Kinda odd to me how the USA, one of the onley regions to get Super Mario RPG, is the last one to get it for VC. (And yet there's still no news of when, or IF it even reaches our VC.) Seems latelly alot of good games are coming to the USA VC late, I wonder why. (Probilly not selling well.)
I think one of the main reasons people hate this game is because they can't beat the Iron Knuckle knights in the temples. (I admit, I used to have trouble beating them, I used to use the high jump spell to jump over them rather then fight them most of the time.) Apparentlly some folks can't figure out you can press down to lower your sheild to block low attacks, and attack low (or high) to try to catch the knights off guard. Personally I felt the attacking & sheilding high/low system was pretty innovative for it's day. Once you master that, the game becomes MUCH LESS difficult. (I also must add there is a healing spell in the game you can learn. Wich also makes things easier later on.)
The onley tedious part for me was trying to find your way through the southern maze cave parts. (to get to the third temple by the graveyard.) I was stuck there for a long time, so feel free to look for a walkthrough on that part. I still say this game isn't as bad as most people say it was. (In fact the game was pretty well received back when it first came out. I dare you to find old 80s/90s Nintendo Power magazines and look at the player's polls, and find one issue where Zelda II wasn't in the top 20 NES games as voted on by readers.)
Adamant's wrong, the NES version of Mario Bros. HAS been availible for the GBA before via the E-Reader, and the 5-card Mario Bros. E-card pack. (Wich I acctually do own.) And in Japan it was released as part of the "Famicom Mini/Classic NES Series" for GBA.
And by the way, Tweek. The version in SMB3 isn't the complete Mario Bros. game. It onley lasts a few minutes, (and onley has one Mario Bros. level) and it doesn't have a single player mode. So you don't really get the actual full Mario Bros. game in SMB3, but a watered down mini-game version.
I recall, the NES version of Mappy was also onley released in Japan. (Another classic Namco arcade game.) Always loved Dig Dug, but it doesn't seem as replayable, or as addictive to me as DK or Pac Man. Though the concept of Dig Dug of digging your own pathways is rather innovative for it's day. Dig Dug 2 (NES) was pretty addictive, and good so I hope that comes to VC to someday. (Oddly the sequal NES version was released outside of Japan.)
A pretty cool puzzler, I felt. If you like Tetris, you'll like this. The 100 level puzzle mode is definatelly the best mode in the game, I liked it better then the main game personally. The main game is nice to, don't get me wrong.
Bummer about Goldeneye, but I would love it if they brought other great Rareware titles to VC. I'd even love to see Blast Corps. (Wich was a good underated game.)
But hearing about Banjo Kazooie (originally an N64 exclusive game) coming to X-Box Live Arcade makes me doubt a Virtual Console release of the N64 Rare games. (Exept for DK64, considering the DKC trilogy is on VC.)
Didn't Bionic Commando appear on the GBAdvance a few years back in a "Capcom Classic Collection" game? It doesn't make sence to me why Nintendo would not let it come out for Virtual Console. Was it Nintendo Co. LTD themselves that turned them down, or was it just Nintendo of America & Nintendo of Europe? Either way, that's a bummer. Some of Nintendo's buisness practices/decisions are rather questionable to me. (Why do I have a feeling many more great games will be denied a Virtual Console release?)
As for the nazi thing (whom are the bad guys BTW) weren't they edited out of the USA version of the game, and the bad guys called something else? (Or at least the nazi symbols, and names were edited out.) I never played the game personally, so I'm not sure.
A decent Sega game with great comic book-like graphics, and amusing written dialogue. The fighting system is nicelly done, and has a bit of a simple Smash Bros.-like quality to it. It's fun, but it's very difficult to progress very far in the game due to the annoying "one life" ellement, (and healing items arn't common enough) and it's often hard to remember what button activates wich pick-up-able item. (Wich includes Sketch Turner's pet rat Roadkill, whom does come in handy for deactivating switches.) So those frustrating ellements are quite unforgiveable for me. Still, I can't deny the game offers some nice arcade-like fun, and nice concepts. To bad Sega never made a sequal.
I honestlly don't think this game was so bad. It offers more fighters, more levels, and stuff then previous Golden Axe titles. And in some ways I found it a bit more enjoyable. Most normal enemies don't seem to take forever to defeat like in previous games, wich makes some parts of the game a bit easy, but it's still fun. My main gripes were it's hard to keep the rideable animals for long, (You now hafta press a button to mount them) and they arn't as common, or as cool as the ones in previous GA games. And some of the bosses's magic attacks are a bit cheap. Still a decent game, I felt.
Me neither, BJ. I found Spinball more fun personally. Still the game isn't a bad game, and it's notible as the onley "Sonic" puzzle game. And has references, and characters (mostlly bit-characters) from the old 1993 "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" cartoon series, giving a bit of nostalgia to folks who were fans of that show as kids. The CP opponents can be quite brutal especially in later levels, (especially with the falling speed) but I managed to beat them all eventually. (Takes quite a few tries.) A good puzzle game, but lacks in game modes, and the Exersise Mode doesn't last as long as most puzzlers should. The difficulty levels don't seem much different to me either. The puzzle mode in the Master System/Game Gear versions of this game were great, it's a shame the puzzle mode isn't in this version. Here's hoping those versions come out to VC.
A decent simplistic game. It requires some stradgey, decision making, and stealth making it unique for it's day. Has nice sence of humor to it. (Man, I love hitting people with the doors.) I like it, but it's not an incredible game. It can be addicting at times, and the 2P mode is a nice addition if you have somebody to play this with.
I admit, I don't quite look back on this game as fondlly as much as the 2D Mario games. Getting the 120 stars over an over again, and the smaller (in comparison to modern 3D games) kinda made the game get old to me eventually. But it's still a wonderfull 3D platformer with plenty of things to find, and see. Things arn't always as they seem in this game. This game successfully transfered Mario from the 2D world into the 3D world. Also swinging Bowser around by his tail is fun.
Not a bad port, but the arcade game is better still. (You can seem to play the arcade version alot longer.) It's a li'l annoying how hard it is to get extra lives. The simultanious bombing, and shooting ellement might take some getting used to, but it gives the game a unique way to play that other arcade shooters of the 80s don't have.
