Games of Christmas Past

It's that time of year again, where we go out of our way to pretend we're not in the middle of Summer; it isn't 700,000 degrees outside. Large gatherings of people slip and slide on the mixture of sweat around shopping centres to cheerful tunes of a snowy Christmas, thousands of Santa imposters risk death in their boiling hot suits and the streets transform into a Winter wonderland. Each year the various decorations melt a little more. Rudolph's nose begins to bleed. Hurray!

So, while we're in the festive mood, what are some of the best Christmas-themed video games out there? Or rather, what are some of the best on Nintendo platforms? That rules out the likes of Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Psycho Santa and Christmas Lemmings. But that's okay, because this is where the current paragraph ends!




Animal Crossing (series)
System: GameCube, DS, Wii

Well, it's not Christmas 24/7 in the world of Animal Crossing (unless you mess with your system's clock settings), but we can be rebels. The series captures that warm, fuzzy feeling quite well. Ah, living as a slave to a bunch of wallpaper-obsessed animals. Lights get strung up around the trees, fitting music will kick in and Jingle the reindeer gives out presents on Christmas Eve!

“Here's that shirt you asked for” he'd say, fumbling with the box due to his lack of hands. “But I wanted a new bike!” “Well then you'll love this shirt, it has a pony on it!” “But... that... what?” Bitter disappointment.

Personally, I still prefer the GameCube version of this, and that's mainly due to the included NES games. Zoning out with Balloon Fight in a virtual house just felt so much better in December, and an army of those nightmare-ish dancing wood demons certainly helped set the mood. Of course, the Wii version allows you to meet up with your friends online and exchange gifts (garbage) whilst screaming about reproductive organs and such via WiiSpeak.

Indeed, 'tis the season to be jolly.




Daze Before Christmas
System: Super Nintendo

Sure, we've just seen the launch of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but it's a wonder why there haven't been more side-scrollers that let you take control of the other fat guy in red. Sunsoft's Daze Before Christmas has a fairly amusing title, but the gameplay itself is your standard platforming affair – not that there's anything wrong with that. There's enough here to keep your interest; you'll be running around picking up presents, rescuing elves and dropping heavy weights on... a uh, gigantic rat boss.

Oh, and you can transform Santa into the devil. No, really. Upon collecting a cup of coffee, he'll become 'Anti-Claus', an invincible beast that slaughters anything in his path. This is the greatest Santa ever.

Also, not-really-that-fun fact; Sunsoft originally released this game on the Mega Drive months before the Super Nintendo, and for some reason that version was only sold right here in Australia. As such, Daze Before Christmas is a pretty huge rarity in the Mega Drive's catalogue. It's probably worth about two bucks by now!




Batman Returns
System: Super Nintendo

Being based on the movie of the same name (Ernest Goes to Camp), yeah, this is set to a Christmas backdrop. Developed during Konami's licencing peak, the SNES version of Batman Returns is a beat 'em up. Everything was a beat 'em up, even the games that weren't.

This is an amazingly satisfying, mindless game, letting players hurl members of the Red Triangle Circus Gang into store front windows. They'd also jump out giant presents on motorbikes - well hello there, Mr. President. Being Batman, you could kick them in the face and this would somehow result in their bike exploding. Because that's just how Batman rolls with the laws of everything and anything.

Actually, there is a bit of variety on offer. Some levels play out more like a platformer, and there was a Batmobile stage in there somewhere. Definitely check this one out if you're looking to click your brain off for an hour or so!




Santa Claus Jr. Advance
System: Game Boy Advance

What an odd little release. JoWood's Santa Claus Jr. Advance got lost in the GBA's couch pretty much as soon as it came out. Look past the ugly art and you'll find a fun platformer with some really cool level design at times. Because of all the snow and ice, hurr. Santa's in trouble, he drank a whole bottle of Toilet Duck cleaner and fell off a bridge. After his funeral, some kid with blue hair decided to take over as Santa. Deep.

You're graded on level completion time and how many presents you manage to deliver. For whatever reason, kids are just out and about in bizarre hard to reach locations of each stage. “Wow, I'm at the North Pole today, I think I'll go stand on top of a tree!” Santa Claus Jr. Advance suffers from painful stock sound effects, but the music is actually pretty nice. Worth playing if someone crams the cartridge up your nose one day.



James Pond 2: Codename RoboCod
System: Super Nintendo, Game Boy Advance, DS

For some reason, this game just keeps reappearing. It never dies; every generation since its initial 1990 release on the Amiga has had its own James Pond 2 port. PlayStation 2? Yep, it's on there. In fact, it's behind you right now – don't turn around. The evil Dr. Maybe (oh yes, the tiring parody doesn't stop at the game's title) has taken over Santa's workshop and it's up to James Pond to save the day.

This is one of those 'collect 'em up' style platformers. Every level has ten billion items to find in order to increase that pointless score; you'd also have to track down penguins (or elves in the GBA/DS version) to open up the exit. James Pond's suit allowed him to stretch upwards or crouch down into a metal blob to crush enemies.

Speaking of which, there are some really bizarre baddies, including a double decker bus that launches old ladies at you. Why isn't that in every game? Although really, this one's on the list out of sheer desperation due to ultra slim pickings. It's not a bad game, but the repetitive nature of the title sets in quick. This is best played in short bursts; it has a crazy amount of levels, so it might keep you going until next Christmas. Oh, James.


Welp, that's about it. There's always the likes of Elf Bowling on DS or the recent Happy Holidays: Christmas on WiiWare, but I'm not here to promote suicide. But while it's only one small part of the game, Elite Beat Agents' Christmas level is absolutely incredible. Other than that, I don't know, try any of the four billion games that have a snow stage. Merry everything, everyone!