Today is the 20th anniversary of the U.S. release of Super Mario Sunshine, the Super Mario game of the Nintendo Game Cube. Super Mario Sunshine follows the formula laid down in Super Mario 64 . Mario's move set is largely unaltered, so if you've played that game, you'll be able to dive right in. Each level is a large play space in which Mario must find and collect Shine Sprites (the equivalent of Stars in Mario 64). Each stage contains eight "episodes." When Mario finds a Shine, he completes the episode. Each episode changes certain aspects of the level (same as in Mario 64). For example, in one level you are tasked with removing enemies from giant mirrors in order to dislodge an enormous Wriggler, then in the next episode you must defeat the rampaging Wriggler. The game also re-uses Mario 64's organizational mechanic by which Mario accesses the different levels through portals painted on walls. The central hub of Mario 64 was Peach's Castle. Here it is Is...

Kirby turns 30! Kirby's Dream Land was the debut Game Boy adventure of everybody's favorite pink puff-ball. His beginnings were humble: this first handheld outing is short and lacks his trademark ability to copy enemy powers. He's white! Kirby's Dream Land is a short, simple, well executed platformer. Its strengths are easy to identify: Kirby handles beautifully, with a robust flying ability and projectile attack. The levels are fun, interesting, and perfect for young children. And, importantly, Kirby and his world are adorable. Apparently his character design began as a placeholder, but it was so good they kept it! Kirby's Dream Land reminds me of Super Mario Bros. in that it flawlessly fuses form and function. Kirby's smooth and powerful controls complement the basic level designs. In addition to the standard analog jump (the harder you press A, the farther he jumps), Kirby can inhale a puff of air by pressing ↑. This inflates Kirby, giving him the ability to...

Thirty years ago Street Fighter II made the transition from arcade to living room on the Super NES. Although quickly eclipsed by its two successors, for one year it was the hotness. It would be hard to overstate how popular Street Fighter II was in the early 90's. Its predecessor was downright bad, but Street Fighter II invented the PVP fighting genre as we know it. Its roster of eight characters was a huge step-up from Street Fighter's two (Ken and Ryu, who returned for the sequel). The next iteration of the arcade game, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, which hit arcades just as the SNES port arrived, let you play as the bosses as well, increasing the roster to twelve. A false rumor said a secret code would let you play them at home. While that wasn't true, there was a code (↓, R, ↑, L, Y, B) to let both players choose the same character for a mirror match. A prime strength of the game is how interesting each character is: the American airman Guile (think Top Gun); the...

Stinger is the sequel to TwinBee , an early vertical shooter from Konami that was not released in the U.S. (until 2011). While the original TwinBee began life as an arcade game, this and several other TwinBee sequels were Famicom and Super Famicom games only. In Japan, Stinger was called Burning TwinBee: The Rescue of Dr. Cinnamon! I don't know what "Stinger" is supposed to mean. The main difference between TwinBee and Stinger is that the first, third, and seventh stages of the sequel are horizontal rather than vertical (no doubt due to the success of Gradius ). Like TwinBee, Stinger uses a strange power-up system: shooting clouds causes bells to appear. If you juggle these bells by shooting them, they change color every five bounces, with each color offering a different effect. On the vertical stages, you shoot bells with your normal attack (press B). On the horizontal stages, you use the A button to launch a heart-shaped projectile upward. This is used both to release a...

Twenty-five years ago today, Star Fox 64 was released in America. It surpassed its SNES predecessor, Star Fox , in every way. Star Fox 64 is an on-rails shooter. "On rails" means that your ship always moves forward along a pre-determined path, like a roller coaster. Within this path you can move around on the screen using the d-pad. You can speed up briefly by holding ←C or slow down with ↓C (the N64 controller has a C button in each orthogonal direction). Speeding up uses a boost meter, which needs a few seconds to refresh before you can boost again. The main gameplay element is shooting enemy ships with your laser (press A). Holding the button down for a second charges the laser. Charging has the added advantage of locking onto an enemy and doing splash damage to those next to it. The game records how many ships you destroy on each level and uses the total to create an arcade-style ranking, where you input your name for eternal glory (my best score so far is an unimpressive...

Lode Runner has a lot in common with Spelunker . Both were originally computer games published in the early 80's. Both are arcade-style platforming games in which you collect treasure. Both were ported to the NES in 1987. And both NES versions were published by Brøderbund! Lode Runner is the better game, although that's not saying much. Each stage of Lode Runner consists of various platforms connected by ladders and horizontal ropes. To beat a stage you must collect all the heaps of gold coins lying about, then exit via a ladder that appears at the top. The game has a lot in common with Wrecking Crew and BurgerTime , especially in the fact you must constantly evade enemies that home in on you, and you can't jump . Your only defense is to create a hole in the brick floor to the left (press B) or right (press A). It's not clear by what mechanism this occurs: a gun? A magic wand? Definitely not a shovel. Anyway, the enemy often walk into the holes you make. While an enemy...

Spelunker on the NES may be the worst video game I've ever played. It was originally released for the Atari computer in 1983 and then the Commodore 64 in '84, and it shows. By the time it came to the NES in 1987, it was very dated. Spelunker is a platforming adventure game in which you explore a cave, picking up keys and other items. Proceeding to the next section of the cave (stage) requires getting the keys to open the red and blue doors. Hazards stand in the spelunker's way, such as rocks, ditches, and piles that shoot steam. Falling in a ditch or getting blasted with steam kills the spelunker instantly. He can pick up bombs and then use them (press ↓ and B) to blow up rocks obstructing his path. You have to run away or the explosion kills the spelunker, too! There are only two enemies: bats that poop on the spelunker, which kills him , and a ghost that keeps showing up and giving chase. The ghost can be defeated with your gun, called the Phantom Blaster (press B). When ...