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Just in time for back to school season, Nintendo has decided to upload one of the worst educational games of all time. The gaming landscape is littered with terrible educational products, and this early Nintendo Entertainment System game is no exception.  Donkey Kong Jr. takes all of the excitement of the Donkey Kong series and injects it with the most boring school subject of all time, math. It's as if the developers of this game sat around trying to figure out what was lacking from Donkey Kong Jr. and all decided that the missing ingredient was math. So get this, Donkey Kong Jr. Math takes one of the levels from the original game and instead of enemies they throw up a random assortment of numbers (from 1 to 9). It's your job to add, subtract, multiply and divide the numbers until you get the answer Donkey Kong Sr. is looking for. No, I'm not joking, that's all this game is. And after you've done this five times in a row you are sent back out to the title screen. I'm not joking when I say that you'll have more fun just playing around on some cheap calculator.

 

Well, it's math. The math portion of the game certainly holds up, it's definitely important that you know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. But I'm not sure how useful this product really is, I didn't feel like I was actually learning anything while playing this game, and almost every level can be completed by just choosing random numbers. Things are only made worse when you realize that there are only two levels, neither of which is all that entertaining to look at. This game just doesn't hold up, but I'm not convinced the game ever was much fun in the first place.

 

Even at $5 Donkey Kong Jr. Math just isn't a very good deal. You might as well just pay the extra money to get Brain Age, an infinitely better game about learning. I never thought I would feel ripped off playing a game that was only five dollars, but Donkey Kong Jr. Math has definitely changed my mind. I can understand why parents may want to invest in a game like this, but the only thing Donkey Kong Jr. Math is going to do is make your kid never want to add or subtract ever again. 

 

 

How sad is this, I've been a huge fan of Landstalker since it was first released and I never realized it had a subtitle. In fact, when I got the email about Landstalker showing up on the Virtual Console I had to double check and make sure The Treasure of King Nole was the game I was thinking of. Thankfully it is, because Landstalker is easily one of the best games currently available on the Virtual Console. On the surface this looks like nothing more than a Zelda clone, but Landstalker is actually a fully realized adventure game full of new gameplay techniques, a cool new art style, and a camera perspective that you're either going to love or hate. You play Nigel, a young treasure hunter, who is led to a small island by his newly acquired Nymph friend, Friday, in hopes of discovering the legendary treasure of King Nole. As you can imagine, along the way you are put up against huge enemies, challenging platforming puzzles and pretty much everything else we've come to expect from the a 16-bit adventure game. Landstalker was developed by Climax Entertainment, the same people who is known for working on Shining Force, Shining in the Darkness, and Dark Savior. They are also the company responsible for the upcoming PSP adventure game, Silent Hill Origins. Climax is known for their deep adventure games, and Landstalker is no exception. If you've already gone through all the Zelda games and are looking for something that is more than just another clone, you definitely can't go wrong with Landstalker.

 

Landstalker is one of my favorite Genesis games; it was the first game Sega made that could really compete with the Zelda series. What sets this game apart from something like Neutopia (which I reviewed two weeks ago) is that Landstalker isn't really trying to be another Zelda game, this title really has a different style all its own. The only thing that could keep people from falling in love with this 15 year old game is the strange camera angle. Because the game uses the diagonals it never feels as natural as other overhead adventure games. What's more, gamers used to 3D-based games will probably be frustrated by the fact that you can't control the camera. If you can get past that one minor quirk then you'll be in for one of the best 16-bit adventure games of all time, the kind of game that can definitely go toe to toe with Nintendo's beloved Zelda series.

 

After the excitement of Metroid last month I wondered if September would be a slow month, thankfully that does not appear to be the case. Landstalker is exactly the kind of game I've been waiting for on the Virtual Console, it's a game that has broad appeal being given a second chance to succeed. This is an epic adventure game that hits all of the right notes, and best of all it's one of those games you probably haven't played in a long time (or at all). Hopefully Landstalker will find a home on the Virtual Console because I'm still holding out hope that Climax might finish that long-delayed Landstalker PSP game they announced.

 

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