Double-Dipped 2: More Games I've Purchased More Than Once Over the Years

Care for seconds? Exactly two months ago, I debuted a new article series right here on SuperPhillip Central: Double-Dipped! Here, I go into some detail about video games I've bought at least twice and tell you a little about my history with the games. With a second edition happening this morning, you could say that I'm double-dipping on the Double-Dipped series of articles! How meta!

I have six more games that I've done the (dis)honorable duty of buying more than once, but if you need to catch up on the first entry of Double-Dipped, look no further than this link. Now, with that out of the way, let's get to episode two!

Resident Evil 4 (GCN, PS2, Wii, PS4)

Let's start with a game that is my most bought game of all time! It's none other than one of my favorites I've ever played, despite its dark subject matter (I prefer more sunshine and rainbow fare, personally). Regardless, it's Resident Evil 4, and being one of my top ten games of all time, I'd be amiss if I didn't mention this bad boy on this article series. It's not just the fourth mainline installment in the Resident Evil series, but it's also a game I've purchased FOUR times!

You may ask, "Phil, what is your malfunction? Why buy the same game four times, even if it's one of your favorites ever?" The answer is this: each release I bought introduced something worthwhile to pick up a new version. The first time I bought the game was in 2005 and that was because, duh, the game was brand-new. The PlayStation 2 port that later released added new content in the form of a Ada's Assignment (thankfully Shinji Mikami's head is still intact with the rest of his body). Then, the Wii version--my favorite of the bunch--added motion control aiming and various gesture-based movement for quick-time events. Finally, the PlayStation 4 entry brought my favorite survival-horror game into HD with trophy support. Although Resident Evil 4 isn't the scariest of entries, seeing how many times I've purchased and played the game across all platforms is truly terrifying--even to me!

DOOM (PS4, NSW)

We go from repeated trips to the unfriendly Spanish countryside to a hellish version of Mars with DOOM's 2016 outing. The first time I played DOOM was on the PlayStation 4, and I absolutely had a blast with the game--ripping and tearing with both delight and glee, as well as uncovering each level's myriad secrets. The multiplayer, too, was a joy to play, focusing on deathmatches either solo or with teams. Then, DOOM surprisingly got announced for the Switch, and all my ripping and tearing could be brought along with me on the go. Sure, the visuals were caked with a Vaseline-like sheen, but it was otherwise DOOM in all its glorious, gore-filled splendor.

As much as I adored DOOM 2016 and bought the game twice, I doubt I'll do the same with the Nintendo Switch port of DOOM Eternal, for the simple fact that I am not in love with the multiplayer of Eternal as much as I was with the original DOOM. While I appreciate the new approach with two demons against one Doomslayer in Eternal, I'm just not thrilled with playing through that again. Plus, I just prefer the original campaign of DOOM to its sequel--though both game campaigns are great.

Saints Row: The Third (PS3, NSW, PS4)

Resident Evil 4 was a quadruple dip, but here's a game that is close to rivaling it--and it's not even a particularly favorite game of mine. It's just one that I enjoy playing through now and again, and like RE4, each version I buy introduces enough newness that it's overall worth it. I'm referring to Saints Row: The Third. Whether it's the original game, in which I earned every trophy in the PlayStation 3 version, or enjoying the game either docked or in the manner that sold me on the Nintendo Switch version: portable play, I saw myself returning to the gang-riddled streets of Steelport more times than I expected! The latest version of the game is a remastered one, and on the PlayStation 4 it's rather well done. In some aspects, it's more of a remake than a remaster, with its amazingly detailed environments and characters when compared to the original.

Super Bomberman R (NSW, PS4)

Bombs away! A launch title for the Nintendo Switch, Super Bomberman R was an enjoyable but overall disappointing return of Bomberman. The gameplay was smooth enough, but issues with the camera and a lack of content made for some buyer's remorse from this reviewer / blogger. However, the game would receive a steady flow of free DLC and an abundance of patches that would properly upgrade the game to tiptop shape. The camera was fixed, the AI in battle mode was made less frustrating and cheap, and the amount of content in both single player and multiplayer was boosted considerably. After having sold off Super Bomberman R's Switch version, I was now having seller's remorse! Thus, I picked up the game on the PlayStation 4, and further thus, my history of being a double-dipper continued with yet another game. What a blast!

