Metroidvania Games on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System Metroid)

[@BigOleWords]

I mentioned it briefly in the Legacy of the Wizard section, but @quwebs has a really great tutorial on how to move the blocks, I'm just too clumsy to execute it properly. Also, he has a great channel with lots of solid retro reviews so check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ_UgIOnnsmiqJI

[@tylerd4884]

i cant do it either

[@childofcascadia]

Quwebs is epic. Ive been subbed to his channel since he has had just a few hundred subs. I highly recommend his Abridged series for cool little 5 minute reviews of NES and SNES games.

[@childofcascadia]

Also, at 12:30 I laughed my ass off. Way reminded of a dog having an itchy butthole.

[@goatbone]

9:27 "The son is useless." I felt that.

[@toddhouchin3252]

Don't badmouth Rygar, that's my dog!

[@famicomkun]

"The son is useless" that was funny. you need him to beat the final boss though.

[@BigOleWords]

That is true!

[@GoodVibeCollecting]

Blaster Master is the best Metroid clone on the system IMO. It was the first game that made me realize "Oh, there are other games that play like Metroid". It's biggest flaw being no saves, no passwords, and the continues are limited. Unlike the japanese version.

[@williamprice5079]

It took me 35 years to realize Blaster Master is CLEARLY a Metroidvania lol

[@GoodVibeCollecting]

@@williamprice5079 But it's not a Metroidvania. It's Metroid-esque. XD.

[@DondoDiscGolf]

Metroid changed my Life. This game is Still amazing & that classic metroid music is very soothing to my soul. Keep up the amazing Content!!!

[@BigOleWords]

Hey thanks so much!

[@otterspotter]

Mine too! I remember renting it as a kid and thinking no way could a game be this good!

[@BigBearHgX]

Clash at demonhead needs to be re-released so badly.

[@jescis0]

I second that notion! I LOVED "Clash At Demonhead"! I used to have it, but I'm collecting Japanese games nowadays! 😉😉😉😉

[@jeremygreen2883]

I third this! I still dust off my old cart.

[@rockman7503]

I 100% Megaman Zero 2. I don't have the patience for strider wall jump. I beat Batman on NES legit. Not strider. I tried. Forever.

[@jescis0]

@@rockman7503 I ACTUALLY have Batman on the Famicom! 😁😁😁😁 バットマン1989!

[@rockmanfan5104]

​@rockman7503 megaman zero and zx series are amazing games. They feel so good to play. Some of the best movement

[@tookmyjob]

Legacy of the Wizard: yeah, I screwed up on the Dad's block moving quite a few times. I finished the game just so I don't ever have to play it again. Blaster Master: My wife was watching me play the overhead view and says "Are you playing Hello Kitty?" Strider: one of the first games I ever beat and the music got me hooked to 8-bit soundtracks.

[@BigOleWords]

Haha your wife nailed it!

[@BainesMkII]

Getting near the end of Blaster Master only to run out of continues (or have your mother make you turn off the system because your supper is getting cold) was crushing. It was also annoying that getting hit in the overhead areas downgraded your gun, which made it more likely that you'd get hit again and meant you needed to spend more time farming gun upgrades to get back what you lost. It feels a bit weird to see Blaster Master on a list without it being accompanied by Fester's Quest, as the two always felt pretty similar to me. Also, if you just cannot accommodate NES graphics anymore, Blaster Master Zero is an option. It's a pretty decent modern re-imagining with some additional content.

[@BigOleWords]

Fester is included in the Zelda Clones video :)

[@PowerPandaMods]

Blaster Master Zero (the entire trilogy) is a hidden gem.

[@Tailstraw_xD]

The title theme of the original Metroid still gives me chills.

[@BigOleWords]

Same!

[@FalsebitPakoPako]

Truly a "less is more" with dark corridors. (See: Super Mario 1 with dark fortresses that were filled with Bowser portraits)

[@Tailstraw_xD]

@@FalsebitPakoPako huh?

[@flanhed]

Intro threw me for a loop.

[@SirRosser]

With the exception of Uforia and Goonies 1, every single one of those games, even the ones just mentioned in passing, are ones that I owned, rented or borrowed repeatedly when I was a kid or teen. Good times!

[@BigOleWords]

Damn lucky you! I didn’t play most of these til years later.

[@GenerationPixel]

That Point and Click comparison is astoundingly insightful 👌 Fun Fact, on the 8 Bit Microcomputers, yes my beloved Spectrum yet again, there was a third Metroidvania, released at the same time. The Sacred Armour if Antiriad. You should take a look at it if you can 😎👍

[@Raukodraug]

Those old 8bit PCs were great. I first played the original Goonies on my old Spectravideo computer that ran off cassette tapes.

