Is Nightshade Worth Playing Today? - NESdrunk

[@doddeddo]

Old Mexican gamer here.. this game was a gem for me, I even created the game genie codes where you can play as other characters during fights, walk all over screen and more, this was way before the internet and later I uploaded them online you can find them easily now but they dont credit me. Nightshade is amazing still for today's standards..the music, humor, art..all is top notch. Thanks for making a video, very good surprise, This is one of the best games ever made.

[@RealziesCuts]

Damn 💫

[@28fabianz1]

I'm a New Mexican gamer

[@Azuris190]

Vote this Hero up :)

[@roccaflocca4312]

This game is probably THE single best cult classic game. It's not for everyone, the fighting was... a little awkward, and that was the only bad thing about it.

[@RepugnanciaDulzona]

Not so old brazilian gamer here. No he didn't, the codes were actually created in Brazil. Also my dad works for youtube so don't question me or I will tell on you

[@gemfruitgames]

This is actually one of my all-time favorite games, I had it on my NES growing up, and slowly made progress as a kid exploring what at the time felt like one of the biggest games ever. I later beat it around 18 years old or so, but still to this day haven't figured out every last item usage / secret (I refuse to ruin the experience by looking things up). I actually have the cover art in my downloads folder right now, as I planned to print it out on canvas or something, it holds a special place as both a gamer, and developer! Glad to see you covering it, and more so that you were able to get past the quirks and appreciate it for what it is.

[@bmardiney]

Every single sports reference you make will forever go over my head.

[@12Brinstar]

Facts

[@GretchZ]

I’ve known this guy for close to 30 years and if sports happens to come up the conversation hits a brick wall. It’s like if linguistics comes up when I’m around. Too much esoteric minutiae available in our brains to sort out what normal humans would know. I’m exaggerating, but… not by much. And not at all with me. Autism. I could go on for hours about Yoko Taro’s whole DrakeNieR situation. DrankeNieR showed up in my iPad’s suggestions just now, I talk about it so much.

[@bmardiney]

@@GretchZ aaaand you’ve lost me. But that is funny. Also the weird capitalization just makes me think “do not resuscitate”.

[@Justforvisit]

Unless he'd start to reference football players. No, not handegg, actual football.

[@ginandsofapodcast]

The more sports references, the better

[@hudsonhawk025]

1:40 If you scooch you're way around the wall where the sewer grate is the bomb won't damage you when it blows up. This game was revolutionary for me when I was young and I always loved it's world and characters. It's a shame they never made another or a remake was never made.

[@neonshadow5005]

"Ack! Burnies!!" .. best quote from the clips, right there. Looks like one of those games that really tried to aim high and mostly succeeded.

[@silentfanatic]

Really glad to see you cover this one. Nightshade was always one of my favorite games as a kid. You can kind of see how Beam did a rough sketch here for what would later become Shadowrun on the SNES, too.

[@jamesesterline]

0:50 I personally like thinking it takes place decades before Megamind (now I'm imagining Megamind telling Sutekh that he's a villain, just not a super one because he lacks PRESENTATION!)

[@koolandblue]

This game is like the Beat em Up version of Deja Vu.

[@teruienages962]

Ok, but this game is not a beat 'em up. It is a point and click adventure game with occasional very very short combat sequences.

[@RGT85]

Love Nightshade. Didn't play it til I was an adult but I was blown away at how different this game was.

[@toxinqwerty]

Sure you did, just like you have Nintendo sources lol

[@jeffersonderrickson5371]

Robert Z'Dar is a treasure. I just saw his weird video game review show pilot from the 80's a couple weeks ago. It was as Roger Corman as it gets and I loved it.

[@PaleHorseShabuShabu]

*was

[@Aevilbeast]

Wait, he was in a game review show...? That's like one of the most random things ever...What was it called, I gotta check out the pilot!

[@Grachtnakk]

DAMN YOU, HYECKH!

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

​@@GretchZ I'm fully vaxxed and unironically love this game. I even made it to Super High Nightshade status in the game. It's rough around the edges but has a lot of charm.

