- Super Mario Bros. (1985, Nintendo)
There’s no way around it without the game itself. Everyone has heard of “Super Mario”, even those who have never seen a single game console and have no idea about the violent confrontation between the plumber and the turtle dragon. The popularity of the game went far beyond the gamer community, and the name of the project has long been a household name.
And if you had a clone of NES in the form of Dendy or “Subor”, then Super Mario Bros. probably was one of your first games. That’s because it almost always came in the “starter” cartridge, and was often the most worthy of all the projects presented there. The sounds and music from that game are probably now sitting in the subcortex of older gamers.
Today it seems unbelievable, but Super Mario can be completed in just half an hour. This, however, was preceded by hours of training, because the game is not easy and, of course, with a limited number of lives. The gameplay is simple and uncomplicated and not particularly diverse. Know how to run forward, eat mushrooms, grow, collect coins and jump on the villains.
Super Mario Bros. is constantly recognized as one of the most important games in history, and the plumber has even become a symbol of Nintendo. And yet, without in any way diminishing the significance of the project, we should note that in terms of gameplay, many more successful and interesting games have come out for the NES than Mario.
- Felix the Cat (1992, Hudson Soft)
Take, for example, this game about Felix the Cat, the first level of which is very similar in style to Mario. But in terms of variety of game mechanics, the plumber is no match for the cat. Developed Felix the Cat, by the way, the authors of the cult Bomberman.
The cartoon of the same name was shown on the territory of the former USSR somewhere in the first half of the 1990s, along with “The Real Ghostbusters. Not surprisingly, we have the game took off, because the cat on the screen was exactly the same as on TV, and even in color! But most importantly, it was not a potboiler, somehow cooked up on the basis of a popular franchise. No, “Felix the Cat” became one of the coolest games for the 8-bit console.
The project captivated with the possibility of transforming the hero. A similar idea was laid in Super Mario Bros., but here it was brought to perfection, diversifying at the expense of different worlds and conditions. For example, on land Felix could get into a car and a tank, in the sky, giving up the umbrella in favor of a balloon or airplane, underwater sat in a submarine, and there were dolphins and a spaceship!
Shortly after its release on the NES, the game came out on the Game Boy handheld console, so if your parents were moneybags, you could meet Felix the cat right away in mobile format.
- “Tanchiki” (1985, Namco).
What Battle City? This game everyone knew and know as “Tanchiki”. Yes, yes, they are, the real thing, not World of Tanks. An extremely popular project, one of the breakthrough titles for the NES.
Unbelievable, but even then the destructible environment was invented and implemented. Ah, how nice it was to smash brick obstacles! And if you pumped up your tank properly, you could even shoot concrete obstacles. Only bushes pissed me off, because you can do nothing with them, but they hid the enemy tanks at the most inopportune moment.
But the coolest thing about “Tanchiki” is the game mode for two. You take your school friend, seated him at the control panel, that is, just give him the remote control, and disperse the enemy monster on two fronts, while trying to be the first to pick up randomly falling out bonuses. Beautiful!
You could play Battle City endlessly. No storylines, fairy tales, or gimmicks. Here’s the tank, here’s the headquarters, here’s a square field with obstacles and enemies – go, fighter! After about three dozen levels all over again, but with more “fat” opponents. And how could it not get bored?
- Contra (1988, Konami)
Another indisputable legend with which the “Dandy” is associated. Although to be fair, it should be noted that initially Contra appeared on arcade machines – these huge things the size of a refrigerator that were in supermarkets or special game clubs. But less than a year later Konami released a version of Contra for 8-bit console, and it was not a simple port, but actually another game with a lot of new content.
As a kid, no one really tried to get into the plot of Contra. But the game is about an entire alien conspiracy. The aliens arriving on a meteorite are threatening to destroy the Earth through the Red Falcon, and only the soldiers of the elite special unit can stop the brazen aliens along with their minions.
In reality, two pairs of children’s hands grabbed joysticks and paired up to go kill everyone they saw on the screen of the blinkered TV. Rarely did anyone make it to the end, although the game, given the right circumstances, is completed in about 20 minutes. However, in terms of the intensity of the action and impressions received, any modern action game looks like a tedious loser.
- Aladdin (1995, Gentlemen of the Pirates)
One of the most beautiful NES games, if not the most beautiful! At the time, it seemed that the graphics had finally reached cartoon level, and there were no pixels, as we had convinced ourselves at the time, at all. Only smooth animation, almost 3D and a nice entourage.