Right up there with Mario Kart 64, and F-Zero X, this is one of the best racers for N64. Sometimes it's fun to just relax, and ride around the practice "Dolphin park" stage for no reason. It's also amusing to see your racer fly off their jetski sometimes when you crash. (Don't worry they get right back on.) I also dig the game's soundtrack.
I loved this game as a kid. Me, and a friend once stayed up almost all night making tracks with the track design mode. The way you can tilt the bike by holding left, or right while doing a jump is acctually pretty well done, and impressive for it's day. (You can even do wheelies.) A classic NES game in my opinion.
The game can be pretty brutal at times with it's difficulty, but if you've mastered the original SMB game, it's a great game to play. I usually prefer playing as Luigi, because of his higher jump, even if his skid can be annoying at times. It's nice to finally have the original 8-bit version outside of Japan. (Mabey with luck, we'll get Mother 1 also.)
If you newbie Zelda fans want to know what this game is like, it's basically a 2D "Ocarina of Time." Yeah, it's that good, or at least that's how I feel. One of my favorites of the Zelda series.
Sometimes I like playing this more then the original DK game. As a kid I used to love renting the "Donkey Kong Classics" combo NES game. (Wich featured both DK & DK Jr. squeezed into one game cartridge.) So this was always a childhood favorite. I can't say for sure if people who grew up with more complex games will appreciate it as much as I, but it's a nice piece of Nintendo history. Don't let the "Jr." in the title fool you, this isn't an easier version of DK, but a proper sequal to the original smash arcade game. Plus it's the onley game with Mario as the "bad guy."
I always felt like they should of made a modernized DK Jr. remake game like the old Gameboy Donkey Kong '94 & Mario VS DK games.
While most gamers may dismiss this title, the game acctually would be nice to have if you're grown-up, and have children of your own. (My sister has kids.) It could get them used to math. Nothing like tricking kids into learning with a video game. So it's not a complete loss. So, I'll be more forgiving and give this 2 stars.
While I like this game, I don't look back on it as fondlly, and replay it as much as other games. (I prefer the sequal DKC2. It had better levels, enemies, and music.) Still, I can't deny it's a good game, and a great Rareware title. I hope someday to see more Rareware titles come to VC. (I miss Banjo Kazooie & Blast Corps.) But it's doubtfull sadlly.
A very challenging game, but a great, and classic title. I love the Castlevania series, even though I admit, I missed out on quite a few of the games in the series. Wip it! Wip it good!
Me and my sister used to rent this title all the time as kids, and play it together. It was a nice change of pace from the usual "wait 'till the person's next turn" 2P games the NES usually offered. It was a huge thrill for us to play at the same time. The game is a great old-school title, and offers alot of levels. A childhood favorite.
An enjoyable title, but not quite as fast-paced, or as great as previous (or even modern) Sonic titles in my opinion. It offers some nice "find the Flickies" gameplay ellements as a nice break from traditional Sonic titles. Sometimes the Mario RPG-ish isometric viewpoint (and the fact it's not a true 3D game) can make it hard to tell where some objects are, but you get used to it after awhile. (Like Super Mario 64, use Sonic's shadow as a guide to where he is while jumping in the air.) The game also features some cleverlly hidden items in some areas. (Place behind certain objects.) You can even spindash through some barriers to find new roads/areas to explore.
As stated above the lack of save feature of the original, wich was a major gripe of mine (due to how long it takes to beat each level) is fixed thanks to the VC, wich make this better then the original Genesis/Megadrive version, I feel.
Me, and my sister would spend hours on this game. It's almost like building with Legos, or something, exept you acctually have to manage your town, and try to make people happy. One wrong placed object could come back to haunt you later, giving it a bit of a puzzle aspect to. (Don't put residential areas to close to the power plant, the pollution will bug the citizens.) My onley gripe with the game is how slow your money comes in. (Luckilly there's an option to speed up the course of time. As well as a cheat code that gives you more money.) Sometimes it's fun just to make a town, and then totally destroy it with natual disasters. (Heck you don't hafta save it, so your town will be in tact next time you play.) A Godzilla-sized Bowser attack is a great disaster to witness. This is the kind of game that makes you drunk with power. "Take that you puny sims! HAHAHA!"
Indeed the game is good, it kicked off the sim genre, and features great SNES music. Some of it quite relaxing. (I love the music during the "quit screen" with the sleeping moon.) I like the character of Dr. Wright to who helps you throughout the game. He has hilarious hair.
I don't think it's as horrible as everyone else here, but I admit, it's not a whole lot of fun. I liked NES Tennis much better. The game hasn't aged well, but might be worth a shot if you love simplistic old-school sports games, or if you want to collect ancient Nintendo-made titles.
The more simplistic controls make this game more accessable then most fighting games. (I could never get used to Killer Instinct, or Mortal Kombat's mutil-button combination controls. It's like having to memorize cheat codes.) And there's so many different ways you can figure out how to beat each boxer that make this game very innovative for it's day. Regardless of the later boxers being hard to figure out how to beat, it's still a great game. Plus the funny and somewhat "politically incorrect" boxers you fight from all over the world are very great, and memorible characters. (Plus ya got to love their in-between round text dialogue taunts they throw at you. "You should wear a helmet when you fight me!") Mario also makes a nice referee.
I always liked this game's concept of 3D graphics, with side-scrolling style gameplay. (Sometimes twisting things a bit with multiple camera angles.) And the ability to mix 2 powers to create a new one was great. Like most Kirby games, it's not a very challenging title, but alot of fun. And it has nice music for some levels. (Including a remix of the Butter building stages from Kirby's Adventure.) Trying to get all of the enemy cards from the end-of-level minigames, and finding all the crystal shards adds replay value to the game. (When you get all of the crystal shards, you'll get to play the game's final stage, and see the real ending.) Also it's nice to finally have a Kirby game where you can play as King Dedede, and dish out mallet justice.
Sence I never owned the N64 version (rented it, and loved it) I'd love to own this title. I love the F-Zero series. While I'm normally not a heavy metal fan, the music remixes of the SNES title are a nice & nostalgic touch. The game even oddly features Rainbow Road as a track from Mario Kart. A great perk for the game is there's a secret code that unlocks every racetrack, difficulty, and racecar wich is nice if you don't want to go through the trouble to unlock everything. (It always annoys me when I can't beat harder difficulties, so I can never get something unlocked.)
