Archive for category: NES A to Z

There are just so many Nintendo games out there, who has time to play them all? Apparently I do; all of them, 5 min per game. After my playing I will give each game a rating of 0 or 1. Sometimes I will have guests drop by and help.

NES AtoZ 40

NES A to Z, Video Games

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Dragon Spirit - 1/1
What a great SHMUP! You play as a man who turns into a dragon and then goes berserk in this fantasy universe. There are two modes of fire, air to air and air to ground which is not super unique, but pretty refreshing. The power ups are fun and I assume it has cool bosses although we never reached any on our five minutes.
Dragon Warrior Series - 0/1
Look, I know Dragon Warrior is a beloved series and it set the stage for hundreds of JRPGs to come. I never played it, I have no nostalgia, compared to games today I consider this pretty unplayable. The graphics are lame, the gameplay is rudimentary at best and I don’t know what the story is. If you want to get a great RPG experience you really should turn to the SNES.
Dragons Lair - 0/1
Man! I watched the Angry Nerd play this and it really did look like shit but I almost didn’t believe it. Well he wasn’t kidding, this game controls like shit. Dirk plays like a bathtub full of tar.
Dropzone - 1/1
I thought “Defender!” as soon as I played it. I was never a big fan of defender for some reason, but I can tell that technically it is a great game. There seems to be more of a point than just shooting your way around like Space Invaders or Galaga. At least you need to save people from aliens. Decent game, even Emily enjoyed it.
Duck Hunt - 1/1
The one thing emulation can’t do… Emulate light gun games. I remember playing the HELL out of Duck Hunt when I was a kid and now I feel like i’ll never be able to play it again.
Duck Maze - 1/1
Your hero duck needs to safety roll his egg down some kind of factory. The egg can only withstand a drop from a certain height without breaking unless it lands on something soft. Enemies will also break your egg if they touch it. I did not find this game very fun, but as a puzzle game, it is passable.

March 28, 2015/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

NES AtoZ vol 39

NES A to Z, Video Games

Dr Chaos - 1/1
Me and Eric explored this game further and it turns out to get anywhere you need to wander around and use the “hit” command on every section of wall in the rooms. Often you will punch a hole in the wall which will grant you access to more areas of the house. Story progression based on totally hidden secret rooms? That is pretty annoying writing… Oh well just because it isn’t my thing doesn’t mean the game is bad. It actually controls pretty well and the gameplay is fun enough.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 0/1
One of the most hated games on the internet, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde might be a little misunderstood. I did not feel it was as difficult to play as the other YouTube personalities. There are plenty of annoyances like how your staff attack seems totally worthless and how some towns people attack you and some don’t. But honestly this game’s biggest problem is boredom. The levels are way too long and the only game play, if you are playing well, is to SLOWLY walk to the right and jump. Yawn.
Dr Mario - 1/1
My experience with Dr. Mario is very limited. I have probably played Dr. Mario more in Smash Brothers Melee than I have in his original form. Even to the untrained eye, the game certainly feels right. The music is awesome, the gameplay is tight and they even have a competitive 2-player mode. It’s a winner.
Dragon Fighter - 1/1
Never heard of this game. I have never even seen it pop up on any “hidden gems” lists. Why not? The animation is awesome, the graphics are good, the gameplay is solid and you get to turn into a dragon. I am going to give this game some extra play time, but it might enter MY hidden gem list.
Dragon Power - 1/1
I actually looked this up, it is a Dragon Ball Z game! But it came out before Dragon Ball Z aired in America so we would have no idea what is going on. So… They changed what Goku looks like, and slightly changed the names but left most of the story totally intact… Not sure how that helps. This game feels like Zelda with slightly goofy looking graphics. The dialogue is hilarious! I liked it.

February 14, 2015/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

NES AtoZ vol 38

NES A to Z, Video Games

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHFP7YFD-dk&w=845&h=480]

