1st Wave Nintendo Games (85-87)

[tz101]

I believe Capcom's first games (Ghosts and Goblins, Commando, 1942) came out in 1986.

 

Ghosts and Goblins was the first 3rd party game I saw in stores for NES, and my first 3rd party purchase for the system.

[CGQuarterly]

Most of my favorite NES games are from what you call "first wave". I got my NES in the fall of 1987, and my best memories are of playing games from that time. I was really into it until around 1991, when I got a computer, so I think that I enjoyed the golden period of the system when everyone was all about Nintendo. Here are my faves from '87 or earlier:

 

Super Mario Bros. (1985)

Legend of Zelda (1987)

Kid Icarus (1987)

Metroid (1986)

Ghosts n' Goblins (1986)

Mega Man (1987)

Castlevania (1987)

Excitebike (1985)

Donkey Kong (1986)

Gradius (1986)

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (1987)

Solomon's Key (1987)

 

And here's the framed poster that hangs over the computer and RGB monitor in my game room:

 

 

Sorry for the weird angle but that was the only way to not get glare off the glass. That poster was included with a NES for a time. It's marked © 1987 and does include Zelda II (which had not yet been released but which we were all waiting for), but otherwise includes nothing but a lot of those "first wave" titles.

 

Chris

[Tempest]

Ok here's a little twist on my original question:

 

If the NES had died after about two years (maybe the 7800 totally dominated or something), what would your opinion of it be?

 

I've thought about this before. Once as an experiment I took all the NES games from 85 through 87ish (Zelda 1 was in there but not 2) and pretended that this was the entire library and then evaluated what I thought of the system at the time (this was mid 2000's). I came to the conclusion that it was neat little system and had some great potential and that it was a shame it died out. I thought it was worthy of remaining hooked up and thought that the closest thing it reminded me of was the Colecovision.

 

A strange thing to do, but it was sort of an experiment to see if I loved the NES because of it's early games or because of the later blockbusters and hype.

 

 

Tempest

[chrisbid]

Ok here's a little twist on my original question:

 

If the NES had died after about two years (maybe the 7800 totally dominated or something), what would your opinion of it be?

 

I've thought about this before. Once as an experiment I took all the NES games from 85 through 87ish (Zelda 1 was in there but not 2) and pretended that this was the entire library and then evaluated what I thought of the system at the time (this was mid 2000's). I came to the conclusion that it was neat little system and had some great potential and that it was a shame it died out. I thought it was worthy of remaining hooked up and thought that the closest thing it reminded me of was the Colecovision.

 

A strange thing to do, but it was sort of an experiment to see if I loved the NES because of it's early games or because of the later blockbusters and hype.

 

 

Tempest

 

 

 

 

if you took away those 4 2nd wave games from 1987 (zelda, metroid, kid icarus, punchout), then the youre right, the NES is a glorified colecovision. but id put those four 1987 games into the second wave, as they did not use traditional scores, had passwords/battery capabilities, and had pushed tile graphics design to new heights. without those 4 titles, the NES wouldnt have become a legend.

[Nesbroslash]

I actually kind of liked Urban Champion when I played for the first time on an emulator. No lie.

[CGQuarterly]

I think that it would still be considered a good little system. The Master System did poorly in this country but still has some good games and is worth owning. Coleco is also a good example, as you stated. The TurboGrafx did pretty badly in this country but is a GREAT system to play now.

 

I think that a huge part of the NES' popularity though is that it was such a big part of the childhoods of so many people in my age bracket. Nearly every kid in school had a NES. We talked about games, brought Nintendo Power to school to read, temporarily traded games with each other, bought licensed Nintendo stuff like clothes, lunchboxes, trading cards, dixie cups, lunchboxes, watched the tie-in cartoons on TV, etc. They took the formula used by toy companies with stuff like Transformers and G.T. Joe (use a Saturday morning cartoon as a 30 minute commercial for the toys) and not only took it to the next level, but took it up several levels. We went to Toys R Us and didn't look at the toys anymore; we went straight for the video game aisle. It's hard for someone my age to think about my days in elementary school and jr. high without thinking about the NES.

 

So now imagine that all that never happened. The NES was released, some people bought it, and it faded into obscurity after a couple of years. What would the state of video games even be now? The NES is what got the ball rolling after the crash. If it had failed too, there would have been no Super NES vs. Genesis because neither of those systems would likely have been released. Companies would have just assumed that there was no money in video games. Someone else would have come along later and released something, but it would have been like starting from scratch again. I'm not saying that we wouldn't have video games now, because of course we would, but if the NES had flopped things would have gone very differently.