[@GretchZ]

@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819 Oops. I means NOT hating this game. Jon torn is an antivaxxer. That was my faaaaailed joke. Friggin typos…

[@TheLakabanzaichrg]

Actually the crowbar snaps in two

[@Grachtnakk]

@@TheLakabanzaichrg Just kidding.

[@TheLakabanzaichrg]

@@Grachtnakk "I'm sick of yer sh*t"

[@rdrouynriv]

Nightshade sure wears his sunglasses at night.

[@Spideytrom]

I like to think Nightshade is shaking his fist at the moon all like “Hey you Anubis ripoff get outta there!”.

[@WillKeaton]

The game's full name is _Nightshade Part 1: The Claws of Sutekh._ I am uncertain of this is because they were hoping for a sequel, the game was at one point much larger and they ended up having to cut a lot of it, or it's part of a joke, since the game has this weird sense of humor. I actually would like to see this game get a remake in some form which smooths out the bits that don't work, because _Nightshade_ is unique, and there's nothing else quite like it.

[@D.Rodri.]

Nah, they really wanted to do sequels, but Part 1 ended with poor sales, even if loved by critics for "trying something ahead of their time", so they probably never got the okay to try something as a sequel. They still used a lot of what was done in this game to create Shadowrun for the SNES so not all was lost.

[@Waffletigercat]

I always looked up to Nightdive as a kid. He seemed really grate to me.

[@ArkThePieKing]

My favorite gag in this game is finding the box of red herrings

[@geraq0]

"Contents: Herring, red"

[@masterrserch3971]

2:26 SOULTAKER!!! Or, as Tom Servo would riff, "BUS taker...!" (i like how you didn't go for the layup of Maniac Cop, or "this pig, he broke my ribs, my leg, and my jaw...!" "you broke THAT jaw?" .....and i feel comfortable not even giving the name of this classic line from this classic movie lol)

[@kumquatqueen5975]

Can make it so Nightshade is wearing Joe Estevez's Soultaker (Leak taker) duster headcanon?

[@GretchZ]

SOOOOOUUUULTAKER!

[@Shinmsl]

As a child there weren't a lot of good superheroes games, and even more so one rpg/Adventure games like this. So this game felt special to me, It was unique,moody and fun, even if a little frustrating and unforgiving. It's a hidden gem on the Nes, at least for me. Nightshade seems to borrow his name from "The Shadow", however it's more like a silly/cartoony version of Dc Comics(previously Charlton Comics) "The Question". I think the popularity meter is very clever idea for a superhero adventure game, not only does it show how citizens appreciate your good actions but also is know some key characters learn they can trust you. A game for like Spider-man would do great in incorporating such a game mechanic, I think. A bit of trivia: the game 's subtitle is "Chapter1: the claws of Suhtek" but a sequel never came out, however there's was all the intention to develop one, but it was dropped to move development for Snes games, and a lot of the new game mechanics planned for Nightshade 2 were built into their next game: Shadowrun for the Snes.

[@joelachiana9912]

Wild. One of those seen in magazines but never played games.

[@TheMoogleMaster]

Same. I saw it in one of those guidebooks.

[@phaelox]

The vibe of this game, minus the beat-em-up encounters seems a lot like a classic point-and-click adventure on PC "Under a killing moon", which was awesome when it came out in 1994, released on 4 CD-ROMs as it had 3D environments and FMV cutscenes. It had a gigantic budget for video games of that time. I loaned it from a friend and later bought it myself.

[@Wolfburns]

That was a really neat idea for how to handle continues. I like how it kept it sort of realistic for game logic. And the intro is just grand as well lol.

[@goatbone]

It's a great idea. If I remember correctly you only get 5 chances to escape the traps and then you are put into a trap that you cannot escape from.

[@GenericYouTubehandle910]

Came for the game review, but stayed for the "hope you have a great rest of your day"

[@ZEKESPILLEDINKMUSIC]

You should definitely play Nightshade. It was originally designed to have multiple games, but that didn't pan out because it was released in 1992 very late for the NES at a time when people were already playing the SNES. For those who are stuck or frustrated with fighting the jackal henchmen, you have to jump over them and punch them from behind. You'll know that you're doing something right if they they start spinning around.

