Games, squeezed out of the NES maximum (part 1)
You will remember the games in which you played on the NES (popularly known as “Dendy”), and you wonder how, in comparison with modern times, the games library of those times was simple and even primitive. However, if it is good to dig in the archives of cartridges, there you can find surprisingly many games with excellent graphics and outstanding sound that you would not expect to see on such a weak console.
NES, like its numerous clones, was popular in the world for a whole decade, so igrodels had the opportunity to pump skills in the development for her, and squeeze the maximum out of the old woman up to the last miserable bit. Below is an overview of the most advanced and technically advanced games for the NES, made by the respected racketboy.
This is the first part of the translation, continued here , ending here .
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"Kirby" from those games that were born in the era of the rising popularity of 16-bit SNES - the heiress of the glory of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Many fans have already started collecting cartridges for SNES, and no one would have paid attention to Kirby if it had been done at the highest level. Kirby's Adventure is a fun and addictive game that looks like one of the early 16-bit games, but with a stripped-down color palette. This makes it related to Super Mario Bros 3, but Kirby has an advantage over Mario 3 in the amount of ROM memory on the cartridge (which makes itself felt).
The developers apparently knew that the last superhit for the NES should come out of their hands, so they polished it to a mirror finish. The graphics are such that it makes you doubt the 8-bit version of the platform. The painstaking work done by the authors is akin to flea shoeing in an effort to create incredible things at the limit of possibilities.
Kirby, the protagonist of the game, is an energetic pink smesharik, his adventures occur in lushly colored worlds. The richness of colors in this case is not achieved by imitating a 16-bit palette. The developers simply tried to make 8-bit graphics as beautiful as possible. Deep elaboration of the details allowed to make the movements of the characters surprisingly smooth.
Perhaps the strongest side of the game is the background graphics. Compared to many other games on the NES, the scenery in Kirby is truly overpowering . For example, on one of the levels, the action takes place in the forest, but at the same time somewhere in the distance the ocean is splashing. In some scenes, in addition, there is a dandy parallax scrolling background. Particularly worth mentioning are short comic sketches about Kirby's exploits, which are played before each level.
All of these elements, put together, leave an excellent impression of the game.
Video gameplay can be viewed here .
Play Kirby's Adventure online here (requires Java).
This advanced scuffle from Rare has been and remains one of the coolest games on the NES. Being a vigorous mixture of ninja-turtle frenzy with gameplay in the style of Double Dragon, BattleToads brought a number of fresh finds. Recall at least the levels with vertical scrolling, where cylindrical background objects move in pseudo-3d. Rides on flying motorcycles discourage inexperienced players, and experienced cause adrenaline intoxication. By the way, not least because of these races, BattleToads is considered to be almost the most difficult game on the NES.
The originality of each of the 12 levels makes you doubt whether the 8-bit game is exactly in front of you. Then you need to go down into the abyss on a rope, then accelerate to the speed of light on a flying motorcycle, then climb up the backs of rapidly creeping snakes,
suddenly appearing and disappearing in the openings of the walls, then climb a giant tower that turns in three dimensions along the way. This made her one of the best in her weight class.
An important feature is the variety of fun ways to do away with their enemies. Metamorphosis occurs when you hit the runaway with combat toads: then mutton horns will grow, then a helmet will appear on your head for a crushing attack. Sometimes a character can grow a huge fist to more accurately beat the enemy. During the descent into deep pits, heroes can turn into a lump and work as a ram core. To implement each of these effects, clever graphic tricks are used, which, by and large, have never been used by anyone else.
It should be noted that the continuation of this game, Battletoads 'n' Double Dragon, was released after 2 years, in 1993, but, in my opinion, it does not even reach the first series in terms of graphics (perhaps, the developers were too busy porting the game on 16-bit platforms) (Brothers! He says heresy! BattleToads 'n' Double Dragon - this is the best game ever, which has even washed its 16-bit clones! - comment of the lane) .
Video gameplay can be viewed here .
Play Battletoads online here (requires Java).
Some people think that TurboGraphx-16 is the only 8-cue ball on which there were really cool shootemupes. These people need to play Crisis Force and repent. This classic shooter is often called “ Axelay for Dandy,” and he justifies his honorary title. Konami made the game with graphics no worse than that of 16-bit competitors in terms of scrolling backgrounds and large sprites. The first time I saw this game, it shocked me ... I never saw NES to do such things. Some techniques, like parallax scrolling, are truly on par with MegaDrayv's shooters.
Video gameplay can be viewed here .
Play Crysis Force online here (requires Java).
1. Awesome fast gameplay.
2. Thousands of simultaneously moving objects
3. Faster graphic background effects
4. Excellent sampled sound.
This is not a shootemup, but pure madness. Do not often see the game with such a crazy action on the screen. True, only Japanese gamers could enjoy it on real hardware, they were not sold anywhere else.
In general, game sprites are fairly simple, but the backgrounds and bosses look pretty decent. There are levels where the graphics are based on unexpected effects. As a result, you do not know what the brain explodes more: enemy squall fire or visual features of levels.
Highlights sound in the game. The full power of 4-channel sample audio is used, resulting in a rarely achievable sound on the NES. By the way, the trance / techno style soundtrack was very advanced for the early 90s, and it fits perfectly with the gameplay.
Video gameplay can be viewed here .
But playing Recca Summer Carnival online is nowhere to be found. At least I don’t know where this magical opportunity is offered. Maybe the public will tell?
UPD :: Play online now here .
To be continued.
NES, like its numerous clones, was popular in the world for a whole decade, so igrodels had the opportunity to pump skills in the development for her, and squeeze the maximum out of the old woman up to the last miserable bit. Below is an overview of the most advanced and technically advanced games for the NES, made by the respected racketboy.
