Timeline | 1988: Paperboy

A unique Arcade game and a great experience on NES

Paperboy was released in the Arcades in 1985 and made its way to the NES in 1988. The game involves the player taking the roll of a neighborhood paperboy who rides a bike and attempts to successfully deliver papers to newspaper subscribers while avoiding obstacles and gaining extra points for using newspapers to vandalize non-subscribers homes.

A screenshot of Paperboy showing the paperboy on his bike, sticking to the sidewalk to avoid an obstacle and attempting to line up for a throw to the next house's mailbox (mailboxes only show on subscriber homes).

Paperboy was an awesome game with a unique premise. The Arcade cabinet had an actual Bicycle Handlebar controller (which was in actuality a modified Star Wars 'yoke' controller). The Arcade game was a mild success, with some of the console (and home PC) ports doing slightly better. Eventually Paperboy would be ported to all the major consoles of the day (into the early 90's) and received a sequel (Paperboy 2) which came to the NES as well as the SNES and Sega systems, etc. Later Paperboy 64 for the N64, along with inclusions in a Midway Classics game, a mobile game in 2005, an XBLA game (although this has since been delisted) and an iOS appearance in 2009 is the last inclusion in the franchise.

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperboy_(video_game)

Timeline | 1988 Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 2 was a radical departure for the series.

Super Mario Bros. 2 launched in North America in October 1988. This game had several new additions to the series including a save feature, multiple characters, new enemies and items and a different look and feel from the original game that included a more vertical nature to the level design (due mainly to the original game it was based upon).

Japan received a very different Super Mario Bros. 2

The Super Mario Bros. 2 that was released in North America was not the same Super Mario Bros. 2 that Japan got. In Japan Super Mario Bros. 2 was a continuation of the original game, designed to be more challenging and engaging for veteran Super Mario Bros. players, but Nintendo of America was afraid that this game would be too difficult for their North American audience and turn people off of what was quickly becoming their flagship franchise. So another Super Mario Bros. 2 was created for the non-Japanese world based upon the prototype game: Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic. Later the original Super Mario Bros. 2 would be released as Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels as part of Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES (and has since been released several times via these remake channels, virtual console, etc.)

A screenshot from Super Mario Bros. 2 (NA) showing Mario carrying an item, in this case a POW block.

Super Mario Bros. 2 differentiated from the original in a few key aspects. 1) Jumping on an enemy no longer killed them, you could stand on top of most enemies and even pick them up and fling them (as weapons or down pits, etc.), also the character's ability to throw things were key parts of the gameplay. 2) The four characters had different playing styles (Mario was balanced, Luigi had the highest jump, Peach could jump and float, Toad was the strongest) and some secrets could only be attained (or at least much more easily attained) by certain characters.

Super Mario Bros. 2 was a great game and a unique followup to Super Mario Bros. this pattern of reinventing games (Donkey Kong 3, Zelda 2, SMB 2, etc.) was very successful for Nintendo in the first half of the NES's timeline. The game was popular enough (and financially successful enough) that it was eventually released in Japan as Super Mario USA and has been rereleased in compilation games (Super Mario All-Stars), on the Virtual Console and on the Game Boy Advance (Super Mario Advance) - it was also influential in many of the gameplay elements in the Wii U's Super Mario 3D World.

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros._2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros.:_The_Lost_Levels

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario

Timeline | 1988: Contra

Contra was an amazing game on the NES and still shines even today.

Contra was released for the NES in North America in February 1988. Contra had been a very popular arcade game for Konami and they handled the NES port in house (as opposed to other ports to the COmmodore 64 and other home PCs at the time which were done by Ocean Software).

A screenshot of the NES version of the game.

The majority of the gameplay in Contra is a side-scrolling shooter/action-platformer, but there are also levels with a pseudo-3D feel (shooting and moving forward and left/right) and a top down portion where the player moved up the screen shooting up.

A screenshot from the Arcade version, note the more detailed Pallet and the different character sprites for Bill and Lance.

The NES was not nearly as powerful as Arcade machines of the time, but Konami did a great job stripping out what they could and making a very nice port of the game on the home console.

