Friday Night Rentals: Super Empire Strikes Back

With the announcement of Star Wars episode VIII's title, "The Last Jedi," I was inspired to revisit the ol' Super Star Wars romping--or rather whomping--grounds. Yes, I'll be taking a look at JVC's run and gun Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.  So, did the Empire strike back with the same amount of difficulty as they did with the first game? Or did I find a new hope for the series when this Star Wars game was rented?

Graphics and Style:

The character sprites are designed well and really give you the feeling that you're playing as a character from the Star Wars universe. As you blast--or lightsaber--your way through Stormtroopers, wampas, swamp monsters and the like, it's hard not to admire the work done on the character design. The development studio really had a chance to show off their stuff with the Super Star Wars games and did so to a tee. If you have the time I encourage you to look up a little of the backstory into how they approached doing these characters.

When it comes to style, I'm happy to say it too has the classic Star Wars feel. Even though the design team obviously had to take some liberties when it came to building this run-and-gun, they never feel like something totally out of the bounds of what you would find in the Star Wars universe.

Music and Sound:

I think I could write a whole separate blog based on how well the sound was done in these games. From blaster shots to lightsaber strikes; great care was obviously taken to preserve as much as possible the original sound of the movie, and it shows.  When it comes to the music, while I agree it's a pretty good 16-bit adaptation of the film score, it doesn't quite grab me as I wanted it to. In fact, I find some of the renditions a little too tinny for my tastes. However, they do convey the tone of the game and film melded into one and do a pretty good service for your gaming needs. They never get too annoying or too over-looped.  Here's a rendition of the Imperial March which I think is the best of the lot as it really captures the fast paced violins well:

Gameplay and Control:

You run and shot, saber, or even thermonuclear detonator your way from the beginning of the level to the end. Along the way you can pick up hearts of varying sizes to replenish your health meter, extensions for said health meter, and various weapon and point power ups. These are dropped with a fair amount of regularity, so keeping your health up doesn't become an issue. You can choose between three difficulty settings from Easy, Brave, and the highest, of course, is Jedi. You get the "Brave" setting as the default mode if you hop right in, but if you're looking for your best chance at beating the game on your first go around, I'd recommend going to the menu screen and selecting the easy setting.  On the topic of difficulty, this ranks up there with some of the hardest run-and-guns and platforming you'll ever encounter. With constant barrages of enemies, obstacles, and death-spike laced pits, the game challenges you every step of the way. In addition to the natural high difficulty of the in game objects, whenever you die, you are sent back to the beginning of an area as there are no checkpoints. Even on the easiest of settings you can find an ill-timed jump into a pit will result in the loss of what can feel like hours worth of labor. And with only 3 continues, you need every life you can get.

It's so fitting that you start out on Hoth, because the controls feel slippery and you would just assume that since you're on an ice planet, that's how it is for that level. But no, that's how it goes for every level. With the aforementioned assault of enemies and death-pits, this not only fast becomes a nuisance, but a built in difficulty setting itself--albeit one that you cannot change. While you can alter the button configuration, this does nothing to change the actual control you have over the character. Luke is just as likely to hurl himself into a pit of spikes as he is to ever confront Darth Vader.

Memories and New Thoughts:

It was a Star Wars game, so I rented it. Need I say more? I mean, I think I may have made it to the second stage as a kid, but I don't ever recall making it that far. I loved the Super Star Wars games as a kid and I loved renting them. Who wouldn't want to play as Luke, Han, or even Chewie?! Well, I never got to play as Han or Chewie. I only got past the first level or so as Luke when I was kid.

Each of these games brought a little something new to offer in terms of stages and layout, but each one had that unforgiving difficulty we've come to associate the game. Part of me wants to just say, "I was a kid and it was Star Wars," and leave it at that. I should have known at this point though just how insane and frustrating the difficulty was. Years later this still gets to me. I have a mix of love and deep-seated resentment for this game, and all the Super Nintendo Star Wars games. Why did the game have to be so stupidly hard? Clearly kids were going to play this game as well, why couldn't the developers have cut a break to us kids? Not that I was looking for hand holding, I love a challenging game and still do to this day. But when a game gets this brutally difficult, it's hard to keep those rose-colored kid glasses on for too long. Now, don't get me wrong, I still like the game and hope to beat it one day. It's just hard to imagine that I'd ever want to have owned it as a kid as I liked to have games around that were something I could eventually beat. I can't imagine younger me ever beating this game. So I guess I have to settle for the hope that my adult self will have the patience to get it done.

