Top imports - Famicom

[Dire 51]

Having gotten into the Famicom quite a bit lately, I had to start this topic.

My selections:

Gradius II - One of the best 8-bit shmups ever, pulling off graphics and sound unheard of on an 8-bit machine. The control is precise as well.

Crisis Force - The other greatest 8-bit shmup. It pulls off even more impressive graphics than Gradius II, and controls just as smoothly.

Parodius Da! - I didn't think that the FC could pull off a decent version of Parodius, but I was wrong. Too bad you can't deactivate the damned Roulette feature, though.

Getsu Fuu Ma Den - A fantastic action/platformer in the vein of Zelda II, but a lot darker than most FC games. Knowledge of Japanese is essential to win, though.

Waiwai World 2: S.O.S.!! Parsley Castle - I loved the idea behind the original Konami Waiwai World, but the execution wasn't so great. #2 more than makes up for that, though, with the ability to select the characters you want to take with you (some of Konami's most famous heroes - among them Simon Belmont, Bill from Contra and Goemon), and better control.

Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa - AKA "Baby Land". It's a platformer that stars Upa the baby, and has some fairly unique gameplay for a platformer.

Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Grafitti - Aside from being a great action game, WG is hilarious. Movie parodies are everywhere!

Yes, I realize that almost every game I listed was by Konami, but that's just because when it came to the Famicom, they were the king.

[WiseSalesman]

Sweet Home - although it's probably mentioned a bit too much these days, that doesn't mean it's not a great game. A classic horror rpg with an interesting battle system, it has been called the precursor to the resident evil series, and requires some heavy japanese reading. For an nes game, this has some seriously creepy moments.

[EDIT: i'm an idiot, and go go ackman is for SFC.]

[Kroogah]

Somehow I knew you were going to make this topic. ^_^

Nekketsu! Street Basket: Ganbare Dunk Heroes
Ike! Ike! Nekketsu Hockey
Nekketsu Kakutou Densetsu
Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigekidayo
-If you like River City Ransom and Nintendo World Cup...GET THESE NOW.

[Dire 51]

Yashiro - Did you expect anything else from me? ^_^

WS - I never even knew there was a FC version of GGA. Where can I find screen shots of it?

[WiseSalesman]

Gah, what the hell was I thinking? It's for super famicom. Good lord. Sorry, about that, I'm still recovering from this weekend's 47-hour long LAN party.

[Dire 51]

No problem. On that note, GGA is a great game, as are the sequels.

Hmmm... time to start a SF and MD topic if no one has already.

[maxlords]

I have to agree....Crisis Force is simply STUNNING! I was lucky to happen across a copy for dirt nothing (cart only, and it blows me away every time. I can barely believe the NES can push those graphics. By the way...it's even MORE amazing 2 player when your ships merge......

[Dire 51]

I've been dying to get my hands on it for YEARS - and now I finally have it! WHO-HOOOO!!!

[rbudrick]

Gradius II is incredible.....most SNES shooters aren't a stunning as it is.

Hard as hell though! That is until you figure out that you must power up as much as possible in level one (not too hard, just takes a little practice), and then you can beat the game on one life.

Oh, and the 30 lives trick is actually a hindrance in this game....sometimes you need to continue if you actually die so you can start at the beginning of the level you were on....those power ups at the beginning of the levels are so essential...it sucks to have to kill yourself 30 times because you keep starting midpoint and weaponless. It's not like contra or lifeforce where you appear where you died!

-Rob

[Dire 51]

That's the truth. I haven't used that code in so long now because of that reason... well, that and I can finish the game without a problem usually.

[ArnoldRimmer83]

Ah. Here's a topic I would enjoy.

So best Famicom imports huh? Let's see:


Gimmick: A platformer by Sunsoft. Almost released in the US as Mr Gimmick, but was cancelled. The game has some of the best visuals I've seen in an Nes/Famicom game, and the soundtrack is excellent. The game is also very hard. It looks cute, but some of the later bosses in the game are brutal. There are also hidden treasures that must be found, or else you can't play the final stage and get the real ending. And some of those treasures are hard as hell to get.

Hebereke: Also known as Ufouria in Europe. This is another good Sunsoft game. It's on the easy side, but the world is huge and fun to explore. And the soundtrack as usually for Sunsoft games, is excellent. For some reason, in the Ufouria version, two of the main characters were changed.

Gradius 2: Great graphics and visuals, and terrific gameplay. Probably the best out of the 4 Gradius games on Nes. (That includes Salamander/Life Force and Parodius)

Crisis Force: An overhead shooter released very late in the Famicom's life by Konami. The visuals are among the Famicom's best. And the ability for your ship to transform is pretty nice. Game is also great with two players.

