Famicom Recommendations

[BrianC]

I'm trying to think of some good games to get for the Famicom and I would like some help. I'm interested in a variety of different genres (and shmups included of course), though text heavy RPGs and adventure games are out.

I ordered Nekketsu Katkou Densetsu, Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu (Super Dodge Ball), Quarth, and Devil World (and Nekketsu Katkou Densetsu and Devil World have shipped).

I currently have Dig Dug, Crazy Climber, Goonies, Mappy, Eggerland Meikyu no Fukketsu, Final Lap, Famista '90, Famicom Wars, Arkanoid II (with JP vaus), Highway Star, Gradius II, Family Pinball, Ganbare Goemon, Getsu Fuma Den, and Valkyrie no Bouken for Famicom.

Games I have for NES:
-10 Yard Fight
-1942
-1943
-A Boy and His Blob
-Adventure Island
-Adventures in Disneyland
-Adventures of Lolo 1 (already have one of the JP Eggerland installments)
-Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing
-Alpha Mission
-Anticipation
-Arkanoid (with US Vaus)
-Astyanax
-Athena
-Back to the Future
-Balloon Fight
-Bandai Golf Challenge Pebble Beach
-Baseball
-Baseball Stars
-Bases Loaded II
-Batman
-Bill and Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure
-Bionic Commando
-Bonk's Adventure
-Boulder Dash
-Blaster Master
-Bubble Bobble
-Burgertime
-Captain America and the Avengers
-Castlevania 1-3
-Contra (JP one sounds much better, but seems to be one of the more expensive games)
-Cyberball
-Dance Aerobics
-Darkwing Duck
-Deadly Towers
-Defender of the Crown
-Donkey Kong
-Donkey Kong Jr.
-Double Dragon II
-Dragon Power
-Dragon Spirit
-Dragon Warrior
-Duck Hunt (single cart and multi cart, same for SMB1)
-Duck Tales II
-Elevator Action
-Excitebike
-Fester's Quest
-Final Fantasy
-Flying Dragon
-Friday the 13th
-Galaga
-Gauntlet
-Gauntlet II
-Ghosts 'n Goblins
-Golf
-Goonies II
-Gotcha
-Gradius
-Guardian Legend
-Gun Nac
-Gun.Smoke
-Gumshoe
-Gyromite
-High Speed
-Hoops
-Hydlide
-Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
-Isolated Warrior
-Jaws
-Journey to Silius
-Jurassic Park
-Kid Icarus
-Kid Kool
-Kung Fu
-Legacy of the Wizard
-Legend of Zelda
-Legendary Wings
-Life Force (still on the fence for the JP version, but the clear cart, extra options and ending are Tempting)
-Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf
-Lode Runner
-Lunar Pool
-Mag Max
-Magic of Sharazade
-Major League Baseball
-Marble Madness
-Mega Man 2
-Mega Man 3
-Metal Gear
-Mickey Mousecapade
-Micro Machines
-Mighty Bomb Jack
-Mike Tyson's Punch Out
-Millipede
-Mission Impossible
-Monster Party
-Ms. Pac-Man (Tengen)
-NES Open
-NES Play Action Football
-Ninja Gaiden 1-2
-Nintendo World Cup/Super Spike V'Ball (might get JP ones eventually, but I'll probably go with Nekketsu Soccer League over the JP Dodge Ball Club Soccer and maybe wait to get a JP PCE for "Dodge Ball Soccer")
-Operation Wolf
-Pac-Man
-Paperboy
-Pinball
-Pinbot
-Popeye
-Q*Bert
-Quattro Adventure
-Racket Attack
-Rampage
-RBI Baseball (already have one of the real sequels, Famista '90)
-R.C. Pro Am
-Rescue Rangers
-River City Ransom
-Rocket Ranger
-Rockin' Kats
-Rolling Thunder
-Rush 'n Attack
-Rygar
-Section Z
-Shadow of the Ninja
-Shinobi
-Side Pocket
-Silent Service
-Sky Kid
-Slalom
-Snake's Revenge
-Solar Jetman
-Solomon's Key
-Spelunker
-Spy Hunter
-Super C
-Super Mario Bros. 1-3
-Super Pitfall
-Star Soldier
-Startropics II
-T&C Surf Designs
-TMNT 1-3
-Top Gun
-Track 'n Field
-Track 'n Field II
-Trojan
-Wild Gunman
-Wizards and Warriors
-World Class Track Meet (in 3 in 1 cart with Duck Hunt and SMB)
-Wrath of the Black Manta
-Wrecking Crew
-Wrestlemania
-Zanac
-Zelda II

