This NES Game Was a Technical Disaster

Consider supporting the Patreon! -- / now90s
Today is January 6th 1993
Released this week was Ultima V, Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar, and Rampart for the Game Boy!
Writers: Jared Knabenbauer, David Rota & Dylan Lawrence
Editor: Dylan Lawrence
►Twitter ------------------------- / dylumz
►Twitch -------------------------- / thedrunkard
►KZbin Channel --------- / gamedrunkard
🎽🎽🎽 Like the shirt in today's video? Get one yourself from Vapor 95 and use code PROJARED for 15% off! -- vapor95.com/projared
►New here? Subscribe! -------------------------- bit.ly/ZhtgD2
►Subscribe to the Gameplay Channel! -- bit.ly/2CWhLZi
►Follow me for instant updates on new videos!
Twitter -------------------------------------- / projared
Instagram -------------------------------- / projaredgram
Twitch -------------------------------------- / projared
TikTok -------------------------------------- / projaredtok
~~MUSIC BY WILLIAM BENCKERT & AGST~~
#retro #retrogaming #nostalgia

[@BoundaryBreak]

Dylan was at top performance for this episode

[@PiterLauchy]

That Time Cruise segue was pure gold.

[@justinrendon4692]

🤌

[@silenthillfreak156]

Perfection

[@LorenceLinzWrightwoo]

that was simple yet amazing funny

[@Seegtease]

That opportunity will never happen again.

[@louyork8379]

I came to make a similar comment lol

[@Boothenson]

I love editor Dylan man, That Time Cruise line was fantastic. Glad you guys are finding success with the show. This stuff is right up my alley.

[@chriscroft2323]

I want an editor Dylan show

[@Oilydeath]

I don't like editor Dylan

[@cappantwan2978]

His first name is actually Editor and his last name is Dylan, true facts

[@SylentEcho]

Yeah, that was gold, lol. Also, I dig the format he does better than the talking-head format, too. It ought to be just at the start and at the end.

[@akiradkcn]

The pause nailed it lol

[@willmistretta]

One minor thing: Lightening Force isn't really a port. It was 100% designed for the Mega Drive. They did give it an unfortunate retitling outside Japan, but that's all.

[@Korafoya]

It feels like this show is really starting to define itself and feel it’s own kind of comedy. Keep up the good work team :)

[@thelaughingrouge]

Agreed.

[@keijijohnson9754]

Disagree. It’s better when it’s being informal instead of try hard with the comedy. It’s the same thing with Caddicarus.

[@meluckycharms321]

I agree with you @Koragoya . The show structure is really coming together.

[@cac1700]

It's the long sigh then..."Time Cruise" for me😂

[@riemaennchen]

Exactly 7 months from now to go until the first game that I REALLY played a lot of gets featured on this show. edit: I actually had Lightening Force. I think I never made it further than the 5th stage. The title music stuck with me all the years though.

[@gurvmlk]

There's some foreshadowing.

[@geraq0]

8:03 Genius. Editor Dylan is becoming better and better every time.

[@Oilydeath]

Shallow and predictable. And pedantic.

[@keijijohnson9754]

Okay I’ll give him THAT one this time.

[@radianttrails939]

for real, he's so funny

[@GooTheMighty]

Horizontal shooters not being able to settle on a consistent naming scheme between games seems to be a tradition of sorts. Just ask Nemesis/Gradius/Salamander/Life-Force.

[@CreepyUncleIdjit]

Tom Cruise actually has allowed his likeness (kind of) and voice in one video game: Lego Dimensions. It was actually a pretty fun story level.

[@Mystik3eb]

You got me. I literally LOL'd at the Tom Cruise -> Time Cruise gag. Well done, Dylan. Also good on you for spreading the love for animals. Family Dog sounds terrible. I love this channel. What a great idea. Thanks for making Friday's even better!

[@chrisrj9871]

Family Dog was an animated episode of Amazing Stories from the late 80s that eventually got its own short-lived animated series in 1993. I never bothered to watch it since I was 13 and done with anything 80s or anything grade school (except video games ofc, but that doesn't count anymore, _parents._ ). I feel like he may have exaggerated the premise of the show, though. If given a chance, the family may have improved over the course of time, a la good (enough) writing. But that's how I feel about it.

[@KairuHakubi]

It was... really well animated, and genuinely funny. But the premise got old, FAST. I only ever caught one episode back when it was on.

[@robvandenberg7778]

Man, this show remains consistently fun to watch! I really hope this new channel continues to grow; keep it up!

