Before you ask, no it did not occur to me to cheat this whole countdown thing and consider Castlevania Anniversary Collection as games #8-#1. Well, I mean I guess just typing that means it did but either way you must have seen this one coming: A compilation of 7 classic titles (as well as the never before released Kid Dracula), in both their North American and Japanese incarnations, along with a cool History of Castlevania digital "book.” All at a pretty great price and ready to be played on the big screen or in handheld mode during those private moments. Sounds pretty rad, c’mon ever since the NES original, Simon Belmont cracking that whip across the foreheads of countless mummies, bats, fishmen, ghouls and old man Drac himself has been a go to staple for players looking for a spooky fix. So this collection must be an absolutely essential, perfect way to play these legendary titles during the Halloween season right?

Essential? I’d say yes. Perfect, mmm…not quite.

This ten games to play on Switch Halloween Countdown isn’t necessarily a ranking from worst to best. But if it were, Friday the 13th: The Game would have likely taken the top spot at #1. However here we are, getting to it ASAP as a result of two types of highly sensitive time uh…sensitivities. The first is the unfortunate reality that the meat of this game relies on an online component which will be shutting down at the end of this calendar year, December 31st, 2023. But the second is the exciting (and arguably more crucial) fact that we have an actual Friday the 13th to look forward to this Halloween season!

That’s less than two weeks away!

With the Fall season officially here as of last weekend, I’m calling it: Anyone reading this site is gonna be up to their sweet little candy corns in Halloween related posts. And for the next however long it takes to finish, I’ll be counting down my top ten spooky games to play on Nintendo’s hybrid console. First up is a title anyone who grew up at a time when they could still go to a mall or pizza parlor and be welcomed by that warm glow of multiple arcade cabinet screens will likely be familiar with, only now updated with a fresh coat of high definition pixel paint.

*cue the creepy organ music*

The House of the Dead Remake.

Nintendo is of course synonymous with game systems and software but any child of the 80’s will clearly remember staring at that red logo branded across just about every type of merchandise imaginable. Comic books, action figures, lunch boxes, breakfast cereal…you name it. And like any responsible adult, I’ve still got a pretty solid collection displayed and readily accessible. Today’s example is one that I clearly remember taking home from a Toys R Us at the ripe old age of eight. Back when video games remained locked inside of your imagination until you took a little slip with the receipt stapled to it back to the bullet proof glass window behind the cash register.

Ray manages to tear Super Nintendad away from Trombone Champ for a moment to help run down the list of games talked about in today’s Nintendo Direct. Lots of excitement and opinions about the announcements listed below are but a click away!

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When it came to useless peripherals, the original NES and Game Boy were never in short supply. There were all kinds of third party products attempting to hop aboard Nintendo’s money train at the time, selling themselves as clever new methods of enhancing the gameplay experience with very few of them actually even y’know working properly. Still, a lot of the concepts were cool enough to spark the imagination of even the most cynical grade schooler. Typically they would revolve around some “awesome” new method of control that promised nothing short of stepping into a future world once plugged in. The U-Force had kids waving their hands sans controller into a refurbished battleship folder. Konami’s Laser Scope was an early attempt at manipulating your game’s actions via voice command. And of course there was the immortal Power Glove which if you’re not familiar with, I’ll probably yap at length about somewhere down the line. These are all still cool in theory yet ended up being nowhere near practical which brings me to today’s topic: The Light Boy for Nintendo’s original pea green portable system.

New power ups, challenge modes, playable characters, online features and a fresh coat of red paint on the OLED Switch model! Join the Dorkside as we welcome Super Nintendad to help break down today’s Nintendo Direct showcase for Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The first 2D sidescrolling installment in the iconic franchise since the last one!

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The Super Star Wars series of children’s video games for the SNES are just 3 of many countless reasons why I was never destined to become a world class athlete. In this 16-bit sidescrolling arcade action platforming series, players are given the chance to pick their favorite characters from George Lucas’ imagination and run through that galaxy far, far away recreating scenes that for the most part never even happened in any of the movies. Featuring detailed animation, incredibly authentic sound effects/music, fancy mode-7 graphics and a challenge level that could turn a 12 year old kid bald, these games were very popular in their time.

The inaugural Tales From the Dorkside episode kicks off the site with just a couple of nerds talking about the good old N.E.S! Please enjoy this Nintendork stroll down gaming memory lane.

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