Tag: Nes - Page 12

  • News The NES Story Began On This Day 31 Years Ago

    We are Family (Computer)

    31 years ago today, Nintendo Co., Ltd. released the Famicom console in Japan, an event which would herald the beginning of the firm's wildly successful relationship with home video games. Hitting store shelves at 14,800 Yen (around $145 / £84 / 107 Euros), the system wasn't an instant hit with the Japanese public. Sales...

  • Review Adventure Island (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Skate and die

    Adventure Island started life as the SEGA-produced arcade title Wonder Boy, which itself was ported to several different home consoles and spawned a popular series of sequels with show-stealing box art. NES-owners missed out on the title, and would have to wait until Hudson Soft teamed up with original developer Escape to release a...

  • News Someone Has Beaten The Super Mario Bros. Speedrun World Record

    Game completed in less than five minutes

    Think you're a pretty hot Super Mario Bros. player? You're probably not as good as speedrunner Blubbler, who has just finished the game in 4:57.69, beating the previous record of 4:58.09. Blubber is clearly a talented individual, and in the video below you can see just how perfect this particular run is —...

  • Review Soccer (Wii U eShop / NES)

    A well timed blast from the past

    Just in time for the World Cup this week, Intelligent Systems' Soccer arrives on Wii U Virtual Console – but all is not well. One of the early titles in Nintendo's "Sports Series" on NES, Soccer seems to garner boatloads of hate from players compared to companions like Golf and Ice Hockey. These detractors are not...

  • Weirdness This Cool System Supports Famicom, Super Famicom and PC Engine Games

    Has its own screen, too

    Retro console mods and units are certainly on our list of cool things here at Nintendo Life, and we often take the opportunity to review clone hardware that allows for extra convenient play of '80s and '90s-era systems. You may have the original units in your collection, but as their chips age and if you don't want multiple...

  • Review Double Dragon II: The Revenge (3DS eShop / NES)

    Now actually living up to its name

    As one of the first scrolling beat 'em ups ever made, the original Double Dragon became a smash hit when it was released way back in 1987, and like most arcade games at the time quickly received a port to the NES. A single year later, Double Dragon II was released in arcades and, as was to be expected, it was also...

  • News Nintendo Releases Unlock Code Hint for NES Remix 2

    So many winking Mii characters!

    NES Remix 2 may have been around nearly a month now, but there's a decent chance that a number of gamers are yet to unlock all of the different game challenges that are available. Maybe some of us are particularly rubbish at Dr. Mario, for example. Aware that some may need a helping hand, game director Koichi...

  • News Book Series Will Take In-Depth Look at Original Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack

    By an author who knows the score

    The 33 1/3 book series offers individual, journalistic studies of influential albums by performers ranging from James Brown to Radiohead. In a departure from their standard venues, an upcoming book is going to focus on a smaller but no less memorable collection of work. Super Mario Bros. - Koji Kondo has been...

  • News Sleek Metal NES Analogue Nt Now Available for Preorder

    $499 price point and colour options revealed

    Seattle-based custom console manufacturer Analogue Interactive has spilled the beans on its upcoming Analogue Nt, a sexy aircraft-grade aluminium NES/Famicom we reported on back in March. Set for a release this summer, the Analogue Nt is now available for preorder through the company's website with a base...

  • Review NES Remix 2 (Wii U eShop)

    Electric boogaloo

    Shortly before the end of 2013 Nintendo suddenly surprised us — during a Nintendo Direct, it announced and then immediately released NES Remix, a very unusual but, we thought, very fun collection of small challenges based on various games from Nintendo's NES catalogue. A few months later and, in a different Nintendo Direct,...

  • News NES Remix 2 Features A Mode Which Mimics The 1990 Nintendo World Championship

    Retro sequel hits the Wii U eShop April 25th

    It has been revealed today that NES Remix 2 will be looking to the past in more ways than one. The Wii U eShop exclusive features bite-sized mini-games based on old NES titles — just like its forerunner — but will also include a mode which attempts to replicate the 1990 Nintendo World Championship, in...

  • Review Super Dodge Ball (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Utterly ridiculous and sublime

    When firing up an NES game in the modern day, no less a silly spin-off sports title from the era, a certain mindset is required. If you're intolerant of sticky animation, that flickering effect that NES games have when there's too much on screen and wonky frame performance, there are plenty of games that are immediate...

