“You know this is no place for a child.”
“Wherever I go, he goes.”
“This is the way.”
Author Archives: ultrasonic9
Video Game Boom Box: Super Mario Bros. 35th – Super Mario Bros. Super Show Tracks
Ready your NES Controllers and Zappers Arcaders, because here’s a track composed by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban (of Power Rangers fame) for the show, or rather, a pretty awesome remix of a classic track from the first Mario game!
Video Game Boom Box: Super Mario Bros. 35: Mario Medley
To start off this month’s Video Game Boom Box – as well as to celebrate not just National Video Games Day but the 35th Anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros., here’s a medley that Nintendo came up with to help celebrate.
But that’s not all-stay tuned Arcaders, for more tracks are coming!
Video Game Boom Box: All The Stars by 8-Bit Universe
Rest in Power Chadwick Boseman.
Video Game Boom Box: Mickey Mousecapade: Fun House
Mouse Trap Arcade (Ultrasonic’s thoughts)
As many Arcaders know, after the phenomenal success of Pac-Man, a whole slew of maze games were made, some of which have been covered here on the site. But there was one that also merits mentioning, and that title is Mouse Trap.
Created by Exidy in 1981, this Arcade definitely emulated Pac-Man in many respects, yet it had a style all its own.
In this game Arcaders were placed in the role of a mouse who is trying to collect/eat cheese in a maze. Sounds pretty simple right? Wrong, because there are cats in this maze as well as occasional hawks who are looking for their next meal, and you are on the menu.
But fortunately, you are no ordinary mouse, for you have the ability to open/close doors in the maze to help you, plus there are bones that can turn you into a dog once you eat them. Much like how the energizer dots allow Pac-Man to eat the ghosts, Once you are a dog you can attack the cats with gusto.
In all, it is a really unique Arcade game and one that truly deserves notice, even among all the copycats that came out after Pac-Man, as well as one that stood out among the many Arcade games that were in Disney Quest. So this game definitely gets an okay from me.
And on a lighter note here’s hoping that this title comes to the Switch down the road!
Ultrasonic’s thoughts: Independence Day video game (Sega Saturn, Playstation 1)
When Independence Day came out in theaters, it was definitely a movie that helped bring back the summer blockbuster, which had been in a bit of slump for a while until the mid/late 90s. Given the science-fiction/action nature of the film – particularly with regards to the dogfight scenes between Earth’s fighter planes and the Alien Attackers – it felt like there was a video game that could be made out of this. Or at least that was the mindset the developers at Radical Entertainment had when they got the call to create a video game tie-in to the film.
Much like the flight simulator games that came out during this time, ID4 puts you in the cockpit of a fighter plane – with Steve Hiller as your wingmate – and you have to complete an objective for the place you are at (destroy Shield generators, protect an AWAC, shoot down X amount of Alien craft) and then once you complete that objective you then have to take out the City Destroyer’s primary weapon to complete the whole mission.
Sounds simple enough, right? Well, there’s the fact that you have to contend with Alien Attackers that will try to shoot you down, to say nothing of everything else the enemy will try to throw at you – gun turrets, smaller transport ships, and other types of attackers besides the one audiences know from the film.
In just about every location you will find yourself confined to flying underneath the Destroyer so you can only go so far. However, the space is large enough to where you can take it all in, while trying not to get shot down, of course. Plus the fact that you can shoot down the Alien Attackers is definitely a plus.
While the fighters you fly can take punishment – unlike the movie – that’s not to say they are invincible, for the life gauge – or shield gauge if you want to call it that – does decrease as as you get hit by enemies weapons or even if you accidentally run into buildings or even get up close and personal with either the City Destroyer or the perimeter shield. Plus the missiles you have will also decrease as you use them, and if you run out you’ll be in quite a pickle because while the cannon you have shoots unlimited tracers, it’s not going to inflict as much damage as missiles will.
But of course, what kind of shooter is complete without power-ups? And this game has plenty. From to missile power-ups to Health power-ups to repair your fighter jet, even one that not only repairs your fighter’s life gauge to the max, but gives you an energy shield of your very own, you’re pretty much set. But’s only the tip of the iceberg, because there’s plenty of other power-ups to discover, from finding other fighter planes to unlock, along with other types of power ups that can range from freezing aliens for a short time, as well as weapons that can either blind alien craft from seeing where they’re going to sending them out of control, and even unlocking portals that can take you to different places, this game definitely wasn’t lacking in material.
(The Alien attackers definitely got my attention more, given their design aesthetic. I wonder if some of these were done by concept artists from the movie but never made it into the final cut)
In all, this game was a decent one to me. While it was no StarFox 64 epic by any means it isn’t as awful as some say it is, and if nothing else it was a game that tried to be more than just a cash-in.
So if nothing else it is a game that will at least keep you entertained for a while.
References: https://independenceday.fandom.com/wiki/Independence_Day_(video_game)
Video Game Boom Box: Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade’s Revenge (Title Theme)
Pokemon The Movie 2000 20th Anniversary
In keeping with the 20th birthday of certain films, it seems there is yet another film that has hit that milestone, and it is none other than the second film in the Pokemon anime, and that is Pokemon The Movie 2000!
But first, let’s see what was at the end of the first film post-credits:
Now up to this point there had only been the first film Pokemon: The First Movie, but to my 15-year old self, it slipped my mind that that film was only the start of several movies to come, and with this film boy was I blown away, because this one was definitely different from the first. This one had a larger scope, where the secondary characters were more interesting than before, the stakes were a lot higher, and even our usual bumbling antagonists found themselves stepping up and helping our heroes out.
But perhaps one of the best surprises about this movie is the music. The themes used in the film are very reminiscent of what many films both animated and live-action did during the 80s and 90s (a trend that sadly seemed to end shortly after this). The fact that even Donna Summer got involved in the making of the soundtrack along with songwriter/producer David Foster (whose own track record consists of the soundtrack for the movie St. Elmo’s Fire as well as countless other songs for Celine Dion, Michael Buble, etc.) should tell you the quality of talent involved, and a soundtrack that holds up remarkably well.
(But I really have to ask, why didn’t they do a music video for “The Power of One”? They did one for M2M’s “Don’t Say You Love Me” for the previous Pokemon film.)
In a nutshell, put all those elements together and you have yourself a grand adventure that is truly worthy of a cinematic experience.
So if you have not seen the film, fear not, for there’s many ways to do so, whether it be from iTunes or the 3 disc Blu-Ray set that has the first three films.
And when you watch the film, you will definitely believe in the tag line that one person can indeed make all the difference, even one who seems the least likely of all.
X-Men 20th Anniversary
20 Years ago…a movie was released in theaters that would help kickstart a set of movies that would ultimately set the stage for Marvel Studios to arrive years later.
So for all X-Men fans out there, what memories of this film were your favorites?
