Mega Man II

As a member of the Long Island Retro Video Game community, I constantly find myself surrounded by older gamers discussing the glory of their older games. Many of these veteran gamers I know grew up on the Nintendo Entertainment System the same way I grew up on the Gamecube. I have spent a lot of time discussing why Gamecube games are still a fun option for the gamer with nothing else to play, but what about the titles my fellow retro gamers grew up on? What about the classics?

Mega Man II originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System on December 24, 1988 (24th? REALLY? Hahahahahahahahaha). This game is considered not only to be one of the best games sold on the console, but one of the best action games of all time.
Already we have a problem.

This game came out almost 30 years ago and I still hear people praising it for its quality. I encourage thee to realize, when discussing games, that there is an enormous difference between a title that is perfect, a title that is perfect considering its age, and a title that actually stands the test of time. Having never played Mega Man II before, I decided to investigate; is this game actually good, or does nostalgia play too big of a factor when discussing Mega Man II?

Mega Man II - NES/ Nintendo 3DS

Okay no need to dance around this: Mega Man II is fantastic. It totally stands the test of time. Which is awesome! Because that means that the opinion of older gamers is still valuable to us young-punk gamers who think we know everything about what makes a good game.

The magic of Mega Man II comes in the form of variety. MMII is broken up into 10 levels, each with a different tactical and aesthetic theme. Not only do each of the 10 levels feature different colors, enemies, and music, but they each demand totally different playing strategies. At the end of each of the 5-8 minute (if you die as often as I do) levels, is a boss fight. None of the bosses are too hard, though they certainly provide a fair challenge. Once each boss is defeated, Mega Man gains a new ability, usually a new offensive or tactical weapon. Essentially, the more bosses you defeat, the stronger you become.

The most remarkable aspect of this collection of levels is that the player is free to attempt each one in any order they desire. That being said, there are definitely recommended level sequences. You see, each boss you defeat earns you a specific new ability, and some levels are MUCH easier to complete after having been awarded certain specific abilities. So while the player is always free to choose which level they'd like to attempt next, they are also free to determine which weapons they need in order to progress through the game as easily as possible. To some extent, this results in a bit of trial-and-error playing, but it also encourages creativity that runs parallel to the nurturing of your Mega Man skillz.

This side-scrolling shooter/platformer is hard. But not too hard. It's also unfair. But not too unfair. Games of this time period had to be kept small due to hardware limitations, but they also had to have lasting appeal since there were fewer developers to pump out new games every week. An old game had to be kept small, but still last. How do you do that? Make it hard, but not so hard that it will keep people from playing it. Man, what a nightmarish challenge it must have been to get everything just right. Very few games balanced the equation perfectly, but Mega Man II did.

By the end of the 1-2 hour game, not only will Mega Man himself be equipped with a large assortment of different moves and weapons, but you, as the player, will have gained the cleverness needed to use them all when appropriate. The gradual acquisition of each new moves eases players into and out of a gaming experience for which they are required to master each of the title's nuances. Walking away from any game after having mastered the controls feels exhilarating, which is why it is extra sweet that Mega Man II seems to have been designed with this satisfaction in mind. In the end, Mega Man II comes so highly recommended because it leaves the player with the feeling of mastery, fluency, and unrivaled satisfaction.

Kingdom Hearts

Since its creation, I have used this blog exclusively to discuss games published for or released on Nintendo consoles. Never before today have I written about a series whose most popular titles were released on consoles other than those made by Nintendo, but today is no ordinary day.

Every once in a while, my scouring of Google, IGN forums, Youtube, and Gamestop discount bins leads me to a game or series that forces me to redefine myself as a gamer. When I was 11, I played The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and would proceed to incorporate my love for that game into my description of myself as a gamer for the next 10 years. Later, I would discover my favorite game of all time, The Last Story, a game about which I have never extensively written. Most recently, I have added to my collection of self-redefining games Kingdom Hearts. Over the summer, after coming to the sad realization that I have played quite literally nearly every single Gamecube and Wii game I have had interest in, I acquired a Playstation 2. My flourishing love for quality RPGs produced an itch that could not be scratched by the Gamecube, so I decided to finally try my hand at a series that I had watched capture the hearts of some of my friends and millions of gamers everywhere: Kingdom Hearts. 

