Green Phoenix - Reader Rabbit: 2nd Grade Retrospective

 

At the start of the year, I did a short retrospective on the Reader Rabbit: 1st Grade with the full understanding that I would continue the retrospective by looking at Reader Rabbit: 2nd Grade next. All of this has been part of a unofficial series of educational game retrospectives that I've been doing to reflect upon the computer games that had the most impact on me as a child.

As much as I liked Reader Rabbit: 1st Grade, I must make something of a confession. I never actually owned Reader Rabbit: 1st Grade, as the game I played was actually my sister's copy. I was a year older than her and thus didn't get 1st Grade from my school, but rather Reader Rabbit: 2nd Grade. As such, I had a much more personal connection to this game and the previous entry.

But is it better? Does it still hold up? What is it about this game that so tickles my nostalgia? In this short retrospective, I will seek to explain what I remember about playing this game, what I liked about, and what I still think works so very well. Like most educational games, its actually effectiveness might still hold up (though the technical qualifications for any modern system to play it is probably moot). So let's take a look at Reader Rabbit: 2nd Grade and wrap up my educational computer game series.

***

Green Phoenix - Reader Rabbit: 1st Grade Retrospective

 

The last few computer/video game retrospectives that I have written have all been working around the ClueFinders educational series. These games were designed to entertain and educate students between 3rd Grade and 6th Grade, acting as both late elementary school and middle school prep games. But before I ever played the ClueFinders series, my sister and I were introduced to an entirely different educational video game series. One focused far more on an even younger demographic, kindergartners and first graders. I am, of course, discussing the Reader Rabbit series.

In fact, it was through the Reader Rabbit franchise that my generation can lay claim to first true "educational video game" generation. We were the first to have video games and digital media form a core and essential part of our educational experience and preparatory work (as our school sold Reader Rabbit and ClueFinders games at the end of every year for students to play over the summer and prepare themselves for the next grades content ahead of time). Focusing on a variety of simple grammar and mathematics work, Reader Rabbit worked to provide a fun and simple way to slowly introduce children to concepts that they would further explore during school, a setup that was widely successful and led to The Learning Company (the production company) to become the name in educational gaming.

And while my personal emotional connection is tied far more to Reader Rabbit 2nd Grade (due to my memories of its more heartwarming story), I feel it is a tremendous disservice to the legacy of this franchise to not start with the first major computer game that my sister and I ever played together. A game which, while simple, did fantastic work in setting up kids for the world of Reader Rabbit, even if my sister and I only ever played two games in the series before we were transitioned into the ClueFinders.

Released in 1998 by The Learning Company, let's look back at Reader Rabbit: 1st Grade.

***

Green Phoenix - ClueFinders 6th Grade Retrospective

 

At long last, we come to the end of my retrospectives with regards to the ClueFinders series.

While I know for a fact that The Learning Company released nine different games under the ClueFinders name, my sister and I only really grew up with and experienced the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade games, so those were the only games I felt comfortable in the immediate to reflect upon.

If I ever find myself in a position where I could perhaps play the other games, then I may yet again visit the series to discuss the "missing" games from my childhood.

The ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventures: The Empire of the Plant People was without a doubt the strangest game in the series in terms of story and I find myself reflecting on the game in a way that is markedly different from any other game in the series with the exception of perhaps Puzzle of the Pyramid.

***

Green Phoenix - ClueFinders 5th Grade Retrospective

 

Over the last few months, I have periodically been releasing minor retrospectives on the ClueFinders educational video game series that I and my sister grew up playing throughout elementary and middle school. In the past, I have examined 3rd Grade - The Mystery of Mathra and 4th Grade - Puzzle of the Pyramid. I found these games enjoyable to watch with a fun, if a little silly, story and premise that I think really works for the purposes of presenting good educational gameplay.

