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| Deja ju? |
Right away, the image I used will give away the fact that the menu is almost identical to the one Action 52 uses. I think that POS ripped this one off, but that's a debate for another time. In fact, you could sort of consider this multicart to be the Asian equivalent of A52, except this is infinitely better of course as the games are ripped off as opposed to being original. Well actually, I think Caltron 6-in-1 is closer to being that but whatever. One other thing you'll notice is that the people at Supervision don't exactly have the best English skills around, what with such classics like "Grading," "Gyrooine" and of course, "City Conect." Then again, you'd probably expect that from a pirated multicart anyway. Moving on, let's detail the games themselves and see if this thing's worth buying or not.
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| Master Higgins, the dude who throws hammers while collecting airbourne fruit on a skateboard. |
Adventure Island is a pretty simple platformer where you progress from level to level as Master Higgins throwing hammers and skateboarding your way through levels. And you obtain hammers and skateboards through eggs for some odd reason. A great game in many respects, it's definitely challenging and the audiovisuals are great for 1986. The controls are slightly slippery but at least you can adapt to it quickly, unlike some horrible games like Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. Kind of disappointing that the levels end up repeating later on though. One thing that's important is the bars at the top of the screen, because those disappear gradually and if all of them do then you lose a life. You can gain them by collecting airbourne fruit for some crazy reason. Oh, and there are a couple of powerups like a fairy which makes you temporarily invincible and some odd thing in 1-3 which decreases your metre at the top to the point where it's near impossible to complete the level in one life. The gameplay is great, if difficult.
The graphics are varied, fit the mood well and are generally great for 1986. The music is nice too, although the music in 1-2 sounds like elevator music to me.
Overall, this one is definitely worth playing if you're a fan of platformers.
BTW, it's worth pointing out that Fuzz Power from Action 52 seems to try to copy this game, which is most obvious in the first section of Level 1. Evidently, Active Enterprises sucked at this game because they only really tried to clone the sections from the first level.
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| Options FTW |
Certainly one of my favourite games on the cartridge and it's not hard to see why. Taking control of Vic Viper you go around 7 different levels full of flying ships, some of which shoot at you, volcanoes, Moai heads (gotta expect that from Konami) and more. I'm sort of surprised this was included, because I'd assume you could fit several Star Forces into this game's space if you wanted to. (of course, that'd be a waste of memory)
The game itself is pretty challenging and it's certainly a great shooter, possibly the one which I think many would label as one of the best on this cartridge, if not the best. Hell, it spawned numerous sequels and two more serie by the company that produced the original game. (Salamander and Parodius in case you didn't know) One problem I do have with this game though is the difficulty itself. The first two levels are alright, but the third level is simply brutal in terms of difficulty. Those Moai heads fire over 9 million projectiles at once (warning: may not be fact) and you pretty much need at least 2 shields to get through it without dying. And as if that wasn't enough, when you die you lose all of your powerups, making an already impossible level even more impossible. Even some the levels after it are a lot easier, including the last one. Now if this level was about the same level of difficulty as the rest of the them, it'd be near perfect.
The graphics are some of the best in terms of 1986. The levels are varied and detailed pretty well, and they hold up somewhat against later NES games. The music is good as well, with the levels having their own themes. Level 5's theme reminds me of Abadox, probably because Natsume ripped that song off.
It's a great shooter overall, and if you can stand the extreme difficulty of level 3 then I'm sure you'll enjoy it overall.
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| Atatatatatatata! |
In this game, you take control of Ken, a guy who can make people explode into gory messes by punching them. The first problem with this game is figuring out what you're actually supposed to do. Unless you read an FAQ beforehand, you'll most likely beat up hundreds of random idiots with bad hair while progressing several miles to the left, (one of the few games on the Famicom that opts to go left instead of right) only to inevitably die at some point or another. As it turns out, in this game you have to go through certain doors in the background as denoted by some random character appearing briefly in the doorway, at which point you hold A and B in front of the door and press up. Why you have to hold A and B to do this I'll never know, but it's needlessly cumbersome in my opinion and could have easily been avoided with better programming. As well as this, while some doors take you to the next part of the level, others take you back to the starting area which is simply annoying.
Moving on, the fighting itself is pretty easy for the first level, punching and kicking the aforementioned idiots with bad hair until you eventually meet the boss, some obese guy who walks around doing damage on a random basis to you. I think this boss fight is based more on luck than skill as it seems to be random as to when I beat him and when I go flying into the air kicking. (that's the death animation, in case you're wondering) After that's over, you move on to Stage 2 which is rather similar except the enemies are somewhat tougher and the design is more confusing. Never figured out how to get to the second boss, and quite frankly, I don't want to. One good thing about this game is that if you punch the pink guys to death and collect 7 sets of the Japanese text they spawn then you can turn super sayian or whatever this game's equivalent is. The problem with this is that once again, it's not the most obvious thing in gaming to figure out. I guess the manual would tell you if you had an official copy of the game, but I don't have one as you can probably guess.
The graphics are somewhat mixed, I guess. The characters don't look too bad but the backgrounds look awful, with many of them using grey as the main colour, which is not typically a good sign. As well as this, the lack of an outline on the characters means that they'll sometimes clash with the backgrounds as well. The music is pretty bland and only uses two channels, and it restarts whenever you go to a different part of level. There are few sound effects to be found aside from (I think) PCM samples for Ken attacking and the enemies exploding into a gory mess, and the latter gets annoying pretty quickly. The only part of this game that I liked apart from the gore is the screen that appears before each level, where Ken kicks incessantly while going "Atatatatata!" like a Plains Indian going into battle.
But on the whole, this game is simply awful and even by 1986, there were certainly better beat 'em ups on the Famicom.
