Video Works by Jeremy Parish
A potpourri of chronological video game retrospective projects: NES Works! Game Boy Works! Segaiden! Metroidvania Works! Updated weekly, usually.
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Segaiden #037: The Ninja & Pro Wrestling
06/30/2023
Segaiden #037: The Ninja & Pro Wrestling
When did the lie that girls don't play video games gain credence in America? I remember seeing little nerds of all genders in arcades in the early 1980s, so that fallacy must have taken hold around the time that the Master System arrived. Certainly that would explain why these two games, both of which featured playable female casts in their original incarnations as Sega Ninja/Ninja Princess and Gokuaku Doumei Dump Matsumoto, saw their sprites replaced by men here on Master System. A weird coincidence! However, it doesn't affect how either game plays, which is to say "pretty damn good." The Ninja delivers on the potential of Ninja Princess, presenting the same fundamental experience but with vastly smoother gameplay and all the arcade version's bonus stages restored. And Pro Wrestling may not be as good as the NES game by the same title that would ship a few months later, but it absolutely puts every other wrestling game on U.S. the console market in 1986 into a sleeper hold before pinning it for the count. Aw, look, I've finally picked up some wrestling lingo. I knew I could do it.
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Segaiden #035: Great Ice Hockey & Astro Warrior
06/30/2023
Segaiden #035: Great Ice Hockey & Astro Warrior
An unlikely star emerges in this week's Master System episode: The Sega Sports Pad. Required for (but not bundled with!) Great Ice Hockey, this analog-ish trackball controller ultimately didn't have much purpose in terms of deliberate tie-ins, but thanks to its alternate mode it proves surprisingly effective with a number of other titles, especially shooters. Such as... Astro Warrior, this episode's B-side, which goes from being OK-ish to OK (if a bit easy) when played with the Sports Pad.
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Segaiden #034: Action Fighter & Black Belt
03/14/2023
Segaiden #034: Action Fighter & Black Belt
A pair of games based on popular media works? Well, almost. Action Fighter clearly draws its inspiration from 1970s James Bond and his transforming Lotus Esprit, but unlike James Bond 007 for Multivision, it doesn't wear the actual Bond license. It's a much better game, though. Drawing heavy inspiration from the likes of Spy Hunter and (gulp) Xevious, it turns out to be an unexpected highlight of the Master System's launch period. On the other hand, Black Belt did sport a media license... in Japan. Here in the U.S., however, Sega scrubbed all of those details clean. And I do mean "scrubbed"—rather than simply redrawing the main character's sprites, the developers gave every single component of this game a visual overhaul. It's really quite an impressive effort—and yet, the underlying work still shines through. And, because it plays as a convincing Kung Fu clone, you can understand why they went to the trouble rather than just skipping over localization and publishing some other game instead. Production notes: Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games ()! Look forward to SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I, due summer 2023. Video Works is funded via Patreon () — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Arcade footage captured from MiSTer with thanks to MiSTerAddOns. Most Master System footage captured from U.S. carts running through an adapter on Sega Mark III hardware with FM Sound Unit and RGB bypass modification by iFixRetro. Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister.
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Segaiden #033: F-16 Fighting Falcon / Transbot / World Grand Prix
03/14/2023
Segaiden #033: F-16 Fighting Falcon / Transbot / World Grand Prix
I thought the main feature this week would be TransBot, a pretty OK shooter based on a pretty good arcade game that rectifies the failings of Orguss for SG-1000 while basically swiping the concept wholesale, but no. TransBot is fine. The main feature, however, turned out to be F-16 Fighting Falcon, a game no one would reasonably ever want to play, which does some absolutely ridiculous things with the Master System's more esoteric capabilities. Yuji Naka supposedly programmed this port, and all I can say is: What a mad man. There's also World Grand Prix, the sequel to GP World. It's a game about racing the same track over and over again because the requirements for qualifying for later tracks are human impossible to achieve. Finally, I know a video with "TransBot" in the title is bound to inspire some crass or cruel drive-by comments, so I'd like to balance things out a bit. All ad revenue generated by this video through March 15 will be donated to , along with my own 4x matching donation. Production notes: Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games ()! Look forward to SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I, due summer 2023. Video Works is funded via Patreon () — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Arcade footage captured from MiSTer with thanks to MiSTerAddOns. Most Master System footage captured from U.S. carts running through an adapter on Sega Mark III hardware with FM Sound Unit and RGB bypass modification by iFixRetro. Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister.
