CheapNES - what game to buy?

[Psycho Nulltard]

I have amassed a whopping $7 in eBay bucks. I need something to play on my NES for $30ish.

What "hidden gems" should I consider? I was leaning toward faxanadu, but read a review that said the character controls like he is wearing butter shoes... I hate butter. On shoes at least.

RPG, shmup, and dating sims are preferred. Thanks!

Thanks for all of the suggestions, guys.

[Gredler]

Might I recommend Ice Hockey or Blades of Steel - if you don't have them, they are the best multiplayer you'll get on the system and almost are as good as TV Sports Hockey, if not better in gameplay.

I don't keep up with game prices, but here are some games I expect might be cheap and are great
Batman
Jackal
Low G Man
Totally Rad
Dragon Warrior

Rare gems, dawg.

[Medic_wheat]

Chip n dale with Duck tales for $40

https://www.ebay.com/itm/172645983761

[Medic_wheat]

P.O.W.  $11

https://www.ebay.com/itm/162494009495

[Medic_wheat]

POW with three other games for $18

https://www.ebay.com/itm/222467746615

[esteban]

Faxanadu is totally fun...the "world" is nicely fleshed out. I think it is a must-play NES game, warts and all.

[GaijinD]

The Guardian Legend? Wasn't too expensive a couple years ago, though you never know with NES prices. It's actually only part shmup, but you can enter a password to skip the overhead segments if you don't want to play them.

[Gredler]

If you don't own gunsmoke, get that asap - one of my top 10 favorite nes games.

Zanac, Section Z, and abadox are affordable fun shooters as well

[MrMarth]

Blaster Master is a must buy, and it's really cheap currently

[bob]

i second the batman suggestion
air fortress
superapike v'ball / world class soccer if you wamt fun sports
kabuki can still be had for under 30
conquest of crystal palace
warios woods for puzzle
tons for under 30 depending on your appetite
addams family too

blaster master is no fun. 

[SignOfZeta]

I second the recommendation for Ice Hockey. That game is almost perfect. Easily a top for NES game for me, personally. Two player brings it all out.

[Johnpv]

I will third the Batman recommendation.  I also loved Astyanax growing up, not sure how it holds up today, but I never see anyone talking about it, it must be cheap.

[crazydean]

I'm not a big NES fan, but according to YouTube, Action 52 is pretty popular. It's pretty expensive, but 52 games! What a deal! There's something for everyone!

[roflmao]

Dude, totally Guardian Legend. It's Blazing Lazers meets Neutopia. So awesome.

[sirhcman]

Do you want a copy of Kabuki Quantum Fighter? If so let me know and I can mail Monday. I'll give you the DildoPhile discount

Here is the list of NES games I posted in desh's under $10 thread awhile back:

Abadox
Batman
Gun Smoke
Nintendo World Cup
Rock N Ball

[MNKyDeth]

I don't keep track of NES prices. But some RPG games I loved as a kid are.

Destiny of an emperor - absolutely one of my favs. I never hear or see much chat on this game.
Swords and Serpents
Crystalis
Battle of Olympus
Faxanadu
Dungeon Magic
Pool of Radiance
Ultima Exodus
Willow

And of course
Final Fantasy
Any of the Dragon Warriors


I grew up playing these games and enjoyed them all. But I have not visited them since all those years ago.  All rpg

[Gypsy]

Faxanadu is totally fun...the "world" is nicely fleshed out. I think it is a must-play NES game, warts and all.

Thanks for the info, I am leaning toward Faxanadu as a CIB copy is available for under $30. The endorsement of the Esteban is nothing to sneeze at!

The Guardian Legend? Wasn't too expensive a couple years ago, though you never know with NES prices. It's actually only part shmup, but you can enter a password to skip the overhead segments if you don't want to play them.

Ah yes, guardian legend is an excellent suggestion. It and blaster master are in my cart at my super secret source online shop.

I'll give you a copy of Guardian Legend for free.

