Game 12 - The Legend of Zelda

System: Nintendo(NES)
Release Date: 1987
Genre: RPG
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo

For Starters:

 
I can hardly believe that I have yet to post a blog about one of the biggest game franchises, and one of the most beloved games of all time. Anyone who is an avid gamer has certainly played the original Legend of Zelda on the 8-bit Nintendo, and anyone who has not, is not a true gamer, at least in my opinion. The Legend of Zelda is a true classic, and has spawned an entire franchise of games, cartoons, and merchandise. Even 25 years after it's debut, the Zelda franchise has managed to stay near the top of pop-culture. With that out of the way, let's move on to my own experience with the original game.

    To be honest, I don't recall how I came to know of this games' existence, but I am fairly certain it had to do with Ben. This game was right up his alley. Puzzles, mazes, and secret hidden items was what he was all about. I remember seeing him play it, and then borrowing the golden cartridge for myself. The only game I knew of that actually had a golden cartridge. Having never seen a cartridge this color before, it reminded me of C-3PO from Star Wars, so I thought it could be a good game, and gave it a go. Being a novice gamer at the time, I had a difficult time playing this game with any success, and was always calling Ben on the phone to ask him how to get past areas within the game, or where to find the items needed to advance. There was no internet at the time, and I don't recall seeing any published strategy guides back then, so I had nothing but my own wits, and Ben's advice to go on. Sadly, here is another classic game I can say I have never completed to 100%. But, despite that, I still find myself re-playing this game from time to time, just to get a Zelda fix.

The Good:

    Designer Shigeru Miyamoto really nailed this one. The overhead view, the weapons, the dungeons, the enemies and all the bosses were done perfectly. This game puts you in the shoes of Link, the legendary hero of Hyrule. I look back now, and realize that I made the mistake of thinking that the hero's name was Zelda. I know I am not the only person who made this mistake, but I digress. Your mission is to fight your way through the lands of Hyrule, and rescue Princess Zelda. But in order to accomplish this, you must make your way through several dungeons, each containing a mini-boss, and some kind of treasure that will help you later on in the game. It's these upgrades/treasures that make this game so great in my mind. Boomerangs, lanterns, rafts, bows/arrows, bombs, etc. Most of these upgrades, once obtained, will usually allow you to access a new area of the game that weren't previously available. Usually the path to the next dungeon. It's also worth noting that the special items found in each dungeon will usually help you in defeating the boss of the dungeon in witch they are found, along with assisting in killing the dungeon enemies quicker. Yes, there are many good things about this game. But there are also a lot of bad/frustrating aspects as well. Let's move on to those...

The Bad:

OK, I will admit, that there is nothing that truly qualifies as "bad" in the original Legend of Zelda. It's more accurate to say that there are frustrating aspects of the game. They include, the cryptic puzzles, and the unexplained features of game play. Yes I understand now, that this is designed to allow the player to try and solve problems on their own, and to figure things out through trial and error. There are some subtle clues found from the various people you encounter, but there are also plenty of blind or simply hidden items (knowing what bush to burn or what knight statue to push come to mind). There is also an area where you have to climb the mountain to reach a dungeon, but in order to do it, you have to exit the screen in the correct sequence, to achieve it. As I stated earlier, playing this game before the age of the internet, meant that this was truly a game of wits. Zelda, in my opinion, is the reason why walkthroughs exist today. This game is difficult....fun....but difficult.

Overall:

    Zelda. The name itself, should be enough to summarize this game. Most people have enough of their own experiences and fond memories to provide appropriate feedback. For me, this game defines everything it means to be a true classic. The perfect amount of puzzle-solving and hack-n-slash fighting. This game, along with Super Mario Brothers, truly defined the 8-bit Nintendo console, and went on to help define the next generation consoles as well. Zelda is a franchise that will always have a special place in my heart, one that will forever stand the test of time.

An A to Z look at the SNES Library

 The challenge. Play 26 games from the SNES library, one game title for each letter in the Alphabet. Play each one for 10 minutes, and provide some feedback. Sounds simple enough?  I strived to avoid sports games, and games that are considered mainstream, or popular. I limited myself to games that I had never heard of, or that I was not familiar   with, when possible. What follows is the results of this challenge.

