03/21/08 – New Additions

Added a few titles to my collection: The Simpsons: Bart Vs. The World (with box), Strider, and Jurassic Park. Found at the local used record store for about $15 total. I think I got gyped on Strider. Oh, well.

A Massive Undertaking

Last night I had a few friends over, and after two-and-a-half hours comprised of Guitar Hero 3, Guitar Hero 2, N+, and Rayman Raving Rabbids, we decided it was time to fire up the NES.

1942 first. (Do you know that game has 32 stages? They’re also boring and interminable.) Then Excitebike. Then Mario 3. Then some Tengen Pac Man. Then Ghosts N Goblins…

…And holy shit. Do you know how HARD Ghosts N Goblins is?

Oh my god. I have, as of yesterday, decided to beat every NES game in the US.

I’m not going to talk down to myself, for I don’t doubt my abilities. But I DO know this. I am going to go INSANE beating these games.

Overview: Mission Statement

Okay, this is a Nintendo Entertainment System.

This is a controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

This is a picture of the complete NES library.

There are, by my count, 759 games for the NES. At least, there are in the U.S.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you a bit about myself. I was born in 1983 in Toledo, Ohio, and I was brought up around computers. My father taught me at a very young age, 5, to be exact, how to operate a Commodore 64 computer. Now, mind you, this was a long time ago, and the C64 was super top-of-the-line back then.

Anyways, I played tons of games on the damn thing, and eventually, that great Christmas of 1989, me and my brother got our very own Nintendo Entertainment System. We also got some great games, too. Ghosbusters, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!!, Joust, and Air Fortress. Throughout the years, I would become attatched to lots of different video game systems. The Sega Genesis, the Super Nintendo, the Game Boy, the Game Gear, 3DO (dead serious), the Sega Dreamcast, N64, both Playstation 1 & 2, Xbox, Gamecube, Wii, and currently Xbox 360, but no system has had the spirit and the influence that the NES had on me. I’ve beaten tons of games. Way too many to even try to list here. 

Switch to present. I’m still a gamer, only now I have three kids that like to play, too. Thank God I kept the NES. Still in working condition, and played quite often, actually, my NES remains the ultimate video game system and the centerpiece of my entertainment center.

My NES collection, although still fledgling, clocks in somewhere around 250 pieces out of a possible 791. A little over 1/3rd of the total collection. I am still an active collector, but not quite the typical example.

My collector’s aim is to own one copy of every game/accessory released in the US for the NES. Not CIB (Complete In Box) which means, game, maunal, and any accompanying art. If I were to insist that my collection hinges on whether or not I can find a mint-condition box and manual for a game like John Elway’s Quarterback, which I bought for $0.25 USD, and I’ll be DAMNED if I’m going to spend time AND money asking people where I can find a box for that piece of trash. I realize that further down the road, there may be a few exceptionally RARE titles (The Flintstones 2, Mega Man 6, Duck Hunt 2, Cheetahmen) that I probably WON’T be able to find unless I purchase a CIB specimen from eBay, but the time for this is not now. As I usually say, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. 

As usual, I digress. 

 Fortunantely, I am lucky enough to be local to a chain of indie record stores (weird, eh?) and other collectors that keep their NES stock moving around.

Now, with the realization that I DO NOT have a complete collection, let me tell you of my ULTIMATE GOAL.

My ULTIMATE GOAL is to beat every single NES game (the ones that can be beat, of course) at least once. Sports games get winning seasons. Games where there is no apparent ending will just be played straight through until the game repeats itself. I’m sure there are some rules that should be set up, but I’m in no mood to create that list now. Coming soon.

My reasons for doing this are many. For one, I feel that modern video games, although awesome on the eyes, and easily accessible, have lost something that was once there.

There used to not be hype surrounding video games. Celebrities didn’t do voices, famous artists didn’t do production design, there weren’t tons of games with tons of sequels, no online multiplayer, no victory dances, no deathmatches, no capture the flag, no slayer, and certainly no MMORPGs.

Let it be said that they certainly don’t make video games like they used to. It’s easy to figure it out. Sit down and play God of War on the PS2. Great looking game, no? Too bad the whole game holds your hand as if you were a mere whelp picking up a controller for the first time, right? Too bad I’m a little more experienced than that and had about as much fun with God of War as a Rottweiler has with a kitten. And just about as much bloodshed and bravado.

There used to be spirit in these games. You used to be able to pop in any game and in two seconds, you knew the controls. There are two buttons on the damn thing. Have you seen an Xbox controller? Up, Down, Left, Right, X, Y, A, B, Black, White, LT, RT, LB, RB, L3, R3, start, back, guide?

WTF?

No. Up, down, left, right, start, select, A &B. That’s all you need. One button attacks, one button jumps (usually).

I don’t know if any other NES fanboys are out there, but beating every NES game at least once seems far too compelling to NOT do.

I’m sure most of you will agree with me.

Every game will have it’s own post, and possibly a video to accompany my quest. Email me at thenintendologist@hotmail.com for any suggestions, tips, or even if you’re a collector and you’re looking to chat.

You know me, you know who I am, you know what I am planning to do. Hang tight and stay close by, for there will be videos and more information soon.

Oh, and anyone reading this can feel free to throw the “I’ll cross that bridge when I get there” comment in my face three months from now when I’m trying to beat BattleToads.

Without a Game Genie?

We’ll see.