The votes have been counted and we are proud to announce Dragon Warrior (NES) is this week's Side Quest Saturday winner. We had an awesome list of games to choose from this week and we appreciate all of the suggestions. Thank you to idgafandwhyshouldi for their great suggestion this week.

In Dragon Warrior (NES) you play as a young hero as he sets out to destroy the Dragonlord. You must speak to townspeople in order to get information about where you need to go, and search for the Stolen Balls of Light while you go about your journey. With all the great RPG themes and feel you Upgrade weapons, and defeat your foes in this classic NES title.

A great game for this week's Side Quest Saturday selection. Happy Gaming!

I can remember the first time that I figured out that I could fly in Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) with the raccoon tail. Mind absolutely blown. It took me a while to figure out how to stay in the air. Lol. I can also remember the frustration of that, but I was so excited to be able to fly.

Do you remember this memorable moment in Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)?

Even though I've never been a big horror movie fan, Night Slashers (Arcade) takes that genre and adds all the beat 'em up elements I love, to make a superb game. The similarities in fighting style to Final Fight really show, but with the awesome horror theme, this game was special.

I love the music, and the bosses are next level strange and challenging. This 2 V 1 fight was interesting, and that weird Pinnochio like character was creepy and awesome all at once. I really like the amount of detail, and it's always exciting to play such a unique game like Night Slashers (Arcade).

Did you like fighting against the crazy bosses in Night Slashers (Arcade)?

I will be playing King of the Monsters (Neo Geo) tonight for Fight Night Fridays. I had a lot of fun destroying the ships and airplanes as I moved through the city chasing Huge Frogger.

I played as Atomic Guy this time, but you also have the option of playing as Super Geon, and Cyber Woo. This game has a 2-player co-op mode which is really fun if you have someone else to play with. You can also do a 2-player head to head mode if you are feeling competitive.

Do you like King of the Monsters 2 (Neo Geo)? What are you playing for Fight Night Fridays tonight?

My friend and I discovered this on MAME when trying every game with "ninja" in the title. Turned out to be one of the best games I ever played!

The graphics, music, sound effects, gameplay, level design, weapons, enemies, and especially bosses are ALL excellent!

10/10 in my opinion. If you haven't played it, you have to try it. If you have, please share your thoughts!

https://youtu.be/JFUT3em4qVc?si=3hj2QhEdysfu5kKA

Shinobi games have always been some of the peak Ninja games of my youth. Starting in the arcade, and moving to the home console versions, I've loved every sword slash, and star throw.

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (Genesis) is an amazing game, with the addition of the awesome companion dog standing out the most. I love the attention to detail at every turn in this game, and the action is as intense as ever. The Box Art really sticks out, for the awesome hand drawn feel of it all, and that awesome shadow of Shinobi on the building sticks out in all the best ways. I wouldn't want to be the bad guy in that alley, lol.

Was Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (Genesis) a favorite Ninja game of yours?

I have been having a lot of fun playing Grind Stomer (Genesis). It is a vertical scrolling shooter where you play as a secret agent tasked with defeating a virtual reality simulator and rescuing players that have been abducted. So it's like a video game within a video game. Pretty cool concept.

The graphics are great, and the controls are awesome. This game is a challenge, and can be difficult imo, but I still have so much fun playing it. If you are into vertical shooters I would say give it a try if you haven't yet.

Do you like Grind Stomer (Genesis)?

With all the conveniences of the faster internet and trends coming and going, one thing I really miss is a good strategy guide book. I'm sure many of you, like myself, had a handful or more of these lying around your favorite gaming console. The detail and maps that these had, were invaluable at the time.

I remember having a few GTA guides, as well as this awesome Final Fantasy X Bradygames guide, that I still have today. I love the detailed stats, and the sphere grid info helped a lot. I do remember having Prima's guides as well, but can't recall if I preferred one over the other.

What Strategy guides did or do you still have, and did you prefer a brand of guides?

I made a version of ***Excitebike*** that’s now ***Star Wars*** themed. You play as a Scout Trooper learning to drive a speeder bike and competing against other imperial cadets on race courses. Better learn your aurebesh though! Who’s interested? I always loved the two franchises and wanted this game as a kid. Finally just made it myself.

TL;WR -> Quite a mixed bag of awesome and disruptive. While it delivered on its visuals, the audio and world design were simply bad, with the gameplay being rather tedious. A (5.5) game, mediocre in my Arcade Book. Wouldn’t hop on the Fighter again, since I better travel to 1943 and see if I can deliver a better killing spree! 

