Happy 30th Birthday, 8-bit NES!

[Greg2600]

I will add that I got my first taste of the NES at a combination of store kiosks, neighbors' and friends' houses. It was an interesting dynamic. I don't think ANY of my cousins got one before me, just one at the same time (both of us were born in August - birthday). The younger ones were too small, and the older cousins actually scoffed at it. They still felt that the 2600 or Atari 8-bit/C64 were going to outlive this new "fad," which made little sense. NES blew them out of the water.

The neighbor next door was a couple years older than me, and I think he got the NES for Christmas '87. They had Super Mario Bros. of course, which we were all mesmerized by. He had R.O.B. as well with Gyromite, which we could never fully figure out how to play. Off hand I don't remember us playing much else than SMB for months and months. My best friend got the NES in spring of '88, with SMB, but we'd played that to death. Believe it or not, 2-player Nintendo Baseball was our game of choice that summer! As horrible as that is to play now, we played it to death. We could not believe how much better it was than prior baseball games.

After getting my NES, I let my sister go to town on SMB, but my father and I played RC Pro-Am and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! the most. He held the controller upside down in his hands, like a keyboard, which was bizarre. Eventually his patience wore thin with Great Tiger and he quit video games for good! When I learned how to block his attacks, he was stunned. My cousin got The Legend of Zelda that summer with her new NES. Just as we had stayed up all night playing Miner 2049er on the 800, we did the same with Zelda. Wow, what a game. That Christmas I got Zelda and Metroid, which I played non-stop.

I would say my favorite memories going forward were playing 2P games like TMNT 2, Baseball Stars, Tecmo Bowl, or Super Off-Road with my friends and family. NES will always be my dearest system. In grade school we traded mostly unfounded game secrets, as well as Nintendo trading cards! We swapped pages from the player's guide. We had a neighborhood game swapping program, too! People rag on Nintendo, but they've always seemed to provide the best gaming memories when you're 8-12 years old, generation after generation.

[wizardofwor1975]

I expect to see a SNES thread next year for its 25th. Time flies, but some stuff just never stops being fun (and with SNES ages very well.)

I have no doubt whatsoever will see a SNES thread next year. I never get tired of playing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. My only complaint is that I'm really starting to feel like fossil.

[Tanooki]

Fossil, harsh... I still have my old cart and the manual/map for it too. I've put it down probably a half dozen times over the years. The one RPG though I've beaten to death excessively because of how damn good it is was FF2. Back in the 90s I killed it as a habit like nearly once a year and I know I finished it at least 7 times, and then the GBA one I did once or twice too though I didn't bother with the added stupid stuff.

At least think of it this way and sorry about SNES aping this thread, it's a fringe quality system thankfully. Those who put some effort into not being generic with their games, and because of the amount of complexity allowed both by the hardware and the 8 buttons on the controller, it left the door wide open for things that are relatively ageless that they don't feel dated. Thanks to the lovely retro junk the last decade in gaming, especially with indie and mobile/tablet gaming there's a lot of stuff released that is SNES in quality or just above/below so you can fire up that old 1991-96 title and it wont' feel crusty. And the GBA helped to cement that a decade later too with the ports of the old titles too. The NES stuff even if the game play is still solid in some of the games, a lot have aged badly, and they are of such color/audio level they do feel like fossils of sorts but that's also the charm of it.

[tom]

Came out in 83, not 85, it ARRIVED in 85 in the USA and in 86 in Europe, but the original release date is 1983 (Japan).

[bb_hood]

Came out in 83, not 85, it ARRIVED in 85 in the USA and in 86 in Europe, but the original release date is 1983 (Japan).

Well the Famicom came out in 83. The Nintendo Entertainment System (aka NES) came out in 85.

[Niku-Sama]

I figured some one would try and come in here and try to be smart like that

[Gentlegamer]

I figured some one would try and come in here and try to be smart like that

And of course NES didn't have an exact launch, but the original test market in NYC 1985 is good enough for a birth date.

[Steven]

I have no doubt whatsoever will see a SNES thread next year. I never get tired of playing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. My only complaint is that I'm really starting to feel like fossil.

