NES Recommendations (very specific)

[GSK]

Is Blood Gear really a Valken-like? I haven't played it but I was under the impression that it played like your typical sidescrolling action game and was structured more like Zelda II.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Is FDS Green Beret any different from NES Rush'n Attack?
GBA version is probably the best of two worlds (flamethrower, co-op, jump button), but I didn't really play any different version.

[railslave]

Turtles, very surreal take on the franchise...but its mixed overhead and platform, with amazing looks and music for the time.
Some (most) people detest that game, but its very cool, classic nes stuff.

This version got ported to a ton of things (inc.amiga ) because of how popular it was. But nothing could touch the smoothness and look of the nes version




i only ever watched from a distance , i had this version

[evil_ash_xero]

I had the NES one as a kid. Never got past the part where you're diffusing bombs. Pissed me off to no end.

Batman's last level is....umm....infuriating. I can beat the level, then the last two bosses. But not without save states. So, I'm just practicing, and haven't done it legit. That's gonna be hard to pull off. I have to be warmed up a bit to fight Joker, but doing all that in 3 lives...It's going to be tight. It reminds me of the ending of Hagane. God, I was stuck on that for too long.

On the last level of Shatterhand. Unless it pulls a Joker on me, I hope to beat it in the next few days.

I beat Mega Man 2 for the first time this morning. Yeah, never really played the old MM games much(never owned a single one as a kid, as I hated the cover art). It was really good, but X is still my favorite.

[BrianC]

Getsu Fumma Den for the Famicom plays a bit like TMNT 1 NES since the original TMNT was meant to be a follow up of sorts with the original title, Gekikame Ninja Den, being a pun on Getsu Fumma Den. Getsu Fumma Den is actually somewhat more polished and less frustrating. Despite being an earlier game than TMNT, it looks much better due to using a special custom mapper.

FDS Green Beret is similar to the NES Rush 'n Attack, but, if I remember correctly, stockpiling weapons works differently with you getting one at a time and being able to stack them.

[Drum]

Kick Master definitely fits the bill.
Mitsume ga Tooru is very good.
Don Doko Don 2 is oddly unknown - fun platformer.
I played a GI Joe game that I was very impressed with - can't remember which one of the two it was though. Maybe they're both good? idk

[Ed Oscuro]

I don't know about the Turtlessss games much, but Getsu Fuuma Den has that awesome air jump. You need it to collect at least one bonus life - walk off a ledge and then jump out of the pit. A neat take on the traditional jump / double jump mechanic.

[BIL]

Interesting, Sword Master (NES/FC) has a very similar type of jump (sounds identical). I wonder if it has a name? Falling jump? Pit jump? Regretful jumper jump?

Turtles, very surreal take on the franchise...

I'll say, everyone I knew used to say April was in teh n00d Actually had TMNT1 as a kid, kind of dug the "Explore this, asshole!" design ethic without knowing it. Would sooner replay than waste my life jacking off on werewolves for big bucks in Castlevania II.

Just the sight of that other version's screencap makes me weep the tears of a man whose god has abandoned him.

[louisg]

Just the sight of that other version's screencap makes me weep the tears of a man whose god has abandoned him.

Hah.. is that Amstrad?

[hermit crab]

I used to find TMNT1 "impossible"/frustrating as a child too. Tried it some time ago as an adult and now beat it in a day. After which I... started playing from the beginning again. The game is really fantastic. Great controls with contra jumps etc, lots of weapons but you might not wanna use the best one if you want to save energy for that character... Great music and cutscene graphics. It's one of the best games ever, just gets a bad rap because it's too hard for children despite being a kiddy license.

[evil_ash_xero]

Man, NES collectors aren't messing around are they? I saw Little Samson on Ebay and almost passed out at it's prices.

I guess I'll be getting the JP version of that, thanks!

EDIT: Just beat Shatterhand. Pretty awesome game.

Also beat Batman. My question is, I went through the stage once, fought Firefly and Joker. Lost to Joker. Continued, and when I got to the top, I didn't have to fight Firefly, and just went straight to Joker. What dictates that?

Little Nestopia Screenshot here. EAT ME Joker!

[BrianC]

I guess I'll be getting the JP version of that, thanks!

I tried looking for the JP version, Lickle, and it still seems to sell for a pretty penny, though still less than the US version.

[BIL]

Also beat Batman. My question is, I went through the stage once, fought Firefly and Joker. Lost to Joker. Continued, and when I got to the top, I didn't have to fight Firefly, and just went straight to Joker. What dictates that?

Compassion, I guess. The NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy does the same with its end boss trios. Fail to clear them all in one go and upon returning the ones you beat will still be dead.

[blackoak]

This thread is reminding me to get back to the NES. Also fwiw, I thought Little Samson was so-so. Amazing art design, really good music (all four tracks of it), but the gameplay becomes monotonous by the second half imo. Still a worthy ride to take at least once though. Is the jp version different, better balanced, etc?

[evil_ash_xero]

A few things.....

