Retro Classics

[Fryguy64]

Hello everyone, I am making a contribution to the third party forum!

Being in Europe, we got a lot of edits and omissions from the third party catalogue. America did too, but they were more crummy translations than huge holes in the gaming library.

I have recently been playing through a bunch of third party NES games. The obvious ones really - I mean I've played a handful of the Mega Mans (6 wasn't released here, and I'm not sure about 4 or 5 either), and some others take me screaming back... but I missed a lot of the good ones, and certainly never finished any of them (well... except a marathon 2-player session of Bubble Bobble! Eat that drunk gnome!)

So I want you to think back, to the days when you played "Nintendo" (and also early Game Boy and Super Nintendo, the former I'm especially interested in, as quality third party games seem to be in short supply on the handheld).

I want you to tell me series I really should have played by now!

[8bitretroshit]

I had Megaman 4 and a cousin had 5 so I guess those were released in the EU.

I also had a 372 in 1 game from my neighbors so if you want to order Famicom games/look up roms here are a bunch of third party games I know of:
Route 16: A game of tag I guess... with cars. You must enter buildings of some sort and collect the treasure while avoiding motorcycles who are out to crash into you. The way it zooms out whenever you enter a building is impressive for a NESFamicom game.
Sqoon: Fun side scrolling shooter featuring a fabulous pink submarine. Fun thing is that you can rescue people trapped in underwater buildings by bombing them. Doing so will make them drift around until you rescue them or a shark gobbles them up.
Battle City: You're a tank and must blow up other tanks before they blow up your emblem or something. Getting powerups may upgrade your tank. Features level editor, wooh.
Challenger: You're a cowboy and you're out to get your girl back from some strange figure. First stage side-view on the train, second stage top-view in the desert, whole game bloody hard. But since I'm gay for simple (visually) nes games, this is one of my favorites.

There's more, maybe I'll add those later

[Wildcat]

Hm, a thread that calls to me. ^_^ Nintendo-only, I presume? I'll pull some from my memory that I really would like to play again.

Power Blade (NES) - Awesome game starring an Arnold look-a-like with boomerangs. It's similar to Mega Man, but it's got its own unique feel. One I REALLY want to pop up on the VC (Taito released it).

Tiger Heli (NES) - One of my favorite shooters of all time. It's been so long since I've played it, but I recall really enjoying myself. Again, I hope it pops up on the VC.

I'll add more later.

[Fryguy64]

Not at all. Sega, TurboGrafX... they're all welcome here, as I expand my horizons!

[Wildcat]

Alright, good to know. Will keep that in mind for next time.

[Nester the Lark]

Let's see, classic third party series'...

Let's start with the NES.

You've already been playing Mega Man, so good start.

I think you're familiar with the three NES Castlevanias, but those shouldn't be left out.

Contra and Super C are definite plays, but you can skip Contra Force (it wasn't even really a Contra game).

Double Dragon 1 & 2 are good beat-em-ups. Only check out the third one if you like really hard games.

And while we're talking about beat-em-ups, Battletoads and Battletoads & Double Dragon are must-plays. (Stick with BT&DD if you don't like all the "driving" levels in the original.)

Teenage Mutant Hero Ninja Turtles II and III were a lot of fun back then, but might be a bit repetitive now.

The original Ninja Gaiden trilogy is great for challenging action-platforming.

Check out Gradius and Life Force if you're into shmups.

For pointing and clicking, try Shadowgate and Deja Vu. Some people don't seem to like The Uninvited as much. Perhaps you could lump Maniac Mansion into this group, as well.

For a more Zelda-style adventure game, I recommend Crystalis.

Really, Capcom made a lot of surprisingly satisfying platform games back then. Little Nemo: The Dream Master is excellent.

I'll second Wildcat's Power Blade recommendation. There was also a sequel, but I don't think it's considered as good.

And since we're getting into the obscure, I seem to recall Metal Storm being a pretty fun and clever platform shooter.

Shall I go on? Nah, I've rambled enough (and come dangerously close to making a list). I'll work on some good GB recommendations for next time.

[wanderingshadow]

River City Ransom was a great game for the NES. It has a wide array of weapons and one of the first co-op modes I can remember.

Street Fighter II is also a must. The game is classic.

The Sonic games are pretty fun. I'd recommend by Sonic Mega Collection rather than tracking down each individual game or just download them on the Virtual Console.

I haven't played them much, but I hear that Ninja Gaiden is a pretty big deal as well. I should track those down myself.

