Genre: Boxing

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Year: 1987

Basic Idea: Ignore Doc’s worthless advice, or join the Nintendo Fun Club today!

Review:  When we first got this game I wasn’t terribly good at it.  I would have trouble with Great Tiger and Bald Bull, and Soda Popinski was often the death of me.  I knew what to do, generally, but just couldn’t do it fast enough.  One day, like riding a bike, I finally figured out how to do a quick-dodge and punch.

Of course, learning this only helped defeat Super Macho Man and his double-D breasts.  Mike Tyson is on a whole other planet.  It took me a long time, at least a year or two, before I was able to fell him (perhaps I was inspired by Buster Douglas).  There are a select few final bosses on the NES that provide that sense of accomplishment combined with intense relief.  Mike Tyson still does that for me today.  I can beat him about 40% of the time, and it remains intense.  Because no matter how well you’re doing against him, the match can be over at any second.  Considering this is exactly how most of his real-life opponents felt while facing him, I think the designers absolutely nailed it.

I still play this game multiple times per year.  The cast of characters are funny and unique, maintaining interest through each fight.   The learning curve is perfect.  And the replayability is off the charts.  I’ve won this game multiple times, and the final three opponents (Mr. Sandman, Super Macho Man, and Tyson) still make me sweat.

There’s a cool story about how we figured out how to defeat Bald Bull, but I’ll let my brother tell it.

Genre: Action Adventure

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Year: 1986

Basic Idea: Save Zelda before it becomes cliché.

Review: My parents were huge Atari 2600 fans.  Unfortunately, they had trouble getting into most NES games.  There were a few exceptions.  The Legend of Zelda was the only game they both loved. My father, however, took his love for this game to levels never seen.  One weekend morning, afternoon, and night, deciding he wanted to find rupees and heart containers, he took it upon himself to burn every single bush in the entire game.  With the blue candle.

For those who aren’t aware, the blue candle can only be used once per screen.  The red candle, available in the seventh dungeon, can be used an unlimited number of times per screen.  But my father didn’t want to wait for that.  I remember periodically entering the living room to check on his progress.  His efforts weren’t in vain.  He found multiple hidden areas we had never come across. Thankfully, he decided not to bomb every single rock in the game.

After all these years, I am still crazy about this game.  It’s not the best game in the Zelda canon, but I would contend it’s still solidly in the top half.  A lot of the recent games (especially the handhelds) are redundant and so linear there’s virtually no problem-solving.  A lot of the games are also hurt by annoying, repetitive plots which doesn’t hamper the first game.

There is just the right amount of exploration needed here.  The map is manageable, there are plenty of secrets to be found, and the learning curve is absolutely perfect.  The dungeons are a blast.  Each one has its own secrets, including treasures, trap doors, bomb-able walls, and old men you can buy stuff from.  The biggest criticism of the game is that many of the game’s hints are anything but, as most of the people you run into give hints that were poorly translated into gibberish.  Thankfully, it rarely impedes progress.

The music is classic, if repetitive.  One thing that works really well for the game is the sound effects. Finding a hidden area with a bomb produces a very satisfying jingle.  Destroying enemies with your sword, especially Gleeok, produces an awesome crushing noise.  And I love the sound of the boomerang as it flies across the room, hopefully taking out a few bats in the process.  Speaking of enemies, I love most of them.  The darknuts are awesomely difficult but not unfair.  The tektites are deceptively obnoxious.  Like-likes are slow but scary as hell with their appetite for large shields.  The only enemy I despise are the wizzrobes.  Their completely random movements are impossible to avoid at times, making the sixth dungeon the hardest one in the game.

The final dungeon is impressive in its size, secrets, new enemies, and deceptive path to Ganon. Sadly, Ganon is pretty easy to defeat, making the end a bit anticlimactic.  The game more than makes up for this with a second quest.  Normally, playing the game over would annoy me, but the second quest is markedly different from the first, with harder to find areas, more dastardly dungeons, and significantly harder enemies that provide a welcome challenge.  Considering this was 1986, and there was a battery backup, I remain impressed after all these years.

For a long time I had The Legend of Zelda ranked as my favorite game on the system.  While my love has tapered every so slightly over the years, it will likely be a game I continue to play forever.

Genre: Point’N’Click

Developer: ICOM
Publisher: Kemco/Seika
Year: 1989

Basic Idea: Die.

Review: It may have helped than I am an enormous fan of adventure games, but I hopelessly adore Shadowgate.  Of the games in my top ten, it is the most likely to treated with disdain by others, though it also has its ardent fans.

