My 10 Favorite Posts Of 2009

#10 Sega Genesis Collecting And Arms Dealing: See what happens when my son and I trade an air pistol for a SEGA Genesis.  This was a favorite post because I caught it on tape, and that I did it with my son.

#9 Burgertime: I have alot of blog posts about Burgertime, but this post is significant because it was the first post that explained that I'm attempting to collect all of the licensed Nintendo games.  What spurred me to to this was that the previous November I had finished my 60-in-1 arcade game.  On it is Burgertime, but the machine was left at my in-laws house and I was craving Burgertime.  Mmm delicious memories.

#8 Salzmafia Nintendo Price Chart: This post was all about creating the Nintendo Price Chart which eventually became http://www.videogamepriceguides.com/

#7 Nintendo Golf New Label: Remember Hussy Golf?  This was my experiment in creating new labels for Nintendo cartridges where the original label was ruined.  This inspired some additional ones, though I have not yet created them due to lack of time.

#6 Burgertime New Personal Best: Ever look back at old yearbook photos and ask yourself "What was I thinking?"  Thats kinda what I think of now when I look at this post.  What kind of loser score is 44,500 points on Burgertime?  Breaking 100,000 on the first level is expected!

#5 How To Clean Your Nintendo Games: I love this post!  So many people make cleaning a Nintendo game a chore, and it doesn't have to be.  Also, many people think brasso and other ridiculous garbage will clean their game.  Boy are they wrong.

#4 Videogame Box Art History: Racing the Beam is a pretty cool book, and the revelation of Activision's marketing was genius!

#3 Red Or Blue: Take a trip down memory lane and relive the importance of wearing an 80's bandana makes when you're a character in a Nintendo Video game.

#2 The Spy Hunter Experience: I preach it all the time: Less is More when it comes to a videogame.  Read a real life example of how Spy Hunter has a greater depth than Metal Gear Solid IV due to the player's imagination

#1 Burgertime Grouping Performance: Yeah I know, I already have a Burgertime post mentioned in the top-ten, but this has to be my #1 favorite post of 2009.  After struggling for months on Burgertime I was able to find a workable pattern for the first level that yields 100,000 each and every time (which 100k is not depicted in the video).  Hear my excitement as I pull off the massive groupings.

Gradius Moai's And Ancient Aliens

There is a documentary from the History Channel called Ancient Aliens. In it they explore the possibility that many ancient religions and possibly some modern religions were started by humans after being visited by alien species.

There is a brief mention of Moai's.. those statues on Easter Island and featured throughout the Gradius games. Perhaps the creators of Gradius were on to something. But even if the example of Moai's were not influenced by alien visitors it got me to thinking of what an alien species might think of a video game.

The Voyager space probe has a gold record with samplings of music from earth along with other pieces of information that defines our species. The hope was that if discovered by an alien race they would learn something about Earthlings. Perhaps a video game would have suited the voyage better... even if they were not common back then.

So this draws the question... what videogame cound an alien species play to learn about Earth and humans?

Sadly a game like Grand Theft Auto or Modern Warfare would be right on the money. Or maybe a game like Gradius would be a better choice. If the Aliens were hostile the Vic Viper or Lord British ships featured in those games might be able to scare them off into thinking we had this superior firepower and technology. Or maybe a game like Pooyan would be worth the chuckle.

Track And Field Online

Track & Field Online is garbage as are most Flash games.  What's worst is its not some punk kid who remade the game but it comes from Konami directly.  You can play it, Double Dribble and some other Konami franchises from their site.  But T&F has to be the worst.

You beat up your keyboard's arrow keys to get your athlete to run.  It's slow.  It's sluggish.  It's missing frames of animation.  It has all the sounds from the arcade version including the woman's voice that reads off your distance, and it has all the graphics plus more.  "Plus more?" you ask.  Yes.  More.  Apparently T&F online is being sponsored by McDonalds.

McDonalds always sponsors the Olympics, so why not right?  Run past McRibs and Big Macs and other advertisements on your way to the gold!  You know, I seriously doubt that any real athlete eats McDonalds.

Video Game Price Guides 2009 Goal

With 2009 finally coming to a close I thought I'd mention some of the forth coming changes you'll be able to see in 2010.

