Muramasa: The Demon Blade

Blink and you'll miss it.

The Nintendo Wii was not a powerhouse compared to the bigger home consoles, but as sales figures have proven, the average consumer doesn't care about the raw numbers under the hood. They want a damn good time, and for many, that meant waggling a Wiimote controller.

You'd think that having players waggling a Wiimote in the same way as they'd waggle a sword would make for some great gameplay, but the developers behind Muramasa: The Demon Blade knew better than to churn out a crappy waggler. There are basically only two buttons in this game, and just look at what you can do with them.

Look. Up there.

There's a lot to look at.

Trine

Working together to solve a common problem? What a novel idea.

Side-scrolling adventures with ultra-high production values were a rarity in 2009, says the 1001 list as it introduces us to side-scrolling action-platformer physics-puzzler Trine.

I don't know where I picked Trine up, and definitely don't know why Trine 3 is in my Steam library either, because I haven't got a clue what this game is about, and the title isn't spilling any secrets either. It looks like the kind of game you'd only know existed if you were the exact target audience it was aiming for.

If that's the case, I don't think I'm that target audience...

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout...

Source // MobyGames

A long, long time ago, in the arcades of the early 1980s, was a puzzler by the name of Qix. You had to draw lines to create boxes, sectioning off the screen from the enemies buzzing about and ruining your chances of filling up your level quota. Carve out 75% of the play area and the level is yours. Rinse and repeat as enemies moved faster and there were more of them.

It was addictive, it was tricky, but it was ultimately short lived. But what if it was given a complete makeover? What if it could be thematic, rather than abstract? What if it could have a story, a point to doing it all?

Strictly speaking, Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor isn't Qix remade, but it's a good place to start thinking about it.

Swords & Soldiers

"Oh no, our Meat!"

Can you make an RTS for consoles? Yes, of course you can. It'll just be a little lite to account for having to support inputs from a controller.

Can you make an RTS for the Nintendo Wii? Well, now you're just being silly. That'll be a right pain in the arse to get up and runni-oh, Swords & Soldiers, no, I've not heard of that one at all. Real-Time Strategy, you say? Doesn't look it, but let's see...

Contra 4

"An experience so classic it's practically coin-operated."

That's not a quote from a reviewer up there. That's how Contra 4 welcomes you into the tough-as-nails side-scrolling shooter that is the first portable Contra for more than a decade. It's back with a bang on the Nintendo DS, kicking pushing to the floor and kicking them while they're down - unless you're good enough to actually make it through, of course...

We'll see about that.

Metroid: Zero Mission

EMERGENCY ORDER_

From one remake to another. From one remake I know about to one I don't. From one I care about to one I have no emotions for at all. Perhaps I'll view Metroid: Zero Mission in the same way Nintendo fans saw Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. And it's on the mighty Game Boy Advance, too, so it's looking positive. I'm hoping for good things here.

Remaking Samus Aran's original Nintendo Entertainment System outing, Zero Mission uses all the improvements the series has developed in the decades since to go back and reimagine a game that perhaps many players didn't get a chance to play.

Updated gameplay, graphics and even new story elements, Zero Mission sounds like a great title for someone like me.

Viewtiful Joe

"Henshin-a-go-go, baby!"

Beat 'em ups come in all shapes and sizes, but generally speaking, they'll have you move from one side of the screen to the other, smacking anything the steps in your way. Back in the day, you were probably fighting on the streets, but as video games have aged and grown, so has the beat 'em up evolved into this and that, broadening its horizons, offering players varied experiences.

There are perhaps none so stylish as Viewtiful Joe, whose action hero star is so cinematic that the very notion of being on camera and showing off for the fans seems to be at the heart of the game.

Fifteen years ago, I couldn't tell you what kind of game it was at all. I only knew of this game as being cartoony. Looks like it's time for quiet on the set. Camera's ready?

Silhouette Mirage

Reflector! Reflector! Hup! Hup! Hup! Reflector! Bambambambambambambam!

Some video game titles just scream 'Japanese release' to me, and Silhouette Mirage is one of them. You just don't get titles like that from western developers; titles that don't quite sound right and give few hints as to what's going on with the game itself, if any.

But a game is much much more than its title, and this one will have us platform run and gunning our way around the place, shooting things in particular ways. What on Earth do I mean by that?

Einhänder

Enemy threat removed by your heroic attempt.

What do we make? Role Playing Games! What shall we release? A 2.5D sidescrolling shooter!

