In 1989, at a time when the NES was increasing even more in popularity, Sega, who already had some popularity in the United States with the 8-Bit Master System, and Arcade games such as Altered Beast and After Burner II, released a video game console that was meant to take on Nintendo's NES, the Genesis, which became one of the greatest 16-Bit consoles of all time.
At the time of it's release, Sega's main success was in the arcades, and overseas in the UK, where the Master System was extremely popular. On October 29, 1988, Sega release the MegaDrive in Japan. About a year later, on August 14, 1989, Sega release the Genesis in the United States. Sega pushed the Genesis on American consumers with the classic "Genesis does what Nintendon't" commercials. Those who paid the money for the system got the system, controllers, hookups, and the arcade port of Altered Beast. Many of the games released at launch were arcade ports and sports games. These include: Strider, Pat Riley Basketball, James "Buster" Douglas K.O. Boxing, and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. The graphics of the system made people question why they were still playing on the old 8-Bit NES. Some kept their Nintendo's, and some took the leap into the 16-Bit era. Early in the Genesis' lifetime, Sega released a peripheral for the system called the Sega Power Base Converter. This peripheral slid into the cartridge port of the system an allowed the user to insert Sega Master System games into the converter, giving it backwards compatibility with practically all Master System games, and game Cards.
As the years went on, the Genesis saw some fierce competition coming from Nintendo, with their Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and NEC's TurboGrafx-16. Sega held on, however, and gained even greater popularity with the release of the game Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic was, as most today know, a blue, bad ass, in-your-face hedgehog, and was much more fierce when compared to Nintendo's little Italian plumber, Mario. Also, Sega was able to beat out Nintendo with one fighting game, Mortal Kombat. While the Genesis version of the game didn't look as good or sound as good as the SNES version, the Genesis version had full blood, and no censored fatalities.
As the Genesis passed into the 32-Bit era, Sega tried to keep up with the graphics of the more advanced systems. They began to push the games to their graphical limits, and even released a couple of add-ons to make the system more powerful. The first of the two was the Sega Mega CD, released in Japan in 1991, and released in the United States in 1992 as the Sega CD. As the name states, this add-on was a disc drive that attached to either the bottom of the model 1 Genesis or on the side of the model 2. The add-on also enabled the Genesis to play audio CDs. Most of the games on the Sega CD were crappy FMV (full motion video) games. Some of the better ones, however, were Sonic CD, Snatcher, The Terminator, and Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat on the Sega CD featured the same Genesis graphics, but arcade sounds, speech, and music. Later on, in 1994, Sega released the Sega 32X, which was inserted into the cartridge port of the Genesis, could play all of the regular 16-Bit games, and also had its own line of 32-Bit games such as Mortal Kombat II, Knuckle's Chaotix, Star Wars Arcade, Doom, and Virtua Fighter. These add-ons are infamous for their low amounts of killer titles, and extremely high prices at launch.
In closing, Sega made their greatest benchmark on the video game industry with the Genesis, and many gamers of today swear by the old Blast Processor. This system gets a 8/10.
On August 13, 1991, 4 years before the discontinuation of the NES, Nintendo released the new 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System, in North America. The system was already widely available in Japan under the name Super Famicom, when it was released there on November 21, 1990. This system promised to further Nintendo's domination and popularity in the video game market.
Because the system came after the NES, it was launched with the sequel to Super Mario Bros. 3. Of course, that game was Super Mario World. The game itself practically sold the system. The SNES also offered continuations of NES favorites such as The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, Double Dragon, Battletoads, etc. Also, some sets of the SNES came packaged with Super Mario All-Stars, which was a compilation cartridge that had the NES games Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Lost Levels in better 16-bit graphics and sound.
The console itself is pretty plain-jane. It was very boxy, with a standard Power, and Reset button. The console does, however, have an eject lever on it allowing the player to simply press down on the lever to pop the cartridge out of the console, as it is a top loading system. That is good because the games get firmly seated onto the pins and would just about always boot right up. On the front of the console, there are the standard 2 controller ports. The bottom has an expansion port on it, but was very rarely used, and the back, of course, has the AC, RF, and AV ports.
