PixlBit

Miniature versions of classic game consoles with pre-loaded games has become very popular in the past few years.  First we got mini versions of the NES and SNES, and then SEGA came out with one for the Genesis.  And now we have the Turbo Grafx-16 Mini!  It was supposed to come out last year, but got delayed.  Because of the Corona virus, I didn’t think it would ever come out.  But a couple of months ago, I got mine in the mail!  I just now got a chance to play it, so we’ll take a look at all the games on it.  Because there are so many games (almost 60), I’ll have to split this up into several parts over the next few weeks.

More game reviews I’ve written recently at GamerDad.com are coming’ at ya!  Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe even post a ‘like’ or comment or two.  I’d appreciate it.  All right, it’s time to blast off!

WORST.  YEAR.   EVER.  I think we can all agree that 2020 has been one of the worst years in our lifetime, what with the Coronavirus, quarantines, riots and looting, and much more.  Some days I wonder if we’ll EVER get through this.  But there is one good thing about this year so far.  We’ve had quite a lot of really good games come out the first half of this year!  Normally I like to write a blog this time of year with my favorite games of the year so far, because the holiday titles and E3 announcements usually take precedence by the end of the year.  Of course, because of the Coronavirus there was no E3 this year, and as of this writing we still don’t know what big games will be out for Christmas.  Just another reason why this year sucks.  So I don’t know how much different my list will be by the end of the year.  But keep in mind that this is my list and my picks only, no outside opinions and whatnot.  And if a game isn’t on my list, it either just didn’t appeal to me or I haven’t played it yet.  Can’t play ‘em all, you know!  But with that out of the way, let’s take a look at my picks.

Hurry, hurry, hurry!  Step right up for the latest theme park attraction!  It’s a theme park based around Mr. Driller, and it’s all underground!  Sounds safe enough, right?  Anyway, Mr. Driller Drill Land was an awesome GameCube title, but it only stayed in Japan.  But now you can download it on Nintendo Switch in the US!  Finally!  Each attraction represents a game mode in this theme park, and I’m going to take you on a tour of all of them!  So let’s begin!

Namco has just opened up a new wing in their museum, with two volumes of archives including a bunch of 8-bit NES and Famicom games!  These two new downloadable collections contain almost a dozen games each.  I’ll be your tour guide as we go through the games on these collections.  So let’s go!

This past week I’ve run through all 51 games in the new Clubhouse Games for Nintendo Switch.  So today I’m going to do a wrap up with links to all the articles I’ve written as well as my overall general impressions.  So let’s begin!

Got some more game reviews dancing your way that I recently wrote at GamerDad.com!  Please click on and read as many of the links as you can, and maybe even post a ‘like’ or comment or two.  I’d appreciate it.  And as Shantae would say, “Ret-2 Go!”

The last classic collection I got on sale recently was the Contra Collection.  I’m not a big fan of Contra either, but I do like it a lot better than Castlevania.  I was never very good at Contra, though.  I do remember it being very popular when I was a kid in the 8- and 16-bit days.  Most people I know either had it on the NES, or rented it a lot.  It may not be the first run and gun game, but it is one of the first that perfected and popularized the genre.  I even remember one time reading a newspaper comic strip back then where two kids were running home to play NES games, and one of the kids said “Let’s play Contra!”  So anyway, let’s take a look at the Contra Collection!

So I have to admit, I’ve never been a big Castlevania fan.  So why did I get this collection?  Well, one, it was on sale.  Can’t resist a sale.  Plus I wouldn’t have bought it full price being digital only.  And two, I also love classic game collections period.  And three, it has one game in the series that I do really like, and it’s my favorite Castlevania game ever.  It’s also never been released in the US until now.  Can you guess what it is?  Well you’ll just have to read on to find out!  So let’s take a look at every game on this collection!  And let me know in the comments section what your favorite Castlevania game is.

Sometimes when I make a list of reviews I’ve written lately for these blogs, I notice they have a theme.  This time I noticed that nearly all the games I’ve reviewed lately have strong female lead roles.  We have Blaze Fielding, Cherry, and Estel Aguirre from Streets of Rage 4, Tifa from the FF7 Remake, Demelza and Nessa from Knights and Bikes, Tanya and Olga from Infinite: Beyond the Mind, and many more!  So please click on the links and read as many reviews as you can, and maybe post a like or comment or two.  And in the comments section here, tell me your favorite female video game characters.  Can you guess mine?