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[RadarScope1]

Frankly, I am not a fan of the Advantage. It's squishy, rather than clicky. Everyone knows a real arcade stick has to click. I always want to play arcade classics like Donkey Kong with the Advantage but it's rough. In DK, for example, Mario tends to get stuck at the tops of ladders.

The only clicky arcade sticks for the NES are actually Famicom sticks made by Ascii or Micomsoft (near as my limited research online can tell - maybe others know better). I have a Micomsoft one for the SFC but don't own any good FC sticks.

 

[IrishNinja]

^aw man, gunsmith sings the BLW's praises! gotta look into one of those

and i know it's the bane of 16-bit's existence, but i totally grew up on squishy sticks & clicky ones are more accurate but totally feel cheaper to me, i'm assuming i never heard clicks in arcades cause of the noise haha

 

[Peagles]

Peaglesanta lol

Spoiler

Now I gotta buy some replacements haha...

 

[elmalloc]

Your replacements will be better quality lol, their v2 supposedly has reduced the deathgrip.

I'll say they're very responsive but their business practice is in shambles to get 1000 orders behind at this time.

 

[D.Lo]

Frankly, I am not a fan of the Advantage. It's squishy, rather than clicky.

Yes it's not the best because it uses membranes, not microswitches. At least it's not leaf connectors like some joysticks of that era, eg Atari.

Microswitches are very robust and serviceable, but expensive. It would have cost a lot money to have a microswitch joystick back then.

 

[b3b0p]

I paid $4 for a loose-cart copy of Shatterhand in 2012. Its price spike must have been recent; I don't think that was an incredible deal at the time...


I don't know if it's no relation, though... the concept is very Spy Hunter-like, just made into even more of a shmup than Spy Hunter was. Putting the Spy Hunter name on the game made sense, it is a similar kind of game. And yeah, it's pretty good too... very hard, though.


You need SOME skill to beat TMNT II or III on the NES. IV on SNES or HH on Genesis just about anyone can beat, but the NES beat 'em ups are tougher. Beyond that, though, difficulty and quality are not related; a game is not better just because it is harder...

That's not what I was saying, but it is emphasized and is a factor. Games that are too easy are easily forgotten. They don't provide a sense of satisfaction a more difficult and skilled game require. TMNT II, III, and IV fall into this category. They are easy and short. They were great for the time and what they provided, especially playing with friends co-op. They are good games, but I feel they don't hold up now because they are just plain old boring button mashing. if that's your thing though, cool. I don't like those types of games.

TMNT II and III and IV are easy. Every one I know who picks it up and plays eventually ends up beating it. The skill, patience, and sense of accomplishment that comes with beating the original TMNT makes it much more thrilling of an experience. It's more than button mashing. All the others are pure button mashers. Who said anything about quality? What makes one lower or higher quality? The later games seem to have slightly more polish, but they were also different games entirely and IV was on a more powerful system.

Holy crap, this is not correct. Beating them without dying or using a continue definitely takes skill.

I never said never dying and beating them on a single play. I just played TMNT IV and hadn't played it in a while. I was able to beat it, I dyed a couple times, but it wasn't deathly hard or required the same amount of patience, timing, etc that it would take to beat TMNT. I'm not saying II, III, and IV are bad, but they are different games and I personally find them a bit dry compared to the original.

 

[Timu]

I never said never dying and beating them on a single play. I just played TMNT IV and hadn't played it in a while. I was able to beat it, I dyed a couple times, but it wasn't deathly hard or required the same amount of patience, timing, etc that it would take to beat TMNT. I'm not saying II, III, and IV are bad, but they are different games and I personally find them a bit dry compared to the original.

Ah, ok, makes sense, though personally I only think TMNT IV is the easiest of the bunch even on the hardest setting. Though the arcade version of TMNT IV is definitely really hard.

Also, TMNT II is the longest technically, takes over an hour even if you hardly die. TMNT 1 is in the 30 minute range if you know where to go and don't mess up much.

