Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, created through an unexpected collaboration between Nintendo and Square, is Super Mario meets Final Fantasy . The mechanics of an RPG are simplified for a younger audience, then combined with a little platforming and characters from the Mario universe. That may sound like a dubious proposition, but the final result speaks for itself. Super Mario RPG came out late in the SNES's life cycle, just a few months before the N64 and Super Mario 64 . As a teenager, I scoffed at the absurdity of Mario characters being in a childish-looking RPG. (Like many children, I was closed-minded.) As an adult, I learned that the game has an excellent reputation. The recent remastering of the game for Switch prompted me to give the original a try, which is on the SNES Classic. In Super Mario RPG, a gigantic anthropomorphic sword named Exor crashes into Bowser's castle, casting him out and frightening everyone. To banish Exor and the leader of his gang, ...

Mega Man IV is the sequel to the Game Boy game Mega Man III . The Roman numerals are meant to distinguish this series from the NES games on which they are based. Mega Man IV follows its predecessors in taking four "robot masters" each from two NES games, in this case Bright Man, Pharaoh Man, Ring Man, and Toad Man from 4 and Stone Man, Crystal Man, Charge Man, and Napalm Man from 5 . The stages are remixed both so as to provide something new and because the Game Boy's small screen made it impossible to reproduce them exactly. As in all Mega Man games, when he beats a robot master, he gets his weapon. My main gripe with Mega Man games in general is the limited usefulness of most of these weapons (except in Mega Man 2, where the Metal Blade is superior). The default Mega Buster, which can also be charged up for a more powerful attack, is so versatile that it's rarely worthwhile to use another, except to exploit a robot master's weakness. Each master is weak to one ...

Kirby's first spinoff game (of many) is Kirby's Pinball Land, released on the Game Boy near the end of 1993. It combines classic pinball with elements from the popular Kirby games. It could almost be considered a sequel to Revenge of the 'Gator , another Game Boy pinball game made by HAL Laboratory. There are three tables to choose from: Whispy (the tree, misspelled "Wispy"), Kracko (the cloud), and the bomb-throwing Poppy Bros. Interestingly, you can travel between tables during the same game by beating that table's boss or catching a warp star. Once a boss is defeated (by hitting it repeatedly), you cannot re-enter that table. If you beat all three—not easy!—Kirby faces King Dedede as the final boss. I like how this mixes up the traditional pinball experience with the level-based video-game experience. The table layouts are basic and adorned with enemies from the Kirby games. Kirby bounces around, racking up points, and you use the flippers to keep him afloa...

It's been three decades since Americans were treated to the action RPG Secret of Mana. Called The Legend of the Holy Sword 2 in Japan, it's the sequel to Final Fantasy Adventure . It builds upon some of its predecessor's unusual conventions, including a tedious weapon-charging system. What most sets it apart, however, is it supports two and even three   player simultaneous play. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past can't do that! Secret of Mana's threadbare plotline is a rehash of the first game. The Mana Tree and its eight sacred seeds are threatened by monsters, led by the villain Thanatos (Greek for "death"). A young hero, gifted with the legendary holy sword, must defeat them and save the tree. His ability to remove the sword from a stone, Arthur-like, is treated as a calamity by his village, which banishes him. But the young hero soon saves a blond girl and a "sprite." They join him as party members. A sprite is a fairy, but this person ...

It's been 25 years since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time revolutionized the beloved action-adventure series, bringing it into the third dimension. Highly anticipated and critically acclaimed at release, it remains one of the best Zelda games ever. Ocarina of Time is a prequel to  A Link to the Past . The opening intro in that game told of the Imprisoning War, when Ganon used the "Golden Power" of the Triforce for evil. He was defeated by a valiant swordsman who wielded the Master Sword and commanded the Knights of Hyrule. After his defeat, Ganon was sealed in the "golden land" by seven sages. The story in Ocarina of Time more or less tells of those events. Our pointy-eared hero meets each of the seven sages. Their names as established here have become part of Zelda lore: Rauru, Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Impa, and Nabooru. This game also introduces us to the Sheikah, ninja-like servants of the goddess Hylia, whose symbol is a stylized, hieroglyph-like eye. One s...

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is an SNES (and Genesis) game made by LucasArts (Lucasfilm). It's a combination maze and run-and-gun game with a self-parodying, classic horror film theme. You control a Bart Simpson wannabe in 3D glasses named Zeke or a girl in a purple jacket and red hat and shorts named Julie. Better yet: play with two players and get maximum enjoyment out of simultaneous play. Each of the game's more than 50 levels is a maze filled with monsters and ten neighbors to rescue. The neighbors are caricatures, like a cheerleader, guy barbecuing, guy floating in an inner tube, dog, girl on a trampoline, and tourists. As soon as a neighbor is on screen, if a monster touches it, they scream and turn into a ghost. If you touch them first, you save them and earn points. Once one dies, they're gone for the rest of the game. As a result, you'll have fewer and fewer to rescue as you progress. However, every time you earn 40,000 points, one neighbor is restored. If the las...

Twenty-five years ago today, F-Zero X, the sequel to the classic SNES launch title  F-Zero , dropped on the N64. The game still enjoys a good reputation because the hardware capabilities of the 3D system allowed it to deliver on the promise of the original formula. The basic gameplay of F-Zero X (I guess Nintendo got tired of the "64" naming convention) is almost identical to F-Zero. You race hovercraft around futuristic tracks at incredible speeds. The speedometer can crack 1000 kph, and the game does a great job making it feel real. Your vehicle has an energy meter. You can spend some for a turbo boost, though not on the first lap of each race. When you bump into walls or other vehicles, of which there are 29, you'll lose some energy as well. If you run out, your car explodes, ending the race. Energy can be refilled by driving over pink strips. To win races, avoid collisions with walls and vehicles, especially while cornering. Use the Z and R triggers to take corners mo...