This Trio Of New Games Proves That The NES Is Alive And Kicking

Damien, does your office ever get copies for tryout, lease or to keep when these retro games are produced? Understanding their numbers are small, they probably don't give too many away. I'd just love to see a review or maybe an article on their overall quality over the past few years, since retro games continue to pop up every few months. Thanks again, good stuff as always.

is Nintendo life thinking of doing some reviews for these?

review wuold be really interesting !

Looking forward to them reviews.

I'd certainly look forward to those reviews too

I'm interested in some reviews.

It would be nice to see some reviews!

Thanks four that "four decades" swipe. I suddenly feel much older than I did before reading this!

I agree. A review for curiosity would be neat. Thanks for the update nonetheless

If you guys haven't already, you should also review Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril.
Like everyone else, I would love to see reviews of these games!

These are not official games. I wouldn't waste my time (and money) for unlicensed cartridges that were made in a basement by back-alley third-party corporations out of Taiwan.

I'd like to see some reviews.

Reviews would be great!

Yes, any more attention to retro NES and SNES would be fantastic!

Those boxes look shiny new!

Reviews would be awesome I might buy them if they are good.

notices a furry on Nomolos

SIGN ME UP!

If only they would also make their way onto the eshop. Gamepad support is something I wish all games had!

i want a review, i remember when battle kid came out you said you would do a review but never did!

ive got all these games, no surprise...
waits for corbs bk1 review
ive beat bk 1 and nomolos, ill be patrolling the homebrew reviews

I purchased a couple of reproduction cartridges a couple months ago: Sweet Home and Secret of Mana 2. They're really good. They came with boxes and manuals, though I think I probably just should've purchased the cart only.

@Peppy_Hare
as long as you know theres a difference between homebrew and repro carts

here, take my request for reviews!

@Omega All u just said is that u require some large corporation, which only offers financial backing, to qualify a game as "quality" in your mind. Independent dev teams have made some of the best and most innovative titles in the past couple of years. You err, Sir.

I know the guys who made these things by association as they all post over at NintendoAge. They really put their all into these games much I think in the way developers did back in the early early days when it was like one man or just a few man teams bringing their imaginations to life where you had the right to be more creative and free with things compared to the manufactured hollywood me too angle seen now on a disc. The prices on these games as a cart is as cheap as an old GB game was new in the day, boxes bring it up to the old retail NES level more or less so if you have the hardware give it a go.

Wouldn't it be more popular and profitable to just throw these things up on Wii/3DS VC. Pier Solar is gonna make a killing when that goes onto WiiU

@NimH: What I mean is that I wouldn't play/buy any unofficial games that are not quality-tested by Nintendo. They simply don't count in my collection.
@MadAussieBloke: That would mean that they must be licensed and approved by Nintendo. The developers and the games.

@Omega If you're going to all that trouble to create games that only 10 people will buy (that's if they're any good to begin with) then I would rather go the whole hog and get them lincensed. All the better for the long haul and guaranteed profit if the developers aren't going to push their software properly it means they don't have much faith in it and this leads me to believe these games will probably be mediocre anyway.

I agree.

Battle Kid TWO!!! Finally!!! Can't wait to see the sequel to the... greatest... game of......... OK, I give. What the crap is Battle Kid?

Anyone remember the Battle Kid episode of Continue?

@Le_Wario26
yeah it was cool

You guys really don't get it do you? It's not a lack of faith in what they're making, it is a faith in the original hardware and wanting to make something for it specifically as fans of the system itself. Also you have to realize if you're going after a Nintendo license, it requires a Nintendo dev kit, and those are anything but cheap. Those who made BK1+2, Assimilate, Nomolos and others not on this piece are doing it in their spare time, it's not a paying job, they're fans, that's it and not loaded nor pulling enough clout to get a license.

