Trox's Top 5 N64 Games

        ALRIGHTY THEN!! What's up pimps and hos. Welcome to the fourth and final installment of the TroxTalk Vs  The Best Podcast old school gaming face-off challenge! So far Phinny and Dave have given us a run for our money and the match-ups have been intense! It seems like every week we have some really similar picks, they are just in a slightly different order. N64 might have been my favorite system of all time. The 4 controller ports on the front of this bad boy made all the difference. Regardless of what game you were playing, if you had a few sodas and a few friends, you could have a great time with just about any game on the system...Besides Superman. Let's focus up on the best of the best.

#5

         Star Fox 64 was innovative to the video game universe for a number of reasons. First of all it's 3-D was lightyears (yeah.corny.iknow.) ahead of anything on the market at that time. The speed and feel of the action was smooth, the world was seamless compared to the competition, and despite voice acting that was cheesy at times, it probably has the best storyline of any flying game. Busting Fox McCloud's Arwing into hyper-drive alongside Slippy, Falco, and Peppy was always a satisfying experience. Especially the boss battles. I remember the first time a reached the end of level 1 (before the I figured out the secret passage) and I was so awestruck by how epic that first giant flying killer robot was, I didn't even care that I got my butt whooped. Don't worry. Vengeance was mine when the awe wore off and I nuked his ass.

#4

          Goldeneye marked the beginning of a new era in first person shooter games. Sure, Doom was cool and everyone loved fighting the huge RoboHitler at the end of Wolfenstein, but this was when companies really started to discover that there is no one their target market would rather shoot in the face than their friends. Goldeneye was probably the first time we filled my neighbors basement with people and passed controllers around without any real breaks for an entire weekend. And we did that on more than one occasion.  Whether it was that cheap friend who played as Oddjob so you could never find him, or that round you had where you tore everyone up with the golden gun, or tossing a ton of mines into the air ducts of the facility. I'm sure everyone has great memories like mine from 007.

#3 & #4

        No, Phinny, this isn't another one of Trox's infamous ties that I am using to buy myself an extra slot on the count down. Mario64 and Mario Kart 64 are interchangeable at the 3 and 4 positions. I couldn't bring myself to put one in front of the other. They both hold a very special place in any N64 gamer's heart. Mario Kart is the quintessential multi-player game. The racing and the battle mode concepts kept the game from ever getting stale. If you get bored with one, switch to the other, and then back. It's a vicious cycle. My crew still pops this in from time to time when we are pre-gaming for a night on the town..Sorta like NHL 94 in the movie Swingers. Meanwhile Mario 64 is more for my "me time". Over the years it has provided me with countless hours of fun, stimulation, and time for reflection. Lame as it may be, this game helped me through some pretty rough days too. Plus it has tons of challenges beyond just defeating Bowser in the final castle. I have successfully collected all 120 stars in this game, and even though it took forever and the payoff wasn't all that great, I finished it with a sense of pride and self-worth.

Only a few elite nerds, including yours truly, have seen this screen without cheatin'.

#1

         Here you go Zelda honks. You've been giving me hell for the last 4 weeks about not including Link anywhere in my previous Top 5's. I was saving it because I knew we would eventually get to this point. The last pick, the favorite pick, on my personal favorite system. I have probably said this before, but this very well could be the greatest console video game of all time. Ocarina of Time immerses you in the magical land of Hyrule. I could try to put it all into words, but I wouldn't do this game justice. It's amazing. The characters, the music, the landscape, and the entire adventure just gets stuck in your head. I've played this game through a million times, and it's a LONG game. I am actually going to start a new quest as soon as I finish this post. If you haven't ever played Ocarina, come out from under your rock and do yourself a favor. You have the TroxTalk Seal of Approval. You won't regret it.
        Well guys. That officially wraps up the last Top 5 in the series. I'm going to step back from countdowns for a bit, but I'll be back. I've decided to leave the Top 5 gig to the experts who already have it down to a science. You can check em out every Friday on Twitter @thebestcast. Thanks again Phinny and Dave.
       As I mentioned last week, now that we are breaking away from video games here for a bit, we're going to start talking tattoos! I'll go ahead and give you next weeks homework assignment now so that you have some time to think about it. I want you to send me a picture of the absolute WORST tattoo you have ever seen in your life to trox@troxtalk.com Also, I want to get into the NFL lockout and NBA finals next week because it feels like I haven't talked sports in a month... As usual, follow @troxtalk on Twitter and feel free to give me some feedback, offer suggestions, or cuss me out. I'm hitting the Kentucky Bourbon Trail on a road trip with some friends this weekend. It's sure to be a blast, so I might have to post something on Monday about that as well. Until then, take care of yourselves, and each other.

