Kick Master is the only NES game that has made me want a subwoofer EDIT: looking up one of the composers has lead to the discovery of Summer Carnival ‘92: Recca, which is the only NES music that has made me feel like I just locked eye contact with a member of C+C Music Factory on the most fateful night of our lives
The whole presentation of Shatterhand is really good. Excellent palettes, clever background design with some parallax tricks, good character contrast, good music, good effects. It has all the hallmarks of a late stage NES title and for 1991 that makes sense with the SNES on the horizon.
shatterhand is such a sick game, i'd personally rate it even higher. not the most unique game on the system, but just super polished and well-executed all around. one thing i found pretty interesting about the game: zero death pits!
Just realized the order of planets in Gyruss reflects that the game was made during that brief window (astronomically-speaking) when Pluto is closer to the sun than Neptune.
I was literally LOLing at the Kickmaster cutscene. The dude’s brother is slowly sinking off the screen and he’s just staring, mouth agape. OMG that was so awesome.
I had never seen GOLF played. My dad rented NES Open and we thoroughly enjoyed it and ended up buying it. He had friends that came over and played that and RBI Baseball. Super fond memories of those.
Those last three were all bangers. The NES version of Gyruss is my favorite version of that game. I had heard of but not ever played Shatterhand, but wish I did now.
It's surreal seeing Jeff having such a hard time placing a golf game on this list but then I remembered how I played a lot of the late 90's Links golf games with my dad so I totally understand. Good times.
it's kinda cool that Legend of Kage tries to simulate the ridiculous wire jumping in some martial arts movies of that era, can't think of any other games that literally have you jump on top of trees like that.
this Legend of Kage is reminding me a lot of a game I vaguely remember called Demon Sword which had similar gameplay iirc, in that you had a small sword that you rapidly swung and you did huge floaty jumps like that, and I think the first stage was also in a forest? but over time you upgraded the sword to be longer with little curves on it and there were like boss fights you had to find keys for, and one of the stages was a lot of vertical jumping... lotta similarities. maybe made by the same people? well, we'll find out when you get to it I guess
I had an older couple as neighbors when I was a kid and this guy got a NES just for Golf. Also remember his grandson visiting and making the mistake of saying I could play Zelda. Bye save file still feel bad and I was like 8 lol. Love Golf for these reasons.
As far as the overall quality of games for each episode goes, it's going to be very hard to top this one. Other episodes might have a top 10 in it, but it's got a bottom 10 to even things out. This banger of an episode has the Legend of Kage as the worst game, and that's still an okay time. I'll be looking into both Shatterhand and KickMaster, because those were some video games. I remember seeing the cover of Shatterhand all the time back as a kid, but I never gave it a look, and now I'm regretting that. Good sciencing, this episode.
Love these videos! Is there any way you can up the capture framerate so we can see all the sprites that flicker? Sometimes you are just interacting with invisible things, like the kickmaster drops.
Jeff captures his videos at 60 FPS, including this one. You need to set the video quality to 720p or higher -- UA-cam only ever shows videos in 30 FPS unless you raise the quality. If you didn't see 720p 60 FPS when you wrote your comment, maybe you watched the video right after Jeff uploaded it -- UA-cam sometimes takes a while to encode the higher quality versions after the video's initially uploaded.
Why do I still think that Kage was a female protagonist to this day, even though I know he's male? EDIT: Watching Kickmaster made me think, it would be kind of cool if Jeff did a bonus episode of games that were released outside the US after this list is complate. Not all of them, just a selection. Kickmaster makes me think of Holy Diver and I think it would be highly entertaining watching Jeff play it.
anyone playing the recent indie game Gravity Circuit? it’s a megaman like but after seeing Shatterhand i’m sure it was influenced by it as well edit: also prison city! it’s extremely similar to shatterhand, watching this again one could almost accuse the developer of that game of plagiarism if it wasn’t so awesome 😅
Kick Master is the only NES game that has made me want a subwoofer
EDIT: looking up one of the composers has lead to the discovery of Summer Carnival ‘92: Recca, which is the only NES music that has made me feel like I just locked eye contact with a member of C+C Music Factory on the most fateful night of our lives
The whole presentation of Shatterhand is really good. Excellent palettes, clever background design with some parallax tricks, good character contrast, good music, good effects. It has all the hallmarks of a late stage NES title and for 1991 that makes sense with the SNES on the horizon.
shatterhand is such a sick game, i'd personally rate it even higher. not the most unique game on the system, but just super polished and well-executed all around. one thing i found pretty interesting about the game: zero death pits!
