Round Table: The Ambassador NES Games

Yeah, I printed out the LOZ world map to help me through the game a few days ago. Is that normal :S

I love zelda

Interesting chat you guys had here, very well worth the read to see each other's opinions and discuss about them on here. :3 clap clap

The silly certificate thing also has spotpass notifications. If you enable it they'll send you info about developments in ambassador land so it's not entirely pointless. I got a message from it the other day saying "so you worked out how to download the free games and such? This is just to remind you that you can download free games and such"

They also have a video on the frontpage of the eShop now walking you through the download process. So that should make it a bit easier for the technophobes.... I guess....

I never played Wrecking Crew before, and I think its been the surprise hit for me. I don't think Yoshi is the best puzzle game but I've had some fun with it.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the (lack of) multiplayer in the ambassador titles.

For the most part i dont like this selection i mean yeah there free but only like 4 of these games are really the type of game i'd play more then once though the one game i trully hated so far was the golf one for me the controls were terrible(ok i'll admit im a little spoiled by tiger woods and mario golf but still)

Thank you for reminding me, JirachiFan. I couldn't even figure out how to play the golf game. There was no manual or in game tutorial and my experiments resulted in the ball moving a foot when hit. Guess what I deleted first?

im having fun with the yoshi game.you can put your score on friend list for competition.i like all the games but want saves.will we be getting instant restore point for the nes.like we have for gb?

@uei
Because we have no friends

Minus world in SMB??!?!?!?? HOW DO YOU GET THERE?

Haha, great feature.

The delivery system is a horrible embarrasement since just that sort of thing is the reason they had to do this in the first place. I'm a little dissapointed in the lack of outrage from NL on that. Of course us, as Nintendo geeks, made a point to toil through it, but it was absolutely buried and a mess to traverse for any normal consumer. How is that in any way an improvement on all the launch mistakes made that this was supposed to be an apology for?
I guess the point is that the early adopters were only people that are web savvy/ fans enough to dig out those games at any cost, but it's no excuse for such horrible execution.
Anyway, the selection is ok, and I kind of liked the golf thing once I figured out the controls.

Wrecking Crew's a little obtuse for my liking: nowadays, if a puzzle game makes it that easy to run yourself into a corner and get killed, they let you have infinite lives! On another note, I'm shocked at how much time I've spent enjoying Yoshi, even if it does fail to top Dr. Mario.

Hmmm well I wasn't in the NES era and I couldn't care less for these games(I still enjoy the golf game and yoshi somehow).... but well I bought my $250 3DS to play games that are either cancelled, delayed or have no plans to localize.... Seriously, I can't wait for 2011!!!

Lets face it, all these NES games are total garbage for today's standards (most of them were the same at its time also), and these might have some value, if any, only for some old nostalgic users.

Nintendo presented this as a way to compensate these having their 3DS devaluated by 100€ all of a sudden, and I bet most users will be looking at that tiny screen with big open eyes saying WTF is this?? with any of these games.

Been playing a lot of Zelda 1 and 2 and I'm really digging Wrecking Crew too. Besides Pictobits, I had no idea the game even existed.

I love these articles. Also, thanks for mentioning Superstar Saga. It better come or I'll be right there with ya Corbs.

Mandoble - Let's face it - even by today's standards at least half these games are still pretty fantastic, assuming one can get past the low quality graphics. This fairly young (I started gaming during the middle of the SNES era) gamer finds that the game play has held up remarkably well over the past 20-25 years (but I'm also the type of person who realizes that "old-fashioned" isn't always bad and that 90-year old silent films, 150-year old novels, and medieval-era music can be just as complex and high quality and entertaining as anything made today.)

In other words, several of these games have what counts - they're super fun to play, even if you weren't around for the NES era.

Recieving Super Mario Bros., Metroid, and Zelda for free was awesome!

but the other games are not good, and leaves me unsatisfied.

maybe that's why this website is calling it a "scheme"

You mean you guys DON'T have the Zelda maps memorized?

I'm hoping that since I downloaded that Ambassador certificate... that all the GBA games will spot pass their way onto my 3DS all by themselves... I just wake up to 10 presents I get to open ... like christmas... and santa claus ... yay!!

I wouldn't have payed for any of these games.

@Mandable Aye, who are you calling 'old'?

@MasterGraveheart Nope, it's tattooed behind me eyelids for instant reference when needed!

