I want to introduce my wife to the NES; how can I be sure it gets a good first impression?

[Estil | 1,265]

So next month will be our big Sweet Sixteen (anniversary) this upcoming June 17 and because I got both my covid shots and all that, I'll get to visit my wife at the nursing home she's at for a couple of days; it's 40ish miles away and I don't drive so unfortunately I can't visit her in person but once in a great while (luckily one of her friends is helping with most of the cost of getting me there and back among other things). THANK GOD we live in this modern age that we can talk with each other all we want without running up a big long distance bill like would be the case a few decades ago, not to mention we can also Skype).

So all that being said, I have a spare NES and a spare NES Everdrive (I upgraded to the Pro a couple years back with the help of SAG store credit) and I think it'd be super awesome to introduce her to the NES so that these are not just going to waste, ya know?  She has her own DS and she mainly plays the built-in Brain Age games along with Wheel of Fortune, Deal or No Deal, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, things like that.  So what kind of games could we play together on the NES you think would make the best first impression for her?  I figure we can't go wrong with the four Wheel of Fortune games for starters.  She also said years ago one of her sisters/friends or whatever was playing the original Super Mario Bros and finding all these secrets...well now will be her chance I suppose!

I'll still need an AC Adapter and a couple controllers for it though.  Anyone here got them that I could hopefully get in one purchase to save on shipping?  Or are the non-official controllers/AC Adapter over at SAG good enough?  Sadly she won't get to play Duck Hunt because the Zapper won't work on modern flat panel TVs...but as it turns out, there is a port of her all time favorite arcade game, Space Invaders!

[Tulpa | 3,530]

The Jeopardy games are fun if you have never played them before (they lose repeat playability once you remember the answers.) The Family Feud games are decent, too. NES Monopoly is one of the best versions of the game.

Dr. Mario, Tengen Tetris, Tetris 2, or any of the other two player puzzle games are fun for most people. A Game Genie actually unlocks a crude two player mode on Nintendo Tetris.

Tengen Ms. Pac-Man has some awesome two player modes, both head to head and co-op.

Duck Hunt is actually playable on a flat screen TV using an Everdrive. That's how I play it. You just need a patched ROM. It works better with the Tomee Zapp Gun Zapper knockoff, but a standard Zapper might work.

If she's a fan of Space Invaders, Galaxian and Galaga also have NES/Famicom ports. Heck, load up with the arcade classics. Dig Dug, Millipede, Donkey Kong Jr, or the fixed version of Donkey Kong with the cement factory.

Edited May 16, 2021 by Tulpa

[Californication | 1,478]

Battle City

[Tulpa | 3,530]

That's a good one, too.

Check out some of the Famicom stuff as well, like Joy Mech Fight and Wit's.

[Aguy | 773]

You can't go wrong with the 4 B's:

BurgerTime

Balloon Fight

Bubble Bobble

Bomberman II

 

 

[Tulpa | 3,530]

Also, if the flat screen TV she has is newer, like built in the last few years, make sure it has composite video and analog audio inputs. Some don't, and some have the combined composite/component video input. If it's HDMI only, you might need a solution for that.

[Estil | 1,265]

Unfortunately for whatever reason the Ms Pac Man (Tengen) game is glitched on the Everdrive...anyway I can fix it?  I think she'd like that one because we can each play as Mr/Ms Pac Man at the same time  

We've played Family Feud (usually SNES version) over the phone but for that and the four Jeopardy games you have to enter the responses with a timer going and for someone who has never played NES before you know they won't be used to entering the words quick enough.  Did any of the Jeopardy games get a Game Genie code or something that lets you turn off the timer?

Edited May 16, 2021 by Estil

[Tulpa | 3,530]

45 minutes ago, Estil said:

Did any of the Jeopardy games get a Game Genie code or something that lets you turn off the timer?

No. 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,572]

Don't overthink it.

Super Mario Bros.