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Segaiden #032: Choplifter / My Hero / Teddy Boy
03/14/2023
Segaiden #032: Choplifter / My Hero / Teddy Boy
Three episodes into the Master System run and already we have some familiar sights—but understandably so, since each of these games comes to Master System from arcades. So, while we may have seen Choplifter during our SG-1000 survey, we certainly didn't see this version of it; Sega based the older, Japan-only release on the Apple II game, while this U.S.- and European-exclusive upgrade draws its content and aesthetics from the company's arcade interpretation. Barely a year between the two home releases, but this one feels far more of-the-moment than the SG-1000 port did. Teddy Boy, of course, launched alongside Hang On with the Japanese Mark III hardware. The Western release is almost exactly the same as the Japanese MyCard, with one crucial (but ultimately immaterial) difference. As for My Hero, unfortunately it does no favors for the optics of the Master System and its Sega Card format. While it looks almost as good as the arcade game (except that sickly green sky), it lacks a huge amount of content—two-thirds of the coin-op's stages and enemies! To make matters worse, Sega's programmers clearly amped up the difficulty to a preposterous degree in order to pad out the lacking play time. Can you make it even halfway through the single stage of action here? If so, you are like unto a god. Production notes: Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games ()! Look forward to Segaiden Vol. I: The SG-1000, due summer 2023. Video Works is funded via Patreon () — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive episodes, eBooks, and more! Arcade footage captured from MiSTer with thanks to MiSTerAddOns. Most Master System footage captured from U.S. carts running through an adapter on Sega Mark III hardware with FM Sound Unit and RGB bypass modification (by iFixRetro). Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister.
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Segaiden #031: Fantasy Zone & Ghost House
03/14/2023
Segaiden #031: Fantasy Zone & Ghost House
Sega leads off its non-pack-in Master System lineup with a solid conversion of an arcade masterpiece and a respectable original title: Fantasy Zone and Ghost House. While the former suffers some compromises in the move from System 16A arcade hardware to the less powerful home console, it retails its key features, and its charming personality still shines through. As for the latter, Ghost House falls short of greatness due to its lack of content and clumsy control mechanics, but it nevertheless features a lot of fun ideas and secrets to unravel... and, like Fantasy Zone, it packs in plenty of personality, which makes it a winner. Maybe not, like, "gold medalist" winner. But at least a solid bronze. Production notes: Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games (https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books)! Look forward to Segaiden Vol. I: The SG-1000, due summer 2023. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Light gun and arcade footage captured from MiSTer with thanks to MiSTerAddOns. Most Master System footage captured from U.S. carts running with an adapter on Sega Mark III hardware with FM Sound Unit and RGB bypass modification. Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister.
/episode/index/show/gamespite/id/26232177
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Segaiden #030: Sega Master System / Hang On / Safari Hunt / Snail Maze
03/12/2023
Segaiden #030: Sega Master System / Hang On / Safari Hunt / Snail Maze
Well, here we go. I've already covered Sega's first console, the SG-1000, in comprehensive (if retrospectively inaccurate at times) details. Now, here we have the sequel: The American adaptation of the Mark III upgrade to SG-1000, the Master System. Or the Sega System, if we're being strictly accurate. Beginning with this episode, which covers the Master System hardware and its three pack-in games (or rather, two pack-in games and one built-in game), I will be focusing on the U.S. lineup until we get to the end of 1988 and Phantasy Star, bringing Sega 8-bit coverage even with NES coverage. And from there, we'll be moving in tandem into the future, juggling Nintendo and Sega retrospectives in 1989 and beyond. Please enjoy. Production notes: Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games ()! Look forward to Segaiden Vol. I: The SG-1000, due summer 2023. Video Works is funded via Patreon () — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Light gun and arcade footage captured from MiSTer with thanks to MiSTerAddOns. Most Master System footage captured from U.S. carts running with an adapter on Sega Mark III hardware with FM Sound Unit and RGB bypass modification. Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister.