  • News This Legend of Zelda NES Demake Allows You to Experience Link's Most Basic Quest Yet

    Save Hyrule block by block

    The original Legend of Zelda may seem like a very simple game compared to today's super-duper HD titles, but it's surprisingly deep despite its 8-bit exterior. If you don't believe us, then you may want to check out a recent demake of the game which proves just how much simpler it can get. Created by developer Ben Purdy...

  • Review Clu Clu Land (3DS eShop / NES)

    Spinning from poles as a fish with human limbs...

    Clu Clu Land is one of those unassuming early Nintendo Entertainment System releases that seems to show up all the time these days, from cameos in Super Smash Bros. to minigames in NES Remix, right alongside classics like Mario and Zelda. Even if you didn't grow up playing Clu Clu Land, most Nintendo...

  • Review Volleyball (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Flat ball

    What’s your favourite major sport? If you answered “volleyball,” there’s a good chance that you’re among a minority of sports fans. That’s not to say that volleyball is a lesser game than the titanic football – European or American, your choice – or any other major sport, but it does make one wonder why Nintendo would...

  • Review Devil World (3DS eShop / NES)

    Absolutely Diabolical

    Very few developers can boast the introduction of as many unique and refreshing gameplay concepts as game-crafting master Shigeru Miyamoto. Nintendo’s iconic developer has reinvented and reinvigorated countless genres, breathing new life into stale and tired gameplay tropes and carving a name for himself as one of the...

  • Review Ice Hockey (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Not that cool any more

    Nintendo released a number of sports titles in the NES era, a reflection of a simpler time when having a fancy home console was enough of a novelty that a game simply called Ice Hockey would seem like an awesome prospect. You like Ice Hockey? You've got Nintendo? Get Ice Hockey, which is Ice Hockey on your Nintendo! That...

  • Review Galaga (3DS eShop / NES)

    Space: The Original Frontier

    There are a few reasons so many early video games took place in space. While the most obvious one is budgetary — a flat black background being quite literally the easiest possible background to render, thereby making "space" a pretty natural choice of setting — there's a psychological reason as well: space is a...

  • Ninterview The NES Club and an Epic Collector's Quest

    Take a ride on the ultimate 8-bit road trip

    A major ongoing strength for Nintendo is its cultural heritage, a history in the games industry that makes the brand immediately recognisable to so many. Younger gamers may be familiar with the DS, Wii, 3DS and gradually the Wii U, but we're approaching 30 years of major home console and gaming handheld...

  • News The Analogue Nt Is A NES Fashioned From Aircraft Grade Aluminium, And We Want It So Badly

    From the same guys that did the wooden Neo Geo MVS

    Remember the wooden Neo Geo MVS console we showed you a while back? Well, the company behind that truly elite piece of gaming hardware — Analogue Interactive — is back with something a little more Nintendo-themed: The Analogue Nt. Essentially a NES in a sleek aluminum casing, this system will...

  • Weirdness Engineer Uses Four Monitors to Display Whole Super Mario Bros. Levels

    It's a me, Mario!

    It's always fun when people use their skills to display a beloved video game character in an interesting way. Twitter user Morikuma_Works, who works as an engineer in Japan, has done just that with his four computer monitor display of Super Mario Bros. World 1-1. He also posted a picture of World 1-2, warp zone and all. Quite...

  • Ninterview Aaron "NintendoTwizer" Norton and the Ultimate Retro Collection

    "The history of video games is awesome"

    Even when Nintendo is in a quiet phase between Nintendo Direct broadcasts, or there's a wait for the next hot retail or download game, fans of the company are never short of conversation points. The big N's legacy and history give it a powerful impact in gaming culture, and the keenest of gamers do amazing...

  • Video The Legend of Zelda Brings the Epic in Oculus Rift

    This whole 3D Zelda thing could really catch on...

    Have you ever wanted to be Link? To really see through his eyes and experience his realities for an entire adventure: traversing, exploring, swordfighting, tights management? OK, maybe not the last one. Thanks to Oculus Rift, the concept of first-person Link is being realized; at least for the...

  • Review NES Open Tournament Golf (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Par for the course

    If there's one specific niche of which there is no longer any shortage, it's sports titles featuring Mario. The iconic plumber's unlikely prowess at just about any athletic challenge is now extensively and frequently documented, with the likes of Mario Tennis and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games gracing home consoles on a...

  • News Famicom Remix 1 + 2 Coming to Retail in Japan

    A one-two nostalgic combo right in Japan's childhood

    NES Remix was a pleasant surprise when suddenly announced for the Wii U eShop, and the appearance of its slightly more mature cousin NES Remix 2 is a good sign that this particular brand of retro carnival play is taking off. It may come to the delight and/or great envy of others, then, that Japan...