This is the first part of the translation, continued here , ending here .
')
Kirby's Adventure
Year of release: 1993
Technical features:
- Excellent work with color.
- Eye-catching smooth animation.
- The largest (in terms of data volume) licensed game for NES. Used 6-megabit cartridge.
What is so special about her?
"Kirby" from those games that were born in the era of the rising popularity of 16-bit SNES - the heiress of the glory of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Many fans have already started collecting cartridges for SNES, and no one would have paid attention to Kirby if it had been done at the highest level. Kirby's Adventure is a fun and addictive game that looks like one of the early 16-bit games, but with a stripped-down color palette. This makes it related to Super Mario Bros 3, but Kirby has an advantage over Mario 3 in the amount of ROM memory on the cartridge (which makes itself felt).The developers apparently knew that the last superhit for the NES should come out of their hands, so they polished it to a mirror finish. The graphics are such that it makes you doubt the 8-bit version of the platform. The painstaking work done by the authors is akin to flea shoeing in an effort to create incredible things at the limit of possibilities.
Kirby, the protagonist of the game, is an energetic pink smesharik, his adventures occur in lushly colored worlds. The richness of colors in this case is not achieved by imitating a 16-bit palette. The developers simply tried to make 8-bit graphics as beautiful as possible. Deep elaboration of the details allowed to make the movements of the characters surprisingly smooth.
Perhaps the strongest side of the game is the background graphics. Compared to many other games on the NES, the scenery in Kirby is truly overpowering . For example, on one of the levels, the action takes place in the forest, but at the same time somewhere in the distance the ocean is splashing. In some scenes, in addition, there is a dandy parallax scrolling background. Particularly worth mentioning are short comic sketches about Kirby's exploits, which are played before each level.All of these elements, put together, leave an excellent impression of the game.
Video gameplay can be viewed here .
Play Kirby's Adventure online here (requires Java).
Battletoads
Year of release: 1991
Technical features:
- Great sprites with impressive animations
- Scrolling and rotating the background in pseudo-3d
- A large number of different levels
- A creative approach to the graphic component of the game.
What is so special about her?
This advanced scuffle from Rare has been and remains one of the coolest games on the NES. Being a vigorous mixture of ninja-turtle frenzy with gameplay in the style of Double Dragon, BattleToads brought a number of fresh finds. Recall at least the levels with vertical scrolling, where cylindrical background objects move in pseudo-3d. Rides on flying motorcycles discourage inexperienced players, and experienced cause adrenaline intoxication. By the way, not least because of these races, BattleToads is considered to be almost the most difficult game on the NES.The originality of each of the 12 levels makes you doubt whether the 8-bit game is exactly in front of you. Then you need to go down into the abyss on a rope, then accelerate to the speed of light on a flying motorcycle, then climb up the backs of rapidly creeping snakes,
suddenly appearing and disappearing in the openings of the walls, then climb a giant tower that turns in three dimensions along the way. This made her one of the best in her weight class.An important feature is the variety of fun ways to do away with their enemies. Metamorphosis occurs when you hit the runaway with combat toads: then mutton horns will grow, then a helmet will appear on your head for a crushing attack. Sometimes a character can grow a huge fist to more accurately beat the enemy. During the descent into deep pits, heroes can turn into a lump and work as a ram core. To implement each of these effects, clever graphic tricks are used, which, by and large, have never been used by anyone else.
It should be noted that the continuation of this game, Battletoads 'n' Double Dragon, was released after 2 years, in 1993, but, in my opinion, it does not even reach the first series in terms of graphics (perhaps, the developers were too busy porting the game on 16-bit platforms) (Brothers! He says heresy! BattleToads 'n' Double Dragon - this is the best game ever, which has even washed its 16-bit clones! - comment of the lane) .
Video gameplay can be viewed here .
Play Battletoads online here (requires Java).
Crisis force
Year of release: 1991
Technical features:
- Insane number of moving objects on the screen.
- Parallax scrolling in great abundance
- Interesting sprite animation effects, including pseudo-3d rotation
- Huge bosses
- Cute animation of video clips
What is so special about her?
Some people think that TurboGraphx-16 is the only 8-cue ball on which there were really cool shootemupes. These people need to play Crisis Force and repent. This classic shooter is often called “ Axelay for Dandy,” and he justifies his honorary title. Konami made the game with graphics no worse than that of 16-bit competitors in terms of scrolling backgrounds and large sprites. The first time I saw this game, it shocked me ... I never saw NES to do such things. Some techniques, like parallax scrolling, are truly on par with MegaDrayv's shooters.Video gameplay can be viewed here .
Play Crysis Force online here (requires Java).
Recca Summer Carnival '92
Year of release: 1992
Technical features:
1. Awesome fast gameplay.
2. Thousands of simultaneously moving objects
3. Faster graphic background effects
4. Excellent sampled sound.
What is so special about her?
This is not a shootemup, but pure madness. Do not often see the game with such a crazy action on the screen. True, only Japanese gamers could enjoy it on real hardware, they were not sold anywhere else.In general, game sprites are fairly simple, but the backgrounds and bosses look pretty decent. There are levels where the graphics are based on unexpected effects. As a result, you do not know what the brain explodes more: enemy squall fire or visual features of levels.
Highlights sound in the game. The full power of 4-channel sample audio is used, resulting in a rarely achievable sound on the NES. By the way, the trance / techno style soundtrack was very advanced for the early 90s, and it fits perfectly with the gameplay.
Video gameplay can be viewed here .
But playing Recca Summer Carnival online is nowhere to be found. At least I don’t know where this magical opportunity is offered. Maybe the public will tell?
UPD :: Play online now here .
To be continued.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/132441/
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