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NES Works #105: Zelda II - The Adventure of Link
03/12/2023
NES Works #105: Zelda II - The Adventure of Link
We end NES Works 1988 here with a game that (probably) actually shipped before December 1988 in scarce quantities. Aw, it's Nintendo's very first high-demand holiday rarity! They certainly would return to that well over the years. It's hard to say where to place this release in the ’88 timeline, because Nintendo originally announced Zelda II for a release early in the year but ended up kicking this particular ball down the road over and over again, and games media reporting didn't have much to offer back then. This episode deals with the whys and wherefores of its delays and the tantalizing nature of this long-promised Zelda sequel. Did Zelda II turn out to be worth the wait? Well... feelings are mixed on that one. Zelda II stands alone in the Zelda franchise for many reasons—its side-scrolling perspective, role-playing elements, limited lives, and the fact that it's the one entry in the series to demand genuine skill and dexterity—but you can't deny the influence it exerted on later entries in the series and on games as a whole. Despite some questionable design choices and a slight reliance on nebulous clues from NPCs for progression, Zelda II pretty much defined how the action-RPG would work! Of course, since its localization ended being delayed for nearly two years after its Japanese debut, American kids experienced Zelda II's best ideas through games that other companies designed in its image. Oh well. Production note: NES footage captured from Mini. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer FPGA cores; special thanks to . Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon () — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Certain tiers also have access to monthly exclusive episodes, PDFs of Works-related books, and even physical copies of upcoming book releases!
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NES Works #104: Bomberman / Robowarrior / Othello
03/12/2023
NES Works #104: Bomberman / Robowarrior / Othello
A lot of shenanigans happening with the NES timeline here at the end of 1988, a situation that I'll explore more next episode. For now, it's worth noting that this episode brings us: Two games that may or may not have actually debuted in the U.S. in December 1988, and Two games from the same franchise, possibly released simultaneously by different publishers. Bomberman and RoboWarrior don't share much branding in common in the West, but both hail from the same germ of inspiration. RoboWarrior, AKA Bomber King, would branch off briefly to become its own thing under the auspices of developer Aicom, who kind of Hudsoned Hudson here by creating a variant of that company's franchise and then claiming it as their own. Sort of. Except that outside of Japan it was reskinned into someone else's thing. It's complicated. Othello, however, is not complicated. This is the fourth time this channel has looked at an Othello game. You know the drill. Production note: NES footage captured from Mini. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer FPGA cores; special thanks to . Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Certain tiers also have access to monthly exclusive episodes, PDFs of Works-related books, and even physical copies of upcoming book releases!
