy-loop in mid-battle had me absolutely giddy, but like everyone else the focal point of the teaser is the introduction of a dark figure with a - now - infamous new light saber.

The Broad Saber

I don't know what the Internet, as a whole, is calling this new weapon, but I'm calling it The Broad Saber, because it looks like a huge broad sword. There is a lot of complaining and joking going on that the design makes no sense and will only end up in the wielder cutting his or her hands off, but I wholly disagree.

If you think about it, a broad sword always has a huge hilt and crossguard, to block opposing blades from cutting the swordsman's hands. Wouldn't it make sense that a light saber would need a guard just like that to block other light sabers?

MINOR SPOILERS AND WILD SPECULATION TO FOLLOW

This final piece is complete conjecture on my part, but I'd like to surmise why this cloaked Jedi/Sith is using a light saber like this; I believe we're seeing Luke Skywalker. It's often quoted that in the Expanded Universe, Luke Skywalker walks the line of the Light and Dark sides of The Force. If this film continues to play with this idea, I don't think it would be out of character for Luke to brandish a red light saber, even though you would expect it to be blue or green.

Also, I think this is J.J. Abrams' and/or Lawrence Kasdan's clever idea to explain light saber battles between the Prequel Trilogy and the Original Trilogy. In the Prequel Trilogy, we see Jedi and Sith trained by the absolute best from a young age to battle with the light saber, so that explains why the fights are so much more fast and intense. In the Original Trilogy, we're seeing an ageing Obi-wan try to quickly teach Luke how to use the Jedi's weapon in a matter of days. As to why Darth Vader fights so sluggishly after we've seen Anakin Skywalker at work, you can try and fill that gap yourself. Maybe it's the new body after the events of Revenge of the Sith? I dunno. Moving on, though, one way to explain the way that Luke continues to fight in such a sluggish style would be if he were fighting as if he were using a large broad sword, which would require less flourishes and would be a much slower weapon.

Anyway, like I said this is total conjecture and just an idea I had after a few viewings of the teaser trailer. Regardless, I haven't been this excited for a movie in a long time and I don't know how I'm going to wait a whole year for Star Wars: The Force Awakens to finally hit the big screen. This certainly won't be the last Star Wars post you'll see on the blog in the next 12 months.

Hope you enjoyed,
R

EDIT - 04-12-2014: I just accidentally saw more concept art for The Force Awakens that throws my theory above out the window. I really need to stop searching for anything Star Wars related on the web. Anyway, I won't say too much and spoil anything, but I saw some early concept art of the Broad Saber and the character holding it, which clearly shows it isn't Luke Skywalker, but another character from the expanded universe. I'll hide the name here, so it'll be up to you to uncover, should you choose to: Revan

I still think the Broad Saber's origins lie in the original concept that Light Sabers were to be wielded like broadswords, but my ideas on the character holding the weapon are completely out the window.

Castlevania (1987) - Nintendo Entertainment System

Ouch, that kicked me right in the nostalgia!

Note: I intended this to be out for October and Halloween, but I got sidetracked by life and it's a few days late. Sorry for all the Halloween-y references!

I've had a tradition now for quite a few years. Every October I play through Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in its entirety. Last year I kind of overdid it playing multiple speed runs of the game, so I made the decision that I wouldn't play through SOTN for October 2014.

I wanted to play something in my spare time this October, though, and I made the decision to go with something from the NES-era. Now in a shocking turn of events, you won't believe what game I decided to play... Castlevania!

I couldn't help myself! Castlevania is like the epitome of Halloween. It's a video game set in Transylvania at the turn of the 18th Century, which features bosses based on Universal monsters! The bosses include The Mummy, Frankenstein's monster, a vampire bat, Medusa, the Grim Reaper, and Igor. And most importantly, The Count himself! These are the kinds of images I thought of as a kid whenever October rolled around and the cool winds of Autumn started rustling the leaves from the trees.

One thing I didn't remember in my sentimental reminiscence is how damn hard this game is. I've been getting my ass handed to me every step of the way! To be honest, although I did play Castlevania as a kid, I actually more often played its sequel, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest, made infamous by the Angry Video Game Nerd. As a result, I'm no damn good at Castlevania. That's half the fun, though!

This first boss is driving me... batty! Hey-ohhh!

It's kind of like I'm playing Castlevania for the first time. I remember a lot of things; the music, basically everything from the first stage, the basics of the gameplay, but by the time I made it to the third stage everything started getting hazy. I remember fighting the bosses, but it's like I've never seen some of these stages before.

One other thing I'm enjoying is seeing all the familiar enemies from later in the series, in their original 8-bit glory. I didn't even realize how many of them have carried forward in the series over the years.

With all this good does come some bad, though. For example, the controls leave a little to be desired. They are clunky, and jumping can be a downright nightmare. When you jump in either direction, you're basically committed to that jump. There's no way to control how far you go. It is a set arc, so once you go for the jump, you better hope everything works out.

I can't do much complaining about the game, though. And honestly, it's almost 30 years old and a pretty early NES release. Everything from the games aesthetic, gameplay, and that incredible soundtrack make it an absolute must-play for any and all gamers.

It's time to wrap this boss fight up! Hey-ohhh! (I kill me.)

Castlevania is one of my favourite video game franchises of all time, and I truly hold it near and dear to my heart. It makes me kind of sad to know that Konami has moved on with the remake of the series with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, released in 2010, and that the franchise will almost certainly never return to its original roots. The series, however, has spawned many sequels and must have one of the highest ratios of great games in any franchise history. There are a lot of amazing Castlevania games out there to play and this game started it all.

You can pick Castlevania up on the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii Virtual Console services and physical copies certainly aren't difficult to find on eBay. Make sure to check it out, whether it's for Halloween or not!

Hope you enjoy,
R

Final Fantasy VI - 20 Years Later

Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the release of Final Fantasy III on the Super Nintendo, these days known by its proper number in the FF series, Final Fantasy VI.

I decided to play through the beginning of the game yesterday and just reminisce a little on camera about the game and what it meant and still means to me to this day, twenty years later.

Hope you enjoy,

R

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

The Halloween season is upon us and I finally got to watch a scary movie! I've been wanting to watch The Town That Dreaded Sundown for a long time now, probably since I first heard the movie existed around the mid-2000s, so this was very fun for me.

Check out my video below!

I hope you enjoy,
R