I like how this trio of games are all connected through being used as the basis of Smash Bros characters, since Duck Hunt (the fighter) has the Hogan's Alley can as a special. The way that move works in Smash makes more sense to me now that I actually know about the game beyond 'NES Zapper game that isn't Duck Hunt'
What I like about the Duck Hunt character in Smash is that they're designed as an overall NES Zapper rep. They can also summon Wild Gunman characters for another special, so that's three Zapper games represented in one moveset.
Great observation. I've barely played Duck Hunt in Smash so I forgot all about that ability, even though I did play Trick Shot a lot back in the day.
You might also say 2/3 of these games translate to pretty weird Smash characters. The exception is R.O.B.: a straightforward Smash character despite being a very strange peripheral.
Well I certainly learned a lot about Hogan's Alley! I too assumed that was "Hogan" on the cover and I had to bust up his crime-filled alley. I owned that one and remember thinking, even as a kid, that the whole training motif existed just because they were worried about parental complaints about a game where you shot real people with a physical gun. I don't think I was aware of Wild Gunman. But in any case, I fully agree with your review and definitely spent the most time on Trick Shooting.
I never played Gyromite, nor have I ever seen R.O.B. in action in real life. But as a kid, I was nonetheless aware of R.O.B. I remember talking to kids at school, circa 1989-1990, and telling them that Nintendo used to sell a robot that can play NES games with you, but most of them thought I was making it up.
As for Ice Climber, this one is in the same category as Clu Clu Land for me. I want to like it --a classic NES game, 2-player simultaneous, there's a polar bear in sunglasses on the cover. But I can't stand the way it controls. It just feels bad. The downgrade in your review is well-deserved IMO.
Outside of Back to the Future Part 2, I don't know that I recall ever seeing Wild Gunman in the, er, wild before. Probably one of those early NES launch games that quickly got overshadowed by other, better titles, so parents never got the chance to be upset by it. But yeah, Hogan's Alley... just another tech demo, although juggling cans is still kinda fun.
Crazy how quickly ROB died from the public consciousness, given how prevalent he was in the early marketing.
That polar bear looks so cool! Definitely a selling point for Ice Climber, but perhaps the only one. Yeah, I like it a bit more than Clu Clu Land, but the gameplay just becomes wearisome after the first few levels.
Yes, I've still never played Wild Gunman. I'm sure I would have at least rented it if I saw it available -- I rented every Zapper title I could get my hands on, a decision that led to a great deal of disappointment. But I always liked the Zapper in principle and was always chasing the dream of an amazing Zapper game.
I wonder if anyone has the stats on how many ROBs sold. The number must have just been spectacularly low relative to the total number of NES units, because back in the day I never even heard a story about someone's friend's cousin having one.
The Zapper games have some solid atmosphere, and Wild Gunman is no exception. I love the Wild West setting and the character design, but man, there's just hardly any gameplay there, even for 1985.
Did you ever check out Gumshoe? Hands down the best (and possibly the hardest) Zapper game.
I think ROB came bundled with some original NES sets for awhile, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was phased out by 1987 or 1988. Or at least sold separately. Maybe I can do some digging.
I owned Gumshoe, likes it OK, but I always found it too difficult as a kid.
I guess during the NES days I was impatient for the days that light gun games would actually get good, which was the 32-bit days.
My Saturn-owning friend had Virtua Cop with the matching gun. We played that one a TON, I loved it, had all the levels memorized. And I mentioned before how much Mad Dog McCree we played. Not quite a good game, but starting to get there.
Gumshoe is definitely difficult, but at least it tries something different other than the standard shoot the cardboard cutout or plate or whatever.
Virtua Cop and Time Crisis were always the golden standard light gun games, for real. Well, those and the first couple House of the Dead games.
Did you ever get into Wii shooters? Besides Link's Crossbow Training, Sega made a couple exclusive House of the Dead games and Capcom made a couple Resident Evil shooters, if I'm not mistaken. Probably others too.
I actually really didn’t experience the Wii much. Haven’t really even played Mario Galaxy.I still own a Wii though it’s not plugged in and I never had any games for it. I bought it used, after the Wii U came out, to be able to play my GameCube games on a modern TV.
That Hogan’s Alley backstory is fascinating. I only remember playing it like once and sadly it’s not in the collection I have from my childhood and parent’s house.
“Moderately fun” is truly the best descriptor for Ice Climber.
A fun fact about the Yellow Kid in that Hogan’s Alley comic strip—my recollection is that that was THE first “comic strip” in the modern sense. I’d love for an actual comics historian to jump in.
Yeah, Ice Climber is fun for a few levels, then it just becomes brutal. Decent co-op game, though.
Huh, didn't know that Hogan's Alley was considered to be the first comic strip. Certainly wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the first, given its 1896 publication date.
I like how this trio of games are all connected through being used as the basis of Smash Bros characters, since Duck Hunt (the fighter) has the Hogan's Alley can as a special. The way that move works in Smash makes more sense to me now that I actually know about the game beyond 'NES Zapper game that isn't Duck Hunt'
Wow, I never knew that Duck Hunt had the Hogan's Alley can as a special?! Shows how much I play Smash Bros. Fascinating!