Enjoy,

Arcana:

Game one is an RPG. The graphics and music are decent, but this game really fails to captivate me. There was a lot of reading, and the battles are boring. The first temple reminded me of Wolfenstein. Nothing special here. If you want a good RPG on the SNES go with Final Fantasy. Not a bad game, but not a good one either. 2/10.

Bio Metal:

This game opens up with a remake of "Y'all Ready For This?" as an intro song. Yes that song. God this could be a bad sign. Ok, so this is actually a decent side-scrolling shooter, very similar to Gradius. The worst things about this game is the rediculous scrolling speed, and the repetetive music. The music from the title screen repeats all the way through the first stage. Took me 10 minutes to figure out the weapons upgrades, and what not, but over all not to bad. I
will play this one again, but will probably play with the sound off. 7/10.

Carrier Aces:

That was the most painful 10 minutes ever, even compared to the agony of gym class in jr. high school. This is a very detailed World War II game, from the standpoint of the battle in the Pacific. I should have just played 1942. Easier, and far less complicated than this mess. I couldn't even get through the trining exercises. 1/10.

Demolition Man:

Kick ass rock anthem to open the title screen. Having only seen the movie this game was based off of once a long time ago, I don't really know if this game follows it too closely. Not a bad side-scrolling shoot 'em up, I may give this one another go. 5/10.

Eek! The Cat:

One I have heard of, but never played before. And after 10 minutes I can see why. This game blows furballs. The controls are ok, but there's a little too much touchey-feely with the old lady. I thought I might like a game where you kick granny in the ass, but no. Eek! This game was awful. 3/10.

Faceball 2000:

God what have I gotten myself in to? This one sounds like baseball, and I said I wouldn't play any sports games...This is NOT a sports game, unless you count lazer tag as a sport. This one is bizarre. It's all about shooting smiley faces in a maze-like environment. It's like Doom meets Pac-Man, only not as cool. 1/10.

Gemfire:

Ever wonder what it would be like to play the board game 'Risk' on a video game console? Well Gemfire allows this to happen. This game is very boring. I had to push myself to make it through 10 minutes. That's a lie...I shut this shit off after 6. And I didn't even have the satisfaction of being able to throw the boardgame against the wall in anger. This game fucking sucks. 0/10.

Harley's Humongous Adventure:

Green Lantern got shrunk while wearing pajamas! Actually this game reminds me a lot of Cool Spot on the SNES. The game really got better when I found out I could shoot the fly that was puking on me. Yes this game has puking flies. Not a bad game. I will try this one again sometime. 8/10.

Inindo - Way of the Ninja:

This game is basically the ninja version of Final Fantasy or Breath of Fire, only with crappier music, and slower controls. If I wanted a decent RPG I would play one of the ones mentioned. Not the worst game ever made however. 5/10.

Joe & Mac:

That was a quick 10 minutes. Caveman beat-em-up. Great graphics, good gameplay, decent music. I will be playing this one again. I liked it, plus I got kissed by a blonde cavelady. 9/10.

Kid Klown in Crazy Chase:

They kan't even spell 'clown' korrektly. This sounds like a sack of sweaty balls waiting to be unleashed upon me. In all reality this game isn't bad. The controls are annoying, as is the fact that everything you encounter stuns you, and the 'klown' himself is a big whiney whimp. 4/10.

Lester The Unlikely:

It's unlikely that anyone likes this game. It's like a wussier version of Prince of Persia on the SNES. This kid sucks. His posture is bad, and he whines like a little bitch. I am surprised he didn't piss his pants in this game. I have played worse games, but not many. 2/10.

Mr. Nutz:

With a name like this....anything is possible. The graphics are definitely good. I like. This takes some getting used to, but once you do, it's actually quite fun. Reminds me a little bit of Donkey Kong Country, only a little easier. This is one I will probably play again. 8/10.

Ninja Warriors:

Not bad. The controls are decent, but without an owners manual I am not sure what special moves I have. I seemed to do them at random. I like that the first boss I came to had his head explode when defeated. I am going to play this one again, but only after finding some instructions about the controls. 9/10.