Like Pong & Pac Man somehow over the ages, this game is a what made games what they are today. Don't let the low-tech graphics fool you, even after all these years, the game can offer a nice challenge to newer gamers. While Donkey Kong was Mario's first game, this game is what made Mario a household name. The game was innovative for it's day full of secrets & surprises. You never know what a brick block could contain, or if you could go down a certain pipe. I never tire of the original Super Mario Bros. trilogy. I prefer their original graphics, and sound over their updated remakes for SNES & GBA personally.
Like most Kirby titles the game is a bit easy, but has great level design, enemies, bosses, minigames, and it also introduced Kirby's ability to copy enemies abilities once he swollows one. (Like if he eats a fire enemy he gets to shoot fire.) The final boss also has great animations for a 8-bit game. I like how one of the final levels in the game is completelly black & white, and looks like the original Gameboy game.
My favorite 2D Super Mario title of all time personally. I honestlly prefer the original 8-bit graphics & sound of the original NES Mario trilogy, over it's remakes for SNES & GBA. It's nice that Nintendo finally released them with their original graphics & sound that I grew up with. It feels almost criminal to pay onley 5 bucks for such a great game, but I can't argue with that, being as cheap as I am. Also the first Mario game to introduce the map screen, animal suits, and a flying ability. And a great variety of levels, obsticles, and enemies.
I think the game was intended for beginner young gamers, so it's a good game for youngsters, and the overall cuteness, and graphics style of the game is amusing. Not as great as Yoshi's Island, but has it's own charm, and it is fun. (Oddly the soundtrack includes a "heavy metal" sounding remix of the current stage's music your on when you become invinsible. And a rap-sounding riff when you're in some underground levels. Kinda odd for such a "cutesy" game.) Regardless of being a N64 title, for how simplistic it is 10 bucks seems like a steep price to me. I wish they had more different idividual prices for games, rather then pricing them by wich system their for. (On second thought, if they did that, they might charge more for "better" games on older systems.)
Like Zelda 2, the game nowadays has become contraversial amongst gamers for the fact it's gameplay is so drastically different then it's prequal, and sequals. (Featuring a "pick up and throw" enemies and objects style of gameplay as opposed to the usual "hop, bop, and stomp" gameplay of usual Mario titles.) Still this is one of my childhood favorites, I don't care what game critics in the gaming media say. It was also the very first video game I ever beaten. (The ending sequence was very rewarding to me as a child.) The happy level music, and sounds always bring a smile to my face, and make me feel like a kid again even after all these years.
Some people rag on the fact that this wasn't originally a Mario game, (in Japan it was originally a game called "Doki Doki Panic" featuring 4 different main characters whom were mascots for Fuji TV) though the game does feature many people whom worked on the Mario series involved with this game, including Miyamoto. (According to Doki Doki Panic's ending credits.) I say SMB2 is the better version of Doki Doki Panic, sence you can run in it, and stuff. In closing, while different then a usual Mario game, it's still a great game overall, and features some nice and fun gameplay ellements. Throwing vegetables at enemies is fun.
The game features creative level designs, boss battles, and characters. The music, and bright graphics are nice to. Almost makes you feel like a kid again. It's no wonder this game has become a cult-classic. Not as fast-paced as Sonic, but a great game.
My first Metroid game, and still my favorite in the series. Such a vast world to explore, and so many great items. If you've never played a Metroid game before, get this NOW! It might be a better game to introduce you to the series then the original NES title. (Especially sence you can shoot diagnolly, and while ducking in this game unlike the NES game.)
I still prefer Super Mario Bros. 3 personally, but this was a great game to introduce the Super NES, and it's capabilities to the world. Also riding Yoshi was fun. My favorite moment in the game is fighting Bowser in his Koopa Clown copter.
The game that made me fall in love with the Star Fox series. (Shame the games afterwords arn't as great.) Nice (for it's time) graphics, animations, music, characters, and wonderfully cheesey dialogue. Barrel rolling to repell enemy lazers, multiple map screen paths, and the lock on feature really revolutionize the flying space shooter genre. I never get tired of this game, it always brings back so many memories of playing this back in 1997. (And I met most of my on-line friends on old Star Fox message boards.) It's always been hard for me to chose between this, and Ocarina of Time as best N64 game.
It's argueblly the best game in the Star Fox series. I will definatelly get this game for VC, and relive those wonderfull memories of Slippy yelling "Fox! Get this guy off me!"
Sonic 3 offers longer levels then Sonic 2, but not as many levels as it, wich somehow make the game feel inferior to it. Though it's still a great Sonic title, and fun to play. You can now make Tails fly, offering some alternate routes he can take, that Sonic can't. Some nice levels, the soundtrack is nice, but not as good as Masato Nakamura's music from Sonic 1 & 2. (I missed the original Sonic title screen themesong.)
Hopefully they'll release "Sonic & Knuckles" as well as "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" onto VC someday, wich is the best version of this game. (Wich you got originally by connecting Sonic & Knuckles's flip-top cartridge with the Sonic 3 cart, in order to combine both games into "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" wich is the "complete version" of Sonic 3. They had to split the Sonic 3 game into two titles, sence it wasn't completed by it's release date, and due to technical issues.)
In anwer to Demon212's question : I take it you meen the "Spindash" move. (Hold down while tapping the button to rev Sonic up.) Personally, the lack of it doesn't really affect the game much to me, (and I personally don't think it does the Megadrive/Genesis version of Sonic 1 either.) the game doesn't have many uphill moments, or anything that would require the spindash.
While Sonic 2 is my favorite 2D Sonic title, (I have nothing aginst the 3D titles like half the word does honestlly, exept mabey Sonic Riders) this was a great game to introduce the beloved hedgehog to the world. Like the old Mario titles, no matter how many times I play through it, I never tire of it. I say, the graphics, and sound are as memorible & unforgetable as the ones in Super Mario Bros. for NES.
