Nintendo Haven
This page has been constructed as an all-purpose haven for the
original NES, or Nintendo Entertainment System. Although I am a major fan of
other game systems, I voice support for the NES in its time of need. ;)
Back Home
Let's get down to business. The primary purpose of this page is
to serve as a game review and download site for ROM's. I would hope you already
own anything you download, and I'm probably required by law to tell you to
delete these within 24 hours. I somehow doubt you care, but who am I to flout
authority?
These are the games reviewed thus far.
-
- 1) 1943 (Capcom)
- A top-view upward scrolling game. You pilot a single super-powered P-38 Lightning against the entire Japanese fleet at Midway. A classic beyond all doubt. Nothing special to be said, except to comment on how WONDERFUL turbo is on this game.
Graphics: A-
- Gameplay: B+
Sound: B+
Challenge: A
Replay value: A
Back to Top
-
1943 ROM
1943 Manual
- 2) Double Dragon (Still looking)
- A fighting game, side-scrolling, but with four directional control. A minor challenge, but practice should get you through it.
- Graphics: B
- Gameplay: B
Sound: C
Challenge: A
Replay value: A-
-
Back to Top
Double Dragon ROM
- 3) Cybernoid (Acclaim)
- A very arcade-style game. Three settings of difficulty. Should be Hard, Harder and Suicidal. Side view game, utterly impossible for me. All I can say is to stock up on shields. Keep them selected.
- Graphics: A+
- Gameplay: B
Sound: C
Challenge: A+
Replay value: C
Back to Top
- 4) Final Fantasy (Squaresoft A-team)
- One of the better games I have found for the original NES. I have a ROM ready for any who want it, and will soon have it uploaded to the page.
Nothing really special to say other than to comment on the quality of this game. If any of you have played AD&D, you may recognize a few things. Well, don't let it go to your head. They aren't that similar, and they diverge farther as the series progresses.
- Graphics: A
- Gameplay: B-
Sound: B
Challenge: C
Replay value: A
Back to Top
Final Fantasy ROM
Final Fantasy 2 ROM (Japanese release, translated. NES.)
Final Fantasy 3 ROM (Same as above, should be translated.)
-
- 5) Destination Earthstar (Acclaim)
-
- Fun attempt at a fully 3-D space-simulator. Not quite a real sim. You can't do a flip. Which, sometimes, would really help. Most of the games are ended within the bases.
Sim-style game. You fight enemies with more maneuverable ships, but lesser shields. This game makes excellent use of controls, and Acclaim did everything to make it convenient. If you let the credits scroll by, at the beginning of the game, it will tell you how to play. It's a bit like
Starmaster, except more control and a wider arsenal. Note: you can only go to a planet once. After that, you won't get anything for it.
- Graphics: A- in space, C in alien bases
Gameplay: B+ in space, B- within bases
- Sound: B for music (pleasant), D for SFX
Challenge: A+
Replay value: A
Back to Top
- 6) TMNT (Konami)
- It's OK, I guess. It's a search-and-destroy style game. Side-view game with, of course, the traditional 4 characters.
Based after the kid's television show. You walk, jump, and slice your way to a big, armor-plated baddie, face his big machine, you get the idea.. Another attempt at capitalizing on this theme, perhaps a successful one. It's cute.
Graphics: C
- Gameplay: A
- Sound: B
- Challenge: A-
Replay value: C
Back to Top
- 7) Top Gun (Konami)
- Cute game, not exactly a flight-sim. Maybe it was the best they could do. Any enemy can be destroyed with a bullet, or a missile. The difficulty of the matter is that you can, too. Luckily, your jet is better shielded. I'd say what kills you most is landing, and my only suggestion is to keep your nose up most of the time, and keep your speed dead-center. Try not to over-shoot the carrier... If you keep your nose up through the levels, the game goes like a breeze. Just don't duck down for planes or subs. The score goes down, but you win points big-time just for completing the level.
- Graphics: B
Gameplay: B
Sound: A for music (only on start), B within game.
Challenge: C- for gameplay, A for landing.
Replay value: C
Back to Top
-
- 8) Top Gun II: The Second Mission (Konami/Ultra)
- A continuation of the semi-flight sim game of Top Gun. The two-player one on one is quite well done, but the game could stand some definite improvements. I found it immensely painful not to have true altitude, not allowing me several moves. Barrel rolls and Immulmans can be used by tapping the cursor or joystick twice in the desired direction. Missiles are a little more useful in this game, but it may be prudent to choose the type according to usage. You may need them later... or you may not. I would expect you to beat Blackjack without.
Graphics: A-
- Gameplay: A-
Sound: B, but no Top Gun theme! Pity.
