November 14, 2011 at 00:47Games squeezed out of NES maximum (part 2)
- Transfer
Continuation of the review of the most sophisticated and technically advanced games for NES.
Start here .
The ending is here .
Before looking at the screenshot to write off the game, try to see it in action. It is in motion that all the graphic advantages of this action movie are visible. A single frame of the character does not cause much trepidation, but look at how it moves, it is very cool.
Irem (the game’s development team) made this shooter look like a prototype of “Assault Suit Leynos” (aka “Target Earth” game for Genesis / Mega Drive) in terms of playability and graphics.
The coolest feature of the game was the ability to change the direction of gravity and walk on the ceiling. A similar trick is found in other games (Megaman, Gunstar Heroes, etc.), but Metal Storm was a pioneer in this regard, moreover, the effects of gravity in it are more realistic than in any other 8-bit game.
Perhaps this is an insignificant detail, but the rendering of the explosions in Metal Storm will compete with many 16-bit brothers. The background has 2 layers, as well as the foreground. The result is a realistic perspective effect while driving. I would like to recall that before the era of SNES, layered backgrounds were very rare.
When multiple objects are simultaneously on the screen, flickering may occur. However, this rarely happens, and does not slow down the gameplay.
Video gameplay can be seen here .
You can play Metal Storm online here (though the title screen is buggy - press Enter right away) or here (but it's better to turn off the sound here).
Looking at this game in action, but not looking at the pixel density, you can decide that this is one of the early games of the Genesis / MegaDrive platform (for which, by the way, there is a ported version).
Take a look at the video of the battle with the last boss . There you can clearly see that Sunsoft developers know a lot aboutperversions in the efficient use of system resources. They manage to create a peculiar gloomy, addictive atmosphere with all the restrictions of NES. It also shows how fast the character moves, despite the large amount of background animation. Even standard levels look more like games from next-generation consoles. Rendering defeated opponents and firing weapons
reminds Gunstar Heroes. Of course, in the game there are not many bells and whistles peculiar to Gunstar, but some effects are very even on the level.
Play Batman: Return of the Joker online here .
NES has seen in its lifetime many games ported from slot machines. However, few of them raped the iron consoles as Gradius does and Gradius II released only in Japan.
A typical horizontal scroller simultaneously displays a lot of enemies and the shells they launch. It is impressive that Konami programmers did it almost without flicker and brakes, it was a breakthrough for that time. The graphics are detailed enough to compare this port with the original arcade game. The music, albeit slightly monotonous, is still good enough for space shooting. All this honors the game, released at the dawn of the NES era. If you are interested in real shooter frenzy, then look at the video of the second series, Gradius II .
You can watch the gameplay videohere .
Play Gradius online you can here
play Gradius 2 online you can here .
Another action movie from Konami, Contra was transferred to NES from arcade machines, and became one of the best games in the history of the console.
The gameplay is very peppy and extremely rarely overshadowed by the brakes, although sometimes you can observe the flickering of sprites. The game is replete with a large number of colorful explosions, and plunges into nostalgia for those militants with cool muscular machos that were filmed in the 80s.
The direction of movement changes over 8 levels: horizontal scrolling is replaced by vertical and vice versa, and between them the player gets into pseudo-3d tunnels, where bullets and grenades erupt on him with the ninth shaft.
Sound design drives and beeps no less than the gameplay. Music ranges from quiet atmospheric tunes to powerful chorales. Huge bosses deserve special praise. Well, and most importantly, two players can fight the evil at the same time!
Watch the video gameplay here .
You can play Contra online here .
(In Russia, known as Raf World - approx. per.)
Sunsoft has repeatedly confirmed in the case that he has the most dexterous developers for NES. Journer to Silius has become one of the most advanced releases of its time, thanks to its excellent graphics, sound and game mechanics. The developers clearly drew inspiration from immortal classics like Megaman (known in Russia as Rockman - approx. Per.) And Contra, but they managed to surpass their predecessors in many respects and make a very technically advanced game.
The character animation is very pleasing, especially during running and jumping. The pulsed way of calculating movement during jumps adds realism and complexity. Bosses in a game of heroic growth, colorful and well detailed. The background animation in the game deserves special praise - it is just beautiful.
In the scenery, we see the gloomy world of the apocalyptic future in the subtlest colors and details. For example, on the second level, the scenes are worked out up to slowly flickering red lights along the walls of underground structures. This is not surprising, because this game was originally created based on the Terminator universe, but in the process of creation, the developers were deprived of license rights to it.
There are not many games on NES that impress me with their musical capabilities, but Journey to Silius is a rare exception. A unique feature of the game is that the DPCM audio channel is used here for other purposes: instead of drums, bass samples are sent to it. In this case, the percussion instruments use a channel with a triangular wave, hence a completely different timbre is obtained.
The sound in the game is outstanding not only technically, it sounds one of the best gaming soundtracks of its era.
Watch the video gameplay here .
You can play Journey to Silius online here .
To be continued…
Start here .
The ending is here .
Metal storm
Release year: 1991
Technical features:
- Smooth and stylish animation
- Realistic Gravity Effect
- Layered Backgrounds
- Lots of parallax scrolling without brakes
What is so special about it:
Before looking at the screenshot to write off the game, try to see it in action. It is in motion that all the graphic advantages of this action movie are visible. A single frame of the character does not cause much trepidation, but look at how it moves, it is very cool. Irem (the game’s development team) made this shooter look like a prototype of “Assault Suit Leynos” (aka “Target Earth” game for Genesis / Mega Drive) in terms of playability and graphics.