The funny thing is, most of the owners of Subor, Dendy and other clones of the NES were playing a pirate port of Aladdin from the Super NES. Handy corsairs made a mess of the original, removed the extra beauty, cut out almost all the music and thus pleased the owners of “eight-bit”. In spite of this, one of the most memorable games came out – albeit almost without a soundtrack, but with animation, which then seemed super high-tech miracle.
The “Aladdin” pranks don’t end there. The fact that under the same name almost immediately came out two official games from two different developers: Capcom tried for the Super NES, and Virgin Interactive – for Sega Mega Drive and a bunch of other platforms (including NES!). The confusion was great, but it was a pirate based on the “Capcom” game that was distributed in our area.
- Duck Tales and Duck Tales 2 (1989 and 1993, Capcom)
Yes, Japan’s Capcom was in full swing, because almost every game was a hit. In 1989, the company released Duck Tales project for the NES, based, as one can easily tell from the title, on the “Duck Tales” animated series. With such a backdrop, success was assured.
Four years later, a sequel comes out, but what a success! Here it was better graphics and sounds, as well as the possibility of non-linear passing levels. And to pass the game completely, back and forth, collecting all the bonuses, levels can (and must!) Passed several times.
- Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, both parts (1990 and 1993, Capcom)
Here we go again, Capcom. Once again, one of the best games for “Dandy”, or rather even two games. “Chip and Dale” hit the cartoon image amazingly clearly. Even the music was exactly like the TV series. And how cool is the characterization of all the characters, from minor to major. And there was a place for Wzhik!
In terms of gameplay, Chip ‘n Dale had an interesting concept with the use of surrounding objects. Chipmunks, as you know, can not shoot, but to pick up and throw all sorts of boxes, bombs, nuts and other stuff – is always welcome. Easy puzzles using the same boxes only added variety.
The second part has become larger and more voluminous, the graphics have improved significantly, there are new features, but in general the gameplay has not changed.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 (1991, Konami)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” has had three installments on the NES, and all three are terrific. They all deserve a place in the rankings, but if I had to choose, I’d give my preference to the third series. Because everything was perfect in it, from the juicy sounds to the clever combat mechanics.
The third “Turtles” didn’t let you get bored because it changed drastically every five minutes. Here you are walking on the beach, then surfing on the water, and here’s a ship deck, a ruined bridge, a city park, a train station, an elevator! The variety just oozes, and the game is not overcomplicated, but compared to the console projects of those times lasts a very long time.
Rumor has it that Konami built a clever security system into the game. As a result it was impossible to pass it to the end on pirate cartridges, because the main boss, Shredder, became invulnerable. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t remember anymore. Most likely I never made it to the end of this great game.
2. Battletoads and Double Dragon (1993, Rare)
Battletoads! Was there ever a better game on the NES? Yes, there was, but only the one below. By the way, Battletoads and Double Dragon was developed by the same studio that is now “finishing” Sea of Thieves. Well, a quarter of a century ago, the guys were doing much better.
And once again, diversity. I remember when I got to the level where the toad gets transferred to a spaceship and goes to a level with space battles, my jaw dropped, “What, you can do that too?” Turns out you can do it this way, that way, and a whole lot differently.
The developers even used a kind of pseudo-3D, where you could move around on two axes, forward and backward, and up and down. Often you had to watch the shadow of a flying enemy to figure out where to get him. Juicy punches, funny toads (you could play as humans, but why?), total variety – that’s all you need for an all-time hit.
Metal Gear (1988, Konami)
It is now Metal Gear series has become an obscure thing, but in its early days it has become one of the most notable events in the gaming industry. The project is considered to be the ancestor of the stealth action genre, and for a long time no one could come close to it either in the depth of immersion in the process, or in the development of the world or the tactical possibilities.
Soldier Solide Snake infiltrates an enemy base, where, preferably quietly and without being seen by enemies, must find and destroy a super weapon – a Metal Gear tank. As we pass, we find weapons, ammunition, equipment, hostages and items that help get to the target. For example, with a gas mask you can cross poisoned areas, enemy outfits allow you to pretend to be an enemy officer, a mine detector will keep you alive in a minefield, and a compass will show you the right way.
The game is complex and required not only thoughtful passing, but also intuition. Many, for example, hand-picked passwords for closed doors and carefully wrote them down in a notebook. The game itself on the tips of very stingy, but what a delight when you came to the desert with the scorpions and the tenth time I thought to equip a compass to get out of it.
The original Metal Gear first appeared on computers, but was soon ported to the NES. Unlike the original, it got a little easier. Thus, the console version was deprived of the final boss. But the pleasure of the game, it did not spoil.