Castlevania was my lockdown. I played through almost every game in the series; beating this first one was incredibly rewarding. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is the hardest game I've ever played and that includes Castlevania III
Is that Firebrand/ a Red Arremer in that Makai Island screenshot?! It's a Capcom game, so it probably is. I like that guy based on my time with Demon's Crest and Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, was a shock to see him here with no ghost nor goblin in sight.
Castlevania is one of the hardest games I've ever played, been playing it for almost 40 years and still have not beaten the damn thing; Death is one of the hardest bosses unless you have holy water, then it becomes quite easy. Castelvania 3 for the NES is one of the best video games ever made, think it was the first one that offered you the ability to switch between characters as you played
Castlevania is ridiculously hard, no question, although I do think 2 and 3 are harder.
3 is incredible though, you're right. Not sure if it's the first game where you can switch characters, but it's definitely an early example done right.
Earliest example of character-switching that comes to mind is Legacy of the Wizard. Which, yeah, isn't what I'd call a "game done right", though I admire the heck out of its ambition.
I would love it if someone made a game like Legacy of the Wizard, but fun.
Castlevania 3 IS fun, but it's a very different sort of game.
Simon's Quest is fucking hard, not gonna lie I actually had to go rent a walk through video from the video store in order to beat it. Due to translation issues a lot of the clues in the game made zero sense in English so there was no way to know that you had to wear a ring and kneel down in a certain spot to have a tornado come and take you to the next body part area.
Back in the 80s there were a bunch of walk through videos I could rent from the local video store, only time I did was for Simon's Quest. Now that I think about it I also called a help line when playing Symphony of the Night on PS1 as I could not find the icon that gave you the power of a bat, damn Castelvania games gave me migraines but I sure loved them, still think Castlevania on N64 was the best one though I may be in the minority that think so(SOTN is also excellent, love how you need to wear a certain ring in a certain room in order to truly beat the game, if you don't then you only fight Rickard at the end, no Dracula).
You ever play the Castlevania that was released on Sega Genesis? That one is pretty awesome as well, don't really play video games any longer so last new Castlevania I played was Lament of Innocence on PS2 20+ years ago, didn't really like it as it was too much like a RPG than a Castlevania style game.
Good stuff. Especially enjoy the Famicom coverage, as that's almost all new to me.
1. It sounds like the various PC-exclusive comedic adventure games put out by Sierra and Lucasarts (which I grew up with) naturally had their Japanese equivalents. And some made it to the Famicom! But naturally the humor doesn't translate well. I would also guess the Japanese PC market had a lot more of these than the Famicom. I'm thinking Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom was the only Japanese game in this genre that made it to the US.
2. Is Round Beard Hell Island actually supposed to be any good? That's the only Famicom game here that I wonder about as a playable experience, as opposed to a historical curiosity.
3. On Family Jockey -- Legend of the Mystical Ninja had a horse-race-betting minigame. Like in the "family mode" here, you can't control the horses. As a kid I found this such a weird and frustrating activity to have in a game. I was genuinely confused for a while about what I needed to do to control a horse, until I realized that I was just supposed to watch. At least I now know what the ur-example of this genre is.
4. How to Win at Mario Bros. -- I seem to remember Nintendo still advertising this for years in Nintendo Power, but I never got it or saw it in person. In any event, I still eventually figured out how to beat the game on my own. I'm guessing that "free" meant you still had to pay like $6.95 for "shipping and handling". My parents did, however, get me Nintendo's guide to Zelda, which is a game I absolutely could not figure out how to beat on my own.
1. Someone should explore the Japanese comedy-adventure game genre. Sounds like a job for Jeremy Parish, maybe.
2. I would guess it's at least decent since Capcom was going to publish it in the States. I couldn't find a reason why they chose not to, however.
3. I'm thankful, but also amazed that Legend of the Mystical Ninja ever got a Stateside release. It is super Japanese. The Mystical Ninja N64 games too. I wonder if the SNES Mystical Ninja is the only US-released 16-bit game to have a horse race betting minigame.
4. The guide is cool, but I imagine, like you, most kids figured out how to beat SMB on their own without it. And yeah, "free" almost certainly means you still pay for shipping and handling. Nintendo still makes you pay for shipping with their My Nintendo point physical products, like desk calendars.
Was that a compilation strategy guide you had with multiple games including Zelda (like the NES Game Atlas) or did Nintendo make a separate Zelda 1 guide?
Mystical Ninja was an amazing game to have as a big part of my childhood. I didn't realize at the time how Japanese it was, I just thought of it as the game having some sort of deep worldbuilding all its own. Kind of like Tolkien. I picked up that it asserted all these strange and alien tropes with a great deal of self-confidence, but I didn't pick up that it was because they were pre-existing tropes of Japanese folklore and not something the game invented.
And Alexander named the Zelda guide correctly, Tips & Tactics. The top search result was the full guide on Internet Archive:
I could see 80s Mario having free will and choosing the Greater Good, but dead-eyed modern Mario? He's definitely breaking mushroom-people bricks if Nintendo tells him to.
Wow. This is an incredible piece topped with a great headline. Really enjoyed this deep dive especially for NES games I am just learning about!
Thank you, Paul!
Castlevania was my lockdown. I played through almost every game in the series; beating this first one was incredibly rewarding. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is the hardest game I've ever played and that includes Castlevania III
Never played Rondo of Blood, but I’ve heard it’s not for greenhorns.
Down here in New Zealand, Rush ‘N Attack was actually called Green Beret.
Appropriately his uniform was changed from green to blue.
Horrifyingly, he remained faceless.
As long as he still has a relaxing smoke after a mission!
