Scarecrow's Song

A gaming blog by @AlexDCopland

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Nintendo Ambassador Programme - The NES Game Guide!

It has been ten whole days since the NES batch of games became available on the Nintendo eShop to “redownload”, and if you’ve been following Scarecrow’s Song you will have noticed that I’ve reviewed one a day since the launch of the programme.

If you need to catch up, or are just a fan of retro game reviews, click one of the corresponding in-game graphics below. (Hover mouse over to see game title.)

Super Mario Bros.

Donkey Kong Jr.

Balloon Fighter

Ice Climber

The Legend of Zelda

Metroid

NES Open Tournament Golf

Wrecking Crew

Mario & Yoshi

 Coming soon - The GBA Game Guide!

10 Sep 2011
3 notes
Mario & Yoshi (AKA Yoshi, AKA Yoshi’s Egg) Game Freak, known for developing that little named game series called Pokémon, has been around for a little longer than you may have expected. In fact back in 1991 they developed a game for the NES and Game Boy starring Mario’s favourite dinosaur, Yoshi! However this game is no platformer (Super Mario World was released a year previous on the Super Nintendo and Yoshi’s Island was 4 years away) this is a puzzle game. Puzzle games don’t usually have storylines, but here there are two game modes. One is the Game A, like in Tetris, where it’s never ending. Just rack up a high score and show it off to your friends. The second game mode is Game B. The object of this game is to clear the screen, much like Dr. Mario, but in this case it’s completely clearing it. With each stage there are higher stacks to begin with, adding to the difficulty. There is also a multiplayer mode (coming soon to Nintendo 3DS). As with a large number of puzzle games, Mario & Yoshi involves matching blocks to make them disappear. Match two Boos or two Bloopers, etc, and they vanish. How do you control them? You control Mario at the bottom the screen. Using Mario you can swap adjacent columns (there are four columns) so that the falling blocks (two at a time) land in the right places. Sometimes you have to be very quick and plan ahead, because you are told what’s coming and where. The final aspect is the eggs. Bottom halves of eggs land and if you build on them with many different blocks, then when a top half comes along and you complete the egg, those in between get compressed and a Yoshi pops out. Points depend on the number of blocks between, and this is reflected in Yoshi’s appearance. You get a winged Yoshi if you compress a lot of blocks, and a lot of points. All in all its a great little puzzle game, with real ‘pick-up-and-play-ability’. You can sit there and be distracted by it for an hour or so without getting bored due to the subtle yet satisfying difficulty curve. However seasoned gamers will blast through the beginning levels incredibly fast, so fortunately, like Tetris and Dr. Mario you can speed it up and change the difficulty level (and music) to match your skills. Unfortunately the puzzle aspect is very limited and could be considered as too simple, especially when compared to the other puzzle games mentioned here.
10 Sep 2011
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Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Link is back…not the same Link, mind, it’s a different Link to the one in the first Zelda game. It’s a generational thing, about ancestors and that. But anyway, he’s here on a brand new adventure in Hyrule to save Zelda and destroy Ganon. Sounds like a direct copy of The Legend of Zelda, but I can guarantee you, it is definitely not. The story is simple. Zelda’s brother wanted to find the Triforce of Courage (a mystical part of a golden triangle that grants the beholder their greatest desire). Zelda knew where it was, but would not tell her brother, so a wizard, a friend of the Prince of Hyrule cast a strong sleeping spell on Zelda. Years later Link is told about Zelda, and so, as a result, you take Link on an adventure through Hyrule to place crystals in six dungeons, to be able to find the Triforce. Oh and, by the way, Ganon is in the process of being resurrected. Find the Triforce and save the world. To progress in the game, each dungeon, or temple, must be visited and completed in the correct order. By completing some dungeons and collected certain items or by learning particular spells from the elders in the towns, you can move into areas previously inaccessible. The main difference in gameplay is the mixture of a far out top down view and the side scrolling platformer view. Link can jump and duck when in this view, with fighting being less frenzied sword swiping and more tactical offense and defense. There is also an experience system where attack, magic and health can be upgraded using points gained from killing enemies. This is an in depth action RPG. If I haven’t made it clear already, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is an incredibly difficult game (the number of times I’ve died…), yet it’s incredibly satisfying to play. It’s a game of many introductions in the Zelda series. The introduction to towns, conversational characters and Dark Link. As for the immersion side of thing, it’s game of discovery, peril and real adventure. Zelda II is truly magical and is essential to any gamer, even if it is a little different to what may be expected.
9 Sep 2011
