Is this guy for real? Ryu’s faced some strange opponents in his day, but Rufus may just take the cake as the oddest of the bunch. He talks a big game, too, and his outfit is awfully bizarre. It’s hard to believe someone with such a massive gut has what it takes to compete against a World Warrior like Ryu. Rufus isn’t backing down, and in fact he seems pretty confident in his abilities. This should be interesting. The round begins and Rufus comes out swinging… and spinning. What a freak! Ryu hangs back for a few moments to gauge his opponent before moving in for the attack. Surprisingly, Rufus puts up more of a challenge than anyone would’ve figured, but he doesn’t have enough ability to match Ryu’s experience and skill. Keep practicing, Rufus, and perhaps one day you’ll be able to compete at this level… and you may want to lay off the snacks, too!
Author Archives: misterraroo
SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (Neo Geo Pocket Color)
Geese Howard is not happy with what he is seeing. Ryu has been advancing through the ranks of the fighting tournament with ease. It’s time for Geese to put an end to this. Kyo Kusanagi is quickly deployed to Ryu’s homeland of Japan to handle things. Kyo finds Ryu busy practicing for his next bout and issues a challenge. Before the two square off, they provide one another with a brief display of the energy coursing through their bodies. Ryu has never faced anyone like Kyo before, and the combat proves challenging, but after a fierce battle Kyo lays at Ryu’s feet. Geese’s plans may have been thwarted for now, but Ryu has a feeling he hasn’t heard the last from him.
WarioWare: Snapped! (Nintendo DSi)
When it’s break time at work that means it’s game time for me. My coworkers are used to seeing me playing my DS or PSP on my lunch breaks, but today is going to be a little different. Instead of passively sitting with a system in my hands, I’m hoping to get in some time with WarioWare: Snapped! Playing the game requires waving and shaking my head, arms, and hands like an idiot, and I’d rather not be on display while doing this. Thankfully, I’m the only one currently in the break room and so I should be able enjoy the game without worry of public humiliation. Well, that was the plan, anyway. As I’m trying to help a cute little dog shake away water by moving my head side-to-side, one of my coworkers walks into the break room and gives me a strange look. “What are you doing?” she inquires. “Oh, I’m playing this game where your body controls what’s happening on screen while a camera takes photos of how stupid you look.” I finish the last microgame then show her the snapshots the game took of me during the play session. My coworker starts laughing at the silly photos then says “You’re weird” before leaving the room.
Aquia (Nintendo DSi)
The tension is really building. This could be the end for my poor scuba diver. He’s trying his best to reach the bottom of the ocean, but I’m not doing my part. It’s not for lack of effort, though. I’m scrambling like crazy to move blocks into place to help him reach his destination sooner. However, as the air runs out, the water gets darker, and for the life of me I can’t see what I’m doing. There are three flashing blocks that I’m supposed to match up to fill up the diver’s air tank, but they’re scattered all over the place and it doesn’t look like I’lll be able to make it in time, especially with the pressure heightened by the pulse-pounding music. It’s getting louder… and louder… and LOUDER… and I can’t take it any more! Aaaaah! No more air! The ocean depths have claimed another victim.
The Godfather II (Playstation 3)
My wife hands me a FedEx envelope and says, “This arrived for you today.” I always enjoy when companies are kind enough to send me press copies of games because it often means I have the chance to try out titles I wouldn’t normally pay any mind to. This is definitely the case here as I open up the package and find The Godfather II inside. The game has been so far off my radar that I didn’t even know it was in development, let alone being released. Obviously something so violent and mature isn’t appropriate to play in front of my toddler son, so I wait until after he’s asleep then pop the disc in my Playstation 3. I sometimes wonder why these types of games are so popular, but after a couple hours of playing the answer is clear to see. A very cinematic presentation, a fun combat system, an excellent map, plenty of depth in building your own “family” of mobsters, and too much more to mention would probably be like mafioso nirvana for anyone into the genre. In a nutshell, it’s good fun. However, even though I’m enjoying the game, a small voice in the back of my head is becoming progressively louder and keeps repeating one word over and over: “Peggle, Peggle, Peggle.” I’m sorry, Godfather II. You’ve earned my respect and I’m sure plenty of other gamers will deservedly love you, but I’ve got to put in something a little more my speed. Don’t despair, though, for now that I’ve tasted the fascinating world of organized crime I may be back before you know it. Until then, it’s time for Peggle.
