After an extremely slow couple of weeks on the news front, it was nice to dig deep into the bowels of gaming history and find not one, not two, but three gems to talk about. Of course, one of them wasn’t amazingly popular during its time, and another was a critical success but not a commercial one. Still, all three are great games that I’m proud to talk about.

This week: A fairy boy gets his debut on the SNES, an ancient warrior fights his way through turtles on the NES in Japan, and kids from a summer camp invade your mind on the Xbox.

On April 13th, 1992, one of the most popular series on the NES made its debut on the SNES when The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was released . Taking gameplay mechanics from the first game and even pieces like the Magic meter from the ill-received second iteration, A Link to the Past went on to become one of the most successful of the series to this day. The game featured the same top-down view from the original in the Zelda series, with updated graphics to match the power of the 16-bit console.

In A Link to the Past, you followed the role of the young Link as he battled his way through Hyrule in both the Light world and the Dark, collecting an assortment of items to add to your inventory. The boss battles were rough and rewarding, the puzzles were challenging, and the story was good enough to keep you interested until the very end. A classic by any definition.

Way back on April 14th, 1987, a game called Argos No Senshi: Hachamecha Daishingeki was released for the NES in Japan. The game was later released in the United States under the name of Rygar. Quite a difference in names, if you ask me. Rygar featured the same open-world gameplay as Metroid did back in the day. You could choose your path through the game going in just about any order, except that some parts were blocked off if you didn’t have the right item.

Rygar is best known for being one of the toughest games on the NES. Not because of the bosses or puzzles, it’s because it was as complex as a Zelda or Metroid, but featured absolutely no way to save your game. That’s right, no game saves and no passwords. If you wanted to see the final stage of Rygar, you had to play through the entire game without dying, and in some cases leave your console on over night, hoping your family didn’t turn it off before you woke up. Take a look at your hard drives and memory cards, kiddos, we’ve come a long way.

In 2005, the critically acclaimed Psychonauts found its way on to store shelves for the Xbox on April 19th. Arguably the best platformer for the original Xbox, Psychonauts was best known for its almost perfect writing and lovable cast of oddball characters. In the game, you played as Raz as he sneaked his way into the Summer Camp for telepathic kids, then proceeded to uncover a devious plot by a dentist to build a doomsday device using the brains of the camp kids. Tim Schafer is a genius.

The gameplay was basic platforming, with running, jumping, and using powers that you obtain while progressing through the game. While it was nothing revolutionary, it was tight and intuitive. The real beauty of the game came from the story and the cast of characters you encountered. The writing was second to none and genuinely funny, without seeming to try too hard. Psychonauts is the only case that the $15 to get this game from the Xbox Live Originals is worth it, though you can certainly find it for less at your favorite used game store. While you may find that you don’t like it, chances are you’ll fall in love with the game like many others did.

That wraps up this week. Join me next time as we take a look at one of the most popular brawlers for the Nintendo 64.

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