NES Recommendations (very specific)

[GSK]

Would you happen to know whether Solbrain or Shatterhand was the earlier version? I've seen SH claimed as the original several times, but I can't quite believe it with Solbrain being objectively so much less advanced. The games are 95% identical, but the one differing level and two differing bosses are decidedly more sophisticated in Shatterhand, in addition to SH himself having slightly richer animation (jacket flutter).

I didn't get a clear answer on that, actually, just "I forget, ask [x]" in reference to someone who has yet to reply.

I'm still looking to talk to a bunch of the old Natsume crew, but the correspondence takes forever (and reading Blackoak's translated Wild Guns interview slowed me down a little, too, I must admit). More than anything, I just wanna find out why they seemed to just stop making awesome action games all of a sudden... from the sounds of things, most of the important players are still there or still work for Natsume as contractors, so I don't understand why their output just dropped off a cliff after the SFC days.

[BIL]

Oh cool - thanks for asking anyway. I don't think it matters much ultimately... I have Solbrain and have considered getting Shatterhand, it's simply the more developed game (if only in the one stage and two bosses that differ). You'd have to actively delete unique content from Shatterhand to get Solbrain, seems pretty clear cut even if the rumour's origin isn't.

Why their action gaming output vanished after SFC is definitely a more interesting question. Sadly I'd guess they didn't have the luxury of even Konami and Capcom's reduced output in those years, hence two generations of increasingly leading-edge skill being piled into farming and fishing. But it'd be good to hear more details.

[BrianC]

I heard good things about Return of the Ninja GBC, but other than that, Natsume's output post SNES has been disappointing. I saw a video of one of the Natsume GBA Power Rangers games and was a bit disappointed. The game looked like it had very few enemies and didn't look very challenging. Music is awesome, though.

Edit: I watched a video of Action Man GBC and it looks interesting. Nice music too.

[Obiwanshinobi]

A truism, but PlayStation must've taken publishers by surprise and everybody got an idea that old style games won't be selling anymore. Thus no matter how good a developer you were on 8- and 16-bit machines, it was no longer enough to get funds needed to work on 2D action games for a living.
Look again how poorly 2D Mega Man sold at the time and how quixotic The Adventure of Little Ralph turned out.

[BrianC]

I thought Mega Man 8 sold pretty well on PSX? It certainly isn't hard to find. I don't know what the case is with Natsume. Unlike many other Japanese companies, they did a lot of contract work for THQ after NES. A lot of those licensed games have rushed schedules and turn out poorly, no matter who the developer is.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Out of curiosity, I went back through Natsume just to see what else they'd made (I was curious if they'd released anything in the arcades) - holy crap there's a lot of games I didn't realize were Natsume's work! That explains why I thought they were awesome. I loved Power Blade for the NES and the sequel wasn't awful either. Never knew Taito was just the NA publisher. Final Mission I forgot was Natsume; I remember having fun renting S.C.A.T. as a kid a few times, and Shadow of the Ninja was a slick platformer. Dragon Fighter was also interesting, though nowhere near as good a platformer as their other offerings, but it wasn't the worst platformer ever either.

Dungeon Magic: Sword of the Elements is apparently one of the few early examples of an RPG by Natsume. Again, published by Taito in NA... I remember trying it a while back and not being too impressed, but I'm tempted to give it a whirl again.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I thought Mega Man 8 sold pretty well on PSX? It certainly isn't hard to find.

Many printed copies don't equal any high sales. Posted it elsewhere, but this is one sobering list. I see Devil Dice on it; no such luck with Rockman/Mega Man.

[BrianC]

I thought Mega Man 8 sold pretty well on PSX? It certainly isn't hard to find.

Many printed copies don't equal any high sales. Posted it elsewhere, but this is one sobering list. I see Devil Dice on it; no such luck with Rockman/Mega Man.

Those are only million sellers. I know many printed copies doesn't equal high sales, but it did well enough for a greatest hits re-release. I don't see any proof it did poorly, at least. One interesting thing with that list is that the original Rayman sold extremely well. The page also states the list is incomplete.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I read somewhere else that in UK, Rayman was the best-selling PSX game ever. Napoleon would have a good laugh.

[cicada88]

Just a couple of comments:

1.) Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti is insanely over-rated in the West. IMO, the best part about it is the cover art and the included stickers. The game is super simple and easy. It's been years since I played it, but I either 1 CC'd or 1 lived it on the first day I started playing it. I guess if Splatterhouse was absolutely your favorite series then I could understand the draw.

I also understand that it's a Japanese only game with nice box art based on a familiar series that is playable without any knowledge of Japanese. I just don't think it's fun. Great cover art though!