Challenge: A
Replay value: C normal, A two-player
Back to Top
- 9) Silent Service (Konami/Ultra)
- Information and ROM
Graphics: B
- Gameplay: A+
Sound: D
Challenge: Variable, player-set. A+ to D.
- Replay value: A+, 110%
Back to Top
- 10) Captain Skyhawk (Milton Bradley)
- It's kind of like Tyrian in gameplay. I beat it often, having fun with it. The only times I don't win this game are when I don't play or am pulled off the games before I can finish it. It plays from above, with a cannon that starts weak, but with the proper amount of credits, can be wonderfully tweaked.
-
- Graphics: A-
- Gameplay: B+
- Sound: C
- Challenge: D
- Replay value: A
Back to Top
-
- 11) Mario with Duck Hunt (Nintendo)
- Everyone knows Mario.
-
- Graphics: A for the time period, C for now.
- Gameplay: A- Mario, A for Duck Hunt
- Sound: B for music, C for SFX
- Challenge: C
- Replay value: A
Back to Top
-
- 12) Mario without Duck Hunt (Nintendo)
- Actually, there doesn't seem to be any real difference. Maybe the negative worlds don't work on it, but oh well. To this day I don't know, as I have not yet managed to get to them.
-
- Graphics: See above
- Sound: See above
- Challenge: See above
- Replay value: See above
Back to Top
- ROM download coming soon
-
- 13) Dr. Mario (Nintendo)
- A neat adaptation on Tetris. Actually very fun. Three different music options: Cold, fever, and Off. The object is to destroy the viruses by piling pills of the same color on them. A very cute game.
-
- Graphics: B+
- Gameplay: A
- Sound: Music B+, SFX B
- Challenge: Goes from D to A+ according to level
- Replay value: A-
Back to Top
- ROM Download
- 14) Mario 2 (Nintendo)
- Actually, I've never beat most of my games. This one took me a while. I actually have trouble with the frog at the end. It is, by far, the most difficult of the three, and certainly the most fun. The differences are easily seen. For one, instead of cheerfully stomping and flaring your enemies into oblivion, you must throw things at them. Onions, turnips, POW blocks... other enemies...
-
- Graphics: A-
- Gameplay: A-
- Sound: Music A, SFX B
- Challenge: A toward the end.
- Replay value: A Eternal
-
Back to Top
- ROM Download
- 15) Mario 3 (Nintendo)
- Easiest by far of all Mario games. Beat it in 15 minutes if I want to, but I like to do a full tour. Rather similar to the first one, but with flight, more secrets and different enemies, plus some choices as to direction. You can skip some levels simply by taking a different path.
Graphics: A+
- Gameplay: A
Sound: A for music, B for SFX
Challenge: C
Replay value: A
Back to Top
ROM Download
- 16) Rad Racer (Nintendo)
-
- First attempt at a racing game on the NES. A bit like the Cannonball Run. Wish it had a larger selection of cars to choose from, REAL moving background, crossroads, etc. It's Ok, though. But how about a working map of San Francisco, instead of a scrolling background? Then again, that's what the Playstation's for.
Graphics: A- for Normal, 3-D mode: No soap.
- Gameplay: B
Sound: B for Music, C for SFX
Challenge: A
- Replay Value: B
Back to Top
- 17) Road Blasters (MindScape)
-
- Amusing, but a poor adaptation on Rad Racer. Essentially, you pilot the Ferrari from above, modified to carry weapons. Dodging enemy fire and picking up fuel globes, you race to the finish line. Don't forget to grab the weapons dropped by your air support, though. You'll need them.
- Graphics: B
- Gameplay: B+
Sound: D
Challenge: C
Replay value: C+ (occasional)
Back to Top
- 18) Castlevania (Konami)
-
- Actually, I'll bet it's not really that hard. Just for me. Side-view search and destroy game. Your character, Simon Belmont, is equipped with a whip. At the beginning of the game, you are offered the chance to change this to a ball-and-chain, which is then extended to reach farther.
- I happen to particularly like the opening sequence.
Graphics: A- (Nice use of what they had)
Sound: C for SFX, A for music.
Challenge: B
Replay value: B+
Back to Top
Castlevania 1 ROM
- 19) Castlevania II- Simon's Quest (Konami)
-
- Not much like the first one. No one knows it as Castlevania II, only as Simon's Quest. I finally beat it. Ask any questions you like. Actually fairly similar to the prequel in gameplay and format, but far more complex. I always thought I was good with riddles. I think I might warn you. When facing the Grim Reaper, use turbo if it's available. It kills(?) him pretty easily. And don't be distressed when you run out of hearts using the golden knife against the haunted mask. They just soften it up. Whips are slower, but equally effective, and you can never run out.