1. On the game price pages the "additional" page links will be added to the bottom.  No need to scroll all the way back up to the top to see the next page of listings.
2. The YouTube videos will be moved back up to the top as well.  They were moved to the bottom for testing purposes.
3. The prices will update from the game-prices page and not the period.  This was simply a matter of logistics.  Clicking the game-prices page will update everything in the database.
4.  A recommended title feature.  Imagine looking at one game and getting a recommendation for a nothing title to look at.  IE: You're looking at Ninja Gaiden and their is a recommendation to look at Ninja Gaiden 2.
5.  Games by price: Rather than looking for games by title you can get a listing of games within a price range.  This will be perfect for bargain hunters or budget conscious visitors.
6.  Expanded game library:  There are a lot of systems and titles that still need to be added.
7.  Comments and ratings.  Why not?  Every other site seems to have them.

So there you have it.  There is actually a soft timeline in place to get all 7 of these implemented by the end of the first quarter.

Burgertime Arcade Grouping Stage 1

There's always time for Burgertime... except when you're working on making a full length movie about it.  Anyways I've been working closely with the arcade version, and have been concentrating on the differences in it, and with the Nintendo version.  It seems the AI does have a few subtle yet dangerous differences.  Mr. Egg changes direction for no reason at all... Mr. Pickle acts drunk or high.  And then there is the rouge Mr. Hotdog who made the following video a pain.

You see, I'm convinced you can group the arcade version with a simliar strategy on the NES version.  The problem is there is a Mr. Hotdog on the first stage that always seems to go rogue when there is a camera on.  15 takes later I finally capture it.  Finally!

Double Dragon 2 Box Art Revisited

Remember this post about Double Dragon 2 box art: http://www.salzmafia.com/2009/12/double-dragon-ii-box-art.php? Uh... yeah, anyways below is an Americanized version of that same box art.  Looks like it was for the Atari ST version of the game.

It speaks for itself why Americanizing Box Art is a BAD idea.  More examples coming soon...

Elevator Action II

How do you improve perfection? You can't! Thank goodness that Taito knew this and released Elevator Action II as an entirely different game than the original. Actually the only common ground the original and the sequel have are some elevators and bullets.

You still clear out enemies and search for stuff, but the heart of the game is killing rather than... well... stealing stuff. Elevator Action lets you pick from a cast of three. They each have different strength and weaknesses though most people play as the girl because she is hot. Basically you enter a building and look for bombs. Bad people and dogs try to kill you. There are explosions and other stuff. There is nothing special about the plot (the game violates the less is more rule. In the original game your imagination dictated the plot, where as this game tells you exactly what's going on.)

The redemption of Elevator Action II is the graphics and animations. They are GOOD! Shell casings bounce around, dying dogs flop to their death -the artists made it very realistic in terms of physics and human movement. This is refreshing since most new 3D games don't need true arists. Instead they just need a guy in a suit and a computer to capture movements.

Anyways you probably won't ever see this in the Arcade but it is available on the Taito Legends 2 disc for PS2.

Cool Refreshing Centipede

So... this is what an Atari Centipede glass looks like before and after a dark refreshing soda is poured in. Hard to believe a Centipede could lower the temperature and sweeten a drink so easily. You know, in any other context drinking from a glass with a bug on it would be nasty.

Atari Glasses

Ok, I couldn't keep these bad-ass Atari pint glasses a secret any longer... so kablammo! This is what they look like. I won't share the exact price but let's just say this purchase isn't gonna change the misfortune of Music 4 Less any time soon.

Each glass is adorned with the original arcade art of Asteroids, Missle Command, Centipede, and Tempest. Pour in a dark soda and make that art stand out!

Music 4 Less

Music 4 less overcharges... on everything! Games included. But karma has caught up to these people. I bought something from them finally. It's next to me in a bag right now. What is it? What could it be? It's not the Nintendo backpack I eyed for years. Sure, I could have gotten that. But instead I got something "cooler". Infact it's making me thirsty just thinking about it... It's amazing how the art of a video game, specifically three pre-1985 arcade games can grace an item and get pludered from an ill managed music store.

Double Dragon II Box Art

Double Dragon is a genre in itself. The characters in the original game told a story that was much deeper than a simple kidnapping. But what was so great about Marian that she had to be kidnapped?

Anyways Double Dragon is a good example of where "less is more" can back-fire. Since the game was so popular it would have been financially irresponsible not to create sequels. Unfortunately the game was exploited to oblivion and the story line had gotten too stupid or distorted.

To me, the franchise ended with this box art for Double Dragon II: The Revenge. It tells an interesting story. You have this hot woman with her skirt nearly tore off and Billy (or maybe Jimmy) fighting off goons who are desperate to show her the business. The goons infact have a spectacular view of Marion!