Obitus:

Ugh this game is awful. I managed to make it out of the castle or whatever I was in to begin with, then came the forest. Everything looked the same no matter where I was. This sure as shit makes it difficult to know where you are going, and where you have already been. Too bad. This had some potential, but it reminds me of Friday The 13th on NES, but with no map screen. NEXT! 2/10.

Pac-In-Time:

Sounds like a Pac Man game....and oh look, it is. Pac Man goes back in time because of some witch. Nothing spectacular, but a decent game. Would help if I had an owners manual to learn more about what I can do, and what's supposed to happen. Found the 'exit' to the first level, but couldn't figure out how to open it. Maybe it has something to do with the spinning rings? Will try again after reading more about it online. 7/10.

Q-bert 3:

The only "Q" titled game in the SNES library? So I guess it wins by default. I have at least heard of Q-bert, and recall playing it as a kid, but I dont remember much, aside from the cameo he made in the movie 'Wreck It Ralph" Well....wish me luck.... This is about what I remember about Q-bert. This game is nothing more than nostalgia for the original game. Updated graphics, but the same old crap. 3/10.

Run Saber:

I knew nothing about this game. I though it might be like 3D World Runner from the NES. Boy was I ever wrong. This game is actually quite good. Reminds me of Hagane on the SNES. You can climb on walls and ceilings, like Spiderman. This game is very nice, and easy to play. I will definitely be playing this one again. 10/10.

Sonic Blast Man:

Another side-scrolling beat-em-up. Only not as good. Graphics are ok, and music is decent. The special moves are random, and the 'hero' seems to be a bit of a whimp, as is evidenced by him getting 'dizzy' when he performs a certain basic spin move. That's right, he spins, gets dizzy, and just sits there while stars circle his head. Captain America was a lot better. 4/10.

Thunder Spirits:

Well, this is another side-scrolling shooter like Gradius. This is not much different than any other game in this genre. The powerups are cool, and there are loads of enemies available to blast you away.....just like Gradius. Cool game over all, and one that I will probably play again a few more times. 8/10.

Ultraman - Towards The Future:

Who knew that 'The Rocketeer' had his own fighting game? I have never been a big fan of fighting games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, but this one is definitely the worst fighting game I have ever played. The controls feel laggy, and its just a crappy game. 1/10.

Vortex:

Polygonal hell. Thats the only way to describe this game. Remember StarFox? This is basically StarFox, only slower, and instead of flying, you are clomping around in a shitty slow robot shooting space ships. No thanks! 1/10.

Wild Guns:

Well.....this game is like a fine wine...the more it ages the better it gets. At first I thought this game sucked. I couldn't figure out how to shoot, and I didnt know what buttons did what, and the controls were confusing (controlling both your aim and your chatachter at the same time). But the more I played the more I got accustomed to how this game plays, and I was finally able to get past the first level boss. This is quite a fun little game. I will be playing this again soon. 9/10.

Xardion:

This is a strange one. I kinda like though. It seems to be a side scrolling shoot-em-up, but some of the opening scenes make me think it may also have some flying elements, like Gradius. I will have to play this one again to find out. The controls seem to respond sluggishly, but it's playable. I like the upgrade system, its like an RPG, in that the the more experience you get the more you
level up. This one will be played again. 7/10.

Ys III - Wanderers from Ys:

What the fuck? This is definitely a strage title. But, since I am familiar with Yoshi, this is the game that will fill the "Y" requirement for this alphabet challenge. After 10 minutes....Well, this is an RPG game. I don't really think it's all that great. It reminds me of Zelda II a little, in that its all side-scrolling. I think an owner's manual would be helpful with this game, but probably not. I hated the fact that the first enemies I encountered, when I was finally able to encounter them killed me in 3 seconds. I was able to try and avoid them, but it seems like it's the fighting of the enemies that kills you, even though there doesn't seem to be any contact from them. 2/10.

