Substance TV

December Free Play (November Free Play winner!)

Posted by Brian On December - 11 - 2009

So now the November Free Play is over, and the winner of a complete copy of Shinobi for the Playstation 2 is….

rossosnaruto!

Congratulations, enjoy this awesome game full of ninjas, blood, and much killing. It’s just doesn’t get any better than that. Thanks again to everyone who entered. Both Erik and I were seriously impressed with the entries this month. We figured the obvious games would be chosen for revivals, but you guys pick some niche titles that desperately need some lovin’.

Now it’s on to the December Free Play. As we’ve alluded to, the month of December will be filled with sweet goodness for the fans of Substance TV. So for this month’s Free Play, we’re going to be doing a little something special. We are giving away a game we featured in episode 9. An amazing and rare RPG called Y’s: The Ark of Napishtim for the Playstation 2. But not only are we giving away the game, we are also giving away the hard to find strategy guide! You’ll need it as it covers a lot of the hidden items and extra bonuses you won’t normally find in the game.

To enter, we want to know your favorite Christmas video game memory. Maybe it was the year you got a Nintendo Sixty-FOOOOOOOOOOUR!!!!!! Or was it the year you got that brand new Power Glove? Whatever it is, we want to know. For me, it was the year I got my very own Nintendo Entertainment System. I always played it at my cousin’s house, but I never had one. I can still remember opening that big power set box Christmas Eve. It was all just too wonderful!

You can either post a comment here or by visiting the YouTube video (which will soon be up). As always, entering at more than one place gives you a better chance. The deadline to enter is December 31st at 11:59:59 P.M. so best of luck to all of you. I’m off to do some more work on episode 11, and hopefully my new game will be in today!

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Macc

My favorite Christmas was the year after I got my NES for my birthday and actually got some games to play for it since all I had for that 6 month gap was the pack in Duck Hunt/Super Mario Brothers cart. I got a couple games that year, but probly my two favorites games I had for my NES: Contra and TMNT The Arcade Game. Contra was the only video game that my Dad would ever play so we use to play the coop all the time. Plus TMNT 2 came with that coupon for a free person pan pizza at Pizza Hut. More games now a days need to give you free pizza.
Maniac

Ocarina of Time was the MONEY. But for Christmas that year it was also worth a lot of money. I remember people were paying a lot to get this game for their kids once the stores sold out and my brother (the capitalist that he is) actually bought several copies of the thing a month before the holiday rush. Then he went to Toys R Us and stood around the electronics section and actually solicited anxious parents.

How crazy is that? Well he sold off his copies for $100 a piece. Still, all those Scrooge-style-shenanigans didn’t take away from the awesome experience we had playing through that game. What a fantastic (and overall odd) memory.
ancientflounder

Probably my favorite Christmas memory involving video games involves getting Phantasy Star IV, along with getting a copy of Fist of the North Star on VHS and some comics. I really had wanted to play PSIV since seeing shots of it in mags like Die Hard Game Fan, GamePro and EGM. I sucked at it horribly, but I still had fun with it and it stands as one of the best titles for the Genesis. But, it’s more the memory of having that Christmas be the last one my family spent as a whole, since my parents split not too long before that. We were still able to have fun and it ended up being pretty emotional for me, since I knew even then that it would never be like that again.
d-sceane

I gave part of the story at youtube, so heres a slightly more detailed version. I was still a kid back in the day and many loved ones were there in this moment. In a previous Christmas my brothers and I had our first NES, however it lived a short life and I was blamed for this. I swore to never again let a console die. Move ahead a few years later I’m in the 3rd grade we all pitched in for a Sega Genesis and we got it just in time for Thanksgiving. One fateful Christmas later we gained a new game for the Genesis Abrams M-1 Battle Tank. It wasn’t what I was expecting to add to the collection, but my Dad got from a family friend. Later that night something far better was in our grasp. Being the only grandchildren on my Dad’s side of the family we got all the good stuff, but sometimes our folks would get something that would last us. Once my Tata (grandfather) started his unofficial 11:00pm tradition, the paper started to fly. After some cool toys and the usual Christmas clothes (which I still hate to this day) there was a big box with something special inside. Once we ripped that box open we dug through a ton of packing peanuts we pulled out two awesome things. One of them was a VHS of Godzilla 1985 and the other was famous Street Figther II. Luckly we had obtained a 6-button controller which made the gaming experience all the better. It was in that very port where I truly learned my hadoken. I no longer have that exact copy, but playing it on the Genesis again sure brings back memories. There may have been more Christmas given games through the years, but that small moment is most dear to me.
gojordon