[@Steelflight773]

@@ZEKESPILLEDINKMUSIC The Jackals and mummies were the reason I could not beat it as a kid. I could not figure out how to beat them. They sap your life away too much if you take damage. You also have to be good at defeating them since the final bosses summons them often.

[@scoob1551]

2:30 "Look at this cop! Look at that old timey cop!"

[@thesexybatman263]

captainamericaiunderstoodthatreference.jpeg

[@PrestonJWoods]

The MST3K version of Soul Taker reference puts you on my list of top 3 content creators I watch daily!

[@goatbone]

People love to shit on Beam Software for developing low budget games for LJN but they produced some fantastic titles before and after that era. This one stand out as something truly unique on the NES and seems to share a bit with their Shadowrun game on SNES.

[@kekeke8988]

Name some of them.

[@goatbone]

@@kekeke8988 Well there was The Hobbit as mentioned in this video, the subject of the video, SNES and NES ports of Super Smash TV, Shadowrun for SNES, True Lies, Non-SNES versions of The Lost Vikings 2. The point I was making was that it is usually the publisher pushing for quick and low cost development. Rare was a fantastic developer but even they were pushing out trash for Acclaim and LJN.

[@centralcommittee4458]

I'm always taken aback by the number of point and click adventure games on the NES compared to the SNES. I remember desperately wanting to play Secret of Monkey Island as a kid after trying it at a friend's house and SNES would have been the most realistic option for me.

[@MrBlight]

Metro City? SIR! It's "Metrahcity". Now, let's see if Metro Ma... uh... Nightshade can withstand the full concentrated power of the Sun!!!

[@KindaAmbiguous]

Further evidence of this being the same Metro City as Final Fight--it had the deathtrap continues too.

[@dorpth]

I think the Macventure ports (Deju Vu, Shadowgate, Uninvited) and Princess Tomato were the only successful NES "point & click" adventure games. All the others they tried just couldn't get the faux mouse interface right. Nightshade, Goonies 2, Dr Chaos. But that title screen! The downright creepiest thing any kid had ever seen in a video game up to that point.

[@justinbremer2281]

I would argue in favor of Maniac Mansion doing the cursor on NES pretty well, too. But I get you, it's not easy and is probably worse more often than it is better.

[@Belgand]

Goonies 2 was one of the best games on NES! I don't think the adventure portions were a large enough chunk of the game for the interface to become clunky. It's also interesting how regional that is. Considering there were far more adventure games on Famicom, including influential classics like Portopia. They just never left Japan.

[@FigureFarter]

"People say this adventure game wasn't as good, because this is Goonies II."

[@dorpth]

@@Belgand I think you're alone calling Goonies 2 one of the best game on the whole NES. The adventure portions were mandatory, had the most confusing 4 directional movement ever seen in a video game, and required you to tediously hit every single wall, floor, and ceiling, from every single direction, and then do it all again with the hammer! And then with the x-ray specs! It was just awful. And the 2D platforming was okay for a late 80s game, but nowhere near enough to make up for those adventure portions.

[@dorpth]

@@FigureFarter Who WOULD ever think to punch that old man five times? What were they thinking???!!

[@not2tired]

Strengths definitely outweigh the weaknesses. Good game. Was kind of hoping though, that one of the continue puzzles would be you are trapped inside the Metrodome with the roof slowly caving in.

[@kumquatqueen5975]

Maybe Nightshade coverart is is set in a world with Human Killing Machine physics. He's landing that uppercut.

[@OstianOwl]

Funny, I recently tried out the demo for the indie game Brok the InvestiGator, which is also a point-and-click style adventure game with some beat-em-up gameplay. Makes me wonder if the devs ever played Nightshade here and drew inspiration.

[@heavysystemsinc.]

It's a shame Beam didn't lean into this kind of game more often on console. It came out pretty good for their first outing of this kind. Their action games absolutely are middle of the road fare, so wrapping up poor action with a fun story and atmosphere is a great way to cover it up.