Twinbee 3: Yep another Konami shooter making my list. Out of the 3 Twinbee games on the Famicom, this one is the best. The game is very goofy, and it has some pretty cool boss fights. Also the bell system power up is still a pain to get used to, though powering up doesn't seem as difficult to do as in the previous games, though maybe it just feels that way.

Salamander: Yeah this was released in the US as Life Force, but I like this version better, because of the 3 endings. Yes that's right. The Japanese version has 3 endings depending on how many continues you used. And credits for that matter. The US version just gave us a black screen with the Konami logo for beating the game. Thanks a lot Konami of AMerica. >

Parodius: Gradius, only with a very odd sense of humor, and very difficult gameplay. The only thing I hate about the game is that annoying roulette option, but otherwise it's perfect.

Cosmic Epsilon: Probably as close as the Nes would get to Space Harrier. (Well there was a port of Space Harrier on Famicom, but ignoring that.) Behind the view shooters usually take me awhile to get used to. This one was no exception, but I'm glad I took the time to play it, cause it's one of the better behind the view shooters on the Nes. This was going to be released in the US, but was unfortunately cancelled.

Tetra Star: Even though it's from a different publisher, make no mistake this game is Cosmic Epsilon 2. It's from the same developers, and it uses the same engine. The game is much more difficult than Cosmic Epsilon as well, but if you liked that game you'll like this. Only downside is, this is one of those shooters where when you die, you restart from an earlier point in the level. No instant revivals here, which can be a bit annoying considering how often you can die in behind the view shooters.

Yume Penguin Dream Story: This might be an odd choice, but I friggin love this game. You play as a penguin, (Pentarou from Antarctic Adventure and the Parodius games I believe) who is getting too fat, and his girlfriend is threatening to go out with another penguin unless he can lose weight. So you play as the penguin going through several platform levels trying to avoid fatty foods that the evil penguin's minions try to throw at you. The game has to be seen to be appreciated, but it's very funny.

Moai Kun: A puzzle game starring that lovable moai head that's always trying to kill you in Gradius games. It's fun in the same way Lolo games are, where you spend hours trying to figure out how to clear a level, and when you finally find the solution, you wonder how the hell you didn't think of it earlier. :P I haven't finished this game yet, but I will one day. It just might take awhile.

King Kong 2: One of the wierdest Konami games ever. In this game you play as King Kong and you go off on a quest to save Lady Kong. Meanwhile lots of monsters and the military are trying to kill you. The game is an adventure type, kind of reminds me a bit of Zelda. Though you can't continue when you die, which is a bit annoying considering the game's lenght.

[ArnoldRimmer83]

Not done yet. Still some more Famicom games I need to list. (Hit the submit button by mistake. :P )

The Goonies: One of Konami's earliest Fami releases. Love this game. I first played it years ago on one of Nintendo's Playchoice 10 machines which included Goonies even though the game wasn't available for purchase. (Which pissed me off to no end) The game is a lot more linear than the second game, (Which is one of my favorite Nes games of all time) but it still has a lot of hidden suprises if you spend enough time exploring the levels. The hidden items give it replay value.

Getsu Fuu Ma Den: Plays sort of like Zelda 2 and Battle of Olympus. Only it seems to be a bit faster paced, and a lot more difficult. The game is fun, though if you don't know Japanese it can be very easy to get lost.

Splatterhouse: The SD version. It's a fun parody of Splatterhouse and various B movies. The game has all sorts of goofy cameos, and a twist ending. Worth playing if you're a Splatterhouse fan.

Nekketsu Kakutou Densetsu: If there's one thing I learned from being an Nes/Famicom fan, it's that if a game has Kunio in it, it will kick ass. (Well with the exception of Renegade I suppose) This one is a four player fighting game, predating Smash Brothers by quite a few years. As you might guess, four player style Kunio beatings are a blast, though the downside is, if you want to play four player with this game, you need a Japanese four player adapter. Even if you use the AV famicom with the Four score, it isn't compatible. There is info on how to make it compatible though right here:

http://www.rahga.com/

Over Horizon: One of my favorite shooters of all time. This game was designed very nicely. Good visuals, a great soundtrack. The weapon customization option is very nice to play around with. This game could actually stand up pretty well against Konami's shooters IMO. This game was also released in Europe.

Contra: Yeah it was released in the US, but the Japanese version has some really nice visuals thanks to a special chip. While the extra graphics aren't necessary, they do add to the atmosphere a lot. I especially love the snow level in this version, with actual falling snowflakes, and the trees moving in the wind.