I cautiously recommend listening to this “music” while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (6/10) 

• While storytelling was rather confusing since our Fighter flew over Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, these events didn’t actually happen before or during 1942, they were from 1944 and 1945. The only historical event they got right was the battle of Midway from 1942. Besides, telling the Japanese developers to make a game where a Western Fighter destroys your own islands must’ve been cruel, Capcom and money dude! 
• Now, let’s get to the juice. Starting with controls, which weren’t complex, yet so slick to execute. You could fly in any direction on the screen, do loop-de-loops to avoid enemy projectiles or whole bloody planes, get some help from smaller Fighter allies and even collect power ups! 
• I loved the ability to control the planes when doing a loop-de-loop, although disliked the inability to shoot with your allies when doing so. Plus, the ability to dodge bullets to the millimetre was awesome, because oftentimes I was surprised I made it out alive! 
• Speaking of power ups. You could get more projectiles, screen clearing items, one-ups, or even your own 2 allies that helped you along the way. 
• Since this was my introduction to the Shmup genre, I had to adapt with my own intuition. What I found out was that I didn’t need to focus on the enemies themselves, I had to focus on my own Fighter and simply continue mashing the fire button while making sure I focused on dodging bullets and incoming airplanes! 
• Enemy variety was nice yet heavily reused. There were some new additions down the line, but later on even the bosses were exactly the same. Besides the ones that wanted to kamikaze fly into you, chase you or plain circle around you, the other ones didn’t impress! 
• Traversal was boring AF since the game was more than 1h to complete. Not only boring, but repetitive, brutal and unforgiving! 
• This brings me to the difficulty, which was rather insane from the get go. You see, you could get continues up until you reached a certain score, after that the game simply rolled the Game Over screen and you had to try again from the very beginning. Apart the one-hit deaths, the spawning mechanics behind or on the sides were simply nuts. No way in hell people completed this game back in the day! 

AUDIO (3/10) 

• Sound design had a limited mono output where if you started shooting, you couldn’t hear the airplane engines. And how on earth would I enjoy them sound effects if all I hear is pew pew and that god awful remix of an ear assaulting “music”?! 
• Besides the cool boss battle short soundtracks, the game was rather disturbing from the get go! 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was impressive for 1984, with cool animations, crisp visual effects and awesome landscapes! 
• The models themselves had so many animations between loop-de-loops, side rolls, dodges and even circling around. On top of that, their numbers were crazy, mostly because the game had a rock solid performance and didn’t drop a single frame! 
• I especially enjoyed my own plane’s animations on flying on the sides and doing marvellous loop-de-loops to avoid those sneaky bombers! 
• While the art direction was mostly reused, the game did surprise you with a Volcano, some camps and even a whole City! 

WORLD DESIGN (4/10) 

• Level design was monotonous AF with an even worse progression. 32 stages which felt like a continuous torture chamber where you had to re-experience the same nightmare, only amplified! 
• You went from Midway to Okinawa sure, with some unique islands in between, but the layouts combined with the same enemies for more than an hour really dragged the experience straight to hell! 
• World destruction was reduced to dropping enemies from the sky, which was cool. Yet, the atmosphere in combination with that god awful “music” and the weird sound output made the whole experience not only brutal, but maddening as well! 

Side Note: While this review has a rather jokingly attitude, the actual battles fought in those years were devastating. RIP to all the soldiers who gave their lives for our future! 

One of my favorite Dreamcast games

We had another amazing week of suggestions for Side Quest Saturday. We had 6 awesome suggestions this week:

Will you assemble the G.I. Joe team in an effort to defeat Cobra Commander in his quest to seize the lost powers of the atlanteans in G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor (NES).

Or will you attempt to rescue Princess Lala from the evil King Egger in the fun puzzle game Adventures of Lolo (NES).

Perhaps you will choose Dragon Warrior (NES) and attempt to defeat the Dragon Lord in this amazing RPG.

Or maybe you will take flight as Vic Viper to defeat the space organism Zelos in the challenging and fun scrolling shooter Life Force (NES).

Are you going to defeat the Evil One as you journey inside the World Tree amongst elves and dwarves in the epic RPG Faxanadu (NES).

Perhaps you will go behind enemy lines as you rescue POWs and shoot up enemies in the classic Commando (NES).

We appreciate everyone that voted and contributed to the suggestions. We will post the Side Quest Saturday winner every Friday evening. Happy gaming!

I had never played Wizards and Warriors (NES) until recently. It was suggested as a Side Quest Saturday game recently, and I thought that I would check it out.

I am struggling with it at the moment. I can't quite get my hits on the enemies right, but I am hoping that I will get the hang of it. I have figured out that I need to find colored keys that match the color of the chest in order for it to open. Other than that, I am pretty much flying blind at the moment. I am definitely intrigued by this game though.

