My Expiriment has Ended...

[GryeDor]

For the past few months, I've been subjecting myself to a rigorous exercise in restraint and dedication. I would only allow myself to purchase additional games when I had successfully beaten at least 50% of my game collection. Owning 144 games, I knew this would be no small task. As I counted the games I had already beaten at the start, it totaled somewhere in the neighborhood of 20. That means I had 52 games to beat to make my mark. Yesterday I finished my 72nd game and I wanted to do something to mark this personal achievement. So, inspired by Nathan's 6-Word Reviews over at Video Games Are Rad (http://www.videogamesarerad.com), here are my brief reviews of each of the 72 games in my collection that I've beaten to date.

Archon: The Light and the Dark - My favorite chess-type game ever.
Bubble Bobble - Arcade platforming and addicting gameplay at its finest.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - Good in its own sort of way.
Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers - Thank you, Capcom. Really... thank you!
Crystalis - One of my childhood favorites, can't wait to replay it.
Darkwing Duck - Great Mega Man style game, but kinda easy.
Demon's Crest - Wonderful, straight-forward game but the special boss? INSANE.
Disney's Goof Troop - Fun and light-hearted puzzle game, little replay value though.
Donkey Kong Country - Landmark for the SNES, easy to put in any day.
Donkey Kong Country II - Better, IMO, than the first.
Donkey Kong Country III - Underrated because it's different, still awesome.
Double Dragon - Terrific arcade action on the NES, classic.
Duck Tales - Again, thank you Capcom!
Dynamite Headdy - Fun, but SO hard.
Dynowarz - Hehehe... I grew up on this and couldn't beat it. Now it's so easy.
Earthbound - Easily one of the greatest games ever made.
F-Zero - Fast-paced futuristic racing, gets your adrenaline up and your foot tapping.
F-Zero X - Better than the last, more enveloping and intense gaming.
Gauntlet Legends - Played the crap out of this in High School
Golden Axe - Great arcade Beat 'Em Up
Goldeneye 007 - One of the most iconic N64 titles.
Illusion of Gaia - One of my favorites, played it several times through, doesn't get old.
Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures - Great translation of the movies, but has some awful level design.
Joe & Mac - Sort of a different take on the standard platformer, but makes little advancement.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards - Not my favorite Kirby title, but still an OK game to play.
Kirby's Adventure - Better than Kirby 64, enjoyable, but leaves me wanting something greater.
Mega Man - Some of the best action platforming the NES offers.
Mega Man 2 - Some of the EVEN BETTER action platforming on the NES.
Mega Man 3 - Not as good, but still great action platforming on the NES.
Mega Man 4 - Series began it's decline, but still great action platforming on the NES.
Mega Man 5 - Intriguing concepts, redeemed a bit from 4, and as always... well, read above.
Mega Man 6 - Late entry in Mega Man and NES days, but still a great game.
Mega Man X - New start to an old franchise, great game.
Metal Storm - Oh my gosh, I love this one. Go buy it.
Metroid - Classic, fun maze exploration, and established a great genre and franchise.
Mickey Mousecapade - Better, IMO, than everyone give it credit for.
Ninja Gaiden - Holy crap hard, but so rewarding to play.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village - Works your brain, and I love it.
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box - More fun than the first, more math-ish puzzles!
Ristar the Shooting Star - One of the better mascot games.
Rocket Knight Adventures - Perhaps the best of the mascot games, but deserves much better than that.
Soul Blazer - Not as good as Gaia, but still a worthy addition to an SNES collection.
Star Tropics - Of all the reboots I'd love to see, this tops the list.
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire - Played in High School and unfortunately don't remember a lot of it.
StarFox - Severely dated graphics, but still satisfying to play.
StarFox 64 - Not as dated graphics, and still very satisfying to play.
Streets of Rage - The Genesis' flagship Beat 'Em Up, still fun to play.
Streets of Rage II - Succeeds the first very nicely.
Super Castlevania IV - So great, any Castlevania fan owes it to themselves to have this title.
Super Mario 64 - Not as good as I remember it.
Super Mario Bros. - Not as hard as I remember it. Insanely catchy music.
Super Mario Bros. 2 - I love it because it's not the same Mario game.
Super Mario Bros. 3 - Duh.
Super Mario Kart - Mario characters and kart racing, what more is there?
Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land - Excellent first entry into Wario's platforming adventures.
Super Mario RPG - One of the best RPGs ever made.
Super Mario World - Duh.
Super Mario World II: Yoshi's Island - I love this game. It's original, creative and makes for a great adventure.
Super Metroid - Third entry in the series, and possibly the best Metroid game.
Super Smash Bros. - Began the madness, but doesn't hold up as well over time.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II - Fun and satisfying, but perhaps cooler when I was more into the Turtles.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III - Longer and harder than its predecessor, and makes a small step forward.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV - The ideal Turtles Beat 'Em Up.
The Legend of Zelda - Classic, and well worth your time.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - A must have for any SNES collector.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Fun title on the Game Boy, interesting deviation from the Triforce.
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time - Reset the standard of Zelda games, wonderful entry.
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass - Pretty "meh", but still fun.
Tiny Toon Adventures - One of the better games to cash in on the Mario 3 style gameplay.
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose - Wasn't a huge fan, mediocre title if you ask me.
Yoshi's Story - WAY too easy, very kid-oriented it seems, but surprisingly still fun to play.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - Love it because it succeeds in breaking the Zelda mold.

[Curlypaul]

I can really appreciate you dedication to your goal, I was trying to do something similiar a while ago but failed cos the temptation to keep collecting was too great.

Recently I've got no spare cash to buy games with, so I've been going into my backlog when I need a new game to play. Its a pretty cool feeling knowing that I've got at least a years worth of great games to play just scattered around my house.

[jfe2]

I really like this idea. I personally only collect stuff that I want to actually play, but it's hard to find time to play everything that I buy. I'm going to attempt a similar goal with my collection soon.

Also, I really enjoyed your short reviews. I intend to do something similar at the end of the year with all of the games that I beat in the past year.

[SwooshBear]

Love how you put "duh" at the two greatest Mario games of all time. SNES power!

[hashiriya1]

I did this with my PS3 collection. I kept buying new games while I had a bunch of current-gen games still on the backburner. It was a waste that I bought games at launch, only to finally finish them when they became cheaper. Now that I finished, it is a load off my back. Congrats to you, sir.

[GryeDor]

I'm going to attempt a similar goal with my collection soon.

I did this with my PS3 collection.

I've been going into my backlog when I need a new game to play.

Love that some of your guys are going to do or are doing something similar, it was a rewarding experience and unless it's a sealed game, put it in and play!

I personally only collect stuff that I want to actually play

I try my hardest to stay within those confines as well, but often stray due to nostalgia or word of mouth. Fester's Quest in always hard to pass by when I see it in a store because I grew up playing it (at least the initial area of it) - haven't caved on buying this one yet. On the other side is Destiny of an Emperor, where I've heard mixed things about it, and honestly couldn't pass by a Capcom RPG even though I haven't played it yet. Good luck to you in that!

Love how you put "duh" at the two greatest Mario games of all time. SNES power!

Hah! It seemed the ideal word to sum up everything to say about both and saved me from thinking of something more clever!

Glad you all enjoyed! I'm excited to hit my first retro store in about four months on Saturday!