 

[G-Fex]

Ah, ok, makes sense, though personally I only think TMNT IV is the easiest of the bunch even on the hardest setting. Though the arcade version of TMNT IV is definitely really hard.

Also, TMNT II is the longest technically, takes over an hour even if you hardly die. TMNT 1 is in the 30 minute range if you know where to go and don't mess up much.

funny since the world record is like 17 minutes

Half a hour seems about right

 

[A Black Falcon]

That's not what I was saying, but it is emphasized and is a factor. Games that are too easy are easily forgotten. They don't provide a sense of satisfaction a more difficult and skilled game require.

This is not always true. Sure, sometimes it is, but not always. I love the Kirby series, for example, even though most Kirby games are very easy. They're really good games despite this. On the other hand, lots of really hard games are no fun at all. Sometimes a harder game can be more memorable, but it's no certainty.

TMNT II, III, and IV fall into this category. They are easy and short. They were great for the time and what they provided, especially playing with friends co-op. They are good games, but I feel they don't hold up now because they are just plain old boring button mashing. if that's your thing though, cool. I don't like those types of games.

TMNT II and III and IV are easy. Every one I know who picks it up and plays eventually ends up beating it. The skill, patience, and sense of accomplishment that comes with beating the original TMNT makes it much more thrilling of an experience. It's more than button mashing. All the others are pure button mashers. Who said anything about quality? What makes one lower or higher quality? The later games seem to have slightly more polish, but they were also different games entirely and IV was on a more powerful system.



I never said never dying and beating them on a single play. I just played TMNT IV and hadn't played it in a while. I was able to beat it, I dyed a couple times, but it wasn't deathly hard or required the same amount of patience, timing, etc that it would take to beat TMNT. I'm not saying II, III, and IV are bad, but they are different games and I personally find them a bit dry compared to the original.

You're making a big mistake in lumping II and III in with IV (and HH). The two pairs of games are in no way comparable in difficulty! IV and HH are easy games, I've beaten both almost every time I play them. But II and III? I don't think I've ever finished either one... they're much tougher, thanks to more limited moves, fewer continues I think, longer games (both games are 10-20 minutes longer than IV or HH are, and that's if you don't die), harder enemies... Turtles in Time is great, but it's a lot easier than the NES games, and Hyperstone Heist follows in its footsteps.

Also, of course, I like beat 'em ups, so since you admit that you dislike the genre, I think that's the main reason you don't like the TMNT beat 'em ups as much as many people do or did.

Ah, ok, makes sense, though personally I only think TMNT IV is the easiest of the bunch even on the hardest setting. Though the arcade version of TMNT IV is definitely really hard.

Also, TMNT II is the longest technically, takes over an hour even if you hardly die. TMNT 1 is in the 30 minute range if you know where to go and don't mess up much.

III is actually slightly longer than II, by a few minutes. Both are quite a bit longer than the first game, if you know what to do in the first one.

 

[Bog]

I got a sealed, mint copy of The Goonies II recently. Didn't pay much for it either. The first in my sealed NES collection.

 

[Timu]

Black Falcon, TMNT II and III both have 3 continues. Personally I think that's more than enough since you get extra lives in those games. Heck I did youtube playthroughs of them without using a single continue and not using special attacks either!

 

[RadarScope1]

Well, I think the TMNT series is officially the most-discussed franchise of games in this thread!

 

[elmalloc]

I love TMNT. I used to watch the cartoon at 7AM before school every day while wearing my TMNT pajamas and eating TMNT marshmallow cereal.

I remember my friend coming over from school to play TMNT 2 on our 25" CRT TV. I remember he'd always say "TMNT 2 again???" because that's the only game I liked to play co-op at that age.

Now he has a PhD in Biostatistics and genetic sequencing, and I'm just a programmer collecting old NES games.

 

[b3b0p]

TMNT II and III are dirt easy. I beat those games multiple times daily because my parents took me to their cabin and all I could do was play NES, fish, or wonder the woods in the middle of bloody no where, that and watched Home Alone on repeat.

 

[red capsule]

Ninja gaiden III is still kicking my ass after all these years. Need to put this one in the lab.