  • Review Ninja Gaiden (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Original Gaiden

    With a hit-list of sequels and spin-offs spanning more than two decades and its latest iteration — Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge — even slicing out a spot in the Wii U's launch lineup, Ninja Gaiden's reputation precedes it. An East-meets-West action platformer with an Japanese aesthetic and an American action-hero heart, this is...

  • News NES Remix 2 Will Bring Even More 8-Bit Favourites To Your Wii U

    Also comes with Super Luigi Bros.

    When the original NES Remix hit the Wii U eShop late last year, it took us all by surprise. Thankfully it was a nice surprise and is still a firm favourite in the Nintendo Life office. Who could resist a second helping? During tonight's Nintendo Direct broadcast it was revealed that NES Remix 2 will be released on...

  • Hardware Review Retro-Bit Super Retro Trio & Super Retro Advance Adapter

    One clone to rule them all?

    We've covered quite a few clone consoles here on Nintendo Life over the past few years, and it's clear that these systems have carved out a healthy niche in the market. Retro-Bit and Hyperkin are two of the leading lights in this particular field, with the latter looking to release the eagerly-awaited RetroN 5 at some...

  • Review Mighty Bomb Jack (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Pyramid schemes

    Bomb Jack, released in 1984, was one of Tecmo's early hits, a single-screen arcade game that had players rushing to diffuse bright red bombs planted at major tourist attractions around the globe. By the time its sequel rolled around in 1987, the Super Mario Bros.-induced side-scrolling craze had taken hold of the gaming world, and...

  • News Ultra Rare Gold Nintendo World Championship NES Cart Auctioned And Sold For Over $100,000

    Going, going, gone!

    There are some things money can’t buy. Even if you had cash paid into your bank account every time you blinked, there will always be something out there more valuable than silver and gold. Take Time for instance. Time is something that can be spent but not bought, and once it’s gone it’s gone forever. The present becomes...

  • Review Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Super Masochist Bros.

    Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is the famously difficult, Japan-only sequel to the titular plumber's breakout NES hit, expanding on the original formula with deviously challenging level design and obstacles. Western audiences were instead given the comparatively easy 'Super Mario USA' (a re-skinned translation of Nintendo's...

  • Review Mario Bros. (3DS eShop / NES)

    Subpar Mario

    Mario and Luigi’s adventures have been nothing short of fantastical over the years, to the point where you could be forgiven for questioning their occupations as plumbers. But despite the brothers’ incredibly varied employment history as doctors, sportsmen and racing drivers — in which they’ve rarely called upon their supposed...

  • News Rare Nintendo World Championships Cartridge Eventually Fetches $99,902

    Update: Buyer backs out

    Update: The buyer has apparently backed out of the purchase, claiming the bid was a "mistake". Here's what the seller had to say: The unfortunate reality is the second I approached the winning buyer with payment options, they retracted their bid claiming it was a “mistake.” I’m not offering the item to other bidders...

  • News Super-Rare Nintendo World Championship Cartridge Up For Sale On eBay

    One of only 90 ever made

    If you've got a few thousand dollars just sitting in your bank account doing nothing and you fancy owning a piece of (somewhat grubby) Nintendo history, then point your browser at this eBay auction for a NES Nintendo World Championship cartridge. These cartridges were produced for the 1990 Nintendo World Championship event,...

  • Weirdness Someone's Actually Compiled All of the NES 'Start' Screens

    Just, because...

    No matter how much games change, some things stay the same — like 'Start' screens. Nowadays they represent a "this has finally stopped loading, wake up" screen, but in the NES days the focus was arguably different — load times weren't a particular issue, so they perhaps felt more like arcade-style prompts to give that initial...

  • Review Super Mario Bros. 3 (3DS eShop / NES)

    Pixel-perfect platforming

    Many old-school Nintendo titles are remembered fondly and adored by nostalgic fans; The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kirby’s Adventure and more still receive heaps of praise and see frequent re-releases to this day. Few games, however, received the unanimous commendations lavished upon Super Mario Bros. 3 on its release, an...

  • Review Double Dragon (3DS eShop / NES)

    Dragon us down

    From the moment protagonist Billy Lee’s sweetheart is sucker-punched in the opening sequence, Double Dragon establishes itself as an action-packed, thrilling battle through hordes of enemy combatants in an attempt to reclaim the captured damsel. As soon as gameplay begins, however, this façade is quickly stripped away to reveal an...