@ potomas We kind of have!

Im calling old myself, but most 3DS users never played NES games.

@Sondheimist, lets suppose you never played nes games, lets suppose 3DS is your first console or might be the second after the DS. Now you see these games that you can download for free as compensation, and then you see the terrible graphics/music/controls, and what would you be thinking? Is that a joke from Nintendo? Are these the typical games that I will have for my 3DS? Might be some one will end returning the console to the shop after playing these.

Love it, guys. Keep up the good work!

im so mad at nintendo i personally think the ambassador thing sucked how about getting something better

@24 if it's tattooed on both eyelids, did you make it in 3D?

It's great to gave free games especially ten of them but of all of them only Zelda II seem interesting to me, everything else are either so-so or decent at best.

Super Mario Bros, Zelda 1 and 2. Those are the games that can keep me entertained for more than 3 minutes even today (unlike the rest of the titles). Hopefully we´ll get some other bonuses in the future, not counting GBA games most of which I already have.

There are some classic games here and I am very pleased to see NES games finally get released in Europe running at the correct speed. I agree they look great on the 3DS screen too, better that the GBA versions released individually as NES Classics.

I'm also getting used to the d-pad on the 3DS and find it quite precise for games I played for countless hours back in the day, like Super Mario Land.

@Ren: "I'm a little dissapointed in the lack of outrage from NL"

Argh. Seriously? Just no.
Nintendo Life staffers, your words are refreshing after putting up with the incredible amount of complaining over this.

Zelda II - wouldn't have played it if it weren't for this. It's horrible. It's difficult. It's cruel. I love it.

I thought the games were a nice variety, to be honest when I first heard that Nintendo was going to give us free NES games I figured they'd be games like Donkey Kong Math, Volleyball and Urban Champion, rather than games like Zelda, Metroid and Super Mario Bros. There are a few games I would have switched up, I would have rather seen StarTropics and Kirby's Adventure rather than Zelda II and NES golf.

@Mandoble
well anyone who buys a game for graphics don't deserve a nintendo game. I grew up on Atari 2600 and SNES. No im not 30 i just enjoy games rebardless of graphics. Anyone who looks a Super Mario and asks what is this? dont deserve Nintendo.

You would be pretty good for Nintendo's marketing department: Hey gents, if you look for good graphics, music, sound and controls, then you dont deserve Nintendo. You might have convinced Nintendo that having SNES graphic power is more than enough, of course without any 3D effects, they would still be able to sell it for 260€ with a building cost of 5 dollars.

^i see said the blind man to his deaf daughter

I totally agree with Waveboy here.

I am happy of getting these free games, and I still have to download the Zeldas and Metroid.

Of the ones that I had never played, the ones I like the most are Wrecking Crew and the Golf game.

I was dismayed of not having a manual for the latter, but as we did in the old days, I just tinkered with the controls until I got the hang of it. Now it is the Ambassador game that I have played the most.

Dying to get the GBA games.

@Sam_Loser2 Of course, but I had to get an upgrade once the 3DS came out, as the map was in standard 2D since the NES days!

What is this crap?! There was no minus world! I tried that and it didn't work.

@uel: You're not the only one. I couldn't figure out Golf either. Nor could I figure out Wrecking Crew, not sure what the point of that one was.

I gotta say I was more than happy with the emulation, as it fills most of the top and bottom of the screen without any blurring like the GB games on the VC. I hope that the GBA ones are emulated more like the NES games, than the GB/GBC.

I like the free games, especially considering I wasn't expecting to get anything at all. But, of course some people will still complain, and as the adage goes "Give them an inch and they want a mile".

I'm just saying, like some others have: Usually I'm one to be pleased easily, and annoyed by all the whining here, but sometimes I surprise myself at how much of a mindless fanboy I am; It has truly been a botched launch and delivery of what should have been a simple program should be a very simple task here and it should have been made easy for all the dedicated and/or newer fans that shelled out for this. Theres no excuse for it being that hard to find and operate ASSUMING they want to keep the new business coming in. I'm not talking about most of us here; I'll show up every time and by their launch consoles, it's the new people they can't afford to lose with these poor interface design problems and they keep on coming.