Ninja Jajamaru Kun: This is probably the most obscure game I'm picking here, but if any of you own an Nes multicart, there's a good chance you've played this. The game is about a red ninja, who must save his girlfriend from an evil guy with an eyepatch. The game takes place in rooms with four floors and you must kill every enemy in the room. And you must bash your head on bricks, Mario style, to reach the above floors. The game is kind of unique in the sense that you can't be killed by touching enemies, only by their projectiles. In fact by jumping on their heads you knock them out making them vulnerable, giving the game a bit of a startegy feel. It's simple but addictive. This game also has a special place, cause it's the first Famicom game I've ever owned.

Final Fantasy 3: I'm not a huge RPG fan, but I like this game anyway. Great soundtrack and intereting gameplay which allows your characters to change jobs. It's a shame Nintendo didn't try to release this in the US.

Sweet Home: Uninvited and Dragon Warrior combined, kind of. This is one of the most memorable RPGs I've played. Although the game does have random battles, the true meat of the game is in the puzzles which can actually kill you if you're not careful. The game also managed to have a creepy atmosphere, which was done pretty well for an Nes game. And some of the death sequences are disturbing. I cannot believe Capcom USA actually was gonna bring this out to the US. Maybe it could've been the first video game to have a warning label on it.

Konami World 1: Konami heroes team up to save the day! This is the only instance I beleive where Konami Man was ever a playable character. While a decent game it's also very very hard. And it has scrolling issues. The game is terrific with two players though.

Konami World 2: Where Konami World 1 was insanely hard, 2 is insanely easy. Does that mean it's a bad game. Of course not, or I wouldn't be listing it. The game is more light hearted than the original and there's lots of funny cameos of various Konami games throughout the game. Also playing as a super deformed Bill from contra shooting stuff is pretty badass.

Star Wars (Namco): Very strange game here. It's based on the first Star Wars movie, but only loosely. It takes a lot of liberties with the movie's plot. For example I don't remember Darth Vader hanging around the Jawa sandcrawler, nor do I remember the part where Luke must save Obi Wan from an ancient Egyptian temple. :P The game is actually a fairly decent platformer. Reminds me a lot of Alex Kidd in Miracle World in the way it plays. You play as Luke armed with a lightsaber, on a quest to save the rest of the Star Wars cast. You have various powers at your disposal, but unfortunately the game is very very hard. To the point of being downright frustrating. Luke is a huge wuss in this game and dies in one hit. He also has slipperly controls. Also there are no continues, and the game is somewhat long. It does become a bit easier with practice, but don't expect this one to be a breeze. There is a neat overhead X Wing level at the end though.

Bio Miracle Upa: Cutesy but very fun Konami platformer about a baby who can inflate his enemies into floating platforms with his rattle. The game is fairly long and the levels have enough variety in them to keep the game interesting. Available on the FDS, and on cart, though the cart version is apprently hard to find.

Moeru Twinbee: Again I'm listing a Konami game that got released in the US. In this case, it was called Stinger. But I wouldn't be listing it if it didn't have something the US version didn't. And indeed it does, for this version of the game is 3 player. Pretty kick ass too. I often wondered why no other Twinbee game was ever 3 player after this game. Available on the FDS or on a rare Fami cart version.

Falsion: A behind the view Konami shooter on FDS. As usual with Konami's games, it's well made and very challenging. The only downside is the only rom image of the game available currently is one where the game was hacked so you have 99 lives. Why the dumper of the game did this is beyond me.

Meikujin Dababa: By Konami. This game plays kind of similar to Star Tropics. You play as a monk who jumps tile by tile while fighting enemies. The game is probably one of the toughest Konami has made for the Famicom. This one is for the FDS.

Ai Senshi Nicol: An overhead shooting game for the FDS by Konami. Plays a bit like Alien Syndrome.

Almana no Kiseki: First Konami ripped off Crocodile Dundee with Bayou Billy, and now they rip off Indiana Jones. A decent rip off, but one nonetheless. This game has a terrific soundtrack, and it seems reminiscent of Bionic Commando the way your character must use a bizarre grappling hook thing in order to reach higher platforms. The controls are the only downside to the game though, as they take a lot of getting used to. For the FDS.

Esper Dream: By Konami for FDS. Boy I sure mentioned Konami games a lot didn't I? This game is a lot like Zelda. It's an overhead adventure game, where the combat with enemies takes place in a small room and you have to shoot them down with a gun. A translation was made for this recently. There's also an Esper Dream 2 that's on the Famicom, but I can't comment on that one yet.

Nazo no Murasamejou: An overhead action game by Nintendo for the FDS. This came out around the same time as Zelda, Kid Icarus, and Metroid. But while those games went to America and enjoyed great success, this one stayed in Japan. This game is hard. Very very very very hard. Next time someone bitches about Nintendo's games being too easy, show them this game. It proves Nintendo can be sadistic assholes if they really wanted to. You are attacked by armies of ninjas every second with rarely a pause. And you can only take about 3 hits before you die. Add to this the fact the levels are long and you can get lost easily means this is a game you won't finish too quickly. Even though it's frustrating as hell, it has a certain charm that keeps me coming back.


