Nintendo All-Stars: Mike Jones

When we first meet young Mike Jones he is only 15 years old, but is known worldwide as an ace baseball pitcher in Seattle. His uncle, Dr. Steven Jones, is a famous archaeologist and explorer who had spent many years on C-Island searching for a mystery. One night, just before Mike was due to visit, Dr. Jones went missing.

On arrival in Coralcola village, Mike met with Chief Coralcola who explained the situation. Mike was to head to Dr. Jones's laboratory, but vile creatures had swamped the caves under the island. Mike bravely stormed in, watched over by a mysterious shaman who preached the Southern Cross. He was able to unblock the crumbling pathway through to Dr. Jones's lab, but he had to face down the dreadful C-Serpent. Armed with a yo-yo from the Coralcola tribe he was able to knock the vicious beast out of action before moving on.

Dr. Jones was not at his lab, predictably enough, but his C-Island assistant Baboo was on hand. He knew Mike had to head off in the yellow Sub-C, and gave him the coordinates to follow Dr. Jones's path. Mike then met with Nav-Com, the Sub-C's computer. The two were to travel across the ocean to an island of mazelike tunnels. Mike met a grieving dolphin, whose child had been imprisoned by the sea creatures nearby. Searching about, Mike came across a second set of coordinates dropped by his uncle, and used them to access the monsters' cave. Inside he had to face the terrible Octo the Huge. Armed with his yo-yo and now a baseball bat he had found, he was able to slay the creature and free the young dolphin. Grateful for rescuing her child, the mother dolphin helped Mike navigate the shallow corals to the East, where the coordinates pointed.

Not long after waving goodbye to the dolphins, the Sub-C got caught in a terrible storm, and was wrecked. Mike washed up on the shore of an island with the wrecked submarine just behind. After passing through a dark cave, Mike found the village of Miracola. The chief promised Mike he would fix the Sub-C if Mike could help him first. A strange rain of shooting stars had cast his daughter, Bananette, into a slumber from which she hadn't awakened. Mike set off into a nearby cave where strange beasts had been lurking. Indeed, Mike was faced with a terrible monster called Magma, who was made entirely out of molten lava. Using his cunning, Mike triggered a switch that sent Magma tumbling into the water, solidifying it. He passed out of the cave unscathed, and found the female-only castle of Shecola. He was unable to enter, but a fortune teller offered to help him if he found the crystal ball he had dropped in a pond near the Ghost Village. Mike set off, tired, but willing to help.

In the Ghost Village, even more terrible monsters lurked. To battle many of the creatures, Mike had to call upon the magical Rod of Sight that made ghosts and spirits visible. The biggest of these ghosts, Maxie, stood between Mike and the crystal ball he needed. With a well aimed bolas missile, Mike was able to bring the spirit down and drain the lake. With the crystal ball in tow, Mike made the fortune teller very happy. He unveiled a magical power to transform Mike into a girl, allowing him access to Shecola castle (though he wasn't best pleased about it). The female residents were happy to teach the transformed Mike the secret code that would allow him to go west, so once he had that the fortune teller transformed him back to a boy. In the West Tunnel, Mike jumped on a switch ten times and shouted Abracadabra! allowing him to continue on to Hermit's Mountain. He met a strange poet called Po, who agreed to meet him at the top of Hermit's Mountain. After a long climb, Mike triggered a terrific geyser that fired him to the top of the mountain. Po was waiting at the top, and handed Mike the scroll that would awaken Bananette. Mike ran all the way back to Miracola and used the scroll. It worked! Bananette awoke, and the villagers kept their promise by making the Sub-C seaworthy once again. Mike was back off on his adventure.

Upon reaching the island of Tunacola, Mike heard someone from Coralcola was looking for him. Mike continued his adventure East when he was suddenly swallowed by a massive whale. Inside was his contact - it was Dr. Jones's assistant, Baboo! Mike had to help find Baboo's lighter before they could escape. The Sub-C was able to navigate the inside of the whale, and it wasn't long before the lighter was found and returned to Baboo. Once lit, the whale expressed its discomfort by spitting out Mike, Baboo and the Sub-C. Back on safe ground, Baboo told Mike that Dr. Jones had actually been abducted by an alien spacecraft, and gave him secret coordinates to continue onwards to find his uncle.

The Sub-C finally docked near the village of Bellcola after being blocked by an abandoned pirate ship. The chief said a message had been passed from C-Island that Mike would have to enlist the help of Peter. Peter turned out to be a hungry parrot who refused to talk without a gift of some kind. Mike found one - a juicy worm given by a pirate named Hook. Pleased, Peter gave Mike the code to enter Captain Bell's Cave. By entering the code at Bell's memorial stone, a doorway opened leading to a secret passageway, that in turn led to a cave. Inside the cave Mike had to battle his way through monsters (including skeleton pirates) until he reached a switch. Hitting it, the water in the cave drained and the pirate ship sunk below the waves. The Sub-C could pass once again on its adventure.