Midweek Music Box: Dr. Mario (Fever Theme)

As I sit here (lie here?) in bed for what feels like the 20th day straight (but is in fact only the 7th/8th day of being sick) I can't help but wonder if I can push myself to actually get today's Midweek Music Box written. Well, thankfully there's a cure for what ails me and that's good ol' Dr. Mario! Specifically the "Fever" theme from the famous puzzle game. So, speaking of the fever theme, here's a 30 minute loop of that classic 8-bit tune:

"Fever Theme"

Just like Tetris, you can choose what music you are going to listen to before you start up the endless puzzler, so this may not necessarily have been your "jam" when eliminating viruses with the good Dr. Mario. But just like the classic Russian folk song will be forever jammed in most of our minds as the "Tetris Theme," so the Fever theme will be the tune most of us usually associate with the game. It's peppy and catchy, with a couple of odd bits that sound more like sound effects than they do music--but it's still pleasant to listen to when working away at something. Like for example if it's late in the day and you are still laid up in bed and needing to get a game blog done but want to soak in a tub until all the pain goes away...maybe I should just take one of those pills that Mario's tossing about and hope for the best.

Anywho, it's funny how several puzzle games like this always had the "go-to" track that most of us listened to and came to think of as the main theme of the game. In fact, I really don't care for the main theme/intro music of Dr. Mario and find it a little harsh and grating. Sorry, not going to link it here, I think that little of it. But really, we aren't meant to linger on the main screen of a puzzle game. We're supposed to dive right into the action and get playing for hours on end--which is why I picked a half-hour loop of the Fever song. I like music that makes you feel like you need to get going and get things done, and in this case, Dr. Mario continues to serve up the right prescription when it comes to having a cure in getting things done.

Friday Night Rentals: Bump N' Jump

Premise/Intro:

Can radical excitement be yours as you zoom along either crushing or pitying innocent drivers simply trying to get to work? Does the game have high speed chases as you rush to save your girlfriend you ask? Why yes it does and yes, it's time to bring the arcade excitement of Bump'n Jump to your home console, specifically, the NES.

When I rented this, I had no idea it was a port of an arcade game. As a kid, games like these were never re-rented, the purpose of renting was to beat a game so as to not feel like I had to buy. Or if I did buy it, that it had a high replay value.  Did it earn a place in my heart today and am I now glad to have it?

Gameplay and Control:

You race along, avoiding obstacles, collecting power-ups and smashing other vehicles off the road or hop-crushing them to death--and that's it.

Yes, you are racing to the end of the stage and yes, you eventually get an end to the game (of sorts), but really, most of these arcade to console ports never could match the excitement of a game made simply to pull more quarters from your wallet. A nice bonus of owning it at home means that you can play over and over again without the quarter-suck and get better at it. However, is it worth playing over and over to get better and better? I'll let you know at the end.

Graphics and Style:

Simple graphics, even for NES. However, they are bright and colorful. The cars, the grass, water, and bridges all zoom by at a decent speed so they don't need to really be defined that much, and they do have an 8-bit quality to them when they might have been able to get by with less resolution. Stylistically, this game feels like just another overhead racer with overtones of Spy Hunter. not that this is a bad thing, just that it doesn't really offer too much new in terms of setting itself apart from other, similar games aside from the jump mechanic.

Music and Sound:

It's cute really. Which when you look at it is really odd for a game where you are basically getting points for murder-smashing your way through those who get in the way of your quest save your one true love. The music is cheerful and well paced, and doesn't really get annoying which is great as you'll likely be revisiting the same levels over and over again.  The sound effects work okay, and I personally like that the music don't really get annoying. Here's a small sample of the music so you get an idea of the tracks:

Peppy, ain't it? Again, nothing too spectacular here, but for a game with repeat soundtracks, it's actually not too bad. Not saying I'll be copying it to my Ipod anytime soon though.

