Rhindle The Red

So, how about the busty queen of the third person adventure game?

Really? How?

Fixed.

She's Ms. Pac-Man, not Miss Pac-Man. "Ms." is acceptable for married or unmarried women. But she has been known as Mrs. Pac-Man, at least in the pinball game starring the two.

Again, just the core games. No "Worlds" or "Lands", not even the bizarre Pac-Man 2. We're sticking to the arcade maze games here, folks.

Yes, but not one of the core titles. It's not a knock on XD, it just isn't. Castlevania is not an RPG by any stretch and RPGs are about as "old school" as you can get. Early games tended towards RPGs because action was too difficult to create. RPGs have been popular since the days of the original Ultima (1980). There are a lot of people who don't like RPGs, but those that do tend to like Pokemon if they give it a try. The different colors reperesent the different iterations of the game, like Final Fantasy I,II,III... Within those iterations are the associated game (Red/Blue/Yellow, Gold/Silver/Crystal) which follow the same basic plot, but differe in specifics, such as which Pokemon you can catch throughout the game. Well, that pretty much sums up any standard RPG (walk around, talk to people, gain powers/weapons/spells/Pokemon, repeat). Do you like any RPGs?

I think as long as they are being honest and they gave the game a try, saying they don't like it without finishing it is perfectly fine. Pokemon is a very specific type of game and you can tell pretty quickly if you're going to like it or not. What I have found is that while a lot of people haven't tried it, most that do end up liking it. I know that I tried it on a whim (on an emulator, actually) and was amazed how quickly I got sucked into the game. I had to go out and buy one almost immediately. I've gotten every one of the core games (excepting Emerald) since then. I even have the Japanese imports of Red, Silver and Crystal and I also have Pokémon Rojas and Pokémon Azul (Red and Blue in Spanish).

Just for everyone's information, I only included the titles I did because they are considered the core titles. If I expanded it, where do you draw the line? I know a lot of people like XD, but it isn't a proper Pokemon title, but part of the "Stadium"/"Colliseum" subseries. Pokemon Ranger is arguably closer, but I didn't count that, either. And I'll chime in and say that if you like RPGs and you've never played a Pokemon game, you're missing out. I voted Red/Blue/Yellow, btw, because of Yellow and the Pikachu that follows you around. Something I'm surprised they haven't repeated.

!!!

In keeping with the alternating classic/modern series, this week, we look at Pokémon. Reviled by some, loved by others, it sells like crazy to this day. I'm just gonna focus this on the standard RPGs, and none of the spinoffs, like Pokémon Snap (which is great, btw) or Pokémon Dash (which isn't).

Okay, back to Atari-specific stuff. What about Tempest? Which is your favorite?

Only that 5 is targeted for the PS3 and XBOX360, with the Wii getting an original RE game for itself.

Another of my personal favorites, the Resident Evil series (Biohazard in Japan) is one of the most enduring series in video games. Which is your favorite?

And Pitfall: The Lost Expedition has both Pitfall! and Pitfall II, so it's the winner!

Okay, here's the second of the polls based around game series. This time, one that holds a special place in the hearts of Atari gamers: "Pitfall".

For the record, I voted OoT. It was the one that made me the Zelda fan I am today. In fact, Zelda titles are the only ones I regularly buy as soon as they come out, something I almost never do. (I'm too damned cheap!) And that's down to OoT. After that, it's probably Twilight Princess (for its scope and perfect balance), Majora's Mask (for its radically different play mechanics), Wind Waker (for its great story) and then Minish Cap (for it remarkable depth for a portable game). Unlike so many others, it's the 2D Zeldas that I can't get into as much as the 3D ones. Minish is the only one I've managed to finish, although I own them all (plus Japanese Majora's Mask and Four Swords). I should also point out that I'm playing Twilight Princess on my GameCube. It'll be fun playing it all over again when I get a Wii. Given the classic gaming nature of AtariAge, I'm not surprised that the original game is winning. But I'm surprised there are no votes at all for the innovative Majora's Mask. Oh, and I added the systems to the poll.

First of all: And, secondly, there were (lordy) three CD-I games: Link: Faces of Evil, Zelda: Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure. I'd rather include the LCD games. The Game & Watch one is even available for the Game Boy Advance as an unlockable in Game & Watch Gallery 4, so could be considered viable. *Choke* *Gag* *Spit-take across the room* What? The concept never even crossed my mind.

So, in my free time I've been doing practically nothing but play The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. There's been a lot of talk about it being the best in the series, so I thought I'd run a poll as to which was people's favorites. "But," I thought, "that doesn't have much to do with Atari." So I decided to do a whole series of "favorite entry" polls about all sorts of game series for all sorts of systems. But I'm starting with Zelda. I'm only including the true-blue games in the series, not the LCD or (heaven forbid) the CD-I games and each title gets only one entry regardless of variant editions (BS-Zelda, Link's Awakening DX, Master Quest). Remember, this is supposed to be your *favorite*, not necessarily the best. Which is the one you think most fondly of, or are most likely to want to replay year after year?

Thanks! I may rework the Site into a book next year.

I honestly forgot to post this week and I can't believe I'll remember next week, either. So, enjoy the holidays and I'll see you back here in January!

It's the classic system, but when did you first give it a try? Was it something you grew up with, or did it come to you later in life?

Well, some of those just don't work for me and few I've actually already done (or something close), but there are a few winners in there as well. Thanks. Actually, as alluded to earlier, it already came to this back in August of 2005.

I'd sure like to. It's getting harder and harder to think of new ones, though.

Is it sad that I myself have to answer "Most of the time"? (Even not counting that "favorite poll" poll for modesty's sake.)

So, come here often? NOTE: For clarification, "respond" would mean either voting, replying, or both.