Zool:

No, not to be confused with Zuul from Ghostbusters, Zool is a SNES game from 1994, and the last on in this SNES Alphabet challenge. I don't really know what to say about this game. This is someone's bad trip. You are essentially some guy running around in a world of candy and fruitcake, shooting bee's, and blobs, and collecting little sweet things like candy canes, and other assorted treats. This game is fast, and the controls seemed to be backwards, so I had a difficult time adusting to jumping and shooting. Even after somewhat getting used to the controls, this game still basically sucked. I don't think I will try this one again. It's too strange. 3/10.

Game 11 - Life Force (Salamander)

 

Platform: Nintendo
Publisher: Konami
Series: Gradius
Release Date: 1988 (North America)
Genre: multi-scrolling shooter

For Starters:

This was the first game, outside of Contra, that I remeber using the "Contra Code" on. The ever-famous "up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start" would yield 99 lives when used at the start up screen on Life Force. It wasn't actually until years later that I learned that it was also referred to as the "Konami Code" and was useable on other Konami games. What a wonderful little code, and one that comes in handy when playing a game like Life Force.

My friend Ben was the person who introduced me to Life Force back sometime in the 90's. I had never heard of it, but he said it was a cool game, and when it came to video games, Ben knew his shit. So if he said its a cool game, then that meant it was a cool game. Ben was right.

I admit I knew nothing about the whole Gradius series until years later. I still kick myself for not knowing about the other Gradius games that were available on the SNES. I LOVED Life Force! This game was amazing, and still has a very high replay value to this very day. I have yet to find a game in the entire series that I haven't enjoyed.

Konami found a successful formula, side/multi-scrolling shooter games, and ran with it. All of the games in the Gradius series were done using the same formula over and over again, and in my opionion, it worked. The old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to be the best way to summarize this franchise.

Gameplay:

Life Force is a futuristic space shooter game. You take control of the Vic Viper, and fly through a mix of horizontal and vertical scrolling stages, with a boss battle at the end of each one. The stages themselves are all very unique, and different from one another, some even crossing over in to the bizarre realm. The more interesting enemies included Red blood cells, flaming worlds of fire, laser-shooting ribs, Egyptian themes, brains with tentacles, boulders, eyeballs, and even a boss battle with King Tut himself. Crazy!

The other aspect of this game is the power-ups. By killing specific enemies along the path, you can collect power-ups tokens that allow you to upgrade your weapons, and flying speed. Some of the upgrades include missles, lasers, ripple lasers, and one they call "option". The Option is simply an added entity that surrounds and follows your ship and fires the same weapons you have, essentially giving you multiple lines of fire. It's probably my favorite upgrade, when combined with the ripple-laser.

If you play with a friend, and use the Contra Code to aquire 99 lives each, then boy were you in for some quick fun. The best part of playing co-op was that if one of you ran out of lives before the other, you could push start and begin taking the other players remaining lives. Yeah, Ben and I would run through this game from start to finish very quickly.


The Bad:

There really is nothing bad about this game. There isn't much about this game that I don't absolutely love. If I was to make one complaint about this game it would be the sheer number of enemies. There are stretches of this game where you are accosted on all sides by swarms of enemies, and their associated bullets. Without the 99 lives code this would be a very difficult game. I have tried to beat it using nothing but the origial 3 lives and continues. It's pretty improbable that it can be done. I have never beaten it using nothing more than what the game provides. The entire series is the same way. Every game flings hoardes of enemies at you, testing your relfexes and navigation skills. But, In my opinion, this it what makes the game so fun.

Overall:

I have heard of people doing speed runs of various games on various consoles, and I would say that this game is probably the first game I remember speed-running through. Ben and I would always try to see how quickly we could run through Life Force. I don't recall us actually timing it, and it was in a time before YouTube, so alas, I have no record of the various speed runs we made. It's amazing to me that after all these years, I still enjoy playing this one....over and over. Luckily for us all, Konami continued to build on the original Salamander game, and in so doing, created a wonderful world of Gradius games for us to enjoy. Aside from Castlevania, Gradius is probably my favorite video game series. Thanks Konami!

Wayback Machine - Pinball

I recently had a chance to go visit a local nickel arcade, something I do every so often with my girlfriend. Usually we play the games that spit out tickets, so we can collect them and get prizes, but that's another story. After we had gathered enough tickets to satify our needs, we decided to wander through and play the other games, you know, the regular old cabinet style arcade games. Well I rounded a corner and saw a blast from my past, Star Wars Pinball.

