NES/Famicom Appreciation Thread

All the press releases have said they will be sold separately. They're not out yet so you're probably not going to find them in stores or on any websites yet. They're probably also not taking any pre-orders on controllers.

Here https://www.nintendo.com/nes-classic

Scroll a little ways down that page.

"2P, PRESS START
Share the fun with a friend
Games like Pac-Man™, TECMO BOWL, and Dr. Mario™ are even better with a buddy. And you won’t have to fight over a controller.

Use your Classic Controller™ or Classic Controller Pro™ (sold separately), or buy a second NES Classic Controller."

"Additional NES Classic Controller accessories

Just $9.99MSRP* each"


nes-controller-box.png



Unless you think Nintendo, on their own page, is going to post a made up box, saying a made up price, that is never going to exist.

I don't really see what they would get out of that though.
 
They're selling extension cables for the controllers in Australia already lol.

$10 is pretty crazy good for a quality controller actually.
 
Crystalis is your game for December!

Now that that's concluded, voting for January will happen in a couple of weeks. I'll get the ball rolling mid-November on that.

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Awesome, two great games I havent beaten now for the next two months!

By the way, I just got the official numbers of NES Minis coming to Norway. About 1/5th of what is preordered will be available. Going to be really hard to get it all over Europe apparently. Wonder if this is a real production shortage or manufactured by Nintendo. In a way, I could see why they would much rather sell people a Switch, so maybe they are trying to use the hype for the Nes Mini to get more casual consumers interested in Nintendo in general, and thus, increase sales of their next home console.
 
Morfeo said:
Awesome, two great games I havent beaten now for the next two months!

By the way, I just got the official numbers of NES Minis coming to Norway. About 1/5th of what is preordered will be available. Going to be really hard to get it all over Europe apparently. Wonder if this is a real production shortage or manufactured by Nintendo. In a way, I could see why they would much rather sell people a Switch, so maybe they are trying to use the hype for the Nes Mini to get more casual consumers interested in Nintendo in general, and thus, increase sales of their next home console.
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I think their mobile strategy is to gain consumer interest in their hardware as well; see 3DS sales up for the past 4 months since Pokemon Go dropped, and the got Super Mario Run coming to iOS next month.

I'm happy that the NES classic is gonna be a success but yikes at that fulfillment ratio for preorders.
 
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Hopefully Dracula was defeated multiple times at the hands of NES-GAF!
On we move to November, where we're switching gears from goth pretty heavily indeed.
Capcom's Bionic Commando, is the pick for this month! It's time to take Hitler down!​

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Let's get dat Wikipedia description up and moving:
Bionic Commando is a platforming video game in which the player controls Ladd Spencer, whose mission is to rescue Super Joe and to uncover the mystery behind the Albatros project.[4] Players navigate through the game via an overworld map, which they can move from one numbered area to another in a nonlinear fashion. Starting at Area 0, players can move Ladd's helicopter to any connected area on the map. However, once Ladd's helicopter starts to move, the enemy ground vehicles will also move. Once the helicopter reaches its destination without crossing over the path of an enemy vehicle, the player can choose to "descend" and play that area or to "transfer" to a different area.[5] However, if the helicopter intercepts with an enemy vehicle, then Ladd must engage the enemy in an overhead perspective. In this perspective, players use the directional pad to navigate Ladd through the scene, and they can use the buttons to shoot down the enemy. One of the enemies will drop an Eagle-shaped mark when killed, which players can collect for an extra continue.[4]​
​

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Here's how the voting shook out for anyone interested.​
November

And here's how we handled the tie for December...

December

Header image by D Lo, Monthly image made
by Wanyodos. Guidelines below by RavenholmDX. Selection Process by OnPoint.
Thanks guys!​

NES Game Club Guidelines
The nominated title should be readily available via standard
channels such as eBay, for a reasonable price (Maximum $30,
preferably less to give the majority of people a chance to join
in). The title should be a licensed NES/Famicom title (No hacks,
homebrew, multicarts). Only exception is unlicensed, but readily available titles.
The title should be available in English, and if not, it should at the very least be
playable without knowledge of Japanese.

