Ironsword - Wizards & Warriors 2 Review

OK, first off, Fabio is on the box art and the cartridge label.  Why Akklaim thought that was a good idea, or that would be appealing to kids, I won't even try to figure out.  Anyway, on to the game.  I absolutely hate this game.  I hated it as a kid and I hate it now.  I tried to give it an honest chance, but I could not stand more than 10 minutes before I was done with it.  I will tell you the main reason why, the game play sucks.  The character / knights movements are so bad, it is hard to even control after you get used to it.  Another thing that sucks is that your little teeney tiny sword sucks and barley moves when you press the button to strike it.  You can jump and hit birds and enemies with the tiny sword but you have to be very precise down to the pixel.  I could find nothing good about this game.  I feel bad that my dad spent the $3 or so when I was a kid to rent this turd.  I give it 0 out of 10 stars for being one of the worst games on the NES.  If I am wrong, please let me know what I am missing because I have not seen anything except pure shit with this game.

NES bootleg

So I found this out in the wild today.  I paid 12 bucks for it.  I figured that was a pretty good deal considering that I have never seen one in person, ever.  20 games in one.  No end label.  Games are in numerical order on the front exactly how they are spelled - Waterpipe 2, Waterpipe 1, Battle City, F1-Race, Road Fighter, Execite Bike, Base Ball, Pin Ball, Mahjong 2, Exerion, F-16 Star Force, Knights in Fight, Kung-Fu, Donkey Kong 3, Galaza, Ice Llimber, Pac Man, Circus Charlie, Wild Geese Honting, Gun Fighting in Grano West.

Here is a picture of the back

Notice, there is no label but the same caution message is embossed on the back.  Also, those are not screw holes.  The whole thing is made of crude, cheap plastic and snaps apart.

Here is a picture of the inside.

Look!  It appears to be a Famicom board with a NES 72 pin adapter.  Odd.  Also, notice on the left, on the adapter, there is another IC chip crudely soldered to the pins.  Maybe something to do with disabling the NES 10 lockout chip?

Anyway, time to fire this thing up.

Here is the title / select screen.  Notice the Bubble Bobble character even though Bubble Bobble is not on the cart.  He is shooting bubbles.  Most of the games are named different than what is listed on the front and they are labeled A through T.  Game A Super Kid (2) or number 1 Waterpipe 2 is Super Mario Bros. with a hacked title screen that says Super Kid instead of Super Mario Bros.  Game B Super Kid (1) or number 2 Waterpipe 1 is a Mario Bros.  It is so glitchy that when you jump it only half jumps.  The turtles act weird and bounce backward on the top of the screen and appear to be eating the zero on the end of the score.  The game is unplayable.

This is game C - Battle City.  It is a 1 or 2 player tank battle game with 35 selectable levels and a construction mode to make your own levels.  It is like a suped up version of Combat for the Atari 2600.  It is actually pretty cool.

Game D - Zippy Race is a Pole Position clone with 3 selectable tracks.  It plays pretty smooth and is almost identical to Pole Position 2 for the Atari 7800.  Game E - Road Fighter is just like the NES version.  Game F - Excite Bike is the same as the NES version except that everywhere it is supposed to say Nintendo in the background has been taken out so it is just blank signs.  Game G - Baseball is the same as the Famicom version with the Nintendo's taken out.  It has Japanese writing in it.  Game H - Pin-Ball looks identical to the NES version.  The flippers seem a little faster however.  Game I - Mahjong is a Mahjong game with Japanese writing.  Game J - Fire-Peacock is Exerion for the Famicom.  Game K - Thunderbird F-16 is Star Soldier with no title screen.

Game L - Zingia is a weird Kung Fu Heros style game.  It is way faster though.  Game M - Yie Ar Kung-Fu is the Famicom version of the arcade game.  Game N - Gorilla is Donkey Kong 3 with a hacked title screen that says "Gorilla 3".  Game O - Galaga is the same as the NES version.  Game P - Ice Climber is the same as the NES version with a slightly different title screen and a stage select of all 32 stages.  Game Q - Pac-Man looks and plays identical to the NES version.Game R - Circus is identical to Circus Caper for the NES except for a hacked title screen that says "Circus Troupe".  Game S - Duck Hunt looks and plays identical to the NES version.  Finally, Game T - Wild Gunman also looks and plays the same as the NES version expect maybe a slightly different title screen.

Weird stuff overall.  Not a bad pickup for 12 bucks.  Anyone know what it is worth?  I have not been able to locate another copy anywhere online. 

Pengo Atari 2600 Prototype

Check out what I found over the weekend!

Here are some screen shots..