getting ape escape for the playstation i still remember that the game was in a shoe box with duck tape around it.
xypherade

it was my first video game Christmas, I wanted a video game console, but I didn’t know which one. many people in my school said nintendo 64, but I wanted to try the original Playstation. after asking for it all month, and doing many extra chores, Christmas day came. I opened all of my presents, and no Playstation… then I saw something near the TV, it was a playstation box! I read the outside and… it was empty. I then ran to my room and cried. later my parents apologized and handed me the console. it was kind of mean but it made things all the better in the end.
Refa

Idnuf- Heh, the Gamecube is much better than the Xbox. Good thing your parents knew that.

darkslayer1996- Plot twist! But seriously, that seems pretty cool. How did your parents get their hands on an empty 360 box?
darkslayer1996

Damnit I didn’t win oh well atleast my comment was mentioned on his youtube video.
Last Year I really wanted a PS3 rather than a Xbox 360 because I had been a Sony Fanboy. So last year I saw a box worthy of fitting a gaming console. I had been telling I would love a PS3 for Christmas. I opened it there was a Xbox 360 box staring at me I was happy that I got it but it was the PS3 I was hoping for. So my cousins where here and I thought since they brought their 360 and a couple of games I decided to open it and play Halo 3. When I opened it there was a PS3 instead. I shook my head and looked at the box still a 360 box then I turned to my parents and then everyone yelled SURPRISE. I couldn’t believe it and I was a really happy that my parents went through that trouble to surprise me like that.
Samurai Sam

One year (probably 1996) when I was a kid, my dad told me a while before Christmas: “What if there was a game called…’The Secret’? Or…’The Secret of Evermore’?” He said it as if it were a figment of his imagination and I suspected that he was just teasing me. He kept reminding me of it for the next few weeks, and then Christmas day comes along and I opened my gift to see…you guessed it….Secret of Evermore! We had a good laugh and I’ll never forget that whole episode.
Idnuf

This is quite recent actually, but I still remember this vividly. The PS2 had come out the year earlier, but that next Christmas it was either the Gamecube or the Xbox. My brother kept on complaining about how the Gamecube was going to suck, and how the Xbox had cool games like Halo. Once Christmas came around, I was confident I would get a Gamecube and my brother was confident that the Xbox was the prize for the year. We had all the presents around the tree, and as they depleted I couldn’t keep my eye off this one big box. We inevitably got to this last box, and two other presents that looked like the DVD cases that both the Xbox and Gamecube use for games. So, the tension was building between my brother and I, since it was an Xbox and 2 games for it, or Gamecube and 2 games for it. I did the honors of unwrapping it, painfully slowly of course, just in case I wasn’t being strangled by the tension already. The back of the box was facing me as I first broke through the paper to the box. I rip towards the left a little bit, and I see this tiny little word there: “Nintendo”. A smile spread across my face, and my brother couldn’t see the box itself, but he had this “Oh please no” look on his face. I quickly rip off the rest of the paper and dramatically reveal that the present is indeed an Nintendo Gamecube. All of my brother’s hopes and dreams were crushed, and I just started laughing, harder and harder the more I thought about it. Something about how my brother was so crushed by this present was just so hilarious to me. I started with the endless “thank you”‘s that always accompany the unwrapping of a large gift. My brother just slowly walked over back to his chair and said nothing. He watched in horror as I unwrapped Pikmin and Luigi’s Mansion (kickass game by the way, it deserves more credit I think). Of course he forgot about his bitterness in a few minutes, as kids always do, but he never did play the Gamecube much. Well that was longwinded, but that is the memory I recall most clearly.
Nightmare26

It was back in 1996 when I my father bought me a GameBoy Pocket with Wario Land. Now, that was one awesome game!
S_Pac_316

I got a Sega Genesis for Christmas once,1992. What made it really special though was that my folks set it up like a treasure hunt by placing clues all over the house starting from the tree. Eventually it lead up to the Laundry den where the wrapped box was on top of the dryer and we opened it to find the Genesis. Good times!
LoneWolf

I remember when i was 7, i asked for a 32x for my genesis.

Well, come Christmas Moring, there it was, under the tree with a big red bow on it.