Mike pulled up at the village of Howduyado-Cola, where he heard good news - Dr. Jones had been seen nearby! Navigating the underwater caverns, Mike found himself in the Turboss caverns. Inside he had to fight the terrible Giant Turboss before he could make his way through the rest of the cave. Using a winged anklet Mike able to pass the bottomless abyss and find the terrible Broken Joe (a Moai head). Bringing the beast down, Mike escaped the cave near a place where a meteor had struck the Earth. Another cave awaited him, as did the terrible Twins Sumocho. Mike had to take out both of the fire-breathing Sumochos. Exhausted from this latest ordeal, Mike left the cave and saw... Dr. Jones! The doctor had come here to investigate a meteor, said to be an escape pod from the planet of Argonia after a terrible war with a group of evil alien invaders. Inside it were three cubes, but Dr. Jones had been forced to give them over to the evil aliens. However, those aliens were still grounded on Earth, and if Mike could retrieve the cubes he would be helping an alien race. Mike agreed.

Mike travelled north where he was able to gain access to the terrible space craft. Inside he found a lazer gun, which he held on to during his battle with the Jet Pack Jumpers. Again his winged anklet came in useful so he could move around almost as well as his enemies. Once defeated, Mike found the first Cube, as well as an upgrade for his Bolas weapon - it was now a Super Nova. This came in handy when a giant Jet Pack Jumper stood in his way, and then a beastly Ostroid. He cast them both down in tough battles before finding the second Cube. The ship suddenly rumbled and took flight, and Mike crept forward where he found himself in the presence of the highest of the evil aliens - Zoda. The horrible creature attacked in the form of a clawed skull, but after defeating it, Mike saw Zoda's real body, and he ran off down the corridors. Mike followed him into the Core of the ship, which he destroyed. The ship was dark, and Zoda attacked again in his true form. The battle was the hardest yet, but eventually Mike cast the final blow, and Zoda fell. Mike ran through a maze where the final Cube had been hidden, and before the ship self-destructed he found an escape pod and fell back to Earth.

He woke up on the beach of C-Island, where the dolphin mother had carried him. Mike made his way to Chief Coralcola's hut where Dr. Jones was waiting. The Cubes were put together and in a flash seven children of Argonia appeared. They were all the children of Hirocon, leader of Argonia, sent to escape the wars with Zoda. Mike had saved an entire race from extinction, and defeated their nemesis. Far from taking a well-deserved rest, though, Mike decided it was time to enjoy his holiday. The party went on into the night, and Mike took a keen interest in Mica, one of the children of Argonia.

Mica and her siblings agreed to remain on C-Island while Mike and Dr. Jones returned to Seattle. Mike's uncle was researching a cipher he'd seen written on the inside of the Argonian escape pod. One day, a couple of years later, Mike was contacted telepathically by Mica. She had remembered something about the cipher, and passed it on to Mike. He took it to his perplexed uncle whose research of the Oxford Wonder World had brought up nothing. Dr. Jones suddenly understood, and said the cipher had to be read backwards. Without thinking, Mike did exactly that. It was a magical spell, and before Dr. Jones could say no, Mike was gone - vanished into the pages of the Oxford Wonder World.

Mike woke up on a snowy mountainside, where the only life he could see were wild boar, cavemen and bears. The cavemen, living in a communal cave, were glad to see Mike, as their children had been kidnapped by the terrible Yum-Yum beast. They hoped this newcomer could help them. Mike set off to Yum-Yums cave, where the vicious beast was gorging on the wild animals in the cave. Mike slayed the horrible monster, and the children were freed. He also found an unusual-shaped block, which he pocketed for safekeeping. On leaving Yum-Yums cave, Mica was able to contact Mike telepathically. By uttering the cipher, Mike had been selected to find the Argonian relics known as Tetrads, that had been hidden on Earth throughout time. For what purpose, Mica didn't say, but Mike realised that the block he had picked up must be one of them. He picked up his copy of the Oxford Wonderworld and spoke into it again, and he was transported through time once more.