I think my biggest problem is that I’m not utilizing the power ups at all because I’m too prideful about completing the game with just my good ole sword ;___;

 

[Timu]

Ninja gaiden III is still kicking my ass after all these years. Need to put this one in the lab.

Yep, now that's a hard game. I can no death the 1st 2 but not this one due to it's BS towards the end.

 

[IrishNinja]

going through ROM sets for a potential N8 one day...man, this FDS library looks so cool. bummed that my RGB-modded NES won't have any way to play em!

 

[RadarScope1]

going through ROM sets for a potential N8 one day...man, this FDS library looks so cool. bummed that my RGB-modded NES won't have any way to play em!

Which games are catching your attention?

 

[IrishNinja]

a few random ones, a few i've played regularly (metroid, lost levels etc), bunch i've not heard of! Mzo came by with one a while back, got to play Zelda & a few others and it was awesome, just bummed i'd need a later model FC (or twin) to make the hardware work

 

[G-Fex]

mega man 4 is the best one

 

[Type40]

going through ROM sets for a potential N8 one day...man, this FDS library looks so cool. bummed that my RGB-modded NES won't have any way to play em!

They all work on the N8.

 

[Morfeo]

Well, I think the TMNT series is officially the most-discussed franchise of games in this thread!

Hahaha, the fact that such a discussion can go on for so long is testament to all the knowledge in this group though, and what makes it fun hanging out here.

I love TMNT. I used to watch the cartoon at 7AM before school every day while wearing my TMNT pajamas and eating TMNT marshmallow cereal.

I remember my friend coming over from school to play TMNT 2 on our 25" CRT TV. I remember he'd always say "TMNT 2 again???" because that's the only game I liked to play co-op at that age.

Now he has a PhD in Biostatistics and genetic sequencing, and I'm just a programmer collecting old NES games.

LOL, story of my life right here.

 

[Timu]

Well, I think the TMNT series is officially the most-discussed franchise of games in this thread!

That's because it was so good back then!!!

 

[IrishNinja]

They all work on the N8.

without FDS hardware? are they converts or what?

 

[PumpkinSpice]

They all work on the N8.

without FDS hardware? are they converts or what?

The N8 FPGA gets configured to act like the FDS hardware, and the FDS bios is loaded into the onboard memory. It loads up just like an FDS naively would, except the load times seem faster + you don't need to flip/swap disks, it just handles that automatically.

Edit: plus the fds game image loaded into memory as well.

 

[IrishNinja]

The N8 FPGA gets configured to act like the FDS hardware, and the FDS bios is loaded into the onboard memory. It loads up just like an FDS naively would, except the load times seem faster + you don't need to flip/swap disks, it just handles that automatically.

Edit: plus the fds game image loaded into memory as well.

say whaaaaaaat
that's awesome! i can finally dive into the FDS library too!!

 

[b3b0p]

Well, I think the TMNT series is officially the most-discussed franchise of games in this thread!

I'm done for now.

What game is next? I see Star Tropics get mentioned a lot. It's on my backlog still. I never got to it.

Since this months game is Mario 3, has anyone beaten it without warps? Going through all worlds? That's one thing I never was able to accomplish on the original NES version.

 

[D.Lo]

say whaaaaaaat
that's awesome! i can finally dive into the FDS library too!!

Not really, the music is borked. Any games that use the extra sound channels (aka most of the good ones) are not really playable unless you have no sound on.

I would not really say the N8 is FDS compatible unfortunately. It's the audio equivalent of blue being shown as green, it sounds really bad. Powerpak is similarly bad.

Since this months game is Mario 3, has anyone beaten it without warps? Going through all worlds? That's one thing I never was able to accomplish on the original NES version.

yeah I've done that, it takes a while but is easier that way, as you have heaps of power ups stored for world 8.

 

[Seven Force]

Man, I must have remembered Rescue Rangers being easier than it actually is. It's still pretty damn easy, but it's caught me off guard in some later levels, especially in regards to enemy placement. Definitely a game that's a lot more enjoyable in Co-Op, too. What I wouldn't do for a DuckTales-esque remake with online Co-Op.

