Life Force (NES, 1988)

Time for another NES classique. Man, Konami was AMAZING back in the day. They gave us Metal Gear, Contra, Gradius, Suikoden, Castlevania, and lots of other good stuff. Nowadays they're firing Hideo Kojima and just generally being the worst.

This game is licensed by Nintend. Get the O out.

Dragon Warrior III (NES, 1991)

Time for what might be my favorite RPG on the NES. It's either this or the original Final Fantasy.

I put the SFC version of this on here a year ago, and I've been wanting to cover the original ever since. It'll be less Buffy-ized this time, as we see the real story of Erdrick.

DuckTales (NES, 1989)

Now here's a game that has been critically acclaimed for decades. Not too surprised to see that it's by Capcom, since they were on fire in the late 80's/early 90's. DuckTales recently got new life in the form of an HD remake on current gen systems, but the NES version continues to be a true classique.

Zanac (NES, 1987)

Space shooter week begins with one of the great early shooters from Compile. This game is legendary...and incredibly difficult. Ask your doctor if Zanac is right for you! (Protip: It probably isn't)

Adventure Island (NES, 1987)

I hate this game so, so much.

Wrestling Games

Today I'm going to do something that I haven't done since I took a look at Love Hina games: An ensemble post where I look at a number of different games. Originally it was going to be a post looking at one game in-depth, until I realized I can't actually beat any of these games. Let's have a look.

Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (NES, 1990)

The best Ultima game on the NES... or any console, really. While it's an adaptation of Ultima IV, It's completely different than the PC version, much like Exodus. Unlike Exodus, this game is infinitely more playable. Let's get on with it.

Super Mario Bros 2 (NES, 1988)

 Today I'm taking a look at one of the biggest games of all time. Super Mario Bros 2 revolutionized the platformer genre and made vegetable-throwing into America's pastime. This game transpires not in the Mushroom Kingdom, but in the peaceful land of Sub-Con. It...isn't really all that much of a Mario game. Read on as we probe the depths of this fantastic work.

Dragon Warrior II (NES, 1990)

 This time... there are more than one of them. This game should have been called Dragon Warriors. You know, like Aliens.

Ultima: Warriors of Destiny (NES, 1991)

This is Ultima V's ill-recieved NES port. The PC version of Ultima V is debatably the best game in the series, a game that is critically acclaimed to this day. Yet this is easily the worst of the console ports, nearly to the point of unplayability.

Ultima: Exodus (NES, 1989)

To celebrate St. Paddy's Day, I'm looking at a game that has nothing to do with drinking but has a lot of the color green.

This is the third game in the Ultima series; the first to get an NES version.

Dragon Warrior (NES, 1989)

The Dragon Warrior series (Dragon Quest in Japan) is one of my favorite RPG franchises. While it lacks the fanfare of Final Fantasy, these games tend to be less linear and more about character-building than melodramatic plots.

This is a game that I've played a few times in the distant past. This time around I'm going to try something new: A Tool-Assisted Asskicking. It's like a tool-assisted speedrun, except with excessive 'sploiting of states and luck. I plowed through the whole game in one morning. And here... is the story.

The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1987)

The 1987 game is a big one. The genesis of the Zelda series. ...wait, what? The title screen says 1986, you say? I'll explain that in a moment. In any case, this game is the beginning of an era, and captured the imaginations of countless kids. It all started here.

Gradius (NES, 1986)

Gradius is one of the first great shooters of the modern era. In this game, you play as Vic Viper, a space fighter that would go on to get appearances in Zone of the Enders and mentions in the Metal Gear Solid games. Originally, this 1986 post was going to be Adventure Island for the NES. When I was a kid, a friend of mine and I played the first couple of worlds in that game and it was fun. We didn't stay with it too long because we had Marioes and Mega Men to get to. In any case, I was looking forward to revisiting it... but then I discovered firsthand that the game is almost impossible after the first few worlds. Seriously. It's harder than Ninja Gaiden. There is one particular level (7-1, I believe) that is flat-out un-passable due to some truly baffling level design. Given my desire to not have a heart attack, I defaulted to a game I'm more familiar with: Gradius. It won't be the last time a Konami game appears on this list, because Konami is awesome.

Super Mario Bros (NES, 1985)

This is it. In 1985, good games suddenly began to appear. And that's a good thing, because gaming in 1984... well, when Kung-Fu Master is one of the standout games from the year, there's a problem. Luckily for children everywhere, the NES was on its way. And with the NES, Super Mario Bros.

Gun Nac (NES, 1990)

And now for something completely different. Gun Nac is a classic NES shooter probably most recognizable for having some of the weirdest enemies in the history of the genre. Such internet luminaries as the Happy Video Game Nerd and Motherfucker Mike have sung the praises of this little-known game. What's all the fuss about? I set out to see for myself. Get ready for vicious attack-carrots and all kinds of insanity to ensue OMG THIS GAME IS AWESOME

Metroid (NES, 1986)

"Wait, you mean The Metroid is a girl?"

Now that Paladin's Quest is over with, it's time for me to change course and look at something a bit more iconic: the Metroid series. The first Metroid I played was Metroid 2: Return of Samus in 1993, but I soon heard legends and tales that an earlier game existed in the then-duology. To say I was captivated by the idea of an NES Metroid would be an understatement, but unfortunately for me I never got to play this game until I eventually got an NES in 1999. I recently revisited the game for the second time for the purposes of this post. This is one of the best (and most difficult) classics to be found on the NES. Read on to see my thoughts as I play this fine work of game design.

Power Blade 2 (NES)

This is the most attention anyone has paid to Power Blade in the last twenty years

The sequel to one of the NES's greatest and most under-looked games, Power Blade 2 is... painfully average. By 1992, the NES had been largely replaced by the SNES, and the few new NES games tended to be subpar and forgotten. Why they didn't just do a Super Power Blade on the SNES is beyond me, but instead we got this. That said... it ain't bad.

Power Blade (NES, 1991)

 

Today I'm going to look at a game that was prominently featured in the first Nintendo Power I ever read: Power Blade. Might have been the first game I ever wanted to play. Back in July 2008, I finally got a chance to play this game, after all those years. I took some screen shots and saved them up to unleash upon the world like a plague of locusts. Now, the time has come.