[@Tacticslion]

It does! It's so good!

[@Wolfburns]

I completely forgot Rampart existed and holy shit did I play so much of it at my aunt's on NES! Holy crap thank you so much for that memory!!! This is why I love this series and I am so thankful it got its own channel.

[@guerillagrueplays6301]

The writing on this show gets better pretty much every episode, as Dylan gets more comfy being a key part of things.

[@sethwood6501]

That Time Cruise bit got me good

[@Zeet1]

I like how Jared is “as you recall” and I’m like “no, I was 3 and living in Central America” 😂 Also the Time Cruise transition was perfect

[@steel5897]

Same. I played most of these games in the 90s but that was later, around 96 and after. I have nostalgia for the games but not their release.

[@pictonomii3295]

Glad you didn't just parrot the price chart stats for Rampart and actually did some digging. If I were a complete GameBoy collector I'd be pissed.

[@jasonblalock4429]

7:40 Well, except for "X," which manages pretty decent wireframe 3D flight on the Gameboy. I've never understood why it wasn't brought to America, especially considering it came from a western dev. (Argonaut, the same guys who developed StarFox and the SuperFX chip.)

[@MetagrossOverlordX]

9:10 Funny story about Rampart Game Boy's price, that's not just speculation, someone legitimately tried to jack up the game's price as an experiment to see if Ebay's market pricing was easy to manipulate. The person who bought out the game called into Pat the NES Punk's podcast showing their results (there's a clip of it on his channel), he managed to drive the game up from under $5 to about $25 while only buying about 20 or so cartridges. It seems like the game's price is still a disaster lol

[@Tacticslion]

The sweetness of pet-love is real. Props, Editor Dylan.

[@fizz576]

I had no idea Ultima 5 got an nes port though it seems like I'm not missing out on much.

[@crabbuckets7506]

Let's go! Happy new year folks 🏄‍♀️

[@MentalLiberation]

This is going to be one heck of a year. Kudos to this channel. My 10-11 year old self back then is smiling

[@GamerFromJump]

Next year's going to be lit though.

[@MentalLiberation]

@@GamerFromJump absolutely. 94 was one awesome year for gaming. And, a new console generation officially started in 94 so we're going to get some pretty cool games coming soon

[@ladynikkie]

Love this series

[@ReikuYin]

Tecmo super bowl. THE collage game. THE sports game everyone has likely played even if you don't play sports games. Good message for the pets Dylan. Great work guys.

[@jamesduncan6729]

TOUCHDOWN, Thurman Thomas!

[@jfgodard1338]

I don't think I've ever commented on a KZbin video ever in life. This is how much I love this show. I love this show so much that I'm overcoming my aversion to publicly commenting on anything. You're an awesome duo, it works so well. I can't wait to see how this evolves

[@Masked_Pirate_Geist]

Editor Dylan's cats are adorable. I have a void girl myself. I could feel the chaotic energy through the camera.

[@asyourgm]

In EGM's old review of Minority Report, they explain why Tom Cruise doesn't appear in any video games. His contracts specifically forbids sub-contracting his likeness to any product not directly tied to the film; so posters and video covers are fine, but no video games licensed from the movies.

[@garou119]

1993 is here, and I'm here for it!

[@CasualGamerDude]

Perfect Birthday gift! Thanks Jerd and all the team behind Now in the 90s!!

[@Denny-Thray]

As a kid, my introduction to the Ultima series was Ultima: Exodus and Ultima: Quest of the Avatar for the NES. I've since played the PC versions of both, but the NES versions have a very good charm to them. They look and feel more like Dragon Quest games than 80s computer games, and that can really be a good thing. I actually prefer the NES version of Quest of the Avatar to any other version, despite its flaws and some of its cut content. When I saw Warriors of Destiny, I immediately jumped and begged my mom to buy it. I didn't have to rent it first. I knew I would love it. I was dead wrong. I tried to like it. The intro made me want to get into it so bad, but that gameplay man. I can't handle the first 5 minutes without walking away in disgust. Even optimist little kid me couldn't see past the awful gameplay, the terrible music... uuuugh. And the sad thing is? Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny was an amazing game. I got into the Ultima Series as an adult and Ultima V is easily my favorite of the series. If they let FCI and Pony Canyon handle it (same companies that handled Exodus and Quest of the Avatar), the game would have been great and a classic RPG for the NES.

[@jaylucien669]

The Tom Cruise/Time Cruise joke was great. Nice job, Dylan.

