Extra Life 2024 Recap
By Brian • 19 January 2025
Gamers can’t resist a good list. Let’s start 2025 with a recap of the games I played during my 2024 Extra Life charity video game marathon, held on Saturday, November 2. That’s right—a big ol‘ list of classic games to start the year off right! No rankings, no snubs, no controversy. Just a list of games and probably too many words about each one.
As usual, I successfully conned many of my coworkers into marathoning with me, and as a team, we raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,348 for our St. Louis Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, putting our total over the years at roughly $10,400. CMN Hospitals have directly benefited the families of coworkers and friends alike, among countless other families. It’s a cause I’m always happy to support, and Extra Life makes it easy to get involved. It’s a lot of fun and a perfect excuse to play games for 24 hours and revisit many of my retro favorites, as well as maybe check out games I’ve never played before, but have always meant to try.
So what games did I play over the 24 hours? It’s a who’s who of 8 and 16-bit nonsense, with one (count ’em, one) PC game mixed in to keep you on your toes. Let’s talk about them!
Power Blade 2 (NES)
Oh, man. Talk about an inauspicious start. I played the original Power Blade for the first time ever and beat it in a little more than an hour during the 2023 marathon. I assumed Power Blade 2 would be more of the same. How wrong I was. While I did enjoy the same platforming and boomerang-hucking action of the first Power Blade, the sequel switches up the formula with more linear gameplay and a staggering difficulty spike. Maybe Nintendo and Taito lost too much money from players beating the original on rentals? The challenge is mitigated slightly by a variety of power suits collected via defeating minibosses. These suits help Nova (portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger—we had this discussion last year; it’s him) cope with various level hazards. The wet suit, for example, increases Nova’s movement speed and boomerangin’ skills underwater, while the rocket suit boasts a jetpack that helps him bypass complicated platforming sequences. They weren’t enough help for me, though—I couldn’t believe how poorly I played. I finally gave up after more than an hour, having collected all of the suits, but finishing just one level. It’s a good thing I subscribe to Arnold’s Pump Club newsletter. I needed some of that Monday motivation after this sorry performance.
I think Power Blade 2 is a good game—I’ll definitely give it more time in the future, but it nearly crushed my spirit within the first hour of the marathon! A good day demanded a quick recovery. Could I pull out of an early tailspin?
Also, fun fact: Power Blade 2 takes place on Christmas Day, seemingly filling the same role in video games that Die Hard fills in cinema. I know people inexplicably discuss Christmas video games all the time, so the next time you need to be the edgy guy in the room, throw Power Blade 2’s name out there and impress/horrify your friends with deep gaming knowledge!
Chip ’n‘ Dale Rescue Rangers (NES)
I went with an easier experience for my second game of the day. While Chip ’n‘ Dale isn’t the very easiest play in the world, its kid-friendly, Disney-inspired levels are significantly easier than those found in Power Blade 2, and with no shortage of projectiles to hurl at robot dogs and weasel gangsters with plunger guns and the like, I action-platformed my way through most of the levels in short order. After a discouraging start, I needed a boost of confidence, and these two gumshoes picked up the slack for me.
Fat Cat’s base of operations inside a cat food factory gave me a fair amount of trouble, which is not an uncommon occurrence with this game. Knowing this in advance, I collected as many flower and star power-ups as I could, hoarding 1-ups in anticipation of the final level (100 flowers and 10 stars are each worth a 1-up), so as not to get a game-over at the very end. Chip ’n‘ Dale has limited continues, so while it can be forgiving, let’s not forget that it’s still an NES game ready and willing to dump me back to the title screen at the slightest hint of underperformance.
Taking the challenges in stride, I stumbled my way through the final level after numerous deaths, crushed Fat Cat, and braced for my next adventure, uncertain of what to expect.
Luckily, I did not play Chip ’n‘ Dale with a second player, a much harder experience, as poor Craig can attest.
Kabuki Quantum Fighter (NES)
Due for a revisit, Kabuki Quantum Fighter sat dormant since my first gaming marathon in 2014, before I was even playing for Extra Life! In that time, I forgot many of the game’s nuances, so adding the game to the Extra Life roster came with some hesitation.
The story of Kabuki Quantum Fighter is ludicrous and therefore must be shared. A virus has invaded Earth’s defense computer, so Scott O’Connor, a navy colonel, volunteers to be converted to raw data via the brand new Image Transfer System. The system then injects him into the defense computer where, due to his Japanese heritage, he assumes the form of a Kabuki warrior and takes the fight to the virus, which assumes the forms of traditional video game enemies and bosses. You can imagine where it goes from here: naturally, it’s a sidescrolling platformer!
