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Blaster Master 0 Review

For those of you not familiar with Blaster Master, it is a game that was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) back in 1988. Blaster Master 0 takes the original game, updates it for today’s hardware, adds in more modern day controls and game conventions and gives it a little more story.

Blaster Master 0 takes place in the future, where humans were forced to move underground at one point, due to an ice age. At the time the game takes place, humans are living back on the surface of the planet. You play a boy named Jason Frudnick. Jason discovers a new type of frog, which he takes home and names Fred. Fred eventually escapes and jumps down a hole into the... Read All For those of you not familiar with Blaster Master, it is a game that was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) back in 1988. Blaster Master 0 takes the original game, updates it for today’s hardware, adds in more modern day controls and game conventions and gives it a little more story.

Blaster Master 0 takes place in the future, where humans were forced to move underground at one point, due to an ice age. At the time the game takes place, humans are living back on the surface of the planet. You play a boy named Jason Frudnick. Jason discovers a new type of frog, which he takes home and names Fred. Fred eventually escapes and jumps down a hole into the earth. Jason follows Fred down the hole and makes another discovery in the form of a vehicle called SOPHIA III. Jason gets in SOPHIA III and takes off to find Fred. At this point the gameplay kicks in.

Blaster Master 0's gameplay comes in two forms: A 2D sideview platformer and a 2D overhead dungeon type of game. The sideview portion feels kind of Metroidish, where you are exploring different areas of the map trying to unlock abilities and items. While the overhead view becomes more of a dungeon-like shooter.

As a kid, I really enjoyed Blaster Master on the NES. Over time I have revisited the original game and have found it to be brutal and unforgiving. Some of the things in Blaster Master that make it unforgiving are: you only have one life, with no save or continue, and brutal boss fights. Blaster Master 0 takes away a lot of this difficulty by adding in save states, and making the boss battles easier. I feel Blaster Master 0 is more accessible due to this, but if you are looking for a game as difficult as the original, you will be disappointed.

Despite being easier, I still enjoyed the game as much as the original. The save points definitely made it easier to play the game in batches of time rather than needing to play all night and day to beat the game. The level design, weapons and updated graphics add to its enjoyability.

The story was a little weak, but it seemed to be more in depth than the original. I do not remember the original having much of a story, outside of Jason chasing Fred, so it was nice to see it expanded upon.

Blaster Master 0 is available for both the 3DS and the Switch. I played the Switch version, which makes use of the HD rumble. While the HD rumble is not required for the game, it does add another fun dimension.

Overall, I would recommend this game to anybody that wants a fun 2D platformer/shooter that is not too difficult and can be finished in under ten hours.

Shovel Knight Getting Battle Toads Content On All PC Versions!

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A while ago Shovel Knight on consoles got two updates I was envious of. XBone owners got a Battle Toads content update and PS4 owners of the game got Kratos content. I don't love console exclusives but the Battle Toads content looked really cool and I always wanted to check it out. Looks like Yacht Club is making the Battle Toads content free for everyone on PC today so we all can!

"Hop to it! The Battletoads are now available on PC/Mac/Linux versions of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove! Steam, Windows Store, Humble Store & GOG."

I linked to a good article from IGN about how to get the Battle Toads content along with the Battle Toads PC patch notes and update Tweet... Read All

Battle.net Beta Gets Appear Offline Mode, Profiles And More!

Fans have been asking Blizzard to get an "appear offline" mode in the Battle.net client for ages and they are finally brining that feature forward in beta. Steam has had it for ages, which is nice when you want to jump on and play a game without anyone bothering you or knowing about it. Sneaky!

"Appear offline allows you to set your status to show you as “offline” to your Blizzard friends while remaining connected to Battle.net. This means you can launch the app and game away without distraction.

Appearing offline will show you as offline to everyone in your Blizzard friends list. Once you have joined a game, the experience of appearing offline might be slightly... Read All

Should You Mod Your New NES & SNES Classic Mini Consoles?

The SNES Classic launched this week to rapturous nerd acclaim following up the epic NES Classic launch of last year. Immediately after the NES Classic came out people were trying to hack it to run Linux and put more games on it. The hacks came and solidified on Hakchi2, a tool that allows you to mod a ton of stuff with your NES Classic. At least, it claims SNES Classic support, i've heard stories of people bricking theirs so i'd wait a bit until that all settles out*.

That said, the path forward to mod your NES Classic is pretty clear but... why should you mod it at all?

Honestly if you're not very technical then i'd stay out of it entirely. You have the chance to brick... Read All The SNES Classic launched this week to rapturous nerd acclaim following up the epic NES Classic launch of last year. Immediately after the NES Classic came out people were trying to hack it to run Linux and put more games on it. The hacks came and solidified on Hakchi2, a tool that allows you to mod a ton of stuff with your NES Classic. At least, it claims SNES Classic support, i've heard stories of people bricking theirs so i'd wait a bit until that all settles out*.