I was able to finish a few of these today. After Batman and Shatterhand, I took down Kabuki. I like the game, but it's bosses are ass. Just lame lame lame bosses. Well, the last two were passable, but still not that impressive.
The 2 continue thing makes sense now, as it's not that hard. Too bad that it didn't get the sequel that was promised at the end of the credits.

Little Samson seems good, but those 4 tracks were a poor idea. I mean, it gets old. But it's fun and interesting so far. I had to get used to his weird jumping though.
Vice is cool. Right now I'm in South America. The story is kind of hilarious. Well, the dialogue is. You're just looking for "stuff". It's just kind of funny. I keep thinking of Sticky White Stuff.
Bucky O'Hare, which I started today, is actually pretty good. But the instant deaths are kind of insane. You die SOOOO many times(well, on the Blue Planet anyway). It's a bit much. Anyone know if this game is very long? There's four planets to choose from at the start. Are there a few more stages?

Question about Ninja Gaiden III. I have seen that it doesn't get the same praise as the first two. Is that because of the wonky difficulty the U.S. version has? I'm playing a patched version of it, so it has the JP difficulty. I like it a lot, and the graphics are the best of the 3, by a good margin.

I tried out Mighty Final Fight. Too basic.

And thanks a LOT for the recommendations. I wouldn't have known where to start.

These games are kind of refreshing. I wanted to play some tough games, since I've been frustrated with some recent games being too candy ass. This is fitting the bill nicely.

I got my copy of Shatterhand in the mail today. God, that's a terrible cover.

[BIL]

I don't pay much attention to the conventional wisdom on this type of gaming, but I do recall some whining about NGIII US's difficulty.

(and the story/cutscenes... but who gives a shit, honestly. EDIT: actually scratch that - hideously stupid action game stories/settings like El Viento's will rankle me a little, and I do appreciate well-done productions like The Super Shinobi. But NGIII's plot and setting are no sillier than the first two games').

Thing for me is, it's not that the US one is especially hard by the series' standards. It's that the JP one is especially easy, and downright boring in places. Vertical autoscrolling lava bit in JP = zzz, unheard of in the first two games. And ironically the biggest obstacle to a perfect run - the last stage's time limit - is right there in JP too.

I do think it went wrong in a few regards. The sword upgrade is pointless. The engine has been altered for much floatier gravity, making the game slower in comparison to the rush of the first two. And the last stage's time limit is a problem - the only way to make it through with enough time to kill all three bosses is to get and keep the invincibility subweapon, which makes the stage's traps irrelevant.

It's hardly a bad game, though. I'd put it about even with NGII, behind the perfect simplicity of NGI. The NES trilogy didn't have a bad installment. Castlevania II, now there's a useless sequel. Wanking off werewolves for big bucks!

I was able to finish a few of these today. After Batman and Shatterhand, I took down Kabuki. I like the game, but it's bosses are ass. Just lame lame lame bosses. Well, the last two were passable, but still not that impressive.

I actually like the second (cloning/homing option laser dude). Quite tricky to kill cleanly without just cheesing the subweapons. OTOH I thought some of the later, seemingly more spectacular ones really did suck. St5's giant robot looks awesome but is dull as hell - just hop onto its head and punch/jump to victory (Silius/Raf World's second boss is a way better giant robot battle). The first form of the last boss may as well be a loading screen. I do like the very last one's aimed triple shot, though.

[hermit crab]

Hey I gotta try NG3 out. Seems like they've fixed exactly what I don't like about the game. That sword is a pocket knife doesn't give you very many frames time for a hit. And you fall way too fast, especially when you do the left right move like when jumping up a wall. I hold the controller different than normally to do it, otherwise the risk of falling is too large. Basically the level of precision needed is more than I like.

[BIL]

Have you tried out NGII? Its sword's collision is seemingly even less forgiving (though it gives you so much other offensive firepower that it hardly seems to matter), but it also ditched the first game's tougher wall controls for simple Strider-style up/down climbing commands.

[hermit crab]

Haven't really played NG2 much because the environmental effects annoy me. The climbing is improved though yeah which is nice even though I think you still have to do "the move" at the top sometimes. Not too sure about the sword I think it might even be better but that just might be because of not playing as much and not getting into the hard situations that much.

But I tried NG3 and really like it! It's pretty much a completely different game than the other two. Not paying attention to the conventional wisdom or reviews about games like this is surely the way to go. Maybe a bit too floaty even, yeah, but whatever it's ok. I found the ingame graphics better but the cutscene graphics considerably worse so kinda 50/50 there.

[BIL]

Glad you're liking it. I'm sure it wouldn't be quite as ill-favoured on the NES if they'd kept the infinite continues... probably a bridge too far.

Good link for this topic: Macaw's Awesome NES/FC Sidescrolling Action Topic @ gamengai. Lots of great stuff in there.

[railslave]

Just the sight of that other version's screencap makes me weep the tears of a man whose god has abandoned him.

Hah.. is that Amstrad?

Yeah , i tried so hard to like that game, but it was a realy watered down version of the nes...its what made me look up to the nes so much .... nothing touches NES. Everything is just so .... authentic on there. I feel cheated cause i never had one.

Amstrad colors though , when retina burn was a good thing.