Next year? Try next month! While next year marks 25 years for the SNES, next month marks 25 years for the Super Famicom. Super Mario World came out November 21, 1990... and you know bloggers, youtubers and regular joe gamers on message boards will be piping about that. They're not gonna wait until August 2016 for the US anniversary. Heck, in all honesty, I'm planning to post something around mid-late November 2015 lol.

Fossil, harsh... I still have my old cart and the manual/map for it too. I've put it down probably a half dozen times over the years. The one RPG though I've beaten to death excessively because of how damn good it is was FF2. Back in the 90s I killed it as a habit like nearly once a year and I know I finished it at least 7 times, and then the GBA one I did once or twice too though I didn't bother with the added stupid stuff.

At least think of it this way and sorry about SNES aping this thread, it's a fringe quality system thankfully. Those who put some effort into not being generic with their games, and because of the amount of complexity allowed both by the hardware and the 8 buttons on the controller, it left the door wide open for things that are relatively ageless that they don't feel dated. Thanks to the lovely retro junk the last decade in gaming, especially with indie and mobile/tablet gaming there's a lot of stuff released that is SNES in quality or just above/below so you can fire up that old 1991-96 title and it wont' feel crusty. And the GBA helped to cement that a decade later too with the ports of the old titles too. The NES stuff even if the game play is still solid in some of the games, a lot have aged badly, and they are of such color/audio level they do feel like fossils of sorts but that's also the charm of it.

Agreed. I love the NES but it's not an active love, more of an appreciation for the really old days or rather super early days of my childhood. It still has some good games but I find a majority of them difficult to enjoy beyond say 20-30 minutes. Whereas the majority of the good SNES games are still good to this day (for the most part). It's another reason why I love the SNES so much. It gives you that nostalgic jolt but the games have held up, too! You're not just playing for nostalgia but you play because these games are still timeless and fun! I love the NES but the SNES housed some of the finest video games in all of gaming history.

[Tanooki]

Yeah that about covers my sentiment too dude for like 90% of the NES games I've messed with or more. The fact is the system was made in the mid 80s and probably outlived its fair shelf life considering it rolled on with a whimper into 1994. Most the games by leaps and bounds are both arcade ports/conversions or designed to function in a similar short term game playing spurt unless you're just in the mood for doing a lot of re-run type playing. Some of them though, but few, can easily be sat down in front of for an hour or many without feeling stale. It's usually the more well thought out platforming games, your Zelda and clones, the TMNT titles (2+3) and similar, your Faxanadu and the like games, and the straight up RPGs like the Dragon Quest/Warrior family and a few others. Sadly though some of them just have not aged too well so they now slide into that 30min then ugh category too. Some have because of this been upgraded in the last 15 years like the GBC re-do of DQ1+2 DQ3 and then DS got 4-6, or the old Final Fantasy games redone on GBA and DS(FF3) but even then still show a bit of age though far less notable.

The SNES hit that level of the modern indie download/buy games, mobile phone stuff, tablet games with enough control choices, colors, superior audio, and generalized mechanics that SNES aside from a good glut of mediocrity in the second tier games and under that allow them to still feel new and fresh for yet another generation or two since. It's why you see stuff like FF4-6, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger and so on pop back up on mobile devices unedited or lightly touched up for the conversion. Playing SNES you're right it's about enough of a benchmark of quality because age hasn't been able to hurt them, at least yet, while the NES stuff has some pain going on because it's just a generation too old where you really have to be an 8bit lover or the style or it will wear thin far quicker. Thankfully with the 8bit stuff handhelds are designed for 15-30min plays so old Gameboy/Color stuff feels far less stale because you get the intended time frame out of those, and the GBA being much like a SNES/Saturn type mix those have remained as solid as they did 10-15 years ago when those showed up too.