To my delight, the revisit proved timely and fun. The platforming is wild and diverse, requiring much jumping, climbing, and hanging from various surfaces to avoid spikes, transformers, and poisonous goos. With a little practice, it’s not too tough and a lot of fun, with the exception of one or two extra-precise jumps, and some icy surfaces that feel way out of place. Maybe a cooling unit fritzed out. The true challenge lies in the stress of Kabuki Quantum Fighter’s boss fights, which demand pattern recognition, patience, and skill. Once the Dynamite subweapon is acquired, boss fights (sometimes) get a little easier, especially the final boss, provided I collected enough power chips along the way to power the weapon.
Another limited-continues affair, Kabuki Quantum Fighter’s final boss pushed me to the brink of a trip back to the title screen, but just when it appeared as if I would choke like a dog at the very end, my pattern recognition abilities kicked into high gear long enough for me to thwart the virus and restore the defense computer to order. Whew, a close one! Having not played the game for so long, beating it felt great, and with the bitter defeat at the hands of Power Blade 2 a couple of wins behind me now, things were looking up.
Double Dragon (NES)
I knew including Double Dragon in a marathon was a gamble. I've only beaten it once without save states. However, it's still one of my favorite NES games, and I hesitated to include it in a marathon until now due to its difficulty. Ultimately, the gamble did not pay off—I faltered during the final level on each of two attempts. It begins with two sets of trap blocks that slide out of the wall with no discernible pattern and ram into Billy Lee for big damage. On my first try, the block traps softened me up for a group of Chin enemies to finish the job, beating me into a pool of blood and slime. On my second, I lost both of my remaining lives on the block traps, themselves, and that was the end. This is the curse of Double Dragon. I rarely lose more than one life on the first three levels combined, unless I tussle with a particularly feisty Abobo. The fourth and final level wrecks me forever and always, especially the block traps at the beginning, and then that loser Willy at the end, who brings a machine gun to a fistfight. Not cool, Willy. I didn’t make it to Willy this time, but if I had, he would have been the same cheating scumbag I’ve come to know and love (to hate)!
Luckily, going into Double Dragon knowing I probably wouldn’t win, I was bemused, but undeterred by my loss and pressed on to another classic beat ’em up.
Golden Axe (Sega Genesis)
I remember a summer spent long ago, probably in junior high, with a Sega Genesis emulator and the final level of Golden Axe. It’s an extra level not included in the arcade version and ends with a final confrontation against Death Bringer, an even nastier version of the already-imposing Death Adder, the final boss of the arcade game. I rampantly abused save states to pick my way through the level bit by bit, again and again, learning its tricks and nuances, dying endlessly under the feet of skeletons, statues of warriors come to life, and other horrors. Ah, a more innocent and civilized era, apparently with all the time in the world at my disposal!
With all the practice in my younger years, I must have eventually gotten good because now, even in my old age, I can beat Golden Axe without save states. I wouldn’t call it easy, as I only had two lives left when I brought down Death Bringer, but it was great fun. Luck was on my side, however, as one of Death Bringer’s indestructible skeleton allies despawned during the fight, leaving me one less adversary to overcome.
I had so much fun with Golden Axe. It’s not a technically complex beat ’em up—no crazy combos or involved special moves or the like. But tearing through enemies with a big axe (or sword, if you’re not playing as Gilius the dwarf) feels weighty, and there’s nothing more satisfying than knocking tough skeletons off a conveniently placed ledge. It’s not too long, but challenging enough that winning feels like a major accomplishment. Oh, and the rideable mounts add a nice touch. It’s too bad I always get knocked off of them immediately, so I never get to enjoy them fully.
I didn’t remember that before the credits roll, the ending displays stats like heights, weights, and power levels of all the characters in the game, even the villagers who flee screaming in terror from Death Adder’s goons and are forgotten amidst all the action. I got an unreasonable kick out of these stats; just another little touch of fun at the end of a great brawler.
Contra 3: The Alien Wars (SNES)
When it comes to Contra, the third installment is not among my most-played. I put many hours into Super C and Operation C as a kid, and a lot into original Contra in high school. I had Contra 3, but I think I moved on from it when I beat it and haven’t revisited that often. There is really, truly nothing wrong with the game; it’s just one of those franchise milestones that I have somehow managed to neglect as compared to most fans.
