I put on the CGQ+ Flashback play list, cook up some macaroni & cheese, add just a dab of cool ketchup like a cherry on top, pop open a root beer... turn on the Nintendo! Let the last 33 years melt away and pretend its 1989 forever!!! Nothing else comes close. Chris, you are a God damned national treasure!!!! lol
Blades of Steel is still my favourite game on the platform. That game got so much mileage in my friend circle when it came out. Everyone had it. And when we couldn't play road hockey, we played Blades of Steel. Ultimately, we moved on to EA's offerings but still came back for a fight or two every once and a while. Great memories.
I beat Zelda without a guide when I was a kid, but I had lots of friends who were also playing and we would all talk about secrets at school. That was how we did it before the internet.
I don't know how I missed this channel and your main channel for this many years. So well made. I just did a random search of ppl with an asto city cab at home (because I'm planning on doing the same) and now I'm addicted to your channel.
Castlevania was one of the best looking 8 bit games you have to understand the limits of the tech and work with it rather than against it Konami knows this
@@ostiariusalpha Technically there are 2 TMNT games made by Konami on the NES...The first god awful game was made by their fake ass shell publisher Ultra games
@@lutherheggs451 Ultra is Konami and Konami is Ultra. The first game (agree to disagree that it is a bad game) was developed by Konami, and published by them in Japan. Ultra is just another name that Konami published under to skirt Nintendo's release limits. Nintendo knew what Konami was doing, and Konami knew that Nintendo didn't care.
The one that comes to mind for me that was not mentioned was Bucky O'Hare. Fantastic platform shooter, which is incredibly difficult, but an absolute blast to play.
Without question, both Capcom and Konami were responsible for catapulting the NES (along with Nintendo's own games) to gaming dominance. There were a few others that had some stand out titles starting in 89/90 like Sunsoft, Tecmo and Rare. However, the one constant theme about Konami games that always hit us as kids was their soundtracks, without question, both them and Capcom delivered excellent game songs consistently. I only found out rather recently that Konami's logo are stylized squarewaves and that Konami literally means "wave". Pretty clever , eh? In the Castlevania Collection released for the Switch and PS4 you can play the Japanese versions of Castlevania with the sound intact. In my opinion, Lifeforce is the best shoot em up on the NES, excellent graphics, sound and best of all 2 player co-op.
@@nyehentertainment It's a vertically scrolling shmup where Konami dialed the graphical enhancement to 11 on the Famicom. Vertical parallax, layered sprites, pseudo-scaling effects, and an awesome soundtrack.
im a young gamer in my 20s and i watch a lot of retrogame videos and its crazy on what they considered 2 violent back in the 80s and 90s vs whats considered 2 violent now.
Yet another outstanding fireside chat with CGQ+ It almost feels like I’m right there in the room with Chris, just chatting about NES games and scoping out cow pictures together.
I remember walking 2 miles each way in a blizzard to got get a copy of Simons Quest the day it came out. It took me forever to figure the game out. I was stuck at the tornado part for a week. I figured it out by accident. I was holding down on the control while talking to my buddy. I was satisfied when I beat it. I had a harder time beating the first Castlevania. I never did beat the 3rd one.
When do find a copy or download Dracula's Curse, do have the witch Syfa. She makes the final fight with Dracula FAR FAR more easier. Stick with her fire flame for stage attacks but her ice blast is great against Drac.
@@sammylane21 Yeah I've got a copy. I'd like to play it someday. It's at the top of my list along with Symphony of the night. Right now I'm working on Star Wars KOTOR.
"GET THE PASS!" ...thanks for solving the 30 year mystery!! We thought it was "Hit the pass!" Or "Hit to pass!" I totally forgot how incomprehensible that was.
Chris, For all the absolutely wonderful content, thank you! :) I had just finished Flashback Ep. 29, for the second time. The only thing better than watching the content that you release, is watching it again.
Great video as always. Thanks for continuing to make great content after all of these years. I kind of lost touch with your videos once Covid hit, but I'm back and so happy to be. Nothing like going back to my childhood. Thanks Chris!
Another great CGQ episode! Loved the memories and games shared. I too had similar experiences growing up. I spent waaaaaay to much time trying to find "Goonies 1" after I received Goonies II for Christmas one year. lol I appreciate the footage your included as well. A great compliment to your discussion and coverage of these classic Konami games. You really have a great perspective that is one of the most grounded I've seen on TH-cam. Keep up the excellent work!!!
This was a great overview of these games, thanks! I agree with Simon's Quest. Back when I was 11 or so, my older brother had a friend over to stay the night. He brought the game and let me play it, and I was so absorbed into it. To me, it was veey immersive, and I don't know how but my bro's friend memorized how to beat the game. So he helped me beat the game that night, and I'll never forget how awesome it felt.
You hit the nail right on the head with the James Rolfe stuff. People consistently regurgitate the AVGN opinions without ever having played those games themselves.
One of my favorite videos you have done, and like you Konami means a lot to me and my childhood growing up playing the NES. I’m from Detroit and hockey is huge, as you know, both being Redwings fans, so Blades of Steel was a staple in my collection. When you hit us with the deadpan “AHHH” I laughed so hard my beer got caught in between my throat and the floor. That was one of the funniest things I have ever heard man. Great job!
I was a Mega Drive kid but my cousin had a NES and everytime we visited that thing would get played to death. Iconic console! Love your videos, anymore mixtape videos coming up?