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Wrecking Crew How did Mario come to be so popular? Apparently by the 90s more children knew who Mario was than Mickey Mouse, so what was it that made him so recognisable? Well, what Nintendo did was feature their world famous character in as many games as possible. Main games, like Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros., cameos, such as in Punch Out! and Tennis, and spin-offs, like Wrecking Crew. Mario equaled Nintendo and Nintendo equaled quality gaming, as far as consumers were concerned. So Mario became popular because of games like Wrecking Crew prevented Mario from leaving our living rooms for over 25 years. The story is simple. Mario is part of a humongous one manned demolition crew and must destroy the interior of 100 different buildings. However there are walking enemies set on reducing Mario’s five lives to zero by walking into him, the fireballs aimed at Mario are also threatening, and a foreman called Spike has it in for Mario as well. So the buildings must be destroyed, with points on offer and bonus points for causing the maximum damage as quickly as possible. Unfortunately Mario cannot jump, only climb ladders and swing his hammer. This increases the difficult because of the nature of the enemies. To compensate, Mario can open doors to move the walking enemies to the background and he can enter from the left if he exits the right and vice versa. Not dissimilar to Mario Bros. and Pac-man. The puzzle element is incredibly clever, as particular items and sections can only be destroyed in a particular order, otherwise you have to start again. The best way to play? Grab a Luigi (second player) and play cooperatively (coming soon to Nintendo 3DS) and give that a go. This is definitely the most fun you can have destroying stuff, without actually destroying anything. Oh and by the way, there’s a level editor so you can create and save your own level designs (only available with Famicom Data Recorder, Wii and Nintendo 3DS) to test on your friends and family.
8 Sep 2011
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NES Open Tournament Golf On the last count there are actually eleven golf simulation games on the Nintendo Entertainment System. That’s a lot of golf. One eleventh of that selection is a distant cousin to Mario Golf, it’s NES Open Tournament Golf. If you like golf and you like simulators then this game requires a half the effort, used in golf, for a twentieth of the excitement found on a simulator. There are three different modes to play through. Stroke Play, Match Play and Tournament. Stroke Play involves playing two lots of 18 holes (the standard full golf course) and then seeing how well you do. If you do well enough then you move up the ranks, gaining access to the higher difficulty settings. It’s a bit like career mode in modern sports games. Match Play is all about the competitiveness of the sport. You bet on holes and play matches against opponents with generic male names of varying skill. Win holes to win prize money, which you want to maximise, of course. Vs. play is also available against a friend. In Tournament mode you play the other modes, but without the ability to go up the rankings. Depending on the placement in the tournament you get different amounts of prize money. The gameplay is simple to grasp. First the direction of the stroke is aimed from a birds eye view depending on the wind direction and speed. Then the correct club is selected depending on the distance from the hole and the terrain. Spin can be added to the ball by moving the dot to a location on the ball (up for forward spin, down for back spin, left to curve right and right to curve left), striking the ball comes next. To take a stroke it requires three presses of A. Easy. Then at the end comes putting, where Daisy or Peach play caddy and they offer advice. Whether you take it or not, it’s up to you. - Actually that’s quite a lot just to stick a ball in a hole. There are loads of different courses (54) with many obstacles and configurations to test your mettle, with plenty of options to customise. So much to be getting on with, then. All in all it’s just golf. It’s quite tricky, but one can imagine, it can be quite rewarding, in the end. The big question, though, is, out of the eleven NES golf games, is this the best?
7 Sep 2011
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Metroid There are a range of multiplayer games on the NES. Balloon Fight, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, etc. But what about a game where you’re on your own, all alone on a strange planet with nothing but a gun for an arm? This is the frightening world of Metroid. Please leave your nerves at the door, because they will be shot to pieces by the end of this game of survival. Metroid is a platformer like no other. You are Samus Aran, space bounty hunter, and after touching down on planet Zebes, with little more than a space suit and a short range plasma gun, you are let loose to search the caves, mines, pits and labs to destroy the Space Pirate and Metroid (life sapping, jelly fish-type alien) threat. However before that can happen there are numerous obstacles to overcome and an encyclopedia of aliens to dispatch. It’s one of those games that requires skill, grit, determination and intelligence, as well. Metroid is based on “rooms” or “areas” that are connected by doorways and from time to time if a particular area is entered, and Samus is under equipped, the contents of that room will swiftly induce a painful and frustrating death. So energy must be collected, as well as missiles, from downed enemies. Energy tanks, missile expansions and equipment upgrades can be