Nine Over Ten 9/10

This Kid Icarus stuff is rather tough. No wonder I have got no love towards platformers. However, the “I’m Finished!” message had me in chuckles the first time it appeared after the character plunged to his death.

I still think it’s due to a programming issue (deliberately or otherwise) that doesn’t allow the player to descend down levels, leaving only one way, up.

The game actually looks grittier than its own cover, and an interesting note for collectors, the game was released as part of Nintendo’s Famicom Mini Series, number 24 to be exact. Sold out on Play-Asia, I can only find one used copy on eBay.

R4DS owners and other flashcart owners would be happy to know that the game runs pretty well on the nesDS, with no problems so far. Now if only I can get pass that old hag..

The idea for the 10th Edition of The ROM Report came to me when I was talking to a couple of my colleagues about 80s cartoon series. I remember being glued to the tube and being fed a diet of Thundercats, Transformers, Centurions, and Spiral Zone.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was also a favourite series of mine. I wouldn’t really call them turtles, they are more like tortoises but like blondes, turtles seem to be more fun. The cartoon came out in 1987 and the NES game was release in 1989.

It’s pretty fun to play, as you can see in the video I’ve taken earlier of the game.

On the otherhand, I didn’t really watch Beetlejuice on TV. However, the video game, released for the NES is a little tough and presents a challenge. See for yourselves:

Now, if you think difficulty levels are over-rated, you have not seen Transformers: Convoy No Nazo. Yup, it’s based on the Transformers cartoon series and stars Ultra Magnus.

The game is so tough that I can’t even get pass the first level. Here’s a video of my attempt:

All 80s inspired games featured in this article can be run on the Nintendo DS with the use of nesDS. Check out the rest of The ROM Report for more information on how to run older generation games on the Nintendo DS.

NES gamers would probably remember Taito’s classic The Legend of Kage which was released in 1987 for the North American NES.

The game was a 2D platformer and even though I’ve played it as a kid, I remembered distinctively that the hero was a ninja that could jump really high, and one of the enemy types wore a hat and shot flames, and was a tough bastard at that.

Anyways, I got the game to run on the Nintendo DS with the help of the nesDS emulator. You might want to check that out, but before that here’s a video of the game running on the DS.

Since the theme of this edition of The ROM Report is “the old and the new”, lets talk about the sequel to The Legend of Kage. Yup, Kage Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2 was released in early March 2008 for the Nintendo DS.

The graphics have become much prettier, and along with it, more forgiving gameplay and a rather nice soundtrack as well. The hero, Kage, can still jump really high and comes with a new special power that allows him to duplicate himself.

I’ll let the movie do the talking:

Kage Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2, is available at Play-Asia at a cheaper price than what other imported Japanese games are sold for. Click here for purchase details.

Welcome to the Ninth Edition of The ROM Report, and a Happy New Year! Today’s post is partially inspired by Retrojunk.com, because I really like the site’s articles on NES and SNES games.

Without further ado, here are the SNES games that I tested with SNEmulDS running on my R4DS/Nintendo DS:

• Robocop 3 - Runs OK. This action game is rather difficult to play; how do you shoot those grenade tossing bots??
• Rock ‘N Roll Racing - Runs OK. Despite some graphical glitches in the menu, you’ll be racing in down the isometric tracks in this rather interesting game.
• Kirby Super Star - Not OK. Failure to launch.
• Earthworm Jim - Runs OK. I remember playing an Earthworm Jim game on the PC. Same annoying worm, but OK gameplay.
• Super Punch Out - Runs OK..but just barely. Graphical glitches abound, including those happening IN-game, but still good for some laughs.

And now, for some NES games that I tested as well with, of course, nesDS:

• Kid Icarus - Runs OK. It’s like Ice Climber, but with arrows.
• Bad Dudes - Runs OK.
• Super Dodge Ball - Runs OK. Some graphical glitches here and there.
• Master Blaster - Runs OK. Is that a car that you drive around with a cannon attach on top, or is it a tank? It jumps pretty high too.

