Recommend some good Tengen NES titles to me!

[c0ldb33r]

I think he's more concerned about how now there's horizontal scrolling involved.

Just do this:

[url=http://www.link.com]link[/url]

It is pretty annoying having this big ass link up there, it weirds out the rest of the thread.

[InsaneDavid]

...? huh? Maybe I'm special... but it isn't doing that to me.

What do you have, 800x600 resolution?

1024 x 768 = majority resolution, please just quit trying to play flame war and fix your link.

LEFT BRACKET, URL=yourlink, RIGHT BRACKET, Display text, LEFT BARCKET, SLASH, URL, RIGHT BRACKET.

Read this thread for further assistance.

[aaron7]

Edited since there seems to be a cease fire.

[InsaneDavid]

Pac-Mania is also one of my favorite Tengen games, but if I were you, I'd go for a Camerica title if you don't already have one. IMO the Camerica games look better than the Tengen games, plus they are generally more fun

Some of the Camerica games are okay but the only one I ever really cared for was Micro Machines. Also since Tengen cartridges use a reverse engineered clone of the 10NES lockout chip (Tengen's "rabbit" chip), they don't have the loading problems other unlicensed games are subject to.

As for Pac-Mania, it's not a bad game it's just a shell of the arcade original where as the Tengen version of Ms. Pac-Man has about five times the gameplay of the arcade original (the licensed version is laughable). Pac-Mania is hard to come by because no one was really banging down the doors for a copy when it was released so I'd assume that very few copies were manufactured. Tetris on the other hand is hard to come by because it was pulled from sale not all that long after the release. I still think the price for a loose copy of Tetris is crazy, it's not that hard to come across. The constant rotation of cartridges on eBay is proof of that.

Personally I hate Shinobi but it's a game I never liked in the arcade anyway so I'm biased there and took a step back in my article to try to remain objective. However Skull & Crossbones is HORRIBLE and has not one redeeming value. It's nothing like the swashbuckling hack and slash / beat 'em up that the very nice arcade original was.

aaron7, thank you for removing your link but a fix would have worked just as well. Speaking up about an eyesore on a thread isn't annyoing, having to scroll back and forth to read each line like a typewriter is. Thank you just the same.

[Bratwurst]

...? huh? Maybe I'm special... but it isn't doing that to me.

What do you have, 800x600 resolution?

I'm 1280 by 1024 and the url was stretching the forum out for me.

[aaron7]

Wow, you're REALLY special... because it isn't even there anymore!!!

[jcheatle]

Just to add my $0.02, I'd have to agree with most everybody on the Tengen choices thus far. Ms. Pac Man is by far my favorite, as the various play modes (tiny / huge / standard size boards as well as "strange" boards which are really fun) add a lot to the game. I also dig the "Pac Booster" that's included even if it bastardizes the original a little.

Other than Ms. Pac Man, though, I haven't played much Pac-Mania except on emulators and I never got into any console ports of Pac Man. Tetris is pretty fun, though I personaly prefer Nintendo's version. Klax is alright, but I'm spoiled since my friend has the arcade cab in his house.

Super Sprint's decent, and RBI Baseball 3 is head and shoulders above the other two in the series, but that's about it for me. Comparing them to Camerica, I'd say Camerica's maybe look a little better (being primarily released later on in the system's life) but as far as better... meh.

I only really play Ms. Pac Man from the Tengen library (though that may change since I found a copy of Tetris about a month ago for 6 dollars ) and I also only play Micro Machines from the Camerica library, making it 1-1.

[Speedy_NES]

Pac-Mania is also one of my favorite Tengen games, but if I were you, I'd go for a Camerica title if you don't already have one. IMO the Camerica games look better than the Tengen games, plus they are generally more fun

Some of the Camerica games are okay but the only one I ever really cared for was Micro Machines. Also since Tengen cartridges use a reverse engineered clone of the 10NES lockout chip (Tengen's "rabbit" chip), they don't have the loading problems other unlicensed games are subject to.

