Games, squeezed out of the NES maximum (part 2)
Continuation of the review of the most sophisticated and technically advanced games for the NES.
Start here .
The ending is here .
Before looking at the screenshot, write off the game, try to see it in action. It is in motion that all the graphic merits of this action movie are visible. A single frame of the character does not cause much trepidation, but look how it moves, it's very cool.
Irem (the game development team) has ensured that this shooter looks like a prototype of Assault Suit Leynos (aka Target Earth) game for Genesis / Mega Drive) in terms of playability and graphics.
The coolest feature of the game was the ability to change the direction of the force of gravity and walk on the ceiling. A similar technique is found in other games (Megaman, Gunstar Heroes, etc.), but Metal Storm was a pioneer in this regard, besides the effects of gravity in it are more realistic than in any other 8-bit game.
Perhaps this is a minor detail, but drawing the explosions in Metal Storm will compete with many 16-bit counterparts. The background has 2 layers, as well as the foreground. The result is a realistic perspective effect during movement. I would like to remind you that before the SNES era, layered backgrounds were very rare.
When there are many objects on the screen at the same time, flickering may occur. However, this rarely happens, and does not slow down the gameplay.
Video gameplay can be seen here .
You can play Metal Storm online here (although the title screen is buggy - press Enter right away) or here (but here it’s better to turn off the sound).
')
Looking at this game in action, but not looking at the pixel density, you can decide that you have one of the early games of the Genesis / MegaDrive platform (for which, by the way, there is a ported version).
Take a look at the video of the battle with the latest boss . There you can clearly see that Sunsoft developers know a lot aboutdistortions in the efficient use of system resources. They manage to create a kind of dark, addictive atmosphere with all the limitations of the NES. It also shows how fast the character is moving, despite the large amount of background animation. Even standard levels look more like games from next-generation consoles. Drawing a defeated opponents and firing a little weapon 
reminds Gunstar Heroes. Of course, there are not many Gunstar in the game, but some of the effects are very high.
Play Batman: Return of the Joker online here .
NES has seen a lot of games transferred from slot machines. However, few of them raped iron consoles as Gradius does and Gradius II released only in Japan.
A typical horizontal scroller simultaneously displays a mass of enemies and projectiles launched by them. It is impressive that Konami programmers did this with almost no flickering and no brakes, this was a breakthrough for that time. The graphics are detailed enough to compare this port with the original arcade game. The music, albeit slightly monotonous, is still good enough for a space shooter. All this makes the honor of the game released at the dawn of the NES era. If you are interested in a real joke, then look at the video of the second series, Gradius II .
Watch the video of the game process here .
Play Gradius online here.
Play Gradius 2 online here .
Another fighter from Konami, Contra was transferred to the NES with arcade machines, and became one of the best games in the history of the console.
The gameplay of the game is very vigorous and is rarely overshadowed by brakes, although sometimes you can watch the flickering of sprites. The game is replete with a large number of colorful explosions, and plunges into nostalgia about those action movies with cool muscular macho that they filmed in the 80s.
The direction of movement changes over 8 levels: horizontal scrolling is replaced by vertical and vice versa, and between them the player enters pseudo-3d tunnels, where bullets and grenades are erupted at him by the ninth shaft.
Sound design taxis and bibikat no less than the gameplay. Music ranges from quiet atmospheric tunes to powerful chorals. Huge bosses deserve special praise. Well, and the most important thing is that two players can come to grips with evil at the same time!
Watch the video of the game process here .
Play Contra online here .
(in Russia known as Raf World - approx. lane.)
Sunsoft has repeatedly confirmed in deed that it has the most demanding developers for NES. Journer to Silius has become one of the most advanced releases of its time, thanks to the excellent graphics, sound and game mechanics. The developers obviously took inspiration from the immortal classics, like Megaman (in Russia known as Rockman - approx. Lane) and Contra, but they managed to surpass their predecessors in many articles, and make a very technically advanced game.
Very pleased with the animation character, especially while running and jumping. The impulse method of motion calculation during jumps adds realism and complexity. Bosses in the game of strong growth, colorful and well-detailed. The background animation in the game deserves special praise - it is simply beautiful.
In the scenery we see the gloomy world of the apocalyptic future in the finest colors and details. For example, at the second level, scenes are worked out up to slowly flickering red lights along the walls of underground structures. This is not surprising, because this game was originally created based on the Terminator universe, but in the process of creating the developers were deprived of licensing rights to it.
There are not many games on NES that would impress me with their musical possibilities, but Journey to Silius is one of the rare exceptions. A unique feature of the game is that the DPCM audio channel is used here for an inappropriate purpose: bass samples are sent instead of drums. The drums use a channel with a triangular wave, from which a completely different timbre is obtained.
The sound in the game is not only technically outstanding, here one of the best game soundtracks of its era sounds.
Watch the video gameplay here .
Play Journey to Silius online here .
To be continued…
Start here .
The ending is here .
Metal storm
Year of release: 1991
Technical features:
- Smooth and stylish animation
- Realistic gravity effect
- Multilayer backgrounds
- Lots of parallax scrolling without brakes
What is so special about her?
