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So today, I will finish my recap of the 10 Day Video Game Challenge on Facebook with the games that didn’t make the list. There were three games I considered for the 10 day challenge that I wanted to add, but I wouldn’t have had room for the more important picks if I included them. I felt that the other games influenced me more, so without further ado, let’s look at them.
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
The first game that didn’t make the list is Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo. This was my first major experience with multiplayer. My older brother taught me a few tricks to playing the game, including how not to steer off the track while making a turn. In fact, I formed a strong rivalry with my older brother in this game. He was years ahead of me in terms of skill, though, so this lead to my first encounter with trolling in a multiplayer game.
He would often get to the finish line before me. If he had a red shell, he would wait for me to catch up, then hit me with that item, then creep past me and finish before I could pick up speed. Alternately, he would wait at the finish line, wait for me to catch up, then inch up across the finish line before I could pass him. Oddly, this didn’t frustrate me, so I must have been enjoying myself enough to keep playing against him. In this day and age, this might have been a problem.
The next game is somewhat related, so let’s look at:
Tetris & Dr. Mario (SNES)
This was a good combination of two puzzle games. In earlier versions of Tetris I had played, I had no idea what I was doing. I would stack the blocks up sort of randomly, and not know that you were supposed to line them up to clear blocks and get points. I had learned how to play by watching my older brother, and by the time I owned Tetris and Dr. Mario, I understood puzzle games.
This game was my last rivalry with my older brother. By this point, there wasn’t as much of a skill gap in gaming. I did, however, notice a difference in play styles. When playing either of the included games, I saw that my brother was playing a slower, more methodical game, using the extra fall time to plan his next move. In my case, I usually let a block fall quickly once I saw the move I wanted to make.
What was interesting about this was how this effected the results. In Tetris, my brother lasted longer in vs. matches, as he would have fewer blocks due to his play style. In Dr. Mario, I cleared the viruses faster due to my faster play style. In the mixed vs. mode, I usually won, due to me cruising through the line clear (Tetris) and Dr. Mario modes, before it switches back to Tetris mode. This only worked due to there being a time limit, and the goal was to have more points than the other player. Faster play styles worked better in this mode. Both of use were good enough to survive during the time limit most of the time, so I got a higher score, due to scoring more often.
Not long after this, my brother stopped playing video games, due to him out growing them. I suppose different personalities may or may not stick with video games due to different interests, and that is okay, to each his own, as they say.
The last game I’ll mention helped influence the types of games I like to play.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX (Game Boy Color)
I was introduced to this game around the time Pokemon came out. I was expanding my gaming horizons to games other than 2D platformers, and was leaning heavily towards Nintendo games. I had caught wind of The Legend of Zelda series through the Nintendo Power magazine, and read about this color enhanced edition in an article. From there, I decided to try the game out.
Long story short, I got hooked on The Legend of Zelda games. I learned a lot about exploring games with a continuous world, and started to appreciate (and read) in-game maps. The puzzles in the game helped me appreciate and develop problem solving skills, plus I gained a taste for well designed puzzles in video games. Heck, even the story telling elements in gaming became something I appreciated more thanks to this game.
All in all, my first Zelda game made me more versatile as a gamer, and as someone who appreciates intellectual challenges.
So, what other games might you like if you liked the above games?
- Most Legend of Zelda games
- All Mario Kart games
- Most Tetris games
- Tetris Attack
- Most Puyo Puyo games
- Most Dr. Mario games
- Maybe the game Yoshi (on the NES)
- And try out Wario’s Woods (preferably the Super Nintendo edition)
Of note, the full recommendations for The Legend of Zelda series can be seen in Day 10: The 10 Day Video Game Challenge on Facebook where I cover The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I haven’t played the all editions of the above puzzle games, so I don’t know which ones might have missed the mark.
In conclusion, I had a blast completing the 10 Day Challenge. It was nice to look back and appreciate the games that made me the gamer I am today. I learned more about games and how they are designed, plus how they are played. I hope you learned more about me through my reflections, and get a better idea of the content I am likely to supply as a game journalist.
And that wraps up my recap of the 10 Day Video Game Challenge on Facebook. How about you? What games might make your 10 day list? What wouldn’t make your list? What games would almost make your list, but don’t quite fit? Let me know which games fit where on your own 10 day list, and why in the comments below!
that's all games 