Show Some Love
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When I first started collecting games for older consoles in a serious manner and came to the decision that I'd "get a full set" this was in the early 2000s. My young, optimistically naive self always had it in my mind that I would have that done in the matter of a year or two and then I'd "beat them all" and then simply move onto the SNES and repeat the process. The harsh reality quickly set in that that wasn't a feasible goal, but the idea never left my mind. In 2011 I was still hunting for NES carts to complete my set and had only dabbled in a small chunk of the library which were both far cries from my original intentions, but that "beat them all" concept was still gnawing at me. So finally in October 2011 I decided to start keeping track of my journey for my personal posterity. I kept a google doc and recorded each game as I completed them. I started off with a 100 NES games in 100 days challenge to myself to get the momentum really amped up. This is a lot easier than it may sound when you've got the entire library to choose from. Games I was immensely familiar with I could knock out several in a single day and just some cursory research or picking games from genres I was comfortable with made that challenge a breeze. I had so much fun with those first 100 games, it was honestly one of the funnest gaming experiences I've ever had. I jammed through Mega Man 1-6, Super Mario Bros 1-3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1-3, all 3 Contra games several of the Capcom Disney classics and some personal favorites like Bubble Bobble, Ninja Gaiden, Batman, Little Samson, Dr. Mario, MC Kids, Tiny Toon Adventures, Kirby's Adventure and others. Had a great time with all of those, but also had just as much fun with the discovery of games that were new to me for the first time. New favorites like Power Blade, Xexyz, Journey to Silius and Metal Storm started to emerge. Rediscovered childhood gems like Caveman Games, World Games and Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular brought back waves of nostalgia (I have always had a soft spot for sport compilation games). But perhaps most interesting to me was all the new experiences I had completely missed out on. North and South was so weird yet compelling. Kickle Cubicle was similar enough to the Lolo series that it just fit like an old glove despite my lack of familiarity. Jaws had such a different vibe to it than most of the games I was used to playing that it really stuck with me. Circus Caper, on paper, sounds like something I should be into, but it was kind of a clunky beautiful mess. Why was that? Immediately after this challenge I thought again about my goal to "beat them all" and thought I should maybe try to beat some of the games that had reputations for being brutal, unfair or impossible. The internet being what it was at that time there was not a lot to go on in this department. Youtubers and listicles featured games like Silver Surfer, Ninja Gaiden, Ghosts n Goblins, Battletoads and the like. So I found out quite quickly that those lists/videos were not great sources of information and that there was still a significant amount of the NES library that got very little attention. Around this time Nintendoage was running a community challenge to see if the entire community could collectively beat the NES library in the course of a year. I dove head first into this challenge to contribute as much as I could and try to select games that others might ignore. Thankfully they continued this challenge each consecutive year and went above and beyond in collecting data about each game. Nowadays they even have each game in the library ranked from 1-10 in terms of how rarely each title has been beaten every year since they started collecting data. So over time genuinely difficult or obscure games are getting highlighted. Beyond that not every game has a well defined "ending" so with the help of the community over the years they've come up with a pretty comprehensive list of what is required for a game to be considered "beaten". It's been an invaluable resource as