However, I never actually grew up with these two games, and was instead made aware of them from my younger schoolmates and friends, who would let me play them when I was at their home (Yes, I understand how dorky it is to play educational games at a friends house, but I also played Hearts of Iron 2 with one of my neighbors dads' as a kid so you can suck it; I do what I want).

Today's retrospective will cover the first actual game in the franchise that I ever owned, 5th Grade Adventures - Secret of the Living Volcano. And let me tell you, the story behind this one is really weird but also to my memory quite enjoyable and engaging. Even if the twist is a little out there compared to the rest of the franchise.

***

Green Phoenix - Microsoft Dinosaurs Retrospective

 

A few weeks back, I took a look at a classic "video game" of my childhood in Microsoft Dangerous Creatures, an interactive encyclopedia released in 1994. I adored this program immensely as a child as it helped to foster a passion for biology and the natural world. It's beautiful pictures and interactive guided tours were enough to stir the mind of an impressionable child to the wonders of the animals which now inhabit the world.

But what if I told you that Microsoft also released another interactive encyclopedia in the same vein, this time focusing on the lifeforms which called Earth home during the Mesozoic Era. Released in 1993, the same year that Jurassic Park revitalized public interest in dinosaurs and revolutionized our visual perception of them, Microsoft Dinosaurs attempted to capture that same degree of wonder through education and exploration. As I was a massive dinosaur nerd as a kid (and still am in point of fact), this was probably my favorite of the two encyclopedias.

But does that love hold up after all these years? Or has Microsoft Dinosaurs not aged as well as it should've, when compared Microsoft Dangerous Creatures?

***

Green Phoenix - The ClueFinders 3rd Grade Retrospective

 

Going to elementary and middle school in the early 2000s made me and I'm sure many others very aware of educational computer games. Chief among these were those produced by the now defunct The Learning Company and distributed throughout schools as a form of summer supplemental learning programs. I know that my school district participated in such a program, despite the generally low quality of games issued out.

As a result, I have very fond memories of the Reader Rabbit franchise, which was aimed towards kindergarten through 2nd grade children, and the focus of today's retrospective, The ClueFinders franchise. Aimed towards older elementary and early middle school children, The ClueFinders really was a personal favorite of mine growing up, with my sister and I playing the games constantly.

As nerdy as that might seem, I really loved the hell out of the tone that the series maintained throughout its entire run and have enjoyed watching people playing the games online for years, even as the quality continues to age poorly (a staple of the entire Learning Company brand). The games had a heightened level of world-building and the combination of fantasy, science fiction, and mystery wasn't what one might expect from an educational game. So in that spirit of nostalgia, today's retrospective will focus on the first game in The ClueFinders franchise that I remember playing, The ClueFinders 3rd Grade - The Mystery of Mathra.

***

Green Phoenix - Microsoft Dangerous Creatures Retrospective

  

 

 

With the advent of Wikipedia and the mass accessibility of encyclopedic information through the internet, I think that most individuals my age and younger can't really appreciate just how lucky we are to live in an era of such easily available information.

 

When Wikipedia was launched in 2001, most encyclopedias were locked behind paywalls (like Encyclopedia Britannica) or were available on CD-ROM and large physical hardbacks. I remember very specifically growing up reading my dad's 1985 World Book Encyclopedia Collection.

Yes, I was the kind of kid who read encyclopedia's growing up. We are just going to move on from that factoid to the point at hand.

Of all the encyclopedia's that I had access to in the 1990s, Microsoft's Multimedia Collection was definitely one of the biggest surprises. In particular were two applications within the collection, Microsoft Dinosaurs, which I will absolutely talk about at another date; and the subject of today's retrospective, Microsoft Dangerous Creatures.

Released in 1994 and first available for Windows 3.1 (Yes, that old), Microsoft Dangerous Creatures was a multimedia encyclopedia on various aspects and members of the animal kingdom, with a sub-textual focus on environmentalism and conservationism.

Today will not be a review, but another retrospective detailing my memories and experiences with a "computer game" from my childhood that had a truly transformative impact on my life.

***