[bob]

pinball quest and kings knight are good if you want "different" type of gameplay

[nopepper]

I recommend Guerrilla War so you can have the best recreation of the Cuban revolution ever. It's so realistic you can smell the tobacco and sugar canes while playing.

[Johnpv]

Damn, Batman overload. That game does look pretty sweet. I'm not much for platformers, but I may end up snagging this along with some others. Damn this thread.


I will say that astyanax seems like it would be good, but I just watched a gameplay vid and fear I might need and ass-to-xanax if I tried it. (Weak, late night jokeword... But damn that game looks hard)

Batman is really one of those, I don't know the term for it, but inexpensive games that is pretty amazing.  It's not a hidden gem cause it's a known title, it just doesn't demand a high price. I'm actually surprised by how cheap it still is, I can't believe it hasn't pulled a Contra yet.  Return of the Joker is pretty good too (and pretty amazing visually) it used to be cheaper but it's gone up in price since people destroy it to make repro Mr Gimmick carts. Astyanax can get pretty brutal, even  for 8 bit hard I would deny that.  There are some cheat codes for it and I would be telling lies if I said I never used them as a kid.  That said though I had a damn good time with it, even at brutal 8 bit difficulty, though I have not touched it in decades. 

[Psycho Punch]

I recommend Guerrilla War so you can have the best recreation of the Cuban revolution ever. It's so realistic you can smell the tobacco and sugar canes while playing.

Gotta become one of the HEROS of the revolution.


buy this game, it's ikari warriors: the good edition

[ToyMachine78]

Batman
Gaurdian Legend
Clash at Demonhead
Blaster master
Faxanadu
Astyanax
Guerrilla War
Iron Tank

POW is ok, hard as hell though.

[esteban]

Karnov.

[Gredler]

Enjoy sir!

[esteban]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, guys.  Some of them I knew about and was gunning for already, but others (guerrilla war, batman, destiny of an emperor, and a few others from page 1) weren't on my radar- but they are now!

Between awesomely scoring charity copies of Guardian Legend (thanks Gypsy!) and Kabuki Quantum Fighter (thanks sirhc!), my NES-lust has been sated with the <$30 winner:



Yes, I could have gone without the cardboard, but my cardboard fetish is no secret.  I derive additional pleasure from rubbing on the tangibles.  I love smelling the manual and reading all the cheesy text in it and the box's rear.  Mmmm... box rears.  You can't claim to have fully experienced a game until you've had your way with its box rear.

Remember your mantra:

God gave us Xanadu. God gave us Famicom. Goddamn.

Wait, that's my mantra.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Nice!  You can't go wrong with Falcom and Hudson.

[nopepper]

I recommend Guerrilla War so you can have the best recreation of the Cuban revolution ever. It's so realistic you can smell the tobacco and sugar canes while playing.

Gotta become one of the HEROS of the revolution.

buy this game, it's ikari warriors: the good edition

They were going for "Héroes de la Revolución", but ran out of space and couldn't figure out how to implement the literal accent, so instead they opted for Engrish, It was a conscious decision for sure.

Speaking of Hudson, I was looking to add Adventure Island III to my collection, as I've never really played that one and love the series, but then saw the ebay prices.

Thank god for the everdrive!

[Gredler]

Yeah I really want to try some of the good ones on original hardware, but refuse to pay collector going rates. Metal Storm and Crisis Force are enough to justify purchasing a everdrive - something I hope to do after recovering from wedding costs.

[crazydean]

The N8 is only like $110. That's like two mega man games and contra. Seems like a good deal to me. And you can get it in red, oooohhhhhh!!'

[technozombie]

Legendary Wings is a pretty good and inexpensive game. Also, Rygar, which happens to be one of my most favorite childhood games.

[chany60126]

Do you want a copy of Kabuki Quantum Fighter? If so let me know and I can mail Monday. I'll give you the DoxPhile discount

+1 for recommending Kabuki Quantum Fighter. It's one of the coolest games I have ever played. You can swing on platforms using your hair! 'nuff said.