Your take on Castlevania 2 rings so true to me. I had the exact experience. My guess is most people who dislike it just didn't play it back in the day. I have the same Tupperware cup since I was a kid. My wife tried to throw it away because it's not marked BPA-free.
Double Dribble was not only the best Basketball game on the NES, it is one of the most popular games on the NES period. The slam dunk shots were what really sold the game. Top Gun was also really popular. I loved everything about it except landing, I would always have my brother land for me.
Gradius and Lifeforce are my two favorite Konami games on NES. I used to love playing Track & Field in the arcades not long after the 84 summer Olympics in LA.
Thank you for still making videos Chris. You have such a specific way of sharing information that is very intriguing, relatable & enjoyable. Now please make another PS1 video, PS1 in 1996 preferably :) Thank you in advance. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Right after you mentioned Gradius I grabbed my Switch and played through the whole game by the time you finished the video. I always Lifeforce a little more myself but just wanted to say thanks giving me the idea man.
Konami was such a force on the NES. Only Capcom came close when it came to 3rd party developers. When They finally made games for the Genesis the system was long in the tooth, but they were great games.
I played Castlevania II dozens of times as a kid. I absolutely loved it. It was my very first exposure to Castlevania. I know people hate it, but I don't.
I finally put a genuine effort into Simon's Quest in 2020 and I agree, it's great and honestly pretty easy. Get a strategy guide, commit to about 30 minutes of grinding at the start, and it's lots of fun and has great atmosphere.
Castlevania is easily my favorite video game franchise... I'm a team "Castlevania 2 was great" guy. Loved it back then, and love it still. I wouldn't be sad if they gave it the remake treatment same as the GB game on Wii. Would I say its better than 1 or 3? No, but its different and I don't like comparing them. I don't remember using a guide on this one, but me and my best friend Harry beat it together, and we would have had access to that Nintendo Power... so maybe there was something in there we used. I think the clues are insufficient, but I do remember we figured out the Debora's Cliff thing on our own.
18:49 Way to go Maverick, you just killed yourself and Goose.Growing up with Atari 2600 junior, I was blown away by Super Mario Bros for the first time at a friend's house, from a system I had never of heard of.Some time later, I saw Contra and it was the most popular game among my friends with its 2 player capability.But being an Airwolf fan, it was that title on the Famicom that captured my imagination the most.A little trivia, I remember seeing Delta Force label on Contra cartridge, though it had no connection to that Chuck Norris movie. Is that cow Norman from City Slickers?
A new vid!! Sweet!!! I was checking out your shop and saw the "obey" postcard. I want that on a black T. Lol. That would be awesome! Nice to see you again good sir!!!
I love these videos! The more things change the more they stay the same indeed. I remember Contra being more of a myth than reality growing up in the Kansas City area. Never saw a copy of it until I want to say around '89? Not that it mattered for me. Growing up I wasn't allowed to play Contra or Castlevania or Rush 'N Attack due to their content. I did play the crap out of Top Gun and Track and Field. I enjoyed those games a lot growing up. Later on obviously as I grew older I was able to go back and experience those other games from Konami and they still are fun to play today.
this cracked me up with the blades of steal "get the pass", we streamed this live a couple years ago, and since I couldn't understand what he was saying I kept saying "chris Kattan" and I tell you what, everyone was in tears during that stream lol
Actually, James Rolfe likes Simon's Quest. It was his first video as Angry Video Game Nerd. I don't think he could have made the video, if he didn't have a love for the game.
NBA Live 95 for the Genesis is also one of my favorite basketball games of all-time! It was actually the first basketball game I ever owned for a console.
Gradius was probably the first rental game I remember my cousin picking up at his house. I remember always getting nervous at the twin volcanoes. But certainly had a blast with it. I had never played Track-n-Field, and only Track-n-Field II which is where my nostalgia was centered around. I remember the crazy high dive event, and its funny you mentioned the NES Advantage. That was absolutely essential for some events in Track-n-Field II, especially the Hammer Throw. I remember playing Castlevania, but only after I had played Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. I had a great time with both games, even if I needed a strategy guide to finish Simon's Quest. The Adventures of Bayou Billy was fun, but damn tough. The common enemies just keep weeding away life no matter how adept you are and extra energy is hard to come by in that one. You're right. The silver box art of the Konami games really made them stand out. This was a fantastic trip down memory lane! Thanks so much for making this video!
Konami was firing all cylinders in the mid to early 90's, probably my first Konami game memory was from Goonies 2 and I also found it weird but enjoyable but I was also just watching others play since I was still a little kid in 1988.
Super C is like the ignored middle child, it's older and younger siblings get all the attention. Super C is a fine game but the original Contra was my introduction to the series and the run n' gun genre. Contra 3 is the shiny 16-bit Contra that blew me away as a kid and the one I played co-op more then all other Contra games combined. Because of nostalgia I play Contra and Contra 3 multiple times a year because it takes me back to my youth, Super C doesn't do that so I play it every few years. No one seemed to talk about it back in the day and that still holds true today.
Great episode. I had a few Konami games, Contra, Super C, Double Dribble, and Track & Field II. My friend owned Blades of Steel, and I can still remember him getting it for his birthday, so fun! As you mentioned, some of these games could be $20-$30. Also, like you mentioned, Nintendo games were usually $50, which probably explains why I never owned Mario 2 or 3. The only other Nintendo games I had were the pack in Mario Bro., Duck Hunt, and whatever the game for the running pad is and Pro Wrestling.
