My Top 10 : Most Annoying Video Game Characters

10)

      Kaepora Gaebora - The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time

Kaepora Gaebora... The owl from Ocarina of Time and other 'Zelda' games. Now its not the fact that this annoying bird decides to suddenly interrupt you on your travels, nor is it his annoying music, no its the information that he gives you. 

For some reason (most likely to annoy people who sit there skipping through the dialogue) at the end of his 'wisdom' he asks "Would you like to hear that again" but they put options in the wrong order, 'yes' is first, then 'no' so when you are trying to skip through his dialogue you almost always end up selecting the option to hear it again. Sometimes he'll even ask "did you get that?" and the options will be reversed again so 'no' will then be the first option so you end up hearing it all again!

9)

Skyrim Guard - The Elder Scrolls : Skyrim

The first mention of guards on this list is the town guard from TES V: Skyrim. I felt that this guard deserved a place in the top 10 by himself and its all down to that one little line of dialogue - "I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee". That one line soon took the internet by storm, suddenly there was hundreds of memes, spoof videos and photos of people who had tattoos of arrows on their knees, at first it was funny, and some great pictures came out of it, but then it became the new 'the cake is a lie' meme and was overused and eventually hated by everyone.

8)

Oddjob - Goldeneye 007

Anyone who has played Goldeneye 007 will instantly know why Oddjob is here.  So your sitting there with 3 of your best friends, you load up Goldeneye, pick your map and weapons and then you get to the character selection screen, then either one of two situations usually play out, either everyone rushes to pick Oddjob and once someone has got to him first everyone sighs and tells them they are a cheat or there's the one person who always goes for Oddjob and everyone moans and groans and tells them they are a cheat when they pick him.

Oddjob is considered such a cheat due to the fact that he is much shorter than the other characters, making it difficult for anyone else (especially Jaws) to shoot him, resulting in the cheat player running around shooting everyones knee caps out. 

Having recently played the PS3 re-release of Goldeneye 007 you can be sure that after all these years Oddjob is always the hot topic of discussion and name calling.

7)

Natalya - Goldeneye 007

Next on the list is another entry from Goldeneye 007, this time it is from the single player storyline. Natalya... Yeah, that woman..

You are given the pleasure of escorting this lovely lady through Bunker 2 and what does she do in return for you trying to save her life? She runs into every bullet she can find, seriously, like a moth to a flame. Well I say 'run' she actually walks very very slowly, so even if you leave her in her cell and you run off to kill all the guards first you still have to stop and wait for her every 5 seconds whilst she wanders around aimlessly wondering where all the guys with all their shiny bullets have gone, to make things more annoying she then runs much faster than you in the cut scene at the end leaving you behind while she saves herself. 

6)

Toad - Super Mario Bros

"Thankyou Mario! But our princess is in another castle" - This is Toad's famous line from Super Mario Bros. 

Picture the scene, you've fought your way through your first castle, you've been burnt by lava, had rotating fire sticks scorch your coin purse as you jump over them and you've had some ugly old dinosaur at the end spit fire at you, but you did it, you step up to get the well earned kiss from the princess you've just saved but wait, no princess? Just a little round headed git telling you you're in the wrong bloody castle! What the hell was that ugly-saur spitting fire at you for if there was no princess in there to save? And that takes me onto the next character...

5)

Princess Peach - The entire 'Mario Bros' series 

...Yes that's right, Princess Peach. You'd think after being kidnapped for the countless times that she has she'd have tightened security by now, unless of course she ... likes being kidnapped? What could be better than have 2 guys fight over you, risking life and limb to give you all the attention you want. We've all seen the 'behind the scenes' pictures of Peach and Bowser laughing at Mario looking in the wrong castles while they have a bit of fun waiting for him... what a manipulative bitch... 