The controllers, are a huge step op from the NES controllers. They have rounded sides, a d-pad, 4 face buttons, and 2 shoulder buttons. The shoulder buttons were a new thing back then, but are now a standard on video game controllers. The 4 face buttons were arranged in a fashion like this:
X
Y A
B
The controllers are very comfortable, and very responsive. The buttons are arrange perfectly for games like Mortal Kombat.
In 1994, Nintendo release a new SNES game that kicked the Super Nintendo's popularity into overdrive. That game was Donkey Kong Country. This game had some of the greatest graphics and gameplay of any SNES game. The game sold more consoles and millions of cartridges. In the last 45 days of 1994, the game sold 6.1 million copies, making it the fastest selling video game to date. There were even 2,500 competition cartridges released. The game was followed up with Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble.
As with the NES, in October 1997, Nintendo released the SNES 2, a smaller and lighter version of the SNES, with Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island packed in with the system for only $100. The things removed were the expansion port, RF port, and eject button. The power and reset buttons were confined to the left side of the system. Finally, on November 27, 1997, the last first-party SNES game, Kirby's Dreamland 3 was released and the SNES was discontinued in 1999.
Games from the SNES library continue to live on through different systems. Many of the games, such as Super Mario World, and Donkey Kong Country, were ported to the Game Boy Advance, and many of the Super Nintendo's games are available for download on the Wii's Virtual Console. The SNES also has a huge emulation scene, as virtually every game is available for download to be used on an emulator.
As you have seen, this console was a favorite of 1990s era gamers, and was the first game console that i ever played. I can remember the countless hours that I spent playing Super Mario World, Super Mario All-Stars, and Donkey Kong Country. Many gamers probably have those fond memories, too. Well, again, this one deserves a 10/10.
In the early to mid-1980's, the North American video game market began to severely decline. Too many companies tried to make a quick buck with their own video game systems, like the Fairchild Channel F, and the Bally Astrocade. Also, the software companies began to just put out basically shit to keep up, for example, Atari's E. T. The Extra Terrestrial. After this, the market plummeted sharply and completely crashed in 1983. The North American video game market would not recover from this crash for 2 years.
Then, in 1985, a small, unknown Japanese company called Nintendo, decided to bring their Family Computer (also called the Famicom for short), video game system to our shores. The system was re-branded and re-tooled as the Nintendo Entertainment System. Because the original run of the system came with the R. O. B. (Robotic Operating Buddy), the system was seen as, not just another video game system, but a robot gaming system, as the robot was used to play games with you. Also, the system was also a video shooting gallery, as 2 of the set variations came with the game Duck Hunt. The graphics and sound of the system were unparalleled for the time, and the games on the Atari systems gave way to games that could actually be completed, such as the Super Mario series, Mega Man, and Contra, just to name a few. Because of these things, the system was an instant success, and the North American video game market was going strong once more.
This system was also the first to have different sets of systems with different included accessories. The ones made were the Deluxe Set, Action Set, Challenge Set, Control Deck, Sports Set, and Power Set, and finally, the Control Deck, with the NES 2.
Here are the different sets, by year of release
NES Set Variations
Deluxe Set-1985-System, hookups, 2 controllers, R. O. B., Zapper, Duck Hunt, Gyromite
Control Deck-1985-System, hookups, 2 controllers, Super Mario Bros.
Basic Set-1987-System, hookups, 2 controllers, The Official Nintendo Player's Guide (does not include game pak.)
Action Set-1988-System, hookups, 2 controllers, Zapper, Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt
Power Set-1988-System, hookups, 2 controllers, Zapper, Power Pad, Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet
Sports Set-1990-System, hookups, NES Satellite, 4 controllers, Super Spike V' Ball/Nintendo World Cup
Challenge Set-1990-System, hookups, 2 controllers, Super Mario Bros. 3
Control Deck-1993-NES 2 System, hookups, 2 "Dogbone" controllers. (does not come with game pak).