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| Star Soldier VS Giant Dumbbell |
This game is a rather simple shoot 'em up where you play as the aptly named Star Soldier, who goes around destroying UFOs of varying cheapness and the Star Brain (these people sure loved stars, didn't they?) who appears at the end of many levels. Then again, there's the Big Star Brain on Stage 4 which has 4 targets instead of one and to my knowledge, it's near impossible to beat it in one go. You can upgrade your ship by shooting P spots and collecting the powerups that spew from them, and collecting 3 of these is enough to fully upgrade it. In this state, your ship can shoot rather quickly automatically, has sort of a spread shot (from Contra) with a couple of shots going backwards and you can take a few hits before dying. It really helps, because without these powerups you're not getting anywhere without mashing the A button the whole time. (or using a turbo controller if you have one) Strangely enough, if you get hit while upgraded, your ship will be "downgraded" so that it shoots two shots ahead and two behind, but this makes defeating the Star Brain and mini boss considerably easier. As for the Star Brain itself, it's pretty easy to dodge the few projectiles it fires at you but actually defeating it is another matter. You only get about 10 seconds to destroy it and this is best done with the downgraded powered up Star Soldier. If you run out of time, the Star Brain escapes and you're forced to restart the stage all over again.
One thing that's rather annoying about this game in my opinion is the ability to hide under buildings. It happens involuntarily, it only happens with certain buildings which, as far as I can tell aren't designated for this and worst of all, you can't shoot while hiding which renders it pretty much useless in my opinion.
Graphics are definitely up there for 1986, with the buildings and Star Brain being detailed well and the background having at least a little personality with the skulls and giant eyes (which remind me of Monster Party) and the music is pretty good as well. The backgrounds also change every now and then unlike Star Force.
Overall, it's not the best shooter in the world but it's certainly one worth playing if you're a fan of these sorts of games.
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| I don't remember the scene in the film where Mikey was being chased by a Blues Brother |
Anyway, in this game you go around collecting keys by blowing up doors, a concept which would be reused in The Goonies II which actually was released in America. Never really understood why they'd release the sequel over there and not the original game.
Anyway, the game is split up into several areas. The game begins in some kind of house with numerous rats and doors. You'll find these all over the game in case you don't know. You can kick the rats to collect bombs, but be careful of the golden one as it turns into a squirrel or something before you get the bomb. I'm not making this up. Oh, and there's also one of the Blues Brothers out to get you for whatever reason. Well alright, I'm assuming they're the Fratellis (and not that stupid indie band) but you have to make your references somewhere or another, right? Anyway, in this house, you have to collect three keys and then run into some kind of spiked door to get to the next section which is underground, of course.
The graphics are alright for what they are. I've seen better from 1986 Konami games like Gradius and King Kong 2, but they're alright for what they are and at least you can tell what everything is. As for the music, the main theme (just like the film) is an 8-bit rendition of The Goonies 'R Good Enough, which is always a good thing when the Goonies themselves are involved. The sound effects are your standard Konami fare, or great to put it simply.
Overall, it's a nice little platformer to run around in and one of the few good movie-to-game adaptations you can find on any console.
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| If it wasn't for the ridiculous jumping, this guy would be less threatening than Jajamaru |
Unfortunately, this isn't exactly the greatest game in the world and I'd say the only thing that's saving it is the ridiculous jumping mechanics. The enemies are your standard ninjas who occasionally throw shurikens at you, but other than that there's not much to worry about in terms of enemies. The ninjas themselves can be cheap when they want to be, throwing shurikens at you at point blank range every now and then.
There are several levels, including one where you have to kill 10 ninjas while running across a neverending wall to complete it. After the last level, which takes place in the fort or whatever it is, you save the princess or whoever it is (ironically, she wears more than Kage himself) only for her to get captured again. Like Commando on the NES, you have to complete the game 4 times with the difficulty getting slightly harder each time. Other than that, only the background changes colour I think.
The graphics are pretty dull for the most part but not the worst for 1986 standards (better than Hokuto no Ken at least) with the backgrounds ranging between purple forests and walls. The last level looks somewhat better but whatever. Also, why is Kage dressed up like a woman anyway? As for the music, it's not particularly great either and all of the levels use the same song, but I've heard considerably worse.
Overall, it's not the greatest game in the world but if you need a game with a crossdressing ninja jumping 100 feet into the air then this might be for you.
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| Bring on the wall! |
Incidentally, this is the Tengen version, which is certainly better than the ones BPS and Nintendo did. Nintendo, there's a second controller port for your console, USE IT. You too, BPS. I don't think there's much that can be said here that hasn't been said already, so I'll just point out that this is by far the best version of Tetris that you can get for the NES (pity Nintendo removed it from the market) and that this is the only unlicensed game on the whole cartridge.
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| Insert Hotel Mario reference here |
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| The giant shrub on the right is evil |
In this game, you pilot TwinBee (of course) through 5 different levels which loop over and over again. Of course, just like in real life you can shoot clouds to grab bells where, if shot exactly 4, 9, 14 or 20 times powers you up and of course, you have an air-to-ground missile (or something like that) which you can use to destroy tiny mountains that shoot at you to turn them into giant apples or equally giant sweets, complete with wrapper. Again, just like real life. The blue bell which you get from shooting a yellow one 4 times makes you and your bullets move fast, the white one gives you a spread shot like in Contra, the flashing red one gives you a sort of Option powerup from Gradius and the non-flashing red one gives you a shield and makes the game way too easy.
The graphics are pretty good given the cartoon style the game has. You can tell what most things are supposed to be, and the backgrounds look pretty good. The music is catchy and pretty good in general, and fits the game well.
Overall, it's a nice little shooter that is somewhat challenging and definitely worth playing.