And there you have it. That's pretty much my favorite Famicom imports. There are some other ones, but I think I need to take a break. :P

By the way Dire 51, where did you hear that Bio Miracle Upa was considered for a US release? I never heard about that game ever being announced and I never saw it on any unreleased lists.

[Dire 51]

Arnold - Good list of games here. Excellent selections... I've been wanting to play Almana no Kiseki and Star Wars for quite some time.

Regarding BMBU - I recall reading many years ago an an old issue of EGM that Konami had been considering porting the game to the NES, but Nintendo (namely Howard Philips) denied them permission to release it here because they thought the game wasn't good enough for the American market. I don't think it ever even showed up as an announced title. Whether that's the truth or not, I don't know, but given Nintendo's policies at the time it wouldn't surprise me.

[ArnoldRimmer83]

The game was probably deemed too "weird" for US audiences. They probably thought people wouldn't have been able to make heads or tails about a game where you play as a baby. Or maybe NOA was afraid parents wouldn't be too thrilled about the baby getting "killed" by enemies. Just having a guess. It's a shame. Though in the US we did eventually get Monster Party instead of Japan, so maybe that policy was loosened up a bit later on.

While I'm posting, here are some other choices, I'll be more brief this time.

Adventure Island 4: I forgot to mention this one earlier. This was one of the first Famicom roms I played when I first got into emulation and it's still a favorite of mine. Unlike the previous installments this one is more of an exploration type of game, similar to Metroid. It is pretty fun to play and it has a password feature, which the previous 2 games needed desperately. It is also the last official Famicom game ever released. Unfortunately that means the game is probably tough to get ahold of.

Boku Dracula Kun: Better known as Kid Dracula. The Famicom version is even better than the gameboy one.

Devil World: Hey, what can I say? I love Nintendo's early releases. This one is no exception. A twisted version of Pac Man with heavy religous themes. It's pretty funny. Unfortunately not released in the US, cause of anal religous types who get way too easily offended by anything. Sorry for that minor rant there.

Uchuu Keibitai SDF: An overhead shooter by HAL. It's pretty tough. Took me a few tries before I beat the first level.

Summer Carnival Recca: This is an amazing Famicom game. How the developers managed to pack so many enemies and bullets on the screen without slowdown or much flickering, I'll never know, but they sure had quite the skills at programming the Famicom.

Joy Mech Fight: A fighting game by Nintendo, featuring large robot like characters. It's actually pretty solid and well made considering the Nes' limitations. The system isn't exactly the best when it comes to fighting games.

[Dire 51]

Arnold - You know, you're probably right. Oh well. At least I now have a copy of BMBU...

[Scoots]

I just got Goonies, Gradius 2, and Devil World in the mail last night with some other Famicom games and have to agree that they are excellent. Devil World is a great variation on the Pac-Man theme and highly addictive.

[maxlords]

I must add Namco's Star Wars to this list. This game quite simply rocks the casbah!

[Scoots]

Maxlords, is that Star Wars game different than the one released for the NES in America?

[maxlords]

Maxlords, is that Star Wars game different than the one released for the NES in America?

Sorry I didn't respond sooner...I totally missed that post! Yes, it's completely different than the US release. This one is part platformer and part piloting, much like Super Star Wars Very cool! Plus, Vader grumbles at you in Japanese text when you die, and appears at odd places in the game!

[NE146]

Maxlords, is that Star Wars game different than the one released for the NES in America?

Sorry I didn't respond sooner...I totally missed that post! Yes, it's completely different than the US release. This one is part platformer and part piloting, much like Super Star Wars Very cool! Plus, Vader grumbles at you in Japanese text when you die, and appears at odd places in the game!

It's funny because I bought that game when it came out and later on noticed it was different from the later released NES version. This of course were the pre-internet days so I when I went to the states I cruised around to Electronics Boutique and Software Etc. and would describe my Star Wars game to them... they all thought I was smoking crack! I'd get snide.. "that must not be Star Wars then" or... it must be some bootleg game etc. I even wrote to EGM about it (they didn't respond). Anyway, it made me think I had a really rare cart! .. course it turns out it wasn't the case.. oh well. It's kind of fun to remember when Jap and U.S. gaming were worlds apart and somewhat oblivious to the other (and there I was caught in the middle) :P

Salamander: Yeah this was released in the US as Life Force, but I like this version better, because of the 3 endings. Yes that's right. The Japanese version has 3 endings depending on how many continues you used. And credits for that matter. The US version just gave us a black screen with the Konami logo for beating the game. Thanks a lot Konami of AMerica.

Very interesting! Could you describe those 3 endings in more detail?