I'm blown away. This is easily the best thing Jaleco ever made.
Just realized the order of planets in Gyruss reflects that the game was made during that brief window (astronomically-speaking) when Pluto is closer to the sun than Neptune.
More games need Demos of Kicks
I'd settle for a demo of Qix
Something about Kick Master's whole vibe, you could have convinced me it was like, a Shovel Kight style retro style indie game from the 2010s.
I was literally LOLing at the Kickmaster cutscene. The dude’s brother is slowly sinking off the screen and he’s just staring, mouth agape. OMG that was so awesome.
Fun fact: the golfer from Golf went on to sign up to play for LIV.
Shatterhand is so cool! In Japan, it was originally a TV show tie in game for a Power Rangers-esque live action show called Solbrain.
"The way to win is keep swingin' ya thang" is definitely the first line from an unreleased ODB solo track.
Jeff Gerstmann serving up another piping hot serving of NES nostalgia? It must be Friday.
Shatterhand and Power Blade really take great advantage of "cool dude with sunglasses fucks shit up" in ways more games could never replicate sadly.
Is this video better than Dynowarz: Destruction of Spondylus?
SPONDEELOOS
maybe...but it's certainly no Low G Man: The Low Gravity Man
Jeff Gerstman, Professional Video Gamesmann, aka The Don of Video Games, aka Video Game Archivist, aka Video Game Scientist PHD
I just beat KickMaster for the first time two weeks ago. KID made some dang good games.
NES Gyruss is basically a full on remake, not just a port. Which is pretty cool!
My grandpa would tell me to "stop making those cows moo" whenever I played golf. I thought that was a golf term, but he was just talking sound fx.
I had never seen GOLF played. My dad rented NES Open and we thoroughly enjoyed it and ended up buying it. He had friends that came over and played that and RBI Baseball. Super fond memories of those.
The idea of money matching Golf back in the day is both funny and awesome
Those last three were all bangers. The NES version of Gyruss is my favorite version of that game. I had heard of but not ever played Shatterhand, but wish I did now.
It's surreal seeing Jeff having such a hard time placing a golf game on this list but then I remembered how I played a lot of the late 90's Links golf games with my dad so I totally understand. Good times.
I played Mario Golf for longer than I probably should've. Edit: NES Open Tournament Golf was the name.
to be fair to Golf for not having music. IRL golf doesn't have music. They have people holding signs telling people to be quiet.
it's kinda cool that Legend of Kage tries to simulate the ridiculous wire jumping in some martial arts movies of that era, can't think of any other games that literally have you jump on top of trees like that.
this Legend of Kage is reminding me a lot of a game I vaguely remember called Demon Sword which had similar gameplay iirc, in that you had a small sword that you rapidly swung and you did huge floaty jumps like that, and I think the first stage was also in a forest? but over time you upgraded the sword to be longer with little curves on it and there were like boss fights you had to find keys for, and one of the stages was a lot of vertical jumping... lotta similarities. maybe made by the same people? well, we'll find out when you get to it I guess
I have no memory of actually playing Shatterhand, but that music is etched to my brain.
I don't know, the art in Kickmaster looks kinda cool. That game is cooler than I first expected it to be.
Kick Master has the vibe of an unlicensed game.
Looking forward to NES Open Tournament Golf. You've got a great golf experience coming your way, brother.
My body is ready for demo of kicks on infinite repeat.
Never knew about kick master before this but it clearly inspired shovel knight
I had an older couple as neighbors when I was a kid and this guy got a NES just for Golf. Also remember his grandson visiting and making the mistake of saying I could play Zelda. Bye save file still feel bad and I was like 8 lol. Love Golf for these reasons.
Wow you think maybe "Kick Master" is just the name but they really lean into the whole kicking thing in both narrative and gameplay.
Switch to 480p or lower and go to 2:07:02. Lightning attack is now Gaze of Death attack
The beeps in Golf for a birdie/par are the exact same as my headphones has for low battery (Sennheiser 175), I was very confused.
You Have Entered POWER DRIVE
Actually it's kind of crazy they've never made a Simpsons golf game
The Immortal and Wizardry. Looking forward to those!