Double Dare - 1/1
I remember watch this show all the time on TV back in the day. Mark Summers was such a charismatic host! This game consists of mini games sprinkled between trivia sections. Everything was fun, this is a great multiplayer game that has aged very well. I wouldn’t even be opposed to busting this baby out as a drinking game at a party or something.
Double Dragon - 1/1
What a classic. The only bad thing I can say about it is how horrible it is that it’s not truly cooperative. There is a 2-player option but you actually take turns playing, it’s a huge disappointment. Otherwise this is an excellent beat-em up experience and the first game in an epic series (on console). The control scheme is pretty stupid but you can learn to get over it. I have actually beaten this game in my childhood.
Double Dragon II - 1/1
Here it is! The best beat-em up on NES hands down. The finally got the 2-player right, now you and your friend can take on the evil ninja world together. The controls are awesome (although it is quite difficult to execute the spin kick and power knee), the music is awesome, the gameplay is awesome. If you are a Nintendo fan, this is a MUST GET.
Double Dragon III - 1/1
I never played much of this game in my childhood but I can’t say anything bad about it. It is, once again, 2-player coop with the same controls as the previous game. Some new moves have been added, and the game has a mechanic where you unlock new characters to be. The difficulty is much higher on this game than the previous two however.
Double Dribble - 0/1
It reminds me of a much worse version of NBA Jam. Sometimes it’s hard to evaluate these games because my system is so very inconsistent. There is nothing “wrong” with this game, but I also didn’t think it was very fun… But I dislike most sports games no matter how good they are so that isn’t fair. Bottom line is, currently there is no reason to play this. Just play one of the many other better basketballs games.

February 1, 2015/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

NES AtoZ vol 37

NES A to Z, Video Games

Dirty Harry - 0/1
It actually seems fun. Harry walking around the city shooting dudes and investigating. Unfortunately, the game cannot overcome how terrible the controls are. I feel like I spent more time fighting the game itself than I did the enemies.
Dizzy, the Adventures of - 1/1
This seems to either be a point and click adventure game, or an action adventure game. We didn’t get far enough in to truly find out. The animation looks very good for Nintendo.
Donkey Kong - 1/1
Probably the best classic arcade game ever made. The NES port is one of the best, if not THE BEST. Everything about it feels awesome. Classics never die.
Donkey Kong III - 1/1
Unexpected game. You aren’t DK, you aren’t DK Jr, and you aren’t even Mario… Just some dork with a gas can trying to literally blow smoke up DK’s ass. Bugs are trying to kill you. As an arcade game the concept is totally fine but what the hell?
Donkey Kong Jr - 1/1
A bit of a role reversal here! You now take control of DK’s son to save DK from the evil grip of Mario the terrible! The sad look on DK Jr’s face says it all. Violence begets violence like the fairy tails always say…
Donkey Kong Math - 1/1
Obviously now this is dated and probably boring. But at the time, in a world of Oregon Trail and Number Munchers, this game would have been an absolute blast! The competitive nature might even disguise the fact that actual learning is going on. I would have loved to own this game when I was a kid. I can even see myself secretly practicing in private to make sure I can hold my own when competition arrives. Parents can even play it with kids and help them learn.
$dk-math-gameplay$

January 20, 2015/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

NES AtoZ vol 36

NES A to Z, Video Games

Devil World - 0/1
I said this was a Japan only game and I was wrong about that. It was also released in Europe, it was just America that didn’t get this game because of how scared we are of any religious iconography. Nintendo itself both developed and published this game which I find very strange for some reason… The gameplay is reminiscent of Pac Man and I don’t think it’s bad at all. You need to grab a cross to “eat” the dots. The cross only lasts for either a limited time, or a limited amount of dots I can’t tell which one. The level is over once you eat all the dots. Meanwhile ghosts are trying to kill you and the Devil moves the screen around trying to crush you on the sides. We took a democratic vote on the game and both my co-hosts gave it a 0, although I think there is nothing wrong with the game.
Dick Tracy - 1/1
I have seen this game critically panned by most reviewers on youtube. I never owned or played this game as a kid and maybe if you try to “seriously” beat it it’s worse than just flirting with it. From what I saw, the gameplay looked fun and it seems to follow the movie pretty closely. Driving takes a bit of getting used to but once you get the hang out it, you can only blame yourself for failure.
Die Hard - 1/1
A decent movie adaptation. You run around killing bad guys working your way up the skyscraper in a top down perspective. A bit like Guerrilla War or the countless other top down shooters on NES. The game has a unque line-of-sight mechanic which I think is pretty innovative. Shooting pop machines and drinking Coca Cola refills your health. Hilarious.
Dig Dug II Trouble in Paradise - 1/1
I guess after Dug’s first adventure he decided to take a little vacation, in paradise. Trouble is, the red snorkel-wearing dudes and green dragons had the same idea. The gameplay is quite similar to the original with some optimizations. I always loved the original and I see no reason not to love this.
Digger T Rock - 1/1
I said this game is probably based on an arcade game but on further inspection I was wrong. This is strictly an NES game with no sequels or prequels. The game has your young avatar named Digger searching in caverns looking for treasures. Based on my five minutes, the game looks like an open ended action adventure with awesome music. What is not to like?

