I live in New Mexico. New Mexico is primarily a desert. Despite this fact, I can hardly remember a winter in recent memory that has been so warm and precipitation free. I mean come on, this year I have been in shorts and a long sleeve shirt for the majority of the season, when in years past you couldn’t catch me without at least three layers on. What’s the deal mother nature!
With that said, here is another edition of Nintentunes. This week we journey to a simpler time of 8-bits and two buttons. Join us and enjoy all the retro video game music action!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6flriC1EGzI [/youtube]Clu Clu Land was a launch title when the NES launched in North America, and as such was on of the first games I had the pleasure of playing in my early childhood. Developed by Nintendo R&D1, Clu Clu Land had players controlling a character named Bubbles around a maze in an attempt to uncover what are called golden ingots, but what look identical to the coins found in Super Mario Bros. While the game doesn’t have too much going for it (it is rather repetitive), it is addicting and challenging. The game has been re-released across multiple platforms, including the Virtual Console and GBA, and was even an unlockable NES game inside of the Gamecube Animal Crossing.
SNES – Final Fantasy III
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2R3V3cqoCQ&feature=related [/youtube]Many RPG fans point to Final Fantasy III, which was released as Final Fantasy VI in Japan, as the best game in the long standing Final Fantasy franchise. I can’t say that I have played all fourteen titles in the series, but out of the ones that I have played, my favorite is most definitely Final Fantasy III. The game is set in a steampunk environment which was a nice change from the medieval setting employed in the previous games in the series. For my money, FFIII has the best story out of any in the franchise, and has amazing gameplay to boot. Oh by the way, it is also available on Virtual Console as of last June, so if you have yet to play it and have a hankering for a great RPG, download!
N64 – Yoshi’s Story
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDwmq6AJyQU&feature=related [/youtube]Yoshi’s Story has received mixed reviews among video game critics, and has generally been seen as a let down from the orignal Yoshi’s Island on the SNES. While I actually like the game, it goes without saying that the SNES original is the better game. Nonetheless, there was one wonderful technological advance that Yoshi’s Story did give the world, black Yoshi! With his exploding eggs and his ability to eat all the fruit, black Yoshi was most definetely the best Yoshi in the game.
Gamecube – Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyXIN_A8vOQ&feature=related [/youtube]Baten Kaitos is not for everyone, I can say that much about the game. The game employs a card battle system using magical cards called Magnus. During the course of the game, a deck of cards is assembled for each party member. This unique play style was one of the reasons why I enjoyed the game so much, and look forward to finally pulling Baten Kaitos Origins from my pile of shame.
Wii – Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (Director’s Cut)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRlW6h0zNfk [/youtube]Broken Sword is actually a long standing PC point-and-click adventure game series originally released in 1996. With the advent of the Wii, many Broken Sword fans thought that the game would be perfect for the console and took to an online petition. According to game designer Charles Cecil, this was one of the major reasons for the release of the director’s cut on Wii and DS. Like many point-and-click games, in Broken Sword players must interact with the games environment in an attempt to solve puzzles and progress through the game. If you are a fan of the Myst of Sam & Max games, try to snag yourself a copy of Broken Sword, you won’t regret it.
monkat
Wooh!
Baten Kaitos and its prequel were some of the best RPGs from last generation! While entirely different, I would put Monolith, Persona Team, and all of Nihon Falcom up on the same level–absolutely amazing.
I’m actually not familiar with any of the other games. Naturally, I’ve heard of FF3/6 and Yoshi’s Story, but I never got far in the former, between my age when it came out, and how poorly it aged with me, and I’ve never even touched the latter.
Richard
Great picks! Final Fantasy 3 (U.S.) has an incredible music score from beginning to end. Its track, “Kids Run Through the City” was the first piece of game music to make my jaw hit the floor with its beautiful arrangement.
The music in Yoshi’s Story is far better than the gameplay (it didn’t help that I–like a lot of folks–was hoping for a game as awesome as Yoshi’s Island). I love almost every music track in that game, but I am glad that when I clicked the “play” button above, I didn’t hear the Yoshi’s screeching “EEEEE-AAAAA-OHHHHHHHH!” 🙂
Love the Broken Sword music!!! And…holy mackerel…both the game and the soundtrack album are both available on…y’know…that electronic store with the fruit logo…Buying the “Rain” track now!
Sheesh…Broken Sword’s got a soundtrack on iTunes…Every piece of Final Fantasy music every recorded is on iTunes…Sonic the Hedgehog has, like, eight soundtrack albums (just bought the Sonic Heroes soundtrack)! See, Nintendo, that’s how it should work! People would give you gold coins for your music!!!
Josh
I hated Yoshi’s Story back when it first came out. It was such a let down after the amazing Yoshi’s Island. Now, however, I can go back and really appreciate the game. It really is fun trying to get a high score in the game, and the graphics are gorgeous.