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[Speevy]

This thread is dedicated to the pinnacle of arcade-era game consoles. In the mid 1980's, Nintendo released what would be the biggest system of the pre-Playstation era.

Often in discussing gaming's past, we roll our eyes and speed past the NES because it's just...there. It didn't have any real significant competition, its game library was what many of us grew up on both on systems and in the arcade, and it represented the absolute height of Nintendo's dominance in the gaming industry.

My questions for you are as follows:

1) What are your favorite NES games?
2) How and when did you first obtain an NES?
3) Give a memorable NES moment.
4) What do you think the NES' legacy is?

Some Major Peripherals

The System (as most of us would know it)

The Cartridges

The Zapper (light gun, came with the NES/SMB/Duck Hunt bundle)

NES Powerpad (The NES dance/aerobics/track and field mat. As strange as it may sound, DDR wasn't invented yet)

ROB (mostly a marketing device, worked with a few games like Gyromite. Don't ask me. I didn't own one.)

The Power Glove (If you've never heard of it and are baffled about how this enhances the gameplay experience, you can now join the millions0

The NES Advantage Joystick

The NES Max Controller

Next: The Games...

 

[Speevy]

Super Mario Brothers

Super Mario Brothers 2

Super Mario Brothers 3

Duck Hunt

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda: The Adventures of Link

Metroid

Castlevania

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

 

[Speevy]

Castlevania 3

Ninja Gaiden

Ninja Gaiden 2

Ninja Gaiden 3

Contra

Donkey Kong Classics (includes original DK and DK Jr.)

Little Nemo: The Dream Master (a personal favorite)

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy 2

Tecmo Bowl

 

[Speevy]

Punch Out

Blades of Steel

Mega Man Series (there were a ton of these games on the NES, I think you get the point)

Bubble Bobble

Bubble Bobble 2

1942

1943

Bomberman 1 & 2

 

[Speevy]

Double Dragon

Double Dragon 2

Excitebike

1943

Bases Loaded Series

Bionic Commando

Burgertime

Ghosts and Goblins

Galaga

Kung Fu

 

[Speevy]

Marble Madness

Battletoads

Paperboy

Skate or Die

StarTropics

Wario's Woods

RC Pro AM

California Games

Kid Icarus

Ice Climber

 

[shuri]

 

[Fantasmo]

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Monk]

Airwolf Jap

Sweet Home

 

[Speevy]

You forgot blowing on the cartridge.

 

[VALIS]

Kickle motherfuckin' Cubicle

 

[mCACGj]

Every day I appreciate my NES, and how great it was/is. I love it so much.

However, California games was AWFUL on NES, Sega Master System's version was playable, and an awesome game. On NES however, California games was pretty much unplayable.

 

[explodet]

Ice Hockey!

Pro Wrestling! (a winner is you)

Metal Gear!

Gradius! Life Force!

Ducktales!

Adventures of Lolo!

River City Ransom!

Crystalis!

Deadly Towers! (just kidding, put the rocks down)

 

[Red Scarlet]

Metroid 2 was on the Game Boy...and your FF2 pic is from FF1.

I never got a green flicker screen..just either grey with no flicker, or blue+black flicker.

I'd add the Dragon Warrior games, but I'm not finding shit for good NES version pictures on google.

Some other games not listed:

Super Dodge Ball

Magic of Scheherazade (glad I have the cart handy to get the name right)

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

 

[MightyHedgehog]

1) What are your favorite NES games?
Super Mario Bros. 1, 3
Batman
Ninja Gaiden 1, 2
Metroid
Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
Pro Wrestling
Willow
Legend of Zelda 1, 2
Magic of Scheherezade
Dragon Warrior 2, 3, 4
Metal Gear
Contra & Super C
Metal Storm
R.C. Pro Am 1
Battletoads
Pinbot
Cobra Triangle
Snake Rattle 'n Roll
Codename: Viper
Wizards and Warriors 1
The Goonies II
Kid Icarus
Battle of Olympus
River City Ransom
Double Dragon 1, 3
Castlevania 1, 3
Balloon Fight
Ice Climber
Wrecking Crew
Tag Team Wrestling
Clash at Demonhead
Conquest of the Crystal Palace
Tecmo Bowl & Super Tecmo Bowl
Mega Man 1, 2, 3
Kabuki Warrior
Zanac
Duck Tales
Strider
Bionic Commando
Super Dodge Ball
A Boy and his Blob
Blaster Master <---- <3<3<3 (BM love...forgot about that one)
Tombs and Treasures

2) How and when did you first obtain an NES?
At US launch by selling off my entire Atari 2600 collection (over 200 games) and putting that together with newspaper selling money.