Memories and New Thoughts:

Did you ever rent a game twice thinking that perhaps the second time around it would click better for you? I know I did that with a number of games growing up, including Bump'n' Jump. I wanted to have missed something with this game. I wanted it to feel like it was more than just a novel variation on racing games where high score was the goal. However, it never really struck me as more than just an average game. I found out recently that this game was actually a port of an arcade game, and it feels like it. Not that all arcade ports are bad mind you. Donkey Kong remains one of my favorite arcade to NES ports to this day. However, I might have passed it by were it not for a friend finding it for me for cheap. As I played it again for this review, I was really reminded of Spy Hunter, but after a few minutes, I actually was starting to enjoy this more than Spy Hunter truth be told. I guess I find the way the difficulty ramps up each level more satisfying than the way it's done in Spy Hunter, although Hunter did have the better/more memorable music of the two. If you see it somewhere cheap I'd recommend picking it up.

Midweek Music Box: Mega Man 8 Soundtrack

Let me start by saying how weird it was (and still is quite frankly) to see a Mega Man game on a non-Nintendo system. Growing up I had it firmly ingrained in my mind that certain systems got certain games. Nintendo would always have Mario, and Sega would always have Sonic. Nintendo would always have Mega Man, and Sega would always have Toe Jam and Earl. But wait! Nintendo didn't always have Mega Man! My beloved Blue Bomber eventually made his way to the PlayStation! (Yes I know there were PC translations of the early games, but let us never speak of them again.)

When I got my hands on Mega Man 8, I wasn't sure how much I'd like it. I was fresh off the X series, and those were peak Mega Man in my mind. How could the PlayStation get the 8th installment of the original Mega Man? How could it possibly compare to the other Mega Man games? Well, I soon found out that when it came to music and sound design, they had nearly recaptured the spirit of Mega Man. 

I say nearly, because there are aspects of the sound design that just don't work and I find it a little jarring. I can't do this particular Midweek Music Box without mentioning the sound design of the game alongside the music as it plays such a huge factor to me in how the game goes, and the enjoyment of the in game music.  So without further adieu, let's get into the music and how awesome the music for Mega Man 8 really is.

For your listening enjoyment, here is the soundtrack in it's entirety, and I'll highlight some of the more noteworthy ones (IMHO of course):

Soundtrack:

Mega Man 8 OST

Boss Intro:

Such an awesome, quick track that gets you pumped, I devoted an entire Midweek Music Box to this track. The updated version works well to bring that pumped feeling back and it hits just the right nostalgia notes. It's one of the briefest tunes you'll hear, but it belongs up there with the basic Super Mario beat.

I can't find an individual track on YouTube of this one, but its within the OST linked above and is well worth a quick listen if for no other reason than to smile at the updated sound.

Grenade Man

Upbeat and determined sounding with a flare of those 16-bit sounds that we all have come to know and love, I like the Grenade Man soundtrack because it feels the most like what an upgraded version of the original Mega Man soundtracks would be like. I know on the Saturn they had a reprise of the Cutman and Woodman stages with their music, but I only experienced the PlayStation version when I first played this, and this stage is the one that still gets me feeling like I'm truly playing a Mega Man game, albeit an upgraded one.

Dr. Wiley Stage 1

Such dark and mysterious music, and yet still the fast-paced feel that we've come to expect from Mega Man. The low beats and robotic sounds not only make it really feel like you're a robot on the run with a mission, but make any task feel that much more important and pressing. There's something almost fast-jazz-esque about the pace of this track. I included a link to a 30 minute loop here as I feel that you could easily have this in the background as music to help you keep moving along with whatever task you might have before you.

Sound design:

And now for the bad. The very, very, oh-my-gosh-did-he-just-say-that very bad. It's so incongruous that it bears mentioning if only for the fact that it distracts so much from what otherwise is one of the better Mega Man soundtracks.

Voice Acting:

I think the following clip pretty much sums up the whole of the Mega Man 8 experience when it comes to the acting in the video clips:

Dr. Wowee is on the attack agwain!

From Dr. Light sounding like the offspring of Barbra Walters meets Vizzini from Princess Bride to Mega Man's annoying litte girl voice--there's so much to just hate about the voice acting in Mega Man 8. I like that they tried to include some of the cartoon and you get a nice montage of what happened in Mega Man's past... and that's where the clips should have ended. After that you get "treated" to various clips as the game progresses, and believe me, at times these feel like dog treats. Getting animated clips for any system, regardless of era, usually was and still feels like the reward it was meant to be. Not so in Mega Man 8's case. These clips were terribly acted and were some of the cringiest things you'll ever watch when it comes to games turned into cartoons. At least Legend of Zelda left us with the now meme-worthy, "Well excuuuuse me princess!"

