Kyle's Favorite DS Games Revisit

As promised, I have returned with my revised list of Favorite games for the Nintendo DS. If you go back and watch my old list, there's only five and there's more than one person talking; it's pretty much a disaster. I decided to fix this since I was in a better position to fix it. So take a watch, I'll sure you'll agree 'n' stuff. Now who wants marshmallows?!

Seven Things I Want Announced At E3

Yes my friends, it’s that time of the year again. A time for us to all huddle around our computer screens for four whole days and watch as our favorite developers and studios go up on stage to either embarrass themselves or blow us all away. I’m of course talking about E3. When it comes to the gaming world, nothing is bigger than E3. All the developers get together and announce all kinds of new stuff to knock our nerdy little socks off. Well, unless you’re Valve.

You're a wizard, Eric...

This year’s E3 is already underway, with Microsoft’s conference already taking place, offering little fanfare and nothing interesting except Halo 4 and a South Park RPG. However, all the other companies have still yet to go so might as well get some last minute speculation in there. Here are seven things I’d love to see announce at E3. Now, I tried to be a little realistic here. No ridiculous pipedreams like an Elite Beat Agents sequel or even a Smash Bros. announcement. Just going with things that seem plausible. (For the most part.)

The Top 5 HD Collections We Need

The video game industry loves reusing what it already has. Ever since the days of Atari, video game ports and remakes have graced every console, sometimes even with inferior products. But now as the end of the seventh generation of gaming draws closer, there’s become a new way for developers to resell the same ol’ games; HD Collections.

Did you know there's a Sly Cooper 2?

Now, a lot of people write off HD Collections as just a lazy attempt to make some quick cash and it some regards that’s true but I personally quite like the idea of HD Collections. I didn’t get to play very many games in the PS2 generation and I played none on the X-Box, so the idea of being able to go back and play games like Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper all on one convenient disc is pretty awesome. Not to mention, the graphics are prettier, most developers add trophies and some even release games for consoles they’ve never been on before. HD Collections are awesome. So, I’m looking at the five collections I’d love to see and what I’d like to see done with them. I’d do more than five but I was having a hard time thinking of even five that don’t have them yet so just five for now. 

The Top Ten Best Beat 'Em Ups

Despite being a dying genre, the Beat ‘Em Up is one of my all-time favorite genres of video games. Very few things come even close to being as satisfying as walking down the streets of some run down city and pounding criminal’s faces in with fists, kicks, pile drives and lead pipes. They’re such a product of the ‘90’s, it’s a shame they haven’t been as prominent ever since the arcade went out of style. Since most Beat ‘Em Ups were designed to be as hard as possible to rob kids of their quarters, they were everywhere in the heyday of the arcade and boy, do I miss those days.

The manliest of beat 'em ups.

So, combined with my love of Beat ‘Em Ups, including recently doing a Let’s Play of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and attempting to play through some Japanese Sailor Moon game, I’m doing a list of what I consider to be the ten best Beat ‘Em Ups. These are the games that are the most fun to play and simply bring the most joy when bashing somebody’s head in and eating floor chicken.

Now, since I’m not a professional game journalist and don’t get to just play whatever games I want for free, there are some pretty big games missing from this list (The most prominent being Castle Crashers and the fan-favorite, God Hand) simply because I haven’t played them. I’m sure if I had, I would have put them on this list but since I haven’t, unfortunately they aren’t here. So take it all with a grain of salt, is what I’m saying.

The Top Five Nintendo NES Games that Deserve the Kid Icarus Treatment

So hey, Kid Icarus: Uprising was just released and it’s kind of a big deal. Nintendo fans the world over are rejoicing in victory because this once dead franchise has finally come back to life and you know what, it’s actually really good. They’ve managed to take the relatively simple and undeveloped world of the original Kid Icarus and has turned it into something epic and fun. I haven’t played it yet but it got reviews and apparently has about 40+ hours of content. That’s insane. Hopefully it’ll catch on and this franchise will live again.

"Sorry to keep you waiting for 20 years."

So, in keeping with tradition, let’s talk about other NES games by Nintendo that could potentially make a comeback into something epic. Nintendo has a very strong wealth of a backlog of franchises and very rarely utilizes all of them. They like to stick to the tried and true like Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, Kirby, etc. which is fine, those are all great franchises but sometimes it’s nice to see some of the classics get revived. Punch-Out!! For the Wii was a great return to form for the long dormant franchise but unfortunately wasn’t as well received by consumers as Nintendo would have hoped. Hopefully Kid Icarus can change that and Nintendo will try with another franchise. So let’s take a look at the five I’d like to see the most.

