The year of its release, Super Mario Bros was only on one console: the NES. When Terraria was released, it was on two different platforms: Windows and the PS3, either of which was in more homes than the NES. And in subsequent years, Terraria was on Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo and Windows, while Super Mario Bros has always only been on Nintendo. So this "achievement" actually only shows that Super Mario Bros was the more popular game when it was relevant.
Shinobi (Arcade) Revenge of Shinobi (SMD) Shinobi III (SMD) Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (SMD)
And fans of those should also check out the following brilliant Shinobi clones:
Shadow Gangs (Switch) Surprise Attack (Switch)
Surprise Attack is actually a 1990 arcade game by Konami that was released yesterday for the Switch! Great game - it's Shinobi in outer space.
It also must be said that Shinobi itself is a clone of Namco's spy action masterpiece Rolling Thunder. That game and its awesome sequel Rolling Thunder 2 are on the Namco Museum collection for Switch, as well as Sly Spy, which is a great clone.
The cool thing about the keyboard is that, in addition to having the word QWERTY, it has UIOP right next to it. So you're getting both QWERTY and UIOP in one portable package.
@PasokonDeacon You're right, most gamers today don't know Hydlide and Adventure because they haven't played them. But the ones who have played them will tell you which one they prefer, and I guarantee you that most people who play Adventure and don't have ADD will tell you they like it, while virtually no one likes Hydlide. And again, you're right: context matters. I beat Adventure, Zelda and Zelda II before I even reached my teenage years, and I suppose we could attribute that to the fact that back then I used to get a new game every month, so I had every reason to stick with a game until I'd beaten it. Nowadays kids watch a video review from the most popular youtubers and either decide not to play the game at all or give up after the first "difficulty". It's pretty obvious that most youtubers review games after playing for only a few minutes. They also copy each other, so the videos are all the same and all full of the same mistakes. For example, there's the myth that Zelda contains lots of stuff in "hidden" rooms, and that it was unreasonable for Miyamoto to expect players to go around bombing every wall and burning every bush in the overworld. Now, people who have actually played Zelda are aware that you don't need to do any of that, because all those items are inessential, and hardly even useful. In fact, the game is not difficult. And no, I didn't have Nintendo Power and none of my friends helped me. It's just not a hard game. The thing is, today kids have the choice bewteen Zelda 1 and Tears of the Kingdom. Of course 99% of them will find any excuse to play the latter. Just like most movie-lovers today would rather watch Interstellar than The Day The Earth Stood Still. Production value matters a lot to the masses. I was six years old when I beat Adventure on the Atari 2600 on all three difficulty levels. It was my favorite game, so I spent a couple of days trying to beat it. It is absolutely ridiculous to say the game is hard. Mind you, you don't need to get the Easter egg in order to beat the game. I'm sure lots of gamers who watched Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One believe Adventure is super hard and that the Easter Egg is a crucial part of the game. But the key here is whether a person has actually played a game for more than two minutes. I think Adventure gets ignored by gamers because a lot of kids and even adults would simply rather play Skyrim than a primitive game from 1980. So they say a lot of inaccurate things about the old game because they haven't given it more than two minutes. "Oh, it's too hard and cryptic." No, little kids beat these games easily back in the early 80s. That's a verifiable fact: just ask people who were born in the late 70s and early 80s.
@KingMike Good point: Dragon Slayer is a perfect example of a precursor to action-RPGs which simply isn't worth playing. So it's like Hydlide. These games were never good. Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu, on the other hand, was a good game and still is. That was a forefather to the genre, but an actually good game. Dragon Buster was Zelda II but in 1984. Of course it was far more primitive, but it was and still is fun. It's a precursor, and like the other precursors, we can't really consider them action-RPGs. But they contains elements of the genre that led to the greatest games. My mention of Mario Bros was to show how an old, primitive game can be enjoyed even when released after a similar but more advanced game (Super Mario Bros), as opposed to Hydlide which was only ridiculed when it came out after Zelda. So the fact that it was made in 1983 only strengthens my point. But the best example is Adventure for the humble Atari 2600. The quality of that game and its 1980 release date makes Hydlide's inferiority unforgivable.
