NES/Famicom Appreciation Thread

Just spent like an hour or so playing Rygar. I'm not the biggest fan.

1. The music really does suck. It's awful, with no cohesion to the composition and no thought into making it sound pleasing to the ear. It's functional, and has some melody, but it's not interesting and eventually becomes pretty grating.

2. Progression is a confusing mess. It makes you wander around, in and out of doors. There's no map. The clues all suck and are cryptic. Navigation is a pain.

3. I actually liked the
top-down segment
I eventually discovered. It was a nice change of pace.

4. I also like that there are
item upgrades to find
. Adds a nice element to the game, where it would be lacking without.

5. The controls feel ever so slightly unpolished, or it's the hit detection, or both. I don't know. It's like so close to being right. But it's just not by such an ever so slight amount.​
I don't know, Rygar. Will I stick it out and actually finish you?
 
Just spent like an hour or so playing Rygar. I'm not the biggest fan.

1. The music really does suck. It's awful, with no cohesion to the composition and no thought into making it sound pleasing to the ear. It's functional, and has some melody, but it's not interesting and eventually becomes pretty grating.

2. Progression is a confusing mess. It makes you wander around, in and out of doors. There's no map. The clues all suck and are cryptic. Navigation is a pain.

3. I actually liked the
top-down segment
I eventually discovered. It was a nice change of pace.

4. I also like that there are
item upgrades to find
. Adds a nice element to the game, where it would be lacking without.

5. The controls feel ever so slightly unpolished, or it's the hit detection, or both. I don't know. It's like so close to being right. But it's just not by such an ever so slight amount.​
I don't know, Rygar. Will I stick it out and actually finish you?

Yep, this sounds pretty much like how I remember it.
 
Here's that SMB guide. I love this kind of stuff. Anyone know of an official Nintendo strategy guide that pre-dates this thing? It was published with Tokuma Shoten in 85 and in 87 in the U.S. The intro featured Howard Phillips in full game master mode, including a pic with a bunch of FC stuff.

This is so cool. Thanks for sharing.
 
Game is not bad. This is why I love NES games. Compared to most of the games released today, they are actually difficult and require patience and skill with perfect timing, learning the ins-and-outs. The games are super short compared to the monsters that are Xeno/Final/Fallouts/Skyrim's of today, but feel so much more rewarding and I'm able to beat them without having that feeling of, "What was I doing? Where am I? What am I supposed to do next?"

I actually have time to play NES games, it's hard to fit in these epics beasts released today. The fact that they require patches just to work sometimes sucks too.

I wasn't suggesting that it was too hard, I just didn't like it in terms of the graphics or controls or anything aethetically. I routinely beat hard NES games so your comment is a little bizarre to me.
 
Often times a counter argument to someone not liking an NES game is 'NES games are hard, you probably just suck'. Which is maybe true for some people, I guess, but it's a silly argument in a dedicated NES thread where people are likely pretty aware of the library's average difficulty level. Sometimes a game jusy sucks, hard or easy.
 
God, every time I see boxed copies, I want to start building a NES, SNES, and Genesis boxed library. Then I realize how much it would cost, and there's just no way. But thoes boxes....hnnng
Yeah I've basically given up on CIB games these days, except for Famicom stuff since it's still rather cheap most of the time. I'm glad I have the ones I have and will probably leave it at that for now. I really like having CIB games, but only when the boxes are crisp. If it's damaged it's just a bummer to look at in my opinion. And minty boxes are expensive. I'm also starting to run out of space so that's another factor.

These days the only boxed games I'm actively going for are the early numbered Namco FC games in the small boxes. Most of them are cheap and I'd say most are also pretty decent games. And there are only about 20 of them so it feels doable even on a budget. And the boxes are small so they take up very little space. Have three incoming right now actually!

i really wish more publishers adopted the namco's famicom shockboxes:
Yep those are awesome. And they're small and cute, and look great together on a shelf with their uniform look. I used to buy a lot of games like say Family Pinball, Final Lap, Side Pocket, and the various sports games mostly because they're so cheap and look great. But I've kinda run out of the ones that are both cheap and decent games now.

