Downplayed NES games (and NES vs Other Gens)

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

In the realization of the eventual closing of the Downplayed PSX thread, I'm starting the next one, the Downplayed NES thread. Other systems will follow once this one reaches 5-6 pages.

But first, for those who were in the other thred on the topic of NES vs other moreadvanced systems, I'm continuing it here:

But Kenryoku, why do we have to give games extra credit just because they didn't have the tools or time? Nobody amazes at how fast (6 weeks is really speedy) E.T. came out, they laugh (maybe for eternity) at how horrible the game is.

No, an old game can be bad, which I have said before. I'm just saying you have to put into consideration the limited graphics, avaliability for seeting, plot devices, realism and character developments. A game doesn't get extra points because its old, but we also shouldn't downplay it because it doesn't meet up to a game from this Gen....

About the only things the NES people could do were limited types of gameplay, sprites and text based things. Kirby's Adventure/Mario 3 were about the cap for Graphics and those games that couldn't obtain that level of graphics had to do something else to make the game well....a game. Many just used standard formulas of scrolling or text based adventure games. Final Fantasy didn't have the resources to create super graphics and a battle system that had the characters move like in FFVIII or something. So they had to do with the limited graphics. To me, it all comes down to really the FF idea has always been, like the creator of it said, to 'make a movie you can play'. I don't really see the NES being able to create something that can even come close to that. The SNES could bring out the characters and plot and the PSX could make the FMVs. And the recent FFX and beyond is finally getting close to I think what the creator was really wanting to do.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. Point is, I say you can't really compare a NES game to a PS2 game when their goals were to make the game about 'being like a movie'. Now adays you can definitly make a game look like a movie (although I think still not 100%). But back on the NES....wow, no way. We can imagine it, but its not looking like a movie at all.

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But onto NES Downplayed great games. Hmm.....let's see.

For starters, I'd probably say Phantom Fighter and Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout. Phantom is a game probably most haven't heard off made by a relative unknown company, but it was hecka challenging. Basically, China has been over-run by Zombies and you and your faithful assistant are to go from town to town to defeat them. In each town you have to defeat the three main zombies and you can collect scrolls and have the local teachers teach you new moves. And back then, these moves were just amazing to me. From double kicking to making you jump at super-human lengths, it was a classic upgrading game with challenging but simple objectives. My kind of Action game. However, it was damn near impossible unless you obtained just the RIGHT skills and so I could never get through it!

And Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout. Wow, it brings back memories. Your bugs...you have a hammer, and you go through multiple levels fighting all the other looney tunes characters to get to your party. It was a huge game withgood music, tricky bosses and mazes galore. If anyone has an emulator or a NES, definitly try this one. Its definitly worth a 5 bucks perchase. Its better than Mario 2 and even some Mega Man games to me.

[Jagos]

Adventures of Kid Niki - you were a caveman bent on rescuing your girlfriend.

Basically it was a shooter. But you weren't in a ship, you threw axes, and upgraded to different weapons. Just had to be careful. You can drown among other ways of dying (gettin hit three times cost you a life)

[Static Hamster]

E.V.O. The Quest for Eden.


One of the most unique action RPGs I have ever played in my life and one of my favourite games. You play as a sentient being whose ultimate goal is to win the love of Gaea. You start as a fish and through fighting can buy body parts to customize your own body. You get to battle through eras, and eventually, if you know how to do it, evolve into a human.


You even got to save your creations in an evolution record. It rocked.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Wasn't EVO on the SNES?

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Crystalis, Crystalis, Crystalis, and Crystalis. It basically was like a mix of SNES Final Fantasy, but in terms of plot & items (multiple armors & useful items). Then, something of NES Zelda thrown in. On top of all that goodness, for weapons there's four swords, each being useful against certain types of enemies, and each having additional powerups.

Plus, magic spells & MP.

Absolutely the best NES game I've ever played, hands down.

Sky Warrior Bob

[Vicious]

E.V.O. The Quest for Eden.


One of the most unique action RPGs I have ever played in my life and one of my favourite games. You play as a sentient being whose ultimate goal is to win the love of Gaea. You start as a fish and through fighting can buy body parts to customize your own body. You get to battle through eras, and eventually, if you know how to do it, evolve into a human.


You even got to save your creations in an evolution record. It rocked.


Holy crap, that game rocked! But, uh, yeah. It was for SNES.


As for downplayed NES games.. Friday the 13th. Nobody I know when an NES had played that, except maybe for a brief jount. Pretty fun, but hard as Hell.

And.. The Goonies 2. Just because I like it. Again, I'm the only person I know that has it. It's pretty confusing, because the world is like a giant maze, but fun, nontheless.

