Tag: Nes - Page 12
Learn our shocking pasts
To continue our celebration of 25 years of NES, the staff's gathered around the campfire to share their favourite memories of that little dream machine. Not everyone could make it to the party, unfortunately, but we're sure that those who couldn't had good reason to stay home. Join us now as we lay bare our souls to you and...
News Super Mario Bros. Nearly Had a Shoot 'em Up Stage
Before fireballs came bullets
You might know enough about Super Mario Bros. to win our 25th anniversary competition, but did you know a shooting stage was planned for the game? A Famitsu interview with Shigeru Miyamoto reveals that using Mario's original controls, pressing Up would jump, with B to dash and A to fire bullets, before the team settled...
Features NES Homebrew Is Where The Heart Is
How two indie developers are keeping the system kicking after all these years
It’s nigh impossible to overstate the importance of the Nintendo Entertainment System in video game history: its popularity pretty much single-handedly revived the home game console market in the US, which had crashed a few years before the NES’s October 18th, 1985...
News We Celebrate 25 Years of NES
We're throwing a hootenanny, and you're invited
Today is the 25th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System's North American debut, and we're celebrating in style. This week, you can look forward to a menagerie of features that hearken back to the olden days of 8-bit glory. Twenty-five years ago today, every New Yorker sensed something magic...
News Brush Up on Your Super Mario Bros. Glitches, Tips and Tricks
Nintendo gives a round-up of classic moments
Some of these Super Mario Bros. glitches will be familiar to experienced gamers, but some might reveal hitherto unknown secrets about the little plumber's big adventure. Witness a tiny Mario using the Fire Flower, Koopa Troopas walking in mid-air and plenty of other little oddities that may shed new light...
News Read About the Birth of the Famicom in Latest Iwata Asks
Go right back to the start
Nintendo's Famicom is a piece of gaming history. The company's first cartridge-based gaming system, it set the revitalised the industry and set the standard for what was to follow. Satoru Iwata sat down with two of Nintendo's behind-the-scenes heroes for his latest "Iwata Asks" feature: R&D advisor Masayuki Uemura and...
News Charity Marathon Sees Every NES Game Played Back to Back
Over 750 games in total
Mario, Zelda, Pokémon: these are all good themes for charity marathons, and have raised countless thousands of dollars for a range of charities. Playing every game in a particular series back-to-back is a big accomplishment, but how would you feel about playing every game available for a single consol
News The First Nintendo Console to Play DVDs was the NES
Well, sort of
The humble Nintendo Entertainment System has been everything from a lunchbox to a guitar, but for those who like the classic experience of putting media in and getting entertainment out will be intrigued by this latest mod that turns the console into a fully functioning DVD player. A little more complex than simply putting a DVD player...
Nintendo Download 5th & 6th October 2010 (Japan)
October begins with Virtual Console and DSiWare
WiiWare's alternating weeks continue, but at least there's the Virtual Console to keep Wii owners happy – even better when the releases include classic arcade games! The DSi has a trio of actual games for a change with nary a lifestyle download in sight. Virtual ConsoleCommando (800pts Arcade, Capcom) – This is the first VCA release from Capcom..
News Nintendo Rolls Out Logo For Mario's 25th Anniversary
Most likely coming soon to a retro enthusiast near you
So Super Mario Bros. released on the NES in 1985. We ran out of fingers and toes trying to figure out how long ago that was, but our theory is 25 years. We feel pretty good about this theory in light of a recent trademark filing by Nintendo of this here image. It doesn't say "25"...
News Planet Earth, Meet Your First Classic Tetris World Champion
It's Jonas Neubauer, and he's good
They came, they saw, they rotated and dropped and rotated again. The first-ever Classic Tetris World Championships took place in Los Angeles over the weekend, and 29-year old Jonas Neubauer walked away with the crown, statue and novelty-sized cheque. Beating over 200 players under the watchful eye of former...
News Clean Yourself with Retro Nintendo Carts
Zombies Washed My Neighbors
Many of you likely have collections of old Nintendo cartridges lying about; boxy relics of gaming's yesteryears great for some nostalgic fun. Still, there has always been one core functionality that these old carts lack: they don't clean dirt off your body. Well, Etsy shop DigitalSoaps aims to change all that with its...
News Science Makes Another Huge Leap Through Super Mario Bros.
Control the plumber with only your eyes
We've had NES consoles controlled by peculiar pads in the past, one notable example being the Castlevania fan who used a dance mat, but what if you could play a similarly legendary, groundbreaking game without any controllers at all? No, we're not talking about Kinect, we're talking about Super Mario Bros. and...