Due to the nature of the Club, excessively long or grind-heavy
games such as RPGs will be excluded.

Use this site to check prices.

Selection Process
Games are nominated two months out (eg: if game is nominated in March, it will be the
game played in May). They can be nominated starting one day after the post for a
month's pick goes live (eg: if a game is posted on March 4, nominations open on March 5).


The first five games suggested after nominations open that have not yet been played,
and were not nominated the month before will be added to the list and will be voted on.
So be sure to come in early to nominate your favorites!

Five days after the nominations open, or when we reach five nominations (whichever
comes first) the nominations are tallied in the following manner:
The list of nominees are checked for infringements of the above
guidelines, and any not meeting the requirements are removed.
The voting list will be shuffled for each member voting.
Voting will take place until the 20th day of the month, at which point the poll will
close and the votes will be tallied.
The winner will be announced as soon as the tally is counted so that members
will have time to pick up the winning game.

Previous months:
- October 2016 - Castlevania
- September 2016 - Blaster Master
- August 2016 - Adventure Island
- July 2016 - Zanac
- June 2016 - Conquest of the Crystal Palace
- May 2016 - Wrecking Crew
- April 2016 - Street Fighter 2010
- March 2016 -The Guardian Legend
- February 2016 - Shatterhand
- January 2016 - Rygar
- December 2015 - Super Mario 3
- November 2015 - Faxanadu
- October 2015 - Monster Party
Click to expand...
 
Maybe this month I'll have some time to play the game! Hoping to kill
Hitler
! I've never actually played more than a few levels of Bionic Commando, should be fun.
 
Well, since you guys won't play nice, I will!

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I'm not really a power player and I often times can't finish many games on the NES/Famicom. But this one I know by heart.

I guess next up will be Bionic Commando, then. That's gonna be a whole lot harder...
 
Ah, Bionic Commando. Another game I'm ashamed to admit I've played little of. I remember really struggling at this game in prior play sessions, and probably will until I get the hang of the grappling hook.
 
I have only gotten past the first level, got stuck in the village where there seemed like there were nowhere to go. This was on an emulator more than ten years ago though, this time the plan is to play through it on the actual system!
 
Flizzzipper said:
Ah, Bionic Commando. Another game I'm ashamed to admit I've played little of. I remember really struggling at this game in prior play sessions, and probably will until I get the hang of the grappling hook.
Click to expand...

My best memory of this game comes from my college days (late 1990s). I'd played the game in the NES days, but couldn't get very far. We fired up a copy of the game one morning in our dorm suite and left it on all day as several us went in and out to class. By dinner time, we were on the final level. But I don't think we actually beat it. That was one of my realization moments that older games were really great, and that I should get back into them. Within the next few weeks, I had gathered several NES games from my roommates and some other friends for free, and that summer I bought an NES again and began the collection I have today.
 
I'm gonna go ahead and flat out say I kind of don't really like Bionic Commando. It has great music. But that's all I remember really liking.

Now, to be fair, I haven't played it since I was a kid. So when my cart gets here, I'll be giving it a spin with fresh eyes and a higher skill level. So we'll see if my opinion changes.
 
RadarScope1 said:
My best memory of this game comes from my college days (late 1990s). I'd played the game in the NES days, but couldn't get very far. We fired up a copy of the game one morning in our dorm suite and left it on all day as several us went in and out to class. By dinner time, we were on the final level. But I don't think we actually beat it. That was one of my realization moments that older games were really great, and that I should get back into them. Within the next few weeks, I had gathered several NES games from my roommates and some other friends for free, and that summer I bought an NES again and began the collection I have today.
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That's a nice memory. Made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks for sharing.
 