Voice Dubbing:

Originally I was going to include this in within voice acting, but I thought it was worth mentioning in its own section because of how bad it was. I don't need Mega Man loudly exclaiming "Power Shot" every time he fires a powered shot. It gets so annoying so quickly that you almost don't want to bother firing your starter weapon just so you can spare yourself from hearing that. If only this was the only problem. When it comes to boss battles, they loudly exclaim something as you enter their lair and after you defeat them. However, more than half the time, I couldn't understand what the heck they were saying. I understand there were limitations at the time, but when the sound effects and music are fantastic and then...then you get a muffled mess for the big battle you just fought so hard to get to. It just kills the mood. Until I was able to search this out years later, I was convinced that either something was wrong with my hearing or that my TV's audio was going off. It seems though that most of the internet agrees that the audio clips here were just terrible.

Final Thoughts

Now, the flaws I pointed out here don't necessarily detract from my ability to enjoy the soundtrack or the game in their own rights, but it does make me hesitant to keep the volume up when playing the actual game. It's a shame really because the music and sound effects in the Mega Man games are some of the best out there in gamer-dom. Sometimes though, it's hard to separate the good and the bad. But that doesn't mean the soundtrack itself isn't worth a listen to, or maybe even a rip on to your iPod.

Friday Night Rentals: Smartball

I was twelve when I got my Super Nintendo. I enjoyed many platformers on it, and there were just as many I did not enjoy. Then there were some that fall into that "I vaguely remember playing that as a kid" category. Well, Smartball by Sony falls right into that third area for me. As soon as I saw the package I remembered there was a ball of goo, and he was able stretch or something, and that was about it. I think I remembered playing the game. I might have beaten it too. Well, with such distinct and cherished memories as that, how could I pass up a complete copy for only $20? Was the Jackson I laid down worth the journey down memory-ish lane worth it?

Premise:

You are Jerry, a young prince who's brother was jealous of your relationship with a cute girl so he had a witch transform you into a gelatinous glob/jellybean. As Jerry the Jellybean you must roll along, stick to walls, and goo your way around the kingdom to do defeat the evil witch, break the curse and return to your former humanity.  Pretty simple right? What hidden hardships or secret gems does the game hold? Well...it doesn't really.

Gameplay and Control:

You roll along from one side of the screen to the exit on the other on the first stage, then the second stage you get a boss fight. It's simple, it's quick, and it's cute. The animations are smooth and simple. And there are no real challenges for an advanced gamer, but for kids some of the jumps and enemies could prove to be just the right level of challenge. For a Super Nintendo game the overall control feels solid and satisfying, even if it is a bit on the simple side. I didn't look at the instructions for the controls, but picked up on them within a few seconds. The system of collecting little red balls as weapons to lob at enemies and the sticking to walls felt easy enough to do, and there's a bit of tangible satisfaction to be had from making a hop and sticking to a ceiling or wall.

Graphics and Style:

Cute and cuddle is the name of the game here with fun little mice, grimacing little flames, and goofy little rocks with legs all done in bright colors. Even the boss character designs have soft, rounded edges and an overall pastel palette. Nothing really feels too 3D-ish in the game, and not much really pops here. In fact, with a slight graphics downgrade Smartball would probably play well on the NES with occasional slow-down. Aesthetically speaking, it makes me think of a kids anime, which works in its favor considering the target audience.

Music and Sound:

Not to much worth noting on either the sound design or the soundtrack for Smartball. Not that it was terrible or anything, just unmemorable. Everyone on the planet could probably identify the sound of Mario jumping or grabbing an invincibility star, but I can't recall the sound of Jerry the Jellybean hopping or lobbing the little red balls. Not that this is really a criticism mind you, just that I couldn't pick out the sounds of the game in a crowd if you pointed them out to me.  Same goes for the soundtrack. Color me unimpressed. It gets the job done, is cute, but ultimately forgettable. It could just be me though. Here's a link to the soundtrack in full, see what you think:

Memories, New Thoughts, and Overall Score:

Sometimes the nostalgia just isn't there enough for you to go back on your own. Sometimes you remember playing a game, vaguely liking it, and trying it again as an adult only to be let down. While I wasn't totally let down by Smartball, I was chagrined to discover there really wasn't a challenge there. In fact, given that I breezed through a chunk while reviewing, I think that the only challenge would be a speed run. However, the game is still worth owning for it's simple charms and I think when my kids get older, this would be a good starter game for them. As a kids' game, it has all the charms and color I would want, and yet it is free of the normal tropes that seem to plague kids game of annoying voices and "'rude-tude" characters. The controls work well, and in a time when games directed at kids seemed to have broken, or near unplayable controls, it was and still is a gem for that reason alone. I would have ranked this only as average, but the mere fact that it's a playable and still vaguely satisfying platformer puts it above many other games of this nature on the system.

