The NES Thread

[Gorf]

Loved it so much, bought one for $50 bucks with dozens of games.......just to give it to my niece.....and gladly at that!

[davyk]

That link is really interesting - it seems the original Dropzone on the Atari800 was built to work in PAL - so I guess the PAL NES version would not have been compromised in any way - always thought it ran really smooth. The NES is a 6502 machine too so I guess the port should be pretty close.

I gave my NES to my sister about 10 years ago once I discovered the superb NESTERDC on Dreamcast. I had assumed she had got rid of it but just last week I found out she still has it and had kept the CIB games in pristine condition.....including Dropzone, Boulderdash, SMB3 and Solar Jetman!!!!!

She has been instructed to under no circumstances to give them away or bin them....

[onthinice]

I love the NES, but that's probably because I'm in the U.S. and it really did restart the video game craze.  Until it came along I was playing dated Intellivision or A8 games and drooling over the unobtainable Amiga and STs.  The NES brought awesome looking affordable gaming back.

Actually I started out with an SMS because my friend was selling his.  It was the only thing I'd be able to afford (he let me make payments) so I jumped on it.  The quality was definitely better but the 100s of games for the NES kept me envious.  Finally when I turned 13 I got a part time job and bought my own NES.

My brother and I are collecting all the U.S. NES games.  We're pretty close, there are 800 total and we have about 650, including some of the really rare ones like Cheetahmen 2.  I'll take pics sometime but I know how few NES lovers there are here so I figured there was no hurry :113: Sounds Great!

I'm probably one of the few fans who likes the Nes for the boxed artwork. The games are good and I have fun playing them but the artwork is what amazes me. I also collect them because of the cart designs and colors.

Can't wait to see your pictures!

[Rogue Trooper]

How does Dropzone on the NES compare to the Atari 400/800 original version and the subsequent conversion for "the less capable Commodore 64"?

Source of quote being the programmer of both computer versions, Archer MacLean -
http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/MACLEAN.HTM

In the 'Making Of...' feature in Edge Archer described the Atari hardware as what made Dropzone work, he could'nt have done it without it (refers to the smooth scrolling the Atari allowed for). Archer refered to getting it onto C64 as a 'challenge' due to the C64's 'inferior' hardware.

[Gorf]

The C-64 is not a horrid machine but it's definitely not a A8. The Atari 8bits are superior in just about every
way. Especially when you consider that the A8 chips set is what...3 years older than the C-64? You got to
admit, that's rather lame considering the obsolescence of pretty much any design in the small time allowed
by technological advancement. We are talking months here, even back then.

[DreamcastRIP]

...Especially when you consider that the A8 chips set is what...3 years older than the C-64?

Indeed. A fact so often overlooked by the C64 cheerleaders it seems.

Heck, three years was the same duration time difference between the launches of the ZX Spectrum, Colecovision, Commodore 64, Atari 5200 and Vectrex (all in 1982) relative to the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga (1985)!

[onthinice]

I know this is the Nes thread and I like my A400, but the C64 seemed to have more software support. Has anyone ever compared released titles between the A8 and C64? Like the Nes and Sega Master System. The SMS was great but the Nes just had more games.

[Rogue Trooper]

I know this is the Nes thread and I like my A400, but the C64 seemed to have more software support. Has anyone ever compared released titles between the A8 and C64? Like the Nes and Sega Master System. The SMS was great but the Nes just had more games.

Compared technically or games released?

Things written for the A8 (and it's strengths) such as Elktragilde, Dropzone, Rescue On Fract.etc are way ahead of C64 versions, all turned out a bit of a let down when i picked them up on C64 after being an A8 owner, Bounty Bob strikes back was so similar Zzap 64 used the A8 version for review...but were honest about it.

C64 had by far the bigger software support talking as a UK gamer, it was lack of releases that forced me over to the C64, plus if it's technical comparisons, been few videos on here featuring A8 versions, off top of my head:Feud, Green Beret, Arkanoid etc.

A8 coders seemed 'thin on the ground' and lot planned titles never appeared, no Elite, Last Ninja etc.

Thrust looked worse on A8, as did Starquake, Beach Head 2 lacked the speech, Gauntlet looked 'worse' etc.

I'd love to see a few A8 coders from that era interviewed to find out wether a lot of the poorer looking games turned out way they did.Hardware restraints or titles just being seen as a quick n dirty job.

A8 handled '3D' games better than the C64 as C64 had slower CPU, i saw neat graphical effects like Chimera's colour cyling pause mode in the A8 version which was'nt in the C64 version, Encounter i remember playing a lot faster on A8.

[Rogue Trooper]

Had lost Lynx games, time for some balance, lost Nes game.

Any Captain Blood fans on here? (Had on ST+C64 myself), Nes version was 'planned' to be done once Amiga version was done, developer saying they expected unit sales of the Nes version to be 'in the millions'.

Not sure work even started on it.

[onthinice]

I was thinking games released, RT. Loved the old Accolade and SSI catalogs. Always seemed like C64 had most games followed by Atari computers, then either Apple II or IBM PC jr.

[Rogue Trooper]

The C-64 is not a horrid machine but it's definitely not a A8. The Atari 8bits are superior in just about every
way. Especially when you consider that the A8 chips set is what...3 years older than the C-64? You got to
admit, that's rather lame considering the obsolescence of pretty much any design in the small time allowed
by technological advancement. We are talking months here, even back then.

Archer Maclean (talking to Edge) described the Atari 800 as 'an 8 Bit Amiga (which) very few people exploited, Dropzone did'.

[TrekMD]

Well, time to get this thread back on topic.  Since I recently acquired a NES-101, I figured I'd look at some of the reviews of that particular NES console.  Anyone else here has a NES-101?  Why did you choose to get it over the original NES console?  I personally prefer the idea of having the carts load from the top like all my other consoles.  Sticking a cart into a "bay" with springs is not reliable.  The one disadvantage I see is that it doesn't have A/V outputs like the original NES but I address that with a signal booster.  I also like the compact size of the console and the dogbone controllers.  These dogbone controller are more comfortable than the rectangular ones. 

One thing that gets mentioned on the review, that I was not aware of, the 101 doesn't have the proprietary chip that the original NES has and it can play any game (licensed or unlicensed).  That's cool.  The whole power supply thing is kinda interesting too.

[align=center:2e7r12pv]CLASSIC GAMES REVISITED - Nintendo NES-101 (Top Loader) review[/align:2e7r12pv]

[Alberto 2K]

I only had one of this in my hands one time and was surprised by the small size, compared to the brick the original NES is it's nice.

Never tried it tough.

[TrekMD]

I think the size of it comes as a surprise to people.  I sent mine to have the leather cover done (they needed a model console) and that was the first thing Jerry and Barb commented on!  I think they expected some large box! 

[Rogue Trooper]

Just reading interview with Jonathan Ross, where he starts talking of his love of gaming, he then mentions how he wanted to get a NES, but 'it was really hard to find in the UK for some reason', so when he and his good wife, went shopping down Tottenham Court Road, looking for 1, he ended up buying the Sega Master System instead, along with 4 games, including Shinobi and he fell in love with it.

Remind me again RG just how the NES fared over here?

:-)