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NES Works #103: Castlevania II - Simon's Quest
03/12/2023
NES Works #103: Castlevania II - Simon's Quest
It's the most wonderful time of the year: Time for a Castlevania retrospective. As NES Works 1988 winds down, Halloween 2022 seems like the perfect time for a proper look back at Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, one of the most ambitious and frustrating games of the NES era. The second of the NES's "weird sequels," Simon's Quest combines a lot of different influences and ultimately does a lot to define the series' future... even if it would take a while for the series to realize it. In the meantime, NES kids had a whole lot of Nintendo Power coverage to help them solve Dracula's so-called "riddle." P.S.: I am aware that this video rendered with a caption error that I missed. Adobe Premiere happens. Production note: NES footage captured from Mini. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer FPGA cores; special thanks to . Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon () — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #102: Platoon & Xenophobe
03/12/2023
NES Works #102: Platoon & Xenophobe
Sunsoft blew our minds with Blaster Master, but the company did not suddenly become some 8-bit powerhouse after releasing that game. Here's the rocky portion of their road to greatness, a pair of NES conversions that will leave you scratching your head. In the case of Platoon, you'll be left wondering why they thought THIS license was suitable to a platform primarily advertised and sold to children. In the case of Xenophobe, you'll be confused about how meager a port such a technically adept company managed to produce. Production note: NES footage captured from Mini. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer FPGA cores; special thanks to . Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #101: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom & Rampage
08/30/2022
NES Works #101: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom & Rampage
A curious release this week, as we come to a game that shipped twice for NES: Once with Nintendo's approval, and once illegally. Ever the rogue, that Indiana Jones. Like Tengen's early conversion of Gauntlet, Temple of Doom adapts an arcade game but makes quite a few changes to its structure, format, and objectives. Capcom didn't have the monopoly on dramatic reinterpretations of coin-op titles for NES, it seems, although Temple of Doom is no Bionic Commando. On the other hand, we also have Data East's disappointingly literal interpretation of Midway's Rampage. Of all the games that could have benefitted from some sort of enhanced gameplay loop or added depth for its console iteration, this is it. But no, Data East simply stripped it down and removed features, making for a game with little challenge or variety over its entire running length. Production note: NES footage captured from Mini. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer FPGA cores; special thanks to . Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Audio quality may suffer due to this episode being produced with portable gear during travel. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #100: Bionic Commando
08/30/2022
NES Works #100: Bionic Commando
One of December 1988's all-timers arrives this week, and while it may not be the best-remembered of the bunch (not when the other two big releases belonged to huge ongoing franchises), but I'd argue that it's the best and most polished. It's also the most fearless; Bionic Commando didn't so much ask players to learn an entirely new style of platform gaming as demand it as the price of entry. But once you got a handle on the grappling mechanics, Bionic Commando played like nothing else on the system, becoming a fast-paced action game with breezy, high-speed action through a dozen stages linked by an interesting narrative and well-conceived adventure gameplay flow. It remains the gold standard for grapple-based action gaming to this day, and for good reason: It rules. Production note: NES footage captured from Mini. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer FPGA cores; special thanks to . Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Audio unfortunately suffered this episode due to it being produced on portable equipment while traveling. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #099: Skate or Die! & Paperboy
08/30/2022
NES Works #099: Skate or Die! & Paperboy
Two games about American youths wasting their lives. Two games with various ties to Atari. Coincidence? Yes, actually. Sometimes, this stuff just happens. Skate or Die! may bear the Ultra Games branding, but it really owes its existence to Electronic Arts—and ultimately, to the former Epyx crew that EA hired up when Atari Corp. sabotaged that company. And while Paperboy for NES comes to us from Mindscape, the original game debuted in arcades under the Atari Games label, only to be converted to NES by Tengen (AKA Atari Corp.), who was also filing charges against Nintendo and pilfering documents in order to attempt to sabotage THAT company. It's like poetry... it rhymes. Production note: NES footage captured from Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #098: Blades of Steel & Super Team Games
08/30/2022
NES Works #098: Blades of Steel & Super Team Games
In this episode, I learned that the Power Pad is not really designed for use on hardwood floors. Bring back that deep-pile ’70s shag, baby. My feet are killing me. Super Team Games gives us the last of Nintendo's casual-appeal titles for 1988. There's still one final Nintendo-published game for the year, but it's kind of the opposite of casual-appeal—really, the closest Nintendo themselves ever got to "git gud" difficulty on NES. But Super Team Games is meant for small people to pretend to exercise with, or for big people to be uncomfortably intimate with. As for the headline feature, Blades of Steel, it's an even more casual-appeal approach to hockey than Nintendo's Ice Hockey. You don't have to make any meaningful choices in this game besides deciding when to shoot for the goal... and how hard to hammer the punch button during player-versus-player fights. Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #097: Cobra Command & Anticipation
