You know I wish I had done stuff like this back in the day. When I beat Ninja Gaiden and Battletoads back in Middle School no one believed me and it turned into a whirlwind tour of me going around and doing it again for various people because they wanted to see the endings of both games. The whole process made me really hate Battletoads in the end.
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NES/Famicom Appreciation Thread
- Thread starter Teknoman
- Start date
You know I wish I had done stuff like this back in the day. When I beat Ninja Gaiden and Battletoads back in Middle School no one believed me and it turned into a whirlwind tour of me going around and doing it again for various people because they wanted to see the endings of both games. The whole process made me really hate Battletoads in the end.
Fox Mulder
Member
I've been playing golgo 13 and bought the sequel. Badass, and I don't even know anything about the source material.
Thats right, on your recommendation of course!
Huggers
Member
If you're going to drop 100 dollars on a repro wouldn't it be more sensible to buy an Everdrive?
As for the while pal/NTSC discussion further up. I'm in England and collect for a few systems but the NES is the only one I've had to go exclusively NTSC for. I'm up to about 60 games now but I'm very selective over the ones I get. I import some through Ebay which is often super expensive with the global shipping program. The good news is NTSC collecting isn't huge here so when the games come up on the UK Ebay often you're not bidding against many people and there are some great deals to be had.
As for the while pal/NTSC discussion further up. I'm in England and collect for a few systems but the NES is the only one I've had to go exclusively NTSC for. I'm up to about 60 games now but I'm very selective over the ones I get. I import some through Ebay which is often super expensive with the global shipping program. The good news is NTSC collecting isn't huge here so when the games come up on the UK Ebay often you're not bidding against many people and there are some great deals to be had.
sixteen-bit
Member
of course. the only alternative would be if the game doesn't run on an everdrive due to special chips.
Kawika
Member
There is no NES game that I am aware of that isn't compatible with the current Everdrive N8. I will say this, I had trouble with getting star Tropics working but all you have to do is turn off the save states.
Shadowman16
Member
Received my NES copy of Legendary Wings this week, I wish this'd have gotten a Famicom release to go with the rest of my collection but its not that big of a deal.
I played it through from start to finish, and I'm impressed. I never liked the arcade version, I thought it was a good idea executed poorly - if you didn't have the powered up laser certain points in stages 4 and 5 especially were very difficult to the point where the game wasn't fun anymore. I'm not really a fan of the side view platforming sections either, too samey and repetitive with a hilariously easy boss waiting at the end.
Now the NES port (if port is even the right word here) instead takes the concept of the game and makes the base game better. The difficulty is adjusted by letting you take multiple hits - if you have collected a weapon power up that is - your weapon levels down each time you get hit, unless your on your base weapon in which case you die. This already makes a huge difference. Next is that the levels have been completely redesigned, so the enemy placement feels more fair compared to how tough things got on the later stages of the arcade version.
Next is that the missile sub weapon you get (for taking out ground cannons) no longer requires you to accurately align your targeting reticule over the cannon, instead it travels in a straight line and as long as you are in range of the cannon, you'll hit it. Makes things so much easier in later levels where you'll get many cannon's showing up at a time, now you can quickly zip between them taking them out as you deal with other enemies on screen.
The "lucky" screens now feel useful - the points you get from collectibles is much higher than the arcade version so getting multiple extra lives is way easier, and you also get continues and power ups form this area (and you'll have so many continues by the end of the game you should have no problem finishing the game!).
Thankfully the side scrolling areas at the end of each level are improved and instead feel closer to something out of the NES port of Section Z - you just battle lots of enemies from a side on viewpoint while flying, rather than slowly plodding along the same stage on foot.
Only issue I have with the game is the bosses. They are the same bosses in each round, except made slightly harder. The only variety comes from the very final boss.
All round though I loved the game. Yet again Capcom takes an arcade game I'm not the biggest fan of and makes a superior home console conversion - just like Gun.Smoke, Trojan and Bionic Commando.