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| Nuns or ninjas? |
They each have different graphics and slightly different layouts and enemies but other than that there's not much to say. As you go through the levels, the enemies change and the game becomes gradually more difficult as you go through. Those blue bricks on the left can be hit from below to break them, sometimes hiding a powerup including one which increases your speed considerably. However, you jump at the same speed as before which is kind of confusing, but I can see why they did it.
The graphics are alright I guess, but the settings look a bit odd when they're split up into several tiers. The music isn't the best, but it'll do I guess.
In closing, I'd say that while not as good as its sequels, it's alright for killing a few minutes at least.
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| Painting the town white |
Starring some random girl, (which was changed to a chain-smoking guy in the American version) you drive around painting the various towns white for some odd reason while getting away from the coppers (or police, if you prefer) and avoiding cats holding up flags. As you can guess, this game is pretty simple. You can collect oil cans to throw at the police, much like your average chav on a Saturday night out in Blackpool. Driving over all of the road will complete the level, where you'll appear somewhere else in the world. You always start off in New York and then you'll travel to various locales (at random, I think) doing the same thing with different layouts.
The graphics are good enough, you can tell what most of the locales are and while the stages look a bit weird, that's pretty much inevitable given the concept of the game. The music is alright I guess, but I personally find the second level's theme to be sort of annoying myself.
Overall, it's a good game and one worth playing if you're a fan of quick arcade-style games like myself.
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| The least boring part of this game |
This one is by-the-numbers even for 1986 standards, where the only really interesting thing is the ability to select your weapon at the start. The major problem with this feature is that you can only select a weapon when you start the game. Even if you die or complete the level, you start the next level with the weapon you had, if any. Thankfully, you can collect weapons mid-level, but most of the arsenal is pretty useless aside from giving you an extra hit. The only one actually worth using in my experience is the Hammer which gives you a shield so that the enemies can't touch this, although a couple of others aren't that bad like the Cannon and Jump weapons. There's also a powerup represented by a letter which changes everytime you shoot it, so unless you remember what the weapons are called, good luck getting a decent one. Oh, and while doing this review I found one on Stage 2 which is completely different to the ones you start with. Not gonna spoil it for those who haven't found it though.
The graphics aren't much, to put it simply. The enemies are rather nondescript, as are the backgrounds and such. Worth pointing out that the background in the first level doesn't even loop properly due to laziness. The player's sprite looks rather suggestive with the Hammer equipped though. Another problem I noticed with this game is the lack of any HUD whatsoever; even some Action 52 games told you how many points you had! As for the music, it's alright I guess, but instead of giving each level a different song, this game has different themes for when you have a weapon and when you don't. Would've preferred a different song for each level myself.
Overall, it's a fairly bland shooter that tries to get by on a gimmick, but ultimately there are many better shooters to be found on this cartridge.
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| Insert Hitler reference here |
Moving on to a less controversial point, 1942 is a rather simple shooter where you go around 32 stages shooting down fleets of Japanese planes. Oh, and you can do loop-de-loops as a defense mechanism because after all, the A button needs some use doesn't it? One issue worth pointing out is that sometimes when you press the B button, the shooting sound effect plays but you don't actually fire any bullets. So in other words, you might want to spam the B button most of the time.
The graphics are alright for the most part but because it's made by Micronics, the frame rate is pretty bad and there's occasional flicker because of the amount of enemies on the screen. The music is simply annoying to say the least, with the Morse Code-style background noise and atonal level complete theme.
Overall, it's not the best port in the world and the flaws with it show why Micronics went out of business but at the end of the day, you can't go wrong with 1942.
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| I think I could've used a less boring looking screenshot |
It's pretty simple, A button to fire at ground targets, B to fire at other planes and A+B to fire a homing missile with about the same level of accuracy as an Irate Gamer review. In other words, don't rely on it to destroy whatever it is you're attacking. There are also little triangle things you can pick up which just seem to give you points as far as I'm aware. This game does get pretty generous with extra lives though once you hit 20000 points, gaining one every 5000 afterwards.
The graphics are better than the screenshot I took (should probably change that myself) featuring water, forests, deserts and bases. Looks pretty realistic for 1986 for the most part, but for some strange reason you can make mermaids by shooting in certain spots or something which kind of takes away the realism. As for the sound, there's no music during gameplay and the sound effects aren't the greatest, but it's not too bad for what it is. Unlike 1942, at least it doesn't get on your nerves after a few minutes.
Overall, this is a fairly decent shooter that's at least worth several plays and probably more if you're into this sort of game.
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| Flappy, the serial-killing wingless bird |
Mind you, the aforementioned game is considerably better in my opinion. In Flappy, you control a thing vaguely resembling a bird or something as you push boulders around to get the flashing blue one onto the flashing blue bricks. In the later levels, there are mushrooms which you can use to stun enemies like worms and other ones I can't remember. Oh, and you can kill them if you have good timing. One thing I didn't even know until after playing it several times is that if you press select on the title screen, you can choose what level to start on, and there are 200 in total, (I think) but good luck finding a specific level later on though unless you're good with hexadecimal. Also worth pointing out that this option isn't available in the original version, as far as I'm aware. You can also change the music if you want, but all three songs available are somewhat annoying if you ask me.
The graphics are pretty average with everything being rather simple in detail and animation. Never really understood why it says "1-up" at the top right of the screen, as completing the level doesn't give you one I don't think. Like I mentioned before, the music is pretty annoying like dB-Soft's other games.
Overall, it's a mediocre puzzle game bettered by Boulder Dash, which came out a year earlier. I suggest playing that one instead.