4)

Suicider Zombies - Dead Island

I'm sure there are far more annoying zombies later on in dead island but just recently I came across the Suicider zombie. Its very distinct with its huge pulsating boils and its creepy "help me" cries. After its first appearance in the quest 'black hawk down' they start to appear everywhere in the most awkward of places. Two seconds after you come in contact with them they explode and kill you instantly if you are too close. Two seconds is a very short time if you turn a corner to find one standing in your way or you open a door and its standing right infront of you.

3)

Baby Mario - Super Mario Land 2 : Yoshi's Island

What were they thinking when they made this game, really? Lets make this cute little baby Mario and put Yoshi in charge of him, but you know what, if Yoshi drops him lets protect baby Mario in a bubble where he can sit there and cry....and cry some more...wailing...screaming...over and over until you pick him up again...and then drop him again 5 seconds later..

2)

Navi - The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time

Hey! Listen! Hey! Hey! Hey! Look! Hey! Listen! 
Yes OK I get that you want me to look at that rock and yes I know you want to tell me something I already know but if I didn't respond to you the first hundred times I'm not going to now you annoying floating fuzzball.

1)

Dog - Duck Hunt

If you grew up playing Duck Hunt you'll understand why I've put the dog at number 1 ...You could shoot down a string of ducks with awesome skill  (without cheating by placing the gun against the screen) but you miss one little duck and that bastard would pop up out of the grass and laugh at you, a real annoying little snigger, the kind of laugh that gives you the urge to take your light gun and violently shoot at that git until there's dog brain all over the field. If there was one character that I had to choose from this list to put in the next Smash Bros game it would have to be this guy.

My Top 5 : Hoaxes, Myths and Urban Legends : Part 1

Some of the best games in the past 20 years have included many hoaxes, myths and urban legends, the earliest ones usually coming from VG magazines (especially EGM - Electronic Gaming Monthly) for April fools jokes, these myths would spread like wildfire around the playground and someone's cousin always knew how to do it. These rumours became more believable when people started talking about them on the internet and people creating mods to trick people into spending hours trying to find them for themselves. 

5 - Goldeneye 007 - The secret base

At the end of the first level (known as Dam) if you look across the water on the opposite side to where you jump from using a sniper rifle you can see a mysterious island with a gun and a tower on its own, can you get there through some underground tunnel connected to the dam? No.Maybe you missed something in the level, so you go back again and search every possible door. Still nothing. But your friend says they have been there, how? 

The island was originally there in the beta of the game as another part to the mission and you used a boat to get there but it was cut from the final version of the game. The island is only accessible through the use of the Game shark code 'No Clipping' which allows you to walk across the water and explore the island although there is nothing you can actually do there.

4 - The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time - Obtaining the Triforce

Most Legend of Zelda games allowed you to get the Triforce at some point in the game along with saving Zelda and the world, in Ocarina of Time it was different though, while in a early trailer for the game it showed Link with the Triforce it was actually taken out in the final game, but this didn't stop people trying to find it still, believing it was there because they saw it in a trailer.

Many rumours appeared for obtaining the Triforce, sadly none of these actually worked and were mostly time consuming and frustrating, some were so complex that people would do them over and over just in case they did one bit wrong, some of those rumours were :

• Throw a bomb into the centre of the lava pit before Ganon's castle to access a secret passage to the Sky Temple.
• Enter your name at the start of the game as 'Triforce' and beat Ganon with a perfect game (Collect all collectables, plant every bean ect, and don't die at any point, if you die you will have to restart the game)
• Stand in the centre of Hyrule Field and place 2 bombs, then go to the top of Death Mountain into the cave and go as far right as you can wearing the red tunic and play Zelda's Lullaby, then use the owl to take to to the village, go into Dampé's house and his diary will say 'Gone Fishing', go to the lake catch 2 large fish, run into Castle Town and go to the courtyard at the castle, if done correctly the Triforce will appear.