RadarScope1 said:
My best memory of this game comes from my college days (late 1990s). I'd played the game in the NES days, but couldn't get very far. We fired up a copy of the game one morning in our dorm suite and left it on all day as several us went in and out to class. By dinner time, we were on the final level. But I don't think we actually beat it. That was one of my realization moments that older games were really great, and that I should get back into them. Within the next few weeks, I had gathered several NES games from my roommates and some other friends for free, and that summer I bought an NES again and began the collection I have today.
Click to expand...

This is amazing, really cool that this was the game that got you into retro gaming :)
 
Put in some time on Bionic Commando today, beat three of the bosses. When you start to get the hang of the grappling hook and are flying around and scooping up the energy pak things it feels great. But there are also times where I am just failing around and miss my mark and then get bumped by an enemy and fly further down. I am finding this game much more difficult than other games. The grappling hook mechanic requires you retrain your brain a bit.
 
Flizzzipper said:
Put in some time on Bionic Commando today, beat three of the bosses. When you start to get the hang of the grappling hook and are flying around and scooping up the energy pak things it feels great. But there are also times where I am just failing around and miss my mark and then get bumped by an enemy and fly further down. I am finding this game much more difficult than other games. The grappling hook mechanic requires you retrain your brain a bit.
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This sounds like me, I think this game is crazy difficult, had troubles even beating the first level!

Anyways, how do I progress from the second neutral zone where the wall?
Also, is there any way to continue the game, or do i have to beat it on three lives?
 
Morfeo said:
This sounds like me, I think this game is crazy difficult, had troubles even beating the first level!

Anyways, how do I progress from the second neutral zone where the wall?
Also, is there any way to continue the game, or do i have to beat it on three lives?
Click to expand...
I shot the wall, not sure if that's what you're supposed to do because all hell breaks loose. You can get continues from beating the "special" enemies in the top down commando like stages when you run into the helicopter things on the map.
 
Flizzzipper said:
I shot the wall, not sure if that's what you're supposed to do because all hell breaks loose. You can get continues from beating the "special" enemies in the top down commando like stages when you run into the helicopter things on the map.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks! I ended up just going back and exiting the stage and progress, not sure thats what I was supposed to do.

Anyways, that final stretch of level 3 was just brutal. I really hate when you have to use the bionic arm to traverse upwards, and you then swing from side to side before getting up. In that situation you have just no control, and if an enemy appears on the side of the screen you have no chance :( Still, when you do manage to get a flow going it feels great.
 
Dang, wish I'd known about this thread/club sooner! BC is one of those games I have vivid memories of from the arcade, but never did play the NES version.
 
Morfeo said:
Ok thanks! I ended up just going back and exiting the stage and progress, not sure thats what I was supposed to do.

Anyways, that final stretch of level 3 was just brutal. I really hate when you have to use the bionic arm to traverse upwards, and you then swing from side to side before getting up. In that situation you have just no control, and if an enemy appears on the side of the screen you have no chance :( Still, when you do manage to get a flow going it feels great.
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There is an item you need past that wall so maybe there's a way to not aggro and still open it?

Oh yeah, that stretch after the communication room in three is tough. Spread gun helps on the flying enemies but even then sometimes they are out of range. I noticed you can hit them diagonally with the bionic arm but I'm not sure if you can kill them with multiple arm hits. It would be hard enough if there were no enemies, lol.
 
Flizzzipper said:
There is an item you need past that wall so maybe there's a way to not aggro and still open it?

Oh yeah, that stretch after the communication room in three is tough. Spread gun helps on the flying enemies but even then sometimes they are out of range. I noticed you can hit them diagonally with the bionic arm but I'm not sure if you can kill them with multiple arm hits. It would be hard enough if there were no enemies, lol.
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Indeed. I actually didnt know about the spread gun on my last run. Just realized I had a new item now, and checked it out. Definitely helped and I managed to beat the level. Died on the commando-like level that i encountered next though.