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U, NSW)

Much like Captain Toad and his confidante Toadette, I was certainly ready for adventure. But no, not just once--twice, in fact! The Wii U original Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker brought the diorama-style bonus stage concept from Super Mario 3D World and turned it into a full fledged game, perfect for sessions both lengthy and bite-sized! Of course, Treasure Tracker was much more fleshed out, featuring copious amounts of tricks, twists, obstacles, enemies, and puzzles to solve in its miniature diorama levels. The main goal of collecting each level's Power Star was as clear as one of these prized trinkets shining in the night sky, but side goals and optional collectibles made for some fun replay value as well. The Nintendo Switch version brought with it a trio of new levels--and since launch, even more via paid DLC--but my main reason for picking up the game again was for the same reason I got a lot of Wii U games turned Switch ports: because I prefer to play on the Nintendo Switch hardware!

Hot Shots Tennis (PS2, PS4)

Wow! We're already at the final game on this second installment of Double-Dipped! Let's make it count, shall we! Hot Shots Tennis originally launched on the PlayStation 2 back in the day, and on the PlayStation 4, it launched as a digital title through emulation. Unfortunately, Sony opted not to continue this practice and cut it off really early in the PS4's life--closing the door for other titles to potentially be ported and emulated. Still, it was Hot Shots Tennis in a higher resolution and with trophy support, and the game had its original's tried and true gameplay. It was ultimately a winner in my book, and one that I routinely return to in order to get a match in here and there. It's also mighty challenging against the AI, as one failed serve or backhand could result in the game giving YOU the backhand--right across your unsuspecting face! Hot Shots Tennis is one of the rare games in which the second time around I had to get it digitally as opposed to my preferred method as both a collector and lover of all things retail, physically.

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That wraps up this second edition of Double-Dipped! Which games have you bought more than once, whether on the same platform or not? Let me know in the comments section below!

Remakes & Remasterpieces 2: An Ongoing Look at the Best in the Biz

We're smack dab in a month full of remakes. This past Friday saw the release of Resident Evil 3, and this upcoming Friday sees the long-awaited, hotly anticipated launch of the remake of Final Fantasy VII, cleverly titled "Final Fantasy VII Remake". Later in the month a remake of a less celebrated but still exciting game all the same with Trials of Mana.

What better month than April to bring back Remakes & Remasterpieces, SuperPhillip Central's continued glimpse at those special remakes and remasters that went the extra mile to make--or in this case--re-make some memories for fans of the originals and entirely new audiences. This second edition features familiar favorites from franchises like Resident Evil, The Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy.

Check out the first ever edition of Remakes & Remasterpieces by clicking HERE. Now, let's get on to the sequel!

Resident Evil 2 (PS4, XB1, PC)

Capcom gave players an all-too-tempting invitation to return to Raccoon City and all of the horrors both old and new that awaited them (and that's not even counting the most recent invitation with Resident Evil 3 as of this past Friday). Resident Evil 2 was a return to form for Capcom's storied franchise, delivering epic scares and labyrinthine areas to explore, infested with zombies and B.O.W.s of all shapes and sizes. A consistent sense of dread permeated through many a-player's first playthrough, and new surprises like the hulking, stalking Mr. X was terror personified. Further, every enemy in the game was a real threat. So many past Resident Evil games saw zombies as fodder for your ammo, but the zombies of Resident Evil 2 were smart and persistent, dangerously so.

It'd be silly of me to not mention the upgrade in the graphics, of which Resident Evil 2 truly shined like the stars in the sky. (Or is that S.T.A.R.S. in the sky?) The game featured breathtaking (if you could catch your breath while playing, that is) visuals with a robust and realistic lighting system, lifelike characters and animations, and a level of gore that would make satiate anyone's thirst for violence. Resident Evil 2 is a terrific remake whose campaigns and their second runs, whether playing as rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy or the strong-willed Claire Redfield, were filled to the brim with fresh takes on familiar areas. The game did a wonderful job of walking a fine line between adding enough newness to the campaign to make for a refreshing campaign while not completely diluting what made the original game so remarkable.