[Psycho Punch]

The N8 is only like $110. That's like two mega man games and contra. Seems like a good deal to me. And you can get it in red, oooohhhhhh!!'

NES is NintendoAge territory so I highly recommend a flashcart (and hurry up before they turn flashcarts into limited edition numbered collectibles too)

[esteban]

Karnov.

Do you really like Karnov? I found it and Pinball Quest at a local shop for $9 combined and bought them during lunch. I am 5 hours from the end of a 15 hour shift today... I will never forgive you if it sucks.

Also:

Thank you, sirhcman. I received Kabuki Quantum Fighter yesterday and it is pretty good... Tough as nails, though. I hope to reach level 3 tonight.

Oh, snap, I want to try Pinball Quest. I never knew about that game until reading about it many moons ago. It's the sort of quirky formula I love to try.

Anyway, about Karnov:

Every few years I regurgitate my praise for Karnov.

I absolutely cherish this damn game.

It isn't perfect, but it has so much personality and great item system that encourages you to *actually experiment*  (creatively!) with the level design/obstacles!

For example, it actually is fun trying to figure out how to use the "growing ladder" and the wings and bombs and tons of other neat items.

Sure, many games boast inventories of "stuff"...but most games don't actually make it *fun* to explore and use all the damn items you collect.

There is tons of replay value once you are finished "exploring" all the levels, too, because you can focus on getting through each stage as fast/efficiently as possible (I'm not talking about a speed run, per se, but simply pointing out that the *pacing* of Karnov can easily shift to a quicker tempo...a lot of games don't offer this, forcing you to feel like you are slowly plodding through familiar terrain on replays).

I like the challenge, the music, the everything.

It's just fun and a slightly more unique game.

It's better than Hero Tonma, IMHO, and I like Hero Tonma.

I have always felt that Hero Tonma is the neutered  cousin of Karnov.

You'll see what I mean.

If only Hero Tonma was more like Karnov (NES)! It could have been awesome.

[Psycho Punch]

Karnov.

Do you really like Karnov? I found it and Pinball Quest at a local shop for $9 combined and bought them during lunch. I am 5 hours from the end of a 15 hour shift today... I will never forgive you if it sucks.

You got timeball'd

[Gredler]

Karnov.

Do you really like Karnov? I found it and Pinball Quest at a local shop for $9 combined and bought them during lunch. I am 5 hours from the end of a 15 hour shift today... I will never forgive you if it sucks.

You got timeball'd

This. Lol...

I'mma give it another go since it is kind of fun, but the highlight of my first attempt was that the game glitched out the first time I jumped. Karnov and his belly defied gravity and ascended to the heavens, passing vertically by random tiles to infinity.

Pinball Quest is promising, but infuriating. I hate that if you lose a life on the second board, you are returned all the way back to the beginning of the first board and forced to clear it's retarded challenges all over again.

I don't know if it's because I have been really unlucky, but I've had two Kanov karts and one died completely while the other has bugs like you mentioned happening from time to time. I've wanted to check out pinball quest but what you complained about is what I keep hearing, the respawn/checkpoint system is horrible?

Play Gunsmoke, forget the rest of these joker games.

Also, ys3plskthxbye

[Gredler]

Danm you're quick. Asshole.

[esteban]

Gun.smoke is a great game.

BUT IT AIN'T NO F*CKNG KARNOV.

So play Karnov, and don't tell me the game glitches on you.

YOU JUST PLAY MORE.

Until the glitches have evaporated (it may take 45+ minutes).

[Gredler]

Gun smoke is murican, Karnov is a commie Russian.

Don't try and influence this election, you pinko.

Gunsmoke is a billion times better game.

Gunsmoke does with Karnov kant

[esteban]

Goddammit, I'm losing the propaganda war!

Dammit!

[Johnpv]

Because of this thread I thought I would play some Kabuki this weekend.  That game really reminds me of Batman in a lot of good ways. 

[esteban]

Goddammit, I'm losing the propaganda war!

Dammit!

Gredler has all the компромат.

Pravda.

[wildfruit]

Snake rattle n roll is a good buy.