8-Bit Fridays: The NES Conquest 2

April 29th, 2022

With MGC on the schedule for tomorrow I have been pushing through the last of my NES games backlog this week in case I bring home more games. Considering some of these games are backlogged to previous MGC’s it is a fitting time to do this.

Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf:

Despite what the title says there’s no fighting in this game, so play Ninja Golf on the Atari 7800 for that unique experience if you want it. This is just a run of the mill golfing game, but not as fun and mindless as Mario Golf. If you’re into golfing games, especially those with a pro’s name attached, then you’d probably like this. This one does have a pretty chill vibe though, like something you play in the clubhouse well knocking back a few ice teas and cooling down on a summer day off the 18. Kind of like that whole Golden Tee thing. Sorry I’m not really a golfer.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Manhattan Project

Great but rarer TMNT game on the NES, as it kind of came at the end of the Turtles era. It reminds me a lot of Double Dragon, but with the TMNT characters and a lot cooler backgrounds and premises. A lot of the character designs and levels are extremely fun, but with any type of game of this sort it can get a little repetitive after time. The game is also easy to pick up and very forgiving. Overall I think this is one heck of a game and it’s definitely worth playing if you get a chance.

Maniac Mansion

I don’t think there’s anything about this game that I can say that hasn’t already been said. Great game, great colorful graphics that look good in HD, and wonderful humor. So many YouTube shows, and podcast have covered this one I don’t know what else I can say, that they haven’t. All I can do is agree this one is an unforgettable classic.

Street Fighter 2010

Pretty much has nothing to do with the Street Fighter franchise, and is more or less a Metroid knockoff. There were a lot of games in this style on the NES, and many of them are less than memorable. But if you are looking for a platforming sci-fi fighter outside of Metroid, I might suggest something like Strider, or Vice: Project Doom, but definitely not this game.

Balloon Fighter

NES black box classic has you jousting in the sky popping others balloons but hopefully not your own. True classic, and nice arcade port.

Breakthru

Ground based side scrolling shooter in which your dune buggy dodges obstacles, and fights enemies to save downed aircraft and hostages. It’s an ok game, but I’d suggest something like Silkworm, or P.O.W. instead, as they are just generally better games.

Silver Surfer

I expected more from a Marvel game. I can see why the Angry Video Game Nerd got so pissed at this one now, with its one hit kills, and surprise enemy’s. Not the best game, but I could see how some could enjoy the challenge. Painful to play though.

Gotcha!

I didn’t expect this one to work with a regular controller, and it didn’t. I found out after I bought it that it was a light gun game. Anyway it looks good, and if I had a CRT TV I’d have the lightgun ready to go for this one and all it’s paintball fun. Seems like it would be a blast to play. I guess the games premise was based on a line a failed squirt guns from the 80’s.

Fist of the Northstar

This side-scrolling fighter is based on the manga Fist of the Northstar, which I hear was a pretty violent one, as was its anime adaptation as well. With cartoony exploding heads in the NES game I can guess that this is probably true. It’s a fun, but very simple fighting game that’s not too hard to play either. Great obscure little fighter, but again there are better games on the system.

Ring King

Always heard this was a rip off of Punchout, but it’s actually a lot different all together. A lot more movement and skill is involved with the one, and it’s much more of a sports game than Punchout. It reminds me of a more advanced version of Realsports Boxing on the Atari 2600. This one’s very good if you are a fan of boxing. I just need to figure out how to get better at it, to have more fun playing it.

T&C Surf Design

My gruesome twosome! I say that as I have two carts of this game, T&C actually put out two different NES games, and I thought I had purchased the other, and purchased this instead a second time. I love the aesthetic of these games, just the fun characters and games within the game. Fun, and a little tiki feeling, great stuff. Games themselves don’t make a lot of sense playwise, but at least they look cool. I really dig the feel of these games, as they do give off a chill surfer and skateboarder vibe.