Before looking at the screenshot, write off the game, try to see it in action. It is in motion that all the graphic merits of this action movie are visible. A single frame of the character does not cause much trepidation, but look how it moves, it's very cool.Irem (the game development team) has ensured that this shooter looks like a prototype of Assault Suit Leynos (aka Target Earth) game for Genesis / Mega Drive) in terms of playability and graphics.
The coolest feature of the game was the ability to change the direction of the force of gravity and walk on the ceiling. A similar technique is found in other games (Megaman, Gunstar Heroes, etc.), but Metal Storm was a pioneer in this regard, besides the effects of gravity in it are more realistic than in any other 8-bit game.
Perhaps this is a minor detail, but drawing the explosions in Metal Storm will compete with many 16-bit counterparts. The background has 2 layers, as well as the foreground. The result is a realistic perspective effect during movement. I would like to remind you that before the SNES era, layered backgrounds were very rare.When there are many objects on the screen at the same time, flickering may occur. However, this rarely happens, and does not slow down the gameplay.
Video gameplay can be seen here .
You can play Metal Storm online here (although the title screen is buggy - press Enter right away) or here (but here it’s better to turn off the sound).
')
Batman: Return of the Joker
Year of release: 1991
Technical features:
- Comes well for a 16-bit game
- Big sprites and bosses
- Excellent work with color
- Fast and smooth animation
What is so special about her?
Looking at this game in action, but not looking at the pixel density, you can decide that you have one of the early games of the Genesis / MegaDrive platform (for which, by the way, there is a ported version).Take a look at the video of the battle with the latest boss . There you can clearly see that Sunsoft developers know a lot about
reminds Gunstar Heroes. Of course, there are not many Gunstar in the game, but some of the effects are very high.Play Batman: Return of the Joker online here .
Gradius & Gradius 2
Years: 1986 and 1988 respectively
Technical features:
- A large number of simultaneously moving enemies and shells on the screen.
- The minimum number of brakes and flicker
- Detailed graphics transferred from the arcade machine.
What is so special about her?
NES has seen a lot of games transferred from slot machines. However, few of them raped iron consoles as Gradius does and Gradius II released only in Japan.A typical horizontal scroller simultaneously displays a mass of enemies and projectiles launched by them. It is impressive that Konami programmers did this with almost no flickering and no brakes, this was a breakthrough for that time. The graphics are detailed enough to compare this port with the original arcade game. The music, albeit slightly monotonous, is still good enough for a space shooter. All this makes the honor of the game released at the dawn of the NES era. If you are interested in a real joke, then look at the video of the second series, Gradius II .
Watch the video of the game process here .
Play Gradius online here.
Play Gradius 2 online here .
Contra
Year of release: 1988
Technical features:
- The minimum number of brakes, despite the severe firefight.
- Many animated explosions.
- Levels made in pseudo-3d with a large number of flying projectiles
- Huge bosses
- In the Japanese version, there was a map of the mission and the interplay between the levels.
What is so special about her?
Another fighter from Konami, Contra was transferred to the NES with arcade machines, and became one of the best games in the history of the console.The gameplay of the game is very vigorous and is rarely overshadowed by brakes, although sometimes you can watch the flickering of sprites. The game is replete with a large number of colorful explosions, and plunges into nostalgia about those action movies with cool muscular macho that they filmed in the 80s.
The direction of movement changes over 8 levels: horizontal scrolling is replaced by vertical and vice versa, and between them the player enters pseudo-3d tunnels, where bullets and grenades are erupted at him by the ninth shaft.
Sound design taxis and bibikat no less than the gameplay. Music ranges from quiet atmospheric tunes to powerful chorals. Huge bosses deserve special praise. Well, and the most important thing is that two players can come to grips with evil at the same time!Watch the video of the game process here .
Play Contra online here .
Journey to Silius
(in Russia known as Raf World - approx. lane.)
Year of release: 1990
Technical features:
- Detailed and smooth character animation
- Fullscreen bosses
- Detailed drawing of backgrounds and environments
- Unique audio technologies along with killer music
What is so special about her?
Sunsoft has repeatedly confirmed in deed that it has the most demanding developers for NES. Journer to Silius has become one of the most advanced releases of its time, thanks to the excellent graphics, sound and game mechanics. The developers obviously took inspiration from the immortal classics, like Megaman (in Russia known as Rockman - approx. Lane) and Contra, but they managed to surpass their predecessors in many articles, and make a very technically advanced game.Very pleased with the animation character, especially while running and jumping. The impulse method of motion calculation during jumps adds realism and complexity. Bosses in the game of strong growth, colorful and well-detailed. The background animation in the game deserves special praise - it is simply beautiful.
In the scenery we see the gloomy world of the apocalyptic future in the finest colors and details. For example, at the second level, scenes are worked out up to slowly flickering red lights along the walls of underground structures. This is not surprising, because this game was originally created based on the Terminator universe, but in the process of creating the developers were deprived of licensing rights to it.There are not many games on NES that would impress me with their musical possibilities, but Journey to Silius is one of the rare exceptions. A unique feature of the game is that the DPCM audio channel is used here for an inappropriate purpose: bass samples are sent instead of drums. The drums use a channel with a triangular wave, from which a completely different timbre is obtained.
The sound in the game is not only technically outstanding, here one of the best game soundtracks of its era sounds.Watch the video gameplay here .
Play Journey to Silius online here .
To be continued…
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/132460/
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