Nintendo Download 9th July (Europe)
Plenty for everyone
As with every week, DSiWare gets the lion's share of releases this week, although most of it is not too stellar, or at least not likely to be. WiiWare gets a long-awaited fighter plus an interesting Nintendo-published title, while VC gets another ninja action game. WiiWareToribash (1000pts - Nabi Studios) -- A very strange fighting game which is quite popular on PC, you fight as..
Nintendo Download 2nd July (Europe)
DSiWare galore!
DSiWare gets another massive load of new games today, but they're probably not the things you'll mostly be wanting to pay attention to - Both WiiWare and the Virtual Console only get one game each, but they're both great and more than worthy of a look-see. WiiWare: Jett Rocket (1000pts - Shin'en Multimedia) -- A 3D platformer with...
News This Beatboxer Has Clearly Played A Lot of Mario Games
Japanese musician performs some impressive beat-coin-boxing
We've seen some interesting 8-bit musical adaptations before, but Japanese beatboxer Hikakin has done the reverse, emulating classic Mushroom Kingdom melodies with nothing more than his mouth / throat combination. It's Rahzel meets Miyamoto in this incredibly impressive display of vocal...
Feature Hyperkin Retron3 Console Review
The unholy three-in-one
Those of you with sharp memories will recall that we reviewed the Retro Duo console a few months back and were quite impressed with the system's power to grant new life to dusty old Nintendo cartridges. We've since been sent yet another of these "clone" systems to take a look at, but this time there's a twist - instead of just playing SNES and NES titles, the..
News NES Autographed by Miyamoto Sells for Just $1000
And not a penny more
How much would you pay for a working Nintendo Entertainment System signed by Shigeru Miyamoto? $1,000? More? If you answered the latter, you've missed your opportunity to bid on this item, sold today on eBay for just a cool thousand. Of course, the buyer may just put the system up for auction again, as surely someone would be willing to pay more. If you're that person, keep..
News Mario Leaps Across the Virtual Pages of Kindle
Amazon presumably thrilled
You might have an Amazon Kindle e-reader, but chances are you probably don't: all that reading is understandably off-putting. You know what might brighten it up? Some Mario, of course. That was seemingly the thought process over at Klab, a Japanese company behind a NES emulator for Kindle. Although it's perhaps best not to consider the usefulness of such a programme,..
Nintendo Download 16th April 2010 (Europe)
Mega Man, Mr. Driller, gladiators and more
There's a little bit for everyone this week, as all three services get at least one good to great title. DSiWare obviously steals the show again with the usual four releases, while WiiWare gets two and the Virtual Console gets its usual one. Keep in mind these games won't be available until midnight (Central European Time), Nintendo has just revealed the..
Nintendo Download 9th April 2010 (Europe)
More DSiWare madness, and a few Wii downloads too
Nintendo really seems to love DSiWare all of a sudden, because it seems to be getting more games than both other services combined every single week now. This time there's not four or five new games available for it, but a whopping six! The Virtual Console gets a classic long overdue in Europe, while...
News Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon Gets The NES Treatment
Classic rock album is re-imagined on the vintage 8-bit
Pink Floyd may be a band that your dad was into when he was younger but that doesn't deny them the privilege of being one of rock music's all-time greatest acts, and their magnum opus The Dark Side of the Moon still sounds amazing even today. But you know what would make it sound even more amazing? If it were re-done using nothing but the NES..
Nintendo Download 19th March 2010 (Europe)
More Hanabi Festival, plenty of DSiWare and one lonely WiiWare game
Several people were disappointed Nintendo of Europe didn't start off the latest Hanabi Festival with a certain vampire-slaying game last week, but there's no need to complain any more - It's out now! It brings with it a rather tedious little NES import, which might also mean this is already the final week of the Festival, as there..
News R.O.B. Display Unit Sells for $4K on eBay
Someone obviously has very deep pockets
Some rich retro collector has just gotten their hands on a one-of-a-kind auction thanks to eBay. The auction was for a display case containing a Nintendo Entertainment System and a Robotic Operating Buddy (better known as R.O.B.). The final figure? $4,150. Sweet. "These are extremely difficult to find, and this unit comes 100% complete in the original..
Nintendo Download 12th March 2010 (Europe)
The Hanabi Festival kicks off, but sadly not with its most anticipated game.