Adventure games are a tough sell to console gamers, especially when you have to move the cursor around with a control pad instead of a mouse.  No doubt it gets frustrating at times.  But for me Shadowgate hits on so many other levels that I am able to forgive it.  The story is your standard dungeon fare, but the atmosphere is nailed.  The music will be forever etched in my memory, especially the eerie tune that plays when your torch is about to go out.  When it appears there should be tension (e.g. facing a fire-breathing dragon) the music changes accordingly.  The sound effects add a lot as well, from lightning striking to glass breaking.

The graphics are also well done.  At no point do you have to go pixel hunting.  Some of the gory parts could have been a little more creepy.  One criticism of the game is that it can’t decide if it’s going for horror or humor.  I certainly get that.  You will die, and die frequently. When it happens, the game will mercilessly mock you.  I am one of those that enjoy when games do it correctly, and I believe Shadowgate does.  Better yet, you always return to the spot where you died, so you can feel free to make mistakes.  “Learn by Dying” is certainly inexcusable by today’s standards, but even I miss it sometimes if the game isn’t cruel about it.  Thankfully, there are no silly mazes or hunger daemons, so there are no puzzles by themselves that will make you want to quit.  The only way to put yourself in an unwinnable situation is if you wander around for so long that you run out of torches, but the game offers you plenty.

As for the puzzles, they are hit and miss.  Some are obvious, some are clever, and some are downright obtuse.  There are also many, many red herrings. There are hints for many puzzles spread throughout the dungeon, though those are sometimes vague as well.  My favorite puzzles involve using spells that you learn throughout the way.  As an aside, the only time I ever called a Nintendo Game Counselor was when I was stuck at the troll bridge.  As it turns out, the puzzle was incredibly easy; all you have to do is attack the troll with your spear.  But I thought I heard the counselor say “sphere,” which led to much frustration as I kept trying to throw my sphere at the bastard.  My brother had to call another counselor ($2.25 a minute!) to get the correct answer.

Shadowgate is certainly not for everybody, and it would be hard to get into these days even for adventure fans, but it will always hold a special place for me.

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Year: 1988

Basic Idea: She got the way to move me Cherry, she got the way to groove me some extra lives.

Review: When we first got this game, I was disappointed.  At first I thought it was too difficult, but this was mainly because the game mechanics were so different from the first game in the series. With time, I began to get good at the game, but it took me years to really appreciate it.  Reworking Doki Doki Panic is one of the best decisions Nintendo of America made for the console.

There are so many wonderful aspects of this platformer, it’s hard to tell where to start.  Deciding which character you’ll go as before each level is a great idea.  While any character can win any level, there are advantages to one over another depending on the level.  Mario is all-around okay, Luigi is awkward but can jump super high, Toad is weak but quick and fast, and the Princess can float in the air for a few seconds.  Not only is the terrain a factor in your decision, but also your desire to be able to pick up and throw vegetables and enemies with more speed as well as collect coins in the subworld.  Ah yeah, the subworld, the place to get special mushroom energy and your best chance at extra lives.

I love that many levels have alternate paths through them. Some are quicker, but more dangerous. Some can only be accessed with certain characters.  And I absolutely adore the bosses.  Birdo is so pathetic it almost makes me sad to kill him.  He appears several times, but has different powers each time.  The stage bosses is where it’s at, though.  Mouser, Fry Guy, and TriClyde are all excellent bosses that take patience and skill to defeat.  What other games requires to build yourself a wall of defense before attacking the boss?  And then you have the door near the end of the game that comes alive and tries to eat you.  Classic.

The bosses aren’t the only enemies that deserve praise.  Bob-omb was so cool he became the only enemy to make it into future Mario games.  Nothing can beat the phantom, though.  I literally got nervous every time I picked up a key.  Finally getting to the locked door was a huge relief.

If all of these reasons weren’t enough to explain why this game is better than Super Mario Bros. 3, I present you with Wart, the final boss.  He is hands down my favorite final boss on the NES.  He never moves because he’s so fat but he’s deadly. He’s arrogant and relentless.  Even today it usually takes me a few times to beat him.

I was also completely blown away by the game’s ending.  Nearly every game I had won to that point had one screen congratulating me, often with misspelled words.  The ending to Super Mario Bros. 2 is several minutes long, complete with rolling credits featuring the game characters.  An incredibly satisfying game, through and through.

Genre: Puzzle

Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Tecmo
Year: 1993

Basic Idea:  She loves ice, she loves ice not.

Review: If you like puzzles, you have to play this game.  If you like Adventures of Lolo, you have to play this game.  If you like iced tea, you have to play this game.  If you think fire was a good idea for civilization, you have to play this game.

