We kick off the very first episode of Retro Wednesday - a weekly show where the crew at The Game Inquirer sit down and take a look at older games that have left a lasting impression whether it be a good one or a bad one. Every week two of the crew members each pick a game to play and discuss.
Ryan is joined on the sofa this week by Carl, Lily and Daniel to check out Ryan’s pick of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! on the Nintendo Gamecube and Daniel’s choice of Crazy Taxi.
Ryan explains his reasons behind replaying Mario Kart: Double Dash!! - “Why did I pick this game for the show? It was a couple of weeks back that the office was abuzz with discussions about their favourite Mario Kart title to date and while we all agreed the original SNES, DS and Nintendo 64 versions were definitely in the running for the crown, it was also discovered that many hadn’t really played Double Dash. For me I have fond memories of Double Dash and while the actual racing part of the game is certainly not without its faults, the battle mode still remains as some of the most fun I’ve had with a kart racer to date.”
He continues, “It’s the three battle mode options that truly show off the Mario Kart goodness we all remember. The standard balloon battle is here and accounted for and unlike recent Mario Kart titles actually features eliminations making for a more tense experience. Bob-omb Blast is absolutely insane! That’s probably the best way to describe it. You gather Bob-ombs tossing them at enemies and hoping you hit four people before they hit you. Like I said, it’s insane. Shine Thief is where I spent most of my time and to this day I can’t quite figure out why Nintendo haven’t featured it in a Mario Kart since. It’s basically a big game of keep-away only with weapons. Check out the video and you’ll see just how tense these matches can get.”
So what about Crazy Taxi? Daniel explains his reason behind bringing the SEGA arcade classic on the show - “It’s about racing fast, smashing cars and getting people around as fast as you can… and Pizza Hut. Many will tell you how awful The Offspring are, but I genuinely like them and having them play over and over during the game only adds to its charm. Crazy Taxi turned the boring profession of being a taxi driver and made it cool. Performing insane leaps, drifting around corners, narrowly missing (or in most cases hitting) passing cars all while listening to “Way Down the Line” playing in the background.”
“Who could forget the licensing? FILA, Pizza Hut, KFC, Levi’s. Back then it was cool seeing these companies in a video game. Now we grown and dread the thought of it. For some reason it just worked for Crazy Taxi.” he added.
So be sure to watch this week’s episode and stay tuned next Wednesday as we’ll take a look at PS1 titles Tombi and Cool Boarders 2.
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