This is a capture of me playing the Flash mode of Columns for the Sega Game Gear. This is not an emulator. This is being played on the 3DS Virtual Console and recorded directly from my New 3DS XL using the aftermarket capture kit manufactured by Katsukity and installed/sold by Merki. I felt like uploading some more Game Gear footage, so here’s Sega’s classic competitor to Tetris – Columns. Sega initially bundled this game with the Game Gear in 1991 to help compete with the Game Boy, but I don’t think it achieved the sales numbers they were looking for since it was quickly replaced by Sonic the Hedgehog (and then Sonic 2, which is possibly the best-selling pack-in game for the system). Shortly before Nintendo shut down new eShop purchases on the 3DS, I decided to buy some remaining Game Gear games for the Virtual Console that I hadn’t gotten around to (excluding RPGs, of course). I generally like puzzle games due to my childhood experience with Tetris, Tetris 2, Dr. Mario, Yoshi, Yoshi’s Cookie, and Tetris Attack, and I have a fascination with the Game Gear, so I picked up Columns before the opportunity escaped me. This is actually a pretty good puzzle game. The Flash mode requires you to wipe out a single flashing block buried at the bottom of the pile before time runs out, so it’s similar to Tetris 2. But unlike Tetris 2, the speed starts to increase as you wipe out blocks, so you don’t want to waste much time clearing unnecessary blocks if you can help it. While excellent, the Flash mode is too limited since the game ends as soon as you complete a level (no matter which level you pick) instead of simply starting the next level afterward. Since the game would have ended anyway as soon as I completed a level, I just went with the highest (level 9) and managed to beat it. There was a bit of slop (unintended chains) on my part, but that’s the nature of the game. One neat thing about Columns is that you can change the look of the blocks, so I went with the fruit pattern, which is I think is neat. Recorded with OBS Studio at 60 frames per second. I'm using a New 3DS XL.

This is a capture of me playing through Double Dragon for the NES. This is not an emulator and was not played on the Wii or Wii U Virtual Console. This footage was recorded directly from my front-loading NES using a real Double Dragon cartridge. I think I received this game from a family member (perhaps an aunt or an uncle) back during Christmas of 1989, so this was one of the earlier NES games that I owned. I had not heard of Double Dragon before then (I was only 5), but someone must have seen the artwork on the box and thought it would be a good game for me. The NES port of Double Dragon was loosely based on the hit arcade game, but it sorely lacked the two-player cooperative mode from the arcade. It also featured a new heart system where you had to earn new moves through experience points. However, I didn't know about the arcade game back then, so I didn't have any expectations about the NES version. I played this game a bunch as a kid, but for the longest time I couldn't make it past Mission 3. I didn't know to use the backwards elbow (odds are that I rarely even made it to six hearts), and I had no idea about the jump spinning kick, which unlocks at seven hearts. This game was certainly good, but I favored Double Dragon II and III, which I used to rent and play with my brother. When I was around 12 years old I started getting much better at video games and finally managed to beat this game through sheer trial and effort. I started to enjoy Double Dragon even more and began playing the game about every year or so (sometimes more). It's an excellent game thanks to the diverse level design, the plentiful weapons and the memorable enemies. And who can forget that wonderful music? In this playthrough I used my typical strategy that I developed in the mid '90s. I like to use punches as much as possible in the beginning to earn experience points faster, then I begin using stronger attacks and weapons to get through enemies faster. I also favor the backwards elbow on Abobo. This is another no-death run, but achieving a no-death run in this game is partially about luck since you have avoid the annoying stones in Mission 4, and I don't know of any guaranteed way to do that (waiting to go after the second stone from the top pops out only seems to work some of the time). This playthrough was done using the very same Double Dragon cartridge that I received way back in 1989. I've kept it all these years. Recorded with the Hauppauge HD PVR and a composite connection at 60 frames per second. I used a Toshiba model D-R550 DVD Recorder to upconvert the NES's native 240p signal to 480i so that the Hauppauge could capture the console's audio/video signal. I'm using an NES Max turbo controller.