[@MateusDrake]

I had to pause at that transition from Tom Cruise to Time Cruise. I laughed out loud. The presentation is superb as always, loved the cats on camera, the joke with the mini NES was excellent too. Jared's little story at the end was also just precious. This series balances well the feeling of being very professional and concise and providing lots of interesting, well researched information... With the feeling of catching up with two friends just outside a game store, after school, during the nineties and just talking about games coming out

[@jeffreybasker5810]

Wow Dylan. You were on fire on this one. Jared was great as always. Keep up the great work you guys!

[@DMBLaan]

Don't worry Editor Dylan, I'm giving my dog Siouxsie extra love for you!

[@Onshki]

This series truly describes how much of a plague sports games are. They're not bad, but there are so damn many and most of them never change.

[@waterheart95]

Not exactly, each sports game from different companies have a different feel and feature set. Sports games didn’t start to get boring till the 360 generation. It’s just the audience for this type of video wouldn’t know such a thing or seriously actually played a sports game, especially something like madden 94 or a good arcade sports game.

[@SuperBabyMario]

The segue into Time Cruise is my favourite moment of the year so far. Not just from this show, but in general.

[@tivvy2vs21]

Not much competition

[@LordPichuPal]

We lost our oldest cat back in September after having her since she was a kitten, she lived to be 19 years old. In the last couple months she was around, maybe even the past year, I had been trying to shower her with more affection as well just in case any day could be the last. Now I've been doing the same with our next oldest cat, Willow, since we aren't sure how long she has either. I agree with the sentiment to show your pets the love they deserve, they'll always appreciate it. I know that my cats have, and our dogs we've had. I vaguely recall the Family Dog cartoon but it sounds really awful.

[@Scelus90]

Can't wait for the Year 1993.

[@hugoleonardoamaral586]

Wait, Family Dog was a cartoon??? wow, I remember renting it and thinking it was just an OK platformer even for 10 year old me lol oh the memories. PS: My cat is sitting in the desk in front of my keyboard right now as I type. So I'll sure give him a hug after a finish this :)

[@mario_maniac9368]

Glad to see the series on its own channel and I hope it continues to grow

[@AtlasBlizzard]

Dylan was spot-on about Family Dog. That show has very strong 'why does this even exist' vibes.

[@chaospoet]

That Time Cruise part made me chuckle pretty hard. Also just scratched my cats chin while scratching my dog's belly. Faith in humanity has been restored.

[@chronicallycrude4149]

Fun fact about Ultima 5. The original game was made to work on DoS. One of the more interesting things about it is that you were able to take your character from the fourth game, Quest of the Avatar, and import the character into this game. It's because of these two games that the word Avatar became synonymous with a video game character created to represent the player in the Video Game World. Also, it is rumored that in the NES port of Ultima 5 only has "Hail Britannia" as the song that place throughout the entire game because it was the only one that they were able to morph into an 8-bit song that the NES can play in time for release. The team was much smaller as they were working on fixes for Ultima 6 and began work on Ultima 7 shortly after the release of number 6 so the team was much smaller. Secondly, another rumor is that some of the problems that caused the Ultima 5 NES port to be presented as such as because they used a modified version of the engine that was used to build Ultima 6 which was intended to run on dos computers. Ultima is my favorite RPG Siri so there's a lot that I know about it

[@Marc_Araujo]

Lightening Force isn't a port, it originally came out on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (but called Thunder Force IV everywhere outside of Japan)...Tecmo Super Bowl for the Genesis, on the other hand, is a port of the NES game.

[@ChildTheDJ]

Your Tom Cruise Time Cruise joke is Diamond status comedy. Editor Dylan was goated on this day

[@nemesis041]

Rampart was a game my brother and I would play a lot against each other on Midway Arcade Treasures on the original Xbox back in the day. If you can play Rampart, play it with a friend, or even two. It's a LOT more fun and engaging than just playing solo. When solo, you're just shooting at attacking boats all the time.

[@Chronomagii]

Wow that time cruise bit was brilliant. Good job editor Dylan

[@toycoma98]

I loved Rampart on NES, my brother hated it. I liked to rebuild my castle as big as i could.

[@evillecaston]

Tom Cruise does his own stunts, but he won't appear in his own licensed games. What a strange man.

[@ZachBlackforest]

Long explanation made short, Mr. Cruise charges a ridiculous amount for use of his likeness. Same reason why you don't see any action figures with his likeness, (Mission Impossible and the like). Shy that, he's also known for being incredibly hard to work with.... and the worst part... he's a scientologist... that's just not natural man.....

