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showing 22 games

name	publisher(developer)	year	description
Takeshi no Chousenjou	Taito	1986	[media=youtube]j_RH518LyOk[/media]***Now the gameplay design in this game is most bizarre. You are playing a guy (I think representing the Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano himself) who goes on a search for a big treasure. You start in your home city where you have to prepare some things to undergo a trip to a remote pacific island where the treasure is hidden. Some of the game's puzzles are extremely unusual and unfair. Best example is when you get a non-readable treasure map and to make it readable the simplest! solution is to put it in water and wait between five and ten minutes. If you press a single button before the five minutes are over then it won't work. Or the laughable karaoke sequences that make use of the build-in microphone of the second Famicom controller. The action sequences are also more or less stupid and unfair. There is a hangglider shooter sequence where you can move your glider down, left and right but not up. Extremely difficult. This game put in so much unfair and nonsense gameplay that it is often regarded as a prime example of what Japanese people call a "kusoge" (shitty game). With the difference that Taito in this case exactly wanted this game to be unfair and impossible to solve without a walkthrough. It even makes fun about the player who completes the game by saying that you shouldn't take this game so seriously. Well, with a walkthrough the game is at least enjoyable in a sense that you always wonder that nothing makes sense and what the game designers smoked when they came up with some puzzles and curiosities. Not every game is as memorable as this. The graphical representation of the starting city is quite ok. Music is much too repetitive.
Deadly Towers	Brøderbund;Irem (Lenar)	1986	You are young Prince Myer, setting out to defend the ancient kingdom of Willner. Rubas, King of Devils, has built a castle in the north and is preparing to invade your kingdom. Ringing magic bells, he is calling out an army of the most terrifying creatures known (or unknown) to man. To defeat Rubas, you must journey to his palace and burn down his seven bell towers. On your quest, you will collect weapons and armor to defend yourself against rats and crawlers; bats, snakes and slime; demons, dragons and more. You'll need every ounce of help you can get. For you are all that stands between your people and the forces of darkness.*Deadly Towers is a mixed-bag. The gameplay is similar to [game=#9176]The Legend of Zelda[/game], with the perspective being a bit more 3D-ish. For a game released in 1986 it looks rather advanced. The graphics are nice, the music is good and the game is huge. The game has major flaws however. Some of them are not uncommon for an early NES game. Many necessary items are very well hidden in non-obvious spots. The difficulty level is too high. In this game the beginning is even the hardest part of the game. Being badly equipped you have barely a chance againts the many monsters. Sometimes when you run over a certain spot you are teleported into a dungeon. And you cannot immediately leave the dungeon, until you find the exit. Making things worse, the dungeons are huge 16x16 screen mazes with many difficult monsters. And only in these dungeons you can find shops where you can buy some better equipment to survive the final seven towers where seven bells are hidden, which you must find and destroy in order to challenge the end boss. Now with a walkthrough and cheat at hand I could avoid the biggest frustration, but I understand people who say that this game is a game design disaster."Mashou" is used in official documentation. Journey through this 3D looking game to collect the evil magic bells from the 7 bell towers and burn them in the sacred flame. Mashō literally means "Evil Bell" an is a pun of 魔性 which means meaning "devilishness." It was supposed to be titled "Hell's Bells," in English but this title qualified for Nintendo's unwritten censorship rules. Oddly, there are Holy Crosses shown all through the game and the game is pretty blatant that God himself has personally asked the game's protagonists to complete this quest. This game has a very long crawl screen of text. Possibly the longest crawl of any game previous and I can't think of a longer since. The text mentions that the castle explored in the game is actually under construction. This can thinly justify the level structure. [spoiler=Quick & Dirty Passwords Hack:;Close Passwords Hack]start, die immediately, change the 1st 2 letters of your password to "FE". Now you have lots of good equipment.