  • Review Life Force (3DS eShop / NES)

    A force to be reckoned with

    The space shooter is a genre that has somewhat faded into obscurity in recent years, both due to advances in technology rendering their limited scope obsolete and their typically gruelling difficulty proving unpalatable to some gamers. The NES port of Life Force, (or Salamander, as it was originally known on Eastern...

  • Review Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii U eShop / NES)

    A truly super Mario game

    Super Mario Bros. 3’s recent arrival on the Wii U eShop seemed like a conspicuously low-key affair compared to the considerable hype that surrounded its hugely anticipated original release back the early nineties. However, that doesn't mean that the lack of booming fanfare should be interpreted as a cause for concern; over...

  • Review Castlevania (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Just like Dracula, it keeps coming back to life...

    Konami, admittedly following the lead of others such as Nintendo and Capcom, sure likes to remind us it was making awesome games way back in the 1980s. "Hey", it says, "remember how great Castlevania was on the NES?" We sure do, Konami and, oh look, now we can buy it again on the Wii U! It's one of...

  • Review Double Dragon (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Solo komodo

    Double Dragon is notable for a whole host of reasons, among them that the NES version bears one of history's most misleading game titles by being a solo adventure with nary a dragon in sight. It also opens with an iconic, if anachronistic, bang — or, more specifically, a pow. A gangster brute socks a woman in the gut and carries her...

  • Review NES Remix (Wii U eShop)

    Mixing it up

    During what is likely to be the final Nintendo Direct of 2013, there were a few surprise game announcements. One of these was a bit more surprising than the rest, because it was available immediately after its announcement — NES Remix. At first glance, NES Remix might just seem like a collection of NES games, but in truth it's more...

  • Review Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (3DS eShop / NES)

    A fitting farewell to the NES trilogy

    The three Ninja Gaiden games on the NES are remembered with great fondness, and for very good reason. They may never have reached the same heights of popularity as the original Super Mario Bros. games, or even the first three Mega Man games, but they stand to this day as a testament to the classic years of 8-bit...

  • Weirdness Drink Your Troubles Away With This Nintendo Flask

    Non alcoholic beverages are an option, of course

    Retro gaming and whiskey, does it mix? One inventor on Kickstarter thought so. Matt Cornell describes himself as a passionate gamer and one who is lucky to have been raised alongside the video game industry as it has developed. Now he is repaying it with a throwback to the legends he was raised on...

  • News If You Do Pick Up a PS4 or Xbox One, These Skins Will Make Them More Comforting

    NES, we love you

    Well, the 'console wars', 'resolution wars' and 'tedious one-upmanship wars' are well underway, with some pinning their flags to a console and declaring all others null and void. Of course, that's not the healthiest or most useful way to go about enjoying video games, but some will do so nevertheless. But still, it's OK to have...

  • News Rating For NES Remix Issued By Australian Classification Board

    A multiplatform release by Nintendo - but what is it?

    A mysterious rating has appeared on the Australian Classification Board site for a Nintendo title by the name of NES Remix. Listed as a "multiplatform" release — which would suggest both Wii U and 3DS — the game has been awarded a "G" rating, with the level of violence listed as having a...

  • News Give Your Apple TV That All-Important Nintendo Vibe With These Retro Skins

    Love the skin you're in

    If you happen to own an Apple TV unit then you may feel that it's a little too plain for your liking, but fear not — Killer Duck Decals has the solution. The company has produced skins for the Apple TV unit which allow it to mimic classic Nintendo systems like the NES, SNES and

  • Review Wario's Woods (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Kinopio's Canopy

    Wario's Woods has had quite a storied legacy over the last few decades, standing not only as the last officially licensed game released on Nintendo's legendary NES in North America in 1994, but also one of the very first titles available on the Wii's Virtual Console service. In-between those impressive milestones, it made an...

  • Video Experts Believed Nintendo Was In Trouble Back In 1990, Too

    Some things never change

    When you're one of the world's most recognisable brands then it's only natural for people to predict your downfall. That has happened to Nintendo many times in the past, and history is repeating itself as a new console war begins in earnest. Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One launch this Christmas, and these hardware...

  • Review Donkey Kong 3 (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Bugging you?

    When the original Donkey Kong proved immensely popular, Nintendo decided to ride off its success and create a sequel changing the roles, making Mario the villain and Donkey Kong Jr. the hero. What is surprisingly not well known, however, is that there was a third game after that. While the next logical next might have been to allow you...