One thing that did make me chuckle was that Capcom took one of the enemy sprites from this game and later reused it for Mega Man 2. In stage 4 of Legendary Wings there are drill enemies that fly from one side of the screen to the other. In Mega Man 2 (in Metal Man and Wily Fortress 2) you have drill type enemies that burrow in from the top of the screen and then drill through the floor. Seems that Capcom just shameless ripped the enemy from one game to the other, as except for flipping the sprite 90 degrees its the exact same enemy that acts in a very similar way.
Also, it might just be me but the final boss feels very familiar to anyone who has completed a Mega Man game from 4 upwards - the enemy teleports around the room, shooting off four shots from either side of its ship that homes in on you.
This idea was repeatedly used from Mega Man 4 and up. Makes me wonder if someone who worked on the LW home port later worked on the Mega Man series...
On a more general note I can tell Capcom really started to get the hang of the NES after a few ok ports - as the quality of their NES ports keep getting better.
SonSon was merely ok (frame rate and flicker galore) but the whole game was there in all its glory.
1942 I had no issues with, not the smoothest game but it felt so much more fun to play than the arcade version for some reason, I actually prefer it to the arcade port.
Commando was ok, smoother than the last two games but flicker galore and the last four levels are missing which was disappointing.
Ghosts n Goblins has a weird frame rate, not smooth at all but even then I still really enjoy playing the port. Its the most faithful port of the arcade game and is still really fun to play. Pity it couldn't have come a couple of years later, the port would have more than likely been better.
Then from there - Section Z, Legendary Wings, Gun Smoke and Trojan are all great ports, and in some ways better than the arcade games in my opinion. Gun.Smoke and LW rebalances the difficulty and redesigns the levels completely and made the games more fun to play in doing so (in my opinion).
Section Z is an odd one, as it deviates from the arcade game by changing it from a straight linear shooter to a smaller stage based affair where you enter teleporters to head to one of two different levels. And its a blind teleporter so you don't know where your going until the next stage loads up. I felt the game was less fun because of this, too damn frustrating trying to remember where on earth you need to go, I used a map instead to cut out the guess work, and as a result my second playthrough was much more fun. At least the final boss was better than the complete pushover the arcade version got.
Trojan was just the arcade version with better collision detection and easier bosses. I love the arcade game quite a bit, but having certain bosses tweaked so they are less frustrating to fight was a great change.
I've not had chance to play the other Capcom ports yet, looking forward to replaying Bionic Commando and whatever else I've got left.
I played it through from start to finish, and I'm impressed. I never liked the arcade version, I thought it was a good idea executed poorly - if you didn't have the powered up laser certain points in stages 4 and 5 especially were very difficult to the point where the game wasn't fun anymore. I'm not really a fan of the side view platforming sections either, too samey and repetitive with a hilariously easy boss waiting at the end.
Now the NES port (if port is even the right word here) instead takes the concept of the game and makes the base game better. The difficulty is adjusted by letting you take multiple hits - if you have collected a weapon power up that is - your weapon levels down each time you get hit, unless your on your base weapon in which case you die. This already makes a huge difference. Next is that the levels have been completely redesigned, so the enemy placement feels more fair compared to how tough things got on the later stages of the arcade version.
Next is that the missile sub weapon you get (for taking out ground cannons) no longer requires you to accurately align your targeting reticule over the cannon, instead it travels in a straight line and as long as you are in range of the cannon, you'll hit it. Makes things so much easier in later levels where you'll get many cannon's showing up at a time, now you can quickly zip between them taking them out as you deal with other enemies on screen.
The "lucky" screens now feel useful - the points you get from collectibles is much higher than the arcade version so getting multiple extra lives is way easier, and you also get continues and power ups form this area (and you'll have so many continues by the end of the game you should have no problem finishing the game!).
Thankfully the side scrolling areas at the end of each level are improved and instead feel closer to something out of the NES port of Section Z - you just battle lots of enemies from a side on viewpoint while flying, rather than slowly plodding along the same stage on foot.
Only issue I have with the game is the bosses. They are the same bosses in each round, except made slightly harder. The only variety comes from the very final boss.
All round though I loved the game. Yet again Capcom takes an arcade game I'm not the biggest fan of and makes a superior home console conversion - just like Gun.Smoke, Trojan and Bionic Commando.