Calling the PS2 the most successful videogame console of all time is like calling the iPhone the most successful videocamera of all time. A huge portion of PS2 buyers purchased it because it was a DVD player, just like a huge portion of iPhone buyers were attracted by its ability to make calls, go on the internet, and play music. The best-selling console of all time is the DS, and by a wide margin.
@PasokonDeacon Hydlide sold pretty well in Japan, and it's for the reason you stated: Japanese players back then were masochistic. But wherever else the game went, it was given the cold shoulder, because it's just no fun. If you ask 100 gamers whether they'd rather play Hylide (1984) or Adventure (1980), I'm pretty sure all 100 would pick the primitive Atari 2600 game. Both games were forefathers of the action-RPG genre, but only one is fun and has stood the test of time.
@KingMike Your reservations make no sense. Nintendo released Super Mario Bros in 1985, and then a year later put out a port of Mario Bros for their home console. Everyone loved it, because it was good. The fact that it was released a full year after its far more advanced, side-scrolling sequel didn't impact people's opinion. A good game is a good game, no matter when it was released. If you play Hylide in the present day and you have fun, then it's a good game. Is that what happens though? I find it hard to believe that anyone actually enjoys Hydlide. I've never heard anyone say they liked it. I play Dragon Buster (1984) nowadays, and I have fun with it. Like Hydlide, Dragon Buster is a forefather of the action-RPG genre, but it's actually a good game in addition to being innovative. I don't understand why some people feel the urge to defend Hydlide when it's utterly atrocious from every standpoint.
Aaaaaaaaactually...... The original Thunder Force was a Bosconian clone with a view from above the spaceship. Lufthoheit is in the style of Thunder Force IV.
@vicviper Splatterhouse is basically just Kung Fu (the 1985 NES launch game): same moves, same level design, same gameplay. Kung Fu is not considered a top 50 NES game, so putting Splatterhouse on a list of the best TG16 games is preposterous. But it's bloody and cool, so I understand why everyone puts it on their list. Gekisha has boring gameplay and even manages to be one of the few TG16 games that sounds bad. But it's funny-looking and edgy, so I understand why people think they like it. I just expected better from whomever wrote this article. Order of the Griffon is the only turn-based RPG on the TG16, and it's a good one, so it's the epitome of an essential game.
This list looks good at first glance but soon reveals itself to be ridiculous: you included bad games like Splatterhouse and Gekigo (which are are often included on such lists because they're "cool") and missed many essential games: Ninja Spirit, Neutopia, Truxton, 1943 Kai, 1941, Outrun (the best pre-Saturn port of that game), Cadash, Order of the Griffon, and Legendary Axe.
The series died with Shining Force III on the Sega Saturn. To anyone who wants to experience the best Tactical RPG series (yes, it's even slightly better than Fire Emblem), I say play the four classic masterpieces:
Shining Force (SMD) Shining Force II (SMD) Shining Force CD (SCD) Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict (SGG) [w/ translation patch]
Shining Force III is also great but is relegated to the Sega Saturn. Shining Soul I and II are pretty good but they're Diablo-likes, so don't expect them to be in any way similar to Shining Force. The rest of the series is mostly rubbish and none of the games are like the classics.
@Rambler Battle Princess Madelyn: Royal Edition is by far the best version of the game, not only because it's more similar to Ghosts n Goblins, but because it does away with the Metroid elements which in this game led to a lot of time-wasting. Royal Edition is arcade fun, on the level of Ghouls n Ghosts on the Mega Drive.
@Rambler I'm glad you mentioned the recent arcade version of Battle Princess Madelyn, as precisely that version is a dead ringer for Ghouls 'n' Ghosts.
I hope a hacker finds a way to dump the ROM for the exclusive Aleste game. Aleste is the best series of vertical shoot-'em-ups. ("Aleste" is a Japanese misspelling of "Arrester".)