                                                                     Warmest Regards,
                                                                     Trox

P.S. This time I swear I didn't forget. This is my hipster pick. Most people who aren't wrestling fans wouldn't have given this game the time of day. It's like a more polished version of the classic WCW Vs. NWO World Tour. I love it because you could beat up your buddies with the likes of Test, The Big Boss Man, Andre the Giant, Eddie Guerrero, and Chris Benoit...And some of the characters are still living too....

Probably the Best Tattoo I've Ever Seen...

          The return of the TroxTalk Homework Assignment is imminent, and, without giving anything away just yet, I can tell you that we will have a couple of them that deal with getting some ink done. With that in mind, this guy has the right idea, and his tat sorta ties in with the TroxTalk vs Best Podcast Old School Gaming Face-off Challenge we've been doing lately. 

"Ain't Nuttin' but a G thang, Baaaaby!"

          This is some old footage of the most adorable thug ass O.G. on set. Dr. Dre on the classic TV show "Child's Play". Future Natural Born Killaz unite.

TroxTalks Top 5 SNES Games

       What up gangsta!? Welcome to the 3rd installment of the TroxTalk Vs. The Best Podcast old school gaming face-off challenge...That's a really long title that we haven't discussed even once. I guess it will do for now. If you're just tuning in, for the last couple of weeks I have been doing a tandem exercise with my boys Dave and Phinny from The Best Podcast in which we have laid out our respective Top 5 NES and Sega Genesis games, then they air their show, and I post my blog each Friday to compare results. Last week for the SEGA post we came up with a very similar list of games, but neither of us had any particular game slotted exactly the same. Interesting..
      This week we're shifting the focus over to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Our society has always had a unique way of slapping a "super" in front of different things so that consumers will understand the vast improvements being made to a product. The Super Bowl is better than just some bowl, Superman is better than just some man, and the Super Nintendo..well you get the idea.
       For this weeks countdown, I actually have a little confession to make. I never technically "owned" an SNES until about a year ago. Remember when I told you I was the only one out of all my friends who had a SEGA instead? I would swap systems with my buddies, play their Super Nintendos at sleep overs, and if I really had a hankering, I would just rent the entire system from the Picture Show Video down the street. (PSV's rates for a 5 day SNES bender were pretty reasonable to a bored kid on summer vacation.) Of course, now that I'm grown, and have the resources, I finally have my own SNES that I bust out for a little nostalgia from time to time. My list may be a little skewed because I've never really had a Super Nintendo game that I viewed as a milestone in my life or a prized possession that I worked hard to obtain...I'm rambling..Here's this week's Top 5....

#5

       Kicking off the countdown is a game that I am still playing through for the first time even as we speak. I am ashamed to say that I haven't beaten it yet, but for as far into it as I am I can say one thing about it confidently, once I've seen all that Chrono Trigger has to offer, I might have to come back to this blog, reconsider, and make it even higher on the list. It's crazy that, since I didn't play CT in it's prime, I still have a pretty level field to compare it to. What I mean to say is, playing Chrono Trigger today, even by gaming's current standards, is still better than 90% of the games that have come out in the last few years.

#4

           I think a lot of people would argue that Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest was the best of the original DKC trilogy, but you know Trox, I always gotta go against the grain. For my money, the first one has the edge because it marked the rebirth of a classic arcade icon. I used to play the original Donkey Kong with my Dad on his Atari 2600. These are my earliest memories of video games, and they are very dear to me. When I first played Donkey Kong Country I was skeptical because Kong had never been in the role of protagonist in the past. I kind of preferred him as "bad guy". I eventually warmed up to it, and DKC became one of my favorite games of all time...even though I still hate the shit out of those ridiculously tough mine cart levels. Remember those? Eff those! 