On a related note, yours truly intends to get a brand new PSP Slim & Lite. Wouldn’t it be nice to have The ROM Report on the PSP? But that would mean getting a modded PSP.

On the basis of supporting original games, that would be a bother, but in terms of unlocking the true potential of the device, a modded PSP is a must.

So, to have a modded PSP or otherwise, that is the question.

Welcome back to The Rom Report, currently in Issue Eight. Here’s where you’ll find what retro games from the NES, SNES, Genesis, and Gameboy eras will work on a modern day device such as the Nintendo DS with the help of homebrew emulator software!

• SNEmulDS - For SNES Games
• nesDS - For NES Games
• Lameboy - For GameBoy Color Games
• jEnesisDS - For Sega Genesis Games

• Adventures of Lolo (NES) - Runs OK. This is a puzzle game in the vein of Bomberman. You play as a rotund purple creature in a quest to rescue his princess (Lala). Curiously, Lolo and Lala appear as the bad guys in some Kirby games. Both games are developed by HAL Laboratory Inc.
• Balloon Fight (NES) - Runs OK. For all you retro gamers out there, this is a classic on the NES, along with Excitebike and Ice Climber.
• Castlevania III - Dracula’s Curse - Runs OK. Looks prettier than Castlevania II but with graphical glitches on and off.
• Crystalis (Gameboy Color) - Runs OK. SNKs Zelda killer does in fact play a bit like the Zelda of old, but in a sci-fi setting.
• Crystalis (NES) - Runs OK. This is the same game which was ported to the Gameboy Color.
• Dragon’s Lair (SNES) - Runs OK. Another platform hack and slash and like Rastan Saga II, I really like the graphics.
• Earthbound Zero (NES) - Not OK. This is a major disappointment as I couldn’t get the Demiforce version of Earthbound Zero, which is the English version of Mother 1, to run on nesDS. Here’s a tip I got from someone: All you have to do is open Earthbound Zero in a NES emulator on your computer (I used Nestopia) and get to a point where you can save a file. After you save, transfer the Earthbound Zero SAV file into your NESDS roms folder and you should be able to resume your game in NESDS. Hope this helps.
• Frogger (SNES) - Runs OK. I’m actually pleasantly surprised at what pretty graphics the SNES is capable of, and Frogger is a good example. Played on a smaller screen like that of the DS serves to accentuate the graphics even more.
• Ikari Warrios (NES) - Runs OK. SNK’s offering on the NES feels like a pushover in the starting 30 seconds but quickly ramps up the difficulty. Apparently the game was inspired by Rambo.
• Maniac Mansion (NES) - Runs OK. Lucasfilm Games’ (now LucasArts) “point and click” adventure game was heavily censored when ported over to the NES to conform to Nintendo’s policy. For a list of what was left-out, read the Expurgation of Maniac Mansion. As for the “point and click” part, you use the d-pad to move a cursor on the screen.
• Popeye (NES) - Runs OK. An arcade conversion for the NES, it’s pretty fun to play on the DS. I used to play this alot on the NES clone called Micro Genius.
• Rastan Saga II (Genesis) - Runs OK. A platform hack and slash, I actually liked this game, with its colourful pallete and rather fun gameplay. Best played on jEnesisDS and not PicoDriveDS.
• River City Ransom (NES) - Runs OK. A platform bash-em-up, I like the fact that you can throw weapons (chains, knuckle dusters) at opponents. The graphics remind of me of South Park.
• Startropics (NES) - Runs OK. Nothing much on this as I’m still adverse to RPGs with really crappy graphics or boring premise.
• Sweet Home (NES) - Runs OK. Feel’s abit like Resident Evil with a haunted castle/mansion and a bunch of people looking for something.
• Wrecking Crew (NES) - Not OK.

• Rastan Saga II is available on the PC-Engine and Sega Mega Drive.
• Ikari Warriors is available on the Famicom.
• Mother 1 and 2 (Earthbound Zero and Earthbound respectively) are available as a Japanese language bundle for the GBA.
• Akumajo Densetsu, the Japanese version of Castlevania III, is available on the Famicom.