Nostalgic Machine

These types of debates always fascinate me; I LOVE the psychology of people feeling the need to HAVE to choose one or the other, or bash one for completely irrational personal reasons - that are just as valid as the reasons they enjoy another game, lol. I love ALL styles of Metroid. Metroidvania improved a lot of what the first two suffered from IMHO.

The first Metroid is easily an 8.5/10 for me. It ALMOST captured the feel of the original LoZ - but somehow the lack of map made it way more frustrating than DUDE I was looking for my maps, graph paper and all; same score, 8/10! It was like Zelda; no map, but you're exploring space instead of Hyrule. I LOVED that. The ambition was higher than the technology, which almost always proves beneficial once technology catches up. I prefer Super Metroid (what I'd consider far and away the series' finest hour, still to this day 26 years later).

That's my favorite part of the game! It's perfectly creepy and challenging. MM is packed with little gems like that. I also love the hand that reaches out of the toilet, lol.

I've seen that meme YEARS ago, and I totally forgot about it . My brain knows that's his hand and shadow, it doesn't work for me lol. Goldeneye still rules!

Cobra Triangle (NES) Mega Man 1-6 (NES) Tecmo World Wrestling (NES) Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES) Fester's Quest (NES) Guardian Legends (NES)

I got both OOT and MM on their respective launch days. Being a massive OOT fanboi, it was hard to like it better for a long time. 20 years later, it's aged much better than its predecessor. The time challenge is a unique element that stands out to this day, and you actually learn to work with it to your advantage by the end IMHO. I'd give MM 9.95/10, and OOT 9.90/10 as of this date today.

Hey guys! I figured serious NES players would enjoy this. My buddy Josh is nuts when it comes to Mega Man, and he's one of the few I've seen actually play through the game and look like he knows what he's doing, lol. Check out his run below for The Gaming Manual; I learned so much from watching this one! Enjoy! Here are the Time Stamps for everything you see above; all of which can also be found HERE on TheGamingManual.com: What are your thoughts? Are you guys any good at this game? I could NEVER beat single robot master in MM1!

Mega Man VI (NES). Arguably my favorite MM title on the console; under-appreciated for sure!

Cobra Triangle (NES) The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBA) The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBA) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)

Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Friday the 13th (NES) The Legend of Zelda (NES) Just to keep my skills fresh. These three will keep me in NES shape so I can tackle Ninja Gaiden again.

The first game I was obsessed with beyond reason as a kid, right from launch, was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Hands down, far and away the most I've ever been obsessed with a game, lol.

Very easily a 10/10 game, and one of the few that are genuinely worthy of that praise IMHO. Plus, the speed running community continues to blow me away, most of the time, with this particular game.

1. Mega Man 2 is overrated AF, and causes causal players to gloss over some fantastic later-entry games in the series. 2. The Sega Genesis - all versions of said console, controllers, peripherals, etc. - feel like they're made of the same cheap plastic you'd get from something out of a gum ball machine.

NEO GEO cabinets are an example of what all arcade cabinets should have been, bare minimum! A lot of the American arcade games by Midway etc. were all about getting them coins from you while keeping you just pissed enough to keep throwing them in LOL.

Oh I know, that's why I prefaced my last post, once everyone was like "Wtf did he just say?!", with that's admittedly the majority of my arcade experience. TMNT the arcade game has a great layout, as a counterexample to my own argument lol.

I respectfully disagree. My anecdotal claims are based entirely on being a semi-professional MK competitive player for years. The games have intentionally bad arcade button layouts to milk quarters. This is well known and not some conspiracy. Ever play Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 competitively, in person, in a packed room on OG cabinets? That run button is purposely places far out to make it more challenging to play and milk quarters. Look at this: Now, tell me you're going to be pulling off combos using run with your right thumb, and stretching your pinky all the way up to HK to start a chain combo without it slipping. Add to this that word cabinets are prone to misfiring, and "finger tapping" too lightly won't register at all. Now, tell me how you'll smoothly transition from run and block and back to run to continue aggressive offense. Compare this to say, a Saturn controller, where L and R are run and block, and the entire thing is right in your hand, and all of these issues are solved.

Ah, I was going to say, I've never seen this in NES Dr. Mario! Then, I paid attention .

It's honestly going to come down to practice and preference. Eventually you'll figure out what works for you. The best advice that helped me is don't worry about what your hands look like they're doing; all that matters is being able to reach and execute a key command as needed without feeling like the challenge is coming from the control vs the game itself. Those who weren't actively at the arcades in the 80's and 90's often under-appreciate how the human body's motor skills adapt to such an inefficient controller layout, lol. I spent years of my life on arcade cabinets. I'm rusty AF when I go back once or twice a year, but I'll be damned if my hands don't remember how to maximize speed and movement for UMK3 lol.

Oh I know, my friend! Simply playing along and fanning the friendly flames, lol. People have great reasoning here on both sides, which is rare for discussion nowadays in general IMHO. It's obvious we all genuinely enjoy classic gaming and have passion for it! Great point about the horizontal lines. I totally zone those out; I don't even notice them anymore, lol. Ultimate NES game is NOT hyperbole; the only thing to top it is the original Legend of Zelda.

I like the mechanics of both. They each add their own unique flavor IMHO. As a kid it can be tricky flying with the cape, but once you get it, it's a blast. Also, I just played through SMB3 on Sunday, in one sitting, on an original NES and CRT set up, because of this thread . Play and enjoy both, because it's the people that insist it's one OR the other are the real losers. The gameplay in both is beyond tight for their respective time periods; SMB3 is one of the best overall NES games of all time. Most people will want to pop in SMW when you break out the SNES, as well.

VERY well said, my friend!

The Legend of Zelda (NES) gold cart, baby!

I'll admit the SML series is most likely my least-played in the franchise. I never had an issue with SMB 2 (US), and still give it a play at least once a year.

Oh, how I pine for those golden years, lol. I remember the most expensive cart at Funco was the gold copy of LoZ back in 1997 for like, $20. They never had any of the more expensive stuff in stock. Nothing super rare. Plenty of peripherals, though. I'd stock up on crazy stuff like the Four-Score and NES Satellite in the legendary "MISC" bin. If I remember correctly, the average NES game was about $4.99 back when I was sweeping those stores as an eager 9-12 year old (1997-2000). I remember lucking out at random road side yard sales in the mid 90's, too. Vividly recall scoring Kirby's Adventure, cart with manual, in one of those classic clear NINTENDO rental cases. All items were pristine, it was like only the box was missing. Lady only wanted $1, and my mom threw it right down on the table! One of those classic childhood memories.

Now there's an uncommon opinion!