[@BigOleWords]

Now that looks like a Metroid clone!

[@GenerationPixel]

@@BigOleWords Antiriad was released a few weeks after Metroid, and a few before Castlevania. If it wasn't for the 8Bit Microcomputers being very UK prominent, I dare say we might be talking about MetroidAntiriadVainias 😉

[@GenerationPixel]

@Raukodraug this is the first I've heard of the SpectraVideo! I thought the Commodore 64, Texas Instruments TU 99 and Tandy CoCo were the only North American 8Bit Microcomputers! Now I need one of these!! 🤣

[@The_Badseed]

Metroid, Goonies II, Rygar and Blaster Master are probably my favorite NES Games. I remember the old days before internet looking at Nintendo Power for a Walkthrough and trading tips and secrets with my friends. Good stuff

[@tylerd4884]

I cracked up at the line dammit jake what are you paying me for here?

[@BigOleWords]

I mean, he had one job

[@cmfort2696]

"Sounds like Rygar has got a fun weekend planned."

[@Smaxx]

Map size in Legacy of the Wizard is a really interesting topic. I didn't compare it with other games directly, but just judging from your map screenshots at 16x16 screens it's twice as big as Legend of Zelda's overworld map (and I think it's actually the same size as LoZ's dungeon maps combined). But these seem to be unique without reusing rooms at all.

[@BigOleWords]

Damn that is huge!

[@dimviesel]

You’re a true ol skool collector! All your nes copies look like they’ve been to hell and back😄 You left all the dirt and grime of the 80’s on the cartridges👍🏾

[@novelezra]

Goonies 2 probably has one of my all time favorite NES themes; the Password music. Just absolutely beautiful and ethereal.

[@BigOleWords]

Y’know, I’m not sure I’ve ever entered the password, sounds like I’m missing out!

[@novelezra]

@@BigOleWords You like The Advantage right? They did an incredible cover of it

[@carn9507]

"the son is useless" Yep, that's me in my family apparently

[@BigOleWords]

Right there with ya!

[@FFVison]

There was another game for the NES in the same series as Legacy of the Wizard and that's Faxanadu. Very fun game if you haven't played it. Another game kinda Metroidy is Xexyz. It has some platformer areas as well as some shoot em up your levels. I have fond memories of this one.

[@BigOleWords]

I’ll get to Faxanadu with Zelda 2. Xexyz is a great title but I don’t feel like there’s much exploration really.

[@GeovaneSanciniSR]

The American version of Blaster Master is kinda frustrating, that's why I always recommend the japanese version, Cho Wakusei Senki Metafight, which have unlimited continues and save features.

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

I love metroidvanias, and have finished just about all of these. Rygar is one of my favorites, and I think people might remember it more fondly if it had a password or save feature. Speaking of which, Milon's Secret Castle... what got me over the hump was playing the Game Boy version later. It is the same game, but with a password save feature. Beating it there got me to where I could do it on NES. Legacy of the Wizard is a personal favorite for me. I found it completely inscrutable as a kid, but when I came back to it in my late teens with a more developed brain, I loved it. Once I realized that the room with the dragon in the middle is essentially a hub for each of the characters to brach off to their crowns, it blew it wide open for me. The orb item allows you to warp back to the surface. As for Xemn and his glove mechanic, what got me through was taking it slowly, and mostly doing it from on top of each block when possible. I just jump straight up without touching the D-pad, then tap the D-pad in the direction to move the block while still holding A. Ufouria I played on the Japanese PS1 of all places. Sunsoft released 6 volumes of Sunsoft Memorial collections, each containing 2 NES games on the PS1. Games like Hebereke, Gimmick, Super Spy Hunter, Wing of Madoola, Journey to Silius, etc. are there on Sony hardware. A couple of Metroid-esque games I like are Dr Chaos (I know you hate that one), Getsu Fuuma Den (which has a lot in common with Gargoyle's Quest for structure, so I can see why it wasn't included), and Space Hunter, which could as easily be argued as a Zelda clone, but is super English-friendly.

[@BigOleWords]

Dr. Chaos

[@TheZombiePimpernel]

Saw an ad for Euforia in Nintendo Power as a kid and it looked awesome. Fifteen years later, I found a ROM and finally got to play it. Definitely a fantastic game that should have been brought to the USA

[@geraq0]

Nice list! I seem to recall Adventure Island 4 had some non-linear exploration to find items. Another one is my all-time favorite non-linear NES game James Bond Jr, I played that one a lot as a kid.

[@BigOleWords]

Oh shit I totally forgot about James Bond Jr! Totally right!