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| Hokuto no Ken came out 2 years after this |
In it, you go around as Thomas out to save your girlfriend (Sylvia) from Mr. X, some evil dude who's intentions are never really explained. Presumably, he isn't the guy who ended up becoming the main villain of Streets of Rage. The controls are pretty simple, A to punch, B to kick, Down to duck and Up to jump. It works, to put it simply. There are 5 floors to progress through, and each get progressively harder sort of and have a boss at the end of each. You have your typical knife-throwing guys, random hugging guys, dragons, midgets and of course, butterflies. Some levels can be pretty tough when you first play it, but you'll eventually get used to them and on the first loop, you might be able to breeze through the game.
Graphics are pretty damn good for 1984. The characters vary a fair bit and while all of the floors look the same, they are at least good looking enough to suffice. The music is pretty catchy as well, and not annoying at all. Also, gotta love those PCM sound effects.
Overall, this is one of the best beat 'em ups on the NES in my opinion and I definitely recommend playing it.
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| Protip: Don't blow up the door |
For those of you who don't know what Bomberman is, in this game you go around blowing up stuff and going through doors afterwards. It's pretty simple and a bit dull when you haven't got the powerups earlier on. The levels are randomly generated, which is good in the sense that you won't have to do the exact same stuff every time. The problem with this is because you have to find powerups and exits in blocks and you don't know which blocks have them, you could be spending a minute searching for the exit after you've killed everything in the level. To put it simply, that gets tedious in a hurry. If anything, the level should just end automatically. Also, despite the levels being randomly generated, the nature of the game means that they'll all be pretty similar anyway. The enemies get gradually tougher and the powerups differ with each level, but that's about it.
The graphics are OK but it's a bit bland having most of the screen in grey and green. They're not bad, just a bit on the dull side. As for the music, it's pretty repetitive but it's actually pretty catchy in my opinion, and that's not a bad thing. Also, you gotta love those PCM explosions.
Overall, it was alright back in the day, but like several other games on here it hasn't aged very well. I recommend one of the sequels that allows the 5-player battle mode myself.
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| There's a reason some games never leave Japan |
In this game, you play as a badly drawn soldier going around shooting other equally badly drawn soldiers with a pistol and what I think is supposed to be a grenade launcher. Later on you take control of a tank smaller than the guy you're controlling, shooting other tanks which move around and shoot randomly until you either lose or finish the level. And to finish the level, you have to fire a grenade at the guy guarding the base or whatever it is. Numerous problems plague this title. Firstly, apart from the end (and the start, if you call a few noise notes music) there's no music whatsoever, which is kind of stupid for a game like this if you ask me. Secondly, about two-thirds of the screen is rendered in a single shade of grey which just looks ugly if you ask me. Aiming your pistol is more of a pain in the arse than it should be, as your guy constantly switches what hand he holds it with (that's what she said) depending on what direction you're facing. It's needlessly annoying to say the least. The hit detection isn't perfect either, as on numerous occasions I shot an enemy, only for the bullet to pass right through him. There's only one level which lasts for about 2-3 minutes, much like Non-Human on Action 52. (Being compared with that game is never a good thing) And to top it all off, it's like Commando or Ikari Warriors, except very boring. (As far as NES games go, I recommend the former over the other two games)
The graphics are bland and ugly. As previously mentioned, the characters are badly drawn, the tanks are disproportinately tiny and there's way too much grey on the screen. The sound is very sparse, having only a couple of sound effects running throughout most of the game.
Avoid like the Noid. (But not Yo! Noid, that's a far better game than this)
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| Just a good thing those explosions are part of the background |
Kind of like Transformers (saying that will probably offend Macross fans but whatever) you can transform between a spaceship and their standard giant robot form. Just like the previous game, this one only has one level but as you may guess, this game is a lot less boring. There's an onslaught of enemies firing considerable amounts of projectiles at once, which makes the game pretty difficult when you can't dodge effectively. Transforming into the robot form makes everything go slower, but it makes you a bigger target anyway so why not be the spaceship the whole time? You have a health metre, labelled as power for some odd reason and to be annoying, it drains over time which is kind of unnecessary in my opinion. The game itself is pretty simple, and certainly a lot more playable than that infamous Transformers game on the Famicom.
One major problem with this game (from a technical standpoint at least) is that if you go to the bottom right corner of the screen, the game becomes incredibly easy as the enemies can't inflict enough damage to kill you until about the 5th loop at least. Of course, you still have to destroy the barrier thing at the end but that's made easier on the first few loops anyway.
The graphics are pretty good for the most part. The background is alright and the enemies are varied. The music is good as well, presumably from the anime although like I said, I'm not familiar with it so whatever.
Overall, it's pretty difficult for the most part, but if you need a basic side-scrolling shooter or you're a big Macross fan then this is probably for you.
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| Galaxian: Easy Edition |
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| Helipads in space, how does that work? |
While I wouldn't say this is as good as its sequel, it does have a few positives over it. First off, you don't have that annoying feature where you go behind the base or whatever. Secondly, while the bosses are incredibly easy here, at least it's better than Star Brain, which forces you to restart the level if you don't destroy it within about 10 seconds. The ones here could've at least tried to fire a couple of bullets though, I must say. The levels themselves are relatively simple, with many things to blow up in the background including helipads and typical bases. There are also waves of enemies and the occasional mini-boss to get in the way.
The game starts off relatively easy, but it gets somewhat intense later on. Oddly enough, I actually find that the Famicom version is more difficult than the arcade version. Not entirely sure why either, because to me they seem about the same in terms of mechanics and such.
The graphics are a bit dull when compared with Star Soldier, but they're alright for 1985. Makes me wish Supervision used the American version though. The music is pretty good and somewhat catchy and the sound effects do their job.
Overall, it's a good arcade port and a shooter worth playing in my opinion but I don't get why they used the Japanese version instead of the US release.