[Steven]

Yeah that about covers my sentiment too dude for like 90% of the NES games I've messed with or more. The fact is the system was made in the mid 80s and probably outlived its fair shelf life considering it rolled on with a whimper into 1994. Most the games by leaps and bounds are both arcade ports/conversions or designed to function in a similar short term game playing spurt unless you're just in the mood for doing a lot of re-run type playing. Some of them though, but few, can easily be sat down in front of for an hour or many without feeling stale. It's usually the more well thought out platforming games, your Zelda and clones, the TMNT titles (2+3) and similar, your Faxanadu and the like games, and the straight up RPGs like the Dragon Quest/Warrior family and a few others. Sadly though some of them just have not aged too well so they now slide into that 30min then ugh category too. Some have because of this been upgraded in the last 15 years like the GBC re-do of DQ1+2 DQ3 and then DS got 4-6, or the old Final Fantasy games redone on GBA and DS(FF3) but even then still show a bit of age though far less notable.

The SNES hit that level of the modern indie download/buy games, mobile phone stuff, tablet games with enough control choices, colors, superior audio, and generalized mechanics that SNES aside from a good glut of mediocrity in the second tier games and under that allow them to still feel new and fresh for yet another generation or two since. It's why you see stuff like FF4-6, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger and so on pop back up on mobile devices unedited or lightly touched up for the conversion. Playing SNES you're right it's about enough of a benchmark of quality because age hasn't been able to hurt them, at least yet, while the NES stuff has some pain going on because it's just a generation too old where you really have to be an 8bit lover or the style or it will wear thin far quicker. Thankfully with the 8bit stuff handhelds are designed for 15-30min plays so old Gameboy/Color stuff feels far less stale because you get the intended time frame out of those, and the GBA being much like a SNES/Saturn type mix those have remained as solid as they did 10-15 years ago when those showed up too.

Yup, along the lines of what people have been saying too the controller of the NES with its 2 (or 4 if you count select and start) buttons obviously limits gameplay mechanics. Some didn't need more than 2 buttons (look at Super Mario Bros. 3) but the SNES with its 6 (or 8) really took it to the next level. It has its fair share of solid 2D one on one fighting games which is a genre I personally love and obviously lacking on the NES due to its lifespan (SFII exploded the genre in 1991 when SNES was just kicking in AND had enough technology to replicate the spirit/essence of those arcade titans). Ever see TMNT Tournament Fighters on NES? Wasn't a pretty sight, especially when compared to the SNES version (which had some really vibrant out-there colors). The SNES is king to me because graphically AND gameplay-wise it has held up 20+ years later, and I don't think that will change in the next 5 years. We're gonna still marvel at how good these games are in 2020 when the SNES/SFC turns 30 itself. And sadly as time marches on I believe the NES will age even worse and worse. Again, I'm not a hater but it's just how I feel. Some games I can still play and love (like Contra and Punch-Out!!) but so many that I used to think was fun I can barely play beyond 30 minutes. For example I used to love P.O.W. but popped that in about 10 years ago and wow, P.O.W. was nowhere as fun (or playable) as I remember it being in 1990. And that was back in 2006! I'd hate to try playing P.O.W. today in 2015 nearly 10 years later. Maybe I should just to see how I feel...


EDIT: Just spent 30 minutes playing the original Castlevania and Kickmaster. CV died at the flying medusa heads... hate the "jump back" action on the ledges... cheap. Didn't feel compelled to gut it through so I switched on Kickmaster, a 1991 "hidden gem" that people have been "hyping" over the past 5 years or so, say. It's pretty cool, but again, died on the 2nd stage with some cheap pitfalls and didn't feel compelled to gut it through. His front kick attack is so limited, not sure if he upgrades it later on but it was rather brutal for me. Would definitely have liked to seen a 16-bit version of this game.

[FieryReign]

How did this turn into a lovefest for SNES? Y'all seem to forget about the other 16-bit monster that made Nintendo humble for awhile. No need to suck it off, the Genesis was the leader in every statement y'all made thus far. Amiga and Megadrive games set the new standard after the 8-bit NES. Nintendo was late to the party, yet they are looked at as some sort of originator of 16-bit ageless games? Stop.

I understand nostalgias and all that but cmon, be realistic. I swear some of y'all use that Snes cartridge slot as something else...