The Ten Best Mario Party Mini-Games

So hey, Mario Party 9 for the Wii was released yesterday and I find that crazy. There are nine Mario Party games! No, there are 11 because of DS and Advance. ELEVEN! That is some insane stuff right there. Too bad the quality seemed to be on a constant downhill slide ever since 4. Regardless of how the quality in later games have been, there are very few multiplayer experiences out there quite like Mario Party. I remember plenty of great memories spent playing with friends and family, even some of the lesser ones like Mario Party 6. Mario Party is a lot of fun when you have a group to play with.

Go die, Domination.

But what makes Mario Party Mario Party? Well, the mini-games of course! Each game packs what seems like 60+ and they always make for a good time. That is unless they’re luck based or require you to tap A furiously for 10 seconds like Domination, those games are awful. But hey, we’re not here to talk about the bad, we’re talking about the good. The ten best, in fact. Yes, in honor of Mario Party 9’s release I’m looking at what I consider to be the ten best Mario Party mini-games. But before I begin, keep in mind that I don’t own Mario Party 7 or Advace, so none of those will be on here. Technically I don’t own 1 or 5 either but I’ve played those plenty with friends so I know of them. Anyway, let’s get started.

Matt's Top Five Favorite Mario Kart 7 Tracks

When we first started this blog, I kicked things off with my list of the ten best Mario Kart tracks in my opinion. In many ways, it was to celebrate not only my love for the series but the then upcoming 7^th installment, Mario Kart 7. Well, Mario Kart 7 came out in December and I’ve had plenty of time to play it so I figured I’d go back and list off the tracks I think are the absolute best in Mario Kart 7. 

Sure would be nice if Waluigi was in this game.

Of course, when I say “absolute best,” I mean of the new tracks. While Mario Kart 7 easily has the best selection of retro courses in any Mario Kart yet, it’s unfair to compare the likes of Waluigi Pinball and Koopa Cape, already great tracks that were on my original list, to the new tracks I want to talk about. Also, I’m only going to be listing off five. Any more than that and I’d be listening almost all the new tracks all together! One last thing, and this should go without saying, no Battle mode tracks. I know they barely count to begin with but I just feel the need to remind you that they're not going to be included. Even if Honeybee House is kind of cool.

Top Picks - 5 Favorite 1st Gen Pokémon

We made it to the big one, folks! It's like, an hour long so uh, yeah, be cautious of that.

The Eleven Stages I Want In The Next Super Smash Bros.

Well, my last two lists have been about the best and worst stages to ever be featured in the Super Smash Bros. series so I might as well talk about the stages I’d love to see in the next installment. With such a huge selection of characters and franchises, I find it hard to believe Nintendo would ever be pressed for ideas for stages. Personally, I’m of the belief that every character in the game should have their own stage for when you fight them in Classic or All-Star mode. I remember finding it very strange that Young Link’s home stage in Melee was Jungle Japes.

What happened to you, man? You used to be cool.

So, in an attempt to come up with ideas for stages to be added into the next Smash Bros.,I give you my list of the eleven stages I’d love to see. Why eleven? Because I came up with one last minute and didn’t want to get rid of anything. Now, it was hard coming up with this list. There’s tons of ideas for stages I’d love to see, many of which from the franchises that already get the most stages. I tried to be fair and give each franchise one stage but I couldn’t do it so there’s two Zelda and Mario stages on the list anyway, OH WELL! 

Top Picks - 5 Favorite 2nd Gen Pokémon

Because I apparently love posting over my own lists, here's our latest video in our quest to countdown our five favorite Pokémon from each generation. It is, of course, second gen, the Gold and Silver gen. That means we're almost at the most important one. YAY!

The Five Worst Super Smash Bros. Stages

Last time we met, I made a list of my ten favorite stages in the Super Smash Bros. series. As I’ve mentioned previously, the stages are just as big of a part of the series as the characters. Every stage has a different personality, a different familiar location from the world of Nintendo and often times, different gimmicks. 

Consider Venom number 6.

