After enjoying all three N64 Mario Party editions, I was psyched for the sub-franchise's next-gen debut. I was imagining the cheerful board game fun combined with visuals at Super Smash Bros. Melee quality.

And I really didn't get that.

The board game worlds - which formerly explored fantastical 3D terrain themed to birthday cakes and pirate ships - were flat and abstract, with SNES-style tiled backgrounds. The mini-games were what they were, but there simply was not enough of them... and the board game itself introduced this confusing "mini-mega system," where you had to shrink to take path A, and grow to take path B. Which meant I had to waste fifteen minutes of playtime explaining the concept to players who just wanted to roll the die and get to a mini-game match.

The only good thing about Mario Party 4 is that the end of single-layer mode faces you against Bowser in a private challenge that was quite a leap for the series.

Ya hear that? The only good thing about this *Mario Party* is a small portion of the *single player mode*.

That's worse than a Sonic game where you have to constantly stop running (which we'll get to in January of '04).

Memory Score: The worst Mario Party ever.

Man, there was such a stink about this when it was announced.

THERE MAKING TEH METROID 3D OH NOOOOOOES

The fear was that Nintendo has handed off the franchise to an unknown developer (Retro Studios) to be turned into a cookie-cutter FPS in a half-assed bid to generate more "mature" interest in the GameCube, which, in under a year since its debut, had already been dubbed kiddie-ghey by the Sony and Microsoft camps.

My first reaction to the news of Metroid Prime was "Holy shit, there are still Metroid fans out there?" Let's face it: it had been two console generations and eight years since the last Metroid game. Smash Bros. cameo aside, this was a dead franchise. There were people who got into and got out of video games without ever having seen the word "Metroid" on the racks.

And then there was the group, weaned on dual analog control, who were convinced that Nintendo could not pull off a decent FPS with the GameCube's gimped C-stick. (This group was then shouted down by the folks who still say that you can't do FPS games without a mouse/keyboard, period.)

So when the game was finally released, it was to broad suspicion.

Which was quickly turned into massive acclaim, because the game managed to hit on all fronts. It looked great, it played great, it controlled great... and it evoked that classic Metroid feel. What could have been the final nail in the coffin of a forgotten Nintendo property became the catalyst for re-launching Metroid as a modern, dramatic, current-gen marquee name.

For my part, I enjoyed it far more than expected... since, like everyone else, I figured it to be nothing more than yet another sci-fi shooter. That last boss fight was a bitch-and-a-half though.

Memory Score: This was a big gamble, but it paid off

Once Nintendo fanboys cooled off over Metroid Prime, the fight began over Wind Waker.

You know the story: a billion gamers betrayed after the famed SpaceWorld 2000 footage. Miyamoto shocked at the "Celda" taunts. Wind Waker placed under wraps until E3 2002.

So what to do to soothe the rage of fair-weather fans who leap at the chance to despise a game just because it looks "cartoony"?

You concoct the most incredible pre-order bonus scheme in video game history.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest is a re-release of the N64's Zelda game... with the added bonus of the only-in-Japan Master Quest, a kind of Ocarina remix. Nobody hated Ocarina. So give them Ocarina. Hilariously, most of the same people whining about Link's new look pointed to Ocarina - a low-poly N64 game - as being realistic-looking.

And although I was happy to snag a rare piece of Nintendo history on the pre-order, I never played either Ocarina adventure on the disc. I was still playing Vice City and Animal Crossing.

Memory Score: I'm sure it's great

Next time: Celda hits the waves, Wolverine hits the skids, and an Xbox "exclusive" hits the Cube.