found, strewn across the landscape or by killing a specific bosses. And it’s this upgrade > progress based gameplay that really defines Metroid. Throughout your tour of Zebes there will be many an occasion when you will risk your life and limb to travel across a room to find a red door (instead of the usual blue ones) or an indestructible block or even a creature that cannot be killed. There’s a prescribed route to take, so by finding the right way to go (through trial and error, and by error I mean death) you will come across the correct items in the correct order that will then allow you to access the new areas. Prepare to backtrack. All in all this is a tough, but brilliant game. Accurate platforming mixed with exploring and shooting. The downside? You will die a lot, and to carry on from where you left off, after resetting, you will need paper and a pen for a sixteen digit password. Additionally, despite the soundtrack that really sets the scene for every stage or area, and basic, yet attractive graphics and models, there can be slight frame rate issues when it gets busy on screen. Yet, as far as the overall entertainment value is concerned, it doesn’t matter because Metroid really is a stunning game.
6 Sep 2011
3 notes
The Legend of Zelda “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this.” Immortal words from a wise old man that kick started a generation (or three) into going on one of the most engaging and testing adventures of their lives. In a time of passwords, continues and restarts The Legend of Zelda broke the mould with an on cartridge save system. In a time of level based platform games, puzzle games and short arcade styles games, The Legend of Zelda made new ground by introducing gamers to a massive land to explore, with a plenty of secrets to discover. As with most role playing games, there’s a story behind The Legend of Zelda. Zelda, the princess of the land broke apart her portion of the Triforce (three golden, wish granting triangles of courage, wisdom and power) into 8 chunks in order to hide it from Ganon, the “prince of darkness”. Then she got kidnapped. Link, the protagonist, has to travel throughout the land of Hyrule collecting items and investigating dungeons, killing huge enemies, in order to collect the fragmented pieces and save the world. Oh, and by the way, you are Link! To progress in the game, each dungeon gifts you with a particular item that helps you to complete the dungeon, but also to benefit you in the wider world and access areas that were previously inaccessible. This means that the game follows the pattern of overworld, dungeon, overworld, dungeon, etc. Of course you require weapons to be able to fight the monsters, so you get a sword right at the beginning and most items double up as weapons. The one issue with The Legend of Zelda is the fact that there’s no clue of where to go from the beginning. In Super Mario Bros. you know to run from left to right, in Donkey Kong Jr. it’s pretty obvious what you need to do. But in The Legend of Zelda you need to be wearing your explorer hat and be prepared to invest some real time and energy in finding out what to do and familiarising yourself with the constantly expanding map. The best way to play is to try and attack from afar in the beginning, defensively, and then as more heart containers are gained (they give you the ability to take more damage before dying) you take the offensive and play aggressively. In addition to the brilliant presentation and gameplay, you have the classic Zelda music, sound effects and crazy characters. This game is pure imagination. It’s one to invest all your free time in.
5 Sep 2011
4 notes
Ice Climber The easiest and best way to climb a mountain has to be staying at home and playing Ice Climber. A bold statement, but really, if have never played this game before then you’re missing out on an excellent game. The aim of the game is to reach the top of each mountain to “save” the vegetables. The story, like most games from the NES era, is very basic and in true Nintendo style, involves theft or kidnap. In this case a giant condor has stolen the Ice Climbers’ vegetables, so Popo and Nana have to get them back by climbing 8 storeys for 32 different mountains. But of course there are a range of enemies and pitfalls along the way to stop you in your tracks. If it’s the gameplay that interests you, within the limited scope there’s a lot on offer. Bash enemies over the head with your hammer, jump to knock ice blocks away so higher levels can be accessed and jump aboard the moving clouds to progress higher up the mountain. Then when you reach the top there’s the bonus section involving collecting all the vegetables within 40 seconds, which, when compared to the relatively laid back ascendathon, is incredibly frantic, seeing that the climbers aren’t the best as jumping horizontally and slide around on the ice. Fall below and lose the bonus (but not a life, like if you fall below on the other eight storeys). It’s forgiving, but punishing at the same time. The two player simultaneous play (coming soon to Nintendo 3DS) is much like Balloon Fighter’s. You work together, but can be a little mean to one another along the way. Something to note is the brilliant music. Tuneful and reflective to what’s going on, on screen. And the animations are great too. All round a great game.
4 Sep 2011
2 notes