I've continued to dig deeper into the NES library. *Big props to scaryice (formerly of Nintendoage), who has been running that thread and collecting data even after Nintendoage disappeared on the newly minted videogamesage.com*Last year I ran my own version of this on rfgeneration, both as a fun community building project (which even though we came up a bit short of completion was a fantastic success in terms of players involved and NES discussion), and also as yet another way to motivate myself to continue on my quest to keep having fun playing NES games from my collection. I started a new job late 2019 which dramatically changed my lifestyle and I wasn't sure how much time I was going to have to contribute to this goal anymore. With some sacrifices, such as missing out on some really great Playcast games this year, I have been trying to stay focused on my NES playing and started off 2020 with a big old bang. Which leads me to this reason behind this blog post. Unofficially starting this around 2002-3, but actually starting in 2011 this pipe dream is just now feeling like it might be a reality at some point. Just one day ago I beat my 569th NES game. That sounds like a weird number to be excited about as a milestone....BUT if you remove from the list of total licensed games that were released in more than one format (Stadium Events/World Class Track Meet or Mike Tyson's Punchout!!/Punchout!! featuring Mr. Dream) that leaves you with exactly 100 games left. 669 games always felt daunting and honestly overwhelming so I tried not to think to hard about it. I made smaller goals for myself and helped other communities reach their goals which simultaneously chipped way at one of mine. 100 games though. That feels very achievable. That's something I've done in about 3 months more than once in the past. I have a great new wave of excitement, and enthusiasm towards this goal that I can honestly say I didn't have just a few games ago. It's by no means a given as I've still got a small handful of games that will truly challenge my skills, a few in genres that I'm a relatively weak player in and a few games that I honestly don't quite know what to expect from. But on the other hand I didn't want my final 100 to be all unknowns so I purposefully have been holding back several games I very much expect to enjoy, a few that I beat before I started this challenge and know I can do again and a couple soft ball games should I just need quick pick me up if my progress starts to get stagnant. I'm very happy and excited about the final 100 games I've left for myself. Thanks so much to all of you for supporting me in this goal over the past decade + and I'll need that support more than ever going forward to make this happen. Beaten Since Oct.8th 2011 ( click on a title to see the video) Super Mario BrosSuper Mario Bros 2Super Mario Bros 3Mega ManMega Man 2Mega Man 3Mega Man 4Mega Man 5Mega Man 6CastlevaniaAdventures in the Magic KingdomDuck TalesDuck Tales 2Chip 'n Dale Rescue RangersChip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2Felix the CatBugs Bunny Birthday BlowoutRen and Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$Double DragonContraSuper CContra ForcePower BladePower Blade 2Dynowarz: The Destruction of SpondylusMetal StormJourney to SiliusAir FortressTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesBlaster MasterTeenage Mutant Ninja Turltes 2Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3Legendary WingsBreakThruCommandoGuerrilla WarWorld GamesSnoopy's Silly Sports SpectacularCaveman GamesDK ClassicsJawsNinja GaidenWhere's Waldo?Bonk's AdventurePanic RestaurantBubble Bobble 2Dr. MarioBubble BobbleMC KidsBatmanCircus CaperRoller GamesWidgetTiny Toon AdventuresTiny Toon Adventures 2The JetsonsThe Little MermaidMonster in my PocketGremlins 2Kirby's AdventureKickle CubicleKung FuYo! NoidXexyzPuss 'N Boots: Pero's Great AdventureWall Street KidThe Karate KidArchonGolfSuper DodgeballSuper Spike V'BallJakcie Chan's Action Kung FuThe Three StoogesIce HockeyTecmo BowlTrack & FieldMario BrosNARCNorth and SouthBarbieBattle ChessThe Simpsons: Bart vs. The WorldThe Flintstones: Surprise