January 11, 2015/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

NES A to Z vol 35

NES A to Z

Deja Vu - 1/1
This is one of the rare first-person point and click adventure games on NES. I have never been a big fan of point and click games but I can see the value. Some people love them and I think those people would probably enjoy Deja Vu. Obviously it’s not possible to experience a game like this in 5 minutes, but I saw no glaring flaws so I give it a pass.
Demon Sword - 1/1
It feels like playing Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon on NES. The controls are very strange but once you get the hang of it you truly feel like a badass ninja who has super natural powers. It felt so much like Legend of Kage I had to look it up. Turns out both games are developed by Taito, Demon Sword is the more recent of the two.
Desert Commander - 1/1
Turn based strategy game similar to Advanced Wars and Fire Emblem series. I didn’t get much out of it in my 5 minutes, but I feel like once you play one of these games you have played them all. Some people really enjoy it. The graphics were fine so I can’t complain.
Destination Earthstar - 0/1
I wasted a ton of my life grinding on this game when I was a kid. I have no idea what I was thinking. The music is good, but this game is a yawn festival.
Destiny of an Emperor - 1/1
It feels and plays exactly like Final Fantasy, there is nothing wrong with that. The graphics are fine and the controls are what you would expect from a game like this. Can’t play an RPG in such a short time, but from what I saw, it felt good.

December 31, 2014/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

NES A to Z vol 34

NES A to Z

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Nu4FCdD8Q&w=845&h=480]

Deathrace - 1/1
Even though it isn’t much to look at there is something here. The graphics passable and the driving controls are pretty bad, however the novelty of running over pedestrians on an NES game can carry the concept pretty far. The competitive nature of the game with a friend is also interesting.
Deathbots - 0/1
Games like this really confuse me. There is no excuse for how ugly and bad this game is. Are they really just trying to sucker kids into it with the cover art? Was that a viable strategy in the NES age? Box art bait and switch?
Defender II - 0/1
There is nothing wrong with a defender port. The only problem is it’s worse than almost every other shooter on NES. Why in the world would anyone want to own this when you could have Gradius, Lifeforce, Crysis Force, Gun Nac, Paraodius, or literally any of the others?
Defender of the Crown - 0/1
Feels like a board game. Board games have been done well on NES before, however I can’t say this game is an example of that. It reminds me of Castles: Siege and Conquest but only based on the setting. Looks like this game will take a LONG time to learn, and the payoff isn’t going t be there.
Defenders of Dynatron City - 1/1
The dog can throw cars. If that isn’t enough, the graphics are good, the gameplay is good and the character design is hilarious and awesome. I didn’t get a full feel for this game, but after my 5 minutes I was hungry for more.

December 26, 2014/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

NES A to Z vol 33

NES A to Z

Lot’s of changes in this episode! Once again it is 60fps, but this time it’s in a real aspect ratio instead of some random garbage: 1920×1080. Also there is a new title screen and a slightly new layout. Let me know your thoughts! Also stick around until the end for some bonus footage.

Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum - 0/1
I don’t know what the story of this game is. There is some kind of overworked where you move blocks around to clear the way to enter pipes. Once inside a pipe you end up playing a horrible platform game. Not much good I can say about this except that I feel bad for people that had it.
David Crane’s A Boy and His Blob - 0/1
This game seems to be pretty popular and no one rags on it. Well I don’t see it. It’s essentially a convoluted point and click adventure game. Instead of pointing and clicking on random items trying to make progress, you randomly feed jelly beans to your pet blob to see if you can progress. I really do not enjoy this style of game. Who has time for trial and error anymore?
Day Dreaming Davey - 0/1
Game starts with some asshole bully taking Davey’s new pencil of all things… How is Davey going to succeed in school if his pen is gone? So I guess Davey goes on a quest to get his pencil back … in medieval Europe? The game has daydreaming in it’s name so I suppose that is what is going on. He is imagining getting his pencil back? Seems pretty dark actually. Anyway this game is an overhead action adventure and it isn’t a good one.
Days of Thunder - 0/1
Other than Pole Position, this might be the most boring racing game I have ever seen. I mean just watch the video and see for yourself.
Deadly Towers - 0/1
Deadly Towers gets ragged on a lot on youtube channels. The difficulty is pretty insane. You start with 100hp but some enemies do as much as 50 to you (I think). The game plays like the original Zelda but with a slightly isometric view, but the difficulty is just off the charts!

