Next up: Dynowarz, an action platformer published by Bandai. What’s it like? I’ll be taking a look later this evening!
Welcome back for another edition of NES A to Z! If you’ve been following me on the socials you already know the game for the letter D is Dynowarz: Destruction of Spondylus. I’ve already started playing it but I’m going to hold my first looks for later this evening. This is another game I’ve never played and according to Wikipedia it’s another action platformer and since I have already started playing, I can confirm that it is. I glossed over the rest of the page, but I did catch something stating that the game wasn’t great. Is it really that bad? Stick around, tonight I’ll be taking a deeper dive into the game as well as giving the game some first looks and I’ll also be posting some gameplay videos to my YouTube channel. Until then, check out some of my previous posts from my NES A-Z project and as always, game on!
Finally! A dragon battle! One of the Dragons of the Castle perhaps?
Whew! Welcome back! If you’ve been following along then you’re aware that I’ve been playing Castle of Dragon for my NES A to Z random game series. I put a few good hours of gameplay in and now it’s time to wrap it up and move on to the next game. Was it any good? Let’s take a look:
The game itself was pretty average in nearly all aspects. The visuals and sound are average for the NES and the gameplay and controls are pretty standard. Nothing really stuck out for me as I played and even though the game didn’t seem that great, I wanted to keep playing. The gameplay had me coming back for more after each game over and each time I played I progressed a bit further in the game, a formula that seemed to work for me for a while. After a few sessions though, the gameplay got a little repetitive and my interest waned a bit. I did enjoy it while the fun lasted. The game is worth a quick play but if you’ve never played it before, you’re not missing much.
That’s about all I have for this game. It was pretty average, kind of fun for a while, but nothing special. That being said, it’s time to move on to the next game. Next up is the letter D! What will the game be? Dragon Warrior? Double Dragon? I’ll be announcing the random pick for D later this evening so until then, game on!
Castle of Dragon. The game is pretty average but I can’t stop playing it!!
Welcome back for another installation of random NES action! For the letter C the randomizer chose Castle of Dragon for me. Also, as a side note, I worked the randomizer overtime to select the rest of the A-Z list! Most of them I haven’t played, some look to be based on films so I might have to watch the movie first! Anyways, let take a look at Castle of Dragon!
On my first play, I wasn’t terribly impressed by the game. The graphics and music are okay and it’s your pretty run-of-the-mill action platformer. You play as a knight of some sort using a sword and various weapons you pick up to fight your enemies on the way to the Castle of Dragon. The character sprites are fairly large as well but the animation is jerky. I played for a bit, then came my first game over. No save feature, no continues. At first I assumed this game would be super difficult. That is until I started the game again.
Luckily, you get to keep all of your weapons from the previous playthrough, which allows you to breeze through the stages fully powered. This is a welcome feature that adds a bit of replay value to the game. When I played the game a few times, I was met with a few game overs, but after each session I progressed farther into the game. I kept thinking as I played “this game isn’t the greatest, but I want to keep playing!” The gameplay formula for some reason had me hooked! You can take a look at some of my gameplay sessions on my YouTube channel to get an idea of how the game looks and plays.
That’s about it for my first looks, I’ll be wrapping this game up tonight! After that I’ll be moving on to the game for the letter D later in the evening. Stay tuned to see what it will be!
The random pick for the letter C is Castle of Dragon! I’ll be jumping into this game later today.
Welcome back! I was having so much fun with that Batman game I almost didn’t want to move on to the next game! But I sucked it up and fired up the randomizer to give me another game to play. For the letter C it chose Castle of Dragon for me to play. I have never played this game before, or even heard of it before for that matter. I’ll be taking a look at it later today. Let’s hope it’s a good one!
Batman: Return of the Joker really took the cake on this one. I highly recommend it.
Hello again! I played a quick session earlier today and while I really would like to spend more time with this game, I have to move on to the next title. Perhaps for a future project I’ll play the game to completion. Who knows? With that in mind let’s wrap up Batman and move on to the next game brought to you by the letter C.
Overall this is probably one of the better titles for the NES. Everything about the game was pretty solid and I kept coming back for more. Whenever I wanted to set it down I thought “Just one more try to beat that boss!” or “I can make it through that part taking less damage than that!” A lot of the game is memorizing enemy locations and avoiding damage, a pretty standard formula that works in this game’s favor. The boss battles are a little different as well and pit you against your foe one-on-one, leaving you to strategize and formulate tactics to win the fight. The challenge in this game is fair and doesn’t frustrate. No controller throwing, but maybe a little bit of cussing while playing the snow stage or the sewer stage, two levels I encountered that have some challenging jumps.
Sunsoft sure didn’t screw up this game. This game is sure to please retro fans and it’s a great representation of the capabilities of the NES’s hardware. Give it a play and I’m sure you’ll add it to your top NES games list.
Batman: Return of the Joker has been great fun so far. Great graphics, great music, great fun.
Hello again all you retro gaming fans! I’m back to take a quick look at the next game for my A-Z project! For the letter B I’ve been playing Batman: Return of the Joker. I played it for about two hours last night and I can already tell this game is a winner. Let’s take a quick dive into the game to find out why:
The graphics on this game are great. The background and foreground graphics are eye-catching and use a dark, gloomy color palette that really sets the mood for the game. The character sprites are large and well animated as well. Batman’s cape even moves when you walk! The layering effects, for example when Batman walks behind a fence in the foreground, are also a nice touch and both show the capabilities of the NES’ PPU(Picture Processing Unit).