I want to say I remember Rescue Rangers 2 being slightly better, but I lost my copies of that, Ducktales 2 and Darkwing Duck years ago. I should probably at least get DD, since prices for that are getting stupid now, too.

Edit: Wow, Famicom Rescue Rangers 2 is $80+. Yikes.

 

[Morfeo]

Since this months game is Mario 3, has anyone beaten it without warps? Going through all worlds? That's one thing I never was able to accomplish on the original NES version.

Yeah, I think this is pretty easy actually. I usually only looses lives in one level in the cloud (world 5), and some of the pipe-levels in world 7. The difficulty of world 8 is definitely overblown.

 

[elmalloc]

Man, I must have remembered Rescue Rangers being easier than it actually is. It's still pretty damn easy, but it's caught me off guard in some later levels, especially in regards to enemy placement. Definitely a game that's a lot more enjoyable in Co-Op, too. What I wouldn't do for a DuckTales-esque remake with online Co-Op.

I want to say I remember Rescue Rangers 2 being slightly better, but I lost my copies of that, Ducktales 2 and Darkwing Duck years ago. I should probably at least get DD, since prices for that are getting stupid now, too.

Edit: Wow, Famicom Rescue Rangers 2 is $80+. Yikes.

I thought C&D was difficult as a kid, I bought it and will try again soon.

 

[D.Lo]

My Fami/NES Turtles set. I was very lucky and managed to get Gekikame Ninja Den for cheap instead of the usual $200.

One day I'll manage to get the Australian version of Turtles II, with the classy silver Konami box (none of that US Ultra crap), but NINJA turtles instead of the retarded UK/European 'Hero Turtles' name.

 

[elmalloc]

I've always wanted a TMNT arcade cabinet, I may put up a MAME standup cabinet someday but I feel like having just the original TMNT would be sweet. Mainly because it seems like whenever I get trinkets like that I rarely use them enough to be worth it. I have a MAME cocktail board, the JPAC board in that is busted but it was fairly fun playing pacman and donkey kong on when it was working.

 

[Tanoomba]

Since this months game is Mario 3, has anyone beaten it without warps? Going through all worlds? That's one thing I never was able to accomplish on the original NES version.

That's pretty much the only way I play it nowadays. I set challenges like "How many levels can I keep this Frog Suit/Hammer Bros Suit for?" (typical answer: Not many) and I always stock up my Frog Suits for the last level so I can try to beat Bowser as a frog (which I have pulled off a few times).

Just watch out for that underground level where you have to get the Raccoon Suit, kill the block-throwing guy, clear the blocks out of your path, stomp and pick up a Koopa shell, then run and fly into a passageway in the ceiling where you have to throw the Koopa shell to clear the pipe leading to the exit. That part can be a pain.

Man, I must have remembered Rescue Rangers being easier than it actually is. It's still pretty damn easy, but it's caught me off guard in some later levels, especially in regards to enemy placement. Definitely a game that's a lot more enjoyable in Co-Op, too. What I wouldn't do for a DuckTales-esque remake with online Co-Op.

I want to say I remember Rescue Rangers 2 being slightly better, but I lost my copies of that, Ducktales 2 and Darkwing Duck years ago. I should probably at least get DD, since prices for that are getting stupid now, too.

Edit: Wow, Famicom Rescue Rangers 2 is $80+. Yikes.

Rescue Rangers starts off so easy that it's easy to get lulled into a sense of confidence, so when later levels have obstacles and enemies that are difficult to avoid (like that factory level with the conveyor belts and chopping blades) it's easy to get overwhelmed. Usually that's where you have to start to play methodically, take your time, remember the enemy placements and it becomes doable.

I generally collect games for the satisfaction of owning them and not so much to have pristine copies of them so I have a lot of NES games that came from video stores and the such. However, by pure luck years ago I stumbled upon a video store clearing out their NES stock and I picked up Duck Tales 2, Rescue Rangers 2 and Bubble Bobble 2 really cheap. I honestly could not believe my luck.