Graphics: A (Badass enemies)
Sound: A (Castlevania, peoples.)
Challenge: D
Replay value: A+
Back to Top
- Castlevania 2 ROM
- 20) Punchout (Nintendo)
-
- Boxing in slow-mo. Idiosyncratic names give more than a hint of stupidity. Weaknesses too apparent. I only have trouble with Mr. Dream. (We all have our weaknesses.)
- Graphics: A-.
- Sound: D (Galaga)
Challenge: C
Replay value: B+
Back to Top
-
- ROM Download
- I must warn you, the graphics are a little faulty.
- 21) Gremlins II (Sunsoft)
- It's OK. Nothing spectacular. Interesting graphics. Otherwise extremely cheesy. Overhead view, classic of Sunsoft. They made a number of cool games. (Note: How do you get past the spider?) I could supply game codes for the lost, but nothing secret.
-
- Graphics: A
- Sound: B- over time
- Challenge: B+
- Replay Value: D
Back to Top
- 22) Jackal (Konami)
-
- Interesting jeep game. You get to go around and blow things up. Personally, from experience, if you die more than once before the last level or have to continue in it, you won't beat it. You have to have a couple lives for the helicopters. (Gnats, as I call them.) Another overhead view. Your guns, unrealistically, only fire forward, as in directly up at all times. Your grenades, however, or missiles later on, fire in whatever direction your jeep is pointing. If you need tips on where secret arsenals are, just ask. My E-mail is on the main page.
- This game is actually best when played 2 player, as the communications with a second jeep help a great deal. This works especially well for bringing out the prisoners, and "Cover me" quickly becomes the word of the day. Practice your synchronized fire!
-
- Graphics: A- (Pleasant, like Contra)
- Sound: B- for SFX, A for music
- Challenge: B+
Replay Value: A
Back to Top
-
- 23) Dragon Power (Ban Dai)
-
- Really corny, normal for a classic children's game in Japan. But it's actually really tough, so it's addictive in its own unique way. It's a semi-overhead view, with a lousy angle. It's got a strange appeal. Some of you may have heard of
"Dragonball." This game is based rather firmly off of it, and I
often have trouble remembering what came from which. As such, I have never gained an in-depth knowledge of Dragonball.
- Graphics: C (Cute, but poor)
- Sound: C (Ultimate bad kung-fu game)
- Challenge: Goes from B to A+
- Replay Value: A (Campy)
Back to Top
-
- 24) Snake Rattle and Roll (Nintendo)
- A fun, impossible game with the weirdest controls. Are the balls supposed to be sort of like mice? It's a better-angled overhead view game, with some unusual quirks from level to level. It's always the same, but the point is score. One strange adaptation is the fact that the map is arranged slightly diagonally, and your controls work the same was. Up is upper-left? This game is best played with two players, as the two of you can compete, but eventually must cooperate to leave a level.
-
- Graphics: A+
- Sound: A all around
- Challenge: C
- Replay Value: B one player, A two player
Back to Top
- 25) Ren & Stimpy Buckaroo$ (T-HQ)
-
- One of the easiest games I've ever played, coming right off the video collections. Cute, but fairly useless if you don't like the show anymore. I fully intend to trade this game off, or possibly toss it onto E-Bay.
-
- Graphics: A
- Sound: B-
- Challenge: B-
- Replay Value: Debatable
Back to Top
- 26) The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo)
- If you don't know Zelda, I really can't help you out with this one. Like Metroid, a little hard without maps.
Back to Top
- 27) Predator (Activision)
- Really tough-- until you get used to it. Another side-view game. Note: There's a machine gun in the tree to the left at the very beginning of the game. It saves some trouble.
Back to Top
- 28) Xexyz (Hudson Soft)
- Very easy game. Not quite a quest game. The best gun for anything is the laser. It somehow reminds me of mario. Note: try going into the free weapon places twice. Free power up! Also, you can go to other kinds of free stuff rooms only twice. Like free money. I found out that you can go in twice, and it really helps.
Back to Top
- 29) Blaster Master (Sunsoft)
- Very hard game in my opinion. I know a number of people, myself included, who can't get past the crab in level 5. This game makes extremely good use of controls. The major thing to remember is to stock up. Note: What is Sunsoft's obsession with frogs?
Back to Top
Blaster Master ROM
- 30) Batman (Sunsoft)
- Cute. Not all that great though. Never beat the Joker. Side view game, unrealistic in ways you wouldn't believe, but it's OK. It's all punching, really. Except for 3 special weapons.
Back to Top
- 31) Batman Returns (Konami)
- I at least think it's hard. TMNT II screen format. You can punch, do swift punch-punch-downward punch-uppercut combinations, or you can throw a batterang. There's also a maneuver that costs the enemy a fair amount of life, but costs you 1 each time.
