It seems like it was yesterday when we were downloading the first episode, but the end of Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People has arrived. It’s been a crazy ride through the rollercoaster of Strong Bad’s mind, will it end with a crash or a fizzle? Perhaps the more appropriate question is… Will it end with burnination?

That’s right, Trogdor has arrived.

Here’s a quick intro for those who haven’t been following along:

Strong Bad is a long-running internet cartoon. Adventure games are games where you travel from location to location solving puzzles to advance a storyline. You’ve probably played a few of them. Now, let’s combine the two! The Strong Bad games are a series of monthly episodic adventure games starring the crew of the cartoon series. Using a mouse (or Wiimote), you click to move Strong Bad around or to interact with the environment and solve puzzles. It’s generally a pretty hilarious experience.

Want to know more? Read on or check our archives for reviews of the previous episodes.

After a mishap while escaping from an angry mob, Strong Bad’s Trogdor machine is broken. Normally, you’d just grab a few parts and everything would be peachy. This Trogdor machine is far from normal, however. In fact, it seems to have sprouted a few extra body parts and is now running around burninating the residents of Free Country USA. The insanity doesn’t stop there. The real world and the videogame worlds are merging, and Strong Bad will have to gather allies from his favorite 8-bit games in order to slay the dragon and get Homestar out of his head.

8-bit is Enough is one hell of a homage to the glorious early days of gaming. If you’ve been played the other episodes, you’re no doubt used to the neat little Atari-esque minigames. Those guys all show up again as the worlds collide. Only this time, they are actual characters or items. The Snake Boxer is a pretty useful guy to have around when you need a crate opened. As you gather your allies, you’ll jump into worlds inspired by actual 8-bit games. These go beyond the Atari 2600, none of your old-school memories are sacred. In particular, I really loved the Mega Man and King’s Quest worlds. Long-time videogame fans will absolutely love the writing in this episode and the endless stream of inside jokes. One of my favorite moments? To gain access to the Peasent’s Quest world, you have to use an anti-piracy codewheel to answer a secret question.

It’s a little sad that this is the last episode of the season, as it is definitely the best episode yet. I may be biased towards gaming humor, but I thought that the jokes were wittier and the writing was sharper. The story wasn’t quite as linear as the last episode, but it did seem to retain some of the focus. There are a ton of new locations, but you move pretty quickly between them without too much backtracking. This was meant to be the epic season finale, and it definitely feels like it. It is still distinctly Strong Bad, but there is a sense of urgency. The story feels like it is on a bigger scale.

The gaming theme gives them a chance to mix up the gameplay a bit. At one point, you’ll even shift to a first-person shooter perspective straight out of the Wolfenstein days. The puzzles also take advantage of the videogame theme, and they are as clever as always. For instance, you have to convince the enemies in a sidescrolling stage to change their behavior patterns. However, my single complaint for the entire season still stands. The puzzles are just too easy. I could be jaded from years of “adventure game logic,” but I never really had to think during this episode. That said, I’m pretty forgiving of the difficulty. The puzzles are still really fun and they actually make sense in the context of each episode’s theme. I still wouldn’t mind a few stumpers the next time around.

The Wii’s first episodic series is going out with a bang. This episode is a brilliant ode to gaming’s past, and everybody with a Wii should give it a try. Telltale’s mastery of the episodic series is admirable, I doubt that anyone else could have delivered the same quality on such a strict schedule. If you haven’t tried the series, you should clean out your Wii’s fridge and download an episode or two. Don’t have a Wii? It’s also available for the PC. I was originally a little cold on Strong Bad, and I’m still a bigger fan of the Sam & Max series, but the last few episodes have made me a believer. Bring on season 2!