What’s interesting is that I only played Castlevania 2 Simon’s Quest back in the day (with pen and paper as a whole family trying to figure what to do next) and when years later I played the original for the first time, I was so disappointed as I felt it was so bland, with no real story, no towns, no night/day cycle, etc.
Shout-out to Monster-in-My-Pocket for the NES. It was the last game I got for the console as a kid...hidden gem!! P.S. Suprised you don't have any of the TMNT games.
From what I've read, Rush n' Attack is a botched home port of an arcade classic. It's the anti-Contra in that way, and kind of a learning experience for Konami. They nailed it the next time.
Great video! Love all these games! I just want to say you can fight in Ice Hockey. It’s pretty comical. You hit the other player with your stick and then the whole team joins in and the Ref comes over and calls a penalty. And puts you in the penalty box. Did that all lot in my day. 😂
When you made Castlevania, Contra, and Gradius, you could smear poop in cartridge shells for the rest of your output and still be one of the best NES developers. The fact that they made so many other awesome games not called Mission Impossible just shows how incredible they were. Even a lot of what stayed in Japan is amazing. I still play Wai Wai World from time to time.
I agree about the AVGN, and he does too! His producing partner actually made a whole video explaining why his TMNT video was supposed to be comedy, and all the ways in that it is stiill the best TMNT gamne on the NES. I also grew up loving Simon's Quest, and in my memory, everybody else did too at the time. I think some of his fans got carried away for sure. For me, SQ and Metroid are the reason we have the term Metroidvania, and as awesome as Symphony of the Night was, I'm not sure we would have had that either if SQ hadn't given us the first taste of open world Castlevania.
I don’t know. I personally loved Castlevania 2 When I was a kid. But that was because I didn’t own it. I only played it at friends houses And borrowed it. Every kid I talked to who owned it, hated it. I think that Chris under sells how people feel about the game and why. Even though, “write things down” advice is useless when the characters in Castlevania to deliberately give misinformation. It is even in the instruction manual, and maybe on the box, that’s some characters will “lie”. That is still a design choice that I can’t quite figure out. I think about whether there is a way to do that in a good way.
@@JazGalaxy I feel the AVGN was speaking for a generation (ok, at the very least, a whole lot of people) when he dogged on CV2 back in the mid 00s. I didn't know anyone who held the game in the same regard as CV1 or 3, and most didn't like it at all. From a post dated Nov 29, 1989 on usenet regarding Castlevania II: "Another mediocre game from Konami, this one is a clear rip-off of Zelda II, but not nearly as fun. It's quite easy save for some annoying parts where you have to guess the right thing to do." Much of the issue with CV2 was the game's hints being terrible, which you pointed out, and which I've also heard have since been fixed by fan re-translations. Back in the day, it was fun as hell exchanging gaming secrets on the playground, but honestly, most of the time this was due to obtuse game design, like what Chris mentioned in Shadowgate.
I never got Konami and Capcom mixed up. While they both represented the pinnacle of third-party NES developers/publishers, they had very distinctive styles and logos. For one, Konami graphics tended to try to emulate realism more, while Capcom graphics tended to be more cartoonish.
I just played through a Simons Quest hack that has dialogue fixes, clue fixes, quicker day/night transition, improved controls where you can control your jump, and it has a map. Ill never play it any other way.
Your audio is always so 🤌🏼 crispy. Are you using a shotgun mic? I'm going to cheat and say Metal Gear (being an Ultra game) but we all know it was really a Konami title. I agree with you about guides for some games. I would never have guessed the pattern for the lost woods in Zelda. On the other hand I did manage to stumble my way through Shadow gate with the help of two of my friends. (we sat for hours brainstorming ideas and taking turns at making further progress.
I’m impressed! Usually I use a lavalier mic but I don’t like the audio quality, so I did indeed use a shotgun mic for this episode. I thought about including Ultra games, but that could be it’s own episode.
Very good video about a bunch of very good games. Living in Europe I was used to play Konami games with slow music. Some songs work neat slowed down, but most rock when they are played in 60Hz as they were meant to. I´ve got the impression that Nintendo´s and Capcom´s games usually compensated for the slower European standard, but I think Castlevania III is the only konami game that sounds correct.
Thank you for your story . I bought the nes together whith topgun , in those days i had a portable Black White tv . In the netherlands i had the probotector version of contra , later in emulation i learned your version was different . Lol My favoryte Konami game was and stil is castelvania 2 , simons quest , i love the extra story part of the Game , it gives the story of Simon belmont extra dimension I had all 3 castelvanias on the nes but 2 is for me by far the verry best because of more story line.
Goonies 2 had a unique story from the movie. You're trying to rescue a mermaid that was kidnapped by the Fratellis. And the original Goonies was released in arcades I believe? Someone might be able to correct me on that.
I think a Famicom-only release ... That was a confusing, entertaining story, eh @Sherman?! Will try to find the link for you - perhaps Homie Norm know ^_^
Perhaps Jeremy knows : th-cam.com/video/fsmHAXp8QMk/w-d-xo.html I imagine you are correct, about the NES play10 arcade systems being thee exclusive home to Goonies, then the sequel originated at home (probably those cabinets being phased out) without porting Goonies or putting the sequel on that Play10 cabinet
@@Ruudos ahhh playchoice 10 - that's it ... I wonder why it was called that? Did it usually have like ten titles to choose from? Granted I was just like 4 or 5 the few times I played those, but figured only 2 or maybe 3 were on each (though I was really just learning how to do ANYthing in gaming 😼) I imagine older siblings matter•of•factually informing us yungins of those mighty two extra bits able to be stuffed into those daunting arcade cabinets! LoL
Although i had mad love for Konami, there were tons of other games by plenty of developers that i played quite often. Chip-N-Dale Rescue Rangers was classic to me. Burai Fighter, Abadox, Deja-Vu, Swords and Serpents, and the Megaman series on the NES was just a beast!!
