NES Hidden Gems: ROLLERGAMES (Nintendo Entertainment System Review)

[@markula_4040]

This is the only game outside the classics (like Castlevania, Contra, Punchout and Mega Man) on the NES that I still go back and play. No idea why I asked for this game for Christmas 30+ years ago but I'm glad I did get it. It gets my vote for #1 hidden gem on the system.

[@Debiano_Banano]

Same, go hard on this one when retrogaming. Grew up renting this, it's always been one of the best konami classics in my book.

[@allviolet]

A hidden gam for sure! It most definitely followed the show and I enjoyed the bit of television announcing, it added that bit of story and entertainment the 8 bit games struggled with.

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

This would have been a title I probably looked over in the rental store. A sports game about roller skating? Who plays sports games?! That’s unfortunate because this looks like a game I would have played repeatedly. Now it’s on a list of must finds! Thanks 😊

[@BigOleWords]

Yeah definitely one I would’ve skipped over, but looking closer at that cover this game may have everything!

[@mosiarmstrong]

Man, Konami's music is unmistakable. Brings me back to Bayou Billy and Mission Impossible.

[@BigOleWords]

They were the kings!

[@HylianFox3]

@@BigOleWords You NEED to review Mission: Impossible. One of the first NES games I owned and one of the only ones I could never legitimately beat. It's an amazing game but balls hard. It's very reminiscent of Metal Gear in terms of gameplay, but with less focus on stealth.

[@UltimaOn]

This is the first game i bought for nes. And it was the only game a had for like 3 months. And i was never bored. Would play it back than for hours and hours. Yes it is nes hard, but in a good way. I just ordered it again today cant wait to replay it again.

[@BigOleWords]

Perfect game for years ago when we had little else to do but keep grinding!

[@KitHavok]

I just sold this 2 months ago...... always loved it as a kid.

[@Doncornuto]

Oh my god, thank you so much for covering this. I've had a vague memory of playing this in a store for more than a decade, and I never found out what game it was that I remembered. Now I can finally go back and give it a try.

[@BigOleWords]

It's pretty fun if super hard

[@safetinspector2]

The RollerGames pinball table was likewise a gem and, similar to you, I hadn’t any idea it was a pre-existing IP and never heard of the show

[@BigOleWords]

Cool! I’ll keep an eye out for it

[@BigOleWords]

I accidentally uploaded an unfinished draft of this video so this is take 2! Sorry to anyone who already commented, your many wise words are now lost to the ages!

[@goatbone]

Truly is lost, I can't even remember what I said originally.

[@PsDnK]

That's alright. I know you saw and made an answer to mine. Besides, we cannot really complain now can we. We got two videos in one day after all!

[@BigOleWords]

@@PsDnK Next week I'll be uploading and deleting the same video every hour on the hour!

[@PsDnK]

@@BigOleWords Oh damn wouldn't that make it difficult to upload and create new videos? I mean I am down with watching a new video from you every hour until I faint to sleep

[@josephskiles]

I rented this as a kid once after reading about it in Nintendo power. If I remember correctly the big guy is supposed to have stronger attacks, the girl is weaker but faster, and the other guy is the middle of the road character

[@BigOleWords]

I could never tell any difference as they fall to their deaths!

[@susanfit47]

The NES version of Roller Games is a side-scrolling platform game that employs the likenesses of people used in the television show, but has nothing to do with the sport itself.

[@Debiano_Banano]

Rented this often as a kid, total banger. Incredibly hard but tight controls make it a fun challenge.

[@BigOleWords]

Totally agree!

[@Xa1234qazwsx]

Wow.. this games.. bring so much memory.. its soo hard that i've never finish the game. This is a great game eventhough.. why we dont have fun games like this today?

[@brandonmanuel2842]

I remember playing this game at a friend's house before going to church that Sunday morning.

[@BigOleWords]

Haha nice!

[@Daredsnail]

Haven't heard of this game, and probably wouldn't think twice about it if I saw it up until now. I'm going to scour my local video game store until I find this. It looks super fun! Awesome video :)

[@BigOleWords]

Looks like you can get it for pretty cheap!

[@emailchrismoll]

I remember renting this game as a kid. It was totally fun. Very well put together, good music, good action. Not a super well-known title, but very high quality. I was really good at video games as a kid, and I did beat it during my rental

[@BigOleWords]

Damn dude you must’ve been good to beat it as a rental, Rollergames is no joke!

[@emailchrismoll]

@@BigOleWords i could beat pretty much every action game except for battletoads haha

[@GenerationPixel]

Now that does look NES Hard! But also dripping with 80s coolness 😎

[@BigOleWords]

It is definitely both those things!