Is that Firebrand/ a Red Arremer in that Makai Island screenshot?! It's a Capcom game, so it probably is. I like that guy based on my time with Demon's Crest and Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, was a shock to see him here with no ghost nor goblin in sight.
Yes indeed! One of the islands in the game has enemies from Ghouls N Ghosts.
Castlevania is one of the hardest games I've ever played, been playing it for almost 40 years and still have not beaten the damn thing; Death is one of the hardest bosses unless you have holy water, then it becomes quite easy. Castelvania 3 for the NES is one of the best video games ever made, think it was the first one that offered you the ability to switch between characters as you played
Castlevania is ridiculously hard, no question, although I do think 2 and 3 are harder.
3 is incredible though, you're right. Not sure if it's the first game where you can switch characters, but it's definitely an early example done right.
Earliest example of character-switching that comes to mind is Legacy of the Wizard. Which, yeah, isn't what I'd call a "game done right", though I admire the heck out of its ambition.
I would love it if someone made a game like Legacy of the Wizard, but fun.
Castlevania 3 IS fun, but it's a very different sort of game.
Yeah Legacy of the Wizard has great ideas, but bonkers execution.
I definitely recommend the "Legacy of the Wizard" Game Center CX episode if you haven't seen it yet
Thanks, I will take a look!
Simon's Quest is fucking hard, not gonna lie I actually had to go rent a walk through video from the video store in order to beat it. Due to translation issues a lot of the clues in the game made zero sense in English so there was no way to know that you had to wear a ring and kneel down in a certain spot to have a tornado come and take you to the next body part area.
Didn't know there was a walkthrough video for Simon's Quest?? I'll have to look that up!
Nintendo Power was great for obtuse NES games, like CV2
Back in the 80s there were a bunch of walk through videos I could rent from the local video store, only time I did was for Simon's Quest. Now that I think about it I also called a help line when playing Symphony of the Night on PS1 as I could not find the icon that gave you the power of a bat, damn Castelvania games gave me migraines but I sure loved them, still think Castlevania on N64 was the best one though I may be in the minority that think so(SOTN is also excellent, love how you need to wear a certain ring in a certain room in order to truly beat the game, if you don't then you only fight Rickard at the end, no Dracula).
I really enjoyed Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness for N64, which is essentially Castlevania 64 director’s cut, and I never hear anyone talk about it.
Symphony of the Night is definitely a classic but CV64 is at least underrated.
You ever play the Castlevania that was released on Sega Genesis? That one is pretty awesome as well, don't really play video games any longer so last new Castlevania I played was Lament of Innocence on PS2 20+ years ago, didn't really like it as it was too much like a RPG than a Castlevania style game.
Good stuff. Especially enjoy the Famicom coverage, as that's almost all new to me.
1. It sounds like the various PC-exclusive comedic adventure games put out by Sierra and Lucasarts (which I grew up with) naturally had their Japanese equivalents. And some made it to the Famicom! But naturally the humor doesn't translate well. I would also guess the Japanese PC market had a lot more of these than the Famicom. I'm thinking Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom was the only Japanese game in this genre that made it to the US.
2. Is Round Beard Hell Island actually supposed to be any good? That's the only Famicom game here that I wonder about as a playable experience, as opposed to a historical curiosity.
3. On Family Jockey -- Legend of the Mystical Ninja had a horse-race-betting minigame. Like in the "family mode" here, you can't control the horses. As a kid I found this such a weird and frustrating activity to have in a game. I was genuinely confused for a while about what I needed to do to control a horse, until I realized that I was just supposed to watch. At least I now know what the ur-example of this genre is.
4. How to Win at Mario Bros. -- I seem to remember Nintendo still advertising this for years in Nintendo Power, but I never got it or saw it in person. In any event, I still eventually figured out how to beat the game on my own. I'm guessing that "free" meant you still had to pay like $6.95 for "shipping and handling". My parents did, however, get me Nintendo's guide to Zelda, which is a game I absolutely could not figure out how to beat on my own.
1. Someone should explore the Japanese comedy-adventure game genre. Sounds like a job for Jeremy Parish, maybe.
2. I would guess it's at least decent since Capcom was going to publish it in the States. I couldn't find a reason why they chose not to, however.
3. I'm thankful, but also amazed that Legend of the Mystical Ninja ever got a Stateside release. It is super Japanese. The Mystical Ninja N64 games too. I wonder if the SNES Mystical Ninja is the only US-released 16-bit game to have a horse race betting minigame.
4. The guide is cool, but I imagine, like you, most kids figured out how to beat SMB on their own without it. And yeah, "free" almost certainly means you still pay for shipping and handling. Nintendo still makes you pay for shipping with their My Nintendo point physical products, like desk calendars.
Was that a compilation strategy guide you had with multiple games including Zelda (like the NES Game Atlas) or did Nintendo make a separate Zelda 1 guide?
Mystical Ninja was an amazing game to have as a big part of my childhood. I didn't realize at the time how Japanese it was, I just thought of it as the game having some sort of deep worldbuilding all its own. Kind of like Tolkien. I picked up that it asserted all these strange and alien tropes with a great deal of self-confidence, but I didn't pick up that it was because they were pre-existing tropes of Japanese folklore and not something the game invented.
And Alexander named the Zelda guide correctly, Tips & Tactics. The top search result was the full guide on Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/The_Legend_of_Zelda_Tips_and_Tactics/mode/2up
"Don't worry, folks, Mario's blasting through the lesser mushroom people."
What if little Mario CAN break bricks but chooses not to?
What if Super Mario’s actual super power is his will to power as he casts aside Slave Morality?
I could see 80s Mario having free will and choosing the Greater Good, but dead-eyed modern Mario? He's definitely breaking mushroom-people bricks if Nintendo tells him to.