However, unfortunately, those gimmicks can sometimes be annoying. Some stages use gimmicks in very minimal ways such as the walls in Shadow Moses Island or the Banzai Bills in Peach’s Castle. But sometimes they can get a little annoying and over the top such as the Pokémon from Spear Pillar or the entirety of the WarioWare, Inc. stage. Some stages have great concepts behind them but ultimately fail to impress like Venom, 75m or New Pork City. However, many of these stages aren’t “awful” just not very good. I’m looking at the five stages I absolutely hate, nay, refuse to play on. This is my list of the five worst stages in Super Smash Bros.

Top Picks - 5 Favorite 3rd Gen Pokémon

Continuing where we left off, here's our picks for our five favorite Pokémon from generation 3, the worst generation.

Top Picks - 5 Favorite 4th Gen Pokémon

It just occured to me that we forgot to put this up here. WHOOPS! Anyway, here's out individual lists of our five favorite 4th Gen Pokémon. Enjoy!

The Top Ten Kart Racers (That Aren't Mario Kart)

Ever since Super Mario Kart hit the market 20 years ago, the racing genre has had a smaller sub-genre; the mascot-driven kart racer. Taking the arcade style racing game, throw in some crazy locations and power-ups and of course, some sort of licensed character seemed like instant cash for developers. It seems like every property out there has been involved in a Kart racing game at least one time or another, from Sonic to Pac-Man to South Park, the Smurfs and even Homies.

9.8/10

 However, it doesn’t always work out. Very few Kart racing games ever even come close to capturing half the magic of Mario Kart and even more of them are just flat out bad. Now, I love Kart racing games, especially Mario Kart, so I’ve played a lot over the years and I’d be lying if I didn’t say there have been quite a few that have stood out as more than just rip-offs. So, I’m counting down the top ten best Kart racing games, that are not Mario Kart. 

The Twelve Stages I'd Pick for Sonic Generations 2

After months and months of eager anticipation, I finally got my hands on Sonic Generations this Christmas. Last night I even managed to finish the game and boy was it a treat. Sega certainly knew how to appeal to the fans, the whole game is one big love letter to everything Sonic. Each level is loaded with love for the source material, references to other Sonic stages and characters and the expert level design from Sonic games past.

This is what dreams are made of. Also nightmares.

Although the game is almost perfect in every way, especially stage design, I can’t help but wish there were more stages. I personally wouldn’t have chosen Seaside Hill to represent Heroes nor would I have likely picked Speed Highway from Adventure. Not that either of those are poor choices, they just aren’t what I would have picked. 

So I got to thinking about what stages I’d put if I could develop Sonic Generations 2. Now, this is all completely hypothetical. Obviously, it’s unlikely we’ll get a Generations 2 as this was a celebration of Sonic’s 20^th anniversary not to mention Sega has expressed no interest in it. But, I have so I’m going to list off 12 stages I’d like to see in a sequel. That’s one from each game represented in Generations as well as a stage from Sonic 3, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The only rule is that it has to be a stage that was no included in any version of Generations, console or 3DS, so no Casino Night Zone as much as I’d like it. Also, this list is just in chronological order so when I get to number 1, don’t take it as that’s the one stage I want more than anything ever.

The Top Seven Gameboy Games That Should Be On the 3DS eShop

Alright, I promise this will be last 3DS focused list for a while but I figured I might as well cross all gaming options on the 3DS off so now I’m focusing on the Virtual Console. Nintendo really struck gold when they decided to enter the world of downloadable games by rereleasing many of their classics on the Wii’s Virtual Console service. However, as many gamers will tell you, Nintendo hasn’t exactly treated that service very well. It started out great but as time when on, less and less games were released. To this day, several big name Nintendo titles such as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island and Earthbound have yet to see Virtual Console releases.

You all should download Balloon Kid.

This hasn’t stopped Nintendo from trying it again with the 3DS however but they’re going with sort of a different strategy this time. Instead of releasing several games a week every week, they’ve so far only been releasing one a week. While I’m sure many gamers aren’t okay with this, especially having to potentially wait for their favorites, but I personally think it’s a fine strategy. There’s tons of Gameboy and Gameboy Color games out there and releasing one a week is a good way to keep folks excited about what’s to come. Not to mention Nintendo has mentioned the possibility of releasing Gameboy Advance and Sega Game Gear games on the service in the future, so the Virtual Console on the 3DS is looking mighty bright right now.