 

This is a good topic.

 

Chris

[johnny_boy]

It would most probably have been a Sega Vs. NEC duality. They seemed to be the most dedicated companies aiming for the home market. Alliances would have shifted considerably from our timeline. No Nintendo lock-in means that 3rd party heavyweights are free to negotiate with others.

 

Perhaps Capcom would have been warmer towards Sega, as their arcade titles convert nicely to the Genesis. Or maybe not -- the best Street Fighter II CE port has been for the PCE/TG16. Sonic would still have come to life - I don't think Sega would be foolish enough to stick with the dorky Alex Kidd for the US market. SMS could have been #1 if marketed skillfully. When factoring its early release, it could have cashed-in on an eager market. If successful, Sega would be wise to delay the Genesis console until full saturation, and take advantage of more mature tech developments.

 

Important questions still must be asked though: 1.How would the retail deadlock have been tackled? 2.Who would have most probably introduced the essential multi-screen rich-world/simple mechanics gameplay that Shigeru Miyamoto so expertly produced with SMB and LoZ? 3.Which companies gain more in such a setup?

 

I still think the japanese would have taken the market, however it would have been more progressive than aggressive. I have little faith in Tramiel Atari's capacity to show any serious competition, though.

 

16-bit generation could have been slightly delayed, offering a window for serious introduction of CD medium and thus richer audio-visual experience, but negatively affecting loading times.

 

 

edit: grammar correction plus late addition

Edited February 19, 2011 by johnny_boy

[johnny_boy]

Quick addenum:

 

After some thinking, I came to realize that Sega's mascots, Alex Kidd and Sonic, originated as explicit reactions to Nintendo's Mario. I don't think they would have even existed in any recognizable form if not for SMB. As for game substitutes, Zelda and SMB both are (exceptional) recipes that have been assembled from pre-existing ingredients, plus some inspired artistic direction. Another important player that would have entered the arena even earlier than our timeline is Sony, with a different incarnation of the Play Station project.

[malducci]

I beat Kid Icarus many years ago. Anyone else ever accomplish that feat?

 

I beat the game a few times BITD. Why? Was it infamous for something in particular?

Edited February 19, 2011 by malducci

[toptenmaterial]

Many fond memories of DK jr- it was the first game that my sister and I bought on our own.

 

I also remember Kung Fu quite well, a friend in the neighborhood had it, and he used to bring it when he slept over my house.

 

The early game that got the most milage in me and my sis's NES was the pack-in, SMB and Duck Hunt.

 

Later games that I got into (as a child) were Simon's Quest, SMB 2 & 3, Air Wolf, Marble Madness, and I seem to remember an Ultima game, basically whatever Santa brought us.

 

My friend Bra

[MagitekAngel]

The nes is my favourite console, but I have no era-based preferences. I have to admit, though, the pixel art of the launch titles kicked ass.

[Algus]

Ok here's a little twist on my original question:

 

If the NES had died after about two years (maybe the 7800 totally dominated or something), what would your opinion of it be?

 

I've thought about this before. Once as an experiment I took all the NES games from 85 through 87ish (Zelda 1 was in there but not 2) and pretended that this was the entire library and then evaluated what I thought of the system at the time (this was mid 2000's). I came to the conclusion that it was neat little system and had some great potential and that it was a shame it died out. I thought it was worthy of remaining hooked up and thought that the closest thing it reminded me of was the Colecovision.

 

A strange thing to do, but it was sort of an experiment to see if I loved the NES because of it's early games or because of the later blockbusters and hype.

 

 

Tempest

 

Man you could probably write a hypothetical dissertation on how that would have changed the home video game industry. Nintendo didn't just push out a good system and respectable first party titles, it also revolutionized the way that business was done within the industry in order to control the flow of games in order to protect against what happened to the video game industry in the early 80s. Though I suppose Sega might have been able to step in and lead the pack so to speak. Still, given the missteps they ended up making, who knows?

 

Just out of curiosity I looked at my five favorite titles (JP Release dates)

 

River City Ransom (1989)

The Legend of Zelda (1986)

Final Fantasy (1987)

Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987)

 

I think overall, I would have still been really happy with it as while the platforming and fighting games wouldn't quite have the depth that RCR and SMB 3 had, there would still be a lot of really interesting stuff available. In particular I love action/adventure hybrids like Simon's Quest and I'd definitely keep my system hooked up to play stuff like that.