One thing that did make me chuckle was that Capcom took one of the enemy sprites from this game and later reused it for Mega Man 2. In stage 4 of Legendary Wings there are drill enemies that fly from one side of the screen to the other. In Mega Man 2 (in Metal Man and Wily Fortress 2) you have drill type enemies that burrow in from the top of the screen and then drill through the floor. Seems that Capcom just shameless ripped the enemy from one game to the other, as except for flipping the sprite 90 degrees its the exact same enemy that acts in a very similar way.
Also, it might just be me but the final boss feels very familiar to anyone who has completed a Mega Man game from 4 upwards - the enemy teleports around the room, shooting off four shots from either side of its ship that homes in on you.
This idea was repeatedly used from Mega Man 4 and up. Makes me wonder if someone who worked on the LW home port later worked on the Mega Man series...
On a more general note I can tell Capcom really started to get the hang of the NES after a few ok ports - as the quality of their NES ports keep getting better.
SonSon was merely ok (frame rate and flicker galore) but the whole game was there in all its glory.
1942 I had no issues with, not the smoothest game but it felt so much more fun to play than the arcade version for some reason, I actually prefer it to the arcade port.
Commando was ok, smoother than the last two games but flicker galore and the last four levels are missing which was disappointing.
Ghosts n Goblins has a weird frame rate, not smooth at all but even then I still really enjoy playing the port. Its the most faithful port of the arcade game and is still really fun to play. Pity it couldn't have come a couple of years later, the port would have more than likely been better.
Then from there - Section Z, Legendary Wings, Gun Smoke and Trojan are all great ports, and in some ways better than the arcade games in my opinion. Gun.Smoke and LW rebalances the difficulty and redesigns the levels completely and made the games more fun to play in doing so (in my opinion).
Section Z is an odd one, as it deviates from the arcade game by changing it from a straight linear shooter to a smaller stage based affair where you enter teleporters to head to one of two different levels. And its a blind teleporter so you don't know where your going until the next stage loads up. I felt the game was less fun because of this, too damn frustrating trying to remember where on earth you need to go, I used a map instead to cut out the guess work, and as a result my second playthrough was much more fun. At least the final boss was better than the complete pushover the arcade version got.
Trojan was just the arcade version with better collision detection and easier bosses. I love the arcade game quite a bit, but having certain bosses tweaked so they are less frustrating to fight was a great change.
I've not had chance to play the other Capcom ports yet, looking forward to replaying Bionic Commando and whatever else I've got left.
Fox Mulder
Member
I'm leaning towards getting the rgb mod to look better on my 29 inch pvm. What's a good price for it?
EBay has some ready to buy and all refurbished for $200.
EBay has some ready to buy and all refurbished for $200.
RadarScope1
Member
I think the turning point you see here is when Capcom went from contracting Micronics for ports to doing the in-house. At least if I remember my Chrontendo correctly.
Shadowman16
Member
Yeah, that's definitely where I think this big shift takes place as well. Best thing they did was doing their ports in house, the quality sky rocketed compared to the Micronics stuff (not that I really hate the Micronics games, I find them fun but all their ports are unfortunately floored).
I can't wait until I get round to replaying all the original titles Capcom produced for the system - stuff like the Mega Man series, Duck Tales, Rescue Rangers etc. Now if only I could find a reasonably priced RR for the Famicom...
Flizzzipper
Member
The final boss almost got me because I thought I had already beaten the game. Didn't expect a new boss.
Shadowman16
Member
I kind of expected a second boss after the first one being just a retread of thee last 4, but I did get caught out when the game forced you to fly through the small tunnel, I ended up losing a life and losing all my powerups in the process, that made the final boss battle way longer thanks to me only being armed with a small pea shooter!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NES-Games-L...677616?hash=item3f60d788b0:g:n5AAAOSw0QFXCsGZ
$1500 for 40 NES games? Yes please.
$1500 for 40 NES games? Yes please.
blast processed
Member
Someone better jump on that. Who's getting his hopes up by watching? Currently 8 people.
shanafan
Member
"They have been tested and most of them work without problems, some have problems after about 30 min of game play" Sounds like an issue with the console, not the game.