Okami HD (Multi)

We move from one Capcom game to another, though this one is of a decidedly much brighter and colorful sort. Okami was originally a PlayStation 2 game from the now-defunct Clover Studio that played and was structured similarly to Nintendo's venerable Legend of Zelda series. To many, Okami is a better Zelda game than many of Nintendo's own efforts. While I won't get into that part of the conversation, I will say that it's great that Amaterasu's adventure wasn't stranded in a standard definition format, because the vivid and brilliantly colored world of Okami looks absolutely sensational in HD. It looks great, and it runs great.

Obviously it plays great, too, regardless of which platform you play it on. That said, I'm a touch partial to the Switch version for its touch or JoyCon-based brush controls. Though the campaign itself is unchanged for the most part since its original launch, thus resulting in the game still possessing a rather bloated adventure that overstays its welcome by a fair bit, Okami HD remains a gem of a Zelda-inspired adventure. It's one whose hand-drawn, watercolor, cel-shaded art style stands the test of time and lent itself well to the remastering process.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (NSW)

Speaking of Zelda games, let's dive right into the latest remade game in the series, a treasure originally released in 1993 for the Game Boy and now remade on the Nintendo Switch: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Right away, the toy diorama art style bestows such a warm, cozy feeling. Koholint Island never felt like a more wondrous place, even if it has enemies infesting it, wishing nothing more than to slay our marooned hero Link. From the sandy shores of Toronbo to the heights of Tal Tal Mountain, Koholint Island was as much a character in Link's Awakening as the other memorable NPCs in the game, and the new visuals further enhanced that notion.

Additionally, it says a lot about the original game that so little in the way of changes was actually needed, but the quality of life upgrades to the Switch version of Link's Awakening were absolutely sent from the heavens, as they made the game so much better. More buttons meant more items could be used at once without constantly being forced to switch between menus at a rapid, obnoxious pace. The addition of being able to create dungeons from preset rooms was less of a "Zelda Maker" and more of a puzzle in placing the pieces properly to complete all of the conditions of a given dungeon-making challenge. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening marked the return of the franchise's first handheld installment, remade for an entirely new generation in a truly astounding way.

Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)

Nintendo's Zelda franchise saw a sharp spike in popularity this generation thanks to not just the success of the Switch but also the excellent quality and revolution to the series with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It's yet to be seen of course if Metroid Prime 4 will have a similar tale of success for Samus Aran and her series, as currently, Metroid isn't the most successful of Nintendo's properties. (Not to say it hasn't seen success in the past.)

Regardless, after the less than satisfying Metroid: Other M on the Wii that fragmented a lot of the fan base, Metroid fans were gutted yet again to discover that the next entry in the franchise--after what was about a five-year absence, then--was the chibi-styled Metroid Prime: Federation Force. While a good game in its own right (just not a good Metroid game), the fact that the Metroid series hadn't seen a more traditional game in years killed a lot of desire to give Federation Force a fair shake.

Then, like a gift from the gaming gods, Metroid returned to the forefront of gaming with an official remake of one of Samus' earliest expeditions. Another Game Boy game remade with Metroid: Samus Returns. Offering 3D visuals, an expanded story, new boss battles (some of the best in the series to date are included here in these), a super-satisfying counter mechanic, and the ability to shoot in multiple directions, Metroid and Samus herself were back and in a big way on the Nintendo 3DS. With an after credits story tease, the story will continue and if you're like me, you can't wait to see where Nintendo takes Samus and the Metroid series next.

Final Fantasy IV (DS, iOS, AND, PC)

Since I mentioned Final Fantasy in the introduction, let's talk about one of the better remakes in the franchise to date with Final Fantasy IV's 2007 enhanced remake. The "enhanced" part comes in when you realize how much content was added to this 3D version of the game. I believe a great remake stays somewhat faithful to the original while throwing in enough new content that makes the remake worthwhile and fantastic to re-experience all over again. Final Fantasy IV was all that and more.

