Comparing Homebrew Scene - Nes vs. 7800

[LidLikesIntellivision]

I'm starting this thread not because I've got some interesting information or insight about the matter.

Quite on contray, I see lots of threads comparing Nes to the 7800 and lots of what if threads but I really don't know much of the Nes homebrew scene.

 

Comparing the huge numbers of Nes fans and all accomplished by the Nes, I would expect the Nes homebrew scene to be 10 to 20 times bigger than the 7800 homebrew scene. But I couldn't find many interesting Nes homebrews, many hacks and, overall, it seemed their quality is much lower than what I know from the 7800.

 

Maybe I didn't find the AtariAge equivalent place for Nes development or maybe there's something about programming for 7800 today that makes it easier than programming for Nes.

 

For the little I know about Nes homebrews, I'd say the 7800 homebrew scene is at least 10 times better than Nes. To me that's very unexpected.

[Trebor]

I believe the perceived phenomenon is due to the fact that the NES platform is already extensively and exhaustively supported by its original retail library. Nintendo and third parties placed many resources and teams of people into developing and producing NES games.

 

The 7800 was not even remotely close to receiving that kind of support. One of the reasons I support the 7800 so much is the under utilization and lack of resources towards it during its heyday, while having so much potential to be amazing. Sure, there are a few exceptions to the rule (I.E. Commando sound; Midnight Mutants, Alien Brigade, Ninja Golf graphics). However, it was too little, too late.

 

It's much harder to bring some new material to the NES that hasn't already been accomplished and handled very well by its original line of games. The plate is quite full for a variety of genres. The original 7800 line-up hungers with a plate that is mostly, if not completely, empty for many genres.

 

Glad to see numerous talented devs looking to fill, if not overflow, a 7800 plate.

[LidLikesIntellivision]

I totally agree.

 

I can imagine how cool a 7800 game based on Nes Solstice with Crystal Castle theme would be. On the other side, not so cool to have a Solstice II or even a port of Crystal Castle.

The same would happen with a most needed 'final fight' game for the 7800 vs a Mighty Final Fight II, Teenage Turtles IV, Double Dragon IV and so on. For the Nes, it doesn't matter the game or style, it's just only one more.

[maxdrive]

For the most part the nes besides the hack most are reproductions of games that were not released in North America. So for that part the 7800 home brew market is the same games not put on the system or not put out well so someone makes it hence why we now have such great arcade ports out now.

 

The other thing is Atari as a community embraces the creativity of the users a lot more then Nintendo does. Atari is like great good job we won't stifle you. In fact they embrace it. Look at the last at games 2600 portable. They used the Pac-man 4K homebrew in the system instead of the original 2600 release because they knew what came out now was superior. Nintendo is like no bad cease and desist how dare you we will sue. So I think you will always see more stuff for Atari

Edited September 29, 2018 by maxdrive

[LidLikesIntellivision]

 

Glad to see numerous talented devs looking to fill, if not overflow, a 7800 plate.

Yep, I'm getting a delicious plate. It's really an impressive work and I'm still missing some great games!

Many thanks to all involved.

 

[Noah98]

Some Interesting Nes Homebrews:

 

1. Haunted Halloween '85

2. Haunted Halloween '86

3. Battle Kid

4. Battle Kid 2

5. Eskimo Bob

6. Almost Hero

7. Black Box Challenge

8. Log Jammers

9. Rekt

10. Rise of Amondus

11. Mad Wizard

12. Legend of Owlia

13. Star Versus

14. Tortoises

15. Assimilate

16. 8-Bit Xmas (2009-2016)

17. Ultimate Frogger Champion

18. Glider

19. Sneak n Peek

20. Larry LIFFL

21. Beat Em

22. Study Hall

23. HBWC 2012

24. Super Nesnake 2

25. Mystic Pillars

26. Chunkout 2

27. Cowlitz 2nd Adventure

28. Get 'em Gary

29. Pac Man Xtreme

30. Justice Duel

31. Kevin Power in Too Many Games

32. Lizard

33. Nomolos: Storming the Castle

34. Quest Forge

35. Spook 'o Tron

36. Star Keeper

37. Twin Dragons

38. Alter Ego

39. Beerslinger

40.Commie Killer

41. Germ Squashers

42. The Incident

43. Jet Paco

44. Virus Cleaner

45. Action 53

46. Sudoku 2007

47. Super Russian Roulette

48. Sir Ababol

49. Blade Buster

50. D-Pad Hero

51. E.T.

52. Scramble

 

And many, many more. Maybe these are not as well known because the original nes + famicom library is so huge. Also, there are tons of hacks, translations, and previously unreleased games as well. Some of these are truly great.