[Gentlegamer]

How did this turn into a lovefest for SNES? Y'all seem to forget about the other 16-bit monster that made Nintendo humble for awhile. No need to suck it off, the Genesis was the leader in every statement y'all made thus far. Amiga and Megadrive games set the new standard after the 8-bit NES. Nintendo was late to the party, yet they are looked at as some sort of originator of 16-bit ageless games? Stop.

I understand nostalgias and all that but cmon, be realistic. I swear some of y'all use that Snes cartridge slot as something else...

Relax, Steve is just giving his own perspective about SNES vs. NES, no need to go Sega baby over it.

And I disagree, I have as much or more fun with NES to this day as I do with any of the 16-bit systems.

[FieryReign]

Relax, Steve is just giving his own perspective about SNES vs. NES, no need to go Sega baby over it.

And I disagree, I have as much or more fun with NES to this day as I do with any of the 16-bit systems.

You got me wrong, Steve's cool. I got his site bookmarked and love his nostalgia tinged tune. And it was not really directed at Steve. But let's be real here. I don't recall Genesis getting a 25th thread last year? People want to celebrate this thing every friggin year for Snes? I gotta defend the true leader of the 16-bit revolution. I also mentioned the Amiga, no Sega baby here. I'll thrash them just as I will any other videogame company. There's enough Nintendo love on the net. Enough to make one vomit. Let's make a big deal of what they did in the past because they certainly aren't succeeding in the present? They are the new Sega.

[celerystalker]

You got me wrong, Steve's cool. I got his site bookmarked and love his nostalgia tinged tune. And it was not really directed at Steve. But let's be real here. I don't recall Genesis getting a 25th thread last year? People want to celebrate this thing every friggin year for Snes? I gotta defend the true leader of the 16-bit revolution. I also mentioned the Amiga, no Sega baby here. I'll thrash them just as I will any other videogame company. There's enough Nintendo love on the net. Enough to make one vomit. Let's make a big deal of what they did in the past because they certainly aren't succeeding in the present? They are the new Sega.

Not really so much on you in particular, but the modern Sega Genesis rebels drive me nuts. Yes, Genesis was more popular in the US for a couple of years, and then the SNES eclipsed it. It was an extremely distant third place in Japan. Genesis should have its moment to shine, but it's not SNES fans' fault for not starting those threads. Sega people seem to prefer to shit on SNES positivity rather than talk about their favorite system.

Back on topic, though, I think that NES aging well or not really has to be skewed to different ends of the library's quality. Contra, Zelda I&II, Super Mario Bros. 1-3, and others have aged tremendously, and are as much fun today as ever. However, the middle tier and lower get a lot rougher, having less in common with great 16-bit games and arcade games, and more in common with C64, Intellivision, or Atari 7800 games. SNES games have a much stronger foundation, leaving a considerably bigger group of games that remain fun and playable compared to only the great NES games being truly timeless. Dash Galaxy just can't make it as far as Plok.

[Tanooki]

Well yes that is true. I don't think most NES games though were limited by it. Very few games had to resort to using start as button 3 and select to pause, very few did, and some like Silent Service had to use 2 pads because it was 2 buttons short to look/not turn sub, blow ballast tanks and fire rear torpedos. The games just weren't that complex back then so it was safe. SNES though, that controller, I meant for f's sake -- Sony aped it and made a generation think they designed the style because if you recall years before dual shock it was a SNES pad with an added set of L/R buttons and it was mindblowing to a lot of first time gamers. It's plenty enough for anything but the heavy keyboard using PC copy cats like Wing Commander which used Lbutton+another to do some subsystem pull ups in flight.

Funny you bring up some games there. TMNT TF I've had it, about 3 years ago I picked it up 'cheap' around $60 at the time (hah) through trade bucks, I finished it once with one turtle, but goddamn it was luck I never repeated. The NES wasn't even at fault, Konami was lazy and I don't think they tested it well. It was fluid, the stages even had SF2 like layers of scrolling which is unique, but the moves only registered like a quarter of the times and they were all easy down right/left or hold a second and opposite and B or A -- not rocket science, and it was like 6 fights short so I sold it. Kickmaster I've had 3 times, I just had it less than 2 weeks ago with that NES lot I bought. I was tempted to keep it, got into stage 3 where it gets super stupid cheap and I just got fed up and turned it off as it was just draining tolerating it. It wasn't like Castlevania with the blowbacks, but it was just so precise on how to hit every single thing or you'd get wrecked and lots of narrow miss jump platforming it got tedious then annoying but I do get why people liked it, I did when I had it the first time maybe 5-6 years ago. Personally I have trouble tolerating most games anymroe new or old, my 4 year old wears me the hell out and I often pass out in my chair as it is, so I usually am too tired to bother outside of my tablet, laptop, or a handheld. I mean I still like it, but too tired to bother and Iv'e got a pair of fun PS4 games i haven't touched in 2 months due to that (wolfenstein old blood, godzilla.)


