NES: A Nightmare On Elm Street

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I know many of you assume that I'm only interested in Game Boy games, but the truth is I grew up on many different games from many different consoles. And yet I'm pretty sure I may be the only person out there who would say that A Nightmare On Elm Street is in my Top 10 NES games of all time. In fact, it's probably one of my favorite games of all time -- period! I say that because truthfully, I play it a lot. I mean a lot. I always have. It's just one of those sort of "comfort games" to me. I almost can't see what most people seem to think is so bad about it.

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One thing we need to get out of the way is that the game was published by LJN. That (apparently) turns off most people. I've never been bothered by LJN. Certainly they've made some bad games, but at the same time they've made others that I've enjoyed immensely. Major League Baseball on the NES is still my favorite baseball game of all time. And although I don't love it as much as A Nightmare On Elm Street, I am also a big fan of the Friday The 13th game for NES as well.

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So what is it that I like about A Nightmare On Elm Street so much? For starters: the music. The music is my favorite soundtrack of any NES game -- challenged only by Mega Man III. The score is a wonderful, moody piece that takes full use of the NES' sound capabilities and goes through various sections. It's somber, scary and awesome all at once. I could listen to the music all day long.

The game is also extremely original. There are two plains of existence in this game: the regular world and the dream world. This means each levels has two different ways of being experienced. You can choose when and if to wake up by finding coffee or loud music. Although the nightmare world is harder, it does allow you to experience it as one of the Dream Masters (ninja, athlete, wizard). It's this sort of open-ended choice of how to complete the game and as who that is extremely interesting for a "crappy LJN licensed title."

But above all that, the number one reason to love A Nightmare On Elm Street is the amazing 4-player co-op. This game rules with three friends. Growing up this was my party game. And everyone had a blast. Trust me. You need to give this one another shot.