Quick answer: no. This console is a dream project by some nostalgic 40-year-olds who reminisce about the Game Boy. But the Switch allows you to play a ton of classic arcade games, so why buy this thing? In fact, the Switch even lets you play the classics on cartridge: Sega Mega Drive Classics, SNK Anniversary Collection and Namco Museum are on cartridge. Maybe other collections were released physically too - I just can't think of any more off the top of my head.
If you guys want proof of the fact that Tommy Tallarico is driven by nostalgia alone, just listen to his interview on the youtube show "The Video Game Years" where he desperately tries to convince people that the ridiculous Intellivision controller was good. It's clearly unusable - no controller since then has been like that. Also, if you just emulate the Intellivision and play its most highly regarded games you'll realize what a load of rubbish it was.
It's sad to see the otherwise perfectly intelligent Tom Tallarico put so much effort into such an idiotic idea. So this is a system that plays classic-style 2D games, so someone tell me why anyone would buy it over a Nintendo Switch which has tons of much better games of that ilk? Price? Well, people who want to play classic 2D games have already bought the NES Classic Mini for half the price of the Amico, and it came with 30 awesome games, not to mention the ability to hack it to add hundreds more.
These guys are also oblivious to the fact that kids nowadays play games in the palm of their hand, whether it be on their phone or tablet. The Intellivision was a terrible console that only twelve people bought because the Atari 2600 had far more great games. The Amico is for those twelve people - who will try but fail to get their kids to play these mobile games on anything other than their mobile.
Comments 34
Re: "We Passed A Somewhat-Obscure Game About A Plumber" - Terraria Overtakes Super Mario Bros.
The year of its release, Super Mario Bros was only on one console: the NES. When Terraria was released, it was on two different platforms: Windows and the PS3, either of which was in more homes than the NES. And in subsequent years, Terraria was on Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo and Windows, while Super Mario Bros has always only been on Nintendo. So this "achievement" actually only shows that Super Mario Bros was the more popular game when it was relevant.
Re: Poll: What's The Best Shinobi Game?
@BionicDodo You mean GBA, not 3DS
Re: Poll: What's The Best Shinobi Game?
The four main early games are all masterpieces:
Shinobi (Arcade)
Revenge of Shinobi (SMD)
Shinobi III (SMD)
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (SMD)
And fans of those should also check out the following brilliant Shinobi clones:
Shadow Gangs (Switch)
Surprise Attack (Switch)
Surprise Attack is actually a 1990 arcade game by Konami that was released yesterday for the Switch! Great game - it's Shinobi in outer space.
It also must be said that Shinobi itself is a clone of Namco's spy action masterpiece Rolling Thunder. That game and its awesome sequel Rolling Thunder 2 are on the Namco Museum collection for Switch, as well as Sly Spy, which is a great clone.
Re: Review: AYANEO Flip KB - A $900 Nintendo DS-Style Handheld With A Full Keyboard
The cool thing about the keyboard is that, in addition to having the word QWERTY, it has UIOP right next to it. So you're getting both QWERTY and UIOP in one portable package.
Re: Poll: What Is Rare's Best Game?
Solar Jetman is a masterpiece, and a unique game on the NES. I didn't know it was by Rare.
Re: PC-88 Action RPG Hydlide Ventures Onto Nintendo Switch On December 21st
@PasokonDeacon
You're right, most gamers today don't know Hydlide and Adventure because they haven't played them. But the ones who have played them will tell you which one they prefer, and I guarantee you that most people who play Adventure and don't have ADD will tell you they like it, while virtually no one likes Hydlide.
And again, you're right: context matters. I beat Adventure, Zelda and Zelda II before I even reached my teenage years, and I suppose we could attribute that to the fact that back then I used to get a new game every month, so I had every reason to stick with a game until I'd beaten it. Nowadays kids watch a video review from the most popular youtubers and either decide not to play the game at all or give up after the first "difficulty".
