NES Trilogies

[Shaq-Funaki]

Anyone ever notice that a lot of the NES trilogies have one game that just doesn't live up to the others?

-Super Mario: Mario 2 was good but no where near the other 2
-Double Dragon: Part 3 can't compare to the first 2
-Ninja Gaiden: Part 3 sucked
-Castlevania: Watch AVGN's Simon's Quest video (He does give good reasons why it is flawed which I agree with)

That's all I can think of but what the hell? Can anyone think of a trilogy on the NES that didn't fit this mold? Can anyone think of any others that do fit this mold?

(I know there wasn't that many but still curious)

[kaedesdisciple]

Anyone ever notice that a lot of the NES trilogies have one game that just doesn't live up to the others?

-Super Mario: Mario 2 was good but no where near the other 2
-Double Dragon: Part 3 can't compare to the first 2
-Ninja Gaiden: Part 3 sucked
-Castlevania: Watch AVGN's Simon's Quest video

That's all I can think of but what the hell? Can anyone think of a trilogy on the NES that didn't fit this mold? Can anyone think of any others that do fit this mold?

(I know there wasn't that many but still curious)

You forgot TMNT for one. The first one was a bane of many childhood NES days, mine included. I still can't get over the whole turtles that can't swim thing and had nightmares about trying to disable a bunch of bombs surrounded by laser beams and electric weeds all in the span of 2 minutes.

Rebuttal:

Mario 2 to me wasn't an actual Mario game since it was not originally developed as such. Still a good game in its own right, even without the Mario sprites.

As far as Double Dragon, count me in the minority that actually likes III. I spent many an hour back in the day putting the work to finish this game fairly and had fun doing it

I didn't play Ninja Gaiden NES games, so no comment there

Castlevania II. Do you have something to say other than what James said in his video? This is another game that is hard to compare to the others in the 'trilogy' since it is such a departure from the others in the series. In my mind, II actually set the stage LONG in advance for games like SOTN and the other MetroidVania games. Overall, the concept was ahead of its time but the execution in many ways was poor. At times, the game just didn't seem finished and the battle with Dracula was pathetic indeed.

[Jorpho]

If you count Contra Force as the third in a trilogy, that would be another example.

How about Ikari Warriors? All three games came out on the NES, right?

[Shaq-Funaki]

I forgot about TMNT, I totally agree.

And I have Simon's Quest. I agree with him completely about the day/night thing. That just killed it for me. If it didn't have that, it would be an ok game but still no where near the other 2.

I have never actually played Contra Force so I can't really comment. I completely forgot that game even existed.

[ShinobiMan]

Yes, I've noticed that, but I love SMB 2 (Doki Doki Panic).

All three Adventure Island games are great. Not a weak one in the bunch.

Also, all three L O L O games are decent.

[Shaq-Funaki]

Yes, I've noticed that, but I love SMB 2 (Doki Doki Panic).

All three Adventure Island games are great. Not a weak one in the bunch.

Also, all three LOLO games are decent.

I agree that SMB 2 is a good game and I like it but it's no where near the other Marios.

[ShinobiMan]

Actually, I believe SMB 2 to be greater than the original SMB. I find myself playing it much more often.

Oh, and the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy is perfect in almost every way (aside from extreme difficulty, especially in 3).

[Shaq-Funaki]

Actually, I believe SMB 2 to be greater than the original SMB. I find myself playing it much more often.

Oh, and the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy is perfect in almost every way (aside from extreme difficulty, especially in 3).

I disagree with you on both but I respect your opinion.

[namzep]

All three Adventure Island games are great. Not a weak one in the bunch.

There are actually 4 and they are all good. And, I agree with you on Lolo. The actual SMB2 (released as Lost Levels on the SNES) is a great Mario game but pretty freaking hard.

[Garry Silljo]

How about Ikari Warriors? All three games came out on the NES, right?

Yes and I remember 2 being quite the suckfest.