[@Tailstraw_xD]

Oh! Legacy of the Wizard was the first video game I ever played! Always such a surprise when anyone mentions it, it seems like such an unknown game

[@PowerPandaMods]

Blaster Master got a remake/reboot on modern consoles with the Blaster Master Zero trilogy. They are in the same vein as something like Shovel Knight... NES style gameplay fine tuned to perfection. Everyone who enjoys this channel should go play them.

[@BigOleWords]

I’ve heard a few folks echo your sentiments. Sounds rad!

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

wait...wait....wait.... why ? i came to make a joke about ''CHECK THIS SHIT OUT'' and it is not here 😢 i am heart broken, that phrase would make my day when i hear it....and not it is gone....i don't know what to do and say, i am just depressed now.

[@toddburgess5056]

I know !!!! 😦😦😦

[@ChaossX77]

I'm sure you'll get over it... Eventually. Maybe.

[@seansells8305]

I feel your pain regarding both The Legacy of the Wizard's block moving, and Stryder's wall jump. Both parts have stymied me in these games. Eventually I overcame the obstacles, but it took a ridiculously long time in both cases for me.

[@BigOleWords]

Glad I’m not the only one!

[@rawrfawks5180]

Since the Adventure Island series was so well known in the west, but never got a release of the 4th, I would think it would fit an obscure Metroid-Vania hidden gems list quite well. I've only recently gotten hold of a repro translation, and it's enjoyable so far! Haven't gotten super deep, but there seems like a lot of items and weapons available to find with typical staggered progression/exploration elements. Plus the A.I. series is cute. Thanks for the great content!

[@BigOleWords]

Hell yeah, I may add that to the next video :)

[@zenitpro]

Very cool video! I remember being fascinated by Strider on the NES back then, I thought it was so interesting and different from the Genesis version! But yeah, the jumping mechanics is so wretched that it got on my nerves more often that not. I'm really thinking of giving it a try once again, just to see if I can get any further than I did back then. As for Goonies 2, I had this cartridge back then too, and I think I was some kind of wizard for having beaten this game with no FAQ whatsoever. Such an underrated game, I'm a sucker for anything Goonies-related, and this game didn't fail to give me that Goonies adventure vibe!

[@Hardworlder]

Fun trivia: Legacy of The Wizard is technically in the same franchise as the modern Trails JRPG series, as they both come from the Dragon Slayer series.

[@BigOleWords]

Never heard of that series, neat!

[@entertainmentgremlin2214]

The Addams Family is an often overlooked title in the genre. Can't wait to see Zelda 2 vid! I think these kind of videos really help anyone navigating the NES library to find the games they're most likely to enjoy. Please keep up the series. I really appreciate your unique and obsessive dive into the topic (I can relate all to well). Thanks!

[@SuperDrunkdragon]

I first played Ufouria on my Wii through the Virtual Console thanks to a recommendation from none other than Nintendo Power back in the early 2010s and I instantly fell in love with it. From the goofy character designs and huge map to explore, I knew I was gonna play something fun and exciting haha Definitely one of my favorite NES games

[@minimoe2807]

So happy to see Ufouria get love. Discovered this game not long ago and was amazed.

[@ChaossX77]

Ufouria* in case anyone sees this and wants to Google it and missed the correct spelling elsewhere.

[@minimoe2807]

@@ChaossX77 Good catch! Fixed it

[@Krristopher]

I always call those Metroid style games "Goonies-like" since VS The Goonies came out a few months before Metroid and Castlevania I think.

[@BigOleWords]

Hmmm you may be right!

[@NoobixCube]

Doesn't it just all go back to Jet Set Willy?

[@RetroPixelLizard]

Fun little fact: Kid Icarus and Metroid run on the same enginr I think you covered every non homebrew Metroid. The NES version of The Addams counts but It's not good, there's Gargoyle's Quest If you're fine with the JRPG overworld/towns between action stages. An Interesting thing to note, Legacy of the Wizard Is the 4th Dragon Slayer game, since you're planning on a videof or Zelda II clones I should bring up that Faxanadu Is a spin off of Dragon Slayer 2, just a fun little connection I found out. By the way, I remember a Japan only JRPG worth checking out, Lagrange Point, heard It's music on a retro game radio and thought they made an error on the system, but then I booted It up and once the Intro started...

[@BigOleWords]

I was just watching some Lagrange Point. That game looks and sounds AMAZING

[@kevinhibbard320]

I have never made past like the first few screens of Metroid. But that intro music makes me nostalgic af

[@gamingtheologian8515]

As said above, the son in Legacy is the only one who can use the Dragonslayer and defeat the dragon. Love that game.

