Still going strong on my quest to play every game from the 80s/90s/00s. Here are the games I've played in 2026 so far:
F-Zero GP Legend (2003 GBA)
F-Zero started as a Nintendo tech demo for the SNES "Mode 7" which was very impressive at the time. It was a high precision high pace fast single player racing game where players can dangerously trade HP for speed boost, for a high-risk-high-reward trade-off. The success of the original game spawned a franchise. F-ZGPL is the first handheld entry on the GBA. On top of great graphics and sound, it introduced a high number of vehicles (each with their unique stats) as well as a story mode based on a manga with some of the most unhinged characters and dialogues that had me laughing out loud half the time.
Battletoads in Battlemaniac (1993 SNES)
If, like me, you learned gaming on 90s consoles, then you know that couch-coop beat'em up are some of the absolute most fun you can have. Fast forward 30 years and they're now my favorite genre of games to play with my 6 year old son. The Battletoads franchise is a flagship of the legendary game studio Rare (who is now a shell of its former self, thanks Microsoft). It didn't invent the genre, but it shines with perfect execution coupled with hilarious art and dialogues. This is technically the fourth entry in the franchise, the first on the SNES and insane amounts of fun.
Dr. Mario 64 (2001 N64)
I never thought I was a fan of block-falling puzzle games, but after getting super into Tetris (thanks World Classic Tetris Championship) my opinion on the genre changed. Dr Mario is a very solid entry in the genre, similarly requiring fast reflexes and anticipation. The original on the NES has a score by Hirokazu Tanaka, arguably my favorite music composer which definitely contributed to my spending hours on end practicing. DrMario64 remains faithful to the original, adding gentle bells and whistles like upgraded graphics and a story mode. In my opinion, it doesn't add enough to warrant owning both. I'm sticking with the NES version out of habit (am I the only one still struggling with the N64 controller?).
Wild Guns (1994 SNES)
Wikipedia describes this genre as "shooting gallery", a couch-coop game where you use the d-pad to move a crosshair aiming at waves of enemies appearing on screen. The game is clearly 2D but it's a 3rd person view as enemies are facing the viewer. Fun yet difficult, goofy funny cowboy-themed graphics. I wouldn't play it solo, but playing with a friend makes it absolutely worth it.
Fire Emblem (2003 GBA)
Like so many, I was only superficially aware of a series called Fire Emblem because of the Super Smash series. I knew it was a grid-based "tactical RPG" and that it was mostly a japanese franchise that only got translated to the West late in its existence. I tried it last month and I'm glad to say I found a very intricate game with great gameplay that's punishing-but-fair, engaging with very high replay value. Despite the bare name "Fire Emblem", this is actually the seventh entry in the franchise (first that got officially translated) and it does show a lot of maturity in the formula. In short, it's a medieval-fantasy political intrigue that plays out as a grid-tactical battlefield where characters have to manage limited movement and one-action-per-turn (similar to Final Fantasy Tactics - or if you've ever played it Dungeons and Dragons fighting system). I like that every unit is unique, there are no generic "soldier" or "archer". Each one is named and brings their own personality. Also the franchise is famous for permadeath. Lose a unit and it won't be there in the following levels. I could probably go on and on about what makes this game engaging, suffice to say, I got completely hooked. I'll definitely be playing more Fire Emblem in the future.