It's clear that this street fight is on the roof of a building, and without ever playing the game you cannot determine if the chopper is friend or foe.

Incidently, Marion is gun downed at the airport so technically this box art is an anachronism to say the least. But it sure is cool!

Into The Valley Of The Space Invaders

I stumbled upon this documentary on youtube.  I believe it was made around 1982.  It captures the energy of a REAL arcade...

Four Pack Of Burgertime Zippys

If one Burgertime zippy was unbelievable what does four in a package mean?

Burgertime Zippy

There are some people in the world who question the existance of a Burgertime zippy...

Escaping The Burgertime Level 3 Trap

The third level of Burgertime demands that you start running to the right and then up the ladder narrowing escaping the egg.  Hesitate for even a second and the egg will kill you.  This little manuver is what to do if you wasted that second and are now in danger of losing a life.  It's also the first half of the setup for grouping on the third level which I will share another time.

Nintendo Ad - December 20th 1987

From the bowels of the internet comes the ad you see above for Nintendo, it's games, and even the Nintendo Advantage joystick.  This ad was pulished for Fred Meyer, in the Register-Guard in Eugene Oregon on December 20th, 1987.  Mint Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! for $29.97?  If only we knew then what we knew now!

Burgertime Level 4 Grouping

It's been quite awhile since I posted about Burgertime. As you can see I had a loose grouping and it quickly fell apart. I ended with a quite dismall score, which isn't too bad I suppose since I really haven't practiced in weeks.

Mario Bros. Not Super!

When it comes to Mario games a lot of people will spew boring and beaten-to-death trivia about the franchise. There really isn't any "new" ancient history about the franchise left to be discovered, so with that in mind what could I possibly post that would be of any interest to anyone concerning a Mario game?

The controls!

Some could argue that controllers on modern systems have gone too far. Many games, especially first person shooters will often utilize all of the controls on say... a Dual Shock 3 controller for PS3. The game manuals are bloated with instructions surrounding the controls, and many games will have an in-game tutorial or a practice mode to get used to them. That's all fine and dandy, except like I've mentioned repeatedly on this blog: when it comes to videogames less is always more.

When you look at fine art there generally is only enough information to invoke an emotion or to promote a message. The artist does this on purpose because whether it's art, music, or even videogames the imagination fills in the blanks and the imagination will always be more vivid and detailed despite anyone's talent or what technology brings us.

So let's get back to the Mario Bros. controls. Of all of the Mario games including Donkey Kong, regular original Mario Bros. has the simplest of controls: left, right, jump. (Even Donkey Kong had up and down). Infact, when you consider a minimilist approach to game controls Mario Bros. is on par with Pong and Breakout. On a paddle controller like you'd find with pong you can only rotate left or right to move the paddle up and down (or left and right ala Breakout or Arkanoid). The buton mearly launches the ball.  Perhaps the next evolutionary step in controls in gaming would be that of Space Invaders, which again would be left, right, and shoot.

You could use a paddle controller with Mario Bros. (or even Space Invaders) and there is no reason for it not to work (in principle, not literally!). The controls are the same. Yet, Mario Bros. with it's origins in the arcade had the simplest of controls that did not hinder the depth of the game.  For example, the goal of Mario Bros. is to clear out sewer after sewer of four enemies: the turtle, the crab, the fly, and the ice monster.  You clear them out by flipping them upside down to immobilize them and then you kick them off the screen.  You can also utilize a POW block which flips all of the enemies at once.  You also need to avoid red, purple, and green fireballs that will chase you around if you take to long to clear a stage.  You also can collect coins.  The depth of play though really shines with the controls.  Both Mario and Luigi have a certain inertia to them as they walk.  They require a running start to get up to full speed, and letting go of the controls takes the brothers a few frames of animation before they stop.  This running start, and full stop inertia is what makes and breaks the game.  If you can't master either, then you'll probably die quickly because you'll keep misjudging your jumps and landings.  This is pretty in-depth for controls that only have a left, right, and jump!

Now imagine the same game, with the same controls, but with a paddle controller for precision.  Gently turn the wheel to the left or right to make Mario and Luigi tip-toe left and right.  Mash the wheel a hard left or right kinda like a woman driver (just kidding :-) ) and make Mario and Luigi haul ass!  It's the same controls, but with more precision!

Wrestlefest

ideogames, believe it or not, can serve as a legitimate record of history. For example, if you watch a movie made in the 1940's you can see the particular feel of that era. The same is true with music, but not only will music reflect a particular era, but the technology used to make the music is a reflection of the time as well. Intentional or not, movies and music archive a legitimate record of history.  The same is true for videogames and I have an excellent example.