08/30/2022
NES Works #097: Cobra Command & Anticipation
This week we have a pair of perfectly tolerable games that seemingly no one remembers. Yes, by late 1988, the NES library had grown sufficiently large that it could contain games beyond "brilliant" and "execrable"—works of competent mediocrity doomed by their lukewarm nature to be relegated to the dustbin of obscurity. Cobra Command takes a mundane auto-scrolling shooter and turns it into a Choplifter-inspired adventure with a touch of exploration and puzzle-solving. A fine start! But utterly relentless in its difficulty level and saddled with some very strange, almost "sticky" controls. It's fine, almost good, but it just misses the mark. Meanwhile, Anticipation offers inclusive thrills (if you are a preppy, 30-something Caucasian) and demands you deduce the nature of premade connect-the-dots puzzles before your competition does. It's fine. It exists, and it rounded out the NES library with more family-friendly board games. But does anyone want to play it today? I can't imagine. Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #096: Dr. Chaos & Superman
08/30/2022
NES Works #096: Dr. Chaos & Superman
I can't believe I completely failed in this episode to draw attention to the fact that Dr. Chaos is, in fact, a Superman villain. But then again, both games this episode read like latter-day comic book villains: Good-hearted souls with the best of intentions yet who somehow strayed from the straight-and-narrow path and now simply cause pain and suffering (especially among Gen X kids). The ambitions greatly outstrip the execution with this episode, as two attempts to tap into the exploratory action trend that dominated the NES in 1988 utterly fail to provide players with compelling reasons to delve into their worlds. Suffering from grievous design, visual, and technical shortcomings, both Dr. Chaos and Superman rank among the bottom tier of NES games to date despite their creators' obvious and admirably grandiose visions. Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #095: 1943: The Battle of Midway & Bump'N Jump
07/17/2022
NES Works #095: 1943: The Battle of Midway & Bump'N Jump
Remember 1942? That really bad top-down shooter? Capcom would prefer you didn't. And, to wash that bad memory from our collective mind, we have its sequel, 1943: The Battle of Midway, simultaneously a sequel and a heartfelt apology for that previous misstep. Although this arcade adaptation fails to carry over the multiplayer element from the original 1943 coin-op, it makes up for that shortcoming by introducing a permanent skill-upgrade system. One of the better vertical shooters for NES! Meanwhile, Vic Tokai inexplicably publishes Data East's upgraded NES conversion of Bump'N Jump... well, kind of. In Japan, the home port of Bump'N Jump shipped as "Buggy Popper," which suggests it was meant to be a separate game entirely from the arcade game (alias "Burning Rubber"). Anyway, it's super dated. But still kinda fun? Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer FPGA. Special thanks to and . Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #094: Blaster Master & Tengen catch-up
07/10/2022
NES Works #094: Blaster Master & Tengen catch-up
Sunsoft gets a major glow-up this episode after a mediocre start as a publisher of ancient arcade ports and one neat-but-meager light gun shooter. No one would accuse them of half-assing it this time around, though; Blaster Master shot instantly to the top of the NES all-time greats list as soon as it debuted, and it still holds up remarkably well despite some unforgiving design choices that make for some incredibly difficult scenarios. The plot may not make much sense, and the weapon degradation system can be deeply demoralizing, but on the whole Blaster Master did a lot to advance the state of the NES art. Also this episode, I take a moment to provide proper context for the whole Tengen thing I erroneously tackled back in the 1987 chronology. Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive content, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #093: Super Mario Bros. 2 & Nintendo Power
07/03/2022
NES Works #093: Super Mario Bros. 2 & Nintendo Power
If Super Mario Bros. was the culmination of the Famicom's early history in Japan, Super Mario Bros. 2 for NES served the same role here in the U.S. Debuting as the console hit critical mass in time for its first major holiday season in America, SMB2 sent players into a huge, imaginative game world that they could tackle with their choice of four different characters, not just Mario. Despite its complicated history, SMB2 became one of the system's greatest hits and did a great deal to define Mario in the West. Nintendo took no chances with this one, and this episode also looks at one of the keys to SMB2's staggering success: Nintendo Power magazine. Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works Gaiden #042: Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Levels
06/27/2022
NES Works Gaiden #042: Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Levels
By a perfectly timed request by patron TheyCallMeSleeper, this episode arrives just in time to be positioned between this channel's coverage of Super Mario Bros. and its American sequel. Of course, this Japan-only sequel has almost nothing to do with that latter game besides the addition of Luigi as the Mario Bro. whose controls and physics turn his adventure into hard mode. But every mode of Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Levels amounts to hard mode, doesn't it? Nintendo took no prisoners with this one. No, they took those prisoners and tossed 'em in the wood chipper, laughing cruelly the entire time. Harsh. Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! NES/Famicom footage captured from disk via RGB from Nt Mini with Famicom Disk System. Game Boy and Super NES footage captured via RGB from MiSTer FPGA. Video upscaled to 720 with 5X.