Great video as usual. Agree about the Paxman/Pullman thing with these two companies. Konami was that seal of quality as a kid (with Capcom) where you knew you wouldn’t be wasting a rental or even more important that rare game purchase. I loved the next ten poster that used to come with the games. They also did something Nintendo/Mattel failed to do over here and that’s shift a good number of NES consoles in the U.K. The new distributor after Mattel decided against Nintendo’s wishes to pack in the 1st Turtles game with the console. It sold a lot and helped Nintendo have a bit of a base for when the SNES officially turned up in 92. It was annoying for young me tho as I had to wait for the Turtles to be sold separate.
Once every couple of months I find myself thinking that Bayou Billy should have been much better. Imagine the alternate universe where we had a Bayou Billy film franchise. It would surely have had objectionable content so we'd all be saying "hey I'm not gonna log it on letterboxd but I watched bayou billy 2 last night and it actually holds up"
Gradius humbled my child self. Then again, I grew up with the Atari 2600 and even the Odyssey 2 before that-all early childhood stuff. I was very accustomed to the idea of games that were designed to be too difficult for most people to actually beat. Or I guess "beat" is a subjective term when talking about pre-NES consoles since the complexity of games tended to level off at "play forever". So I was frustrated but not altogether surprised that I couldn't get further than maybe halfway into Gradius at best. Obviously hindsight tells me I was simply running into the limits of my skillset at that age.
I know this isn't the subject of the video, but...is that a Japanese Sierra mug in the background? Can you provide any info on it, as I'd like to find one myself (if possible). Thanks.
I remember my dad got me Double Dribble for a yard sale. My aunt had a lot of NES games. I remember being at her house and playing Contra and Rush 'N Attack. Fun games. I know it's under the Ultra label, but I used to love playing TMNT 2 The Arcade Game. One that I think is better is TMNT 3 The Manhattan Project. Fun games.
I beat Castlevania II back in 1989, but I had a lot of help from my siblings, friends and Nintendo Power. Great game that deserves a proper remaster with in-game "metroidvania" style maps. I'd pay full price for that.
I put on the CGQ+ Flashback play list, cook up some macaroni & cheese, add just a dab of cool ketchup like a cherry on top, pop open a root beer... turn on the Nintendo! Let the last 33 years melt away and pretend its 1989 forever!!! Nothing else comes close. Chris, you are a God damned national treasure!!!! lol
Thanks man!
Blades of Steel is still my favourite game on the platform. That game got so much mileage in my friend circle when it came out. Everyone had it. And when we couldn't play road hockey, we played Blades of Steel. Ultimately, we moved on to EA's offerings but still came back for a fight or two every once and a while. Great memories.
I beat Zelda without a guide when I was a kid, but I had lots of friends who were also playing and we would all talk about secrets at school. That was how we did it before the internet.
I don't know how I missed this channel and your main channel for this many years. So well made. I just did a random search of ppl with an asto city cab at home (because I'm planning on doing the same) and now I'm addicted to your channel.
Well, welcome!
konami on the NES was a powerhouse. Fell in love with their games pretty quickly, especially contra, Castlevania, the TMNT trilogy.
There are FOUR TMNT games, not three.
Castlevania was one of the best looking 8 bit games you have to understand the limits of the tech and work with it rather than against it Konami knows this
@@ButcherGrindslam The 4th game isn't part of the trilogy though.
@@ostiariusalpha Technically there are 2 TMNT games made by Konami on the NES...The first god awful game was made by their fake ass shell publisher Ultra games
@@lutherheggs451 Ultra is Konami and Konami is Ultra. The first game (agree to disagree that it is a bad game) was developed by Konami, and published by them in Japan. Ultra is just another name that Konami published under to skirt Nintendo's release limits. Nintendo knew what Konami was doing, and Konami knew that Nintendo didn't care.
The one that comes to mind for me that was not mentioned was Bucky O'Hare.
Fantastic platform shooter, which is incredibly difficult, but an absolute blast to play.
Bucky O’Hare will always be special because it’s like a small taste of what would become Treasure.
@@skankcor3 shit, you are right!
Without question, both Capcom and Konami were responsible for catapulting the NES (along with Nintendo's own games) to gaming dominance. There were a few others that had some stand out titles starting in 89/90 like Sunsoft, Tecmo and Rare.
However, the one constant theme about Konami games that always hit us as kids was their soundtracks, without question, both them and Capcom delivered excellent game songs consistently. I only found out rather recently that Konami's logo are stylized squarewaves and that Konami literally means "wave". Pretty clever , eh?
In the Castlevania Collection released for the Switch and PS4 you can play the Japanese versions of Castlevania with the sound intact.
In my opinion, Lifeforce is the best shoot em up on the NES, excellent graphics, sound and best of all 2 player co-op.
Shell corps / publishing labels like Tektroniks, Ultra, Enix, THQ, ocean, Flying Edge, Acclaim perhaps ... Wow!
