Join the Crispy Adventurers Club
Dare to explore games where other players fear to tread
6/29/2009 12:46 PM | 27 Comments | Page 1 of 1
We at Crispy Gamer think it's admirable to keep up with the newest games. And of course, it's also important to
pay your respects to the classics. But here's the thing: Neither of those takes any courage. You're treading trodden trails; you're going with the flow. We think it's time for gaming with a little more adventure.
And so we inaugurate the Crispy Adventurers Club. Our mission is to explore those semi-forgotten titles from the past that don't make it onto any top-10 lists -- the ones that haven't been drilled into our consciousness with incessant tributes and remakes. Perhaps the ravages of time have not been good to these games, or perhaps they're hidden treasures. Finding out, that's the adventure.
Here's how the Adventurers Club will work. Each month, we'll choose a dusty old game worthy of a new look. Club members will play through the game together, and we'll share our insights -- impressions, surprises, tips and whatnot -- on the Crispy Gamer forums as we go. At the end of month, the Crispy staff will pull together the assembled wisdom of Club members and deliver a verdict on the main Crispy site. It's like your mom's book-discussion group, except with less Dan Brown and more
adventure!
Ah, but how to join this estimable club? Just play the game and comment on the forums along with the Crispy writers leading the charge -- this month, that's Evan Narcisse and me. Jump into the conversation, that's the only rule. Well, also, please remove your hat when you enter the Club banquet hall. So there's two rules.
Evan and I held a spirited but gentlemanly debate over the first game that the Adventurers Club will explore. We've narrowed it down to three candidates, all of them available on the Wii's Virtual Console and just a touch out of the mainstream -- we're making it easy for timid adventurers in this inaugural month. Comment below with your choice. Otherwise, Evan and I will have to decide it ourselves, and fisticuffs may result.
Candidate 1: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It's the black sheep of the Zelda series. When we're extolling Link's many glorious triumphs, we tend to leave out this side-scrolling, half-RPG bastard child. Perhaps it's time to air Hyrule's dirty laundry.
Candidate 2: StarTropics. An odd bird in the NES area: A game designed by Nintendo for release exclusively outside of Japan. To make
StarTropics appealing to American players, they named the hero Mike Jones and gave him a yo-yo for a weapon. You remember the big yo-yo craze of the early 1990s, right? Gee whiz, it was the tops!
Candidate 3: The Last Ninja. The NES had
Ninja Gaiden, sure. But in that game, you're just a garden-variety ninja. In
The Last Ninja for the Commodore 64, you're the only ninja remaining on earth. Fortunately, you're not the last human being on earth, so there's plenty of people to mercilessly slaughter.
It's in your hands, adventurers. State your choice below if you wish. We'll make the final selection on Wednesday. In the meantime, sharpen your machetes, dry-clean your pith helmet, and prepare for adventure.