[@darktetsuya]

Okay I loved Goonies II, Rygar, Clash at Demonhead, and Blaster Master... though I have to 100% agree with your comments on Legacy of the Wizard! a few years back I picked up the NES Namco Museum collection that had it included, and sure enough I'm still stuck on Xemn's block puzzle nonsense. great game up until that point for sure.

[@antman674]

Legacy of the Wizard is one trippy game. I remember playing that as a kid and not having a clue what was going on.

[@BigOleWords]

I still have no clue!

[@MicBain]

Always great to see Ufouria get some love, it was definitely my favourite game on NES when I was a kid. Could never find it in stores so I had to rent it many times.

[@BigOleWords]

At least you were able to play it!

[@MicBain]

@@BigOleWords yeah, so weird it was PAL only. Normally it was our region who were missing out!

[@georged7627]

I was 10 when the NES released in Australia and absolutely loved it then and absolutely love it now 🤘🏽

[@BigOleWords]

Nice!

[@jdd3786]

It's cool that Blaster Master has been released for the Evercade Vs. The system has a quick-save function, allowing you to save at any point in the game. Now I may be able to get to the end!

[@BigOleWords]

Ooooohhh neat!

[@gamet2004]

Honestly... I think U-Four-Ia is a much better game than Metroid for me

[@rockmanfan5104]

What game?

[@kri249]

I remember renting Uforia at the video store as a kid and remembering how awesome it was. I got to the last boss but never beat him and had to return the game. It really was a damn good metroidvania, and game in general. I'm surprised the US never got it, they got the majority of good games we never got.

[@BigOleWords]

That’s awesome you were able to rent it. It’s so good

[@costby1105]

Ufouria was on the Wii and WII u Virtual Consoles when they were open.

[@alynapuhskinti]

No more ‘CHECK THIS SHIT OUUUUT’? 😢

[@BigOleWords]

It’ll probably be back…

[@alexshadowfax1119]

Uforia is super fun, I did get to a point of "where the hell do I go" and put it down out of stubbornness of not wanting to always resort to looking up a playthrough on KZbin, but I'll eventually go back to it.

[@BigOleWords]

Yeah that’s me with all of these games!

[@jiminboo]

Dude, clean your carts! Lol 😂 There’s like 40 years of grime on them… hmmm nostalgic! 😁 great video thanks for sharing!

[@BigOleWords]

Never!

[@BainesMkII]

It's funny and a bit sad that I don't remember finding the wall jump in Strider being that much more frustrating than the wall jumps in other NES games, but videos today all talk about how painfully difficult it was to perform. Jeremy Parish, in his Metroidvania Works series, is extremely critical of the game as a whole. As a kid, it felt like everyone had played Strider.

[@BigOleWords]

Maybe it’s just me!

[@BainesMkII]

@@BigOleWords Oh, the wall jump probably is really frustrating. I doubt I could stand to play through NES Strider today, even though I beat it as a kid. And if you don't have to do it during combat or with time pressure, I likely just kept trying until I succeeded. Meanwhile, in a game like Batman or Ninja Gaiden, messing up a wall jump likely led to taking damage you couldn't afford to accumulate, if not outright death. So failing 10 attempts in Strider could ultimately be less frustrating than failing 1-in-10 attempts in a game with "better" controls.

[@robertdobbs4156]

Dude! Legacy of the Wizard man I haven't thought about that in years!

[@autoneurotic]

Got back into gaming about two years ago and while I've picked a couple of these titles up I've never really played them, only dabbled a little in Metroid. Working on Legend of Zelda for the first time right now. Looking forward to when I circle my way back. Thanks for this list!

[@BigOleWords]

Nice, good luck! There’s a Clones video(s) for Zelda games as well if you’re looking for more!

[@chadcox2052]

Great video! Just came across your channel and subscribed lots good videos .. I enjoy bunch these games just went thru Rygar for the fun of it the other day cause hadn't played it in awhile. The Nes is my favorite system of all time. Goonies II was fun as well. I'll tell u another game that plays like Goonies II that fun and flys under the radar imo as far as Nes games if you like Goonies II that's Dr Chaos fun game 🎮

[@BigOleWords]

Dr. Chaos is my nemesis! Some day I'll sit down and review it fully.

[@actuallynotsteve]

Blaster Master is legit one of the best hard-but-fair games of all time. We beat it once when I was a kid, and took a picture of the end screen just to have some proof. Even if you use the freeze glitch on bosses, it's still absurdly hard.

[@BigOleWords]

I actually forgot all about that freeze glitch!