That being said, I did not adequately prepare for this run and stalled out on the fifth level, one of those rotating, overhead Mode-7 affairs. The defeat left me unfazed at the time, but I think there’s a rematch with Contra 3 in my near future.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Sega Genesis)
The Hyperstone Heist lives in the shadow of Turtles in Time, but it’s a great Ninja Turtles game in its own right. It’s only five or six levels long, but they’re lengthy and full of surprises. I like the Hyperstone Heist in that the bosses generally have discernible patterns that can be taken advantage of, a task much harder to accomplish in the original TMNT arcade game.
I don’t have a lot of specific memories of this playthrough of The Hyperstone Heist, other than that I played as Donatello, I won, and it was another close call. This was a fairly beat ‘em up-heavy marathon, so it’s possible I was a little burnt out by the end of this one, having also played Double Dragon and Golden Axe. Hey, it’s a good genre. I really can’t get enough of games like this. Bad Enough Dude Matt also stopped by to chat, and I probably had more fun talking to him than playing. No offense to The Hyperstone Heist—Matt is pretty engaging.
Super Metroid (SNES)
Shockingly, Super Metroid, a game I play on what I believe to be a consistent basis, fell into the realm of games that I haven’t played recently enough to remember the route I normally take and the locations of many items. Or, my memory is failing. Either way, like with Kabuki Quantum Fighter, it was time for a revisit. I ran out of time to finish Super Metroid during the marathon (I am not a speedrunner, by any means), but I went back and finished it as part of a bonus stream later in the year.
I don’t have much else to add, other than that Super Metroid is still really good and reigns as a top-4 Super Nintendo game.
At this point in the marathon, I took on the three games picked by the fans as part of our donation incentives. Each year, I provide a list of Mario, Castlevania, and Mega Man games, and ask donors to pick one of each. The games that raise the most money win.
Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
I don’t know why, but I always approach Super Mario Land with trepidation. It was one of my first Game Boy games, which could be extra stressful in that beating the game had to be done on the short lifespan of four AA batteries. Super Mario Land can be stingy with lives, too (unless you’re really good at reaching the end-level bonus games), so it’s more akin to the original than to later Mario games, which seem obligated to shower the player with 1-ups in comparison. The physics of Super Mario Land are never a for-sure thing, either—it’s common to fall off or miss platforms entirely due to a jump gone awry. It’s just kind of a weird game, with enemies like spiders, sphinxes, and hopping zombies, super balls instead of fireballs, even shmup sequences! It’s the weird Mario, but absolutely worth playing, nevertheless. Maybe more so because of the weirdness.
Upon firing it up during the marathon, I again found myself uneasy about what to expect. While I did lose some lives on bad jumps in worlds 2 and 3, aside from a handful of other mishaps, it was fine, totally fine. I think I beat the game with 20-some lives stockpiled. Why do I stress out about this game?!
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (Game Boy)
Okay, now here’s a game truly worthy of my stress. I’ve only completed Belmont’s Revenge once. Honestly, most of the game is slow-paced, fairly undemanding vampire-killing action, as Christopher Belmont battles through four themed castles (plant, crystal, sky, and rock) on his way to Dracula’s castle for a final showdown with the count and, shockingly, Belmont’s own son, Soleilyu, the victim of a kidnapping and now under the thrall of Dracula.
While I say Belmont’s Revenge is undemanding, it’s not without its challenges, mostly platforming-based. There are a few precise jumps made more complicated by Christopher’s deadly-slow walking speed, like that of a slasher villain. Also, frustration mounted in a number of rooms involving riding pulleys up or down and avoiding spiked floors and ceilings along the way. The pulleys also change directions periodically to incite additional rage.
The true challenge, however, lies in the two final bosses, Soleilyu and Dracula. I spent over an hour on these two guys alone. Neither fight can be won without expert pattern recognition, requiring Christopher to dodge flying knives from his son and swirling energy orbs from the big bad. The Dracula fight, in particular, gets really nasty, where not only did I have to dodge the orbs, but also memorize the spots in the room to stand to give myself the best chance to dodge said orbs. I finally pulled it off, but wow. Probably a top-5 frustrating sequence in the history of the marathon.
I needed a much-deserved break after Belmont’s Revenge, and some easier games to cleanse the palette, too. At least the music is awesome.
