Ahhh yes. Today I will endeavor to take some of you on a trip down memory lane. These days the world is inundated with fancy-schmancy new video games. You can’t walk 10 feet without seeing a sports game with real people’s faces on VERY realistic looking bodies… and the shoot ‘em up games have more special effects than most of the movies did 10 years ago. Nevertheless, after reading this (Because I had to, that’s why) it got me thinking about tetris and a host of other games from the old 8-Bit Nintendo (THE Nintendo) that were great. I mean, really, you could play them for hours — no special effects, no terribly fancy graphics (although they did well with as few colors as they had) just good games all together. Anyway, I hunted some down and took some screen shots — little visual reminders of the games that used to be. Enjoy.
 | Move over Madden 2004 — 10 Yard Fight was one of the first football games and while it leaves quite a bit to be desired in terms of realism, it’s still a fun play. In one player mode you don’t play defense, and the clock runs funny — but I have memories of playing this one “back in the day.” |
| Football is great and all, but video games just wouldn’t be video games without Ice Hockey!? Remember? The fat guys could knock the crap out of the little guys? |  |
 | There have probably been more clones made of Tetris than any other game in the history of mankind. Why? Because it’s so damn simple. I mean, really, I bet the guy who thought of this thought to himself “Duh! I can’t BELIEVE nobody’s thought of this yet!” It was a VERY popular game, even among girls and adults as I recall. Still is popular really, though probably not in this format. |
| Ahh yes, Zelda… one of the games I never beat, despite devoting roughly three full years of my life to the pursuit of it. Addicting, this one was. I also recall this being the first time I was ever caught swearing — I think by a babysitter. Oh well, it had to start sometime. |  |
 | Joust: Simple, yet effective. This was more of an arcade game than a Nintendo game, but the concept is still the same. Knock the rider off of the birds by hitting them from above — make sure to get the eggs or the bird will come back and get a new rider (always seemed to me like the BIRD ought to hatch from the egg instead) — and watch out for the dragon — remember the first time you killed it? |
| I never owned this game, but I do recall thinking it was really neat. I also think that because I never owned it the novelty of being a Paper Boy never really wore off. Did this game get old after a while? |  |
 | Another one I never owned, it must have been popular though, because Mega Man has almost as many sequels as Rocky. I also recall it being a LONG game to finish. Thoughts? |
| Super Dodge Ball (and cousins Super Spike V-Ball and World Cup Soccer) were great because if you worked it just right you could get the ball to glow red and shoot across the screen, placing your opponents in certain peril. If you hit them they’d get a contorted look on their face and fly across the screen. I was pissed when I beat the russians and then had to play THE CLONE TEAM! |  |
 | The first few levels of Bubble Bobble were really kinda boring, but after a dozen or so it began to look like a puzzle game. This was around before the internet made it really easy to get the code to fast-forward to any level. MAN that would’ve been handy. |
Oh my gosh… have you ever played CONTRA? That game was the shit! Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start… that was the code for 30 lives baby! Awww… good times.
Hell yeah! That was great, EVERYONE still knows that code. *sigh*
I have to say, I\’m almost certain it was Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A, Select, Start
There are variations all over the net as to what is \”right\” and what isn\’t, but I do distinctly recall there being a Select in there. I don\’t remember how many times you needed to do B, A though.
Ikari Warriors baby. Ikari Warriors!
Oooh… another good one!
Sadly I cannot participate in this reminiscing as I had a miserable,deprived, Nintendo-free childhood. I did however rock the Atari for a good 3-4 years there!
Ahhhh… Atari! That was a good ol\’ gaming system too, wasn\’t it?
Atari was one of the first gaming units out there…before Nintendo…had some awesome games with graphics even more basic than what you showed for Nintendo…
pac-man is still a classic!
Space Invaders was my personal favorite…we even had a towel…\”Have you saved the universe today\” =)
Actually, you are both right. You can do B-A OR B-A-B-A…..and the select is completely optional….In other words, the select button was ignored in the code (as well as the second B-A)….and just for clarification, there were MANY games that used this code. I like to refer to it as the \”Nintendo Code\”. IF you did it at the first screen of a nintendo game, there is a 50/50 chance it would have an effect on gameplay.
Where\’s the love for Mario? Super Mario Bros 1 and 3 were great games, though I never really got into Super Mario 2. I also was a big fan of Techmo Bowl. There was this play, it was a reverse toss sweep to the right that I could score a touchdown with every time I used that play. And, don\’t forget the GREATEST GAME OF ALL TIME……. DUCK HUNT!! They gave you a funky gun controller. I wonder how many people shot at the dog more than they shot at the ducks! That dog was great. In Atari, my favorites were Pitfall! and the legend, Pong!
That brought back a few memories. I was rarely able to ever beat a game, but when I did, there was much happy dancin\’ to be had. The hardest game I ever owned? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Fastest beating of a game? Kid Icarus - 2 days (I had a lot of time on my hands after graduation).
I need to do another walk down good ol\’ memory lane to pick up some games I missed… any more nominations?
But BUT! Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure was the greatest! (didn’t own it, but it rocked!). Also, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was too easy (with or without codes) and repetitive. The NHL games were fun.
Never could play Nightmare on Elmstreet and get anywhere though. I also loved Final Fantasy (the first one!)…. *sighs* great memories!