I was so happy, i fainted. Literaly.
megamanfan1500

Mine is pretty recent. It was 2006 and the Wii had just come out. I was aware of the shortage, but didn’t pay it any attention, I even went out and bought Twilight Princess before I had an actual Wii to play it on. Anyway, my brother, sister, and I searched and searched on the weeks leading up to Christmas. Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Gamestop, you name it. No one had it! So, Christmas came and went, and still no Wii. We didn’t give up however, and searched the day after at our local Best Buy to no avail. Finally, a friend of mine, who happened to work at Gamestop at the time told me that they may be getting a shipment in the week after Christmas, so we arrived at the appointed day EARLY! We waited and waited for the UPS truck containing shipments to arrive, when it finally did, a clerk at the store told us that there was no need waiting, the computer was only showing DS lites. My friend however was undeterred and opened up a box, and sure enough, there were Wiis!! We payed for it, and set it up and I was able to play Twilight Princess that night. It is an experience I’ll never forget.
rossosnaruto

Best memory was back in 1996, 13 years ago, i was only 12!!! i remember i got SUPER MARIO ALL STARS on the snes! OMG OMG OMG OMG… 4 Super Mario games in one!!!! it was the ultimate collection snes game! i was suuuuuuuuuuuuupppeeeeeeeer excited. it was on my birthday,on the 1 july when my dad bought it for me. my dad told me that he just randomly selected a game from the video games store! lol! i was lucky! Anw it was summer, i was only 12, so i was home all day, summer vacation…that mean 24/7 on the snes playing MARIOOOO BROTHERS! ;p
rossosnaruto

I WON……WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Gulandro

Ahoy,

I was about twelwe. I already had my NES (which was a yellow cartridged replica in Hungary, named Starfox) for years. But that christmas also came with one of my fav NES game till then: Kickmaster (is it also known there I wonder?). I remember playing it into the night when everyone went to sleep already. The tone and overall feel of tha game was my last time having true fun with my “NES”. It was hard and complex, with stage codes and took me a winter break time to beat. I miss that snowy winter feel with games.
Erik

I am not in this contest,(BIG DISCLAIMER) but I thought I’d share my favorite Christmas gaming memory with y’all.

Back in 91, I begged, no pleaded for a Super Nintendo. My folks led me to believe it wasn’t going to happen. Christmas morn rolls around and my brother and I had just finished unwrapping all the presents under the tree. NO SNES! Later, I began to put together the Ninja Turtle Mutant Module I’d received, but holy crap I should be playing Mario World right now.

Then, my mom says she found one last box in the attic. “Gee, I wonder what that could be?” (Don’t tease a kid like that. Geez!) I opened the box and there was a brand new Supey!

The next day, I remember going to the grocery store and renting F-Zero and Final Fight. Needless to say, it twas the greatest Cmas EVAR!

Erik
Refa

Before my favorite Christmas, my mom went to America for a business trip (I do live in the US, this was just when I lived in Malaysia for one year). I was really young at the time, and I really wanted Pokemon. The only games that I had played previously were craptastic educational games (well, Amazon Trail was kinda fun…I guess), Sega Smash Pack 1 (Loooooved Shining Force), and old PC Classic Jazz Jackrabbit 2. So imagine my joy when I got a brand new Game Boy Color and Pokemon Red! Even better yet, I also convinced my parents to buy me a copy of the Guide Book by Brady Games (a fantastic book, as far as video game guide books go IMHO), which I still have today. I also still have Pokemon Red….but unfortunately it’s kinda messed up (the cart). But with some cleaning tools, I will get it fixed!
http://www.gamespot.com/users/hart704/ HartKnight

I remember my older brother repeating “Nintendo, Nintendo, Nintendo” several times leading up to a mid-’80s Christmas. I also remember saying that our parents wouldn’t get us an NES. Thankfully I was wrong as it was under the tree on that day.
ProtoEXE88

Back when I was 6ish, for Christmas my parents gave me a Game Boy (original, clear color) with the Power Rangers game that came out for the movie.

So anyway, there was a fireplace down next to where we had the tree, and there was a big pile of presents in front of the fireplace with random tags with random names for other kids.

The story behind this, was that my parents were missing a bunch of toys for my brother and I, so they found these Christmas morning, and unwrapped just poured the bag in front of the fireplace before we got there and stuck tags on them to make it seem legit.

That Christmas was pretty memorable for that, and of course getting a Game Boy, so it was pretty sweet in general.