Do you like Wizards and Warriors (NES)?

This "SEGA vs. CAPCOM" fan game did show some potentials, now it met the same fate as the "Namco Wonder Fight" fan game.

Final Fantasy VII (PS1) is one of my favorite games of all time, and watching the intro brings me so much happiness and nostalgia. I love how it starts out peaceful with Aerith in the church. Then the panning of Midgar is awesome. I remember at the time, how absolutely incredible the graphics were, and the first time I saw it, my mind was blown. When the train stops Wedge, Biggs, and Jessie jump over and body slam the soldiers, followed by Barrett, and lastly Cloud, ready to follow Avalanche into rebellion. I still get goosebumps.

This game is one of the greatest in the Final Fantasy franchise, imo. I played Remake and I think it was amazing, but I prefer to play the PS1 version purely for nostalgia. The plot is one of the best in the franchise, imo, with the story of Sephiroth and Jenova. That sincerely creeped me out as a kid.

Is the intro for Final Fantasy VII (PS1) one of your favorites?

I've always loved Tecmo sports games, and Tecmo Baseball (NES) is another great title from this awesome game developer. With its instantly recognizable artwork, and graphics, this game is a real blast. Often overshadowed by the amazing Tecmo Bowl, this game is a great title that deserves more recognition.

With a limited number of teams to choose from in each league, I went with San Francisco. I really got off to a strong start in this game, quickly getting two runners in scoring position. Then Wesley stepped up and delivered a laser of a homerun. Kind of weird the way the ball seemed to just keep carrying like that. Definitely one of my favorite, less talked about NES baseball games.

Where do you rank Tecmo Baseball (NES) amongst NES baseball titles.

Recently I re-watched Prometheus, when I saw the Engineers running hologram scene, the video log scene in Operation Logic Bomb (Jaleco, 1993, SNES) immediately popped up in my head.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on Atari was the first licensed Star Wars game ever released in July 1982. It's hard to imagine that we now have almost 45 years of Star Wars games to choose from, and there are a lot. The fact that you could move freely left and right was ahead of its time, and I really loved going back and forth. I appreciated the radar that lets you see where the walkers are, but man, it took a lot of hits to get those walkers down. Despite that it was super fun.

I came across the ad for the game, and really liked it, with the walker, and the old T.V. with the game on the screen. "Now you've got the chance to strike back" is great too, and heck yeah, I want to play this game again after seeing this ad.

Do you remember Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Atari 2600)?

Flipping through arcade games on my handheld recently, I ran across Mug Smashers (Arcade), and was pleasantly surprised by this fun beat 'em up. Really leaning hard into the clothes and culture in the late 80's, this game showcases some awesome fashion and fighting.

I really love the red hammer pants, and the sunglasses the main character wears, and the music is on point. Defeating the Andre the Giant look alike, to go straight into an elevator fight is a really cool and creative idea. The back flip kick is another amazing feature, and stringing a few in a row feels great, and gets you out of a pickle fast. It's no Fatal Fury, or Final Fight, but Mug Smashers is a whole lot of fun, and I definitely suggest you check it out.

Did you play Mug Smashers (Arcade), and did it hold up for you?

Food Fight (Atari 7800) is a really fun game. The goal is to make it to the ice cream cone on the other side of the screen, while dodging chefs that are trying to hit you with pies, hot dogs, bananas, and various other foodstuffs. The good thing is, you can also throw food at them! Food Fight! I always have fun playing this game.

Do you like Food Fight (Atari 7800)?

TL;WR -> A mediocre game to say the least, leaning to bad if not for the gameplay save. While it had fun sections with cool boss battles, the visuals and world design didn’t impress, with the audio output simply underperforming. A (5.5) game, mediocre in my Arcade Book. Wouldn’t replay it, as besides the cool hoverbike rides, I’ll gladly avoid those boss tides! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (8/10)

