Category: NES / Famicom

It’s probably not much of a secret that my favourite console has remained the Nintendo Entertainment System since time immemorial. The aural and visual aesthetic, the closeness to ‘pure’ concepts and execution. This is why it’s a joy to collect and play NES games I have never played before. But it’s rare that I can open up a brand new game for the console.

Most recently this thirst was slaked by the 2012 release, Battle Kid 2. I was lucky enough to grab a copy of the first release of this game in December and I’ve played a whole bunch of it since. It’s the kind of game that makes you feel like a kid again, bringing out that enthusiasm to see what’s next. To press on and on. To see what’s changed, what’s new, and just what’s through that ominous door.

Continue reading “Battle Kid 2 – Reaching The Summit of the Mountain of Torment”

I think what I like about good action puzzle games is that they an take a simple concept and spiral it wildly from that centre. You maintain the core attributes of the game, while providing many varied experiences by branching off from it. And a puzzle game can attain this quality by simply moving pieces, introducing a single new element, or even by changing where the player starts. Modern or classic, they’re a very “pure” style of game. My prime example is always Eggerland, but there are many others of course. And when I am turned on to another, I really have to hunt it down.
Continue reading “Boulder Dash is not Balderdash”

There were a lot of rumours that certain Famicom games never made it to the NES because they were deemed too difficult for Western audiences. I don’t know if this is always entirely true – for instance the NES versions of Ninja Gaiden III and Castlevania III have some changes that make their NES versions more difficult in ways. And there’s also the publishing limitations imposed on the NES to consider. But there are definitely some Famicom exclusives that are very challenging, and you do have to wonder if the difficulty is part of the reason that they were held back. I’d say Holy Diver fits the bill.

Continue reading “Famicom’s Holy Diver – Like The Eyes Of A Cat In The Black And Blue”

If I may be so bold as to say that the NES has a lot to offer then I will be so bold as to say it: The NES has a lot to offer. This is just a fun article where I flipped through my Nintendo tapes to pick out a few that I think people should play. Some are better known than others, some are pretty obvious choices if you know me. Some didn’t make the list because I would rather write full articles about them, but being on this list certainly doesn’t preclude a game from that distinction!

If you are an NES enthusiast, either someone experienced who is maybe looking for something cool to try or a newcomer who wants to know a few games that are worth looking out for then this list is my contribution.

Continue reading “NES Round-Up: Ten Games That You Should Play!”

Sometimes a game crawls into the back of your mind and you say you want clear it, and have every intention to do so, but you just can’t motivate yourself to see it through. It’s through no fault of the game, it’s just the stigma that if you clear this game, then what? Having a skeleton in your closet in some strange way gives you an endgame, something to look forward to. But what’s the point in looking forward to completing something if you never in fat complete it?

Solstice fit this bill for me. It was a game I loved, I promoted it as one of the best challenges and best soundtracks the NES had to offer. But I had only competed roughly 50% of it prior to yesterday, where I finally went ahead and clobbered this one.

Continue reading “Cruel Cruel Summer Solstice”

Many people have those cartoons that stick with them forever. Myself, I am a long time (but not exclusively) fan of toy commercials like She-Ra, G.I.JOE, Transformers, The Real Ghostbusters, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The list goes on. I don’t care how silly and at times shameless these cartoons were I didn’t care because they were also very entertaining. So enter Samurai Pizza Cats, which defined after school programming for me for a number of years. Touted on YTV as sort of a tongue-in-cheek TMNT I had to give it a look.

And brother, I fell in love. And not just with Polly Esther ;). This show captured my heart and my attention. It was irreverent and silly done right, a self-deprecating vaudevillian display of set pieces and characters.

Of course, Samurai Pizza cats didn’t have a marketing frenzy over here but I had always longed for a game. Hell, even Bucky O’Hare had an NES game of his own, and a very good one at that. But I always longed for something tangible to own with respect to the Samurai Pizza Cats. I was very excited (yet nervous) to discover that there was a Famicom release! It was great news, as long as it didn’t turn out like the Transformers with Convoy no Nazo!

Continue reading “Piping Hot and Fresh – The Samurai Pizza Cats Game”

It is a common thread in the vast tapestry known as the Famicom library to have two penguins in love. Their love is of the purest distillation, a hallowed ambrosia glowing like the smile of Aphrodite. It’s not the pebble, it’s the penguins. And their love makes the entire library fluoresce in the soft effervescence of  true destiny. Well, for a handful of games, at any rate.

There is a nice variety of penguin related games available for the Famicom, however and yes – some of these feature the love of two penguin protagonists. Perhaps the most poignant is Binary Land. Gurin and Malon must reach the goal at precisely the same time. No one penguin is more important than the other. Only through togetherness can they arrive a their destination and – indeed their destination is each other. They do not need to find anything else, for they have already found the greatest treasure.

Continue reading “Binary Land – dnaL yraniB”