Some games I plan to get for Famicom:
Meikyu Jima (jp version of Kickle Cubicle. More enemies in levels and ability to select levels)
Akumajo Densetsu
Akumajo Special (aka Kid Dracula)
Crisis Force
Kunio no Nekketsu Soccer League
Nekketsu Hockey
Fantasy Zone
Hello Kitty World
Mario Open (has some differences from NES open)
Goemon 2
Yume Penguin Monogarati (or however you spell it)
Exerion
Ninja Jajamaru Kun
Battle City (seems to sell for cheap, but the only one on ebay is overpriced)
Warp Man
Youkai Douchiki (sp?)
Twinbee 3
Splatterhouse

On the fence:
Tetris 2 + Bombliss
Salamander (leaning towards getting it, but I'm not sure if the extra option and ending is a good enough reason to import. Slick see through cart, though)
Famicom Disk System (has some nice games, but I heard it is a pain to maintain and has very fragile disks)
Super Mario Bros 3 (has some differences from the US version, most notably shrinking to small Mario from any power up)
Moero Pro Yakyu (has different sounds from the US Bases Loaded)
Xevious (has some hidden dip switch settings that don't work for the US, not sure if I should just go for the US one)
Super Xevious
Rolling Thunder (I have the Tengen one, but JP one has much better sound and an extra ending)
Battletoads (tweaked to be easier than US and fixes glitches, but is the difficulty toned down too much? Seems to be fairly cheap loose, but not too many on ebay)
Ninja Cop Saizou
Ninja Ryukenden 3 (US one made harder, but JP one is the easiest of the games)
Parodius
Moon Crystal (doesn't show up on ebay. I would like an idea of price)
Gimmick (I have no idea how much it goes for)
Over Horizon (I'm not sure of the price)

[drauch]

Man, I have NEVER seen Moon Crystal on Ebay. Such a great game! I'm also very curious as to why it never surfaces.

I only own one Famicom game at this time...Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti! It's a mandatory purchase, most def.

[BrianC]

Man, I have NEVER seen Moon Crystal on Ebay. Such a great game! I'm also very curious as to why it never surfaces.

I only own one Famicom game at this time...Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti! It's a mandatory purchase, most def.

It definitely looks like an interesting one. I like Namco's double sized carts too. I have one game in that cart style, Famista '90. Fun game.

[Drum]

Abadox is pretty rad. Samurai Zombie Nation is an interesting curiosity, check that out.

[maxlords]

For sure you have to get Crisis Force, Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti, and Yumi Penguin Monogatari

Aside from those, Konami Wai Wai World 1 and 2 are kinda interesting. Star Wars is cool too. The Wagyan Land games are kind of neat. And Castlevania 3 has a much better sound chip than the domestic version

[gundamalpha]

Kick Master is very good, one of the reasons for my reinvestment on a FC after 20years absence.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Sqoon, Metal Storm and - PAL only - Super Turrican. I liked Antarctic Adventure, but since Konami Antiques MSX Collection Vol. 3 includes Penguin Adventure (still excellent game), maybe that would be better option.

[ZOM]

If you like a good albeit simple action RPG, I recommend "Grand Master". Mind you, it's more action than rpg - think Ys without text (excluding the intro & ending).
Good luck finding a boxed copy though - took me a while, but once they're around they go for cheap.

[Skykid]

Guevara is a Famicom requirement.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Recca.

if you can afford it

[Ganelon]

I found my copy of Moon Crystal on eBay for $20 but it's apparently not the norm. I saw it in some Akiba stores recently for 6000 yen. It's a fun and impressive looking FC game but I'm not sure I'd pay that much for it. What I find fun on the Famicom are:

Wizardry II - Legacy of Llylgamyn The Third Scenario: this is the 3rd cardinal game in the Wizardry series but was released before Knight of Diamonds on the FC for whatever reason, and was the only one of the 3 not released in the US. Cheap to find, minimal text, only for Wizardry fans in this day)

Hiryu no Ken III: the only version of the main adventure series not released in the US. Cheap to find, minimal text, meant for classic sidescrolling RPG fans. Although only few people nowadays seem to enjoy the battle system, HNK Special is a fighting-only follow-up to this series

[CIT]

I recommend Gimmick, a great Sunsoft title, with amazing sound (thanks to a custom chipset).

[Ed Oscuro]

It's issues like these that place Moon Crystal on the level with other second tier NES/Famicom titles like Conquest of the Crystal Palace or Shadow of the Ninja - quite great, but not outstanding. It's really nothing to be ashamed of, though, because it's still plenty worthwhile.

haha

I didn't know about this one, thanks!