Sunsoft also used something similar for some of their games, as well as Taito. Although the Taito ones aren't quite as nice/robust.

exactly - those who are fearfully taking part are saying "there's only less and less of these over time" etc, the rest of us are assuming at least casual interest will die down at some point & leave the actually rare stuff still expensive, but maybe not quite as bad as things are currently.

Man I hope so. Feels like I've missed out on a lot of good games that were affordable in the past but which I just can't justify paying for these days.
 
hope you give it another chance, 5 min doesn't do the game justice. very rpg-like, it's definitely a good one!

Yeah, I recommend people at least get to the overhead-view hub. Giving up before you get that far is like quitting during the prologue to MGSV because the game is just a linear corridor crawl.
 
This is so cool. Thanks for sharing.

No problem. We should all share some more pics here. It's quite fun. So long as I can take being insanely jealous of DLo and others' stuff...!

These days the only boxed games I'm actively going for are the early numbered Namco FC games in the small boxes. Most of them are cheap and I'd say most are also pretty decent games. And there are only about 20 of them so it feels doable even on a budget. And the boxes are small so they take up very little space. Have three incoming right now actually!

This would be the next set of boxed games I'm interested in. The boxes (and even the carts) look GREAT. Doesn't hurt that so many of them are stone cold classic arcade hits. Which ones are the most expensive ones?
 
I finished restoring the Square Buttons Famicom



It's quite interesting, I've proven that different Famicoms are different colours, it's not just bromine yellowing. This early run model is a slightly reddish cream colour.

This is awesome. I can't get enough of the de-yellowing/cleaning/restoring old console pics and videos. If I had the money, I'd just buy stacks of old consoles and fix them up.

I want to get into soldering just to fix up old Game Gears and I don't even like the Game Gear.
 
No problem. We should all share some more pics here. It's quite fun. So long as I can take being insanely jealous of DLo and others' stuff...!



This would be the next set of boxed games I'm interested in. The boxes (and even the carts) look GREAT. Doesn't hurt that so many of them are stone cold classic arcade hits. Which ones are the most expensive ones?

The only one I've seen that consistently goes for a bit more is Battle City I believe. And maybe Galaxian and Dig Dug as well but still not as bad. Even so it's not like Battle City is crazy or anything, but definitely much more than the others. Luckily I managed to get a box for relatively cheap from a guy I know who imports FC games. Still need the cart though, and I guess manual but I'm less concerned about that.
 
Yeah, I recommend people at least get to the overhead-view hub. Giving up before you get that far is like quitting during the prologue to MGSV because the game is just a linear corridor crawl.

I got past that last night and it doesn't really get better. I'm going to push through as far as I can without a guide before resorting to one. But it's honestly not a great game to me.
 
I'm biased as fuck but may I recommend any game made by Natsume as the next Club Pick? Natsume had an amazing track record back in the day.
 
What about Shatterhand for next month?

Anyways, I am starting Rygar for the month now, will post impressions later! I have played it, and found it pretty terrible before, but will try to give it a decent go still.

Edit: Holy shit, one life and no continues? This is indeed brutal.
 
Would anybody care to explain the stuff in the menu? Potential, power up etc.

Found out I actually own the manual for this one, and its a nice surprise to see that it says Ryger on the last page. Not too much proofreading from Tecmo I guess :)

The manual actually includes a map which say where stuff like the grappling hook is, guess the game makers understood that some part was a bit too confusing to get to on your own. I will for now use this as that is probably how the game was meant to play.
 
I had Rygar as a kid and had no idea what to do. But I replayed it last year and had a blast after I figured out everything. Just know you level up when you kill mobs. I did cheese it by killing easy mobs for like ten minutes on one of the first levels.

The game has continues...if I remember right it goes back to the title screen and maybe you even spawn back at the start but you keep all your stuff/level. I don't think it actually says continue on it, just does it automatically until you shut it off.
 
I had Rygar as a kid and had no idea what to do. But I replayed it last year and had a blast after I figured out everything. Just know you level up when you kill mobs. I did cheese it by killing easy mobs for like ten minutes on one of the first levels.

The game has continues...if I remember right it goes back to the title screen and maybe you even spawn back at the start but you keep all your stuff/level. I don't think it actually says continue on it, just does it automatically until you shut it off.

Yeah, you are right, the manual says it has continues, so that is nice. Unlimited even.

