NES A to Z – S: Solbrain

Lost in a world of platformers, Solbrain proves itself a solid action platformer for the NES.

Another solid action platformer, this one is based on a Japanese television series called Super Rescue Solbrain. As such, the US release of this game, Shatterhand, is slightly different as it changes a few details of the game, most notably the intro and the main character sprite are different. Other than that and the carnival level being changed to a nuclear sub level in the US version, the two games are basically the same. I thought it was a pretty good, solid action platformer with decent controls,  gameplay, graphics, and music. The robot drone offered some depth – every combination of three Greek letters obtained offered a different style of drone weapon. The challenge is up there, but it seemed well balanced and the game offered unlimited continues. The NES’s library is chock full of action platformers, but I feel like this was one of those overlooked titles that deserved more credit.

NES A to Z – R: RoboCop 2

While it wasn’t terrible, RoboCop 2 suffered from some wonky controls. Still not as bad as Predator though.

Welcome back! For the letter R we have another game based on a movie: RoboCop 2! Will this game stack up to Quantum Fighter’s level of goodness? Let’s take a look:

Robocop 2 was an action platformer that wasn’t  terrible but it did suffer from some tricky controls. Making precision jumps was tough and when you moved, RoboCop would build up momentum and slide as if you were on ice. You could also ‘feel’ the weight of RoboCop as you moved around and jumped. While these flaws didn’t make the game unplayable, they did unbalance the challenge a bit and made the game slightly frustrating at some points. Overall it wasn’t bad and I was able to progress a few stages into the game. As for the graphics and sound, they were on par for the NES. The visuals all looked good and the music wasn’t annoying or repetitive. It’s always a good thing when the game music doesn’t make you want to pull your hair out.  

Okay, so this game wasn’t Quantum Fighter level good but I still did have some fun playing it. The controls may not have been the greatest, but with a little compensation I made them work. I can’t fully recommend this game but I would say it would be a great “weekend rental” for anyone who enjoys games of this genre. 

Saturday I plan on doing another ‘lightning round’ of four games with the blog posts to follow during the next week. We’re almost done with the alphabet so be sure to follow along for your weekly dose of NES action! 

NES A to Z – Q: (Kabuki) Quantum Fighter

I had a lot of fun during my session with Quantum Fighter. It was challenging but well-balanced.

Hey! I’m back with more NES A to Z action! Up for Q we’ve got Quantum Fighter! Okay, so the true title is Kabuki Quantum Fighter, but I’m just going to go with Quantum Fighter for the sake of the letter Q. Anyways, let’s jump in and take a quick look at the game!

When I first started up the game, I was absorbed into the story. You play as Colonel Scott O’Connor who, by the power of a new image transfer machine, gets converted into raw data to destroy a virus that has infiltrated the computer defense systems. A pretty sweet story to start off the game if you ask me.

Quantum fighter was a platformer that wasn’t quite run-n-gun but still had plenty of action. The gameplay itself was very good and the game was challenging but fair. Controls were solid, graphics were good, and the music was on point. You attack with your hair, fists (when ducking), or various secondary weapons that you collect from bosses that run off of “chips” that you gather throughout the game. As an added bonus, during boss battles you can also trade in your chips for extra life energy. I didn’t make it too far into the game but I had a lot of fun playing it during my session. This is a game I can truly recommend for a good extended play session. 

That concludes Quantum Fighter for now! This is another game I probably will revisit in the future. My quick play session didn’t do the game much justice but unfortunately it’s time to move on to the pick for the letter R. I’ll be posting it soon so stay tuned!

NES A to Z – P: Predator

I had to quit playing Predator for my own health and safety. It was frustrating to say the least.

Wow, it’s Wednesday already? The week sure is flying by! For the letter P I played Predator for the NES. Was it any good? Let’s jump in and find out: 

When I first booted up the game I was impressed by the excellent title music and artwork of a pixelated Arnold and Predator. I thought the game looked like it was going to be a winner until I got into the game a bit. It was another frustrating action platformer. Ugh. 

The gameplay suffered from a couple of things: precision jumps and the inability to switch weapons in game. Also, you are only able to continue after every fifth level (I never made it that far unfortunately) of the game’s thirty levels. But the main frustration for me were the touchy controls that made jumping from platform to platform a major chore. I met my death several times at the expense of this. After playing for about an hour I was done. I took some notes while I rewatched my broadcast of the gameplay and noticed something: If I growl at a game while I play, it’s bad news. I seriously had to quit playing before something bad happened. I’m glad I did. I didn’t get hurt and my monitor and other peripherals are still intact. That’s one high point of the gaming session I guess. 

On a brighter note, I found that there is another version of the game for the MSX computer that looks like it might be much better. You can switch weapons in this version and the graphics look improved a bit. I might have to look into it to see if it’s any better than the NES version. 

That’s all for Predator, I’ll be working on the next post for the letter Q soon! We are just about finished with the alphabet so stick around and stay tuned for more NES action!

NES A to Z – O: Orb 3D

Orb 3D by Hi-Tech Expressions is an interesting variation of games like Breakout or Arkanoid.

Hey there! It’s time for more NES A to Z action! Next up for the letter O is Orb 3D. Let’s jump into it and take a look:

When I first started up the game I cringed a bit when I saw the Hi-Tech Expressions logo. To my knowledge, they didn’t publish the greatest games. In fact, I think Fun House from earlier was published by Hi-Tech and it wasn’t great at all. Orb 3D wasn’t great either but it did have an interesting concept for the time.