3 - Super Mario 64 - Unlock Luigi

Once word got out about players being able to find Yoshi on top of the castle after collecting all 120 stars rumours started appearing about finding Luigi in the game. The statue pictured above caused the most part of this as players interpreted the scrawled writing on the plaque as "L is real 2401" which had to mean Luigi is real... As for the 2401 people believed this was the amount of coins that could be found in the game, many people started trying to collect every coin and other people thought as there was a star on the statue that there might be 121 stars to collect and this secret star was the key to unlocking Lugig but this of course would have been a waste of time as Luigi never was in the game. Luigi did however appear in the DS remake of SM64 along with Mario, Yoshi and Wario.

2 -Tomb Raider - Nude Lara

When Tomb Raider was released with Lara Croft as the main character in her skimpy outfit, pictures started to circulate on the internet of her with no clothes on, starting the rumour that there was a 'nude code' for Lara, because adventurers don't need clothes....right? If that's the case then where is our Nathan Drake nude code! 
Despite all the rumours of a cheat code there wasn't one in the game but some people did come up with a PC patch called 'Nude Raider' showing off her perky pixels!

1 - Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas - Bigfoot

I have never seen so many arguments over a video game myth like I have seen with the Bigfoot myth, whilst there is a PC mod that puts Bigfoot into the game he is not in the main game. It is these PC mods where people have got the 'photographic evidence' and have told people it is real. Many people believe that Bigfoot roams the forest in Back O' Beyond at night and can only be seen at 00:00 if its foggy, others say if you drive to Mt.Chilliad in a blue pick up truck you will find Bigfoot at the top of the mountain, some theories are even more outrageous and consist of many steps that have to be done in a correct order that are pointless such as having to get your hair cut a certain way before finding a camera and taking a picture of a hooker and then using a BMX to ride around a building 3 times before heading to the middle of the forest and completing more silly steps to find Bigfoot. 

My Top 5 : Scary Moments From Non-Scary Games

Following on from 'My Top 5 : Scariest Moments From Scary Games' I thought it would be interesting to look at the scariest moments from non-horror games...




5)

Skyrim - Giant Frostbite Spiders

First on the list are the Giant Frostbite Spiders found in caves around the land of Skyrim. These nasty spiders can be brutal if you are planning on attacking them up close. They'll bite, scratch and spit poisonous webs at you, but its not their attack that is the scary part, (unless you are scared of spiders) it's the part where these gigantic monsters hide on the ceiling and fall down right in front of you quicker than you can say ohshitohshitohshit.

4)

Sonic the Hedgehog - Drowning in Labyrinth

When it comes to video game levels there's nothing worse than a water level and Sonic water levels really are the worst. The most terrifying thing about them though is the panic caused by the music as its speeds up becoming faster and faster as Sonic's life draws nearer and nearer to the end.

3)

The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time - ReDeads

ReDeads are terrifying zombies that have a high pitched scream that paralyses Link if he gets to close to them. Paralysing Link makes it easier for the ReDead to then climb on him and bite his head and neck, causing a great deal of damage if you can't shake them off. ReDeads are blind though so you can sneak past them or you can use the Sun's Song on the ocarina to freeze the ReDeads and make it safely past.

The worst thing about their attack which makes them so frightening is when you hear their scream and it freezes Link, you know you can't move and you are helpless to stop these blood thirsty zombies from chomping on your brains. 

2)

Heavy Rain - The Burglary Scene  

During a play-through of Heavy Rain the choices you make greatly affect the way the story plays out, there are a few moments in this game that are intense but none are quite as scary as the scene where Madison is attacked by burglars in her own apartment. From the flash of a figure running past in the background to a full on fight with the masked men, the battle intensifies as Madison is overpowered as she struggles to escape and she is eventually held down by the men, you know in the back of your mind that she will be OK because she is a main character but then all of a sudden we see her throat being slit, then almost immediately we cut to her waking up on her sofa, it was just a dream but it was terrifyingly real...