It's pretty obvious that most youtubers review games after playing for only a few minutes. They also copy each other, so the videos are all the same and all full of the same mistakes. For example, there's the myth that Zelda contains lots of stuff in "hidden" rooms, and that it was unreasonable for Miyamoto to expect players to go around bombing every wall and burning every bush in the overworld. Now, people who have actually played Zelda are aware that you don't need to do any of that, because all those items are inessential, and hardly even useful. In fact, the game is not difficult. And no, I didn't have Nintendo Power and none of my friends helped me. It's just not a hard game. The thing is, today kids have the choice bewteen Zelda 1 and Tears of the Kingdom. Of course 99% of them will find any excuse to play the latter. Just like most movie-lovers today would rather watch Interstellar than The Day The Earth Stood Still. Production value matters a lot to the masses.
I was six years old when I beat Adventure on the Atari 2600 on all three difficulty levels. It was my favorite game, so I spent a couple of days trying to beat it. It is absolutely ridiculous to say the game is hard. Mind you, you don't need to get the Easter egg in order to beat the game. I'm sure lots of gamers who watched Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One believe Adventure is super hard and that the Easter Egg is a crucial part of the game. But the key here is whether a person has actually played a game for more than two minutes.
I think Adventure gets ignored by gamers because a lot of kids and even adults would simply rather play Skyrim than a primitive game from 1980. So they say a lot of inaccurate things about the old game because they haven't given it more than two minutes. "Oh, it's too hard and cryptic." No, little kids beat these games easily back in the early 80s. That's a verifiable fact: just ask people who were born in the late 70s and early 80s.
Re: PC-88 Action RPG Hydlide Ventures Onto Nintendo Switch On December 21st
@KingMike
Good point: Dragon Slayer is a perfect example of a precursor to action-RPGs which simply isn't worth playing. So it's like Hydlide. These games were never good.
Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu, on the other hand, was a good game and still is. That was a forefather to the genre, but an actually good game.
Dragon Buster was Zelda II but in 1984. Of course it was far more primitive, but it was and still is fun. It's a precursor, and like the other precursors, we can't really consider them action-RPGs. But they contains elements of the genre that led to the greatest games.
My mention of Mario Bros was to show how an old, primitive game can be enjoyed even when released after a similar but more advanced game (Super Mario Bros), as opposed to Hydlide which was only ridiculed when it came out after Zelda. So the fact that it was made in 1983 only strengthens my point.
But the best example is Adventure for the humble Atari 2600. The quality of that game and its 1980 release date makes Hydlide's inferiority unforgivable.
Re: The Making Of: PS2, The World's Most Successful Video Game Console
Calling the PS2 the most successful videogame console of all time is like calling the iPhone the most successful videocamera of all time.
A huge portion of PS2 buyers purchased it because it was a DVD player, just like a huge portion of iPhone buyers were attracted by its ability to make calls, go on the internet, and play music.
The best-selling console of all time is the DS, and by a wide margin.
Re: PC-88 Action RPG Hydlide Ventures Onto Nintendo Switch On December 21st
@PasokonDeacon
Hydlide sold pretty well in Japan, and it's for the reason you stated: Japanese players back then were masochistic. But wherever else the game went, it was given the cold shoulder, because it's just no fun.
If you ask 100 gamers whether they'd rather play Hylide (1984) or Adventure (1980), I'm pretty sure all 100 would pick the primitive Atari 2600 game. Both games were forefathers of the action-RPG genre, but only one is fun and has stood the test of time.
Re: PC-88 Action RPG Hydlide Ventures Onto Nintendo Switch On December 21st
@KingMike
Your reservations make no sense. Nintendo released Super Mario Bros in 1985, and then a year later put out a port of Mario Bros for their home console. Everyone loved it, because it was good. The fact that it was released a full year after its far more advanced, side-scrolling sequel didn't impact people's opinion. A good game is a good game, no matter when it was released.
If you play Hylide in the present day and you have fun, then it's a good game. Is that what happens though? I find it hard to believe that anyone actually enjoys Hydlide. I've never heard anyone say they liked it.