[Fryguy64]

Ah yes! I have been trying to fight my way through Contra and Gradius! Good choices Shame they're so damn hard. I think Konami might have been a little bit crazy back in them days. I have read up about Contra Force, so don't worry - I may well skip that one. Is Operation C on Game Boy worth looking at?

Some great suggestions

[Nester the Lark]

From what I've heard, Operation C is worthwhile. Probably the best of the handheld Contras (altho Contra 4 has yet to be released). Check out a playthru of the first level here.

As for other early Game Boy games, a lot of them were throwaways. They were mainly just watered down versions of the popular console games, but some were pretty good.

Check out Mega Man 1 - 5. The earlier ones are like remixes of the console games (ie, the first is mix of Mega Man 1 & 2), but Mega Man V was completely original and is still a fan favorite (and it's Super Game Boy enhanced!).

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge is, as far as I've heard, the only decent Castlvania game for the original GB.

The Final Fantasy Legend trilogy is fine, if not a bit old fashioned. Final Fantasy Adventure is also pretty good. I think some people even prefer it over the GBA remake Sword of Mana. But again, a little archaic by todays standards.

Nemesis and Gradius: The Interstellar Assault are pretty decent handheld versions of the series.

The original GB Battletoads is supposed to be really good and is actually an original game, not to be confused with Battletoads in Ragnarok's World which is a port of the NES game.

You might want to check out Gargoyle's Quest for a good action-adventure game. It had two sequels: Gargoyle's Quest II on the NES, and Demon's Crest on the SNES, also worth looking into.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan was pretty fun, but it was short and easy, even for it's time.

I'll come up with some SNES recommendations next time.

[Wildcat]

Game Boy is tricky. I haven't played too many third party titles. *shrugs*

More NES games!
Bionic Commando (Capcom) - Awesomely good platformer/action game where you swing around with a bionic arm instead of jumping. Also available on Capcom Classics Mini Mix for the GBA (but I do not know if it came out there).
Seconding Little Nemo (Capcom), but I haven't gotten too far. Still a unique take for its take on the standard platformer.
Ducktales (Capcom) - Easy yet fun platformer with cool music.
Blaster Master (Sunsoft) - A very interesting action game with two gameplay methods - an outside side scroller and an isometric section when you enter caves. Fun game, if not a little tough.
All three Castlevanias are worth looking into, as well as the latter two TMNT games Nester mentioned (recommended for two player!).

More to come!

[Nester the Lark]

All right, early SNES games. We can stick with the standards...

Super Castlevania IV is an excellent CV game. You can also check out Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts for more challenging platform action.

Contra III: The Alien Wars is the best run-and-gun on the system.

Final Fantasy II/IV is definitely an early highlight.

Gradius III and U.N. Squadron are the best of the early shmups.

The SNES version of SimCity is a classic in its own right.

ActRaiser is a good action/simulation hybrid.

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is a good action-adventure game. If you like it, then you might also want to check out the Pocky & Rocky series.

Street Fighter II, of course, is a classic, but you might be better off with the Super edition.

I'll also throw in Magic Sword, which is a fun action game from Capcom.

And speaking of action, how could I not mention Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time?

[Fryguy64]

So many games from my past! ;D

U.N. Squadron was the second game I ever played on "Super Nintendo", after Super Mario World. I love that game, especially the music. And the Street Fighters and "Super Probotector" were early highlights.

And Super Castlevania IV and Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts have been sat on my VC, not getting nearly enough love.

[f0x]

Hmm, let's see. Mostly I only play 1st and 2nd party games, but for the retro systems I also played a bunch of good other games.

NES:

- Solomon's Key. I really loved this game cuz it's so freaking hard.
- Rygar. Very epic. And I still haven't defeated the endboss. >_>
- Megaman series, as mentioned before.

SNES:

- Lufia, (Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinisters for America and Japan).
- Illusion of Time, (Illusion of Gaia for America and Japan).
- Terranigma.
- Secret of Mana.

Lol, all RPG's.

[Wildcat]

Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana are my two top SNES games. When I get around to it, I'll play the rest of the pile I have sitting at home. XD

[8bitretroshit]

I just remembered another one: Twinbee: Rainbow Bells Adventure, a fun platformer instead of the vertical shooters Twinbee is known for. I like how you can eternally boost upwards, eventually flying in all the way in space. Kinda hoping this comes to the VC at some point.

Other than that I second TMNT:Turtles in Time.
Also Ducktales for NES is awesome and it's sequel Ducktales 2 has even more secrets (a secret in a secret room in a secret room!)