Punch Out!!! (1990)

Punch Out is very comparable to World Cup, in the way that it’s not an attempt to accurately interprate a sport. With the limitations of the Nintendo Entertainment System that is probably a good choice. The angle is well chosen: you see yourself from behind, been able to block, avoid right or left and punch, rather than a view from the side, which is pretty common in 8-bit fighting games. It makes it impossible to play rather quickly with the footwork left and right, avoiding your opponents fist.

Graphics

Punch Out tries to entertain the player with a large variation of over stereotypical opponents that are way too big, while you are way to small. A German that’s looks like a World War One Fighter pilot and a Japanese guy that looks like a young Mr. Miyagi. Only with fists the twice the size of your head.

Sound

The in game music is constantly the same, so that will effectively start to annoy you after a while.

Playability

There is not much you can do: punch, evade, block or move left or right. You can punch in the stomach on the head (right with A, left with B). So it’s pretty easy to play. You have to adjust tactics when new opponents appear though. Your coach will give you clues how to defeat certain opponents. The further you go, the more movies your opponents will have.

Punch Out reacts very well to your commands, even when the pace is up.

Instant Fun Factor

It can be played as a arcade game, because it’s not hard to control. Playing it better and faster will take some more time though.

Long Term Fun Factor

Punch Out forgives your losses, something most of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) sports games don’t. Meaning: it works in rankings, starting at Minor Level, you have to win three times to promote. But you can also relegate (accept when you are fighting your first fight), so you can play a weaker opponent again and learn to control the game better.

Punch Out is not a game that you can play for hours, but getting the most out of this game will take some time. While playing you’ll find out that defeating the latter opponents will take more than then pressing A and B.

Graphics: 15/20

Sound: 12/20

Playability: 18/20

Instant Fun Factor: 14/20

Long Term Fun Factor: 16/20

Total score: 75/100

Excitebike (1984)

This game is probably the most instant fun the Nintendo Entertainment System can offer. Being as old as the machine itself, it offers a very simple feature that made this game way ahead of his time: you can build your own tracks.

Graphics

You see your bike sideways, riding from left to right. You can also move up and down five lanes to avoid certain obstacles. The graphics are simple even for a NES-game, but that’s no surprise since the game is 26 years old.  

Sound

The main theme might be one of the best known of the system. During the game you can only hear your bike, which is a lot better than hearing some annoying theme over and over again, like in some other NES-games

Playability

You can control Excitebike pretty much instantly. You can go up or down the lanes, you can accelerate normally or you can push your bike harder, risking overheating it. That’s pretty much it. The only that can go wrong is that you tumble over or your bike overheats. When playing “Selection B”, you have opponents that might run you over. Trying the same to them becomes the next challenge.

Instant Fun Factor

I have never met anyone that didn’t like Excitebike instantly. The first two tracks are easy enough to get how the game works. Then the fun can start.

Long Term Fun Factor

Because you can create your own tracks, the number of possibilities are endless in this game. And that’s something for a game that was released back in 1984. You can build a track with choosing from 19 obstacles, and make the race up to 9 laps long. Saving and loading a created track is also possible, although it takes a while. If you haven’t played this game for twenty years and decide in a nostalgic mood that you might try if you still like playing this: I assure you, you will.

Graphics: 12/20

Sound: 14/20

Playability: 20/20

Instant Fun Factor: 20/20

Long Term Fun Factor: 20/20

Total score: 86/100

World Cup (1990)

Game with a very high fun factor, playable for up to four people at a time. World Cup does not attempt to be realistic at all, which is pretty impossible to do with an 8-bit system anyway. There is no referee and no offside, you can make a foul but with some luck your opponent will remain on the grass, red and yellow cards aren’t to be feared. It’s the best soccer game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Graphics

The ball is a third the size of the players, the measurements of the field aren’t even to close to reality and the players have a figure that makes it impossible for them to have a neck. You’ll probably start laughing right away when you start this game up for the first time.

Sound

The fact that the matches are pretty long and the music is annoying will probably drive you nuts.

Playability

The choice to give you only one player in control in stead of the whole team by a switching button makes this game different. You can give your teammates commands, but you can’t do any more than make them pass or shoot. When you are playing World Cup for the first time you’ll need a minute to get the system under control. But then, after just half an hour you’ll probably have figured out how to score with a diving header or a bicycle kick. Also the game offers you the possibility to change your starting line up and to instruct your team mates. In 1990, that was pretty new.

Instant Fun Factor

The looks and feel of the game, the fact that you can knock out an opponent for minutes without consequences, and the fact that the controls aren’t that hard to learn makes this game a game that can be played Arcade-style.

Long Term Fun Factor

The one player modus takes a very long time to finish without codes. You can’t set any timers. In the first rounds you’ll be likely to score 20 times, so those games can take a pretty long time. In multiplayer mode the game stays fun to play, because you have a lot more influence on the game then with other 8-bit soccer games. Especially the pace of your turning while dribbling makes that you can outskill your opponents. Because of the tactical possibilities the game leaves you room to experiment for a while. Some players have special abilities, this takes away the constant repetition of the game.

Graphics: 18/20

Sound: 10/20

Playability: 16/20

Instant Fun Factor: 20/20

Long Term Fun Factor: 16/20

Total score: 80/100