Regardless of game critics, and gamers alike putting down Sonic latelly for his recent titles, and directions the series has taken, Sonic will always be as good a video game hero to me as Super Mario, Link, and Pac Man. And I'm glad he's in SSB Brawl.
Takes a li'l getting used to, if your used to more advanced video game pinball games, but it is possible to master this game, and play it for a long time getting really high scores, once you get the hang of it. There's no option to "shake" the pinball table, but luckilly there's no way to ever get the ball stuck. The semi-hidden Mario minigame is great to. The top table features a slot machine, and the bottom one features flipable cards. Get a match in the slotmachine, or flip all the cards, (pretty hard to do) and the bottom hole between the flippers will be clogged, so you won't fall down it, and best of all it stays there, until you slip down the sides. So it's very rewarding. It's possiblly the first video game adaption of pinball, (I'm not sure if it's true) but definatelly not the worst. I find it quite enjoyable, though not as much as Kirby's Pinball Land (Gameboy) or Sonic Spinball. Still it's a nice diversion from those more complex pinball titles. Also the dancing penguins are cute!
An all-time classic. Some younger gamers who grew up with 3D, or those that prefer it's sequals (like Mrs. Pac Man, wich has more mazes) may disregard the title, but it's every bit as challenging, and fun as anything nowadays. It's old-school, challenging, and tests your choice & decision making skills. Regardless of what system it's on, (exept mabey the inferior low-tech Atari ports) I never tire of the game. Even gaming legend Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Super Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, and Pikmin) states that Pac Man is his favorite video game.
I can't say it will appeal to everybody, but the game is pretty unique. The whole 1 hit and your dead thing can be quite frustrating (especially if you accidentlly land on top of an enemy, they hafta come in contact with your "kick" leg to defeat them when jumping.) but overall, I kinda like this gem. It's a nice old-school challenge, and has some nice ride-able items you can obtain like a pogostick and airplane. (You hafta access them by the game's pause menu. If you die while using one though you lose it.) The rock-paper-scissors minigames, and boss bouts can be annoying at times, but luckilly you still have a fair chance of beating them. (Bosses will insist on a rematch when defeated, but you don't have to rematch them.)
Also be sure to collect as many coins as you can in it. For every 1,000 you get, you get an extra continue. (Though you hafta go to the game's main menu options to contunue a game oddly, so some people don't realize the game has a continuation option.)
Like most "beat-'em-up-as-you-go" style arcade games, the gameplay is a bit repetative, yet pretty fun. Some new things like using magic for a strong hit all enemies attack, and using ride-able animals adds some fun ellements to the genre. A classic Sega game, I say. I hear it has more levels then the arcade version, so it might even be better then it's arcade version.
My second Super NES game, I ever owned. (It should be easy to guess wich was the first.) Along with Super Mario Kart, it's one of the system's best racers. The game has nice visuals, (for it's time) nicelly designed racetracks, and it's what made me an F-Zero fan. Be sure to occasionally let off the gas, and use the L & R buttons during turns. Don't be afraid to use the break at times to. It's a li'l frustrating in higher difficulties, but a good game still. Onley major flaw is not all the tracks are availible in the Time Trial mode. (As far as I know, correct me if I'm wrong if there's a cheat, or unlockable code for this.) So in order to play/practice some tracks you hafta go through Grand Prix mode. Also there's no 2P mode. Regardless a great game, and a great begining for the F-Zero series. I might purchase this game again for VC.
I don't understand why people hate this game so much. I liked it when I played it on N64 personally. True it's not as good as Mario Kart 64, Wave Race 64, or F-Zero X, but it's still a decent arcade style racing game with some nice secret cars, (one of wich is a schoolbus) and tracks.
I give this game 3 stars. I disagree with the rest of the planet here.
Not a bad game for the early 80s, but compared to DK & DK Jr. it's not as much fun, or as addictive. And with no extra lives, and the fact that you can onley use the "super spray can" once per life, (it reappears after you die, it would've been better if they had it reappear after every 3 or 4 levels.) makes the game not last very long. It's hard to get a huge score in this game, sence it's so easy to die. It's worth a shot if your curious, an old-school arcade game lover, or if you want to play Stanley the Bugman's onley game.
As an American kid, I never knew the 8-bit Sega Master System existed for a long time, (it was cancelled quicklly here) so I never knew about this title. (I stuck with the NES.) I do have the GameGear version in Sonic Adventure DX, I hear it's the same exept a few minor differences. (Smaller screen, some graphic differences, & such.) It's easilly one of Sonic's best 8-bit games. I even prefer it over Sonic Chaos, and Triple Trouble personally. Sonic also feels quicker, and easier to control in it. (Regardless of not having the spindash like in the Genesis/Megadrive version.) And at 5 bucks I'll definatelly be getting this game so I can finally expirience the Master System version. It's a good buy, I say.
I personally prefer DKC2. The main characters don't feel like they can move around as easilly (or jump as high) as they do in previous DKC games to me. I managed to beat DKC3 in the first 3 days that I rented it from a video store. Though, it wasn't honestlly overlly easy, some of the bosses take some time to figure out, and some of the bonus rounds are well hidden. It's also nice that they brought back the ride-able steel kegs from DKC1, wich were absent in DKC2. The barter system with the bears also adds a nice Zelda-ish quality to the game.
I liked this game personally. Joust, and the downhill race were quite fun game modes. (And that one in the city, I forgot what it was called.) The "High jump" on was quite frustrating though, until I figured out you had to tape the button to go higher. The title screen also had some good classic 8-bit electric guitar sounds.
Comments 515
Re: EU VC Releases: Super Mario RPG and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Kinda odd to me how the USA, one of the onley regions to get Super Mario RPG, is the last one to get it for VC. (And yet there's still no news of when, or IF it even reaches our VC.) Seems latelly alot of good games are coming to the USA VC late, I wonder why. (Probilly not selling well.)
Re: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
I think one of the main reasons people hate this game is because they can't beat the Iron Knuckle knights in the temples. (I admit, I used to have trouble beating them, I used to use the high jump spell to jump over them rather then fight them most of the time.)
Apparentlly some folks can't figure out you can press down to lower your sheild to block low attacks, and attack low (or high) to try to catch the knights off guard.
Personally I felt the attacking & sheilding high/low system was pretty innovative for it's day.