[@jrod1986]

...lean?

[@miss_inputs]

This game's UI feels like in an alternate universe it was a port from some home computer platform, but only the NES port managed to make its way into our own universe.

[@JackieWohlenhaus]

Man, this makes me want to watch the old Jontron video about this.

[@DoctorInk20]

Yeah, same. I revisit classic JonTron from time to time and it still holds up. Feels nice. That and the _King's Quest_ video. 😆

[@JackieWohlenhaus]

@@DoctorInk20 That whole era of "reviews" was a lot of fun.

[@DoctorInk20]

@@JackieWohlenhaus Oh absolutely. It became an exercise in how far he could push being completely absurd. 🤣Which on reflection is hard to maintain, so props to him for doing it for so long. He's still funny, mind, just in a different way.

[@jordans4827]

The game won you over. From, "Ehhhh" ...... to enthusiastically, "You should check this out-!!!-"

[@Melonposting]

Take a shot every time you subconsciously quote JonTron throughout this video

[@Beeyo176]

EEUUUUGGHHHH

[@BrandoB2557]

"I'm sick of your shiet!"

[@ChrisEbz]

He has a very extreme uppercut.. After slowly walking around casually it's a little jarring haha. Good stuff have to try it. Looks fun.

[@chrislaustin]

This is one of those games that completely flew under my radar back in the day. This is so my type of game, and it still blows my mind that it was made for the NES.

[@foxyfoxington2651]

I had no idea they made a game about the guy from the Neighborhood Watch sign.

[@bluedistortions]

Underrated comment

[@thelegendinhisownmind7038]

When you mentioned Corey Hart, I can pretty much guarantee that nobody was thinking of the baseball player.

[@joeblow229]

Unless the baseball player also wore his sunglasses at night.

[@thelegendinhisownmind7038]

@@joeblow229 Lol. Indeed.

[@kevins8071]

Oh my gosh, I remember renting this game back in the day. I could never get past the traps so I obviously hardly played it. I still remember the beginning of the game and always wanted to replay but never knew its name. Thank you. You just jarred some of young memories loose.

[@RockTB2022]

Robert z'Dar? Oh z'No!

[@aperturius]

Z'don't!

[@KasumiKenshirou]

3:38 I think "Did I err?" is a Groo the Wanderer reference.

[@thenostalgiafactor5023]

Total length of video: 320 secs. Total length of "NES Drunk": 2 secs. .63% of the video was spent listening to "NES Drunk".

[@Dizz2K7]

I like that you get right to the point with these videos. You respect my time, so I respect you.

[@JIF882]

Nice reference to Robert Z'Dar. I love Maniac Cop

[@goatlll]

Orlando Woodridge reference caught in the wild. Now I just need a Popeye Jones mention to complete my collection.

[@Murilo_Bolzani]

You fool me once, I'm mad. Fool me twice, how could you. Fool me three times, ok you're that guy, you're officially that guy, you know that one. That one that walks into a bar and goes "this suit is officially Giorgio Armani, ech my daaad knows him" F*** U! I AAAAAINT HAVIN THAT SHIET

[@arostwocents]

An option to use pad 2 as an alternate mouse control with the buttons varying the speed would have been interesting (cool on emulator too as you could map p2 buttons to your pad!) mouse control is fine in Fallout Vita but the stick does help although the varying speed does too

[@LuxisAlukard]

I hope this game is one of the topics next time Pam Cannot be Tamed is guest on DrunkFriend podcast, she did a review some time ago :) Cheers!

[@Haywood-Jablomie]

She's stacked

[@mondruner]

The cover kinda looks like old man yells at cloud

[@Ultrapub]

Hank you for praising this rightly amazing game; so many others on KZbin have just used it for cheap rant-videos over the years. I’ve always loved this game since I first tried it long ago, and still enjoy its surreal humor now.

[@mariusamber3237]

There were so many console games like this in Japan (well, not quite point 'n' click, but adventure games) at that time, but not in the West. Really shows you how different the gaming landscape was when it comes to consoles in different countries. As for this game - it's alright, stands out on the NES for sure.