Back to Top
- 32) Metroid (Nintendo)
- An original concoction long ago by Nintendo. I keep falling into the lava at the end near the big baddy. Extremely challenging without maps.
Back to Top
Metroid ROM
- 33) Contra (Konami)
- Probably the first of the seek-and-destroy genre. Easy. One of my favorite ones to
beat, and also father to an entire generation of games.
Back to Top
- Contra Rom
- 34) Roger Clemens' MVP baseball (LJN)
- Picked it up from a friend. Luckily, lousy as it is, it's free. Who is that Roger Clemens guy? Behind view batting, side or back view catching.
Back to Top
- 35) 1991 Techmo Super Bowl (Techmo)
- Probably my favorite of all that I own. I've developed a new respect for the Raiders in that game. Use a turbo controller and beat the ?<@#^$#%?! out of the opponents.
Back to Top
- 36) Fester's Quest (Sunsoft)
- How do you kill the second boss? I've tried and tried. At least it isn't the normal frog. (There's lots of those within the game, however.)
Back to Top
- 37) Friday the 13th (LJN)
- This one I just don't get. It's not even fun. I got it for free. It's a side-view game where the first thing you do is hunt for a lighter. You don't have to go far. Then you enter a 3-D maze house and light the fireplace.
Back to Top
- 38) The Little Mermaid (Capcom's disaster)
- That's scary. Capcom made Street Fighter II and Mega Man. How could they make something so lousy? Sideview game with lousy music I couldn't stand the first time.
Back to Top
- 39) S.C.A.T. (Natsume)
- Very fun. Like Contra on jetpack. I guess the name really lost something in translation. You are this little guy or lady, take your pick, shooting full time. You are equiped with a wimpy machine gun and two positionable satellite style guns that rotate about your person. I can give tips which are actually very helpful for levels 1-5.
Here's a hint: position of attack is of utmost importance, as is satellite position. Both require a lot of attention, and should be experimented with equally... and at the same time. I have strategies of my own that seem to work well.
Back to Top
- 40) Defender II
- Kind of the same gameplay format as Gradius. I have Gradius, actually. You fly around shooting baddies. The object is to save the residents of the planet you are on. It's about the size of "The Little
Prince" asteroid. You go to the next wave when you destroy every other ship.
Back to Top
- 41) Dragon Warrior
- One of the neatest, though not the most advanced RPG in the world. I beat it fairly easily, though it took a week. Not much time devoted. I don't know any secrets, but I would recommend getting it if only for the fun of having such an original game. I particularly like the way things were presented; there was no ending movie, just a normal gameplay. You can skip things entirely. You don't have to put in a password. You don't HAVE to do anything, even save the princess! I did, anyway. (I like being heroic. It's a classic theme.) My overall opinion of the game is that it's really cute.
Back to Top
- 42) Guardian Legend (By Myst's Broderbund)
- This game is pretty much beyond casual description. It has been decided, and often agreed upon by many sources, that this game has the most fantastic musical score on the NES. I've found it hard to match in video games in general. The gameplay is all that I have ever looked for in a game, from beginning to end. Originally published in Japan, it has been translated into cartridges in English, unfortunately with the standard loss in beauty that the translation gives. Pardon me if I'm biased, but I find Nihongo to be a far better language, written or said, than Eigo.
I have on hand copies of each in Rom version. (No, not Spaceknight, for any of you comic buffs out there.) I have kept both, as I can't play the Japanese version, but I love the language, and it loses nothing in its music. As a general rule, this game is a little hard to find in its cartridge version...
But I've got it. ;]
- Information page with ROMS
Back to Top
- 43) Phantom Fighter (UCI)
- By the makers of Ultima, this two-dimensional semi-quest is probably one of the more amusing games of my collection. It's not the best game in the world, nor the stupidest, nor the most thrilling, it's just plain good. If you want incredible, look up Final Fantasy 3 (U.S. release) or Metal Gear Solid. Really, this game is worth buying at the prices they offer for it today.
Back to Top
- 44) Gradius (Konami)
- Side-view and side-scrolling game with several nice features. An amusing game at the least. I'm afraid the Rom is nearly indefinable, as everything in print tends to be scrambled and overlayed. But, if you have the actual game memorized, it shouldn't be a problem at all. The game is
almost as enjoyable, even though the lack of text detracts. Sort of like the Atari, no? Basically, though, it is
imperitive that you do not die.
Graphics: Quite good for the time.
Sound: Music is nice, not too distracting. Sounds are vintage space-laser.
Challenge: Mean in places.
Replay value: Playable till its dying day.
Back to Top
Gradius ROM