For one, and most obvious, the 2D visuals of the original were replaced with 3D graphics, putting a fresh perspective on the adventure with new cutscenes as well as even new story sequences. Yes, the 3D hasn't aged as well as the [in my opinion] PSP's superior Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection's visuals, but they're still quite impressive for the Nintendo DS hardware and the fresh take on familiar locales is still appreciated. Further, a brand-new Augment system that relinquishes a party member's abilities to another member once they leave Cecil's party was introduced, as were various DS-exclusive mini-games and a New Game Plus mode. Final Fantasy IV is one of my favorite games in the franchise, so any opportunity I can get to replay it in a way that both honors and respects the original SNES game is one I will happily give my Gil to, and the DS version of Final Fantasy IV remains one of those games.

How Was I Supposed to Know THAT!? ~ Obtuse Things in Games - Volume Two

It was quite the busy day here at SuperPhillip Central, digesting all of the new trailers put out by both Nintendo and other publishers today. Now that we have a breather, let's see the return of a segment that I've wanted to continue for a very long time now. Finally, we've reached Volume Two of the weirdly titled "How Was I Supposed to Know THAT!?" This series talks about things in video games that are so hard to find, figure out, or solve that they're almost obtuse, if not counterintuitive. Volume Two starts with The Legend of Zelda before going a bit more modern with its picks. Do you agree with SuperPhillip Central's selections?

And here's Volume One for your convenience!

Whistle While You Work to Find Level 7 - The Legend of Zelda (NES)

The Legend of Zelda for the NES can be credited as one of the earliest examples of the open world sub-genre of game. It's no secret to everyone that NES games were quite obtuse for the most part, and that was a great deal of the mystique and made you feel like you were on your own adventure. Right away, you begin in a hostile land with enemies ready to send you, as the player, to the Game Over screen. There are few clues in the world, and what is on offer in Hyrule is all cryptic -- though in some part due to the funky translation of the game.

Players were left on their own to find where to go and even what to do to begin with. The main quest was to venture to Hyrule's eight main dungeons before tackling Ganon's domicile in Death Mountain. Of course, that meant meticulously exploring the overworld for helpful items to get through the game and reach different dungeons to earn pieces of the broken Triforce.

Some dungeon entrances were as simple as happening upon them through pure exploration. You'd just happen upon them, enter them, and if your luck was good, you'd be ready to take that specific dungeon on. Others required some examination of the world and just trying things out, One example is burning a lone bush in a forest to reveal the entrance to Level 8.

However, as a player of The Legend of Zelda in the early '90s when I was old enough to have a fighting chance at the game, one particular dungeon that stifled my progress considerably was attempting to discover the location of Level 7. The secret to finding it is in finding a woman who gives a cryptic clue when you give her one of three Rupee amounts, specifically the middle amount. The clue says something about a lake without a fairy, but that's the limit of assistance you get. Not only did the idea of not just spending the maximum amount of Rupees for the best clue not come in my mind (and most players' minds), but there is no hint at all that you have to use the Whistle found in Level 5 to reveal the entrance to Level 7. When you play the Whistle, the lake where there is no healing fairy dries up, showing the steps leading downward into this difficult-to-discover dungeon.

Secret Within A Secret = Secret-ception - New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Let's go from one classic Nintendo franchise to another, though with an entry far more recent than Link's first outing. After all, this was Nintendo's day to shine at E3, and I think the publisher did a wonderful enough job to earn two places on Volume Two of these obtuse things in games. We turn our attention to New Super Mario Bros. 2, which didn't have a lot to separate itself from other 2D Mario games, especially of the New Super Mario Bros. series, but it was enjoyable all the same with some neat level design.

One of the fun things about the New Super Mario Bros. series was its inclusion of optional Star Coins to collect, three in each main level. This both encouraged and rewarded exploration that players might not have otherwise done. After all, is a 1-up really that big of a reward when they're so easy to get? Maybe if this were the original Super Mario Bros. NES trilogy it would be, where they're such a rare commodity, but this is the New Super Mario Bros. series we're talking about here. Other than Star Coins, many levels includes secret exits just like Super Mario World introduced to the series.

