#8 Metal Slug

Mission start! Well, it has been about a year since I heard about this glorious side-scrolling shoot 'em up. Thanks to Stan and his love for Neo Geo, I got to play just about oevery Metal Slug game and loved 'em all. If you want more info about Metal Slug, go to his blog and ask him. He is the Metal Slug pro and I'm feeling too lazy.

If you are not into this series, you should be ashamed. it is indeed one of the best I have ever played and has one of the most comical villains I have ever seen. Expect to see more Metal Slugs on here as the year goes on. Hopefully I can beat them all because they are pretty tough. I'm going to keep trying, because I never get tired of these games. Mission complete!

#7 Contra

Up up! Down down! Left Right! Left Right! B A! SELECT START!!! Enter that code and you will be granted 30 Lives in the classic side scrolling shoot 'em up from Konami. That classic game is known as Contra. If you are a huge gamer, you probably came across this title in your lifetime. This was before the introduction of Metal Slug which is very very similar to Contra but Metal Slug takes the concept of Contra beyond what we expected.

Though I think Metal Slug is better, Contra is still a wonderful classic. I used to play this all the time when I was a kid. I must have gone through this game hundreds of times. In the game, you believe you are attacking some type of evil, hostile army when it turns out to be aliens. Just like in Metal Slug which excites me to no end. Once again, Konami has pleased me and reminded me of how great Contra really was.

#6 Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Finally I am back from glorious Magfest and I must say it was quite a trip. The ride day and ride back were hell but it was worth getting to hang out with the guys from X-Strike again and also getting to play classic games like Ghouls N' Ghosts, Rush N' Attack, Ridge Racer and of course the classic arcade game, Dragon's Lair.

Though the games were fun, my most favorite part of the trip was getting to finally see some video game cover bands in action. Arm Cannon, Year 200X, Power Glove and The NESkimos. They all kicked a whole lot of ass and I was glad to meet them all after their sets. We managed to get some footage of Arm Cannon but we sadly ran out of film. Hopefully we will have some footage of the concert up soon enough. Other than that, our panel went pretty well and I was glad I got to put some of my own words in. Oh well, onto the next game

The Next game I conquered is definitely a classic in the making which is Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS. This truly is a great Castlevania game made the way it should be made. SIDE SCROLLING. Those 3D castlevanias got nothing on something like Dawn.

Like a handful of games from this series, it kind of tapers off from the Belmont saga and you play as a different character. In this case: Soma Cruz, a candidate to become the next Dracula. At first, I'm not fond of the idea of not being able to play a Belmont, but the head honchos haven;t let me down yet. In each game I have played., there has been a Belmont involved somehow and you may get to play as him which excites a diehard fan like me.

I am also proud to say I beat the game in just under 6 hours which is pretty fast for a game like this. I may go back to the NES to take down some more games just to pile up my list a little higher. Remember to stay off the stick.

#5 Double Dragon

Yes, I know I should be asleep now because my ride is coming for me in two hours, but eh. At 6 AM, me and the rest of the Fargate Crew will be on our way to Magfest to do our panel. Can't wait cuz we're doing it X-Strike!

I also felt like hacking away at another game and after spending hours on trying, I finally beat Double Dragon....again and that makes numero cinco on my list. I have played these beat 'em ups ever since I was a lad and have been enjoying them ever since. Especially Double Dragon II, but that will be later on the list. This was indeed a great start for a side-scrolling beat 'em up. I'm sad to say that after 2, the series begins to run dry, especially with that horrible Sega fighting game one which was based on the horrifying cartoon. If you do not know what I'm talking about, be happy. Anyways, I'm gonna continue getting ready for Magfest and perhaps take a little nap. Stay off the stick and I'll return on Saturday!

#4 Golden Axe

Huzzah! The deed is finally done! After accidently hitting each other and walking into pits, Stanley and I have conquered Golden Axe. Sadly, as I tell you guys to stay off the stick, I was on it tonight, and the pain bringer was the final boss of Golden Axe, Deathbringer. He was a tough motherfucker. I was getting rather annoyed by playing it over and over but this game is still a very fun hack n' slash. It is also slightly buggy but we got to use it to our advantage. Go us! I still don't know how I beat it by myself back when I was a kid and I hope I have better luck with Golden Axe III, because I never beat that before and that one is very long.

Right now, I'm playing Double Dragon, but I have a feeling I'm going to randomly start a different game and beat that before Double Dragon is up here, but who knows? Only time will tell. I'll be going now, I should try and get some rest tonight because we're leaving for our panel tomorrow at Magfest. WOOO!! Anyways, this is FPBryan reminding you to stay off the stick.

#3 Castlevania

Yes, I have started my epic quest in defeating Dracula, and I shall do it a few times over since I have a lot of Castlevanias I plan on beating. For now, I decided to start with the shorter, more primitive Castlevanias starting with the first one. Who could forget the first Belmont vampire hunter to be introduced in the Castlevania time line? Good ol' Simon Belmont. Despite what the Captain N cartoon did to him and by that I mean making him look like Jay Leno and have the personality of a total douche bag, he's pretty high on my list when it comes to my favorite vampire hunters in the Castlevania series.

This title is an unforgettable classic that started an epic series 20 years ago, and I am glad to say that it is still going strong thanks to Konami's latest release of Portrait of Ruin. Nothing beats slaying the creatures of the night in a good ol' side scrolling format. I'm talking the 4 horrendous 3D Castlevania titles which did put some damage on the series but thanks to the Nintendo DS, the wounds were quickly healed. Be sure to expect plenty of castlevanias posted on here since I am a die hard fan of the series and I look forward to going through nearly all of them once again. Time to attempt Golden Axe again with FPStanley. This is FPBryan reminding you to stay off the stick.

#2 Altered Beast

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE! I never get tired of hearing that when I pop this into my console. Well, FPStanley and I once again attempted to conquer Metal Slug, Golden Axe and Altered Beast. This time, it wasn't a total loss. We were able to beat Altered Beast and almost beat Golden Axe but that final boss is hard as shit. But I am glad to have another game under my belt and what better than the first homo-erotic adventure of SEGA?

Castlevania and Final Fantasy V are still in the works but look to see some Castlevanias beaten in the next few days for a may go on a rampage. There is also a possibility where I may go AWOL depending on if my Wii arrives. If it does, you will not know of my existence for a little while. Anyways, I'm gonna go. This is FPBryan signing off and reminding you to stay off the stick.