NEStalgia is a chronological exploration of EVERY NES game released in North America. Join us and play along on our journey to EVERY Nintendo Entertainment System game.
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The hosts discuss Deja Vu, an NES point-and-click adventure game set in 1941 Chicago, where players unravel a murder mystery as an amnesiac private investigator. They analyze its "MacVenture" style, compare its exploration-focused gameplay to Shadowgate, and share personal experiences with the game's challenging puzzles, humorous fail states, and frustrating softlocks. The episode concludes with a debate on whether Deja Vu belongs on their essential NES games list, acknowledging its influence despite its flaws.
A wall of menus hides an epic saga of warlords, droughts, and desperate rice shortages as you slowly stitch a battered China back together. One season you are recruiting wandering heroes in smoky taverns, the next you are marching armies across the map while praying the harvest does not fail. It feels less like an NES game and more like running a tiny, pixelated kingdom where every decision can doom or redeem your legend. Support NEStalgia directly by becoming a member of our Patreon at https://...
Hosts Mike and Sean dive into The Adventures of Rad Gravity, discussing its unhinged music, disproportionate character design, and ambitious Western development that defied typical NES conventions. They explore its illusion of open-world exploration, diverse planets, and a surprising friendly-fire mechanic, ultimately debating its execution and whether its innovative ideas overcome its janky platforming, frustrating enemy respawns, and repetitive level design.
The Noid, the mascot from Domino's Pizza commercials during the 1980s, is in trouble. There is another Noid named Mr. Green, running through New York City playing practical jokes and causing trouble, but everyone is blaming the Noid for these shenanigans. Now the Noid must clear his name and save the city by catching this impostor. For more episodes like this become a member of our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Nestalgia Members at the $5 and above level get access to our brand new show NES...
The hosts explore the Famicom horror RPG Sweet Home, celebrating its innovative party management, permadeath mechanics, and challenging exploration that made it stand out on the NES. They discuss its direct influence on the Resident Evil series, from shared mansion settings to the iconic door animation. The episode also touches on the game's surprisingly dark plot and why it remains a highly recommended title despite its age.
This episode reviews WWF Wrestlemania Challenge for the NES, highlighting its improvements over its predecessor but also its significant flaws. The hosts discuss the game's unique "yourself" feature, the awkward isometric view, and the missing presentation elements like wrestler entrances. They also delve into the broader philosophy of wrestling game design, the shifting popularity of WWF superstars like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, and the challenges of simulating wrestling's unique appeal within a limited console environment.
An evil leader and his gang of bio-engineered monsters has taken over the land and only one man stands in their way. Only he's not a man, he is a lycanthrope, a person able to transform into a terrible werewolf to let loose his anger. Support NEStalgia directly by becoming a member of our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Nestalgia Members at the $5 and above level get access to our brand new show NEStalgia Bytes. A look at the famicom games you can play without any Japanese knowledge! For More...
This episode delves into the NES game "The Silver Surfer," exploring the character's comic book origins, evolution from Galactus' herald to an independent hero, and cosmic powers. The hosts critically review the game's notorious difficulty, unique shmup mechanics, inconsistent enemy designs, and a surprisingly vague storyline and anti-climactic ending. Despite its flaws, they discuss how a turbo controller can enhance the gameplay experience.
The hosts explore the NES puzzle game Puzznic, covering its block-matching mechanics, level design, and the controversial adult content of its original arcade version. They also discuss the unique Gravnik mode, which utilizes gravity for movement, and debate the necessity of timers versus move limits. The episode concludes with a look at the game's porting history, box art, and final recommendations.
Hosts Mike, Sean, and Joe take a chronological look at "The Punisher" NES game, contrasting its D-pad aiming and strafing mechanics with the expected Zapper support. They discuss the character's dark comic origins, bizarre storylines like Frankencastle, and various film adaptations. The conversation also covers the game's destructible environments, repetitive level design, uninspired boss fights against characters like Kingpin, and a comparison to other Punisher video games, ultimately debating its essential status for NES enthusiasts and Punisher fans alike.