That said, the path forward to mod your NES Classic is pretty clear but... why should you mod it at all?

Honestly if you're not very technical then i'd stay out of it entirely. You have the chance to brick your system and with how hard they've been to get bricking you NES would suck. That said, it's not hard and a couple features of Hakchi2 make it really compelling.

Forget the fact that you can load on more NES roms with Hackchi2, yeah you can do that but I haven't yet. The biggest reason to mod your SNES Classic is to allow you the ability to press down and select at the same time to return to the home menu. This is a lifesaver if the reset button is an annoying distance from you (and it is for me). Another awesome feature of using Hakchi2 is that you can copy the save states from your NES Classic to a local file for backup purposes. It's possible to accidentally (using save states w RPG's) to wipe out a ton of progress so backing up all your save files from time to time isn't a bad idea.

Hakchi2 also mods the included NES Classic kernel to support more controllers out of the box which is nice but they don't mention which ones. I imagine it's a sort of generic USB controller support which is cool if you have USB to that strange Nintendo controller format.

So even if you don't add more ROMS to your NES Classic, and i'm not sure I will, the controller home mod and save state backup is worth the price of admission alone. That said, use it at your own risk because bricking your NES wouldn't be great.

* After looking more at the Hakchi2 code it seems the author is working on SNES Classic support so i'd wait a bit until a new version is launched with SNES Classic support before you use it.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 10/06/2017 at 04:32am

I have always been on the fence about modding consoles. I think I will probably keep mine unmodded. It would be nice if nintendo released new "packs" that updated the systems with different games. I doubt they will do this, but you never know.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/06/2017 at 05:25am

I get that. The "down select" mod is crazy useful BUT if you just play the Classics with the Wii Classic Controller there is a home button that does the same thing.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 10/06/2017 at 05:32am

I sit close enough to my console that “down select” would make me lazier.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/06/2017 at 03:35pm

There's a controller from 8bitdo coming soon that will allow down+select even on unmodded classics, so that's an option if you don't want to mod but don't want to get up for the reset button. I admit to using a foot to do that. :D

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Watch This First Playable Version Of Psychonauts 2!

Tim Schaefer and Zak Mcclendon run through the first playable version of Psychonauts 2 and the game is shaping up really well. Looks like the game is made with the new Unreal Engine from what I gathered from the video and because of that the game looks buttery smooth.

Wondering if anyone played the original Psychonauts and if this game is on your radar as something you are going to play when it launches?

Contra Meets Steamboat Willie

Here are Rich and Jack's take on Cuphead! Spoiler alert, it's beautiful but the game play doesn't blow you away.

Lazy Game Reviews Got Cuphead To Run On A Black And White TV

Does Cuphead look good on a black and white TV? Surprisingly yes... it really does. The games graphical style works well on the old TV and it's made even more pronounced on the black and white TV. Is this the best way to play Cuphead? No but it's a distant second.

The Super Nintendo Classic Launch Train Keeps Rolling With This Definitive DF Retro Review

I've been watching a lot of Super Nintendo Classic video reviews and most of them say basically the same thing. The Super Nintendo Classic is a great, if imperfect way, to play a really incredible collection of Super Nintendo Games. That said, most reviews don't dig into the differences between the Classic and the original hardware and how the SNES Classic compares to it in terms of graphics, sound and framerate. The video review above by DF Retro is an incredibly complete look at the SNES Classic including all it's quirks such as minor artifacts, sound issues and the like.

His wrap up? The Super Nintendo classic improves on the NES Classic quite a bit to make a really... Read All

Come Hang Out With Cheerful Ghost At Portland Retro Game Expo 2017!

Portland Retro Game Expo is one of those things I can't miss. Two days dedicated to retro games, panels, a crazy huge free to play arcade and more retro gear you could ever want? What's not to love?

We are running with a much larger booth this year and because of that are doing more awesome stuff. This year we are running 4 Classic NES Tournaments, hosting Wick showcasing his upcoming Indie game Crescent Loom AND selling an incredible collection of VHS tapes!

Win Awesome Stuff In Our Classic NES Tournaments

This year we are having four classic NES Tournaments (two per day) of some amazing NES classics and the winners of each tournament will walk away with a special... Read All

Jack And Rich Review Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle on Switch!

Jack & Rich from Previously Recorded review Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and if you are interested in the game or what's out on the Switch I recommend you give this review a shot. They are harder on the game than the general review consensus seems to be (currently 85% on MetaCritic) but they end up recommending the game in the end. Mario + Rabbids is a game I was considering a day one Switch purchase because I do enjoy X-Com like games and Ubisofts particular take on it really looks fun.