I play Dragon Buster (1984) nowadays, and I have fun with it. Like Hydlide, Dragon Buster is a forefather of the action-RPG genre, but it's actually a good game in addition to being innovative.
I don't understand why some people feel the urge to defend Hydlide when it's utterly atrocious from every standpoint.
Re: This Thunder Force-Style Shmup Is Pushing The Genesis / Mega Drive To Its Absolute Limits
Aaaaaaaaactually...... The original Thunder Force was a Bosconian clone with a view from above the spaceship. Lufthoheit is in the style of Thunder Force IV.
Re: A Bunch Of Data East Games Have Vanished From The Switch eShop
Gate of Doom is an awesome Gauntlet-style arcade game.
Re: PC-88 Action RPG Hydlide Ventures Onto Nintendo Switch On December 21st
Hydlide is a pioneer, but it's also one of the worst videogames of all time. I just thought that might be worth pointing out.
Re: Best NES Games Of All Time
@Sketcz
I agree with your great post - TMNT 3 on the NES is actually a bit better than the 16-bit TMNT games. Graphics aren't everything.
Re: Nintendo History Site 'Forest Of Illusion' Announces Its Closure
Did you guys ever talk about this site when it was alive and could have actually benefited from an article about it?
Re: 'A Blast From The Past' Is An Excellent Galaxian Homage, Out Now On Steam
It's a Galaga clone, not a Galaxian clone. Galaxian is the earlier one where you can only have one projectile on screen at a time.
Re: Poll: Do You Use A Flashcart?
Whoever invented flashcarts should be named a saint!
Re: King Of Fighters Is Coming To The Sega Master System
Looks great so far! And it's promising that the best fighting game for an 8-bit home system is Masters Of Combat for the Sega Master System.
Re: Best PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 Games
@vicviper
Splatterhouse is basically just Kung Fu (the 1985 NES launch game): same moves, same level design, same gameplay. Kung Fu is not considered a top 50 NES game, so putting Splatterhouse on a list of the best TG16 games is preposterous. But it's bloody and cool, so I understand why everyone puts it on their list.
Gekisha has boring gameplay and even manages to be one of the few TG16 games that sounds bad. But it's funny-looking and edgy, so I understand why people think they like it. I just expected better from whomever wrote this article.
Order of the Griffon is the only turn-based RPG on the TG16, and it's a good one, so it's the epitome of an essential game.
Re: Square's "Lost" SNES Title 'Treasure Conflix' Gets Translated Into English
Does Treasure Conflix tell the story of the various internal conflicts that led to the demise of the game developer Treasure?
Re: "Sonic Didn't Launch The Genesis, Joe Montana Did"
Besides launching the Sega Genesis, Joe Montana also won several NFL Superbowls without cheating!
Re: Best PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 Games
This list looks good at first glance but soon reveals itself to be ridiculous: you included bad games like Splatterhouse and Gekigo (which are are often included on such lists because they're "cool") and missed many essential games: Ninja Spirit, Neutopia, Truxton, 1943 Kai, 1941, Outrun (the best pre-Saturn port of that game), Cadash, Order of the Griffon, and Legendary Axe.
Re: We're Getting A New Shining Force Game, But Of Course There's A Catch
The series died with Shining Force III on the Sega Saturn. To anyone who wants to experience the best Tactical RPG series (yes, it's even slightly better than Fire Emblem), I say play the four classic masterpieces:
Shining Force (SMD)
Shining Force II (SMD)
Shining Force CD (SCD)
Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict (SGG) [w/ translation patch]
Shining Force III is also great but is relegated to the Sega Saturn. Shining Soul I and II are pretty good but they're Diablo-likes, so don't expect them to be in any way similar to Shining Force. The rest of the series is mostly rubbish and none of the games are like the classics.
Re: Random: What Happens When You Remove Charles Barkley From His Own Video Game?