[@Kourumeme]

I thought this was a sports game at first, but it has that beat ‘em up style to it. Will find this game

[@BigOleWords]

Right? Such an odd title and odd choice for a Konami game!

[@GustavoValdiviesso]

Together with TMNT2 & 3, this is an awesome beat'em up for the NES. True story: This was THE first game I rented for my NES and I had some great weekends renting it over and over again from the local video store. When I started collecting, I actually bought that video store's whole lot when it was closing up. So you can imagine how this game is nostalgic for me. It is like is was my first NES game.

[@BigOleWords]

Man that really is the dream right there, buying a video stores lot of games!

[@GustavoValdiviesso]

@@BigOleWords Right? That's how my collection started. There's something else: they used to cut open the cardboard boxes and use it in clam-shell cases, just like the Genesis ones. I also bought the cases, of course. Kids like me used to write little notes with cheats and secrets on the back of the cardboards, so the video store wouldn't notice, but we knew. Reading all those notes now, including some of mine, is one hell of a trip!

[@BrawlYoshi]

I remember way back when Play It Bogart talked about this game. Good times.

[@BigOleWords]

Nice!

[@HylianFox3]

Bogart trying to get through the crumbling cave section while "Chariots of Fire" plays in the background will be forever etched into my memory.

[@GoodVibeCollecting]

Any KZbin veteran will remember this game thanks to Play It Bogart LOL. I've always considered this sort of a hidden gem before that term became way overblown. It was a good game no one else knew about when I started collecting.

[@BigOleWords]

You’re the second person to mention that channel and I must confess I’m not familiar! Veteran status revoked!

[@GoodVibeCollecting]

@@BigOleWords He was one of the early video game review channels on KZbin way back in 2006 and like many others, was influenced by AVGN. He was getting pretty popular until in 2008 he uploaded early footage of GTA IV and Rockstar complained so he got his channel deleted. He came back years later and just did casual streams but now he's a drag queen and goes by Queen PiB. His old reviews are on still on YT. Here is his Rollergames video. Still funny 16 years later. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iX-kdKp_hL-NqtU

[@samusvikerness661]

I picked this game up last winter and absolutely loved it. Made it to the last level but I'll go back and beat it eventually. This is one of the games I'd like to do a longplay of, if I am able to get a channel going.

[@BigOleWords]

Nice, you should!

[@Catastrophic-hk3mh]

I had this game and was a HUGE fan of the show. I saw Warrant perform on there once

[@BigOleWords]

What?! Awesome!

[@javidThoman]

I remember that. Could show back then.

[@danieldizon5306]

Had this one as a kid, absolutely loved it

[@BigOleWords]

Hell yeah!

[@christianhunt7382]

"Aaaand now I'm confused!" I literally loled at this, great line. 👍

[@BigOleWords]

Haha thanks :)

[@youreallyplaythat]

Rocking roller games. Friday nights 1130... wwf on skates. Used to watch it. Nice. I'll have to try this one.

[@BigOleWords]

Oh yeah? Nice!

[@luiscanamarvega]

I like this resurgence of classic style retro game reviews 👌🏻 Excellent.

[@BigOleWords]

Thanks! Probably more a result of my age than any intention :)

[@HylianFox3]

You really should consider doing a video that focuses on Konami's Ultra/Palcom games. They took on some really unusual licenses for shows and cartoons that were either obscure or short-lived (i.e Bucky O'Hare, the Mission: Impossible revival, The Lone Ranger, Rollergames etc) and ended up making a ton of hidden gems for the NES. They also made a pretty kickass Star Trek game. It's funny that you mention the similarity to Rush'n Attack and Monster in My Pocket, as (surprise!) both were also made by Konami.

[@BigOleWords]

I have been planning a late era Konami special as those 91-94 titles come up all the time in my reviews. Soon...

[@ferdinandcountfathom9298]

Never played this one, the controls certainly look a little slippery. On the subject of roller skating beat em ups, which is pretty niche, I remember DJ boy for the Sega genesis. I don't know how or why I got ahold of that game, but I actually really liked it. Great stuff as usual!

[@BigOleWords]

Ooooh man I’ve never played that one! I can only think of Skitchin’, but those were with blades brahhhhhhh :)

[@Sinn0100]

Bro, I don't care what anybody says DJ Boy was pretty solid when it came out (a lot of people claim to hate it). I remember getting my copy during the game drought of 1990 on a whim and I loved it. It was a very needed distraction to some pretty hard things I was going through at the time.

[@ferdinandcountfathom9298]

@@Sinn0100 Heck yes. I appreciated the Japanese weirdness of it, and found it to be a solid, gradually challenging beat em up, with an appropriate difficulty curve. Plus, if I remember correctly, it had two player co-op, and me and my brother-in-law were devouring games like that at the time, so two player co-op was really important to us.