Fiery -- Perhaps because Sega burned their bridges with most their fans. Perhaps because the Genesis got it's support mutilated by corporate being dumbassed with the 32X and the SegaCD splitting and again splitting their base. Maybe it was the fact their exclusives for most, just weren't all that fun in the long term outside of Sonic and PHantasy Star for the most part, the rest were awesome arcade ports -- essentially prettier limited use arcade games. There just were less Sega titles on Genesis that have the durability to be fun in the long run for extended play. Given that Sega is basically dead, just a name co-opted by Sammy and run into the dirt and with them no longer making hardware they're irrelevent to most people. But yet I don't think it's fair to say no one cares, Sega with ATGames is making good bucks selling those emulation boxes and handhelds and they even advertise it will run any Genesis/MD .BIN file dump you can 'find' out there. I didn't get you wrong on it, I get your idea there. The problem only Sega fan sites recognized it was because the stuff I said, they smeared their own rep into oblivion and don't make hardware anymore so most wouldn't have a clue beyond the atgames devices, illegal rom downloads, or one of those sony/ms/pc based genesis collections on a disc. Sorry but the Genesis was no leader, sure it got out of the gate first, and it stayed on top for a few years because of that, but in the end, no...close but no. You are right though there is too much syrup loaded Nintendo love online. They did deserve it once, but their behavior of the last decade leads me to say 'f' them too. They're doing a Sega of their own with this Wii crap and their treatment of players and developers.

[The 1 2 P]

I wish Nintendo would release more Nes games for the 3DS marketplace but from what I understand they've lost some of those licenses, such as the one for the original TMNT game and the first Contra.

[FieryReign]

Well yes that is true. I don't think most NES games though were limited by it. Very few games had to resort to using start as button 3 and select to pause, very few did, and some like Silent Service had to use 2 pads because it was 2 buttons short to look/not turn sub, blow ballast tanks and fire rear torpedos. The games just weren't that complex back then so it was safe. SNES though, that controller, I meant for f's sake -- Sony aped it and made a generation think they designed the style because if you recall years before dual shock it was a SNES pad with an added set of L/R buttons and it was mindblowing to a lot of first time gamers. It's plenty enough for anything but the heavy keyboard using PC copy cats like Wing Commander which used Lbutton+another to do some subsystem pull ups in flight.

Funny you bring up some games there. TMNT TF I've had it, about 3 years ago I picked it up 'cheap' around $60 at the time (hah) through trade bucks, I finished it once with one turtle, but goddamn it was luck I never repeated. The NES wasn't even at fault, Konami was lazy and I don't think they tested it well. It was fluid, the stages even had SF2 like layers of scrolling which is unique, but the moves only registered like a quarter of the times and they were all easy down right/left or hold a second and opposite and B or A -- not rocket science, and it was like 6 fights short so I sold it. Kickmaster I've had 3 times, I just had it less than 2 weeks ago with that NES lot I bought. I was tempted to keep it, got into stage 3 where it gets super stupid cheap and I just got fed up and turned it off as it was just draining tolerating it. It wasn't like Castlevania with the blowbacks, but it was just so precise on how to hit every single thing or you'd get wrecked and lots of narrow miss jump platforming it got tedious then annoying but I do get why people liked it, I did when I had it the first time maybe 5-6 years ago. Personally I have trouble tolerating most games anymroe new or old, my 4 year old wears me the hell out and I often pass out in my chair as it is, so I usually am too tired to bother outside of my tablet, laptop, or a handheld. I mean I still like it, but too tired to bother and Iv'e got a pair of fun PS4 games i haven't touched in 2 months due to that (wolfenstein old blood, godzilla.)