Once you master that, the game becomes MUCH LESS difficult. (I also must add there is a healing spell in the game you can learn. Wich also makes things easier later on.)
The onley tedious part for me was trying to find your way through the southern maze cave parts. (to get to the third temple by the graveyard.) I was stuck there for a long time, so feel free to look for a walkthrough on that part.
I still say this game isn't as bad as most people say it was. (In fact the game was pretty well received back when it first came out. I dare you to find old 80s/90s Nintendo Power magazines and look at the player's polls, and find one issue where Zelda II wasn't in the top 20 NES games as voted on by readers.)
Re: Mario Bros.
Adamant's wrong, the NES version of Mario Bros. HAS been availible for the GBA before via the E-Reader, and the 5-card Mario Bros. E-card pack. (Wich I acctually do own.)
And in Japan it was released as part of the "Famicom Mini/Classic NES Series" for GBA.
And by the way, Tweek.
The version in SMB3 isn't the complete Mario Bros. game. It onley lasts a few minutes, (and onley has one Mario Bros. level) and it doesn't have a single player mode.
So you don't really get the actual full Mario Bros. game in SMB3, but a watered down mini-game version.
Re: Dig Dug
I recall, the NES version of Mappy was also onley released in Japan. (Another classic Namco arcade game.) Always loved Dig Dug, but it doesn't seem as replayable, or as addictive to me as DK or Pac Man. Though the concept of Dig Dug of digging your own pathways is rather innovative for it's day.
Dig Dug 2 (NES) was pretty addictive, and good so I hope that comes to VC to someday. (Oddly the sequal NES version was released outside of Japan.)
Re: Pac-Attack
A pretty cool puzzler, I felt. If you like Tetris, you'll like this.
The 100 level puzzle mode is definatelly the best mode in the game, I liked it better then the main game personally. The main game is nice to, don't get me wrong.
Re: Goldeneye Locked In Legal Limbo
Bummer about Goldeneye, but I would love it if they brought other great Rareware titles to VC. I'd even love to see Blast Corps. (Wich was a good underated game.)
But hearing about Banjo Kazooie (originally an N64 exclusive game) coming to X-Box Live Arcade makes me doubt a Virtual Console release of the N64 Rare games. (Exept for DK64, considering the DKC trilogy is on VC.)
Re: Bionic Commando Not Approved For Virtual Console
Didn't Bionic Commando appear on the GBAdvance a few years back in a "Capcom Classic Collection" game? It doesn't make sence to me why Nintendo would not let it come out for Virtual Console.
Was it Nintendo Co. LTD themselves that turned them down, or was it just Nintendo of America & Nintendo of Europe? Either way, that's a bummer. Some of Nintendo's buisness practices/decisions are rather questionable to me. (Why do I have a feeling many more great games will be denied a Virtual Console release?)
As for the nazi thing (whom are the bad guys BTW) weren't they edited out of the USA version of the game, and the bad guys called something else? (Or at least the nazi symbols, and names were edited out.) I never played the game personally, so I'm not sure.
Re: Comix Zone
A decent Sega game with great comic book-like graphics, and amusing written dialogue. The fighting system is nicelly done, and has a bit of a simple Smash Bros.-like quality to it.
It's fun, but it's very difficult to progress very far in the game due to the annoying "one life" ellement, (and healing items arn't common enough) and it's often hard to remember what button activates wich pick-up-able item. (Wich includes Sketch Turner's pet rat Roadkill, whom does come in handy for deactivating switches.) So those frustrating ellements are quite unforgiveable for me.
Still, I can't deny the game offers some nice arcade-like fun, and nice concepts. To bad Sega never made a sequal.
Re: Golden Axe III
I honestlly don't think this game was so bad. It offers more fighters, more levels, and stuff then previous Golden Axe titles. And in some ways I found it a bit more enjoyable. Most normal enemies don't seem to take forever to defeat like in previous games, wich makes some parts of the game a bit easy, but it's still fun.
My main gripes were it's hard to keep the rideable animals for long, (You now hafta press a button to mount them) and they arn't as common, or as cool as the ones in previous GA games. And some of the bosses's magic attacks are a bit cheap. Still a decent game, I felt.
Re: Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Me neither, BJ. I found Spinball more fun personally.
Still the game isn't a bad game, and it's notible as the onley "Sonic" puzzle game. And has references, and characters (mostlly bit-characters) from the old 1993 "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" cartoon series, giving a bit of nostalgia to folks who were fans of that show as kids.
The CP opponents can be quite brutal especially in later levels, (especially with the falling speed) but I managed to beat them all eventually. (Takes quite a few tries.)
A good puzzle game, but lacks in game modes, and the Exersise Mode doesn't last as long as most puzzlers should. The difficulty levels don't seem much different to me either.
The puzzle mode in the Master System/Game Gear versions of this game were great, it's a shame the puzzle mode isn't in this version. Here's hoping those versions come out to VC.
Re: Bonanza Bros
A decent simplistic game. It requires some stradgey, decision making, and stealth making it unique for it's day. Has nice sence of humor to it. (Man, I love hitting people with the doors.) I like it, but it's not an incredible game. It can be addicting at times, and the 2P mode is a nice addition if you have somebody to play this with.
Re: Super Mario 64
I admit, I don't quite look back on this game as fondlly as much as the 2D Mario games. Getting the 120 stars over an over again, and the smaller (in comparison to modern 3D games) kinda made the game get old to me eventually.
But it's still a wonderfull 3D platformer with plenty of things to find, and see. Things arn't always as they seem in this game. This game successfully transfered Mario from the 2D world into the 3D world.
Also swinging Bowser around by his tail is fun.
Re: Xevious
Not a bad port, but the arcade game is better still. (You can seem to play the arcade version alot longer.) It's a li'l annoying how hard it is to get extra lives. The simultanious bombing, and shooting ellement might take some getting used to, but it gives the game a unique way to play that other arcade shooters of the 80s don't have.
Re: Wave Race 64
Right up there with Mario Kart 64, and F-Zero X, this is one of the best racers for N64. Sometimes it's fun to just relax, and ride around the practice "Dolphin park" stage for no reason.