 

Considering the 7800 only has like 27 homebrews, and some of them are hacks like Asteroids Deluxe and Centipede Trakball, it's really not fair to run down the nes homebrew scene. Both systems even share some arcade conversions like Scramble.

Edited September 29, 2018 by Noah98

[AtariLeaf]

I'm biased as an old school arcade fan. I'd love to see more NES homebrew ports of arcade games. I understand that platformers and rpg's are more popular with the average NES fan. I'm thinking of games like Phoenix, which is woefully underrepresented on home consoles, Mr. Do or other games that haven't had a lot of ports in the 8-bit arena.

[DracIsBack]

Jusr enjoy the nice homebrew scenes on both. It isn’t a competition

[MrBeefy]

I think what I have noticed in the few games I have seen is the pushing of hardware.

 

Atari brews seem to push hardware while the NES brews seem like early NES games. If there are NES games that push the hardware let me know I would like to check them out.

Edited September 30, 2018 by MrBeefy

[Noah98]

It's definitely not a competition. I love both systemas and have homebrews for both. I think the 7800 homebrew games push the system, but I wouldn't call them super advanced 8 bit titles. I think Bentley Bear is the most advanced looking. The nes homebrew games aren't super advanced either, since these styles of games are harder to make. Haunted Halloween '86 is pretty amazing though.

 

Atari fans tend to want arcade classic conversions, and those are easier to program compared to creating side scroller style games like Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden. Nes fans tend to like RPG's and side scrollers.

 

I would like to see games other than old arcade titles for the 7800. It would be fun to see more games like Midnight Mutants and Scrapyard Dog. I would also like to see more Arcade Games like Mr. Do, Phoenix, Time Pilot, Moon Patrol, and Gorf on the nes. Tortoises (Turtles in the arcade), Ultimate Frogger, and Scramble were welcome additions. I know the Berzerk/Frenzy homebrew was completed for nes, but never released. Would love to have that. I saw two Asteroids style games, but neither one really compared with the original. Asteroids Deluxe would be nice!

Edited September 30, 2018 by Noah98

[DracIsBack]

If I had the skillset, I would so make a Midnight Mutants sequel. That is one game that I wished had become a franchise.

 

I'd love to see a good Zelda/Golden Axe Warrior type game on the system too.

In truth, there are plenty of different homebrews like this that have been started through the years. But as you note, it's a lot more work to make a game like Midnight Mutants 2 and real life exists for homebrew programmers.

There've been some cool ideas like Bob's Zombie game and GroovyBee's Halloween game and dungeon crawling game that have been in various stages of development

I love when programmers fix up games that aren't great too ... we've been lucky to see that on the 7800 as well. Donkey Kong XM is way better than what Atari released. Kevin's work to clean up the art in Double Dragon was really nice too.

Edited September 30, 2018 by DracIsBack

[Noah98]

If I had the skillset, I would so make a Midnight Mutants sequel. That is one game that I wished had become a franchise.

I agree! Especially around Halloween like now ?

[DracIsBack]

I agree! Especially around Halloween like now

 

I make a tradition to play it and Resident Evil 4 every Halloween.

[RushJet1]

I think what I have noticed in the few games I have seen is the pushing of hardware.

 

Atari brews seem to push hardware while the NES brews seem like early NES games. If there are NES games that push the hardware let me know I would like to check them out.

 

 

Rockman 4 MI- it's a hack, but it's an extensive one that does all kinds of stuff the original Mega Man games never dreamed of. Check out 2:00, 3:30, 9:25, 12:56, 43:19, 1:11:33 for some cool effects.

 

There's a new NES homebrew called Micro Mages that's being released soon. It's 40K with no mappers and is quite impressive for those facts.

[MrBeefy]

I'm tempted to get the rom of that Micro Mages.

 

There a rom of Rockman 4?

