Games I Loved Back In The Day - Part 2

If you caught part 1 of my feature on games I loved “back in the day”, you’ll see it has been an eclectic collection so far. From Star Wars to WWE wrestling, with a dash of futuristic disc tossing for good measure. Maybe there has been some you know or enjoyed yourself even.

I think we can all agree that each of us has been forced to do a lot of thinking back during this difficult time and I have to say writing this piece has been a very personal experience to share with you all. The warm memories that have come zooming back into my mind have been both welcome, gratifying and motivating. You’ll probably be able to tell that video game analysis is not exactly my forte but for this “movie man” to be able to chat with you all about memories and things I used to enjoy as a kid, it has been a really helpful and soothing experience.

I hope you have all enjoyed joining me on a button pressing nostalgia trip and maybe you have even got thinking yourselves about games you used to love back in those younger years. Or failing that? Why not movies or TV shows that had an impact on you? At a time like this, it really is great to think back to some good times, and in my case, this show is far from over.

So, lets dip back in to the ol’ memory banks for the second part of my collection of video games I used to love back in the day, even if clearly some reviewers were less than impressed...

The Simpsons Wrestling (2001)

Back to Springfield and to a game some have called one of the worst ever! When it comes to The Simpsons, Springfield’s favourite family have had a turbulent video game history. Not until The Simpsons Hit and Run and The Simpsons Game were hopes met. As much as I loved Road Rage it was considered middling and The Simpsons Skateboarding was universally panned as one of the worst games ever made and so too was Electronic Arts’ The Simpsons Wrestling but while I agree with the former, I don’t with the latter.

As a wrestling fan, and with a friend who loved The Simpsons, this game was a must for us, and when we rented it from Blockbusters we ended up going back a few times for re-rents! This was not strictly wrestling, more a button bashing battle with outlandish special attacks from a variety of playable characters (which included Marge unleashing Maggie and Ned Flanders tossing Bibles at you). It was goofy but with the actors from the show lending their voices to it and some hilarious insanity on display, this one made some warm memories with my friend, and I have nothing but a fondness for it.

Star Wars Demolition (2000)

I loved Star Wars Demolition. This was that game I mentioned earlier that got me thinking about this feature in the first place. I just loved it! I will never forget my mum and dad returning home from work and surprising me and my friend with a copy of this, which they picked up on the way home from work.

At the time we were amazed by the graphics and in awe of the Star Wars anarchy. With multiple characters and a variety of vehicles, weapons and upgrades, and some excellent battle maps modelled on the movies (from Degobah to Cloud City), this was essentially free-for all destruction derby that was Twisted Metal from a galaxy far, far away. I spent countless hours on it. The victory/defeat cutscenes for the characters were an added bonus to a hard earned win or devastating loss, and were excellently done. I ask you - what other game features a Rancor battling Boba Fett, while avoiding the Sarlaac pit and oncoming attacks from an AT-ST? As a kid, this was what I defined as awesome. I yearn for the day it is remastered...a day that will sadly never come as it was not particularly well received.

WWE Wrestlemania X8 (2002)

When it came to wrestling games, Nintendo tended to get more arcade-esque offerings (before getting a boost in scope with Day of Reckoning and its sequel) and one of the ones I best enjoyed was WWE Wrestlemania X8.

I have a fondness for the event the game is based on itself, as it was the event that turned wrestling from something I saw often into a full-on, week-to-week obsession! And this game did it justice. Boasting a fun roster, easy gameplay and enjoyable features, this was one I regularly booted up on the Nintendo Gamecube (a very underrated console) and one of my first games on that machine. I kept returning to and having fun with this one, and the opening alone gave me chills!

Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time (1999)

I used to love the classic Looney Tunes cartoons, I remember one summer I got my case of felt tips and made a book full of handrawn characters from the show during a few weeks of omnibus’ on Cartoon Network. My favourite was always Marvin the Martian, which may be a reason I used to love Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time. Loveable alien megalomaniac Marvin was the final boss of Dimension X but across a few different time zones you played Bugs and platformed your way to some cool boss showdowns with characters both iconic and lesser known. Reviews were ok for this one but ironically it does seem to have got lost in time itself.

Star Wars Obi-Wan (2001)

I was so impressed with Star Wars Obi-Wan! The lightsaber gameplay, where you controlled it with the toggle on your controller, was oh so satisfying and you could deflect laser blasts too. The story was a prequel/tie-in with The Phantom Menace, as you guided him through his training and on missions alongside Qui-Gon Jinn. The enemies were plentiful, the graphics were great and some of your attacks and abilities truly made you feel like a Jedi. Perhaps best of all though, were the bonus battles, where you trained in duels with select Jedi council members from the movie. As a youngster that was absolutely thrilling to me! Reviews were bafflingly average but the force was strong with this one methinks.

Batman: Gotham City Racer (2001)

A racer game with a twist. Until Rocksteady’s aforementioned games came along, Batman’s video game output had a thoroughly mixed history with some forgotten fun but also some truly hideous offerings. Now,Gotham City Racer ain’t perfect but as a die hard fan (then and now) of Batman: The Animated Series in the ‘90s, this one was a must-own for me and what a good time I had with it. The stories tied in to select moments from the later series and from timed rescue missions to races, this one went a bit further than most vehicular game tie-ins of big franchises and made the extra effort. Each playable character had their own vehicle and naturally some of the villain’s rides were fun and the Batmobile was...well come on it’s the Batmobile!

Mickey’s Wild Adventure (1994)

The PlayStation version released in 1996 was the game I was introduced to rather than the previous Sega CD, Genesis and Super NES releases, and Mickey’s Wild Adventure was one of my first ever video games. I remember excitedly talking about it in Primary School to one of the teaching assistants once. It was a game that I often found quite tricky but really enjoyed. Based around classic Mickey Mouse cartoons like Steamboat Willie and Mickey and the Beanstalk this was a celebration of vintage Disney and, as a kid who grew up with my Disney videos, this side-scrolling platform was an utter delight.

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (2002) and Godzilla: Save The Earth (2004)

If you’ve been reading my reviews long enough, you’ll know I enjoy Godzilla films, so imagine the opportunity to be able to have a game that let you loose on the city in a beat ‘em up battle with other kaiju monsters from the legendary Toho Godzilla films of Japan. This was bliss. Limited in some ways maybe but with a roster of twelve monster characters and plenty of mass destruction, Pipeworks Software’s Destroy All Monsters Melee on Gamecube was infectiously enjoyable monster chaos. To that point, its 2004 sequel Save The Earth gave you more of the same with some added story and playable monsters (SpaceGodzilla and Mothra included!). Sadly the series ended rather disappointingly with 2007’s Godzilla: Unleashed on Wii, the redeeming feature of which was an impressively wide list of playable kaiju characters (including Biollante, who was originally playable in Save The Earth but cut due to licensing).