Mega Man X (SNES)
Palette cleanser? Yeah, Mega Man X ought to do it. I know this game back and forth—not Mega Man 2 or Mega Man 3 levels of back-and-forth, but well enough to turn my brain off and decompress after the final boss nightmare of Belmont’s Revenge. I had a little trouble on Launch Octopus’s level, with some irritating spike-related deaths, but Mega Man X otherwise restored my confidence and provided a breather. A little food and drink did me some good, too. Thwarting Sigma and his robot mavericks gave me the boost I needed to tackle the second half of the marathon.
NES Open Tournament Golf (NES)
A Tradition Unlike Any Other™, NES Open Tournament Golf is now a part of the marathon every year. It’s relaxing and a change of pace from all the fast-paced platforming action that encompasses the majority of my playtime. I finished 7-over par, which is better than the previous year, as I recall. I’ll break even eventually, and it will be a momentous day!
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest Randomizer (NES)
Maybe the most interesting experience of the 2024 marathon, I tried a Castlevania II randomizer for the first time. I kept things basic, only randomizing item locations and prices. Nothing crazy like randomizing the map or the types of enemies in a given location, or enabling the mode that kills Simon in one hit. I’m already gaming for 24 hours straight—what more do you want from me?!
I love Castlevania II and play it all the time—the difficulty, action, music, and length (not to mention my familiarity with it) combine for the perfect experience when I want to play something quick and low-stakes that I know I can finish. It’s an experience that truly allows me to turn off my brain and enjoy mindless fun. Playing it with shuffled item locations forced me to really think for the first time while playing it in literal decades. I adapted to missing items, skipping certain actions and locations, rerouting Simon as best I could. I missed holy water in a big way—it allows the breaking of certain blocks, and I didn’t have it until the endgame (it’s normally the second item I pick up), which meant that once I finally acquired it, I had to backtrack to a number of shopkeepers gated behind breakable blocks to find all the items needed to access Dracula’s castle.
My big mistake? I had Dracula’s nail for much of the run, and forgot that, when equipped, the nail empowers the whip to break the same blocks as holy water. Whoops. But, it’s okay! It made for a much more challenging and robust adventure, and I never found myself in an unwinnable scenario, although there were some close calls where I almost gave up. Luckily, I kept thinking of one more option that ultimately worked out. The only item I didn’t find was the silver knife, which isn’t required, anyway. I would like to try this again! What a great time!
Ultima Online (PC)
Each year, I like to allow myself an indulgence during the marathon’s overnight hours, a game that I know won’t be entertaining to the casual observer, but that I’ve been itching to play. Most everybody is asleep, so I’m not too concerned about views or broad appeal or whatever at this stage. In the past, I’ve used this time to play lengthy niche-licensed affairs like Godzilla: Monster of Monsters on NES, or roguelites like Sword of the Stars: The Pit on PC. It’s a great opportunity to dive into something that will consume a lot of time, keep me engaged, and isn’t too reflex-intensive.
This year, I took the opportunity to try out Ultima Online’s New Legacy server, which I blogged about in my previous entry. I won’t rehash too much here—it wasn’t a perfect experience, but I had fun and was happy to see this 27-year old game try something new and different. Half-heartedly narrating the story segments probably helped keep me awake, too, so I appreciated their inclusion.
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest (SNES)
At last, the grand finale! Mystic Quest gets a bad rap as “Baby’s First RPG,” and while no, it’s not terribly difficult or ambitious, the randomness of battle requires some thought and strategy to overcome. Fortunately, not so much thought and strategy that I couldn’t play it in the final hours of the marathon, with brain and reflexes so addled that it was difficult to put together two consecutive actions without serious effort. Hey, I think I did pretty well, as a matter of fact! I got two of the four crystals in about three and a half hours. Granted, they were the easy crystals, but the feat was worth a couple of celebratory coffees, at least. Did I get those coffees? I hope so. Events following the marathon are pretty fuzzy.
I’d like to thank Mystic Quest’s killer score for keeping me awake during these last, most incoherent hours. Nothing like a Mystic Quest boss encounter to get those sleepy synapses firing once more.
That’s it! That’s the list!
There you have it! As always, thanks to everyone who contributed to the marathon: my coworkers for keeping things fun in real life, Mod Melissa for keeping the chat active, any friends, family, or strangers who dropped by the stream or the office while we played, anybody who provided food, and finally, all the donors whose contributions to the cause make this whole endeavor worthwhile every year.
I’m sure we’ll be doing this again in 2025. In fact, if you’re completely nuts and feel compelled to get a very early donation in, I’m already registered. Let’s go.
As always, thank you for reading, and stay tuned for another list! A top games of 2024 list, perhaps?!