The sequel to Solomon’s Key, Fire ‘N Ice makes its predecessor obsolete.  And Tecmo did it by simplifying everything.  You still play as Dana, saving the world or something, going level to level. Your only goal is to get rid of the fire on each level.  You do this by creating blocks of ice (or melting blocks of ice) and pushing them into the flames.  The learning curve is pitch perfect.  The first world is very easy as you get used to how the game works, and it gradually gets to the point where you’ll be replaying the same levels ten, twenty, thirty times in order to figure things out.

Over 100 levels await.  Like a good book, I did virtually nothing until I completed it, and I still come back to it every couple of years.  It’s that damn addicting.  There’s even a level editor if you’re into that sort of thing.  Fire ‘N Ice is still my favorite puzzle game of all-time.

Genre: Platformer/Shooter

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Year: 1988

Basic Idea:  SPREAD GUN, BITCHES!!!

Review: Pretty much the perfect 2-player game, Contra is a blend of non-stop action, awesome power-ups, fun bosses, and seamless teamwork.  Nearly every time I get together with friends to play games, Contra makes the list.

The learning curve is really solid, almost moving too slowly.  A decent gamer can probably get to the fifth level without losing a life after just a bit of practice.  The game does get gradually harder after that, with the last level or two being kind of a pain.  I’ve never won the game without the 30-man life code but I’ve come close.

The controls are nearly flawless, with only some difficulty on the vertical level with all the jumping around.  The music is not great, but energetic enough for the genre.  And the levels are a visual treat, with some of the most kick-ass looking bosses on the NES.

My favorite co-op game on the NES, Contra is a must-have in any library.

Genre: Action RPG

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Year: 1989

Basic Idea: Defeat Bavmorda and save Elora Danan, though not quite like Ron Howard envisioned.

Review: A game that more or less plays like Link to the Past, Willow is a fine adventure marred only by some uninspiring landscapes and enemies (with some fun but mostly easy bosses).  Playing as the title character, your job is to travel from town to town, meeting up with characters from the movie like Franjean and Rool, save Fin Raziel and Madmartigan, turn Sorsha against her mother, and then take on Bavmorda.  Along the way you will take on a few other miscellaneous tasks and fight some bosses, all while upgrading weapons and shields, and learning spells.  There are definitely some unique spells that fit the theme of the game and are fun to use.  One of my favorites is a spell that can turn stronger enemies into weaker ones…maybe.

What I enjoy about this game is that you never have to buy anything.  Everything you need can be either found, given to you, or learned from others.  What I don’t enjoy about this game is the level-building.  Now, the game isn’t terribly difficult, so there’s no need for endless level-building in order to defeat enemies.  But in order to defeat Bavmorda, you must turn Fin Raziel back into a human.  To do this, you must be at a level that’s far beyond where you actually need to be to defeat Bavmorda.

While there’s little about the game that is memorable, the game has charm in spades.  It helps that the characters use better English than in most NES games, but the characters themselves tend to be more distinct and have their own motivations.  If you like the Zelda games, there’s a good chance you’ll like Willow as well.

Genre: RPG

Developer: Chunsoft
Publisher: Enix
Year: 1992

Basic Idea: Learn more about the mysterious Erdrick and also what it’s like for the sun to set.

Review: The final game in the Erdrick trilogy is easily the best one.  While it suffers from the same thing as the first two games in the series (endless level-building), its story is epic and infinitely more interesting than the previous two games.  There is a day/night cycle, the first of its kind in a straight RPG.  Not only are enemies more plentiful and difficult at night, the towns change, with some areas only accessible at night (and others closed).  Best of all, there are more metal babbles.

Dragon Warrior III is the only game of the first five in the series that has you hire your party members (the main hero is the one constant) from a guild.  Being as there are seven options and only three slots, I agonized over who to take.  I hated it then, and still hate it now.  Like Final Fantasy, your characters can mature at the half-way point in the game, though in a different fashion.  When you reach a certain level, you can change your party member to another class and start at level 1 (but maintain all of the spells/abilities you had as the other character).  And if you have the goof-off in your party (who is useless and potentially dangerous), he can mature into a supremely powerful character. I never did that, as I didn’t want to hate the first half of the game.

Other than that, the game is wonderful.  The world map is a caricature of Earth, ripe with stereotypes in each land.  The American translators went a bit too far, especially in Japan, but it is fun to recognize different areas of the game.  Without spoilers, I’ll say the last area of the game is probably my favorite in an RPG on the NES, and it neatly wraps up the saga of the Erdrick line.  While the series remains infinitely more popular in Japan that it does in the States, it’s worthy of a play by RPG fans, especially the Game Boy Color port which eliminates most of the game’s issues on the NES.  For those wondering, you do not need to play the first two in the series to enjoy this one.