Most people think the name Donkey Kong was a translation error, and this vile ape's name was originally supposed to be Monkey Kong. The creator of the game, Shigeru Miyamoto, actually wanted an English word to evoke the inherent stubbornness of the character. He chose "Donkey", and just about every big ape in Japan at the time was referred to as a "Kong" because of the "King Kong" movies. In Japan the game was called Donkii Kongu. TroxTalk is all about finding the truth. Even if it is a mundane detail.

 #3

          When you think of the term "RPG" what comes to mind? Dragons, swords, princesses, and wizards? EarthBound (titled Mother2 in Japan) is the most atypical role playing game I've ever played. Swap all those things I just mentioned for some rabid dogs, cracked baseball bats, and ATM machines, and you'll have a better idea of the environment in EarthBound. In 1995 games like Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Breath of Fire, and Ogre Battle had defined the RPG genre and it was starting to get pretty watered down with epic quests and D&D stigma. To put it mildly, RPGs just weren't very cool. In my opinion Earthbound made RPGs interesting again. Since EarthBound's release, RPGs have become more about the future, and most of them try to offer a more unique story than the "Storm the castle. Kill the dragon. Save the damsel in distress." games of the past. EB set the bar. Nowadays it's one of the hardest cartridge games to come by..if it weren't for the pricetag, I'd encourage you to pick up a copy.. It goes for about $150 used, and you really can't find a new copy of it still sealed in the box. Go google it. I'll wait.

Be honest. The first time you played Super Smash Brothers, you had no idea who this dude was, but you beat some serious ass with him.

 #2

           I don't feel like this one requires too much explaining. TMNTIV: Turtles in Time has it all. All four heroes-in-a-half-shell are playable characters. Pretty much all of your favorite friends and enemies of the turtles are accounted for.AND it has pirates, dinosaurs, sewer surfing, and the Technodrome! THAT'S RIGHT KIDS! THE TECHNODROME! This game is fun, it has a lot of replay value, and just about anyone can pick up a controller and play it instantly. It's so versatile! I've used it to calm down bratty kids I was babysitting. I used it when I was 13 or so as an excuse for girls to be "allowed" in my bed room. And when one of my buddies was going through a tough time where I really didn't know if anything I could've said would help him cope, we used Turtles in Time to heal. The Xbox Live remake was aight. Nothing truly compares to the 16-Bit version though. The only things missing from this game were a few of my all-time favorite TMNT bad guys....

 Panda Khan and Usagi Yojimbo the Samurai Rabbit. Respect.

#1

          To be perfectly honest, this #1 isn't anything close to fair. I caught a lot of flack from my readers about my Top 5 NES games for not including a single Super Mario Bros. game. I responded to their beratings with a simple "Wait for it..." because I knew this day would come. This is the single greatest compilation cartridge in the history of console gaming. You have the legendary SMB 1-3, along with a bonus game called The Lost Levels AND Super Mario World all in one neatly wrapped gift package. I could make a pretty good case for Super Mario World being one of the most influential and groundbreaking titles to ever launch, but because this pick is so jam packed with AWESOMENESS, I don't really have to. Let's face it. It's pretty hard to make a bad Mario game. Mario 64 will probably make the Top 5 N64 Games (if we have one..dun dun dun!) And I know I won't be doing a Wii countdown, but if I did, one or the other of the Mario Galaxies, Smash Bros., or Mariokart would pretty much have to be on there. In my view, Mario is the reason Nintendo stays afloat for the most part. Many of the titles they are coming out with lately that aren't somehow Mario related are pretty crappy. The SNES in it's prime had tons of great games, but Mario will always be at the helm.


Almost every mario game for SNES was good.

'Ceppin' these edjumacational ones..

          And there goes another one! Time flies when you're having fun! As usual you can rant and argue with me via email trox@troxtalk.com, leave something witty in the comments for your peers to snicker at, follow me on Twitter @troxtalk, or go get elevated to the heavens at 6pm tomorrow for all I care. Whatever path you choose, I hope you've had as much fun reading as I've had writing. Enjoy your weekend......GOODNIGHT NOW!!!!