[obesolete]

final fantasy 1,2,3

I never did quite get #2
If i equip this weapon/armour then my X goes up, but Y goes down as I level.
Too aggrivating to me. I like to powerhouse.

[Loremaster]

Yes and I remember 2 being quite the suckfest.

Heh, remember that bloody morse code intro? That really killed it.

[Sosage]

I almost said Bases Loaded and Dragon Warrior...but those had FOUR games!

...and yes, I'm seriously bringing up a sports game. Yearly releases for sports titles didn't really kick off until the 16-bit era.

I loved Simon's Quest back in the days and I still think it is as worthwhile a play as the other two on the NES. It was a cool concept that, as was already stated, was only really fleshed out by the time we hit SOTN.

I can't argue with the sloppiness though...

Ikari Warriors may be the most consistent in terms of quality...they're all fucking frustrating. ;)

[ShinobiMan]

There are actually 4 and they are all good. And, I agree with you on Lolo. The actual SMB2 (released as Lost Levels on the SNES) is a great Mario game but pretty freaking hard.

Adventure Island 4 was never released in the US though, am I correct?

Are we missing any other trilogies?

[kainemaxwell]

final fantasy 1,2,3

I never did quite get #2
If i equip this weapon/armour then my X goes up, but Y goes down as I level.
Too aggravating to me. I like to powerhouse.
I think there's few who really get it, even with the re-releases on the PSX and GBA.

Top pic is the TMNT NES trilogy. 1st one had some neat concepts, but was a suckfest once you get down to it. 2 was built off of the hit arcade game as a side-scrolling beat-them-up and even had 2 extra levels. 3 was built off the success and what was learned from the 2nd one and was a hit until Turtles in Time for the SNES smashed the mold.

[kupomogli]

-Castlevania: Watch AVGN's Simon's Quest video

It's nice when people can't really base an opinion on a game yet rather hear one person say something poorly about it and it automatically becomes one of the worlds worst video games. This can also go the opposite way where the majority of people praise a game like Valkyrie Profile as a godsend yet those majority haven't played it.

Simon's Quest is a great game. While there are a few things wrong, like the terrible localization, the game can be completed without the use of a guide. There are hint books in the game requiring holy water to find, telling you exactly what to do in order to progress(all of them except one are in easily noticable locations.)

Simon's Quest doesn't have that much music, but for what it does have, it's all good. The level design is good and multilayered to the point that the world itself has more depth than what you'll find in SotN and later, as well as the fact that it's the exact same concept but pits are still there like the original games. The losing all your hearts when you continue is a stupid way to bash the game such as James did because it takes no time at all to max them out regardless, and games such as Zelda, Zelda 2, and others most notably RPGs like Dragon Warrior, take far more time to get them back. So five minutes to pretty much max out your hearts is nothing.

Just wanted to throw that out there, because Castlevania 2 is a great game. We have so many people kissing the AVGN's ass and following the crowd rather than displaying their own opinion because they don't want to be different. Aside from that, even though I do love CV2, the AVGN's CV2 video is one of my favorites(and if you've ever listened to an interview he has done, he actually likes the game, but not as much as the other two on the NES so it was more of a joke being one of his first videos.)

--

Anyways. While the Mega Man series has six games on the NES, I've always thought that coming off the two amazing games that were MM2 and MM3, MM4 was the worst of them. MM5 didn't do much to bring it back up, though MM6 did, except not on the level of MM2 and 3. However, none of the MM games actually suck. Atleast for the NES.

[ShinobiMan]

What's funny is that so many people take the AVGN seriously. He publicly said he doesn't hate Castlevania 2, rather, the videos he makes point out the games flaws and he focuses on them for the sake of the character he plays.

[Shaq-Funaki]

It's nice when people can't really base an opinion on a game yet rather hear one person say something poorly about it and it automatically becomes one of the worlds worst video games. This can also go the opposite way where the majority of people praise a game like Valkyrie Profile as a godsend yet those majority haven't played it.

