Gaming Memories: Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland

Haven't done one of these in a while. I probably could have done one last week. Oh well!

I recall mentioning before that when I got my NES, long ago, it was at a garage sale with many games included, at a steal of a price. I have a somewhat decent memory of which games came with it, but some I'm not quite as sure about. Like today's game. Was it part of the package? Did I purchase it later because I recognized those faces on the cartridge? I can't quite remember.

And to their credit, the Tiny Toons are very recognizable. I usually hear more about Animaniacs when it comes to WB's cartoons of that era, but the show is definitely up there in terms of nostalgia. It was just fun to see kid Toons inspired by the more famous, adult Tunes, going through the same slapstick, with personality tweaks. The franchise, of course, had its own video games.

Developed by Konami and released in April 1993 in North America, Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland is set in an amusement park that just opened. Every ride is a stage, and you play a different character in each one of them. Plucky Duck is in the bumper car ride, being attacked by bullies; Hampton is on a train; Babs Bunny is on a dangerous rollercoaster; and Furrball is riding the log flume, while he is being attacked by frogs and birds. Classic parkgoing experience, really.

Each ride costs a number of regular tickets to be entered; in turn, you can collect regular tickets while going through each stage. Clearing a stage grants the team a Golden Ticket; you must collect all four in order to unlock the fifth and final stage, the Funhouse, a creepy castle with gravity-defying features visited by Buster Bunny. Alternately, if you keep failing to collect the Golden Tickets, you can keep playing the stages to collect points then trade them for regular tickets, since collecting 50 tickets also opens the Funhouse.

I have fond memories of this one because, although it was short, it was fairly challenging. There was just enough variety in its gameplay to stay fresh; the bumper cars are a non-platformer level. Other stages have their own quirks, like the roller coaster ride having a mechanic where you can "flip" the platform Babs in on, making her hang from it in order to avoid certain hazards. I do not actually recall beating the final boss, Montana Max, but I do remember beating every other stage at least once and getting there. Itt's enjoyable, it's sweet, and also, the sprites are just so damn cute­.

Movie Review: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Hmmm... Okay. The sequel to 2023's Super Mario Bros. Movie has come out in theaters. Once again produced by Illumination Studios, this entry expands massively the universe that first got a proper introduction in the previous film. However, for as much as this movie tries to be a continuation, I think its scope reaches too wide, and that hurts it as a result. But! I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Story

The movie opens on Rosalina (Brie Larson), the princess of the cosmos, who takes in her little Lumas for bedtime. However, before she can read them a story, the Comet Observatory they live on is attacked by the Koopa Troop. Despite her best efforts in protecting the Lumas (and showing crazy powerful magic, at that), Rosalina and a lone Luma end up taken away by the attackers.

Meanwhile, Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) have made a name for themselves as plumbers and general problem-solvers across many Kingdoms. One day, while helping in the Desert Kingdom, they find a lone Yoshi (Donald Glover, yes really) that adopts them as friends. The Toads are celebrating the day they found Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), treating it with the same importance as if it were her birthday; and Mario can't seem able to admit that he has feelings for the Princess. The group also kept the miniaturized Bowser (Jack Black), who has taken residence into a mini-castle. The Koopa King tries his best to get along with his captors.

During the celebrations, a rain of Star Bits falls across the Mushroom Kingdom, and a Luma crashes in the mushroom forest. Investigating, Mario and his friends find the poor thing and after recovering, it says that Princess Rosalina is in danger. Without knowledge of what is happening in space, the Bros. first opt not to get involved; but Peach decides to, and leaves to space with Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), using the Luma as a launch star.

Disney Illusion Island

One of my mistakes in 2025 was that I bought too many games. The only solution is to keep clearing the backlog, by going through the quicker ones first. Gotta start somewhere!

Disney Illusion Island, developed by Dlala Studios, was first released on the Nintendo Switch on July 28th, 2023. It was then released to other platforms (PS5, PC, Xbox) on May 30th, 2025. I found the Switch version in the wild, it looked fun, and there I was, with one more game. I’m incorrigible. But hey, it’s Disney and it’s got a cool art style, so why not. The game’s name is a reference to Mickey Mouse’s Castle of Illusion on SEGA systems and its follow-ups. But this time, we can play as Mickey, Minnie, Donald or Goofy – or up to all four at once!

Heroes Wanted

Our game begins as Mickey makes his way to a picnic destination on an island, indicated by a map sent by Minnie. Or so he thinks. After he’s found the spot, he’s joined by Minnie, who says HE sent her a map to this spot. Donald and Goofy, who were also sent maps, show up. All four are puzzled, so they investigate a twinkling sound coming from a nearby area.

