Retro Gaming Australia

The scrolling platformer boasted graphics in excess of anything released at the time, a catchy soundtrack, wonderfully designed levels and a decent challenge. It’s an extremely well executed package which was leaps and bounds ahead of the games that came before it.

It was also most NES players first taste of what the system had to offer, being bundled in with the majority of NES systems sold, either alone, or as part of a multi-cart, first with Duck Hunt and other games later on.

Where previous action adventure games on consoles were limited, guided affairs, The Legend of Zelda simply plonked players in the middle of Hyrule with minimal instruction – get eight Triforce pieces, defeat Ganon and save Princess Zelda.

How you did that was really up to you – you had to find the dungeons where the pieces of Triforce were kept, and the necessary equipment to get through those dungeons. Fortunately, the game came with a map and battery back-up to keep your progress. There was a distinct focus on exploration in the game, heavily influenced by designer Shigeru Miyamoto’s childhood adventures in the Japanese countryside.

While the series would get bigger, bolder and better, the NES original holds a special spot in many gamers’ hearts.

Mega Man 2 took everything that was good about the original game and made it better. While the game more or less looks the same, the level design is far better, the difficulty level is more fairly balanced, the character design is brilliant, and the soundtrack is arguably one of the best of all time.

Debates will probably rage until the end of time as to whether Mega Man 2 or Mega Man 3 is the best iteration of the series on the NES, but we’re siding with the former.

The game has a much greater sense of character than its predecessor. Each world is a fully realised location, completely different from the others. Every level within these worlds is masterfully crafted. Bosses are no longer repeat bouts against the same opponent, but clashes against unique opponents – Bowser and his seven children, each modelled on a famous musician.

While Super Mario Bros. 3 is a testament to Nintendo’s qualities as a software developer, it also shows how the company’s unequalled knowledge of their own hardware and control over cartridge manufactured gave them a distinct advantage over the third party licensees. Nintendo’s custom MMC3 chip allowed them to wring every last scrap of power out of the ageing system – something that their competitors just couldn’t do. Fortunately for all of us, it helped them make one of the best games of all time.

Kirby’s Adventure was the first game in the series where the character gained his copy ability, which is now the character’s trademark attribute. This gives you a variety of options with which to attack the game’s levels and bosses. There is also a variety of mini-games to play in between stages.

The game is beautiful – far better looking than most games on the system and it has an excellent soundtrack. It may be a little on the easy side, but Kirby’s Adventure is quite possibly the best game in the series.

While it appears to be a boxing game on the surface, Punch Out!! is more like a puzzle-action game, requiring fast reflexes and a keen eye. Each boxer has an amusing design and a pattern which you need to work out, but you also need to be able to move fast enough to dodge the never-ending flurry of attacks from your opponent. The challenge rises as you defeat each boxer, right up to the fierce and damn near impossible to beat Mike Tyson, who was the world heavyweight champion at the time of the game’s release.

The game was re-released by Nintendo as Punch Out!! Featuring Mr Dream in 1990 after Nintendo’s licensing agreement with Mike Tyson expired. Some people believe that it was due to Tyson’s legal troubles that year, but the license expired prior to those events.

Developed by a team consisting of Mega Man alumni, Duck Tales takes a novel approach to the property, designed around providing fun gameplay while paying respect to the license. You wouldn’t pick Scrooge for being one to bounce around on a pogo stick cane, or use that very same cane to hit blocks like golf balls, but it just works.

Perhaps the best thing about Duck Tales is the music. The Moon theme is arguably one of the greatest pieces of music to come from the NES – just listen to it, and you’ll agree.

Technos took a different approach for Double Dragon II: The Revenge, making the NES game an expanded adaptation of the arcade game. It still had the same theme and basic plot as the arcade game, but was an entirely different – and I dare say – better game than the arcade original.

The NES version features nine stages instead of four, new story scenes in between levels and a greatly expanded move set. One particularly spectacular move is the super knee attack, which sends your opponent flying across the screen.