I've never noticed much of a loading problem with any NES game, but I don't really pay much attention to it

Micro Machines is definitely a nice title...Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy is nice as well, but for me it's partly nostalgia since I used to play the Amiga version a lot back in the day (Treasure Island Dizzy). One of the main reasons why I prefer Camerica games over the other unlicensed games is because they are generally fun to play, and have some of the best graphics and sound effects/music, in my opinion.

[Moo Cow]

19 games? holy f*ck, you've got a way to go x_x .

Anyways, Most of the best Tengen games I have are, sadly, rare and/or expensive. Yep, you'll have to pony-up to the plate to enjoy games like Ms. Pac-Man [going price-$13], Klax [going price-$12], or Tetris [going price-$41]. I'll try not to bore you with tips on how to find these games (and how I got one of them for $5 ), but I can tell you that they're some other cheaper games that are more enjoyable (Rolling Thunder is a good one, for example.)

all I can say about bad Tengen titles is that you should STAY AWAY from Shinobi!!! Horrible port, impossible bosses; heck, most of the time there is'nt even a background! The ending won't win any awards, neither

you can bore me with the details on how you got one for five bucks.

[DigitalSpace]

Now that's my specialty. I've reviewed every NES Tengen game (with the exception of Gauntlet which will be in the June issue, and Fantasy Zone which is done and will be in May's issue) in comparison to their arcade counterparts over at Retrogaming Times Monthly. Look for my "Titles of Tengen" column in the current issue and RTM previous issues, issues 07~15, 17~23+ will have one. I was omitted from issue 16 due to an e-mail problem. I encourage you to read all my Titles of Tengen columns (and all of RTM while you're at it).

I've heard of RTM before but I never got around to checking out the site. Man, was I missing out or what? Also, I'm enjoying your column, I'll be looking forward to reading about Gauntlet and Fantasy Zone. Thanks, and great work!

19 games? holy f*ck, you've got a way to go x_x .

Heh, I guess it depends on if he's going for a complete collection. I have about 35 NES carts, just the games I like to play.

I've only had an NES since late November, but I've had a decent start. I'm not going for everything, but eventually, I'd like to acquire a good number of must-own titles.

I'd go for a Camerica title if you don't already have one. IMO the Camerica games look better than the Tengen games, plus they are generally more fun

I do plan on owning some Camerica stuff eventually - I'd like to own Micro Machines and Bee 52 someday.

Thanks for the responses everyone, keep them coming!

[The Manimal]

RBI Baseball 3 (along with Baseball Stars) are the two best baseball games on the NES.

[DigitalSpace]

I figured I should post an update here. I now have a few Tengens in my collection (and currently own 165 NES carts overall). Here's what I have (all cart only):

-Fantasy Zone (my first Tengen cart - I never noticed how similar Tengen NES carts looked to Atari 5200 carts until I saw this one hidden next to some at the store I got it at. )
-Klax
-R.B.I. Baseball (I'm not really interested in video game baseball, but it was 50 cents, so I figured what the hell)
-Rolling Thunder (man, it was nice to cross this one off the want list. )
-Super Sprint

Among the stuff I don't own, I'm mostly interested in Alien Syndrome and Road Runner, though there's some other stuff I wouldn't pass up on the cheap. And if I ever get the chance to get Tengen Tetris...

[Barbarianoutkast85]

My favorite Tengen titles are: Tengen Tetris; Klax; Toobin'; Shinobi; Ms Pac-man; and Pac-man. I hope this information helps, and that you dont already own the Tengen games I mentioned.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Tengen Tetris to some is a holy grail of NES collecting. One of my first jobs as a "kid" was working at a mom-and-pop video store and I SWEAR that had an ORIGINAL NINTENDO-LICENCED (prior to Nintendo pulling the licence from Tengen for themselves) version with the standard NES cartridge shell ... and while I can't for the life of me find a picture of this version of the game online, my steel-trap-memory keeps telling me that they had one ... can anybody verify that the Tengen Tetris did exist for a VERY SHORT TIME in a grey NES shell?

