Genre: Platformer

Developer: Rare
Publisher: Tradewest
Year: 1991

Basic Idea: Throw your controller a lot.

Review: I struggled where to rank this game more than any other.  It is widely considered one of the most difficult games of all time and it certainly earns that honor.  It is also one of the most creative games on the NES.  The toads are drawn and move in such a way for humor while still being functional.  The first stage is as great a hook as there is, with your toads bopping and thwomping their way through a very colorful landscape with rockin’ music.   The first level’s boss is fought from the boss’s perspective, as you throw things at the screen to defeat it.  And the difficulty curve to this point is fine.  Then it gets ridiculous.

While the levels are inventive, ranging from racing, surfing, rappelling, and swimming, there is no sense of fairness present throughout.  If the game had unlimited lives, I might be able to tolerate the difficulty.  As it stands, the only way to enjoy this game long-term is to use a game genie or play it on an emulator and save frequently.  I did this, and enjoyed myself immensely, which is why I find it difficult to rank.  If the game were at all fair, it would probably rank in the top 20 if not top 10.

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Year: 1989

Basic Idea: Solve a mystery or rewrite history!  Wooo-ooooh!

Review: Another great effort by Capcom with a license, this is a solid platformer that I won as a kid over several rentals.  You control Scrooge McDuck, trying to get as much money as possible while killing bosses who try to get in your way of more money.  Control is solid and creative, with your cane able to be used as a weapon or a pogo stick.  The music is fantastic and the graphics are above average.

The gameplay is similar to Mega Man in that you choose the order of the stages, but the game is non-linear, requiring you to come back some stages later.  This would be annoying if the game was huge, but it’s pretty well contained.  If the play control had been just a little bit tighter, I would have likely ranked it higher.  As it stands, it’s still pretty damned good.

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Rare
Publisher: Acclaim
Year: 1987

Basic Idea: Jump and fall and jump and fall and never say die.

Review: I had no idea this game was made by Rare, as it doesn’t have the company’s usual feel.  It’s graphically colorful, but the backgrounds are stale and uninteresting.  It’s also not conceptually all that amazing or different from a few other games.  It is certainly weird.  You play a knight with a limp sword, trying to find your way through each level by jumping all over the place looking for keys and exits.  You can use your sword, but it doesn’t seem all that necessary since enemies die just by running into it.  You can die, and you will die often.  But you always revive right where you died just like in the modern LEGO games so it’s more important to focus on not falling than it is avoiding death.

The review hasn’t seemed like high praise, but the game is still oddly enjoyable to play.  The music is catchy and upbeat.  The play control is fluid.  And each level has its own appeal despite the mediocre graphics.  If you weren’t virtually invincible, I wouldn’t like the game that much.  Proof of this is that I’ve never been able to get into the game’s two sequels.  But I still enjoy playing this one even today.

Genre: Pocket Billiards

Developer: Data East
Publisher: Data East
Year: 1987

Basic Idea: Become the best pool player in the world and get a girl to look at you longingly.

Review: Most people prefer Lunar Pool, which is more physics game than pocket billiards.  But despite the awesome idea, it pretty much bored me.  I’ve spent many hours playing Side Pocket despite some serious problems with the game mechanics.  You can play against a friend in 8-ball or 9-ball, or you can play solo and prove your worth to the world and some chick who follows you along to each tournament.  It’s a neat set-up, trying to win each level by pocketing balls consecutively and by number to earn points.  There’s also trick shots you have to make to advance as well.

Where the game falters are the actual shooting mechanics.  The most powerful shot in this game is still half as powerful as I can shoot in real life; thus, the break often leaves many balls still close together.  Worse yet, aiming is often futile, as you’re given maybe four spots on the ball to aim at; oftentimes, all four options leave it impossible for you to make a shot, when in reality there should almost always be a correct angle.

The SNES version is a little bit better, so there’s little reason to play this version even if you want to play an older pool game.  But it provided a lot of entertainment twenty-five years ago.

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Year: 1991

Basic Idea: Take Buster, Daffy, Dizzy Devil, and Furball along to try and defeat all of the baddies of Acme.

Review: This is widely considered to be a clone of the Super Mario Bros. series, and it’s really impossible to deny it.  You defeat enemies by jumping on their heads.  You enter secret rooms to be given short-term power-ups.  And at the end of each world, you face one of Montana Max’s henchmen.  Each level you can pick which sidekick you want to bring with you (like Mario 2). Even the falling red curtain that ends Super Mario 3 ends this game.

Of course, there are worse things than copying one of the most successful platformers of all time.  They also added some nice touches.  I mentioned you get to pick which side-character to bring with you on each level.  Well, on each level you start as Buster, but if you get a certain power-up, you become his more powerful ally.  Also, unlike Super Mario 3, the final enemy on each level requires more than just jumping on their heads.  I love the way in which you need to defeat Elmira, who is trying to “love” you.

The play control is great and the music is familiar and catchy.  Where this game falters is the graphics, which are incredibly bland considering the year this was released and the company that released it.  Also, the game is incredibly easy, winnable in a day by probably any decent gamer.  Still, it’s fun while it lasts.

Genre: Pinball/RPG

Developer: Jaleco
Publisher: Jaleco
Year: 1990

Basic Idea: Earn gold to buy better stoppers and flippers, advance through levels, defeat bosses, and save the princess!

Review: While there are three regular pinball games on this cartridge, pinball is insanely dull on game consoles.  The highlight here is the RPG where you must save the princess.  Each level is unique, as you may find yourself fighting turtles, zombies, and other minions in the pinball lair.  Not only can you buy upgrades, you can also steal from the shopkeeper (at a price!).  It can be a bit frustrating when your ball drops a level, requiring you to start over, but it’s never unfair and it gives the game some challenge.  As it stands, the RPG portion can be won in about twenty minutes to an hour.  But I still come back and play it every couple years or so, which is why it ranks so high.

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Year: 1985

Basic Idea: Defeat Bowser and find the princess in another castle if you can manage to pluck yourself away the minus worlds.

Review: The game that put Nintendo on the map, this is one of the most distinct launch titles ever behind Tetris (Gameboy) and Wii Sports.  I remember this being the first NES game I played as well, and I promptly got killed by the first goomba.  At first I felt the game was too hard, but I quickly got over it and soon enough mastered the game, including accessing said minus worlds and getting crazy amounts of extra lives jumping on koopas.

I’ll still play it on occasion, but it only holds my attention for so long.  I dislike the fact that getting hit as Fire Mario turns you into small Mario.  I dislike the swimming levels.  And I dislike how samey Bowser is in each castle.  It is fun to kill him with fireballs and see what enemy he turns into.

Anyway, a solid game that hasn’t aged terribly well but made so cleanly that it can still be picked up and played today.

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Year: 1991

Basic Idea: Find a secret agent on each maze-like level while disposing of baddies with your boomerang.

Review: What this game lacks in presentation it makes up for in perfect play-control.  Moving, jumping, hit-detection, and attacking are all flawless.  You can throw the boomerang in all the cardinal directions at any time.  And the power-ups are amazing.  The most powerful boomerang can go through walls!

The game also requires exploration and some occasional backtracking, but nothing ridiculous.  The bosses are quite easy.  Overall, the game is easier than Mega Man but more difficult than Super Mario Bros.  While the game isn’t extraordinarily memorable, it is fun and accessible to most.