[@Ataru320]

Remember Family Dog but mostly due to the Amazing Stories episode. Was created by Brad Bird, the guy who eventually gave us "The Iron Giant" and "The Incredibles" so at least it got his foot in the door of animation.

[@elfaulkner84]

This is going to be an interesting year for a look back at games released in 1993. Doom, Super Mario All-Stars, Secret of Mana, and Link's Awakening just for starters.

[@SymphonySinger]

I was only about three weeks old by this point in the channel, so it's cool to see what was coming out around the time I was born! Also, hearing Jared say 1993 for the first time made me realize we're starting to cover a brand-new year now! Excited to see what came out when most of my friends were born! And Dylan, that Time Cruise line was pure gold! Great start to the new year guys! Keep up the great work! :)

[@trueakuma777]

Editor Dylan's cats made this video even better! Thanks for the great video and stay safe out there!

[@ooommm4024]

i remember only being able to beat the NES version of Ultima Exodus with glitch characters that somehow appeared on my character list. They appeared to be glitched out Fighters with over 9999 gold, max stats, and every single item besides the symbols and cards from ambrosia. I still do not remember how I did it and have looked all over the internet since the late 1990’s on how to do it.

[@Drewbert101]

I know it's inevitable but I don't like that with each week, 30 years ago today is approaching the year 2000

[@SolusEmsu]

at the ending, there.. reminds me of my own games. I have several still with the rental stickers on my SNES games, including my favorite FF2/4 cartridge. My grandma ran the video game rentals in my town as an aside in her store and so the stickers have her name on them. I will never remove them.

[@MixMasterLar]

Rampart was one of the 10 games my dad got with our NES when I was six. I played it before even trying Super Mario Bros and still play it when we hook up the NES for the day

[@gurvmlk]

It's crazy to think of prioritizing something over Mario nowadays, but back then I did the same thing. Except for me, the first game I played on my NES was the first Ninja Turtles. Because to me at that time, Mario was a nobody.

[@st1ka]

Lightening Force / Thunder Force 4 is SO good. It honestly might just be the best shmup of that generation

[@wcoleman99]

Well at least Ultima 5 didn't ask the question "What's a Paladin?".

[@jamesduncan6729]

I adore the nostalgic vibe of this show. You the man, Jared 👍🏻❤️

[@MrTableDesk]

The fun part of the Genesis version of Rampart, is that in 2 player mode, after you beat your friend, you get to execute them on a guillotine, lol.

[@distractedFreek]

Most definitely give your pets extra love, I lost one this week. So thanks for the good laughs, Dylan and Jared, at the end of a pretty shitty week.

[@gurvmlk]

As somebody who seems to be nearing the same tragedy with one of our dogs pretty much being on her last leg, I concur.

[@jamesmoss3424]

I will play Lightning Force. 😀👍🎮

[@lunatichigh2896]

Time Cruise transition is by far the best. Happy new year to you all!

[@tipulsar85]

Welcome to 1993, We're 4 months away from Magic the Gather Limited Edition Alpha (It had a prerelease window of 3 months), Animaniacs Starts airing in September, and Doctor Who turns 30 in November. Also Bill Clinton is about to be sworn in later this month as the 42nd President of the United States.

[@NintendomaticMan]

Glad see this show going strong! I look forward to watching a new episode of Now in the 90s every weekend after work! Keep it up, Jared!

[@CourierDan]

Fun fact, Tom Cruise can't be represented in video games (I forget specific details). It's why any licensed game where he was a star in has zero Tom Cruise in it. But The Mummy Demastered still gives you Russell Crowe sending your nameless soldier to fight an undead army, and I consider that a win for it.

[@necrogenesis1981]

I don’t know the details either but isn’t it Scientology related?

[@toferg.8264]

I finally got the newly proper channel of “Now in the 90s” recommended on my home page :) . It helps i played all of last year’s (31 years ago) playlist.

[@buchiklop110]

I never played the Genesis version, but the SNES version of Tecmo Super Bowl is my favorite football game of all time, to this day.

[@ZipplyZane]

I have the rental store's copy of Super Mario RPG. I rented it a few times from them at their stall in the local Walmart, and then later noticed them selling their games loose in one of those value bins before going out of business.

[@D1gital-ZER0]

Hey, it's me, a commenter! And *this* is: A *very* respectable kickoff to the year, gentlemen! As always, I hope you're all safe and having a good time. Dylan's segment is getting better every week, and I'm glad to see it. Keep up the good work, and keep the good times going!

