So the first question will probably be “why 97 Greg?” I choose 97 because over all of the King of Fighters (and I’ve played them all lengthily) this was the shining star. Prior to 97 the King of Fighters was a fun little distraction for people who weren’t SNK die-hards like myself. KoF 94 was a bit too Fatal Fury for newbs and 95-96 still felt stiff even with the flexible rosters. What 97 brought in was a sick combo system combined with some... 

Castlevania Symphony of the Night did for 2D platformers  what God of War did for 3D. It literally re-invented the game and pushed the limits of one’s experience beyond the norm. Everyone who owned this game would talk about it for hours, from the cheesy dialogue between Dracula and Alucard to the butter smooth game-play and special moves. Before Castlevania SotN there were no special moves based on fighting games being used to cast spells. Before... 

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start Contra was a game that my brother and I played for hours but always ended up in a fight. My friends and I always thought that one of the guys was Sylvester Stallone as Rambo and the other was Arnold Swartzenegger as Commando. After putting the Konami Code in and starting the game, if my brother took the Spread shot before me he would be punched in the arm. What bothered me the most was that... 

As a young martial artist I was really into the aspects of the well-known greats, the Bruce Lee’s the Miyamoto Musashi’s and the Gichin Funakoshi’s of legend. So as a gamer I would take to the characters that had in my opinion the coolest looking moves or a likeness to my heroes of martial history. For my birthdays up until I was about 14, the best gift I could receive was a $20 bill and 2 hours to myself at the Malibu grand Prix arcade. It... 

Before they dedicated their efforts completely to a ninja, Tecmo was to Football what EA and the Madden franchise is now. Heck the name Tecmo was synonymous with fun since most of their games were of the best quality. One of their most famous titles was Tecmo Super Bowl which introduced players to one the first intuitive, roster controlled, NFL themed games in history. Not only could you keep up with players both injured and uninjured but you could... 

Do you remember Golgo 13 the anime? Well as you all know games scarcely do their movie predecessors justice, but in the case of Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode and its sequel that theory couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only was Golgo the coolest assassin you will ever meet, the game allowed you to become him for a few hours as you set your cross-hairs on more than a few marks to fulfill your contract. Although this first game had dated... 

Being born in the Mid seventies or eighties it is very likely you can remember playing Super Mario Bros. and you probably remember where you were when you did. My brother and I received our NES for our first communion; our father hooked it up and then played Mario for two hours before we could have a try. Any time you talk about Super Mario someone always sings the Super Mario song which is in the beginning of 1-1. Then someone always says; “Thank... 

Shinzo recently let me get a copy of his Bust a Move soundtrack (Bust a Groove in the US) and it sent me into a serious spiral of reminiscing. Is it just me or has the market for rhythm games been gang raped into oblivion by now? Being a seasoned fake guitarist from the first Guitar Hero all the way up to the newest one, I cannot be surprised or excited with any other band who decides to jump on the bandwagon. No matter what is added it doesn’t...