3) Give a memorable NES moment.
Failing the pixel-perfect jump to reach Chunk's cell for the millionth time and flinging my NES against a wall in anger. Flip-lid broke off and case was cracked, but it still worked...and then made the jump successfully on first try afterward.

4) What do you think the NES' legacy is?
It was the first console to have just about everything for anyone...first truly mainstream console...so many of today's great developers made their mark on this system.

 

[Amneziak]

This game was one of my favorites; the art and atmosphere were unmatched on the NES (with the exception of one of my other favorites: the Ninja Gaiden series).

I found some of this concept art on a Japanese website:

My favorite NES game of all, though, was Castlevania III (I won't bother posting any shots as most gamers are familiar with it).

To answer the other questions, (1) I got mine for christmas when I was eleven (1986); played it all the time for years, even after I got a Sega Genesis. (2) Once, I punched a friend in the face because he reset my NES when I finally made it to Mike Tyson in Punch-Out!! and (3) Nintendo saved video-games from obscurity after the crash and paved the way for every home console since.

 

[Red Scarlet]

Hahaha, I was just thinking about that game (The Immortal) at school today, for no reason at all (well, maybe that I'd like to play it again).

 

[djtiesto]

1. Favorite Games:
-Final Fantasy 3j
-Dragon Warrior 4
-Life Force
-Ninja Gaiden 2
-CV3
-Super Mario 3
-Contra

and...

WRECKING CREW:

MIGHTY BOMB JACK:

2. For my 5th birthday, my uncle got me a PXL-2000 camera... it was basically a primitive camcorder... you could use it to record a black and white picture and play on a small 7" TV it came with. It was costly and pretty pointless, but it was cool technology at the time (probably around 1987-1988) or so... Parents decided to take it back after I only played with it once, and then decided to buy me a bike and a Nintendo Entertainment System, cuz that's what all the kids had. Best 2 birthday gifts ever - since that day I've been addicted to both biking and gaming First game I got was Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt and me, my mom and dad would all play the game together... we all must've ran into the Goomba on the first level about 30 times before we realized we could jump over him! Later that afternoon, I remember my mom making it past the whole first board, and going down into level 1-2... I was so amazed, this had to be the coolest thing I've ever seen. Then, I got Legend of Zelda, Mario 2 (my dad had to dive into the crowds at Toys 'R Us to get a copy), and Mickey Mousecapade for Xmas... Zelda quickly became my favorite.

3. When Final Fantasy came out, I was dying to play it. I read about it in Nintendo Power, and it sounded like such an amazing game with an interesting story. I got it, and then my friend and I would play for HOURS on end, levelling up and tackling the dungeons. I remember when we were in the Sky Palace trying to fight Tiamat, then WarMech attacked and nuked us.

4. The legacy is it established many of the genres we play today, and the concepts of these games are still relevant today. It also single handedly brought back the video game industry.

 

[kumanoki]

Where is the Blaster Master love?

 

[djtiesto]

LIFE FORCE:

DRAGON WARRIOR IV:

METAL STORM:

POWER BLADE:

 

[sc0la]

Where is the Blaster Master love?

In my pants

 

[koam]

In the mid 1980's, Nintendo released what would be the biggest system of the pre-Playstation era.

I have problems with the last part of that phrase.

 

[OmniGamer]

My questions for you are as follows:
1) What are your favorite NES games?
2) How and when did you first obtain an NES?
3) Give a memorable NES moment.
4) What do you think the NES' legacy is?

