PII | 2,030 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 (edited) Krazy Kreatures on the weekly menu got me thinking about this. I have a thing for really odd or awkward level designs (etc.) A couple of licensed NES examples would be "Cool World" and "Stanley: The Seach For Dr. Livingston." Rather than typical NES fair they remind me more of games that I played on the Commodore as a kid. In those cases there were frequently games produced by a single programmer and level designs seemed more like they were dreamt up from a singular imagination as opposed to being revised and streamlined by a team to create flow or imitate an established style like Mario or Mega Man for example. Another factor I like is that a game with this kind of structure/feel tends to be challenging and these really awkward situations are more likely to pop up that'll make me think: 'Now how in the heck am I gonna get through that?" Anyway, I think "Impossible Mission II" is probably the most intriguing Unlicensed game on the NES for me so far. There's all this amazing pin point jumping that I imagine the average gamer would choose an alternate superlative rather than amazing to describe, and it totally feels like something someone came up with, without having anyone else to be like: "You need to change this, it's not conducive to creating flow and drawing the player in." Here're some pics to showcase how odd the rooms are in this game. I'm curious to know what everyone else favors. Edited October 12, 2022 by PII 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,026 Events Team · Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Micro Machines 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,026 Events Team · Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Runner up: Rolling Thunder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A. | 1,141 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Pac-mania Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NESfiend | 1,556 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 24 minutes ago, JamesRobot said: Micro Machines The only correct answer. There are other good games, but its easily the best. SNES version also great 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,704 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Tengen Ms Pac-Man and MIG 29: Soviet Fighter are up there for me, as is Krazy Kreatures. Ultimate Stuntman is uneven, but still pretty fun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nesmaster14 | 464 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 (edited) Bubble Bath Dudes Some favorites to play: Robodemons, Menace Beach, King Neptune's Adventure, Spiritual Warfare. Intriguing: Escape from Atlantis - It reminds me of an early computer homebrew game, and has some interesting ideas throughout (like when you die you get sent to an underworld where the grim reaper chases you). It doesn't really feel like an NES game. It is a bit rough around the edges, though for what it's worth it never did get officially finished or released. Edited September 24, 2020 by nesmaster14 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammerfestus | 4,100 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 The correct answer is Klax. Always Klax. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Morbis | 2,120 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 (edited) I think Micro Machines and Krazy Kreatures are the two best unlicensed games, and it's hard to argue otherwise, but my personal pick is King Neptune's Adventure; I just love that you're a Merman travelling around the ocean collecting items to unlock other unique areas. I also love the art style, love how the game handles with the underwater swimming and exploring, and the subscreen even has a map very reminiscent of Wizards & Warriors. It's a fun game that literally no one ever talks about... Edited September 24, 2020 by Dr. Morbis 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estil | 1,291 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Tengen's Ms Pac Man...need I say more? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,026 Events Team · Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Hammerfestus said: The correct answer is Klax. Always Klax. It is no longer the 90s. There is no time for Klax. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Code Monkey | 2,129 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 The Incident 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,153 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Probably Nebs 'n Debs or Battle Kid 2. Really great games, both. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaMan52 | 2,562 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Favorite: Runners-up: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themisfit138 | 523 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Another vote for Micro Machines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 If we're talking about original-era unlicensed (and not homebrew)...no love for Rolling Thunder? Code Name Viper is a pretty decent clone from Capcom, but there is something about the original game that is great, and it is a surprisingly good arcade adaptation. (also, I thoroughly enjoyed Super Robinhood) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 13 hours ago, Hammerfestus said: The correct answer is Klax. Always Klax. Seconded! KLAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link | 2,878 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 (edited) Rolling Thunder and Klax On 9/24/2020 at 8:39 AM, arch_8ngel said: no love for Rolling Thunder? JamesRobot, second reply. I love it. Challenging but not cheap. Tight control. Cool graphics and cut scenes Edit: and music On 9/23/2020 at 6:07 PM, PII said: I think "Impossible Mission II" is probably the most intriguing Unlicensed game on the NES for me so far. There's all this amazing pin point jumping that I imagine the average gamer would choose an alternate superlative rather than amazing to describe Intriguing, yes. It’s definitely a unique Nintendo game. Its roots as a PC game are very evident. It’s really good-looking, too, but in terms of gameplay, I do use those other words ... I could never figure it out. Edited September 26, 2020 by Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docile tapeworm | 4,268 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 tengen miss pac tengen shinobi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearcat-Doug | 5,122 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Tengen Tetris with Tengen Ms. Pac-Man being a close second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,153 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 16 hours ago, arch_8ngel said: no love for Rolling Thunder? That's an awesome game, but I'm fairly certain my copy is licensed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 7 hours ago, Sumez said: That's an awesome game, but I'm fairly certain my copy is licensed. Am I missing a joke here? Rolling Thunder is on a black Tengen cart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,153 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 (edited) Only the US version, and only because it was licensed to Tengen. Namco were a licensed developer. Edited September 25, 2020 by Sumez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Sumez said: Only the US version, and only because it was licensed to Tengen. Namco were a licensed developer. I guess I've never seen a PAL version of the game. Is it a standard gray cart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 5,006 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 2 hours ago, Sumez said: Only the US version, and only because it was licensed to Tengen. Namco were a licensed developer. Videomation was unlicensed on famicom, licensed on Nintendo... If we want to be funny like that, gotta look in all directions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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