Sound and Music: 7/10

Graphics and Design: 7/10

Control and Gameplay: 7/10

Friday Night Rentals: DinoCity

Oh no! Timmy and Jaimie have found themselves sucked into a giant TV screen after going into their dad's science lab and mucking about! Now they find themselves in an alternate universe full of anthropomorphic dinosaurs and gangs of cavemen and women! The only way back is to find a device stolen by the ubiquitous "Mr. Big," but They'll have help via Rex and Top. Two dinosaurs who've agreed to let the kids ride them like horses on their quest to return home. Is it goofy schlock or gamer goodness?  Well, here's my thoughts on DinoCity by Irem for this week's Friday Night Rentals:





Graphics and Style:

As you might expect from a game with walking, talking, teenager-sized dinosaurs, you're in for an array of bright colors and cute character design. The overall athstetics fit the game well while never getting too cutesy. Given this was from the early 90's, it would have been far too easy for the art team on this to mimic the infamous Barney the Dinosaur when it came to overall look. The graphics are clean, with nice rounded features on the characters, and you never quite get that almost cheap-looking vibe which could easily come from a game like this.  I think this helps the replay factor in that the character design doesn't feel bland. I found one of the traps/obstacles which alternated fire and ice to be particularly clever both in design, and in coloring.


Music and Sound Design:

I don't have too much to say on the whole from of the DinoCity sound design as the effects seem fairly stock. For a minute they reminded me of sounds from Data East's own dino and caveman themed game, Joe and Mac. I feel like they could have done more here, especially given the soundtrack.

Hiroshi Kimura did a fantastic job composing the music for Dino City. It has a cheerful, pleasant quality that makes it worth revisiting. With a mixture of congo drum-style synthesized drums and peppy beats, it never feels sappy or redundant like one might expect from a game featuring dinosaurs and kids running around trying to beat bad guys. I think reason it holds up as something I personally could listen to while not play the game, is that you don't get the feeling the developers cheapened out with a simple, repetitious track one might expect from a game which seems kid-friendly and kid geared. Both SNES and NES systems are littered with kids games whose soundtracks are cloyingly sweet. have a listen and see what you think, won't you? If after listening you think you might want a rip of it, there's a sound test option, which is pretty darned nice.

Complete DinoCity Soundtrack

Gameplay and Control:

For such a cutesy art style, game premise, and basic controls; the game can fool you into thinking it's a walk in the park. However, with tricky jumps, disappearing platforms that feel like something from Mega Man, and enemies that always seem to have your number--the game actually provides a bit of a challenge. Given you have a limited number of continues and only three hit points, it's tempting to simply goof around for a bit with the game and put it down after a few minutes. Yet the controls help draw you in. One thing that I didn't like in the day and don't like now is that you can't go back once you've scrolled forward. Even Super Mario Bros. had this issue solved on the NES eventually, why can't I go back in this game? I know there isn't much to see, but it would have helped with the jumps.

As I mentioned before, the controls are simple. You jump, you fire (or punch depending on what character you choose), and you can dismount the dino you ride in order to solve minor jumping puzzles. Through all this, the controls feel fair. Replaying it for the review, I never really found myself thinking that the movement was stiff, or an that ill-timed jumped was anything but my own fault. Was it aggravating to miss a ledge and not only not get to a bonus level, but die in the attempt? Sure thing it was! But after a few tries I managed to get the timing right. I think it stands to a game's credit when I feel like I was the one goofed up on something and not the developers.

Memories and New Thoughts:

Renting a game like this left me with an odd mix of frustration and interest. I wanted to keep playing so that I could beat the game because it seemed like it should have been something I could beat in a weekend. After all, the characters were cutesy dinosaurs with humans riding on them. Why couldn't I beat it? Why did we pick it up when the video store decided to sell it off to make room for other games? Why was I fooled into thinking I could beat it?

Did I mention the dinosaurs?