Some intersting notes about the game from wikipedia:

"Contra was one of the early NES games to feature the Konami Code. Inputting the code at the title screen starts the player with thirty lives instead of the usual three. The cheat will be in effect as well when the player runs out of lives and uses a continue to retry a stage.

When the NES version of Contra was localized for the North American market, certain details of the game's background story were altered. The year of the setting was changed from 2633 to 1987 (the year of the arcade version's release) and the location was moved from the Galuga Islands to the Amazons. Bill and Lance were also given the codenames of Mad Dog and Scorpion."

Contra was well received both critical acclaim and financial success and two sequels (Super Contra or Super C as it was known in North America and Contra Force) that also came to the NES along with the Gameboy Operation Contra. Later console games like the SNES Contra III: The Alien Wars and Genesis Contra: Hard Corps continued the burgoning franchise. Contra would wax and wane in popularity but is now one of Konami's most well known franchises and has seen 15 installments.

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_(video_game)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_(video_game_series)

Timeline | 1987: Mega Man

Mega Man didn't do so well initially in North America thanks in part to this weird artwork!

Mega Man was an action-platforming game for the NES (much like many of the popular games of the time) but differentiated it that it had multiple levels with distinct bosses that the player could take on in any order - this freedom of advancement was quite the novelty at the time and along with the pretty good graphics and difficult but rewarding gameplay made Mega Man a great game. It would go on to start one of Capcom's most successful franchises (with 6 Mega Man games on the NES alone). Later Mega Man 2 and 3 especially would be more financial successes for Capcom (and Mega Man 2 is widly regarded as the best of the original series) but the Original Mega Man set the stage for all those that would come before it.

A screenshot of Mega Man's Cut Man stage.

Mega Man was vibrant and fun to play, it had great graphics for the time, awesome music, great replayability and awesome boss battles (although they are hard!). Mega Man was released (in both Japan and North America) in December 1987. While the game did better in sales than Capcom had expected (especially in Japan) it lagged behind what it's creator thought it should have done, especially in the United States - he blamed the inaccurate box art of the North American version for this.

The European box art is much cooler I think.

After the 6 NES Mega Man Games, Capcom revamped the series with Mega Man X (the start of a new sub-series) on the SNES which they continued with X2 and X3 (although they also did Mega Man 7 on SNES as well). Later they would take the series to the PS1, N64, PS2, and handhelds (in the form of Battle Network games). More recently Mega Man received two neo-retro games for downloadable services (PSN, XBLA, eShop, etc.) called Mega Man 9 and 10 (8 was on the PS1) that returned to the NES style.

Today Capcom mainly uses Mega Man as a guest start (games like Project X Zone, anything Capcom vs., etc.) with his biggest appearance being alongside PacMan and Sonic as guest stars in the newest Super Smash Bros. (for 3DS and Wii U)

Further Reading

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man_(video_game)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man

Timeline | 1987: Metroid

Metroid was one of the shining examples of a great year for the NES.

Metroid launched on the NES in North America in August 1987. Like many of the best NES games coming out in America at the time, Metroid was a port from the Famicom Disk System in Japan and utilized a Password system in leui of an actual saving mechanism. Metroid was a triumph for the Action-Adventure genre of the time, it focused more on exploration than other games of the period and required the player to back track and explore to open different areas, unlock different items (several of which were necessary to win the game like the missiles and Ice Beam - something that was almost unheard of in a time when items like Mario's FireFlow were the norm).

A typical screenshot from Metroid, the EN in the top left is the player's Energy (Life).

The player in Metroid had an Energy indicator that could be refilled with Energy and reduced as they took damage. Metroid had an intricate back story (although you would have had to read the manual to know most of it) and was one of the first games to really inspire a sense of solitude and dark struggle onto the player (at least for me, especially on the NES). Once the final battle with Mother Brain occurs and the player is victorious, they then plant a bomb to destroy the entire enemy facility and have 999 seconds to escape (back track through the entire game)!