Hmm.. Ghosts n' Goblins. You're a knight, and Lucifer kidnaps your love, so you have to go beat his ass. Pretty good, but insane hardness!

[Hamelin]

I have fond memories of Maniac Mansion.

Yes, I know it was also on the PC, but I've played both, and even without a mouse, I believe that the NES version played much more smoothly.

That game was great, it had multiple characters with different strengths, and quite a few different endings.

And come on, you could nuke Weird Ed's hampster in the microwave. Then you could show it to him and he'd kill you.

[Dac]

there was Crash'n the boys..that game was a great multiplayer experience..

and captain skyhawk a game which had better graphics than some snes games..if you get a chance play this game

[Static Hamster]

Wasn't EVO on the SNES?

:( sorry misread the title....it was technically NES....

ok not.

whoops.

E.V.O. still rulez though!!!

....

NES games...down played NES games.

How about Blaster Master? The one with the tank you could upgrade that reminded me so much of Metroid?

Or Star Tropics? That one where your main weapon is a Yoyo. I was so surpirsed when I ran into a puzzle where the main character had to undergo a sex change in order to solve it.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Oh wow, I couldn't stand Star Tropics. I tried so hard to beat it, but it basially just would always have some cheap boss kill me somehow. I just remember playing it over and over again, but always dying in the boss under the graveyeard. I liked the puzzle ideas and they used the Zelda engine well to enhance the graphics and make some interesting effects possible...but the enemies were just cheap and you got like....1/4 the amount of life you do in Zelda. when you're in the forth area and you only have 4 hearts...wow, that's just way too hard. Especially for a 10 year old. But hey, not saying others can't like it.

Captain Skyhawk. I was gonna put that up next. It actually was a pretty well done game and quite challenging. I just ALWAYS died in the second scientist level. That's the second to last level!!! ARG! Game still frustrates me (still have it).

Goonies and Goonies 2 were pretty fun.

Maniac Mansion was much better on the NES, but I could never beat it cuz I'd just get captured anytime I went in the house. When you have to spend hours looking for the next 'trigger' like finding a bottle of terpintine or cheese or something, but all the people keep running around the house to come and catch you, you get paranoid and I couldn't play it anymore....

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Oh yeah, another one I remember is 'Mission: Impossible'. Damn it was a great game...but damn near impossible to beat. If anyone can tell me they've beaten this game without codes, I will be amazed.

[Illuminatus]

As for downplayed NES games.. Friday the 13th. Nobody I know when an NES had played that, except maybe for a brief jount. Pretty fun, but hard as Hell.

heh, I had that, but my mom wouldn't let me play it.

[Wolf99x]

Let's see...River City Ransom was one of the greates sidescrolling fighter/RPGs of all time. And let's not forget...BLADES OF STEEL! The first hockey game to have a full fledged fighting system in it, not to metnion pseudo 3D penalty shots.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Funny thing is, I liked the GB version of Blades of Steel even more. The fights were even better in that version and the game was in a top down easier to control view.

Speaking of sports games, I just remembered a game along those lines. Baseball Wars 2023! I think that's the title. You were all cyborgs and there were multiple types. Some with just standard legs but ran fast, others that hovered on a UFO like thing and others with Tank like gears for wheels. And anytime you went to tag someone out (or vice-versa), you got into a fight over the base. It was GREAT. Only disadvantage was that the guys who hover always won because they had a move that allowed them to just fly straight at a person and mow them down. I always wanted a sequel to the game with a better tweaked battle system to make it more fair (and maybe give advantage to fieldsmen over runners.

Keep 'em comin'. I got alot more NES games to cover.

[Wolf99x]

The game you're talking about is Basewars...and that was a great game. Also, the GB and NES versions of BoS are identical in all aspects, except that the GB version had a better intermission show...thingy, and the fights were indeed easier to control. They should really remake that game for something...

[Vicious]

I remember the robot baseball! One of my sister's old boyfriends.. who quite reminded me of Happy Gilmore.. let me borrow it, among other games.

Anyway, I'm also gonna throw out World Class Track Meet. It had a cool running pad, and everything. I had it on a triple cartridge, with Mario and Duck Hunt.

[Wolf99x]

I'd also like to submit Bases Loaded I and II as downplayed classics. Providing the first isometric over-the-pitcher's-shoulder view in a baseball game, plus solid gameplay, makes these games great. They also had inside jokes for player names (The Washington DC team, for example, had names of ex-presidents and various other politicians.). This series never survived beyond Super Bases Loaded, probably because that game and Bases Loaded III didn't have a season mode like the first two games did.

While still on the subject of baseball...Roger Clemens MVP Baseball is another unsung hero of the genre. This game used pseudo-3D graphics to great effect, and also offered smooth control, and digitized voice in some places. It also had a part when, during close plays at bases, the game would zoom in to where you'd have to manually apply the tag correctly.