[/spoiler][spoiler=Passwords:;Close Passwords:]GDXHDPMM10 Start with a lot of items EF1KDK.KTX End of the Game GDXHDPMM10 Another easy start EE1KBK.TTT An Easy start 54DK1P4WC4 Final Battle with double shot .AZODKNXTJ Final Battle with parallel shot[/spoiler][spoiler=Game Gene codes:;Close Game Gene codes:]LGXELPZU Start with 75 Ludder GXSONPST No Damage ZEUPKYPE 10x Ludder GOUPUYIA 4x Ludder GXUGLVON No charge at stores[/spoiler] [Zerothis]**I'm surprised to find this game listed on many 'worst games of all time' lists. Ya, its insanely hard. And true, the character and enemies moves in plain 2D even though the enemies are (not) placed in a weird pseudo 3D non-existent environment. And, I'll admit, generally hidden/invisible entrances are used for required main levels instead of just secret bonus areas. And, ok, 20 hit points for the first enemy encountered in the game that isn't even a boss and doesn't even have a name, and doesn't even have a face, or a brain, or limbs, or multiple colors, is a bit excessive. Oh and instead of finding a way to the remotest part of the dungeons, grabbing the treasure and being teleported out, the player is teleported into the remotest part of the insanely complex dungeons, loses treasures, and must find their own way out. It could be worse, imagine if it had no continue option (which is easily exploited btw. [spoiler]Start the game, die, then change the first two letters of your continue password to "EF" or "FE".[/spoiler] Wimpy). [b]However, I like it for the challenge[/b], I find the false 3Dishness very retro (by 1986 standards), in a good way. This game proceeded [gameid=9176]The Legend of Zelda[/gameid] and in many ways its better, imo. The size of dungeons and the order of their 'completion' are superior. Deadly towers was actually the 2nd NES game I ever played after Super Mario Bros. It took me about 300 hours to beat. [b]This game gets 4.5 stars by me.[/b] Summary of good points: Challenging Save your progress Enemy Variety Many Enemies Sharing Screen Eight-way Movement Eight-way Attack Vast world to explore Many secrets Permanent upgrades 3Dish Unique light-up cartridge (Japan version) [Zerothis]
The Legend of Zelda	Nintendo;Hyundai;Playtronic (Nintendo)	1987	[83]* [4]* [33]* [22]* [52]* [49]* [47]* [27]The NES version of the first Zelda game appeared roughly a year after the Famicom Disk System version and is of course nearly identical. Fine graphics and music, a huge overworld and many tricky dungeons. Complexity combined with good playability makes it a genre defining masterpiece and started one of the most popular game series ever. The Japanese cartridge version was released way after the original release in February 1994, most likely due to the fact that even in Japan nobody used a Disk System anymore at that time. It was also one of the very last Famicom releases.Gather the Triforce Fragments, collect the weapons needed to defeat Gannon (its says "GANNON" in the game).Rescue the princess. Then do it again (1st Quest, 2nd Quest). This is an appropriately difficult action-adventure with minor puzzle elements and maze like dungeons. There are enemies on nearly every screen to be dispatched by sword, boomerang, arrow, bomb, flame, recorder (flute), and/or magic. Originally released 1986 on the Famicom Disk System, the game was "ported" to cartridge and brought to the western world a year later. In 1994 a cartridge version was created for Japan also. Suggested simple instructions: Kill anything that moves; burn, blow up, feed, and/or steal anything that doesn't; in proper order. You can stop and save your game at anytime without dying. Press start to go to the sub-screen menu. Then on controller 2 press ↑+A. This is often incorrectly regraded as a 'secret'. But in reality, its written in the game instruction booklet. North American (English), European (English), and Japanese (Japanese based with English text also) versions of this cartridge were officially published in 1994. It has been unofficially translated, via ROM patches, to the follow languages: Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Lojban, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. 젤다의 전설 NES-LZ-KOR published 1987 by Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. in Korea. ????????? NES-LZ-HKG Gold cartridge published 19?? by Hi-Tech Expressions in Hong Kong A Lenda de Zelda (NES-LS-BZL not printed on product) Grey cartridge published 19?? by Playtronic localized by Hi-Tech Expressions Tags: The first game in the Legend of Zelda series. Miyamoto has stated that Mario and Zelda titles were intended to be playable animated cartoons. A character in the game, Zelda, is kidnapped by the antagonist in the hopes of forcing her to reveal a secret. One of Link's goals is to rescue her. Link can obtain a bow and shoot arrows at enemies. Damaging an NPC causes balls of energy to be launched at Link from out of fires. Miyamoto is a Shintoist and has publicly acknowledged incorporating Shinto into the Zelda games. This cartrige include 3 save slots via battery backed Save RAM. When played on a NES deck modified for stereo or an emulator with stereo, many have noticed that this game seems to have been designed for it. Their are Christian Crosses on Link's shields and on gravestones which has been shown to be against Nintendo's Content Guidelines by other games which have had Christian Crosses censored. [Zerothis]*Zelda. What more is there to say? Now that the N64 version is out, I hope this one isn't forgotten. I bought this when it came out and it is probably THE best game ever. Out of the NES versions, SNES versions, and this one, this one is probably my fave. The gameplay is amazing, the challenge is kick-ass, the storyline is pretty sweet, and it will keep you glued to your NES from start till finish. Trust me, this one is as good as the N64 version. Even though it doesn't have fancy graphics, the gameplay is unlike any other. You won't be disappointed!!!!