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NES Works Gaiden #041: BattleCity / Super Mario Bros.
06/27/2022
NES Works Gaiden #041: BattleCity / Super Mario Bros.
The Famicom finally reaches maturity with the arrival of Mario's greatest adventure—and perhaps the greatest action game anyone had ever created to this point in history. Pushing the Famicom hardware to its absolute limits, Super Mario Bros. would become one of the most beloved games of all time and transformed a character that began as the star of a string one-off arcade machines into a reliable, franchise-carrying cultural icon. Not that Mario wasn't recognizable before, but Super Mario Bros. turned him into true video game royalty. Also, Namcot delivers a pretty fun arcade conversion called BattleCity, which would have likely been the highlight in any other NES Works Gaiden episode. But, well, Super Mario Bros. Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! NES/Famicom footage captured from Nt Mini Noir. Video upscaled to 720 with 5X.
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NES Works Gaiden #040: Donkey Kong / DK Jr. / Mario Bros. / Centipede retrospective
06/26/2022
NES Works Gaiden #040: Donkey Kong / DK Jr. / Mario Bros. / Centipede retrospective
As we head into the final quarter of 1988, we have three classic Nintendo games appearing on what is decidedly NOT a classic Nintendo console. Atari published ports of three vintage Nintendo creations (Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, and Mario Bros.) on a variety of platforms in late 1988, including the 2600, their various 8-bit platforms, and as seen here the 7800. While the 7800 releases can't quite punch with the actual Nintendo-programmed NES versions, the fact that these three carts exist at all turns out to be more than enough to fill an episode with speculation and musings. I'm pretty sure I accidentally mixed up the names Atari Inc. and Atari Corp. here once again, so apologies for that, sticklers. Also this episode, a little touch of errata: I somehow overlooked the fact that Centipede appeared at the 7800's launch in May 1986, so that also gets some air time this week. Unlike the Nintendo conversions, this take on Centipede is top-notch, with some surprisingly cool additions courtesy of General Computing Corp. Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Atari 7800 and NES footage captured from Nt Mini Noir. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer when possible (courtesy of ). Video upscaled to 720 with 5X.
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NES Works #092: Mickey Mousecapade/ Joust/ Millipede/ DK Classics
06/05/2022
NES Works #092: Mickey Mousecapade/ Joust/ Millipede/ DK Classics
Capcom kicks off one of the most important creative threads of the NES's history: Their collaboration with Disney, back in the days when Disney was simply an animation studio struggling to reinvent itself for a new era rather than an all-consuming media megalith. Ah, but this isn't really a Capcom Disney game, is it? Appearances (and packaging logos) can be deceptive... but the proof is in the gameplay, which is pretty uninspiring in this case. Also this episode: A salvo of classic games from HAL and Nintendo. The former gives us acceptable ports of arcade masterpieces Joust and Millipede, while the latter simply slaps a new wrapper on two Famicom launch ROMs without bothering to tidy up those releases' shortcomings despite the availability of more advanced cartridge tech that could have made for, say, a proper conversion of Donkey Kong. For shame. Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with 5X (which accounts for the tearing and distortion in vertically scrolling sequences). Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #091: Ghostbusters
05/29/2022
NES Works #091: Ghostbusters
Continuing the trend of "games converted badly to Famicom in 1986 and published in America two years later," we have Bits Laboratory's disastrous adaptation of Activision's Ghostbusters. A fun, frothy, fast-paced little confection in its original Commodore 64 incarnation, Ghostbusters becomes a miserable and tedious experience on NES, bogged down by monotonous driving sequences and a viciously unfair endgame. You get the impression someone at Bits actually thought they were doing a good deed here and improving the material! And that person should be locked up in a ghost trap, or at least never allowed to touch a computer again. Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with 5X (which accounts for the tearing and distortion in vertically scrolling sequences). Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #090: Spy Vs. Spy / MagMax / Seicross
