This Week in Defunct Games - July 6, 2012

What Is It? On paper 2020 Super Baseball sounds like the greatest sports game of all time. First you substitute everything we know about America's Favorite Pastime (TM) with technology-enhanced super athletes. This classic Neo Geo game sports futuristic stadiums with jump pads, stop zones and a transporter beam on home plate. The teams are all made up, giving us a choice between the Battle Angels, American Dreams and the Korean Dragoons. With so much going for it, 2020 Super Baseball should have been a homerun.

Unfortunately, SNK has never been very good at making baseball games. The pitching is loose, the batting is weak and the ball travels too fast to effectively make outfield plays. It's bright and colorful, but lacks any real substance. And now it can be yours for the low price of nine dollars.

Does It Still Hold Up? Baseball is a tough sport to get right, as SNK has demonstrated time and time again. 2020 Super Baseball is a mess, full of bad game mechanics and limited play modes. On the other hand, the graphics look good and I love the futuristic take on the athletes. It's a shame that game didn't take the theme further, introducing even more explosive pitches and hits. This is a game that always felt like it held something back.

Is It Worth The Money? Despite not being very good, these SNK baseball games (including the equally bad Baseball Stars series) have a strong cult following. Trust me, I get the emails every time I dare mention the poor fielding and atrocious batting mechanics. This is a game full of amazing ideas, and I truly wish SNK could have pulled it all together. But they didn't, and 2020 Super Baseball is yet another foul ball.

What Is It? The Legend of Zelda is just like any typical love story. Boy meets girl, girl gets kidnapped by evil overlord, boy must set off on a quest to find the pieces of the triforce and defeat the nefarious oppressor. I'm pretty sure that's exactly how Tom Cruise courted Katie Holmes.

This is The Legend of Zelda, one of the most influential games of all time. This is the story of a short dude with green cap and his journey to save the world from Ganon. He does this by solving puzzles found in dungeons, picking up important new items and defeating a bunch of boss creatures. You know the score, because it's a theme that has been repeated countless times in one Zelda game after another. This is the original 8-bit game in all of its simplistic glory.

Does It Still Hold Up? Despite its outdated graphics and light storyline, The Legend of Zelda holds up remarkably well. The dungeon crawling mechanics are timeless, as Nintendo has demonstrated time and time again with each sequel and spin-off. This is a game about setting down rules and establishing a fiction. As a result, this Zelda game can sometimes feel a bit meek. Still, as an adventure game that changed the genre forever, this 25 year old masterpiece holds up just fine.

Is It Worth The Money? If you count Ocarina of Time 3D, this NES port marks the sixth Legend of Zelda release on the Nintendo 3DS. If you're one of those people who has already gone through The Minish Cap and other more contemporary classics, this 8-bit adventure might be a little too plain. On the other hand, the dungeon puzzles are still well designed and the five dollar asking price sounds about right. If you can handle more Zelda, then this is the game for you.

What Is It? Mario, the Princess and all of their Mushroom Kingdom friends have decided to take a day off and hit the links. This is NES Open Tournament Golf, a pseudo-sequel to Nintendo's Golf and the blueprints for Mario Golf. You take control of Mario as he plays through 54 separate holes located around the world (including the UK, United States and Japan). Play a standard stroke game, battle in match play or start your own tournament. The game even offers multiplayer support, allowing players to settle hastily made bets.

NES Open Tournament Golf is substantially more impressive than Nintendo's first attempt at the sport. The game is quick to show off changing camera angles, giving every aspect of the golf experience a unique feel. You also have more control over how you hit the ball, as well as better information about the course you're playing. This is Nintendo responding to criticism from their first attempt, making one of the better NES golf sims.

Does It Still Hold Up? Despite being a huge upgrade over the original Golf, NES Open still leaves a lot to be desired. The courses themselves aren't as whimsical as you might expect from a Mario game. Also, I found some of the gameplay mechanics hard to pull off using the small screen on the 3DS. The swing cursor moves so fast that I had a hard time keeping up. Once you get the hang of the quirks you can have a lot of fun, but it's clear that Nintendo hadn't quite mastered golf by 1991.

Is It Worth The Money? NES Open Tournament Golf is a lot of fun, assuming you can get past some of the game's problems. Sadly, not all of the issues are related to the title's age. Still, even if you can get past the technical problems, you're left with a by-the-numbers golf game. You're better off buying one of Nintendo's recent Mario Golf releases. Not only do they look better, but their courses are filled with the Mario magic you expect from Nintendo. NES Open Tournament Golf isn't a bad game, but it has enough problems to stay off the must-buy list.

What Is It? What do you get when you mix the gameplay of NiGHTS into Dreams with the underwater antics of Ecco the Dolphin? A surprisingly fun game adaptation of The Little Mermaid II, that's what. This colorful 2.5D action game may be short on substance, but that didn't keep me from having a lot of fun playing through this PS1 classic.

Because it takes elements from two different movies, you'll end up playing as both Arial and her twelve year old daughter, Melody. Both segments feature different storylines and locations, which include exploring sunken ghost ships and underwater caverns. The player will have to pick up objects to solve puzzles and escape danger with your superior swimming skills. It's an enjoyable romp that is sewn together with cinemas straight out of the films.

Does It Still Hold Up? The gameplay is a bit of a mixed bag. While the swimming feels natural, things start to fall apart the moment you have to use your legs to run and jump. On the other hand, I was impressed with the colorful presentation and the voice acting wasn't as painful as I feared. The story isn't very long and the difficulty is too easy, but this will certainly hold up to the target audience.

Is It Worth The Money? I came away impressed with The Little Mermaid II. I didn't expect the side-scrolling gameplay and Ecco-style exploration. The puzzles are inventive and the presentation shows that some care was put into this adaptation. Older gamers will have no problem beating the story in one sitting and younger Mermaid fans may be confused by the outdated look. Still, the core mechanics hold up and I had a lot of fun. The Little Mermaid II can be a good time, but don't forget to come up for air.