It is a little-known fact that Tetris was not originally intended to be bundled with the Game Boy. Henk Rogers, a game developer and founder of “Bullet-Proof Software”, convinced Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa that Tetris, and not Super Mario Land, would give the Game Boy broad appeal across multiple age groups. Mr. Rogers … Read more
Track & Field is a home port of the 1983 arcade game of the same name. Although the original arcade game never gained much notoriety, the release of the game on the NES popularized the series and spawned numerous sequels on multiple platforms. Track & Field features 8 events; the 100-meter dash, long jump, 110-meter … Read more
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe was the historic game’s first appearance on a hand held console (the game would later be ported to the Game Boy Advance as part of the “NES Classics” series.) The game features a pixel-perfect translation of the original NES title, but due to the lower resolution of the GBC’s screen the … Read more
Duck Hunt was not only a launch title, but was a pack-in game if you purchased the “NES Action Set”, where the game was bundled on a single cartridge with Super Mario Bros. Although less common, the game was also released as a stand-alone retail cartridge. Duck Hunt has 3 game modes, each requiring the … Read more
Released 6 years after its predecessor, the simply-titled “Golf”, NES Open Tournament Golf was the second golf game released by Nintendo for the NES. The game features three courses; US, Japan, and the UK, and has three game modes; stroke play, match play, and a tournament mode. You can also practice single holes to tighten … Read more
During the NES era, two game companies released Ms. Pac-Man cartridges. The game was available from Tengen as one of their easily recognizable black unlicensed carts, while Namco released this licensed version. While the Tengen version included some upgrades in the form of extra mazes and new gameplay options, this release is a straight port … Read more
Vegas Dream is a casino-style gambling game featuring 4 games; blackjack, roulette, keno, and a slot machine. You start off the game with $700, but various events in the game aside from the outcome of gambling itself have an effect on your cash flow. Every so often during the game, you are interrupted by someone … Read more
Released about 6 months after the launch of the Game Boy, this was the first golf game to appear on the system. As is to be expected, you play as Mario and have two course options; USA and Japan. The course design, while not particularly realistic, keeps the game interesting by offering up various challenges … Read more
Golf was one of four completely forgettable sports titles released with the launch of the NES. The game can either be played single player, or 2-player in stroke or match play format. The game features only one course, but it is a full 18 holes and the holes are varied enough to keep the game … Read more
Boxing Legends of the Ring is a boxing simulation released for the SNES, presumably as a more realistic alternative to arcade-style boxing games like Punch-Out. The game features 8 real life boxers, including Sugar Ray Leonard and Jake LaMotta (of Raging Bull fame.) You can fight through a single bout, a career mode where you … Read more
Legend is a medieval hack-and-slash game that seems like it should be a lot of fun (think Golden Axe or Knights of the Round.) I consider myself to be a huge fan of the genre, so I was excited to play this game. The game’s crisp graphics and large, detailed sprites leave a good first … Read more
Gun.Smoke is a pretty unique game in that it has all of the game play mechanics of a vertically-scrolling shooter, but you don’t fly a plane or a space ship. You play the role of a wild west vigilante who kills the leaders of various groups of bandits who have been harassing the town of … Read more
In the early days of the NES, Excitebike was *the* game to have, and it’s easy to see why. Excitebike is a dirt bike-based racing game in which you race against the clock in either a time trial format or in a group of other riders. The object of the game is to navigate your … Read more
In Urban Champion, you fight an opponent who looks just like you but has bright green hair. Your ultimate objective is to knock him down a manhole, and this is accomplished through a series of fights. Each bout takes place in front of a building, and the objective is to keep hitting your opponent so … Read more
Donkey Kong was released as part of Nintendo’s early “Arcade Series”, in which they ported their own arcade titles to the NES. Although not a launch title, Donkey Kong was one of the original 30 games that were packaged in black boxes. For those who have never played the game, the object of Donkey Kong … Read more
“Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!” is easily one of the most recognized and beloved games on the NES console, overshadowing the three other games that were part of the franchise in the classic gaming era. Early 80’s arcade denizens will remember the original “Punch-Out!!” game, which was followed up by a lesser known sequel. The final game … Read more
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