1)

Super Mario 64 - The Possessed Piano

The scariest moment that I will never forget has to be from the first time I played Super Mario 64. Whilst looking for the eight red coins in the haunted mansion you come across this room (pictured above) which stores this piano and nothing else. As you walk over to the piano to pick up the red coin it looks like a perfectly normal piano, but as you get closer to it it suddenly springs to life and starts attacking you, its gigantic teeth chomping down making the sound of piano keys being clumsily smashed and it chases you around the room trying to protect the red coin. If you think you are brave enough to collect this red coin then make sure you dodge the pianos attack otherwise you might find yourself a bit E-flat....

My Top 5 : Scary Moments From Scary Games

I have been a fan of the horror genre right from the first time I played Silent Hill back in 2000 at the tender age of 12. Just recently I have been looking for a decent horror game to play as the last one I played was The Suffering : Ties That Bind. So while I look for the next best horror game to play on my PS3 I thought I would have a look back at the games that gave me the scariest moments. 




5)

The Suffering - The hanging Nooseman

The hanging Nooseman in The Suffering has to be, for me, the scariest part of the game. The first time one of these half-bodied hanging creatures fell from the ceiling onto me and tried to choke me to death made me fear walking any corridor that was poorly lit (so all of them). These creatures represent the five correctional officers who were hung and skinned by outraged inmates when other inmates working in a quarry accident were left to die by the officers. 




4)

Silent Hill 2 - The Bubble-head Nurses

My first, in fact every encounter with these nurses always fills me with dread as they wobble and shuffle towards me swinging at me with their rusty pipes. While better looking than Puppet Nurses in the first Silent Hill these nurses are far deadlier with faster movement and better weapons. 




3)

Atmosfear - The Gatekeeper

OK, so its a video board game rather than a console video game but The Gatekeeper from Atmosfear still creeps me out to this day. Its a fantastic game that was first released on VHS and then re-released a couple of years ago on DVD. As the timer counts down The Gatekeeper grows older, uglier and scarier and while some of his lines are quite comical other little speeches he makes are very dark. The line that has stuck with me the most since the first time I heard it was "You are banished... to the black hole".
A lot of the screen time is a blank screen with the timer displayed but The Gatekeeper will suddenly appear making a loud entrance shouting at you, usually calling you a filthy maggot and it is these sudden outbursts that are enough to make anyone jump out of their skin. 




2)

Clock Tower 3 - Sledgehammer

Clock Tower 3 is one of those games that I actually found myself not completing, partly because it could be quite frustrating in some places but mostly because it was just too damn scary. You take on the role of young Alyssa, 14 years old, frightened and looking to find out what has happened to her mother after she receives a mysterious letter from her telling her to hide until her 15th birthday. The first threat that you encounter is the subordinate known as Sledgehammer. He chases Alyssa trying to smash her skull to pieces just like he did to 12 year old May - a gruesome murder that we flashback and witness. Playing as Alyssa we are not armed with any weapons other than holy water, the only other means of survival is to run and hide. Alyssa has a panic meter, if this panic meter fills up Alyssa becomes incredibly hard to control, falling all over the place and if you happen to be in a hiding spot while panicked she will whimper or scream alerting her presence to these subordinates. 
It is during this time of panic when you are trying to escape that maniac that I found most frightening in this game, when you are hiding in a closet looking through the small gaps in the door and realising that he has spotted you and your last image is of a giant sledgehammer coming crashing down onto you.




1)

Silent Hill - The Radio

In at number one is the best part of Silent Hill that really made me jump every time I played it. After exploring the café at the start of the game and collecting everything that you may find useful you are about to leave when a static noise starts screeching from the red radio sitting on the desk. You turn to approach it and a window smashes behind you at the far end of the café, as you turn back and start to examine it another window smashes right next to where you are standing and this strange, large, winged pink beast comes flying through the window and attacks you. You then find out that the radio emits a static screech every time a creature is coming towards you. 
The thick fog outside in the town of Silent Hill makes it incredibly difficult to know when these creatures are going to jump out and attack and when you realise that this radio is going to help you because you will be alerted of their presence you think it will all be OK and you'll be ready for them but when that radio starts sounding off and you don't know which direction the attack will come from you start to panic and before you know it there is a demon dog on top of you trying to rip your face off and that has to be my scariest moment ever in any video game. 