 

Big difference though I don't think I would have had an NES as a kid, I probably would have ended up going back and picking it up later maybe. I dunno though, Nintendo is basically solely responsible for the life-long love of games that I've developed so if they weren't in the picture, who knows? I might not even be much of a gamer.

[vdub_bobby]

I have the strongest memories of the early NES games (Punch-Out!!, Zelda, SMB, Excite Bike, Kid Icarus, Metroid were my early favorites) but I don't think I like them better...I kind of grew with the system, maybe. I loved, and still love, all those games, but I also loved later games just as much, if not more. I love SMB, but SMB3 rocked my world and I still think it's the best platformer ever. I loved the first Zelda (and the 2nd), but Crystalis took it to a whole new level and I loved it just as much.

 

Maybe the way to say it is that when I think "NES" I think first of Zelda, SMB, Castlevania, Excite Bike, but I don't like them better than the later games - they're just what I think of as the "typical" NES game. If that makes sense at all...

Edited February 21, 2011 by vdub_bobby

[psquare75]

I have the strongest memories of the early NES games (Punch-Out!!, Zelda, SMB, Excite Bike, Kid Icarus, Metroid were my early favorites) but I don't think I like them better...I kind of grew with the system, maybe. I loved, and still love, all those games, but I also loved later games just as much, if not more. I love SMB, but SMB3 rocked my world and I still think it's the best platformer ever. I loved the first Zelda (and the 2nd), but Crystalis took it to a whole new level and I loved it just as much.

 

Maybe the way to say it is that when I think "NES" I think first of Zelda, SMB, Castlevania, Excite Bike, but I don't like them better than the later games - they're just what I think of as the "typical" NES game. If that makes sense at all...

 

This probably sums up my NES experience. I was 7 in '87, and as a result 'grew with the system' as well. I think Final Fantasy 1 and Crystalis were the grand awakening for me when I was 9/10. Ah the 1989 Nintendo World Championships. That was a fun show.

[+jd_1138]

UC isn't bad per se, it's just not interesting enough. It needs a little more challenge and variety (more things akin to the flower pot dropping lady).

 

Tempest

 

There were much better fighting games on the NES -- Pro Wrestling, Kung Fu, Karate Champ, Mike Tyson's Punchout. But the cover art looks cool on UC. I bought the game. I didn't like it, but I wish I had kept it and all my NES games. :-( I traded them off. There was a company back then that would let you trade in 5 games for a game of your choice. Sadly, most of my NES games went to them.

[BrianC]

UC isn't bad per se, it's just not interesting enough. It needs a little more challenge and variety (more things akin to the flower pot dropping lady).

 

Tempest

 

There were much better fighting games on the NES -- Pro Wrestling, Kung Fu, Karate Champ, Mike Tyson's Punchout. But the cover art looks cool on UC. I bought the game. I didn't like it, but I wish I had kept it and all my NES games. :-( I traded them off. There was a company back then that would let you trade in 5 games for a game of your choice. Sadly, most of my NES games went to them.

 

Too bad the best fighting games for the system stayed in Japan for the Famicom. Nekketsu Kakutou Densetsu is an awesome vs. fighter with multiple arenas, up to four players, and combat similar to River City Ransom. I also heard good things about Joy Meka Fight, a 1 one 1 fighter that stayed in Japan (there is a HG101 article on it).

[godslabrat]

 

There were much better fighting games on the NES -- Pro Wrestling, Kung Fu, Karate Champ, Mike Tyson's Punchout. But the cover art looks cool on UC. I bought the game. I didn't like it, but I wish I had kept it and all my NES games. :-( I traded them off. There was a company back then that would let you trade in 5 games for a game of your choice. Sadly, most of my NES games went to them.

 

I know UC isn't a masterpiece, but seriously... not better than Karate Champ? Eh?

[BrianC]

 

There were much better fighting games on the NES -- Pro Wrestling, Kung Fu, Karate Champ, Mike Tyson's Punchout. But the cover art looks cool on UC. I bought the game. I didn't like it, but I wish I had kept it and all my NES games. :-( I traded them off. There was a company back then that would let you trade in 5 games for a game of your choice. Sadly, most of my NES games went to them.

 

I know UC isn't a masterpiece, but seriously... not better than Karate Champ? Eh?

 

On ipad hit reply by mistake. I liked the arcade KC, but I heard the NES one isn't as good. I find it interesting how Nintendo made an LCD vs. Boxing game with similar gameplay to Urban Champion. I feel sorry for anyone who got the rebranded Punch Out version and got something more like UC instead, though.

Edited February 28, 2011 by BrianC