Someone wanted all four of them there, but why?
(Thanks to Gamer's Little Playground for the playthrough,
which I am picking my screenshots from.)

Ah yes! Toku, the benevolent quest giver! Disregard the
eye twitch, totally normal benevolent response to annoyance.

They trace the sound to a red bush, and after crossing it they find a large library with an open bookcase. They are greeted by furred creatures known as the Hokuns and their leader, Toku, who welcomes them to the magical world of Monoth. Toku is the one who sent the maps, as he needs their help. Donald is enraged to find out there won’t be a picnic, but the team stays and listens. Toku explains that the three magical tomes of their bookcase have gone missing, stolen by three thieves inhabiting the three biomes of Monoth, and this could endanger their world. The Hokun doesn’t seem to know that the Mickey cartoons are in-universe fictions, in which the group only pretends to be heroes – but Mickey and his friends agree to try and be real heroes for once.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection: Destiny Board Traveler

Final Yu-Gi-Oh! review for this year! Yet again, we’re moving away from the card game as it usually works to delve into a different type of gameplay – this time, a proper board game that involves dice and spaces and Yu-Gi-Oh! monsters- wait, again? Yep. Can’t escape those.

Destiny Board Traveler was first released in Japan under the name Sugoroku’s Sugoroku on March 18th, 2004; and then made its way to North American markets on October 26th of the same year. That original title is a reference to Yugi’s grandpa; Solomon Muto’s original name is Sugoroku, also the name of two ancient board games that have some similarities to modern Snakes & Ladders and Backgammon, respectively.

But of course, there needs to be a twist that involves the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game. The characters of the manga/anime appear as playable, there are several boards to choose from (if you unlock them), and the cards themselves will be integral parts of the strategy and gameplay.

Maybe this time I can keep it short.

’Round the Board

Makes sense to pick Yugi. ow I just have to hope his
legendary lucks rubs off on me. (Hint: It didn't.)

Four players move around one or more 5X5 square-shaped boards. Each player has a hand of monsters drawn from their Deck (this game doesn’t use Spells or Traps, and all monsters are treated as Normal and don’t have their effects). On their turn, each player creates their own die from cards in their hand by setting them onto its faces. They do not need to set monsters onto every face of the die, however. The value of each side of that die is equal to the level of the monster on it. The die has one side known as the Star Face, while the other five remain regular faces.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection: Dungeon Dice Monsters

Most Yu-Gi-Oh! games are all about the franchise’s card game. Those began appearing early in the manga’s pages, and it only took a few books before the story shifted to focus on tournaments. However, before those, the manga had several tomes in which Yugi’s alter ego played various games, against many opponents. The early days were DARK; Yugi’s first Shadow Game had someone almost stab themselves for a game about picking up bills with a knife. In another, he burned a criminal to death.

As far as game tables go, I think those in the manga (for
Duelist Kingdom and Dungeon Dice Monsters) make more
sense than the giant arenas from the anime.

Then, there was Duel Kingdom. Shortly afterwards, there was Battle City, which ended up with rules much closer to the real card game. However, between the two, a short arc introduced another game of Kazuki Takahashi’s making: Dungeon Dice Monsters (shortened DDM). Created by Duke Devlin (Ryuji Otogi in the original Japanese), an aspiring game maker whose family sets up shop near Yugi’s home, the game features monsters appearing when dice are deployed on a field. I will explain much more in due time.

These odds are looking good!

There was also a whole thing about a disfigured man in a clown mask, an intense desire for revenge, and arson, but that’s because the manga has always been ballsier than the anime.

Dungeon Dice Monsters was eventually adapted into a physical board game. It never quite caught on, probably due to the complexity of the system that demanded a full board to play as well as the associated dice – not quite as simple as just playing with cards! It also got an adaptation on the Game Boy Advance, released in North America on February 11th, 2003 (though it came out two years earlier in Japan), and a rerelease in the Early Days Collection.

What IS Dungeon Dice Monsters Anyway?

Try not to get yourself cornered.

I’ll open by explaining the game, its rules, and its mechanics. As the name indicates, this game trades cards for dice. The board is made of 13X19 squares, with players on opposite sides. Each player has a pool of 15 dice, which will be the ones they roll. Each player has a figurine named the Die Master in front of them; this figurine starts with three hit points.

Dice sides are called Crests. There are six different  types: Summon, Movement, Attack, Defense, Spell and Trap. Every die has a different selection of these Crests – as an example, a die may have one or two Attack Crests, or maybe none! The only Crest guaranteed to be on every die is the Summon type. Dice have levels ranging from 1 to 4, and the lower the level is, the more Summon Crests it will have.