Zombie Hunter	Hi-Score Media Work (Lenar)	1987	"Zombie Hunter" is a side-scrolling Action-RPG and plays similar as the side-scrolling action parts of [game=#7949]Zelda II The Adventure of Link[/game]. Killing monsters will give you experience points and a chance of a chest with special items or upgrades to already existing armor and weapons. The game is very linear and has no overworld or other NPCs to talk to (except some shops in each level where you can buy/sell items). However, you can walk forth and back in each level in order to grind some levels before you encounter more difficult enemies. I think the problem is that the game doesn't play very well and becomes much too repetitive in the later levels. Besides that it is a quite difficult game. Activision planned to release the game in the U.S. as "Zombie Master", but eventually cancelled it.
Getsufuu Maden	Konami	1987	"Getsufuu Maden" plays like a mix of [game=#7949]Zelda II The Adventure of Link[/game] and [game=#7647]Castlevania[/game]. And as a bonus to the overworld map and side-scrolling action there are even three huge dungeons which you must explore in third-person perspective. The game is of high quality with lots of (short) levels, shops and interesting boss battles. Some repetitive parts can not be avoided however. There is lots of backtracking through already played levels. Graphics and music are good Konami standard, which means a step better than most other companies at that time. BTW: The box art is a special lenticular print (changing its image depending on which angle you look at it), so my box scan looks rather strange.***[media=youtube]5VuU2rvPmGI[/media]
Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family	Namco;Brøderbund (Nihon Falcom)	1987	Long, long ago, an evil dragon terrorized the forest until it was imprisoned by a powerful wizard. Now, years later, the dragon has revived and it's up to you to use the power of the wizard's descendants, the Draslefamily, to defeat the dragon once again. The whole family takes part in this action adventure as the parents, children and even the family pet search huge dungeons for gold, keys, magic, hidden crowns and finally the magical sword that can destroy the dragon.*There doesn't seem to be any prominently displayed catalog number on any of the media. Yet the Japanese number is NAM-DS4-4900 and the US number is NES-LC-USA.[media=youtube]Mw49GWtonLk[/media]**The fourth game in the "Dragon Slayer" series of RPG/action games originating on Japanese homecomputers. You play several members of a family to retrieve four crowns and finally a magical sword to beat an evil dragon. The items can be found in a huge and complicated 16x16 rooms labyrinth. Each of the family members has special abilities giving them advantages in certain parts of the labyrinth (e.g. the father can move blocks, the little sister jumps very high etc.). While the graphics, controls and music are not bad, this game has a huge problem. It is incredibly confusing, complex and difficult. Dead ends, secrets, a ton of unfair spots and a labyrinth design that lets you cry for a good hint book - and even then it is still frustrating.
Tenka no Goikenban: Mito Koumon	Sunsoft	1987	This game is based on a long-running television series playing in Japan taking place during the Edo period. It's one of those games where its really difficult to figure out what you actually have to do. You run around in a Japanese town hitting people, talking with people, collecting items. But for what purpose I couldn't find out. And information about this is sparse. The game features lots of text for an "action" game. The towns are detailed enough and set the right atmosphere for the historical setting. It even features some speech-samples, all thanks to being one of the first 2Mbit cartridges for the Famicom. However that lack of direction and being clueless of what to actually do in this game made it unplayable for me.