[@GretchZ]

Interesting. Over here we had tons of point and click adventure games, but not as many good side-scrolling action games or arcade ports on computers.

[@mariusamber3237]

@@GretchZ Yeah, it's probably because PC gaming was really not that big in Japan at that point compared to console gaming. I recall reading somewhere that over 50% of all PC games there were visual novels, not even adventure games, and most PC devs couldn't even dream of the sales console games had (Portopia is a great example... less that 50k on PC, close to 700-800k on the NES/Famicom). They also didn't like genres usually popular on PCs in the West, like point 'n' click, RTS, FPS etc. Japan really favours portability; that's why Game Boy was a huge hit, and now mobile gaming is massive there. It's basically just mobile games + Switch for the most part.

[@pauliedibbs9028]

100% hands-down precisely why I love this channel... and always have.

[@LanEXHikari]

Thanks SDrunk for sprinkling some NES nostalgia to our friday. I recall that this was one of those games that I rented due to the box art just to find out that it wasn't as cool as it looked 😅

[@zennyspent]

A Corey Hart reference? Outstanding. 6 foot 6, and he swung a bat barely bigger than a toothpick. So many times I watched that gangly bastard come up in a clutch situation and just squash a potential rally for my Brew Crew. Two on, two out, Hart's up, three swings, and the inning is over.

[@SNESdrunk]

Those Brewers teams were fun. My buddy and I used to make the drive to Miller Park at least once a year to take in a game. Many memories of Chris Capuano and Geoff Jenkins

[@zennyspent]

@SNESdrunk Very nice! I've been very lucky being in the GB area for most of my life, only an hour and a half drive to Beer City. I've gotten to see some greats, from Yount and Molitor to Fielder and the boys. You just reminded me of the Capuano and Sheets days. There really have been some fun teams!

[@senor-achopijo3841]

Oh, look, it's Nightshade: the Claws of HEUGH!

[@youremakingprogress144]

I really enjoyed the superhero satire they have in this game, and that they emphasize the detective angle and the noir feel. I've always liked this game, but I haven't played it in almost twelve years, when I was procrastinating writing a paper for school. I should play it again.

[@demgreens]

I remember finding out about this game from a bin of old sealed NES games at a local video store in 1996 or 97. I had wondered what the hell it was before booting it up in an emulator years later. It's definitely a unique game on NES that has a good sense of humor.

[@tracer300]

This game was one of the first my mother bought me and holds a special place in my collection. So much so I went and bought a factory sealed copy. Still sits proudly on display today!

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

I can't believe it in my own house! Night Shade! Night f__king Shade!

[@guyvizard549]

That guy on the cover is getting mugged by Brion Johnson. "GIMMIE ALLL YO MONEY!!! YA READY!!!"

[@beowulfbelmont2578]

It's coming to my attention that the amount of people who know who Corey Hart is, is dwindling. I will continue to wear my sunglasses at night, however.

[@jessragan6714]

Sutekh's henchmen look like they were peeled from a Paper Mario game. Also, I've always appreciated this game, even if the fighting really sucks. Those Keystone Cops are almost certain death. However, it's one of the funniest games on the NES, rivaling River City Ransom with its dialog. Hard to believe it came from the guys who gave us Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum!

[@Captureman]

Nightshade is one of my favorite NES games. Thanks for covering this one.

[@ThePhonequeen3]

If, and only if you have an appreciation for unconventional humor, then yes, Nightshade is perfect for today's gamers.

[@jbbyaboo1105]

Played this game a few months ago when scouring the NES NSO offerings, was suprisingly fun and yes, "cheeky."

[@chaser22285]

Love the obscure references man, especially the sports ones, exactly my sense of humor, my friends and I used to do that shit every time we were drinking at someone’s house, just name the most obscure athletes we could remember

[@Turnabout]

Paul (now Pauli) Kidd, the lead writer on this title, wrote some excellent tongue-in-cheek D&D novels in the 1990s which are standouts in the realm of licensed fiction. (Trust me, I used to research licensed D&D novels for a living and many of them are highly forgettable.)