Bethesda teases new Skyrim DLC

Many Skyrim fans have been eagerly waiting for Bethesda to announce the new DLC today, eventually the BethBlog was updated with a teaser picture and a tag line 'coming this summer'

More details will be announced at E3.

Disney's Power of Illusion

For me, Disney's 'illusion' series is one of my favourite 'series' of games, new generations of consoles with updated graphics will come and go and look terrible after a couple of years but the illusion games will always look as great as they did when they were first released.

The illusion series started with Castle of Illusion. It was released in 1990 and starred Mickey Mouse. The aim of the game was to control Mickey through a number of levels to save Minnie Mouse who was kidnapped by the evil witch Mizrabel. 
Mickey has to work his way through the castle defeating enemies with items he picks up and then has to collect all seven gems from the bosses in order to build the rainbow bridge to the castles tower for the final showdown against the evil witch who kidnapped Minnie to steal her youth. 


When you finally face Mizrabel she is in her youthful form and  resembles the evil queen from Snow White - Queen Grimhilde.

Next in the illusion series is Land of Illusion which was released in 1992. This game starts with Mickey Mouse falling asleep with a book of fairy tales in his lap. When he wakes up he finds himself in a strange fairy tale land. He is quickly greeted by Daisy Duck who needs his help to save their once happy village which is now full of sadness after theevil phantom stole the magic crystal. 

The evil phantom who has stolen the the magic crystal turns out to be the Horned King from the Disney film The Black Cauldron. 

The third illusion game to be released was my favourite in the series - World of Illusion. Also released in 1992, this game not only starred Mickey Mouse but also starred Donald Duck. The extra character meant that you could choose a character to play as and it was also possible to now have two players playing co-operatively using each others strengths to move through the levels. 
The game starts with Mickey and Donald practising their magic act when something goes wrong and they are vanished into a magical world where they must survive a vast amount of levels to make it back home.
Mickey and Donald must learn new magic tricks after defeating the level bosses to be able to make it through the next level, such as they learn how to use a magic carpet so they can fly across level 2 which is where they learn how to make magic bubbles to help them breath underwater.

The last illusion game that was released in the 90's was Legend of Illusion which was released in 1995. This game went back to its original format of just starring Mickey Mouse, this time Mickey is working as a janitor who must take the place of cowardly King Pete as only the king can save everyone from the cloud of darkness. There is a curse that is killing the Tree of Life and it is up to Mickey to save it, once King Pete learns that if Mickey saves everyone he will become the king forever King Pete plots to stop Mickey and ends up being the final boss of the game. 












It was recently announced that a new game for the Nintendo 3DS will be arriving late 2012 called Epic Mickey : Power of Illusion. This game is being released alongside Epic Mickey 2 on the Wii. Power of Illusion is said to have been made in tribute to the original illusion games. 

Once again the evil witch Mizrabel and her castle of illusion feature, herself and her castle have been transported to the wasteland by the wizard Yen Sid. Mickey is contacted by Oswald and he says that Minnie has been spotted in the castle. Mickey sets off to save Minnie and the other characters trapped in the castle of illusion. 

The game mixes the game mechanics of the original games and the newer Wii games Epic Mickey / Epic Mickey 2. Players will be able to use the 3DS' touch screen to use Mickeys magic paintbrush, how well you use the brush determines how well the items work in game. For example if you trace a cannon perfectly the cannon will only harm enemies but if you are not careful with your drawing it could possibly harm Mickey aswell as his enemies.