This episode dives into Palamedes, a unique NES puzzle game where players shoot dice to form poker hands against a descending wall. The hosts discuss its gameplay, differentiating it from Tetris, and highlight the game's flaws and strengths, particularly its engaging multiplayer mode which they believe is where the game truly shines. They also explore the game's obscure origins, its sequels and ports, and debate its place on their essential games list, ultimately finding it replayable but not universally appealing.
NEStalgia critiques Muppet Adventure: Chaos at the Carnival, a frustrating NES title plagued by poor design from High Tech Expressions. The hosts discuss the game's uninspired mini-games, confusing controls, and stark visual tone that fails to capture the Muppets' vibrant spirit. Despite a unique final boss encounter, the game is deemed a missed opportunity for the iconic franchise. A post-show segment explores replays of other past NES titles like Pro Wrestling, Trojan, and Breakthrough.
This episode dives into Mega Man 3, exploring its innovative additions such as the slide mechanic and Rush the robot dog, alongside new characters like Proto Man and the Doc Robot stages. The hosts discuss the game's difficulty, weapon system, and controversial design choices like recycled bosses and non-replenishing ammo. They also touch upon the game's development history, fan contributions, and whether it deserves a spot on the Essential Games list, comparing it to its predecessors and future titles.
NEStalgia delves into The Immortal, a unique NES title praised for its advanced isometric graphics and intricate, trap-laden dungeon design. The hosts discuss its "learn by dying" philosophy, two distinct gameplay modes (exploration and 1v1 combat), and the frustration stemming from its obscure puzzles and demanding combat mechanics. A key theme is the game's reliance on its 33-page manual, which reveals solutions to otherwise impenetrable challenges, leading to a debate on whether its innovative design outweighs its intentional difficulty.
Formula One: Born To Win is a career racing game. The player begins with a Mini Cooper and claws up the ranks of the racing circuit starting with the lowest ranked races in the eastern part of the United States. By winning races, the player can upgrade parts on the Mini and have a better shot at more races. Support NEStalgia directly by becoming a member of our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Nestalgia Members at the $5 and above level get access to our brand new show NEStalgia Bytes. A look ...
This episode explores "Conquest of the Crystal Palace," an NES action platformer, delving into its unique gameplay mechanics like the crystal choice system and the summonable dog companion, Zap. The hosts discuss the game's challenging enemy encounters, boss designs, and the charming QNN shop segments. They also highlight the differences between the Japanese and US versions and reflect on the developer Quest's later contributions to strategy games, ultimately recommending it to dedicated fans of the action platformer genre.
NEStalgia explores Arch Rivals, Midway's 2-on-2 arcade basketball game known for its "no rules" approach and fighting mechanics. The hosts discuss its quirky charm, unique gameplay features, and its surprising connection as a prototype for NBA Jam. They also delve into the game's comedic elements, product placement, and compare its overall quality to other NES basketball titles.
This episode explores Dr. Mario, an NES puzzle game that deviates from traditional Mario titles, focusing on its unique falling-block mechanics where players eradicate viruses with color-matching pills. The hosts discuss its development by Nintendo R&D 1, compare it extensively to Tetris, and debate whether its strategic depth and multiplayer mode make it an essential game today. They also touch upon Mario's surprising career shift and the game's subsequent franchise evolution.
Join the hosts as they chronologically review Super Gloveball, a 3D puzzle game designed for the infamous Power Glove. The discussion dissects the glove's innovative but inconsistent motion-tracking technology, its misleading marketing, and the challenges of creating engaging gameplay around a hardware gimmick. Despite some creative level design, the game's severe control issues and the Power Glove's unreliability ultimately led to its commercial failure, prompting a broader conversation on blame and hardware potential.
This episode delves into Big Bird's Hide and Speak, an NES edutainment game designed for preschoolers that notably features digitized speech from Caroll Spinney. The hosts examine its various game modes for character, letter, and word recognition, critically assessing its flawed D-pad control system and slow bird cursor. They debate its actual educational impact, concluding it serves more as a parental distraction than a truly essential learning tool, comparing it to other educational games.
