Reflecting on 25 years of Metal Gear...

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the Metal Gear franchise has been nothing short of excellence and awesome... And we have Konami and Hideo Kojima to thank for that. The man behind the legend of Snake has epitomized Stealth games and Tactical Espionage Action, and I've been fortunate enough to be there for the ride, which spans a good two decades of gaming. Suffice to say, this post was born out of seeing a post the previous day that highlighted Kojima's intentions to create games until the day he dies, and the fact that I stumbled upon a newly released Solid Snake Play Arts Kai action figure. I may have a Big Boss Peace Walker Play Arts Kai figure, but the sight of the original protagonist in his new toy form was enough to send me spiraling down memory lane, and reminisce about Metal Gear and it's influence on me over the years.

To paraphrase an iconic line from Metal Gear Solid 4: "Gaming Has Changed", and so has Metal Gear with it. Having its humble origins in the 8-bit era and the 80's, a then unknown Hideo Kojima created a little game for the MSX system called "Metal Gear", which pitted a young soldier named Solid Snake against an entire mercenary nation and its bipedal nuclear tank weapon, with the world and its peace on the line. The game borrowed concepts heavily from several well know Hollywood action movies, and Kojima himself was an avid film buff, which would highlight the rest of his tenure and work in the series' later installments.

Metal Gear became a hit and earned a follow up a few years later, but it wouldn't hit cult status until the release of "Metal Gear Solid" for the original Sony Playstation. That title helped revolutionized action and stealth gaming, and garnered a strong following thanks to its brilliant storytelling and gameplay. Soon thereafter, MGS spawned into its own series, and the franchise has constantly impressed the masses with each installment coming to pass. Solid Snake's story was fleshed out, as was his mentor/ rival/ progenitor Big Boss, who proved to be an iconic character of the series himself. The twists and turns of the series' continuity proved to be legendary in itself, and for each boss battle next to every final boss or walking tank you fought, you'd remember names like Vulcan Raven, The End, Liquid Snake, Cyborg Ninja, and Revolver Ocelot.

Regardless of how you know or choose to perceive it, Metal Gear certainly has become a legend inside and outside of gaming. 25 years of duty is not a small feat, and you can easily see how dedicated I and the rest of the fanbase are to this day, despite the fact that the series could already be finished and done with at this point after what happened in the previous installments released thus far. No matter what comes next after the spinoff title Metal Gear Solid: Rising or that unnamed FoxTech game, one thing will always be certain: we will always remember Metal Gear's legacy and the games Konami and Hideo Kojima have produced so beautifully over the years. That being said, I'll now continue to dream about that Play Arts Kai Solid Snake figure...

Video Game Music Month Song #26: Vampire Killer

25 years of whipping out the Vampire Killer is a long time. If there's any way to celebrate a quarter of a century's existence and note how much of an impact the franchise has made in gaming history, then there's no better way to commemorate Castlevania's 25th Anniversary than playing the iconic theme song that has carried over to most installments of the Konami series - Vampire Killer.


Castlevania OST - Vampire Killer

Funny. It's the 26th installment of the list, and it's for a game that was released on September 26, 1986. How utterly appropriate.

Nostalgia Post: Celebrating 25 Years Of Mario!

Long time no post! Here's something that's also featured in my other blog, so hope you enjoy the read!

It's been a while since I posted anything out of nostalgia, but with this post I just saw, now's the perfect time to talk about something I genuinely like and miss in relation to gaming:


I got wind of this beautiful new logo announcement for SMB via Kotaku. It seems the folks at Nintendo have taken notice that this year marks the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. - a game that would forever make history as one of the most fun and genuine titles that people of all ages can play and relate to.

As Mario, a plumber who found himself in the strange and mysterious world of the Mushroom Kingdom, players had to guide him (or his brother Luigi) through a series of worlds in order to rescue a young maiden named Princess Peach from the evil clutches of Bowser, king of the Koopas. The game, directed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, would come to be synonymous with the brand Nintendo, and decades after the original game launched, Super Mario Bros. has evolved into a franchise that has spawned numerous sequels, spin-offs, and yes, even clones that were inspired by the game's simple yet addicting gameplay.

Even with the advent of next generation gaming and Mario's current home in Nintendo's latest gaming platforms (the Wii and DS), life can be funny sometimes, as it has a way of taking you back to the past when you least expect it.

Late last month, I picked up an old and used Nintendo Entertainment System over at a second hand shop. Unlike its colorful and shorter Japanese counterpart called the Famicom (which I owned, this baby was a white/ grey box that used longer and extended catridges (an early attempt at "regionizing" games based on the countrythe platform was released on). This system was home to many of the games I've cherished throughout my childhood, and yes, one of them was Super Mario Bros. Unfortunately, the system I picked up didn't come bundled with the game. Instead, it was packed along with this:

Thank the gods, I was blessed with the third and arguably most popular installment of the NES games - Super Mario Bros. 3! This game took a cue from Miyamoto's other games (namely Zelda), and added RPG styled elements that gave a new spin to the original Mario formula, which was still intact. Now, instead of just growing up in size courtesy of a mushroom, Mario could also fly with the help of a Raccoon suit upgrade he acquires with the help of a leaf! Several other unique upgrades and abilities were available as you progressed through this game, and it made SMB3 one of the unique NES titles to play and own. Still, that game wouldn't have made a buzz had it not been for the formula established by its predecessors. In my own way, getting a NES again was my way of paying tribute to the years I enjoyed playing games like Mario alongside cousins and friends, and those were experiences that shaped me into the gamer I am today. Coincidentally, this coming October marks the 25th anniversary of the US release of the NES. Talk about your nostalgia gaming trip come full circle!

Happy 25Th anniversary Super Mario Bros! Feel the power with Nintendo, peeps!