[@Sinn0100]

@@ferdinandcountfathom9298 I remember the co-op as well! My cousin and I would run through that game constantly. Even after getting my Sega CD, Snes, and going completely nuts over FPS games on the Jaguar I still played DJ Boy constantly. Hey, a good game is a good game regardless of how old it was.

[@GigTube]

All those Ultra games' soundtracks were clearly made with the same keyboard. Music in this game sounds indentical to metal gear and TMNT

[@BigOleWords]

You may be right, I can definitely hear it!

[@GigTube]

@@BigOleWords of course I’m right. I’m always right 😎

[@jefflindquist6138]

This game looks cool. I'm looking forward to the next live stream.

[@knightimusprime25]

this was one of my favorites back in the day took me awhile to beat it but i beat it with the fat guy he was alot easier to go through the last stage with with all the obstacles and all

[@bryangoldberg4277]

I loved this game. I never could get past the jet ski guy!

[@BigOleWords]

That dude is tough

[@coopleofnerds]

This is just a fun idea for a game. Great review

[@BigOleWords]

It’s definitely a unique one!

[@crash53456]

Fun fact: There IS a Rollergames pinball machine based on the show too!

[@BigOleWords]

Now that is a perfect vehicle for Rollergames merchandise!

[@shortstoryslam9434]

I had a friend who refused to play this game. That is until, the Nintendo Power description was told to him. "It is Double Dragon, only on 8 tiny wheels"

[@BigOleWords]

Hahahaha that sold him? That’d sell me on the game for sure!

[@tookmyjob]

Tough, but finished. :) A pretty good soundtrack too.

[@BigOleWords]

Nice! And agreed!

[@djachmedd]

Good and fair review of a great game! That water log stage though haha ain't easy. Peace from Sweden

[@BigOleWords]

Hey thanks so much! Peace from the US :)

[@gullpayne]

Great review as always 😁👍

[@SonnyD444]

Such a good game! I had to buy it to replay it and beat the damn thing ha, it got frustrating at times but well worth the play through!

[@BigOleWords]

Nice! Yeah super tough but really fun :)

[@HylianFox3]

The Rockers guy always made me think of Simon Belmont.

[@Digitalbooty]

Yo!!! This game was sick!! I never owned it, but rented it a lot! Great vid!

[@BigOleWords]

Nice!

[@alexhydell3608]

I've never heard of this one. It looks rad

[@BigOleWords]

It is!

[@wargameboy72]

Yo, Bro! Your videos are F*cking awesome!!! The NES is my favorite console as well. It always surprises me, that I'm still being introduced to incredible games I've never played. I love this game and no matter how many times I die, I just want to keep playing!!! That's when you know it's something special!! Anyway, thanks for showing me this cool beat 'em up... 🤩👍👍👍

[@BigOleWords]

Hey thanks so much! And yeah that was my experience with Rollergames as well

[@JGRICH61]

I thought your channel was called BIG OLE WORLDS until right now

[@ksagosen]

Loved it as a kid, even finished it several times. Aged well in my opinion.

[@et3737]

I had a similar look going on in 1990 neon green jacket Reebok pump shoes binaca and a Nintendo power mag 🤓

[@BigOleWords]

Looking just like the kid in my profile!

[@TheRetroManRandySavage]

Looks awfully familiar. I'm sure I've played this one before. 🤔

[@SSGHondaJon]

Just got this in a lot off eBay for NOTHING! Always wanted to try it.

[@BigOleWords]

They givin’ out free eBays now?!? Dayum!

[@brettdulaney792]

One of the only konomi games I honestly never played or even scene back in the day

[@BigOleWords]

Same, it was hiding in plain sight!

[@rellikhcaor2575]

I was hoping for video 2, maybe see the other games, lol :)

[@RetroKingPin]

Finding out about roller games very recently, I wish it was more spoken about in the retro gaming community. Ultra/Konami really made some great games and even they're bad titles were better than a lot of games being released at the time

[@BigOleWords]

Most definitely!

[@barral69]

3:50 Because of ONE FRIGGIN' SPOT in that stage......I never beat this game.

[@BigOleWords]

It took a lot of persistence….and controller throwing!

[@barral69]

@@BigOleWords lmao

[@rickymcgruder4868]

top 10 best beat em up platformer of all time. it combine contra,tmnt 2 and 3, double dragon 2 and 3, and super mario in one game. truly one of hte best old school platformers of all time.

[@BigOleWords]

Definitely a solid title for sure

[@rickymcgruder4868]

@@BigOleWords that what makes nes top 5 consoles of all time. because they remake the arcade ports and added more stages and better gameplay. which is achievement and amazing in its self. knowing how little space nes console had on it.

[@et3737]

Thanks!