Anyways, I have been doing just what you wrote here, so is already at five hearts when I came to the overhead-valley. The way the enemies spawn incredibly close to you is the biggest issue I have so far. Guess it doesnt help that I play a Pal-version on a Famicom, making everything slightly faster than intended.

Edit: Followed the map in the manual, and just got the hookshoot. I think I would recommend everybody use that.
 
Would anybody care to explain the stuff in the menu? Potential, power up etc.

TONE and LAST are your attack and health stats respectively and they increase by killing enemies; the stat-ups you get are different for each enemy and I don't think the game tells you what any of the enemies are worth, so you'll have to manually check your stats after killing an enemy to see your gains (or just use a FAQ like a sane person).

TONE is a simple "bigger number = more damage" stat and LAST gives you an extra heart at 48 points and every double thereafter (96, 192, etc).

MIND is your mana, basically; collecting gold stars gives you an extra point or two (max 7) and every magic spell costs a certain number of points.

The options under POTENTIAL are your magic spells: Power Up (faster/longer melee until you die, costs 3 points), Attack & Assail (temporary screen-clearing attacks, costs 5 points), Recover (full health refill, costs 7 points).


Guess it doesnt help that I play a Pal-version on a Famicom, making everything slightly faster than intended..

Don't play the PAL version! It's bugged so that your stats stop increasing way before the cap (max is ~4000, PAL version stops at ~1000).
 
TONE and LAST are your attack and health stats respectively and they increase by killing enemies; the stat-ups you get are different for each enemy and I don't think the game tells you what any of the enemies are worth, so you'll have to manually check your stats after killing an enemy to see your gains (or just use a FAQ like a sane person).

TONE is a simple "bigger number = more damage" stat and LAST gives you an extra heart at 48 points and every double thereafter (96, 192, etc).

MIND is your mana, basically; collecting gold stars gives you an extra point or two (max 7) and every magic spell costs a certain number of points.

The options under POTENTIAL are your magic spells: Power Up (faster/longer melee until you die, costs 3 points), Attack & Assail (temporary screen-clearing attacks, costs 5 points), Recover (full health refill, costs 7 points).




Don't play the PAL version! It's bugged so that your stats stop increasing way before the cap (max is ~4000, PAL version stops at ~1000).

Thanks alot for the help, but fuck that news about the Pal-version. Guess I need to suck it up and buy an ntsc one, lets hope I get it before the end of the month!

Anyways, the first hour or whatever I played was pretty fun, and grinding (which I feel is essensial) went quite fast. Better game than I remembered!
 
Those suggesting Shatterhand: The lowest priced copy on eBay is $40. The game exceeds our limit. I mean, we can vote on it if y'all really want, but how many people are willing to pay for it? I own it, so I'm down for whatever, but it's not going to be a cheap include for next month. It's up to you guys, really. If you want it to be the fifth game we vote on for February, speak now. If you don't want to spend $40+, speak now as well. I'll make a judgement on it based on the convo in here over the next few days, but I'm hesitant to break the rule.

As for Rygar, I just finished it. So I'm pretty far ahead of my usual curve for this Game Club this month.

I only used a guide for two things. The first was how to use the pulley. It is NOT intuitive in the top-down sections. Note to anyone playing: You can use the pulley in the top-down sections by walking into the rope waist height. You'll hear a click. Then you're good to go. If you don't hear the click, don't walk toward the ledge. You'll stroll right off and die.

The second is a little spoilery.
Playing the instrument from the menu to get into the final area is just stupid. Pressing B in there never does anything. I mean, they give you the clue. Why not let me learn I can play it by doing it anywhere? I had to look up to see if I was missing anything. I wasn't. Minor thing, but man, how stupid
.

It has a lot of the ambiguous "story" a lot of NES games have. The dudes that talk to you sometimes say stuff that doesn't mean anything, like
"Tell the bad guy to let my daughter go"
. It doesn't really mean anything, but it hints at a larger story that you aren't really privy to. But it also gets your creativity and imagination going in a way modern games fail to.

It's definitely not my favorite game, and once stockholm syndrome sets in and you adjust to its ever-so-slightly off controls, terrible navigation and awful music, it's really not that bad. I'd honestly say it's in the lower-to-mid tier of playable and beatable NES games and I don't think I'll ever go through it again, but I'm glad I finished it.
 