Balloon Fight Think back to a time before Super Mario Bros.…pretty difficult, isn’t it? Back in the old days before the plucky plumber went on his first full scale adventure Nintendo was still moderately successful with a range of exciting, yet demanding video games. One particular game is the obstacle course known as Balloon Fight. In the game you control a man with balloons attached to his back, destined to “topple” the pointy faced enemies, whilst avoiding their pointy faces and the water (and giant fish) below. Storywise, the game is paper thin. We, as the gamer, are not told why we are fighting balloon people and what the outcome will be. Why do bubbles give you more points? Why don’t the balloon enemies always have two balloons inflated at one time in the earlier levels when they have two (or more) balloons on them at all times? Anyway, it’s just a game, let’s talk about the gameplay. Think swimming, but in the sky. Tough to control, it is, but you do get used to it. Soon you’re flapping about avoiding those pesky pointed people, knocking them out and putting them in the water. But make sure you do knock them into the water! Their pointy beaks don’t burst your balloons when they’re on land, but if left for too long they re-inflate and get back their pointy powers of spiky flight. The airbourne woes continue when gangs of the dungaree wearing enemies flock around you with that single objective of destroying you. Finally, with the balloon fight aspect of the game, every few levels you get a bonus level involving balloons coming out of pipes. Collect them all to really boost your high score. But that is not all. Apart from the mid-flight fighting, there’s another mode: Balloon Trip. In this section of the game your ability to control the character is really put to the test. The game scrolls automatically whilst you navigate through the maze of lightning sparks collecting balloons for points and bubbles to freeze the screen for a few seconds. This high-score-athon also doubles as a training mode. With a steady difficulty curve, play this mode enough and soon you’d be manoeuvring all the modes in the game like a pro. So what are the best and cleverist parts of Balloon Fight? Well, if a balloon is popped, some lift is lost, making it harder to control. This means one has to be as aware when the balloon fighter has two balloons as when he has a single balloon. Something else to have a go at is the two player mode (coming soon to Nintendo 3DS) as you and a friend can play co-operatively to destroy all of the enemies, whilst working competitively to get the highest score. Nintendo’s rivalry mechanic at its best.
3 Sep 2011
3 notes
Donkey Kong Jr. Set after the events of the original Donkey Kong this game features two of the most well known characters in video game history in one neat little bundle. Just like Donkey Kong, there’s an ape at the top of the level and you control a character that jumps platforms and climbs ladders to get to the top. However, this game has a twist. In Donkey Kong Jr. you control…you guessed it…Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong’s son, and the antagonist? Nope, not Donkey Kong (that would be silly), it’s Mario!?It turns out that after saving Pauline, Mario felt the need to control the beast, so put Donkey Kong in a cage. As a result you play as DK Jr., swinging to the rescue, locating the keys and saving your dad from Mario’s evil clutches. There are four stages to play through, but also a number of ways to die. Just don’t touch the water/enemies/Mario and don’t fall too far, either. Or run out of time…The gameplay feels not too dissimilar to Donkey Kong, just with more of a strategy, required, and there’s the ability to climb ropes as opposed to ladders. Quick reflexes are required, as well as the determination to gain a high score. Just remember to collect all six keys in order to win. An especially clever part of the rope climbing mechanic is how if you hold onto two ropes at the same time you climb up faster, yet double the risk of being touched by a blue crocodile.Best way to play? Have no fear and take risks. It’s fun to live on the edge, and try for a massive time bonus on your score!
2 Sep 2011
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Super Mario Bros. This is (kind of) where it all started. Thinking about it, nothing much has actually changed in the last 25 or so years where Mario platformers are concerned. Ultimately you run from point A to point B jumping, powering up and killing enemies in an attempt to kill the boss at the end of each world (made up of four levels) and rescue the kidnapped princess. The story is simple yet it’s an objective that provides you with a purpose and so if and when you die (it’s pretty inevitable) you are compelled to pick it up again and push on. The characters have limited personality, but they are recognisable and fun to control, avoid or jump on. One of the best aspects of Super Mario Bros. is the gameplay mechanics. You actually gain momentum when you run and jump. Plus you can control Mario when he is in mid air, which allows for accuracy when landing particularly tricky jumps. There is a mixture of overground and underground levels, lifts, swimming levels and castles, so a lot to do over the eight (plus…) worlds. Voted as one of the best Nintendo games of all time, Super Mario Bros. is worth playing through just to see what all the fuss is (and was) about, plus it’s a real challenge. The best way to play? With a friend on one console. Find your Luigi and play together, like the old days. Or run for it. See how far you can get sprinting through the landscapes! Be a daredevil, it’s a lot of fun.
1 Sep 2011
8 notes