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| I like how they forgot to remove the copyright |
For a fighting game, this is pretty bare-bones, with the attacks consisting of a punch, a kick and a jumpkick. As far as I'm aware, there are no specials or anything like that. There are 5 opponents, all of which have an unfair advantage over you but to counter this, you have the ability to jump around the dojo like a Scout on a can of Bonk!. There's an obese fellow who spits out fireballs and some other guy later on who uses a chain like a lasso as well as some others which you can find out by playing it yourself. (or just going on Youtube if you're that lazy)
The game itself is relatively difficult in my opinion (then again, this sort of fighting game was a bit before my time TBH) and the way you hit your enemies is kind of annoying in my opinion. It almost seems to be random as to when you actually hit your enemy and or not so I just spam jumpkicks most of the time. I'm guessing it's meant to incorporate some sort of strategy, but I personally think button mashing works better for these sorts of games.
That said, this was a good fighter for it's time considering there wasn't really a standard for fighting games in 1985. Then again, I think most would agree that Street Fighter II is a far better game.
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| Deja-Vu 2: Electric Boogaloo |
However, while this game also has three different stages, the second one is literally a recolour of the first. The way the stages are designed, however, is different. Instead of scrolling horizontally, this one scrolls vertically and there are no defined tiers and such unlike Ninja Jajamaru Kun.
One thing I noticed about the graphics here is that Jaleco (or UPL or whoever) seem to be a fan of flashing colours. They're used for the powerups and the score tally screen, as well as some of the text. The intermission screen and level 3 look pretty good, but level 2 being a recolour is a bit of a disappointment though. It has to be said though, some of the music is pretty annoying.
It's not the greatest game in the world, but it's not a bad way to spend 5 minutes and there's definitely worse games to be found on this multicart.
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| Isn't that an oxymoron? |
In this game, you play the role of Mario or Mr. Mary if you prefer (or possibly Luigi in a 2 player game) going around taking out Koopas, "creepy crabs" (as an advert for the Atari ports call them) and bees by hitting the platform they're on from below, causing them to fall over and stay down for a few seconds, kind of like that episode of Futurama where Bender can't get up when he falls on his back. Anyway, while the enemies are down you can run into them like a blue hedgehig would run into rings to defeat them. After all of the enemies on a level are down, it's on to the next level. There are 32 of them, I think, and numerous bonus stages where you collect coins. Unlike the GBA port of this game (the one on Super Mario Advance) the jumping in this game is slightly awkward because you can't change direction or slow down. Kind of like Ice Climber, except easier to get used to. It's definitely a fun game, to put it simply.
The graphics are pretty simple but seeing as this was made in 1983, they're pretty good for the time. It's a pity the Mario Bros. logo was removed here, but everything looks pretty much how it did in the arcade version apart from Mario who wears his standard attire this time around. There's little to offer terms of music, but what is there is good as you'd expect.
Overall, it's an arcade classic definitely worth playing if you're willing to put up with the control.
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| When the best part of your game involves a cup of tea, you've got problems |
As I recently learned how to play this thing (although I'm still a complete noob at the Japanese language) I can say that this isn't really that bad if you don't have a Mahjong set or know someone who also happens to play it in real life. That said, the best part of this game if the pause screen, just because of how random it is. Tea time? Despite being as British as I am, I prefer hot chocolate myself. I guess if you really like this game then I guess it's worth playing for a bit. Although, seeing as pretty much all of the demographic for this game is Asian and this multicart is in the NES format, I doubt many bothered playing this one.
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| Can anyone translate the Freudian slip for me? |
Pretty much the same thing as the game above, except with a few minor differences. First off, there are three opponents instead of one. Secondly, if you can use an opponent's tile for your hand then the game explicity tells you (kind of stupid for this game if you ask me) but if you pick the wrong option by accident, which is pretty likely when you don't know Japanese, it automatically draws your next tile so you can't pick the right option. Seriously, who thought that was a good idea? The Tea Time screen was removed, and now the highlight of this game is the title screen. And last off, it uses a more vivid shade of green which looks uglier in my opinion. To put it simply, this one's slightly worse than the previous game if you ask me.
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| You'd think the Bombermen would just throw a bomb at him and get it over with |
For those that don't know, this is a puzzle game where you collect lodes and dodge Bomberman and his clones. Collecting all of the lodes gives you access to the next level, and I think there are 50 in total. One thing that's rather annoying is that whenever you start or restart a level, you have to listen to some random tune and then get a guided tour of the stage before you can play, which is kind of unnecessary if you ask me. Another problem I noticed is that when you're trying to dig a hole and there's a Bomberman walking over it, the bricks you dig up suddenly reappear which pretty much means you're open to get killed.
It's also worth pointing out that this game has its own edit mode like a couple of games I'll be covering later on, but for some crazy reason the "edit mode" text on the title screen was removed by Supervision so you just have to find it by accident here. It's nice that Hudson cared enough to add this feature and if you get bored of the standard levels then this might be worth using for a bit.
The graphics are pretty much what you expect, pretty basic for the most part but at least the characters have a fair bit of animation and the Bombermen look like how they should. The music is nothing special, the stage theme is just a sequence of beeps and the intermission theme is unnecessary and annoying.
Overall, it's pretty simple and not what many would label as groundbreaking, but it's alright at keeping you occupied for a little while.
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| Lode Runner: Masochist Edition |
Apart from those things and the removal of the 2-player and edit modes though, it's the same thing as before. Never got very far in this (as in, I got stuck on the first level) but if you happen to be a God of Lode Runner then I guess you'll find a fair bit of enjoyment in this title. I suggest to the rest of you though that you stick with the previous game.
