Another week, another release of glorious retro video gaming. This week actually looks to be a strong week, as the two releases are actually pretty solid. You've got Blaster Master for the NES, which is an old-school favorite for many a gamer, and the Genesis version of Earthworm Jim 2, which was, at the time, an amusing and enjoyable action/platformer. Have they held up enough to be worth purchasing? Let's take a look!
Despite skyrocketing retro game prices the NES remains a deep trove of excellent games that, if you can avoid eBay sellers, are really quite affordable for new collectors.
I remember one of the levels in Retro City Rampage was paying homage to those seaweed segments. Not quite as hard but man did it bring back bad memories of my many deaths on that level. Never did beat that game without the Game Genie. Same with Battletoads. lol
The top-down view theme music was stuck in my head all day as a kid.
I'm not sure if I ever completed a no-damage seaweed run.
Double Dragon 2 is one of the best!! Several good games on this list! Shadowgate, P.O.W., and Klax. That is actually a super fun puzzle game! TMNT, I think every time after the seaweed, I only had like 1 Turtle left. lol
Shadowgate was how I got so familiar with Nintendo's helpline lol. But man did I love that game.
And wow I forgot all about P.O.W. until you mentioned it. Man being a kid with a NES really was the good ol days.
Best birthday ever: 15 and I got a Super Nintendo with Super Mario World, Pilot Wings and Street Fighter. (Spoiled rotten) And I saw Basic Instinct at the theater!
Yes, it is much harder to start a retro collection in 2022 than it was in 2017, but it’s still possible! You’ll see there are still quite a few SNES games that are fun and affordable.
I really enjoyed Commando as a kid and it’s not listed . I bet it’s cheap maybe? Beat all 99 levels just to find out you start all over again .
You must be talking about Captain Commando and no it's not cheap...going for about $130.
Any retro console is still worth buying in 2022 whether a Genesis, NES, SMS, TG16. Some systems command a higher price then others but a SNES is still reasonably priced and worth grabbing you can mod the NA SNES to play Japanese games throw in an Everdrive and you're set. I feel sorry for some of the consoles I see on Ebay that have holes in them, yellowed to death, modified with shitty mods that barely work. The SNES might need a little work great way to learn if yellowed just use peroxide and UV light and it will turn white again. If you have a hobby of repairing older consoles that are listed as untested broken for parts some of the repairs are basic you can save money that way when buying a retro console. I just bought a $20 NES listed as broken on Ebay disable the lock out chip and new 72pin connector and it works.
I imagine restoration work on retro consoles is going to become much more important as the years wear on. Sure, hundreds of thousands of certain consoles were made, but fewer exist every year.
Depends on the console a SNES for sure needs retrobrite the plastic grows brittle and literally falls apart same with the NES. A White Dreamcast also needs retrobrite if I remember right the TG16 needs new capacitors it suffers the same issue as the Game Gear. Most of the old handhelds need new screens since they fail with age my Game Gear had new capacitors put in and a McWill mod done to it. The NES needs the lock out chip disabled when the power light turns on and off maybe throw in a new 72pin as well. Sega Master System has an issue blowing out the 7805 voltage regulator. OG Xbox depending on the board revision needs a clock capacitor removed or it leaks and fries the board. N64 controller needs a new thumbstick Sega Genesis model 2 suffers from the solder around the power supply is prone to cracking hence the system will not power up. Sega CD model 1 the laser dies fast model 2 the rubber feet supporting the drive fail and the model is know to throw the pico fuse so it dies fast as well.
It also depends how you treat the system also I baby my shit. I don't throw it around like a football the systems I see that might need the most help going through the years are the ones that use lasers and discs. I know some systems have problems due to how they were built as well like again certain board revisions of an OG Xbox and the Game Gear. I have bought broken systems and picked them for parts. I actually enjoy fixing older systems it's relaxing and a great way to teach yourself new skills.
Turning 64 this year.....my days playing video games are Now over.... time to move on to Jesus Christ .....I wish all of you Happy New Year . Game on Dudes!!!
It was fun while it lasted.
Blaster Master provides no passwords, no game saving, and only 5 continues. It’s amazing that anybody figured out how to finish the game back before save states Nintendo Switch Online's rewind feature.
Loved this on NES! When people talk about the Metroidvania era, this one always gets overlooked. Not as big of a hub as Zebeth but you still had to get upgrades (hover wheels) to access the inaccessible.
Not a bad world either. Hollow earth, radioactive mutants pre-mainstream TMNT, post Inhumanoids. Great music. Vehicle + two kinds of on-foot gameplay with swimming and dungeons. Peak Sunsoft.
I played it as a kid but had forgotten that it played like a Metroidvania until I played Blaster Master Zero on the Switch. It was a hidden gem for sure.
Was an awesome game. I played it again on NES not long ago. That vehicle, game play, music, etc was great back then and today.
Sunsoft used to kill it back then.
