The 80s is a decade that everyone has a story about. Looking back on the vague memories I have of it, everything seemed so different. If I had any wish in the world I think I would wish to have been born 10 years earlier just so I could experience this marvelous time, but wait, that would put me at 29 years old right now, so scratch that idea. Avid gamers who were teens during this decade will probably remember the fall of the video game market. Of course, this fall didn't last too long, and the market was revived later on. I think we all remember who brought the market back into mainstream, but for all those of you who don't already know the answer, it was Nintendo. This company was previously a trading card company, but since then they've become the most distinguishable name in video games throughout the world. Everyone has to start small, but that wasn't the case with Nintendo when they released the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1984. This console quickly took over the market, but did it really deserve the fame?

Nintendo Entertainment System Non-Technical Features

► It Plays Games! (That's all you really need in a console, right?)

After it's launch, the NES quickly became the common name in video games around households everywhere. The Nintendo really became the face of video games, so much that I can remember back when the word Nintendo took the place of video games in nearly everyone's vocabulary. Looking back, this seemed normal for it's time, but it was extremely common to refer to all gaming consoles as a "Nintendo". This was Nintendo's time to shine, and they stood as the top gaming company from the time they launched until much later after the NES' death.

It's common for controversy to strike up in a conversation about the NES. I've spoken with quite a few hardcore gamers who liked the Sega Master System just as much, if not more than Nintendo's worldwide commodity. Personally I didn't like the Sega Master System, as there were only 2 games that I actually like for the console, and so it should be fairly obvious to determine where my preference lays. In my eyes there was no equal for the NES after it launched, and few consoles afterwards managed to propel into legendary status quite like the Nintendo did. As you may imagine I own every other Nintendo system since the NES (yes, even the virtual boy now), but I probably wouldn't have even gotten into video games if it hadn't been for this console.

If it hadn't been for the Sega Genesis, I believe that the NES would have lasted longer on the market. I seriously disliked the Genesis when I first saw it in action (everyone had a preference for either Nintendo or Sega back then), and so I'd bash the console whenever I got the chance. To be honest here, in my opinion the NES is actually a better console than Sega's 16-bit powerhouse, and I'll probably always think that. It may just be because of the fact that I'm a huge fan of RPGs, while the Saturn has very little to offer in this genre. Surprisingly enough, the NES covers a whole range of genres (except fighting games). This is one of the reasons why the NES was the best console to own during the 80s.

Needless to say, I skipped out on the Atari generation and hit straight for the NES. Of course, I now own a few of the old Atari consoles (ebay is a great tool for finding classic consoles) but even after playing these, nothing from the times even compares to the NES. I feel that the first console that actually had a means to compete with the NES was it's follow up, which has actually far surpassed it in my eyes. The NES and SNES did cause Nintendo to become a little on the cocky side when the Playstation console came around, which has ultimately led to them being unseated from their throne in the video games industry. They went from the top seller, to second place from a first generation console developer later on in the company's life, and so it's an interesting look back to see Nintendo's early days when Miyamoto had far less developing experience, and back when Zelda and Mario were new ideas.

Hardware
The Nintendo's graphics for it's time were very nice. The console doesn't have the power to produce anything fancy, like mode 7 or polygons, but it certainly looks good for a console from it's time. The only thing that slightly turns me off from NES games nowadays are the dull colors. Because the Nintendo has a weak color palette and the games are completely sprite based, things don't always look pretty. The earlier games obviously looked the worst, and sometimes the games are downright ugly. Later in the console's life developers learned how to manipulate the system to support more on screen sprites, and so the games gradually became less and less blocky looking.