Now I can't speak for the quality of Nomolos but I have sampled Battle Kid and Assimilate and had they popped up back in the circa 1990 era you wouldn't find them anything lacking content wise that wouldn't get a license had they been picked up by some developer back then. The games are solid, lot more solid than some of the garbage that did get licensed like pretty much anything LJN and THQ sullied the NES with.

Do they have the Nintendo Seal of Quality?

What I want to know is: why are you people even questioning whether or not this is Nintendo licensed?! Correct me if I'm wrong but afaik you can't get Nintendo to license any games for a console they don't even make any more! So the only option to make new games for an old console is to make it unlicensed. & if it's the developers dream to make games for their favourite retro console more power to them I say.

& I would love to see a review of these games too, if possible

Maybe they're big fans of the NES. Maybe they only want to make some cash. Maybe a bit of both. I don't know. But what I do know is that I don't want stuff like that in my collection.

I can only speak for myself: I'm questioning it because I don't collect unlicensed games. And that's all. If you still want them for any reason then go for them. I do not mind.

So the only option to make new games for an old console is to make it unlicensed.

Yes. And an option for collectors would be: Collect all the licensed titles first. I doubt that anybody already has all of them.

Omega - your collection also does not include the super-rare unlicensed Camerica and Tengen games from the late 80's, right? I remember those were sought after and would guess have a high degree of value due to the number created, especially the Tengen Tetris game.

Don't judge a game by it's lack of license! There's enough games out there that didn't get the Nintendo Seal of Quality to justify this argument.

It doesn't matter what I have in my collection or how good/bad unlicensed games are. I don't want them because I'm a Nintendo fan and not fan of any kind of homebrew stuff.

If you collect stamps. Would you want to add a stamp to your collection that I just printed with my inkjet printer?

You're totally entitlled to shape your collection the way you want. I buy games to play them and associate a little bit of my 8-bit nostalgia. I asked if those Tengen and Camerica games were in your collection because they are also unlicensed but created in a box and instructions just like these homebrews were. Except for the part that they were actual companies.

Of course it matters how good or bad unlicensed games are. That's one of the points from this thread above and what I'm trying to convey to the rest of my fellow gamers - just because it is not licensed by Nintendo, it's not necessarily a complete judgment call on its quality.

...just because it is not licensed by Nintendo, it's not necessarily a complete judgment call on its quality.

That is quite possible. All I said in the posts above is that I wouldn't play/buy unlicensed games. And I don't want them in my collection. Why is it so difficult to accept? I don't said they're bad or not worth anything. If you're a collector of unlicensed games I have no doubt it's worth anything- for you.

Not difficult to accept! All I asked was if those older unlicensed games I mentioned met your criteria or not, but you just answered that

@Omega
how much are you willing to let the inkjet stamp go for? im actually interested

I have printed a special Pikachu one. I sell it for $19,98 per piece (+$20.00 shipping). I only have one in stock currently but if they sell good, I'll print some more.
Please note: They are not licensed by the post and cannot be used for postage. Also I print them on toilet paper and the resolution might be lacking.

@Omega
do you have paypal?

Battle Kid 2 looks amazing, Nomolos kinda decent. Would be nice if they came to a VC one day. Or an eShop. Which is where Assimilate'd belong since it'd be better with friends leaderboards imo.

Reviews, screen shots and movies, please!

@Omega Negative, much? They're better than anything you could make, so until you produce a few NES games that are better than what these people have done, don't hate. They're paying homage to an old system in the best way possible: Keeping it alive. What have you done? Exactly. Don't hate.

^ No hating. I just don't want them. If you have another opinion: No problem.

Everyone's entitled to their opinions. I like the idea of keeping a system alive. Right now, though, I really wish there was an easier/cheaper way to get retro titles that were out back then for those systems. I mean to say, I have no qualms w/ eBay game hunting/collecting, my issue is I wish a store close to me would do what Gamestop used to years ago: have physical copies of retro systems/games. As for these, they are keeping the Nes spirit alive, though I'm not sure if I'd want them. More enjoyment for those who do, though.

Fwap!