What made me think to post this? An article on FoxNews.Com titled "Pro Wrestlers Come And Gone" was probably the inspiration.  Now mind you, I am not a fan of Wrestling.  At least not now anyways.  In the 80's and early 90's it was a completely different deal.  I was also 20 years younger and had completely different priorities.  For me, Wrestling died a few years before WWE.

 

To me, the best wrestling videogame ever made was Wrestlefest by Technos (1991).  That year of manufactuer is very significant.  In fact, any arcade game manufactured in 1991 and 1992 is probably equally significant.  If you went out of your way to play Street Fighter II in an arcade when it was first released then you remember Wrestlefest.  The reason why is because most arcades had Wrestlefest, and if you walked into an arcade that had 20 quarters waiting on Street Figher II you had nothing better to do to kill time then play Wrestlefest or any of the other miriad of arcade games available at the time.

 
So in reading the article on FoxNews.Com I was a little shocked.  I was a little surprised.  And here is why:
 

Wrestlefest featured 12 WWF wrestlers.  The line up was as follows:

 

Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Mr. Perfect, Earthquake, Ted DiBiase, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Big Bossman, Sgt. Slaughter, Smash (Demolition), Crush (Demolition), Hawk (Legion of Doom), Animal (Legion of Doom).

 

This was an impressive line up, and what was more impressive is that the characters looked like the actual wrestlers.  Some of the images were digitized, which to some degree that might be cheating when it comes to creating the likeness of an actual person in a video game, but the majority of the images were clearly hand drawn and done well.  But then again, I'd expect nothing less from Technos.

 

Anyways the death roster from FoxNews.Com was as follows:

• 
  
  Mr. Perfect: The man known as Mr. Perfect passed away on Feb. 10, 2003, from an acute cocaine intoxication. His father says steroids and pain killers also contritubed to his death. He was 44.
  
  
• 
  
  Earthquake: Earthquake retired from wrestling in 2004 after he revealed he had bladder cancer. The disease took his life on June 7, 2006. He was 42.
  
  
• Big Bossman: Ray Traylor, a former prison guard, made his wrestling debut in 1985. He joined the WWE in 1988 as the Big Boss Man. He died on Sept. 22, 2004, after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 41. 
• Crush: Brian Adams began his wrestling career in 1986 and debuted with the WWE in 1990 as part of the tag-team Demolition. In March 1995, Adams was arrested for purchasing steroids. He died August 13, 2007, at the age of 44. Authorities believe nandrolone, testosterone, and HGH played a part in his death.
• Hawk: Hawk battled through drugs and alcohol most of his career. He passed away Oct. 19, 2003, from an apparent heart attack. He was 46.

So 5 out of the 12 are already dead.  Hulk Hogan is still trying to get his life turned back around.  Ted DiBiase does alot of Christian work I hear, Jake "The Snake" Roberts entered rehab at WWE's expense, Sgt. Slaughter doesn't have any relevant gossip (although in relation to this videogame blog he did appear on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show along with follow Wrestler Captain Lou Albano who played Mario, who is also dead).  The Ultimate Warrior started a blog http://www.ultimatewarrior.com/ which is worth a good laugh, and as for the rest of them... who really gives a damn?

The point is that a videogame captured a moment in history, when these 12 men were on top of their game, with their names and likenesses to be found in almost every arcade in America.  And now they are just filler material on a slow news day for FoxNews.Com.  18 years from now will the rest be dead?

New Splash Page At VideoGamePriceGuides

The splash page for VideoGamePriceGuide.Com is now live.  After several days/weeks/months/ a more user friendly site is starting to take shape.  In less than a year VGPG went from a blogspot blog to a wordpress blog, to a redirect to the VideoGamePriceGuide.Com labels on the SalzMafia blog.  None of the previous layouts seemed to... well click!  It's 1:00am on my 'Friday' night, after a very busy week, so I hope this post makes sense.  Time for sleep...

VideoGamePriceGuides: Change Over Complete

The hard part is over!  After the moving of a ton of files, changing configuration files and a million other things, http://www.videogamepriceguides.com/ is finally resting in its new and correct home.  What does this mean?  It means that Google will soon be able to see more of the 7000+ pages of content that are available on VGPG.

Here is proof of concept: http://www.videogamepriceguides.com/nintendo/game-crisis/21/1/old/false/2/adventure-island/

Notice there are no "?=" parameters.  Whew!  There is still alot of coding that needs to be done on the back end but the hard part is finally over!