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| Jumpman, like Mario but with a different distressed damsel |
As you'd expect, it's a pretty simple game of course and I'm sure you all know how to play it already. You dodge barrels, flames and whatever those things are on the second screen while rescuing Pauline, the one who's never referred to after this game apart from another one that comes up later on in this cart. The main flaw with this adaptation is that the third screen is missing in this version, which is a bit of a disappointment. Another disappoinging omission in my opinion was the rather infamous "How high can you get" screen, not sure why they'd need to cut that out TBH. Despite those flaws though, it was probably one of the best ports out there at the time, which isn't really surprising considering that Nintendo also made the arcade version. Overall, if you need your fix of some old school Donkey Kong, you can't go wrong with this port unless you desperately want that third screen for whatever reason.
Incidentally, I believe Hambo's Adventures from Action 52 is a horrible attempt to copy this game, what with the concept being to jump over barrels and get to the top of the level except with horrible controls and randomly placed enemies. Avoid that game (and Action 52 in general) at all costs.
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| This is why the RSPCA exists |
Unlike Donkey Kong and despite also being a launch title for the Famicom, all of the levels from the arcade game are retained here, which is always a plus. Of course, Mario (or Jumpman) not being content with rescuing Pauline or whoever, he decides to hold Donkey Kong captive in the middle of a random forest for some odd reason. Of course, Donkey Kong Jr. decides to rescue him by climbing vines and collecting keys as you do, and for whatever reason, Mario has some kind of power plant which he forces the offspring to traverse through. What a cruel plumber (or carpenter) this guy is! Of course, you never really succeed because just like in many games from this time, it constantly loops until you either get game over or reach a kill screen. (assuming there is one in this game) Just like Donkey Kong, this is a port worth playing if you want a good port of Donkey Kong Jr. and some arcade action in general.
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| This is also why the RSPCA exists |
Anyway, in this game Mario (or Jumpman again) has been replaced with some random dude simply known as Stanley the Bugman. All you need to know about this guy is that he's all about killing bugs and taking names*. Oh, and spraying Donkey Kong up the posterior with bug spray, because that's what makes him move towards the top of the screen and hit his head off a bees' nest or something. Bugs kill you instantly for some odd reason, and losing all of your plants costs you a life. Now if Gardener's World actually had something like this, it might not be one of the most boring shows on TV, but I digress.
Personally, I never really liked this game quite as much as the previous two. It's a good game, but overall, the games tend to be somewhat shorter. Despite this though, it's certainly a game worth playing at least.
*May not actually take names.
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| Insert Tom and Jerry reference here |
It's a simple arcade-style game where you go around collecting TVs, paintings, computers and the like. Presumably to return to their rightful owners, but who knows? Maybe Mappy is secretly a criminal himself who doesn't want cats to take the stuff he's stealing. Anyway, you can bounce off trampolines and open doors (like the idiot on the screenshot to the left) and collecting everything finishes the level. There are also bonus stages where you collect balloons for whatever reason.
The graphics are pretty simple as you'd expect from an arcade port. The whole game takes place in the aforementioned mansion and it lacks in detail, but being 1984 you wouldn't expect much more. The music is simple and nice in general, and sort of fits the mood of the game.
Overall, this game certainly makes for a nice time killer at least and it's another nice port of an arcade game on this multicart.
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| The bikes that excite like Dick van Dyke on a trike, psyche! |
Anyway, the game itself is a classic and definitely worth playing for racing fans. There are 5 default tracks and 2 different modes: one where you race against idiots who crash into everyone frequently and one without them. There's also an edit mode, which works well for the most part, but one issue is that you can't decide how long the track is and there's no warning that you're reaching the end of it. Other than that though, certainly a feature worth utilising.
The graphics are pretty standard as you'd expect and everything is what you'd expect it to look (apart from the missing logo, of course) and the music is just classic.
In summary, this a classic that any NES fan would recognise right away. A great racing title as you can see.
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| Pole Position with glitchy scrolling |
For those that can't guess, it's a lot like Pole Position, except the scrolling is sort of glitchy in this game, which I think is a fault of the game's coding as opposed to the multicart it's on. Just a good thing that issue was rectified in games like Rad Racer, RoadBlasters and even Knight Rider. (Then again, the latter just sucked anyway and I advise that you avoid that title) This game seems to be slower paced than Pole Position for what I remember of that game, but it's not bad for what it is. One thing though is that even on Skill Level 1, it's rather unforgiving, especially in the later stages. Crashing just twice may leave you without enough time to complete the course sometimes, and that can be somewhat annoying especially when you're so close to the finish line.
The graphics, as mentioned already, are glitchy. The road looks kind of odd as a result and the 3D effect isn't pulled off very well. The backgrounds are nice for 1984 and the cars are detailed well though, although I still say that those looked better in the arcade version of Pole Position. The music is simple but it works.
However, despite its flaws this is definitely a game worth playing if you haven't played Rad Racer before. If you have though, I suggest sticking with that game.
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| Word of warning, don't try driving at 400km/h in real life |
In this game, you drive through 4 courses dodging (or destroying, if you prefer) numerous cars. Certainly a fun and challenging game, although the challenge eases a little after enough plays. Strangely enough, course 3 (the beach level) is a fair bit harder than its arcade counterpart, and I was one thinking that NES ports are supposed to be easier than their arcade versions. One problem though is the lack of a 2-player mode, which is a bit disappointing for a game like this. Another problem (in my opinion) is that when you crash, your fuel continues to tick down which makes no sense when you've already crashed anyway. They might as well have rebranded it as "Time" instead.
The graphics are pretty simple, but the different car types are recognisable and the environments looks pretty good for NES standards. The fanfares at the start and end of the courses are all you'll hear in terms of music, but the sound effects are classic.
Overall, this is a fine title and definitely one worth playing if you have the chance. Never understood why this was never released in America though.