Pinball machines have been around forever, and are probably the oldest school when it comes to video games. Even though pinball is not really a video game, it is a form of entertainment that can still be found in modern-day aracdes everywhere. This is a testament to this wonderful little invention. They have been a staple in modern society, and even spawned a rock opera (The Who's 'Pinball Wizard'). Yes I could go on and on about the pinball machine, and it's history, and importance in modern life, but I think I will stop here and move on to my own experience at the flippers.

I don't remember where I played my first machine, nor do I even recall what my first pinball experience was. I do have a memory in the dark recesses of my mind that involves me as a young kid, in a dark arcade, in a pizza parlor playing some form of the game. I also remember sucking at it. I was awful at pinball as a kid, and in fact I still suck at it to this very day. But man what wonderful things they are. Flashing lights, music, garbled speech, trap doors, and small pinball rollercoasters, all things a kid like me enjoyed. I would always prefer to play the ones that had the most elaborate roller-coasters. In my opinion, the more elaborate, the better.This probably played a big role in my later love of the classic arcade game "Marble madness"

http://classicconsoleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/game-7-marble-madness.html


As I got older, I continued to play whenever I found one, and like I said before, I never was any good at them. I think in the whole history of my life, I have only ever once gotten one replay for getting a high enough score, but then again, it may have been a replay based off the "match" feature found on some games when you lose. Either way, I am completely suck when it comes to pinballing. But my suckiness has never stopped me from continuiing to play them whenever I see one that looks like it could be fun. Unfortunately most of the ones I see these days are run down, and half the lights, and bumpers have stopped working. I usually pass on those. I have tried playing pinball games that were ported on to gameing consoles, and never found them quite the same. There is no substitute for an actual physical pinball machine.

For me the greatest amount of fun is unlocking the multi-ball. There is nothing more exciting than playing pinball with multiple balls on the playing field. You really must find a zone, and just focus all your attention on the flippers to keep as many balls in play for as long as possible.

Things that bother me about pinball machines:

- Insanely high replay scores: Usually in the neighborhood of like 200 million points.
- Outlanes: The annoying little lanes on either side of the main flipper drain. A.K.A. Insta death.
- Gravity: Some times a ball will get lodged somewhere in the workings of the hardware. Game over.
- Outlanes without a kickback.

The good parts:

- The bump and jolt associated with playing the game.
- All the pretty colors and flashing lights.
- The rollercoasters.
- Outlanes with a kickback (death thwarted).
- The mini-games.
- Multi-ball.
- The nostalgia of childhood.

So in conclusion, pinball machines are a timeless classic. A possibly dying industry, that still has something to offer today's younger generation of PS3 and XBox junkies. I challenge everyone to go out and find a pinball machine, and re-ignite that relationship with an old friend. You will not be dissapointed.

Game 10 - Ghosts'N Goblins

Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date: 1986 (home consoles); 1985 (Arcade)
Genre: Platform (side-scroller)

For Starters:

Shit biscuits! This game is a mother-fucker! While this is one of the classic games found on the NES, it is also one of the most frustrating games ever created. Addictive, and challenging, Ghosts'n Goblins will keep you coming back for more, until you either suffer a mental breakdown, or break your Nintendo system by throwing it out an open window.

I first played this game in the arcade at the mall, and immediately fell in love with the music, and the graphics. Unfortunately, the game always managed to feed me Alcatraz Sandwiches, and I could never get past the first fucking stage. When I finally found it on the NES, I thought...maybe if I owned it, I could actually spend the time, and finally beat that damned first stage. Holy shit was I ever wrong, and here it is over 20 years later, and I still struggle to get through that initial fucking stage.

Why is this game so difficult? This game throws a steady stream of enemies at you, from both directions, some of them shooting fireballs. Then, they give you impossible jumps, some of them involving moving platforms. This game will break your balls, and like a sucker, you will come back for more.