2.) Yume Kojou: Doki Doki Panic is basically a platforming masterpiece—forget about it having anything to do with Mario. The presentation and polish is stunning on this game. It's so unique, and the dark interior / underground vs normal outside vs pitch-black dream world concept is pretty rad and executed incredibly.

-Those door frame shadows
-The mechanics of the boss fights...Birdos are surreal and amazing...mysterious
-Those whales!
-That Rocket!
-Those ice physics!
-Flying carpet mechanic
-Music is incredible throughout
-The bomb / stone mechanic
-Item carrying mechanic

I just started playing through this again for the first time since the GBA Mario remake, but I could go on and on. Despite knowing and loving this game as Super Mario Bros 2 when I was a kid, I feel live I've criminally slept on it ever since. This game has about as style and ambiance as anything released up until then.

[BIL]

I really like Wanpaku and its sprinting pace. I put off trying it for a long time since all praise seemed to concentrate on the parodic aspect, something that's never enough for me on its own - was pleasantly surprised when I finally gave it a go on macaw's recommendation.

It's not the toughest FC sidescroller, but I don't think it needs to be (Holy Diver, Ninja Gaiden III, and the second loops of Castlevania III and Metal Storm are plenty to work with). It's got immense style and more importantly it fills a niche in straightforward Rastan/Strider-style run and slashing (the console has a formidable range of Dracula/Ryukenden-based stuff, but seemingly little that lets you mow through crowds with abandon). The chunky sprites and constant switching of scenes and setpieces are great fun too, feels quite arcadey. Dunno what the consensus is on it, but I'd certainly call it worthwhile.

Also, FC snapcase love. :3

Dragon Fighter was also interesting, though nowhere near as good a platformer as their other offerings, but it wasn't the worst platformer ever either.

DF's really grown on me since I returned after clearing Kage and Solbrain. Used to think it was the junior member of that spiritual trilogy, but now I regard it as succeeding at its own thing. Level design is much simpler, to the point it's not really a platformer per se, but that meshes perfectly with the correspondingly stripped-down sword action and excellent meter-building groove (build dragon time with the sword, cash in and roast big targets, get back to the slashing - abuse the dragon and neglect the sword at your peril). I do think it should've broken out the really intense difficulty earlier though - it's only with stage 5 and its relentless flying enemies that you're really driven to the wall.

As with the latter two, it all handles with superlative smoothness, and dear god the tunes.

[Ghegs]

My biggest issue with Wanpaku is the way too long cutscene with the dancing vampire in the first stage. Just kills the pacing for me.

I've been acquiring some Famicom games again, still got a few titles left I want. Been playing Daiku no Gen-san. It's short and kind of easy, but fun and charming. I've got the sequel on the way too.

[BIL]

Haha, yeah - I definitely raised an eyebrow the first time I sat through that. Might've given up right there if it didn't make up for the lost time so furiously afterward.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

DF's really grown on me since I returned after clearing Kage and Solbrain. Used to think it was the junior member of that spiritual trilogy, but now I regard it as succeeding at its own thing.

Oh cool. I wasn't sure how popular or known Dragon Fighter was, and it has been a LONG time since I played it when I started looking up random games to emulate I'd never heard of. The level design I remember was quite simple, but I still enjoyed beating it, I had actually forgotten about it though so I had no idea how well regarded or not it was.

[BIL]

A few recent FC pickups:

Double Dragon II Definitive version of this excellent Technos brawler - well worth investigating for anyone who loves the NES one but found it too easy. Shunts the NES's "Supreme Master" setting down a rung to "Normal," and introduces an entirely harder max setting I dub "XTREEM MASTER." Besides enemies having seemingly twice the HP (Ropers and Right Arms only gain enough to break your grapples in Mission 7 of the NES version - it's their starting level here), the AI was also tweaked to be much more aggressive to players within striking range. NES on top, FC below:





Right Arms in particular are absolutely lethal and will beat the living shit out of an unwary attacker. The corridor section of Mission 4 and the gauntlets of Missions 7 and 8 are a lot more interesting as a result. These tweaks also make the infamous knee attack much less of a sure thing - assuming it doesn't get ducked, it may well trade, leaving you floored with enemies circling, and it won't instantly kill the target regardless (unless there's a nice ledge to blast them off, but that's another matter). It's still hugely powerful but not to the exclusion of the other special moves (the spinkick and uppercut are easier to connect cleanly) or bread and butter strikes/grapples.