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| Just your typical pinball game |
The design is somewhat simple in nature and lacks the flashiness of real pinball machines, but seeing as this was a Famicom game from 1983, anyone who knows what games were like back then wouldn't expect that anyway. There are numerous features to the table, like a slot machine thing, chicks hatching from eggs and a royal flush to form. But the most notable of these is the bonus game. Should you reach the brown circle on the top right of the screenshot I have provided, you're taken to a seperate area where you have to play some weird bingo-type thing while playing as Mario, carring a girder and trying to rescue Pauline, the only other game she appears in. Obviously, it's meant to be a reference to Donkey Kong, only without the titular character from that game. One thing I noticed is that (possibly due to my general suckage) games tend to end pretty quickly. Most of the time, you lose a ball because it goes straight through the middle of the flippers. Makes me wish this game had a tilt function or something.
The graphics are pretty basic, but the necessary detail is there and everything looks like it should apart from whatever that pink thing on the top right of the screenshot is. The music is just a little ditty on startup and isn't particularly great but it will do, and the sound effects are fairly standard as well.
It's not quite as good as the real thing, but it's still alright nontheless, especially when you live about 50 miles from the nearest arcade like myself.
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| I'd insert a witty retort about baseball here, but I can't because I'm British |
In this game, you get to play as your favourite teams such as C, D and even T! The controls are simple and they work well enough. One problem in my opinion is that it seems to be completely random as to which team gets to bat first. Of course, the gameplay is pretty standard and thankfully, you can get home runs in this game which is undoubtedly the highlight of this whole thing. The biggest problem with this game is the fielding because you can't control your fielders at all, all you can do is choose what base to throw the ball to when they have it. To make it worse, they move slower than a traffic jam in Birmingham.
The graphics are pretty simple. The stadium lacks detail but at least you can tell what's going on. The sound is pretty lacking though, with the sound effects being rather sparse and boring. And the only music is a 5-second ditty that plays in many of Nintendo's other black box sports games as well as a tune that plays when you get a home run.
Overall, I guess it was alright for its time, but it's pretty outdated and not really all that worth playing nowadays given that Wii Sports exists.
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| Since when did Popeye have hearts plastered all over his house? |
As you would expect, you play the role of Popeye out to save Olive Oyl from Bluto. (or Brutus, as he's called here) There are three levels which follow the same concept, pretty much. You collect stuff that Oyl drops towards you while Bluto is out to prevent you from doing this as you may expect. Of course, you can eat spinach to take care of him for a little while which is always fun when he doesn't get away. Oh, and there's also a couple of traps set up to do the same, like the bucket on the screenshot to the left. To complete the level, you have to collect some hearts, music notes or letters spelling "Help me." Thankfully, if you die you get to continue from where you left off pretty much. It's simple but it's fun and it works.
The graphics are pretty simple as you may expect, and of course the characters look like their cartoon counterparts which is always nice. The music is pretty simple but there are surprisingly many music cues as well as the famous Popeye theme which I think you should all recognise right away.
So to summarise, it's a bit of an overlooked arcade classic if you ask me, and a great game to play when you don't feel like playing Donkey Kong.
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| It's takes two to make a thing go right, but 52 to go horribly wrong |
For simpletons who don't understand the concept, I'll explain in a few sentences. You play the role of a ship shooting down various space aliens who have different methods of attacking. The most notable of these being the green enemies which can fire capture beams which will cost you a life if you fly into it. If you can retrieve the ship back, then you have twin ships which gives you a double shot and an extra hit point which makes the game somewhat easier. Very fun, to put it simply.
This port manages to better the arcade version at points as well. You don't have to insert pennies/quarters/whatever into your NES, for one. I also that unlike that version, the music for getting the twin ships or whatever it's called doesn't loop constantly which I found to be slightly annoying there. BTW, it's worth pointing out that once when I got game over (on this multicart version) the game randomly froze. No idea why, probably because I waited on the screen for too long or something.
The graphics are pretty much what you expect, spaceships and cartoony aliens. Pity the background doesn't scroll, but you can't have everything. The music is pretty simple and what you'd expect, and the sound effects are classic.
In closing, this is an awesome game which I definitely recommend playing where possible.
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| Reused screenshot, but it's not like I'm being any more lazy than Supervision here |
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| Pac-Man, complete with a random quarter-circle at the top-left of the screen. |
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| What's a bird doing inside a mountain? |
Anyway, in this game you play as Popo (or Nana if you're player 2) and you have to climb 32 mountains to collect vegetables stolen from a condor at the top of it. You can scale the mountain by jumping at those blocks to destroy them, allowing you to progress. What makes this awkward is the control, where you can pretty much jump about 2 blocks across, which makes the game considerably more difficult. There are seals, birds and icicles which stand in the way of progress but with your trusty mallet, you can knock them out of the way. There are also clouds which scroll to the edge of the screen which eccentuates how annoying the jumping can be. The gameplay is alright, but it could do with better controls.
The graphics are OK, but they really don't make any sense. Vaguely reminds me of Kid Icarus in an ice mountain setting. The music is pretty basic and the bonus stage and title themes are pretty unfitting but it's good nontheless.
So to summarise, it's an alright game but I'd say it's in the lower echelons of Nintendo games myself.
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| Exerion, sans the limit of single shots |
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| Thankfully, the round doesn't actually last 27 minutes long |
Often panned by critics on Youtube amongst other sites, this game is known for being an early mediocre fighting/wrestling game based off Kinnikuman that got the rebranding treatment when it was released in the good old US of A. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's as bad as those people claim, but it's not brilliant by any means. The fighting is pretty simple. You can punch, kick, jump around like House of Pain on acid, do suplexes and that sort of thing. What makes it rather unbalanced is the powerups that appear every now and then. Whoever picks it up is at a big advantage as their attacks do more damage and they can move a lot faster.