Most of the time the secrets in New Super Mario Bros. 2 are pretty intuitive. They're logical in the sense that if there is something off with a platform or something, most likely there's something there. However, this isn't exactly a rule to the game. One of the most challenging secret exits in New Super Mario Bros. 2 appears in World 5-1. In the level itself, you need to reach a rope Mario can bounce off of to hit a block that reveals a beanstalk to a bonus area. Inside this bonus area is a circle of revolving Parakoopas that guard an aforementioned Star Coin.

The thing of this is is that you wouldn't think there would be anything else in this room. After all, you got the Star Coin, and that was obviously all the room was good for. Time to fall down the hole and continue the level, right? Of course not, but that's not the rub here. The rub comes from the secret exit only being reachable by hitting an invisible block that reveals yet another beanstalk, and then taking that across two rings of circling Parakoopas to the secret exit. The invisible block in this bonus room is over an innocuous rope in the area, and completely unassuming. You dastardly level designers! This was the only thing in New Super Mario Bros. 2 that I needed to look at a guide for, as not finding that secret exit until then made me miss out on two bonus levels in the game.

Sometimes the Journey is the Reward - Mega Man 7 (SNES)

Despite being heckled by some in the Mega Man fan base, I quite enjoyed Mega Man 7, the only classic game in the series to hit the Super Nintendo. (But I would take Mega Man X1 - X3 over any classic Mega Man game any day. Truth.) Anyway, you can play through the game normally, going through all eight Robot Masters and then taking on the Wily Stages if you want, but Mega Man 7 offered the most longevity for one single play-through than almost any other classic series Mega Man game on offer.

One of the most time-consuming tasks in Mega Man 7 is done by finding Proto Man who can initially be discovered in a room Cloud Man's stage. This is performed by using Mega Man's trusty canine companion's Rush Coil to reach the area. Here, Proto Man gives the Blue Bomber a hint on what to do next, albeit however obvious it would be to use a flame weapon to burn down a forest's leaves. Regardless, continuing from here is something I didn't even know was possible. It's something that had eluded me for over 15 years since originally playing Mega Man 7 via Blockbuster rental in my childhood. Proto Man can once again be found, but his location is in such a "how was I supposed to find THAT!?" spot that it's no wonder I never found him as a kid.

Proto Man is next located in Turbo Man's stage, where he's hidden inside a false wall. Ah, the false wall, how I hate you. With no hint at all of a false wall being there, Proto Man was waiting for me to finally find him for a looong time. With another tip that goes in one eye and out the other (get it, since players are reading the dialogue instead of hearing it?), you finally can go to Shade Man's stage. With the mid-boss in that level, you have to destroy it a particular way to be able to go downward in the level to continue. A Sniper Joe, another enemy of my childhood alongside the false wall, stands before another false wall which leads to the grand culmination of all of this exploring -- the battle with Proto Man.

After all of this moving from one level to another and defeating Proto Man, he gives Mega Man his Proto Shield as a prize. In a cruel twist of fate, the shield actually is worthless if you like to use any type of substantial offense (like in, y'know, any Mega Man game for it to be fun), but alas, at least the journey was a fun one. It's just a shame that over 15 years of wondering about Proto Man didn't end with a more satisfying conclusion for me.

Nothing to Spear But Spear Itself - Final Fantasy XII (PS2)

Just in time for the PlayStation 4 remastering of Final Fantasy XII with Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is this obtuse item in the game. Your mother should have taught you not to be greedy. Well, certain people in power in my country didn't get that lesson taught to them, but that's a post for another site. Back on subject, in Final Fantasy XII, if you're too greedy, then you might just give up a chance for one of the rarest weapons in the game, and you might not even ever have known it existed because of it!

It's Final Fantasy XII's Zodiac Spear. Usually you have to do something to get a really valuable weapon, but with the Zodiac Spear's case, you have to not do something. In this case, it's not opening four of the game's treasure chests out of countless ones throughout the game. These specific chests don't look any differently than any other in the game, so even if you know about this dilemma about opening chests, you don't know which ones not to open. If you don't even know that, then unless you're insanely lucky (opening a certain chest that ridiculously rarely gives you the spear right then and there), you won't even know the Zodiac Spear even exists.