December 15, 2014/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

NES A to Z vol 32

NES A to Z

Cyberball - 0/1
I think this is some kind of terrible football game but it was too disgusting to even use my imagination. This is quite the downer when coming off the very excellent Base Wars. The graphics are just too terrible to derive any joy from this game.
Cybernoid the Fighting Machine - 1/1
The title cracked me up first, the shape your character is in cracked me up second. I can’t tell if you are supposed to be a robot, or a ship, but either way for something called Cybernoid the Fighting Machine you are pretty pathetic. Although you pack some decent firepower with both lasers and rockets, you die in a single hit! You also move very slowly and it’s very hard to avoid anything. Despite those flaws, this game reminds me of modern ultra-hard games like Meat Boy, I Wanna Be the Guy, Streemers and whatever else you can think of. Trial and error is the name of the game and I respect that.
Danny Sullivan Indy Heat - 1/1
It plays just like Off Road but on a traditional race track instead of a dirt track. This is great news because Off Road is one of the funnest 2-player games on NES! If I knew about Indy Heat when I was a kid I can assure you many all-nighters would have been spent with me and my friends trying to max out our cars. Highly recommended.
Darkman - 0/1
If you have never seen the Darkman movies, do it. As for the games… Well we couldn’t even get more than a few steps into the first level due to the horrible controls. The whole game plays like you are on ice skates and carrying buckets of water. it’s a shame too because the game certainly has some redeeming qualities. The graphics are pretty neat and the attention to detail is high. I especially like the continue screen where you see a single tear run down Darkman’s face. There seems to be some kind of balance mechanic which we encounter once on the first level. It feels pretty good and it leaves me wondering if there are any other interesting mechanics hiding. Sadly no one will ever know.
Darkwing Duck - 1/1
I have heard people complain that this is a MegaMan ripoff. I don’t really see how. Sure it is a side scrolling platform shooter and your gun kinds acts the same… But that is where the similarities stop. You don’t charge up your shots, you don’t slide, you do not have a sidekick dog. Grabbing on to things and hanging seems to be pivotal to the gameplay… Maybe you collect guns from bosses? I guess that would be a big similarity. Well anyway, I think this game is a blast and is on par with any MegaMan game from a quality standpoint. Granted I only played for five minutes.

December 8, 2014/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

NES A to Z vol 31

NES A to Z

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjRQTJihY80]

Crash n the Boys Street Challenge - 1/1
It looks like a compilation of sports games with little violence built in. We only played one out of a bunch of games. The controls seemed complex to say the least, but I think that probably gives this game some solid depth. I love River City Ransom and I love Super Dodge Ball so this game pretty much has to be awesome. If you can pick this up I think you should.
Crisis Force - 1/1
I was shocked to see that this top down shooter supports simultaneous co-op play! On top of that, the game had awesome gameplay. You could change the configuration of your ship at any time which effected how it shoots, there are tons of power-ups, great graphics and some kind of super phoenix mode. If you like co-op games I highly recommend this one. I guess it was never released in the US… BUT WHY!?
Crystal Mines - 0/1
This reminds me a lot of Boulder Dash. You navigate a grid-based mine full of dirt and evil wookies looking for crystals. Once you have all the crystals a door opens and you go to the next level. There is a 2-player mode, but it is alternating which pretty much means there is no 2-player mode in my opinion. Oh yeah, it isn’t any fun.
Crystalis - 1/1
The best way I can describe this is by calling it a Zelda clone. Not to say that is a bad thing, Zelda is a great game, and there is plenty of design space in the top-down action adventure genre. Crystalis seems like a pretty great game itself, the graphics, sounds and controls are good. Obviously five minutes are not sufficient to explore a game like this but I can see the potential.
Cyber Stadium Series Base Wars - 1/1
Wow after all of my disdain for sports games, I find this absolute treasure. It reminds me a lot of NFL Blitz but baseball, and with robots! Pitching and batting is fun, and anytime you would get tagged by a baseball you battle to the death (destruction). I would play this again for sure. Love it.

December 5, 2014/0 Comments/by AlexKrasny

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