Tag Archives: Koji Kondo

Super Mario Bros., NES

The successor to the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. was released in Japan and North America in 1985, although it wasn’t released in Europe until 1987.

It is considered by many gamers to be one of the greatest video games of all time, and I wouldn’t dispute that assessment.

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The Mysterious Murasame Castle, Famicom Disk System

Known in its native Japan as Nazo no Murasame Jō, The Mysterious Murasame Castle is an action adventure released by Nintendo for the FDS in 1986.

It came not long after the first Zelda (also released on the Famicom Disk System) and uses many Zelda gameplay elements in its design, except with a ‘Feudal Japan’ style setting.

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Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, NES/Famicom

Although this second Zelda game sold well (more than 4 million copies worldwide at the time), it is not particularly well-liked.

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The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Nintendo 64

Released on the Nintendo 64 in 2000, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time.

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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Nintendo 64

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is regarded as one of the best RPGs of all time.

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Super Mario 64, Nintendo 64

Released in 1996, Super Mario 64 was one of the first fully-3D platform games to actually work, rather than be a struggle to play.

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The Legend of Zelda, NES

1986 saw the release of the original The Legend of Zelda on the NES, although it wasn’t on cartridge – it was on floppy disk. Specifically: for the Nintendo Famicom Disk System (FDS).

A cartridge version, with battery backup-up saves, was released in North America in 1987.

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Star Fox, Super Nintendo

I’m going to use the Japanese and North American name for this game – Star Fox – rather than the European name (Star Wing, which was chosen because the name “Star Fox” was apparently too similar to a German company called “StarVox”!).

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Kung-Fu Master, Arcade

Irem‘s Kung-Fu Master is a brilliant side-scrolling beat ’em up from the video game arcades of 1984. And it has lost little of its appeal over the years, because Kung-Fu Master is precise, violent and fun. Not to mention a huge challenge.

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Super Mario World, Super Nintendo

Mario games may be looked down upon by some gamers as “for kids”, but this game proves otherwise.

Super Mario World (1990) may look and sound like a kid’s game on the surface, but – underneath the hood – the gameplay is for pros…

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