1) Good God...SMB, SMB2, SMB3, LoZ, Z2:TaoL, MM2, MM3(they tie for my fave NES MMs), Double Dragon 2, FINAL FANTASY!, DRAGON QUEST!(those 2 started my love for RPGs), METROID, RC Pro Am, Contra, Super C, Blaster Master, Ducktales, Wizards&Warriors 2(couldn't get far for shit, but good music), Battletoads, Little Nemo, TMNT, TMNT2, Astynax, Hudsen's Adventure Island, probably several others

2)Christmas right before my 4th birthday I believe(which would have been 12/85...if not then definitely before my 5th birthday, 12/86). It came with the NES, 2 controllers, the Zapper, and the SMB/Duckhunt 2-in-1 cart...I was sick that christmas(literally had a puke bucket by my bed), so I didn't play it much, but I saw my dad demo it a bit for me)

3)Several...Seeing my dad play SMB2(my dad was so not a gamer at all, it would be like seeing the average dad in your mom's bra or something...i would not see him play again ever again until he unpaused my practice game of SFIII:Second Impact on Dreamcast)

My best friend and I beating Final Fantasy during a sleepover(first in fact) during Easter Break. It was his game, but we both had the Nintendo Power Strategy Guide, and took turns playing it and raising our party.

Getting THREE(!!!) games at one time....my dad was not a big spender on videogames, but there we were, i think in (Nobody Beats) The Wiz...2 of the 3 i'm rock solid sure on, it was Tetris, Astynax, and I believe Adventure Island...my dad told me he mainly got Tetris for my mom, to which at the time i thought "yeah right, like she's going to play games"...oh my....

My Mom became OFFICIALLY addicted to Tetris, and still plays it to this day(Tetris DX on GBC that is)...I would have never thought i'd be competing for play time with my mom :lol, and she's pretty damn good too.

Seeing my mom play Super Mario Bros....by this time i was mainly playing SNES and Genesis, so the NES was hooked up front in the living room, so it was all hers(though she'd still come in my room to play Super Scope 6, her "next-gen" addiction). It was funny when she would get pissed off because all those years when i would get pissed off, she'd chime in in typical mother fashion, "it's just a game, don't get so worked up". Man i just felt like yelling out "Dem cheep-cheeps and para koopa troopas are a bitch ain't they Mom?" But anywho, the real point of this moment is when she beat SMB all by herself, from start to finish(no warping either i believe). Sometimes we'd alternate levels, or i'd do a hard part for her, but it was all her, go mom!

The blinking/looping startup of doom...followed by blowing maniacally into the cart and/or NES.

4)So many great franchises started on the NES...my love of games started with the NES, it's tied into a lot of great childhood memories. I feel very lucky to have started with the NES(as opposed to the SNES/Genesis, PS/Sat/N64, or worst, this gen)...I might not have been around for the start of home consoles, but I think I got in on a low enough floor to truely appreciate the steady rise to the unseen penthouse in the sky. I consider myself unspoiled...I can ooh and aah and fap to great screens, vids and specs, yet still go old school and not bitch.

 

[djtiesto]

The games that made me into a Falcom fanboy:

FAXANADU:

LEGACY OF THE WIZARD:

Some more:

DUCK TALES:

RESCUE RANGERS:

MACH RIDER:

SHADOW OF THE NINJA:

GOONIES II:

 

[Speevy]

I have problems with the last part of that phrase.

Well it certainly had the biggest library and total unit sales of any one system before that time. But that's not what this thread is about.

 

[FortNinety]

The games that made me into a Falcom fanboy:

FAXANADU:

LEGACY OF THE WIZARD:

Some more:

DUCK TALES:

RESCUE RANGERS:

MACH RIDER:

SHADOW OF THE NINJA:

GOONIES II:

You sir have good taste!

 

[djtiesto]

Well it certainly had the biggest library and total unit sales of any one system before that time. But that's not what this thread is about.

I couldn't take anybody seriously as a gamer if they've never owned an NES...

 

[Ecrofirt]

I love my NES.

I've got something like 10 consoles. They're in storage now, so I'm not exactly sure of the number. Maybe it's more like 7 or something.

I know I have at *least* 5 tray loaders, and one top loader, but I think I've bought another tray loader or two since. I can't remember.

I've got around 60 games, not counting doubles/triples/etc. Off the top of my head I've got a double (or is it triple?) of Contra. Two gold LOZ's, two copies of Top Gun, and like 8 copies of SMB.

NES > YOU.