Bonsai Barber (Wii)
Whoops. As the new barber in town, this is certainly not the way to earn the respect of my potential clients. Mr. Stickle the celery stalk came into my shop asking for a “bowler hat” hairdo, and a few stray snips of the scissors later, he’s looking worse than before I started. The good news is he hasn’t seemed to have noticed my mistake yet, so I still have the opportunity to set things right. I grab my spray bottle and give his mop top a few pumps of water. Voila! New foliage sprouts almost instantly. Now to shape it. I make sure to take extra precaution with my scissors and trim his leafy mane into just the shape he requested. He seems pleased with the results, but I decide to add just a bit of pizazz in the form of color. A dash of red, a streak of white… now he’s truly styling. Mr. Stickle is almost jumping out of the chair with glee and he gives me the highest honor a barber can hope for: a five star rating! If I keep this up my barber shop will be booming with business in no time.
Phantasy Star Portable (PSP)
This may have turned out to be a bad idea. Instead of forming up a proper party, I decided to venture through the desert on my own. All of the enemies I’ve faced until this point pale in comparison to the massive beast that looms before. Not only is he gigantic, but the fact that he can fly makes him a difficult target. After cruising around for a couple minutes, he finally he decides to land and I run up to pummel him with my weapon of choice — a long bone with a slab of meat on it. To my dismay, my blows do absolutely no damage. I try other weapons in my arsenal and come away with the same sad result: nothing. Meanwhile, my adversary seems to be toying with me, throwing boulders at me and generally doing his best to be a pest. In a last ditch effort I unleash a flurry of autogun fire his way and miraculously discover the monster’s weak point: his wings! Ah-ha! I refocus my shots and whittle away at his strength until before long the behemoth falls to the ground like a ton of bricks. However, he doesn’t go down without a fight, and it takes what seems like an eternity until he drops for the final time. What a battle! I’m glad I was able to make it out alive, but I’m definitely bringing friends along on my next adventure.
Pit Crew Panic! (Wii)
From the pit we don’t have any real view of the course, but judging from the strange vehicles that keep rolling in for repairs, this may very well be the weirdest race ever. Luckily, my crew consists of six hardworking women who seem to live for me giving them directions about what parts of the racers they should fix. Without warning a massive toilet pulls into the pit and the ladies stand at the ready as the await my orders. I waste no time in divvying up the duties and my crew quickly and efficiently gets the toilet back in tip-top condition. The toilet speeds off to rejoin the race and we barely have a moment to catch our breath before a huge flowerpot on wheels zooms into the pit. A pit crew’s work is never done, it seems.
Pokémon Pearl (Nintendo DS)
Returning to the world of Sinnoh after a long hiatus reminds me not only of just how much I love this place, but that there is unfinished business here. I still need to battle one more gym leader and finally move on to face the Elite Four. Either I’ve forgotten how to be a great trainer or my Pokémon have gotten lazy in my absence. Either way, we’re having trouble with some of the challengers we’ve faced on our way to Sunyshore City to face its gym leader, Volkner. My Pokémon seem woefully underpowered, so I guess it’s going to take a lot of battling to whip these guys into shape. I walk up to a potential opponent and soon our Pokémon are facing off against one another. Here we go again…
Drill Dozer (Game Boy Advance)
“What’s that?” I’m supposed to be on my break, relaxing my mind from the stress that comes with working with the public, and here is one of my coworkers bothering me. Can’t she see I have headphones in and am playing a game? But I humor her since she means well. “This is my Game Boy Micro.” She asks another question and I only hear half of it. My attention is centered on guiding Jill and her adorable mech suit to the bottom of a giant missile headed deep into the Earth’s core so as to stop it from wreaking havoc. My coworker is still looking at me. Damn it. I smile and give some general response. But she doesn’t let up. I think she’s telling me something about how it’s time for her to go home. Good! Go already! Back in the game, Jill’s running low on time and I’m furiously directing her to drill as fast as she can and reach the bottom of the missile before time runs out. Jill was alloted three minutes to complete the task, and now there’s only about thirty seconds left. But my focus is broken once again by yet more unsolicited conversation. My coworker says she’ll see me tomorrow. I give an obligatory smile and utter something polite in return. In the process I let Jill down. We’re out of time and the missile’s progress has not been halted. Now I’ll have to wait until my next break to try again.
Mister Raroo: Moments 