The developers at Square probably didn't chant that as they were making Einhänder, but that's what players got in late 1997: an unexpected title from an unexpected developer on an unexpected system that unexpectedly made enough of an impression to warrant a spot on the 1001 list.

What's it all about? I have no idea. The name comes from German to mean 'one hand', and refers to your ship having one hand to pick stuff up with. Where we go from there is anyone's guess.

Nights into Dreams

New Record though...

As I think I've mentioned before, the Sega consoles flew right past me as a child. I have more fingers on one hand than I know people who owned a Mega Drive, and I couldn't tell you anyone who owned a Saturn and insisted that I play Nights into Dreams, a chilled version of Sonic the Hedgehog, you might say, with more depth and fewer animals.

Dream energy is getting stolen from unsuspecting dreamers Elliot and Claris, and it is up to a flying jester-looking guy called Nights to help them get it back. It's the right thing to do, I suppose.

Alien Soldier

In whitch we fight terrolists and dodge typos.

There's only one thing I know about Alien Soldier, and that's that it's super hard. It doesn't mess around, demanding mastery of the controls to even begin to think about getting through what is actually a pretty short game.

Basically, I know that I'll be judging this game on the first five minutes, and whatever I then watch on YouTube, so let's hope those first five minutes are pretty damn good.

Super Metroid

That's how I roll...

My name's Frank, and I've never played Super Metroid.

I think I might have dabbled with one of the many games in the genre, but even then, it's best to assume I haven't touched the series, largely due to the fact that, besides the Game Boy, I just haven't owned Nintendo consoles, and that's where all those Metroids are.

It is the future, I guess, and Samus was just about to do something, when - what do you know - a distress call! We better get on it right away.

Gunstar Heroes

Your journey ends here!

Sometimes it feels like there are an alarmingly high number of games on this 1001 list that I just don't know anything about. I don't think the number is that high, but I don't even know of Gunstar Heroes in passing, so I'm going into yet another game blind as a bat and seeing where I end up.

In this one, we play as Red or Blue Gunstar in a side-scrolling shoot 'em up run and gunner to gather a handful of crystals before the big bad robot known as Golden Silver uses them to wreak havoc on civilisation. We'll enlist help from Professor Brown and we'll fight General Grey's efforts to thwart us.

Yeah.

Based on the plot synopsis, it's no wonder I know nothing about this game...

Contra III: The Alien Wars

Let's attack aggressively.

Contra has quite the reputation for being really rather difficult, and so seeing Contra III: The Alien Wars creep up the 1001 list as more and more games before it got played was somewhat daunting. Thankfully, though, I had no reason to worry, because it looks great and has options for adjusting the difficulty.

The planet is - as is often the case in video games - under attack from aliens, so we better single handedly see to that with all manner of weaponry and plenty of skill.

Sorry, Earth. Once again, this won't end well for us...

ActRaiser

Are you awake?

Something feels different when you start playing ActRaiser. There doesn't need to be an overworld for a side scroller, surely. What do I need assistance with? Just give me a sword and point me towards the enemy.

There's a reason for all this and I suspect it will be both interesting and irksome.

The Revenge of Shinobi

Three years later...

Source // Gamefabrique

I actually played The Revenge of Shinobi before the original Shinobi, and I was pleasantly surprised with Shinobi - to a point. The Revenge of Shinobi follows on from events in the first game, seeing the heroic Joe Musashi get some revenge on Neo Zeed, a criminal organisation formed from the ruins he left behind in the previous game.

What is he getting revenge for? As an accomplished ninja in a video game, his master has died after being kidnapped and Joe doesn't want to see his future bride share the same fate. You must head out through stages and boss fights to find her and take your revenge on Neo Zeed.

Given how successful I was at Shinobi, I'm going to apologise to Naoko now, because she likely won't be saved by my inept hand. Let's give it our best shot, though.

Shinobi

Destroy anyone that gets in your way!

Source // Wikipedia

I knew Shinobi would be some kind of ninja-themed game but didn't know what form it would take. In my ignorant little mind, ninja games are all about dressing a little bit foolish, conjuring throwing stars from thin air, probably slashing someone down with a katana... or did only Samurai bother with those swords?

Anyway, the point is I don't think ninja titles have a whole lot of legs, but seeing as there's a fair few of them on the 1001 list, I should just get on with it and see what Shinobi has to offer.

We're a modern day ninja rescuing kidnapped children. Alrighty then. Let's see how that works out...