I personally have been looking for the Japanese version of "Vice Project DOOM" for a while. I've seen it here and there but I'm waiting on a good copy.

[BrianC]

Sqoon, Metal Storm and - PAL only - Super Turrican. I liked Antarctic Adventure, but since Konami Antiques MSX Collection Vol. 3 includes Penguin Adventure (still excellent game), maybe that would be better option.

I have that collection. I'm still thinking of getting the Famicom Antarctic Adventure since it has power ups the original doesn't have. I also plan to get the CV port, which is very similar to the MSX one. I'm a bit torn over Metal Storm. The main difference between the US and JP versions is an odd palette change, but I didn't notice much difference in gameplay. Squoon is pretty much the same between US and JP, right?

Kick Master is very good, one of the reasons for my reinvestment on a FC after 20years absence.

Kick Master isn't officially on a JP Famicom cart, but I do plan to get it for NES. I also plan to get the first GI Joe.

I found my copy of Moon Crystal on eBay for $20 but it's apparently not the norm. I saw it in some Akiba stores recently for 6000 yen. It's a fun and impressive looking FC game but I'm not sure I'd pay that much for it. What I find fun on the Famicom are:

Wizardry II - Legacy of Llylgamyn The Third Scenario: this is the 3rd cardinal game in the Wizardry series but was released before Knight of Diamonds on the FC for whatever reason, and was the only one of the 3 not released in the US. Cheap to find, minimal text, only for Wizardry fans in this day)

Hiryu no Ken III: the only version of the main adventure series not released in the US. Cheap to find, minimal text, meant for classic sidescrolling RPG fans. Although only few people nowadays seem to enjoy the battle system, HNK Special is a fighting-only follow-up to this series

Thanks for the suggestions. I like WRPGs and was thinking of picking up some of the NES Wizardry games. I also like Flying Dragon/Hiryu no Ken. I heard Flying Warriors NES combines elements of Hiryu no Ken 2 and 3?

Guevara is a Famicom requirement.

Are there any major differences from the NES version aside from the different plot with Fidel Castro as player 2? The US one is quite a bit cheaper.

[Ganelon]

Flying Warriors is Hiryu no Ken II except Americanized. I noticed no changes to the mechanics or story. Still an amazing game though IMO.

EDIT: OK, I see in the Wiki (as well as a FAQ and YouTube vid), someone is claiming that Flying Warriors is a hybridized HNK II & III except with HNK II's plot. I don't understand that.

When I played through HNK II years back, I remember everything being exactly identical to Flying Warriors except the names and some graphics. I don't remember the battle system being any different from the options already available, nor any moves missing. HNK III is a completely separate game with a new story, enemies, and locales that aren't in HNK II / Flying Warriors.

If this Hayabusakun guy could elaborate on what he meant by Flying Warriors being a hybridization, that would be helpful. Although Flying Warriors was released after the JP trilogy, nothing comes to my mind of any elements being taken from HNK III.

[drauch]

I really need to play more Famicom games! People keep mentioning things I always read about, but have never tried...

Moon Crystal really is a great game. It's got some fantastic pushing-the-limits graphics, cut scenes, and interesting story, and it handles and plays well. I've always been tempted to just go ahead and pick up a NES repro cart of it...

[Skykid]

Guevara is a Famicom requirement.

Are there any major differences from the NES version aside from the different plot with Fidel Castro as player 2? The US one is quite a bit cheaper.

That I'm not sure of tbh, probably not. If the US one is cheap it's definitely worth getting, it's pretty amazing.

[undamned]

Tetris 2 + Bombliss

You can get the SFC version boxed/shipped for probably less than $20 from an ebay game import store. I actually prefer the "Tetris 2 + Bombliss" version of Bombliss over it's solo release (I own both for SFC).

Gimmick (I have no idea how much it goes for)

I was watching one on YAJ the other day. I may be mistaken, but I think I remember it selling for around 7,000JPY (loose cart)? AFAIK, it doesn't come up often, so it's really hard to judge value on stuff like that.
-ud

[BrianC]

Tetris 2 + Bombliss

You can get the SFC version boxed/shipped for probably less than $20 from an ebay game import store. I actually prefer the "Tetris 2 + Bombliss" version of Bombliss over it's solo release (I own both for SFC).