Rush 'N Attack NES Review

I never used to like this game when I was a kid.  I guess it seemed too difficult for me at the time.  It is actually not that bad of a game.  It is an arcade port.  A really good arcade port, it looks almost identical and the music is pretty good too.  The name is kind of funny, a play on words really.  Rush 'n Attack = Russian Attack.  It looks like you are in Siberia on the first stage running by ICBMs on trucks.  Anyway, the point of the game is you have to keep going right and advance to the next stage after killing a boss at the end.  It is basically another "you VS everyone else".  The enemies will keep re spawning if you stand in one spot so the best strategy is to move quickly to the right.  You have a knife in which you stab people with.  Some enemies with jump at you or shoot at you.  You can climb ladders, jump, lay down, and run.  There are a few special weapons per stage but they are not really that helpful.  The game play is not too bad for a side scrolling arcade style game.  I personally get bored with the game after playing for about 20 minutes or so, but it is a good game to pick up every now and then for a quick play.  I have never finished the game.  I usually make it to about the end of the 3rd stage before I get a game over.  Overall, I give this game a 5 out of 10.  Nothing really special about it but not a bad game to fart around with from time to time. 

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out / Punch Out NES Review

Good old Mike Tyson's Punch-Out.  This game is classic.  When you first play it, it seems hard, but once you memorize the patterns, it is pretty easy.  The game play is pretty good, and the graphics are pretty good for its time.  There is no way to power up Little Mac (that's who you play as), you just keep fighting your way through the opponents.  You can however refill some or all of your power once per fight by pressing select between rounds.  Each character you fight has their weaknesses which makes the game fun.  Each fight is 3 rounds where you either need to knock your opponent out or get a TKO (Technical Knock-Out) knocking your opponent  down 3 times in a single round.  You get 3 minutes per round but the clock is kind of weird.  It runs really fast sometimes and other times runs slow.  There is no constant to the clock.  Mario is the referee which is pretty cool.  You fight your way through 3 divisions and at the end you fight Mike Tyson or Mr. Dream if it is the Punch-Out version.  Nintendo dropped Mike Tyson from the Punch-Out game after making the game for 3 years.  They apparently only had a 3 year license to use Tyson's likeness in the game.  Overall, I give this game a 7 out of 10.  I still find myself picking this game up from time to time and going all the way through it from beginning to end and having a good time doing it.