Ok, so I have to get that item from the city? That sucks, need to remember that on my next run I guess.
 
So when I turn on my disk system it's making a loud buzzing and it won't load any disks. I disconnected the actual disk system and it's still making the buzzing. The AV Famicom itself is playing games fine. Is my RAM adaptor dead?
 
OnPoint said:
I'm gonna go ahead and flat out say I kind of don't really like Bionic Commando. It has great music. But that's all I remember really liking.

Now, to be fair, I haven't played it since I was a kid. So when my cart gets here, I'll be giving it a spin with fresh eyes and a higher skill level. So we'll see if my opinion changes.
Click to expand...

I never played the original but Rearmed was awesome, so i'm sure it should've aged ok.
 
OnPoint said:
So when I turn on my disk system it's making a loud buzzing and it won't load any disks. I disconnected the actual disk system and it's still making the buzzing. The AV Famicom itself is playing games fine. Is my RAM adaptor dead?
Click to expand...

So the RAM adapter is making the buzzing when inserted, even when the disk drive is disconnected? Do you get the "Please Set Disk Card" animation?
 
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Well, that escalated quickly. Pretty good game. It almost seems to get easier after half way through after you get over a particularly hard bionic arm swinging section. Used the bazooka almost exclusively. It might just seem easier because you start to master the grappling hook by then. Not to say I didn't have to use about 6 or 7 continues. I didn't have to end up doing it but I wonder if you can just constantly farm the continues? I was getting close to finding out but managed to beat it before I had to go try.
 
Relatively new GAF member here, I've never taken part in this club before; I assume it's open to post/join whenever?

Bionic Commando's actually a great choice given that I've never played through the game much, even though I bought it more than a decade ago, when I used to buy stacks of NES games for cheap at flea markets.

Whenever I'd get to BC, I'd find it either too difficult or I wouldn't give it enough time to get used to the controls and the game itself. Back in High School/College, a friend of mine got really obsessed with it and sought to finish BC and the Famicom version off without cheats/save-states, it was at that point I realized there was a lot to the game that I hadn't quite taken notice of when I first played it. Years ago I tried Rearmed and really got into it, finishing the game but I never returned to the original NES game after that.

This afternoon I started to play through it and I don't know if it was from beating Rearmed, but I'm having a much easier time with it so far. Starting out by going through the lower numbers in semi-numerical order from my placement on the map, is that the order I should be going in, or does it really matter in the end?

So far today, I completed 1, 4 and 5 but skipped 13 and 15, I'm looking forward to going through the rest of it shortly.
 
I booted up my Lagrange Point cart and it works perfectly. Nesreproductions did a great job! I'm looking forward to playing through the game in English :)
 
I never liked Bionic Commando much. I so badly want to be able to jump and shoot upwards. It makes me wish I was playing Contra.

I'm playing it now and made it to Area 5 and got a Game Over. Is there no continues?

It feels very unforgiving for how awkward the controls are. I can't jump downwards from a platform but I can swing through a platform into an enemy and get hit. That doesn't seem fair.

We should have went with Shadowgate.
 
Lothar said:
I never liked Bionic Commando much. I so badly want to be able to jump and shoot upwards. It makes me wish I was playing Contra.

I'm playing it now and made it to Area 5 and got a Game Over. Is there no continues?

It feels very unforgiving for how awkward the controls are. I can't jump downwards from a platform but I can swing through a platform into an enemy and get hit. That doesn't seem fair.

We should have went with Shadowgate.
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You earn continues by running into the trucks on the map screen and collecting the eagles that are left behind during the overhead scenes.

EDIT Also, not to be mean, Area 5 is strangely enough one of my favorite areas. I love climbing the huge tower and I really like the music.
 
Shin Johnpv said:
All the press releases have said they will be sold separately. They're not out yet so you're probably not going to find them in stores or on any websites yet. They're probably also not taking any pre-orders on controllers.

Here https://www.nintendo.com/nes-classic

Scroll a little ways down that page.