As the years went on, the NES began to be rivaled by newer, more powerful systems, such as the Sega Genesis in 1989. Still, the system continued to thrive, all the way into the 16-bit wars. The final set was the control deck, consisting of the top loader, and 2 dogbone controllers, and the final game, Wario's Woods, was released in 1994, and was the only NES game to have an ESRB rating.
After all was said and done, the Nintendo Entertainment System sold close to 62 million units, with the best selling games being Super Mario Bros. (40 million units sold), and SMB3 (18 million units sold). For many gamers in the 1980s, this was their first and possibly their favorite system of all time. Although I did not grow up in the 1980s, I own an NES, and would not give it up for the world. This one also gets a 10/10.
Ahh, what can be said about the original Game Boy, that hasn't been said a million times before? This one handheld, released in 1989, completely revolutionized the handheld video game market. Before the Game Boy was released, there were literally hundreds of different kinds of handhelds, but they were the cheap, lcd screened systems that you would find in small discount stores.
At first glance, the Game Boy does not seem like much, but when you pop in that Game Pak and boot on the system, you know that it is more than you expected. The Game Boy is vastly more powerful than lcd handhelds, and will probably last longer (which is true, seeing as how there are some from '89 that are still working flawlessly). The system is instantly easy to use for any gamer who grew up playing the NES, as the controls are exactly the same as those on the NES controllers. Another thing, the system has a screen, but is green for some reason. This was also the first handheld that was able to link up to multiple Game Boys to play multiplayer games.
Nintendo made the perfect choice to secure the rights to Tetris as the system's pack in game. This meant that anyone that bought a Game Boy had a game that they could play right away. Tetris was obviously not the only game on the system, as Nintendo made sure that all of the NES favorites were available to be in your pocket (game such as Super Mario,
Donkey Kong, Metroid, Tetris, Mega Man, TMNT, and newcomers such as Kirby).
As you can see, this is only a brief overview/review of the game boy. It may seem very old and very outdated by today's standards, but will always live on in the hearts of classic gamers as one of their favorite systems of all time. This one gets a perfect 10/10
Well, any classic Nintendo NES fan will know that, like other consoles, the NES has its own number of sports games, such as Slalom, and 10 - Yard Fight by Nintendo. There are even games from third parties such as Tecmo's Tecmo Bowl and Super Bowl. One in particular, Ice Hockey, is the one that I will be reviewing here. Starting off, you will notice the cartridge and box art are different than most Nintendo sports titles. Most come in the black boxes that we've all seen at one time or another. Strangely, Ice Hockey comes in a bright blue box with a picture of some random ice hockey player. This is the only Nintendo sports title that hasn't had the cartoony style characters on the box and cart.
Now, as you first boot up the game, you are treated to some quite cheerful music and some small hockey players on the screen. Like most NES games, Ice Hockey has the option of either 1 or 2 players. As you press start on the controller, you get a screen of several options. On this screen, you get to choose your team (USA, Canada, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, and Poland), your opponent's team, the speed of the game, and the length of the game, ranging from 7, 10, and 15 minutes. The last thing that you will set up before the game begins, is the setup of your team. You choose which type of players will be on your team. Once all of the options are selected, the match can begin.
As the game begins, you will start out at center ice to battle for the puck. The gameplay mostly relies on being able to pass the puck, shoot, and how you selected your team. From the get-go, none of the teams have a statistical advantage over the others. Before the game, each team has five players (a stocky player, 2 average players, and a skinny player). The stocky players are the best at shooting and bowling over other players (which is pretty entertaining), the average players are average all around, and finally, the skinny ones are the fastest but tend to be the ones that get bowled over the most often. Also, each team has a goaltender as well. The controller only controls the player that is selected, but it will also control the goaltender no matter which one is selected. Fights can also ensue, and will continue until the ref stops it and sends the starter to the penalty box. Goals can be kind of hard to achieve at times, but when you do score one, it is damn satisfying! One other thing to note is that, when the game is paused, the pause sound is the same pause sound from Super Mario Bros.!