[@BigOleWords]

I didn’t realize what this was at first. Thanks so much!!

[@thiagogoncalves4322]

"check this shit out "... epic

[@christopherrobinmarriott7218]

Cmon...the Cali-kid is OBV an homage to David Bowie!

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Konami back in the day really was the best. I mean, across the board NES/SNES,Genesis Gameoy pretty much everything and anything they did was amazing or at least really good. Holy crap do I miss that version of Konami.

[@BigOleWords]

Yeah for sure, especially in the late NES era :)

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@BigOleWords Truly a golden age.

[@jarredkrum9894]

Love this game i gota find me a copy. Thankfully its not crazy priced still

[@BigOleWords]

That’s awesome. So many of the games i cover have become very expensive.

[@et3737]

Who is that kid with the pink shirt, crazy mullet hair and the acid washed jeans at the end?

[@BigOleWords]

That’s me…in the future!

[@funsimpledrawings8233]

In game I had as a kid select refiled health. So it wasn't so difficult

[@BigOleWords]

No! Really?! Honestly the jumps were harder than any damage I might take from enemies :)

[@70smebbin]

i had this game

[@goatbone]

Reminds me of Bayou Billy for all the wrong reasons.

[@BigOleWords]

Thankfully way more enjoyable although maybe equally frustrating :)

[@matthewtaylor5230]

I wish I had that many nes games.well i probably have that many roms downloaded lolz 🙃🤓😊

[@Skeletorisnotnice]

Until you said it at the end of the video, I thought your channel was called “Big Ole Worlds.”

[@BigOleWords]

It does sound more epic!

[@Skeletorisnotnice]

Nah man, I like it. I was just listening to it (not watching) and was like “damn, did I really miss that?”

[@num1shinfan]

What does roller derby have to do with the World Wildlife Fund?

[@BigOleWords]

Ehhhhhh

[@Sinn0100]

This looks pretty sweet man...but hardest Nes game? That's a tall order my friend. Would you say it is harder than Ninja Gaiden? What about Ghosts n' Goblins (I hate that game but love the rest)? I have played and beaten so many just stupidly hard Nes games and often when I hear "hardest game" I always question it. I will say your voice carries a bit more weight than most as you're a genuine collector and you know the Nes like no other I have seen before. For reference- I started playing back in 1986 with the Nes and Master System (divorced parents). I was always a Sega guy growing up and once I got my hands on my Sega Genesis in 1989...I became a hardcore gamer for life. Like you, I am a collector now but my expertise is in the 5th generation mostly. That's mainly Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. I'm also a huge Neo Geo AES/MVS/CDZ collector as well. At any rate, from one serious collector to another, you have a nice setup my friend!

[@BigOleWords]

I would say it’s as hard as Castlevania III. Mostly just the platforming in Rollergames is blatantly cruel.

[@cratedivizion]

Want a hard NES game....pick up rolling thunder

[@Sinn0100]

@@cratedivizion I am familiar with Rolling Thunder and...wasn't a Tengen game on the Nes? The ones with the black cart? I can't remember if I played a Rolling Thunder on the Genesis or Nes...I do remember the arcade being wicked fun but pretty hard at the same time.

[@cratedivizion]

@@Sinn0100 yep black tengen cart. fun game. just uploaded my playthrough on my channel the other day. took a ton of practice. I just did rollergames....only took a few hours to master.

[@Sinn0100]

@@cratedivizion That's awesome man. Send me a link and I'll pop right over! ;)

[@rickymcgruder4868]

somebody need to tell konami to remaster this or a sequel.

[@tonyanderson8497]

Never could beat it still have it tho lol

[@MechaTailsMK2]

Actually, there is limited continues.

[@BigOleWords]

There are?! I never ran out!

[@MechaTailsMK2]

@@BigOleWords I practically own the physical copy and even live streamed it before.

[@MechaTailsMK2]

​@@BigOleWords On top of all... The Rockers, T-Birds, and Hot Flash are the teams that represents the Western Alliance. They are often the good-hearted crowd favorite, hardly a player get sent into the penalty box. The Maniacs, Bad Attitude, and Violators are the teams that represent the Eastern Empire. They are often depicted as the rule-breaking, vilified teams... Always starting fights. I practically remember watching the show when I was a kid.

[@skeletorment]

So as I was saying, Konami used to be a top company' almost as good as Capcom, but they've since relegated themselves to mobile games and pachinko machines only. It's a shame really. R.I.P.

[@BigOleWords]

Haha he’s back! Also on second convo I kinda want to try those pachinko machines!

[@skeletorment]

@@BigOleWords I had a feeling you missed me.

[@lifestream_real]

Thank you so much, for this... 🥹 This game was a huge part of my childhood, and needs a lot more love.