They should have made up a character that sounds real, such as Wade Hixton. (There's a great boxing game on GBA called Wade Hixton's Counterpunch).
Re: Intellivision's Amico Is Shaping Up To Be The Most 'Nintendo' Non-Nintendo System Ever
Why buy an Intellivision Amico when you can buy a Nintendo Switch? The Switch has all the games that the Amico has, plus Mario, Zelda, etc.
The Amico is the most nonsensical thing I've seen in a while.
Re: Feature: The Haunting History Of Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins Series
@Rambler
Battle Princess Madelyn: Royal Edition is by far the best version of the game, not only because it's more similar to Ghosts n Goblins, but because it does away with the Metroid elements which in this game led to a lot of time-wasting. Royal Edition is arcade fun, on the level of Ghouls n Ghosts on the Mega Drive.
Re: Feature: The Haunting History Of Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins Series
@kingbk
True, and some people say the TG16 version of Ghouls n Ghosts is even better than the Mega Drive version!
Re: Feature: The Haunting History Of Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins Series
@Rambler
I'm glad you mentioned the recent arcade version of Battle Princess Madelyn, as precisely that version is a dead ringer for Ghouls 'n' Ghosts.
Re: Feature: The Haunting History Of Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins Series
These are the only Ghosts ‘n Goblins games:
Ghosts ‘n' Goblins (NES)
Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (SMD)
Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (SNES)
Ultimate Ghosts ‘n' Goblins (PSP)
Cursed Castilla (Switch)
Battle Princess Madelyn: Royal Edition (Switch)
Ghosts ‘n' Goblins Resurrection (Switch)
Just seven games in all. The other games mentioned in this article have completely different gameplay.
Re: Hardware Review: Game Gear Micro - Go Home Sega, You're Drunk
I hope a hacker finds a way to dump the ROM for the exclusive Aleste game. Aleste is the best series of vertical shoot-'em-ups. ("Aleste" is a Japanese misspelling of "Arrester".)
Re: The SNK Neo Geo MVSX Home Arcade Is Packed With 50 Games, Costs 500 Bucks
This will be freakin' awesome if it can be hacked to add Mark of the Wolves, Pulstar, Blazing Star, and Neo Turf Masters, among others.
Re: Hardware Review: Evercade - Can A 100% Physical Media Console Really Work In 2020?
Quick answer: no. This console is a dream project by some nostalgic 40-year-olds who reminisce about the Game Boy. But the Switch allows you to play a ton of classic arcade games, so why buy this thing? In fact, the Switch even lets you play the classics on cartridge: Sega Mega Drive Classics, SNK Anniversary Collection and Namco Museum are on cartridge. Maybe other collections were released physically too - I just can't think of any more off the top of my head.
Re: New Game Footage Suggests The Intellivision Amico Will Struggle To Pull Families Away From Switch
If you guys want proof of the fact that Tommy Tallarico is driven by nostalgia alone, just listen to his interview on the youtube show "The Video Game Years" where he desperately tries to convince people that the ridiculous Intellivision controller was good. It's clearly unusable - no controller since then has been like that. Also, if you just emulate the Intellivision and play its most highly regarded games you'll realize what a load of rubbish it was.
Re: New Game Footage Suggests The Intellivision Amico Will Struggle To Pull Families Away From Switch
It's sad to see the otherwise perfectly intelligent Tom Tallarico put so much effort into such an idiotic idea. So this is a system that plays classic-style 2D games, so someone tell me why anyone would buy it over a Nintendo Switch which has tons of much better games of that ilk? Price? Well, people who want to play classic 2D games have already bought the NES Classic Mini for half the price of the Amico, and it came with 30 awesome games, not to mention the ability to hack it to add hundreds more.
These guys are also oblivious to the fact that kids nowadays play games in the palm of their hand, whether it be on their phone or tablet. The Intellivision was a terrible console that only twelve people bought because the Atari 2600 had far more great games. The Amico is for those twelve people - who will try but fail to get their kids to play these mobile games on anything other than their mobile.