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  • BreakThru (NES)

    Posted on by Azrael 1 Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/188910182090/humor-y-videojuegos-breakthru-año-1987



    BreakThru was originally an arcade release by Data East in 1986. I don’t believe the arcade version was ever officially released in the U.S. but the NES conversion came along about a year later. This game fits into the sub-genre of side-scrolling vehicle shooter games. It reminds me a bit of a cross between Silkworm and Jackal.

    Your goal in this game is to recapture a stolen jet fighter. There are five levels to overcome and obstacles include enemy soldiers, other ground vehicles, aircraft, mines, rockets and even falling rocks. Of course your vehicle has its own weapons and also the ability to jump which is useful for overcoming certain obstacles (e.g. rock slides).

    This isn’t the greatest game in the world but it is an okay diversion if you are looking for a new old game to play. In addition to the NES, it was also released for the Commodore 64 at the same time. Less than two years ago it was also re-released as Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Break Thru on the Nintendo Switch. I think this is the arcade version of the game. Other than the Switch release, I don’t believe there have been any other re-releases.

    If you are looking for an original copy, the cartridge is available on eBay for pretty reasonable prices. Otherwise, emulation works well also.


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  • Lethal Weapon (NES)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/188948268405/humor-y-videojuegos-lethal-weapon-año-1992



    Lethal Weapon is a side-scrolling action game released for the Nintendo in 1992 which was a pretty late release for that system. Despite the name, it is really based on the first three Lethal Weapon movies, not just the first one.

    As far as games based on movies go, this one is probably better than most. The graphics and music are excellent. However, it is not without its drawbacks. The biggest drawback is the fact that this game is really, really hard. Expert gamers intent on their next harder challenge may enjoy this one but more casual gamers will just find themselves frustrated.

    Lethal Weapon consists of three levels each of which contains three stages. You use both the main characters from the movie, Murtaugh and Riggs, and swap between them throughout the course of the game. While a character is not being used, he gains back some of his health. The characters have slight differences. Riggs can jump higher, pick up knives and has a special high kick attack. Murtaugh can pick up crates and has a stronger punch. Some other items can be picked up along the way as well, including grenades.

    In addition to the NES version, there were also a number of other versions. The Game Boy version was essentially a port of the NES version but with a slightly cut down number of stages. There was another version of Lethal Weapon developed and released for the Super Nintendo, Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64 and DOS based PCs but this version is substantially different from the one released for the NES and Game Boy.

    Lethal Weapon has not been re-released and probably won’t given that it is a movie license (though I hear another movie is coming). While it is a nice looking and sounding game on the NES, it is hard to recommend because of its difficulty. However, if you are a masochist or a really big fan of Lethal Weapon, it might be worth picking up. Otherwise, give it a try on an emulator and see how you like it.

    Screen shots above are from the NES version of the game.


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  • Castlevania (NES)

    Posted on by Azrael 1 Comment


    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/187983054085


    There can be no doubt that Castlevania was one of the killer apps for the NES. While it is basically just a side-scrolling platform action/adventure game of which there were so very many on 8-bit and 16-bit platforms, it was one of the earlier ones, released in 1987. It invented, enhanced or popularized many of the play mechanics and standards that would be used in such games in the future.

    Castlevania was also a departure from the typical side-scrollers of the time, at least on the NES, in that the theme was horror. Most similar games had a much lighter theme (Super Mario Bros. being the obvious example). In Castlevania, you played the role of Simon Belmont who has journeyed to Castlevania to defeat the vampire Count Dracula. Castlevania consists of 18 levels and your primary weapon is a whip. Like most games of this type, you can pick up various items and other weapons along the way.

    Castlevania actually started life in 1986 as a game for the Family Computer (Famicom) Disk System which never made its way to the U.S. For U.S. release in 1987, it was ported to a standard cartridge but a cartridge release wouldn’t happen in Japan until 1993. Since that time it has been re-released as part of various compilations. In 2002 it was released for Windows as part of Konami Collector’s Series: Castlevania & Contra. In 2004, it made its way to the Game Boy Advance as part of the Classic NES Series. More recently, Castlevania was included as one of the 30 games on the NES Classic Edition released in 2016. It was also included in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection which was released for Konami’s 50th Anniversary.

    Castlevania is definitely a game that any NES or side-scrolling action game fan should play. It isn’t terribly hard to find in original cartridge format but you can also get the NES Classic Edition or pick of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection which is available for Windows via Steam with the added advantage of including other classic Castlevania games. I prefer the original NES version but emulated is okay too. If you enjoy this game you will probably enjoy many of the other games in the series, including Castlevania II (NES), Castlevania III (NES), Super Castlevania IV (SNES) as well as released for the Genesis and DS platforms.


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