[@Memelord2020]

Happy New Year, Jared and Editor Dylan

[@Norrikan]

Man, Ultima V on NES was such a disappointment. We played the shit out of the Ultima series at a neighbor's dad's computer, but when the NES version came out I was so excited to finally play at home. Bummer with how that turned out. Rampart is pretty nice. Not super deep, but something you can get pretty engrossed in. And Lightening Force I will recommend solely on the merits of the bangin' soundtrack.

[@tilbin7855]

I love the new camera style, it helps me focus on the speaker more easily while also keeping the games visible in the background to cement Jared as being an expert.

[@TigerNightmare]

I never played any of the Ultima games, I just knew it was an Origin series alongside other beloved PC games like Wing Commander, System Shock, and Bioforge. With the exception of System Shock, which is getting a remake, all those games have been banished to EA's IP purgatory, never to be seen again.

[@ovlivion81]

This is just comfort food show, keep up the great work Editor Dylan! We all know you the brains behind this operation!

[@ThisIsCSDX]

Finding out Rampart's complete copy price got jacked up cause some scalper got greedy really makes me wish we had nationwide laws about this.

[@BartanTirix]

Loving this series guys~ Even when there's talk about games I've never heard before. Great job on writing! That Time Cruise joke was great!

[@GamerFromJump]

You _could_ say that _Lightening Force_ means “a force that restores light”. But yeah, it’s probably misspelled.

[@KhaosElement]

I'm here for Editor Dylan's segment really.

[@Webhead123]

The original Family Dog short that premiered on show "Amazing Stories" was a fantastic little animated adventure, written and directed by the great Brad Bird before his time on The Simpsons. It's unfortunate that it's difficult to view the original today and it's also unfortunate that the TV series which followed (which had no involvement from Brad) was pretty terrible. The video game did not fair any better. If you can find a way to watch the original short, I recommend everyone give it a look. The TV show, however, is easily dismissed.

[@Sergevantes]

I remember believing that Rampart and Rampage were from the same series of games. Both involve building destruction, maybe I was not that mistaken, after all.

[@jimrussell9518]

Love the videos! I'm gonna give my puppies some extra scritches now :) have a great weekend everyone!

[@HonoredLionheart]

I was born in 93, so I'm excited for this year

[@avereynakama9854]

Retro games and kitties! Best way to spend a Friday :) Didn't realize Family Dog was a show first, but the art style should have been a dead giveaway. I guess I'll stick to Courage the Cowardly Dog for "shows starring a dog that's inexplicably hated." At least Muriel loves that little guy.

[@benabernathy9272]

Thank you for saying that Dylan! I wish my buddy was still alive.

[@CronosVids]

Kicking off the year with a bang! Great episode. The lighting seems more vibrant, it feels like a new year setup. At first I prefered Jared’s segments, but now I like Dylan’s segments evenly.

[@ApocApocrypha]

The Tom Cruise bit got me good. Great job Mr. Editor Dylan. My cat does not enjoy the extra love though.

[@roosell793]

After watching this video, the WoD "song" has been trapped in my head. It haunted my dreams all night. It took me nearly 30 years to forget that horrible repetitive tune! Lol Love the videos. Found your channel yesterday and went back and watched many videos.

[@snowpoint720]

The 90's Channel was in my home page this week. That's a good sign.

[@necrogenesis1981]

Sounds like Cool Spot next week, I loved that game, one of the few decent brand mascot games.

[@maverickhuntermeta4954]

I got a copy of Super Batter-Up on SNES that has the video game store sticker on the back of the cartridge and that store closed down a few years back.

[@JohnZyski]

I didn't know Lightening Force was available on Switch. I bought it right away when I saw that mentioned. thanks. I have always wanted to play that one.

[@musickid43]

I think I laughed a little bit too much at the jump from Tom Cruise to Time Cruise.

[@blackmage20]

Hey Jared, love the show, and Dylan killed it with the humor this episode, but I do have to say that the lightening-.... sorry, "lighting" was way too bright and harsh. Not sure if that was intentional, but tone down the contrast.

[@aggressiveprincess7905]

Batman and Cleo look like my Tari and late Kobi.

[@RadimuxCisco]

Ok. An extra treat for my dog. Will do.

[@TheRealCheesemaker]

Ooh, 4K! It's like you just plopped down in front of me with a good retro talk, thanks for the update!

[@jamtheottoman3055]

Do you have any plans to compile these into one big video? I’d love to have one long video to fall asleep to (playlists aren’t ideal for this). Just curious! 😃

[@HylianFox3]

That Tom Cruise -Time Cruise transition was effing brilliant.