Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Can't Rush Perfection...

Mario is Missing!

Little Miss Dark manages to usurp Super Mario!
How can this be?

Possibly because of an unplanned side-project, the Perfect Dark N64 Blog which quietly debuted last year.
perfectdarkn64.blogspot.com

Much of the content is not to be taken seriously - But many of the cheat codes, unlockables, secrets and walkthru pages have been restored.


STAR CHARTS
" Because The Best   Video Games Came Out Last Century! "


GameSystem
Released
1Perfect DarkN642000
2Super Mario Bros. 3NES1990
3GoldenEye 007 N641997
4Donkey Kong Country 2SNES1995
5Super Mario All-StarsSNES1993

Despite the enduring popularity of Super Mario Bros 3, the NES classic gets bumped down one spot as Agent 007 hides in the basement shadows.





Sunday, February 2, 2025

Re-Blogged Post...

Quick test of the "Blog This!" feature to share a post from another blog...

Just because I think the post is interesting, and have absolutely no additional information on this random 007 tidbit from Casino Royale... (Have also a fan of the guy's blog for a number of years)




Sportscards From The Dollar Store: "That's Italian for Adrienne Barbeau":


AKA Urbano Barberini - MST3Ked movie autograph! He was Cabot from episode #519 Outlaw. It's the movie where they spend the...
Read More [external link]

-buckstorecards






Can't see myself using the "Blog This!" feature very often...
I liked it better when you needed to know HTML to use the web.

The fact that everything is automated with convoluted formatting - Not to mention the fact that there's not so much as a basic image to entice you to follow the link...

(I sound like old time folks who grew up driving a Model T, wishing people with automatic transmission would quit cruising all over the road with their faces buried in Smartphones)

Took twenty minutes to re-format this so it actually flows properly.
Should have just coded it from scratch, but I digress...



Thursday, June 13, 2024

On An All Time High...

The Juggling Act


Managed to put together more than fifty journal entries during the past spring & winter, effectively doubling the number of posts on this blog.

Definitely didn't expect to crank out that many pages (considerably more, considering the unplanned unveilings of the GoldenEye & Perfect Dark blogs).

Wasn't exactly sure when I'd put down the controller this time round...

After finishing Super Mario Bros 3, and completing 18 of 20 GoldenEye missions on 00 Agent (stuck on Jungle, Aztec)
it feels the time is about right. Also surprised myself by making it halfway through Perfect Dark.

Finding myself too busy with other things.
Some fine specimens out there, in the realm of Bass fishing and bikini babes (and not necessarily in that order).

Last summer, enough sand accumulated on the carpets to play beach volleyball in the hallway...







Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Mario Clouds Everything...

Super Mario Bros. 3

"Wars Not Make One Great..."

With Super Mario Bros. 3 maintaining the pole position, James Bond wrestles with the Planet of the Apes.

The Force is also strong with young Skywalker. Keep trying to warn everyone that the kid grows up to be Darth Vader, but no one seems to listen...











STAR CHARTS
Arbitrarily Assigning Replay Value! 


GameSystem
Released
1Super Mario Bros. 3NES1990
2Donkey Kong Country 3SNES1996
3GoldenEye 007 N641997
4Super Mario All-StarsSNES1993
5Star Wars Episode I: RacerN641999


Monday, May 20, 2024

Never Say Never Again...

Going Postal

GoldenEye 007


Dusted off some mail after a decades-long hiatus.

Some people claim to have read every single edition of the Mailbag. (They're obviously lying - No one could ever be that bored)

It seemed appropriate for this milestone. A hundred Posts going far beyond the basics of our favorite games, and exploring off the beaten path.

Just how many letters are floating around?
Comparable to the mailroom on the TITANIC (and some of it nearly as old).

Mailbag #54: Special GoldenEye Edition
http://goldeneye64.blogspot.com/











     ATTN: MI6
      c/o Moneypenny

MAILBAG #54

SPECIAL GOLDENEYE EDITION


Topics include the GoldenEye movie, Citadel and Gamesharking...
Win a used VHS copy of GoldenEye if your letter was published!




Clearing off the Spyderwebs and brushing up on some useless Bond trivia. Some of it obscure and irrelevant - But those who like GoldenEye like it a lot.







Saturday, May 18, 2024

SMB3: Big & Wet...

Unlock The White Mushroom House (World 3-8, World 4-2)

Super Mario Bros. 3

The Watery Island World (World 3) of Super Mario Bros. 3 is the first really challenging area the player encounters... So why should unlocking the Secret White Mushroom House be any different?