Burai Fighter Excellent shooter from Kid, developers of Recca, Max Warrior and Kick Master. Plays like Forgotten Worlds' multidirectional strafing in Image Fight's wallmaku claustrophobia, with Thunder Force II-style overhead stages interspersed. Unpredictable four-way scrolling really pushes the multidirectional shooting to the fore. Awesome firepower and an even awesomer aggressive, bullet-clearing bomb. Unceasingly intense on "Ace" setting. Final Mission fans should definitely give this a look.

I remember this game and its later GB version being all over the magazines as a kid - Taxan really got the word out. Doesn't seem very acknowledged these days, though.

Sqoon Jackal, if it were a hori and underwater. Hori shoot and rescue with absolutely no-nonsense pacing, in the tradition of early FC classics Spartan X, Excitebike and Balloon Fight. You'll know if you'll like this within the first thirty seconds or so. Clean, detailed spritework a standout, with charming BGM. Did Irem develop or only publish this? Either way I love it.

[BrianC]

I heard the platforms in one area are toned down on normal in the JP version compared to Supreme Master in the US version, though the hardest mode in the JP version still has the harder arrangement of platforms.

Burai Fighter Excellent shooter from Kid, developers of Recca, Max Warrior and Kick Master. Plays like Forgotten Worlds' multidirectional strafing in Image Fight's wallmaku claustrophobia, with Thunder Force II-style overhead stages interspersed. Unpredictable four-way scrolling really pushes the multidirectional shooting to the fore. Awesome firepower and an even awesomer aggressive, bullet-clearing bomb. Unceasingly intense on "Ace" setting. Final Mission fans should definitely give this a look.

I like what I played of Burai Fighter quite a bit. It's also one of those Kid games where Ken Lobb was involved (along with Low G Man, GI JOE 1 and 2, and Kickmaster). I read that a couple of those games had endings that told you to try a harder difficulty level and often had Ken Lobb's initials.

[BIL]

Yes - Mission 6's vanishing platforms are a bit easier to handle on the lower two FC difficulties, where they're always in the "hard" mode on NES.

[KindGrind]

I picked up DD2 US and find it balls hard. I have trouble adjusting to the mechanics of the game, it's pretty weird. First DD game I played in years mind you, so I'm definitely out of practice.

I also picked up Dracula's Curse (beat it!), Little Nemo, Ducktales and Shatterhand (which I have never played; copy is in the mail).

Excellent recommendations in this thread, keep it coming.

Little Nemo

The draw-in/flicker puts me off, but I love the game. I had a hard time beating level 3, but I finally did. I can't see how I'll manage to do level 4, to be honest. When Shatterhand comes in, I'll be playing it exclusively (well, the only NES title I'll be booting for a little while).

[BIL]

Cobra Command The anti-Sqoon. Hori shoot and rescue with stop-start pacing and atrociously clumsy controls. Has that earthy/olive drab FC "army game" look I love, and heli games are always cool, but these are the only reasons I bothered with it past the first stage.

[BrianC]

Cobra Command The anti-Sqoon. Hori shoot and rescue with stop-start pacing and atrociously clumsy controls. Has that earthy/olive drab FC "army game" look I love, and heli games are always cool, but these are the only reasons I bothered with it past the first stage.

A completely different genre, but so far, Famicom Wars is my game of choice when it comes to FC army games. Good stuff. I was always on the fence on trying Cobra Command. I heard mixed things. To make things even more confusing, there's that FMV game with the same name on arcade and Sega CD. I wonder how the arcade non FMV Cobra Command holds up.

[BIL]

I was wondering about the AC version too. Apparently it's a more conventional STG with autoscrolling. The FC port's Choplifter model isn't inherently bad, but wow - those controls. The heli basically leaps from one grid square to the next, making any sort of fine adjustment impossible. On top of that, whenever the screen is scrolling forward you lose momentum, as if flying through treacle. Just bad.

Guevara/Guerilla War is my favourite FC action game with that distinct "army" aesthetic, with Great Tank/Iron tank another good one. But in purely stylistic terms, my ultimate favourite is the port of Operation Wolf. Partially nostalgia (I remember distinctly it was the very first game I rented), but it's genuinely just earthy and rugged as hell. Love the cutscene of the main dude smoking while getting patched up, haha. And that boxart, damn! One of the most emphatic US>JP examples.

[BrianC]

I heard the JP Operation Wolf has support for some obscure trackball controller named Hori Track, so it may control better. It supposedly has less stages than the US one, though.

Edit: I forgot where I read it had less stages, but it's incorrect. It has the same number of stages, but two aren't selectable from the beginning in the JP version.