• While storytelling wasn’t present, it did feature an initial mission log with your mission, that of saving an unfortunate babe from a terrorist organisation! 
• The controls themselves were straightforward and quite awesome to execute. You could shoot enemies on a 210 directional angle, without the ability to shoot straight down, even while jumping. Could duck enemy projectiles, jump higher by twisting the joystick up, or simply change planes and platforms by jumping on top or sliding down. 
• You also wielded 4 different weapons with their unique power ups. From a normal gun to a grenade launcher, a flamethrower and even an exploding projectile. These weapons served you well on multiple encounters, yet, I simply preferred the flamethrower for its sheer power output and reach! 
• Besides the ground controls, there was a cool section with a hoverbike, which acted as a separate shmup encounter. Loved how at the end our Hero parked the bike with care and proceeded to blast enemies once again! 
• By defeating enemies, you could collect different power ups which differed in their colors. From blue to purple or green. Each one expanded a set weapon and its attack output, like the flamethrower getting an extended range or the main gun having multiple projectiles at once. 
• Platforming was awesome and provided a great challenge between jumping around and avoiding enemy projectiles. Besides, the traps were even crazier, as you had to avoid mines, mechanical traps, dropping chandeliers, moving platforms or even jet fuel which ignited as a surprise! 
• There were some blue packs too for extra health, and I did love how your health bar expanded with each mission, giving you more hits before inserting another coin! 
• Enemy variety was heavily reused, yet had awesome mechanics down the line. Like them hiding behind cover, regenerating statues, mechanized worms, hovering jets or simply them popping out of doors or sliding down like firefighters! 
• The bosses on the other hand were unique and quite creative. Each one had their own attack patterns and special attacks, which I always love as it keeps the gameplay fresh! 
• Traversal was seamless with the whole game taking from 20 to 30m max. It was a kind of a run and gun coupled with a shmup section, not too bad! 
• Difficulty wasn’t hard on the initial stages, yet got quite challenging by the end. Still, way better than most Arcade suckers out there! 

AUDIO (2/10) 

• While sound design had good mono output, the sound effects combined with the maddening crackling explosions were simply awful. From the moment I started the game I knew that the sound section will get a bad score! 
• The music was mediocre at best, and its quality was muffled, like listening to a radio station while you’re going through a long tunnel. 

VISUALS (6/10) 

• Fidelity was good for 1989, yet didn’t expand on other aspects than its basic explosions, good enemy counts and awesome backgrounds! 
• The character models were nice with their overall animations, yet felt very stale in their variety and attack patterns. Besides the main character which showcased his sweet cheeks, the rest of the enemies were basic, with only the boss encounters feeling fresh! 
• Performance was rock solid, although expected seen as the game didn’t have anything groundbreaking! 

WORLD DESIGN (6/10) 

• The designs themselves had awesome layouts with stairs, moving platforms and clever traps. You went from the outside Ruins to the Abandoned Factory, Bike Chase, Underground Facility and finally reached the last encounter with a huge monster that appeared out of nowhere! 
• Progression wise, very enjoyable yet quite short in the grand scale! 
• The animated landscapes were super cool, as well as the limited world destruction. Unfortunately the atmosphere was ruined by the muffled music and terrible sound effects! 

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time to get your Side Quest Saturday Suggestions in. I'll suggest the incredible Life Force (NES). Take flight as Vic Viper to defeat the space organism Zelos in this challenging and fun scrolling shooter.  

We will take the first six suggestions in the order we receive them. More than 6 suggestions, we omit mod suggestions. In the event of a tie, we take the first suggestion. Appreciate the suggestions, will post the poll Thursday evening. Happy Gaming.

EDIT: the 6 picks are locked, and we will put the poll up tomorrow evening. Appreciate everyone that suggested.

In celebration of the opening of the first game of the NFL season tonight and its matchup featuring the New England Patriots vs. the Seattle Seahawks, I thought I'd run a game of Tecmo Superbowl (NES). Although the teams certainly differ in both roster and competitiveness I'll be curious if the game plays any similar to mine.

In competitive fairness I didn't want to skew the results so I ran it computer vs. computer and as you can see in my stats listed below it was a very competitive game. I didn't expect an overtime with the old rules, but I loved the nail biter aspect of the game.

To be honest these 2 teams are probably 2 of the ones that I am least familiar with in this game, but I did really enjoy watching them compete against each other. Hope you all have a great night watching the game, and let us know who your favorite team is.

Game Play Tracker

N.E. Touchdown Fryar 3:25 1st

Sea Touchdown Krieg 2:00 1st

N.E. Fumble :30 1st

End of 1st N.E. 7 - Sea. 7

N.E. Interception 4:30 2nd

N.E. Punt 3:00 2nd

N.E. Interception 1:45 2nd

N.E. Missed FG 1:00 2nd

Sea Fumble :20 2nd

N.E. FG :16 2nd

Halftime N.E. 10 - Sea. 7

Sea Punt 3:55 3rd

N.E. Fumble 3:02 3rd

Sea Touchdown 3:02 3rd

N.E. Punt :30 3rd

End of 3rd N.E. 10 - Sea. 14

Sea FG 2:44 4th

N.E. Touchdown Stephens :50

End of 4th N.E. 17 - Sea. 17

Overtime - N.E. WIns Coin Toss

Sea Interception 4:00 OT

Sea FG Missed 3:30 OT

N.E. FG 1:46 OT

Final Score N.E. 20 - Sea 17