[GPX | 1,372]

@Estil, it’s kind of hard to give suggestions because we don’t know your wife’s level of physical limitations. I guess any single-screen gaming is a good start. 

And does it have to be Nes? Wii Play or Wii Sports might be something to consider?

[Hammerfestus | 3,880]

I’m so confused.  NES first impression?  Wha?

 

I’d go with the original SMB.  It is a nice gentle start without being ridiculous.  Also if there’s physical limitations (without knowing of what nature) involved or lack of gaming experience you might consider something that focuses on just the D Pad first rather than both sides at once.  Rad Racer or something

[JamesRobot | 5,823]

Idk just give her Barbie or Little Mermaid or something. 

[Foochie776 | 1,061]

44 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

Idk just give her Barbie or Little Mermaid or something. 

Barbie is bad 

[docile tapeworm | 4,204]

tetris

ghost n goblins

bubble bobble

lil nemo

Edited May 16, 2021 by docile tapeworm

[mbd39 | 2,028]

I don't think you can go wrong with Kirby in this respect. Maybe also Felix the Cat.

Krazy Kritters is an unlicensed puzzle game that is very similar to modern phone games such as Candy Crush and has two player co-op.

 

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by mbd39

[Tulpa | 3,530]

47 minutes ago, docile tapeworm said:

ghost n goblins

 

Jesus Lord, man, you want to make Estil a widower?!?

[MegaMan52 | 2,455]

So she's more into the simple games? Have her try out Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Bomberman, Yoshi's Cookie, Tetris, Q*Bert, and Krazy Kreatures. Then, after a little while, let her play Super Mario Bros., Kirby's Adventure, and any of the Mega Man games.

Edited May 16, 2021 by MegaMan52

[cj_robot | 545]

Action 52. So much variety, there's bound to be something she likes, right? Can't go wrong with that, I think.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,572]

10 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Don't overthink it.

Super Mario Bros.

 

[Estil | 1,265]

3 hours ago, mbd39 said:

I don't think you can go wrong with Kirby in this respect. Maybe also Felix the Cat.

Krazy Kritters is an unlicensed puzzle game that is very similar to modern phone games such as Candy Crush and has two player co-op.

You know I did always wonder if Candy Crush (along with the two Simon's Cat games) were in fact based on a previous classic puzzle game.

Just out of curiousity, did the NES ever get a version of Columns?  I was quite surprised the SNES got a JP-only port as I thought Columns was strictly a Sega thing.

[Estil | 1,265]

 

3 hours ago, Tulpa said:

Jesus Lord, man, you want to make Estil a widower?!?

Indeed; why do you think I mentioned the games she already has experience with on the DS?  I hope she can at least play SMB3 with me...at least she did actually like The Wizard movie and how that game (which I got my own copy of for my 11th birthday) was such a HUGE part of my childhood.

[Californication | 1,478]

10 minutes ago, Estil said:

You know I did always wonder if Candy Crush (along with the two Simon's Cat games) were in fact based on a previous classic puzzle game.

Just out of curiousity, did the NES ever get a version of Columns?  I was quite surprised the SNES got a JP-only port as I thought Columns was strictly a Sega thing.

The famicom has Flipull which is kind of like a match 3 game.

[mbd39 | 2,028]

32 minutes ago, Estil said:

You know I did always wonder if Candy Crush (along with the two Simon's Cat games) were in fact based on a previous classic puzzle game.

 

Tetris Attack

 

[Estil | 1,265]

2 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

 

Tetris Attack

 

What about the first Simon's Cat game?  I mean it's obvious what the second Simon's Cat game is based on...

[Tulpa | 3,530]

1 hour ago, Estil said:

Just out of curiousity, did the NES ever get a version of Columns?

Not officially, but Columns-esque games have shown up on bootleg plug-n-plays that use NOACs, usually under the name Jewelry. I'm sure the ROMs are floating around (don't ask me where, I haven't looked.) I think Sivak Games was doing a homebrew demo of a Columns clone. 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Tulpa