Metal Arcade: Rick Bakker writes:
I can still remember playing the original Shadowgate for NES back in the day as a child. I remember renting it from a local video store at maybe 7 years old, most likely just from the creepy gargoyle on the cover. From the opening title and entrance screen I was fascinated and instantly hooked. The ominous atmosphere, music, and artwork were right up my alley and I had to beat it. However, there was a huge problem. In addition to being unlike any other game I had ever played, Shadowgate had a punishing level of difficulty. It was an unrelenting point-and-click adventure where one false click equaled death, and with no strategy guide or internet walkthrough to assist me, I was left to fend for myself with only my memory and scrawls of paper to guide me. In the end, it was all too much, and Castle Shadowgate had defeated yet another gamer. My adventure had ended not far from the entrance door. I would go on to play and beat many games through the years, but occasionally think back to that crushing adventure that I had as a child and think, “Now that I’m older and wiser, could I beat that game now?”
Despite skyrocketing retro game prices the NES remains a deep trove of excellent games that, if you can avoid eBay sellers, are really quite affordable for new collectors.
I remember one of the levels in Retro City Rampage was paying homage to those seaweed segments. Not quite as hard but man did it bring back bad memories of my many deaths on that level. Never did beat that game without the Game Genie. Same with Battletoads. lol
The top-down view theme music was stuck in my head all day as a kid.
I'm not sure if I ever completed a no-damage seaweed run.
Double Dragon 2 is one of the best!! Several good games on this list! Shadowgate, P.O.W., and Klax. That is actually a super fun puzzle game! TMNT, I think every time after the seaweed, I only had like 1 Turtle left. lol
Shadowgate was how I got so familiar with Nintendo's helpline lol. But man did I love that game.
And wow I forgot all about P.O.W. until you mentioned it. Man being a kid with a NES really was the good ol days.
Best birthday ever: 15 and I got a Super Nintendo with Super Mario World, Pilot Wings and Street Fighter. (Spoiled rotten) And I saw Basic Instinct at the theater!
COG writes: Shadowgate VR: The Mines of Mythrok is a terrific three-dimensional translation of the original games’ flatscreen fantasy dungeon crawler.
Nearly 40 years after its release, the NES is still one of the most popular gaming consoles in the world! Here are our top NES games that have stood the test of time.
