Wisdom Tree is a company that holds a special place in the history of the NES. Born from Color Dreams - one of the first firms to successfully bypass Nintendo's notorious NES lock-out chip - the company made a name for itself by releasing mostly terrible video games loosely based on the teaching of the Bible.
All of Wisdom Tree's output was unlicensed by Nintendo, and titles like Spiritual Warfare and Bible Adventures shamelessly stole concepts from both The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. 2 respectively.
Despite the generally tepid nature of the titles, Wisdom Tree's catalogue has gained a cult following over the years, and now curious retro players can experience all of the firm's 8-bit titles for free. Seven titles are currently available, and play through your web browser using the arcane art of emulation, as opposed to the undying salvation of the Living Christ.
If you're after more of the same, you could try the excellently-named Bible Man (presumably Spider-Man's lesser known cousin) and thrill yourself with Jesus in Space (we really wish we were kidding on that one).
[source wisdomtreegames.com]
Comments 44
color dreams. lol.
i still have a few of their carts. who could forget the classic "Master Chu and The Drunkard Hu"?
I wonder if they'll put their Color Dreams games up as well.
"For Play on Nintendo"
o.O
these games are horrible, no thank you.
This. Made. My. Day. ROFL.
In space no one can hear you preach.
Ewwwwwww......
I actually liked some of their games, though at the time I had not played Zelda or Super Mario Bros 2...
I loved the music from Spiritual Warfare. :3
8bit hymns ftw
In their games, Noah was Jesus himself.
this is the happiest day of my life.
I still got the Genesis versions of Spiritual Warfare and Joshua & the Battle of Jericho. I also have Super 3D Noah's Ark, which I hear fetches a good price on Ebay.
I tried Spiritual Warfare and Bible Adventures yesterday. I can see where they earned their reputation.
Jesus in Space......where is the deceloper's nobel prize?
Cult following? More like growing nightmare. The only game by this company I have is Super Noah's Ark 3D for obvious reasons.
Ive beaten Bible Adventures a few time, prob would have many more time if the dang cart would always green screen on me close to the end of the game. I always love fighting Goliath.
Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!
Were these titles originally "released" in the Godless lands of Europe? I'd like the opportunity to play them all the same.
Incidentally, the only one I've heard of is the one where a boy has to save his girlfriend and he fights (and converts) assorted heathens.
Or did I dream it...
Ah man, they're still in their Wisdom Tree forms..... I wanted to play Menace Beach.
Bible Adventures was a awesome game
Do they have a commentary track by the Angry Video Game Nerd?
... and Nintendo never sued them, fearing to upset the religious communities, so strong in the US ...they just let them do business without a licence
Gonna give them a go tonight. Interesting...
I think Spiritual Warfare is the best game by far. But you move SOOOOOO slow..........
It's kinda funny. Though I did like the games, they were shameless ripoffs. Spiritual Warfare was kinda funny though. Throw a pear and the man would kneel and a demon would fly out. Really?!
cool, an article from NLife that actually respects Christianity.
Anyone remember Baby Boomer by Color Dreams? (Did it come in a baby blue cartridge?)
Wish they could put that on the VC (with the remote as a gun. Though I remember something about those old lite guns working differently from wiimotes.)
Umm...these have been available for quite some time now.
Spiritual Warfare is a good Zelda clone, and Bible Buffet is just silly fun (with very little actual Bible relation, consistly solely of the occasional pop quiz that requires a booklet that came with the game). Exodus and Joshua aren't bad either, though they do get really hard really fast.
haha, I just realized they are playable via vnes. I go on there all the time. :3
...what? ._.
Lol
Bible Buffet, here I come.
As a Christian, I say it's great. As a gamer, I cock an eyebrow. As a Christian gamer... well, at least they're there, good, bad, or indifferent. I kinda hope they bring out Konami's "Noah's Ark" one of these days. That game looked like a blast.
@21: I'm pretty sure the AVGN at least commented on Wisdom Tree, I dunno if he devoted a whole episode to any one of the games.
Ah, the memories . . .that I'm trying to repress.
I don't care what anyone says, Spiritual Warfare is still one of my favorite games of all time. Name one other NES game where the boss is Satan and you have to take him out with apples.
@wooton - was I the only person who read this as written in a hilariously sarcastic tone? "Seven titles are currently available, and play through your web browser using the arcane art of emulation, as opposed to the undying salvation of the Living Christ." - I mean come on...
@ Swerd_Murd Oh, I was laughing. Then I clicked bible adventures, and threw baby Moses to his death again and again. Also, why do Spiders want to kill baby Moses?
@Bakajin: He spent an entire episode reviewing Wisdom Tree's games, and i think another couple episodes on some Color Dreams' games. I love how much more hilarious his videos are if you've actually
been tortured withplayed the games he's showcasing, lol :3also, i suddenly have the urge to play Noah's Ark again just to refresh my memory on how freakin' annoying it was... must... fight it...
@Murd: You weren't the only one to read the article in a sarcastic tone. :3
Jesus in Space: Go on a "Great Commission Adventure" to teach the Gospel on newly discovered worlds.
I think a part of me just died by the idea of a game like that.
YAY......?
ok so how do i play it??
These have been available for some time. I own, & occasionally play Bible Adventures, & King of Kings. As a Christian, I think the idea of Christian moral-teaching games is pretty cool, but from what I know, & have played of some other titles of my friend's Nes collection a long time ago, in addition to the 2 aforementioned games I own, Wisdom Tree needed to make better games.
Also, on an related sidenote: I kinda wonder if all these unlicensed titles' methods of bypassing the lock-out chip in the long-run damaged Nes systems. I think they did to a degree, as the chip is most often cited as the source of lgames failing to boot properly, if @ all, on the original model Nes.
YES!
shame I just bought Zelda last week when I could play it now
@Capt N: Unfortunately, better games require both better budget and a team that really knows its development stuff. To this day, there's a pitifully small selection of decent Christian video games. There have only ever been two officially licensed on game consoles...I would really like to see a better showing.
Exodus and Joshua are pretty decent puzzle games. They aren't exemplars of the genre, but they're a good addition to the puzzle fan's collection.
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