Kieren Hawken - The A-Z of NES Games, Volume 2

The A-Z of NES Games

Volume 2

Kieren Hawken

First published in 2018 by

AG Books

www.agbooks.co.uk

Digital edition converted and distributed by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

Copyright 2018 Kieren Hawken

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

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

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

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 2 is just that, the second volume of my look at a selection of NES games in alphabetical order. There are three games featured for each letter and these range from the earliest titles released right up to modern homebrews and even some unofficial bootlegs! Hopefully this book gives you some inspiration to try games youve never played before or bulk up your own 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 to own and collect for.

Kieren Hawken

Author

A

Arkanoid

Taito - 1987

While Ataris Breakout , programmed by Apple founders Jobs and Wozniak no less, was the very first bat and ball brick breaker it was Taitos Arkanoid was the game that revolutionised the genre. It took the basic gameplay of Breakout and added a host of new features like enemies, different formations, multi-hit bricks and of course power-ups! Collecting these coloured icons allows you to do stuff like shoot the bricks with a laser, aim the ball where you want, expand your bat and even skip a level. The new level formations are interesting too with some even based on other popular Taito arcade games such as Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble ! There are also different types of bricks including ones that require numerous hits to destroy and others that cant be removed at all. All these features added so much more to the game and made it much more than just another Breakout clone. In fact Arkanoid has since been cloned hundreds of times itself and can still be seen in some shape or form in many games of today. Arkanoid is not about graphics or sound, although both are very good here actually, its just pure playability, and there is loads of it here. I have always been a real sucker for these types of games and this is no exception. Taito even released a special paddle controller to use with the game too, making this NES version of Arkanoid one of the best home ports out there!

9/10

Alien Syndrome

Tengen - 1988

Hot on the heels of Ataris hugely popular maze-based dungeon crawler Gauntlet came another similar arcade game in Segas Alien Syndrome, which many people at the time described as Gauntlet in space. Its not an unfair comparison in all honesty, but there is a little more to this game that. The levels are smaller and more linear than Gauntlet , being much less maze like in nature. Before you can go into the exit you must also rescue all the hostages too. There are also end of level bosses to be defeated in this game as well as weapon upgrades, making the combat a bit more advanced than Ataris game. Like Gauntlet though, this can be played by more than one player. In this case two of you can team up to battle the xenomorphic hoards and save the day. Graphically the 8-bit Nintendo port is very good indeed with lovely sprites and a great use of colour. The sound is equally as good with both effects and some nice foreboding music. Alien Syndrome is a bit of a lost gem, its a lot of fun to play and has some cool gameplay features too, especially the two-player mode! If you are a fan of these types of games then this really is a title you should hunt down. Its also worth noting that this game has, somewhat surprisingly I might add, been resurrected fairly recently by Sega themselves for modern machines in glorious 3D. So if you like this NES effort, then look up those versions too.

8 /10

Arch Rivals

Flying Edge - 1993

When people think of arcade basketball games they usually mention NBA Jam , but before that hugely popular slam dunker there was Midways Arch Rivals . Originally released in its arcade form in 1989, this game is widely regarded as starting the whole sports games crossed with violence craze of the early nineties with titles such as Pigskin, Mutant League, Brutal Sports Football and Basketbrawl topping the charts. In essence Arch Rivals is basically a two-on-two full-court basketball game, but the removal of the normal rules makes the experience very different to any previous bball games! As well as being able to perform all sorts of pretty standard moves such as dunks, three pointers, steals and blocks you can also punch your opponents, barge them and even pull down their shorts! When I said there were no rules I meant it, this really is anything goes. Thats not to say all the sporting elements are eliminated though, you still have to learn the best places to shoot, how to block shots and passing techniques etc. If you have played NBA Jam before then you know what to expect, the only real difference is that Arch Rivals is a little less over the top than its more illustrious sequel. Programmed by Rare, this NES port is pretty impressive all-round. Aside from a small amount of flicker the graphics are excellent, there are great renditions of all the original music and the gameplay is spot-on.