The NES console itself looks a bit like a retro space age VCR. The system features a chamber in the front to place the games inside. The system didn't have the typical cartridge slot, but more of a station to place the cartridge inside. After pushing it inside, the directions from this point were to press down on the cartridge until it secured in place. The re-design of the console looked much more like that of the Super NES, which was the follow up to the NES console. I never actually owned this edition of the Nintendo Entertainment System, but if I remember correctly the cartridges were secured in the typical fashion vertically on the cartridge slot located on the top of the console. The old tactic of blowing into the console was a commonplace with the NES, as it definitely wasn't too reliable of a console, so we all had to resort to blowing in it from time to time to get it to work again. The new edition design of the console featured a Super Nintendo-esque controller, which I found to be far more comfortable than the original edition controller.

One interesting fact with this console was the fact that instead of the usual special A/V cables required to hook your console up to a standard television or VCR, the NES skipped the middle man and simply included video and audio outlets. These were awkwardly placed on the side of the console however, and made the console look a little silly with the red and yellow cables hanging out of it. One interesting aspect is the fact that Nintendo has used the same exact RF switch for all of it's home consoles since this first console of theirs. Every console after the Nintendo 64 though requires an extra piece to the RF switch in order for it to properly connect.

The NES controller was one of the first consoles to integrate the directional pad, which Nintendo invented by the by. The Nintendo's controller is nothing special by today's standards, when compared to that of the three current generation consoles, but it was perfectly adequate for the games back then. The control pad is rectangular in shape (my hands still hurt from the hours of the controller's corners sticking into my hands), has two face buttons (no need back then for more than the A and B buttons), has a Start and Select button in the center of the pad, and of course the controller features a directional pad. One of the differences you'll notice between consoles after it, is that this controller has no shoulder buttons. The main problem I had with the NES controller was the directional pad which has permanetly ruined the thumb on my left hand.

One thing I really didn't like about the console was the battery saves the cartridges featured. It got slightly annoying to hold down the reset button as I turned the power off, as most of the games suggested doing because I was just a kid, I didn't know why I was supposed to be doing that. The first game I played that took advantage of this was The Legend of Zelda (which was one of Nintendo's first hits by the way), and I lost quite a few save files to the battery save system. I would have actually preferred most of these games (save Final Fantasy) from using a password system as a more reliable means to save your progress in a game.

Games
I don't care what anyone says, consoles are really all about the games which is what I'm devoting the rest of this review to. Here is my top ten list of NES games.

My Top Ten NES Games:

#10. - Spy Vs. Spy

Spy Vs. Spy is a unique game that is impossible to label with a genre. This game quickly became one of my favorites because of it's two player mode. In Spy Vs. Spy there are two different spies, a white and a black one. The spies are in the same building complex, and both players must work to find the items hidden in dressers, refrigerators, and various other pieces of furniture. The catch is that the two characters work against each other, and can set various traps around the building. Working against the computer or a human player was a very fun experience to say the least, especially when you were allowed to duke it out. This game is still one of my favorites to this day, and it offered up a more complex variety of gameplay back in it's time.

#9. - Elevator Action

I loved Elevator Action so much that I also own the Gameboy edition of the game, and plan on purchasing the GBA version once it reaches stateside. The gameplay for this title revolves around traveling down buildings with doors everywhere, and as you may have guessed it already, elevators. The bottom of the building was your ultimate goal, but along the way you had to gather specific items from behind doors. Though this is game may seem simplistic by today's standards, it's still a lot of fun on my NES and Gameboy. If you run into a newer release for this game than be sure to pick it up, but the NES version offers the best experience.

#8. - Ducktales

It's generally expected that licensed games will suck, especially on the more primitive consoles. The worst kind were always those based on cartoons, but when I was a kid I found Ducktales to be a refreshing difference amongst a sea of crappy licenses. Though I was a big fan of the cartoon, I liked this game because of it's superiority as a platformer title. It had all the makings of a great game, hidden secrets to be unveiled, big scale boss fights, and lots of jumping, and even some pogo stick ability with Scrooge's cane. Despite the game not being very difficult, this is still one of the best cartoon to game license that I have seen in the industry.