In this episode, the hosts explore Orb-3D, an NES game attempting 3D with "Greenovision glasses" and an unusual magnetic paddle system. Developed by Software Toolworks, known for educational titles, the game presents 30 unique, evolving puzzle stages controlled by guiding a bouncing orb. While praising its clever design and ambition as a "weird experiment," they ultimately find its mechanics confusing and its overall experience more interesting than enjoyable, reflecting on its potential in modern VR or as a cult hit.
This episode reviews the NES game A Nightmare on Elm Street, discussing its unique mechanics like the waking and dream worlds based on the Dream Warriors movie. The hosts analyze the game's development by Rare and LJN, critique its level design and enemy placement, and evaluate its attempt at creating a horror experience. They also explore how the Dream Warrior powers and multiplayer function, ultimately debating whether the game successfully captures the feel of the film franchise.
This episode dives into Mendel Palace, an NES puzzle/action game developed by Game Freak before Pokemon. The hosts discuss its tile-flipping gameplay, unique enemy behaviors across different worlds, and whether it leans more into puzzle or action. They also explore its historical connection to the creation of Pokemon and debate its place on the NES Essential Games List.
The hosts explore the NES puzzle game Loops, comparing its mechanics and visual style to titles like Pipe Dream and Tetris. They discuss the lack of player information, variable difficulty, alternate game modes, and unconventional loop rules. Ultimately, they debate its merits and whether it's an essential NES title.
Join NEStalgia as Mike, Sean, and Joe explore Gremlins 2: The New Batch on the NES. They delve into the game's surprisingly polished isometric platforming and combat as Gizmo, Sunsoft's distinct graphical and musical style, and how the game adapts elements from the chaotic movie. The discussion covers quirky mechanics like the shop economy and item usage, the challenge of top-down platforming, and debates whether playing as Gizmo was the right choice, ultimately landing on varied opinions regarding its essential status.
This episode reviews the NES game Days of Thunder, based on the Tom Cruise NASCAR movie. The hosts discuss the movie's depiction of racing and its connection to Top Gun before diving into the game's unique and sometimes confusing driving mechanics. A major focus is placed on the unusual interactive pit stop sequence, its strategy, and its impact on the gameplay rhythm. The episode concludes with comparisons to other NES racing titles and the final verdict on whether Days of Thunder is an essential game.
The hosts review the NES game Caveman Games, originally subtitled The Ugglympics, a sports minigame collection set in the stone age. They discuss the game's unique concept, humor, and the execution of its various events like Mate Toss, Sabretooth Tiger Race, and Dino Vault. While appreciating the theme and presentation, they offer critiques on the control schemes and overall gameplay experience, ultimately deciding if it belongs on their essential games list.
Mike, Sean, and Joe review Ultimate Basketball for the NES, exploring its gameplay, controls, and presentation. They discuss the strange fictional team names, the challenging computer AI that frequently steals the ball, the unique two-press shooting mechanic, and the interactive dunk cutscenes. Despite some modern touches, the game feels basic, and the hosts debate if it offers enough without real teams or deep mechanics to be considered "ultimate" or essential.
On NEStalgia, Mike, Sean, and Joe dive into the NES game Time Lord, where players travel through history to stop aliens. They discuss the intriguing premise but quickly point out major flaws in the time travel logic, the bizarre choice of historical eras, and the confusing mix of human and alien enemies. Gameplay frustrations include the unintuitive process of finding time orbs and combat issues, compounded by a strict game-wide time limit that restricts exploration and experimentation, leading to a consensus of disappointment.
An evil alien named Hood wants the Thunderbirds to turn over all their vehicles to him within a 60 day time period or Hood will bombard the Earth with meteors. The Thunderbirds figure he needs the 60 days to prepare to come through with his threat so they decide to go looking for places which may contain his energy sources for his power. Support NEStalgia directly by becoming a member of our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Nestalgia Members at the $5 and above level get access to our brand ne...
