Steve’s
NES Games
Here are my favorites from an era gone by. I had a subscription to Nintendo Power and I
tried to win the Final Fantasy contest to be an actual adventurer. I found all the answers to the challenge
questions, sent them in, and waited…
I used to write letters to Nintendo Power asking
questions and such. I even decorated the
envelopes with drawings. One letter
impressed an editor, for after my verbose recitation, I summed up my questions
for the reader. This prompted the editor
to call my house to answer these questions!
I was such a happy boy that day!
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Final Fantasy |
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A favorite from the start. You can choose four members of your team
from a Knight, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage, White Mage, and Black Mage. Battle the Fiends of Elements, equip
elemental armor, and cast a variety of magic spells. I was hooked right from the start. |
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Dragon Warrior |
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Take that, you slime! The lone warrior and descendent of Erdrick,
you must quest to save the princess and defeat the Dragonlord. I used to play this in my sister’s room
because she had a TV there. I would
play for hours. Even now, I whistle
the theme of Alefgard in the hallways. |
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Dragon Warrior II |
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A major upgrade to the series, DW2
introduced group fights. Not only can
you be attacked by more than one monsters, but you can enlist the help of two
cousins to defeat the troubles of the land.
This game featured a fun opening song that you don’t get to hear in
the game unless you speak to one particular singer. |
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Dragon Warrior III |
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Based on the land from the short-lived
13 episode TV series, DW3 opened up to a huge new world. You could create different types of jobs
from Fighers and Merchants to Wizards and Goof-Offs. You can seek class changes, including one
to the impressive Sage. |
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Dragon Warrior IV |
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What a journey! This one takes place in 5 chapters. Start with Ragnar, soldier of Burland. Continue with Alena, princess of Santeem,
and Cristo and Brey. Build a better
business with the merchant Taloon.
Seek revenge with fortune-teller |
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Legend of Zelda |
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Pure excitement! I played this game so much the contacts on
the cartridge wore out and I had to buy a second copy. From battling Wizrobes to collecting the
red ring, this game was awesome. Look
out Ganon! |
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Legend of Zelda II |
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My parents bought me this as a gift for
graduation from middle school. That
was an awesome summer! It was fun
having Link learn magic spells and special fight moves. Even more fun was turning Link into a fairy
and flying around the screen. |
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Crystalis |
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A touch of action in the mix, I loved
Crystalis. With four elemental swords
with different skills, several towns and areas to explore, I was hooked. |
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Metroid |
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What a classic! From all the enemy characters to the skills
Samus Aran can learn, this game made me lose many hours of sleep. Beware Mother Brain, Samus is on the way. |
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Mega Man |
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My first venture into the Mega Man
world was a difficult one. More
accustomed to turn-based RPGs like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy, this was
a true adjustment for me. The Ice Man
stage still gets me at times. I am so
glad Capcom released the Anniversary collection for PS2. It was great reliving this entire series. |
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8 Eyes |
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This was a great challenge. You needed to collect a gem from each of 8
castles, and place them in correct order on an altar. With you was your trusty falcon, whom you
could send off to attack the enemy at a distance or flip a switch. It was touch sometimes to coordinate, but
the extra challenge was fun. |
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Super Mario Bros. |
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Before I bought my own Nintendo, I
played this at a friend’s house. So,
it took me a while to master the basics.
Go Fire Mario, go! |
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Faxanadu |
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This was a great adventure, if a little
oddly executed at times. I remember
getting near the very end of the game and not having the key I needed. That meant backtracking all the way to
town, having to defeat all the enemies and unlocking all the doors on the
way. I was not a happy camper! Still, I loved the game. |
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Rygar |
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Now this
was a challenge with only one life to live…
Die, and you have to start it all over again. I remember pausing the game for meals and
bathroom breaks. I made it all the way
to the final stage – it had to be – and there I died. I was totally engrossed in this game, and I
had hoped the PS2 version would grab me the same way. |
Thanks to the JNES Emulator for a screen capture
function!
Where to now?
Home Games [NES] SNES PC PS PS2