I only used a guide for two things. The first was how to use the pulley. It is NOT intuitive in the top-down sections. Note to anyone playing: You can use the pulley in the top-down sections by walking into the rope waist height. You'll hear a click. Then you're good to go. If you don't hear the click, don't walk toward the ledge. You'll stroll right off and die.

Yes Yes Yes! as i kid i couldn't figure it out. looked at nintendo funclub/power and couldn't figure it out. i figured my game is broken or i was missing an attachment... thankfully i had friends who showed me over their house how to do it =)
 
Yes Yes Yes! as i kid i couldn't figure it out. looked at nintendo funclub/power and couldn't figure it out. i figured my game is broken or i was missing an attachment... thankfully i had friends who showed me over their house how to do it =)

Right? You figure you would like throw your weapon at it and it would hook on or something. Nope. Just latch on baby.
 
I own Shatterhand so would be keen but I get the reason for the price limit. Shatterhand is awesome though. One of those games I only discovered recently. Never had it as a kid. I'm told I need to get Power Blade as well.
 
Cannot found the SNES thread, as we have this game also on NES, decided to repost here.

Can anyone quote me with the SNES link? Thanks!!

Apologies for the "spam"

Hello Gamers,

A brazilian youtuber (not me) have been started a challenge some days ago.
Basically the rules are (picked from the youtube video description):

Challenge of 1500 BRL: Film yourself and a friend (2 players), with a real cam, no capture card allowed, from the start to the last stage, finishing the game on the SNES hardware until and of January.

This issue is being discussed on a brazilian game forum, but seems that we have players able to finish solo, but we dont have yet a nice double to get this job.

As the challenge is time limited and the backer do not include any country or payment limitations, I decide to enlarge the pool of possibilities of good players which can do this job.

Perhaps some crazy gamers around the world are doing this for free, why not for a few bucks??

Link for the youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EytVw-Ly_N4

Link for the BR forum:

http://forum.outerspace.com.br/inde...terminar-battletoads-in-battlemaniacs.441964/

PS: I dont have any kind of contact with the youtuber, and dont have anything against him, and I will not participate by any means of any possible payment.

Sorry for my bad english and I really dont check if I'm doing something against the rules, if yes, plese consider my apologies.

Let the challenge begin!!
 
Was it confirmed that Rygar had the same music composer as Dr jekyll and Mr hyde? Since both games share that same tune when Rygar talks to the Gurus.
 
Besides video of a play through, what are considered the best means to verify completion of a game? Screenshot of end game / screen? That's all I can think of. However, it doesn't confirm play through without cheats or anything of that sort.
 
Besides video of a play through, what are considered the best means to verify completion of a game? Screenshot of end game / screen? That's all I can think of. However, it doesn't confirm play through without cheats or anything of that sort.

I took a picture last night of the ending screen for my own records. I guess we could do it Reddit-style and make sure people put something time/dated in a picture and post it if we were going to require it.

That said, I don't think we're too worried about verification. It's not a competition. It's just a "hey let's play some games and chat about them" type deal. Unless there's some kind of demand that people post final screens, I think that's how we're going to go forward.
 
Battlemaniacs on the SNES isn't the same game as Battletoads on the NES. I beat it co-op with a friend years ago. It's way more doable than Battletoads.
 
I hated Battlemaniacs once I realized at level 3 or so that the game is just a 16 bit remake of the original Battletoads. But the backgrounds are uglier.
 
I also have Shatterhand.

Cannot found the SNES thread, as we have this game also on NES, decided to repost here.

Can anyone quote me with the SNES link? Thanks!!

Apologies for the "spam"

Hello Gamers,

A brazilian youtuber (not me) have been started a challenge some days ago.
Basically the rules are (picked from the youtube video description):

Challenge of 1500 BRL: Film yourself and a friend (2 players), with a real cam, no capture card allowed, from the start to the last stage, finishing the game on the SNES hardware until and of January.

This issue is being discussed on a brazilian game forum, but seems that we have players able to finish solo, but we dont have yet a nice double to get this job.

As the challenge is time limited and the backer do not include any country or payment limitations, I decide to enlarge the pool of possibilities of good players which can do this job.