[Static Hamster]

Hmm. How about Faxanadu. I used to love this game in the day. I forget what made it so great though. It was about an entire civilization that lived in a fuggin' tree. A giant tree, that was in danger or something and for some oblivious reason you were the one destined to save it.

[Hamelin]

Faxanadu was an ugly ugly game, but that didn't stop me from playing it.

How about Ice Hockey? I love ice Hockey so much.

I was always the Soviet Union. And my brother would be the USA, once we were old enough to know what the cold war was, we'd always laugh at that.

Cold war? Ice Hockey? Come on, that's comedy gold.

[Wolf99x]

Ice Hockey, the only game where it's understandable to hear someone shout out "I wanna be the fat guy!"

[Fifthfiend]

StarTropics was pretty cool.

Oh yeah... Crysalis was all right (they had the best commercials for that game...).

[Illuminatus]

Dodgeball! You guys remember dodgeball? You had all these guys and they had special dodgeball moves and you tried to kill the other team...it was AWESOME!

[Wolf99x]

Dodgeball ruled.

[death raven]

dragon warrior 1,2 and 3 is kick ass,i got dw1 on cart. and the other ones on rom.
none of my friends owned or played contra ,to me it was one of the best games ever made for nes and i think still is they made one for the spx i think but it was gay compaired to the nes

[Lost in Time]

I think 1942 was an awsome WWII game, I still play it today on rom.

[Wolf99x]

Eh...1942 was okay. I liked 1943 better, but that's probably because I liked the power up aspect to it. I also think 1943 was a slightly smoother game as well.

[Static Hamster]

I just found out that the sequel to one of my favourite Commodore games, Mission Impossible, by Epyx...was available on NES.

It's faster loading and more stable. Now I can finally finish the story. I completed Impossible Mission one so that I could do it consistently, but oy, they made two a hell of alot tougher.

This is a game that lives up to its name.

[Jagos]

who played Golgo 13? Seriously, I wish we'da seen more of the Japanese secret agent...

[felth]

Double Dribble.

It was the NBA Jam of its time. Also, when you were close enough to the hoop and attempted a dunk, a little cutscene would play showing your player jamming close up.

[Jagos]

That reminds me of Hoops. Eight players for one on one or two on two streetball. Decent but nothing spectacular.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

The 1940 games were exceptional. Some of the best plane scrolling shooters I have ever played (and I've played alot, from Solar Striker to Ikaruga). They're probably my favorites of that type (but my favorite of the whole type of plane shooter is U.N. Squaderon which was side scrolling, SNES).

And Double Dribble. Now there's a game probably not much have played. Damn good one for its time. I played that sooooo much.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

who played Golgo 13? Seriously, I wish we'da seen more of the Japanese secret agent...

I know I've seen at least one heavily edited anime in which Golgo was the prominent character. Of course, the anime was a mature stint, so if you go looking, make sure you're 18 or older.

I'd really hate to be the one responsible for corrupting a minor. It'd look bad on my resume.

Sky Warrior Bob

[Jagos]

heh...

My sister plays Grand Theft Auto. She'll be fine. I doubt Golgo 13 will really affect her. Although I just might take away the GTA3 very soon.

Now, me on the other hand... I think I'm a responsible adult. I haven't sniped anyone through a ventilation system recently (part of the Golgo 13 series before you all get ideas.)

[Wolf99x]

(peeks out from a ventilation shaft holding a Dragunov Sniper Rifle.) Get what ideas, now?

In all seriousness though...I've played a bit of Golgo 13...and I think I might just play it again to find out what I've missed.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Here's a moderatly played but damn good game: Excitebike.

That was hands down my favorite NES game for years. Now that I'm older, only the Zeldas, Marios and Kirby beat it. Truly Nintendo could make amazingly fun games from then till now.

[Pretty Mary K]

Does anyone remember the Duck Tales game for the NES?

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn. That game was awesome. Probably one of the best ever.

[Wolf99x]

Here's a moderatly played but damn good game: Excitebike.

That was hands down my favorite NES game for years. Now that I'm older, only the Zeldas, Marios and Kirby beat it. Truly Nintendo could make amazingly fun games from then till now.

Exitebike was an excellent game. I play it whenever I have downtime due to downloading obnoxiously large files thanks to my crappy dial-up connection.

[MFD]

Does anyone remember the Duck Tales game for the NES?

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn. That game was awesome. Probably one of the best ever.

Ah, yes. Scrooge's magical pogo-cane. The endboss was Morgana leQuack, right? Then you had to race Glomgold up the tower to get the treasure?

Anyways... Baloon Fight! Whee! I was insanely pleased that SSBM actually acknowledged this game with a trophy!