Anyways, $1500 is overpriced. The only titles that stand out are DuckTales 2 and Rescue Rangers 2. But that's only like $350 loose.
shanafan
Member
Contra isn't that expensive. It's listed at $40 loose, and I was lucky enough to grab it for $25 this past weekend.
I think we can still agree that $1500 is laughable though!
YouTube, the 8-bit game.
Fox Mulder
Member
It's easy, but is a neat kids game. The animations of Felix makes it look like he's having so much fun.
I wouldn't pay a ton for it, but there's far worse nes games going for more.
shanafan
Member
What are your recommendations on a NES replacement? Mine has seen better days.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UCF9TA/?tag=neogaf0e-20
This one is priced decent.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UCF9TA/?tag=neogaf0e-20
This one is priced decent.
Triple Dash
Neo Member
Finally calling it quits on Pokemon Yellow (NES) after going through it for the past two months. I caught all the obtainable Legendary Pokemon bar Mew and beat the post-game final bosses. I'd be more motivated to complete the Pokedex (which gets you Mew) but besides the rare Pokemon I still need to catch as well as the need to grind for both levels and certain items it's not worth it.
This is definitely the RPG title that pushes the NES to it's limits, which is even more impressive considering it was originally a pirate game. Not everything made the transition over (mostly status effects/extra move effects), but NES/GB RPGs don't exactly set that high of a bar, which regardless certain things such as random item drops, no trading/version exclusives, HM complete revamp, a larger post-game than even the latest games in the series make it worth checking out as a Pokemon Fan/Retro Gamer. Aside from Tengan Tetris, this is the NES/Famicom pirate to take a look into, especially since I've noticed a lot of homemade repro carts have started popping up on eBay recently.
If anyone from the translation team is a GAF member, you guys did a great job.
What where lol
Found it on a local buy/sell-page on facebook. Was probably pretty lucky there
Its even an ntsc-version, despite me living in pal-land!Sorry I can't comment on the one you linked [edit, the verified purchaser reviews are pretty terrible for that one], but can you clean/refurb yours or is it too far gone? It's very easy to do (not a NES controller but same process works, I used the video for my Genesis controller sans WD40 tho).
Another option is if you have a SNES already you could get an adapter and use the SNES controller. It's not 'original hardware' (not sure how important that is to you) but it is an option. [edit 2, hmm, I'm not a fan of the mapping to SNES B & Y instead of A & B for this adapter. You could DIY one.]
Or why not consider buying a used official NES controller?
shanafan
Member
I haven't cleaned it yet. Just was thinking if one was under $10 and was decent, I would just go that route. Appreciate the heads up on avoiding it.
Cleaning has worked wonders for me in the past though. I had a SNES controller with a non-working start button, and after a quick cleaning, it was working again.
I would never in a million years play Battletoads in coop.
sixteen-bit
Member
They just give you a general idea of manufacture date
Another variation. Some carts are more rare with 5 screws, some are more rare with 3 screws. Also it was when Nintendo moved from using hardware that anyone could open with a small flathead screwdriver, to hardware where not many people could open the carts. It's believed they did this to prevent people from swapping out boards and returning the wrong games.
RadarScope1
Member
They look fucking cool.
alf717
Member
Nothing really. Unless you are a variant collector. Some early 5 screw NES titles had converters in them which converted 60 pin Japanese PCBs to 72 pin.
Shadow Hog
Member
I feel a little disappointed that the only 5-screw game I own, Clu Clu Land, did not contain an adapter.
Would've been cool for some game I bought on the cheap from a Gamestop in New York state (back when they still sold NES games) to open the door to Famicom imports.
Would've been cool for some game I bought on the cheap from a Gamestop in New York state (back when they still sold NES games) to open the door to Famicom imports.
sixteen-bit
Member
I remember my gyromite had that adapter.
Triple Dash
Neo Member
I have a Gyromite and Excitebike with adapters. Pretty sure only Stack Up has a 100% chance of having one. Gyromite just happens to be the easiest to obtain given how common it is.
I have been seeing a lot of my local game stores recently double check their 5-Screw Carts for adapters so they can mark them up ($20 for Gyromite).
I have been seeing a lot of my local game stores recently double check their 5-Screw Carts for adapters so they can mark them up ($20 for Gyromite).