#7. - Bubble Bobble

As my favorite arcade game of all time, it's only obvious that the arcade to NES port would make my list of top tens. Bubble Bobble is a one hundred level, bubble blowing, platforming romp. You play as a dinosaur that has the ability to spit bubbles that could be used in two ways; either trapping enemies inside or you could use them to bounce repeatedly on top of them. This game is definitely a classic, and what's funny is the fact that I still break out the NES to this day and give it a play every once in a while, if I have a friend to play co-operatively with that is.

#6. - Crystalis

Crystalis is a game that was developed by SNK. I didn't stumble across this game until after the NES was already released, but it's still one of the best action RPGs that I have ever played. This is your typical overhead view action RPG dungeon slashing game, with a few twists here and there that give it nearly as much classic appeal as the original Legend of Zelda game for this console. I haven't played this game in years, but I can still contest to it's quality. I wonder why I don't play more of SNK's games in modern times, but if they developed a game in this vein than I would definitely be all over it.

#5. - Final Fantasy

This is THE game that hit it big for Squaresoft back in the eighties. It seems that the developer was hitting nothing but strikes until they copied the turn based RPG idea from Enix, who was still enjoying much success over their Dragon Quest line of games (the first Dragon Warrior almost makes this list actually). Final Fantasy was one of the first modernized turn based RPGs, allowing you to carry a party of characters along for the journey, with random battle encounters. This game gave me a lot of headaches, but I still managed to play through the whole thing (but couldn't beat the final boss) when I was a mere child.

#4. - Super Mario Bros. 3

I know a lot of gamers out there are a little disappointed that I placed this game so far down on my list, but that doesn't mean I didn't love it. Super Mario Bros. 3 is the second best platformer game released for the NES (read further down the list to find my favorite) and it brought a lot to the platformer and Mario scene. This is also noted as being one of the most hyped games throughout all of history, with a movie starring Fred Savage made before the game's release to help push along the hype. Super Mario Bros. 3 was the source of a lot of my best memories as a gamer. Don't be the one person in the world who hasn't played this game already.

#3. - Little Ninja Bros.

I believe that this game released in Japan and was named Super Chinese, but I could be wrong. This is a mostly unheard of game, in fact I haven't met a gamer that has even played this game before. This game defies genre limitations, as it's a beat 'em up/RPG hybrid, as strange as that may sound. The game featured a unique random encounter mode, when an encounter breaks out the game breaks into a beat 'em up type battle mode where you and another human player face off against other ninjas. Though few have heard of it (and even fewer have played it) this game is definitely a classic, and is my third favorite NES game of all time.

#2. - Adventure Island II

Most would say that Super Mario Bros. 3 is better than this side scroller, but I could argue the other way. Adventure Island II is the best in the Adventure Island series, with a variety of animals that master higgins can ride, and of course the classic hammer throwing power-up. This game features some extremely varied level types, with some that take advantage of the various dinosaurs you find in the game. This is the best platformer/side scroller in the entire NES' library, and beats every game of the type that Nintendo was capable of given the console. This is yet another game that many people have yet to be experienced, but it should not be missed.

#1. - Legend of Zelda

This was the first game in the Zelda universe, and one of the best for sure. This is my favorite NES game of all time, and it spawned an 8-bit sequel followed by many others on more powerful consoles. Many people hate Zelda II, but I found it to be a very enjoyable game. Thanks to Nintendo's hunger for money, we all have a chance to play this game on the GBA thanks to their Classic NES series releases. This is the definitive RPG adventure title, and is superior to anything else released in the same time frame. This game solidified the NES' supremacy over other consoles at the time, and became one of Nintendo's best selling games for their console.

Final Recommendation
If you don't own an NES, then it's never to late to log onto Ebay and find one, but I recommend not spending over $50 for the console by itself. This console is the reason for Nintendo's success, and the company's business savy shot the console to the top (the 2 packaged games, 2 controllers, and packaged in zapper gun didn't hurt). I recommend this console to everyone, as it has something for every kind of fan.

Recommended: Yes