As you can see, this is one of the greatest sports titles to be released on the NES, and is personally one of my favorite nes games of all time. I'll give this game a 9/10
Now this is a review on Mortal Kombat that this guy, Sizzler07 on youtube did. This has got to be the worst video game review of a video game that ive ever seen! I dont even think that he has even played the game before he turned the camera on himself! He says that the game shouldnt have ever been ported from the arcade. He also has done a Contra review that was even removed because he bashed the game so heavily that people were creating so many video responses and flaming his review. The MK review pissed me off so badly, and it may even piss off some of the most hardcore MK fans. Anyway, just watch it.
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/km57jhEStKY&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/km57jhEStKY&rel=0</a>]]>
This game will just about get a horrible review anywhere you go. The controls are crappy in the rally races, and even worse when you get to the side-by-side races! In the rally races, the controls are pretty straightforward (A - Accel. B - Special Weapon; Left/Right - Steering; Up - Nitro). When you get to the side-by-side races, the controller is just too damn hard to use. I swear that the people that made the game (Acclaim), must have thought that they needed to use every damn button on the controller, with the exception of the start and select buttons. You have to use the B button for Gas, and the A button for the Transmission Shifting. At the same time that you are accelerating and shifting, you have to simultaneously press left and right on the d-pad to get the damn monster truck moving!
Also, between side-by-side races (which consist of Mud Race, Pull-Off, Car Crunch, and 1 drag race in the last race of the game), you have to use the money that you start with and the money that you earn from winning other races and rallies to buy parts for your truck.
And one of the worst things is what happens with the CPU opponent. When you start the game, you play as the driver of Bigfoot up against a green truck called the Growler. Both the P1 and CPU start with 5000 dollars. If at any point the Growler runs out of money and then crashes in a rally, the game ends for that truck. But, they will automatically put in a new truck that is yellow, called the Charger.
The shit of that is the fact that they give the truck 5 grand, AND doesnt have to buy any new parts for the other races. Now i got the game, simply cuz im a Monster Truck fan, but i CANNOT play this game for more than 5 minutes before i get pissed off and have to turn it off!
I have to say that this game has got to be one of the worst games in the NES library. I cannot find even one redeeming quality about it.
I was just playing Super Mario Bros. on my NES about id say about 15-20 minutes ago, and something truly screwed up happened. Now just about everyone on this site knows of the classic 99 lives, turtle shell hopping trick, in world 3-1. Well i was playing and pulled off the trick about, id say, at least 15 times until the time ran out. Then i came back and did it for another 10 times, then just finished off the level. I started up level 3-2, didnt get too far, and then fell off of a platform and died. Then somehow, i got a fucking GAME OVER! Now how in the world did i get a game over?!?!?!? I had to have had at least 60 or 70 lives left! Is there something wrong with the trick or did something just fuck up? Has anyone else ever experienced this?
Now i realize that there are probably hundreds of thousands of gamers my age in high school, but I think that i am a big exception to all of em. Now most of my friends that are my age are the guys that have the PS3, 360 or Wii, especially my best friend, who has a Wii and 360. i am not like any of them. Most of my friends think that i am strange because the most current console that i have is an old xbox. But i actually dont care for most of the next-gen games. In my room, i have the old games. Even my xbox collection has 4 of the games that have 20 or more old skool games. The systems i prefer to play are the Atari 2600, NES, SNES, and Genesis. I mean, i grew up playing the 16-bit games. I grew up playing the SNES and Genesis. I grew up with games like Super Mario World, Super Star Wars, Super Mario All-Stars, and DKC. And strangely, as i got older, i was introduced to 8-bit systems. I first played the NES when i was 8 years old, and back during the winter, my dad gave me his 2600 stuff that he had at the time. It has then since grown by about 20 or 30 games since then. And also, 1 year ago, i bought my own NES. Now my NES and 2600 collections combined have over 100 games.
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