Notes: Action game based VERY loosely on the arcade version. Hardly at all, in fact. This is one of the most classic and essential games for the NES, you simply have to own it. Excellent programming and tons of features. You play as Ryu and must avenge your father’s death at the hands of Jaquio. The only real problem with it is the last few stages, which you’ll understand when you get that far. Gets really difficult at the end.
Notes: Second game of the NES trilogy. Basically the same as the original but with a new storyline and so forth. A little easier, and thus better because the difficulty has been stepped down. Enough where you can still have a rough time now and then, but not enough where it annoys the piss out of you.
Title: Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
Title: Ninja Kid
Manufacturer: Tecmo
Manufacturer: Bandai
Release Date: 1991
Release Date: 1986
Rating: Scarce
Rating: Common
Price: $8.00-$15.00, $15.00-$25.00
Location: 1, 2
Price: $3.00-$5.00, $5.00-$8.00
Location: 1, 2
Notes: Final game of the NES trilogy. Some seem to think that it’s the worse. Personally it’s my favorite. The storyline is odd, but interesting, and it has definitely gotten a lot easier at this point. Not too easy, but a lot easier. Some find this to be the major drawback, but I rather enjoy it and find myself coming back to this one most of all since it is a lot of fun to run through it without getting the snot beat out of you.
Notes: Action game that never, ever ends (if it does, let me know). Very simple, but a lot of fun. You have to complete each stage by going to different areas (they constantly change), save the princess, and then fight mini-bosses. Eventually you fight more powerful bosses that can sometimes be quite difficult.
Notes: This is one of several so-called “test-cartridges.” As with all of the others, it was not released for the general public, but only for repairmen. It had to be ordered directly from Nintendo. This one will even test R.O.B. and I would say is the most useful, though none of them really are. Keep in mind that they were never “complete.” This one comes in a plain gray casing, but with a label that features Mario pulling out a cartridge like a vegetable in “Super Mario Bros. 2.”
Notes: This is actually a later release of the “Nintendo World Class Service Control Deck Test Cartridge.” Due to the large amount of requests, Nintendo decided to alter the cartridge casing to save money. Instead of the yellow case with a nice label, this one is simply gray with a computer print out label glued to it. Not as nice in appearance as the other, but a little more difficult to locate. Both of them run basic tests on the NES, none of which really prove anything you can’t figure out yourself.
