Hi

[Zeke]

If it works like Zelda 2, you can save with Up+A on controller 2. There are quite a few games in which that works; it was sort of an open secret. The original NES came with two controllers, so you didn't even need to switch ports. (The GBA port of Zelda 2 transfers this trick to Up+Select.)

Anyone who knows my gaming habits will have no trouble predicting which side I'm on here. The original Zelda is an incredible game, especially for its day. Like the original Metroid, it's a NES game I'll never get tired of. But Mario just doesn't grab me -- never has. I can appreciate the games' reputation, but I just don't enjoy them much myself. Hoshi's difficulties were based on my own.

However, I would give the "best NES game" title to neither Mario nor Zelda. It's not an easy call -- Metroid and Castlevania are strong contenders too -- but the winner for me is Mega Man 3.

[MaverickZer0]

Heya cat! I was wondering if you were still alive!

I have plenty of obscure things I could use for avatars, but I'll be nice and not.

Zelda was good, as were Castlvania and Metroid...and Ice Climbers (shut up) but I have to give it to Mega Man 3.

Just for the slide.

Bah to Mario. Duck Hunt was on the same cartridge and much better. It made more sense, too! :D

[catalina_marina]

Originally Posted by MaverickZer0

Heya cat! I was wondering if you were still alive!

Well you could always ask DD.

[MaverickZer0]

Originally Posted by catalina_marina

Well you could always ask DD.

That would require thinking, and also lack of laziness. Neither of which I possess.

Also, I just noticed your member title. Go me!

[danieldoof]

Originally Posted by catalina_marina

Well you could always ask DD.

...I didnt do it...I promise

[catalina_marina]

You didn't do what? We didn't accuse you of anything. Yet. :suspicious:

[danieldoof]

damn....did I reveal my secret?

[mudshark]

The plot thickens!

[ijdgaf]

It's funny, truthfully I'm not all that big a fan of NES games in the first place. I find it hard to adjust to not having certain improvements which came along later (saving in cartridge [Zelda excepted], multiple game saves, using the D-pad to navigate menus rather than select, etc).

But for whatever reason, SMB3 just doesn't do it for me. It's just a bit too scattered and unfocused for my tastes. None of the extra upgrades are all that fantastic in my opinion, and the level design is just so bla compared to other games in the series. It's fun, but not as much as the original. Or 64. Or NSMB. All in my opinion, of course, which is very much an outlier.

LoZ deserves a place at the top of the NES heap simply because it was just so ahead of its time. It was sort of the GTA3 of its day, as I see it. The game provided a go anywhere, do anything feel that had never been seen before, and wasn't really significantly revamped until GTA3 15+ years later. It truly created a whole world and crammed it into a cartridge. That's damned significant.

[Derek]

Ah, I'm the opposite of you, IJD. I'm a huge NES fan. The reason for that may involve the lack of ownership of any later console system from any maker. A month or so ago I got a DS. It was my first game system since the NES. I have a lot of catching up to do.

But since NES is all I've ever known, and since it defined a large portion of my growing up years, mine and my brother's actually, it's what I've known and loved. Even today, even despite the recent DS purchase, I still play my NES, though I've noticed that of all the games I own for it, the main five I come back to are SMB 1, 2, and 3 and Zelda 1 and 2. For those who wonder, I never owned Metroid or Castlevania or Megaman, though I've definitely played Metroid and Megaman.

And honestly, I consider NSMB to be very much an homage to both SMB1 and SMB3. There are a lot of elements of both games in it.