The gameplay was very similar to games like Breakout or Arkanoid where you bash all the bricks on screen to complete each stage. Add an extra paddle and a pseudo 3D effect and you’ve basically got Orb 3D. You bounce the Orb between the paddles and press A to shoot the orb into the 3D plane to hit the bubbles, tiles, or bowling pins on the grid. I only made it through a few stages out of the thirty stages stated in the intro before moving on. The game wasn’t too bad gameplay wise, but the graphics were very basic and the sound was less than stellar. Overall, I can’t really recommend this game for much more than what I’d call a “weekend rental.” However, I think a modern reboot of a game like this could be loads of fun and I’d give it a shot if one were released. 

That’s about all I have for Orb 3D. I’ll be working on P next so stay tuned for more!

NES A to Z – N: Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water

Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water was a refreshing change of pace. Turn-based strategy to lower the blood pressure after some intense action games.

Phew! What a weekend! I ended up playing another four games on Saturday and it was a pretty wild time! For N I had Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water queued up to play. Let’s check it out:

This game wasn’t too bad! After playing a bunch of action games and a craptastic game based on a movie, this game was a refreshing change of pace. It was a strategy game with some RPG-like elements. I really didn’t know what I was doing in the game but I had some good fun regardless. It reminded me a lot of playing a game of chess with all of the strategy involved. Each character had some different skills and items appeared randomly on the board after turns. The only thing I’d say that was a bit of a negative was the music. It was a bit repetitive and wasn’t anything overly special. All in all, it was a pretty decent turn-based strategy game. I’d probably play it again sometime.

That’s all I have for Nadia! I’ll be working on my post for O next so keep it locked in for more retro NES action!

NES A to Z – M: Monster Truck Rally

Monster Truck Rally wasn’t great, but I still had fun with it.

Welcome back! We are halfway through the alphabet at the letter M! Up for the letter M is Monster Truck Rally. Let’s take a quick look into the game:

The name of the game pretty much says it all, it’s a monster truck game with several different events such as Car Crush and Bog Race. The game is played from an isometric view similar to games like R.C. Pro Am. As for the graphics, they’re okay but nothing special. The sound, however, was not great and music was non-existent. You’ll go nuts listening to the drone of your truck engine so I had to put some tunes on in the background while I played. The controls were alright, shifting gears wasn’t very intuitive and was easy to forget to do while playing. Overall, I thought it was a pretty average game.

Despite the game being extremely average, I had some good dumb fun with the game. Have you ever played a game that wasn’t great but somehow you had a fun time with it? That’s what happened to me with this game. For some reason, even though I never once beat the AI, I had fun just messing around playing this game and going through the events. I can’t really recommend it though, unless you want to waste an hour of time you’ll never get back. 

That’s all I have for Monster Truck Rally! I’m thinking about trying to get another four games down this weekend so keep it locked in for more NES action soon!

NES A to Z – L: Low G Man

Low G Man was challenging but fun. It’ll definitely test those reflexes.

Wow! What a string of great games I’ve had so far. Low G Man scores points with me for being a decent run and gun platformer. Lets take a closer look:

At first when I saw the corny intro to the game, I thought this game was going to be below average with frustrating gameplay. I was wrong. While the game did present a good amount of challenge, game strategies like memorizing enemy locations and movements helped tremendously. The name of the game was the same as many other platformers: avoid damage at all costs and collect as many power-ups as possible before confronting the boss. Once I had a good handle on things, the game went pretty smoothly. The unlimited continues helped too. I’ll be uploading some gameplay to my YouTube channel later so be sure to take a look!

Overall, I’d say if you like fast action run and gun platformers like Contra give this game a shot. It’s another game I might revisit later and definitely is worth a play.

NES A to Z – K: Kid Klown in Night Mayor World – Wrap Up

I totally forgot to wrap this game up. It actually wasn’t too bad. Take a look.

Whoops! I totally forgot to wrap this game up! Let me quickly get my final thoughts on this game out before I get any deeper into my A-Z list. 

Kid Klown wasn’t too bad. It was a bump-and-jump style platformer with some decent graphics, sound, and gameplay. There was a fair amount of challenge and my frustration level was low even though I didn’t get overly far into the game. There wasn’t a lot of heart-pumping action in the game but I welcomed the more casual gameplay after playing a couple of action packed shmups previously. It really wasn’t anything too special and after digging a little I found that it was basically a reskin of a Mickey Mouse title and it shows in the gameplay. Not great, not bad, but I’d say worth a play if you’re into platformers of that style. 

That’s it for Kid Klown! It’s been quite a week so hopefully I don’t forget another post! Better late than never, though. Stay tuned for more retro action as I prepare for the letter M pick: Monster Truck Rally!

NES A to Z – L: Low G Man

Next up I’ve got Low G Man to play! Let’s get into it and see what we’re in store for!

Hey there! I’m back and we are up to the letter L right now. The random game I’ll be playing for L is Low G Man, yet another game I have zero familiarity with. From the title I see it is published by Taxan, a name I recognize from 8 Eyes and the original GI Joe game. Sounds like it might be good so let’s dive in!