The music and sound on this game are both great as well. The music is non repetitive and was pleasing to my ears while I played. Sometimes repetitive music can really kill a game (looking at you Addams Family) but this game’s music kept me hooked. When the music melds seamlessly with the game and causes little or no friction, you’ve got a good game (or good game music at the very least) in my book.
As for the gameplay, this game scores high for me as well. It’s a run-and-gun style side scrolling platformer with plenty of action. As Batman you have several power-ups for your weapon, each with its own unique ability. The game has your normal platformer jumps and strategically placed enemies to buffet you as you progress through each sub-stage to the boss at the end.
During my play session I found that the game is challenging but fair. The game gets progressively more difficult as you move ahead and the learning curve is short. There’s a password feature and so far I have been met with unlimited continues, both are welcome features as so many NES games lacked a way to continue from where you left off, forcing you to complete the game in one sitting. Batman was easy to control and the button layout made sense. This is a game that is easy to pick up and play even without a manual.
Overall, I’m looking forward to playing this game some more. It hit all the right spots for me and I feel like I might even incorporate it into a future project. If you’re a collector, consider snagging a copy of this game. It’s a great game you can spend a few action packed gaming hours on and I think it would be welcome in any NES collection.
Welcome! I hope you’re all ready for the next game from the randomizer: Batman: Return of the Joker! This is another game I remember playing as a rental back in the day. From what I recall it was a side scrolling action shooter that was pretty fun and enjoyable. I have a good feeling about this game and I have high hopes that it will hold my attention longer than the Addams Family did. I’ll be diving into the game later today so stay tuned for some first looks into this game!
Welcome back! I’ve been playing the Addams Family for the NES and to be completely honest it’s a pretty average game. The graphics are bland, the music isn’t great, and the gameplay is flavorless. While the game is not overly challenging, there are aspects that can be frustrating and annoying. Let’s take a look:
On my first play the game wasn’t too bad. The Addams Family theme music in the background was kind of fun and the gameplay was familiar. Once I got further into the game I started to realize that the game was pretty mediocre. I only heard two different musical scores: One for the main area (Addams Family theme) and another for the “dungeon” areas. After hearing the same music for about 30 minutes I was ready to put the sound on mute and listen to my own tunes.
The gameplay was just about as bland as the music. I remember in the movie Gomez was pretty bad-ass in the fencing scene. In the game, Gomez just jumps and bops his foes on the head. No sword, no cool throwing items to subdue your enemies, just the soles of those black dress shoes to stomp your enemies to death. Sometimes your jump doesn’t even register as a hit, which can be frustrating. Also frustrating (and annoying) are the number of times I was inflicted with unavoidable damage. Chandeliers, spiders, and falling blades all hit me within a second of going through a door. It makes the game feel unfair and makes you wonder if the programmers put it in there as a big middle finger to the player.
As an added bonus to the frustration, the game also suffers from the dreaded difficult jumps that require exact precision. The most notable being the freezer area, which promptly drained all my remaining lives. The floors in this room are slippery, causing Gomez to slide around, making jumping across bottomless pits all the more difficult. Another area I found to be passable but particularly frustrating was the toy room, which requires you to jump across several jack-in-the-box platforms that knock you down and leave you to the mercy of the enemy below when your jump timing and speed isn’t up to snuff.
In short, this game just doesn’t hold my interest. Everything about the game is overly average. My advice is to go watch the movie instead. It will be an hour and a half better spent and you’ll probably have a more enjoyable time than playing the NES game.
The Addams Family may be creepy, kooky, and spooky, but the game for NES is pretty tame.
Welcome back! I played The Addams Family for a good hour last night and I feel like I’ve got a pretty good handle on the game. This game isn’t 8 Eyes challenge level, it’s a pretty simple action platformer and the gameplay is straightforward. Rescue your family members, collect all relevant items, and secure the family fortune from those goons who are attempting to steal it. It’s a pretty simple formula that many NES games used. Some were good, others not so much. My initial thoughts on the game is that it’s pretty average. Nothing so far has stood out in the game. The graphics are average, the music is a repetitive rendition of the Addams Family theme (there are equally repetitive tunes for specific game areas as well), and the gameplay hasn’t offered much depth or excitement. Games based on movies were generally pretty lackluster in the 80’s and 90’s and this game fits the bill as one of them.
So, the game is pretty average so far. Since I played the game before I really wasn’t expecting it to be great, but for some reason I thought it was more fun back in the day. Playing the game nowadays it seemed kind of boring with points of platformer frustration. I’ll have to give it a few more hours of play time to see if there are any redeeming aspects.
Honestly, I don’t think I’m going to spend a lot of time on this game. There’s just not enough depth to keep my interest. 8 Eyes wasn’t great either but it did have the added depth of a second playable character and music that was good. Expect me to have this game wrapped up before the New Year. Hopefully the random pick for the letter B is something that will satisfy my gaming chops a bit more.
Well, that’s all I have for The Addams Family for now. Check back soon for my final thoughts and stay locked in to my social media for a sneak peek at the next game!
This week’s NES retro selection for the letter A is the Addams Family.
Hey retro gaming fans! It’s time to select another random game from the NES library and today the letter is A. For A, I’ll be looking at The Addams Family. I’m somewhat familiar with this game as I remember renting it back in my younger days. From what I recall the game is your standard bump-and-jump platformer much like the Super Mario Bros. series of games. This one should be fun! A game I can reminisce about and at the same time a game that is based on a movie franchise! Keep yourself plugged in for a look into this and more as I continue my NES A to Z series!
Benny's Bits and Bytes 