The coolest feature of the game was the ability to change the direction of gravity and walk on the ceiling. A similar trick is found in other games (Megaman, Gunstar Heroes, etc.), but Metal Storm was a pioneer in this regard, moreover, the effects of gravity in it are more realistic than in any other 8-bit game.
Perhaps this is an insignificant detail, but the rendering of the explosions in Metal Storm will compete with many 16-bit brothers. The background has 2 layers, as well as the foreground. The result is a realistic perspective effect while driving. I would like to recall that before the era of SNES, layered backgrounds were very rare. When multiple objects are simultaneously on the screen, flickering may occur. However, this rarely happens, and does not slow down the gameplay.
Video gameplay can be seen here .
You can play Metal Storm online here (though the title screen is buggy - press Enter right away) or here (but it's better to turn off the sound here).
Batman: Return of the Joker
Release year: 1991
Technical features:
- It will completely be a 16-bit game
- Big sprites and bosses
- Great color work
- Fast and smooth animation
What is so special about it:
Looking at this game in action, but not looking at the pixel density, you can decide that this is one of the early games of the Genesis / MegaDrive platform (for which, by the way, there is a ported version). Take a look at the video of the battle with the last boss . There you can clearly see that Sunsoft developers know a lot about
reminds Gunstar Heroes. Of course, in the game there are not many bells and whistles peculiar to Gunstar, but some effects are very even on the level. Play Batman: Return of the Joker online here .
Gradius & Gradius 2
Years of production: 1986 and 1988 respectively
Technical features:
- A large number of simultaneously moving enemies and shells on the screen.
- Minimum number of brakes and flicker
- Detailed graphics transferred from the arcade machine.
What is so special about it:
NES has seen in its lifetime many games ported from slot machines. However, few of them raped the iron consoles as Gradius does and Gradius II released only in Japan. A typical horizontal scroller simultaneously displays a lot of enemies and the shells they launch. It is impressive that Konami programmers did it almost without flicker and brakes, it was a breakthrough for that time. The graphics are detailed enough to compare this port with the original arcade game. The music, albeit slightly monotonous, is still good enough for space shooting. All this honors the game, released at the dawn of the NES era. If you are interested in real shooter frenzy, then look at the video of the second series, Gradius II .
You can watch the gameplay videohere .
Play Gradius online you can here
play Gradius 2 online you can here .
Contra
Release year: 1988
Technical features:
- The minimum number of brakes, despite the harsh skirmish.
- Lots of animated explosions.
- Levels made in pseudo-3d with a lot of flying projectiles
- Huge bosses
- In the Japanese version there was a map of the mission and video inserts between the levels.
What is so special about it:
Another action movie from Konami, Contra was transferred to NES from arcade machines, and became one of the best games in the history of the console. The gameplay is very peppy and extremely rarely overshadowed by the brakes, although sometimes you can observe the flickering of sprites. The game is replete with a large number of colorful explosions, and plunges into nostalgia for those militants with cool muscular machos that were filmed in the 80s.
The direction of movement changes over 8 levels: horizontal scrolling is replaced by vertical and vice versa, and between them the player gets into pseudo-3d tunnels, where bullets and grenades erupt on him with the ninth shaft.
Sound design drives and beeps no less than the gameplay. Music ranges from quiet atmospheric tunes to powerful chorales. Huge bosses deserve special praise. Well, and most importantly, two players can fight the evil at the same time! Watch the video gameplay here .
You can play Contra online here .
Journey to Silius
(In Russia, known as Raf World - approx. per.)
Release Year: 1990
Technical features:
- Detailed and smooth character animation
- Fullscreen Bosses
- Detailed drawing of backgrounds and environments
- Unique audio technology with killer music
What is so special about it:
Sunsoft has repeatedly confirmed in the case that he has the most dexterous developers for NES. Journer to Silius has become one of the most advanced releases of its time, thanks to its excellent graphics, sound and game mechanics. The developers clearly drew inspiration from immortal classics like Megaman (known in Russia as Rockman - approx. Per.) And Contra, but they managed to surpass their predecessors in many respects and make a very technically advanced game. The character animation is very pleasing, especially during running and jumping. The pulsed way of calculating movement during jumps adds realism and complexity. Bosses in a game of heroic growth, colorful and well detailed. The background animation in the game deserves special praise - it is just beautiful.
In the scenery, we see the gloomy world of the apocalyptic future in the subtlest colors and details. For example, on the second level, the scenes are worked out up to slowly flickering red lights along the walls of underground structures. This is not surprising, because this game was originally created based on the Terminator universe, but in the process of creation, the developers were deprived of license rights to it. There are not many games on NES that impress me with their musical capabilities, but Journey to Silius is a rare exception. A unique feature of the game is that the DPCM audio channel is used here for other purposes: instead of drums, bass samples are sent to it. In this case, the percussion instruments use a channel with a triangular wave, hence a completely different timbre is obtained.
The sound in the game is outstanding not only technically, it sounds one of the best gaming soundtracks of its era. Watch the video gameplay here .
You can play Journey to Silius online here .
To be continued…