Early Famicom (pre-Super Mario Bros.)

[BoneSnapDeez]

You know I have to collect all of these now, right? Thanks, Bone...

I know. When I made this thread I felt as if I was baiting you.

[Tanooki]

Of all those I'd want to argue that Spartan X(Kung Fu) is the only pre-SMB title there I thikn that feels advanced enough compared to the others to feel a bit 'more.' It had 5 stages going for it, it scrolled, had some decent sound effects beyond the bleeps and boops, a solid basic sound scoring to it too, and a discernible goal in kicking Mr X's ass to save your girl. Perhaps Starforce too come to think of it as it's a decently setup vertical space shooter Tecmo did that held up pretty well.

Between my Supervision 115in1 I've had for years now and with a few more that showed up on that Super Games 500in1 I got with the FC Mobile88 a week ago I've got that entire list of titles. I've played them though off and on over the years going back to emulators in the 90s. I could recommend most of them just on some basic level, little of it is really boring or awful to where you would want to just avoid it.

Oh and Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibouken is actually Antarctic Adventure which we did see in the states, just not on the NES is all and it's a decent little Konami game but still feels old as it was a seller on Colecovision.

[Gunstar Green]

Ninja Kun is sort of alright but it's rough and the controls are a little whack. It had plenty of sequels of varying quality but they don't really ever rise above decent.

Jaleco came out with their own console exclusive spin-off of the arcade series called Ninja JaJaMaru Kun that starred Ninja Kun's little brother (though he just looks exactly like Ninja Kun which is alright because it's one of the most adorable 8-bit characters ever). Jaleco pushed this character hard in Japan as their mascot and he was thrown into all sorts of different genres of games.

Their first Ninja JaJaMaru Kun has a very old-school arcade feel to it and the game is sort of a minor classic in Japan. It even saw release in the west on Virtual Console and it was the major inspiration for Robot Ninja Haggleman in the GameCenter CX DS game (known as Retro Game Challenge in the US).

It was a late 1985 title but worth looking at.

[prfsnl_gmr]

You know I have to collect all of these now, right? Thanks, Bone...

I know. When I made this thread I felt as if I was baiting you.

I actually only need about 20 of the games on the list, and with cart-only Famicom prices what they are, that should only set me back about $40.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I've been meaning to get into the Ninja-kun games for some time now, though I'll admit I'm mostly interested in the RPG spin-offs.

[Gunstar Green]

I've been meaning to get into the Ninja-kun games for some time now, though I'll admit I'm mostly interested in the RPG spin-offs.

The Zelda clone on Gameboy is actually fairly decent and it managed to come out in the US as Ninja Taro.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Yes I was thinking specifically of that game, Jajamaru Ninpō Chō, and Jajamaru Gekimaden: Maboroshi no Kinmajō.

Getting back to the topic, I played some Gyromite last night and made it to level ten using an awkward double-controller set-up (no R.O.B.). Oh how I wish this game had standard controls. I'm determined to beat it. (You can continue indefinitely upon Game Over, I just ran out of steam).

[Tanooki]

Everything I could tell from images/video and words is that Ninja Taro is a fantastic game and it's on my short list of things to eventually buy or find locally first out in the local wilds. Have not bumped into yet except one full ebay priced one in rough shape so I left it (and it has been there a good year plus too and remains there to date.)

[BoneSnapDeez]

So, prfsnl_gmr mentioned collecting these. I think grabbing the NES versions of all the ones released in the US would be cool, and Famicom for all the Japanese exclusives (obvi).

But holy hell was I shocked at some of these prices. Donkey Kong is now a $50 game?! Donkey Kong Jr. Math and Stack-Up teeter close to $100 each? Really now? Damn son. In contrast the Japanese exclusive are like $2-$8 a pop.

I better start saving some dough.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Stack-Up teeter close to $100 each? Really now? Damn son.

I was lucky enough to get most of the "pixel label" NES games years ago before the prices took off. I still need Stack Up, though...