He awoke in the middle of ancient Egypt, near Cleopatra's barge. The Egyptian queen had been waiting for a pizza, but the delivery boy hadn't shown up. Mike travelled through Border Pass, and borrowed a camel from a traveller. Lost in the desert was the turtle-riding pizza boy. Mike was given the pizza, and once the queen had it she offered to take him to the pyramid where another Tetrad was said to be hidden. However, the passage turned out to be blocked by a force field. In a burst of eccentricity, Mike chased after a little monkey and caught it. The monkey turned out to have psychic powers, and taught Mike how to use them. They came in useful, as the Psychic Shockwave was enough to knock down the force field to the pyramid. Using a magical flute, Mike faced off against the Monster Mask. His newly found psychic powers were enough to take down the monster, and to find the second Tetrad.

After another trip through time and space, Mike awoke in Baker Street, London. Attracted to the mysterious stranger appearing out of nowhere, Sherlock Holmes investigated Mike. Once he trusted him enough, he mentioned that the museum was to be burgled tonight by the villainous Zoda-X. Mike's nemesis, the evil alien Zoda, was back! Mike offered to help, and was told to meet at the museum at midnight. Once there (after some business with being wrongfully arrested and escaping from prison) Mike and Holmes entered the museum to watch the stone - it was a Tetrad! Mike reached for it, but Zoda-X appeared and snatched it. Mike chased him outside and into the sewers where he was confronted with Zoda's Creature and Zoda-X himself. Mike fought the alien and defeated him. Mike snatched the Tetrad up and spoke to Holmes outside. Holmes deduced that if this were Zoda-X, there would most likely be a Zoda-Y and Z as well, and that Mike should be careful. With another flip of the Wonder World, Mike was off.

Mike found himself walking amongst the settlers of America, searching for gold. Armed with some dynamite he crossed into the mountains and (following the clues given by the locals) found the Gold Cave. Inside was a donkey who taught Mike the Super Psychic Shockwave. When he came across the skeletal Mashing Miner, Mike was able to bring down the terrible beast. The next Tetrad was his, and the Oxford Wonder World was used to travel to...

Italy! Mama mia! Mike was drawn to a peculiar statue that stood out. A strange knocking inside led him to chisel away the stone, and inside was Leonardo da Vinci. He said that Zoda-Y's breath had petrified him in the stone, but he would give Mike a flying machine to reach the next Tetrad. Whilst travelling through the air, Mica contacted him again. It seemed the Zoda aliens had learned how to timeslip by hypnotising Dr. Jones, and had even turned up on C-Island to pester the Argonians. Mike landed in the relatively safe Eastern Palace, and found the next Tetrad, but Zoda-Y appeared and sent Mike through a time slip to Transylvania. Entering Dracula's Castle was easy compared to fighting the monsters within. However, it turned out that Dracula wasn't what Mike should have worried about, but Zoda-Y's reappearance. After a terrible battle, Mike cast down the second Zoda and gained the Tetrad.

With one Tetrad to go, Mike time travelled to Camelot, where he met King Arthur. He was classed as Sir Mike, as he was to be sent to slay a dragon. Inside the dragon's cave, he met with an owl who revealed himself to be Merlin the wizard. Merlin told Mike more of the story behind the Tetrads, as he was a good friend of Hirocon, father of the Argonian children. He also taught mike the Ultra Psychic Shockwave. Mike crept onwards and slayed the terrible dragon. He got hold of the Tetrad and had a complete set! Suddenly he was contacted by Mica - something was wrong... C-Island was under attack! Mike turned to the last page of the Oxford Wonder World and muttered those magical words.

Mike appeared on the beach of C-Island, and he quickly ran to Chief Coralcola's hut. He tells you to enter the C-Island caves where Mike started his adventures - as that is where Zoda-Z has taken the Argonian children. Mike entered the cave, and it was exactly as he remembered it. He was more surprised when the skeletal remains of the C-Serpent he had slain all those years ago suddenly rose up and attacked. After shattering the bony creature, he was horrified to find many of the giant beasts he had fought already, gathered from time by Zoda-Z. He had a big fight ahead of him as he took each one down. Finally he was up against the last of the Zodas, Zoda-Z. The battle was fierce, but Mike had fought Zodas before, and this was not that different. With a blast from the Ultra Psychic Shockwave, Zoda-Z was defeated.

The Argonian children were rescued, and the people of Coralcola came out of hiding. The Chief was pleased to see Mike was okay, and offered to help with the Tetrads (as "Tetris" is his middle name). With all the skill of a Tetris master, the pieces were fitted together, forming a trident - and from it appeared the Argonian king, Hirocon. With their father returned, the Argonian children could finally recreate their society on Argonia. Mike was forever to be remembered as hero of the Argonians, and exclaimed "What a wild adventure! If I hadn't lived it, I wouldn't believe it!" -- The End!

Posted by Fryguy64 on 23 October 2004. Mike Jones art © 2004 Fryguy64.

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Games

• StarTropics (NES)
• Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II (NES)