Concur on Life Force. That couch co-op was 👌🏻
It's too bad Konami never released Crisis Force for the NES, that game blows even Lifeforce right out of the water.
@@ostiariusalpha Not familiar, but you certainly have my attention. Haha
@@nyehentertainment It's a vertically scrolling shmup where Konami dialed the graphical enhancement to 11 on the Famicom. Vertical parallax, layered sprites, pseudo-scaling effects, and an awesome soundtrack.
im a young gamer in my 20s and i watch a lot of retrogame videos and its crazy on what they considered 2 violent back in the 80s and 90s vs whats considered 2 violent now.
Another great video ...I never get tired of Chris' radio voice. He always takes me back to my childhood with that nostalgic high !!!
Yet another outstanding fireside chat with CGQ+
It almost feels like I’m right there in the room with Chris, just chatting about NES games and scoping out cow pictures together.
I remember walking 2 miles each way in a blizzard to got get a copy of Simons Quest the day it came out. It took me forever to figure the game out. I was stuck at the tornado part for a week. I figured it out by accident. I was holding down on the control while talking to my buddy. I was satisfied when I beat it. I had a harder time beating the first Castlevania. I never did beat the 3rd one.
When do find a copy or download Dracula's Curse, do have the witch Syfa. She makes the final fight with Dracula FAR FAR more easier. Stick with her fire flame for stage attacks but her ice blast is great against Drac.
@@sammylane21 Yeah I've got a copy. I'd like to play it someday. It's at the top of my list along with Symphony of the night. Right now I'm working on Star Wars KOTOR.
18:49 it doesn't matter who reviews top gun as soon as i see this cutscene i can hear AVGN swearing in my head haha
"GET THE PASS!" ...thanks for solving the 30 year mystery!! We thought it was "Hit the pass!" Or "Hit to pass!" I totally forgot how incomprehensible that was.
Same. Always thought it was hit the pass lol which makes no sense
What is this channel? I thought you were AWOL for a long time but discovered this channel and more CGQ content!
Chris,
For all the absolutely wonderful content, thank you! :)
I had just finished Flashback Ep. 29, for the second time.
The only thing better than watching the content that you release, is watching it again.
Great video as always. Thanks for continuing to make great content after all of these years. I kind of lost touch with your videos once Covid hit, but I'm back and so happy to be. Nothing like going back to my childhood. Thanks Chris!
Another great CGQ episode! Loved the memories and games shared. I too had similar experiences growing up. I spent waaaaaay to much time trying to find "Goonies 1" after I received Goonies II for Christmas one year. lol I appreciate the footage your included as well. A great compliment to your discussion and coverage of these classic Konami games. You really have a great perspective that is one of the most grounded I've seen on TH-cam. Keep up the excellent work!!!
Good to see you back! Love your videos!
This was a great overview of these games, thanks! I agree with Simon's Quest. Back when I was 11 or so, my older brother had a friend over to stay the night. He brought the game and let me play it, and I was so absorbed into it. To me, it was veey immersive, and I don't know how but my bro's friend memorized how to beat the game. So he helped me beat the game that night, and I'll never forget how awesome it felt.
Thank god, my subscription feed is completely dead and some gold finally pops up.
You hit the nail right on the head with the James Rolfe stuff. People consistently regurgitate the AVGN opinions without ever having played those games themselves.
Just came out and I know it will be fire. Love the hard work and content
Great video! So many Konami games are among the carts I’ll randomly pop into my NES to this day.
Every time I hear the NES chip tune sound I get a sense of happiness.
One of my favorite videos you have done, and like you Konami means a lot to me and my childhood growing up playing the NES. I’m from Detroit and hockey is huge, as you know, both being Redwings fans, so Blades of Steel was a staple in my collection. When you hit us with the deadpan “AHHH” I laughed so hard my beer got caught in between my throat and the floor. That was one of the funniest things I have ever heard man. Great job!
I was a Mega Drive kid but my cousin had a NES and everytime we visited that thing would get played to death. Iconic console!
Love your videos, anymore mixtape videos coming up?
Awesome video, felt like talking with an old friend about the glory days of the NES. Perfect way to start my day off. Subscribed!
Your take on Castlevania 2 rings so true to me. I had the exact experience. My guess is most people who dislike it just didn't play it back in the day.
I have the same Tupperware cup since I was a kid. My wife tried to throw it away because it's not marked BPA-free.
Hey its the basement brothers! Love your videos on the neo geo and PC 88! Good stuff! 👍
The music really takes me back. Good memories 😊😊😊
Double Dribble was not only the best Basketball game on the NES, it is one of the most popular games on the NES period. The slam dunk shots were what really sold the game.
Top Gun was also really popular. I loved everything about it except landing, I would always have my brother land for me.
Gradius and Lifeforce are my two favorite Konami games on NES. I used to love playing Track & Field in the arcades not long after the 84 summer Olympics in LA.
Thank you for still making videos Chris. You have such a specific way of sharing information that is very intriguing, relatable & enjoyable. Now please make another PS1 video, PS1 in 1996 preferably :) Thank you in advance. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Great video. Track & Field II was dope
Right after you mentioned Gradius I grabbed my Switch and played through the whole game by the time you finished the video. I always Lifeforce a little more myself but just wanted to say thanks giving me the idea man.