The graphics are OK I guess, but the background looks a bit odd if you ask me. The music is also OK, but it's nothing special. There's also none during the fights, all you get is a few sound effects and nothing more.
To put it simply, this isn't exactly the best wrestling game on the NES, but I've seen LJN do worse.
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| You'd think the falcon at the bottom would have some better defences |
The concept is pretty simple. You control a tank shooting at other tanks who are out to destroy the falcon symbol at the bottom of the level. It's pretty simple and for such a concept, it's simply awesome. In fact, I think I had this sort of game on my Playstation, although I don't remember that being anywhere near as good myself. There's numerous blocks standing in the way, such as brick walls which you can destroy and metal which you can't destroy unless you upgrade your tank.
Speaking of which, there are numerous different kinds of tanks. Some move fast, some take several hits to destroy and some spawn a powerup on the map when you take them out. These powerups include a star which upgrades your tank, a grenade which kills all of the enemies on screen and a shovel which fortifies the defences around the falcon.
Now as basic as the graphics are, I think I could have used a better screenshot TBH. Some levels have water, trees and one of them would look like a black mage from Final Fantasy if they were midgets. There's not much to offer in terms of sound, but what is there is classic.
In closing, this is a great game which I certainly recommend for anyone who needs some tank action if that makes any sense. (Hint: it doesn't)
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| Clearly, Taito are more patriotic than Capcom |
Here, you shoot down planes and bomb ships in the middle of some random war. Given that this is a video game, I'm gonna guess it's WWII seeing as everyone likes basing stuff off that, especially Activision these days. (Edit: turns out I was right) It's pretty simple, although I was never a big fan of this game myself. Bascially, you shoot down other planes while dodging their shots, and every now and then a red plane will appear and you have to shoot it down. Do that and then blow up an island at the end of the level by deploying a missile with the B button. Simples.
The graphics are good for 1985, the background looks pretty good and changes colour over time. However, it's a bit strange that the enemy planes disappear when they get close enough. The music is alright, and the sound effects aren't half bad either.
Overall, this is a good game if you feel like shooting down Americans.
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| It's like Reversi for imbeciles |
The rules are pretty simple, on a Reversi (or Othello for the Shakespeare fans among you) styled board you have to get 5 stones in a row. It really is that basic. This one gets boring after a couple of rounds, although I suppose you could blame the creators of Go rather than Nintendo for that. Either that or it's because I have a tendency to suck at board games.
Don't think I need to go over the audiovisuals, but they're what you expect; pretty simple but they're alright I guess.
In summary, unless you really need a quick game of Go you can skip this all you want.
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| Don't let someone tread on your balloon, or you'll turn into a bubble for reasons unknown |
This game is a ripoff of Joust for the most part, except this game is a lot easier if you ask me. Just like that game, you tap the A button to fly up and to win you have to land on the enemies' balloons and then land on them while they're trying to refill it. It starts off easy but it tends to get pretty difficult later on. In the meantime, you'll be attacked by lightning and sharks which don't exactly help. The levels vary a little more than Joust did, with the platforms changing every level, although when you get to about level 12 repeats start appearing.
One thing which really helps with the replay value in my opinion is the Balloon Trip mode. To put it simply, in this mode the screen scrolls to the left, and you have to pop balloons while avoiding lightning. It's made challenging by the controls and is surprisingly fun given the concept.
The graphics are simple but they work pretty well and you can tell what everything is. The music is also pretty good, especially the Bonus Stage/Balloon Trip theme.
Overall, despite the lack of originality this is a Nintendo classic and one definitely worth playing on this cart.
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| It's like a Transformer with no name |
The graphics are alright, there's some use of scrolling in the background and the backgrounds themselves vary with each section. One problem with this game is the lack of music during gameplay, which is kind of strange for a shooter like this. The sound effects are pretty sparse as well which doesn't help.
Overall, it's not a bad shooter for what it is and it's pretty fun when you work out how to play it properly but it's not one of the best ones on this cart.
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| I'd hate to burst your balloon, but I had to |
Being a port of an arcade game from the early 80's, you can't expect all that much from this game but it's a fun one and it does its job. In this game, you have to shoot balloons which are being worn by wolves that slowly move down or up (depending on the level) the screen to take you down. There's also some bonus stages without the wolves where you can get some points if you want. It's a pretty fun game for what it is and it's certainly got the arcade-style replay value.
The graphics are pretty good for 1985. The background has a little bit of detail and you can tell what most things are. It's also a pretty colourful game at that. The music is pretty classic as well, that is if you've played another version (or this one) from before.
Overall, this is a nice little arcade game (like many games on here) that's good for timekilling.
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| Jumping on a tightrope is just asking for death |
As you can probably guess, in this game you play as a clown doing various events in a circus. There are 5 stages which loop (a bit like Spartan X) and each one is a different event. In the first one you ride a lion, jumping through rings of fire and pots of the same, it's pretty easy. Stage 2 is pretty easy as well on the first loop and here you have to cross a tightrope while jumping over monkeys. No idea how anyone could do that in real life, but moving on. Stage 3 is somewhat annoying as you have to jump between giant balls and you have to position yourself pretty well not to lose. Stage 4 is where the game gets difficult, as the screen scrolls by rather quickly as you have to jump on springboards suspended in the air and it can be a bit of a pain to do, especially in when the game loops and the springboards are really thin. The last stage has you jumping on trampolines and flying on trapeziums and like the last two stages, you have to be pretty good at judging when to jump.
The graphics are pretty basic, but they do their job. The losing animation is pretty funny though. The music is in the traditional circus style and it works quite well.
Overall, this a good game if you feel like being a clown for whatever reason, or you just want to play this thing.
SAMI
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