[cicada88]

Just figured I'd post my Interesting Famicom / Disk System / NES Shooter List

This isn't supposed to be a complete list of all shooters, but just a list of interesting exclusives and good ports.


What am I missing?

Games are listed as Romanized Famicom Title with NES title in parentheses where different & available.


Multi-Region:

1943
Abadox
Battle Formula (Super Spy Hunter)
Burai Fighter
Dragon Spirit: Aratanaru Densetsu (Dragon Spirit: The New Legend)
Final Mission (S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team)
Galaga
Gradius
Guardic Gaiden (The Guardian Legend)
Gun·Nac
Gun.Smoke (Disk System in Japan) ** Graphical/Sound Differences between FDS/NES
Gyruss (Disk System in Japan)
Hector '87 (Starship Hector)
Kame no Ongaeshi: Urashima Densetsu (Xezxy) ** Major Differences between Famicom/NES
Kyuukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra)
Max Warrior: Wakusei Kaigenrei (Isolated Warrior)
Moero TwinBee (Stinger) ** JPN Release is 3 Player & was released on both Famicom and the Disk System
Over Horizon ** Sound Differences between Famicom/NES
Salamander (Life Force) ** Gameplay Differences between Famicom/NES
Shin Jinrui: The New Type (Adventures of Dino Riki)
Sky Kid
Sqoon
Star Soldier
Terra Cresta ** Sound Differences between Famicom/NES
Tiger-Heli
Zanac (Disk System in Japan)


JPN Exclusives:

Chuuka Taisen
Crisis Force
Galaxian
Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou
Otocky (Disk System)
Space Invaders
Summer Carnival '92: Recca
Super Star Force: Jikuureki no Himitsu
TwinBee
TwinBee 3: Poko Poko Daimaou
Uchuu Keibitai SDF


NES Exclusive:

Solar Jetman
Sky Shark


Unreleased / Homebrew:

Blade Buster
Titan Warriors

[BIL]

The aforementioned Sqoon (FC/NES, same title) is a really fun hori of the fast, no-frills type. Plays a bit like Defender's "rescue tiny men" system in a fixed autoscroller. Even if you're not going for score, you need to keep saving prisoners to power up and more importantly replenish your always depleting sixty seconds of fuel. The small, detailed sprites look great and they facilitate some furiously speedy enemy waves.

[Mortificator]

Super Star Force is an exclusive and another hybrid shooter / action-RPG. I'm not a fan, but it might be interesting.

[cicada88]

The aforementioned Sqoon (FC/NES, same title) is a really fun hori of the fast, no-frills type. Plays a bit like Defender's "rescue tiny men" system in a fixed autoscroller. Even if you're not going for score, you need to keep saving prisoners to power up and more importantly replenish your always depleting sixty seconds of fuel. The small, detailed sprites look great and they facilitate some furiously speedy enemy waves.

Forgot to add that one--thanks.

Also noticed I forgot Kame no Ongaeshi: Urashima Densetsu (Xexyz) and Sky Kid

[BIL]

There's also a few Capcom ports missing - haven't played any of these myself.

1942 (NES/FC)
Legendary Wings (NES exclusive, no JP release)
Exed Exes (FC exclusive)
Section Z (NES cart, FDS only in Japan)

Data East's NES-exclusive port of Breakthru might count (a horizontal Battle Formula, basically). Also Thundercade, again NES-only.

[cicada88]

There's also a few Capcom ports missing - haven't played any of these myself.

1942
Legendary Wings (NES exclusive, no JP release)
Exed Exes
Section Z (NES cart, FDS only in Japan)

I didn't think any of these were well regarded or different enough to be included but I haven't played the originals / ports enough to decide that.

I just know 1943 is always mentioned but never 1942. And 1943 is supposed to be different enough from the Arcade release to be considered unique

I'd love to hear any arguments for Legendary Wings & Section Z

[cicada88]

Super Star Force is an exclusive and another hybrid shooter / action-RPG. I'm not a fan, but it might be interesting.

I added this even though I haven't seen it mentioned too much in people's recommendations

I also checked out some of BIL's suggestions and compared it to Edward's reviews on 1CC Log for Shmups.

He seems to really like these 3 so I'm adding them...

Solar Jetman (borderline shmup)
Tiger-Heli (he calls this the best version even compared to arcade)
Sky Shark

I also added Space Invaders because I had Galaga and Galaxian on here. All 3 seem to be good solid ports of extremely classic games--so why not. They are also common and have great box art, so great for fetishists.

[BIL]

Yeah, FC 1942 and Exed Exes may well not be too hot. Both Micronics apparently, never reassuring.