P.S. Hipster Pick You kids probably think that I don't really almost forget this every week, but I just say "oh shit I almost forgot" to seem like I'm too good for my own blog or something... Maybe someday I'll tell you if you are right. Rock'n'Roll Racing is a killer pre-kart racing game that is a lot like Super Off Road or Micromachines. The kicker here is the soundtrack, comprised of popular heavy metal MiDi files (Radar Love and Bad to the Bone for example) that sound like old Nokia ringtones and get stuck in you head for days! BITCHIN!

R.I.P. Randy "Macho Man" Savage

    

Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 - May 20, 2011)

       
            It's a bummer day here at TroxTalk. I'd like to take a minute to pay my respects to a childhood hero of mine who passed away earlier today. Randy Savage was killed in a car accident this morning at 9:25am. His wife of one year, Lynn, who was in the 2009 Jeep Wrangler with him, suffered minor injuries. My thoughts and prayers are with her and the rest of Randy Savage's family and friends. This post is to honor the memory of "The tower of power. Too sweet to be sour. Funky like a monkey. OOOOHHHHHH YEEAAAHHH!!" Rest In Peace, Macho Man.

Trox's Top 5 SEGA Genesis Games

          The second console in our multi-system Top 5 Friday marathon with The Best Podcast is the 16-Bit SEGA Genesis. Putting together a list of the 5 best games from the Genesis is a bit more tricky for me as this might be the console that I spent the most time with as a child. A couple of years after I got the NES, I asked for a Super Nintendo for my birthday, and through the blundering of a few relatives I somehow ended up with a SEGA Genesis, and a SEGA Master system instead. While the Master system wasn't long for my bedroom entertainment stand, the Genesis ended up being the envy of many of my friends because most of them were only 'allowed' to have Super Nintendo. BEST MISTAKE EVER!

Does anyone else even remember this P.O.S.? Didn't think so...

NOW! ON TO THE COUNTDOWN!!!

 #5

          Madden NFL is the longest tenured video game franchise in gaming history apart from Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. Since the first Madden game was developed in 1988 the series has shipped over 85 million units worldwide. The first time I played Madden I was just starting to really understand NFL football, and I purchased a copy of '92 from a used game store. My uncle was really into football and I was really into video games, so I thought it would be cool to bring a football game home, practice so I could get really good with a team he hated, and then beat his ass with it until he bowed before his master...The best laid plans of mice and 8 year old gamers...
          He crushed me mercilessly about twice a day for a year or so, which planted an evil seed deep within my soul. When the new Madden game came out each year, I always knew that THIS would be my year...It never was. I persisted and continued to buy the new Madden ever year. Year after year. Torturing myself to be better than him until eventually, the student overthrew the teacher. I still pick up the midnight release of Madden every July, and most years I take the following day off from work to play it ALL DAY. Nowadays, my uncle can't come anywhere close to beating me (like most people who dare to challenge me). He still reflects back on his glory days when "the games were more pure, and there wasn't so much other bullshit going on." Being a sore loser runs in my family.

#4

        One of the ways I cheat just about anytime I am asked to name a top 5 or 10 or 100 of anything is by making selections which are intended to represent an entire class from a given subject. Now there was an entire mob of well-represented 2-D, toilet humor based, side-scrolling adventure games with an oddball protagonist for the SEGA Genesis. It just so happened that Toejam and Earl were my favorite. I enjoyed just about all of those games, and they seem dumb now, but looking back, Panic on Funkatron was my favorite of the lot.It was always cool to me how it had two main characters that were playable. Most games to that point which allowed a single player to control multiple characters were RPGs. For me it was influential because it pioneered the idea of having an in-game sidekick. Sure, Mario already had Yoshi, but Sonic never started kickin' it with Miles "Tails" Prower until Toejam and Earl laid down the groundwork. Other groaty heroes that our parents didn't want us playing with included....

 #3-TIE!

 

          A big part of this collaborative with my boys from The Best Podcast is to anticipate each others next move. As you can tell from listening, we're all good friends, and we know each other pretty well. That's why I can say with a fair amount of certainty that right now, upon seeing that I have a tie between Mortal Kombat and Super Street Fight II at my number 3 spot, Phinny of TBC is probably saying something like, "Oh Come on, Trox! It's called a top 5. Not a top 6!" Touche, sir. I just had to pair these 2 together though, for a number of reasons.

