If there's one device that molded my childhood, it would definitely have to be the Nintendo Famicom. This is the NES experience people in this country had. Well, this and its many knockoffs. They weren't particularly durable so I probably went through 3 or 4 units throughout its life cycle. I even had one called a Good Boy. But this system is what really molded me into what I am today - a nerd who loves video games and wastes way too much time on them.
Happy birthday, Famicom. Happy birthday.
Turns out the Famicom came out 7 days after my birthday in 1983. The Famicom turned 30 on July 15, 2013, 7 days after I did.
And to celebrate the anniversary, Nintendo will be releasing a virtual console title every month! And because of that, I'd like to talk about my top 10 favorite NES games just for fun.
10. Joust
I had one of those 50 in 1 game cartridges that had 10 games with 5 variations each. A staple of those cartridges was Joust. What's better than ostrich jousting while avoiding pterodactyls and hands made out of lava? Nothing.
I remember me and my buddies would just gather around the CRT TV and play this all day long, laughing our asses off. Joust was always better played cooperatively. Well, at least the intention was for it to be cooperative. In Joust, it was always a mad dash to get the most eggs and score higher than your friend. Thing is, you could also teamkill and that just provided hours upon hours of fun.
9. Battle City
Another classic co-op game that you and a few friends could spend countless hours on. You can't teamkill on Battle City but when you hit them, their tank freezes, all primed for enemy tanks to take the shot. And once you've had enough of your friend's shenanigans, take out your own base. That's sure to piss anyone off.
35 rounds of endlessly looping rounds, power-ups to eventually level your tank up to eat through metal, a level editor, multiple enemy types, and a base you have to defend equal a whole lot of fun.
8. Legend of Kage
One of the very first games I got my hands on as a single game cartridge was Legend of Kage. To this day, I still don't know who to pronounce "Kage." Is it pronounced like "cage," or is it pronounced like it's spelled - "kah-geh?" It was a Japanese game so maybe the latter.
In Legend of Kage, you play as a ninja samurai warrior guy (pardon the ignorance please) trying to save the princess who was kidnapped by a blue ninja. You swing your tanto around, blocking small shuriken and killing ninja all day long. I like that when swinging your weapon around, you can parry oncoming melee attacks, as well. You can also fire off your own shuriken, and as you gather power-up pearls, your shuriken get bigger and faster. Another attack is some sort of magical scroll that literally just drops enemies like flies. Don't worry, there are hundreds of ninja so you won't run out.
You'll also face off against enemies that shoot fire and those are unblockable.
And since the levels just get tougher as they repeat, Legend of Kage provided hours of fun. Plus the soundtrack kind of gets stuck in your head.
7. Yie Ar Kung Fu
This may not be the Kung Fu NES game you had in mind. You're probably thinking of the one where enemies just kinda hug you, where each floor has a unique boss. I like that game, too, but I spent so much more time on this game because it was just so frantic and the fighting was pretty cool.
Five fighters repeat and get tougher as you progress. The variety with which you take them down is pretty vast. You can launch high kicks, flying kicks, sweets and mid-range punches. Maybe I had a really long attention span as a kid, but this game kept me entertained for hours.
6. Double Dribble
Double Dribble is the first basketball video game I ever played and until NBA Jam came along, I don't think anything came close to it.
Ah, hearing the familiar 8-bit DUBBA DWIBBAH sound at the start of that video brought back memories. My friends and I would spend hours just going bananas in front of the TV playing this game. This was always best played against a friend. The competition would get intense! I've seen people walk out of a losing game.
Those 8 frames of dunking animation were the best we'd ever seen.
5. Mike Tyson's Punch Out
Little Mac and I go way back, punching our way to our ultimate goal of beating the cheapest boss in all of gaming history. My friends and I would take turns and discuss strategies against different enemies. The one guy we would never beat was Mike Tyson himself. To this day, I have yet to conquer Punch Out.
I remember gripping the controller tight, anxious for the upcoming bout, my friends cheering me on and correcting my timing every time I messed up. Ah, memories.
4. Double Dragon 3
This is the reason why most of my controllers got effed up. You play as Billy and Jimmy Lee. You have an arsenal of hurricane kicks, flying kicks, co-op attacks and combos at your disposal and those moves weren't the easiest to pull off.
The third installment of Double Dragon was always my favorite because of all the different moves you could pull off. You also picked up two additional fighters along the way - Chin and Ranzou. Cooperative games are always best played with a buddy and Double Dragon practically made co-op gaming an art form.
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
I played all the TMNT games for the NES and although 2 has a very special place in my heart, I think 3 would be my favorite of the bunch.
TMNT 3 had throws, combos and special moves for each turtle. It was pretty much a straight up brawler but it was a fun one, especially if you had friends with you. No one ever picked Leonardo so I had him all to myself. You know as I write this, I notice a trend that the best gaming moments I had in my youth were ones that I spent with friends. Maybe this is as much as list of my favorite NES games as they are a list of games best played with other people present in the same room.
2. Megaman (or in my case, Rock Man)
For this list, it was a toss-up between Mega Man and Mega Man 3. I played all Mega Man games on the NES, and the later ones were definitely better in terms of stage design, music and boss enemy fights, but this is the original and it set the tone for the entire franchise.
I probably finished this game over a hundred times, and it was a hoot every time. I remember using the pause cheat, though. I think this was the only Mega Man game that could pause the game without bringing up the powers menu, and that cancelled out the few frames of invincibility boss characters got every time they got hit.
1. Super Mario Bros. 3
Anyone making a list of the best games ever made should make sure to include Super Mario Bros. 3 in it. It is criminal to not do so. Criminal, I say!
Super Mario Bros. 3 had more secrets and hidden stuff than you can shake a stick at. The gameplay, while based on the original Mario game, was refined and perfected. The sound design, the level design and the items were so clever and imaginative. These are things you barely find in games anymore.
I loved the map system, the music, the mini-games you played for items, the uniqueness of each world, the diversity of each level, and the distinct enemies you would happily stomp into the ground. Everything about Super Mario Bros. 3 is a work of genius.
There you go; that's my list. Here are a few notable games that just didn't quite make my top 10 in this nostalgia trip.
Contra
Twin-B
B-Wings
Gradius
Adventure Island
Legend of Zelda
Final Fantasy
Castlevania
Transformers
Duck Tales
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Urban Fight
Macross
Bomber Man
Duck Hunt
Tetris
Dig Dug
Load Runner
Man, I could go on, but as awesome as these games were, my top 10 hold a special place in my heart because of the memories I have of them as a kid, playing with my friends. How about you? What are your top 10 Famicom games? Answer this survey to chime in!
Happy 30th birthday, Nintendo Famicom, and thank you for the memories.