If you beat the game quickly enough it is revealed that Samus Aran (your character) is a woman! This was a huge surprise at the time and a big stepping stone to moving women out of the role of 'Damsel in Distress' to much stronger roles.

Metroid, and games like it, paved the way for more mature, intricate storylines and settings. Metroid also defined the 2D action-adventure/exploration genre so much that games like it are referred to as being in the style of Metroidvania (after Metroid and Castlevania, also quite important in the genre).

Metroid went on to found an important franchise for Nintendo, receiving sequels on the GameBoy (Metroid II: The Return of Samus) and SNES (Super Metroid - highly acclaimed). Metroid Prime on the GameCube (and its sequels, Metroid Prime 2 and 3 on the Gamecube and Wii) along with their slightly enhanced bundle Metroid Prime Trilogy, were very highly acclaimed. The game itself got an enhanced remake (in the form of Metroid: Zero Mission) on the DS along with Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime Hunters (and pinball) also on the DS. The last game (currently) in the franchise is 2011's Metroid: Other M, unfortunately the game was not received as well as previous games in the franchse and the franchise has seemingly gone dormant - hopefully it will be revived for the Wii U and 3DS soon!

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroid_(video_game)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroid

Timeline | 1987: The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda was one of the best on the NES and established one of Nintendo's greatest franchises.

The Legend of Zelda was released in North America in 1987 (after the sequel had already been released in Japan). The top-down action adventure game that focused on exploration was an awesome experience on the NES. The franchise that it would establish has become the 'hardcore' cornerstone of Nintendo's franchises.

Zelda was also important in that it was one of the first NES games with a save function, it had 3 save slots and you could save the game, shut off the system and restart from the save point later thanks to a battery powered RAM chip inside the cartridge. The game also had a 'Second Quest' after beating the game which was a more difficult version of the game with an additional dungeon.

A screenshot of Link fighting Octorock on the overworld

The basic setting of Hyrule and some of the iconic locations within Hyrule (like Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, etc.) were established in The Legend of Zelda along with the main character (Link) and his search for Zelda. The Triforce was in the game and a focus, but was split into 8 pieces instead of 3 like in most other Zelda games. The Legend of Zelda is also unique in that it did very little to lead the player and left them to discover what they needed to know on their own (you even have to find your sword in the first cave or you will die very quickly).

Later Nintendo would release a sequel to the Legend of Zelda called Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link which is the only Zelda game not officially called 'The Legend of Zelda' with a subtitle, it is also the only Zelda game that comes after the original game in the official Chronology (the rest are either prequels or come in another branch of the timeline).

A nice table of the Chronology of the Zelda series from Wikipedia shows the original Legend of Zelda second from the last in the first column.

The Legend of Zelda was the first NES game (besides the pack in Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt) to hit 1 million sales, and would eventually go on to sell over 6.5 million copies. Other Zelda games would come on every Nintendo console and handheld up until today (with the only exception being the Virtual Boy I believe)

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda_(video_game)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda

Collection | Atari 2600 - SSJGohan3972's Collection - Update

We've added quite a bit to our Atari 2600 collection in the last few weeks.

I posted about my Atari 2600 back around the end of August. Since then I have actually picked up a console and came across a cache of Atari 2600 games through trades. I've added several more cased games, I have several more loose that I've yet to make cases for and I also picked up a new Atari game!

Along with the Atari 2600 system (right) I also have an Atari Flashback 3 Retro Game Console which has 60 Atari games built in, it's fun to play but its just not the same!

Halo 2600 is the cap to my collection, a relatively new Atari 2600 game I bought from AtariAge.com

The Games I have made Universal Game Cases for are:

Adventure

Air-Sea Battle

Asteroids

Berzerk

Breakout

Centipede

Combat

Defender

Dig Dug

Dodge 'Em

Donkey Kong

Dragonfire

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial

Golf

Haunted House

Home Run

Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark

Joust

Ms. Pac-Man

Missile Command

Night Driver

Pac-Man

Pitfall

Pole Position

River Raid

Space Invaders

Star Raiders

Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back

Swordquest Fireworld

Yars Revenge

Loose Games Include:

Demon Attack

Vanguard

Phoenix

Moon Patrol

Demons to Diamonds

Jungle Hunt

Enduro

Super Breakout

Slot Racers

Summer Games

Super Football

Street Racer

Football

Baskeball

Mouse Trap

I have spent quite a bit on video games recently (and have several more preordered for the Holidays) but after the new year I plan to start picking up a new Atari 2600 game every month or two from AtariAge (the first one I plan to do is Star Rocks).