[@actuallynotsteve]

@@BigOleWords Works on I think 6 of 8 bosses, iirc, and the game is near impossible without. Even getting to level 8 is a Lovecraftian nightmare, and the final boss is ridiculous.

[@guillevalecillo2298]

I love so much your channel, I improve my listening with your video. I learn english watching your amazing videos. Thanks Ole, greentings from Venezuela

[@BigOleWords]

That’s awesome! Some of my favorite people in Atlanta are from Venezuela, so I assume everyone there is amazing too :)

[@skRapKlan]

Thanks for yet another awesome video! I can never get enough of Ufouria.. One of my all time favorite games on NES! Please find a reason to bring it up in all future videos..? hahah

[@BigOleWords]

I always try to! I think I’ve discussed it at least three times now including a full review :)

[@skRapKlan]

@@BigOleWords Keep up the great work dude!

[@smokesreefer9417]

I'll never forget the sound when you get a new thing 😊 satisfying progression.

[@cmfort2696]

Remember these games, feeling like you were kn a real quest, you would get lost, might lose a guy and game over, especially games like final fantasy three type. In metroid, you could get stuck and have to completely reset the game.

[@00Clint]

Just found your channel a few weeks back and it was an instant subscription for me. Love the break downs on all your videos. If I had the extra cash I’d throw you some Pateron bucks and get even more content.

[@00Clint]

@@ChaossX77 I fixed it. Was supposed to be was an instant subscription. Damn fat fingers

[@BigOleWords]

Hey glad you’re digging it :)

[@ragnarrandom7367]

my cousin had legacy of the wizard when we were kids. i loved that game, and it took me a while to find it later in life cuz i forgot what it was called.

[@atmaweapon2803]

Adventure Island IV. People forget about this one because it was a Famicom exclusive, Japan only. I honestly didn't even know it existed until the mid aughts when I REALLY got into emulation. It's basically Adventure Island for people who like Metroid better. Gone is the dashing constantly to find food to stay alive. Now you can just explore and find items. It's a great game that I wish came stateside, because I would have LOVED it as a kid.

[@BigOleWords]

I’ve never played 4!

[@atmaweapon2803]

@@BigOleWords check it out! It was weird when I discovered it as an adult, it felt like I was peering into an alternate dimension lol

[@ldrelick]

Came here to say this! Really fun game, the last official release for the Famicom, so very expensive.

[@atmaweapon2803]

@@ldrelick interesting! I didn't know it was the last Famicom game.

[@atmaweapon2803]

​​​​@@BigOleWordsanother game that just came to mind, if you are looking for ideas for a future Zelda II clones episode, is the Famicom game Chester Field. It takes place entirely in side scrolling, and would probably be somewhere in between Metroidvania and Zelda II. As an aside, I'm sure you're already going to include Battle of Olympus. Ah just remembered another one: one of my absolute favorite Famicon games of all time is Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru Gaiden, and definitely fits in this category. You travel from town to town, fighting through dungeons and upgrading your mecha...yes, you fight with a mecha. And all battles take you from top-down exploration into a combat screen where you fight side-scrolling against your opponent. It has extremely fluid, responsive controls and very competent graphics.

[@JB-sm5sm]

[19:58] Page 9 of the instruction booklet for Milon's Secret Castle (NES). "SECRET INFORMATION… You can access this 'Continuing Option' by pushing on the left side of the movement control button and the Start Button."

[@BigOleWords]

Bastards! I never checked the manual!

[@Dahandax]

Thank you for all the time you use to do this video, really amazing man!

[@BigOleWords]

You got it!

[@toddburgess5056]

I bought Strider for the Nintendo Wii back when their online gaming store was still up and running. I'm not sure what drew me to that one, as it wasn't a title i owned back when I was collecting games.

[@Spacetrucker138]

great job on the opening, awesome video

[@IOwnMyWiiULEGIT]

Thank you for reviewing Uforia. I bought it on the Wii U e-shop before it closed and didn’t know much about it but it looked pretty solid and cute.

[@BigOleWords]

You chose wisely!

[@CrazyHomelessWeirdo]

It's been a while since I found an old school Video game channel that i've liked as much as yours

[@BigOleWords]

Hey thanks so much, glad you like it!

[@CrazyHomelessWeirdo]

@@BigOleWords Now, why do you think that style was called metro Vinia gameplay.Wherebyou had a big open map to explore with areas.You couldn't reach until you completed other areas and got power ups.But the original Zelda was much the same way. Like if you played legend of Zelda today with no prior knowledge of the game, it would take a lot of work to figure out exactly where to go and what to do in the game to move forward and figure out the levels and the puzzles in the game, because it's not exactly obvious what To do.