Rolling Thunder, as many have stated is also a great port of the arcade version (if you don't mind the main characters legs looking a bit stick-ly) the gameplay is all there and it's pretty much jump-for-jump, duck-for-duck, door-for-door perfect.

I'll also second a vote for Klax as being a great arcade port, and a very under-appreciated 90's puzzler.

[shopkins]

My favorite Tengen game is Gauntlet. I worked on that for days until I finally beat it with the elf, then went back and beat it with the wizard. I didn't like the two warrior types.

I had Alien Syndrome as a kid. I got it for Christsmas and after getting over a little initial disappointment, I learned to like it. I had never played the arcade game so I had no basis for comparison as to how good a port it was.

[diskoboy]

Unless I'm blind - No one's mentioned Rampart. Or was this on the 16-bit consoles???

I love Rampart. One of the best aciton/puzzle hybrids ever made....

And I will also agree with everyone who voted for Klax.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Unless I'm blind - No one's mentioned Rampart. Or was this on the 16-bit consoles???

I love Rampart. One of the best aciton/puzzle hybrids ever made....

And I will also agree with everyone who voted for Klax.

Rampart is one of my all-time favorites (and it's freaking GREAT online-multiplayer on PS3)

however Jaleco released the NES version (Which is pretty good despite being a bit easier than every other version ... I've actually surrounded the ENTIRE beginner area with castle walls, every bit of green land, it's pretty funny ... and totally impossible on any other version. I should do that again and take a picture sometime).

[Blitzwing256]

Tengen Tetris to some is a holy grail of NES collecting. One of my first jobs as a "kid" was working at a mom-and-pop video store and I SWEAR that had an ORIGINAL NINTENDO-LICENCED (prior to Nintendo pulling the licence from Tengen for themselves) version with the standard NES cartridge shell ... and while I can't for the life of me find a picture of this version of the game online, my steel-trap-memory keeps telling me that they had one ... can anybody verify that the Tengen Tetris did exist for a VERY SHORT TIME in a grey NES shell?

Rolling Thunder, as many have stated is also a great port of the arcade version (if you don't mind the main characters legs looking a bit stick-ly) the gameplay is all there and it's pretty much jump-for-jump, duck-for-duck, door-for-door perfect.

I'll also second a vote for Klax as being a great arcade port, and a very under-appreciated 90's puzzler.

The only grey cartridge version of tengen tetris that exists is a prototype of it.
nintendo produced the cartrdiges in house so theres no way copies of grey tetris could have made it out since the game never made it through licenecing from them.

[boatofcar]

I really like Pac Mania.

[InsaneDavid]

can anybody verify that the Tengen Tetris did exist for a VERY SHORT TIME in a grey NES shell?

No. Tengen only released three games that were officially licensed by Nintendo and there by were relased in the standard grey shell: Pac-Man, RBI Baseball, and Gauntlet. This was in 1988, their version of Tetris wasn't ready until 1989. Of course Pac-Man, RBI Baseball and Gauntlet were all later released in black unlicensed cartridges after Tengen built a clone of the 10NES security chip - the Rabbit chip - and went into producing cartridges themselves.

Then again, I still swear I once played a US release of Little Nemo the Dream Master that had the gorilla smoking a cigar.

The only grey cartridge version of tengen tetris that exists is a prototype of it.
nintendo produced the cartrdiges in house so theres no way copies of grey tetris could have made it out since the game never made it through licenecing from them.

I gotta start reading further down before responding to posts.

My "Titles of Tengen" column at Retrogaming Times Monthly will be making a comeback in the November issue as the prototype of Xybots has been drifting around for awhile.