Legend of Kage sounds like an angry digital watch.
If I wasn't watching and only listening, I'd have thought KickMaster was one of the Castlevanias.
It definitely feels like the pitch for that game was "Sci-fi Castlevania."
Some music towards the end of the game has some direct Castlevania references it’s kind of openly having fun with
As far as the overall quality of games for each episode goes, it's going to be very hard to top this one. Other episodes might have a top 10 in it, but it's got a bottom 10 to even things out. This banger of an episode has the Legend of Kage as the worst game, and that's still an okay time. I'll be looking into both Shatterhand and KickMaster, because those were some video games. I remember seeing the cover of Shatterhand all the time back as a kid, but I never gave it a look, and now I'm regretting that. Good sciencing, this episode.
What is the new overlay stuff over on the right hand side? Like how in kick master it's showing all the power ups he is getting.
Retro Achievements stuff I believe
Love these videos! Is there any way you can up the capture framerate so we can see all the sprites that flicker? Sometimes you are just interacting with invisible things, like the kickmaster drops.
Jeff captures his videos at 60 FPS, including this one. You need to set the video quality to 720p or higher -- UA-cam only ever shows videos in 30 FPS unless you raise the quality.
If you didn't see 720p 60 FPS when you wrote your comment, maybe you watched the video right after Jeff uploaded it -- UA-cam sometimes takes a while to encode the higher quality versions after the video's initially uploaded.
Kickmaster looks like it runs out about 20 FPS, with a healthy dose of slow down thrown in
Hell yeah, I do.
Jeff "Keeping It Extreme" Gerstmann
Gyruss was made by konami not Gottlieb. it was released in the US arcades by Centuri, like most early Konami games ( Time Pilot).
You're right! It's weird, in my head it just seems like a Gottlieb game for some reason.
OMG Demo of kicks was incredible.
Why do I still think that Kage was a female protagonist to this day, even though I know he's male?
EDIT: Watching Kickmaster made me think, it would be kind of cool if Jeff did a bonus episode of games that were released outside the US after this list is complate. Not all of them, just a selection. Kickmaster makes me think of Holy Diver and I think it would be highly entertaining watching Jeff play it.
Kickmaster needs a late 80s Cannon Films adaptation
The Legend of Kage made me go rewatch Ninja Scroll
@1:46:53 "He's beginning to believe"
Mean 18 Golf on the 7800 is a great golf game too.
It's for the science! Don't worry about the notes
Man, Kick Master should be cooler than it is. It's like the team's ambition slightly outpaced its ability. This game feels ripe for a remake.
It says golf right on the damn box!
I wonder how long it would take for Jeff to realize that it is an Alfa and Beta signs in Shatterhand, not L and B (although Beta is B, so whatever)
Got pretty far into this episode before having to ask if something was better than DinoWars .
Is it me or do some of the systems in Kick Master seem almost like a Soulslike
We need more kicking games.
Low G Man flew, so that Kick Master could uhh kick....
anyone playing the recent indie game Gravity Circuit? it’s a megaman like but after seeing Shatterhand i’m sure it was influenced by it as well
edit: also prison city! it’s extremely similar to shatterhand, watching this again one could almost accuse the developer of that game of plagiarism if it wasn’t so awesome 😅
Legend of Kage looking like a Muramasa demake.
Your dad playing Golf for money seemed very formative for young Jeff
SPONDEELOOS
This feels like maybe the best week, in terms of average rank?
Yeah for sure. All of these are good games this week!
Me: This game has some good music.
Jeff: that bloop was slightly better on C64 so its trash.
Why’s Rad Racer not requested??
Nes got punchin' games and kickin' games let's goooo!
Surely the Shatterhand pickups are Alpha and Beta, not L and B.
You're almost certainly correct, but the manual writes them out as L and B and explains it as "they look like L and B written in script."
Demo of Jeffs
SHARTERHAND
I would like to be a kickmaster
luv 2 gyrus
too many good games this week, i expect that bugs bunny to be terrible though
They should call it Kickin' Impossible!
WTF Kickmeister
Shatterhand's position made me realize how Overrated Balloon Fight. Shatterhand is better than the first Mega Man
The developer of Kick Master also made Low G Man: The Low Gravity Man, Burai Fighter, G.I. Joe, and Pepsiman. What a chaotic force.