Current NES Collection

Here is my current NES collection. 354 Carts. 10-Yard Fight 1942 1943: The Battle of Midway 3-D Battles of World Runner, The 720 8 Eyes A Boy and His Blob - Trouble on Blobolonia, David Crane's Abadox - The Deadly Inner War Addams Family, The Adventures in the Magic Kingdom, Disney's Adventures of Bayou Billy, The Adventures of Dino Riki Adventures of Gilligan's Island, The Adventures of Lolo Air Fortress Airwolf Al Unser Jr. Turbo Racing Alien Syndrome All-Pro Basketball Alpha Mission Amagon American Gladiators Anticipation Arch Rivals - A BASKETBRAWL! Astyanax Athena Back to the Future Back to the Future II & III Bad Dudes Bad Street Brawler Balloon Fight Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach Bard's Tale, The Barker Bill's Trick Shooting Baseball Baseball Simulator 1.000 Bases Loaded Bases Loaded 2: Second Season Bases Loaded 3, Ryne Sandberg Plays Batman - The Video Game Batman Returns Battle of Olympus, The Battle Tank, Garry Kitchen's Battletoads Bible Adventures Bigfoot Bionic Commando Black Bass, The Blades of Steel Blaster Master Blue Marlin Boulder Dash Breakthru Bubble Bobble Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle, The Bump 'n' Jump Burai Fighter BurgerTime Cabal Caesar's Palace Captain Skyhawk Castlequest Castlevania Castlevania II - Simon's Quest Championship Bowling Chessmaster, The Circus Caper Clash at Demonhead Cobra Command Cobra Triangle Code Name: Viper Commando Conquest of the Crystal Palace Crystalis Cybernoid, The Fighting Machine Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum Days of Thunder Deadly Towers Defender II Defender of the Crown Déjà Vu Destination Earthstar Dick Tracy Dig Dug II, Trouble in Paradise Dirty Harry: The War Against Drugs Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Classics Double Dare Double Dragon Double Dribble Dr. Chaos Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Dr. Mario Dragon Power Dragon Spirit, The New Legend Dragon Warrior Dragon Warrior III Duck Hunt Duck Tales, Disney's Dynowarz, The Destruction of Spondylus Excitebike F-15 Strike Eagle Fast Break, Magic Johnson's Faxanadu Fester's Quest Fighting Golf, Lee Trevino's Final Fantasy Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll Formula One: Built to Win Friday the 13th Galaga - Demons of Death Gauntlet Gauntlet II Ghosts 'n Goblins Goal! Godzilla - Monster of Monsters! Golf Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode Goonies II, The Gotcha! The Sport! Gradius Gremlins 2 - The New Batch Guardian Legend, The Guerrilla War Gumshoe Gun.Smoke Gyromite Gyruss Heavy Barrel Heavy Shreddin' High Speed Hogan's Alley Hollywood Squares Home Alone Home Alone 2 - Lost in New York Hudson Hawk Hunt for Red October, The Hydlide Ice Climber Ice Hockey Ikari Warriors Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road Image Fight Infiltrator Iron Tank - The Invasion of Normandy Ironsword - Wizards & Warriors II Jackal Jaws Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary Edition John Elway's Quarterback Jordan vs. Bird: One on One Kabuki - Quantum Fighter Karate Champ Karate Kid, The Karnov Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs Kid Niki: Radical Ninja King of Kings, The Early Years King's Knight Kings of the Beach Professional Beach Volleyball Knight Rider KO Boxing, George Foreman's Kung Fu Kung Fu Heroes Legacy of the Wizard Legend of Kage, The Legend of Zelda, The Legendary Wings, The Life Force Little Mermaid, The, Disney's Little Nemo - The Dream Master Loopz Lunar Pool Mach Rider Magmax Major League Baseball Mappy-Land Marble Madness Mario Bros., The Original Marvel's X-Men Mega Man Mega Man 2 Mega Man 4 Mendel Palace Metal Gear Metroid Michael Andretti's World GP Mickey Mousecapade Mighty Bombjack Millipede Milon's Secret Castle Mission: Impossible Monopoly NARC NFL Football Ninja Gaiden Ninja Gaiden II, The Dark Sword of Chaos Operation Wolf, Take No Prisoners ORB 3-D Othello P.O.W. - Prisoners of War Pac-Man Palamedes Pin-Bot Pinball Pinball Quest Platoon Play Action Football, NES Predator Pro Wrestling Punch-Out!! Q*Bert R.B.I. Baseball R.B.I. Baseball 2 R.B.I. Baseball 3 R.C. Pro-Am Racket Attack Rad Racer Rad Racer II Raid on Bungeling Bay Rally Bike Rambo Rampage Remote Control Renegade Rescue - The Embassy Mission Ring King Road Runner RoadBlasters Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves RoboCop RoboWarrior Rock 'n Ball Rocket Ranger Rocketeer, The Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball Rollerball Rollergames Rolling Thunder Roundball 2-on-2 Challenge Rush'n Attack Rygar Section-Z Seicross Sesame Street: 123 Sesame Street: ABC Shadowgate Side Pocket Silent Service Simpsons, The - Bart Vs. the Space Mutants Simpsons, The - Bart Vs. the World Skate or Die Ski or Die Sky Shark Slalom Snake Rattle n Roll Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular Solar Jetman - Hunt for the Golden Warpship Solomon's Key Solstice - The Quest for the Staff of Demnos Spy Hunter Star Force Star Soldier Star Tropics Star Tropics II - Zoda's Revenge Star Voyager Star Wars Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back Starship Hector Stealth ATF Stinger Strider Super C Super Cars Super Glove Ball Super Jeopardy!, Talking Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. - Duck Hunt Super Mario Bros. - Duck Hunt - World Class Track Meet Super Mario Bros. 2 Super Mario Bros. 3 Super Off Road, Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Pitfall Super Spike V'Ball Super Sprint Super Team Games Swords and Serpents T & C Surf Designs T2 Terminator 2: Judgment Day Taboo - The Sixth Sense Tag Team Wrestling Talespin Target: Renegade Tecmo Baseball Tecmo Bowl Tecmo NBA Basketball Tecmo Super Bowl Tecmo World Wrestling Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II - The Arcade Game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III - The Manhattan Project Tennis Tetris Tetris 2 Three Stooges, The Thunderbirds Thundercade Tiger-Heli Time Lord Tiny Toon Adventures Tom & Jerry - The Ultimate Game of Cat and Mouse! Top Gun Top Gun - The Second Mission Total Recall Totally Rad Touchdown Fever Track & Field Track & Field II Trojan Ultima: Exodus Ultimate Basketball Urban Champion Vegas Dream Videomation Vindicators Volleyball Wall Street Kid Wayne Gretzky Hockey WCW: World Championship Wrestling Werewolf - The Last Warrior Wheel of Fortune Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Wild Gunman Willow Win, Lose or Draw Winter Games Wizards & Warriors World Class Track Meet World Cup, Nintendo World Games Wrath of the Black Manta Wrecking Crew WWF WrestleMania WWF WrestleMania Challenge WWF Wrestlemania Steel Cage Challenge Xenophobe Xevious - The Avenger Xexyz Yo! Noid Yoshi Yoshi's Cookie Zanac Zelda II - The Adventure of Link

Flea Market Finds

Grabbed all these for $10

Both of these for $5 each (I have never seen these in the wild)

Both of these for $15

Both of these for $12

These for $1 each

And both of these for $3 Not a bad haul overall. I am still searching for a Genesis model 2. I talked to a guy that sells game stuff and he said that he would bring one to the flea market next week for me. It has all the hookups for $20. Hopefully I can get the 32X working on it.