 

[guess]

1) What are your favorite NES games?

Mario 2,3
Zelda 2
Metroid
DuckTales
Blaster Master
Journey to Silius
Metal Storm
RC Pro Am
Rad Racer

and

 

[Sp3eD]

....no....maniac mansion....

for shame....

 

[Ecrofirt]

This reminds me:

Are there any good NES emulators that use filters? When I emulate I usually use FCEU, but to my knowledge it doesn't have the option to enable any filters. I haven't found the option, at least.

I like playing on my PC sometimes, but when I play at 2 or 3x I'd like to have a smoother image.

 

[Matlock]

Startropics, always Startropics. If you don't like that game, you don't like games.

 

[Ecrofirt]

Recca is an awesome Famicom shooter. If you can find it, play it. It's fast as fucking hell.

 

[PC Gaijin]

Legacy of the Wizard was a Falcom game? Hmm, I didn't know that. Was it published by Broderbund in the US? I remember playing it long ago and since I was familiar with Broderbund from their home computer software of the early 80s, I thought they developed it.

The thing I most remember about the NES is that it took me a long time to convince my parents to buy me one. They were always against game machines; I had to "fool" them into buying me an Atari 800 in the early 80s by trotting out the old "but it will help with my homework!" line. My dad in particular hated that infamous early Zelda commercial (the one where the guy is wandering around yelling "Zellldaaaa"). My cousins, who lived down the road from me, got an NES early on though. They were much younger than me (by five to seven years) so I found them very annoying, but I practically lived at their house for a year until I got my own NES (I think my aunt was ready to buy me an NES on her own because she was so tired of seeing me at their house all the time :lol).

Favorite games: Super Mario Bros. of course. The original is still one of my all-time favorite games (I didn't like 2 and preferred SMW over 3). I still play Super Mario Bros. DX often. Just a brilliant game, and still plenty of fun even though I've probably put over a thousand hours into it.

Double Dragon: didn't have a two-player mode (except the vs. thing), which sucked, but me and my buddies played the hell out of this game all the time.

Ninja Gaiden: the last NES game I was really in to before buying a Turbografx-16 and making the transition to 16-bit. Loved the cinemas.

Golgo 13: Duke Togo was the man!

Simon's Quest: another game I used to play all the time with a couple of my friends. None of us actually owned the game, but we rented it often. There was a little Mom and Pop video store that rented NES games for 99 cents that we went to all the time. I have many fond memories of going to that video store with a few of my buds, renting a bunch of NES carts (99 cents was damn cheap even back then), going next door to the grocery store and buying a bunch of the greasy, nasty, cheap little frozen pizzas, then spending all afternoon playing games. Good times.

Honorable mentions: Goonies, Shadow of the Ninja, Kabuki Quantum Fighter, Air Fortress, Guardian Legend, Battle of Olympus, Battletoads, T.M.N.T., Bubble Bobble,....sheesh, too many to list.

 

[Loki]

No Xevious: The Avenger love? For shame...


Spelunker was great, too, though I forget if that was on the NES or the Atari 2600 (Tutankhamen was great on the 2600 ).


Oh, and Solomon's Key for the NES-- awesome, unique game from what I remember. Anyone else like Breakout for the mindless shooter fun of it? (or was it "Breakthru"? It was a military car-type vehicle side-scroller where you umm...dodged boulders and stuff-- never got far because it was my friend's, not mine)

 

[Do The Mario]

1) What are your favorite NES games?

Super Mario Bros
Super Mario Bros 3
BattleToads
SnowBros

2) How and when did you first obtain an NES?

Back in the day

3) Give a memorable NES moment.

Playing SMB3 for the first time

4) What do you think the NES' legacy is?

SMB3

 

[Ristamar]

A small sample of a few of my favorites that haven't been pictured yet:

 

[lordmrw]

Favorite Nes games: Ducktales, Faxanadu, Super mario Brothers 3, Dragon Warrior 3, Final Fantasy, Crystalis, Magic of Scheherezade, Shatterhand, Shadow of the Ninja, Bionic Commando, Kickmaster, Batman, Batman: Revenge of the Joker, Kid Icarus, Ninja Gaiden series, shit I could keep going.