at Dinosaur PeakSnow BrothersLittle SamsonSky SharkNinja Gaiden IIMike Tyson's Punch OutThe Simpsons: Bart Meets Radioactive ManStarTropicsLittle Nemo: The Dream MasterRiver City RansomStarTropics 2: Zoda's RevengeThe Jungle BookCastlevania III Dracula's CurseMario is MissingBlades of SteelHogan's AlleyWild GunmanBurger TimeSilver SurferNinja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of DoomDouble Dragon II: The RevengeDouble Dragon III: The Sacred StonesGhosts n GoblinsTetrisPro WrestlingGradiusZanacAdventure IslandKarnovTrojanExcitebikeBaseballSpy HunterAdventure Island IITennisBattletoadsShadowgateBattletoads/Double DragonPinball QuestSection ZGodzillaHydlideMarble MadnessBack to the FutureDarkmanTerminator 2RobocopTotal RecallPredatorRobocop 2Robocop 3Hudson HawkHome AloneHome Alone 2Batman ReturnsGhostbusters IIGhostbustersDie HardA Nightmare on Elm StreetThe Krion ConquestAdventures of Dino RikiUltima: ExodusLegacy of the WizardUltima: Quest of the AvatarDarkwing DuckUltima: Warriors of DestinyLegends of the DiamondPro Sports HockeyDusty Diamond's All-Star SoftballYoshi's CookieKick MasterZombie NationStadium EventsSuper Jeopardy!JoustYoshiDance AerobicsAdventures of Bayou BillyPipe DreamsSki or DieWerewolf: The Last WarriorSimpsons: Bart vs The Space MutantsCity ConnectionAmerican GladiatorsRoundball 2-on-2 Challenge720Athletic WorldSuper Team GamesRomance of the Three KingdomsGumshoeBases LoadedThe Addams Family Pugsley's Scavenger HuntKings of the BeachThe Blues BrothersVolley BallLode Runner3D World RunnerTwin EagleDragon's LairThe Adventures of Rad GravityBreak Time: The National Pool TourBases Loaded IIRainbow IslandsConquest of the Crystal PalacePeter Pan And The PiratesKid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder HerbsAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragon StrikeSlalomWrath of the Black MantaRace AmericaTreasure MasterKrusty's Fun HouseKing's KnightMighty Bomb JackBases Loaded 3CastelianFlying Dragon: The Secret ScrollDirty HarryConanCobra TriangleSpider Man Return of the Sinister SixTag Team WrestlingEliminator Boat DuelGalaxy 5000George Foreman's KO BoxingFerrari Grand Prix ChallengeThunder & LightningHeavy Shreddin'Flying WarriorsRocket RangerRoger Clemens MVP BaseballBill & Ted's Excellent Video Game AdventureDestination EarthstarStreet CopShort Order/EggsplodeStar VoyageurDays of ThunderLaser InvasionSilent ServiceBack to the Future 2 & 3OverlordHigh SpeedSesame Street CountdownTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament FightersShooting RangeSpace Shuttle ProjectDouble DareWin, Lose or DrawOthelloWhomp EmDragon FighterBugs Bunny's Crazy CastleFamily FeudTale SpinPlatoonGotcha!Gun SmokeKiwi Kraze10 Yard FightTom & JerryWrecking CrewHatrisTime LordOrb 3DWheel of Fortune JrWheel of Fortune Family EditionCaptain America and the AvengersWheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune Featuring Vanna WhiteThe Adventures of Rocky & BullwinkleBo Jackson BaseballJeopardy! JrJeopardy!Jeopardy! 25th AnniversaryCowboy KidCrash n The Boys: Street ChallengeGalagaColor A DinosaurMillipedePopeyeSesame Street 123Sesame Street ABCSesame Street Hide & SpeakSoccerClassic ConcentrationFisher Price I Can RememberFisher Price Perfect FitMickey's Safari in LetterlandMickey's Adventure in NumberlandNES Open GolfPictionaryChessmasterAnticipationDK Jr MathDonkey Kong 3Urban ChampionBalloon FightPinballQixHollywood SquaresTwin CobraFlintstones Rescue of Dino & HoppyTiger-HeliWinter GamesNES World Cup SoccerDefender IIM.U.S.C.L.E.MTV's Remote ControlSpot The Video GameSpy vs SpyTaboo The Sixth SenseGemfireMonopolyLegend of the Ghost LionJackalRad RacerRad Racer IIArch RivalsDeja VuNightshadeMickey MousecapadeKing's Quest VVegas DreamsMagic Johnson's Fast BreakTouchdown FeverCaesar's PalaceCasino KidPrincess Tomato in the Salad KingdomVideomationBram Stoker's DraculaBucky O'HareThe Incredible Crash DummiesJoe & MacTotally RadLifeforceWolverineManiac MansionPuzznicTrack & Field IISwords & SerpentsTombs & TreasuresAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the LanceTokiZen: Intergalactic NinjaToxic CrusadersShadow of