Technos later released an enhanced version of this game for the PC Engine CD – it was more technically accomplished with better graphics and a remixed CD soundtrack, but it doesn’t play quite as well.

Contra was a hit in the arcades, and the NES version was just as good. Although technical limitations prevented it from being a perfect port, Konami compensated by lengthening some of the stages and throwing in extra bosses. Most importantly, Konami managed to keep in the two player mode, which is a key element of the game. What would Contra be without the dread of facing endless waves of enemies without a friend beside you?

PAL gamers were treated to a different version of the game – Probotector. Due to anticipated clashes with German censors, Konami decided to transform all human characters in the game to robots. The series continued this tradition until the release of Contra: Legacy of War on the PlayStation.

Heavily influenced by the film Aliens, Metroid puts you in control of a lone bountry hunter, Samus Aran, who has landed on the planet Zebes in search of the Space Pirates. The Space Pirates, led by Ridley, have stolen several creatures called Metroids from the Galactic Federation, planning to use them as bio-weapons.

A huge game world, variety of upgradeable weapons and some excellent boss encounters make Metroid a real classic. Some like to say that age hasn’t been particularly kind to Metroid, but I take the view that the Metroid sequels are just that damn good that they tend to overshadow the original game.

It borrows the basic power up system and ship design (the Vic Viper) from Gradius, but features both horizontal and vertical shooting stages. The stage and visual design is really outstanding – a mix between organic alien life and twisted machines. It’s not quite as hard as some other shooters out there, but it can be a challenge until you learn the flow of the game.

There are a few notable changes from the Life Force arcade game, namely the power up bar – the original game used icons, while the NES port uses the Gradius power up system and some stages and bosses are switched up – but they do not have any kind of detrimental effect on the experience.

Dracula’s Curse combines elements of Simon’s Quest’s non-linearity with the platform heavy gameplay of the first game, and introduces a new character switching system which adds additional depth. The game can vary greatly based on which characters you choose to use. Trevor Belmont takes the role of the token whip cracker in this iteration, but is joined by three companions – Grant DaNasty, Sylpha Belnades and Alucard, the half-human son of Dracula.

Excellent combat, tight platforming, branching paths and multiple endings make Dracula’s Curse a game that you can keep on coming back to, time and time again.

Whatever that X factor may be, you really can’t go wrong with this version of Tetris.

Players control Mike Jones, a young boy with a knack for pitching, who is on a quest to rescue his abducted uncle, Dr. Jones. On Mike’s quest, you’ll travel through various islands and caves, find new equipment and take on all kinds of weird and wonderful creatures.

The game is often remembered for a little bit of early alternate reality game action, where players had to dip a letter packed in with the manual in water in order to get a code to progress in the game. This kind of makes it difficult to find a copy of the game in good condition.

Whereas most racing games at the time were presented from behind the car with the player essentially trying to keep the car on the road, Pro-Am II utilises an isometric perspective. The change in viewpoint allows for much more distinctive tracks and greater control over your vehicle.

It’s not all just about navigating the track at the fastest speeds, as R.C. Pro-Am II has all kinds of power ups which players can use to destroy their opponents cars. Since coming in 4th place in a given race is an instant game over, knocking out that blasted yellow car with a well timed strike just before the end is oh-so-satisfying.

So why R.C. Pro Am II and not the better known original? Multiplayer. The first game is a single-player only affair, while Pro Am II adds support for up to 4 players. It’s a little harder to find, but well worth the effort.

The NES port of Donkey Kong lacks the cement factory level, but adds the title theme that is now synonymous with the series. Donkey Kong Jr. is relatively unchanged from the arcade version. Regardless of any omissions, both games are fantastic in their NES iterations.

The game is so very different to the standard beat ‘em ups from the period due to the aforementioned light RPG elements and the game’s non-linearity. You are free to roam around the city, looking to beat up different gangs in order to find your kidnapped girlfriend. Players can visit various stores around the city to learn new fighting techniques and power up your different abilities.

The combat is solid, it has the requisite two player co-operative mode and it’s deeper than any other brawler on the system, making River City Ransom a key addition to your NES library.