Welcome to the possible final edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looked at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. Yes, you read that right. This is the final edition of Playing With Power. After 99 articles looking at the good and the bad of the great grey box, it may be time to finally say goodbye. With this being article #100, I figured this would be a perfect place to finish things off. So, how do I finish this article series off? What do I review? I think it’s only fair that the final thing I talk about is the NES itself. A console that for good and bad may be my favorite system of all time.
In 1983, the American video game market was in dire straits as due to poor quality games, and a massive over-saturation of the market. Because of this, home console gaming was considered to be a fad that wasn’t worth touching, as focus on home computers became a bigger deal.
However, in Japan, gaming was doing quite well. And video game company Nintendo had made a strong showing in the market with their console the Family Computer, better known as the Famicom. Nintendo wanted to take their console worldwide. But the console’s release was smack dab in the middle of the crash. In 1985, Nintendo would brave the unfriendly waters and take their console to the states. A move that many felt was a horrible decision.
Nintendo however was smart in how they marketed their console. They renamed it the Nintendo Entertainment System, They would change the console from a top loader to a front loader, which they dubbed the “control deck”. The decisionto make it front loading was to make it look less like a video game console, and instead make it look reminiscent of VCRs which were becoming more and more popular through the mid 80’s. They would also release the console with R.O.B, a toy robot who was your Robotic Operating Buddy. However, R.O.B was only useful for two games, and was quickly discontinued.
On October 18th, 1985, Nintendo rolled out the consoles in the New York area, with a wide release planned for early 1986. It would become a massive success, helping to reinvigorate the dead console market. And a lot of that had to do with Nintendo’s seal of quality, as well as primarily focusing their games on children. Many of the games that were released for the NES have gone on to have long and successful franchises including the likes of Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Castlevania, Mega Man, and more. The console would be active from 1985 to 1994, when Nintendo finally moved on to other projects.
Here is a timeline of everything that had happened within the run of the NES
1985
Memorable moments: The NES is born, NES sees limited releases in New York.
Notable games: Duck Hunt, Excitebike, Gyromite, Kung Fu, Super Mario Bros,
1986
Memorable moments: NES gets released throughout North America and around the world
Notable Games: 1942, Donkey Kong, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Gradius
1987
Memorable Moments: A major year for 3rd party support, several major franchises see their NES debuts.
Notable Games: Castlevania, Double Dribble, Kid Icarus, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mega Man, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!, Rad Racer, Rush’n Attack, Tiger Heli, Wizards and Warriors,
1988
Memorable Moments: Nintendo Power debuts
Notable Games: Bionic Commando, Blades of Steel, Blaster Master, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, Contra, Double Dragon, Jackal, Karnov, Legendary Wings, Metal Gear, Super Mario Bros 2, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link,
1989
Memorable Moments: The Wizard hits theatres, Super Mario Bros Super Show & Captain N hit television, The Power Glove debuts (It’s so bad!), Nintendo releases the Game Boy, Sega challenges with their new 16-bit system
Notable Games: Adventure Island, Captain Skyhawk, Cobra Triangle, DuckTales, Dragon Warrior, Mega Man 2, Ninja Gaiden, Shadowgate, Strider, Tecmo Bowl, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tetris
1990
Memorable Moments: The 1990 Nintendo World Championships
Notable Games: Batman, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Dr. Mario, Dragon Warrior II, Final Fantasy, Little Nemo: The Dream Master, Maniac Mansion, Mega Man 3, Ninja Gaiden II, River City Ransom, StarTropics, Super C, Super Mario Bros 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
1991
Memorable Moments: The Super Nintendo is released and the 16 bit wars truly begin
Notable Games: Battletoads, Bart vs. The Space Mutants, Dragon Warrior III, Kabuki Quantum Fighter, Little Mermaid, NES Open, Ninja Gaiden III, Power Blade, Shatterhand, Tiny Toon Adventures,
1992
Memorable Moments:
Notable Games: Bucky O’Hare, Darkwing Duck, Dragon Warrior IV, Little Samson, M.C. Kids, Mega Man 4, Mega Man 5, Power Blade 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project, Yoshi
1993
Memorable Moments: NES Top Loader is released
Notable Games: Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers 2, Ducktales 2, Fire ‘N Ice, Kirby’s Adventure, Mighty Final Fight, Tetris 2, Yoshi’s Cookie
1994
Memorable Moments: The NES goes into official retirement
Notable Games: Mega Man 6, Startropics II: Zoda’s Revenge, Wario’s Woods
And now for my thoughts on the NES. I’ve been back into playing the console for going on seven years now. And I’ve amassed almost half of the console’s library. And after all this time, it is my preferred console of choice. There are so many games that still hold up, and so many games that I finally had the chance to play the right way. From classics like the Mega Man series and Castlevania, to games like Rollergames and Mendel Palace. Looking through the list of games, as well as doing so many reviews for this site, I’ve really noticed just how many bad or forgettable games were on the console. But there are so many gems, so many classic titles, so many games deserving of love, that the bad games aren’t as big a deal.
the only problem I have with the console is the faulty design. The change to a front loading console was not favorable to the pin connectors inside, and even a clean cart can still need to be fiddled about to get the game to work. Thank goodness for the top loader, though sometimes that can be flippant on if it wants to load a game perfect. Everything else, I still love. I can pop in an NES game of any type and most of them can still be fun to play.
But in the end, at review #100, am I really finishing up Playing With Power? It certainly seems fitting after all this time to finally wrap things up at a perfect number. And for the last few weeks, I really felt like it was time to do so. Even announcing it to many. For a while, Playing With Power was going to die a fitting death at review #100.
But it’s funny how things can change if you give yourself some time to think about everything that can happen, and if you really feel you want to stop something you honestly enjoy.
I finished playing Dragon Warrior II on the NES. A fun RPG, and one I’d recommend easily to anyone who wants to get into old NES JRPG’s. Finishing the game left me wanting to talk about the game with others, and with people who have played the game through as well. In the end, I finally realized that maybe it’s not really time to end Playing With Power. So, I am flip flopping. As of right now, I decree that Playing With Power is staying.
But to ensure that I don’t get to the point where I feel burned out, Playing With Power is going to no longer be weekly. Maybe in the field of one or two a month to ensure better and more in depth reviews, and lots of info to give. There are still far too many games to talk about. And ending now would leave them without a deserving review.And the PWP name will also continue as Koda Kazar of this very site will be adding Nintendo reviews of his own (not of the NES, but current consoles), so PWP will still be around.
After 100 articles and reviews, And a system with 700+ titles, to end now would be silly. So, let’s keep playing, let’s keep loving the classics, and let’s keep making memories. Thank you to everyone who has supported Playing With Power for 100 reviews, and I hope to give 100 more in the future.