 

[Seven Force]

Rescue Rangers starts off so easy that it's easy to get lulled into a sense of confidence, so when later levels have obstacles and enemies that are difficult to avoid (like that factory level with the conveyor belts and chopping blades) it's easy to get overwhelmed. Usually that's where you have to start to play methodically, take your time, remember the enemy placements and it becomes doable.

I generally collect games for the satisfaction of owning them and not so much to have pristine copies of them so I have a lot of NES games that came from video stores and the such. However, by pure luck years ago I stumbled upon a video store clearing out their NES stock and I picked up Duck Tales 2, Rescue Rangers 2 and Bubble Bobble 2 really cheap. I honestly could not believe my luck.

Yeah, that factory level is what prompted me to make that post, haha. I'm pleasantly surprised though, because I was sure it was going to be an easy affair from start to finish. That it gets difficult later on is definitely welcome.

I can't ever seem to find good deals on NES games, heh. SNES games? Definitely have luck there (In the past two years, I've gotten EarthBound for $5 and Super Metroid and Super Castlevania IV for $10 each, among other things), but not so much with NES. Doesn't help that so many old video and mom and pop stores have closed down in my area in the past year. Everything's becoming one of those Simple or Cricket Mobile stores. :/

 

[IrishNinja]

Not really, the music is borked. Any games that use the extra sound channels (aka most of the good ones) are not really playable unless you have no sound on.

I would not really say the N8 is FDS compatible unfortunately. It's the audio equivalent of blue being shown as green, it sounds really bad. Powerpak is similarly bad.

ah, so very much not ideal - but i'll take it! this way, i can still kinda experience different titles, and the ones i dig/wanna see more go on the list for when i've got FDS money

 

[D.Lo]

ah, so very much not ideal - but i'll take it! this way, i can still kinda experience different titles, and the ones i dig/wanna see more go on the list for when i've got FDS money

Yeah you can see the games, and about 50% are fine since they use no extra channels.

But I keep my FDS ready to go, it's the only way to play Armana no Kiseki, Ai Senshai Nicol, Meikyuu Jiin Dababa, Dracula II etc.

 

[RadarScope1]

Any USAers ITT interested in buying a Famicom? It's an OG type and not AV modded so you need a TV that goes to channel 94/95. I have not been able to test it because I don't have such a TV but I do get a signal when I turn it on. I'll take a return if it doesn't work for you.

 

[Gyrian]

Merry X-MAS, NES/FC GAF!

 

[whiterabbit]

mega man 4 is the best one

Mega man 4 is good because it introduced charge shot and had slide, is well balanced, good level design, and is fun to play. They're all good though...I can't pick a favorite.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

One of these days I want to pick up a classic Famicom. Does anyone out there refurbish them and install A/V mods? I'd love to be able to pick one up ready to go for modern TVs, even if it's at a bit of a premium.

Well, I don't remember if I'm the one who threw the controllers or my sister, I know someone was throwing them - but they used to hold up anyway.

I just bitboxed the games I'm giving with their hi-def NES!

Link to these cases? Did you print the covers yourself or did you head over to Kinko's or something similar?

 

[elmalloc]

One of these days I want to pick up a classic Famicom. Does anyone out there refurbish them and install A/V mods? I'd love to be able to pick one up ready to go for modern TVs, even if it's at a bit of a premium.



Link to these cases? Did you print the covers yourself or did you head over to Kinko's or something similar?

The cases are bitboxes from stoneagegamer.com:
http://www.stoneagegamer.com/bitbox-nes.html

I downloaded the covers for free, and printed them at home on my color laser printer (legal paper). Use non-copy paper (anything higher quality than that should turn out fine), if you have an inkjet printer the quality will be even higher. The laser is good enough for me. The bitboxes themselves have a glossy cover for you to put the printed insert in.

