Tag: NES

Mega Man

In spite of how the classic Mega Man series would greatly evolve in the future, it is astounding to see how many of its essential building blocks were in place here. The freedom of choosing which stage one wants to tackle, the fantastically designed robot masters, the thematic variation of the levels, the seamless mixture of shooting and platforming, the thrill of discovering which weapon works against which boss, the colorful visuals, the iconic soundtrack, and – although it goes overboard at times – the high level of difficulty: all of these elements are strong signatures of the Mega Man franchise and, even if not in a fully mature state, they define this debut and propel it to ranking among the system’s highlights. The best was still to come, but the beginning was already rather bright.

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by Matt

Metal Gear

Metal Gear has a big list of problems and due to how some of the most serious ones were born during the porting process, it is easy to see why Hideo Kojima himself is not too keen on the NES version of his greatest work’s first chapter. Nevertheless, in the end, just like Snake somehow manages to survive a daring journey into a compound filled with hostile enemies, the game shrugs these problems and comes out on the other side as a fantastic experience. Truth be told, that achievement is not some inexplicable magic trick; it is a deed perfectly understood once one takes a look at what Metal Gear gets right. After all, aside from featuring a totally unique gameplay style for the time, it is also able to nail it in multiple ways, be it via complex non-linear exploration or thanks to satisfying stealth that paves the way to polished level design. Therefore, even if it is not the definitive edition of the operation, it has more than enough quality to be an 8-bit classic.

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by Matt

Castlevania

Castlevania is by all means a wonderful achievement. To put it simply, action-platformers of the era were never able to reach the level of cohesion and thematic perfection that is seen here. Although it is a linear quest with the standard division into levels, it puts a great degree of effort towards making Dracula’s Castle emerge as a unified whole; and it undoubtedly succeeds in that task via graphical touches, musical greatness, presentation details, and enemy design. Additionally, it fills that haunting atmosphere with solid gameplay, introducing a hero with an iconic set of skills as well as a subdued speed that is perfect for an adventure whose levels thrive in a meticulous pace, be it because danger is always around the corner or because there is so much for one’s sense to take in. Together, these qualities cause Castlevania to hold a rare feat on the NES; as rather than landing as a product that has clear room for improvement, it arrives as an almost fully matured package.

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by Matt

Crystalis

Crystalis is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest moments of the NES. In spite of the fact the system has no shortage of grand RPGs, what the title manages to pull off is in a category of its own due to how it throws adventure elements into the usual mixture of the genre, replacing turn-based battles with action combats and linearity with exploration. The blend clicks not just because of its inherent value, but also thanks to the game’s ability to excel in multiple areas, such as the telling of a great story, the building of a fantastic world, the designing of engaging maze-like dungeons, and – surprisingly – the avoiding of some dated elements that tend to heavily harm products of the era in the eyes of a modern audience. Consequently, Crystalis is one of the most enjoyable and epic experiences on the console, as it transcends hardware limitations to the point it feels ahead of its time.

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by Matt

Ninja Gaiden

Saying that Ninja Gaiden is not enjoyable would be a lie. As far as action-platformers go, it presents one of the most original set of gameplay mechanics of the era thanks to how it matches Ryu’s wall-climbing ninja abilities with basic but satisfying combat. Additionally, the way it balances good storytelling with action is a very rare sight for the genre, especially when the library of the NES is considered. Yet, it has to mentioned that the amount of satisfaction one will be able to get out of the game is strongly related to their tolerance for irregular enemy-spawning, which often threatens to undermine the great work that was done in terms of level design and vaporize it into sheer frustration. If players are able to look at that problem as a rough edge of the era, they are sure in for a treat. If that is not the case, Ninja Gaiden is still worth a look for its originality, but the journey may not last long on account of perceived unfairness.

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by Matt

Contra

One could say that eight stages are not enough; that its high difficulty, which surpasses the already elevated standards of the time, makes it nearly unpalatable for a modern audience; or that its gameplay is too simple compared to what some classics of the console pulled off. These are all valid arguments, but they simply highlight Contra’s nature as an arcade title that was ported to a home console; as such, those are not necessarily flaws, but features that were planned from the start. And the fact they exist as part and parcel of the package leads to the only verdict that could be reached given the game’s numerous qualities: Contra is not universally appealing, but to those who love products of its kind, it is hard to find a better experience on the NES as far as its niche is concerned.

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by Matt

Faxanadu

The fact the NES’ library was not rich with adventure games means there is not much weight in saying Faxanadu is one of the system’s best examples of the genre. However, that somewhat lonesome position in that niche makes the title much more special, because not only was it among the few courageous enough to navigate the console’s limitations to aim for a gameplay style that thrives on a large scope, but it also succeeded in its goal with flying colors. Even if it exhibits a few rough edges of the era, Faxanadu is an elegant and carefully designed journey that perfectly balances openness and focus. Therefore, when it comes to grand quests, a player could hardly do better as far as the NES is concerned.

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by Matt

Duck Tales

As the first fruit of a collaboration that would go on to yield bright platformers and adventure games, Duck Tales was a very positive sign of what was to come. With it, Capcom used the wisdom of its talented development team to turn a famous Disney property into a very engaging gaming experience, and it is not hard to understand why the title not only succeeded in its time, but also remained beloved long after that era. After all, rather than settling for a competent but forgettable design, the studio perfectly translated the cartoon’s charm to pixels while sprinkling it with refreshing gameplay ideas. The result is one of the NES’ finest hours and a project that would go on to serve as an example for anyone trying to use popular television and movie characters as the inspiration for a game.

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by Matt

River City Ransom

The highlight of River City Ransom is undoubtedly how the game grabs the well-established beat ‘em up formula that was prevalent in consoles and arcades of the time and manages to transform it quite boldly. The replacement of guided linear progression with a simple but effective open world is a radical departure that yields an adventure where punching and kicking are accompanied by exploration and even some backtracking. Meanwhile, its RPG elements turn the repeated beating of enemies into a far more engaging activity, since fighting leads to the upgrade of stats that are much needed for the heroes to be strong enough to rescue the damsel in distress. Therefore, while the fun fighting mechanics of River City Ransom guarantee its position among the best beat ‘em ups of the NES, the game’s successful experiments put it in a level of its own inside the genre when it comes to uniqueness and innovation.

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by Matt

StarTropics

As a hybrid between the adventure and RPG genres, StarTropics was a pretty unique concept for the time, and the fact it uses a greater focus on story and more advanced dungeon design concepts to expand upon a few areas of The Legend of Zelda formula makes it easy to see why some fans often point to it as a franchise that was undeservingly left behind by Nintendo on the NES days. Contrarily, its punctual annoying design quirks, its irregular controls, its big gameplay overlap with a more popular property, and its birth towards the end of the system’s lifespan as a somewhat dated product might explain the reason why it was abandoned. Yet, when it is all said and done, there is some quality and fun to be found in the package, and although those may not come in large enough doses to make one desperately wish Nintendo had kept the property rolling, they should be sufficient to allow players to appreciate StarTropics for what it is: a charming quest with some nice ideas that still has its place as a legacy title.

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by Matt