Fiery -- Perhaps because Sega burned their bridges with most their fans. Perhaps because the Genesis got it's support mutilated by corporate being dumbassed with the 32X and the SegaCD splitting and again splitting their base. Maybe it was the fact their exclusives for most, just weren't all that fun in the long term outside of Sonic and PHantasy Star for the most part, the rest were awesome arcade ports -- essentially prettier limited use arcade games. There just were less Sega titles on Genesis that have the durability to be fun in the long run for extended play. Given that Sega is basically dead, just a name co-opted by Sammy and run into the dirt and with them no longer making hardware they're irrelevent to most people. But yet I don't think it's fair to say no one cares, Sega with ATGames is making good bucks selling those emulation boxes and handhelds and they even advertise it will run any Genesis/MD .BIN file dump you can 'find' out there. I didn't get you wrong on it, I get your idea there. The problem only Sega fan sites recognized it was because the stuff I said, they smeared their own rep into oblivion and don't make hardware anymore so most wouldn't have a clue beyond the atgames devices, illegal rom downloads, or one of those sony/ms/pc based genesis collections on a disc. Sorry but the Genesis was no leader, sure it got out of the gate first, and it stayed on top for a few years because of that, but in the end, no...close but no. You are right though there is too much syrup loaded Nintendo love online. They did deserve it once, but their behavior of the last decade leads me to say 'f' them too. They're doing a Sega of their own with this Wii crap and their treatment of players and developers.

I've read a portion of this and almost vomited in my mouth. If I read the whole thing, I may get triggered. It's utter nonsense. Seriously, a garbage attempt at fanboyism. Tanooki bitches about Nintendo one day, the next day it's a blowjob for anything with the N brand on it. Sonic and Phantasy Star? Fuck both of those games, why listen to the masses? They're the least of the Genny's library, which you've ignored because it doesn't compare to the Snes slow processor. Only one game for Genesis required an extra-special chip to function. And it's been proved Starfox can be done on a Genny without the need for special chips.

I got my NES in 86 so I came up with the damn thing. I subscribed to the propaganda, I watched the Wizard, bought into the hype. Guess what? I grew up and realized what promotion is. And I moved on, very simple.

Some people like to stay adamantly stuck in the past I guess. But not according to the prices, good lord it's stupid. Compare libraries, period. Keep your boring, slow, stupid rpgs coming. They do not stand the test of time and are boring if you're not prepared for a grind.

[Empsolo]

How did this turn into a lovefest for SNES? Y'all seem to forget about the other 16-bit monster that made Nintendo humble for awhile. No need to suck it off, the Genesis was the leader in every statement y'all made thus far. Amiga and Megadrive games set the new standard after the 8-bit NES. Nintendo was late to the party, yet they are looked at as some sort of originator of 16-bit ageless games? Stop.

I understand nostalgias and all that but cmon, be realistic. I swear some of y'all use that Snes cartridge slot as something else...

My God. Why is it that every single Sega fanboy I have ever run across has a compulsion to be super defensive about thier Sega Consoles? It's as if Sega Fanboys have have to justify to themselves that they wasted the 90's playing Sports games that nobody cares about and edgy gorefests that are best remembered for being edgy and bloody and not being, y'know, any good.

There is a reason why people people remember Fire Emblem and not Shining Force, The Legend of Zelda and not Golden Axe Warrior, Mario instead of Sonic.

[Empsolo]

And it's been proved Starfox can be done on a Genny without the need for special chips.

You are right. They didn't need special chips to compete with Mode 7 and the Super FX. They looked to expensive console add-ons instead.

**snicker**

[Leo_A]

That Star Fox homebrew was a long ways away from matching the SuperNes game. It's an interesting piece of work, but hardly proof that the Genesis could've equaled it without use of the 32X or a similar add-on chip.

That said, the Genesis could do a fine job of 3D. I find many of its stock 3D titles playable to this day like Domark's fine trio of racing games that make significant use of polygons.