The Power Glove did exist back during the NES days, and like you can imagine, it was quite stupid. It will not be missed.
Unlike espion4ge, I can’t remember enough NES games to only pick out only ones that deserve more press. In fact, I should put out a disclaimer that I can’t really remember how good any of these games are, I just remember really enjoying them. I’ve also never really gotten into any emulators or anything so some of these games I haven’t picked up in 20 years. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, though. I decided to put the games in the order I remember playing them, which more or less coincides with when they came out.
Kung Fu
Along with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt, this is one of the first games that I remember playing. It was the first beat-em up I played and I absolutely loved it. Of course, Kung Fu introduced the classic NES mechanic to me: after I completed all five floors, defeated Mr. X, and rescued my girlfriend Sylvia, I was invited to play the entire game again with an amped up difficulty. I never did get the satisfaction of beating it again, it was hard enough the first time!
Bubble Bobble
When I started thinking about NES games, Bubble Bobble immediately came to mind. Cooperative play, addicting gameplay, and even more addicting music had me in love with this game from the start. In fact, I just paused writing this paragraph to go look up the music. I’m also incredibly tempted to drop 5 bucks to buy this on Virtual Console right now. I remember the game being pretty difficult and there was no Contra-like code (or was there? I don’t remember) for unlimited lives, but I managed to beat all 100 levels on my own, only to be greeted by something to the effect of “Beat the game with a partner for the real ending!” WHAT!? Of course, like any good older brother, I grabbed my sister and forced her to play through the entire game with me again. It took awhile, since I had to teach her how to play the game first, but by coercing her into helping me (a recurring theme in the NES years) I finally got to see the “real” ending. Which sucked.
Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!
Keeping with the addicting music theme, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out! had some of the catchiest music out there. The game established Nintendo’s tried and true “recognize a pattern, defeat said pattern” mechanic. I consider that classic Nintendo, even the latest versions of Zelda and Metroid rely heavily on it for bosses. This game was awesome for so many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that it somehow got away with being incredibly racist. An Indian with a tiger? A Japanese warrior with a Japanese flag around his head? King Hippo? The remake looks like it’s going to be even more racist, since now when you are beating people up food from their region of the world starts falling out of their heads. Now, when you start beating up Glass Joe, french baguettes start popping out of his head. Check out this trailer for the Wii remake, which I’ll probably pick up for nostalgia alone. Curse you Nintendo…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEaL8HqufFI]
Ice Hockey
This was one of those sports games that was so simple in design yet addicting to play. You could play as one of six “countries”, all though selecting a different team just meant that your jersey would be a different color. What made the game much deeper than it looked was the ability to choose three different “body types” for your players: Skinny Guy, Average Guy, and Fat Guy. Skinny Guy was super fast but couldn’t shoot worth a lick, Fat Guy was slow but barreled everyone over and had a wicked slapshot. When I got this game I would routinely go through and destroy every other country with the USA. Of course, at the time Russia (or the USSR, I can’t remember) was the toughest team, so I’d save them for last. Do you believe in miracles…YES!
Dragon Warrior (series)
Known as Dragon Quest in Japan, Dragon Warrior 1 introduced me to RPGs, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I remember being incredibly fond of Dragon Warrior 2 because it was the first game I ever remember opening up with a long, drawn out “cut scene” (although everything was done in the game engine), and the first time I got to use multiple characters in an RPG. Dragon Warrior 4 was the most memorable NES Dragon Warrior because it introduced the characters one by one and you don’t even meet the “hero” until 10 hours into the game. I plan on picking up Dragon Quest V for DS eventually, as my Dragon Warrior/Quest involvement ended at 4. Also of note: Dragon Warrior 4 was when I realized that my sister was incredibly good at RPG grinding. Thanks to her, I was never too weak to fight a dungeon boss. Heh.
Final Thoughts
Writing this really brought out the nostalgia factor for me. It also made me feel like calling my sister for some reason. Anyway, Nintendo’s gotten a bad rep for re-releasing games on the virtual console and charging people for it, and for good reason. I paid good money for these games when I was a kid, and it seems silly to pay MORE good money to download them to my Wii or buy the DS remake and play them again. At the same time, I can’t help it. 5 or 10 dollars seems a small price to pay for a few hours of good ole’ reminiscing. That might make me a sucker, but I can live with it. I’ll just make sure I resist buying the Power Glove remake when it comes out.
man for some reason the Ice Hockey and Dragon Warrior boxes really bring back fond memories for me. I forgot all about the Ice Hockey box but having owned both games and seeing them, I’m just like “whoa…” Great picks! I’m also curious to see how Punch Out!! on the Wii turns out.
Wow you know what? I just remembered that when we were young, my little brother would help grind for me in RPGs like Final Fantasy. He never progressed in the storyline, but if I was out, he would just sit there leveling my party members – just like your sister! I wonder if this is a recurring theme among younger siblings of hardcore gamers haha
that punchout trailer is hilarious.
To my sister’s credit, 10 years later she was beating me down in Mariokart and Smash Brothers. The only game where we were evenly matched was Goldeneye. I think I can out Guitar Hero her now though
That is incorrect! I am much better at Guitar Hero/Rock Band than you think.
You know what else is sad, is that I remember you playing some of these games too when I know I never played them. Even the hockey game looks familiar, and it is obvious that I would never play a hockey game …
Challenge accep…..wait for it………TED