When I put this game in for the review, there were a number of things that I had forgotten, such as the inability of your character to go back, which I realized were part of it. That, and when you play it, the lack of continues and only three hit points piles on the difficulty. I did a bit of poking around and come to find that the game originally had a difficulty setting of Easy or Hard mode when it was developed in Japan. Well, I guess the easy setting didn't make it through customs because the default mode for us Americans was hard as nails.

Not that I'm bitter years later, just it leaves me wondering if we wouldn't have bought it if the game had continues as it is likely it would have been one of those games I could have beaten in a weekend. The funny thing is though, I recall renting other games that were as hard or harder over and over again until we did beat them. I don't remember the motivation for making this one an exception save maybe that it was yet another game that my mom and I enjoyed trading off taking turns on. Sometimes when it comes to gaming though, something like that is all it takes.

Midweek Music Box: Castlevania Soundtrack Vinyl Review

So here we are in 2017 and the blog is back! With a new year comes many things, and I'll do my best to explain the long absence and what to expect going forward in another post for now, it's time to dive right in with a little review of the fairly recent LP pressing of the soundtrack for arguably Konami's best work (at least in the mid 80's to 90's), Castlevania

So for a quick review, here's what the front, inside, and back looks like:

Pretty spiffy if I do say so.

Wait, did I say spiffy? It's incredible! It's almost worth the price of admission just for the artwork. Heck. I'm thinking of grabbing a frame to display this bad boy when I'm not listening to it.

Pros:

While I do own several greatest hits albums for my favorite musicians, they aren't always what you are in the mood for, and when you listen to them all in one go it can feel a bit disjointed as you aren't getting the one tone/story that the artist originally intended. Thankfully, this LP by Mondo contains the goodness made by Kinuyo Yamashita and  Satoe Terashima and doesn't confuse it with other installments in the Castlevania series. You get a crisp sound, great music, and the vinyl goodness you are looking for. One of the hallmarks of great NES and SNES games was that not only did each track for each level sound different from the last, but each one felt like you were truly building up to something epic. Soundtracks like the original Castlevania throw you into the feel of the game so much, you'll want to fire up a NES and play for hours on end. In its own odd way, the experience of listening to the game's soundtrack on an LP makes it feel like it has a richer quality. 

Anywho, I could just have the rest of this Midweek Music Box be one long gushing session over the various tunes, soundbytes, and even the little ditty that plays when you get knocked back into a pit for the hundredth time by a Medusa head. 

For those who haven't heard the soundtrack ever (where have you been?) or those just looking for a quick fix, here's the soundtrack in total:

Sounds great don't it?

Okay, that said, let's talk about some of the issues I do have with the vinyl. (Not the soundtrack itself, here I'm just talking about Mondo's cut of the soundtrack.)

Cons:

"Always leave them wanting more."

Likely you've heard this quote associated magicians, musicians, and circus acts. Well, you can easily apply that saying to the Castlevania vinyl, but it goes beyond just wanting more. The overall album is just far too short. When it comes to the soundtrack of a beloved classic NES game like the original Castlevania, I have my expectations fairly high. Perhaps they were too high. I get it. When it comes to older games, the soundtrack tends to not only loop, but loop after anywhere from 20 to 30 seconds tops. However, this doesn't mean I would mind more than a two to a two-and-a-half minute loop of certain selections.  Certainly this wouldn't work for the intro music as you go up to the castle or look at the map. But it would definitely work for individual level music. As it is, the record itself is slightly smaller than a regular LP and has an abundance of unused space which frankly baffles me. It really seems like they could have had longer tracks, or maybe even a reimagining or two thrown in for fun. 

Summary: While I'm okay with the entry price of $25 plus shipping, I think if the cost were much higher I might have been more hesitant to pick this album up. I like the music, in fact, I love it. Yet when you get something like this and are disappointed in the length of the album, you need a saving grace to help convince you that you've made the right choice in picking it up. With Mondo's release they offer one of the sweetest covers and some of the coolest looking LP art I've gotten to date. I wasn't exaggerating earlier when I said I would love to get some special frame to put this in. Maybe it's just my love of Castlevania and any and all related artwork carrying this one over the finish line for me. Still, there's something to be said for the feeling you get placing needle to record and hearing not the latest Metallic album or some classic from the past, but some 8-bit goodness.  Pick it up if you have the chance, if for no other reason then for some cool shelf candy.