The Kingdom Hearts Series So Far 

There are seven main installments in the Kingdom Hearts series, and in order of release date, they are listed as follows:

Kingdom Hearts (originally PS2)

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories (originally GBA; re-released on PS2) 

Kingdom Hearts II (originally PS2)

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (Nintendo DS)

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep (PSP)

Kingdom Hearts Coded (originally on Japanese mobile devices; re-released on Nintendo DS) 

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (Nintendo 3DS)

Most people don't realize that the majority of this series actually is released on Nintendo handhelds, but I suppose marketing has gotten the best of this series with regards to that information. Gamers expect their JRPGs to be on proper consoles, and without a T.V. in front of them and a controller-in-hand, it can appear as though the hand-held side-stories of the Kingdom Hearts lore lack legitimacy, though this is entirely untrue. This series rose to fame thanks largely to its popularity on the Playstation 2, and without that symmetrical controller to comfort those who first played the series when it began over 10 years ago, it can be easy to forget that Kingdom Hearts games are released on handheld devices often, with new installments of impressive quality and scale for us to enjoy being made every few years.

I have not finished all 7 Kingdom Hearts titles yet, though I intend to. I have finished the first 4 aforementioned titles, and am making my way through re:Coded as I wait for my friend to lend me his PSP so I can begin Birth By Sleep. Despite my having not completed the series so far, Kingdom Hearts has left an impression on me by which I am profoundly inspired and moved. 

Initially, Kingdom Hearts tells the story of Sora, a boy who decides with his friends Riku and Kairi that they wish to see everything the world has to offer, even if it means leaving their peaceful and quiet life on Destiny Island behind. The night before the three friends plan to sail away from their home, a supernatural storm tears their island apart and engulfs its ruins in darkness. The three friends are then cast to different corners of a universe comprised mostly of famous Disney worlds, and are left to spend the rest of the game exploring each Disney world, searching for each other. We play as Sora, who with his new friends Disney's Goofy and Donald Duck, eventually finds both Riku and Kaira, but not before learning that his adventure to new worlds is part of a much, much bigger story to be explained and experienced through the subsequent games. 

My friends insisted that if I were to become genuinely interested in playing any Kingdom Hearts game, to play the titles in order of their release date despite moderately aged and worn gameplay seen in some of the older games, lest my enjoyment of the series be diminished by my failure to appreciate the links between each game with regards to story. Playing each game in this order produces what can seem like a massively convoluted story often leaving the player wondering if certain details were meant to be enigmatic, or if those same details were simply lost in the blitzkrieg of lore presented by each game. Following each nuance of each twist throughout the series can be difficult at times, but those who pay attention and follow the story closely are rewarded with a masterfully crafted narrative currently contending for the top spot on my fake list of best video game stories ever. 

Though the gameplay of Kingdom Hearts and all of its sequels is fun and varied enough, this franchise is here to tell a story filled with exceptionally realistic and convincing characters, plot-twists that have at times relieved me of my ability to keep my bottom jaw attached to my top, and the battle between inner demons and our purest, most divine inner strengths. 

While extensively abundant, the characters of Kingdom Hearts all contribute to a story that describes the battle of good vs. evil within ourselves. The message of Kingdom Hearts, while told in a fantasy setting, is very real, especially to me. The ever-growing struggle between Sora, a warrior chosen to symbolize hope, and Riku, a warrior symbolizing darkness while struggling with his own inner-turmoil, teaches that there is no extinguishing of light or dark within the world nor within ourselves; rather that the coexistence of both is necessary to achieve inner peace, but the light can be as powerful as the darkness is seductive, and without a careful balance between the two, we can lose ourselves, and fail in protecting those we love. 

This isn't really much of a review as it is an article appreciating good poetry in video games. There can be beauty in this young art, and certain games seek to expose that. In order to realize the true value of video games, we must be attentive enough to see the beauty in this art when it exists, and though typically, it can be that games demonstrating such beauty only appear once in a long while, there is never an excuse to miss a game that demonstrates this element as perfectly as it is by Kingdom Hearts.

Power sleeps within you-
if you give it form, it will give you strength.