Konami was such a force on the NES. Only Capcom came close when it came to 3rd party developers. When They finally made games for the Genesis the system was long in the tooth, but they were great games.
I think Sunsoft was also a high tier NES developers.
@@roberto1519 - And TECMO!!
I played Castlevania II dozens of times as a kid. I absolutely loved it. It was my very first exposure to Castlevania. I know people hate it, but I don't.
I remember when all of these games were new. I loved The Goonies 2 and played through it multiple times.
I am so old.
I finally put a genuine effort into Simon's Quest in 2020 and I agree, it's great and honestly pretty easy. Get a strategy guide, commit to about 30 minutes of grinding at the start, and it's lots of fun and has great atmosphere.
Castlevania is easily my favorite video game franchise... I'm a team "Castlevania 2 was great" guy. Loved it back then, and love it still. I wouldn't be sad if they gave it the remake treatment same as the GB game on Wii. Would I say its better than 1 or 3? No, but its different and I don't like comparing them. I don't remember using a guide on this one, but me and my best friend Harry beat it together, and we would have had access to that Nintendo Power... so maybe there was something in there we used. I think the clues are insufficient, but I do remember we figured out the Debora's Cliff thing on our own.
18:49 Way to go Maverick, you just killed yourself and Goose.Growing up with Atari 2600 junior, I was blown away by Super Mario Bros for the first time at a friend's house, from a system I had never of heard of.Some time later, I saw Contra and it was the most popular game among my friends with its 2 player capability.But being an Airwolf fan, it was that title on the Famicom that captured my imagination the most.A little trivia, I remember seeing Delta Force label on Contra cartridge, though it had no connection to that Chuck Norris movie.
Is that cow Norman from City Slickers?
A new vid!! Sweet!!! I was checking out your shop and saw the "obey" postcard. I want that on a black T. Lol. That would be awesome! Nice to see you again good sir!!!
I love these videos! The more things change the more they stay the same indeed. I remember Contra being more of a myth than reality growing up in the Kansas City area. Never saw a copy of it until I want to say around '89? Not that it mattered for me. Growing up I wasn't allowed to play Contra or Castlevania or Rush 'N Attack due to their content. I did play the crap out of Top Gun and Track and Field. I enjoyed those games a lot growing up. Later on obviously as I grew older I was able to go back and experience those other games from Konami and they still are fun to play today.
Capcom and Konami we're like The Stallone and Schwarzenagger of video game publishers in the 80s and 90s
That’s a great analogy!
This was a great episode! Thank You for the road trip down memory lane! Keep it up Chris! I miss the Live Feeds with nintendo games
Konami and Capcom are definite Heavy Hitters on the NES. Tecmo NBA Basketball has to be the best basketball game for the NES though.
this cracked me up with the blades of steal "get the pass", we streamed this live a couple years ago, and since I couldn't understand what he was saying I kept saying "chris Kattan" and I tell you what, everyone was in tears during that stream lol
Actually, James Rolfe likes Simon's Quest.
It was his first video as Angry Video Game Nerd. I don't think he could have made the video, if he didn't have a love for the game.
NBA Live 95 for the Genesis is also one of my favorite basketball games of all-time! It was actually the first basketball game I ever owned for a console.
This has probably been brought up by somebody already, but James (Rolfe) has a very similar opinion to yours on Simon's Quest, in real life
Great video. I appreciate the effort you put into. At an hour that's got to be a lot of shooting and editing.
That silver border on the game cart was a guaranteed train back in the day
Gradius was probably the first rental game I remember my cousin picking up at his house. I remember always getting nervous at the twin volcanoes. But certainly had a blast with it. I had never played Track-n-Field, and only Track-n-Field II which is where my nostalgia was centered around. I remember the crazy high dive event, and its funny you mentioned the NES Advantage. That was absolutely essential for some events in Track-n-Field II, especially the Hammer Throw. I remember playing Castlevania, but only after I had played Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. I had a great time with both games, even if I needed a strategy guide to finish Simon's Quest. The Adventures of Bayou Billy was fun, but damn tough. The common enemies just keep weeding away life no matter how adept you are and extra energy is hard to come by in that one. You're right. The silver box art of the Konami games really made them stand out. This was a fantastic trip down memory lane! Thanks so much for making this video!
Bill Paxton, Bill Pullman Dylan McDermott, Dermot Mulroney Konami, Capcom
Konami was firing all cylinders in the mid to early 90's, probably my first Konami game memory was from Goonies 2 and I also found it weird but enjoyable but I was also just watching others play since I was still a little kid in 1988.
Super C is like the ignored middle child, it's older and younger siblings get all the attention. Super C is a fine game but the original Contra was my introduction to the series and the run n' gun genre. Contra 3 is the shiny 16-bit Contra that blew me away as a kid and the one I played co-op more then all other Contra games combined. Because of nostalgia I play Contra and Contra 3 multiple times a year because it takes me back to my youth, Super C doesn't do that so I play it every few years. No one seemed to talk about it back in the day and that still holds true today.
Castlevania II was the first episode and it’s pretty funny
My brother and I used the Power Pad for World Class Trackmeet and it helped hone our future percussion skills!
Great episode. I had a few Konami games, Contra, Super C, Double Dribble, and Track & Field II. My friend owned Blades of Steel, and I can still remember him getting it for his birthday, so fun! As you mentioned, some of these games could be $20-$30. Also, like you mentioned, Nintendo games were usually $50, which probably explains why I never owned Mario 2 or 3. The only other Nintendo games I had were the pack in Mario Bro., Duck Hunt, and whatever the game for the running pad is and Pro Wrestling.