Childhood gaming memories : Part 3

My Top 10 : Lesser Known games from my childhood

Whilst looking through the Wii Virtual Console store today a few games appeared that I remembered playing when I was younger such as Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros 3 and Dynamite Headdy just to name a few and it was Dynamite Headdy that got me thinking about some of the games that I used to play that aren't as popular as the Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog or Mario Bros games, so here are my top 10 lesser known games from my childhood.

10) Krusty's Super Fun house

Krusty's Super Fun House was released in 1992 for SNES and Sega Mega Drive and is the first of my Simpsons related games on this list. The aim of this game is while playing as Krusty the Klown to use objects to lead the rats from the beginning of the level in his fun house to the extermination unit overcoming obstacles and puzzles until he is rid of all the rats, this uses the basics of the game Lemmings except you are trying to kill the rodents, not save them. A selection of The Simpsons characters pop up at the end of each level using the extermination machines including Bart, Homer and Sideshow Mel. 

9) Twinbee : Rainbow Bell Adventure

At number 9 is a typical side-scrolling adventuring game (released on the SNES in 1994) with the goal of recovering the stolen 'Rainbow Bell' from the evil scientist Dr. Warmon who wants to take over the world. The rainbow bell which shines with all the colours of the rainbow brings peace to the universe - as long as it continues to ring but with the bell gone the princess is mysteriously fading  away so its up to Twinbee, Winbee and Gwinbee to save the day by exploring the bright and colourful lands progressing through the map to defeat the evil scientist and restore peace to the universe once again. With its bright colours and catchy happy music its a joy to play though for all ages.

8) Maniac Mansion

Although initially released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 / Apple ll the version we are looking at today is the 1992 NES version. 

Maniac Mansion is a 'point and click' graphic adventure game which follows the main character - Dave Miller, who has to rescue his girlfriend from the evil mad scientist and his evil mad family. You control Dave and two of his friends, using them to work together through the mansion where everything in your surroundings can be picked up or used and you have to work out how to get his girlfriend out of there, there are many ways of playing the game with many humorous ways to die and lots of silly things to do that aren't necessary to the story (such as putting the hamster in the microwave and cooking it). There are six characters to select from to be Dave's friends and each have their own abilities, therefore different characters will play through the game differently, boosting its replay value even further than just playing with everything available.

Even though its a 24 year old game its still a fun game to play today with a silly wacky storyline about brain sucking mad scientists being controlled by a sentient meteor that crashed into their mansion 20 years beforehand and then kidnapping cheerleaders to do strange experiments on.

7) The Aquatic Games : Featuring James Pond

This spin off from the James Pond : Underwater Agent series was released for the Mega Drive and SNES in 1992 and is a brilliant track and field spoof. The game consists of different olympic-themed levels including :

• The 100m splash (running)
• Kipper watching (Volleyball)
• Hope, skip and jump (Triple jump)
• The bouncy castle (trampoline somersaults) 
• Feeding time 
• Shell shooting 
• Tour de grass (cycling)
• Leap frog (100m hurdles)

The games are fun and easy to complete and can become more challenging if you try to go for gold in each game. The addition of 2 /3 /4 players is also a welcome addition for competing against friends. Overall a fun game to pick up and play as there is no real storyline to it, just a fun way to play a sports game.

6) Cool Spot

Cool Spot was originally a mascot for the drink 7-up in the 1980's before being made into a video game character in 1993. The aim of the game was to collect the red spots in the levels within the time limit and release his similar looking 'cool spot' friends at the end of the level. Cool Spot has to avoid enemies and can attack them using soda bubbles. The game is very short with only 10 levels but its very memorable and as a child it felt like it would take forever to complete and it does have some great music and even won 'Best cartridge music of the year 1993'.

5) Dynamite Headdy

This side-scrolling platformer was released in 1994 on the Mega Drive and features Headdy - a puppet with a detachable head who arrives in North Town to find that the evil puppet king Dark Demon is attacking the town, deciding which toys should live and which ones will become his evil minions. As Headdy is captured and sent to the incinerator he escapes and sets off to destroy the evil puppet king. 