[@Alianger]

The closest to clones on NES would be Blaster Master and Cosmo Police Galivan but they still have some notable differences (the latter is actually level-based). Zillion and Cyborg Hunter on SMS are also pretty close. Platform Adventures experienced a boom in the 8-bit era which sadly didn't really carry over to the 16-bit era besides Wonder Boy, Gargoyle's Quest and Super Metroid, as well as a few portable games like Tails Adventures and TMNT 3.

[@namebrandmason]

Rygar is not the most polished game; but its mythology was always kind of fascinating. I guess it resembles a lot of 80s science fantasy movies, but it caught 11 year-old me's attention. I'm still bummed that the Playstation game placed Rygar in a generic Greco-Roman setting.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

It was PS2 but yeah actually I like that game Greco-Roman setting and all. Yeah I do wish it had been more fantasy based but what can you do.

[@kidgruesome407]

yes it feels unfinished, but good gameplay. the music is EXCEPTIONAL too.

[@joelkurowski7129]

It always upsets me that this game never got a proper sequel. I do not consider that PS2 game to be in the same universe whatsoever. I really dig that Gonzo fantasy aesthetic.

[@marscaleb]

I played Strider on the NES when I was a kid. In fact I recall playing it a LOT because I was so enamored with the way you could visit all these different areas (and altogether, the metroidvania mechanics, though I didn't understand that back then.) Going through one of the tube-things and winding up in Australia or wherever just blew my mind! But I could never get anywhere because that triangle-jump WAS JUST IMPOSSIBLE! It burned me on wall jumping so much that I was just livid when I saw other games using that mechanic, like Super Metroid. For ages wall-jumping was just my most-hated gameplay mechanic. It took a long time before I realized that it's actually a really cool ability but Strider SUCKS at it! My brother was really good at it though; he could even pull off two successive wall jumps!

[@BigOleWords]

Agreed. Super Metroid is one of my all-time favorite games, BUT, that wall jump drives me crazy.

[@marscaleb]

@@BigOleWords Not as bad as the Strider triangle jump, but still bad enough to make me shy away from half the ROM hacks. But either way, you'll notice any game using a wall jump mechanic these days makes it WORLDS easier.

[@QixIceni]

A 1984 game called Impossible Mission (I played the crap out of it as a kid on my Commodore 64) was perhaps the first game I played that was kind of like Metroid before Metroid was even developed. You didn't have power ups but you did get this pass cards to manipulate any given room. You had to search for puzzle pieces in every object in every room and you had only six hours to do it. Every time you die a certain amount of mins was taken off your time so you had to be careful. There's more too it but I won't spoil anything. If you ever get interested in it, avoid the NES version. Grab a Commodore 64 emulator and play that version. It's simpler than Metroid and not near as big but you might make the same connection I did. Plus the animation of your character is very very impressive. Might have been rotoscoped.

[@BigOleWords]

I've only played the NES version is it really different?

[@QixIceni]

@@BigOleWords It is but mostly by look and feel. I think the game mechanics are different too. I loved it on the C64 but I tried it a couple of times on the NES and didn't like it. Epyx games just never translated well on the NES for some reason.

[@RobsRetroGaming]

Nice review! Quite a few games here I need to dig into and play!

[@BigOleWords]

Thanks!

[@CrazyHomelessWeirdo]

Clash at demon head is also one of my favorite indian soundtracks

[@scottbogfoot]

Nice!😃 that Elucidus drawing is awesome!

[@Elucidus]

I approve this message.

[@chronoscat3371]

I loved Strider as a kid. It was one of the games I replayed many many times (and not just because it was one of the first few games I owned). But yeah, the wall-jump in it is infuriatingly hard. (With practice you can sort-of get the hang of it, but it's never fun or easy.)

[@BigOleWords]

That's so tough. I love Super Metroid right up until the wall jumping sections. Then I curse it's terrible name!

[@CrazyHomelessWeirdo]

Ragnar also has one of my favorite Songs from nintendo game

[@ThunderFist1978]

I'm really surprised you didn't mention Faxanadu. And Gargoyle's Quest I would put in the Zelda 2 pile.

[@BigOleWords]

Fax is definitely in the Zelda 2 camp.

[@jamessnedeker4799]

I snagged Ufouria just before the Wii U eshop closed but haven't tried it yet. Apparently, they've got a remake comign this year but information seems pretty scarce at the moment.

[@xJackieBx]

Wizards & Warriors III looks kinda fun, might give that game a try :)

[@BigOleWords]

It can be a little obtuse and frustrating, but it is really rad

[@toddhouchin3252]

I'm pretty sure Hasuya composed both Rygar and Clash at Demonhead.