What a Lloyd of Crap! - Tales of Symphonia (GCN)

For me, Tales of Symphonia fills me a nice sense of nostalgia. It was my first Tales game, and it was lovely game to play during one of my summers off from high school. However, until reading a Brady Games strategy guide on Symphonia much later after having beaten the game, I was absolutely shocked to learn about a piece of the game I never considered.

As Lloyd Irving, the main character of Tales of Symphonia, you occasionally get the opportunity to choose between two lines of dialogue for him to say to various characters. Seems harmless enough, and it did to me while playing the game originally at the time. However, what is completely left out by the actual game is a relationship system where these choices of dialogue affect how the numerous party members tagging along with Lloyd think about him, as well as affecting their affinity with him. Since I generally make the most rational of choices the first time around as main characters in games that give me this opportunity, I ended up with a default ending. That said, Lloyd can end up with any number of characters, and it can even affect the makeup of Lloyd's party in the long-term as one character can die with another taking their place.

Toughest Tasks in Gaming History - Volume Two

Do you consider yourself to be a hardcore gamer? Just how hard of a hardcore gamer do you think you are? Do you think you could perform some of the most difficult feats in gaming? Even if you don't think you could, Toughest Tasks in Gaming History is here to show you some of the most challenging feats in gaming. No, we don't mean things like becoming a credible gaming journalist. No, no! We're talking feats that will amaze friends within your gaming circle. This second volume contains tasks from games like Gears of War 3, Dead Rising, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl!

If you missed the inaugural edition of Toughest Tasks in Gaming History, have no fear! We have the first volume's link right here!

Seriously 3.0 - Gears of War 3 (360)

Some tasks in gaming are tough because of the challenge involved, while others are tough due to the time investment required. Gears of War 3's Seriously 3.0 achievement focuses on the latter. In the original Gears of War, there was the original Seriously achievement, earned through obtaining 10,000 kills. The sequel required the player to up their killcount exponentially with 100,000 enemies killed. This time one could earn these kills in and out of multiplayer (through grinding the last level over and over again in a sensationally stupid, tedious, and so-not-worth-it way).

Seriously 3.0 requires you to reach level 100 as well as acquire all 65 Onyx medals. What does that actually mean for the player? Well, one has you being forced to play over 15,000 multiplayer matches at the very minimum and score over 70,000 kills. Unless you absolutely can't live without Gears of War 3, this tough task is only reserved for the biggest fans of the game.

7 Day Survivor - Dead Rising (360)

Through completing the main campaign of Capcom's Dead Rising for the Xbox 360, Infinite mode unlocks. This mode requires Frank "covered wars, y'know" West to survive for seven in-game days. Each day in Dead Rising lasts two hours, so simple math has a 7 Day Survivor achievement-acquirer spending 14 hours total on this task.

You must constantly babysit Frank, as his health bar is always declining. He must eat over 40 meals at the very least to stay alive (a full health bar will empty in 20 minutes), he must survive against a zombie horde that wants him as a nighttime snack, and there are no checkpoints or save points to help the player with. That means you must have your Xbox 360 on for at least 14 hours. Huh. No wonder our damn Xbox 360 overheated on us when we got this achievement!

Collecting all of the trophies - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

With the Super Smash Bros. series' fourth and fifth installments releasing later this year, it seems like as good a time as any to look back at the latest game in the franchise, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. One cool feature of Brawl, which was also in Melee, is that of trophies. These trophies are modeled after various characters, objects, items, and more from numerous Nintendo properties. It's a veritable virtual museum for Nintendo fans.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl introduced a challenge wall, much like what was seen in Kirby Air Ride, another Masahiro Sakurai directed title. As in-game tasks are completed, individual panes on the challenge wall shatter, revealing a prize.

In order to get every trophy in the game, a player needs to not only acquire all the trophies found in the challenge wall (this means beating the game's modes on the hardest difficulty), but he or she must turn every enemy and boss in the Subspace Emissary mode into a trophy with a trophy stand item, and beat the Classic and All-Star modes as every character. Not just immensely challenging as a task, but time-consuming, those who have collected every trophy Super Smash Bros. Brawl has to offer are without a doubt the best and brightest the franchise has to offer.

