Vic Tokai

March 1990

Action

1 Player

There are so many cheek-pinching, side-scrolling, enemy-stomping platform games on the NES that it takes a lot to distinguish one from the rest.  Kid Kool doesn't have what it takes to make itself noticed in this overloaded genre.  Sure, it's got a couple of fun ideas, like the elastic flag poles, but the control is slow and clumsy, and the gameplay's way predictable.

Data East/Irem

November 1987

Action

1-2 Players (alt)

Irem and Data East have done a great job of converting the lighthearted arcade game to the Nintendo Entertainment System.  It's got the same whimsical artwork, the same vivid colors, and the same straightforward gameplay.  You won't be doing much exploring here... just whacking masked foes with your spinning sword and battling wacky bosses in some very memorable fights.

Square

September 1989

Shooter

1 Player

Carve through the countryside as one of five medievel characters in this Square release that tries to merge the fantasy setting of role-playing games with the intense action of a shooter.  King's Knight plays well enough and is plenty challenging, but its main fault is that you'll spend more time blasting through barriers than enemies.

Ultra

January 1990

Sports

1-4 Players

Despite the spirited Konami soundtrack, Kings of the Beach isn't one of the better volleyball games available for this system.  It's got tiny characters and a control scheme that makes passing and serving more difficult than it should be.  Finally, the computer likes to drag your athletes to the spot where the ball will fall... shouldn't that be the player's job?

Konami

June 1992

Adventure

1 Player

When Prince Graham comes home to find... uh, no home, he hunts for the evil wizard who spirited his castle away, aided by a smartalecky owl and a handful of dusty old magic items given to him by a senile sorceror.  King's Quest V on the NES has all the witty dialogue of the computer game, but the rough graphics and an awkward interface hurt the overall experience.

Nintendo/HAL

May 1993

Action

1 Player

Nintendo and Hal went all out with Kirby's Adventure, one of the final releases for the NES.  This side-scrolling action game is practically flawless... the graphics are full of rich color and clever animation, and there's so much variety that you could play for hours on end and still look forward to seeing more.  Now that's what I call saving the best for last!

FAST FACT:  When Kirby was created (for the GameBoy release Kirby's Dream Land), he was originally designed as a placeholder that the designers could swap for a more thoroughly developed character.  However, the design team liked Kirby so much that they forgot about creating a different mascot and just stuck with him!

Taito/Software Creations

March 1991

Action

1 Player

The spiritual successor of the dodo bird gets his own video game, courtesy of Taito.  Surprisingly, there actually IS a lot of flight in this competantly designed platformer, based on the arcade title New Zealand Story.  You can steal balloons and UFOs from the bad guys, then use them to search high and low for your fellow kiwis... taking care to avoid the spike-lined walls in your path.

Sofel

July 1991

Sports

1-2 Players

Fed up with football?  Had it with hockey?  Well, you could always try Klash Ball instead, the futuristic sport that combines elements from both games.  Klash Ball's merger of two popular pastimes (plus the inclusion of power-ups and exploding goalies!) could have made it a winner, but the dumb computer AI and choppy character movement limit the game's appeal.