What’s interesting is that I only played Castlevania 2 Simon’s Quest back in the day (with pen and paper as a whole family trying to figure what to do next) and when years later I played the original for the first time, I was so disappointed as I felt it was so bland, with no real story, no towns, no night/day cycle, etc.
Great episode! Maybe a Capcom one later? Ultra?
Simon's quest just like the Adventures of Link is a sequel that is near and dear to my heart. I think that it gets a bad rap for sure.
Shout-out to Monster-in-My-Pocket for the NES. It was the last game I got for the console as a kid...hidden gem!!
P.S. Suprised you don't have any of the TMNT games.
I think because they were published under the Ultra label, maybe he didn't cout them.
@@wilsvgaddiction4456 The first two were. The third one (the best one) wasn't.
Lone Ranger, TMNT, Bayou Billy, and Top Gun the 2nd Mission (for the dog fight portion) get my approval as well. Awesome vid keep up the awesomeness😁👍
It's great that these games still hold up do this day. I also enjoy they don't require a lot of time commitment to enjoy , just a quick play is nice
From what I've read, Rush n' Attack is a botched home port of an arcade classic. It's the anti-Contra in that way, and kind of a learning experience for Konami. They nailed it the next time.
Finished my workout to find this upload. Hell yeah.
Double dribble was prob my favorite Konami jam as a kid.
Somehow totally forgot about Blades of Steel - wicked game!
Thx for the ride....always appreciated💎
The stories are as important as the games. Nostalgia is a powerful drug and I can relate to a many of these.
Great video! Love all these games! I just want to say you can fight in Ice Hockey. It’s pretty comical. You hit the other player with your stick and then the whole team joins in and the Ref comes over and calls a penalty. And puts you in the penalty box. Did that all lot in my day. 😂
When you made Castlevania, Contra, and Gradius, you could smear poop in cartridge shells for the rest of your output and still be one of the best NES developers. The fact that they made so many other awesome games not called Mission Impossible just shows how incredible they were. Even a lot of what stayed in Japan is amazing. I still play Wai Wai World from time to time.
Crisis Force is god-tier for an 8-bit shmup, and Lagrange Point is among the best JRPGs on the system.
I agree about the AVGN, and he does too! His producing partner actually made a whole video explaining why his TMNT video was supposed to be comedy, and all the ways in that it is stiill the best TMNT gamne on the NES. I also grew up loving Simon's Quest, and in my memory, everybody else did too at the time. I think some of his fans got carried away for sure. For me, SQ and Metroid are the reason we have the term Metroidvania, and as awesome as Symphony of the Night was, I'm not sure we would have had that either if SQ hadn't given us the first taste of open world Castlevania.
I don’t know. I personally loved Castlevania 2 When I was a kid. But that was because I didn’t own it. I only played it at friends houses And borrowed it. Every kid I talked to who owned it, hated it.
I think that Chris under sells how people feel about the game and why. Even though, “write things down” advice is useless when the characters in Castlevania to deliberately give misinformation. It is even in the instruction manual, and maybe on the box, that’s some characters will “lie”.
That is still a design choice that I can’t quite figure out. I think about whether there is a way to do that in a good way.
@@JazGalaxy I feel the AVGN was speaking for a generation (ok, at the very least, a whole lot of people) when he dogged on CV2 back in the mid 00s. I didn't know anyone who held the game in the same regard as CV1 or 3, and most didn't like it at all.
From a post dated Nov 29, 1989 on usenet regarding Castlevania II: "Another mediocre game from Konami, this one is a clear rip-off of Zelda II, but not nearly as fun. It's quite easy save for some annoying parts where you have to guess the right thing to do."
Much of the issue with CV2 was the game's hints being terrible, which you pointed out, and which I've also heard have since been fixed by fan re-translations. Back in the day, it was fun as hell exchanging gaming secrets on the playground, but honestly, most of the time this was due to obtuse game design, like what Chris mentioned in Shadowgate.
To this day my vhs copy of Top Gun is still shrink-wrapped. So I bought it on Blu-ray quite some years ago. It's still in the shrinkwrap too.
My son and I played rush'n attack
I never got Konami and Capcom mixed up. While they both represented the pinnacle of third-party NES developers/publishers, they had very distinctive styles and logos. For one, Konami graphics tended to try to emulate realism more, while Capcom graphics tended to be more cartoonish.
Oh I played Castlevania 2. Hated it. Love the other two.
Loz 2 was ok but it was just too different.
SMB2 is my favorite classic Mario.
I just played through a Simons Quest hack that has dialogue fixes, clue fixes, quicker day/night transition, improved controls where you can control your jump, and it has a map. Ill never play it any other way.
Contra Force is the best Contra for me. Music from the first level is the most nostalgic track, as well as the atmosphere (backgrounds and such).
Your audio is always so 🤌🏼 crispy. Are you using a shotgun mic? I'm going to cheat and say Metal Gear (being an Ultra game) but we all know it was really a Konami title. I agree with you about guides for some games. I would never have guessed the pattern for the lost woods in Zelda. On the other hand I did manage to stumble my way through Shadow gate with the help of two of my friends. (we sat for hours brainstorming ideas and taking turns at making further progress.
I’m impressed! Usually I use a lavalier mic but I don’t like the audio quality, so I did indeed use a shotgun mic for this episode. I thought about including Ultra games, but that could be it’s own episode.