Simon's Quest is a great game. While there are a few things wrong, like the terrible localization, the game can be completed without the use of a guide. There are hint books in the game requiring holy water to find, telling you exactly what to do in order to progress(all of them except one are in easily noticable locations.)

Simon's Quest doesn't have that much music, but for what it does have, it's all good. The level design is good and multilayered to the point that the world itself has more depth than what you'll find in SotN and later, as well as the fact that it's the exact same concept but pits are still there like the original games. The losing all your hearts when you continue is a stupid way to bash the game such as James did because it takes no time at all to max them out regardless, and games such as Zelda, Zelda 2, and others most notably RPGs like Dragon Warrior, take far more time to get them back. So five minutes to pretty much max out your hearts is nothing.

Just wanted to throw that out there, because Castlevania 2 is a great game. We have so many people kissing the AVGN's ass and following the crowd rather than displaying their own opinion because they don't want to be different. Aside from that, even though I do love CV2, the AVGN's CV2 video is one of my favorites(and if you've ever listened to an interview he has done, he actually likes the game, but not as much as the other two on the NES so it was more of a joke being one of his first videos.)

--

Anyways. While the Mega Man series has six games on the NES, I've always thought that coming off the two amazing games that were MM2 and MM3, MM4 was the worst of them. MM5 didn't do much to bring it back up, though MM6 did, except not on the level of MM2 and 3. However, none of the MM games actually suck. Atleast for the NES.


If you read my other post, you would have read I have played Simon's Quest and I agree with one of his biggest gripe, which was the day/night thing. That is the main reason, I did not like that game. I don't have a problem with people liking or not liking this game but to assume I am just taking the AVGN's opinions and making them my own is false. I only wrote to watch his video because he gives good points on his review to why the game is flawed and no where near as good as 1 and 3. If me agreeing with his points make my opinion less credible or people feel that I'm "kissing his ass" that's fine. And I never said it was the worst game ever or even on the NES but in my opinion the worst of the 3 castlevanias.

[jb143]

Anyone ever notice that a lot of the NES trilogies have one game that just doesn't live up to the others?


The same could be said for almost any trilogy...game, movie, book, or whatever. Are there any trilogies where each part is equally great?

[jcalder8]

The same could be said for almost any trilogy...game, movie, book, or whatever. Are there any trilogies where each part is equally great?
Lord of the Rings
Bourne

[bazariah]

wizards and warriors 3 : kuros visions of power - class system, no continues (even though it was an easier game than the others) and the graphics looked worse in comparison to the two previous titles


parasol stars - bubble bobble and rainbow islands are two of the greatest vertical scroling platform games ever no doubt, a chain of bubbles pop them, a chain of rainbows drop them, simple and fun.. then along came parasol stars =[

[aclbandit]

The actual SMB2 (released as Lost Levels on the SNES) is a great Mario game but pretty freaking hard.

I think that was quite the understatement, lol.

Also, don't forget Zelda 2-- that was a fine game, but really a weird one.

[Emuaust]

I've always found it odd that I could complete the original turtles when i was a child with minimal effort but the megaman games drove me fucking nuts.

[DigitalSpace]

I'm throwing in Donkey Kong 3. It's not bad, but it doesn't feel like a Donkey Kong game.

(Also, Ninja Gaiden III doesn't suck. Double Dragon III, on the other hand...)

[ButtonMasher123]

parasol stars - bubble bobble and rainbow islands are two of the greatest vertical scroling platform games ever no doubt, a chain of bubbles pop them, a chain of rainbows drop them, simple and fun.. then along came parasol stars =[

I'm confused, what was so bad about Parasol Stars? I loved the idea of the different themed worlds and it was nice to see the bubbles return as well, although in a different form. The only fault I can find with the game is that its too easy. Maybe its because I have the definitive TG-16 version though. Did they screw up the NES version or something?