Celebrityscraps

So i’ve decided to do a run down and ranking of MY top ten 80’s - 90’s games…. I’m sure you will be able to guess a few of them… HERE WE GO:

10: SAM & MAX - Hit the Road (1993)

They are private investigators, or as they like to call themselves, “freelance police”. The pair live and work in New York City, but often travel to such places as New Orleans, ancient Egypt, the Philippines, and the Moon. They drive a seemingly indestructible black-and-white 1960 DeSoto Adventurer to most of these locations (including the Moon, which they achieved by stuffing the muffler with thousands upon thousands of match heads). Max often drives, despite being unable to see over the dashboard.

Their crime fighting technique involves brandishing their over-sized guns to intimidate criminals (it is not clear where Max keeps his weapon concealed as he is completely naked; when asked, Max always replies with “None of your damn business, Sam.”), but more often than not they need to rely on more creative solutions to vanquish evil. When they do use firearms Sam favors a gigantic revolver, while Max prefers a Luger. Sam and Max occasionally receive assignments from a mysterious Commissioner over the phone, but they usually just walk straight into trouble.

9: PRINCE OF PERSIA (1989)

Prince of Persia starts with the Sultan of Persia being called away to war in a foreign land. Sensing opportunity, the evil Vizier Jaffar seizes the throne for himself. The Prince is imprisoned, since Jaffar has designs on the Princess. The Princess is also imprisoned and she is given a choice with an hour to decide: marry Jaffar or die. The Prince has an hour to complete the game by saving the Princess and killing Jaffar.

The twist is that the game is played in real time, so the Prince must quickly complete the quest without breaks. On some platforms it is possible to save the game at the start of each level, though the time limit still applies. The only way to lose the game is by letting the time expire. If the Prince is killed, the game will restart from the beginning of the level, or in some levels, at a mid-way checkpoint.

The game also includes a power bar. Medium falls, blue potions, being hit by falling platforms, and sword hits take one bottle off the power bar, while major falls, being hit unarmed, falling or running on spikes and blades, kill the Prince instantly. The Prince can increase the number of bottles in his power bar by drinking larger red potions, usually hidden or in dangerous places, while the regular-sized Red magic potions restore one life each time they are consumed. There is also a green potion that made the Prince light-weight and one that made the screen flip around, depending on the level.

In the fourth level, the Prince is forced to jump through a magic mirror that tears his soul apart from him, always leaving him with just one full bottle. The soul, depicted as a semi-transparent copy of the prince, leaves the screen and will appear in two of the last levels. In level 6, when the prince jumps and catches on a platform to climb up, his soul closes the gate before him forcing him to drop to next level. In level 12, with the sword drawn, fighting the prince. Since the prince cannot hurt his soul without getting hurt as well, he has to sheathe his weapon and rejoin his soul by walking into it. This also adds an extra bottle to the prince’s power bar. In the game’s last level, the Prince has to fight and defeat Jaffar, a master swordsman. The Prince is reunited with the Princess and all is well.

8: SUPER MARIO BROS. (1985)

Super Mario Bros. sports a “hero must save damsel in distress” storyline. The hero Mario, an Italian plumber, must save Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom from the evil King Koopa. Mario is aided in his quest by his brother Luigi in two-player mode. In order to save Princess Toadstool, the Mario Bros. must conquer the eight worlds that comprise the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario (or Luigi) must make his way to the castle in each world and defeat one of the King’s evil minions, thereby taking control of that world. In order to reach the castle, however, Mario or Luigi must battle through three “sub-worlds” by either destroying or avoiding King Koopa’s henchmen. If Mario or Luigi successfully fights his way through the castle and defeats the evil minion, a Mushroom Retainer (later called Toad), is freed. Inside the eighth castle, the Mario Bros. will find Princess Toadstool.

It must also be noted that Super Mario Bros. is the best selling video game of all time, and was largely responsible for the initial success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as ending the two year slump of video game sales in the United States after the video game crash of 1983.