05/24/2022
NES Works #090: Spy Vs. Spy / MagMax / Seicross
More newcomers arrive on NES this episode, each bringing a musty conversion of an even older original work in tow. Kemco-Seika makes its NES debut with a two-year-old port of First Star Software's Spy Vs. Spy, which kinda-sorta puts a bow on the two-player trend of NES software by way of a competitive espionage adventure. Just as dated is the debut duology from Japanese dev Nihon Bussan, courtesy of our pals at FCI: Creaky console ports of arcade obscurities MagMax and Seicross. Not precisely the most inspiring games 1988 had to offer NES fans... Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with 5X. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #089: Bubble Bobble & Racket Attack
05/24/2022
NES Works #089: Bubble Bobble & Racket Attack
It's two for two for the road this week with Bubble Bobble, a game specifically designed to be played with another person, and Racket Attack, the second-ever NES tennis game which, like Nintendo's Tennis, offers support for doubles play (though not competitive play). Amidst all the moral panic about the way video games were rotting the brains of America's youth and turning us into violent killers, here's a pair that emphasizes cooperation. Stupid moral panickers. Production note: NES footage captured from Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with 5X. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
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NES Works #088: Jackal / Wheel of Fortune / Jeopardy!
05/08/2022
NES Works #088: Jackal / Wheel of Fortune / Jeopardy!
The prevailing theme for NES games in 1988 has been multiplayer. From Contra to Life Force to Jackal, many of the best games for ’88 played best with friends. (That was probably also true for games that weren't published by Konami, even.) Fittingly, episode 88 sees not but three games that uphold that trend. First, there's Jackal, a widely overlooked but danged enjoyable co-op shooter, followed by two pretty decent game show adaptations by Rare Ltd. for the sake of newcomer GameTek. Don't despair, though: The NES has some fantastic introvert-friendly single-player titles coming up before long. Video Works is a patron-funded project. For early video access, exclusive podcasts and mini-zines, and more, please support my work at — thank you!
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NES Works Gaiden #039: Astro Robo Sasa / Honshogi / Robot Gyro
05/01/2022
NES Works Gaiden #039: Astro Robo Sasa / Honshogi / Robot Gyro
The machines have risen, taking control of this trio of games and obviating humanity altogether. Well, almost altogether. R.O.B. at least demonstrates the value of mankind working together, hand-in-, uh, claw with its new synthoid overlords to defeat the vile Smicks in Robot Gyro. As for the other games, well, they're all about robo-kind's fight for dominance. If my performance in Honshogi is anything to go by, carbon-based life is doomed. Video Works is a patron-funded project. For early video access, exclusive podcasts and mini-zines, and more, please support my work at — thank you!
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NES Works Gaiden #038: The Tower of Druaga
04/30/2022
NES Works Gaiden #038: The Tower of Druaga
Although I've previously covered The Tower of Druaga on Game Boy Works, this version precedes the portable rendition by half a decade and stands as the more towering achievement of the two. So to speak. Another solid arcade-to-Famicom conversion by Namcot, Druaga's move to consoles felt like a figurative as well as literal homecoming: As an arcade game, Druaga feels frankly unfair thanks to its harsh one-hit-kill combat and mandatory secrets hidden behind abstruse and unintuitive rules. As a home game, however, Druaga offered a more expansive role-playing-style adventure than had ever been seen on consoles, and its design comes off as far less punishing when you don't have to drop 100 yen into the machine every time you run out of lives (which happens frequently). I don't know that I'd recommend Druaga today, as many games followed in its wake that built and improved on its design... but would those games have had a design to improve on without Druaga? I say they would not. Video Works is a patron-funded project. For early video access, exclusive podcasts and mini-zines, and more, please support my work at — thank you!
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