It seemed quite likely that Nintendo of Europe would be starting the fifth Hanabi Festival with some Castlevania goodness, but as it turns out, this is not the case! At least there's two different import games instead, one of which is another highly recommended title. WiiWare gets the short end of the stick for once with..
News Brand New NES Platformer Released
Get 'em while they're...uh gone.
For those who don't know, Sivak Games has released a brand new NES platformer via RetroZone which has completely sold out its initial launch quantity almost immediately after being listed for sale. Rest assured, RetroZone has stated that more carts are being produced and will be available for sale on the site...
News Super Mario Bros. 3 Turns Twenty
One of the greatest games ever celebrates a milestone.
For those unaware, today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America. Having sold over 18 million copies worldwide, it still stands as one of the best-selling video games of all time - and that's not even accounting for the various remakes and re-releases of...
Nintendo Download Blobs, Fighters, Sumo, Magic, Pets, Starships and One Last Notebook (EU)
Finally more than one game for Virtual Console again.
This week's releases aren't too surprising, with many games that have been out in North America for some time. One game, however, that might be noteworthy, can be found on DSiWare. For Virtual Console, there's A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia, the game that inspired a recent, rather good...
Another mega update for North America.
Multiple games were already announced for release this week, but they don't even make up half of the total releases. Each service gets more than one new game, and almost all of them are (or seem to be) good. The Virtual Console steals the show this time though - Super Mario Kart on the SNES is the long-awaited...
Feature FC Mobile II Console Review
NES gaming on the go
Isn’t modern technology wonderful? Thanks to the joys of miniaturisation it’s now possible to enjoy retro machines in smaller form factors than they were originally released in. Take the FC Mobile II, for example – while it’s hardly small in portable terms, it’s a damn sight less bulky than the NES console it attempts...
News Original Castlevania Ported To Half-Life 2, Sort Of
Modder recreates first stage for PC shooter
Dracula's castle has come down with a bad case of alien head crabs. Where are the Belmonts to stop them? Dead, presumably, so it's up to Gordon Freeman to crowbar them into crab juice in this translation of the original Castlevania's first level to the PC's Half-Life 2. The mod retains the same look of the...
News Old Cart on the Block Has the Right Stuff
Rare prototype NES box surfaces on eBay
Every now and then, eBay turns up a real find, something you never thought you'd see in your natural life: a rare console edition, a forgotten classic, a badly beaten prototype box for an unreleased NES game. If you're a fan of the latter, you'll be thrilled by this story that a scuffed box for the sadly...
Feature Retro Duo Console Review
Bring your 8-bit and 16-bit Nintendo titles out of retirement
Retro gaming is a hobby that is both rewarding and enlightening; like leafing through an old book or listening to a record from many moons ago, there’s an element of discovery for those who weren’t around to enjoy vintage titles when they were first released. Conversely, those of us...
News Vintage NES Game Up To $8.5K On eBay
Nintendo Campus Challenge 1991 cart proves yet again that collectors have oodles of money
As a retro game fan, if I had a ton of money to blow I'd probably point my browser over to this eBay auction for a Nintendo Campus Challenge cart and lay down the law. $8,500 of your American currency? Pfft, tis child's play. Forged by Nintendo's blacksmiths back in 1991, the carts were to be used in 58..
Nintendo Download Fantasies, Wars and Words (US)
Square's original RPG classic is finally here.
Just three games this week, but that doesn't mean they're not interesting - Especially not when one of them is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy seies. Final Fantasy on the NES was remade for the Game Boy Advance a while ago, which is possibly the reason Square held off on adding the game to...
News Help People Get Their Wii Consoles Online, Get Free Games
Nintendo of Europe announces their upcoming promotion.
Not too long ago, Nintendo of Japan announced a new promotion - those who helped enough people connect their Wii consoles to the Internet would receive free Wii Points and the ability to download a multitude of Virtual Console games absolutely free. Nintendo of Europe has now announced that they...
Nintendo Download Spaceballs, Shopping Carts, Poker, Street Challenges, Art and Toys (US)
Another WiiWare boost with three new games.
For some reason, Nintendo chose not to reveal today's releases in advance - Not only did they not put a press release on their press site, but they didn't even send one to journalists through email! We have no idea why, because this is actually a relatively solid week - Definitely not as bad as some past...
Features Metroid's Metal Makeover
How five guys blasted the series' haunting soundtrack into a whole different genre - without sucking
The trouble with covering beloved music is that it’s so easy to lose something in the translation. Successfully capturing the original work’s intent and mood is atypical; what most often happens when things go south is the heart and soul of the...