[@NightSprinter]

Also with Clash: the disarm for the bomb at the end is randomly-generated, and you only get five tries. If you don't get it right or run out of time, everything blows up and ya get a bad ending.

[@BigOleWords]

Yeah o didn’t make it that far this time, but I gotta say I was pretty pissed when the bomb blew up after hours and hours of playing!

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

You are not wrong, the wall jump in Strider is broken beyond belief; especially given Capcom made the game. Ninja Gaiden & Batman both have good wall jumping but Strider seems to attempt wall jumping with roller skates on for grip 😂

[@DadRacer]

Legacy of the Wizard! I grew up with that one, so I’m nostalgic for it, but damn it’s impossible. Excellent tunes though!

[@BigOleWords]

It is a jammin soundtrack!

[@childofcascadia]

Im playing Blaster Master Zero right now. And its everything good about the original, but 500x better and less frustrating. I had played 2 and 3 of zero, but not the first one since I thought it was "just a remake". Its totally worth it. It takes the annoyance out of the NES version. Its still challenging but not hair pulling. And the story, while still not a riveting work of art has been redone so its not the absofekkinglutely ridiculous version we in the US got. With proper 80s gundam style anime cutscenes instead of some white bread boy falling down a hole after a frog and somehow finding a tank.

[@HylianFox3]

The Zero series is sooooo good. I've played all 3 and am so hoping for a 4th I love how they incorporate elements from both the US and Japanese versions of the original game

[@childofcascadia]

@HylianFox3 Yeah. Im about ready to 100% it. Prob got another hour. I loved how they put the 2 stories together too! Even as a kid playing blaster master on the NES in the 80s, when I saw the story I was like ...wut? My cousin had the famicom version so I was expecting something similar. That story is admittedly better. I love the cutscenes too. Im so glad they made Jason look like a proper anime char and not Generic White Boy #2™. I really hope they make a 4th one too.

[@BigOleWords]

Sounds awesome!

[@bluestrife28]

That’s wild that Anne Ramsey will live forever in the game Goonies II as one of the best baddies of the 80’s: Mama Fratelli. When they find the skeleton of the explorer and her son says the kids must’ve gotten him. “Sure right before they ate him.” 😂😂😂

[@beavinator]

"You always liked him best, Ma..." *whack* "THAT'S RIGHT!!" 🤣

[@playmooregames371]

Excellent list! I enjoy Blaster Master but man, that game really needs a password/save feature.

[@BigOleWords]

Yes it absolutely did!

[@jefflindquist6138]

Great coverage James !!! Your channel is growing and your subs are going up ! You will have 20k subs before you know it. 🙂

[@BigOleWords]

Thanks Jeff!

[@HaydenTheHistorian]

Wing of Madoola is one of my favorite Metroid-esque games. Love how it reverses the typical Mario styled story as well by having a woman saving the prince at the end

[@BigOleWords]

That’s one I’ve never played but it does look pretty rad. I may come back to it…

[@carn9507]

Hey cool. I've not heard of that one. An early Sunsoft game? I gotta check it out. :)

[@StewNWT]

LOL Rygar's fun weekend. Sign me up

[@BigOleWords]

Oh yeah!

[@silveredgrunion7196]

Yeah! This is the start of my weekend so this is great! World courageous, Atlanta brave, here we goooo!

[@BigOleWords]

Haha love it!

[@Wyrdwad]

I must protest, as someone who genuinely considers Legacy of the Wizard to be perhaps the single finest 8-bit game ever crafted! Though admittedly more the MSX2 version than the NES version, since they shuffled around the item locations, changed up the map in some really cool ways, and added numerous warps that weren't present in previous versions, including one that actually lets you skip the father's section altogether with a little skill and finesse, meaning you won't have to use the glove AT ALL. Still, even when given the option to skip the father's section and avoid using the glove, I CHOSE to go in and complete it anyway, because I wanted to be thorough! And while it is the worst part of the game... I mean, the worst part of a diamond is still made of diamond. ;) Seriously, though, Legacy of the Wizard is an OUTSTANDING game. The sheer amount of items to be found and effects granted by them is just mindboggling, each one opening up not only new paths to explore, but new means of getting through other sections of the game -- there are entire challenge categories for LotW that involve beating the whole game as a single character, or doing the characters' sections in reverse order, etc. And the map designs are just diabolical and incredibly fun to explore across the board. The mother's section in particular -- usually the section most people save for last, since it requires three different items only she can use in order to effectively complete (the wing, the key cane, and the crossbow) -- is just one of the most satisfying challenges in gaming history for me, and really cements this game as a finely crafted masterpiece. The brother, too, is NOT actually useless -- he's just MOSTLY useless. ;) He's the only one who can warp using crowns (which is more of a thing in the MSX2 version, admittedly, but is still a thing in the NES version!), and is the only one who can wield the Dragon Slayer sword and defeat the final boss. And in the MSX2 version, since he's the only one who can warp, he's also the only one who can take over for his dad and skip the glove section, so he gets bonus points for that! Heheh.

