Gaming Memories - Part 15

Most of my posts in this series of features have relayed my many happy years with the console or computer in question but the previous one, a few months ago now, was a little different. It was regarding my tenure as a Game Boy owner which, sadly and for reasons I'm not really able to fathom, I owned only for a rather brief period. Looking back now I find it strange, then, that a decade or so later I decided to give Nintendo's by now-ultra successful handheld another chance.

By now the Game Boy was a bit old hat though, so I figured I'd instead go for the newer, fancier Game Boy Advance, and if I was going to do that I might as well get the very latest model which was at the time the 'SP'. In fact, if I'm honest, it was the recent news of some limited edition versions of the SP that really swayed me (as well as a very brief encounter with an old friend's GBA which I saw running a Street Fighter Alpha game rather impressively) and I duly sought out and purchased the one that most appealed to me - an 'NES Classics' model whose colour scheme was based on... the NES, believe it or not. As can plainly be seen in the picture here, it was certainly a great looking device, resembling an NES controller when open and an NES console itself when closed. This made it a lovely item for my collection but would I spend any more time using it than I did its predecessor?

Puzzle Games #17

Zooo a.k.a. Zoo Keeper (2003)
By: Success / Ignition Entertainment Genre: Puzzle Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Nintendo Game Boy Advance First Day Score: 74,900 (normal mode)
Also Available For: PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS
Download For: Android, iOS

You know, I think there has to be something about having animals in video games that automatically makes them much more appealing, at least to certain people like me. Take those tile-matching puzzle games for example - you know, the ones like Bejeweled? Despite there being dozens, perhaps hundreds of different versions and clones of them on everything from proper gaming systems to mobile phones, web browsers, and Facebook, the only one that's ever appealed to me in all these years is Zooo. And, as you might've guessed, it's an animal-themed one! The creatures in question are apparently the occupants of a zoo and have run amok. You play the part of a zoo keeper and it's your job to 'keep the animals orderly'... by arranging them in lines, obviously!

F-Zero Series - Part 8

F-Zero Climax (2004)
By: Suzak / Nintendo Genre: Racing Players: 1-4 Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Game Boy Advance
Also Available For: Nothing

It sounds quite scary to say but, at the time of writing the F-Zero series has reached a somewhat startling 22 years old! In all that time, the concept of the game has changed very little over the course of eight releases on four very different systems (or five if you count the 64DD) but has the series evolved technically? The first three releases were all rather ahead of their time from this point of view - the SNES original wowed gamers worldwide with its use of Mode 7, the N64 game was blisteringly fast and turned the previously flat courses into nauseating roller-coaster rides, and the GameCube title brought all the details and special effects bang up to date, but aside from the 'data disk' releases, the other games in the series have been exclusive to the Game Boy Advance and have accordingly reverted to the style of the original game. F-Zero Climax constitutes what is to date the last game to bear the famous name, but does it continue this trend, or give the series the send-off it deserves?

F-Zero Series - Part 7

F-Zero GP Legend (2003)
By: Suzak / Nintendo Genre: Racing Players: 1-4 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Game Boy Advance
Also Available For: Nothing

Everyone knows the F-Zero series rules more than any other racing game series in the history of the universe so it's slightly odd that Nintendo hasn't thought to expand the franchise to other potentially profitable areas. Until now, that is! Indeed, unknown to me (because it didn't make it to the UK, as usual) there was an F-Zero anime series produced in 2003 known as GP Legend which centres around good old Captain Falcon, Dr Stewart, and a new 'good' character called Rick Wheeler (or Ryu Suzaku, depending on where you live) and their battles against Zoda, Black Shadow, and the other 'bad' characters. It was a good idea which, at the very least, adds more to characters from an already character-heavy series and, in a move that would make Capcom proud, it wasn't long before there was a game of the series of the game too!

F-Zero Series - Part 5

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (2001)
By: Nd Cube  Genre: Racing  Players: 1-4  Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Game Boy Advance
Also Available For: Nothing

The original F-Zero was widely credited with kick-starting not only the futuristic racing game sub-genre, but also arcade-quality racing games on home systems generally. The acclaim it received was well-deserved too - it was fast, exciting, and original. It was also a launch game for the SNES and did a perfect job of showcasing Nintendo's new hardware, so when the time came for another of their new hardware releases, what better choice of game to entice prospective buyers? So, the release of the much-anticipated Game Boy Advance was duly accompanied by this, the third full release in the F-Zero series (discounting the 64DD's Expansion Kit), but could it do for the GBA what the original did for the SNES?