Perhaps some crazy gamers around the world are doing this for free, why not for a few bucks??

Link for the youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EytVw-Ly_N4

Link for the BR forum:

http://forum.outerspace.com.br/inde...terminar-battletoads-in-battlemaniacs.441964/

PS: I dont have any kind of contact with the youtuber, and dont have anything against him, and I will not participate by any means of any possible payment.

Sorry for my bad english and I really dont check if I'm doing something against the rules, if yes, plese consider my apologies.

Let the challenge begin!!



Here you go: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=511429
 
I have Shatterhand as well. It's $40+ now? :(

I should really get on that Rygar considering I voted for it. Haven't played it much since I bought it years ago so that was my reason for voting for it. But that's a bummer regarding the PAL version issues since that's the one I have. :/ Is it still beatable? I think Rygar was actually the last PAL game I bought before deciding to go NTSC only.
 
Rygar's not a port of the arcade game, it's an original and very different game.

It's also not very good, IMO; the hit detection is shoddy, it has awful buzzy Jeckyl & Hyde-esque music and there's no way to record your progress--no passwords, no saves, nothing. I want to like it but I just can't.

On top of all that, the PAL version is bugged so you can only level your damage/health to around 25% of their maximum capacity, which makes the game way harder past a certain point.

I'll admit that I played this game back when I as way more forgiving and much too young to notice glaring faults, but I never had any problems with hit detection and I think the soundtrack is fantastic. I actually think I like the game more in retrospect since I can appreciate aspects like an open world that becomes more accessible as you acquire powerups and an RPG-esque experience system that lets you get more and more powerful as you progress.




The only carts that dont look cool imo are Jaguar carts.

I dunno, I hate any carts that don't have visible titles on their tops, as well as any that aren't shaped properly to stack upon each other. N64 carts failed on both counts!





Seriously, I think the music is great. Adventurous and heroic when it needs to be (most of the action/overworld stages), solemn and mysterious at other times (when visiting Indra gods), uncomfortable and off-putting when the stakes are high (last level). I don't get the OST criticism at all!




Just spent like an hour or so playing Rygar. I'm not the biggest fan.

1. The music really does suck. It's awful, with no cohesion to the composition and no thought into making it sound pleasing to the ear. It's functional, and has some melody, but it's not interesting and eventually becomes pretty grating.

2. Progression is a confusing mess. It makes you wander around, in and out of doors. There's no map. The clues all suck and are cryptic. Navigation is a pain.

3. I actually liked the
top-down segment
I eventually discovered. It was a nice change of pace.

4. I also like that there are
item upgrades to find
. Adds a nice element to the game, where it would be lacking without.

5. The controls feel ever so slightly unpolished, or it's the hit detection, or both. I don't know. It's like so close to being right. But it's just not by such an ever so slight amount.​
I don't know, Rygar. Will I stick it out and actually finish you?

1) I find the music very pleasing to the ear. To each his own, I suppose.

2) You're absolutely right, it's totally cryptic, and yet it's still totally doable. I was able to pass this game ( a while ago, mind you) after years of not having played it, simply by remembering the basics (shoot your grappling hook up at all trees, make use of the health-regenerating spell whenever you can, etc).

3) I played this game enough as a kid that I remember discovering the ability to get your character onto the green "top layer" of the overworld levels by holding up and moving left and right between horizontal screen transitions. That allowed you to explore buggy and unplayable screens you were never meant to see, which was pretty cool!

4) This is one of many aspect I didn't catch on to as a kid, but only became apparent as I got older. This game holds a special place in my heart for drawing a line between my gaming infancy and my gaming coming-of-age.

5) Yes, there are a couple of finer points that require a bit of getting used to. The fact that you can't change your jumping momentum (only the direction) is one. The fact that you gotta climb ALL THE WAY up a rope before you can access the higher ground is another. But these are all things that don't actually require much to get used to. I would argue that Rygar is WAY more accessible than, say, Faxanadu, which is WAY more awkward and difficult to comfortably control.




Note: I've got Shatterhand too, so no complaints from me if that gets nominated.
 
Bionic Commando is another suggestion from me, that game is good and common.

