Video Games: Before and After Trivia Quiz

Answer: Princess

"The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" was released for the Nintendo Wii in November of 2006 and released several weeks later for the Nintendo Gamecube. Some astute players noticed that Link was traditionally left-handed and remained so in the Gamecube version of the game, but was right-handed in the Wii version.

The game itself was actually inverted and each world is a mirror version of the other. Princess Peach is the long-suffering, rather helpless love interest of Mario. The word "Princess" connects the two words above.

There's another connection between "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and Princess Peach: Link from "Twilight Princess" and Princess Peach are both playable characters in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" for the Wii.

Answer: Dark

"Perfect Dark", released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000, plays similarly to the N64's "GoldenEye 007" although it is not a James Bond related game. The development of the game's prequel, "Perfect Dark Zero". lasted for years and was in development for both the Nintendo Gamecube and Microsoft Xbox before ending up on the Xbox 360 as a launch title in 2005. "Dark Cloud" is a single-player RPG that was released for the PS2 in 2001. "Dark Cloud" was developer Level-5's first release, and Level-5 has since developed well-received games such as "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King" for the PS2 and "Professor Layton and the Curious Village" for the Nintendo DS.

Another small link between the games is that both came out in May of their respective release years.

Answer: Adventure

"Kirby's Adventure" was one of Nintendo's swan songs for its NES console, releasing in 1993. It has often been the tradition of game developers and publishers to release a game first on a console, and then port it or create a sequel on a handheld gaming system. "Kirby's Dream Land" for the Nintendo Game Boy actually pre-dated "Kirby's Adventure," although the latter featured an automatic save function the former did not. "Adventure Island" was another successful video game franchise that produced games on the NES, TurboGrafx-16, and Super Nintendo.

A link between the games? Both have been featured on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console.

Answer: Master

"Blaster Master," released in 1988 for the NES, is based on a Japanese Nintendo Famicom game. Master Chief, also known as John-117, is the protagonist of the "Halo" series. "Blaster Master" and Master Chief can be connected through the theme of interplanetary war.

While "Blaster Master" itself features fighting in an underground cavern, the Japanese game it was directly based on places the fight on a distant planet. "Halo" finds Master Chief battling the alien alliance Covenant in space.

Answer: Fire

"Breath of Fire" for the Super Nintendo was published in North America by Squaresoft, but was developed and published by Capcom in Japan prior to its U.S. release. The game features eight playable characters in total, although only four characters at a time can be in your party.

There is also an Easter Egg in the game where under certain conditions, you can make Chun Li from the "Street Fighter" series appear. "Fire Emblem" for the Game Boy Advance, while the seventh game to be released in the series, was the first "Fire Emblem" game to make it to North America.

There are many successful Japanese video game franchises that are produced for years before a game in the series ever sees a stateside release. "Breath of Fire" finds you assuming the role of Ryu, a human who comes from a group that is able to transform its members into dragons. "Fire Emblem" sets up the game's story by discussing an ancient war between humans and dragons.

Answer: Tales

"Duck Tales" was one of several Disney franchise games produced by Capcom that made its way to the NES. "Darkwing Duck" and "TaleSpin" were also made into NES games, although neither game received as much critical praise as "Duck Tales." "Tales of Symphonia" was the first and only entry in the "Tales" series to be released on the Nintendo Gamecube. Both Capcom and Namco's (the publisher of "Tales of Symphonia") American offices are located in Central California.

Answer: Legend

"The Guardian Legend" is an underappreciated shooter/action-adventure game for the NES released in 1989. The player switches back and forth between a human form, where the game sidescrolls, and a spaceship form, where the game becomes a shooter and features an overhead perspective. "The Legend of Zelda" is a well-known action-adventure game and series that made its mark on the United States beginning in 1987.

A bizarre connection exists between the two games. The primary alien world of "The Guardian Legend" is called Naju. Anagram that and you find the name of a popular character from "The Legend of Zelda" series: Anju. Anju is a cucco keeper in "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" and the innkeeper in "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask."

Answer: Skies

The "Crimson Skies" series actually began its life as a board game before transitioning to games for both the PC and the Microsoft Xbox. "Skies of Arcadia" was first released on the Sega Dreamcast in 2000, and later made its way to the Nintendo Game Cube with additional content and a new name: "Skies of Arcadia: Legends." A shared word in the titles isn't the only commonality between the games. "Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge" and "Skies of Arcadia" both feature main characters who are leaders of their respective air pirate gangs. Nathan Zachary of "Crimson Skies" heads up the Fortune Hunters group, while Vyse of "Skies of Arcadia" leads the Blue Rogues.

Answer: Kingdom

"Makai Kingdom" is a strategy RPG for the PS2 developed by the Japanese company Nippon Ichi Software, who is also known for other tactical RPG's like "Disgaea: Hour of Darkness" and "La Pucelle: Tactics." "Kingdom Hearts" is an action RPG released for the PS2 that was the love child of the minds at Squaresoft and Disney and featured popular characters from Disney movies, as well as characters from Square's "Final Fantasy" series. "Kingdom Hearts" has become a successful franchise, with both a Game Boy Advance release and a second PS2 game. Crispin Freeman, an American voice actor, provided the voices for the Overlord Zetta in "Makai Kingdom" and Setzer Gabbiani in "Kingdom Hearts II."

Answer: Attack

"Tetris Attack" for the Super Nintendo is the first of many games released in North America based on the Japanese game "Panel de Pon" and is included in Nintendo's "Puzzle League" series. Other entries into the series include "Pokemon Puzzle League" and "Planet Puzzle League." Bizarrely, "Tetris Attack," after being ported to North America and having recognizable Nintendo characters added, was actually ported back to Japan with those characters included and retitled "Yoshi no Panepon." "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" was released for the NES in 1991, and was based on an "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" cartoon. These games honestly don't have much in common... unless we bring them back full circle to "Super Smash Bros. Brawl". One of the items in "Brawl" is the Maxim Tomato, which significantly reduces the amount of damage a character has taken. Another one of the items in "Brawl" is Lip's Stick, which is an item used for hitting your opponents. Lip was the character from "Panel de Pon" who was replaced by Yoshi in "Tetris Attack".

I hope you enjoyed my quiz and the video game connections!