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Master Quest Round-Up (Part 1)

Back in the late 90s Nintendo took the world by storm with a masterpiece - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Over the next decade and beyond this game has been voted, on numerous occasions, as the best game of all time.

This game’s narrative has humble beginnings with a boy living in a forest with fellow forest folk, all permanently children, though, unlike his friends this boy does not have a fairy partner. Yet one day the boy gets his fairy. This is the beginning of one of the best adventures of all time. So what next? If you don’t know, then where have you been? But, really, in true Zelda fashion (with this time being the first time in three dimensions) you travel to towns, talk to a crazy cast of people, complete dungeons, side quests and fight massive monsters all to save the land of Hyrule from evil.

Ocarina of Time is so popular it has been released on every home console since the Nintendo 64. It’s on the GameCube via the limited edition (pre-order) version of The Wind Waker and on the special Collectors Edition Zelda disc and downloadable on the Wii through the Wii Shop Channel. Also found on disc that came with The Wind Waker is the Ocarina of Time Master Quest.

Imagine living somewhere for a long time, let’s say about three years, and then one morning you wake up and everything is reversed. Flipped. Completely the mirror image. How confusing would that be? And that’s not all. Imagine the inside of your school, university or place of work’s interior layout has been reconfigured so content of each room is swapped, changed or completely replaced. Welcome to the Master Quest.

(Y’know, Master Quest was actually devised on the Japanese Nintendo 64DD system? But that doesn’t really matter right now. It’s the newest version that we’re here for. A bit of trivia for you there…)

The Nintendo 3DS, a relatively new console, boasting impressive graphics and a screen that shows stereoscopic 3D images, so what game would be a fun, yet immersing testing ground for the new console? Our old friend, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, of course, but with a ‘3D’ stuck on the end. Plus an added Master Quest!

So this is where we boil it down to the ‘what’s this all about then?’ part of the  article… Well if you have been following my Twitter feed (@alexdcopland) or have been keeping an eye on the #OoTMQ hashtag then you should know that I broadcast a playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Master Quest over a couple of weeks, from waking up as a Kokiri (person of the forest) to becoming the Hero of Time (or should that be the Master of Time?) It was a pretty eventful experience, so here’s the round-up, in a few parts, of the highlights and the low lights of my adventures in Hyrule. Enjoy!

Not too bad, if I don’t mind saying so myself, especially for a first attempt at the Master Quest. It was tough and I will say exactly where in the round-up. Speaking of where, which was the best dungeon?

WARNING: spoilers

We shall continue with the round-up with the least exhilarating dungeon and I’ll be giving some awards to some of the many enemies in part 2, very soon!

29 Aug 2011
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