1.) I loved them equally. If you had a gun to my head, I don't think I could wholeheartedly say that one is 'better' than the other.

2.) These were the original yin and yang of fighting games at the time, and they also both marked the first time any developer, (or gamer) actually took a fighting game seriously. I loved the motion captures and risky next-level violence of MK, but SSFII had more relatable characters and a better story line. Also, it didn't hurt that I was much better at Street Fighter back in those days.

3.)The formula behind MK and SSFII is tried and true. Today games like Marvel Vs Capcom, Tekken, and even the new Mortal Kombat reboot invoke all of the same basic concepts as these 2 SEGA masterpieces. That's why, at the time, these games were always imitated (and in some cases blatantly ripped off) by other developers....

Over

And over

And over

And over

And over

And over again

 

 

	#2

The bottom line on this #2 pick is that everything about Beavis and Butthead screamed fun. Everyone at that time tuned into Beavis and Butthead every single week just to see what that would do next. Being able to control the ridiculous antics of the dynamic duo was a dream come true for any fan of the series.The missions and the dialogue mirrored the MTV cartoon right down to the voice actors (if they could even be called that back then). While other animated series's (weird word) tried to come out with edgy games featuring our favorite cartoons taking punchy little shots at pulp culture, none of them could hold a candle to Beavis and Butthead for the SEGA Genesis. Rocko's Modern Life, Ren and Stimpy, and even the best Disney games like Lion King and Aladdin didn't have a prayer next to this one. The SNES version of Beavis and Butthead sucked compared SEGA's which in a lot of ways was a big win. Usually if a game was on both systems, the SNES would win out. Here at TroxTalk I always try to remember my roots, and this game was a huge part of them. Sure it was tough to beat, and I would probably still require a strategy guide, but B&B for SEGA had GWAR!! THAT'S RIGHT, F'N GWAAARRR!!! And to think, most internet countdowns you'd come across would probably be trying to sell you on one of these games at the coveted #2 spot. Not TroxTalk. These games were fine..but something was missing... What key element didn't they possess? GWAAAAAAR!!!!!

#1

NBA Jam: Tournament Edition finishes up the Top 5 all time SEGA Genesis countdown, and I think it's the obvious choice. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the guys at TBC came to the same conclusion. You simply can't pick anything else to top this chart. It's impossible. Jam united gamers and sports fans alike under one roof. Kids who hated video games played Jam. Kids who never watched a pro basketball game in their whole life played Jam. Hell, me and my buddies still play Jam in our annual tourney. Sure, people were kinda pissed that his Airness Michael Jordan and the star of Shaq-Fu, Shaquille O'Neal weren't in the game, but we were all kept busy because about every 2 days a new report would come out revealing some new code to unlock secret playable characters. You couldn't actually play as Michael Keaton, Zach Morris, or Balky from Perfect Strangers. However, you could ball out as Bill Clinton, Heavy D, Frank Thomas (YEAH BIG HURT!), DJ Jazzy Jeff, and the Fresh Prince.

They even tried to remake this game in 2010 with updated rosters, better graphics, and the original cast and crew, but it still came up short. I thought there was a new king in town when I heard they were bringing back the "BOOMSHAKALAKA!" voice over guy, but the new retooled model just didn't feel the same. And I don't think anything ever will. That's why if you don't have NBA Jam at #1...well...you're wrong.

       That wraps up this weeks Top 5. Be sure to see how I did against my buddies at TheBestCast.com in their 27th episode. I'm about to go give that a listen right now myself. I bet those knobs picked Ecco the Dolphin... Anyway, it looks like we're keeping this thing moving along and next week we're gonna do a little SNES Top 5 action. I'll have some other new stuff for you next week too, so keep checking back. See you next time.


"CAN'T WAIT" - Bart Scott


 P.S. OH YEAH! I almost forgot. Here are a couple of hidden gems from the SEGA catalog for my Obligatory Hipster Picks. Or whatever. I don't care.

The Human Head Weighs 8 lbs.

I remember watching Jerry Maguire for the first and wishing Jonathan Lipnicki would stay a little kid forever. Now I am old and he has more chest hair than I do. Shitty...