News Buy Metroid Prime Trilogy, Get the Original Metroid Free
Nintendo of Europe offers a free VC game to those quick to the punch.
Two years ago, the original Metroid was made available on the Virtual Console in order to generate some hype for the release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption a few months later. It seems only fitting that there is now yet another promotion featuring the original NES game, as Metroid Prime Trilogy will be released in Europe early..
News What Nintendo games do you want to see on the Virtual Console?
It's time to let Nintendo know what games you want to see on the Virtual Console.
The Virtual Console release schedule has tapered off quite a bit lately, but we can't help but think that there are still quite a few games that could and should see a release on the service at some point. Nintendo's become one of the most popular game developers in...
Nintendo Download MUSHA, Smash Table Tennis, My Life as a Darklord and Puzzle League (EU)
The Hanabi Festival delivers the 300th European VC game.
Nintendo's official UK magazine has once again spilled the beans on the upcoming Wii and DSi update. Surprisingly enough, Nintendo has not chosen to make Kirby's Dream Land 3 the 300th VC game, despite it being a planned Hanabi Festival release. At least the game which is now #300 is a great one! MUSHA, also known as Musha Aleste, is part of..
News What Capcom games do you want to see on the Virtual Console?
Let the good people at Capcom know what you want.
Now that the rate of Virtual Console releases has slowed from a flood to a trickle, it is understandable that many VC gamers have given up hope of playing their favourite Capcom games in the comfort of their living room on the Wii with a Classic Controller. Given the overwhelming reader response to our call to let SEGA know what you want we thought..
Nintendo Download Bomberman '94, StarTropics II, 5 Spots Party, Karate Phants and BOXLIFE (EU)
The Hanabi Festival continues with two more imports on VC, two WiiWare games and one DSiWare game.
Last week brought us the excellent Pulseman and Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen as the first two imports of the fourth Hanabi Festival. This week brings us two more imports, and again, both of them are great! Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II is the second and, sadly, last StarTropics game. You..
News Gold Nintendo World Championships Sells for $17,500
But parting with that much cash wasn't the only tough thing the buyer had to face.
You might remember that someone recently listed a gold Nintendo World Championships NES cartridge for sale on eBay for a whopping $25,000. Well that cart has finally sold, albeit for a bit less money, and it seems the buyer had to go through quite an ordeal in order to finally own the holy grail of video game..
Competition Retro Game Championship Contest Details
Do you have what it takes to win big?
JJGames has just announced their upcoming Retro Games Championship video game competition that will be hosted in Denver, CO on Saturday, July 18th. Players will get a chance to square off on two of the absolute rarest NES game cartridges in existence. All contest details are below for you to check out including...
News NES Controller is in the Bag
Quite literally
Crafty Etsy gal inhope has decided to grace her online shop with this lovely NES-controller bag -- not a bag for carrying a NES controller, but a ladies shoulder bag which has NES controller stylings (it does look like you could probably fit a Wii into that thing along with a large wallet, however). inhope is based in the USA and the bag is priced at US$39.99, though you can get it..
News EU VC Update: Clu Clu Land and Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
Let's see how generous Nintendo is for Europe this week - We get a game the US already has and a game which is already available in a superior form!
Clu Clu Land is likely the third-last non-import Nintendo game for the NES (The last remaining likely games being Golf and Pro Wrestling). You play as Bubbles as you float around a maze, grabbing poles...
News USA VC Update: Life Force
Good news for shoot 'em up fans - Arguably the best shmup on the NES is available today!
Life Force is a spin-off of the Gradius series. You once again control Vic Viper (Or Lord British) as you make your way through numerous stages to beat the aliens again. The main difference between Life Force and the Gradius games is the level layout - Gradius...
News OFLC Update: Two More Imports
It's been quite a while since the last OFLC update, but today they've finally revealed some new VC games again! Both of them are imports, which might mean that another Hanabi Festival for Europe is not too far away.
Bomberman '94 is the sequel to Bomberman '93. If you're familiar with Mega Bomberman for the Mega Drive, this is the same game, although this version is actually usually considered..
News USA VC Update: Castlevania III
Nintendo of America continues their one-VC-game-a-week strategy, releasing just one new VC game once again this week. Thankfully it's yet another good one!
You might remember Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse being released in Europe on Halloween, which was quite obviously a perfect date. Strangely enough it just didn't get released in the US for over 2 months, but now it's finally here! Konami..
