No screenshots because I’m playing all of these on a GBA…Create the screenshot in your mind.
R-Type II opens with a miniature play: microscopic figures hurry down elevators and up ladders to outfit the ship for its mission. When I blast off, I’m greeted by the usual waves of enemies that I found in Gradius and R-Type, but everything gets harder once I enter the structure. Enemies burst from the ground faster than I can anticipate. I’m not used to memorizing this much when I play R-Type. After seven minutes, I break through the first stage and the follow up is quite impressive. The second stage is bisected horizontally with space above and liquid below. The ship moves slowly through the liquid; it’s not built for this. Further on, waterfalls push down on my ship and turn an entrance into the structure’s many hatchways into a harrowing feat of constant adjustment.
WWF 2 Superstars had me mashing buttons all over the place, trying to figure out moves. It’s a pretty weak wrestling game because grappling is such a small part of it. It feels like it’s mostly about slaps and kicks. Occasionally the opponent will run against the ropes, but I was able to smack him in the face every time. I was playing as Macho Man Randy Savage. After brutalizing my enemy for awhile, he turned the tables and I was unjustifiably in a position I’d rather not be in.
How many more lands are there for Mario to find? What is the geography of his world? The second Mario Land is, at once, more eclectic and coherent than the last. Each zone has a particular sense of place. I got swallowed by an animal and had to jump through its guts. The inside was filled with materials of varying viscosity. I could jump from saliva and into gelatinous tissue, each having a different pull on me. Mario feels off, but not bad. He is not the Mario of the Famicom or the first Land. He is the Mario from World made slow, yet gifted with extra muscular quads. He can wear two hats and looks at the land with bright astonishment.