#3 - Devil's Crush

Acquired: April 2009

Price: $18

Condition: Loose

If memory serves me right, I started this list in March of 2009, making this next game one of the first I ever crossed off of my list. (I know, I'm tackling this out of order. Once we get up to speed, the Tarentino style updates will cease) It should also be worth noting that this is one of the games on said list I've wanted for the longest amount of time. See, I first found out about this game way back in 2001 in EGM's 150th issue, where they counted the 100 best games of all time (To that point). I love pinball games, I will always buy a pinball game. This is because I love pinball, yet can not afford a full table, or my own arcade. Anyway, the game intrigued me, as it was heralded as the greatest pinball game of all time.

The game is your general video pinball game, only with an occult theme (nope, not kidding) and one of the best soundtracks available on a HuCard (Turbochip). In a previous post I mentioned this game was a close relative of Naxat Soft's other Turbo pinball game Alien Crush, and plays like an improved version of the earlier game. The playfield now scrolls with the ball, as opposed to Alien Crush's "blinking" screen. This makes a huge difference in gameplay, and is a welcome improvement in general. The game is also chock-full of bonus stages and creative ways of earning points. Honestly, my favorite pinball game of all time is still Kirby's Pinball Land for the GameBoy, but it's really hard to top Naxat Soft's second pinball outing, it's a high point of video pinball.

I picked this game up at Digital Press Videogames in North Jersey, and although the goal was to find a complete copy, I've never seen one outside of ebay, and I really couldn't resist picking one up and giving the ever excellent Joe Santulli the business. The game ended up being a tremendous asset at parties (go figure) as apparently people love the combination of Drinks, Turbografx, and Records. For this reason I can't recommend the game enough, it's merits as a game and party catalyst really can't be denied. Not every game can be played so well to the sounds of Billy Idol and dueling crotch tapping.

Conclusion: If I had the chance, I'd ask the world to dance.

#2 JJ and Jeff

Acquired: June 2009

Price: $8

Condition: Complete

I had wanted this game for a good few years, ever since reading about it in "GamePro Hot Tips: Adventure Games", a garishly colored book of tips and tricks for the current games of the neon-clad early nineties. The game always seemed to look pretty interesting, and I had played the ROM back in my "I Fought the Law" days. Some friends of mine picked this up for me while they were visiting Digital Press Videogames in North Jersey. I had provided them a list of games to pick up for my newly aquired PC-Engine Duo-R (More on that later), and this is one of the ones they found.

The American version features JJ and Jeff as two detectives trying to uncover some grand mystery I'm sure. The Japanese release features the same detective motif, only your sprites are decked out in Columbo style trench coats as opposed to Law and Order style suits.

As this is the Japanese version of the game, the title is technically Kato and Ken. The gameplay remains largely the same, but with some minor differences. As the games are at core based off of the same code, I'll just call this one crossed off for now. Now as I said, there are some differences in the games US and Japanese releases, a few I noticed include:

-The characters now fart to attack instead of spraying from an aerosol can. (Awesome)

-There is more toilet humor in general - in the first level, the character you're not playing as is peeing on a light pole, and later taking a poop in the woods (Again, awesome)

-The game (naturally) has sprites changed to reflect the character changes (Understandable)

As I said, the game is pretty decent, worth picking up even. Gameplay is similar to Adventure Island in ways, falling well within that classic Hudson style of gameplay. I can recommend it fully to anyone who's reading this, especially if you like weird games, and I love weird games.

Conclusion: If you are a detective, the world is your toilet.

The List's 18th Anniversary Blowout Post!

It would be easy for me to say that I started this list when I was a much more motivated man, but let's not kid ourselves. I've maintained the same level of motivation for the past 18 months, the designated motivation level is simply set to "Low". I have, however managed to chip away bit by bit at this legendary list. So without further ado, on to the games I've picked up (Presented Steven style!). In the interest of shorter posts, I'll present one game per post (or one pick up per post) until I've caught up to my current pick ups.

#1 - Alien Crush (Turbografx-16)

Acquired: September 2009

Price: Traded for a 4-Pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade.

Condition: Complete

While visiting Next Level Games, my good friend and cat enthusiast Carson picked this little gem up for me. I'm a huge fan of Devil's Crush for the Turbografx, so I figured I should pick this game up as well. Playing it, it becomes obvious that this game is sort of a rough draft to Devil's Crush's sleek final copy. The visuals are on par, but the screen tends to "blink" between boards, as opposed to the smooth scrolling of Devil's Crush, which in the end comes out being the superior game. However, in the end I still recommend this title, it's one of the Turbo's more affordable games. Speaking of affordable, as previously mentioned I picked this game up for the cost of some Mike's Hard Lemonade for a friend of mine. She promptly drank it way too fast and threw up.

Conclusion: Drink lots of water and buy a Turbografx.

Next Game:

#2 - J.J. and Jeff - PC-Engine

Acquired: June 2009

Price: $8

Stay tuned!