the NinjaThe UntouchablesShingen The RulerBad DudesPhantom FighterThunderbirdsRomance of the Three Kingdoms IILunar PoolGenghis KhanKid IcarusDragon SpiritBatman Return of the JokerDr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeStarship HectorRockin' KatsRally BikeSuper Spy HunterSolar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden WarpshipFlight of the Intruder1942Monster Party1943Deadly TowersSolomon's KeyX-MenMission ImpossibleRobo WarriorMetal MechMotor City PatrolT&C Surf Design II: Thrilla's SurfariThe Last NinjaLethal WeaponSilk WormHookStealth ATFThe Hunt for Red OctoberBoulder DashWizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad OverlordDigger T. RockAlfred ChickenAthenaDig Dug II
[URL=https://youtu.be/uRtt86sZpIg]Danny Sullivan’s Indy HeatWacky RacesBigfootRaid on Bungeling BayMs. Pac ManMonster Truck RallyStingerWizardry: Knight of DiamondsIndiana Jones and the Temple of DoomSqoonMappy LandNinja KidF-15 Strike EagleBard's TaleBases Loaded 4Jimmy Connors TennisAll Pro BasketballBad News BaseballStar WarsEmpire Strikes BackAdventure Island 3Defenders of Dynatron CitySwamp ThingMad MaxDragon WarriorAttack of the Killer TomatoesCaptain Planet and the PlaneteersJames Bond Jr.Cool WorldAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of RadianceAdventures of Gilligan's IslandFist of the North StarYoung Indiana Jones ChroniclesRobin Hood: Prince of ThievesPower Punch IIMichael Andretti’s World GPCastlequestDay Dreamin’ DaveySuper CarsThe Lone RangerArkanoidSnake Rattle n RollGolgo 13TrogLemmingsCaptain SkyhawkAbadoxCybernoid: The Fighting MachineCyberballHarlem GlobetrottersNFL FootballRollerblade RacerMagmaxCabalSeicrossKarate ChampWWF WrestlemaniaWWF Wrestlemania ChallengeBurai FighterHoopsThundercadeCliffhangerJordan vs Bird: One on OneImage FightLee Trevino's Fighting GolfMuppet Adventures Chaos at the CarnivalGolf PowerMechanized AttackLast Action HeroThe PunisherOperation WolfCode Name: ViperAlien 3The Addams FamilyUltimate BasketballGolf Grand SlamPaperboyPaperboy 2AmagonBombermanCastle of DragonCobra CommandDefender of the CrownRamboBarker Bill’s Trick ShootingFun HouseDash Galaxy in the Alien AsylumDick TracyA Boy and His BlobFreedom ForceWho Framed Roger Rabbit?World ChampIndiana Jones and the Last CrusadeRampageLow G-ManM.U.L.E.Goal!Goal! TwoDr. ChaosAirwolfIsolated WarriorKlashballStanley: The Search for Dr. LivingstonThe TerminatorWurm: Journey to the Center of the EarthSupermanSuper PitfallPrince of PersiaRock ‘n BallL’EmpereurBest of the Best: Championship Karate8 EyesBad Street BrawlerKnight Rider Dragon PowerGodzilla 2: War of the MonstersCastlevania II: Simon's QuestAdventures of Lolo, TheBomberman IIAstyanaxAdventures of Lolo 2, TheAdventures of Lolo 3, TheMighty Final FightFisher Price: Firehouse RescueVice: Project DoomMario's Time MachineBandai Golf: Challenge Pebble BeachBaseball StarsBaseball Stars IIAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons: HillsfarKid Klown in Night Mayor WorldGun*NacWayne Gretzky HockeyChampionship BowlingCalifornia GamesSkate or DieWWF Wrestlemania Steel Cage ChallengeWWF King of the RingThe Great Waldo SearchTiny Toon Adventures Cartoon WorkshopFrankenstein: The Monster ReturnsXenophobeDouble DribbleFire 'N IceRescue: The Embassy MissionCasino Kid IIJurassic ParkG.I. JoeG.I. Joe: The Atlantis FactorBeetlejuiceMagic DartsThe Adventures of Tom SawyerKid Niki Radical NinjaS.C.A.T. Special Cybernetic Attack TeamStreet Fighter 2010The Legend of KageJohn Elway's QuarterbackHeavy BarrelStriderIron TankGold Medal Challenge 92P.O.W. Prisoners of WarWizards & WarriorsIronsword: Wizards & Warriors IIWizards & Warriors IIIRenegadeArkista's RingAl Unser Jr.'s Turbo RacingSword MasterMystery QuestDesert CommanderNinja CrusadersRoadblastersKabuki Quantum FighterGyrussThe RocketeerRush 'n AttackShatterhandMendel PalaceAlpha MissionElevator ActionTerra CrestaBump 'n' JumpXeviousTetris 2MLBRBI BaseballFariaTarget: RenegadeFester's QuestFinal FantasyChubby CherubGargoyle's Quest IIDestiny of an EmperorIce ClimberTop GunBlack BassBionic Commando Ring King Willow
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