Super Monkey Master - Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (Vita)

The PlayStation Vita's edition of the Super Monkey Ball series is a title that will grab you by the monkey balls and not let go. It's a very difficult game, featuring a steep leap in difficulty going from the intermediate to the advanced stages of the game. It's a feat all on its own to simply beat the fifty stages of the advanced mode, and that's because you don't have the luxury of unlimited continues until after you beat the mode.

What does Super Monkey Master entail, then? Well, it's the simple task of beating every stage in the game without ever using a continue. Be sure to grab as many bananas as you can to rack up those lives, master those challenging stages as many times as you can in Practice mode, and keep those palms steady! If you can somehow obtain this incredibly rare trophy, then pat yourself on the back, as you are indeed a Super Monkey Master!

Beating the game - Contra (NES)

...How about without the famous Konami code? Heck, even with the code activated, the original Contra on the Nintendo Entertainment System was no walk in the park... Well, maybe a walk in the park if your park has a hail of gunfire, explosions, and one-hit kills every step of the way.

Without the Konami code activated, which would give players thirty lives to work with, Contra only gave players three lives to work with. Yes. Three. Lives. Throw in the little caveat that every hit you took was a one-hit kill, and those lives just fly away like scraps of paper in the wind.

Players had eight levels to complete in order to beat Contra, and if you could beat the game with just those three lives, you were the coolest kid in elementary school. Nowadays, many gamers are soft-- using save states, tool-assisted runs, and other girly-men handicaps. We should know...

SPC Quickies - Volume 2

What are SPC Quickies? They're paragraph-long reviews for games that don't really need a long review dedicated to them. We're talking about games like from the Virtual Console and other downloadable services. It makes little sense to score such games on the normal in-depth review scale, so instead quickie reviews will be scored from 1-5 with no decimals to worry about.

5 - Fantastic

4 - Great

3 - Fair

2 - Poor

1 - Awful

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007: The World is Not Enough (N64)


This game is based loosely on the movie with only a few key scenes missing. The game's story could be described as Cliffnotes for the movie. The single-player mode has three difficulties to plow through each with varied missions and objectives added depending on the difficulty chosen. The game feels very much like Perfect Dark which is high praise indeed. There's even unlocking new multiplayer content such as skins, arenas, and modes by beating missions under a given time. Multiplayer itself plays great with four players maximum (e.g. two humans and two bots), and it's quite fun to blast away one another or just blast away bots by yourself.

[SuperPhillip Says: 4/5]


Beetle Adventure Racing (N64)


Beetle Adventure Racing isn't your typical racing game. There's only six tracks, but these tracks are highly detailed, long, and are littered with hidden shortcuts and paths to travel. The game rewards the player's exploration with point and bonus blocks that unlock continues as well as hidden game content. Multiplayer is a blast, and it offers up four player carnage via splitscreen. The only problems I have with the game are that the music is pretty poor and cups can take too long to complete.

[SuperPhillip Says: 4/5]


Wave Race 64 (N64)


This title came out close to the Nintendo 64's launch, and it was way ahead of its time. The water physics to this day still hold up wonderfully as do the superb controls. Tearing across the ocean is a wonderful pleasure. Each of the game's riders have their own stats, and each circuit has its own theme from sunset isles to ports filled with rough, unforgiving water. Each grand prix difficulty has the player jetting across the same tracks only with one new track added each difficulty. That can be repetitive, and I would have liked to see another track or two total.

[SuperPhillip Says: 4/5]


Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (GB)


Wario's first full-fledged adventure, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is where Wario the anti-hero came to be. He doesn't care about saving the world or rescuing a princess; all Wario cares about is treasure, treasure, and more treasure! The platforming is surprisingly type. Like Mario, Wario has his own special hats such as the rocketing bunny cap. To bring up the game's longevity, there's hidden treasure for Wario to obtain, secret level exits to uncover, and bosses to beat.

[SuperPhillip Says: 4/5]


Did you miss Volume One? Check it out here!