[@MrClawt]

When I was a kid I had the Strider wall jump down enough to beat the game, now I have no idea how I did it.

[@cmfort2696]

"The son is useless."

[@HylianFox3]

One of my favorite Metroid clones that never left Japan was Cosmo Police Galivan

[@BigOleWords]

Now that’s one I’ve never heard of!

[@HylianFox3]

@@BigOleWords I like to describe it as "If Metroid and Zelda 2 had a baby" It's pretty great. It also has a similar Power Suit mechanic like in Power Blade (though not as OP).

[@LevitatingCups]

Guardian legend is "metroid-esque", also theres the bonus mode that skips all of the overworld, using password TGL, funnily enough in credits there is a credit for someone who made the password system, but its not a real password, even though its listed exactly as same as the TGL code.

[@BigOleWords]

I talked about Guardian Legend in the Zelda Clones video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zn3IiZeVmsh8f7c

[@RJ-hk1ni]

Great vid! Adventure Island 4 comes to mind as a Metroid clone. It is a famicom game with an English patch. Emulation is the only way to play it in English unfortunately. It is definitely worth a mention though. Hudson Soft made some gems!

[@HylianFox3]

Adventure Island 4 definitely is worth looking into. Pity it never left Japan.

[@AFFL1CTED1]

Why emulation only? It won't work on a flash cart?

[@RJ-hk1ni]

@@AFFL1CTED1 that’s emulation. He usually only plays the original carts.

[@AFFL1CTED1]

@@RJ-hk1ni A flashcart is not emulation. Not sure where you got that info from. All a flashcart does is feed the ROM data into the console -- in this case, the NES -- just like a real NES cart does. The NES is still processing the code; hence, no emulation. EDIT: Now that I'm thinking about it, I guess you could technically say that a flash cart is emulating an NES cartridge... But it's still not emulation in the way we think of console emulators. Typically, when talking about game emulation, it's the act of processing code on a system that wasn't designed to run that code. So, in the case of the NES, software is created to mimic the NES's CPU and PPU to recreate what the output of that data would be if processed on that hardware. So again, since the flashcart is only feeding the data into the NES, identically to how it would with a traditional cart, and since the NES's CPU/PPU are processing that data, then no, it is not emulation. Hope that makes sense.

[@RJ-hk1ni]

@@AFFL1CTED1 good break down! Makes sense to me. I tend to think it is emulation personally because the flash cart is not original hardware. Your argument is the best I have ever seen for why it isn’t emulation though! I do not think that the OP plays non original hardware(games) on his channel. Besides the ‘unreleased games’ vid. Since those carts were never released they are technically no original hardware. I have original games and Roms. The OP is a serious collector so I understand why he favors the original carts. Regardless though. Adventure Island 4 has to be in this conversation. It is a great game and very metroid-esque. 🍻

[@MrMegaManFan]

Even though you opened it with the Metroid music, I still sang CHECK THIS 💩 OUT anyway! 😎

[@BigOleWords]

Haha awesome :)

[@Elucidus]

Life's goal achieved: get a shoutout in a video review / guide for one of my favorite genres and games: Metroid(vania)! Did a tear come out? Maybe a little. But mostly because those wise men in Rygar don't offer much beyond some lip service.

[@Elucidus]

P.S. It's really cool, thank you! :D

[@HylianFox3]

Maybe I should donate so I can get a shoutout in the upcoming Zelda 2 Clones video? That'd totally make my day.

[@BigOleWords]

I’ll allow it!

[@BigOleWords]

Well deserved ;)

[@BainesMkII]

I vaguely recall that beyond the basic annoyances of the gameplay, you can lock yourself out of being able to beat Milon's Secret Castle if you do things wrong? I don't recall if I ever made it past the first boss.

[@BigOleWords]

Is that true? Damn you Milon!

[@mattsweeney3790]

I had legacy of the wizard as a kid and wanted to love it so bad, but its just so clunky. Actually, I've never REALLY played metroid, I had return of Samus for GB as a kid though and it was really solid. Super Metroid is a masterpiece. A few years ago I played Fusion and it was pretty solid too, enough for me to finish it, like Link between worlds. MY MAN ELUCIDUS!!!! Yall be keeping it real up in here, Bionic Commando and Count von Count!

[@BigOleWords]

In good company ;)