[@zackspiker_]

I love your reviews, I remember Nintendo Power went hard on this for an issue, it made super young me want to play it.

[@BrockOnyx]

As someone who played a lot of sports growing up and baseball in college, not a single soul on this planet was thinking of the extremely obscure random ass baseball player Corey Hart when you mentioned that name

[@mikesarahbell2633]

"Man, that guy's got a tiny face!"

[@chiefthunderhorse4430]

If any PC gamers are interested in this title, Nightshade can also be purchased on Steam.

[@kevinbbadd]

*emulated

[@TheLakabanzaichrg]

*Invocated

[@FoxMan_FF]

Good ol' Nightshade: the Claws of HEUGH. This game always piqued my curiosity ever since I watched the infamous Jontron episode covering it years ago. The writing honestly seems like something that I'd enjoy.

[@Roronoa79]

I laugh a little too hard at: "No, not THAT [athlete's name]!"

[@PK56891]

This was nearly the quintessential SNES Drunk video, we just needed a Clyde the dog shout out.

[@joeblow229]

I remember picking this up, but not getting very far in it. Now that it's on Switch Online, I'll definitely finish it :) I just played through a modern 16-bit looking cyberpunk point-and-click game called 'Virtuaverse' that was really good, if you're into that style of game.

[@DocFunky]

Nightshade likes it to be night. In the shade. He doesn’t wanna acknowledge curtains. Ah f___, cut that, just cut tha-

[@drowningin]

Always saw the box for this as a kid, but only first played it on Switch, and I really really liked it. I don’t think most NES games hold up today like SNES games do. But this one is great

[@TheMoogleMaster]

I remember seeing this in one of those guidebooks some time ago, looked really interesting. Like how some characters are more detailed, and others are more cartoony looking.

[@tbrian420]

The writing alone makes this game worth it - very excellent humor with '90s slang

[@tommiefunk2099]

Come for the NES! Stay for the Drunk!

[@Steelflight773]

I loved this game as a kid but could never beat it. I ended up finishing it years later but had to use save states on an emulator. You can avoid damage from the bomb in the beginning by scooting behind the wall before the bomb explodes.

[@christophercarrion1349]

2:26 Bro why did you have to do him dirty like that 😂

[@mattb6522]

Good review! I've never heard of this game. I'm usually not too big on point and click adventure games, but this one looks interesting enough.

[@KissedPuppet]

A lot of those little novelties were often what made games like these absolute gems back in the day.

[@alkristopher]

Playing on Switch makes this game way easier, since you can just save state your way through. No saves or passwords is pretty brutal. Anyway, so how about covering Ogre Battle?

[@kevinbbadd]

If you beat it using save states or rewind, you in no way beat the game

[@alkristopher]

@@kevinbbadd Absolutely untrue, and I refuse to give gatekeepers like you any more time or credence.

[@billb426]

This looks like a game I would have loved to play as a kid! Thanks for sharing!

[@christopherhuber2870]

One of my favorite NES games. The world building was so good.

[@Se7enBeatleofDoom]

The character is named Nightshades because he wears sunglasses at night.

[@KingVVIlly]

So in combat your best bet is the Donkey Punch 🥊

[@heavymetalelf]

Never saw anything on this one before. I would've liked it as a kid. Maybe I'll give it a spin. Thanks for sharing it! Have a great rest of your day

[@FlameJackstar]

I am tempted to quote the entire Jontron episode on this game in this comment section.

[@mikeogden1980]

I remember seeing this in Nintendo Power back in the day and always wanted to try it, but it was never available to rent. Finally got a chance to try it on Switch and it's pretty fun! I was not expecting the humor in it.

[@miaouew]

This actually looks REALLY cool! I have never seen or heard of this NES game before.

[@horgh_japan]

I wear my sunglasses at night So I can, so I can Watch you weave then breathe your story lines

[@joeabernathy5402]

Incredibly ambitious game for the time. Surprised its never gotten a remake officially or fan made.

[@travisguay7061]

Absolutely wonderful game. Thanks for reviewing