The Good:

There are enough good things about Ghosts'n Goblins to keep you coming back for more, time and time again. The music, the graphics, the pure adrenaline associated with this game is enough to bring you back. Most of all, is the idea that keeps growing in the back of your brain, that maybe, just maybe you will
advance to the next level. And to be honest, the more you play, the further you get, even if it's just a fraction of a screen further. This game taunts you. It teases you. It shows you something that looks so easy, yet you will continue to die, and you will find yourself screaming in determination to beat that one single part of the game. I guess that's the biggest draw this game has, outside of the music, is the addictive challenge that this game forces upon your fragile little psyche.

The Bad:

Do I really need to list the bad qualities of this game? Haven't I already illustrated the sheer hell this game will put you through? Challenging jumps, swarms of monsters, and the possibility of permanent damage to your

Dick-head takes girl...go get her Arthur.

console, and/or home as a result of the fits of rage this game will induce? Well, you sadistic little sap, here are a few more to help quench that thirst that now grows inside you. You sick puppy.

This game does allow you 2 hits before death. The first hit knocks you out of your armor, and allows you to continue fighting in your red undies.  The second blow will cause you to turn in to a pile of bones. Bones = death.

From frog to death...

If these traits are not bad enough, the game itself makes you beat it twice in order to complete it. That's right. You have to play through this thing TWICE in order to beat the game. UGH! Once is difficult enough.





Overall:

Yes Ghosts'n Goblins is difficult, and frustrating, but it has managed to remain  one that I continue to play over and over again. It does enough right to make this one a classic. If you play this one, be warned, it will cause fits, and will frustrate the hell out of you. But, you will find yourself playing this one again and again. Enjoy!

Random Modern Rant #1 - Facebook Games

I am setting aside the classic console games for a moment, but fear not, a new Classic Console Blog is coming soon enough.

For now though, I would like to step in to the modern world, and discuss the latest technology. Facebook games. Everybody plays, or knows someone who plays them. Facebook has become as mainstream as oxygen. Everyone, or almost everyone, is on Facebook these days, and what is there to do on Facebook besides post your latest adventures, or photos of your breakfast? Why play games of course. Games like The Spims, Monkey Bubble Nuts, Farmvillage, Killin' Gangsters, and Restaurantopolis have all been played to death. Most games are created, then copied, cloned, and advertised all over Facebook.

We have all been sucked in at some point, invited by friends to play some game on Facebook, or asked to help someone out with a quest to kill vampires, or give gifts of some sort. Then we start playing, and get hooked. The game consumes you, occupies your every waking thought. Then when the game gets interesting, people stop playing, and you get stuck at some roadblock, or stop leveling up, because none of your friends are playing it anymore, and have moved on to a clone, or copycat game.

Rant 1 - Social Network games are pointless. They require you to have friends that play the game in order to achieve higher level status, or to advance to a new map area. If you don't have enough friends playing the game you are hooked on, then you inevitably get stuck. But not to worry.....

Rant 2 - If your friends stop playing, you can advance your game by paying real life money. Did I just say that? You pay to advance further in a game.... Really? Coming from the 80's I am accustomed to playing old games on Nintendo/Super Nintendo/ Atari. Where there was no such thing as pay to play (except for the arcade 'Play Choice 10'). Imagine not being able to advance to world 4-1 in Super Mario Brothers, or not being able to advance to the next dungeon in Zelda unless you either A) convinced your friends to give you pointless shit, or B) payed cash to Nintendo or the game creator in order to move on.

Rant 3 - If you do get enough friends to play, and can actually advance the game without having to pay for it, the next problem you encounter is limited playability. Most Facebook games give you a certain amount of "energy" or "lives" each day. Sure they give you more of these after a certain amount of time has passed, but they stick you with a maximum amount of energy or lives. But not to worry, once again, you can pay real money to either acquire additional energy capacity, or you can pay a little more and get unlimited energy. You can also pay to have more energy added to your dwindling reserves.

Rant 4 - Some games require certain power-ups, or items in order to advance. Unfortunately these items usually cost an unrealistic amount of coins (the kind you earn during game play) or you can simply pay real cash. Either way, as soon as I reach these road blocks, I stop playing, and delete the game from my list of apps.