Headdy can use various pick-ups to transform his head into different weapons , as his head is detachable he can shoot his head in 8 different directions to attack minions, transformations his head can make include a suction head, metal head and shrinking head and he can use these different strengths throughout the levels. The graphics, music and gameplay are brilliant and this is a game that has even been released on the Wii's virtual console so can be picked up and played again for a new generation. 

4) California Games

California games is still one of my favourite sports games out there after all these years, first released in 1987 then later ported onto other consoles such as the Mega Drive (with much more  updated graphics) it took a stand back from its other games in the series such as Summer Games and Winter Games which were very traditional Olympic sport games. 
California Games has an incredible soundtrack with 6 different games to compete in, rather than the traditional types of games you get ones more likely to be played in California - 

• Half Pipe Skateboarding
• Roller skating
• Surfing
• BMX 
• Footbag
• Frisbee 

Each of these games have their own memorable soundtrack and the challenges were difficult at times but satisfying when completed and so much fun to keep trying again and again, it didn't matter how many times I would trip over something whether it was a banana skin, cans or tires when roller skating it was always funny to see her falling flat on her face on what must be the dirtiest pavement in California.

3) The Simpsons : Bart vs The Space Mutants

Bart vs The Space Mutants has to be one of my all time favourite Simpsons games, released in 1991 it was the first of many Simpsons games to be created. In this side-scrolling adventure you play Bart Simpson and you have to destroy the Space Mutants plans for collecting everything purple to power their machine to take over the world, only Bart can see the aliens and their plans through the use of his X-ray specs. Bart can spray paint purple objects red to stop the aliens taking them and jump on aliens who are disguised as people to get rid of them.

Bart can also use his skateboard and even interact with some of the scenery, such as you can use pay phones to call Moe's Tavern to prank call Moe. 

While being a short game with only five levels of collecting items and a boss level the music is recognisable from the Simpsons world and alot of the characters appear, its simple yet fun, making it the perfect Simpsons arcade game like those seen in The Simpsons TV show.

2) Marvel Land (Talmit's Adventure)

Marvel Land is a bright, colourful side-scrolling platformer that was released in 1989, one of its best features apart from its wacky 'save the princess from the evil mole king' plot is its music, its so bright and cheery and very catchy and it all fits perfectly with each of the four levels.

The levels are so much fun because they differ from the likes of Mario and Sonic , this is set at an amusement park with levels taking place on rollercoasters, in fun houses and at fair grounds. It also includes mini games for the boss fights such as rock, paper, scissors, musical chairs and tug of war, making it far more interesting than the usual 'hit the boss X amount of times until he explodes'. 

This cute mix of colour, fun and adventure is the perfect mixture for a great game and I can remember spending many years playing this game over and over, although released on the Wii's virtual console in Japan in 2009 I still hold hope for a re-release here one day.

1) World of Illusion : Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck

World of illusion was released in 1992 and is one of the games that I can remember playing the most during my childhood. 

The game starts with Mickey and Donald practising for a magic show when something goes horribly wrong and they are sucked into a magical world where they must fight their way through the different themed levels in order to get back home again.

Along their adventure they learn new magic tricks to help them find their way home, such as using a magic carpet, underwater bubbles to swim in, transportation boxes and card control to make bridges and pathways out of cards. 

The game can be played with either character and each have their own strengths, mickey can fit through small gaps while Donald must find a different route, unless you use both characters in the multiplayer mode - then you can work together, Mickey can pull donald through tight gaps and they can both use ropes to help each other up to high places.

The addition on multiplayer was a big game changer for me as it opened up a new experience that I hadn't seen before, coupled with its fantastic music and beautiful level design this game was the perfect game for me for many years and just thinking about it again makes me want to find my old Mega Drive, play it again and relive all the fantastic memories it created all those years ago.