Mito Koumon II: Sekai Manyuu Ki	Sunsoft (Tose)	1988
Wheel of Fortune	GameTek (Rare)	1988	[media=youtube]4olbEPjwzzY[/media]*Now you can play your favorite TV Game Show anytime. You're the contestant-compete against your friends or match wits with the computer. Press the button, hear the theme music; spin the wheel and win a fortune; or hit bankrupt and lose it all. You get everything you see on TV-great graphics and animation, a colorful spinning wheel, and our very own blonde hostess to turn the letters. Even the music is authentic. There are over 1000 challenging puzzles to keep you guessing and if you're stuck you can always buy a vowel. Get set to spin...it's time to play WHEEL OF FORTUNE!*NES-WF-USA 1 player, 2 players, or 3 players mixed simultaneous and turn based play. No fourscore/multi-tap is required as players 1 and 3 share controller 1 for the simultaneous sequence. [Zerothis]
Little Red Hood	Joy Van;Sachen;HES (Thin Chen Enterprise)	1989	This game might just be better than [game=#7706]Hell's Bells[/game]. I'd give it 4.6 stars if I could.*One of the only NES game that requires to have any other game inserted into its cartridge to work.From the game box : "[i]This is no ordinary forest, then again, this is no ordinary LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. She can sure throw a kick and let me tell you, she needs it to get to grandma safely. The forest is filled with wicked goblins, snakes, scorpions, bears, and of course THE WOLF. Team up with her faithful dog and help LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD collect fruit, candy and magic potions so that che can fight these evil beasts and save grandma.[/i]"**Joy Van offered this game to American Video Entertainment for publishing but they decided not to. HES Published the cartridge in Australia in two versions. One was a piggyback cartridge, requiring a licensed game be plugged into the back in order to satify the lockout chip. The other was functionally identical but has a cartridge slot dongle on a cable to plug in a licensed game rather that having the slot directly on the back of the cartridge. [Zerothis]
Casino Kid	Sofel	1989	The Japanese and US versions differ in a number of points. The Japanese version had an additional Free Mode, enabling the player to chose a game of his liking. It included Roulette and Slot Machine games. NPC graphics are also changed. Not surprisingly the Japanese version is a 2 MBit cartridge, while the US version fit on 1 Mbit.***1 player only NES-KP-USA Casino Kid published 1989-06 by Sofe in the USA (alternate version) SFL-KP $1,000,000 Kid: Maboroshi no Teikohen/100 Man $ Kid - Maboroshi no Teiou Hen/100万＄キッド幻の帝王編 published 1989-06-01 BY Sofel in Japan [i]100 Man $ Kid and Casino Kid are two different though related games.[/i] The main character begins with on $500 and arrives at a casino to defeat the mysterious ultimate opponent at poker. But he doesn't even reveal himself to anyone who doesn't have a million dollars in chips. First, the Casino Kid must work his way up the ranks. 8 blackjack players/dealers can be found at the tables. Casino Kid but bankrupt each of them in order until they are all defeated. 8 Poker players are found wondering the floor of the casino and must also be defeated in order. The floor also has waitresses in bunny suits and other players who offer tidbits about different opponents' tells or inform the player where to find said opponents. If the player skips ahead one opponent, they will tell them where to find the previous. Trying to skip ahead 2 or more opponents gets a rude comment. The line of poker players is progressed separate from the line of Blackjack players but both lines must be completed to win $1,000,000 in chips (unless using a hacked password). Each opponent sets different limits and rules about surrendering a hand, quiting the game, or betting it all (player or opponent can do these if allowed at a table). Supposedly opponents get better as you progress through the lines. A password system allows the player to record progress outside of a contest with an opponent. Most opponents force you to play until someone is bankrupt, so there is really no way to save during a contest. Passwords record money and defeated opponents separately, so it is possible to use a hacked password to load an uncompletable game if there is not sufficient money held by the undefeated opponents to add up to one million. Note that 100 Man $ Kid also included Slots and Roulette. It let the player name themselves and featured a different casino and characters. It also had a 'free' or pratice mode separate from the 'quest' mode like Casino Kid. [Zerothis]
Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition	GameTek (Rare)	1989	Now everyone's favorite TV Game Show is just for kids! It's got all the excitement of the adult version... everything you see on TV and more. But the puzzles have been created just for the young player. It's your turn to be the contestant. Compete against your friends or match wits with the computer. Press the button, hear the theme music; spin the wheel, solve the puzzle and win a fortune; or hit bankrupt and lose it all. There are over 1000 puzzles to keep you guessing, and if you're stuck you can always buy a vowel. It's time to play WHEEL OF FORTUNE!***1 player, 2 players, or 3 players mixed simultaneous and turn based play. No fourscore/multi-tap is required as players 1 and 3 share controller 1 for the simultaneous sequence. NES-WJ-USA [Zerothis]
720°	Mindscape (Beam Software)	1989	As the jammin' skateboarder you know you are, you've got to test your skills in the toughest course any skateboarder has ever seen. You start off with a hundred bucks in your pocket, your trusty skateboard, and the awesome moves you've learned along the way.* [64]* [63]
Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition	GameTek (Rare)	1990	The exciting software version of television's number one game show has an all-new Family Edition! Now, everybody's favorite, Wheel of Fortune, has even more great fun: over 1000 challenging puzzles in both regular categories and new ones to give you even more great game play. You're the contestant competing against your friends or matching wits with the computer. You already know how to play... and it's your turn. Let the theme music inspire you and spin for a consonant or buy a vowel if you have the cash. If you're right, the pretty hostess will turn the letters. Do you want to take a shot at guessing the puzzle, or do you want to run up your score? Get set to spin, get set to win - the Wheel of Fortune Family Edition is hours of fun for the whole family!***1 player, 2 players, or 3 players mixed simultaneous and turn based play. No fourscore/multi-tap is required as players 1 and 3 share controller 1 for the simultaneous sequence. [Zerothis]
Bigfoot	Acclaim Entertainment (Beam Software)	1990	Get behind the wheel of Bigfoot - King of the Monster Trucks - and drive 14,000 pounds of explosive head-to-head crunching action! First, compete on the most treacherous off-road terrain America has to offer: twisted roads, washed-out bridges, and mud bogs as deep as your truck. Next, upgrade your rig with monster tires, super-charged engines and more. Then, put your pedal to the metal in the toughest events of the monster truck circuit. Caution: Don't blow your engine... Otherwise you'll end up in the junkyard instead of the winner's circle!*** [49]
Musashi no Bouken	Sigma Enterprises (Quest)	1990
Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White	Gametek (IJE)	1991	NES-Y6-USA 1 player, 2 players, or 3 players mixed simultaneous and turn based play. No fourscore/multi-tap is required as players 1 and 3 share controller 1 for the simultaneous sequence. Each round starts with a puzzle of blanks representing the letters of the phrase. Spin the wheel and choose a letter. Earn the cash (or prize) indicated by your spin times the number of times your letter appears in the puzzle. If the letter isn't there your turn ends. Vowels cost money. There are lose-a-turn and Bankruptcy spots on the wheel also. Based on the North American TV game show. This version features Vanna White who was also featured in the TV show. She's the lady that turns the letters; back when the show still used turning letters. [Zerothis]
Fun House	Hi-Tech Expressions (Realtime Associates)	1991	Now you can bring this wacky, wild, goopy, gloppy TV game show home. Rollerblade your way through 80 zany rooms tossing tomatoes at targets in the most outrageous Fun House ever built. This unpredictable mansion is not a place you'd want to call home. Fun House is a race against the clock where only the skilled can survive. Clock's running low? Find a lightning bolt to gain speed or pick up an alarm clock for some extra time. Better yet, find the hidden warp zones and short cut to the next maze. But watch out for the banana launchers and glob guns which will take away some of your precious time. Can you avoid the obstacles? Can you rollerblade on icy floors or up slime covered ramps? Can you collect enough coins to earn another pair of skates? The mission's yours. Remember... only those who think fast and move quickly will survive this sticky mess. Will you?
Niji no Silk Road: Zig Zag Boukenki	Victor (Advance Communication Company)	1991
R.C. Pro-Am 2	Tradewest (Rare)	1992	1 player, 2 players. 3 players, or 4 players simultaneous. All players are stuck on the same screen and the view does not change to accommodate stragglers (they are forced along). [Zerothis]
Wily & Right no RockBoard: That's Paradise	Capcom	1993
The Legends of Owlia	RetroZone (Gradual Games)	2016

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