In summary. Facebook games are addictive, and fun, but if you have no friends, and don't want to spend real life money on the additional goodies in the game, you are limited to what you can do. True video games from the classic era of the console wars never had these features. This is why I will continue to play the classic console games from my youth. They allow you to play your favorite games the way video games were meant to be played:  unhindered, and free of the sleazy art of paying additional monies to actually beat them.

RANT MODE OFF!

Console 3 - JXD A1000

JXD A1000

You may remember the post I made about the Dingoo A320. If not, scroll down a few entries and find it. You can also simply go here: Console 2: Dingoo A320 - Classic Console Experience .

Well, as awesome as that thing is, the JXD A1000 is on par, if not slightly above the Dingoo.

A little background is warranted at this point. The Dingoo took a spill and died. Apparently the Dingoo was not designed to take a minor fall, and the soldering components easily bust loose, and make the device inoperable.  So I was in the market for a new handheld emulator. My birthday was coming up, and my mom asked me what I wanted. Well I stumbled across this little thing on Amazon, for half the cost of what the Dingoo was listed at. The biggest problem was that there were not a lot of reviews to be found online, anywhere. I watched a partial video on YouTube about it, and read some buyers reviews on Amazon, and it appeared that the JXD A1000 could do everything I was looking for. So I emailed my mom a link to the item on Amazon, and she purchased it.

The day finally came when it arrived at her house, so I rushed up there after work to go get it. Wow! This thing looks impressive right out of the box. It looks just like a Sony PSP, but it's not. Whenever people see me playing it, they always say, "Oh, is that a PSP?" Nope, nothing even close to a PSP. Once I show them what it is, they ususally say, "Oh, cool..." or just kind of acknowledge it, and move along.

The major difference between the JXD  and the Dingoo is that the firmware is not "open" on the JXD as it is on the Dingoo. This means you can't install the Dingux (Linux for Dingoo) on the device. To be honest, the Dingux, was not that great. It allowed you to install some additional emulators on the Dingoo, but it was mostly just a pain in the ass. The JXD has yet to be opened like the Dingoo, and I am fine with that. Here is what the JXD has to offer the casual user:

Emulation:

The JXD comes loaded with emulators for Nintendo (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), GameBoy Advance (GBA), GameBoy (GB), GameBoy Color (GBC), Sega Genesis (GEN), and flash games. The machine handles all of these emulations great. The GBA is by far the best. The larger 4.3" screen (as compared to the smaller 2.8" screen of the Dingoo) really brings the games to life. The LCD screen is bright, and easy to see. The games on all systems, do not lag, there is no frame rate issues, nothing. This thing is great. The Dingoo did not come with a GameBoy emulator, but there was a homebrew emulator that could be installed on to it. The biggest problem was the audio output on that emulator. It constantly buzzed, and you would constantly need to adjust the volume so that it could be muted. The JXD on the otherhand, comes with a GameBoy emulator, and it has ZERO audio problems. Not only that, but the LCD screen smoothes out the blocky pixels of the 8-bit GameBoy games, and makes the games actually look great. Here are some pictures of the screen resolution for the main emulations:

Castlevania Legends (GameBoy)

Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance (GameBoy Advance)

Sonic The Hedgehog (Sega Genesis)

Double Dragon (Nintendo)

The Legend of Zelda - Link To The Past (Super Nintendo)

As you can see this machine handles everything just fine. I tried to find some flash games to install on this, but couldn't find anything that ran easily and good playability.

On top of the emulations, this machine will also play movies, and music. I have used it to watch a few movies already, and even though this has a small screen, the resolution is amazing, and makes it fun.

The Bad:

Let's be honest. As amazing as this thing is, it does have one downside. It is minor, but worth mentioning. Button configuration. The button configuration for the SNES is incorrectly mapped. As such, you have to re-train your brain to play anything on the Super Nintendo games. Its a minor flaw, but it is something that you can learn to live with.

Overall:

I love my JXD A1000, and at half the cost of the Dingoo, it is highly worth it. Anyone who enjoys old console games, as I do, will absolutely love this little device, purely based on the capability of the emulators found on it. The rechargeable battery provides hours of game play ability. The ability to play movies, makes a great alternative to your iPOD. It makes road trips fun (only if you aren't driving).

I highly recommend this inexpensive device to anyone who enjoys gaming.