Kieren Hawken - The A-Z of NES Games, Volume 1

The A-Z of

NES Games

Volume 1

Kieren Hawken

Published in 2017 by

AG Books

www.agbooks.co.uk

Digital edition converted and distributed by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

Copyright 2017 Kieren Hawken

The right of Kieren Hawken to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.

The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AG Books or Andrews UK Limited.

Game screenshots are included in this publication legally under applicable fair use law which allows such material for the explicit purposes of commentary and criticism.

Introduction

While we in the west know this classic 8-bit console as the Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES for short) the console actually originated in Japan as the Famicom in 1983. A shortening of Family Computer , it was the first Japanese produced console to gain any real success in the land of the rising sun. This popularity in its homeland convinced Nintendo to take the console overseas but its journey wasnt a simple one. After initially approaching industry leaders Atari to market the console in North America, they took it on themselves after that deal fell through and the renamed NES eventually hit US shelves in 1985. Nintendos perseverance eventually paid off as it became the system of choice in that region and gave the historic company a springboard to even more success. A less successful European launch followed in 1986 and 1987. In this region Nintendo lost too much ground early on to Sega, Atari and the home computers of the time to ever get any real traction. Despite this the NES is still fondly remembered across the world and started a series of hugely popular franchises that remain to this day!

In this book I take you through the life of the Nintendo Entertainment System and its Japanese cousin the Famicom, looking at a varied cross section of the 700+ games available with a small review and screenshot of each one. This is not a list of the best games, a list of the worst or indeed a complete guide to whats available. The A-Z of Nintendo Entertainment System Games: Volume 1 is just that, the first volume of my look at a selection of SMS games in alphabetical order. There are three games featured for each letter and these range from the earliest titles released, to modern homebrews and even unofficial bootlegs! Hopefully this book gives you some inspiration to try games youve never played before or bulk up your personal collection. You might even find it that brings back happy memories of unwrapping Christmas presents or inviting your friends round after school for a two-player battle. But most of all I hope you enjoy reading it and remember what makes the Nintendo Entertainment System such a great home console.

Kieren Hawken

May 2017

A

Action 52

Active Enterprises - 1991

Ah, the legendary Action 52 cartridge for the NES. An unlicensed product from an unknown company that features 52 of the worst games you will ever play. It is also famous these days for featuring in by far one of the funniest videos made by the Angry Video Game Nerd. At first the selection of games here is mind blowing, but on closer inspection you not only find that they are terrible but also that many of them are very similar to each other. There are a pile of generic shooters, loads of tedious platformers and nice (or should that be poor?) assortment of early arcade game rip-offs. The most famous game on the cartridge is Cheetahman , by virtue of being the best (and I use that term loosely) game on the cartridge. It was so good that it actually spawned an amazingly broken sequel that now holds an almost legendary status among Nintendo fans! The graphics in every single game here are absolutely woeful, expect garish colours and loads of flicker too. To accompany the horror of the visuals is lots of out of tune music and equally rubbish sound effects. As bad as this cartridge is there is a kind of morbid coolness about it and cult quality to it all. Its definitely more fun going through each of the 52 games to see how bad they are rather than actually playing them though. I almost feel like recommending Action 52 for that alone, its certainly an interesting experience!

4/10

Adventure Island

Hudson Soft - 1988

Many of you might be looking at Adventure Island and thinking that looks just like Wonder Bo y, what a rip off! Well that is because it actually is Wonder Boy ! Hudson licensed the game from Westone, who created the game for Sega, and changed the main sprite. From this game both Wonder Boy and Adventure Island went on to form their own individual franchises. For those that dont know this is a platform game with a fantasy theme and a few unique features. Rather than jumping on the bad guys, in Adventure Island , you throw hammers at them instead. You also have a life bar, which drains as you move along, and you must collect the fruit littered around the levels to keep it topped up. If this energy bar runs down or you hit an enemy you die. Along the way you can collect some pretty smart power-ups. The most fun is the skateboard that lets you zip along the landscape much quicker but the most useful is the fairy that gives you limited invincibility. Most people know I am not a fan of platformers but the Wonder Boy series has always been one of the few I have liked and enjoyed. Adventure Island on the NES has bright and vibrant graphics with very little flicker. It also has great sound with both effects and cheerful music throughout. All in all this is probably one of my favourite platform games for the NES and offers something a bit different to many of the others available.

9/10

Addams Family (The)

Ocean - 1992

Ocean Software were probably best known for their outstanding output on the many home micros of the late 80s and early 90s. Their forte was licences, whether they be movies or arcade games. This was one their biggest of the time and one they also decided to release on the NES, which is great for us as youll discover. You play the part of Gomez Addams, played by the late great Raul Julia in the movie, in this Super Mario Bros . clone. Loosely based on the movie, you must make your way around the grounds and many rooms of the Addams mansion trying to find the lost family fortune. Wads of cash and bags of money have been left everywhere and are being guarded by all sorts of spooks and nasty creatures. Gomez can walk, jump and duck and in order to kill the enemies you must jump on their heads in true Mario style. The mansion is huge with many rooms, secret passages and catacombs underneath. There is certainly lots of exploration to be done here before you can complete it. The graphics are pretty decent and I was impressed by the lack of flicker. The classic theme song plays throughout the game and while it does sound very good it starts to get a bit annoying after a while. The Addams Family is far from being original but it does everything very well. If you are a fan of platformers then I think this game will be right up your street.