The NES conversion of Marble Madness was developed by Rare and published by Milton Bradley, in North America and Europe, in 1989. I don’t think the game was ever released in Japan, though. And it’s a very good port, with some small enhancements and decent controls and playability.
Category Archives: NES/Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom games.
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, NES/Famicom
The third game in the Castlevania series, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, was first released for the Nintendo Famicom in 1989 in Japan (under the title of “Akumajō Densetsu“). A North American NES release followed in 1990, and a European release in 1992.
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Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, NES/Famicom
The second game in the Castlevania series, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, was originally released in Japan (as “Dracula II – Noroi no Fuuin“) for the Famicom Disk System in 1987, and in North America for the NES in 1988. Europe had to wait until 1990 for a release of the game.
Castlevania, NES/Famicom
The first Castlevania game was initially released in Japan, by Konami, under the title of “Akumajō Dracula” in 1986. Versions for the MSX2 and Famicom Disk System were developed simultaneously, with the Famicom version coming out on 26th September, and the MSX version a month later, on 30th October. That same game was later released in Europe on 30th October 1987 – translated into English – under the title of “Vampire Killer“.
When it came time to convert the game to the Nintendo Entertainment System for a North American release it was decided to re-title the game as “Castlevania“*. This turned out to be a significant decision as it became a big hit and grew to become a popular and well-known series of video games. The name “Castlevania” entered into the lexicon of classic, instantly-recognisable game titles, later becoming a portmanteau of “Metroid” and “Castlevania” (“Metroidvania“) to describe an entire sub-genre of action/platform games that all share similar gameplay features.
*= Although it’s not clear who actually came up with the name “Castlevania” it has been reported that the change was due to Konami of America senior vice president Emil Heidkamp‘s discomfort with the religious connotations of the title “Akumajō Dracula“, which he believed translated as “Dracula Satanic Castle” (although some argue that it translates as “Demon Castle Dracula“).
Commando, NES/Famicom
The 1986 NES version of Commando is a flickery mess to be honest, although that didn’t stop the game becoming a smash hit – selling over one million cartridges worldwide.
Shatterhand, NES/Famicom
Shatterhand is a scrolling action game in which you play a young police officer – called Steve Hermann – who has lost his arms and has had them replaced with enhanced, cybernetic limbs, and is in pursuit of a group of military renegades called “Metal Command“.
Shatterhand was developed by Natsume and originally published for the Nintendo Famicom by Angel under the title of “Tokkyū Shirei Soruburein” in 1991. That version of the game is based on the Japanese TV series “Super Rescue Solbrain“. The US and European versions, published by Jaleco, removed the licensed elements, changed the backstory, and re-titled the game as “Shatterhand” for Western audiences. One level was also completely changed – from a carnival level in the Japanese version, to a submarine level in the American version. The gameplay in both versions is identical, though.
Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros: Visions of Power, NES/Famicom
The third game in the Wizards & Warriors series was released for the NES in North America in 1992 and in Europe in 1993. It was once again developed by Zippo Games for Rare, although the game did encounter a few issues during development*, and was published by Acclaim Entertainment.
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Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II, NES/Famicom
The sequel to Wizards & Warriors was developed by Zippo Games (with help from Rare) and published by Acclaim in North America in 1989 and Europe in 1991. It’s another action platform game that doesn’t deviate much from the formula of the original, but is different enough to make it interesting.
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Wizards & Warriors, NES/Famicom
Wizards & Warriors is an action platform game developed by Rare and published by Acclaim (in North America and Europe) and Jaleco (in Japan) in 1987.
Paperboy, NES/Famicom
The Nintendo Entertainment System port of Paperboy was developed by Tengen and published by Mindscape in 1988. And it is not a bad conversion, all told. That said: it’s nothing special either. It’s certainly not as good as the excellent Master System version, which was its main competitor in its generation.
The King of Grabs 