[Bananamatic]

seconding Mitsume ga Tooru

Kick Master is also pretty damn great and has quite a lot of stuff for an NES action game

[louisg]

Just the sight of that other version's screencap makes me weep the tears of a man whose god has abandoned him.

Hah.. is that Amstrad?

Yeah , i tried so hard to like that game, but it was a realy watered down version of the nes...its what made me look up to the nes so much .... nothing touches NES. Everything is just so .... authentic on there. I feel cheated cause i never had one.

Amstrad colors though , when retina burn was a good thing.

Yeah, I mostly gamed on computers myself until the Genesis. It was painful to admit, but my beloved C64 and Amiga could never touch consoles just in terms of well-designed action games. Of course, on the other hand, computers did lots of things that consoles couldn't ever seem to get right, so I didn't feel *too* bad

Hmm I think every NES->Computer port wound up being a disaster, didn't it? Some of the arcade ports were decent, but I remember stuff like a really bad IBM Mega Man coming out. And IIRC one of those computer ports of NES TMNT was actually impossible to finish-- there was some jump that couldn't possibly be made.

[BrianC]

Hmm I think every NES->Computer port wound up being a disaster, didn't it? Some of the arcade ports were decent, but I remember stuff like a really bad IBM Mega Man coming out. And IIRC one of those computer ports of NES TMNT was actually impossible to finish-- there was some jump that couldn't possibly be made.

The DOS MM isn't good, but it's actually an original game rather than a port of the NES version. What's more interesting is the oddly named DOS Mega Man 3. It still isn't very good, but it has some interesting elements like Mega Man being able to swim and level design that is less linear than usual. The funny thing is that three of the robot masters, Wave Man, Oil Man, and Blade Man had their names later used for different robot masters in other MM games.

[Ghegs]

Bucky O'Hare, which I started today, is actually pretty good. But the instant deaths are kind of insane. You die SOOOO many times(well, on the Blue Planet anyway). It's a bit much. Anyone know if this game is very long? There's four planets to choose from at the start. Are there a few more stages?

It has a few more stages after the initial four, the total playing time is around an hour. I 1CCed the game couple of months ago, it's quite good. Yeah, it's quite easy to die in many sections of the game, but to balance it out there's a lot of 1ups to get as well. If you no-miss the game, you should have something like 60 extra lives.

[tinotormed]

You know, I knew Shatterhand sounded familiar. It's the game that has that cover that's always in the "the worst covers ever" lists.
Also, the Japanese version is based after some live action show over there, and doesn't have the guy who looks like Tommy Monaghan.

Let me guess, Tokkyuu Shirei Solbrain, isn't it?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Not sure if I'd honestly recommend it, but I found Star Wars (Namco, Japan only) less disappointing than the SNES trilogy.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I don't want to derail the thread, but are there any action games like these on PC Engine from around the same era?

The Famicom definitely trumps the PC Engine when it comes to action platformers, but these are the ones I would recommend:

HuCards:
Legendary Axe I&II – nice and challenging Rastan-style games
Ninja Ryuukenden – just Ninja Gaiden, but with slightly better (and sometimes worse) graphics
Ninja Spirit – awesome arcade conversion, one of the best Ninja games around

CDs:
Akumajo Dracula X: Chi No Rondo – best old school Castlevania and best PC Engine game overall
Shubibinman 3 – really nice looking, kinda like Mega Man with swords
Blood Gear – Valken-style mech action adventure, very text heavy though
Fausette Amour – brilliant grappling hook game
Iga Ninden Gaou – decent Ninja action game, can't compete with NG/Shinobi/Co. though
Kaze Kiri – fast paced Ninja combat game. Lots of moves.
Valis series – Valis III is the standout, with different characters and good level design

The thing about Blood Gear is that it's a dedicated Arcade CD-Rom2 title and will require either an Arcade Card Duo (if using an PC Engine Duo/Duo-R/Duo-RX or TTI Turbo Duo with Hu-Card convertor variant consoles) or an Arcade Card Pro with an PC Engine CD-Rom2 or a TG-16 with a TurboGrafx-CD interface setup (assuming you want to play it properly with a real PCE or TG-16/Turbo Duo hardware/software setup). The opening intro is quite impressive nevertheless. Trying to get Blood Gear to run with a Super System Card v2.0 or v3.0 setup won't work period -- you'll get a screen saying that an Arcade Card Duo or Arcade Card Pro is necessary to run/boot it up.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BrianC]

Not sure if I'd honestly recommend it, but I found Star Wars (Namco, Japan only) less disappointing than the SNES trilogy.

Last I checked, it's inexpensive and may be worth playing for the weirdness, at least.

Edit: After watching a video, the game strangely reminds me of Alex Kidd in Miracle World. 1 hit gameplay, vehicles in side scrolling levels, breakable blocks, similar dungeon style areas, some force powers seem similar to the items in alex kidd, and similar underwater areas.

[Ghegs]

I really like the Namcot Star Wars. Fun game in itself, just don't go into it expecting it to have much to do with Star Wars.

Saiyuki World 2 (Whomp 'Em in US) is another decent one.