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Tecmo Ninja

When I hear the word "ninja", one thing immediately comes to mind- the 80's. It was an era that was very friendly to ninja culture and the kids that embraced it. Meanwhile, video game developers where busy cooking up games of the same nature in the arcades. Tecmo was one of those developers, and in 1988, they released a brawler of sorts called Ninja Gaiden. A year later, they ported the game over to the NES, but changed the style of gameplay to better fit the style of home console gaming. They replaced the "beat 'em up" theme with a simple action/platformer approach with a bigger emphasis on well-timed jumps and using awesome ninja skills. Tecmo also added a deeper story and a new way to tell it.

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Get ready to earn your wings.

In the early ‘90s, a new video game console was only as strong as its launch titles.  When we look back at a console’s history and wonder what attracted us to it, often it’s those first games that we think of and say, "that’s why I fell in love with that system."  Nintendo understood this concept when they released the Super Nintendo. Included among a shortlist of launch games was the flight simulation, Pilotwings. Beginning as an early tech demo in 1988 to show off the Mode 7 graphical capabilities of the 16-bit system, Pilotwings was developed into a full-fledged game that allowed us to take to the skies in a way never before possible on a home console.

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Remember kids, "Dodongo dislikes smoke".

With its deceptively easy gameplay and deep exploration, The Legend of Zelda represented a few first-time accomplishments for Nintendo, as well as the gaming industry itself. It was one of the first Famicom Disk Systems games to hit Japan in February of 1986, sporting the ability to save progress without needing a password. With its 1987 debut in America, it was released on a golden cartridge featuring a small backup battery to save progress -- making it the first game to use the technology. But most importantly, it was the first game to truly revolutionize the action/adventure genre with elements that similar games would borrow from for years to come.

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Still one of the best racing games 26 years later.

Updated 2-23-2019

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In anticipation of Tales of Graces f and Tales of the Abyss 3D, JD reviews his favorite game in the Tales series.

This console generation hasn’t been very kind to people who love console JRPGs. There have been very few released, and hardly any of those were actually good. Tales of Vesperia is an exception. Though the game isn’t as popular as its predecessor, Tales of Symphonia, Vesperia makes its mark as one of the best in the series.

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