don't you thinik it is possible that there are some people that DON'T think that those moldyy oldies represent the best of Nintendo? Like those that came aboard for thier innovation on the DS? There was NO ONE that represented what they DID NOT like about the ambassador program, everyone gushing over thier 'gifts'. What ever happened to giving other perspectives to an article other than fanboyism.
_{it is possible to get your point across without being offensive, thank you — TBD}

haven't been able to stop playing The Legend of Zelda since I started

@WaveBoy, probably you are right and I'm insane, but for sure you can't read. I'm not a representative 3DS user, I bet most 3DS users never played 8bit games, and most of them expect to have games with nice graphics, nice usage of the touchscreen, nice 3D effects, etc. And now all of them find a compensation in the form of a pack of games that resembles these that they might have for their cheap old mobile phones, not these games that they might expect for their 3DS.

Guys, the real treat with the Ambassador program has yet to come, which will be the 10 GBA titles. I'm sure both of you have played a GBA game in the last year or so, and they still hold up well today. When they release, all qualms with the NES titles will be long forgotten!

who is rondelvinno or whatever

@fpssoviet, Gee I wonder... Definitely not part of the Nintendo Life staff.

Anyway, I honestly don't think these made up for the $80. I hope the GBA games will give me a reason to pick up my 3DS again.

@SyFyTy If you're not seeing any criticism against Nintendo, you're not reading the whole article.

@fpssoviet Ron has reviewed dozens and dozens of games here for probably about a year. You can look him up on our about page and click his name to see what he's reviewed. He's been a valuable member of this team for some time. In fact, his House Episode 2 review is the second one on the front page banner right now!

I have to slightly agree with the naysayers here, unfortunately. If this is meant as a sort of debate it's not a very rounded out one, because the dissent from any fanboy love of the 8-bit classics has been swept out.
The ones crying 'hater' on us are missing the point: we, too, are 8-bit classic NES game lovers, at least I am. But as a marketing/ overall business move for Nintendo this ambassador program was also not handled well, and that is disappointing to me since I love my DS and I want it to do well.
It's true the GBA games will be great, they probably should have come first and they all should have been accessed very easily, maybe downloaded from a channel just for ambassadors. If there is a channel just for that dopey instruction video, why couldn't there be one to help easily download the games? Or some neat AR card function for ambassadors? Something to court the newer generation from bailing on this poorly marketed machine.

I'm pleased as punch with my 3DS but Nintendo needs to stop being overconfident about it to make sure it sticks around.

@Ren I see where you're coming from. You loved 8 bit games long enough to see most of them so you've probably already played this collection. For some this is pointless because it's old, others like it because their portable and other like them because they're still new. I don't mind a price drop because every generation has a pricedrop. They're gonna happen again. I just like that I got something in return which I have never seen happen before in any hardware that has a new rendtion.(slims, iOS devices, TVs, etc.)

@Uel & @TheDarkness here's how to play golf. choose your speed,(start with slow) angle, your club, your spin, and then get to the swing screen. As the marker moves left press A, (then it starts moving right), now hit A again after the passes your starting point. your distance from the starting point determines the power and slice or curve of the ball-if your left is on the edge of the meter and your right is just past the center, you will curve far left. The distance from the center is also your power. hopefully this helps
@TheDarkness -Wrecking Crew. the goal is to destroy all the lockers, silver ladders, and brick walls while evading the aliens or mutants. climb the ladders, break the lockers with your hammer; bombs break every thing adjacent to it in a sort of domino effect while knocking you to the bottom floor. You can't kill the aliens. If you beat a level, race the other plumber to get the coin in the brick walls. This game is a little bit more of a puzzle in later levels-finding ways to avoid enemies while breaking things in the correct order.

@TheDarkness: Nope, works perfectly fine!

Lol why all the Ice Climbers love? That game sux xD

I'm really, really glad that I didn't buy a 3DS yet. These NES and GBA games are fine and all I suppose, but I personally just don't think I would be really happy with them as compensation.

What can I say? Give fans a treat and they'll ask for three more. Some of them just can't be pleased. So I say let them live their miserable lives of wanting more and more.

I love these roundtables. Great conversation this time guys. I got a few laughs out of it. I love the 10 free NES games. The fact some people are unhappy with them blows my mind.