[Noah98]

Micro Mages looks nice! Definitely pushes the limits, given the size and no mappers.

 

I feel like the takeaway should be that both the 7800 and nes have vibrant homebrew communities. This is win win for fans and there's no need for a competition.

 

Let's not forget about the 2600 homebrew scene. Space Rocks, Stay Frosty 2, Juno First, etc.

[Atarifever]

Whatever the case, I think the 7800 homebrew library is more necessary to collectors for the systems. Collecting the original 7800 library is minimally challenging and leaves you with a library with few games overall, a lot of them from meh to downright bad. Add in the 7800 homebrews and collecting for it is exciting as it has a vibrant and growing library of great new releases. You could probably collect for the NES forever and not stop having something to play or be excited about finding regardless if you ever even knew what a homebrew was. There are probably hardcore NES collectors who are not even aware of their homebrew scene. I doubt anyone who collects 7800 hasn't stumbled on the Atariage store.

[MrBeefy]

Whatever the case, I think the 7800 homebrew library is more necessary to collectors for the systems. Collecting the original 7800 library is minimally challenging and leaves you with a library with few games overall, a lot of them from meh to downright bad. Add in the 7800 homebrews and collecting for it is exciting as it has a vibrant and growing library of great new releases. You could probably collect for the NES forever and not stop having something to play or be excited about finding regardless if you ever even knew what a homebrew was. There are probably hardcore NES collectors who are not even aware of their homebrew scene. I doubt anyone who collects 7800 hasn't stumbled on the Atariage store.

That is extremely true about their libraries.

 

I just directed a guy I know to AA for 7800 brews.

 

I think I am going to back the rom for Mages. That looks great.

[Noah98]

Just discovered a few more cool nes homebrews from Megacat Studios:

 

https://megacatstudios.com/pages/games

 

Little Medusa (cool game like Kickle Cubicle)

Expedition (Card game RPG)

Creepy Brawlers (Punch Out style boxing game with monsters!)

[Lost Dragon]

I make a tradition to play it and Resident Evil 4 every Halloween.

 

Infamous:Festival Of Blood PS3 is my Halloween gaming fix

[PacManPlus]

.... I know the Berzerk/Frenzy homebrew was completed for nes, but never released...

 

 

Yes. I finished the Berzerk / Frenzy homebrew for the NES, and I may release it yet. Just need to check with a few people.

I also did the Rainbow Brite homebrew for one of the two Coleco Minis (also for the NES, which is what that system is running), along with graphics and sound provided by two different people... I don't know if they want me to mention them or not.

Edited October 7, 2018 by PacManPlus

[Noah98]

Yes. I finished the Berzerk / Frenzy homebrew for the NES, and I may release it yet. Just need to check with a few people.

I also did the Rainbow Brite homebrew for one of the two Coleco Minis (also for the NES, which is what that system is running), along with graphics and sound provided by two different people... I don't know if they want me to mention them or not.

I think the Berzerk/frenzy combo would be a must buy for many nes fans, just sayin ?

[NostAlgae37]

If I had the skillset, I would so make a Midnight Mutants sequel. That is one game that I wished had become a franchise.

 

I'd love to see a good Zelda/Golden Axe Warrior type game on the system too.

 

 

I'd love to see a side-scrolling action/adventure game (not one of those trite 3-D dungeon/maze crawlers) based on D&D/AD&D with all of the classic monsters included, like beholder, chimera, displacer beast, manticore, otyugh, owlbear, roper, shambling mound, umber hulk, etc. That would kick major ass, especially if it was multi-player with each player able to select a different character class (fighter, cleric, magic-user, thief). Yeah, I know Capcom already made games like this for CPS, but those were basically Final Fight clones with AD&D trappings, I was thinking of something more along the lines of a Zelda/Pocky & Rocky type game instead.

[The Usotsuki]

Speaking of Pocky and Rocky, inb4 7800 version of Kikikaikai? *gets shot*

[AtariLeaf]

I think the Berzerk/frenzy combo would be a must buy for many nes fans, just sayin

 

Yep, I have the 7800 version but I'd still buy the NES port too. I keep saying, the NES needs more arcade ports. There's quite a few that didn't make it to the system BITD that would look and play great on the system.

Edited October 12, 2018 by AtariLeaf