Really enjoy your channel. Thanks
When you played that CV2 music track I thought "NES Mixtape when?"
Those of us who lived during this era know how great a force Konami was, you wouldn’t know it now which is sad, add in the Ultra titles-Banger games!
Very good video about a bunch of very good games. Living in Europe I was used to play Konami games with slow music. Some songs work neat slowed down, but most rock when they are played in 60Hz as they were meant to. I´ve got the impression that Nintendo´s and Capcom´s games usually compensated for the slower European standard, but I think Castlevania III is the only konami game that sounds correct.
Anyone Notice that you mention the Olympics and you have the 1984 Olympic eagle back there on your shelf on the NES case?
There’s actually also an 84 Olympics desk flag back there, as well.
Thank you for your story .
I bought the nes together whith topgun , in those days i had a portable Black White tv .
In the netherlands i had the probotector version of contra , later in emulation i learned your version was different . Lol
My favoryte Konami game was and stil is castelvania 2 , simons quest , i love the extra story part of the Game , it gives the story of Simon belmont extra dimension
I had all 3 castelvanias on the nes but 2 is for me by far the verry best because of more story line.
I played a TON of NBA Live 95. Loved making an all 99 player team and turning fouls off lol.
Great video! Nice clean room!
Goonies 2 had a unique story from the movie. You're trying to rescue a mermaid that was kidnapped by the Fratellis. And the original Goonies was released in arcades I believe? Someone might be able to correct me on that.
I think a Famicom-only release ... That was a confusing, entertaining story, eh @Sherman?!
Will try to find the link for you - perhaps Homie Norm know ^_^
Perhaps Jeremy knows :
th-cam.com/video/fsmHAXp8QMk/w-d-xo.html
I imagine you are correct, about the NES play10 arcade systems being thee exclusive home to Goonies, then the sequel originated at home (probably those cabinets being phased out) without porting Goonies or putting the sequel on that Play10 cabinet
True it was released for Playchoice 10.
@@Ruudos ahhh playchoice 10 - that's it ... I wonder why it was called that? Did it usually have like ten titles to choose from?
Granted I was just like 4 or 5 the few times I played those, but figured only 2 or maybe 3 were on each (though I was really just learning how to do ANYthing in gaming 😼)
I imagine older siblings matter•of•factually informing us yungins of those mighty two extra bits able to be stuffed into those daunting arcade cabinets! LoL
Konami box meant you trusted that it would be worth spending your money on it. I can’t remember being disappointed buying a Konami game for my NES.
Although i had mad love for Konami, there were tons of other games by plenty of developers that i played quite often. Chip-N-Dale Rescue Rangers was classic to me. Burai Fighter, Abadox, Deja-Vu, Swords and Serpents, and the Megaman series on the NES was just a beast!!
Great video as usual. Agree about the Paxman/Pullman thing with these two companies. Konami was that seal of quality as a kid (with Capcom) where you knew you wouldn’t be wasting a rental or even more important that rare game purchase. I loved the next ten poster that used to come with the games. They also did something Nintendo/Mattel failed to do over here and that’s shift a good number of NES consoles in the U.K. The new distributor after Mattel decided against Nintendo’s wishes to pack in the 1st Turtles game with the console. It sold a lot and helped Nintendo have a bit of a base for when the SNES officially turned up in 92. It was annoying for young me tho as I had to wait for the Turtles to be sold separate.
Once every couple of months I find myself thinking that Bayou Billy should have been much better. Imagine the alternate universe where we had a Bayou Billy film franchise. It would surely have had objectionable content so we'd all be saying "hey I'm not gonna log it on letterboxd but I watched bayou billy 2 last night and it actually holds up"
This is great! Will there be more flashback videos?
Gradius humbled my child self. Then again, I grew up with the Atari 2600 and even the Odyssey 2 before that-all early childhood stuff. I was very accustomed to the idea of games that were designed to be too difficult for most people to actually beat. Or I guess "beat" is a subjective term when talking about pre-NES consoles since the complexity of games tended to level off at "play forever". So I was frustrated but not altogether surprised that I couldn't get further than maybe halfway into Gradius at best. Obviously hindsight tells me I was simply running into the limits of my skillset at that age.
Excellent video as always
I know this isn't the subject of the video, but...is that a Japanese Sierra mug in the background? Can you provide any info on it, as I'd like to find one myself (if possible). Thanks.
It is. I found it in a thrift store in Oakhurst, CA, which was where Sierra was headquartered in their heyday.
Grant, Chuck and Gary. Best vampire killers!
Grant Danasty is actually a great name!
Love this trip down memory lane. 👍
Worth noting, Castlevania 3 is also the basis for the equally awesome Castlevania show. Very high recommendation for anyone who hasn't watched it.
I remember my dad got me Double Dribble for a yard sale. My aunt had a lot of NES games. I remember being at her house and playing Contra and Rush 'N Attack. Fun games. I know it's under the Ultra label, but I used to love playing TMNT 2 The Arcade Game. One that I think is better is TMNT 3 The Manhattan Project. Fun games.
Crisis Force is my favorite Konami shooter. Too bad it was never released outside of Japan. Highly recommended.
I beat Castlevania II back in 1989, but I had a lot of help from my siblings, friends and Nintendo Power. Great game that deserves a proper remaster with in-game "metroidvania" style maps. I'd pay full price for that.