I'm trying to get myself to like the NES games but the only game I've ended up liking is Super Mario Bros.... Because the games are free and all, I'll refrain from complaining (honestly people, this compensation is a lot more than what you'd get from other console manufacturers), but those GBA games couldn't come soon enough.

well said, Tomas, i take your point. Poor choice of words on my part and I get the point that this is just a discussion. I really meant the tone of the comments, I guess.
I would probably also gush about the games were I in on that kind of discussion, since I do like them a lot, they were the greatest things in my life once Atari tanked and I'd killed all my joysticks.
I actually just find the debate about the direction of the console itself really interesting so I play devils advocate when I try to consider the market of younger players nowadays.
I actually love having these games untouched and portable. I wonder how they've been received by people who are new to them, though, and I'm concerned for the success of the 3DS, because I want it to last.
Weirdly, I'm finding Golf to be one of my favorites of them since I played the others to death when they came out, but golf? Once you get the controls it's pretty fun in short bursts. I've never been a sports game guy, either, at least not since these real stripped down ones of old. Now If they included 10-yard fight in there I'd never put it down.
Oh, wait, did you guys get 10-yard fight in the UK? Awesome stuff.

They are good games...... For 8 bits era. I played most of them in My NES (i,m almost 35 y.old) It,s a gift from Nintendo we can replay in ours 3ds. But the point is: are I satisfied with 10 nes games and 10 GBA games for the price of 100 €???
My answer Is nooo. Why nes games and not snes, N64 or gamecube games? Aren,t enought the 3ds to run starfox (or Starwing), smkart, or Ethernal Darkness????
Why BigN don,t give us 1 nintendo 3ds game for free??
Despite I said i,m enyoing the 2nd quest of Zelda I ( and considering to tatto Zelda map in my left arm)

Quousque tándem abutere, Nintendo, patineta nostra?

as soon as they dont slag nintendo off some people start whinging.why are you praising them etc.very strange indeed

nintendo never really went as far as it should have with the 10 nes games. In fact, if you were not of the NES era, these games give the impression that you werent missing much! I deleted everything except metroid and mario bros. anyone who claims that they bought a great new piece of 3d kit to play nes crud like the majority of these nes games is lying. nintendo never even bothered to tweak them or convert them to 3d! like i said, of the games metroid detroys the rest and proves beyond a doubt that nintendo themselves NEED to develop a new one SPECIFICALLY for 3ds.

so boring... thank god there was mario, ice climbers and donkey kong Jr. ok Metroid too only has the stupid password save system.. we are not on a friggin arcade machine..

the rest are absolutely too old to play! i am quite disappointed from the selection. but anyway... that's just me.

i seriously hope that some great GBA games will come out...
MINISH CAP OR DIE!

ETERNAL DARKNESS 3D!!
Now that would be a nice remake!!!!

P.S. OH and i laughed so hard with the "60Hz beauties" comment!

I’ve only played half of the Ambassador games yet. So far I’d rank them: Yoshi > Ballon Fight and Donkey Kong Jr. > Ice Climber > Wrecking Crew. Yoshi's Game B could really benefit from Restore Points since it can take stupidly long to complete these boring stages up to level 10. I will definitely pick this game up again when the updated version releases.
Wrecking Crew is quite frustrating at times and maybe could profit from mid-stage Restore Points. So far i’ve reached stage 30 and am not really getting the game or feeling much reward by completing a level.
If I find a second player I’ll try the games in 2 player mode when they’ll be made available. Even if it’s quite different from playing with another player on the console.
I think all of these are good portable titles and Open Tournament Golf will most likely be too when I’m starting it after I’ve beaten Wrecking Crew. _{IF I’ll be able to do that.}
While Wrecking Crew, Mario, Zelda and Metroid are the titles that hold up well on the home console too imo.
I’ve had no problem with the way the games have to be downloaded and also think the D-Pad is a bit stiff. But it still controls alright so far. Will be interesting to see how it holds up in Metroid Fusion.

The D-Pad on the 3DS is awful IMHO. The original DS one was good, the DS Lite one was great...why didn't they just keep it like that? The DSi one was uncomfortable but the 3DS one feels horrible and stiff. It makes Super Street Fighter 4 a lot less fun to play than it should be because I don't think the Circle Pad is much better for that game either.

When the next version of the 3DS comes out with the second analogue stick built in (which of course will happen at some point), they'd better go back to the old DS Lite D-Pad style and not make the damn thing even worse than it is now

YES!!! I FINALLY GOT THE GAMES!!!!!! Metroid is my fave.