It's also amusing to see your racer fly off their jetski sometimes when you crash. (Don't worry they get right back on.) I also dig the game's soundtrack.
Re: Excitebike
I loved this game as a kid. Me, and a friend once stayed up almost all night making tracks with the track design mode.
The way you can tilt the bike by holding left, or right while doing a jump is acctually pretty well done, and impressive for it's day. (You can even do wheelies.) A classic NES game in my opinion.
Re: Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
The game can be pretty brutal at times with it's difficulty, but if you've mastered the original SMB game, it's a great game to play. I usually prefer playing as Luigi, because of his higher jump, even if his skid can be annoying at times. It's nice to finally have the original 8-bit version outside of Japan. (Mabey with luck, we'll get Mother 1 also.)
Re: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
If you newbie Zelda fans want to know what this game is like, it's basically a 2D "Ocarina of Time." Yeah, it's that good, or at least that's how I feel. One of my favorites of the Zelda series.
Re: Donkey Kong Jr.
Sometimes I like playing this more then the original DK game. As a kid I used to love renting the "Donkey Kong Classics" combo NES game. (Wich featured both DK & DK Jr. squeezed into one game cartridge.) So this was always a childhood favorite. I can't say for sure if people who grew up with more complex games will appreciate it as much as I, but it's a nice piece of Nintendo history.
Don't let the "Jr." in the title fool you, this isn't an easier version of DK, but a proper sequal to the original smash arcade game.
Plus it's the onley game with Mario as the "bad guy."
I always felt like they should of made a modernized DK Jr. remake game like the old Gameboy Donkey Kong '94 & Mario VS DK games.
Re: Donkey Kong Jr. Math
While most gamers may dismiss this title, the game acctually would be nice to have if you're grown-up, and have children of your own. (My sister has kids.) It could get them used to math. Nothing like tricking kids into learning with a video game.
So it's not a complete loss. So, I'll be more forgiving and give this 2 stars.
Re: Donkey Kong Country
While I like this game, I don't look back on it as fondlly, and replay it as much as other games. (I prefer the sequal DKC2. It had better levels, enemies, and music.) Still, I can't deny it's a good game, and a great Rareware title. I hope someday to see more Rareware titles come to VC. (I miss Banjo Kazooie & Blast Corps.) But it's doubtfull sadlly.
Re: Castlevania
A very challenging game, but a great, and classic title. I love the Castlevania series, even though I admit, I missed out on quite a few of the games in the series. Wip it! Wip it good!
Re: Bubble Bobble
Me and my sister used to rent this title all the time as kids, and play it together. It was a nice change of pace from the usual "wait 'till the person's next turn" 2P games the NES usually offered. It was a huge thrill for us to play at the same time. The game is a great old-school title, and offers alot of levels. A childhood favorite.
Re: Sonic 3D Blast
An enjoyable title, but not quite as fast-paced, or as great as previous (or even modern) Sonic titles in my opinion. It offers some nice "find the Flickies" gameplay ellements as a nice break from traditional Sonic titles. Sometimes the Mario RPG-ish isometric viewpoint (and the fact it's not a true 3D game) can make it hard to tell where some objects are, but you get used to it after awhile. (Like Super Mario 64, use Sonic's shadow as a guide to where he is while jumping in the air.) The game also features some cleverlly hidden items in some areas. (Place behind certain objects.) You can even spindash through some barriers to find new roads/areas to explore.
As stated above the lack of save feature of the original, wich was a major gripe of mine (due to how long it takes to beat each level) is fixed thanks to the VC, wich make this better then the original Genesis/Megadrive version, I feel.
Re: SimCity
Me, and my sister would spend hours on this game. It's almost like building with Legos, or something, exept you acctually have to manage your town, and try to make people happy. One wrong placed object could come back to haunt you later, giving it a bit of a puzzle aspect to. (Don't put residential areas to close to the power plant, the pollution will bug the citizens.)
My onley gripe with the game is how slow your money comes in. (Luckilly there's an option to speed up the course of time. As well as a cheat code that gives you more money.)
Sometimes it's fun just to make a town, and then totally destroy it with natual disasters. (Heck you don't hafta save it, so your town will be in tact next time you play.) A Godzilla-sized Bowser attack is a great disaster to witness.
This is the kind of game that makes you drunk with power. "Take that you puny sims! HAHAHA!"
Indeed the game is good, it kicked off the sim genre, and features great SNES music. Some of it quite relaxing. (I love the music during the "quit screen" with the sleeping moon.)
I like the character of Dr. Wright to who helps you throughout the game. He has hilarious hair.
Re: Soccer
I don't think it's as horrible as everyone else here, but I admit, it's not a whole lot of fun. I liked NES Tennis much better. The game hasn't aged well, but might be worth a shot if you love simplistic old-school sports games, or if you want to collect ancient Nintendo-made titles.
Re: Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
The more simplistic controls make this game more accessable then most fighting games. (I could never get used to Killer Instinct, or Mortal Kombat's mutil-button combination controls. It's like having to memorize cheat codes.) And there's so many different ways you can figure out how to beat each boxer that make this game very innovative for it's day. Regardless of the later boxers being hard to figure out how to beat, it's still a great game.
Plus the funny and somewhat "politically incorrect" boxers you fight from all over the world are very great, and memorible characters. (Plus ya got to love their in-between round text dialogue taunts they throw at you. "You should wear a helmet when you fight me!")
Mario also makes a nice referee.
Re: Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
I always liked this game's concept of 3D graphics, with side-scrolling style gameplay. (Sometimes twisting things a bit with multiple camera angles.) And the ability to mix 2 powers to create a new one was great. Like most Kirby games, it's not a very challenging title, but alot of fun. And it has nice music for some levels. (Including a remix of the Butter building stages from Kirby's Adventure.)
Trying to get all of the enemy cards from the end-of-level minigames, and finding all the crystal shards adds replay value to the game. (When you get all of the crystal shards, you'll get to play the game's final stage, and see the real ending.)
Also it's nice to finally have a Kirby game where you can play as King Dedede, and dish out mallet justice.
Re: F-Zero X
Sence I never owned the N64 version (rented it, and loved it) I'd love to own this title. I love the F-Zero series. While I'm normally not a heavy metal fan, the music remixes of the SNES title are a nice & nostalgic touch. The game even oddly features Rainbow Road as a track from Mario Kart.
