Before there was Dark Souls.. Heh, damn, the Genesis Mini has some HARD games in its collection, and none come harder than Contra. You need lightning quick reflexes to dodge most of the attacks and you'll need to die a LOT in order to get boss patterns down. First thing I tried to do was the Konami code, but alas, it didn't not work. That's okay, though, cuz SAVE STATE, BITCHES! Yeah, seriously, save states are going to let me finish so many games. It's not that I don't have the skill to do them; I just don't have the time. Anyway, Hard Corp plays almost exactly like SNES's Contra III, as it should since it's a direct sequel. It also lets you collect multiple power ups that you can swap around to suit different situations. I played the first two levels, and I also found out that there are branching paths, so that adds some replay value. I'm pretty sure I'll return to this game, but if I do, it's going to be one play through only. Even with save states, it'll still drive me nuts.
Shining Force
I made the mistake of playing this too late at night. I just couldn't get into it. Roaming around town trying to get the game started was literally putting me to sleep. I did stick with it long enough to engage in the first battle, which I lost, because my main character got ganged up on. I did play Shining Force III for the Sega Saturn, though, and I loved the hell out of it, so maybe one day, if I decide I want some tactical RPG action, I'll return to this, but it's not going to be for a very long time.
Thunder Force III
Yet ANOTHER tough as nails game on the Genesis Mini! Can a gamer catch a break? Oh wait, yeah I can. They're called save states. Seriously, if it weren't for save states, I probably wouldn't bother with half of this machine's collection. Anyway, Thunder Force III is a side scrolling space shooter that lets you collect up to five different weapon types, just like in Contra: Hard Corps. It also seems like every level has their own unique set of weapons. I only did the first couple of levels, but again, it was all thanks to the save states. I do really like this game, though, so I'll come back to it at some point.
Landstalker
This game kinda feels like Zelda, but from an isometric point of view. You start out as a treasure hunter wielding your trusty sword, and then you actually end up befriending a fairy. Very soon, you're given a task of rescuing the the daughter of the mayor of this village that saved you from a fall. When exploring, you end up finding shrines that hold treasures. I already finished one shrine. It was a series of light puzzles and traps. I was working on going through a second shrine when I decided I wanted to move on. I'm curious to see where this game is going to go, because the demo showed some really interesting puzzles. I'll add it to my list of games to beat.
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
I had this game as a kid, and I remember being really good at it. I know I beat it, in fact. It was also one of the few games that I could actually beat my friend at, since he wasn't all that good with puzzlers. Playing it again, I got up to around stage eight or nine, only because I kept getting lucky with combos. To be honest, I'm definitely rusty at this game now. I can't see the combos like I used to before, and I panic quicker when the trash pieces fall on me. Also, it's very hard to recover when you're setting up combos and you get just a little trash in the wrong spots. I only wished this game had a marathon mode like Tetris instead of always being versus.
World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
I was glad they put both Mickey Mouse games in this collection, because I was able to see just how more evolved the sequel was over the original. World of Illusion's graphics and animations are expectedly improved. The gameplay's smoother. The levels have more going on. I also like the transition segments where Mickey rides in a flying carpet or air bubble. This was the era where Genesis was getting a lot of great licensed games, not just with the Disney games. I'm not sure if I ever beat this game, but it's fun enough that I'll eventually want to get around to doing so.
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