What I like about the Duck Hunt character in Smash is that they're designed as an overall NES Zapper rep. They can also summon Wild Gunman characters for another special, so that's three Zapper games represented in one moveset.
Ah yeah, that makes sense! I remember the Wild Gunman characters, now that you mention it. I'll have to look up video of the Hogan's Alley can.
Great observation. I've barely played Duck Hunt in Smash so I forgot all about that ability, even though I did play Trick Shot a lot back in the day.
You might also say 2/3 of these games translate to pretty weird Smash characters. The exception is R.O.B.: a straightforward Smash character despite being a very strange peripheral.
That's my primary connection to Ice Climbers, getting that Gamecube (?) game and having no idea who those characters were, like Marth and Roy.
Well I certainly learned a lot about Hogan's Alley! I too assumed that was "Hogan" on the cover and I had to bust up his crime-filled alley. I owned that one and remember thinking, even as a kid, that the whole training motif existed just because they were worried about parental complaints about a game where you shot real people with a physical gun. I don't think I was aware of Wild Gunman. But in any case, I fully agree with your review and definitely spent the most time on Trick Shooting.
I never played Gyromite, nor have I ever seen R.O.B. in action in real life. But as a kid, I was nonetheless aware of R.O.B. I remember talking to kids at school, circa 1989-1990, and telling them that Nintendo used to sell a robot that can play NES games with you, but most of them thought I was making it up.
As for Ice Climber, this one is in the same category as Clu Clu Land for me. I want to like it --a classic NES game, 2-player simultaneous, there's a polar bear in sunglasses on the cover. But I can't stand the way it controls. It just feels bad. The downgrade in your review is well-deserved IMO.
Outside of Back to the Future Part 2, I don't know that I recall ever seeing Wild Gunman in the, er, wild before. Probably one of those early NES launch games that quickly got overshadowed by other, better titles, so parents never got the chance to be upset by it. But yeah, Hogan's Alley... just another tech demo, although juggling cans is still kinda fun.
Crazy how quickly ROB died from the public consciousness, given how prevalent he was in the early marketing.
That polar bear looks so cool! Definitely a selling point for Ice Climber, but perhaps the only one. Yeah, I like it a bit more than Clu Clu Land, but the gameplay just becomes wearisome after the first few levels.
Yes, I've still never played Wild Gunman. I'm sure I would have at least rented it if I saw it available -- I rented every Zapper title I could get my hands on, a decision that led to a great deal of disappointment. But I always liked the Zapper in principle and was always chasing the dream of an amazing Zapper game.
I wonder if anyone has the stats on how many ROBs sold. The number must have just been spectacularly low relative to the total number of NES units, because back in the day I never even heard a story about someone's friend's cousin having one.
The Zapper games have some solid atmosphere, and Wild Gunman is no exception. I love the Wild West setting and the character design, but man, there's just hardly any gameplay there, even for 1985.
Did you ever check out Gumshoe? Hands down the best (and possibly the hardest) Zapper game.
I think ROB came bundled with some original NES sets for awhile, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was phased out by 1987 or 1988. Or at least sold separately. Maybe I can do some digging.
I owned Gumshoe, likes it OK, but I always found it too difficult as a kid.
I guess during the NES days I was impatient for the days that light gun games would actually get good, which was the 32-bit days.
My Saturn-owning friend had Virtua Cop with the matching gun. We played that one a TON, I loved it, had all the levels memorized. And I mentioned before how much Mad Dog McCree we played. Not quite a good game, but starting to get there.
Gumshoe is definitely difficult, but at least it tries something different other than the standard shoot the cardboard cutout or plate or whatever.
Virtua Cop and Time Crisis were always the golden standard light gun games, for real. Well, those and the first couple House of the Dead games.
Did you ever get into Wii shooters? Besides Link's Crossbow Training, Sega made a couple exclusive House of the Dead games and Capcom made a couple Resident Evil shooters, if I'm not mistaken. Probably others too.
I agree on Gumshoe.
I actually really didn’t experience the Wii much. Haven’t really even played Mario Galaxy.I still own a Wii though it’s not plugged in and I never had any games for it. I bought it used, after the Wii U came out, to be able to play my GameCube games on a modern TV.
That Hogan’s Alley backstory is fascinating. I only remember playing it like once and sadly it’s not in the collection I have from my childhood and parent’s house.
Yeah, I wish every NES game had that kinda lore, haha.
Honestly, once is probably enough for Hogan's Alley, unless you really want to collect all the Zapper titles.
“Moderately fun” is truly the best descriptor for Ice Climber.
A fun fact about the Yellow Kid in that Hogan’s Alley comic strip—my recollection is that that was THE first “comic strip” in the modern sense. I’d love for an actual comics historian to jump in.
Yeah, Ice Climber is fun for a few levels, then it just becomes brutal. Decent co-op game, though.
Huh, didn't know that Hogan's Alley was considered to be the first comic strip. Certainly wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the first, given its 1896 publication date.
This selection of games shows the variety on offer with the NES launch titles… a light gun game, a ROB game and a classic arcade action style title.
Nintendo didn't skimp on the NES' launch, that's for sure!