[KefkaTaran]

I used to ADORE Duck Tales. They just don't make those games like they used to, I tell ya.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Duck Tales 2 was one of my most played games. Love it still to this day. Almost perfect mix of fighting and puzzle solving (and you could walk through the levels like Mario 3 style). Some other Disney games were good. But the other big games I owned, Tale Spin and Darkwing Duck were more action based and fall into those 'near impossible' NES game category.....arg. Action Side Scrollers on the NES = Almost all impossible.

Still Darkwing was hecka fun and Tale Spin was a crazy game.

[KefkaTaran]

Ahh! I played Duck Tales 2 and Darkwing Duck also!! hell. Nostalgia overload. I need to get cracking on ROMs for my emulator.

[darkt0aster]

To me, it all comes down to really the FF idea has always been, like the creator of it said, to 'make a movie you can play'.
Not all movies are good movies.

That part aside, it frustrates me that most of my favorite titles have already been mentioned.
Phantom Fighter
River City Ransom
Gologo13
Ice Hockey
Faxandu
all awesome games that I've been forutnate to play the actual cartrige from my grandma's growing collection of NES games to entertain the grandkids and whatnot. With all those good games, it makes me wonder if she ever plays them :D

btw is that Dodgeball game somewhat like the one on GBA? If so i need to find a rom...

*thinks awhile* I guess if I had to contribute to this already awesome list, I'd have to say that my favorite downplayed NES game would be Crash 'n' the boys: Street Challenge.
Think of the olympic games, remove all the rules, and host it in the streets of river city ransom (same sprites and all!). Events include rooftop pole vaulting, swimming where you COULD change lanes and beat on the opposing swimmer, smashing through hurtles and throwing the fragments...and more!
The teams were diverse; you could choose from about 5 different teams of five, each with varying attributes. You can also buy powerups with coins found/won/beaten from the lifeless opposition during events, which adds in a small amount of RPG-ness and strategy, but overall this is just one great classic button masher that I definitely reccomend.
It even has a storyline! (basically: crash and his boys pwn the local prep school at a track meet...so, seeking to regain their dignity, Todd, the leader of the local track team challenges Crash to a ghetto-style track meet)

[felth]

I also really liked Snake Rattle 'N Roll for the NES, as well as Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers. Basically, any NES game with 2-player co-op play was golden.

[Priest4hire]

I kind of liked Pool of Radiance on the NES. It was one of the better ports, and though it was a little stripped down from the original at least you didn't need the bloody paragraph book.

Otherwise, Zelda 2 is famous but at the same time tends to take a lot of flack for being different than the other Zelda incarnations. I think it's a better game than it's often given credit for.

Other than that I can't really think of any games that haven't been mentioned. Shadowgate perhaps.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Zelda 2 is good just like all other Zeldas. But alot of us just remember it being so HARD! -_-

Today I can beat it easy but back then, it was a monster! Granted I was 7 but....geez!

[KefkaTaran]

I've never been able to get into Zelda 2. Just out of curiosity, Priest, why do you like it?

[Static Hamster]

I just dug this one out from the wet work:

A Boy and his Blob. It may not have been for everyone but I found this action/puzzler game really fun.

A blob that changes shapes with the different jelly beans you feed it. He he he. What will they think of next?

[Priest4hire]

I've never been able to get into Zelda 2. Just out of curiosity, Priest, why do you like it?

Good question. Possibly because I played it long ago on a NES I borrowed from a buddy, and played it with a buddy. Actually, Zelda 2 is the most RPG like of all the Zelda games, and that no doubt swayed my opinion. It involved traveling from town to town and talking with NPCs. As such it had a more epic feel rather than the focused worlds of most other Zeldas. I've also always been a fan of side scrollers, and so the side scrolling elements of Zelda 2 appealed to me. And there is the unique factor. I am a sucker for games that are more unique. Not too many like Zelda 2, especially other Zelda incarnations.

Oh, and let's not forget the babe in the red dress who offers to help you inside her house, and then restores your health. Out of sight of course.

[Jagos]

O_O

There are little kids present!

*sneaks off to find the Zelda 2 rom*

[Wolf99x]

Oh, and let's not forget the babe in the red dress who offers to help you inside her house, and then restores your health. Out of sight of course.

;) <Bwaka-chicka Bwaka-chika>

On a side note...and getting back to Golgo 13...anyone besides me notice that Golgo 13 kind of looks like Sean Connery as James Bond in "You Only Live Twice", after he gets disguised as a Japanese man?

[Jagos]

The manga was around from the 60 or 70s... It's possible...

[KefkaTaran]

Boy and His Blob! That was one of my early NES games that I can actually remember! I really need to play that again.