Even the official Strategy Guide lists level 3-8 as one of the most difficult stages in the entire game.

Scavenging all of those pesky coins to unlock the White Mushroom House, to receive a P-Wing in return...

Also taking a look at World 4, Giant Land.



 

Frogman To The Rescue!

World 3-8   (44 coins to unlock the White Mushroom House)

World 3-8

Normally opt for Firepower against Boss Bass - But in this stage, the furious fish seems to "respawn" so quickly that disposing of him doesn't seem to matter.

Tried it with Frog Mario and was more than pleased with the results.

Excellent jumping to catch the coins, and anytime Mario fell in the water, he actually held a slight advantage over the voracious predator.


Especially as Frog Mario, the world itself isn't overly difficult - Just gottta pay attention to the constant rise and fall, mainly to avoid foolishly hopping somewhere where the big fish can make a meal out of you - Kinda like being a real frog!

A ten-coin block is revealed above a pair of ice blocks. Frog Mario may have a slight difficulty plucking the topmost ice block.



As the level rises and falls, I prefer to see the multi-coin block when I start hammering away at it. This way, I can keep track of my coin count, and try to bank 11.

Nothing whets the appetite of a big fat Bass like a nice juicy frog.


A narrow escape from Boss Bass, but Frog Mario can jump all the way to the vine.
All the coins around the vines must to be collected also.





Near the end of the level, gotta time the rise & fall to maximize the window of opportunity with the route below...
Of course the top route is safer, but the game dares you to try.

It'll get flooded out quite quickly, and Boss Bass can still swallow Frog Mario whole.




Give Mario enough time to hop through the tight spot - Without having the water rise high enough that Boss Bass can reach him!




Hopping over the P-Switch to collect those coins first, then onto the P-Switch itself.
(otherwise the coins turn into bricks that can seal the exit)




Nothing crazy from hereon in...
A few relatively easy coins to collect.




A quick hop here, and a quick hop there...




Last coin is actually a hidden 1-Up for the effort.




Frog Mario gets it done.
The White Mushroom House contains a useful P-Wing.



Actually liked the Frog Suit so much that I kept in on for the duration of World 3...




Extra Credit Assignment:

World 3-9


Relatively few enemies in the next level, World 3-9. But with the impeccable placement of  Piranha Plants, Para Goombas, Bob-Ombs and Bullet Bills, most players will happily skip right past this area racing for the goal.

Raccoon Mario can break the bricks with his tail, gaining access to the tube that leads underwater.











By swimming counter-intuitively to the left, Mario can find a secret pipe that leads to a Frog Suit.




Gotta hold to the right as Mario falls from above so he can land near the big question block.




A few obstacles and Cheep Cheeps offer virtually no challenge with the Frog Suit.




Only really tricky part as Frog Mario is the Koopaling Airship...

World 3
The Doomship!


Gotta hop on a cannonball and get a boost by holding the jump button to get to the safer upper portion of the ship. Frog Mario can't easily hop through the narrow space without losing his Frog Suit to cannon fire.






Wicked Wendy O. Koopa!




The Frog Prince...
Mario wears one of his best suits to meet the King.





Survive a Doomship and the Koopaling battle while wearing one of the special suits and a special message from His Royal Highness.

See Alternate Messages From The King.






Gigantic!
(A Big, Big World)


World 4-2   (24 coins to unlock the White Mushroom House)

World 4-2

The "biggest" world actually has the lowest coin count requirement for the Secret Toad House.

Another world that rises and falls. Once again, gotta pay careful attention to how the level shifts...

Mario must collect every single one of those brick-turned coins once he hits the P-Switch.

The annoying Cheep Cheep is another challenge, so stomp him on the bridge immediately before hitting the switch. He'll respawn, but in those valuable seconds, Mario can get the coins and hop safely out of the water.






Every last coin is needed, so make sure to get them all!



Mario risking his life for a few coins...
Nine lives to commit to this endeavor.



There is a Starman available in the question block... But I find the timing of collecting the item slows me down just enough that I can't race all the way down the bridge to get the rest of the coins...

Opted to go without Invincibility, and actually found it easier.

Watching the replay, actually just missed nabbing the Starman.




Grabbing the very last coin!




A bit of back-tracking to get the coins that were bricks just moments ago...




Finally, made it off the Cheep Cheep bridge and heading towards the exit pipe.



White Mushroom House appears on the map, and Mario can collect an Anchor from Toad.
The Match Card Minigame can often appear at the same time, as an result of racking up so many points!







Always cool to snag an Anchor for the Inventory.
At least it beats another Music Box...