A great perk for the game is there's a secret code that unlocks every racetrack, difficulty, and racecar wich is nice if you don't want to go through the trouble to unlock everything. (It always annoys me when I can't beat harder difficulties, so I can never get something unlocked.)
Re: Super Mario Bros.
Like Pong & Pac Man somehow over the ages, this game is a what made games what they are today. Don't let the low-tech graphics fool you, even after all these years, the game can offer a nice challenge to newer gamers. While Donkey Kong was Mario's first game, this game is what made Mario a household name. The game was innovative for it's day full of secrets & surprises. You never know what a brick block could contain, or if you could go down a certain pipe.
I never tire of the original Super Mario Bros. trilogy. I prefer their original graphics, and sound over their updated remakes for SNES & GBA personally.
Re: Kirby's Adventure
Like most Kirby titles the game is a bit easy, but has great level design, enemies, bosses, minigames, and it also introduced Kirby's ability to copy enemies abilities once he swollows one. (Like if he eats a fire enemy he gets to shoot fire.)
The final boss also has great animations for a 8-bit game. I like how one of the final levels in the game is completelly black & white, and looks like the original Gameboy game.
Re: Super Mario Bros. 3
My favorite 2D Super Mario title of all time personally. I honestlly prefer the original 8-bit graphics & sound of the original NES Mario trilogy, over it's remakes for SNES & GBA. It's nice that Nintendo finally released them with their original graphics & sound that I grew up with. It feels almost criminal to pay onley 5 bucks for such a great game, but I can't argue with that, being as cheap as I am.
Also the first Mario game to introduce the map screen, animal suits, and a flying ability. And a great variety of levels, obsticles, and enemies.
Re: Yoshi's Story
I think the game was intended for beginner young gamers, so it's a good game for youngsters, and the overall cuteness, and graphics style of the game is amusing.
Not as great as Yoshi's Island, but has it's own charm, and it is fun. (Oddly the soundtrack includes a "heavy metal" sounding remix of the current stage's music your on when you become invinsible. And a rap-sounding riff when you're in some underground levels. Kinda odd for such a "cutesy" game.)
Regardless of being a N64 title, for how simplistic it is 10 bucks seems like a steep price to me. I wish they had more different idividual prices for games, rather then pricing them by wich system their for. (On second thought, if they did that, they might charge more for "better" games on older systems.)
Re: Super Mario Bros. 2
Like Zelda 2, the game nowadays has become contraversial amongst gamers for the fact it's gameplay is so drastically different then it's prequal, and sequals. (Featuring a "pick up and throw" enemies and objects style of gameplay as opposed to the usual "hop, bop, and stomp" gameplay of usual Mario titles.)
Still this is one of my childhood favorites, I don't care what game critics in the gaming media say. It was also the very first video game I ever beaten. (The ending sequence was very rewarding to me as a child.) The happy level music, and sounds always bring a smile to my face, and make me feel like a kid again even after all these years.
Some people rag on the fact that this wasn't originally a Mario game, (in Japan it was originally a game called "Doki Doki Panic" featuring 4 different main characters whom were mascots for Fuji TV) though the game does feature many people whom worked on the Mario series involved with this game, including Miyamoto. (According to Doki Doki Panic's ending credits.)
I say SMB2 is the better version of Doki Doki Panic, sence you can run in it, and stuff. In closing, while different then a usual Mario game, it's still a great game overall, and features some nice and fun gameplay ellements. Throwing vegetables at enemies is fun.
Re: Ristar
The game features creative level designs, boss battles, and characters. The music, and bright graphics are nice to. Almost makes you feel like a kid again. It's no wonder this game has become a cult-classic. Not as fast-paced as Sonic, but a great game.
Re: Super Metroid
My first Metroid game, and still my favorite in the series. Such a vast world to explore, and so many great items.
If you've never played a Metroid game before, get this NOW! It might be a better game to introduce you to the series then the original NES title. (Especially sence you can shoot diagnolly, and while ducking in this game unlike the NES game.)
Re: Super Mario World
I still prefer Super Mario Bros. 3 personally, but this was a great game to introduce the Super NES, and it's capabilities to the world. Also riding Yoshi was fun. My favorite moment in the game is fighting Bowser in his Koopa Clown copter.
Re: Star Fox 64
The game that made me fall in love with the Star Fox series. (Shame the games afterwords arn't as great.) Nice (for it's time) graphics, animations, music, characters, and wonderfully cheesey dialogue.
Barrel rolling to repell enemy lazers, multiple map screen paths, and the lock on feature really revolutionize the flying space shooter genre. I never get tired of this game, it always brings back so many memories of playing this back in 1997. (And I met most of my on-line friends on old Star Fox message boards.) It's always been hard for me to chose between this, and Ocarina of Time as best N64 game.
It's argueblly the best game in the Star Fox series. I will definatelly get this game for VC, and relive those wonderfull memories of Slippy yelling "Fox! Get this guy off me!"
Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic 3 offers longer levels then Sonic 2, but not as many levels as it, wich somehow make the game feel inferior to it. Though it's still a great Sonic title, and fun to play.
You can now make Tails fly, offering some alternate routes he can take, that Sonic can't. Some nice levels, the soundtrack is nice, but not as good as Masato Nakamura's music from Sonic 1 & 2. (I missed the original Sonic title screen themesong.)
Hopefully they'll release "Sonic & Knuckles" as well as "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" onto VC someday, wich is the best version of this game. (Wich you got originally by connecting Sonic & Knuckles's flip-top cartridge with the Sonic 3 cart, in order to combine both games into "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" wich is the "complete version" of Sonic 3. They had to split the Sonic 3 game into two titles, sence it wasn't completed by it's release date, and due to technical issues.)
Re: Sonic the Hedgehog
In anwer to Demon212's question :
I take it you meen the "Spindash" move. (Hold down while tapping the button to rev Sonic up.) Personally, the lack of it doesn't really affect the game much to me, (and I personally don't think it does the Megadrive/Genesis version of Sonic 1 either.) the game doesn't have many uphill moments, or anything that would require the spindash.