I believe stone age gamer sources them from thecoverproject.net, BUT they also add a "Nintendo" border on both sides to make the aspect ratio perfect for their box (scroll down to the bottom where it says "DOWNLOAD ART"):
http://www.stoneagegamer.com/bitbox-nes-prints.html

It's possible Jason @ Gametech.us might be able to mod you a famicom. He's been modding toploader and frontloaders with Kevtris hi-def chip. I own 3 or 4 of those now, but a bad power brick had me thinking the install was bad, nope - looks like everything is working well. The frontloaders with the Blinking Light Win mod are pretty nice, I think the toploaders won't need that new connector (BLW) to function well.

 

[Teknoman]

Does Madara have a special chip, or its just a fancy cart shape?

 

[Tanoomba]

Mega man 4 is good because it introduced charge shot and had slide, is well balanced, good level design, and is fun to play. They're all good though...I can't pick a favorite.

Personally, I couldn't stand the introduction of the charge shot. It basically meant that, unless anything else was going on, I had to constantly be holding down the fire button, which meant I constantly had to listen to the charging noise (which got pretty irritating pretty quickly). I was really glad when Mega Man 9 and 10 ditched the charge mechanic.

 

[Mzo]

Personally, I couldn't stand the introduction of the charge shot. It basically meant that, unless anything else was going on, I had to constantly be holding down the fire button, which meant I constantly had to listen to the charging noise (which got pretty irritating pretty quickly). I was really glad when Mega Man 9 and 10 ditched the charge mechanic.

Waawawaawawawawawawawawa

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of what the charge shot does for the gameplay or the music.

Mega Man 2 is my personal best, followed closely by 9 and 3.

 

[Timu]

I don't mind the charged shot in those games at all. It makes some fights less tedious too.=p

 

[Mega]

I re-played a friend's copy of Mega Man 2 dozens of times back in the day, being the only MM I had access to. I always wanted the charged shot until I played MM4 and realized how freaking loud and distracting it was.

I'm done for now.

What game is next? I see Star Tropics get mentioned a lot. It's on my backlog still. I never got to it.

Since this months game is Mario 3, has anyone beaten it without warps? Going through all worlds? That's one thing I never was able to accomplish on the original NES version.

Yes. It can be done in several hours at a normal pace but it's just long enough that you feel compelled to use warps. The game really should have had battery backup or a password system. Most casual players would not sit through a complete playthrough.

 

[RoryDropkick]

Does Madara have a special chip, or its just a fancy cart shape?

Madara has a VRC6 like Akumajou Densestsu, otherwise, nothing else special about it iirc.

 

[Mega]

This being the NES/Famicom appreciation thread, thought you all would be interested in a bit of blah news regarding Steel Assault's change in art direction.

Update:

Game has moved on from the 8-bit art style, refunds for people not cool with it. Personally I think it's a nice improvement.

Explanation below.

I think this is a silly arbitrary move and, while it looks okay, has shifted away from the original vision that first attracted people to the game. More unfortunate since so few "retro/8-bit" games have actual NES-style graphics. Most have the modern-retro pixelated style (with wildly varying success) that has become really common. This game now goes into that cluttered pile. It also has inconsistent graphics now: the character sprite is mismatched with the new graphics.

 

[OnPoint]

As a backer of Steel Assault, I'm not pleased with the change. I was looking forward to what was originally pitched. I don't like that just because they have more money now, they are changing the idea and scope of the project. I won't be asking for my money back, but I'm not really excited about the project any longer.

Anyway, in other news, I sat down with my girlfriend and we powered through Super Mario Bros. 3 this evening/night. No Warp Whistles. Was a super fun time. I did forget how short many of the levels are in that game, but man, playing it is just the best damn time ever. Everything about the way Mario controls is pitch perfect and most of the levels are designed so thoughtfully. I do still think World 7 is a bit of a drag -- they easily could have cut that whole area and went right from Ice to Dark and the pace would have been a little smoother, but then, here I am, complaining about MORE content in an amazing game. If it bothers me that much, grab two Warp Whistles, finish it straight through 6, then warp to 8 from the start of 7.

Either way, I love Mario 3.