Ya' know? It's one of those games where the remake is superior in every possible way and it's really hard to go back to the original. Just the swinging mechanics work infinitely better in the remake than in the original. I just can't go back.

I'd put Bionic Commando: Rearmed in my top games of all time list too.
 
Adventure Island is my nomination.

I'd also like to consider Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja

I mean how could you not be intrigued with a title like that. Hardcore Gaming says it's mostly garbage, maybe we should be the judge of that next month? I've never played it and didn't even realize there was an NES version. I'm only familiar with the SNES one.
 
Adventure Island is my nomination.

I'd also like to consider Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja

I mean how could you not be intrigued with a title like that. Hardcore Gaming says it's mostly garbage, maybe we should be the judge of that next month? I've never played it and didn't even realize there was an NES version. I'm only familiar with the SNES one.
It was also on Genesis, which is closer to the arcade version.
 
Yes, but this is a NES thread. So, it's not relevant.
Doesn't hurt to reveal how many systems it's on at least, which would be handy for those interested anyways.=p

This is very important for me when it comes to finding out about said versions, like I didn't know about an NES version of The Lion King until recently.
 
Had some Amazon gift cards built up from Xmas and b-days. Decided to get some retro game themed books -- all NES-related in some way. Bought Console Wars and I Am Error, plus two of Jeremy Parish's "Anatomy of" series of books (the SMB and Castlevania ones).

Speaking of Parish, if you haven't seen his Good Nintentions videos, give them a look. He's covered Baseball, Tennis and Pinball so far and has really given each a good treatment. Way more interesting than they probably have any right to be, given the games. It's like Chrontendo, but with some substance. Doing God's work, ToastyFrog.
 
1) I find the music very pleasing to the ear. To each his own, I suppose.

2) You're absolutely right, it's totally cryptic, and yet it's still totally doable. I was able to pass this game ( a while ago, mind you) after years of not having played it, simply by remembering the basics (shoot your grappling hook up at all trees, make use of the health-regenerating spell whenever you can, etc).

3) I played this game enough as a kid that I remember discovering the ability to get your character onto the green "top layer" of the overworld levels by holding up and moving left and right between horizontal screen transitions. That allowed you to explore buggy and unplayable screens you were never meant to see, which was pretty cool!

4) This is one of many aspect I didn't catch on to as a kid, but only became apparent as I got older. This game holds a special place in my heart for drawing a line between my gaming infancy and my gaming coming-of-age.

5) Yes, there are a couple of finer points that require a bit of getting used to. The fact that you can't change your jumping momentum (only the direction) is one. The fact that you gotta climb ALL THE WAY up a rope before you can access the higher ground is another. But these are all things that don't actually require much to get used to. I would argue that Rygar is WAY more accessible than, say, Faxanadu, which is WAY more awkward and difficult to comfortably control.
1. I feel like nostalgia is possibly influencing you. Which doesn't mean you're wrong. But when people are wondering if the composer of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde also did this, it speaks to its quality. I feel like most of the early songs start well but unravel as they go on due to a lack of meaningful progression. The songs later on are short, and as they get shorter, they loop more often, and get more tiresome.

2. I understand the game is doable. I beat it last night.

3. Haha cool. I'll have to mess around with this.

4. I could imagine this being an odd game to play as a kid.

5. I would agree this is more accessible than Faxanadu. I don't particularly like that game.
 
Ya' know? It's one of those games where the remake is superior in every possible way and it's really hard to go back to the original. Just the swinging mechanics work infinitely better in the remake than in the original. I just can't go back.

I'd put Bionic Commando: Rearmed in my top games of all time list too.

I actually havent played Rearmed yet, shame on me I know. Is it stuck on last gen download service, or was it released physically or something?

5. I would agree this is more accessible than Faxanadu. I don't particularly like that game.

I heavily disagree with this, I could easily beat Faxanadu, but it took me two minutes of Rygar to understand that this was a grindy mess. Meaning I probably can beat that too - but I need to kinda "cheat" to do it.
 
Seems a lot of us have Shatterhand. Quite right too. It's awesome. Could we not sneak that one through next month as the let's play? Think we'd get guaranteed numbers if people getting involved
 
If you think the PAL and US versions of Shatterhand are expensive, don't look at the prices of the Fami original...
 
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