Re: Sonic the Hedgehog
While Sonic 2 is my favorite 2D Sonic title, (I have nothing aginst the 3D titles like half the word does honestlly, exept mabey Sonic Riders) this was a great game to introduce the beloved hedgehog to the world. Like the old Mario titles, no matter how many times I play through it, I never tire of it.
I say, the graphics, and sound are as memorible & unforgetable as the ones in Super Mario Bros. for NES.
Regardless of game critics, and gamers alike putting down Sonic latelly for his recent titles, and directions the series has taken, Sonic will always be as good a video game hero to me as Super Mario, Link, and Pac Man. And I'm glad he's in SSB Brawl.
Re: Pinball
Takes a li'l getting used to, if your used to more advanced video game pinball games, but it is possible to master this game, and play it for a long time getting really high scores, once you get the hang of it. There's no option to "shake" the pinball table, but luckilly there's no way to ever get the ball stuck. The semi-hidden Mario minigame is great to.
The top table features a slot machine, and the bottom one features flipable cards. Get a match in the slotmachine, or flip all the cards, (pretty hard to do) and the bottom hole between the flippers will be clogged, so you won't fall down it, and best of all it stays there, until you slip down the sides. So it's very rewarding.
It's possiblly the first video game adaption of pinball, (I'm not sure if it's true) but definatelly not the worst. I find it quite enjoyable, though not as much as Kirby's Pinball Land (Gameboy) or Sonic Spinball. Still it's a nice diversion from those more complex pinball titles. Also the dancing penguins are cute!
Re: Pac-Man
An all-time classic. Some younger gamers who grew up with 3D, or those that prefer it's sequals (like Mrs. Pac Man, wich has more mazes) may disregard the title, but it's every bit as challenging, and fun as anything nowadays. It's old-school, challenging, and tests your choice & decision making skills.
Regardless of what system it's on, (exept mabey the inferior low-tech Atari ports) I never tire of the game.
Even gaming legend Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Super Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, and Pikmin) states that Pac Man is his favorite video game.
Re: Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
I can't say it will appeal to everybody, but the game is pretty unique. The whole 1 hit and your dead thing can be quite frustrating (especially if you accidentlly land on top of an enemy, they hafta come in contact with your "kick" leg to defeat them when jumping.) but overall, I kinda like this gem. It's a nice old-school challenge, and has some nice ride-able items you can obtain like a pogostick and airplane. (You hafta access them by the game's pause menu. If you die while using one though you lose it.)
The rock-paper-scissors minigames, and boss bouts can be annoying at times, but luckilly you still have a fair chance of beating them. (Bosses will insist on a rematch when defeated, but you don't have to rematch them.)
Also be sure to collect as many coins as you can in it. For every 1,000 you get, you get an extra continue.
(Though you hafta go to the game's main menu options to contunue a game oddly, so some people don't realize the game has a continuation option.)
Re: Golden Axe
Like most "beat-'em-up-as-you-go" style arcade games, the gameplay is a bit repetative, yet pretty fun. Some new things like using magic for a strong hit all enemies attack, and using ride-able animals adds some fun ellements to the genre.
A classic Sega game, I say. I hear it has more levels then the arcade version, so it might even be better then it's arcade version.
Re: F-Zero
My second Super NES game, I ever owned. (It should be easy to guess wich was the first.) Along with Super Mario Kart, it's one of the system's best racers. The game has nice visuals, (for it's time) nicelly designed racetracks, and it's what made me an F-Zero fan.
Be sure to occasionally let off the gas, and use the L & R buttons during turns. Don't be afraid to use the break at times to. It's a li'l frustrating in higher difficulties, but a good game still.
Onley major flaw is not all the tracks are availible in the Time Trial mode. (As far as I know, correct me if I'm wrong if there's a cheat, or unlockable code for this.) So in order to play/practice some tracks you hafta go through Grand Prix mode. Also there's no 2P mode.
Regardless a great game, and a great begining for the F-Zero series.
I might purchase this game again for VC.
Re: Cruis'n USA
I don't understand why people hate this game so much. I liked it when I played it on N64 personally. True it's not as good as Mario Kart 64, Wave Race 64, or F-Zero X, but it's still a decent arcade style racing game with some nice secret cars, (one of wich is a schoolbus) and tracks.
I give this game 3 stars. I disagree with the rest of the planet here.
Re: Donkey Kong 3
Not a bad game for the early 80s, but compared to DK & DK Jr. it's not as much fun, or as addictive.
And with no extra lives, and the fact that you can onley use the "super spray can" once per life, (it reappears after you die, it would've been better if they had it reappear after every 3 or 4 levels.) makes the game not last very long. It's hard to get a huge score in this game, sence it's so easy to die.
It's worth a shot if your curious, an old-school arcade game lover, or if you want to play Stanley the Bugman's onley game.
Re: Sonic the Hedgehog
As an American kid, I never knew the 8-bit Sega Master System existed for a long time, (it was cancelled quicklly here) so I never knew about this title. (I stuck with the NES.)
I do have the GameGear version in Sonic Adventure DX, I hear it's the same exept a few minor differences. (Smaller screen, some graphic differences, & such.)
It's easilly one of Sonic's best 8-bit games. I even prefer it over Sonic Chaos, and Triple Trouble personally. Sonic also feels quicker, and easier to control in it. (Regardless of not having the spindash like in the Genesis/Megadrive version.)
And at 5 bucks I'll definatelly be getting this game so I can finally expirience the Master System version. It's a good buy, I say.
Re: Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
I personally prefer DKC2. The main characters don't feel like they can move around as easilly (or jump as high) as they do in previous DKC games to me. I managed to beat DKC3 in the first 3 days that I rented it from a video store. Though, it wasn't honestlly overlly easy, some of the bosses take some time to figure out, and some of the bonus rounds are well hidden. It's also nice that they brought back the ride-able steel kegs from DKC1, wich were absent in DKC2.
The barter system with the bears also adds a nice Zelda-ish quality to the game.
Re: Skate or Die!
I liked this game personally. Joust, and the downhill race were quite fun game modes. (And that one in the city, I forgot what it was called.) The "High jump" on was quite frustrating though, until I figured out you had to tape the button to go higher.
The title screen also had some good classic 8-bit electric guitar sounds.