How and when did you obtain an Nes: At the time it came out, all of my older brothers still lived at home. When the Nes came out, my oldest brother bought one not too long after it came out. Almost every week after that he would buy a new game.

Give a memorable Nes moment: Around my 8th or 9th birthday, my father sent me some birthday money. So of course I wanted to buy a game. I went with my mother and one of my older brothers, and he kept pointing out all the really good games, but I had my mind set on X-Men, since we had hundreds of the comics. I remember almost crying in the store when my brother kept saying don't get that. Well, I bought it, and when we got home it turned out to be one of the biggest pieces of shit ever in human history. All of my older brothers proceeded to beat the shit out of me for being so damn dumb.

What was the Nes legacy: its debatable, but if the Nes weren't around, many of the franchises we hold so dear might not exist today.

 

[the year 20XX]

Spiritual Warfare!

It's... the best of the Wisdom Tree games, anyway.

 

[Red Scarlet]

Ah man, I forgot about Clash at Demonhead..great fun.

 

[Community Forum]

Commercial GET!

Lots of old Nintendo commercials here...

http://www.retrojunk.com/video/1/retro-tv-commercials.html

Be sure to check out the one called Second Zelda commercial.

 

[Parallax Scroll]

Just played my NES yesterday. Tried to beat Metroid without ever getting the Ice Beam. Hard.

 

[demi]

Startropics, always Startropics. If you don't like that game, you don't like games.

star mothafuckin' tropics in the hizzzouse

Out of all my NES games, both Star Tropics 1 and 2 are complete, box and all. Even comes with Dr. J's note!

STAR TROPICS

Why Nintendo hasn't bothered with some form of remake or something is beyond me.

 

[Fix]

Wow. Thanks for this. I'd almost forgot why I love this stuff.

 

[FortNinety]

star mothafuckin' tropics in the hizzzouse

Out of all my NES games, both Star Tropics 1 and 2 are complete, box and all. Even comes with Dr. J's note!

STAR TROPICS

Why Nintendo hasn't bothered with some form of remake or something is beyond me.

I think it actually speaks of why they are where they are.

 

[demi]

Are you talking about the note?

btw why did i say Dr. J it's UNCLE STEVE

 

[truffleshuffle83]

first of all i love my nintendo and i am a collector here are a few pics on my computer of my collection , but have about 100 more complete since these were taken. right now i have about 410 vomplete nes games

 

[Dreamfixx]

What was Startropics about? I never got to play it. :/

 

[truffleshuffle83]

top view action/rpg about a boy who is looking for his lost uncle on an island. very fun yo-yo action

 

[Laurent]

First, this is an opportunity for me to plug a thread I've created at the beggining of March: The Famicom Years... (Am I retro or just really-really-really late?)

I've received my NES on Christmas day 1985. It was the Zapper / R.O.B. bundled with Duck Hunt and Gyromite. I then had Contra, Super Mario Bros. 2: Mario Madnes (I exchanged a closet full of G.I.JOE for this game), Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Ghostbusters, Super Mario Bros. 3 [IMPORTED JAPANESE COPY], Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt (the only way the original Super Mario Bros. was available back then) and Dr. Mario.

I then sold my early games before the Super NES was released in 1991. This is my list of current games (including recently bought):

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. [IMPORTED JAPANESE COPY]
Super Mario Bros. 2: Mario Madness
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3 [IMPORTED JAPANESE COPY]
Duck Hunt
Dragon Warrior
Ghostbusters
Dr. Mario
110 games in 1 [PIRATED CHINESE CARTRIDGE]
Goonies II
Ninja Gaiden

I really hope to eventually get Super Mario Bros. 2: Lost Levels, even thought the only legit way to play it is on a Famicom Disk System. I did rent a pirated version of it back then, when I thought it was suposed to be an early release of Super Mario Bros. 3 (which I finally did rent, and bought - my imported japanese copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 listed above). Needless to say that I thought the game was too difficult and crappier than the previous Super Mario Bros. 2: Mario Madness. "What's that? A death mushroom? Yuck..."

I also bought the famous NES 72 Pin Connector Replacement to get my system working without having to do the "ritual" over and over and over again. It works much better than before, althought it hasn't made my old NES working like a new one, like I was hoping...