So what I’m going to be counting down is the top seven games I want to see rereleased on the Virtual Console service for the 3DS. So far, a lot of the really great ones have been released like Super Mario Land 2, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and even some lesser known classics like Gargoyle’s Quest. But there’s still plenty left they can pick from. Now, I’m only going to be doing Gameboy and Gameboy Color games because so far that’s all the service has hit. This list is open to both Nintendo and third party developed games as both have been released so far. So without further delay, let’s get to it.

Things that I would like to see happen with the next Iteration of the 3DS

Yes, I know it's still pretty early in it's life to be thinking about this, but I think that enough has presented itself to warrant this. I didn't put this in any kind of order, I just wrote things as they came to mind. If this was Top 5 or Top 10, I would put them in order, but it's not

The Top Ten Game Franchises That Need to Make a Comeback

The last few years have been pretty good years for older gaming properties. With the resurgence of sidescrolling games thanks to NEW Super Mario Bros. and the whole download market allowing developers to make smaller games, tons of game franchises both new and old are seeing revisits. Games like Rayman Origins, A Boy and His Blob, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 9 & 10, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Yars’ Revenge and plenty of others have all brought attention back to long dead franchises. As well as other games returning still existing franchises back to their roots such as Sonic Generations, Donkey Kong Country Returns and Kirby’s Return to Dream Land. The point is, we live in a world where nostalgia rules, especially the gaming industry.

No, the other Bionic Commando reboot.

So it got me thinking about what other franchises I’d like to see get a facelift. There’s plenty of great gaming franchises from the past that are well deserving of making a comeback and for some, there’s no excuse. Not all of them need to be retail releases and most of them don’t even need to make the leap to three dimensions; all we need is for them to come back. So without further delay, let’s take a look at the ten game franchises I want to make a comeback.

The Top Six Characters I Want in the Next Smash Bros. that Have No Chance of Making It

When it comes to Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series, it seems like the one thing everybody always talks about is the roster. No matter what gaming site, blog or forum you visit, you’re bound to find a topic dedicated entirely to fans discussing and debating which characters deserve to be in the game, who they think will be in the game and who they want in the game. We here at Adamant Ditto have plenty of discussions about it, in fact, before Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released, it was all we talked about.

Everybody has their own opinions and favorites when it comes to Nintendo characters and it’s not hard to see why. Nintendo more so than any other gaming company out there has so many lovable and unique characters, there’s always going to be some character that people feel was unfairly left out. Though sometimes, it can be a little ridiculous. Just because a character is cool doesn’t mean they stand a chance of being playable. You may be a big fan of Umbreon or Agent J. from the Elite Beat Agents but chances are, they weren’t even considered.

Though thinking about it, we'll probably get Wesker instead.

So that’s what I’m looking at today. I’m counting down the top six characters I want in the next Smash Bros. game but have no chance of making it on the roster. Now keep in mind, this isn’t my list of my most wanted characters, there’s plenty I want in the next game that I feel actually stand a decent chance, such as Krystal, King K. Rool, Lil’ Mac, Starfy, Mega Man, I could go on and on. Yet, there are some characters I want to see that I know have no chance whatsoever of ever being playable. So without further delay, let’s begin the list.

The Ten Worst Mario Characters to Ever be Playable

Over the course of his 30 years in video gaming, Mario has made a lot of friends and a lot of enemies. So like any normal human being, he enjoys spending time with these people. Sometimes he likes to golf with them, maybe shoot some hoops or even throw a pretty crazy house party. Whatever he’s doing that day, Mario always has a colorful gang of characters to join him.

It's better than doing math.

But sometimes he makes some pretty dumb decisions when making up the guest list for these events. Doesn’t he ever stop to think that maybe those of us at home don’t want to go kart-racing as Baby Peach? Or lobby some tennis balls as Donkey Kong Jr.? Yes, the Mario universe has a great and varied bundle of characters but not all of them deserve to be playable. So I’m taking a quick look at the ten worst offenders. This is my list of the Worst Playable Mario Characters. 

But before we begin, I do want to get this out of the way now; no third party characters are on this list. Yes, I know Mario played basketball with Cactuar. I also know he once raced against some Tamagotchi thing. And yes, he has snowboard and jumped hurdles with Silver the Hedgehog. I know. But none of them are on this list. I’m looking specifically at Mario universe characters. Just because Bomberman once fought against Wario does not make him a Mario character. So without further delay, let’s start the list.

And you thought I was making the Tamagotchi thing up.