"2P, PRESS START
Share the fun with a friend
Games like Pac-Man™, TECMO BOWL, and Dr. Mario™ are even better with a buddy. And you won’t have to fight over a controller.

Use your Classic Controller™ or Classic Controller Pro™ (sold separately), or buy a second NES Classic Controller."

"Additional NES Classic Controller accessories

Just $9.99MSRP* each"


nes-controller-box.png



Unless you think Nintendo, on their own page, is going to post a made up box, saying a made up price, that is never going to exist.

I don't really see what they would get out of that though.
Click to expand...

I'm expecting one of the fine people of retro-GAF to review the D-Pad and plastic of this thing. I may actually pic one up for shits and giggles. It would make for a fine way to play Mega Man 9 and 10 on Wii in addition to traditional VC offerings.

At that price though, I'm slightly worried that Nintendo will cheap out on the caliber of the plastic and make a flimsy controller.
 
A little bit of research says it might be the AC adapter that I was given with the Disk System causing the buzzing sound. I've ordered an official one and we'll see if that's the case. I'm hesitant to think that's what it is, though, as the buzzing happens even when the Disk System itself isn't connected. I still think it's the RAM adapter.
 
OnPoint said:
A little bit of research says it might be the AC adapter that I was given with the Disk System causing the buzzing sound. I've ordered an official one and we'll see if that's the case. I'm hesitant to think that's what it is, though, as the buzzing happens even when the Disk System itself isn't connected. I still think it's the RAM adapter.
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OnPoint, doesn't the Disk System also have the option to use batteries? Maybe you could try that while waiting for the AC Adapter.

Have you cracked open to RAM unit? Sometimes it's very easy to see a problem (and other times its impossible, but hey worth a shot!).
 
Bionic Commando is one of my favorite games of all time. I've beaten it numerous times. It can be difficult if you are unable to adapt to swinging instead of jumping, but if you can get past that hurdle, and spend a little time farming, the game is actually very easy.

TIPS:

- Once you get inside the base on the first level, there are sections where enemies will parachute in indefinitely. Run left and right and spend some time "farming" the enemies here. By collecting the bullets they leave when killed, you can eventually extend your life meter to 8 pips. You can check your current progress to the next unlock by looking at the status screen. Once this is done the rest of the game is much easier.

- Spend a few minutes "farming" the moving enemy encounters on the map. Be sure to kill the large enemies here (Jeep, etc.) and pick up the eagle-shaped continue tokens.

- Pay attention to the tips given in the neutral zone and write down which communicators go with which zones when they tell you. It will save you time experimenting if you forget.

- Once you have the bazooka, you will never need another weapon unless there is a barrier you have to use another weapon to get past. Even then, if you die and continue you can then use the bazooka on that stage since the barrier will stay gone.
 
BTails said:
OnPoint, doesn't the Disk System also have the option to use batteries? Maybe you could try that while waiting for the AC Adapter.

Have you cracked open to RAM unit? Sometimes it's very easy to see a problem (and other times its impossible, but hey worth a shot!).
Click to expand...
Oh I could try batteries, didn't think of that. I could also try to open the RAM unit. I'll see if anything looks amiss.
 
Played sone more tonight, was able to level up, farm continues and progress to the second to last level - before realizing what time it is and that i have to wake up in four hours. I will say though that Im really happy we choose it for november, as i am now officially a huge fan. Except that Donkey Kong-level bullshit, fuck that.
 
The hardest most unenjoyable part of BC was stage 1 when you're getting a feel of the strange controls and you can't make any mistakes as you have no life bar or just one bar. I thought the whole game would be like that, but no, it's a good game.

Once you know how to play, it's actually a bit too much of a piece of cake though. When I got to a boss fight and he would make a threat, I would just go around him and shoot the reactor 3 times and win. Even if I got hit, it made no difference. I had a huge life bar, and I could even replenish it.
 
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