Links

AtariAge.com

Universal Game Cases

Collection | NES - SSJGohan3972's Collection

Collecting for the NES can get pricey, but so many cornerstone game franchises are represented!

I never had an NES as a child, my first console was the SNES (well actually it was an Atari 2600, but that was my dads he would bring down from the attic every once in a while) and later the PS1. However my neighbor and another friend of my sisters' both had Original Nintendos and there was one at a daycare I went to as a youngin. I loved playing Super Mario Bros 3, Paperboy and Zelda the most and those passions only grew with their sequels on the SNES I had at home.

Recently I have looked into expanding my retro game collection by establishing an NES collection. Unfortunately for me, NES collecting can get a little pricey (not quite as much as SNES collecting but almost). I wanted to get the Top-Loading NES (the late model they made after the SNES was out) but that is still about $100 to pick up a nice one (and that's loose without any games or the box!). So I got one of the original 'Toaster' models and have since picked up a few games.

My Current NES Collection

Currently I have the following games:

Duck Hunt

Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt

Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 3

Dragon Warrior

Mega Man 2

Kirby's Adventure

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Star Wars

Star Soldier

Commando

I have been modding some Universal Game Cases to fit the NES games and printing covers from thecoverproject.net and I think I have the beginnings of a nice collection. I would love to get the Zelda games, the other Dragon Warriors, Final Fantasy, the other Mega Man games, the Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden games and so many others - but they are quite expensive so I will just slowly pick them up and trade for them and eventually I'll have the collection I'm dreaming of.

If you are looking to establish an NES collection there are a few things to note:

You will want to get an NES that has been cleaned and the 72 pin connector replaced (or you can do this yourself, not too difficult).

You will want to clean the corrosion from the cart's connectors before plugging them into your NES - they are less likely to work before cleaning and some of the corrosion will be transferred to the console. Unfortunately it was quite common for people to blow into the cartridges when they were spotty and this invariably caused corrosion (no matter how 'dry' you blow into the cart you are basically spitting into it and that causes major corrosion).

Keep track of NES game prices at VGPC.com and pick up games when you see them any lower than shown there - NES games are only getting more pricey as they get older.

Links:

VGPC.com

thecoverproject.net

Universal Game Cases

Updates:

Recently picked up the Original Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in a game trade (shout out to GameTZ.com). The label on Zelda II is a little damaged, but both games are in great condition otherwise (minimal gold worn off, play and save).

I haven't decided if I am going to use game cases based on the original artwork or more in line with the rest of the NES library, the Originals will stick out on the shelf, but that may be a good thing! I'll made up both types, and will try them out on my shelf and decide which I like better.

Timeline | 1987: Kid Icarus

Another awesome experience on the early NES

Another game that was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan in 1986, Kid Icarus came to the US in July 1987 and was an awesome experience. The game was an action-platformer like so many other games that were popular at the time. The things that set Kid Icarus apart were the flying & shooting aspects (shooting light arrows from a bow of course) the upgrade items that would increase the potency of Pit's (the main character) bow as long as his health bar was high enough. The game also had a password system which allowed a player to come back to certain points in the game after turning off the system.

A screenshot from Kid Icarus on the NES

Kid Icarus was an important early entry on the NES. It was not the best selling (although it did do well over a million sales) and was only mildy critically acclaimed, but Kid Icarus was a unique setting and experience. The game was a stepping stone to developing the greater games that the NES is known for and gave the NES a great base to build from. A sequel, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters would be released for the Game Boy in 1991 but the franchise would lay dormant for many years until a revival for the 3DS - Kid Icarus Uprising thanks mostly to the popularity of Pit in Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii.

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kid_Icarus