Gimmick (I have no idea how much it goes for)

I was watching one on YAJ the other day. I may be mistaken, but I think I remember it selling for around 7,000JPY (loose cart)? AFAIK, it doesn't come up often, so it's really hard to judge value on stuff like that.
-ud

Thanks for the info. The Famicom Tetris 2 + Bombliss is about as cheap as the SNES one and has music from Koichi Sugiyama. It also seems to have a different set of levels for Bombliss.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The NES Tengen version of Klax is cool for it's awesome BGM tunes that were composed by LX Rudis himself. I got to chat with him for a few minutes at the conclusion of the 2001 California Extreme show when he was an employee working for Ultracade (based out of San Jose, CA at that time). Mr. Rudis said that he had never seen anyone play a game of arcade Klax as well as I did during both days of the 2001 CAX show. Ultracade had a booth set up with two Ultracade cabinets up and running (and Klax was one of the game roms set up). I got to Wave 100 on both days as well and finally beat it on the last day of the show with Mr. Rudis personally watching me.

Even Konami's NES Stinger game is a cool little shmup title worth searching for in loose condition...you might get lucky if you find a copy out there in the wild.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[moozooh]

Gimmick seconded. Absolutely fantastic game, very advanced for its system (there's a very nice physics engine involved, and the sound is high above nearly everything on the system) and masterfully executed in every respect.

[Drum]

Holy shit @ Holy Diver

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOpLJF-QRSE

I have no idea if it's good or not, but ... this made me laugh and it looks like it would be a nice addition.

[maxlords]

Holy Diver is pretty badass actually. Not QUITE as good as Getsu Fuu Ma Den, but almost. I have it...forgot that one on my list. Plus it's Irem

[BrianC]

The NES Tengen version of Klax is cool for it's awesome BGM tunes that were composed by LX Rudis himself. I got to chat with him for a few minutes at the conclusion of the 2001 California Extreme show when he was an employee working for Ultracade (based out of San Jose, CA at that time). Mr. Rudis said that he had never seen anyone play a game of arcade Klax as well as I did during both days of the 2001 CAX show. Ultracade had a booth set up with two Ultracade cabinets up and running (and Klax was one of the game roms set up). I got to Wave 100 on both days as well and finally beat it on the last day of the show with Mr. Rudis personally watching me.

Even Konami's NES Stinger game is a cool little shmup title worth searching for in loose condition...you might get lucky if you find a copy out there in the wild.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I definitely plan to pick up the US Klax, but it has a JP Famicom version has well. Published by Hudson, but it seems to be the same game as the US NES version (unlike Konami's Rampart).

Stinger/Moero Twinbee has an extra three player mode for the JP version, but I plan to get the US one anyway since the US one is on cart and much cheaper than the JP cart version. Jackal is another one where I plan to get the US version.

I found out the JP Guevara does have something that isn't in the US version, a hidden port of Sasuke vs. Commander. Other than that and the Castro stuff, it seems pretty much the same. The odd thing is that the US version only vaguely hides its origin. It still has a picture of Castro in the intro and the map and graphics were left unchanged.

I can't believe I forgot about Holy Diver. That one does look interesting. I heard the mapper has problems with US systems (which is a moot point since I have an AV Famicom), which is odd since it doesn't have extra sound hardware. Too bad the other games with Konami's special sound chips, aside from Akumajou Densetsu seem to be RPGs or similar to RPGs. Esper Dream II looks interesting. I found out that Tiny Toon Adventures 2 JP has the VRC7 chip, but no extra sound chip. I wonder what it uses it for. It seems to be pretty much the same as the US version, aside from some translation differences (and I wasn't too impressed with what I tried of the game. Seems pretty average).

One thing I noticed with the JP Famicom power adapter is that it's closer in voltage to the Genesis/SMS adapter and outputs DC instead of AC (so the US NES adapter is an absolute no-no). I have a JP SMS power adapter as well. It seems it should be safe (though I'm not taking chances). Is this correct?

[Aguraki]

no metroid?
also river city ransom is pretty cool.
will update this post if/when I think of somthing else.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Recca.

if you can afford it

+1

[BrianC]

no metroid?
also river city ransom is pretty cool.
will update this post if/when I think of somthing else.

Doh. I knew I left something off. I have RCR and I like it quite a bit so far and Nekketsu Katkou Densetsu for the Famicom should be coming soon (a fighting game using the same SD style and fighting system). Metroid I have in Metroid Prime GCN and Metroid Zero Mission GBA, but I plan to get the NES cart of it. The FDS one I'm on the fence since I'm on the fence for the FDS.

[moozooh]

FDS version has better sound IIRC.

[BrianC]

FDS version has better sound IIRC.

I noticed when watching a video of the intro, but is it worth putting up with the FDS (there are some other FDS games I'm interested in too, but I heard the FDS's belts often break and the disks are fragile)?

[moozooh]

Probably not.