Throwback Thursday - Castle Crashers

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday, our weekly look into my Top 100 games and general nostalgia.  Leading the siege this week: The game of collectible critters and heavy hitters that is Castle Crashers.

Released in the US on August 27th, 2008, Castle Crashers is a delightfully silly and captivating cooperative Beat 'em up game with RPG elements.  Developed by The Behemoth, the makers of Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers features that signature Flash art style and music created by members of Newgrounds.  The game follows four starting playable knights who must stop a dark wizard, rescue various princesses, and recover the king's magical gem.  To do so, players will slay countless barbarians, bears, ninjas, skeletons, and more (most all of which can later be unlocked as playable characters).  Sandwiches will be eaten for Hulk-like power growths.  Mounted crocodiles will be ridden by friends and foes alike.  Terrified critters will run away in flatulent fear.  The sense of humor and variance in this game knows no bounds, which is most welcome due to the repetitive nature that comes from Beat 'em up brawlers.  Even the cooperative elements take a side seat occasionally for some quick competitive fun, as players compete in volleyball matches or some PvP combat for the honor of making out with a rescued princess, which builds up to a most comical final bout for this amorous reward and memorable ending to the game.

For those who cannot get enough of this simple, but drawing gameplay, the wealth of secrets and collectibles in this game add an addicting fuel to the fire to keep playing.  Depending on what version / DLC you have for this game, there are 31 playable characters to unlock, and 84 weapons plus 29 Animal Orbs (aka pets) to find, all of which have unique abilities, stats, and benefits (or sometimes detriments for added challenge/fun).  Every character can also gain experience in the game to buff up stats and learn new combos.  With every character having the potential to go up to level 99, the game has near endless gameplay potential if one should never tire of this game.  So grab some friends, have some laughs, and have fun bashing it up.  Castle Crashers reminds us there is plenty of enjoyment to be had from simple, chaotic gameplay and a quirky sense of humor.