Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Genesis)
How I Remember It:
Okay, I'm guilty of owning Thriller on vinyl and thinking that Michael Jackson was a pretty cool dude at one time, but Moonwalker was a little too over-the-top for me ... even at the age of ten. But I remember the game being a lot of fun, since it didn't shove terrible acting down my throat. Then again, I don't remember this game having much diversity. If I remember correctly (and I'm praying that I don't) all you do is walk up and down stairs kicking enemies. Oh, occasionally you get to throw your hat and do a dance move (which involved leaning), but at the end of the day it was nothing more than supped up version of Kung Fu (the NES game, not the TV show). Oh, and I think you turn into a robot ... or maybe that was just the weird overhead arcade version that has nothing to do with this Genesis game.
How It Is:
I never realized how similar to Shinobi this game is. Instead of featuring a masked ninja throwing shurikens, we have a gloved freak throwing (and kicking) fairy dust ... or is that magic? Hmm, what exactly is that stuff that Michael Jackson throws and kicks anyway? The fairy dust certainly doesn't look very menacing; at worst you're going to get the fairy dust in your eyes and then be blinded for a few minutes (maybe that's why Michael Jackson keeps getting out of his legal troubles). While Moonwalker is an interesting concept, I'm not sure it works as a video game design. Obviously a lot of it looks a little cheesy, but I suspect that a large part of that is the twenty years of Michael Jackson facts that I can't erase from my brain. But even if it was some other musician, the thought of dancing your enemies to death is about as silly a game concept as you get. The other problem I have with this game is how repetitive it is. No matter which music video-inspired level you are in, you're essentially doing the same thing over and over. That said, the levels are cool and I was excited to see where we were going to go next. All in all it's a guilty pleasure.
Does It Hold Up?
In this game's defense (and boy does it need one), Michael Jackson's Moonwalker the game is no more outdated than Michael Jackson's Moonwalker the movie. Then again, that movie feels like a relic from the distant past. Even if this game had amazing CD music I still don't think it would hold up well, the gameplay is too simplistic and the novelty of dancing your enemies to death wears thin almost immediately. Michael Jackson's Moonwalker definitely does not hold up, but that doesn't mean it's not fun to revisit.
Mortal Kombat (Super NES)
How I Remember It:
I'll admit, I was never as invested into the Mortal Kombat franchise as I was with Street Fighter. Don't get me wrong, I love the atmosphere of the first two Mortal Kombat games, the graphics were pretty cool and I loved the blood and gruesome fatality moves. But when it came to actually playing Mortal Kombat it felt like everything started to unravel. To mask this problem Ed Boon and John Tobias used gallons and gallons of blood, giving the game this over-the-top feeling that made everybody forget how completely average the fighting engine was. To comply with Nintendo, the developers (Sculptured Software) had to remove all of the blood and guts from the game, essentially leaving us with just the fighting engine. At the time I remember being livid at the idea of game censorship, so I did what everybody else did - I bought the Sega Genesis version (which had blood). Beyond the lack of blood, I remember the Super NES port not feeling very true to the arcade game. I also remember it looking significantly better than the Sega Genesis port (which was developed by Probe Entertainment). I wonder if any of that will matter 15 years later.
How It Is:
I certainly wasn't wrong about the graphics, even 15 years later the graphics are surprisingly solid. The characters aren't as big and impressive as the original arcade game, but this is still a great looking fighting game. The problem is that it's not a very good playing fighting game. The moves are sluggish, the animation is poor and some of the special moves break the game's balance. In a lot of ways the sluggishness of this game reminds me of the early Neo Geo fighters, especially Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury. It's not that the game is sluggish by today's standards; the truth is that Mortal Kombat was sluggish from 1993 standards. Compare this to, say, Street Fighter II and it's a night and day difference. I also found while playing this Super NES port that I am still not over the censorship issue; while the blood didn't really add anything to the gameplay, not having it there makes this game feel unauthentic. It's like watching your favorite cartoon and having one of the colors deleted, it won't change the story but you sure do notice it. I also hate the idea of a company having to censor their game to conform to the standards of Nintendo. They say that time heals all wounds, but those people are wrong.
Does It Hold Up?
There is absolutely no reason to play Mortal Kombat on the Super NES, it's that simple. The gameplay is terrible, the moves are sluggish, the controls often feel unresponsive, and the game has been censored. I'm not saying that the Genesis version is any better, but at least it's not censored (assuming you know the code). We live in a day and age where there are dozens of worthwhile fighting games; nobody should have to go back to this archaic Super NES game.
Super Star Wars (Super NES)
How I Remember It:
I have never been a big Star Wars fan. I know, I know, that's blaspheme to a lot of people, but there's just something about that universe that doesn't interest me. But even me, a non-fanatic, could appreciate that Super Star Wars was far and away the best 2D Star Wars game ever made. Then again, at that time Star Wars games hadn't been jammed down our throats, so I was a little more accepting of the franchise. Also, it was easy to get caught up in the excitement of everybody else. My friends were all ecstatic over this game and it seemed like all of the video game editors had fallen in love as well. Then again, I'm sure they were all big fans of Star Wars and were more than a little biased. Either way, I remember having a great time with this game and can't wait to see how well it has held up.
How It Is:
I may not be a huge Star Wars fan, but I have seen the original trilogy enough to remember them. What I don't remember are long sequences where Luke Skywalker ran around the desert shooting at scorpions. Yet that's the very first thing you do in this game. Thankfully the game becomes a little more relevant as we get into lightsaber fights and dealings with Darth Vader. The problem I am having with this game is that it feels like every other 2D Contra clone, only this time it features Star Wars locations and characters. It's not a bad playing game, but I certainly don't see what all the fuss was about 15 years ago. After going through this 1992 game I ended up checking out both Super Empire Strikes Back and Super Return of the Jedi. While those games definitely added something new each and every time, they all felt like standard Contra clones. Maybe it's just me, but I would take Gunstar Heroes over Super Star Wars any day of the week.
Does It Hold Up?
So let me get this right, the sequels were called Super Empire Strikes Back and Super Return of the Jedi? By that rationale shouldn't this game be called Super A New Hope? I'm just saying. Regardless of the weird naming, Super Star Wars is a fun (albeit average) action game. Fans of the movie will probably get a kick out of playing Contra in space, but I just didn't care much for this game. Looking back on it now, there's really no reason for all of these magazines to gush over this Star Wars game. Then again, this is just about the best LucasArts has been able to do with this license.
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